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OF THE
ASTATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
EDITED BY
THE SECRETARIES.
VOL. XVII.
Part I.—JANvuARY TO JUNE, 1848.
“ It will flourish, if naturalists, chemists, antiquaries, philologers, and men of science,
in different parts of Asia will commit their observations to writing, and send them to the
Asiatic Society at Caleutta. It will languish if such communications shall be long inter-
mitted ; and it will die away if they shattenti se.’—Sir Wm. Jones.
4 Va eS
ae gh § is \
PRINTED BY J. THOMAS, BAPTIST MISSION PRESS.
1848.
re
it a
Tie
INDEX TO VOL. XVII.
PART I.
Antiquities of Sarguja and its neighbourhood, On the. By Lieut.-Col.
PEON SOUT a cin cecil iwicle w\o ainie aia(lalaitaliola wid ald w'el-c,6 pis eG # oie ei'sePare
Aborigines of the Sub- himalayas, Addenda et Corrigenda of the paper
on the, in the December No. of the Journal. By B. H. Hodgson,
ST aoa oo) so) 156 a} 6 6i'm shen dicaww.o'e sadesajorsia whe wisiniay aie ees e525", *
ea nites at Kalinjar, Description ‘of the, By Lieut. F. Maisey,
67th N. I. Communicated by order of the Hon. the Lieut.-Go-
vernor, N. W. P...... BR ot hae Oe APT, ae eee & WES, ha) ol bitataile!oMetal axe
MPU GO CULLO.c) afta, oie winliave soi s-clnisharp h siaveve «in isiapiawie.e np i0lb.e sa) aim
Ancient Temples and other remains in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper
Assam, Notes on. By Major S. F. Hannay. Communicated by W.
Seton Karr, Esq. Under-Secretary to the Government of Bengal,. .
Arabic work entitled “ Rasayil Ikhwan al-cafa,’”? Notices of. By Dr.
A. Sprenger. Communicated by H. M. Elliott, Esq: ‘V..P..
Ball Coal of the Burdwan Mines, Examination and Analysis ‘of the.
By Henry Piddington, Curator Museum Economic Geology,......
Barometers, method of hime the neutral point of. By Capt. J.
A AERE INES EONS «oh cc's ale as. wmiaieliete ole) tim, oad aCeial o's aintial afar’ oie) ei ame
Boundary between the territories of Maharajah Gulab Singh “and
British India, as determined by the Commissioners, P. A. Vans
Agnew, Esq. and Capt. A. Cunningham, of Engineers; Memoran-
dum on the, by Capt. A. Cunningham, .....+......205005 eee
Chain bridge, quantity of iron in. By the Rev. J. H. Pratt... ......
Coal Beds in the Namsang Nago Hills, Correspondence regarding
the. Communicated by Capt. T. E. Rogers, Superintendent of
MC Sel 13h cic), ee aINNE ANGRY Us Lcd tiatbboarinie arlene eee
oe in the possession of the Nizam, On the. By H. Piddington,
SRE tea ws abot clot pi renmrar Clete tea iahalarst Mat ale ith atktels Vi fulbjoinre selva
may vate. of Evaporation in. Calcutta,....... 00.00 neagenieeies voee
Extract of a letter from Capt. J. D. Cunningham, Political Agent,
meee MPR 8). 1g) saab NS LN MMM UMP GS IR ale aids 9 aides 0% ol eee
Extract of a letter from Professor Henry, to Dr. O’Shaughnessy,....
Extract of a letter from Col. J. Low, Penang,...... ee Mareen ae
Extract of a letter from Capt. Kittoe,...... ats: faite. hated SCAU staat!»
metract of a letter from.the.same, ..........ccccccevcscees She Ride iat
Ethnography and Geography of the Sub- “Himalayas, Wislmehalbsdlausiaita sc
Grammar of the Vedas, The most ancient, : BAe nee
Berelinalavas, what tO \GbGerve ID, es... se «dic cc vv bie cu.ve a0 ene evens
Page
Iv Index.
Page
Hot Wind in the Zillah of Purneah, A notice of a remarkable. Com-
municated by H. Piddington, Esq.......... ve ecaia ats sie la dabetmmecvokee 144
Hindi.and UrdG-Hindi Tazkiras, 2.2000... 4... ane ee a. Oe
Inscription: at Simgaporey, <5 0... ss sukegl om cue s\n sie eee eee sisi) 4. LOD
Inscription from Behar, note on. By J. W. Laidlay, Esq. . cw arateusecaees 498
TInundation of the Indus, taken from the lips of an eye witness, AD.
Os aia: eine ool en. 6 we ane Crete ale RRMeRe tat nce» aia very Po el 230
Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa, with appended Routes from
Darjeeling to Phari. By A. Campbell, Esq. M.D. Superintendent of
Darjeehinigr, «5. 5.5:<c2 ab niin iets ce sie ua atni sel Siete a Gia fore se hk 257
Itinerary of Hwan Thsang through Ariana and India, with reference to
Major Anderson’s hypothesis of its modern compilation, Verification
of the. By Capt. Alex. Cunningham, Bengal Engineers,.-........ 476
Journal of atrip through Kulu and Lahul, to the Chu Mureri Lake,
in Ladak, durmg the months of August and September 1846. By
Capt.. ieeodier Cunnitgham, of Engmeers,+....:.525<9 aes 201
Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab, A Report of the. By Lieut. Wil-
liam ‘Hawtayne Parish, Bengal Artillery, ..... . 0... ..ss-'s seeieres 281
Land Shells of the Tenasserim Provinces, The. By Rev. F. Mason, A.
M., Corresponding Member of the Boston Society of Natural His-
tory, Meta Mey Metal criereh dese "eiesete ts felts eieia eens tiered Cae ran) em 62
Library at deeealseenes paki SO) Go Ae SUAS cick wisle sie cuatet cee cose 158
Tanganr at HO] pUrs Sb estes clits eile Ae. 00h. ale cetemtiiels eee ee 155
Liquidamber tree of the Tenasserim Provinces, The. By the Rey. F.
IVE AS OWA Ss soc wher eice terse teie rw Wie. arcdersisio'e a <eisoueis 610 © satus are i 532
Matchlock of Koteli, On the miemutacture of ‘the. By Captain James
Abbott: 72 a ated bh Sh Ee 2i7
Natural Productions of the Angami Hills and other parts of Upper As-
sam, Extract from a Memoir of some of the. By J. W. Masters, Esq. 57
Oology of India:—a Description of the Eggs, also Nests, of several
Birds of the plains of India, collected chiefly durmg 1845-46. By
Capt.- S.- Re Trekell} Cwalfemploy, 95. ho.) ci) nee 207.
Probable results of a Scientific research after Metalliferous deposits in
the Sub-Himalayan range around Darjeelmg, A few observations on
the. By R. H. Irvine, Esq. MAE: Se PRS & oe ee 137
Proposed ‘Archeological lnvesti@ation,#; 2.0. siisiiwe Math waht 535
Proceedings of the Asiatic Society for January, 1848, ...... Sibhthe cts 79
——— for. February, i). Sih. ee ae aenlb9
$$ ____-___—— for March,.. 2... Pe ee he 237
a fOr: April, Ps .xsccats feiw Se aval aes 325
for: Mays. « sis. deks 2p hee 451
FOV DUE, | 6l-c.s Vasdisse Ls cco 551
Rain, a tabular view of the fall of, and of other Meteorological Pheno-
mena in Calcutta from 1829 to 1847. By Capt. H. E. Lb. Thuillier,
Dep. Sur, Geiteral,. ce'sctok wees tras nave oveisrardeteporataler) (Glelala\ie Shae ata eee 349
Rain at Patna, On the Fall of. By C. E. Ravenshaw, Esq. C.S..... 150
Ruins at Putharee, On the. By Capt. J. D. Cunningham, Political
Agent, Bhopalysi.4:14.72. Ghent elnl alalastet.k, Yetasataecetes (bthheae | ndeaannnea 305
Reports upon His Majesty the King of Oude’s Observatory at Luck-
now. Communicated by H. M. Elhott, Esq. Sec. to the Govern-
maent of Tanda (0%. 52. sc ghore td xi ny cto) Wve) eelsl Ma, SERA Rec ern 507
Sanskrit Inscription from Behar, with a translation by Dr. Ballantyne
and remarks ‘by Capt. M. Kittoe, Be ane MN 492
Short Survey of the countries between Bengal and China, showing the
Index.
great commercial and political importance of the Burmese town of
Bhanmo, on the Upper Ivawady, and the practicability of a direct
trade overland between Calcutta and China. By Baron Otto des
IES 5 ina: ian (os clo abe Sab doie paler isi nin sa 'n 0! op a psc Seema RANE aCe /al dial g
Storms, Fifteenth memoir on the Law of. By H. Piddington, Esq. ..
Pexneentl) ditto, by dittol sd sie? edo ara haere ert atchcieter
Tibetan Frontier, Correspondence regarding, ........-....0c0008
Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, The. By Major Madden,
UPA EMCEE Worse, . ofc] shal s) si hg Wile do wi ale Viera Wie Mallett eles dates
Tomb of an Ahom Noble, Description of the, in a letter to Major S.
F. Hannay; by Serjeant C. Clayton, Depart. Public Works. Com-
municated by W. Seton Karr, Iisq. Under-Secretary to the Govern-
ReaD iinet PR Ys SP laiaPe te sial'g a fGealh: tia), Slap ela elite ladle Sdla/l0 e's eebrateapiver oore
Vijaya Mandir, Udayapur, &c. Inscriptions from the,............
INDEX TO NAMES OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Abbott, Capt. James. On the manufacture of the Matchlock of
NEN ere go's cinsin hed abet n oti anor olay eae. Oe stab wld eller
Butterworth, Hon. Col., Extract of a letter from, on the Singapore
MSRM Vere Hee) at A Sh lassie lap edle gute ork fale fatal aiapenaiwrnara'e yore Dore
Cheap, G. Esq. On Geological specimens from Egypt, ............
Cunningham, Capt. J. D. Inscription from the Vijaya Mandir, Uda-
EH Mgt eRe tele Liat ota eke gels ge ala) le Sig's bsovi ao dg a'are at me felis ete
ee , On the Ruins of Putharee,.......... GER crevice
MOnsthe: Pama at hoy pry i276 «:0.0.tareie eoleias o's
Cunningham, Capt. A. Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, to
Meee ian Murerw ake In Ladak, >. 3 6c discs, «cn acsn, eee oo oa cyan dieieloles
,» Memorandum detailing the boundary between
the territories of Maharajah Gulab Singh and British India, &e.....
—___—_—_———,, Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang
pemmeneeee Whe A rtenrtca aa Ta BEC., 5 ave ay ctciefa eee ols) slogelesiale) sola we enw W's
, Proposed Archeological Investigation,........
Campbell, A. Esq. M. D. Itimerary from Phari m Thibet, to Lassa,
with appended Routes from Darjeeling to Phari,............004.
Clayton, Serjeant-C. Description of the Tomb of an Ahom Noble, ..
Elliot, H. M. Esg. Correspondence of the Commissioners deputed to
TE oer ar 30, o's, eee eee oes; TRS, ow Sac aoe, Reba eying,
_ » On Col. Wilford’s Ancient Geography of India,. .
Reports upon His Majesty the King of Onde’s
ONY Ot MNGICG Wy oooh ols 0.5 s/eik aiden. qpale cw din aie ye ohereie tees
Granges, Baron Otto des. Short Survey of the Votsnines between Ben-
RR NRMA EO NA SR age Lub aw es ciel ie ise SW Gi in sid ale. & se a De
Hannay, Major S. F. Notes on ancient temples ae other remains in
the vicinity of Suddyah, UpperAssam, shy Ge AE: eS ea
Hannyngton, Capt. J. C. Note on the method of determining the
Neutral Point of Barometers having small circular cisterns, ......
Hall, F. Edward. Hindi and Urdti Hindi IPOMEIRAS. "Loewe Mise kt
seenry, Professor; Extract of a letterfrom, .. 2.0.0... .0s Wien cons
Hodgson, B. H. Esq. Addenda et corrigenda of the paper on Abori-
gmes of the Sub-Himalayas, in the December No. of the Jour-
(|e ae STR Boe atelite. a alas Ualil oP ease WS tes wig os 4 tn ve
473
68
vi Index.
Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas,........ ae
Irvine, R. H. Esq. M. D. A few observations on the probable results
of a scientifie research after Metalliferous deposits in the Sub-Hima-
layan range around Darjeeling,..........+seesees see eee ay
Kittoe, Capt. M. Extract of a letter from,.....-.. 00sec eees vee es
——_—_— , Sanscrit Inscription from Behar, ee o leg hek: Gages
—__— ” Extract ofa letter fram... 0% is Tle ecb RA &
Low, Col. J. Extract of a letter froitassie 7 sete. de Ya ps Patit
Laidlay, J. W. Note on a Sanscrit Inscription from Behar, ........
, Daily evaporation in Calcutta, Cali: Gielae) eaie A ee
—_———., Note or. Indo-scythic coins, ...... n ces
Mason, Rev. F. The Land Shells of the Tenasser:m pee y ees
, The Liquidamber tree of the Tenasserim Provinces, ..
Masters, J. M. Extract from a Memoir of some of the Natural Pro-
ductions of the:Angami Naga Hills,8re: |. 005 2.01%. 2 2's ee einer
Maisey, Lieut. F. Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar, . . :
Madden, Major. The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon,....
Ousely, Lieut.-Col. J. R. On the Antiquities of Sarguja and its neigh-
OPEE HOGS ss Shah aie ee ioe ar gs De ww a Se Fe ee ee
Pratt, Rev. J. H. Memoir upon the quantity of Iron necessary in a Ten-
ston Chain. Brdee,. «0 sane ices ve cqmeivine as sve SiclWqies Oh sistem me
Piddington, Henry, Esq. Fifteenth Memoir on the ee of Suaanend nap
—_———_—___——_ , Examination and Analysis of the Ball Coal of
the Burdwan’ Mines...) J O27 .o0 Vs ORS NG ee
of Parnes, vies eb les oe Salkaia dies oe Une tio ads ee
, On the great Diamond im the possession of the Nizam,,..
—--—— , Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms, ....
Parish, Lieut. William Hawtayne. Report of the Kohistan of the Jul-
lunder Dog ones: a's of: io otgphaleana vce wer w afd estilo le Chee ce
Rogers, Capt. T. E. Correspondence regarding the Coal Beds in the
Namsang Naeo Hills;.. ee Rint ised at os Biorera ite: wiatladla's otyds Semen
Sutherland, Col., Extract of a letter from, on the Library at Jessulmere,
Sprenger, A., M. D. Notices of some copies of the Arabic work enti-
tled “ Raséyil Ikhwan sentence oi ia O duel eee
Tickell, Capt. R. On the Oology of India :—a description of the
Eggs, also Gam of several birds of the plains of India, &c.......
Thuillier, Capt. H. KE. L. A Tabular view of the fall of rain and other
ee kable Meteorological Phenomena in Calcutta from 1829 to
2 CS EAA nn AO RIC oe olden
ones » Meteorological Summary for 1847, . oa. beceee
a
Page 80, line 30, for ‘stories’ read “stones.”
DESO F Pike hs.
PART I.
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@reeeeee ce Gee eee seee ees Fee eHeese dee ©8088
-eesceeeveeveees ee ee ee ee eve ve ve
Errata.
490, — 13, for “232” read “23.”
492, — 3, for Gata read Hale.
— — — for TICTAT read TACT.
— — li, fortgqa read tqa.
493, — 9, for Sat read sai.
— — 13, for qe read qe.
— — 14 for gata read qetu.
0 ¥ Gi soe aig < +
ede em a) TS ae
MRR ee a ice
a p- Z 4
} LB ‘ i A
< —e wele Oe © Pe) ee ee a oe ee ee
A oN Torte ke
meee 68 #8 © we A ee eo ee ie eee ae ee
i
7 Cn ee
ew oo ee .
a ee ye ae ee
ANNUAL REPORT.
PLEAD wns
_ Tux Council of the Asiatic Society having reviewed the proceedings
of the year just terminated, are happy in being enabled to congratulate
the members on a marked improvement in their affairs. |
At the close of 1846, the number of subscribing members was, .. 136
@uere fave been elected in 1847, ..... 0.0.6.0... 000 eeceteee 48
Rejoined the Society on return from Europe.................. 5
189
Of which number, deceased during 1847................ 8
MEME erei nen De Wilh. slaeee Suwiwlary.laaaed aeceayste-atesary )>.) 8
Proceeded to Europe,.......... A either yee ted ot 12
—— 23
166
Showing an increase above all casualties of 30 Subscribing Mem-
bers during 1847.
BEMaTY WCTIDEYS ATE. Sot F eh Seek dee ve eae 0 48
REMC OMICTIOETS, Oc 4.5), c acne be dceccbccueeeccuses Lt
| Total, 219
FINANCES,
In conformity with the resolution passed in October 1846, the officers |
of the Society then elected, proceeded on their receiving charge on the
16th of November 1846, to liquidate the old debts of the Society from
the proceeds of the sale of Company’s paper, and the Cash balance in
the Bank of Bengal. Their next care was to publish the whole of the
accounts for the previous years, as received from the then Accountant,
_ Mr. Bolst, and which accounts had not been previously printed. Mr. Mul-
ler having been appointed on the 16th Nov. to succeed Mr. Bolst as Ac-
eountant under the directions of the Senior Secretary, the accounts now
submitted commence accordingly from that date, 16th November 1846,
balanced to the end of 1846; and a separate account is rendered for all
i Report.
1847. The Secretaries and Accountant request permission to place on
record that their strict responsibility for the application of all funds
according to the instructions of Government and the resolutions of the
Society, commences with the Ist January, 1847, as during the preced-
ing six weeks the income of the Society from all sources, was under pre-
engagements, over which they had no control..
The Council now submit—
1. Statement showing the amount of Government paper and the Cash
balance received to the credit of the Society from Mr. Bolst, on the
16th November 1846.
2. An abstract statement of the old debts of the Society paid from
the sale of the Company’s paper and cash balance thus received.
3. Abstract statement of accounts from 16th Nov. to 31st Dec. 1846.
4. Abstract statement of accounts from 1st January to 31st Dec. 1847.
5. Detailed statement of account of the Oriental Publication grant of
500 Rs. per mensem, in account current with the Asiatic Society, from
the lst Jan. to 31st December 1847.
Statement showing the amount of Co.’s Papers and Cash received from
Mr. Bolst, and how disposed of in liquidation of old debts.
Receipts. Co.'s Rs, As, P.
Co.’s Papin ge ee a'300 5 sold for iba e, BAST AS/11
Gah). ec RAIA ds. 5 Rn 1,309 12 9
Ditto acct. Journal, ...... o'sva-u; woe eratatetares, a tals sinia aleena 482 0 4
ko a a aaa
Co.’s Rs... 14,929 11 0
eg ea enn
DiIsBURSEMENTS FOR OLD DEBTS.
Riv, pata © Portrait, «os. scesesceaeeeters ie ee gente 3 ay See dsneveee § eoe "Goo
Bishop’s College, arrears for printing Journal, &c. from January 1843 to
May 1846, ...... eT re ay AwdbetainicetA ave biech Susu ogee coe 7,441 15.00
Baptist Mission Press arrears for printing Journal down to July 1846, .. 418 0 0
Messrs. Currie and Co. for Almirah, &c......+. eee oust Peta, p aslins Date 425 14 0
Messrs. Ostell and Lepage for Books, ....eeee-- . aa die eta 122 4 0
Mr. Blyth’s arrears of Salary from Ist May 1844, to y Ota: 1846, at
100 Rs, per month, ..... é ER bie Giluey tebe eee srote Stisinitis aise pw aoewitle 3,200 0 0
Ditto House Rent from January to November 1846 at 40, ...0..ee.e+8 440 0 O
Mr. Piddington’s arrears of Salary, eees.ssees plating ace otiryieieis eas iadd 200 0 O
Sundry arrears, ..... sO Ne Wh pn dis meele via 6 és ¥iald ute Vatemtalniee te oie wie @nreeree 1,318 1 3
eee
Co.’s Rs... 14,929 11 O
Report. lil
The Accounts herewith published show the total re-
ceipts from all sources during the year 1847, to
Sn Raker), vii. sa ee neil | 9) BAZ SdadS 36
Of which Government allowances,............++.. 13,664 0 0
Subscription from Members, ............-++20+-- 9,569 13 -6
Journal and sale of Publications, ...... 06.08.08 Ey2o00' 0
SEM. RNAi bale & 8 odeaetol a Wie 4j7ela 3
25,009 11 9
Co.’s Paper received from Mr. Bolst, and sold during
this year to pay Mr. Blyth’s arrears of salary, .... 3,722 3 9
Co.’s Rupees, 28,731 15 6
Pememee oi S46;) 2. .c. 0. ce. ok oe) 23270.. .00 6
nee trom. Journal,’ <. .4..-< 6. veo 432 0. 4
2,/92 010 31,484 0 4
The expenditure has been—On account
of Oriental Fund—Invested in Co.’s
Rem et on a ao lala
sundry expenditure, 2... °° 2,332, 11. 11
—— 6,329 14 0
Geological and i a Gepartmnenttys «.% Livus!.\siwisnaie 3,805. 3 3
MPRA DICHATEDICUL,, 2. cial ae wie oe ixs 0 0 vi ia eye, se 9,363 14 9
Journal, including 7 Now, of Poet Meats. hie stye: 4,800 9 4
ee 5s kPa Soule, ay Gis ialy ie SOG 4
emmrerey S OMICE 6. oe ce ee eee Be ia oars Rcd 1,255.90
Pee esenes ILAWINGS, )64.0 Seb eles Les Be ae 1,004, Lax '0
SMMC GMETIOOUSS ccs of. c .e ce ale Ge 2's y let's Ub unetie atih ANS ab Asis 905 10 5
30,479 4 1
The accounts further show that the Government Contributions have
been carefully applied during the year to the purposes for which the
Funds were granted.
Thus—for the Oriental Fund, the receipts have been, 6,031 14 0
merarecnionts, io. a ey Sao2 11 1
Funded to Oriental Bee Oey ts SS Yas
6,029 14° 0
iv
Dr.
Report.
Zoological Museum.
nee tt LA A tO A EEE
To Amount of Mr. Blyth’s Sa-
lary as Curator for 12 months
at 250 Rs. per month,.....
»» Ditto house rent for ditto
at 40 Ks. per month, ....
», Ditto in full of the arrears
of his Salary from Ist May
1844 to October 1846, at
100 Rs. per month,....
», Ditto Establishment _ of
Taxidermists, Artists, Car-
penters, &c. for 12 months
», Ditto of Contingencies for
ditto, See ee ee ee ee Oe
» Ditto paid by Mr. A.
Campbell to Mr. Holquett
for proceeding to Dargee-
ling in November 1842,..
», Ditto of a Glass case for
depositing Shells,
-*3,200
c
1,750
793
ie)
770. 0 %G
10. 78
Co.’s Rs. es
Dr.
9,363 14. 9
By Amount of
allowance au-
thorized by the
Court of Diree-
tors for the
Services of a
Curator for 12
months at 250
Rs. per month,
5, Ditto for pre-
paration of
specimens at
50 per Do..
,», Amount of
BUCS S. save
,, Ditto of emp-
ty bottles
SOM ere sini
3,000 0 0
Co.’s Ra,
To Amount of Mr. Pidding-
ton’s Salary as Joint-Cura-
tor for 12 months at 250 Rs.
per month, ..csee.sescvee
,, Ditto of Establishment for
ditto at 31 Rs. per month,
** Ditto of Contingencies for
ditto, er @eeeeeesse eC apeeet®
»» waite for 4
., Glass Cases
granted by
Government
for the use of
theMuseum, 296 0 0
», Less paid on
the 24th No-
vember 1846, 80 0 0O
——-
Sundries, ...
Total Co.’s Rs...
Cr.
3,609 8 3
Museum Economic Geology. Cr.
By Amount of allowance
granted by Government for
the services of a Joint-Cura-
3,000 O O| tor for 12 months at 250 Rs.
per month, .....cceeesess 3,000 0 0
372 0 O| ,, Ditto for Establishment and
contingencies for ditto at
149 13 O 64 Rs. per ditto, ....+-.- 768 0 0
», Ditto for four Glass Cases, 296 0 0
216 0 0
67 11 3
3,805 8 3 Co.’s Rs... 4,064 0 O
* These two items constitute extraordinary expenses defrayed from the Society’s assets,
and show the regular year’s outlay in this department to have been Rs. 6,093 14 9.
Report. Vv
Tnabilities and Dependencies.
The Journal has been paid for up to the end of the
2nd Quarter of 1847, and there remain due for the
3rd and 4th quarters, including the December No.,
eM S Ce 2055 Fei ha. 25 gaia) wiesdinus dha Sika Rs. 2.000: 0. O
To meet this the Society has in reserve the whole of
the collections still to be made for the last quarter
of 1847, and the average amount of which will be,
Peters exeepred, .... 2... « pee 2,300 0 0
Subscriptions to the ioFial up th ine 1847. . ; 1,700 0 0
Total, 4,000 0 O
Excluding these two items the result of the year has been, that defray-
ing all expenses and incurring no fresh debts or liability, and strictly
applying all grants from Government to the precise purposes for which
these were conceded, there is a cash Balance in the Society’s favour of
Rs. 504 12 3 on the total income and expenditure of the year—there is
also a surplus and certain dependency above liabilities, accruing from
Subscriptions and Journal, of at least 2000 Rs. fairly available for next
year, in addition to ordinary income and to the collections of arrears of
subscriptions, now Rs. 5000, not including the last quarter’s subscrip-
tions, of which arrears one half may be fairly expected to be realized in
all 1848.
Stringent resolutions having been passed at the October meeting for
the removal from the list of Members of all those who are in arrears
of more than 15 months’ subscriptions, 3 months’ notice having been
given, the Council advise that this resolution be carefully attended to
and enforced. They further recommend that the old practice of the
Society to absolve members of 20 years’ standing from any further
payment, be recognised as a formal rule.
Propositions having been received from two members of the Society
for the reduction of the rates of subscriptions, the Council have carefully
considered the proposal, and in consultation with their Accountant have
vl Report.
unanimously agreed that no reduction is practicable, consistent with the
efficiency and safety of the Society. Two members have also complained
that, residing in the Mofussil, they derive no advantage from the Society
beyond the receipt of the Journal. On this the Council observe, that
it is manifestly the duty, as well.as the interest of the Society, to faci
litate in every practicable manner, the researches of its members, by
providing standard works of reference in the Library—by permitting
such works as extensive circulation as is consistent with their safety—
by the formation of standard collections of specimens for comparison in
the several Museums—and above all by the maintenance of a Periodical
Journal, in which the researches of members may find immediate and
extensive publicity. The Council are willing to consider favorably any
proposition that may be made for remedying the inconvenience com-
plained of, and for rendering, under due precautions for the safety of
the Books and other articles, the Library and collections of the Society
more available to members resident in the Mofussil. The Council
however, are not at present prepared to suggest any specific measure on
this subject, and conceive that any measure of the kind that may be
proposed will require to be very carefully considered.
PUBLICATIONS.
Under the head of Publications the Journal claims the most conspi-
cuous notice.
On the change of officers in November 1846, the Journal was 7
months inarrear. All these numbers have been published and paid
for, and this year’s series completed by the issue on the 7th of January
1848, of the number for the previous month. The 12 Nos. for the
year form a Volume of 1277 pages, with index, illustrated by numer-
ous plates, and containing a mass of original papers, embracing a wide
range of subjects of interest and value to the Philologist and Antiqua-
rian, as well as to the cultivators of natural and physical science.
The Council cannot permit this occasion to pass by without recording
their grateful sense of the important services rendered in this depart-
ment during the past year by their Co-Secretary, Mr. Laidlay, under
whose management the Journal has been almost exclusively edited.
Report. Vil
The zeal, ability and indefatigable industry with which Mr. Laidlay has
discharged this laborious duty, entitle him to the marked thanks of the
Society.
For the information of contributors to the Journal,it is desirable
to add, that 333 copies are regularly circulated, of which, 169 to Mem-
bers, 53 to subscribers not Members, 40 to the Hon. the Court of
Directors, 60 to Europe generally, and 11 to learned Societies and indi-
viduals.
By a vote of the November meeting, Honorary Members residing in
Enrope, are entitled to receive the Journal gratis, on application to the
Agents in London, Messrs. Allen and Co., to whom 40 copies are re-
gularly forwarded by each monthly steamer from Calcutta.
With reference to the very large stock of the ‘‘ Researches” in store
in the Library, or in charge of the home agents, the Council propose
that all members who have paid up one year’s subscription, and all Ho-
norary members, be held entitled to a copy of each volume of the “ Re-
searches’ available above five sets retained for the Library.
Oriental Publications.
The Society are aware of the active measures taken during the past
year to fulfil the desire long since expressed by the Hon’ble the Court
of Directors, for the publication in India of a complete Edition of the
Vedas, with a Translation and Commentary. Having confided this im-
portant task to their accomplished Co-Secretary, Dr. Roer, the Council
heard with regret in November, that their views and Dr. Roer’s la-
bours had been directed in vain, and that such progress had already
been made in England under the patronage and at the expense of the
Honorable Court in the Edition of the same Veda on which Dr. Roer
was employed, that it became necessary to discontinue the Calcutta
Edition.
As the Yajur Veda and Sama Veda are also in course of publication
in Berlin and St. Petersburgh, the Council earnestly invite the atten-
tion of the Society to an able minute by Mr. Laidlay, regarding the
works which should be now undertaken, and the manner in which
these should be published. Mr. Laidlay proposes the monthly issue of
a companion number of the Journal, containing Serial portions of
Editions of such standard Oriental works as may be thought most
vill Report.
desirable to issue. He suggests the employment of an Editor, and
native assistant, on salaries together not exceeding 150 Rs. per mensem,
the control of the work to be vested in the Oriental Section.
Fully concurring in Mr. Laidlay’s views, the Council advise their
adoption, and recommend the appointment of Dr. Roer as Editor, under
the superintendence of the Oriental Section. The Council are of opini-
on that in justice to Dr. Roer, a certain portion of his Edition of the
Vedas should form the Ist and 2d Fasciculus of the proposed work.
They are convinced that this publication will afford satisfactory proof of
Dr. Roer’s high qualifications for the difficult and laborious duties he
has undertaken to perform. They also suggest the reinforcement of
the Oriental Section by the appointment of Mr. H. M. Elliot and
Mr. W. Seton Karr, who have recently arrived at the Presidency, and
whose attainments in Oriental literature are so well known to the
members of the Society.
Considering the importance of obtaining the co-operation and advice
of eminent Oriental Scholars in India and in England, in order success-
fully to carry out the purposes for which the Government grant was
bestowed, the Council recommend that the following names of dis-
tinguished non-resident. Orientalists be added to the Section, and
that these gentlemen be requested to lend as occasion may offer, their
earnest and effective assistance to the resident Committee as an addi-
tional assurance to the Hon’ble Court of the Society’s anxiety, as well
as ability, to accomplish the objects of this grant.
Professor Horace Hayman Wilson—Mr, Hodgson, Dr. Sprenger,
Mr. Walter Elliott, and Dr. Bird.
Mr. Bushby at the same time desirés to be relieved from the duties
of this Section.
LIBRARY.
The Library has been augmented during the year to the extent of 257
volumes, a new catalogue has been prepared by the Librarian and ap-
proved of by the Council, and should be printed-without further delay.
The number of Books borrowed by subscribers during the year has been
1150 volumes. The Council have every reason to be satisfied with the
manner in which the Librarian has discharged his duties. He has been
punctual in attendance, and has in all other respects acquitted himself
in a very creditable manner, It deserves special notice that by his zeal
Report. 1X
and exertions the sale of the Oriental Publications has been remarka-
bly increased (from Rs. 777 7 3 in 1846, to Rs. 1706 12,) in the year
now terminated.*
The Council regret to state that the Naturalists of the Society com-
plain justly of the very scanty supply of standard books in their De-
partment of the Library. Admitting and lamenting the deficiency, the
Council are unable to advise any immediate measure for the supply of
the requisite works, which are so costly that their purchase would cause
an expenditure of from 10,000 to 15,000 Rupees. An efficient Library
Committee would probably be enabled to do much within a reasonable
time towards obviating the defect complained of, by a judicious use of the
profits accruing from the sale of the Society’s publications, and by a sys-
tem of exchanges with other learned Institutions. The appointment of a
Library Committee seems the first step which should be taken, and the
Council accordingly propose that Dr. Walker, Dr. Roer, Mr. Wilby,
Mr. J. W. Grant, Mr. Elliot and Mr. Welby Jackson, be requested
together with the Secretaries, to act as this Committee, and examine into
and report on the best means of supplying the most important works
of reference required in the different departments of the Society’s la-
bours—and to report upon the practicability or otherwise of extending
the circulation of works of reference to the Mofussil members.
THe GENERAL Museum
Of Antiquities and Curiosities has been enriched by numerous and
valuable donations. An ample and interesting catalogue has been pre-
pared by the Librarian, approved of by the Council, and will, with the
Catalogue of the Library, be printed immediately.
The number of visitors to the General Museum has been very large
during the past year, over 16,000 persons having been admitted. It is
satisfactory to add that although the humblest classes have been
allowed free access, no theft or injury to any article has taken place,
* Statement of the amounts received by the Sale of Oriental Publications.
Bw 1042 Wii lade re AG hs eae Ok PMOIIO 9,19 - weeRs. 829 8 0
Ce ee OP: Sea Disguise, dclaeeassernt ly 457.6 <6 «<1 GOBr 18510
a pee: ve Ban alee: Be ein vin smal dddcp Ad cdot
a ee ace seco scauiTbaetare fend cbe igh uve eee IG 10
MUR acy cseucnekese >. rae vdiattts CHR beh twsle scuttepamees a2?) 1S
PPS LES, AUPE AG PP. SARIS WOE 2 “0
x Report.
a result, the Council consider, creditable to the vigilance and attention
of the resident sergeant, Mr. Halagan, whose services they consider of
proved value to the Society.
NaATuRAL History.
In the Department of Natural History numerous additions have been
made to the Society’s collections, most of which have been described
in the Reports of the Curator Mr. Blyth, whose regularity of attend-
ance and remarkable industry the Council consider deserving of favour-
able notice. It is however a subject of great regret to the Council, and
of complaint on the part of numerous members, that no Catalogue exists
of any part of the collections under Mr. Blyth’s care. The Executive
officers of the Society have at the instance of the Council repeatedly
urged this deficiency on Mr. Blyth’s attention, but as yet without result.
The Council now advise that the Curator be formally instructed to
prepare a descriptive Catalogue without further delay, and submit the
same by monthly portions through the Section of Natural History, to
the Council, and the Society at large. It is further recommended that
Lord Arthur Hay and Dr. Walker be elected members of the Section
of Natural History, and that the Section be invited to report monthly
on the progress made in the Catalogue, as well as on any other matters
of interest in their department.
An application has been received from Mr. Blyth since the Decem-
ber meeting, in which he seeks a recommendation in his behalf to the
Hon’ble the Court of Directors in support of his claim for increase of
pay, and for a retiring pension, after a certain period of additional
service.
Without entering on discussion as to. Mr. Blyth’s particular services,
the Council submit his request to the consideration of the Society at
large. It must be admitted, that for any scientific man capable of dis-
charging the duties on which Mr. Blyth is employed, and performing
these with activity and zeal for the advancement of science and the
improvement of the collections of a public Institution, the salary of
250 Rupees is a very inadequate compensation. But the Council can-
not but regard the present as an inauspicious period to address the
Hon’ble Court in furtherance of any pecuniary claim. The diversion
of the Oriental grant to so large an amount as has but lately been
Report. Xl
brought to notice, cannot be regarded with indifference by the Hon'ble
Court, nor can it have disposed them to entertain with much favour
any fresh demand on their munificence preferred by the Society. With
these remarks the Council submit Mr. Blyth’s application to the consi-
deration of the meeting, recommending that it be referred to the sec-
tion of Natural History for their report to the Council prior to the
next meeting, and that the Section be invited to inquire into and report '
on the state of the Museum of Zoology, the extent to which the So-
ciety are indebted to Mr. Blyth for his services m that department,
and to offer such suggestions as to its improvement and extension as
they may deem desirable.
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY.
The acquisitions of specimens and collections have been numerous
during the year—the reports of the Curator valuable. The Council are
happy to record their satisfaction with the arrangements and catalogue-
ing by the Curator, Mr. Piddington, of the part of the Museum under
his control.
In reviewing the subject of the Collections, Museums and Library,
the Council wish to take prominent notice of the very insufficient space
for arrangement, display or even preservation, of their property, afforded
by the present premises. In every department collections of great
value are so heaped together that their utility and even their interest
are almost nullified. ‘The Society generally are but little aware of the
riches they possess, and which more ample space would enable them to
display with equal advantage to the public and credit to themselves.
The Government have within the last month liberally conceded to
the Society the small piece of ground on the Chowringhee front, lately
occupied as a Police Thanna. With this ground available there exists
sufficient room for the erection of a Museum, in which the Sculptures,
Busts and Monuments, the fossils, Osteological and Mineralogical col-
lections, with the arms, standards, pictures and models, could be
displayed in a manner worthy of this Society, and even of national
importance, as evincing the encouragement afforded by Government
and the Society to the cultivation of every branch of science and litera-
ture connected with the history, the mainers, the arts and produc-
tions of India,
xi Report.
The difficulty which exists as to the execution of this plan is the
want of adequate funds, and this is increased by the present commercial
pressure and the circumstances which discourage any present applica-
tion to Government for pecuniary assistance. The Council are never-
theless of opinion that the object may be accomplished with success
and safety, by having the requisite buildings erected on mortgage of the
new premises, and which would entail a monthly charge of from 150 to
200 rupees amonth. This may partly be met at first from the proceeds
of sale of duplicate specimens of Natural History, and by the opening of
a subscription among the members, and by the surplus income of the So-
ciety, which may next year be fairly expected to reach 3000 Rs. Subse-
quently whenever vacancies arise, the Council consider it would be high-
ly advantageous that the Curators in the Zoological and Geological de-
partments should be also Professors and Lecturers in their several
branches, and that courses of lectures for elementary instruction be
delivered on Geology and Mineralogy and on Natural History, open to
the public and to regular pupils, on the payment of a moderate fee, the
proceeds to be applied to the rent charge, and to the remuneration of the
Professors in addition to their present scale of allowances. The Coun-
cil have reason to believe that such classes would command a numerous
attendance, and be very favourably regarded by the public. By this
addition to their sphere of exertion the Society would assimilate itself to
the Royal Institution of London and the Royal Society of Dublin—and
would soon establish such enhanced claims on the consideration of
Government as might justify a claim for considerable assistance towards
the liquidation of the mortgage debt.
Impressed with the importance of this subject, the Council propose
that the President, Mr. Bushby, Mr. J. Ward, Mr. Grey, and the
Secretaries, be appointed a special Committee to examine and report on
the practicability of carrying the proposed measures into effect. Mean-
while the Council should be authorized to enclose the piece of ground
granted by Government, and take the requisite steps for the repairs of
the present premises, now urgently required ; to provide the requisite
means for which the cash balance and surplus dependencies from 1847
should be reserved exclusively.
Report. Xu
GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS, Rutes, &c.
The Council have to report their opinion that the appointment of
Sections has been attended with much success, and recommend their
re-election for the ensuing year. Some discussion having arisen as to
the mode of election of the Secretaries to the Sections, the Council now
advise that each Section or Committee appoint its own Secretary, sub-
ject to confirmation by a general meeting—further that each Section be
authorized to appomt not more than four corresponding members,
not members of the Society, who may be residents in India, liable to
re-election, and having no voice or vote in the Society’s discussions or
affairs. The Council again consider it necessary to urge that the func-
tions of the Sections be limited to those already prescribed, and that
they can have no control over Funds, nor dispose of collections, nor
institute any official correspondence, except with the Society itself and
their own regular corresponding members. The President and Secre-
taries should moreover, in the opinion of the Council, be ex-officio
members of all Sections.
Rules.
To obviate as much as possible the occurrence of discussions which
may interrupt the scientific or literary proceedings of the Society, the
Council advise that no change of rules or institution of new rules shall
take place in future, except at the annual meeting, or at an extraordinary
meeting convened for the purpose, on the requisition of 12 members,
addressed to the President.
The rule prohibiting the publication of the ‘Proceedings’ till after
having been submitted to the following meeting, the Council recommend
to be abolished, as useless and inconvenient. The proceedings of the
meetings are but a ‘ Proces Verbal’ of the facts which have occurred—and
delaying their publication retards that of the Journal—deprives contri-
butors of what is so valuable to many, the immediate publication of the
date of presentation of their papers—and withholds from the public for
at least a month numerous miscellaneous notices of discoveries and literary
researches, which to the mass of readers and the public generally consti-
tute the most interesting portion of the contents of the Journal. As
however experience has shown that in reporting the proceedings oppor-
XIV Report.
tunity is afforded for the insertion of opinions or expressions to which
members may reasonably object, it is reeommended by the Council that
the report of proceedings be signed by the Secretary and countersigned
by the President of the evening, who thus become individually responsi-
ble for the restriction of the report to the mere business of each meet-
ing.
CoUNCIL.
The functions of the Council should, to obviate embarrassment, be
defined by rule, to be what in practice these have always been, that of a
managing body empowered to represent the Society on all urgent occa-
sions, and to have entire control over all honorary or paid officers of
the Society, subject to the approbation of a general meeting, and _re-
stricted from incurring any expenditure above Rs. 200, except by a vote
of the Society. It is recommended that their number be increased to
12, and that Dr. Walker, Mr. Seton Karr, Lord Arthur Hay and Dr.
James Dodd, be elected members for the ensuing year.
PRESIDENT.
The Council are unanimously of opinion with respect to this office,
that the original practice of the Society should be reverted to; that the
Governor General should be respectfully solicited to become the Patron
(not President) of the Society, and the Council be authorized to take
the necessary steps on Lord Dalhousie’s arrival, to submit the desire
of the Society to his Lordship’s consideration ; further that a President
be elected from their own body. The Council accordingly are happy
to announce that they have received a requisition from 27 resident
members* inviting Mr. J. W. Colvile, the Advocate General, to accept
* The undersigned, Vice-Presidents and Members of the Asiatic Society, being of opi-
nion that the old and established usage of the Society regarding the office of President
should be reverted to, on the occasion of the vacancy about to take place by the depar-
ture of Lord Hardinge, have the honor to propose for the consideration of the Council,
and recommendation to the Society at the next general meeting, that Mr. J. W. Colvile
be elected President of the Society.
Asiatic Society, 28th Dec, 1847.
D, Cavcurta. W. Grey.
J.P. Grant, J. W. Larpuay.
G. A. Busuey. DEBENDERNATH TAGore.
Report. XV
the office about to be vacant by Lord Hardinge’s departure.* The Coun-
cil unanimously recommend Mr. Colvile’s election, feeling persuaded that
it is not in some special acquirement, such as that of Oriental learning,
or in the profound knowledge of some department of natural or physi-
cal science, that the most requisite qualifications for their President
consist. General ability, love of literature and science, anxiety for
the interests and advancement of the Society, courtesy and encourage-
ment to its members and punctual attendance at its meetings, would in
the opinion of the Council, constitute qualifications very much more
conducive to their prosperity and effectiveness. The Council consider
the election of Mr. Colvile the best which could be made upon these
views, and they accordingly recommend that it take place at the next
general meeting after Lord Hardinge’s departure.
They further advise that as a mark of their high sense of the value
of Mr. Laidlay’s great exertions during the past year, that gentleman
be elected a Vice President of the Society, retaining his office of Co-
Secretary ; further that Mr. H. M. Elliot be elected a Vice President,
in succession to Colonel Forbes.
The Council lastly repeat their congratulations on the improvement
which has taken place in the circumstances and efficiency of the Society,
on the increase to its number of members, and the improvement of its
finances, exhibiting for the first time for several years, a balance on the
credit side, notwithstanding the exact application of each fund to its spe-
cial and authorized use. The Council also observe with much pleasure
ArtuuR Broome. W. Seron Karr.
Joun H. Prarr. H. L. THurtuier.
W. B. O'SHAUGHNESSY. G. Lams.
WELBY JACKSON. R. W. Friru. -
Jas. Dopp. Horeremounun Dey.
Jas. C. THompson. T. E. Rocers.
S. Sater. Rommanatu Tacore.
J. W. Grant. NREPENDERNATH TAGORE.
E. Currie. S. G. T. Heatty.
Wm. Keane. Rasau Rapuaxant Des.
D. STEwart.
*Tt having been previously ascertained that the senior Vice-Presidents, the Lord
Bishop of Calcutta and the Hon’ble Sir John Peter Grant, the former on account of
delicate health, and the second with reference to his being about to leave India, could
not accept the office of President, if elected.
XV1 Report.
the strong inclination which manifestly exists and is increasing among the
members to renewed efforts to maintain the long proved reputation of
the Society, and to add to its claim on public estimation. The pages
of the Journal are again enriched by the essays of some of the Society’s
oldest and most honoured members and contributors, among whom the
names of Hodgson, J. D. Cunningham, J. Abbott, Cantor and Kittoe,
are entitled to conspicuous mention. New writers of brilliant promise
have come forward in numerous departments. The sister Institution
of Delhi, founded within the year, has ably seconded their efforts by
contributions, which have much increased the value of the Journal. The
new year is thus opened under every favourable omen,—the fulfilment
of which seems certain, by perseverance in the course which has led to
the results now reported for the information of the Society.
(Signed) W. B. O'SHAUGHNESSY,
Senior Secretary.
The Report having been read, Mr. Wm. Grey said he had reason to
believe that the Senior Secretary had omitted a paragraph which the
Council had requested to be added to the Report, and he moved that
the paragraph be read.
Capt. Thuillier having seconded the motion,
Dr. O’Shaughnessy explained that he had received the paragraph
in question, for which he felt most grateful to the Council of the Society,
but he begged to be permitted to reserve it as a private testimonial,
and not to publish it with the Report.
Minute on the Oriental Publications of the Asiatic Society.
About ten years have elapsed since the Hon’ble Court of Directors
granted a munificent and ample allowance to the Asiatic Society, for
the publication of standard Oriental Works ; leaving to the Society, to
a considerable extent, the free exercise of its discretion, both in the
selection of such works and in the mode of publication. How ill the
Society has responded to this expression of confidence, is a matter of
painful consciousness to us all, and need not be further discussed on
the present occasion. But as the strongest possible incentive to the
adoption of some well considered plan of operation for the future, I
Report. XVll
may briefly remind the Council that the result of the last ten years’
means and opportunities amounts to the publication of the 4th Volume
and the Index of the Mahabharat,—the Shuraya-ul-Islam,—the
Istillihat Sufeyah,—and the Tawarikhi Nadiri,—(each consisting of
one volume); unless indeed in addition to these we claim the very
questionable merit of having patronized from the Oriental Fund, sundry
other works undertaken on private speculation.
The Society at the beginning of the present year, feeling very sensi-
bly its past neglect, adopted stringent measures to prevent the future
misapplication of this Fund; and in compliance with the understood
wishes of the Court of Directors, resolved to commence immediately
the publication of the Vedas. This important work was accordingly
entrusted to the management of Dr. Roer, with every prospect of its
beimg conducted ina manner creditable alike to himself and to the
Society, under whose auspices he laboured. But scarcely had some
little progress been made, when the views of the Society were frustrated
by the recent resolution of the Hon’ble Court to publish these venera-
ble works in England under the superintendence of Professor Wilson and
Dr. Max. Muller! So that at the end of a year since the Society bestir-
red itself to redeem its lost time, and after many months of unwearied
exertion on the part of Dr. Roer, our gratuitous, but able and willing
labourer in the field assigned him, we find ourselves no further advanced
than before, and more than ever liable to the withdrawal of the grant so
long continued under circumstances but little calculated to elicit the
approbation of the munificent donors.
Under these circumstances, and especially at the present season, when
our arrangements are about to undergo revision at the annual meeting,
I beg leave, with great deference, to lay before the Council a plan for
the publication of Oriental works in future, which after much consider-
ation, and much discussion with parties well qualified to form an opi-
nion, I am inclined to think will prove the best means of accomplishing
the objects for which the Grant was originally bestowed. My proposition
is briefly this: That the Government grant, instead of being allowed to
lie any time idle and accumulate, should be expended monchly, in the
regular publication of a fasciculus, or livraison, consisting of the whole
ora portion of some Oriental Work, printed uniformly with the Journal,
to which indeed it would form a most appropriate supplement or com-
XViil ; Report.
panion, By the adoption of this measure, there is every reason to
believe that a great impulse would be given to the cause of Oriental
Literature, and that much more might be accomplished towards the
fulfilment of the wishes of the Hon’ble Court, than by more casual and
desultory labours, resulting in the publication, at distant imtervals, of
ponderous and ostentatious tomes, such as now encumber our shelves,
A work like that now proposed would soon become an indispensible
appendage to every Library of any pretensions; and would be in large
demand as well here as in Europe, if each text be accompanied, as I
propose it should be, by an English version, making it accessible to the
many accomplished and earnest investigators of the Literature, History,
and Archeology of India, to whom the original is a sealed book.
To carry out this project, there would be required (besides the
hearty and effective co-operation of the Committee and of Oriental
scholars generally) a paid and responsible Editor, with an adequate
native staff, acting under the immediate controul and direction of the
Oriental Section, itself subordinate to the Council of the Society. For
this purpose the fund appears very ample. A monthly number, con-
sisting of from 89 to 100 pp. at a cost of say 2 Rs. per page for 500
copies, would amount to Rs. 200, leaving a surplus of Rs. 300 for the
remuneration of the Editor, and his native assistants, the purchase or
transcription of MSS., and the formation of a reserved fund, to be set
apart for such other purposes in connection with the objects of the
grant as the Society may hereafter see fit to promote ; it being no part
of the present plan that the whole grant should be expended in the
way suggested; at all events till experience shall have proved the pro-
priety of doing so.
As to the class of works to be published in the manner indicated, it
were presumptuous in me to do more than allude to the subject. That
portion of Dr. Roer’s edition of the Rig Veda, now ready, would occu-
py about four numbers of the proposed work ; the Lalitd Vistdrd,*
(an account of the life and esoteric doctrines of Buddha) would be an
* Our able librarian, Babu Rajendralal Mittra, undertook an edition of this work
some months ago at my suggestion, and has, I believe, made some progressinit. The
only copy of this work in Calcutta was supplied by Mr. B. H. Hodgson, who with his
usual liberality and zeal has kindly sent to Nepalfor other copies, to enable us to rectify
the text by collation.
Report. KIX
interesting work to follow; or some of the Bramanas, or Upanishads.
But I would not confine our attention exclusively to Sanskrit literature,
though it should, for manifest reasons, form our principal staple.
Arabic and Persian works of Indian interest would be welcome to a
large body of our members ; though the more genera/ literature of these
languages might be safely left to the care of Kuropean scholars, or of
such Muhammadan Governments as seem both able and willing for the
task.* There are works in Pali which would come within the scope
of the proposed publication as occasion offered: nor is Burmese litera-
ture devoid of interest ; as witness the Dhamathat, or Burmese ‘“‘ Laws
of Menu,” recently (but owing to the translator’s death, very unsatisfac-
torily) published at Maulmein. Still the literature of the great family
of nations subject to the government of the munificent bestowers of
this grant, would of course form the object of our peculiar and grateful
attention. On this part of the subject I shall venture no further
however; if the proposed plan meet the approbation of the Council
generally, the details will receive the consideration of gentlemen
immeasurably more competent to the task than myself.
I may observe in conclusion, that among the advantages of the pro-
posed arrangement, we should always be progressing : interest would
thus be kept alive to our efforts, and we might expect very important
assistance from quarters whence it is impossible to derive it at present.
Many of our countrymen scattered in remote parts of India would
come forward to our aid, and as there is every reason to believe
that many valuable works exist in the libraries of native Princes,
these through their instrumentality might be rescued from obscurity
and neglect.
Another very important advantage of this mode of publication would
consist in the opportunity it would afford of availing ourselves from
time to time of the suggestions of distinguished Orientalists, and im-
proving the work as it advanced. In short, I have little doubt that
the proposed mode of applying the Government grant would give an
impulse to the cause of Oriental literature similar in kind to that given
to other branches of the Society’s pursuits, ty the publication of its
* Many Arabic works are published at Cairo: at Constantinople, chiefly translations
in Turkish.
Xx Report.
papers in the convenient form of the monthly Journal, instead of that
of the Researches.
{ may add that nearly half a century ago a somewhat similar pro-
ject was entertained by the Society, when it was resolved to publish,
when means admitted, a ‘Bibliotheca Asiatica,’* consisting of select
Oriental works. We now possess the means, and if properly applied,
these will enable us to accomplish with the utmost facility here, what
is attended with infinite labour and difficulty to the persevering scholars |
of Europe, and in the course of a few years, to amass a body of Indian
Literature which cannot fail to reflect the highest credit upon the
Society with whose name it would be associated.
J. W. Laipuay,
Co-Secretary.
* ‘ Indica’ would perhaps be a better name in the present case.
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XXii Report.
Dr. Abstract Statement of Receipts and Disbursements of the
RECEIPTS.
To Museum.
Received from the General Treasury, being the allow-
ance authorized by the Honorable The Court of
Directors for the services of a Curator, for October
and November, 1846, at 250 Rs. per month, .. Rs. 500 0 0O
Ditto ditto for preparation of Specimens for ditto at
50 Raper month, ©... tcccctlewem ae ester wns cae 100 O 0
———._ 600 0 9
To Museum Economic GEoLoGcy.
Received from the General Treasury, being the allow-
ance granted by Government for the services of a
Joint Curator, for October and November, 1846, at
20 SER. EP WOOTEN yo 5.cls ee bit wistala ssn e100 9 Se seh 500 0 0
Ditto ditto for Establishment and contingencies for ditto, :
Bb OP EGA PEE CIOs aie cc Walglog’snistuaaarn’>e ve pe sate 128 0 0
—————._ 628 0 0
To Lisprary.
Recetved by Sale ‘of Books, <2 ecnuasl:. sels. foten be > 626
To OrientaL Pusiications.
Received from the General Treasury, being the amount
of monthly allowance granted by Government for
October and November, 1846, at 500 Rs. per month, 1,000 0 0O
Received by sale of Oriental Works, ......0+00e0e. 65 0 0
——_———_ 1,065 0 0
eee
Carried over, 2,296 6 6
Report.
Asiatie Society from 16th Nov. to 31st Dec. 1846.
DISBURSEMENTS.
By Museum.
Paid Mr. E. Blyth’s salary as Curator for October and
November, 1846, at 250 Rs. per month, an
Paid his allowance for house rent from January to No-
vember, 1846, at 40 Rs. per month, ....
Paid Establishment of Taxidermists, Artists, Carpen-
ters, &c., for October and November 1846,.
Paid Contingencies for ee November and “De-
cember, 1846,. H
Paid Messrs. Garvie ‘and Co. for “Teak Wood Tables,
SEM L EEE, a) Go s\c opie nbc es cee.< see ese cee
By Mvusrtum Economic Grouoey.
Paid Mr. H. Piddington’s Salary as Joint-Curator for
October and November, 1846, at 250 per month,
Paid Establishment for October and a 1846,
SE ae ins, per month, .. sees». RR Tee tic tg
Paid Mr. H. Piddington advance on ace
count of 4 cases sanctioned by Govern-
ment, Pele) OO. OO
Deduct Balance of Cash i in 1 his “hands—ac-
GOUnt COMUNPENCIES, ..... se. e505 seve 4.2 2
By Lisprary.
Paid Babu Raj Krishna Mitter his Salary as Officiating
Librarian, from lst October to 4th raphael 1846
at 80 Rs. per month, ....
Paid Babu Rajendralall Mittra’ s Salary « as “Assistant
Secretary and Librarian, from 5th to 30th November,
1846, at 100 Rs. per month,
Paid Mr. J. Tucker as Assistant Librarian, “from ‘Ist to
21st October, 1846, when his services were dispensed
with, eee
Paid a aGabraent ce Giteber: an November, 1846,
Peedene Her MONI, (6. see as eee wie, o/a\e/ay 4s) nib aoe ete
Paid Contingencies for ditto ditto, aim 200s Oa sielan es
Paid for Binding Books, .....
Paid Messrs. Thacker and Co., a ‘Ostell at | Lepage,
for Books purchased,.. se, biellein (ets ae
By OrientTAL PUBLICATIONS.
Paid Establishment for Oriental Works for October and
November 1846, ......
Paid Moulvee for Copying the ‘Arabic Work Nuharuck
Phaak Sharah Kunzoot Doocaak for November 1846,
memgerersian Writer's Salary, 1... sees scscedesees
500 0 0
440 0 0
279, 8.0
96-5 3
425 14 0
900 0 0
62 0 0
fo. ko: LO
90 10 8
86 10 8
28 0 0
105 0 0
ee ae
27:40
129 4 0
136 0 0
4 0 0
6. 0549
Carried over,
XXIll
Cr.
1,841 ll 3
637 13 10
486 8 7
146 O O
oie: ks
XXIV Report.
Brought forward, Co.’s Rs. 2,296 6 6
To ConrTrRIBUTIONS AND ADMISSION FEEs.
Received from Members from 16th November to 31st
December, 1846, @eeeseeovoeevpe*e ov eoeeepeeevaeeeezeenevee 336 0 0
To Company’s PAPER,
Received by sale of the following 5 per Cent. Govern-
ment Promissory Notes—
No. 1576 of 1829-30 for Sa. Rs. 1,500, Nett Co.’s Rs. 1,605 10 6
No. 1421 of 1829-30 for ditto, 2,500 ditto ditto.... 2,693 5 0
No. 3743 of 1207 of 1841-42, for Co.’s Rs. 5,000 do. 5,116 10 8
aes 9,415 10 2
To BALaNcr. :
Received from the late Accountant, Mr. W. H. Bolst,
the amount balance of Cash in his hands as per
account closed on the 16th November, 1846, and
deposited in the Bank of Bengal,,............--- 1,309 12 9
1,309 12 9
Company’s Rupees,.... 13,3857 13 5
Calcutta, Asiatic Society’s ie a
the 3\st December, 1846. K. and
' Report. XXV
Brought forward, Co.’s Rs. 3,112 1 8
- By Secretary’s OFFICE.
Paid Mr. H. yee as Baoan arrears of
his Salary in full, ......... raha OO: Oi,” O
Paid Mr. J. Muller’s Salary as ‘accountant for 15 days
of November 1846, at 60 Rs. per month, ........ 30 0 0
Paid Establishment for November 1846,. eye oe 20 10 0
Paid sundry petty expenses 1-4, Postage 2:12, See's ob 4 0 0
PEM EE ALIOMCLY, odo cs ae bens se ss 0s 0s bene eave be 129
Bate ror uindine Books; 6. ovis 6 sk bs wees bs welseies 6 SiO
2/8 14 9
By Journa..
Paid Rev. J. Thomas, Baptist Mission Press, for print-
ing charges down to July, 1846, ; se CAE OO
Paid Messrs. P. S. De Rozario and Co. for Lithograph-
ing 525 Copies of a Drawing, ....... 18 0 0
Paid Rev. A. W. Street, Bursar, Bishop’s s College, for
printing’charges in full OF His AECOUME,. » aside ana. 9,004 7, O
—_————. 6,240 7 9
By MIscELLANEOUS.
Paid Agent to the Agra Bank Interest on a Bill for
Co.’s Rs. 1,368 8 9 on account Portrait of W. W.
es Ski carn ks sie, Wis ogee 0 Ary Sco 114 3
Paid Rev. A. W. Street sundry printing charges, nahi 63 4 O
Paid for renewing two pieces of Company’s Papers, .. 2 0 0
Paid for Sundries on account meeting of the 2nd De-
ST TU EVE ial. ui op ot iia wsi w Bie ive) of even wtyaimy arehsive 5 10 6
Paid Messrs. P. S. De Rozario and Co. for Lithograph-
mee aueeapies Of a Circular, 2... eee nsec as cece 15 0 0
87 12: 9
By Portrait or HonorABLeE W. W. Birp, Esa.
Paid J. R. Neilson, Esq. Agent Agra and United Ser-
vice Bank, per Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co. Draft
REICH. ini eichalclecwasine wee sieviceceda L018 9
—_———_—— 1,368 8 9
By BALANCE.
Metisaiem OF BENEA,. . cio. cs eaccassncecesessae os004 15.0
MMAR Petey ton ieie'v'o'u suis sivis as aeeeaecaee see 232.1 6
——_—_—_-——. 2,270 0 6
Company’s Rupees,,... 13,357 18 5
0;.E.
Frep. GREENWAY,
Officiating Accountant.
XXVi Report.
Dr. Abstract Statement of Cash Receipts and
RECEIPTS.
To MusEevum.
Received from the General Treasury the amount of
allowance authorized by the Court of Directors for
the services of a Curator for 12 months, at 250 Rs.
per monthy.s< Go .55 eae ene bees hs, 33000. bene
Ditto for preparation of specimens at 0 CUED tre a wae, 600 0 0
Received by fines, ........ te ee 6° wae
Received by sale of empty bottles, . Gio SAN Silas noaiaibe'n cate 3. Oe
—— 3,609 8 3
To Museum Economic Groroey.
Received from the General Treasury, the amount of
allowance granted by Government for the services
of a Joint-Curator for 12 oe at 250 Rs.
Month s42%. 26 ¢ ues ree «2,000, 0 40
Ditto ditto for Establishment ‘and “contingencies “for
ditto, at 64 Vis, ger itt, . cas sane sleeisceecscaeas f09:) Onue
Ditto ditto for four Glass Cases, .. 2. 6.0.00 csivamces 296 0 0
— 4,064 0 90
To Lisprary.
Reeeived by Sale of Books, cece secs eaves ss an SOO oe
Received fine from Frash’s Salary, ...... eee : a «i
Received by sale of a Packing Case,.. 0... 0050 ss ceee 6 0.28
— 242 8 0
To OrtenTAL PUBLICATIONS.
Received from the General Treasury ie amount of
Grant from Government for 12 meee at 500 Rs.
PEL MACUL Ds «Siege wiaia 6 28 ale at Hetelanadietensiciwe tiem sOsOU0.. Camas
Received by sale of Oriental “Works, nee 900, 8450
Received from the General Treasury anticipated ‘Tn-
terest on a new 5 per Cent. Loan for Co.’s Rs. 1,500,
from 29th January to 29th June 1847, ....... SLi die
Ditto 1,000, from 27th to 30th December 1847, at 5
per Cent... shisgal bak inp aint is MaMa e “a piia-e' 9: hub wie ala anes 0). Gus
—— 6,532 6 0
Carried over, 14,448 6 3
FKieport. XXVil
Disbursements of the Asiatic Society, for the year 1847. Cr.
DISBURSEMENTS.
By Museum.
Paid Mr. E. Blyth’s Salary as Curator
for 12 months, at 250 Rs. per month, 3,000 0 0
Ditto house-rent at 40 Rs. per ditto, .. 480 0 0
Ditto in full of the arrears of his Salary
from Ist May 1844 to October, 1846,
ap 200:hs. per month, ...........- 3,200 0 0
6,680 0 0
Paid Establishment of Taxidermists, ati sen cien
hensy occ. for 12 months, . 6 osc eee. ieee aoe (re
Paid Contingencies, Tae cittieuhy) toa. > 8
Paid Mr. Holquett for pr oceeding to Dargeeling, «sims 70 0 O
Paid for a Glass Case for depositing Shells, ........ a’ Se
—— 9,363 14 9
By Museum Economic GroLoey.
Paid Mr. H. Piddington’s Salary as Joint-Curator for
P2 months; at 250 Rs.\per month, .))....00.6.25. 3,000 0 0
Paid Establishment for ditto at 31 Rs. me GittO;. 0.00 372 0 0
Paid Contingencies for ditto, ai hai acatiele ens 149 13 0
Paid for 4 Glass Cases granted by. Go-
vernment for the use of the Museum, 296 0 0
Less paid on the 24th November, 1846, 80 0 0
———-——._ 216 0 0
——_——._ 3, 737 130
By Lisrary,
Paid Babu Rajendra Lall Mitter’s Salary as i ecieeng
Secretary and Librarian for 12 months, at 100 Rs.
SMR ar d's! a! cin 3 cs agua Sy e MPnv aie wo se oo emai Lael «0. 0
Paid Eaapbehinent for ditto. SETAE PRINS 1a 702 13 10
Paid Contingencies for ditto, ... 88 10 0
Paid Messrs. Thacker and Co., and Ostell and ‘Lepage,
&c., for purchase of Books, ...... 772 6 «+O
Paid Fr eight and ran as on Books, Parcels,
PRN cl aus, 6s 0 o eubete a atiettie “eeies Lat5. 9
Paid for binding Books, he eee Sabie dn as 133 6 6
Paid for 2 dozen of Toon Wood: Ghats’. SR aes aren 45 0
————_—— 3,016 3 4
By OrientaL PUBLICATIONS.
Paid Establishment for Oriental Works for 12 months, 849 7
Paid Contingencies, .... 512 3
Paid Dr. J. Heberlin, for 100 Copies of. Sanserit An-
thology, ..... oe 800 0 0
Paid for the pur chase of sundry Oriental Works, .. ‘0's 125 0 0
Paid for Copying the Arabic Work Naharal Phaik, &c. 4 0 0
Paid for binding Oriental Works, ..... 3 97,120
Paid for the purchase of the following new w 5 per Cent.
Government Loans :—
No. 18878 for Co.’s Rs. ....1,500, 1,500 0 0
No. 4140 of 22567 ditto,.... 500, 488 7 6
mad, LvO20 ditto, .......... 1,000, 1,008 10 .7
Beamece GILO GittO,,... 0.00.6 1,000, 1,006.0 0
ee SOO pee
Carried over, 5,878 11 11 16,117.15 1
XXVill Report.
Brought forward, 14,448 6 3
To JouRNAL.
Received by sale of the Asiatic Society’s Journal,.... 404 8 O
Received from the Bank of Bengal per a cheque on ac-
count Jotirnal, es sdeGub seca <s ea neiiiemn siaeece se) smn
—————_ 804 8 0
To Company’s PAPER.
Received by sale of the following 5 per Cent. Govern-
ment Loans :—
No. 1208, dated 30th June, 1841, for
Co's, Biss Seca hicpiia osetia aareeees ! AsOU0... Ooue
No. 3744 of 1207, ditto ditto ...... 2,000 0 0
3,800 0 0
Interest from 30th June to 14th July
1847, being 15 days, at 5 per Cent... 714 8
3,807 14 8
Less Discount on Rs. 3,807 14 8, at 2-4
per Cent. eseeceesseecoeseeeoeeseee een ae 85 10 9
ee 5722 83D
diese os 9
a
Carried over, 18,975 2 0
Report. XXIX
Brought forward, 5,878 11 11 16,117 15 1
Paid fee for renewing 1 Piece Company’s Paper, .... |
Paid Dr. E. Roer, Co-Secretary Oriental Depart-
ment, his Establishment and Contingencies for the
publication of tne Vedas\for 7 months, ....c6.080, 000 9 1
Paid to the Sub-Treasurer for 2 Drafts on the Collec-
tor of Benares in favour of G. Nicholls, Esq., Head
Master Benares College, being the amount disbursed
_ by him on account of the publication of the Vedas, 119 9 0
—-—————_ 6,529 14 0
By JouRNAL.
Paid Mr. J. C. Sherriff, account Bishop’s College
Press, for printing the Society’s Journal, down to
May, 1846,. ame w 1,078 420
Paid Mr. J. Thomas, acet. "Baptist Mission Press, from
September 1846, down to June 1847,. sadeava tj, f00 10:0
Paid Mr. Thomas Black, for Lithographing and print-
TA. sat 2 270 Viv}
Paid Mr. J. "Bennett, ‘for. printing and coloring ‘Draw-
TEE; «cs 262 0 0
Paid Mr. J. Hume, Proprietor Star ‘Press, for ‘Litho-
graphing, &c. .... Glare sincere 76 6 0
Paid Mahindi Sirear, for. Lithogr aphing, &e. Zar 70 14 0
Paid Mr. J. Hendrie, for coloring Drawings,.. wetalewe 11L O 0
ME GNUTCTICICS Wis eS scale so keep eve we oe ve vices G2 2S
cou 4,904 15 4
By MIScELLANEOUS.
Paid James Broderick’s Salary as Night
Guard for 26 days of November and
for December, 1846, at 40 Rs. per
month. . os 14:10 9
Paid Mr. Halligan, ditto for 21 days of
Daly, L04/,...-.56 2a) OO
Ditto from February to November, ‘18. 17,
ditto, e@eeeveespevpesvpervr asset ea eeseonr 00 400 0 0
502 10 9
Paid Salaries of 2 Chowkeedars, &c., from the 10th to
feroem November, 1846, .. cacc cata we sis asces 1 ie ae
Paid for a Canvas eereen.. dis 2 le sea
Paid Mr. J. Muller, for a set of Bills of Exchange on
Messrs. Sinclair, ‘alton and Co. London, in fa-
vor of W. Neal, Esq., Collector Oriental Tr anslation
Fund, at 30 ds. "for £10 10 0, being the amount of
Subscription for the year 1846,.......'. 1i2 0 0
Paid for Advertizing ene in the Englishman n news-
PAWEL» onic cnn.cs eherelaveats mi 9: :eia ole alle a. Oo @
Paid sundry Contingent " expenses incurred for the
Meetings, and Oil for Night Guard, &c. 95 2 0
Paid for 10 Pieces of Gurra Cloth for the Committee
Room, ... ts -O. 6
Paid Mr. J. Chaunce, winding ‘and ‘Keeping the Clock
MID sic os ocr des os 0% Tee, ee 2a OO
Paid Proprietor Englishman Press, for Lithographing
200 copies of a Circular, ..... waist ee ap 1) Seg = ban
Paid Messrs. P. S. De Rozario and. Co., , for "printing
1,500 Receipts and 1,000 Bill Heads,.. Giclees soy Or) 6
A es ee EE ee
Carried over; 861:.°9 026,672 2 5
XXX Report.
Brought forward, 18,975 2 0
To CoNTRIBUTIONS AND ADMISSION FEES.
Received from Members during the twelve months, ... 9,601 13 6
Deduct amount of admission fee, refunded to Messrs.
Mackintyre and Co., on account Captain J. D. Cun-
ningham, being received twice,.. a. cers secre cece ee $2.0. a0
a —— 9,969 13 6
To BALANCE
As per Account closed on the 31st December, 1846,.. 2,270, 6" 6
Company’s Rupees,.... 30,815 0 0
ees
ayy ' E. and
Calcutta, Asiatic Society’s Rooms,
the 31st December, 1847.
Report. XXX1
Brought forward, 861 9 0 26,672 2 5
Pamavertizing Charles, occ ss sccccccccczccisccice a Oy 0
Paid Discount on a Treasury Draft, ......ecceeess 0 1 5
— 86410 5
By Secretary’s OFFICE.
Paid Mr. J. Muller, accountant, his Sa-
lary from December, 1846, to Septem-
ber, 1847, at 60 Rs. per month, .... 600 0 0
Paid Mr. F. Greenway, Officiating Ac-
countant, his Salary for October and
November, 1847, at ditto, ........ 120 0 0
720 0 0
Pao Mstablishment for 12 months, .. 2.2... e see eee 391 9 3
Paid for Stationery, and a Stationery Case for Secre-
MIRE Torta ai nie [aie a cicitic a je’) ain oie tesa aie e's co oe 53 4 6
MISO IMEICRCIES, 9. 2 wie cus once cess cvs bs benses 90 11 3
———- 1,255 9 6
By BvuiLpines.
Paid Workmen for repairing Bearer’s Lodging, ...... 3.0 0
3.0 0
By MINERALOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL Muszrum.
Paid Contingencies for 12 months, .... 4079) 9
Paid Cart hire for Minerals forwarded by ‘Col. J. R.
eee Ota NAB POON, os cies he ce ee ts neice on 12 0 0
Paid for 1 Second hand Glass Gee Same eo weet eee. 14 1 6
67 ll 3
By tae Honorasrie THE Court or Drrecrors.
Paid for Casks and packing Cases for Specimens, .... 18 0 0
eas 18 0 0
By Prorraitr or H. T. Prinser Esa.
Paid Messrs. Lyall Matheson and Co., freight for a
Case from London, addressed ‘‘ H. T. Prinsep’s
PEMA x tinie aca 6 0 sive ce 8 Se geese tsa les 20 0 0
_—_ 20 0 0
By Sir A. Burnes’ DRAwInes.
Paid Mrs. A. M. Ballin, for printing and coloring
BAW nie ws ened pecs somssescccescccceseees 1,001 15 0 1,001 15 0
29,903 0 1
By Balance.
fa tee Bank of Bengal,.. .....00 cess 682 14 6
BPO gis ce wise cessc co cc es ce sens 179 1° 5
——_——._ 861 15 I1
By INEFFICIENT BALANCE,
For amount advanced Mr. Templeton, on the 7th In-
stant on a petty charges in the Museum and Zoolo-
PR PPC PALUINENE, eu cease tees nec ee ee ee ans’ 50 0 0
on Noe ee | |
Company’s Rupees,.... 30,815 0 0
and O. E.
Frep. GREENWAY,
Officiating Accountant.
XXXII Report.
sd The Oriental Publication Grant in
Jans 7th, 1847. —To Cash aid eeblek:
ment for Oriental Works for Dec. 1846, 66 6 4
Ditto ditto Petty charges for ditto,....... 415 6
71 5 10
Ditto 29th ditto ditto G. Udny, Esq. Sub-Treasurer as
Contribution for a new 5 per cent. Government Loan
No. 18878 of 1841-42 dated 30th June 1841, for
C0.'8 RS. odie os nine de ghee SeORISE © leans oc) + 6 stat ogre
February 3d ditto ditto Moulvee Golam Hydur for the
following Books purchased from him :
4 Vol. Shahnamah at 10 per vol.....-. 40 0 0
4 ,, Gunghoobee at 6-8 ditto,...... 26 0 0
4 ,, Arbee Akhwan Oossuffaat5 ditto, 20 0 0
4 ,, Oordoo ditto at 6 per vol....... 24 0 90
Ditto 12th ditto ditto Dr. J. Heberlin, for 100 copies
of Sanscrit Anthology, . ee
Ditto 15th ditto ditto Establishment for Oriental Works
HOE Vanigery 1647. oon omehd aide dele) odio sje epeieia sche
March 13th ditto ditto Duftry for binding
2 vols. Panini Grammar, ... . ie <i
Ditto ditto Establishment ae ental
Works for Bebruarg 847, oi. i speperms 09K) 2.8
April 14th ditto ditto Establishment for Oriental
Works for March 1847, ..... vee
Ditto 17th ditto ditto Dattry for “binding ‘Oriental
Works. .i oc.
Ditto 29th ditto ditto for. copying the “Arabic Work
Naharal Phatk, Sic... oe meapeieas dge as
May 10th ditto ditto for the purchase of a copy of the
first 4 Books of the Yajur Vedo Brahmana, ....
Ditto 12th ditto ditto Sheriet Woollah ye for bind-
ivug Oriental Works, .....
Ditto 21st ditto ditto Establishment “for " Oriental
Works for April 1847, SREP Pe Pen eee
June 8th ditto ditto for the purchase of a
new 5 per Cent. Loan No. 4140 of 22567
for Co.'s Ray 2). . é Partai voue ao. 0
Less Anticipated Interest from.
Sth to 29th June 1847 being
22 ds. at 5 per Cent,..,... his:
Discount at.2 per Cent...... 10 0 0 11 8 6
Ditto 11th ditto ditto fee for renewing Co.’s mee
No. 4140 of 22567, .... o biea ss sie
Ditto 16th ditto ditto Dr. E. oer Cos ‘Ses
cretary Oriental Department salary of 2
Pundits from 10th to 3lst May 1847,
employed for the publication of Vedas,.. 2413 7
Ditto ditto Stationary for ditto, .......4. a
Carried over,
ae Tay) 5 10
110 0 0
800 0 0
62 0 0
70 10 3
72 00
7 T22 8
4 0 0
12-0 -0
a 20-0
fa. 90
488 7 6
Vs) Qa
S40 es
e2t D7
v2.0.0
100s 3.
83.12 9
90 9 0
Zfou jo. &
Report. XXXIil
Account Current with the Asiatic Society.
By Cash received from the Sub-Treasurer the amount
of Monthly grant sanctioned by the Court of Direc-
tors, from November 1846 to October 1847, being ;
12 Months feat) per WORE. s.< osc saponin assay O00. O...0
——————. 6,000 0 0
Ditto ditto Anticipated interest on a new 5 per Cent.
Loan No. 18878-of 1841-42 for Co.’s Rs. 1,500
from 29th January 1846, 29th June 1847, @ 5 per
COTE os a sees cssvncceevescceseccr cesses 31 7 4
_ 31 7 4
Carried over, 6,031 7 4
XXXIV Report.
Brought forward,
June 17th, 1847.—To Cash paid for aitiied 4 vols.
Mahavarut,. oe ees
Ditto 19th ditto ditto Establishment “for. Oriental
Works for May 1847, eeeeestseoeoeseseeepeeespeoenp eevee e8
July 5th ditto ditto Dr. E. Roer, Co-Secretary Orien-
tal Department, salary and Boat hire of 2 Pundits
employed for the Publication of Vedas, for June
1847, : :
Ditto 10th “ditto “ditto " Sheriet
binding Oriental Works, ....
Ditto 28th ditto ditto Establishment for Oriental
Works for June 1847, Sister Giese cnate sei
“Woollah I Duttry “for
August 7th ditto ditto Dr. E. Roer, Co-Secretary Ori-
ental Department, salary of 2 Pundits, 1 Writer,
and a Peon employed for the publication of Vedas,
including Boat hire, for July, .. :
Ditto 19th ditto ditto Establishment for Oriental
Works for July i047, scccnsnek eins as «06
eoeeee
Sept. 6th ditto ditto Allum Duftry for Paper, ......
Ditto 7th ditto ditto Dr, E. Roer, Co-Secretary Ori-
ental Department, salary of 2 Pundits, 1 Writer,
and a Peon employed for the Publication of the
Vedas, and Boat hire for August 1847, ....eecees
Ditto 8th ditto ditto G. Udny, Esq. Sub-
Treasurer, for a Draft on the Collector
of Benares in favor of G. Nichols, Esq.
Head Master, Benares College, being the
amount of expenses incurred by him for
the Publication of Rik Veda,
Ditto ditto ditto Premium on ditto,...... 1 0 O
Ditto 16th ditto ditto Premium for a new
5 per Cent Loan No. 19620 of 1841-42
dated 30th June 184], .....00--+.2021000 0 O
Interest from 30th June to 15th Sept. 1847
being 2 Months and 16 days at 5 per
Cent. sa@eeneeeesepeneeeaeseeveeveeeevp e@eee ee 68 10 8 11
1,010 8 11
Less Discount at 3 as. per Cent,.... 114 4
Ditto 18th ditto ditto Establishment for Oriental Works
for August 1847, ...... see ce ee cece
Ditto 27th ditto ditto G. Udny, Esq. Sub-
Treasurer for a Draft on the Collector
of Benares in favor of G. Nichols, Esq.
Head Master Benares College, being the
amount disbursed by him on Account of
the Publication of Rik Veda, ......0. 0
Ditto ditto Premium on ditto, .......e0- Ly 0.0
Carried over,
524 0 7 2,788
24 0.0
je, &@2. 8
— 620 0
43 0 0
5 8 0
72 0 0
— 4120 8
52 0.6
12 0 2
—— 124 0
012 9
52. 0.8
70 12 O
1,008 10 7
12 O36
48 13> 0
Lzoe., 0-4
4,905 14 0
ie Nove a nr
A ‘ ya <r ‘
; ents
. ; : Z ce a
B ro J : o i inl
a Zz oe a f. « i? 4
y + ' ai ry < eet
mo, ae ered 6,031 7 4
fren emer OEE Al 40
yi eae . 40, oni ; iceteal hepa Tue TS 1
brobtaividst yh old wast pti ag mer. hater eles AP te”
7 neha 11h) Ot Rr iol He yas pking ete
‘ (8 9) pened sai ets iyeiny wis» hdd
een Sptts: nd 7 wel tre bi6h.cPiMt aii: x eyed
eres o es RE oth yric sacs ; #
I ey eee ieee: if voy (aah: at
. ts: og ee Anbints Pub DL oie ciphite hate >, Gis
he SD be eBairacit ped od e ii he sath rep ah oa HA
iy tei Rael aca abes a er Lis seat
CF, preern ‘iieotine aes dl he aie ee ef eT Meee aa voor
* Risei ube Tey ea at Boia Sh Be er re ie Me
. Abang? ants My misiasnityy wis Bhi Tape tae Ta
aakee TR 9 Cu
: i ity
oh ps Wa <4, pole Pe ae yee) ite ne tee aes * Ae cy
Moe) tan eh ale Ao SP es ye vedi} shat aay
eth Sie ark"
i >
fates
Vo at eae) Preys aie Sera ee pe eo ay Ag
~) r }
eS f 4 ok
; z 7
hae avi Alar ea gliy sate 5 CGR OH Bie e's vee ‘tietgin? Soeget inka ti! ak
Spare TORT. prep) cay ts GC 9rss pesapar et) fo Ab time bo ORISA) AEA.
