me ye by ey a Pe SU rt ita et * bok s aa® ‘ ities : ier) pa acer Sek 6-08 ee TWEEDDALE. Se Sus 1 een aie mah eee hal at 4 Siiy. [ioe Bs oti i —— } real R a P . ral i v {i ; ae — } a i : y el r ry = ~ ’ a erst } eed } says Heeren, ‘‘ was permitted to exercise an mercial affairs the king,’ extraordinary degree of influence. He might absolutely forbid the expor- tation of merchandize, or reserve the whole monopoly to himself. He issued ordinances relative to the buying and selling of goods ; he regulat- ed the price of the market, and received as his customary dues five per cent. on the profits of sale.”’* The mart of Vicramapura stood in a part of Bengal, which, from its numerous navigable rivers, possesses great facilities for inland trade. Situated at the confluence of the large rivers, which proceed from Sylhet, Assam, and Rungpore, and having a direct communication with the Bay of Bengal, this place was no doubt the centre of an extensive trade, which yielded, in the shape of customs and imposts on its merchandize, a considerable portion of the royal revenues of the Rajahs of Banga. Sir W. Jones alludes to a town situated on an island at the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, which derived its name from Lacshmi, the goddess of wealth,+ and which may, there- fore, be considered as identical with the Lakhi bazar of Vicramapura. There are no traces of this mart now to be seen, but from the names of several places in the vicinity of Rampal, as Sanchacara-bazar, or shell- cutters’ bazar, Pan-hatta, or betel-leaf market, Recabee-bazar, &c. it is probable that this spot was the site of a city in former times. From the appearance which the country presents, it is further probable that this city was not built in a compact form, but consisted, like all Hindoo towns in the lower part of Bengal in ancient times, of detached groupes of houses erected on elevated portions of ground interspersed with gar- dens, fields, and creeks, —constituting paras, or separate municipal divi- sions assigned to people of different castes and trades.t Wilford refers to this locality a town, which, he says, was called Antibole by Ptolemy, * Heeren’s Asiatic Nations, Vol. III. C. II. p. 349. + Sir W. Jones’s Works, Vol. VIT. p. 383. } In the lower part of Bengal there appear to have been comparatively few brick buildings in ancient times. The expense of erecting durable structures of this kind must have been considerable, asthe only lime that was procurable here was made from shells gathered on the drying up of the marshes in the cold season. All the very old mosques in Sonargong and Vikramapura were built with shell-lime, which from its great purity and whiteness, is said to have been made from cowries.—The houses were constructed of bamboos and straw, and in making buildings of this 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 21 and Antomela by Pliny: he states that its Sanscrit name was Hasti- malla, or Hathi-malla in the spoken dialects, and that both it and the country about it were called Hastibandh, because the Rajah’s elephants were picketted there. (As. Res. vol. xiv. 444.) Murray places the Gangetic mart of the Periplus in the site of Chittagong.* Heeren remarks in regard to it : “at the mouth of the Ganges merchandize was conveyed to a town of the same name: situate probably in the neigh- bourhood of Duliapur to the south-east of Calcutta and on the central branch of the river.” He quotes Mannert and adds ina note “its situa- tion however cannot be defined with precision. It was not merely the emporium for Chinese commerce, but also for the productions of Bengal particularly fine muslins.’+ The articles of Chinese commerce here alluded were silk, iron, and skins from Serica, which appears to be Assam ; the other exports (not the produce of Bengal) that are men- tioned in the text, viz., malabathrum and spikenard—were procured, the former from Sylhet and Assam—and the latter from Rangpore. It may, therefore, be inferred from the great commercial intercourse that has long been established between these places and Dacca, that the mart through which these articles passed, was situated in the vicinity of the latter—it being contrary to probability that they should have been sent to a town on the western branch of the Ganges, while Vicramapura was the capital of the ancient kmgdom of Banga, and the site, according to the traditions of the natives, of a rich mart. Was the Gangetic mart of the Periplus identical with the Gange regia of Ptolemy? With regard to the name of the latter, I may observe, that mention is made by some of the older geographers of two cities called Gange. In enu- merating the mouths of the Ganges, Cellarius remarks: “ Inter ostia fuit urbs Gange Ptolemeei diversa ab Artemidori Gange, modo dicta ad superiores partes hujus fluminis.”’ The Gange Artemidori was situated above, or to the north-west of Palibothra. This appears from the account which Strabo, on the authority of Artemidorus, gives of the course of the Ganges.t He states that this river, on emerging from the kind, the people of Sonargong are said to excel. They are frequently ornamented in the interior with painted reeds or bamboos and fine mats. * Murray’s Encyclopedia of Geography, Vol. I. + Heeren’s Asiatic Nations, Vol. III. p. 183. ¢ Strabo, Lib. XV. p. 719. 22 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. Himalayan mountains and entering the plains of Hindoostan, flows to the south as far as a city called Gange, and that thence it runs in an easterly direction to Palibothra and the sea. Wilford identifies it with Allahabad. Gange Ptolemiz, on the other hand, stood in Bengal, and apparently in its southern part, for it is mentioned by Ptolemy as situat- ed near the mouths of the Ganges (ep! 74 orduara rod Pdyyov), The longitude assigned to it by Ptolemy is nearly that of the Camberichum branch of the Ganges, or the meridian of the middle part of the Gan- getic Delta. The city of Tilogrammum is placed near the mouth of this river, and Gange regia about one degree farther to the north. D’An- ville places Gange regia at Rajhmal,* and Rennel at Gour.t Wilford in assigning a locality toit, mentions in different parts of his writings, two sites to which he refers it: the first 1s Satgong or Hoogly, and the second is Calcutta, supposed by him to have been anciently called Chat- tragram—the metropolis of a district called Gunga-Reddha.t Some geographers of the sixteenth and early part of the 17th centuries considered Gange regia as identical with the city of Bengala,§ which stood in the eastern part of Bengal. It seems not impro- bable, however, from Vicramapura having been the seat of the Gange- tic mart of the Periplus, and the ancient capital of Bengal, that this place was the site of Gange regia, the capital of the Gangaride, whose territory comprised the country about the mouths of the Ganges, and extended, according to Curtius, beyond or to the east of that river —it being in accordance with the constant experience we have of Asia, which shows, as Heeren states, “that royal cities are always the princi- pal depots of inland traftic.” The exports from the Gangetic mart were malabathrum (rendered betel in the text), spikenard, pearls, and muslins, (8 08 péperau 7rd Te ward- Balpov Kal 7 yayyirixn vapdos Kal muixdy Kad owvdoves at Siopopdtarar at Taryyiti- Kal Acyomeva. ) Malabathrum is supposed by Salmasius, Vincent, and other writers to be betel-leaf, but as the former article was imported into Rome, and as the latter is used in its fresh or green state, and is spoiled by being * D'Anville’s Ancient Geography. + Rennell’s Memoir of a Map of Hindoostan. ~ As. Res. Vol. XIV. p. 330, and Vol. V. p. 278. § Vide Appendix, No. III. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 23 transported to a distance, it is obvious that they are not identical. It has also been regarded as tea, but it is now generally admitted, as will be afterwards shown, to be the leaf of the Cimnamomum albifiorum, which abounds in the valleys along the foot of the hills from Sylhet to Mus- sourl. It appears to have been prepared for exportation in the vicinity of the places where it grows, and was thence conveyed to the Gangetic mart to be shipped to the ports of Southern India. Gangetic spikenard was so called, it is supposed, by Dr. Vincent, be- cause it passed through the mart on the Ganges. It is the Nardosta- chys Jatamanshi, a species of Valerian, which grows in Bhotan, and which was imported into the Gangetic mart from Rhandaramacotta or the modern Rungpore. Pliny mentions a variety of nard which grew on the banks of the Ganges, but as itis described by him as having a strong disagreeable taste, on which account it was designated Ozanitis, and as it was held im no estimation, it is not probable that it is the article re- ferred to in the Periplus. Marco Polo mentions spikenard among the articles of export from Bengal in his time. The pearls that passed through the Gangetic mart appear to have been obtained from the rivers of the eastern part of Bengal. Though small and of inferior quality, these pearls were, no doubt as much in demand among the poor, as the more valuable pearls from Perimula, Ceylon, and the Persian Gulf were among the rich. The Romans pur- chased pearls wherever they were to be obtained, and are said to have. even invaded Britain for the sake of the pearls that are found in one of the rivers of Wales.* Robertson remarks : ‘‘ Among all the articles of luxury, the Romans seem to have given the preference to pearls. Per- sons of every rank purchased them with eagerness ; they were worn on every part of dress, and there is such a difference both in size and in value among pearls that while such as were large and of superior lustre adorned the wealthy and the great, smaller ones and of inferior quality gratified the vanity of persons in more humble stations of life.’+ It seems not improbable, therefore, from the ready market which pearls of every kind and quality met with at Rome, that the inferior pearls of the eastern part of Bengal were exported in ancient times. They are found in a species of muscle in the rivers and marshes of the Dacea, Tipperah, and Mymensing districts, and are collected by the Buddeahs, * The river Conway. Vide Suetonius. + Robertson’s Ancient India, p. 58. 24 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. a vagrant gipsey tirbe, who live in boats throughout the year. They dis- pose of the shells, which are used for domestic purposes by the Hindoos, and sell the pearls at the annual fairs which are held in Vikramapura, Sonargong, and Bhowal. The pearls found in the present day are small, of a reddish colour, and generally of little worth, but occasional- ly, a pair of the value of 100 Rs. is met with; the Buddeahs sell the ordinary kind by weight to dealers in precious stones, who frequent the fairs for the purpose of purchasmg them. The quantity sold by them, at the Cartick Barnee, or fair held in Vikramapura in 1841, was estimated at three thousand rupees in value; one pair was dis- posed of at one hundred rupees. The pearls suited for ornaments are retailed by the merchants at a price ranging from four annas to four rupees per ten pairs, and the rest are disposed of to native physi- cians for medicinal purposes. The Gangetic muslins described im the text as the finest fabrics of the sort, are the fine muslins of Sonargong, and of the other places of ma- nufacture in the district of Dacca. It may be inferred from one of the Institutes of Menu,* that the cotton manufacture was a branch of in- dustry of considerable importance in his time, and that, therefore, the art of weaving the finest cloths was practised even in that early age. It is probable that these fabrics were exported from Sonargong from a very early period, and that they constituted the delicate vestures so fre- quently alluded to by Lat authors, under the names of vestes tenues vel pellucide, ventus textilis, nebula. The extreme tenuity of texture, which these terms imply, is a quality that belongs, rather to a cotton, than to a silken fabric, and leads us to conclude that the cloths so designa- ted were the very fine transparent muslins of Dacca. The term «aprdcos —derived from the Sanscrit Karpassa or Hindee Kapas signifying ‘* cotton,’’ was also used to designate fine muslins. It is employed by the author of the Periplus in two senses, viz. first, to denote the raw mate- rial of cotton, as when he states that the region of Membarii is fertile in Karpasos from which the Indian cloths are manufactured ; and se- condly, as the name of fine muslins, in which acceptation it would seem to refer to the Gangetic muslins of the text. The two Mahomedan * Let a weaver who has received ten palas of cotton thread, give them back in- creased to eleven, by the rice-water and the like used in weaving; he who does otherwise shall pay a fine of ten panas. (Inst. No. 397.) 1847.| Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. 25 travellers of the 9th century state that cotton garments were made in the kingdom of Rami “in so extraordinary a manner that no where else was the like to be seen.”” Thecountry which is here alluded to is evidently Bengal, from the circumstance of Rhinoceros’ horns, Lign Aloe, and skins being mentioned as exports from it, and of shells being used as money. ‘The cotton garments are described as being so fine, that a web might be drawn through a ring of middling size. This is a test which has been used by the Dacca weavers from time immemorial, and there can be no doubt, therefore, that the fabrics here alluded are the Dacca muslins. The gold mine mentioned in the text appears from the words Aé¢yerat b€ Kal xpvowpix.a wep) Tovs Téwovs €wat in which it is described in the ori- ginal, to have been situated not exactly im, but rather in the vicinity of, the province to which the Gangetic mart belonged. The words must be considered as referring not to the alluvial plains of the Gangetic Delta, but to a country in its vicinity; and they have allusion, in all probability, to a gold mine which formerly existed in the adjacent hilly country of Tipperah. Tavernier in his account of this country remarks ; “‘ there is here a gold mine but the gold is very coarse.” He also states that the gold from this mine was exported to China and exchanged there for silver. Tipperah does not produce gold in the present day, but the natives assert that it was obtained in that country in former times, and that the Kookis or hill people were in the habit of bringing it from the interior, and presenting it as tribute to the Rajah. The gold coin called Kaltis, vémoud re xpucod 6 Acyduevos KdAtis is supposed by Wilford, to have been the refined gold named Canden, for which India was celebrated in ancient times.* A small fragment or piece of gold of an irregular shape, having either a plain surface, or a few obscure sym- bols marked upon it, constituted the earliest type of a gold coin in India ; specimens of this description of coins have been found in South- ern India and the Sunderbunds.+ As stamped coins, however, were current in India in the time of Arrian, it is probable that Kaltis was one of them. Stuckius mentions a coin called Kallais which was current. in Bengal in his time. Tavernier, speaking of Tipperah, states that the Rajah “ makes thin pieces of gold like to the Aspers of Turkey, of * As. Researches, Vol. V. p. 269. + Journal Asiatic Society, Nov. 1835. No. 47, p. 627. 26 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. which he has two sorts; four of the one sort making a crown, and twelve of the other.” The modern gold coin of Tipperah has on one side the Singha or lion resembling at the same time the Chinese dragon. The era employed is that of Salivahana, which dates 78 years later than the Christian. (See Marsden’s Numismata Orientalia.) Kaltis, how- ever, appears to have been the coin of the lower part of Bengal in which Gange regia was situated. The name of Sonargong, or Suvernagrama, (the town of gold) seems to imply, that it was a place of great wealth, or what is not improbable, the appellation may have been given to it, from the large quantity of gold that was brought to it in the course of trade. Formerly, a considerable quantity of gold was imported into the eastern part of Bengal from Arracan and Pegu. Speaking of the vessel in which he sailed from the latter country to Chatigan, Ceesar Frederick remarks: “save victuals and ballast they had silver and gold and no other merchandize.”* Gold is still brought annually from Pegu to Naraingunge ; and no doubt it was one of the chief imports into Sonar- gong in ancient times. Sonargong was the seat of a mint in the time of the Mahomedan Kings of Bengal, as appears from coins of the Sultan Shums-ooddin having the word Sonargaun marked upon them, and bearing the dates 754 and 760 of the Mahomedan era.t Khruse, which is mentioned as situated at the mouth of the Ganges, is regarded by Dr. Robertson as an imaginary island. From its being de- scribed as lying directly “ under the rising sun and at the extremity of the world towards the east,’’ Dr. Vincent identifies it with Sumatra, which is situated on the Equator, and is celebrated for its gold and tor- toise shell. Khruse, it will be observed, is twice mentioned by Arrian ; first as a continent, and secondly as an island, and in both instances, as a place in the immediate vicinity of the Ganges («ar durdy 3& rév moTapdy) : from which, it would seem that Arracan or some island off that coast, is the locality that is here referred to. Perhaps the expression “ direct- ly under the rismg sun,” applies merely to the situation of Khruse * Hakluyt’s Voyages, Vol. II. p. 370. + Speaking of these coins Marsden states, ‘‘on four specimens belonging to the ‘Societé Asiatique, M. Reinaud finds the place of coinage Sonargaun (aurificium urbs) an ancient city on the Brahmaputra, and the dates 754 and 760 (Numis. Oriental. Iilustr. ) 1847, ] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, &c. 27° within the torrid zone.* Arrian seems to have been aware, that De- sarene and the country of the Kirrhade and Bargoosi lay to the north of the Tropic of Cancer: and after describing these countries, therefore, he traces the course from them towards the south, and defines the in- tertropical position of Khruse by the expression above mentioned. Khruse was the most remote maritime region towards the east that was known in the time of Arrian, as appears from its situation being refer- red by him, to “ the extremity of the world towards the east.” In all probability, however, it comprehended, not only Arracan, but likewise the country designed by Ptolemy, the Golden Chersonese, which is now generally admitted to be Pegu. It is likely also that it included Malacca and Sumatra. Beyond or to the north of Khruse was situated Thina—a region the boundaries of which are mentioned as extending even to the confines of the Caspian, and the Euxine seas, the former being erroneously describ- ed according to the prevailing opinion of that time, as communicating with the Northern Ocean.+ Thina appears from the geographical posi- tion assigned to it by Arrian, to have been the country called “ Chin” by the Hindoos. Dr. Buchanan states that the ancient Hindoos do not mention anv kingdom as intervening between Kamroop (Lower Assam) and China ; and that they considered the former territory as bounded on the east by ‘‘ Chin,” by which term, however, he thinks, was probably meant the country situate between the Indian and Chinese empires— China itself, he states, being, according to Abul Fazel, the Maha Chin of the Hindoos.t Sir Wm. Jones mentions that in the 8th century be- fore the birth of Christ, there was erected a kingdom in the province of Shensi, the capital of which stood nearly in the 35° N. L. and about 5° west of Si-gam.§ Both this country and its metropolis were called Chin, and the dominion of its princes was gradually extended to the * The extent of the torrid zone is differently mentioned by ancient geographers, Eratosthenes limited it to eight degrees, and Posedonius to a little more than twelve on each side of the Equator: but in general it was considered (as originally defined by Aristotle) as comprehending the portion of the earth included within the Tropics. (See Robertson’s America, Vol. I. p. 369, No. VIII.) + Strabo, (Lib. XI. p.773,) Pomponius Mela,(Lib. III. c.5,) Pliny, (Lib. VI. c. 13.) ¢ Buchanan’s Topography of Rungpore. Martin’s Eastern India, Vol. 3, p. 403. § As. Res. Vol. II, p. 371. E 2 28 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. east and the west. It is probable, he further states, that this nation was descended from the Chinas of Menu—one of the ten tribes who were expelled from the caste of Kshatriyas, “‘ for having abandoned the or- dinances of the Vedas and the company of the Brahmins.”’ The country however, in which the Chinas of Menu originally settled, was apparent- ly not so far distant as Shensi: for according to the same distinguished author, it is designated by the learned Hindoos, ‘‘a country to the north- east of Gour and to the east of Kamroop and Nepal’’—a description which seems to imply that it is the Chin mentioned by Dr. Buchanan, and not the remote region of Maha Chin, Shensi, or China. The ac- count given by Menu of outcast and exiled Kshatriyas, called Chinas, having emigrated to a country to the east of Bengal, is supported by a tradition current among the Koch, and I believe, also among the Mech and Hajong tribes of Rungpore and Assam, viz., that their chiefs are descended from Kshatriyas ‘“ who had fled into Kamroop and the ad- jacent country of Chin.’’* Both accounts are considered fabulous, but it seems not improbable that they are founded on truth, and had their origin in an incursion of military adventurers, who, on being expelled from caste, turned their arms against the barbarous tribes above men- tioned. Accordingly, the Chinas and Kiratas mentioned by Menu as degraded Kshatriyas should be regarded, not as the ancestors of the ’ aboriginal tribes of Chinas and Kiratas, as some have erroneously infer- red, but as foreigners of Hindoo descent to whom the names of the tribes they conquered were given by the nation from whose society they had been exiled. Of the skill in arms of the early Brahmimical conquerors of India, a highly interesting account is given in the appendix to Mr. Torrens’s work entitled ‘“‘ Remarks on the scope and uses of Military Literature and History.” They appear from the ancient authorities there adduced to have acquired at a very early period high military dis- cipline and superior tactical knowledge. This military science, therefore, coupled with the physical strength which, doubtless, these warriors pos- sessed (proceeding, as there is reason to believe they did, “from the great plateau of Central Asia’) must have rendered them formidable enemies to the comparatively weak and uncivilized aboriginal inhabitants of India. Their conquests, it may reasonably be inferred, soon extended to the fertile countries east of the Ganges ; and it was, we may suppose, at no * Buchanan’s Topography of Rungpore. See Martin’s Eastern India, p. 415. 1847.] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 29 distant period from the time they entered the plains of Hindoostan, that the two outcast or exiled classes of Kshatriyas called Chinas and Kiratas by Menu, invaded Assam and the Morung and were thence designated by the names of the uncivilized tribes whom they vanquished. The country of Chin, described as adjacent to Kamroop on the east, can be no other than the eastern part of the valley of Assam. This remote and secluded region was almost a ¢erra incognita to the natives of India prior to the 17th century. Bukhtyar Khulijy invaded Assam in the 13th, and Sultan Hossein Addeen in the 15th centuries, but little information was obtained regarding it until A. D. 1660, when Aurengzebe sent an expedition to it under Meer Jumla.* Tavernier mentions, that until this time, little or nothing was known of Assam. He describes it as one of the richest and most productive countries in Asia.+ His account of it and that contained in the Alumgirnamah of Mahomed Cazimt were the only sources of information whence geographers drew their descriptions of this country before the commencement of the present century. The natives of Bengal had few opportunities of becoming acquainted with Assam, prior to the conquest of it by the English Government. Strangers were denied admission into it; trade was carried on at the mountain passes leading into it, or at fixed marts on the banks of the Brahma- putra, where this river enters Bengal: and the only persons, therefore, who could give any information respecting Upper Assam were the few pilgrims who penetrated to the Brahmakund. The word Thina, the name of the country of the Thine or Sine, is supposed to be a corrup- tion of Chin or Cheen, but it seems more probable that it is derived from T’hai—the name of an extensive Indo-Chinese race, which compre- hends the Siamese, the Laos or Shyans, the Khamtis, and Ahom nations, that are spread over a tract of country, stretching from Upper Assam and the sources of the Irawaddee on the north, to the gulf of Siam on the south. The Thine and Sine mentioned by Arrian and Ptolemy are one and the same nation, and apparently the T’hai or Shyans inhabiting the extensive region above mentioned. 'The Ahoms of Assam are descended from the Laos or Shyans. The date of their settlement in that country is not known but there is reason to infer that it was an- terior to the introduction of Buddhism into Siam. Capt. Low remarks that “the Chang priests of Assam speak a dialect of the Siamese.” He * Stewart’s History of Bengal. + Tavernier’s Travels. { Asiat. Res. Vol. II. 30 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. also states that “the Laos are supposed to have progressed from some northern or north-eastern region, since the Khamti bordering on Assam speak a language scarcely differing from the Siamese.”* It seems not improbable therefore that the Thine and Sinee of Arrian and Ptolemy are the T’hai and Shyans. There were two capitals belonging to the Thinze or Sine. Thina, the capital of the Sinee mentioned by Arrian, and Sera, the metropolis of the Sine noticed by Ptolemy, are evidently, from the northern site assigned to them, the same city. Ptolemy places this city in 38° N. L. but it is probable that it stood in 28” N. L. in the vicinity of Sadiya in Upper Assam. Thine, the other capital of the Sinz or Thine, is referred by Ptolemy to a situation far south, and is generally considered as having stood on the coast of Siam. ‘The two cities, there- fore, viz. the Thina of Arrian (or the Sera of Ptolemy) and the Thine of Ptolemy belonged—the former to the Shyans of Upper Assam, and the latter to the Shyans of Siam. Arrian speaks of the remote situation of the capital of Thina, of the difficulty there was in travelling to it, and of the few persons who came from it és d¢ rhv Giva tadrqy du ori evxepas GmedOeiv oraviws yap am’ duTis tives ov ToAAOL epxovTat, or as Heeren renders the pas- sage, “it is not easy to arrive at Thina and but few individuals have made the journey and returned again.” This may be regarded as apply- ing to Upper Assam. All the mformation, it may be presumed, which Arrian obtained regarding this rarely visited country, was afforded by maritime traders from Bengal, whom he met in the ports of Western India, and as they could only speak of it from hearsay, it cannot be a matter of surprise, considering the proneness of the natives to exagge-. ration in their accounts of distant countries, that he should have been led to assign to it the remote situation which is mentioned in the text, and to extend its limits to the confines of the Caspian and the Euxine seas. The city of Thina is mentioned as situated at a certain point where the exterior sea terminates ; but it is at the same time stated that its site is not on the coast, but inland. The sea, whichis here alluded to, appears to be the gulf of Siam. It is called the exterior sea, no doubt with reference to its position to Khruse, which was considered by Arrian as the extremity of the world towards the east. It appears to have been known to the ancients that the country of the Thinze or Sinz bordered at one poimt onthe sea, long before they heard of the * Journal of Royal As. Soc. Vol. V. p, 250. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 31 navigation to the east of Khruse (Malacca or Sumatra). This informa- tion could only have been derived from the Thai or Shyans inhabiting the country extending from the gulf of Siam to Upper Assam : and it was communicated, doubtless, by them to the few persons who travelled to Thina or Sera, the capital of the Simee for the purpose of carrying on trade. Ptolemy mentions that Marinus had heard of Cattigara, the most eastern sea port known to the ancients, (and which is supposed to have stood on the coast of Siam) but that he never met or was acquaint- ed with any person who had made the voyage to it from the golden Chersonese.* It follows, therefore, that he obtained his information : through Maés the Macedonian, whose agents carried on a trade with the Sinze on the frontier of Serica: and that the T’hai or Shyans of Upper Assam were the channel through whom this information was conveyed. The commercial routes leading from Thina or Assam extended through Bactria to Barugaza; also down the Ganges and thence by sea to Li- murike: 40° jjs tdéTe Epiov, cal Td oPovioy To anpiKdy, &s Thy Bapvyatay dia Baxtpwv meSh pépera cal eis THY Aimupixhny madd Sia TOU Tdyyou morapov. The first of these routes was vid Thibet or Bhotan. The Thibetans formerly carried on a considerable traffic with the Assamese. A cara- van consisting of about twenty persons of the former people repaired annually to the frontier of Assam, and took up their quarters at a place called Chouna, while the Assamese merchants were stationed at Gegan- ‘shur, a few miles distant from it. The articles of merchandize brought by the Thibetans were silver bullion and rock salt, which they exchang- ed with the Assamese for rice, silk, lac, and articles the produce of Bengal.+ This, no doubt, was one channel through which the merchan- dize of Thina reached Bactria. Another appears to have been through the duwars or passes that lead into Bhotan. Tavernier mentions that in his time merchants travelled through Bhotan to Cabul to avoid pay- ing the duty that was levied on merchandize passing into Hindoostan via Gorruckpore. He describes the journey as extending over deserts and mountains covered with snow, tedious and troublesome as far as Ca- bul, where the caravans part, some for Great Tartary—others for Balk. At the latter place merchants of Bhotan bartered their goods.t—The * Ptol. Lib. 1, C. 14—Vincent, Vol. II. p. 602. + Hamilton’s Gazetteer of Hindoostan. t Vide Bhotan in Tavernier’s Travels. © 32 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. account which is given in the Sequel would indicate that the merchan- dize brought from Thina or Assam to Balk or Bactria was purchased there by merchants who were proceeding or who were on their way to India—and who afterwards sailed down the Indus to Barugaza or Guze- rat, where they took shipping for the Red Sea. The second route men- tioned by Arrian, viz., down the Ganges and thence by sea to Limurike, no doubt refers, as Dr. Vincent supposes, to the Brahmaputra. Mer- chandize from Thina or Serica was brought by this channel to the Gan- getic mart in the vicinity of Dacca, and was thence shipped to Limu- rike. It consisted of silk—raw and manufactured, skins and iron, all of which are exports from Assam or the countries bordering on it. Silk abounds in Assam and has always been an article of export from it. Mr. Hugon states that large quantities of silk cloths were formerly exported to Lassa by merchants known in Derung as the “ Kampa Bhoteas,’”’— the quantity they used to take away was very considerable, but in the latter years of the Assam Rajah’s rule from the disorganized state of the country the number of merchants gradually decreased. He estimates the total quantity of raw silk now exported at upwards of 24,000Ib. weight, and the total quantity produced in the province at more than double that weight—* the Assamese,” he observes, “‘ generally keeping more for their own use than they sell.” It is exported principally to Berhampore and Dacca.* The people called Sesatee, who inhabited a country on the confines of Thina, are generally supposed from their features, and make or form, to be identical with the Besadze of Ptolemy, placed by him, as has al- ready been mentioned, near a range of mountains called Mocandrus. The Sesatze are described in the text as “a wild uncivilized tribe” and as “arace of men squat and thick set, with their face broad, and their nose greatly depressed.” The words 7@ wey cduart xodroBol Kal eoddpa TAL TumpdowTol, ool els TEAOS, avTbUS BE AéyecOat SnodTas wapapolovs avnuépovs, of which Dr. Vincent’s translation is given above, are rendered by Heeren “a set of ill-formed, broad-faced, and flat-nosed people, who are called Se- sate, and resemble savages.”+ This is a correct description of the abo- riginal tribes bordering on Assam, and there can be little doubt, therefore that the Sesatze are one of them. All these tribes exhibit the Indo- Chinese features, and many of them have the harsh and savage-like ex- * Journal Asiatic Soc. Vol. VI. p. 34. + Heeren’s As. Nations. 1847.) Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. 33 pression of countenance, which is here mentioned as characteristic of the Sesatz. The northern Garos are a stout, strong-limbed people, with strongly marked Chinese countenances.’’ The southern Garos are de- scribed as having “ a surly look, a flat Caffre nose, small eyes, a wrin- kled forehead, over-hanging eyebrows, with a large mouth, thick lips, and round face,”* they are stout and able-bodied men. The Khassias have the Mongolian cast of countenance, but less strongly marked, perhaps, than in some of the neighbouring tribes : they want the oblique position of the eyelids, which is so characteristic of the Chinese face, but have the flat, depressed nose. They are a strong, muscular, and active race, and are employed from childhood, both men and women, in carrymg heavy burdens up and down their hills. The Cacharees, whose country is situated between Sylhet and Munipore, are scattered over several districts on the eastern frontier of Bengal. They have the Indo-Chinese fea- tures strongly marked ; but they vary in stature and complexion. The Kookis of the Chittagong hills are described as ‘‘ a barbarous, active, muscular race, short, of stouter and darker complexion. than the Choomeas, and like them have the peculiar features of the natives of the eastern parts of Asia, namely, the flat nose, small eyes, and broad face.’+ The Kookis of the Tipperah hills are short, broad-shouldered, but slender-limbed ; they have small dark eyes, and the flat nose. The Nagas, who occupy the ranges of hills on the south- erm side of Assam are distinguished by the peculiar features of the Chinese. The Kookis (or Lunctas) and the Nagas appear to be amongst the most uncivilized of all the hill tribes of eastern India. They devour animal food in its most disgusting forms, as the flesh of elephants, tigers, jackals and snakes. I have already mentioned the Kookis of the Tip- perah hills as being apparently identical with the Padzi of Herodotus. The Kookis of the Chittagong hills are also cannibals. Many of the Naga tribes go naked, and hence the appellation of Naga derived from the Sanscrit, which is given to them. Ptolemy mentions them under this name, viz., “ Nangalogee quod significat mundum nudorum.”t The Koch are an aboriginal tribe, who occupy the low country in the Rungpore district, skirting Assam and Bhotan: they are also found in the Mymensing and Dacca districts. They are a strong race of men, possessing the broad outlines of the Tartar countenance : they live in * As, Res, Vol.— 7 As. Res. Vol.— t Ptol. Lib.— F 34 Remarks on the Sequel to the [J an. the heart of the forests, where they cultivate patches of ground with the hoe: they raise cotton, and kill elephants and deer for the sake of their tusks and horns which they bring for sale to the weekly markets, held on the borders of their forests. The Koch, who inhabit the forests in the northern part of the Dacca district, are altogether a much stouter and more hardy race, than the Hindoos or Mahomedans in the neigh- bourhood. They live in the midst of the forests of Bhowal, Cossim- pore, and Atteya, and notwithstanding the unhealthy state of this part of the country, they suffer much less from malaria, than the other mha- bitants in the same part of the district. With the axe and hoe they clear away the jungle, and cultivate rice, oil seeds, aad cotton, which they sell or barter at the weekly markets held im the vicinity of the forest. They often suddenly vacate their locations, and the land they have brought into cultivation, and move into the interior, where they recommence their labour of clearing away the jungle. They live in small villages consisting of a few huts frequently situated at a considerable distance from each other. They eat animal food and drink spirits, and from this mode of living they possess considerable physical strength, and armed with spears do not hesitate to attack on foot, wild elephants and tigers. They are strictly honest and faithful in all their dealings, and have the virtue, which few of their neighbours possess, of paying a great regard to truth. They are of a taciturn and reserved disposition. These tribes have different languages, and are in the practice of carrying on traffic with the Bengalese and Assamese, through the medium of per- sons, who act as interpreters and brokers at the marts they visit. Many of: hem, however, can speak the Bengalee language and barter their goods themselves. In former times, the mtercourse between the aboriginal tribes and the civilized people of the plains was much less frequent, than it is in the present day. The hill men accompanied by their wives and children generally travelled in large bodies to the marts or haués on the frontier: and on their arrival there, they held no direct communication with the people of the plains, but sold their goods, either through inter- preters, or by means of signs—both parties keeping at a dictance from each other during the negotiation. I have been informed by some old native merchants of Dacca, who formerly carried on trade in Tipperah, that before the Company’s Government was established in that district, the Kookis from the oppression and injustice which they suffered from 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, &e. 35 the people of the plains, were in the habit of bartering their goods in this manner. A similar practice, though arismg apparently from a different cause, occurs in Malabar. Speaking of the tribe called Nayaree in that country, Col. Welsh states: “They crawl to the road side or to a cer- tain distance from a habitation, deposit something, such as a bundle of twigs, some wild berries or a honey-comb, set up a loud and hideous shriek or scream, and then retire to a sufficient distance to watch the result, when the nearest person either converses with them at a distance on the exchange, or at once deposits what may serve their purpose, and get out of the way to enable them to approach, and carry off their supplies without personal contact.”* The Garos and Kookis bring down to the plains large basket loads of cotton, which they exchange for rice, dry- fish, betel-nut, salt, goats, poultry, ornaments, &c. Speaking of the former people and the places where they carry on traffic, Dr. Buchanan remarks : “‘ They repair once a week during the dry season, more parti- cularly in December, January, and February. Almost the only article which they bring for sale is cotton in the seed, for the conduct of the Bengalees has totally put a stop to the collection of Agal-wood. On _ the Garos arriving at the market the Zemindar im the first place takes a part of the cotton as his share (Phul) ; the remainder is exchanged for salt, kine, hogs, goats, dogs, cats, fowls, ducks, fish, dry and fresh, tor- toises, rice and extract of sugar-cane for eating: for tobacco and betel- nut for chewing, &c.”’ The Khassias bring to the mart on the borders of their country, cotton, iron ore, honey, wax, oranges, ivory, and cassia, and sell or exchange them for spirits, rice, tobacco, fish, &c. They and all the other hill tribes on the eastern frontier of Bengal, carry down their goods in large conical-shaped baskets, or hampers, called tapas by the Khas- sias. This kind of basket is made of ratan or bamboo, and is supported upon the back by means of a broad band which encircles the forehead. Men and women carry heavy loads of goods to the plains in this manner. The account, which is given of the Sesatze coming to an established mart on the borders of Thina accompanied by their wives and children, and carrying heavy burdens in mats, so closely resembles the description which is given of the hill people of Assam and their mode of conducting traffic as to leave no doubt, I think, that the Sesatee are one of these tribes,—apa- ylvovres ody yuvaitly Kui Téxvois Baralovres poptia pmeydAa ev Tapmévais, Ouaumerl-. * Welsh’s Military Reminiscenses, Vol. [1]. p. 111. F 2 36 ftemarks on the Sequel to the [ Jan. vev rapardjoia, The word taprévais is supposed by Dr. Vincent to signify sirpeis, rendered mats made of rushes, bags or sacs. It is more proba- ble, however, that t¢arponais is a corruption of tapas, and that it refers to the baskets in which the hill people carry down their merchandize to the plains. Though both Vincent and Heeren have rendered the words Taprévais Gpaumedivay maparAjore, mats resembling in their outward appear- ance the early leaves of the vine, or looking like the early branches of the vine, yet they consider #xeumeAwwy to refer, not to the material of which the mats were made, but to the articles contained in them, and which are supposed by them to have been the betel-leaf and areca nut, from which malabathrum was prepared. Malabathrum, however, is not betel- leaf nor areca nut, but the leaves of two or more species of Cimamomum which are found in the valleys along the foot of the hills on the eastern frontier of Bengal. These trees bear fruit of the shape of a small oval drupe or berry, about the size ofa black currant, and it is apparently to the resemblance between this fruit and a young or early grape, that the word #auTeAwor is applied, as signifying, like the early fruit of the vine. The Sesatee accompained by their wives and children brought in their tarponais or baskets, large loads or burthens, (popria weyada) of the branch- es of these trees, from the valleys in the interior, and bartered them at the marts or hauts on the borders of their forests, for the produce of the plains. It is mentioned that they held a feast or festival at the mart, or im other words, they feasted on the articles of food, &c. which they re- eeived in exchange for their merchandize. The barter was, no doubt, effected either by signs, or through persons, who, understanding their language, acted as brokers on behalf of the Thine or people of the plains of Assam. This is probable from the circumstance of its being mentioned that the Thine “ continued on the watch,’’ while the Sesatee were at the mart. The Thine or Assamese merchants appear to have entrusted the negotiation of their busimess to interpreters, while they themselves remained at some distance watching the proceedings. The Sesatee having completed the barter, and feasted for several days on the commodities they received, took their departure for their own country in the interior; or in other words, they returned to the jungles of their mountain recesses ; after which, the Thine, coming forth from their place of retreat, repaired to the spot, and collected the baskets of 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §:c. By goods, which the strangers (the Sesatee) had left behind them, (6: 3é 7aira Soxodyres TéTe mapayivovra: emi Tos TémouS Kal TVAAEYoUGL TH exelvwy brospduara.) Whether the Sesatz brought any merchandize besides the article which is described as @nay7edivwy rapardhora does not appear from the text. This is the only thing that is there specified ; and from it, the Thine or the Assamese merchants proceeded to prepare the two articles called Petros and Malabathrum. ‘The words, that refer to the former article, are in the original efiidoayTes KaAduous TOUS Aeyouevous Térpovs. Dr. Vincent sup- poses that they apply to betel, and that the first part of the sentence, which he renders “they pick out the haulm which is called Petros,” is descriptive of the process of picking cut the nerves or central fibres of the leaf of the Piper Betel, called in the preced- ing part of the text, from the resemblance between it and the vine, —yopume\ivev ; while he regards the rest of the sentence as having reference to the folding of these leaves with areca or betel-nut, cardamoms, lime, and other adjuncts, into balls, or rather small parcels, which, he concludes, constituted the masticatory called Malabathrum in the text. He is of opinion that the betel leaf and areca nut were pro- cured from Arracan, which he identifies with the country of the Kir- rhadee, celebrated for its Malabathrum, and that the Sesatee, whom he supposes to have been the Tartars of Lassa, were the carriers of this article along with other merchandize from that country to the frontier of China. Dr. Vincent’s interpretation, however, fails to explain the circumstances which are connected with the manufacture and ultimate disposal of this article of traffic ; and is not reconcileable with the text. The Sesatze are there represented as bringing the article described by the word aaumeAivoy, from which Petros and Malabathrum were made, from their own country to a mart on its border ; as bartering it for arti- cles on which they kept a feast for several days; and as then returning to their country in the interior. Their neighbours, the Thine, then prepared the substances of Petros and Malabathrum, and brought them to India. The supposition that the Thinze are the people of the valley of Assam, and the Sesatee one of the aboriginal tribes bordermg on that country, is in accordance with the statements of the text. Dr. Vincent, on the other hand, represents the Sesatee or Tartars of Lassa as bringing the articles from which Petros and Malabathrum were formed, from a dis- tant foreign country (Arracan) to the frontier of China. But, indepen- 38 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. dently of this being opposed to the text, it is difficult to comprehend why betel-leaf and areca nut should be carried to so great a distance for the mere purpose of being made into balls, and afterwards brought back to India under the name of Malabathrum, as is there mentioned. Wil- ford gives a very different interpretation of this passage of the Sequel. He supposes that Malabathrum is a kind of tea, which is prepared in the form of balls, and sold at some of the frontier towns of Ava, Assam, and Laos. He considers the Sesate as identical with a gipsey tribe called Besadee, who are hucksters by trade, and who, in this capacity, frequent the different fairs throughout the country. The Besatz, he supposes, made small baskets of certain leaves as large as those of the vine, which they sewed together with the fibres of the bamboo: and then filled with leaves of a certain plant rolled into balls, which were of three sorts ac- cording to the quality and size of the leaves. The Petros of the text, he supposes to be the leaf of the Dhac tree (Butea frondosa) which is used all over India to make baskets, and which are fastened with skewers from the fibres of the bamboo. According to this interpretation, mala- bathrum or tea, was sold by the Thine or Chinese to the Sesatze or Besatze, who brought it into India for sale. But the reverse of this is’ stated in the text, viz., that the Sesate brought the article of which Malabathrum was formed from the interior of their country, and sold it to the Thinze, who made it into balls which they (the Thine) conveyed into India. Petros and Malabathrum consisted neither of betel nor tea, but of dif- ferent parts of the trees yielding Tejpatra and Cassia Lignea. The former is the dark, and the latter are the leaves of one or more species of trees of the genus Cinnamomum. That Malabathrum is identical with Cinna- momum albiflorum is established by the fact, that Saduj is the name which is given to Malabathrum in the writings of the Arabs, while Saduj is applied in Persian works to Tejapatra or Tejpata, which is the Cinna- 3 momum of Botanists. ‘ Malatroon,” says Royle, ‘is assigned as the Greek name in Persian Materia Medica.’ Cinnamomum albiflorum is also designated Tuj and Patruj* in Hindoostan—the former name being generally applied to the /eaf, and the latter to the dark of the tree. Tuj, Tejpata, or Tejapatra, by all of which names this leaf is known, is used as * Royle’s Illustrations of Botany of the Himalayan Mountains, p. 325. Dr. But- ter’s Topography of Oude, p. 43. 1847.] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §e. ~ 39 a condiment in all parts of India. It is indigenous in Sylhet, Assam, Rungpore, and in the valleys along the base of the mountain range, as far as Mussouri. The dry branches and leaves are brought annually in large quantities from the former place, and sold at a fair which is held in Vicramapura, close to the supposed site of the Gangetic mart of the Sequel. Tuj, however, is a name that is also given in the eastern part of Bengal, to the bark of a variety of Cmnamomum Zeylanicum, or Cassia lignea, which abounds in the valleys of Cachar, Jyntea, and Assam. Mr. Landers describes Cassia lignea, as indigenous and growing luxuriantly, along the second range of the Naga hills in Assam, as plen- tiful at Tublong, Chackting, and Nokangies, and as an article that is brought to the plains by the Abor tribes of Yung-yack, Tangsee, and Tamlow.* It is prepared and sold by the Khassias in the Cherra Poonjee bazar, whence it is exported to Sylhet, Dacca, and other marts in the eastern part of Bengal. Moghul merchants repair to the former place for the express purpose of purchasing cinnamon. As Tuy, therefore, is an appellation that is applied to Cinnamomum albiflorum, and Cassia lignea, so Patruj, which is the name of the bark of the former, may, in like manner, have been used in ancient times, to designate the quills of the bark of the latter tree. Itis probable, therefore, that the words, ekiidoavtTes KaAdmous Tovs Aeyouevous wéeTpous, refer to the bark of C. Zeyla- nicum or Cassia lignea; and therefore, instead of signifying “they pick out the haulm which is called Petros” as they are translated by Dr. Vincent, they should be rendered they peel the pipes or quills [or the bark| called Petros ;—«a\dyous having reference to the tubular or hollow cylindrical form, which the bark of cinnamon assumes in drying, and 7«tTpovs being a corruption of Patraj or Putruj, the name of the bark of Cinnamomum albiflorum, and no doubt, formerly also that of Cassia lignea. The account, which is given in the Sequel regarding the mode of preparing Petros and Malabathrum, seems to imply that the Sesatze brought the green branches of the Cinnamomum albiflorum, and Cassia lignea trees, from the forests in the interior of their country, to the marts on the frontier, and sold them there to the Thine or Assamese, who peeled the bark called Petros. This, probably, was done after the ripening of the fruit, which is considered the best season for peeling the bark of the Cinnamon or Cassia tree: and it is, apparently, to this * Journal of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, Vol. II. No. X. 40 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. circumstance, viz., to the branches having the fruit on them, when brought for sale, that Arrian alludes when he describes them by the term HaumeAlvwv, or in other words, as being in external appearance, like the early fruit of the vine. The Thine or Assamese having peeled the branches of the Cassia tree [literally the quills or pipes called Pe- tros] proceeded next to prepare Malabathrum. For this purpose they picked the leaves, and folding them double, they rolled them into small balls and passed a cord or string, made of the fibres of the bark through them émldrerroy émiditAdcarvtes TA PiAAG Kal gpaipoEldh worodyTes, Sielpovor amd Tay Kadduwv ives. "These balls, which appear to have consisted each of a single leaf, were made of three sorts, which were designated according to their size, the large, the middle-sized, and the small yivera: 5 yévn tpla ex méev TOD perCovos PYAAOV, TL adpdaatpoy wardBabpoy Acydmevoy. ek 5& TOD uTO- Seesepov, Td merdspoupoy, ek Se fIKpoTEepov TO juKpoTTpatpoy_—a distinction which seems to indicate that three varieties or species of the genus Cinna- momum, differing from each other, in the size of the leaf, or in the strength of its aromatic flavor, were used for the preparation of Malabathrum. Dr. Buchanan has described three species of Tejpata, and it is probable that the three kinds of Malabathrum, here referred to, consisted of the Cin- namomum Albiflorum, the Cinnamomum Tamala, and the Cinmmamomum Zeylanicum.* The term Malabathrum is generallysupposed to be a com- pound of Tamala (one of the Sanserit names of C. albiflorum) and putra (a leaf) :—the original word Tamalapatra having been corrupted by Greek and Latin writers into #eA¢Sa@poy, and this again into Malabathrum. Garcias first suggested this as its probable derivation : “ Appellant autem Indi, Folium Tamalapatra quam vocem Greeci ad Latini imitantes corrupte Malabathrum nuncuparunt.” It has been conjectured by others, that Malabathrum is derived from ‘‘ Malabar,” and the word “ bathrum,”’ which is supposed to have been the name given to betel in that province. * Ferunt apud Indos nasci in ea regione que Malabar dicitur : verna- cula ipsorum lingua bathrum sive bethrum appelari inde Greecos compo- sita voce nominasse.”’ (H. Stephani Thesaurus Linguee Greecee, Vol. IV. 1412.) It is very evident, however, that this cannot be regarded as the origin of the term, for it is stated in the Periplus, that the name was given to the article on the confines of 'Thina where it was obtained, and * Dr. Buchanan has described several species of Malabathrum leaf or Tejapatra. (See Trans. Linnean Scc, Vol. XITI. p. 556.) 1847. ] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. 4] that under this designation, it was brought into India by those who prepared it. It is more probable, that Malabathrum is derived from the Sanscrit words mala (a garland) and putra (a leaf) ; the compound malapatra, which is thus formed, and which signifies a garland or string of leaves, having been subsequently corrupted into “aAd&Badpoy or Mala- bathrum. This etymology of the term, mdeed, is indicated by the details given in the text regarding the mode of preparing Malabathrum ; for it is there mentioned, that the leaves were made into bails, and that the fibres of the plant were passed through them ; “ that in this form’’ the article took the name of Malabathrum : and that “ under this deno- mination,’ it was brought [from the confines of Thina or borders of Assam] into India, by those who prepared it. The name, it will be ob- served, was not given to the leaves in their original state, or the state in which they were brought by the Sesatee from the forests in the interior ; but was applied to them after they had undergone a certain manipula- tion, viz., when made into small balls, and strung together on the fibres of the plant, in the form of a garland or a thread of beads. This mode of preparing the leaves of the Cinnamon or Cassia tree appears to have been adopted in order to preserve the aromatic-stimulant properties of Malabathrum during its transportation to distant countries. The small balls, of which Malabathrum consisted, were each composed of a single leaf (the Pilule Malabathri of the older commentators), and were used as a masticatory. That Malabathrum was applied to this purpose, is stated in the text ; and, that it was so used by the Greeks and Romans, is tolerably certain from the remarks which are made regarding it by ancient authors. Dioscorides states that it was placed under the tongue to purify the breath ; and that it was a tonic to the stomach: vroriéera 8 7H yAdoon mpds evwitay sduaros. Pliny also ascribes the former property to it : “‘sapor ejus nardo similis esse debet sub lingua oris et halitus suavi- tatem commendat lmguce subditum folium.* Eastern India appears to have furnished the greater portion, if not the whole, of the Malabathrum that was imported by the ancients. Though Cinnamomum albiflorum is indigenous in Malabar, and Coromandel, yet no mention is made of Malabathrum having been prepared from it in these countries. This article together with others is noticed as an import into Nelkunda on the Malabar coast, from countries farther to the east,+ ¢Aépas kal dgdvia onpind * Pliny. Lib. XXIII. Chap. 48. + Vincent’s Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, p. 462. G 42 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. xal ydpdos 7) yaTavind (rendered yoyyimkn) rai wardBadoy éx tay éow térwv. The articles of merchandize here mentioned are the productions of Eastern India, and were, no doubt, exported from the Gangetic mart. Mala- bathrum appears to have been shipped to Nelkunda, Limurike, and the other ports of Southern India, and was thence exported to the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, where it was known by various names, besides that of Malabathrum, as piAAov wiikoyv—ogaipia waraBabpov—purrov xaracpepov*—_Herba Paradisii—Folium—appellations which refer to the country where it was produced, the form of its preparation, and the high estimation in which it was held by the ancients. Malabathrum, besides being used as a masticatory, constituted an imgredient in the Mithridatic antidote,+ and in the Theraica ; it was also infused or mace- rated in wine, and was employed as an aromatic and tonic. The leaves and bark of Cassia lignea yield an essential oil, which enters into the composition of many of the odoriferous oils which are prepared by the natives of India. It is extracted by boiling the bark of Tuj with a quantity of fixed oil and water, during which process, the essential be- comes incorporated with the fixed oil, to which it imparts its odour. The Romans were in the habit of preparing this perfume by mace- rating both the leaf ¢vAdov, and the wood or bark gvAopvAAoy, in fixed oil in the manner which is practised by the natives. It is probable, how- ever, that the leaves of other Indian plants, besides those of the Cimna- mon and Cassia trees, were imported into Rome under the name of Malabathrum, for the purpose of being used in perfumes or ointments. Dioscorides describes Malabathrum as a plant found growing without roots on the surface of marshes, and remarks that it is by feeding on its leaves that the Onychia becomes aromatic. Pliny states that this kind of Malabathrum is more odoriferous than saffron: that it is of a black colour: rough to the touch, and of a salt taste: and that its flavor ought to resemble that of Nard. He adds that the perfume which Malabathrum or the leaf yields, when it is boiled in wine surpasses all others.{ Malabathrum, in all probability, was a generic term, which was applied to leaves of different plants rolled up in the manner which is described in the text, and it may, therefore, be regarded as the name, * Art. Malabathrum et Foliatum. Lexicon Universale, Hoffman, A. D. 1698. t+ Vide Celsus de Medicina, Lib, V. Chap. XXTII. t Pliny. Lib. XII. C. XXVI. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, ce. 43 not of a particular plant, but of @ mode of preparing leaves which was adopted to preserve their odoriferous and aromatic qualities. The mas- ticatory called Malabathrum consisted solely of the leaves of the Tej- patra; but the perfume, which was designated by the same name, ap- pears to have been prepared from other plants, besides the leaves and wood of Cassia. The unguent of this name was manufactured and sold at Rome by a class of persons who, from the trade or business they followed, were called Malabathrarii (Malabathrarii vocabantur un- guentarii qui malabathrum unguentum pretiosissimum vendebant.) (Plaut. Aul. III. 5. 37.)* Arrian concludes his narrative by stating that all the regions beyond. Thina were unexplored, either on account of the severe frosts and the difficulties of travelling, or because it was perhaps the will of the gods to fix these limits to the curiosity of man. This account seems to refer to the region of Uttara-Cura which is described by the Hindoos as inac- cessible to the steps of man, and to the rays of the sun. The name was applied to the north-eastern portion of the Himalayan mountains ; and according to Professor Wilson, this region appears to be the north- eastern part of Assam, designated by Ptolemy—Ottorocaras, and by Ammianus Marcellinus—Opurrocarra. The lofty mountains, which bound the eastern extremity of this valley, belong to the Himalayan range, and are, it is calculated, about 8000 feet im height. The country of the Seres is the Thina of Arrian, which I have en- deavoured to identify with Assam. The name of Seres appears to have been applied both to the inhabitants of the valley of Assam and to the hill tribes bordering on it, and hence the Seres of some authors are the Sesatze of the Seqnel to the Periplus. Pomponius Mela mentions the country of the Seres as situated be- tween India and Scythia, and describes them as a people celebrated for their justice. “They have become known to us,” says he, “by their commerce, for they leave their merchandize in the desert and then retire till the merchants they deal with, have left a price or barter for the amount which, upon their departure, the Seres return and take.” + The * Syrian Malabathrum was that imported into Europe via Syria ‘‘ ex India in Syriam (unde Syriaci cognomen) inde in Europam adferebantur.”’ Lexicon Univer- sale, Hoffm. Art. Malabathrum. t De situ orbis. Pomp. Melac, Lib. III. C, VII. G 2 dA Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. mode of conducting traffic which is here described is so similar to that mentioned in the Sequel, that there caunot be a doubt, I think, that the Seres and Sesatze are identical. Justice, which is mentioned by Pompo- nius Mela as a characteristic of the Seres, means here, honesty in car- rying on traffic, and a strict regard for truth—virtues which all the hill tribes on the eastern frontier of Bengal have the character of possessing in aneminent degree. The desert is the jungle or forest (aruni) at the foot of the hills, where the hill people barter their goods to the merchants of the plains. | Pliny gives a similar description of the Seres. He states that they are a quiet, and inoffensive people, but that they resemble wild beasts in one respect, namely, that they flee from the sight of men, or rather that they shun intercourse or personal communication with other people, though they are at the same time desirous of carrying on traffic with them.* This, no doubt, refers to the caution and reserve which the hill tribes have always exhibited in their traffic with the people of the plains. Pliny also mentions the Seres as celebrated for silk which their woods produced. In speaking of the embassy from Ceylon to the em- peror Claudius, he represents the chief ambassador as stating that they (the people of Ceylon) knew the Seres through the medium or channel of trade, and that his (the ambassador’s) father, by name Rachia, had often visited them. He informed the emperor that if strangers ap- proached the country of the Seres, they incurred the risk of being assailed by wild beasts—a remark, which seems to imply, that there was a dense jungle infested with beasts of prey on the frontier of Serica, and that it was dangerous for persons unacquainted with the paths or toads through it to travel to Serica. ‘The Seres are described by the ambassador as giants or people exceeding the ordinary stature of men, as having red hair, and blue eyes, and as speaking an unintelligible lan- guage, which rendered it difficult to carry on trade with them.f Pliny mentions that the first river in the country of the Seres was called Psitaras (the Tistha in Rungpore?), and that in carrying on traffic with them, the merchants placed their merchandize on the farther side of the river. Ifthe Seres wished to barter, they took the goods which were there deposited, and left the commodities which the foreign mer- chants wanted in exchange. The people referred to by the ambassador * Pliny. Lib. VI. C. XVII. t Ibid. Lib, VI. C. XXII. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 45 appear to be the Bhotiyas, who area tall race of men, and who probably . dyed their hair of ared colour. According to Klaproth,* the ancient Tibe- tans called Khiang, who were of the Bhotiyah race, painted their faces of a red colour. The Bhotiyas repair to the great fair held annually in the Rungpore district, and it was probably here that Rachia, the ambassa- dor’s father, saw them. Pliny himself, im describing the Seres, seems to allude to the aboriginal tribes of Rungpore bordering on Assam. The forests of their country produced silk (¢assar) which was bartered on the banks of a river described as the first in their territory, and which was perhaps the frontier between Bengal and Assam. The barter was carried on in the manner mentioned by Arrian and Pomponius Mela. Pausanias mentions two nations of the Seres. Holwell in his Dic- tionary extracted from “ Bryant’s Analysis of Ancient Mythology” states : “ Pausanias (L. 6. p. 519.) describes two nations of the Seres who were of an Ethiopic, Indic and Sythic family. The first was upon the Ganges, the other region of the Seres is the same with China, and lies opposite to the island of Japan, called by Pausanias Abasa and Sacaia.”’ The Ethiopic and Indic Seres here mentioned are the hill tribes and the people of the valley of Assam. The term Lthiopic was applied to the former from the similarity of some of their features to those of the Negro race. Megasthenes compares the inhabitants of India with the Ethiopians. Sir William Jones also remarks, ‘that the mountain- eers of Bengal and Behar can hardly be distinguished in some of their features, particularly in their lips and noses, from the modern Abyssini- ans ;”—a fact which he adduces in confirmation of the opinion that Ethiopia and Hindoostan were peopled or colonized by negroes.t The Indic Seres, on the other hand, were a people who cccupied the lower or western part of the valley next to the Ganges, and who consisted of the descendants of the early Hindoo invaders of the country and of the aboriginal inhabitants of the plains. The Scythic Seres may be regard- ed as the Thinze or Sinze who occupied Upper Assam and the region extending to the gulf of Siam, opposite to which was the island of Abasa or Sacaia, which is apparently Java. | The vea BdpBapa Snpav of Dionysius are the Sesatee of Arrian, or some kindred uncivilized hill tribe bordering on Assam. He describes ' * Nouv. Journal Asiatique, Tom. 4, p. 104. + As. Res. Vol. I. p. 427. } Orb. Descript, V. 752. 46 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAn. them as possessing neither flocks nur herds, but as employed in gather- ing from the flowers of the desert, a substance that was carded and woven into precious or costly fabrics, which surpassed in the variety and rich- ness of their colors the mingled beauties of the enameled mead, and which rivalled in their delicate texture, even the fineness of the spider’s web. The material here referred to, is fassar or moonga silk, which abounds in the forests or jungles of Assam (the desert arwni mentioned in the text), and the rich and varied colours that are mentioned, were no doubt, imparted to it by the indigenous dyes of Assam, namely, Jac, room, manjit, and mismee-tita, which give the beautiful red and blue colours with which the silks of that country are prepared in the present day. The Schiratee or Siratee of Elian are evidently the Ethiopic Seres of Pausanius, or the Sesatze of the Sequel. They are mentioned as a peo- ple with flat noses, situated in India ultra Gangem—in whose country there were serpents of an enormous size (Boa or python tigris) that de- voured cattle. Sir. W. Jones regards the country of the Siratee of Elian as identical with Sylhet, Siret or Srihaut, a place, which he states, was celebrated among the ancients for the fragrant essence extracted from Malabathrum.* The Seres mentioned by Horace, ‘* Doctus sagittas tendere Sericas Arcu paterno? e Hor. Lib. i. 29. are the mountain tribes bordering on Assam, all of whom are expert at the use of the bow and arrow. The Seres are mentioned by ancient writers as a people who are re- markable for their longevity. They were said to live to the age of two hundred years. Ctesias and Elian state that the fruit of a tree called Siptachora, from which amber exuded, and upon which there was found a small insect yielding a purple dye, possessed the virtue of prolonging life to the same number of years. It would seem from this circum- stance that the Seres inhabited the country in which the Siptachora grew, and as there can be no doubt that the insect alluded to is the lac insect, it may be concluded that Lower Assam is the region which is here re- ferred to. This is rendered the more probable from the account which Ctesias gives of this country. Wilford mentions that Ctesias (accord- * Works of Sir W. Jones, Vol. VI. p. 384. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Sc. 47 ing to a passage in the Bibliotheca of Photius) gives the name of Hy- parcho to the river which proceeded from the country whence the Sip- tachora was brought. “The mountains abound with trees hanging over the numerous streams which flow through them. Once a year during thirty days tears flow plentifully from them, which falling into the waters beneath coagulate into Amber. These trees, the Hindoos call Sipa-chora. In the country about the sources of this river there is a flower of a purple color which gives a dye, not inferior to the Grecian, but even much brighter. There is also an insect living upon these - amber-bearing trees the fruit of which they eat, and with these insects bruised, they dye stuffs, for close vestures, and long gowns of a purple colour superior to the Persian. These mountaineers having collected the amber and the prepared materials of the purple dye, carry the whole on board of boats with the dried fruit of the tree, which is good to eat, and then convey their goods by water to different parts of India. A great quantity they carry to the emperor (the king of Magad’ha) to the amount of about one thousand talents. In return they take bread, meal, and coarse cloth. They sell also their swords, bows and arrows.’ * Assam appears to be the country which is here referred to by Ctesias. Lower Assam abounds in lac, while munjit, mishmi-tita and room, which are found in Upper Assam, are apparently the dyes that are mentioned, as produced about the sources of the river Hypar- cho. Room is a species of Ruellia, of the family of Acanthacea. Dr. Griffiths states, that with it the deep blue cloths of the Kamptis and Singphos are dyed; he calls it “a valuable dye and highly worthy of attention.”’+ According to Ctesias the term rapxos “ Hyparcho,” the name that was given to the river proceeding from the country in which the ormraxépa pvew, means Pepwy wavra rh aya6d, i, e. “ producing all good things.” t{ This must have reference to the valuable merchandize con- sisting of silk, lac, and other dyes, lign aloe, musk, ivory, gold, silver, and steel, which were exported to India, via the Brahmaputra.§ Strabo mentions that the Seres formed a republic or commonwealth ; * Wilford’s Essay on Anugangam. As. Res. Vol. IX. p. 65. t+ Journal of Asiatic Society. ¢ Heeren’s As. Nations, Vol. II. Appendix, IV. p 380. § Amber is still found in the north-eastern parts of Assam in considerable quantities, or rather between Assam and Burmah, 48 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. and that it was governed by a council of five thousand persons, every one of whom found or provided an elephant for the use of the State. “Nam Seres tam longee dicuntur vitee ut ducentesimum annum exce- dant. Ferunt etiam quendam optimatum ordinem rempublicam guber- nare ex quingue millibus consiliorum constantem, quorum quisque elephantem reipublice preebeat.”’ (Strabo, Latin text, p. 702.) This seems to have reference to the Raj corporations of Assam. Major Fisher remarks: “the most ancient form of tenure by which land was held in Assam was under a grant from the prince addressed to a body of proprietors, who were erected into a corporation called a Raj, and who possessed the land on terms by which they were bound each for the other and for the whole estate. The proprietors of land in every Raj were classified according as they paid revenue to the prince direct, or to some one in whose favour an assignment was made. The Raj was entrusted with the local administration of affairs and transacted business in periodical meetings.’’* It is probable that the council of five thousand, which Strabo mentions, consisted of the heads or chiefs of these corporations, and that each Raj was bound to provide an ele- phant for the service of the State. The circumstance of the country of the Seres furnishing the number of elephants here specified is, of it- self, sufficient to identify Serica with Assam. ‘There is no other coun- try in the situation assigned to Serica, namely, on the north of India — extra Gangem and of Sina or Siam, than Assam, that abounds in ele- phants, and it may, therefore, be inferred from this fact, coupled with the accounts of other ancient writers, who describe Serica as an exten- sive and fertile valley watered by large rivers, and abounding in silk, that Assam is the country that is here referred to. It is estimated that upwards of 700 elephants are exported annually from Assam: many also are killed for the sake of their tusks. Ptolemy describes the Seres and Sinze as contiguous nations. India extra Gangem, which comprised Arracan, Pegu, and Ava,—constitut- ing the Argentea regio and Aurea Chersonesus of Ptolemy—is mention- ed by him, as being divided from the country of the Sine by a line commencing at the extremity of Serica, and extending through the middle of the great bay (Sinus Magnus) on the south. The country of the Sinz therefore was adjacent on the west to India * Journal of Asiatic Society, No. 104. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. 49 extra Gangem. It is described as bounded by unknown regions on the east, by the sea on the south, and by Serica on the north. The Sine appear to have been the ancestors of the modern Siamese, of the Shyans of Laos, and other adjoining States, and of the Ahoms of Assam. The Siamese, who are a branch of the Laos, separated from them A. D. 813. The Laos civil era, or that of the imtroduction of Buddhism into that country, commenced A. D. 638.* The Shyan chronicle pre- served in Munipore states that the ancient territory of the Shyans was called Pong, and that it constituted a kingdom, the capital of which was Mogaung or Mongmaorong, as it is called by the Shyans. Their first king, named Khool-liee, reigned in the 80th year of the Christian era. Chukapha, the first Ahom king of Assam, of whom there is any authentic information extant, reigned in the 13th century. It appears, however, from this chronicle, that some centuries anterior to this, As- sam was invaded by Samlongpha and placed by him under the dominion of his brother Sukampha, king of Pong. Thisis said to have occur- red about the year A. D. 77.+ It has been discovered that there are no traces or mention of Buddhism in the religion of the Ahoms, and it is therefore, inferred, that they emigrated to Assam before A. D. 638, the era of the introduction of the Buddhist faith into Laos.t This cireum- stance, coupled with the fact of the Ahoms having a list of the names of forty-eight kings descending from the god Indra down to Chukapha, renders it probable that they were in possession of Upper Assam at an early period, or as far back, at least, as the second century—the era in which Arrian and Ptolemy wrote. The name of Thai, which signifies “free,” is supposed by Capt. Low to have been assumed by the Siamese at the time they separated from the Laos. It seems not improbable, however, that itis of more remote origin, and that Thai is the root of Thine, while Shyan is that of Sinee—the names by which the inhabit- ants of the Laos and Siamese territories were known to the ancients. Thai Nai, it may be remarked, is an appellation which is given to the central Siamese, and Thinee appears as the name of a town in 23° N. L. 98° E. L. in the territory of the Shyans dependent on Ava. The Laos also called their country “Chi Mai,” signifying “ Priests’ dominion,’’§ * Capt. Low’s History of Tennasserim, Jour. Royal As. Soc. Vol. V. p. 209. + Pemberton’s Report on the Eastern Frontier, p. 110. ~ Journal Royal As. Soc. Vol. V. p. 250. § Thid. EE a0 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. and it is probable, that from this word is derived Chimay, which was the name given by the older geographers to alake, whence the Brahma- putra was supposed to issue. Serica is described by Ptolemy, as bounded on the east and north by unknown countries, on the west by Scythia extra Imaum, and on the south by India extra Gangem and the country of the Sm. The words which describe the relative position of the latter nation, are in the La- tin text; ‘‘Quodque supra Sinas, Serum jacet regio et metropolis.” * This evidently refers to Upper Assam, which may, therefore, be con- sidered as the country, in which, Sera, the metropolis of the Sinze (=npas THS Twv Zwov yntTpoworAcws) was situated. A river called Serus is represent- ed by Ptolemy, as rising in a situation apparently corresponding with that of the mountains in which the Irawaddee has its origin, and as run- ning to the south, through India extra Gangem. The latitude, which is assigned to Sera, is ten degrees north of that of Sadiya in Upper Assam —the former being mentioned as 38° N. L. and the latter being 28° N. L.—an error which is, no doubt, to be attributed to the very vague and imperfect knowledge which the ancients had of this country. The journey from the Stone Tower to the frontier of Serica occupied a space of seven months. It is described as attended with many diffi- culties and hardships, and it seems to have been from the account of the bleak inhospitable regions of Bootan and Thibet, the excessive cold of the climate, and the severe storms which the travellers encountered : “‘via autem quee est a turra lapideaad Seras vehementissimis obnoxia est tempestatibus,”+ that Ptolemy was induced to assign to Sera the northern latitude which is mentioned above. Marinus derived his infor- mation regarding the route to Serica from Maés of Macedon, called Titianus, who sent agents from the Stone Tower to trade with the people of that country. He describes the route, which the caravan travelled from Byzantium to the Stone Tower, as crossing Mesopotamia from the Euphrates to the Tigris, as proceeding through Assyria and Media to Ecbatana, to Hecatompylos, and to Margiana, and thence through Aria, or Herat, to Bactria or Balk. It next crossed a range of mountains called Montes Comedorum, whence it proceeded through the country of the Sacee, and then arrived at the Stone Tower.t Different sites have been assigned to the latter place, but it is probable, notwithstanding the * Ptol. Lib. I. Chap. XVII. t+ Ibid. Chap. XI. } Ibid. Chap. XII. 1847.| Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Sc. 51 position given to the Montes Comedorum to the north-east of Bactria, that it was a station near one of those Topes or lofty towers, which are to be seen in the kingdom of Cabul. No itinerary appears to have been kept of the route from this place to the frontier of Serica, but from the account which is given of it, and of the difficulties that occur- red im travelling through the intervening country, it seems to have been identical with that mentioned by Arrian from Thina to Bactria, or with the route from Bootan to Cabul and thence to Balk, which is deseribed by Tavernier, as extending “over deserts and mountains covered with snow, tedious and troublesome as far as Cabul, where the caravans part, some for great Tartary, others for Balk.” It would appear that the merchants, who traded with the Seres, were not allowed to enter the country of the latter, but that they carried on traffic with them at an opening or pass in the mountain Imaus. This evidently refers to one of the duwars or mountain passes into Assam, where the merchants from Bhotan and Thibet formerly assembled to traffic. The circumstance of strangers having been prohibited from en- tering Serica has been regarded as an indubitable proof of the identity of that country with China, but the same jealousy of foreigners, it may be remarked, existed among the Assamese, and led to their exclusion from their territory. Dr. Buchanan remarks that in former times the only communication that was permitted by the Assamese between their own country and Bengal, was by the pass of Luckhah, eighteen miles north of Sylhet, and that of Bookool in Cachar, all access by the Brahmaputra having been strictly prohibited. Dr. Wade also states, “strangers of every description and country were scrupulously denied admission into Assam.”* The same prohibition was enforced against the admission of strangers through the duwars or passes leading into it from Bootan and Thibet, and it appears, therefore, to have been at one of these passes, described as an opening in Imaus, that the agents of Ti- tanius carried on their trade with the Sinz, Seres, or Assamese. There are two routes from Bootan and Thibet to Assam, by which a commercial intercourse is carried on in the present day. That from Bootan is by the valley of the Monas, vid Tassgong and Dewangiri: the other does not enter any part of the Deb and Dhurma Rajah’s dominions, but ex- tends through a tract of country dependent on Lassa, from Towung to * Martin’s Eastern India. Vol. 3. p. 626. H 2 a2 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. the Kooreeaparah Duwar. The traffic is conducted by a class of Tibe- tans called Kumpas, an appellation that is given to the inhabitants of the southern part of Thibet or that portion of it which is included within the great bend of the Sanpo up tothe point where it enters the Abor hills. The Kumpas proceed to Hajoo in Assam, the resort of pilgrims from Bootan and Thibet, and carry on their traffic at the great annual fair which is held there. “ It is estimated” says Capt. Pemberton, “that during the season there are about two thousand Kumpas assembled at Dewangiri, where they erect huts for temporary oceupation on the sub- ordinate heights. On quitting the hills to descend to the plains they are accompained by Gurpas and Zeenkafs on the part of the Dewangiri Rajah, from whom they obtain passports and pledge themselves to re- turn by a stated period. “‘ The goods they bring, consist of red and party- coloured blankets, gold dust, silver, rock salt, chowrees, musk, and a few coarse Chinese silks, munjeet and bees wax :”’ these they exchange for lac, the raw and manufactured silks of Assam (the ¢pioy ai 7d o8ovi0r zo onpixoy of the Periplus), cotton, dried fish and tobacco: they re- turn homewards during the months of February and March, taking care to leave the place before the return of the hot weather or rains.”* In 1809 this trade amounted to two lacs of rupees. The principal article that was purchased by the Kumpas was silk, consisting both of the muga and eria kinds. That Assam is the country that is referred to by Ptolemy, is further probable from the fact stated by him, namely, that there was another route to Serica vid Palibothra: ‘ quod non solum inde ad Bactra iter si per turrim lapideam, sed et in Indiam quoque per Palimbothra.”+ This might be regarded as referring to the route through Nepal and Thibet to China, but it seems more probable that it has allusion to the Brahma- putra and the entrance to Assam by Gowalpara, which is the route by the Ganges mentioned by Arrian, or that by which merchandize was exported to Limurike. Again, Ptolemy remarks that beyond, or to the east of Serica, there was an unknown or unexplored country containing lakes or marshes, m which grew large canes, so compact or close to each other, that the in- habitants in the neighbourhood were in the habit of using them as * Vide Pemberton’s Report on Bootan, p. 144. + Ptol. Lib. 1, Chap, XVIT. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Sc. 53 bridges ; “‘ ac quod his orientalior terra sit imcognita stagna habens paludosa in quibus calami nascuntur magni et ita compacti ut accolee transfretare soleant:’* or according to the Periplus Marciani Hera- cleotze, “ paludes habens uliginosas in quibus calami magni nascuntur, atque adeo densi et conferti, ut per illos sibi invicem adheerentes fiant transitus.”+ There seems to be an allusion here to the cane bridges, which are so common in the hill countries bordering on Upper Assam ; or to the roots or branches of trees growing on the opposite sides of streams or pools and so intertwined as to afford a passage across them. Lieut. Yule, speaking of bridges of this kind in the vicinity of Cherra Poonjee, remarks, that while travelling through that country, he saw such bridges in every stage, and that one measured 90 feet in span: they were generally composed of the roots of two opposite trees bound together in the middle. (Vide Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIII. p. 613.) Ptolemy states that mountains surround Serica,(montes autem cingunt Sericam,) and that it is traversed to a considerable extent by two large rivers—a description which proves that Seriea was a valley. The moun- tains surrounding Serica were designated the Annibi, which appear to be the Abor hills; the dueacii extending from Scythia extra Imaum into Serica, which are apparently the Auka hills on the northern side of Assam: Mount Casius, or the mountain where the Brahmakund is situated: Mount Thagurus, apparently the Tabis of Pomponius Mela, and Pliny, which seems to be Reging ; and the chain or range of the Emodi or Himalaya, the eastern parts of which were called Sericus and Ottorocorras—the latter being identical with the Uttara Cura of the Hindoos, or the snowy range which separates Assam from the country of the Lamas. Two rivers called Oechardes, and Bautes or Bautisus, flowed through Serica. They are delineated in the map of Serica, attached to Ptolemy’s Geography as running to the north; but this must be an error, as there is no country in the situation assigned to Serica, namely, bordering on India extra Gangem (Burmah) and the country of the Sine (Siam and Laos) on the north, which has rivers proceeding in this direction. It is evident that the rivers, which are alluded to, are the Sanpoo or * Ptol. Lib. I. Chap. XVII. + Vide Geoghaph. Vet. Script. Grace. Minor. Hudson, p. 29. 54 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAn. Eroochoomboo, and the Brahmaputra, and that the error in their deli- neation in the maps of Ptolemy’s Geography by Agathodeemon, con- sists in their being laid down, as running /o, instead of from, the north or north-east. The Oecchardes is described by Ptolemy, as having its origin in Scythia extra Imaum, as flowing through that country, as having a great bend or curve in its course, and as afterwards entering Serica. This exactly corresponds with the Sanpoo which runs through Thibet, and which has an extensive bend or turn in its course before it enters Assam. The Bautes is the Brahmaputra. It is delineated in the map of Serica, as being composed of two large affluents rising from the mountains called Ottorocorras or Sericus, and Casius. They are the Dibong, which is composed of two branches ; and the Brahmaputra which proceeds from the mountains on the east and north-east of Assam. The Bautes is described by Cellarius, as entering Serica “ recto casu,” which perhaps refers to the straight course of the Brahmaputra from the Brahmakund. This celebrated place of pilgrimage is designated the sacred pool—the Deo-panee—or divine wellof Brahma. The summit of the rock, which is described by Capt. Bedford as inaccessible, is called by the Hmdoos —the Deo Bari or dwelling of the deity, and it is perhaps with reference to this natural temple of the god of the Hindoos, that the ancients designated this rock and mountain—Mount Casius—a name that was probably suggested by the resemblance (real or supposed) between this rocky mountain and Mount Casius of Syria, the site of a temple to Jupiter. Dr. Stevenson remarks: ‘ when the ancient Romans came to any new country they were sure to find there a Jupiter.”* “The com- mon figure,”’ says the Abbe Bannier, ‘“‘ by which Jupiter Cassius used to be represented, was that of a rock or steep mountain, as is to be seen on several medals quoted by Vaillant.’’+ Ptolemy describes the two rivers Oechardes and Bautes, as flowing through the greatest part of Serica. (Sericee autem regionis maximam partem duo percurrunt fluvii.) This may be considered as referring to the two great parallel branches of the Brahmaputra, which enclose Majuli and the islands in the upper part of its course. These branches, perhaps, ran a much longer course than they do at present, and were dis- tinguished by the names of the two great parent streams, the Oechardes * Journal Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. V. p. 191. t Vide Mythology of the Antients, Vol. IT. p. 220. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Sc. 55 and the Bautes, or the Sanpoo and the Brahmaputra, of which they are formed. ‘This division of the river into parallel branches is mentioned in connexion with one of the oldest traditions regarding Assam, namely, that the original territory occupied by Khuntai, the first king of that country, included two very long islands formed by branches of the Brahmaputra.* Several nations or people are mentioned by Ptolemy as inhabiting Serica—a certain proof that this valley was one of great extent; and with reference, therefore, to its situation on the north of India extra Gangem (Burmah) it can be no other than Assam. Ptolemy mentions, Anthropophagi on the northern parts of Serica. Below them were the Anmbi, who derived their name from their own mountains (gens ejusdem nominis cum montibus quibus superjacet). They are the Abor tribes, who occupy a range of hills on the northern side of Assam. In the same situation, namely, the northern side of Serica, Ptolemy mentions the Auxacii, who appear to be the Aukas. Between them and the Annibi were a people called Sizyges. Many of the names mentioned by Ptolemy closely resemble the names of places or tribes of people in Assam in the present day: thus the Damne appear to be the Doms: the Garinai—the Garos: the Nabanne (rendered Rabanne by Berthius and other commentators)—the Rabhas: the Asmeraci, the Mirees : the Oecharde—the people of Chardwar: the Bate—the Booteahs: the Ottorocorre, the people of Outtergorah. The situations or relative positions which Ptolemy assigns to these different nations, do not in every instance correspond with the localities mhabited by the tribes or people of Assam bearing the same names in the present day ; but though this is not the case, there can be little doubt from the close affinity that exists between them, that they are the people that are alluded to. Ammianus Marcellinus gives a general account of the physical aspect, extent, fertility, and nations of Serica. He describes it as a valley extending to the Ganges, and as abounding in silk, from which it may be inferred that Assam is the country that he alludes to. “Ultra heec utriusque Scythiee loca, contra Orientalem plagam in orbis speciem consertee celsorum aggerum summitates ambiunt Seras ubertate regionum et amplitudine circumspectos : ab occidentali latere Scythis adnexos : a Septentrione et orientale nivose solitudini cohzerentes : * Vide Buchanan in Martin’s Eastern India, Vol. III. p. 602. 56 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. qua meridiem spectant adusque Indiam porrectos et Gangem. Adpellan- tur* autem iidem montes Anniva et Nazavicium et Asmira et Emodon et Opurocarra. Hane itaque planitiem undique prona declivitate pree- ruptam, terrasque lato situ distentas duo famosi nominis flumina O’ Echar- des et Bautes lentiore meatu percurrunt. Et dispar est tractuam di- versorum ingenium : hic patulum alibi molli divexitate subductum : ideo- que satietate frugum et pecoribus et arbustis exuberat. Incolunt autem fecundissimam glebam, varize gentes e quibus Alitrophagi et Annibi et Sizyges et Chardi aquilonibus objecti sunt et pruinis. Exortum vero Solis suspiciunt Rabannze et Asmiree et Essedones omnium splendidissi- mi: quibus Athagoree ab occidentali parte cohzerent et Aspacaree. Betee vero australi celsitudini montium inclinati urbibus licet non multis magnis tamen celebrantur et opulentis: inter quas maximz Asmira et Essedon et Asparata et Sera nitidee et notissimee. Agunt autem ipsi quietus Seres armorum semper et preeliorum expertes: utque hominibus sedatis et placidis otium est voluptabile, nulli finitmorum molesti. Cceli apud eos jucunda salubrisque temperies, aeris facies munda, leniumque vento- rum commodissimus flatus: et abunde, silvee sublucidze : a quibus arbo- rum fetus aquarum asperginibus crebris veiut queedam vellera mollientes ex lanugine et liquore mistam subtilitatem tenerrimam pectunt nentes que subtemina conficiunt sericum ad usus adhuc Nobilium, nune etiam infimorum sine ulla discretione proficiens. Ipsi przeter alios frugalissimi pacatioris vitee cultores, vitantes reliquorum mortalium ccetus. Cumque ad coémenda fila, vel queedam alia fluvium transierent advenee nulla ser- monum vice propositarum rerum pretia solis occulis eestimantur: et ita sunt abstinentes ut apud se tradentes gignentia mhil ipsi comparent adventicium (advectitium).’’} The words, “ in orbis speciem conserte celsorum aggerum summi- tates ambiunt Seras,” are generally supposed to refer to the mountains of Serica mentioned in the subsequent sentence of the text, but it may be fairly questioned, whether they should not be taken in their literal sense, and be considered as applying to those extensive causeways, the remains of which are still to be seen in Assam. Dr. Wade mentions several of these embankments. Ile describes a military causeway extending from Coos Bahar (Cooch Behar) in a northern direction to the * Appellantur. + Ammianus Marcellinus, Lib. XXII. Chap. VI. pp. 293, 294. Edit. Gronovius. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Sc. 57 utmost limits of Assam—forming a part of the southern boundaries of the Bootan dominions. ‘‘ A modern causeway formed by Pertaub- sing, which runs from Coosbeyhar through the whole extent of Assam to Sadiya, forms the boundaries of Dehrung on the north.” The Okkooruralee causeway is mentioned as separating the country of Ramigawn from Beltola. “The famous causeway of Rangulighur, which divides the district of Coliabur on the east from Upper Assam, is described as a rampart which runs from Colone near its junction with the Brahmaputra during a course of ten miles to the southern moun- tains.’ ‘A great causeway or high road raised to preserve the inte- rior from the inundation of the river Dehing”’ is mentioned as situated in Khonani. It is described “ as a work of immense labour.” Rung- pore, the capital of Assam, is said to have had the Duburriunniali ram- part, or high road, as its security or defence on the east. It is further stated that the banks of the river Dikho, near which the fortress of Rungpore stands, “ are connected by a lofty rampart with the southern mountains through an extent of ten or fifteen miles. It was construct- ed in remote antiquity for the protection of Gourgown, which was the principal residence of the monarch, and all the great officers of state.’’* These causeways, besides constitutmg roads and dams to protect the low country from inundation, served also as defences, for which purpose they were surmounted with palisades of bamboos. Mahomed Cazim describes a high broad causeway leading from Salagereh to Ghergong, a distance of about fifty coss (one hundred miles), each side of which, he remarks, “is planted with shady bamboos, the tops of which meet and are intertwined.’ He further describes the latter city as encompassed. with a fence of bamboos, and states that within it are high and broad causeways for the convenience of passengers during the rainy season. “The Raja’s palace is surrounded by a causeway planted on each side with a close hedge of bamboos, which serves instead of a wall, and on the outside there is a ditch which is always full of water.’+ Butkhyr Khuljy, who invaded Assam in 1205, mentions stockades which were formed of stakes interwoven with bamboos in that country.{ Fitch, also, in describing Coonch (Cooch Behar) remarks: “ all the country is set with bamboos or canes made sharp at both ends and driven into the * See Wade’s Geography of Assam in Martin’s Eastern India, Vol. 3. pp. 630, 633, 635, 637. t As. Res, Vol, II. p. 179. t Stewart’s History of Bengal, I 58 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. earth.”’* The words, “ ubertate regionum et amplitudine circumspectos’’ applied to the Seres, seem to imply, that the “ aggeres celsi,’” with which they were surrounded, were not mountains, but works of art, construct- ed to protect their extensive and fertile territory from the incursions of hostile tribes. It is probable, therefore, that these defences, the sum- mits of which are described by Ammianus Marcellinus, as interlaced or intertwined in a circular form, were stockades at the duwars, or close hedges of bamboos erected or planted on the causeways of Assam, with their tops intertwined in the manner mentioned by Mahomed Cazim. The position which Ammianus Marcellinus assigns to the Scythians, corresponds with that of Scythica extra Imaum, which is placed by Ptolemy on the western side of Serica. On the ground that this Scy- thia is Thibet, Murray infers that Chima, which lies to the east of that country, is Serica. The account, however, which both Ptolemy and Ammianus Marcellinus give of the other boundaries of Serica, is op- posed to the opmion which identifies Serica with China. The former author makes no mention of the sea, as the boundary on the east, which, in all probability, he would have done if he had been describing China: but speaks of Serica, as bounded in this direction by unknown lands. Ammianus Marcellinus describes Serica, as situated beyond the two Scythias, (viz. to the south of them,) and as lying opposite to the eastern country, which can be no other than China. He more particularly describes the country of Seres, as being adjacent on the north and east, to a dreary region of frost and snow, which refers, no doubt, to the lofty snowy peaks of the Himalaya, which surround the eastern part of the valleyof Assam. That Serica is not China, but Assam, is still more probable, from the circumstance of India being mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus, as lying to the south of the latter country. This is India extra Gangem, which is referred by Pomponius Mela, Pliny, and Ptolemy, to the situation assigned to it in the text. Pomponius Mela, and Pliny give a general description of the situation of Serica. ‘‘ They agree,” says Vincent, “ that their boundary [Vviz. that of the Seres] on the north is Tabis, and Taurus on the south : that all beyond them north is Scythia, and all beyond them south is India east of the Ganges.” Tabis and Taurus seem to be moun- tains in Upper Assam, the former being, perhaps, the mountain * Huklyut’s Voyages. 1847. | Periplus of the Hrythrean Sea, §c. 59 * Reging’’ of the Abors, which is so conspicuous an object from Sudiya; while the latter may refer to the high Naga hills, which may have been regarded as extending to the exterior sea, or gulph of Siam. India, which Ammianus Marcellinus mentions as bounding Serica on the south, is evidently India extra Gangem. This, coupled with the circumstance of Serica being described as extending to the Ganges, seems quite conclusive of the identity of that country and Assam. It is mentioned as an extensive and fertile valley, inhabited by various nations, watered by Jarge rivers, and abounding im silk, and it is evident, therefore, that the description applies to no other valley than Assam. The account, which Ammianus Marcellinus gives of the country of the Seres (namely, as extending to the Ganges) renders it probable that the eastern part of Bengal or the countries east of the Brahmaputra and Tistha, as Rungpore, Mymensing, and Sylhet, were designated India Serica. In the second book of “ Ravennatis Anony- mi,” we find mention made of an extensive region called ‘“ India Seri- ca,” which was traversed by numerous rivers “ Per quam Indiam Sericam transeunt plurima flumina: inter cetera, que dicuntur id est Ganges, Torgoris, et Accessenis quee exeunt in Oceanum,”’ (Vide Raven- natis Anonymi Geographia, Edit. by Gronovius.) The mountains called Anniva (the Annibi of Ptolemy) are the Abor hills. Nazavicium is the Naga range. Asmira is the range inhabited by the Miris. Lmodon refers to the Himalaya. Opurocarra (or the Ottorocara of Ptolemy) is Uttararocora or Outtargorah or the moun- tains on the north eastern part of this valley. The Oechardes and the Bautes, as I have already mentioned, are the Sanpoo and the Brahmaputra, or rather the two paralled branches of the latter which enclose Majuli and the other islands in Upper Assam. They are mentioned as rivers “ nominis famosi.” This refers to the Brahmaputra, or rather the Brahmakund, which has always been a cele- brated place of pilgrimage among the Hindoos. “ During the time of the Ahoms,”’ says Lieut. Rowlatt, “it was necessary for the king on his ascension to the throne to be washed in water brought from this place, and until this ceremony was completed he was not considered fit to take upon himself the reins of government.” (Asiatic Society’s Journal, Vol. XV. p. 486.) This romantic spot is described by Capt. Bedford “‘as situated on the left bank of the river: it is formed by a projecting oO iD oe 60 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. rock, which runs up the river parallel to the bank and forms a good-sized pool that receives two or three rills from the hills immediately above it. When seen from the land side by which it is approached, the rock has much the appearance of an old gothic ruin, and a chasm about half-way up which resembles a carved window, assists the similitude. At the foot of the rock is a rude stone seat : the ascent is narrow and choked with jungle, half way up is another kind of seat in a niche or fissure, where offerings are made: still higher up from a tabular ledge of the rock, a fine view is obtained of the Kund, the river, and the neighbouring hills ; access to the summit, which resembles gothic pinnacles and spires, is utterly impracticable.” (See As. Res. Vol. XVII. p. 353.) The Occhardes and the Bautes are represented by Ammianus Mar- cellinus as meandering through a plain or valley, which he describes as undique prona declivitaie prerupiam, and through wide or open tracts of country (¢errasque lato situ distentas). This is a correct description of Assam, which is an extensive valley surrounded on its eastern and northern sides by lofty mountains, which rise abruptly like a wall toa height of five or six thousand feet above the level of the adjacent plains. The diversified scenery which Serica is described as presenting—dispar est tractuum diversorum ingenium ; hie patulum, alibt molt diversitate subductum—corresponds with the varied physical aspect which Assam exhibits in its low ranges of undulating hills, its extensive plains, and the conical-shaped hills which rise from its surface. The luxuriant fer- tility of Serica refers to the rich productive soil of Assam, which, though now greatly overrun with jungle, appears to have been highly cultivat- ed in former times. Mahomed Cazim describes Upper Assam in A. D. 1661, “as a wide, agreeable country which delights the heart of the beholder. The whole face of it is marked with population and tillage, and it presents on every side charming prospects of ploughed fields, harvests, gardens, and groves.” The country extending from Salagireh to the city of Ghergong is further described “ as a space of about fifty coss, filled with such an uninterrupted range of gardens plentifully stocked with fruit trees that it appears as one garden. Within these are the houses of the peasants, and a beautiful assemblage of coloured and fragrant herbs, and of garden and wild flowers blooming together.’’* He states that “‘ the strength and fertility of the soil are such that what- * As, Res. Vol. II. p. 173. 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §-c. 61 ever seed is sown or slips planted they ‘always thrive.’’’? Tavernier, likewise describes it about the same date, “‘as one of the best countries in Asia, as producing all the necessaries of life and standing in no need of foreign supplies ;” also “as possessing mines of gold, silver, lead, and iron, and as abounding in silk, and lac.” Speaking of the natural resources of Assam, Mr. McCosh observes: “ This beautiful tract of country enjoys all the qualities for rendering it one of the finest in the world : its numerous crystal streams abound in gold dust and masses of the solid metal: its mountains are pregnant with precious stones and silver: its atmosphere is perfumed with tea growing wild and luxuriant- ly: and its soil is so well adapted to all kinds of agricultural purposes that it might be connected into one continued garden of silk, cotton, coffee, and sugar, and tea, over an area of many hundred miles.” (McCosh’s Topography of Assam, p. 133.) The people or nations mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus, as in- habitmg the most fertile and productive region of Serica, are many of those enumerated by Ptolemy. The Alitrophagi are (as Vossius inter- prets the word) the Anthropophagi of Ptolemy, or the Androphagi of Pomponius Mela: they occupied a mountainous country north of the Annibi or Abor tribes, and are apparently identical with the Tikleya Nagas of Dr. Buchanan, or the Mishmees of Bubbajeea reported to Capt. Bedford, “as being a fierce race of cannibals.”* The Annidi referred. to a situation on the northern side of the valley of Serica and deriving their name, according to Ptolemy, from their own mountains (Annibi a suis montibus denominati, Cellarius), are, beyond doubt, the Abor tribes occupying the hills on the north side of the eastern part of Assam. The Chardi would seem, from their name, to be the people of the district of Chardwar: they are mentioned under the name of Oe- chardi by Ptolemy, and as inhabiting a tract of country on the banks of the river of the same name. In the Rabanne (the Nabbanne of Ptolemy—rendered Rabanne by his commentators) are recognized the aboriginal tribe or people of Assam called Rabhas. The Asmire seem to be the Miris. Ptolemy mentions their country as situated between two rivers and as extending to the mountains of the same name (inter fluvios Asmiree gens ad montes Asmireos, Cellarius). The Bate are evidently the Booteahs: they are erroneously described, as inhabiting a * As. Res. Vol. XVII. p. 533. 62 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. mountainous country on the southern, instead of the western, part of Serica. They are the Betz of Ptolemy and are referred by him to the latter situation. The Essedones are the Issedones of Ptolemy, describ- ed by him as a great people. The other nations of Serica mentioned by Ammianus Marcellimus cannot be identified with any people of As- sam in the present day. It is probable that they occupied the rich and fertile parts of the valley. That Assam was anciently inhabited by an industrious and civilized people is abundantly proved by the remams of various and extensive works of public utility, as embankments, tanks, bridges, and forts, which are still to be seen. The ruins of temples, also, are scattered over the country. ‘‘ These temples,” says Major Jenkins, “all completely overthrown, speak of long periods of prosperity and great revolutions of which we are entirely ignorant.’’—From one of the temples at Hajoo being frequented by pilgrims from all parts of Thibet and Tartary he imagines that the Buddhist faith formerly pre- vailed in Assam and that this may account in part for the destruction | of the temples. “ That faith,’ he remarks, was succeeded perhaps by the Brahminical under the Pals, i.e. the Pal dynasty: they were swept away by the Koches, who probably were not Hindoos till they ceased to be conquerors, as was the case with the Ahoms, who with the Mahome- dans then contended for Kamroop, and both perhaps destroying the temples which fell into their power.’’* Asmira and Essedon are mentioned, as the largest, and Asparata and Sera, as the most noted cities of Serica. Sera, which was the capital or metropolis of the Sinz, is described by Ptolemy as the city of Serica, situated farthest to the east. It seems, therefore, to have stood in Sa- diya in Upper Assam, and as its site is laid down in the map attached to Ptolemy’s Geography, as being close to the mountains called Ottor- rocorras which bounded Serica on the north-east, and near one of the rivers which formed the Bautes, it would seem to be identical with the site of one of the forts which have lately been discovered by Lieut. Rowlatt, close to the hills east of Sadiya. He has given an account of these forts in a highly interesting Report of his expedition to the Mishmee hills in November 1844; published in the Journal of this Society—(Vol. XIV. p. 477.) He states :— “ Soon after my return from the Mishmee hills I again left Saikwah * Journ. As. Soc. No. 104. p. 777. 1847.] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 63 and proceeded by elephant up the Koondil-panee, and after passing the mouth of the Depho-panee, followed up the course of that stream, until I arrived at the foot of the hills; and as the fort I was insearch of was said by my Khamptee guide to be between the Depho and Jameesa, I took a direction through the jungle about east, and without much dif- ficulty arrived at the fort five days after quitting Saikwah. « This fort is said to have been built by Raja Sisopal, and is situated on an elevated plain at the foot of the hills; the extent of it is consi- derable, as it took me about four hours to walk along one side of its faces: the defence is double, consisting of a rampart of stiff red clay, which, as the surrounding soil appears of a different nature, must have been brought from some distance. Below this rampart is a terrace of about 20 yards in breadth, beyond which the side of the hill is perpen- dicularly scarped, and varies from 10 to 30 feet high; the principal entrance, and the defences for some distance on either side, are built of brick, and on many spots in the interior I observed remains of the same materials, so that in all probability the houses occupied by the inhabitants must have been built of masonry. As I was unable from scarcity of provisions to remain more than one day at this place, I could not examine it so minutely as I could have wished. It seemed however to be composed of only three sides, the steepness of the hill at its north face precluding the necessity of any other works. At pre- sent the whole of the northern part of it is thickly covered with tea, which extends, according to the Khamptees who know the locality well, in a belt of more than a mile in depth all along the foot of the hill within the fort, and not as marked in my map, which was drawn before I visited the place. More to the west between the Dihing and Dehong is a‘much larger fort, and, as I believe, entirely composed of brick, as well as a tank of similar construction, surrounding which are numerous hill forts of small dimensions erected by a Raja named Bhishmuk, and the popular tradition amongst the people of this part of the country is, that on the destruction of the empire of these kings by the Hindoo god Krishno, the people who were able to make their escape fled to the ghills, and have in the course of time become converted into the present tribes of Abors. Near these forts a great number of wild Methuns* are to be met with, and the whole of the country, from the mouth of * Bos frontalis, or allied species.—Cusr. As. Soc. 64 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. Koondil to the base of the hills, presents many indications of former cultivation. On this expedition I was absent nine days.” Major Jen- kins remarks that these forts refer to a time of which we have no history or even tradition further than frequent traces of the dynasty of the Pals throughout Assam. Alluding to the destruction of the empire of these kings by Krishno and the conversion of those who escaped to the hills into the present tribes of Abors, he states: “ if the Pals were Buddhists, this tradition may allude to their overthrow by the Rajas of the Brahminical faith; but all authentic records of those times appear to be lost, at least in this province.” The origin of the name of Sera is involved in obscurity. There is a place of this name, the site of a monastery, in the vicinity of Lassa, which has been supposed by Malte Brun to be the Sera of the ancients. The former, however, was built in the 8th century* and it is obvious, therefore, that it is not the Sera of Ptolemy. Sera is also the name of atown in Mysore. The word is evidently one of Indian derivation, and is probably a corruption of Sri, “‘ sacred.’ It has reference, per- haps, to the site of Sera in the vicinity of the sacred Brahmakund, from which the Sri Lohit (or sacred Lohit) the Irawaddee, and the Brahmaputra were formerly supposed to issue. The Irawaddee is ap- parently the river designated ‘“ Serus’” by Ptolemy. The mountains in the vicinity of Sera, from which one of the affluents of the Brahma- putra is represented as having its origin, were called Serici. It is said that se is the name of silk in China, and it is supposed that from this word the name of Seres is derived. It was conjectured by an ancient author, that the name, by which the silk worm was designated, was the origin of the term Seres. ‘‘ Pausanias, Seres populum a sere vermiculo dictum cencet.” (Vide Steph. Thesaur. Ling. Greec.) The name of Seres, however, occurs before it was known that silk is the production of an insect. Virgil, Dionysius, and Pliny mention the Seres, but describe silk, as a substance that is obtained from the flowers or leaves of cer- tain trees. The derivation of Sericum from Seres is particularly men- tioned by one author ; “ Sericum dicitur a Seribus.” It is also stated that silk was called Sericum because the Seres were the first who export- ed it ; *‘ Sericum dictum quia id Seres primi miserunt.”’ It is probable therefore, that the Seres derived their name from the city of Sera, * This information I obtained from the late M, Csoma de Koros, 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, &c. 65 which stood near the sacred fountain of the Brahmaputra. Hence Assam was called Serica, and its staple commodity, viz. silk, was desig- nated Sericum, while the other articles of merchandize, which were exported from it, were distinguished by the adjective Seric, as 2np:xa Sepuata Seric skins ; ferrum Sericum, Seric iron. Essidon, called Issedon Serica by Ptolemy to distinguish it from Is- sedon Scythica which stood in Thibet or Bootan, was the capital of the Issedones, who appear to have been the most powerful of all the nations of Serica. They are described by Ptolemy, as a eye 6vos, and by Ammi- anus Marcellinus, as ‘‘omnium splendidissimi ;” and from the situation assigned to their territory, it is probable that their capital stood in the vicinity of Ghergong, or Rungpore. Ghergong or Kirganu, as it was anciently called, (Vide Rennel’s Memoir, &c. p. 299,) appears to be the Kangigu of Marco Polo. Marsden remarks that this country is desig- nated ‘‘Cargingu”’ in the early Italian Epitome. It is described as a kingdom situated eastward of Bengal, and as having voluntarily sub- mitted to the authority of Kublai Khan. The people are stated as being idolators and as having a peculiar language. The country is described as abounding in elephants, gold, and many kinds of drugs, but being an inland country distant from the sea, there is no opportu- nity of selling them. The inhabitants lived on flesh, rice, and milk ; and tattooed their bodies.* The Ahoms transferred the seat of gov- ernment to this place from Hulagari Nuggur, but from the architec- tural remains which are still to be seen in its vicinity, it would appear to have been, before it became their capital, the site of a city which belonged to a people far advanced in civilization. Asmira was the capital of the Asmirz, whose territory is described by Ptolemy as situated below the mountains of the same name (subque iis Rabbannze Asmiraea est regio, supra ejusdem nominis montes, Péol.). It probably stood in Lackimpore, where the Chutteeahs, a branch of the Shyan family had possessions, before the Ahoms came into Assam. There are various remains of antiquity to be seen in Lackimpore, as tanks, and the remains of an embankment called Rajghur, which, Lieut. -Dalton remarks, ‘‘bears the appearance of having been constructed as a rampart against the inroads of the hill people.’ He describes it as being ‘‘a stupendous work.”’ (Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. XIV. p. 252.) * Marsden’s Travels of Marco Polo, p. 455. 66 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. Asparata (the Aspacara of Ptolemy) -appears to be the ancient city of Pora in the district of Chardwar. Capt. Westmacott considers Pora as identical with Pratappur a splendid city which is described in the ancient manuscript records of the kings of Assam, as having stood on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, a little below Bishnath. The ancient temples and ruins of Pora are described by him in the Journal of this Society, Vol. [V. p. 185. He remarks: ‘ From their massive proportions and the carvings and ornaments being so much worn by time and exposure, the fanes are evidently the work of a remote era: I sought in vain for an inscription, and neither the priests of the district nor the ancient families whom I consulted could assist my researches, or point with an approximation to accuracy to the date of their origin.” He mentions the ruins of six or seven enormous structures of granite broken into thousands of fragments. ‘‘Altars of gigantic proportions were the most remarkable objects,’ one of which he describes as making a square of forty-six feet and eighteen inches thick. He states: “it is certain from the prodigious number of ruinous and deserted temples, all of which appear to have been dedicated to Siva, being within the circuit of a few miles of Pora (I discovered twelve or fifteen in as many days on the hills and high lands at their feet) that this spot must have been the capital of a sovereign Prince, or a principal seat of the Hindu religion and enjoyed a large share of prosperity at some remote period.” Besides the four cities mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus there are eleven others which are enumerated by Ptolemy as belonging to Serica, viz. Damna, Piada, Tharrhana, (Pal. Throana) Drosache, Paliana, Abra- gana, Thogara, Daxata, Orosana, Ottorocorrha, and Solana. There are various places in Assam and in the neighbouring hilly tracts to which the sites of these places might be referred. Ottorocorrha stood in the vicinity of the hills of the same name, and was apparently one of the two forts which are described by Lieut. Rowlatt. Mr. MecCosh mentions that there are many extensive forts scattered over the country, and par- ticularises Buddea-ghur, Rajah-ghur, and Gohatti as the most remark- able. Speaking of the latter place, he observes : ‘* A small portion of its former extent and grandeur now remains: its mortar and earthenware constitute a large portion of the soil: its numerous spacious tanks, the works of ten thousands, the pride of its princes, and the wonder of the present day, are now choked up with weeds and jungle or altogether 1847.] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, $c. 67 effaced by a false though luxuriant soil that floats on the stagnant water concealed beneath.’ Some of its gateways are still standing, and mounds and ditches—the remains of its fortifications—are to be seen for many miles around it. The intervening mountamous country be- tween Assam, Cachar, and Munipore appears to have been cultivated formerly, and as Mr. Torrens remarks, to have been “ thickly inhabited by a people far advanced in civilization.”* The remains of the fortified city of Dhemapore on the banks of the Dhansiri, built by Rajah Cha- kardhaj, the fourth king of Cachar, are described by Mr. Grange, by whom they were discovered, in the Journal of this Society.t Accord- ing to Mr. Crawford, the Burmese Annals mention Jynteah in the vici- nity of Sylhet, as the site of a principality called Wethali, which was founded by Susanaga, a descendant of Gautama in the female line. It is stated that the son of Susanaga named “ Kalasanka, in the 10th year of his reign and 100 years after the death of Gautama, assembled all the learned men of his country, and made them repeat what they knew of the doctrine of Buddha: for there yet existed no scripture. This assembly is known to the Burmese by the name of the ‘Second Coun- cil: the First Council having taken place three months after the death of Gautama. From this time, to the year 289 before Christ, a period of 83 years, twelve princes are described as having reigned in Wethali : the last of whom Sri-d’hama-sanka, is a personage of some repute. It was the son of this pious reformer who permanently fixed the seat of government at Prome.’’{ These details identify the Wethali of the Burmese with the Wesali of the Pali Buddhistical Annals of Ceylon. Vesali, however, which is considered the same city as Wesali, is referred to a site on the river Gandak, near the Bakra column, or Jat, discovered by Mr. Stevenson ; and according to Professor Wilson there is early authority for identifying it with this locality. The sedate and tranquil life which the Seres led, their unwarlike dis- position and aversion to the use of arms, are characteristic of the indolent Assamese, who, inhabiting a rich and fertile country formerly fenced in, or protected against foreign invasion in the manner described by Ammi- anus Marcellinus, may be supposed to have enjoyed, in ancient times, the undisturbed ease and delightful tranquillity, which the words of the text, * Journ. As. Soc. No. 104, p. + Ibid. t Crawford’s Embassy to Ava, p. 489. Lv) 68 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. “‘utque hominibus sedatis et placidis otium est volutabile, nulli finitimo- rum molesti,” seem to express. The pleasant and salubrious climate, which is attributed to Serica, seems to refer to the climate of Upper Assam. ‘‘ Comparatively speak- ing, Assam enjoys a far more peculiarly temperate climate with a greater equality of temperature than is general throughout India. The warm weather is very moderate, and throughout the year the nights are cool and refreshing. The mean annual temperature amounts to 67-2—the mean temperature of the four hottest months amounting to 80, and that of the winter to about 57.”* Mr. McCosh describes the climate of Upper Assam as “cold, healthy, aud congenial to European constitu- tions.” + Serica is described as abounding in groves or forests which are desig- nated ‘ sublucidze,’’ an expression which seems intended to describe the effect produced by the myriads of luminous insects in the jungles of Assam. ‘These insects appear to be far more abundant there than in Bengal : they are described as being seen to “ glitter at night among the dark and leafy recesses of the forest trees, or flit with varied motions around their utmost branches, producing an effect so brilliant as to seem almost the effect of magic.’’t The substance, the produce of the trees of these forests, which, after being sprinkled with water, is described as being spun out into the finest threads, is evidently the indigenous silk of Assam. There are six species of silk worms found in that country, namely, the mulberry worm, the eria, the muga or moonga, the kontkurt, the deo mooga and the haumpottonee. The mulberry worm is supposed to have been originally introduced into Assam from Bengal, but the other five are indigenous to the country. Silk is one of the staples of Assam, and the material of which the clothing of the greater portion of the population is manu- factured. The silk from the Eria worm, which is described as being very durable, is worn by the poor at all seasons of the year, and by every class in winter. Dr. Buchanan states “that the native women of all castes, from the queen downwards, weave the four kinds of silk * Vide Major Jenkins’s Account of Assam in the Bengal and Agra Annual Guide and Gazetteer, 1844. + Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. V. p. 195, ~ Vide Robinson’s Assam, p. 125. 1847.] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §c. 69 produced in the country, with which three-fourths of the people are clothed. The raw material is seldom purchased ; each family spins and weaves the silk which it rears, and petty dealers go round and purchase for ready money whatever can be spared for exportation or for the use of the few persons who have none of their own. Considerable quantities of the two coarser kinds are also exported. There may be one loom for every two women, and in great families there are eight or ten which are wrought by slave girls.”” The Muga moth is reared on seven different varieties of trees, and the extent of the plantations in Lower Assam is estimated by Mr. Hugon at 5000 acres exclusive of what the forests produce.* In Upper Assam the plantations are still more extensive. Mahomed Cazim describes the silks of Assamin A. D. 1661 “ as being of excellent quality and as resembling those of China.” He also states that the Assamese were skilled in embroidering with flowers and in weaving velvet and akind of strong silk fabric called tautbund for mak- ing tents and khenauts.+ Tavernier states that there is in Assam ‘great store of silk but coarse,’ and that there is a sort of silk found under the trees which is spun by an insect like the silk-worm.t The nature of Muga silk appears to have been unknown before this time. Methold, who visited India prior to A. D. 1620, speaks of it as being the production of a certain tree. He mentions as the imports into Masulipatam from Bengal, “ calicuts, lawns, and divers sorts of cotton cloths, raw silk, and Moga, which is made of the bark of a certain tree ;”’ and he adds “ many curious quilts and carpets are stitched with this Moga.”§ Muga appears to be the substance which is mentioned under the name of sericum by the ancients, and which is described by them as being procured from the leaves or bark of certain trees. It is evident that they regarded it as a different article from the produce of the mulberry silk-worm which they designated bombycina. Bombycina was the name that was applied to the threads spun by an insect called Bombyx, which Aristotle describes as a horned worm that undergoes several transformations in the course of six months, and that produces the substance called “‘ Bombykia.”” On the other hand, ‘ Sericum’’ was supposed to be a vegetable production. Theophrastus, Virgil, Diony- sius Periegetes, Pomponius Mela, Seneca, Arrian, Claudian, and Jerom * Journal As. Soc. Vol. VI. p. 21. + As. Res. Vol. Il. p. 174. ¢ Tavernier’s Travels. Chap. Assam. § Purchas’s Pilgrims, Vol. V. p. 1000. 