7% ok giw shaped id terty & wt (hi Aus Bapenebonany | aia A
ad ‘ Li RAGA Feapritivy yc) -
eae “ere t adele Ns a LOE: iy CRC DE at
a | we GS ala eS ee OC TRE: hes Dea ae Oe
oe a eae rT fo Aa Wi
- 0 nyisiya: my ty at? beet} have 9 Cin bers Mo
er aria ant | MERI TD, yi Agen Xa) mene ed dunk
Males aaah WGA yeed dhrnradationedt, waice yey ov
Darinent ay “ny haaungr, | salt
yr Le Pieivin r s keel ity gsi ds
mie radiey frie om tp ey a (ee UR a4 ty apron) Reet b i i o
iti wel ay et» Souk Ths ease
Ole Pew, © + ei Acs
e donalelt sy ind es
ini gepannelngs aD iiienoe, aes Cad ee rianatee)
im eaten Fe TNE at (yh ts Pe he owes s abet ae shee.)
ae ey
ny Oil (pel "
> a ated hate WN sland 2
Zz
ae
Hag pay ee ee et are
tata f. oo) iyrvaeslolidode®l GE! NRE obese eae.
ee Salt eth astm ment
at Soin thai ake 26% <. eats wok {
i Wie
XXXVI Report.
Brought forward, 4,905 14 0
Oct. Ist, 1847.—To Cash paid Dr. E. Roer Co-Se-
cretary Oriental Department Salary of 2 Pundits,
1 Writer, and a Peon employed for the Publication
of Vedas, and contingent expenses, for September
1847, . 53.-0 8
Ditto 6th ditto “ditto Establishment for Oriental. ‘works
for September 1847,. Bsterthae a's 72 0 0
Ditto 13th ditto ditto ‘Sheriet Woollah
Duftry for binding Oriental Works,.... 10 4 0
Ditto ditto ditto Shabash Khan ditto,.... 6 0 0
—— 16 4 0
Ditto 30th ditto ditto for the ise of a Copy of
Betallee pachise, ...... <imjeseiel ss ails eo cesace 3 0 9
144 4 0
November Ist ditto Dr. E. Roer, Co-Secretary Orien-
tal Department Salary of 2 Pundits, 1 Writer, and
a Peon employed for the publication of the Vedas,
for October 1847, 52 0 0
Ditto 18th ditto ditto “Establishment “for ‘Oriental
Works for October 1847,...... 72. 0 0
Ditto 27th ditto ditto Pence} for binding “Oriental
WQS DS tinct age bi eile’ ose ste miaIe Oe a aces 39 12" 0.2" 165°22-.0
5,213-14 0
To Balance Cash, ie maiaiels, alere 817-92 4
Amount of the following n new v5 per ‘Cent. Government
Loans purchased as “above and deposited with the
Government Agent.
No. 18,878. of 1841-42, 2. sin... 1,500 0 0
No. 4,140 of 22,567 of ditto, .. 500 0 90
No. 19,620 of 1841-42, ....... 1,000 0 0
—— 3,000
Co.’s
December 10th.—To Cash paid Dr, E. Roer, Co-
Secretary Oriental Department Salary of 2 Pundits
and 1 Peon and Boat hire for November, ... 44
Ditto L5th ditto Establishment for Oriental Woiks foe
November, .... 72
Ditto 27th ditto Sub: Treisaret: iGontriburion ron a new
5 per Cent. Government Loan, @eoevreeee ee 828 028 08 1,000
Ditto 3lst—To Balance.
Company’s Paper 5 per Cent. of 1841-52 for, .... 4,000
Cash, eeeseseeveseneoere eves ezpeeseee es os ee eevee 0 ee 202
ea eee
0 0
— 3,817 9 4
Rsve? 9,001 4
0 0
0 0
—— 1,116 0 0
0 0
0 0
4,202 0 0
Co.’s Rs... -b;a18 0-0
Caleulta, Asiatic Sociely’s Room, |
the 31st December 1847. t
E. E.
Report. XXXVI
Brought forward, 6,031 7 4
By amount of 5 per Cent. Government Loans pur-
chased during the year as per Contra,.....++e+e-- 3,000 0 0
——_——_ 3,000 0 0
Covsks.. 990317 4
Caleutta, 30th Nov. 1847.
December—By Balance brought down—
Company’s Paper,...... 3,000 0 0
Slate sg were chia ee op Sb ina wie aaa
———_——- 3,817 9 4
Ditto 15th ditto—Cash received from the General
Treasury, amount of Monthly grant sanctioned oy
fae Court-of Directors, for Nov. 1847, ........-. 500 0 0O
Ditto 28th ditto ditto anticipated interest on a 5 per
Cent. loan for 1,000 Rs. from 27th to 30th Decem-
cc neti eeGcle ke tea ce en ee es 0,658
500 6 8
Ditto 3lst—By amount of anew 5 per Cent. Government loan as
LEG 5) o% o.0¥0- a 05 "ne 'ub'eh a tiabieelew'ae ss) be oe ee au ve oesecve 1,000 a
———_——_
Coe hes Sole 0.0
XXXVUi el
Report.
Abstract Statement of Oriental and other Publications, &c., sold Srom
the 1st of December, 1846, to the 30th of November, 1847.
Dr.
ORIENTAL PUBLICATIONS.
Fatawe Alumgiri, Vol. I. 3 copies, Vol. II. 3 copies, Vol.
III. 5 copies, Vol. EV. 7 copies, Vol. V. 7 copies, Vol.
VI.'7 copies, at Rs.58 per Vols ON visic sw stele ole @ oetet ARE. (200
Inayah, 3 vols, co.sssceseccscccccceracccccssccescee 24
Istallaliatee'Sufia,.2 copies;y .<iover daccelse cwlews ois vie be tee
Sharah. ul Islam, 4 copies,>.oscitacsnsrucdedesectsrdss tae
Anisiul. Masharraheen al copyyiisscceae vows aww eens sé se 9)
Jwame ‘ul. Jim ul Riazi} 1 copy, -vesevesssccvccesiscvcie 4
Khazanatial: Nim) :2copiess ji cance sateccs iindmciets ci swactee EO
Tarikhie Nadiri; 6 Copies). a.si<0 ceidaws: «o sare eatec sad des) Pee
Mahabharata, 117: Vol es, cams accatvocine wa 6 nagergcddoodendo On
Index ' ho ditto! ZO wolsi. 3 istic die wren oa: w otek ate ocaye ava one
Shusruta, Vol. I. 7 copies, Vol. El. 8 copies,.....-ee.+- 60
Naishadha, -7. GOpies,..ci.0% vised bo tetdcine tadctervcdesdse) 2a
Flarivansa, 5 GOpiedcivactevinels ci Were! Du alban caeb ond nwerce JAD
Rajatarangini, EicOpy, .cecccncecccvissesvedacedcavicons © O
Tibetan Gramihahy2 copies, aeeieoncsctaadneatascses. . 16
Seocooeodcooceooeocecos
So ce $$ © ee coe 2 6.6 6-5
Tibetan: Dictionary; 2:COpiess, Victacicencieicievcetoaieestnivetste ta
— 713 0 0
JOURNAL.
Journal of the Asiatic Society, 24 vols. and 146 Nos. .... 607 8 @
Gleanings in Science No. 3:1 Copy; +. sic as Sisinta dis erates 1B cM
Notices and Descriptions of various New or Little known
Species of: Birds, 16 pamphlets; covet cSecvaccocessss "6 12 6
615 12 6
———
Asiatic Researches, 19 vols. and 3 parts, ..ssecerecseeee 205 0 0
————— 205 0 0
MIscELLANEOUS.
English Catalogue, 1 copy, eeeoreeoeepeeeoevesep eevee eeeeseeee ] 0
So
i=)
Pentian Catalogue, 2 copies,.:.. soc esas coubttackass tn, 2
Sanscrita Catalogue, l copy, ......... SAS retelatewials Ma: OOO
Points in the History of the Greek and sa: Sopitsinn Kings,
DB COPIES yess Hed voids Heine SUS ove TH EA A TO eo
a eee
Carried over, 14 0 013,593 12 0
Report. XXXIX
Brought forward, 14
Leech’s Grammar of the Punjabi Languages, 2 copies,.... 2
Han koong Tseu, or the Sorrows of Han, 2 copies, ...... 3
Memoirs of the Emperor Jehangeer, 3 copies, ....eeseee 12
1,593 12 0
feels int Sow! Batata, } copy, .. a» o,0 os 000.0 ,0,0.0,0 40.0900 50), 0
Travels of Makarius, 1 copy, ....
ese eeceveveoev oe ee Ge oe e688 4
Institutiones Pracritice, 1 copy,....
esr eeoeeeeve 8888 80 88 4
Histoire des Rois de PEM E CODY,” o's nce wn esse cae, we
Yajna datta badha, 2 copies,..
eeeoeoe@oovgesee ee eeaseo204048 8@
Heeai sur les Pali, 1. copy... ..+i«-
Elémens de la Grammaire Japonaise, 1 copy,..
ee eeeeseoee
|
3
Memoire sur deux Inscriptions Cunéiformes, l copy, .... 3
4
5
History of the Afghans, 1 copy, ..
Memereenis Travels: 1 COPY, | ysiceae'es op escecevevosssv cle
eeeeos eo eae? 8©@ 0202 88 8&8 28
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
Pee, SCONTOSS. cies e's vid wee eoess veccc0nsccce, LEO (0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 06
0 0
0 0
0 0
Commientaire sur le Yuena, 1 copy,....secccscseveceses 10
— 113 0 0
TOCA sis. ac wikis Co.'s Rs.:4-1,706..12....0
eer
Cr. :
18th Dec. 1846, to 13th Augt. By Cash paid to J.; Muller,
Maa, Acct. Asiatic Society, 5... scesscecceseedsoecee 400 0 0
i7th Sept. to 22d Nov. 1847. Ditto ditto F. Greenway,
ee eee CCL. NS. SOC... ve 'vewcns seccsesesecsnves 4048.20
a 917 8 0
PeewatstAMGIne Bills, 5. os'ss,vewsce bh se sccrescvercesccescessees (09-- 4.0
et
Potliaien vos Cove Beh 706.128
RAJENDRALAL MITTRA.
Asiatic Sociely, 15th Dec. 1847.
xl
Report.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBING MEMBERS.
Abbott, Capt. J.
Anderson, Major W.
Avdall, J. Esq.
Batten, J. H. Tisq.
Baker, Major W. E.
Barlow, Sir R.
Beaufort, F. L. Esq.
Beckwith, J. Esq.
Benson, Lieut.-Col. R.
Birch, Lieut.-Col. R. J. C.
Birch, Major W. F.
Blagrave, Lieut. T. C.
Bogle, Major A.
Bowring, L. R. Esq.
Brandreth, J. EH. L. Esq.
Briggs, Lieut. D.
Brodie, Capt. F.
Broome, Capt. A.
Buckland, C. T. Esq.
Bushby, G. A. Esq.
Cameron, Hon’ble C..H.
Campbell, A. Esq.
Cheape, G. C. Esq.
Christopher, A. Esq.
Colvile, J. Esq.
Colvin, B. J. Esq.
Colvin, J. R. Esq.
Corbyn, I. Esq.
Cunningham, Capt. J. D.
Currie, E. sq.
Cust, R. N. Esq.
Dalton, Lieut. KE. T.
Davidson, T. R. Esq.
Debendranath Tagore, Baboo.
Dirom, W. M. Esq.
Dodd, J. Esq.
Douglas, Lieut. C.
Dunlop, A. C. Esq.
Dwarkanath Bose, Baboo.
Earle, W. Esq.
Edgeworth, M. P. Esq.
Elliot, H. M. Esq.
Elliott, J. B. Lisq.
Elliott, W. Esq.
Forbes, Col. W. N.
French, G. W. Esq.
Frith, R. W. G. Esq.
Frith, W. H. L. Esq.
Furlong, J. Esq.
Gibelin, Mons. E.
Gilmore, A. Esq.
Gladstone, M. Esq.
Goodwin, Major H.
Grant, Sir J. P.
Grant, W. P. Esq.
Grant, J. W. Esq.
Greenway, Wm. Esq.
Grey, W. Esq.
Heeberlin, Dr. J.
Hall, F. E. Esq.
Hannay, Capt. S. T.
Hanyngton, Capt. J. C.
Hay, Lord Arthur.
Hardinge, Hon'ble C. S.
Hurimohun Sen, Baboo.
Henry, Dr. W.
Heatly, 8. G. T. Esq.
Phill, G. Esq.
Hodgson, Major Genl. J. A.
Hodgson, B. H. Esq.
Hopkinson, Capt. H.
Hough, Dr. H. F.
Houston, R. Esq.
Hume, J. Esq.
Jackson, W. B. Esq.
Jameson, W. Esq.
Jenkins, Major F.
Jerdon, T. C. Esq.
Jones, R, Esq.
Johnston, J. Esq.
Karr, W. Seton, Esq.
Keane, Rev. W.
Kerr, J. Esq.
Kittoe, Capt. M.
Knighton, W. Esq.
Lackersteen, Count J.
Laidlay, J. W. Esq.
Lamb, Dr. G.
Latter, Capt. T.
Lawrence, Col. H. M.
Linstedt, E. Esq.
Loch, G. Esq.
Logan, J. R. Esq.
Low, Col.
Lushington, G. T. Esq.
Lushington, K. H. Esq.
Mackey, D. C. Esq.
Maddock, Sir T. HH.
Manuckjee Rustomjee, Esq.
McLeod, Capt. W. C.-
McLeod, D. F. Esq.
McKenzie, J. Esq.
McKilligan, J. P. Esq.
McQueen, Rev. J.
Middleton, J. Esq.
Mill, J. B. Esq.
Mitchell, A. Esq.
Money, D. C. Esq.
Montague, J. Esq.
Muir, J. Esq.
Muller, J. Esq.
Newmarch, J. Esq.
Nripendranath Tagore, Baboo.
O’ Dowda, R. Esq.
Ommaney, M. C. Esq.
Ouseley, Lieut.-Col. J. R.
Ouseley, Capt.
O'Shaughnessy, Dr. W. B.
Peel, Sir L.
Phayre, Capt. A.
Pratt, Rev. J.
Prinsep, C. R. Esq.
Prosonocoomar Tagore, Baboo.
Raja Radhakant Deb.
Romanath Tagore, Baboo
Ramgopal Ghose, Baboo.
Ravenshaw, E. C. Esq.
Ripley, Lieut. T. W.
Report.
Rawlinson, Major C. H.
Rogers, Capt.
Rustomjee Cowasjee, Esq.
Samuells, E. A. Esq.
Sandberg, Rev. A.
Sandes, F. C, Esq.
Satyacharana Ghosal, Raja.
Scott, J. S. B. Esq.
Seton, Sir H. W.
Shave, J. T. Esq.
Sherwill, Capt. W. S.
Skinner, C. B. Esq.
Slater, Rev. S.
Sleeman, Lieut.-Col. W. H.
Smith, Lieut. R. B.
Spilsbury, G. G. Esq.
Staples, Lieut. N. A.
Stacey, Brigadier Genl. L. R.
Stewart, Dr. D.
Strachey, Lieut. R.
Strong, F. P. Esq.
Thomason, Hon’ble J.
Thomas, R. Esq.
Thompson, Rev. J. C.
Thornhill, H. Esq.
Thuillier, Lieut. H. E. L.
Thwaites, R. Esq.
Tickell, Capt. S. R.
Torrens, H. Esq.
Trevor, C. B. Esq.
Udny, G. Esq.
Walker, H. Esq.
Ward, J. Esq.
Waugh, Lieut.-Col.
Wilby, G. R. Esq.
Wilcox, Major R.
Willis, J. Esq.
Wilson, Right Rev, D.
Young, Dr.
HONORARY MEMBERS.
Baron von Hammer Purgstall, Aulic Counseller, Vienna.
Professor Augustus von Schlegel.
\ Of the Royal University of Copenhagen.
Rasmussen,
Oersted,
———— Freehn.
xli
xii Report.
Monsieur Garcin de Tassy.
Sir John Philippart.
Professor R. Jameson.
Count Carlos de Vidua.
Count De Noe.
Professor Francis Bopp.
E. Burnouf.
Christ. Lassen.
———— A. Langlois.
Monsieur J. J. Marcel.
Right How’ble Sir R. W. Horton.
Mehkars Meng, (the Prince of Mehkara), finele of the king of Ava.
Professor Heeren.
M. J. Klaproth.
The Rev. William Buckland, D. D.
Sir John F. W. Herschell.
Colonel W. H. Sykes.
Chevalier Ventura.
General M. A. Court.
Professor Lea, Philadelphia.
Dr. Harlan, Philadelphia.
Monsieur P. A. Lair, President of the Society of Agriculture and Com-
merce, Caen.
Sir Alexander Johnston.
Right Hon’ble Sir C. W. W. Wynn.
Professor H. H. Wilson.
Sir George Staunton.
The Baron Schilling, Cronstadt.
The Chevalier Amédee Jaubert, Paris.
Professor L. Agassiz, Neufchatel.
Monsieur Renaud, Paris.
Dr. Ewald, London.
How ble Sir Edward Ryan, London.
Professor Jules Mohl, Paris.
His Highness Hekekyan Bey, Egypt.
Captain William Munro, London.
His Highness the Nawab Nazim of Bengal.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS.
Blyth, E. Esq. M’Gowan, Dr. J.
Brownlow, C. Esq. Piddington, H. Esq.
Dawe, W. Esq. Stephenson, J. Esq.
Delessert, A. Esq. Roer, Dr. E.
Keramut Ali, Syud. Tregear, V. Esq.
Long, Rev. 7
Report. xlhi
List or MEMBERS ELECTED IN 1847.
Beckwith, J. Esq. Linstedt, E. Esq.
Brodie, Capt, F. Logan, J. R. Esq.
Cunningham, Capt. J. D. M Dougal, W. Esq.
Currie, EK. Esq. Money, D. C. Esq.
Dalton, Lieut. E. T. Muller, J. Esq.
Debendranath Tagore, Babu. Munro, Capt. W.
Dirom, W. M. Esq. Newmarch, H. Esq.
Douglas, Lieut. C. Nripendranath Tagore, Babu.
Dwarkanath Basu, Babu. O’ Dowda, R. Esq.
Pihot, H. M. Esq. Ouseley, Capt. R.
Elliott, J. B. Esq. Rogers, Capt. R.
French, G. W. Esq. Sandberg, Rev. A.
Frith, W. H. L. Esq. Sandes, F. C. Esq.
Gibelin, Mons. E. Scott, J. S. B. Esq.
Greenway, W. Esq. Skinner, C. B. Esq.
Hall, F. HK. Esq., B. A. Slater, Rev. 8.
Hanyngton, Capt. J. C. Staples, Lieut. N. A.
Harimohana Sen, Babu. Thomas, R. Esq.
Johnstone, Capt. J. Thompson, Rev. J. C.
Jones, R. Esq. Thornhill, H. Esq.
Keane, Rev. W. Thuillier, Lieut. H. E. L.
Kerr, J. Esq. Thwaites, R. Esq.
Lackersteen, Count J. Udny, G. Esq.
Lamb, Dr. G, - Waugh, Lieut.-Col. A. 8.
The loss of Members by deaths, departures to Europe, and with-
drawals, has been as follows :—
By death.
Canayialél Tagore, Babu.
M’ Dougal, W. Esq.
St. Pourcain, J. Esq.
By withdrawals.
Christian, J. Esq. Stewart, Dr. L. C.
Marshall, Major G. T. Torrens, J. S. Esq.
Quintin, W. St. Esq. Wattenbach, A. Esq.
Ryan, EK. B. Esq.
By departure to Europe.
Benson, W. H. Esq. Huffnagle, C. Esq.
Borrodaile, J. Esq. Johnstone, Capt. J.
Burton, Lieut. C. E. Lushington, KE. H. Esq.
Cautley, Capt. P. S. Munro, Capt. W.
Durand, Capt. H. M. Stephen, Capt. J. G.
Egerton, C, C. Esq. Withers, Rey, G. U.
OFFICE-BEARERS
OF THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY FOR 1848.
President.
J. W. Convi_e, Esa.
Vice Presidents.
Tur Lorp Bisuor or CALCUTTA.
Tur Hon’sie Sir J. P. Grant.
H. M. Expiot, Esa.
J. W. Latpuay, Esa.
* Honorary Vice President.
H. Torrens, Esa.
Council.
G. A. Bususy, Esa. W. Grey, Esa.
WeLpBy JACKSON, Esa. Dr. WALKER.
W. P. Grant, Esa. Lorp Artruur Hay.
Carr. A. BROOME. W. Seton Karr, Esa.
R. W. G. Frits, Esa. | AND
S. G. T. Heratry, Esa. Dr. James Dopp.
Secretaries.
W. B. O’SuHavcunessy, Esa.
J. W. Larpuay, Esa.
Dr. E. Roer, Oriental Department.
* TI, Pipvineton, Esa. Curator, Museum of Geology.
* i. Buyru, Ese. Ditto ditto Zoology.
* Babu Rasenpra Lau Mirtra, Librarian.
* SERGEANT HALAGAN, House Steward.
* Joun Muuwer, Ese. Accountant.
* Marked thus are permanent officers, not liable to re-election.
A Tabular view of the fall of rain and other remarkable Meteorological Phenomena in Calcutta from 1829 to 1847. By Capt. H. E. L. Tuuriurer, Officiating Dep. Surveyor General.
A table indicating the number of Rainy days and the quantity of Rain fallen in Calcutta in every month, for the last 19 years, from January 1829 to December 1847 inclusive.
Memoranda of the most remarkable Gales, Hurricanes, and Thunder storms that have occurred in Calcutta,
Sor the last 19 years,
Sa) ee
June. August. September. October. November. | December. Ie 2 ge.
as ata 23/255] Lowest state
Be 5a 52/22/27 |22 Years. 1332 | 2 = 2| of Barometer. Paes
gs ee Bf .\2es|eesl24 Beslaes
ar op BO EISES|3 B13 2 gealges
s os SSISSEM sess Ee AG:
Inches days, {Inches.| days. |Inchi Inches,] days. Inches
1843 7 | 7-63 2 | o18 A s+ | 1829 )59°94 98 | not registered 26th April, ......|4 most severe thunder-storm with large hail stones and rain at 6 P, M.,4 men kill-
4 28 1829 ed by lightning, 2 in the Fort, 2 in Town.
7 , not registered 13th June, .. |At 3} A. M., a hurricane attended with a violent thunder storm, which lasted some
6 1 time.
3 A 29-008 1830 |26th May, . A fresh or light gale.
not registered | 1832 | 7th October A do. do. do.
is 29-032 1833 |2ist May . A violent gale, the Duke of York, stranded on a paddy field 2} miles, south of
5 Hidjellee Pagoda, Soonderbuns inundated.
5. registdl “A 29:28 1834 | 3d August .... [Blowing a gale with incessant rain: quantity of Rain = 5:80 Inches,
098 “0 1L 6 29:770 1835 |1lth May . A remarkably heavy full of rain (12 inches) for about 3 hours from midnight to
1-43 1 18 4 3 A. M., Esplanade inundated, being one foot under water: a goat drowned ina
gentleman's compound in Chowringhee, in the ruin-flood,
wat | 15 | 784 | 13 1 29°657 (5th) 1837 [4th 5th & Gth Oct.|A gale between Rajmahal and Ghazipoor, destroyed about 100 native boats on the
0°80 il B05, 16 1 river. (Not felt in Calcutta.)
326 | 14 | 5-31 | 16 2 29:602 8th April ...... (Severe hail storm and whirlwind at Balliaghat, and in the vicinity of the Salt Water
373 7 | 182 | 20 9 1833 Lakes, caused much injury to life and property amongst the peasants,
242 | 13 | 5:33 | 12 6 29:398 19th October .... |Blowing a gale; ceased by the evening.
$13 12 | 744 M 7 29-333 1839 |20th September .. |Blowing a gale from 3 P. M. to Noon of the following day.
730 6 | 142] 17 j1066 | 18 fize0 | 27 15-36 9 | 4-80 8 29-420 1810 | Ist May A gale from noon to midnight.
0:57 4,249 | 19 [1214 | 24 }20:07 | 20 Jisz6 | 17 | 9-97 | 12 28°278(4pm.)| 1842 | 3d June ......|A dreadful gale ond hurricane at Calcutta, extended to a little this side of Moon-
233 8 ) 479 19 [12:01 19 |15-69 19/1509 16 11095 7 ghyr. Violent wind morning from N. E., tending Northward ; in the forenoon from
N. and North-west; afternoon from N. and N. E.; and from 4 P. M. changed
. Average of 19 Years|, 09 | 20 from S. E. to S, W.; from which quarters nearly it blew all night. Several lives
Toches.| days, Jost—unparalleled damoge done to the shipping, budjrows, and native craft on the
ue river: 10 or 12 of the former, mostly all of the latter, completely sunk almost
. . an thi A 5 5 ’ peace 5 every pucka house in some way injured, strongest trees torn up by the roots and
h Note. During the pea eubrictd au hah able CL yests) two Hain Sous Were in use ; one, on the roof of the House ; the other on the ground, The quantity indicated by the latter is Bie awa (No lightning, no thunder.) Fall of raia Gt inches.
erein inserted. From a glance at the column for ay,” it appears that in the years 1529, 1830, 1835, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1843, and 1844, the rainy season set in, in that month. In those 30-000 1842 {11th November ..|A severe Eartliquake at Calcutta at 18 min. to 10 P. M.
years, wherein there is little or no fall of rain in the month of October, the succeeding winter is, in general, found to be productive of much sickness. ‘The unprecedented fall of rain in June| 59-459 1844 J2ist August .... (From 9 P. M, to the following morning blowing a Gale with a heavy fall of ruit.
1842, is worthy of notice! without intermission. Fall of Rain 12 inches or more - rain-gauge overflown.
——_—— = = 29-475 1846 |21st September ..|A gale at night.
* Years of famine in the Upper P rovinces,
pts
ms ne
. —- See a)
JOURNAL
OF THE
PA STATIC SOCIETY.
PRADA PY VY PAAAAABAAAAAALAILII AIP PAPEAARALAAIIIDS
JANUARY, 1848.
SADADARADRAARAARALDLAWNLYADLADIAAAADAAADAAADR IADR RDRAALDRADADN.
Memoir upon the Quantity of Iron necessary in a Tension Chain
Bridge.—By Rev. J. H. Prarr.
To demonstrate, that the QUANTITY OF IRON in a Suspension
Bridge, necessary to enable each part to sustain the greatest tension
to which it will be subjected when the road-way is loaded to the
greatest extent, IS ALTOGETHER INDEPENDENT of the rorM of the
bridge, HOWEVER COMPLICATED THAT FORM MAY BE, and depends
solely upon the width of the bridge, the height of the piers above the
road-way, the thickness of the first link in leaving each pier, and the
angle that link makes with the horizon.
In the controversy recently mooted in India regarding the superiori-
ty or inferiority of Taper-Chains in the construction of Suspension
Bridges, when compared with uniform or common-chains, the consi-
deration of the Quantity of Metal employed is one of considerable prac-
tical importance. According to the remarkable property which we
have above enunciated, and shall soon proceed to demonstrate, the
Quantity of Iron actually necessary to resist the strains is IN THEORY
‘the same for all forms and positions of chain and suspending rods. But
this property points out to us, that in the ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION of
Bridges the quantity of metal employed will be greater in proportion to
the greater variety of strain. For there would always be a practical
No. XIII.—New Series. | B
2 Quantity of Iron necessary in a Tension Chain Bridge. [Jan.
difficulty in the way of making every portion of iron in a complicated
structure exactly proportional to the tensions, and no portion must
be thinner, otherwise the loaded bridge would be in danger of falling,
and therefore the probabilities are that many parts would be thicker
than absolutely necessary. And therefore, as we have said, the economy _
of iron will be practically greatest in bridges where the varieties of ten- .
sion are least. This tells, then, in a practical point of view against the
Taper-Chain system in the question Taper-chain versws Common-chain
bridge. Kg
We shall now proceed to the demonstration of the property enun-
ciated, first, however, proving the following lemma which we shall find
of use in the course of our investigation.
Suppose, in the first instance, that the bridge is as is represented in
fig. 1. This is given as a simple case to which we shall refer subse-
quently as a standard. The road-way is supported by two rods AB,
AB, proceeding from the piers, and attached to the road-way at B and
B. 'The tensions of these rods will not only support the weight of
the loaded road-way, but will produce a tension in the line BB, which
must be provided for by imserting a rod of iron, BB, of a proper
thickness, i. e. proportional to this horizontal tension, to prevent the
suspending rods from tearing the road to pieces. The rods 4B, AB
must be held down by bolts, as shown in the diagram. Let C be the
middle point between B and B ; and Cd be drawn perpendicular to 4B
produced.
Lemma.—The quantity of iron in AB and BC necessary to resist
the strains is equal to a bar of the thickness at A, and of the length
Ab.
‘Draw CD perpendicular to BC and meeting 4B produced in D.
The tension of BA at B is balanced by two forces, (1) the ten-
sion of BC, and (2) the portion of the weight sustained, acting in
BY,
The triangle BCD has its sides parallel to the directions of these
forces, and these sides are therefore proportional in magnitude to the
three forces,
1848.] Quantity of Iron necessary in a Tension Chain Bridge. 3
Hence, tension of BC = - % tension of BA
= Bo % tension of BA,
BC
since the triangle BOC is similar to the triangle BCD.
But the transverse section of iron is to be proportional to the ten-
sion. Hence
‘ Bb :
Section of BC == —_— section of BA.
BC
.. Quantity of iron in BC = BCX section of BC.
== Bb % section of BA.
Hence the quantity of iron in 4B and BC together = AB x section
of AB + Bb x section of AB = Ab x section of AB = quantity ina
bar of length 44, and thickness at 4.—Q. E. D.
We shall now proceed to give, first a Geometrical, and then an
Analytical demonstration of the Fundamental Proposition which is the
subject of this communication.
1. Gromerricat Demonstration. -
Let fig. 2 represent the bridge, the dark lines representing the iron
work. The lower parts HB, BC of the rods in fig. 1 are removed,
and replaced by HF, FC, and LG, GC, on both sides the bridge: the
rod FC is necessary to counteract the horizontal strain of FL, and the
rod GC is necessary to hold down HG, HG in position.
We have to show, that if these four new rods are proportional, in
transverse section, to their strains, the quantity of iron in them is the
same as in those which they replace, viz. in /B, BC.
Draw Ch perpendicular to HF produced, and Cy perpendicular to
EG produced. ‘Then, by the property already proved in case of fig.
1, the quantity of ironin HF and FC = quantity in a length Zh of
same section as HJ’, and the quantity of iron in YG and + GC* = the
quantity in a length Hy of the same section as HG. Now the tensions
of HA, EF, and EG acting at # are in equilibrium. Draw the
parallelogram JH. Hence the sides of the triangle BH (as also of
EJB), being parallel to the directions of these three forces, are pro-
portional also to them in magnitude,
* The other half of GC’s substance belongs to the other half of the bridge.
2.)
i
a Quantity of Tron necessary in a Tension Chain Bridge. |JAN.
Hence tension of H/ = tension of FA x EH
EB
*. section of iron in LF = section of Hd yx =
EB
Also tension of HG = tension of #4 yx sini
EB
-. section of ironin #G = section of HA KX Zs
EB
Hence the quantity of ironin LF, FC, EG, GC = quantity in BA
and Ey
= Eh X section of LF + Ly x section of HG
EA J Hh x HH + Ho x Hes
it EB
= section of
But by a property, (which we shall prove below, and which we
defer at present in order not to interrupt this demonstration)—
If LH, E/ represent the magnitudes and directions of two forces of
which the magnitude and direction of the resultant is #B, and from
any point C perpendiculars be drawn upon these three directions, (pro-
duced if necessary,) as Ch, Cg, Cb: then HH x Eh + EJ KX Eg =
EB x Eb.
This being assumed the calculation above gives—
Quantity of iron in LF, FC, HG, GC = Hb. section of HB
= quantity of iron in #B and BC.—Q. E. D.
We shall now demonstrate the property we have just assumed.
The lines in (fig. 3) are the same as in (fig. 2), except that in ad-
dition Hk, Jj, are drawn at right angles to HC and meeting ZB in Xk
and 7’. Now the triangles HHk, ECh are similar.
*. BH Ee: : BC en
“, EHX Ek = EC X Ek.
So also from the similar triangles hk’, EbC we have
Lk: Ek’: : Hb: EC.
2) LOCKER = EG ER.
Hence EHH x Eh = Eb K Ek’.
In precisely the same manner
LJ % Eg = Eb x Ej.
Now in the triangles ik’, BJj’ the angles are equal, and FH =
1848.] Quantity of Iron necessary in a Tension Chain Bridge. 5
BJ: hence the triangles are equal, and .*. Hk! == By’.
». Ek! + Bj! = Bj! + Ej= BE.
Hence, then, from the above
EH x Eh+ EJ x Eg = EB x Lb.—Q. E. D.
We have thus proved the Proposition, which we began by enunciating,
in the case represented in fig. 2. But the same is true in any other
case. For (see fig. 4.) we may suppose the rods KG, GC taken away,
and others KM, MC, KL, LC put in their place, and the reasoning will
be precisely the same, and the result the same, however many subdivi-
sions be made. And therefore the property is universally true.
The above demonstration is GroMEeTRICAL only; but by the help
of analysis we may give the following proof which at once applies to
every case which can occur.
2. ANALYTICAL DEMONSTRATION.
Suppose #B, BC removed, and replaced by any number of rods
EF, FC; EG, GC; FH, HC; EJ, JC; EK, KC, &e.
Let 0,0, 0,.... be the angles which ZF, HG, HH make with AB.
a rota SPL ai IS, EKG Be ald aes
Let S be the transverse section of iron in 4B:
Mee Ge ditto; an BPE GY IH, Mi Pes.
ee ey dittor wT) BAG i. Oo
Then, by hypothesis, S S,8,S,.... 8,/S,'S,’, are proportional to
the tensions of those rods.
Draw Cf, Cg, Ch, Cb, Cj, Ch, .. perpendicular to HF, EG, HH,
PB EJ) EK, :... Jom EC. Let HC =a: and BEC = d.
Now because the tensions at / are in equilibrium ;
P98, Cos 0, +S, Cos O)+. .-+ Sy’ Cos 0,/-F8,! Cos 0,/ +...
o=S, Sin, +8, Sin 0, +..4+ S|! Sin Oh SB Quran,
Then multiplying the first of these by a Cos d and the second by a
Sin d and subtracting.
S. a Cosd = 8S, a Cos (0, + d) + S, a Cos (0, +d) +...
+ 8,/a Cos (0,/—d) + 8S,’ a Cos (@,'/—d) +...
or S x HO=S, Xx Ef +8, x Fy +.... + 8,'x BH +8,’ x
Ek +...
6 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [JAN.
or quantity of iron in LB, BC = quantity in FF, FC; EG,
GC, &e.—Q. E. D.
If any of these bars be similarly subdivided the same is true; and
the most complicated system we chose may thus be devised; but the
same result is true.
N. B. The effect of the weight of the rods themselves has been
neglected in these calculations ; because it is always so small a quantity
compared with the tension. A bar of iron one-square inch section will
support 9 tons without stretching: the weight of one foot of such a
bar is only 3°31 lbs., which equals .00148 of a ton, or .00016 of 9
tons, a fraction so small that it may be omitted. But the Proposition
is nevertheless rigidly true even when the weight of the rods is taken into
account.
wees ee
Part I1.—The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas, or the “ Prdti-
cdkhyasitren.”
Translated from the German of Dr. Roth, by Lupwie E. Ress.
In the first treatise we spoke but in general terms of these writings.
The following essay will dwell more particularly on them.
1. The Royal Library at Paris possesses (under No. 203 Deva-
nagari) a manuscript of the most extensive Praticakhya (on 236
pages, Samvat 1751) with the following words at the end of each Patala :
iti-cri-parshada-vyakhyayam Ananda-pura vastavya vajrata-putra Uvata-
kritau prati-cakhya-bhashye, &c. The same work is again found in a
more ancient but more carelessly written copy in No. 28 of the Kast In-
dia House (204 pages ex codd. Colebr.) The sdtra text alone is again
in No. 1355 (Samvat 1781, 24 double pages codd. Colebr.).
2. As to what regards the size, the Praticdkhya of the very
careless manuscript No. 598, East India House, is greatly inferior
(83 double pages, likewise from Colebrooke’s Library.) This bad
copy however appears to have been written after a correct MS., and on
that account restitution may be made in almost all cases. At the end
of the fourth and fifth Adhyaya it is entitled: ‘ity Ananda-pura vas-
i > nae nin ded 1 , ; 2
tavya Bhatta vajrata-patra dvata-virachita-matrimodakdkhye pratica-
khya bhashye,” &e,
1848. | The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 7
3. Inthe Bodleian Library at Oxford there are two manuscripts of
a third work of this title. The first (17 double pages ex codd.
Wilson) contains merely the text ; fol. 1—5 are wanting. The second (94
double pages, of which pages 1—22 are wanting ; also from Wilson’s
collection) gives both text and commentary, which last however does
not appear to me to have been written by Uvata. It bears the title:
iti-tri-bhashya-ratné pratigdkhya-vivarane,” &c. Judging from this
title it might be a compilation from three more ancient comments.*
‘Why the common title of these works can not be the original
one, I have already mentioned above. But in the later Indian
literature, it has been adopted, and in Madbusudana Sarasvati’s
Prasthanabheda, an Encyclopedia of Indian Literature, it is men-
tioned in the following manner: tatra sarvaveda-sadharani ciksha
athaciksha pravakshyamity Adi panchakhandatmika Paninina praka-
ita; Praticgakhé cha bhinnar-ipa, praticadkhyd ségnité anyair eva
munibhi: pradarcita (No. 2098, E. Ind. H. fol. 5, b). To this be-
longs Panini’s work, under the title of ciksha, which refers to the whole
Veda. It has five divisions, each beginning with the words “ atha
ciksham,” &c. which divide it in cékha, and bearing the name of Pratica-
khya, has been also treated on by other holy teacher. The author of
the Prasthanabheda here considers the word cakha to mean a division of
the Veda. The book called ciksha in a more strict sense (grammatical
doctrine) is said to point to all the writings of the Vedas. ‘This little
work, which consists of but sixty verses, and which is usually counted
as one of the Vedangas, certainly treats merely of the most general
tules of the parts of Grammar, which are also spoken of in the
Praticakhyas, and is without doubt, but a compilation from the latter
and new composition. Colebrooke has marked this book as such
in the manuscriptural notes of his copy.f Another book of the same
* T will mark these books according to the order in which I introduced them, as first,
second and third Praticakhya, for shortness sake. In the first I can quote the para-
graphs, as they are given in the MS. of the text in every single Patala, containing always
from three to five verses, and also as they are marked in the commentaries. I quote the
third also in the same manner. And since a revising subdivision is wanting in the second,
we can consequently name only thie principal sections, and we must add to this the
number of pages in the MSS.
+ No. 1378, Ev I. H. if Ido not mistake the number. Other MSS. of the ciksha
may be found in the same place, Nos. 1981 and 1743.
8 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [JAN.
tide and contents, and at all event more valuable than the Vedanga,
is called the Mdnduki-cikshd (No. 680 E. Ind. H.) and contains
182 verses in sixteen divisions. But it is also of a later period.
The assertion of Madhusiidana, that the Pratigadkhyas explain
merely single parts of the Vedas, is wrong, and the reason of this
assertion may be a misunderstanding of the word cakha, which in
no way means merely a branch of the Veda writings, but also a
branch of the Vedaic study, a school, and in this point of view is
of the same meaning as carana. Krityacintamani in his com-
mentary to Gobhilés Crautasutren (MS. of the E. I. H. fol. 1)
proves to us that the difference of the Praticakhyas has its founda-
tion in the variety of schools, when, commencing with a S#tra, he
says, it was taken from the Mddhyandina ¢cdkhiya prdticakhya. The
quotation is from the second of the above books, and we learn
in this manner, what we could not exclusively have taken from the con-
tents of the work. It is certainly in one instance expressly said (fol. 81,
6.), that the Madhyandinas do not make use of certain letters, and
in another passage (fol. 12. b.) the commentary remarks that that
school had a certain term, which was indeed also that of the text.
At this moment I can think of only one passage from Sayanas comment-
ary to the Rigveda, in which he quotes a Praticakhya (No. 2133, E. I.
H. fol. 21 a.) without any further reference. The quotation is from
the first of the abovementioned Pratigdkhyas, as likewise the note in
the commentary to Paninil. 1,9. The passages of the commentary
to Pan. VIII. 3, 61, and VIII. 4, 67, speak in general terms of
those books. One of my proofs of the antiquity and the original
designation of these books is founded on the following passage of
the Nirukta I. 17, para. sannikarsha: sahita pada prakritini sarva-
caranana parshadani. ‘‘ The Sanhita is the greatest contraction (of the
words) ; pada (the single separated words) is the fundamental form of
the Sanhité ; the (grammatical) books of instruction of the schools are
also of this opinion.” It is remarkable that the first words of this passage
‘para; sannikarsha sanhité also are found as Sitra in Panini I. 4, 109.
They are however by no means of that description, that we have thence
to conclude Panini’s dependence on Jaska, or vice versd, both might have
used such a significant word on an object, so much discussed, from a
more ancient source, What are now the parshada and what the carana !
1848. | The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 9
Durga explains this passage perfectly satisfactorily : sarvesha caranana
sarva-cakhantarand ity arthe:—Kim: parshadani svacarana parshady
eva jaiopraticakha niyatam eva padd—vagraha pragrihya krama sanhita
svara lekshanam uchyate ténimani parshadani paticdkhyanity artha.—
That carana can mean nothing else but school is clearly explained in
Gagaddhara’s commentary (MS. of the E. I. H. fol. 6. b.) to Mala-
timadhava, p. I. 1, 2, of the Calcutta Edition ; ‘“ carana guruva iti | ca-
rana-cabda: cakha viceshadhyayana paraikata pannagana sangha vaci
(tatra saméihe tegurava kriya kritva vedadhyapitra:! sagururja: kriya
kritva vedam asmai pagachatita smriti: | gadva caranai: Kalapa dibhir
gurava mahanta:1 It is of exactly the same meaning in Panmi II. 4, 3,
and VI. 3, 86,* and thence we see that before that grammarian, there
were already many more schools in existence.
Parshada means, according to Durga’s explanation, a book of instruc-
tion treating on the grammatical rules, adopted as a guide by one or
the other of these schools, and Pratigakhya must be considered as
an adjective which marks the peculiar differences of the Parshada.
From this alone we might conclude that our Praticakhyas are nothing
else but the Parshada of the cakha. Add to this that the quota-
tion of Yaska, “ pada-prakriti: sahita” is really taken from Pra-
tic, I. pat. 2. 1, and that also the remaining Praticdékyas contain that
doctrine of the connection of the pada with the Sanhita. Prat. III.
1. f. 32. a. atha sahisdyam ekapranabhave | yathayuktad vidhi: Sa
prapriti{ similarly Prat. II. 1. f. 16. b. 3. f. 25. b. Besides this the
first Praticdkhya bears the title parshada, and is mentioned in the
introduction as such: and lastly, Uvata remarks in a commentary to
the second Praticakhya (fol. 41. b.) to a Sttra, which treats of the
sounds ri and lri, that the same are considered in other parshadas, as
* Tn the first passage (II. 4, 3,) it appears to me, that that the Satra was not correct
ly understood by the commentators, and after them by ‘‘ Bohthlingk.” In my opinion
anuvade means “‘ in the citation,” and the Satra means to say, that when the quotation of
the opinion, &c. of two schools is given, both names are as Dvandva, and in the singular
number. Considered in this point of view, Sdtra has a meaning, and one can explain the
singular, while according to the commentators, one does not know why the plural is not
as correct here as in the other case. I give here an example from Pratic IIT. fol. 46,
a ‘‘dvav Uttamollotjasya repham. Both (visarga the anticedent of repha and kepha)
become repha according to the opinion of the Uttama and Uttauja.” That Pan. I, 3,
49,in his commentary on the root vad with ant, has it in quite another sense, and
adduces quite a similar example, can be no proof of the above,
10 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [JAN.
svarabhakti, and on this he quotes a passage of the first Praticakhya.
In the third also they really bear this denomination (II. 9, &c,) And
if we have assigned that denomination to two of these books by external
evidence, the identity of the contents and of the posterior title will be
of sufficient proof with regard to the third.
At last, what concerns the schools to’ which we have to assign
these writings, the school of the Madyhandina, is pointed out for the
second Praticdkhya, from which originated an edition of the Yajurveda,
as well as of the Vag’asaneya Sanhita, and especially one of catapatha
- Brahmana. At the conclusion of the book it is ascribed to Katyayana,
with the words: “eva svarasarkérayo: Pratishshapayita Bhagavan
Katyayana ida ¢dstrom aha.”
Not merely the Stitras of the Yajurveda, and according to some, the
Anukramani of Rik, are said to originate from this Katyayana, but also
especially the Vagasaneya Sanhita, which latter are particularly pointed
out in the manuscripts (to B. No. 965, E. I. H.) that they are those
of the Madhyandina. :
In the introduction by Uvata to Pratig. II. fol. 41. b. as well as
by Shadgurucishya in his Vedadipa, the introduction to the comment
of the Anukramani (after an Oxford MS. fol. 6. a.) the first Prati-
cakhya is ascribed to Caunaka, on whose shoulders many other books are
thrown, for example the already mentioned Brihaddevata, a book with
the title of Rigvidhdna (about the application of the hymns of Rig to
various purposes) which is yet extant ; a Padavidhana, the fourth book
of Aitareya Aranyaka and several other writings on ceremonies. The
abovementioned introduction of the first Praticdkhya originates without
doubt from Uvata; after Caunaka is pointed out as the originator
of the Parshada, and the author has expressed his intention to
explain the same; he continues with the following verses, which I
here write down, since their explanation may be doubtful: Champay4
nyavasatpfirva Vatsana kulam : riddhimat : Yasmin dviga-varagata bhah-
vrica paragottama Devamitra iti khyatas tasmingato mahdmati sachaisha
parshada-creshtha: sutas tasya Mahatmana Namna tu Vishnuputra
sa kumara iti cashyate teneja jog’ita vritti, sakpshipt4 parshade sphuta
Parigrihnantu viprendré ; supasannd ima mama: agnandd yad ayukta
syat tad rigi-kritya grihjata. In Campa there lived a noble race of the
Vatsas, from whom Devamitra descended, whose son Vishnuputra is
1848. | The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 11
said to be a celebrated teacher, and author of the commentary to the
Pratigakhya before us. The writer of the introduction would have found-
ed his comment on this commentary, but now he says as above,* that
he began svacaktya with a commentary and moreover further on he
claims the indulgence of the learned, which he would likely not have
done this, had his work been nothing else than an extract (yakshipta)
from a more ancient book. One might therefore conclude that the author
of this introduction was Vishnuputra, and that he spoke of himself in
the third person, ya chaisha bis sphuta: sakship might then be ex-
plained as meaning “condensed.” But in this case the passage would
contradict the abovementioned ends of Chapters, and the Parshada
creshtha, were not in its proper place. I would consequently always prefer
and accept the first explanation, that Uvata had in the words “tene-
yam, &c.” underrated the extent and the value of his labour. In Uva-
ta’s commentary we would thus have a work founded on the more ancient
explanation of Vishnuputra. Though Uvata himself is more ancient
than Mahidhara, the commentator of the Vagasaneyi (Colebr. Ess. I.
p. 54, n.) and more ancient than Devaraga, the commentator of the
Neighantuka he can yet not be very much earlier since he quotes Pu-
ranas in some passages.
As regards the Stitras themselves, there appears to be no reason
why we should not consider them the rules of a Veda school which
took its name from Caunaka, of the existence of which we have how-
ever no other evidence than the importance of the name in the later
tradition of the learned treatment of the Veda, and perhaps also their
presence in the compound of Cakala Cunaka (of the gana Karta-
kaugapan) where it appears at the same time with the school of
Cakalya. The first Praticdkhya has repeatedly a particular regard to
the doctrines of this latter, and it is imaginable that there was a nearer
connection between the scholars of Caunaka and Cakalya.
The third Praticakhya differs from the two previous ones in a
most remarkable manner. Among the twenty names of grammarians
with which he gives authority to his rules, there is not a single one
which can be found in those two, or even in the Nirukta, while
the three last mentioned books appear on the whole to have the
* In the proximity of the modern Compassur near Bhagalpore (Burnouf Introduc-
tion, para. 149, n. Wilson, Varh. Pur. p. 445.)
e 2
12 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [ JAN.
same more ancient literature in view. There is yet another differ-
ence. The first Praticdkhya appears to relate throughout to the
Sanhita of the Rik in all his examples which he chooses, and sometimes
even quotes its hymns after their authors, for example II. 7. Gotame
chaminanta, with Gotama the last @ in aminanta with an Anunasika
before the vowel e. (The quotation relates to Rik, I. h. 79. 2.) Though
the second book does not mention any source for its quotations, yet
I am lead to believe, that by far.the greatest number originates from
the Sanhité of Rik, notwithstanding the circumstance that according
to Indian tradition the zeal for the Vagasaneya Sanhitaé and the
Catapatha Brahmana is only ascribed to the school of Madyandina.
The Oxford Praticdkhya on the contrary, not only shows an immense
difference in the choice of its quotations, but it also very frequently
gives beginnings and names of sections, whose examples it quotes,
among the latter, for example: grahaukhya yagydas certain Chapters
of the Taittiriya Sanhita bear these liturgic denominations. I have had
no opportunity to investigate, whether these examples may be found in
the respective parts of the above mentioned Sanhita, the same denomi-
nations probably apply to the Vagasaneyi. But that the Taittiriya San-
hita is rather the source of Praticakhya, appears to me probable, from
the naming of Taittiriyaka in some of his Sitras, which treat of sound
and pronunciation. (II. 11.) Notwithstanding this difference, there is of
course very frequently an identity of examples, which can be very sim-
ply explained from the fact that both collections of Yajur have a great
number of sections in common with the Riksanhita. The author of the
commentary to this book appears to be, as I have already mentioned,
to be another than Uvata. From the quotations at the end of book from
Garuda Purana, Devi Purdna, Brahma Purana and Bavishya Purana, we
can guess of the time when he lived. The difference of these books then
appears to arise by no means from the fact that they give a grammar,
which in point of matter greatly differs one from another, and is
based on different Vedaic books, but on the contrary their contents
are essentially the same, if we do not speak of mere superficial differ-
ences, as in all the Veda writings it is the same style throughout found,
their difference results only from the more or less exclusive use of the one
or the other book in the choice of the document and from the manner
of treatment, as of course in different schools it must be different.
1848. ] The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 13
I here note down a list of the grammarians to which the Pratica-_
khyas refer. These names, as well as the whole Indian grammar,
have also a historical meaning, for it appears that the dryness of the
empirical analysis of language alone was powerful] enough to overpower
the imagination and to rescue the past from its all-consuming power. As
there lies a treasure of historical and geographical knowledge in Panini,
we possess in the Praticdkhyas the history of the Vedas study, and
at the same time the history of one side of Indian development of
mind which will always be again recognized as the centre of Indian life
which runs through all centuries.
| The first Praticakhya contains the names of the following teachers :—
1. Cakalya; his school Cakalds is also mentioned. According to
Nir. VI. 28, the pada pdtha originates from him, and Durgd (ad. 1. c.)
calls him pada kara. He is quoted by Panini I. 1, 16; VI.I, 127;
VIII. 3, 19, 4, 51, and in Aitareya Aranyaka III, 2,6. Sayana to
Rik. V. 4, 28, calls him Maharshis. Let us also further observe the
passage of the Acvalayana Sitras, quoted in my first part. He is one
of the speakers in the Vrihad Aranyaka to Vol. III. 9.
2. Cékatayana, likewise mentioned by Panini III. 4, 111; VIII. 3,
18, 4, 50 ; compare the Gana nadadis. He is also mentioned in Nir. T.
3, 12, 13.
3. Gdrgya. Pan. VII. 3, 99; VIII.3, 20, 4,67. (Gana gargadis)
Acvalsi. grh III. 4. Nirukta 1, 3, 12; III. 13. Ar. IV. 6.
4. Mandtkeya, mentioned in Aitareya Arany III. 2, 6. Acv. gr. si.
Ill. 4.
5. Panedla, Badbhravga Acv. gr. sd. III. 4.
6. Vedamitra (compare Wilson. Vish. Pur. p. 277.)
7. Vydii, several times quoted in Hemachandra.
8. Vaijaska.
II. The second Praticdkhya mentions the following :—
. Aupacivi.
. Cakalya.
» Cakatayana.
. Caunaka (vide above.)
orkh WW =
. Gargya. |
6. Gdtukarnya. This grammarian is mentioned in Aitar. Arany.
VY. 3,3, together with Galava and Agnivecydyana, as an authority of the
14 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. * [JAN,
rules which are to be observed during instructions in certain parts of
the ceremonial Vrh, Arany. II. 6; VI. 6.
7. Kdcydpa quoted by Pan. VIII. 4, 67.
8. Kdnva.
III. In the third Praticakhya we find the following names :—
1. Agnivecya. Pangana tikakitaévas and Garga. Vrh, Ar. II. 6.
2. Agnivecydqana. Do. and Aitsr, Arany. V, 3, 3 (vide at II. 6.)
3. Atreya.
4, Bhdradvdja mentioned by Pan. VII. 2, 63. Vrh. Ar. II. 6.
Tyo:
5. Cattdyana.
6. Cankhdyana. Gana garga.
7. Gautama. Vrh. Ar, II. 6. IV. 6. Acval. crautasé. I. 3; II. 6;
Vi6:
8. Kdndamdyana.
9. Kauhaliputra.
10. Kaindinya.
ll. Mdcdkija.
12. Paushkarasddi. Pan. gana Taulvali and Jask.
13. Plikshi. '
14. Pldakshdyana.
15. Sankritya gana Garga Vrh. Ar. IT. 6.
16. Ukhya.
17. Valmiki.
18. Vdtsapra.
19. Vatabhikdra.
20. Hdrita.*
It is superfluous to observe here that those of these names, to which
there is no special reference, belong for the most part to the Vedaic
literature, and if, in Indian history, every important epoch is charac-
terized by a number of peculiar proper names, we may reckon those
here mentioned as belonging tothe more ancient epoch. By a reference
* To complete the whole we may here enumerate all the other grammarians or commen-
tators mentioned inthe Nirukta:—1. Aupamanyava; 2. Audumbarayana; 3. Agriyana;
4, Aurnavabha ; 5. Carmaciras ; 6. Catabalaksha ;7. Cakatayana ; 8. Cakaptini; 9. Gar
gya;10. Galava; 11. Kacchakya; 12. Kautsa; 13. Kraushtuki; 14, Maudgalya; 15.
Sthaulashthivi; 16, Tait?ki 17, Varshyayana.
1848. ] The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 15
of the appearance of a large number of those teachers in the Upani-
shads, Vrihad Aranyaka and Aitareya Aranyaka, there is no doubt
that these books belong to a later period of literature.
The number of Grammarians, whose opinions are preserved to us in
the Pratigakhya, already shows how far this art had spread, and Yasha
(Nir. If. 2.) confirms this in a remarkable statement, according to which
verbal roots are marked grammatically, in four different ways by the
grammarians of four different countries. These four tribes are, besides
the Pracya and Udicya, also the Kambogaand Arya. Hence it is proved
most irrefutably that the Kamboga were not only an originally Indian
nation, but also a nation of Indian civilization, so that this civilization
reached as far as the Hindu Kush at the time of Yaska. If we turn up
the well known passage of Manu’s laws (X. 43,) we will find that they
were afterwards reckoned to be barbarians, because their manners became
afterwards changed, and they were justly called Indians by the Greeks
and Chinese. The same therefore happened to the Kombagas although in
a less marked manner, which took place among the Zend-people and the
Indians at a more remote period.
In order to give a proof of the various grammatical matter which is
treated in the Praticakhyas, I would have preferred the chapter concern-
ing the accent for which we expect the most abounding and complete
material here, as in the most ancient grammar which at the same time
especially treats on Vedaic writings; the difficulty of printing it
however, rendered more unbearable by being printed in Roman charac-
ters owing to the great number of accentuations, causes me to reserve
this for a later and more circumstantial work. Instead of this we will
speak of the doctrine of the Anusvara, which contains also something
peculiar to the Vedas, and also of the Pdtha of the Veda.
On THE ANUSVARA.
The most remarkable mode in the first and second Pratigakhya,
in distinguishing the nasal sounds is that
1. All colored (rakta) or nasal sounds are called Anundsika, com-
prehending the last of the five Vargas, the Yamas and the Anusvdras.
2. Only the five nasals of Varga are called Ndsikya.
3. Those nasals which are not Ndsikya and not Jama are called
Anusvara.
16 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [JAN.
On the other hand in the first of these books any nasal element in
general is again marked by the name of Anusvdra (XIII. 1,) since it
is said that according to the supposition of several grammarians the
Anusvdra was the source of the nasal sound, like the vowel a, i. e. a
vowel element, that of the clear sound (ahur ghosha ghoshavasdun
akéram eke nusvaram anunasikéném.)
A further difference however is found in the third Praticékhya, where
an dnunasikya is distinguished from anusvdra and ndsikya. This anuna-
sikya is Bopp’s primitive Anusvara. It will perhaps be well to adhere
to this distinction, of which Pdnini also is aware, although he does
not always bear it im mind. As regards the pronunciation of the
anunasikya, the grammarians are, according to the account of the same
book (I. 5,) of contrary opinions. Caitydyana insists that the anunasi-
kya is pronounced more emphatically (tivrataram) than the anusvara
and the uttama (the nasals of the Varga.) Kauhaliputra considers all
the nasals as equal, and Bharadvaja declares the anundsikya weaker
than the anusvara. It is possible that this contradiction may have
its foundation in the different usage of the word Anusvdra.
The nose alone (Prat. II. 1, fol. 8.b.) is partly spoken of as the
organ, with which the nasals are formed, and partly both mouth and
nose (Prat. I. 13, 2; rakta vacano mukhanasikaébhjam) or both organs
are limited tothe anunasika in a more strict sense (Prat. II. 1, f. 8, b.)
and then the anusvara is said to be pronounced with the hanumila
(in the posterior part of the mouth.) These contradictions which are
found in the same mauner, with Panini (comp. Bohtlingk to I. 1, 8,
9,) originate from the circumstance, that the nasal was at one time
considered as inherent to the vowel, and at another separated from it.
Or how could, for example, Panini consider the anusvara once as a
vowel and then again say that it was pronounced merely with the nose,
while he even points out to the nasal consonants of the Varga mouth
and nose as organs, i. e. he considers them at the same time of a nasal
and vowel kind. In the same manner the first Praticakhya also speaks
of the anusvara as being as well vowel as consonant. (I. 2).
As to what regards the usage of the real Anusvara, or according to
the above distinction, of the Anunasikya, as being in this respect a parti-
cular sound and no substitute, so far as in the place which it occupies
every other nasal is impossible, the Pratigakhyas teach the following :
1848. | The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 17
1. THE REAL ANUNASIKYA.
Prat. I. 4, 6: » at the termination of a word when following a long
a, exen when a vowel follows, is lost; a, in the dupadd: pada-
vritayas. We have as examples agran, gagrasdndn, devahitaman,
badbadhanan, Indra soman, trshanaén, nodeva devan, hanta devan (for
example devahitama acvan).
Note.—Both the other Praticakhyas explain this case by a peculiar
process; Prat. II.3; fol. 38, 4; aAkaropadho jakaram, i. e. the x
terminating a word after a long 4 becomes before a vowel, a y, and accord-
ing to an earlier adhikara, the upadha becomes nasal (likewise Prat. IIT.
1, 9). Mahan becomes indras consequently mahayindras ; after the Sat-
raja-vayo: padantayo: svaramadhye lopas (4. fol. 56. b.) the y drops
and it remains mah4indras. After the same manner the omission of the
Visarga is treated in the very same passage (4. fol. 44, b.) kanthya-purvo
yakaram ariphitas, (namely, visarg’ aniyas) consequently chitra: adityénam,
chitray Adityanam chitra ddityanam. Panini explains the latter change in
the very same manner (VIII. 3, 17, 18, 19,) while he does not use it to
explain the omission of the” ; the difference here is certainly much great-
er. We have according to the opinion of the Indian Grammarians an-
other example for the same occurrence in the word pra-uga. While the
same is given in the Praticakhya I. 2, 1, without any further explanation
in connexion with puraeta, tita-unri and nama uktibhis, as vivritti within
the word ; the second Praticakhya (4. f. 57, a.) has the Stitra prayugam iti
yakara lopas. I doubt whether for this word, which in the Sanhita itself
is only twice met with (I. 7, 5,6, and X. 11, 2, 3) we can give another
derivation than that of the Praticakhya, which the later grammarians also
adopt. The y appears like the v, to have been capable of such a soften-
ing (laghuprayatnataras, according to Cakataéyana, with Pan. VIII.
3, 18,) that nothing of it remained but the hiatus between the vowels,
which it had separated (as in the vikara for ai, for instance anvetava w).
On that account we might regard the same on one side as a means
for explaining a hiatus, on the other side however we might, (as the
first Pratigakhya) object to this substitution, and treat as hiatus (pada-
vrittayas) the same Sandhi, which the second will explain by putting in
a semi-vowel. It is however remarkable that the second and third
Praticakhyas, as well as Panini and the more ancient teachers quoted by
D
18 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [JAN.
him, instead of choosing the v, which offered itself so naturally for
explaining the change of the visarga, preferred the more distant y for
that purpose. From this we are led to conclude that y, even in the
cases where it is entirely preserved, had yet a much softer sound than
v, and thence appears much fitter than the former letter, also thera
to be inserted where the grammatical abstraction alone required a conso-
nantical element which in pronunciation was indeed not at all express-
ed. For how much the nasal element lost its character as a consonant
in the above dnpada: padavrittayas, and went off in a vowel, we ob-
serve, not merely from the given denomination of the occurrence, but
also from an application of the nasal sign derived from it which will
be described afterwards, and which does not allow to consider it as any
thing belonging to a consonant.
(b.) In the vivritty-abhiprdya-sandhayas pivo anna rayivridhas, da-
dhanva yo, g’ug’urva ya: svava yata dadva va.
N. B. Prat. II. 3, f. 37 b. has the same examples.
(c.) Sparca-repha-sandhayas. The terminations an and dm change
their » in repha before hatam, jonau, vacobhis, yan, yuvan, yan, vani-
shishta (ut panir hatam drmya madanta, Rik I. 24, 5, 2,) and before
vowels dasydér ekas, nrir abhi.
N. B. Exceptions to (a.) are asman upa (dhenur vag asman upa sush-
tutaitu) etavan, sphuran, gachan (gachan iddadusho rétim) devan ajat,
hiranya chakran (pacy4 hiranya chakran ayodashtran,) mayavaén, gho-
shan (dAyat te ghoshan uttara yugani. III. 3, 4, 8,) tan acvind, avidvan
(avidvan, itthaparo acheté:) payasvan (payasvan agna 4gahi, I, 5, 4,
23) yagiyan putran d4dhehi ; patin uro (?) toc.
Prat. I. 3. f. 38. b. and 39. a. mentions besides an adhydya begin-
ning with acva, (of which book, I do not know) in which dm remains
unchanged before a vowel, as exceptions also the following: lokan,
manushyén, amitran before ut (lokén udag’ayat, amitran, unnayami,
manushyén udagéyatém) and dn before dpnoti and iti (the latter
in the Kramapatha, in which morever this change cannot take
place.)
Prat. III. 1, 9, names as exceptions racmin (ragmin anu) crapayan,
yaman (suyaman fitaye) patangan (patangaén asanditas), samanan, archan
(archén Indra gravanas) yagiyan (yagiydén upasthe) ; lastly dv suffers
no change before ud and atha (vidvan atha.)
1848. | The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 19
(d.) Sparcoshma sandhayas. Then, n, following a long vowel, is
treated like the Visarga before the words charat (mahag charati), chakre,
chamasan, cha, cho, chit, charasi, chyotnas, chaturas, chikitvan,
N. B. Prat.II. 1, 5, nakéra: cakara chaparas. Exceptions: dyan,
airayan, ddhruvan, anadvan, ghrnivan (?) varunan. According to Prat.
I, the exceptions are : asman (asman cha ta¢ cha pra hi neshi. Rik II.
1, 16 ;) chamasan (yada vyakhyac chamasan chaturas. R. II. 22, 5, 4)
pacin cha sthatrin (?) cha I. 12, 8, 6.)
n is treated in the same way as Visarga in the combinations
(dvaipada) taste, sarvas tan, devas twa tas trayasva, avadds tvam.
(e.) Sandhir vikrdntas ; im nri: patibhyas nri; pranetram, nri: patram
(I. 18, 1, 1.) svatava: payus and nri; pahi crinudhi (giras).
N. B. To nri: pati according to the observation of the commentator,
is expressly added to crinudhi, because it is said in another place raksha
nrin pahyasuratvam asmat. Prat. II. 3, fol. 28. a. only says nrin pakare
visarganiyam. Compare Pan. VIII. 3,10. For syatavan we give the
example, bhuvas tasya svatavi: payuragne. Compare Pan. ibid.
Dy:
As an appendix the following is said: adi-svara¢g cottaresha pade
pi, maspacanya macchatve, macchatachcha. Examples: méaspachanya
ukhayas (Rik I. 22, 6, 13.); macchatve va prigane v4; bradhna
macchator Varunasya (VII, 3, 11, 3.) These words are mentioned here
and not below in the section of anundsikya within the word, no doubt,
because they were considered in the relation of Sandhi.
In the five previous cases, when x disappears, or becomes either
repha or ashméa, the vowel preceding it (pirvas tat sthanat) is said to
become nasal.
N. B. These are the Sandhi of x peculiar to the Veda. As for the
remaining changes of , for example, before /, as well as for m being
changed to anusvara, the same rules are given, which are also met
with in Panini. As the latter leaves it optional to adopt in these
cases a lopa of and m and to change the upadha to a nasal, or to
preserve the pure vowel, and to chose the change of x and m in Anus-
vara, so we find both opinions in the Praticakhyas. The first and third
adopt the former, and the second the latter. According to the second
(3, fol. 40, b.) Kasyapa and Cakatayana permit the use of the lopa, and
Aupacivi adopts the nasal sound of the npadha before a vowel, and the
D 2
20 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [JAN.
anusvara before a consonant. The third Praticékhya also mentions
expressly the different opinions (II. 3.)
In quite another chapter (XIII, 2,) viz. in that of the pronunciation,
and in the immediate annexation tothe varnétma gunacastram, the first
Praticékhya treats the Anusvara within the word (anan tasthan anus-
varam) which Vyali (XIII. 4;) calls nd@stkya or anundsika, and mentions
alsoin that place those cases in which the Anusvara follows a long
vowel.
These are—
(1.) The Anusvdra in the plurals of neuter nouns ending with
ashma, before the termination sz and shi, for example chakshishi.
(2.) The Anusvdra before the terminations sa; sd, san, sam, if no
nami precedes it, but a y or vnot produced by means of Sandhi; for
example: vidvasan.
(3.) In the words gighasan, pasire, masam, pumasam, patisyam.
(4.) In the praclishta sandhi (coalescing of two similar vowels)
example: abhitacas, and in the abhinihita sandhi (Elision) hayamahé
homucham ; and lastly, i
(5.) In the words magchatve and ayasam.
N. B. The third Praticakhya is very explicit in ae enumeration
of the Anusvaéra within the word, without however contaiming any
thing worth remarking except the following passage, of whose explana-
tion however I am not quite certain, since I have not the commentary
toit: (II. 4.) Akare’kérokara : si-shi-paraé: padantayo: vikrite ’pi ana-
karo hrasva Sankrit yasya, The last sentence cannot well otherwise be
completed than : an-dkdaro ’nusvaro (or svar4) hrasva anunasika apadyate
Sankrit yasya matena. The opinion of the grammarian Sankritya would
accordingly be, that among the neutral roots in s, only those in as before
the plural termination of the first and second cases had the double
augmentation by inserting the nasal sound, and the elongation of the
vowel of the final syllable, while the others pointed out but the first, and
accordingly for instance havishi must be formed.
2. The euphonic Anunasikya.
In the second Patala of the first Praticékhya (6, 7.) which treats
of the Sanhita of the vowels, we meet with the following section under
the Adhikdra * prakrityd.”
Svare padada udaye sacheti, shy-antd g’osha charshanic¢ charshani-
bhya: |
1848. ] The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 21
Ekéranté mitrayor asmad ivan (?) namasyur ity upadha chety
aprikta : 11
Ekaraukara-paraucha kanthyau Luchad arvag, Gotame chaminanta |
Vibhva dharté vipanyé kaday4 matety rikare, ’py apadadibhagi 11
Paruchepe bhisha pathety akare, eva agnim Atishu sa plutopadha : |
Sacddayo ya vihita vivrittaya: plutopadhas t4 anunasikopadha. t1
Before the vowel beginning witha Pada, the word sacha remains un-
changed (Rik I. 10, 1, mandishta yad ucane Kavye saca Indro.. ;
X. 2, 4, so chin nu vrishtir yithyasva sacha Indra:..); further, the
particle 4 after the terminations shu, and e, as well as after the words
charshanis, charshanibhya : mitrayor, ivan (?) namasyus. Examples are :
Rik IX. 7, 7, 4, ag’ig’ano amrita marthyeshv 4 ritasya dhar mann amri-
tasya charuna: ; III. 3, 5, 2; ayahi parvirati charshanir 4 arya acisha ;
to ekarantam probably, for example: V. 4, 4, 1; aémenyasya ragaso yad
abhra 4 apo.
Further the vowels a and 4 in the hymns which precede those of Luca
(Rik X. 3, 6, 7 ;) remain further unchanged (at the final Pada) before e
and o; examples: Rik I. 7, 3, 4, Ghanena ekac charan.... ; I. 16, 8,
savaya eva ;..II. 2, 3, 2; tasma eta bharata tad va caya esha Indro.. ;
IV. 4, 3, 2. sukrityaya yat svapasyaya cha eka.... ; (X 3, 5, 5. nyup-
tag cha babhravo, vacam akrata emid esha nishkrita gariniva.)
Further, with the Rishi Gotama, the word aminanta (here we may
adduce the following apadadibhagi, for the passage I. 13, 6, 2 says:
a te suparna aminanta 2 evai :)
Further, also in the middle of the Pada, the words vibhva, dharta
vipanya, kada ya (or ayé?), mata before the vowel ri (for example,
Rik IV. 4, 4, 6, vibhva ribhavo yam 4vishu:| II. 3, 6,4; pra sim
adityo asrigad vidharta rita sindhavo varunasya yanti (here also in the
metre), the same. IV. 1, 2, 12, pra cardha artta prathama pipanya rita-
syo.. ; agne kada ritachit apa ya mata rmuta vraga go : |)
With Paruchepa also the words bhishé and patha before a (I. 19,
7, 6. ghrinana bhisha adrivas ; ibid. 3, 9; jahi patha anehasa, In the
Atri hymns (i. e. in the 5th Mandala) eva agnim, with pluta of the first
vowel (V. 2, 11, 18, eva agnim vastyava:| V. 1, 6, 10, eva agnim
agur.... | The commentator gives an example for the contrary from
the Vasishtha Mandala.)
In all cases (pointed out here by sacha) of the meeting of two vowels,
the first becomes pluta and anunasika,
22 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [ JAN.
N. B. The second Pratigakhya mentions this case only in so far
as the Anunasika before vowels is spoken of in general terms; the
third however has the following passage (II. 3,) apragrahaé.: samanak-
sharany anundsikényekesham padacha pluta ¢ankhayana-kandamé-
yanayo: akaérastu sahitayaém api sarvam ekayama pirvesham| ‘“ The
vowels a, i, u, with the corresponding long ones, (when they meet in
vivritti) unless they are pragrihya, become nasal, after particular teach-
ers; in the Padapétha the pluta becomes nasal according to Cank-
hayana and Kandamayana, a, however also in the Sanhita. According to
the opinion of the Pirvayagnika every single vowel becomes nasal.”’
The latter would then relate to the pronunciation in the recitations and
hymns of the sacrifice. I do not know, how to explain the ekayanam
in any other way than to identify it with the aprikta of the other Prati-
cakhyas.
Panini also recognises the nasal sound, which I have distinguished
as the euphonic one, in t he Sitras VI. 1, 126, as being the particle
a, and in the very general rule VIII. 4, 57. I confess, that I cannot
conceive, what the latter is to say, as it is there without any further
explanation, (Bothlingk also has not explained it.) Does the avasdne
mean: ‘‘at the end of a word’ or ‘‘at the end of a pdda” or “‘at the
end of a sentence ?”? The examples of the commentators do not notice
it at all. I suppose the latter, and refer it to the elongation of the
vowel which terminates the sentence, in ceremonies of sacrifice and
similar things. As the mixed vowels were generally elongated by
separating their elements, (for example Aitareya Brahma. II, 7, at the
end of a praisha adhriga 3, u instead of adhrigo,) so a somewhat nasal
sound would have been necessary for the elongation of the single vowels,
In fact I would in general give the same signification to the Anunasikhya
which is not the substitute for a real consonant. It would only have
served to point out the vowel, which was to be elongated with par-
ticular emphasis and to be protected from coalescing with the follow-
ing one. That the nasal sign was chosen for this purpose, was by no
means without foundation, in so far as the vowel, which is lengthened
and pronounced in full, easily assumes a nasal sound; the anunasikya
was here so much the more fit, as according to the Indian grammar it
does not in fact express any thing belonging to a consonant, but only
a quality of the vowel. The calculation of the latter in the measure of
1848. | _ The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. 23
the syllable speaks here especially in favor of the latter. The first Pra-
ticakhya (XIII. 3) says: hrasvam ardha-svara bhaktyaé samaptém
anusvarasyopadhém dhuryeke anusvéra tavataivadhika hrasvopadha
dirghapirva tad-tinam, ‘* According to some authors a half mora is
wanting to a short vowel preceding an anusvara; the anusvira follow-
ing it is added with the same measure (of half a mora) ; a long syllable
before the anusvara is m the same proportion shorter,” i. e. while the
syllable has originally two matras, one and a half only belong to it in
this case, the other half is kept in the anusvara; the short syllable in
the same manner has but half a matra in the vowel and half a one in
the Anusvara.
But that the Anusvara is in reality nevertheless a consonant, requires
no proof, and the Indian prosody treats, notwithstanding that measure-
ment, the short syllable with Anusvara as being long in every place,
which is only possible by a sanyoga, The Anusvara also has, according to
the above, just the measurement of a consonant, i. e. half a mora (Prat.
II. 1, 6, 7, b. vyanganam ardhamatra.) It will of course only be pos-
sible to give a perfectly sure statement of this, if we know from other
sources this system of the measurement of single sounds and their
time in rhythm, of which Panini does not instruct us.
In conclusion, I make use of the above laws for the Anundsikya in
Veda for explaining a passage of the Rik. In Rik I. 9, 7, 6, (hymn
50, 6,) Rosen has:
Jena pavaka chakshasa bhuranyanta gana anu |
Twa Varuna pacyasi.
Rosen translates no doubt according to Saéyana: quolumine lustrans !
terram homines sustentantem intueris, protector!
He consequently supposes gana to be the accusative of the plural, and
the nasal sound of the 4 would be regular. But it is quite impossible
to find in the accusative masculine bhuranyantan, a terram nutricem, or
any thing similar. Besides I doubt, that in the Vedas one can meet
with a passage in which bhuranyati has the signification which was put
to it in the later grammar, namely : ‘ preserve, nourish’’ (s. the gana-
kandvadayas). On the contrary, it is brought forward in the Nai-
ghantuka, II. 14, among the gati karmanas, and the adjective bhu-
rangu among the kshipra namani (Naigh. II. 15, Nir. XII. 22.)
The latter is at the same time the denomination of the eagle or
24 The most ancient Grammar of the Vedas. [ JAN:
falcon (cakuni. Nir. 1, c.u. Sama II. 11, a. 13). Bhurana, a pre-
dicate of the Acvin; for example: Rik I. 17, 2, 11; X. 2, 13, 1, (ex-
plained by Rosen with sustentatores). This predicate is explained by
Durga (to Nir. VI. 28,) as meaning bhartdrau ‘cighrau vd, and this
denomination ‘the fast ones,” appears to be more fit for those divini-
ties with horse and chariot than sustentatores. Lastly, he explains
the bhuranyantam of our passage (to Nir. 12, 22) with kshipra gachan-
tam. The word, according to my opinion, means “ to stir up”’ (inci-
tare) and in a medial sense ‘to be on the alert, to be active,” so for
example Rik IV. 3, 6, 3, srigad yad asma, ava ha kshipag gy kricanur
asta manasa bhuranyan, “when the well hitting (?) marksman dis-
charges (his arrows), on him the tendon he flings with an active mind,’
1. €. Seizing the moment. V. 6, 1, 6, gharma yad vam arepasa, nadsat-
ya, ’snd bhuranyati, ‘‘ when he stirs your pure flame, Nasatya, with the
mouth” (breath) ; thus bhuranya is also said of the fire. I. 12, 4, 1, ert-
nann upasthad diva bhuranyu : sthatu¢ charatham aktiin vydrnot “ boil-
ing he rises towards heaven, nimbly (whirling) he uncovers all that is firm
and moveable, he uncovers the nights.” I further suppose gana to be
the accusative singular, and translate, ‘‘ With the splendor, with which
thou, oh purifying God, surveyest the active human race thou walkest
through the heavens, &c.’’ A long syllable was indispensable in that
passage of the verse ; ganam became ganam according to the elongations
so frequent in the Vedas ; and 4m was treated as, according to the above
laws, 4n would have been treated ; the long vowel turned anundsika. It is
worth remarking that the very exact Vedaic MS., 129, E. Ind. H. has
gana as well in verse 6, as in verse 3, and the same hand, which put the
accents with red color to the writing, has also added the long vowel.
There is also herein a pointing out the origin of the 4, which I first
supposed. The word gana is besides used mostly collectively in the
singular exemp. gr. Rik IV. 1, 9,1; &devayum gané. Sama I. 1, 2,
mantshe gane 10, 6; Swadhvara gana, Rik V. 1, 11, 1, ganasya gopas.
Tue PATHAS OF THE VEDA.
The Indian Grammar considered (see above) the single word as it
were, torn trom its union in the sentence, as the foundation of the
speech ; on that account the latter itself, although the observation
of the laws of sound, which we call euphonic, was a necessity in
1848. ] The most ancient Grammar of the Veda. 25
that foundation, appeared as something derived and standing in one
line with the artificial union of word and sound, which are applied to
the texts of the Vedas.
1, The Sanhita patha is consequently already a secondary form of
speech, a coalescing of the words, according to fixed laws. The three
principal processes of which the Praticékhyas treat with regard to
this Patha, are the Sandhi, the Plutz, and the Nati.
2. The Kramapatha is also termed Kramasanhité or Pranasanhité.
It has two principal forms, as I have already mentioned above.
(a.) The Varnakrama. The principal rules of this Krama are given
by Panini VIII. 4, 46 to 52, who, however, does not mention the object
to which they refer; it will therefore not be necessary to repeat them
here, since a more exact investigation of the same would lead us
too far, which would however in general not be unimportant for
the laws of sound in the Sanscrit. The first Praticakhya devotes a
separate chapter to it, viz. the sixth Patala, and in concurrence with
the third (II. 2.) notices for this manner of speech the most contradic-
tory opinions of previous grammarians. The second Praticakhya treats
of it in the fourth adhyaya, fol. 53, etc, as well asin other passages.
Béhtlingk has printed a small section to Pin. VIII. 4, 47, from the
Vagasaneya Sanhité, which appears to have been composed according
to this Patha.
(b.) The word krama. It is fully explained in the tenth and
eleventh Patala of the first Praticakhya ; there, however, it is called sim-
ply Krama and described in the following manner, dvabhy4m abhikramya
praty4-dayottara tayo : | uttarenopasandadhyat tathardharca samapayet: |
exemp. gr. the beginning of the well known song of Vasishtha would be
as follows : parganydyapra | pragayata | gayata diva:| divasputraya! pu-
tray a milhushe! milhushaiti milhu she. || The second Pratigakhya also
gives some rules about it, and it does not appear to have been rarely
made use of, although I myself have never seen a MS. com-
posed in this Krama of the simplest shape. The Bodley Li-
brary at Oxford however possesses a very carefully written, accen-
tuated and complete copy of the Vagasaneya Sanhita in the Gatapatha,
a more perfect exposition of the above Krama, in which the ardharea
‘aru Vishno vikramasva urukshay4ya naskridhi,” is as follows: uru
Vishno Vishna uraru Vishno! Vishno yi vi Vishno Vishno vi | Vishno (to)
E
26 The most ancient Grammar of the Veda. [JAN.
Vishno | vikramasva kramasva vil kramasvordéru kramasva kramasvoru !
urukshaydya-kshaydyori-rukshayéyai kshayaya no na: naskridhi
kridhi no naskridhi| kridhiti-kridhi.
However thoughtless such a repetition might be of itself, it yet
possesses the value for us to confirm the text in a measure, that one
MS. written in this manner does not leave any doubt (as to the text).
The same in fact was also the object of Indian grammar. Never-
theless even that simple Krama which is supposed to have for
its author Panchala, the son of Babhru, does not appear to have
enjoyed an uncontradicted authority. Since the Praticakhya itself
rejects other modifications of the Krama, it finds itself under the
necessity to defend its own doctrine against the blame of being treated
in an injudicious manner, No object, say the antagonists, can be gained
by this Krama (Kramana nértha:) it had its foundation on the already
existing Sanhita, without them it was impossible, and through them
superfluous ; it is also said that it was not traditionally adopted (na
crutas.) The Praticakhya however, takes it under its protection against
these and all other objections, and exposes its advantages in the follow-
ing verses :
Viparyayac, chastra-samédhi-darcanat, puraprasiddher, ubhayor ana-
crayat | |
Samabhyupeyéd bahubhig¢ cha sé dhubhi: crutec cha sanména-kara :
Krama ’rthavan |)
3. The Pada-pdtha. Of this the second Praticakhya treats in the
fifth Adhyaya, both the others speak of it but occasionally. It has not
only the object to dissolved the Sandhi, but also the Pluti, and Nati.
Lastly, every Samasa is divided in its parts, and the separation
(avagraha) is in the reading equal to one Matra. In this respect it will
not be unimportant for the history of the more ancient grammarians
to investigate, whether the Padapétha proceeds after the same ideas of
Samasa, which Panini gives. The principal effort of this Patha, in
general is directed to grammatical analysis, and it has been without
doubt the first and most simple explanation of the books of the
Vedas, at a time, in which, though the language of the same was still
essentially understood; single laws of sounds had already commenced
to change; the Krama readings on the contrary had in view less to
explain than firmly to establish and to secure the texts.
1848. ] Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 27
A Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms, being (Part I.) the Bucking-
hamshire and H. Co.'s Steamer Cleopatra's Hurricane on the Mala-
bar Coast and Arabian Sea, of April 1847. The Hurricane of the
H.C. 8. Essex in June 1811, and (Part II.) some considerations on
the loss of the Cleopatra Steamer, and for Steamers navigating the
Eastern Seas in general. By Henry Pippineron, President of
Marine Courts of Enquiry, Calcutta.
Part I.
In the month of April 1847, a very severe hurricane was experienced
on the Malabar coast, in which, amongst others, the ship Buckingham-
shire was totally dismasted and the H. C. Steamer Cleopatra, with con-
victs for the Straits is supposed to have foundered.* JI addressed the
Government and Chamber of Commerce of Bombay, as soon as the
newspaper accounts reached Calcutta, to obtain all the information
possible, and to both I beg to tender my respectful thanks for their
ready compliance with my request. I further, upon receipt of the first
documents, forwarded to the Government of Bombay a set of Queries
specially relating to the unfortunate Cleopatra, and these also have been
filled up (though less explicitly than I could wish) and returned to me, so
that it will, I trust, be recollected that the remark quoted in the note below
was addressed to the Government of Bombay of 1842, and not to that of
The Hon Mr. Clerk in 1847. And while preparing this paper, I am far-
ther indebted to the Bombay Government for a copy of some remarks on
this storm, and a chart of its track, by Captain Carless, of the Indian
Navy, who has also appended some remarks on the loss of the Cleopatra,
having himself very properly avoided standing into the bad weather in
the Sesostris, when bound in towards the coast from Aden to Canna-
nore. I have also to express my thanks to Captain Twynham, of the
Peninsula, and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, for an important
log from Colombo.
“ Verifying too fatally I fear, my half prediction respecting her and the Semiramis, in
a former occasion, in the eighth of these memoirs (Journal A. 8. Vol. XII. p. 397),
where I have had to remark as follows—‘‘ I grieve to add that, tothe disgrace of those
who may deserve the blame, neither the log of the Cleopatra or of the Semiramis, both
Government steamers, have been obtainable; I have strong suspicions that both ran
headlong into the storm circles. Is the Government of Bombay aware that a mistake
of this kind might cost it a steamer, or at least half of a lac of rupees of damages?” Not
long after this occurred the instance of the H.C. Steamer Plutc, which vessel, in the
face of every warning, ran headlong into a Tyfoon in the China Sea, was utterly dis-
abled, and narrowly escaped foundering, and on putting back drifted on the rocks of
Hong Kong ; her repairs, apart from the loss to the public service of her assistance at
Borneo, costing probably 30,000 rupees.
E 2
28 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
As in former Memoirs, I first give the documents abridged of all non-
essentials, and a tabular arrangement of them, and then a summary,
showing on what grounds the storm track has been laid down as it
appears in the chart, and finally in a separate section some considera-
tions on the loss of the unfortunate Cleopatra,
Abridged Log of the Ship East London. Log from Capt. Twynham
of Point de Galle—Civil time.
On 13th April 1847, the Hast London was at 8 a. M. in sight of the
North end of the Maldive Islands, bearing S. b. W. 4 W. 16 miles,
which with her subsequent run, would place her at noon, in Lat. 7.21
N.; Long. 73.34. E. Bar. 29.8, Simp. 29.66,* at 10 a. M.
p.m. wind N. W. b. W., throughout strong squalls, constant rain, and
heavy head sea; ship steering to the Li. b. N. 5/ per hour, Bar. 2 p. m.
29.74, Simp. 29.62, 6 ep. Mm. 29.70, Simp. 29.5, 10 p.m. Bar. 29.68 ;
Simp. 29.54. Weather increasing with heavy squalls, and thunder and
lightning, to a gale at midnight and the ship preparing for bad weather.
14th April.—a. m. Blowing harder ; 4 a. mM. a hurricane from N. W.
Ship sprung a leak, shipping much water and in distress, being unable
to leave the pumps to secure the sails blowing from the yards. Bar. at
4 a.M. 29.5! Simp. 29.4; noon 29.5, Simp. 29.38. Lat. Acct. 7° 39/
Long. Acct, 75° 04’ E, Wind from N. W. to W. N. W. up to noon.
p. m. wind W. N. W. Ship running tothe KE. N. E. before it ; 8 p. m.
W.S. W.; Bar. 29.54, Simp. 29.46; lost topmasts, and boats, and
ship in great distress, the main hatchway being stove in. Midnight
wind still more violent. y
15th April—a. M., water gaining on the pumps. Wind W. N. W.
blowing extremely hard ; ship making 5’ per hour to the E. N. E.; 4
A. M. Bar. 29.56, Simp. 29.34; 104. m. Bar. 29.50, Simp. 29.4;
wind and sea most furious ; Lat. Acct. 8° 6/ N. ; Long. Acct. 76° 10! E.
p.m. wind W.S. W.;4 Pp. m.S.W. At5 p.m. Bar. 29.53, Simp.
29.36; 8 p. m. Bar, 29.56, Simp. 29.38. Heavy squalls thunder and
lightning.+ Midnight Bar. 29.64, Simp. 29.40,
16¢h April.—Wind 8S. W.; 2 a.m. Bar. 29.70, Simp. 29.52; 4
a. M. gale abating, and at 8 a, m. Barometer gradually rising. Noon,
weather moderate, Lat. Acct. 7,44 N., Long. Acct. 76.53 E.
* It is mentioned in a separate note that the Simpiesometer had been as low
since the 2d of the month in calms off the Maldives.” as 29.66
+ Noted for the first time in the log since the 13th at midnight.
1848.] Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 29
Abridged Log of the Ship Buchinghamshire, Capt. McGrecor. From
the Government, and from the Chamber of Commerce of Bombay*
(Civil time.) °
The Buckinghamshire was at noon, 14th April, 1847, in Lat. 80 18
N.; Long 72° 56/ East; Bar. 20.85, Simp. 29.84, Ther. 81°. p. m.
strong breeze and cloudy from N. W. by N.; at 1.30. Minicoy bore E.
N. E.; 4 p.m. wind marked Northerly, and increasing. At 1 p. M. Bar.
paige 2m: Bar. 29°72, Simp. 29.74, Ther. 830. 3 Pp. m.°: Bar.
29.72, Simp. 29.75, Ther. 84°. 4p. m. Bar. 29.70, Simp. 29.69.
5 p.m. Bar. 29.67, Simp. 29.69. 6 p.mM.wind N.b E. 8p. M.
fresh gale, heavy sea from the S. E. and heavy squalls from the North ;
dismally dark, with the most vivid lightning. 7 p.m. Bar. 29.71,
Simp. 29.71. 8 ep. m. Bar. 29.70, Simp. 29.72. 9 P.M. Bar. 29.75,
Simp. 29.76, Ther. 803°. 10 v.m. wind N. E. b. East. Midnight
fresh gale, constant rain and lightning. To 9 Pp. m. ship standing to
the N. H. and E. b. N. and then to the N. W. and N. N. W.
15th April.—At 4 a. m. Bar. 29.67, Simp. 29.71, Ther. 803°. 6 a.
M. Bar. 29.71, Simp. 29.74. Daylight fresh gales N. E. b. E.; severe
squalls and a heavy sea; ship standing to the N. b. W. to noon, when
Lat. Obs. 9. 1. N., Long. 73.4. E., Bar. 29.67, Simp. 29.72, Ther.
815. p.m. wind N. E.; ship standing to the N. W.; Bar. 2 p.m.
Bored 57 rat 4) 29°64; at 6; 29°71); - at 8, 29.72; at 10, 29.73;
midnight 29.69. Simpiesometer and Ther. 2 p. m. 29.72, and 81°
at 4; 29.71, and 81°; at 6, 29.71, and 812°; at 8, 29.71, and 81°;
at 10, 29.73 and 814°; midnight 29.70 and 813°.
16th April.—a. m. strong gale N. E. b. N. and at noon a hard
gale from the same quarter; ship standing to the 8. E. b. E. Bar.
27 A. M. 29.58; at 43, 29.51; at 6, 29.51; at 8, 29.60; at 10, 29.58 ;
at noon, 29.53. Simpiesometer and Ther. at 23 a. m. 29.60,
and 804°; at 42 a.m. 29.55 and 81°; at 6, 29.54 and 8lo; at 7,
29.61; at 8, 29.63 and 8lo; at 10, 29.61 and 820; at noon 29.57
and 814. Lat. by Acct. 8.44 N., Long. marked as 73.3, East. p, m,
wind N. E. b. N., fresh gales and rain, with a high sea, 3 P.M.
wind North; 5, N. b.W. 4 W.; 9, W.N.W. Sunset hard gale.
Midnight hard gales, constant light rain, and lightning to the northward.
[N. B. wind now was about West, beingmarked W.S. W.at 2 4. M.]
* There are afew more details in the one than in the other, and I have inserted what
was essential from both, with notes from Capt. McGregor’s private Log.
30 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
Vessel standing from 3} knots to the E. 8. E. to 8 knots to the N. E.
b. E.
17th April.—2 a.m. wind W. 8. W.; Bar, 29.58; Simp. 29.60;
Ther. 814° ; daylight fresh gale, S. W. by 8. 8a. m. South; 9, 8. West-
erly. Course from N. E. to N.iE., 8 to 9 knots. At 8a. mM. set the
main topgallantsail. Noon fresh gales; Lat. 10° 20’ N.; Long. 75° 5’
E. v. m. ship running 11 and 12 knots to the N.N. W.; wind S. b.
W. i W.; strong gales, thick weather and furious squalls.
18th April.—To noon, ship running as before, 11 and 12 knots to the
N. N. W. and N. W. b. N.; 2 4. M. in maintop gallant sail ; by day-
light passed the Mermaid with ensign inverted ; threatening weather and
all the glasses falling ; but their register lost. Noon, gale increasing ; wind
marked §. EK. at 11 a.m. Noon Lat. ascertained from Capt. McGregor’s
log 14° 10’ N.; Long. 72° 59’ Kast. Gale increasing to an extraordinary
degree, maintopsail blew away ; kept the ship beforeit. vp. m. cut the
foresail from the yard; foretopsail blew away; at 0.30 pv. m. ship
broaching to, cut away the mizenmast and kept her before it. Blowing
a hurricane, maintopmast blew away, foremast dending* to its force;
1 ep. M. foremast went and a furious gust blew away the mainmast near
the deck. The quarter boat blew away, the large cutter flying across
the poop. The violence of the wind indescribable, every thing exposed
to its fury being blown away. The poop ports having blown in the
violence of the wind blew down the Cuddy bulkheads, destroying the
Barometers and every thing in all the cabins; a very high sea on, cover-
ing the ship with spray. The ship labouring excessively and every
thing on all the decks adrift and destroyed, cargo as well as stores, as
far as could be seen ; crew unable to stand on their legs or to hear one
another, and exposed to great danger from the stunning force of the wind.
The fore and main and mizen masts got under the ship’s bottom, at the
same time, endangering the rudder; all violently tearing off the copper.
At 2 p. m. the wind, which had been for the last half hour inde-
scribably furious, fell suddenly calm; but the Sympiesometer indicated
no favourable change, continuing as low as 28.08. During the calm
got the whole of the wreak cut clear away; ship covered with
acquatic birds, thousands of them dying on deck. 4 p. M. the hurricane
that had died away at E. 8. E. commenced with equal violence at
* This is aremarkable indication of the extreme fury of the wind. It would appear
from what follows that both (sound) masts were blown out of the ship while scudding 12
knots! The expressions usel are those of the log.
1848. | Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 31
W. N. W.; the ship became again enveloped in the sea, and labouring
with extreme violence which nothing could resist. Turricane abating
at 10 p.m. Sympiesometer 28.96, wind still from the West. The
carpenter having gone down the pump-well found 33 feet water in the
ship. Midnight more moderate ; Sympiesometer 29.10; ship’s head to
the S. S. E. with the wind from the westward.
19th April.— Daylight moderate winds from the westward with rain ;
ship unmanageable, with her head to the S. E. ; sounded in 30 fms. and
shortly after sighted the Vingorla rocks bearing N. E. $ E., Noon
squally. At 7.30 Pp. m. came to in 94 fms. off the rocks of Vingorla.
Abridged Log of the Ship Faize Rubany, Capt. SARGEANT, from Bom-
bay to China. Civil Time. From the Government of Bombay.
The Faize Rubany was at noon 14th April 1847, in Lat. 12°57’ N..,
Long. 75° 16/ E., by her log worked back from the 16th with moderate
breezes from the westward up to midnight.
15th April.—a. m. breeze declining to calm at noon, with a confused
sea, when in Lat. 11° 55/ N., Long. 76° 08’ E, by account back from
the 16th as before. ve. m. wind 8. KH. b. S.; hazy weather, ship stand-
ing to the southward against a heavy head swell and sprung the
mainmast at 6h 30; to midnight blowing strong with a high sea.
16th April.—a. Mm. to noon, wind variable to the 8. E., moderate
gale and very high sea. Noon Lat. 11° 19’ N., Long. 75° 32/ East.
p. M. wind E. S. E., strong gale, high sea, ship pitching very deep; 7
Pp. M. wind veering to eastward ; 9 p. m. east ; midnight hard gale, veer-
ing towards the 8. E.
17th April.—a. m, wind S. E., very heavy gale, with tremendous
high sea; 6 h. a. m. having been struck with a very heavy sea, found
the ship making water ; 7 A. mM. bore up before the wind to the N.N. W.
noon very hard gale, Lat. Acct. 11° 35/, Long. 74° 54’ E.; p. m. wind
8. §. E., heavy gale and violent squalls; 8 p.m. S. E. to midnight.
18th April.—3 a. m. broached to, damaged the rudder and till
noon ship in great distress,* lying to from 7 a. m. Blowing excessive-
ly hard from the S. E. Lat. Acct. 13.24 N., Long. 74° 27/E. p.m,
wind south. At midnight less wind; sounded in 30 fms.
19th April.—Daylight made the land between Cape Ramos and
George’s Island; noon at anchor, in Lat. 15° 19/ N., off the coast
about this part,
* At6 a. m, the ship Mermaid passed her,
32 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
Abridgment of a journal of the Ship Mermaid, signed by her commander
Capt. J. B. Rocers, and officers ; the Log Book being lost with her.
(Civil time.)
The ship Mermaid was bound down the coast, and having sprung a
leak was finally beached a letter below Vingorla.
16¢h April.—r. M. ship standing to the S. E. with the sea breeze, in
from 18 to 26 fms. At 5 Pp, m. Mangaloreeast 8 miles, Midnight fresh
land breeze and hazy.
17th April.—a. m. Barometer 29.84; by 8,30 fresh gale and squalls.
At noon an increasing hard gale about S. E. in 35 fms. Bar. 29.60. ;
No observation. Vessel leaky ;3 p. m. Bar. 29.50, 1 to 5 wind S. E. ;
6 South ; at 4h cut away mizenmast. 4h 30 put back for Bombay ; 5 p.
M. Bar. 29.42, heavy gale and cloudy, ship running to the N. W. and
N. W. b. N. to midnight. |
18th April.—a. mM. Heavy gale with thunder, lightning and rain.
4 a.m. Bar. 29.36. Noon 29.34, and in 28 fms. water. No obser-
vation. vp. M. steady fresh gale W. S. W., ship running to the N. N.
W. 43 and 5 knots. Barometer 29.38. Sunset passed a large ship (the
Buckinghamshire,) Bar. 29.38 ; by 6 p. M.wind W. by S. ; severe squalls,
thunder, lightning and rain; midnight in 29 fms.
19th April.—a. m. More moderate ; 4 a. m. wind west, and at noon
obliged to beach the ship for the safety of lives and cargo.
A letter from the Collector of Mangalore, forwarded by the Bombay
Chamber of Commerce, says that—
«The gale set in on the 16th from the S. W. or regular monsoon
quarter, and was at first supposed to have been an unusually early com-
mencement of the rainy season, I¢ continued for about three days,*
accompanied with torrents of rain, veering round, at particular points of
the coast, to all quarters of the compass.
Lixtracts from various logs of coasting vessels, From the Gnvernment
of Bombay.
The ketch Ceylon Island was on the 12th April within 25 miles of
Colombo, but was blown off by a smart gale from E.S. E. She then
stood in for Colombo, and on the 15th (Nautical time) got the wind blow-
ing “tremendously” from S. E., which on the 16th blew away her top-
masts and all her sails, while running before it to the N. W. This conti-
nued on the 17th, alsofrom S. E, On the 18th, Lat. Obs, 9014, N.
* Ttalics are mine.
1848. | Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 33
19th severe gale about 8. W. and very heavy sea. Vessel running to the
N. W. b. N. Indifft. observation 11.11 N. 20th. Heavy 8. W. gale ;
Lat. 12° 42’, North.
The Pattamar Labsavoy was off Faizud (Zyghur?) river on the
17th. On the following day it commenced blowing hard from the
East, and in the middle of the day the wind blew in a heavy gale with
a tremendous sea ; at 5 p. m. the wind shifted to the 8. E. with heavy
rain. We were then at anchor near the river and put in for shelter.
A lascar of the Pattamar Towenully, from Alleppee, states, that on the
night of the 17th, when near Dewghur, they experienced a heavy gale
which commenced from the east and on Sunday morning they put in to
Radjapore river.
Abridged Log of the Bombay Steam Navigation Companys Steamer
Victoria, from Bombay to Colombo. (Civil time.) From the Govern-
ment of Bombay and Chamber of Commerce.
16th April 1847.—The Victoria was at 3.45 a. m. with Mangalore
Light bearmg East. At 8 all possible sail with wind easterly, and
at noon a fresh southerly wind and cloudy weather with a heavy swell.
Lat. Obs. was 12° 15’ N. and Mount Dilly bearing S. E. b. S.
P.M. to midnight wind S. Easterly and E.S. Easterly; at 10 Pp. m.
anchored off Cannanore. Heavy swell, surf increasing and continued
rain from the S. E.
17th April.—Increasing surf. Wind about E. 8. E. and increasing,
by 4 a. m. surf breaking over the vessel and large rollers striking her
heavily ; 63 A. M., stood out to sea. Wind E. S. E. Bar. 29.75;
stood out 8.8. W. till9 a.m. Noon, gale increasing. Steamer Hugh
Lindsay in company. 2 pv. m. Bar. 29.70. Threw some cargo over
board, Heavy gusts of wind, and constant rain; wind S. 8. W. 10 p. m.
Bar. 29.68. Midnight strong S. W. b. S. gales and tremendous sea.
18¢h April.—a. m. wind southerly, strong gales; Bar. 29.70. 8 A. M.
_ moderating ; noon fresh breezes South. Bar. 29.90. ; p. m. heavy squalls
———————— eee, ener ears
again from S. S. W. ; swell increasing.
19th April.—a. Mm. hard squalls; wind 8. E. 6 a. m. wind S. S. W.
4a.m.in 15 fms. water; 8 a. m. Mangalore flagstaff S. E. b. E.
11 A. M. engines making only six revolutious per minute and side rods
bent ; came to off Mangalore in 6 fms. water, Noon hard squalls.
On anchoring found a strong set to the northward. Winds Southerly.
Midnight Bar, 29.92 ; strong Southerly squalls.
34 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN,
20th April.—Wind was S. b. W.; atnoon W. S. W.; at 2p. M. got
under way for Cannanore, and at midnight she still found the current
setting strong to the northward.
The ship Atiet Rohoman, Capt. S. Steward, lying at Alleppee. Civil
Time, from the Chamber of Commerce.
On 14th at 5 p. mM. came to with the flagstaff bearing E. by S. 3’.
Wind E. 8S. E.; 15th 2 a.m. heavy squalls fromS. 8. E.; 8 a. m. wind
easterly. Noon moderate at N.E. b. E.; 27. mM.N.E.b. E.; 4,
E. N. E.; 6, East ; 10, E. 8. E. ; 12, S. E. moderate breezes and driz-
zling rain. Midnight dark and stbiudy.
16th April.—Cloudy and rain to noon ; 2 a.m. wind S. 8. E.: 4, 8,
E.; 6, E. 8. E.; 8, East; 12, E. N. E.; 2 p.m. wind east; 4, E. S.
E.; 8,8. E.; midnight E. S. E. having increased to a strong breeze
with heavy squalls.
17th April.—To noon the same wind from E. 8. E. to S. E. and
South ; 2 vp. M.S. b. E. strong gales, rain and heavy sea; 4 p,M.8.S. E.
to S. E.b. 8.; 12, S. E.; midnight heavy gusts and sea.
18th April.—More moderate, noon dirty weather, wind 8. b. E.; 6,
South ; midnight §. 8. E. after which the ship shifted her birth fur-
ther in shore,
No Barometric observations are given.
Abridged Log of the H. C. Steamer Sesostris, Captain Caruess,
from Aden to Cannanore, with troops. Civil time. From the
Govrnment of Bombay.
16th Aprilia. m. wind N. N.E., N. by E., and N. N. E. again ;
ship running east 7 and 7} knots per hour; a long S. Easterly sonal
Noon, Lat. 13° 15’ N. Long. 70° 28’. p. m. wind N. N. E. Course the
same tomidnight. Lightning to the eastward, and vivid lightning to
the eastward and southward are noted.
17th April.—1.40 a.m. taken aback by a hard squall from the
East. Soundings | to 2. 17 fms. to 30, no ground ; to noon. Wind N.
K. to North, N. N. E., and E. N. E. at noon, when Lat. Acct. 13,28.N.,
Long. Chr. 72.73 E., 1 ep. mM. wore to N. W. Wind N. E., stood back
to midnight, going from 1 to 3 knots; moderate gale and heavy sea
with hard squalls.
18th April.—Daylight decreasing breezes 8 a. M. stood again to the
E. N. E., wind being from N. N. W. a.m. to 7 a. M., and North to
1848. ] Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 35
noon when Lat. 13° 52/ N. Long. 71° 13/. p. m. squally from North,
and at 6, W. N. W., with heavy swell throughout.
_ 19th April.—Squally weather, with winds from W. 8. W. and W.
N. W.; noon Lat. 13.28, N. Long. 73° 14’. Gradually making sail
and standing in for Cannanore.
At the Laccadive Islands.
By an account obtained from Capt. Young of the H. C. Steam Frigate
Auckland, and published by Captain C. Biden, Master Attendant at
Madras, in the Madras Spectator, it appears that at Minicoy the gale
was not very severe, but at Kalpeni and Underoot, where it is stated to
have been most violent from the S. East, the sea made a fair breach
over the Islands, and about 250 of the inhabitants were swept away, all
the cocoanut trees uprooted or cut asunder by the violence of the storm
I now add a Log of much interest, as will be subsequently shown,
being that of the H. C. 8. Lssew, in June, 1811.
HuRRICANE OF THE H.C. S. Essex.
Abridged Log of the H. C. S. Essex, Capt. NisBrett, 3rd to 6th June,
1811. Reduced to Civil time.
The H. C. S. Essex bound to Bombay, was onthe 3rd June at noon
in Lat, 16° 38’. N., Long. by Chr. 69° 32’ E., with light breezes from
the north and fair weather. p.m. the same, freshening with cloudy
threatening weather, and ‘‘ a high confused agitated sea breaking in all
directions ;* 5p. mM. windN. H.; 10 pe. M. lightning tothe S. W.
Ath June—1 a. m. wind N.N. E. ;’5 a.m. striking topgallant yards.
and pitched away the foretopmast. 7 A. M. increasing to a hard gale.
Hove too under bare poles. 9 a. M. wind marked N. KE. ; noon, hard
gales ; thick haze, much lightning and heavy rain; Lat. Acct..16° 19/
N., Long. Acct. 70° 12’. p. m. wind about N. N. E.; at 6 p. m. about
N. b. E. blowing a hurricane to midnight.
5th June.—1 a.M. lost main and mizenmasts. 5 a. m. the wind
(hitherto about N. by E. from the ship’s coming up and falling off)
shifted suddenly to N. W., and at 8a. Mm. to W.S. W.., alsoin a sudden
shift with a tremendous squall. Ship quite ungovernable. By noon
moderate; p. m. wind marked W. 8. W., and at 4 p. o. clearing up.
From the best consideration I can give to the log of this vessel,
aided by a private letter to me on the subject of the flaws and shifts
* The italics are mine, I shall allude to this passage in the remarks.
F 2
36 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
of wind in hurricanes, by the late Mr. Greenlaw, in which this hurri-
cane is described, I should assign to it a track of about from the
S. S. E. to the N. N. W., but it may have been half a poimt more or
less one way or the other ; for as usual, it was found, I suppose, impos-
sible (and we thought it in those days of no consequence, as most now
do) to note with any exactness the wind before the shift ; which I have
deduced from her coming up and breaking off. This storm however,
occurring as it did within so short a distance of that of the Cleopatra’s
under consideration, is a full confirmation, if any doubt could exist of
the tendency of the tracks to follow a parallel line with the coast, and
thus affords us, with the present storm a most valuable guide for the
future estimates of tracks in this very frequented sea.
In reference to what is here said of the tracks and of their apparent
tendency to follow the line of the coasts, it would appear that at
Bombay also, as well as farther South, they certainly at times do so; for
on the 14th June 1837, a most severe and destructive hurricane was felt
at that port, in which the losses in property alone were computed to
amount to twenty-five lacs of rupees, some fifteen or sixteen vessels being
driven on shore in the harbour and many of them totally wrecked, besides
numbers of native craft and boats. It is stated to have been the most
severe storm experienced for half a century. It is said that the wind
which began to blow “a gale’’ from the Hast, veered to 8S. E, at which
point it increased to a “ perfect hurricane,” which lasted for an hour,
and then shifted* to 8. S. W., from which quarter it continued to blow
‘with extreme violence” during the greater part of the day till it
abated.
The foregoing is abridged from the newspaper accounts, and is dis-
tinctly a hurricane, with the shift from S. E. to S. 8. W., which would
indicate a track from S. 12° Hast to the N. 12° West, and I have so
placed it on the Chart.
I now place in a tabular form the wind and weather experienced by
the different vessels in the Cleopatra’s hurricane from the 13th to the
17th April, so as to enable the reader to see at a glance the winds and
weather on any particular day, and shall follow it with the details of the
data and considerations from which the track of the storm is laid down
on the Chart.
* This word is always important, for it marks the passage of the centre without a
calm interval,
|
:
|
37
Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms.
1848.]
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44 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [Jan.
The following are the views and data upon which I estimate the
places of the centres of the storm for the different days, as I have
placed them on the Chatt.
The first Logs we have are those for the 13th April, on which
day, or rather at midnight, between the 13th and 14th with the
East London a gale is stated to have fairly commenced, which by 4
A.M. is called a hurricane, from N. W.,* which by noon of the 14th
had veered to W. N. W.
Now, at noon of the 14th, this ship had the Buckinghamshire about
145 miles to the W. N. W. of her, with nothing more than a strong
breeze from N. W. b. N., and the Atiet Rohoman at anchor at Allep-
pee, 140 miles to the North Eastward, with an E. 8S. E. breeze, and
fine weather. If the Hast London’s was at this time a rotatory storm,
we must then infer it to have been one of small extent, since its centre
would have been about N. E. from her, and have thus been at about
half the distance between her and Alleppee, if only 140 miles in dia-
meter; but it evidently did not reach that anchorage. If we call it
then one of this class for this day, and suppose it the commencement
of that of the following days, it did not exceed, if it reached to 100
miles in diameter ; and indeed the only fair grounds we have for doing
so are the regularity of fall of the Hast London’s Barometer, and the
gradual veering of the wind from N. W. to W. N. W. and W. S. W.
on the 15th.
On these grounds, then, I have marked for this day, the 14th, a smal]
dotted circle, (as being somewhat doubtful,) of 100 miles in diameter,
and which leaves still a space of 45 miles to the anchorage of Alleppee,
and of 110 miles to the position of the Buckinghamshire, which vessel
had but a strong breeze and cloudy weather, and her Barometer yet as
high as 29,72 at 1 p.m. Indeed, I am much inclined to take this
N. W., W. N. W., and W. S. W. gale as nothing more than a strong
precursor of an early monsoon, the tendency to North Westerly winds
in March and April on this part of the coast being well known,+ and
* This vessel was in much distress from leaks, and evidently was a bad sea boat, but
she lost only a foretopmast, with small spars and sails, and repeatedly, (as far as can be
inferred from her very incomplete log) hove to and bore up; which shows that the
weather allowed her to remain quite manageable, and was by no means at hurricane
force,
t Horsburgh, Vol. I. p. 524, The report from Mangalore to the Bombay Chamber
1848. ] Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 4
QO
as will be seen, on the 15th it must have been a storm travelling in
towards the coast from the W. S. W., and breaking up immediately,
if it was one on the 15th.
To dispose then first of the Hast London’s storm. We find that
this vessel had run in 72 miles towards Cape Comorin, to the E. N.
E., from noon 14th, to noon 15th, and that her N. W. gale of the
14th had veered to W. N. W., and at ep. m. on the 15th it was W.S.
W., ‘“ blowing furiously.”
This. would give the centre of a true rotatory storm as bearing
N. N. W. from her; but if one, it must have been of much smaller di-
mensions than that of the 14th, since at this time, (though at 2 a. M. it
had blown in heavy squalls from the 8. S. E.) at Alleppee, it was then
moderate, at S. E. with drizzling rain; and the Buckinghamshire 175
miles to the N. W. b. W. of the Hast London, had fresh gales at N.
E., and at midnight her Barometer rather rising than falling ; though
this might have been the effect of her standing, though but slowly, to
the N. W. I am then inclined to think that, if this storm of the East
London's was rotatory, and not as before suggested the precursor of
the monsoon, that it was of still smaller extent to-day, and just ter-
minating ; and that it was moreover so nearly stationary that it only
made the short distance which I have marked for it, of 42 miles in
the 24 hours, and this to the E. N.E.,* and all this is very conjectural,
for a veering of 6 points in 36 hours, when approaching a high shore,
and from the quarter from which the incoming monsoon is expected, is
not conclusive evidence for its rotatory character ; and the storm of the
ketch Ceylon Island, which in Lat. 7°, when between Long. 79° and
77° 30/, and on the 16th and 17th, hada smart Fasterly gale can form
no part of this of the Hast London’s, for it must have been to the South-
ward and Eastward of her on those days, when (on the 16th) the Hast
London had the wind at S. W. off Cape Comorin, and moderating by
of Commerce, states that the first effects of the gale on the 16th, were from the S. W.,
and were supposed there to be an early setting in of the monsoon.
-* This is quite against the usual track of our Indian storms, but such tracks do un-
doubtedly occur on the Western Coast of Australia, and I suspect of South America,
See the “ Sailor’s Horn Book of Storms, for all parts of the world,” just published.
The proofs of hurricanes being often nearly stationary for a time, are numerous. See
XI, Memoir in this Journal, Vol.—
46 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
noon of that day. The position of the ketch is moreover altogether too
uncertain for us to consider her Log of any importance, except as
showing that extensive atmospheric disturbances existed as far as the
coasts of Ceylon before the commencement of the great hurricane ; and
it seems to be, at least in the neighbourhood of coasts and in the
Eastern hemisphere, a sort of rule that these violent hurricanes are
preceded either by this sort of general disturbance, as at changes of
the monsoon, or by long and oppressive calms.
For the Buckinghamshire on this day, 15th April, we find, as before
mentioned, that she had fresh gales from the N. E. b. E. with severe
squalls, and her Barometer still high—while the Faize Rubany, at 210
miles to the N. E. of her, close in with the shore, had it calm, with a
confused swell only, which by 6 pv. m. had changed to blowing strong
from the S. E. b. S., witha high sea, By noon this day, therefore, we
cannot allow that there are any fair grounds for assuming that the
Buckinghamshire’s storm had commenced with her, nor that the Kast
London and Buckinghamshire had any parts of the same storm, fora
circle of 100 miles only in diameter would have reached Alleppee from
the position it must have occupied to give the Hast London a gale at
W.b.S., and it would have ot ie one of 340 miles to have reached
the Buckinghamshire.
It is barely possible, that her N. E. b. E. gales, which had been
splitting her (old?) sails during the night, and the heavy S. E. sea
which is noted at 9 p. M.on the 14th, were the effects of a circular
storm, of which the centre must have been to the 8S. S. E. of her,
but not at any great distance, for then it would have reached the Kast
London. The foregoing would place the centre of the vortex for that
day a little to the eastward of a line joining the head of the Maldives and
Minicoy, and agrees with the report of the commander of the Auckland
from the latter island, that the gale was not very severe there, which
it would have been if fully formed on this day, for it must then have
passed up very close to it.
On the 16th of April we may fairly assign a position to the centre
of the storm, which was now undoubtedly formed, and at noon was with
the Buckinghamshire a hard gale from N. E. b. N. with a high sea,
veering to North, N. b. W., and W. N. W., and finally to about West
at midnight; while with the Faize Rubany it was a moderate gale
1848. ] Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 47
from the 8. E. to the East. The other ships, Mermaid, Victoria, and
Atiet Rohoman from which we have logs on this day, were wholly out
of the circle of the vortex.
For the place of the centre; it must also have been ‘close to the
Buckinghamshire, as the rapid veering of the wind from N. E. by N.
to West at midnight, or 13 points in 12 hours, shows. Indeed, a pro-
jection of her track on a plane chart would make her to have run round
the North-western, Western and Southern quadrants of the storm circle,
at a distance of perhaps 30 or 40 miles, between noon and midnight,
while 7¢ was rapidly passing up ona Northerly course ahead of her,
Hence we cannot place it at a greater distance than 50 miles 8. W. by
S. from the Buckinghamshire’s position at noon this day, or close to
the Island of Minicoy.
It is very doubtful if the Faize Rubany’s ‘‘ moderate gale,’ though it
would agree very well as to the direction of the wind, was any part of
the storm on this day ; for if we assume it to be so, we must first take
it that the whole storm was of upwards of 480 miles in diameter, and
then that it should have been blowing tolerably strong at Alleppee,
where the Atiet Rohoman was lying with the wind at E. N.E., (anstead
of about 8. S. E., which this position of the centre requires) ; and though
with dark, cloudy, rainy weather, yet with so little wind that she crossed
royal yards at 8 a. M., and did not send them down till the evening.
This supposed storm circle would also reach the East London at its
outer verge, but it would then require the wind to be S. 1 W., and
about the same strength as with the Faize Rubany ; whereas it was
with the East London, though moderating, still a smart gale from 8S.
W.b. W. We may, it is true, presume that the two ships on the
coast were sheltered by the mountains inland, but there was nothing to
alter the direction of the wind with the Hast London, and five points
is too great a discrepancy to allow of our considering this ship’s storm
as part of the Buckinghamshire’s.
I am therefore inclined to take the storm of this day as having just
formed, or just travelled up from the Southward, and having a diameter
of 100 or 150 miles at most, and that the dark weather and heavy
rain of the Atiet Rohoman were the joint effects of the verges of the
Hast London and Buckinghamshire’s storms, and we may finally remark
that if the storm was then of 480 miles in diameter it would probably
48 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [Jan.
have been much more violent near its centre. Hence I have given it
only 150 miles of diameter for this day, differmg herein from Capt.
Carless, who in his remarks, while he agrees nearly with me as to posi-
tion of the centre, thinks it may have extended to the Faize Rubany’s
position, but he had not seen the log of the Has¢ London, which doubt-
less would have altered his opinion.
For the 17th of April.—We have on this day the Logs of the Buck-
inghamshire, Faize Rubany, Mermaid, and Victoria steamer, to the
right, or eastern side ofthe path of the storm, and the Sesostris on the
left or North Western quadrant; and the winds and weather of these
vessels agree fairly enough in placing the centre about 10 miles to the
North, and on the meridian of Underoot Island. The diameter of the
storm (that is the hurricane portion of it,) I should estimate to have
been not more than 250 miles, which allows it to reach to the anchor-
age of Cannanore, where the Victoria was riding with a strong gale,
which obliged her to slip and go to sea with the wind at KE. 8. E.,
veering to S. 8. W. at 8 p. m. as the storm passed up; for at this time
the breeze which the Sesostris had cannot be considered, as to strength,
as forming any portion of a hurricane, though it was in the right direc-
tion, and in fact indicating a distant one by the swell.
On the 18th April we have the Buckinghamshire at noon in Lat 14°
10’, Long. 72° 59’ by Acct., and having been running up with the hurri-
cane for the whole 24 hours ! She was now so close upon its centre that
at 2 p. M. when about 15 or 20 miles to the North West of this position,
she had reached the calm at the centre, which would thus be in about Lat.
14° 22’, Long. 72° 47’ at that time or a little to the 8. E. of it at noon.
This position differs again from that given by Captain Carless, but I had
the advantage of seeing Capt. McGregor in Calcutta, who handed me his
private Log, and he stated that he thought the ship’s run was over-es-
timated in the Log Book. Captain Carless further says that the Bucking-
hamshire while running to the Northward had a current of two miles an
hour in her favour. I do not know, but suppose he assigns this as the rate
of the storm wave and current? though he does not expressly say so ;
for Horsburgh says that there is but little or no current in March and
April, except with N. W. winds, which give a little drain to the South-
ward. Our position it is true places the Buckinghamshire 102 miles from
Vingorla, and that of Captain Carless’ sketch chart at 35 miles only from
1848. | Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 49
that port; but Captain Carless has omitted to note that the Buching-
hamshire had 293 hours of drifting and sailimg (a part of it in a hurri-
cane too) before she anchored at 7.30 p. mM. on the 20th off Vingorla.
Perhaps her true position was at about 60 or 70 miles from that port,
for 102 miles is a long distance fora disabled ship to make ; but 35
miles would have indubitably drifted her on shore with the Westerly
hurricane, gale, and breezes, she had (using these words to express the
strength of the wind) from the time of her dismasting to daylight on
the following day. If we take it that for the last 24 hours the storm
wave was carrying her 3/ per hour, this would about place her, in addi-
tion to her log, at 60 miles from the port ; but we cannot assume this
at pleasure; and if we place this ship 72 miles further north, we make
the winds experienced by the others much more at variance than they
are.* The Mermaid and Faize Rubany were both so close in with
the coast that their winds, which should be about S. W. b. S. to
S. 8. W., are marked South with the latter vessel, and W. S. W. with
the Mermaid just after noon ; but these can be scarcely considered as
the true direction, as the gale with them must have been influenced on
the coast side by the high land; and to the westward the Sesostris
had but a moderate gale from the northward, so that we may take
fairly about 220 to 250 miles as the full diameter of the storm, and
perhaps not above 180 as that of the true hurricane part of it, for the
Mermaid and Faize Rubany, though in severe weather and much dis-
tress, had nothing approaching to a furious hurricane, and indeed the
Mermaid must have foundered if she had had such weather.
On the 19th April, the weather appears to have moderated, and we
have no farther authentic traces of this storm. Capt. Carless indeed
alludes to bad weather in the Gulf of Cutch, experienced by the H. C.
Surveying Schooner Tapéee, and he states that on the 19th considerable
magnetic disturbance was noted at Bombay, when the winds also varied
considerably, but nothing like a gale was felt. The Barometer on the
17th and 18th was very little affected, and on the 19th, at 4 p. mM. was
lowest, with a strong breeze at N. E., so that we cannot assign any
further track to our hurricane, which it is probable may now have been
* Why there is at one time a strong storm wave, and at another, in the same seas
and seasons none, we cannot yet say, but I have no doubt there is this anomaly.
H
50 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [ JAN.
lifted up and (if the Cutch storms were any renewal of it) have again
descended there,* as a moderate though still circular-blowing gale.
Rate of travelling.—Having thus settled the track of the storm, we
have to investigate its rates of travelling. It will appear from the
Chart that these are as follows :—
Track, Distance. Rate p. hour.
Miles. Miles.
Noon 16th to Noon 17th April N. 8° E. 180 Aas
B7 Ghia. £2. Sel LEER wnt ae N.150W. 220 9.2.
This last track does not agree with the shift experienced by the Buck-
inghamshire, which was from the E. 8. E. tothe W. N. W., and which
would give a track of N, 22° E.; but first, ours is an average track for
the 24 hours, and next the ship was drifting about fortwo hours in
the calm centre,f so that we cannot say to which part of it she was
carried. We must also take into account her being just dismasted,
with both masts hanging to her side and beating under her bottom,
which had to be cut away: and when life and death were hanging on
the successful execution of this duty, it may fairly be doubted if the
direction of the wind was correctly noted, or rightly recollected by any
one?
The track given for the H. C. S. Hssew is, it is true, laid down from
her shifts of wind also; but this was an immediate shift or rapid veer-
ing without any calm interval, and it took place five hours after she wa
dismasted, and the wreck was cleared from the sides quickly after the
accident ; she had besides the complement of six officers, which the
Company’s China ships in those days carried, and thus there can be little
doubt that her winds are correctly given where marked, and that the
track of her hurricane is to the N. N. W.
The rates of travelling of the Cleopatra’s hurricane are quite within
the limits at which our Indian hurricanes have been shown to progress,
and do not call for any particular remark.
* In my new work I have, I think, shown satisfactorily, that hurricane storms are
mere disks of from 3 to 10 miles in height, and that it is much more than probable
that they are formed above and descend ; and we have instances on land, though not
at sea, of their rising up and re-descending.
+ Taking the calm to have lasted two hours and the hurricane to be moving on, as we
have seen, at the rate of 9.2 miles per hour this gives about 18} miles for the diameter
of the central calm space.
1848. | Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 51
The early epoch at which this storm occurred is worth noticing for
future guidance. Horsburgh, p. 523, Vol. I. note, notices ‘“‘ a heavy
storm from the Southward, on the 20th and 21st of April, 1782, on
most parts of the coast, in which H. M.8. Cuddalore, the Revenge,
and several other ships foundered with their crews, and others were
dismasted,”’ and he says that “ since that time no others have occurred
so early in the season, but at the latter end of April and early in May
some have suffered by S. W. and Southerly gales,” which may have
been the setting in of the monsoon. He mentions also, p. 529, a S.
E. gale at Bombay, in November, 1799, veering to the Eastward, and
blowing a hurricane for some time, in which ships were wrecked in the
harbour. If this was a true circular storm, it would have a track
coming in from the W. N. W., and adverting to my remarks in the
note at page 45, on the possible track of the Hast London’s gale, it is
not, I think, wholly impossible that this may have occurred.
Remarks on the lesson afforded by these hurricanes.
It is singular that we have here again, as in the case of the loss of the
Golconda troop-ship, in the China sea, (Fourth Memoir, Jour. As. Soe.
Vol. IX.) three lessons of the highest importance from a single storm !
We have the Sesostris steaming back out of the bad weather, between the
17th and 18th. The “ssew in 1811, and the Buckinghamshire in 1847,
running headlong into the centre, and in imminent peril of founder-
ing; and finally, the Cleopatra, which vessel there is every reason to
believe, (see Part II.) must have committed the same error, and has
been destroyed.
If warnings like these are not listened to, it is difficult to say what
will be required. Nothing short of the destruction of a whole fleet
would seem sufficient to rouse the attention of those whom it behoves
to insist upon the laws of our science being as duly attended to as the
lead and the chart, and upon every Commander intrusted with public
property noting in his log his reasons for standing on or heaving to
on the approach of bad weather; and this will, in case of his return
to port in a disabled state, at once show if he understood his position
or not. If he did not, he is unfit for the command of a vessel till
he does.
52 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [ JAN.
Part II.
Considerations on the Loss of the Cleopatra Steamer, and for Steamers
in the Lastern Seas in general.
The object of the whole series of these memoirs being not only the
investigation of the scientific questions which they elucidate, but also
the preservation of life and property as promoted by the research, I
make no apology if in this section I go into some few technical details
which in truth are as scientific, though not so little known or under-
stood, as the wonderful and mysterious phcenomena which a hurricane
always presents. We fulfil but half a duty if we neglect to enforce on
such occasions as these the plain common sense lessons (homely
though they be thought) which arise out of the facts before us.
For European readers it may be necessary to state that the Cleo-
patra was one of the E. I. Company’s War Steamers, of about 800
tons ; her power is not given in the replies to my queries. She would
however, it is stated, g0 9.6 and 10 knots with a good fair 7 knot breeze
for a merchantman, and 5 knots against such a breeze, and from 8 to 4
and 6 knots according to the sea when close hauled with trysails, in a
close reefed topsail gale for a merchantman. She is said to have been 8
years old, and to have been docked in December 1845, well furnished
with pumps and some worked by the engine as usual. She was con-
sidered a good sea boat, and it is only stated as ‘‘ very probable that
her Commander had any of the new works on storms on board.”*
The Cleopatra left Bombay with convicts for the Straits settlements,
having altogether about 250 souls on board, on the 14th April, 1847,
at 1.55 p. m., the time given for her having cleared the harbour. She
* It will be understood that these statements are all from the replies to my queries.
From this last phrase, it is clear that she was sent to sea without any thing positive being
known on the subject! and it is to me quite probable that she had not; for since 1839,
that the science has been in every way, both at home and in India, urged on the attention
of nautical men (the very newspapers in India, and the Bombay Times amongst others
constantly recurring to it) we have till 25th Aug. 1847, the date of Captain Carless’
remarks, from a service numbering I believe 150 or 200 officers and midshipmen, not a
single word or line of report or remark published or forwarded anywhere, and moreover
every application for information utterly disregarded! This is grievous truth for English
sailors to read, but it had better be told than hidden or slurred over, because human life
must very often, and even the honour of our flag, may sometimes, depend upon the progress
we make in this, as inall other branches of nautical Meteorology.
ae
ee eee ey eee ee eee ee
a yt ae ee
1848. | Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 53
was, it is said, not deeper than usual, nor leaky. I do not know, but
presume that she would have touched at Poimt de Galle for coal ; but ne-
vertheless we may fairly suppose that her coal and provisions brought
her as low as possible.
Capt. Carless, who knew the vessel and had every opportunity of
information on the spot as to probable winds and weather, and the
route she would have followed, thinks she would have passed down
midway between the Easternmost Laccadive Islands and the coast. He
supposes her average speed up to noon of the 16th ‘could not have
exceeded 7 knots.’ This would place her then in about Lat. 13°. And
he then considers that “‘she may have made to the next day 44
knots.” This would place her at midnight, between the 16th and
17th, 54 miles to the S. S. E. of this position, or more probably due
South of it, as she must have made much leeway from noon, and as I
shall now show ; was probably before midnight unmanageable, and at that
time involved in the centre. I have therefore chosen the conjectural track
laid down for her at this time. We can only in cases like this conjec-
ture the unknown from the known, and before I proceed, I am desirous
of adverting to two well known instances of Steamers running headlong
into hurricanes, and by the avowal of the commanders, escaping only
by a sheer miracle, and we put aside, for the sake of argument, the
remote probability of the Cleopatra’s having been destroyed by fire, or
lost through a mutiny on board, because there would be in such cases
so many chances of one boat at least escaping.
The first of these instances is that of the Great Western Steamer, in
October 1846, which vessel indubitably steamed into the Southern side of
a hurricane, and apparently into or close to the centre. Though I have
only a newspaper account of her distress, yet it seems evident that this
fine vessel, though built to cross the Atlantic, was next to unmanageable,
and nearly swamped when in the central portion of the hurricane! In
the same storm a Royal Mail Steamer slacked her speed on the ap-
proach of the hurricane and at the proper time bore up and ran round
the heel of the storm with a fair wind!
The next instance is one in our own seas, and very closely resembles
the Cleopatra’s probable case. It is that of the H. C.’s War Steamer
Pluto, which vessel left Hong Kong on the 27th June, 1846, bound
to Borneo, to jom HH. M. squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Thos.,
54 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
Cochrane. The Pluto’steered down on a8. b. Westerly course, and in the
face of every indication, ran headlong, about noon on the 29th, into the
centre of a terrific Tyfoon, coming up, like that of the Cleopatra’s, from
the S. S. E., in which she lost her masts, rudder, funnel, &c. &c., and
drifting back was nearly wrecked on the rocks of Hong Kong. And
she also was, as may be supposed, nearly or totally unmanageable in the
tyfoon from the excessive violence of the wind, and her engines being
utterly powerless contend with the sea.
Now, from analogy* we should judge that the Cleopatra was pro-
bably no great sea boat in a hurricane, whatever she might be in a
common gale,t and that the Pluto’s history was pretty nearly hers,
namely that on nearing the centre she became unmanageable, and lying
in the trough of the sea, went over and was swamped, and probably lost
her funnel before this took place, which accident alone, if it occurred,
would give rise to the other contingencies.
And this last accident, the loss of the funnel, I allude to very point- —
edly, because I think it one very likely to happen. My query on this
head to the Bombay authorities is as follows :—
“10. How was her funnel secured, i. e. how many shrouds and
stays, and of what material and size were they ? as nearly as can be
stated.”
The reply is, “ Properly,” and I forbear to remark on its brevity ;
but I assume it as my sailor readers, and landsmen also, will I think
construe it to mean ‘* Properly for an ordinary gale: can’t say as to a
hurricane ?” for this query might indubitably have been answered in
full detail from the dockyard and work shops, and within a trifle as_to
correctness.
* T do not allude here to the loss of the President, though she also was steaming into .
hurricane circle when last seen.
+ The reply to my query on this head alludes of course to common gales, but even of
these, how unfair to the eye of a seaman, is the estimate which is formed of Steamers in
this respect under all the usual circumstances. Their engines keep them to the wind and
sea at the very best angle for meeting it, and the steamer is called a good sea boat. When
the engine gives way, orhas no longer sufhcient power, or the fires are swamped, we
find the greater part of the steamers forthwith in distress, often when a smart merchant-
man would be ‘‘ taking it easy” under her storm staysails, or close-reefed maintopsail. By
the log of the Semiramis, a sister-boat I believe to the Cleopatra, in this very hurricane,
though she had but acapful of wind, with a high confused sea, yet she had all hands
(troops on board) pumping and baling! We must then take the words ‘‘a good sea
boat,” with the addition of “ while her engines can help her,” for most of our sea-going
steamers as yet.
1848. | Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 55
And it is impossible, I think, for any seaman who knows what an
Indian tyfoon or hurricane is, to look to the cobweb rigging of any of
the sea-going steamers, and the entire absence of all pendants, or eye-
bolts to which a preventive shroud or tackle can be attached, and to
believe that, when laid down with their lee gunwales in the water, and in
a hurricane, in which, to quote the words of Capt. Doutty of the Run-
nimede, an experienced old West India commander (Journal, Vol. XIV.
p- 365,) the severity of the wind is beyond description, there is nothing
to compare it to, for unless present, no one can conceive the destructive
power and weight of wind, crushing every thing before it as if it were
a metallic body,* these iron towers can stand half an hour ?
I do not forget that a steamer has not the heavy masts and yards of
a sailing vessel to lay her over in a hurricane, but on the other hand, her
light spars would at most be equivalent to jurymasts in the wind and
sea of atyfoon; and she would labour as heavily as a ship without
masts for the want of top weight to steady her. This difference is
well known and calculated upon by ship-sailors, who, while it will
stand, I fancy always prefer a close-reefed maintopsail to lie to under,
**to keep her steady ?”
And there is a farther danger, which evidently has never been
thought of, which is that at the very height of these terrific tempests
the funnel must stand as it can, by its own strength, for it has no sup-
port from the rigging, till it has laid far enough over to wrench it-
self out of the deck! This will startle many, but is easily shown. In
harbour the iron shrouds are all slack, to allow of the expansion and
lengthening of the funnel by the heat. In practice also the funnel, I am
informed, is fitted slightly loose in its socketting to allow of the lateral
expansion: Now if it contracts while the vessel is laid down in a hurri-
cane the whole weight of it must hang on the shrouds or depend on
the strength of the materials.
Now when the spray and “ rain as cold as ice,”+ is beating upon it,
the temperature must be much lowered, but if the fires are put out by
the sheer impossibility of keeping them in, or by the water in the en-
gine room ; it is clear that the funnel then must contract a little and the
* There is no exaggeration in this. It has occurred again and again in our tyfoons
and hurricanes. The late Mr. Greenlaw, in the letter alluded to at page 36, says of the
hurricane of the H. C. S. Essex, that he felt that if he had fallen down he should have
remained as if nailed to the deck when the ship rolled to windward !
t Capt. Rundle’s Log, Journal A. S. Vol. XIV. p. 33.
56 Fifteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JAN.
shrouds become slack exactly when most wanted to be taut. I have little
doubt that this was one reason of the loss of the Pluto’s funnel.
I do not advert here to the large openings necessarily left in
Steamers, farther than to say that unless much more strongly covered
im than a common hatchway, their being stove in by a sea is not an
unlikely but even a probable accident, serious as it would be. And this
seems to have attracted attention at home, for in a recent notice of the
improvements in H. M. Steam Ship Fury, of 1123 tons, and 550 horse
power, I find it stated that ‘“ she is fitted with circular hatches over her
engine-room, which in warm climates throw open its whole area to the
currents of air from the deck ;” and itis added that “ This plan also af-
fords the most perfect security in a gale of wind, preventing the ship-
ment of seas in the engine-room.”’
If this was thought necessary in a first rate steamer for the storms
of the Channel, the Atlantic, and the hurricanes of the West Indies,
and doubtless sanctioned by the Admiralty because much insecurity
had been found in heavy weather on the old plans, we may fairly doubt
if, for our seas, where, we may say without exaggeration of some of
our hurricanes and tyfoons, that nothing made of wood or iron or
rope can hold against them ; we have got much yet to learn in the art
of properly securing our steamers’ funnels and hatches, so as to avoid
the dismal repetition of the Cleopatra’s loss—with a freight other than
of convicts. ;
And the remedy for this is so simple that I think (after . another
catastrophe or two) it will not fail to be adopted; i. e. to have a stout
hoop with strong eyebolts and chain pendants, the whole of work-
manship and stoutness sufficient to bear the whole weight of the funnel
when the vessel is upon her beam ends, fitted to the head of the fun-
nels. Stout runners and tackles, like the lower tackles of ship’s fore-
masts, should be kept ready rove,and upon the approach of severe
weather these should be carefully set up.
There is nothing in this but the precaution which every good officer —
takes with his lower masts, in tackles, preventer shrouds, &c. in a
sailing vessel; and the loss of a funnel or of both of them, is an
accident of too grave a kind to be thought lightly of, because it may
seldom happen. My belief is that under the present system it may
probably always happen in every Steamer that becomes unmanageable
in a tyfoon,
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1848. ] Natural Productions of the Angami Naga Hills. a7
Extract from a Memoir of some of the Natural Productions of the
Angami Naga Hills, and other parts of Upper Assam, by J. W.
Masters, Esq. (Communicated by G. A. Bususy, Hsq., Secretary
to the Government of India.)
GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS.
I saw very little that appeared to me interesting in Geology on the
Angami Hills ; scarcely any thing but sandstone, of different degrees
of compactness, from soft and friable, to hard.
The following specimens will show the nature of the rocks met, with
on the route.
1. This is a fragment of one of the sandstone pillars in the old
fort of Dhimapura. For a description of the pillars, see Captain But-
ler’s Journal.
2. Fragment of a sandstone rock from the N. E. side of Samu-
jading. A great portion of the hillis composed of this description
of rock.
3. Fragment of a more compact stone found on the top of Samu-
jading. Many large blocks of this description are lying loose on the
summit of the hill.
4. Fragment of a tombstone from Samujading. The four show
the different kinds of rock that are to be met with at Samujading and
along the banks of the Dibbu. No rocks or stones are found in the
bed of the Dhanseri, between Gologhat and Dhimapura, except such
as flow out of Dibbu Mookh.
5. Fragment of foliated clay slate, of which the hill of Prephinia is
composed, ‘This specimen was procured from a ravine below the vil-
lage, where the strata are nearly perpendicular. The rock differs in
compactness at different points; when exposed to the action of the
air, it crumbles down with the least touch; at other points where
protected, it is more compact like the specimen, and large flags may be
procured.
6. Fragment of one of the rocks common at Mazamuh. Of this
description of rock the terrace walls are formed in the ricefields,
These are the only kinds I observed on the Angami hills. I saw no
Iron, Salt, Coal or Lime.
58 Natural Productions of the Angami Naga Hills, [ JAN.
Coau.
The following specimens of Coal were collected from the different
localities mentioned below :
7. Coal from the Jamuna falls, highly impregnated with sul-
phuret of iron, and liable to spontaneous combustion. The spot from
which this specimen was procured is about half a mile above the falls,
and five yards from the Jamuna river. The seam is eighteen inches
thick. The sample alluded to in the Coal Committee’s report for 1845
section 39, and said to be “one of the purest and finest Coals hitherto
met with anywhere,” was a detached piece of Coal picked up by Mr.
B. Wood, among the rocks at the falls; from whence it came has not
yet been ascertained.
8. Coal from the Diphu Nadi, 8 miles above the falls of the
Jamuna. The seam is 2 feet 5 inches thick.
9. Coal picked up in the bed of the Sundra in the Lakhanapura
district. Small bits of coal are found scattered over the bed of the
river from the mouth of the Jeehing to beyond the first. range of
Duphla hills. No trace of any seam or accumulation in any part of
the river visited.
10. Coral formation from the bed of the Sundra.
11. Coal from Jayapura. Jayapura is the only known coal locality
to which boats can have free access without risk or obstruction. Inthe
Desairy there are stiff rapids to be encountered below the coal of
Borhaét. In the Suffry the rapids are more numerous and the naviga-
tion more difficult than in the Desairy. In the Dikho there are up-
wards of 20 small rapids, between the Santuk Mukha aud the coal.
LIME.
12. Fragment of a large block. of shell Limestone from the falls of
the Nambin ; very plentiful.
13. Fragment of a large block of compact Limestone from the falls
of the Nombar.
14. Fragment of a Limestone boulder from the bed of the Hurrio
Jan.
15. Limestone boulders from Sunapura. These are found thinly
scattered over the numerous quartz and granite boulders in the bed of
the Brahmaputra above Noa Dihing Mukha, They appear to be
1848. | Ball Coal of the Burdwan Mines. 59
brought down by the Digaro, as they are more numerous near the
mouth of that river.
16. Limestone boulders from a little below the Khind. As we
ascend the river, the boulders become larger, some of them consisting
of pure white Marble.
IRON.
17. Clay from Golaghat, contaiming granular Iron Ore.
18. Sulphuret of Iron from the Jamuna falls.
_ MiscreLLANe#,
19. Pipe Clay from the Nambar falls.
20. Pipe Clay from the Jamuna falls. |
21. Fragment ofa rock near the hot spring. Burra Noong poong.
22. Fragment of a rock at the Nambar falls.
23. Fragment of a rock forming a rapid in the Hurrio Jan.
24, Fragment of a rock on the Tokaphang Naga hills.
25. Fragment of a rock at the Jamuna falls.
26. Fragment of a rock on the Mikir Hills.
27. Fragment of a rock on the Mikir Hills, Jamuna falls.
28. Sandstone from the first hill banks of the Sundra river. Clift
nearly perpendicular.
29. Sandstone from a high clift about 3 miles above No. 28. .
30. Conglomerate forming faults ? in the high clifts of Nos. 28 and 29.
31. Fragments of Granite boulders from the bed of the Sundra.
32. Fragment of the rock at the Brahma Kunda,
Examination and Analysis of the Batu Coan of the Burdwan Mines,
by Henry Pinpinerton, Curator Museum Economie Geology.
The Museum is indebted for this specimen to D. Williams, Esq. the
Government Geologist, who informs me that these singular balls are
very common in the Burdwan mines, though I am not aware that they
have ever been noticed before. He says they are of all sizes, from that
of a Cannon ball, to a man’s head, and even 18 inches in diameter,
Like the Burdwan, and many English kinds of coal, these balls are
composed of alternate layers of a bright bituminous and a dull jetty
kind of coal, splitting easily between the layers. Our specimen was
2
60 Bail Coal of the Burdwan Mines. [ JAN.
found very tough and difficult to cut with a saw. There was no differ-
ence between the centre and the periphery of the ball, nor any thing
that could give the idea of a nucleus or of concentric layers.
And upon considering it attentively it will be seen at once that it is
nothing more than an oblique rhomboidal prism of the common coal
of the mines, rounded somehow into a rough ball. So far, for the present
as to its external characters. |
I find its specific gravity to be 1.37. The mean of 5 specimens* of
Burdwan Coal is 1.365. I place here its analysis and the mean of the
first six specimens referred to in the note below.
Analysis of the Ball Coal. Mean of Burdwan Coal.
Mr. Prinsep’s Table.
Water,’ aha. ches Pee BOD... Yes) Wena ee Gath;
Volatile matter,...... ZOO: eae? ng ob a5 ya otek ee
Carbon): cubes cals BReODa She. Sens Seema 20s
Ash, pid Wik Be loner OPO sees an eee yes ae
100.00.
There was a slight excess in my analysis; no doubt due to the
peroxidation of the Iron.
I had not, from Mr. Williams, any note of the particular mine from
whence our ball was taken, so as to compare its analysis with that
particular coal, but from its agreeing so nearly, we can have little doubt
of its having the same origin as the average of Burdwan Coals. But
then comes the curious question of “ How did it become rounded and
deposited in the coal bed after it was arhomboid of coal? for the
total absence of any concentric layers or other trace or indication of
organisation, leaves no doubt about its having been one. It is in fact
such a rounded boulder of somewhat tough coal as we should expect
to meet with in a stream of moderate velocity—with its layers parallel
to the base of the prism. |
I fear this. must remain, like so many other geological questions,
matter of conjecture ; for the imagination is almost startled at the idea of
the time required for coal to be formed, and then broken up and carried
off in boulders to be deposited again in new beds forming at a distance :
as we might suppose the Mississippi to be now rolling lumps of coal
with its huge rafts of timber and mighty masses of vegetable matter,
* From the first six in Mr. Prinsep’s Table; Journal, Vol. VII. p. 197.
1848. | Ball Coal of the Burdwan Mines. | 61
to deposit them amongst beds of coal forming (if any are so,) in the
Gulf of Mexico! Yet to this conclusion we come ; nor is it easy to
imagine any process by which these balls could have been formed but
that of rolling. If they were homogeneous throughout we might sup-
pose them imperfect crystals ; if with concentric layers, ora nucleus,
that they were derived from some particular vegetable production ; and
finally, if coal was a rock exposed to the air, that, like granite, the crystal
or mass had been weathered, and not worn down at the corners. It
evidently is worn; and correct information as to how these balls are
found i situ with every particular regarding them, would be highly
acceptable. I do not here advert to the theory of coal being a purely
mineral deposit, as it has been found in so many points untenable
against that of its having a vegetable origin, at least so far as relates to
bituminous coal. H. P.
P. S. Since this paper was written I have obtained a copy of Mr.
Homfray’s second pamphlet on the coal field of the Dummooda, and
Adji, in which that gentleman, an able and experienced-miner, who gives
one of the localities has noticed these balls (p. 26) in the following
terms :—
‘** We proceed westward and come to China Coory, where only 73 feet
of the vein is worked as good; further west we cross the Barracar
river, and the Coals in almost every locality are of a much better
quality than those from the eastern division; those near to Pachete
Hill are good and very bright. We come then to the Coodeah nullah,
running into the Barracar river, and there the coals are very superior,
and it is from some of those little localities about there that the vein
produces Coal, which as I before said, yields a fair third rate coke ; the
vein is thicker and the Coal much brighter, but more tender, and con-
tains a vast quantity of round balls of Coal, as though large lumps
had been submitted to the attrition of a running stream ; this is found
when the vein of Coal exhibits no symptoms of derangement save these
nodular balls, which are generally the size and shape of a Dutch
Cheese. Without doubt the Coal at this part of the country is the best
for all purposes.”
It is evident that Mr. Homfray, considers them as I do, as blocks
of coal rounded by water. How could this happen, and their subse-
quent deposition in another Coal bed, without their having belonged to
a Geological era preceding all the present supposed ones !
62 Land Shells of the Tenasserim Provinces. [JAN.
The Land Shells of the Tenasserim Provinces, by Rev. F. Mason,
A, M., Corresponding Member of the Boston Society of Natural
History, U. S.*
Being requested, a few years ago, by a distinguished American Con-
chologist, to send him some land and fresh water shells, I subsequent-
ly collected every species I could find in the Provinces, and transmitted
specimens of each to America, where they were examined by my cor-
respondent, and nearly forty species pronounced new. Most of them
may be found characterised, or described, in the Proceedings or Jour-
nal of the Boston Society of Natural History.
Dr. Gould wrote me that he had furnished his correspondents in
London and Paris with specimens of ail the new shells I had sent him ;
but on a recent visit to the Museum of the Asiatic Society, I could not
find a single specimen of our Tenasserim land shells. It has therefore
occurred to me that a Catalogue of all the land shells I have noticed
in the Tenasserim Provinces, with a few brief notices of each, might
not be unacceptable to the readers of the Journal; and whenever I fall
in with my collections again, I shall endeavour to furnish the Museum
with specimens of each species.
The Genus Helix is the most abundant in species ; there being nine
at least, and all new. |
H, procumbens, Gould, is a flat discoidal shell, with four whorls,
the outer one deflected. ‘‘ Diameter 3 of aninch ; height 4 of an inch.
Belongs to the group of which H. planulata is the type.’’*
H. infrendens, Gould, is a small orbicular shell with three oblique
teeth. ‘Diameter 2 of aninch; height + of aninch. Very closely
allied to H. rangiana, Fer.”
H. anceps,+ Gould, is a fragile shell with six whorls. * Diameter
qi’; of an inch; height less than 2 of an inch. In general form, color,
and sculpture, it resembles H. acies, Fer. (acutimargo, Rosm.) but is
much smaller, and not widely umbilicated.” .
HI. honesta,t Gould, is a small thin shell with five whorls. ‘ Dia-
* As Mr. Mason has been good enough to furnish us with specimens of some of the
shells enumerated in the present paper, we are enabled to identify several of these with
species already described by Benson and others.—Ebs.
t H. serrula, Benson.—Eps, ¢{ Nanina vesicula, Benson.—Eps,
1848. | Land Shells of the Tenasserim Provinces. 63
meter <2 of an inch; height } of an inch, Resembles H. fusca more
than any other species I have seen. It is probably a Nanina.”’
The above four species are remarkable for being found on the branch-
es of the Peepul, and other species of the Genus icus. This is so
characteristic of these snails, that the Karens call them Kl0-khleu,
Ficus shells.
H. saturnia, Gould, has five whorls, and is the largest species of
the genus that we have on the coast. ‘Diameter 2 inches ; height
1 inch. In size and form it is like H. /ampas from Jamaica; but
differs especially in having a broad, deep umbilicus.”
HI, refuga, Gould, is a sinistral shell with a depressed spire, six
whorls, and deflected aperture. The Karens do not distinguish it
from the Planorbis. ‘Diameter 2 of an inch; height + of an inch.
This remarkable shell is almost exactly like H. carabinata, Fer., except
that it is reversed, and has no lamellee revolving within the outer lip.”
H. Caracolla zabata, (Gould,) has a carinated perphery and very
deep umbilicus. It is most abundant durimg harvest, and hence the
Karens call it Kl6-bi, the paddy shell. ‘Diameter 4 of an inch;
height less than 2 of an inch. Much like H. scaériuscula in form and
aperture, but quite different as to surface, color, and umbilicus.”
H. Caracolia retorsa,* Gould, is a large sinister shell; called by
the Karens Kld-biiphan, the paddy blossom shell, because most abun-
dant when the paddy comes into flower. ‘ Diameter 13 inches ; height
linch. This large heterostrophe Helix resembles an inverted speci-
men of one of that group of shells, so common and _ so varied, from
the Philippine Islands, of which H. lamarckhii is one. Young speci-
mens might, at first glance, be confounded with H. himalana, Lea;
but the Aimalana is much more globular, the surface less striated, the
carina quite indistinct, and the umbilicus smaller.”
HI, (Streptaxis) petiti, Gould, is a distorted little shell, with a
spire of seven whorls. The Karens call it Klé-bei, and Klé-phong,
the coix shell, from its resemblance to the seed of a species of coix with
which they adorn their garments as a substitute for beads, ‘Length
2 of an inch; breadth less than 3, of an inch. In size and exterior, it
closely resembles S, aberrata, (sou-leget,) but is rather larger.”’
* H, interrupta, Benson.— Eps,
64 Land Sells of the Tenasserim Provinces. [Jan.
The genus Cyclostoma has three representatives in our Tenasserim
jungles.
C. tuba, Sowerby, is more common, perhaps, than any other spe-
cies.
C. pernobilis,* Gould, is also very abundant, It is the largest land
shell in the country, and the largest species of its genus. |
The Karens call it Klé-mi-pgha, the primary shell, i. e. the one |
from which others are derived. The Burmans call it Khé-ri-quet,
the Quet shell; as they say it calls out Queé, quet/ Nearly all the ©
different species of Helix above are called by the Burmans varieties of —
the Quet shell. ‘‘ Diameter 2 inches; height 1 mch. This superb
species is a little larger than any one hitherto described. The C,
involvulus, Sowerby, is a miniature of it.”
C. sectilabrum, Gould, has an elevated spire with eight whorls. —
“ Length 1 inch; breadth } of aninch. Closely resembles C. altum, —
Sowerby, but has the fissure across the peritreme on the opposite —
side. C. croceum, Sowerby, may be only a faded specimen of this
shell.” 7
We have three species of Bulimus. One, a small red species, Dr. —
Gould thought to be new, but hesitated, and he has not therefore de-
scribed it,
B. atricallosus,+ Gould, is a large and elegant sulphur-coloured
species with seven whorls. Itisa great favorite with Karen females —
and is often seen strung, with the other species of the genus, on their
necklaces. They call it Klo-bau, Klo-bang, the yellow shell. The —
Burmans call it Bying-khza, heron’s dung. ‘‘Length 14 inches; —
breadth 1 inch. It is of the same type as some of the shells from the |
Philippine Islands, as B. vittatus, dryas, and maculiferus.”
B. moniliferus, Gould, is a variagated shell with seven whorls, for
the most part sinistral, but I occasionally meet with dextral shells. q
“Length 12; breadth 4. ‘Differs from B. contrarius and B. levus,
Miill., by its angular aperture, and the colour of its lip and throat.”
I have met with one species of Clausilia, the largest species of the —
genus known. Dr. Gould named it C. insignis, but subsequently —
wrote C. insignis is C. cochinchinensis, Philippi, published about the
time I received your specimens.”
* C, involvulus, Benson.—Ebs. ¢ B. citrinus, Lam, var. E., Swainson.—Ebs.
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1848. ] On the Antiquities of Sargud and its neighbourhood. 65
On the flowering shrubs in my garden in Tavoy, I occasionally found
a species of Suecinea, which Dr. Gould has named S. semserica.
« Length 1 inch ; breadth 3, inch; height 3, inch. Its shape is like
S. tigrina, Fer., and it is well characterised by the silky-white or
pearly surface of the anterior half of the shell.”
The genus Vitrina is represented by V. prestans, (Gould ;) a very
delicate shell and the largest species of its genus. ‘Greatest length
4 of an inch ; height 2 ofaninch. The colour is dark straw-colour, or
amber-colour, inclining to green.”’
Under every pile of fallen leaves, under every brick that has laid a
few weeks on the grass, and every fallen timber, may be found in Tavoy
a small, sulphur-coloured species of Achatina with eight whorls; 4.
octona.
In the same localities, and in company with the above may be occa-
sionally seen a small red species of Pupa; P. mellita, Gould.
“Length %; breadth 3. The general aspect of the shell is not
unlike that of Achatina octona.
ON NLL NA APA NA A L LI AD ILL LRL ALLE
On the Antiquities of Sargua and its neighbourhood ; by Lneut.-Col.
J. R. OusEevey.
To the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society.
My pear Sirs,—On the 19th of last month I despatched to the
address of Mr. Piddington, for the Society, a complete Lingam and
Shiléri or Argah, from the deserted fortress of Jooba, in the Pal Per-
gunnah of Sargujé4. The people of the country cannot account in
any way as to the era in which it was made, or when even Juba itself
was deserted, nor can the Raja of the country, Maharaja Amar Sinha
Deva Bahddar. He surmises the period to be long prior to the Ballan
Dynasty. The Ballans were expelled by his ancestors, many generations
ago.
Manpura, the chief town of the Pal Parganah, is about 2 or 3
miles North West of Juba; the latter is situated in a gorge of the
K
66 ~ On the Antiquities of Sargud and its neighbourhood, (Jan.
hills, on the shoulder of one is the Fort, and below, among the tree
jungul, are the remains of carved stone temples and stone walls, now
lying about in fragments, or nearly covered by the accumulations of
burnt and rotten leaves ; among them was this Lingam, which having a
well carved face and head projecting from the surface (of the Lingam)
I thought it desirable to send it to you—with its Argah or Jhiléri.*
At Mahéoli, a place 82 miles North West of Manpura, I observed a
long cut stone* lying on the ground in a field and had it turned over.
I was glad to find that there was an inscription on it of the year 1296
Samvat, with several figures, in relief; Captain Kittoe took off impres-
sions of the inscription, after I brought it to Chota Nagpura. I think
it appears to be a sati stone. Captain Kittoe considers it to be a
record of a victory. I conclude that some of the Pandits at Calcutta
will be able to make out the purport of the Legend. Pal is the
Northern Parganah of Sargujé, and the borders not above 70 or 80
miles from the town of Mirzapura.
Within 9 miles South West of Lakhanapura (west of the tablelands
of the Moyupat) is the celebrated Ramgarh temple, situated on a hill
of that name. I send a rough sketch (Pl. III.) of the remains of the
temple on the top of the hill, which is about 3,100 feet in height. The
antiquity of the temple must be very great. Captain Fell, Professor of ;
Sanscrit, endeavoured to reach these temples, but failed, being attacked
with fever and dying on the road. The temple having partially fallen,
I could discover no beejuk. In the centre of this sandstone hill is a
fine coal-bed, over which flows a spring, called the ‘‘ Thoora Panee ;”’ it
is on the right of the road ascending (about half way up); proceeding
along the Eastern skirt of the hill—near the Northern extremity, is a
very singular tunnel of about 25 feet in width by 15 or 20 high, which
runs for 140 or 150 yards horizontally through the hill whether arti- —
ficial or natural, I cannot determine, opening into a beautiful basin, —
which would have been a lake but for the tunnel through which a
small stream runs. Turning to the left, on passing the tunnel, ycu come
to the face of the Ramgarh Hill, and in this face are excavated some
wonderful caves, with small stone figures in them; wild animals now
take up their abode in the caves ; the impressions of a tiger’s feet were —
* An account of these will be given hereafter.—Eps.
1818. ] On the Antiquities of Sargujd and its neighbourhood. 67
freshly made in the sand of the stream, in the tunnel. Within 4 or 5
miles East of the Ramgarh hill, is another Manpura, a small village.
The Kéhar river runs from South to North, within a mile and a half of
it; on the banks is a temple, the main body of which is built of brick,
and the porch, &c. in front, of stone, facing the East, has entirely
fallen, but only part of the brick temple itself, which is built of the
most beautiful brick. [sent one of the bricks to the Society. I have
thought it desirable to send a rough sketch I made of this brick tem-
ple, which is supposed to be several thousand years old. There are in a
direct line North of this temple, no less than 10 or 12 others, all lying
in ruins, built of sandstone; time having much defaced the very
beautiful carvmg. In no other temple could I detect brick, and no
appearance of mortar having been used in any. These temples deserve
particular examination and more time, than I could devote to them.
They are Brahminical, I have no doubt, from the figures of Ganésa, &c.
There are many tanks now nearly filled, and others in good order, in
every direction round the temples.
At Dipadi, a place 80 or 90 miles Hast of this, near Chulgulli, are
a great many temples precisely like these, of sandstone, and carved in
the same manner, but overthrown as by an earthquake, and’ many all
but covered over by dust-storms, &c,
A hot spring exists at Tata-pani (hot water); in Sarguja the heat of
the water is 184° Fahrt. and the smell very disagreeable; an old
temple is to be seen here in ruins; the country appears to be volcanic. I
formerly had the pleasure of sending several bottles of the water, care-
fully filled on the spot by Captain Hannyngton, Deputy Commissioner,
to Mr. Piddington, with some remarks on the place, but I have heard
nothing further on the subject as regards the analysis.
This country (Sarguj4) is well worthy the attention of the Geolo-
gist; its coal, iron, gold, ochre, marble, lime, &c. are most valuable. The
height of the inhabited parts above the sea from 1,500 to 3,600 feet.
The climate coo], agreeable, and healthy ; the scenery beautiful. Rivers
in every direction, woods and hills, on which are extensive table-lands at
about 3,300 feet in height. For the sportsman, few places in India can
excel this. The Gour abound, Deer of all sorts, wild Buffaloes, Ele-
_ phants, Tigers; in fact all, but the Rhinoceros, of the animals of
India.