70 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ Jan. describe it as an article that was obtained from the flowers, leaves, or the bark of trees. Pliny distinguishes between silk, muga, and cotton. The first which he calls dombycina, he mentions as the produce of the insect bombyx, which he refers to Assyria; the second, or sericum, he describes as a downy or woolly substance which the Seres combed from the leaves of trees, which, he remarks, were different from the wool- bearing trees of Tylos in the Persian gulf, by which he means cotton trees. The latter are mentioned as differing from the trees in the coun- try of the Seres in this respect that they produce down or wool, not on their leaves, but in a fruit, which is described as of the shape of a gourd, and of the size of a quince, and which, when ripe, opens and and displays within balls of down or wool, of which fine and costly cloths are made. This substance was the produce of trees called Gos- sampinee in the lesser isle of Tylos. (Pliny, Lib. xii. Chap. x. and xi.) The word «poy in the Sequel, which Dr. Vincent has rendered raw silk, is used to designate the woolly substance, which the Seres combed from the leaves of trees. It might be supposed to be derived from eria, the name of one kind of indigenous silk of Assam, which Mr. Hugon states was formerly exported to Lassa, but it is evident from other an- cient authors who make use of this term, that this is not its origin, and that it is merely the word «por, lana, which is employed to express a woolly or downy substance which was procured from trees, and that it is applicable, therefore, to cotton, or to the Muga and other silks of Assam supposed to have been carded from the leaves, bark, or flowers of trees. This word in the passage 50 epiw Xpwvta 7 Aww in Dionysius Periege- tes, is rendered by Salmasius the wool not of cattle but of trees. Pul- lux mentions évAov epiov and Theophrastus «p:opopa devdpa—terms which may be considered as referring either to cotton or the indigenous silks of Assam. Sericum, or the indigenous silk of Assam, though generally regarded by the ancients as the product of trees, is nevertheless men- tioned by Pausanias as being produced by an insect. The term Metaxa (érata) which was subsequently applied to Seri- cum, appears to be a compound of the words muga and tassar, which are indiscriminately applied about Dacca to the muga silk of Assam or moongatassar, as it is frequently called. Raw-silk is mentioned under the name of Metaxa by Procopius, Suidas, Theophanes, and in the Digest. It was an article of import into Tyre and Baretus, where it was 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, §-c. 7\ woven into cloth. Silk merchants were called ‘“ metaxiarii,” and the duty that was levied on the raw material was denominated “ metaxiati- cum.” It is stated that the price of metaxa was raised by a tax imposed on it in Persia ; and that, on the manufacturers, in consequence of this duty, charging a higher price for their cloths, Justinian fixed a maximum and ruined the trade. From the manner in which Muga silk is produced, namely, by worms found on certain trees in the forests, or reared on trees planted for the purpose, the error of supposing this substance to be the product of the bark, leaves, or flowers of trees, is easily accounted for. The ancients knew that bombycina (or the mulberry silk) was procured from an insect, but the indigenous silk of Serica or Assam, which they thence called sericum, was supposed, from the accounts they received of it, to be the production of the leaves, the bark, or the flowers of trees. Ammianus Marcellinus describes the process to which this supposed vegetable product “fetus arborum’’ was subjected, in order to facilitate the drawing out, or the reeling of the threads of which it consisted. This was performed by means of frequent sprinklings of water (or per- haps by immersing the silk in water and potash as is practised in Assam in the present day). From this mixture of down and liquid (ex lanu- gine et liquore mistam) the Seres combed out a very slender filament- ous substance, and spinning it intu woof threads, they wove them into the cloths called Sericum. The author mentions that this kind of cloth was originally, or on its first introduction into Europe, worn only by the nobility, but that in his time it was in common use among the lower classes of people. The cloth, which he here alludes to, appears from the woof alone having been made of silk, to have been a mixed cotton and silk fabric, such as is manufactured about Dacca in the pre- sent time. These cloths called Kaseedas, consist of two kinds, viz. of Muga silk and cotton woven in the loom, and of cotton cloths em- broidered with Muga silk with the needle. The former have been manufactured here from time immemorial. Both kinds are annually exported from Dacca to Bussora and Jidda, whence they are conveyed into the interior of Arabia and Mesopotamia, where they are used as turbans, vests, &c. by all classes of people in these countries. A large quantity is sold at the great annual fair held in the vicinity of Mecca. Formerly, they were an article of export to Egypt and Turkey: and it 72 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. is probable, therefore, that they are the cloths of that kind which is designated “ subserica’’ by ancient authors, from being made partly of metaxa or tassar silk, and partly, either of cotton or flax. It would appear, also, that the ancients imported the strong silk fabric, which the Assamese formerly manufactured for tents. Dion Cassius (L. XLIII.) states, that Julius Ceesar, when he entertained the Romans with magnificent spectacles, covered the amphitheatre with awnings of sertcum to shelter them from the sun. (Vide Macpherson’s Annals of Commerce, Vol. I. p. 138.) This, no doubt, was the cloth called tautbund, which Mahomed Cazim states was used for tents and khenauts (or the outer walls of tents). Ammianus Marcellinus describes the Seres, as people of a most peace- able disposition, as most frugal or provident in their habits, and as shunning intercourse with the rest of mankind. Their mode of carry- ing on traffic, as mentioned by him, is similar to that described by Pomponius Mela, and Pliny. He states, that when strangers crossed the river to purchase thread or other commodities, the Seres carried on trade with them without interchanging words, and estimated the value of the merchandize offered for sale by inspection alone—disposing of their own goods [by bartering them for articles of country produce] but declining to buy foreign commodities in return. Solinus writes, “ Primum eorum fluvium mercatores ipsi transient, in cujus ripis nullo interpartes linguee commercio sed depositarum rerum pretia zestimantes sua tradi- unt nostra non emunt.’’ The river, on the banks of which the traffic here alluded was carried on, appears to have been the boundary line be- tween Bengal and the country of the Seres. It is apparently the same river, which Pliny designates the first m the country of the Seres, and it may be regarded, therefore, as having been the frontier one: (Primum eorum noscitur flumen Psitaras.) It appears to be a river in the Rung- pore district, and is perhaps the Tistha. The Seres here mentioned are some of the hill tribes bordering on Sylhet and Assam, and the thread, which the strangers or foreign merchants purchased from them, was, no doubt, the Tassar or Muga silk thread of the latter country, &c. Ammianus Marcellinus alludes to other articles of merchandize be- sides the thread which the Seres bartered. They comprised skins and iron, and, in all probability, lign-aloe, musk, lac, hair-chowrees, and rhinoceros’s horns. 1847. ] Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. 53 Shins.—Pliny mentions that the Seres exported skins and iron along with their cloths. These skins are mentioned under the name of =npixa Scpuara in the Periplus. They evidently refer to the rhinoceros and buffalo hides of Assam, from which the Sylhet shields are made, and which are celebrated throughout India, both on account of their strength, and the fine polish which is imparted to their surface by the juice of the Semicarpus anacardium. The Romans in all probability imported these hides for the manufacture of their shields. Tron.—The iron of Serica was considered the best in India (Ex omni- bus generibus palma Serico ferro est. Seres hoc cum vestibus suis pelli- busque mittunt. Secunda Parthico, neque alia genera ferri ex mera acie temperantur, ceteris enim admiscetur).* Assam and the adjacent countries abound in iron. Dr. Buchanan states that “at Doyang, south- west from Jorhat, a day’s journey, there is an iron mine which is wrought on account of the king. It supplies the whole country with abundance.”’+ Speaking of the places where iron ore is dug out by the Khassias, Lieut. Yule remarks: “so numerous and extensive are the traces of former excavations, that judging by the number at present in progress, one may guess them to have occupied the population for twenty centuries.”’{ Malte Brun mentions that “ Assam is celebrated for its steel.” This refers to the davs that are manufactured by the hill tribes, viz., the Nagas, Abors and the Khamtis. Chowrees.—The fly drivers made of the long glossy hair of the tail of the Yak (Bos grunniens) appear to be the articles mentioned under the name of Capilli Indici in the Digest. A chowree was one of the insignia of royalty among the ancient Hindoos, and was used in Persia for the fringed knots called Kirtas, which are generally ornamented with gold, and hung round the necks of horses, as a charm against fascination. The Chinese make tufts of it for their caps, and the Turks adorn their military standards with it. Chowrees have always been an article of importation into Rungpore and Assam from Bootan and Thibet, and no doubt, they formed one of the exports from the Gangetic mart of the Periplus. lian mentions the long bushy tail of the Yak, and it may, therefore, be concluded that it constituted the Capilii Indici specified * Pliny, Lib. XXXIII. C. XIV. + Martin’s Eastern India, Vol. IIT. p. 660. + Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. XI. p. 855, 74 Remarks on the Sequel to the [JAN. in the Reseript of the Roman emperors relating to the articles import- ed into Egypt from the east, and contained in the Digest of the Roman Law, Lib. XXXIX. title XV. 5. 7.* Lign Aloe.—The fragrant wood called Lign Aloe or Aguru in Sanscrit, is the Ahaloth of Scripture, from which term the name of Agallochum given to it in the Digest, is derived. Hence the modern appellation of Agal or Eagle wood which is sometimes applied to it. Aquillaria Agal- locha, which yields this substance, is common in the mountainous country between Sylhet and Assam. Speaking of the latter country, Mahomed Cazim observes : ‘‘ the mountains of Nanac(the Naga hills or Nazavicium of Ammianus Marcellinus) produce plenty of Lign Aloes, which a society of natives import every year into Assam and barter for salt and grain.”’ The fragrance of Lign Aloe is supposed to be the result of a diseased state of the centre layers of the wood, which is converted into a resinous matter. At Sylhet an essence or attar is extracted from it, which, in former days when this article was in great demand, was sold for its weight in gold. Both the wood and the essence or attar are purchased by Moghul merchants and are sent to Jidda and Bussora. The attar of Lign Aloe, which is of the consistence of thick oil and of a dark brown colour, appears to be the substance called Indian Cinnabar by Arrian. Dr. Vincent remarks in speaking of Arrian’s account of Socotra: ‘it is remarkable that aloes are not mentioned by the author of the Periplus but he notices particularly the drug called Indian cinnabar which exudes from a certain species of trees. Dr. Vincent says that the confounding of Cinnabar and Dragons blood was a mistake of ancient date, and con- cludes that the latter is the article that is referred to.”+ It would seem, however, that the substance, which Arrian alludes to, was not the produce of Socotra, but of India, and it is likely, therefore, that the attar of Lign Aloe is, from its colour, the substance that is meant by the article Cinnabar which exudes from certain trees. It was no doubt imported into Socotra from India. Lign Aloe is highly esteemed as a perfume throughout the east, and is employed for various purposes, as incense in temples, to fumigate apartments, cloths, &e. The Jews used it at their interments. * Quere, Tit. IV. ? where a long and highly interesting catalogue of oriental im- ports is given.— Eds. T Vincent’s Periplus. 1847.| Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. 75 Rhinoceros’s Horn.—This appears to be the article which is mention- ed under the term Pwoxepws in the Periplus. The Ithinoceros’s horn was considered an antidote to poison, and was, therefore, highly valued in ancient times. These horns were no doubt exported from Assam where the Rhinoceros abounds. The horn of the Rhinoceros of Bengal was considered superior to that of every other country of Asia. Lin- schoten remarks that this was owing “to the herbs which Bengala yieldeth, for in other places they were not near the price of these.” The two Mahomedan travellers of the 9th century state that the Chinese purchased the horns of Rhinoceroses in the kingdom of Rami, im the fens of which country they are said to abound (the marshes of Bengal) and that they adorned their girdles with these, some of which were valued at 3000 pieces of gold in China. Tabasheer.—This is supposed by some to be the medr xarauwor of the Periplus. It is designated the sugar or manna of bamboos. It occurs in the works of the old travellers under the name of Spodiom de Canna. Barett mentions it as an export from Bengal to Goa in the 16th century. It is also noticed, as an article of traffic in other parts of India. Cezesar Frederick remarks: ‘From Cambara cometh the Spodiom which congealeth in certain canes (bamboos) whereof I found many in Pegu, of which I made my house there, because as I said before they make their houses there of woven canes like mats.’’ Odoricus, who travelled in India in the early part of the 14th century, speaks of canes named “ Cas- sam, of which they make sails (masts) for ships, and in which are found certain stones, one of which stones whosoever carrieth it about with him cannot be -wounded with any iron, and therefore the men of the country for the most part carry such stones wherever they go.” (Hak- lyut’s voyages, p. 162.) Dacca, 16th April, 1846. APPENDIX. Nore I. Sir Wn. Jones mentions “the similarity of some proper names on the borders of India to those of Arabia, as the river Avabius, a place called Araba, a people named Aribes or Arabies and another called Sabi.” (Discourse on the Arabs, As. Res. Vol. 1i. p. 7.) Words allied to the latter term oceur m Ptolemy’s Geography of the countries of India : and were perhaps the names of Sabeean commercial settlements. Swpara or Sippara (the Sefareh of Arabian >] iL bd 76 Remarks on the Sequel to the [ JAN. geopraphers : Vide D’Anville) between the ancient Tyndis and Muziris on the western coast of India, is supposed by one learned author (Lucas Holsterius ad Ortel, p. 137, quoted by Cellarius) to have been the Ophir of Scripture. The Sabare occupied a country corresponding in situation with Sumbulpore, the ri- ver Adamas (so named from its containing diamonds) which flowed through it, being the Mahanudee. Sadar, in the vicinity of Dacca, is regarded as a place of great antiquity by the natives; it is situated in that part of the district which was the original seat of the fine muslin manufactures, and was im all probabi- lity an emporium for these fabrics and for the lign aloes, cassia, spikenard, and musk of Sylhet, Assam, and Bootan. Sabara, from which the Sabaricus Sinus took its name, is referred by D’Anville to Pegu, where the Irawaddee enters the sea. Saba or Sabana Emporium was situated at the southern ex- tremity of the Golden Chersonesus, and apparently in Malacca. The Sabadibe (or islands of Saba) are perhaps Sumatra and Java. All these places, it may be remarked, are celebrated for their products ; and they were, in all probabi- lity, the sites of emporia from which the Sabeans derived the precious stones, the gold, the fine garments, the perfumes, and the spices, with which they supplied Egypt, Judea, and the countries of the West. Nore II. Dr. BucHANAN supposes that the Hindoo Princes of Bengal continued to govern at Sonargong, long after they had lost possession of the western por- tion of their kingdom, and that this part of the province was not annexed to the dominions of Mahomedan conquerors of the country until the time of Ferid-Addeen Soor Shere Shah. It is well known, however, that there were Mahomedan governors of the eastern division of Bengal prior to the reign of Shere Shah, and that Sonargong was in subjection to them, as early as the year 1279. It is probable, indeed, that there were Mahomedans in this part of Bengal, at a period long anterior to the conquest of the country by Bukhtyar Khuliyy in 1203. We are told that the Arabian merchants of Bussora carried on an extensive maritime commerce with India and China, as early as the 8th century, and that many of them settled in the countries which they visited. Dr. Robertson, in speaking of Mahomedan traders in the east at this time, states: “They were so numerous in the city of Canton, that the emperor (as Arabian authors relate) permitted them to have a Cadi or Judge of their own sect, who decided controversies among his countrymen by their own laws and presided in all the functions of religion. In other places, proselytes were gained to the Mahomedan faith and the Arabian language was understood and spoken in almost every sea port of any note.” (Robertson’s Ancient India, p. 102.) There is reason to believe from this circumstance, that Bengal was the seat of a colony of Mahomedan merchants at this early period. This may be 1847. | Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, Se. ay inferred from the extensive commerce it enjoyed with countries of the west from early times; from the great value of its products, and above all, from the distinct allusion made to it by the two Mahomedan travellers of the 9th century. It is mentioned by them “as the country of a king named Rami, who possessed a great number of elephants. Its exports consisted of fine cotton garments,* hen aloes,f sable skins,{ and Rhinoceros horns, all of which were to be purchased for shells,§ which were the current money of the country.”’ Nore II. The city of Bengala is mentioned in the works of geographers in the early part of the 17th century. Cluverius describes it as situated on an island of the river Cosmin, and as a mart from which there was exported valuable merchan- dize, consisting of silk, cotton, civet, sugar, &e. “ Urbs Bengala magna, celeberrimo imperio insignis, in insula fluvii Cosmin sita est. [Urbs Ben- gala una ex prestantissimis Indie est, ubi omnes reperiuntur delicie quas cetere optime possident Europe civitates. Hine exportantur merces pretiose, Sericum, xylinum, zibettum, Saccharum, oriza, canne de Bengala, vulgo canne Hispanice dicte].” Vide Introduct. ad Univers. Geograph. Philip Cluverius. In the Lexicon Universale of Hoffman it is mentioned as a city of Extra Gangetic India, and as a large and celebrated mart fre- quented by Europeans: “Bengala urbs Asie cum regni cognomine in India extra Gangem, sub imperio M. Mogolis a multis annis, ad ostia Cosmini fluvit non longe ab ostiis Ganges. Ampla et percelebre ab Europeis Ffrequentata.’ That the Cosmin is the Brahmaputra is evident from the situation assigned to the former in the maps of the older geographers. Clu- verius delmeates it as running from the north-east, and dividing into two branches, on one of which he places the cities of Bengala, and Chatigan: the other branch, he represents as falling into the sea at Pegu. In a map attach- ed to Bernier’s Travels, Cosmin is laid down in a situation also corresponding with that of the Brahmaputra. Daccais placed at its mouth, where the Megna joins the sea: and Chatigan at some distance from it towards the south. In a map by Mandelso, who travelled m India in 1639, the city of Bengala is laid down in the situation here assigned to Dacca; viz. at the mouth of the river. Bengala is described in the Dictionnaire Historique par M. L. Morery, as a city lying “ sur l’embouchure du fleuve Cosmin, grande, belle, riche, marchande, et comme le centre du commerce des Indes, extrémement frequentée par les Kuro- péens, Francais, Anglais, Portugais, Hollandais, &c. qui y ont tous le libre exercice de leur religion. Elle n’est pas Cloigyée de ’Pembouchure du Gange.”’ The author, however, concludes by stating: ‘ Quand j’ai parlé de la ville de Bengale, j’ai suivi le sentiment de presque tous les auteurs qui ont écrit avant * Dacca muslins. ‘ Aggur wood, $ Otter skins ? § Cowrees. 78 Note on an Image of Budha found at Sherghatti, Sc. | Jan. moi: mais de nouvelles? relations m’apprennent qu'il n’y a point de ville de ce nom.” The site of Bengala appears to have been confounded with that of Chittagong about the begining of the 18th century. In some of the French geographical Dictionaries of that period, these towns are described as “ Chati- gan sur la riviére de Cosmin vis-a-vis Bengal que plusieurs geographes con- fondent avee elle. Quelques uns ont cru que Bengale n’est autre que Chatigan.” Dict. de Lamartine. That they were different places, however, is evident from the circumstance of Bengala, Chatigan and Satigan being sever- ally mentioned as the chief emporia of Bengal. From the city of Bengala being described as situated on an island and opposite to Chittagong, Sundeep would seem to be the locality that is referred to; on the other hand, Sir T. Herbert mentions this island, but does not allude to any town upon it, whilst he particularly specifies Chatigan, Bacola, Serripore, and Sonargong as the principal towns of the eastern part of Bengal. In a work entitled “Lex Mereatoria,” written about the middle of the last century, Dacca is mentioned as identical with Bengala. The mention by Morery of the latter having been frequented by Portuguese, Dutch, English, and French, seems to countenance this opmion; but on the other hand the insular situation of Bengala, and its being placed opposite to Chittagong prove that Dacca is not the town that 1s referred to. Rennell, speaking of this city, remarks ‘‘no traces of it now exist. It is described as being near the eastern mouth of the Ganges, and I conceive the site of it has been carried away by the river.” Note on an Image of Budha found at Sherghatti, §c. by Capt. Kirror. I have the pleasure herewith to transmit a sketch of a small image of Budha at this place, and said to have been brought from a hill near Gaya. It will be observed to differ in some respects from the ordinary form of these idols ; it appears to hold a cup for offerings, instead of the right hand resting open on the knee, as generally found, but it is common in this district, as well as other forms which I propose treating upon on a future occasion. It will be observed that on the right beneath the “Simhasun,” or throne, is represented a monkey ? on his hind legs, holding an offering in his fore paws ; on the left, the same animal appears to be jumping down a well. This I have also seen on a fine figure of Budha at Budh Gaya, given in Buchanan, but badly drawn. Probably Lieut. Latter, who has al- ready offered the Society some useful observations on Budhist emblems, 9 § OSSSSOSOSHOR8OS 505 lanl Ley QOQOOVSSSSSoeoggg IMAGE OF BUDHA AT SHERCHATT{, JK. lik y= =} -_— = ee as nit * Mave ee (1 RO ‘iti dais See ae uh ‘tied . 7s neal * art , a a pe Beir \ \ a . be re oe yr 5 ; + st ve es oo | E catoole a 7? = pete ine ; a | rea av + ‘ san t*, oe Tv. 5 he ys pi * a! -—. 7 4 F a fad 1847.| Note on an Image of Budha found at Sherghatti, Se. 79 might be able, with the help of his Burmese savans, to throw some light upon the meaning of this curious representation, as well as of others I hope to furnish. The workmanship of the figure is superior to the ordinary run; its material is black chlorite. The measurement is 15 in. ~ 9 in. and has been worshipped for years past as Bhyrub by the ignorant people of this town ; but this occurs everywhere, as remarked upon by Buchanan. I have given the inscription in a line by itself with the Deva Négri context immediately above it for comparison ;* it is the same, excepting perhaps orthographical errors, as given in page 133, Vol. IV. of the Journal, and occurs on almost every image in this district, and in various types, down to No. 2, of the Allahabad column, called the Gupta by Prinsep. I hope soon to have it m my power to offer the Society further speci- mens of fragments of Budhist sculpture met with in such abundance in this district, and should you think them of sufficient interest, I would not object to draw them on transfer paper ready for printing and pub- lishing in the Journal. I beg to announce to the Society that having lately had a few days’ leisure I have visited several of the spots held sacred in the vicinity of Gaya, and have made several curious discoveries which may prove of interest to those who make the former usages and religion of this em- pire a study. It would take much more space than I can afford or would attempt to fill, in a letter which is intended as a simple announcement, to describe what I have seen, and explain the conjectures it has led to, so as to be well understood—suffice it to say, I have found what I consider to be remains of the famous Chaitya, or temple raised by Asoka at Budha Gaya ; they consist of a number of columns on which are very rude though interesting sculptures in bass relief in medallions. I have sketched all that seem worth recording ; the subjects are chiefly the worship of the Bo tree, the lotus, the shrine or Chaitya, a goat, a female figure with the head of an ass, &c. There are also winged lions, oxen and horses, and a centaur. The simple bull is oft repeated, and a cow and calf— but this last appears to be of a later date. It is remarkable that these pillars are of the same stone as that of the Asoka columns of Dehli, * As there is no room to insert this in the plate we here subjoin the Deva- ~nagari pion. ee 0G quam Vquea eq asi qual |W aea wai wa fates arat Wet Wau: | 80 Note on an Image of Budha found at Sherghatti, §c. Allahabad and others; and here I must not omit to mention that one of these, or rather part of one was many years ago set up in Sahebgunj as a landmark by a Mr. Boddam ; it was brought from Bukrow’s (the site of an ancient city opposite Budha Gaya) where the lower portions still remain, the dimensions of this column must have been the same as of the others abovenamed. There is a sentence on most of the sculptured pillars ending with f [ * “ danam,”’ or “the gift of,” like those of the Bhilsa Tope in the early character, but the middle letters bemg much worn I cannot make it out properly ; the initial letter is the same in all }{ the a; it seems to be } 4, JL yd, ub ye, + hoo Bee? fy gi, doyé, ida, _|°nam, the language seems to be Pali or Pracrit and no sense can be made of it—but it must be the name of a person making a gift—perhaps Géya may be the dative of Gaya, when it would read “the gift to Gaya of” ?—but it is unimportant otherwise than the characters fix the date. I have visited a spot called Koorkihar, the site of an ancient city and of a Budha monastery or Vihara, hence the name which has been no doubt corrupted from Koorka Vihara: there are innumerable idols chief- ly Budhas, some of great size and very beautifully executed, and well worth removing to the museum and sending home. Amongst other things are a vast number of miniature Chaityas or Budha temples, from 8 inches to several feet ; these are noticed by Buchanan when speaking of Gaya; but they are more plentiful here and at Budha Gaya than else- where. I have collected some, but none are entire; they will form sub- ject for special notice hereafter. | There is a large Budha temple at Pornaha in ruins, but sufficiently entire to enable a good plan to be made of it, which I hope to be able to accomplish. I have discovered a great many inscriptions at Gaya proper, and have taken impressions and copies, but they are not, as far as I can judge, of much interest ; however they mention the names of many of the Pal rajas of Bengal and give dates. When I shall have prepared good copies I shall send them for the Society’s inspection—and if considered aceept- able I shall be happy to present duplicates. This province offers a wide field for research. I have heard of several places worth visiting, but my time and means are small. There is one place called Pawnpoori which is said in one of the poorans to be the ca- pital of Chundra Gupta; this I shall try and visit. Yew Ye yyw PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, JANUARY, 1847. LLLAPALLPLVPPVPVPVPPUOLILPYLYFULVIIOO™ The usual monthly meeting was held on Wednesday evening, the 13th January. The Hon'ble Sir J. P. Grant, in the chair. The Proceedings of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Dr. Duncan Stewart, Presidency Surgeon, was ballotted for and duly elected a member. The following gentlemen were proposed for ballot at the February meeting :— Captain Ousely, proposed by Colonel Ousely, seconded by Mr. Pid- dington. Captain Munro, Brigade Major, Fort William. J. Muller, Esq. Mint. R. Jones, Esq. Professor Hindu College. W. M. Dirom, Esq. C. 8S. Baboo Debendernath Tagore. Dewan Hurreemohun Sen. Proposed by Dr. W. B. O’Shaughnessy, seconded by the Hon'ble Sir J. P. Grant. The Senior Secretary read a Report on the part of the Committee of Papers on the Society’s affairs. Resolved, That the Report be received and printed for circulation among the resident members, prior to the discussion at the February meeting of the propositions it contains. The following gentlemen were elected members of the Committee of Papers to supply vacancies :—J. W. Colville, Esq. Advocate General, M 82 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ JAN. W. Grey, Esq. C. S., Welby Jackson, Esq. C. S., and R. W. G. Frith, Esq. Read translation of a letter received from Professor Lassen, as fol- lows :— To Dr. E.Rorr, Co-Secretary, Asiatic Society, Oriental Department. My pzaAR Sir,—In conveying to the Asiatic Socicty my grateful acknow- ledgments for the valuable present they have favoured me with, and for their interest in my pursuits, I would request you to offer to the Society my apologies for the delay in my reply, owing to a severe affection of the eyes, from which I have been suffering during this whole summer, and which prevented me from engaging in any literary undertakings. I was long since aware of the importance, nay of the indispensability of Radha- kant’s Dictionary for my labours, without, however, seeing a chance of making use of it, and my gratitude to the Asiatic Society, is the more cordial and sincere, since by their favour I have at last obtained access to this mine of Hindu learning. Being anxious publicly to record my thanks to the Society, I shall consider it a particular favour, if you will ascertain, whether the Society would accept the dedication of my work on Indian antiquities to them. I was by my disease un- fortunately compelled to desist during last summer from my labours, but I hope I shall be able to finish the latter half of the first volume in the course of the next spring. By your translation of the Vedanta Sara, which I already knew from No. 158 of the Journal, you have acquired a lasting merit for the correct interpretation of this work, the meaning of which had been entirely misconstrued by the two former translators. You give, t apprehend, even too much praise to the German, by call- ing him a good Sanscrit scholar; his grammar and anthology contain many errors, and do not speak well of the critical sagacity of the author; his works are still more perverted by the circumstance, that he mixes up with all his labours Schel- ling’s philosophy which he does not even correctly understand. I most sincerely thank you for your offer to have, with the consent of the Society, some of the manuscripts of your Library copied for me, and I shall take the liberty to avail myself of it on any occasion I may require it. The works I should wish to have copied before all others, I am afraid, are not in the Library, at least not in the printed catalogue, viz. the Pratisakhya and the works of Aryabhutta. The latter, I believe, are only procurable in Malabar, since I find only one single notice of one of them in the catalogue of the Mackenzie collection, where mention is made of a manuscript in Grantham writing. The first title includes three works, manuscripts of which are found in London, and in Chambers’ collection in Berlin ; they are grammars of the Veda dialect, more ancient than that of Panini, and for this reason of great importance. If you will not consider me rude, I shall be much 1847.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 83 obliged to you, if you can procure for me the two last Adhyayas of Bhaskara’s Siddhanta Siromani. I have the first two Chapters, but never succeeded in obtain- ing the two remaining parts. I am, &c. C. Lassen. Read a letter from Dr. Roer, Co-Secretary in the Oriental Depart- ment, proposing the removal of the Pundit on the grounds of incapacity for his duties—referred to the Committee of Papers. Presented a paper on the Coins of the Independent Mussalman sovereigns of Bengal, by J. W. Laidlay, Esq. Ditto, on the Ovis ammonoides and a new species of Tibetan antelope, with drawings, by B. TH. Hodgson, Esq., Darjeeling. Both these papers appear in the present number; the drawings illustrative of Mr. Hodg- son’s article are in the artist’s hands and will be published with the least avoidable delay. Read the following letter from the Secretary to Government, N. W. Provinces, forwarding drawings of some remarkable cave temples lately discovered in the Mirzapore district. No. 1182. From J. THornton, Esq. Secretary to Government, N. W. P. To the Secretary Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Genl. Dept. Lieut.-Governor’s Camp, the 19th December, 1846. Sir,—The Hon’ble the Lieutenant-Governor, having heard of certain cave Tem- ples in the vicinity of the hilly tracts south of Mirzapore, has taken steps to procure drawings of them through the Agency of Captain Stuart, Fort Adjutant of Chunar. His Honor has now desired me to transmit to you a copy of a letter received from that Officer, dated 3d ultimo, together with the original plans and sketches which accompanied it, and to request that you will place them at the dis- posal of the Asiatic Society for publication in their Journal, or for such other notice as they may be considered to deserve. I have the honor to be, Sir, Lieut.-Govr.’s Camp, Your most obedient servant, the 19th December, 1846. J. THORNTON, Secretary to Government, N. W. P. (Copy.) To J. THorntTon, Esq. Secretary to the Government, N. W. P. Agra. Sirz,—With reference to your letter No. 1106, of 26th December, 1845, request- ing me to procure all the information I could regarding some Cave Temples lately discovered in the Hilly tracts south of Mirzapore, and sanctioning a certain amount of outlay, for their preservation, I have the honor to state that I have this day M 2 84 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Jan. forwarded by Dawk Banghy for submission to His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor, a set of plans and drawings executed by Mr. C. H. Burke, late of the Revenue Survey Department, deputed by me to visit the Caves for that purpose, which I feel assured will be considered highly satisfactory as well as creditable to Mr. Burke’s industry and talents. 2. The Caves are three in number, called the Beeah Mandah Rownah, Mandah, and Chargoodree. They are situated in Talooqah Shapore, Singrowlee, Purgunnah Burdee, which at the period of the Benares settlement was a small independent Raj held by a branch of the Chundels of Agoree Burhur (vide Regulation II. of 1795, Section 17) but was subsequently absorbed into the Rewah state by an arrange- ment between the Rajahs of Rewah and Burdee, the latter of whom made over his sovereignty to the former in exchange for a pension. 3. The country near the Caves is very inaccessible, being nothing but a succes- sion of rocky hills covered with dense jungle, containing a few miserable villages inhabited by wild aboriginal tribes, from whom no information of a satisfactory nature can be obtained; the Caves themselves are avoided with superstitious dread by the few remaining inhabitants, and are utterly abandoned to the wild beasts of the forest. 4. The only answer given to queries on the subject is that they were construct- ed by the Balund Rajahs, a family of the Khurwar tribe, who held the sovereignty of Agoree, and Singrowlee, till expelled by the Chundels, who emigrated to this part of the country from Mohobah, somewhere about the year 1190, A. D. and obtained possession of Agoree, &c. by expulsion of the Balunds about 50 years subsequently. ; 5. The representatives of the Balund Rajahs still reside ina village of Shapore Singrowlee, called Mirwas, and although dispossessed for nearly 600 years, still entertain a hope of one day being restored to their possessions. It is said that they are under a vow never to bind on a turban till the day of restoration. 6. Some ruins of wells and brick buildings, as well as a Fort, are found in the Nilour hills, near a small village called Benowlee, 12 miles N. W. from the Caves, which is said to have been the ancient capital of Shapore Singrowlee, and the last strongholds of the Balunds, before their final expulsion, but no other remains are to be found indicating the former existence of a people capable of constructing such stupendous works. 7. A small sketch map accompanies the drawings, showing the relative position of the three excavated Hills, which are situated from 10 to 14 Koss south of the most remote part of the Mirzapore district. I have, &c. Chunar, 3d November, 1846. (Signed) W.M. Sruarrt. (True Copy) A. SHAKESPEAR, Assistant Secretary to Government, N. W. P. 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 85 On the proposal of the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, seconded by Mr. Colville, Advocate General, the respectful thanks of the Society were voted to the Hon’ble the Governor of the N. W. Provinces for the valuable communication and drawings above recorded. The drawings were referred to the Committee of Papers for consideration as to their publication. Read two letters from Captain Kittoe, respecting Budhistical remains discovered by him at Gaya. Referred to the Committee of Papers. Read the following letter from Captain Kittoe :— To the Secretary Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Sherghatti, 28th December, 1846. Drar Sir,—Some months ago I submitted a paper onthe subject of the Kootub aud adjacent ruins, but to this date I have received no reply or acknowledgment. Being desirous of altering some parts of my paper, I request the favor of its being returned to me. As an old member, and one who (as long as encouragement was offered by the acknowledgment of contributions) took much pains for the Society, I beg to pro- pose that for the future all communications be formally acknowledged, and that it be considered a rule, secondly, that such papers as may not be deemed by the Secre- taries and the Committee of Papers, suited to the Journal or Researches, may be returned to the contributor, with a letter to that effect. I would, with deference, recommend that as the journal is now (I believe) published at the expense of the Society and is much in arrears, the Numbers should be brought up, if even the number of pages be reduced, for the interest in ‘‘ proceedings’’ is lost from their now appearing several months after date—most contributors to Periodicals feel encouraged by the early publication of their papers. I feel sure that such an arrangement and the publication of the latest proceedings would have a beneficial effect. I, for one, should feel pleasure in affording my mite of assistance in the Antiquarian, or Architectural branches, as well as illustrations in outline, such as I have proposed in another letter, only now forwarded, though mostly written long since.* I remain, Dear Sir, Your’s faithfully, M. Kirros, Captain, Member. Read a letter from D.C. Mackey, Esq. Danish Consul, forwarding for the acceptance of the Society the Memoires de la Socielé Royale des Antiquaires du Nord, Section Asiatique. * Captain Kittoe will be pleased to find that his excellent suggestions have been anticipated in the Society’s recent arrangements.—Secs. 86 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [JAN. To W. B. O’SuauGunessy, Esq. Secretary to the Asiatic Society. Sir,—I beg to hand you an extract from a letter I have received from the Secre- tary to the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen, and for the aid of your Society in their Researches I am enabled to assure you of their most cordial co-operation in connection with any scientific pursuit in which their services can be made available. I beg your acceptance of the accompanying three Nos. of the R. N. A. Society’s proceedings which have already been submitted to you, and when I receive more they shall be laid before your Society. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, Danish Consulate, D. C. Mackey, Calcutta, 13th January, 1847. Danish Consul. Extract from Mr. Secretary Chas. Rafor’s letter. ‘¢ On the formation of an Asiatic Section in our Society we have had in view the elucidation of the ancient monuments of Asia, which shall be the aim of our ear- nest exertions. In connexion with this object several works have been already commenced, among which we may here mention the Treatises on the connexion between Sanscrit and Icelandic (old Danish) whereof the first part is already printed, and on the decyphering on the second Achoemenian or Median species of arrow-headed writing by Professor N. L. Westergaard, the author of the Radices lingue Sanscritz, and the disquisition on the coins struck by the Buids, by the Rev. Jas. C. Lindberg, A. M. which we hope will meet with especial favour in Asia, in- asmuch as our Cabinet is in possession of several hitherto unknown coins of this class.”’ Read a letter from Lieutenant Strachey, promising a copy of the narrative of his recent tour to the lake districts of Manésarowar, for publication in the Society’s Journal. Mr. Laidlay read a list of coins, received by him from Mr. Torrens. Mr. Laidlay was requested to retain the coins in his charge, depositing a list with the senior Secretary for office record. Read a letter from Lieutenant Wroughton, forwarding copy of an inscription which has been referred to the Oriental Sub-Committee for examination. Read the accompanying note from Mr. Heatly, forwarding letters and publications from the Statistical and Ethnological Societies of London. To W. B. O’Suaucunessy, Esg. Secretary, Asiatic Society. My berAR Sir,—I have the pleasure to place in your hand two letters from Mr. King, Honorary Secretary to the Ethnological Society, and Assistant Secretary to 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 87 the Statistical Society—together with a packet of publications from those Associa- tions, catalogued in the accompayning lists, The latter are a donation to the Asiatic Society and intended to open friendly relations between the donors, and the cultivators of similar pursuits in this country. Your’s sincerely, S. G. T. Heatty. Star Press, 13th January, 1847. Statistical Society of London, 12, St. James’ Square, 22d October, 1846. Srr,—I am instructed to forward to you a complete set of the Statistical Society’s Journal, a Volume of its Transactions and six copies of its first series of questions, as wellas all the forms we have in print, as a donation to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta. I have the honor to be, Your most obedient servant, RicHarp Kine, Assistant Secretary. To 8. G. T. Heatry, Esq. 27, Sackville Street, 21st October, 1846. Str,—I beg to enclose a set of the Ethnological Society’s publications up to the present time, with the view of an exchange for those published by your Society. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, RicHarp KINe, To 8. G. T. Heatty, Esq. Asiatic Society of Calcutta. Honry. Secy. Ethnological Society’s Publications up to the present time :— I. Ethnological Society, pages 1 & 2. II. Queries respecting the Human Race, pages 3 to 14. Ill. The study of Ethnology by Ernest Dieffenbach, M. D. pages 15 to 78. IV. On the Ancient Peruvians, by Dr. De Tschudi, pages 79 to 102. V. On the Biluchi Tribes inhabiting Sindh, in the lower valley of the Indus and Cutchi, pages 103 to 210. VI. Address to the Ethnological Society of London, delivered at the anniversary meeting on the 25th May, 1844, by Richard King, M. D. Secretary, pages 7 to 40. VII. Address to the Ethnological Society of London, delivered at the anniversary meeting on the 26th May, 1845, by Rear Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm, President, pages 41 to 62. VIII. The Regulations and List of members of the Ethnological Society of Lon- don, 1843, 1844, pages 1 to 14. Transactions of the Statistical Society of London, Vol. I Part }, 1837: 88 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ Jan. Journal of the Statistical Society of London, Vols. I. to X. First series of questions circulated by the Statistical Society of London, 1836, 6 Copies. 16 Forms of Statistical Report. The Librarian submitted the followmg list of Books received, and of ‘Donations to the Society’s General Museum :— List of Books, Sc. received for the Meeting of Wednesday, the 13th January, 1847. PRESENTED. 1.—Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s office—FRrom THE SurvVEYOR GENERAL’S OFFICE. 2.—Meteorological Register kept at Kyouk Phyoo during November, 1846.— From THE SURVEYOR GENERAL’S OFFICE. 3.—The Calcutta Christian Observer for December, 1846 and Jan. 1847.—By THE EDITORS. : 4.—The Oriental Christian Spectator for December, 1846.—By tur Epitor. 5.—An attempt to explain some of the monograms found upon the Grecian coins of Ariana and India, by A. Cunningham.—By Tur AuTnor. 6.—Vedantic Doctrines Vindicated.— By Basu Rasenpraua Mirrra. 7.—The Hindu Intelligencer, 5 Nos.—By Tue Epiror. 8.—Contributions to Terrestrial Magnetism, by Lieut. Col. E. Sabine. —By tue BENGAL GOVERNMENT. EXCHANGED. 9.—The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, No. 82. 10.—Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, Vol. V. part III. 11.—Calcutta Journal of Natural History, No. 27. 12.—The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, No. 194. PuRCHASED. 13.—Conchologia Iconica, from No. 13 to 36. 14.—Thesaurus Conchyliorum, by G. B. Sowerby, Jr. Parts 4th, 5th, 6th. 15.—The Classical Museum, No. XIII. 16.—The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, No. 119. 17.—Journal des Savans, Aout 1846. 18.—The Calcutta Review, No. 12. DonaATIONS TO THE Museum. 1.—A Steel and Tinder-box used by the natives of Lahl and Kooloo, Donor—H. Torrens, Esq. 1847. ] Report. 89 2.—Model of a Chinese Plough, Donor—Major Evin, H. M.’s. 98th Regt. 3.—Chinese arithmetical table, Donor—Major Epier. 4.—Model of a Chain Pump used by the Natives of China, and adapted both for manual and cattle labour, Donor—Major Ente. For all the above communications and donations to the Society the thanks of the meeting were unanimously voted. Dr. W. B. O’Shaughnessy exhibited specimens of explosive paper exactly like ¢alc, prepared by dissolving the gun cotton in Sulphuric ether, and allowing the solution to evaporate spontaneously. He de- scribed also some singular electrical properties manifested by this paper. REPORT. At a meeting of the Asiatic Society held on the 13th of January, 1847, the following Revort on the Society's affairs was read and received, and directed to be printed, for distribution to the resident members, prior to the discussion at the February meeting of the several propositions it contains. In compliance with the desire expressed by several members of the Society at the December meeting, the Secretaries, on the part and with the concurrence of the Committee of Papers, submit a succinct report on the state of the Society’s affairs, and of the views of the Committee regarding the measures they deem best calculated to uphold its charac- ter and promote its utility. The Society at present numbers 136 members, of whom 17 were admitted during the last year. No record exists of the withdrawals, deaths or other casualties by which the number of members has been reduced, a deficiency the Committee of Papers point out as one which the Secretaries should in future supply. Of the 136 members there are not more than 100 who contribute with regularity to the Society’s income. Two members have recently claimed exemption from the payment of subscription on the grounds of having been on the list for 20 years. As much doubt exists as to the expediency of admitting this claim for exemption, the Committee recom- mend the subject to the immediate consideration of the Society at large. The Committee of Papers and Office-bearers as appointed in March 1846, consisted of-— 90 Report. [ JAN. Vice-Presidents.—The Lord Bishop of Calcutta, Sir J. P. Grant, Sir H. W. Seton, Lieut.-Colonel Forbes, and H. Torrens, Esq. Secretary.—H. Torrens, Esq. Committee.—Rev. Dr. Heeberlin, W. P. Grant, Esq., C. Huffnagle, Esq., G. A. Bushby, Esq., W. Tayler, Esq., Baboo Prosonocoomar Tagore, 8. G. T. Heatly, Esq., W. B. O'Shaughnessy, Esq. M. D., and Capt. Broome, H. A. Of these Messrs. Torrens and Huffnagle have permanently left Cal- cutta. The Hom’ble Sir H. Seton expresses himself unable from the state of his health to take any active part in the Society’s business. Mr, W. Tayler has withdrawn, and Baboo Prosonocoomar Tagore has not been able to give his attendance or attention to our affairs. In accordance with the long established practice of the Society to supply vacancies by annual election, it accordingly becomes necessary to elect members of the Committee of Papers in the room of Messrs. Tayler, Huffnagle, and Prosonocoomar Tagore.* In consequence of the resignation of Mr. Torrens, Dr. W. B. O’Shaughnessy and Mr. J. W. Laidley were elected Co-Secretaries at the meetings of August and September, and Dr. Roer, a Co-Secretary in the Oriental Department, in November, 1846. Baboo Rajendra Lal Mitra was also elected Librarian and Assistant Secretary at the Novem- ber meeting on a monthly Salary of 100 Rupees, and for a probationary period of 6 months. At the November meeting a Sub-Committee or section, was also ap- pointed for advice and reference to all matters connected with Oriental literature. Of this Sub-Committee Major Marshall, the Rev. Mr. Long, the Rev. Dr. Heeberlin and Dr. Roer were appointed members, and Captain Latter was added to their number at the December meeting. Finance and Accounts. The Accounts not having been published for some years, the Sec- retaries and the Accountant have been engaged in the laborious task of examining all the receipts and vouchers since 1842, and comparing these with the abstract Annual Accounts received from the late Accountant, * The following gentlemen have accordingly been elected at the Meeting of Janu- ary, 1847, as members of the Committee of Papers to supply vacancies. Messrs. J. Colville, Advocate General, Welby Jackson, Esq. C. S., W. Grey, Esq. C.S., and R. W. G. Frith, Esq. 1847. | Report. : 91 Mr. Bolst. This task is nearly completed and the results will be duly reported. Meanwhile the Committee of Papers recommend the imme- diate publication of the whole of Mr. Bolst’s statements, for the infor- mation of the Society at large. The Committee express their regret that these accounts have not been regularly printed in detail and circulated to the members, a step which would have obviated much misconception which has subsequently arisen. A resolution having been passed at the September Meeting, directing the immediate payment of the Society’s debts by the sale of Company’s Paper or other available means, the following sums have been paid ac- cordingly :— ar rd Bord’s Portrait, . ... often) & Rav 1368" 9 mereislyth’s Arrears of rent, 5.05. 63. 2d 440 0 0 Messrs. Currie and Co. for almirahs, &c. .... ADR 4 0 Messrs. Ostell and Lepage, (for books,)...... 122 4 0 Mr. Piddington, arrears of salary,.......... 200 0 0O Bee rission. Press, 2. 2802 5208 418 0 0 Meee Collese Pressy a ly Soe PY '@ Der eee. ee. eat ls ety Sa Dio a Mal - | Cos Rs/41,127. 12 V1 And in compliance with further resolutions the sum of 3,000 Rs. has been reserved for the payment of Mr. Blyth’s contingent claim,* making in all, paid and reserved to meet acknowledged debts Co.’s Rs. 14,127 12 tk. The produce of the back numbers of the Journal it is expected will be available for the liquidation of the debt of Rupees 1,500 due to Mr. Torrens—for the purchase of a Stock of the Journal, to that amount. The Co-Secretaries having received from their predecessor Com- pany’s Paper, Value Co.’s Rs............ 13,066 10 8 BRA PRI AREC ES a aid se: eyu'.n is h)'* 0 sims mis 1530912 9 And subsequently collected on account of SUED Ry eae nn eae a Ga 0 And received from Government, ........... 2,228 0 0 Covsuiscakylo? 13-5 And paid or reserved as above detailed, .. Co.’s Rs. 14,127 12 11 * See Proceedings for Nov, 1846. p. 1xxxviii. N 2 g2 Report. [ JAN. it becomes their disagreeable duty to announce, that, reserving 3,000 Rupees due to Mr. Blyth and 1,500 Rupees due to Mr. Torrens, the actual Cash Balance in hand on the 30th of December, 1846, is Co.’s Rs. 1,530 0 6, of which 1,000 Rupees, the Government contribution for October and November for Oriental publications, must also be reserved for the special purpose for which it was granted, leaving a net balance of Co.’s Rupees 530 0 6 for the purposes of the Society, and which will be totally absorbed by the payment of the balance due on account of the “ Burnes”’ drawings. The Society’s monthly income proceeds from the following sources : The Government allow for Oriental Publications, monthly, ..... Co.’s Rs. 500 0 O Muspaniiot Geology; 20. Yoo ee ee ee 250 0. @ Contingencies of museum of Geology, ........ 64 0 0 ea aia is 9 250 0 0 SPCEMERES Se. OY ae A er oe 500 0 O Co.'s. Rs. L114. O29 This sum is clearly only applicable to the special objects for which Government allow it—and whatever misconception or irregularity in this respect may have hitherto taken place, it deeply concerns the cha- racter and even the existence of the Asiatic Society to insist on the future application of these grants, being strictly in accordance with the mstructions of Government. The Society further receives annually from Pay- lane MIGMBET Sg cn.» akin Se. 2)8omin) a ial Teale e,ca pO COMO EN Subscription to Journal, sc. els oes cicdie soe) LOR) oOiO Average Sale of Publications according to last WAM BVETAL Oy)... iichae ale aldiaiepal «david eS.a 75a. 0.0 Annual Co.’s Rs. 10,179 O O Monthly Income, 5, 848 5 4 This Income is expended as follows :-— Assistant Secretary and Librarian, ......... «? 100520700 Librany Hsteblishimenty.}y 5... coe. ee os 52 ~B oO ‘Establishment of Zoological museum,........ 138 0 0 Curator’s House-rent....... FoR outa SiOe o% 40 0 0 1847.] Report. 0% Secretaries’ Establishment, ............000. 86 0 0 ORNS AE TRS. 8) TA 10 O O Printing of Journal, ......... vite ie shay SABE: O° 0 Miscellaneous printing,........ 0... cece eee o 0 10 Co.’s Rs. 866 8 0 Check and Audit. The next subject to be considered is the regulation of the Society’s expenditure, especially of such funds as it may hold in trust for special purposes from Government, from learned Societies, or munificent indi- viduals. | Recent resolutions of the Society have been passed declaring the course the Society should in future pursue, but unless there be adopted a regular system of Check and Audit, we can never be certain but that funds granted for one purpose are applied to another, thereby leading to ill feeling, disunion and consequent loss of character to the Society. The Committee therefore propose that the accountant be required to attend the monthly meetings with a Dr. and Cr. account, state- ment of dependencies and vouchers, and that the same be read at each meeting as a regular part of the proceedings of the month—that a balance sheet be published once in each year; that one period of payment be adopted and that within the first week after every monthly meeting ; that at the monthly meetings all demands on the Society should be produced and the amounts if sanctioned entered on the proceedings, excluding of course the regular Establishments. The sign- ing of checques as well as the general business of the Society should further be conducted by one Secretary only—the office establishment being under his control, and in his absence by the Co-Secretary next in seniority of appointment. All correspondence moreover on the Society’s business in every department should be signed or countersigned by the Senior Secretary and copies filed in his office, The preceding summary of the accounts points out but too clearly, that the Society from its own means can at present do no more, than maintain the Journal, and provide for Establishments and Contingencies strictly on the foregoing scale—and it seems necessary to intimate to the Curators and other officers that it becomes their duty at present rather 94 Report. ek ie [ JAN. to preserve existing collections than to incur any avoidable expenses in making additions to our Museums,—and that under no circumstances, short of a general vote of the Society, can the seale of “ Contingencies” assigned by Government be exceeded in their departments. Under this head it seems necessary to observe that the European tem- porarily engaged since November, 1846, as a night watch in the Society’s house, at 40 Rs. per mensem, has been discharged from the 5th inst. The native chokedars are retained ; the Committee are of opinion that when the Society’s funds permit the outlay it will be indispensable to have a European keeper or porter resident in the premises. Such a man can be obtained onthe guarantee of the Police Authorities for 40 rupees a month. It should be a part of his duty to accompany visitors through the rooms, and he should be entrusted with the special charge of such coins or other moveable articles of particular value as the Society may possess. Had such a person been employed for the last three years, it is not probable that we now should have to deplore the loss of the fine collection of coins and the gold medal of the Emperor of Russia of which we have been lately despoiled.* PUBLICATIONS. We have next to notice the important subject of the Society’s Pub- lications, of which the Journal has first to be considered. The Committee of Papers are unanimously of opinion that on the maintenance of the Journal, the regularity of its appearance, and the judicious selection of its contents, depend chiefly the usefulness and the reputation of the Society. Recent changes among the officers have interfered with its regular appearance, but measures are now complete for its issue in the Ist week of each month. The Committee append a list of the papers now in hand for their periodical, and the varied nature of these contributions and the known ability of the authors, hold out most gratifying prospects of this department of the Society’s labours proving creditable to themselves and beneficial to the public. The monthly reports of Proceeding having been printed up to the close of 1846, but not issued since March, the Committee of Papers propose to distribute the whole at once this month, as a supplement to * The members of the Committee of Papers have since this Report was drawn up retained at their own cost a retired European Sergeant strongly recommended to them by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, and who now resides on the premises, 1847. | ? Report. 95 the Journal, in the form of the series herewith submitted.“ And in future they think it would be’ conducive to the utility of the Society to publish abstracts of the proceedings in the daily papers, as was done in former years. Oriental Publications. For this valuable object a sum of 500 Rs. per mensem, has been munificently granted by Government in the year 1838, and applied in strict accordance with the directions of Government till the close of the year 1840, and the mode of application duly reported to Government. From this period it appears on reference to the accounts published in 1842, for 1841, in the Journal Vol. XI. part I. p. 198, and rendered by Mr. Bolst, but not hitherto published from 1842 to 1846, that through some misunderstanding of the orders of Government, the greater part of the monthly grant has been applied to purposes which, however useful or important, were not contemplated im the terms of the grant. The ex- penses of the Zoological drawings by Sir A. Burnes, and of those of Dr. Cantor’s Chusan Zoology, constitute the heaviest items of this irregular expenditure, being specified in Mr. Bolst’s abstracts, under the head of ‘«< Oriental Publications,” and uci to Co.’s Rs. 6833: 14: 9, as follows : 1842. Paid J. Bennett for Sir A. Burnes’ drawings, Rs. 650 0 0 Mressrs. Gall and Co. for do. do... 4502.00 4.2145 0.0 SVE TSIS () as (0 0 (0 or a 643 0 0 1843. Paid Mr. Bennett for Sir A. Burnes’ drawings,.. 200 0 0 RIAN CT LOT ADs sain a0iin «ay oieie oie ys vies w oo aes 225) 3-49 1844, Paid Mr. Bennett for Sir A. Burnes’ drawings,. . ES. 70% 0 Do. for Dr. Cantor’s Chusan Zoology, ........ 900 0 0 1845. Paid Mr. Bennett on account of Dr. Cantor’s Zoo- RE ie in <, ahnis FREES ee ee Sn ane 800 0 O Meee VAL ATA LOT PTT) «ohio tseifa, diaigi-a 9 sas wrens ars 261. 9 Gena Do. balance for Burnes’ drawings,............ 68 4 0 1846. Paid Mrs. Ballin for lithographing Burnes’ draw- (To July.) ings, , . ‘ "A 5221 Zw ak Bennet for Dr. Cantor's Gikusan Soca uh 400 0 QO Co.’s Rs. 6833 14 9 * This has been done since the January meeting. 96 Report. [Jan. During the period in question the Society has published, or paid towards the publication of ‘ Oriental’? works :— Paid for publishing Oriental works,..............-. 6,463 1 6 Do. for purchase of Oriental works, &c............. 657 10 0 Do. Contingent charges for Do...............-- en OY RR! Amount disbursed on account of Oriental | Co’s Rs. 7,682 Publications from 1842 to 1846, ..... J ters Kstablishment for preservation of Oriental works, &c. from September to December | ihe as 38 272):0. 0 1846, @ 68 Rs. per month, .......... Total Co.’s Rs. 7,954 11 5 Dec. 31, 1846. While we have received during the same period at 500 Rs. per month for five years,........ Co.’s Rs. 30,000 0 0 leaving Co.’s Rs. 22,045 4 7. Due by the Society to the account of the grant in question.* The Committee of Papers have been led to this retrospective view of the subject of the Oriental publication grant by the circumstances which have followed the resolutions adopted by the Society at their meeting of November, 1846, and which gave rise to the annexed correspondence. To G. A. Bususy, Esa. Secretary to the Government of India, Home Department. Sir,—I am directed by the Asiatic Society of Bengal to convey through you their most respectful solicitation that, in the future disposal of the means placed in their hands by Government for the promotion of Oriental literature, they may be permitted to defray from the monthly allowance of Co.’s Rs. 500, the expense of printing in the Society’s Transactions and Journal all papers on the subjects named in the subjoined resolution—And also to meet therefrom the cost of preserving the Oriental works now in the Library, for which a monthly allowance of 78 Rs. long awarded by Government has been recently withdrawn. I have, &c. &c. (Signed) W. B. O’SHAUGHNESSY, Senior Secretary, Asiatic Society. * Of Which Rs. 1,500, the amount received on this account since Sept. 1846, are in hand and available for the regular purpose according to the Government order. 1847. | Report. 97 Resolution adopted by a General Meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 4th November, 1846. Resolved, that Government be respectfully solicited to permit the Society to de- fray from the monthly allowance of Rs. 500 for Oriental Publications, first, the expense of the custody of the works now in store (for which a sum of 78 rupees per mensem allowed by Government has lately been withdrawn) and 2d, the cost of publication in the Society’s Transactions and Journal of all papers on Oriental litera- ture, History, Antiquities, Geography and kindred subjects of research. The following reply from Mr. Secretary Bushby, dated 21st Novem- ber, 1846, was received after the meeting of December. From G. A. Bususy, Esa. Secretary to the Government of India. Dated 21st November, 1846. Home Department. To W. B. O’SHauGuNnessy, Esa. Senior Secretary, Asiatic Society. Sir,—‘‘ I am directed by the Hon’ble the President in Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 7th instant, conveying the solicitation of the Society, that in the future disposal of the means placed in their hands by Govern- ment for the promotion of Oriental Literature, they may be permitted to defray from the monthly allowance of Co.’s Rs. 500, the expense of printing in the So- ciety’s Transactions and Journal, all papers on Oriental Literature, History, Anti- quities, Geography and kindred subjects of research, and also to meet therefrom the cost of preserving the Oriental Works now in the Library.” 2. “In order the better to be able to decide on the Society’s Application, the President in Council could wish to have before him a statement in detail of the manner in which the Government grant of 500 Rs. per mensem has hitherto been appropriated.”’ 3. ‘* His honor in Council remarks that the conditions of the grant have not been fully carried out by the Society. One of these conditions was that an Annual Account should be rendered by the Society of the manner in which the Government donation had been expended. This seems to have been lost sight of, for the only account current rendered by the Society is that forwarded with your letter dated the 13th January, 1840.”’ 4, *‘ Again it should be shown how the wish expressed by the Hon’ble Court of Directors in regard to the printing of the text of the Vedas, with a commentary, has been kept in mind, and what may be the purpose of the Asiatic Society in regard to the publication of this important Record.’’ 98 Report. [ Jan. 5. The President in Council will on receipt of the statement above called for, be better prepared to judge of the manner of the past appropriation of phe Govern- ment grant, and to decide on the present application of the Society. I have, &c. &c. (Signed) G. A. Bususy, Secretary to the Government of India. Council Chamber, the 21st November, 1846. On receipt of Mr. Bushby’s letter the Secretaries, then but recently elected, made the requisite examination of the accounts, with the result set forth in the foregoing sketch, and which correspond with the gene- ral statements previously made by the Sub-Committee of Finance, but unintelligible because unaccompanied by details. The Committee of Papers regret deeply that any portion of the Oriental Publication Fund should have been used for other purposes, and they consider the Society bound to acknowledge the sum so used as a debt to Government, but one of which the present state of their pecuniary affairs, renders it impracticable for them to offer immediate payment. In partial extenuation of the irregularity, the Committee refer with some satisfaction to the magnificent Zoological collections, to the procural of which no small portion of the fund has been directed, to the very large contributions made to the Museum of the India House —and to the additions to their buildings, and the gathermg together of suitable monuments in their Hall to the great men by whose labours the Asiatic Society has gained such fame, as the patrons and promoters of Oriental, Literary, and Antiquarian research. The Committe too would represent to Government that for 58 years previous to this grant the greater part of their funds has been expended on the publication of re- searches of the same, or an allied nature, and in the promotion of every branch of antiquarian investigation. Having at least disbursed more than two lacks of Rupees in this pursuit, the Committee trust that Go- vernment will look indulgently on the irregularity which has occurred. They would state that it was in no small degree caused by the indiffer- ence of the few Oriental Scholars among us during the period under review to the editing or publishing of works of acknowledged import- ance. They would express the resolution of the Society—to watch carefully over the future application of the grant, and to refer regard- ing this on all occasions to the advice of the section of eminent Orien- talists already appointed for the purpose. 1847. | Report. 99 Meanwhile the question of the mode of publication of the Vedas has been referred to the Oriental Sub-Committee, who are as yet unprepared with their Report. The Rev. Dr. Heberlin has recently intimated to the Committee that he is publishing the Smritis under the Society’s authority, and that the whole of the grant for 1847 is thus forestal- led. But as the records of the Society contain no evidence of this publication having been duly authorized, and as it appears that the greater portion of the Smritis have already been published by a Native Editor, the Committee recommend that the work be not further pro- ceeded with, until the Vedas are finished.* Lastly, with reference to Mr. Bushby’s letter, the Committee of Pa- pers suggest that, should their views meet the approbation of the So- ciety, the Secretaries be directed to draft a reply in corresponding terms and submit the same to the Committee for revisal, and that in this reply the Society should, under the circumstances now elicited, beg the permission of Government to withdraw their former application. The financial difficulties above specified render it-obviously impracti- cable to carry out the Society’s resolution to print Colonel Everest’s Trigonometrical observations, as a volume of Transactions. It becomes equally impossible to proceed with the “‘ Burnes’ drawings. amen tieve were imall. 0) 600s ee ee a 146 These have = hota st wrote 50 Riskeshiovien Ghegyty. tae; 20 Manumaliasy io. OOS ST) 9 BISA 2k hOONR. A ot. POU Reptiles iar Hi ae PT 7 20 Those completed have cost Co.’s Rs. 5682 1 6 Lt SSE Ean Toe 9, SCO Pi wees ot bk G Due, ns nF 600 0 0 5682 1 6 To finish the whole as directed by the Society in 1841,+ would cost * A proposition on this subject reecived from the Rev. Dr. Heberlin on the 28th January will be submitted to the next meeting. + See Vol. XIII. Part 2d, Proceedings, page c. 100 Report. [Jan. at least 12,000 Rupees more, a sum altogether beyond our means, or our reasonable prospects. The Zoological Curator Mr. Blyth, is engaged in the MS. of the descriptive drawings completed, and the Committee propose to issue the whole ina Portfolio to the members of the Society, as soon as Mr. Blyth enables them to do so. Regarding Dr. Cantor’s very beautiful drawings, the Secretaries have failed to obtain some essential information, and which they cannot hope for, before Mr. Torrens’ expected visit to Calcutta im the ensuing month. The Committee of Papers confidently expect that in connexion with the Journal nearly the whole of Dr. Cantor’s drawings will be published by the Society within a moderate period. Alterations in Society’s rules. The Committee next invite the consideration of the Society to a proposal they regard as one of very great consequence. It has lately happened on several occasions that at scanty meetings, measures have been adopted and officers elected without any previous notice or oppor- tunity for deliberation,—or for the expression of the general opinion of the members on the several proposals. The danger to which this ex- poses the society, is equally serious and obvious. They may at any time find a few members voting away funds or altering their organization so as to favor some particular pursuit. To prevent this the Committee suggest that in future all proposals affecting expenditure, election of officers, changes of organization, and generally all questions of import- ance, be first duly notified at a general meeting, then referred to the Committee of Papers for report, and not decided on finally, until passed by a general meeting, (after such report shall have been submitted,) at which at least 12 members must be present. Institution of Sections. The Committee are further desirous to advert to the strong necessity which appears to exist for forming special Committees or Sections among the members resident in Calcutta and its vicinity, for advice and reference to on subjects demanding peculiar acquirements in the indivi- duals who are consulted. It may be said that the Committee of Papers are so constituted or so 1847.| | Report. 101 intended as to represent the different objects of the Society, but experi- ence has proved beyond doubt that it never has so answered. The Committee has been at one time almost exclusively composed of gentle- men who deemed Oriental Literature the paramount object of the Society, and at another period we have seen researches in Oriental philology nearly abandoned in favour of Zoology and kindred sciences. By the appointment of Sub-Committees or Sections, subject to annual election, for advice and reference, to which their functions should be strictly limited, and to be referred to only through the Committee of Papers, as Council of the Society,—we would have the means of combining in one group men of similar attainments, to whom the Society, through the Committee of Papers, could refer their doubts and difficulties for consideration and advice, and who would, from time to time, themselves suggest the objects to which the patronage of the Society might be profitably applied. How efficiently this plan works in the French Institute, in the British Association, and in the Royal Society of London, the Committee need not press on consideration. They are persuaded it will prove highly beneficial if adopted by the Asiatic Society. It has already been par- tially acted upon at the November meeting, by the appointment of the following gentlemen as an Oriental Sub-Committee. Members.— The Rev. Dr. Heeberlin, the Rev. Mr. Long, Major Marshall, and Dr. Roer. It is now proposed to extend the plan by forming for the following year similar Sub-Committees. 1. Geology and Mineralogy. 2. Zoology and Natural History. 3. Meteorology and Physics. 4. Geography and Indian Statistics. It is recommended that the Secretaries of the Society be the Se- cretaries of the sections also. The Sub-Committees should be ex-officio Inspectors of the Museums in their several departments, and it should be strongly urged upon the section of Meteorology to take measures for securing for the Society a monthly Meteorological Report of Baro- meter, Sympiesometer, Thermometer, Hygrometer, also Rain Gauge, Anemometer, and a Register of thunder storms on the plan prescribed by Arago (v. Annuaire, Art. “‘ Tonnerre,”) such as those which in the 102 Report. [JAan. time of the lamented James Prinsep adorned each issue of the Journal, and provided data for Meteorologists all over India, wherewith to com- pare and correct their individual researches. The Committee have only further to express their earnest hope that the members of a Society, the oldest in India, and holding a distin- guished place in the estimation of the scientific world, will individually as well as in co-operation with each other, make their best efforts to. promote the objects for which the Society has been instituted. In every department for research we number members of eminent acquire- ments. Those residing at distant stations will find in the sections now proposed representatives of their special pursuits with whom to corre- spond, with whom to compare, or mature the results of their enquiries. The Committee trust that new and efficient labourers will thus be soon induced to join our ranks thereby increasing our funds to such an amount as may enable us with the generous aid at present afforded by Govern- ment, to extend efficient patronage to every branch of research, which it is the province of the Asiatic Society to promote. In submitting the preceding Report the Secretaries desire in justice to their eminent predecessor to republish here the resolution of the Society passed at the meeting of November, 1846, respecting the previ- ous management of the accounts and expenditure. Extract from Proceedings of Nov. 1846. A letter having been read from Mr. Torrens to the Co-Secretary re- garding the accounts and expenditure of the Society during his secre- tariat— It was resolved unanimously and directed to be laid before the next general meeting for record. That the Committees beg leave to repeat prominently the previous declaration of the Finance Committee, that the confusion in the accounts of the Journal arose entirely from an accidental omission and error on the part of the accountant, and further that they consider that every act of Mr. Torrens, in the management of the Society’s pecuniary affairs has been done most openly and with their full cognizance and sanction. (Adopted by the November Meeting.) 1847.| Report. 103 The following Accounts, and documents are appended for the infor- mation of the Society :-— 1.—Mr. Bolst’s abstract annual accounts, from January, 1842, to July, 1846. 2.—General sketch of account from 1842 to Dec. 1846, compiled by Mr. Muller, from Mr. Bolst’s statements. 3.—Detailed account of expenditure on Oriental publications for the same period. 4.—Statement of the amounts received by the sale of Oriental pub- lications. 5.—Statement of the Society’s income. 6.—List of Members, and Office-bearers for 1847. Asiatic Society of Bengal, January, 1847. SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT. At a Meeting of the Asiatic Society, held on Wednesday evening, the 10¢/ Fesruary, 1847. The Hon’ble Sir J. P. Grant, in the Chair. The Report submitted to the January meeting was taken into consi- deration. Major Marshall objected to the mode in which the vacancies in the Committee of Papers had been filled wp at the last meeting, and thought a bond fide annual clection should take place, which he proposed should now be resorted to. After some discussion it was proposed by the Lord Bishop of Cal- cutta, seconded by Mr. Ward, and carried with but one dissentient voice, that a formal election of all office-bearers should be resorted to in future, leaving the present arrangement undisturbed. 104 Report. [JAN. With reference to the paragraph in the Report which relates to the Rev. Dr. Heeberlin’s edition of the Smvritis, the senior Secretary read the following letter from Dr. Heeberlin, dated the 30th January, 1847. My pear Srr,—With reference to my proposal to print an entire collection of the Smritis, as submitted to the meeting of the Asiatic Society on the Ist of July last, I have the pleasure to inform you, that soon after that date, I addressed a letter to Mr. H. Torrens, then Secretary to the Society, stating, at his request, the probable expense of the undertaking, and requesting to know as soon as possible whether the Committee of Papers had sanctioned the arrangement, and when I might commence upon the work. In reply Mr. Torrens stated, that I could commence the work whenever I pleas- ed. I send for your perusal his letter to me. A considerable portion of the work has in consequence of this intimation of the then Secretary, been already printed. A specimen of the same I beg herewith to forward to you. As it now appears that the Asiatic Society is scarcely in a position to carry on this important work, I am ready to take the entire responsibility upon myself if the Society will subscribe for 100 Copies. The work will be issued in two octavo volumes, and the price per volume will not exceed 10 Rupees. I should be sorry, if from any circumstance, the publication of this interesting work should be retarded. Hitherto no attempt has been made to collect these scattered writings. A few of these Smritis only were some years ago ‘printed in Bengali characters, and in the form of the usual Native Puthis; but these are not generally known, nor are they at all fitted for common use. I am, therefore willing, with the assistance of the Society, to bear a considerable risk myself, rather than postpone the publication of the work to any future period. Kindly let me know, as soon as possible, whether this proposal meet with the approbation of the Society. Believe me,: yours sincerely, J, H#BERLIN. The Senior Secretary stated on the part of the Committee of Papers, that they recommend to the Society the adoption of the Rey. Dr. Heeber- lin’s proposal, and a subscription to the Smritis for 100 copies, to be paid from the “ Oriental Grant.” Agreed unanimously. Captain Broome proposed the addition of a section to represent Numismatics and Architectural Antiquities ; this was seconded by Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes, and unanimously agreed to. The Senior Secretary, on the part of the Committee of Papers, read the subjoined list of members proposed for the several Sections. 1347.| Report. 105 Section 1.—Oriental Interature and Philology.* The Rev. Dr. Heeberlin. G. A. Bushby, Esq. Rev. J. Long. Major Marshall. Baboo Debendronath Tagore. Welby Jackson, Esq. Baboo Hurreemohun Sen. Secretary—Dr. Roer. Section 2.—Natural History. J. W. Grant, Esq. Captain Munro. R. W. G. Frith, Esq. Secretary—J. W. Laidlay, Esq. Section 3.—Geology and Minerology. D. H. Williams, Esq. Dr. Js. Dodd. Captain A. Broome. Secretary—J. W. Laidlay, Esq. Section 4.—WMeteorology and Physics. Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes. Rev. Mr. Pratt. J. W. Grant, Esq. Secretary—Dr. W. B. O’Shaughnessy. SECTION 5.—Geography and Indian Statistics. G. A. Bushby, Esq. 5. G. T. Heatley, Esq. Dr. Duncan Stewart. — Baboo Hurreemohun Sen. Secretary—S. G. T. Heatley, Esq. The foregoing list having been approved of, Captain Broome express- ed his desire to leave the nomination of the Section of Numismatics and Architectural Antiquities to the consideration of the Committee of Papers. Some typographical amendments having been suggested and agreed to, and various remarks made, leading however to no distinct resolution, the Report, with the additions above noted, was unanimously adopted. W. B. O'SHAUGHNESSY, Senior Secretary. Asiatie Society, 11th February, 1847. * Captain Latter having left Calcutta, is not included in this list.—Secs. 106 Report. [JAN. Statement of Disbursements on Account of Ortental Publications, from 1842 to 1846. July 30th, 1842. Paid Maulavi Abdullah for 90 copies of Fatawe eisai @ 10) dks. pervol, .. +e, DOC. JO, iO) Stitching ditto @ 4 annas ditto... ; By Oe se aaa 922 Dec. 19th, paid Maulavi Abdullah for 90 copies of ditto; vol. IT. . Pe OO 1 ae Stitching ditto ditto, .. sie LE ZDE POPES ———————_ 922 Ditto ditto paid Rev. J. Thomas for printing Index to the Mahabharata, .. 2,002 Jan. 3d, paid Pandit for corr ecting the proof sheet of Mahabharata, a 16 March 8th, paid Yusuf Ali for conying De- wan Sherif in Persian, 38 19 0 0O Ditto “Share Gulestan,”’ 6 sections, je 2 0 0 21 April 2d, paid Munshi for copying Jawahar ul Quran in Persian, 19 sections, of 8 leaves to a section @ 3 sections per Rupee, .. 6 Nov. 8th, paid Assistant Manulavi’s ‘salary for Sept. and Oct. 1842, oo. 18 Dec. 12th, paid ditto ditto ditto for Nov. 1842, ™ 10 Jan. 13th, 1843. Paid Shafatullah for FePeRe Tawa- rikh i } ’ Nadiri, per bill for Dec. 1842, 10 Sept. 21st, paid Maulavi Abdullah for print- ing 90 copies of Fatawe Alamgiri, vol. TIL. (@ V0 Tes: ‘per vol.) aie ooh OO oO 'RO Stitching ditto @ 4 annas per ditto, yb 29220840 922 8 0 Paid in part, 600 Oct. 20th, paid ditto ditto, . in full, 322 April 5th, paid Shafatullah, Assistant Maulavi, for co- ying and correcting Persian works for March, 1843, 10 May 5th, paid Munshi “Shafitullah for co- pying Persian books, ih a Dy OD Paper for the same, = 1° 307 8 10 Nov. paid Munshi for copying 45 juz of Tafsir Ali Ibn Hasan Zauwari for the month of Oct. 1843, ace 30 Jan. 9th, 1844. Paid Helal Uddin for copying a Persian bookgn~ 3. March 8th, paid Haji Farhat Iusain for copying an Ara- bie work, Kholasatul ia ed 52 es @ 23 per Sn oe ow Bier Tipe, i: 20 12 cc) own WwW 1847.] Report. Mareb 8th, paid Helal Uddin for copying a Persian book, June 5th, paid ditto for copying a Persian book, Ditto, paid ditto for copying a Plan of the Town of Amra- watti and a Sketch of Deepauldenna Amrawatti, Jan. 9th, 1845. Paid for 1 ream printing paper for Ista- lahat Sifia, Jan. 9th, paid Hafiz Ahmad Kabir for printing 500 co- pies of Istalahat Sufia, March 5th, paid Munshi Hell Uddin for copying 32 pages of Kitéb Umda Darfane Jarahat, @ 9 pages per Rupee, . August 8th, paid Nacoo Painter for painting a Map ‘of Assam, &c. per Bill, .. Ditto, paid Helal Uddin for copyi ing an Arabie work * Kitab Umda,” : Sept. 5th, paid H. M. Smith for printing 750 copies co- loured of the Nurbudda River, Noy. 6th, paid for copying T awarikh Dost Muhammad, with paper, Dec. 30th, paid Mauluyi Aménatullah for a printed copy of Burhan Qéate, compiled by Ibn Khalafut Tabrezi Muhammad Husain, Ditto, paid extra Munshi for copying the following works : —a copy of Pusto Dictionary, by Najibullah Khan, a Gulestén in the same language, by Mir Muhammad Peshawari, and a poetical Urdu translation of Shaikh Fariduddin’s letters, Pandanamah made by Maanuddin Tabrezi, .. nee A: it, March 6th to April 21st, 1846. Paid Hafiz Ahmad Ka- bir for printing 500 copies of the Tawarikh i Nadiri (History of Nadir Shah) 386 pages @ 2-8 per page. . July 14th, paid Persian writer for copymg the Arabic book Naharul Fieq Shareh Kanzud Daqaak for June last, August, paid ditto for translating an Arabic work, Sept. llth, paid Maulavi Qurban Ali for copying the Arabie work Naharul Faeq Shareh Kanzud Daqdak for August. . Nov. 24th, paid Maulavi Qurbs in Alt for copy ing the Ara- bie work Naharul Faeq Shareh Kanzud _Dagiak f for Oct. 1846,. ; Dec. 4th, paid ditto ditto ditto for Nov. Dec. 18th, paid Rev. A. W. Street, Bursar, Bishop’ s Col- lege, for press work and paper of 9 pp. 500 copies of Extra Title and Preface to Abdur Razaq’s Dictionary of Technical terms, by Dr. Sprenger @ 3-4 per pase, Co.’s Rs. 9 0 3 0 12 0 20 0 210 O a 44 6 oer & 136 4 ie fev 35 «(0 965 0 & 6@ 10 0 3.0 6 0 4 0 29 4 6,463 1 D/ el 107 an) on) or. © a) 0 6 108 Report. | JAN. Statement of Disbursements on Account Purchase of Oriental Publications from 1842 to 1846. August 8th, 1842. Paid Thacker and Co., for 5 copies of Alif Lailah, vol. 4th, big June 25th, 1844. Paid Bhabanicharan Bénayj for sundry books per bill, August 9th, 1845. Paid ditto ditto ditto per ditto, Nov. 18th, paid Maulavi Masihuddin for books, March 5th, paid Dr. Roer for Sprenger’s Elements of Hin- du Law, Vol. II. 8 Rs. ; Crawford’s pastony of the Indian Archipelago, Vol. I. 5 Rs. ‘ Oct. 4th, paid Dr. Roer for sundry books per vouchers, Dec. 30th, paid Maulavi Badiruddin for a printed copy of Sarfe Urdu, by Maulavi Amanatullah, in Hin- dustani Poetry, : Feb. 4th, 1846. Paid James Francis Corcoran for 35 co- pies of the 1st part of the Urdu Translation of Aisop’s Pables, :.... March, paid Bhaba nicharan Banayj for sundry Bengéli books, per bill, i April 6th, paid ditto for a copy of Bhigabat Gité, June 12th, paid Rev. J. Thomas for 30 copies of Dr. Wise’s Commentary on the Hindu System of Medicine, Noy. 24th, paid Ostell and —— for a cer of Forbes’ Hindu Manual, : Co.’s Rs. 60. «0.0 81. .3. 0 a 10 0 23, 8-0 LS 0) 84 8 0 25:0. 9 70.0 -0: 12 9 0 2 8 O 300 0 0 412 0 657 10 0 SEcRETARY’s Notr.—Of the account thus furnished the following items seem to be irregularly charged to the Oriental grant. Mr. Smith’s Bill for map of Nurbudda river, Crawford’s history of Indian Archipelago, Cos Rs. 141 4 0 1847.] Report. 109 Statement of Contingent Charges on Account of Oriental Publi- cations from 1842 to 1846. Feb. 2d, 1842. Paid Daftari for binding Oriental books, Rs. July 2d, paid Mackenzie, Lyall and “Co. fOr advertizing Notice to the Purchasers of Mahabharata, August 16th, paid Bengal Hurkaru ditto, Ditto, paid Englishman’ ditto, Ditto, paid for. Bengal Ink, ng Nov. 8th, paid charges for dispatching Index to the Ma- habharata to the Hon’ble the Court of Directors and Monsieur Jules Mohl, a7 March 7th, 1843. Paid for a tin box for 13 volumes of Oriental works sent to the Pasha of Egypt, - Ditto, paid for 1 quire of Balasore paper, . May 5th, paid for binding books, .. May 12th, paid Allan, Patton and Co., for Bills on Mer don, on Messrs. Gladstone, Kerr and Co., in favor of J. Reynolds, Secretary Griesial Translation Fund, a subscription of the pocisty for 1842-43, £10 10s - annum, £21 @ 1-11 2 per Rupee,* ; July 10th, paid for binding Oriental works, August 5th, paid for 5 tin and 5 wooden boxes for the eeoial Publications, : Sept. 6th, paid for binding Oriental books, Ditto, paid for Balasore paper, é Oct. 11th, paid for Balasore paper 1, Binding book 1; Noy. 34d, paid for binding books, .. Jan. 9th, 1844. Paid for Black and Red Ink for copying Nagari work, . May 11th, paid for binding Oriental books, April 5th, 1845. Paid for paper for copying Sanskrit,. May 7th, paid S. Martin for binding Persian books, July 4th, paid Daftari for binding nookes August oth, paid ditto ditto, March, 1846. Paid ditto for binding a book—Life of Rém- mohan Ray, Ditto paid ditto sundry Oriental works, Ditto paid ditto ditto ditto, Sept. 11th, paid ditto for binding books, Co.’s Rs. * This item is irregularly charged to the Oriental grant.—Secs. 30 © = bo NI 561 aSoce wo a) Loh onooK SoS nNnocre& ao an aa) aia a) aan an @Q 15 — _ 110 Report. [Jan, Orienial Publications, &c. sold from the \st of January to the 31st of December, 1846. Tibetan WiewoMirys Pecan, sys en eee sae Rs. Mahabharata, 18 vols. -........ Index to ditto, 32 vols. . Harivansa, 10 copies, Naishada, 7 copies, .... Rajatarangini, 3 copies. : Stisruta, vols. I. and II. 4 copies each, Sanskrita Catalogue, 3 copies. . Lassen’s Gita Gov india, Copy... te Fatawe Alamgiri, vol. I. 2 copies, ‘vol. IL. 2 do. vol. II. 3 do., vol. IV. Sudo spvol W Po do.syel, Ves dost ©... Jawame Thm Riazi, Lycopy,/.. 24% coe gee eee Khazanat ul Ilm, 4 copies, ....... Tawarikh i Nadiri, 5 copies, Baraat oko Persian ‘Catalogue, 3 copies, «2G Aaa GS Histoire des Rois du Kachmir, 1 cory Travels of Ibn Batuta, ] copy. : Essai sur le Pali, 1 copy,. Leech’s Grammar and Vocabulary ‘of the Beloochi and Punjabi Languages, 1 copy,..... o GO Bd ae Edgeworth’s Kashmiri Grammar, 1 copy, aoa oe Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 84 Nos. ; “6 at Rs. 2, and the rest at Rs. 1-8,. Asiatic Researches, vol. XIX. part II. 2 copies, vol. XX. part I. 2 copies, a3 : Total Co.’s Rs. 838 —) S ic) Si SO 1S-S S Senco qoc am) eooo oo oC Oo —) S =, oo ooo o © S Abstract of the number of books received into the Library, during the year 1846. Works. Vols. & Nos. PSNR 2 8 Sok wt eee 81 re ees orcs Uehara ke ee ee ee 16 Mati AE 10 20S RS FE) ORT Cra ie 6 Gert 3 PE et La Sih Sak A ig 28 TNR C RTOS ys gece eh eee en: ee men 16 Pameeratas: 22 ta ok ie a is, Ree PS 8 Breen, Mee 8, eee Oe es ee 3 Fis lg) op pgm te SRS MOA ea. yee Pg Sak 1 Pere, RS Rs ee SNe neta Take ] Uransr r=... 2 Hindui, l Total 164 389 33 39 56 o4 o2 5 l I ob 668 1847.] Report. 111 Oriental Publications in store at the close of the year 1846. Mahébharata, vol. I. 177 copies, vol. II. 193 do., vol. III. 219 do., vol. LV. 245 do. Index to Mahabharata, vol. I. 297 copies, vol. II. 299 copies, vol. III. 305 do., vol. IV. 280 do. Copies. ES rss |S. eee eae 428 NIE ak on cs oss < Sw he See We MR a a cael 9) oe 257 Naishada, ...... ie bie ee a 156 Stsruta, vol. I. 235, wale aaa 281.- Fatawe Alamgiri, vol. 1. 68 copies, vol. IT. 77 do., vol. III. 86 do., ao TV. 39 do., vol. V. 77 do., vol. VI. 89 do. Enéya, vol. II. 21 copies, vol. III. 13 do., vol. IV. 15 do. IEEE ELISIe sO cen Se ee Pe oe ane Baas 361 GTEC FSS So ee ant Pee husiarrahin, 9yce5 WS. sie eS ecclce ek wt ee ee sein 293 Memeenth Eshatty re Paes 6 Sie Ho ea nah [ate ts veg ore Se wala a 309 IN ATER a ach te! J a 5 Ce ae cite ee ss 211 Tibetan Dictionary, . 191 Points in the History of the Greek and Indo- Scythian Kage... 15 Leech’s Grammar ‘and “Vocabulary ‘of the Beloochi and RP URLCS. 1 la ahs ves e eee tees Vocabulary of the Scinde Spee. nyeede delay shetty. eisuerabels Istalahat Stifia,........ Sepia sc se wa, Ct otk Tawarikh i Nadiri, ..... A472 Asiatic Researches, vol. re 5 copies, si) EE 2 do. a Ill. 3 do., vol. VI. 50 do., vol. VII. 111 do., vol. VIII. 43 do., ca: IX. 101 do., var X. 53 do., vol. XI, 96 do., vol. XII. 33 do., vol. XIII. 39 do. vol. XIV. 57 do. wor XV. 52 do., vol. XVI. 84.do.; vol. XVII. 205 do., vol. XVIII. 42 do., vol. XVIII. part Ist, 61 do., vol. XVIII. part 2nd, 155 do., vol. XTX. 222 do., vol. XIX. part Ist, 19 do., vol. XIX. part 2nd, 90 do., vol. XX. 217 do., vol. XX. part Ist, 11 do., vol. XX. part 2nd, RMIT i Ban) oe refers ele chee cdlats Gra cietare oo wd 122 Pemeeera Catalogue, ........0000% PR creak eS este clipe 230 IRTP Nt Slee ee ok, Ge ent SUN cuet aie aceca's ve wt 220 English ditto. 112 Report. [JAn. Statement of the Amounts received by the Sale of Oriental Pub- lications. Sale of Oriental Publications in 1842, ..cccececccece 829 8 Ditto Ditto 1845; Se sak wee te) ee Ditto Ditto 1844, Se eee eee ae fe) Peer Ditto Ditto isan tc ene 1,047 10 Ditto Ditto Donors 2 2, pce Oe lif 7 Co.’s Rs. 3,775 6 Average per year Co.s Rs. 755 0 wHNowcoeo 0 0 Statement showing the monthly income of the Asiatic Society, from Members, Subscribers to the Journal, and sale of Publications. 136 Members. 83 Members paid for 3d Qr. of 1846 at 64 per Annum, 5,248 LOXS Ditto. Mew) os 2 aren ne ec cis eee meetin arena 640 29 °® Ditto. who have not. paid, ...... sce: .cs-<-), sel oe ele 1,920 7,808 14 Ditto who will probably not pay. 132 61 Subscribers to the Journal at 16 Rs. per Annum, 976 40 Copies for the Hon’ble Company. .......... 640 — 1,616 9,424 Average receipts by sale of Publications,.......... 755 (Swe a Co.’s Rs. 10,179 Probable monthly income,.............. Co.’s Rs. 848 E. E. 113 "fija100g a1Misp “junjunosap ‘MATION NHOF { ‘OPRI ‘uaquasaqy STE ‘fjors0g ouypisy ‘nj7na1v9 9 0 32896 ‘SU S99 0 0 OO0FS ‘SY S09 ‘jeumor ay} 0 0 OOF'T “syUNODIV OY} POYSIUMy Surry 0} suonduasqng Sut “S you yuejyUNOIDe 94e, 9Y} ‘UMOUYUY) -purysyng, Aq opquztjeoy 50 0 aac's eorerereeeere ee oe eeeeeere ee ee ee ve ‘POLS ‘SY 0 0 000% RS ‘s][Iq poyooT[ooun Jo yuNoUIe oY} UO “yuU90 Jad OG 48 0 0 O00 poyeurysa ‘suoydiiosqng Surpurysng Aq o[qezreoyy 0 0 000‘T ee weraolewiaie He 6 oe he CMEC Ul JUISY Wo ong 0 0 00S‘T 9 0 0&2 a9 60 eceinig Sa alake MR octane 6 © 6b 5 Hee I Oe ee 0 0 000s 0 0 00s‘ BBYT 8°00) ° 1 88 PE Oreos & one Coa SIEM) *“LIGGUY LY SHIONGTONAdT CAGg tees Es ier r ev ilesiibiewnn ay edie S¥vines cqar rad ‘sy Ogg Jo aseroae ATYJUOUL JY} 48 “QFQ] OF peysyqnd [eumor 23 Jo “son F Jo 4s0g poyeunsy ""'**-OFRT ‘taquiaydag souls puny [eyUaIIG 0} onG rreeeeeee-osodind yeursig 03 pordde usaq Sut -ABY JOU “PaUINJod 9 04 ‘SY OG AOJ WIP s AMV “APY eeceorereeeovre eve eevee ere ee ee ee ee “WILD S UALIOT, “TTA ‘SY $09 SW aBag tna. erty Ge Soe SPOT s qyTg “ITN “LEBI 119 U2 Joa 07 sarzyigoyT ‘LIddq LV SHIONTANGaTg *fiqa190g aUMIsEy 114 Report. LIST OF SUBSCRIBING MEMBERS. Anderson, Major W. Avdall, J. Esq. Batten, J. H. Esq. Baker, Capt. W. E. Beaufort, F. L. Esq. Briggs, Lieut. D. Birch, Lieut.-Col. R. J. H. Birch, Major F. W. Bogle, Major A. Brandreth, J. E. L. Esq. Buckland, C. T. Esq. Burton, Lieut. C. E. Blagrave, Lieut. T. C. Barlow, R. Esq. Bushby, G. A. Esq. Bowring, L. R. Esq. Borrodaile, J. Esq. Benson, Lieut. Col. R. Benson, W. H. Esq. Boyes, Capt. W. E. Broome, Capt. A. Cheape, G. C. Esq. Corbyn, F. Esq. Cust, R. N. Esq. Campbell, A. Esq. Colvin, J. R. Esq. Cameron, Hon’ble C. H. Cautley, Capt. P. S. Colvin, B. J. Esq. Christopher, A. Esq. Connoyloll Tagore, Baboo. Colville, J. Esq. Dunlop, A. C. Esq. Durand, Capt. H. M. Davidson, T. R. Esq. Dodd, J. Esq. Elhott, W. Esq. Earle, W. Esq. Furlong, J. Esq. Forbes, Lieut.-Col. W. N. | Fnth, R. W. G. Esq. Grant, Sir J. P. Grant, J. W. Esq. Grant, W. P. Esq. Gilmore, A. Esq. Gladstone, M. Esq. Goodwyn, Major H. Grey, W. Esq. Hardinge, C. 8. Esq. Hodgson, B. H. Esq. Hannay, Capt. T. S. Hays, Capt. Fletcher. Hopkinson, Capt. H. | Hodgson, Major Genl, J. A. | Hay, Lord Arthur. Henry, W. Dr. Heeberlin, J. Dr. Hill, G. Esq. Heatly, 8, G. T. Esq. Houstoun, R. Esq. Hume, J. Esq. Hough, H. T. Esq. _ Huffnagle, C. Esq. Jameson, W. Esq. Jenkins, Major F. Jerdon, T. C. Esq. Jackson, W. B. Esq. Karr, W. Seton, Esq. Kittoe, Capt. M. Knighton, W. Esq. Latter, Lieut. T. Lushington, E. H. Esq. Lushington, G. T. Esq. Loch, G. Esq. Laidley, J. W. Esq. Lawrence, Major H. M. McLeod, Major W. C. Mill, J. B. Esq. Middleton, J. Esq. Maddock, Sir T. H. [ JAN. 1847. ] Report. 115 Marshall, Major G. T. Spilsbury, G. G. Esq. McQueen, Rev. J. Strachey, Lieut. R. MeKilligan, J. P. Esq. Sleeman, Lieut.-Col. W. H. Mackey, D. E. Esq. Sherwill, Lieut. W. S. Manickjee, Rustomjee, Esq. Stephen, Capt. J. G. Muir, J. Esq. Stewart, L. C. Esq. M. D. McLeod, D. F. Esq. Stewart, Dr. D. McKenzie, J. Esq. Strong, F. P. Esq. Mitchell, A. Esq. Seton, Sir H. W. Montague, —Esq. Stacy, Lieut.-Col. L. R. Ouseley, Lieut.-Col. J. R. Sutchurn Ghosal, Rajah. O’Shaughnessy, W. B. Esq. M. D. | Shave, J. T. Esq. Ommanney, M. C. Esq. Samuells, E. A. Esq. Pourcain, J. St. Esq. Tickell, Capt. 8. R. Pratt, Rev. Mr. Phayre, Capt. A. Peel, Sir L. Trevor, C. B. Esq. Thomason, Honourable J. Torrens, J. S. Esq. Prinsep, C. R. Esq. Theobald, W. Esq. Prosonocoomar Tagore, Baboo. Torrens, H. Esq. Ripley, Lieut. T. W. Wilcox, Major R. Rawlinson, Major C. H. Wilson, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ravenshaw, E. C. Esq. Withers, Rev. G. U. Ryan, E. B. Esq. Willis, J. Esq. Romanath Tagore, Baboo. Wattenbach, A. Esq. Rajah Radhakant Deb, Bahadoor. | Ward, J. Esq. Ramgopaul Ghose, Baboo. Walker, H. Esq. Rustumjee Cowasjee, Esq. Wilby, G. R. Esq. Smith, Lieut. R. Baird. Young, Dr. MemeBers ELEcTED AT THE JANUARY MEETING 1847. Dirom, N. M. Esq. Muller, J. Esq. Debendernath Tagore, Baboo. Munro, Capt. W. Hurreemohun Sen, Baboo. Ouseley, Capt. , Jones, R. Esq. AssociaTr MEmBeErs.* Dr. E. Roer. Dr. McGowan, (China.) Rey. J. Long. H. Piddington, Esq. E. Blyth, Esq. * This class of ordinary members consists of gentlemen who are exempted from the payment of subscriptions.—There is also an Honorary class chiefly of highly distinguished non-residents and foreigners, a list of whom will be subsequently pub- lished. — Secs. 116 Report. LIST OF OFFICE-BEARERS For 1847. President. THE RIGHT HONORABLE LORD HARDINGE, G. C. B. GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA. Vice-Presidents. Tue Lorp BisHnor or Caucurta. Tue Hon’sre Sir J. P. Granr. Tue Hon’sxe Sir H. Seton. Lireut.-Cou. Forses. Honorary Vice-President. H. Torrens, Esa. Committee of Papers. Rev. Dr. HaBERLIN. W. Grey, Esa. G. A. Bususy, Esa. R. W. G. Fritru, Esa. W. P. Grant, Esa. J. W. Coxvity, Esa. WELBY Jackson, Esa. | AND Cart. Broome, H. A. S. G. T. Heatuey, Esa, Secretaries. Dr. W. B. O’SHAvGHNESSY. J. W. Larpuay, Esa. Dr. E. Rorr, Co-Secretary, Oriental Department. Basu Rasenpra LAt Mittra, Librarian, &c. H. Prppineton, Esa. Curator Museum of Geology, Se. E. Buytu, Esa. Ditto ditto Zoology, $e. Abstract Statement of Account of the Asiatic Society for the year 1842. — DISBURSEMENTS. Musi To paid Mr. *plyth’s Salary as Curator @ 250 per month, 3,000 0 0 » Establishment of Taxidermists, Artists, Carpenters, &e.. 1,591 3 3 ” Contingencies for Museum, 827 12 6 » Mr, Gomes’ Travelling Taxidermist, through Licut. Tickell and Mr. Blyth, oo ». Rewards to Messrs. Bouchez and Nicholas for ‘Extra work in the museum, 200 0 » Mr. Holquett for Proceeding to Darjesing ; ~.. 195 0 0 m Onset cases, a 118 0 0 5,920 15 9 Liprary. To yea Dr. E. Roer’s Salary as Librarian @ 100 per month,.. 1,200 0 0 Establishment for Oriental works, @ 78 per month, .. 936 0 O » Establishment and Contingencies, .. 1,284 13 0 " Books purchased from Messrs, Thacker and Co., Ostel and Lepage, and P. S. D'Rozario and Co. 207 11 O », Coins purchased from Mr. Mytton, .. 36 0 ». Freight and Insurance on Books sent to London, 169 2 3 3,833 10 3 MisceLLANeEous. To paid Messrs. Lyall, Matheson aud Co. of a refund of Mr. G. G. McPherson's subscription consequent on his ab- sence from Indin, 144 0 0 » Messrs, Mandy and Co. for it Varnishing an oil painting (Landscape), .. 50 0 0 Sa 194 0 0 Museum Economie Groxocy. To paid Mr, Piddington’s Salary as Joint Curator (from 26th February), +. 2,276 12 6 » Establishment ‘and Contingencies, ws +. 65213 6 » Mr. J.B. Plumb for Aparatus purchased of him, .. 50 0 0 » Mr, De Garnier for « pair of Scales, 70 0 0 — 3,049 10 0 Museum MINneRALoGy anp Geouoay. To paid Contingencies, a 143 2 3 » One Mineral case, 40 0 0 » Minerals purchased from Mr Mornay, 120 0 0 303 2 3 Secretary's Orrice EstanLisHMeNnt To paid Establishment and Contingencies, . . . 1,424 9 6 JouRNAL. To paid the er ele H. Torrens) for ranouraala aunties ty him to Members, 2,563 8B O » For Copying, Drawing, &c, 58 BOO 2,622 0 0 OrtentTat Puncications. To paid J. Bennett for Sir A. Burnes’ Drawings, -. 650 0 0 » Messrs. Ballin and Co. for ditto ditto, : 2145 2 0 » W. Rushton and Co, for paper for ditto, on 6430 «9 » Moulavee Abdoolla for 2 volumes of the Futuwa Alumgiri, 1845 0 0 » Rey. J. Thomas for Printing Index to the Mahabharata,. 2,012 7 9 7,295 10 6 Burtpinas. To paid in part for additions and repairs to the Society's Premises, a5 3,000 0 0 27,643 10 3 By balance in favor of the Secretary, a 1639 al Co.'s Rs. 29,272 14 4 Calcutta, 31st December, 1842. ¥, ASSETS. Museum. By allowance authorized by the Hon’ble the Court of Directors for the services of s Curator @ 250 per month, » Ditto for preparation of Specimens @ 50 per month Liprary. By allowance on account of Establishment for the custody of Oriental books tranferred from the Callexele of Fort Wil- liam @ 78 per month, By Sale proceeds of Books. By refund on account of attendance of Assistant Librarian, MisceLLaneous. By Subscriptions from Members for a Portrait of Sir E. Ryan, By Cash of a Interest received from Government Agents on Government Securities in their custody, By Sale proceeds of the following Government Paper, one 5 per cent. paper No. 4852 of 3209 dated Vth July, {eo; ,for.. Sa. Rs. 5,000 0 0 Interest thereon from 14th July to 19th Dec. 1842, ., 1. ri ne . 108 5 4 Less Discount @ 1 r. 2a. per cent 67 7 7 Sa. Rs. 5,050 13 9 Co,’s Rs, By Cash of a 6th Dividend from asaurcs to the Estate of MelIntosh and Co. an o 5,387 9 0 127 9 9 PuBLicaTIon oF On1ENTAL Works, By grant from Government @ 500 per month. , Museum Economic Geouooy. By allowance from Government for the services of a Joint Cura- tor from 26th Feb. @ 250 per month. . . CoNTRIBUTIONS AND ADMISSION FREs. By receipts from members,.. By balance as per rendered om the 31st Dec. 1841 E. E. 1,78 8 0 6,723 2 9 6,000 0 0 Co.'s Rs. 29,272 14 4 \ nt a>) oe fe o i ae oo oe 2 eset att WIR " x q . ; deca Mao vet ‘ay vas dgaands arcs ats lee said ae abel a) wobies : ‘Hated et ‘hase sods elt ‘ “ie: ¥ oD hate oisaeel T= pa ee \ 5: snbbwest et Verte ad ms g 2 < pity ‘a sng t neaprrot4 . a , ee tito “we S it tres HL & an % a heat vandal | | -ds ei po Yasupaetod noiiae fone aa ; . i | ; De 5 thes sot , f 7 oF w* rt fe ‘ 2 2 pe cweey il 2) pes 2 epee 5 . a Haast n “| rake ) ret Rare. err nt sor (eee J tt) vdeo ada es 7 i é ’ diet ot aie yd F ’ 2 , : \/ : ¢ 9 Le “ai & waa =t 4 : We ; fo 4 J : P A P — : Raat: BRorragtTsau Tri) ~ wie “ hn | i ey i! Paty eee VE | ‘eco A. ¢ vot doe’ «b rt os i oa S, . i | - J é - 2% j i Aaa 077 hae hAOW Fiction (Teheeca AY ; ; rs , » * ° } | ee eae bo vorplbe 2408 ellonid A satel ts F h . eB ic : fend ; ettie0t ° eT m .o) fae pes tt an ot eebal w enitt sith eoene 7 & ee a” ; J , gkatidddaM » | - ss Ta > or cards ere we x enn wr elite a, to » esroidibhe ae het itt. 4 - peadirendt sels Yo rosa oi oneal ol Abstract Statement of Account of the Asiatic Society for the year 1843. a DISBURSEMENTS. To paid ite *Blyth's Salary as Curator @ 250 per month, .. Establishment of Taxidermists, Artists, Carpenters, ;, W. Ridsdale for printing Osteological Catalogue and re marks on the Zoology of the Tenasserim Provinces,.. » Contingencies for Muscum,. . Value of glass eyes received from Mr. Bartlett of London through Mr. Blyth, £15, 18s, ex. @ 1s. 114d. per R. ,, Signor Apparati for Birds,... " Balance of salary and Contingencies for Mr. Trolquet s deputation to Darjecling: iy » Glass cases, o . . “ Lrprary- To paid Dr. Roer’s salary as Librarian @ 100 per month, Establishment for Oriental work: ,, Contingencies and Establishment... Freight and Insurance on books sent to England, Books purchased from Mr. Frith, Messrs. Thacker & ‘and Ostell and Lepage, , Coins purchased from Lieut, A. Cunningham, of Engi- neers, bw W. Ridsdale for printing Catalogues, oo ory ,», Marble slab with gold letters, os ve oa MisceLtaneovs. To Remitted through Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co,, to Mr. Reynolds Society’ 4 subseniption on account of Orien- tal Translation Fund £21 ex: @ Is. 11§d. per R... To paid Mr. Lane 's aby) as sub-' Scereleny @ 200 Re month, oe Museum Econoastrc Geouocy. Topaid Mr. Piddington’s salary as Joint Curator @250 permonth, ,, Establishment and Contingencies, . aD »» W. Ridsdale for printing Circulars, &e.. Museum Mineratocy anv Grouocy. To Contingencies, . Secrerany’s Oprice Estanuisumenr. To paid Establishment and Contingencies,.. Journat Asiatic Society. » Secretary (Mr. Torrens) for Copies supplied to mem- bers, “1 ar, Sty » Paid for plates, charts, drawings, &e.. . on on OntexTan Punuications, ke. Te! me for 90 Copies 3d Vol. Futwa Alumgiri, on ot Mr. Bennett for Sir A. Burnes’ drawings, ae Ar) {) Drawing Paper for Do... = : Asratic Society or Panis, To paid for copying the Vedus,.. To paid for bulance of Account Current due the Society per Proceedings of June, 1839, .. 2: 5 Borioines. To paid in full for Repairs and Additions to the Society’s Pre- mises,.. 5s Ss ‘ s Calcutta, 31st December, 1843, 3,000 0 1,288 7 5 128 8 0 544 8 0 161 8 4 150 0 0 17214 9 61110 0 7,057 8 6 i} 0 4 0 0 179 0 0 562 12 0 8013 3 5,048 4 7 213 5 5 600 0 0 1813 5 5 3,000 0 0 939 6 1 56 8 0 3,995 13 1 ae Ai 250 13 0 1,445 1 9 1459 8 0 1449 13 6 2,909 5 6 922 8 0 200 0 0 225 8 9 1,348 0 9 150 0 0 233 7 9 383.7 9 co « 4,571 7 0 Cos Rs, 28,823 3 3 ASSETS, Museum. By allowance authorized by the Hon'ble the Court of eDicestors for the services of a Curator @ 250. Ditto for preparation of specimens @ 50. Lisrary. By allowance of Establishment for the Custody of Oriental books transferred from the College of Fort Willian @ 78 per month,. , on On : By Sale proceeds of books, MisckLLaNgous. By refund of Tinport duty on Professor Mill’s bust, Musrum Economic GeoLocy. Byallowance from Government for the services of a Jomt Cura- tor @ 250 per month, Ditto for Establishment and Contingencies, Pusuicatton ov Orrextan Works. By grant from Government @ 500 per month,. Conrrisutions ANv ApMission Fens. By receipts from members, Picture or H. T. Paineee) Esa. By subscriptions from Members for a portrait of, Astatic Soctery or Pans. By Cash received for copying the Vedas, ‘ By balance in favor of the Society as per account Current ren- dered on the 31st Dec. 1842. . : 000 0 0 600 0 0 ——— 3600 0 0 936 0 0 696 8 0 1,632 8 0 7610 3 3,000 0 0 14247 3 44247 3 ‘ 6,000 0 0 . 7,604 0 0 1,195 0 0 625 0 0 +. 1,629 4 1 26,786 13 7 +» 2,036 5 By balance due from the Society, E. E. 5. ) 0 te Loci gg nt nye ae i use Yo Hea Maen bw eva a vee 3) sagas oat Cr ee Lbuekodit of ayes, aint cdi vod ¥ ' 4s Bi + iene Ti, Nw si Shel ie Phy ia *: Telia a pane f nisi a Do axa fg ticett 0D. Ath ae sSooainats arty pe. , MR e eer, “B > elias Be yy, 4 a mes ‘ \ Ns Sean 0 fit j jetty ior aig, De Ry a a ei “alte tale —: ee rae? | * | Mics "Tah aiileallet i sa oO @ ” ! a ie . a aM of i he cottA EEO coe ri 0. stax) to tevoose 10. notions sxe veeraoie abe $e rol bea! | Bet el. $8) xe Vad. Desi hy gota aecy | 2 ‘Py it) Bass S x RID: et! we én ih te" is t Og ae BOL. Ae A eer a a, iy Le @ *4 — 2 4 cio 5): man i iid S) to ta) Go Scr pe 8 pera cre chi i% ak 3 eek —— oi ae 3 5 4 aa — >. t - . =. fee . . r {> _ - > > * . = > ~ - fee « . faa 4 ca < + wae = I na a a> e = ES Lea y Ve Sao Ret yo ~ 1 oS . + = 7, a = ¥ aE w —_ ms i q ad aot ‘I ; a P ; 4 “eta ot borhan enmmeo ie. (ater ia) fi wT } ’ j 7 x) ¥« we . . ae \ él 4 | ¢ t : 2 : if 2 we ou Pa g Heyt) MAD 7 ; 1 —-t _ — 4 . \ | ) tongs 8 ‘1 ’ nae, ae) ; 4 Te i «. an f at ee er) ee ie <8) ae Pts ievroth merry AL TN TM - he Vere! Se Pee ce qa ve "2 sola Lins TO. WTI oe So THA fi, 2) ; a 7 is R : us My 1% " “put } bd fy iy 4 aiid tty SHOT et etiad BY Kits ¥ f j i a’ i fT In wipes et fap * ry t | Ae ? = | To ae 7 f ¢ : , , . i) & + te) ae uesoe wild of uO SD. bine ews dl nyt Too ‘ i ; bi + yo ey at ri J A ‘= vail ORF , PGarsaGSh tel 8, taka) ‘ae 4 = DISBURSEMENTS. Museum. To paid Mr. Blyth’s salary ns Curator @ permonth., .. 3,000 0 0 » Establishment of Taxidermists, Artists, Carpenters, &c,. 1418 11 0 *, Contingencies for Museum, we a . 1437 6 9 » 2 Insect Cases @ ca wooo 0 » Messrs. Currie and Co., for 1 Teak wood stand, we 3804 ~«0 Liprary: To paid Dr. Roer’s salary as Librarian @ 100 per month, »» Assistant Librarians, Establishment for Oriental works @ 68 per month, Establishment and contingencies for brary. }, Freight on books sent to London, &c. Books purchased from Messrs, Thacker and Co., and 602 5 9 Ostell and Lepage,.. a 1 2 MisceLianeous. To paid Messrs. Lattey, Brothers and Co., in Pare of a silver inkstand, oe . 932 0 0 » Mr. Piddington as sub-secretary @ @ 200, me 400 0 0 » Mr. Martin for a monument over the remains of the late Mr. Csoma de Koros, per order of A. Campbell, Esq,, of Dar} arjeeling, 7 got tO »» Bagshaw and Co., refund of Captain Hutton’s contri- butions, less subscription to the Journal, ae 30 0 0 » Freight on a case from Singapore, oe 20 0 » J. Weaver for marble frames for busts, ke, 1 lll 2 0 3,625 2 0 Museum Economic Geotocy. To paid Mr. Piddington’s salary ax Joint-Curator @ 250. 0 » Establishment, 5 0 » Lattey, Brothers and Co. for a silver cup with cover, tt} » Messrs. Ostell and Lepage for sundries, . 0 » Messrs. Noskey and Co., for ditto, .. “ 6 » Messrs. Thomson and Co,, for ditto, - 0 » Mr. Heatly, .. of s ae 0 » Contingencies, .. ve bn 7 4,079 2 1 Museum Miyeratocy anp Geouocy. To an Mr. J. Dodd for a Collection of rocks purchased of him, 97 0 0 Contingencies for 12 months, me, .. aa 218009, ——_—_— 20 09 Secretary's Orrice Estanuisument. To paid Establishment and Contingencies, on or on . 1,293 10 9 Jounnar Astatic Sociery. To paid for proceeds of Journals sold by Messrs. Allen and Co,, of London, and transferred to Society’s Account Cur- rent, £42 16 a «© ABI 7) 5 » For plates, chart: nts, drawings, Ke. or 418 3 3 » W. Ridsdale (on account) for printing Journals. 236 4 0 » Ditto ditto ditto, . 360 00 1,465 14 8 OntenTAr Puriications. To paid Mr. J. Bennett balance on account of Sir A. Burnes’ drayvin, a a » Ditto for Cantor's | s Chusan “Zoology, | ve + 900 0 0 18 0 0 Carnied over, 21848 5 2 Abstract Statement of Account of the Asiatic Society for the year 1844. ASSETS. Museum. By allowance authorized by the Hon'ble the Court of Directors for the services of a Curator for 12 months @ 250 per month, 3,000 0 0 Ditto for preparation of s specimens @50 per month. . » 600 0 0 Linnary. By allowance on account of Establishment for the custody of Oriental Books transferred from the College of Fort William @ 78 per month, — ae -. 936 0 0 By sale proceeds of books, ws ot ay +. 1,002 11 3 MisceLLaneous, By subscriptions from members for an inkstand presented to the Secretary (Mr. H. Torrens), .. + 932 0 0 By Cash on account Interest received from Gov: ernment Agents on Government Securities in their custody, .. o 1,037 5 7 a 3,600 0 0 1,938 11 3 1,969 5 7 Pustication or Ortenta Works. By grant from Government @ 500 per month, 3 40 ee 6,000 0 0 Mustum Economic Groxocy. By allowance from Government for the services of a Joint- Curator @ 260 per month, 4a +. 3,000 0 0 By allowance for Establishment and Contingencies @ 64 per month, on on oo + 768 0 0 3,768 0 0 ConTRIBUTIONS AND ApMIssION FEEs, By receipts from members, as on cs oe » 6950 0 0 Carried over, 24,226 0 10 Abstract Statement of Account of the Asiatic society for the year 1844. RR SS Brought over, 348 5 Asratic Socrety ov Parts. nying the Vedas, To pnid for c Prcrores or Sin E. Ryan anv I. T. Parxsep, Esa. and Co., per draft of Sir E. Ryan To paid Messrs. Carr, Tay and Messrs. I. T, and W. Prinsep @ 10d. S. ” 14213 8 Burtpincs. To paid Mr. Mornay for stopping leaks and sundry petty re- pairs,.. Ets i a os 440 0 23,083 2 10 To balance due from the Society as per Account Current fur- nished on the 31st Dec. 1843, o on B 1. 2036 5 8 119 8 6 Cateutta, 31st December, 1844. Brought over, 24,226 0 10 By balance «due from the Society, a on oe o. 893 7 8 Abstract Statement of Account of the Asiatic Society for the year 184 ou DISBURSEMENTS. Museum. To Mr. Blyth’s salary as Curator at 250 per month,.. », Establishment of Taxidermists, Artists, laste & » Contingencies,.. as »» Glass Cases, ‘ Charges for a Taxidlermist Sent to Arracan, |, Liprary. To Dr. E. Roer’s salary as Librarian at 100 per mensem, -« » Assistant Librarian ditto, on : Establishment for Oriental works,. . Establishment and Contingencies,, . Books purchased from Messrs. Thacker and Co. Ostell and Lepage and P. D’Rozario and Co, &e. » J. S, Morton for binding, ot a a Museum Economic Geoxocy. To Mr. Piddington’s salary as Joint-Curator at 250 per men- sem, = a oo ra a , Establishment,. on ui on a Contingencies... : MINERALOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL Museum. To Contingencies for, ae oe ee OnieNTAL Pustications. . Bennett on account Dr. Cantor's Zoology, .- » Mrs. Ballin for printing,. . » Ditto balance of account for printing Sir | Drawings,.. » Hafiz Alimed Kubeer for printing 4 Ishilahati, Burnes’ MisceLianeous. To Mr. Piddington’s salary as sub-secretary at 200 per montlhi, » Messrs. P. S. D'Rozario and Co. for printing receipts, Postage on return parcels and copying @ circular, hit on books and parcels, », Policy of Insurance on books per Lallah Rookii, », Messrs. Colvin, Ainslic Cowie, and Co., for transit charges of 5 boxes of Fossils a ented by Captain W. E. Bake » Messrs. Shearwood and Co., * ., for a Mahogany stand, Mr. J. Weaver for a Marble slab with Gold letters to t he memory of the late Mr. Csoma de Koros, . - Chaunce for winding and’ keeping the Clock in order, : » Messrs. Lattey, Brothers aod Co., Gold Medal, o » Mr. J. Bennett for a Maple wood picture frame, = » Mr. for a silver case 3,000 1,666 901 475 30 806 1,312 1,031 120 3,000 2400 20 0 0 0 0 0 6 6,072 13 4,916 10 3,619 36 3 Museum. By allowance authorized by the Hon*ble the Court of Directors for the services of a Curator for 12 months at 250 per mensem, +. $000 0 0 By allowance for preparation of specimens ‘for 12 months at 50 per mensem, BS 600 0 0 By advance to J. F. Gomes by Captain Phayre, se oo 200 0 ——— _ 3,620 0 0 Linrary. By allowance on account Establishment for the custody of Oriental works transferred from the College of Fort William for 12 months at ue per ts oe 936 0 0 By Sule proceeds of Books, 2 5 1,069 4 0 2,005 ld 0 Museum Economic Geouocy. By allowance from Government for the services of a Joint- Curator for 12 months at 250 per month 3,000 0 0 By allowance for Establishment and Contingencies at 64 per month, a. “ -. . « 76s 0 0 P 768 0 0 Pusricarion or Onenrat Works, By grant from Government for 12 mouths at 500 per month, +. 6,000 0 0 ConTRisurions AND ApMission Fees. By receipt from members during the year, Fe a 7ZM4 0 0 MisceLLANgous. By Cash on account Interest received from Government Agents ou Government Securities in their Custody, “ «e a 704 14 5 Carned over, 5 25242 12 Abstract Statement of Account of the Asiatic Society for the year 1845. 5 Brought ov lOURNAL. To Mr. H. M. Smith for reducing, drawing and printing By balance due from the Society, .. fe 9 Maps, &e. a ° - 682 0 0 » Mr. W. Ridsdale on account of printing, , +, 500 0 fy Mesr. Sanders and Cones for lithographing and print- } on on 127 6 0 » Mr. ae ‘Hutchinson for ditto, . 73 10 0 \ » Messrs. P. S. D'Rozario and Co., for ditto, fo a Et) }} Mocheeram for lithographing, 7 78 0 »» Necoo printer for printing,. « - " . 446 6 » Mr. J. Hendrie for drawings, 150 0 0 » Copyists for copying certain eat to be inserted in the fournal, ee An = Oo id By 19) RETARY’S Orrick. » Establishment and Contingencies, ws “* ” . 261, 3! 6 Picrunss or Sir E. Ryan anv H. 'T. Prinser, Esa. To Messrs. Carr, Tagore and Co., per Messrs. H. T. and W. rinsep's draft at 60 ds. ., 5 ai 7 400 0 0 Boitpincs. To Mr. Mornay for stopping Leaks, .. A ro To balance as per account closed on the Slst Dec. 1844... Calcutta, 31st December, 1845, | Abstract Statement of Accounts of the Asiatic Society from January to 31st July, 1846. DISBURSEMENTS. Museum. To paid Mr. Blyth’s salary as Curator nt 250 per month, Kstublishment of ‘Taxidermists, Artists, Carpenters, &c. 1,750 0 0 M6 0 » Contingencies, .. - -. an . 3 ” 3.1, lls, for preparing an Elephant Skeleton, a 0 Lipnary. To paid salary of Librarian, —.. 5 0 » Ditto of Assistant ditto, .. os an a 3 »» Establishment for the custody of Oriental Works, nh 0 ;, Establishment aud Contingencies, .. a S 8 2 » Books purchased, 77615 6 Mossrs. Ostell and Lepage for Gould's Australian Birds, in part, 2 cs if Messrs. Currie and Co. for selves, in part, Freight and postage on books received und despatched Museum Economic Grorocy. To paid Mr. Piddington’s salary as Joint-Curntor at 250, » Establishment, .. rs = & » Contingencies, .. os “ as) Museum Minenatocy anp Geouocy. To paid Contingencies, .. a a o v4 - Orrentau Pusiicarions. To paid Mrs. Ballin for lithographing Sir A. Burnes’ Draw- ings, “s as als bn 522/12) 0) » J, Bennett on acct. of Cantor's Zoology, . . +. 400 0 0 » Difiz Abmeed Kubir, for 500 Copies of the Tawarikh i Nadiri, o ss ae oy) 965) (0)10) MIsceLLANeous. To paid Mr. Piddington’s salary as sub-secretary for 2 months, at 200, ne oF 40 + 400 0 0 » J. Weaver, for n Marble Tablet with Goll Letters, and repolishing the Tablet of Professor Mill, 5 6 0 » Ditto ditto for Marble slabs, in part, ae ve 0 0 » J, Chaunce, for repairing and’ keeping the Clock in order, 00 > Lachman Singh for Drawings, a e es 00 » Mr. Garnier for fixing Models of Bridges, .. Ac 0 0 y» Bank of Bengal on account discount on Bills for Govern- ment allowances, ve a9 < ve 45 11 4 JOURNAL. To paid copying portions of Hajbul Azam in Persian, co 400 » Messrs, Sanders and Cones for printing, 66 0 0 » Mr. H. M. Smith for drawings, o- on - 115 0 0 » Mr. J. Hendrie for HieKorranttee on 1“ 81 8 0 » Rey. J. Thomas for printing proceedings, || ut ahy fh) Secnerary’s Orrice Esra niisuMenr. To paid Establishment and Contingencies, oO a 66915 0 2» Messrs, D’Rozario and Co. for blank receipts, ae 15 0 0 Carried over, 3AM 15 4,025 3 2,010 7 45 8 1,887 12 616 1 381 4 684 15 13,123 2 3 0 RECEIPTS, Museum. By allowance authorized by the Hon'ble the Court of Directors he Services of & Curator from Dec. 1845 to Junc last, per month, at u o + we -. 1750 0 0 By ditto ditto for preparstion of specimens for ditto at 50 per month, ‘ ae as « 350 0 0 Linnany. By allowance for Establishment for the custody of Oriental Works, transferred from the College of Fort William, from Dec. 1845 to June last, at 78 per month, H46 0 0 By sale proceeds of Books, ., ot . 6730 9 Museum Economic Grouooy. By allowance from Government for the services of n Joint- _ Curntor from Dee. 1845 to June last, at 250 permonth, 1,750 0 0 By ditto for Establishment and Gontingencies from ditto to ditto at G4 per month, ., an on + 448 0 0 Puntication oF Ortenran Wonks. By Grant from Government for the publication of Oriental Works, &e. from Dee. 1845 to June last, at 500 per month, on oo oo . oe ot ot Coxrainprions AND ADMisston Fees. By receipts from Members, on on =. oy o MisceLuaNgous. By Cash received from Government Agents on acet. of Tnterest on Goyernment Securities in thei custody up to doth Apnil list, .. re ob oO ety ee: + Camied over, 2,100 0 1,219 0 2,198 0 43,500 0 ASLO Add Lh Abstract Statement of Accounts of the Asiatic Society from January to 31st July, 1846. Brought over, Boriprxcs- ‘To paid Mr. S. Mornay for repairs to the stairs of the Society's premises, .. + 00 & ‘To Balance due from the Society as per necount elosed on the Slst Dee, 1845, To balance in favor of the Society, —-. a0 The 31st July, 1846. To paid Mr. Piddington’s salary, Establishment and Contin- neies for Museum Economie Geology for July last, Establishment and Contingencies for y last, . » Secy.’s Office Establishment and Contingencies for ditto, Baboo Rajkrishna Mitter’s salary, Establishment and Contingencies for Library for ditto, oe a Miscellancous charges during July last, Bn 13,344 15 Co.'s Rs. Mr. Piddington’s salary, Establishment and Contingen- cies for Museum Economic Geology and Mineralo; for August, Mr. Blyth's sulary, Establishment ant Contingencies for Museum for August last, Scey.’s Office Establishment and Contingencies for ditto, Buboo Rajkrishna Mitter's salary, Establishment and Con- tingencies for Library for ditto, Miscellaneous charges, ineluding Mrs. Balls, H 1M, Smith and J, Weaver's Bills, &e, ; ; aR Mr. Piddington’s salary, Establishment, and Contingen- cies for Museum Economic Geology, &e, for Sept. 's ditto ditto ditto for Muscum for ditto, 's Office Establishment and Contingencies for ditto, Baboo Rajkrishna Mitter’s ditto ditto ditto for ditto, including purchase of Books, .. » Miscellaneous charges, including Mr. H. T. Prinsep’s Pic- ture and Cantor's Zoology, « To Balance in favor of the Society, -. co ie The 31st October, 1846, 293 490 10 6 ov 2510 263.10 0 612 10 0 301 6 6 4944 6 6 0 0 688 1d 3 S19 11 8 13,12 13,210 134 12 1,099 14 144d4 14 1,210 7 1,651 3 By Government all i ty balance per account closed on the 31st July last, vance for July last, Brought over, 1192 00 208 0 0 By contributions rev d from Members, .. on By Government allowance for August Inst, «+ os ee Loa Om 0 By Contributions received from Members, &e. «+ 00 Ty Government allowance for Sept. last (less College Establish- ment,) +. L114 0 0 By Contributions: and admission fees received from Members, 1,392 0 0 By Sale proceeds of Oriental Works, on . - co 0 0 A M444 4 1 1,099 14 10 1,400 0 0 1,291 0 0 2,566 0 0 6,356 14 10 Abstract Annual Account of the Asiatic Society from 1842 to 1846. OO DISBURSEMENTS. Museum. To Paid Curntor’s Salary, Establishment and sundry expenses during the year 1812, as per Abstract Statement,.... 9 » Ditto ditto during the year 1843 atte, o as 6 » Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, .. on A 9 » Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, .. : s ne 3 », Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, .. ae ‘7 ee 6 31,379 4 9 Linrany. To paid Librarian and Assistant Librarian's Salary, Establish- ment and sundry expenses, during the year 1842, as per Abstract Statement, on 3a » Ditto ditto during the year 1843 ditto, a .. 7 » Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, .. . os on 2 » Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, .. C on oe 4 0 » Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, ., an ae ». 5,942 11 6 23,966 5 6 MisceLianeous. To paid sundry expenses during the year 1842, as per Abstract Statement, .. “ on any ory » Ditto ditto 1843 ditto, . ee . » Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, a O04 24 »» Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, ’ ee » Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, AC .. 9,674 3 3 Museum Economic Geouocy. To paid Jomt-Curator’s Salary, Establishment and sundry ex- penses during the year 1842, as per Abstract State- ment, ct) Eo ao a »» Ditto ditto 1843 ditto, + o. 1 » Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, An a oo oo » Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, “ on . » Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, .. on - 83 Museum Mingrarocy AnD GroLocy. To paid sundry expenses psoas the year 1S42, as ies Abstract Statement, : an -. 303 2 3 »» Ditto ditto 1843 ditto, ra ce 2. 25013 o »» Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, Ao On pee 2.009) »» Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, .. ve . 363 «6 » Ditto ditto 1346 ditto, .. oo oa 67 14 oO — 863 1 6 Secrerary’s Orvice Estasuisumenr. To paid Establishment and Contingencies during the year 1842, fs per Abstract Statement, te +, 1424 9 6 » Ditto ditto 1843 ditto, ., + 1445 1 9 »» Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, a -. 1298 lo 9 »» Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, .. a 1,261 3 6 » Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, .. a «. 1,184 10 3 os 6614 3 9 JOURNAL. To paid sundry expenses during the year 1842, as por Abstract Statement, oe +. . ies ° » Ditto ditto 1843 ditto, .. +. . . 5 s» Ditto ditto 1844 ditto, ., an . 8 » Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, a : oA 9 » Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, .. oy oe . 0 15,396 7 10 Carried over, 1 210 Museum. By allowance: Court o tor nt 250 Rs. per month as per Abstract Statement, Ditto for the preparation] of specimens ‘Uitto at 50 ditto, Ditto ditto for the year 1843 ditto, Ditto ditto ditto 1844 ditto, Ditto ditto ditto 1845 ditto, Ditto ditto ditto 1846 ditto, By advance to J. F, Gomes by Captain Phayre in 1845, «. Linrary. RECEIPTS AND ASSETS. authorized by the Honourable the Directors for the services of 1 Curn- for the year 1842 3,000 0 0 + 600 00 By allowance on account of Establishment for the custody of Oriental Books transferred from the College of Fort William at 78 per month for the year 1842 as per Abstract Statement, Ditto ditto ditto 1843, Ditto ditto ditto 1844, Ditto ditto ditto 1845, Ditto ditto from Dee. 1845 to Aug. 1846, AAaG By sale proceeds of books for the year 1842 as per Abstract Statement, Ditto ditto ditto for 1843 ditto, Ditto ditto ditto for 1844 ditto, Ditto ditto ditto for 1845 ditto, Ditto ditto ditto for 1846 ditto, 4,100 By refund on account of attendence of Assistant Librarian as per Abstract account for the year 1842, ‘ae we Miscevyaneous. By subseription from Members per Abstract account for the year 1842, By Cash account 6th Dividend Mackintosh and Co., 20 for a portrait of Sir E. Ryan as from Assignee to the Estate of By refund of Import duty on Professor Mill's Bust for 1843 us per Abstract Statement, By subscription from Members for an ‘inkstand presented to the Secretary (Mr. H, Torrens) as per Abstract Statement for the year 1844, By Interest received from Government Agents interest on Government Securities in their custody as per Abstract Statement for the year 1842, ef Ditto ditto 1844, on Ditto ditto 1845, ay Ditto ditto 1846, ae Company's Paper. cocoo oo 2,735 12 By sale proceeds of a 5 per Cent, Paper No, 4852 of 3209 dated 14th July 5000 as per Abstract Statement for 1842, .. Ditto a 5 per Cent, ditto No, 1576 of 1829 & 30 for Sicca Rs. 1,500 per ditto 1846, oF -. 300 0 0 «e 1,087. 5 7, . 704d 5 693 8 0 1827 for Sa. 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To paid for copying the Vedas and sundry expenses during the year 1343, as per Abstract Statement, .. ce if » Ditto 1844 ditto ditto, oe. oe ‘ 50 0 0 ——_ 433 7 9 Prorures or Sin E, Ryan ann H. T. Priyser, Esa. To paid Messrs. Carr, Tagore and Co., per draft of Sir E. Ryan and Messrs. H. 'T. and W. Prinsep, as per Abstract Statement for the year 1844, + + 114213 8 » Ditto ditto 1845 ditto, .. on Cl 400 0 0 » Ditto ditto 1846 ditto, .. a « 61411 8 2,157 9 4 Prcrune or Hox’nue W. W. Biro, Esa, To paid F. R. Neilson, Agent, Agraand W. S. Bank, per W. II. Allan and Co.'s draft at 30 ds, st. for, +. 1,368 8 9 SN ; soon hi 131847 4 11 Balance in favor of the Asiatic Society, .. oe On oe 1,997 9 7 (Arranged from Mr. Bolst's abstracts) S44 14 6 Calcutta, Asiatic Society, Signed. . M. MULLER. the dlst Decenber, 1846," } ee) zone % N, B. 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By allowance from Government for the services of a Joint-Curntor for 12 months at 250 Rs, per mensem as per Abstract Statement for 2,276) 12' 6 the year 1843, a a. .. 