68 Inscription from the Bijaya Mandir, Udayapir, §e. [JAN.
The period is not distant when I hope to see European colonization
attempted. The table-land of the Maynepat, extending for 50 miles
East and West, by 30 miles wide, at an altitude of 3,300 to 3,700 feet,
is admirably adapted for the speculations of Europeans, the native
population is thin, there only existing 16 inhabited villages in the whole
Maynepat table-land, and not above 250 inhabitants (men, women and
children). It is too cold for the people of the plains, about 1,200 or 1,400
feet below. In these hills are a race of people who are stated to
devour their own parents when too old to work, the ‘ Kowrahs.”
They do it as a religious duty, I am informed ; are almost naked, and
are seldom or ever seen,
I remain,
My dear Sirs,
Your’s very faithfully,
J. R. Ouseiey.
Chota Nagpore, Nov. 6, 1847.
I forgot to mention, that the name of the brick temple, is ‘ The
Charkha Déwal,’’ and of the Tunnel, the “‘ Hath Phore’’—and that of
the chief cave temple in which are four stone figures, ‘‘The Sité-
mari,”’
PYLE MAPUIWN A MDAAOADNAA
Inscription from the Vijaya Mandir, Udayapir, §e.
| We sometime ago received from Capt. J. D. Cunningham a large
packet of inscriptions copied with very great labour and zeal at Sanchi,
Udayaptr, Ehrin, and other localities within the Bhopal Agency. On
examining these carefully one by one, we find that nearly all of any
interest have already been published in the J ournal ; so thoroughly have
the antiquities of that neighbourhood been exhausted by the industry
of Capt. C.’s predecessors. The subjoined Mithraic hymn from the
Vijaya Mandir at Udayaptr, appears however, to be new: the English
version is from the pen of our Librarian, .
1848.) Inscription from the Bijaya Mandir, Udayapir, §c. 69
scaqzy faaaafecfearufctatad ae |
| oa: afta | franaradacaarrfanatte ga | feut-
d fafactarfadaaamee 10 i aecyfaufeqears
fafefaastiaaresatasa Granrctaad | faard at a-
afeaty seat sarasrfecacafgaawara: sae A
21 ausfaataanufias qaaqamad waite: uf<ita
MAINA AAAI | Ae WyATass HrawareVracr:
Gidd Aa TaAawWarated VaATHAag | 2 | Aca.
au aa wa fawat afeed aa safasnfanat
GH | 8) SLIRAUAGT A aTsaIACa 124 BHAA S-
waataeaad | yl Sercofrnaaafrssresereyareras
Mayawati atisa Re afaaarhrfes:
auaty alta ae TaN aT ATTA fete Brad
i ll facta afeeatia saifas WHA e: farsa astia
Sraeteqwaes: |e Canes fad & at farararn: eT
dfatatefe aera Hear es si aa avatalcufeac
eifcat aifexian © ara: duafsafeararsad Ware: j
arcrad aufe faucraae gatas fa ada fara fara
frames i ct
ae yaaa: quafrare yor faata |
Om! Salutation to Savita! We worship the luminary, who is an
enemy to darkness, who shines, and destroys the strong shackles of
this revolving earth.
2. This eulogium on the unrivalled effulgence of the sun,—a
nosegay made of the finest flowers of poetry, and containing paurdnic
allusions, was composed by me, who, though weak-minded, am zealous,
and was inspired by Him, who dispenses heat, and is able to develope
our intellect.
70 Inscription from the Byaya Mandir, Udayaptir, §&e. [Jan
3. O Sun! the moon having imbibed the rays of thy reflected light
attained her wealth of the health-promoting herb,* which produces
amrita (nectar) when offered in oblation to the fire, which amrita
again is sought by the gods ;—therefore I say, verily thy greatness is
inconceivable !
4. Thy visible rays are lable to destruction, but thy invisible rays:
are eternal, therefore thy rays are two-fold:—O Lord of light! we
salute thee.
5. Thy invisible rays are atomic, and the cause of our soul, and the
visible exist in the form of the creation.
6. He, who by eradicating worldly desires becomes the source of
conferring happiness, and like a billow plays on the ocean of intellect
purified by knowledge and meditation, can be somewhat appreciated
only by the devout. That pure light positively is the great Brahma
which shines in the heavens, and is the cause of the happiness of this
passing world.
7. The ignorant (lit. film-eyed) believe him to be the light that is
seen, but the learned (lit. clear-sighted) know the purifier of minds to
be the Great Mind.
8. He, who knows thee to be the life of the world,—or, the world
a part of thee,—is a gnyani (learned), but he who thinks otherwise,
is a dunce.
9. Ye cowards! infatuated by worldly passions, and ever actuated
by doubts ye take not his protection: Why not by worshipping him,
who isa bar to misfortune, approach the contented Commander, who
leaves you a wide open door to the stronghold of salvation ?
He attains salvation who prays the sun orally and mentally, and
performs virtuous actions ,+
The subjoined is the legend of a copperplate grant presented to the
Society some time ago by Brigadier Stacy: the translation of this also
is by Babu Rajendra Lal Mittra, This grant is remarkable as contain-
* ‘The moon plant ( Sarcostema viminalis ).
t The last sentence is in prose.
1848.] Inscription from the Byaya Mandir, Udayapur, se. 71
ing the genealogy of Sri Venayaka Pala Deva in duplicate, first engraved
upon the grant and then cast in relief upon the seal.
|) af: | aterearafeattadrseacun trea:
Hee: was: Banteay Tawar.
UTA: HAUT MAA: ULAATSACIAB AT: Ws.
VUACIVY TAVITA MSR Carqauy: weoH-
UNAMARACUIT: $ BAMTASITY TaAwarerreqa:
PaslscewmMaaqa vfs aes: BeaAzea-
SY FAGAN SAV: MACH AAA ULAAT aa WAT
ASI WHAT TAWA: AWhaswerte-
MMA WAAC AA AST: BATS que quay
TaRMIeAaa: WeeawMeaqqara: acAaaaraet-
Tet Bway Atal Bava yaw Tawqurer-
aaa BawTeheaaqas wuss: Bfz-
araanised: fastest qUweifeuaaaearatlyrcyy-
andqeteatcaaTa aqua Hata qatar
ufasifeascarauafa, sutctsfeaatas: earaeaa ara
aatatras qacutaqaacaatsaraat fis: qurfie-
aa, cansrauaanaaiacuaray, wat wyat aT-
al sfaaen sfauttes, ata fafeat wate: earawaa, ofa-
afaficarar samfsdayat sara sw aquaat xfa,
Seam sgHe were facas | WATT cy HTEATAT-
ate ¢ frag |
Om! Prosperity! Distinguished by the possession of innumerable
war boats, elephants, horses, cars and foot soldiers, (was the reign of)
72 Inscription from the Byaya Mandir, Udayapur, §&c. [JAn.
the pious and Vaishnava (a) Maharaja Sri Devasacti Deva. He was
succeeded by his son—born of Sri Bhumika Devi, the great Mahes-
wara (4) Maharaja Vanyaraéja Deva, who was followed by his
son—born of Sri Sundari Devi, Maharaja Sri Nagabhatta Deva, a
worshipper of Bhagavati. His son, Maharaja Sri Rambhadra Deva—
a worshipper of Aditya, (c) and born of Sri Mahisata Devi, succeeded
him, and was followed by his son—a worshipper of Bhagavati (d)
and born of Sri Madappa Devi, Maharaja Sri Bhoja Deva; who
was succeeded by his son, Maharaja Sri Mahendra Pala Deva, a wor-
shipper of Bhagavati, and born of Sri Chandrabhattarika Devi. His
son, the Vaishnava Maharaja Sri Bhoja Deva, born of Sri Dehanasa
Devi, succeeded him. Sri Mahendra Pala Deva was his brother;
whose son and successor, born of Sri Mahidevi Devi, Maharaja Sri
Vinayaka Pala Deva,—a great worshipper of Aditya, to the respectable
and permanent inhabitants assembled in Tikkariké, a village situated
in the district of Baranasi (Benares), on the opposite bank of Kasi,
thus addressed: ‘‘ The aforesaid village, with all its revenue exclusive
of what has been already presented to Devtas or Brahmanas,—for the
period of the duration of the sun, the moon, the earth, and time—in
order to the promotion of my parents’ virtue, after due ablutions per-
formed in the Ganges on the 6th day of the moon, was presented by me
to my class-fellow in the study of the Atharva Veda, Bhulluka Bhatta,
of the family of Darbhisa, knowing this you should abide by it and
submissively pay to him all the revenue.” Sriharsa composed this to
give permanency to the grant.
Done on the 6th day of the dark half of the moon, in the solar
month of PAdiguna, in the year 65.
(a) A worshipper of Vishnu.
(6) Worshipper of Mahadeva.
(c) Sun.
(d) The goddess Durga, the wife of Shiva.
sj
ie)
1848.] Addenda et Corrigenda, &c.
~
Addenda et Corrigenda of the paper on the Aborigines of the Sub-
hemalayas, in the December No. of the Journal. By B. H. Hove-
son, Esq.
Page 1237 at the word ‘ Bhutan,’ add foot note. Pemberton in his
Report assigns the following position and extent to Bhutan. 264° to
28° N. L. and 888° to 924° E. Long. Length 220, and breadth 90,
miles.
Page 1238. Dele the long foot note on Hemachal, and substitute
appendix No. I. hereafter given.
Page 1241. For 2000 read 1800 ; and for 500, 480 as the length
and breadth of ‘Tibet.
Page 1242. Dele the 8 first lines and substitute—‘ That valley is of
a lozenge shape, about 20 miles in extreme length and width, cultivated
highly throughout, and 4200 to 4700 feet above the sea. Lat. of
Cathmundu 273° N. The only other valley in the whole eastern half
of the Sub-hemalayas is that of Jamla or Yumila, which is smaller and
higher, yielding barley (hordeum celeste) as the greater valleys rice ;
whilst in the western half of the Sub-hemalayas is the single though
large vale of Cashmir, 160 miles long by 60 broad, and 6000 feet above
the sea.
The Sub-hemalayas forma confused series of enormous mountains,
the ranges of which cross each other in every direction, but still have a
prevalent tendency to diverge, like mbs from the spinal column of the
snows, ora S. E and N. W. diagonal between 28° and 35°.’
Same page. Add at top of the series of basins and of peaks, ‘ Alpine
basin of Indus... No peak’ ; and alter the subsequent numeral mention
of basins, in reference to population, accordingly.
_ Page 1243, for ‘ Dijond’ read Dinjong. Same page line 19, after the
words ‘aqueous system can alone reveal,’ Add, ‘Of the innumerable
rivers the only ones with ascertained transnivean sources are the Indus,
the Satlege, the Karnali, the Sanpd vel Brahmaputra, and the Artin,
whereof the 4 first take their rise at Gangri, the great water shed of
the plain of Tibet, close to lake Mepang vel Manasrover, and the 5th
or Artin, from the northern slope of Hemachal in the district of Tingri.
They are, as might be expected, the largest of our rivers, both the
is
74 Addenda et Corrigenda, ec. [JAN.
Karnéli and the Ardn, within the mountains, exceeding the’Jumna or
Ganges.
It is probable though unascertained that the Painomchii and Monas,
in addition to the rivers above given, have transhemalayan sources, and
are identical respectively with the Pa or Nai-chi and the Monchi of
Klaproth, whilst his Kongbong is, most likely, the Subhansri, and his
petit Tchembo, the Dihong; which last stream, or the Lohit, must be
identified apparently with the Sanpt vel Brahmaputra. Permanand,
who accompanied Wilcox and Burlton, and explored further than either
of them, thinks the Lohit is the Sanpi: Major Hannay contends for
the Dihong, which he says is properly called Dhang, a word almost
the same with Dzang whence, with the affix po, we derive Sanpi. The
great river is styled Dzang-po, recte Tsang-po ; that is, of or belonging
to Tsang, which is the western half of the central province of Tibet.
It seems possible that the Subhansri, the Dihong, the Dibong, and
the Lohit, are, some of them, defluents of the Sanpu, whilst others of
them, with separate sources, are affluents, Collectively they must be
held, at present, to constitute the Sanpu vel Brahmaputra ; for, it is
certain that the Sanpu is not the Irawadi; nor have we any grounds
for assigning an eastern continuation to the former river comparable in
validity to those which lead us to make it turn westward and traverse
Assam.’
Then add, ‘ after ruggedness of the surface,’ the words ‘ of the Sub-
hemalayas.’
Comparative Vocabulary, Kirauti, first column, for ‘Bhag,’ read ‘ Phag.’
Lepchu column, for ‘ Kazen’ read ‘ Kazeu.’
Second page, foot note, for ‘Jiming, good,’ read ‘ Jigd, my goods.’
Third page, foot note, for ‘expresses in, eu in declension,’ read
‘ expressions in, on, in declension.’
In the next note, for Gniing, read Gniin.
Newar column, for ‘ Khau, Da, Ang,’ read, ‘ Khau, Du, Ang.’ »
In the last page of the Vocabulary the Lepcha adjectives are given
only in one form, whereas there should be two, as Arhim vel Rhiimbo.
Azeu vel Zeubo. Amyen vel Myenbo, &c. One form is as common
as the other. But the last is important, as helping the demonstration
of the affinity of this tongue to that of Tibet, an unquestionable fact,
though denied by the high authority of De Coros. He who can reach
1848. | Addenda et Corrigenda, ec. 75
the roots, and separate them from the servile or accessary particles, and
can, moreover compare structures as well as vocables, will have no
hesitation in affirming the common relationship of all these tongues to
the language of Tibet, though the prima facia differences are certainly
often remarkable, and viewed collectively, not less instructive with refer-
ence to the history and formation of dialects.
APPENDIX I.
The vast limitary range of snows to the North of India, has been
known in all ages by names derived entirely from Sanscrit, the Greeks
and Romans neither coining fresh appellations nor even translating the
sense of the Indian ones into their own languages, but adopting almost
unaltered the Sanscrit names they found. These are Hemachal, Hema-
achal, snowy mountain. Heméadri, Hema-adri, the same. Hemialaya,
Hema-alaya, place of snow. Hemddaya, Hema-tdaya, source of snow,
(as Suryddaya, source of sun or East). From the last term the Greek
Cimodus is deduced without alteration. The following tables, showing
the relative height of the great Andean and Hemalayan peaks, and the
connexion of the latter with the physical geography of Northera India
may prove interesting, since no one but myself I believe is in a position
to note the connexion of the snowy peaks with the distribution of
waters quoad the Eastern half of this magnificent theatre of Nature’s
vastest display.
Andean Peaks. aig dale Peaks.
cs ce cceceses 20,400 Nanda Devi,....... Bee ety a5 bee gl |
ER aeleccccccecsscee 24,350 Dhavdla eiri, i so isasns deae ve BFOE0
BROS CARAACAs cc oc oess see. §=19,570 ro SAD GAT Sed seid chotkisiecuis: ip) Baign OR
DreseeMesaGO,.....-......-. 21,100 Kanchan Jhinga,.......... 24,000
PALAZZO SS occ cw cceces 21,441 CG: ayia Giver atalais «deed 2's 72,000
HEMALAYAN PEAKS.
Names. Relations.
No known peak, ..........-...-++.+. Basin of Indus, Alpine Panjab.
Nanda Devi ists estatunaatay A A Npine ismseric' haem, Baphiend,
Alpine Karnalic basin, West end.
Alpine Karnalic basin, East end.
Dhavalagiri (above Gorakpoor), Alpine basin of Gandac, West end.
Naraini. ‘
Gosainthan vel Dayabhang a
PeEPOL Nepal), o.oo onde nando s
Alpine basin of Gandac, East end.
“l Trisul. Alpine basin of Cosi, West
end, Stin Cosi.
Alpine basin of Cosi, East end, Tam-
Kanchan Jhinga (above Sikim), weed var. Alpine basin of Tishta, West
end, Bomchu,
Alpine basin of Tista, East end, Pai-
' nomchu. Alpine basin of Monas, West
end, Baréli.
Cholo (above Bhutan), .....+eee+e.0.
1
76 Addenda et Corrigenda, Se. | JAN.
The latter of the above tables shows with distinctness the connexion
that exists between the greatest elevations of the snowy range and the
aquatic system of the Sub-hemalayas, so that the great snow peaks are
really entitled to be considered divortize aquorum on the Indian side of
the snows, whatever may be the case on the Tibetan side: and, it is
observable that at those points where the transnivean origin of our
rivers necessitates a partial reference of our aquatic system to extra
Indian limits, there no such towering snowy peak seems to demark the
Alpine Sub-hemalayan basin as in cases where our aqueous system is
altogether our own and Cisnivean. Thus we have no peak to define the
basin of the Indus on its western or eastern margin. At least, I know
of none, though Pargyiil may in part be considered a water shed, and
so, at the other end of the chain, may Chumalari. Both peaks however
are detached and stand on the plain of Tibet. Cholo is near to Chuma-
lari and not detached. Of the innumerable rivers of these regions the
only ones with ascertained transnivean sources, are the Indus, Sutlege,
Karnali, Sanpu and Ardv, whereof the four first take their rise at Gan-
gri, the great water shed of the plain of Tibet, close to Lake Mepang vel
Manasrovar, and the fifth or Arun, from the Northern slope of Hemé-
chal inthe district of Tingri. These 5 rivers are, as might be expected,
the largest of the whole, both the Karnali and Arun exceeding the
Ganges or Jumna within the mountains, and being nearly equal the
one to the other. Gangri is probably the Kailas of the Hindus, whence
diverge to the four quarters of the compass the 4 great rivers of Bharat
des. I have said above that only 5 of our rivers have trans-hemalayan
sources. It is however probable, though unascertained that the Painom-
chi and Monas arise beyond the snows and are identical respectively’
with the Naivel Pa-chu and the Mon-chi of Klaproth. Chit vel Tchit
means river, so that in the one case we have an absolute identity of
names, and nearly so in the other (P4-Pai, the root.)
Klaproth’s determination, to make the Sanpu something else than
the Brahmaputra has led him to overlook the several large streams
descending into Bhutan and Assam. Had he been aware that his
Shokbaja is Sho vel Bhutan, and his Mon vel Moun, the Cis-hemalayans
generally, he must have been more accessible to recent evidence against
his theory.”
* Mewmoires relati's al’ Asie 2, 370—417 and Map.
—
ee Be rs ee
| 1848. | Addenda et Corrigenda, §e. 77
With regard to the heights of the Hemalayan peaks, of the 5
given, the two first are Webb’s and Herbert's, the 3rd Colebrooke’s
and the 4th and 5th Waugh’s, communicated verbally, the results of
his recent operations not having yet been completely worked out, The
peak called by me Cholo, Capt. W. supposes to be Chumalari: but the
natives say otherwise. Capt. W.’s positions for triangulation* were at
85 miles distance. Capt. Herbert justly observes that, unequalled and
vast as is the elevation of the Giants of Hemachal, no adequate concep-
tion of the vast mountain mass can be formed by merely adverting to
them. The best way is to contemplate the whole extent and general
elevation of the snowy region spreading over some 1800 to 2000 miles,
with a breadth or depth of 20 miles, peaks above 5 miles high, distri-
buted throughout its whole. extent, and passes similarly extended, yet
seldom or never falling below 15,000 feet : and all this though we admit
Humboldt’s somewhat theoretic negation of the general opinion that
Hemachal, and not, as he contends, Kuenlun, is the chain which divides
Asia from end to end!
Apprenpix I].—On the physical type of the Tibetans.
The accompanying profile and full face sketches} exhibit a faithful
and characteristic example of the Tibetan race. The person selected
to type his countrymen was Phichung, a native of Digarchi in Utsang,
or Central Tibet. He was a fine young man of 23 years, but rather
below than above the average height and bulk, Height 5.6, without
shoes. Length of head, 0.93. Girth of head, 1.113. Crown of
head to hip, 2.3.3. Hip to heel, 3.0. Breadth of chest, 1.0.0.
Shoulder point to shoulder point, 1.33. Arm and hand, 2.33. Girth
of chest, 2.90. Gurth of arm, 0.10, Girth of thigh, 1.6.4. Girth
of calf, 1.23. Length of foot, 0.9%. Length of hand, 0.7. Breadth
of hand, 0.4.0.
A’ stout good humoured looking lad, fleshy and broad, but scarcely
so tall or massive as the majority of his race. Colour, a full clear
brunet, fully as dark as the Sub-hemalayans, nay, more so. No red
whatever on the full cheeks (January). Hair of head, thick, black,
coarse, straight, copious, cropt except near the crown, where it is plaited
* Tanglo and Singchal in Sikim, 10 miles apart.
+ These came to hand too late for the present number. They will appear in the next.
—Epbs,
78 Addenda et Corrigenda, &e.
into a tail that reaches to the hips. Moustache small. No beard
Nor any hair on the chest. Nor any whisker. Face large, wide, ovoid,
nearly as wide between the cheek bones and angles of the jaws (where
the spaces are equal) as long from the top of the forehead to the chin.
Forehead low but not very noticeably narrowed or retiring, except by
comparison with very fine heads. Frontal sinuses large and the brows
consequently, heavy. Hair of the eyebrows and eye lashes, ample.
Eyes of good size and form with hardly a noticeable degree of obliquity,
but the orbital cavities too much encumbered with flesh which presses
on the lids. Iris dark brown. Bridge of the nose sunk toa level
between the widely separated eyes, but of good length and well raised
elsewhere, though too broad and fleshy, and the nostrils too round for
beauty. Zygoma large and salient, and the cheeks full and heavy of
flesh. Angles of the jaws likewise prominent and as wide as the cheek
bones. Mouth large, with full protruded lips, advanced almost as
forward as the tip of the nose, yet well formed and the teeth fine in
form, set and colour. Upper lip long, jaws large, chin small and rather
retiring, vertical line of the face pretty good, but the mouth the most
salient part; the forehead and chin being both slightly withdrawn from
the front. Ears large and prominent. Head well formed and round,
full enough in the fore part but low. Body well made and well propor-
tioned ; massive but not dumpy. Trunk rather long but not awkwardly
so, nor the arms at all unduly elongated. Muscular and stout, but the
legs superior to the arms in muscular development, expression of the
countenance cheerful and pleasing, but the Mongolian cast of features
strongly marked.
DOOYOO vv
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aamehy gies
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ee
et 23 Years:
7
ah
4
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
_ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
For January, 1848.
ANNUAL Meetine, 12TH oF JANuARY, 1848.
The Rev. Mr. McQueen, in the chair.
The accounts and vouchers for December 1847, were submitted.
Henry Alexander, Esq. C. 8., was named as a candidate for election
at the February meeting, proposed by Mr. Blyth, seconded by R. W.
G. Frith, Esq.
Letters were read as follows :—
To the Secretary Asiatic Society.
My pear S1r,—TI shall be obliged by your taking my name off the List of Sub-
scribers of the Asiatic Society, until better times come, when I shall be prond again
to be enrolled.
Your’s faithfully,
WILLIAM THEOBALD,
December 22d, 1847.
From G. A. Bushby, Esq. Secretary to Government of India, Home
Department, transmitting copy of a paper by the Baron Des Granges,
entitled “A short survey of the countries between Bengal and China,
showing the great commercial and political importance of the Burmese
town of Bhanmoo, on the Upper Irrawaddy.”’ (Ordered to be published).
From Wm. Grey, Esq. Under Secretary to the Government of Bengal,
conveying the sanction of Government for the enclosure and appropria-
tion of a piece of ground adjacent to the Society’s premises, and lately
occupied as a Police Thanna.
From the Officiating Deputy Surveyor General of India, forwarding
the Meteorological Register for December, 1847. __
From KE. C. Ravenshaw, Esq., communicating an abstract statement
O
80 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ JAN.
of the fall of rain at Patna, during the last 53 years. (Ordered to be
published),
From R. N.C. Hamilton, Esq.; Resident at Indore, forwarding a fac-
simile impression from two copper tablets dug up in the vicinity of the
town of Oojein, with a translation by the Librarian, Rajendralal Mittra.
(Ordered to be published). |
From R. Meclvel, Esq. forwarding a fine specimen of Carbonate of
Strontia, found at Simla.
From J. W. Laidlay, Esq., enclosing a note of the daily rate of
evaporation in Calcutta in 10ths. and 100ths. of an inch, from January
to December, 1845.
From D. Cunliffe, Esq. Magistrate of Monghyr, announcing despatch
of eight ancient Hindu coins recently found in his district, and which
are surmised to have been in circulation in the reign of the great
Vikramaditya.
From the Moulvi Abdoollah, proprietor of the Indian Press, offering
several works published at his own and at the Lucknow Presses, and de-
ficient in the Society’s Library, im exchange for the Fatawe Alumeiri,
Sharya ul Islam and Tarikh i Nadiri, (Referred to the Oriental Section.)
From Charles Huffnagle, Esq. submitting extract of a letter from the
President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, who is
desirous of obtaining certain volumes of the Journal and Researches
deficient in their collection. It was unanimously agreed that the
volumes specified be presented to the Academy through Mr. Huffnagle.
From Mr. H. Piddington, presenting a copy of his Horn Book of
Storms for all parts of the world.
From Mr. Piddington, a brief paper on the Nizam’s Diamond, for
publication in the Journal.
From Col. OusEeery, through Mr. PippinGTon.
I have the pleasure to send one of two Iron Cramps I find adhering to the
stories of the old Hill Temple at Rampore in Surguja. I dare say the Iron is good,
but it must be thousands of years old.
Yours very sincerely,
J. W. OusELEy.
The Annual Report of the Council of the Society for the year 1847,
having been read by the Senior Secretary, and the accounts for the
year submitted, it was moved by Dr. O’Shaughnessy, seconded by Mr.
Laidlay, and agreed unanimously, that the Report and Accounts be
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 81
printed and circulated to the members, and brought up for final con-
sideration at the February meeting.
The meeting then proceeded to the election of Office-Bearers for
1848, when the following gentlemen were chosen :—
Prestpent—J. W. Colvile, Esq. Advocate General.
Vice Presipents—The Lord Bishop.
The Hon. Sir John P. Grant,
H. M. Elliott, Esq. C. S.
J. W. Laidlay, Esq.
Councit—G. A. Bushby, Esq., Welby Jackson, Esq.,
W. P. Grant, Esq., Capt. A. Broome, S. G. T.
Heatley, Esq., W. Grey, Esq., R. W. G. Frith, Esq.,
Lord Arthur Hay, Dr. Walker,
W. Seton Karr, Esq., Dr. Jas. Dodd.
SECRETARIES—W. B. O’Shaughnessy, Esq., J. W. Laidlay, Esq.
Dr. K. Roer, Oriental Department.
The permanent officers remaining as before. During the election the
Senior Secretary stated that it had been ascertained by the Council that
the Bishop of Calcutta is prevented by the state of his health and
his public duties, and Sir J. P. Grant by his intended departure—from
accepting the office of President—and that 27 members had addressed
a requisition to the Council for the nomination of Mr. Colvile to the
office vacated by Lord Hardinge’s departure.
LIBRARY.
The following books have been received since the last meeting.
Presented.
Horary Meteorological Observations made at the Hon’ble the East India Com-
pany’s Magnetical Observatory at Madras. By Capt. S. O. E. Ludlow.—By rar
Mapras GoveRNMENT.
Die Kaukasischen Glieder des Indoeuropaischen Sprachstomms. von Franz
Bopp.—By tar Autrnor.
Rapport Annuel fait ala Société Asiatique dans sa seance Generale, du 14 Juin,
1847. Par M. Jules Mohl.—By roe Autor.
The Calcutta Christian Observer for December 1847, and January 1848.—By
THE Epitors.
The Indian Atlas, Nos. 50, 56, 79, and 107.—By THe GoveERNMENT or INDIA.
The Oriental Christian Spectator, Vol. 8, Nos. 11 and 12.—By vue Eprror,
Tatwabodhini Patrica. Nos. 52, 53,—By rou TarwapopHint SABHA.
Oo 2
82 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ JAN.
The Annual Report of the Tatwabodhini Sabha for the year of Sakaditya 1769.
—By THE SAME.
Nityadharmanuranjicé, Nos. 39 @ 48.—By THE EpirTor,
The Oriental Baptist, No. 13.—By THE Epiror.
The Upodeshaka, No. 13.—By THE EpiTor.
Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s Office, Calcutta, for the
Month of November 1847.—By THe Orrictatine Deruty Surveyor GENERAL.
The Sailor’s Horn-Book for the Law of Storms; being a practical exposition of
the theory of the Law of Storms, and its uses to Mariners of all classes in all parts
of the world, shown by Transparent Storm Cards, and Useful Lessons. By H.
Piddington Esq.— By THE AUTHOR.
Memoires de la Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord, 1845—47.—By Tue
Society.
Antiquarisk Tidsskrift, udgivet af det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift—Selskab,
1843—45.—By THE EpiTor.
Eachanged.
The Atheneum, Nos. 1043-44.
The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, No 86.
Journal Asiatique, 4me Série, Nos. 445-6-7.
The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, No. 209.
Purchased.
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Nos. 133-4.
The North British Review, No. XV.
Comptes Rendus, Hebdomadaires des Seances de l’Academie des Sciences. Tome
XXIV. et XXV. Nos. 14 16.
Journal des Savants. Aout et, Septembre, 1847.
Histoire Naturelle des Poissons, par M. Le Baron Cuvier, et par M. A. Valen-
ciennes. Tome XX,
Report of Curator, Zoological Department.*
The donations received by the Society since its last meeting are as follow :—
1. Rustomjee Cowasjee, Esq. A dead female Ostrich, which has been
mounted as a stuffed specimen, and the bones also are preserved. A fine
skeleton of a male is likewise in the museum (IX, 727).
2. Baboo Rajendro Mallick. A living adult female Monkey, of a species
nearly allied to Macacus cynomolgus and M. carbonarius, the habitat of which
remains to be ascertained, This animal resembles M. cynomolgus, except that
(as in M, carbonarius) there is no sign of crest upon the vertex, and it is parti-
* For December, 1847. The Zoological Curator’s Report for November, 1847, was
printed with the Proceedings of the Society’ for December of that year.
1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 83
cularly distinguished by its long and erect greyish beard and whiskers, surround-
ing the face, with the help of a considerable fringe of projecting hair upon the
brows, causing the eyesto appear deep sunk and altogether imparting a very pe-
culiar physiognomy. Also the living Squirrel, No. 14 a, described in XVI, 872.
3. The Raja Buddenath Roy. A dead female white English Turkey, equal-
ling in size the males of the race bred in this country. The specimen has been
mounted ; and I have presented the Society with a fine male of the same breed,
which has been prepared as a skeleton.*
4. Mr. Birch, of the Pilot Service. A variety of Crustacea procured at the
Sandheads, comprising some interesting specimens, and among them some of a
Crab allied to Gonoplex and Macrophthulmus, which is new to the Society’s
collection.
5. From the Barrackpore menagerie. A fine dead specimen of a Lory ( Eos
ornata).
6, Mr. W. Johnson. A young living Monkey, of the species Macacus radi-
atus.
7. Major Jenkins, Gowhatti. A perfect skin of a black Leopard ; and skins
of various species of Anatide.
8. Capt. E. F. Smith, 2nd Command ist Assam Lt. Infantry, Sadyia. A
skin of Felis marmoratu, Martin, and one of Sciwrus bicolor: Assam being a
new locality for the former species; and a variety of F. bengalensis occurring
there, which is apt to be mistaken for FF’, marmorata. This variety is the F’,
* The Turkies of Bengal, or more properly of Chittagong (where great numbers are
bred), are of small size, with the pendulous appendage and wattles of the head and neck
greatly developed. Degenerate in the extreme from the wild race of America, they
are incapable of flight, and are singularly helpless and dependent. If suffered to drink
at will, they will continue sipping till they distend their huge craws, and inconvenience
themselves not a little by so doing. They are almost invariably black, which was doubt-
less the colour of their imported ancestors. But for the table they are excellent, and in
great demand ; and most of those brought hither from Chittagong are purchased by
people of French descent, who fatten them at Chandernagore for the Calcutta market.
In Calcutta, the reputed Chittagong Turkies are at a discount, for itis not generally
known that the Chandernagore birds are received from Chittagong in the first instance :
the management, however, of the newly imported Chittagong Turkies is little understood
in Caleutta. Although this bird was necessarily unknown in the Old World before the
discovery of the New, it is regarded by the Mussulmans of India as unclean, the tuft of
bristles on its breast inducing them to suppose that it partakes of the nature of the Hog;
moreover, the bare head and neck of the Turkey imparts a somewhat Vulturine appear-
ance, which may well help this prejudice in the East; and it is worthy of remark, that
some English Turkies which I possessed would constantly associate with a pair of the
Otogyps pondicerianus that were secured each by a chain, themselves evidently assuming
the degrading consanguinity.
84 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ JAN.
Charltoni, Gray, v. Ogilbii, Hodgson, and is connected by intermediate grades of
variation with ordinarily marked individuals of F. bengalensis.* As compared
with Malacca examples of J’. marmorata, the skin from Assam is more fulvous
than usual, and the markings somewhat more nearly approximate those of F.
macrocelis (v. Diardit) ; but the much smaller size of the feet at once distin-
guishes it from that species, whether old or young: the under-parts are also
whiter than usual, spotted with fuscous-brown ; and the dark markings of the
tail are rusty-brownish instead of black. Nevertheless, the species is decidedly
true F, marmorata,
9. Mr, Pinsent, of the ‘ Precursor’ 8. V. A living young female of Gazella
doreas, from Aden.
10. R. W.G. Frith, Esq. Some skins of Malacca birds, comprising the
novelties described in my Report for September last (XVI, 1179). Also a
young specimen of what I consider to be T'upaia javanica, Horsf., from Malacca,
identical with ZT’. peguana, Lesson, from Arracan and Tenasserim, and quite
distinct from the ordinary T. ferruginea, Raffles, of the Malayan peninsula,
which alone is included in Dr, Cantor’s list.t Among the birds presented, are
the Alcedo nigricans and Batrachostomus affinis ; Spizaétus nipalensis (niger) ;
and Buceros rhinoceros with half-grown casque, B. mulayanus (v. bicolor, v.
anthracinus? Tem., with white supercilia), B. nigrirostris (fem.), and B. cari-
natus (v. galeritus? Tem., juv.) ; also Philentoma velatum (Drymophila velata,
Tem., v. Muscicapa pectoralis, A, Hay), and two or three other small species.
11, Mr, E. Lindstedt. A specimen of the common Megaderma lyra, pro-
cured in the Soonderbuns,
12. J. W. Laidlay, Esq. An exceedingly rusty-tinged specimen of Presbytis
entellus, procured in the vicinity of Junghypore ; also some skins of Paradoru-
rus typus, F. Cuv., and sundry other specimens, comprising the skin of a young
Pteromys from Cherra Poonjee. This I recognise as of the large Assamese race
mentioned in XVI, 866, 868; but would like to examine and compare more
specimens of it, before asserting its peculiarities of colourig to be constant. It
seems intermediate to the grizzled variety of Pt, magnificus and the Pt. oral of
peninsular India. From the former (like Pt. albiventer, v. innotatus), it differs
* Some time ago, Major Jenkins favored us with living specimens of FI. bengalensis,
both of the ordinary marking and of the variety referred to, which have since died and
are mounted in the Society’s museum; and I have now received, from Mr. Elliot, for
transmission to Barrackpore, a living specimen of his Wagati Cat of the Eastern Ghats,
termed Leopardus Ellioti by Mr. Gray ; and I do not consider that this differs speci-
fically : the markings of the individual being merely of a somewhat bolder pattern than
usual, and more filled up with black than [| remember to have seen previously.
t+ That a Tupaia exists in Central India, I was informed some time ago, I think by
Capt. Tickell ; and it has now been procured by Mr. Walter Elliot.
ee ee a
1848.) Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 85
in the absence of the great pale patch upon the shoulders ; the anterior toes and
the entire hind-feet are black ; the tail is grizzled like the back to near its tip,
which is largely terminated with black, and less abruptly so than in the Hima-
layan races ; the under-parts are strongly tinged with rufous-brown; and the
general hue is darker than in the grizzled variety of Pt. magnificus, and more
grizzled with pure white than in P?, albiventer, Whether it would attain the
size of the latter cannot be determined from the present young specimen, though
I think I can safely aver that it does so ; and, upon the whole, it more resembles
Pt. albwenter than the grizzled variety of Pt, magnificus, although very closely
allied to both of these named Pteromydes.
E. Bryrn.
Mr. Blyth’s Supplementary Report refers to the Society’s collection of African
Vertebrata, which were exhibited to the meeting.
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ADDL DP PL DLPDLPPDLPLPPYLDPLPDPLPYLDPYLVLLLEYLLYLYVOLLYFLULIWLVOUM—w—"
FEBRUARY, 1843.
PAD PRADAAALADNADPYPYYQPLVPPPPPPPDPVPYLPFYYLLPVOAPIPVOPPPPPPLPPPLLISIIAL-
Correspondence of the Commisstoners deputed to the Tibetan Frontier ;
communicated by H. M. Exxiot, Lsg., Secretary to the Government
of India, Foreign Department.
From Capt. A. CunnineHam, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
To Lieut.-Col. H. M. Lawrence, C. B. Resident, Lahore.
Dated Camp Haulé, 15th Sept. 1847.
Siz,—I have the honor to report to you that Dr. Thomson and
myself arrived at this place yesterday, Lieut. Strachey having left us
on the morning of the 12th to proceed by a somewhat more circuitous
route, by following the course of the Parang River for a few days, in-
stead of proceeding direct to Haulé.
2. On our arrival here, we found two persons, named Angchoo and
Gyabo, who had been sent to meet us by the Garpan of Gareé, on the
receipt of our letter to his address, despatched from Khyuré (copy of
which was forwarded to you with my last letter No. 2 of the 29th ul-
timo). These persons reported that they had been sent to meet us by
_ the Garpan, who had directed them to return to Gareé with any orders
that we might give them,—or, in the event of our not giving them any
orders, to return at once. On being questioned regarding the Sirdars
who were reported to have arrived from Lassa, they stated that one
Sirdar, named Khalun Shakchoo, had arrived for the purpose of set-
tling some revenue matters; that when they left Gareé he was pre-
paring to return to Lassa, and that by this time he must have set out
No, X1V.—New Serres. N
90 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes.
from Gareé. On being further questioned, they stated that no Sirdar
had arrived at Gareé for the purpose of pointing out the ancient
boundary between Ladak and the Chinese territory. As these men
were despatched by the Governor of Gareé, their statement may be ©
taken as a full confirmation of the report, which I mentioned in my last
letter, that no Chinese boundary Commissioners had arrived at Gareé.
3. In the absence of any Chinese boundary Commissioners, we are
left to follow out the instructions contained in the 5th para. of Mr.
Secretary Hlliot’s Letter, No. 249 of 27th July last, to my address,
“that the Commissioners should individually use their best endeavors
to increase the bounds of our geographical knowledge.” It was with
this view that Lieut. Strachey, continued his course down the Parang
river, while Dr. Thomson and myself took the direct road to Haulé,
over the Lanak Pass. I annex a sketch map which will show the route
which we have already surveyed, and those which we propose to follow
as far as Leh. From Dunyar, on the Parang river, Lieut. Strachey
will follow the course of the stream as far as Akché; we shall thus ob-
tain an actual survey of the whole course of the Parang, or Para river,
with the exception of about 25 miles between Akché and Khyuré. From
Akché Lieut. Strachey will proceed to Haulé, over the Budhpt Pass,
and so connect his survey with mine.
4. From Haulé Dr. Thomson and myself propose to follow the
course of the Haulé river to its junction with the Indus, thence passing
by the sulphur and borax mines, (which we shall carefully examine) we
will take the high road to Leh by the Tung lung Pass and Giah. This
was the arrangement that was agreed upon with Lieut. Strachey, before
he parted from us: as by the time that he will reach Haulé, the season
will be so far advanced that the only road open to him will be that along
the bed of the Indus, which will accordingly survey down to Leh;
we shall thus have two routes surveyed in detail from Haulé to Leh.
If, however, Lieut. Strachey should be able to penetrate to the east-
ward from Haulé, according to his instructions, he will inform me of
the same, and Dr Thomson and myself will then take the river road,
and survey the course of the Indus from the borax mines down to Leh.
5. I beg further to report to you that neither of the Agents appoint-
ed by Maharajah Gulab Singh, has yet arrived, nor have we any certain
intelligence of their approach. Had there been any Chinese Commis-
1848. ] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 91
Sioners on the frontier, the absence of the Maharajah’s Agents would
have prevented us from settling any portion of the boundary during
this season. As there are, however, no Chinese Commissioners, the
absence of the Maharajah’s Agents, Meean Jowahir Singh, and Mehtah
Bustee Ram, has only occasioned us much inconvenience in procuring
coolees and supplies. Their absence appears to me to be unaccounta-
ble ; for, on the 6th instant, I received a letter from Lieut. Taylor, your
assistant in Kashmir, dated the 3rd of August, informing me that Meean
Jowahir Singh and Mehtah Bustee Ram, had been appointed by the
Maharajah to meet the Commissioners at Haulé. As the distance
between Kashmir and Leh is only 20 days’ journey, even for laden coo-
lees, Meean Jowahir Singh should have been at Leh by the 23rd of
August, and allowing him 3 days halt at that place, both he and Meh-
tah Bustee Ram, the Thanadar of Leh, might easily have reached Hau-
lé by the 10th of this month.
6. Herewith I have the pleasure to enclose a diary* of our marches
from the 29th of August, to the 14th of September, the date of our
arrival at Haulé, in transmitting which I beg to observe that we have
not halted for a single day during the whole of that period.
7. ‘Trusting that our arrangements, both past and future, may meet
with the full approval of the Right Honorable the Governor General,
I have, &c..
(Signed) - Auex. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp Haulé, 15th September, 1847.
(True Copy)
H. M. Lawrence,
Agent and Resident.
From Capt. A. Cunnincuam, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
To Ineut.-Col. H. M. Lawrence, C. B. Resident, Lahore.
r Dated Camp Lé, 9th October, 1847.
S1r,—I have the honor to report to you that Dr. Thomson and my-
self arrived at Lé, the capital of Ladak, on the 2nd instant, since which
we have halted up to this day for the purpose of observing the Meteo-
* Asa more convenient arrangement for the reader, we have thrown together, in ths
sequel, the various diaries alluded to in the correspondence.— Eps.
N 2
92 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frs.
rological and Magnetical instruments, and of collecting as much infor-
mation as possible regarding the country and people. Hourly observa-
tions of the meteorological instruments and of the declinometer have
been recorded for two days; and the magnetic dip and horizontal force
have likewise been determined. The latitude of Lé has been fixed by
7 meridian altitudes of the Sun, by about 30 equal. altitudes of the
Sun, and by several altitudes of the Pole Star; and its longitude has
been obtained by the observations of the solar eclipse of this day.
2. We purpose to leave Lé to-morrow morning by two different
routes. Dr. Thomson will proceed to Nubra, and up the Shayok river
to its source ; and, if possible, he will cross the Karakoram range for a
few marches to the northward, on the Yarkand road; after which he
will return by the Shayok river and follow its course down to Iskardoh.
I have furnished him with a sextant and a surveying compass of my
own; and I have no doubt he will be able to map his route with
considerable accuracy.
He has also minimum and boiling-point thermometers, as well as
solar radiation and dry and wet bulb thermometers.
3. I will myself take a southerly route by following the Indus for a
few marches to Khalets or Kulutsi, and thence to the Dras river, which
I will survey to its source. From Drias, if the passes remain open, I
will proceed by the Pilyl [or Pileel] rivulet, an eastern feeder of the
Kishen-Gunga river, to Astor or Hasora, and down the Hasorariver, and
across the Indus to Gilgit. If, however, the western passes should be
closed at the head of the Dras river, I will then proceed through the
northern part of Kashmir to the head of the Kishen-Gunga river, and
thence by the Hasora river to Gilgit.
4. We have chosen these routes to the north and south of the
course of the Indus, in order that we might not go over the same
ground as Lieut. Strachey ; who from the lateness of the season at
which he will arrive at Lé, will be obliged to take the river route. We
shall thus have three distinct routes surveyed from Lé towards Gilgit.
5, Of the necessity of surveying any lines of country which have
been traversed by Trebeck and Vigne, I need produce no other proof
than the disagreement between their maps. To the general accuracy of
Trebeck’s survey I can speak personally : as on three different occasions,
in 1839, in 1846, and during the present year, I have myself surveyed
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 93
portions of his route. I have likewise, during the past year, surveyed
many portions of Vigne’s route ; and I am thus able to state positively
that his surveys are in many places erroneous. The following instances
will be sufficient to show the inaccuracy of his map. Ist. In the Kan-
gra district, he conducts the Guj river from Rihlee into the Ban-Gunga,
beneath the walls of Kangra: whereas the Guj follows an independent
course, and falls into the Byds several miles below the confluence of
the Ban-Gunga. 2nd. In the map accompanying Baron Hugel’s tra-
vels [which is only Vigne’s map with the Baron’s route inserted]
Vigne’s position of Kruhim or Mori-Muhul differs from the Baron’s
position of Muhul by 10 miles. To the general accuracy of the Baron’s
route from Bilaspur to Nadon and Niarpir, I can also speak personally ;
and I am therefore able to state that Vigne’s position of Mori-Muhul
is undoubtedly wrong. Mori is a village, and Muhul is an old ruined
palace just above it; whereas Kurdhi, the residence of Raja Ranavir
Chund of Kotoch, is two miles distant from it. Vigne is therefore dou-
bly wrong ; in the name as well as in the position.
6. In selecting a route which will conduct me by the head of the
Kishen Gunga river to Hasora, I believe that I shall best fulfil the
intentions of Government as detailed in the instructions furnished to
me in Mr. Secretary Elliot’s Letter No. 249 of the 27th of July last
to my address ; in which I am directed to follow out my own antiquari-
an pursuits, as well as to increase our geographical knowledge. At the
head of the Kishen-Gunga river, there is a district named Pakhtawar ;
which, from its proximity to Kashmir is, I have no doubt, the original
seat of the Pakhtans (or Afghans). Our earliest authority for coupling
the Afghans and Kashmiris together is Herodotus, whose city of Kas-
papuros (called Kaspaturos by Isidor of Charax, and Spaturos by the
Pentingarian Tables) I would correct to Kaspakturos ; that is, the city
(or country,) of the Kas and Pakhtans (the Kashmiris and Afghans).
The similarity of features of the two people would alone argue their
common origin: but their former juxta-position, the one on the Jehlam
and the other on the Kishen-Gunga, places the point (in my opinion)
beyond dispute. The fact of their diversity of language is easily
accounted for. The Pakhtans, who are only a branch of the Kas tribe,
preserved their peculiar language and customs in the mountainous coun-
try which they occupied ; whereas the language and the customs of the
94 Correspondence of the Commissioners (Fes.
Kas proper, were both lost in those of the more civilized Hindus, whom
they had conquered. Such has in fact been the case in Persia and in
India from the earliest times, The Mogals of Jenghiz Khan and
Huldka have long since disappeared in Persia, while their fellow-coun-
trymen, the Hazaras of the Hari river, still speak Mogali.
7. Hasora, I believe to be the country of the Abisares of Alexan-
der’s historians, on account of its proximity to the Dardu districts, as
it is always coupled with the Dards by Sanskrit writers—In Yasin and
Gilgit, (called Gilit by the people themselves,) I believe that we have
the Arsagalitee of Pliny still preserved. To the south of the Dards
again lies the country of the Gakars, whose ancient as well as whose
modern capital was Dangali, which I have no doubt gave its name to
the Dangale of Pliny. These, as well as the site of Aornus, are a few
of the interesting archeological points which I propose to investigate
during my survey of these countries.
8. I have not yet had time to digest and arrange the information
which I have collected regarding Ladak: but I may mention that its
present name is a modern one, the ancient name being Ma-yul.
Lé also is a modern capital, the ancient metropolis having been at
Shé, now a large village 8 miles to the south-eastward of Lé.
9. Herewith I have the pleasure to enclose my Diary of our pro™
ceedings from the 16th of September up to this date.
I have, &e.
(Signed) ALEX. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp Lé, 9th October, 1847.
(True Copy)
H. M. Lawrence,
Agent and Resident.
From Capt. A. CunNinGHAM, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
’o Lieut.-Col. H. M. Lawrence, C. B. Resident, Lahare.
Dated Camp Bb-Bihdva in Kashmir, 14th Nov. 1847.
Sir,—I have the honor to report to you that I arrived in the city
of Kashmir on the 2nd instant, having been prevented by continued
falls of snow from following the route by the Tilél valley to Garés, as
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 95
I had intended to have done when I last reported to you in my letter
No. 6, dated Molbil, 20th October, 1847.
2. On the 23rd and 24th of October the snow (which had been
falling on the heights for some days) began to fall in the valley of the
Drds river, and when I reached Dras on the 25th ultimo I found that
the passes to Garés and Iskardoh were completely closed. As the
weather was still very threatening, I determined to proceed at once to
Kashmir. I therefore marched the next day to Matén, through a heavy
snow storm. ‘The snow continued to fall the whole night, and the next
day I made a march of 16 miles over the Seoji-la into Kashmir through
snow and hail. On the three following days I continued to march
down the valley of the Sind river through snow and mud: the snow
having fallen down to a level of 6,000 feet for six consecutive days.
On my arrival in Kashmir I found that all the passes, excepting three,
were closed for the season, unless some continued fine weather should
follow.
3. The three passes which remained open were: Ist, the Banahal
Pass, by which the Lahore Dak travels; 2nd, the Baramula Pass, by
which the Jehlum leaves Kashmir; and 3rd, the Seoji-la, or Dras Pass,
by which I had entered the valley. The Garés Pass was completely
closed: in consequence of which Mr. Agnew, Lieutenant Young and
Mr. Winterbottom, who were returning from Gilgit, have been obliged
to go round by Iskardoh and the Dras Pass. Even the Pir Panjal
Pass, which usually remains open throughout November, has been
closed since the 25th of October.
4, Under these circumstances, as the only available route to the
Dardu country was vid the Baramula Pass, which continues open
throughout the year, it appeared to me that the best plan which I
could follow for the prosecution of the various objects of the Mission,
would be to pay a short visit to the principal architectural antiquities
of Kashmir, with the view of measuring them and of describing them
in detail. For this purpose I left the city of Kashmir on the 8th in-
stant, and I am now on my way back, having visited the various ruins
at Pandretan, Avantissur, Bij-Bihara, Marttand, and the caves of Bho-
ma-jo; of all of which I have made plans and elevations by measure-
ment, which will hereafter be submitted to Government. At present,
I need only record my opinion that the style of architecture, exhibited
96 Correspondence of the Commissioners (Fes.
in these ancient temples of Kashmir, is distinguished by great elegance
of design, combined with extreme solidity of construction. It is infi-
nitely superior to any thing that I have seen in India; and from the
simplicity of its outlines, and the beauty of its proportions, I think
it may be ranked as an order of architecture not much inferior to our
own classic models. I annex an elevation of one of the pillars of the
temple of Marttand. It is a polygon of twenty fluted sides,
5.’ During my stay of five days in the eity of Kashmir, I set up
the declination magnetometer and the dip-circle, and I made hourly
observations of the meteorological instruments for two days. I also
obtained four meridian altitudes, as well as several equal altitudes of the
sun, and a few observations of the Pole star for the latitude; and the
lunar distance of Venus for the longitude. I was also fortunate enough
to procure copious Vocabularies of two of the three dialects of the
Dard language, viz. the Shind, spoken in Gilgit and Hasora, and the
Khajna, spoken in Hunza and Nager. ‘The remaining dialect, the
Armya of Chitral and Yasan, I expect to obtain without any difficulty
amongst the Dardus on the Kishen-Gauga. I will hereafter compare —
them with the Persian, Pashtu, Sanskrit and Hindi: but, from a cur-
sory examinatian of the two above dialects, 1 should say that they con-
sist chiefly of Sanskrit and Hindi.
6. I expect to reach the city of Kashmir on the 18th, where I
shall again observe the various instruments; and, after a halt of a few
days for that purpose, I intend to proceed via the Baramula Pass, to
Mozufarabad, and thence up the Kishen-Gauga river as far as may be
practicable at this season. On my route to Baramula I shall visit the
ruins of Paharispur and Patan.
7. I have been so continuously occupied since I reached the city
of Kashmir that I have been unable to prepare a Diary of my marches :
but I will transmit this document along with my next report.
I have, &e.
(Signed) ALex. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp By-Bihara, 14th November, 1847.
(True Copy)
H, M. Lawrence,
Agent and Resident,
= =
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 97
From Capt. A. CUNNINGHAM, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
To Iieut.-Col. H. M. Lawrence, C. B. Resident, Lahore.
Dated Camp Gingal, 15 miles west of Baramulla, 1st Dec., 1847.
Str,—I have the honor to report to you that I reached this place
yesterday, and that I have been detained here to-day from want of por.
ters, which the Bamba-Chief, Sultan Zuburdust Khan, professes his
willingness to give; but which his servants appear to be making no
exertions to procure.
2. Herewith I have the pleasure to enclose the Diary of my marches
and proceedings up to the present date. From a perusal of this docu-
ment it will be seen that. during my short stay in Kashmir, my atten™
tion was principally directed to the measurement and illustration of its
architectural antiquities, and to the acquirement of precise information
upon points regarding which different authors are at variance ; and I
am happy to say that my researches have been attended with success.
3. I have discovered, beyond all doubt, the exact position of the
ancient capital of Kashmir in Pandritan, which is the local corrupt
form of the Sanscrit name Puranadhisthana, or Puranadhithan, the
“old chief city.’ In A. D. 1032 Abu Rihan Al Biruni states that the
capital of Kashmir was named ‘“ Addistan,” and that it was four far-
sangs from a great lake, certainly the Waller of the present day. Four
hundred years earlier, in A. D, 640, the Chinese pilgrim Huan Thsang
states that the old capital was on the river to the south-east of the new
city. Now we know that the present Srinagar was built by Pravarasena,
who reigned from A. D. 432 to 464. Huan Thsang’s description of the
ancient city, therefore, corresponds with the actual position of Pandritan,
which is to the south-east of the present town. But to put this point
beyond all doubt I may state that in an old abridged copy of the Raja
Taringini, which has marginal notes identifying the ancient cities under
their Sanscrit names, with the more modern appellations of the corrupt
spoken dialect of Kashmir, I found an account of the building of a
temple by Nirjita Verwma in A. D. 920—921, at Puranadhisthana,
which name in the original notes is identified with Pandritan.
4. I have also been fortunate enough to discover another point of
much interest and importance in the comparative geography of the
countries to the northward of Kashmir; which is the identification of
te)
98 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frs.
the ancient country of Bolor with the present Balti, or Little Tibet.
The Bolor mountains have occupied an uncertain position in our maps
for a considerable period, which I am now able to define with precision.
They are in fact that chain of mountains, hitherto called the Muztak,
which forms the northern boundary of the district of Balti. Amongst
the Dards who speak the Shina language, namely, in Hasora, Gilgit,
Chilas, Darel, Kohli and Palas, all lying along the Indus, Balti is known
only by the name of Palolo. What renders this identification more
striking and complete is the mention by Huan Thsang in A.D. 640,
that the kingdom of Polulo ‘produced much gold :” a production for
which Balti or Palolo is still celebrated, aud which is one of the chief
sources of its revenue,
5. But the most valuable discovery which I have made since my
last report, dated the 20th ultimo, has been the acquisition of three
new Sanscrit Dramas, two of which were hitherto known to us only by
name ; and the third was altogether unknown, Copies of these Dramas
are now being made; which, when completed, will be forwarded to
Government. The Dramas are the following :
1. Anergha-Raghava, a long work, written by Murara-kavi, a Kash-
mirian bréhman. In this piece, as its name imports, the principal
exploits of Rama are dramatized. It is one of the hitherto lost plays
of which Professor Wilson had obtained only the name.
2. Sringara-Tilaka, a short piece written by Sri Rudra-kavi, a
Kashmirian brfahman. This would appear to be a sort of monologue,
in which one actor successively describes and personates the characters
of various women. It is another of the hitherto lost plays of which
Professor Wilson had obtained only the name.
3. Vasavadatta-cheritra, a short piece, hitherto entirely unknown,
written by Suban-du-kavi, a Kashmirian bréhman. In the Retnavali
(also a Kashmirian drama) which has been translated by Professor
Wilson, (Hindu Theatre, vol. 2) the heroine is likewise named Vasava-
datta. In that play, however, she is the Rani or Queen of Vatsa, the
Raja of Kausanebi. All the other characters are different, as will be
Fa ee a ee Oe I See, Re eS eee ee
seen by the forthcoming list of the dramatis persone of this new play: —
1. Chintamani, Raja of Kusumapura.
2. Kandarpaketu, Son of the Raja.
3. Sringara-sekhar, a Kshatriya, father of Vasavadatta,
1848. ] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 99
4, Anangavati, mother of Vasavadatta.
5. Vasavadatta, beloved by Kandarpaketu.
I have, &e.
(Signed) ALEX. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp Gingal, 1st December, 1847.
(True Copy)
JOHN LAWRENCE,
Officiating Resident.
From Capt. CUNNINGHAM, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
To Joun Lawrence, Lsq. Officiating Resident, Lahore.
Dated Camp Hazroo in Chach, 18th December, 1847.
Srr,—I have the honor to report to you that I reached this place
yesterday vid Mozafarabad and the Hazara country, through six days of
snow and ten days of rain. WHerewith I beg to forward a diary of my
marches up to this date.
2. In my letter No. 8 of the 20th ultimo, I reported to you that I
intended to communicate with Doctor Thomson from Mozafarabad, but .
on my arrival there, I found that owing to the continual fall of snow
all the passes towards Gilgit had become closed for the season, and I
could not find any one who would undertake to convey aletter to Gilgit,
or even to Chelas on the Indus. For the same reason I was obliged to
relinquish my intended exploration of the Kishen-Gunga river ; but this
I regret the less as I understand that the whole course of the Kishen-
Gunga has during this year been examined by Mr. Vans Agnew.
3. Under these circumstances I took the only route left open to me
through the Dhamtawar and Hazara districts; and I have the satisfac-
tion to report to you that I have discovered the ancient names of these
two districts in the times of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy the Geo-
grapher. As these are two points of much interest and value in the
comparative geography of the Punjab, a few details regarding them may
perhaps be acceptable.
First. The present Hazara district is the actual country of King
Abisares of Alexander’s historians. Its identification is established by
the following statements of ancient authors, Abisares was King of the
O 2
100 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes.
Bergindii, that is of the people inhabiting the rich Hazara valley of Ver-
gund, The Soanus river had its rise in the mountainous parts of Sabis-
sa (or Abisdra), or using the modern names, the Swan (or Sohan)
river has its rise in the hilly parts of the Hazara country. Lastly, the
people to the northward of Peshawar fled across the Indus into Bari-
sades (or Abisares) for security ; that is they took refuge in the Hazara
country.
Second. The present Dhamtawar district, called Kash by the people
of the country, is the Varsa-regio of Ptolemy, which he places in the
hilly part of the Doab, between the Indus and the Jehlam. This dis-
trict is mentioned at a later date, in A. D. 640, by the Chinese Pilgrim
Hwan Thsang, as U-la-shi; and at a still later period, in A. D. 900,
the Raja Taringini records that Sankara Vermma was killed by an ar-
row on his return from an expedition in the Urasa country.
4. These successful identifications, together with those reported to
you in my last letter No. 9 of Ist December, have given me some hope
that I shall be able to discover the situation of Aornos, for which pur-
pose I am now about to proceed towards the Indus. As however the
Yusafzai country is at the present time unsafe for a traveller, I must be
content with such mformation as can be procured from the people in
the neighbourhood. From the Indus I shall proceed to the Dodb, be-
tween the Chenab and Ravi, to inspect the ruins of a place called San-
gala, which may possibly be the Sangala of Alexander’s historians, after
which I shall continue my march via Lahore to the British territory.
5. For the construction of a Map of the countries which I have visi-
ted, and for the preparation of a detailed report upon all the points —
which have been the objects of my research, I shall require the unin- —
terrupted leisure of three or four months or perhaps even a longer time,
and. if Chinese Commissioners are expected on the frontier at the begin-
ning of the next season, my Map will be ready for the use of the Brit-
ish Commissioners by the beginning of June. I trust therefore, that
there will be no objection to my residing at Simla during the time that
I am engaged upon the Map and report. Any other place would no
doubt answer equally well for the construction of the map ; but for the
proper preparation of the antiquarian and archeological portion of a
report, such as I wish to make to Government, I must have access to
my own Library, which is now lying partly at Simla and partly at Kal.
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 101
ka. I have also rented a house at Simla; my residence at any other
place would therefore only be an extra expense to me without the advan-
_ tage of access to my Library, At Simla I shall likewise be able to com-
municate with Colonel Boileau, upon whose judgment and assistance I
must depend for the reduction and arrangement of the various magneti-
cal and meteorological observations, which I have made during my pre-
sent journey. Under these circumstances I trust to the favor of Govern-
ment that I may be permitted to reside at Simla, for the preparation of
my map and report.
I have, &c.
(Signed) ALEX. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp Hazroo, 18th December, 1847.
From Capt. A. Cunnineuam, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
To Joun Lawrence, Esq. Resident, Lahore.
Dated Camp Shumsabad, Huzdra, 7th January, 1848.
Srr,—I have the honor to forward to you a Report and Diary of
Dr. Thomson’s proceedings from the 20th of October, up to the Ist of
December, 1847. The letter is dated Camp Iskardo, ist December,
and as Dr. Thomson proposed leaving Iskardo for Kashmir on the fol-
lowing day, he must now be most probably in Kashmir, or perhaps on
his way towards Hazara.
2. Iam happy to state that the sketch map alluded to by Dr. Thom-
‘son, supplies in a satisfactory manner the long desiderated sutvey of
the Shayuk or Nubra river, from the foot of Nubra downwards to its
junction with the Indus. With Lieut. Ralph Young’s survey of the
middle Indus in the Iskardo and Gilgit territories, and Lieut. Stra-
chey’s, and my own survey of the Upper Indus in Ladak, the Govern-
ment will now possess a complete survey of the Indus and of its tribu-
taries, from Haulé to Gilgit.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
(Signed) ALEex. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
Camp Shumsabad, 7th January, 1848,
102 Correspondence of the Commissioners .[Fes.
From Assistant Surgeon Tuomas Tuomson, Commissioner, Tibetan
Frontier,
To Capt. A. CunninGHAM, Senior Commissioner.
Dated Camp Iskardo, 1st December, 1847.
Sir,—I have the honor to forward for your information a diary of
my route from the 20th of October, and a rough sketch of survey of
Shayuk and Indus rivers from Nubra to this place, which however
having been reduced in a very rude manner, can by no means be con-
sidered as representing accurately the course of the river.
2. I have been detained at Iskardo much longer than I wished,
being in uncertainty regarding my future movements. My intention
had been after a few days’ halt to proceed towards Gilgit—but from all
the information I can collect here regarding that country, it does not
seem to me to be in a state fit for scientific investigation. Mr. Agnew,
having proceeded to Cashmere shortly before my arrival here, I have
not of course any very authentic information on the subject, but on the
whole I have judged it best to proceed to Cashmere, for which place I
propose to start to-morrow morning.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant,
(Signed) THomAs THomson,
Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp Iskardo, \st December, 1847.
From Capt. A. CunntneuAM, Senior Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier,
To Joun Lawrence, Lsq. Resident, Lahore.
Dated Camp Hosan Abdal, 10th January, 1848.
Srr,—I have the honor to report to you, that I reached Hosan Ab-
dal this day, after two visits to the Yusufzai country in search of Aor-
nus, which I believe that I have discovered beyond all reasonable doubt,
in the vast hill-fortress of Rani-gat or Rani-garh, situated immediately
above the small village of Nogram, about 16 miles north by west from
Ohind, and somewhat less in a direct line from the nearest point on the
western bank of the Indus. Rani-gat is, I suspect, only a corruption
of Rani-garh,.the former name being a Pashtu term for the “ Rani’s-
ta
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 103
stone,” a huge isolated block of granite on the top of the hill about 56
feet in height, on which a Rani of former times is said to have seated
herself daily.
2. Rani-gat corresponds in all essential particulars with the descrip-
tions of Aornus as given by Arrian, Strabo, and Diodorus, excepting in
its elevation, the height of Rani-gat above the plain not being more
than 1000 feet; which is however a very great elevation for so large a
fortress. But as the breadths of all the rivers of the Punjab recorded
by Arrian are at least four times too much, I do not think that the dif-.
ference of height is of much importance ; more particularly as we know
that Arrian’s height must have been greatly exaggerated, otherwise
Aornus would have been covered with snow at the time of Alexander’s
siege, a fact which is not mentioned by a single ancient author. Mr.
Williams, the latest historian of Alexander, estimates Arrian’s 20 stadia
at three quarters of a mile, which is about the slant height of Rani-gat.
3. The points of agreement between the two places are the follow- .
ing:—Rani-gat is an isolated inaccessible hill, with only one road cut
in the rock leading to the top, although there are certainly two, if not
more, rather difficult pathways, which indeed was the case with Aor-
nus. It has also a detached peak as high as the place itself; and the
intervening hollow from 50 to 150 feet in depth, corresponds to the ra-
-yine across which Alexander built his rampart. It was supplied with
water by three wells cut in the rock, and by a tank in the ravine enclos-
ed between two dykes, from which the constant permeation would have
formed a small rill, similar to the trickling streams which now percolate
from the tanks of Kalinjar and Gwalior. Lastly, its situation answers
admirably to all the data, which have been handed down to us regard-
ing Aornus. It stands between the Swat river and the Indus, and not
far from the latter stream. To the north-west, about 20 miles distant,
are the large and important villages of Bazar and Rustam, adjoining
each other, and which now form the entrepét of all the trade between
the Swat valley and the Yusufzai plain. This entrepdt is, I have little
doubt, the Bazaria of Alexander’s historians, which submitted to him
on his march eastwards, after the conquest of the Swat valley. As the
Bazarians at his approach abandoned their city and took refuge in Aor-
nus, the relative positions of Bazar and Rani-gat suit exactly all the
conditions required for the ancient localities.
104 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frn.
4. Regarding the antiquity of Rani-gat, which is the only pomt now
wanting to complete the proof of identity of the two places, I cannot
speak so positively ; but some valuable hight has been thrown upon this
subject, by two pieces of sculpture which I luckily found amongst many
Buddhist fragments in the ruined citadel. ‘These are the naked body of
aman with the Macedonian chlamys, or short cloak, thrown over the
shoulders and fastened in front, and a human breast adorned with a
necklace of which the clasps are formed of two centaurs, boldly design-
ed and gracefully executed. As these sculptures undoubtedly owe their
origin to the influence of Grecian art, they show that the antiquity of
Rani-gat certainly reaches as high a date as the second century before
Christ, at which time the successors of Alexander, who ruled over the
Kabul valley, still preserved some of the arts and arms of Greece. A
higher antiquity of two or threeghundred years, or even more, may
therefore safely be granted to the massive granite walls of this Cyclope-
an mountain fortress, which must always have been the strongest and
largest fortified place in the country. Even now the natives draw a dis-
tinction between it and other ruins; for they call Rani-gat a Killah, or
fortress ; whilst all others are designated garhis, or forts. If Rani-gat
was not the Aornos of Alexander, it was certainly the Aornos of the
times in which it flourished.
5. Ihave also secnred some very perfect specimens of Buddhis¢
sculpture, including a full length figure of Maya, the mother of Buddha,
from the ruins of a small hill-fort near Jumal-garhi, about 28 miles to
the westward of the Indus, But the most valuable acquisition which I
have made has been the discovery of two short Ariano-Pali inscriptions
in the same character, as that which is found upon the reverses of the
Indo-Grecian coins. As both of these inscriptions bear dates, and as
they are the oldest dated inscriptions hitherto found in India, I consi-
der that the possession of them will be very cheaply purchased at the
hire of a single camel for their carriage. Iam therefore now bringing
them, as well as the sculptures, along with me towards Lahore, from
whence I will forward them to Government through the Ordnance Com-
missariat Officer at that station. 'The more ancient of the two inscrip-
tions is dated in ‘‘ Samvat 37, or the first day of the bright half of the
month of Sravand, in the reign of Mahadaya, king of the Gushang
(tribe). The other inscription is dated in Samvat 333. The Gushang
LS ee
|
|
|
|
:
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 105
were the most powerful tribe of the Tochari; who, about the beginning
of our era, overran both Persia and India. As I was the first to read
their name upon the Indo-Scythian coins, I feel much satisfaction at
finding my reading so fully confirmed by the discovery of this inscrip-
tion.
6. Iam now prosecuting my researches for the identification of the
ancient Taxila, which was for many centuries, the chief city between the
Indus and Jehlam ; after which I shall continue my route towards the
British Territory via Lahore.
7. Asinmy letter No. 10 of the 18th ultimo, I mentioned on na-
tive authority that owing to the unsettled state of the Yusafzai country,
I should probably be obliged to confine my inquiries to such informa-
tion as could be procured from the people in the neighbourhood, I have
now much satisfaction in stating, from personal experience, that, during
my two visits to the Yusafzai district, I found the people happy and
contented, and the chiefs highly satisfied with the arrangements which
had been made for the settlement of their country by the British Autho-
rities at Peshawar. My researches extended as far north as Char-golai,
within 4 miles of the Buner frontier. Ina few years hence I have lit-
tle doubt, that the Yusufzai plain will regain its former prosperity, and
exhibit once more the same smiling sheet of rich cultivation, which it
must have shown under the settled administration of the first Mogul
Sovereigns of India. The traces of large villages are numerous over the
whole plain.
8. Herewith I transmit a copy of the Diary of my marches from
the 18th of December up to the present date.
I have, &e.
(Signed) ALEX. CUNNINGHAM,
Bt. Capt. Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
Camp Hosan Abdal, 10th January, 1848.
Pr
106 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes.
Diary of a route of Assistant Surgeon THomas THomson, Commis-
sioner, Tibetan Frontier, from 21st October to 30th November, 1847. -
Camp Iskardo, 30th November, 1847.
Date. | Halting |No. o Remarks.
place. miles.
1847.
21st Oct./Lyakjung. 9 Crossed Nubra valley to Taghur (halt-
ing place of 16th and 17th) and thence
to near junction with Shayuk river.
Over gravelly bed of Shayuk which is
divided into several branches. Forded
it half way without difficulty. Hundar
a large village.
23rd ....|Tertse, 10 Along south bank of river commence-
ment of march through cultivation and
villages, remainder very barren and
stony.
Much delay in crossing river at com-
mencement of march. It was divided
into numerous branches, three of which
were deep (24 to 3 feet in places gene-
rally above 2). Afterwards along N.
bank generally barren. Camp at a
large vilage.
Along N. bank of river through bar-
22nd .. |Hundar. 9
bol
24th ..\|Unmaru. 5
dole
25th ..|Karu 9)
bol
(Camp). ren stony country. The mountains gra- —
dually approach river and at end of —
March leave only room for stream to —
pass. No village.
26th ..|Waris 8 Leave bank of river which is imprac-
(Camp). ticable, to ascend a small valley descend~ —
ing from the north. Its banks were —
exceedingly barren and precipitous, and
the road consequently difficult. A few
links, only used for summer residence,
and some fields round camp. Snow fell ; :
during the afternoon.
27th .. |Boghdan 7 Crossed a high mountain ridge separ-
~
(Camp). ating the Waris stream from that of
Boghdan, and encamped on the latter at
a place where there is a good deal of —
cultivation, but which is only inhabited
im summer.
28th ..|Chulungka. 9 Descended Boghdan stream to its
junction with the Shayuk, which I found
1848. ]
deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 107
Date. Halting
place.
290th Oct.|Turtuk.
Seth: :..4Pranu.
3st .. |Siksa.
Ist Nov. |Kabas.
2nd s.... |Surmu.
3rd... | Khaplu.
oen)=S ij. J allt.
No. of
miles.
Remarks,
with bold rocky banks as when I left it
at Karu. At intervals however there
are gravelly reaches on one side or
other; valley continued narrow all the
way to camp. Chulungka is a very
small village, almost all its cultivable
ground having been carried away by the
great flood 5 years ago.
Generally along stony bed of river ;
occasional rocky ascents to get over
otherwise impassable places. Crossed
tiver by good wooden bridge close to
Turuk, a large and extensive village.
A great part of march over steep
rocky hills, exceedingly barren. Cross-
ed river at end of march by wooden
bridge. Pranu a very extensive village.
Also arocky march in many parts;
mountains still continuing on both sides
very close to stream, so that its banks
are not always passable. Crossed to
left bank of river by wooden bridge near
Siksa.
Along left bank of river. Road as
for the last four days.
Road more level, over gravel and
boulders, or elevated alluvial banks.
Crossed river by bridge at commence-
ment of march and recrossed by a very
deep ford at about a mile from end. In
latter half of March valley widens, and
near Surmu has spread out into a very
wide alluvial plain through which the
river winds in many streams. A large
river joius from the north opposite Sur-
mu.
The banks of the river being imprac-
ticable from bold projecting rocks road
ascends a ravine, crosses a low ridge
and descends upon Khaplu which is a
very extensive town or village, with
much cultivation and great numbers of
trees,
108 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fres.
Date. Halting | No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
5th Nov. |Karku. 10 Crossed river below Khaplu. Road
Sth
98th
10th
lith
32th
.. |Braghar.
. |Kunes.
. (Kuru.
. |Keris.
. |Golochu.
.. |Iskardo.
3th till |Halt.
Slst.
(>)
bole
Le)
bdo|H
along bed of river or through cultivation
the whole way.
Along the right bank of the river
almost the whole way. Atend of march
a large stream joins from the north.
The valley contracts below Braghar,
and about two miles lower down, where
it bends to the north, has become very
narrow and rocky, so that the latter part
of the march was a succession of ascents
and descents.
A fatiguing march over a ridge of
mountains to avoid an impassable bed
of the river. Road very steep and sto-
ny.
First two miles over rocks, remainder
along river bed till reaching the cultiva-
ted lands of Keris, an extensive village.
Junction of Indus is about a mile be-
low Keris ; afterwards the valley is very
narrow and rocky, and the stream very
rapid.
Road over rocks, but close to river
for three miles, after which it ascends a
lateral ravine and continues among low
hills at some distance from the rivet,
which is not seen again till end of march.
Over a sandy plain, crossing river one
mile above Iskardo. Valley widens much
and is very sandy. A large river joins
from the northward.
(Signed) Tuomas THomson,
Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
(True Copies)
J. LAWRENCE,
Officiating Resident.
ee ee eee
1848.]
deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 109
Diary of the Tibetan Commission, from the 29th of August 1847, to
10th January, 1848.
Date. Halting
place.
1847.
29th Aug./To Khyuri.
30th .. |Huling.
Sist .. |Lari.
Ist Sept. | Pog.
9nd .. |Dankhar.
ord . ..|Lari.
4th... | Malting
place op-
posite
Rangrik.
|
:
|
N o.of
miles.
Or
|=
Remarks.
Crossed the British frontier from
Chang Razing into the Chinese territo-
ry. Commenced a regular series of ob-
servations with the barometer, the dry
and wet bulb thermometers, and the so-
lar and terrestrial radiation thermome-
ters.
A mere halting place on the left bank
of the Piti river. Crossed the Gyu river,
which forms the boundary between the
Chinese district of Chumurti and the
British district of Piti.
The first village is Piti.
ally over shingly landslips.
On leaving Lari passed at 23 miles the
desolate, wintry-looking village of Tabo.
From this the country was barren the
whole way to Pég.
Not asingle village occurred the whole
way between Pog and Dankhar. On the
opposite side of the Piti river however,
there was the village of Mani, the largest
in the Piti district.
At 3 miles crossed the Lingti, a con-
siderable stream about 25 miles in length.
At 7 miles passed the small village of
Lidang. Dip of the magnetic needle at
Lara 43° 37’.
At 5 miles passed the village of Kary.
At 74 miles the bed of the river which,
from Dankhar upwards had continued
wide, open and level, was contracted to
about 60 feet, between two rocks, where
a wooden bridge was thrown across, a
mile and a half below the large village of
Rangrik, the Rerik of Trebeck and
Broome.
Road gener-
110 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes.
Date. Halting |\No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
5th Sept./Gyihbar, 6% | At 4 miles passed the village of Kyi,
with a picturesque looking monastery
seated on a rocky eminence. From this
point the road left the Piti river and
turned to the northward of the Le-chu
to Gyihbar, the last village in Piti.—
Height above the sea 14,000 feet.
6th .. |Jukhta. 63 A halting ground in the bed of the
Le-chu, a narrow gorge 15,000 ft. above
the sea. The wild leek was plentiful on
this march. |
7th ,, |Bongrochan 22 An encamping ground, 17,000 feet
above the sea. Here I suffered from
headache and sleeplessness. ‘The San-
gram vuzeer, as well as numbers of the
coolies and servants, likewise complain-
ed of headache.
8th _.. |Pratang 7 Crossed the Parang Pass, 18,600 ft.
Kongma. high. No snowon south side. To the
north the road laid over a snow-bed for
14 mile, then rough and stony to camp.
A magnificent glacier filled the ravine
as far down as 23 miles from the top of
the Pass.
9th .. {Halting 11 Road along the bed of the Parang ri-
place. ver, level but stony. Snow-pheasants
numerous.
10th .. |Nuarbu 11 Road along right bank of Parang river,
Sumdo. level and stony. At this point we were
about 7 miles to the south of the Great —
Chomorin lake.
llth ..|Dunyar. 9 Road along right bank of Parang ri-
-ver. Saw two Kiangs, or wild horses,
on the opposite bank.
Crossed the Parang river and proceed-
ed to the north-east, up the dry bed of
a former lake of some extent.
N. B.—Lieut. Strachey here parted
from us and continued his course down
the Parang river to Chumur.
13th ../Gurkhyam.| 103 A gradual but long and very fatiguing
ascent for 5 miles, to top of Sanak Pass,
18,200 feet above the sea. In crossing
12th .. |Dongan. 9
Bl
1848. ] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 111
Date. Halting | No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
rane St
this Pass I felt no headache whatever,
but others complained of headache,
which was no doubt occasioned -by the
elevation alone. Road from top of Pass
exceedingly rough and stony for five and
half miles to camp, in the bed of the
Gurkhyam rivulet.
14th Sept. | Hanleé. 15 Road for 44 miles down the bed of the
Gurkhyam, thence over gently undulat-
ing ground for 6 miles, then a steep de-
scent of 500 feet to the Hanlé swamp,
round which the road wound for 43
miles to Hanlé—a picturesque looking
fortified monastery, seated on the end
of a rocky spur, and washed on two sides
by the Hanlé river. This place has ra-
ther an imposing appearance, with its
square and round towers defended by
Machicoulis. The peaceful Lamas how-
ever, yielded to Zorawar Singh in 1834,
without firing a shot.
17th ..|.Mang kang.; 10% | Road level along the left bank of the
Hanlé river—a few hares amongst the
Dama jungle, which here grows up-
wards of six feet in height.
18th ..|Tamashap-| 16 Road for 9 miles along the left bank
chu. of the Hanlé river; then over a stony
but easy low pass, and along a dry
barren plain to the left bank of the
Indus, which is here a sluggish swampy
stream, abounding with wild fowl.
19th .. |Ranak. 102 | Road along the left bank of the
_ |Indus occasionally very stony. Passed
the villages of Mad and Nyimo on the
opposite bank. At this place we took
a section of the river which was 240
feet broad, and 3 feet deep, with a cur-
rent of only 2} miles an hour. It was
fordable with ease, the bed being soft
and clayey. The banks are flat and
low, and are covered with a long coarse
| grass. We observed some fish in the
| ‘river,
Date.
Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frer.
Halting |\No. of
miles.
place.
20thSept.| Kaldang.
2ist
23rd
24th
.. |Paga,
. |Halt at Paiga
. |Ankhung.
. |Thogyi
Chenms.
})
16
1
2
Remarks.
Road for 74 miles along the left
bank of the Indus, the latter part very
rough and stony. The river in some
places is not more than from 30 to 40
feet in width ; after passing the village
of Mahé (on the opposite bank) the
road turns to the westward up the
Rulang-chu, a small clear stream over-
shadowed with tall tamarisk trees.
Road for 2} miles the same as yes-
terday, through tamarisk trees up the
Rulang-chu. It then crossed the
stream, and proceeds over undulating
stony ground to Piga, the site of the
borax and sulphur mines. The borax
is collected from the surface of the
ground on both banks of the rivulet.
The sulphur is dug out of the side of
the hill on the northern bank. The
bed of the stream is full of hot springs
varying in temperature from 80° to
148° the boiling point of water being
only 186°. The stream is full of fish.
Its temperature is considerably higher
than that of the air. At 8 a.m. when
the air was only 32°; the water was
62°. ‘This may account for the size of
the tamarisk trees on its banks, many
of which are 15 and 16 feet in height.
Halted to observe the meteorological
and magnetical instruments; and to
examine the sulphur and borax mines.
Thermr. at 5 a.m. only 139,
Road up the Rulaug-chu, extremely
stony.
Road an easy ascent for 31 miles to
the top of the Pulakonka Pass, where
I connected this year’s survey with that
of last year. Then an easy descent for
125 miles to the northern bank of the
| salt Lake, called Chokhar by the La-
hulis, and Thogji Chenms by the Tibe-
tans.
os
1848.]
deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 113
Date. Halting
25th Sept.|Larsa.
26th
27th
28th
29th
30th
place.
we
.. (Giah.
.. |Ualt at Giah.
. |Miru,
.. |Ukshi.
..|Marsila, or
Marchalang.
No. of
miles.
16
NI
On|
Remarks.
Road round the northern end of the
Lake, and thence through a gap by
which the lake formerly had an exit,
as is proved by the millions of shells
still existing in the ancient lacustrine
formations, at a level of at least 150
feet above that of the present lake.
From this gap the road ascended the
plain of Kyung to the foot of the
Tunglung Pass.
Snow fell during the night, and we
found the ascent of the Tunglung Pass,
about 1500 feet, extremely fatiguing.
The cold was intense, and the wind
high ; and the snow and sleet were
very annoying. The descent was rough,
steep and slippery for about 3 miles.
Thence for the rest the road was down
a gentle descent along the left bank of
the Giah rivulet, passing at 13 miles
the village of Rumchi.
We found it absolutely necessary to
halt after the last three long marches
which had prevented us from taking
any observations.
Road good and broad along the left
bank of the Giah rivulet. Rocks
throughout this day’s march of a hard
compact greenish sandstone, alterna-
ting with a silicious greenish conglo-
merate, and standing in almost per-
pendicular dykes. The conglomerates,
although extremely hard, are generally
worn smooth. If they could be cut
and polished they would form beauti-
fully variegated slabs.
Road good down the Giah rivulet
which was crossed four times by good
bridges of poplar spars. Ukshi stands
at the junction of the Giah rivulet with
the Singhi-chu, or Indus.
Road along the left bank of the
Indus. At Marsila there are large
| plantations of poplar trees.
Q
114 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes.
Date. Halting \No. o Remarks.
place. miles.
Ist Oct. |Chachét. 1] Road along the left bank of the
Indus, first over the irrigated fields of
Changa ; then over barren stony ground
to Thakna; and thence through the
fields and straggling houses of Chachét,
to Gola-bagh, a garden and house be-
longing to the late Governor of Ladak.
Road for 4 miles through the culti-
vated lands of Chachét, thence for 1
mile stony to the bank of the Indus,
which we crossed by two substantial
bridges of poplar, the larger one being
80 feet in length, and 8 feet broad
within the railings. From the bridge
the road was alternately sandy and
stony the whole way up an easy ascent
to Lé.
ard... . |Halt at Lés jure. Observed the meteorological instru-
ments hourly, and obtained meridian
and equal altitudes of the sun.
4th ..|Ditto. a Observed the declination magneto-
meter hourly, and obtained meridian
and equal altitudes of the sun.
5th =. , |Ditto. 32 Ditto ditto.
6th __.. |Ditto. ig Observed the dipping needles, and
Hansteen’s intensity apparatus ; and
obtamed meridian and equal altitudes
of the sun.
2nd -
cm
i
©
Oo|=
7th .os. sDittos ‘. Cloudy, no observations. Light snow —
fell.
8th _.. |Ditto. i Cloudy morning and snow until 9
o'clock; obtained meridian and equal
altitudes of the sun and four observa-
tions of a Polaris.
th >. |Ditto. = Obtained meridian and equal alti-
tudes of the sun. The morning was
cloudy with occasional breaks of sun-
shine. The beginning of the solar
eclipse was therefore not obtained with-
in half a minute; and its termination
was completely obscured: but the time —
of its greatest phase was accurately ob-
served. Lourly meteorological obser-
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 115
Date. Halting |No. o Remarks.
place. miles.
vations were made during the morning :
and during the eclipse the observations
were made every quarter of an hour, to
note the abstraction of heat.
10th Oct.|Thart. 113 At 14 mile from Lé reached the
new fort on the plain built by Vazir
Zorawar Singh. It is a square of 200
yards with round towers at the corners
and in the middle of each curtain.
The walls are built of huge sun-dried
bricks ;—they are about 20 feet in
height, and are loopholed all round.
The fort is well supplied with water
inside, as it stands on the left bank of
the Lé rivulet. There are 4 good 3-
pounder brass guns with serviceable
carriages and 30 well dressed artillery
men. At 1 mile beyond the fort,
passed a gibbet with the skeleton of a
Boti-man hanging from it. He was
executed six years ago by the Governor
for killing a bullock. At 4 miles passed
the village of Pitak. Just above this
village there is an immense mass of
indurated clay in horizontal layers, an
undoubted lacustrine formation. At
9 miles crossed the Phiang rivulet
leaving the village and monastery of
Phiang one mile to the north.
llth ..|Bazgo. 1+ Road over undulating stony ground
for 3 miles ; then a rough and sandy
‘| descent of 1 mile down a dry ravine
to the level cultivated lands of Nyimo,
a large scattered village opposite the
junction of the Zauskar river with the
Indus. Thence for 3 miles over bar-
ren stony ground to the fields of Bazgo
and then throngh the cultivation to the
village.
12th... |Saspdl. 8 Road for 1 mile through the fields
of Bazgo: thence over barren undu-
lating ground . interrupted by dry
|vavines for two miles. Then down a
Q 2
116
Date.
eee
Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes
Halting |\No. 0
place.
ee
13th Oct. | Hemistok po
14th
both
. |Snurla,
. {Bridge over
the Indus.
moles.
es)
Dio
8
Remarks.
dry ravine and along the bank of the
Lakiru rivulet to Sasptil on the Indus,
a pretty scattered village watered by
two revulets.
Road along the right bank of the
Indus for six miles barren and rocky
to Urlétokpo, a small place of only 2
houses, opposite the village of Sgyéra,
which has a considerable extent of cul-
tivation. Thence the road continues
along the right bank of the river, with
some steepish ascents and descents for
33 miles to a level spot opposite a
small patch of cultivation with a few
houses called Hemis-tokpo.
Road for 4 miles along the right
bank of the Indus, level and occasion-
ally very sandy. <At this point the
upper road vid Hémis joins the lower
road via Saspal, and at 13 mile beyond
the large seattered village of Snurla is
reached. Here walnut trees were first
observed, but of no great size: the
fruit however was large and good.
Chakors were numerous; and the wild
animal, half goat half deer, called Sha,
abounded on the opposite hills. I pro-
cured a fine large male with some diffi-
culty.
Road continued along the right bank ~
of the Indus. At 4 miles passed Balu-
khar, a ruined castle on a low isolated
rock. At 3 miles farther reached the
village of Kallach, the Khalets of
Moorcroft, who calls it one of the
largest places in Ladak. It has now
only 19 inhabited houses: but I ob-
served whole rows of roofless houses.
Indeed I have observed the same at
nearly every village in the Ladak terri-
tory from Giah to Lé, and from Lé to
Molvil. At one mile beyond the village,
crossed the Indus by a substantial
1848. ] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 117
Date.
place.
16th Oct. |Lama yurru.
17th ..|Heska.
Halting |No. of
miles,
88
Remarks.
bridge 8 feet broad, 77 feet long, and
45 feet above the water. On the right
bank there is a wall square bridge-head,
built of sun-dried bricks, with a guard
of 12 men.
Road for first half mile along the left
bank of the Indus. It then turns to
the southward up the right bank of a
small stream, the Wanla chu, which at
2 miles was crossed by a sanga. The
stream winds considerably, but its ge-
neral direction is to the south. After
crossing it twice more the road left the
main stream, and proceeded up a_ nar-
row ravine which gradually opened out
into a_ well-cultivated valley. I ob-
served immense masses of a fine pale
straw-colored clay in all positions from
the bed of the river up to more than
1000 feet in height ; and resting on the
slate which stands at a highly inclined
angle of nearly 80° after observing
these undoubted marks of a large lake
having once existed in this spot, I was
much interested on hearing the Lamas
of the place ascribe the founding of
their Monastery to one Naropa, a
Lama of Briging near Lhasa, who
drained the Lama Yurru Lake many
centuries ago by cutting through the
opposing rocks. The tradition is curi-
ous, as it may perhaps show that this
lake must have existed at a compara-
tively late period; unless indeed we
give the Lamas credit for rather nice
observation and the consequent deduc-
tion.
Road for 5 miles an easy and gra-
dual ascent to the top of the Pass called
Photold, 13,000 feet in height. Thence
an easy descent-of 4 miles to Heska ;
'on the right bank of a small stream
and bluff rock, above the village, there
is a deserted Lamaic monastery.
118
Date.
—_—
Correspondence of the Commissioners [FEs.
|
Halting |No. of
miles.
place.
18th Oct.|Charak.
19th
20th
21st
22nd
. |Molvil.
. |Halt.
. |Dok.
. |Kargyil.
1]
72
1]
1
8
tivo
Remarks.
Road good and generally level, with
a few slight ascents and descents.
Crossed the Kanji river five times by
temporary bridges. At 53 miles passed
Kherbo, and at 7 miles, Thakshé, both
picturesque-looking places, situated on
isolated cliffs. At 8 miles the road left
the Kanji (which is said to join the
Indus at Dah), and proceeded up a
small stream to the westward ; an easy
ascent the whole way.
An easy ascent of 1} mile to the top
of the Namyika Pass, 12,600 feet high.
Thence a rather rapid descent of nearly
4 miles to the bed of the Waka.chu;
and then along the right bank of tie
stream through fields for 2 miles to
Molvil.
Observed the declinometer and the
meteorological instruments hourly from
4 a. mM. to 4 p.m. and the dipping
needles at 43 Pp. M. taking 16 obser-
vations of each needle.
Road for 3 miles down the Waka
river, through an open and cultivated
country. It then crosses the Pugal
river, and shortly afterwards the Waka,
which narrows to a mere rocky torrent
till within 14 mile of Dok where the
cultivation again appears. 7
At 53 miles passed Paskyum with a
fort on a projecting spur on the left
bank of the Waka river, and the town
on both banks below more than half
deserted, but the lands well cultivated.
At half a mile further crossed the river,
thence passing several villages and
much cultivation for 3 miles, the road
ascended to a level stony plain and con-
tinued to the N. W. dipping at every
half mile about 50 feet or more, and
then descended nearly 300 feet to the
junction of the Waka with the Suru
1848.]
Date. Halting
place.
deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 119
No. of
miles.
23rd Oct.|NearKherbu.| 112
24th
.. |Jas-gund.
127
LS |
ala
Remarks.
river. The latter is a considerable
stream about four times-as large as
the Waka-chu. A road leads up its
bed to Kishtwar. It was by this
route that Zorawar Singh first invaded
Ladak.
At 4 mile crossed the Suru river by
two small bridges and one large one.
Just above the bridges, on the left bank
of the stream, is a small loop-holed
fort, 50 or 60 yards square, with round
towers at the corners. It is well sup-
plied with water. Below the bridge
the Purik and Suru rivers unite. The
road then continued for 23 miles to the
junction of the Sura and Dras rivers.
From this point it turned to the west-
ward up the right bank of the Drds
river, along which it continued for 9
miles to the encamping ground, a short
distance beyond the junction of the
Shingo and Dras rivers.
Road for 7 miles continued along the
right bank of the Dras river passing
the villages of Kherbu and Shimsha.
It then crossed the river by 2 bridges,
one of 20 feet span over a rocky chan-
nel, and the other of 50 feet span over
the main stream. Thence for 52 miles
up the left bank of the river passing
Chibr and Taskyum. Snow fell during
the afternoon.
Road nearly due west the whole way
to the fort of Dras, chiefly over allu-
vial soil, the deposit of former lakes.
On a small piece of ground just after
passing the hamlet of Styalbo, and
within half a mile of the fort there are
three upright stone pillars on the side
of the road. The smallest of the three
is undoubtedly a modern Sati stone
with a modern inscription (in the Hill
character) of which I have copies. The
Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frs.
Halting |No. ie Remarks.
place.
——- —
26th Oct.|Matén.
27th
,. |Bal-thal
*¢ All
foot.”’
or
miles.
112
a EEE ERT Soe
other two pillars, familiarly called
Choms, or the ‘* Women,” are also
Brahmanical and not Buddhistical, for
the almost obliterated inscriptions are
in Kashmirian Nagari, and not in Ti-
betan characters. I took copies of these
inscriptions also.
Road for 72 miles to the westward
up the left bank of the river, to Pan
Dras, a Kashmirian corruption of Pu-
rana Dras, or old Dras, to distinguish it
from the new Drdas or Sikh Fort. Pro-
fessor Wilson strangely supposes it to
be Paien-i-Dras or lower Dras, although
it is higher up the stream. Beyond
Pan Dras the road continued for 14
mile to the westward up the stream
and then crossed to the right bank by
ford, and turning to the 8. 8. W. after
3 miles reached Matén. Snow fell hea-
vily all the afternoon, and continued
throughout the night.
Road for 5 miles through snow up
the right bank of the Dras river; and
thence across the stream and up a short
steep ascent, and up the stream for 6
miles further to its source in the Waga-
Sar; from which also issues, in the
opposite direction, one of the sources
of the Sindh river, which flows into
Kashmir. This is properly speaking
the Pass or dividing ridge between La-
dak and Kashmir: but as the road
afterwards ascends a spur of the hill
beyond to a point somewhat higher
than the level of the lake, the latter is
considered to be the Pass, and is ac-
cordingly named so as the Seo-ji-la.
From the Pass the road descends very
steeply for rather more than 2 miles to
a log-hut, at the junction of the Waga
‘rivulet with the Kishen-Gunga, which 1s
i said to come from Amaranath. This
1848. | deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 121
Date. Halting |No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
er SS | ee
spot is called Bal-thal, literally ‘ Hill-
foot’’—snow fell half the day.
Road down the right bank of the
Sindh river a succession of slight as-
cents and descents occasionally through
fine forest. At 64 miles crossed the
Nila, a large stream. At 81 miles
crossed the Sindh by a wooden spar
bridge, 60 feet span, and encamped op-
posite Sonamurg, which has now only
one inhabited house. Snow fell all
day and night.
Road for 14 mile level through deep
snow. At 4 mile beyond crossed the
Sindh by a spar bridge, 60 feet span.
Thence for 5 miles up and down steep
rocky ruts, full of snow and mud; a
most fatiguing and disagreeable march,
snow falling the whole way. Around
Gagangir great numbers of walnut trees.
Snow during the day.
30th .. |Surbara. 102 | Road for 7 miles to the W. S. W.
| along the right bank of the Sindh, and
through much cultivation to Gunda-
Sarsing, where I observed the first rice-
fields: thence to the S. W. for up-
wards of 3 miles to Surbara, crossing
the Sindh 1 mile above the village.
3ist .. | Kangan. 93 | At 12 mile crossed the river and
continued along the right bank to the
northward of west, passing the pretty
village of Margund, to Kangan, a good-
sized place with much cultivation.
Ist Noy. |Gandar-bal. 93 | Road for 4 miles to the north of west
along the right bank of the Sindh:
thence across the river by a bridge of
57 feet span, and up a steep bank to
an elevated table-land along which the
road turned to the S. W. past the large
village of Nunar to Gandar-bal. From
the top of the ascent the Huri-purbut
and Takhti-Sulimén to the east and
west of the capital were both visible,
(oa}(3)
28th Oct./Sonamurg, 8
29th .. |Gagangir. is
O0|
R
122
Date.
2nd Novy.|Srinagar,
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
|
|
ate
Se
Correspondence of the Commissioners [FEs.
|
Halting \No. of
place.
Capital o
Kashmir.
Halt.
miles,
Remarks.
Road for* miles round the base
of low hills and along the edge of
rice fields. At Daran J noticed large
masses of conglomerate resting on the
rock. The road then ascended a level
cultivated plain upwards of 100 feet
above the rice-fields, At 5 miles near
the village of Shur I was met by the
Dewan Nihall Chand and escorted to
the city where I took up my quarters
in Dilawar Khan’s Garden. In the
evening the Dewan waited upon me
with a present from the Maharaja of
325 Hari Singhi rupees.
On these days I observed the decli-
nation magnetometer and the dipping
needle together with all the meteoro-
logical instruments. I also obtained
four meridian altitudes and numerous
equal altitudes of the sun. On the 5th
I paid a visit of 2 hours to the Maha-
raja Golab Singh. He was particularly
cordial in his manner, and he recounted
to me all the leading events in the con-
quest of Ladak and Balti and the inva-
sion of the Lahasan territory, He
seemed particularly desirous to impress
me with the belief that his last expedi-
tion was undertaken not only against
his wishes, but in spite of his repeated —
orders to the contrary. On this occa-
sion, | presented to the Maharaja, a
box with a singing bird, and on my
taking leave, His Highness waved a
bag of 50 Hari Singhi rupees round
my head. On the next day, the 6th,
at the Maharaja’s desire I dined in the
Shergurhi, and spent 4 hours in con-
versation with His Highness. He was
very communicative, and detailed to me
the strength and disposition of his
Military force, and showed me speci-
mens of his mountain artillery, small
* Sic in MS,—Eps,
1848. ] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. : 123
Date. Halting |\No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
pieces that can be carried either by
men or by bullocks. They are called
Shér-bachchas and Bagh-bachchas or
Tiger-cubs and Leopard-cubs. I re-
quested permission to visit the different
ruined temples in Kashmir, which was
readily granted ; and I then took leave
of the Maharaja, who presented me
| with a large scarlet cloak lined with
fine sheep skins.
8th Nov. |Pandretan. 3 Having sent a small boat to the tank
in which the temple of Pandretan is situ-
ated, I was able to make a plan and ele-
vation of this building, by measure-
ment. It was built by the minister of
Nirjita Vermma, in a. D. 920-921.
9th ., |Avantipur. 113 Road along the right bank of the Be-
hat, and through the celebrated saffron-
fields to Pampur ; thence over an eleva-
ted plain for four miles to Satapura (or
Lalitadityapura), where the road again
proceeds along the bank of the river as
far as Avantipur. At this place I found
four ruined temples, two of which were
built by Avanti Vermma, and two by
his minister. Two of them are now
mere heaps of rubbish. I made a ground
plan by measurement of one of the two
other temples, and left money to pay
for excavating a part of the earth that
had silted up the columns of the peri-
style of the fourth temple.
10th ..|Bij Bihara. | 102 Road for 7 miles up the right bank of
the Behat, and thence across the river by
ferry. ‘There are no ruins about Bij Bi-
hara worth visiting, and the only inscrip-
tion has been almost defaced by the
Musalmans. The present town is built
on the debris of the former city ; for
the lingam, called Ladhaswa, or Kishte-
swar, is now 15 feet below the level of
'the ground on which the surrounding
houses stand.
we
Date.
Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frs.
place.
11th Nov.|Bhomaju.
12th
13th
14th
.. {Marttand.
.» |Halt.
.. |Biy Bihara.
Halting \No. of
miles.
7%
Remarks.
From Bij Bihara, the direct road to
the caves of Bhomaju crosses the Lidar,
or Lambodari river by ford to the large
village of Bhawan, beyond which, at one
mile, are the caves. There are but two
caves worth mentioning, of which one is
a long narrow natural fissure, leading to
two or three cavities, each about 20 ft.
in diameter. The other cave is no doubt
partly artificial. It contains a small
temple without any image. I made a
plan and elevation of this building by
measurement with considerable care ; as
it appeared to me, from the simplicity
of its style to be the oldest temple in
Kashmir. The whole surface of the
temple was literally swarming with bugs,
which made the measurement an ex-
tremely unpleasant task.
Road through the pretty village of
Bhawan, from which a steep ascent leads
to the celebrated temple of Marttand,
situated at the upper end of the exten-
sive Karewah or elevated plain of Ma-
tan or Martan, the Kashmirian corrup-
tion of Marttand, ura, one of the
names of the sun.
I halted the next day for the purpose
of completing the measurements and —
drawings of this fine specimen of Kash-
mirian architecture. I do not, however, —
attribute any great antiquity to it, for it
appears to me almost certain that it must
have been erected at a later period than
the temples at Avantipur, the columns
of which have plain cubic bases. I made
a ground plan of this temple, an eleva-
tion of one of the porches, with the ad-
joiming columns of the peristyle, and
views of the interior and exterior.
I returned to Bij Bihara over the plain
of Matan, which, instead of being des-
titute of trees, as described by Vigne
and Hugel, has upwards of 500 trees
1848. ] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 125
Date. Halting Remarks.
place.
No. of
miles.
upon it, a single clump of more than 50
trees being within half a mile of the tem-
ple. At Bij Bihara I copied the muti-
lated inscription, and examined the Cha-
kradhar hill, which has once been cov-
ered with buildings. Its north-western
end has evidently been a fort, cut off
from the main hill by a broad “? ditch,
which still exists,
15th Noy.|Avantipur. 102 At Avantipur I made a plan of the se-
cond existing temple, and an elevation of
the peristyle from a perfect portion, from
which the silt had been excavated dur-
ing my absence by my direction and at
my expense. This portion had evident-
ly been silted up before the Musalman
ascendancy in Kashmir, for the human
headed birds which surmounted the ca-
pitals of the pilasters of the archways,
are still perfect.
16th ..|Ratanpur. 10 From Avantipur I crossed the Behat
and proceeded over the extensive Karewah
of No-naga, (an admirable spot for the
measurement of a base line of survey,)
which is a perfect level 5 miles in length,
with an average breadth of from 1 to 2
miles. On the opposite side of the Ka-
rewah I stopped for half the day to make
a plan and elevation of the almost per-
fect little temple of Payachh, after which
I proceeded to Ratanpur.
17th .. |Pandritan. 12 At 2 miles I reached Kakapur, on the
left bank of the Behat, where I examin-
ed the remains of two Hindu temples.
From thence I proceeded by water to
Pampur, where I made measurements of
the remains of a small temple, of which
one column of the peristyle is still in
beautiful preservation. I also copied the
short Sanscrit inscription which I had
| myself discovered when I passed through
| the town on my way up theriver. [
| then continued my route to Pandritan,
126 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Frs.
Date. | Halting |\No. o Remarks.
place. miles,
nl
where I completed my drawings of the
temple, and made sketches of several gi-
gantic columnar fragments, which I be-
lieve to have once formed a single co-
lumn, 7 feet in diameter, and upwards of
50 feet in height.
18th Nov.|Srinagar Ca 3 I ascended the Tahkt-i-Suliman on my
pital of way to the city, and made a ground plan
Kashmir. of the temple, and an elevation and sec-
tion of the surrounding wall and door-
way. ‘This specimen is particularly va-
luable, as it is almost certain that the
temple was built by Raja Jaloka, about
220 p. c. The surrounding wall is ex-
tremely simple in its design, and I think
I shall be able to show that it is the ear-
liest existing specimen of the Kashmi-
rian order, from which, by successive ad-
ditions and improvements, the beautiful
peristyle of Marttand was at length
gradually evolved.
19 to 23rd) Halt. bit On the 19th I set up the Declometer
and the Meteorological instruments which °
were observed on the following days, as
well as the Dipping-needle and Han-
steen’s Intensity Apparatus. On the
22d I wasto have taken leave of the
Maharaja, but as he was ill on that day,
my visit was necessarily postponed until
the 23d, on which day I paid a farewell —
visit of three hours to His Highness,
and received from him a khelat of 13
pieces for myself, and a present of three
pieces, with a letter for my brother, Capt.
J. D. Cunningham.
24th .. |Vichar-nag. 3 I made a short march this day that I
might have leisure to inspect the build-
ings and ruins about the city. I first
visited the tomb of Sultan Zein-al-abid-
in’s mother, close to which is the sur-
rounding wall of an old Hindu temple
in good order. From the simplicity of
its style, itis undoubtedly of great anti.
1848.] deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 127
Date. ITalting
place.
25th Nov.|Manasabal.
No. o
miles.
13.
1
2
Remarks.
quity, only inferior to the temple on the
Takht-i-Suliman. I next visited the
Juma Masjid, to verify the“corrections of
my ground-plan, which makes the num-
ber of its pillars to be 402. Ifound my
plan quite correct. Beyond the present
city, amidst the ruins of the various Mo-
hallahs of the No-shehra, or new city of
former days, I found numerous columns
and vestiges of Hindu temples attached
to Muhammadan mosques and tombs.
But the most interesting was that of a
figure of Buddha, and three short rude
inscriptions of a few letters, each in the
Tibetan character. I can only account
for the occurrence of Tibetan letters by
supposing that there formerly existed on
this spot a temple built by Raja Rincha-
na, the Ladaki conqueror of Kashmir,
just previous to the Muhammadan pe-
riod.
Road for 34 miles along the edge of
the Karewah of Pandachye; thence
across a swamp for 3 miles, to the Sindh
river, which I crossed by boat near the
remains of a masonry bridge, of which
5 arches are still standing. Beyond this,
for three miles, the road lay through low
ground, occasionally swampy, to the vil-
lage of Bhoosa, on the edge of the Ka-
rewah, at the foot of the Ahathyung hill,
thence round the south and east sides of
the hill to the Manasa-bal lake. Inthe
afternoon I ascended the hill and picked
up hundreds of univalve shells, all of
one species. The highest point at which
I could discover any shells was 6,188 ft.
above the level of the sea, or upwards of
850 feet higher than the present level of
the Jehlam, and 118 feet higher than
the temple of Marttand, which stands on
the upper end of the Karewah of Matan,
the highest alluvial land in the valley
128
Correspondence of the Commissioner |Frs.
Date. Halting
place.
een’
26th Nov.|Pathan.
27th
28th
.. |Sopur.
.. |Baramula.
No. o
miles,
103
12
10
Remarks.
These two data will give a height of
about 6,200 feet for the surface level of
the original lake, or Sati-saras, which
must therefore have been at least 900 ft.
deep. I was unable to discover any spe-
cimens of these univalve shells in the
present waters of Kashmir, but I pro-
cured specimens of three varieties of ex-
isting shells, two univalves and one bi-
valve, and I am happy to add that I
found numerous old specimens of the bi-
valve in the alluvial formations of Avan-
tipur, at least 200 feet above the present
river. This fact proves that a fresh wa-
ter lake, 200 feet in depth, formerly ex-
isted in Kashmir, the waters of which
must have covered the whole of the val-
ley excepting the Karéwahs, or elevated
table-lands, which are themselves of al-
luvial formation.
The road first crossed the Behat or
Jehlam at Sim-bal, by a bridge of five
arches, where the river was 340 ft. broad.
It then proceeded by a devious course,
skirting swampy ground the whole way
to Pathan. At this place I made ground
plans of the two existing temples, which
are similar to those at Avantipur, but
much inferior to them, both in size and
in their ornamental details. ‘They were ~
both built by Sankara Vermma, who
reigned from a. p. 883 to 901. The
one was named Sankara-gaureswara, af-
ter himself, and the other Sugandheswa-
ra, after his Ranee, Sugandha.
Heavy snow having fallen during the
night, and there being no prospect of the
weather clearing up, I made my way with
much difficulty through deep snow to So-
pur, on the river.
Snow continued falling the whole night,
and I proceeded by water to Baramula,
which received its name from the Vara-
1848.]
deputed to the Tibetan Frontier.
Date. TTalting
place.
29th Nov.|Piran.
30th ... |Gingal.
Ist Dec. |Halt at Gur-
| gal.
2nd . (Sultan Dak-
ka.
8rd . |Kathai.
4th . |Baliasa.
5th ee Khanda.
6th .. |Hetiah.
7th . |Halt.
8th . |Mozafara-
bad.
9th Halt.
10th Garhi
ith ../Mansera.
12th . |Halt.
No. of
miles.
129
Remarks.
ha-Ganga, a small tank, which still ex-
ists in the town.
As the snow still continued falling,
and the winter appeared to have set in,
I judged it best to leave Kashmir at once
and proceed to Mozafarabad.
Road throughout extremely difficult
owing to the depth of the snow.
Halted for want of coolies—snow fell
the whole day and throughout the
night.
Road down the right bank of the
Jehlam. Snow and rain during the day.
Road continued along the right bank
of the river—rain again during the day.
Road as before. Heavy rain through-
out the whole day and night. A short
march to allow time for my missing
baggage to come up.
Another short march part of my
missing baggage reached me at this
place. Ram during the day and
throughout the night.
Road better to-day and the valley of
the Gehlam more open. Light rain
during the day.
Halted for my missing baggage
which did not arrive until late in the
evening.
Light rain again. Road generally
level and through much cultivation.
Halted for coolies and for observa-
tions of the sun, although the day was
very cloudy.
Crossed a pass into the territory of
Maharaja Dilip Singh. Rain fell again
in the valley, and the hills were covered
with snow as well as the Pass.
Heavy rain throughout the day and
during the whole night. Roads ex-
ceedingly slippery over a clayey soil.
Halted to make arrangements for
fresh coolies. Heavy rain throughout
the day until 5 p.m,
S$
130 Correspondence of the Commissioners [Fes,
No: of Remarks.
miles.
Date. | Halting
place.
*
=
13th Dec.| Nowasheh- 14 Road more level and open than be-
ra. fore. At 6 miles passed an octagonal
tope built on a square base with arched
recesses on each side, showing it to be
of a very late date certainly posterior
to the Mahomedan conquests.
14th .. |Chamba. 14 Road extremely muddy and slippery
for 3 miles; then down the bed of a
stony Nullah and over level cultivated
fields to Chamba. On the road I no-
ticed several Hackeries, a sure sign of
a level country.
15th .. |Haripoor. 12 Road good through an open and
generally level country well irrigated.
Received a present of 125 rupees from
the Sirdar Chet Singh.
16th .,.|Sultanpoor. | 13 Road good down the left bank of the
Haru river.
17th)... .)Hazru; 18 Crossed the Haru at 3 miles, thence
through ravines and low hills for 9
miles, and over the beautifully culti-
vated plain of Chach to Hazru.
19th .. | Halt. During these days I was suffering
20th .. |Shamsabad, 6 |from acute rheumatism, brought on by
21st exposure during 16 days of snow and
Halt. hs
to 23rd rain without a tent, on my way from
Kashmir. Two of my servants were
likewise soill, that they could not be
moved even from Hazrut to Shamsabad,
a distance of ouly 6 miles. .
24th ., |Ohind. 9 Crossed the Indus by a capital ferry to
Ohind, one of the most ancient cities in
this country. The sands of the river are
washed for gold. ‘The washers likewise
find numerous old coins and trinkets.
25th ..|Nogram. 16 Road skirting the hills on the north-
ern edge of the Yusufzai plain. I was |
surprized to find the whole country from
Ohind to Hastnagar one vast plain, in-
stead of a hilly tract as it is represented
in all the maps, excepting only that of |
General Court. This plain has once |
been thickly populated: tor the remains
1848.)
Date.
deputed to the Tibetan Frontier. 131
Halting |No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
26th Dec.| Maneri.
| 27th
28th
29th
30th
31st
. |Shamsabad,
. |Halt.
. | Bazar.
. |Ali Maho-
med.
./Turu.
1848.
Ist Jan
2nd
| 3rd
Chargolai.
. | Shahbag-
garhi,
Malt.
18
10
1]
13
of large villages are numerous, and wa-
ter is at no distance from the surface.
So scanty however is the cultivation at
present that the people import both
wheat and rice from Swat, in exchange
for which they give coarse sugar, and
cotton and woollen cloths. In the after-
noon, I ascended the hill to the Fort of
Rani-gat which I believe to be the Aor-
nos of Alexander.
In the morning I again ascended Ra-
ni-gat and made several measurements,
as well as a rough sketch of the Cita-
del.
I returned to Shamsabad to make in-
quiries from Lieut. Robinson of the En-
gineers about several places of which I
had heard only confused accounts.
Halted to make arrangements for ano-
ther visit to the Yusufzai district.
Crossed the Indus at an island by two
ferries ; the stream on the right bank
running very strongly.
Proceeded to Lieut. Lumsden’s camp
near Akord, to ascertain what parts of
the Yusufzai country were safe for tra-
vellers, and to learn from him whether
there were any ruins or inscriptions
worth visiting.
Over an uncultivated plain, which has
in former times been a luxuriant sheet
of cultivation.
Visited the Shahbag-garhi inscription,
and passed into Chargolai to make in-
quiries about the Kashmiri-garh, a cave
which is said to have its exit in Kash-
mir. I found it was not worth visiting.
On these days I made a copy, with
much difficulty, of the most legible por-
_ tion of the great inscription. A proper
| copy can only be made by levelling the
' ground and building up platforms, and
_ by whitewashing the surface of the rock,
s 2
132 On the commercial and political [Fes.
Date. Halting \No. of Remarks.
place. miles.
——
Se
to bring out the sunken letters. Sucha
work would occupy a long time; but it
would well repay the labour. I copied
the greater part in a standing position,
| on sloping ground.
Ath Jan. |Lahor. 18 Over the Yusufzai plain, passing only
one large village, named Yar Husen, and
a small one, named Sudher.
5th ..|Shamsabad.| 12 Crossed the Indus by the Ohind ferry.
6th to 8th Halted to make arrangements about ca-
mels, guards, &c.
9th ../|Burham. T4 Country much broken by ravines, and
almost wholly uncultivated.
10th ../Hasan Ab- a Road through broken ground.
dal. Around the town there are some fine
level sheets of cultivation.
(Signed) A. CunnINGHAM, Capt.
Commissioner, Tibetan Frontier.
(True Copies)
J. Lawrence, Officiating Resident.
Short Survey of the countries between Bengal and China, showing the
great commercial and political importance of the Burmese town of
Bhanmo, on the Upper Irawady, and the practicability of a direct
trade overland between Calcutta and China.—By Baron Orro-
DES GRANGES:
The direct distance between Calcutta and the Chinese frontier of
Yunnan is about 540 miles, nearly the same as that from Calcutta to
Agra. The road which we have to travel admits of three sub-divisions,
part first falling in Bengal, between Calcutta and Silhet ; part second in
the independent states of Cachar and Munipur, and part third in the
Burmese empire.
Part first, from Calcutta to Silhet, is known, and on the whole dis-
tance river communication is open at all seasons.
SL
1848. | importance of the town of Bhanmo. 133
Part second, up the Barak river (in Silhet called the Surmah) through
Cachar. This Cachar, with the capital of Khaspur, borders east to Sil-
het, and is governed by an independent Raja. The Barak river runs
through it, and is navigable as far upwards as Kalanaga Ghat, but in
the dry season only as far as Talayn, where rapids interrupt the passage.
The ground rises gradually towards the east to the Khainbunda moun-
tains, which separate Cachar from Munipur. These mountains consist of
several, from north to south running chains in a breadth of 40 miles,
which are not above 4,000 feet high, and over which a road has been
made by the Government of Bengal. Their Eastern foot rests on the
table-land of Munipur, which has an elevation of 2,500 feet above the
sea, and which is on all sides surrounded by mountains. This territory
belongs also to an independent Raja, residjng at the principal town of
the same name, who, however, like his neighbour of Khaspur, is placed
under the inspection of a Company’s Resident. Our road lies across
this elevated plain towards its eastern boundary, which is a range of
hills called by some geographers the Mirang mountains. Over these
we have to cross, then to descend to the Kubo valley, and to the above-
mentioned Ningthi river, on which we reach Monfoo, the first Burmese
frontier town.
On our road from Calcutta we have found river communication for
the greater part of a direct distance of 250 miles to Silhet, and still
further on for 65 miles to Kalanaga Ghat. From this place to Monfoo
are only 105 miles, and we have to cross the Khainbunda mountains in
a breadth of 40 miles, on good roads, then to traverse the Munipur
table-land 30 miles broad, on more level ground, and finally over the
Mirang hills to Monfoo on the Ningthi river, 35 miles.
_ The people which we meet on this track east of Silhet differ from
each other according to the nature of the country which they occupy.
They are first, the inhabitants of the low country, the Cacharees ; second-
ly, of the higher Munipur, and thirdly, of the hills surrounding that
table-land. They are all quite different from the Bengalees, and belong
to the same group of Eastern Asiatic races as the Thay and Shan, the
Burmese and Siamese. The occupants of the mountains round Muni-
pur are the Nagas or Kookees, They are a free, independent and very
active people, who, poor and separated from all cultivated countries
around, have remained unsubdued by more powerful neighbours. They
134 On the commercial and political [Fes.
build their villages on the most inaccessible ridges and mountain tops
are of great muscular strength and indefatigable mountaineers. As
such they will prove the best carriers for the transport of goods across
their mountains—the Bugarrees of the East.
Part third—from Monfoo, on the Ningthi river further east to the
Trawady are 70 miles direct distance. Of this part of our road we possess
no information, and no European traveller has visited this country. Yet
from the configuration of the whole peninsula we can conclude that it is
filled up with parallel mountain chains running from north to south,
of no considerable elevation and opposing no great difficulties to our
progress. On the Ivawady, about Kutha Mio, under the 24th degree of
north latitude we meet with the great Caravan route leading from Ava
to Yun-nan, and we go upsthe navigable river as far as Bhanmo, from
where the road to Yun-nan runs in the valley of the Bhanmo, Roving
(river) a tributary to the Irawady. This Bhanmo is the most important
town of Northern Burmah; it is the emporium of its trade with China,
and annually, twice, at the beginning, and at the end of the dry season, a
Chinese caravan arrives here, selling all the goods here, whilst only few
merchants proceed to Ava. This market has been frequented since the
earliest centuries, and formerly even toa much greater extent, than now,
since the comparatively recent invasions and conquests of the Mranmas
or Burmese, have interrupted the trade. Marco Polo, the famous Vene-
tian traveller, who as an envoy of the Mongol Kublai. Khan, visited
these countries at the end of the 13th century, is the first who gives us
some information of this market, and of the road leading from here into
Yun-nan. The commerce transacted here is still considerable, and con-
sists principally in an exchange of the various produces of Yun-nan, —
and neighbouring provinces of China, for those of Burma, and the more
northern countries of the Bhor Khamtees, the Mismis and Sing Phos,
as far as Assam and Tibet. The articles of trade, as given by Crawfurd,
are the following :—
1. Exports from China.—-Copper, Auripigment, Mercury, Cinnabar,
Alum, Tin, Lead, Silver, Gold, Chinaware, Pictures, Ironware, Carpets,
Rhubarb, Tea, Raw-Silk, Velvets, Honey, Musk, Paper, Fans, &c. Raw
Silk and Tea are the greatest items, the former to the amount of 27,000
bales.
2. Imports to China from Burma, are Cotton, upwards of 75,000
tod
1848. ] importance of the town of Bhanmo. 135
bales edible Birdsnests, Ivory, Horns, Precious Stones, and British ma-
nufactures.
The whole exchange is estimated by Crawfurd from half a million to
£700,000 annually.
Looking on the map of this part of Asia, it will at once appear sur-
prising that a direct imtercourse should never have existed on our
route between India and China, and that the trade which concentrates at
Bhanmo, should not haye extended to Calcutta across these countries,
which, as we have seen, are in all parts accessible, and which offer even
many facilities for the transport of goods, and only the fact that the
political state of these countries has been always very unsettled, especi-
ally since the Burmese gained the ascendancy, accounts for it in some
degree. Yet is the way which we have described the only one that
leads from India to China, and which connects both countries just at
the point of their nearest approach to each other: it is thus the only
road on which possibly any direct intercourse between both countries
ever can take place, since in all other directions they are separated by
the highest mountains and far greater distances : and if we look upon a
direct trade between India and China as an object of the highest com.
mercial, as well as political importance, we will give due weight upon the
following points, which appear to render it easily practicable.
1. That there is water communication for a direct distance of 250
miles from Calcutta to Silhet, and further on for 65 miles to Kala-
naga Ghat. .
2. That from this place to Munipur, a road is made, and that there
exist no difficulties in crossing the remaining part of the country
to Bhanmo.
3. That the extensive trade which is carried on at present at Bhan-
moo, offers a very favourable opportunity for opening commerce with
the Chinese and to extend the same to Calcutta.
4, ‘That the market place for this new trade would be at Silhet, con-
sequently in our own territory,
5. That the land transport from Bhanmo to Silhet would devolve
on the Chinese, and that we would only have to go to Silhet by water.
The spirit of enterprise of the Chinese is well known; wherever they
find security and profit there they resort to, and they will easily over-
come the difficulties of the land transport between Bhanmo and Silhet, in
136 On the commercial importance of Bhanmo. [Frs.
which perhaps any European would be less successful. On this pro-
bability that we need only go as far as Silhet, and that the Chinese will
come there, so that Silhet would become the market place for the trade,
rests the likelihood of success in any attempt to open a direct commerce
between China and India, and every Calcutta merchant will enter more
freely in this speculation, if he considers that the depdt for his goods
will be on British territory, and at a place to which he can transport
the same securely by water and at little cost. What articles of trade
would be the best suited for this commerce, and what profit could be
realized, only experience and a better examination of the produces and
requirements of these countries can show. Most likely that Opium and
English woollen cloths would be in good demand in the interior of China,
and that Tea, Raw Silk, but especially the minerals, as Silver, Gold,
Auripigment, Copper, &c., of which Yun-nan is said to be very rich, will
turn out as profitable purchases on our side.
But it is not to be expected that this commerce could be established
at once, and that all the resources of the countries east of Bengal, and
of interior China would flow at once into our channel of trade to be dis-
charged at Silhet ; on the contrary, we wish only to draw the attention of
the Calcutta merchants and those connected with this place, upon these
countries, to convince them, in showing how great a field for profitable
enterprize still remains unexplored, that they deserve to be better ex-
amined, and that the advantages which they offer to commerce justify
a first attempt to open the same. And this so much the more, as it
could be done under a trifling expense, simply in this way, that (at
least) two travellers, who are acquainted with the character of the na-
tives and with the Burmese language, be sent to Bhanmo either by —
way of Rangoon and Ava up the Irawady, or by our route over Silhet
and Munipur, for the following purposes :—
1. Of ascertaining the mercantile relations of the countries around
Bhanmo.
2. Of entering the Chinese province of Yun-nan to examine its geo-
logical formations and mineral wealth.
3. Of entering into negociations with the Chinese merchants at
3hanmo and to induce them to come over to Silhet.
There are no extraordinary difficulties in the attainment of these ob-
jects. The most difficult part would be to enter Yun-nan, which in case
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1848. ] Metalliferous deposits in the Sub- Himalayas. 137
it should be found impracticable, is not absolutely necessary for the ulti-
mate success of the enterprise, as the Chinese caravan would be found
at Bhanmoo. To go up the I7awady to Ava, has been always permitted
to Europeans, and the time for doing this is favourable now, because
the present Court of Ava, since the dethronement of Tharawady, appears
to be more friendly towards us. At Ava it would be of the greatest ad-
vantage to secure the good will of the Chinese merchants there, since
their jealousy would occasion the greatest difficulties, and because only
under their protection it would be possible to enter Fun-nan. Besides
the great object is to induce them to come over to Si/het, for they
would soon calculate what profit a trade with Calcutta offers them ;
more would come the next year, and thus a regular caravan trade to
Silhet might become established. For this purpose our travellers should
be provided with a sufficient supply of articles for trade, the profit from
the first sale of which might cover to some extent the expenses of the
whole enterprise, which therefore would amount to nothing more than
the remuneration due to our travellers, and this cannot be thought much,
in comparison to the great and important object which may be obtained.
London, September, 1847.
PLILPLLSLALLIIN
A few observations on the probable results of a Scientific research
after Metalliferous deposits in the Sub-Himalayan range around
Darjeeling.— By Rh. H. Irvine, sq. M. D.
The whole of that portion of the Sub-Himélayan range amidst which
Darjeeling is situated, as well as neighboring portions explored, exhibit
the greatest similarity of aspect, the ridges being exceedingly steep,
and rising from their bases at an acute angle ; the main formation being
primitive, the matter gneiss rock, displaced and disintegrated, and in
most places uot perpendicular, covered with a more or less deep
deposit of alluvial soil, varying from a light yellow, to a stiff black
loam, over which surface the main rock frequently crops out, and
amidst which occasional deep beds of very stiff blue clay are found,
such as underlies the London basin, and which so frequently appears
at low water, amidst the sands on the coast of Kent. In the blue clay
of this region, however, marine shells have not yet been discovered,
T
138 Proposed Scientific search for [Fres.
Though nearly the whole formation is gneiss, that rock is very sel-
dom found horizontally stratified ; indeed I never myself remember so
seeing it: but has everywhere undergone displacement, as might have
been expected, from the acute angle at which such lofty mountains rise.
A variety of minerals exist at scattered distances ; but nowhere in
such quantities, as to impugn the fact of the general character being
gneiss rock. Besides iron ores, in rolled masses, of a silicious kind,
which are not unfrequeutly found, I have heard of no metallic minerals
having been as yet discovered. Graphite or black-lead ore, which is
found very abundantly, is the only one of the least importance, that I
have heard even alluded to.
The general gneiss formation is however of a highly metalliferous
description ; and the very same adjoining, and probably continued for-
mation, is in Tibet, at higher elevations, known to be as far as ex-
plored, very productive in metals; while the yet unexplored is prodi-
gious in comparison to that known at all,
At the foot of this portion of the Sub-Himalayan range, where the
rivers pass out, there are few deep alluvial deposits ; the rapid currents
frequently carrying far below, and distributing over a vast space, all
finer particles; the Balasun and Mahanuddee are the only rivers as
yet well known at their exits from the hills; and no gold washing
has ever been known to have occurred there; nor have any minerals of
value been found, except carbonate of lime, in the shape of travertin,
and tufa. Fine aluminous iron ore is however found amongst the
Morung hills; and copper ores have also there been extracted, though
the sites are now unknown.
With the exception of the absence of volcanoes, the Himalaya range,
as far as known, consists in the main body of the very same mineral
matter, as constitutes the chief nidus of all the valuable metallic ores
found amidst the cordilleras of the Andes; the gneiss of the former
only differing in an after process of nature from the granite and syenite,
of the latter ; while the Sub-Himalayas are covered with alluvial, and
the Andes with green stone, and amygdaloid, basalt, and other trap
formations.
It would seem not improbable, at the time that the quartz, felspar
and mica forming the body of the Andes, were undergoing the ce-
menting process in a semi-fluid state at a vast depth, and consequently
1848. | Metalliferous deposits in the Sub-Himalayas. 139
under enormous pressure; when the most subtile gasses must have
‘been liquids or even solids ; that the metals were reduced to oxides or
sulphurets, from hitherto unknown matrices, and distributed in veins
throughout the granular masses; and thus when along with them up-
heaved by volcanic forces, portions were reduced to the metallic state,
especially the gold, when again exposed to intense heat, under a pres-
sure that permitted the gasses to escape.
It will be seen from the nature of the gneiss of the Himalaya
range, in which Darjeeling is situated, that similar forces have been
even more recently at work, and reasoning a priori, we may conclude
that only want of proper exploration, has prevented the discovery of
metalliferous veins.
It is clear that the most easy source of all gold deposits is alluvial ,
a natural effect imperfectly imitated in obtaining the pure metal, from
the solid granite ; and in all countries where gold is found, in alluviee,
these are of course first exhausted before search is made in harder mate-
rials, through the original source. In that portion of the Himalayan hills
however now spoken of, no gold or other metal can be expected to be
found in the alluvize so generally covering them; as that alluvia must
have been deposited at a time when the gneiss forming their mass, was
horizontally stratified, at a probable great depth, under superimposed
fresh water, and when no great hills existed, from which metalliferous
detritus could have come. In a similar way, even if gold does exist in
the lower ranges, that metal will not be found iu the alluvie of the
minor rivers, owing to their rapid changes and sporadic distribution.
In the vast alluvial deposits containing gold in other countries, the
torrents of the surrounding hills have for thousands of years, poured
them down, while natural basins existed to retain them, and this forms
one great difference of feature between the Himalayas, as yet known,
and the Andes.
On the whole southern side of the Himalayas, as yet explored, no
elevated plains are known to exist, while amidst the declivities of the
Cordilleras, plains are often presented of immense altitude, completely
level, and of vast extent, and which have retained the gold and other
heavy deposits, washed down from the mountains.
On the northern and Thibet side of the Himalayas, similar vast
plains occur; and amidst these very thinly inhabited and hardly
T 2
140 Proposed Scientifie search for [Frs.
known regions, very valuable deposits of metals have been found,
and it is very certain that the identical rocks, in continuation from the
detritus of which gold is extracted, in Thibet, form also the site of
Darjeeling ; the whole being primitive, and chiefly of gneiss formation ;
it has generally been found, that when alluvial deposits contaming gold
have been exhausted, all further search for that most valuable mineral
amidst the hills from which the alluviz had been originally washed
down, has been in vain; and hence the conclusion usually come to, has
been that deposits of gold, in metalliferous rocks, are extremely super-
ficial; and doubtless this conclusion is generally correct; but not
universally applicable; as is proven by the depth of the Veta-Grand
mines in Mexico, being 310 fathoms; and in Potosi, where silver pene-
trates a hill 18 miles in circumference, to the greatest depth explored.
Though gneiss is the main formation of these hills, especially in the
lower elevations, doubtless many other masses of transition rocks exist
higher up.
Throughout the whole plain of India, from Bengal to the bottom of
the deep wells in Jessulmere, and under the mica and hornblende
schist of Ajmeer, the same kind of very hard fine-grained blue granite
is found in solid and rolled masses; and this granite must form the
real basis, and underlies all the other strata of the Himalayan moun-
tains. In all the mountains around Darjeeling, the gneiss is apparent ;
but from the appearance through a telescope, the more elevated naked ~
rocks seem to be solid granite and syenite.
The granite, gneiss, and mica slate of the Andes are generally cover-
ed by transition rocks, porphyry green stone, amygdaloid, basalt and
other trap formations. In the province of Oaxaca granite and gneiss
are rich in silver and gold; and also in many other regions ; but nei-
ther granite, gneiss or syenite, are by any means the richest in metals;
on the contrary, throughout the Cordilieras of Mexico rich metallie
veins are found in a great variety of rocks, and the deposits, which
furnish almost all the silver imported from Vera Cruz, are primitive
slate grey wacke, and Alpine limestone. The richest of all silver
mines is in primitive clay slate, passing into tale slate. The silver
mines of Potosi ia Buenos Ayres are contained in primitive clay slate,
and the richest of those in Peru, in Alpine limestone. Many of the
richest metalliferous veins are found to traverse Alpine and Jura lime-
ee es —" a
1848. ] Metalliferous deposits in the Sub-Himalayas. 141
stone, and conglomerate throughout Mexico; where also graywacke
is very rich in metals; the metalliferous rocks also abound in horn-
blende ; and the porphyries are very rich in gold and silver. There is
scarcely any variety of rock that has not been found to contain metals ;
and in South America especially, the richness of the veins, is for the
most part totally independent of the nature of the beds they intersect.
In Potosi, the richest mines are at a vast elevation, the strata chiefly
composed of a yellow, firm, argillaceous slate, with veins of ferruginous
quartz, which constitute the matrix of the silver.
Reasoning from the above facts, it would appear that we must only
expect to find veins of the precious metallic ores, at elevations very
superior to Darjeeling, and that we must first discover and explore those
regions, where transition rocks overlay the gneiss, granite, and syenite.
Doubtless the gneiss, at elevations equal to Darjeeling, and even less,
also contains metallic veins, especially as the rock, from the abundance
of hornblende, coincides in character with the Cordillera gneiss; but
all the streams being destitute of gold deposits, prove that there are no
‘superficial veins of that metal. By proper search lead, combined with
silver, would very probably be found.
The total absence of Volcanoes does not militate against the hope of
discovering metalliferous veins, as the Ural mountains, rich in metals,
are as destitute of volcanoes, as the Himalayas.
The sub-stratum of the whole of the mountains around Darjeeling,
must be considered of a primitive and metalliferous character, being
chiefly hypogenic gneiss rock. I am convinced that abundant veins
of copper, lead, and iron ores, will be found at low elevations; and
that native gold, and sulphuret of silver, will be found in the higher
regions, as throughout the elevated land of Thibet, gold is an abun-
dant production, in the debris of rocks of similar stratification, forming
the alluvia of the rivers, while cethiops-mineral or proto-sulphuret of
mercury, is also there abundantly found.
The snowy range forms the barrier to each region, and the forma-
tion being integrally the same, it is far from probable that ores are
only confined to the north-eastern aspect,—the probability being in
fact, that the facility with which abundance of the precious ores are
found in Thibet, solely arises from the face of the country, which is
almost destitute of wood.
142 Proposed Scientific search for {Fes.
In Thibet, the soil is generally barren, and unimprovable, but the
country abounds in mineral wealth. Gold has there been found in
great quantities, and frequently very pure; occurring sometimes in
large masses, but generally in irregular veins ; it is also found in the
beds of rivers, and often broken off, with every appearance of having
been a large mass. Mercury, lead, copper, and iron also abound, as
does rock salt. The great want of Thibet, is wood and coal to fuse
the metals ; while on the south-western aspect, fuel is superabundant ;
and were a good mule road only once established, through any pass in
the Himalayan range, those native ores could be brought to Darjeeling,
and there smelted to great profit.
In Russia and Siberia, up to a late period, only two gold mines
were known in the government of Tobolsk. But since the discovery
of the great deposits in the Ural mountains, the produce of gold and
platina has become very great. The cold and mountainous regions of
Siberia, are the great depositories of those vast stores of mineral wealth,
by which the Russian empire is encircled; and the alluvial plains rich
in gold and platina, are of considerable elevations; but the Ural
mountains, the mines of which are the great modern sources of Russian
riches, are in height and appearance not unsimilar to the hills around
Darjeeling, varying from 3,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the
sea, and abounding in dark woods suited to the latitude, and in numer-
ous streams, having a gloomy but not bare appearance. The Ural
mountains, locked in by ridges, with the great Altaic range, divide
Europe from Asia, for 1,500 miles; and almost wherever explored,
have been found to be metalliferous. In other respects they also
resemble the great Himalayan range; with which, through Tartary
and little Thibet, by the great and little Altaic Ranges, they communi-
cate, as it has been observed ; that with trifling exceptions all the auri-
ferous deposits have occurred in the eastern or Siberian side of the
Ural. The body of these Siberian mountains appear to be granite,
gneiss, and syenite ; but overlaid, as in the Andes, by transition rocks ;
especially porphyry, jasper, and serpentine.
The most easy source of gold, is of course in a local detritus, such as
form the chief origin of the Russian and Brazilian wealths; which
detritus Sir R. J. Murchison describes as a shingle rather than sand ;
but on the south-western aspect of the Himalayan range as hitherto
1848. ] Metalliferous deposits in the Sub-Himalayas. _ 143
known, we must search for the matrices of the precious metals, as
there are no auriferous alluvie.
A very probable reason, why auriferous alluvize are not found amidst
the Cis-Himalayan hills, is, that besides the absence of plains, to serve
as dams to the streams, the whole surface of the mountains is covered
with tangled close vegetation, that prevents the rains cutting away the
soil and carrying much detritus down the streams.
In eastern Siberia, where the richest alluvial deposits exist, the sur-
rounding low hills, from which they have been washed down, have been
found to be composed, geologically, similar to the eastern flank of the
Ural, so abounding in ores; and it is most probable that most of the
transition series overlaying primitive strata, throughout the great central
Asiatic chain, will be found more or less metalliferous. Baron Hum-
bolt pointed out that rocks similar to those so richly auriferous in the
Ural, re-appear in various parallels of longitude, along the whole line
of Altai.—Both in Siberia and South America, granite and gneiss alone,
often contain rich veins of gold and silver ores.
Captain Newbold ascertained that auriferous veins and deposits exists
at various points in Hindustan, extending from north to south.
Sir R. J. Murchison states that in the Ural, Siberia, as in Mexico
and South America, green stone syenite and serpentine, appear invari-
ably to have been the agents by which the metamorphic rocks have
become auriferous, and that as the structure of the Taurus, and its
spurs, of the Amanus, and Kurdistan mountains, is precisely similar,
there is every reason to believe, that gold wiil be found scattered through-
out western Asia ; and as similar rocks contain gold in Kamtschatka,
they are therefore in all probability continued throughout all the great
primitive ranges of Asia.
It has been well remarked that so far as regards our own material
interests, the great augmentation of precious metals in Russia, should
be met by increased activity of research on our parts, by qualified per-
sons in Hindustan, as well as other British dependencies.
Should metallic ores ever be discovered at, or around Darjeeling,
either in our own or any native state, a rapid increase of population
would ensue; and in working such mines, one great advantage would
arise from the remarkable disintegration of the gneiss rock, which could
144 Remarkable Hot Wind in Purneah. [Fes.
.
be blasted with great ease ; and also in the abundant supply of water,
wood and charcoal.
The disintegrated nature of the gneiss of the Sub-Himalayan range,
must have been produced by sudden exposure to currents of water or —
vapor, when under pressure at a vast depth, and when intensely hot |
previously to elevation above the level of the sea, and long previously —
to the deposit of fresh water alluvia, with which the whole mass is —
more or less covered.
The ridges at and around Darjeeling are very steep and narrow, and
it would be well worthwhile to run a few narrow galleries through the
hills at as an acute an angle as possible, to the dip of the strata, when
ores of lead or copper would very probably be found.
And finally, with the view of ascertaining the existence of auriferous,
or argentiferous deposits, I would urge the complete exploration of the
mountains, at elevations from 7,000 to 13,000 feet, passing over the
merely primitive strata, and carefully examining every yard of the tran-
sition rocks, wherever found superimposed.
DAP LD LDL
wane
A notice of a remarkable Hor Winp in the Zillah of Purneah.—Com-
municated by H. Pippineton, Lsq.
I heard in the early part of last year (1847) that a very singular hot
blast had suddenly destroyed a large extent of Indigo cultivation in a
factory belonging jointly to Messrs. Macintyre and Co. of Calcutta,
and Mr. R. Cruise, the managing partner; and on application to Messrs.
Macintyre and Co. I was favoured with a sight of Mr. Cruise’s letter,
from which I made the following abridged extract, preserving carefully
of course all that is essential to the subject, and excluding only mere
matters of business.
(Abridged letter from R. Cruise, Esq. to Messrs. Macintyre & Co.)
Detowry Factory, May 28, 1847.
** What I am about to tell you will appear almost incredible. About
5 P.M. on the evening of the 25th there came a blast of wind from the
west like the Scmoon of the desert. It lasted only four or five minutes,
but in that short time did immense mischief, it came right across the
1848.] Remarkable Hot Wind in Purneah. 145
heart of my finest and most forward cultivation, and the leaves of the
‘indigo plant withered up before it just exactly as if they had been fried
in a frying pan and the leaves are all fallen off. How far the plant
itself is affected I cannot yet say. We have not had rain for some time,
and without it I am afraid the loss will be very great indeed ; under any
circumstances the manufacturing will be thrown back at least twenty days.
I believe neighbouring factories have all suffered more or less, but
the principal fury of the heat was confined to a narrow slip of land in
which was all my finest indigo, extending east and west about eight
miles. The plant on either side of the slip escaped with comparatively
little injury, and on the opposite side of the Ganges did not suffer at
all. The wind was probably cooled by the river.
To crown all, the buildings and out-houses of two factories are blown
down and some of the masonry work necessary for the manufacturing
process, such as the tables, &c. are broken and materially injured by the
fall of the posts and roofs. In two factories there is not a house left
standing.
_ The heat was so intense that in every village about here the villagers
flew out of their houses from one end of the village to the other to look
Jor the fire. In this factory also we all ran to an eminence to see where
the fire was.”’
Your’s very sincerely,
(Signed)
Upon this letter I drew up the following queries, of which also one
or two copies were sent to Mr. Cruise, who circulated them to his
R. Cruise.
neighbours, but I fear has received no replies to them, as none have
reached me,
1. What was the state of the
weather, winds, clouds, and aver-
age heat of Thermometer (at about
noon) during the day of the hot
wind (the 25th of May) and the
height of Barometer with you or
: any neighbour ?
| 2, What was the direction and
| force of the wind at the time of
its occurrence ? and did it change ?
A. Aswell as I recollect, befor
noon the day was clear, after noon
cloudy and very hot; all day I
did not consult the thermometer.
A. From west to east. It did
not change,
146
3. What did the Thermometer
rise to in the house or outside dur-
ing the hot wind ?
4. What was the appearance of
the sky and clouds; was there
any red or other coloured appear-
ance about them ?
5. Were delicate persons or ani-
mals affected while it lasted ?
6. You state eight miles about
east and west as the length of the
mischief, but what was the breadth
of this strip on an average, and of
its broadest and narrowest parts
in yards, and what the exact direc-
tion ?
7. Was the wind the same way
on the north and south sides of the
track, or was it different, i. e. east
on one side and west on the other,
as with the common dust Whirl-
winds ? If differing, please to note
as exactly as possible how it was
on each side, and if any means
exist, how it was in the middle.
This may be determined by trifling
things, such as branches of parti-
cular trees or shrubs carried for-
ward or backward, Se.
8. Did the blast lift thirgs at
all ?
Remarkable Hot Wind in Purneah.
[Fes,@
A. I did not myself observe, but —
am told between 98° and 100° in —
the house. 5
A. Very red and dark during q
the time that the hot blast lasted. —
A. Some villages complained —
that they could not have endured
the heat for any length of time.
A. The hot blast was not con-
fined to a narrow strip, but extend. —
ed from north to south at least 13
miles ; that is, from the banks of —
the Ganges inland. The injury ©
done to the strip of indigo plant —
was undoubtedly owing to the in- |
flammable nature of the colouring 4
matter in the indigo plant, and to —
a chemical combination and decom-_
position.
A. Same way.
A. It tore up a number of trees |
(some of them very large ones)
by the roots and broke off bodily
posts built into pucka work,
1848.)
9. Did it hill or hurt any ani-
mals, such as birds, snakes, &c.
10. How was the wind in the
damaged factories, and was this
done by the hot wind or a common
storm or squall? Please to get
the best description you can of the
destruction and especially if it was
occasioned by the hot blast, and if
this was considered as a whirlwind
or a strait-blowing stream like a
north-wester.
11. Was there any rain before,
during or after the blast. The
same of thunder and lightning ?
12. What time may it have
taken to travel from one extremity
of the track to the other, 1. e. at
what rate per hour did it move on,
by the best guess you can make ?
13. Can you obtain uny sort of
statement as to howit begun ? Did
tt descend from above or how ?
14. Was it of full size at the
beginning of the track ?
15. Was the course wavy or a
straight line, and did it appear to
turn out of its way for any obsta-
cles ?
- 16. Was there any perceptible
emell with it of any hind ?
Remarkable Hot Wind in Purneah,
147
A. Don’t know.
A. The damage done to the
buildings was by the force of the
wind. It did not appear to bea
whirlwind, in fact by all accounts,
it was not so, but a straight blow-
ing stream.
A. A very few drops of rain fell
just before we felt the heat. No
thunder or lightning
A. I have no idea as to the rate
of velocity. The storm lasted
about 20 minutes—the hot blast
was during about eight or ten mi-
nutes at the latter end of the storm.
The first
impression was that there was a
A. I have no idea,
fire, or that a large mass of the
electric fluid must have fallen in
the neighbourhood—but this was
completely disproved by the ex-
tensive reach of the blast.
A. The hot blast did not appear
to me to travel perfectly straight ;
some indigo fields were completely
destroyed, some very little injured.
A. I thought so, but no one
else seems to have observed it. I
thought there was a sulphureous
smell,
u 3
148
17. Is the ground torn up in
any part of the track ?
18. Was the soil wet or very
dry, or moderately moist ?
19, If it was the hot wind which
did the mischief in the factories
did it appear to affect metallic
bodies and fastenings in any way ?
20. If any things were lifted,
how far were they carried ?
21. What ts the position of your
factory from the nearest station,
and at what distance also from
the Ganges ?
22. Is the line at the edges of
the path of the blast very distinct
or gradual and what is an average
distance in feet or yards between
the nearest fully burnt plant and
that which is uninjured, and what
as the state of the intermediate
plants ?
23. If any good native accounts
Jrom villagers or Factory servants
can be obtained, I shall be glad
to have them in Bengali or in E'ng-
lish.
Remarkable Hot Wind in Purneah.
[Fes.
No reply given to this.
A. Very dry.
A. No.
No reply given.
A. Three factories on the north
bank and one on the south bank of
the Ganges varying'in distance from
the river from a mile to 3 miles,
and all lying S. E. of the station
of Purnea, which is distant about
36 or 40 miles.
No reply given.
A. Some of the carpenters in
my employment have relations in
the Morung engaged in the timber
trade, who have lately returned
home, and who say that fire fell
from heaven in large masses, and
that seven men were killed.
Mr. Cruise, in forwarding the replies to the queries, says :—
“In compliance with the request contained in yours of the 11th, I
have had the pleasure of answering the questions proposed by you
according to the best of my ability and recollection, and I herewith
1848. | Remarkable Hot Wind in Purneah. 149
return them. I am sorry I did not pay more particular attention to the
phenomenon of the hot blast, which I noticed only as far as it was con-
nected with my own business, and which otherwise I should not perhaps
have observed. The other set of questions is in circulation among my
friends in the neighbourhood, and I will return it in due time.
I would call your particular attention to the answer to the last ques-
tion, viz. No. 23 ;—I incline strongly to believe the report of the Morung
carpenters, that fire fell from heaven. Their account is so exactly in
accordance with scientific research that I cannot doubt the truth of it.
They say that the seven men who were destroyed, became like stones,
and that their friends could not take them up to perform the usual
rites. They also say that the fire remained visible and hot for many
hours after it fell in masses like large stones or blocks of coal.”
And he inclines to believe that the bodies of the men may have been
vitrified ! as in the case of burnt stacks of straw and of Lot’s wife!
but he forgets that, to this the objection is, that in the stacks the alkal;
and silex to form the glass are present in the material of the stack in
large quantities, while human bodies would afford but a small portion
of alkali, and this again ina way not likely to form any petrous mass
by fusion with the earth of the bones. The fact however, of the
appearance of a hot blast of great extent and violence at a high temper-
ature, with the peculiar inflamed appearance of the atmosphere said to
accompany the simoon, is of great interest, whether connected or not
with the meteor said to have occasioned the death of the seven men in
the Morung, probably at a considerable distance from Delowry. I
have read somewhere, but I cannot now refer to the passage, of hot
blasts being in some seasons experienced in Bundlecund, which often
occasion death to those who are exposed to them. They are said to
occur only in the height of the hot season, and the writer, I think, tries
to account for them by some theory of excessive reverberation of heat in
rocky defiles.
I trust that in future, members and residents in the country, who
may be able to assist us in tracing these remarkable meteors, will not
fail to do so: there seems to be something more than remote glimpses
of a connection between intense electric action, such as this probably
was, and the effects of whirlwinds and waterspouts, H, PB:
150 On the Fall of Rain at Patna. [Fes.
On the Fall of Rain at Patna.—By C. E. Ravensuaw, Esq. C. 8.
I have the pleasure to enclose, for record in the Meteorological De-
partment of the Society, an abstract of the quantity of rain which has
fallen at Patna during the last 53 years. It may prove useful to some
future Meteorologist who may be desirous of inquiring into the gene-
ral distribution of rain throughout the extent of India, and of com-
paring the quantities which fall in different localities. Both the climate
and vegetable productions of a country must very much depend upon
the quantity of rain which annually waters its surface, and such data
as that now afforded cannot, therefore, be altogether uninteresting
in an agricultural and horticultural point of view. The observations
have been made by myself with an English pluviometer placed near the
ground, and I have every reason to believe that the result is a near
approximation to the truth. It will be observed that the average of 5
whole years, including the raimy and dry seasons, is 36.65. I regret
that I shall be unable to bring the observations down to the end of
the present dry season, as I am about to leave India. The late rainy
season was a very heavy one (43.48) and when the results of the
whole year shall be added to those of the preceding 5 years, it is pro-
bable that the average of the whole 6 years will be about* 38.18. The
average of 13 years in Calcutta is given in one of the Almanacs at 58
iches, and the average of 5 or 6 years at Delhi was stated in the
papers sometime ago at 24. The average of Patna is therefore some-
thing less than the meant between the two extremes of the Bengal Pre-
sidency. As the monsoon commences in the Bay of Bengal and
travels westward, following generally the course of the Ganges towards
* 43.48 Rainy Season of 1847-48.
2.35 Average of 4 dry seasons.
ee ee
45 83
183.24 Total of 5 whole years.
6 )229.07
38.18 average of 6 years.
+ Calcutta, 58
Delhi,s... 24
2 )82
41
Patna,..... 36
Difference, 3
1848. ] The Nizam’s Diamond. 151
Simlah, this is about the proportion which it might be expected be-
forehand would fall to the lot of Patna and Delhi respectively, At
Bombay the average of 25 years has been stated at 76, which is greatly
m excess of that of Calcutta. This may be owing to the chain of
mountains to the east of Bombay, which probably arrests a great por-
tion of the clouds which would otherwise distribute themselves over
the Dekhun. The average fall of rain in England is stated in an Ency-
clopeedia at 31, and that of the whole world at 34, so that Patna has
no reason to complain of being stinted of its fair proportion of the
fertilizing gift of Heaven.
Abstract of Rain at Patna for 54 years.—(Lat. 25° 36/.)
1842-3)1843.4|1844-5/1845-6|1846-7,1847-8|Average.
May, seeccsse| = 1.54) 3.40; 2.24] ..84) 1.66
June, ........| 7.33| 5.50] 4.95) 4.74) 656) 2.36
Rainy : July, ........| 14.06) 3.05; 9.00} 9.34] 104 2] 13.10
Beason. ) August, ......| 11.86) 3.76) 10.78) 7.20) 900) 16.99
bmeptember, «...| 10.11). 3.38) . 4.26) 7.69|.9/12|) 5.37
every ..)-> 2.) 0:46). 4.03) 3.°.. | oe 'sv | «-, 851 4.00
ee wee | eee | eee | ee | eee eee em prwree
Total,| 49.82) 21.26) 32.39] 31.21] 36.79) 43.48) 35.822
November, ....| 9.00 1.39 c
December, ....| 1.74 ae! ., 60
PMAOUAL SE 2. ws cc vss Lh 4, 46) 5.67)... 14] 1,90
es MCOnEITY,...... | (ee 20) 2.05! .. 75| «2 FO} 2. 207
March,.. ese@oeae ee 10 ee 07 60 ° 05
April, eeososveaeeves oe 2, 1.19 ee 05 e 64.
Totaly 62:30). 3:25 1.47} 2.09] 2.66 aan
GrandTotal of year..} 52.12' 24.51] 33.86] 3330' 39.4 36.65
On the great Diamond in the possession of the Nizam.—By Henry
PippinGTon, Curator Museum Economic Geology.
At the November meeting of the Asiatic Society Captain Fitzgerald,
B. A. presented for the inspection of the Society a model in lead of
this remarkable stone, and gave a brief note of .its history, which will
be found in my report for that month. He has since favoured me
with a more detailed one, which is as follows.
Note by Captain Fitzgerald, Bengal Artillery, attached to the Nizam’'s
Service, on the Nizam’s Diamond—\st December, 1847.
About 12 or 14 years ago a large diamond was found in the Nizam’s
country under circumstances of rather a curious nature. The model
152 The Nizam’s Diamond. — [Fes.
now shown is the model of a part only, a piece having been chipped off,
which after passing through many hands, was purchased by a native
Banker for 70,000 rupees.
«‘ The larger piece, as represented by the model, is in the possession
of his highness the Nizam, and at the time of discovery was exhibited
to many European gentlemen.
‘©The manner in which this Diamond was originally found, may be
considered interesting. It was first seen in the hands of a native child,
who was playing with it, of course ignorant of its value. On eighé
annas being offered for what the poor people considered as a mere stone,
their suspicion was excited, which led ultimately to the discovery of the
bright stone being a real diamond.
“Its form and size is shown below. This stone, hitherto unknown,
may now be classed among the larger description of Diamonds which
we read of, but seldom see.”
Base. Side view.
The size of the stone exactly taken by callipers, from the leaden
model, is as follows :—
Length,! .cwaineigs S20, erat, beet BA 2.48. Inches.
Greatest:breadth,. wy tenisacis.anih eon sted. et vd See
Average thickness, ..... a series ope ihe UIT Ue Sis 0.92.
1848. | The Nizam’s Diamond. 153
I have had now exact models cast in glass from the leaden one ex-
hibited at the meeting, and I find that
Grains.
mmcipabsolute weicht 18,0... ..:.00s00cees eb bee. 50.
mere epecific Gravity, .. 02. ce ce ce te ot Hs 3.70.
Now according to various authorities we have for the specific gravity
of the Diamond
eee: 272 er IES ee Oe Lab Soar D258:
aemmerer, colourless, 2208 ee eee ve B82.
CSE Sit aes ara! a rat ili as Ra a ak ge 3.95.6
Jameson twelve authorities, mean,............0e 3.02.
I eae oy aad bee dr ptm. ohh ae) neeDere
And hence assuming our model to be exact, (andit is very nearly so,)
we have by asimple proportion not quite 1108 grains for the actual
weight of the Nizam’s diamond.
This is equal to 277 Carats of weight of the rough diamond, and as
the rough stones are usually taken to give but one half of their weight
when cut and polished, it would allow 1383 Carats, or a weight between
the Pitt (or Regent) diamond (1363 Carats), and that of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany (139 Carats), for it in its present condition ; and if
we take it that one-eighth of what it would be when polished was taken
off with the splinter sold to the native, as related by Captain Fitz-
gerald, we shall then have 1552 Carats for the possible weight of it, if
it had been cut and polished entire; which would then place it as to
weight between the Tuscan and the great Russian Diamond of 195
Carats, which last is well known to be an Indian stone.
We are not informed if this stone is considered as likely to be one o¢
pure water, which can only be ascertained by polishing it, though we
know that the natives of India, and particularly of the Deccan, are too
good judges of diamonds:to mistake a topaz for one, and it is stated that
70,000 Rs. have been paid for the fragment. It therefore certainly
adds one extraordinary fact more to the history of this most wonderful
of the gems.”
LLL L LLL LL LILI ILL LI
154 Miscellaneous. [Frs.
MiIsCELLANEOUS.
Extract of a letter from Capt. J. D. Cunnincuan, Political Agent,
Bhopal.
1.—Lingam at Bhojpur.
«I took a run round the other day to Bhojpdr, to look at the Lin-
gam there again; for after answering a note of yours in the affirmative
about the contemporaneousness (a long word) of the ‘* Achintea deo),””
I had some misgivings, and I am now satisfied that it is nof original.
This circumstance does not of course affect my argument, for whenever
written, it was written by a Hindoo, and that is sufficient ; that it is
there, is indeed enough,
The letters are not so evenly cut as they would doubtless have been
by the original architect; neither are they quite in the centre of the
stone; and although we have the example of Roman inscriptions, even
on coins, being straggling, I give this one up as contemporary.
If my former note misled any one besides yourself, pray give the
necessary explanation.”
2.—Inscription at Singapore.
In the sixth volume of the Journal, page 680, there is an interesting
account of an ancient and much weatherworn inscription on a rock at
the jetty of Singapore. A facsimile was prepared by Dr. Bland of H.
M. 8. Wolf and forwarded by him to James Prinsep, who pronoun-
ced the character to be Pali, and though unable to connect sentences or
even words, easily recognised many of the letters, and conjectured the
inscription to record the extension of Buddhism to the Malayan pro-
montory. On learning from Dr. Montgomerie that this rock had been
blasted some years ago, I ventured to solicit the present Governor, the
Hon. Col. Butterworth, C. B. to secure any legible fragments that
might yet exist ; and have since received his kind promise to forward
such to the museum of the Society, where I trust the practised eyes of |
our antiquarians may vet decypher enough of the legend to determine
its purport. Col. B. observes :—‘‘ The only remaining portion of the
stone you mention, except what Col. Low may have, I found lying in
the verandah of the Treasury at Singapore, where it was used as a seat |
by the Sepoys of the guard and persons in waiting to transact business, |
1848. ] Miscellaneous. 155
I lost no time in sending it to my house, but, alas! not before the
inscription was nearly erased. Such as the fragment was then how-
ever, i. e. in 1843, it is now; for I have preserved the stone with much
care, and shall have much pleasure in sending it for your museum,
having failed in establishing one, as I hoped to have done, in Singa-
pore. I am happy in thus far meeting your wishes, and in assuring
you that I shall always be ready to forward the views of the Asiatic
Society.” 3
3.—Extract of a letter from Professor Henry, to Dr, O'SHAUGHNESSY.
“I have for some time past been able to do but little in the way of
science, my time, during the present year, has been completely absorbed
in the organization of an Institution lately established in Washington,
by the munificent request of the late James Smithson, of England.
Smithson was the illegitimate son of the Duke of Northumberland,
and in his day was considered a chemist of some merit. He was a
frequent contributor to the transactions of the Royal Society and to
the pages of the Philosophical Magazine. He died at Genoa in 1829,
leaving all his property, in case of the death of his nephew, to the
United States, to found at Washington (such are his words) an esta-
blishment under the name of the Smithsonian Institution for the In-
erease and Diffusion of knowledge among men. The money (500,000
_ dollars) came into the Treasury of the United States about 8 years ago,
but Congress could not agree on any proposition for the organization of
the Institution until last year, when an act was passed giving some
general directions and placing the Institution under the care of a
Board of Regents. This Board chose me the Secretary, or active
executive officer, of the Institution; and they adopted, provisionally,
the plan of organization of which you will find a programme in the
package I send you.
I suppose you receive all the Journals and keep yourself posted up,
in a knowledge of all the discoveries of science. One of the most won-
derful additions to medicine is the effect of the inhalation of ether. I
send you a pamphlet on the history of this discovery, made by an ac-
quaintance of mine, Dr. Jackson of Boston. Some of the effects would
appear to be similar to those of your extract of hemp.
156 Miscellaneous. [Fes.
Astronomy appears to be in the ascendant. I have just this minute
received a note from Philadelphia, informing me that the second new
asteroid, discovered by Hencke, has been seen in that city. The dis-
covery of Le Verrier and Adams is a remarkable fact in the history of
science, and the wonder, with reference to it, has been increased by
the researches of Walker and Pierce, two American savants, who have
proved that the planet Neptune is not the only body that occasions the
perturbations of Uranus, but that there must be another, if not more
planets, to produce the observed effects ; or in other words, they have
proved that Neptune is not the hypothetical planet of Le Verrier and
Adams, rendered visible by the glass of the German observer, but ano-
ther body, the discovery of which was in a great degree accidental.
Have you looked at the researches of Matteucci on endosmon and on
the electrical currents of the animal body ? They are highly interesting.
Mattenci has shown that during life there is constantly a current
from the muscle to the blood, and thence to the fasica ; or in other words
that the muscle is the zinc, the blood the acid, and the fascia the copper.
The electrical telegraph is in rapid progress of extension over our
country, and will soon unite the most distant extremities of the Union.
On a late occasion the marking apparatus was worked through a
distance of 900 miles of wire. This was effected, however, by means of
a local battery, to operate the marking machine, and the circuit of which
was closed by the slight motion of a small tongue of soft iron between
the legs of a horse-shoe galvanic magnet, around which a part of the
wire of the long circuit was coiled. Considerable difficulty has been
experienced in the long reaches during wet weather in preserving the
insulation ; the electricity escapes along the posts. I have suggested
the propriety of distributing the batteries in parts along the whole
length of the circuit in order to obviate this difficulty. A single bat- :
tery is now placed at one end of the line, and consequently, the
electricity must rise to considerable intensity to pass the whole dis-
tance. The resistance to the return current through the earth appears
to be inappreciable ; the great amount of conducting matter reduces the
resistances of the earth and moisture to an infinitesimal quantity, though
under other circumstances they are found to be considerable. This is
shown by the following experiment of my own. The long wire of the
telegraph was broken at a convenient point, and the two ends of the
1848. | Miscellaneous. Lae
break, plunged, at the distance apart of about an inch, into a tumbler
of water; though the electricity would readily pass through hundreds
of miles of moist earth, not the least quantity appeared to be trans-
mitted by the inch of water in this arrangement. The explanation
does not appear to be difficult. In this case the quantity of conducting
matter was not sufiicient to allow of the lateral expansion of the elec-
trical currents necessary to the diminution of the resistance of the
water.