3,000 0 0 Ditto ditto for Establishment and Contingencies ditto as per Abstract Statement forthe year 1843, oo oo «. 1424 7) 3 v- is ae By allowances for Establishment and Contingencies as per Ab= stract Statement for the year 1844, Cn » 3768 0 0 Ditto ditto ditto 1845 ditto, we - 7 00 Ditto ditto ditto 1846 ditto, “ on o 18,005 3 9 Puntication oy Ortenrar Works. By grant from Government at 500 Rs, per month as per Ab- stract Statement for 1342, on on on a) Ditto ditto ditto 1843, - oo Ditto ditto ditto 1844, oo oo Ditto ditto ditto 1845, on oo Ditto ditto ditto 1846, “ oo 00 80,000 0 Conrrisutions AND Tees. By receipts from Members during the year 1842 as per Abstract Statement, “ on on o Ditto ditto ditto 1843, on Ditto ditto ditto 1844, Ditto ditto ditto 1845, Ditto ditto ditto 1846, . eooce cocoo Picture or I. T, Patsser, Esa. By subscription from Members for a portrait as per Abstract Statement for 1843, A je +. 1,195 Astaro Socrery ov Pants. By Cash receiyoul for Copying the Vedas as per Abstract State- tment for 1843, 625 0 0 By balauce as per account rendered Slst Dec. 1841, «. JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY. NOI III ILO ODI DLL LILI LOLI OL OL OLLI OLDE LOL PPLE FEBRUARY, 1847. POPPI POLL OLE LOLI LOLOL OL LPL OLA LOL ILE LOLI A PEL OLB OL OLE Notices and Descriptions of various New or Little Known Species of Birds. By Ep. Buytu, Curator of the Asiatic Society’s Museum. [Continued from p. 313, ante.] Hirundo, Lin. The following are the Indian Swallows hitherto ascertained. 1. H. rustica, Lin. This I have only seen from Nepal.* 2. H. gutturalis, Scopoli: H. panayana, Lath.; H. javanica, Sparrman ; H. jewan, Sykes. The most common species of India generally, and of the Malay countries. Fine specimens only differ from the last in their smaller size. By far the finest which I have seen, is one in Dr. Cantor’s collection from the Malayan Peninsula ; the outer tail-feathers of which exceed the next by two inches and a half; but the wing measures only four inches and three-eighths, or less than in either of eight specimens, young and old, from Nepal and England, now before me of H. rustica. * During a recent excursion to the Midnapore jungles, I procured a single specimen of H. rustica, in company with H. gutturalis and H. daurica ; the last named species much predominating, conformably with Mr. Jerdon’s observation of its haunts. Upon quitting the river alluvium, a marked change in the zoology of the country became at once apparent. Pycnonotus fiavirictus (the Criniger Tickelli, nobis, xiv, 571,) ap- peared in abundance ; and the common Bengal Lark ( Alauda gulgula) was no more seen or heard over the paddy-fields, while Mirafra assamica became replaced by M. affinis. In the jungles, Pal@ornis torquatus was completely replaced by No. II. New Serzizs, R 118 Notices and Descriptions of various New [FEs. 3. H. domicola, Jerdon: H. javanica apud Latham and Shaw.— Neilgherries, Malayan peninsula, Java. I was wrong in identifying this bird with the Australian H. xeoxena, Gould, in X1V, 547: the latter is HW. pacifica, Lath., and H. javanica apud Vigors and Hors- field. Ina fine specimen before me, the wing measures four inches and one-eighth, and the outermost tail-feather nearly three inches, exceeding the next by an inch and a quarter ; whereas among several specimens of H. domicola (from the three localities cited), the wing does not ex- ceed three inches and seven-eighths, and the outermost tail-feather is at most but half an inch longer than the middle pair. 4. H. filifera, Stephens: H. rujficeps, Licht.; A. filicauda, Franklin: Wire-tailed Swallow, and the young—Ru/fous-headed Swallow, of Latham. Indian peninsula. 5. H. daurica, Lin.: H. alpestris, Pallas; H. erythropygia, Sykes ; H..nipalensis, Hodgson. India generally ; preferring the proximity of jungles (according to Mr. Jerdon): a casual and irregu- lar visitant in Lower Bengal ; but abundant in the Midnapore jungles, at least during the cold season. P. cyanocephalus: Bucco asiaticus (v. cyanops, &c.,) by B. zeylanicus (v. cani- ceps): and the common Calcutta Crow (Corvus splendens) totally disappeared ; its place being supplied by C. culminatus. Picus mahrattensis took the place of P. Macei. In lieu of the common Sparrow, the Passer (v. Gymnoris) flavicollis, with precisely the same note and manners, abounded upon the trees even near build- ings, but without ever resorting to the latter. In the same trees were found Piprisoma agile, with the manners and note of a Diceum; and Muscicapula melanoleuca and M. acornaus: also Athene radiatus, but less numerously than the common Ath. brama. Phyllornis aurifrons and Ph. Jerdoni occurred, the latter very abundantly; the notes of both being remarkably similar to those of the Di- crurid@ : and their manners at once recalled those of Zora, to which genus Phyllornis is considerably allied. Zhamnobia cambaiensis was also common; and the manners and actions of this species revealed its affinity for the Shamah ( Kittacincla mac- rourus) : its tail is usually carried very high, or rather over the back, displaying the rufous under-coverts. The Shamah was also obtained. Buceros albirostris was not rare, in small flocks; and B. birostris (v. ginginianus ), in pairs: B. pica (v. mala- baricus) was also to be met with. In large tracts of coppice jungle, the Taccocua affinis (xv, 19,) or Rajmahl Sirkeer, occurred; and Malacocercus ? hyperythrus, (Franklin,) differing from its representative in S. India, was not uncommon; also a small Prinia, of which the young had been previously sent me by Mr. Jerdon. The Drymoica sylvatica, (Jerdon,) inhabited more open situations. On the bare ‘kunkur’ soil, near Midnapore, Anthus rufulus was procured, but much less abundantly than the common Anth. malayensis: Lanius Hardwickii was also obtained in that neighbour- hood, with other Shrikes: and about the pretty rocky hill of Gope, in the same vicinity, Gdicnemus crepituns was particularly abundant. Turtur senegalensis was likewise obtained there. Nor was this trip less productive in other classes of animals; but details regarding these must be reserved. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 119 6. H. concolor, Sykes. Indian peninsula. 7. H. rupestris, Scopoli: H. rupicola, Hodgson; H. tnornata, Jerdon. Himalaya, Neilgherries. 8. H. urbica, Lin. Himalaya, Neilgherries. 9. H. riparia, Lin. Nepal, S. India. ( Non vidi.) 10. H. sinensis, Gray, in Hardwicke’s Idi. Ind. Zool.: H. brevi- caudata, McClelland, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 156: Indian Martin Swallow of Latham. I think there can be no doubt that both the former names apply to the common little Indian Bank Martin, abundant along all the great rivers of the country, wherever the banks are sandy and high enough for them to perforate their nest-boles with tolerable security. The species is nearly allied to H. riparia in form, colour, and habits; but differs in its smaller size, less furcate tail, rather lighter colour, with the upper tail-coverts somewhat albescent, also in the breast being much paler, and in the absence of the downy tuft on the tarse just-above the hind-toe, which invariably distinguishes H. riparia. Length of wing three inches and a half to three and three- quarters, and of middle tail-feathers an inch and a half. Whether these birds are migratory I am unaware. I have found both newly laid eggs and young ready to fly in the beginning of December, and also at the end of February. The nest-holes vary in depth from a foot and a half to considerably more, according as the banks are more or less hard ; and the nest itself is composed of dry grass, with occasionally a few feathers in the lining : eggs pure white, like those of H. riparia ; and the young have their upper feathers more or less margined with rufous, as in that species. N. B. The H. brevirostris, McClelland, described with H. brevi- caudata, I have identified as a Collocalia (XIV, note to p. 548), being the same as H. unicolor, Jerdon. Of the various groups of Saxicoline Flycatchers, one genus makes a considerable approach to the Swallows. This is Hemichelidon, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 203. The bill is absolutely as in Hirundo; and the wing reaches to two-thirds of the length of the tail, having the first primary minute, the second nearly equal- ling the fifth, and the third and fourth equal and longest: rest as in Butalis, but the tarse still shorter. Mr. Hodgson describes two species, H. fuliginosa and H. ferruginea. The former is com. 120 Notices and Descriptions of various New (Fes. mon at Darjeeling, and the latter I have not yet seen. H. fuliginosa has the wing two inches and three-quarters long, and tail an inch and three-quarters. Colour plain fuliginous-brown above, paler below, albescent towards the vent and lower tail-coverts, and slightly on the throat: bill blackish above, the base of the lower mandible yellow; and feet brown. Young speckled with pale yellowish-brown, like a young Robin.* Butalis, Boie, founded on the European Muscicapa grisola. This is another good genus, the species of which are distinguished by their plain olive or greyish colouring. The beak is more or less elongated and flattened, but in the Indian species is generally somewhat larger than in B. grisola: the feet are small and feeble ; and the wings reach half-way down the tail, having their first primary short, the third and fourth sub-equal, and the second generally shorter than the fifth. Tail of mean length. All have the larger wing-feathers margined with pale buff externally. 1. B. terricolor, Hodgson, ». s. Plain uniform earthy-brown above, and whitish-brown below: the upper mandible dark, and the lower whitish except at its extreme tip: legs brown. Length about five inches and a half, of wing two and three-quarters, and tail two inches ; bill to gape eleven-sixteenths, and tarse halfan inch. The beak of thisspecies — is longer, broader, and also flatter, than in B. grisola. From Nepal. 2. B. rufescens, Jerdon, n.s. Very similar to the last, but distin- guished by its general rufous tinge, and especially by its white legs and claws. Colour olive-brown above, tinged with rufous on the back, and more deeply so on the upper tail-coverts and margins of the caudal feathers; wing-coverts and tertiaries also margined with pale rufous: throat and fore-neck white, as also the anterior part of the lores, but a longitudinal patch of brown on each side of the throat; the breast, flanks, and under tail-coverts, brown, paler on the tail, and the belly whitish. Beak dark above, and yellowish-white below. Dimensions as in last.. From S. India. 3. B. ruficauda, (Swainson), Nat. Libr., ‘ Flycatchers,’ Appendix. The beak of this species more resembles that of B. grisola, but is * A species of this genus (apparently) is figured in one of Dr. McClelland’s draw- ings of Assamese birds. Colour brown, paler below, whitish towards throat and vent: the secondaries and tertiaries margined with white, surrounding the tips of the latter. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. Ti longer; the feet are dusky-plumbeous; and the tail and its upper coverts are moderately bright rufous or ferruginous, suffused with dusky on the middle pair of tail-feathers, and on part of the outer mar- gin of the next; rump also tinged with ferruginous ; the rest of the upper-parts olivaceous, and the under-parts greyish, passing to white on the abdomen and chin; lower tail-coverts white, tinged faintly with ferruginous. Length about five inches and a half, of wing two and seven-eighths, and tail two and one-eighth; bill to gape three-quarters of an inch, and tarse five-eighths: the under mandible of the bill of this species has little trace of whitish. Hab. S. India. 4. B. latirostris, (Raffles, Swainson): Muscicapa poonensis, Sykes. The beak of this species is shorter and broader than in the others, and much flattened. Length nearly five inches, of wing two and five- eighths, and tail an inch and seven-eighths; bill to gape eleven-six- teenths, and tarse half an inch. Colour greyish-brown above, some- times a little tinged with rufescent ; lower-parts white; the breast, flanks, and sides of the throat, light greyish-brown : bill dusky, ex- cept the base of the lower mandible, which is pale-yellowish ; and the feet are dark brown: wing-coverts and tertiaries margined with light rufescent. Hab. S. India and Malay countries. The following are two very distinct generic forms of ieeaiokers neither of which can be approximated to any other with which I am acquainted. Muscitrea, nobis. Bill of moderate length, somewhat conical, a little compressed, the upper mandible obtusely angulated, with the curvature of its outline increasing to the tip, which overhangs that of the lower mandible, and is slightly emarginated ; the extreme tip of the lower mandible also curves a little upward: gonys straight and searcely inflected: the nostrils small, with anterior oval aperture, and beset at base with short reflected feathers and some incumbent hairs : a few fine hair-like bristles also at the gape, of moderate length. Tarsi moderately slender, as long as the middle toe with its claw; the toes and claws suited for perching. Wings long and broad, reaching more than half-way down the tail, having the fourth and fifth primaries equal and longest, the third rather shorter, the second equalling the eighth, and the first about half the length of the third. Tail moderately developed, its feathers of nearly equal length. The 122 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fss. general plumage inclines to be dense, and is unadorned with bright colours and glossless in the only known species. M. cinerea, nobis. Length about six inches; of wing nearly three and a half; and tail two and a half: bill to forehead (through the feathers) five-eighths, and to gape three-quarters: tarse three-quarters of an inch. General colour ashy-brown above, greyer on the head, and tinged with fulvous on the exterior margins of the secondaries ; beneath albescent, a little brown across the breast: bill light horn- colour ; and feet have probably been bluish-leaden. From the Island of Ramree, Arracan, where discovered by Capt. Abbott. Anthipes, nobis. This would probably be classed by Mr. Swainson with his Fluvicoline, or “ Water-chats.” With the general form of a Pratincola, it combines a Flycatcher’s bill, and the toes and claws of an Anthus or Pipit. Beak flattened, rather wide at base, and nar- rowing evenly to the tip; the ridge of the upper mandible distinctly angulated, and its tip considerably overhanging that of the lower mandible, and (as usual in such cases) emarginated: nostrils basal, nearly closed by the membrane, their aperture a narrow lateral fissure: gape armed with fine but firm vibrisse. Tarse slender, as long as the middle toe with its claw: the toes and claws suited for running, as in the Pipits; the middle front claw greatly exceeding the two lateral ones, and the hind claw as long as the toe, and but slightly curved, as are also the other claws. Wings moderate, rounded ; the fourth, fifth, and sixth primaries sub-equal and longest, the third and seventh rather shorter, the second much shorter, and the first half the length of the second. Tail even, of moderate length, or somewhat short, the wings reaching half-way to its tip. Plumage full and dense. A. gularis, nobis. Length four inches and a quarter ; of wing two and three-eighths, and tail an inch and three-quarters: bill to fore- head half an inch, and to gape five-eighths: tarse three-quarters, and hind-toe and claw the same. Upper-parts fulvescent olive-brown ; the wings and tail inclining to dark ferruginous: lores conspicuously whitish, continued as a streak over but not beyond the eye: throat white, forming a large triangular patch, surrounded by a narrow black border; the breast and flanks fulvescent, and middle of the belly whitish. Bill black; and legs and claws pale. From Arracan, -where discovered by Capt. Phayre. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 123 The Dimorpha? moniliger, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 196, would seem, from the description, to approximate the above species in its markings. Zanthopygia, nobis. This isa genus of Chat-flycatchers, which | am not as yet prepared to approximate to any other. In the form of its beak, it bears much resemblance to the Australian genera Eopsaltria and Petroica (which branch off from Pachycephala*), and also to the Pratincole ; but of the two species to be described, the bill of the first is vertically deeper than that of the second, which renders gene- ralization more difficult, although the generic identity of the two birds is unquestionable. Bill of mean length, acutely triangular as viewed from above, or much narrower than in the more characteristic Flycatchers ; its upper ridge angulated, and the tip of the upper mandible incurved and emarginated: gape beset with fine hair-like vibrissee. Tarsi and toes moderately small and weak, the tarse as long as the middle toe with its claw; wings reaching half-way down the tail, their first primary short, only a quarter the length of the second, which is shorter than the fifth, the third and fourth being sub- equal and longest. ‘Tail of mean length. Plumage rather firm: the males black above, with yellow rump and under-parts, and a large white wing-spot. From Malasia. Z. leucophrys, nobis. Length about five inches, of wing two and three-quarters, and tail an inch and three-quarters : bill to gape five- eighths, and tarse barely five-eighths of an inch. Colour deep black above, bright yellow below and on the rump ; a large wing-spot, continu- ed along two.thirds of the outer edge of the largest tertiary, also a spot before and over the eye, and the lower tail-coverts, pure white: bill dusky-horn or blackish, and legs brown. The femalet differs widely in being of a light olive-green above, tinged with grey, especially eee * Timixos meruloides, nobis, J. A. S. XI, 195, is Pachycephaia olivacea, Vig. Voli and Horsf. ie + Muscicapa zanthopygia, A. Hay, Madr. Journ. Ne-3ee 34; 162. The above / 4 description of the female is from his lordship’s specimen; and Lord A. Hay’s brief / notice of the male ina foot-note, is from a specimen in the Society’s museum, of which [ have had a description by me in MS. for two years at least. His lordship, by a slip of the pen, referred to Dr. Cantor’s fine collection of Malayan birds, as con- taining the male he had seen. Dr. C. has only a female, which accords with the description in the text, except perhaps in having the head less tinged with ashy. 124 Notices and Descriptions of various New (Fes. upon the head ; below yellowish-albescent, the feathers of the fore- neck and breast margined with the hue of the upper-parts ; rump, towards the tail, bright and pure light yellow ; the two great ranges of wing-coverts tipped, and the tertiaries externally margined, with white: loral streak and the lower tail-coverts dull white: bill dusky above, below pale; and the legs pale. From Malacca. Z. chrysophrys, nobis. Differs from the preceding in its more slen- der and depressed bill; in having a yellow supercilium continued back to the occiput ; in the white wing-spot not being continued along the edge of the tertiary ; and in the hue of the abdomen passing gra- dually to white from the bright yellow of the throat and breast. In other words, it may be briefly described as black, with yellow rump, supercilium, and under-parts, passing to white on the belly and lower tail-coverts, and a large patch of white upon the wing. Length of the | wing three inches. The female I have not seen, nor am I aware of the habitat of the species ; but have some reason to suspect Australia, in which case it will probably bear a prior name. rns A considerable group is formed by the various blue Flycatchers of India and Malasia, minus the Myiagre (as exemplified by M. ceru- lea), which I have already approximated to Tchitrea (p. 290). At the head of them may be placed Niltava, Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 650. In these beautiful birds, the Muscicapa structure is much reduced ; the bill being narrow and scarcely flattened, and the rictal bristles, though tolerably long, are very fine and slender. According to Mr. Hodgson, they ‘‘never seize on wing,” but their affinities with the following groups are nevertheless obvious. Three species occur in the Himalaya, the two first appearing to be very common at Darjeeling.—1l. N. grandis, nobis, XI, 189 (which Mr. Hodgson would separate by the name Bainopus, but I cannot under- stand upon what characters).—2. N. sundara, Hodgson.—3. N. Mac. gregorii, (Burton), P. Z. S. 1835, p. 152, v. fuligiventer, Hodgson ; which (as Lord A. Hay informs me) is common at Simla. Cyanoptila, nobis. I found this group on a Javanese Flycatcher, which is just intermediate (both in form and colouring) to the pre- ceding and following divisions, in neither of which it can be placed ; and it thus illustrates the affinities of Niltava. Its wings, how- ever, are longer than in either, and more pointed, reaching fully ¥ J aporeos ; 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds, 195 half-way down the tail ; and the beak is rather broader and flatter than in Niltava, but vertically deep, having the tomiz much inflected: rictal bristles small and inconspicuous. Rest as in Stoporala; the frontal feathers deflected from the base of the bill, without any of the reflex velvety plumes conspicuous in Niltava. C. cyanomelanura, (Tem.) Upper-parts deep Prussian-blue; the crown and shoulder of the wing ultramarine ; and nearly half of the base of the tail pure white : lores, ear-coverts, throat and breast, blue- black ; belly and lower tail-coverts sullied white ; and flanks brown. Bill black ; and legs dark-coloured. Length of wing three inches and three-quarters ; of tail two and a half ;. bill to frontal-feathers half an inch ; and tarse nine-sixteenths. Stoporala, nobis. The type of this marked group is S¢. melanops, _ (Vigors), v. Muscicapa lapis, Lesson ( Rev. Zool. Sc. 1839, p. 104), and the female—M. ¢thalassina, Swainson, Nat. Libr.: Verditer Fly- catcher of Latham.—A second species, closely allied, inhabits Java; differing in its smaller size, and deeper blue colouring: length of wing three inches, instead of three and three-eighths, and the rest in proportion.—A third, from Java, is St. éndigo, (Horsf.), which in its white base of tail, the spreading of the loral black on the chin and beneath the eye, and a little also in structure, approximates the Cyanoptila.—A fourth, allied to the last, especially in the white at the base of its caudal feathers, and in structure much resembling the first species, is S¢. albicaudata, (Jerdon), from the Neilgherries. Siphia, Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 651. To this group may, I think, be referred— 1. S. strophiata, Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 651, Himalaya. 2. S. leucura, (Gm.): Sazicola rubeculoides, Sykes ; Synornis jou- laimus, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 197; Muscicapa parva of India, apud Sundevall: White-tailed Redbreast of Latham, whose Maculate Flycatcher refers probably to the young. N. B.—Compara- tively few specimens of this bird are procurable with the rufous throat. It inhabits India generally, visiting the plains in the cold season. From recollection, I should say that the European Musc. parva, Auctorum, is very nearly allied. 126 Notices and Descriptions of vartous New [FEs. 3. 8. erythaca, nobis, m. s. Closely allied in form and structure to the last, but the whole throat, breast, and fore-part of the abdomen, bright yellowish-ferruginous ; two narrow whitish bands across the wing, formed by the tips of the coverts ; and the white on the sides of the base of the tail much reduced (as compared with the two preceding species), occupying only the extreme base of the outermost tail-feathers, and successively increasing in quantity upon the next four: belly and lower tail-coverts pure white ; the flanks fulvous-brown: behind the eye a whitish spot: a slight olivaceous tinge on the upper-parts gene- rally ; and the tertials margined with whitish. Wing two inches and seven-eighths ; tail an inch and seven-eighths; bill to gape nine- sixteenths of an inch, and tarse the same. The female is probably without the rufous on the under-parts, but would be distinguished from that of the preceding species by the narrow whitish bands on the wing, and also by the reduced quantity of white at the base of the tail. Inhabits the Malayan peninsula. 4. S. leucomelanura ; Digenea leucomelanura, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 197. Length five inches, or a little more; of wing two and three-eighths, and tail two and one-eighth ; bill to gape nine-sixteenths ; and tarse three-quarters of an inch. Above dark slaty-ash, having a blue tinge, the forehead and over the eyes vivid blue-grey; lores and ear-coverts black ; middle of throat and fore-neck white, the rest of the under-parts whitish-grey, passing to white at the vent and on the lower tail-coverts ; tail black, its basal half white, except on the two middle feathers, and on the inner web of the next to th Bill dusky, and feet brown. This bird has somewhat the aspect, at first sight, of Janthia rujfilatus (p. 132), but is at once distinguished by its smaller size, shorter bill, duller colour- ing, the white upon the tail, and the absence of rufous on the flanks. Hab. Nepal. 5. §. tricolor ; Digenea tricolor, Hodgson, loc. cit. Length about four inches and three-quarters, of wing two and a quarter, and tail two inches ; bill to gape half an inch, and tarse five-eighths. Colour (of female?) olive-brown,* fulvescent on the rump; and passing to * Mr. Hodgson says ‘“ olive-green ;’”’ but there is not the slightest tinge of green on the specimens with which he has favoured the Society, though these may possibly be females. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 127 rufous-brown on the wings; tail dull ferruginous: under-parts light brown, inclining to albescent on the throat and belly: bill dusky, and legs brown. Young spotted above like a young Robin, or Stonechat, &c. Hab. Nepal. 6. §. signata; Letothriz signata, McClelland and Horsfield, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 162, v. Dimorpha* (alias Siphia) auricularis, (Hodgson), J. A. S, XII, 240. Himalaya, Assam. 7. S. moniliger, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1845, p. 197. (Non vidi.) | Muscicapula, nobis, XII, 939. This comprises— 1. M. sapphira, nobis.—2. M. superciliaris, (Jerdon), v. Dimorpha albogularis, nobis, XI, 190: Lucknow Flycatcher and Azure Warbler, Latham.—3 .M. hyperythra, nobis, XI, 885, altered from supercii- - aris, nobis, XI, 190, and again by an oversight to rwbecula, XII, 940 ; _ Dimorpha rubrocyanea, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 197.—4. M. melanoleuca, (Hodg.), a name which will probably not stand, as the Society has received the identical species from Java, from which part M. Temminck also will probably have received and named it.t— In M. sapphira, the affinity to Niltava, Cyanopiila, &c., is still obvious in the colouring; and in Siphia signaia, the general brown plumage is relieved by a patch of ultramarine-blue on each side of the neck, as in restricted Niltava, (or the Neel-towws of the Nepalese.) M. melanoleuca, as already remarked (XVJ% 306), seems allied to Hemipus, Hodgson. | 5. M. acornaus, (Hodgson); Musc. pdonensis apud nos, XI, 458. Length four inches and three-eighths, by six inches and three-quarters ; of wing two and three-sixteenths to two and three-eighths; and of tail an inch and a half to one and three-quarters: bill to gape nine- sixteenths of an inch; and tarse somewhat more. Colour greyish- olive above, fulvescent on the rump, and rufescent-brown on the upper tail-coverts and margining the base of the tail-feathers; one Nepalese specimen has the upper tail-coverts ashy: lower-parts albescent-grey- ish, slightly tinged with fulvous in some specimens; the throat, mid- dle of belly, and lower tail-coverts, dull white: axillaries pure white: * Dimorpha is the name of an old genus in Botany. + 1t is not rare in the Midnapore jungles; and Capt. Phayre had sent it from Ayrracan, 128 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fes. primaries dusky, the secondaries externally margined with olive, and the tertiaries with greyish or whitish-grey, becoming abraded on the worn plumage: greater coverts of the wing whitish-tipped, forming a slight wing-band. Bill blackish, and legs dusky or deep brown. The colour of this bird would ally it to Bwutalis, while its form is strictly that of Muscicapula. It inhabits the S. E. Himalaya, and Central India: being not rare in the Midnapore jungles. Cyornis, nobis, XII, 940. To this may be referred— 1. C. rubeculoides, (Vig.): Niltava brevipes, Hodgson, Ind. Rev. 1837, p. 651: Etherial Warbler of Latham, and the female agrees with the supposed female of his Blue Indian Warbler. Inhabits all northern India, visiting the plains during the cold season. On'the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, it extends southward to the Tenas- serim provinces ; but in southern India is represented by the next. 2. C. banyumas, (Horsf.): Muscicapa caniatriz, Tem. Hab. Neil- gherries, Java. 3. C. elegans, (Tem.,) apud Strickland: C. Tickellice, nobis ; Mus- cicapa hyacintha, apud Tickell, and the female—Musc. rubecula, Swainson. Hab. Central India—N. B. The Blue Indian Warbler of Latham would suit this species, except that the colour of the upper- parts is stated to be deep blue, instead of light greyish-blue, brighter on the forehead and shoulder of the wing. 4. C. unicolor, nobis, XII, 1007. Described from the imperfect- ly moulted young. The adult is a larger bird than either of its con- geners, a male measuring nearly seven inches long, the wing three and a quarter, and the tail three inches. Colour a light smalt-blue, approaching to verditer above; the lower-parts paler, inclining to albescent below the breast: forehead and over the eye beautiful smalt-blue, as is also the shoulder of the wing: axillaries light rufes- cent, and a tinge of the same on the lower tail-coverts. From Dar- jeeling. 5. C. pallipes, (Jerdon), Madr. Journ. No. XXVI, 15. Neil- gherries. 6. ? Probably Muscicapa rufigastra, Raffles, Lin. Tr. XIII, 312. Ochromela, nobis. Nearly allied to the last group; but the Fly- catcher form of bill more pronounced, and the rictal vibrisse longer ; tarsi also rather longer, the wings more rounded, and the style of colouring altogether different—bright rusty, with black cap and wings, E47. * or Little Known Species of Birds. 129 in the only ascertained species—Ochr. nigrorufa, (Jerdon), Madr. Journ. No. XXV, 266, v. Muscicapa rufula, la Fresnaye. Hab. summit of Neilgherries. Pratincola, Koch. The Chats. 1. Pr. insignis, Hodgson, n. s. General aspect much that of Pr. rubicola, from which it differs in its far superior size, white throat, and much larger white wing-spot. Length six inches and a half, of wing three and a half, and tail two and a quarter ; bill to gape seven-eighths, and tarse an inch and one-eighth. Male (in summer dress) above black ; the throat, sides of the neck, upper tail-coverts, a large longitudinal patch on the wings, together with the base of the primaries and greater portion of their larger coverts, white; breast bright ferruginous, the belly white, a little tinged with the same: bill and feet blackish. The female I have not seen. From Nepal. 2. Pr. indica, nobis, n. s. Closely allied to the European Pr. rubi- cola, with which it has been hitherto confounded: but distinguishable by its longer wing, averaging two inches and three-quarters; by the greater development of the white on the sides of the neck, which nearly passes round the nape, leaving a narrow dark interval (instead of a very broad one); and by the rufous-brown of the breast being much weaker, and paling laterally, the flanks being commonly very pale, and the lower tail-coverts pure white, or rarely a little sullied with brown : in winter dress, the dorsal edgings are very whitish in old males. The females, also (judging from memory of the European species), are altogether much paler. Common throughout India.* 3. Pr. caprata, (.): Saxicola fruticola, Horsf. ; S. bicolor et S. erythropygia, Sykes; Motacilla sylvatica (?), Tickell, I], 575. Com- mon in most parts of the country, and esteemed by the natives as a cage bird; having a pleasing song, approaching to that of an English Robin, but more uniformly plaintive. It is termed by them P’hidda. 4. Pr. ferrea, Hodgson, x. s. A typical species, except that its tail is longer than usual in this group. Length about five inches and three- quarters, of which the tail measures two and a half; wing two inches and five-eighths ; bill to gape five-eighths; and tarse seven-eighths. Upper-parts black, the feathers margined with ash-grey, the latter pre- * In Ann. Mag. N. H. 1844, p. 410, Mr. Strickland has separated the S. African species previously confounded with Pr. rubicola, by the name Pr. pastor. 130 Notices and Descriptions of various New ; [Fxs. dominating on the rump; lores and ear-coverts black: throat, super- cilium, and wing-spot, white; also the fore-neck, but the rest of the lower-parts tinged with ashy: tail black, its feathers narrowly mar- gined with white externally, and the outermost pair (which are half an inch shorter than the middle ones,) for the most part partially albes- cent. Female rather smaller, and wholly brown above, passing to fer- ruginous on the upper tail-coverts, and there is an admixture of this colour on the rectrices: under- parts pale brown, rufescent on the flanks and lower tail-coverts, and whitish on the throat. Bill and feet black. Common in the eastern Himalaya. Saxicola (?) pallida, nobis, n. s. This bird is essentially a Wheatear; but is remarkable for its large size, long bill, and short legs. Length nine inches; of wing four and three-quarters, and tail three and three-eighths; bill to gape an inch and a quarter; tarse the same. Colour (of female ?) light isabella-grey above, more fulvescent on the tertiaries and middle tail-feathers, which are shaded with pale dusky along the middle: lores, throat, and belly, whitish; the breast-feathers dusky, with broad whitish margins concealing the dark colour within: central ear-coverts pale, the rest nigrescent: wings internally white on the anterior half, the rest dusky ; above the primaries and secondaries are white at base, and the shorter primaries are also white-tipped, the white increasing in quantity to the secondaries, which are broadly white-tipped ; greater wing-coverts also white-tipped, forming a bar on the wing; and the small wing-coverts margined with pale fulvescent : tail, except its two middle feathers, dusky, the outermost having its narrow outer web almost wholly white, and the penultimate a narrow white edge to its outer web. Bill pale horny; and legs also pale. Inhabits Scinde (Ullah Bund), and the specimen described was pre- sented to the Society by the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of London. , Of typical Indian Wheatears, may be enumerated— 1. S. stapazina (?), Auct. Length about six inches and a half, of wing three and three-quarters, and tail two anda half; bill to gape three-quarters of an inch, and tarse an inch and one-sixteenth. General colour pale fawn (or isabelline) above, lighter below, and tinged with greyish on the crown and nape; throat, front and sides of the neck, including the lores and ear-coverts, black ; wing also black, the coverts 1847, | or Little Known Species of Birds. 131 slightly tipped, and the tertiaries margined with whitish, disappearing in the worn plumage; a considerable whitish patch at the base of the wing, ordinarily concealed beneath the scapularies ; also an ill-defined whitish supercilium continued to the occiput, and contrasting with the black adjoining it below : upper and lower tail-coverts buffy-white ; and base of tail pure white, its terminal two-thirds black. Bill and feet black. Common in the Upper Provinces, Scinde, &c. If new, S. atrogularis, nobis. 2, S. leucomela, Tem. Also common in the NW. of India. 3. S. picata, nobis, n. s. Merely differs from the last in having the crown of the head black, instead of white. For both sexes of this and of the preceding species, the Society is indebted to Capt. Boys, who procured them abundantly on the march from Scinde to Ferozepore. The present species is figured among Burnes’ drawings, from Scinde. 4, S. leucura, (Shaw). This, again, only differs from S. picata in having the whole under-parts, as far as the vent, of a uniform black with the rest. Together with (supposed) S. stapazina, it is common about Agra, from which locality Dr. Stewart has presented the sais with fine specimens of both.* N. B. The Darunga Thrush of Latham, obtained at Cnahapore in November, appears to me (judging from the description) to be a true Wheatear; and it certainly cannot be the Merula Wardii of Jerdon, to which that naturalist has referred it. Among Burnes’ drawings, there is also a rude figure of what is probably Sax. melanura, Tem., a species described as inhabiting * Stephens refers this to S. cachinnans, Tem.; but the latter is, I believe, the species figured by Savieny (¢. v., f. i.), which differs from S. deucura, as S. leucomela differs from S$. picata, in having a white cap. There are thus a white-capped and a black-capped species with white belly—S. lewcomela and S. picata, and ditto ditto with black belly—S. cachinnans and S. leucura. t ‘‘ Length six inches at least. General colour of the bill, legs, and plumage, black ; over the eye, from the nostrils towards the nape, a whitish streak, but ceasing before it reaches the latter; breast, belly and thighs, white, also the upper tail-coverts; the greater part of the tail from the base white, the side feathers being only tipped with black for half an inch; but the two middle feathers have their ends black for an inch and a half: the wings reach to more than half on the tail. Another, said to be a female, has the head and neck to the breast, and wings, and the whole of the two middle tail- feathers, dusky brown-black ; on each jaw a large patch of deep black: breast, belly, thighs, and rump, upper and under tail-coverts, white; the two middle tail-feathers black ; the rest white, except for about half an inch at the end.’’ 132 Notices and Descriptions of various New (Fes. Arabia. If rightly identified, however, this would seem to be a very aberrant Wheatear ; and its colouring is much as in the female Siphia leucura (p. 125 ante). Grandala celicolor, Hodgson, J. A. §. XII, 447. This very re- markable and (the male) most splendidly coloured bird, from the snow region of the Himalaya, appears to me to be decidedly allied to the Wheatears. - Lanthia, nobis: Nemura, Hodgson (a name long pre-occupied in entomology), Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 198. The birds of this divi- sion are closely allied to the Robins (rydhaca), from which they dif- fer in their more delicate conformation, longer wings (reaching half- way down the tail), much weaker bill, longer and more slender claws— especially that of the hind-toe, and in the sexual diversity of colouring. The males (so far as known) are deep blue above, with lighter blue on the forehead and over the eye; and in the two first species (which are typical), this colour is confined to the rump and tail of the other sex. 1. I. hyperythra, nobis. Length about five inches and a half, of wing three and one-eighth, and tail two and a quarter; bill to gape nine- sixteenths, and tarse an inch. Upper-parts of male deep indigo-blue, brightening to ultramarine on the forehead and above the eyes, and upon the shoulder of the wing; the wings and tail black, the fea- thers margined with blue externally: lower-parts bright yellowish- ferruginous, confined to a narrowish streak on the middle of the throat and fore-neck; the lower tail-coverts and centre of the belly white. Female, a rich brown above, approaching to the colour of Hrythaca vubecula, or rather the feathers are merely tipped with this colour, shewing more or less of the cinereous-dusky tint within: tail blue as in the male, the rump a lighter and more greyish-blue; there is also a little blue on the shoulder of the wing, and a greyish-blue supercilium brightening posteriorly : lower-parts tawney-brown, or subdued fulvous, except the lower tail-coverts which are white. Bill and feet dusky in both sexes. From Darjeeling. 2. I. rufilatus, (Hodgson), and the female—Nemura cyanura, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 198. I suspect that the female of this bird is also the Erythaca Tytleri of Prof. Jameson, noticed (but not described) in the ‘ Transactions of the Wernerian Society,’ and also in the ‘ Edinbro’ Philosophical Journal’ for July 1835, p. 214, where 1847. ] or Little Known Species of Birds. 133 it is mentioned to agree in the grouping of its colours with the Robin of Europe, but in the form of the bill to present as it were a link be- tween the genera Hrythaca and Phenicura. The Motacilla cyanura, Gmelin, from Siberia, may refer to the female of either this or the preced- ing, or to that of some other equally allied species. Size and proportions of last, save that the tail is a quarter of an inch longer. The male has the upper-parts Prussian-blue, brightening and inclining to ultra- marine upon the sides of the forehead over the eyes, on the shoulder of the wing, and on the rump: lower-parts white, confined to a narrow streak on the throat and fore-neck, but the flanks bright ferru- ginous: bill blackish, and legs dark brown. The female has the upper- parts uniform brown, with a trace of blue on the shoulder of the wing, a supercilium greyish-blue posteriorly, and russet margins to the terti- aries; tail blue as in the male, and the rump lighter and more greyish- blue: middle of belly, lower tail-coverts, and median line of throat, white; and the flanks bright ferruginous as in the other sex. This ferruginous colour of the flanks, with the hue of the upper-parts, produces a certain resemblance of colouring to the Robin of Europe, sufficient to have elicited the remark of Prof. Jameson. Inhabits the Himalaya generally, at least from Simla to Darjeeling. 3. I. flavolivacea, (Hodgson). I have little doubt that this is a female bird, distinguished from the females of the two preceding species by having no blue on its rump or tail. The tarse is longer than in the others, measuring an inch and one-eighth; wing two inches and seven- eighths ; total length five and a half, of which the tail is two and a quarter. Upper-parts uniform brown, the loral region and throat rufescent-white, and rest of the under-parts dilute rusty: bill dusky, the base of the lower mandible pale; and the legs pale. Described from Mr. Hodgson’s only specimen. Ruticilla, Brehm: Phenicura, Swainson. The Redstarts. Of the typical members of this genus, the European A. phenicurus was obtained by the late Sir A. Burnes on the banks of the Indus.*—2, R. erythrogastra, (Gould.): Motacilla aurorea, Pallas; Ph. Reevesii, Gray, described in XII, 963. Inhabits Nepal and Assam, and extends from the Caucasus to Japan (as I am informed by Mr. Strickland, who also favoured me with its synonymes as here given).—38. A. leucoptera, * The other European species, A, tithys, is common in Afghanistan. Ji 134 Notices and Descriptions of various New [F xs. nobis, XII, 962. This Malayan Redstart has lately been received by the Society from Java, two males and a female, so that it will probably have been named by M. Temminck :* the female is plain brown above, paler beneath, with rufous tail, and the same great white wing-spot as in the male.—4. J. c@ruleocephala, Vigors: a typical species, but re- markable for not having the tail rufous as in the others. Himalaya.—5. R. atrata, (Latham): the only Redstart which is diffused generally over the country.—6. &. frontalis, Vigors: apparently the most common of the Himalayan Redstarts, from Simla to Darjeeling ; and remarkable for its terminal black tail-band.—7. &. fuliginosa, (Vigors), v. plumbea, Gould. Rather an aberrant species, with small short bill; and presenting a singular diversity in the plumage of the sexes,—the male being uniform dusky-grey, with dark ferruginous tail and coverts,—the female paler ashy, with whitish lower- parts, each feather margined with the colour of the back, and no rufous on the tail, which is white at base, extending over nearly the whole of its outermost feathers, and its upper and lower coverts also being pure white. From the Himalaya generally, and said to resemble the next species in its habits. 8. F. leucocephala, (Vigors and Gould), v. Sylvia erythrogastra, var. A, Lath., is the type of Mr. Hodgson’s Chamorrhous. The sexes are similar ; but I can perceive no structural distinction from the true Redstarts. This remarkable and beautiful species is stated, however, by Mr. Hodgson to differ considerably in habit from the latter, keep- ing always about mountain torrents; and Captain Hutton writes me word, that it is very common in the valley of the Dhoon, and also in the hills along the banks of streams and rivers, “flitting from rock to rock and stone to stone, and eternally shaking its tail and spreading it by turns.” The last is a characteristic peculiarity of the true Red- starts; and Lord A. Hay, who has obliged me with a similar account of the habits of this bird, sees nothing in them at variance with the gene- ric habits of other Ruticille. Calliope, Gould. The type of this group is the very Thrush-like (in structure and habits) C. camtschathensis, (Gm.), v. C. Lathami, Gould, and Motacilla calliope, Pallas. This bird is common in Lower Bengal during the cold season, and occurs in central India. A second * Unless, as is not improbable, M. Temminck considers it to be a mere ‘ climatal or local yariety’’ of R. pheenicurus. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 135 species, with less firm plumage and rounder wings and tail, is C. pecto- ralis, Gould, figured by that naturalist in his Jcones Avium: from the Himalaya. A third, referred by Mr. Jerdon and myself to this group, is C. cyana, v. Larvivora cyana, Hodgson, and Phenicura supercilt- aris, Jerdon. Also from the Himalaya; and once obtained by Mr. Jerdon in the Neilgherries, and once by myself near Calcutta. In the Himalaya I am informed that it is common. Larvivora brunnea, Hodgson, VI, 102, is probably but the female of C. camtschatkensis; and C. cruralis, nobis, XII, 933, is a typical Brachypteryx. Tarsiger chryseus, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 198, and doubtfully referred to Sericornis of Gould, in XIV, 549, comes next in order:—and then the Cyanecula suecica (?), or Blue-breast, common in most parts of India; but whether absolutely identical with the European bird, I have some doubt, as its pectoral spot is always rufous instead of white. Can it be the species nearly allied to suecica mentioned by the Prince of Canino, in Lin. Trans. XIV, 754? Cyanecula has been merged in Ruticilla (v. Phonicura) by many authors, though it has little in common with that genus beyond the rufous on its tail. The typical Redstarts are sylvan birds, frequenting high trees, especially in rocky places or about buildings, and fond of singing from the topmost sprays; but which occasionally descend to the ground to feed, hopping about in the manner of a Robin. The Blue-breasts, on the contrary, affect the open country, where there are no trees, and especially reedy places, or plantations of sugar-cane, or growing corn or high grass, or ground covered with the broad leaves of cucurbitaceous plants ; and there they are seen generally on the ground, running with alternate steps like a Pipit or Wagtail, and occasionally spread- ing wide the tail, displaying its rufous base to advantage; seldom perching, but flitting before you as you advance, and disappear- ing among the low cover; but soon coming forth when all is still, yet without absolutely quitting the shelter of the herbage by going more than a few paces from it. In Lower Bengal, these birds are extremely common in suitable situations. The Indian species is the Blue- necked Warbler of Latham, and his Sylvia sperata, var. A, is pro- bably the female. 136 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fxs. The following three genera are closely allied. Sylvania, nobis. General characters of Callene (formerly Cineli- dium, nobis, XI, 181*); but the bill much slenderer and straighter, resembling that of Calliope camtschathensis, whereas the bill of Callene more resembles that of Copsychus, and especially Notodela. S. phenicuroides, (Hodgson).t Length about seven inches and a quarter, of which the middle tail-feathers measure three and a quarter, the outermost nearly an inch less; wing two inches and seven-eighths; bill to gape seven-eighths; and tarse an inch and one- eighth. Upper-parts uniform dark cyaneous, or deep slaty-blue, less deep however than in Callene frontalis, or Brachypteryx montana ; the lower similar but rather paler, passing into white on the middle of the belly; the winglet feathers are also tipped with white: tail black, all but its middle pair of feathers ferruginous for the basal half: bill dusky; and legs brown. Female rather smaller, and wholly brown above, paler brown below, passing to albescent along the middle of the belly; a slight tinge of rufous, but undefined, at the base of the caudal feathers. Inhabits Nepal. Callene (olim Cinclidium) frontalis, nobis, figured in XII, 1010. This form differs from the next in its larger and stronger bill, more developed tail, and the somewhat scale-like character of its plumage ;t but in other respects is hardly separable. Brachypteryx, Uorsfield. The Society having been favoured by the Natural History Society of Batavia with specimens of Br. montana and Br. sepiaria, Horsf., of Java, I am enabled to approximate very closely to the former species (which is the type of this genus,) the Calliope ? cruralis, nobis, XII, 933, which merely differs from Br. montana in its somewhat smaller size, the absence of the mass of erect soft blackish plumelets on the forehead, and in the concealed white streak over the eye being continued forward to the nostrils. A second Indian species exists in the Phenicura major, Jerdon, of the Neilgherries, which, however, is less typical, and has the tail considerably more developed. Br. sepium, Uorsfield, pertains to my genus Alcippe, as suggested in XIII, 284, and is very nearly allied to A. potocephala, (Jerdon), and some * The name Cinclidium was pre-applied in Botany to a genus of mosses. + Mr. Hodgson refers this bird to Bradyterus of Swainson. ~ Even this, however, occurs on the under-parts of Br. cruralis. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 137 others. Lastly, Mr. Eyton, as noticed in XVI% 10, has recently assigned three Malacca species to Brachypteryx, all of which I had previously described and referred to Zimatia, in which genus I would still decidedly retain them; and another of my Timalie¢ he has classed in his Malacopteron, while he refers also to Malacopteron an unquestion- able Bulboul, my Jaitdia cyaniventris: Br. nigrocapitata, Eyton, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 103, has more the technical features of true Brachypteryx ; but its affinities would seem to be rather with the Malacopteron series. | To Brachypteryx must also be approximated the curious little birds first classed by Mr. Hodgson under his Yesia, and of which he has since made two genera— Pnoépyga and Oligura, in Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 195. These I have also treated of in XIV, 586; and if the two sub-groups are to be separated, the name Zesia must be retained in lieu of Oligura for the one section (this containing the species at the head of those first described under that name), while Microura of Gould (unless pre-occupied)* must stand for Pnoépyga, Hodgson, in- asmuch as it was long previously applied to the same special group.f Three of the species referred to Pnoépyga by Mr. Hodgson are merely varieties of one species, as shewn in XIV, 586. T. (v. Oligura) auriceps, Hodgson, n. s. (Non vidi.) “ Above flavescent-olive, below pure deep slaty; the cap golden-yellow: bill coral-red below, dusky above: legs dusky flesh-colour. Length three inches and a half; bill six-tenths of an inch; tail nine-tenths; wing an inch and two-tenths; tarse an inch; central toe and nail seven- tenths; head five-tenths. Hab. Sikim. The bill of this bird is de- pressed ; rictus hispid; lateral toes unequal, the hind large; and nails acute: by all which marks, in common with 7. cyaniventer and [cas- taneo-coronata, v. | flaviventer, the type is proved to be different from [| Microura, v.| Pnoépyga.” Hodgson’s MS. * It is, 1 find, pre-occupied by Ehrenberg, for a genus of Vermes. ¢ Aipenumia of Swainson, described in the Appendix to Vol. II of the Fauna Americana-borealis, certainly refers to these birds, comprehending, I think, both groups; and it is of prior application by many years to the other names: but which of the sub-groups it should be retained for is uncertain, as Mr. S. refers to undescribed species only. Tesia of Hodgson, as originally proposed, would in such case be quite synonymous; and if Aipenumia be restored, it might therefore be substituted for Tesia in the more limited sense of the latter appellation. 138 Notices and Descriptions of various New [FEs. Whether the genus Horettes, Hodgson, should accompany Tesia and Microura in the approximation of these latter to Brachypteryzx, will admit of considerable doubt. From the Brachypteryx series, we might now pass to what have been called the Myiotherine birds; and thence by the vast series of forms comprised under Swainson’s Crateropodine : but some important groups must intervene; and, first, the four following allied genera— Notodela, Lesson. This, I very strongly suspect, is identical with Muscisylvia, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 197.* The beak, and even the colouring of the head, of the Himalayan species very closely resemble those of Callene frontalis ; but the rest of the struc- ture approximates these birds to the Dhyals ( Copsychus), and even the beak merely differs in being smaller. To particularize further, the general structure is that of Copsychus, but less robust, with a nearly square tail, of which the outermost pairs of feathers graduate but slightly: the bill is smaller, and the tarsi and toes are more slender, than in Copsychus, with longer and more gracile claws, espe- cially that of the hind-toe: wings reaching half-way down the tail, and having the fifth primary longest, the first about two-fifths the length of the fifth, and the second, third, and fourth, graduating in a suc- cessively decreasing ratio. If correctly brought together, two species will have been ascertained. 1, N. diana, Lesson, Zool. du Voyage de M. Belanger : respecting which I quote the following from my notes, not having the work to refer to. Length eight inches; bill to gape eight lines; and tarse ten lines. Plumage deep brownish-blue, relieved on the forehead by a satiny-white crescent. From Pegu. 2. NV. leucura, (Hodgson). Length about seven inches and a half, of wing three and three-quarters, and tail three and a quarter; bill to gape seven-eighths, and tarse an inch; hind-toe three-eighths of an inch. General colour dark blackish indigo-blue; the forehead and over the eyes, and the shoulder of the wing, bright smalt-blue; alars and caudals dull black, except the basal portion of the external web of the three tail-feathers on each side next to the outermost feathers, the quantity of this white increasing outwardly : a concealed white spot on the sides of the neck in the male: bill and feet black. According to * This name is, besides, too like Muscylva of Lesson. 1847. | or Little Known Species of Birds. 139 Mr. Hodgson, it “‘inhabits the mountains solely: is chiefly arboreal : and feeds on caterpillars, grubs and soft insects, and equally on pulpy berries.” Copsychus, Wagler; Dahila, Hodgson. The Dhyals. Of this genus, the Bengal and common Indian species is Gryllivora interme- dia, Swainson, and Dahila docilis, Hodgson, As. Res. XIX, 189. In this the females have, constantly, the whole upper-parts glossy ash colour, blackening on the middle tail-feathers ; while the females of the two following have, as invariably, the upper-parts glossy black, though less intense than in the male, and passing to blackish-ashy on the forehead ; now this latter agrees with Edwards’ description of the female of his ‘ Little Indian Pie,’ which, however, he adds, was sent from Bengal; and upon Edwards’ figure is founded Gracula saularis of Linnzus. Perhaps, therefore, it will be as well to consider the Ben- gal bird as C. saularis, (Lin.), in conformity with recent systematists. The Ceylon D’hyal would seem to be Gryllivora brevirostra, Sw., having a rather smaller bill than that of continental India, and the males of both have the four outer tail-feathers on each side white, the fourth, however, having commonly some slight admixture of black, while in the females the fourth has, generally, even more black than white. The Malayan D’hyal is Gr. magnirostray Sw., having a con- spicuously larger bill than in the others, and never more than the tip of the fourth tail-feather white, and a good deal of black often on the third. It will range as C. mindanensis, (Gm.), v. Turdus amenus, Horsf., and Lanius musicus, Raffles. Mr. Swainson also describes a Gr. rosea; respecting which Mr. Strickland writes me word, after examining Swainson’s original specimen, that it ‘is certainly only C. mindanensis (v. magnirostra, Sw.), with plumage slightly stained by some rufous material, probably the red soil of some locality.” Kittacincla macrourus, (Gm.), Gould: Gryllivora longicauda, Swain- son. The Shamah. This splendid singing bird seems to be com- mon in the hill jungles of Central India, and those at the foot of the Himalaya; and it is especially numerous in the territories eastward of the Bay, and in the Malay countries generally: but in the south of India it is somewhat rare. Thamnobia, Swainson: Sawxicoloides, Lesson. There are two spe- cies of this genus: that of Upper India, 7’. cambazensis, (Lath.), the 140 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Frs. female of which is S. erythrurus of Lesson, has constantly the head and upper-parts of the male olive-brown; while in that of Southern India, the head and upper-parts of the male are shining deep black, the same as the under-parts,—this latter being Motacilla fulicata, Lin., Znanthe ptygmatura, Vieillot, Th. leucoptera, Swainson, Rus- ty-vented Thrush, and the female— Sylvia fulicata, var. A, of Latham. The females of the two species are, however, undistinguishable; and I have observed that the younger males of 7’. fulicata have the upper- parts more or less brown, as in the northern species, the head more especially ; but the dorsal plumage (so far as I have seen) is always shining black underneath, and the brown edgings are cast after a while, leaving a more or less perfect black surface. The northern species, on the contrary, has no black on the interior of its feathers. This bird is the Motacilla fulicata of Tickell’s list, and it abounds in all Upper India: I have never seen it from below the Rajmahl hills in Bengal, put it is common in the Midnapore jungles. We may now venture on the great series of Indian Thrushes, which are as follow: Zoothera, Vigors, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1831, p. 172. 1. Z. monticola, Vigors, ibid. ; Gould’s ‘Century,’ pl. XXII. The figure cited of this bird is faulty, making the body appear much too large; the legs and toes are also represented too stout and ferrene in their character ; and even the beak is incorrectly drawn, being too deep at base, instead of the culmen rising from the base and becoming deepest about the middle. In the young, the bill is not longer than that of an ordinary Thrush, but there are indications of its future form ; and the plumage of the nestling much resembles the corresponding garb of an English Blackbird. In fact, the Zoothera is merely a stout Thrush allied to the Oreocincle of Gould, with a strangely overgrown bill; but this could never be inferred from Gould’s figure of it. A specimen from Arracan is perhaps distinct, or it may be only the ordinary female : it differs from several Darjeeling specimens (males ?) in its rather smaller size and less developed bill, in the olive-brown hue of its whole upper- parts, in having a distinct whitish loral streak and much intermixture of the same upon the ear-coverts, and in the feathers of the under-parts being whitish with a broad olive-coloured border, surrounding the fea- ther more or less according to the part. Inhabits the Himalaya; and 1847.) or Little Known Species of Birds. 141 if that of the Arracan mountains prove identical, as is most probable, it may be expected to occur likewise in those of Assam, Munneepore, Sylhet, &c.* Oreocincla, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 145. The more characteristic species of this group make a very close approach to the preceding, insomuch that there is hardly any difference between the bill of the Arracan specimen of presumed Z. monticola above described, and that of a Neilgherry near ally to O. varia, except that in the latter the culmen scarcely ascends from the base, while in other specimens of Oreocincla it distinctly ascends. Again, O. macrorhyncha, Gould, (P. Z. S. 1835, p. 145), from New Zealand, is described to be nearly allied to O. varia, from which it differs ‘‘in the much larger size of the bill, and in the deeper black colouring of the margins of the feathers ;” so that it is even probable that the dividing line cannot be drawn between the two groups, especially as the black margins to the feathers of the upper-parts, which are especially characteristic of most of the Oreocincle, do not occur in all of them, as for example the species which I introduce next. 2. O. molfissima, nobis, XI, 188: O. rostrata, Hodgson, Ann. Mag. N. H. 1845, p. 326. In some specimens of this bird, the beak appears abnormally grown out, and altogether coarser than in that which I originally described ; and Mr. Hodgson’s O. rostrata is founded upon an example of the kind: but I have recently examined a fine series of specimens, which has shewn their identity beyond a doubt. They com- monly measure from ten to eleven inches in total length; and some have the wing-coverts broadly tipped with pale fulvous of which no trace occurs in others. Common in the vicinity of Darjeeling. 3. O. neilgherriensis, nobis, n. s. This species was originally sent me by Mr. Jerdon as the Turdus varius of his catalogue, which latter he has lately referred to O. dawma (Madr. Journ. No. XXXI, 127); but he has since obtained additional examples of the present species, which is conspicuously distinct from O. dawma. From the Javanese O. * A second specimen from Arracan accords with the above description, except that its size is fully equal to that of the Himalayan bird; its beak, however, being rather smaller. This disposes me to the opinion that it is distinct, in which case I propose for it the name Z. marginata. One or the other of these birds was procured by Dr, McClelland in Assam; apparently the Arracan species, to judge from the drawing. U 142 Notices and Descriptions of various New (Fes. varia, it differs (judging both from recollection of Javanese specimens and from comparison with Dr. Horsfield’s figure,) in having much shorter and smaller tarsi. The plumage would, however, appear to be the same: and the beak is particularly long and coarse, having absolutely the character of Zoothera but little subdued. Length about ten inches, of wing five and a quarter, and tail three and a half; bill to gape an inch and a half, and tarse but an inch and one-eighth ; middle toe and claw one and a quarter: the first primary an inch and three-eighths, and the second three: eighths of an inch shorter than the third, fourth, and fifth, which are equal. From the Neilgherries. O. varia, (Horsfield,) Zin. Trans. XIII, 149; Zool. Res. in Java, with coloured figure. Malay countries. 4. O. dauma,* (Lath.), Strickland, in epistold: Turdus Whitei, Eyton; O. parvirostris, Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p 136 (a small female). From the numerous specimens which I have seen, I feel convinced that Mr. Gould’s O. parvirostris may be referred as above. The species appears to be common in the Himalaya, and can hardly be considered rare in Lower Bengal during the cold season, when it is generally met with among bamboos. It also occurs in central and southern India: and, as a rare and accidental straggler, has been met with in South Britain and Ireland, and some other parts of the west of Europe. The beak of O. dauma is that of an ordinary Z'urdus, and its colour- ing only refers it to the present group. 5. O. spiloptera, nobis, n. s. Length about eight inches and a half, of wing four inches, and tail three and a quarter: bill to gape above an inch, and tarse an inch and a quarter. Colour uniform rich olive- brown above, inclining to tawney ; below white, with black spots nearly resembling those of the Missel Thrush: middle of throat, lower abdo- men, vent and lower tail-coverts, spotless: wing-coverts black, mar- gined more or less with the hue of the back, and each conspicuously tipped with a pure white spot. Bill blackish, and very robust: the tarsi brown and slender. Inhabits Ceylon. Turdus, L., as restricted. 6. 7. viscivorus, Lin. The European Missel Thrush is common in the N. W. Himalaya. * Intended for Dama, the Hindoostanee equivalent for Thrush. 1847. ] or Little Known Species of Birds. 143 7. T. atrogularis, Tem.: T. Naumanni apud nos, XI, 189: Rychild Thrush, Lath., the female. Common in the Himalaya, and I have also seen it from Tipperah. 8. ZT. Naumanni, Tem. A very rare species in the Himalaya. The following appears to be the female. Length about eight inches and a half; of wing five inches, and tail three and a half; bill to gape an inch and one-eighth ; and tarse the same. Upper. parts ruddy-brown, the crown and ear-coverts dusky, with a whitish supercilium as in 7. éliacus ; throat and middle of belly white, the feathers of the sides of the throat marked with a dusky medial line, and the breast and flanks brown, with a pale margin to each feather; sides of the neck below the ear-coverts whitish ; the under-surface of the wing chiefly buff, with the fore-part and the axillaries ferruginous: bill yellow with dusky tip; and legs brown. From Chusan, where collected by Dr. Playfair, Surgeon of the Phlegethon War Steamer, and presented to the Society by Dr. McClelland. 9. T. ruficollis, Pallas. Nearly allied to 7. atrogularis, from which it differs in having the fore-neck and breast, supercilium, fore-part of the under-surface of the wing, and the tail except partially at tip, fer- ruginous; lores, under the eye-streak, dusky; and under-parts below the breast white, a little sullied with light brown. In what appear to be the females, the throat is albescent, with rufous lines, and striz of dusky spots on each side; the eye-streak also is whitish; the ferru- ginous colour of the breast weaker, with pale terminal margins to the feathers ; and there is more dusky and less rufous on the tail. Bill dusky, with more or less yellow at the base of the mandibles, the lower being sometimes chiefly of this hue: and legs pale brown. Length about ten inches, of wing five to five and a half, and tail four inches; bill to gape an inch and one-eighth, and tarse one and a quarter. In- habits the Himalaya. T. javanicus, Horsfield, Lin. Tr. XIII, 148: Z. concolor, Tem., p.¢. Java. This and Oreocincla varia, are the only true Meruline species included in Dr. Horsfield’s long list of Javanese Turdi. 10. 7. rufulus, Drapiez, Dict. Class. d’Hist. Nat. X, 448: T. modestus, Eyton, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 103. Length eight and a half to nine inches, of wing four and a half to five inches, and tail three and a quarter to three and a half; bill to gape an inch; and tarse one and 144 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fes. a quarter. Upper-parts greenish olive-brown, with a dull whitish supercilium ; chin, and generally the medial portion of the throat, with the belly and lower tail-coverts, white; breast and flanks brownish- fulvous, brighter in old males; the throat and fore-neck streaked laterally with olivaceous, which in some specimens crosses the breast above the fulvous hue, and is more or less ashy ; others again, evidently the old males, have the entire crown and neck all round, of a dusky-ash colour, mingled with white on the middle of the throat. Bill dusky above, the basal two-thirds of the lower mandible yellow; and legs pale brown. The wings of this species are firm and acuminate, and the tail also is firm. It inhabits the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, from Arracan to the Straits of Malacca, becoming more numerous south- ward; and M. Drapiez mentions having received it from Java, where it is a periodical visitant, and named (as he informs us) Sériée. 11. 7. unicolor, Tickell, J. A. S. I, 577 ; also of Gould, P. Z. S. 1837, p. 186. Length about nine inches, of wing four inches and five- eighths, and tail three and a half; bill to gape above an inch; and tarse exceeding an inch and one-sixteenth. Colour uniform dark ashy above, paler below, and passing to white on the belly and lower tail-coverts ; a tinge of rufous on the fore-part of the wing underneath. Bill yellow ; and legs duller yellow. Capt. Tickell describes the female to be “‘dirty-grey, mixed on the back with olive, tinged on the head with brown. Wings and tail brownish; coverts of tail iron-grey ; breast isabella-grey, belly white.” What Mr. Gould describes as the young, appears to me to be the female of the next species : and he also states the bill and legs to be livid fuscous : the length of wing he gives, “‘ three inches and a quarter,” must be a misprint for five and a quarter ; though that would exceed, by more than half an inch, the length of wing of the only specimen before me. The species inhabits the Himalaya chiefly, but occurs sometimes in central India. 12. T. dissimilis, nobis: T. unicolor et T. modestus, nobis, passim, as in XI, 460, &c.: Calcutta Thrush, Latham, the female. This bird, as well as the preceding one, is very closely allied to the suc- ceeding group, Geocichla ; and the mature male of the present spe- cies has the whole under-parts from the breast, except the medial line of the belly and the lower tail-coverts, which are pure white, of the same bright ferruginous colour as in G. citrinus, G. cyanotus, &c. 1847. ] or Little Known Species of Birds. 145 An approach to the same colouration is exhibited by old males of T. rufulus. The female, however, shews no sign of this except on the axillaries, and on more or less of the under-surface of the wing : yet, before obtaining the male, I had perceived the affinity of this species for the Geocichle ; and it is curious that I procured some eight or ten in the feminine plumage (whether all females, however, I cannot say, for some were only skins), before I succeeded in get- ting a male, which, as I all along suspected, proved to be clad in not quite so homely a garb as his mate. The male is, indeed, rather a handsome Thrush. Length nine inches, by fourteen and a quarter in spread of wing; closed wing four and a half; tail three and one- eighth ; bill to gape an inch and one-eighth; tarse the same. Colour of the upper-parts plain olive-brown in both sexes, with ashy beneath the surface of the feathers, tending a little to predominate about the rump; throat, middle of belly, and lower tail-coverts, white; the sides of the throat with dusky linear spots, more or less diffused, and some often appearing in the middle; breast light olive-brown, with a few dusky spots, sometimes small and triangular, sometimes larger and more linear; and the flanks spotless olive-brown in the female, and perhaps in the juvenescent male, but in the old male bright ferruginous, spreading to the white medial line of the abdo- men. Beak dusky, with generally some intermixture of yellow; and legs bright yellowish-brown. As in the Geocichle, the bill of a fresh specimen of this species is usually much clotted with mud; and the bird, like them, is mostly seen on the ground, hopping about among the underwood. It is not rare in Lower Bengal during the cold sea- son. Mr. Jerdon has lately obtained it in the south: and it often occurs in collections from the Himalaya. Geocichla, Kuhl. 13. G. cyanotus, (Jardine and Selby), Jd. Orn., Ist series, pl. XLVI. Common in the Indian peninsula. 14. G. cttrina, (Lath.): Turdus Macei, Vieillot; 7. lividus, Tickell, J. A. S. M1, 577 ; T. rubecula apud Horsfield, P. Z. S. 1839, p. 161. Bengal, Nepal, Assam, Arracan, Central India. A very common spe- cies. The young, received from Darjeeling, has the upper-parts dull olive, with a pale rufescent central streak to each feather; head and neck dull rufous, the feathers centred brighter, except towards the fore- 146 Notices and Descriptions of various New (Fes. head ; under-parts light rufescent, deeper on the breast; and wings and tail as in the adult, but the feathers centred and margined with rufous. G. innotata, nobis, m. s. Resembles G. citrina, but has the fer- ruginous colour of the head and under-parts, and the ash-colour of its upper-parts, much more intense ; no white upon the wings; and the lower tail-coverts only (not the vent) are white. From the Malayan Peninsula. What I take to be two females of the same species, from the Nicobar Islands, have the throat white, and some white at the sides of the vent; the wings, rump, and tail, only, are deep ashy, the back and scapularies being olive-green, much as in the female of G. citrina. These are also smaller than the Malayan bird, the wing being but four inches, and the rest in proportion; whereas the Malayan (sup- posed) male has the wing four inches and a half. Should the Nicobar bird prove distinct, it might stand as G. albogularis, nobis. G. rubecula, Gould, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 7. It is not very clear, from Mr. Gould’s description of this Javanese species, in what it differs from G. citrina ; except that he states the tarse to be an inch and a half long, instead of one and a quarter, and that the tail is but two inches and a half, instead of three inches; but from the difference of locality, it will most likely prove to be distinct. Four well marked species of this group are, as Mr. Gould informs us, in the Zoological Society’s Museum ; and 7. rufovariegatus, Drapiez, Dict. Class. d’ Hist. Nat. X, 465, would seem to belong to it. Merula, Ray. 15. M. Wardi, Jerdon, J. A. S. XI, 882; Jerdon’s Lil. Ind. Orn., pl. VIII. The bird described and figured as above, is the male. The female is very differently coloured, and a specimen was sent by Mr. Hodgson by the name Oreocincla? micropus. The Society has also since received a female from Southern India, and a male from Almorah ; so that all doubt is removed concerning the identity of the Himalayan bird with that of Travancore, &c. The sexes of this species present the usual diversity observable in most of the black Merles, (as the Bri- tish M. vulgaris, &c.), only somewhat further carried out; and this particular difference of the sexes confirms the propriety of its allocation in Merula, which group, as I formerly remarked, it tends to connect with Oreocincla. The male is black, with white eye-streak 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 147 and under-parts from the breast, except the feathers of the flanks which are only margined with white; and, besides a white wing-patch under the scapularies, the wing-coverts and tertiaries are tipped with the same, and the secondaries and middle tail-feathers, with the upper tail-coverts, more slightly, the rest of the tail-feathers being succes- sively more deeply so tipped, increasing in amount to the outermost. The female has the upper-parts brown instead of black, with slight whitish tips to the upper tail-coverts, and less white on the tail-feathers, which is also less pure; the wing-coverts are each tipped with a triangular spot of fulvous-white, and the tertiaries more slightly ; the supercilium is also fulvous-white, and the entire under-parts, except the lower tail-coverts which are purer white, a little variegated with dusky; while the feathers of the throat, breast, and flanks, are each tipped with a transverse dusky spot, more or less triangular on those ‘of the breast ; axillaries chiefly pure white: bill and legs yellowish. In fact, if we except the eye-streak and the mottlings of the wings and tail, and also its smaller size, the female of this species resembles a good deal a pale and spotted-breasted hen English Blackbird. It seems to be far from being a common species in this country, though met with from the Himalaya to Travancore. 16. M. boulboul; Lanius boulboul, Lath.: Turdus pecilopterus, Vigors, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 54; Gould’s Century, pl. XIV. The black of this species is never so uniformly deep as in the European Black- bird, the under-parts of the old male being more or less brownish: iu younger males, there is also a brown tinge above; the rump and upper tail-coverts incline to ashy, and the lower-parts may be termed fuscous- brown :- the wing-mark, too, is more albescent in old birds, thus con- trasting stronger with the black of the rest of the plumage; while in younger specimens it is much browner. The brown colour of the females is more uniform than is represented on Gould’s plate, and the wing-mark is certainly never of the decided rufous hue which is there laid on, having but a faint rufescent tinge, with the margins of the outer coverts dull albescent to a greater or less extent. In the spotted nestling garb, the sexes are already easily distinguishable, from the much darker tone of colouring in the males: besides that, in all the Thrush tribe, the great alars and caudals first put forth resemble in colouring, size, and firm texture, those of the adults, being not shed at the first 148 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fes. moult. This is the common Himalayan Blackbird of the lower ranges, or what is termed the sub-Himalayan region. 17. M. albocincta, (Royle) ; figured by the name albicollis on Royle’s plate, which name was previously applied by Vieillot to a Brazilian species: Zurdus collaris, Sorel, Rev. Zool., 1840, p. 2. Size and pro- portions of the last species: the male black, tinged with brown under- neath; throat and fore-neck white, surrounding the ear-coverts, and forming a broad collar round the neck : bill yellow, with dusky tip; and legs yellowish. Female brown, paler below; the collar greyish-brown, and throat white with some dusky spots, and a line of the same from the corner of the lower mandible. The White-collared Blackbird is confined to a greater elevation on the Himalaya than the preceding species. 18. M. nigropileus, (de la Fresnaye); described in M. Adolphe Delessert’s Souvenirs d’un Voyage de Inde, Pt. II, p. 27. Length about ten inches, of wing five, and tail four; bill to gape an inch and a quarter, and to forehead an inch; and tarse an inch and three- sixteenths. Cap, including lores and cheeks, black ; chin washed with the same: the back and rump, wings, and tail, dark fuscous-ashy, tinged with brown on the interscapularies : the neck all round, and the under- parts, ashy-brown, paler on the belly, and passing to white at the vent: under tail-coverts mingled white and ashy: bill, and apparently round the eye, yellow; and legs yellowish-brown. Female altogether paler, the white of the vent spreading over much of the abdominal region, and the cap dusky-brown instead of black. Inhabits the Neilgherries, and is occasionally met with on the eastern ghats. 19. M. brachypus, nobis: Black-crowned Thrush, Latham, from Ceylon. This bird is almost exactly similar to the female of the last, except that the dark cap is less pronounced, and the abdominal region and under tail-coverts are merely pale: but the tarse is remarkably short, not exceeding an inch; and the tail is perfectly squared, whilst in M. nigropilea its outermost feathers are three-eighths of an inch shorter than the middle ones. These two characters are so marked that I have no doubt of its distinctness. It was obtained, I believe, in the Neilgherries, by Mr. Jerdon. 20. M. simillima, (Jerdon), Madr. Journ. No. XXV, 253. Sinudlir than the English Blackbird, with longer bill, and yellow legs: the 1847, ] or Little Known Species of Birds. 149 black of the male much less deep, and tinged with ashy ; and the lower- parts paler and brownish. Female paler and browner, as usual, passing to ashy on the rump and upper tail-coverts, and with the lower- parts still lighter-coloured. Proportions of M. nigropileus, but the tail-feathers broader and considerably less firm towards their tips; the beak is also conspicuously longer, measuring to gape an inch and three- eighths: and the colouring is much the same as in WM. nigropileus, but the contrasting ashy and brown are softened down almost to homoge- neity. Inhabits the Neilgherries; being the species referred by some authors to the European Blackbird, which it resembles in its song: the latter species is common in Afghanistan. 21. M. castanea, Gould, P. Z. S. 1835, p. 185. Length about eleven inches, of wing five and a half, and tail four inches ; bill to gape one and a quarter, and tarse the same. Colour a bay-chesnut, darkening on the interscapularies, and paler below; the head and neck grey, darker on the crown, and albescent. on the throat and fore-neck ; wings dusky, the tertiaries partly margined with brown ; and the tail blackish, its lower coverts mingled deep black and white: bill yellow, and legs yellowish. The female has all the colours less intense, the wings and tail brown, and the lower tail-coverts mingled brown and white: bill chiefly dusky. Himalaya. This species is nearly allied to M. albocincta. 22. M. leucogaster, nobis, 2. s. 1 only know this from a well executed drawing prepared by the late Dr. Griffith, during his journey from Assam to Ava, and now in the possession of Dr. McClelland: there can be no doubt of its distinctness as a species. Colour slaty-black, the lores, throat, fore-neck, and breast, deep black, and the belly dull white. Length about nine inches and a half, of wing five and a quarter, and tail above four inches ; bill to gape an inch and a quarter, and tarse the same. Petrocincla, Vigors. Rock Thrushes. 23. P. erythrogastra, (Vigors), P. Z. S. 1831, p. 1713; Gould’s ‘Century,’ pl. XII1: P. rufiventris,* Jardine and Selby, Ll. Orn., Ist series, pl. CXXIX. The two figures here cited shew what different representations may be made of the same species, provided the true * There is also a Turdus rufiventris, Vieillot, from Brazil. 150 Notices and Descriptions of various New (Fes. colouring be not rigorously adhered to: thus Mr. Gould has coloured it with a black throat and fore-neck, adding a slight gloss of blue ; and the other naturalists cited have coloured these parts entirely blue, with a white margin separating them from the blue of the rest of the neck. Now the true colouring of the throat and fore-neck is a dull blue, with occasionally a medial rufous patch on the latter, and the feathers being margined with pale greyish; the latter accounts for the white border as- signed by Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby: again, the latter naturalists have coloured the tail much too blue, and have also exaggerated the edgings of the wing-feathers, which edging might indeed be erased altogether: the back, too, should have been rendered much darker and more dingy than the head and rump, which, with the shoulder of the wing, are alone bright blue; and the lores, ear-coverts, and sides of the neck, are black, contrasting with the blue of the crown, and passing into the dusky- bluish of the fore-neck. The females vary a good deal, but have always a much greater admixture of black on the lower-parts and sides of the throat, than is shewn in Gould’s figure of this sex; the ground hue is often, but not always, much more rufous; and though there is generally a pale mesial space on the throat and fore-neck, even this is in some specimens wholly variegated with the black margins to the feathers. The sexes of the young are conspicuously different in the nestling plumage, from the young males having the wings and tail blue, which in the females are brown, as in the adults respectively ; and the pale central spots to the clothing plumage are also much more rufes- cent in the young males, and albescent in the young females. Common in the Himalaya. 24. P. longirostris, nobis, n. s. This species I only know from a female, presented to the Society by Captain Boys, who procured it on the march from Scinde to Ferozepore. It is remarkable for the length of its bill, and for the pale greyish colour of its upper-parts, which would indicate that the blue of the male is considerably paler than in the three following species. Length about eight inches and a half, of wing four and a quarter, and tail three and a quarter; bill to gape an inch and three-eighths, and tarse an inch. Upper-parts light brown- ish-grey, browner on the wings, and greyer on the tail; the lower-parts pale fulvescent-grey, obscurely marked with dusky ; bill blackish, and 1847, | or Little Known Species of Birds. rol legs brown. Very distinct from the females of the three following species.* 25. P. affinis, nobis, XII, 177 (bis). Rare at Darjeeling; but common along the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, from Tipperah and Arracan to the Tenasserim Provinces. The males of this species have generally some intermixture of rufous about the vent and lower tail-coverts, varying in quantity, but seldom nearly so much as in P. manillensis ; whereas in P. pandoo, I believe there is never a trace of this rufous.t The females are altogether bluer than those of P. pandoo, especially on the upper-parts ; and the under-parts, the feathers of which are margined with black as in the rest of the group, have the ground-tint more or less rufescent. It is decidedly a distinct species from the next. 26. P. pandoo, Sykes, the male; P. maal, Sykes, the female: Z’urdus solitarius, var. A, Latham. Inhabits central, western, and southern India. The general plumage of this species is always less distinctly mottled than that of the preceding one, both above and below ; this distinction being very obvious when several specimens of both are seen together: and in P. manillensis the feathers are much more mottled than in P, affinis. I allude to the margining of the feathers, which have subterminal blackish bars, edged with whitish; but which in P. pandoo are so slight as to be scarcely noticeable, while in P. manil- lensis they may be said to ocellate the whole plumage more or less, and in P. affinis they are constantly intermediate. P. manillensis is also of a lighter blue than the two others. P. manillensis, (Gm.) Inhabits the Philippines and China. The male of this species appears to have constantly the whole abdominal region deep rufo-ferruginous, the feathers margined as above described ; and the female has the pale rufescent hue of the lower-parts more predo- minant, with a slighter dusky margin to each feather: tail perfectly * Can this be P. cyanea of Europe? Lord A. Hay has procured a species in Kashmir, which he thinks is the European one; and various other European birds occur there, as Corvus monedula and Coracias garrula, which (as his lordship informs me) abound in the valley of Kashmir. ¢ A Tenasserim specimen just received has much more rufous on the abdomen than I ever observed before in P. affinis ; but its distinctness from P. manillensis is never- theless obvious. ‘This bird likewise inhabits Assam ; and the Society has just received a specimen of it from Goalpara. 152 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Frs. squared ; whereas in P. pandoo the outermost rectrices are a trifle shorter than the rest, and in P. affinis they are a good deal shorter, the penultimate and ante-penultimate also graduating. Monticola, Brehm: Petrophila, Swainson ; Orocetes, G. R. Gray. 27. M. cinclorhyncha, (Vigors): O. ecyanocephala, Swainson : Black-collared Thrush, var. A, Latham. The members of this group are of a shorter make, and more Chat-like, than those of the preced- ing one, with greater variegation in the colouring. The Indian spe- cies is perfectly true to the type of the European 2. saxatilis, which is the standard of the division. In this bird the sexes, as I have been informed, resemble each other ; but such is not always the case, for a female in the Society’s collection is very similar to the female of J. saxatilis, though differing of course in not having the tail rufous, nor the indication of the white mark on the croup of the male ™. sazatilis, as also in its under-parts being less rufescent. In both species, the female plumage is of the same general character as in the female Pe- trocincle. The young also are similarly much spotted with pale ful- vescent; the young males of M. cinclorhyncha being distinguished from the other sex by possessing the white spot upon the wing, the same as in the sexes of the Stone Chat ( Pratincola rubicola), while also in nestling plumage. The present species is a hill—but not a rock—bird, frequenting the tops of trees in the forests: and it extends its range to all India in suitable localities ; being met with occasionally, but rarely, in the plains during the seasons of passage, at which period (that of vernal migration) I once obtained one in the vicinity of Cal- cutta, which I kept for some time alive. Its song is sweet, plaintive, and tolerably loud ; delivered in the manner of a Robin’s song: and its manners are very like those of a Stone Chat. The Turdus eremita, Gm., founded on le Merle solitaire de Manille of Buffon, would seem to be the female of a species of this division, and not (as I suggested in XII, 182,) that of Petrocincla manillensis, both sexes of which are figured in the Planches Einluminées. From the Thrushes, we may pass to the Myiotherine birds of Swain- son, leading to his Thamnophiline: a great series of forms, more especially developed in South America. In India, we have Cinclus, Bechst. The Dippers. One species, confined to the Hima- Jayan torrents, and which was originally discovered in the Krimea,—C. 1847.] or Little Known Species of Birds. 153 Pallasii, Tem., figured in Gould’s ‘Century.’ Allied to this is C. ameri- canus, Say, of the Rocky Mountains of North America. Of the third and well known European species, C’. aguaticus, found also in Western Asia, Mr. Yarrell states that the sexes are alike in plumage; but in specimens of this bird in the Society's Museum, from England and Norway, there is a very marked sexual diversity, such as described in Fleming’s ‘ British Animals.’ | Brachyurus, Thunberg: Pitta, Vieillot. There are at least four marked sub-groups comprehended under this genus, as follow:—1. Pa- ludicola, Hodgson; a name pre-occupied for a genus of reptiles. To this must be referred Myiothera cerulea, Rafiles, v. Pitta gigas, Tem., from Malacca and Sumatra: and Pal. nipalensis, Hodgson, from Nepal, Darjeeling, and Arracan.—2. The group exemplified by Myiothera affinis, Horsf., v. Pitta cyanura, Tem.; to which, as an aberrant species, may be referred P. cyanea, nobis, XII, 1008, from Arracan and Tenasserim. The affinity of these two species is more obvious in the female sex. Fine specimens of Br. cyaneus are more brilliant than those formerly described from, each feather of the breast and belly being of a beautiful light blue, with a round subterminal black spot and bars above this. The female is blue only on the tail, but with an admixture of this hue on the dull greenish back.—3. The form of P. granatina, Tem., v. coccinea, Eyton: with very long tarse, short wings, &c.—4. The ordinary Brachyuri, of which three species are admissable into the Fauna Indica: viz. Br. triostegus, (Sparrman), v. malaccensis,* (Scop.), v. superciliaris, (Wagler, after Sonnerat, Voy. aux Indes Orient., pl. 110), also abdominalis, (Wagler, after Edwards, pl. 324), and Pitta brachyura apud Vigors, Gould, and others, which name applies to an allied species from the Philippines. This is the com- mon Indian species, and the only one found generally over the country from the Himalaya to Ceylon, and which is occasionally to be obtained near Calcutta, as inthe Botanic Garden ; but I have never seen it from the eastward of the Bay of Bengal.— Br. cyanopterus, (Tem.), v. ma- laccensis apud nos, XII, 960: common in the countries eastward of the Bay, from Arracan to Malacca:—and Br. cucullatus, (Hartlaub), v. * This specific name has the priority; but as the bird does not inhabit the Malayan Peninsula, it is a misnomer that cannot be retained. To Mr. Strickland I am indebted for several of the above cited synonymes. 154 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fxs. nigricollis, nobis, XII, 960, and rodogaster, Hodg., zbid. (the young) : found in Nepal and Assam, as well as in the vicinity of the Straits. Myiophonus, Tem. ‘Two Indian species, both figured in Gould’s ‘Century of Himalayan birds. M. Temminckii is indeed common throughout the Himalaya, frequenting the beds of streams in the lower ranges ; and its musical whistle (according to Mr. Vigne,) is the sweet- est note heard in the hills: but M. Horsfieldi is confined exclusively to the mountainous parts of Southern India. Two other species occur in Java, M. cyaneus, (Horsfield), v. glaucinus, Tem.; and M. flaviros- tris, (Horsfield), v. metallicus, Tem. A fifth would seem to exist in de Merle bleu de la Chine of Sonnerat, v. Gracula cerulea, Scop., and Turdus violaceus, Lath. Mr. Swainson also mentions M. nitidus, Gray ; but this is probably one of the two Indian species already referred to. The great series of South American Myiotheriné seems to grade completely into the Zhamnophiline or Bush Shrikes of Swainson, in- habiting the same regions ; but presents some forms which certainly approximate the Brachyurt of the Old World and Australia; and others again grade into the Wrens ( Troglodytes), also chiefly an American group, but which comprises a few Old World species, among which are two from the Himalaya described in XIV, 589. I now add a very distinct form, by the name | Rimator, nobis. The species upon which this division is founded is a very curious little Myiotherine bird, the immediate affinities of which are not obvious. Bill longer than the head, compressed, a little incurv- ed, the curvature increasing to the tip where the extremity of the upper mandible passes and bends over that of the lower one, but without any well defined emargination ; culmen rounded for the terminal two-thirds or more, but becoming angulated towards the base; and the tomie but little inflected: the nostrils pierced in an ovate basal membrane, their aperture being a little removed from the base of the bill: gape extend- ing to beneath the fore-part of the eye, and unarmed, or having but a few short and inconspicuous hairs: legs moderately strong, suited for progression either upon the ground, or up the slanting bough of a tree; the tarse nearly as long as the middle toe with its claw, and hav- ing four long scute to the front, and two shorter ones below: toes rather long, the outer a trifle more so than the inner, and reaching to the base of the claw of the mid-toe : claws not much curved, that of the 1847. ] or Little Known Species of Birds. 155 hind-toe large, being twice the size of the middle front-claw. Wings much bowed and rounded, the first primary reaching to but half the length of the fifth, which equals the two next, and a little exceeds the fourth and eighth. The tail short and weak, its feathers slender and flexible, with soft tips a little pointed. Plumage lax, being excessively so and very copious over the rump. R. malacoptilus, nobis. Length five inches, of which the tail mea- sures one and a quarter, and the bill to forehead an inch; wing two inches-and a quarter; tarse seven-eighths; and long hind-claw about three-eighths. Colour of the upper-parts deep brown, with pale shafts to the feathers, forming a central streak on those of the nape and back ; scapularies and interscapularies black on the inner web, and brown on the outer; the mass of loose feathers on the rump brown, with light shafts more or less apparent; and the tail and large wing- feathers uniform deep brown with a slight ruddy tinge: under-parts pale brown, lightest on the middle of the breast and on the throat, and becoming whitish towards the chin; a black streak borders each side of the throat, which has also a few dusky specks; and the breast- feathers generally are margined, the lateral more broadly, with olive, which colour prevails and is tinged with ferruginous on the flanks ; the lower tail-coverts being dark ferruginous. Bill dark horny, mingled with whitish; and legs light brown. From Darjeeling. Another very distinct genus of the great Myiotherine series appears to me to exist in Enicurus, Temminck. At least eight species may be enumerated, four pertaining to the Malayan fauna, and four to that of India.* 1. EB. ruficapillus, Tem.: Turdus avensis (?), Gray, figured from a bad native drawing in Griffith’s ‘ Animal Kingdom,’ VI, 530. Inhabits Java. This fine species, while pre-eminently typical of its group, strongly exhibits in the form of its bill, and in the rufous colouring of its head and nape, the Myiotherine affinities of the genus, upon compar- ing it with such birds as the Formicarius cayennensis (Bodd.), v. Myiocincla colma, Swainson, &c. The bill is considerably longer and more slender than in the figure cited in Griffith’s ‘ Animal Kingdom,’ * Motacilla maderaspatana (nec madaraspatensis) of Latham is probably a ninth species. It is remarkable that none has hitherto been observed in the south of India. 156 Notices and Descriptions of various New [Fes with the upper mandible conspicuously hooked over at tip: much as in Cinclus, minus the hook and nareal orifices; and it is also the same form of bill which reappears in that very curious Malayan bird, the Eupetes macrocercus of Temminck. From the figure referred to, it differs in the white of the face being confined to a frontal crescent, each horn of which reaches to above the middle of the eye; in having narrow white tips to the tertiaries ; and a forked tail of moderate length, with its two outer feathers on each side wholly white: the rufous of the nape should also spread a little lower down; the black of the fore-neck not so far; and beneath this, the pectoral feathers are each margined with black, as rudely represented in the figure of Zurdus avensis. Length of wing three inches and a half; of outer tail-feathers three inches ; bill to forehead above three-quarters ; and of tarse an inch. It is a pecu- liarly interesting species, as indicating, more than either of the others, the affinities of its group. 2. E. diadematus, Tem. Of this species, from the mountainous interior of Sumatra, I have no description. It is probably identical with the only species I have yet seen from the Malayan peninsula, and which is remarkable for a triangular frontal crest of white feathers, evidently erectile, and those forming the apex being longer than the black coronal feathers they impend. Rest of the plumage black, with white lower abdomen, wing-band, rump, and two outermost tail-feathers on each side, the other tail-feathers white-tipped. Dimensions as in the preceding species: the young having the frontal crest much pecnerd If distinct and new, EZ. frontalis, nobis. 3. FH. speciosus, (Horsfield): &. coronatus, Tem. Inhabits Java. 4. E. velatus, Tem. Inhabits Java. 5. &. maculatus, Vigors; figured in Gould’s ‘Century’: &. fuligi- nosus, Hodgson, As. Res. XIX, 190 (the young). A specimen for- warded to the Society’s Museum by Mr. Hodgson with the latter name, I consider to be decidedly the immature dress of the present species: differing from the adult in the flimsy texture of its clothing plumage, in having the dark portion of its upper-parts spotless fuligin- ous-brown, with indistinct pale mesial lines, passing into white on the belly: wings as in the adult; tail wanting in the specimen. 2. macu- latus appears to be a very common Himalayan species, and occurs rarely in Arracan., 1847. ] or Little Known Species of Birds. 157 6. E. immaculatus, Hodgson, As. Fees. XIX, 190. This resembles the next species, except in having the upper-parts deep black, where the other is slaty, and the tail seems to be constantly shorter ; its outer- most feathers not exceeding four inches and three-quarters in any that I have seen, whereas those of E. schistaceus measure commonly five inches and a half. A very rare species in Nepal; but common in Arracan. 7. E. schistaceus, Hodgson, As. Res XIX, 191. A common species in the eastern Himalaya, and found likewise in the Tenasserim pro- vinces. * 8. E. Scouleri, Vigors; figured in Gould’s ‘Century’. Himalaya ; rarer to the westward. Remarkable for the shortness of its bill, and for having the tail scarcely furcate. ( To be continued. ) Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. A logical Treatise, trans- lated from the Sanscrit, by EK. Rorr. INTRODUCTION. In the following introduction to a translation of the Bhasha Parichéda, one of the most celebrated works of the Nyaya philosophy, it has been my endeavour to subject the logic of the Nyaya, as well as the leading ideas of this and the Vaishéshika systems, to a critical review, in order to bring the discussion about the merits of the philosophical researches of the Hindus more to a point. Colebrooke’s exposition of the Nyaya and Vaishéshika systems, though founded on the ablest and most exact researches, as well in a philosophical as in a critical point of view, does * It is probably Dr. W. Jameson’s supposed new species, noticed in Calc. Journ. Nat Hist. 1846, p. 360. 1 doubt whether many of that gentleman’s Thibetan animals will prove so new as he imagines: e. g. his Marmot (p. 361), and the Lagomys (?) mentioned with it, &c. &c. ‘The large Hare is doubtless Z. oistolus (v. tibetanus) : and I can already pronounce Ovis ammon to be distinct from O. montana. ¥Y, 158 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [FEB. not suffice for this purpose, as it is a mere abstract from the works of those schools, and does not enter upon the discussion of the position they are to hold as systems of philosophy. It is perhaps not impossible to write a history of Indian philosophy, if it be limited to the task of tracing the gradual development of philo- sophical principles and modes of thinking, without reference to a strict chronological order; but as yet many more materials are required to complete a work, beset with so many difficulties. At the same time we must admit, that even in this attempt, with more ample materials, we can only partially succeed. The doctrines even of those who are consi- dered as the founders of the different schools, bear the marks of a far ad- vanced progress in systematical discussion, and must therefore have been the result of a long series of preceding philosophical enquiries. Hence it would be preposterous to expect, that we should be able to discover the first steps of their researches. We cannot, however, deem this a very great loss, as we have the first philosophical attempts of the Greeks, and we may safely affirm, that a great similarity must have obtained between both of them. We, however, decline here embarking upon any historical _research, believing, that under the present circumstances, it is more important to place an original work of Hindu philosophy before the public, and to examine the principles under which it has been con- structed. For this end we consider the Nyaya in that shape, which it has acquired by its amalgamation with the doctrines of the Vaishéshikas, since we are of Colebrooke’s opinion, that both sprang from the same root, and are but branches of the same school ; the one being directed more to the explanation of material, the other of logical forms.* Or to state it more exactly,—to the Nyaya belong the logical doctrines of the forms of syllogisms, terms and propositions; to the Vaishéshika the systematical explanation of the categories (the simplest metaphysical ideas) of the metaphysical, physical, and psychical notions, which notions are hardly touched upon in Gotitama’s (the supposed founder of the Nyaya) Sutras. They differ in their statement of the several modes of proof; the Nydya asserting four modes of proof—from perception, inference, analogy, and verbal communication ; the Vaishéshika admitting only the two first ones. * Vid. ‘Colebrooke’s Miscell. Essays,’ Vol. i. p. 261. 1847. ] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 159 The name of logic, usually applied to the Nydya, does not correctly define it. It does not treat of the theory of syllogisms and the notions connected with them, as its direct object, but only as a component part of its investigation. It rather aspires to the distinction of giving a complete system of philosophy, based upon the most elementary meta- physical notions, and the division dedicated to the explanation of syl- logistical forms, is not even more explicitly treated than other parts of the system. To call the Nyaya logic, would be the same as to assign this name to the philosophy of Aristotle. There is no doubt, however, that the Nyaya has first among the philosophical systems of the Hindus examined the art of reasoning, and shaped it into its present form. This is generally acknowledged, and it has gained by this such ascendancy among the learned Hindus, that all of them refer to it as to their stan- dard in logic, and however they may deviate from other doctrines of the Nyaya, they deem its study necessary for the purpose of giving a firm basis to their reasoning. It is indeed one of the principal merits of the Nydya, that its progress is marked by an admirably exact division of the topics, discussed in it, and in this respect it is not only superior to all other systems of the Hindus, but even modern philosophy might, with advantage, study. it on account of its clearness and exactness. Though none of its inves- tigations have been carried on to a satisfactory end, the Nyaya has, with the means at its command, fully described the circle within which it moved. We must at the same time bear in mind, that notwithstanding its exactness, there is one inherent fault in its exposition, viz. the neg- lect of all analytical method, a fault of all systems of the Hindus, which has perhaps, more than any thing else, contributed to the narrow limits of their mental horizon. This fault, however, it shares with many other expositions of philosophy; for instance, to mention a celebrated name, with Spinoza’s system. It is a fault rather of exposition than of the system itself. No synthesis (in science) is possible without analysis, and having well understood the leading notions of a system, we can easily trace the analytical way by which they were obtained. This ab- sence of analysis in the construction of the philosophical systems of the Hindus is the reason why so many enquirers have done injustice to their philosophical talent. For want of a clear analysis, unable to understand the aphorisms of the Hindu schools, composed in a language as well in 160 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. (Fre. form as in thought, foreign to them, they thought the philosophical productions of many centuries and of an ingenious people; a web of either abstruse or puerile notions. On a closer examination we shall come to a juster opinion of them, and although we find a limit as well in the range as the depth of their enquiries, we shall come to place them among the nations which advanced the intellectual progress of mankind. That Hindu philosophy will, however, have any influence upon the development of European philosophy and mediately of European civiliza- tion, must be denied. Why should this be the case ? Although we must admit, that the philosophical results of the Hindus are as worthy of at- tention as those of the Greeks, still it is at the first glance evident, that the works of the Hindus are unfit to be transferred to another soil, while those of the Greeks will have always the same influence upon every rising generation in every clime and age. This difference, however, lies not so much in the development of the system as in theform. You are compelled to think by reading the works of the Greeks, they intro- duce you into the process of their thoughts, and by this, force you to accompany them with your own thoughts, until you arrive as it were by your own mind at the principles of their systems, from which point it is easy either to look back upon the way you have made or to advance further. The Hindus, on the other hand, are dogmatical; it is im- possible for any one to understand their writings who has not previous- ly, to a considerable degree, been practised in philosophical enquiries. Thus the want of interest felt in the study of their writings, is the punishment of mystery and exclusion. The same doctrines which might have been instrumental in enlightening thousands, are now forgotten, or in the possession of a few who are hardly able to comprehend them. Among the general metaphysical notions, the notion of substance is the most important one, as upon it all other notions are either founded or are closely connected with it, and whatever may be the solution of all other metaphysical problems, they must be influenced by the notion of substance. Substances are, according to the Nyaya, the substrata of qualities and actions, a definition, which is the right one, as the basis of further inves- tigation—it is the right one, because founded on experience. Substance, we add, is in so far the substratum of qualities and actions, as the existence of qualities and actions depends upon the existence of sub- 1847.] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 161 stance; if quality were independent of another, it could not represent another, whose quality it is. The existence of substance must therefore be absolute, that is to say, not dependent upon the existence of another ; for in this case, it would not be comprehended by the notion of substance, but by that of quality. And consequently, to think the idea of substance by any notions including dependance, is a contradiction. This contradiction (of comprehending substance under the notion of quality, and therefore) was committed by the Nyaya by its distinction between eternal and non-eternal substances, because the existence of the latter is not independent. In the notion of eternal substance, how- ever, the true notion of substance is included, which is to be independent of time and cause. Another question is, how a substance is united with its qualities? That a substance should have qualities, appears a matter of course, and to question it, shows a vast progress in metaphysical thinking. Al- though the Nyaya entered not expressly into the discussion of this sub- ject, it must have felt its weight, as they found it necessary to invent a contrivance for such a connexion. A substance is, according to them, united with its qualities by a relation, called intimate union, which is something real, and is neither in substances, nor qualities, nor actions. We do not intend here to analyze this notion any further (stating, how- ever, that the difficulty is not really removed by it,) but we turn toa third point in the notion of substance. Substance, according to the Nyaya, is not only united with its qualities by the relation, just mention- ed, but all substances are united with the general notion of substance, and single substances in the same way with the notion of their own class, This general notion rather is a common property; for it does exist, independent of the mind, in the substances (also in qualities and actions) themselves, and is even eternal in eternal substances, not eter- nal in transient substances. This notion exactly corresponds with that of the so-called realists among the scholastic philosophers, who main- tained the reality of general notions. Duns Scotus, for instance, asserted, that general properties (notions) were not only in objects potentia, but acta, and that generality was not only formed by the understanding, but that it existed previously to the mental conception per se as a reality, viz., The quiddity itself, which was indifferent to general or individual existence. A cause, however, was required to remove this indifference, 162 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. (Fes. viz. Another more extensive quiddity, closely united with the first, and with the principle of inviduity (afterwards called haecceity).* Substances, as before said, according to the Nyaya, are either eternal or non-eternal. Eternal are space, time, ether, soul, and the atoms of mind, earth, water, fire, and air. Non-eternal are all compounds, or the things which we actually perceive, and which must have a cause of their existence. Thus substances are divided into those which are without cause, and those which have a cause. | There are three causes;—1. The cause of aggregation, or material cause, as yarn is the material cause of cloth ;—2. The proximate cause, or the actual union of the parts which are to form a compound ;—and 3. The instrumental cause, viz. the cause by which this union is effected. This is similar to the doctrine of Aristotle, who admitted four causes; a material cause, a moving cause, a formal cause, and an end cause. The instrumental cause includes Aristotle’s formal, moving, and end causes. The notion of causality is certainly well considered, and infinitely su- perior to the notions which other Indian systems formed of it; for there are already made some steps in advance towards the proper discussion of this notion, if a difference in causes is acknowledged. In the enume- ration of causes—the cause of motion appears to have been omitted : it is, however, contained in the notion of instrumental causality. All ac- tivity according to the Nyaya is limited to movement, acts of the mind being considered by them as qualities, and as all actions abide in sub- stances, we must consider every substance as a cause of motion. They did not, however discuss, whether motion was necessary to all sub- stances, or only to some or to one, that is to say, whether there is a primum mobile or not; they did not discuss the question whether different motions do not require different causes; nor did they lastly enter into an explanation of the notion itself.t They appear in fact not to have been aware of the intrinsic difficulties of the idea of causality, * Vid. ‘'ennemann’s Geschichte der Philosophic. Kerte Aufl. p, 256. ¢ The contradictions which Zeno found in the notion of movement, are well known, and without fully acknowledging their weight, it is impossible to obtain a correct notion of it. Aristotle was well aware of this, and endeavoured to remove Zeno’s objections to this notion. How important, however, it is, correctly to define this notion, is evident even from the influence, which it exercised on the Nyaya, where motion is considered as an act, and even as the only act. 1847. ] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 163 which undoubtedly is one of the most difficult metaphysical notions.* The contradictions in the notion of cause and effect appear with especial force to apply to such causes, by which a change in the qualities of a substance is effected, as chemical, animal, and psychical effects. Such effects are, however, denied by the Nyaya. Material causes must be un- derstood as only the substrata, or the materials for a new union, as for instance, the two halves from which a pot is produced, are the material cause of the pot. There are therefore no real changes, but only changes of the accidental form, which substances may assume in their connexion with others; and there should not be changes at all we add. Every com- pound substance, according to the Nyaya, is ultimately produced from simple substances. Simple substances, however, are eternal, and all their qualities are also eternal. If this is the case, there is also no change of qualities in any compound substance, because by any connexion between them, different from an accidental relation, they would assume changes, contradictory to the notion, under which they are conceived. As the Nyaya, however, admits an actual change in compound substances, in which qualities, not to be met with in the simple substances, are pro- duced, and moreover admits a compound, in which there is a compara- tively firm connexion of the parts with each other, it has deviated from its notion of causality, and is hence guilty of the contradiction which it first endeavoured to escape. Notwithstanding these deficiencies of the Nyaya, we still maintain, that it approached nearer than any other Hindu system, to the true notion of causality, causality being, accord- ing to Pantheistic, not less than to sceptical idea, a product of habit in the association of our ideas. In passing from the general metaphysical (ontological) to more special investigations (comprehending natural philosophy and psycho- logy) we may first observe, that the same clearness obtains in the latter as in the former. Existence, or rather to use the Greek term To Ov, * Vide Sext. Emp. Adv. mathem. in Ritter’s History of Philos. Vol. iv. p. 339. That cause could not be later than effect, is evident; but also the effect cannot be later than the cause ; for if so, the cause, being antecedent to the effect, would be without effect, and a cause without effect, is a contradiction. And if the effect would be conse- quent to the cause, it would be, when the cause is no more, therefore an effect without cause. Both therefore must be necessarily together. If this be conceded, then there is the difficulty, why the one more than the other is producing (or cause). These are only part of the difficulties, and without solving them, the objections made against causality, are quite just. . 164 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. (Fes. in its connexion with material and immaterial phenomena, is much more distinctly conceived than in other systems of the Hindus. We find in- deed the same material elements as in other systems ; viz., earth, water, light, air, and ether with the same qualities ; but while in all others they are only generally described, here there is made an attempt to explain the special phenomena as well as the sources of our perception of them, or in one word, we find here the basis of observation, and of the first lineaments of the consequent reflection upon the results of that ob- servation. We meet here also the first remarks about space and time, and even some correct notions about their nature, and although both of them are placed among the substances, we must not forget the intrinsic difficulties of this subject; which in our times only has been more satisfactorily investigated by Kant, Fichte, and Herbart. The error of considering space and time as substances, is a consequence of the notion the Nyaya had formed of substance, viz. as the substrate of qualities and actions. This idea would, indeed, have been correct, had the notion of existence been preserved. The Védanta certainly had a much more exact idea of existence, maintaining, that what exists (ro ovrwe ov) must be simply existent, without any attribute what- ever, and should strictly not be even considered by a plurality of no- tions. The Védanta, however, by denying the reality of phenomena, had nothing to explain, while the Nyaya, retaining the crude notions, given by observation, had no principles whereby to explain them. The most interesting point in this part of the system is the investigation into the nature of matter, an investigation which was indeed entered into by other Hindu systems, although not with the same success. The Védanta for instance, reduced the objects of the senses, or the things, composed of the gross elements, to elements, which are finer and imper- ceptible to the senses, undoubtedly for the same reasons as the Nyaya, viz. because the origin, the changes, and the destruction of the material things compelled the mind to fix the notion of existence upon some other natures, not affected by those conditions. But according to the Védanta, the simpler elements are only simple, because they are unmixed with others. As regards, however, space, no reduction was made, and their view on this point is very like the doctrine of Anaxagoras, who also started from an original homogenousity of the elements. The Védanta indeed did not confine its thoughts to those elements, but 1847. ] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 165 proceeded to the supposition of a substance, in which there is no differ- ence whatever, but for what reason this supposition was here made, it would be difficult to give a satisfactory reply, and as regards the princi- pal point, space filled out by matter, it was not even touched upon. The Nyaya, on the other hand, has examined matter under this point of view, and arrived at the theory of atoms, in the same way as Leucipp and Demo- crit. It proceeded even further than either. With Leucipp and Demo- crit atoms have some, though imperceptible, extent, and also different figures and motions, while the Nyaya held them to be absolute units of space without any dimensions and motions, that is, mathematical points as regards space. ‘They are eternal and unchangeable, and while they are without cause themselves, they are the causes of the material uni- verse. They are imperceptible to the senses, and their knowledge is obtained by inference. The same clearness and to a certain degree comprehensiveness is met with in their psychological enquiries. The faculties of the soul and its relations to the material things, and other objects of knowledge, are methodically described. The Nyaya draws a marked line between matter and spirit, by distinctly stating the notions, under which either is per- ceived. The soul has, according to the Nyaya, qualities, opposite to the quali- ties of the substances, perceived by the senses, and is therefore distinct from these substances, that is to say, as regards special qualities; for as to qualities, ascribed to substances, as far as they are substances, both must of course agree. Qualities of the soul are the emotions and desires, volition and aversion, etc., and knowledge. Knowledge is pro- duced by intellect, which is one of the (faculties) qualities of the soul. Intellect is again fourfold, it is perception, inference, analogy and verbal knowledge. Perception is the source from which all other knowledge flows, or rather, without objects of perception the other faculties of intellect have no materials to work upon. All knowledge, that is per- ceived, is perceived through a medium, through an instrument, by which the soul is in communion either with objects from without or from within itself. External objects are perceived through five external senses, these being in contact with the mind, while internal objects, and by them the soul, are directly perceived through the mind. The doctrine of the communication of the soul with external objects is very curious Z 166 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [Fxs. and interesting, not only because it is original, but because it shows a remarkable acuteness in overcoming difficulties, met with in every sys- tem, which considers substances not only as individual beings, but also as a common essence that exsists, although dependent upon the indivi- dual substances. To perceive individual external substances, and their properties in common with others, it is necessary that the intercourse of the senses with the external objects should take place accordingly, that is to say, that individual substances should be perceived by the connexion of the senses with these individual substances, and the com- mon properties by the connexion of the senses with these common pro- perties. Substances are then perceived by the soul as in their different relations, viz. first, as in relation of this individual substance and this individual quality, of this individual substance and this individual act, further, as in the relation, which this individual substance has with its class (general essence) or with its generality; and lastly, as in the relation, which this individual quality or this individual act of this indi- vidual substance has with its class or generality. This, however is not sufficient; for a full comprehension, there are required also general notions, corresponding with those relations. A tree for instance would not be perceived, without the general notion of a tree, by which a tree at any place and at any time is perceived. This general notion requires again a kind of special knowledge, by which the general notion of a tree is referred to a certain tree. ‘This kind of knowledge, though corresponding with the relations of all substances, which have both general and special properties, and though it is (implicitly) con- tained in every object of perception, still differs from the general properties of the things. It is a conception of the soul, produced by its own activity. This knowledge then is internal perception, that is to say, it is not pro- duced by inference, or analogy, or verbal communication, but it is imme- diate and complete, as all knowledge by perception. Every perception then, according to this exposition, is based upon two elements, an external and an internal, or as these expressions do not exactly represent their notions, an immediate and mediate, an objective and ideal knowledge. In the same way are the objects of the soul perceived, viz. its different qualities, as aversion, volition, &c. are called. Though the soul is the object of the mind, it is not directly perceived by it, but it is inferred from its qualities. It is not necessary here to explain the other faculties 1847. ] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 167 of intellect, viz. inference, comparison, and verbal communication, as they are discussed in another part of this paper. We here only add, that they must be considered as parts of the quality of knowledge, or, as we would express it, as modified operations of one and the same mental activity. The mind, by which all knowledge is perceived, is not a quality or faculty of the soul itself, but it is an independent substance, atomistic in its nature. Hence only a single perception or idea is at one time perceived by the soul. The soul itself is eternal, and therefore so also are its qualities, we should say, also its knowledge, although this knowledge be not perceived by the soul itself, It is at the same time every where, not, however, as an infinite soul, as the universal soul of the Védanta, where all things constitute the pervading soul, be it even a piece of matter, though bound by ignorance to a state of apparent material existence, but according to the Nyaya there are infinite units of soul every where pre- sent, through all the worlds of material creation. There is a general soul, and there are individual souls. The general soul has the same qualities with the individual souls, with the exception of aversion, pleasure, pain, merit and demerit, because these qualities would involve imperfections. The individual soul is subject to the law of transmigration, and happi- ness and misery are the consequences of its good or bad actions. It is, however, possible for the individual soul to emerge from the vicissitudes of worldly existence by the attainment of true knowledge. It would be superfluous to point out the marked distinction, drawn here, between body and soul. Though a higher development of philoso- phy may destroy the distinctions between soul and matter, that is, may recognise matter, or what is perceived as matter, as the same with the soul (as for instance Leibnitz did), it is nevertheless certain, that no true knowledge of the soul is possible, without first drawing a most decided line of demarcation between the phenomena of matter and of the soul. In the Nyaya there is even an approximation to the doctrine, that soul and matter are as to their principles one and the same, viz. in the theory of atoms, according to which atoms are the negation of space. From this notion we may draw the inference, which has not been drawn by the Nyaya, it is true, but which would have been only a necessary con- sequence from the premises, that matter, being a compound of atoms, is only a phenomenon, as regards its extension through space. Where then 168 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [Fep. is here shown the difference between the soul and the true substratum of matter ? Let us see then, what is the soul? The soul is different from mat- ter, as this last is perceived by the senses as extended through space. This distinction is true, but further to conclude, that the soul is also different from matter in its real nature, where matter is not extended, is certainly hasty, and does not follow from the premises. What then is the soul ac- cording to them ? It is all-pervading, infinite, like ether, space and time. This answer, though far from satisfactory, shows, that they felt the diffi- culty in determining the notion of the soul, when their other notions had undergone a decided alteration. The most peculiar notion in their psy- chological theory is the existence of the mind independent of the soul, although most intimately connected with it; for through the mind only the soul perceives, as well its own qualities, as the qualities of external substances. How could the Nyaya have made a supposition in which the contradiction is so evident? For it is easy to conclude, that if the mind is independent, its perception is also independent. If the mind perceives, this perception is not in the soul, and if this perception is in the soul, it is not perceived. The soul then has knowledge, which is not real knowledge, because not perceived, and the mind has no knowledge, though it perceives. We may solve this difficulty at least in some way. The mind was first undoubtedly considered as an internal sense according to the ana- logy of external senses, in order that there be a unity of perception, and also that, as the external objects are perceived through different media, so the objects of the soul be perceived through an analogous internal medium, a supposition, which has also been made in modern (English) philosophy. So far the Nydya might have also considered the mind as an internal sense, but they met with a difficulty, which was not felt in the same intensity by modern philosophers. If the knowledge be perceived by the soul through the medium of the mind (the internal sense), why is knowledge not always present in the mind? why does it disappear and give place to other objects of perception? Locke was surprised at the narrowness of the human mind, without being able to account for it ; the Nyaya in endeavouring to account for it, invented an independent substance, the mind, which is an atom, and according to its atomistic nature is only able to represent or to perceive one object at one and the same time. * 1847, | Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 169 This, I think, is the solution of the difficulty, and though it is cer- tainly only an evasion, because its supposition creates greater difficulties than the former one, it still gives evidence of a spirit of enquiry in the school. In comparing the psychological theory of the Nyaya with more modern doctrines (with the exception of the latest period) we must admit, that in a metaphysical point of view there is no great difference between them. ‘The same objections are to be made to either. The doctrine of faculties being involved in the same contradictions as that of qualities. In either case, if you are to explain, what the soul is, you have to state, what it is, independent of its qualities or faculties, and also to enumerate the latter. Your explanation will thus point out a quale, which is not a unity, but something defined by a variety of no- tions. This, however, is not the place to discuss the matter and we wished only to show, that modern philosophy in this respect cannot boast to have advanced one single step beyond that of the Hindus, that is to say, in the metaphysic of the soul, although it would be absurd to deny, that modern psychology, as to the observation of psychical pheno- mena, has made rapid strides, towards perfection. In passing over to the strictly logical enquiries of the Nydya, we have to premise, that we cannot view them with the same satisfaction, and although we make ample allowance for the different forms of language, in which they were explained, we are compelled to confess, that they are neither exact nor complete. The Nyaya has treated the logical topics in the inverse order of that adopted by us, viz. first inference, then ideas, and lastly propositions. This order is followed, not in consequence of a different method of ar- rangement, but in consequence of the subjects being based upon different grounds, and flowing from different sources. Logic might undoubtedly be treated analytically and commence with the exposition of syllogisti- cal forms. Considering argument as a fact, we might analyse various arguments, and proceeding to their elements, that is to propositions, gradually arrive at ideas or notions. But the Nyaya, far from following such an analytical course, holds inference to be a quality, different from the quality of forming names and notions, and discusses inference before verbal knowledge, evidently with the purpose of showing, that the latter in some way depends upon the former. 