Another obstacle to the operation of the telegraph in this country is
the indicative influence of every flash of lightning which takes place
within many miles of the line of conductors. You have probably seen
my report on this subject, made to the American Philosophical Society
and republished in the Philosophical Magazane last winter. I regret that
I have not been able as yet to find a copy to send you.*
You have perhaps seen an account of my researches on the spots of
the sun by means of the thermo-electrical apparatus, and an image of
the luminary in a dark chamber. I have since applied the thermo-pile
to the eye-end of a large reflecting telescope, and the combination has
given me an instrument of such delicacy that I can detect the heat of
a man’s face at the distance of several hundred yards. The smallest
cloud will give a deflection of the needle of 30 degrees. I have intended
to apply this arrangement to the exploration of the heavens for differ-
ences of temperature in the celestial vault; and a few observations I
have made give some interesting results, but my engagements have
been such that I have been unable to follow them up.
I think I informed you ina former communication that I had worked
out fully, the cause of the phenomena of the lateral discharge; but I
am ashamed to say that my paper in full on this subject has not yet
been published. I have from time to time given the facts to the Ame-
rican Philosophical Society and they have appeared in the different num-
bers of the proceedings of this body. You will find some of my results
mentioned in my report on the wires of the telegraph, a copy of which
I have been so fortunate as to find, and which you will receive in the
package I send you.
I have to regret that the articles I send you are not more worthy
your acceptance ; they are such as were on my table at the time I re-
* I have since found a copy, which I enclose in the package.
158 Miscellaneous.
ceived the intelligence that my friend is to start to-morrow ; you will |
please to accept the package, and this rambling letter, with the assur-
ance that I shall ever recollect with pleasure your short visit to Princ- —
ton and shall cherish the hope of again meeting with you before the |
termination of the journey of life.”
4.—Library, Se. at Jessulmere.
Extract of a letter from A. SuTHERLAND, Esq. to H. M. Exuiot, Zsq. -
«‘ My visit to Jessulmere has been of a very satisfactory kind, as you —
will see presently. I wish that you or any one learned in Hindu or —
Buddhist antiquarian lore, were there. You know, I dare say, that the }
most valuable collection of books in India is believed to be in a Jain
temple on the hill fort. The temple has never been desecrated, for the -
fort was never taken I believe, and the Buddhist form of worship is now
the same as it was perhaps a thousand years since; women principal- —
ly ministering. ‘There are a number of tablets, some of them in niches —
in the walls, others separate, covered with inscriptions in unknown cha- —
racters ; not the arrow-headed, I think. I was disappointed in the —
extent of the library, which is in a vault of the temple ; the few books
we saw, the others being in chests, were, some of them, writings on
palm leaves, bound up between boards, such as we see in Ava and —
China; the characters readadle by the pundits ; but the language un- —
known ; the only dates readable on the tablets were only 300 or 400
years old, but most of them are of great antiquity. Some of the
tablets are of a mystical character evidently, and of curious shield
shapes. Tod drew much of the material for his history from the
Jessulmere library, although he never was there I believe.”
LLDLDLPL LLP LLP ILLII PIL II II PIPPI LLL LL ILA
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
For Fresrvary, 1848.
x
we
Tue usual monthly meeting was held on the evening of Wednesday,
the 2d February, 1848.
J. W. Corvite, Esq., President, in the chair.
The proceedings of the evening commenced by the Secretary’s reading
the following note from Mr. Colvile, acknowledging his election as
President of the Asiatic Society.
To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society.
Sir,—lI beg leave to acknowledge your letter of this day, in which you inform
me that the Asiatic Society of Bengal have done me the high honor of electing
me the President of the Society for the year 1848.
The assistance which I am sure I shall receive from you and the other officers
of the Society will, I trust, enable me so to discharge the duties of the office that
the Society may not have reason to repent of its choice.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your Obedient Servant,
Jan, 13th, 1848. James W, CoLvi.e.
The Council communicated the following letter from the President,
announcing Lord Dalhousie’s gracious acceptance of the office of
“ Patron” of the Society.
To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society.
My pear Sir,—lI have to inform you that this morning Mr. Bushby and I
waited upon the Governor General by appointment, and that His Lordship was
pleased to express his willingness to become Patron of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, and his readiness to further the interests of the Society by all means in
his power.
{ regret to state that Sir John Grant and Lord Arthur Hay were both pre-
vented from accompanying Mr. Bushby and myself, the former by indisposition,
160 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Fes.
the latter by his departure for Madras, which took place on the day preceding |
that fixed by the Governor General for the reception of the deputation.
[ take this opportunity of recording my opinion that the Council was guilty —
of an unfortunate oversight in the omission from the list of those who were to
form the deputation, of the names of yourself and Mr. Laidlay. I think that on
all similar occasions the gentlemen who fill the office of Secretary should be
understood to be necessarily and as of course, included amongst the representa- —
tives of the Society, and this, both in justice to themselves, and because they
are probably the persons best qualified to give such explanation as may be
required of the constitution, objects, and working of the Society.
Very faithfully Your’s,
Jan. 18th, 1848. J. W. Convrun,
The accounts and vouchers for January were submitted.
H. Alecander, Esq., C. S., duly proposed and seconded at the Ja- —
nuery meeting, was ballotted for and elected a member of the Society. —
Read a note from Mr. I”. Knighton, withdrawing his name from the —
list of members.
To the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
GENTLEMEN,—Finding that I have at present no time to devote to literary
pursuits unconnected with my duties, and not being likely to have any such for —
many months to come, I shall feel obliged by your removing my name from the
list of members of the Bengal Asiatic Society from the commencement of the —
current year.
I am, Gentlemen, |
Your Obedient Servant,
Calcutta, Jan. 11th, 1848. W. Kwyicuron,
From H. M. Elliot, Esq., Secretary to Government, Foreign De- —
partment, transmitting a Journal and Map by Capt. A. Cunningham, —
illustrative of the boundary between the British territories and those of —
the Maharajah Golab Singh.
From H. M. Elliot, Esq., Secretary to Government, Foreign Depart-
ment, presenting the MS. of a grammar of the Sindhi language, by
Lieut. Stack. (Referred to Oriental Section.)
From Capt. Kittoe through Mr. Bushby, forwarding for inspection
of the Society, Lieut. Maisey’s copies of the Kalinger inscriptions, and
drawings of the architectural antiquities of Kalinger and Nilkant, with
MS. description by Lieut. Maisey, and transcripts in modern Nagree,
by Capt, Kittoe—also returning the drawings, plates, &c., of the Cave
|
~
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. i6l
Temples of Mandah, which at Capt. Kittoe’s own request had been
lent him, for examination and for description in the Journal ; having
taken them with him to Benares, in July last, Capt. Kittoe, in reply to
applications from the Secretaries, returns the drawings (date of receipt
Jan. 27th,) and expresses his inability to spare time to copy and
describe them.
Read the following letter from J. Thornton, Esq., Secretary to
Government, N. W. Provinces, also referring to the Kalinger and Man-
dah drawings.
No. 107 of 1848.
From J, Tuornton, Esq. Secretary to Government, North Western Pro-
. vinces.
To the Secretary to the Asiatic Society.
Dated Head Quarters, Jan, 26th, 1848.
Sir,— With reference to my letters to your predecessor dated May 19th, and
December 19th, 1846, regarding drawings of the Kallinger and Mandah Cave
Temples, Iam directed by the Hon’ble the Lieut.-Governor of the N. W. P.
to request that the drawings and papers transmitted with those letters may be
made over to Mr. G. A. Bushby, the Secretary to the Government of India in
the Home Department, if they are no longer required by the Society, in order
that they may be transmitted to the Hon’ble the Court of Directors.
2d. I am further desired to inform you that a second series of drawings of
the Kallinger Temples, executed in a very superior style by Lieutenant Maisey,
67th N. I., together with an explanatory memoir, and fac-similes of inscriptions,
have been despatched to Mr. Bushby for transmission to the Hon’ble Court of
Directors. If the Society are desirous to inspect these papers and feel disposed
to take copies and to publish any of them, no difficulty will be experienced in
: accomplishing this object, upon application being made to Mr. Bushby.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your Obedieut Humble Servant,
J. THORNTON.
Secy. to Govt. N. W. P.
to the meeting that the Hon’ble the Governor of the N. W. Provinces
considered that the former communication regarding the Mandah temples,
had been neglected by the Society, it was unanimously resolyved—
1—That the description of the Kalinger antiquities be published
forthwith, and the drawings copied for the earliest possible publication.
With reference to the above correspondence, and to a statement read
¥
162 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Frs.
2—That the cause of the delay in publishing the drawings of the
Mandah Cave Temples, be explained to the Hon’ble the Governor of
the N. W. Provinces.
Also received through Capt. Kittoe, 32 silver coins of Buddhist
type, presented by Mr. Money—one set for the Society,—one for the
Hown’ble Court—found on the site of an ancient town on the Soane.
From A. Shakespeare, Esq., Acting Secretary to Government N. W.
Provinces, dated Jan. 6th, 1848, transmitting a copy of each of the
Arabic works, entitled Tareekh Yaminee and Kaleela wa Dumna,
From Mr. G. A. Bushby, presenting two ancient Greek coins purchas-
ed by Mr. Bushby at the Acropolis of Athens ; and an ornament from a
mummy exhumed by Mr. Bushby at Thebes.
From D. Cunliffe, Esq., Magistrate of Monghyr, forwarding for the
examination of the Society 8 gold coins found at a village in the Per-
gunnah Hevelee, Behar.
The 8 coins, which are of the Indo-Scythic group, were exhibited
to the meeting, and referred to Mr. Laidlay and Major Anderson for |
Report.
From Dr. A. Campbell, Darjeeling, presenting a copy of the French
edition of Bernier’s Travels, 2 vols. 12mo. with Plates.
From H. Piddington, Esq., forwarding a notice of a remarkable hot
wind in the district of Purnea. (Ordered for publication.)
From Dr. Irvine, Darjeeling, forwarding a paper entitled, “‘ Observa-
tions on the probable results of a scientific research after the Metallifer-
ous deposits in the sub-Himalayan range round Darjeeling. (Ordered
for publication.)
From Mr. Blyth, forwarding extracts of letters from Signor Appa-
ruti of Modena, and Mons. Malherbe of Metz, proposing exchanges
of objects of natural history, with the Museum of the Asiatic Society.
(Referred to the Section of Natural History.)
From the Rev. Mr. Street, of Bishop’s College, presenting copies of
a pamphlet, by the Rev. Mr. Driberg, entitled, “A Missionary Tour
among the Gonds south of the Nerbudda, with a specimen of their
dialect and grammar.” (Ordered that the specimen be printed in the
Journal.)
From J. Muir, Esq., regarding the Oriental works which he consi-
ders should be published by the Society: also suggesting renewed
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 163
efforts to procure a copy of the Pseudo-Yajur Veda composed by the
Roman Catholic Missionaries, to facilitate the reception of Christian
doctrines in India.
To the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
GENTLEMEN,—With reference to the contents of pp. 1268—69 of the No.
of the Society’s Journal for December last, relative to the parts of the Vedas
which should be published by the Society, I would take the liberty of offering
the following suggestions for the consideration of the Oriental Section.
First.—It appears from Professor Wilson’s letter of 17th September last, that
only three out of the four Vedas are about to be printed in Europe. The fourth,
or Atharva Veda, has not been taken in hand. Might not our Society undertake
its publication? An account of the contents of this Veda may be found in the
first of Dr. Roth’s treatises on the History and Literature of the Vedas, trans-
lated in the Journal for August last, to which I have not at this. moment the
means of referring more particularly.
Second,—I think it appears from the same work that Dr. Roth was publishing
an edition of the Nirukta, and that another scholar was bringing out in Germany
the Aitareya Brahmana. “It would therefore appear adviseable that the publica-
tion here of these and any other parts or appendages of the Vedas which are
reported to be likely to be printed in Europe, should be allowed to lie over, at
least till other portions, for the printing of which no provision has been made in
Europe, shall have been brought out. If indeed any of these Upanishads are
of no great length (a point on which I am not informed) a reprint here of one
or more which have already been printed in Europe would be of no great conse-
quence, and would certainly render our edition complete.
I observe in Messrs. Smith, Elder &Co.’s Literary Circular from July to
November 1847, a new work on the Vedas advertised, with the following title,
which I beg to suggest may be added to the Society’s Library :
‘¢ Essai sur le mythe des Ribhaus, premier vestige de l’apotheose dans le Véda,
avec le texte Sanskrit par F. Neve.”’ 8vo, sewed, price 11. Paris.
I suggested to the Society several years ago that an attempt should be made
to procure for the Library the original Sanskrit text of that curious work the
Psendo-Yajur-Veda, (of which some account is given in a paper by Mr, Ellis
‘in one of the earlier Vols. of the Society’s Researches, as well as in the English
preface to Dr. Mill’s Sanskrit poem, the Christa Sangita) which the Roman
Catholic missionaries composed several centuries ago to promote the reception
of Christian doctrines. A French translation of this Pseudo-Veda or part of it,
appeared at Yverdun towards the close of last century, which is perhaps in the
Society’s Library; but it appears very desirable that we should possess the
original of so curious a work. In consequence of iny former suggestion, Dr.
wa
164 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Frs.
Wilson of Bombay was requested to use his endeavours (o procure a copy; but
I do not recollect to have heard the result. If no effective steps were taken
towards the end in view, I would beg to suggest that the attempt should be
renewed, and application made to any of the Society’s Correspondents in the
Madras Presidency, or in any quarter which may seem most likely to promise
success, It was in the College of the Jesuits at Pondicherry, if I recollect
right, that the manuscript was said to be deposited ; and perhaps that establish-
ment may have been broken up at the period of the French Revolution or
from subsequent causes. If this, on enquiry, appear to be the case, the fate of
the Library, and its present place of deposit, if still in existence, might be traced.
IT have the honor to be, Gentlemen,
Your most Obedient Servant,
Calcutta, Jan. 20th, 1848. J. Murr, M.A.S. B.
Resolved, that M. E. Ghibelin of Pondicherry be requested by the
Society to institute the search for the Pseudo-Yajur Veda, recommended
by Mr. Muir.
Read a proposition from the Council, that Dr. Joseph Dalton
Hooker, R. N. F. R. 8. &c., &c. author of the Flora Antartica, late
Naturalist to Sir John Ross’ expedition, and who has accompanied.
the Earl of Dalhousie to India for the purpose of examining the
Flora and natural productions of the Sikim district, and eventually of
Borneo—be elected an Honorary Member of the Asiatic Society. Dr.
Hooker was accordingly elected by acclamation an Honorary Member
of the Society.
Mr. H. M. Elliot, presented and read extracts from several reports
from Capt. A. Cunningham, on the progress and investigations of the
Tibet Mission. The Secretaries having undertaken to print the whole
of the documents in the February number of the Journal, it was pro-
posed by the Lord Bishop, seconded by Dr. O'Shaughnessy, and vot-
ed by acclamation, that the cordial thanks of the Society be presented
to Mr. Elliot for the valuable aid he is affording to the Society’s
labours.
Dr. O’Shaughnessy read several extracts from a private letter to him-
self, from Professor Henry, of Princeton, United States, containing an
account of the origin of the Smithsonian Institute, and remarks on
several most important discoveries in physical science. The Secretaries
were requested to publish the extracts read, and on the proposition of
1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 165
Dr. O'Shaughnessy, Professor Henry was named for election as an
Honorary Member of the Society.
The Report for 1847 having been brought up for final consideration,
and a paragraph regarding the Subscriptions to the Society having been
modified on Dr. Walker’s suggestion, Dr. Walker’s name was added
to the Committee appointed to examine a proposal for the erection of a
new Museum. Dr. Walker, with reference to the rules of the Society,
read the following proposals :—
1. ‘That no alteration in the Rules, nor any extraordinary expense
beyond (say) 500 Rupees, be sanctioned, except at the annual meeting
of ‘the Society ; and that before any such questions are finally decided,
the Mofussil Members, as well as those residing in Calcutta, be called
upon to vote on the same.”
“« Before this proposition be carried into effect, itis desirable that the
Rules of the Society should be made as perfect and complete as possible
and that during the interval between each annual meeting, the functions
of the Society be solely administrative, it is therefore proposed’ —
*« 2Ind—That the Council of the Society be appointed to revise the
Rules, and that these be carefully compared with the rules of similar
Institutions in Hurope, and that copies of the latter, if they are not al-
ready in the Library, be immediately sent for overland.” H.W.
After a short discussion, Dr. Walker’s proposition, supported by Dr.
O’Shaughnessy, was referred for consideration to the Council, who were
requested to act upon the 2d para. thereof, at their earliest convenience.
The Report, with its several propositions, was then unanimously
adopted.
Liprary.
The following books have been received since the last meeting :—
PRESENTED.
Notule ad Plantas Asiaticas, Part I. Developement of Organs in Phane-
rogamous Plants. By the late W. Griffith, Esq. Edited by J. M’Clelland, Esq.
(2 copies).—PREsENTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL,
Icones Plantarum Asiaticarum, Part I. Development of Organs in Phane-
rogamous Plants. By the late W. Griffith, Esq. Edited by J. M’Clelland,
Esq. (2 copies).—By THE SAME,
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bootan, Affghanistan and neighbour-
ing countries. By the late W. Griffith, Esq. Edited by J. M’Clelland, Esq.
—ByY THE SAME,
166 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Fes.
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. XVI. part III. and
Vol. XVII. part I1.—By Tue Society.
Histoire de la Literature Hindoui et Hindoustani, Par M. Garcin de Tassy.
Tome IJ.—By tue OrientaL TrawsLation Funp.
Report of the Sixteenth Meeting of the British Association pe the advance-
ment of Science, held at Southampton in September, 1846,—By Tue Britisu
ASSOCIATION.
Record of Cases treated in the Mesmeric Hospital from June to December,
1847, (2 copies).—By THE GoveRNMENT OF BenGat.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. I. No. [1].—By Tue Sociery:
Sketch of the Singphos, or the Kakhyens of Burmah: the position of this
tribe as regards Banmoo, and the inland trade of the valley of the Irrawaddy
with Yunan, and their connection with the North-Eastern Frontier of Assam.—
By tHE GovERNMENT OF BENGAL.
Glossarium Sanscritum in quo omnes radices et vocabula usitatissima expli-
cantur et cum vocabulis Grecis, Latinis, Germanicis, Lithuanicis, Slavicis, Cel-
ticis, comparantur, a Francisco Bopp, (p. 289 to p. 412).—By Tae Avurtuor.
The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, Nos V. and VI...
—By tue Epitor.
The Calcutta Christian Observer, for February, 1848..—-By roe Epirors.
The Oriental Baptist, No. 14.—By tus Epiror.
Proceedings of the 24th Anniversary Meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society.—
By TuE Society.
Proceedings of the Royal Society, No, 67.—By tHe Society.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Nos. 29, 30.—By THe
Society. |
Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s Office, Calcutta, for
the month of December, 1847.—By tHe Orriciatinc Deputy SuRvEyor
GENERAL,
Nityadharmanuranjika, Nos, 32 to 41.—By Tue Epitor.
Tatwabodhini Patrika, No. 54.--By THe TATWABoDHINI SoBHA.
Vocabulary and Phrases, in English, Mini and Abor. By Capt. E. F,
Smith.— By tue AuTHOR.
Kalila-wa Dumnah, in Arabic, translated from the Pehlavy by Ibn al Makaffa.
— By THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NortH WESTERN PROVINCES.
Otby’s Tarikh Yaminy, or the History of Sultan Mahmud of Ghuzneh, by a
Cotemporary, edited in the original Arabic by Moulavy Mamluk-al Alyy,
Head Moulavy, and A. Sprenger, Principal of the Delhi College.—By THE
SAME.
Madras Journal of Literature and Science, No, 32.—By THE LITERARY
SocieTy or MapRas.
,
i
Veh, ok oe
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 167
EXCHANGED.
The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, No. 209.
PURCHASED.
Journal des Savants, September, 1847,
The History of India, by the Hon’ble Mountstuart Elphinstone, 2 vols. 8vo.
Report of the Curator of the Museum of Economic Geology for the month of
December 1847, and January 1848.
Economic Geology—Major Jenkins has forwarded to us some very beautiful
specimens of Coal from Assam, from the last vein opened at Jaipur, the mines
‘of which (for there are two of them) are situated on the opposite banks of the
old Booree Dehing river. He accompanies it with the following extracts from
Major Hannay’s letters to him.
Extracts from letters from Major Hannay.
“In a previous letter he. had stated that the native contractor who is now dig-
- ging the coal had allowed the superincumbent stratum of clay and earth to fall
over—he says, 21s¢ October,
“I have at last cleared out the coal again, and if there were only boats, coal
sufficient to last all the cold season could be sent off immediately.’
The ravine beyond the present coal, which rests on clay slate shows coal also,
but apparently being superincumbent to the main mine; the coal is in small
quantity, the uppermost vein howeverhas a layer of capital Iron Ore lying
onit. Taking it to be, as I suppose, this bed of coal with its different strata of
sandstone, clay slate, clunch clay, shell, &c. is about 200 yards in breadth, and
there is at least 14 feet of coal intermixed with clunch and soft partings in the
present vein, but from being overtopped by a good high knoll there is much trou-
ble in working it.”
23d—“I am happy to be able to give you very favorable accounts of the
coal mine, and I expect now, under proper management in working it out during
this cold season, Government will be supplied with as much as they require of
the finest article of the kind in India, but boats are the drawback ; let any number
be ready and coal is forthcoming forthem. The plan is, in my opinion, for Govern-
ment to work the coal for some time to come, asit is of too valuable a kind to
waste in the way the natives do, and care shonld be taken that the mine does not
fill up again during the rains. The steamers should be supplied from the in-
land mines, where a great portion of the coal is equally fit for their purposes, but
the Dehing vein should be reserved for mint purposes, it is so valuable and
should be taken care of; fancy 16 feet of coal, 10 of which is solid pure coal.
168 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Fes.
The bottom of the bed is bituminous clay slate, upon which rests a seam of
highly carbonized coal, 43 feet thick* and, including a little soft partings, in all
6 feet of solid coal; it is the most beautiful thing I ever saw, as the coal is so
pure it shines as if chrystalized ; this is all cannel coal and highly valuable for
the mint or forge purposes.”
The larger specimens arrived but a few days ago by the steamer, but as Major
Jenkins has sent us some specimens by dawk I have examined the largest of
them, and the result is as follows.
Coal from the banks of the Booree Dehing in Assam, sent by Major Jenkins.
This coal is a. very handsome cannel coal, of specific gravity 1.31 burning
with a good flame; not swelling or melting like thecommon bituminous coal,
except in one or two spots, but preserving, whether burnt in the air or coked, all
the sharp angles of its fractures for a long time.
It contains in 100 parts as follows :—
Water aiid Gases, 1:55 os sie vila jad sne a dinince yeseje oss ten\e pierces enn
Bituminous matter, eececeoteenvvweeveseeeae eevee ° ~“ZTHeseeonesvreoevoeve 28.00
Carbon, eoveeeoteovoeveeceseseeeeeeveveeeeoeveeeteevreeeeeeaesee ee 56.50
Ash, eervesn eeevceve ©G8ee CFF eee 8 FG BBE FFF FHeHGee te ee ee & 10.00
100.00
A separate experiment gave for the per centage of coke 57.14, but the frag-
ment was taken probably from a different block or vein.
Major Jenkins has also sent a good collection of the clay iron ores from the
coal beds of Upper Assam. They are massive and nodular hydrates of the
oxide of iron, in the usual laminar concretions, which these ores affect, These
are accompanied also by a good supply of the magnetic iron sand from the
Sookee Dooars under the Cossyah hills in Kamroop.
Captain Fitzgerald, of the Nizam’s service has favoured us with a more detail-
ed memorandum relative to the Nizam’s great diamond, of which the model was
exhibited at the November meeting, and I have had some glass models cast from
the leaden one, from which I have calculated the gross weight and that which the
stone would have when polished, The results of this I have embodied in a note
as a short paper for the Journal, which will thus place upon record this remark-
able addition to our knowledge of these extraordinary gems.
No. 72 of our Indian copper ores, which was one sent from the Khetree hills
near Jyepoor, by Major Thoresby (Journal Vol. X. p. 168,) and found by me
amongst some old specimens and rubbish, [had put by for examination, as it
had the appearance of containing Cobalt or Nickel, and upon examination, I
find it does contain Cobalt. Our specimen is too small to admit of a quantitative
analysis; but the locality is perhaps new.
* The specimens accompanying are from this 43ft. vein,
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 169
From J. Homfray, Esq. we have received 6 copies of his “ further observa-
tions on the coal fields of the Damoodah and Adji,” in continuation (and a most
valuable one) of that published in the Journal for 1842, p. 739.
From H. Michell, Esq. we have two splendid specimens, the one of the rich
argentiferous Galena of Australia, containing he says about 200 oz of silver pr.
ton of lead, and the other a rich ore of grey copper said to contain 50 per cent.
of metal.
Geological and Mineralogical —We have received from the Revenue Survey
Office eight copies of Captain Sherwill’s geological maps of zillahs Shahabad
and Behar, which have been lithographed and coloured there from the originals
in Our possession.
Major Jenkins has also forwarded to Government the specimens collected on
the Naga Agami Hills by Mr. Masters, whose report will appear in a forthcom-
ing number of the Journal,
We have received through the Rev. Mr. Pratt, a paper of observations on the
probable result ‘ of a Scientific research after metalliferous deposits in the sub-
Himalayan range round Darjeeling,”’ with a collection of small specimens of the
rocks and minerals of that neighbourhood, by Dr. R. H. Irvine, Civil Surgeon
of Patna.
From Mr, A. Mitchell, of Gussery sugar-works, we have a fine Saurian tooth
from Inverkeithing, a shell from the Sylhet limestone, and a cast or fossil from
the old red sandstone of Forfar.
Printed copies of Mr. Blyth’s Catalogue of the collection of Australian Ver-
tebrata exhibited at the October meeting, were laid on the table.
With reference to the rule of the Society passed at the February
meeting, 1848, and embodied in the Annual Report, we certify the
above minutes of proceedings to be correct.
J. W. Couvite, President.
W. B. O’Suavuenessy, Hon. See. \ Of she caching.
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JOURNAL
OF THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY.
PPLLLILIL LIS
MARCH, 1848.
~
Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar.—By Lieut. F. Matsey,
67th N. I.—Communicated by order of the Hon. tHe Lirvt.-Go-
VERNOR, N. W. P.
In a Report on the ‘ Antiquities of Kalinjar’ which I last year had
the pleasure to forward to the Hon’ble the Lieutenant Governor,
N. W. P., [ mentioned my inability to enter into minute details, owing
to my absence from the spot, and the want of notes at the time of
drawing up the Report. I hope now to supply any past deficiencies,
as the present paper has been entirely drawn up at Kalinjar itself.
I have already described the general situation and aspect of the Fort
and I affix a rough plan of the same, in order to point out more clearly
the sites of the various places mentioned. (PI. VI. fig. 1.)
The Hill of Kélinjar, called also Rabichitr, from <fa, the Sun, was,
beyond a doubt, devoted to Hindu worship long before the erection of
the Fort, for not only are the dates of inscriptions at the caves, and
on the various sculptures earlier than those on the gates of the Fort,
but in many places the rampart walls are ina great measure built
with fragments of ornamental pillars, cornices, &c. which probably at
the erection of the Fort were the remains of Hindu fanes of remote
antiquity.(1) These relics of forgotten buildings are seen in many situa-
tions which entirely preclude the idea of their having been so placed in
' (1) This use of the fragments of buildings in the formation of the ramparts renders it
difficult to assign the proper dates to them and the gateways. It will be seen that in
several gates there is a variety of date and names.
No. XV.—NeEw SERIES, Z
172 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. {Marcu,
mere repairs of the wall; moreover, it is very probable that the Fort was
not built until the disturbance of the Hindu dynasties consequent on
the Mahomedan invasion, when amid the constant wars and feuds, such
an impregnable site would of course offer many advantages.(2) A date
of the erection of the Fort is given in note 40; mention is made in
“Dow” of a king of Kalinjar as early as A. D. 978, or Samvat 1035,
but the earliest mention of a Fort is in the year 593 of the Higera, or
A. D. 1205, Samvat 1262. As.there are several objects of interest in the
ascent it will perhaps be better to commence at the lowest gate and
particularize each in succession. |
The only ascent now(3) is on the northern face of the hill; it is
defended by a loopholed wall and seven gateways, which, in accord-
ance with the sacred character of the place, have been supposed typical
of the seven planetary mansions through which the soul has to pass
before its absorption into Brahm.(4) In Colonel Pogson’s work on the
Bundelas, an analogy is inferred between the seven gates of Kalinjar
and the ladders erected in the caves devoted to the Mithratic rites,
which ladders had seven portals, one above the other, either metalled
or coloured to represent Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, the ~
(2) The hill, which is between 700 and 800 feet high, is isolated, with the exception
of a small offshoot at the eastern extremity, called Ialinjari (from whence the walls
were battered by our artillery in 1804). The crest of the hill is perpendicular rock for
an average of 50° feet, principally a natural precipice, but in some parts increased by
searping. The walls occupy the whole crest of the hill and in some parts the terrepleine
of the rampart actually overhangs the precipice, asin Pl. IX. fig. 6. Wherever a shoulder
or spur of the Hill might afford a lodgment to an assailant, a lower rampart or Fausse
Braie is carried round, and encloses it, as seen at R.a.u, Pl. VI. fig. 1.
(3) There is another approach to the S. E. ealled the Pannah or Bansakas gate (q. v.)
but it is now blocked up.
(4) Itis supposed that the Hindu worship had its origim in that of the Sun, which
seems to have been almost universally adored as the emblem of the Creator ; to which the
moon was joined, in order to meet the human ideas of generative power. These celestial
bodies were impersonated and other planets added as objects of worship. The common
origin of the Hindu, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, &e. idolatry is at once
apparent in the identity of the deities worshipped by different nations on the 7 days of the
week, to which they give these names :—
Sol, Luna, Mars, Mereury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are the Surya, Soma, Mangola,
Budh, Vrihaspati, Sukr4é and Shani or Sanichar of the Hindus, and the Sun, Moon,
Tuisco Woden or Odin, Thor, Freya or Friga and Seater of our own ancestors. The
Hindus make some of them of a different gender from the classical, but they appear to
worship some both as male and female, as the ancient Egyptians did the moon, &c.
Lb, Mewecy cdeit
1848. ] Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar. 173
Moon and the Sun in successive order. But of course this is no place
for long extracts, or volumes might be filled with accounts of the curi-
ous coincidences in the buildings and forms of worship of widely
separated nations. In Pogson’s small work there are several highly
interesting extracts and notes on these subjects which will amply repay
perusal. In reading a life of Inigo Jones, I was struck with the simi-
larity between the seven-walled and seven-gated erections of the Hindus
and others, and Stonehenge. According to his description, having been
directed by king James to give his opinion of Stonehenge, he set to
work digging, measuring and planning and subjecting it to the principles
of architecture, and published an elaborate account of the whole.(5)
The comparison of these various peculiarities is most curious and
interesting ; but I have already too long deferred the actual account of
realities in the pursuit of theories.
The first gate is situated about 200 feet above the base of the hill,
which is so far undefended. The gateway is of a modern appearance,
and was probably entirely rebuilt at the date of the inscription, which is
over it. It is defended by a loopholed bastion on each side, and a
loopholed wall runs up the side of the hill at this and the other gates
to prevent a passage round them. It is called the Alam Darwaza, from
its founder, Aurangzeb, who took the name of Alamgir. The Persian
inscription over it is given below.(6) It fixes the date at 1084 of
(5) According to his account, Stonehenge was a‘‘ Temple of the Tuscan order, raised
by the Romans some time between Agricola and Constantine, and consecrated to the God
Celus, the origin of all things, because of the situation, the decorum of the structure,
the pyramidal figures of the stones, and the nature of the sacrifices.” From his careful
investigations he was able to state that the building was composed of polygons within a
circle consisting of three ranges of stones (the outer one circular and the two inner
hexagonal) surrounding the principal edifice. There were three approaches with double
gates at each range of stones, and the ground from the outer circle rising gradually to the
centre on which stood the shrine, as it were.
This may be supposed to have been a temple of the sun and the six gates in each ap-
proach gradually rising over each other the moon and five lesser deities,
csdttl ald}
(6) seh BB ore eeyrod yay Od oy Kil ald
phd yay ail loys nse k= J! ol yo Ome” Wye
pSual Om ya tbs dw Kyo thorkom floyyd 5!
ry aVviede
Zz. 2
174 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. [| Marca,
the Higera. The numbers being shown under the letters pskedw ac-
cording to their numerical value. There are strong wooden doors to this
gateway. The ascent between the Ist and 2d gateways (called the
Kafir Ghati) is chiefly by steps (7) and very steep.
The second gateway is called by the brahmans ‘‘ Ganésh Darwaza ;”’
it has no doors standing, but the sockets for the hinges and cross-bars
in this and other gateways prove that originally there were doors to
all.(8) There are no inscriptions on this gateway, immediately beyond
which is the 3d, or “‘ Chandi Darwaza,” at the angle of the hill, This
in fact is a double gate, but the whole forms one building and goes by
one name. This gate is also defended by the loopholed wall and
bastion.
There are several inscriptions on the sides of this gateway, one given
in facsimile* (No. 6) and the others below.(9) The inscription in
facsimile is on a block of stone, which evidently has once formed part
of some decorated building, for it is carved with foliage, &c., and
quite out of keeping with the plain style of the gateway. Beyond this
gateway is a modern looking building, seemingly a mere shelter for the
defenders ; from this point the covered way is nearly level as far as the
next gateway, before reaching which you observe a mass of rock on the
right, which has apparently fallen from above; on this there is what
appears to be a rough Ling and also a Sanscrit inscription of 5 lines,
containing the name of several pandits. The cavalier or barbette
which commands the approach to the 4th gate, conceals a gateway which
opens on arough flight of steps leading by a short cut to the foot of
the hill.(10) The 4th or Budh Budr gate, is of very solid construc-
(7) The entire ascent was evidently originally foamed into steps, the traces of which
are evident throughout, and in most parts they are still very perfect.
(8) On the right of this gate as you approach it there is a small coarse sculpture in
relief, representing a seated Ganesh, about 18 inches high, from which probably the gate
is named.
(9) Inscriptions at the 3rd or Chandi gate :—
(10) This gateway is reached by a path which winds round the barbette ; it has no doors,
ACHAT TUG WAAR FT (YR
FGSF HS IMIAITTTS SaHaiasfa © (goo
aSAAT Wwansacanitanted ufa Tra Wee
ARMAT UY WiNay feaeta fea Haq wee
* See Appendix.— Eps,
1848. ] Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar. 175
tion ; it has only one inscription, which corresponds with that of Manu
on the Chandi gate.(11) The 5th gate is called Hanuman Darwaza, and
round it the wall of the covered way makes a sweep, forming a kind of
** Place of Arms,” in which is situated Hanuman Kund, a small pool
of water enclosed by four walls, and reached by steps onone side. The
wall next the hill is formed into two rows of three arches, the lower row
almost covered by the water. A small barbette on the left as you come
abreast of the gate supports a dismounted 6-pounder iron gun, of the same
construction as those which will be shortly noticed. At the extremity
of the place of arms a small postern in the wall leads on to a narrow
irregular path running along the precipitous side of the hill to some
dried up Kunds,(12) which however are mere hollows in the rock and
not worth the trouble of visiting. The face of the rock between Hanu-
man Kund and the gateway, is covered with sculpture, but it is so
defaced and obliterated as to be almost unintelligible. The subjects,
as far as I could see, consist of figures of Mahadeo, Ganesh, Devi, the
Bull Nandi(13), Ling, and figures of worshippers. The gate is ina
very ruinous condition ; it has one or two inscriptions.(14) The steps
but the sockets remain as in the 2d gate; stores, &c. are said to have been formerly
brought by this path for the use of the garrison. The brahmans call it the Balkandi
Mahadeo Darw4za, from the image of that name which is found in the descent on
which it opens. This image (the Balkandi Mahadeo) is situated about half way in the
descent. There is a small building with a pyramidal roof formed of diagonal layers of
stone. It gives cover to an image of Mahideo as the Ling, 6 feet high. The building and
image are given in plan and sec. in figs. 8,9, 10,11, plate2. [A facsimile of this
plate is deposited in the Society’s Library.—Eps.| A banian tree has grown in the
most curious manner apparently through the building, and its roots are interlaced in
the door as seen in fig. 9, the path of the descent runs round and partly above the mass of
rock on which the dewala abuts over and on each side of the doorway there are several,
small unimportant sculptures of Ganesha, Mahadeo, Parbati, &c. and some other figures
and Ling are seen on slabs of rock near, but they are not worth sketching.
(11) Inscriptions at 4th gate :—
aSUAT WURAATTN TH GLUE.
(12) There are no sculptures or inscriptions at any of these places; on the right of the
path leading to them is a small figure in the rock representing a “‘Sarman” or water-
carrier.
(13) Nandi, the vahan or vehicle of Mah4deo, on which he rides, hence his name of
Nandigan.
(14) On the left (ascending) HERAY WA Haaaataca ufaaratfad
Sra qaqa YR? on the right is an inseription with the name of Ganesh, dated \Y&o,
176 Description of the Antiquities at Kaliyar. | Marcu,
of the ascent as seen in the plan, make a sharp turn at this gate,
resuming the same direction beyond it. Passing through it you see a
figure of Hanuman on a slab resting against the rock ; it is very badly
executed ; he is represented in the act of striking with a club and hold-
ing a flower or fruit. One foot is on the prostrate figure of a demon:
on the left of this figure isa small recess under a projection of the
rock, containing five figures in relief, almost undistinguishable from
whitewash.(15) The face of the rock between the Hanumén and 6th
or Lal Darwaza, is lined with sculpture much obliterated, owing to its
exposed situation ;(16) about half way between the two gates is another
small recess called a Siddh ke gupha. There is a small door to it, on
the left of which is a representation of Narsingha.(17) Inside the
recess there is nothing but a fragment of a figure of Hanumaén about
9 inches high. The 6th or Lal Darwaza, is in very good preservation,
and has the wooden doors standing; on the right is the inscription
given below,(18) aud on the left one dated Gaq Wee.
Ascending to the top of this gateway you reach a pathway which
leads along the face of the hill G G@) to the fausse braie, which con-
tains Bhairon Kund.(19) This is an artificial tank about 45 yards —
long ; one side is formed by the rock, which is excavated roughly for a
little distance, five square pillars and 4 or 5 pilasters being left as sup-
port. ‘They are very coarse and unfinished; I do not think there is
any sculpture on them, or in the recess, but I cannot be sure, as there
were no means of reaching the spot. The water appears to be shallow, —
and is reached by steps on the side of the tank. About 20 feet above
the water there is a figure of Bhairon about 10 feet high, cut in the ~
(15) There is the dried up bed of a Kund here, which was originally called Hanuman
Kund.
(16) The sculptures represent Kali, Chandika, Ling and Joni, &e. but there is nothing —
curious or uncommon among them; there are several small inscriptions dated WAq
all hiatal ie
QY2° and {°° containing the names of Manu and other workmen, probably the artists
of the sculptures. : j
(17) Vishnu is here represented riding on a lion, which is rearing over the kneeling :
figure of Hiranakasipa. ¢
=
a
a
«
(18) WEMAS TUR Waslsin WaT WUce.
(19) This may be reached also by ascending to the top of the Budh Budr gate, and
scrambling over the rough slope formed by the breken wall.
Lb, Mavasey dett
1848. | Description of the Antiquities at Kdhiyar. 177
solid rock. He is represented in the usual manner and attitude,(20) On
the rock to the right of the tank are several Ling emblems of Mahadeo
of various sizes, and on the left some male and female dancing figures
and two sarman or water-carriers, (vide Pl. VII. fig. 3.) near one of
which is the inscription No. 12.*(21) Lying near Bhairon Kund is a
stone trough or cistern 4 feet 9 inches long and 2 feet 5 inches wide,
cut out of a solid piece.
From the Lal Darwaza a short ascent leads tothe 7th or main gate,
which is ofa comparatively modern appearance and has probably been
repaired at a later date than the others. There is an inscription on it
dated Samvat 1691 or 2; it has large wooden doors. Inside the gate on
the left are several detached sculptures of Mahddeo and Parbati,
Ling and Joni, impressions of feet, &c.(22)
As the various caves, kunds, &c. &c. are scattered about in different
parts of the hill, it will perhaps save confusion if I mention them in
the order in which they present themselves as you make the circuit of
the ramparts, commencing on the left of the main gate.
The first objects which attract attention are two large iron guns ly-
ing on stone barbettes. There are fourteen of these guns in different
(20) The figure does not appear very well finished, and is moreover nearly hidden by
the jungle which has been suffered to grow over it.
(21) The situation of this inscription prevented my making a facsimile of it, as I was
obliged to cling to the rock with one hand while copying with the other, whereas to make
a facsimile I must have used both hands. I believe the copy is correct of as much as was
legible at all.
(22) The Joni, which is the name of the curious spouted pedestal on which the Ling
stands, is the emblem of Parbati, the female power of nature, as the Ling Mahddeo is
of the male. Mr. Coleman says, “‘ Of the origin of the mystic worship of the Linga and
the Joni little appears to be understood. It may be presumed to have been nature,
under the male and female forms personified as Siva, the Sun (which he is equally with
Surya) or fire, the genial heat which pervades, generates and vivifies all: and Bhavani,
who is the goddess of nature, is also the earth, the universal mother. These two active
principles of life having been thus personified, may have been subsequently converted, by
the grossness of idolatry, which in its progress invariably seeks rather to gratify the sensual
appetites than to instruct the minds of its votaries, from imaginary forms to realities, from
the personified symbols of nature to typical representations of the procreating power of
these symbols themselves. The Joni is the symbol of female energy, worshipped by the
sect of the Saktas and in conjunction with the Linga by the Saivas ; it is the especial
emblem of Parbati. In representation of the Linga it forms the rim or ridge of Argha
which encircles it.”,—Coleman, Myth. pp. 175, 176.
* See Appendix,
178 Description of the Antiquities at Kélinjar. [Marcu,
parts of the fort, consisting of 18, 12, 9, and 6 pounders. They are of
very heavy metal and seem to be formed of iron bars confined by hoops
of the same metal very firmly welded together; most of them have a
roughly carved design. They appear to have been mounted on pivots
and swivels so as to embrace a large space in their range. The trun-
nions are placed much as in our guns, and each of the stone barbettes
has a socket in the centre, probably for the reception of the pivot on
which the gun worked.
The gun nearest the gate has the following inscription :
SUVA AAMAS TCH A SAMA STU AIT CC S ISA ST
**Dalmardan Sri Maharaj Dhiraj Sri Maharaj Sri Raj Hiradesa Hi-
judeo.”’?(23) The Raja Hiradesa here mentioned, was, I believe, the son
of the famous Chatarsal. A path leads past these guns down to the ram-
part, the terrepleine of which is lower than the gateway. ‘There is a
flight of steps for the purpose of ascending and descending, but it is
choked up by jungle; at a little distance from the gateway there is a
fall in the level of the rampart of about 12 feet, and this is the site of
the cave called “ Sita-sej’’ or (Sita’s bed) which is excavated under the
upper, and opens on to the lower portion of the rampart. The plan
and sections of this cave are shown in (MS.) Plate I.(24) It is entirely
hewn in the solid rock, the marks of the chisel being apparent through-
out; the side opposite the entrance is occupied by a stone couch
and pillow on which Sita, the wife of Ramchandra, is supposed
to have slept ; the roof is of very curious formation, being cut into
vaulted shelves or cupboards on each side of the centre, vide fig. 3
P. P. These shelves occupy about half of the roof, O. R. fig. 2,
and the remainder O. 8. is plain.(25) The door, J, has plain pilas-
ters on each side, and square holes, ff, above and below, seemingly
for posts to bar up the entrance. There are several inscriptions on the
stone bed, two of which are shown in facsimile ;(26) they are chiefly of
(23) There are inscriptions on two other guns which will be shortly mentioned ; they
each contain the name of Raja Hiradesa, preceded by several expressions of respect, and
the name of the gun.
(24) The br4hmans say that after the war in Lanka (Ceylon) consequent in the abduc-
tion of Sita by Ravan, she, Sita, came to Kélinjar and made this abode for herself,
It is called also Ram Syan.
(25) These shelves are said to have been made as receptacles for the various articles of —
clothing and ornaments pertaining to Sit4, and there are also two niches in the sides of
the cave for holding lamps.
(26) Nos, 7 and 10, See Appendix.
1848. | Description of the Antiquities at Kahnar. 179
1600, and thereabout, but on the left of the cave (outside) near a small
Ling in relief is a date of ¥ Qyee. On the right of the cave as
you face it, there is a small recess under a projection of the rock, on
which are some poorly executed male and female figures ; close to Sita-
sej is Sitakund, which is I think a natural reservoir, or at all events
very little enlarged. It is a pool of clear water on a small cavity under
shelving rocks, and is reached by two or three steps from the rampart.
On the rock over the kund is a sitting figure about 2 feet high resting
on one hand, and near it what seems to be a fish in a basket.(27) The
water of this kund is much prized for bathing.
Beyond this point the rampart for a few yards is broken, and you
ascend the hill a little in order to past round the gap, immediately on
the other side of which is the mouth of the curious descent to Patal
Ganga.(28) This a large cavern full of water, about 40 feet by 20
or 25; it is situated between 40 and 50 feet below the top of the hill,
and the only access to itis by winding steps cut in the solid rock
leading from the rampart almost perpendicularly down to the water,
like a well in fact. The cave is rough and irregular, and probably in
great measure natural, but the descent has evidently been carried through
the rock, as the marks of the chisel pervade it throughout.(29) The
entrance to the descent is under a large mass of rock which abuts on
the rampart and the steps wind down very abruptly. They are very
irregular, some being three feet and others not one foot high, About half
way down there are two gaps on the left, through which a view is obtain-
ed of the bottom of the hill and the distant plain.(30) In the steps and
(27) Vide Pl. VII. fig. 4. The brahmans call this a Chaukidér. Over the right
shoulder of this figure is an illegible inscription, and over the basket some more much
obliterated characters with the date \¢8°.
(28) I fancy this name merely refers to the dark and subterraneous nature of the
place. There is an account of Gang having onee descended into Patal to rescue the
60,000 sons of King Sagara, but Ido not see any affinity to that beyond in the place in
question.
(29) It seems probable that this descent was formed down the course of some natural
cleft or fissure, which was enlarged or built up as required ; the position of the cave con-
taining the water could not otherwise have been ascertained, as there are no traces of it
visible from the outside below.
(30) The winding descent has been here excavated so near the face of the hill that ap-
parently the mere screen left has given way and formed this gate. A rough wall of stones
has been built close inthe passage at the lowest gap, and the whole has evidently at
2A
180 Description of the Antequitres at Kalinjar. [ Marca,
rock overhead here and for some distance down there are square holes,
evidently for the insertion of stone or wooden pillars to aid in support-
ing the weight of rock ;on the right of the descent, as you reach these
apertures, is a date of 1549, and opposite to them is a small door 3 feet
7 inches by 3 feet, showing a shallow recess or niche, which probably
originally contained an image. This door is guarded by a coarsely exe-
cuted male figure in alto-relievo, standing on a couple of stools and
resting on a staff. He is attended by a eow, apparently standing over a
small Ling and Joni ;(31) under the figure is an inscription, dated Yee,
which is given in facsimile No. 8, and on the right door post, another
dated &2¥, (ob!.) also m facsimile No. 9.(32) About 30 steps below this
point there is another aperture in the screen of rock left by the excava-
tion ; it is very small, bemg only just large enough to admit the passage
of the body. (33)
From this opening a descent of 11 or 12 steps leads to the level of
the water, which is about three feet from the’roof. In order to see the
nature of the cavern, I had chiraghs lighted and floated to the further
end; the roof of the cave is rough, as is also as much of the bottom as
is visible from the steps. The brahmans would not wade far into it,
as they said it is very deep in the centre. I have already stated that
the eave is about 40 feet by 20 or 25; the roof is entirely unsupported,
which makes me think that it is a natural cavity, very little if at all en-
larged by art, for it is not probable that any workman would have
feft nearly 1000 square feet of rock unsupported by pillars. The water
appears to be constantly dripping and trickling from the roof and sides.
one time been built up in this manner, as the traces of cement are visible all round the
. Openings,so that the places originally must have been well worthy of its gloomy name.
- (31) Vide Pl. VHI.
(32) The surface of the stone on which these are cut being very rough and worn,
it was impossible to make a good facsimile.
(33) About 10 feet below this opening the face of the hill loses its perpendicular
direction and slopes down abruptly ; there is an overgrown path along the foot of the
precipice into which I let myself down, in order to ascertain whether there were any
traces of the cave from the outside ; however I could discover none. On the rock here are
several Persian inscriptions, one containing the name of Huméyun and date of Higera
936, which exactly corresponds with the date of the siege of K-élinjar by Hum4yun given
in Dow.
779 Kun rm yo] GAD) 2 Law adhe csjls slyly Wolter des”
‘Mahammud Hum4yun Padshah Ghazi batarikh salkh Rajab-ul-Murajab, Samyat 936,
Py VEL.
T. Black. Asiatic Lith: Fress. Calcuti-
eee. Marsey dell.
1848. ] Description of the Antiquities at Kaliyar. 181
(34) There is a glimmering light from the left which comes through
crevices between the horizontal strata of the rock, which are not trace-
able from the outside. Proceeding along the, rampart beyond Patal
Ganga, you see some rough steps on the left leading through and
outside the wall on te aledge of rock in which is situated Pandu
Kund. The rampart here rests on a projecting rock, and the Kund,
which is under it, is approached by a dark passage between the virgin
rock and a wall built up to close in the passage, as seen in Pl. IX. fig.
6. There is no sculpture in this passage; the only objects in it being
a small outline of a sarmén scratched in the rock, and a similar one of
Bhagwan, near which is the inscription(35) shown below; above this
there are traces of another inscription, and to the left the characters fig.
1, Pl. X. The kund is a shallow cireular basin about 12 feet in diameter ;
the water is constantly trickling into it from between flat strata of rock
and running over finds its way down the hill. There are six small Ling
five inches high sculptured in the rock close to it; over the Kund
is the inseription(36), and beyond it two others, one given ia
facsimile(11) and the other below(37). On the rock at the end
of the space containing the kund are some curious characters(38).
About 40 yards beyond the entrance to Pandu Kund is a flight of 3 or
4 steps leading into a low vault under the rampart, probably formerly
used as a Magazine for powder, &c.
The next feature isa large breach at the N. E. angle, which was
formed by our troops under Col. Martindell. In the broken walls
may be seen a number of fragments of pillars, cornices, &c. The
breach has been partially repaired, and the rampart wall is here 50 feet
high. There are several pieces of sculpture and architectural decora-
tions built up into the interior slope of the rampart here under some
trees. They have all the appearance of having formed portions of
(34) The hill may be compared to a huge sponge, for you meet with kunds either
full or dry, and water is seen oozing and dropping from it in hundreds of places; how-
ever, the structure of the hill is loose strata, and of course the water from the numerous
tanks above percolates all over it and finds the nearest vents.
(35) WAGITS HCIMAITT
ok EN
(36) Waxtasqcyla yatagq wraTstat
(37) acectacaa TWA qeqaa
(38) We have given these in Pl. X. with their Roman equivalents as pencilled on the
MS. by Capt. A. Cunningham,—Ebs.
2A 2
182 Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar. [Marcu,
square pillars or pedestals(39). Some of the subjects are indecent and
others represent various deities, dancing girls, &c.
Proceeding along the side H I you shortly arrive at a considerable
drop in the level of the rampart caused by a hollow of the hill. The
ground to your right here is high and dotted with several buildings.
There are among them some tombs, and Ling chabutras, but the
greater part are small plain dewalas, empty, with the exception of one,
which contains two wretchedly executed sitting naked figures of Maha-
deo and Parbati. These buildings are scattered about the banks of
a tank called the Buddhi, Buddha, or Burhiyé ke Taléo. This tank is
about 50 yards by 25, and is excavated in the rock; it has steps all
round it; bathing in it is said to be very beneficial to soul and body.
This tank and the fort are said to have been constructed at the same
period. (40)
A little beyond the hollow ground the rampart has given way and
the fragments form a precarious descent to the slope of the hill below,
along which is a tangled path, now seldom visited owing to the trouble
of reaching it. This path conducts to a Siddh ke gupha, Bhagwan-se]
and Pani ke Aman ; the Siddh ke gupha is merely a small excavation in
the perpendicular rock formed for performing penance in ; there is a
plan and section of it in (MS.) Pl. II. figs. 1 and 2 ;* in it I found the
iwo pieces of stone containing the inscription given in facsimile No. 3.
(39) A little beyond this point the brahmans show you a spot at the foot of the ram-
part where there was formerly a large temple, to which probably these fragments pertain-
cd. There are still traces of building visible, but it is impossible to guess at their nature
or extent in consequence of the height from which you view them.—(PI. VI. fig. 1. p.)
(40) According to the tradition of the brahmans there was originally only a small
spring here, the water of which possessed great virtues. It chanced that a raja Kirat
Brikm, surnamed Krim Khot, a leper, happened to visit K4linjar, and hearing of the
spring, bathed in it and was cured ; in gratitude for which he made the tank and built
the Fort. The name of Krim Khot was probably only allusive to the disease ; Sanscrit
Bla a worm, and WIS a blemish, or WEt a scab.—But Kirat Brihm is a real name of
one of the latter Chandal Rajas, the immediate predecessor of Parmal Brihm, whose
name is mentioned on the large inscription at Nilkanth dated 1209 of the Samvat ; so
that according to this account the date of the erection of the fort would be near the end
otthe twelfth century of the Samvat, making it a good deal upwards of 700 years old.
* The publication of all Lieut. Maisey’s beautiful plans would involve so heavy an
outlay that we have been compelled to omit several. These we have had traced on thin
paper and deposited in the Society’s Library. The references to these in Lieut. M.’s
paper we have distinguished by the letters (MS.)— Eps.
¥
a
.
swyere
©
ol shif uf py Farag:
FSB cgeces eee ees eae cs
LED Sie BP LS yet hee! Poe Ee Cae Zs
SSS!
BG
|
=:
XT id
1848. ] Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. 183
Bhagwan-sej is a stone couch and pillow similar to that in Sita-sej,
but smaller and cut under a projection of the rock, as shown in plan
and section, figs. 3 and 4, (MS.) Plate II. Beyond this is the excavation
called Pani ke Aman ; itis very low and entered by asmall door about 2
feet 6 inches high ; the flat roof is supported by 3 or 4 pillars slightly
decorated. The cave, or rather hole, is very small, and so low that you
are forced to creep on hands and knees to examine it. There is no
sculpture at these places. Re-ascending to the rampart and continuing
the circuit of the fort you next reach the Pannah or Bansakar gate,
situated at an angle of the hill, which is guarded by a fausse braie.
There are three gateways, one in the rampart (PI. VI. v.), a second at the
extremity of the fausse braie, and the third a little lower down; the
two latter are blocked up. There are several inscriptions on the right
of the rampart gateway, three of which I have shown below.(41)
Passing round to the left of the gateway and proceeding to the end of
the enclosure, you find a choked up flight of steps opening on the ter-
repleine of the rampart and leading to a gateway or postern, which
formerly gave access to several places of worship, but it is now blocked
up,(42) and to reach them you must descend the-wall of the fausse
braie by means of trees growing near it. The path at the foot of the
wall runs in a scrambling up and down direction to the right and left ;
pursuing the path leading towards the breach, and passing a small
pool of water, called Bhairon ke Jhirya, you shortly reach a partially
excavated kund under projecting masses of rock, which are supported
by pillars (vide Pl. IX. fig. 7). On each side of the kund is a stone
slab or bench. The only sculpture here is a figure in relief of a
sarmén, and a small Ling at the extremity of the kund.(43) The
brahmans call this both Mahddeo and Bhairon kund. Sculptured in
the rock, about 20 feet above this kund is a large naked figure of
(41) Inscriptions on the right of Pannéh gateway :
TSAI HE WUY AHICSARATA RATATAT GIA Ve o2
HEHAS IW RIMATH AMA Gia Gag gee
on the right gate post :
BSH HEITY Hearse wasaferes F uy
(42) The path to the Siddh ke gupha, Bhagwan-sej, &c. already mentioned, was
formerly through this postern.
(43) Over the Kund is the date aaa UGX, and on the right hand slab \@?e°.
184 Description of the Antiquities aé Kdliyar. |Marca,
Bhairon, to reach which you have to climb over steep and _ slippery
masses of rock. ‘The situation of the sculpture is curious ; it is sculp-
tured in relief on the perpendicular rock with a small ledge about 2
feet wide immediately below it, which is the only standing room near
it.(44) This figure is called the Minduke or Mirke Bhairon. He
has ten arms, two supporting the rock and holding up some drapery
stretched out like a curtain, probably the veil with which at the end of
the world, he will hide the sun, thereby causing universal destruction.
(45) His various hands hold respectively, a sword, a thunderbolt,
(46) a head,(47) shield, trisul (trident), axe, club, ladu;(48) an ele-
phant is sculptured behind him, and he is attended also by his vahan
or vehicle, a dog. He has a skull in his head-dress and a garland of
them round him; under the figure isthe date 1432, «gay but under
a small figure of a worshipper on the right, which appears part and
parcel of the subject, is the date 1194 (Samvat) 4q¢¥. The Bhairon
must be Sor 9 feet high. Onthe left are three standing figures
with Ling and Joni between them, They consist of a male between
two females; the male figure holds two, and each female figure one,
string of beads. On the right is a seated female figure(49) rather
larger than life ; one hand is on her bosom, and she supports herself on
the other. Her eyes are turned towards Bhairon; she is seated on a
kind of charpai, on which is an inscription with Manu’s name, date
ayeR. (50) There are also a figure of asarman, and a head of Mahadeo.
(44) On this account Iam unable to give a drawing of ‘it: however, it resembles in
most respects the various other figures of Bhairon.
(45) One of the figures of Siva in the Elephanta cave is so represented.
(46) Hence Bhairon’s name of Bajranga.
(47) The origin of the head represented in the hand of the destructive form of Siva is
thus explained by Col. Vans Kennedy: during a quarrel between Siva and Brahma, the
former in a rage cut off with his nail one of the 5 heads of the latter, who had originally 5,
and was unable to loose it from his hand; hence he is represented with one in his de-
structive capacity.
(48) Most of the figures of Bhairon at Kalinjar are attended by an Elephant, which he
feeds with Ladu.
(49) Kali, who with Siva, is the progenitor of Bhairon.
(50) Between the years 1550 and 1600 of the Samvat, there seem to have been exten-
sive works carried on at Kélinjar. Manu Bijay seems to have been the principal architect
and sculptor (vide notes 9, 11, 14, 16, 18 ;) probably at that date the Fort was thoroughly
repaiwed as well as enriched with sculpture.
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1848. | Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. 185
Following the path at the foot of the fausse braie in the other direc-
tion, you reach, after a great deal of scrambling, three small shelving
excavations, called Fakir’s cave;(51) they are very shallow and so
sloping that sitting in them even for a few minutes must have been a
considerable penance.
The next object of interest after leaving the Pannaéh gate is the
Mrig Dharé. There are here two contiguous chambers with domed
and pyramidal roofs respectively ; they are built across the terrepleine
of the rampart, and are terraced over at top, forming in fact a kind
of casemated barbette (vide plan and section Pl. X., figs. 9,10). In
the inner chamber, B. D. is a small cistern or basin (g) full of clear
delicious water, which is constantly trickling down from a hole in the
side of the chamber ; I imagine this water must percolate from the Kot
Tirth, a large tank on the high ground above.(52)
(51) These are not caves but merely small natural hollows slightly enlarged by
manual labour. They adjoin each other, being only separated by a thin screen of rock,
which, between the two furthest is cut through. There is no trace of sculpture here, and
nothing, but the following characters in the middle cavity aataat Ue.
(52) Kot Tirth, from Sanscerit HTS a Fort, and ale, a place of pilgrimage (espe-
eially water.) This is a large tank nearly 100 yards long, artificially formed in the rocky
surface of the hill; there are several flight of steps leading down to the water in different
places. They have apparently been at one time profusely decorated with sculptures,
some of which now remain. In the wall of the tank at the N.E. corner isa reclining
figure of Vishnu Narayana. On the pathway S. E. angle of the tank isa Ling with 4
faces about 2 feet 8 inches high (vide Pl. XI. fig.11.) There are several buildings
scatterred round this tank, mostly modern, and a small dew4la at the S. W. corner, where
there are some tawdry images and several curious forms of the Ling and Joni (vide
Pl. XIII.) this end of the tank is formed by.a wall, or rather blocked up bridge, which
cuts off a small irregularly excavated portion generally dry ; probably this was only done
to give symmetry to the tank ; the Kot Tirth is also said to be supplied by springs, and the
brahmans aver that in the S. E. corner isa large deep Béoli, whose mouth is hidden
the water. As Ihad no means of getting at the spot in order to plumb the bottom, 1
cannot answer for the truth of this statement. Besides this fine tank and the Burhiya
talao already mentioned, there are several others on top of the hill. The Madar talao,
the Ramana near the lines, and the Sanichari, probably named from Sanichar or Shani,
the planet Saturn ; these three are excavated in the rock, but are neither so large nor
so carefully formed as the two before mentioned. Besides these there are two ponds nearly
dry except in the rains, one to the N. E. of the bréhman’s hut, is called Taleya or Tile-
gani, and the other on the parade, is called the Bijli Talao, almost at the foot of the hill
there is another tank called the Sursu Ganga, which seems to collect the water which
finds its way from above. Thisis a considerable sized artificial tank with steps all round
186 Description of the Antiquities af Kalinjar. |Marc#,
On the right of the cistern is a small basso-releivo of seven deer, from
which the name is derived, #4, a deer, and YTt1 a stream or current. The
origin of this name was explained to me by the brahmans, as follows *
‘In the Sat Yug there were seven sages, (4a Wf¥) who offended their
guru or religious instructor, and were cursed by him. In consequence
of his curse they were transformed into hogs, and doomed to wander in
Ujeinban or the jungles of Ujein, during the term of their lives, after
which they became deer, and are so to remain during the four Yugs, and
to subsist only on the food which pious worshippers set apart for them,
when performing the ceremony of ‘pinda parna.’”? The brahmans
repeat several couplets referring to this curious legend, which is a
proof of the planetary worship shadowed forth in the Hindu Mythology.
The ‘sapt rikh or rishi,” are the 7 stars in ‘‘ Charles’ wain” according
to Shakespear. Mr. Coleman’s account differs ; he says, ‘‘ The rishis were
the offspring of the Brahmadicas, who were the sons of Brahma. They
are seven in number, and are named Kasyapa, Atri, Vasishta, Viswamitra,
Gautama, Jamadagni, and Bharadwadja. They are astronomically the
husbands of the 6 Pleiades. How six and seven can accord, may be
difficult to understand: mythologically they were seven sages, who
obtained beatitude by their virtue and piety.” The dates at Mrigdhara
are chiefly of 1600.
About 100 yards beyond this a postern leads through a bastion on
to a terrace or fausse braie, which extends some distance in either
direction. There are two dried up kunds here, reached by steps, but no
sculpture or inscriptions. They are called Kunbhoo (queere, from
Kumbh?). From hence to the Nil Kanth gateway, there is nothing to
be seen except two or three guns(53) of the same description as that
already mentioned ; one of them at ¢ has the following inscription :—
AATICHASUSTUICA MASTS ACaieteaheaes ATAITASTT |
it, originally profusely decorated with sculpture, much of which still remains, and frag-
ments are visible in the water, at two of the corners are huge figures of Narayana similar to
the one in my sketeh of last year, but having the 10 avatar, the Kurma avatar and various
praying figures represented above and below. ‘These figures are on slabs 10 feet 6 inches
long. There area number of Lings here.
(53) At * there is an empty building called Singhasila; it isa mere pile of
stones, and I fancy from its commanding position it must have served as a look out.
* Blank in MS, Eps.
7
“]
¥
3
’
attr~-
<n A Te eee
- 1848. ] Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. 187
“Manpasar Sri Maharaj dhiraj Sri Maharaj Sri raj Hiradesa Hiju-
dev, Karigar Nandesan.”’ Close to the gateway leading to Nil Kanth is
a smaller gun with the following inscription: atarat Ataecisraicsat
PASICIAMCHSCS rest obliterated(54) ; Dhutddhant, Sri Maharaj
dhiraj Sri Maharaj Sri raj Hirade. Beyond the Nil Kanth gateway,
(55) the interior slope of the rampart is studded with fragments of
sculpture and architectural mouldings, all the way to E, where there
was formerly a chandel building called ‘‘ Parmal ke baith ke,” to which
most of these debris probably pertained; hardly any traces of the
building now remain, as its destruction was completed some years ago
to furnish materials for a tomb to Mr. Wauchope, who died at Kalin-
jar ;(56) at this point the rampart becomes suddenly sunk and runs at
that lower level as far as F whence it is again raised as far as the
main gate (7). Between # and Fis the Madar taléo, which is a dark
dismal looking artificial tank, something like Bhairon Kund, (z) but
smaller ; on the bank there is a small empty domed building, with a
low vault beneath, also empty; there are no sculptures or inscriptions
here and the place has a deserted appearance. Near F are the traces 3
of another building, also attributed to Parmél, but.no guess can be
made at its nature, as it merely consists now of a confused heap of
stones more or less chiselled and ornamented.(57)
The remaining curiosities in the fort are two images of the Barah
avatar, in which Vishnu is represented in the hog shape. One of them
is on the path leading from the main-gate to Nil Kanth, and close to the
latter place, it is formed of a fine grained bluish stone and highly
finished. On the back of the animal is the Panch-mukhi, or Panch-
anan Ling;(58) the legs are broken off. The extreme length of the
(54) There are traces of other letters below this, but it is impossible to make them out.
It was with great difficulty that I could decipher the inscriptions, as the letters are very
badly shaped and merely scratched on the gun metal and filled with brass or some other
substance.
(55) See in the sequel a supplementary account of Nilkanth in which I have included
much new matter, and endeavoured to correct any deficiencies in my last year’s Report.
(456) So say the brahmans.
(57) Between this point and the main gate there is nothing to be seen ; there are a few
fragments built into the wall here and there, but they are of no interest.
(58) So say the brahmans, though the Ling is the emblem of, and Panchmukhi and
Panchanan, names of Siva. There are several pieces of sculpture seattered along the
pathway, representing Devi Mahadeo, alone and with Parbati, &c.
2 8B
188 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. [Marcu,
sculpture is 5 feet and the thickness across the shoulder 1 foot 8 inches :
it is shown in Plate XII. The other hog is under some trees a short
distance S. E. of the Kot Tirth ; it is 7 feet 7 inches long and 2 feet 7
inches across the shoulder.(59)
Kalinjar having been originally sacred to Kali, and being now devoted
to Siva, of course the effigies of both are very numerous, especially the
Ling and Joni form of Mahadeo and Parbati (vide note 22). In figs.
19, 20, 21, Pl. XIII. several curious forms are shown ;(60) among
them some which show a great affinity to the architectural column,
which I am inclined to think is deduced from the Ling both being
emblems of man. Among the classics the column base and capital com-
plete, was always considered to represent the human figure.
Description of the Caves and Temple of Nilkanth, and the descent to
them,
I have already stated that you pass through two gateways in the
descent to the fausse braie, which contains the temple of Nilkanth.
The upper gateway (in the main rampart, or enceinte) is said to have
been built by Parmal Brimh, the last of the Chandel Rajahs,(61)
who flourished in the early part of the 13th century of the Samvat.
This is probably true, for the style of the structure corresponds with
that of the buildings, called generally Chandel.(62) On either side
of the gateway there are inscriptions in praise of various deities, and
containing pilgrims’ names. One bears the name of some baboo and
date Wa use, others are of \ug® and Ye¢, and one is shown in
(59) Itis cut out of a block of the soft stone which composes the hill and consequently
is in very bad preservation. Vide Pl. XJ. fig. 13.
(60) See note 86 for a curious type of the Joni.
(61) According to a list given to me by Captain Ellis, assistant to Col. Sleeman, and
which he had copied from a work of a native poet, Parmal Brimh, was the last of a line
of 22 rajas, called the Chandel Raj4s of Mahaba, who were fabled to be descended from
Clandrama, (the moon) and Hemoti, a bréhman woman, hence the title Brimh.
(62) The pillars and decorations in the Temple or Ras mandal below, are precisely of
the description, and the probability is that they also were erected by Parmal, or at all
events by his predecessor Kirat Brimh, (Krim Khot, the founder of the fort) note 40.
The brahmans scout this idea with horror and declare that the temple and cave were
the work of Viswakarma, the celestial architect, in the Sat Jug.
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margin.(63) The lower gateway has no inseriptions ; it is said to have
been built by Aman Singh, raja of Pannah.
Immediately below this gateway there are on the right two sculptures:
built, the one into the parapet of the steps and the other into the wall
of the gateway. The former is the upper portion of a highly finished
male figure, called Tulsidés (64); the arms are missing. The latter
sculpture represents Ravan, the king of Lanké (Ceylon), attended by
a number of male and female figures and demons, in rows on each side
ef him ; according to the brahmans, these figures represent his wives,
relations, familiars, generals, &c. Over these isa row of what appear to
be Linga, some bearing a head, others the usual division in the Ling,
and one a figure combating an animal. (65)
The length of this sculpture is 4 feet } inch, from which some idea
may be formed of the minuteness of the work, owing to which, and to
the perishable material (sandstone), the extremities are much obliterated.
The upper row contains nine four-armed skeleton figures holding clubs.
er sceptres. In the 2nd row on the left are five four-armed figures, hold-
ing clubs or sceptres, and a kind of ball(66); on the right three four-
armed figures, two hands joined, as if praying, the other two rest on
intervening pedestals ; also three large figures, one holding a child and a
sceptre, and another a musical instrument(67). The third row contains
male and female figures with four arms, two hands, holding lotus,
sceptre, and the other two resting on pedestals, also a seated figure
playing on an instrument. In the bottom row are male figures with the
lotus, sceptre, and pedestals, as above.
Ravan appears to liave had 3 heads; the only one remaining is that
of a lion; on each side of him is a female figure, seemingly surmounted
(63) MARS WWAHR ST SM fasta daa wuss vay amraate
UL TUS fear
(64) A famous fakeer or gosain.
(65) Some say that these emblems represent the gods, deotas, &c. who aided in the
siege of Lank4,—so that this figure may be Hanuman ; others call them the ‘“‘ das mastakh,”
but as there are 12 of them, and have to all appearance originally been 14, I cannot
understand that name.
(66) From the huge ear and fat bodies, these figures have the appearance of Ganesha,
but they probably represent some monsters in RAvan’s army.
(67) Vina or Lute,
190 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. [Mercu, :
by the hooded snakes(68). In the small building on the left are
several badly executed figures, viz. Rama holding a sceptre; Sita with
a closed lotus flower; Lakshman with club and bow, an armed male
figure discharging an arrow.(69) Mahadeo as Nandigan with wor-
shippers, (vide note 13); Hanuman with his foot on the demon, who
attempted to impede his approach to Lanka(70) ; there is also a small
seated figure, with one standing and presenting an offering to it : among
the numerous sculptures which line the right of the descent, I have
selected 2 for sketches on account of their curiosity ; one is the sacred
bull Nandi with Mahadeo in the Ling shape on its back, (vide Pl. XI.
, fiz. 14), it is clumsily sculptured in a square niche, as seen in sketch ;
near it is Kuver, the Hindu Plutus ; riding on the shoulder of his vahan,
aman(71). The sculptures which are built into the wall at the foot of
the descent, consist of figures of Ganesh, Mahdadeo, Parbati, Fakirs,
and a male figure with a bull’s head, called Singha Gerick. With a former
report, I enclosed a drawing in outline of the most curious perfect
sculptures among those over the small caves on the left of the descent ;
(72) the remaining sculptures are so mutilated as to be quite unadapted
for a drawing ; their arrangement is as follows : over the first or highest
cave,(73) a figure of Gauri Sankar(74), with male and female wor-
(68) This sculpture is very well executed : under the principal figure is an inscription
of which only the following characters remain, the rest being broken of :—qlewe:
Way we.
(69) Called by the brahmans Bir Badh (Hero slayer) (?)
(70) I before called this figure Ganesh by mistake, the misnomer however is excu-
sable, for the monkey’s tail curled over his shoulder looks at first exactly like an elephant’s
trunk.
(71) Vide Plate XIV.—Kuver is a brother of Ravan, and also called Paulastya. The
extremities of the ficure are wanting, but he is usually represented with closed lotus,
flowers. The sculpture is 3 feet 6 inches high ; it is Jet into the wall and has evidently
been brought from elsewhere.
(72) Two figures of K4l-Bhairon and a skeleton form of Kali.
(73) This cave contains the sculpture given in the pencil outline which accompanied
my last report ; I then called the principal figure K4li, which is correct, but it is Kali, as
Durga, the champion of the gods, and the decapitated animal is not a cow but the demon
Mahishur in the shape of a buffalee, who was slain by Durga.
(74) Gauri Sankar. The meaning of this word is I believe Mahadeo and Parbati in-
corporated, which is in fact the Ling and the Joni personated. This conjoint form of
Parbati and Mahadeo is also called arddhan4ri, from age half, and q7zy} a female, or
arddha Maheswara, half Mahadey ; Siva is said to have thus incorporated himself with
Pt. ZIV.
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1848. | Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. 191
shippers on each side ; over the 2d cave are small niches, two containing
Ling and Joni in relief, with worshippers, and the remainders empty,
though probably all at one time contained sculptures. To the right of
3d and over 4th cave are several figures of Mahadeo, both in the human
and Ling shape, with anumber of male and female worshippers ; another
skeleton form of Kali, the bull Nandi and two armed figures, one dis-
charging an arrow (Bir Badh), and the other weilding a sword, called
Mahadeo ke pute (son) ; near this figure is the inscription (No, 4), dated
Aae, containing apparently the name of Madan Brimh Deo(75). The
soft rock on which it is cut being quite exposed to the weather, the
letters are very faint, and the dingy copy which I made is far more
legible than the original. Below this and close to a figure of Narsingha,
is the inscription No. 5, dated \x¢x. Thecolossal Varaha-sarup lying
on the ground in the corner of the fausse braie is much mutilated—
the face, all the fore-arms and one of the legs being broken off. It
‘represents Vishnu in the 3rd or Hog Avatar, in which he descended to
recover the earth, which had been submerged in the waters of the
universe by a demon(76). The figure is in very high relief, on a slab
(11 feet 7 in. high) and proportionately thick. He is represented ina
combatant attitude(77). The left foot raised on a sort of lotus pedes-
tal or arch, under which are seated two female figures, surmounted by
the hooded snakes, their lower extremities are in the form of snakes,
which are coiled in a knot beneath them ; their hands are in the attitude
of prayer(78). The fore-arms of this figure are all broken off, but
traces sufficient are left to show that he held the usual symbols of
Vishnu, viz. a gadé (79), padam(80), chakr(81), and sankh(82). He
Parbati to prove that he was all-powerful and possessed of both the male and female
energies of nature.
(75) Madan Brimh was one of the Chandel rajas, who built many temples, &c. at Ma-
haba ; he is the immediate predecessor of Kirat Brimh. In the list which I have before
mentioned at Mahaba there is a large artificial lake which goes by his name.
(76) The three first avatars are supposed to refer to the deluge.
(77) The attitude exactly corresponds with that of the Vardsarup in the bass-relief of
the 10 avatars, and there is also a small detached sculpture of the same subject in which
the attitude is the same and the weapons and symbols perfect.
(78) These figures are called Nag Kaneya.
(79) Club. (80) Lotus.
(81) Wheel-shaped weapon (discus. )
(82) Holy shell: the chakr is supposed by some to represent eternity.
192 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. {[MarcH,
holds the chakr against his breast and the elbow of that arm supports
Lakshmi; he has a rich garland of lotus flowers, and behind him is a
kind of tree or stem which separates at top into three rich scrolls,
forming a canopy over his head. There are two inscriptions on this
sculpture, one at top and the other below, dated 1540(83) ; the former
contains the name of Ganesha, and the latter Uddaichand ; the words
preceding which, ‘‘ Sutr Ghar,’’ are, I fancy a corruption of ‘ Sutar,’’
a carpenter, workman (Viskarmé). The space enclosed by the pil-
lars, a. a. (MS.) Plate IIL. is called the Ras mandal(84). I have already
described it and the pillars, so that the plates require no further expla-
nation than what is given with them. I mentioned that the present
building is only the basement story, and that there were originally seven
stages (vide note 13). The small brackets or corbels, A. A. fig. 2,
(MS.) Plate VI. and M. N. O. P. fig. 2, (MS.) Plate VII. are said to
have once supported arches, the crown being let into the cornice ; there
are no traces of these arches(85), but it is evident that some support
existed, as the holes in the bottom of the cornices on each face of the
octagon are still visible. 8.8. is a small passage running round the cave ;
it is lined all along with Linga (rrr vr) of different sizes, and a raised
stone gutter (fig. 183, (MS.) Plate III.) also runs through it to drain the
cave, or rather to drain off the water which is poured over the image.
It is roughly excavated, and a passage through it is a work of considera-
ble bodily labour owing to its confined size, and the fact of the gutter
running along its whole length at a less height than two feet ; to explore
it I was obliged to creep alongon my hands and knees, alternately bump.
ing my head against the gutter and scratching my knees against a Ling,
several of which are right in the middle of the passage, and in these
(8) afeuwaruaren ule wecatred Haq (uve aferwa TWH-
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wayqruede vee aifua fe wy faasfa daa. .
(84) Ras mandal, from Tra, and Wu, the former signifying a dance, and the
latter a circle, circumference ; this has probably some reference to the Zodiac qTqy qa
(R4schakra) Krishna’s dance, called the Rasmandala, is deseribed in Major Moor’s Hindu
Pantheon an astronomical meaning,—Krishna being represented as the sun, and the
circle of dancers round him typifying the revolving celestial bodies.
(85) The arch was not, I believe, used by the Hindus until after the Musalman inva.
sion ; the probability is that these corbels-supported ornamented cross pieces of stone,
which were let into holes in the underside of the cornice.
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1848. | Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar. 193
places it is necessary to sprawl at full length. The brahmans say that
this passage is a very important object to pilgrims, who attain great
benefit from exploring it(86). The figure of Bhairon in the recess R.
(MS.) Plates 3 and 4, already mentioned, is called the Bhatuck Bhairon ;
it resembles the other figures of Bhairon, but is better preserved, owing
to its being under shelter. The terrace over the facade of the cave,
and in front of the Sarg Rohan(87), is shown in plan in Pl. XV., figure
15. The roof of the reservoir is supported by four neatly cut square
pillars, left in the solid rock ; on one of them is a sculpture of Mahadeo
and Parbati, standing together in the usual attitudes, with a canopy
of hooded snakes over them(88); I could not see these figures suffi-
ciently distinct to make a drawing of them. There are several traces
of inscriptions over the reservoir, but owing to the action of water,
they are much obliterated. I made out dates of Samvat 1554 and
1579 ; the former bearing Manu’s name. I could discover no inscription
assigning a date to the Ras mandal. The stone flooring is covered with
the names and dates of arrival of pilgrims ; among them many dates
of Samvat 1400 and thereabout ; some of 1200, and one 1194, bearing
the name Thakir(89). |
The long Sanskrit inscription No. 1, is a facsimile of that on a large
black stone slab, leaning against a pillar opposite the entrance of the
cave(90); to the left is a portion of another inscription given in fac-
(86) I imagine the confined excavation must be emblematical of the Joni or produc-
tive power of Parbati or Bhavani, also represented by the Argha or pedestal of the Ling,
and that the entering into and exit from it are emblematical of spiritual regeneration ;
Coleman in his Hind. Mythology, p. 175, says—Perforated rocks are considered as em-
blems of the Joni through which pilgrims and other persons pass for the purpose of being
regenerated ; the utmost faith is placed in this sin-expelling transit.