170 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [F'Es. We, however, treat these doctrines in their common order, with no other intention than to make ourselves better understood. Verbal knowledge is one of the divisions of intellect. The first act or the first condition of understanding words, is the forming of the name! A name is corresponding to a certain object, and this object is connected with the name by the power of the name. A name which has such a power, is a word. The clear and distinct knowledge of what is implied in a word, is produced by a third act, and is the meaning of a word. This latter is in fact identical with idea or notion, as is evident from the examples given, as for instance, a tree is a thing which has root, stem, branches, leaves, etc. Here again is the order perverted, the name is certainly not, the first operation, and the object to be named, the second, but just the reverse. There must be objects to be named, and though we may admit, that the clear idea of a subject often succeeds a name, still the object, of which the notion is formed, is the first, and we must assert, that what precedes the notion, also precedes the name. The enquiry, how ideas are formed from a variety of like objects, belongs to psychology, and however interesting this question otherwise may be, logic has nothing to do with the psychical process, by which ideas are produced. If this were the case, we might still have to wait for a logic, as a psychological theory has not yet been established to general satisfaction, while logic as a science has been completed for more than two thousand years. By considering the names and afterwards the corresponding notions, the real character of a notion has been at least obscured. From the given examples we see, that a notion, instead of being defined by the genus, under which it is contained, and the specific difference, is explained by a genus, which is distant from it by a number of intervening notions (for instance, genus of tree=thing) and by a specific difference, which besides its own difference, enumerates properties which it partakes with others (for instance root, stem, leaves, etc. =speci- fic difference. ) The meaning of a word or idea, ought to have been considered in its connexion with other ideas, as made up by genus and differentia specifica, the co-ordination and subordination of ideas, as their compatible, contra- ry, and contradictory opposition. Here, however, are genus and species raised to categories under the names of generality and particularity, 1847.] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 171 being there the common properties of substances, qualities, and acts while the opposition of ideas is treated in the seventh category, viz. that of negation. There are notions, which, according to our view, in contrary opposition, placed under the head of absolute negation and notions, according to us in contradictory opposition, in mutual negation. From this arrangement then did not only result an imperfect exposi- tion of the logical relations among ideas, but an important metaphysical error, by which logical relations of ideas are considered as real proper- ties of substances. In finding the logical treatment of notions by no means satisfactory, we may at the same time observe, that there are many valuable remarks about some psychological and grammatical relations of ideas which we do not recollect to have found elsewhere. These we have given ina note to the text, where this subject is explained. A proposition to convey a distinct meaning, must, according to the Nyaya, have four qualities : 1. Contiguity, which, according to some, is the uninterrupted succes- sion of the words pronounced in a sentence, so that for instance, the first word of it be not pronounced in the present moment, and the next half an hour afterwards, according to others, the arrangement of the words according to their grammatical connexion, for instance, that a preposition be placed together with the word which depends upon it, and not with a word, to which it does not refer. 2. Consistency, or the mutual agreement of the words, according to their sense, so that contradictory terms be not connected. 3. Structure, or the grammatical (terminations) forms of the words, which correspond in their meanings (for instance, that the verb agrees with the subject in number and person.) 4. Intention, that is, the meaning which the speaker wishes to con- vey by a sentence, There again the logical characteristics of a proposition have been omitted, as all those points, with the exception perhaps of consistency, belong to the grammatical structure of a sentence. The logical explanation of propositions, as a matter of course, passes over any grammatical form a proposition may assume; it treats only 172 Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [Frs. of the relation between two ideas, and its simple question is, whether two ideas can be connected or not. It is evident, that in this way neither quantity, nor modality of pro- positions could have been discovered. We might, however, dispense with them, as these forms are not strictly logical; but not even the division of propositions according to their quality has been made by the Nyaya. The theory of ideas and propositions is the weakest point in the logic of the Nyaya; they are more successful in explaining the form of argu- ments; for though the theory of syllogism is far from exact and com- plete, we must admit, that they understood the general character of a syllogism. : Goéutama, the founder of the Nyaya, thought, that a complete syllogism ought to contain five members (propositions) ; viz. 1, the proposition, (that is, what is to be proved by the argument;) 2, the reason or argument; 3, the instance; 4, the application; 5, the conclusion, for example— This hill is fiery For it smokes. As for instance a hearth. This hill smokes Therefore it is fiery. We need not expatiate on the five members, although it may indeed create some surprise, that philosophers, who gave an analysis of syllo- gism, should not have immediately observed the superfluity of two of these members; in more modern times the syllogism was reduced to four members (by others to three), of which we now give a descrip- tion. The first act is the statement of a fact (or proposition minor). For instance: this hill smokes. With the idea of smoke is associated the idea of fire, as we know from a former observation, that smoke is con- nected with fire, as for instance, fire on a hearth. Smoke is therefore the argument, and has the predicate, that fire is to be inferred from it under similar circumstances, as those which were observed concerning the fire on a hearth. The second step therefore is, that the argument (smoke) recalls its connection in a former time with another idea. This second act is called consideration, or to give it in a sentence, Where there is smoke, there is fire, as for instance, on a hearth. 1847.] Bhasha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 173 The third step is, that such a smoke from which fire is inferrible, is on the hill: and the fourth step, the actual connexion of the fire with the ‘hill, that is, the hill is fiery. The error in this exposition is the confounding logical correctness with truth. The Ny4ya perceived very well, that the terminus medius by its being separatedly connected with two other ideas or denied of one, connected or separated these two ideas,—which is the real operation in arguing; but at the same time they wanted to guard against false pre- mises or a false conclusion, and for this purpose they required a consi- deration, which was to establish the truth of the preposition major by a reference to an instance, in which the truth of this premise was exem- plified. Their investigation was therefore not only directed to the logical operation of arguing, but also to the truth, which may result from it, and both the truth of the conclusion, and the correctness of the argu- ment, should be the result of one and the same operation, which of course is impossible. We would not so much object to this process on the ground, that it is tedious, and useless, as regards the syllogism itself (for it may be good to draw the attention of the beginner not only to the special connexion of the ideas in the syllogistical form, but also to the truth of the premises) but on the ground, that it is considered only valid by giving an instance. Hence arguing is not allowed, where no instance can be given, by which not only an undue restriction takes place, but also, in some cases at least, four ideas are introduced. Another error is, that by inference not only a new connevion of ideas is to be given, but also a new association of an object, which is perceived, with something, that is not perceived, as for instance smoke, which is perceived, with fire, which is not perceived. Here then, it appears, is inference limited to objects, at present in our perception. Though this is denied in the later expositions of the Nydya, and is expressly stated as an error of the earlier philosophers of the school, still perception is not omitted as a necessary condition of inference, which must of course confine syllogisms to a much narrower circle than is according to their nature. The third error, which has a close communion with the first, is the confounding of the logical relation between argument and conclusion, with the relation between cause and effect. All the examples given to illustrate syllogisms, do not represent a connexion between ideas, in 2A 174 Bhasha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [Frs. which the relations are those of notions, that is to say, either excluded from each other, or contained in a higher one, but in the relation of cause and effect, and vice versa, which may certainly be expressed in a syllogism, but only in one kind of syllogism, viz. in a conditional one. That this error is not owing to the examples, but to the doctrine itself, is proved by Gotitama’s division of syllogisms, which are either passing from the cause to its effect, or consequent, passing from the effect to its cause, or from general notions. An inference of the first kind is, when rain is inferred from a collection of clouds, of the second, from the increase of water in a river to rain, of the third, from the notion of earth to the notion of a substance. This latter would indeed answer a rela- tion in the notions themselves, but it is of minor iain siden and it has been even omitted in later treatises. If even the nature of a syllogism be not expressed in its precise logical form by the Nyaya, we much less can expect to find here a complete enumeration of the various kinds of syllogisms. Gotitama’s division of syllogisms has been just adverted to, and it is hardly necessary to remark, that this division is not logical. In later treatises of the Nydya syllogisms are divided into positive and negative ones, and from the examples given in illustration it appears, that the two-first syllogistical forms are represented by them; here, however, is their theory finished, and we find no trace of the different moods the syllogistical forms can enter into. It is a remarkable circumstance, that the general form of a syllogism should have been found by the Hindus, and yet that they still should not have discovered the different forms and moods, the diversities of which are the result of a mere combination. This is the more remarkable, as in their philosophical arguing we almost invariably find a syllogism expressed in an enthymematical form, where the conclusion and the terminus medius are given, by which the force of an argument is not only forthwith apparent, but even a certain elegance produced, and this even without referring to an instance. We think, that this deficiency was the consequence of two causes especially—first, they were unable to disengage themselves from the grammatical forms in which human ideas are expressed, as shown by their technical logical language, which though as precise as possible, is not clear but cumbrous and not com- prehensive, and secondly, from their pious regard for every thing tradi- 1847. ] Bhdsha Parichéda, or Division of Language. 175 tional, be it in political institutions, in religion, or in science. The Siitras, in which their ancient systems are expressed, have always re- mained text-books, and any discovery that had been made in theory, did not prompt them to attempt a new exposition of science, but gave only occasion to a new interpretation of the ancient doctrines of the school. A comparison between the logic of Aristotle and that of the Hindus would be neither interesting nor instructive, and we therefore beg to decline it. With the Hindus, logic is a first attempt, marked with the vestiges of rude workmanship and conception, while with Aristotle it springs forth perfect at once. The Bhasha Parichéda itself is considered as a text-book in the Brahminical schools. There is no Pundit of any repute who does not know it well, and many know the whole work by-heart. And indeed it is admirably adapted for the purpose of introduction into the study of the Ny4ya and Vaishéshika philosophies. It is a succinct exposition of the principal topics of the whole system, and may easily be committed to memory. It is written in the well-known Anustabh Skékas. The style, however, is not poetical at all, but that of the most sober prose, and nowhere is the attempt made to combine the graces of imagination with philosophical method. The language is as simple as possible, and vastly different from the language of the commentary, which is extremely difficult to understand, not only because it expresses the simplest ideas in the most abstruse language, but also selects terms, which either belong to the Nydya philosophy alone, or have a different sense in other systems. The difficulties a European first experiences in understanding a work of this school, are less in the subject than in the mode, in which it is treated, so remote from European ideas, and in fact it is only by tracing the connexion of all the ideas that any one will be able thoroughly to understand it. The commentary is certainly a valuable assistant to the understanding of the work, and I have made ample use of it for the interpretation of passages, which I generally did through the very words of the commentary. The course followed in the work, is very simple. The author gives first the leading ideas of the system, that is, the highest metaphysical notions, which are gradually to be explained in his work. These are the notions of substance, quality, action, generality, (class) particularity, (species) intimate union and negation, 176 Bhasha Parichéda, or Division of Language. [Frs. He then enumerates the various substances, qualities, actions, etc., after which he explains the properties, common to all categories, and then those, common to more or less of them. After this exposition the different substances in their relations to themselves and to other sub- stances as well as to their qualities and actions are explained. In the same way the author discusses the qualities of the substances, and his work is finished, when he has treated on the last quality, enu- merated at the commencement of his treatise. The other categories are. not especially inquired into, which indeed was not necessary, as they are dependent upon substances, qualities and actions, and their applica- tions have been fully given, whenever the relations of the categories required it. The first edition of the Sanscrit text of the Bhasha Parichéda appear- ed in 1827, under the auspices of the Committee of Public Instruction. The Sanscrit text in Bengalee characters was sometime afterwards reprinted with the addition of a Bengalee translation of the text, as well as of the commentary, of this latter, however, with considerable alterations. On the merits of the Bengalee translation I am unable to express an opinion, as I saw this edition but once, and did afterwards not succeed in getting a copy of it. ‘The translation, which I offer to the public, is made as literal as the idiom of the English language would admit, and although it was my endeavour strictly to adhere to the English idiom, I was sometimes forced slightly to deviate from it, in order to convey more precisely the meaning of the original. In conclusion, I cannot omit gratefully to acknowledge the liberality — of the Asiatic Society, which enabled me to add the Sanscrit original to the translation. This text is a mere reprint from the Calcutta edition, free, however, from the few errata found there. ‘There is no manuscript of this work in the Library of the Asiatic Society with which I could have compared the Calcutta edition. I believe, however, that such a comparison would have been quite unnecessary, as an incorrectness of the text must disclose itself in a philosophical work like this by the want of connexion, and can therefore be easily rectified. (To be continued.) — = - 1847.] Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 177 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton, by W. B. O’SHaucunessy, M. D., F. R. S., Co-Secretary, Asiatic Society of Bengal. Having been permitted to publish the results of some experiments which I have recently conducted by order of Government, with the object of testing the value of explosive cotton for Military purposes, I trust the details I proceed to submit may not be altogether devoid of interest. Soon after the first accounts arrived from home regarding Schoen- bein’s discovery of the new explosive, a small portion of his preparation was received in Calcutta, of which from two sources I obtained altoge- ther about a grain in weight. There was at the same time received from Professor Schoenbein a kind of paper, perfectly transparent and colourless, the preparation of which was believed to be in some manner connected with that of the explosive cotton. Minute as was the quantity of the cotton I received, it was still sufficient to afford a clue to the nature of the preparation. A particle exploded over mercury in a glass tube, disappeared without residuum —and gave a transparent and colourless gas, but slightly soluble in water and giving red fumes by mixture with common air, and a whitish precipitate when agitated with lime water. The microscope further showed that the structure of the cotton was unaltered by the preparation it underwent. This was sufficient to prove that the explosive cotton contained nitrogen—and rendered it probable that it might be prepar- ed by the action of nitric acid on the vegetable fibre. It recalled to mind too the experiments made by Pelouze in 1833, who found that paper immersed for a2 moment in the strongest nitric acid, then thoroughly washed with distilled water and dried, became exceedingly inflammable, being transformed into a substance which he named Xyloidine. Working upon these data, I succeeded late in December, in preparing an explosive cotton, and about the same time my friend Mr. Siddons, by independent experiments, arrived at the same result. That the explosive cotton we prepared is identical with Schoenbein’s, seems to be proved by the following circumstances. 1. On microsco- pic examination there is no perceptible difference of structure. 2. On explosion they yield the same gaseous mixture—and /astly, by immer- sing the best kind of the Calcutta cotton, in pure sulphuric ether, it is 2B 178 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [Fer dissolved and the solution evaporated spontaneously on a flat surface, affords a transparent, colourless, glass-like paper, exactly the same im appearance and properties as that which accompanied the specimen of Schoenbein’s cotton sent to Calcutta. Reserving for a moment the description of the process followed by Mr. Siddons and myself, as soon as a sufficient supply was obtained for analytical experiments, I ascertained that the cotton which in its natural state is a compound of carbon, and the elements of water, had by immersion in a mixture of equal measures of strongest nitric and sulphuric acids, parted with its constituent water, and that in the place of this had been substituted one of the series of Nitrogen and Oxygen compounds. The use of the sulphurie acid is simply by its powerful affinity for water to withdraw this from the carbon of the cotton; no portion of this acid or its constituents enters into the composition of the new explosive compound. Ultimately the explosive cotton was found to be a compound of Nitrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen, isomeric with (or of being the same ingredients and pro- portions as) the old and well known fulminie or cyanic acid, the active principle of the fulminating silver, mercury, &c. But here as in many other isomeric compounds, numerous differences in properties became manifest, depending chiefly on the mechanical structure of the different forms of the preparation. I have not as yet completed to my own satisfaction a sufficient number of exact analyses to warrant my express- ing the results in figures, but the numerous facts which I have observ- ed, tend to the conclusion that all the isomeric varieties of cyanic acid are represented in the explosive cotton, passing into each other under the influence of slight and often appreciable circumstances, the general event being the formation of a substance bearing a close resemblance to Cyamelide (C. 2.0. 2 + N. H.) being white, neutral, insoluble in water and acids, dissolved in aqua Potassii ammonia being set free, yielding sulphate of ammonia when heated with strong sulphuric acid while car- bonic acid escapes. ‘This description applies equally to Cyamelide and to the best explosive cotton. (See Gregory’s Organic Chemistry, p- 295.) Without entering upon elaborate chemical details unsuited to the object of this paper, it will suffice to say that we found the prepared cotton to be increased in weight by 20 per 100, insoluble in water, unchang 1847.] Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. i79 ed in composition or properties by immersion or even boiling in salt water, insoluble in alcohol, oils, acetic acid, ammonia, weak acid and alkaline solutions—such. as solution of carbonate of soda or of potash or lime water. When very well prepared it is entirely soluble in anhy- drous sulphuric ether, and the solution when evaporated yields the glass-like paper. If the ether contains alcohol or water the paper is opaque and porous, like ordinary filtering paper. The cotton thus prepared may be exploded over gun powder without igniting it. It explodes by a violent blow on an anvil with the sharp ring of percussion powder, but the explosion only affects the particles immediately struck, and does not ignite the rest, but if gun powder be mixed with it the whole is fired. It does not explode by the electric spark, or by the discharge of a single Leyden jar. It explodes on being heated to 375° of Fahrenheit. It does not explode by friction between wooden or metallic surfaces till the temperature of these rises to 375°; neither does it explode by compression in powerful screw presses. On the contrary, compression exercises some singular effects on its explosiveness and combustibility. The very most explosive kind twisted into a tight cord burns like quick match, and a tight ligature of wire or twine round a portion of this in- tercepts the ignition. In the same way when compressed into the touch-hole of a cannon it is fired with the utmost difficulty, so that it cannot be used for priming ; accordingly in the ordnance trials at Dum- Dum the cotton charges have been always fired with quick match or powder priming. Exploded in a loose heap its force appears to be exercised almost altogether in the lines of least resistance ; thus on two occasions nearly two pounds weight while being dried on a water-bath exploded acci- dentally on a thin copper tray, which was not injured or displaced—and on both these occasions the plaster of the roof and the loose tiles of a shed within three feet of the cotton remained undisturbed. A man standing close to the tray was uninjured, and several test glasses ranged ona party wall within 44 feet of the explosion were not moved or bro- ken or their contents spilled. Regarding the results obtained by my first experiments, in connexion with the valuable properties ascribed by general rumour to the explo- 2B 2 180 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [Fes. — sive cotton, to be of sufficient importance to warrant more extensive trials, I reported them officially to Government, and was immediately directed to prepare a sufficiently large quantity of this cotton for a series of ordnance trials at Dum-Dum. With the valuable assistance of Mr. Frewen of the Mint Assay office, I have accordingly had manufac- tured over 100 pounds of the explosive cotton, and the experience thus gained regarding its preparation and properties enables me to state such facts as may enable others to form a more correct estimate of the degree of practical value of this preparation, for Military proposes, than can be obtained from experiments on the manufacture and properties of a few ounces of the explosive. PREPARATION. In the experiments carried on at the mint, 100 tola weight (3 and ith troy pounds) of cotton was operated on at a time, the cotton having been previously cleaned and loosened out by the native bowstring apparatus. The acid mixture consists of equal measures (in all 336 fluid ounces) of sulphuric acid, Sp. gr. 1843, and nitric acid, Sp. gr. 1460. The sulphuric acid weighs 840 tolas=to 21its av. and the nitric acid weighs tolas 651 =to 17 av. tbs. fractions omitted. The mixture when cool is placed in a large shallow porcelain basin, so situated as to permit the fumes to be carried off by a current of air. The cotton is introduced with iron tongs in small portions at a time, pressed under the surface of the acid for about two minutes and moved to the opposite side of the pan. This is conti- nued till 50 tola weight is introduced. When the last portion has been immersed for about three minutes, the cotton should be lifted out, by the tongs, quickly transferred to a screw-press of iron or stone and the excess of acid pressed out. This is continued till the 50 tola weight is pressed. The cake is then rapidly removed to a large vessel of com- mon water, torn asunder by hand, washed and squeezed and thrown into a second vessel of water ; again washed and squeezed, and the masses thrown into a vessel containing a solution of 1 pound of carbo- nate of soda in 20 gallons of water. Well washed here the mass is placed in a large screw-press—the pressed cake again washed. with water. It is now fit for drying, which is best done by solar heat on a dry terrace over tarpaulin or sheets of iron, taking the utmost caution to avoid the possibility of explosion by accidental sparks. 1847. | Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 18i Two days’ exposure are sufficient in the month of February, to bring the cotton into as dry state as is required for its use with ordnance or small arms. Steam or hot water heat may be used for the drying with perfect safety with suitable apparatus. But unless this be in every respect properly constructed, the danger of making a large quantity of cotton is too serious to be trifled with. I have also dried cotton successfully in vacud, and by the immediate contact of masses of quick-lime, but it is needless at present to occupy the pages of this Journal with de- scriptions of the arrangements, by which these facts can be practically applied. When dry the cotton is next to be carded; or loosened out by the native bowstring apparatus. . The expressed acid may be used for the remaining 50 tolas of the 100. It will however be generally found that after 40 tolas have been immersed, the acid begins to corrode or pulp the cotton, producing a new series of compounds, chiefly oxalic acid, formic acid, and sugar. The same series of operations above described is gone through with the second acid, and the resulting cotton kept apart. After drying, it is found that the 100 tola weight of cotton has increased to 114 to 120, according to the care with which the process has been conducted. The process thus performed affords two qualities of explosive cotton. The first 50 tolas may be designated Ist or best quality. The product of the 2d expressed acid and the second 50 tolas of cotton should be marked 3d or worst quality. If these be mechanically mixed by carding or the bow-string, the mixture may be called 2d quality. The acid mixture which after cooling was Sp. gr. 1667 before use, after once having been used is of Sp. gr. 1687. Twice used its density is 1691. Theacid once used measures 180 fluid ounces and by distillation yields 7 its bulk of nitric acid, Sp. gr. 1480 ; the acid twice used yields 3th its bulk of nitric acid, Sp. gr. 1400. By prolonged boiling in platinum or glass vessels, the pulpy cotton in the mixture is decomposed with copious effervescence of carbonic acid and nitric oxyde gases; when this terminates and the acid in the boiler begins to blacken, the concentra- tion has proceeded far enough, and on cooling the origmal sulphuric 182 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [Fes. acid is recovered with little diminution either of strength or quan- tity. The washings in the several tubs being neutralized with carbonate of soda, yield on boiling down, a large quantity of mixed sulphate and nitrate of soda, which may be used for the economical manufacture of nitric acid, so as materially to diminish the cost of the process. Reserving an account of the cost of manufacture, I proceed now to show the properties and effects of each of the three varieties of the cotton above described. Best Quality, No. 1. Snow white, explodes without leaving the least residuum or dampness —does not fire powder if ignited over it. Flashed on the hand causes no pain; is almost entirely soluble in sulphuric ether. One pound weight avoirdupois can easily and safely be compressed into the space of 128 cubic inches* without diminishing its explosive power for ordnance or small arms. Exposed to the air in a large room, protected from dust this quality of cotton (dried by solar heat for two days) fluctuates in weight accord- ing to the hygrometric state of the atmosphere—the maximum increase having been 1.34 per 100, as shown in the annexed Table of obser- vations continued during 26 days. At this maximum of absorption no diminution of projectile pow- er was experienced in trials made with an eprouvette mandril gun, the invention of Colonel Forbes, especially suited to these experiments.+ But when the quantity of moisture designedly added exceeded three per 100, the explosive power fell rapidly, but was regained altogether by redrying the cotton. With this quality of cotton trials were made at Dum Dum on the 19th and 25th of January, and 24th of February, with the results shown in the accompanying Table. * The bulk of 4 pounds of ordnance gunpowder. + Of which I hope to be permitted to give a more minute account in a future number of the journal. 1847. ] Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 3 183 Dum Dum. Ordnance Experiments with Gun Cotton. x ‘ a 2 o| & Sue ps "ae cy fe Ball on ee @ | Gunused. Se =| = |thrown Remarks. Se a |S !| Gj | yards * Ounces 19th| 3d 4 /|8 inch Mor-} 68 45°| 250)/Mortar somewhat foul. tar. lbs. abut eesti 2 a fe - 331)|Perfectly clean. See ay 4 a e yo 839/ Quite clean. Recoil 2 inches. rd 6 f 2 A 1030|Do. Time 14 seconds. Re- coil 84 inches. mart "Gs 8 rH us a 1186/Do. Time 153 seconds, re- coil 10 inches. fe fet 10 ps + ne 1295|The same as last—Perfect- ly cool. 2 ae 12 i: ee - 1366|Thesame time, 163 seconds. Recoil 13 inches. > 33 4 BB) 45 9 on } 8 424 ie aia “i Pa 2 Aes Guns clean, and cool; ridin : oe A tere ( recoil trifling. » |. | 12 19 pr. do. 6°| 1672 J 25th 4 |8 inch mor,} 45 |,, |45° igi 4 33 33 99 724 The ranges above exhibited are as nearly as possible four times as great as those given in the Woolwich tables of mortar practice in 1838, strength of powder from 21 to 22,/,ths. With this powder an 8 inch mortar with 46 pound shot gave with 153 ounces a range of 700 yards which was in all the above trials exceeded by 4 ounces of cotton. In two trials made of some cotton prepared by Mr. Siddons, corres- ponding ranges were obtained with the 8 inch mortar and 6 pr. field gun. Lastly a sample of cotton sent to me for trial by Mr. Scott of the H. Co.’s Dispensary tested by the mandril eprouvette gan gave a range of 1103 feet against 111 of my first quality. These experiments with cotton made with the utmost care by three different persons, show an extraordinary uniformity in the quality and * Present on the 19th January—Lieut.-Col. Lawrenson, C. B., Capts. White- ford, Broome, Douglas, and other officers of the Artillery Regiment. 184 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [Fes. power of the best article—and show that this quality is obtainable despite of difference of manipulation in the process, and that it is depen- dent on the definite chemical composition of the compound itself. The fact is one which affords the most encouraging prospects to those inter- ested in developing the qualities of the article. The trials made with this. variety of the cotton with small arms have been very numerous and satisfactory. The ratio of superior power to that of powder, is evidently much greater than in the cannon and mortar practice, but as the experiments are not capable of being expressed in figures, I will not dwell on them in more detail. : In all the ordnance experiments above narrated there were remarked— 1.—Entire absence of smoke. 2.—As far as could be judged very trivial heating of the guns. 3.—Entire absence of dirt or wetting. The report, recoil and time of flight of the shot and shells seemed equal, as closely as could be estimated, to these effects from the charges of powder required for equal ranges. It should further be observed that of this quality of cotton from 6 to 7 ounces on two trials burst an 8 inch 46 lb. shell, but it should be stated that it was with considerable difficulty this quantity of cotton was forced into the shell. 2d and 3d quality of Cotton. The 2d is prepared as above described, by mixing together the whole of the 100 tola weight manufactured from the quantity of acids above specified. No. 3 or worst, is the product of the last 50 tolas of cot- ton and expressed acid. It was with the 2d quality my first experiments were made ; 4 ounces tried at the Eshapore powder works by Major Anderson and myself gave, with a 68 pound shot, a range of 461 yards, thus :— Best quality, 4 oz. 68tb. shot, range 839 yards, tried at Dum Dum. 20 quality, “ditto ‘dite. ee eS AGT Yee. es LUSHApOre. 3d quality, worst. stl - 200 145.2. 0.0 Un ae H. C.’s powder, weet ‘ofthat atiy 169... 2... EShepores The effect of the mixture or quality No. 2 it will be observed is inferior to the arithmetical mean of the two forces, the range being 461 instead of 544 yards; but this variation may have proceeded from 1847. | Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 185 the mixture on trial having been made with cotton of two different days’ manufacture. The preceding experiments show that the worst cotton is superior to the best ordnance powder in the proportion of 250 to 189 in the trials under description, and that the 2d quality is superior to powder in the proportion of 23 to 1. But other considerations arise regarding these inferior qualities which we have found to have faults which more than outweigh the value of the superiority of range. The inferior kind of cotton is of yellowish colour, insoluble in ether—so hygrometric that it absorbs from 5 to 10 per 100 of moisture from the airin 24 hours. It soils and wets the guns and leaves in them a body of wavering flame and large quantities of half ignited cotton, a source of the most formidable danger to the gunners, and likely to lead to explosion of ammunition in the vicinity. It is rendered useless by being compressed or even tied in a cartridge bag. In several instances while the loose cotton of this quality gave a very respectable range, an equal quantity tied up in a cartridge bag, scarcely expelled the ball from the gun. But the most fatal objection to the use of this inferior sort is, that stored even in hermetically sealed ammunition chests, lined with copper and without the contact of the air, it changes composition, and in less than six weeks becomes totally mert. Thus a box proved at Dum Dum on the 19th January, of which 4 oz. threw a 68%5 shot 250. yards from an 8 inch mortar, was re-opened on the 27th of February, and the same quantity barely threw a 46ib shot a few feet from the mouth of the mortar. The cause of this change is the same as that which affects so many cyanogen compounds, especially the hydrocyanic acid. The cotton under description was most carefully prepared, and every trace of acid left by the process well neutralized and washed out. Still in six weeks it had changed its composition and become entirely useless, and when the chest was opened there was perceptible a strong smell of nitric oxyde gas. This fact is sufficient to show that it is only the very best kind of cotton which can be depended on for any military use. It next remains to be considered whether to this kind also there may not exist such objections as may counterbalance the very great ad- 2 186 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. (Fes. vantages which in point of range, cleanliness, lightness and absence of smoke, I have shown it to possess over ordinary service powder. It has been stated that the low temperature at which this cotton explodes would render rapid firing impracticable in consequence of the heating of the guns. Now the true exploding point is 375° Fahrenht. Under this, whatever may be asserted to the contrary, the best cotton cannot be made to explode. Now whether it arise from the greater quickness of the explosion, or the inferior degree of specific heat in the material, the fact is certain that it would take a greater number of rounds of the best cotton than ever could be fired in the sharpest action to bring the temperature of the gun so as to approach the exploding point. In one set of experiments instituted on this question, 80 rounds of cotton were fired from a gun metal cone of exactly the weight of the whole of the cotton used. The interval was but ten seconds between each round. When the last round was fired, a piece of the best cotton was firmly pressed against the sides of the metal cone in every direction without ignition taking place. On repeating the experiment and taking the temperature of the cone it was found to be below that of boiling water ! The next objection made is the assumed probability of spontaneous combustion. Now the combustible material in this compound being already combined with all the oxygen it requires, I can see no reasonable cause for the apprehension of the spontaneous heating, which in raw cotton arises from the absorption of the additional oxygen with which its carbon and accidental oily matters have a tendency to unite. This process I have most carefully studied with reference to an attempt made some years since to fire the arsenal in Fort William, on which occasion a Court of Enquiry, of which I was a member, had satisfactory proof before them that spontaneous combustion was not concerned in what took place. The experiments then carried on led to our being enabled to produce this kind of combustion with perfect certainty in masses of tow, cotton, cloth, &c. duly prepared for the purpose. Such experiments I have repeated with the gun cotton, but I have never detected the least trace of heating. The objection nevertheless is one which time alone can dispose of effectually. As to danger in the process of preparation, I do not deny that there is some risk. But this, I know by sufficient experie nce, is infinitely 1847. | Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 187 less than that is attendant on the manufacture of gun powder. In the preparation of gun cotton there are but two periods of risk— the first is while pressing the cake still full of acid. On one occasion this caused an explosion, but of too trivial a nature to be worth descrip- tion, and moreover the accident is one which cannot cause injury with a press properly constructed. The last stage of drying unquestionably demands every precaution. In my late experiments, a stray spark ignited at once ten pounds of cotton which scorched more or less severely two men who, contrary to orders, were quietly seated in the middle of the mass. Had this hap- pened with the same proportionate quantity (40tbs.) of powder, there can be no doubt what would have been the result to the lives of the men, and to the premises where the accident occurred. I repeat that during the other stages of the manufacture explosive cotton is prepared with the most perfect safety. While it contains as much moisture as can be perceived by the touch, it may be put into a red hot crucible, or penetrated by a red hot poker with absolute impunity. The hiss of steam anda few sparks are the only phenomena observed. I have next to deal with the cost of the best kind of cotton, and here it is that 2 a@ military point of view the chief objection arises to its use. The annexed estimate shows in detail that to prepare gun cotton from acids as sold in Calcutta at present, 1 pound of the best kind costs about 10 Rs. But being fourfold the power of powder, this may be considered as 2 Rs 8 as. for the corresponding quantity of cotton. Now this is at least 8 times the price of ordnance powder, range for range. But on the supposition that Government sail their own acids, using nitrate of soda, instead of saltpetre, economizing the washings, recon- eentrating the sulphuric acid, &c. the cost of the preparation would be reduced so considerably, that allowing as above for superiority of power the cost of cotton would be 2Rs. Yas 6pie per av. pound, being within a fraction of double the price of powder, using quantities of equal power.* But this statement of course must be regarded as one resting * 10 as. 4 pie for range which would be procured from a pound of powder value 5 as. yA 2 Ry” 4 188 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [Fes. on views which further experience may modify or disprove. It would be presumptuous to advance a positive opinion that the process may not be cheapened and improved. Professor Schoenbein may have a method of greater simplicity and economy than those employed by the numer- ous experimentalists who have followed in the track of his brilliant discovery. I have already tried many modifications of the acid method but without success.* One plan still remains for experiment which pro- mises better than the rest, and which I shall bring as soon as possible to the test of a conclusive trial. I allude to the employment of nitric acid previously or simultaneously submitted to the influence of a power- ful voltaic current, sufficient to decompose the constituent water of the nitric acid, and thus render this more suited to the conversion of the cotton fibre into eyanic acid or cyamelide. I have to add that I have been enabled by the kindness of Mr. Rogers and Mr. Blechynden, to make adequate trials of the Akundoo and Simal fibres—Manilla and other kinds of Hemp—Jute—Flax— Plaintain and Aloe fibre; and that I have given fair trial to every kind of cotton I could procure. I have also examined the explosive com- pounds made with wood shavings, saw-dust, unsized paper, &c. The general result is that cotton affords the best preparation—and the better the ordinary quality of the cotton, the stronger and more permanent is the explosive it affords. I have also tried (but merely for trial sake) the finely divided char- coal obtained by igniting cotton in close vessels—of this carbon 100 parts of the best Banda cotton yield 17} to 18. As might be inferred from the theory of the process, no explosive compound was generated— no constituent water having beee associated with the carbon, no substi- tion of a nitrogen compound could take place. An economical mode of manufacture once discovered, which would, bring cotton and powder to equal prices, range for range,—and the use of the new explosive confined strictly to that of the very best kind,— there remains no objection which I have heard of—no fault which I have myself observed, which may not be fairly found with the best kinds of powder also, Meanwhile although the gun cotton be too costly for military use, and further experiments are required on the effects of long * Using for instance Anhydrous nitrous acid, prepared by distilling ‘the dried nitrate of lead—mixtures of dried sulphurous acid and nitric oxyde gases. 1847. ] Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 189 storing on the powers of even the best kind, I confidently recom- mend Mr. Siddon’s preparation to the sportsmen of Bengal. Those who once try the smokeless cotton in a tiger encounter will not readily fore- go its use for this and similar purposes. I should add that it is not suited for the patent breech, but it answers admirably in the military two-grooved rifle. I have no apprehension about its alleged bursting properties. I have now used it with pistols and rifles, and witnessed its use with cannon and mortars to such an extent, as to warrant my expres- sing the most decided opinion, that regarding the best kind of cotton as 4 times the strength of powder all ordinary proportional charges may be used with but the same risk as would be attendant on the explo- sion of powder. The extraordinarily effective use of cotton in miming or blasting has been already proved by the extensive trials made in Europe. Here again cost is the only objection to be vanquished. I should not conclude however without stating for the consolation of the powder interest that for the manufacture of rockets the cotton is apparently useless—neither would it produce the effect of powder if fired in bags against a gate, asin the memorable instance of Ghuzni; nor can it be used in the loading of Shrapnell shells. I have now endeavoured to give an impartial account of the merits and defects of this new explosive. In the hands of the Artillery officers at Dum-Dum it could not but have met a candid and liberal trial—and al- though the Select Committee with myself may be but of one opinion as to the present inapplicability of gun cotton to military purposes, all must participate in the feeling that the utmost credit is due to Professor Schoenbein for his most interesting and promising invention. TABLE Of observations on hygrometric properties of the best kind of Gun Cotton. The cotton used was of the finest kind, 100 grains were dried till it ceased to loose weight, were placed in the left pan of a Kater’s balance, sensible to 1, of a grain. The frame of the balance was perforated so ~ as to allow the air to circulate freely through it. 6th February, 1847, 4 p. m. grains 100.00 Remarks. MME, oy fe iva Atte nie 1?) SEOs » 100.40 2 p.m. -,, »100:25 4p. m. 33 *L00.20 18th, Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [FEs. eevscseesee##ee 100.47 100.25 100.60 100.44 100.67 100.74 100.84 100.94 100.54 100.90 100.64 101.14 100.80 100.60 101.20 100.90 100.74 100.63 100.43 101.07 101.20 100.43 100.97 101.00 100.95 100.83 100.93 101.23 101.33 101.30 100.80 100.63 100.55 100.40 100.23 99.96 100,30 ‘Remarks. Night cloudy, W. S-. Clouded all day. Very cloudy. A thick mist. Day bright. ; es Thick mist. sine House opened up a few minutes previous to ob- servation. Thick fog. Some rain at 9'a. m. Sky overcast ; Therm. 74°. Occasional showers all day. Ditto. Ditto. Clouded all day. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Sky bright, W. N. W. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Therm, 74°. 1847. ] Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. 191 Remarks. » 100.50 Sky overcast all day. Therm. 72° 4 p. m, Sam, ,,.100:50. Ditto. 4p.m. ,, 100.30 Ditto. 6. p. ma"; 100°40> Ditfo. eee 7a. 7m St 7a.m. ,, 100.74 Sky bright. Wind N. E. Therm. 64°. 91 a.m. ,, 100.54 Ditto ditto. noon. > £OO%D4 2p.m. ,, 100.44 Scattered clouds. Therm. va . 5p.m. ,, 100.34 Ditto ditto. 5i p.m. ,, 100.14 After opening of the win- | dows of the house. Op. Wa oa, 100-24 MEME e's wc ne ss ss 7 a. Ws 5, 100.44 Sky. brieht.:) -W.UN CE. Therm. 63°. Sam.) |, 100.40: Ditto ditto: 5p.m. ,, 100.20 Ditto ditto. Therm. 73°. eee cin nt wield <0 7 8s, 10s, 010501000 Sky bright... Wey) Nek. Therm. 64, Sa. TOOLAD | o peti. -..,, lOU.b0- Pherm,/4°. Oy tae ------:- 10am. ,, 100.90 Cloudy. opm. ),, 100,25 Clear. \ ‘Therm.’ 76°. 7p. i. 33> 100.29. Ditto. Bee ese. ee 7 au, 5, .'00.09 ‘Thick fog. Therm..72°. OMI | 5,5 OOS 5p.m. ,, 100.23 Bright. eee es em. 4. 101.00. Foes: Therm: 73°. 4p.m. ,, 100.63 Bright. Therm. 81°. A ee 7a, it... 45° FOW20 Boe. Therm. '74°." WS, 47 p.m. ;, 100.73, Bright... Therm..83°°WeS. doors and windows open- ed just after observation. 5p.m. ,, 100.63 Bemg a loss of 00.10 in 25 minutes. ME, vier 7a.m. ,, 101.13 Fog just cleared off. 8a.m. ,, 101.20 Bright. 192 Memoranda on Explosive Cotton. [FEs. Se a.m. ,,° 101.10 Thermo”. 103 a.m. ,, 100.50 lla.m. ,, 100.40 Therm. 80°. 12 +4. 41 00.30 2pm. 4; 100:30 Ame Qa tuigy, 100.34 5)peMs« vin, 100.30 Gp.m. 5, 100.24 Ist March, 1847... Za.m. ,, 100.70 Partial clouds. W.S. W. Therm. 73°. 3p. 8. 4, 100.60 Ditto ditto. 4p.m. ,, 100.00 Ditto N. E. Therm. 84°. 6p.m. ,, 100.20 Ditto ditto. Therm. 84°. Be Pot A Shee zp8am.,, 99.80 Bright. N. KE. strong breeze. Therm, 74°. 1 aA Se 99.40 Sopsm.),,* 99.56 “Ditto: Thermaaa’: Op. mai. 4.8 9970 3d, no observation. Athy eee oe OC peme 4 99:50 Wal) Ee eee 4 Estimate showing the actual cost of manufacturing 3 Ibs. of Gun Cotton, mixed quality. Acids at Calcutta prices.— Description of Articles. Quantity. Cost. Total cost in Co.’s Rs. Rs: A.B, Nitric Acid,........|/Tolas651=17ilbs. |(@12 as. per lb. io toe Sulphuric ditto, ....|Ditto 840 = 21] lbs, |@ 2 as. per lb. Z-12°°3 Banda Cotton,......|Ditto100 = 3 lbs. |@I16Rs. per md. 0 8 0 Total... 2.10 208 Equal to 5rs. 7ans. 8 p. per lb. mixed, = to 10. 15. 4 for 1 Ib. of the dest kind. An estimate to manufacture 14 lb. of best Gun Cotton, assuming that the cost of Nitric Acid ought only to be 3 as. per lb. and that + of the Acid can be reco- vered by re-distillation, after use. The Sulphuric Acid not to be charged, as nearly - the whole of it is recovered by reconcentration. Description of Articles. Quantity. Cost. Total cost in Co.’s Rs. Rs. A. P. Nitric Acid,......../Tolas651=174lbs. |@3 as. per lb. a 4° 9 Sulphuric ditto, ....|Ditto 840 = 21lbs. [@ Nil Nil. Banda Cotton,...... |Ditto 100 = 3 lbs. |@I16Rs. per md. 0 8 0 Total, .smayo. peo 8 Equal to 2 rs. 9 ans. 6 p. per lb. 1847.] Examination of some Atmospheric Dust. 193 Heamination of some Atmospheric Dust from Shanghae, forwarded to the Asiatic Society of Bengal by D. J. Maccowan, Esq. M. D. Ningpo Hospital, by Henry Pippinetron, Curator Museum of Economic Geology of India. SHOWER OF ASHES OR DUST. To H. Torrens, Esq. Vice-President and Secretary of the Asiatic Society. Ningpo, June 5th, 1846. S1r,—I beg to enclose for the Meteorological annals of the Asiatic Society, the subjoimed communication from Mr. Bellott, the scientific surgeon of H. M. Ship Wolf. I have been unable to obtain any mformation from men, or books, in relation to showers of ashes (such things readily escapmg the notice of Chinese observers) though from the proximity of this part of the coast of China, to the voleanic chain which girts the eastern and southern shores of Asia, and the force of the N. E. Monsoon, phenomena of this description might be occasionally expected. I have however learnt from Dr. Robertson of H. C. Steamer Nemesis (stationed at this port) that on the day in question (viz. 15th March,) he and some other officers noticed similar appearances to those described by Dr. Bellott, vegetation being covered with sand, and parts of the vessel, and the atmosphere misty. Wind was N. EK. At the time I was absent at Chusan, where I am not aware that any sand or dust was perceptible. If I may presume on an opinion I should refer the phenomenon to voleanic action, and probably emanating from Mount Fusi, on the island of Niphon, the chief of the Japan archipelago. The altitude of Mount Fusi is about 14,000 feet, and it is regarded by the Japanese with awe, and wonder. Kzmpfer says, that “Poets cannot find words, nor painters skill and colours sufficient to represent it as they think it deserves.” It is subject to frequent eruptions, accompanied with earthquakes, which have destroyed vast numbers of villages. In the eruption of 1707, cinders were carried ten leagues, and ashes fell seve- ral inches thick at Dezima. The phenomenon referred to, although occurring in the remotest field of the Society’s domain, is not, I think, without some degree of interest. I forward the small packet of sand transmitted to me by Mr. Bellott. Yours very truly, D. J. MacGowan. Copy of a letter from Thomas Bellott, Esq. Surgeon R. N., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, to Dr. Macgowan. H. M. Sure Wo ur, Shanghae, March 16th, 1846. My pear Sir,—I transmit an account of a descent of fine sand that occurred at this place yesterday. On the 15th, the wind was N. N. E. in 2D 194 Examination of some Atmospheric Dust. [Fes. force, No. 1; N. E. No. 2; E.N. E. No. 3; N. E. and calm at daybreak ; what was considered an ordinary mist was observed ; but those officers who walked on shore at that time, noticed their shoes and trowsers dusty. This also I experienced in the afternoon. After 8 A. M. dust was perceptible on the guns, on the upper works, and other polished surfaces on deck. I collected as much as possible ; on gathering the dust on the finger, and holding it in the rays of the sun, which consequently shone with half its brilliancy, the par- ticles glittered, and the sand although impalpable between finger and thumb, was gritty between the teeth. The sand passed the ship in light clouds, when the light airs freshened ; it was something like smoke, but not of a blue co- lour. At 2 P. M. I walked three miles into the country, the whole atmosphere appeared to consist of a light brown dusty colored mist ; this was the uniform appearance the whole day. The plants were covered. The sun set, appa- rently more diminished in his diameter than on a frosty evening, and of a pale white, sickly hue. At 10 P. M. I spread two large newspapers to catch the sand ; they were kept spread until half past one medid nocte ; yet although the sand descended and lay on the guns, none fell on the paper; whether from electric attraction or not Ido not know. The stars, although the sky was cloudless, Ursa Major im the zenith, were dimly visible. The moon three days past her full was partially obscured, and cast a very faint shadow on my hand; at one medid nocte the moon and stars resumed their usual appearance, and at half-past one the Quarter Master observed “it was all over.” The Baro- meter 29. 88, from 30 inches.* If you breathed it through the mouth the sand gritted between the teeth. The entire surface of this district is alluvial clay, without pebble, or sand; the nearest sand (coarse and shelly) is 12 miles distant. It was said that the merchantman Denia fell in with this descent of sand 308 miles from any land, in the direction of Loo-choo, and also pumice stone was floating. As I did not see her log, I do not certify this fact. Yours sincerely, J. BELLOTT. D. J. Macgowan, Esg. M. D. Ningpo. P. S.—I forward a little of the sand. I should premise that the entire weight of the minute specimen of this dust forwarded to us did not exceed 1} grains, so that all the ex- periments are performed with less than pin-head specimens, but che- mists well know the accuracy with which these microscopic experiments can demonstrate the presence or absence of certain elements, and from * So in MSS. I presume that what is meant is, that the Barometer fel/ to 29.88 from 30.00 1—H, P, 1847. | Examination of some Atmospheric Dust. 195 the details can judge at a glance if they have been correctly and care- fully performed. This is necessarily mentioned because I could only sacrifice such exceedingly minute assays, and have thus been obliged to refrain from further researches, as for example its specific gravity, the proportion of animal to mineral matter, and the hygrometric qualities of the dust, all of which, with many other points, it would be very satisfac- tory toknow. I am in hopes however that I shall receive a report, with specimens, upder the Admiralty order to H. M. Ships on the Eastern Station to report on Storms, in which other Meteorological phenomena are I presume included. The dust is an olive grey powder, cohering much together, like the scrapings from a paper filter, and when viewed with the magnifier is evidently mixed with something like hairs of two kinds, black and ra: ther thick white ones. Under the microscope it is evidently a congeries of very short transparent white, black and brown hairs or fibres, with some reddish, strait spines, and grains of pellucid quartz-like sand adhering amongst them. There was one small grain like a seed, but hard, which when viewed carefully appeared to be an earthy concretion. I unfortunately lost it and could not thus try it at the blowpipe. It just ‘grits’ under the nail on glass, and rubbed between two glass surfaces scratches them but very faintly, felting into a smooth mass from the quantity of fibre. I ¢hink the taste is slightly saline, but in the very minute quantity taken cannot be sure. Moistened on turmeric paper it distinctly reddens it and is thus alkaline, and contains probably the sub-carbonate of soda, the commonest of the alkaline salts. Blowpipe Examination. On platinum foil: held over the lamp it flames up, the fibres are burnt with a strong ammoniacal odour, and a grey coherent powder, like pumice, remains. 2. On platinum foil alone : before the blowpipe ; this powder fused in the reducing flame but at one point only* and not at the detached portions. The fused part is a bottle-green glass, and when detached is found to have made a little cireular hole in the platinum, undoubtedly from an alkali contained in the assay. * Probably at one of the minute concretions noted absye, and which are not remarked by the naked eye, ye Wes" 196 - Heamination of some Atmospheric Dust. [Frs. 3. The fibres, which one would assume to be capillary obsidian, if we supposed the dust volcanic, are not so, but apparently animal! burn- ing up with the common ammoniacal smell and smoke of burnt hair or feathers. 4. Oncharcoal the assay burns up as before, leaving a coherent, olive-grey, granular mass like pumice, which is infusible. 5. With Soda on charcoal this fuses to a reddish, dark grey, opaque and pearly bead with violent spitting and throwing up of little globules, 6. When to this bead is added an equal quantity of Borax, it fuses on Platinum wire to a transparent bright and colourless, but crackly glass, which is slightly green while cooling. As far then, as physical and chemical characters are concerned, we may call our dust a congeries of light downy fibre or hairs with silex adhering to them and an admixture of an alkaline salt! It appears from Dr. Macgowan’s and Dr. Bellott’s letters that the mist and dust cer- tainly extended on the same day from Ningpo in about 30° N. Lat. ; to Shanghae in 314° N. (I use round numbers here) which gives 90 miles of difference of latitude, and that it was noticed with light winds from N. N. E. toE. N. E. from 8 A. M. to 1 A. M. or for 17 hours. Now if we take it to have moved only at the rate of 2} miles per hour, as “ the sand passed the ships in light clouds,” says Dr. Bellott (and this is the slowest rate we can assign to moving clouds,) this would give 17 % 22 or 42 miles in length for it, and without noticing the difference of longi- tude between Ningpo and Shanghae, which are nearly N. W. and 8S. E. of each other, we may say that the difference of latitude, 90 miles, was the breadth. We have thus 90 x 424 or 3825 square miles for its extent! Where could a cloud of 3800 square miles of fibres, alkali, and sand (for this it was by the specimens before us) come from? We have seen that it is not in the least volcanic, its animal nature putting this wholly out of the question, and all the volcanic dusts upon record are for the most part fusible and pulverulent (like pumice or obsidian) while the residuum of ours is perfectly infusible—for the little globules are, as I have stated, properly the only fusible parts, being the alkaline concretions. I shall now proceed to show that though the wind was from the N. E. and the phenomena occurred while the N. E. monsoon was yet blowing, that in all meteorological probability the dust did not come from the N. E. but from the N, W. or W. N, W. 1847.] Examination of some Atmospheric Dust. 197 For it is now a well recognised fact that the higher currents of the atmosphere are north, say at the polar circles, and become north- _ westerly and gradually westerly as they approach the equator, although the trades are easterly and the monsoons alternating in their direction, and we know also that volcanic ashes and other light matters are often carried from the west fo the eastward by this great upper stream of westerly wind. The fall of the ashes of the volcano of Cosseguina at Jamaica in 1835, 800 miles to the North-East of it and consequently directly against the trade-wind, is a decisive instance of this* and I do not mention others for brevity’s sake. We are assured moreover that our dust must have come from the land by its semi-animal constituents, and that it must have come there- fore originally from some quarter to the westward of the meridian of Ningpo, for tothe eastward is the ocean, and as it was brought down by a north-easterly current below, that it must have come from the north- ward. In the north-west then seems the most probable direction to suppose it was originally carried into the atmosphere, as I shall pre- sently show, that it is improbable it could have come from Corea or Japan. We may also note here, that Dr. Macgowan himself certifies that no dust fell at Chusan, where he was; Chusan lying north-east of Ningpo. Hence it was either too high to fall there or it came at least from the north-west. The report of the ship I do not notice here, her position being uncertain, and no time given, and Loo Choo bears about South-East from Shanghae, which would make the dust come from the N. W. The volcanic ashes and dust are, it is always supposed, and this is most probable, projected far enough into the atmosphere, or carried up by the whirlwinds which volcanic eruptions undoubtedly create, high enough to enter the upper currents of the winds, but volcanic action is out of the question here, and we must look for other causes. Frogs, fish, seeds, pollen, &c. are well known to have been carried up by whirlwinds and horizontally to great distances by currents of air before their fall, and on a larger scale we have the fine dust of the Sahara, which is often carried up and falls far out at sea about the * Ashes from the same volcano fell also on board H. M. S. Conway, in the Pacific, 1200 miles to the westward of it. Jorullo, Tuxtla and St. Vincent, are cases too well known to be detailed, of ashes carried to the N. EB. 198 Examination of some Atmospheric Dust. [Frs. Cape de Verd Islands. There is nothing extraordinary then in sup- posing that this dust was originally raised by some such cause as a ereat storm or whirlwind, and that it might be carried by the superior current to a very great distance before it fell. It was probably also raised in a very dry state, and one cause aiding its fall might be tha absorption of the humidity of the air as it approached the ocean, hair be- ing highly hygrometric, and hence the difficulty of supposing it to have erossed any great extent ofsea, asit must have done to come from Corea or Japan. Itis evidently, by Dr. Bellott’s description, so light that (which appeared to him very unaccountable), it obeyed strictly, like a part of the atmosphere, the laws which regulate the deposition of dew ; for it was deposited on the guns and other quickly radiating bodies but «would not settle’ on his newspaper! He forgot that the paper, being a non-conductor of the highest order, prevented the radiation from the deck in that part, and thus keeping it at a little higher temperature prevented the depositing of the dew, which in this case was carrying the dust with it. It is a startling thing to say, and I do it with all caution, but it is quite within the limits of possibility, if not of probability, that this dust came originally from the steppes of Tartary! and the presence of an alkaline salt in it is no small addition to the probabilities. The nearest part of Mongolia without the Great Wallis only about 675 miles from Shanghae, a distance to which a light mass, half dust and half fibre, might easily be carried, especially if raised as it would be there, in a perfectly dry state; the dry winds of Tartary, and the Pak-fung or dry north wind of China which splits and cracks up in an hour the most seasoned wood work, are well known. P. S.—Since this paper was written, the dust has, through the kind assistance of Dr. Cantor and Mr. J. W. Grant, C. S. been examined by much more powerful microscopes than I possess, and these gentlemen, together with Major Munro, pronounce the fibres to be Confervee, and not hair. Some of these bodies may afford the ammonia in combus- tion of which the smell is so strong and distinct as to lead us to sup- pose, without this correction, that the fibres are hair.. Assuming then these to be Confervee, we have to the North-Kast- ward as before, Japan and Correa; and to the Westward and North- Westward the Poyang, Tai-you, Hong-tze and other great inland lakes { 7s bots atl —_ >. 1847. | Examination of some Atmospheric Dust. 199 of China, some or most of which are shallow (jheels?) and might furnish vast quantities of remains of conferve on their inundated banks and flats. In a paper by Mr. Darwin in the Journal of the Geological Society for 1845, on the fall of the Fine Dust in the Atlantic, which had escaped my notice and which Mr. Laidlay has been good enough to point out to me, mention is made not only of small but of coloured parti- cles of stone ;,1,,'" of an inch square, with some few a little larger, and much fine matter; but all the dusts examined by Mr. Darwin fuse under the blowpipe. Professor Ehrenburg finds that this dust contained no less than sixty-seven forms of Infusoria, that is of their siliceous tissues, but none of the soft parts remain. We may observe too that the whole of the dust falling on the Eastern side of the Atlantic comes from the neighbouring shores of Africa. 4) Pi * om at ‘ iva iy i. Xe." wh ph wd ‘t ab # fi Lf wreles gh i oluke iy hast. Gate aan 3 ‘ 1s 5 ¥ f ys eee ani | Tay j i> ‘ if ree ‘ a ie ean sat 18? iste a Sule ae aa ib at Shs TLE ae i} eal ort di bale pasiltt Weed ae at 2 t a) ‘SI Pat hat geaeat tine * ae Pe ot orn ' . hee so tka "ts, aan ay hee weil) wie | 4 eeng em ut Hh ue ae Pat itt . eee eat Teun Hee dad Ja-dour di eae Chega? Vira > kin i uy ae eres oy 1 3 sat ai fyverit” ais Ea wig a areal ie tive “wih fee TNS Fedor a bie eet Tole £ is) ee fe B sib fuiy 3 Bis OK Panta Aigner ites initia ars:il Sh Bec: i . music wittn® isha tose wines Ase? sega Stes se * ‘, tities 4 Hag fe oy el 5 ty ys BS at a june ot nding peepee i. 2 ; ay Aa pe op : = 5 ied 4 mM , ¥ nyt * as S op acOeneee } eh sihipirss ist nth “ephenst Re? hee Se ercnieen ve WK yo hgh Sapel leit seule iy, tr ates i% ‘ woeitax i" ANAM) Peat DRT ere mr + avi a petahiiat ja Persons Tse eS; noe E ‘y : a a ie ie is wt 4 a on ly ia: e f aire ¥ 9 AD: err re dees wtih ae sett ose | Ny. canlttyred We and: ioscan te cloth pd ry 2 i ‘ PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, Fesruary, 1847. The usual monthly meeting was held at the Society’s house on Wed- nesday the 10th of February. The Hon’ble Sir J. P. Grant, in the chair. The minutes of the preceding meeting having been read by the Senior Secretary— Major Marshall objected to the manner in which vacancies in the Committee of Papers had been filled up at the last meeting, and said that election lists for all office-bearers ought to have been distributed. He then moved for a new election of all officers of the Society. The Senior Secretary stated that it had been the practice of the So- ciety for the past twelve years to do as had been done at the last meet- ing. Major Marshall still pressing his proposition, it was moved by the Lord Bishop, seconded by Colonel Forbes, and carried with but one dis- sentient voice, that at future annual elections lists for all office-bearers be distributed according to the early practice of the Society. The minutes of the January meeting were then confirmed, The following gentlemen were ballotted for, and duly elected mem- bers of the Society :— Capt. W. Munro, Brigade Major, Fort William ; Capt. Ouseley, As- sistant Political Agent, N. W. Frontier ; Baboo Hurreemohun Sen; R. Jones, Esq. Hindu College; J. Muller, Esq. Mint ; Baboo Debendernath Tagore, and W. M. Dirom, Esq. C. S. The following gentlemen were proposed as candidates for election at next meeting :— The Rev. William Keane, A. M. of Emanuel College, Cambridge, proposed by the Lord Bishop, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. 2£ 202 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Fes. H. Thornhill, Esq., C. 8. proposed by G. A. Bushby, Esq., seconded by Col. Forbes. H. Newmarch, Esq. Professor, Hindu College, proposed by Mr. Heatley, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. E. Linstedt, Esq. proposed by Mr. Blyth, seconded by Mr. Laidlay. Baboo Dwarkanath Bose, of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, proposed by Dr. Stewart, seconded by Mr. Blyth. W. Kerr, Esq. Principal of the Hindu College, proposed by Dr. O’Shaughnessy, seconded by Col. Forbes. Lieut. Douglas, Bengal Artillery, proposed by Captain Broome, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. Baboo Debendernath Tagore, proposed by Dr. O’Shaughnessy, seconded by Mr. Laidlay. Rev. A. Sandberg, of Benares, proposed by Rev. J. Long, seconded by J. Ward, Esq. The Senior Secretary handed in the accounts of expenditure, and receipts, with cash vouchers for the month of January, which were directed to remain on the Library table for general inspection till next meeting. Read the following letter from Capt. Righy, Bengal Engineers. To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Caleutta. Cuttack, 26th January, 1847. S1r,—I have the pleasure to enclose copy of an inscription from a stone ex- humed, a few days since, from the ruins of the stone revetment against the Kajoorey ruin, a work to which the city of Cuttack owes its continuance, for a pe- riod probably but little short of that of its existence. The work was so seriously damaged during the last rainy season, as to render necessary the preparation of an estimate for a new line of works, giving temporary repairs merely to the old one; and it was in clearing away the ruins for the latter purpose that the stone came to light. From its position when discovered, it would appear to have been concealed, by a facing of stone given subsequently to the work in which it had been fixed as a record. I may add that the letters on the stone (a basalt) are as sharply defined as if cut yesterday. I shall be greatly obliged by your favoring me with a translation of the inscrip- tion, I remain, Sir, Your obedient Servant, A. Rieuy, Capt. Engineers, 1847.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 203 eH yg) sf 4 cha sldgh edyo Klos yA ty! yo Gyles Gy! jle ut! je wt eleils oT TERS) Kb y 90 sty aut wab slash pte doom” rable dus” Guat ld bollgt sly wlsdle slob obsor 5d of! (EyFP Sky wg Hm Ely lw y coi slbolk vle*l |, IS wlS il os wld 5b dex” sod Sou tele wl osil 9 msl ¢ 339 nea @ obT_ 5b sol TRANSLATION. The foundation of this building was laid at the close of the reign of the king of heavenly court, Nooruddeen Mohummud Jehangeer Badshah. May sanctity attend his resting place! and it was completed during the commencement of the reign (may it be perpetual) of the king of the world, father of victory, star of religion, Mohummud, second Lord of felicity, Shah Jehan Badshah Gazi, in the year 1037 Hijri, by a servant of the court, Mohummud Baker Khan Nujumussani,* inhabi- tant of the city of Bakerabad,—Architect. Read the following extracts from a letter from Capt. Kittoe, to the Senior Secretary. ‘¢ Sherghatti, 29th January, 1847. ‘* By this day’s dawk I have forwarded a packet of impressions and copies of inscriptions to Mr. Bushby’s office, so pray send there for them that they may be in time for this meeting. I have kept back a good many, wishing to prepare them properly. ‘*T have I find, four of the most ancient inscriptions, more than had hitherto been noticed, being three from one place and three from another ; the first three only differ in the initial name ; the next are a pair (with the same difference) and the third en- tirely so. They are all unluckily mutilated; the pair have the same three letters struck out of each, and the quaint sentence ‘ Bodhist likha’ in an ancient San- scrit type. This has been translated by Prinsep as Bodhisool afyew. It is certainly as like the one as the other ; my version is ‘ Writing of Budhists’—his ‘ the root of the Bo-tree ;’ in another sense the ‘ root of knowledge,’ the letters of the ancient writing have evidently been hammered out purposely. I have satisfactorily made out so much of the sentence, ‘The beloved raja in the 12th year of his reign caused this cave,’ &c. &c., but I am forestalling a long article I propose editing on the caves. Suffice it to say that I am inclined to give far more remote date to these inscriptions than has been hitherto accorded. I believe the ‘Dasarath’ named to be the identical person of ‘ Puranic’ fame, the father of Ram, and that ‘ Devanam-piya-dasa raja’ is only a title common to the Gupta rajas and those preceding. Oh, that poor James Prinsep were alive to enjoy the discoveries I have made, how we could have helped each other. * «A second Luminary.” 204 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Frs. ‘* | am preparing tinted drawings on a good-sized scale of all my Budhist sculptures. It is however hard work. In sketching very fast, I draw more in one day than I can copy and finish up in three or four. I go to the caves again to-morrow; it is 36 miles hence. I hope to have all ready for March meeting, when I shall be in Calcutta myself in all probability.” The inscriptions and paper were laid before the meeting and referred to the Committee of Papers for examination. Read a letter from Mr. Secretary Melvill. No. 73, of 1847. From P. MEtvitu, Esg. To the Secretary to the Asiatic Society. Fort William, the 23d January, 1847. S1r,—I am directed by His Honour the President in Council to transmit to you, for such notice as the Society may deem it to merit, the accompanying copy of a Journal of a Steam trip to the north of Bagdad, by Lieut. J. F. Jones of the Indian Navy, together with the sketches therein alluded to, which you will have the good- ness carefully to return to this office. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, P. MELVILL, Officiating Under-Secretary to Government of India. The document and drawings were referred to the Committee of Papers. Read a letter from the Secretary to the Superintendent of Marine, forwarding Meteorological registers from Kyook Phyoo. Read a letter from the Rev. Dr. Heeberlin respecting his edition of the Smritis now in course of publication. (See Report on Society's affairs inserted in Jan. number. J The Senior Secretary having communicated a proposition from the Committee of Papers recommending that Dr. Heeberlin’s offer be accepted, It was resolved unanimously that the Asiatic Society subscribe for 100 copies of each Vol. of the Smritis, the amount to be paid from the Oriental Fund. Read a letter from the Baron Melvill de Carnbee, dated the Hague, 21st December, forwarding eight numbers of the Moniteur des Indes for the Society’s acceptance, A Monsieur le Secrétaire de la Asiatic Sociely de Calcutta. Monsizur,—Je me rappelle toujours avec plaisir, Monsieur, que lors de mon court séjour a Calcutta, de Mars 1845, j’eus l’extréme honneur et avantage de faire 1847. ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 205 votre connaissance. J’étais alors en voyage de Java en Europe, et je me serais arrété plus longtemps en Bengale pour des recherches Scientifiques, si le choléra ne m’eut fait changer subitement de plan. Aprés avoir éprouvé une attaque de cette maladie et avoir perdu mon domestique européen, j’avoue que je me comptais trés heureux de m’embarquer, sain et sauf, 4 bord de 1|’Hin- dostan. Cependant, avant mon départ j’avois eu le temps de m/’acquit- ter d’une commission dont j’étois charge par la Société des Arts et des Sciences de Batavia aupres de la Societe asiatique de Calcutta, ayant pour but de nouer des rela- tions ét d’etablir une correspondence entre les deux Sociétés ci dessus nommées. Je fus assez heureux d’emporter la conviction quel’on partageait 4 Calcutta nos vues quant a l’utilité d’un tel rapprochement, et cela me fait conjectuzer que mes de’- marches aient eu le résultat espéré. Quelques mois aprés mon retour en Hollande, étant placé au Ministére de la Ma- rine pour achever mon ouvrage sur l’hydrographie de 1’ Archipelago indien, j’ai fondé en méme temps, de concert avec M. de Siebold, auteur de differens ouvrages sur le Japan, un journal, traitant des colones Néerlandaises au Asie et en Amérique, sous le titre de Moniteur des Indes, etc. J’ai l’honneur, Monsieur, de vous faire parve- nir par le présent mai/ les huit premiers numéros de ce journal, espérant que vous daignerez bien les presenter, de ma part, 2 votre Société comme une faible temoig- nage de ma profonde estime. Je serais heureux si le but et l’exécution du Moniteur des Indes pouvent obtenir les suffrages de votre Société et que dans ce cas Elle voudroit bien, par sa puissante influence, en favoriser le succes en Bengale. J’ai Vhonneur d’étre, avec une parfaite estime Monsieur, Votre devoué serviteur, Baron MELVILL DE CARNBEE. Hollande, La Haye ce 21 Décembre, 1846. The Senior Secretary submitted the annexed recommendations by the Committee of Papers. The Committee having considered Dr. Roer’s representation of the total incapacity of the Pundit, recommend his being dismissed. With reference to a letter from H. M. Elliott, Esq. desiring to have certain MS. from the Library sent to him to Agra on depositing the value thereof. The Committee deeming it impracticable to assign a value to MS. and considering these exposed to great risk of loss or injury in transit, regret they cannot advise compliance with Mr. Elliott’s wishes, but they will gladly direct any assistance to be given at the Society’s cost by having MS. or extracts therefrom copied by the Library establishment for his use. 206 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Frs. The Committee submit a proposal from Mr. Frith for the patronage of the Society to a projected work by Mr. Doubleday on Diurnal Lepi- doptera, and recommend that the Society subscribe for two copies and advertise the work gratuitously on the cover of the Journal. Mts. Ballin having applied for orders to colour 14 sets of the Burnes’ drawings already lithographed and which Mrs. B. states are in danger of spoiling—and it having been ascertained that the cost of colouring the said drawings would be Rs. 1,379 12 annas, the committee advise that no further outlay be made on this account. All which propositions were unanimously agreed to. The Report on the Society’s affairs, read at the January meeting and subsequently printed and circulated to resident members, having been brought up, was briefly discussed, and a few verbal or typographical alterations having been suggested and agreed to, the Report was unani- mously adopted and the propositions it contams thereby voted as rules of the Society. ‘The Report is published in the January number. The Librarian submitted the usual list of donations, purchases and exchanges. PRESENTED. 1.—Meteorological Register, kept at the Surveyor General’s Office during the month of December, 1846.—From THE SURVEYOR GENERAL’S OFFICE. 2.—Meteorological Register, kept at Kyouk Phyoo, during December, 1846.—By THE SUFERINTENDANT OF MARINE. 3.—The History of the British Empire in India, by E. Thornton, Esq., vol. VI. —By THE BENGAL GOVERNMENT. 4,—The Calcutta Christian Observer for February, 1847.—By tux Epirors. 5.—Report of the Managing Director to the Board of Directors, &c. of the East India Railway Company, with a map.—By THe Company. 6.—Theodori Gulielmi Johannes Juynboll, Commentaria in Historiam Gentis Sama- ritanae.—By THE Curators oF THE ACADMY OF LEYDEN. 7.—The Banks of the Bhagirathi—By tur Rev. J. Lone. 8.—Analysis of the Abbé Dubois’ Description of the character, manners, and institutions of the people of India.—By tur Rev. J. Lone. EXCHANGED. 9.—Journal Asiatique, quatrieme serie, Nos. 35,—6 and 7. 10.—The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, No. 195. 11.—The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, No. 8. PURCHASED. 12.—The North British Review, No. XI. 13.—Journal des Savans for September, 1846. 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatie Society. 207 14.—The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, No. 120. 15.—The Shah Nameh of Ferdusi, in Oordu verse, by Munshi Moulchund Luck- navi, 4 copies. 16.—Gunje Kubii, or an Oordu version of the Akhlak Mohuseeni, 4 copies. 17.—The Akhwan ul suffa in the original Arabic, 4 copies. 18.—Ditto in Oordu, 4 copies. Read the subjoined report by Mr, Laidlay on the investigations refer- red to the Society regarding the Ajunta caves. The Report was direct- ed to be submitted to the Committee of Papers. Report upon the Committee of Antiquities. Having been honoured at the meeting of December with the command of the Society to report upon the proceedings of the Committee of Antiquities, I lost no time in searching for such documents and correspondence connected with the sub- ject, as might be available: but great delay having occurred in obtaining these, it was not till a few days ago that I was in a position to form any estimate of what that committee had done. The Committee of Indian Antiquities was appointed, as all present are doubtless aware, in consequence of a communication from Government requesting the assist- ance and suggestions of the Society in devising the best means of preserving and pub- lishing to the world the interesting monuments of Antiquity scattered over India generally, but more especially and immediately the invaluable paintings and inscrip- tions in the caves of Ajunta, which from their peculiarly perishable character, claim- ed the earliest efforts to rescue them from impending destruction. This communication from so high and influential a quarter, was hailed with enthu- siasm by the Society, as presenting not merely the highest encouragement to conti- nue and extend a favourite pursuit, which had already reflected great lustre upon its past history, but also as a rare opportunity of doing so under the auspices of Government, pledged, in a manner, to assistance and co-operation. The Committee in question was appointed accordingly, and its members,—such at least, as like Messrs. Webb, Heatley, Kittoe and Latter, felt earnest on the subject,—entered at once upon their functions with ardour worthy of the Society’s best days. The means of preserving and of delineating the precious remains of Ajunta, were discuss- ed in a series of most able minutes, in which,—each member viewing the subject through the medium of his own predilections—a mass of varied and instructive matter was thrown together, which it were well to preserve for the guidance of all such as have kindred researches to prosecute, But here, I regret to say, the labours of the Committee appear to have termi- nated! I havenot been able to discover that any active measures were ever founded upon the suggestions offered in these minutes, or indeed that the Committee ever even met to adopt these or any other means of fulfilling the object of their appointment ! 208 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Fes. How deeply this indifference is to be deplored may be gathered from a single fact recorded by Dr. Allan Webb, that the invaluable remains of antiquity at Ajunta are daily, nay hourly, being lost to the world, not merely from the inevitable effects of time and exposure, and from the absence of all measures to preserve them, but from the worse than Gothic barbarism of casual visitors, who wantonly destroy the fresco or remove it in fragments for the gratification of the most idle and depraved curiosity ! “‘ Whole yard-lengths of the painted or written inscriptions, says Dr. Webb, were lying in water on the floor, but were still legible when I visited these temples in 1836. If therefore written records be most valuable, as the Vice-President and Secretary of the Asiatic Society seem to consider them, how important to lose no time in securing these precious records! The rude boar spear of the hunter, or the Gothic curiosity of some casual visitor will strip whole walls for some one favourite head! Ihave found in Bombay whole groups that had thus been despoiled !”? Painful as it is to listen to such details as these, it is yet more so to reflect that on their communication, no active measures were taken by the Committee to stay the work of destruction! The mouths of the caves are stated by Dr. Webb, to be nearly closed with rubbish, which both directs the water into them and prevents its exit; and the removal of this at once was strongly urged as the first measure of preservation that should be recommended for the adoption of Govern- ment. Iam not aware, however, that even this suggestion was acted upon ! Let us not however, dwell with vain regret upon time and opportunity lost, but rather arouse our energies to immediate exertion worthy of the Society that has already achieved so much in Indian archoeology. The question for us this evening to consider is, what can be done Now? And though for the most part made in reference to the peculiar case of the Ajunta caves, there are suggestions in the minutes of the Committee which, I humbly conceive, the Society cannot do better than act upon at once. Amongst these the recommendations, that a duly qualified person be deputed by Government to make accurate drawings of the painting, sculpture, inscriptions, and other remains of antiquity scattered throughout the country, and to adopt such measures as may seem essential, for the better preserva- tion of such objects henceforward, is one so obviously appropriate that the Society will, I think, concur in approving it. This point has been very fully considered in an able minute by Captain Kittoe, who I need not remind the Society has already distinguished himself by his zealous and indefatigable antiquarian researches, to which the past volumes of the Society’s Journal bear ample and lasting testimony. This officer concludes an excellent minute evincing great knowledge of the subject combined with untiring zeal, by proferring his personal services through the Society to Go- vernment, for the investigation and delineation of all objects of antiquarian interest wherever found; a field too vast, perhaps, as sketched by himself, for any single individual, however energetic ; but to a portion of which his talents and zeal might undoubtedly be directed with the happiest results. That Captain Kittoe’s offer was not acted upon, arose I believe, in part from the circumstance of that gentleman having been appointed soon after toa very important 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 209 office, and in part from a feeling of delicacy entertained by the Committee in inter- fering in any way with the patronage of Government. But certain it is that it were no easy matter to find a person better qualified by taste, experience, and skill for the congenial task he here volunteers. Whether the services of this gentleman are still available, I have no means of knowing: but if so, it may be left to the meeting to consider whether a representation to the foregoing effect should still be submitted to the Government, or what other measures should be adopted to carry out the wishes of the Hon. Court of Directors as expressed in their letter to the Governor General in Council, 29th May, 1844. The caves of Ajunta are now indeed, under the orders of the Madras Government, being satisfactorily investigated ; but the field is yet vast, and with the Society will remain the credit of having improved, or the discredit of having neglected so fair an opportunity of promoting at once its objects and its reputation. Before concluding this report, I may be allowed perhaps to observe, that the pre- sent neglect of Indian Archceology may in a very great measure be ascribed to the interrupted publication of the Society’s Journal. For many months little has been known of our proceedings beyond these walls: not to the public only, but to distant members and contributors, have these been a sealed book; a circumstance emi- nently unfavourable to pursuits such as our’s, mainly dependent as they are, upon the free-will offerings of widely-dispersed contributors. This defect will, it is hoped, be remedied henceforward : the arrears of the proceedings have already been brought up, and we may hope to be able in a few weeks to produce a monthly number of the Journal with tolerable regularity. J. W. Latpvay, Co- Secretary. 10th February, 1847. Mr. Blyth submitted the following Report on the progress of the Zoological department during the preceding months. Report for the months of December, 1846, and January and February, 1847. Srr,—Having been absent upon an excursion to explore the jungles N. and W. of Midnapore, at the period of the January meeting of the Society, and the pres- sure of business at the December meeting having necessitated the postponement of the reading of my report for that occasion, I have now to bring before you the results of three months’ gatherings, and can scarcely, within moderate compass, do justice to the contribetions of our numerous supporters. 1. From the Barrack pore menagerie, I have to acknowledge having received the carcass of a particularly fine female Giraffe, the skin of which is in process of being set up as a stuffed specimen, while the skeleton has likewise been preserved. Also that of a Kangaroo, that has in like manner been prepared as stuffed skin and skeleton. 2F 210 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Fes. Two other large animals that have been mounted as stuffed specimens during the past month, are a young Bull Gayal (Bos frontalis), which I have the pleasure of presenting to the Society, and the male Saumer Deer (Cervus hippelaphus), which had been living for some years in the Society’s compound. 2. From R. W. G. Frith, Esq., and 3. From Mr. E. Lindstedt, large and valuable collections of mammalia and bird skins from the Malayan peninsula. These collections have left scarcely a species of the two classes mentioned, known to inhabit that peninsula, of which the Society still requires specimens ; and they have contributed a good deal to our knowledge of the rich zoology of the country in question. Assome of the deside- rata which these collections have supplied us with, may be enumerated—among mammalia, a very fine series of the Hylobates lar, also Presbytis femoralis, exam- ples of the Marten referred to Mustela flavigula in Dr. Cantor’s list (xv. 194), and some murine skins,—and of birds, Buceros comatus, male and female, Bucco qua- dricolor, Gecinus rubiginosus, Tiga Rafflesii, series of Centropus eurycercus, Chap- tia malayensis, Brachypodius criniger, A. Hay, (xiv. 557), Malacopteron majus, n. &., Orthotomus edela, and Rhizothera longirostris, m. and f. Some fishes also are comprised in Mr. Frith’s collection, pertaining to the genera Serranus, Mesoprion, and Murenesex , and a Monitor (vel Varanus) in that of Mr. Lindstedt, as also a small Crocodilus biporcatus. 4. The Rev. J. Barbe, to whom we have been repeatedly indebted for valuable donations, has now presented us with a considerable number of specimens, chiefly of birds, collected in the Tenasserim provinces, Penang, and Malacca. From the first named locality, Mr. Barbe has brought a third undescribed species of Squirrel (all from the provinces,) for which we are indebted to his exertions ; and from Penang the Crypsirina varians (ov Phrenotrix temia, Horsfield), the male of Philentoma plumosums and other species of much interest. 5. Mr. O’Ryley, of Amherst, has favoured the Society with an extremely in- teresting collection of mammalia, birds, reptiles, &c. from the Tenasserim provin- ces: among which may be noticed the skin of the head of an old female Rhino- ceros sumatranus, with the horns perfect, and which I have had properly stuffed ; also fine specimens of an undescribed Squirrel; and among birds, two examples of the Eurinorhynchus griseus (vide As. Res. vol. xix, pt. i, p. 69. and pl. ix), which has hitherto been considered one of the rarest of the feathered class, but which appears to be of very common occurrence on the Tenasserim coast, as I am assured. by Mr. Barbe and others. Mr. O’Ryley has sent also a Teesa Hawk, which seems to be the Poliornis fasciatus of Lord Arthur Hay, Madras Journ. No. XXXI, 146 (but, if so, very doubtfully distinct from P. teesa), a Bulboul, which is the repre- sentative of Pycnonotus hemorrhous of Arracan ; some rare snakes, &c. &c. 6. Mr. F. Skipwith, C. S., has likewise sent us, from Chittagong, an example of the Eurinorhynchus, a species which I hope soon to obtain in abundance from Mr. O’Ryley, and so ascertain its seasonal variations of colouring, as well as to receive replies to my various inquiries respecting its habits and mode of life. 1847. | . Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 211 7. From Capt. Phayre, the Society has been presented with a large collection of Arracan specimens, chiefly birds, of which the most remarkable is a very large species of Jora, in all probability that alluded to in Vol. XIV, p. 602, of the Socie- ty’s Journal. 8. Major Jenkins has obliged us with numerous specimens of reptiles, insects, &c. preserved in spirit, from Assam. 9. Mr. Thorburn, of Goalpara, has presented the Society with a collection of birds, reptiles, fishes, &c. from that vicinity. 10. From Dr. R. Templeton, of Colombo, we have received a fourth case of Cin« ghalese specimens of mammalia and birds, comprising various objects of much inter- est in those classes, and several novelties which I intend to treat of elsewhere ; merely mentioning now that Dr. Templeton has sent a second and new species of Jungle-fowl from that island (Gallus lineatus, nobis), additional to the G. Stanleyi of Hardwicke’s illustrations—which latter has, I believe, been first verified from an actual specimen, previously transmitted to the Society by the same gentleman. 11. Capt. Boys left with us, for the Society’s museum, a few specimens of bide procured on the route to Calcutta from the Upper Provinces, and the skull of a Gavialis from the Ravee river, flowing into the Indus. 12. Mr. Birch, of the Pilot service, continues to collect for our museum such specimens of fishes, crustacea, mollusca, &c. as he can procure in the course of his professional trips to and from the Sandheads. 13. Mr, T. H. Duncan, has sent to the museum a living specimen of Strix flammea. 14. Dr. Gurney Turner, of Midnapore, obliged me, when I visited that station, with some Hornbills, snakes, &c. for the Society’s museum. 15. O. W. Malet, Esq. Magistrate of Midnapore, also favored me with a magnifi- cent pair of Saumer horns, from Cuttack. 16. From Sir William Jardine, Bart., the Society has received a small collection of British birds, including some that are very acceptable ; among which I may men- tion the common English Sparrow, which I had long wanted to compare with its Indian representative. And TI may conclude by remarking that during the month that I was absent from the museum, I collected above 60 skins of mammalia, (including of course the small species,) 273 of birds, and numerous reptiles, &c. ; many of which are either quite new to the museum, or have replaced very inferior specimens of the same. To treat in detail of these various acquisitions, would require more time and leisure than I can at present command ; but the results I hope to embody in future contri- butions, and indeed have already incorporated some of them in papers which are awaiting publication. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, E. Biyrtu. 212 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. P. S. The large amount of duplicates that have accumulated during the last few months, have for the most part been distributed in collections now ready to be forwarded to the Hon’ble Company’s Museum, to that of the Christiania University, that of the Society of Arts and Sciences, &c. of Boston, United States, and that of the Manchester Institution. I have the pleasure also of presenting, on my own account, some purchased specimens of rare Himalayan mammalia and birds, of wae which I have long required for examination and frequent reference. For all the above communications and donations the thanks of the Asiatic Society were unanimously yoted. JOURNAL OF THE Se bee SLLOLOOLOLPOLOPOOFOLOFOOPPPPAPPPELPOUEYYFIILPAPALAPDAAAWAAALAAAA, MARCH, 1847. SARAARDRAILLVYIV IVP EEE MAAR RAARADARAAARRAN On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, formerly the capital of Ceylon, by Winiiam Knicuron, author of the “ History of Ceylon,” and late Secretary, Ceylon Branch Royal Asiatic Society. The ruins of the former capital of Ceylon are sitnated in the northern province of the island, about midway between Aripo and Dambool, on the road or trace which unites the two. It is distant from Aripo about 45 miles, and from Dambool not quite 48. On both sides of it the road passes for many miles through a desolate and unhealthy region, unvariegated by any scenery of interest to take from the monotony of the journey. But a few native huts are now in existence on the site once so densely populated, and were it not for the existence of a Dis- trict Court, and a Government Agency there, it would probably be entirely deserted. Dense masses of jungle now surround the monu- ments of ancient civilization, amidst which are to be seen in all directions, granite pillars, varying in height from fifteen to twenty-five feet, and occurring so frequently as to give rise continually to the thought, what could have been their use? But before entering particularly upon any description of the ruins, it may not be amiss to take a brief review of its foundation and history. Anuradhapura was founded about five hundred and forty years before our era, by Anuradha, one of the followers of Wijeya, who had shortly before invaded the island. It is thus coeval with the earliest authen- tic facts in the history of Ceylon. The Mahawanso in noticing its No. III. New Sertes. 26 214 On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, [Marcu, foundation merely relates that it was then but a village, though sub- sequently a city, and that it was founded on the banks of the river Kadamba, the present Mulwatte Oya. The village thus early formed appears to have remained in its original obscurity for upwards of one hundred years. It was then greatly enlarged and improved by the usurper Pandukabhayo, who, in 437 B. C. made it the capital of the island. His improvements would appear to have been very extensive, inasmuch as the city was divided under him into four parts, over each of which an officer was appointed as conservator. A body of five hundred chandalas,* we are told, was appointed to be the scavengers of the city, two hundred to be nightmen; one hundred and fifty to be carriers of corpses ; and the same number were engaged at the ceme- tery. For these chandalas a distinct village was appropriated to the north-west of the city. We have here sufficient evidence that at this early period the city was already rapidly advancing to that degree of greatness which it subsequently attained. . We next hear of the advancing greatness and extent of Anuradhapura in the reign of Tisso the first (surnamed Devananpiatisso), on the occa- sion of the transportation of the sacred Bo-tree of Gotamo from the banks of the Ganges to Ceylon; (B. C. 307,) where it was deposited in the Maha Wiharo, and where, if tradition and the priests are to be believed, it still exists. In fourteen days, the Mahawanso informs us, the pious Tisso had the branch of the sacred tree conveyed from the port at which it landed to the capital. ‘At the hour when shadows are ‘most extended,” proceeds the Singhalese historian, ‘‘ the monarch entered the superbly decorated capital by the northern gate, in the act of making offerings ; and passing in procession out of the southern gate, and entering the Mahameyo garden, hallowed by the presence of four Buddhas, he, with sixteen princes raised up the Bo branch upon the spot where the former Bo-trees had been planted.” From this account it would appear that the Maha Wiharo was at that time without the city, although certainly not so, afterwards. From this period till the reign of Dutuyaimono, and in fact till about the period of the Christian era, it would appear that the city gradually advanced in size and importance, till it became the extensive and remarkable place which its ruins at the present day attest it to have been. * Low caste people. 1847.] JSormerly the capital of Ceylon. 215 That the three centuries preceding and the three succeeding the Christian era, were the years during which Anuradhapura flourished most, is proved by the fact that all the great buildings whose remains at the present day astonish us by their massiveness or size were erected within that period. The remains of the walls of the ancient town, which were erected about sixty years after our era, prove by their great extent the space which the city then covered. They were sixteen miles square, and were built due north and south, east and west, thus enclosing a space of two hundred and fifty-six square miles. Within this vast space, however, we must remember that there were, besides the streets and buildings, extensive gardens, and water-courses, which must have occupied a very considerable extent. It would be futile to endeavor to discover the amount of the population of Anura- dhapura at its most flourishing period, no data being afforded in the native histories by which it could be judged. That it must have been very considerable is evident, as well from the accounts given us of its importance, as from the ruins which even now exist. ) The first blow to its prosperity appears to have been given by a wavering monarch named Mahasen, who reigned in the third century, and who, at first becoming attached toa small and heterodox Buddhistic sect, employed his power in the destruction of the great buildings occu- pied by the more numerous and more orthodox community. At a later period his opinions having changed, he endeavored to restore what his fanaticism had formerly defaced. In the fifth century a still greater check to its prosperity was inflicted by a protracted struggle between several Malabar invaders and the royal race, in the course of which the capital fell, sometimes into the hand of one party, sometimes into that of the other, and as the struggle lasted for a period of twenty-four years, we will not find it difficult to picture to ourselves the injury which the city must have sustained in the contest. Towards the close of the same century it was deserted by a usurper for the rock Seegiri, mentioned in my former paper, and from this period till its final desertion by the royal line, A. D. 769, it appears to have been gradually decreasing nearly as fast as its rival Pollonaruwa was advancing in extent, in popu- lation and in wealth. In the eleventh century one more attempt was made by a Singhalese monarch to restore the former capital, but with- out success, and after this period, the notices of it by the native histo- 2G 2 216 On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, (Marc, rians are few and far between, till we reach the period of the arrival of the Portuguese under Almeida in 1505. Indeed for so long a period as two hundred and fifty years previous to that event, I can find not even a passing allusion to it in the chronicles of the island, a proof, ¥ imagine, either of its utter desertion or of its extreme insignificance about that time. Towards the latter end of the seventeenth century it would appear, from Knox’s relation, that when he passed through it he found it completely deserted, and nothing left but the ruins of its once magnificent buildings to prove its former greatness. The reception of the branch of the sacred Bo-tree by Tisso, three hundred years before our era, and its plantation at Anuradhapura, has already been noticed. ‘To attend to this, the chief object of Buddhistic worship there, a college of priests was established, for whom a suitable building, called the Maha Wiharo, was raised ; of this there are now but few remains, the name having been transferred to the Bo-tree itself and to the pile of building or platform by which it is supported and encom- passed. This platform is a square erection about twelve feet high, from the summit of which the various branches of the Bo-tree appear issuing, and has nothing about it worthy of particular notice save the sculptures on the steps leading to a rude and recent building, through which the visitor passes in going to the saered tree. I know not how better to describe the platform by which the Bo-tree is surrounded than by likening it to a gigantic square flower-pot, from the earth in the centre of which the tree springs. The sculptures to which I have referred are exceedingly interesting as a monument of the state of the arts in the earliest ages of Ceylonese greatness. They were evidently a part of some other building long ago destroyed, and replaced by the rude wooden structure to which allusion has been made. On one of the stones, a large, flat step, a number of concentric semicircular arches have been deeply cut in the spaces, between which are admirably repre- sented in deep and bold cutting, the horse, the buffalo, the elephant, the lion, together with birds and flowers. Iwas surprised at the excel- lence of these sculptures, having seen nothing before of Singhalese workmanship, at all equal to them. Their spirit, workmanship, design and execution prove incontestibly that those who executed them must have been far indeed from barbarism. They are as superior to the native sculptures which I had seen elsewhere as the massive ruins of 1847.) formerly the capital of Ceylon. 217 Anuradhapura itself are superior to the paltry remains of Cotta or of Kurneyalle. | The earliest building whose remains still attract the attention of the visitor, is the Thuparamo, or Thupharamaya dagobah, erected by the pious Tisso formerly mentioned, three hundred and seven years before our era. The spot on which it was erected was said to have been hallowed by the presence of Gotamo himself, and the purpose of its con- struction was to enshrine the right collar-bone of that prophet. Consi- dering the great length of time durmg which it has stood, (upwards of two thousand years) it is in excellent preservation, and the piety of the present high-priest has lately re-erected the spire which had fallen, without taking from the appearance, or adding anything foreign to the original design of the structure. It is situated a short distance to the north of the road by which Anuradhapura is usually reached, that from Dambool to Aripo. The approach to it is along the ancient north and south street of the city, a broad and well-defined road, now cleared of jungle. On each side of this street large trees and low brushwood extend over the greater part of the adjoining lands, amidst which hun- dreds of square granite pillars lift their heads in lonely desolation, the silent witnesses of the present desertion, as they once were also of the busy multitudes who thronged these streets. Masses of stone cut into the forms of bullocks and lions are also seen lying numerously about, together with the fragments of sculptured columns, and the blocks of irregular and regular stone, usually seen on the site of deserted habita- tions. But one object cannot fail to strike the most inattentive in tra- versing the great and now grass-grown street by which he is led to the Thupharamaya, that is, the towering mass of the Ruanwelle dagobah, ris- ing on his left hand like a pyramidal hill overgrown with trees and bushes. A little further on he crosses what now remains of the east and west street, running at right angles to that on which he stands, and of equal dimensions, both being quite as broad as the widest streets of London or Paris at the present day. Near a bend in the road which leads the visitor in a north-westerly direction, stands one of the most extraordin- ary monuments of royal Singhalese refinement. It consists of an enor- mous trough, composed of a single block of granite, about ten feet long at the top, five broad, and in depth four feet—the excavation measures nine feet by four, being also two and a half feet deep. The tradition 218 On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, [Marcu, is that it was ordered by Dutuyaimono to hold his elephant’s food when feeding. I should imagine that six elephants could have fed from it at once without incommoding each other. The Thupharamaya is certainly the most elegant structure at Anu- radhapura, and exceeds in beauty all the others. The rough sketch of it which I annex may serve to give some idea of its present appearance. A very elegant and well-executed view of its aspect before the restora- tion lately effected by the high-priest may be seen in Major Forbes’ account of Ceylon. ‘The dagobah itself consists of the usual semicireu- lar mass of masonry standing on a square platform of flagged brickwork, and surmounted by a tapering spire. The entire height of the building above the plain on which it is situated, and including, of course, the platform on which it stands, I estimated at fifty feet. The columns surrounding it are exceedingly graceful—long, slender and well pro- portioned as they are, they may give us a very favorable idea of the taste of the artists by whom they were designed. They consist of two distinct blocks of granite, one forming a square base and octagonal shaft, both together being twenty-two feet long—the second forming the capital richly ornamented with small human figures standing round the lower part of the projecting ornament, which may be seen at the summit, and adding about two feet to the height of the pillars. Originally there were one hundred and eight of these pillars divided into four rows, stand- ing round the dagobah and issuing from the platform on which it stands —many of them are now fallen down, some have been removed and others lie in the positions m which they fell. Six hundred years after the erection of the Thupharamaya a temple was built beside it to contain the celebrated Dalada, or tooth-relic, then first imported into Ceylon. The remains of this temple are still visible, without having any thing about them greatly to distinguish them. On looking at the Thupharamaya, the question is naturally suggested to us what was the object of those pillars, and for what purpose were they intended? To this question I could never get a satisfactory answer. My own impression, however, is, that if not intended as ornaments, they were designed to support a roof which should stretch from the summit of the spire to the outer line, so as to protect the dagobah from the influence of the weather. It is, however, equally true that snch a roof 1847. | formerly the capital of Ceylon. 219 would also protect them from the gaze of the worshippers, and that it would require only one line of pillars instead of four to support it. The Thupharamaya, we can easily believe, would follow the fortunes of the city in which it stood. The unbelieving Malabars would show it little respect, although they might consider the trouble too great of levelling it with the ground, whilst the Singhalese monarchs would restore it at intervals to its first condition, or leave it to its fate, as piety or indifference had the ascendancy in their minds. The ruins which usually strike the eye of the traveller on first enter- ing Anuradhapura from the southern side, are. the remains of the nu- merous pillars which formerly supported the Lowa Maha Paya, or brazen place for the priests. This building, one of the largest that ever existed in the east, was erected by Dutugaimono, a hundred and fifty years before our era. One hundred and fifty years before that again, its erection, Singhalese tradition assures us, had been prophesied by Ma- hindo, the great priest of Buddhu, who arrived with the Bo-tree in the time of Tisso. Dutugaimono, having heard of this prophecy, the Mahawanso informs us, searched for a record of it said to have been deposited in the palace. This record, with the assistance of the priests, he at length found in a vase, inscribed on a golden plate. It mentioned his own name we are told, and gave a brilliant account of the palace he should build for the priests. The monarch, unsuspicious of deception; was delighted at the heavenly warning, and assembling the priests in his garden, many of whom were doubtless laughing in their sleeves at him, informed them that if they could but find out what kind of a palace the devas or heavenly spirits had, he would build them one like it. Nothing was easier for the priests than this; so sending off eight of their number (‘all sanctified characters,’ reverently observes the Mahawanso) to the other world, they told them to bring back a draw- ing of the palace of the devas. It would seem that trees grew in the other world also, for the eight ‘‘ sanctified characters” returned with a sketch of the palace of the devas drawn on a leaf, with a vermilion pencil. The monarch seems to have asked no impertinent questions as to the road they took or the reception they met with, but at once proceeded with the erection of the Lowa Maha Paya. It was one hundred cubits, two hundred and twenty-five feet square, and the same in height, being supported on sixteen hundred stone pillars, having forty on each side. 220 On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, (Marca, These with afew exceptions are all standing at present, but not in their original condition, many of them having been split to forward the schemes and lessen the trouble of future monarchs. In the centre they are generally twice the thickness of those on the outside. They are in general about twelve feet high and were evidently intended for being built on—the spaces between them being too small to admit of being separate apartments. As at first erected, the Lowa Maha Paya was nine stories in height and contained in each story one hundred apart- ments. This number seems large, but it will be found on calculation that one hundred apartments (supposing them all of the same size) each twenty-two feet square, could be constructed in the space given, and the cells usually occupied by the priests are much smaller. In the centre of this palace there was a large and splendid ivory throne, on one side of which stood a representation of the sun im gold, on the other a similar emblem of the moon im silver, and above shone the stars in pearl. The account of this building as given by the Chinese Bud- dhists who visited Anuradhapura three hundred years afterwards, con- firms the description of the Mahawanso. Such was the fruit of the visit of these eight priests “all sanctified characters,” to the deva-loka. When stretched upon his death-bed, Dutugaimono, anxious for his future welfare, asked the attendant priests respecting his hopes of happiness in a fature world, particularly reminding them of the palace which he had built for them, and on the ground of this, and his other merito- rious works he was promised an immediate entrance to the deva-loka, where he was doubtless received into that palace, the architecture of which he had copied on earth. The name of the “brazen palace” arose from its having been roofed with sheets of metal, and not with the ordinary tiles. Soon after its erection, or in the thirtieth year after the Christian era, the Maha Paya required considerable repairs, but it was not till Mahasen’s reign in A. D. 286, that it met with any very serious dis- aster. By that apostate monarch the entire of the nine stories were swept away and nothing left but the pillars which had supported it in the centre. To repair this destruction his son and successor Kitsini Maiwan in A. D. 302, was obliged to split many of the pillars in two in order to complete the original number. The palace was subsequently reduced to five stories, and gradually fell into neglect and decay until 1847.] Sormerly the capital of Ceylon. 221 the removal of the seat of government to Pollonaruwa, which completed its desertion. The stone pillars on which it stood are a little to the north of the Maha Wihare, on the south side of the trace leading to Aripo, and near them, are shewn the tomb of Gaimono, and the mound of earth on which the kings were usually burnt. A little to the south of the Maha Wihare and about five hundred yards from the remains of the brazen palace, a mound of earth, formerly a small dagobah, points out the place where the action between Gaimono and the usurper Ellala commenced, as also the spot on which Ellala fell. On the road to the Thupharamaya dagobah I have already men- tioned that the visitor sees on his left hand the conical mass of the Ruanwelle dagobah rising like a mountain near him. The entrance to this, as to most others of the ancient buildings, is through an erection ef modern structure, chiefly formed of wood. The site on which it is erected is said to have been hallowed in various ways, and the prophecy to which I have referred in the case of the Maha Paya, also mentioned that Dutugaimono should construct a Maha Thupo, or great dagobah. A long and tedious account is given in the Mahawanso of the miracu- lous manner in which the materials for this erection were formed and procured. When every thing had been obtained which was requisite, the monarch commenced the structure by digging a foundation which, tradition tells us, was a hundred cubits or two hundred and twenty-two feet deep. This is most probably exaggerated, yet as the dimensions are in general given with great exactness, I should hesitate before pro- nouncing it false. Certain it is that the stone platform on which it stands is massive and of enormous dimensions, being five hundred feet square, thus giving us a superficial extent of solid masonry of 250,000 square feet, or upwards of 27,000 square yards. This platform is sur- rounded by a fosse seventy feet broad. On the sides of the platform are sculptures representing the heads and fore-parts of elephants as if in the act of emerging from the mass. Unfortunately Dutugaimono did not survive to see the completion of the dagobah which he had spared no pains to erect, and in order that he might have some idea of what it would be when finished, he had a spire of wood placed upon it of a similar form with that intended to be subsequently added of more durable materials. He is said to have expired in the act of gazing on 2H 222 On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, (Marcu, this building, and the spot on which His Majesty reclined is still pointed out. At some distance on the other side of the ancient street is a large stone slab, which it is said covers the entrance to the interior of the dagobah. Ceylonese history records its having been twice pene- trated, once by miraculous power invoked by faith, and on another occasion by the sturdy arms ofan usurper’s soldiery. It is now nearly completely overgrown with jungle, as will be seen in the accompanying sketch—the original brick-work of which it is composed being only visible in a few detached places. The squared platform on which it stands and which is still well paved with slabs of granite, has been cleared of the brushwood with which it was overgrown by the high- priest, and lying on the southern side of it is to be seen a broken statue of Batyatisso, who reigned from B.C. 19 to A. D. 9, “and appears,” justly observes Major Forbes, “to have been one of those persevering zealots who ‘hope to merit heaven by making eartha hell.’ ’”” On the granite pavement are pointed out indentures said to have been worn out by the knees of Batyatisso during his frequent and lengthened prayers. The Ruanwelle dagobah appears to have suffered more from the ravages of Magha, the usurper alluded to, who forced a passage into it in the thirteenth century, than from any of the other revolutions to which the capital was subjected, and it does not appear that any attempt was ever afterwards made to restore it to its former condition. It was originally two hundred and seventy feet high, and would appear to be now decreasing in elevation with the rains of every successive year. When Major Forbes visited it in 1828, he states it to have been one hundred and eighty-nine feet in height, whilst now (in 1846) it is but a hundred and forty—having thus lost forty-nine feet of elevation m 18 years. The invasion of the Malabars and the flight of the king Walagam- bahu, has already been noticed in the account of the caves of Dambool. It would appear that his first act on his regaining his throne was the erection of a stupendous dagobah as a monument of his good fortune. This he called the Abhayagiri, a title compounded of a surname of his own—Abhaya—and the name of a Hindu sect. It was originally a hundred and eighty cubits, or four hundred and five feet high, and stood on a mass of masonry of even larger dimensions than that patti- cularly noticed as forming the foundation of the Ruanwelle dagobah. 1847. | formerly the capital of Ceylon. 