(87) The name given by the brahmans to the reservoir before mentioned.
(88) The figures appear to be finely sculptured, and are about 2 feet high ; the brahmans
say that under the water is a large Ling image of Mahadeo, which confirms my suppo-
sition that the cave was originally free from water ; according to them the water is very
deep at a little distance in, but I fancy the excavation is about the same depth as the other
caves, for such a mass of water as their account would infer would long ago have carried
away the slight screen of rock which is left to confine it.
(89) There is an inscription of the pillar, just above the cave given below :
° =» :
aes ay sy frewanra selacaataar
(90) A copy of this is given in Col. Pogson’s History of the Bundelas ; a great part of it
is entirely illegible from rough usage, the stone having been used at one time to macerate
tobacco on,
194 Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar. {Marcu,
simile No. 2; this is on soft sandstone, and consequently was more
difficult to transfer than the former.
The facade of the cave must originally have had a very rich appear-
ance, but it is now so plastered with whitewash as to be quite spoilt ;
the lower portion is occupied by a row of standing figures of deotas,
surmounted by scroll work; above these the facade is divided into mould-
ed compartments, and has four - pilasters, apparently corresponding in
style with the pillars in the Ras mandal(91); the space over the door
is divided into four compartments, each having a circular foliated orna-
ment, all this part is studded with holes, which the brahmans say are
from the nails or pegs to fasten down the metal plates with which the
door-way was formerly covered; a basement or plinth runs along the
whole length of the facade, and is ornamented with figures of musici-
ans and dancing girls.
The cave contains a black Ling about 4 feet 5 inches high, with 2
silver eyes(92) ; the side of the cave is relieved by several pilasters, on
which are figures of fakirs, women, &c. ‘They support a cornice con-
taining figure of musicians, worshippers, &c. The small cave contains
no sculpture, it is merely a receptacle for chiragh, gharas, &c.
The bass-relief of the Kurma avatar Pl. XVI.(93) is between the two
(91) The upper part of the facade on the right and left is much mutilated, and the two
extreme pilasters are without capitals. The whole is so thickly whitewashed as to be
quite useless in a sketch.
(92) It isa hideous image. I have given a small section of it in figure 4, Plate 4 ; in
front of it is a small trough for the water and 2 stone slabs, on which the offerings are
placed, n.n.; near this image is another coarse imitation of a face called Kirat Mukh,
and a tawdry dressed up figure of Parbati.
(93) In order to produce the amrita, water of immortality, during the operation
various wonders rose from the sea, which was changed to milk: first the moon, then Sri
or Lakshmi, Suradevi, the goddess of wine; the horse Uchaisrava ; the jewel Kaustabh ;
Parijat, the tree of plenty ; Surabhi, the beneficent cow, and the mighty elephant Airavat,
the vahan of Indra; these emanations appear to have been shared among the gods.
Vishnu getting Sri and the jewel Kaustabh, Mahadeo, the moon, which he placed in his
head dress; Indra, the elephant, the cow, the tree and the horse Uchaisrava. In Coleman’s
Mythology another version of the Kurma Avatar is given, namely, that “ Lakshmi in
consequence of the curse of Durvasa” (Siva) abandoned the three worlds and concealed
herself in the sea of milk, so that the earth no longer enjoyed the blessing of prosperity
and abundance. To recover her the gods churned the milky ocean, as related in the
Kurma avatar, by this means Sri was reproduced as Rambha, the sea-born goddess, the
Venus Aphrodites of the Greeks.
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1848. } Description of the Antiquities at Kalinar. 195
pillars at v. (MS.) Pl. III.; part of it is broken off; it represents the
churning of the ocean with the mountain Mandara ; on the right is Indra
with his Chhatabardar ; the mountain is represented by a human figure.
Some of the wonderful emanations caused by this churning are shown in
the sculpture: Sri, the goddess of plenty—seated near the tortoise,
the Jewel Kaustabh, the white horse Uchaisrava. The brahmans say
that originally all that are mentioned in the legend were represented in
the sculpture. It is 4} feet long and 114 inches high.
Underneath this is another bass-relief of the 10 avatars of Vishnu-——
in two rows. He is represented in all his incarnations; several of the
figures are represented standing and sitting on lotus thrones, and above
the heads of the upper row is a kind of arched foliage(94).
The side entrance C. D. is flanked by small pillars, y. y.; on the
lower part of which are figures in high relief: one is a skeleton Bhairon
and the other Ganesh, (Pl. XVII.) he is attended by his vahan the rat,
and has six arms.
Another of these small pillars at #. has a figure of Brahma; the
upper portions of these pillars are divided into compartments contain-
ing small figures, mostly in indecent attitudes; scattered about near
these pillars are several fragments and mutilated figures, comprising a
seated Brahma with his vahan the goose ; a seated female figure with a
goose or swan, probably Saraswati with her vahan the Hansa, emblema-
(94) The Avatars of Vishnu seem to have had beneficent objects, in which they offer
a strong contrast to the incarnation of the Greek and Roman deities, which were usually
for vicious or selfish ends.
The Machh or fish was to restore the lost Veda which had been stolen from Brahma
by the demon Hayagriva, or according to some, to warn king Satyavrata of the
approaching deluge. The Kurma or Tortoise, to support the world during the churning
of the ocean ; the Varah or hog, to recover the warld which had been submerged by
the demon Mahasir; Narsingha, to punish the tyranny and unbelief of Hirankasipa :
Vamana the dwarf, to humble the pride and reduce the power of Mahabali ; Parusram,
to avenge the wrongs of his earthly parents upon the Kshetriya race ; Ramchandra, to
recover Sita and dethrone Ravan the king of Lanka.
As Krishna he introduced the elegant arts, overthrew demons and wicked monarchs :
as Budha he reformed and humanized the Hindu religion ; as Kalki, which avatar is still
unaccomplished, he wiil appear at the end of the world mounted upona white horse
and annihilate time and space. The horse in the Kalki avatar is usually shown with his
right foreleg raised and the belief is that the signal for universal destruction will be the
stamp of that foot,
ZC
196 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. [Marcu,
tical of the river Saraswati or Sursuti. There is also a group of
Mahadeo and Pérbatt seated on a throne and attended by several
male and female figures. Mahadeo has his foot on the bull Nandi and
Parbati her’s on the lion, her vahan; under the throne is a small
figure, apparently lifting it up, which the braéhmans say, is Ravan, who
attempted to carry off Kailas the heaven of Mahadeo(95). The large
Kl Bhairon I have already sent a sketch and description of; he has
the moon in his head-dress of snakes and on his forehead a gem, which
is often substituted for his 3d eye(96) ; he has the usual weapons and
symbols in his various hands. In front of this immense figure a flight
of steps leads to a postern under the rampart, opening into a lower
enclosure ; in this enclosure is the Sidh ke gupha, shown in plan and
section figs. 5 and 6, (MS.) Plate II. ; itis empty, with the exception of
a small seat, fig. 7, (MS.) Plate II.; the door way is reached by steps ;
there are several short inscriptions here in praise of Nilkanth and other
dieties ; the dates are Samvat 1593, 1544 and 1500.
I think I have now described to the best of my knowledge all the
objects of interest that are to be met with at Kalinjar, and my only
fear is that I shall be thought to have entered too much into detail :
however, I have expressed my meaning in as few words as possible, and
any prolixity will I trust be excused in a paper treating of legends and
stories so interminable, and sculpture and architecture so minute as
those of the Hindus.
Having made a hasty visit to Ajighar near Kélinjar, I append a short
note of what is to be seen there, thinking that it may prove interesting.
(95) The distorted figures which are seen in many Hindu sculptures, supporting
larger figures or weights, represent Gutachue, the son of the forest king Heramba, and
he is thus represented by architects to commemorate his infamy in having attempted
the virtue of Draupadi, the wife of the Pandus during their exile; Bhima, one of them
hearing of it, instructed Draupadi to make an assignation in the temple, and during their
interview he tore down the columns of the temple, meaning to destroy the object of his
rage. Gutachue to save himself and Draupadi, exerted gigantic strength and supported
the whole fabric until released, in which painful and distorted attitude, he is usually
shown by sculptures.
(96) Siva has three eyes, whence his name of fala, tri-lochan, answering to the
Jupiter Triopthalmos of the Greeks, both are the personifications of Solar fire and the
spirit of all created things. The seeming contradiction implied in the worship of Siva
as the destroying genius and the creative principle also, is probably allusive to the laws
of nature, in which destruction is merely decomposition, or reproduction in another form.
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The fort of Ajighar,(97) about 16 miles from Kalinjar, is similar to
it in its nature and situation, but much smaller ; the ascent is only par-
tially fortified, and is steep and difficult. In this ascent there were, as
in Kélinjar, seven gateways, three of which are still in existence.
To the left of the second gate is a Tirth called the Ganga Jamnéa,
consisting of two contiguous kunds, merely divided by a thin partition of
rock, They are both excavated and appear to be supplied with water
in the same way as the kunds at Kalinjar; on the rock over the kund
is a long Sanscrit inscription a good deal obliterated(98) ; there are a
few pieces of sculpture to be seen in different parts of the ascent, among
which are figures of Ganesh, Hanuman, Nandi, &c. A little inside the
top or main gate is a ruined tank, called the Digi-talao ; it is cut par-
tially in the rock and has steps leading to the water a short distance
across the Parade, in an easterly direction, you see a stone enclosure
containing a coarse image of Hanuman, about 6 feet high; near this
enclosure are some small fragments of figures. On the oposite side of
the pathway, are the walls of a square building, which has apparently
once had a conical roof(99). On one side of the interior of the build-
ing are 3 large naked figures of Parasnath or Nemnath(100), and 2
small similar ones. The centre figure is about 12 feet high—the 2
side ones about 6 feet; the two latter are partially imbedded in the
floor, the head and shoulder of the former protrude above the wall.
The figures are naked and have 2 arms, holding in each hand a flower,
(97) It is said to have been built by a raja, Aji Gopal, whence the name.
(98) I could not discover a date and was unable to make a copy of the inscription, as I
had no materials at hand, having merely ridden over to see the place, intending to retura
and do any thing that appeared of interest. I was unable to put my intention into prac-
tice, as at the time of my completing the K4linjar work it rained so much for a few days
as to preclude any possibility of my going, &c. I had not time to wait longer.
(99) The ornamental stone which crowned the apex of the roof is lying near; it is
covered with small figures alternately setting and standing in rows; they all appear to be
figures of Parasnaéth.—A sketch of this stone is given Pl. XVII.; it is 4 feet 8
inches high.
(100) Parusnath, the lord of men, or as in Coleman’s Parswanatha, is according to
him the principal deity of the Jaina sect, and by some supposed to be their founder. He
is thought to be identical with Vishnu, and is known under 10 forms or avatars, The
account given of him by the Ajighar bréhman is that he isa devil and not a god, and
worshipped exclusively by the Sarowgi or Sarawak class, and Bunniyahs, who according
to the tale of the brahmans used formerly to immolate brahman children to it.
& o2
198 Description of the Antiquities at Kdlinjar. [Marca,
probably a lotus ; on the breast is a gem or perhaps a flower, called the
Duk Dukke (101); the hair of the head is short and curly (vide
Pl. XIII. fig. 23) outside are several other pieces of sculpture, including
figures of Devi, some seated figures of Parasnath, &c.; a little beyond
this is a large tank, excavated in the rock, with steps leading to the
water; under a pepul tree on the side you first reach, are several Ling
and Joni, a Ganesh and a slab, 18 inches square, covered with small
Panchanan Ling like a chess-board. There are also a large Panchanan,
or Panch-mukhti Ling figures of Mahadeo and Parbati and Nandi,
the latter at the right hand. Corner of tank, on the right bank, is a
large ribbed stone, which formerly crowned the apex of the Pagoda,
which will be shortly mentioned. On the east bank are two buildings
of a plain and modern appearance, one is empty, and the other contains
small insignificant figures of Narayan and Lakshmi, Ajipal, Ganesh and
Hanuman ; close to the building is a Vara sardp, (figure of Vishnu as
the hog), it is about 5 feet long, and of coarse workmanship, and is
standing on the dry bed of the tank.(102)
The chief objects of interest at Ajighar are four ruined buildings
ascribed to Parmal, and called Chandeli Mandir; three of them are
temples,two dedicated to Bhagwan or Vishnu, and the third to Mahadeo ;
the 4th building is of a confined cross shape, called Parméal ke baith
ke, These buildings are on the bank of a large tank called Parmél ke
talao. The three temples are in a very ruinous state, but enough
remains to show their design, and the gorgeous appearance they must
have had when perfect. The general plan of them is a circular or poly-
angular enclosure, exactly like the Ras mandal at Kalinjar, and called by
that name, but the pillars, though very rich, are less elegant, owing to
their squat proportions ; in each of the temples is a small and elabor-
ately carved doorway opening on a small recess or shrine, which
originally contained the effigy of the deity (answering to the cave of
Nilkanth) ; the conical roof or dome is over the shrine. The outside of
the temples are most elaborately carved in a succession of rich mould-
ings and scrolled pannels, with figures here and there, the whole having
(101) Probably a gem, from which perhaps the name is derived, Paras or Parasnath,
lord of the gem.
(102) It resembles the image of the hog at Ka4linjar, but is much defaced in conse-
guence of the softness of the material.
1848. | Description of the Antiquities at Kalinjar. 199
a very light and elegant appearance: notwithstanding the profusion of
ornament. The first of the three temples are pretty perfect, excepting
the conical dome; it consists of a series of squat and highly decorated
pillars in the shape of an octagon inside a square, with a small similar
series inside, the whole roofed over with richly covered slabs, and having
I think originally sustained an upper story. The door leading to the
shrine is beautifully carved.
The second temple has only one series of pillars forming a circle in
a square(103) ; the cornice is very rich. The Ras mandal is not roofed
over, but the brahmans say, that it was formerly surmounted by a
domed roof. The shrine in this one is also very beautiful and the
conical steeple more perfect. The Shiwélé is much mutilated, but it has
evidently been similar to the others. These buildings are all formed
without cement,—the stones being fitted closely into each other. The
steeples or roofs are solid, and formed of rough unhewn stones inside,
merely the outer layer being cut smoothly. There would have been
ample material for drawings from these beautiful architectural speci-
mens, but as I have before stated, I was unable to revisit the place.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES.
Plate VI.—Fig 1. General view of the plan of Kalinjar Fort, &c.
Koth Tirth.
Byli Talao.
Ramnah.
Sanichari Talao.
Taleya.
Madar Talao.
Entrance gateway to the descent to Nilkanth.
Nilkanth.
Aman Sing’s gateway.
Alm dtirwaza.
Ganesh ditto.
Chandri ditto.
Gateway opening on the path leading to Balkhandi Mahadeo.
Budh Budr darwaza.
Hanuman ditto.
8 &S SF 8 bp WO 2S eh aS
(103) I have given a sketch of one of the pillars in Pl, XIX.
200 Description of the Antiquities at Kélinjar. [Marcu,
g. Ditto Kund.
h. Lal darwaza.
i. Bhairon Kund.
j. Main gate.
k. Situation of Sita-sej.
1. Ditto of ditto Kund.
m. Ditto of Patal Ganga.
Situation of Panda Kund.
Breach.
Burhiya Talao.
s. Path to Bhagwan-se}j.
u.u. Fause braie round gate.
v. Pannah gate.
w. Mng Dhara.
x. Postern leading to Kunds, called Khumbar.
y. Singharsila.
Fig 2. Section on A. B. C. D. of fig. 1.
Plate IX. fig 7, Plan and fig, 8, Section of Mahadeo Kund.
Plate X. fig. 9, Plan, and fig. 10, Section of Mrig Dhara.
Plate XV. fig. 15. Plan of the terrace over the facade of the cave, showing
the reservoir called Sarg Rohan, the terrace in front of it, the steps leading to
it and the shape of the entablature (Hf H H H H.)
F’ F’ ¥’ The terrace. (The black dotted lines I’ F’ F’ H’ and I’ P’ O’
N’ F’ H’ correspond with the lines A BC DE, and R A’ B’ C’ D’ EF, in
(MS.) Plates 3 and 4.)
M’ N’ &c.0000 steps. W W top of building, containing musical instru-
Fig 16. Section ona befgh of fig. 15.
a b ec d, Pillars supporting roof of Sarg Rohan, (on the pillar D is the
sculpture mentioned ;) j } } Level of the water in the Sarg Rohan.
Plate XX :—
Fig 1. Elevation of the capital of a rectangular column, and the entabla-
ture over it, with their ornamental carving. The whole of the entablature
is of this style, except the inner faces of the octagon, (Plate XXI.) and the
fragment shown in fig. 4.
Fig 3. Elevation of a base (the same in each column.)
Fig 4. Elevation and profile of the fragment of cornice over the entrance
(MS. Pl. 4, fig. 2.)
Fig 5. Elevation and profile of the side of the stone floor or basement
within the Octagon.
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1848. ] Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, &e. 201
Plate XXI :—
Elevation of a grotesque capital and its ornamental carving and entablature
at the angle of the Octagon. The elevation is taken from the interior of the
Octagon, as the entablature on the inner side is carved differently from the
other portion.
Plate XXII :—
Drawing of another grotesque capital,
Plate XXIII :—
Carved chafts of both orders of columns in front of the cave.
Notrse.—The Editors regret that owing to the sickness of the Pandit upon
whose assistance they relied in transcribing the inscriptions which should
form the Appendix to the foregoing paper, they are compelled to postpone the
publication of these till next month.—Eps.
OO OOMOmmwwww””
Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, to the Chu Murert Lake, in
Laddk, during the months of August and September 1816.—By
Capt. ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM, of Engineers.
Leaving Simla on the 6¢h August, we proceeded vid Kunihar and
Sahiheti to Bilaspir on the Sutlej, which we reached on the following
day, and on
Saturday, 8th August 1846, we crossed the Sutlej in the ferry-boat,
which was swept down the stream a considerable distance, the river
being then at its greatest height. Some of my baggage was conveyed
across on dhrés, or inflated ®uffalo skins. Baron Hugel erroneously
calls them oz-skins ; a mistake which has not been corrected by his
translator Major Jerry, who as an old Indian officer should have known
better than to transport Hindus upon ox-skins. But the Major has been
guilty of a bold piece of pictorial invention in the manufacture of a
sketch to illustrate ‘‘ the method of crossing rivers in the Punjab on
inflated skins,” where the buffalo skins are represented with horns,
ears, and tails, as if the animal were alive, floating with the back out of
the water, and the paddler astride across the back. In reality the skin
floats upon its back with the legs upwards, and the paddler lies across
the skin with his feet on one side—hanging in the water, while he
grasps one of the legs in his left hand, and uses a small paddle with
202 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, Ye, [Marcu,
his right hand. The horns and ears are removed and all the orifices
are carefully sewn up, with the exception of one leg, which is left open
for inflating the skin, and when in use, is secured with a piece of string
or a leather thong. When crossing upon a single skin the passenger
generally sits across the back of the paddler, or kneels upon the skin
to keep his feet dry, whilst he holds on by the legs of the skin. A
preferable mode of crossing is by two skins with a charpai, or bed-
stead fastened upon them, on which the passenger sits safe from all
mishaps, unless the waves should be high, when there is the certainty
of being well wet with spray, and the chance of the skins being separat-
ed. Asit rained heavily and the road was. dangerously slippery, we
halted at Chatwali-ki-heti, distance only 5 miles.
Sunday, 9th August. Marched again through heavy rain to Kumar-
ki-heti, distance 6 miles. Baron Hugel spells this name Kumagaheti,
and states that gaheti means a serai or lodging. This is a gross mis-
take, which might be pardonable in the traveller, but which cannot be
passed over in the translator. Ga, ka or da, is the sign of the geni-
tive case thoughout the Punjab, and Aeéi meansa shop. Kumar-ki-
heti, or Kumar-ga-heti is therefore the shop of Kumar. Some of these
hetis are single shops on the road-side, and they take their appellations
from any local peculiarities of situation as well as from the names of
the Banyas or grain-sellers who build them: thus Bur-ki-heti is the
*‘shop under the Banian-tree,” Ghati-ki-heti, is the “shop on the
ghat,” &c. &c.
Monday, 10th August. 'To Ghori Matoli, 8 miles. |
Tuesday, 11th August. To the Sikunder ki dhar, 6 miles.
Wednesday, 12th August. To Mundi, 16 miles, over the Pass. On
the previous night we slept at the village of Barla, not far from the
top of the Pass; this morning we found the height of the Pass to be
5,430 feet above the sea. As the Sikunder-ki-dhar had attracted the
attention both of Moorcroft and of Vigne, we made inquiries on the spot
from the people of the country who were with us, in order to ascertain
what foundation there was for Vigne’s identification of this spot as the
locality of the altars of Alexander. His words are—‘no place could
possibly have been chosen which would have been better adapted for
the altars. Being by the side of the highway it became impossible for
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, Se. 203
any one to pass without seeing them.”’* It will be sufficient to observe
that the Sikunder-ki-dhar is on the high road which leads to the poor
country of Ladak, and not any where near the high road which leads to
the rich provinces on the Ganges, whither Alexander was directing his
steps, when his soldiers refused to proceed farther : on which occasion
he erected twelve altars of stone on the eastern bank of the Hyphasis
or Byds. It is besides particularly recorded that there was a desert to
the eastward of the Hyphasis on Alexander’s proposed route. I pre-
sume that Mr. Vigne will scarcely be so bold as to identify this desert
with the luxuriantly rich valley of the Suket river, which lies to the
eastward of the Sikunder-ki-dhar. He appears to have been chiefly
attracted by the name and by ‘‘ some ruins surrounded by a trench
cut in the solid rock.” Moorcroft however, with his usual sound judg-
ment, came to a different and more probable conclusion regarding these
ruins ; of which he says :—‘‘ The whole was evidently the remains of a
fortified camp, but I found nothing to indicate a Grecian origin.’+ I
found that the Baori or walled spring of water just below the Pass was
also called Sikander-ki-baori, which as well as the ruins was attributed
by the people to a Sikander, but not to Sikander Zulkarnein, or Alex-
der the Great. If the name has reference to a king, which is perhaps
doubtful, I should incline to refer it to Sikander Lodi, the great image-
breaking king of Delhi, who delighted in destroying the temples and
gods of the infidels. Had he heard of the temples of Mundi, he could
only have marched there from Kangra, (which was the Mahomedan
head-quarters) over the Sikunder-ki-dhar, and in that case there is
nothing more likely than that he should have formed a camp on the
hill to command the high road, whilst engaged against the infidels in
the valley below.
Saturday, 15th August, 1846. Crossed the Byas by skins at 5 Pp. Mm.
The river was running rapidly—the right bank very much cut up, and
huge rocks still falling into the stream. We heard the plunges of many
of them while we were at Mundi; halted for the night at the village of
Air. So great a rise in the Byds, has not, it is said, occurred for the
last hundred years.
Sunday, 16th August. Started at half past 5 a. m. ; road for first mile
almost obliterated by the Byas; marks of the high flood were clearly
* Vigne’s Kashmir, i. 104. + Moorcrott’s Travels, i, 69.
2D
204 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &e.. [Marcu,
traceable along the steep banks where the river has washed away every
particle of earth and every trace of vegetation, and left the rocky
strata bare for about 25 feet in height. The rocks look exactly as if
blasted with fire along the course of the river, which is the more re-
markable now from the green freshness of the foliage about. At 4
- miles the road turns to the east, and ascends very gradually to the top
of the Pachind Pass.
The Pachind Pass is 4,900 feet above the sea, and the level ground
on each side of the Pass partly under cultivation, is 5000 feet high.
This Pass commands the high road into Kulu. From the round topped
hills right and left of the Pass, distant less than a mile, can be seen the
fort of Bhyrkot in Kulu, the Jinetri Devi temple and the peak of Shall
near Simla. As a military position I consider Pachind as the most
eligible that I have yet seen for the location of native troops. The
height, 5000 feet, is sufficient for coolness. There are good slate
quarries immediately below the Pass to the west, and a considerable
supply of water, only 150 feet below the pass on the eastward, partly
preserved in a well constructed Baori, but chiefly running down the
face of the hill. This is a never-failing spring, and I observed no
difference in the supply of water before and after the rains. I crossed
the Pass on the 16th of June, first, and again on the 16th of August.
The iron mines of Kuman lie only 4 miles to the eastward ; there is
plenty of good building stone at the top of the hill; and there is wood
procurable below the Pass in the neighbourhood of the slate quarries.
The position is 6 miles N. E. of Mundi, and it commands the high
road, and only horse road which leads from the Kangra and Mundi
districts into Kulu, and if it should be found necessary to locate troops
in or near Kulu I would strongly recommend Pachind for the canton-
ment. Two companies might be stationedin Bhyrkot, and the commu-
nication be kept up with Pachind by signals of guns, both day and
night.
From Pachind the road descends rapidly to the bed of the Ohl river,
a large torrent unfordable at all seasons. At the foot of the descent
there was formerly a spar bridge across the Ohl, but the horizontal
spars were burnt during the insurrection against the Sikhs a few years
ago. The piers and sloping spars are however still perfect, and as they
have withstood the extraordinary flood of this year, they are likely to
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, Se. 205
stand as long as the materials will last. Beyond the bridge the pre-
sent road continued up the right bank of the Ohl river for half a mile,
to a spot where the stream is rather smooth—and there we crossed upon
skins—the clumsy but useful Dhrés. The Ohl rises in the snowy
range, about three days’ journey distant, and close to the source of the
Serbrie river, which joins the Byds below Sultanpir, in Kulu. From the
Ohl the road ascends to the alluvial flat and then descends to the Utr-
sal nullah, which we forded with difficulty. By repairing the broken
bridge across the Ohl this ford would be avoided. From the ford the
road continues up the left bank of the Utr-sal rivulet to Kuman, where
are the iron mines, about 200 yards to the right of the Bunya’s house.
The ore lies in thin layers and streaks in a dark micaceous sandstone.
The stone is so soft that it is pounded by hand with small round
boulder stones. It is then washed in small wooden platters and the
sand is poured off with the water, leaving the ore in the shape of a
coarse black heavy sand at the bottom. One seer of this ore yields
half a seer of iron. The metal is considered good, and is sold on the
spot at 24 rupees per pukka maund, or | rupee per kucha maund, of
12 seers, which is cheaper than it was in Moorcroft’s time, when the
price was 33 rupees per pukka maund.
From Kuman the road descends to the Utresdl nullah, which was
again forded with less difficulty than before. We halted at Utr-sal in
the Dharmsala, which was 4,255 feet above the sea.
Monday 17th August. To Bajaora, 9 miles. The road from Utr-
sal to the foot of the Ghat was but little injured by the heavy rains of
this year, but the ascent of the Bajaora Ghat, which is commonly call-
ed Kandi, was very much cut up. The ascent lies through a thick
forest of large trees, and the ground is literally enamelled with flowers,
among which the wild sweet-scented pea is very luxuriant. In June,
when I crossed this Pass before, asters were the commonest flowers, but
they had now disappeared. On the eastern face the road was complete-
ly obliterated, excepting in a few isolated spots. The heavy rains of
this year have swept away all the alluvial soil from the bed of the
Bajaora nullah, and left behind only a wreck of enormous boulders and
fragments of trees. It appears to me that it would now be very diffi-
cult to make a road down the course of the nullah, on account of the
steepness of the hills on both sides. As this was the high road
2p 2
206 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, Ye. |Marcn,
through Kulu to Ladak, I presume that the Government would wish
to keep it in good order; and I would suggest that instead of attempt-
ing to repair or rather to re-make the road down the Bajaora nullah, it
would perhaps be better to take a new line altogether from the Bajaora
Pass towards Bhyrkot, keeping the road below the fort. This part I
have not examined ; but from the fort downwards to the By4s there is
at present an excellent foot-path along the gently sloping side of the
hill, passing through villages and corn-fields for above five miles to the
bank of the Mawar nullah beyond Sumsi. By taking the road in this
direction a saving of about 4 or 5 miles would be effected in the dis-
tance between Mundi and Sultanpitir.
The height of the Bajaora Pass is 6,484 feet.
Tuesday 18th August. To Siltanpir, the capital of Kulu, 9 miles,
At two miles crossed the Kokan Khud. Kokan is a large village on a
spur of the hill, with a new picturesque Chinese looking temple—chiefly
built of wood. Since I was here in June last, the Kokan torrent, owing
to the late heavy rains, had destroyed a large tract of well cultivated
land 200 yards at base, by 250 yards or more in depth. The whole of
this tract, which two months ago I saw smiling with young green rice,
is now covered with large blocks of mica slate, in some places about 20
feet thick. The only part of the Sikh road now traceable is near a large
tree, which is still standing in the midst of the rubbish, with its square
stone terrace around the trunk, for the accommodation of travellers to
rest beneath its shade.
The delta of the Mawur nullah is now about 400 yards broad at the
base, by five or six hundred yards in depth. Only two months ago it
was a well cultivated tract, but it is now strown over with huge blocks
of mica slate and thousands of trees, and fragments of trees of ail sizes,
looking like Nature’s timber-yard.
Just before entering Siltanpur, we crossed the Serberi nullah by two
spars thrown across the stream, the bridge having been carried away by
the floods. The bed of the Serberi is also strown with trees, but there
are no marks which show so sudden and great a rise as must have taken
place in the Bajaora and Mawur nullahs. The heavy rains must have
been confined to the hills south of the Serberi. Probably the Parbati,
Gomati, Synj, and Tirthan also rose very high this year, for the first
has carried away all the bridges built by Lena Singh on the road to the
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, fe. 207
hot spring, called Parbati Kind, and the others have carried away all
the bridges on the lower part of their course. Even small dribbling
threads of water, as they appear now, were (about the Ist, when the
floods happened) large enough to move blocks of stone about 10 feet
cube from 100 to 150 yards along a very gentle slope, and to cover the
fields 10 feet deep with clay and sand.
These floods fully account for the unprecedented rise of the Byds
river, which the people of Mundi say has been higher this season, than
for the last one hundred years. All the small streams which feed the
Byas, have this year swept down large trees and enormous blocks of
stone, along with clay, sand, boulders, and mud ; and have deposited a
mass of rubbish on the alluvial and cultivated flat on the banks of the
Byas. A similar flood must have occurred at least once before within
the last 250 years; for at the village of Hath, opposite Bajaora, there
are two stone temples which were built by Syama Sen, Raja of Mundi,
just 250 years ago, one of which is on high level ground, but the other
is more than half buried in rubbish, about 10 feet deep, which tradition
says was brought down by the Bajaora nullah more than a hundred
years ago, on account of the negligent government of a certain Bhosul
Rajé. His extreme carelessness regarding the affairs of government
has passed into a proverb, which is in the mouth of every one.
Barah pétuh, atharah dani,
Bhosul Raja, khabar na jani.
Which may be translated —
One of twelve gourds took each exciser
And Bhosul Raja none the wiser.
The town of Siltanpur is surrounded with dry stone walls ; only 200
of the houses are now inhabited, and the place appears to be nearly
deserted. In 1839 about 400 houses were inhabited, but even in
Moorcroft’s time, A. D. 1820, the town bore marks of decay. He says,
‘‘J<ulu is of no great population or extent.”’ There were formerly be-
tween 600 and 700 inhabited houses. The town is also sometimes
called Raghunathpir, from a temple dedicated to Raghunath.
Wednesday 19th August. Marched to Dwara, 10 miles. Road
along the right bank of the By4s, paved with large stones from 10 to
50 feet above the river for the first 3 miles. It then descended to the
208 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, §c. [Marcn,
bank of the river, and continues along the water’s edge for some dis-
tance. The stream divides, and winds amid luxuriantly wooded islets,
now rushing impetuously in one sheet of white foam over rocks, and
again murmuring occasionally unseen between overhanging trees ; now
joined by torrents vehemently roaring and white with foam; and
again gleaming placidly in the sunshine between the numerous islets,
which are covered with many kinds of trees, including the apricot, the
peach, the apple, and the pear—with the wild vine and wild fig. The
scenery is remarkably beautiful, and extremely pleasing to the eye from
its greenness and variety.
Just before reaching Dwara, we crossed the Phajloti or Phajrani
nullah by a bridge of spars 100 feet in length, with a planked roadway
4 feet in width. The span of the bridge was 60 feet, with a rise above
the stream of 18 feet. The Phajrani is a large unfordable nullah, with
a bed full of boulders.
At Dwara we procured fine large wild apples with plenty of good
cucumbers and peaches. We put up in the same Dharmsala, which
Capt. Broome and myself occupied in 1839. A Dharmsiala is properly
a traveller’s house, and it is sometimes attached to a temple, as at Dwa-
ra. In 1839 it was unoccupied, but this year we found that a Gosdin
had established himself in the building—to the exclusion of all travel-
lers, who are obliged to put up in an open shed close to the Dharmsala.
Height of Dwara 5,150 feet above the sea.
Thursday 20th August. Marched to Monéli, 14 miles. For the
first two miles the road lay along the edge of an alluvial flat, it then
descended to the low ground near the river which was covered with
boulders and jungle, through which it continued for one mile, occasion-
ally along the brink of the river. It then ascended a rocky point, and
again descended to the river, in which, at the foot of the cliff a pathway
about 50 feet in length was constructed of loose stones, which were
covered with water. Beyond this point to the Sita kind, 9 miles from
Dwara, the foliage was very thick. The large sweet pea, and small
plants, with pink and blue bells were very common ; and the jungle was
filled with-the gigantic nettle, 8 and 9 feet high, with leaves more than
a foot broad, and from a foot to a foot and a half in length.
The Sita-kind is a hot spring of a bitter taste: temprature 104°; the
same as I found it in 1839. It is 5,700 feet above the sea, in the middle
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &e. 209
of the valley, and only a few feet higher than the level of the river. It is
surrounded by a low wall of masonry, and is enclosed in a small tank
12 feet square, and 3 feet deep.
The road from the hot well to Monali for five miles lay through a
thick tree jungle. The occasional glimpses of the Byas shining amongst
the trees with its numerous tributary torrents dashing and foaming over
huge rocks as they descend into the river, are very beautiful. The
height of Monali is 7000 feet above the sea; just before reaching Mo-
nali, we crossed the rivulet of the same name, a large unfordable stream,
by a spar bridge, 60 feet in length.
Opposite to Monali is the village and hot spring of Vashishta Muni,
a celebrated saint, to whom common tradition assigns the origin of the
name of the Bydés. The Sanskrit name is Vipdsa. The origin of the
name is thus related in the Mahabharat: Vashishta Muni, being over-
whelmed with grief on account of the death of his sons, who had been
slain by Viswamitra, became weary of life, and having tied his hands
and feet with cords threw himself into the Byas river; but the pious
river burst his bonds, and wafted him ashore unhurt.
The following explanation of the above legend appears to me as sim-
ple as it is natural.
Just below Monali and the hot springs and village of Vashishta Muni,
the valley of the Byas closes in, and the gneiss rocks which have been
thrust up through the mica slate are scarped on both sides of the val-
ley, forming opposing cliffs, which rise toa height somewhat greater
than the levels of Monali and Vashishta Muni. The lower village of
Monili is situated on an extensive alluvial flat, below which, on the op-
posite bank of the Monali nullah, there is along spur covered with
pines, which stands out prominently, and stretches nearly across the
valley. This spur is much higher than the level of the Monéali
lands, and I have no doubt that it once extended right across the
valley, and pent up the river, which must then have formed a large
lake, the bottom of which was the extensive alluvial flat of Monali,
which could only have been formed in this manner. Indeed, there is
every appearance of the former existence ofa lake in this part of the bed
of the Byds, from which the waters made their escape between the
gneiss cliffs just below Monali and Vashishta Muni. When the lake
existed the hot springs must have been covered by its waters, In the
210 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, Sc. [Marcu,
course of time, as the gneiss rocks were either gradually worn down, or
suddenly rent asunder, and swept away by the Byas river, the hot
springs of Vashishta Muni were brought to light, or to use the language
of the legends “the bonds of Vashishta Muni were burst” by the
waters of the river, which was afterwards called Vi-pdsa, or ‘‘ the bond-
less.” .
The Mahabharat further relates that the sage Vashishta, being deter-
mined on suicide flung himself afterwards into the Satadree or Sutlej ;
but the pious waters of the river divided themselves into a hundred
shallow channels and left the disappointed sage on dry land: from
which the river was ever afterwards called Satadree, “the hundred-
channelled,” from Sata, a hundred, and dree, to flow.
Friday 21st August. Marched in the afternoon to Boorwa, distance
five miles. We were detained at Monali making arrangements about
provisions, which we are obliged to carry with us, as Lahul and the
countries beyond produce little or no wheat. The road from Monali to
Boorwa was good; the latter part much blocked up by numerous gneiss
boulders, with which the whole of the Boorwa plain is thickly strown
over. The cultivation about Boorwa was principally buckwheat.
Height of Boorwa above the sea, 7500 feet.
Saturday 22d August. Marched to the Les-dhar Dhurmsiala—8
miles. Just beyond Boorwa we crossed the Sarahi nullah, an un-
fordable torrent, by a spar bridge. From this point the road was a
gentle ascent at first, then rather steep by steps built in the rock where
the Byas is confined between precipitous cliffs. Just beyond Ralha, a
halting place 5 miles from Boorwa, there is a picturesque fall of 20 feet,
in the Byds, where the bed of the river is contracted to 8 feet in width.
The same tree is lying across the stream, just overhanging the fall,
which I observed in 1839, but it is now much decayed. Beyond Ralha,
the ascent is by a flight of stone steps, generally very steep, to the Lés-
dhar Dhurmsala. The ascent was extremely fatiguing, and rain having
fallen during our journey, we found the wind piercingly cold even in the
Dhurmsila, which being built of dry stones without any cement admits
the air through a thousand crevices. The height of Lés-dhar above the
sea is 10,500 feet. There are two buildings, about 20 by 10 feet,
which were erected by Lena Singh Majithia since 1839, when I formerly
travelled this road.
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, Se. 211
Sunday 23rd August. The ascent from Lés-dhar to the top of the
Pass was gentle and easy. There was no snow on the Pass, and we
were able to trace the Byas river to its actual source, 300 yards beyond
the block of mica slate noticed by Moorcroft, to a ridge of mica slate
at the top of the Pass, from beneath which it trickles forth in a gentle
rill. Just below the block of mica slate a new temple has been built
by Lena Sing Majithia, dedicated to the Rishi Vyasa (or Byds Rikhi)
the compiler of the Vedas. The Pass is 13,000 feet above the sea.
The descent from the top of the Pass to Koksar, the first village in
Lahul, was steep but easy ; the distance about 5 miles.
Monday 24th August. The jhula, or suspension bridge over the
Chandra river, not having been put up this year, we were obliged to halt
on the left bank opposite to Koksar. This jhula is annually carried
away by the snow, which is drifted down in enormous masses from the
hills to the south. The river too is constantly varying in width. In
1820 when Moorcroft crossed the Chandra the jhula was only 96 feet
long. In 1839, when I travelled this road before, it was 106 feet long :
but this year it was 210 feet in length. One cause of the greater length
of the jhula was the undermining of the projecting rocks on the south-
ern bank, from which the bridge was formerly sprung. Large masses of
this rock were lying immediately below the jhula.
This description of bridge is quite safe; but it is very unpleasant to
cross, from the little height of the suspension side ropes above the foot-
rope, and the great play of the bridge, which swings about very much
from side to side, as well as up and down, whenever more than one per-
son goes upon it. J have seen a woman; a native of the country, sit
down in the middle of the bridge, and scream for assistance ; many o¢
the eoolees also cannot cross with their loads, which they are obliged to
make over to people of the place. |
The Koksar jhula was formed of two side suspension ropes and a foot-
rope connected with the side ones by smaller ropes at short intervals.
Each of the side-ropes was formed of seven birchen-twig cables of four
plaits, and the foot-rope consisted of three cables of the same thickness ,
Tuesday, 25th August, Crossed the Chandra river to Koksar. From
this place there are two roads leading into Piti—the first down the
Chandra river, the second up the river. The first, which is the better
road, is that which we followed ; the second, which is much the shorter
25
212 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, §&c. [Marcn,
one, is described as being very bad for the first half. By this route a
laden coolee can travel from Koksar in Lahul to Losar on the Piti river
in six days. The marches are the following.
1. Old Koksar (deserted) on the left bank of the Chandra.
. Halt (name unknown) ditto ditto,
. Shigri, ditto ditto.
. Hoolyas, at the foot of the Koolzoom Pass.
. Hoolyads, on the opposite side of the Pass.
. Losar.
Oo oO PR WH LH
Two other roads from Kulu, namely, one up the Parbutti river, and
the other up the Raini rivulet, both join at Shigri. They are described
as being seldom used, on account of the difficulty of the Passes.
Small firewood of furze bushes is procurable the whole way from
Koksar to Losar.
Wednesday, 26th August. To Tehling 5 miles. Road stony, but
generally good. The ascents and descents of the nullahs steep and bad.
These might easily be made better with a very little labour.
Thursday, 27th August. To Sheeling, 7 miles. At Sisu we crossed
the nullah of the same name by a bridge; the water foaming and roar-
ing between precipitous rocks, with a fall of about 50 feet immediately
below the bridge.
Friday, 28th August. To Goondla or Rani ki koti, 4 miles. Road
good throughout. Halted here on account of fever and ague, and to
make arrangements about coolees and provisions. During our stay at
Goondla the greatest difference between the wet bulb and dry bulb
thermometers was 234° from 12 4. mM. to2 p. M., which shows an
excessively dry climate. We also observed that a strong wind sprang
up about mid-day from the eastward, which blew for two or three hours
daily, raising the finely pulverized dust in clouds, which we found very
annoying in this almost treeless country. At Rani ki kothi however
there were numerous gooseberry bushes, and on the slopes of the hill
above there were several clumps of the pencil cedar (Juniperies excelsus)
which is called Sidr by the Lahulis and Shupa or Shupka by the La-
dakis and Bhotis.
Monday, 31st August. To Kardang on the Bhaga river, 10 miles.
Road to Gantal at the junction of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers not
so bad as in 1839, but still dangerous in parts from landslips. The
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &e. 213
bed of the Chandra is here exceedingly narrow ; and the mountains are
bare, bleak and wild, and blasted, as if freshly risen from the innermost
and fiery depths of the earth. The limestone strata on the left bank
are very much contorted. From Gantal to Kardang, 4 miles, the road
was at first very bad, with a steep descent, and a still steeper ascent
over almost perpendicular landslips. The rest of the road was very
fair. The country improves on approaching Kardang; and the view of
the Bhaga valley, with the high picturesque-looking houses in the vil-
lage of Kardang, situated on a commanding point, is really beautiful for
this desolate district. There are numbers of trees too around the
village, especially pollard, willows and pencil cedars, with numerous
gooseberry and rose bushes.
Tuesday, 1st September. To Kolang, 13 miles. A large village with
temple. Road, for 3 miles, along the left bank of the Bhaga river, bad :
but it could be easily made into a very good one. Crossed the Bhaga
by a Sanga, ov spar bridge of 38 feet span, and 40 feet above the
stream, having a roadway 4 feet broad of split spars without a hand-
rail. At this point the river is confined in a narrow chasm of only 30
feet in width, between siliceous rocks, in which the waters forever rush
and rave impetuously and franticly from side to side. From the bridge
there is a steep ascent to Goomring: thence the road lay for 3 miles
amidst cultivation along the edge of the bank and about 600 feet above
the river. For three miles more the road ran through a thin forest of
pencil cedars and along the edge of very steep rocky cliffs—then again
over rough, stony, and barren ground for 5 or 6 miles to Kolang.
Throughout this march the road was bad. The hills on the opposite
bank of the Bhaga look barren and hideous, and scathed as if with fire
—with bare and frightful precipices, so steep that even the snow can-
not rest upon them. But high above all these rise the majestic snowy
peaks of Rinkanta and Tint, the latter named from a village at the foot
of the hill, khRin-kdnta, the “ avalanche-peak,”’ is a remarkable look-
ing cone of snow which may be seen from Siltanpir.
Wednesday, 2nd September. To Darcha, 10 miles, A rapid, steep,
zig-zagey descent from Kolang, amidst granite boulders, to the bed of
the Bhaga. Thence atolerably level road along the river’s edge,
among stones, and over grassy ground for about 4 miles to Jaspa, a
pretty looking village with plenty of trees about it. From Jaspa the
2E 2
214 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, §c. [Marcn,
road for the first mile and a half was good, then alternately over loose
stones and rocks to the bed of the Zanskar river, up which it ascends
for nearly a mile to the Sanga or spar bridge,—which consists of 2
spars of 58 feet span raised 12 feet above the stream, with a road-
way of split spars, and no hand-rail. The Zanskar river is a consider-
able stream, apparently as large as the Bhaga. Immediately opposite
the Bhaga is joined by another large stream, the Milang. From the
bridge the road follows the Zanskar river for about a mile to Darcha, a
small, poor, desolate-looking place, completely bare of trees, excepting
only five stunted pollard willows. From this place there is a tolerably
good horse road up the Zanskar nullah into the district of Zanskar.
Moorcroft’s decaying and dangerous hill, to avoid which he was obliged
to eross over to the Milang side of the river, is now quiescent, and the
high road runs over the débris at the foot of it.
During our stay in the Lahul district the thermometer ranged _be-
tween 40° and 50° at sunrise, and rose to between 70° and 80° at mid-
day.
Thursday, 3rd September. To Shungnung or Chungnung, a mere
halting place, 5 miles. Road for the first mile and a half a tedious
ascent; then continuous rough and stony ascents and descents. No
- firewood at this place: the coolees used sheep’s dung, with which the
ground was covered in all directions.
Friday, 4th September. To Kitpobrang, another halting ground,
8} miles. Road slight ascents and descents for 24 miles to Dojam ; a
level spot used by the shepherds and traders as an encamping ground,
then stony for 14 mile to Patseo, where we crossed the Bhaga river.
This bridge is dignified with the name of Patseo (or the stone bridge)
merely because the roadway is formed of slates instead of the usual
split spars. Itis thrown across the stream at a very narrow point,
where a large rock confines the waters within a space of 6 or 7 feet,
the whole length of the bridge being only 12 feet. Thence for two
miles the road is level and stony to the junction of a large stream
which comes from the north. Beyond this the road turns sharply to
the eastward up the Jeft bank of the Bhaga for 3 miles to Kitpotrang ;
height 13,400 feet; country very stony, but covered with numerous
strawberry plants. The hills still bare, steep, and scathed, as if with
fire.
1848. ] Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, &e. 215
Saturday, 5th September. To the Yunam lake, 13 miles. Road
for 5 miles good, but very stony; with a gentle ascent to Mongpa
(or Mapti) a level halting place at the foot of the Bara Liacha Pass.
From this point we crossed the Bhaga on a solid mass of snow, which
stretched right across the river, and beneath which the stream rushed
along impetuously. In A. D. 1820 Moorcroft saw a mass of snow
across the river in this‘very spot. Beyond this the road was a gentle
ascent for 4 miles to the Suraj Dul, or lake, which is a small oblong
sheet of clear green water hemmed in at its western end by the debris
of rocks fallen from above, about one quarter of a mile long, and half
as broad. The water finds its way out of the lake unseen through this
mass of disintegrated rocks. From thence the road was for nearly a
mile almost level, along the dry bed of the lake, and then a short but
steep ascent to the top of the Pass. From the total absence of snow
this year the source of the Bhaga was traceable to a ridge to the east-
ward of the Pass, somewhat more than a mile above the lake. ‘This is
the true source of the Bhaga river ; for the Chandra rises on the oppo-
. site side of the ridge.
We were particularly fortunate in the mildness of the season which
had melted every trace of snow on the Pass. It is remarkable that we
crossed the Bara-Lacha on the anniversary of the day on which Moor-
croft had crossed it twenty-six years before us. He found the snow
“‘lymg in vast undisturbed masses,”’ on all the great slopes and crests
of the chain. Bara-Lacha, or as it is often called, Bara-Lach, means
the “middle pass,” it being the middle one of the three great passes
on the high road from Ladak to Kulu and Mundi; the others being
the Langa-Lach and the Kotang.
At mid-day the temperature in the shade was 55°, and the boiling
point of water by an excellent thermometer by Dollond, was 183°5°,
which, following Prinsep’s tables, would give a height of 16,276 feet,
or 224 feet too low, the actual height having been correctly ascertained
on two separate occasions by Moorcroft and Gerard, from barometrical
measurements, to be 16,500 feet. In 1839 a capital thermometer
belonging to Capt. Broome made the height to be 16,332 feet, or 168
feet too low.
The summit of the Pass is almost level for about half a mile. Each
of the prominent parts is crowned by a pile of stones covered with
216 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, Sc. {[Marcu,
votive pieces of rag, and horns which are dedicated to Gépan. From
the Pass the road descended along the side of the hill to the bed of the
Yunam river, which rises to the south-east near the sources of the
Chandra and the Bhaga. It then continued along the left bank of the
Yunam for about 3 miles to the Yunam lake, a large sheet of water,
1000 yards long by 500 yards in breadth. It must have been former-
ly more than twice this size, and it is probably much larger even in the
present day during July and August, when the snows are melted by the
mid-day sun. When Moorcroft saw it, it was clear :—but we found
it tinged with the pale ochrous clay which is washed into it by a small
stream on the left bank of the river immediately above the lake. The
dry bed is an extensive sheet of small stones, below which the water
may be distinctly heard trickling towards the lake. On the 28th of
September, when I returned by the same road, I found that the lake
had shrank to about three-fourths of its former size, its level having
fallen 3 or 4 feet, leaving the eastern side quite dry. ‘The water was
much clearer than before, which was most probably owing to the greater
coldness of the season which had arrested the melting of the snow, and
stopped the supply of water which formerly washed down the pale
ochrous clay into the lake. Moorcroft remarks of the lake that ‘not a
weed deformed nor a wave ruffled its pellucid and tranquil waters,
there seemed to be no fish in it, nor was any bird nor even a fly in its
vicinity.’ The same solitude and utter desolation of the scenery
around the lake was remarked by ourselves, and suggested the follow-
ing lines, which are descriptive of the place :—
On Yunam’s still and yellow lake
No living thing is seen :
Along its bleak and rocky shore
There is no smiling green.
The scathed hills rise on all sides
As bare as at their birth,
When by tremendous force upthrust
Fresh from the depths of earth.
No joyous bird on early wing
Beholds the morning break ;
But winter’s stern and chilly eye
Frowns o’er the cheerless lake.
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, Sc. 217
Eternal silence reigneth there
Upon his snow-girt throne ;
And the unsyllabled dull air
Sleeps echoless and lone.
The dreary stillness that pervades
Earth, air, and all around,
Appals the heart ; and social man
Longs for some cheering sound.
The traders with their laden sheep
Who pass by Yunam’s shore,
Leave not their foot-prints on its stones,
All desolate as before.
Yet to the simple shepherd’s mind
The place doth not seem lone,
For every hill and mountain Pass
Hath Spirits of its own.
But Gépan chiefly wins their love !
To him square piles they rear,
Upon each Pass ; with votive flags
And horns of the wild deer.
Sunday, 6th September. Road at first along the edge of the lake :
then over three sharp ridges of confusedly heaped up and angular blocks
of ferruginous sandstone, down to the bed of the Yunam river. Moor-
croft was informed, and appears to have believed, that this ‘‘ scene of
fantastic ruin,” as he calls it, was the effect of an earthquake. Indeed
no other cause with which we are at present acquainted could produce
such mighty and extensive effects. Just below these ridges we saw the
ruins of a former bridge, of which only two pieces of timber were now
left, which, as fuel was scarce, we carried on with us to cook our food.
Indeed, since leaving Darcha our only fuel has been the low, short, dry
furze bushes, which with some coarse grasses, appear to be the only
herbage of these dreary and uninhabited regions. Along the bed of
the river we noticed, what had before attracted the attention of Moor-
croft, the numerous and curious isolated hillocks composed of angular
masses and fragments of rock. As far as our observation extended they
always occurred in the midst of the alluvial flats: they could not there-
fore have been formed by accumulated stones which had rolled from
218 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lihul, §c. [Marcu,
the mountains on both sides, for the mountains were too distant ; be-
sides which these hillocks were composed of angular fragments and not
of boulders, which had been rounded in rolling from the action of water.
They are most probably, as suggested by Moorcroft, “ the harder frag-
ments of a mass, from which the softer portions, the clay and sand,
have been removed by gradual decomposition.” Here we crossed the
river, which was knee-deep and rapid, to Kelang, a shepherd’s station,
in a sheltered level spot. Large blue hares were numerous on these
alluvial flats. They live under the stones in holes scooped out of the
clayey sand. The herbage, though scanty, and dry, was eagerly eaten by
the cattle. The neighbouring hills were of a reddish brown and pale
ochrous colour, tinged here and there with slight patches of olive green
and yellow grass. They were generally very low, the nearest not being
more than 1000 feet above the river, and the more distant ones, which
were more or less covered with snow, did not appear to rise higher than
about 3000 feet above the river. We halted on a level spot without
name, 14,600 feet above the sea, and 61 miles from the Yunam lake.
In this distance the fall has been only 680 feet, or little more than 100
feet per mile, which is a very gentle fall for a mountain stream.
Monday, 7th September. To mouth of Cherpa river—6+ miles.
Road good, over a long level alluvial plain, in the midst of which was a
square block of mica slate thickly imbedded with large crystals of quartz.
This stone, which is 8 feet square and 12 feet high above the ground,
is called Lingti by the people of Kulu, according to Moorcroft, and
Phdlangdanda, by the Ladakis. The only name that we could learn
was Phélang-danda, which means the ‘boundary stone,’ the stone
being a well known boundary mark between the states of Kulu and
Ladak.
Beyond this the road continued over the plain, which became gradu-
ally narrower to the bank of the Ser-chu, or Ser rivulet, a stream
coming from the 8. 8. E., of which the source is 10 miles distant. A
footpath was visible up its right bank, and the remains of a custom-
house on a commanding point looking up the Ser valley, shows that
this footpath was formerly used by the smugglers of shawl wool, and
probably of borax. Just above the Ser, the Lingti, a large river from
the S. W. joins the Yunam on its left bank. The road beyond the
Ser laid over a dusty plain to the junction of the Cherpa or Cherep
1848.] Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &e. 219
river, which comes from the BE. S. E. about 25 miles. It is a large
stream, apparently of as great a volume as the united Yunam and Lingti
rivers.
We halted at this junction after a march of only 613 miles ; height
above the sea 14,210 feet, which shows a fall of 401 feet, or about 65
feet per mile in a straight course.
On the left bank of the Yunam, below the junction of the Lingti, the
ferruginous strata of sandstone are contorted in the most confused
manner. There are caves high up in the rock, but apparently of no
great extent. In the beds of the Ser and the Cherpa rivers, the banks
are formed of a coarse sandstone grit dipping towards the north at an
angle of about 30°. The water of the Yunam river is a clear green,
most probably from having been filtered through the Yunam lake; that
of the Cherpa is grey, a hue derived from the melting of dirty snow.
As there was a well trodden footpath up the left bank of the Cherpa,
and as the Lahulis, who were with us, stoutly denied all knowledge of
it, it seemed certain that this must be one of the principal routes used
by the smugglers of shawl wool between Rodok and Lahul. As we
could obtain no information regarding this route, we determined to dis-
patch a trustworthy party up the Cherpa, who should rejoin us at the
Chumureri lake ; as we had little doubt that this route would lead
upon the southern end of the lake. On their return the party reported
that they had found a bridge 5 miles above the junction, and that
the pathway was perfectly practicable even for laden animals, with
the exception of an extensive landslip near the head of the Cherpa
river. Several traders’ or shepherds’ encampments were noticed on
this route, where both grass and fuel were procurable in the neigh-
bourhood of the river. They described the Pass at the head of the
Cherpa river as being so easy that with a little labour it might be
readily made into a very good one. From thence after a short
descent the route ran over stony alluvial flats along one of the feed-
ers of the Para river, and over a low Pass to the southern end of
Chumureri lake, as we had anticipated. The object of the smugglers
would appear to have been to reach the Lahul boundary as near the
Phalang-danda (or boundary stone) as possible, by some unfrequented
route. A glance at the map will show at once that this route leads
directly from the shawl countries of Rodok and Gardok via Haénli and
2 ¥
220 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, §c. [Marcn,
the Pra and Cherpa rivers to the Lahul boundary at the Phalang-
danda: for the route by the Serchu is only an offshoot of that by the
Cherpa. Were this route to be opened by the British Government,
and afew Dhurmsalas, or travellers’ houses, built at convenient dis-
tances, our traders in shawl wool from Noorpoor and Rampoor would
be saved the heavy duties which are now levied by Maharaja Gulab
Singh. One of these Dhurmsalas would cost about 200 Rupees: and
eight or ten of them would be sufficient along the whole line of unin-
habited country from Darcha to Hanli. The most eligible positions,
combining easy distances with the indispensable requisites of fuel,
grass, and water, are shown in the map,* and the proposed Dhurmsalas
are numbered from Darcha eastwards and marked D. Our traders
would thus be able to obtain their shawl wool direct from the Chinese
districts of Rodok and Gardok, by a route through our own territory,
From the information which we received, and from the view of the
country which Mr. Agnew obtained from the Lanka peak, the Cherpa
is formed of two large branches, of which the general bearings were
taken by Mr. Agnew. The northern branch leads up to one of the
sources of the Para, and the southern branch leads directly upon the
head of the Losar river, a fact which did not escape the researches of
the accurate Moorcroft, who remarks, (I. p. 265,) “‘ Beyond the Ladak
boundary, it (the Losar) is said to meet with the Tsurip (Cherep or
Cherpa) from the north.”
' Almost due east from the junction of the Cherpa and Yunam rivers,
there is on the top of the hill, a remarkable square rock, which has so
much resemblance to a Fort that it had received the name of Lanka
from the shepherds and traders who frequent these parts. It is a
well known point, and it can be seen from the Langa-Lich Pass, as
well as from the neighbourhood of the Yuném lake. Mr. Agnew succeed-
ed in scaling this height with some difficulty, at 4 p. m. he found the
thermometer at 44° and the boiling point 181°, which after correction
gives a height of 17,513 feet above the sea, or 3,300 feet above the
alluvial flat at the junction of the Cherpa and Yunam rivers. The
thermometer fell to 18° during the night.
Tuesday, 8th September. 'To Gadéra 61 miles, crossed the Cherpa
at 103 a.m. the river rising fast from the melting of the snow. The
* This map will accompany another article by Capt. C. in our next number.—Ebs.
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INE fd
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, &c. 221
stream was 100 feet broad, rapid, and strong and mid-thigh deep ; and
the crossing was effected with some difficulty. In the latter months of
July and August the Cherpa is not fordable except early in the morn-
ing, and the traders who reach its banks too late for fording are obliged
either to halt until the next morning, or to go round by the bridge,
which is 5 miles higher up the stream.
The road from the Cherpa was alternately over stony plains, and
shingly slips from the rocks above. Just before approaching Godéra
the plain is a succession of levels gradually becoming lower and narrow-
er in size, and showing clearly the extent of a former lake at different
periods, until the rocky obstacle, at a point about four miles below
Gadéra, was burst through altogether and the lake completely drained.
The height of Gadéra above the sea is 13,949 feet, which gives a fall
from the junction of the Cherpa river of 261 feet in a distance of 63
miles ; or just 40 feet per mile. At some former period it-is clear that
the bed of the Yundém river must have been a long narrow lake, the
extent of which is shown in the map by a shade of brown confined
between dotted lines.
The hills on each bank consist of hard siliceous rocks ; and the allu-
vial flats are formed of siliceous pebbles of all sizes strongly cemented
together. Along the banks of the river we observed numerous rude
pillars of this hard conglomerated gravel, which were generally crowned
by stones of different sizes. In the bed of the Chand nullah, near
Godéra, and on the northern bank, there are two of these remarkable
natural columns about 30 feet high, with their stone capitals ; one a very
large block, and the other a much smaller stone, which appears to be
balanced upon a point. ‘These are the identical ‘insulated columns of
pebbly conglomerate,’ described by Moorcroft in A. D. 1820, ‘on the
summit of one of which,” he says, ‘rested a block of stone many tons in
weight, and upon the top of the other stood a smaller block nearly on
a pot.” On my return I stopped at Godéra for breakfast, when I
made the accompanying sketch of these remarkable pillars, (Pl. XXIV.)
which prove both the extreme dryness of the climate and the minute
fidelity of Moorcroft’s descriptions. I fired a ball at the smaller stone,
_ which is not more than 2 feet thick and apparently balanced on a point,
but though the ball hit it right in the centre, the shock had no effect
whatever. In a moist climate these pillars would not stand for a single
2F2
222 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, §&e. [Mareu;
season; whereas we have, from Moorcroft’s faithful description, the
most satisfactory proof that they have existed exactly in their present
state for the last six and twenty years. ‘The larger one of these capital
stones appeared to me from a rough calculation to be between 6 and 8
tons in weight.
Wednesday, 9th September. To Demra, 4 miles. Road for three
quarters of a mile to the northward along the right bank of the Yuném
river. We then ascended by a very steep zigzaggy path up the face
of the hill to the eastward, until we reached the bank of the Chana
nullah. From this the path alternately ascended and descended over
spurs of the hills on the right bank of the stream to Demra, a halting-
place, where fuel and water are procurable.
Thursday, 10th September. To Ganga Anaj, 10 miles. Road from
Demra, at first undulating, then a steep ascent for about 500 feet, after
which a very rapid descent to the bed of the nullah at a level spot called
Stimdo [the three streams, from Sum, three] where three small streams
join their waters. From this point there was a long ascent for about 4
miles to the top of the Langa-Lach Pass, 16,043 feet above the sea.
The Pass was crowned as usual by a pile of stones covered with bits of
cloth, and dedicated to Gépan. From the Pass there was an easy de-
scent for nearly six miles along the left bank ofa nameless nullah, chiefly
over steep, gravelly slips. Road stony and very narrow. The nullah
is a mere ravine between siliceous rocks which rise from 1500 to 2000
feet above the bed of the stream.
At Ganga Andaj, where we halted, the bluish grey siliceous cliffs from
800 to 1000 feet in height, stand almost perpendicularly facing each
other at a distance of only 120 yards apart at base, as shown in the
sketch. The whole way down to this point the sides of the ravine are
of a gravelly conglomerate lying in horizontal strata composed of frag-
ments of all sizes, from several tons in weight to the smallest grains of
the same bluish grey siliceous rock, cemented firmly together by some
siliceous matter more or less mixed with clay. As the fall from the
top of the Pass to this point is only 491 feet, and the cliffs are nearly
1000 feet in height, it seems almost certain that the ravine was once
blocked up at this point, and that a long lake formerly existed there, in
which this gravelly conglomerate was deposited in sediment, as it is
composed of fragments of the rocks on each side,
i se
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, &e. 223
Immediately above this point there isa high conglomerate cliff;
and the ravine is even now closed toa height of 400 or 500 feet, by
a confused mass of enormous blocks, both of the siliceous rock and of
the conglomerate ; but chiefly of the former; andthe stream finds its
way unseen beneath this mass of rubbish. This must have been the
place were Moorcroft noticed an isolated rock more than 300 feet high
so much undermined that it threatened to fall ‘‘at no distant period.”
As there is now no rock answering this description, it must have fallen
down not long ago. Immediately below this point however, there still
exists the pathway, which runs as described by Moorcroft, for about ten
yards between a detached pillar on the edge of the stream and the
solid rock, and is only sufficiently wide for the passage of a man on
horseback. It is on the right bank of the stream between a conglome-
rate mass and the cliff.
Friday, 11th September. To Pangtik, 54 miles. At two miles below
Ganga Ana) clay slate first makes its appearance, contorted and
twisted and broken in the most inextricable confusion and overlaid with
gravelly conglomerate. Nothing short of the power of a mighty
earthquake could have caused such extensive and complete disjointment.
The strata appear as if they had been lifted to some considerable height
and then suddenly let fall, which broke them up into small fragments,
standing and lying at all angles. Beyond this point the road continues
along the left bank of the nullah for half a mile to Ruptang, a shep-
herd’s station, where it crosses to the right bank and follows the
stream for a quarter of a mile farther to its junction with a second
“stream coming from the 8. E. On crossing the latter stream, there is
an open level spot of ground called Thoga Chokpo, which, from the
numerous fire-places, is apparently a favorite halting-place with the
traders. Just beyond this a third rivulet, also from the S. E. joins the
others, and the united streams are called Svim-khel, or the three springs.
Passing up the bed of the last stream for two miles we halted at an
extensive level spot called Pangtik on its left bank ; we were obliged to
halt here as the nearest water on our road was still 10 miles distant.
On looking up the stream to the 8, E. from Pangtik, the valley
appeared to be so broad and open and the hills so low that we felt
assured there must be an easy route open towards the Chumureri lake.
A party was accordingly dispatched to ascertain this point, They
224 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &c. {[Marcu,
afterwards met us near the lake, and described the road up the Sim-
khel as stony, but easily passable even for ponies. The pass appeared
to them more like a gradual rise of the whole country than a ridge
separating two valleys; after crossing which the road continued along
the bank of a small stream which joins the lake at its southern end
from the westward. .
Saturday, 12th September. To Moré-cho (the Moré pond) a pool
of fresh water, distance 10 miles and 1 furlong. Road at first a very
steep ascent from the bed of the river for about half a mile, and thence
level along the plain of Kyung, running nearly due north for six miles,
and then N. E. for 4 miles to the Moré-cho, a pool of fresh water
not more than 300 feet in circumference. On the 25th of September,
when I re-passed this spot, the pool was quite dry. The plain of
Kyung is from one to two miles in breadth, with a long bed of white
sand to the S. W. of the Moré-cho :—the rest of the plain is but
scantily covered with furze and grass.
This plain has evidently once been the bed of a long lake, the extent
of which is shown in the map by a brown shade included between
dotted lines. The point where the waters eventually burst through
must have been just below Thoga Chokpo, at the junction of the three
streams. The hills on the eastward are entirely of mica slate.
Sunday, 13th September. To Rukchin, an encampment of Nomad
Tartars, living in black hair tents; 7 miles, and 1 furlong. The road
continued to the N. E. along the level plain of Kyung, which gradu-
ally diminished to half a mile in breadth. At 6 miles reached Rukchi,
an old station of the Nomads, where Moorcroft halted two days. One
mile further turning up a ravine -to the westward, we reached the Ruk-
chin encampment, consisting of ten or twelve black hair tents, each
containing 4 or 5 people.
These Nomads appear to be a happy race, who being satisfied with
little, have but few wants. They are called Kampas (the Champas)
of Trebeck. The men usually wear woollen great coats reaching below
the knee. As they are never washed, but often darned and patched,
these great coats are mostly rather tattered looking garments of many
colors. They wear leggings also, generally of thick coloured woollen,
which is put round the leg like a bandage and secured by a long garter,
usually of black woollen rope, which is wound spirally round the leg
~a8
Sata ea ae
1848.] Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &e. 225
from the ancle to the knee. Their short boots are made of goatskin
or sheepskin, with the hair or wool turned inwards, and well stuffed
with wool, which while it makes them warm to the wearer gives rather
a clumsy appearance to his feet. The cap is generally a piece of goat-
skin with the hair inwards, or else a woollen one edged with skin or
coarse red silk. ‘The women go bare headed, but they wear lappets
round the cheeks, and over the forehead, from which a broad band well
studded with large flat badly-flawed turquoises and cornelians, passed
over the head gradually narrowing until it reaches the waist behind.
The hair is dressed in numerous thin plaits, which hang behind and
over the shoulders, forming a complete fringe or rather a sort of well
greased mane to the head and neck. They frequently wear long great
coats and leggings like the men; but I have seen them also dressed in
three or four thick woollen petticoats, and a sheepskin jacket with the
wool turned inwards over the coat. The men also wear these sheep-
skin jackets when they feel cold: and their tents are well supplied with
them, as both sexes put them on when they go to rest.
The men are generally from 5 feet to 54 feet in height, and the
women from 43 to 5 feet. Yet they are hardy and even strong. I
have often seen the roof of my tent, which was wadded with cotton,
carried throughout a whole march by one of these diminutive women ;
although the taller and finer-looking men of Simla declared it to be
too heavy for one of them to carry. These Nomads are generally of a
deep brown complexion; the girls are however rather fairer, and some
of them have colour in their cheeks. They all have the small eyes of
the Tartar races, and to use the words of an old traveller, they are ‘‘a
square, stout, strong people having platter faces and flat noses.” Their .
ears are particularly large, and many of them wear ear-rings. Both
men and women carry about them all their property excepting some
wooden pails for milk and the few large iron pans which they have for
cooking their food.—Knives and spoons, pipes and tobacco pouches,
flint and steel, and a small cup, either of iron, brass, or wood, are
carried by every one. These are usually crammed inside the great coat
above the waist, where also may be found a long piece of woollen rope
for fastening packages, and occasionally a single or double flageolet,
either of wood or brass.
Their cattle consist of herds of Yaks, or Grunting oxen, with the
226 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, fe. [Marcu,
long bushy tails, and droves of sheep and goats. The hair of the
Yaks is cut every summer, and woven into the coarse cloth of which
they make their tents. During the winter they live in the valley of the
Indus: in the summer they move to any places where they can find
grass, water, and fuel. They exchange their wool with the traders for
wheat, flour, tobacco, and any thing else that they may require.
Tuesday, 15th September. 'To the bank of the Chokhar, or “ Salt
lake,’ distance 6 miles. The road lay towards the S. E. overa low
pass with an easy ascent, but a steep and bad descent. The rock here
changed from mica slate to gneiss. We halted near a small religious
building on the southern end of the salt lake, which is about five miles
long by three miles broad, and which was covered with thousands of
wild ducks and wild geese. The water of the lake is salt and bitter,
and the whole shore is covered with white banks of the saline efflore-
scence. Height above the sea 14,961 feet. The thermometer fell to
9° during the night. There are on all sides the clearest marks of the
former higher level of this lake about 60 feet above the present surface
of the water. The former extent is shown in the map by a brown
shade surrounded by a dotted line.
Wednesday, 16th September. Marched 10 miles to a nameless halt-
ing place to the north of the Nakpo Gonding Pass. Road at first due
east, along the southern shore of the salt lake for 4 miles; it then
crosses the stream of fresh water 10 feet broad flowing from a small
fresh water lake to the south. Thence for 2 miles alternately over
sandy flats, and hard caked sheets of saline efflorescence. Beyond
this it lies due east for four miles over slightly undulating and very
stony ground along the bank of a dry nullah, in which a few puddles
of melted snow water occurred at our halting-place. The large blue
hares are very common at the foot of the hills on both sides of this
nullah. They have enormously long ears; and live under the stones.
T shot half a dozen in half an hour on my return at this very spot.
Thursday, 17th September. To the foot of the Nakpo Gonding
Pass, distance 94 miles. Road for the first four miles a very gradual
ascent to the crest of the Poldong or Pulakonka Pass. Beyond this,
at a mile and a half, we crossed the deep bed of a nullah coming from
the S. W. source about 10 miles distant: thence for 4 miles the road
continued to ascend over stony spurs; passing a small stream which
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Lahul, &e. 227
comes also from the S. W. The spray of this stream was frozen in
icicles over the boulders. We encamped just below the Pass at a halt-
ing-ground called Nakpo Gonding. Snow fell at mid-day and continu-
ed falling for two hours. Height above the sea, 16,225 feet.
Friday, 18th September. 'To Beldong near the northern end of the
Chumureri lake, distance 12 miles, and half a furlong. Road at first
a gradual ascent, then a descent, and a second ascent to the crest of the
Nakpo Gonding Pass. ‘Total ascent about 800 feet, and height of
Pass 17,000 feet above the sea.
A few hundred feet below the Pass, on a level plain, I saw a single
Kiang or wild horse ; and by sending men to the right and left I was
enabled to approach within 200 yards of the animal. The Kiang then
moved off and I followed, and when he turned to look at me I stood
still, and followed him again as he moved. After repeating this three
different times I got within about 180 yards of him, and taking a
steady aim, I struck him six inches behind the shoulder, the ball
passing clean through him and striking the ground beyond. The ani-
mal then scampered off for about 200 yards reeled round, and fell over
heavily to the ground. When I came up to him he was quite dead.
The ball had passed through his heart—a lucky shot fora fowling piece
at 180 yards. This animal, which is the Equus Hemionus of Pallas,
and the Equus Kiang of Moorcroft, is very common about this part of
the country.
From the top of the Pass the road was an easy descent for 45 miles
to Lamzung, a halting-place on a small clear stream which feeds a salt
lake lying to the eastward about 2 miles. This lake escaped the notice
both of Trebeck and of Gerard, although it is about 3 miles long by 14
mile broad. It is called Chokhar, or the salt lake, and the salt is seen
in sparkling crystals all around its edge. The people say it has no
outlet, which will account for itssaltness. It has several feeders on the
eastern side, besides one on the northern side.
From Lamzung a slightly undulating road for about a mile led to
the Chakshang rivulet which comes from the snow to the westward and
turning sharply to the southward flows into the Chumureri lake,—of
which it is the principal feeder at its Northern end. A slight ascent
from the Chaksang led over a low point, and the road then descended
26
228 Journal of a trip through Kulu and Léhul, §c. [Marcu,
to the rivulet again, and followed its right bank for about 5 miles to a
level spot called Beldong, where we halted.
Saturday, 19th September. Marched 63 miles to a halting-place on
the bank of the Chumureri. Road for first 2} miles very sandy as
far as the lake. At 2 miles further passed the Korzo Gdnpa, or monas-
tery, inhabited by one Lama, who resides there throughout the year.
He rears some barley and turnips on the banks of the Korzo rivulet
close to the lake, at an elevation of 15,000 feet above the sea. The bar-
ley had just been cut when we arrived there. It was still quite green ;
but there was every appearance of snow, and the Lama was afraid of
losing his.crop altogether. The barley looked strong and healthy but
the turnips were very small and hard. The Lama informed me that
even in the depth of winter the snow does not lie more than knee-deep
near the monastery, a point which I am disposed to believe from what I
myself beheld on the two following days ; namely, that although it snow-
ed heavily for a whole day and night at the southern end of the lake,
where the snow wasa foot deep; yet at the northern end near the mo-
nastery there was not even a trace of snow. This phenomenon would
appear to be due to the following cause. The vast clouds which are
formed on the plains of India are drifted northwards by the monsoon
until arrested by the loftiest ranges of the Himalaya. The last of
these mighty chains towards Ladak is that in which the Parang Pass
is situated ; and here the clouds discharge their contents. Beyond this
lies the dry and desert country of Ladak, where water is so scarce as
not to afford sufficient moisture for the formation of any extensive clouds,
which will account for the little snow that falls to the northward of
these great ranges.
At mid-day I placed a mark in the water to ascertain if possible whe-
ther there was any rise and fallin the level of the lake; but up to 6
o'clock in the evening and again in the morning at 6 o’clock I did not
observe any perceptible change. The water of the lake was sweet to
my taste, but the people of the country although they call it sweet,
prefer for their own drinking that of the small snow streams which
flow into the lake. Both of these facts would show that there must be
an outlet to the lake.—If so, it must be at its south-eastern end, as
laid down by Trebeck, for I examined all the rest of the lake carefully ;
and had I not on the following day been obliged to return in conse-
1848. | Journal of a trip through Kulu and Ldhul, Se. 229
quence of heavy snow, I should have examined the south-eastern
quarter also to ascertain whether there was any visible outlet to the
lake. Were there no outlet, the water would be salt asin the other
lakes ; and there would certainly be considerable rise in its level during
the day from the melting of the snow, and a corresponding fall at night.
Dr. Gerard however declares that ‘‘ whilst it is fed by several considerable
streams, it has no efflux, andis kept at its level entirely by evaporation.”’
I cannot agree with this opinion, for it appears to me that the greater
the evaporation the more salt should be the water, which is not the
case, as it tasted sweet to me, and Trebeck found it only brackish. The
lake is 15 miles in length and from 2 to 3 miles in breadth. The
water is beautifully limpid, and of a deep blue colour. I saw but few
wild geese upon the lake. The mountains on both sides were perfectly
bare excepting near their summits, where there were some patches of
snow ; they do not appear to rise more than 3000 feet above the level
of the lake.
Sunday, 20th September. Marched 10 miles and 7 furlongs to the
southern end of the lake, to the bank of a small stream which joins it
from the west. It began to snow about 7 o'clock, and continued
snowing the whole day and night. In the morning the snow was a foot
deep on the ground, and six inches thick on the roof of my tent. As
the coolees positively refused to proceed any further, we were obliged to
yield to them, and to make arrangements for retracing our steps. Ac-
cordingly on ,
Monday, 21st September, we marched to Korzo Gungpa, 13 miles
over the snow: from which place I returned by the route already de-
scribed, excepting that instead of visiting Rukchin, I went straight from
the Chokhar, or great salt lake, to the Moré-cho ; crossing the Sdpokong
Pass, and halting at a shepherd’s station, called Takzim, where I shot
several hares.
On the 26th I joined Lord Elphinstone and Major Bates and march-
ed in company with them to Simla. We crossed the Bara-Lacha
Pass on the 28th of September, where it was still free from snow. On
the 5th of October we crossed the Rotang Pass, on which we found
fresh snow from a foot to a foot and a half in depth ; and we were
just in time, for the people assured us that the Pass would be com-
2G 2
230 Miscellaneous. [Marca,
pletely closed by the 5th of October. The remainder of the journey
has already been described.
It may be observed that the whole of the country from Darcha in
Laéhul to the Chumureri lake, is a vast uninhabited desert, without a
single tree, or even a bush knee high, and but scantily supplied with
water. )
In conclusion I will only notice the strange belief of the Gerards
that the snowy peaks to the north eastward of Piti and Lahul exceeded
in height all that they had seen of the Himalayas. The Baron Hum-
boldt (Kosmos, p. 45 n.) calls it an unfounded surmise, in which
opinion I cordially agree: and I believe that I am fully borne out by
the observations of Moorcroft and Trebeck when crossing the Kandu
La (Pass) 16,600 feet in height to the south-westward of La. Moorcroft
remarked that ‘the mountains near at hand were not much more
elevated than the ghat, except one at some distance to the west,
the peak of which was lost in clouds.” Again, when crossing the
Changla Pass, 17,800 feet high to the south-eastward of La, he re-
marked that ‘as far as could be estimated by the eye the line of
elevation of the loftiest ridges rarely exceeded this, with the exception
of the mountain descried from the Pass of Kandu La.” It is needless
to multiply passages to the same effect. It is sufficient that neither
to the south-westward, nor to the south-eastward of La, did Moorcroft,
observe any peaks higher than 18,600 feet, excepting one far to the
westward, which, on referring to Vigne’s map, would appear to be the
double-peaked mountain called Paja Huy and Dum Huy, situated in
the great snowy range which divides the valley of the Chandrabhaga
from that of the Indus,
LLL LOLOL DLO”.
MISCELLANEOUS.
1.—Inundation of the Indus, taken from the lips of an-eye witness,
A. D. 1842. ,
(Communicated by Capt. J. ABBOTT.)