223 From the great size of the Abhayagiri dagobah, together with the numerous other erections of Walagambahu about the same period (87, B. C.) it would appear that notwithstanding the recent invasion of the Malabars, the kingdom must have been in a very prosperous and flourishing condition. To the Abhayagiri dagobah was attached a wihare and priests’ residence, which would seem to have been for a long period the centre of the Buddhistic hierarchy in the island. At length a schism arose in the third century of our era; a small part of the Abhayagiri priesthood joined the heretics,—the king Mahasen favored them, expelled the orthodox followers of Buddhu, and spared no pains to raise to eminence and popularity the sect whose principles he had embraced. This was the period of the greatest splendour of the Abhayagiri, but it was destined to be but of short continuance. While the monarch’s partiality for the sect continued, however, the spoils of the Lowa Maha Paya, the Ruanwelle, the Maha Wihare and the Thupharamaya, all went to decorate the Abhayagiri and enrich the schismatics. But Mahasen soon found that whatever respect the people might have for his person, they had a greater for their religion, and a popular revolt which ensued on these changes, warned him not to persevere in his schemes. He accordingly gave up the minister (by whose advice he pretended to have been guided) to the fury of the populace, and by his death diverted the torrent of indignation from himself, The unconscious dagobah and wihare shared somewhat of the fate of its supporters, and though not utterly destroyed, they were yet very much reduced in magnificence and importance. After this period we still read of the Abhayagiri wihare as a common resort of the priest- hood, till the removal of the seat of government to Pollonaruwa, when it is of course to be supposed, that the ancient capital would lose the greater portion of its sacred inhabitants. There is little to distinguish the dagobah in its present condition: overgrown to the very summit with jungle, it affords, like the Ruanwelle and the Jaitawanaramaya, but a glimpse here and there of the brick-work of which it is construct- ed. In form it more approaches to the Jaitawanaramaya than to any other of the ruins, a small portion of the spire being still apparent. The Abhayagiri lies to the east of the Ruanwelle and Thupharamaya, being about a quarter a mile distant from the latter. It is at present about 240 feet high. 2H 2 224 On the Ruins of Anuradhapura, [Marcn, The only remaining dagobahs of which I think it necessary to speak particularly, are the Jaitawanarémaya and the Sankardmaya, both of them lying to the north of the ancient city, at a considerable distance from the others. The sketch opposite represents the Jaitawanarémaya in its present condition. In the Mahawanso it is styled the Jetawanno dagobah, which as the shorter name, although it is now better known by the former, I shall adopt. The Jetawanno was commenced by Mahasen as a measure of retribution to the orthodox for the destruc- tion which he had before caused. It was originally three hundred and fifteen feet high, and is still upwards of two hundred and forty. It is an enormous solid mass of masonry, and some idea of its size may be obtained by reflecting that its cubic contents are upwards of 456,000 yards. Yet so inferior was the Jetawanno considered when compared with the more imposing buildings at Anuradhapura, that the Singhalese historian passes it over with two slight notices, each of a single line’s length. The Jetawanno does not appear ever to have attained any considerable distinction either as the scene of any remarkable events, or as a considerable resort of the Buddhistic priesthood. The erections in its neighbourhood would appear to have been at one time highly ornamented from the profusion of carved stones which le scattered in its vicinity. A massive square pillar lies by the side of the path at some distance from the dagobah, which on being measured, proved to be twenty-six feet long and a yard square, being cut out of a single block of granite. It must be borne in mind that although composed of brick, these dagobahs were originally coated with a white cement, which, when polished, as they were, would give them all the appearance of marble. There can be little doubt that originally they would have a very imposing effect, and that especially as seen from a distance they must have added great beauty and grandeur to the distant view of Anuradhapura. Of the present condition of the Lankaraémaya the accompanying sketch may afford some idea. It was erected by the enthusiastic and wavering Mahasen between the years 276 and 302 of ourera. There can be little doubt that it was modelled on the plan of the Thupharamaya, but although apparently built of more durable materials, it does not at all approach the original in the proportions of its columns or the excel- lence of its carvings. The Lankarémaya stands, like all the other 1847. | formerly the capital of Ceylon. 225 dagobahs, on an elevated platform, paved with granite slabs, and imme- diately in front of it stands a stone altar about five feet high, which there can be little doubt was intended for the reception of the offerings of the faithful. The Lankaramaya stands between the Thupharamaya and the Jaitawanarémaya, a little to the eastward of both—the ruins of a priest’s residence are in its immediate vicinity, but of a character so common as not to need any particular remarks. Other dagobahs there are in the vicinity of Anuradhapura, but great- ly inferior in size to those which I have endeavoured to describe. The Mirisiwellia, the Sailya Chaitya and the Ellala Dagobah, with many others of less note, are but shapeless heaps of ruins overgrown with jungle, with but a few pillars, or carved stones to mark their former importance. As I have said before, one of the most extraordinary characteristics of the ruins of the city is the immense number of stone pillars, generally square, which present themselves in every direction in which the visitor may turn his steps. These, with the large masses of the remaining dagobahs, and the immense quantity of carved stones that lie about the paths in all directions, will convince the most scep- - tical that he is treading on the ruins of a once great and populous city, and that those who inhabited it were to a very considerable extent civilized and refined. One peculiarity, if at all observant, he cannot fail to notice, the great superiority of the more ancient to the more modern structures—a superiority as decided and unquestionable as the greater excellence of Grecian sculpture in beauty and sublimity to the massive but rude masses of Egyptian architecture. In conclusion, let it be borne in mind that great as must have been the expenditure of labour and power to erect the Lowa Maha Paya, or the Ruanwelle, there are monuments of ancient Lanka and its people still more demonstrative of their former greatness. I refer to the em- bankments of the various tanks scattered in such profusion over the north of the island, and especially in the immediate vicinity of Anu- radhapura. To these I would point as the most conclusive evidences of what the power of the Singhalese monarchs once was, and I can only regret that my own observations have been too limited to allow of my entering upon the subject in a manner likely to be satistactory either to my readers or myself. LOLOLOPPPLPOLOPIIOPIIOIwoww>- 226 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. |{Marcu, Notes of' an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier, in September 1846. By Capt. Ev. Mavven, Bengal Artillery. September 10th.—From Almorah to Sutralee, 13 or 14 miles, which yecupied us (my companion, Captain Hampton, 31st Regt. N. I.) from 6 till 11 a.m. our progress at first beimg much impeded by a heavy fall of rain, the termination as we hoped, of the season, but which in fact proved to be only a shadow of what was in store for us. The road lies over the mountain called Kaleemuth, 6,300 feet high, and so called, the Almorah people say, from a coarse kind of black lead which abounds there: the summit is of mica slate and gneiss, in horizontal strata. 2,300 feet below, to the west, is Hawulbagh, now famous like Almorah and Bheemtal, for its thriving plantations of tea; the visiter however, will be disappointed who expects anything picturesque in this cultivation, any more than in the vineyards of France; the shrubs being generally under four feet high, and any- thing but elegant in form ; the tea is made in spring; the plant flowers here at that season, and notwithstanding the extreme plucking it under- goes, produces a profusion of seed in October and November. It may be satisfactory to Drs. Royle and Falconer to know that even at Almorah the plantations suffered not the trace of injury from the snow storms of Jan. 26, and Feb. 2. 1847, the heaviest known to the oldest inhabi- tant of Keemaoon, when about 2 feet fell at Almorah, and lay for many days. Hawulbagh takes its name, ‘The garden of mist,’”’ from the heavy clouds which rest over it almost every morning during the cold season, at about 4500 feet elevation; the Kosilla runs about 200 feet below the station, which has a greater extent of level ground than any other in the N. W. mountains. The river is invariably known to the mountaineers as the Kosee, which H. H. Wilson derives from the San- scrit Kausika, a sheathe, probably in allusion to its generally deep and narrow glen; the Hindustani name Kosilla, may be from the Sanscrit Kausulya, “ good fortune.” It has become an axiom in the Geography of the N. W. Himalaya, that the Giree is the only river which does not rise in the snowy range: but the assertion is equally true of the Kosilla, and western Ramgunga of Kumaoon (the latter known also as the Ruput in Gurhwal) ; while the Surjoo and eastern 1847. ] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 227 Ramgunga originate in branches of the snowy range which for many months in each year are completely denuded of snow. Opposite Hawulbagh, at Kutarmul, there is a very large temple dedi- eated to Aditya, the sun; it is surrounded by a multitude of smaller ones, but all is now forsaken, the main pile having been so shaken by earth- quakes as to be dangerous. Many of the large terminal ornamental ‘«‘ Turk’s cap” stones have been turned half round. The view from the summit of Kaleemuth is very fine and extensive ; to the east, are the dark ranges of Binsur and Jugesur; to the south and south-west the lofty Ghagur completely excludes Kumaoon from any view of the plains ; from north-east to north-west extend the snowy range, of which the view given in Dr. Royle’s illustrations was taken from this point. As might be expected it fails in conveying any just idea of the gran- deur of the scene, and is moreover not very correct, most of the groups and peaks being misnamed. What is called the Kedarnath cluster, is really the bastioned mass of Budreenath; his ‘“ Juwahir cluster’ is properly named “Trisool ;”” and the peak called Nundadevi, is m fact one to the east of Pindree, commonly known to Europeans in Kumaoon as Nundakot, No. XV. of the map. The true Nundadevi, most con- spicuous in nature, was perhaps clouded when the artist took his view, being either suppressed, or very imperfectly delineated by the peak marked XIII. which is really the eastern shoulder of the Trisool. Looking at the snowy range from this and similar points, it appears a matter of no difficulty to reach it; an impression produced by the almost total suppression in the view, of the great spurs and secondary ranges sent off to the south and south-west from the main range; all these, being seen in the direction of their length, present comparatively small points; and it seems to be for this reason that the mountains as seen from Seharunpoor, Umballah, &c. have the appearance of three or four long ranges, successively rising; but the moment we get amongst them this apparent regularity is lost, and the mountains ap- pear to branch in every direction. In common with the vicinity of Almorah in general, Kaleemuth is too well grazed by cattle to afford much room for vegetation. In the spring a shrubby Dipsacus, with lilac blossoms, is common; and in autumn the warmer declivities abound with the beautiful Osbeckia stellata, the Kookurmakree of the natives. The Scilla indica, Anquilla- 228 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcn, ria indica, Curculigo orchioides, and Fritillaria Thomsoniana, all reach up to this point, and are abundant. Hence, the route follows the neck which joins Kaleemuth with Bin- sur; about two miles on, a Cairn, called “ Kutputiya,” occurs on the left hand; these heaps of stones are raised where three ways meet, many of the people considuring it meritorious to add a stone; a cus- tom well known to this day amongst the Celtic tribes of western Europe.* Soon after passing the Cairn, the road quits the Binsur route, and after passing Jak village, crosses by a rocky ascent the western spur of Binsur, called Bhynsooree Cheena; the northern aspect of this is covered with pretty thick woods of Rhododendron, Andromeda, &c. through which we descended to a glen, extensively cultivated, where a stream from Binsur joins the Takoola from Gunna- nath. The united stream is a rapid burn, which joins the Kosilla above Hawulbagh : our route lay sometimes on one, sometimes on the other bank, and not unfrequently in the stream itself. Rice is abundantly pro- - duced along the banks, and the Kodah on the higher grounds. This is a late crop, and suffers much from the bears; it is now infested by a considerable number of locusts, which we found daily hence to the. snows. Sutralee is the name of a district belonging to the astrologers of Almorah; and in the midst of abundance, the traveller finds himself like Sancho Panza, in danger of starving ; for these “ gods of the earth” are infinitely more liberal with their horoscopes and predictions of good weather and fortune than with their supplies of grass, ghee, and flour. We encamped in a confined but pretty spot, surrounded by woody spurs from Binsur and Gunnanath, neither of which is visible ; a rivulet from the former has cut a deep perpendicular gorge in the rock, on the brink of which are some old temples dedi- cated to Umba Debee, from whom the place is called Umkholee. A * One is constantly struck in India with the identity of the customs and ideas of its population with those of Europe, ancient and modern. A few years since at the Jeypoor Durbar, the sitting was prolonged to so late an hour that it became ne- cessary to introduce lights, on which all the chiefs got up and saluted each other, as if they had met for the first time inthe morning. One of them told me it was a common custom. Thirlwall incidentally mentions the very same as having been usual amongst the ancient Greeks. 1847. ]} Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 229 few cedars overshadow the temples, which are not remarkable. Water boils at 208°, or with correction of thermometer, at 20734°, giving about 4700 feet as the elevation. The pretty white Barleria dichotoma, the Photinia dubia; a shrub which I took for Ligustrum Nepalense ; and Kadsura propingua, “ Sindrain,” are common on the banks of the Takoola. The mountain of Gunnanath, near this, is said to be very beautiful ; the Ghoorkas hada stockade there ; andon the advance of our troops toward Almorah in 1815, they were attacked from this pomt by a body of men under the command of Hustee Dhul; he was killed by a random shot, his men retreated, and the fate of Kumaoon was decided. This chief was uncle to the rajah of Nepal, and had been employed in the unsuccessful attempt on Kot Kangra. The contrast of our speedy capture of that celebrated fortress, is tothis moment very unpalatable in Nepal: and the story goes that fakeers and other travellers are warned under penalty of a severe beating, to conceal or deny the fact of Lahore being now a British Garrison ! Along the borders of the fields here, as at Almorah, the Perilla ocimoides—‘‘ Bhungera,”’ is extensively cultivated for the sake of the oil expressed from the seeds: it is now in flower, and will be ripe in October and November. September 11th.—To Bagesur, 12 miles; at one and half miles, up a pretty valley, by an easy ascent, but over a rocky road, we reached the erest of a ridge, called the Kurngal ka Cheena, which separates the afflu- ents of the Kosilla from those of the Surjoo. It may be about 5,500 feet high, and like all the hills in the neighbourhood, is well clothed with Pines, (Pinus longifolia,) as the north side is with Rhododendron, Cor- nus, &c.—The Quercus annulata, “ Funiyat,”’ (the “ Banee” of Simlah,) is a common tree on the ascent, andis large and abundant on the Surjoo above Bagesur, mixed with trees which one scarce expects to find with an oak. From the Kurngal Pass, a steep descent through shady woods, brought us to the beautiful valley of Chonna Biloree, watered by a large brook, the Jynghun, which flows round the north side of Binsur to the Surjoo. Biloree, a pretty hamlet, with a small temple amidst a clump of firs, on a conical knoll, much resembling an Irish Rath, lies to the right of the road, and a short distance above, to the left, is Chouna, another village, near which is a group of the Cheoorra = 230 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, tree—Bassia butyracea, which does not appear to extend more to the north-west. It is common at about 4000 feet elevation, near Bheem- tal, and on the Surjoo near Ramesur; and I have even found it on the low outer range of hills to the north-west of Kaleedoonghee: the seeds furnish the so called butter, or Phoolel, of Almorah. Near Biloree sever- al large specimens of the Castanea tribuloides— Kutonj” or Chestnut, were in full flower; this tree is another instance of the approximation of the vegetation of Kumaoon to that of Nepal; it occurs sparingly in the glens of Binsur, and becomes abundant east of the Surjoo, but is unknown I believe in Gurhwal, &c. At Chonna Biloree the soil and rocks are deeply colored with red oxyde of iron: here the road quits the Jynghun, and turning to the left, soon reaches the base of the ‘ Ladder Hill,”’ so called from a good, but long and steep flight of steps constructed nearly to the summit, by Toolaram, the Treasurer of Almorah. The total ascent is about 800 feet, 150 or 200 short of which we halted to breakfast, at a spring called the Bhoomka Panee. This pass is known as the Palree or Kurrei Cheena, and may be about 5,500 feet in height; on the left the ridge rises many hundred feet higher in a bold rocky bluff, on which is a temple to the Mychoola Debee. Close above to the east is the rounded “ Nynee’’ summit. With the exception of a little clay-slate, the whole range is of limestone, and stretches far down to the south- east, crossing the Surjoo near the Seera Bridge, and every where pre- senting to the south-west successive tiers of cliffs. This limestone forms the glen of the Surjoo up to the Sooring, where as at Landour, it is capped by a granular quartz. The view of the Himalaya from the top of the Ladder Hill is considered one of the finest in Kumaoon; but was entirely eclipsed to-day by dense clouds, which bestowed some sharp showers on us while at breakfast. An easy descent of three miles hence brought us to the Dhurmsala of Mehulee, near the village Patulee, erected by one Debee Sah, the brahman in charge, being en- dowed with a monthly salary of less than three rupees ;—this he ekes out by the cultivation of a garden, which he entertained a not ill-found- ed fear would. be plundered by our followers should he accompany me to the Soap-stone quarries about a mile distant ; this difficulty overcome, we started, and afier a slippery walk from one terrace to another, reach- ed one of the five or six quarries in this vicinity. So far as I could 1847. ] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 231 observe, the rock lies in large detached masses, but the mine had been apparently neglected for several years, and was choked up with rub- bish. The steatite is called “ Khurree ;” and at Almorah is turned into a variety of cups, &c. less durable and useful than if of wood. From the Dhurmsala to the Surjoo, the descent is very long and steep, through woods of superb pine ; the soil is a red clay, which with the fallen pine leaves, we found so slippery as with great difficulty to keep our feet. At the base the Cheer Gunga, a rattling stream, flows to the Surjoo, along the right bank of which lies the rest of the route, about 2} or 3 miles, to Bagesur. The Surjoo is here a large and rapid river, the water of a whitish tinge, and perfectly impassable except on rafts sup- ported by gourds. Wilson gives us the etymology of the name from sri, to go: Gunga, from gum, to go, to gang ; and Pindur, probably from pud, pundute, of the same import; so strongly must the primeeval Hindus have been struck by the extreme impetuosity of these rivers.* The elevation of the valley here is between 2,500 and 3,000 feet ; it is narrow, with here and there a partial expansion, carefully cultivated with rice. The scenery is exceedingly diversified and verdant. In such a valley to the north-west, as that of the Sutluj, we should have little but arid rock ; here all is grass, wood, and swelling hills of the deepest green and most beautiful outline. As a drawback, the climate is con- sidered very unhealthy at this season, and in the months of May and June the winds are said to be nearly as hot as in the plains. The vegetation is nearly that of the Tarai and Dehra Dhoon. Robinia macrophylla, (Gonjh,) Rottlera tinctoria, (Rolee,) Phyllanthus emblica, (Amla,) Pavetta tomentosa, (Pudera,) Murlea begonifolia, (Toombre, )Sa- pimdus acuminata, (Reetha,) Mucuna atropurpurea, (Buldaka,) Zizyphus, (Bair,) Sponia, Toddalia aculeata, (Khuseroo,) and a species of Adelia, are common as trees, with the Photinia dubia, called Gur-mehul or Soond, which is also found north-west of Kumaoon ; where it occupies a zone reaching from 3,000 up to 7,500 feet. Among lesser plants I observed Centranthera hispida, Ipomcea muricata and pes-tigridis, the Lygodium or climbing fern (abundant in all the valleys of Kumaoon), * The word Pindur also denotes a feeder ; while Pindul is a bridge, a causeway, a passage over a river or ravine, &c. and might refer in this sense to some early structure at Kurnprag to facilitate the passage of pilgrims to Budureenath. (>) EN tap 232 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcn, Costus speciosus, Zingiber capitatum, Curcuma angustifolia, and most abundant in the meadows the “ beautifully blue’ Exacum tetragonum, ‘* Teeta-khana.” We found the heat in the valley oppressive, and were enjoying the idea of shelter in one of the deserted houses of Bagesur, now at hand, when to our dismay, we reached the right bank of the Gaomutee Gunga, which here joins the Surjoo from Byjnath, and was so swollen and rapid from late heavy rains as to be perfectly unfordable. While crouching under some thickets to avoid the sun, and most sincerely de- siring that the original Pontifices maximi, Sin and Death, who built the first bridge, according to Milton, had exercised their “ Art pontifical’’ at Bagesur, we perceived certain naked savages appear on the opposite bank, armed with a multitude of gourds, (toombas,) which they forth- with commenced fastening in rows about their waists, and then com- mitted themselves to the deep, as buoyant as so many corks, A suffi- cient number being attached to our charpaees, we were ferried over in security, but not very pleasantly ; our very unsailor-like rafts sink so deep that it became necessary to strip. The process of crossing is a simple, but very tedious one, and above two hours elapsed before our scanty baggage was passed over. We afterwards saw the men plunge with perfect indifference into the “angry flood’’ of the Surjoo itself, and ‘“‘stemming it aside with hearts of controversy,” reach the opposite shore with ease, but with great loss of distance. They even promised to convey us over, an offer which was declined. Falstaff justly abhorred a watery death, even in the placid Thames. The town of Bagesur stands immediately beyond the Gaomutee, on the right bank of the Surjoo, in a very confined spot, being closely backed by a precipit- ous hill. It consists of two or three irregular lines of houses, one of — them now washed by the river, and about 200 yards in length, some of the houses are very respectable, adorned with tastefully carved wood work ; but the place is a mere depédt, where in the cold season the Almorah merchants, who chiefly own the houses, resort to traffic with the Bhoteeahs, who meet them for this purpose. This, rather than any particular msalubrity, seems the cause of the town being desert- ed at other seasons; it has no other resources. True, we Europeans found the temperature disagreeably warm, but the site did not seen malarious, and there was little fever amongst the few inhabitants. The 1847.] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 233 cases however were more numerous on our return, and it is certain the mountaineers look on a residence here with dread. At the junction of the two rivers are a couple of stone temples of Mahadeo, where Bruhma also is adored sub invocatione Bagesur, San- scrit Vageeswur, the Lord of Speech, and gives his name to the town. There is an inscribed slab at one of these temples, in a character not seemingly very ancient ; the import I understand is given in one of the Journals of the Society. ‘The brahmuns have a legend that the Sur- joo could not find its way through the mountains till the present chan- nel, a devious one enough, was opened by a Rishi; ever since which time bathing here is justly considered nearly as efficacious in removing sin as the pilgrimage to Budreenarain itself.* ‘ Bagesur’’ was per- haps in the first instance indebted for this title to the Tigers which abound in the valley; the brahmuns give both etymologies; these brutes (the tigers), roam up as high as Sooring, but from numerous en- quiries I am induced to believe that Bishop Heber was misinformed when he was told that they habitually frequent the snows. They are ex- tremely destructive in the district of Gungolee, along the Surjoo, S. E. of this, where during the present autumn and winter, 25 persons are said to have been destroyed ; this with an equal number of victims in the Bhumouree Pass, leading from the plains to Almorah, forms a serious item in the Kumaoon bills of mortality, and goes to prove that the Mosaic penalty of blood for blood is no longer in force ; indeed a cele- brated writer observes that “the lions, the tigers, and the house of Judah’’ scarce ever observed this covenant. The mountaineers are firmly persuaded that the worst tigers are men, who transform themselves into this shape by means of the black art, the better to indulge their malice, envy, and love of a flesh diet. The superstition reminds one of the lycanthropy of the old Greeks, and the Louf-garon of the French in modern days. * It is an extraordiuary instance of an attempted fusion of the creeds of Brahma and Muhammed, that the brahmuns of Bagesur in relating this legend, identified Muhadeo with ‘‘ Baba Adam,”’ and his wife Parvutee with ‘‘ Mawa Hhuwa,”’ or Mother Eve. Thry were probably indebted for this curious association to the cir- cumstance of ‘‘Adim’’ denoting ‘‘ first’? in Sanscrit, so that ‘‘ Baba Adam”? is ‘* First Father.’”’ Had they selected Brahma, who as Viraj, divided himself into tale and female fur the production of mankind, tle parallel would have been still closer. 234 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcn, We were told that up near Sooring a tiger was killed within these few years by a pack of the wild dogs, here called Bhonsla; but even our informant seemed to doubt the truth of the story. Of the bold- ness of these dogs, however, we had no doubt ; they are considered to be Bhugwan’s* hounds, and no Shikaree ever thinks of shooting them. Mr. Lushington, the Commissioner of Kumaoon, has a bungalow on the bank of the Surjoo opposite Bagesur; a little above this, the mountains on that side recede in a deep bay, leaving a spacious tract of level ground, on which the fair is held in January, at which period the whole of the Bhoteeah pergunnahs are deserted by their inhabitants, who descend with their flocks to the central portion of the province for warmth and pasture. These people in mien, make, and features, bear a striking resemblance to the Chinese. It is a curious feature in the agricultural economy of Kumaoon that during the same season, almost the entire population of the mountains between Almorah and the plains, descend to the Tarai, where they have cleared very extensive tracts, which are carefully cultivated with wheat, barley, mustard, &c. irrigated with no mean skill and industry by cuts from the various torrents which there debouche on the plains; while the forests swarm with their cows and buffaloes, which supply them with vast quantities of ghee, the sale of which greatly overbalances the occasional loss of their cattle by wild beasts. The presence of these herds in the forest may be said, to form a sort of safety-valve to the botanist or other explorer of its solitudes, the tigers seldom molesting man when he can obtain beef. The appearance of the young leaves on the Seesoo in April, is the signal for the mountaineers to ascend to their natural homes, where they arrive just in time to cut a second rubbee crop, sown in November; the only instance within my knowledge of the same farmer enjoying the advantage of two harvests in one season. I may * If the mere English reader should ask ‘‘ who is Bhugwan,’’ he will not be more in the dark than was one of the Secretaries to a certain Board in 1824. Car- riage and supplies were required for the troops in Arrakan, and a native dignitary in Bengal was required to say how much would be forthcoming from his district. ‘‘ As much as it pleases Bhugwan’’ was the reply. ‘‘ Who is Bhugwan,’’ writes the Secretary. ‘‘ You will be pleased to inform Bhugwan, that if he withholds the requisite aid, he will incur the censure of Government, and assuredly be put down.”’ 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 235 remark here that the Gooya or Gweeya of Mr. Traill’s Report, which he calls the Sweet Potato, is in fact the edible Arum or Colocasia. September 13th.—To Kupkot, 14} or 15 miles. The river above, Bagesur bisects the open tract of ground before alluded to; and then till within two or three miles of Kupkot, winds its impetuous way through a gigantic ravine rather than a valley, the entire floor being frequently occupied by its bed, now reduced to half the width it has below. This narrow channel is exceedingly deep, and in some places the waters flow more quietly for a space, in black pools, the whole not a little resembling the Findhorn in Morayshire. Over one of these, three or four miles from Bagesur, a single spar is thrown for a bridge, from which the passenger, at a depth of 30 or 40 feet below him, may see the water swarming with large Muhaseer.* The river flows in a channel of live rock, from which the mountains rise precipitously ; and in one place the road has to be carried for a hundred yards or more, along the face of the cliff; in general however, the rise is that of the river, only interrupted by the many feeders from the mountains to the left; on which occasions, for some unknown reason, the Puha- rees always make a dip, involving a troublesome ascent on the other side. At three miles, we crossed one large affluent, and at about seven a second, the Kundilgurh nudee, a furious torrent, which a few days since carried away its bridge; this was only replaced yesterday, which compelled a reluctant halt of one day at Bagesur, where Messrs. Hort and Powys, H. M. 61st Regiment, overtook us in the afternoon, from Almorah. We found the glen of the Surjoo here almost without habitation—wholly given up to jungle, luxuriant grass, deer, and tigers, the latter much dreaded. On the opposite bank, a little above the Spar Bridge, the river receives a large tributary, the Balee Gunga, and, two or three miles short of Kupkot, ceasing to rage through the narrow gorge which contracts it below, pursues its course along some open, but strong and uncultivated dells, covered with dwarf Zizyphus,t * The presence of a large fish, apparently of the Shark kind, is well attested, in the Surjoo, from Bagesur downwards; reported to grow 6 feet long, to be devoid of scales, and to have teeth like those of a dog. + The famous shrine of Budureenath derives its name from this shrub, the Buduree (now Ber) or Jujube, Vishnoo being there invoked, like an apothecary, as the ‘“‘ Lord of Jujubes.’”’ All the synonymes, Budureesail, Budureebun, ‘‘ the 236 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, to these soon succeeds the beautiful glen of Kupkot, splendidly culti- vated with rice, mundooa, Xe. in the centre of which we halted at noon, in a grove of tall Silung trees—but had not time to pitch our tents, or put the camp kettle in trim for breakfast, when the exceedingly sultry forenoon was succeeded by a heavy storm of wind and rain, which poured down for two hours, and made us excessively uncomfort- able, the ground being already swampy from the rice fields close by.— When the clouds cleared off, we found ourselves in a most romantic little valley, the Bingen of the Surjoo, from one half to two miles long, and about half as wide, from 4,000 to 4,500 feet above the sea, enclosed by a belt of gently swelling and diversified mountains, covered with a beautiful vegetation, the Cheer Pine feathering the summits. The village is on its western edge, close under the sloping mountains, about 150 feet above the river and half a mile from it; several smaller ham- lets are scattered over the plain, each with its groves of trees, among which the plantain is conspicuous, producing large and excellent fruit. The more solid supplies are also abundant; and the people, the most civil and obliging in the hulls, instructed by the example of Chintamun, the old Putwaree, a more perfect gentleman than whom it would not be easy to find. The climate he represents greatly better than at Bagesur. A bold peak called Chirput, raises its head on the north side of the valley, on this bank of the Surjoo, and to the right of this, up the glen of that river, there is a near view of several snowy peaks the most prominent among them being the so-called Nunda Kot, east of Pindree. The Surjoo, now falling, was rather muddy. On our return though unfordable, its waters were clear as crystal, blue as sapphire, and sparkling in long reaches under a brilliant sun it seemed the most beautiful as it is one of the most sacred of Himalayan rivers. rock, forest of Ber,’’ point to the same fact: but as no Zizyphus could exist in that climate (they scarce reach Almorah), the spiny tree, Hippophae salicifolia, may be intended: or the name has been altered from Bhudr ; ‘‘ Happiness, prosperity, Mt. Merco.’’ I once suggested these difficulties, with my own solutions, to a brahmun who had visited the spot. He honestly avowed, that so far from Ber trees growing there, there were, as far as he saw, no trees or bushes of any kind ; but with an orthodoxy worthy of a better cause, he insisted that the genuine Ber must be there, since the Poorans said so, to doubt which would be Nastikee (Atheism). The deceivers have merged into the deceived ! ¥847.] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 237 The rock between Bagesur and Kupkot is almost exclusively lime- stone, here as elsewhere, forming the most bold and varied scenery : and bearing a most exuberant forest, festooned with imnumerable climbers. A gradual change may be perceived in the nature of the plants, and as we approached Kupkot, the Origanum and white thorn, Crategus crenulata, “Geengaroo,”’ indicated a less tropical climate. Lower down the dwarf date tree springs from every cliff. The tejpat, Cinnamomum albiflorum, called kirkiria, abounds in the shady glens. The Didymocarpus macrophylla, Loxotis obliqua, &c. cover the drip- ping rocks; a flesh-colored Argyreia, and the Cucumis Hardwickii «air-aloo,” climb over the bushes, with Tricosanthes palmata, “« Indra- yun,” and its brilliant-red, but fetid fruit. Coix lacryma, ‘ Loochoo- sha,” “ Job’s Tears,” grows by every stream, and in several places I observed the Aiginetia indica. The pretty lilac Osbeckia angustifolia is very abundant amongst the grass, and Clerodendron serrata, ternifolia, and grata, amongst the thickets, as is the “‘ Poee,’ Boehmeria tenacis- sima. The splendid Abelmoschus pungens, grows in abundance on the damp shaded slopes; it is called “‘Hou’ or ‘‘ Kupusya ;” the fibres afford a good cordage. The more common trees are the Photinia and Quercus anuulata, Kydia calycina, ‘‘ Puta,’’ Ehretia serrata, ‘‘ Poonya,”’ Dalbergia Ougeinsis, “‘ Sanun,” Terminalia bellerica, «‘ Byhura,” Grislea tomentosa, ‘‘Dhaee,’’ Flemingia semi-alata, Wendlandia cinerea, Callicarpa macrophylla, ‘‘ Ghiwalee,” Saurauja Nepalensis, ‘‘ Gogunda,”’ Engelhardtia Colebrookiana, ‘“ Moua,”’ Bauhinia variegata, ‘‘ Kweiral,”’ and Bauhinia retusa, Roxb., “ Kandla,” this last beiag identical with B. emarginata of Royle. Lastly comes a most abundant shrub of the Euphorbiace, a species of Sapium apparently, called ‘ Phootkia”’ by the natives, who occasionally employ the root as a cathartic, but de- seribe its effect as dangerously violent. It grows from 4 to 10 feet high, with tender green foliage, which has, on being crushed, a dis- agreeably sour odour ; like all or most of the plants just mentioned, it accompanied us to our highest point in the valley of the Surjoo. At Kupkot I first (on our return) met the Silung tree in flower; the trees quite covered with the small light yellow blossoms of the most exquisite fragrance, which is diffused (with the least wind) several hundred yards, the mountaineers say a kros. It grows to be a large umbrageous tree, and appears to be the Olea grata of Wallich. In this 2. K 238 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcn, province it is commonly found near the temples and on the mountain passes, called Benaiks, where a few stones are piled and rags tied up in honor of the Deotahs. It is most likely the tree called Olea fra- grans in the Darjeeling Guide: no notice of it occurs in Dr. Royle’s illustrations. Kupkot is the first village in the pergunnah of Danpoor, which includes the remainder of our route; as comprising Nunda Devee, the loftiest mountain on the globe hitherto accurately measured ; it would probably now have occupied the niche in the Temple of Fame filled by Santa Fe de Bogota, Popayan, &c. had Humboldt carried into effect his plan of investigating the Natural History and structure of the Himalaya. That his attention was diverted to the Andes must ever form the subject of regret to the Anglo-Indian. September 14th.—To Sooring or Sring, 11 miles in 54 hours, includ- ing much delay in passing above and through a spot where a great landslip of white talcose calcareous slate, due to the late rains, had annihilated the road, and nearly obstructed any further advance. Except at this spot, the rock on this day’s route consisted chiefly of the usual stratified limestone, forming many abrupt brows and lofty walls, and sometimes contracting the Surjoo to a few yards in breadth. The river is now reduced to a mere torrent, and from Sooring appears, at a profound depth, a narrow streak of foam. Its source is on the south face of a huge spur from the eastern precipitous shoulder of **Nunda Kot;” this spur forks to south-west and south-east ; the south-west range separating the valley of the Surjoo from that of the Pindur. At this fork there is not a vestige of snow in September and October. Our path kept to the right bank of the river, with much more ascent and descent than heretofore. In one place a cliff is passed by scaffolding, with the Surjoo perpendicular beneath, altogether somewhat difficult for ponies (which are of little or no use beyond. Sooring to a good pedestrian), and rather trying to nerves which have not been case-hardened in Kanawar and the Bhoteeah pergunnahs. Four streams large enough to require bridges, occur in to-day’s march, besides an infinity of rivulets, often converting the road into a swamp, where the leeches were most numerous and voracious. I picked 16 off my feet at once, and found the bites not a little venomous ; it moreover 1847.} Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 239 requires all one’s resolution not to scratch them, as in that case they are apt to form bad sores. The only security against these pests con- sists in soaking the stockings in brine ; but where one wades for miles through “fresh-water formations” the salt is soon washed away. The idea prevails in the mountains that these leeches possess the power of. springing on their prey: this requires verification, but is not altogether improbable. It is only too certain that by getting into the nostrils of sheep, goats, ponies, &c. they do much mischief by keeping them lean and unhealthy. We also found the small round fly or gnat very trou- blesome here: they give no fair notice of their approach as does the mosquito, and inflict a very irritating bite, for which death is a poor revenge. About three miles above Kupkot, there is a good Sanga bridge of two planks, 66 feet long, across the Surjoo, leading to Moongsharee, Milum, and the Oonta Dhoora Pass. The river here receives a large affluent on each bank. At one and half miles from Sooring, the path quits it, and mounting 800 or 1000 feet, we found ourselves at our camp with, as at Kupkot, a number of convenient sheds for the servants and coolies,a most welcome piece of hospitality confined, I think, to Kumaoon, but well worthy of introduction elsewhere. Our camp occupies an open spot above Sooring, and below a village called Lohagaon. As water boils at 200°, the elevation is somewhere near 6,700 feet above the sea. A colony of agricultural Bhoteeahs is established in the mountains, which rise steeply above this to the west; unlike the rest of their race, they never quit their villages, and had never even descended to Bagesur they told us. ‘The world forgetting, by the world forgot,” their talk is of bullocks and bears ; their only visiter is the tax-gatherer, who ferrets out the most determined hermit ; but in this respect the burden of the Kumaoonees is light. The scenery across the Surjoo is fine. The Lahour ka Dhoora, so named from a village visible to the north-east rather higher than Sooring, is bold, lofty, green, and wooded to the summit ; it extends from north to south, and beyond it is the valley of the Ramgunga. From two pe. m. we had smart showers for a couple of hours, with a drizzling cloudy afternoon, and more rain at night. It is wonderful how a little experience in Himalayan meteorology opens the understanding with regard to certain doctrines of Hindu Theology: e. g. Vishnu sleeps 2 & 240 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. {[Marcu, on the serpent Sesha durmg the rainy season; but the shastras which affirm the fact, omit the reason; this can be no other than that the earth is concealed from the skies by so dense a canopy of clouds that even the Lotus-eyed himself cannot pierce it; and hence, unable any longer to observe and preserve his very peculiar people of India, he even goes to sleep like Baal of old, letting every man go to the devil his own way. So also it would appear that their representations of Kylas, Bykunth, Uluka, and Soomeroo, glittering with gold and precious stones, are derived from the glorious tints which light up the Hemakoot, or “ Peaks of Gold,” when “the god of gladness sheds his parting ray” on its snows; aided perhaps by the reality that gold, roek-erystal, &c. are found there, especially near the sacred Lakes of Mansorowur, the neighbourhood of which is now ascertained by Mr. Strachey aetually to originate four great rivers, flowing to the eardinal pomts, viz. the Sanpoo, east; Sutluj, west ; Indus, north, and Gogra, (Kurnalee) south. i Lastly, the shastras affirm that the Ganges, &c. fall from heaven, and, just touching the erests of the Himalaya, flows along the earth: a representation not so utterly ridiculous to those who have seen the sourees of these rivers: chiefly fed by innumerable cascades, pouring down their sheets of water from the unseen plateaux above the glens. But enough of Hindoo Geography ! I made some inquiries here concerning the Ma-murree, a very deadly fever, which annually devastates whole villages in north-west Kumaoom and south-east Gurhwal, but though the reverse is believed at Almorah, could not hear that it had ever penetrated to any place in our line of route. It is chiefly prevalent in the hot season, and is accompanied by buboes under the ears and armpits, and on the groin, exactly as in the plague ; attacking for the most part the population clad in woollens,. and unquestionably originating in the extreme filthiness of their per- sons and villages. The disease is mentioned as a typhus fever in Mr. Traill’s report ; and has lately excited a more lively interest from its having last season approached within 14 kros.of Almorah, and ineluded: the cotton-weavers amongst its victims. Such is the consternation caused by its appearance, that the village is immediately deserted, and the patient left to shift for himself, which, considering the Sangrado simplicity of native prescriptions, such as violets m cholera, &e, may ad 1847.| Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 241 perchance deduct little from the otherwise small hope of recovery. The rank cultivation of hemp close to the doors of the houses, may very likely be connected with the origin of this pestilence, which should be investigated. As to goitre (gega) the people of Kumaoon appear less afflicted by it than those of Bissahur, and amongst the Bhoteeahs it appears to be unknown; a fact, if it be one, strongly corroborative of the opinion now received in Switzerland, that it has nothing to do with snow or other water, but is induced by the infected air of close valleys liable to abrupt transitions from heat to cold, a removal from which is often followed by cure. The people of Kumaoon employ a remedy, sold in the Almorah bazar, and called Gelur-ka-puta; on procuring a bit of this, and steeping it in warm water, it speedily developed into an unmistakeable fucus or sea weed; a fact on which Dr. Royle (Illustrations, p. 442,) expresses some doubt, and desires information. All that the druggists of Almorah know is that it comes from the west, and is taken internally. It may be assumed as an illustration of the small intercourse between England and Switzerland (at all events, its interior), in the age of Shakspeare, that the poet makes Gonzalo ask in the Tempest—“< When we were boys, who would believe that there were mountaineers, dewlapp’d like bulls, whose throats had hanging at them wallets of flesh ?”’ and then proceed to adduce as equally authentic, the ‘‘men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders ;’’ not yet discovered. The vegetation between Kupkot and the base of the Soormg Hill, though less luxuriant than yesterday’s route, exhibited most of the same forms, but as we rose, the Anemone vitifolia, Berberis lycium, ** Kilmora,”’ Erythrina arborescens, (coral-bush,) ‘‘ Roongura,”’ and latterly the Parochetus communis and Quercus incana, become the substance of things hoped for in the way of a better climate. In Don’s Prodromus we find this last tree, the ‘‘ Banj,”’ (Ban of Simlah,) con- founded with the Reeanj, or Quercus lanuginosa, which is very dis- tinct, the latter, common on the Ghagur range, is unnoticed by Dr. Royle, as well as the Quercus annulata, common everywhere. Another plant common along the Surjoo to-day was the Aichmanthesa gossy- pina, abundant also on the hills between Bheemtal and Mulooa Tal, and very remarkable for the dense, thick, and pure white coat of tomentum which invests the branches and stem; it is called “ Jounde- ~ 242 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, 99 la.”’ Bees are said to be particularly fond of the honey afforded by the flowers, and to make it in large quantities when these are most plenti- ful. Onthe sunniest quartz rocks above Sooring, the Vitis macro- phylla? creeps along with its stems 5 or 6 feet long, and great cordate leaves from 18 to 20 inches each way. The people call it ‘ Umlee,”’ “ Assonjee,”’ and eat the fruit in November : it is not uncommon near Almorah, and Dr. Royle mentions it as climbing over trees at Mussoo- ree ; where, however, I never saw it ; nor if this be his macrophylla as it should be, has it at all a climbing habit. September 15th.—To Khatee, 123} miles, over the Dhakree (or Thakooree) Benaik. There is a bitter proverb that if you want to know the value of money, try to borrow some ; so to realize the height of these mountains, you must walk up one of them. Such an experience will also go far to reclaim one from the intellectual system of the most honest, able, and amiable of bishops since Synesius, Berkeley, who endeavours to reason us out of our senses, and persuade us that all which we see, hear, feel, touch, and taste has really no external exist- ence—all that we perceive being only ideal—and existing therefore only in the mind. The brain itself, as a sensible thing, exists only in the mind, and not the mind in the brain, as the materialists vainly allege: if full of such sublimated cobwebs, one commences such an ascent as to-day’s, he speedily begins to waver ; what, have all these rocks, forests, torrents, snows, this “‘ brave o’erhanging firmament’’—“ im- mense, beautiful, glorious beyond expression, and beyond thought ;” and still more, these wearied legs and craving stomach, no absolute being ? If so, it is quite surprising how these two latter ideas are burnished and stimulated by other ideas, such as an easy chair and a pleasant glass of ale. The higher we mount into the atmosphere, the lower we fall in the region of metaphysics; and on the summit of the mountain will generally in practice be found pure materialists, adopting with full conviction the moral enjoined in the apologue of Menenius Agrippa. We left Sooring at 6: 20, aud reached Tantee, a chalet, about 200 feet below the Dhakree Benaik Pass, at 10: 10. Here we breakfasted. Water boils at about 1923°, giving the elevation about 10,700 feet, and the actual ascent 3000, not half what one has to climb on many other routes. The path rises at once from Sooring, and is in parts very steep and rocky, interspersed with occasional undulating meadows, The 1847 J Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 243 streams passed are inconsiderable, but a large one, rising between the pass, and the Chilt ka Dunda flows down the spacious wooded glen on the right hand towards the Surjoo, and in one spot forms a fine water- fall. The limestone rock ceases at Sooring, and is replaced by quartzose rocks, and finally by gneiss. The views across the Surjoo are very grand, and from the pass we enjoyed, not to-day, but on our return, ~ a near and magnificent, though contracted prospect of the snowy range : —extending from the Nunda Kot Peak on the east to Mauntolee ka Dhoora (Trisool) on the west. The eastern peak of the Trisool (No. XIII. of the map) faces the west in a great bluff (which our guides affirmed to be Nunda Devee), from which a long easy ridge, presenting to us an unbroken sheet of snow, slopes down to the east, connecting the Trisool with the Nunda Devee cluster. Strange to say that here, within 20 miles of the two great rocky peaks of this cluster, and elevated 10,800 feet, they are invisible, being concealed by the two beautiful pinnacles of pure snow, which from Almorah, &c. are seen to be merely the abrupt terminations of two immense spurs, the eastern- most of which, apparently with a large Loggan stone on its summit, is there known as Nunda-khat, ‘“‘ Devee’s bed.” From this point of view it rises into so fine and lofty a spire that our ignorant guides insisted it was the Darcoola (Panch-choola). In the hollow between the Trisool and Nunda groups rises the Soondur-Doongee or Redinga river, which flowing nearly south down a narrow and most profound glen, joins the Pindur a little above Wachum, affording probably the best and easiest route to the traveller desirous of penetrating to the core of the Nunda Devee mass. This stream, we were assured, has its source in a glacier like that at Pindree. East of Nunda Devee, ina deep colis “ Traill’s Pass” supposed by him to be 20,000 feet high, leading NoBopy to Milum; its eastern portal formed by the N. W. shoulder of ‘‘ Nunda Kot’’—which mountain closes the view in a colossal rectangular summit of pure snow, with the glen of the Pindur easily made out. The line of perpetual or at all events of unmelted snow, was very well defined along the whole extent of the range, certainly 2000 feet below the crest of Traill’s Pass. It is unfortunate for the hurried tourist that to the east of the Dhakree Benaik the range gradually rises, and three or four miles distant, in the Chilt ka Dunda, a bluff woody summit with a temple to Devee, 244 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcn, attains full a thousand feet additional elevation, completely excluding the Panch-choola, &c. from the prospect. To reach this point which probably commands the loftiest peaks of Nunda Devee, would require a whole day, which we could not spare. The path is very practicable according to Puharee logic—‘ our goats traverse it,’ a consolation we received more than once. On the whole, I would say, let no one who has no other object, fash himself by coming so far to look at the snowy range. Partial masses are indisputably very grand, but far finer in my opinion is the main line, stretching from Jumnoo tree far down into Nepal, as we see it from Binsur and the loftier points of the Ghagur—always indeed, excepting one snowy range seen from another ; e. g. the Ruldung group from the Roopia Pass. We remained nearly two hours at Tantee and then continued our march leisurely towards Khathee, where we arrived at four p. Mm. and found Messrs. Ellis and Corbett encamped, employed in bear-shooting, after a very pluviose visit to the glacier above. ‘The Mohroo (Tilunga) and Kurshoo oaks are abundant on the eastern exposure of the Dhak- ree Benaik, but no pines. The descent on the western side is rapid, first through Kurshoo, which soon becomes blended with abundance of Pindrow (Ragha) fir, forming boundless forests on this fine range. Below these, we passed down, through luxuriant meadows, nearly to the Pindur, opposite to a large village, Wachum. Here a path strikes off to our left to Chirmg; and when passable, which it is not now, enables one to vary the return route to Almorah. This long, but in general not very steep descent, led us toa torrent, from which the road again ascends considerably towards Khathee, three miles or so further, the road lying amongst horse-chestnut, Maple, Sumach, mountain Bamboo, Banj, &c. Mohroo oak, Hornbeam, (Carpinus, “Geesh,’”’) Ash, &c. The last hour we walked under a heavy fall of rain, which continued drizzling more or less all night. Khathee has no permanent village, and at best only a few miserable sheds ; the only cultivation half a dozen fields of Chooa, (Amaranthus anardana ;) supplies must be obtained from Soopee, six kros distant, on the upper Surjoo, a flourishing village, under the Putwaree Mulkoo. This gentleman forwarded none till the afternoon of the 16th, which compelled us to rest here for a day. Khathee consists of some beautiful, open, and swelling lawns, closely 1847.| Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 245 hemmed in by exceedingly steep and lofty mountains, either covered with grass or enveloped in dark forest. On the N. W., about 300 feet below, the Pindur roars along its narrow gully, up which, whenever the clouds cleared a little, several high snowy and black rocky peaks of the great range appeared close at hand. Water boiled at 1953°, making the elevation about 9,000 feet; but as the thermometer gave the same result at Diwalee, 10 miles up the valley, and certainly 500 feet higher, 8,500 feet is perhaps the true height of Khathee. The place is a per- fect bear-garden ; we had not been an hour in camp, before one appeared on the opposite bank of the river, feeding quietly on the locusts. Messrs. Ellis and Corbett have seen half a dozen daily, and on the afternoon of the 16th bagged one of them about half a mile from camp. The mountaineers hold them in great dread and are unanimous in asserting that they not only devour sheep and goats, but even their own species when found dead. They are very fond of the mountain Ash, or Rowan fruit. The species found here is the common black bear, called indifferent- ly Bhaloo and Reech, terms which Mr. Ogilvy (in Royle’s Ilustrations) is inclined to think mark two kinds. The argus and other pheasants are also common in the woods. The vegetation on our route this day, and about Khathee, is wholly different from that which we have just parted from in the valley of the Surjoo. About 500 feet above Sooring, the Hemiphragma heterophyl- la began to show itself, scarcely as long as its own name; its godfather was fond of such, and Don observes justly of another of his appellations “Nomen Spermadictyonis nimis auris terribile est servandum.”’ My friend Pilgrim was not so far out, botanically at least, when he compar- ed the Nynee Tal mountains to the Himalaya. On Cheena we find the Kurshoo oak, (Quercus Semicarpifolius,) and on the flat summit of the mountain, this very Hemiphragma; lower down the Pyrus baccata is common by streams, as it is about Khathee and in the Beans coun- try, everywhere under the same name, Bun-mehul, or wild pear. . As we advance to the S. E. in these mountains, the various plants, &c. seem not only to occur at lower elevations, but to approach the plains more and more, tillin Assam, some of them descend to the valley. Iu the mountains of Busehur, this Hemiphragma is scarce found under 10,000 feet; here it is common at 8,000. Primula denticulata and 2 L 246 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, Quercus dilatata, both comparatively rare at Simlah, abound on the crest of the Nynee Tal range almost overhanging the plains at the foot of these hills, reaching to Kalaputhur. We find the Bengal Mudar, Calotropis gigantea, both the purple and white varieties, in profusion ; while, as Dr. Royle observes, the C. Hamiltonii only is found to the N. W. It is curious to mark the exact line of demarcation between different species: the Tree ferns reach to Burmdeo, where the Kalee leaves the hills; Ilex excelsa, unknown in Gurhwal and Sirmoor, is common in Kumaoon, where also I lately found many plants of the Chameerops Martiana on the Ghagur range, two or three miles S. E. of the Ramgurh bungalow, at about 5,500 feet elevation. The Thakil, a mountain 8,000 feet high, near Petorahgurh, takes its name from this palm. On the Ghagur, Binsur, &c. we also meet as a timber tree, a Michelia, perhaps the Kisopa of Nepal, and in the Dikkolee and Bhu- mouree Passes, Didymocarpus aromatica, called ‘“ Puthur-loung” “Rock-clove,” by the natives. But, probably owing toa milder ora damper climate, not only do plants grow lower down, but also much higher up, in Kumaoon than to the N. W. Thus the Rhododendron arboreum (Boorans), and Andromeda ovalifolia (Uyar), which in Bu- sehur we lose at about 8,500 feet, flourishes in the valleys of the Pindur and Goree fully 2,000 feet higher, reaching the lowest limit of Rhodo- dendron campanulatum, and flowering till June. On the west side of the Dhakree Benaik we first meet the Rhododendron barbatum, about the same size as the latter, or rather larger, and known by the same name ‘ Chimool ;” itis common above Diwalee. Here also occur Pyrus lanata, ‘‘ Gulion,”’ crenata, ‘‘ Moul, or Moulee,”’ and foliolosa, “ Sulia, or Hulia ;”’ the “ Moulee’’ is now ripe, and, though small, is the sweetest wild fruit I know of. At about 7,500 feet, on the eastern side of the mountain, a procumbent species of raspberry, perhaps the Rubus foliolosus of Don, made its appearance, and gradually became more abundant, covering every rock, bank, fallen tree, &c. and reaching up to within three or four miles of the Pindur glacier. It has large white flowers and excellent orange fruit, here called “‘ Gungoor ;” the Sinjung of Beans. Should this be identical with the ‘“ Ground Raspberry” of Darjeeling, it affords another instance of the approach of species to the plains as they extend S. E. along the Pindur above Khathee. Another Rubus, the rugosus of Don, grows to bea large and very handsome shrub, 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 247 affording copious panicles of large and excellent blackberries. R. con- color is found above Diwalee. The Viburnum nervosum and cotinifo- lium, ‘‘ Ginnia’”’ and ‘‘ Gweea,’’ Millingtonia dillenifolia, ‘“‘Gwep,”’ Coto- neaster affinis, ‘‘ Rous or Reooush,”’ with black, not bright red fruit, which Loudon gives it in the Arboretum, a smaller shrub, with fruit of this color, is common, and is called ‘ Koocus,’ the C. acuminata? the Elceagnus arborea, ‘‘ Gheewaee ;” the Kadsura granditlora, “ Sillunghe- tee,’ Panax decomposita, Sabia campanulata, Rhus Teeturee, Fraxinus floribunda, ‘‘ Ungou,”’ the finest I have met, Acer villosum and cultratum, the Alder, Alnus obtusifolia, ‘‘ OQoteesh,’’ Cornus macrophylla, ‘ Ru- chia,” Betula cylindrostachya, ‘‘ Haour,” or “ Shaoul ;” and several more trees and shrubs, abound on the mountains of Khathee: with the plants Gaultheria nummularioides, ‘‘ Bhaloo-bor,’’ Anemone discolor, ‘ Kuk- reea,” Parnassia nubicola, Strobilanthes Wallichii, Euphrasia officinalis, Geranium Wallichianum, Veronica chameedrys or Teucrium, Halenia el- liptica, Pedicularis megalantha, Sibbaldia procumbens, the beautiful club moss, Lycopodium subulatum, “Toola-mooka,” 6 to 10 feet long, Roscoea spicata, Hedychium spicatum, Spiranthes ameena, &c. &e. The Poeonia Emodi abounds in the woods and glades here and higher up, and has as often two carpels as one; the natives call it “ Bhooniya madeen,”’ (‘‘ Yet-ghas” of the Bhoteeahs,) to distinguish it from the “Bhooniya nur,” Lilium giganteum, common in the forests along the Pindur ; these being considered the male and female of one species ; a very humble approximation to the Linnzean system! Among the bushes opposite to Wachum there is abundance of a twining campanulate plant called “ Gol-ghunna,’’* with large greenish yellow and purplish blos- soms, which, as well as the capsules, are eaten by the inhabitants ; it is a species of Wahlenbergia or Codonopsis. September 17th.—After rain all night, and fresh snow on the moun- tains above us, we left Khathee at 10} a. m. and reached Diwalee, about 10 miles distant, in four and quarter hours. A drizzling rain fell nearly the whole way, rendered doubly disagreeable by the dripping of the thick forest, and especially the luxuriant and most abundant Nigala bamboo, * All these words are spelt according to Dr. Gilchrist’s system nearly, which seems best adapted to the English reader; one must protest, however, against its being introduced into names intended for Latin, where wu for a, and wo for au are horribly barbarous, 7% 2 248 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Maren, (Arundimaria faleata,) which, from 20 to 30 feet high, overhangs the path in the most graceful but to-day unwelcome clumps ; it reaches up within a few miles of the glacier, and is also common on the western face of the Dhakree Benaik ; it.is very generally in seed, now ripe and ripening. The mountaineers assert that this only takes place every twelve years (a suspicious period), and that then the plant dies. They are certainly so far borne out in this that all the fruit-bearing specimens do seem fading away, and that for several years past I have in vain tried to procure the seed. The Nigala is of mfinite use to them for mats, baskets, &c. some of which are very neatly and strongly made. Our route lay first on the left, then for a short distance on the right, and finally returned to the left bank of the Pindur, keeping nearly its level, with the exception of a few short but steep ascents and descents ; the two bridges good. The scenery is of the sublimest desecription— the valley somewhat of the character of the upper Roopin, except that it is much more narrow, the mountains rising like walls to a vast height on each side, broken into great buttresses, and universally invested with the densest forest. Three or four beautiful cascades poured down their boiling water from the woody heights, their volume doubly aug- mented by the late and present rain, but one can scarce appreciate the beauty of these things when wet and hungry, and all around with faces expressive of despair. The last of these falls, nearly in front of Diwalee, pours down amongst the ledges of slate rock from a maidan or table-land, which must reach up close to Nunda Devee, and is a favorite beat of the Shikarees. Thar, (wild goat,) moonal, argus, phea- sant, &c. being in great numbers. Diwalee, perhaps named from the wall-like cliffs of the Pindur just above, stands in the angle where that river receives on its left bank the Kushmee or Kuphinee river, a stream as large and turbulent as itself, rismg im the south-east recesses of Nunda Kot mountain. Their waters are of a dirty milk colour, and the bed of the combined stream is obstructed by some great boulders, against which the waters dash at the pas de charge. We found a good spot for our tents in the angle between the river; above this are several successive terraces, all well adapted for the same purpose, shaded by yew and sycamore trees, but the forest soon terminates upwards in the great bluff snowy spur which separates the rivers. The left or south bank of the Kuphinee is formed by the “ Kotela’ mountain, the 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 249 summit of which, far above the forest region, commands the Pindur from this to its source, and communicates by a goat-path with the Dhakree Benaik. . We were accompanied here from Khathee by Ram Singh, the accre- dited guide to the glacier ; an athletic mountaineer of Soopee, with the limbs of Hercules and the head of Socrates, but scarcely his honesty : this last quality having been perhaps sullied by a three years’ abode at Almorah ; we found him however, with some disposition to make the best of them, very useful in our subsequent difficulties, and ultimately parted well pleased with each other. The trees, &c. on the route to-day include all those near Khathee, except the Banjoak ; to these may be added the Elm, Ulmus erosa? « Chumburmaya,” of great dimensions ; Juglans regia, “‘ Akor,” Cerasus cornuta, “ Jamuna,” Spireea Lindleyana, Leycesteria formosa, ‘‘ Kul- nulia,” Hippophae salicifolia, ‘‘ Dhoor-chook,” the ‘ Turwa-chook”’ of the Bhoteeahs, in abundance all along the banks of the river from Dewalee to Khathee. Ampelopsis Himalayana, “ Chehpara,” the climb- ing and the arborescent Hydrangea, the latter called “‘ Bhoo-chutta’” and ** Bhoojhetta,”’ the hazel, ““ Bhoteeah-budam,”’ and “ Kapasee,” Corylus lacera, Piptanthus Nepalensis, ‘‘Shulgurree,” on which the Thar is said to feed in preference: Ribes glaciale and acuminata, black and red currants, ‘‘ Kokulia ;” Berberis Wallichii, and the only fir, Picea Pindrow. Picea Webbiana is pretty common above Diwalee ; both known as “ Ragha;’’ but not a vestige of Pinus excelsa (which how- ever, Mr. H. Strachy found common in Beans) nor of Abcis Smithiana, which from Captain Raper’s account, is not to be met on this side of Joseemuth. There is a thick undergrowth with the above, of Strobilan- thes, Balsams, Rubus, Cucumis Himalensis, Cuscuta verrucosa, Poly- gonum runcinatum, molle, and others. Oxyria elatior, Tricholepis nigricans (Edgeworth), Senecio nigricans, alata, canescens, and chry- santhemifolia ; Aster ferrugineus (Edgeworth), a shrub which also occurs in Kunawur, Aster alpina, Inula Royleana (Aster inuloides of Don), Jussilago, very abundant on rubble, &c. Doubtless these form but a moiety of the vegetable riches of this region, which I could only partially examine from under the auspices of an umbrella. On arrival at Diwalee we seized the opportunity of a partial cessation of the rain to pitch our tents; but it soon recommenced, and continued 250 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. {Marcu, to fall from this time for no less than 75 hours without a break! This deluge came from the east, and prevailed over all Kumaoon, and no doubt much farther ; it made us prisoners in our narrow tent till 5 p. Mm. on the 20th, when the clouds cleared away before a west wind. During this period, the smallest rivulets became unfordable, and the Pindur and Kuphinee were swollen into the most turbulent, turbid and ungovern- able torrents. Up near its source I afterwards observed that the for- mer had risen from 15 to 20 feet, and lower down where the bed is more contracted, and had received countless accessions, it was probably double this ; accordingly at 2 p. M. on the 20th we were not surprised by a shout from our people that the Kuphinee bridge was swept away ; and ina few hours, our worst fears were confirmed that both bridges over the Pindur had shared the same fate, after standing uninjured for the last 4 or 5 years. This Ram Singh was pleased to call “ burra tum- asha,” but it was death to some of us, and would have placed us in a most serious dilemma as to provisions, had not a flock of sheep and goats, returning from the summer pastures, been fortunately arrested in the same spot as ourselves, utterly cut off from any escape to the south by two savage rivers, and with no means of advance to the north except over the hopeless pass to Milum, barely practicable in the best weather. It was an unlucky emergency for the flock, as during our imprisonment in this slough of despair, we and our followers ate six, and the bears seven of them. The destruction of the bridges isolated our party in three distinct groups: one in the peninsula, a second on the left bank of the Kuphinee, while the third, driven thence on the night of the 18th by the waters invading their oodiyar or cave, had crossed to the right bank of the Pindur, and taken up their residence in a cave between the two bridges. These, when the bridges went, were intercepted from all aid; those across the Kuphinee were sup- ported by “ fids” of mutton and goat flesh, which we flung over; but without salt or flour; this food disagreed much with all our people, and when supplies reached us, it was curious to observe how every one eagerly demanded salt. On the 21st, the eight men across the Pindur, contrived to clamber down the right bank, till ata spot about two miles short of Khathee, they found a place where its force was somewhat diminished by the current being divided into three streams: these, four of them determined to cross, and had actually got over two, but . 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 2m the third and last separated them, and three of the unfortunates were instantly carried off and drowned ; the fourth, a very strong swimmer, reached the bank, but was so bruised and chilled, the water being at 42°, that he could not lay hold of the rocks, and was rapidly drifting after his luckless companions, when Messrs. Hort and Powys, ignorant of the fate of the bridges, came to the spot at this critical moment, on their way to Khathee, and dragged him out. Mr. Hort might have addressed him in the words of Pythagoras, O Genus attonitum—gelide formidine mortis, Quid Stygias, quid tenebras, quid nomina vana timetis ; Materiem vatis, falsique pericula mundi? but he did much better: he clothed him, and restored the circulation by brandy, and had him carried back to Khathee. For having his life saved by this unlawful medicine, the poor man soon become an outcast, and it required all my persua- sion, and not a few menaces, to induce his accusers to make the amende, on our return to Khathee ; this was only accomplished by the chief of them publicly drinking water from his hands, which was not done without much hesitation and many a grimace. September 21st was a glorious day, and was passed in various devices to throw a plank over the Kuphinee, to expediate Ram Singh to Khathee, to which, once over this torrent he said there was a track passable for goats and Danpoorees, but all our inventions and exertions failed for want of a felling axe and some thirty yards of strong rope, without which no one should intrude into these regions ; during the course of the next day, however, we received a communi- cation from our friends below, with some supplies ; and what was better a detachment of the bold Soopee men appeared on the other bank of the Kuphinee, and with some assistance on our side, soon laid a tree or two over that stream, which by noon on the 23rd were so secured and planked as to be passable to ws ; and our coolies being so starved and paralyzed as to be utterly useless, we sent them all back to Khathee. By the 24th the upper Pindur bridge was partially restored, but as there appeared no probability of the lower one being completed for some days, I determined to make a push for the glacier. We had smart rain from 2 till 6 ep. m. on the 23rd. The Pindur river, about 60 feet below us, was invisible from our tent during our “close arrest ;” not so the Kuphinee, which, though actually as far down, was right before us, and bounding down its inclined bed at such 252 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, an angle as to threaten us with apparent destruction. So great was their combined roaring that all conversation was kept up by shouting, and with the party over the water by gesticulations only. At night, one could not help fancying one’s self on board a colossal steamer, with the thunder of the machinery and the mcessant plash of the paddles deafening one ; but there all is guided by skill and design : here the wild war of the elements seemed to terminate in destruction merely. They afforded a fine study for the action and resistless force of large bodies of water in motion down steep planes. Everywhere the lateral torrents had heaped up on each of their banks enormous bunds of mud, gravel, and huge rocks. When we passed, the waters of course had greatly subsided, and perhaps in their utmost force could never move such blocks; these must be owing to the landslips and great debacles of mud, in which the specific gravity of the stones is reduced almost to nothing. When subsequent rains have washed away the mud, there remain those immense couleés of rocks so prevalent along the mountain slopes as we approach the Himalaya. September 24th.—With Ram Singh as guide, one of my own follow- ers who wished to see the glacier, two Danpoor coolies, tea apparatus, and a column of ready-made chupatees, I started at 10: 20 a. m. for Dooglee, and reached at 1 p. mM. distance about five miles. The rise is gradual but continuous, and except near Diwalee, though the road was much cut up by the innumerable torrents and rivulets still rush- ing across it, I did not experience much difficulty ; there, one or two formidable landslips had fallen, which compelled us to rise and get round them—not very pleasant work, when all was still tottering. The “* still-vexed”’ Pindur raves close on the left hand during the route, and at about two miles from Diwalee becomes most savage, leaping down its rocky bed and among the birch-covered boulders in a series of the most Cambrian rapids and cataracts. It flows from 150 to 200 feet below Dooglee, whence, and indeed from the glacier, its course to- wards Diwalee, is nearly straight, and due south. At about one mile from the latter place, there is, across the Pindur, a very fine waterfall : and higher up, on the same side, where the crags fall precipitously to the river, three or four more, all equally beautiful, fed by the snows, and trembling over the bleak bare rock above the line of vegetation in copious sheets of spray. On the left bank the cliffs and shivered pin- 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. Zoe nacles are more remote, and rise from a tract of undulating ground strewed with great rocks and covered with forest and brushwood. At two miles from Diwalee passed a hut and grazing ground, called Toon Paehurree, a little to the east of which a superb cascade falls from the heights in three distinct leaps. One advantage of the late rain and snow is that these falls are now in perfection. Approaching Dooglee the glen becomes very narrow, and the wild erags and bluffs above the forest across the river, now mantled in an unbroken sheet of snow, are but a few hundred yards distant! The accommodation provided here by nature for the wayfarer consists of a most enormous mass of mica-slate, a little above the road to the east : its western face projects gradually so much as to afford a tolerable shelter in the worst weather, as I had soon an opportunity of testing; for the heavy clouds drifting up the valley turned to rain at 3 Pp. M., which continued for an hour and a half; but though it was bitterly cold, the Oodiyar remained waterproof. Several similar rocks are grouped here and there in the vicinity, on which the spreading Juniper grows freely : the site also bemg just at the highest verge of the forest, must be about 11,500 feet above the sea. The wild goat is said to be very numerous hereabouts: and I noticed several flocks of the ‘ Snow Pigeon ;” higher up, amongst the cliffs at Pimduree, the Chough is commen. ‘The vegetation towards Diwalee comprises the trees before specified, with Silver Fir (Picea Webbiana and Pindrow) ; Birch (Betula Bhojpatra), Rhododendron arboreum and barbatum, Maples, Jamuna Cherry, with coppice of Viburnum nervosum and cotinifolium, Rosa Webbiana and Sericea, “‘Sephula” of the Bhotiahs, Berberis brachys- tachys (Edgeworth,) Jasminum revolutum, Syringa Emodi (“ Gheea,’’) Lonicera obovata and Webbiana, several sallows, the red and the white fruited mountain-ash, Pyrus foliolosa, ‘‘ Sullia,” “‘ Hullia,”’ (the letters s and h are interchangeable here, as in Latin compared with Greek ;) and extensive thickets of Rhododendron campanulatum ; while the pas- tures and streams abound with alpine plants, such as Spireea Kamt- ehatkika, Cynoglossum uncinatum, ‘“ koora,” aplotaxis aurita, Carduns heteromallus (Don), ‘‘Sum-kuniou,” Swertia perfoliata, << Simuria,”’ Cyananthus lobata, Impatiens moschata and Gigantea (Edgeworth,) Rhodiola imbricata (ditto,) Saxifraga parnassieefolia, Caltha Himalen- sis, Elshottzia polystachya and Strobilifera, Podophyllum Emodi, Sal- 2m 254 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. (Marca, via Moorcroftiana? Delphium vestitum. At Dooglee, the Potentills atrosanguinea, ‘‘ Bhooi-kaphul’’ commences, and is common towards the glacier, and near the latter only, oecurs Aconitum heterophyllum ; “Utees ;”’ both plants being-common-on Muhasoo at Simlah, at about 8500 feet. Are these anomalies of the retreat of the alpine plants and the advance of the temperate ones, in these vallies, to be explained by the fact of their thorough exposure to the sun, from their nearly exact north and south direction? Amongst the rocks above Dooglee I found a shrub which the people called, from its bright red berries, ** Dhoor-bank,”’ mountain arum : the Triosteum Himalayanum, I believe ; and if so, the most north-west locality in which it has yet been found. Either from the hardness of my bed and “dampers,” or the wild sublimity of the scenery, and perpetual war of the cascades, “deep calling unto deep, at the noise of the waterfalls,”’ finding sleep impos- sible, I passed a good portion of the night in conversation with Ram- singh and his companions, and amongst other things endeavoured to eonvince them, but without much even apparent effect, of the propriety of eating beef; not all their deference and adulation could make them admit its innocence! and yet they are well skilled in the most ready flattery. When we first met Ramsingh, we asked him whether he had ever been to Budreenath, and his reply was—‘‘No! why should I? you are my Budreenath.” Enquiring now a little into his history and the affairs of his village, it soon became too evident that even in these sequestered glens—where one might expect to discover an Areadia—the very same bad passions are at work as im the nether world,— envy, hatred, malice, jealousy ; in short the complete “ Black Battalion” of human frailties and passions. If my informant spoke truth, Mulkoo, the Put- waree of Soopee, by the grossest oppression, had despoiled him of house,, lands, and flocks ; while, according to Mulkoo, Ramsingh, by engrossing the glacier as his peculiar property, robs Aim of his lawful quota of the rewards which accrue from the visiters. Truly of all ‘the fables of the ancients” that of the Golden age appears to be the most unnatural and incredible. ‘‘ Croyez-vous, dit Candide, que les hommes se soient tonjoars naturellement massacrés, comme ils font anjourd’hui; quils. aient tonjours été menteurs, fourbes, perfides, ingrats, brigands, foibles, volages, laches, envieux, gourmands, ivrognes, avares, ambitieux, sanguinaires, calomniateurs, débauchés, fanatiques, hypocrites, et sots ? 1847.] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 255 Croyez-vous, dit Martin, que les éperviers aient tonjours mangé des pigeons quand ils en ont trouvé? Oni, sans doute, dit Candide. Eh bien, dit Martin, si les éperviers out tonjours en le méme caractere, pourquoi voulez-vous que les hommes aient changé le leur?” My com- panions, however malicious, were intelligent enough, and listened eager- ly to my details of railways, steam-vessels, electric telegraphs, &c. the last a difficult matter to explain to them ; they were also very curious to know what the “‘Sahib-log’”’ did with the sacks and boxes of stones which they carry down to the plains with them! They must surely contain gold, silver, precious jewels, or very probably the Philosopher's stone, in the reality of which they implicitly believe, may be amongst. them! In the uses of plants they are more at home, but as to anything beyond tangible and present utility in the way of food or medicine, every man of them is another Jeremy Bentham. Ramsingh informed me that if the honey of the upper Himalaya be eaten fresh or unboiled, it produces continued intoxication, severe griping, &c. Can this be caused by the abundance of Rhododendrons, and the bees feeding on their flowers? The Ten Thousand in Pontus were apparently affected from this cause. September 25th.—Clear morning and the snows of Pindree in full view ahead, called two pukka kros, about four miles. Leaving Dooglee at 6 a. m. I reached the base of the glacier in two hours; the ascent very gradual, and for the most part over sloping lawns, bounded on the east by high crags, and covered with Geranium ,Wallichianum, Potentilla atrosanguinea and other species, Ligularia arnicoides, Morina longifolia, Primula glabra, Parochetus communis, Cyananthus, Saxifraga spinulosa, Polygonum Brunonis, and others, Sibbaldia procumbens, Ephedra Gerardiana, several species of Gentian and Pedicularis, &c. The only bushes beyond Dooglee are the Rhododendron campanulatum, Lo- nicera obovata, Willow, Birch, Rowan, all diminutive, and ceasing wholly about a mile short of the glacier, except the Juniper and the Cotoneaster microphylla, both of which flourish on its edges; the latter hardy little shrub seeming equally at home here as on the hottest banks at Al- morah. The west bank of the Pindur is precipitous for about two miles above Dooglee, where a Gopha or cave is pointed out, said in days of yore to have been tenanted by the Pandoo, Bheemsing, not, however, till after the manner of St. George and St. Patrick, he had 2M 2 256 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [ Marcu, expelled and slain certain dragons and serpents, the original eccupants.* Above this cave, the right bank also becomes undulating, and exhibits the trace of a road which formerly led to the glacier, till the bridge was carried away; the slopes there are covered with low thickets, probably of Rhododendron lepidotum, but the unfordable river for- bade all examination. In the north-west Himalaya, the passes, con- trary to the fact here, are all gained by the north-west banks of the streams ; here in general the eastern bank is most accessible. One circumstance remains constant, which is the comparatively level bed of the river below the glacier; from its source to the cave nearly, the Pindur flows along a wide channel, overspread with gravel and stones, the product doubtless of the glacier, which has no terminal moraine ; its waters are exceedingly turbid, and though diminished above by the dozens of cascades, which of all sizes, and at all distances, rush down from the snow, are quite impassable. The spot called Pinduree is rather an open, undulating piece of ground, covered with grass, docks, and the ubiquitous Shepherd’s Purse, in an amphitheatre of crags, with many snow-beds along their bases. Here I found the remnants of a hut, which supplied fuel, and at 10 a. m. started for the head of the glacier and the source of the Pindur (this last about 10 minutes’ walk distant, but visited last,) which took me exactly three hours to accomplish. From the breakfasting ground the ascent is rather steep, over rough, and oceasionalty pasture land, covered with Sibbaldia, Salix Lindleyana, alow shrubby astragalus, the yellow aromatic Tanacetum, the dwarf white Helichrysum, an Iris? a garlic-like allium, and two most abun- dant and beautifal blue Gentians. The glacier lay to the west, and be- tween us and it, rose a lofty moraine, along the hither or east base of which flows a considerable stream, the source of which is much more remote than that of the Pindur, which it jos one or two hundred yards below its exit from the ice. Having ascended perhaps a thou- sand feet, we struck off to the left, and crossing the moraine, which is here about 150 feet high, descended to the glacier, and with infinite * During the heavy snow which fell in Kumaoon in February 1807, from 40 to 50 Kakur are reported to have taken refuge in a cave near Loba, when they were killed by the peasantry. Had the bad weather continued, and these deer been starved, we should probably have one illustration of the manner in which Bone Caverns have been stocked. 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 257 difficulty, advanced a few hundred paces towards its head, where it com- mences in huge broken tiers of the purest snow. The glare from this was intolerable, and the warmth of the sun now began to tell on the snow; the consequences soon made themselves heard and seen in the avalanches which, one in about every three minutes, commenced falling from the lofty crest on our right—the northern shoulder of Peak No. XV. generally known as Minda Kot or Nunda Hosh. The ridge of this was capped by a wall of snow, apparently 40 or 50 feet thick, from which stupendous masses were constantly detached and fell with the noise of thunder, spreading out in their descent like a fan, and tumbling m great blocks to the base of the moraine. Though perfectly safe where we stood to gaze, my Almorah servant was terribly frightened by ** Devee’s opera.”’. Having crossed the glacier we kept for a short dis- tance along its western side, as I hoped to reach the source of the Pindur that way ; and return to the camp by crossing it at its source : both objects Ramsingh assured me were now impracticable; and as heavy clouds began to collect to the south, any delay became danger- ous; and therefore returning to the glacier, we endeavoured to steer down its centre, so as to look down on the river from the southern escarpment ; but this was also impossible, from the tremendous fissures (the veritable Davy’s locker) which crossed our path. Nothing re- mained but to regain the moraine, which we only did by passing along some very awkward isthmuses between these fissures. The moraine is constituted of gravel, mud, and blocks of stone imbedded in ice; the stones much smaller thanI should have expected. It conducted us, latterly by a very steep descent, to where the river issues from a cave in the face of the glacier, about 20 feet high, by perhaps 90 wide ; the impending roof is riven into four or five successive thick ribs of ice, the lower members of which promise a speedy fall. I found the water ex- tremely cold and muddy, and, as my guide had declared, too deep and impetuous to be crossed. Mr. Hort found the water to boil at 1903°, which, allowing half a degree too high for the error of his thermometer, would make the elevation very nearly 12000 feet. It is most surprising that with such a beautiful and unquestionable example of a glacier within seven marches of Almorah, the existence of this phenomenon in the Himalaya should have been considered doubt- ful! Having within these five years visited the Mer de Glace and seve- 258 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, ' ral of the glaciers of Switzerland, I can most confidently state that there is not in Europe a more genuine instance, and Mr. H. Strachey, after much more experience, in Gurhwal and Kumaoon, assures me that it is by no means a singular one. Captain A. Broome many years ago penetrated to the cave source of the Bhagiruthee, which he found to be formed of pure ice ; so that little doubt can remain of the enormous ‘“‘snow-bed”’ at the head of that river being also a true glacier. Captain Weller, who traversed the glacier near Milum (J. A. S. No. 134, for 1843) was struck by the fantastic castles, walls, &c. of its higher por- tion ; this appearance would denote the junction of a lateral glacier ; but m no part of of his journal does he appear to be aware that at Milum there was such a thing as a glacier ; at least he never employs the word. Certainly the recent heavy rains had thoroughly washed the Pinduree glacier, and its surface exhibited a sheet of the purest ice, except on and near the terminal escarpment, which being covered with rubble, resembles, at a short distance, a steep bank of mud; and such, I hear, is the appearance in May and June of the Milum glacier. But to make quite sure, I carried a hatchet, and frequently broke off fragments, which everywhere were perfect ice, the only difference per- ceptible, or that I can remember, between this and the Alpine ice, being a coarser granular structure here. It is intersected by the same fissures, has the same ribband texture, and from its origin in the snow to its termination above the cave, falls in a series of the most beautiful curves, which appeared to my unscientific, but unbiassed eye, a striking illus- tration of the truth of Professor Forbes’ Viscous Theory. That the mass is moving downwards seems confirmed by the form of the snow at its head, viz. a succession of terraces, with steep walls, just such as clay, &c. assumes on its support being removed. The Bhotiahs of Milum affirm that their glacier has receded from the village two or three miles to its present site, and Ramsingh assured me that the same is true, in aless degree, at Pinduree. The glacier may be about two miles long, and from 300 to 400 yards broad, and probably occupies the interval between the levels 12000 and 13000 feet above the sea; owing its existence to the vast quantities of snow precipitated from Nunda Devee and the other lofty mountains above, which, melted by the noon- day sun, is frozen at night. It must be observed too, that in spite of theory and observation elsewhere, the perpetual snow appears here to 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 259 descend to the level of 13000 feet: for from the head of the ice to the crest of “ Traill’s Pass’—the col which may be considered as the root of the glacier,—there is an uninterrupted surface of snow, and that, from its low angle except for the lowest thousand feet, evidently in situ. In short no one in Kumaoon can doubt the existence of per- manent snow, when he contemplates daily the faces of Trisool, Nunda Devee, and others, exposed to the full blaze of the meridian sun, and yet preserving in many spots, and those by no means the highest, spacious fields of snow without a speck or rock. None of the culminating pinnacles of the Himalaya are visible from Pindree; though the great Peak, No. 15, 22,491 feet, is immediately above on the east—but its northern shoulder, a massive snowy moun- tain, forms a grand object to the north-east, and this, passing the depression forming Traill’s Pass, is continued im glorious domes and peaks to the left, where a beautiful pinnacle terminates the view, appa- rently the easternmost of the two lower peaks of Nunda-Devee. The adytum of the Goddess herself is utterly concealed. By many she is irreverently confounded with tae Butt of Siva; but H. H. Wilson gives us Nunda and Nundee as epithets of Durgd, the inaccessible goddess.” The largest temple at Almorah is dedicated to her, and though several hundred years old, is there very generally believed by the credulous mountaineers to have been built and endowed by Mr. Traill, the late Commissioner, in gratitude for his recovery from temporary blindness from the snow glare, when crossing the pass now named from him. An equally lying tradition purports that, like Helio- dorus, he was struck blind at Almorah for forcing his way mto her temple, and only restored on endowing it handsomely. These legends, credited against all evidence on the very spot and in the very age where and when they were invented, reduce the value of tradition, and even of contemporary testimony, unless assured of the witness’ judgment, considerably below par! Amongst some great rocks on the east of the moraine, I found numbers of the curious Saussurea obvallata, here called the “ Kunwul,” or Lotus of Nunda Devee ; near it grew the Dolomies, macrocephala, another sacred plant, bearing the strange name of ‘ Kala- Tugur,” or Black Tabernzemontana , and the common Rhubarb, Rheum Emodi, here called “Doloo.’’ The rocks in situ about the glacier are mica-slate and gneiss, but on the moraine, the fragments consist 260 fotes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [Marcu, also of crystalline and slaty quartz, the latter often considerably colored with iron between the layers; horneblende rock is also common ; and masses of the same granite which forms the great range at least up to Gungootee. Though it exhibits quartz, felspar, and mica, the felspar is mm such excess to the other minerals, and large crystals of black schorl are so abundant, that Captain Herbert probably did not recognize it to be granite, and hence his denial that this rock is found in the snowy range.—It certainly differs much in appearance from the more authentic granite which we find north and south of the Great Chain, in Kunawar and Kumaoon. My investigations were cut short by the very threatening appearance of the weather, and to his great relief, I at last commanded Ramsingh to retreat. At one period, he had evidently lost his way, and become confused on the glacier, and on quitting it, he turned round, joined his hands, and made a low reverence towards Nunda Devee; on the intensitive principle invented by Puff in the critic of firing six morning guns instead of one, I own I was strongly tempted to imitate and even surpass my guide by making six vows in the same direction, but there was no time for formalities, and the goddess who is pacified for a million of years by the sacrifice of a man, is not to be bearded with impunity in her own den; so, without further ceremony, we started, and passing Dooglee, in one hour reached Diwalee, in an hour and a half more, under pelting showers the whole distance. Messrs. Hort and Powys had arrived from Khathee an hour before me. The existence of alternate diurnal currents of air to and from the Himalaya, the first of which I experienced to-day, resembles in its regularity, the land and sea breezes of many tropical coasts, and is a fact which all travellers in these mountains must have remarked, though none that I am aware of, has recorded or attempted to explain it.* All along the exterior ranges we find that during the warm season, at least, about 9 or 10 a. M. a strong gale sets in from the plains, well known at Mussooree as the “ Dhoon Breeze,” and equally prevalent and grateful at Nynee Tal, &c. from 2 to 3 Pp. m.; it reaches the snowy range, blowing violently up all the passes from the Sutlej to the Kalee ; * Mr. Batten informs me that the Rev. J. H. Pratt has written an essay on this subject in a literary Journal of Cambridge; which I have not had the advant- age of consulting. 1847. | Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 261 and so furious in Hoondes and upper Kunawar as to preclude the use of pitched roofs, and to render it necessary to secure the flat ones by heavy stones. On the other hand, along the base of the mountains at Hurdwar, Dikkolee (on the Kossillah), Bhumouree, and Burmdeo, we find, so far as my own experience goes, that from November till April, from perhaps 2 till 7 or 8 a. m. a perfect hurricane rushes down the great vallies from the mountains, and being greatly cooler than the surrounding air, and soon followed by an oppressive calm, is perhaps the cause of much of the insalubrity of the tarai; as the reverse gale probably originates much goitre in the mountains. The explanation which suggests itself is as follows : Sir J. Herschel states that at 10,600 fect about the sea, one-third of the atmosphere is below us, and at 18,009 feet, one half. For the sake of round numbers, let us assume the attenuated stratum of air resting! on the Himalaya and Tibet, to be deficient by about half the weight of the whole atmosphere; during the day time, owing to the heat reflected and radiated from this elevated plateau, and the rocks and snows of the Main Chain, (a source of heat wanting of course to the corresponding stratum over the plains,) this is further expanded or rarified, so that it becomes specifically lighter, and ascends. Hence, owing to the great pressure of the whole mass of the atmosphere incumbent on the plains, the air thence is forced to flow upwards, to fill the comparative vacuum, and the current is generated, which commencing at the outer range, reaches the higher one in the afternoon, laden with vapor, which is there condensed by the cold, and astonishes the traveller by those storms of rain and snow which succeed, and are indeed a necessary result of the serene morn- ing. It is for this reason that the guides are always so anxious to set out betimes, so as to cross the passes by noon. I[t may be objected that as the process of rarefaction commences at the summit of the mountains, and must be gradually communicated to each stratum beneath, where it comes in contact with the heated ground, the current should begin instead of ending at the higest elevations ; but it would appear probable that the movements of the air from this cause is trifling ; the main agency being the pressure of the atmosphere on the plains, which necessarily commences its operation with the outer ranges. During the might, the atmosphere, like Penelope, undoes what it did by day. From the absence of the sun, the mountain air is cooled and condensed, 2 N 262 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. [MARCH, and, recovering its former bulk and weight, descends, to restore the equilibrium by forcing the aerial invader back to the plains, the process being no doubt greatly aided, or rather caused, by gravitation as well as by the expansion and consequent diminution aud negation of pres- sure which the plain atmosphere has itself experienced from the intense heat of the earth and sun’s rays by day, the former of which is dispersed into the air during the whole night, and till about sunrise, when the gale from the mountains attains its maximum of intensity. Both “up and down trains” must be much modified and complicated by the direction of the mountain ranges and great vallies ; these last determine of course their usual route, and by their narrowness and depth tend greatly to augment the force of the wind. At Bheemtal, 12 miles from the plains, its effect is but too sensible; but at Ram- gurh, as much farther in, itis unknown; the Ghagur serving as a most efficient screen in this direction. The entire career is run out in about 100 miles; this distance is so short, and the anomalies from the ir- regularity of the ridges so great, that the effect of the earth’s rotation may be unappreciable ; if not, the day breeze coming from the south, where the velocity of rotation is greater, ought.to blow from the south- west and the night one from north-east: and this is certainly true at Almorah of the first.* * The climate of Ludakh, 11,006 feet above the sea, as observed by Moorcroft, fully bears out the above theory. Frost and snow continue from the beginning of September till that of May. ‘‘ In May, the days become warm, although early in the morning the rivulets not unfrequently present a coat of ice, and this may be vbserved in soine spots even in June, whilst on the loftiest mountains, snow falls occasioually in every month of the year. During the summer months, the sun shines with great power, and, for a short part of the day, his rays are intensely hot. At Lé, on the 4th July, the Thermometer in the sun rose at noon to 134°, and on the march to Piti, it stood ten degrees higher. At night the temperature was 74 degrees. Even in the depth of winter, the heat of the sun is very considerable for an hour or two, and the variation of temperature 1s consequently extreme. On the 30th of January, the taermome er shewed a temperature of 83° at noon, when it was only 122° at night The great heat of the sun in summer compensaies for the short duration of the season, and brings the grain to rapid maturity. Barley that was sown in the neighbourhood of Lé on the 10th of May, was cut on the 12th of September ; and at Pituk, five miles from Lé and about 800 feet lower, in a shel- tered angle of the valley, the same grain is ready for the sickle in two months from the time of sowing. (Travels, I. 268) Much further eastward, Captain Weller 1847.] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 263 The trade and similar periodical winds are of no mean benefit to the navigator ; the use of their mountain counterparts is unknown, unless it be to scour the deep vallies of their malaria. One abuse of them was too evident ; the locusts were everywhere taking advantage of them to penetrate into the mountains, and were in considerable numbers, living, dying, and dead, at the very head of the Pinduree glacier. How strong must be the instinct of wandering and self-preservation in these scourges, when, in search of sustenance (which they would scarce tind im Tibet,) it thus leads them, as the moth im the case of light, to their own destruction amongst the ice and snows of the Himalaya! But so long as rational men are found to resort to Sierra Leone, &. on the same errand, and with the same fate, though from an opposite cause, we have not much room to boast of our smperior discretion. The natives of Kumaoon consider that the flights of locusts, which have in late years, done immense damage to their crops, are produced from the sea. I KNow them to be produced in Rajpootana; on our return to Almorah on the 2nd October, we found vast swarms of them settled on the fields and fresh ones coming from the south and south-east; for- tunately the harvest was too advanced to admit of much injury. September 26¢h.—Walked to Khathee in 3} hours, with soft showers at intervals; and heavy rain from 4 to 6 p.m.; at one of the bridges we met the Putwaree Mulkoo, or Mulkih Singh, a regular short, thiek- set, mountain savage, not unlike one of his own bears. September 27th.—To the Tantee chalet (now deserted) on the Dha- kree Benaik, which we walked in 3} hours. From half-past 12 till 6 was told that in May and June ‘‘it is hot below Dhapa (Daba,) that sealing wax , melts if carried on the person during the day,’’ a significant hyperbole. Moor- croft suffered severely from fever in the same district, probably from these rapid extremes. During the rainy season of the Indian Himalaya, the prevalence of clouds and moisture, by equalizing the temperature, must in a considerable degree, neutralize these currents: but to solve the problem satisfactorily, careful and extended obser- yations are requisite, with the comments of an experienced meteorologist ; several necessary elements, evaporation, electricity, &c. probably playing no mean ré/e in the phenomena. In the Arctic regions, Dr. Richardson found the radiation of heat from the snow in spring to exceel greatly that from the soil in summer: and in the Himalaya, the ‘* Dhoon Breeze’’ is most regular and powerful from April till June. 2N 2 264 Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. |Marcu, pb. M. we endured a heavy storm of rain, hail, and thunder, from the west, followed by a clear and very cold night; our tent, which with- stood the 75 hours rain at Diwalee, leaked in half a dozen places at once to-day, such was the deluge that fell. Our people fortunately had the huts to shelter them, for, notwithstanding every precaution, se- veral fell sick every day with fever, so that our march resembles the retreat from Walcheren. September 28th.—After enjoymg the view from the Pass, we des- cended to Sooring in 23 hours; slight rain in the evening. September 29th.—To Kupkot, in 43 hours, breakfasting at a hamlet about half way, called Dooloom. Some very large species of orchidece, probably Dendrobium, Phaius, Coelogyne, &c. grow on the rocks and trees in this stage. The road at the landslip not yet replaced ; but after the paths above, it was trifling; one’s feet seem gradually to acquire a ~ sixth sense from practice over dangerous ground ; a portion of the mind descending and taking up its temporary abode im the toes; as the bat is said to have a sensibility in its wings which enables it to avoid walls, &c. in the dark. To-day was fine till 4 p.m. when a strong cold wind blew down the valley accompanied with light showers for about an hour. ‘The rice-crop is now being cut here. September 30th.— Walked to Bagesurin 5} hours, breakfasting half- way atthe Mundilgurh Torrent, where we met Messrs. Norman and Weston on their way to Pinduree. The Puharees are quite aware of _ the value of a mid-way meal. A friend once asked one of them how far such and such a place was off; and the reply was—‘‘ Two kros if you have dined, three if you have not.” The Surjoo has fallen six feet smce we left Bagesur; the temperature of the town is considerably lower, but the people look sickly and sal- low from fever. No rain to-day, for the first time since we started, 21 days since. October 1st.—To Sutralee in 43 hours, of which 2} were expended in reaching the summit of the Ladder Hill, exclusive of a full hour’s delay in crossing the “infamous” Gaomutee, now just fordable, mounted on a ferryman’s back, who was obliged to have a second man to steady him. That such an obstacle on the main line of commerce between Kumaoon and Tibet should remain without a bridge, is accounted for by the circumstance that little communication takes place in the rainy 1847. | Notes of an Kzcursion to the Pindree Glacier. 265 season ; and that during the rest, the stream is only ankle-deep ; but when the iron-mines and foundries of the province are once in opera- tion under the management of the new company, let us hope the travel- ler will be expedited on his way to Pinduree or Milum by one of the Suspension Bridges, the glory of Kumaoon above all the rest of the Himalaya taken together.* . We breakfasted at the Dhurmsala, under a very elegant arbor of Jessamine, but clouds again disappointed us of the desired view of the snowy range. Noticed the Vitex negundo in various places to-day ; indeed it is common in Kumaoon, as in all the outer hills, and is here ealled Shiwalee. An intelligent brahman of Almorah assures me that THis 1s the Sephalica of Indian poetry, and brought me the Amurkosh to prove his point, where it certainly was explained by ‘ Soovuha”— ““ Nirgeedee”’ and Neelika; with niwar as the Hindee. For Nigoondee, H. H. Wilson gives us “ Vitex negundo,” and ‘‘ another plant, Neel- sephalica,’ but does not say what this is. ‘ Neelika” though denoting “blue,” he follows Sir W. Jones in explaining by Nyctanthes arbor tristis, though no blue Nyctanthes was ever heard of. Sir W. Jones was assured by his Bengali pundits that this tree was their Sephalica, though he quotes the Amurkosh as stating ‘‘ WH eEwn the sephalica has white flowers,” &c. which the Nyctanthes always has. It grows wild abundantly in Kumaoon, but Roxburgh could never find it so circum- stanced in Bengal; the original name is therefore more likely to be preserved in the mountains, where so far as the brahmans are concerned, Parjat is the only one extant, and this also Sir William Jones was aware of in respect to other parts of India. He also gives Nibaree as the vulgar (Bengal) term for the Nyctanthes; but in Dr. Voigt’s catalogue, this is annexed to Cicca disticha. The Puharee “ Shiwalee” is an easy and regular corruption of Sephalica, and Sir William des- cribes it in terms which might well attract the praises of the poets— “a most elegant appearance, with rich racemes or panicles (of odorifer- ous, beautifully blue flowers, Voigt,) lightly dispersed on the summit of its branches.”’ “‘ Soovuha’”’ ‘ bearing well,’ may allude to these, or to the aroma of the bruised leaves ; but the experimentum erucis of try- * These bridges are constructed of iron manufactured in Calcutta, and probably smelted in England. The abutments of one over the river Khyrna near Nynee Tal are absolutely built on an iron-mine ! 266 Account of the process employed for obtaining [Marca, ing whether the ‘bees sleep in the flowers’’—for that is the significa- tion of Sephalica, remains yet to be made. October 2nd.—To Almorah in 5% hours: total hours from the gla- cier 32; road distance 83 miles, (in a direct line 52,) giving an average rate of walking, 2 miles and 5 furlongs. In the preceding notes, the popular name of each tree and plant, where any certain one exists, 1s commonly added, with the view of enabling those who visit the same or similar localities, to acquaint themselves, if so disposed, with the more prominent characteristics of this department. ‘The naturalist,” says Sir William Jones, ‘‘ who should wish to procure an Arabian or Indian Plant, and without asking for it by its learned or vulgar name, should hunt for it in the woods by its botanical character, would resemble a geographer who, desiring to find his way in a foreign city or province, should never enquire by name, for a street or town, but wait with his tables and instruments, for a proper occasion to determine its longitude and latitude.” DAA LBD ALLA mnoew™- Account of the process employed for obtaining Gold from the Sand of the River Beyass ; with a short account of the Gold Mines of Siberia ; by Capt. J. Assott, Boundary Commissioner, Se. It has long been known that the sand of the river Beyass yields Gold Dust to the sifter. A description of the process and of the value of the produce may possibly be interesting ; and if it should lead to search for the original veins of this precious metal, the result may be valuable as well as curious. From the mountain district of Teera to Meerthul, where the Chukki joins the Beyass, and the course of both is nearly southward, gold dust is found in the sands of the latter pretty equally distributed. The boulders and pebbles in the river channel from Ray to Meerthul (the greater portion of this interval) are generally siliceous, quartz, por- phyry, sandstone, gneiss, with occasional granite—and oftener pebbles of jasper, These appear to be debris of the Brisna cliffs and hills bordering the river, with exception perhaps of the gneiss, which I suspect is carried down from the older formations. My impression is y Hs ca | | Haig te bes RATES aay if pe a Hedi te mens ein) j up tnee aie re Wy if we Lets Zh i PA SRISEEb A ty Rest Bick - a i ave fa ie, nie Massy. Limaal ate FS tet italy it: | 7 we, 5 uy blew me an sahil: hy a Fa ve a 1 ™ 7 : ; - ce . ia f he chee ¢ eo a t * EB ¢ oo ls i ae mts Ay Sand Fane $ as 3 s a = S - SA ae ee a ae AG, RK ra A Xt = \red aah ak \ Be ee \S a a CPE bie ae ee ACE ee ~y i Le —— a AK Pi hy ae oe AN be a 4 oe - Re ae a2 ny . » ‘LIZ ODO PHD OW myoLgs £2 uars/20ONS JBYM LOpUn Luwnoys 1S00M Ij) JY SUID JUMOY? TYLOR: yg ybnosy 3 UlI70aS 7WI 2407 ae 1847.] Gold from the Sand of the River Beyass. 267 that the gold is originally deposited in the gneiss and quartz rock, and separated with the sand itself by attrition of the boulders together. This would account for the extreme minuteness of its particles, which are literally dust. All my enquiries however failed to ascertain the discovery at any time of a particle of gold adhering to any fragment of rock. At Teera the course of the Beyass lies between mountains. At Ray it emerges into the plain, having hills on its north-eastern brink. Here it divides into many streams scattered over a cultivated channel more than a mile in breadth. The gold finders are a few poor natives who have no more lucrative subsistence. The labour is severe and the profits poorly remunerate them. Process. The spot selected for the washing was close to the main stream of the Beyass. The larger boulders and fragments being thrown aside, the coarse sand to the depth of a foot is abraded and carried in baskets to a trough upon the brink of the stream. ‘This trough, which is a hollowed block of timber about four feet in length by a toot in depth, and a foot and four inches in breadth, is made to slope toward its outlet in front, a cleft an inch wide, extending from top to bottom. A seive of bamboo staves is laid over the posterior portion, and the sand is laid upon the seive; water is then poured upon the heap, which the pourer stirs about with his hand, until all the sand has been carried through the seive into the trough, when the remaining coarse parti- cles are rejected. This is repeated until the trough is nearly filled. Water is then poured into the sand, which is agitated by the hand. The water carries off the lighter particles. The man who stirs the sand, rakes it back incessantly with his left hand, whilst he pours upon it water with his right hand. In about half an hour there remains only 15 or 2tbs. of black sand, very fine and sparkling. This appears to be either the hornblende, from granite and gneiss rocks, or corundum. It is used by cutlers in conjunction with lac or rosin or pitch to form the wheel with which they sharpen tools and weapons. This black sand, which is very heavy, is found upon examination to contain a few smail particles of gold dust. It is carefully scraped out of the trough in its wet state, placed upon a plank one foot square and slightly hollowed. Mercury of the size of a large drop of rain is poured into it, and the whole is carefully kneaded with the hands for 268 Account of the process employed for obtaining [Marcu, twenty minutes. More water is then added, until the mass is fluid. It is shaken with a circular motion, which causes the water and lighter particles to fly off at the circumference. This process is continued, with the continual addition of fresh water until only a small heap remains in the centre, in which the gold and quicksilver appear together as a small globule. This is washed, taken out and put upon a piece of ignited cowdung. ‘The mercury flies off and leaves the gold yellow. In order however that the utmost weight be given to the mass, it 1s taken from the fire before the whole of the mercury is evolved. The quantity of gold obtained from a trough half filled with sand, and containing therefore about 24 cubic feet, is about 14 rutties. This employs nine men for about 45 minutes. It is obvious to me that much gold is lost in this imperfect and expensive process. For the outlet of the trough extends to the very bottom, without any ledge to arrest the heavier particles. Any enterprising native who would work these sands upon a larger scale with machinery turned by the river current, might find it pay handsomely, but only by personal supervision. I have the pleasure to forward a specimen of the gold dust collected in my presence, and also of the sand previous to washing, and the black sand in which the gold is ultimately found. This still contains its gold dust. It strikes me that as an accompaniment to the foregoing deserip- tion of the process of washing for gold in the Beyass, the parti- culars of my visit to the richest gold mines in the world, (those namely, of Siberia) may be acceptable. And as, in Siberia, a particular succession of strata is considered presumptive evidence of the presence of gold, the same phenomena may possibly prove of similar significance in the regions lately added to our empire. During my mission to Russia, I was detained at Oxenburgh awaiting an answer to my despatches. General Perroffoki, the enlightened governor of the province, anxious to amuse me, afforded me the means of visiting the celebrated fabric of Mines at Zlataoost and the gold and platinum mines of that neighbourhood. As far as Ufa, a considerable town of a military station, the road lay over an undulating steppe, and at that season of the year the jour- bi 4 a . Le iF 1847. | Gold from the Sand of the River Beyass. 269 ney is delightful, the horses cantering lightly over the springing turf, and the temperature by day and by night being equally pleasant. But after quitting Ufa, the undules swelled into hills, generally of easy ascent, partly forest and partly cultivation, and over these we had reached the summit of the ridge of the Oorahl mountains, without any of the appearances of rock, ravine or precipice, which so usually token the proximity of any considerable mountains. From this height we de- scended a few hundred feet to the valley, and pretty little artificial lake of Zlataoost, celebrated for its fabric of arms and for the gold mines in its neighbourhood: but much better remembered by myself, for the courtesy, the kind hospitalities, the engaging manners, and traits of patriotic feeling which distinguish its inhabitants. From Col. Anosoff, a practised geologist and a man of science and sagacity, I gathered the following particulars, which may form a useful introduction to my visit to the mines. The gold mines of the Oorahl mountains are very different from our ordimary notion of metallic mines of any kind. For they are not ex- cavations of the rocky strata of plain or mountain, but mere exfoliations of the superficial soil, varying in depth from one to four feet. Their gold is unmixed with any matrix, being almost pure gold in its metallic form. There is nothing in the appearance of the valleys yielding gold to distin- guish them from such as yield none : and the first discovery of the mines was purely accidental, grains of gold having been washed down by the torrents. But by a careful comparison of phenomena, a geologist may now seek them with increased certainty, for, in every case, the gold is found to occur under the following succession of strata, which presents a Geological section across the Oorahl range at Zlataoost.* The morning after my arrival I mounted the vehicle prepared for me by the attention of Col. Anosoff, and in company with his whole family proceeded to the gold mines. We passed through a forest of small firs and cedars feathering the high ground above the lake, and after coursing over some 8 or 10 miles of undulating steppe clothed with rich grass and beautiful wild flowers, entered a very extensive but shallow valley, bounded on all sides by scarcely perceptible acclivities of the same steppe. The abundance and beauty of the wild flowers enamelling the turf redeemed the monotonous character of the landscape. * See plate. no o 270 Account of the progress employed for obtaining |Marcn, It was one of the poetical phases of the steppe, oftener spoken of than encountered, and probably never seen south of the Oorahl river. At some distance onward we came upon a party of diggers for gold. ‘There was nothing in the spot they occupied to distinguish it from the steppe around. It was covered with turf and wild flowers spring- ing from a black vegetable soil. It was not even the bed of a water- course ; although such are very generally selected, owing to the gold being there brought to light by the action of torrents. The workmen dug away the superficial crust of black soil, working very carefully as they neared the bottom and leaving a layer about three inches thick untouched. When a considerable space had been thus prepared, they commenced excavating the soil to be washed for gold. This was done by digging through the thin layer of black soil not hitherto disturbed and tothe depth of about one foot into the substratum, which is a hard table of clay and sand with fragments of schists and serpentine. The gold appears generally to lie upon the surface of this, but is some- times found beneath. The whole of the earth now excavated is carried in barrows to the washing-house, where seives of different degrees of fineness are shaken by water-work under the current of the stream. From the residue the gold is carefully extracted. It is generally of such size as to need no aid from mercury. The machinery appeared to me simple and well adapted to the process. It was not possible for me to make notes: but my impression is that the profits amount to about 75 per cent. in these the good washings: and the small price of labour, and the richness of the masses exhibited, as that year’s collection, made me easily credit the account. These are the richest gold mines in the world, and appear to be inexhaustible, every year leading to the dis- covery of fresh riches, although they are supposed to have been worked from very ancient days; the name Zlataoost signifying mouth of gold. The phenomena of these golden debris (for mines they can scarcely be called) are peculiar and lead to speculation. The gold dust so often found in the sand of rivers, streams and torrents, is generally attributed to some rocky veins in the higher sands. Here, there is no appearance of such an origin. Previous to the growth and deposit of the present black vegetable soil, the gold seems to have lain strown like pebbles, over the surface of the hard clay and schist stratum: not particularly in the channels of torrents, but as if it had fallen in a general shower. 1847. | Grold from the Sand of the River Beyass. 271 The higher sands are very remote from the spot. The ascent to them is scarcly perceptible, and at the foot of those heights are valleys and ravines which would have caught and detained any debris washed down from their sides or summits. The gold itself is of almost virgin purity. A small quantity of silver alloys it. It lies in granules, precisely similar to those formed by pouring upon water molten lead ; and immediately suggests the idea of having been cast molten upon the hard stratum on which it is found. The strata however, hereabouts have no volcanic character, and it is evident that the gold has been cast in its present position, since the deposit of the clay on which it rests; its own great specific gravity otherwise giving it a lower rest. When the gold has been worked it is laid up in heaps, which are transmitted to St. Peterburgh. The average size of the grain is that of a barleycorn: but masses of the size of pistol and gun bullets are not uncommon, and much larger masses are occasionally found. The appearance of all will be familiar to any one who has thrown fused lead upon water. When the late Emperor Alexander visited these mines he turned up a spadeful of the earth by way of example. We had scarcely quitted the spot, when an immense mass of gold, larger than a man’s foot was found beneath the imperial footprint. The very genuineness of such a natural mass in such a position becomes doubtful. Several of these gold mines are the property of or farmed by indi- viduals who sometimes make immense fortunes upon the profits. Col. Anosoff spoke confidently of the uniform succession of the strata on which gold is found, and as gold occurs in many and distant portions of the Oorahl chain; this circumstance is very remarkable, there being no imaginable connection between the gold itself and any of the substrata. The supply does not seem to cease with the Oorahl mountains, for at the north-west foot of the Altai range it is gathered in consider- able quantities. There however it is found in quartz, which is pulverized for its extrication. If I recollect right a few of the masses of gold of these washings was found adhering to fragments of quartz. After examining these works we proceeded with fresh horses to Mias, where there are other gold mines. Platinum was here shown me in 202 272 Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. — |Mancu, the form of a black flattish grain, bearing the pure metal shghtly cor- roded. It occurs here, but more commonly at Ekaterinburgh. Not having witnessed the search for it, the particulars are less fresh in my recollection. I was told that it was found under much the same circumstances. Platinum coin is commonly current in Russia for about half the value of the same weight in gold, although it can be obtained cheaper. Of course the circulation is limited to the Russian Empire. But the extent of this is so great that not much inconveni- ence accrues. OPPO LOLOL LOLOL wor Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar, by Capt. M. Kirror, 6th Regt. N. I. The perusal of notices on the Buddhist annals by Hodgeson and Tur- nour, and of the inscriptions so ably translated by Prinsep, as well as my own observation of the many curious things I have occasionally met with, particularly in the vicinity of Gyah, have afforded me much room for reflection and speculation. Although no benefit to science may be derived by search for, or dis- covery of, the ruins or sites of the 18 Viharas mentioned in the Pah Buddhistical annals of Ceylon, nor of the 83,000 Chaityas which the Burmese believe to have been built by Asoka, still our interest or curiosi- ty is excited in the search, and if successful in any degree, it must be admitted that a greater value becomes attached to these records than they might otherwise seem to deserve. Partial success increases our desire, and in following out one research, others suggest themselves, light is thrown on what formerly seemed darkness, truth on that which appeared but childish fable, and when such is the case, it must be accorded that history has gained a prize, hence it is that antiquarian research is not altogether an useless or idle one, it becomes interesting and instructive ; acting upon this reason- ing, I have taken advantage of my leisure after two years’ hard though ill-requited labour in an official sphere, to drown unpleasant reflections thereon by resuming a study I had been obliged entirely to sacrifice to the calls of duty, and great will be my gratification if the result of my FLV. Aron e yoy pr DS eel aa: a®# ee OWETTLA = ; Pez pee —— a =A —— vA SL; oy i, (LM; Ys 3] =. Or: rece No crow nea ate 2t Dooba AIASSOXAFABSIINAFHATAY AAACAT LA AZAWMAA A on an ancient Badha raat Ha anf QE Hay g A on adain relic at ye heti. CH RANA SAAD ——" M-Kittoc. del* x1: th? T. Black. Asiatic Lith: ress. Calcutta rs iy He We fy f q iC AG 3 i | 4 / Li Io \ ‘ afi; ye { / +h / ‘pe / ae ate tk ' a Ss 4 f , me Se 7 44s ai fig gees see { PII MER | if ——— { 2 i 7 = > V YY - i / sg yj = = — ae 4 eg FF GES. i, = a ot ene ZN S a> = mH" Si Se . > = r ~ ——- (i f r fal } ye * — ~ \ ul f Oi poy tbs i i ies we ie. Ns iz ie ye i Ih 1) T) ted BE i ‘ nv pe feagenre vhs ge \ ie a7 . 4 he ¥. it s he : Ee y ee é x J ; Ary j ahipe?- oa A titan 23 ”) (eae ey A» “Se a? 5 1 Rioryt igtahanttiaet Seca 1 ay Pe AL Phat Ges: Sa ge ee ) 4 » ¢ By rir : Tm Ste Le be) ers coves Se it bop de dim oer tiaauann un << oN f MK toe. ce Lrtht a A f me aaah AY ie ve a a edo ane Mee at: «Saad pee 3 mtetia i y 6 Ae RT: Panik ld 1st ON Sag a 1847. | Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. 273 travels prove interesting ; at any rate I feel that I am partly carrying out the wishes of my late amiable and learned patron, James Prinsep, who oft expressed a wish that I should ramble over the district of Behar and cater for him. To be thus able (even at this late period) to carry out the views of my benefactor, is in itself delightful, but I hope that I am at the same time partly meeting those of the Honorable the Court of Directors, and of the Royal as well as of the Parent Asiatic Society. I however labour under great disadvantages, viz. want of means and want of an establishment of good draftsmen and a good pundit. I have only one of the former and of the latter none. Accurate drawings occupy much time, anda single idol will require a whole day, a group will take more, for all those which are worth drawing have most elaborate ornamental details. A complete and interesting port- folio could be filled either at Gyah or Bodh Gyah; to copy these again fairly, takes an equal if not longer time, indeed I have in a few days sketched more than can be reduced to order in as many weeks. To enable me to do the subject of this paper justice, it would be requisite to visit the whole of the country included in ancient Behar or “ Vihara,” for the name has undoubtedly been derived from the numerous ‘ Viharas’’ or Monasteries of which the present town of Behar, was probably the principal, though Bodh Gyah was perhaps the most sacred of the whole on account of its being the site where Sakya’s miracles are supposed to have been performed; the term of doubt I apply to the miracles only, for, that such a lawgiver as Sakya existed, I see no reason to question, the accounts of his life and death when sifted of their fabulous interpolations ; are too circumstantial for us to take a different view, and of such the Ceylon books seems particularly free—in this respect the Budhist works are far better than the Brah- minical ; the best of these perhaps is the Mahabharut, which if likewise parted from its impurities, would prove a history of real and great events of however less remote date. In page 517, Vol. VI. of the Journal Asiatic Society, in Turnour’s examination of the Pali Budhistical annals, mention is made of a dispute about the repairs of the “eighteen great Viharas surround- ing Raja-griha.”” The question is, where were these said Munas- teries, which, from their requiring repairs, may be supposed to have existed for a long period, even before the advent of Sakya himself, 274 Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. [Marcu, shortly after whose death this took place? This is what I shall try to show. Within a circle of 30 or 40 miles round Gyah, I have traced the following, of what I suppose to be the remains of Viharas, viz. Nagar- juni, Koorkihar, (Bodh Gyah,) Bukrour, (Gyah proper,) Murghat, Chil- lor, Booraha, and Gooncherit, Pawapuri, Burgaon or Koondilpoor, Behar, Raja-griha, Giryek, Patna, or as I find it called in an inscription, ‘* Pata- liputra,’’ Poonaha and Dharawut: here are seventeen, of these places I have visited eleven ; the great antiquity of five of them is unquestion- able ; of those named which I have not seen, there are five, also doubt- less ; therefore we may assume that we know of ten out of the eighteen of Sakya’s time. Behar, or more properly speaking ‘“ Magda,” is acknowledged ever to have been the chief seat of the Buddhist religion, and of its heretical offshoots ; the exact extent of this kingdom is unknown—and I fear must ever remain doubtful, though it would seem to have included (to the north) Benares, Allahabad and Ajudhia (or Oude) and to have ex- tended to Ganjam, (Kalinga Desa) to the south, and Arracan to the south- east, at least the scriptions, cave temples and the mention made in the Buddhist works would seem to warrant such a conclusion, though the former clearly point to the king of Magda having supreme power over all India from Caubul to Ceylon. Such must have been the case in Asoka’s time and in that of Chundra Gupta. The 83,000 temples supposed to have been built by the first named were scattered all over India, and raised or repaired by command at one and the same time, upon the occasion of his conversion to the Buddhist faith. Of these per- haps the Tope of Manikyala, the caves of Bamiyan and of western India formed part ; however I have here to treat of the “ Vihars around Raja-griha,”’ ten of which I have shown to have been traced with toler- able certainty. I have given the names of seventeen sites: I will now describe those [ have visited. First of all Bodh Gyah. The extensive mound of brick, mud and hewn stones bear evidence of there having been perhaps more than one establishment, and that a great Chaitya or tope existed, the masonry of which was of brick and stone, the latter from the same quarry as all the pillars, bearing inscriptions in the ancient Pali, and supposed to 1847. | Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. 2735 be the work of Asoka, though I think there is reason to assign even a much earlier date to them. One of these formerly stood at Bukrower, the site of another city, and of a Vihara directly opposite to Bodh Gyah, likewise on the banks of the Lellajun, on the neck of land above the junction of the Mahana or ‘‘ Mahanada,” between both rivers ; part of this pillar is set up in the town of Sahebgunge (Gyah) and two fragments remain at the original spot ; of a fourth fragment, containing the inscription, various stories are told, but suffice it to say it is missing. Proceeding further down the river, we come to Gyah proper ; that this was originally a place of Buddhist and Jain worship, I believe there is little room for doubt, and that the worship of the Linga or Siva at this and all the Viharas, was practised for ages in conjunction with that of Budha, I think is equally clear from the innumerable Linga stones of every shape and variety found scatteredabout. I could wish that I had time to draw the whole variety, from the simple round stone to the rich- ly sculptured four-headed kind called “the Chowmoorti,”’ and ‘‘ Chow- mookhi’ Mahadeva, though some would be wifit for our pages. Still following the river, which is now called the Phulgoo, and at a dis- tance of 15 miles, we reach Nagarjuni hills, the site perhaps of the chief Vihara or of several, for we read in Turnour that after the death of Sakya, the first great convocation was held before the Sutta punni (Sutgurba)? cave on the south of the hill, &c. which I think there is every reason to believe was the very spot now called Barabur as I have attempted to show in my notice on the caves. On the north- west end of these hills is Dharawut, and Chundowk tank, also the site of a Vihara. Crossing the river and proceeding some 12 or 14 miles to the south- east, and after passing the range of barren rocks which extend from near Gyah to Giryek and Raja-griha, we come to a vast mound of bricks and rubbish, called Koorkihar, undoubtedly the site ofa great monastery and large town, indicated by the potsherds and the many fine wells and tanks. Koorkihar is perhaps a corruption of “ Korika,’’ and Vihara the ancient name, is said to have been Koondilpoor, but this honor is claimed also for Burgaon, the site of another large city and monastery, Chaityas, &c. to the north of the hills, distant 10 or 12 miles. The outer enclosure appears to have been 180 paces square ; the wall (of bricks) was about three feet in thickness ; there must have been an 276 Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. (Marcu, inner inclosure half the width and considerably less in length ; the court yard thus formed appears to have been filled for ages with Chaityas or Budha temples of every dimension, from 10 inches to perhaps 40 or 50 feet, and to have been built one upon the other, the first being buried or terraced over to receive those of later date. There are great varieties both in form, size and materials, some of granite, others of basalt, pot- stone or chlorite, also of plain ground bricks. There have been several rows of large images (and I should think of temples, covering them) of the Gyani Budhas, also of female figures ; all have the creed ‘“‘ Yé Dhurma hétu,”’ &c. engraved on them ; some of the sculptures are very beautiful and perfect, and of colossal size ; the whole country is strewed with images and fragments : excavation and search inthis mound would enable us to fill our own and other museums, and no doubt lead to some rational conclusion as to the progress of Bud- dhism up to its annihilation, for whilst digging out a miniature Chaitya I found the plynth of one with an inscription (No. 3 of my late notice of Inscriptions) which proves it to belong to one of the Pal Rajahs of Bengal who were known to be heretics. Buchanan and other travellers have noticed these innumerable small temples or models (figs. ) heaped under every fig-tree throughout the district, the like also occur (though belonging to the Jains), at Agrahat in Cuttack, but for what purpose they were intended no one had ventured to conjecture ; chance however, at this place, has discovered the secret. The inscription abovenamed as well as other brief sentences I have found, show them to have been funeral monuments,our learned fellow-member Mr. Hodgeson of Nepaul has kindly communicated much valuable information to me, which has served to confirm my views ; he mentions that in the valley of Nepaul these numerous small Chaityas, surrounding a larger, is by no means uncommon. If again we look to Rangoon, we find the same to exist, but I shall advert more particularly to this subject in a separate paper and give some illustrations. Quitting Koorkihar to return towards Gyah, and after travelling three miles to the south-west, the hamlet of Poonaha is met with, situated between two rocky eminences, and having a large tank to the north ; to the south of the village is a handsome Budhist temple, the most perfect of any I have met with; indeed the only one save that of Bodh Gyah which is of comparatively modern date, it possessed the most. striking 1847.] Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. 277 picture of the style, viz. a solid round tower with a niche to each of the eardinal points, formerly ornamented with figures of four of the five Budhas, fragments of which are strewed about, and there are likewise many others and much brick rubbish, denoting the existence of some large building in former times; on the rock to the west is a fine shaft of granite, in the north face of which is an empty niche ; there appears to be no inscription. Taking Gyah again as a starting point and proceeding to the south- _ west four miles beyond Chirki, and on the right bank of the Morhur, we come to the site of a large city and citadel, &c. and no doubt of Budhist and Saiva monasteries, on the two hillocks or rocks by the river side, which are covered with bricks, this place is called Murhut. After crossing the river bed and directly opposite, is a high mound ealled Chillor, on which is a mud fort; this mound is the site of an ancient city of great extent ; a quarter of a mile to the south are several mounds of earth and bricks; two are very conspicuous; one seems to have been a Dagope, the other has lately been opened for the bricks and several Budhist idols of beautiful workmanship found ; one of Siva _ is of great beauty, large dimensions, and quite different from any other figures I have ever met with. I hope to give an illustration of this figure hereafter ; it took me many hours to draw. ‘There are other mounds which it would be well worth while to open. About two miles to the north is a small hill called ‘* Matka,’’ where there are the remains of a Chaitya; it was from this spot, Iam told, that the small image of Budha, I sent a drawing of last month, was brought. Proceeding due west for four miles, we come to a place called “ Boo- raha.” Here are several sites where there have been Chaityas, and a large Vihara, there is a natural curiosity which has no doubt been always a place of sanctity. There is a hollow spot beside a nullah where there are many powerful springs of apparently mineral waters, which come up vertically through the soil and discharge gas, the same as hot springs; the temperature of these is said to vary, much as well as the volume of water and gas discharged. Two miles or less to the west of this place is a small cluster of hills called Manda, around which pottery and bricks are strewed for a great _ distance; this is the site of another large town. There have been 2 P 278 Notes on the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. [Marca, Budha and Siva temples on the rocks, of which traces only are left ; under a tree are heaped fragments of idols of all ages, amongst them were two small figures of sows with seven sucking pigs on their hind legs ; one of these sculptures I have secured for the Museum. Leaving Manda and proceeding south-east towards Seerghatty for three miles, we reach a place called ‘“‘ Goonerria,” the site of a large town and of a Vihara, the name of which appears from inscriptions to have been formerly ‘‘ Sri, Gooncherita.’”? There are numerous small Budha and Siva idols collected around a very fine figure of Budha of large size, on the throne of which is the annexed inscription plate.* In the same plate I have given some shorter inscriptions from smaller idols: there has been a fine tank to the north of the town and several Linga temples near it. One of the inscriptions is written on the lotus leaves of the throne of a Budha; it seems to be what is termed a Muntra, and reads perhaps three ways. From this place we return to Seerghatty, which is six miles to the south-east, passing on our way alarge tank and mound called Kurmaine ; a mile further south of which are two other mounds ; one is very exten- sive and elevated, but there is neither name nor tradition to guide us to any conclusion. Such are the sites I have visited. I must here remark with reference to ancient sites, that it is much to be regretted that when the revenue surveys take place accurate notes should not be made of all the sites of ancient towns and villages, the high mounds of which are every where to be seen in India—this province in particular, where the most impor- tant events of early history have occurred. In the north-western provinces above Agra, and as far as Lahor, there are many remarkable spots, but of all of these some legend more or less - absurd, though instructive in a measure, exists. In the Jallunder Doaub might not this plan be adopted as a survey is bemg made ? Before I conclude this brief notice, I must not forget to mention Pawapuri, which I am told is the site of a very large city. The present village is inhabited chiefly by Surrawucs or Jains, who claim the place as a seat of that sect ; according to a clever Bengali pundit, Pawapuri was the capital of Magda in Chundra Goopta’s time, and it was here * We have been obliged to omit this inscription in the plate for want of space. 1847. | Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah. 279 he received Alexander’s ambassador Antiochus; this is strange, and if correct, we shall again be at fault as to Asoka and the pillar inscrip- tions. I beg to invite attention to this subject. I shall never feel satisfied till I shall have seen Pawapuri, Burgaon, Giryek, Raja-griha and Behar, and several other places which have beer pointed out to me. I hope the time is not far distant ; until then I must take leave of the Viharas. PL LLL LLLP WYO Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah.—By Lieut. W. S. SHERWILL. The southern portion of Zillah Arrah, or Shahabad, is occupied by an elevated plateau of table-land, forming the eastern extremity of the Kymore range of sandstone mountains. From whichever side it 1s viewed, it presents a series of high bluffs, or precipices, similar to those so often seen on sea coasts ; these precipices, varying from 300 to 1500 feet in perpendicular height, are supported by bulging buttresses cover- ed with almost impenetrable bamboo forests. The summit of this extensive plateau is covered with forests of Ebony, Saloogunje, a few Saul, and a variety of other trees, and has several ranges of low hills traversing it in various directions ; many rugged and deep valleys indent the northern face, which is of a much less elevation than the southern face. These valleys, extending for ten or twelve miles into the body of the table-land, gradually contract in width from one mile to a few hundred yards, similar valleys branching off from them laterally. The ends of these valleys terminate abruptly in mural precipices, down which, during the rainy season, mountain streams are precipitated with a deaf- ening roar. These valleys present to the traveller views of exceeding beauty: in many spots where they happen to be only a few hundred yards across, the deep shade at mid-day caused by the dense foliage and perpendicular walls a thousand feet in height, is quite a phenome- non for India. The most extensive of these valleys, or as they are styled by the natives k’hohs, is that through which the Doorgoutee river flows ; a more beautiful spot it is difficult to imagine; at the spot where the Doorgoutee falls from the table-land, the valley named Kudhur-k’hoh, is only a few hundred feet in width, dark, deep and cold ; immediately 2 P 2 280 Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah. [Marcn, below the falls the valley is darkened by an immense grove of mange trees, which extends for two miles along the bosom of the valley. Pro- ceeding to the northward the valley deepens rapidly from 700 to 1,000 feet, sometimes expanding to a mile in width, sometimes contracting to a few hundred yards; diverging from this valley are numerous smaller k’hohs, almost impenetrable to man, but all affording excellent shade and pasture to large herds of buffaloes, which help to supply the Mirzapoor and Benares markets with Ghee. After having traversed about eight miles of this valley the Soogeea-k’hoh strikes off west and extends into the mountains for about ten miles; in this valley are situated the extra- ordinary limestone caves, a surveyed map of which appears as a vig- nette on the accompanying map. Sandstone.—This mineral forms the grand mass of the table-land, and I am inclined to think overlies an equally extensive bed of moun- tain limestone. It is to this sandstone that the mountains owe their grand appearance, displaying as it does the most tremendous precipices ; it varies in color in almost every specimen; it is exceedingly hard, strikes fire with a steel readily, is ponderous and tough, fracture con- choidal ; that it is of a durable nature is proved by the buildings at Sasseram, Rhotas and Shergurh. The sandstone in some of the buildings in the two last named places cannot have been quarried and used for building less than 800 years ago and yet is still as perfect as the rock from whence quarried. It is universally quarried wherever a town or village requiring stone happens to be near the hills. The colors are principally white, red, pink, striped and grey, and is used for all sorts of building purposes, handmills, sugarmills, pestles, mortars, steps, door-posts and a variety of other domestic purposes: to it, the fortres- ses of Rhotas and Shergurh are beholden for all their palaces, and bat- tlements ; Sasseram for the greater part of its city, the tomb of Sher Shah is built of it, as also the bridge over the Kurrumnassa river at Musehee ; on the northern face of the table-land it is of a softer tex- ture ; here it is extensively quarried for a variety of purposes. The vast precipices exhibited in this sandstone admirably display the horizontal formation of the mass; one of the precipices in the fort of Rhotas I found by measurement to be 1,300 feet, a sheer mass of stone without a bush, or tree on its surface ; it is situated close to an over- hanging mass of building known as the Hujjam’s palace, a few minutes’ i ceil 1847.| Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah. 251 walk from the gateway leading up from Rajghat. The echo at this spot, which is a complete amphitheatre of precipices, is very distinct and grand, giving seven distinct responses to several syllables ; the report of a gun reverberates like thunder ; the sandstone at this spot is of a dark red, an overhanging rock at this spot enabling a person to look over and to fully contemplate this fearful abyss. At the foot of a small detach- ed hill at Sasseram a very curious apparently horizontal column, or formation in the sandstone appears, which has been described by me in the 163d No. of the Journal of the Asiatic, Society at pp. 495— 497. Mountain Limestone.—Next in order, is the limestone, and from the fact of its appearing in so many places, though far apart, separated even for many miles and yet always appearing of the same structure, I am inclined to think that it penetrates in an unbroken stratum under the sandstone. Start, for instance, from the eastern face of the table-land, where the limestone forms an unbroken bed from the foot of the For- tress of Rhotas to the village of Dhowdand, a distance of 30 miles north, and proceeding in a north-westerly direction at the distance of thirteen miles we meet with the same limestone in the valley of Soogeea-k’hoh at the depth of a thousand feet below the summit of the table-land and in company with the limestone Gupta caves; nine miles further in the same direction, it again appears at Buranoon in two low detached hills, much lower than their sandstone neighbours ; four miles further north it again appears in a low hill at Nowhutta, then turning nine miles to the west, it again appears at Musehee; beyond that, I lost all trace of it, but I have little doubt that from the fragments that are washed out of the numerous k’hohs, that it will be shown to exist wherever the sandstone has been deeply penetrated. To the west of Rhotas limestone appears cropping out as two small hillocks situated in the forest under the lofty sandstone precipices bounding the southern face of the moun- tains. It also appears at the foot of the sandstone at the western entrance of the large valley named Doomur-khar, on the northern face of the hills about 12 miles south-west of the town of Sasseram. This limestone is extensively quarried wherever it appears, and from Tilo- thoo on the banks of the Sone, large quantities are burnt for lime and taken down the river in boats to Dinapore, Patna, Arrah, Chupra and to other large towns. 282 Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah. |Marcn, Specimens of this stone were sent by me to Calcutta in December 1844, hoping they would prove useful as Lithographic stones, but they were declared to be too siliceous and too thin for any practical pur- poses ; but I feel convinced, that any one who could command time and had the inclination, would be rewarded by finding some good and serviceable beds of this most useful article. In the valley named Soogeea-k’hoh, in a jungly and wild spot, are situated the Gupta limestone caves, which penetrate to a great distance into the mountain ; the hill Khyrwars insisted that the low passages which are met with after penetrating the hill for about 300 yards and through which it is almost impossible for a himan being to penetrate, communicate with the other side of the spur of the hill, which is about half a mile broad, (vide map) and upon going round to the eastern side I saw the opening, but masses of rock fallen from the, roof having blocked up the entrance, I was content with viewing it from the dis- tance of a few hundred yards across a deep ravine. The cave is about ten or twelve feet in height, eighteen or twenty feet in width, and has a few stalagmites and stalactites, worshipped by the Hindus at particular periods of the year. I penetrated these caves for about 500 feet. The strata of limestone in the caves are very narrow and flinty, much waved and contorted, and in some parts of the roof appear to have been forcibly torn asunder, or as if the sides of the cave had sunken into the earth, the roof splitting in the middle to allow of such an arrangement. The general appearance of this limestone is of a dark blue slate color, fracture conchoidal, strikes fire, difficult to break ; when burnt forms the best lime, is quite free from any animal exuvice, and impalpable in texture. In a few cases it is nearly black, also of a pale yellow or buff ; the latter appears to be in a state of decay and is not burnt for lime. Chalk.—Associated with the limestone, chalk is found in a great many spots; wherever known to exist it is extensively quarried and exported. By the natives it is known as Khari Muttee, but is very different from the English chalk. It is found in thin strata of a few inches thick, is unctuous to the touch ; has a shiny appearance, but soils the fingers ; a small detached hill at the foot of Rhotus is composed almost entirely of this mineral. Hornstone.—This mineral is found in several spots underlying the sandstone ; it is met with at a waterfall named Tootala Koond, on the Ld 1847. ] Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah. 283 eastern face of the table-land, four miles west of Tilothoo, also in the Sone river, eight miles west of the Koel river, where jutting into the river its causes rapids ; and again at Jadonathpoor, four miles from the Mirzapoor and Shahabad boundary. Iron Ore.—This is found in large quantities at and near to Soorkee or Sirkee, so named after the red appearance of the soil, which for miles round about is highly impregnated with the red oxide of Iron, and which is situated on the southern edge of the table-land. The ore lies scattered over a large surface of ground, extending for about four miles east and west, what may be under the surface remains to be seen. The principal manufacture of iron from this ore is at Sunda, a village two miles from the edge of the table-land. Specimen 115 is the ore pounded and broken ready for fusion ; 116 is the iron as produced after once smelting, in which state it sells for its weight in rice ; 117 is the ore three times smelted, and now sells for one and a half ana for a ku- cha seer, or three anas for a pukha seer. Iron ore appears scattered all over the table-land but in small and insignificant quantities generally. At a spot named Sulya, at the head of the Mukree-k’hoh valley, are im- mense heaps of iron slag, scattered here and there amongst the hills and in the jungle, and by the hill men said to be remnants of the exten- sive iron founderies in the days of the now almost extinct races of Khyr- wars and Cheeroos, a peculiar and now scattered race, but who profess once to have been a powerful people, having their own kings and princes ruling over them; in appearance these men are very like the Kols, Bheels and Gonds of central and western India ; in their customs, religion and roving habits they also resemble them, and living in the same range of mountains, the Vindhyan range, as their confréres, there is little doubt that they are one of the scattered remnants of the races who formerly inhabited the Gangetic plain long since driven from that fertile tract by a more civilized race. Indurated Reddle—Geru, (Hindustani.) Large beds of this mineral are situated on the summit of the table- land, the principal ones being at Mundpa and Chuthans ; great quan- tities are carried away by the Pussarees on bullocks and exported to Benares, Patna and other large cities; it is used in dyeing, as a pig- ment, and for a variety of other purposes. The beds extend for about two miles north and south, and the spots from whence extracted are 284 Geological Notes on Zillah Shahabad, or Arrah. [Marcu, usually six or seven feet below the surface. The value of a bullock load at the spot costs about three anas. Laterite.—Large quantities of this curious mineral are seen scattered about on all parts of the table-land, but nowhere did I find it forming strata or beds. Alum ore—Martial pyrites—Sulphate of Iron—Potstone. Beds of the above mentioned minerals, occur associated together in five different spots in the hills, viz. two mines in the Koriyari-k’hoh, under the Fortress of Rhotas, one at Telkup four miles north of Rho- tas, one in the valley of the Doorgoutee river, and one in the Soogea- k’hoh ; these two last mines, I believe are totally unknown to Europeans, and would be well worth exploring. A description of one mine will suffice for the whole, as neither in quantity, quality or relative situations, or in arrangement of strata do they differ im any one respect. At the foot of the sandstone precipices, from eight hundred to a thousand feet in height, these mines appear as dark burnt masses of horizontally strati- fied rocks, of several hundred feet im length and from fifty to two hun- dred feet in vertical thickness. The arrangement of strata is as follows : sandstone a thousand feet, indurated potstone thirty feet, dark schistose rock or ore of alum ten or twelve feet ; what may be under this, remains to be discovered. The ore when exposed to the air becomes covered with a yellow spongy efflorescence, which has a small trace of sulphur in its composition ; associated with this ore is another, mostly in small irregular masses, similar to the odds and ends of stone lying about a stone cutter’s yard; it is a black, heavy martial pyrites or sulphuret of iron ; the saline crystals on this ore, some a quarter of an inch in length, are of a beautiful pale blue color, deliquesce upon the shghtest exposure to moisture, and when shut up in a box or bottle, the crystals dissolve, and re-crystallize into soft and light masses resembling snow, which under a lens display a most elegant assemblage of delicate and perfectly formed white crystals. These crystals dissolved mm a decoction of gall- nuts or black tea make an excellent clear writing ink. These mines are not worked to any extent; only a few maunds of sulphate of iron, under the native name of Kussis, being made during the year and exported to Patna and Dinapore, where it is used as a dye for Calico, and in the manufacture of leather. 1847.] Queries on the Archeology of India. 285 I was informed by the zemindars at the mines of a curious circum- stance connected with this ore, which is, that the ore never looses its qua- lities of yielding the sulphate, though washed and rewashed year after year, during the process of extracting the salt ; like the Soda lands in Behar, it appears to have the power of re-producing what, to all ap- pearance, had been expended.* Potstone.—Large quantities of this useful stone are found associated with the alum ore ; also in spots where the alum does not exist. At the village of Pitteean, on the northern face of the hills, a very fine potstone of a dark blue colour is quarried and exported to Benares for the manufacture of Linggas, images, pestles, mortals, bowls, &c. It underlies the sandstone, and extends for about two hundred yards along the base of the hills. In the valley of Doorgawtee I picked up a considerable quantity of dark black stones used by goldsmiths as touch-stones in testing gold. DADO. ws Queries on the Archeology of India.—By the Rev. James Lona. In my occasional researches into the Archeeology of this country, the following subjects have frequently presented themselves as requir- ing elucidation—perhaps through the medium of this Journal light may be thrown on them by correspondents in various parts of the country—some of them may afford a very useful theme for Essays. 1. What are the grounds for believing that the aborigines who now occupy the Hills of Birbhim, Rajmahal, Shergatty, &c. ever lived in the plains of Bengal? 2. Any historical documents giving a description of the cities, popu- lation, &c. formerly in the Sunderbunds. _ 3. When was the temple of Kali Ghat built? What circumstances led to its being established in that particular locality ? 4. What accounts are there of the condition of Dacca in the time of the Romans? * This admits of easy explanation. The one is a sulphuret of iron, which by ex posure to air and moisture, gradually absorbs oxygen and is partially converted into the sulphate. On washing out the latter, the remaining insoluble sulphuret, exposed to the same influence, will continue to yield repeated supplies of the sul- phate till the whole be exhausted,—Eps. 2aQ 286 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. [Marcn, - 5. What was the state of Bengal about the commencement of the Christian era ? 6. Why was Nudiya selected as a seat of Sanskrit learning? What accounts have we of it before the time of Lakhman Sen in the 13th century ? 7. Tamluk was a seat of Buddhist learning in the 4th century—have we any other traces of Buddhism in Bengal proper at that period ? Was Buddhism then in the ascendant at the court of Gaur? 8. The causes by which Tirhét became such a seat of learning? 9. What were the reasons of the degeneracy of the Bengal brahmans before the time of Adisur? Was it in any degree owing to their being infected with Buddhist notions ? 10 What language was spoken at the Court of Gaur previous to the Musalman invasion? Was it Hindi or Bengali or Sanskrit ? 11. What is the earliest authentic account we have of Bengal? Specimen of the Language of the Goonds as spoken in the District of Seonee, Chuparah ; comprising a Vocabulary, Grammar, fe., by O. Mancer, Esq., Civil Surgeon, Seonee. (Communicated by Lieut- Col. SLEEMAN).* , English. Goondi. | English. Goondi. Head, Tulla. Eyes, Kunk. Forehead, Kuppar. Nose, Mussur. Eyebrows, Kunkinda. Fars, Kohi. Eyelids, Mindi. | Cheeks, Korir. * A short vocabulary of the Goond language was published in the Journal, No. CXLV; but the present is much more copious and valuable. It is greatly to be desired that gentlemen engaged in ethnological researches among the Hill tribes, . whether of Central India, or of our Northern or Eastern frontier, would concur in the adoption of a uniform and well selected vocabulary of English words for trans- lation into the langauges of these interesting people. This would confer great addi- tional value on such collections, which would thus admit of ready comparison one with another; whereas from the absence of any such system, it is often no easy matter to find in any two independent vocabularies half a dozen words that admit of collation. We purpose publishing a vocabulary of the kind for circulation among such as have the opportunity of prosecuting these researches, the value of which can scarcely be overrated, and shall be thankful in the meantime for any hints upon the subject that we may be favoured with.—Eps. 1847.] Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. English. Goondt. English. Goondi. Lips, Sewli. Fire, Kis. Mouth, Tidhi. Firewood, Kuttia. Tongue, . Wunja. Huldi, Kumka. Teeth, Pulk. Salt, Sowur. Chin, Towrwa. Oil, Ni. Throat, Ginga. Ghee, Palni. Neck, Wurrur. Milk, Pal. Shoulders, Sutta. Butter, Nent. Nails, Tirris. Mare, Krip. Armpit, Kaukli. Cow, Mira. Stomach, Pir. Heifer, Kullor. Loins, Nunni. Calf, Paia. Entrails, Puddu. Bullock, Koda. Back, Miurchir. Udder, Tokur. Arms, Kayik. Horns, Kor. Thighs, Kiurki. Buffalo, Urmi. Navel, Mud. Horse (large), Perral. Knees, Tangri. Tattu, Chiddur. Legs, Potri. Wheat, Gohuc. Feet, Kal. Otta, Pindi. A male, Mandsa. Bread, Gohuc sari. A boy, Perga. Sujee, Jowha. An infant, Chowa. Chenna, Hunnain. A young man, —— Pekzir. Dol, Kiuisseri. An old man, Séna. Rice, Paraik. A woman, Maiju. | Cooked rice, Gato. A girl, Pergi. Water, Er. A young woman, Rayah. To drink, U'dana. A married wo- \ Lunguriar. Bring water, Ertera. man, To bathe, Erkiana. A chulah, Saidal. To wash hands \ Niirs. A towa, Pinka. and feet, A hundi, Kiurwi. To eat, Tindana. A ghurra, Mullah pirah. Male buffalo, Urmi. A cup, _ Miché. Female buffalo, Bodé. A chumcha, Sukkur, | He goat, Buckral. 2 2-2 287 288 English. She goat, A dog, A cat, A wild eat, Fowls, Cock, Chickens, Eggs, Mice, Serpents, Fish, A tiger, Come hither, Stop, Sit down, Go on, Go, To kneel, To go to bed, To walk, To run, To laugh, To sing, To dance, To speak, To fight, To beat, To weep, Bamboo, Buckul, Grass, Leaves, Posts, A tree, Goond:. Peti. Naie. Bhongal. Wurkar. Kur. Gunguri. Chiwar. Mesuk. Ulh. Turras. Mink. Puallial. Hikké wurra. Udda. Ud chihun. Dut. Hun. Miursana. Nurmana. Takéna. Wittana. Kowana. Warana. Yendana. Winkana. Turritana, Jittana. Urtana. Wuddi. Murris. Jari. Aki. Serrak. Murra. A root of a tree, Sir. A flower, Pingar. Sn a ee ee EE Ee Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. English. | A mango flower, | A mango tree, | A bear tree, A tamarind tree, Sagun tree, Peepul, Not, no Yes, Near, Before, Within, Between, Behind, Above, Beneath, On account, Hither, Thither, Now, When, Here, Thus, Daily, One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Twenty, Fifty, Hundred, a a AN A (Marcu, Goonadi. Iri. Ira murra. - Ringa. Chitta. Teka. Ali. Hillé. Hingé. Kurrin. Nunné. Rupper. Nuddim. Piya. Purro. Sidi. Lané. Hikké. Hukké. Indéké. Boppor. Iga. Ital Atal. Dink. Undi. Rund. Mind. Nalo. Saiyan. Sarun. E’ro. Armiur. Urmah. Pudth. Wisa. Punnas. Nur. 1847.] Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. 289 Singular nouns form their plural by the addition of nk—as, Kora, a horse, Korank. Konda, an Ox, Kondank. Mira, a cow, Miurank. Manda, a man, Mandsank. Maiju, a woman, Maijunk. Neli, a field, Nelnk. Rin, a house, Ronk. Gender.—There is nothing to distinguish the genders except that the females of certain animals have a different name from the males— as Bilal, a she cat, Bokal, a tom cat. Yeti, a she goat, Buckral, a he goat. Puddhi, a sow, Ikundal, a boar. Kor, a hen, Gogori, a cock. Nouns are thus declined. lst Declension. Singular. Plural. Nominative, Kora, a horse. Korank, horses. Genitive, : Korana, \ of a horse. Korankna, of horses, or, Korada, Dative, ; Korat, } to a horse. Korankin, horses. Accusative, or, Korattin, Ablative, Koratsin, by a horse. Koranksin, by horses, 2d Declension. Nominative, Gohk, wheat. Genitive, Gohkna, of wheat. ; : : No Plural. Dative & Accusative, Gohkun, to wheat. Ablative, Gohksin, by wheat. J 3d Declension. Nominative, Pindi, otta. Genitive, Pindina, of otta. : Datel: No Plural. Dative & Accusative, Pinditin, to otta. Ablative, Pinditstin, with otta, Adjectives and Participles are indeclinable, 290 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. [Marcu, PrrRsSONAL PRONOUNS. Singular, Nak ornunna_ I, Imma thou, Wir he. Nowa my, Niwa thy, Wunna _shis. Nakun me, Nikitin thee, Wank him. Nakstin by me, Niksin by thee, Winkstin by him. * Plural. Mak we, Imat you, Wirg they. Mowan our, Miwan your, Wirran their. Makin us, Mekin you, Wirrtin them. Makstin by us, Miksin by you, Warrinsin by them. Demonstrative. Interrogative. Singular. Yirg this, Bir who. Ud he, she, it. Yenna of this, Bona whose, Yenk this, Bonk whom, Ten ] him, her, it, Yenkstin by this, Bonsin by whom, Tane them. Plural. Yirg these, Birk who. Yirran of these, Boran of whom. Yirkin these, Bonk whom. Tunna his, hers, theirs. Yirrdnsin by these,- Bonstn by whom. Indefinites—Bore, some one, Bara, something. Singular—Bora, what ? Plural Barauk, what ? VERBS. Imperative, Wunka speak. q Infinitive, Wunkunna to speak. 2 Present Part. Wunki speaking. ¥ Past Part. Wunktir spoken. ; Conjunctive Part. Wunksi having spoken. Present Tense. Nunna wunki, I speak. Imma wunki, thou speakest. War wunki, he speaks. Mar wunki, we speak. Tmar wunki, ye speak. Wiurg wunki, they speak. 1847.] Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. 291 Imperfect Tense. Future Past. Singular. Nunna wunkundan, Nunna, wunksi howe, Imma wunkundi, if was speaking, &c. {Inna wunksi howe, &c. Wur wunkundir, same for all persons. Plural. Mar wunkundim, Imar wunkundir, ia shall have spoken. Wurg wunkundurg Perfect. Singular. Imperative Mood. Nunna wunktan, I spoke Wunka, speak thou. Imma wunkti. War wunktur. Plural. Mar wunktim. Imar wunktir, Wunkar, speak ye. Wurg wunktirg. Pluperfect. Singular. Nunna wunksi, 7 Imma wunksi, . Wiar, I had spoken, &c. Plural. > Mar, &c. Imar, Wurg, Future. Singular. Nunna wunkika, Imma wunkiki, Wir wunkanir, Plural. I shall speak. J Mar wunkikim, Imar wunkikir, Wiarg wunkanirg, 292 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. (Marcu, Future Indefinite. Singular. Nunna wunkundan howe, Imma wunkundi howe, Wir wunkundir howe. I shall be speaking. Plural. Mér wunkundir howe, Wiurg wunkundirg howe, J Second Example of a Verb. Jim, beat thou. jimpt, beat ye. — ,, Jind4n howe, I shall be beating. Jidna, to beat. ,, Jisi howe, I shall have beaten. Jitur, beaten. Jia, beating. The verbs seem to be conju- Jisi, having beaten. gated alike, whether transitive or Nunna jia, I am beating. intransitive, and to have no pas- ,, Jindan, I was beating. sive voice, nor is there anything », jitin, I beat. corresponding to the Hindusté- 5: JUST, I have beaten. ni particle ,,3. No aorist tenses or », jeka, _—‘I shall beat. subjunctive mood. Tue Lorp’s PRAYER. Mowa Dowial budrut purro muddar-warré ; Niwa purrol dhurmat-mél Our Father heaven above inhabitant; Thy name hallowed aie. Niwa raypat waie. Niwar bichar ital budrit purro mundar atél be. Thy kingdom come. Thy will as heaven above is, $0 durtit purro dud. Mowa pidlda sarin neut mak punkiut: unde earth on be. Our daily bread to-day tous ge: and bahiin mér upnin reina dherrim kisia-turrdm, atal imma mak dherim as we our debtors forgive, so thou to us trespasses kisiut, unde makin miwa jhara-jherti te niuni watnat unde burrotsin forgive, and us into thy temptations do not throw, and from evil mak pisihat, barike niwa rajpét, unni niwa bul, unni niwa dhurmat us deliver, for thy kingdom and thy power and thy glory mal sudda mund ital 4nd. established remain, so bathe 1847.]| Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. 293 THe Ten COMMANDMENTS. Parmesir ital iltur. God thus spake. 1. Kodawund niwa Purmestir nunna andir, namunné niwtr Deo bore The Lord thy God ya am, besides me thy gods not hillé audar. any shall be. 2. Apun lane kital penk, bore budde ai jins ital budrate To yourselves graven images, any sort of creature such asin heaven nuni dhurtile, unni yeté mundar, atal miuni kemut imat wirea kal and on earth, andinsea are, such do not make—you their feet minni kurmat, unde wirrin ramakisni minni kemiat ; iden laine lainé mak do not embrace, and their obeisance do not perform ; because to me an mundur, tinde dourana papun sate chawtin purro sasiut dusta-tona, jealousy is, and father’s sins for children on, punishment inflict, nati unni punti-lor purro, wurg admirun bor nowa grand children and great-grand children upon those men who my bairi munda, undé mat awén—mén sun hazarén nakin mink enemies are, and I from among those a thousand (who) me as pindatirg, unde nowa wunktan purro taki-turg, nunna wurrin a friend take, and my commands according to walk, I on them purro durmi kia tona. my shadows throw. 3. Purmestir-da parrol labarit purro. minni yeumat, tin-lamun papi God's name in falsehood donot take,. for guilty ainun wirg ménwal bor Purmesir-da parrol labarit purro will be that man whe God's name in falsehood yetanur. shall take. 4, Purmestir-da pial purriat unde tan swaf irat sarrin pialk bunni God’s day remember and it holy keep; six days daily buta kimpt, unde sub miwa kam kimpt, at erntida pial Purmesir-da work do, and all thy labour perform, but seventh day God's 2R 294 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. | Marcu, pial mundur, ud pial imma _ buttiai kam kemut, imma day ws, that day thou any kind of work do not make, thou unni niwa pergal unni niwa pergdl, unni niwa rdtkawal unni niwa kinda, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy servants, and thy cattle, wnni niwa pownalir rin mundur ; tin laine Purmesir sarin pialk and thy stranger (thy) house dwelling ; because God six days né budra unni dherti unni sumdtr unni cheitkunné jinsk —_—iwité in, heaven, and earth, and sea, and each creature in them mundatan, awén kitur, nude yerrtin pidl ram tir, Tuilaine id pidltin existing, them made, and seventh day rest took, therefore that day Purmestr dhurmat-mal tane kitur. God hallowed established. 5. Imma upnén babonna unni awunna sewa kimpt, ten sin niwa Thou thy father’s and mother’s service perform, therefore thy yarbul durtit purro Purmestr nikun situr, paral aud. life, the land upon, God _ to thee has given, prolonged may be. 6. Imma mauwan minni jukmat. Thou aman not kill. 7. Imma pap minni kema. Thou adultery not do. 8. Imma kulwein minni kema. Thou theft not do. 9. Imma upnon bigantn purro labari gohai minni sena. Thou thy neighbour against false witness not give. 10. Imma upnon bigantn-ta rota lob minni kema. Imma upnon Thou thy neighbour's house covet not. Thou thy biganiin-ta maigi-na lob minni kema, inde wunna_ ritkawal inde neighbour's wife covet not, and his house-servants, and wunna kinda, innui wunnal guddal unde buttié-jins, upnon bigantin-na his Ov, and his ass, and any thing, that thy neighbour’ s mundar tan purro lob minni kema. 1s it upon covetousness not make. ——- 1347. | Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. ho © cr Sandsumjee-na saka. Sandsumyjee’s Song. Sandsumjee-na saka kuyat, ro Baban, Sandsumjee’s song hear, O Father. Sark ask kitur, Sing-Baban hillé puttur, Six wives he took, Sing-Baba not born, Yirrin ask kitur, awité Sing-Baban autarietur. Seventh wife took, by her Sing-Baba was conceived, Aulér yétana Baban pinwaké. Of her pregnancy Father was not informed. Taksittin Baban, tunwa pari sumpté — kialeé Departed Father, his kinsfolk being assembled together Bariké _ bouke aie penk putta sika. For this reason to some one it happened to offer a sacrifice to a God. ‘Hikké Sing-Baban_putti-lé-ai latur. Hereupon Sing-Baba began to be born. Loro askna_ sowati, sarin mutta. Small wife was sleeping, the other six were there. Awitun, koti aunaté tulla dirissi, “assun inga chawa putti,”’ Said they, grain basket’s mouth into, her head let us introduce in our house child is born, Ud it, ahé kint§ annaté tullatin durritin, So said, so done, into mouth her head introduced, Unni Sing-Baban purtiur, And Sing-Baba was born, Sing-Baban techi urmi sarté michitun, Sing-Baba having taken up, into Buffaloe’s stable threw, Unni nai-pila taniga dussitiin, And a puppy instead placed, Unni ittar, nai-jdla wattoni, And said, a puppy is born, Nai-pilla misate ; tank kawal kédé kiaté taré kittin, A puppy having brought forth, thence crows to frighten they set her, 2 Re 2 296 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. | MarcH, Sing-Baban, urmi ittin, ké yenk borré minni jemat, Sing-Baba, buffaloes said, that him let none hurt, Na tokar jémat, unni tordé pal pursi ten uhat. Nor blow strike, and into his mouth milk having poured him suckled. Au saringé ask whiur setin, pistar ka satur ? The six wives said, let us go and see him, is he living or dead ? Sing-Baban gursundir. Sing-Baba was playing. Augrul indé téchi mura na sarkté nuchitun. Thence indeed having taken him into cow’s stable threw. Mirai ittiin Sing-Baban boré jarniut The cows said Sing-Baba let no one hurt Natokar jemat tordé pal pirsi ten ahat, Or blow strike, into his mouth milk pouring him suckled, Agra kubbér tullick sétin, satur ke pislur ? Therefore information they sent to seek, is he living or dead ? Sing-Baban gursundur. Sing-Baba was playing. Agral téchi kuaén ruppa nuchitun. Thence having taken well into threw. Tisro didn hur séttin, satur ka pistur ? On the third day having gone to see, is he living or dead ? Sing-Baban aga indé gursundir. Sing-Baba there indeed was playing. Agral undé tinsi pullia-na surrit purro. Thence indeed having taken, Tiger's path wpon. Nuchichi situn, Pullial 4sk mandsél wandurg ; They threw him, Tiger’s female and male were coming ; Sing-Baban na arana kinchturg. Sing-Baba’s cries they heard. Pullial mian tras lakt, naur murri aidir, Tigress compassion felt, “ my child it is.” 1847. | Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. 297 Ingi techi yét, Tunwa rimd wot unni tunwa pilausiin niaro irt, Having said so, took him away. Their den came to and their pups from apart set, Khandk tullana tunwa pilauin thitana Meat bringing their pups to feed Pillén hotita, pal Sing-Baban uhnud Their pups weaning, with milk Sing-Baba suckled, Thé kina kina ké, Sing-Baban hisiar atur. So continuing to do, Sing-Baba grew up. Undi dién winna avari tunwa pilénsiin One day his mother her whelps Miléf kissichisi, unni pilaniin indalat Together brought, and to whelps began to say Immer urpa mundana turrimat minni Yourselves among together stay, fight not. Tisro diai Sing-Baban ittiirke, mowa kaia désita The third day Sing-Baba said, my body is naked Makun putchial, kor, pheta tuchim To me a dhoty, dohur, and pugrey give. Adungi hatttim surde ucchi raimat She going Bazar road seated remained. Punkatur unni marratur maralur agdol passiturg A muslin-maker and cloth-maker that way came Techi wit, wurg tunwa guttri pétri nuchi surritarg Having got up ran, they their bundles having thrown away fled, Ud téchi tucchit, Sing-Baban tunsi kursi yétién She having taken up brought Sing-Baba took and put on Unni tunwa awarinna kal kurtir, And his mother’s feet kissed, Munna munnaké tindé didn unde indalatur Staying staid then one day indeed began to say Ki nak gilléle tuechim ud hénhud That to me a bow give. She again went 298 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. |Marcu, Ucchi raimat, Waurrir sipahi gullele-warré agdol pussitidr Seated remained a sepoy armed with a bow that way came. Ud vit ktissi, Gulléle nuchi surritdr. She ran having cried out. Bow thrown away, he fled. Ud techi urriwat Sing-Baba sit ; She having it came and to Sing-Baba gave ; Sing-Baba tunna tummir singné gursi latur, Sing-Baba big brother little brother together played. Pittun pidir tunna tummur tan tinddr Birds shot big brother little brother to them gave to eat Thé kina kina ke, Sandsumji niga subé watir So continuing to do, Sandsumyt home returned with his friends Unni Sandsumji nida latur peuk bouk wandum ? lour ehat And Sandsumjt began to say has any one become inspired, let him arise ; Penk béuké waiyun? aga Sing-Baba imhén kitun God into any one not entered ? Then Sing-Baba inspiration received. Sing-Baba taksitar tunna tummur sungue muttur Sing-Baba was coming, big brother little brother together were Wasi autir, uddam atur wirrir Bummenal Coming came, in the midst was a brdhman Win Sing-Baba teta latur, Wur tedur ; Him Sing-Baba required to get up, he refused ; Tunnarén gussalakt wur Bummenil tingietir Big brother became angry, the brahman eat up Sing-Baba penk techietur. Sing-Baba the image took up. Snbe indalatir ke imma boni andi? All began to say, that you who are you ? Wur ittur ke immer urmitiun unni miramir keat He said that you the Buffaloes and cows ask Unni tunwa tummaén indalatur, hun dain kési terah And to his little brother said, mother go and call, 1847. | Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. Wur vittar kesi tuttur. He ran and called. Yen munté jins unde punchatité puna atur These three species before the punchaite assembled came. Jub Sing-Baba indalatur ké iwén puche kimpt Then Sing-Baba said that them question, Awen sun puché kial latur, yir bir audur? From them they asked, this one who is he ? Minne urmi wunktun yir Sandsimjeénir murri audur. First the buffaloes said this Sandsunyee’s son is. Wiurg indalatur, imma bane putti? Awittin They said, you how understand ? These said Maiga rundidian mungi muttir. Bahur mungi muttur In our house two days staid. How did he remain ? Awittin niwa saringe ask tuttchi maiga pikkilé nuchi angi These said thy six wives having taken into our house to kill threw Unni igga hillé saidr, to murana sarte nuchiche sitir And there not injured, then cow’s house into threw Awen piche kial atar, Maiga Baban at ? From these asked, How into your house Baba came ? Maraitin ké, Maiga rund didn mungi muttur The cows said, At our house two days stayed. Awen saringi ask agral wosi kidnte nuchi sittin These six wives thence having taken into well threw, Aga undé hille saitr. To agrul tunsi kdjane bewatun There indeed not injured, thence taking I know not where took. Sing-Baban piché kial atirké agrél imma behuth ? Sing-Baba they questioned that thence you went where ? Wir ittur id nowa awan piche kimpt He said of my mother ask. Wiunna awal piullian piché kia latur They mother-tigress asked 299 300 Specimen of the Language of the Goonds. Imma bugga punné mati? Ud it You where found ? She said Mowa surde awe saringé ask muchiché mutta On my road these six wives threw away ; Nunna techi urri watan, nowa pilan notita I having taken brought, my whelps weaning, Pal yén ihthan unni hinda hinda bala buttir Milk him suckled and here there with prey Nowa chowantin thetan sube jank pulliana My;young fed. All-understood, tigress’ Kal kartir unni tane penk thaira kitur. Feet embraced, and her a God established. Unni awé saringé asknin aden pullian siturg. And these six wives to this Tigress gave. Udneti tal Sing-Baban puttal atur That day Sing-Baba illustrious became Unni pullial nidé penk thairi mat And Tigress indeed as a God established became. Sandsumjee Babdna id saka aud Of Sandsumjee Baba this song is, Bhirri bans-Bhirri-ta sika aud. Of Bhirry bamboozungle Bhirri the song is. DL DL LPP LPL LL DLPDPLOPIPPUPPPSP LL LLP LILI - — ee JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY. PDI APRIL, 1847. Darrow PAOAOADR A Journal of a Steam Trip to the North of Baghdad, in April, 1846, with notes on the various objects of interest met with. By Lieut. Jones, I. N. (Forwarded by P. MEetvity, Esq. Officiating Under Secretary to the Government of India.) Three years having elapsed since our former ascent of the Tigris above Baghdad, and anticipating from the early rise of the water a more favorable season and better success than we experienced before, arrangements were made accordingly for ascending the river early in March, but the presence of the vessel being again required at Basra, our departure was delayed until the 2d April, when the river had be- come considerably more rapid from the high rise having already set in. We however left Baghdad on the above day, with one month’s provi- sion, 12 tons of coal, and 9 tons of fire-wood fuel. Draught of water with the above stores on board, 3 feet 10 inches, aft, and 3 feet 5 inches forward ; weighed from our moorings at 9-55 a. M., with two boats in tow, and passing through the Bridge of Boats, reached Triunba and Kathemein, the former at 10-35, the latter at 10-55. The banks of the river at this time present a beautiful appearance, the gardens exhibiting a diversity of trees of variously tinted foliage, and a delightful fragrance pervades the air from the now opening orange blossoms. The day is cool and pleasant, but a moderate north wind, _ though very refreshing, somewhat retards our progress. The river too is rising. At 1-45 arrived at Sheri at el Beitha on the right bank—2-33 No. IV. New Series. Dg 302 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. | Apnit, Tel Goosh,* a mound on the right bank, bore west. The country to the north of Tel Goosh between Khan Suweidiyah and the river, is known by the same name as the Khan, but the Khan is also sometimes termed Tarimyeh, from a lake situate in an old bed of the Tigris called Sh’taitha. This is now dry and is reported to be of the same width as the present river. 5 p.m. Khan Suweidiyah bore west, and Jedidah E. N. E. Many mounds of considerable size are to be seen south of Khan Suweidiyah, probably the Tel Kheir of Lynch’s Map, but I searched in vain for the south end of the Sh’taitha+ (or as it is misprinted in Arrowsmith’s copy of Lynch’s Map, the Shat Eidha) which is repre- sented to join the present river near this spot. I am informed however that it is lost in the desert near this. Arrived at the Khan of Jeddiah at 5-3, but finding the stream very rapid near it, proceeded on for 20 minutes and anchored near the old Khan of the same name. The gardens to the north of Baghdad terminate abruptly about two miles above Kathemein on the right bank, but on the left, after leaving Méadhem, scattered villages and date groves are seen, as high as Tel Goosh ; from whence to Jeddiah the country, at present, is highly cultivated with wheat and barley.t On both banks, mud enclosures are met with every two or three hundred yards, in which the cattle used for the purposes of irrigation are kept, and numerous round isolated © towers affording shelter to the cultivators from marauding parties, attest the imbecility of the present Government. The old adage of the sword in one hand and the plough in the other is here literally verified. * Several mounds and lines of canals exist in this neighbourhood. According to Baillie Fraser, Mr. Ainsworth conceives that he has discovered in them the site of the Sitace of Xenophon. Major Rawlinson however, deems the present suburbs of Baghdad on the west side of the Tigris, to stand on a part of the ancient Sitace ; indeed the recent discovery of large masses of brickwork on this spot, bearing the Babylonian cuneiform character, in October last year, when the river was lower than it was ever remembered to have been, would seem to identify it as the site of some very large city. The great extent of the ruins, the size of the bricks, the great depth at which they are found (24 feet below the surface of the soil) justify, in my opinion, Major Rawlinson’s conclusions and above all the cuneiform characters on each alternate layer of bricks, point out, clearly the pains taken in the construction of the buildings, rendering the supposition that they had been brought originally from Babylon highly improbable. + Could this name, although at present an Arabic term signifying the ‘‘ old river,” be a corruption of the early Arabs, from the name of the Town or district of Sitace ? ¢ The land adjoining Jedidah, Howeish, Mansiriyeh, Sadiyeh and several other villages, although washed by the Tigris, is irrigated by cuts from the Khalis canal, 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 303 Received a visit this evening from the Governor of Samarrah, who has been summoned to Baghdad on business, but has obligingly given me a letter to his vakeel. Strength of the current where we are at anchor was found 24 knots per hour, though a few hundred yards lower down it probably amounts to double this rate. April 3d.—Left our anchorage at 5-38 a. M., the river having risen during the night 8 inches, with a cold northerly wind. Thermometer 43°; passed the villages of Howeish and Mansiriyeh, the former at 6- 40, the latter at 8-15, when it bore east on the right bank and west of | Mansiriyeh ; the Tarmiyeh ancient canal leaves the Tigris, and another large canal bearing the same name, and said to be of more ancient date, is seen about one and ahalf miles below. This has now been long dry, but the northern canal, during the high state of the river, still receives a portion of the Tigris and is lost in the marshes west of Kathemein. Its direction by compass was observed to be 244°. The river near Manstriyeh is very broad, but broken by islands. A khiyat* or wall is situate a little to the north of the Upper Tarmiyeh, having an old Khan in ruins close to it. 9-11 passed Sadiyah village and grove of date trees; the country every mile becoming more elevated, and the valley of the Tigris beginning to assume a distinct form. Reached the village of Sindiyah at 10-33 and received 12 hours’ fuel. Remained here until noon to ob- tain observations, which place the village in Lat. 33° 52’ 50”. The whole of the gardens and date groves, from Jeddiah to this place are irrigated by the Khalist+ canal, which and the Dejeil, are the only canals of importance that the Pachalic can now boast of. A sad picture for * This is represented as resembling the Khali sidd ’] Nimrud, or Median Wall, in con- struction. It is stated to run in a S. W. direction and to be lost in the marshes near Akr- Keif. I think it very probable from the information obtained, that many walls of the same description as that “ par excellence” termed ‘ the Median” will be found to exist in this _ part of the country. The term Khiyut or “ lines” is here universally employed for “ ram- _ parts or walls” and differs materially from that of Nhar adopted in reference to canals. The Khali is however the longest and most northerly and therefore the most important. + This canal isa cut from the Diyala where it breaks through the Hamrin range. It pursues a S. W. course ashort distance north of and nearly parallel to the river Diyala ; many villages are situated on its banks and numerous fine date groves are watered by it in its course to the Tigris, which receives its superabundant waters after a severe winter only. At other times it is lost in irrigating the country around Sadiyeh, Mansdriyeh, Howeish and Jedidah, 304 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [ APRIL, contemplation is afforded by the remains of so many noble works of the same order lying scattered around neglected and abandoned ; showing at a glance without the aid of history, the once flourishing state of this classical province. Left Sindiyah at 12-10 p.m. and at 1-35 observed it to bear 137°, At this spot the high cliffs forming the valley of the Tigris abut on the left bank of the stream, and the large canal Nahrwan is seen above them about half a mile distant, bending to the S. eastward. From this point the river runs in a more westerly direction, and at 3-10 passed some high cliffs (assumed at 50 feet) on the summit of which a part of the Nahrwan is observed to have been cut away by the force of the current encroaching on and undermining the soil on which it stands. The cliffs forming the right bank of the river are distant from this spot about five miles. A long alluvial Hawi* projects from them to within 100 yards of the left bank. This space only is now occupied by the river. The tomb of Imam Syed Mahomed bears from this point 262°. This also is the general direction of the river to the mouth of the river Atheim. The Nahrwan is also known here by the name of El Dojin. 3-35 an- chored off a small branch of the Atheim to obtain observations.t The western branch is larger, and is two miles distant from this. It now appears a considerable stream, but when I passed it in March 1843, it * Alluvium deposits in the valley of the Tigris are thus styled. + The western or larger mouth of the river Atheim is 7’ 9’% west of Baghdad by these observations. Its sources are in the Seghimeh range of Kurdish mountains. The Kisseh Sir at Kerkuk,the stream at [44 and the Safidrud unite their waters in about Lat. 34° 40’ north, and in the meridian of Baghdad from whence, under the name of the Atheim it pursues a course a little to the westward of south, through the Hamria range, and final- ly falls into the Tigris in Lat. 34° 00’ 80’. Where the Atheim breaks through the Hamria, the remains of a strong ‘‘ Sidd” exists, of great antiquity. This ‘‘ Sidd” formerly blocked up the natural course of the stream, diverting it into two ancient canals, named the Nahr Batt to the north, and the Nahr Rathan to the south. These canals irrigate the country between the Hamrool and the Nahrwan, and contribute materially to swell the waters of the latter. There can be little doubt, but that the Atheim is the Physeus of Xenophon, but the position of its junction with the Tigris in the days of the learned Greek, must be sought for, I think to the south of its present confluence. A line carried south a little westerly from the present delta of the Atheim, to the dry bed of the Sh’taitha, would in all pro- bability not only mark the site of its former confluence with the Tigris, but might pass over, or near to some extensive ruins, in which might be traced some features that would identify them with the lost Opio. 1847.] Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 303 deserved little notice, but the heavy rains experienced this winter throughout the Pachalic, have increased its importance. After passing the Atheim, the river becomes more tortuous, a long reach extending to the S. W. leads you to an opening of considerable extent, which I am told is the mouth of the Sh’taitha, and supposed to be the old bed of the Tigris (see note of April 2nd). We passed it at 6-15 and stood towards Khan Tholiyah, in a northerly direction. Anchored for the night at 6-32 near two islands which here bisect the stream. The alluvial soil now gives place to banks of pebbles and shingle, occasionally mixed with conglomerate masses, but the high cliffs still exhibit alluvium, mixed with many strata of sand, and in some places red clay. A salt stratum is observed near the present margin of the stream, in which sprigs of the Tamarisk flourish, but the rest is bare and much eroded, not only by the Tigris, but from the numerous tor- rents that find their way from the high lands contiguous to the Hamreen range. The Hawis, or alluvial deposits, formed in the valley of the Tigris, are now in a high state of cultivation. Obtained observations both for longitude and latitude, the latter deduced from the M. A. of* Antares was found to be 34° 00’ 19” N. Sunrise, April 4th, from the masthead observed the true bearing of Khan Tholiyeh to be N. 00° 45’ W. At the same time the following angles right and left of it were taken by sextant ; angle right, high peak of Dalahee on the great Lagros range 14° 25’; angles left of the Khan, Minaret in the village of Beled on the Dejeil 87° 32’; Malwujeh, or spiral tower above Samarrah 53° 16’; Tomb of the Imams in Samarrah 55° 54’; Khan Mazrukji 63° 21’; Imam Syed Mahomed subtended an angle of 43° 34: left of Beled, and the Minaret of Sumeichah village 52° 9’ left of Syed Mahomed. From this station,+ the mouth of the old bed of * Both Dr. Ross and Capt. Lynch place the northern mouth of the old bed of the Tigris about 20 miles further to the west ; but I am assured from very good authority, that its true position is where I assigned it. There may however have been a branch further to the westward, and itis hazardous to differ with two such observant travellers as those I have quoted, but the nature of the soil changing from hard sandstone to allu- vium in this vicinity, it is natural to infer that a deep and rapid stream like the Tigris would select the first yielding soil it met with for a bed to convey its pent up waters to the sea. + Observations (for longitude ) of a Orionis, place this station 11’ 16’ west of Baghdad, and as Khan Tholiyeh bore north, it also lies on the same meridian, 306 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [Avrit, the Tigris or El Sh’taitha bears S. S. E. one and half miles distant, which would make the bottom of the reach south of Khan Tholiyeh, in latitude 33° 59’ nearly, consequently if my latitude be correct (which I have no reason to doubt) the delineation of this part of the river in Lynch’s Map is scarcely carried far enough south. It is difficult however to speak with certainty, as the map in my possession is on a very small scale, deduced by Arrowsmith from Lynch’s original of 12 inches to a degree. Capt. Lynch’s fixed stations are however very accurately determined. During the night the river rose 8 inches, occasioning the banks to fall in with loud reports. Thermometer 42° at day- break. Left our anchorage at 6-9 Aa. ™M. and crossed over to the Hawi on the left bank and received some fuel; completed at 9-15 and pursued a northerly course towards Khan Tholiyeh.* I may here mention a trait of Arab rapacity and general character. Some of the Jebour had been assisting us in carrying our fuel, and I presented them with some ball cartridge in return ; scarcely however had they reached the party to whom they were to have been presented, when one and all made a gene- ral scramble.—The person to whom I entrusted them finding it now impossible to distinguish those who had earned the cartridges, threw them down, and such a scene ensued as could only be told by any unfortunate traveller who might fall into such hands, as assuredly his garments or any other property he might possess would be thus con- tended for ; swords were drawn, and sticks of no ordinary dimensions whistled through the air, and when we left, the excitement appeared as if it would last the entire day. The stream is now becoming more rapid from the increased declivity of its shingly bed ; as we approached the neighbourhood of Khan Tholiyeh, our progress therefore was proportionably slow. At 9-50 the Khan bore N.E. oneand half miles. From this the river pursues a westerly direction to Khan Mazrakji, and from thence to El Ghaim,* a little more northerly. At noon, Beled on the Dejil bore 182’, Tholiyeh Khan 89°. At Ih. a tomb in the body of Nahrwan, called Imam Syed Hussain, bore north one and half miles distant. A small branch of the Nahrwan is also called * A caravanseral on the road to Samarrah from Baghdad. + Properly El Kaim, but is pronounced as I have written it. 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 307 here Siéi el Azeez ;* at the above time Beled bore 169°, and Tholiyeh 99°. Khan Mazrakji, a place of accommodation for pilgrims on the road to Samarrah north, and at 4 ep. mu—N. HE. This is the nearest point to the Khali Sid’] Nimrud or Median Wall. I visited it in 1843 but it is .so well fixed and described, both by Capt. Lynch and Dr. Ross in the Journals of the Royal Geographical Society, that I need not further allude to it. 5-45 came to an anchor for the night in exactly the same spot as we spent the night on three years ago. I was not sorry when the declining rays of the sun obliged us to stop, for I felt much fatigued, having been on my legs the whole day ; indeed nothing but the greatest perseverance and attention to the steerage of a steam vessel through such intricate navigation as we have had to-day, could ensure her making any progress. From Khan Tholiyeh, the bottom has changed to a hard shingle, over which the current runs, by trial, at the rate of 64 geographical miles per hour. The bed of the river is full of numerous islands and shingle flats, and as there is in this season of the year, but one channel of sufficient depth which receives the whole stream, it occasions, where it is thus confined, a considerable fall or rapid, some of which, notwithstanding, a heavy 8. E. wind set in, enabling us to make sail, we could scarcely surmount. The engines indeed appear to be paralized, when on the summit of a rapid, as the revolutions decrease from 29 to 23. This I can only account for by the weight of the vessel in her ascent, acting against the momentum of the paddles ; in fact the small diameter of the wheels is not calculated to lift, as well as to propel, the vessel up an inclined plane. The country passed through to-day has been beautiful im the extreme. The undulating hills forming the valley of the Tigris are now clothed in their spring garments, waving grass intermingled with flowers of every hue, forms a rich landscape, which the eye is unaccustomed to meet in the alluvial plains below. Perpendicular cliffs, composed of masses of conglomerate, laid bare by the abrasion of the stream, seeming to threaten the destruction of the vessel should they fall, are happily contrasted with their carpeted summits. The Hawis of alluvium pro- jecting from the various points of the valley of the Tigris are highly * This is the south branch or feeder of the Nahrwan. It is now much broken by the encroachments of the river. 1 have throughout erroneously termed the branch at E1] Ghaim the south branch, 308 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [Aprrit, cultivated, by the Jebour Arabs on the east and Mahjamma on the west. Obtained the following bearings and angles from the masthead when at anchor. True bearing of the Maluryeh near Samarrah 328°. El Ghaim,* at the head of the south branch of the Nahrwan 19° left of the Maluryeh. Tombs of the Imams at Samarrah 3° 20’ left. Khan Mazrakji right 110° 40’. S. W. angle of the old fort of Qadésiyeh left 15° 33’. Shortly after sunset the south wind fell and heavy rain fol- lowed with thunder and lightning, but before morning the sky again became clear. At sunrise, on the 5th resumed our route, contending against a heavy stream of 6 knots an hour, and occasional slight rapids in the narrow channels. Reached our fuel at Qadésiyeh at 7h. 48m. While taking in wood I visited the remains of the old fortress and city of Qadésiyeh,+ situate about one mile from the river. I never had so agreeable a walk. ‘The country is literally covered with wild grass of every description in full blossom. Flowers of every tint and hue were crushed beneath our footsteps, and the very air was impregnated with their odour. It is of an octagonal form, with. round towers at each angle, between which 16 buttresses or bastions are placed, 37} paces distant from each other. A gap exists in the centre of either side, which no doubt, held the gates of the fortress, but all traces of them are now gone. The wall by measurement was originally 50 feet in thickness, and is at preseut about 25 feet high. Its interior face must have comprised an entire range of vaulted chambers, one of which is still entire and affords a good specimen of the whole structure. It is built of sun-dried clay bricks 18 inches square and 5 thick. No build- ings, at present, exist within its area, but on.minute examination, at one-third the distance across the interior from its western side, I discovered the traces of a wall, which extended from the southern ramparts, in a line due north, for 1240 paces. This line of wall at * See note page 305. This I have erroneously termed the south branch instead of the one referred to in page 305. + A rough plan accompanies these notes. ¢ Fraser in his Mesopotamia and Assyria, describes the distance as 10 to 12 yards. How he has fallen into this error I am at a loss to conceive. If his distance were correct the circumference of the walls of this large fort would be, in round numbers, but 1400 yards, whereas from actual measurement by pacing, 1 made its diameter alone 1500 yards, its circumference therefore as a regular octagon would amount to nearly 4500 yards, or above two and half English miles. . 1847.) Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 309 the distances along it of 700 and 790 paces, and at its termination, had other walls connected with and extending from it, at right angles, or due east, for 450 paces, where they break off abruptly, for I could trace them no further. A perfect oblong enclosure of 250 paces long from north to south and 100 broad, occupied the space between the northern parallels. A high mud rampart appears to have surrounded the town, leaving a space between it and the outer defences of 70 feet wide. The great canal of the Nahrwan is seen stretching far to the eastward and passing within 200 yards of the north-east angles of the fort. A canal or cut from the Nahrwén, about one mile north-west of the city, watered the country between it and the Tigris and ran along the west face of the fortification, throwing out a branch in a S. S. E. direction at a short distance below its junction with the Nahrwan. This offshoot entered the fort at its N. W. angle and ran mas. 8. E. direction to the angle of the city wall, where it bifurcated, one branch passing along the north face of the city, while the other, running parallel with the western wall for 640 paces, suddenly turned to the east through an opening init. After supplying the town, I presume, both this and the northern branch must have been employed in irrigation. It is probable indeed, that the whole space between the walls of the city and the outer defences contained gardens, for no mounds of any size or extent are to be met with which could lead us to conclude that buildings of any importance existed there. From the 8. W. angle of Qadésiyeh* observed the following bear- ings. Malwijeh Tower 328°, Khan Mazrakji 97°, Ghaim Tower 307°, Istabolat ruims and mouth of the Dijeil canal 267°. There can be no doubt, I imagine, that this city was one of importance durimg the flour- ishing period of the Nahrwan, and probably owes its decline and subse- quent abandonment to that vast canal being allowed to fall into decay. A small oblong enclosure, termed El Sanam, existed too on the summit * Qadésiyeh is 26’ 27” west of Baghdad. Mr. Rich, in his Kurdistan and Nineveh, quoting from Gibbon, imagines this to be the Assyrian city of Cardesia, but Col. Taylor, a profound Arabic scholar, deems it the site of anearly Arab town. Mr. Fraser in alluding to it in his Mesopotamia and Assyria, wrongly terms it a Septagon instead ot an Octagon, and has unaccountably placed it on the west side of the Tigris, whereas it is on the east bank. I presume him to have confounded Istabolat, which is on the west bank, with Qadésiyeh, though his description in other respects certainly appertains to the latter. See his work, p. 159. 27 310 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [Aprit, of the cliffs, now washed by the Tigris, but half of it at present remains, the river having swept the remainder away—the walls however on the face of the cliffs are plainly distinguishable, and unlike Qadésiyeh itself, are built of fine kiln-dried bricks, but bear no inscription or cha- racters. The lower half of a statue (whence its name) of black stone similar to those of Egypt, was found here some years ago, and is now in the possession of Dr. Ross. Lat. of Qadésiyeh by a meridional observation of the sun, 34° 4” 38”. On the high land forming the western valley of the Tigris and immediately opposite, or due west of Qadésiyeh, the remains of a neat square town of some extent are met with. It is called Istabolat. The streets and buildings can be traced by a multitude of mounds and broken brick walls in well designed order, running parallel to, and at right angles from each other. A rumed wall of kiln-dried bricks and a ditch surround it. I had not time to visit this interesting spot, but the note here given is from memory, having previously examined it in 1843. The Dijeil* canal leaves the Tigris close to this. The northern and more ancient mouth is now dried up. This canal pursues a S. E. direction and passing the end of the Median Wall, the villages of Harbah and Sumeichah, is finally lost near the Tarmiyeh water. The country is now considerably more elevated. Having obtained the noon observation, continued our course at 12 hours 15 minutes, passing the head of the Dijeil and Istabolat, and 12- 45 El Ghaim,} a solid quadrangular tower situated at the head of the south branch of the Nahrwaén. It is certain that this magnificent canal had two large branches from which it received its supply of water, and by some it is imagined that a smaller canal, called the Nahr Haft, having its mouth at the foot of the Hamrin range, where it is severed by the Tigris, might be called a third. The Nahr Hafti how- ever, is much smaller than the other two branches. It joins the centre one near the Kantara el Resasat from whence this main branch pur- * The Dijeil and the Khalis are the only canals of importance now existing in the Baghdad Pachalic. They exhibit a lamentable contrast with the numerous catalogue of antiquity. + See note, p. 305. t This gigantic canal has long since fallen to decay. It can still be traced for 300 miles, and the ruins of former cities, met with onits margin, attest the flourishing state of Irak during its existence. Vast swamps and extensive lakes, in all probability origi- 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 311 sued a S. E. direction, meeting the branch from El Ghaim which flowed in a more easterly direction, a little above the junction of the Atheim with the Tigris. From this spot they became one united stream, considerably more elevated than the surrounding country, and pursuing an uninterrupted course to the S. eastward over the ‘ Atheim,” the Diala and the present bed of the Tigris, it formerly fertilized the immense plains of Irak by its many ramifications to the neighbourhood of the Persian Gulf, and opening* to the south of El] Ghaim, I have since heard is a duct of this splendid work. In March 1843, I visited the spot marked out as the junction of the two larger branches, where the remains of a “ sid’ or “band,” still exist. A town must also have stood on this site formerly, for the ground was strewed with the remains of buildings, glass and pottery.—Opis is represented by some to have occupied this position, but I hardly think that opulent city could have left no further traces of its existence than the insignificant remains to be here met with at present. From El Ghaim to Samarrah the ascent of the river is very difficult. The fall or inclination of the surface of the stream is plainly distin- guishable to the eye opposite to El Ghaim; a single fall took us 40 minutes to overcome, and I fear, had we not been assisted with a westerly wind which enabled us to make sail, our further progress would have been stopped. Reached Samarrah,+ April 6th, at 7 a. Mm. and remained until 9-35 to arrange about our fuel. I did not however receive any more on hoard as the vessel is already much too deep, purposing to use coal to the next station at Dur, when the fuel we have at present on board is finished. The modern town of Samarrah, situate on the cliffs forming the left nally caused by its own decline, surround it in every direction, converting this once lux- uriant and highly cultivated province into hot beds of malaria aud fever, Its dry bed is now used as a high road by travellers and caravans on account of the protection af- forded in the recesses of its mutilated banks, from any of the numerous parties who may be out in search of plunder. * Sidet Aziz. See note, page 305. + Inthe ninth century Sumere or Samarrah became with a slight change of name, the royal residence of the Khalifs of the house of Abbas. Gibbon, Vol. 3, p. 225, The Roman army under Jovian encamped here after marching and fighting a long summer’s day.—Ibid, Bea 312 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. {|Avrit, bank of the Tigris, is now encircled by a strong wall built at the expense of the influential Shiéh population of India. When I visited it in 1843 this wall was just begun. The town was before open and suffered much from the demands of the Bedoims. They used to encamp outside and threaten to pillage the place if their demands were not complied with. It however is now secure and free from such visits. Buta great over- sight has been committed in not extending the walls to the margin of - the cliffs overlooking the river, for the Bedoins could at any time destroy the aqueduct which conveys the water to the town, and thus by cutting off the supply of this necessary article, compel the inhabitants to come to terms. It is however on the whole a miserable town and owes its importance chiefly to two handsome tombs ;* surmounted by cupolas, the larger being that erected over the remains of Imam Hussain Askarf. It has recently been repaired, and, I believe, was formerly covered with gold similar to the cupolas of Kathemein, Kerbella and Nejaf, but is now perfectly white, the present funds not being sufficient to give it its former splendour. The smaller cupola, or that of Imam Mehdi, is a very neat cupola, beautifully enamelled with yellow and white flowers ona bluish green ground. Imam Mehdi was the last of the Imams revered by the Shidhs, and is said to have disappeared from the earth at this spot. A large hole over which this edifice is erected points out the locality, and from which it is believed he will at some future period present himself. It is therefore much venerated by Mahomedans, epecially by the Shidhs. Pilgrimst from all parts of Persia resort to this place annually. I am informed that 10,000 is the yearly average of the number of devotees to this sacred spot, but am inclined to believe this amount is even now under-estimated. No tax is here levied on the Pilgrims, but the proprietors of the Khans and houses in which they reside, pay to Government 2 Riego Piastres for each individual. The modern town comprises about 250 houses, with a Sunni population slightly under 1000, who possess among them barely 100 stand of arms. * See sketch accompanying these notes. + Since the occupation of the holy cities of Kerbella and Nejaf, by the Turks in 1843, the influx of pilgrims into the Baghdad Pachalic has much decreased. ‘he security afforded at present by the mild government and toleration of Nejib Pasha, will however soon restore the confidence of the Persian devotees, and moreover materially add to the annual revenue of the province, which diminished considerably after the supposed ill- timed policy of the Pasha. 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 313 The town is farmed by Government this year to the present Zabit Seid Hussain, for 280,000 Riego Piastres, or asum nearly equalling to £660 sterling. To the north of the modern town, about half a mile, a curious spiral tower is situated. It is called the Malwiyeh.* Ascertained its height to be 163 feet, as near as possible. From its summit a fine view of the extent of ancient Samarrah is obtained. Heaps of bricks, glass, pottery and scorize are strewed in every direction, and the alignments of many edifices are plainly distinguishable from this commanding position.t The former town is said to have been watered by a tunnel cut under ground, having its mouth in the neighbourhood of the Hamrin. Traces of this tunnel are still to be seen in the remains of wells, (named Kan- nats or Kharees) descending into it. Both the Malwiyeh and the remains of an oblong building (the Jammah or Medressah) close to it, are built of fine brick, with a neatness not to be equalled in the present day. The Medressah is about 810 feet in length and 490 broad, hav- ing 12 buttresses between the corner bastions on its N. W. and S. E. faces, and 10 on its N. E. and S. W. side. The great entrance faces the Hebla and shows at once its Mahomedan origin; a fountain appears to have-existed in the centre of its area. The walls at present are about 30 feet high, and on the S. W. side the remains of Gothic windows are discernible. To the N. N. W. of the Malwiyeh, about two and half miles distant, are the remains of the Khalifa or Palace of Motassem, the 8th Khaliph of the Abbasides.t The entrance is now all that is left standing. The ruins around occupy a large space and have vaulted chambers beneath them; many an idle tradition is attached to these subterranean apart- ments by the Arabs, and moreover “‘ Beckford’s Vathek” owes its origin to this locality. During our visit to it in 1843, we descended into the * See sketch of this town and the modern Samarrah, with a bird’s eye view of the sur- rounding ruins. + A spiral road on the outside of the tower conducts to its summit. Fraser, in his description of this tower, states the existence of a staircase in the interior of the building. I think however he is in error, as I deem it, from close scrutiny, a solid mass of brick- work. Large holes, similar to those observed at the Birs, Nimrud and the Mujelibe, perfo- rate the pile at right angels, but for what purpose unless for ventilation I am ignorant. All the Babylonian ruins indeed, are thus pierced through, and the architect of the Khalifs in this peculiarity, appears to have copied the more ancient models. t He quitted Baghdad on account of the rebellious disposition of its inhabitants. Notein Rich, Vol. 2, p. 251. 134 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad, [Aprit, vaults by means of a rope and block much to the dismay of the frightened natives, who would not trust themselves near the spot, but awaited the termination of our enterprize with a superstitious dread. They firmly believe that a Lion has chosen this place to hold his court in, and when we again made our appearance on “ terra firma’’ scathless, they thanked God for our deliverance. The vaults are of some extent, and are cut out of the limestone rock, but have brick roofs. A few scraps of old and much rusted iron and a fathom or two of decayed rope rewarded our labours. The site of the ancient Samarrah was undoubtedly well chosen. The broad and rapid Tigris bounded it to the west, the main branch of the Nahrwan extending from the Kantaratel Resdsa to the river “ Atheim,” on the north ; and the south branch of the Nahrwan extending from El Ghaim in an easterly direction to its junction with the north branch, on the south ; thus enclosing a triangle of rich land, whose longest side was 35 English miles and the remaining two 20 miles in length. Many towns occupied its area, and the numerous canals, offshoots from the great Nahrwan, crossing it in a diversity of lines, attest its former ferti- lity. Atthis time nota blade of grass or a single tree breaks the mono- tony of the extensive view from the top of the Malwiyeh. A death-like silence prevails around the fallen city, interrupted only by the howling of a jackal, who has just issued from some of its deserted vaults. W. by N. of the Khalifa and on the undulating mounds forming the right boundary of the valley of the Tigris, another ruin, apparently of the same order and date is seen. The buttresses which are met with at regular intervals along the wall, are partly standing, giving to the whole ruin, when viewed at a distance, from whatever quarter, the resemblance of a group of pillars. These buttresses are circular or square pedestals, and are neatly built of fine brick work. It is called « Ashik, or the Lover.” Some high mounds about half way between the Khalifa and Ashik, or near the latter, in the valley of the river, mark the site, I think, of some very old ruin (probably Babylonian) of much earlier date than that above mentioned. The Arabs however call them ‘‘ Mashuk, or the Beloved,” and a bridge over the Tigris is said formerly to have connected them with Ashik, notwithstanding which, tradition assigns to this place a tale, similar to the well known but doubtful feat of the Leander of Hellespontie notoriety. 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 315 About four miles north of the modern town of Samarrah, a high tumulus stands on the plain. It is called Tel Alij* or the “nose bag round,” and is said by tradition to have been raised by some former ruler ordering his troops each to bring the nose bag of his horse full of earth for this purpose. It exactly resembles the tumuli to be met with in Syria and in the plains of Shiragoor near Suleimanieh. * This highly curious and interesting mound, in all probability marks the site of the ** Ustrima” or pyre on which the body of the Emperor Julian was burnt previous to the removal of his ashes to Tarsus. We learn from Gibbon in his Decline and Fall, chap. 24, that the Roman army under Julian wandered many days to the East of Baghdad and afterwards countermarched in the direction of the Tigris, that the Emperor received his mortal wound and died within a few days march of Samarrah, and that his body was embalmed amid a scene of terror and distress ; we are informed also that Anatolius, master of the offices and the personal friend of Julian, with three tribunes met their death on the same day. That the army, after having elected Jovian Emperor, resumed its route at the next dawn in the direction of the Tigris and after marching and fighting a long swmmer’s day encamped in the even- ing at Samarrah. On the next day the second after the death of Julian, it appears the Roman legions remained encamped at Sammariah as instead of being harassed on the march, the Persian troops attacked the camp which was pitched in a sequestered valley. On the evening of the third day, it is related the Roman army encamped at Carche (see sequel) tolerably secure from assault in the protection afforded by the lofty dikes of the river ; and that on the fourth day after the death of Julian they pitched their tents at Dina where they remained a considerable time occupied in vain attempts to cross the Tigris and finally accepted after four days’ negotiation, the humiliating conditions of peace. The circumstances attending the death of Julian and the subsequent marches of the army to Dina are here so clearly related that any one conversant with the geographical detail of the country between Samarrah and Dur would trace, at a single glance, almost every footstep of the worn out and incessantly exposed legions. It will be seen therefore that the site of Tel Alij must have been the very ground on which the army encamped on the second day after the demise of the Emperor, and it is presumed that the act of encamping, under such circumstances, was one of duty and not of choice. The heat of a Sammariah summer cannot have materially changed since the time of Julian, the interment or burning of the dead therefore within 36 hours was impera- tively necessary. The reason for embalming his body I conceive was only a compliance with universal custom (vide Digest 14, Ed. 3, S.5, E. 8), or for the purpose of enabling it to accompany the army until the passage of the Tigris was effected, when comparatively secure, more time would have been afforded them for performing the sacred rites, than in the presence of an active enemy. But the insufferable heat, if such was the intention, I conjecture prevented its execution and caused either the interment of the body or its reduction to ashes on this very spot. The delay had already been extended to its farth- est limits, for the time above stated is the utmost that can be accorded to the non-inter- ment of the dead on the sultry plains of Irak or Mesopotamia, the army therefore was 316 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. {Aprit, At 9-55 a. mM. April 6th, left Samarrah, and had hardly proceeded an hour before we grounded on a shingle flat. From Samarrah to this place we had been struggling hard against the violence of the stream and had nearly surmounted a fall of water over a shoal spot when the engines losing their power, the vessel’s keel touched the ground and in an instant she was thrown on the bank, with her port broadside expos- compelled to encamp for the performance of the inviolable rites of the “ funus publicum”’ over the corpse of the departed Julian. ‘This may reasonably, I think, be inferred ; for any delay, otherwise than on an occasion like the present, would not have been resorted to in the distressed position the army then occupied, and moreover, at such times, we are informed a total cessation from business was enjoined (called Justitium) which was usu- ally ordained by public appointment. The soldiers were then freed from their military duties even, (‘Tacitum. I. 16—82; L. W. 1X. 7) and in this case no doubt enjoyed a repose they had long been strangers to. It may be said that the act of embalming the body on the night of his death implied its removal into the Roman territories ; but it ean hardly be supposed that such an idea was ever contemplated by a famished army surrounded and harassed by barbarians at every mile, and amid such distress as Gibbon states, shortened the moments of grief and deliberation, even did the fierce heats permit such a proceeding. The circumstantial detail however, of the funeral obsequies of Julian, which took place afterwards at Tarsus, as related by Gibbon, if literally true will, I confess, invalidate all that I have advanced, for he distinctly states in Vol. III. p. 286, that the corpse of Julian was transported from Nisibis to Tarsus in a slow march of fifteen days; but again in the next page, in speaking of the sophist of Antioch, he esteems his general zeal for the cold and neglected “‘ ashes’ of his friend, this in some measure leading us to conclude that the body was previously burnt. Whether this was the case or whether the heart alone suf- ficed for Jovian to bestow the last honours to the manes of the deceased sovereign, will for ever perhaps, be attended with some doubt ; but we cannot at the same time, reconcile Gibbon’s description of the great distress of the army, their famished and wearied condi- tion, the factions existing amongst them, the anxiety of each individual to secure his pre- sent safety at the passage of the Tigris (where the loss of the army is stated as equalling the carnage of a day of battle), the subsequent suffermgs both from hunger and thirst on their dreary march through the wilderness of Mesopotamia, when the beasts of burthen were slaughtered and devoured and the arms and baggage of the soldiery strewed the desert for want of strength to carry them, with the statement that his corpse reached the frontier town of Nisibis ; indeed, the slow march of fifteen days which were occupied in transporting the remains of Julian from Nisibis to Tarsus will not, I think, coincide with the geographical distance between the two places of 409 Roman, 366 English, or nearly 25 miles daily march, and that too, through the hilly country situated at the foot of the Taurus. These discrepancies certainly afford grounds for suspecting the general consistency of the historian, even did not the stern fact, which I have previously advanced of the almost impossible transaction of carrying the corpse for such a distance over the densely heated and sultry plains of Mesopotamia, negative such a procedure. a 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 317 ed to a stream running nearly seven geographical miles per hour. I have been many times aground both on the upper Euphrates and on this river, but a worse position than this I scarcely ever occupied. The shore was 290 yards distant, and the dropping of anchors in the stream, from long experience, was known to be useless, as from the hard nature of the bottom they came home with the slightest strain. After six hours hard labour we succeeded in getting an anchor buried on shore, and a I think therefore we may fairly infer that, either the body of the apostate Julian, or the funeral pyre in which it was consumed, formed the ‘‘ Nucleus” o/ this antiquated pile, and that either his heart, or his ashes conveyed in an urn, received the “last honours of Jovian and the mournful lamentations and clamorous insults of the hostile factions” on the journey to Tarsus, The stately tomb erected to commemorate his virtues, on the banks of the Cyduus, has long ere this passed away ; but the imperishable monument of earth raised by a devoted army over the remains of a beloved general, on the margin of the Tigris, will endure for ages yet to come. For an interesting description of Yet Alij or Walijah, consult Dr. Ross’s paper on a journey to Apis in the Journal of Roy. Geo. Society, part II. vol. XI. act IX. p. 121. He describes it as about 100 feet high, but I consider it at least 150. Its present singular appearance may be accounted for, by subsequent rulers having fortified its summit as a place of refuge from sudden attacks during the ever-varying and disturbed stages which have swept over the country. The Arab tradition in itself, is not a little curious, and shows that a large body of troops were employed in the construction of the mound. In Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, Vol. 3d, p. 225, we find in a note that M. D’Anville hag demonstrated the precise position of Sumero, Carche and Dura. I have not M. D’Anville’s work by me, nor am I acquainted with the situation he assigns to Carche. From my own observations however, I am inclined to identify this spot with the position the Roman, army encamped in, under Jovian, the night previous to its reaching Dur. The“ lofty dikes of the river” can be no other than the high embankments of the gigantic Mahrwan, and by “ the hills from which the archers of Persia insulted and annoyed the weary legiona- ries.” I presume it meant the high conglomerate cliffs which here bound the east valley of the Tigris. These are diversified into a multitude of heaps caused by torrents from the highlands forming deep ravines (‘‘ sequestered valleys’ of Gibbon) on their passage to the ‘ligris ; unless it be as [ have premised, it is certain that no other Hills” exist with- in 35 miles of this vicinity. ‘he eye wanders overa vast and magnificent plain, relieve ed only by the twin monuments of antiquity known as the Zellal Benat and Ali, which jn all probability, were not only erected by the distressed legionaries over the ashes of their late Emperor and comrades, but remain to this day asad memorial of the sufferings they endured. The geographical distances of each day’s march will be found to correspond with the movements of a large army, and the precise spot on which Julian fell must be looked for about 10 miles to Ic. N. E. of the ancient Samarrah. The true bearings of the various objects of interest in this neighbourhood will be found in another part of this Journal. taken from the summit of the Maluryeh, onthe site of the ancient town, 2°09 318 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. | ArrRtit, chain of 150 fathoms attached to it, brought off across the heavy stream to the vessel. We now thought the heaving off certain, and were con- gratulating ourselves on our success, when the chain snapped in two and the vessel swung round with a heavy crash, as if her bottom was stove in, her head down and the starboard broadside now receiving the whole weight of the stream. ‘Tried in vain to connect our chain again during a heavy squall of thunder, lightning and rain, and desisted for the night. During the night the stream forced the lee-side of the vessel higher up on the bank, while the weather-side heeled over to starboard, into deep water, occasioned by the heavy current acting against the vessel, cutting or abrading away the bank below us. At daylight the port side of the vessel was nearly dry, while the water was within 18 inches of the star- board scuttles, and had we remained much longer in this position she might have turned over or perhaps filled when the water reached them ; at day dawn, however, we were again at work and happily succeeded in connecting the chains. From this time till lh. 20m. p. m. on the 7th we had at intervals a heavy strain, by which the vessel righted and eventually came off the ground by allowing the stream to catch her on the opposite quarter. Employed the remainder of the afternoon, after securing in a good berth, in pickmg up our anchors and cables. Had we grounded on the lower Tigris a few minutes would have sufficed to have again set us in motion, but on the upper Tigris and Euphrates, it is the labour of hours, if not of days. Part of the Shammar Arabs under Nijiris are roaming about this part of the country, as are the Al Bu Hamed. Large herds of their camels are grazing around and enjoying the rich grass which abounds every where at this season. Some of the tribe approached the vessel when aground, and a Bedoin I have with me was sent to them, to offer no molestation to our crew, while burying the anchors on shore. Two of the party were present at the affray in which Suliman Mirza lost his life, and in which our friend Timour was severely wounded by a spear through his lungs. They inform us that the person who slew Suliman Mirza by severing his head from his body at one blow, met his death a few days afterwards from an Ajail Arab, when they attacked a caravan. ‘They also profess to regret the circumstances attending the attack on the princes, and say they have not known “good” since. “Their chiefs have been killed and their children have died; their 1847.] Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 319 favorite mares are barren and suffering from disease, and happiness has left their homes.”” Some English iron, I believe belonging to Messrs. Lynch and Co. of Baghdad, was offered to us for sale, for a mere nothing. This had been plundered from a caravan a few months previously, and a common bottle taken from some of Suliman Mirza’s party was tender- ed for the exorbitant price of two Ghazees.* The former offer, I replied, I could not accept, as I too, had iron for sale, and pointed to the 9lb. shot, which Syed told me caused some amusement. The latter, I did not want and offered them as many as they wished for, which soon lowered the price of their commodity. These people appear to be the terror of the Jezira from their lawless habits. The Shammar, though feared, are much less dreaded. April 8th.—River rose three inches last night ; weighed at 6h. with cloudy weather and a south wind which, should it freshen, may assist us. At 7-17 Ashik bore west three quarters of a mile distant, Cha’afel Kelb+ some high mounds south of Ashik 201t. Sammariah 137t. Mahirgeh 129t. with the mounds of Mashak nearly in a line with it, Khalifa 112t. The river from this bends more to the N. E. for a short distance along the cliffs, forming the east boundary of the valley of the Tigris, thence north to Shinas, some modern ruins which extend a considerable distance to near Abri Delif, a miniature resemblance of the Maluryeh, which we passed at Ilh. amoderate south wind materially assisting our progress. At lh. 10m. arrived opposite the mounds of Mehjir and the Kantarat el Ress, or main branch of the Nahrwan already alluded to. The former is the scene of a great action fought by Omar, Pasha of Baghdad, against the large tribe of Majainmah (Dr. Ross’s Journal Roy. Geo. Society, Vol. IX.) on the east side of the Tigris, about two miles inland from this, to the eastward is the upper “ Sidd” or “ band” across the Mahrwan, constructed of large masses of stone, held together by leaden clamps From this it derives its name Kantarat el Resasa, literally signifying “the bridge of lead,’ and although not actually a bridge in our accep- tation of the term, but a dam to confine the water in the low season, it might have answered both purposes, or with more probability, the name may be modern and come into use only since the decay of the canal. * About 8 shillings. + Mounds of the Seven Sleepers and their Dog. 320 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [Aprit, Passed many encampments of the Shammar on the right bank near Haweisilat. They extend nearly up to Mosul. These people are how- ever, migrating towards Baghdad, as Suaffok, the chief Sheikh, advances to the south. The parties of Nejiris and Suffok, are now not on friendly terms owing to Nejib, Pasha of Baghdad, having invested the former as Sheikh of the tribe, while the latter claims it as aright. Ahmed el Kode (a connection by marriage of Suffok) informed me this morning that the Abeid once possessed the whole of Northern Mesopotamia, and that the present Shammar usurped the country in rather an origi- nal way, but a way nevertheless adopted even by more civilized nations than the predatory Arab races. He says ‘‘ Two Shammar families with their tents originally wandered from Nejd, and after some time encamp- ed with the Abeid. Among the chattels of the new comers a wooden bowl of extraordinary dimensions was observed, but it excited no fur- ther curiosity until the strangers invited some of the then holders of the soil to a feast, when the bowl was set before the guests, filled with the carcasses of sheep, butter, and the usual ingredients of Arab-fare. The dinner was duly discussed and the Abeid on returning to their tents were talking of the munificence of the strangers and the unusual dimensions of the wonderful bowl. A grey-beard of the tribe, who had not been at the feast, listened in silence for some time, and starting up to the dismay of his friends, demanded that the newly arrived strangers should be immediately put to death, adding with the air of a prophet, that the famous bowl told a story in itself, and that ere long, many strange fingers would be dipped into it. It literally happened as the old man had foretold. His voice was overruled in the assembly and the strangers’ lives were spared. A few months afterwards, Sham- mar after Shammar arrived and feasted from the much dreaded bowl. A few years sufficed for the total expulsion of the Abeid, and from being lords of the soil, that once powerful tribe became fellahs and slaves to. the formidable Shammar.” Such was Ahmed’s account of the origin of the Shammar in Mesopotamia, but nevertheless the Abeid are still powerful enough to render themselves obnoxious to the Govern- ment. They at present occupy the country opposite Tekrit and, I believe, now never cross into Mesopotamia. At 3 hours 15 minutes the tomb of Imam Mahomed Dur at Dur* * Dura was a fortified place in the wars of Antiochus against the rebels of Media and Persia. Note in Gibbon from Polybius, Vol. 3, page 226. 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 321 bore east. In shape it is a cone similar to that of the tomb of Zobeidi ia Baghdad, on a square base. The village is a collection of miserable houses on the undulating mounds forming the east margin of the valley of the Tigris, and boasts of a small minaret. Rich appears to iden- tify this spot with the “ plains of Dura” of Scripture. The river opposite the village is disposed into numerous channels, much contracted, through which it flows at a very rapid pace.* Having with difficulty ascended beyond the numerous islands, came to an anchor above the village about one mile to receive our fuel which is piled on the bank awaiting us. The inhabitants soon collected. ‘The Pasha’s letter was presented and received with every mark of respect. After a short consultation, a boisterous fellow was called for, with hands stained with indigo, and who followed the calling of a dyer as well as Moollah and teacher to the “young ideas’ of Dur. The letter was handed to him to read _ aloud for the satisfaction of his auditors, who formed a circle around. Diving his right hand into his pocket, which was capacious enough to hold any one of his scholars, he produced a pair of barnacles, and fixing himself in a commanding position, vociferated forth the contents of the missive, at the full pitch of his stentorian voice. When he concluded a buz of applause signified the approbation of the assembly, and their willingness to act in any way I might require. To the east of Dur, about one and half miles, a high tumulus named Tel Benat} or the “ girl’s mound” is situated. It is similar to the Tel * On the fourth night after the death of Julian the army under Jovian encamped at this place, and experienced much difficulty in vain attempts to cross the Tigris. The ignominous treaty between Sapoor and Jovian was here concluded. The impregnable fortress of Nisibis and the stronghold of Singara, were acquired by the Persians in a single article and a disgraceful peace of thirty years’ duration consented to by the obscure domestic,” as Gibbon terms the newly elected emperor. Gibbon, Vol. 3, page 228. Great difficulty would no doubt be met with at the present time in crossing a large army at this particular spot. The River is here more than usually rapid from the great declivity of its bed. + This resembles Tel Alij in appearance. It is about the same height, and evidently of equal antiquity ; much care has been taken in its construction and the remains of a ditch and covered way are still discernable. The ‘“‘ tumulus” is no doubt of Roman origin, and: copper coins bearing Roman characters but too much corroded to render them decypherable, were found in its neighbourhood. We know that both the Greeks and Romans erected conspicuous mounds or piles over the ashes of their celebrated Generals, and itis presumed they would have resorted to this mode of burying their illustrious 322 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. {|Avrrit, Alij, and can be seen some distance off from its isolated position on the plain. Between it and the village are many lime kilns. Lime is here found in great quantities, and Baghdad is chiefly supplied from this place. It is conveyed in rafts down the Tigris.* I remarked that the dead in a country where stone is not available for monuments. The sacred nature of the tomb amongst the nations of antiquity which preserved these structures inviolate in former ages, has equally defended them from the ruthless hand of the superstitious Arabs. Time also, instead of demolishing adds to a fabric of this nature, as every blast of wind that sweeps over the desert, carries with it clouds of dust which accumulates on and enlarges the original structure, rendering it the most durable and imperishable of all monuments. If Vel Alij be admitted as the tomb of the ill-fated Julian, we may conclude that Tel Benat covers the remains of the legionaries who fell in the repeated attacks made by Persians, and of the many who lost their lives in the ill-conducted attempts to cross the Tigris at this spot. * The rafts in use on the Tigris at the present day have in no wise altered since the days in which Herodotus, the author of the Analysis, and the Historian of the Emperor Jovian, compiled their works. ‘They are composed of the branches of trees supported on the inflated skins of sheep, and are capable of carrying aload of from 80to 40 tons. These rafts are admirably adapted for the descent of the upper Tigris. Possessing but a small draft of water, they are enabled to float over the numerous dikes and shallow spots met with in its course to Baghdad. Floatmg with the stream, two or four paddles, according to the size of the raft, are capable of retaining it in the fair channel, and accidents there- fore very rarely occur. On the raft being unladen at Baghdad the timber it is composed of is sold for what it will fetch, and the skins after being dried are conveyed back to either Tekrit or Mosul by land. In this manner the whole of the immense blocks comprising the Khorsabad marbles lately excavated from a village of that name in the neighbourhood of Mosul, by Monsieur Batta, the French vice-consul, at the expense of his Government, were conveyed to Baghdad and there shipped into native boats for Basra, where the national brig Cormorant was in readiness to receive and finally convey them to France. Travelling by raft as a matter of convenience, is far preferable than by the land journey from Mosul to Baghdad. A tolerable-sized tent sufficient to protect one from the sun can be pitched on this original conveyance, and a few books, with the varying seenery, will tend to while away the few days, (not exceeding six and sometimes only two) that may be occupied in the descent of the river. It is however not at all times a safe route, for when the Arabs are ina disorganized state, consequent generally ou some ill-timed measures resorted to by the Government for their coercion, they fail not in stopping and plundering any rafts or passengers that may chance to come within reach of them ; indeed, I am informed, that on one occasion, a British officer happened to be journeying in this manner and was thus waylaid ; my informant added that not- withstanding the over-confident individual was armed to the teeth, and had hinted a determination not to be taken alive, he was stripped of every thing he possessed, even to his nether garments. I have since met some of the party who helped to denude the unfortunate traveller. It was both ludicrous and amusing to witness the delight with which they imitated his piteous supplications to be allowed to retain only his shoes. 1847.| Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 323 inhabitants here generally appear sickly, and sore eyes seem to afflict the greater part of the community. Some of the women were very pretty and fair, and evinced no alarm at coming near the vessel. Having completed wooding by 7h. 45m. April 9th, we continued our ascent. The river above this is new to us, the vessel not having reached beyond Dur when we attempted the ascent in 1843. Indeed, This was however denied, and he was compelled to walk barefooted through the prickly camel thorn from the encampment back to the raft. His gait and gestures under this indignity were inimitably personified by his ruthless captors. I have since heard that had it not been for the vaunting display of so many weapons by a single individual, that he would have met with better treatment, and been allowed to retain his habiliments instead of being forced to appear ‘‘ in puris naturalibus.” The display and injudicious use of arms in a case like this cannot be too strongly repro- bated: a single pistol or a sword is sufficient to intimidate a few petty robbers, but with the lawless tribes of the desert, who attack generally in overpowering numbers, the exhibition of offensive weapons by a disparity of force, serves only to irritate and is likely to lead to bloodshed which the Arab in most cases wishes to avoid. Blood however being once drawn, the result is easily conceived. The fate of Messrs. Taylor, Asperiall and Bowater, is fortunately I believe a solitary instance recorded of massacre having followed the rash act of injudiciously using arms, amongst Europeans; but such occur- rences are frequently heard of as happening to‘the natives of the country, and indeed the “ law of blood” universally admitted inthe Arab code,in some measure sanctions the indiscriminate taking of life as an indemnification for the loss of either friends or relatives by strife or feud. This law, though possessing its disadvantages, is morally a good one amongst the barbarous tribes of Arabia, for murders would become of more frequent occurrence did not the fear of revenge tend to restrain the animal passions. A family having whatis termed ‘‘ Durn” or ‘‘ blood” on its hands, is generally shunned by the rest of the tribe, who dread being involved in its consequences. The same rule affects individuals. The penalty however of “blood for blood” can be commuted for a sum of money paid by the offender to the tribe of the injured party, only a part of which the latter shares. It is collected from the whole tribe to which the culprit belongs. provided he is too poor to pay it himself,and the offence is not of a very aggravated nature. The “ price of blood” varies in different parts, and is moreover not at all times accepted. In the towns, a small sum, according to the degree ofthe party, suffices, and may be reckoned as about £20 to 30. Among the desert tribes itis much more, amounting in some cases to nearly double these sums, paid partly in coin, and partly in camels, oxen, or sheep. On settling these affairs a good deal of form is gone through. The heads of the tribe and the relations of the parties concerned assemble at a fixed spot, and after payment of the penalty, witnesses are called to swear on the Koran to the nature of the settlement ; a hole is then dug in the ground, in which the feud is considered to be buried. It is then filled up and a curse pronounced on the head of any party who might happen to revive the quarrel. ‘he parties then separate. ‘This contract is not however at all times binding ; in a few cases a thirst for revenge predominates, and whole tribes are then involyed by the breach of faith of a single man, 324 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. | Aprit, had we not been favored with a strong south wind, I fear our present attempt would have been attended with the like disappointment. At 10h. 50m. a small enclosure in the Hawi on the left bank bore east two miles. It is called Khan Jozani, and affords protection to the cul- tivators when threatened by plundermg parties of the Abeid or Shammar. The tomb in Dur bore at the above time 157°. The river from Dur to this is known by the name of the Khan, and is much cut up into islands, rendering the main channel extremely sinuous. Our ascent to this has been one continued struggle against a heavy stream, and a rapid every half mile, which the vessel barely manages to over- eome. Progressing steadily against the difficulties, arrived opposite Sheri at el Aouja, a landing place formed by a gap in the clifts on the west side of the Tigris. From this Dur bore 149°. Caravans here halt to water. At the time of our passing, a Ghazu or plundering party of the Shammar were lying m wait for any opportunity that might present itself, of enriching themselves at the expense of others. Long before we reached Tekrit, the inhabitanis had turned out and the adults of the population even met us several miles below. At four Pp. m. anchored at Tekrit, and received a visit from its Governor, Mustafa Effendi, who put the resources of the town at our disposal, and rendered us much service by placing at our command several Cavasses without which we could scarcely hope to complete the vessel with fuel, the crowd around being so great. In the evening, I walked to the top of the cliff on which the old citadel stood. It bears evidence of former strength and, being naturally nearly inaccessible, must have been entirely so when fortified. The front facing the river is quite perpendicular, and exhibits horizontal strata of stiff clay, red earth, fine sand and conglomerate in successive layers from the water’s edge to its summit ; indeed, this is the general formation of the cliffs bounding each side of the valley of the Tigris from Samarrah to Tekrit. This isolated cliff is about 130 yards long by 70 broad, and in height 86 feet* from the water’s edge, but the debris of the former buildings scattered over its summit increase it to a hun- dred in its highest part. Large massive bastions of lime and pebbles faced with solid brickwork, abut around the cliff, between which the * ® | ich, in his work, estimates the height at 200 feet; he is howeverin error, for I be- stowed some care on its measurement, , --oe 1847. | Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 325 wall once stood. On the south face between the citadel and the modern town, and half way down the cliff, two buttresses of the same formation as the bastions, point out the situation of the gate-way. The bricks which faced them have been carried away for other build- ings. A deep ditch about 30 yards in breadth, but now filled up with rubbish, conveyed the waters of the Tigris around the base of the citadel, thus completely insulating and rendering it impregnable, before cannon came into use. South of this on another isolated hill, stands the modern town, formerly girt in by a wall which has fallen to decay. It contains at present about 300 miserable houses and 1000 inhabitants, but the space formerly occupied by the ancient town is of great extent. Some ruins, called the Kanisah, or ‘** Church,” are still shown. A few years ago, when Suffok, the Shammar Sheikh, invested the town, a trench was dug by the inhabitants for defence. From it many curious urns of pottery and sepulchral vases were exhumed, one of which, in the possession of a Moollah Rajib, spoken of by Dr. Ross in his journal, I with difficulty procured from the owner. It is surrounded with figures of men and birds, of a curious, but rude execution, and is probably Babylonian.* The modern town has two mosques but no minarets. The streets are kept free from filth, and altogether bear an aspect of cleanliness and order seldom seen in eastern towns. I am told on an emergency 400 matchlocks and guns can be collect- ed for the defence of the place, and am inclined to believe this is rather under, than above, the true amount. It is however, certain, that the Tekriths have maintained their position against the Arabs, and even compelled the powerful Sheikh of the Shammar to relinquish his intended assault on the place by the menacing attitude they assumed. Mr. Rich, in speaking of this place in the flourishing times of Daood Pasha, states that it was then farmed for 22,000 conl. Piastres annually, and that it boasted at that time of 600 houses. I presume this must be a mistake, for at present, though its dwellings are but half that number, and its population proportionably small, from the effects of the plague and other causes, the proprietor or farmer, pays yearly to the * Tt is now inthe possession of Major Rawlinson, C. B., the Political Agent in Turkish Arabia, and the learned and indefatigable author of a work which is now in the press on the cuneiform inscriptions of the East. ‘lo his other and varied accomplishments he adds, that of a keen and persevering antiquarian, y tab 326 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [Aprit, Government of Bagdad a sum three times as large as that mentioned by Mr. Rich. For 68,000 conl. Piastres, or a sum equal to about £600, it is farmed this year. The Hakim or Governor is Mustafa Agha, an Agent or Vakeel of the proprietor, who resides in Baghdad. I paid him a visit at his house, if such a wretched dwelling can be called one. He received me very politely, and taking my seat among the elders of the place, various topics were discussed. ‘The Governor paid us the utmost attention, and to show his breeding and knowledge of the world before .the motly assembly seated around, asked if I preferred coffee after the European mode, with milk and sugar or * Alaral.” Not to put him to any trouble, I mentioned the latter, but he would not be gainsaid, and after many instructions and lessons on the art of making it, his servants produced a tolerable beverage. Great complaints are made by the Tekrith against the Government, and at the present unsettled state of this part of the country. Fear of the Shammar on the one side, and the Abeid on the other, have prevented the townspeople from extending their cultivation to its usual limits, and the consequence is, the rich land laying between Tekrit and the Hamrin, is now a perfect waste. The inhabitants are all Mahomedans with the exception of one solitary Jew, who is on the staff of the Governor, and whose life is not to be envied. To the question of what have you in Tekrit? ‘One barren date tree and an infidel Jew,”’ was the reply. During the night obtained a meridian altitude of a Seorpii from which I deduced the latitude 340 35’ 45” N.; and from the citadel* I obtained the following bearings. True bearing of the tomb at Dur 8. 27° 87 * Thave searched in vain for any ancient notice of Tekrit. Naturally strong and rendered in a measure impregnable by artificial works whose remains are still plainly distinguish- able, it is not a little curious that it has as yet, { believe, remained unidentified with some of the strongholds of antiquity. Both Rich and Fraser, though frequently men- tioning it in connection with the geographical description of upper Mesopotamia, fail to attach any historical record to this locality. In an old atlas I observe Birtha is marked as situated on this spot and having no works in my possession that allude to it, am compelled unwillingly to remain in ignorance. Birtha is however generally regarded as identical with the modern Bir, or Birehjik, a small town occupying an ancient site on the upper Euphrates; and the uear resemblance of the ancient to the modern name would seem to justify the conclusion. I am inclined to regard it as having been at one time a Christian town. The Arabs have a tradition to that effect, and the term ‘‘ Khanisah” only used to denote a “ church,” 1847.) Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. 327 9 9° _ E. Magnetic bearing of the same S. 24° 30’ E. making the variation 2 38’ W. Tel Benat near Dur, 150°, Khan Jozani 148°, Arnin, on the opposite side of the river, called Kamsah, 110,° opening in the Hamrin, where the Tigris breaks through, called “ El Tet’bha,” 3483°. A ruin of an ancient nunnery termed Darel Benat* or the “ Girl’s Residence,” stands about one and half miles to the 8. W. of the citadel. Having obtained observationst for the chronometer and despatched a messenger to Mosul with letters to the Vice-Consul, and with in- - structions to communicate with Suffok, to whom I addressed a compli- mentary epistle, we left Tekrit at 9-40, a. m. A new Pilot, or rather an old one (for I believe he is upwards of 70 years of age) was shipped _ for the river above this ; in fact he is the same individual who conducted the Euphrates under Lynch seven years since. He declared after having _ been on board an hour and witnessed the performance of the vesse] against the current, that she could not pass the rapids which the _ Euphrates found difficulty “in ascending ; indeed, what he says I fear _ will prove true, for our progress to-day has been considerably slower a than yesterday, and in many places amounted to almost a stand-still. At 4-15, p.m. having along reach full of difficulties ahead and no hope of passing them before night comes on, brought to an anchor in _ the only secure spot to be met with in the neighbourhood. From Dur, the principal chamnels appear to be confined to the west- ern part of the valley of the Tigris, but below that place the main of the stream attaches itself to the western cliffs. _ The latitude was observed this evening by a meridian altitude of Dubhe ee Al’ 52”, thus making our whole day’s progress of 63 hours’ steaming equal to 6’ 7” of northing only.t _ would warrant the supposition. Three ancient edifices in the modern town and a ruin on the opposite bank of the Tigris, are thus designated. _- Since writing the above note, I observe that Mr. Ainsworth, in his Asia Minor includes ‘Tekrit (Tageit) in his list of Chaldean Bishopries, Vol. II. p. 276, from a Catalogue pub- lished by Amru in the twelfth century. The existence of Babylonian relics amongst its ruins, however, would refer its origin to va i date anterior to christianity, but under what appliation it was known by, or from . whience it derived its present name, I am at a loss to conjecture. _ * Probably a nunnery when Tekrit was a Christian Bishopric. + These observations place Tekrit 42’ 16” west of Baghdad. ; t A singular cave in the cliff forming the right margin of the river, is just. below our iy GD ye Sagp'e ’ 328 Journal of a Steam Trip to the north of Baghdad. [Aprit, April 11.——What would not our talented and ever-to-be-lamented friend have given to see the clumsy though interesting objects, the subject of this paper? In these we find the wor- ship of the Dagop and the Chuttur, of the Sun and of Fire, of deities hitherto unknown to us, but which appear to have reference to bramani- eal creed, and point to Egyptian origin. As the best way to induce and encourage an undertaking is to set a good example, I now lay before the Society a portfolio of rough sketches of some of the curious sculptures of unquestionable antiquity found scattered here and there at the former parental seat of Buddhism —Bédh Gyah. It will be seen that these bassreliefs are in medallion, they form the ornament of posts or pillars which, from the elliptical sockets remain- ing, show them to have supported a railing similar to that still existing around the Tope or Chaitya at Bhilsa, and represented in the very sculptures themselves, not only around the Topes, but forming enclo- sures for the sacred Trees and ‘‘ Chutturs’” (Umbrellas), &c. This pattern, which I shall call the “rail or bar pattern,” I had years since remarked as a peculiarity ; it is to be found in the present sculptures, in _ the caves of Western India, Mahabullipore and Amaravatti, in the caves of Kundgirri and the Tope of Bhilsa, in fact it may be considered as the certain and indisputable mark of early Buddhist works. We have a square pillar with similar sockets in our museum, on one face of which is the figure of a priestess holding a bird cage, and on the other probably the elephant and Maya Davee, illustrative of her dream related in the Pali annals ; it isin Agra red sandstone, and I believe was found at Mut- tra and deposited in the museum by Col. Stacy ; I invite the attention __ of my Calcutta brother-members to this curiosity, which has no doubt originally formed part of a similar work to those described. By the foregoing it will be seen that from these sculptures we learn } the peculiar style of architecture prevalent in the country two thousand 4 five hundred years ago, at least of religious buildings, and from the _ Bhilsa sculptures we find that of fortifications. We next see that the leading objects of worship were the Chaitya ¢ _ and the B6 tree, of which so much mention is made in the early Budhist works. 2¥ 2 336 Note on the Sculptures of Bodh Gyah, [APRIL, Again we find that the implements of warfare were bows and arrows, spears, double-edged swords, precisely the shape of those still common in the Curjats or petty states of Orissa, called ‘‘ Khandas,” and that stones were hurled from the walls of their strongholds. From the Bodh Gyah sculptures we find that all the scenes are laid amongst the rocks; that such were the most favorite localities we have ample proof from most of the known sites in Behar, and of Western India, Cuttack and Ceylon, and the very remote antiquity of the prac- tice is again confirmed by Herodotus and by holy scripture itself, as relates to Western Asia and Hgypt, from which it may possibly have been borrowed. The sculptures of Cuttack and Gyah represent the same style of dress and of coiffure, the men wearing a short, the women a long Dhotee, the upper part of the body remaining bare in both, with few exceptions ; the hair of the men wound up in a knot on the crown, and that of the women both on, and behind, the head. The ears of either sex having extended lobes from the apparent weight of the great rings and knobs in them similar to those worn by the Kanphutta sects of monks (votaries of Siva) in the present day, and I should observe that the costumes above described closely resemble those still worn by the Kunds and Boomiahs of the Orissa mountains, the Chotya Nagpore districts, the head-dress in particular ; the broad necklaces and anklets are an equally prominent feature. In the description of preparations for the great convocation in Magda after the death of Sakya, mention is made of the nature of the orna- ments, amongst which were representations of festoons of flowers, &e. ; now this ornament is of repeated occurrence in the sculptures I am treating of ; garlands are represented as suspended from the Chutturs and the Bé tree, and from poles both on and beside the Topes or Chaityas ; angels are seen flying with them over the object of worship; and from the fragments at Gyah and Barabar, it would seem that this was always a favorite ornament; here then again we have the correctness of a de- scription contained in one of the most ancient writings extant, confirmed. Of all the subjects, that of the hand issuing from a rock or a cloud, and holding apparently a flame of fire, which is again surrounded by other flames, with a concourse of people in the act of worship, is the most curious and interesting; it will, I think, explain the allusion to 1847.] Note on the Sculptures of Bodh Gyah. 337 * Aguni,” in the pillar inscriptions which Prinsep could not account for, therefore considered the passage doubtful. The next which occurs on the same stone is a young male figure in a chariot drawn by four horses and attended by two amazons with bows and arrows, which [ take to be meant for ‘‘ Surya” or ‘‘ Mythra,” the Sun, whose emblem is oft repeated in the shape of the chakra or wheel. This again explains another doubt in the same reading, as well as the emblems on the early coins. A third sculpture exhibits a temple with the Monogram (on an altar) so common in the coins, likewise surmounting the standards represented in the Bhilsa sculptures, cof which I think may be considered to repre- sent both the Budhist and Hindu Triad, as the tristil and the mystic syllable “aum” combined ; taking the figure as it stands, it forms the trisul, if separately, we have the } 4 and &, of which I consider it to be a combination, but if the second letter is objected to and | u be required, the | verticle line below the circle at once supplies it ; if again the y JL is preferred, we have it in the upper half thus W, and I think that I shall not be taxed with too great a stretch of imagination in offering this solution of the problem. _ Assuming the foregoing to be correct, I must beg permission to digress a little and offer a few words on this curious emblem to show its connec- tion with the present idol and worship of Jugannath, and the once famous Somnath ; first then let me invite the perusal of Patterson’s able paper on the Hindu religion, to be found in the 8th volume of the Asiatic Researches, under the head Juggannath ; he attempts to show, and I think successfully, the origin of the idols and worship of Juggannath ; he considers those wooden idols to be an ingenious personification of the triliteral and mystic word “aum”’ itself, held in reverence not only by the three great sects of Hindus, but (as I have shown) by the Buddhist hkewise. Mr. Patterson imagines that the device was to render the temple an object of worship for all sects, the surest method to draw a large revenue from pilgrims, he was led to this supposition from the similitude betwixt the written syllable & and the shape of the logs or idols which (it will be observed) still more closely resemble the symbol of these sculptures; supposing then these inferences to be correct, we come to the conclusion that the object of 338 Note on the Sculptures of Bodh Gyah. [APRIL, worship at Juggannath was in fact the Supreme Being, ‘“ Jug-nath,” ‘“‘ Lord of the universe,’’ in the sign triliteral syllable representing His three attributes “ aum.” That Somnath, the great pagod of Western India, was dedicated also to the Supreme Lord of the creation under the same symbol Aum, I think there can be no doubt ; both temples are alike situated on the border of the ocean, where mortals at a glance could see the three great elements themselves, viz., the Heavens, the Earth, and the Waters the mightiest works of the Creator. The word Somnath may be composed of two syllables, Som and Nath, the latter meaning Lord, the former, either a way of expressing Sriin the dialect of the gulf or of an abbreviation of the words Sri and Aum, or thus Sri—Aum—Nath. The mighty Aum, the Lord, which latter I consider to be the most probable ; the first conjecture merely arising from the fact of “ Som”’ being an affix to other names in that part of India, such as Som Meanee for instance, and others I cannot at this moment call to mind. I am nevertheless aware that Som was a name for the moon, also an emblem of Siva. I believe Juggannath to be of comparatively modern date ; the present temple is more recent than that to the Sun at Kanarac commonly called the black pagoda, and neither are above 600 years old. I think it there- fore not improbable when Somnath was destroyed Juggannath was esta- blished on the opposite coast in a remote spot less likely (as it has proved) to be molested by the Moslem usurpers of India’s thrones. I have suggested that the objects represented in the Gyah sculptures point to Egyptian origin ; perusal of Mr. Patterson’s treatise above quot- ed will show that the idea that India borrowed her mythology from Egypt is not novel. Capt. Burr, in his Journal of the Campaign in Egypt in the same volume has thrown out hints on the subject ; nor are these gentlemen the only persons who have brought forward strong argu- ments in favor of the supposition, 1 therefore invite particular attention to this point and to the drawings,* in which will be found the figure of a female with the head of a horse or an ass, another of a goat on a pedestal or altar,—the water jars, the three figures, two female and one male. The Lotus oft repeated, and again the couple caressing each other, beside whom water jars are placed. ‘The centaurs or minataurs, the * JT hope to be able ere long to supply copies of these drawings to the Society, une ee ae eS : 5 a —————E—_——e_-_-- -- ese - 1847. | Note on the Sculptures of Bodh Gyah. 339 winged oxen and horses, and the sphynxes, all are objects at once curious and instructive, for which reason [ have taken the drawings I have now the pleasure to lay before you. As I am always asked by those who have been at Bodh Gyah, where these curiosities are to be seen, I will explain for the guidance of future traveliers—first then, to the right hand facing the great tower within the quadrangle, is a miserable modern built mut or temple, containing five Budha images shown to the visitors under the name of the Panch Pandus ; beside this is another with a kind of porch supported by eight or nine flat octagonal pillars; on these many of the sculptures are to be seen, also the sentence 4 [ +] A ‘Cav? eme gift to Gyah of Ajaya the? ‘The meaning of the word + | I cannot make out ; it may be Kurd, and if so, it will read ‘‘ of the invincible Kiri ;’’ there are other _ fragments built into the ceiling of the little temple in the centre of the square, also in the great temple itself; further sculptures of the same kind are to be seen in the colonade of the Mahunt’s mut or monastery, where there are five more octagons and one square pillar of the same sort, on which latter the most curious subjects are found. There are a num- ber of other pillars there, of the same shape and dimensions, but of a different material (granite), date and style of sculpture, the most interesting specimens of which are here represented, tinted blue in con- tradistinction to the others, which are of a redish yellow hue.* _ [have been unable to find any of the eliptical connecting bars, but several portions of the upper rail or capping are to be seen; many stones have been carried away, others are built into the walls of the mut and many still lie buried beneath the rubbish behind the great temple, where the rest were found. There are many idols and fragments of former buildings well worth drawing, and I hope I shall be some day enabled to add them to the large collection I already possess and to offer a few remarks on them, my present notice was intended to apply only to the more ancient Budha sculptures ; I shall now therefore take leave of my readers, on whose patience I must have already trespassed too long. * This refers to the admirable drawings exhibited at the meeting, and on the occasion of Capt. Kittoe’s interesting lecture on the Buddhist antiquities of Gyah. —Eps, 340 The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. [APRIL, The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon, by Witt1amM Kwicuton, £sq. author of the “ History of Ceylon,’ and late Secretary to the Ceylon Branch, Royal Asiatic Society. The large mass of rock which goes by the name of Damboolla-galla, is situated about forty-five miles to the north of Kandy. It is of pri- mitive formation, being chiefly composed of gneiss and mica-schist, and is in many places rapidly advancing to disintegration. There can be little doubt that it has either been elevated to its present position by successive upheavings of its mass, or that by the action of the sea when it was at the surface of it, or on a level with its bed, the surrounding earth had been washed away, leaving its naked mass prominently and permanently elevated. At the village situated at its base, four lines of roads, or more properly traces, diverge in various directions. One running in a north-westerly direction through Anuradhapura to Aripo and Manaar, another in a north-easterly course to Trincomale, a third in a southerly direction to Kandy, and a fourth south-westerly throngh Kurneyalle to Ambapusse, where it meets the great road from Colombo to Kandy. To this cir- cumstance, and to the existence of a tappal-station there, the village owes its origin, and as the traffic on these various lines of roads increases, there can be little doubt the village will increase likewise. A large and commodious rest-house is already in existence, and requires but a greater number of visitors to become much more comfortable than at present. The accompanying rough and badly executed sketch, may give some idea of the appearance which the rock presents on its northern side as seen from the verandah of the rest-house. Somewhat of the shape of the hinder part of a gigantic human skull, it raises itself bare and naked, unvariegated over a very considerable extent, by a vestige of — vegetation. To the south it spreads out into a less elevated and naked, but more extended mass, affording an easy access to that part hollowed out by religious zeal or fanatical enthusiasm into cave temples. Imme- diately above those temples the rock rises in a perpendicular mass, probably to a height of one hundred feet more, and affords by means of adisjected ledge, a dangerous and fearful road to the highest summit. The excitement of climbing blinds one at first to the difficulties of “TOOEWYG 40 SAIdW3y BAY) BH WS S ~~ , a af mali Rite Gach ie 1847.] The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. 341 this expedition, and it is-not till he turns to descend that he becomes fully sensible of his danger. Arrived at the summit, a height of about five hundred and fifty feet above the surrounding plain, a wide and interesting view of the level country beneath repays the adventurer for his toil. In the east, rising in the distance to a considerable height, will be seen the rock Seeqiri (pronounced Heegqiri by the natives) to which Kassapo, the son of Datusens, fled to fortify himself against his brother, after he had murdered his father and usurped the kingdom, A. D. 477. The hill called Dahiakande, near the rock last mentioned, points out the position of the fort of Vigittapoora, visited and described by Major Forbes and Mr. Turnour, and memorable for its seige by Gaimono the first, in the second century before Christ. To the south may be faintly distinguished the outlines of some of the Kandy hills, whilst to the north a wide and level plain extends itself, bounded by the rocks of Miwara Kalawia. On the summit I saw the remains of an edifice which formerly existed there, consisting of stones and bricks, and on examining the vicinity for some other indications of human labour, I found a hole cut in the rock, one foot square and about a foot anda half deep, into which I imagine the beam or pillar on which the building rested had been in- serted. The entrance to the caves is as I have said, about one hundred feet below the level of the highest summit of the rock, and at the distance of about a mile from the village to which the rock gives its name. A rough tiled building, built principally of wood, affords a passage to the more immediate precincts of the caves, and on entering this the visitor finds himself standing on a ledge of rock covered with a slight coating of mould, out of which a few cocoanut trees and many shrubs glean a scanty supply of nutriment. To the right rises the perpendicular mass of the rock, which to a height of about thirty feet, has been exca- vated, partly by human labour and partly by nature, a wall being built up in front of the caves, which reaches to the overhanging mass of rock above. To the left the hill descends very steeply, covered with herbage of various kinds, amidst which hundreds of monkeys disport themselves, secure from the violence of man in a scene hallowed by the temples and images of the bloodless prophet of Maghada. The ledge of rock, covered with a slight mould on its eastern side, on which I am now 22 342 The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. [APRIL, supposing the visitor to be standing, runs in front of all the caves, a distance of about five hundred feet, varying much in breadth, but gra- dually becoming narrower towards the western side, where are situated the two aluth or new caves. In front of all the temples a narrow verandah extends, which projects from their front wall, and above which may be seen the marks of the wedges used in excavating them. I have said that the rock temples of Dambool are partly natural and partly artificial. So long ago as one hundred years before our era, they had served as a refuge to a Ceylonese monarch when escaping from the Malabars, who had invaded his kingdom, and in gratitude for his deliverance and for the shelter they had afforded him, Walagambahu piously increased the caves to a much larger dimension, placed in them images of Budha, appointed priests to take charge of them, and dedi- cated certain lands for their support, The invasion of the kingdom by the natives of the continental coast, the flight of the monarch, and his subsequent success, are thus related in the Rajavali.* ‘After his (the previous king’s) death, Walagambahu Rajah succeeded to the throne. When he had reigned five months, seven Malabar chiefs with seven thousand men from Sollee, made a descent on Ceylon, and drove Walagambahu from the throne, and one of the Malabars taking the king’s wife, went away with her. Another of them seized the patrya cup of Budha, and likewise went away. The other five Malabar chiefs remained, and succeeding one another in the government, reigned as kings for the space of thirty years.” (The Mahawanso, with more proba- bility, computes their reigns at fourteen years in all) ; ‘ about the expira- — tion of which time the king, Malagambahu, who had been living amongst the rocks in the wilderness, left his solitude, raised an army, and attack- ing the city of Anuradhapura, destroyed the Malabars, again ascended the throne, and caused the houses of stone or caves of the rock in which he had taken refuge in the wilderness to be made more commo- dious.” In the Mahawanso, as translated by Mr. Upham, the caves of Dambool are particularly mentioned as having been constructed by Walagambahu, although in Mr. Turnour’s version, which is generally so much fuller, strange to say, this notice is altogether omitted. The next notice which Ceylonese history affords us of these caves, is in the account of the reign of Kirti Nissanga, A. D. 1187 to 1196. * Part 3, p. 223, in Mr, Upham’s translation. 1847.]. The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. 343 The Rajavali,* after informing us that that prince went, with many followers, to Adam’s peak, and worshipped there the print of Buddha’s foot, adds that “in order to perpetuate his name in Ceylon, he caused the dagobah at Dambool to be built, and having gone there, caused to be made 72,000 figures of Buddha, and the said place he called by the names Rathinda and Boolhinda.”’ The word thousand, in the above extract, is probably an embellish- ment of the historian’s own, seventy-two alone being mentioned in the incription on the rock, which records that monarch’s benefactions, and of which we shall now speak particularly. The visitor has been supposed to stand on the ledge of rock imme- diately in front of the caves, after having passed the rough building which serves as an entrance. So situated, the first object which presents itself to him is this inscription on his right hand, deeply graven in the rock in the old Cinghalese character, differing but little from the cha- racter now used. The inscription itself occupies a space about six feet broad, and four in height. It commences by describing in the usual eastern style the monarch whose actions it records, Kriti Nissanga. He is stated in it to be “an invincible warrior,” to be endowed with “might, majesty and wisdom,” and to be “like the placid moon, radiant, with cheering and benignant qualities.’ These necessary preli- minaries being ended, it proceeds to inform us that his subjects having been impoverished by inordinate taxes, he enriched them by relinquish- ing his revenue for five years, and by granting to them lands and cattle. It then asserts that besides all this, he rendered all those who cultivated jungle, and thus increased the quantity of cleared land, exempt from all taxation for a considerable period—a provision strik- ingly wise and excellent. The remainder of it, as bemg less tedious and redundant, I shall quote entire. ‘ He (Nissanga) also made it a rule that when permanent grants of land may be made to those who had performed meritorious services, such behests should not be evane- scent, like lines drawn upon water, by being inscribed on leaves, a material subject to be destroyed by rats and white ants, but that such patents should be engraved on plates of copper so as to endure long unto their respective posterities. “Thrice did he make the circuit of the island, and having visited the * Part 4, p. 255. PR le 2 344 The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. (APRIL, villages, the towns, and the cities, and having explored the places diffi- cult of access, the fastnesses surrounded with water, the strongholds in the midst of forests, and those upon steep hills, he had as precise a view of the whole as if it was an amlaca (a kind of prism) on the palm of his hand, and such was the security he established, as well in the wilderness, as in the inhabited places, that even a woman might traverse the country with a precious jewel, and not be asked, what is it? When he had thus ensured safety in the island, he longed to engage in war, and twice dismayed the kings of Paandi,* and having accepted the royal maidens, and also the elephants and horses, with other tributes of homage which they sent him, he formed friendly alliances with such of the princes of Choda, of Gowda, and of many other countries as duly appreciated his good will, but by his personal valour struck terror into those who esteemed not his friendship ; and he caused princesses to be brought to him from each of those countries, with other tributes of homage, and as then there remained no hostile kings throughout Dambadiva to wage war against him, he tarried at Rammisseram, where he made donations of balanced weights, consisting of valuables, and thus enriched the poor and satisfied the needy. He then caused obe- lisks of victory formed of stone to be set up as lasting monuments, and having built a devale consisting of five divisions, departed thence with his army, composed of four regular bodies, and returned to Ceylon. Then reflecting that albeit he had no enemies here, he might possibly encounter enemies hereafter, he caused alms-houses to be erected in many places in Dambadiva, as well as in this island, and caused alms to be distributed constantly. He also caused gardens and fields to be cultivated and dwellings for priests to be formed upon the hill Ranko- hokalooheene, wherein is situated the cave of Dambula Sena. «Having a perfect knowledge of the doctrines of Buddha, he pro- moted the cause of religion, and also the interests of science ; he restored the ruimed fanes, and the roads which were destroyed in consequence of the calamities which had befallen the land, during former reigns, and rebuilt the wihares in the city of Anuradhapura, in Kelania, Mewoo- yone and many other places; he expended vast riches, and within this wihare he caused to be made seventy-two statues of Buddhu, in the recumbent, the sitting, and the standing posture, and having caused * An ancient kingdom on the Coromandel coast. Its capital was Madura. 1847. ] The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. 345 them to be gilt, celebrated a great puja at the cost of seven lakhs of money, and as is thus recorded upon this stone, gave to this cave the name of Swarna Giriguhaaya,” (i. e. the cave of the golden mountain.) Such are the contents of the lengthened inscription which prominently strikes the eye of the observer on first advancing to the caves of Dam- bool, and the picture which it gives us of the government of Ceylon in the twelfth century is far from contemptible. The caves themselves are five in number—the first three stretching from east to west, are the older, and the more laboured structures, the remaining two, forming an obtuse angle with the others, being much more recent and comparatively insignificant. The excavations are separated from each other partly by remaining portions of the rock, and partly by artificial walls, and they stretch into the heart of the mountain to various distances from fifteen to one hundred and thirty feet. The ground plan of them which I annex will perhaps give a better idea of their relative positions than a mere description. In height they vary from ten to thitty feet, being generally more lofty at the entrance, and gradually decreasing in height as they advance into the rock. The cave usually called the first, as being the first the visitor reaches, is also the most easterly, and is but a few yards distant from the inscription just treated of. It is called the Maha-Deva-Devale; (the temple of the great god,) the title not referring to Buddhu, of whom there is a gigantic colossal statue in the cave, but to Vishnu, a statue of that deity also placed in it being considered of superior sanctity. On entering the Maha-Deva-Devale, the visitor at first sees but little difference between it and the interior of the other wihares scattered in such profusion over our island. It is not till his attention is directed to the fact that the gigantic recumbent image before him is a portion of the rock around that he becomes sensible of the peculiar nature of the cavity in which he stands. The figure of Buddha is forty-seven feet long, his head rests in the usual manner on his right hand, the right arm being bent beside him, the hand again rests on a pillow, in which is apparent the impression supposed to be made by the weight of his head and arm—the whole being cut out of the solid rock around, together with the bed on which he lies. Being rather doubtful of this fact of which the priest had just informed me, and being anxious to be certain about the matter, ina moment of thoughtlessness, I knocked 346 The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. [APRIL, pretty sharply the massive elbow beside me to test its truth, when the priest raised a cry of horror at my temerity; and seizing my arm, would have put me from the sacred edifice ; I, of course at once apolo- gized for my want of thought, as I was far from intending to wound his feelings,fand I soon found that a few rupees, added to my explanation, made matters perfectly satisfactory. 1 had the pleasure of assuring myself by my profanation, however, that the image actually is of stone, and that there is no deception about the matter. Besides these two statues—the colossal one of Buddha, and the smaller one of Vishnu, there are four others of the Maghadie prophet, of about the natural size, and of the kind so common in all the wihares of the island. Leaving the Maha-Deva-Devale, and proceeding to the westward, the visitor ascends a few steps, and finds himself in front of the Maha Wihare or Great Temple, by far the largest of the five. In front of the Maha Wihare, or as Major Forbes calls it, the Maha raja Wihare, the temple of the great king, and near the small wall that borders the steep side of the mountain, rises the Bo-tree, from beneath which a view of the exterior of the second, third, fourth and fifth caves may be obtained. The accompanying sketch, imperfect as it is, may afford some idea of their appearance. To the right the first temple stretches in a line with the second, but hid by intervening trees; and to the extreme left are seen the two smaller and more recently excavated caves, forming an angle with the others. The projecting meclosure to the left, of which two walls are seen, represents the tank, which it will be perceived is laid down in the ground plan. Immediately above both entrances to the Maha Wihare, marks of the wedges with which the rock was split are very apparent—evidences of the labour employed in the construction of the caves. On the massive doors and small windows of the Maha Wihare being opened, the visitor sees before him a large spacious apartment, the floor of which, that is, the rock beneath him, is quite level, whilst the roof gradually descends from the entrance to the further side, being twenty- one feet high near the front wall and only four at the opposite quarter. Immediately in front of him (supposing him standing at the door) he sees aline of statues representing Buddha, either in the standing or sitting posture—some plain, others ornamented with an arch like canopy surrounding his figure. On his right hand the same line conti- 1847. | The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. 347 nues uninterrupted, making a right angle with the former one, but on the left, where a similar line also extends, his view is intercepted by a well proportioned dagobah, the top of which touches the roof above. The sketch beneath may give some idea of its proportions. The Maha Wihare is upwards of one hundred and seventy feet long by seventy-five feet broad, and contains within its spacious dimensions forty-six images of the prophet god, none of them being smaller, and the majority much larger than life. Besides these, which stretch in the manner described round the cave forming three sides of a parallel- ogram, there are also statues of Walagambohu and Kirti Nissanga, the two great benefactors to the caves—the former the excavator of the first and second caves (the Maha-Deva-Devale and the Maha Wihare), the latter the embellisher of the “great temple,” and the excavator of the third. Kirti Nissanga appears also to have been the restorer of the first two caves to their original condition after they had been pillaged and defaced by the Malabars. In one corner of the Maha Wihare there is a depression in the floor of the cave, about two feet deep, into which water is continually dropping from the rock above. This water is considered sacred, and is used only for sacred purposes. A few young cocoanut trees in jars are placed around it, which present a yellowish, sickly appearance from the want of light. One can hardly walk through the spacious cavity of the Maha Wahine without feeling involuntary awe at his situation. The great size of the cave itself, the strange echoing of his footsteps, number of gloomy and _ shadowy statues with which he is surrounded, the gentle dropping of the water in the distant corner, the noiseless tread of the yellow-robed priest who attends him, with the death-like stillness that pervades all around, are calculated to impress upon him a kind of religious or superstitious awe of which he may in vain endeavour to divest himself. The entire of the roof of the Maha Wihare is covered with cloth, on which are represented countless images of Buddhu with a few attempts at historical paintiug. The latter I consider much poorer than Major Forbes’ description* led me to expect. I could not perceive any superiority in them to the various Ceylonese paintings I have seen in other parts of the island. In painting, the ancient Ceylonese seem to have been very imperfect, and although we occasionally find a correct * Vol. I. page 371. 348 The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. [ApRIL, outline or a well proportioned figure, we seldom see a group represented without some absurdities that violate all our notions of congruity. I had formerly considered the Ceylonese attempts at painting as about equal to their musical performances, and I saw nothing at Dambool to make me alter my opinion. We see there kings praying at the Ruan- welle dagobah in Anuradhapura, (which was originally 270 feet high, and stood ona square mass of building 2000 feet in circumference,) whose bodies are represented as béing larger than the dagobah itself, and. whose towering crests overtop the building before which they bow. Again, in an attempt to delineate the landing of Wijeya, we havea ship sailing on an ocean filled with fish as large and larger than the vessel itself, and into whose enormous mouths, had the animals but held them open, the luckless adventurer with all his crew might have passed unwittingly until he should find out the difference between a fish’s stomach, and the throne which he doubtless dreamt of in Ceylon. Nor is the attempt to delimeate the combat between Dutu-Gaimono and Ellala, the Malabar invader, which occurred in the second century before Christ, much more successful as a work of art—the dart which the usurper hurls at his aspiring adversary being in proportion to the monarch’s body what the maintop-mast of a vessel of 500 tons would be to one of us. Butif these paintings are ridiculous in an artistic point of view, they are, on the other hand, extremely valuable as con- firmations of the ancient history of Ceylon. If such an mvader as Wijeya never landed on its shores, whence came the record of his expedition contained in the Mahawanso, the Poojavalli, the Neeka- sanga, the Raja Ratnacari, and the Rajavali, or if these be all fictitious whence came the paintings on the rock of Dambool, with the tradition connecting the name of Wijeya with it. And so of all the rest. Yet though the proofs of the truth of that history are scattered all around us in the island, more especially in the region round Dambool and Anuradhapura, there are those in the island itself who laugh at these tales, ‘‘as old wives’ fables,” and there are pretended savans in England who would reject them also, because they never heard of them before, and therefore will not take the trouble to investigate them. On leaving the Maha Wihare the visitor finds little in the three remaining caves to excite his wonder or admiration. They are so inferior in size, and in the execution of the works of art which they 1847. ] The rock temples of Dambool, Ceylon. 349 contain, as to excite little but contempt for them after having seen the great one. They may be taken as emblematic of the power of the various monarch¢ who formed them, and of the state of Ceylon at the period of their excavation—the second formed about 100 B. C. infinitely superior to the third, which was excavated in the twelfth century after our era; the third surpassing the fourth, which was constructed in 1750, and the fourth surpassing the fifth, which is still more recent, I shall therefore content myself with mentioning their contents, leaving the rest to your imagination. The third is styled the passpi/ame or western wihare, and contains in addition to fifty images of Buddha of all sizes, a statue of Kirti Sree Rajah, who reigned about the middle of the last century—the last Ceylonese sovereign by whose exertions the caves of Dambool were embellished or enlarged. Although there is a greater number of figures in this cave than in any other, yet from its small size in com- parison with the second, they do not produce any remarkable effect. The passpilame wihare is seventy-eight feet long, and varies in breadth from thirty to sixty feet. The fourth and fifth caves are called the ahs oe ee ae — eo : once placed by the natives of Ceylon in the faith of the prophet of altith or new wihares, in reference to their age, being, as I have before remarked, much more recent than any of the others. The fourth was constructed by the monarch last named, Kirti Sree; the fifth by a Kandian noble in the latter part of the last century. The first of these is forty-two feet long by thirty broad, and projects about fifteen feet in front of those formerly mentioned ; it contains ten images of Buddha. The last is also about forty feet long by twenty broad, and contains a gigantic image of Buddha in the reclining posture, nearly twelve yards - long. Besides this there are in the same cave eleven other statues of smaller dimensions. Such are the five cave-temples of Dambool, lasting monuments of mistaken zeal and wasted labour—evidences of the religious devotion of those who excavated them, and evidences also of the implicit reliance Maghada; but that faith is now on the wane—nay, its light is nearly extinguished, and but a solitary pilgrim or a prying antiquarian is now found to resort to those temples where thousands formerly wor- shipped and where kings once prostrated themselves. It may not be out of place if I add to these notes that about twelve 2 oA 350 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. (APRIL, miles from Dambool, on the road to Anuradhapura, or rather to the eastern side of the road, I accidentaly met the ruins of an ancient native road, which tradition asserts once united Poflonnaruwa with a dagobah in the vicinity. A bridge of massive granite over a rivulet, now dry, first attracted my attention. It was composed of upright blocks of granite about eight feet long, supporting other horizontal blocks about four feet broad, seven feet long and a foot thick. On each side of this bridge the road might be traced for a considerable distance by its elevation above the plain around. The new road to Anuradhapura cuts through it, and on each side it presents of course merely the appearance of an ordinary mound of earth. Some es ther Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep, by Ep. aaa Curator of the Asiatic Society, §c. $e. ““No great while ago,” writes Mr. Hodgson, (J. 4. S. XV, 342,) “only two or three species of wild Sheep were recognised by men of science. But Mr. Blyth has, all at once, produced a splendid cornuco- pla -of species, founding many of them, however, upon an inspection of the horns solely. I question the possibility of so establishing spe- cies or genera in this group; and, as a proof of the necessity of examining carefully the entire structure of the animals, I need merely refer to Mr. Blyth’s signal error, already adverted to, in reference to the organization of Capra or the domestic Goat, and to an oversight equally important to be mentioned presently.” The “signal error” adverted to has not, however, been yet set right by Mr. Hodgson. It is true that I did follow my predecessors in stating that the Goats are devoid of the suborbital and interdigital pores which occur in the Sheep; and I have since stated (in XV, 154,) that the absence of the interdigital sinus affords an easy method of distinguishing a leg of goat mutton from one of mouton proprement dit. But Mr. Hodgson states (XV, 337), that “Goats have interdigital, though not lachrymary, pores; and consequently Mr. Blyth’s suggested genus Ammotragus is based on misconception, though accidentally true to nature, at least in my view of her, and without reference to systems, 1847. | Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 351 But, however falsely used heretofore,’ &c. &c. Now I had several times even pointed out, to different friends, who have accompanied me to the Calcutta bazar, how to distinguish legs of Sheep mutton from legs of Goat mutton, by the invariable token here alluded to; and I therefore felt some surprise at Mr. Hodgson’s assertion: but as he recommends me to ‘look at nature, instead of books,” and as some tame Goats were immediately at hand, I of course had them caught and examined them; when I found that they do possess interdigital pores on the fore-feet only——not on the hind-feet,—a piece of informa- tion which I infer to be as new to Mr. Hodgson as the existence of pores on the fore-feet proved to myself. But I say nothing about an “important oversight,” on his part, in having (when once about it) overlooked the circumstance of the non-existence of interdigital pores on the hind-feet of the common Goat : but will merely remark on the probability that Ammotragus was not so ‘ misdiscrimmated by Mr. Blyth,” after all, but that it will be found to differ from the Goats in having, like other Sheep, interdigital orifices on all four legs. We next come to my “oversight equally important,” in the fact of my not having mentioned that O. burrhel was deficient in the subor- bital sinuses, any more than Mr. Hodgson mentioned the same defi- ciency in O. nahoor, in his elaborate and latest description of the latter species, published in X. 231! To be sure, Mr. Hodgson alludes to my being “a professed naturalist :” but*at the time I drew up the ‘ Mono- graph of the species of wild Sheep,’ I was surely, in every respect, quite as much an amateur in the matter as himself, either then or now, and was very considerably his junior in such investigations. The different new species described in that paper are, indeed, the first novelties in the class of mammalia which I ever published !* Nevertheless, I can- not think of admitting the implied distinction between an amateur naturalist and a “ professed’ one. Whoever undertakes to describe new species of organized beings, by so doing professes himself a naturalist ; * And, therefore, I maintain that the somewhat harsh (not to say captious) tone of Mr. Hodgson’s remarks on this labour of mine is altogether uncalled for, under the circumstances. Can Mr, H. cite a paper of his own which shows, on the face of it, anything approaching to the same amount of research amongst the labours of his predecessors? Or one that could have cost himself more labour in other respects? Or that has added more to the previous knowledge of the subject ? iw 352 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. [APRIL, and credit will of course be given him for having duly studied the writings of his predecessors, or he is unqualified for the task, and should be content to borrow the assistance of those who do profess to have done so. But I am pleased to see that Mr. Hodgson now admits my Ovis burrhel, as a good species: because, not very long ago (in XI, 283), he stated, positively, that “ Mr. Blyth’s Ovis burrhel is no other than my néhdor. Mr. Blyth’s” (¢. e. the Zoological Society’s) ‘ specimen of which was dyed brown by a preservative lotion that was applied by the killer and curer of it, Lieutenant Smith, 15th Native Infantry !!’ (Vide also note.) Captain Smith has lately favored me with sundry items of information respecting Himalayan mammalia; comprising a notice of O. burrhel, nobis, as distinct from O. ndéhdor, which I shall presently have occasion to cite. In the course of a note which I appended to Mr. Hodgson’s above quoted remark on my O. burrhel, I took occasion to observe (XI, 284, and there is another reminder in XV, 153), that ‘ With respect to O. ammonoides, Hodgson, it will be remembered that I had dedicated this animal to Mr. Hodgson himself, terming it Hodgsonu, some time before the publication of the name ammonoides,” ¢. e. mn the * Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for July 1840, whereas Mr. Hodgson’s paper descriptive of O. ammonoides, and published in the Society’s Journal for 1841, p. 230, bears his own dafe of March for that year. I cannot, therefore, understand upon what principle Mr. Hodgson adheres to the latter appellation; and the more especially as he is known to be particularly tenacious of his own nomenclature.* : * On the same occasion, I pointed out that Captain Hutton’s Ovis cycloceros had been priorly named by me O. Vignei: and Captain Hutton, accordingly, adopts the latter name in preference to that of his own coining, in XV, 152. Nor-is the above the only instance of the kind I have reason to complain of, on the part of Mr. Hodgson, who must show a little more respect for the claims of others if he expects his own to be up- held. For example, some time ago Mr. Hodgson will remember sending me a bird by the name Chelidorhynx chrysoschistos, which I informed him that I already had in print, by the name Rhipidura hypoxantha, XII, 935: and in correcting the proof, I inserted an acknowledgment of the receipt of Mr. Hodgson’s specimen (in the following page), adding that I then adopted his genus Chelidorhyne ; which, however, has since proved to be true Rhipidura, as opposed to Leucocerca, Swainson (vide XV, 290). Yet Mr. Hodgson had no compunction in publishing his Chelidorhyna chrysoschistos as a new species in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1845, p. 32; and at p. 26 he 1847. | Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 353 And I must further take the liberty of recalling Mr. Hodgson’s remarks (in X, 915), concerning a critique on his own labours. “It > is well known,” writes Mr. Hodgson, “ that when Mr. Ogilby wrote, several successive catalogues of mine, embodying the improving results of new information, and greater skill in the appreciation of it, existed , and had Mr. Ogilby consulted the whole of them, according to their dates, he might have spared a great part of his cursorious remarks.” Thus, with regard to tame Sheep with naturally short tails, Mr. Hodg- son will find, in XV, 153, my prmted statement that-—‘ The fighting rams of India seem to me to be of a race descended from Ovis Vignei, of which they preserve the crescent horns and short tad: and in the following page,—‘‘ Whether any long-tailed Sheep, with horns describ- ing more than a spiral circle, could have descended from the crescent- horned and short-tailed O. musimon (which is closely allied to O. Vignei), is extremely doubtful.’ Mr. Hodgson might, therefore, to be consistent with himself, have qualified a little his remarks on this sub- ject (in XV, 343). We would now return to the paragraph which I commenced by quot- ing, and examine whether really 1 founded ‘ many species” of wild Sheep “upon an inspection of the horns solely :”’ but I will first remark that Mr. Hodgson has himself founded various species of mammalia upon what I consider much less satisfactory data than those afforded by the horns of different wild Sheep, which, in general, (as must be admitted by all who are acquainted with them,) supply exceedingly good specifical distinctions. Martes (?) tufeus, H. (XI, 281). “ Have several fine skins from Lassa and Seling, dut as they want the teeth and talons and tail, 1 can but conjecture from information and the specimens as they are, that the animal is a Marten. Thus judging, I should say that the Toufee has much of the size and proportions of the last or flavigula, but its pelage is much richer and softer. * * * Probable length from snout to vent 20 to 22 inches, mean height 7,” &c. Now there isa Tibetan Marten which I have lately had occasion to describe, which I feel very confident to be this M. tufeus : but its size does not exceed that of the two European Martens (to which it is very nearly allied), gives, as another new species, Dimorpha? rubrocyana, H., which I likewise distinctly informed him was my Muscicapulu hyperythra (vide p. 127, ante)!!! 354 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. [APRIL being considerably smaller than flavigu/a ; and I infer, therefore, that the dimensions above given are those of exceedingly stretched skins. ** Mustela (?) calotus, WH.” (Calcutta Journal of Natural History, TI, 221, and pl. 1X; a figure which J, for one, would certainly never have ventured upon publishing). [I can give no opinion of my own re- specting this animal; but in Mr. J. EK. Gray’s ‘ List of Specimens of the Mammalia in the British Museum,’ (p. 139,) I see “ Mustela calotus, Hodgson,”’ placed as a synonyme of Sciurus europeus ! ! !* In XI, 286, two Tibetan animals are enumerated as—< 39. Equus, wild; H, kiang, Moorcroft ;+ #. hemione’’ (queere hemionus 7), “ Auct ? Found generally throughout Tibet. I have no specimen.’—* 40. Asinus equioides, mihi. Species want verification, spoken of by Moorcroft and others: called wild Ass by the Tibetans, and said to be common on the plains of Tibet. Possess no specimen.” Mr. Hodg- son, nevertheless, does not hesitate to give a name to the latter animal, which I am satisfied refers to E. hemionus, or the Kiang (vide XV, 146); while the other is, I suspect, the same wild type of Hquus caballus as was described, and the foal figured, by Pallas. * Mr. Gray’s note of interrogation refers obviously to the work in which M., calotus is published, not to the identification of the animal. + Vide Mooreroft’s Travels, I, 312,and 442, and other notices in the same work. E. B. t While this article was proceeding through the press, the 28th No. of the Calcutta Journal of Natural History came to hand, containing a paper by Mr. Hodgson, entitled “* Description of the Wild Ass and Wolf of Tibet,” in which he now states—“ There is, I believe, no species of wild Horse in Tibet, and only one species of wild Ass, viz., the Kiang:” and though fully aware that Moorcroft had named this animal Equus kiang, and that he had himself termed it Asinus equioides, it is now a third time wantonly named Asinus polyodon! The last name, too, being founded on the mistaken supposi- tion that the little premolar in front of the series of upper grinders in the Kiang is peculiar to that animal ; whereas (it is needless to remind the generality of Zoologists) this tooth is normally present in the Horse and Ass (!!), if not in every other species of the genus ; but is subject to be occasionally lost, when its socket becomes gradually filled up, and disappears totally. Referring to five skulls of Horses in the Society’s Museum, I find this tooth or its socket present in three of them, but lost and the socket completely atrophied upon one side of one of these three ; and in an Ass’s skullI find it on both sides, as in Mr. Hodgson’s figure of the series of upper molars of the Kiang : so much, then, for the name (or rather synonyme) polyodon ! With regard to Pallas’s assertion (as quoted by Pennant and Shaw), that the hemionus has only 38 teeth in all, or two fewer than in the Horse and Ass, it is difficult to imagine which are here meant as being deficient, in addition to the two little upper premolars ; and I confess to enter- taining doubts on the subject. The colour of the Kiang, I can safely assert to be ab- 1847. | Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 355 Mr. Hodgson’s subgenus Pseudo-cervus (X, 914, and XI, 284), refers, in my opinion, decidedly, to a young truly elaphine Stag (Cervus Wallichii, Duvaucel), of the third year; the horns of which had not attained the size and figure which they would have exhibited in the mature animal. It is most probably identical with the great truly elaphine Stag of Kashmir. So much for this alleged subgenus !* Indeed, Mr. Hodgson should be the very last person to complain of ‘‘imnumerable vague and shadowy species” being ‘“‘the plague of Zoological science,’ (vide XV, 335,) inasmuch as he has burdened science with a frightful list of cumbersome and useless synonymes (vide for instance, those reduced in my papers on birds), based upon no dis- tinctive characters whatever. Witness his catalogue of Nepalese Mynahs, (V. 771:)+ and even when convinced of error, instead of hastening to solutely similar to that of several specimens which I have seen alive of Equus hemionus : the Society’s skin of the former is in summer garb ; and I have repeatedly witnessed, in England, the seasonal changes of the hemionus, which are just as Mr. Hodgson has described those of the Kiang. In fact, my opinion remains unchanged that the Kiang will prove, upon actual comparison, to be identical with Equus hemionus. Mr. Hodgson’s Lupus laniger is another familiar acquaintance, of which he might have seen three fine mounted skins, in different states of pelage, when he visited the Society’s Museum : but I cannot accede to his opinion that it has any claim to be re- garded as a peculiar species, after what I have seen of the variation of Wolves of dif- ferent countries, and even of the same country ; but I must reserve the discussion of this subject for a more convenient opportunity. Some remarks on the transverse shoulder-stripe incidental to the Asinine subgroup of Equus, will be found in a note to vol. XI, p. 286: since writing which, I have observed a domestic Ass with a second transverse stripe, and another with four (!) and not equi- distant cross-stripes, varying too in length, and the last crossing the loins. Buchanan Hamilton, I think, somewhere states that the Asses of Madras are sometimes without any cross-stripe: and finally, I may remark that those of Lower Bengal are very commonly more or less barred with black on the limbs, at all ages. That the supposed Equus asinus (ferus) of Prof. Gmelin was an individual variety of hemionus, with a small cross-stripe on the shoulders, I scarcely feel any doubt whatever. * Thave indeed been assured that Mr, Hodgson’s Cervus affinis, or great elaphine Stag of the Nepal sal forest (X, 721), was founded on a skull and horns purchased from a ship in the port of Calcutta by the Nepal Vakeel, Luckman Pardia, who presented it to the then prime minister of Nepal, Bim Sen, by whom it was presented to Mr. Hodgson. It certainly would appear that Mr. H. has never since been able to pro- cure another specimen. t “‘ We have seven species,” writes Mr. Hodgson, ‘‘ all abun lant in Nepal.—1, re- ligiosa.—2. cristelloides, (nob.)—3. Tristoides, (nob.)—4. sylvestris, (nob.)—5. Affinis, (nob. )}—6, Communis, (nob.)—7. Terriclov, (nob.)—And Mr, Hodgson has since 356 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. [APRIL, relieve ow' catalogues of the incumbrance of fictitious species, Zoolo- gists have great reason to complain that he suffers the misleading synonymes of his own imposing to remain permanently uncorrected. Thus, when I privately informed Mr. Hodgson that his Astur indicus termed another—‘‘ Gregicolus, (nob.)”—In all seven new names (to pass over the ex- traordinary construction of some of them)! “ Of these,” it is added, *‘ 2 and 3 are nearly allied to cristatella and tristis ; 4 and 5 to pagodarum and malabarica. The 6th inclines much to Sturnus ; and the 7th, a very osculant species, has a very considerable resemblance in the form of its wings, tail and legs, to Cinclosoma,” (indeed it has no sort of relationship with the Mynahs). Not one of these names has since been rectified, except by myself ; though referring to some of the commonest birds of the whole Bengal Presidency. Thus, Religiosa is the common Hill Mynah, so often caged, and now standing as Gracula affinis, A. Hay, (XV, 32.) Cristelloides is another species first distinguished by Lord Arthur Hay, (vide XV, 33,) from Acridotheres cristatellus,(L.), of China ; and it now stands as Acr. griseus, (Horstield) : though Dr, Horsfield was not justified in changing the name of his Java- nese bird to griseus, since he believed in its identity with the Chinese cristatellus. Tris- toides is the common House Mynah, Acr. tristis, (L.),so abundant throughout the country. Gregicolus is Acr. ginginianus, (L.), or the common Bank Mynah. Communis is Sturnus contra, Auct., now termed Stwrnopastor (contra) by Mr. Hodgson. Sylvestris is Sturnia pagodarum, (Gm.), v. melanocephala, (Bahl). Afinis is St. malabarica. And Terricolor is the ‘ Brown Indian Thrush’ of Edwards, first identified as such by myself, and also first distinguished by myself, (not by Mr. Hodgson, whose name I have nevertheless adopted, ) from the nearly allied Malacocercus striatus, Swainson, of Ceylon. Now, what benefit to science, it may well be asked, accrues from this random applica- tion ofa host of new names ; without so muchas a clue to the particular species they refer to? Or what skill is required in the manufacture of such names? It is true that they are not binding in the least, unless some kind of intelligible description, or distinctly re- cognisable figure, is attached to them ; but even in the latter case it is scarcely fair that those who first really discriminate species from their affines should be deprived of the right of naming them, because they had previously been described perhaps at random, without any trouble having been taken to determine whether they really were new—or perchance even familiarly known, as were most of Mr. Hodgson’s Mynahs just referred to. There is an old story that the most unskilful marksman may hit his object occasionally by flinging a handful of missiles at it together : and so by affixing new names to a mul- titude of species thus at random, and describing them at a venture, the merest tyro may chance to have his vanity gratified, sometimes, by seeing his name quoted as the de- scriber of an actual novelty, regardless of the number of synonymes to which also he finds his name attached, and of the confusion which he thus oftentimes introduces. It would be a beneficial rule if the merits of a describer of new species were to be estimated by the number of those which he sueceeds in establishing, minus or deduct- ed by that of the synonymes which he has applied to previously known species, or at least of such as remain uncorrected by him after a given period ; and the permanent establish-~ 1847.) Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 357 had been previously named Falco trivirgatus by Temminck, that gen- tleman replied that he had been long aware of it ; but he has certainly never given publicity to the information (as I hastened to do, in XI, 5). As Mr. Hodgson has not scrupled to refer to my unpublished opinion (of which more presently), respecting dutilope gutturosa (XV, 335), there can surely be no occasion for my refraining te publish what I have just stated of dAstur trivirgatus.* But enongh of this tu quoque style of aygument: though 4 little rebutting is fairly allowable in a contest wherein rams’ horns are con- cerned! My paper on the wild Sheep was originally published in the ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for July 28, 1840; was repub- lished in Taylor’s ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ Vol. VII, pp- 195, 248, with a few additional notes, and a plate representing the horns of some of the species ; and was again republished, with further additional notes, in the Society’s ‘ Journal,’ X, 858, to which last re- publication I shall refer, for the convenience of most readers in India. Let us see whether ‘ many” of the species were founded “ upon an inspection of the horns solely.” 1. Ovis Polit, nobis. Founded on a magnificent frontlet and horns brought by Lieutenant Wood from the Pamir steppe; combined with the notice quoted from Marco Polo, which refers tindeniably to the same animal. Of the distinctness of this superb species, there ean be no doubt whatever; and the frontlet is figured in Taylor’s plate, figs: 1 and 2. | 2,3, and 4. O. ammon, Pallas; O. montana, Desmarest ; and O. ment of a doubtful species named by ancther, or the reduction of such to the rank of a synonyme, should be regarded as a labour of equal or even higher merit than the promul- gation of a species previously undescribed. Such a rule would furnish a criterion by which’ to appreciate the labours of a naturalist in this line, by enabling us to strike a balance between the amount of good he may have effected by adding to the stores of knowledge, and that of evil which he has introduced in the shape of confusion. It would check much recklessness in the imposition of new names which now unhappily prevails in several quarters. *Tt is true that the name Astur indicus was published anonymously, in the ‘ Bengal Sporting Magazine,’ and therefore the only legitimate sponsor that can be quoted for it is the editor of that periodical for the time ; but it has nevertheless been repeatedly quot- ed as Mr. Hodgson’s species, and has been acknowledged as such by him, and therefore it surely behoved Mr. Hodgson to set matters right without delay when he learned that it had been described by Temminck. 3B 358 Further Notice of the Species of Weld Sheep. (APRIL, nivicola, Eschscholtz. The first of these I had never seen, and could refer to merely : the second I was well acquainted with : and the third I only knew from M. Eschscholtz’s work, but referred also to a notice of it in the narrative of Kotzebue’s voyage. The Society's Museum now boasts a very fine specimen of O. ammon,* which I am enabled to assert, positively, is distinct from O. montana of North America: and I incline to refer to it, though with considerable hesitation, the horn in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London, (vide Taylor’s plate, figs. 3 and 4,) for which I suggested the provisional name sculptorum; and without any hesitation Mr. Hodgson’s large species, first provisionally named by me Hodgsonii upon Mr. Hodg- son’s description of the horns in the ‘ Asiatic Researches,’ and subse- quently by him ammonoides.t+ Pallas’s figure of ‘O. ammon, copied into various works, though sufficiently rude, indicates certain characters which are at once recognised in the Society’s specimen ; such as the lengthened white hair on the fore-neck and breast, the corresponding hair in O. montana being blackish ; and there is no reddish-black tinge on the face of O. ammon: the horns are badly represented ; but, with a specimen for comparison, it is readily seen that the errors are due to want of skill m the daughtsman. These horns are considerably less massive than in O. montana, and their section is very different, and especially the view of them as seen from above: but they are more prolonged, in an inverse ratio to the decreased bulk towards the base ; though considerably less prolonged and thicker at base than in O. * Presented by G. T. Lushington, Esq., who has announced to methe despatch of four more perfect skins : we have also an imperfect skull of a young male. ‘To Mr. Lushing- ton the Society is likewise indebted for a skin of the Kiang received, and for another and more perfect specimen now on its route ; with numerous other valuable contributions. t Mr. H. even confounded O. ammon with O. nahoor, in As. Res. XVIII, pt: II, 135 ; and the mistake was first pointed out in my paper: but as he described the horns of quite a young ram (vide his plate) as “ accurately triangular” (i. €. equilaterally ? ) T did not feel justified in identifying the species with O. ammon : stating that even the ““ Rocky Mountain species would, at the same age, have much compressed horns, far from attaining to an equilateral triangle ;’ to which I added that—“ Should a true species be here indicated, as is not improbable, distinct from O. ammon, I propose that it be dedicated to that assiduous investigator of Nepalese Zoology, and be accordingly termed O. Hodgsonii !” My opinion now, that it is, positively and decidedly, identical with O. ammon, will of course be received quantiim valeat, in opposition to that of Mr. Hodgson ; who, however, has not advanced a single reason for supposing otherwise. 1847.] Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 359 Poli. The most marked contrast from those of O. montana consists in the fact that the great bulge in the upper portion of the posterior surface of the horn in O. montana (which I refer to from memory only, though with the utmost confidence), is comparatively little more than indicated in O. ammon; and the rugee are particularly large in the latter species. Comparing the Society’s stuffed specimen with Mr. Hodgson’s figures and description of his (so called) O. ammonoides, the specifical identity is beyond all question ; and it follows that, as in O. montana, some individual variation occurs in different specimens. Thus, the horns of the Society’s specimen are rather more bulky than those figured and described by Mr. Hodgson, (though, by his own showing,* he has represented them too small in his plate III). In the Society's animal, the horns had about completed their fifth year of growth ; and measure round the curve (following the upper angle from the base—where the two are nearly in contact), thirty-three inches and a half, of which the years of growth are successively seven inches, eight and a half, nine, five and a half, and the basal (perhaps incom- plete) four and a half; the circumference at base is eighteen inches, width of anterior plane at base four inches, and depth at base poste- riorly six inches and a half; greatest width apart of the horns, mea- sured externally, twenty-three inches ; the tips eighteen inches apart. Length of ears four inches and a half; and of tail underneath (where nude of hair) fully three and a half, exclusive of its upper vesture. The total, length of this specimen, when fresh, would have been fully six feet ; but as none of its bones are preserved, except the horn-cores, I will not (with the example of Martes tufeus before me) pretend to give the minutize of its admeasurements. 5. O. californiana, Douglas. Description cited from ‘ Zoological Journal ;? and the horns fully described by myself, and figured in Tay- lor’s plate, fig. 5. An unquestionable species. * “ Head, to base of horn, one foot, Length of horn, by curve, three feet one inch.” These proportions are not preserved in the plate, especially in the lateral view of the head. How isit, too, that the caudal disk is not represented in the figure of the female ? + In the skull of a young ram, with horns in their third year of growth, these curve round outwards to the tip, where they commence to gyre forward and even somewhat inward, as in the other, the tips ultimately turning outward in the old animal. In this specimen, each horn measures 203 inches round the curve, and their tips are that distance apart : the first year’s growth measuring 11} inches, and the seeond year’s only five inches, a: 82 360 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. [ APRIL, 6. O. nahoor, Hodgson. Described from specimens, amongst which was a hotnless female ; and first clearly established as distinct from Q. ammon !* 7. O. burrhel, nobis. Described from a fine male; and the horn of a still older one. It would seem, however, that I was wrong in assigning to it a loftier altitude of haunt than that of O. xuheor. Capt. Smith informs me that O. burrhel and O. nahoor keep always in sepa- rate flocks, and are never seen on the same feeding-ground ; the Burrhel seldom ascending above 16,000 feet elevation, while the Nahoor goes much higher. Both bleat like domestic sheep. Near the Boorendu Pass, the Burrhel is much more plentiful than the Nahoor; but the latter is far more extensively diffused over the Himalaya generally. At the close of summer, when the snow is nearly melted away, a very nutritious grass grows abundantly under a thin coating of snow, and both species become exceedingly fat by feeding upon it, i. e. in the months of August, September, and October. At this time they can only be compared to the prize animals exhibited at the Smithfield shows, and they run with considerable difficulty, though still being far from easy of approach. In winter, when snowed in, they actually browze the hair off each other’s bellies, many together having retired under the shelter of some overhanging rock, from which they come out wretchedly poor. They produce one or two young, (commonly two,) in June and July. In Taylor's plate, the representations of the horns of these two species were unluckily transposed; No. 6 referring to O. burrhel, and No. 7 to O. nahoor. 8. O. cylindricornis, nobis. This is the least satisfactorily esta- blished of all the species in my monograph: it resting on a communi- cation from Col. Hamilton Smith, relative to a species which must have been very different from either of those known to me, though described from memory only by Col. H. Smith (one of the most ex- perienced of Zoologists in the history of the Ruminantia.) * I may therefore legitimately claim credit for being the first to discriminate, in print, not only the three Himalayan, but all the Asiatic species of wild Ovis known up to the present time: unless O. nivicola of Kamtschatka be considered an exception, though M, Eschscholtz does not explainin what respects this differs from O.ammon and O. montana ; from. the latter of which it would seem only to deviate in its inferior size, and in wanting the pale caudal disk ? 1847. | Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 361 9. O. Gmelini, nobis. Described from very fine specimens of the male, female, and young ; and identified with a species long ago rudely figured by the younger Gmelin, and the horn by Pallas ; and Gmelin’s description of the habits quoted, with further original information. Head figured in Taylor’s plate, No. 8. 10. O. Vignet, nobis. Described from a coloured figure taken from life, and from two pairs of horns, the distinctness of which from those of all the other species is most obvious: vide Taylor’s plate, fig.9. A skin of this animal was described by Pennant as the “ Bearded Sheep,” but was confounded by him with O. tragelaphus (vide X, 877); and there is a brief notice and very passible figure of the species, taken from an animal killed in the vicinity of Persepolis, in Lieutenant Al- exander’s ‘ Travels from India to England,’ &c. (1827.) It again appears as the “ Wild Sheep of the Hindu Koosh,” described by Capt. Hay, J. A. S. IX, 440; and as Ovis cycloceros, Mutton, ‘ Calcutta Journal of Natural History,’ II, 514, and pl. XII, being again noticed by the latter gentleman in J. 4. S. XV, 152. It may be observed that Capt. Hay remarks this species to differ from OQ. tragelaphus “in ) having a lachrymary sinus ;” and Capt. Hutton also describes ‘a moderate-sized lachrymal sinus, which appears to secrete, or at all events contains, a thick gummy substance, of good consistency, and of a dull greyish colour. The Afghan and Belooché hunters,” he adds, ‘more especially the latter, make use of this gum, by spreading it over the pans of their matchlocks, to prevent the damp from injuring the priming.” We may, therefore, rest satisfied of its existence in this species, which is nevertheless most closely allied to the next.* * In a catalogue of Mr. Hodgson’s collection presented to the British Museum, prepared by Mr. J. E. Gray, who has obligingly presented me with a copy of it, just received, I find O. Vignei, Blyth, set down asa synonyme of 0. ammonoides, Hodgson, and O. Hodgsonii, nobis, also cited, either of which names has the advantage of priority over that of ammonoides, supposing the latter to refer to a species distinct from O. ammon : but Mr. Gray might as well identify O. musimon or O. tragelaphus with O. ammonoides, and reduce all the wild species of Ovis to one, as bring together two such widely different species ashe has here done. He might just as well unite Cervus capreolus with C. elaphus or C. tarandus ! So, in his synonymes of Presbytis entellus, he not only erroneously refers Pr. schista- ceus, Hodgson, to this Bengal animal, but the much more different Pr. hypoleucos, nobis, peculiar to Malabar and Travancore, and which Mr. Martin introduced as a variety of 362 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. [ APRIL, 11. O.musimon, L. Described by me from life, and a further notice given in J. 4. S. X, 878. ‘‘The Argalis and Moufflons (not to men- tion the Tragelaphi),’’* writes Mr. Hodgson, ‘ seem to form two strik- ing groups among the wild Sheep : our Nahoor is a complete Moufflon ; hence it occurs to me to ask, if the Corsican animal is, like the Hima- layan, devoid of suborbital sinuses?’ To this I can reply, that the Prince of Canino states that it is so devoid :+ but however this may be, if Mr. Hodgson wishes to subdivide the group of wild Sheep, he is altogether wrong in approximating the Nahoor and Burrhel to the Pr. Johnii! This, too, is done without so much as a note of interrogation ; while to the considerably more nearly allied Pr. anchises, Elliot, he does afix a mark of doubt—it being, however, with Pr. priamus of the Coromandel coast and Ceylon, distinct also. With equal positiveness, in his ‘ Catalogue of the Species of Mammalia in the British Museum,’ Mr. Gray identified Bos gaurus and B. frontalis (not to cite other instances of like precipitancy)! But he has now Mr. Hodgson’s specimens of skulls of these two Boves, and, as a matter of course, enumerates them as separate species. So, with adequate data to form an opinion upon, will he by and bye admit Ovis Vignei and the different Monkeys alluded to; for to imagine otherwise will then even appear preposterous ! It will be necessary for me to go critically over this catalogue of Mr. Hodgson’s species, upon which I have more than a few remarks and corrections of nomenclature and of synonymes to offer; but I shall confine myself here to one further remark, relative to the particularly cool manner in which Anthus striolatus, Blyth, is placed as a synonyme of A. rufescens: the fact being, that my description of A. striolatus is not even yet pub- lished, and the name could only have transpired through Mr. Jerdon’s bare mention of it, in the ‘ Madras Journal’ No. XX XI, p. 186; unless, indeed, Mr. Jerdon has himself forwarded specimens of this rare Indian Pipit to Europe, in which ease I do seriously object to provisional and unpublished names of my coining being thus introduced to the world as empty synonymes. Mr. Gray has, in fact, placed not a few synonymes to my credit (or discredit) in this catalogue, of which I shall hasten to disavow the paternity ! * What does Mr. H. mean by the Trazgelaphi? Tragelaphus, Ham. Smith, stands for a genus of Antelopes, of which the Guib and Boschbok and Ruppell’s Decula are the types. If he wants a subgeneric name for the African Wild Sheep, he is perfectly aware that I have termed it Ammotragus. How would he approve of his Pseudois being thus con- temptuously passed over ? + Vide Jardine’s ‘ Naturalists’ Library,’ Art. Moufflon, I have some impression, nevertheless, of having observed small ones ; which is rather confirmed by Mr. Ogilby’s remark, in his‘ Mammalogy of the Himalaya,’ (vide Royle’s Botany, &c.) that “ O. nahoor is intermediate in character between O. musimon and O. tragelaphus, which latter species it resembles in the form of the horns” (?), ‘and in the absence of the crumens, or tear-pits, which distinguish the rest of the genus.” Now aspecimen of O. musimon was set up in the museum of the Zoological Society, at the time that its then Secretary, Mr. Ogilby, indicted the remark here quoted. 1847. | Further Notice of the Species of IWiid Sheep. 363 Moufllon of Corsica. These two Himalayan species, instead of being “complete Moufflons,”’ are (so far at Jeast as their horns are concerned) most particularly unlike O. musimon, and form a little group per se, unless O. eylindricornis should prove to range with them: and the Moufilon is quite excluded from his definition of ‘ round-horned” Sheep, for which group I presume the appellation Pseudvis is pro- posed. Their being “furnished with a well developed tail,’’ (really there is uo such marked difference in this respect,) will not exclude the Californian Argali, the tail of which is described as “eighteen inches long?’ Yet the horns of this animal are most typically those of an Argali (vide Taylor’s plate)! Mr. Hodgson. suggests ‘ the generic appellation Psewdois, lest,” he adds, “as has too often happened to me, some closet systematizer, who never was at the pains to examine nature for himself, should step in to ‘name and classify,’ (the work of a moment, as ordinarily done,) my discoveries.”* But if any discovery is claimed in the present instance, it remains to show in what it con- sists: for Mr. Ogilby long ago remarked the absence of suborbital sinuses in O. nahoor ; and the group formed by O. nahoor and O. burrhel was distinctly indicated in my monograph (vide J. A. S., X, 867), being estimated there, as I still think, at its true value. Mr. * By the way, how isit that these complaints, so many times repeated, and bordering somewhat on the querulous, should be altogether peculiar among present cultivators of Zoology to Mr. Hodgson? Does Mr. H. complain of my having chanced to anticipate him in the’ publication of Rhipidura hypoaantha and Muscicapula hyperythra? Or in first discriminating in print the Ovts nuhoor from O.ammon ?—Or, supposing that 1 knew of an animal of which I was well aware that Mr. H. possessed the female only, and that he was waiting to procure a male in order to satisfy himself whether or not it differed from a certain other species ; supposing in such a case that I were to intercept the male which otherwise would have been transmitted to him, and immediately rush into print with a description of both sexes anda ‘‘ mili” attached, and in that description were even to refer to Mr. Hodgson’s unpublished opinion respecting the species, which opinion he had been cautious not to commit to print!—Mr. Hodgson might perhaps be justified in say- ing that I had been guilty of much discourtesy towards him, and have forfeited my claim for courtesy in return? Even such, mutatis mutandis, is the history of Antilope ( Pro- capra ) picticaudata, Hodgson! Dr. Campbell kindly forwarded the female of this animal some time ago to the Society’s Museum, and hoped soon to be able to procure and send a male ; tut Mr. Hodgson happened to be at Darjeeling when Dr. Campbell succeeded in procuring two males and a female, and has assuredly taken due (or undue) advantage of the accident of his local position! Who here “steps in to name and classify” ce. &c.? 364 Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. [ApRIL; Hodgson will find it necessary to become familiarly acquainted with many more Species of wild Sheep, than those found upon the Himalaya, if he thinks of subdividing the series otherwise than most crudely and unsatisfactorily ; and when he has properly studied the whole genus, even as now known, he will find its subdivision considerably more difficult than may seem to him at present, and he will then be able to declaim with a better grace on the short-comings of others, who may have opportunities and local advantages which he has not, as he likewise enjoys some which they would assuredly not fail to turn to due account. Should it prove that O. musimon is really devoid of the facial cavities, the value of this character would fall to a mere specifica] distinction ; for however the wild Sheep may be arranged into minor groups, the O. Vignei (which has the sinuses) could scarcely be placed in a different subdivision from O. musimon. And to the same group must be referred O. Gmelini and O. ophion, though together perhaps forming a subsec- tion of it! Both in O. Gmelint and O. Vignet, we find indications of affinity with the African O. tragelaphus. 12. O. ophion, nobis. Founded on the coloured figure and de- scription, by M. M. Brandt and Ratzeburgh, of a specimen in the Berlin Museum. 13. O. aries, L. The domestic Sheep. Several wild types, as I still strongly suspect: but none of those above enumerated ; unless, to a partial extent, O. Vignei, though even this very doubtful. 14? O. (?) Ixalus probaton, Ogilby. Described from a hornless specimen, which is at least closely allied to Ovis. 15. O. tragelaphus, Pallas. A well known species. Described from specimens, observed both alive and in museums. The reader may now judge of the data upon which I founded my various new species of wild Ovis ; and equally of Mr. Hodgson’s dis- - paraging assertion of my “ founding many of them upon an inspection of the horns solely.” Such assertions, if not promptly repelled, as I trust this has been, are calculated to damage the reputation of a work- ing zoologist, who should endeavour to do the utmost that is fairly practicable with the means at his disposal; but who should know better than to transgress the bounds of moderation in these matters, . as by publishing such a name as Asinus equioides to the world, upon 1847. | Further Notice of the Species of Wild Sheep. 365 the data on which that name is sought to be established, and then ludicrously complain of “innumerable vague and shadowy species” being “the plague of zoological science.” Finally, respecting Antilope picticaudata, Hodgson: having only the skin of a female to judge from, I consider myself perfectly justified in having provisionally regarded it as Antilope gutturosa of Pallas, although I did not choose to go the length of publishing that opinion, as Mr. Hodgson has done for me. In the first place, both animals are from Chinese Tartary ; secondly, both differ from every other known Antelope, excepting the Prong-horn of North America, in having a white caudal disk, as in the Argali Sheep, various true elaphine Stags, &c.; thirdly, the rest of the colouring of the Society’s specimen corresponds with the desctibed summer dress of A. gutturosa ; fourthly, their short tails are similiar ; fifthly, the females of both are hornless ; sixthly, as regards the size of 4. picticaudata, how was I to know that the female in the Society’s museum was full grown, it having no skull to guide me; seventhly, 4. gutturosa is described to have slight tufts of hair on the knees, scarcely sufficiently long to deserve the name of brushes; and though I could scarcely make these out distinctly in the Society’s specimen, I thought they might perhaps be more developed in another; and eighthly, the suborbital sinus in 4. gutturosa is described to be small, and I could merely distinguish a small bare place in lieu of the sinus on both sides of the face of the Society’s specimen; moreover, we know that this sinus becomes more developed’ at the rutting season, and at other times it may be so slight as to become obliterated in a dry skin. As for the swoln larynx, it is as much peculiar to the male sex, as are the horns and preputial gland ; and even the larynx would, I doubt not, as in 4. cervicapra, be much more developed at the rutting season than at other times, and probably the preeputial gland also. I should therefore have considered myself altogether disqualified from assuming the tone which I now feel myself entitled to hold, if I had added to the ‘‘innumerable vague and sha- dowy species” which Mr. Hodgson so consistently denounces, by de- scribing 4. picticaudata as a species distinct from d. gutturosa, of which, indeed, I am still very far from being satisfied, as I think it yet requires to be examined in the recent state, and the males during the height of the rutting period. 3.C 366 How to take correct facsimiles of inscriptions. [ APRIL, To conclude, if Mr. Hodgson had preserved the amenities of fair and amicable discussion, in his various depreciatory remarks, I should have forborne, as hitherto, from calling special attention to certain of his own very marked inconsistencies, to use the mildest expression ; and should have even passed quietly over his appropriation of the Tibetan Antelope (if it eally prove new) : but in disregarding the rules of courtesy towards me and others, he has invited a plain-spoken rejoinder, which I have reluctantly felt myself compelled to issue sine mord. P.S. Itis dueto Mr. Hodgson that I should here notice, and I have unfeigned pleasure in doing so, that I have just received from him a communication (dated March 24th,) in which he has, in the most handsome manner, spontaneously tendered his regret, if, in the heat of composition, he may have penned aught that I might consider as dis- courteous ; and I rejoice that it is in my power to append this trait of good feeling on his part, which I am sure that he will have the gene- rosity to exhibit further, should he haply think my reply at all acrimo- nious, or written under excited feelings.* Instructions how to take Correct Facsimiles of Inscriptions, by Captain Kittror, 6th N. I. To take correct facsimiles without reversing the writing which the common method of damping and pressing the paper on tlfem, or of blackening the stone produces, the following method is recommended. Heat in a ladle, and mix, equal parts of spirits of turpentine, linseed oil and bees wax, with sufficient red lead or ochre, ground as fine as possible, and let it cool. Then rub this mto fine Serampore or bazar * We regret that Mr. Blyth has deemed it necessary to couch his defence in terms of asperity. As his opinions were impugned in a recent paper by Mr. Hodgson, he has an undoubted right of rejoinder, for the tone of which he is of course responsible. But we protest against the repetition of such jousting in the Journal, the high character and digni- fied position of which are in no small measure attributable to the absence of every sem- blance of personality from its pages; a circumstance most honorable to the cultivators of science in this country, and not easily paralleled in the history of any European Jour- nal. Our contributors will, we feel assured, concur with us that this high character must on no consideration be compromised,— Errors. 1847. | How to take correct facsimiles of inscriptions. 367 paper with a rag, so as to color it uniformly, more or less, according to the nature of the stone on which the incriptions are cut ; if the surface is very smooth, the thinner the color the better, and vice versa. It is best to keep a few sheets ready prepared of different shades of color on hand. These should be rolled on alight roller with a sheet of blotting or unsized paper between each, to absorb all superfluous greasy matter. Paper prepared with ochre mixed in water answers, but is apt to obliterate. . To take off impressions, first of all damp your plain paper slightly, and with little wafers of bees wax fasten it tightly over the inscription ; next cut a slip of prepared (colored) paper the width of two or three lines, according to the size of the letters, and when very large, of one line only ; apply the colored face to the white paper, and with a muller made of hard wood, rub the paper longitudinally and vertically until all the letters appear as clear they will, moving the colored paper onwards as the impression comes off: the color becomes transferred by this means into all the raised surface of the inscribed stone, leaving the ‘cavities or letters white. This will be more or less perfect according to the nature of the stone, the smoothest giving the best impressions. It is better in large inscriptions to cut your white paper also in strips and to number the lines as you take them off to enable you to adjust them afterwards. When the impression has been thus taken, it should be most carefully compared, letter for letter, with the original, and indistinct letters should be supplied in pencil; it will be found that rough surfaces require this invariably, indeed some inscriptions cannot be fairly imprinted with the color; however, it is best to make the most of it and make the letters distinct with a pencil as suggested. For correcting, the light at sunrise and sunset, also strong moon light, or by torch at night is best ; letters that are invisible at other times become distinct then; the surface should be looked at obliquely, and indeed from every point till the eye catches the form of the letters ; of course this will be easier to one accustomed to the different alphabets and who may be able to read and comprehend them. In searching for inscriptions parties should practically, never ‘“ leave a stone unturned,” for they often occur in the most unlikely localities, usually above doors or within their jaumbs, or in some dark corner 3 ¢ 2 368 Taking and preparing drawings for lithograph, [APRIL, within, and above all things, never believe it when the inhabitants say there are none, but search yourself for them. I would lay much stress upon one point calculated to aid parties in their search for antiquities, it is this. Never neglect visiting every clump of, or single Peepul or Banyan trees, and particularly if on a high mound or by water, for a practice exists all over India of collecting fragments of stone of all kinds, sculptured or inscribed under such trees. Whenever a high mound is seen in a flat part of country, depend upon it, it is the site of an ancient city. Those who have travelled in the Punjaub, and in the Cis-Sutledge territory, will not have failed to remark this. Witness all the places the names of which end in “ put” and ‘‘ hana,” Paneeput, Son-put, Cong-put, Sam-hana, Pud-hana, &c. &e. but there are very many mounds im the other and distinct names such as Kupoor, Mumdote, Kunnoje, Kurra, Manicpoor. It would be very useful if in the different revenue surveys attention were paid to those mounds or sites of old towns, and that they should be entered in the maps, the names carefully recorded in the dialect and written character of the country. Hints on the Easiest Method of taking and preparing Drawings for Inthograph, by the same. Several years ago I proposed contributing (monthly) specimens of sculpture, but various impediments have been opposed to the fulfil- ment of the promise ; as I think that the subject is still worthy of con- sideration, I would suggest your inviting contributions, to facilitate which, both as to execution and economy, I would offer the following hints. : In the first place, the more simple the drawing the more correct the idea conveyed of the object to be represented and the less the trouble of execution, both for the draftsman and the copyist, whose charges must be regulated by the extent of work ; a plain outline drawing is sufficient, and should be reduced to the size required for the Journal. There is a method by which much accuracy is attamed and trouble and expense spared. | The drawing should be first carefully reduced to the size required upon stiff paper, and the outlines boldly done with Indian ink ; this 1847.] Notice of Tremenheerite, a new carbonaceous mineral, 369 should be again traced on that description of China paper commonly used in Calcutta for lithographic purposes, with a medium pencil, or better still in lake witha pen, and be then carefully rolled and packed to prevent its being in the slightest degree crumpled or soiled ; equal care must be observed whilst drawing, that neither greasy particles nor perspiration touch the paper ; such drawings can be easily lithographed even by indifferent native draftsmen, for all that remains to be done, is, to apply the yellow transfer mixture over the pencil drawing, and when ready for use the whole has merely to be drawn over (traced) with the pen or brush and lithographic ink. Many of the plates of my Tllus- trations of Indian Architecture were prepared in this manner. The outlines should be exactly of the depths required for the shading. This plan is applicable to representations of any objects in outline and for facsimiles of inscriptions in particular, and will be found much safer than the actual drawings, with the chemical ink on the transfer paper, which are always liable to injury and never certain of success. Drawing the outline in pale red ink or lake is better than pencil, as the latter being dark, is apt to be overlooked in the tracing. For drawing sculptures, &c. &c. a frame divided off into three inch squares, ‘with thick white cotton twine well stiffened ; the centre per- pendicular and horizontal thread being red for easier guidance, is strong- ly recommended; the paper must be divided also mto squares. The frame is placed at a convenient distance from the object, when all that is requisite is to keep the same position whilst drawing, and this is easily done by marking a dot on the object, cutting the crossing of the red threads ; great accuracy and facility is attamed by this method. It should be borne in mind that clear, bold outlines are far more valuable than indistinct sketches, however beautifully colored, which are indeed of little use. Notice of TREMENHEERITE, a new carbonaceous mineral, by Henry PippinctTon, Curator Museum of Economic Geology. This substance was sent to the Museum from Tenasserim by Capt. Tremenheere, B. E. as Black Wad, but it contains no trace of Manga- nese. 370 Notice of Tremenheerite, a new carbonaceous mineral. |APRIL, It is, when fresh, in masses of a scaly structure and of a deep black colour, with a highly metallic lustre, much resembling coarsely foliated graphite ; after a few months it partly falls to powder, or rather ito scaly flakes, evidently from the decomposition of pyrites, of which it contains about three per cent. It powders easily, but the powder is always scaly, soiling, greasy, and glittering, like graphite. If the pul- verised part be washed and ground, the tougher metallic looking scales remain as a black micaceous residuum, and it is only after long rubbing and washing that they also are pulverised, showing great toughness in the compacter and larger scales of the mineral. It soils much but is too soft to mark with, nor can any very determined streak be made ; what is so is of a deep black. When heated a little sulphur sublimes ; the mass burns but very slowly indeed, reddening only at first and for a long time like some varieties of graphite, and requirmg a good supply of air to the crucible and constant stirring to effect its combustion. With patient attention the whole is burnt, with the exception of a small residuum of a very light, and bright fawn-coloured powder, which is a mixture of oxide of iron and silex. ; Its composition is found to be in 100 parts, CALDODS fer eo teaer eee ee errant . 85.70 Water and: Sulphur, 722.5000" ee 0 ey eet Peroxide Tron)? Pot, es ee 2.50 Rarth, -chiéily Stheayee ee 99.70 Water Ariel lOSS..) sate catty ok abe? pee oar 30 100.00 This mineral then differs from the anthracites in its high lustre, scaly structure, and ready pulverisation, by which it approaches the gra- phites ; as well as by its iron and very slow combustion ; but then from these it differs by its streak, and high combustibility with nitre ; for, like coal and the anthracites, when projected upon melted nitre it defla- erates, heating the crucible instantly to redness, while the graphites not only boil but heat the crucible also, and seem but partly and very slowly to part with their carbon till a much higher heat is given. This distinction I have not yet found noticed in any chemical or mineralogical work, but it seems to me to be no bad test by which to 1847. | On a new kind of Coal, being Volcanic Coal. 371 separate the graphites from the anthracites ; namely, that with nitre, at a heat a little above its melting point only, the former melt and are consumed, while the latter deflagrate and almost explode. My trials were made with graphite from Borrowdale, from Cochin and from the Himalaya, all of which, as above stated, diffused themselves over the nitre and were consumed gradually, while Newcastle Coal, American Anthracite and our present mineral deflagrate smartly. It is usually taken, on the authority of Berzelius, founded on Kar- sten’s researches, that the iron in graphite is a mere fortuitous mixture ; but Beudant acutely says* alluding to this, that ‘“‘ when the iron is wanting we have no graphite, and when this substance is found in our furnaces, the proportions are sensibly the same,” i e. about 8 per cent. which he seems to think may be the true proportion. I do not advert to Kirwan’s experiments, which were merely relating to coal and not to coal and graphite in comparison with each other. In Professor Wanuxem’s experiments (Phil. Mag. for September 1845) the quantity of manganese and iron in anthracites is stated to be from 0.2 to 7.10 percent. and the water from 4.90 to 6.70. In the graphites he found from 1.40 to 3.60 per cent. of oxide of iron and manganese in the pure, and 20.00 per cent. in the impure kinds; and of water from 0.60 to 1.23 in the pure and 5.33 per cent. in the impure kinds. | It may then be a mooted pot to which of these two classes of the anthracinea} our mineral belongs, but as I have found nothing of the kind described before I have given it a distinguishing name, to be adopted or rejected, as better authorities shall determine. On a new kind of Coal, being Voucanic Coat, from Arracan, by the same This coal was sent us from Kyook Phyoo by Major Wilhams, as one of the products of the eruption of the Mud Volcano at that station, described in his letter in the Proceedings for November, 1846. It is in two lumps, which look externally like rolled boulders of Coal, and feel greasy on the outside like graphite. * Beudant Minerologie, p. 404. + Il use here Mr. Dana’s term for this order, 372 On a new kind of Coal, being Voleanie Coal. [APRIL, It is highly sectile on the outside, being easily cut or pared without = breaking, like soft plumbago. ‘Internally it is a little more brittle, but still very sectile. Its smell when cut is very peculiar, being highly sooty, like the smell of a foul chimney in which a fire has not bemg made for along time. When breathed upon the smell is very earthy and ‘ bitter.” | The internal structure is in one direction highly foliated, or scaly, and. somewhat curved, with a semi-metallic lustre; at right angles to this it is granular and glimmering; the fracture partakes of both. In its general appearance it reminds us much of coal altered by dikes cutting through it. The streak is highly metallic, and the mineral very soft. It writes well and of a brown colour. Its specific Gravity is 1.28. In an impure part of the specimen there are minute white ves, which are Carbonate of Lime. It burns and swells up like Newcastle Coal, but its smell when burning is more that of Cannel Coal. This is doubt- less from the absence of sulphur of which there are no traces. It coaks perfectly ; swelling however to a mass four times the original size, while the best Newcastle only increases to about double its size. Its composition is in 100 parts, Water, FO Nb a irk. fh teoe ie Oe re ica 1.00 Carbon, °. «i's . scyal nc /aeeriaine asp ekbe eee © «see oe Gaseous matter, ........ Dede ares ide stn bs Earthy residuum Iron eid Silex, Bee ol ee 100.00 It gives of Coke per cent. by an independent ex- periment ona solid lump, %.../ one. . «Jb ayes Newcastle Coal from the Percy High main seam elves per cent, OF Coke... ig. 78.8 The mean of Cokes from Bupkek ‘Coal _ ba Ure (Diety. (Chemistry) 18). sic. oss any). to 4D We have here the fact that there must exist a seam or deposit of very fine Coal not far from the site of the Mud Volcanoes, and though at present all we know of the Arracan Coal is unpromising on account of the thinness of the seams, yet as nothing but surface examinations have yet taken place, and these not by professional miners, we may hope for 4 a eee ors aa hae ee Sa POP eee —e a 1847.] Hints to Students of Arabic. 373 better results when due research shall have been made. The alteration of the coal by the steam of the Mud Volcano cannot be great, since it preserves so large proportion of its bituminous matter. And coal like this if attainable, and in quantity, would be very valuable. The per centage of ash in English coal is I see* only 7 or 8, at the highest, and more often far less. The mean of 13 specimens is 2.8 only, but one would suppose some error here. Since this paper was written I have received from Major Williams a further supply of specimens collected at the Volcano, of which he says that there is no doubt about the coal’s being the produce of the Volcano, and that the hardest specimens sent are those from a former eruption. Some of these are exactly our Volcanic coal, others approach more to Jet, and some which are intersected with Carbonate of Lime make very pretty specimens when polished. Hints to Students of Arabic ; extracted from a letter by Col. Lockett. I have to apologise to you for not writing sooner, but I have been so much engaged with the public examinations in the College that I have really not had time. If C. has made no progress in Arabic, he should commence with Bayley’s Tables, which he will master in aweek. He may then read attentively the Murt Amil and Shurhao Murt Amil, two works on Arabic Syntax, which will give him enough of grammar. I have translated both these works into English, and it will be of use to him, as there are many easy Arabic stories in it with translations. He can get acopy from the College Library on application. He must then begin to read some easy Arabic work to give him words and a know- ledge of construction. The Arabian Nights Entertainment, and the Ikhwan-oos-suffa, are the easiest books and best adapted for that pur- pose. He may read about 200 pages in each. Then he may com- mence on Mahommedan Law in Arabic. There are three text books of the Mahommedan Law, all containing texts or simple rules on the same heads, but expressed in different words, supposed by the writers to be more explicit or comprehensive. The most ancient and authentic is that of Kudooree. The Wakayah * Prinsep’s Table, Jour.: Vol. VII. p. 197. 374 Hints to Students of Aradie. and Kunz-ood-dukaek are the others; but they are but copies of the former with the change of style or phraseology I have mentioned. Then comes the Shurhus or Commentaries on these. The Hedayah is a Shurhu of the Kudooree, with an amplified text, but the whole of Kudoorees text verbatim et literatim is found in the Hedayah. This the Kazees and Mooftees and Moulavees in Calcutta were not till lately acquainted with. Captain Galloway, who has translated, but not pre- pared for publication the Kudooree, found part and explained it to them. ; The Hedayah is an invaluable work, but then it is full of disquisition and subtilty of argument which would not be much to the taste of a beginner, and this has given rise to fifty different Hasheeuwh or annota- tions on the Hedayah. There is a commentary on the Kudooree, the Suraj-ool Wuhawj g2,)1 glye, but that is also a voluminous work. The Shurh Wukayah, a common work, is a good one. There are indeed several Shurhus on that text, all easy and good, by Abool Mukarum Birgundee, &c. and the Jaeemeea-ooz-Rumooz. Of the Kunz-ood Du- kaek, the Aeenee is a good and easy shurh and a good book for a beginner, as well as the three last mentioned. Then there are the Futawahs, or collections of supposed cases and the opinions of the lawyers on them. These puzzle a beginner because he seldom finds a decided preference expressed for any opinion ; but this wears off by a little acquaintance with the books and the celebrity of the lawyers who have expressed the conflicting opinions, and the increasing strength of the reader’s own judgment ; and if after all he find the opinions heavily balanced, he knows he may then adopt whichever his own mature judg- ment may think most suitable to the equity of the case. This is supposing him to be a Judge and that he had to decide a case in real life. The style however, of those Futawahs is quite simple, as well indeed as of all the Law Books, like that of books of science in all languages. Technical phrases are to be learnt of course. In short, the dryness of the subject is the only difficulty a student of Mahommedan law has to fear, but the Haser will encounter the Desert. Let there bea motive and the task will be overcome. C. should read Harrington’s chapter on Mahommedan Law in the Ist volume of the Analysis, and provide himself with Hamilton’s Hedayah. PL LDALP PLP PEI VII Sp ok Moa fae ee a ey ee es ee ay Se >. Fo _ a PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, Marcu, 1847. The usual monthly meeting of the Asiatic Society was held on Wed- nesday evening, the 10th March. The Lord Bishop in the chair. The minutes of the preceding meeting having been read, Major Marshall stated that in the financial report lately submitted, no notice was taken of the debt of £150 incurred by the Society to the Hon’ble the Court of Directors in 1840, for the passage to this country of Mr. Blyth, the Curator of the Zoological Museum. Dr. O’Shaughnessy, as one of the Secretaries, observed that he was not aware of the existence of this debt, but due enquiry should be made, and the result reported at the next meeting. The proceedings of the February meeting were then unanimously confirmed. The accounts of receipts and expenditure for the preceding month, with cash vouchers were laid on the table, for perusal of members during the ensuing month. The following gentlemen were then balloted for and duly elected members of the Society. H. Thornhill, Esq. C. S., proposed by Mr. Bushby, seconded by Lieut.-Col. Forbes. | J. Newmarch, Esq., proposed by Mr. S. G. T. Heatly, seconded by Dr, O’Shaughnessy. Lieut. Douglas, Artillery, proposed by Capt. Broome, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. Baboo Debendernath Tagore, proposed by Dr. O'Shaughnessy, se- conded by Mr. Laidlay. __ E. Linstedt, Esq., proposed by Mr. Blyth, seconded by Mr. Laidlay. LD ] o D 376 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Marcu, Baboo Dwarkanauth Bose, M.R.C.8.E., proposed by Dr. D. Stewart- seconded by Mr. Blyth. Rev. A. Sandberg, Benares, proposed by the Rev. J. Long, seconded by Mr. J. Ward. Rev. William Keane, M. A., Emmanuel College, Cambridge, pro- posed by the Lord Bishop, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. J. Kerr, Esq., Hindu College, proposed by Dr. O’Shaughnessy, se- conded by Lieut.-Col. Forbes. The following gentlemen were proposed as candidates for election :— The Rev. S. Slater, proposed by Rev. J. Long, seconded by Rev. J. YI. Pratt. Count Lackersteen, proposed by Mr. Blyth, seconded by Mr. Laidlay. D. Money, Esq. C. S., proposed by Dr. O’ Shaughnessy, seconded by Mr. Welby Jackson. Lieut. Staples, Bengal Artillery, proposed by Mr. Laidlay, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. The subjoined letter from Mr. Carre Tucker should have appeared among the proceedings last month. The box of shells and bones to which it refers was exhibited at the January meeting. To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Sin,—I did myself the pleasure of sending you a few days ago, a box of bones, found at a place called Umhut, on the Koana Nuddee, which flows from Oudh, and joins the Gogra at Gopalpore. A bridge is building near the spot; and the con- yicts in digging for Kunkur, came upon what would appear to be a pit filled with shells, deers’ horns, and all sorts of bones. It appears to be about 12 or 15 feet deep. The size is not yet known; but many thousand maunds of shells have already been dug out for lime. The termination of the bed of shells, where we have come upon it, is perpendicular, like the side of a pit. The site is some jungle close to the high bank of the Nuddee. | No one in the neighbourhood can make even a tolerable guess how this immense mass of shells and bones could have come where we find them. There is no village any where near. Some of the people think that some great man in former days must have intended to build a bridge where mine is now building, and have collected the shells for lime. Others, that a mahajun may have collected them for export- ation ; but neither of these hypotheses will account for the large quantity of horns and bones found amongst the shells. Perhaps the most general belief is, that an Asur lived there, and that he was in the habit of chucking into this pit.the bones of the men and animals he devoured, as also the shells of the fish he was forced to eat when he could get nothing better to devour ! ! | 1847.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 377 I lave little doubt the collection is artificial—but I am quite at a loss to imagine how, and by whom, it could have been made. As a matter of curiosity, I have thought it right to send you some of the shells, bones and horns, with the above brief account. The discovery has been a fortunate ene for me, in supplying me with an enormous quantity of the finest lime for my numerous bridges. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, H. Carre Tucker. Magistrate and Collector. Gortickpore, 26ih January, \847. Letters were read— From the Secretary to the Superintendent of Marine, forwarding Meteorological Registers kept at Kyook Phyoo. From the Society of Antiquarians of London, presenting the 31st vol. of the Archzeologia. | From Captain Kittoe, respecting his late investigations of the Bud- dhist remains in the Gyah district, and announcing despatch of several sculptures and inscriptions. To the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society. Dear GENTLEMEN,—! had intended being present at this meeting but am prevented, and as I had reserved my different papers as well as collection of Behar Inscriptions for the same occasion, they must also stand over for the next meeting. The papers I have prepared are as follows :— 1. Notice of the Ruins and Temple of Oomga near Sherghatti, and inscriptions. Xe, 2. Notice of the Viharas and Chaityas of Behar. 3. Notice of the Buddhist sculptures at Bodh Gyah. 4, Notice of the hills, caves and inscriptions, &c. of Barabar near Gyah. With illustrations on a scale suited to the Journal, and ready for lithographing according to the plan suggested in a late letter to you on that subject. I have the pleasure to state that I have despatched several cart loads of sculp- tures, &c. for our Museum, as well as a few Geological specimens. I beg to invite the attention of the Geological branch or department to the sub- ject of the mineral productions of the country south of Hazaribaugh, which I have lately passed through. The valley 10 miles south of the Dorunda road, the streams of which run westward exhibits the sandstone of the coal formation to a great extent; it was in this valley that coal was found six or seven years back, Above the rock and on the hills which separate it from the valley of the Deo Mad or Damooda, is a vast deposit of iron ore which supplies the province of Behar— or 2 378 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, [Marcu, Gneiss ? make its appearance on the higher land and the sandstone again appears on either side of the Damooda valley ; no doubt coal would be found in abundance in all these tracts. Sandstone of a less decided kind is found in the valley of the Barrakur, close to the great trunk road, where I quarried a large quantity for the public works, still I am of opinion that it belongs to the coal formation. I have picked up rolled fragments of coal in the Mohana, which crosses the trunk road beyond Dunwa. I intended to have traced this coal, but public duties have ever prevented me. I believe coal would be found in the upper valleys of all the large rivers flowing from the Vindhia hills. Having seen the Burdwan fields and those further west, which follow both the Barrakur and Damooda, as well as those just mentioned, I should lay great stress on the subject of the Orissa coal fields. I therefore now beg to assert that I feel con- fident that an extensive field exists in the valley of the Mahanuddee close to Cuttack, (below the surface,) and that the field I first brought to notice in 1837, called the Talcher mines, is fully as extensive as at first supposed by me. I can now safely say that the coal could be worked close to the river side (Brahman’s) as low down nearly as Kurugpursad, below which the river is navigable the greater part of the year. I would suggest that the valley of the Byturnee be also examined, though I con- sider the Brahman’s coals to be the most valuable on account of the immense supply of iron ore of excellent quality found in the same locality. Now that we are about to have rail roads with the consequent demand for iron, the subject of iron and coal fields becomes of first importance. I must beg indulgence for this rambling letter ; the will must be taken for the deed. I am anxious to convey as much intelligence even of the slightest importance as chance throws in my way, with a view to stimulate others to do the same ; perchance { may convey some useful hint among the many. M. Kirror. The marked thanks of the Society were directed to be conveyed to Captain Kittoe for this communication. From Babu Debendernath Tagore, recommending that pundits from Benares should be employed in the publication of the Vedas. Minute on the intended publication of the Vedas by the Asiatic Society. *) Chaturtha Arunya Gana. Though there are, as will be seen on 3 reese eee perusing the list of Vedaic manuscripts 4 Atharva Veda Becirceinn tres specified in the margin® sufficient ma- : Pena eas Sanghita. terials, in the library of the Society, noostatra. ; * 7 Atharva PrattangirA Kulpa. wherewith to commence the intended 8 Atharva Rahasya. publications, yet I am of opinion that, 3 oe Sanghita, for the reasons mentioned below, without r : . 1 furtin yo etiielna the assistance of Vedaic Pundits who 12 Arshya Brahmmana, have studied the Vedas regularly as scho- —— Os SOS ee ee 1847.] 13 Rig Veda. 14 Rig Veda Prothamastaka. 15 Rig Veda Brahmmana Punchika. 16 Rig VedaBrahmmanastaka Punchika. 17 Rig Veda Soonta Sorton. 18 Kapistal Sunghita. 19 Gopatakha Brahmmana Purvardha. 20 Gopatakha Bréhmmana Prapatakha. 21 Ditiya Anoostatra. 22 Ditiya Arunya Gana. 23 Prathama Veda Gana. 24 Maddhaudina Sutpatha Brahmmana Syasashtaka Prapunchika. 25 Maitrayani Sakha. 26 Moitra Baruna Sakha. 27 Yajur Veda Maddhundina Sakha. 28 Yajur Veda Satpatha Brahmmana. 29 Vasa Brahmmana. 30 Sarbingsa Brahmmana. 31 Saptadasa Prapatakha. 32 Sam Vedhana Brahmmana. 33 Sam Veda Uhagana. 34 Sam Veda Chhandasa. 35 Sam Veda T'rayabingsati Prapatakha. 36 Sam Veda Panchabingsati Prapa- takha. R 37 Gopdtakha Brahmmana of the Athar- va Veda. that Vedaic Pundits should be procured Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 379 lars, this very important and valuable undertaking of the Society cannot be ex- ecuted to our entire satisfaction. Rea- son Ist, That frequent errors in copies are the invariable concomitants of ma- Reason 2nd, That though a multitude of co- pies of the Vedas be procured for pur- nuscript preparation of works. poses of collation, yet the dialect in which they were written having in a great measure become obsolete and difficult to be understood even with the assistance of commentaries which are often no less obscure than the text, the collation can- not be properly made, as its effectual and satisfactory execution depends entirely upon a profound, critic.l, and scholastic acquaintance with that dialect itself. Iam therefore decidedly of opinion, from Benares, if obtainable there, and employed at fixed salaries, in order to assist in the intended publication. DEBENDERNATH TAGORE, Member of the Oriental Section. From Dr. E. Roer on the same subject. I take the opportunity also to report my proceedings with regard to the Vedas. I would have sent in my report concerning them long before, had it not been my wish to furnish the Society with a correct statement of the collections of the Vedas in Cal- cutta, which I could not as yet render complete, not having examined the MSS. of the Sanscrit College, to which I could not obtain access, the Library of the College being closed until Monday next. The Vedaic collections of our Library are very defective, and from the accompanying letter of Debendernath Tagore, you will perceive, that he believes we cannot procure parts of the Vedas in Caleutta, an opinion, which is also held by Radhakant Deb. and sufficiently correct MS. of the Sanhita of the Rig or first Vedas (the first two parts are now with me) in the Library of Bishop’s College, which has been There is however, a complete placed at my disposal, and I would propose to print this Sanhita, if we can obtain With this view I will without delay employ a pundit, who under my superintendence, is to With regard to the difficulties attend - ing such an edition, as alluded to in Debendernath’s letter, I believe, they are the commentary, together with the commentary; if not, without it. make a transcript of the MS. in question. 380 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [MarcH, overrated. We should be able to do this here with almost the same success as in Kurope, and I will take it upon me to bring this edition through the press, if the Society will avail themselves of my services. The language is antiquated only in a few grammatical forms, and there are some words out of use at present ; but the lan- guage at the same time is simple; (it reminds one of Homer) and very far from the elaborative mode of grammatical structure, used at a more recent period. The sug- gestion, however, of employing a pundit, who has studied the Vedas at Benares, is a good one, as this will much facilitate the work. E. Roger. Both these letters were referred through the Committee of Papers to the Oriental Section. From Colonel Sleeman, forwarding a Grammar and Vocabulary of the Goond language. From Lieutenant Briggs, Seonee, describing an extraordinary rent ef- fected in a hill in that district in the month of May last, apparently by volcanic agency. To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Sir,— In hopes that the following account of an earthquake, or eruption, which occurred in the month of May last, near to the ancient fortress of Mundelah, on the banks of the Nerbuddah, may be worthy of perusal, I have the pleasure of sending you a description (although a very imperfect one) of what appeared to me worthy of remark, after visiting the scene of the phenomenon. : About the end of May last, my friend Captain Skene, the Deputy Commissioner of the district, received a petition from the Thuseeldar of Mundelah, stating that during the night of the 27th May, the inhabitants of the villages situated at the foot of the mountain called ‘‘ Dhumah Phai’’ had been thrown into a state of great alarm, by a tremendous noise and rumbling in the hill above them; which lasted the greater part of the night, and that in the morning they found that the hill ‘* had opened”’ and ‘ that trees of immense stature had been engulphed.’’ We were by this account much inclined to believe that all this had been merely the effect of a landslip, but circumstances putting it in our power to visit the hill—we did so— and found our previously formed idea quite erroneous. The Dhumah Phai, (which literally translated showld mean the smoky moun- tain) is about 500 feet above the level of the plain—rather steep in ascent and covered with a thin stratum of earth, with numerous boulders of rocks project- ing beyond the inclined plane of the hillside. Although we made every enquiry with the object of discovering whether any previous volcanic eruption had been the cause of the hill receiving the name of ‘‘ Dhumah’’ we could not find that such had been the case, no tradition of the sort being known among the natives; and 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 38h. some therefore inclined to believe, that as the Goonds are in the habit of giving every eminence a name, this has by chance received the term above mentioned. On examining the hill we found that the eruption extends from the bottom to about three parts up. The effect of the shock has been to tear out, and push to either side, enormous masses of rock ; (many of which have been split by the con- vulsion) and turn over trees of large size—conveying to the eye, the exact appear- ance asif along mine had been so laid, that when exploded it had completely cleared a roadway of about 30 feet in breadth, and five or six in depth, leaving merely the bare surface of the rock composing the hill itself, exposed in many places; or, as if a gigantic plough had been passed down the mountain oversetting, ” tearing up, and pushing to either side, every obstacle that opposed it.—Rocks of from 20 to 30 feet in circumference, are seen split in half and removed to either side the line of eruption, not by any means exhibiting a tendency towards the foot of the hill, but appearing as if torn from their original position, and forced to the right and left—showing that the direction of the shock was from the interior, and not the upper part of the hill, as would have been the effect of a landslip. Indeed the position in which trees of large size are found, many of them with their roots uppermost, and branches entirely buried in the debris, clearly show that their dis- placement was occasioned bya more than natural cause. As many most respectable natives testify to the truth of the terrific noises that were heard during the night of the 27th May, we can have no reason to doubt this fact. However with the most careful search I could find nothing of a volcanic nature apparently of a more recent date, than such specimens as are found all over this part of Central India. And now Sir, without intruding any idea of my own, as to the nature of the convulsion, let me begyour serious (?) consideration of the following conclusion at which the learned Thuseeldar has arrived: viz. ‘‘ That the earth having become much heated, by the foregoing hot weather, had got fever ; but having here opened, the bad matter had been discharged,’’ and there was every likelihood of her doing well again ! ! : Your’s very truly, D. Brices, Lieut. Supt. Jubblepore and Kamptee Road, Seonee, 25th February, 1847. Papers were presented— By Mr. Blyth on the species of Wild Sheep. By Dr. W. B. O’Shaughnessy on explosive cotton and the results of the Artillery trials at Dum-Dum. | By Captain Madden, Bengal Artillery—Visit to the Pindree Gla- cier. Reports were submitted by the Curators in the Geological and Zoo- logical Departments. # 382 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Marcu, Report of the Curator, Museum of Economic Geology, December to February. I have received, through the Secretary to the Superintendent of Marine, the following very curious account of a phenomenon seen at sea. It were to be wished that we had many more such observers as the intelligent young officer who has given us this interesting note, for there is no doubt that these appearances are either indications of some extensive action going on, volcanic or electric, or of remarkable abun- dance of luminous animalcule, and of which, if any of the water has» been preserved, we may obtain some indices by chemical examination. I have written to Mr. Pearson and to Captain Biden, Master Attendant of Madras, requesting both to use their best endeavours to obtain for us specimens of the water, for I should suppose it impossible that some has not been preserved, since the ship must have carried a Surgeon who certainly should have done this. ! No. 2310. Yo H. PippineTon, Esq. Sir,—I have the honour by direction of the Offg. Superintendent of Marine, to forward for your information, the accompanying copy of a letter from Mr. George F. Pearson, Cadet of Infantry, Madras Presidency, dated the 27th ultimo, and of my reply thereto dated yesterday. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, Jas. SUTHERLAND, Fort William, Secretary. Marine Supdt.’s Office, 11th June, 1846. Ship Hashemy, May 21st, 1846. My pear Si1r,—In Lat. 37° 42’ South, Long. 28° 48’ East, being on board the barque Hashemy bound from London to Madras, we fell in with the following pheno- menon in the sea, which perhaps may prove of some interest to you. On the 17th of April in the above Lat. and Long. about 9 hrs. 45 min. (civil time) Pp. M. the surface of the sea became covered with what appeared to be a thick foam of a sparkling white appearance. This continued, being at intervals more or less bright and sparkling till near midnight. It seemed to exist in large patches over the sea, and when the appearance was at its height the passage of the vessel through the water could be compared to nothing else than if it were being borne through beds of driven snow. 1847.] : Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 383 During the phenomenon the Barometer was depressed ;2, of an inch, and a thick black cloud hang over the vessel, which circumstances will] think indicate the presence of a large body ef electricity in the atmosphere. I should likewise men- tion that the wind, which for two days had been very light, indeed at times almost calm, three quarters of an hour before the first appearance, shifted from N. N. E. into N. W. from which quarter it biewa steady breeze till morning, when it died away into a light air. On the afternoon of the same day several persons had perceived and actually talk- ed about a dry kind of sulphureous smell in the atmosphere, wondering from whence it could procced ; was it net possible then that as the appearance was very much that of a gaseous vapeur rising through the water, it might have been the effect of some submarine Volcano, the foaming appeurance being caused by the fumes of sulphur rising through the water ? I had a bucket full of the water drawn up, some of which I put in a tumbler and tasted. It had a very bright sparkling appearance as of the purest spring water, but I could net discern any difference in its taste from common sea water. In looking over Horsburgh’s work I perceive that vessels have occasionally fallen in with a similar appearance, though if I could judge from his account, on a smaller scale. Surely it must have been something of this sort which vessels have mistaken for shoal water even when they could obtain no soundings. Hence the Telemachus Shoal and many others whose existence appears very doubtful. Knowing the interest the Marine Board take in circumstances of this kind, 1 trast the extraordinary and interesting nature of this phenomenon may be sufficient apo- logy for the liberty one, who is about to enter another profession of a very different nature, now takes in addre«sing you. I remain, &c., (Signed) Gro. F Prarson, Cadet of Infantry, Palaveram, May 27th, 1846. Madras Presidency. Major D. Williams of Kyeuk Phyoo has sent to usa small box of the minerals and earths ejected by the recent-cruption of the Mud Voleano near the station. Upon examination I find them to consist exactly of the same kind as before. (Proceedings of October 1843), namely, grey indurated mud and shale, with black shaley masses, carbo- nate of lime fibrous and semi-crystallised, and Iron Pyrites. Our active contributor Dr. Spilsbury, sends us from Bundlecund 12 Specimens Trap Rocks of various kinds. 1 Of the Copper ore from Sahghur reported on before. 20 Specimens of fossils of various kinds. 5 Specimens of the fine coal from Lameter Ghat. 3K ’ 384 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Marcu, We have received from our able contributor Lieut. Sherwill, of the Shahabad Revenue Survey, his splendid map of that district, which fully equals the former one, and he has added to it also some notes which, together with his magnificent collection of specimens (noticed in report of November 1845, when the present map and notes were promised), are like the former on Zillah Behar, unequalled by any contribution yet sent to the Society, as the fruit of the labours of a public officer in a most active department, yet finding time to combine with them, and to add so highly to their value, such researches. In reference to these maps I have to submit for the orders of the Secretary and the Society the fol- lowing letters. No. 61. To H. Pippineton, Esq. Sir,—As I am desirous of having the Geological maps of Zillah Behar, and the southern portion of Zillah Shahabad lithographed in the Government Press, and as the original of these records are in your possession, I shall feel obliged by your making them over to me, at your earliest convenience, for the purpose specified above. 2nd. One lithographic impression of each map will be duly made over to you when received from the press. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, H. L. Tuauriuier, Ofg. Deputy Surveyor General. Supt. of Revenue Survey’s Office, Calcutta, the 6th March, 1847. Capt. H. L. Tuurtiier, Offy. Deputy Surveyor General. Sir,—In reply to your letter of this date, 6th, I beg to say that the maps in ques- tion are presented to the Asiatic Society for the Museum of Economic Geology. 2. Major Wroughton took a copy of the Geological map of Zillah Behar, which is no doubt in your office. 3. That of Zillah Shahabad will be submitted to the Society at its meeting on the 10th, when I will not fail to take the orders of the Secretary and the Society concerning it. There can be no objection, but on the contrary great advantage in having these valuable labours of Captain Sherwill’s made as public as possible, but the originals I apprehend must eventually remain with us. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, (Signed) H. PippineTon, Museum, 8th March, 1847. Cur. Mus. Eco. Geology. 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 385 No. 63. From Lieut. H. L. Tauirurer, Offy. Deputy Surveyor General, To H. Pippineron, Esg. Curator Museum Economic Geology. Sir,—I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated 8th inst. and with reference to the 2nd Paragraph, beg to state, that a Copy of the Geo- logical Map of Zillah Behar is in my office, but, as it is necessary whenever any map is to be lithographed, to take the exact impression from the original if possible, I trust the Society will not object to my being supplied with both the maps, execut- ed by Captain Sherwill, for the purpose above specified. 2. Onthe Maps being lithographed, the Originals shall be returned, together with one Colored Impression of each of the Districts. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, H. L. THut.cier, Supt. Revenue Survey’s Office, Off. Deputy Surveyor General. Caleutta, 9th March, 1847. I have put into the form of a paper for the Journal the examination of a new Carbonaceous Mineral, which I have named Tremenheerite. It is a variety of the Anthracine, but neither Anthracite nor Plumbago, and is thus well entitled to a separate name. (Signed) H. Prppineron, Cur. Mus. Eco. Geology. Report of the Curator, Museum of Zoology. My Report for this evening’s meeting is more brief than usual ; and so much time has been expended during the past month in setting up the skin of the Giraffe, that I have but asmall collection of other mounted specimens to exhibit. The donations for the museum are as follow :— 1. G. H. Bushby, Esq., Secretary to Government. A living specimen of a Marmot (Arctomys bobac, Pallas, v. tibetanus, Hodgson), from Sikim. ‘This little animal is not more than a third grown, is quite tame, and seems likely to bear the difference of climate, as it does not appear to be incommoded by the heat. 2. G. T. Lushington, Esq., of Almorah. Two skins of the Tibetan Fox (Vulpes nipalensis, as erroneously designated by Mr. Gray). 3. D.C. Money, Esq. A specimen of a Nilotic Crocodile (Crocodilus vulgaris), taken near Thebes, and quite distinct from Cr. palustris, Lesson, of the Ganges, &c., which is regarded as a mere variety of the same by MM. Dumeril and Bibron. The length of this specimen is 10 feet; and we have stuffed examples of Cr. palustris and Cr. biporcatus, of the same length, from the neighbourhood of Calcutta. Also a mummied Ibis, the skeleton of which will perhaps bear setting up. 4. R. Templeton, Esq., M. D., of Colombo. A further collection of Cinghalese 3 E 2 386 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. {[Marcu, birds, comprising a new Tephrodornis, and a Phyllornis which 1 cannot satisfactori- ly determine. PA. Jerdoni is common on the island, and I lately observed this species in considerable abundance in the Midnapore jungles; as also Pynonotus flavirictus, which is another common inhabitant of Ceylon; but neither of them inhabits the valley of the Ganges.* In this collection, | may notice also Parus cinereus, Vieil- lot (v. aériceps, Horsf.), identical with specimens from Java, the Himalaya, and from central and southern India; and Bucco rubricapillus, Gmelin, distinct from the common JB. indicus, and more nearly allied to the Malabar species referred to B. barbiculus, Cuv., in XV, 13, but which I now think distinct, and have termed: B. malabaricus. 5. R. W. G. Frith, Esq. A huge specimen of the variety of the common domestic fowl, known as Gallus giganteus ; a specific name which, I think, is inadmissible. Also the skull of a Dolphin taken on the voyage out to India, which is all that I have been able to learn of its history. It agrees with the figure of Delphinus delphis, Linn., in the ‘ Ossemens Fossiles,’ except that there is no trace of lateral constriction towards the base of the upper maxilla, and the teeth exceed fifty on each side above {amvunting to fifty-three on the right side), and may be put down as fifty on either side below ; this exceeds the extreme number hitherto observed in D. delphis (verus), and in no other species of true Delphinus described by M. Fred. Cuvier, are the teeth nearly so numerous.f 6. C. S. Bonnevie, Esq., of Rungpore. A large collection of Darjeeling birds, from which I have been permitted to select any required for the musuem, and the rest are to be forwarded to that of the Christiania University. Among those selected for our own collection may be mentioned Emberiza pusilla, Tehitrea affinis, Muscicapula McGreygoria, (Burton,—the female of which is Leiothrix signata, M’Clelland and Horsfield, and Niltava auricularis, Hodgson), M. sapphira, foem., Zanthia flavolivacea (p. 133, ante), Pnoépyya squamata, Tesia eyaniventer (var. auriceps, Hodg., p. 137, ante), T. castaneo-coronata, Culicipeta (seu Abrornis) poliogenys, n. s., Drymoica brevicaudata, n. s., Stachyris ruficeps, n. 8., Ixulus occipitalis, Minla cinerea, n. s., Proparus ehrysotis (it should be chrysopterus,) m. and f., Myzornis pyrrhoura, Erpornis zantholeuca, and Cer- thia discolor,—for the most part, particularly five specimens { Also a collection of Darjeeling Lepidoptera, from which a few good specimens have been selected. * Oriolus melanocephalus, so very commoniu Bengal, seems to be equally so in Ceylon, though in most parts of the peninsula of India, I believe it is of rare occurrence. Many other species are equally common in Ceylon and Lower Bengal: and Mulacocercus terri- color of Bengal, Assam, Nepal, and Orissa, is barely separable from M, striatus, Sw., of Ceylon. Indeed, coupling it with the fact of the deep colouring of Acridotheres tristis in Ceylon (XV. 314), and that of the representative of Corvus splendens being there black, though differing in no other respect, I question whether we are justified in considering M. terricolor to be really different from M. striatus. + In XV, 368, for “ Delphinorhynchus rostratus, F. Cuv.” read “ D, frontatus. F. Cuv.” } The novelties in this collection have been described and are incorporated in the con- tinuation of my paper on ‘ New and Little Known Species of Birds.’ 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 387 7. Mr. E. Lindstedt. Several specimens of snakes. 8. Mr. T. C. Madge. A specimen of the common hammer-headed Shark of the mouth of the river. Sphyrna Blochii, (Val.), v. Zygena laticeps, Cantor. 9. Lieut. Blagrave, 26th N. 1. A few bird skins from the Upper Provinces. 10. W.C. Hurry, Esq. A number of living beetles, which, at this season, are extremely destructive to various flowers, &c., in the gardens around Calcutta. The species is widely distributed over the country, and is nearly allied to the well known Turnip-fly of England (Haltica nemorum) ; but I have no immediate means of de- termining it more exactly. Among the few stuffed specimens, will be observed a Monkey from the Cape de Verd Islands (Cercopithecus sabeus): some undescribed Squirrels, and with them the §. tristriatus, Waterhouse, which I found in the vicinity of Midnapore, and have since received from Ceylon; the voice of this little animal being extremely unlike that of Se. palmarum, which I found inhabiting the same places. Also a new Jungle-fowl, from Ceylon, Gallus lineatus, nobis: end a fine Cobra, 9 feet long, the Hamadryas hannah, Cantor, As. Kes. XIX, 87, (1836 ;) being also the _H. ophiophagus, Cantor, P. Z. §. 1838, p. 72, and Nata vittata of Mr. Elliot, Madr. Journ. No. XXVI, 39, as identified by that naturalist with Dr. Cantor’s reptile in the following No. of the same Journal, p. 390. March 9th, 1847. E. Biyru., Books received during the month of Feb. for the meeting of the 10th March, 1847. PRESENTED. Meteorological Register for January, 1847.—From Tue Surveyor GENERAL’S OFFICE. Ditto ditto, kept at Kyouk Phyoo during the month of January, 1847.—From THE SECRETARY TO THE SUPERINTENDANT OF MARINE. The Horn Book of Storms, for the Indian and China seas, third Edition.—By H. PippinerTon, Esa. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, No. XVII.—By tut Society. Archeologia; Vol 31.—By Tue Society or ANTIQuarrEs or Lonvon. Histcria Abbadidarum ; Praemissis Scriptorum Arabum de ea Dynastia Locis nunc. Primum Editis. Auctore R. P. A. Dozy. Vol. Prius.—By Toe Curators oF THE ACADEMY OF LEIDEN. The Oriental Christian Spectator, Vol. VIIT. No. 2nd.—By tur Eniror. The Calcutta Christian Observer, for March, 1847.—By Tue Epirors, R. Griffin & Co.’s Catalogue of Books and Stationary.—-By R. Grirrin & Co. Statement of Facts relative to the transactions between the writer and the late British Political Mission to the Court of Shoa, in Abyssinia, by C. T. Beke, Esq.— By tHe AuTHor. A grammar of the Tahitian dialect of the Polynesian Language.—By run Rev, J. Lone. 388 Proceedings of the dsiatic Society. [Marcu, Biblical and Theological Vocabulary in English and Bengali.—By THE SAME. Dr. Carey’s grammar of the Burman Language.—By THE SAME. Bhagavat Gita, textum recensuit at notationes criticas et interpretationem Lati- nam adjecet G. Schlegel ; Editio altra auctior et emendatior cura Christiani Lasseni., —By rue Epiror. Kal’ba, Kena, Prasna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Aitareya, and Vajsaneya Oopani- shads.— By Basu RAJENDRALAL Mittra. EXCHANGED. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, Nos. 196—7. Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Vol. VII.—part 3rd PURCHASED. Journal des Savans, Octobre 1846. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, for December, 1846. The Lord Bishop having retired and Mr. Bushby taken the chair. _ Mr. Hume rose and said there was a passage in the report lately published to which he wished to call attention. ‘Regarding Dr. Cantor’s very beautiful drawings, the Secretaries have failed to obtain some essential information, and which they cannot hope for before Mr. Torren’s expected visit to Calcutta in the ensuing month. The Com- mittee of Papers confidently hope that in connexion with the Journal nearly the whole of Dr. Cantor’s drawings will be published by the Society within a moderate period.’ He wished to ask if the informa- tion alluded to had been obtained. Further, on turning to the accounts he found that 2561 Rs. had already been spent on the Cantor draw- ings. He supposed that the accounts published with the Report were passed and beyond discussion, but he desired to be informed how many of these drawings were actually completed, and whether vouchers were forthcoming for the sums paid. He wanted a direct answer, a plain yes or no, to these questions. Dr. O'Shaughnessy, (Senior Secretary present) replied that had Mr. Hume given any notice of his intention to ask these questions precise answers would have been in readiness. He regretted Mr. Hume had not started the discussion at the meeting regularly fixed for the considera- tion of the Report. He objected to Mr. Hume’s categorical mode of ques- tioning, as one uncalled for and unnecessary among aSociety of gentlemen, whose only desire could be to aid each other in every enquiry calculated for the Society’s benefit Dr. O'Shaughnessy proceeded to observe 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 389 that the accounts were now printed for the first time since 1842. They were printed for general information, and although they had doubtless ‘been submitted to regular meetings every year by his distinguished predecessor, still the Society at large had had no opportunity of examin- ing them, and he considered every item fairly open to investigation. As to the number of Dr. Cantor's drawings completed, he believed it to be 13 or 14. Mr. Muller, the accountant, could say whether vouchers were in existence or not. He however begged permission to disclaim all responsibility for himself or his colleague Mr. Laidlay for any of the expenditure on account of the “Burnes or Cantor drawings,” all of which had been entered upon previous to his election, and all further outlay upon which had been stopped on his suggestion, on his taking charge of the office. Mr. Piddington was at the time the executive officer of the Society in the arrangements made, and that gentleman could of course give any explanation required. He had only to add with reference to the intention of the Committee to publish the Cantor drawings in connexion with the Journal, that it was intended that any such cost should be included in the sum of 350 Rs. monthly set apart for that periodical. Mr. Muller stated that on his being appointed accountant in July, in succession to Mr. Bolst, he found the papers of the Society in such confusion that he had the utmost difficulty in bringing them into any order. The vouchers he received were all without number or classi- fication. He could not speak positively as to the existence of vouchers for the payments now under discussion, but at the next meeting he would be prepared with every information on this subject. Mr. Blyth, Curator in the Zoological Department, begged permission to disavow all responsibility regarding the publication of the Burnes’ drawings, which he looked upon as equally discreditable as works of art and in a scientific point of view. He had never been consulted as to their publication, although from his office in the Society his advice might have been naturally looked for. Mr. Piddington, on being called upon, said that the history of the Burnes’ drawings was, briefly, that being sent to the Society from Go- vernment, their publication was determined upon by the Society at a regular meeting, and a Committee named, of which he had been Secreta- ry, to superintend the work, he being at that time only a member and not 390 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Manca, an officer of the Society. The estimates and report of that Committee were duly sanctioned and approved of by the Society, and reports of progress were from time to time made and confirmed ; all of which would be found in the proceedings of those years. The coloured plates were also exhibited with these reports, and unequivocally pronounced to be most ereditable to the artists, as exact copies of the drawings, which together with the determination that the whole of the drawings were to be published, and not a selection from them, was the principle adopted by the Committee and confirmed by the Society. Whatever then had been done was the act of the Society and of no one individual. With respect to Dr. Cantor’s Chusan drawings, the superintendance of part of these also had failen under his management when Sub- Secretary. He was unable to say by what authority this undertaking had been commenced, but he received orders from the late Secretary, Mr. Torrens, to obtain estimates, and no bargain was concluded without his full knowledge and approbation ; it being simply his (Mr. Pidding- ton’s) duty to carry on the Society’s work as ordered by the Secretary. Dr. Cantor, himself a first rate artist, had pronounced his highest ap- probation of the style in which his work had been so far reproduced as exceeding any thing he supposed could have been done in Calcutta, as had also the late Dr. Griffiths. With respect to the charges, it was impossible for him to do more than to state generally that the colouring of plates of drawings of Natural History, was always most expensive, and that all other accessaries also were required to be of the first rate talent and quaiity procurable, and to this was to be attributed the high charges for these works, if they really were high, which he did not think they were. As to the gross amount charged in the account, of that he could not speak, having, as he desired expressly to state, no control whatsoever over the expenditure or payment, farther than to audit bills, but the whole of the estimates and every paper connected with these publications had been specially and most carefully made over by him to the late Secretary in March last, and these, together with the accountant’s vouchers for payments ought to be forthcoming. The original drawings and sets of the lithographed copies were now produced by the Librarian and handed round for examination of the members. Mr. Hume then observed that examination of the drawings and ee ee 1847. | Proceedings of the Asiatie Society. 391] lithographs confirmed him in the belief that the funds of the Society had been most improvidently wasted. The sets of Cantor’s collection had cost Rs. 2561, being 183 Rs. each set-—now he had much experience in the expense of lithographs, and would pledge himself to produce plates infinitely superior to those now before the Society at the cost of from 5 to 10 Rupees per 100. Whether vouchers were forthcoming or not was now of no consequence. The money had been irrecoverably lost, but to guard against future extravagance of this kind he proposed, that, “no future outlay take place for drawings of any kind without regular estimates being in the first place submitted to and approved by a general meeting.” Dr. O’ Shaughnessy having seconded the resolution it was unani- mously carried, We must not allow the present occasion to pass without adverting to the highly interesting lecture on the Buddhistical remains of Gyah and its neighbourhood, delivered in the Society’s hall, on the 31st ult. by Capt. Kittoe. As the substance of the lecture is contained in the various papers handed to the Secretaries by that gentleman for publi- cation in the Journal, it is unnecessary to give any more extended notice of it here; but we may mention that there was a goodly attend- ance of both members and strangers, who appeared much gratified with the instruction and entertamment of the evening. We trust that Capt. Kittoe’s good example will be followed by others whose researches admit of communication in the same agreeable form. Deprbtesay “aie aay, Poteet Arian Ui; Serene cos ve : ie 3 i er "ot eh ata A i wae bee | ae ¥ rena: eautuot 3 Banradt igs 5) fiir yt ory a ¥ - piredis yibous a” eae wet ‘bait a , iether” doin” haesqya” dike " | ha etre iw S oudie oi 4 ia ae Ht he Rs hae we 4 oh nee % vas r sil LR GAT pee eh i ey ‘Jeihinet seatba: rat amt ~ iene saat? inked sore mite: Ogee ee. a fara a le \ntagi — sy atl apee nee - that: ioe ees aie eae oF etry ae "Ete Paty) yt Piast fein five 2 | ‘ 4 id ‘ ; rs a 5 f~-« , ee as Re bs 7 é , ¢ , aie 7 r 7 lees > 2 Pcs ot A Ma oe cet y : ne a ~ - Fe. MT. Dagobiasr. LAY A Y LOL PF Le Lawa “L She Kuanwelle Lagobah ; @-A\s an =; LZ, ow f- is j/ inn ‘Wh a. ay ath (Nt Lhuphaera WIEAY A Dagobah aaa Ic (Co) i ae ‘ ) |" et 18) ity gerry peace Sahu 7p Lassi rh PIVAY A =: lay Lith. lIWL avd 7 Vi hts t a4 | is > it “J % }) JOURNAL OF THE ee Pe SO erTrTy MAY, 1847. LID o—eerrn™ ares MARADRADRAAARMNAADAM An Account of the Temple of Trivent near Hugli, by D. Money, Esq. Bengal Civil Service. As in-architecture the superstructure depends upon the foundation, so in examination of ruins that time has made and spared, and in the attempt to elicit something of their earlier origin and history, how dependent are our conclusions upon the data that present themselves, and how difficult where these are slight and imperfect to form a satis- factory opinion ! The Temple of Triveni is shrouded in mystery, which legendary tale in the absence of historical fact cannot solve. Of its early date we know nothing. It is perhaps the most interesting ruin in Bengal, whether with reference to its present appearance or its past associations. About five miles from Hugli it stands on the most elevated spot in the neighbourhood, commanding a view of the river, which winds at a little distance beneath it. The temple originally must have occupied a large space and consisted of 3 or 4 Courts. On ascending two or three broken steps to the first Court you perceive on your right a part of the original temple, consisting of two rooms, of which there remain only the massy walls that enclose them and the doors by which you enter. You are struck at once with the solidity of the masoury, which but for Mahomedan aggression and Mahomedan sacrilege would have No. V. New SeErizs. 3K 394 An Account of the Temple of Trivent near Hugh. {May, defied till now the ravages of time. There is something Egyptian in the appearance of the doors, the sides inclining a little inwards towards the top, but this has been caused I think by a displacement of the stone-work. Each side is formed of one stone about 9 feet high, with a serpentine anaglyph running down the centre. From the first room a window looks out towards the river, on the outside of which there is a little ornamental engraving very light and chaste. A Mahomedan tomb desecrates one of the rooms, the inscription on which presents a passage in the history of the temple. Separated from the Court at a little distance is another Ruin of the original Temple of a different character. Here asin the other the hand of the invader and destroyer has been at work, and the demolition and displacement of the original masonry, the subsequent patchwork, and the superadded dome, are evidences of the ruthless and fanatical spirit, which marked in every clime and through every era, ere the power of the Crescent waned, its desolating course. The original Peelpye pillars in this temple are standing, and some of the stones in the outer walls have the appearance of an earlier date. On one of them is an inscription in Devanagree, which could not be decyphered. Mr. Marshman thinks this temple was built about 300 years ago by a Raja of Orissé, Mukund Deb. It is with great diffidence I would venture to dissent from so good an authority, but there are facts which go far to show, as well as the appearance of the ruins, that its erection must have been at a much anterior date. I have alluded to an imscription upon a Mahomedan tomb. In this tomb was buried Zafir Khan, called by the Hindus Darap Khan, and the inscription which I annex with the translation, gives the date Hijeerah 713, or A. D. 1297. paw 3 yaad WT nose!) sibel Qype aed al) bo Utell job Usie gablll s Syle!l onae galls gst] is pi IIe! whe, aloe) ple alll yabl GU ab dome 12 all Gb y # balarsw ye eld Bh yd) Cabaell pps ye us! PALO “ By the order of the titled, beneficent, most worthy, bestowing good rewards, the protector of the Mahomedan faith, the most famous among men, 1847.) An Account of the Temple of Trivent near Hugli. 395 a bright star of justice and religion, the defender of Kings and Princes, the protector of the faithful, Khan Mahamud Zafir Khan. God grant him victory against his enemies and bless his Race on the 1st Mohurum seven hundred and thirteen Hijeerah.”’ The following is a translation of the Khurseenamah preserved by the Khadems attached to the tomb, two of whom are appointed as Muta- wulees by the Court of the Sudder Nizamut Adawlut and hold Rent- free lands in Nuddea and Hugli. ‘Shah Zafir Khan Gauzee, accom- panied by his nephew (sister’s side) Shah Soofee, leaving his connections at Mundgaun, Pergunnah Konwar Portup, Chaklah Muksoosabad, came to Bengal for the purpose of converting infidels to the Mahomedan faith. Having made a proselyte of Raja Man Nriputi, he was killed in a battle fought with Raja Bhoodev at Hugli. His head was left on the field and his body was buried at Triveni. Ugwhan Khan, son of the aforesaid Shah Zafir Khan Ghazee, having marched against the Raja of Hugli in Sircar Satgram, conquered him, converted the infidels to Mahomedanism, and married his daughter. After some time Ugwhan Khan also died at Triveni. The descendants of the Khanzadeh are still in existence. The title of Khan was conferred by Feroze Shah.” At Pundooa there is a mosque or monument.of Shah Soofee, who was nephew of Feroze Shah of Delhi, and the Aymadars claim the Rent-free Kuisbah as descendants. They hold a document from which it appears that their title has existed for 500 years. This corresponds with the date of the inscription on Zafir Khan’s tomb and is good evidence that Zafir Khan and Shah Soofee were contemporaries. His- tory is silent as to the professed object of the visit of these two con- nections of the royal family of Delhi to this part of Bengal, and the chasm is not supplied by the following legend. A Mahomedan subject of a Hindu Raja on a certain festival in honor of his son used cow’s flesh. The Raja slew the son. The father resorted to the Court of Delhi and told his tale to Feroze Shah, who immediately sent an army to Bengal against the Raja, commanded by Zafir Khan and his nephew Shah Soofee. The Raja’s name was Bhoodev Nriputi, with whom a battle was fought at a place called Mahanud near Satgram, about 8 miles west of Triveni, where Zafir Khan’s army was victorious. There is another curious legend connected with Zafir Khan. He was in spite of his hostility to the Hindoos and the doseeaee of their Re} F 2 396 An Account of the Temple of Trivent near Ttugh. [ May, looked upon as a Boozoorg, or a man of divine inspiration, and is said to have worshipped Gunga. She smiled on the apostate devotee, and on one occasion so wrapt was he in devotion, that she rose from her liquid bed like ‘¢ Another Venus breathing fresh and fair A goddess sparkling in her wavy dress,”’ and overpowered him by fascination of her charms. Such was the effect of her influence over his spirit that he forgot the Koran for the Shas- ters, and in the ecstacy of the beatific vision the full tide of his aspi- rations rolled in Sanserit shlokes instead of Persian verse. This is a remarkable but melancholy instance of the weakness of faith against the potency of love. The champion of a fanatical creed, with sword in hand, is caught like the God of war in the net work of beauty. The Sanscrit shlokes he composed are remembered and repeated to this day. They are called the shlokes of Durap Khan, and there is scarce. ly a clever pundit in India who does not know them. The follow- ing is selected as a specimen. gcufa afaad cee yaaa a acfa form” wa faa wea | afe a afafedit ace: attas at ata aa HUM CHEM ATH || «Oh! Suradhuni Gunga, the daughter of Janhoo Muni, what will be thy greatness if thou wilt bestow salvation on the virtuous, who are saved by their own merits!—If thou bestowest salvation on me, who am a helpless wretch, I would then proclaim thy glory to the highest extremity.” This religious metamorphoses in Zafir Khan must have had an effect on his son Ugwhan Khan, for he married the Raja of Hugli’s daughter. She was buried within the precincts of the temple, where her tomb is still standing. It has crumbled to the ground, and there is no in- scription to point it out. But a curious custom marks the spot. Hin- doo votive offerings are presented there on Mahomedan festivals. The date of the Arabic inscription on Zafir Khan’s tomb, the Khurseenamah of the Khadems, and the statement of the Aymadars of Shah Soofee’s tomb at Pundooa, correspond nearly with the following 1847.] dn Account of the Temple of Trivent near Hugh. 397 account given by Ferishteh of Feroze Togluk of Dehli (vide Brigg’s translation of Ferishteh, page 334, vol. IV.). «On the death of Shamsooddeen, the nobles of the state elevated his eldest son to the throne three days afterwards. He had not long entered on his rule before his country was again invaded in the year A. H. 760, or A. D. 1358, by Feroze Togluk of Dehli.’ The next passage isa curious coincidence. “ When the Dehli army arrived at Pandwah, Sikunder Poorby, following his father’s example, took refuge in the fortress of Yekdullah, &c.”? This Fercze Shah must have been one of the Afghan Sultans of Hindoostan of 3d Turk Dynasty, whe ascended the throne of Dehli about 1351 A.D. Zafir Khan may have been brother-in-law to Feroze Shah. Ne was uncle by the mother’s side of Shah Soofee, and Shah Soofee was nephew of Feroze Shah. Could he also have been the father of Ababek Shah, who mounted the throne of Dehliin 1389? His father’s name was Zafir Khan. The next question is who was Raja Man Nriputi converted to the Musal- man faith by Zafir Khan? Was he one of the Rajas of Orissa, the limits of which territory extended till two centuries after as far north as Trivent. Mr. Marshman in his history of Bengal states as follows :— «The powerful kings of Orissa had previously extended their con- quest in Bengal; and hence the Oriyahs boast that their kingdom once extended to Triveni on the Bhageerutee. In the year 1550 Telenga Mookund Deb ascended the throne of Orissa. He was the last inde- pendent king of that country; he founded a ghat and temple at the sacred spot of Triveni which formed the northern boundary of his dominions.”’ Compare Asiatic Researches, page 164, Vol. XV. ‘‘ During the sway of the princes of the Gungabun’s line, for a period of nearly four centuries, the boundaries of the Raja of Orissa may be stated as follows; with sufficient accuracy for a good description. North, a line drawn from Triveni Ghat above Hugli, through Bisherpore to the frontier of Putkun, east, the river Hugli and the sea south, the Goda- veri or Gunga Godaveri, and west, a line carried from Singbhoom to Sonepur.” If Raja Man Nriputi was not one of the Rajas of Orissa, it is pro- bable that both he and Raja Bhoo Dev may have been zemindars con. nected with the royal family of Orissa, as they appear to have been chiefs of some consequence, or else tributary to that power. Their 398 An Account of the Temple of Trevent near Hugli. [May, names are not among the Hindoo kings of either the Sen or Pal dynasty. Within the first part of the temple on some of the stones are the following inscriptions in the Nagree character. alata faa: ahaa The residence of Sita. The co- Sri Sité Nidhdsah, Sri Ramabhisheka- \ ronation of Rama wigre : t Coronation. This seems to be part of Bhisheka. another inscription (incomplete). PCTAT Tsay Tay i Ravéna killed by Rama. Sri Ramena Ravana Badha. atat faarz: Sita Bivaha. HaTGu: Kangsa Badha. ah Oa i \ The marriage of Sita. The distruction of Kangsa. Chonura Radha. The destruction of Chanura. PAMUUCSCHTE: The war between Krishna and Sri Krishna Vana Surayor Yuddha. Van Raja. vere et tee iy These are names of the consorts of Yl u yumna ya asanay ya ya A : ; Gea Krishna’s grandson Pradyumna. There are also near the northern and eastern entrances images of some of the Hindoo gods, such as Narasingha, Varaha, Rama, Krishna, Lucshmi, &c. &c., most of them much defaced. The stones with the inscriptions were probably placed below some of these deities or others’ that have been destroyed, and as these deities are peculiar to the wor- ship of Vishnu, it is most likely that the temple was consecrated to that deity. The stones containing the inscriptions are evidently out of their places. There is no regularity in their location, and one or two of them have the wrong side uppermost. From these appearances as well as others already mentioned, it is clear that the building is not now in its original state, and that formerly it must have been one Hindoo temple. The literal signification of Triveni is “ three streams,’’ in allusion to the river Gungd, Jumna, and Saruswati held sacred by the Hindoos. The spots where these rivers meet and where they separate are considered holy, and on this account the Shastras enjoin that expia- tory ablutions should be particularly performed at these places. According to Hindoo tradition there are two Trivenis, one at Prayag 1847.| An Account of the Temple of Trivent near Hugli. 399 er Allahabad, called Joocta Veni, on account of the junction of these streams, and the other Moocta Veni near Hugli, on account of their separation. At the latter place the Jumna separates and takes its course eastward near Gustia’s Khal or Bagur Khal, about a mile from Triveni, round the villages Jaguli, Beeroie, &c. and uniting afterwards with the rivers Chota Durga and Bura Durga in the Sunderbuns, ultimately joins the bay of Bengal. The Saruswati takes its course on the western bank to the Ganges round the villages Triveni, Supta-grama or Satgaun, Hossen- bazar, &c. &c. and branching out from the creek at Sankhral near Budge Budge, joins the river Hugli and flows into the bay of Bengal. Alluvian accretions have nearly choked up the bed and diverted the course of the Jumna, and it is now almost dry and not navigable by boats. But it is a fact, which has been [ believe clearly ascertained, that in former times the main branch of this river flowed under the walls of Satgaun by Amtah and Tumlook into the Ocean, and that ships of large size came up to Satgaun, which was then famous for its commerce. The Saruswati is only navigable in the rains. The vari- ous wild mythological Hindoo traditions of the sources of these sacred streams must have given additional sanctity to Triveni. The following shloke from the Muha Bharata, points out the locality of this sacred spot :— UTaq ANA VCeaTAUe | cefau yaw WHTAT AAMAAT | PATA AA YW GAIL Wea | “On the south of Pradyumna Nagara, north of the river Saruswati, is the Dukshin Prayaga, or south Prayaga, where the river Jumna separates from the Gunga, ‘This place is equal (tn point of holiness) to north Prayaga (Alla- | habad), and imperishable virtue may be attained by means of bathing here.” The celebrated Raghununduna, the compiler of Smriti Shastras or ~ Hindoo Laws, whose doctrines or religious rites are strictly observed by almost all the natives of Bengal, refers to the spot in the Prayas- chittya Tutwa, or book treating on the expiation of sins. efea ya SHAR aM SHaTATSy cfaaey | “The south Prayag called the Moocta-Veni, is situated in the southern part (of Bengal) near Supta-grama.” 400 An Account of the Temple of Trivent near Hugh. [May, Satgaun or Supta-grama, must also have contributed to the sanctity of Triveni. It was not only famous for its commerce in the palmy days of Rome, but it was here the seven wise men of the east, the Supta Rishis or Munis, renowned for their piety as well as their wis- dom, resided, and in the plantain groves, or on the banks of the sacred stream, worshipped the river goddess. The Hindoos believe that they came with Gunga from Hardwar to establish her worship at this place. Their names were Marichi, Angira, Atre, Pulastya, Pulata, Crutu, and Vashishta. Supta-grama was so called from the seven sages having resided there. Their worship of Gunga is referred to in the following extract from the Maha Bhagbut Pooran. qq aud dha asi Saqenai | wee ste ara Temes a Acer carte | ““Oh! Narada, the seven Rishis after seeing Gunga, who was nearly to be seen even by the Devids worshipped her, and she was pleased on hearing the sound of the skell, &e.” Mention is made of Supta-grama or Satgaun in Rennell’s memoirs, as well as tiamilton’s Hindoostan, and Mr. Marshman in his history of Bengal, page 2, gives the following account :— “The chief city of the west of Bengal was Satgaun, not very far north of Hugh. It was known to the Romans. It is also mentioned in the Poorans as Supta-grama, or the seven villages. It was the great mart of Bengal to which nearly all the sea-borne trade was brought.” A tradition is still current amongst the inhabitants of Triveni that many tempies stood once on the banks of the three sacred streams, and they attribute to the seven Rishis the honor of their erection. It is most probable that the banks of these sacred streams in those early times were studded with temples. Every neighbouring spot has its legend still and retains its sanctity, and if such buildings are the sigus of a successful faith, whatever that faith may be, can we wonder, where no clearer light had yet shone, that such signs were numerous, and that Idolatry, springing with the mythological river at its mountain source, should swell with the stream, and pour its full tide along unchecked, deluging the country on either side as it passed to its Ocean boundaries. Such temples, if they remained unscattered in the time of Zafir Khan Ghazee, could seareely escape the fury of the terrific Kalapahar. 1847. | Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 401 He lived about the reign of the Orissa Raja Telenga Mookund Deb, A. D. 1550. He was by birth a brahman, but by conversion a Muham- madan, and such was the terror he inspired, that it is commonly re- ported and believed, that the arms and legs of the idols for many a kros round dropped off at the sound of his kettle drum. The present ghaut is of modern date, but the former possibly may have been coeval with the temple. Stones of large size are imbedded in the river, between the ghaut and the temple, which probably are the ruins of the ancient ghaut. ‘Triveni is still held in high estima- tion by the inhabitants of Orissa. The fame of its sanctity is far spread. Once a year there is a grand mela, and thousands flock to the ghaut for the purpose of bathing in theriver. The sight is well worth the seeing. It is a fine picture for a clever artist. There is something highly picturesque in the attitudes, the grouping and the dresses. There is too a lesson to be learned from the deep fervor, how- ever mistaken, and the burning zeal, however blinded, of the anxious worshippers. A lesson which Christians may learn and not be ashamed, and yet a painful impression is forced upon a thinking mind, that while light and knowledge are spreading rapidly, and so many nations enjoying the blessings they confer, here in ancient India, near the very seat of a Christian Government, superstition so dark and strong should hold its sway, and delude, alas how fatally its thousands and thousands of votaries. This is but a skeleton account of Triveni, which others may be able to fill up. These are but broken links of a chain it is difficult to connect. Others in possession of better data, and with a better know- ledge of Indian history, may be able perhaps to form a connection. Notes on the Caves of Burabur, by Capt. Kirron, 6th N. I. I now proceed to redeem my pledge of publishing the result of my enquiries concerning the caves of Burabur in Bahar. Differing from all other works of the kind known to us, these caves or chambers are, with one exception, entirely devoid of sculpture or ornament of any kind. They are in all seven in number ; four in one 3G 402 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. [May, hill, three in another, but the name ‘‘Satgurba,”’ commonly understood to mean ‘‘seven chambers,” is applied to two only, which subject I shall treat of further on. I shall first of all state that the hills called Burabur, are isolated rocks of sienitic granite rising abruptly from the plain about 15 miles north of the city of Gyah, by the left bank of the Phulgo or Mahanud- da; the cluster is remarkable for its picturesque appearance, and for the noble masses of rock piled, as it were, one above another, with hardly any soil, consequently little vegetation, and rising to various heights, from 100 to 3 or 400 feet. Although Burabur is that by which the cluster is commonly known, each hill has a name of its own. The highest being called “ Burabur,”’ also ‘‘ Sidheswur,” from a temple to Mahadeva that once crowned the highest, and of whieh I shall speak presently. The next in height is the “‘ Kowa Dol,” which is detached from the rest by near a mile to the south-west. A third is called “‘ Nag-arjuni,” and is the eastern-most of the great cluster. A fourth, and the smallest, called Durhawut, is at the northern extremity ; others have names also, but as the above alone contain objects of notice I shall rest content with giving them only. The Kowa Dol being first met with, on commg. from the Dak bungalow of Belah on the Patna road, from which it is distant full six miles, I shall take it first. It is an almost entirely bare rock, having nearly a perpendicular scarp on its northern face, and sloping at an angle of 45°, more or less, on the opposite or southern side: east and west, it is disjomted and inaccessible ; huge stratified masses are piled one over the other, decreasing in length at each end, the whole is sur- mounted by single blocks like pillars; the centre one of which towers above the rest and is conical. It is said that formerly there was a huge block balanced on the top of this cone, which from its being moved by birds alighting on it obtained the name of ‘* Kowa Dol’ or crow- moved, or the crow-swing ; about a century or less back, this rocking- stone fell down, where it may still be seen. This hill seems to have been surrounded by a large town; there is an artificial mound continuous round the north and east faces, filled with broken pottery, bricks and blocks of hewn stone; there are two names 1847. ] Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 403 given, “ Sarain’”’ and “ Summunpoor ; on the portion called by the latter name there is an extensive Muhammadan cemetery ; there are none but paltry monuments with fragments of some ancient Budhist temple built into them. In the hollow or recess on the east side are the remains of a once splendid Budhist temple, of which many pillars are still standing, also a gigantic idol of Budha, seated, with no other inscription than the usual pious sentence of the Budhists. The dimensions of this figure, which is beautifully executed, are as follow :— Ft. in. From seat to crown of the head.............. 8 0 eereesrtme shiomlaers se eT PARAM A oO 4 oO Prerivienecito knee 2209 eS ee BO reer Cue wars Se ree eb 6 Mer The neal? >.) 80. 8 e4 5 ©. MEME ee he ne Tt 2 Ri eee ae oh Bad Across the forehead .......... Reetersty wee a aA Sener of thigh’ 2... ee ar ac 3. 6 pee eer arrae et, et Ry RE Stee a 2 F 6 Peer ere errapren nN SSO es LG a) 6 BoMawer Dore to a0. Sue yeh ot es 8, 2 0 Round the arm» ........... EE rae Oe Del gS pete er Das SAI ORI Oi) os SURE BRE OG Depth of head.... 2-6 | Length ofhand 1-4 _ breadth of Do. 8-0 Do. of face ...... 1-6 | Do. of foot.... 1-6 breadth of Do. 81 These measurements will convey some idea of the proportions of this fine piece of sculpture. The Sinhasun or throne, is very handsome ; there are the usual sup- porters, the Sinhas or lions rampant, trampling on elephants couchant, and ridden by amazons armed with shields and swords. The stone is the grey chlorite or pot stone ; of such almost all the idols in this district as well as of Orissa are made; from the style of the carving, and the alphabet of the inscription I can assign no very remote date to these works ; not more than 8 or 900 years, if so much. Leaving this Budhist relic we find some 60 or 80 figures of braéhmi- nical idols rudely cut in the huge detached masses of rock at the foot of the hill. Of these Durga slaying “ Mahésh-Asiir,” is the principal, 3G 2 404 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. | [May, and most often repeated ; the next is the Lingam, and again the Gouri Sunkur, or Mahadeva, caressing Parbutti, who is seated on his knee, with the bull, ‘‘ Nandi’ at his feet, and the “Sinha” or lion at her’s. There is one block hewn into the shape of a small temple, with niches and images on the four sides. It has formed part of a small Dehgope to the memory of some departed devotee of heretical sect, the great Budha temple is likewise a funeral monument, as I shall, I hope, establish hereafter in a treatise on the subject of the Dehgopes or Chaityas for which I have collected much matter. The sculptures on the detached blocks are in a very rude style, but. this may be attributable in some measure to the extreme coarseness, and hardness of the material, as well as inequality in the grain. The weather was so windy and cold that I could not make proper drawings of these sculptures, but the accompanying rough sketch will convey some idea of their position, particularly of those to the arrangement of which I would call attention, as follows :— First niche, from proper right, male figure erect with a spear ; 2nd, female figure “‘ Pudmavati’ or “ Maya Davee;” 3rd, Budha seated ; 4th, Mahadeva and Parbutti, commonly called “Gouri Sunkur ;” Parbutti seated on Mahadeva’s knee with the bull Nandi at his feet, and the Sinha or lion at her’s; 5th, male figure erect with four arms; No. 6, male figure riding on the shoulders of another ; 7th, the Lingum and Yoni; 8th, male half figure “ Aruna?” 9th, Mahadeva and Parbutti repeated ; 10th, male figure erect holding a lotus in each hand, probably “ Surya ;”” 11th, Gunesha; 12th, female figure with four arms, attended by Nandi and Sinha, perhaps meant for “ Durga,” 13th, male figure standing on a prostrate figure. After these, nine niches have, what appears to me to be, Durga slaying Mahésh Asur, with her trident; she has one foot on the buffaloe’s neck and holds it by the hind leg. This subject is repeated on many detached rocks. The Linga is of as frequent occur- rence, There is one very large four-faced Linga called the Chou- murti Mahadeva, such as may be seen in the caves of Ellora; it is of common occurrence in this district. This subject of the Linga I shall reserve also for a future paper, and here take leave of the Kowa Dol. We now proceed eastward for half a mile or more, then skirting the southern base of the main cluster for a mile, an embankment is met with connecting one spur of the hill with the other, which together f 4 1847. | Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 405 forms akind of amphitheatre or recess; the ground is strewed with bricks and potsherds, denoting the existence in former times of a large town. The first object the visiter is led to is a strong spring of clear water murmuring through the fissures of the rock at the base of the northern ridge and disappearing under ground beyond a basin or small reservoir of modernconstruction. This water is called the “ Patal Gunga,” the Ganges flowing beneath the earth. I need not state the absurd stories connected with this natural curiosity ; a fair is held here yearly in the month of August. We are next led up the steep and slippery face of a bare mass of sienite for more than an hundred feet, when the remains of a rudely constructed wall (connecting the masses of rock) appear; passing these for a short distance, and sliding down a block, worn smooth by the process, we find ourselves beside the first cave (See plate VIII. fig. 4) called ‘‘ Viswa Mitra.” The first apartment is square or rather pyra- midal like Egyptian works. The dimensions being 7’ 9” at top and 8’ 9” at the base; the height 6’ 81” outside, 6’ 72’’ at the inner end, in the centre of which isa door- way likewise narrow at top and wide at the base, (a feature common to all the caves,) this leads into an unfinished chamber of an irregular oval form : on the east side of the first room, is the inscription marked as fig. 13 pl. IX. There are four sockets about 6 inches in length by 2 inches wide, two on each side on the floor of the outer chamber, apparently to receive some kind of frame work. There is a precisely similar arrangement at the Aswastema terrace over the great inscription of Dhowlee in Cuttack. Leaving this cave we pass under the mass of rock in which it is seated, in an easterly direction between huge detached masses, here and there connected with rude walls or piles of stone ; some fallen pillars and hewn blocks are the only remains of what was once a gate-way, beneath which are the traces of a flight of rude steps, and a causeway leading down into the amphitheatre first described; a few yards further west bring you into the elevated valley or basin: on the south side are the two ridges of rock out of which the three great caves are excavated.. The length of this table-land may be three furlongs or more, and greatest breadth one and half. The whole space except where there are the remains of tanks, is strewed with bricks and potsherds, and 406 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. | May, there are traces of numerous foundations apparent in every direction ; to the north is the peak called Sidheswar and Burabur, immediately under which, and of a second not so high, are the remains of a fine gateway and a massive wall connecting the two, and the immense blocks which appear to have served as bastions: this passage leads down into another and extensive level, surrounded with hills, which likewise appear formerly to have been connected by walls and embankments, to have had large reservoirs and been covered with habitations ; indeed, this is not confined to the two spots now described, but has been continued further eastward, connecting the Nag-arjuni hillocks until the river Phulgo or Mahanudda was reached ; one low hill has been evidently used as a grand bastion, it is called absurdly Sher Shah’s Bungalow ; a causeway leads to it; it may have been appropriated by the early Muhammadans, but it is undoubtedly part of these most ancient Indian works, the name even of which is lost to us, unless the place be that mentioned in the inscription of the Nag-arjuni cave, to the description of the locality of which it answers. I must now return to the great caves. The first of these is the **Kurun Chowpar,’’and faces the north ; it is entered through a narrow Egyptian doorway, as already described, the room is placed east and west, and has a segmental roof, as have all except the Viswa Mitra ; the ends are at right angles and plain, on the western there is an altar or throne as shown in the plate ;* the whole surface except the floor is wonderfully polished ; the echo is very beautiful in all these caves. The dimensions of the room are 33’-6’X14’, and 10’-9” to the crown of the arch, the side wall or faces being 6’-2” to the springing line. The labour of cutting and excavating such a chamber in the hardest of rocks must have been great indeed, but that of polishing such a surface almost incredible ; we are struck with amazement and rivetted to the spot: from the quantity of chips of haematite strewed about, I'am inclined to think this mineral was used in polishing. My servants having delayed on the road and arriving late, I was obliged to pass the night in this chamber with a bundle of rice straw for my bedding and covering, and although the wind was very high and cold, the temperature within was not so unbearable as to prevent my enjoying a good night’s rest ; the bears having been graciously pleased to forego their visits, as I kept a candle * This throne appears to be the ‘‘ Sri Asanam” mentioned in the Pali Annals.—M. K. 1847.] Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 407 burning which I had accidentally brought with me. But to return to my subject, on the left corner of the door is the inscription number 5, plate IX. which is nearly obliterated, through the effects of the weather and probably by the hand of some fanatic, at a very remote period, itis much to be regretted, for there is just enough left to excite our curiosity, and show that the record was valuable : I have restored as much as I well could ; it appears to have entirely escaped notice hitherto, indeed, although a square space has been cut and polished, it is but bare- ly perceptible, and not at all in the strong light of noon-day; it is best seen by clear moonlight standing beneath. I availed myself of the opportunity before I lay down to rest, to trace all the visible letters with red ochre ; sunrise and sunset are also favorable periods, which I remarked upon in my notes on the inscriptions of Cuttack. Dr. Bland, H. M. S. Wolf, made the same discovery whilst tracing the inscription at Singapore. I shall revert to this subject when treating of the whole of these Pali inscriptions together. There are eight other short sentences, of some of which James Prinsep gave translations in the sixth volume of the journal, but as he had only very imperfect impressions with Persian labels, the work of a pedantic Kaith employed by Mr. Hathorn, he was led into error and dif- ficulty thereby. I shall therefore embody the whole in a separate plate,* for easy reference : these I must again refer to under the head inscriptions. On the right hand, facing the cave and separated from the main mass, is another, the eastern end of which has been scarped and a terrace cut ; in this face are three niches with carvings rudely executed; the right hand one contains the linga, the two others, apparently figures of Siva and Parbutti, but they are undoubtedly of far later date than the caves, and the same as that of the sculptures at Kowa Dol and on the Sidheswur mount. We now proceed to the largest caves, two in number, entered on the southern face of the ridge of rock, parallel with that of the cave above described, and which ridges are about 950 feet long, and 70 across, with a narrow passage between. There is aspace of about 100 feet wide between the main hill and rocks and these ridges ; this is filled for some depth with bricks, earth and hewn stones, the ruins of temples, so as to block up the entrance of the westernmost cave, * See plate IX. 408 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. | May, leaving just room to crawl in, in a sitting posture ; these may be the remains of the temple alluded to in the two inscriptions translated by Prinsep, and which, as he justly conjectures, are of afar more modern date than the caves or the Pali inscriptions which record their construc- tion, and first appropriation. I am in hopes of having a passage cut in front of the rock and doorways, by which means the water which now floods the caves will be let off and prevented again reaching them, and admit a free passage for visitors, and perhaps bring to light some hidden curiosities. Figure 6, pl. VIII. will best explain the shape of this curious work of patience and labour ; the entrance has an outer recess or porch about three feet deep, the doorway of Egyptian shape, is six feet high ; the room is highly finished and polished though perfectly plain; there is a niche in the centre of the east end, and on the west the singular convex end or side of the circular imner chamber with a projecting hood or dome like a mushroom, with its tapermmg doorway, faces the visitor, who, if inclined to the study of Budhist antiquities, will at once exclaim this is a Dehgope or cave Chaitya. On the left or east side of the entrance (outer) recess is the purposely mutilated inscription marked fig. 5, pl. IX. of which sufficient is left to show that in the 12th year of the reign of the beloved Rajah, this ‘“‘ Nigope’’ cave was excavated ; unfortunately the first syllable is doubtful, but the second is not so, and suffices I think to settle the point of the cave being a Chaitya or shrine; indeed I am inclined to believe that three of the four on this hill were such, for the common name of ‘‘ Sutgurba,”’ which the Kaith moonshee, taking the word “ sat’’ as a numeral, wrote ‘‘huft khaneh,” or seven chambers, the meaning generally however, though improperly given at the present time, should in my estimation _ be rendered the caves of righteousness. In the.Pdéli annals, the spot it called “ Suttapanni Gurba,” i. e. allowing my inference before explained as correct. The other caves at Nag-arjuni were perhaps not so, but intended as habitations for the ascetics, as already shown. The extreme lengths of these chambers from end to end, as well as their width and height to crown of vault will be seen in the plate. At the end and further east of the above mentioned, is a second dou- ble chambered cave of the same shape, but has remained unfinished, the sides only being polished and the vault left in the rough, as well as the Plans * Sections, Barabur Caves. Pe, VIL. Py UY — - : VV MiNi UTE Wide 3 eo Y U Y, aD WUD: MM y Hy Y Wp» * pes d, YS Wy, “t ia ; : Wet 2 Ld 3 WY RWG N\A | UC See WYWVUCG OME yj; Uw L 5 ‘s Pag vA Scale 20’ to the inch ty % WY); SY \ Writ YH); UY ASSN Wa Ly Ze SO / yp 193" Yip Ne \: y | Y | Ye N < 7 ys | ae a Wy aon Ve Y, | Gd WY _Neg x SY y) | . ip NN\\)\) \: Why N' M NS Y = Vy, NIE SQ) Ze Nii NX 4Y oie wtih, Woy SS CNG ——— = 7 iM Y MMMM Dy bY 4 Vlei T Black. Asiatic Lith: Hess. Calcutta Sj SS ~ SS Vy, SLEESKTN | Sas oY Gy, : Y), ~~ SS SY } 4 ) Pigs th A f ty S SS SS | oe em ese a een ed att, fe: sd ,: 2 . , ‘iy an ‘el a me we wee Mk = J y ie” te’) ad a €4 ‘ ' FF o ea S = ae? ) ; > ee ‘ “") i. a - i F ; eas, - é a b Tae |, ~~ * a. L \y aa a Se ee a EE PR ee > Sea SETS a eS , a =a i an rns =e a Mt se | re e ° Z & s ; y j zl Y by j 3 3 3 CUR YAR UT OE BATesKVORV Y OBRWLYEV ETT AP ga PY nityp rhwp cA ~» > ey reopen yrwhSeur'a|ls pre Us at i DOW RR yO LR & & +7 BY7T ¢/ me Jt gsnars yYOV+tY RUM # YUBUVYVIBSBAFIMENM? ReTveysvoyve er fe7e toa VV Oe aT Pease ee eyes y Se T 1S I , 4 TRYAG. PROT TPEPTPIP.TLS HAASS KIYYMHMKTLY-THIT)YP TOELTOornyrs H4s COP W277 : =. TS KRIPK Prova s PKOT oy rt Pe yy 7S oe ew crseyvyrTveoaryoHeo-t? ALP SKIVAHKTOY THK FRI YOK TLV TH rt TrargdiTorreHstTAe ATPRTORYs HFFA 4 f 1847. | Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 409 Chaitya at the end. This is called by Buchanan, “ Lomas Rishi;’’ he gives a wood cut of this singular archway and frieze carved out of. the solid rock over and about the usual shaped door, but as I shall have to draw attention to the peculier style of architecture it displays, I have annex- ed a drawing of my own ;* there is no Pali inscription here, nor are there any traces of there ever having been any. The inscription No. 15 PI. XXXVI. of the VI. Vol. of the Journal, occupies the spandril under the arch, also those marked 18 and 19, in the same plate, which are immediately under the other and above the head of the doorway. This external sculpture still retains the beautiful polish originally given to it. Having described these caves I must conduct my readers to the sum- mit of the “ Kurun Chowpar” or “Sidh Eswar’’? Maha Deva, to this there is an almost impracticable and dangerous path on the southern face by which I ascended, having done so, I found the crest of the hill strewed with potsherds and bricks, and a narrow passage with Lingas and figures of “ Ganesha,” rudely carved out of the masses of rock, the same as at the Kowa Dol; steps are here and there cut in the rock, and innumerable fragments of hewn stone lie scattered, over which the traveller climbs till he reaches a level spot, 50 feet or more below the highest point ; on these are fragments of idols and one entire figure of Varaha ; there are two rows of sheds used by the confectioners, when the fairs are held. Upon ascending the peak we arrive at a modern building called Sidheswar, in which there are several large idols of considerable antiquity, on one of them is an inscription, see fig. 13 plate IX. Ina dark chamber is a huge linga with garlands made of solah hanging over it ; some portions of the base of the temple remain ; these, together with the fragments strewed about, and the great extent of the terrace, show not only that one magnificent temple at least must have crowned this height, but from their being fragments of various styles, that there have been successive temples ; and I am further inclin- ed to think, that there may have originally been a tope like those of Bhilsa, Sarnath and Manikyala, though from discoveries made, there would be no reason for the worship of Siva (as Sidheswar) not being observed in connection with that of Budha, in the same vicinity, for not only is this anomaly apparent at the western caves, at Cuttack, * This drawing is omitted as it will appear in connection with the subject of Budhist architecture hereafter. 3H 410 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. [ May, Maha Bulli Poorum, Girrinay, &c. but in this district also, where it must have been up to the latest date : Even now, I consider it more than probable that the mut or monastery of Bodh Gyah was originally a joint Budha and Saiva establishment ; it is now the latter only ; but this is a digression, the subject is one affording an ample text for a separate paper. That this temple of Sidheswar is of remote date we can infer from the early character of the sentence No. 6, Plate XXXV. Vol. VI. of the Journal, and of mine, of which a translation is given at page 679 of the same volume, “ the irresistible and auspicious Joganund salutes Si. dheswar ;”’ here then we see, how necessary it is in carrying out such studies, that the traveller should accurately copy even the most trivial sentence or word; the more I see the more I learn the value of this, therefore I would impress it on my fellow-labourers, and at the same time never to trust to native copyists. On leaving Sidheswar peak, I descended on the north side, the face of which, though as steep if not more so than on the south, has a much more gentle and practicable path laid out diagonally towards the east, and in some places steps have been cut in the rock ; this passage leads on to the lower land already described as the site ofa city. After pro- ceeding for half a mile towards the river, between detached rocks, and leaving that which I have described as a tower or bastion to the left, and the Nag-arjuni peak to the right, and climbing over some masses of rock in front, the traveller meets with a large. terrace of brick-work and stone, grown over with bushes with some ruined tombs ; beside this is a large brick well ; turning to the left or north at a few yards distance a small cave is seen, fig. 1, plate VIII. This is the one which from the Pali inscription Prinsep has termed the Milkmaid’s Cave. The saluta- tion to Sidheswar, written, or rather rudely cut in the doorway of this cave, No. 1 of my plate, also No. 2 of the same. This room and its porch are as beautifully polished as the rest, the dimensions will be seen by the plate VIII. fig. 1. Upon climbing the terrace named, (which has been that of a large temple,) and looking down where there is a gap in the rock, another doorway is seen, over which is a square polished surface containing the Pali inscription, fig. 3, plate IX. Upon entering this, the long inscrip- tion, fig. 9, plate X. is found cut on the right hand side of the entrance.* * Nore. For easier reference the spots where the inscriptions occur are marked a and b, on the plans. PUNZTED Saag BLT ney PMI | phubedyaprnew my Mok LyAgZw ez UyMY a a UIZwOLLAse yds noice biel tes ASE xkovabhrberrgicly isle Lathe spheghy Savoie ee bbw ele hye Bi wlnvy Lyles WE we ye emhtele Sle LLP Risse le ele abanoy BE 2MGUGYP URL SEY LELLEebrwwwepRens Dy RreonomGn ye er ED bnetaty Fel DAE RS VEER Np RUALY.dopmey aM PM 21 FLY Maz YG ew re Le GM | snbkvimpenrkrEeebt ms : segu RoBR Sr ves rks es iy eg eee 6 WW — = > yal —* a 3 d i 3 t , = ne r? a & - * ‘> a w/4 a aime fem dee 6 = ‘ ‘ Cm ee SS Le 4 AK etl - s y * 5 fy ~ ef . Saget pores rey 2p 1847. ] Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 411 There is but one chamber, this has been divided by a thin brick wall by some Mahomedan fakir, perhaps several centuries back, the doorway or aperture to which is so small as to have prevented my entering it, but I felt the end with a 10 foot rod. From the fragments found scattered, I conclude that there must have been a very handsome temple here of very early date. Retracing our steps and turning to the south, we descend through a passage between a row of huge blocks of sienite, which had formed part of the southern barrier to the great enclosure, we then come on to the plain, then turning to the left (or east) and continuing to a tope of Tar-trees under the Nag-arjuni’s frightful crags, we reach a flight of steps, about the centre of the hill; after an ascent of about 60 feet a narrow terrace is found continued along the side of the rock, in the centre of which an Egyptian doorway leads you into a splendid oval- shaped and vaulted room, polished in the usual manner ; over the door- way is asquare polished surface containing the inscription No. 1, pl. IX, is 3 of Prinsep’s plate, and on the left hand side of the passage or thick- ness of the rock, is that given in his plate XXXIV. and translated at page 673; on the opposite side are some more recent scrawls. This cave is inhabited and has been so for many years, by Mahome- dan saints; there is a small mosque before the door, more than a century old; the cave is called Nag-arjuni, whether from the Budhist saint of that name having lived there, or from mere fancy it is not possi- ble to decide, though as the name Sidheswar has been preserved, and if my version of ‘‘ Satgurba,” be correct, I see no reason to doubt the in- scription, moreover I am inclined to think that it is the very perapu- tetic chamber named in the Pali annals in which Annund Mini per- formed his austerities. Having described the caves I must conclude with Dhuravat. I have already said that it is the north-westernmost end of the cluster of hills. I visited this place by moonlight, therefore had not so good an opportunity of examining the locality, however, I saw suffi- cient to enable me to decide that there is the site of a Budhist temple. On the lowest hillock, at the head of which is a fine tank called Chun- doke, many idols and miniature Chaityas, such as are found all over the district, are placed in and about a modern temple to “ Nirsinha” on the east bank of the tank : there is one very remarkable figure of a n oH 2 e 412 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. [May, man with twelve arms, each hand holding a lotus ; it is a Budhist sculp- ture. I was told of several other figures in the vicinity, but had no leisure to examine them, those I saw were comparatively modern, mostly well executed. To the northward of the tank is a high mound of bricks and rubbish, perhaps the ruins of a monastery or of some of the buildings of the ancient town, of which nothing else remains. I will now offer a few words on the inscriptions, of which there are in all 29; including that on the idol at Sidheswar, six are in the old Pali, three in the Gupta, and three in an unknown character, to which I shall invite particular attention, and the remainder are in various types of Nagree, from the earliest to latest date. Plate IX. Nos. 1 and 2, are those numbered 3 and 2, in Prinsep’s plate. No. 3 had hitherto been overlooked, being in the same cave as the long inscription No. 9, plate X. It will be perceived that there is a slight difference in some of the words of the three, perhaps errors in cutting, otherwise they are verbatim. The same, excepting the initial name (of the cave), I have neither books to refer to nor pundits to consult by which I might explain these variations, therefore I must content myself with mviting the attention of those who are more fortu- nate, and who are better scholars. In fig. 1 the word 7 b “Gopi” is clear enough, but instead of the last word of the inscription being J uL° Aliyam, it seems to be da) J,’ Sooliyam, though I am inclined to think it is merely a mistake of the engraver. ir ig QO- “ Nisiti’ is written eta: ‘¢ Nisita” both in Nos. 1. and 3., No. 2. on the contrary has neither change; indeed with the exception of five letters, purposely hammered out, itis quite perfect, (a stronger proof of the soundness of Prinsep’s conjectures could not be needed, the copy he had being very imperfect ;) however, knowing what they should be, it was no difficult matter to trace them, but it must be observed that all the inscriptions in the lath or Pali character have had the letters ground and polished after cutting, to which circum- stance their better preservation must be attributed ; moreover all have been cut ona polished surface. I speak of those I have myself seen ; those in our museum afford proofs. ® J In No. 2. the word 4 Ud is deserving of notice, the second letter 1847.] Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 413 being more like [, h. but the mark is placed lower down, and may be equivalent to the short ikar of the Sanscrit, though it has been sup- posed not to exist in the Pali; this would at once make it q9¥= instead of q9t4. aste appears to have no meaning. No. 3 over the doorway of the cave which appears to have escaped notice, has the word 4 / Q- aegy the meaning of which I know not ; in other respects the inscription is a repetition of those before named. We now come to the three remaining Pali writings that have hither- to been overlooked. ‘The first (figure 4) is the most perfect, though the five last letters which I feel warranted in restoring have been hammered out as before described. Upon refering to Prinsep’s papers on the pillar inscriptions P. 471, Vol. Vil. I find that the sentence “ Duva dus vasa bhisiténa” 9 ft ddgdd LK |. iscommonto them. I am enabled therefore to read that “by the beloved Rajah in the 12th year of his reign, this cave was caused to be excavated, &ec.” the remainder I cannot render for reasons above given. Thus much would seem to point to the same person as author both of the pillars and of these caves, and if the similarity of design and execution be considered a criterion, we may infer that it was Dusarat himself whose name is repeat- ed with the title “beloved of the gods” in the three first named inscrip- tions. This reasoning it will be seen throws doubt on the assumption that Asoka was the author, a doubt Prinsep himself always entertained. Indeed, if the conjectures I have made on reading the passage before quoted of the Pali annals, are correct, there are none, that he was not. If we may judge by the unfinished state of caves, (Nos. 4 and 7, plate VIII.) we shall naturally conclude that they are of later date than those bearing Dusarut’s name ; one difficulty would thereby be removed were it not that this prince (if Prinsep be right), was the third in descent from Asoka ; but it suggests a further conjecture, i. e. whether this Dusarut may not have been the very deified personage of the purans, king of Ajudhia and father of the hero Ram, whose history I believe to be a mythological tale of a real event. The conquest of Lunka or Ceylon by him may be in reality that made by a_ prince, whose title was Devanam Prya, or Devanam Prya Dasa, for either title conveys the same meaning. I throw out these as hints for the consideration of those who have read more and have better opportuni- ties for study than myself. A414 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. [Mays I may here further digress and allude to the rude Budha sculptures I found at Bodh Gyah and which I am about to lay* before the society. In these, buildings are represented with arched entrances precisely of the design of that of the great cave, which again (like those in Cuttack) are miniatures of similar designs in the caves of Carli and others in the west of India. Now it is common for Archeeologists to found their arguments as to the age of ancient buildings, upon comparing them with the paintings which illumine ancient manu- scripts of known date, it being evident that such forms must have been in existence at, or prior to, the representation being made, the same rule must apply to sculptures such as those of Bédh Gyah, therefore if they belonged to Asoka’s great temple, the works they represented existed before it, or at the same time at least ; but as these sculptures represent buildings on rocks, we may incline to the first opinion. That the sculptures belonged to the same period as the first pillars there can be scarcely a doubt, for they are of precisely the same stone, and one the quarries of which have not been discovered ; this is of itself a remarkable circumstance ; besides, they bear inscriptions in the identical character, and record* gifts in the same style as those on the posts of Bhilsa. I now return to my inscriptions. Fig. 5 differs somewhat in the reading, there. bemg an adjective between the opening sentence, and the word +r) or cave. This word after the most careful examination appears to be It Ly) « Nigép,”’ the ‘‘gédp” is clear enough, which is curious, for it is at the entrance of the very cave which I have described as having a Dagép or Chaitya, the remaining obliterated letters amount- ing in number to that required for such, together with parts of them still visible, admit of our supposing the sentence to have been the same as the others, i. e. ‘‘ for the one of Budhist ascetics.” No. 6 is too imperfect to be made out without the aid of a clever pundit, and needs such a Pali scholar as Rutna Pala who assisted Prinsep. I must content myself with inviting the attention of others possessing greater advantages. The mark re will not escape notice, it is found on coins, and in the inscriptions of the Saindharee caves and that of Kund- * See notes on Sculptures at Bodh Gyah, p. 334 of the present Volume. Ee ee ee ee 1847. | Notes on the Caves of Burabur. 415 girri in Cuttack. This inscription is immediately over the left corner of the entrance, but so weatherworn and mutilated that a casual observer would not perceive it. A sentence seems to have existed over the door, but is now become eligible. No. 7 is that published as 15 by Prinsep (see pl. XXXV. Vol VI.) and from the awkward manner in which the separate sheets of impres- sions were taken by the Moonshee, gave so much trouble, and rendered the reading doubtful ; by the impression I now submit,* it will be seen that, instead of its occupying three distinct spaces, the whole is comprised in one, and, as conjectured by Prinsep, it fills the spandril or space be- tween the arched head and the top of the square doorway. I believe Kamulakanta to have been right when he pronounced that the first two lines had no connection with the four last. This struck me at first sight. I have since read the remarks, the letters are smaller, and I think have been added at a somewhat subsequent date ; there can be no doubt that both have been an afterwork, perhaps centuries later than the caves. No. 8 has also been rendered by Prinsep in the same volume, but it may be as well to compare the present accurate impression with the former ; it is engraved within the jaumb of the doorway to the Nag- arjuni (oval) cave, the edges are rough owing to the want of skill in cutting. No. 9, plate X. appears hitherto to have (together with No. 3, (before described), escaped notice. I trust that some scholar will come forward to translate it, should I not be able with the assistance of a clever pundit to do so, but I shall first beg to invite Saroda-purshad to undertake the task. I feel sure it could not be entrusted to better hands. The character is the same as that of the two foregoing numbers, the dates, therefore, may not much differ. This is likewise cut within the jaumb of the small cave, fig. 3, plate VIII. No. 10 is inscribed on either side of the head of a female figure or idol on the Sidheswar temple: It is a very rude performance. Nos. 11, 12, 13, and 14, or figs. 7, 8, 9, plate IX. are the curious characters to which J would invite the attention of our French and German fellow-labourers. I have remarked the same characters on the Allahabad pillar, and in the caves of Cuttack. Prinsep refers to the * This refers to the inscriptions exhibited at Capt, Kittoe’s lecture. —Eps. 416 Notes on the Caves of Burabur. [ May, same as occurring at Barahut, in Ghurwal (see plate IX.) page 342, Vol. V. of the Journal. No. 11 however differs considerably, and is written vertically like Chinese ; it is placed horizontally in Prinsep’s plate. It has always occurred to me that these are Trans-Himalayan characters written by pilgrims at a very early period. No.12 was not sent to Prinsep ; it is rudely cut and scattered. No. 14 is a single letter or word on one of the pillasters of the Satgurba arch. I shall not trouble my readers with repeating the whole of the smaller sentences, which had no doubt from time to time been cut by the ascetics who occupied the caves whemthe Budhists were expelled ; there are two only deserving of notice. These I have given as 15 and 16 in - plate IX. The first shows that at a remote period the presiding deity of the spot was “‘Sidheswar’’? Mahadeva, which it is still. The second or fig. 16, are deserving of notice; they are of a very early types, and admit.of another reading besides that given by Prinsep ; see No.16 in P. 679, Vol. VI. viz. it may be an abbreviation of Bodisté Likhité” or the writing of Budhists, for the double letter more resembles the compound @ than @ and may have been writ- ten by the fanatic who injured the Pali inscriptions, but if this reading be not admitted, I should prefer another, namely, “the root of Budh- ism,”’ which (supposing this locality to have been the site of Sakya’s preaching and of the great convocations of Magda, of which I think there is little doubt) would be most appropriate. I offer the foregoing more with a view of throwing out hints for those whose deep and extensive reading must enable them to speak with greater confidence. I could wish I were able to boast of more myself ; in the absence of such desideratum J endeavor to collect and make known every trifle that may tend to the elucidation of doubtful points in the early history of this vast empire, my more gifted readers must take the will for the deed and excuse any blunders. SOOO OOOO wm" 1847.| Process of working the Damascus Blade of Goojrat. 417 Process of working the Damascus Blade of Goojrat ; by Capt. JAMES Axssott, Boundary Commissioner, Lahore. In the Appendix to my narrative of a journey to Khiva, &e. I pub- lished a paper upon the fabric of the Damascus blade, written by my friend Colonel Anosoff, of the Engineers, master of the celebrated Fa- bric of Arms at Zlataoost in Siberia, accompanied by such remarks as my own experience suggested. But having been the guest of that gentleman I did not conceive myself at liberty to publish without his express permission, which I had no means of obtaining, the process by which cast steel is rendered sufficiently elastic for sword blades. And not having witnessed the forging of a blade, I was ignorant of the fur- ther precautions necessary to bring out the grain of the Damask. I have now just returned from Jullalpoor in Goojrat, (the Goojrat of the Punjaub) and am prepared to describe the whole process adopted there, in the fabric of sword blades, celebrated throughout India. The blade of Goojrat is of two kinds, the simple and the mixed damask. The simple damask is precisely similar to the damask of Isfahaun in Persia. Its Damascene is a granulation covering the entire surface of the blade, and often disposed in lateral processes ; as if the blade had been woven throughout of infinitely fine wires. At other times, this granulation is streaky like a skein of floss silk that has been rumpled into innumerable wrinkles too minute to be followed by the eye. At other times it has the grain observed in timber, when intersected obliquely. All these different kinds, are the same substance, submitted to the same process. At least, the general treatment and intention are the same, and the differences arise from accident, not design. The substance is a small cake of cast steel weighing about 2 Ths. and exhibiting manifest symptoms of the fluid condition in which it ac- quired its plano-convex shape. That is, the lower or convex surface, bears the impression of the coarse gravelly mould into which it was poured. And the upper or flat surface, has those concentric wrinkles and radiations, which all metals take in crystallizing after fusion. This cast steel (fow/ahd) is purchased at Umritsur in the small cakes above noted. The natives know not its origin, but only that it , at 418 Process of working the Damascus Blade of Goojrat.— {May, comes from the south, and can be purchased at Delhi, in large as well as in small cakes. In India, if the same question is asked, the natives reply, that it comes from the north. It is, probably, therefore, brought up the Indus and Sutlej from the Persian Gulf. The accompanying figures 1 and 2 (Pl. XI.) represent the plan and profile of a mass lying upon the table before me. Now, upon considering the internal structure of this, we are aware that it is a bundle of con- centric needles crystallized around a porous centre, the vesicles of which are coarse and apparent, formed by the splash of the metal as it fell fluid into the mould. These I have rudely represented in dots in figure 12. It is also manifest that the most solid portions of the mass are the lower or convex surface. And, accordingly, in beating it out into a bar, great care is taken to preserve each surface distinct from the other, in order that the edges of the lenticular mass may become the sides or flat surfaces of the blade ; that the convex surface may become the edge ; and the flat, porous surface, the back. Under any other dis- position, the damask figures would be confused and unseemly—and, as cast steel cannot be welded, by any art known in Asia, the porosity of the centre of crystallization in the mass, would either offer a jagged, flawed edge, or one of the sides must be disfigured and weakened by it. And thus the arrangement pursued in the fabric of the simple damask blade is suggested by sound sense. The elegance and symme- try arising from the arrangement is the accidental but necessary con- sequence. The mass of cast steel being brought to red heat and held, as represented in figure 3, edgewise upon the anvil, is beaten into a square prism or bar—an operation of about two hours duration. When the requisite length is attained, the bar is flattened under the hammer, those sides in the bar, which had been the edges, being placed, the one above the other below, so as to become the flat surfaces of the blade. The blade being shaped with the hammer and file and roughly bur- nished, is brought to a dull red heat in along charcoal fire,—a long vessel of common oil is placed within reach, and the blade is plunged by successive drawing cuts edge-foremost, into the oil; so that the edge becomes the most highly tempered part, and the back remains the softest. The excessive temper is abated in the usual manner by laying the blade over a slow charcoal fire. It is then burnished, and ground, Cap! Mboit- adele. eg 13 Sheer eel. gees Prisr even Slee eT EE (Cask Seed RE et es aS ce ue Sheer Steet Ps T Black. Asiatic Lith: Fress.Caleu'ta MWlLadlay ahh. wy i ues ‘is , spite o kt re 1847.| Process of working the Damascus Biade of Gogjrat. 419 and being carefully cleansed from grease in wood ashes, white vitriol (kussees) dissolved in water is rubbed over all the surface excepting the edge. This, eating deepest between the interstices of the crystals, exhibits their arrangement which constitutes the damask of the blade. In following the mass of cast steel through all the changes of figure produced by the action of the hammer (figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,) we per- ceive that, as it cannot be welded, the pores in the centre of erystalli- zation must remain, although immensely elongated under the extension of the mass. These accordingly exhibit themselves in an irregular and ugly seam in the back of the blade, impairing both its elegance and its solidity. And hence it is manifest, that in order to the production of a blade without flaw, either the porous heart of the mass should be ground out previous to the action of the hammer, or the blade should be forged of excessive breadth, and the unsound back be ground away. But the necessity of either precaution would not exist were necks made to the moulds (fig. 9) in which the steel is originally cast; so that there might be a surplus of metal (as im casting bullets and guns)—to give solidity by pressure to the incumbent mass. We further observe, that as the flat surfaces of the blade (figure 10) are formed of the edges of the lenticular mass (figure 11) they present a section across the crystallization ; rectangular in the centre, but of various obliquity toward either end. It follows, that the less the original mass is altered by hammering, the more nearly lateral will be the disposition of the dots representing the ends of crystals—and hence the various figures presented by the same metal under slightly different treatment. It is also apparent, that these figures will mate- rially alter, according to difference in the shape of the original mass— and it may be reasonably doubted, whether the shape in which the cast steel is brought to India, be the most conducive to symmetry of damask or to soundness of fibre. As the damask of a blade is the map of its crystallization, so it is probable that the figures alter according to the purity of the iron of which the steel is formed, the quantity of carbon contained in it, or to both these circumstances combined. Nay, the degree of heat of the fused metal at the time of casting, and the temperature of the mould in which it was formed may both contribute to differences in the crystallization. 420 Process of working the Damascus Blade of Gograt. [Mavy, Col. Anosoff, himself the reviver, if not the inventor of the elastic damask, lays down the following laws, as the test of quality of the damask, viz. Ist. The Damascene formed principally of right Hnes, almost parallel, denotes the lowest quality of damask. 2d. When the right lines become shorter and are partly replaced by curves, they denote a better quality than the first. 3d. When the lines are interrupted, show points; and when the di- mensions of the curves increase, this is a still better symptom. 4th. When the interrupted lines become still shorter, or rather when they change to points as they increase in number, so as to form in the breadth of the steel, here and there, as it were, nets, interlinked by threads, which undulate in diverse directions from one net to the other ; in this case the damask approaches perfection. Finally. When the nets open further to form figures resembling grapes: or when they occupy the entire breadth of ‘the steel and par- take it in nearly equal articulations, im that case, the damask may be recognised as of the highest possible quality. See Appendix, 2d Vol: p- LXXVI. Abbott’s Journey to Khiva, &e. Now, whilst I concur with Col. Anosoff in believing that a connois- seur may read the quality of damask steel in its Damascene, I rather doubt the above being the key to the language,—because the globula- rity of the marks must depend very much upon the angle of section of the crystals, an angle dependent upon the figure in which the steel was first cast. Several very costly damask blades were exhibited to Burnes at Cabul, and it was explained to him, that they were valued according to the continuity of the flossy streaks from hilt to pomt. I myself observed when in Khorussaun, that a decided preference was given to the streak- ed variety, viz. to that which appears like an amalgamated mass of infinitely fine wires. It will be seen from the process of forging the simple damask that any continuity of fibre must be a mere accident, and denote nothing as respects the quality of the metal. I have before me a beautiful specimen of Siberian damask, given me by Anosoff, and presenting upon its surface the prismatic play of colors which he values so highly. In appearance it differs from the Jullala- bad blades chiefly in the greater uniformity of its interlaced streaks ; 1847.] Process of working the Damascus Blade of Goojrat. 421 attributable probably to a better figure in the mass of steel from which it was forged. _It is perfectly elastic. The simple damask of Jullala- bad beimg tempered in oil, has little elasticity, and the makers will not warrant it to undergo any proof. It is liable both to bend without recovery and to snap short on concussion. The same is observable of the damask of Khorussaun, constructed by a similar process. The cast steel when tempered in water becomes too brittle for sword blades, and the elasticity given by oil is not greater than that which brass possesses. A very elegant elastic blade which I purchased in Siberia, and thought cheap at 20 guineas, exhibits a damask of oval concentric rings, so regu- lar and beautiful that I would not believe it to be real damask, until a portion of the blade had been burnished and the acid applied in my presence, when the re-appearance of the Damascene, placed the matter beyond doubt. I have seen a similar though less beautiful Damascene upon daggers forged at Isfahaun. It is difficult to imagine this to be the mere exhibition of crystallization. The simple damask of Jullalabad is wrought into three figures. The very narrow, rather thick, much curved Khorussauni sabre—whose section is an abrupt wedge, unwieldy in the grasp and as unfit for of- fence as for defence. The broader, much curved, plain or fluted blade of Damascus, with a double-edged point, which its curvature nullifies. And a long straight single or double-edged blade, broad, thin and fluted, wider near the pomt than at the hilt: always set in a basket hilt, with a pommel projecting three inches to protect the sword-arm and much used. by gladiators who exhibit at the Mohurrum. All are forged in the same manner from the same material, yet each has its own separate Damascene, owing to the greater diffusion of the grain of crystallization in one kind than: in the other. In the very narrow blade it is more streaky—in the broad blade it more resembles the most delicate of the streaks upon watered ribbands. ‘The darkening of the blade toward the edge, observable in Khorussauni sabres, is not visible in these—I attribute this darkness to an increase of carbon. But at Jullalpoor the sword-cutters think it proceeds from increase of temper, and that the stain upon the damask is dark according to the degree of its temper. A292 Process of working the Damascus Blade of Goojrat. [Mavy, Such is the secret of the pretty but useless damask of Goojrat ; at least of the simple variety. ‘The compound damask is far less elegant, but constitutes a good blade, little inferior perhaps to the produce of Salinjer, though certainly less elastic. The following is the process employed in the fabric of the Sukkaila or compound damask. A ribband of keeri or sheer steel being bent into the figure of a siphon (fig. 13) is filled with six or more ribbands of cast steel, blistered steel and sheer steel as per accompanying diagram. I dis- tinguish between cast steel and blistered steel, because the first has been in actual fusion, whereas the second appears to me that which goes in England by the name of ‘cast or blistered steel,’’ and comes from Europe in small square bars. This mass being well hammered at welding heat, is doubled,—welded, redoubled and rewelded. A small bar of sheer steel of similar length is then welded upon the side which is to be the back, and a similar bar of cast and blistered steel well mix- ed together is welded for the edge. It is then beaten out, flattened and shaped into a blade, and tempered in water. The Damascene of this blade is coarse and resembles the transverse lights upon a_ watered ribband. It has a moderate elasticity, if well tempered: but of course its quality must depend chiefly upon the fineness of the steel employed in its fabric,—and there is little choice of material in India. There is no doubt that a blade may thus be constructed, the edge of which may be keen as that of cast steel, whilst sufficient elasticity is preserved to render it proof against distortion or fracture under very severe shocks. And if, instead of thick ribbands of the several metals, fine wires were employed, an elegant Damascene might be the produce. This I am inclined to think is the original Damascus blade, as distinguished from the blade of Isfahaun: for, as its celebrity was greatest, when defensive armour was incommon use, it is absurd to suppose it could have resembled one of the faithless brittle blades of cast steel, which now bear the name. The price of the Jullalpoor or Goojrat blade in a scabbard, without hilt, varies from 8 to 12 Rs. (16 to 24 shillings.) The instruments employed in the manufactory are rude and imper- fect. Yet as the solidity of a sword blade depends much upon the quan- tity of labour expended in hammering, the very imperfection of the implements may tend to the excellence of the work. A bar of steel pr ha ’ Te , * a ; ‘ i ) — ) aa = gl . * , = fe Mr a % ; * ‘ = =e) 3 ws ‘ ‘5 * r ee Ninn = ed ~ ! ‘ hou eMart, eb memarar ool 1847. ] On a new form of the Hog kind or Suide. 423 under a very heavy hammer is soon beaten out ; but every blow unset- tles on either side, as much of the crystals of the steel as it has com- pressed beneath it :—and I believe, that four times as much labour should be bestowed in hammering the slightly heated bar, as at present it receives at Jullalpoor. . But the imperfection of the furnace tends wholly to that of the blade. For as it is impossible to give the same degree of heat to all parts of the weapon at the same time ; one portion becomes harder and more brittle than the other: and the blade is more liable to fracture than if the whole were equally brittle. The equal distribution of heat throughout the blade is perhaps attainable only by immersion in molten metals ; a method practised, I believe, by Savigni, the celebrated cutler. Should you deem this worthy of publication in the Society’s Journal, I believe it will be the only existing record of the process of making the simple damask sword blade. On a new form of the Hog kind or Suide, by B. H. Hovason, Esq. Pachydermata. Suidee, Genus Porcula, mihi. Generic character—Teeth & 1:1. §:6—40, Canines small, straight, severely cutting, but not ordinarily exserted from the lips. Fourth toe on all the feet, small and unequal. Tail very short but distinct. | Type Porcula Salvania,* mihi. Pigmy Hog of the saul forest. Sano Banel and Chota Stivar of the Natives. Habitat, Saul forest. Sp. Ch. Pigmy Hog of a black brown colour, slightly and irregularly shaded with sordid amber. Iris Hazel; nude skin, dirty flesh colour. Hoofs, glossy brown—length from snout to vent 18 to 20 inches. Height 8 to 10 inches. Weight 7 to 10, rarely 12 ths. Precision and comprehensiveness certainly belong to technical de- scriptions ; and the above few words, though they may prove distasteful * yreraayt, of or belonging to the Saul forest, 424 On a new form of the Hog kind or Suide. [May, to the general, will be largely suggestive to the instructed reader, and at the same time convey to the latter more information than he would obtain from five times the space occupied with popular description merely. A description of the popular kind I will supply presently ; but in the meanwhile I must proceed distinctly to state the grounds upon which I suppose the Pigmy Hog to represent a new form among’ the animals of its kind. My books are few for reference, and my ma- terials scanty for examination ; but, having made the best use in my power of both, I shall not hesitate to tender to the Society the results of my investigation of a new and most rare species in that shape which appears to me most calculated to stimulate further research, reserving for a future report any additional information I may myself obtain in correction or confirmation of my present views; for I am entirely of the opinion of the late able mstitutor of our journal, viz. that it is designed as a prompt record of current facts and suggestions, to be stated as made, and to be corrected with recurring opportunity. Mr. Gray, in his recent and excellent catalogue of the immense stores of the British museum states that there are five genera of the Porcine family, or Sus, Dicotyles, Babirussa, Choiropotamus and Phacocheerus. Of tlese I regret that I have no means of satisfactory reference for Choi.opotamus. But it and Phacochzerus are exotic forms not easily mistaken, and I apprehend cannot comprehend our present subject ; nor can Babirussa, though an insular Indian type; for its characteris- tics are well known. There remain only Sus and Dicotyles, or the Hogs proper and the Pecary hogs; and, that our animal belongs to neither of these, but is an interesting intermediate link between them, will I think be at once apparent from my generic definition, or from that and what I shall now add thereto relative to the organization and habits of the Pigmy Hog. My materials for description consist of a male of the species, young but sufficiently grown to indicate its fixed characters, and fresh but deprived of its entrails. I have had its skull extracted and have compared carefully its general form and its cranium with those of the tame and of the wild hog and of their young, and I have studied all these under the guidance of Cuvier and his commenta- tors as well as of the general zoology of Shaw.* As the result of these * Régne animal, Vol. III. pp. 330, 334 and 401,414 ; General Zoology II. 458, 470, and Régne animal, V. pp. 287, 290. 1847. | On a new form of the Hog kind or Suide. 425 observations and references it appears to me that the Pigmy Hog of the Saul forest is almost equally allied to the true Hogs and to the Peccaries, agreeing with the former in the absence of any peculiar external organs, such as the gular flaps of Larvatus and the pelvic sac of Torquatus and Labiatus ; also in the number and form of its incisor teeth, and in having a perfect tail and four overt toes to each foot, but differing from the true Hogs and agreeing with the Peccaries in the number of its molar teeth, in the style of the laniaries, and in the diminished elon- gation of the jaws; and showing yet further inclination towards the same form (Dicotyles) by the extreme smallness of the tail as well as by the tendency of the fourth toe to disappearance. The presence of a tail and of a fourth toe, with the limited number of molars and the straightness of the unexserted laniaries, are the positive characters of our proposed type ; which, how like soever to the ordinary Hog, differs therefrom materially in structure and not less in manners and habitat ; for, whereas the Hog abounds all over India, the Pigmy Hog is exclu- sively confined to the deep recesses of primeval forest, and hence (I believe) has entirely escaped all notice by Europeans up to the present hour ; and, whereas, again, the grown males of the common Hog inva- riably dwell apart, those of the Pigmy Hog abide constantly with the herd, and are its habitual and resolute defenders against harm. I obtained my single specimen recently in the Tarai of Sikim; but I know that the species dwells also in the Tarai of Nepaul: nor have I any doubt it inhabits as far north-west and south-east, as the saul forest extends, though such are its rarity and secludedness, that know- ing of its existence and anxious to procure it as I have been for 15 years past, I have only just succeeded. Even the aborigines whose home is the forest, seldom see and still seldomer obtain it, much as they covet it for its delicious flesh, and eagerly as they search for it on that account ; and an old Mech who brought me mine, informs me that in 50 years’ abode in the Sal-bari or Saul forest, though a hunter every season, he never got but 3 or 4 of these much desiderated animals to eat, partly owing to their scarcity and partly to the speed with which the females and young disperse, and to the extraordinary vigour and activity with which the males defend themselves whilst their families are retreating. That so tiny an animal sheuld effectually resist men must seem 3K 426 On a new form of the Hog kind or Suide. | May, almost incredible, and yet I am credibly assured that even when the annual clearance of the undergrowth of the forest by fire occasionally reveals the Pigmy Hogs, and the herd is thus assailed at advantage, the males with the help of rough and unopen ground really do resist with wonderful energy and frequent success, charging and cutting the naked legs of their human or other attackers, with a speed that baffles the eye- sight and a spirit which their straight sharp laniaries renders really perplexing if not dangerous. The herds are not large, consisting of 5 or 6, to 15 or 20, and the grown males, as I have said, constantly remain with and defend the females and young, perhaps pairing off for a short period in the season of love, of which there are said to be two in the year, and the litter to consist usually of but 3 or 4 young ones. Their food is chiefly roots and bulbs, but they also eat eggs, young birds, insects, and reptiles, having a good deal of the omnivorous propensity proper to the whole family (Suidz). The Pigmy Hog is about the size of a large Hare, and extremely — resembles both in form and size a young pig of the ordinary wild kind of about a month old, except in its dark and unstriped pelage. The likeness of the limbs and members to those of the common Hog is so close that every purpose of general description of the Pigmy Hog is served by pointing to that resemblance, desiring only that heed should be taken by the observer of the shorter jaws, and eye consequently placed midway between the snout and ear; of the much shorter tail, nude, straight, and not extending so far as the bristles of the rump; and, lastly, of the smallness of the inner hind toe. The ears also are quite nude, and the abdominal surface of the neck as well as the insides of the limbs and the belly, are nearly so: but the upper and lateral external parts are covered thickly with bristles, even longer and more abundant than those of the wild or tame Hog, save upon the ridge of the neck where the common Hog has always more or less of, and gene- rally a conspicuous, mane, but the Pigmy Hog, little or none. The hairs of the Pigmy Hog are from two inches to two and a quarter long, harsh, simple, or with the tips ordinarily bifidal ; and those of the face and outsides of the limbs shorter only than elsewhere. The dimensions have already been stated summarily and will be set down in detail below. ‘The colour of the animal is a black brown, or brown black, shaded vaguely with dirty amber, or rusty red—a result of ” . a ’ : A , 4 * d o- 5 ' { f ion tk we “sy aa me wm ha ryt 20 dal | > ee , 3 Lue ale r ¥ ’ F: ie ’ 7 ne : A ae . y . ; : ey eel a “gh, ra } us a } y d ‘ j ‘Pie . : Pr LF j ‘ u > - ’ Prep wD fh ye + epi "% pw iveee } ‘ ) fy « Dk f "v d A hae, Dw as een =o, i ri ct , , * | a z ; ai J ie Pe Were 1 x of : ’ ce » i { i) seal Py “ ; / \ iv y LU ‘o th é 7 * i oe . +) 3 ‘ ate ' 1 2 + ae af ni j uh ia mY wy, i My ‘ ‘ : pitied ‘Ss nee =i ee i i Honea NERY s Lie Me rede 24 stasis he did e ne 7 } . "4 > aes i, op ie ae wets ( \g ; hg cae ® ri ie TH ts ad > 44 5 ae h PF : tensa 4 ‘ ‘ e. - é - yh ; . j sy , cig Hes: mia “eB JePy Os ; bh 7 re , : »! em > —_ ’ PY whys \ i y ra 4 5 is ee i 2 ~ weu L, oh Py a y ¥ * ¢ ‘ 4 ' ¥ 7 re Py 1 a v4 ~ walt sf ‘ ¥ »* dl + _ , vi 1 i " 1847.] On a new form of the Hog kind or Suide. 427 many of the bristles being partially or entirely of the latter hue, but so that the general surface exhibits no regular lines, nor the individual hairs any regular rings. The scull of the Pigmy as compared with that of the common Hog exhibits a very considerable contraction of the great length of the facial portion or jaws in Sus proper, leaving no room for the extra molars of the common Hog, which has seven in each jaw, above and below, whereas our tiny friend has only six ; by zygomee less curved and bulging; by smooth maxillars and intermaxillars, so unlike the rugged outline of these bones caused in the common hog by the retroversion of the canines ; and, lastly, by orbits more nearly complete, having larger processes from the zygome as well as from the frontals. And now, first pledging myself to transmit to the Society without delay all the further information I may obtain relative to the habits or the structure of this interesting species, which if obtained alive and induced to breed in captivity, would be to the ordinary pork of the larder what the delicious Gaini beef is to the flesh of the common Ox, I conclude with the detail of dimensions, and with pointing attention to the accompanying accurate drawings of my accomplished draftsman. RememIROO VOI sc si oe. eet we se veo wkd ala elele hh aire se Sopp RRP) OS Celene . sats AO WsOhn Tail, eee HT Ome Ge Fore leg, ee to Map of Hager! PEE NR OU BASS ez Mereies, heelitoxdittoss Ace. eee Ok 0 4 4 fiemeth of iear,vfrom front). to oles bes. Gnd Zz emeiaieny.( A Seon Sever se ds aleei@yod 8 meme eyo fi HTT ENE SOS eR 0 ON. 9 110 ere trevor ay SOR ue LOOSE Coe WBS. was, 0 3 @ Pemerwmrcersy 220, 208s Meret te a), CA Sune Ol Brrs Goes bebwid*shoulder}!)) 8.6030. vudeide. ee hid Vis Bere on fore oul: Y./F0 HII sy 0 012 BI Neg Mee ease wics =e 0 0 ¢ err elie Ho le NT ata we da ses vice Gots cass 24d ADS? | SKULL Oa ae re ls lads NaF sayslins> vost Soy hws nasil eas Greta ae eemamrer ren eras ctr ke ee eae 0 2 4 Weight, .. Sie ite walle. « Sand han cee Symp. srlsiaides to fate ‘anil of Sait ale dalton Sel trey 428 Notiees and Descriptions of various [May, Teeth § 3:4 $$ = 40; the two first molars only, on each side, false and compressed, and not the three first as in Sus, which has 4, or one more, above and below. Tushes moderately elongated and not much eurved—according to information and to the specimen, which latter, on this point only, is hardly adequate to fix the type. SOLOOLODLOPOPPPPLLLPPPFVIVFYPLLPPVPVVPUPUYIVLITII Notices and Descriptions of various New or Iattle Known Species of Birds. By Ev. Buytn, Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum. (Continued from page 157.) Motaeillide. This is a strongly marked family of birds, especially characterized by the lengthened and pointed tertiaries (as in the Plovers and Sandpipers), by the regular double moult,* and by the ambulatory gait of the species. I consider them to be nearly allied by affinity, neither to the Enicurt nor to the Larks ; although the Water Wagtails resemble, to a certain extent, the former in their colours, as is common- ly the case with animals frequenting the same haunts ; and the Pipits resemble, in like manner, the Larks, not only in colouring but in the elongation of the hind-claw. | Motacilla, L. (as now restricted), Of this there are three Indian species. M. maderaspatana, Brisson (nec Lin.): M. maderaspatensis, Gm. ; M. maderas et M. variegata, Stephens (nec variegata, Vieillot) ; M. picata, Franklin: Pied Wagtail of Latham. Inhabits Upper India, and the peninsula; but I have never known it to occur below the Rajmahl hills in Lower Bengal, though Calcutta is given as the locality of a specimen in Rev. Zool. &c., 1839, p. 40. The skin referred to may have been brought from Calcutta ; but it may be doubted whether the fresh bird was obtained there. I have once seen it from Dar- jeeling; but never from the countries eastward of the Bay of Bengal. * Mr. Yarrell remarks—“ Having frequently examined specimens of our Wagtails in the spring of the year when they were assuming either their change of colour or the additional brilliancy of tint, peculiar to the breeding season, without finding any new feathers in progress, I am induced to consider the vernal change in these birds as so many instances of alteration effected in the colour of the old feathers, and not a change of the feathers themselves.” ‘ British Birds,’ 1, 383. My own observation, both in Eng- land and in India, and in caged birds as well as in wild ones, is directly the reverse. I have shot many during the vernal moult (Motacilla, Budytes, and Anthus), and have even found it difficult to get one that was not changing its feathers. 1847.| New or Little Known Species of Birds. 429 M. luzoniensis, Secopoli: M. alba, var. y, Lath., (both founded on la Bergeronette & coilier de Tile de Lucon of Sonnerat): M. dukhu- nensis, Sykes ; M. leucopsis, Gould; M. alboides, Hodgson; M. alba of Jerdon’s list. Very common throughout India (with some partial exceptions*) and the Malay countries, visiting the plains in the cold weather; the appearance of this familiar little bird, and the harsh chattering of Lanius phenicurus, being generally the earliest signs of the approach of that season. The common Indian Wagtail is nearly allied to M. alba and M. Yarrellii of Europe; but has a larger patch of white on the forehead, the throat is white at all seasons, and there is much more white on the wings. Back of the male black in nuptial plumage. M. boarula, L. This European species is also common throughout India and Malasia ; specimens from Java, &c. absolutely resembling: those from England. It even inhabits Australia. Nemoricola, nobis. With the general form of Budytes, this com- bines the short hind-claw of Motacilla, and a peculiar disposition of colours, alike different from other Wagtails and from the Pipits. Haunts sylvan, and general habits much the same as those of the Tree Pipit, except that I am not aware of its ever mounting singing into the air, or that it even sings at all. In this respect (the total absence of song) Budytes differs both from Motacilla and Anthus; and the | humble Lark-like efforts to soar a little way into the air, singing all the while, seem peculiar among this group to the Pipits. N. indica ; Motacilla indica, Gmelin (founded on la Bergeronette grise des Indes of Sonnerat): M. variegata, Vieillot (nec Stephens). India generally, Arracan, and Malacca; but nowhere a common species, so far as I can learn. In the vicinity of Calcutta, I have obtained it at all seasons. Budytes, Cuvier._ The Yellow Wagtails with long hind-claw. fe wh. B citreola, Any B. calcaratus, Hodgson.¢ Tolerably common, more so perhaps above Rajmahl, in Bengal, where it occurs in flocks. * Mr. Jerdon never observed it in the Carnatic, + Mr. Gray adopts this latter name, in his Catalogue of Mr. Hodgson’s specimens presented to the British Museum: but the Indian species (examples of which were presented to this Society by Mr. H.) seems to accord wholly with the descriptions of B. citreola ; from which I cannot help doubting its distinctness. It appears that Mr. Gray has also more recently described the same bird as B, citreoloides, Hodgson, 430 Notices and Descriptions of various { May, From the province of Mymunseng Mr. Frith has presented the Society with a beautiful specimen, having the back deep black ! B. viridis, (Gm.), founded on Brown’s figure, pl. 33: B. melanoce- phala, Savi, and also of Sykes; probably B, beema, Sykes; and B. neglecta, melanocephala, et flava, of Jerdon’s list ;* Blue-headed Wag- tail of Latham ; and his Wagtail Lark is the female of either this or the next species. Ina very interesting paper on the birds of Corfu, &c. (dann. Mag. N. H. 1843, p. 416), it is stated that the Yellow Wagtail of that part differs from the English one, in having the head in the breeding season of a jet-black, at other times of a lead-colour. This black-headed species is common in Afghanistan; and it would seem also to be that found generally in peninsular India, and in the west ; but never in Lower Bengal, that I am aware of. Having no specimens, I cannot point out any difference that its hyemal garb may exhibit from that of the next species. B. flava (? Lin.) : Motacilla bistrigata, Raffles ; perhaps B. beema, Sykes ; B. cinereocapilla (?), of southern Europe ; B. neglecta (7), Gould. Several species of Budytes are puzzling in the extreme, from their general similarity combined with the variation to which each is subject. Mr. Gould first distinguished the common British species from that equally common on the European continent, both of which had been confounded under B. flava, (Lin.); as he likewise did the British and continental Pied Wagtails, that had been confounded under Mot. alba; and the respective Rock Pipits which had been alike classed as Anthus aquaticus.t It is very curious and remarkable that, in each of these instances, the common British species is extremely rare (even if they have all been yet noticed,) in the neighbouring continental coun- tries, and vice versd. Fortunately, the Society now possesses fine specimens of each of the six, which enables me the better to form an opinion respecting their Indian equally near affines.t In the common British Budytes, now B. Rati, Pr. Bonap., particularly in summer * Mr. Jerdon now considers these to be the same, vide Madr. Journ. No. xxxi, 132. + The American species figured under this name in the Fauna Americana-borealis, is distinct again, being the A. ludovicianus, Bonap. ¢ Since writing the above, I have come to the conclusion that two Norwegian speci- mens sent as A. obscurus, are neither that species nor A. aquaticus ; but merely dark specimens of A. pratensis in summer dress, shot late in the season. 1847.] New or Little Known Species of Birds. 431 dress, the male has the whole head bright yellowish, very yellow in some towards the forehead, and there is constantly a bright yellow supercilium. In B. flava, (Lin.), v. neglecta, Gould, the common species of northern Europe, the head is of a dull ash-colour, with—it is said invariably*—-a white supercilium ; though this is so little de- veloped in one of two Norwegian specimens before me, that I cannot but question its alleged permanency. In the Indian B. bistrigata, again, (which Mr. Strickland identifies with einereocapilla of southern Europe,) the fully mature male in breeding plumage has the head and nape fine dark ashy, with no trace of supercilium ; the ear-coverts darker ; and throat (or rather chin) white, spreading laterally to contrast with the dark ear-coverts: a specimen so coloured is mentioned in Mr. Jerdon’s notice of his B. melanocephala, and supposed by him to be probably the female of that bird; but younger specimens exhibit a white supercilinm in every degree of development, and many of these certainly cannot be distinguished from the European flava; which, after all, I suspect will prove to be the very same. Indeed, the note would seem to be quite similar, being, in both, weaker and less articu- late than in B. Raii ; and it is more common to see these birds about watery places than is the case with the British species.t But what- ever its true name, the subject of the present notice is one of the com- monest of Bengal birds, frequenting the open country in straggling flocks during the cold season, and disappearing as they assume the nuptial dress. On the Calcutta maidan, where a large herd of cattle are generally grazing, regardless of the hottest sun (which is a remark- able trait of Bos indicus), each one will commonly have its attendant Budytes keeping to the shadow of the beast’s foot, watching for the insects which it rouses from the grass at every step. Anthus, Bechstein: comprising Corydalla, Vigors, and Agrodoma, Swainson. If any subdivisions could be admitted in this natural (and very difficult) group, the Tree Pipits would appear to have the best claim to be separated from the rest: the form to which the names Corydalla and Agrodoma have been applied, serving to connect the * “ The grey-headed birds without a white supercilium are never found in the north of Europe.” Strickland, Ann. Mag. N. H., 1844, note to p. 115. +t The plumage of the females of B. bistrigata is very much yellower, and more ap- proaching that of the males, than in B, Raii, 432 Notices and Descriptions of various [May, Tree Pipits with those allied to 4. pratensis, obscurus, &c. ; though where to trace the line of separation, at all satisfactorily, seems quite impossible, albeit Mr. Swainson has classed his Anthus and Agrodoma in distinct and widely separated natural families. The Tree Pipits (to which, if it be thought necessary to separate them, the name Dendron- anthus may be applied), are distinguished by shorter tarsi, a less elongated and more curved hind-claw, and a comparatively short and less slender bill than in many others: they resort to open woodlands, and perch often; and their gait and general manners are different from those of other Pipits (as may be well observed by keeping them in con- finement). Their actions are more deliberate, and they have not the habitual rapid run of other Pipits and Wagtails ; neither, in captivity, are they at all peckish and quarrelsomely disposed towards their companions, as is eminently the case with the Motacilla and Budytes genera, and with the Rock and Meadow Pipit of England and the species allied to them. I might point out other differences of the kind, the ensemble of which imparts a very distinct subgeneric character to the Tree Pipits; but such distinctions are not to be recognised in the dry skins with which the systematist is compelled principally to deal : and I shall proceed to range all the Indian species in Anthus proper, commencing with the arboreal Pipits, of which I think two species are before me.* 1. A. trivialis, (L.): A. arboreus, Bechstein. This species, the most migratory of the European Pipits, (or a near affine to it,) abounds in Lower Bengal during the cold season, and, it would seem, in suitable localities throughout the country: frequenting groves and gardens, with a disposition to be social, if not gregarious; and where an extent of thin tree-jungle harbours them in considerable numbers, I have noticed that, towards evening, they commonly fly to and fro over their haunts in scattered parties; now perhaps two or three, then several, and then perchance a solitary bird, each frequently uttermg a slight chirp, and often several descending to alight for a while near together on the same tree : this restlessness they will continue to evince till it is getting dark ; and it would scarcely be guessed what bird it was, till one had been brought. down. I never heard the species sing in this part of the world: and its (hyemal) dress is different from that with which we are more * The Tree Pipits certainly approximate the American genus Seiurus. 1847. | New or Little Known Species of Birds. 433 familiar in Europe; the upper-parts being uniform greenish-olive, with strongly marked dusky streaks on the crown, and slight dark centres to the dorsal feathers; and the breast-spots are very broad and black. A specimen from Nepal exhibits the summer plumage, having the upper-parts much paler and fulvescent, with the dark centres to the feathers considerably more developed; and the breast-spots are less interse and Thrush-like.* A specimen shot out of a flock by the river-side, by the memorable battle-field of Palasi (Plassey), is perhaps distinct : the billis larger ; the general size above the average of 4. trivialis ; and there is much more of the dusky colour on the dorsal feathers (it being broader on each in- dividual feather); but the plumage is considerably worn and abraded. The following description was taken of it when fresh. Length six inches and a half, by eleven inches ; wing three and a half; tail two and three- quarters ; bill to gape eleven-sixteenths of an inch ; tarse three-quarters; hind-claw five-sixteenths.¢ Irides dark: bill dusky above, sullied carneous below ; feet light brownish-carneous. The ensemble of the upper-parts of this specimen differs much from either that of the nuptial or non-breeding dress of ordinary arboreus ; but I suspect it is merely the former, that had not been cast at the usnal moulting period, but retained till the month of February, becoming proportionately abraded. 2. A. Richardi, Vieillot. This species must be very common in Lower Bengal, from the number occasionally brought and sold fer ‘Ortolans’ in the Calcutta bazar, especially after the season for Ca/an- drella brachydactyla has passed, and even so late as May: but in the few excursions which I have made, I have never chanced to fall in with them at all plentifully. Those I have observed and shot have been chiefly in cultivated land, and they not unfrequently perch on the sum- * Since the above was written, Capt. Boys has favoured the Society with a specimen from N. W. India, which I at once recognized as the European Tree Pipit; of which latter a specimen has been received more recently from England. ‘he common Indian bird has the upper-parts very nearly as plain as those of Seturus auricapillus, and of the same hue ; the under-parts being equally Thrush-like, but tinged with fulvous. I have kept the European bird in confinement for years, aud regularly noticed its vernal and autumnal changesof plumage. —It seems that Mr. Gray has described the ordinary Indian Tree Pipit, in his ‘ Zoological Miscellany,’ as A. muculatus et A. brevirostris, Hodgson. +t Among the admeasurements of several individuals of the common speeies, ] find one precisely agreeing with the above, aud others nearly approximating. 434 Notices and Descriptions of various (May, mit of a small tree; emitting, before they fly, a chirp not unlike a Sparrow’s. These birds vary in size ; the male being generally about seven inches and a half, or seven and five-eighths (sometimes nearly eight inches), long, by twelve to twelve and a half in alar expanse ; closed wing three inches and five-eighths to three and seven-eighths ; and tail three inches to three and a quarter: tarse generally an inch and a quarter, or at most an eighth less; and long hind-claw commonly about five-eighths, sometimes prolonged to above three-quarters of an inch. Bill dusky above, yellow at base of lower mandible, and duller yellow anteriorly sometimes to near the tip; legs yellowish-brown, very yellow on the soles; inside of mouth bright yellow in adults. Younger individuals have the interior of the mouth faintly lutescent carneous ; and the base of the lower mandible much the same. Such are the common dimensions of this species: but I once obtain- ed a male, so different in appearance from others shot on the same occasion, that I was inclined to regard it as distinct, until examination of an extensive series convinced me of the contrary: the specimen differs most remarkably in its conspicuously shorter tarsi and toes ; the streakiness of its crown is more decided and strongly marked than usual; and there is less white on its outer tail-feathers, and that more sharply defined. Length seven inches and three quarters by eleven and three-quarters ; wing three and five-eighths ; tail two and seven-eighths ; tarse only an inch; middle toe without claw not three-quarters; and hind-toe (minus claw) but half an inch, instead of nine-sixteenths to five- eighths of an inch. The brevity of tarse corresponds with Yarrell’s figure of the leg of this species, in ‘ British Birds,’ I, 388 ; but the toes of the latter are more of the ordinary development. Richard’s Pipit occurs in collections from the Himalaya and from Arracan; but Mr. Jerdon enumerates it as a rarity in the south of India. The Anth. australis, Vieillot, if not identical, must be nearly allied, to judge from the description of it on the Dict, Class. ; and this b] is referred to ‘ Australasia,” a name of doubtful signification, since some authors confound it with Australia, while others intend by it the great Oriental Archipelago and neighbouring mainland; for which Austral-Asia is by no means a bad appellation.* * The Society has since received what is doubtless the true Anth. australis, from 1847. ] New or Little Known Species of Birds. 435 3. A. similis: Agrodoma similis, Jerdon, Madr. Journ. No. XXVI, 35. This fine species equals the largest specimens of 4d. Richardt in size, but has the shorter tarse of the individual last described, and also a shorter and much more curved hind-claw. It is further readily dis- tinguished by the strong ferruginous tinge of the pale portion of its plumage, as especially the under-parts and margins of all the wing- feathers ; and the upper-parts are less streaky than in 4. Richardi, with a prevailing dusky hue and slight admixture of ashy on the hghter edgings of the dorsal feathers. Tail having its outermost feather dark, obliquely tipped for its terminal third with ruddy-whitish, which extends up the whole narrow outer web; and the penultimate feather is tipped, for about a quarter of an inch only, with the same. Length of wing three inches and seven-eighths; of tail three and one-eighth ; tarse an inch ; and hind-claw (straight from base to tip) but three-eighths. From southern India ; and Lord Arthur Hay lately obtained a specimen in Jummoo, in the N. W. Himalaya. 4. A. montana, Jerdon, MS.: A. rufescens apud Jerdon,, Catal. This also is a strongly marked species, deeply tinged with fulvous, with strongly contrasting broad blackish central streaks to the feathers of the upper-parts. Bill short, and tolerably strong; the tarse short, and hind-claw moderately curved. The tail has its outer feather dull isabella-white for the terminal two-thirds, obliquely separated as usual from the dark base ; the penultimate has the terminal third of the same hue; and both, with the antepenultimate, have their extreme tips pure white. Wing three inches and one-eighth ; tail two and three-quarters ; bill to gape eleven-sixteenths; tarse seven-eighths; and hind-claw (straight from base to tip) half an inch. Inhabits the grassy hills of the Neilgherries, where tolerably common. Mr. Jerdon has occasion- ally observed it to perch. 5. A. striolatus, nobis, x. s. Allied in appearance to the last, but distinguished by its longer bill and tarse, straighter hind-claw, and the much purer white of the outer tail-feathers, though these are a little creamy on their exterior webs only. The general cast of colour is also less brightly fulvous, and the dark central streaks are less deep and con- trasting ; presenting a general difference which is obvious to the eye, Sydney; and excepting that its toes and claws are still shorter, it agrees most closely with the single speeimen above deseribed, shot on the upper Hoogly. a Be? 456 Notices and Descriptions of various [May, though scarcely expressible in words : a more available distinction con- sists in the flanks being streakless, whereas in the preceding species they are conspicuously streaked throughout ; and the wing-edgings are also much more albescent. ‘Length of wing three inches and three- eighths ; of tail two and five-eighths ; bill to gape three-quarters ; tarse an inch; hind-claw half an inch. I obtained a single specimen of this bird from a collection made at Darjeeling ; and Mr. Jerdon has since procured several in the neighbourhood of Nellore, on the Coro- mandel coast.* 6. A. malayensis, Eyton: A. agilis apud Jerdon, Catal. ; A. pallescens apud Sundevall.+ Nearly allied to the last, but distinguished by its smaller size, by the less contrasted streakings of the back, and especially of the head, and by the fewer spots on the breast. In one specimen before me, from Assam, the pectoral spots are so few, that the bird might be mistak- en for A. rufulus. Length of wing commonly three inches and one-eighth, sometimes less; of tail two anda quarter; bill to gape eleven six- teenths of an inch; tarse aninch; long hind-claw commonly half an inch. To facilitate comparison, I have given the admeasurement of bill to gape from dry specimens, in which it is less than im the fresh bird. The young have dark upper-parts, each dorsal feather being narrowly margined round with whitish ; coverts and tertiaries the same ; and the breast has many more spots than in the adult. In this dress, the species presents more the appearance of a young Lark, than I have seen in any other Pipit. It is one of the commonest birds of Lower Bengal during the cold season, in all open places; and a few remain throughout the year: habits, much as in 4. pratensis; and song very insignificant, a mere repetition of one note, as often mounting some forty or fifty feet into the air, it descends sailing to the ground in the usual manner of the birds of this genus. It also appears to be very generally diffused throughout India, as well as in the countries eastward of the * In Mr. Gray’s catalogue of Mr. Hodgson’s specimens presented to the British Museum, A. striolatus, Bl., is set down as a synonyme of A. rufescens; but it does not appear upon what authority, and the species assuredly does not accord with the descrip- tions of A. rufescens. A. pelopus, H., as described in Mr. Gray’s appendix to that catalogue, would seem to differ only in its shorter tarse. + Add Cichlops whiquitarius, Hodgson, Gray, Zool. Misc. ; and a wearisome list of other synonymes from the same source are corrected in Mr. Gray’s catalogue cited in the preceding note, which I cannot but think it much to be regretted were ever published. 1847. | New or Tittle Known Species of Birds. 437 Bay of Bengal, down to the Straits of Malacca; and (as Mr. Eyton remarks) it is probably the Sumatran dlauda pratensis apud Raiiles. 7. A. agilis, Sykes. Until recently, Mr. Jerdon and myself have referred the preceding species to this one; but Mr. Strickland (to whom Mr. Jerdon sent specimens of the former) pronounces them to be dis- tinct, and I am unacquainted with the true agzlis of the Deccan. 8. A. rufulus, Vieillot. Nearly allied to 4. malayensis, but distin- guished by its larger size, much shorter hind-claw, and by the absence, frequently, of any spots on the breast, which, when they occur, are few in number, small and inconspicuous: the dark centres of the dorsal feathers are also obscure, or even obsolete ; but a narrow dark central streak to each feather is more or less developed on the crown. Length six inches and three-quarters, by ten and three-quarters ; closed wing three inches and a half; tail two and a half: hind-claw seldom exceeding three-eighths of an inch. From the bare stony plains of the ~ central table-land of the peninsula of India; and I recently obtained a few on similar ground near Midnapore. 9.