Ushruff Khan, Zemindar of Torbaila, states :—‘‘ In the month of Poos
(Dec.) the Indus was very low. In Maag and Phagoon (Jan. and Feb.)
it was so low as to be fordable (an unprecedented phenomenon). In
1848. ] Miscellaneous. 231
Chayt it continued very low, but not fordable. In Bysakh (April) the
same. About the middle of Jayt (May) Ist 1898, the atmosphere was
one day observed to be very thick, the air still, At about 2 Pp, M.a
murmuring sound was heard from the north-east amongst the moun-
tains, which increased until it attracted universal attention, and we
began to exclaim “what is this murmur? Is it the sound of cannon
in the distance. Is Gundgurh* bellowing? Is it thunder?’ Suddenly
some one cried out, the ‘‘ Rivers come!’ And I looked and perceived
that all the dry channels were already filled and that the river was
racing down furiously in an absolute wall of mud, for it had not at
all the colour or appearance of water. They who saw it in time easily
escaped. They who did not, were inevitably lost. It was a horrible
mess of foul water, carcasses of soldiers, peasants, war-steeds, camels,
prostitutes, tents, mules, asses, trees and household furniture, in short,
every item of existence jumbled together in one flood of ruin. For
Raja Goolab Singh’s army was encamped in the bed of the Indus at
Koolaye, 3 koss above Torbaila, in check of Poynda Khan. Part of
the force was at that moment in hot pursuit, or the ruin would have
been wider. The rest ran, some to large trees which were all soon
uprooted and borne away, others to rocks which were speedily buried
beneath the waters. Only they escaped who took at once to the
mountain side. About five hundred of these troops were at once swept
to destruction. The mischief was immense. Hundreds of acres of
arable land were licked up and carried away by the waters. The whole
of the Seesoo trees which adorned the river’s banks : the famous Burgutt
tree of many stems, time out of mind, the chosen bivouac of travellers,
were all lost in an instant. The men in the trees, the horses and mules
tethered to the stems, all sunk alike into the gulf and disappeared for
* Gundgurh is a singular ridge of argillaceous schist, permeated with veins of mica,
and of sulphate of lime forming a wall about 1500 feet high almost parallel to the stream
of the Indus on the eastern bank. In its cavern Raja Russaloo (the king Arthur of
the Punjab) imprisoned the last of the Rakhus or giant race, having slain the others.
He hung up his bew at the mouth of the caveru, so that whenever the huge monster
attempted to escape this memento of his terrible victor sent him back roaring with
terror to his den. Many natives assure me that 20 years ago they have often heard
Gundgurh bellowing, but that the sounds have ceased since then. ‘The mountain has
no volcanic rocks or lavas: yet the admission of sound by this mountain is too well
attested to admit of doubt.
232 Miscellaneous. [Marcu,
ever. As a woman with a wet towel sweeps away a legion of ants,
so the river blotted out the army of the Raja. There were two
villages upon an island opposite Ghazi. One of the inhabitants was
returning from Srikote, and descending the mountain. When he came
within sight of the spot where he had left all he held dear, he naturally
looked with affection toward his home. Nothing was visible but a
wide rushing sea of mud. His house, his friends, his household, his
village, the very island itself, had disappeared. He rubbed his eyes in
mortal terror, distrusting his sight, hoping it was a dream. But it was
a too horrible reality. He alone of all that busy hive of moving,
struggling, hoping, fearing beings, was left upon the earth.”
So far the Zemindar, and to this eloquent description of an eye-
witness, I need only add, that it will take hundreds, if not thousands,
of years to enable time to repair with its healing hand the mischief of
that terrible hour. The revenue of Torbaila has in consequence
dwindled from 20,000 to 5000 rupees. Chuch has been sown with
barren sand. The timber for which the Indus had been celebrated
from the days of Alexander until this disaster, are now so utterly gone,
that I vainly strove ‘throughout Huzara to procure a Seesoo tree for the
repair of the Field Artillery carriages. To make some poor amends,
the river sprinkled gold dust over the barren soil, so that the washings
for several successive years were farmed at four times their ordinary
yent. It is generally believed that the accumulation of the waters of
the Indus was occasioned by a landslip which blocked up the valley ;
but this and other interesting questions we must leave for solution to
Mr. Vans Agnew, whose late mission to Gilgit promises so much to
the lovers of science.”
2.—Lxtract of a letter from Col. J. Low.
Penang, Jan. 10th, 1884.
«‘T may mention that on acursory glance at the alphabet which you
have kindly copied for me, I find several letters which I think I shall
be able to identify with others in the inscriptions here. I could not
manage with ink, and at last took the rather tedious and toilsome
process, of copying by rule and compass.
The first inscription which I found was so copied, and forwarded
to the late Mr. J. Prinsep shortly before his lamented death, so that
1848. | Miscellaneous. 233
it is probably amongst other inscriptions (unpublished), lying in your
library.* He replied saying, he should like to have a facsimile,
but I don’t think any one could have been more correct than the one
I sent. He however lithographed the inscription with the Khulsa,
which is in the face of the stone, which was apparently formerly the
top of a pillar. He said it was in the Sanskrit not Pali. The style
of the letter nearly that of the Allahabad, No. 2. Is not that
a transition Pali? I have a copy on the other side of the water of
the Journal containing two Allahabad inscriptions. But the last
enseription which I discovered and copied about a year ago, is in a
character somewhat older I presume. However, I have been floun-
dering in the dark for want of the Journals containing the labours of
Prinsep, Wathen, &c. &c. I will send you copies of both of these
inscriptions ; and, if I can manage it, of one upon a coin which I found
a few months ago, but which our chief braéhman of the temple here
cannot decypher. I have proved beyond doubt that there was a
Hindu colony settled in Province Wellesley and Keddah, and I think
it had been preceded by a Buddhist population. But I have not yet
closed my researches, which have here to be conducted under many dis-
advantages (beyond our boundary), such as almost impervious jungles, a
population who will afford no assistance whatever, and Siamese jea-
lousy. Lam engaged on and have nearly finished a paper for the Jour-
nal of the Indian Archipelago, on subjects relating more to our section
of the globe than toIndia. ButI have MSS. on my shelves, which
I hope to be able to:send, I will not promise very soon, to your
Journal. I have been trying to get some Pali scholar, amongst the
Buddhist priests, to assist me in explaining some MSS. in that lan-
guage. But they are a sadly ignorant set, and even as regards their
own Deity and his holy places, they are obliged to confess that I know
more than they do, and that is not a great deal either.
I have little hope that the Archeological field of Sumatra will soon
be laid open. It is a sealed book. We only now want to have a col-
lection of all the ancient inscriptions extant to the eastward, to decide,
on Prinsep’s system, the various periods when Buddhists and Hindus
migrated there. It seems to me at present that most if not all of these
. * We fear not. We have searched diligently and found none but such as have been
published.—Eps,
234 Miscellaneous. [Marcu,
came from Orissa or Kalinga. I cannot get Mr. Stirling’s Orissa. This
and the deficient pages of the Journal will be highly acceptable when
procureable.”
3.—Evtract of a letter from Capt. Kirrorn 22d March,
“ You express a wish to hear of my progress. I fear that I shall not
this season be able to collect much, or add to the information already
imparted ; in the first place, the season is too far advanced ; in the next,
being entirely dependent on my own personal exertions in ferretting
out curiosities, which is a work of time and chance, progress must of
necessity be slow, particularly when I have so few hours daily available ;
however, I got two new inscriptions at Gaya, not of much moment,
and paved the way for further works; many inscriptions are either
buried in rubbish or built into walls; I had one taken out and placed
in a conspicuous position. I wish authority could be used where persua-
sion failed, towards having every one thus restored to view; the ex-
pense would be very trifling, but the ignorant bigots fancy that we
have some extortion in view, and are searching for money. This idea,
though, appears to be vanishing. I have been for the past week
engaged at Poonah and Koorkihar; at the former place I excavated
round the Buddha temple, took a correct drawing of the very ela-
borate north doorway and of several idols, a sketch of the entire
building anda ground plan. This occupied three days, together with
sundry excursions in search of sculptures, &c. I was four days at Koor-
kihar, and have dug out a and collected ten cart loads of idols, all Bud-
dhist, and many of the Tantrika period ; indeed I am inclined to think
that they all belong to the period just before the decline of the sect. All
the idols have the sentence, once or twice repeated, of ‘* Ye Dharma
hétu probhava, &c.” and most of them have the name of the persons
setting them up ; two mention the country from whence they came ; for
instance, Jessur (? Jessore), and Malaya (? Mullye) ; one mentions the
fact of the party having apostatized, and again returned to the worship
of Shakya, in the 19th year of the reign of Sri Mahendra Pal Deva.
This raja is also mentioned in one of my Gonerria inscriptions ona
figure of Buddha also,—it is a name new to us; it does not occur in the
Bengal list of Prinsep’s tables. There are two blanks above Narrain
Pal Deva, therefore he may have belonged to one of them. I at first
1848. | Miscellaneous. 235
attached no importance to these short inscriptions ; I however fortu-
nately copied several. I have been able to decide that Koorkihar must
have been a place of Buddhist pilgrimage, and that there were rows
after rows of Chaityas extending north and south for several hundred
feet ; added to these, there were isolated buildings and tanks in every
direction for a mile or more around. In some inscriptions the idol
is called Buddha, Shakya in most, and in one, “ Vir Virochna.”
Some of the figures are very beautiful; one of Maya Devi is as large
as life, and most beautifully executed ; the arms however are missing ;
there is one extremely curious and highly finished figure of a fat old
gentleman, seated ona stool, holding an egg in one hand and a lizard
in the other ; one arm and the head are wanting. I have made several
drawings of figures that I could not remove. I hope by collecting
representations of all the Hindu and Buddhist deities to be enabled
to carry out my original intention of publishing a regular pantheon,
which is much needed. I am now at Nowada, and proceed to-morrow
night to Giryek, where I hope to ‘find something worthy of notice.
I have heard of two mounds near Behar, where there are numerous
idols above and below ground. TI shall visit Uffsan, where I went last
year to see the inscription and the famous ‘idol of Varaha, with the
** Rishis resting on his bristles,” as described in the Vishnu Puran (see
Wilson’s Translation). I fear I shall have to make but a short stay
this time, as I am suffering much from the effects of the sun all last
week, and unless I superintend, the people will either not work or
injure the sculptures ; besides, it requires contrivance to get out such
masses of heavy stone out of the pits they are buried in, without the
help of lever, rope or more than 4 or 5 men. I manage it by the simple
though tedious process of tilting from side to side and filling in bricks
and rubbish at each turn, till they are fully above ground. When
above ground, the next process is to turn the block flat over, taking
care to place a lump of stones or a couple of bricks exactly under the
centre ; this forms a fulerum on which a child may move the largest
stone, and by the same means of placing bricks under, it is set upright,
and thus let backwards unto the cart.
I visited Tupobun. There are five hot springs, the hottest only 110°;
there have been a couple of temples, but nothing but a few broken
idols and heaps of rubbish remain ; there is a modern Shiwalla.”
2H
236 Miscellaneous.
4,—Daily rate of Evaporation in Caleutta.
On the chance of its proving serviceable to some speculator in meteo-
rology, we place on record the subjoined statement of the daily rate of
evaporation in Calcutta for the year 1845. The instrument employed
was that described in Volume XIV. page 213; it was freely exposed
in an open verandah to the influence of the atmosphere, sheltered,
however, from the direct rays of the sun.
te ro re
at WY ; 3 | 3 s | See eS
Se eM ce a ee oe am ee es
| dashed ob Seeks Lie nels, hee |= $ | 6 | 3
= aa = < = a & < 72) o) A A
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2 | 65) 42.78) 62) 562) 62]o 48h) 183) 40h Geel aeh 66
ae eres 9 Pian tent oP (ete EE: OES ee 35| Sil. wSdlew.60
4 61! .54{ .90! .43! .62| .531 .37| .36! .63| .73] .56t .54
5 | .61| .55] .90) 31) .67) .46/ 43] .35| 40] 62) a ‘50
6. | .50) ..84) .83) 431 771 54), 421. SRI well. 4a) ees
7 | .52| .93[ .77] .53] .98] .63| .51] .22 .45! 152] .66] 51
8 ABS ak Ob Ae hk DAG BOM weer en Aiba mie pdb bd heen oS
9 bal 1841 .76| 661. 96] 471 20 96) 32) eal sme 76
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a3 fo 59h e838h-.97b L60) 266): SsaOk ca6lnc a7 40t 5 aoe cemecnge
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PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ASTATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
For Marcu, 1848.
The usual monthly meeting of the Asiatic Society, was held on the
evening of Wednesday, the 8th of March, 1848.
J. W. Cotvize, Esq. President, in the chair.
The proceedings of the last meeting were read.
The accounts and vouchers for February were produced.
Dr. Falconer, B. M.S. and C. Huffnagle, Esq. M. D., Consul to the
United States of America, having returned from Europe, were replaced
on the list of subscribing members.
Charles Gubbins, Esq. C. 8. was proposed for election as an ordina-
ry member—proposed by Mr. Hume, seconded by Mr. Heatley.
Lieut. R. McLagan, B. E., Principal of the College of Civil Engi-
neers at Roorki, was proposed by Dr. Falconer, seconded by H. M.
Elliot, Esq.
Babu Ramaprasad Roy, and Raja Ramchand Singh, proposed by Mr.
Laidlay, seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy.
Read a note from the Rev. Jas. Thomson, tendering his resignation
as a member of the Society. 7 ;
From Major Macleod, Madras N. I., to the same effect,
From Major Baker, B. E, withdrawing temporarily, on account of
his leaving India on furlough.
From G. A. Bushby, Esq. Secretary to Government of India, Home
Department, forwarding despatch from the Court of Directors, contain-
ing instructions for the guidance of the Thibet Mission.
2H 2
238 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Marcu,
Financial Department.—(Statistical.)
No. 37 of 1847.
Our Governor General of India in Council.
1.—You having determined to despatch a Mission to Thibet with a view to
scientific as well as to other objects, we desire to direct your attention to the
expediency of the opportunity being made available to the collection, as far as
practicable of every species of information connected with the state, resources,
and capabilities of the countries visited.
2nd.—It will be unnecessary that we should here enter into minute details
as in our Despatch in this Department dated the 3rd June, No. 6 of 1846, we
have given a general enumeration of the chief subjects of statistical inquiry,
and prescribed rules for the guidance of those engaged in such inquiry within
the territories under our administration. These rules and suggestions will
be equally applicable to imquiries of the like nature prosecuted im other
countries, and we wish them to be brought prominently to the notice of the
members of the Mission.
3rd.—With regard to the collections in Natural History, we have given full
general instructions in our Despatch in the Public Department, dated 16th,
September, No. 17 of 1840. To this Despatch, and more especially to para. 8,
we refer you for information on that point.
4th.—As it may be desirable that the members of the Mission should be
apprized of the deficiencies of our Museum, in order if opportunity offers
that they should be supplied, we forward im the packet a catalogue of Mam-
malia and birds of Nepaul and Thibet, underlined, so as to point out deside-
rata; together with an explanatory Memorandum relating to these and
other branches of science.
We are, &e.
(Signed) H. St. George Tucker, (Signed) John Loch,
J. L. Lushington, John C, Whiteman,
W. Wigram, Wu. J. Eastwick,
Russel Ellice, ' A. Shank,
John Cotton, A. Galloway,
KE. McNaghten, W.H. C. Plowden,
Ross D. Mangles, Henry Willock.
London, the 17th November, 1847.
MEMORANDUM,
With reference to the Mission to Thibet, attention should be called to the
importance which the Court attach to the labours of the scientific department
1848.] Proceedings of the Asatic Society. 239
of this mission. Although ample instructions have doubtless been given to
the members of the Mission relative to all branches of science, which may
present themselves for observation, it may be useful to enumerate a few points
which have an immediate reference to the interests of the Museum of Natural
History in this House.
The higher regions of Central Asia, and especially Thibet, possess a peculiar
character with regard to their Zoological productions, and opportunities to
examine and collect these have hitherto been extremely rare. Among the
branches to which the particular attention of the Mission should be directed,
are the Mammalia, Birds and Insects of Thibet, and the other elevated regions
which may be visited by the Mission.
Of Mammalia, some species are known to be peculiar to the higher regions,
or are rarely found in Bengal and the plains of India. The most important
of these, so far as hitherto observed, are enumerated in the annexed list—“< A
Catalogue of Mammalia and Birds observed by B. H. Hodgson, Esq. in Nepaul
and Thibet,”’ in which the names of the species most desirable for the Museum
are underlined is also sent for the assistance of the members of the Mission.
Of the Birds of Thibet and Central Asia, a general collection will be desira-
ble, as they possess, as well as the Mammalia, a peculiar character, and most
of them are as yet imperfectly known. Those birds’ however, which are also
found in the lower regions of Bengal, should only be noticed m the Journals,
as the collecting them would unnecessarily encumber the Mission.
The Pheasants of Thibet demand particular attention; many of them are
of great beauty and rarity. Among these we notice especially the—
Crossoptilon auritum of Hodgson, and the
Thaumalia Amherstie, and
Thaumalia Picta, which are enumerated in the 124th page of Hodgson’s
Catalogue.
All these are desiderata in the Museum. and several specimens of each are
wanted.
In this department also attention should be drawn to the species underlined
in the accompanying Catalogue.
The opportunities which will be enjoyed by the Mission should be extended
to the collection of the Insects of Thibet, and especially the Coleoptera and
Lepidoptera, which are likewise of great interest, and as yet but little known,
and it is strongly recommended that a competent Native Taxidermist may be
attached to the mission for the especial purpose of collecting and preserving
specimens of Natural History for the Museum,
240 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. |Marcu,
List of Mammalia found in Thibet and the higher regions of Central Asia,
which are desiderata in the East India Company’s Museum.
See Hodgson’s Catalogue, p. 2 Macacus (Pithex) pelops, Hodgs.
wo hse Pees eee
33 93
o p. 5
93 33
99> 6
93 95
s 8
93 9
a 10
Hi 12
a 12
a4 13
a 15
% 16
~ 17
re 19
es 22
cy) E 23
: 24
+ 26
4 31
Vespertilionide; all the species of this fami-
ly ; Family Felide, all the smaller species.
Felis Macrosceloides, Hodgs.
Moormensis, Hodgs.
Leopardus celidogaster, Temm. -especially.
- Ellioti, Gray. (
Linsang pardicolor, Gray.
Urva cancrivora, Hodgs.
Paguma (Paradoxurus) Grayi.
Paguma? (Paradoxurus) laniger, Gray.
Paradoxurus Bondar, Gray.
Vulpes montanus, Pearson,
Martes ? Toufaus, Hodgs.
Mustela Canigula, Hodgs.
i Cathia, Hodgs.
Helictis Nipalensis, Hodgs.
Ursus Isabellinus, Horsf.
Talpa Micrura, Hodgs.
Sorex Nemorivagus, Hodgs.
Mus Bandicota, Bechst.
Muride ; all the species of this family.
Nesokia Kok, Gray.
- Hydrophila, Hodgs.
Lepus Oemodius, Hodgs.
Lagomys Nipalensis, Hodgs.
Artomys Bobac, Giel.
ee Tibetanus, Hodgs.
Rhizomys badius, Hodgs.
Kemas Hodgsoni, Gray, the Chiru.
Tetracerus quadricornis, Gray.
Moschus chrysogaster, Hodgs.
Of the Rummant genera, Cervus, Antelope, &c. such species as are not found
in the lower regions,
(True Copies.)
G. A. Bususy,
Secretary to the Government of India.
1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. - 241
With regard to the appropriation and distribution of specimens of Natural
History in all Departments, which may be collected during the Mission to
Thibet, reference will doubtless be made to the instructions on this subject
in the Court’s Public despatch No. 17 of 1840, to the Government of India,
dated 16th September.
Meteorological and Zeological phenomena will necessarily engage the atten-
tion of the Mission.
East India House, November, 1847.
From G. A. Bushby, Esq. Secretary to Government, forwarding the
directions of the Governor General in Council for the immediate return
of the Report and drawings of the cave Temples of Kalinjar and Sha-
puri, south of Chunar.
The Secretary stated that on receipt of Mr. Bushby’s despatch, a
representation was forthwith made by the President to the Governor
General, as Patron of the Society, showing that the MS. and drawings
were actually in the artist’s and printer’s hands, and soliciting permis-
sion to retain these till completed for publication, which request was
graciously acceded to by His Lordship.
From C, W. Montriou, Esq. in charge of Observatory, Colaba, for-
warding, by order of the Government of Bombay, a copy of the Magne-
tical and Meteorological observations made at Colaba in 1845.
From G. A. Bushby, Esq. forwarding a copy of the 7th volume of
the Madras Astronomical observations.
From Dr. Hooker, Honorary Member of the Asiatic Society, de-
scribing a brilliant Aurora observed by him at Barroon, east bank of the
Soane, on the evening of the 14th of February, 1848.
Barroon East bank Soane River,
February 14th, 9 p.m. Bar. 29° 924.
Temp. air, 62; Wet Bulb, 51°5; Grass 53. Calm, clear, horizon; sky blue-
grey ; moon and stars clear ; milky-way and zodaical lights invisible.
Moon’s light by Photom. 3:07 inch, (sun at 3 p.m. 4°17 inch by same.)
Observed a well defined auroral arch, 120 broad, its upper limb well defined
alt. 20°. Extremes bearing West 20 South, and North 50 East, light pale but
clear and bright. Lower limb resting on an arch as dark as the sky at
zenith. Beams very numerous and crowded; principal ones about 30, all
linear and lance-shaped, crossing the zenith and meridian and converging on
opposite horizon towards South 15 East; all the beams, bright, clear, well
242 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. {Marca,
defined, pale yellow, moving slowly, forked at their apices, or split from their
apices towards the zenith, almost obscuring stars of the first magnitude.
Longest beams terminate at South 10 East; alt. 25°. Middle beam broad
crossing the zenith, and descending to North 50 East, at alt. 40°. Northerly
beams almost parallel to horizon, terminate at South 70 East: alt. 20°.
10 p.m. General appearance more diffused, upper limb of arch less clearly
defined. No beams cross the zenith, two detached ones bear South 15 East
at 15° alt, a beam occasionally re-appears at zenith.
10.15. Appearances to West of North as before. One beam on zenith ;
two cross the Meridian, one to South 30 East at 15, alt. which is not con-
tinuous towards the arch in South East. Arch more diffused, forming a mass
of pale light from Horizon to alt. 25°. Beams broader, shifting and splittmg
more frequently ; soon after a dark horizontal band 4° broad crosses the arch,
extending North 55 West, to North 10 West to upper limb, alt. 12°; it appears .
as a break in the auroral arch ; whole Horizon covered with a pale diffused
light, strongest below arch, and in opposite quarter of heavens beams still
clear, the lateral broadest and best defined. The dark band becoming broader,
and breaking at the arch.
10°30. Beams from arch still clear, linear, 20—60 broad, about 12 m
number, none reach the zenith :—a few lateral ones cross the moon’s Meri-
dian, the upper approach within 8° of her orb, and still are well defined ;
North East beams and most crowded North West broadest and most clearly
defined. The dark band becomes broader, and divides the auroral arch.
Whole phenomena fading, the longest, brightest and most numerous beams
extend along the North East horizon. |
10.50. Still fading, beams and arch all disappearing to West of North,
18 narrow beams between North and North 20 East from broken remains of
arch—cold southerly breeze springs up.
10° 55. Breaking up fast.
1l vp. m. Diffused light over all horizon, scattered fragments of beams in
various parts of heaven, like cirrhus, linear and best defined along and pa-
rallel to North and North East horizon.
Mid-night. Two faint beams to North-East and two strongly defined lance-
shaped ones parallel to each other, to South-West.
The following day was bright, clear and warm.
From Capt. Jas. Abbott, forwarding an account, by an eye-witness,
of the terrible Cataclysm of the Indus. (Published in the present
number of the Journal.)
From Major Madden, Almorah, with reference to his promised essay
on the Flora of Kumaon.
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatie Society. 243
From the Rev. Mr. Keane, requesting information as to the site of
Interjalie, and giving a brief account of the late earthquake as experi-
enced at Chapra, Kishnagur.
From Mr. Mansel, regarding the Taj model in the Museum, for which
Mr. Mansel proposed a glass case to be provided. Ordered accordingly —
and the thanks of the Society voted to Mr. M. for his liberality in
restoring the Taj model without charge.
From Baboo Pearymohun Sen, apologising on the part of the Came-
ron Testimonial Committee for their having called a meeting at the
Society’s House without having asked permission.
From Capt. J. D. Cunningham, transmitting an account of the ruins
at Putharee, near Oudehpoor. (Ordered for publication.)
From Col. Low, Penang, relative to the inscriptions of supposed Hindu
origin at Penang and in Sumatra. (Published in present number of the
Journal.)
From the Hon. Col. Butterworth, to Mr. Laidlay, promising to send
the fragments of the Singapore inscription to the Museum of the
Asiatic Society.
On the analysis of a coal from the Punjab, by Dr. Andrew Fleming,
communicated by Mr. Laidlay. Mr. Elliot stated that Dr. Fleming
had been appointed by Government to make a survey of the district
from which this coal was obtained, and he suggested that the publica-
tion of Dr. Fleming’s paper be postponed till the receipt of ‘his further
report.
From a member of the Asiatic Society, forwarding four copies for the
Library, of a Sanscrit Tract, entitled “Sri Yeshu Khrista Mahat-
" myam.”
From Mr. C. Govindrow, Khandeish, Dhoolia, inquiring as to the
possibility of obtaining copies, printed or MS. of several volumes of the
Mackenzie MSS. The Librarian having been referred to, reports that
there are 32 folio vols. of the MS., the whole of which may be copied
for about 1000 Rs.
From the Prince Gholam Mahomed, announcing the proposed publi-
cation of a memoir by himself, in English and Persian, of the life of
Hyder Ali Shah. Price of Persian copy 12 Rs.; English translation
6 Rs. The letter having been referred to the Oriental Section and
favorably reported on, it was stated by Mr. Elliot, that since that re-
21
244 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ Marcu,
port was drawn up, it had become doubtful whether the work was not
a mere reprint of one containing invectives against the British Govern-
ment which the Society might not wish to approve of ; the subject was
accordingly again referred to the Oriental Section.
Read a report from the Oriental Section, as follows :
To W. B. O’Shaughnessy, M. D. Senior Secretary, Asiatie Society.
Sir,—I am directed by the Oriental Section to acknowledge the receipt of
your letter of the 21st, and in reply to convey to you, for the information
of the Council, the suggestions of the Seetion concerning the subjects about
which their opinion has been asked by the Council.
2. The Section recommend, that of such works of Moolavee Abdullah as
are notin the Library of the Society and as are of real value, one copy
should be taken in exchange for publications of the Society. The Section
will forward to the Council as soon as practicable a list of those works that
deserve a place in the Library.
3. The Section think the work of Prince Gholam worthy of the patronage
of the Society, but would first request Prince Ghelam to mention his price,
before they can propose the number of copies to be subscribed for by the
Society.
4. With regard to the publication of the life of Timur by the Society, the
Section beg to suggest that Major Anderson be solicited to favour the Society
with a report on the contents and merits of the work, to be circulated, toge-
ther with the entire MS. through the Section. As there exists already a
translation, although abridged, of this work by P. de la Croix, the Section are
not able to pass an opinion about the expediency of its publication before
the MS. is laid before them.
5. The Section recommend, for the approval of the Council, to publish as
the second work in the Oriental Journal, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, with
the commentary of Sankara Acharya, and the gloss of Anandagiri. His
Upanishad is not yet published, and is one of the most important and extensive.
At the same time the edition of this Upanishad would accord with the wish
of Professor Wilson, forming, as it does, a considerable portion of the Sata
Patha Brahmana, the publication of which he suggested to the Society.
TI have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your most Obedient Servant,
EK. Rorr.
Seeretary, Oriental Section, Asiatic Society.
Asiatic Society, the 29th Feb. 1848,
1848. ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 245
Resolved, that the Report be adopted and its suggestions carried into
effect, with the exception of the part referring to the history of Hyder
Ali, reserved for further consideration.
Read a note from Dr. Falconer, regarding a collection of shells pre-
sented to the Society by Mr. Cuming in 1843, and for which no return
had been made. At Dr. Falconer’s desire the consideration of this letter
was remitted to the Council and the Section of Natural History.
From Lieut. Grant, Adjt. 27th Regt. N. I. announcing the arrival of
a sculptured stone sent by Capt. Davidson, on the part of Dr. Spilsbury,
for the Museum of the Society.
From F. Edward Hall, Esq. regarding Tarkiras of the Persian,
Hindi and Urdu poets, to which he is desirous of directing the atten-
tion of the Society. Referred for Report to the Oriental Section.
The Secretary stated that the proposition made and seconded at the
last meeting for the election of Professor Henry of Princeton University
as an Honorary member of the Society having been considered by the
Council, he was directed to report it had been approved of and recom-
mended to the adoption of the Society. ;
Dr. Falconer objected to the election as irregular, on the ground that
no detailed statement of Professor Henry’s claims for this honor had
been submitted to the Society, and he proposed that the election be
postponed.
Dr. Walker supported Dr. Falconer’s proposition.
The Secretary stated that Professor Henry was proposed for election
exactly in the same manner as all Honorary members had been
elected for eight years past. He had been proposed and seconded at
one meeting ; the proposition referred to the Council, who had direct-
ed the Secretary to communicate their approval of it to the Society, as
was now done; no detailed statement of claims and scientific services
had ever been given or sought in previous instances. Dr. Henry’s
discoveries and contributions to our knowledge of Electricity, Magnet-
ism, and Meteorology, were familiar to every one, and he hoped that
the meeting would not delay the election lest their doing so might be
deemed a slight to one of the most amiable and eminent philosophers
of the day.
246 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ MARCH,
The proposition for Dr. Henry’s election having been put to the vote
Dr. Henry was elected by a show of hands and by a large majority
an Honorary Member of the Asiatic Society.
A note was read from Mr. Piddington, apologizing for his absence
on account of illness.
The Curator of the Zoological Department read a descriptive list of
additions to the Museum during the past month.
LIBRARY.
The following books have been received since the last meeting.
Presented.
Zakarija Ben Muhammed Ben Mahmud el Cazwini’s Kosmographie,
Edited by Ferdinand von Wiistenfeld. Erste Halfte—By THE
EDITOR.
Jahresbericht der Deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft fir 1846.—
By THE Epiror.
Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s office Calcutta, for
the month of January 1848.—By tue Deputy Surveyor GENERAL,
The Oriental Baptist, No. 14.—By THE Epiror.
The Upadeshak, No, 14.—By THE EpiTor.
The Calcutta Christian Observer for February 1848.—By THE Epirors.
Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia for May
and June 1847.—By THE ACADEMY.
Nityadharmanuranjica, Nos. 51, 52.—By tur Eprror.
Tatwabodhini Patrica, No. 55.—By tur TATWABODHINI SABHA.
Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. VII. Nos. 1—/7.—By
THE SOCIETY.
Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie, Tome VII.—By THE SociEry.
Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, No. 12.—By THe Socirry.
Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. XVI.—By rue Society,
Astronomical Observations made at the Hon’ble East India Company’s
Observatory at Madras, 1843—44.—By Tor GovEeRNMENT or INDIA.
The Pilgrimage of a Hian, pp. 1—24.—By tue TRANSLATOR.
Bombay Magnetical and Meteorological observations made at the Obser-
vatory at Bombay, from April to December 1845.—By THz GovERNMENT OF.
BomBay.
Zeistchrift der Deutschen Morganlandischen Gesellschaft—Herausgegeben
von den Geschaftsfuhrern, Heft HI. and 1V.—By tus Eprror.
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 247
Exchanged.
The Athenzum, Nos. 1047—1051 to 53.
Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, Vol. VI. Part II.
The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, Nos. 210-11.
Purchased.
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Nos. 135—36.
Journal des Savants, Oct. 1847.
Comptes Rendus des Seances de lAcademie des Sciences, Tome XXV. Nos.
17—21.
Donation to the Museum of Antiquities.
A Nepalese Sword.—By SamMvueL Wricut, Esq.
Certified to be a true Report,
James W. Couvi.e, President.
W. B. O’SHAUGHNESSY, Secretary.
Report of Curator Zoological Department.* -
The following are the presentations I have to record this evening :—
1. Sir W. Jardine, Bt. A small collection of British mammalia and birds,
comprising a very fine example of the rare British Wild Cat (Felis catus, L.,
as currently assigned, v. F. sylvestris, Aldrovand), procured in Inverness-shire ;
—also two Alpine Hares,—specimens of Arvicola glareola, (Schreb., v. riparia,
Yarrell, &c.),—a fine cock Pheasant,—some Black and Red Grouse,—and
sundry small birds. On comparison of the Cat with the imperfect skin from
Afghanistan noticed in XIV, 342, XV, 169, the latter differs in having shorter
fur, of a more fulvescent hue, especially on the under-parts and limbs, with
the markings more broken into spots, though still tending to form irregular
obliquely transverse stripes ; the tail, also, if perfect, would seem to be
tapering (as in the domestic Cat), and has its black tip less developed. The
two are, however, very closely allied, and both may have, at least partly,
contributed to the origin of the domestic Cats of their respective regions,
The fine Scottish specimen before the Meeting, recals vividly to mind the
figure and expression of a large European male Cat, as distinguished from
the more slimly formed domestic animal of this country, which (as I have
been informed on good authority) occasionally interbreeds with the common
wild F. chaus. Mr. Walter Elliot, again, informs me that he has known the
wild F, rubiginosa of the Coromandel coast to interbreed with the domestic
* Presented at the February meeting.
~*
248 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Marcu,
Cat ; and that a brood of semi-wild hybrids thus produced occasioned him at
one time much inconvenience. In connexion with these facts, we cannot but
observe the remarkable coincidence of the defective tail of the wild Malayan
F, planiceps, and of the domestic Cats of the same countries (vide XV, 245).*
* It is probable that this variation likewise occurs in the very nearly allied, but. consi-
derably larger, F. Temminckii of the Malayan peninsula, &c.; from which it does not
appear that F. moormeztsis of Nepal and Sikim differs in any respect. I have examined
specimens of both, the former from Malacca, the latter from Sikim, but have never had
the opportunity of actually comparing them together.
On the subject of Canine hybrids, there is an interesting paper, as recording some
observed facts,in the ‘ Calcutta Sporting Review’ for December 1847; but the writer
makes a great mistake in supposing that the rufous ‘ Wild Dog’ (so called) of India and
the Malay countries—C. rutilus, v. Cuon primevus, &c. &c.—has contributed largely
to the origin of domestic Dogs, as not asingle variety of the latter is known to want
the second true molar in the lower jaw, as in the wild species referred to ; and he falls
into a still greater error in supposing that the Hyena could interbreed with any Canine;
its generative organs being on a different type, and the mode of copulation consequently
not exhibiting the peculiarity observable in Canis. The dentition, too, is widely dissimilar ;
and other important diversities might be enumerated. The affinity of Hyena is with the
Viverride, and not with the Canidae.
Some experiments which I have been trying with the hybrid race produ by the
male Gallus Sonneratii and picked common hens, have hitherto led to opposite results to
what have followed the intermixture of different Canines. The male hybrid was parti-
cularly salacious ; yet though a great number of eggs have been produced by hens
trodden by him, of the pure domestic fowl, as well as of his own hybrid race, not a single
one has hatched, while other eggs placed with them produced chickens. I am now keep-
ing the only remaining hybrid hen with a Burmese domestic cock, but very little
removed from the wild bankivus ; and she has already produced some more eggs.
In the London Zoological Gardens, some ten years ago, was a brood of 2 bred
birds between the English Pheasant and common Fowl, these being + Pheasant: and
if this be possible, surely two different species of true Gallus ought to produce fertile
hybrids, at least with either parent race, if not per se et inter se. While on the
subject of hybrids, I may here notice that my friend, C. S. Bonnevie, Esq. of Rungpore,
some time ago presented me with a living specimen bred between the male Guinea-fow]
and common hen, which is now preserved in the Society’s Museum. Two other hybrids
thus produced have since been described in the ‘ Proceedings of the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia’ for Sept. 29, 1846, p. 101. The Society’s bird is
almost wholly white, but afew coloured feathers it has show no trace of the Guinea-
fowl spots, observable in those described by Dr. Morton: the bill and feet of the speci-
men, however, and its voice and carriage when alive, partook very much of the Guinea-
fowl: it has no trace of comb, nor of the Guinea-fowl bony knob, and but very slight
wattles depending from the angle of the gape. The most curious bird hybrid I have seen
was one bred in the Garden of the Zoological Society, between the Chenalopex egyptiacus
and that singular variety of domestic Duck common at Manilla, which is known as the
Penguin Duck.”
1848, ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 249
2. The Rev. F. Mason, Maulmain. Two packages, by successive arrivals of
the steamer, containing a number of flat skins of birds. Among them is the
Crypsirina: varians (v. Phrenotrix temia, Horsfield), which would seem to be of
common occurrence in the Tenasserim provinces, where its presence was first
remarked by the late Dr. Helfer. Also a new species of Shrike, which our
taxidermists have fortunately been able to set up, and which may be thus
_ described :— E . wha
Lanius hypoleucos, nobis, Very closely allied to L. Hardwickii, Vigors ;
from which it differs—1, in having the entire crown nigrescent, passing gra-
dually from the black of the forehead to dark ashy on the nape; the ear-coverts
being uniformly coloured with the feathers superiorly adjacent :—2, in having
the rump and upper tail-coverts of the same deep maronne colour as the back
and scapularies :-—3, in the much greater development of the ferruginous
margins of the great wing-coverts and tertiaries :—and 4, in hawing the under-
parts uniformly white, a little subdued, and tinged with a very faint blush, but
having no trace of rufous on the flanks and elsewhere,
8. R. Templeton, Esq. M. D., Colombo, through W. Elliot, Esq. Madras.
Twe living Monkeys, viz. a young male of Mucacus sinicus, Desm. (v. pileatus,
Lesson), and a young female of Presbytis cephalopterus, (Zimm.), of the normal
colouring. Pl.—represents three varieties of colour of the last named species,
with a figure of the allied Pr. Johnii of the Nilgherries, in the distance.*
4, Walter Elliot, Esq. Madras. A living specimen of a Cat, for inspection ;
and a stuffed Dolphin procured in the Bay of Bengal. The former is of the
species described by Mr, Elliot, as the Waegati of the Mahrattas of the Ghats,
in the ‘ Madras Journal of Literature and Science,’ X, 108, and since termed
Leopardus Elliotiby Mr. Gray, who identifies it with Felis nipalensis, Hodgson.
Of this, which I regard as F’. bengulensis, Pennant, the Society’s museum contains
a fine series ; and I consider Mr. Elliot’s animal to be decidedly of the same
* The Pr. thersites, described in my Report forlast November (XVI, 1271), inhabits
the low country of the northern half of Ceylon, and is therefore probably distinct from the
very large Monkey, ofa dark colour, which Major Forbes remarked “‘ at Newerra Elia,
and seattered over the colder parts of the island.” The adult male of Pr. thersites sent by
Dr. Templeton was savageor rather uncertain in its temper for some time after its arrival ;
but to myself and others he knows, he is now quite gentle and extremely fond of being caress-
ed. This has enabled me to examine him more particularly ; and I find that he has not
the radiating centre of hair above the brows, observable inthe other Entelloid Indian Mon-
keys, while the hair of the crown is particularly dense and touffu, though without rising
into a crest. His coat generally is dense and somewhat peculiar; very unlike that of Pr.
entellus, but approaching that of Pr. anchises of the central table-land of the peninsula,
Fig. 3 of Pl.—,with outstreched legs, represents a very characteristic attitude of Pr.
cephalopterus ; and fig, 1 exhibits the normal colouring of the species.
Loe cn aa
Co Ltn avo «</Fr
eo eee
250 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. | Marcu,
species, and its spots (of a somewhat bolder pattern than occurs in the generality
of the species from the sub-Himalayan region, Assam, Sylhet, and Arracan,)
are more filled out with black than I remember to have seen before: but I-can
detect no further difference. It would be of some interest to obtain this species
(or its representative) in the Tenasserim provinces ; in order to observe whether
it graded into F’, javanensis of the Malayan peninsula, which is considered the
same by M. Temminck who unites them under the name I’. minuta, in which
he is followed by Dr. Schlegel and others,
The Dolphin, which Mr. Elliot inclines to regard as a new species, and
terms Delphinus perniger, approaches very closely in size and proportions to
D. hastatus, F. Cuv., Hist. des Cétacés, p. 161, and to which this author refers
the Grampus Heavisidii of Gray ; but there is no trace of the peculiar markings
of the under-parts which distinguish the Cape species referred to, Mr, Elliot,
describing the fresh animal (as I presume), mentions it to be “‘ uniform shining
black above, blackish beneath. It has a series of 26 teeth on each side, above
and below; conical, obtuse, and slightly curved inwards.” The animal is well
stuffed ; and now measures 5 ft. 4 in, in total length (to middle of tail), the
beak (to frontal elevation) 4 in.; dorsal fin situate posteriorly to the middle of
the body, commencing at a distance of 294 in. from the tip of the beak ; length
of its upper margin (in the dry specimen) 10} in., and height about 6 in,;
length of the flipper 10 in., and extreme breadth 4 in. ; spread of the tail-flukes
143 in., and these are divided apart to a depth of 14 in.; beyond this division,
a very distinct ridge or keel is continued for about 1 ft., attaining a maximum
elevation of about $ in. These are about all the specific distinctions that can
be drawn from the dry specimen.
5. Capt. Scholefield, of the Schooner ‘‘ Sydney.” A dead female Ursus
malayanus, from Java. Perfectly identical, as a species, with specimens from
Assam, Tenasserim, &c.; but the individual remarkable for two great black
patches occupying much of the right side of its U-like mark on the chest, and
for numerous small spots spread over the remainder of the same mark. It has
been set up as a stuffed specimen. .
6. From the Barrackpore menagerie. A very fine dead specimen of Pha-
sianus torquatus, mas.
7. Mr. Geoffrey Finch. A living albino of the common larger Mungoose of
Bengal (Mangusta grisea).*
8. L. Manley, Esq, A dead African Finch, in perfect plumage, the Crithagra
chrysopogon, Swainson, v. Fringilla butyracea, var., Latham. Though in the
ordinary full plumage of the male bird, this specimen proved, upon examina-
tion, to be a female.
* Since dead, and mounted in the Museum.
1848. ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 251
9. Mr. J. H. Howell, of the Pilot Service. Some fine specimens of water-
snakes, and a few fishes, procured at the Sandheads.
10. Mr. J.T. Babanau. Two foetuses of the wild Sow, :
11. Mr. E. Lindstedt. A collection of several species of Snakes, from
Malacca.
12. Baboo Rajendro Mullick. Two specimens of Strix flammea, and a dead.
white Guinea-fowl : the latter, however common in Europe, is held in some
estimation by the native gentlemen who keep collections of living animals.
13, Mr, C. Bell, of the Preventive Service. A dead King Parrot (Aprosmic-
tus scapulatus).
14, Mr. W. E. Templeton, Assistant in the Museum. <A specimen of the
American Gallinula (?) martinica, (L.)
15. R. W.G. Frith, Esq. A dead English common hen, with large spurs ;
also the skin of a very interesting species of Rhinolophine Bat, which I can
only classify as a new generic form, by the name
Calops, nobis. General character of Rhinolophus and Hipposideros, but the
tail and calcanea wanting, and the inter-crural membrane acutely emarginated
to the depth of an even line with the knees, Ears delicate, large, broad, and
rounded; continued round to the front, without a trace of emargination
separating an anti-helix, Facial pit surmounted bya small field, divided by
a raised medial line, and above this projects a small crest of membrane, having
an abruptly rising, obtusely bifid tip, which is bent forward: behind. this
membrane, a2 minute pencil of hairs indicates the position of the sac obser-
vable in Hipposideros: each nostril is surrounded by a slight fringe of mem-
brane; and a broader fringe borders the facial cavity in front, impending the
upper lip ; but the sides of the facial cavity are densely fringed with hair only ;
and the fur is long and dense upon the forehead. The teeth cannot be examined
without sacrificing the unique specimen. The proportions of the wings, and
the development of the ante-brachial membrane, are the same asin Nycteris.
The fur is long, and delicately fine, as in true Rhinolophus,
C, Frithii, nobis. Length, from nose to rump, about 12 in. ; of the middle of
jhe inter-crural membrane but 4 in.; head 3 in. ; ears posteriorly 3} in., or some-
what less ; fore-arm 13 in,; shank +2in. ; foot with claws % in. ; longest finger 23
in. Colour dusky or blackish, the fur tipped with dull ashy-brown above, and
with paler and somewhat albescent ashy below: the membranes fuscous, In-
habits the Soonderbuns of Lower Bengal.
It is somewhat remarkable that I have not yet succeeded in obtaining a single
fresh specimen of a Rhinolophus or Hipposideros in Lower Bengal ; and the only
additional Indian species I know of, to those enumerated in XIIT, 480 e¢ seq.,
is a Hipposideros thus described to me by Dr. Templeton of Ceylon, together
with a notice of a species according very well with H, speoris,
ry
252 Proceedings of the Asratic Society. [| Marcu,
Hipposideros ater, Templeton. ‘ Resembles the other” (speoris ?) “in every
thing but size and colour, The back is coal-black, the hair near the body dark
silvery-grey ; belly greyish-black; the membrane deep black: tail one-half
longer than the femora, its tip exserted. Length 12 to 1% in.; expanse 10 to
103 in.; tail 7 to 8in. Common in old buildings about Colombo.”
Among the gatherings of the past month, may be noticed particularly two re-
markably fine specimens, male and female, of half-grown Orang-utans, picked
up (when but just dead) after having been thrown away into the streets. These
have been stuffed, and now replace the specimens of corresponding age, but not
nearly in such fine condition, that we possessed previously.
Also a new wading bird, of the genus Macrorhamphus, a skin of which Mr.
Jerdon sent me, upon loan, to describe some time ago, but of which I had not
hitherto published the memorandum I took of it. The following is from the fresh
specimen obtained in the Calcutta bazar, and Mr. Jerdon has only procured
one individual.
M. semipalmatus, Jerdon. Larger than M, griseus, with the three anterior
toes connected at base by membranes, of which the inner is equally develop-
ed with that connecting the middle and outer toes of Himantopus candidus
and H. leucocephalus, the outer being rather more so. Bill exactly as in
Scolopax ; its terminal fifth smooth and tumid in the living bird, becoming
shrunken and papillose soon after death. Length 13in., of which the bill to
forehead measures 2Zin.; expanse of wings 21in.; closed wing 63in.; tail
21in.; tarse 13in.; middle toe and nail 13in.; hind-toe and nail in. Bill
dusky, dull carneous towards the base of the lower mandible; legs and toes
lead-coloured. Winter plumage ashy-brown above, with whitish-grey margins
to the feathers; crown and lores dusky, the feathers but slightly margined
paler ; and divided apart by a whitish supercilium : throat, neck, and breast,
somewhat indistinctly pencilled with a zigzag subterminal dusky marking on
each feather, on a dull white ground ; increasing to three or four dusky bars on
those of the flanks and on the lower tail-coverts: belly and vent white: ramp
and upper tail-coverts white, banded with dusky-black : tail-feathers also banded
with dusky-black, the dark bars being broader than the white ground: in the
uropygials, or middle pair of tail-feathers, the white disappears on the inner web,
and is reduced to a series of spots on the outer; the primaries and their coverts,
and the winglet, are dusky; the shorter primaries, to a partial extent, and the
secondaries and their coverts, being edged with white: the first primary a little
exceeds the second in length, and has the usual stout and conspicuously white
stem: under-surface of the wing chiefly white, except along its anterior borders,
This bird is probably a sea-side species, like its chiefly American congener ;
which would account for its being so rarely brought to the Calcutta bazar, among
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. | 253
the heaps of small waders that appear there daily for more than half the year.
In like manner Numenius pheopus, and Strepsilas interpres, are very rarely
brought, and I have never yet obtained there the common Hematopus of the
shores of the Bay, nor Calidris arenaria (which has at least once been procured
by Mr. Jerdon). Three other species that I have respectively obtained only
once, are Vanellus (?) leucurus, Tringa canutus (which has onee likewise been
procured by Mr. Jerdon), and Phalaropus lobatus. The last was obtained on
the 11th May, 1846; it was exceedingly emaciated, and had not commenced
changing colour. The Woodcock I have obtained here twice, and have heard
of other instances of its occurrence. During the present cold season, I have
procured for the first time Podiceps cristatus, L., which I am informed is not
rare in the Soonderbuns:* and I have once only procured the beautiful Anas
formosa, Gin., (v. glocitans, &e., nec bimaculata). The Mallard (Anas boschas)
never, nor has it been met with in the peninsula of India, though occurring up the
country. The same holds with Vanellus cristatus, and one or two other
species. In the peninsula of India, Mr. Jerdon has once only procured the
Australian Hiaticula nigrifrons, which he has described by the name Charadrius
russatus.t Another Grallatorial bird discovered by Mr. Jerdon, which I may
* The excessively rude fowling-pieces used by the bazar shikarrees are little calcu-
eated for hitting such wary and rapid divers as the Crested Grebe.
+ Among the land-birds, one or two stragglers, chiefly from the hills, have severally
been here met with once: such are Gecinus striolatus, nobis, G. chloropus, Vicillot,
_Cypselus micropus, nobis, Tephrodornis grisola, nobis (a Malayan species), Monticola
cinclorhyncha, (Vig.), and Calliope cyana, (Hodgson). Other chiefly hill species on
two or three occasions only ; as Chrysocolaptes sultaneus, (Hodg.), Accipiter fringil-
larius, Acc. virgatus (v. besra), Falco perigrinator, EF. severus, F. subbuteo, and Tinnun-
culus vespertinus ; Oriolus cochinchinensis ; Treron nipalensis, Tr. chlorigaster (the S.
Indian representative of the common Tr. phenicopterus of N. India, now and then
met with, asis likewise the white-bellied Amadina malacca, similarly representing in 8.
India the A. sinensis of Bengal, &c.); Brachyurus triostegus (Sparrman, the Pitta
brachyura apud Gould,) occasionally ; and there are species of the Phylloscopus group
which I have hitherto procured only once, as Abrornis cantator, (Tickell, v. Abr.
schisticeps, Hodgson, apud G. R. Gray, nec apud nos, XIV, 592), Phylloscopus
indicus, (Jerdon, v. Ph. griseolus, nobis, XVI, 443, as now identified by that gentle-
man), Ph. javanicus, (Horsf., v. magnirostris, nobis), and Ph. nitidus nobis, twice.
And there are several species of birds which I have never yet obtained on the alluvium
of the river, but which abound immediately this is quitted, and thence are distributed
southward even to Ceylon. Vide my note on this subject, XVI, 117. Also certain
mammalia, as Sciurus tristriatus, and sundry Muride.
Since the above was written, I have likewise obtained in Calcutta a fresh specimen of
Caprimulgus macrourus (verus), Horsfield, common in Arracan, Tenasserim, Malacca,
Java, and thence to the northern coast of, Australia. In Bengal and northern India gener-
2K 2
254 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. {[Marcu,
take this opportunity to describe, is of a form nearly allied to Cursorius, from
which it differs chiefly in having a much more robust and shorter bill, and in the
first primary being rather shorter than the second and third. The eye, also,
would appear to be very much larger and more Plover-like—at least in the
Indian species ; but a second representative certainly exists in the Cursorius
chalcopterus, Tem., of Africa, the eye of which is however represented as being
small in the coloured figure published by Messrs. Mitchell and G. R. Gray.
Macrotarsius bitorquatus, Jerdon. Length 93 or 10 in., of wing 62 in., and
tail 3 in.; bill to forehead 2 in., and very nearly 3 in. in least vertical depth,
about the middle ; tarse 23 in.; middle toe and nail Zin, Colour sandy-brown
above, with a faint pink gloss; the dorsal feathers slightly margined with
rusty-brown, and the wing-coverts more conspicuously with pale rufescent :
crown of the head black, with rusty lateral margins to the feathers; a broad
white supercilium, commencing with the lores, is continued round the occiput ;
and there is a less defined (but equally conspicuous) rufescent-white streak
along the mesial line of the head ; ear-coverts streaked dusky and ferruginous :
throat white, with a broad rufous band below it; this is bordered by a narrow
white semi-collar, continued to below the ear-coverts, and narrowly edged
above and helow withdusky; then follows a broad brown gorget, and finally
another white collar, margined above and below with dusky ; this again is suc-
ceeded by brown, forming an ill-defined band on the lower part of the breast ;
and the rest of the lower-parts are isabelline, with white upper and lower tail-
coverts ; primaries and their coverts black, the first two primaries largely and
obliquely marked with white, which is reduced to alarge subterminal spot on the
inner web of the third primary, and a small analogous spot on the fourth : tail
white at base, extending for two-thirds of the length of the exterior web of its
outermost feather; the terminal half of the tail black, passing basally into brown,
and all but the middle feathers having a small white spot at the extremity of
their inner webs. ‘Terminal half of the bill corneous and black, the basal half
pale (probably yellow in the fresh bird), and the legs also pale. Inhabits the
eastern Ghats of the peninsula of India.
A natatorial bird that may be redescribed with advantage, is the African
representative of the common “ Brahminee Goose,” or ‘‘ Ruddy Sheldrake” of
authors, ( Casarca rutila,) of India.
Casarca cana,(Gm.) This bird is correctly described by Sonnerat as 1’ Oie
Sauvage a téte grise de la cbte de Coromandel : being thus mistaken for C. rutila
of Asia, from which it is-very obviously distinct, however closely allied. The
male (judging the sex from analogy with that of C. rutila) has the head and
ally, this species is replaced by the nearly allied C. albonotatus, Tickell: and in S. India
and Ceylon by the equally allied C. mahratiensis, Sykes.
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 255
neck: of a drab-brown colour; the lower part.of the neck encircled by a ferru-
ginous collar (in place of the black one of the male C. ruti/a when in full
plumage) ; the neck below the collar, and the whole breast, are pale isabelline,
abruptly contrasting with the ferruginous of the back and under-parts, which on
the back is of a much deeper hue than in C. rutila ; the abdominal. patch is
deep ferruginous—approaching to maronne—in both species, but the under tail-
coverts are paler in C. cana, and the black on either side of them at base of C.
rutila, is in C. cana replaced by dusky minutely freckled with whitish; this
freckling is also seen on the inner scapularies and inter-scapularies of C. cana,
and the tertiaries have their outer webs of a deep maronne colour—the wings
being otherwise alike in the two species. Size and proportions also the same. The
specimen of C. cana described was referred to C. rutila in VII, 581; and Mr.
G. R. Gray, in his ‘ Illustrated Genera of Birds,’ suggests the name as a syno-
nyme of his Bernicla inornata, (King),—a very doubtful Bernicla, by the way,
and which seems rather to pertain to the Chenalopex, Casarca, and Tadorna
group; while Mr. Gould’s B, jubata, (Lath.), is as evidently allied to Nettapus.
The present description will, I trust, establish Casarca cana as an undoubted
species.
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JOURNAL
OF THE
Porat LU SOCTETY:
I Dn rwnnwnmn—nnmnmms PLP DPDRIINrnn””
APRIL, 1848.
LLLIWLLIF FILIP ID IAP
Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa, with appended Routes from
Darjeeling to Pharit.—By A. CAMPBELL, M, D. Superintendent of
Darjeeling.
One more contribution to conjectural Geography in the form of an
unpretending Itinerary, will not, I hope, incense the votaries of real Geo-
graphy, and may less or more interest the members of the Society, as
an attempt to familiarise them with a neighbouring country which is so
little known to us, yet of such importance to be acquainted with.
Phari or Pharidzong, is a frontier mart of Eastern Thibet, well known
to the people of Sikim and Bootan, and to which there are other routes
through the Himalaya proper, or snowy range, from both those countries.
It is placed by Hamilton, from Turner, in Latitude 27° 48’ N. Longi-
tude 89° 14’ E., and Lassa by the same authority in Lat. 29° 30’N.
Long. 91° 6’ E. Darjeeling is in Lat. 27° N. and Long. 88° 28’ E. The
itinerary therefore extends over 2} degrees of Latitude, and two de-
grees 38 miles of Longitude, according to Hamilton, who however
must probably give way to the later authorities of Europe, in the posi-
tions assigned to Phari and Lassa. The routes have been compiled
with care, to procure the knowledge possessed by the informants. This
is always a difficult task when done through interpreters, and when
tried with illiterate and not very observant people, is laborious and dis-
couraging. Mr. Hodgson has, by his notes and remarks, greatly
elucidated the details of the itinerary, and has kindly allowed me to
attach them to it.
No. XVI.—New Serizs, 2h
258 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. {[APRIL,
The following Thibetan words are here translated for the convenience
of the reader :—
Choo or tchoo, ....... River,
fa, cas... to. » Motta or Range,
fl LS a ne wicyenauie weeks tance wee:
Lahuri or lari;........ A mountain Peak ; Chuma Lahuri or lari,
the Peak of Chuma; Larichoo, the
river of the Peak,
Goomba or Goompa,.. Monastery,
elone...3 455% aay othe eae Priest,
Bais, we cetera High Priest,
AM hi5d- 3 eee eo
Dennkawey ie die ate Caravansari,
ONG osha eteted Boe ede imls Fort or residence of a chief,
Samba, it fa; yatewn oad. Tees
Where elevations are given, they have been calculated by making the
informants compare known elevations at Darjeeling with the places de-
scribed, or rather with their recollection of them.
Route from Phari to Lassa.
1. Pharito Tangla.—A short march about 6 miles—direction north
by west. Phariis on the west bank of the Machoo river.* The route to
Tangla lies in the bed of the Larichoo River, which has its rise in the
Chumulari mountain} and falls into the Machoo about two miles from
Phari. The highest peak of Chumulari is close to Tangla. Chapa
Goomba of Turner’s route, is a mile to the east of ‘ Tangla,” and is over-
topped by the peak of Chumulari, There are 21 Goombast round the
base of Chumulari. Chapa is one of them ; pilgrims make the circuit of
the mountain visiting all the Goombas, which can be accomplished in
five days; at all the Goombas save one, (Katok Goomba) there are
Lamas, some of whom are Bhutanese. The majority are Tibetans. The
circnit of Chumulari is reckoned a work of great merit. 'The Goombas
* Rises at Choloa, flows 10 stages N. E. and then E.to Phari. It is no doubt the
Pachié of Klaproth and Painomchu vel Goddada of some of our maps, though the
confounding of the two last is a great error.—Bb. H. H.
t See Turner’s Embassy to Tibet, and vol. 12 Asiatic Researches, p. 253—4, for notices
of Chumulari, which is estimated to be 28,000 ft. above the level of the sea.
+ Gamba, religious house, Monastery or Convent, Ani Ghenba, Nunnery.—B. H, H.
1848. | Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 259
are snowed up in the winter and are approachable in the summer only.
There are images at all of them. No cultivation near them.
2. Tenna.—Rather a short journey, about 10 miles. The route
nearly level, and the country cultivated and well peopled. Wheat
ripens at Tenna, and turnips, cabbages and other vegetables are abun-
dant.
3. Goroogootang.—About 8 miles in the direction of north by east.
The road lies over a level country which is well cultivated with wheat
and barley. There is a pottery here, anda Dak Chowkey, also houses
for the shelter of travellers; one for Lamas and respectable people,
another for the poor. At the latter you pay about 2 annas—a Kakum,
or 4th part of the silver Mohur, not a coin of this value, but literally the
quarter of a Mohur. Traders alone pay; pilgrims and priests do not.
4. Dochen.*—About 8 miles North by East. The road level and the
country cultivated. There is a large lake here called ‘‘ Dochencho ;’’+
its length is N. and South about two miles ; its greatest diameter a mile
and half. It contains many kinds of fish, and the ‘‘ Pew” (a native
Carbonate of Soda,I believe) is found on its banks, In the summer
season the banks of the lake are overgrown with a long grass 4 feet
high, called Choomik. In winter they are bare. The ‘‘Changmo” or
weeping-willow grows close to the water all round the lake. No
wooden boats on the lake, but the fishermen use boats made of hides
stretched over a basket-like framework, and sown together with lea-
ther whangs, the seams being rubbed over with beeswax. These
boats carry 4 or 5 men, and are so light that one man carries them
easily. The fish are caught in nets. Hooks and bait not used. The
fish is preserved by simple drying in the sun, and exported to Phan
and to “ Menchona,” a populous district to the northwards. |
5. Kala Puktang.—12 to 15 miles in a north and easterly direc-
tion. Here there is alake of the same name. Its size is equal to
that of the Dochen one: but it is celebrated on account of the great
quantity of fish it contains. The country around this lake is barren ;
but it is more populous than around Dochen. The people live by the
fisheries, which are very productive, and yield an annual revenue, which
* Dochia of Klaproth.—B. H. H.
+ Choo” is water in Tibetan. ‘‘ Tso’ is Lake; this may be the water or Lake of
Dochen.
pat NE
260 Itinerary from Phart in Thibet, to Lassa, [APRIL;
is paid at Digarchi (Shigatzzi Zeung) amount not known. The road
between the two lakes runs over a level country. The cultivators
irrigate their lands from both these lakes. ‘ Chumulari’ is seen from
Kala Puktang to the south and west.
6. Semodah.*—The “ Sumdta” of Turner’s route, one day’s journey
about 15 miles, in the direction of north by east. The road runs
over a rocky, barren, and unpeopled tract ; nor is there any halting-place
on the way. It is a small village inhabited by Tibetans and has a Dak
Chowkey, or Post Station. There is a road from Semodah to Lassa
direct ; but it is a difficult and bad one, used only for expresses and by
a few travellers ; food is scarce on it; but the distance to Lassa is much
less than by “‘ Giangtchi” and “ Yamda Yeumtso.”’
7. Kamachooding.—One day’s journey due north, over a rather level
country, well cultivated and peopled. There is a large Goomba here,
as large as that of Swoyambhtnath in the valley of Nepal ; it is called
Kama Goomba; has about 80 Lamas attached to it and a large library.
The Kamachoo, a small stream from the east, runs close to the Goomba.
The cultivation of wheat on the banks of the stream is of a superior
kind, and vegetables are abundant, such as turnips, radishes and cab-
bages.
8. Chaloo.t—One day’s journey to the north, over a rather level
country, which is however very rocky and barren. ‘To the east of the
road the mountains are close, and their tops are snow-clad in winter.
To the west of the road the mountains are also near but not lofty.
9. Saloo.t[—One day’s journey to the north. There is a Goomba
here of the same name, with about 60 Lamas attached to it. This
and Kama Goomba are dependencies of Digarchi. The country around
Saloo is well cultivated and peopled.
10. Kideepoo.—One day’s journey due north; a very bad road over
a rocky tract without any ascent to speak of. The country around is
partially cultivated ; but there are immense flocks of sheep and goats,
the pasture being abundant and fine. In the winter the herds are kept
around Kideepoo, in the summer they are taken to the neighbouring
mountains. ‘This place is the residence of a Soubah.
* Soumdta of Klaproth.—B. H. H.
+ Chaha of Klaproth, who places Chali south of Semodah.—B. H. H.
¢ Sad4? of KI. but he places it a stage beyond Giangtchi.—B. H. H.
1848. ] Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 261
11. Demorang Zeung or Fort of Demorang.—One day’s journey to
the north over arocky country. Abouta mile to the north of the
halting-place, there are 3 hot springs which are in repute for the cure
of all diseases. No village here.
12. Giangtchi.*—About 6 miles to the north. A small town and
the neighbourhood well inhabited and cultivated. There is a Chinese
officer stationed here with 3 or 400 soldiers, a few of whom are
Mantchoo Tartars of the Chinese army. The rest are native Tibe-
tans. A river runs by the town. It rises in the Yeung mountains which
are tothe north and east. It has no specific name. It is called
Changchoo or Changtcheu. All large rivers in Tibet are called
** Changchoo.+” Giantche is one day’s journey from Digarchi, for an
unloaded man say 20 miles, and here the road to Lassa goes off from
that to Digarchi to the eastward. The first halting-place on the road
to Lassa is
13. Saoo.—One day’s journey to the east with a little southing,
over an undulating country generally, cultivated and well peopled. There
are many villages along the road: and the fields are irrigated from
numerous small streams which run from the diminutive hills around ;
the greater number of which have a Goomba or monastery on the
summit. The streamlets about Saoo run into the ‘‘ Changtchoo,” the
course of which is north and west. Snow does not fall at Saoo: but
it does on the line of road where it crosses the Yeung mountain for 3
or 4 months in the year i. e. November to February.
14, Yeungla or Mount Yeung.—One day’s journey to the east by
south, along a stony road which ascends all the way by zigzags to the
resting-place, which is in a saddle on the crest of the mountain. The
ridge to the north from the resting-place is higher than to the south,
* Dzuialdge of KI. This place is famous fora particular breed of ponies, (see Sp. Rev. )
and is one of the more considerable of the very petty towns of Tibet.—B. H. H.
+ Changchoo—river of Chang, softened from Tsang, which is the name of the western
half of the central province of Tibet, called U’tsing, U being the Lassa division, and
Tsang the Digarchi one. The great river of Tibet is called the river of Tsang or Tsang,
vide Sanpi-Dzangbo of Klaproth, Its pre-eminence leads to all rivers, especially
those of Tsang, being called in a like manner, just as in India any large river is Ganga.
Yaru is the distinctive name of the great river whose full title is Yaru ts4ng poch4, great
river Yaru of tsang. MKlaproth’s Changchoo however, lies far off the route on the left
hand,
262 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. (APRIL;
and is estimated to be 2,000 feet above it. There is a Caravansari for
travellers. Snow falls here in winter, but not enough to close the road.
There is no cultivation or population at the Yeungla saddle. The
zigzag road was made by the Government and is a good one for ponies.
15. Rongting River.—An easy day’s journey by a descent all the
way along a zigzag road as on the west side of the mountain, The
country on the route is uninhabited and uncultivated. There is a
Caravansari or Deunkang for travellers on the bank of the river, which
has a stone bridge at the crossing. The ‘ Deunkang”’ is a large stone
building with a slated roof and has many apartments. Travellers of
rank occupy separate rooms. The poorer ones assemble together. The
Rongting runs to the westward by north.
16. Dabloong.—One day’s journey along the banks and in the bed of
the Rongting which is crossed five times during the march. At each
crossing there is a stone bridge; the direction of the route is easterly
and against the course of the river. There are a few villages on the
river side and occasional patches of wheat and barley cultivation.
Dabloong is a poor village of 10 houses, and on the east bank of the
Rongting. No firewood at this stage. Travellers cook with sheep and
goat dung. |
17. Karoola.*—Leaving the Rongting at Dabloong the road ascends
all the way to Karoola over a barren and bare country. There is a
“‘Deunkang”’ for travellers. It snows much here and is very comfort-
less. The traveller who cooks at this stage must bring the fuel (sheep’s-
dung) from Dabloong. The mountains to the north of Karoola are
covered with perpetual snow, and are very lofty. To the south the
mountains are much lower, and have no snow on them; supplies of
grain are not procurable on this route after leaving Giangtchi, until
you get to Kambala, in all 14 marches. Travellers must take grain
with them.
18. Zhara.—One day’s journey east by south. The descent is con-
siderable on this stage, and the road runs along a spur of Karoola to
Zhara, which is on an undulating plain or table-land. No cultivation
along this stage. The Deunkang at Zhara is provided with servants
* Kara-la, mount Kér4. So Yeung-la, mount Yung. Kar4, probably the Kharab
(misprint?) of Klaproth, who however gives it a meridional course parallel to and not
crossing the route.—B. H, H.
1848. | Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 263
who supply food, and who cook for travellers. These men are Chinese,
and are appointed by the Ampas or Chinese councillors at Lassa, The
traveller who can pay may have tea, spirits, flesh and eggs. ‘The
charges are so high that Tibetans cannot afford to pay them, and the
Chinese only can avail themselves of this accommodation ; just as at
the Dak Bungalows in India, where the charges are too high for the
Natives.”
19. Chakloong (the place of thieves.)—Chakpoo is Tibetan for
Dacoit. This is a notorious haunt of robbers.* It is their practice
to conceal themselves in burrows under ground and watch for travellers,
on whom they suddenly pounce. Murders are not commonly commit-
ted by gang robbers in Thibet unless the resistance is so great that it
cannot be overcome otherwise. The direction of the route from Zhara
is east by south, the distance one day’s journey ; the country level, but
rocky, barren and unpeopled; the road, which is easy for ponies and
loaded people, runs parallel to a river which rises in the Yeung moun-
tain and runs to the south. There is no house here for the shelter of
travellers, but there are numerous and spacious caves in which they
rest. Some of the caves are large enough to contain 40 men comfort-
ably. They are not natural caves, but have been cut out of the hill
side which is of hard soil.
20. Nagarchi Jong.t—One day’s journey to the east, over a level
country, which is well cultivated and peopled; road good. This is the
residence of a ‘“‘ Deboo” or Governor. [is district is Nagarchi, which is
a large one, extending more than 30 miles to the eastward of his resi-
dence. The whole country to “‘ Yamdo Yeumtso,” (Yarbragh Yeumtso
of Pemberton’s map) is level, well peopled, and cultivated.
21. Yamdo, (Yeumtso.)t—A long march in an easterly direction over
a finely cultivated country. There is a lake here of the same name, on
the margin of which is the resting-place. The lake is seen from
. Nagarchijong, and is close to it some way to the south of the road.
The lake of Yamdo Yeumtso is.of immense circumference ; ‘‘ Garboo
* M. Hucin his narrative speaks much of the robbers of Tibet, who, he says, are Kalos
or black-tent nomadic Tibetans, erroneously styled Kalmaks, They are mounted gang
robbers. See British Journal of the Propaganda.—B. H. H.
¢ Nagardzong of Pemberton’s map; Nagar Oze of Klaproth, whose 13th stage it is.
—B. H.H.
t Palté of our maps; Yarbrok Y4 and Yambra Yam of KI.—B. H. H.
264 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. [APRIL,
ong,” a Raja of Lassa, once travelled round it in 18 successive days and
nights. He had relays of Ponies all the way. The country all around
the lake is well cultivated and peopled ; and fish are most abundant in
all parts of it. The depth of the water is very great. At one place
it is 18 score of fathom, 2160 feet. There is an island in the south-
west corner of the lake, on which there is a Goomba named “ Dorje
Phamo.” The passage is fordable and about a mile in width. This is
the only part of the lake that admits of a fordable passage to the
island. In all other parts leather boats are used in the navigation
and fishing, The island is a mile in diameter and rises gradually from
the water to a height of 200 feet. On the summit is the Goomba
which is visited by immense numbers of people from all parts of Tibet.
There is an avatari Lama always in this Goomba, which is one of great
sanctity and note. Itis built of stone and very large. The images
are all gilded. The Gelongs* belonging to the establishment are about
100 in number, and there are as many Nuns (Annees.) The library is
a very extensive one and the lands appertaining to the monastery com-
prise the whole of the villages on the mainland to the west. The
number and value not known. ‘ The island is not at all large, nor is it
the least like that in your map.t A man starting at daylight can waik
round it by noon.” This is the information of a Lama who has twice
circumambulated the island on his visits to the Goomba. All the
pilgrims and religionists who visit ‘‘ Dorje Phamo” circumambulate the
island three times; once along the water’s edge, once half way up the
hill and once round the summit. On each circuit, at the four cardinal
points, is a Chasting (Chaitya) in which are images of stone. The dead
bodies of Lamas and Gelongs belonging to the Goomba are carried to
the shore at the different Chaityas. A fire is lighted as a signal to
the vultures ; a blast is blown from the thigh-bone of a man for the
same purpose: and the body being cut into small pieces and the bones
broken, the whole is scattered about to be devoured, which is done
very quickly by swarms of kites and vultures. The bodies of the poor
are thrown on the shore entire to be torn asunder at leisure: and after
the flesh has been removed the skeletons are thrown into the lake.
* Gelding is Monk ; Lama, he who shows the way ; lam, learned monk ; often Prior or
Abbot.—B. H. H.
+ Pemberton’s,
1848. | Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 265
There is a spring of sweet water on the Island, which supplies the
Goomba, and on the mainland the people drink the water of other
springs. The water of the lake is not reckoned wholesome, Running
water is always preferred in Tibet. Horses and cattle swell up after
drinking in the lakes, and sometimes suffer greatly from doing so.
22. Yasst.—One day’s journey in a northerly direction along the
banks of the lake. The road is good and passes through level fields
and small villages all the way. Thereis a Post Station here, and no-
thing more.
23. Kesong, (Sambo)—The bridge of Kesong.—One day’s journey
in an easterly direction and along the lake’s side. The bridge of
Kesong, built of stone, is over a creek of the “ Yamdo Yeumtso,” which
extends in a northerly direction about two days’ journey. It is not
running water. At the bridge it is 400 yards wide. The Yamdo
Yeumtso is fed by numerous small rills, but has no river running out of
it. The bridge of Kesong is sometimes under water in the rainy season
(August). It is formed of 18 stone-masonry pillars with a platform of
large slabs or slates. The depth of water at the bridge in the dry sea-
son is but 2 or 3 feet.
24, Phedijong.*—One day’s journey to the eastward along the lake.
This is a station for a detachment of about 60 soldiers, Chinese and
Tibetans, and the residence of a civil officer, styled the Phedijongpun.
There is a good sized village and provisions are procurable. Wheat
and barley are the principal articles grown in the neighbourhood. The
country is level and productive. The plough with bullocks is used by
a few of the better sort of people ; but the hoe (kodali,) is most in use.
The cattle hereabouts are of a short horned kind, black, red and spotted.
They are famous as milkers. Flocks of sheep and goats are numerous
and extensive. The Kiang (wild ass) is not known here; it is most
abundant about Chumulari and Phari.
25. Tamaloong.+—One day’s journey east by south; about half way
* Zung or Zeung, is fort, military post. Such and monasteries (Gimb4) constitute
the nuclei of nearly all the small towns or villages of Tibet; Zung-pun is chatelain, or
Killadar.—B. H. H.
+ (Djaméloung of Pemberton’s map.) Djamaloung of Klaproth, who however places
it on the Sanpd, far north of the Yamdo Yeum and having the Gamba or Kambo
range interposed, K1.’s route crosses the S4npé here.—B. H. H.
2M
266 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. [APRIE,
between Phedijong and this place the road leaves the bank of ‘“‘ Yamdo
Yeumtso” and the country rises, but is cultivated and well peopled.
The ascent is gradual, however, and the road good. The village at this
stage contains about 20 houses,
26. Kambaparzy.
A very long march. The road lies over a pass
of the Kambo mountain, the whole of which to the north of the road is
covered with perpetual snow. To the south also of the pass is gene-
rally covered with snow, and in winter the pass itself is sometimes
snowed on, but is never blocked up.. The district of Digarchi extends
eastwards to the Kambo mountain; and the Lassa district extends
westwards to the same range. ‘The Kambola* range extends south-
wards to the Yamdo Yeum lake and a great way to the north. The
halting-place is at the foot of, and on the east side of the Kambo
mountain. The ascent on the west side, and the descent on the east,
are about the same in extent: Tamaloong and Kambaparzy being about
the same level. At the latter place there is a good deal of cultivation,
wheat, barley, and buckwheat (j4oo) are grown here. Buckwheat is
not met with anywhere on the road from Phari, until you come to
Kambaparzy, so that this is the lowest elevation on the road. It is
warmer here than at Tamaloong. [N. B. The descent to Kambaparzy
must be greater than the ascent from Tamaloong, as the temperature is
considerably higher at the former station than at the latter. So say
my informants. |
27. Kumpachangtong.—One day’s journey due east, over a level
country which is cultivated and peopled. There is some descent in the
course of this march, and the temperature is warmer as you go along.
Wheat, barley, and buckwheat are the staple crops. The plough is
used in agriculture as well as the hoe; beans, turnips and radishes are
the only vegetables grown.+ [N. B. According to Pemberton’s map the
great river of Tibet, the Sampo, should have been met with on this
march as on the preceding one. |
28. Chasumchoort.—One day’s journey to the east. At this place
* La, mountain. Kambo is the Gamba of Klaproth and Cambala of Rennell.—B. H. H.
+ Moorcroft gives an excellent account of the 5 species of barley proper to Tibet, and
which are eminently deserving of the attention of agriculturists. The turnips also are
excellent.—B. H. H.
1848.] Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 267
you cross the Yaroo Tzangbo,* (Sanpoo) which is the largest river in
Tibet. It runs here to the eastward, but its course previously is from
the north, for it comes southwards along the east side of the Kambo
range. The Yaroo Tzangbo does not run near Digarchi, it is to the
north of that place. How can it run in an easterly course all the way
from Digarchi when the great Kambo range runs north and south ?
The Yaroo Tzangbo comes along way down from the north to the
east side of the Kambo range. At Chasumchoori the Yaroo Tzangbo
is three times the size of the Teestah river where it is crossed on
the road from Darjeeling to Tumloong, the Sikim Raja’s residence.
There is an iron chain suspension bridge over the Yaroo at this place.
It is only wide enough for one man to go along. The platform is a
single plank a foot wide. Loaded men, cattle, horses and merchandise
are crossed in wooden boats. The iron bridge was erected by the
Lamas of Chasumchoori Goomba ages ago. ‘The piers are of stone
masonry, the chains are formed of strong links each a cubit long. The
bridge does not span the whole river. The pier on the northern side
is some distance from that bank, so that in the dry season even after
crossing the bridge you have to wade some way to the shore. In the
wet season you cannot ford the space between the northern pier and
the bank, and are therefore obliged to cross by boat. The bridge is 20
cubit at least above the river, which is a rapid one and never fordable.
The Goomba here is a large one ; it has 200 Lamas and Gelongs belong-
ing to it, and a very large library.
* Yard tsang-po. See preceding note.
Yaru is the proper name. Tsang-po, an epithet pointing out its intimate connexion
with the great central province of the country or Ts&ng.
De Coros, from Tibetan authorities, notices the several great rang'es that traverse Tibet.
He gives 6 such, and says Lassa and Digarchi lie ina valley between the 3d and 4th. But
he implies that all these ranges run parallel to the Himalaya, whereas the Kambo range
is here clearly made to be a transverse or meridional chain, and M. Huc notices no less
than 4 such as occurring between Siling and Lassa, viz. Chaga, Bayam Khar, Tanla
and Koiram, the winter passage of all which he describes in fearful terms. The Bayam
Khar, says Klaproth, divides Siling from Kham, and the valley of the Hohangho from
that of the Yangtse Kiang. The Kambo of this itinerary is the Gamba of Klaproth, who
is followed by Ritter in making the range and the river run parallel toeach other west to
east, with a little northing, all the way from Digarchi to Jamaleing, where the river is
crossed and the road strikes north up the Galdze to Lassa. Digarchi is placed on or
close to the river by Klaproth (Memoires 3, 416, map) and by Ritter (Atlas of Mahl-
mann, No, II. Ost Hoch Asien.)~B. H. H,
2M 2
268 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. (APRIL,
29. Choosoojung.*—One day’s journey along the north bank of the
Yaroo in a south-easterly direction. There is a Deboo or Governor
resident here, anda Military Detachment of about 100 men, Chinese and
Tibetans. They are armed with muskets, swords, bows and arrows.
They have no artillery. They are not uniformly dressed. The Chinese
wearing their national costumes, and Tibetans theirs. The country
around is level, but the ‘ Jong’? or Deboo’s house is ona hill. The
Governor is a Tibetan. The climate is temperate here, as it always is
near the rivers. When the sky is cloudless in the summer season it is
hot : but the people wear woollens all the year round.
30. Chisoom.—One day’s journey in a north-easterly direction, over
a level country. This is the residence of a Deboo or Governor.
31. Parchie.—One day’s journey in a south-easterly direction, over a
good road and through a level well cultivated country. This is a Post
Station, and the village is on elevated ground.
32. Num.+—One day’s journey due east, over a level country. Road
good, the country well peopled. It does not snow here even in winter,
and the climate is agreeable, not cold, nor hot. This is a Post Station,
not for the conveyance of mails, but where relays of Ponies are placed
for travellers of consequence.
33. Lang-dong.—Due east from Num one day’s journey over a good
road. The country is well peopled, but there is no village at the rest-
ing-place.
34. Jangh.—A day’s journey in an easterly direction. The country
level, well cultivated and peopled. A small village and Post Station
here.
35. Nithang.t—This place is in the middle of an immense plain on
which there is no cultivation or population. It is nearly bare, has no
water and is very hot. People cannot live on the Nithang plain, which
is asort of desert on account of the heat and drought. The soil is
sandy in many places. The Goa Antelope is the only animal found on
Nithang. The plain is about 20 miles across.
* (Tsisnchoudjoung of Pemberton’s map.)
+ Nam occurs in KI, as the name of a ridge or Peak off the route and about a degree
W.S. W. of Lassa.—B. H. H.
¢ KI. notes a river Nitang a feeder of the Galdzo which runs east from mount Nam.
Rennell has a stage so called.—5B, H, H.
1848.] Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa, 269
36. Kechoo—The resting-place is on the river of this name, which
runs from the east and by the town of Lassa. Its course from Kechoo
is tothe south. It is a large river never fordable. It is crossed in
leather boats. The banks of the river are fertile, well cultivated and
peopled. The houses are all built of stone.
37. Chambarangjeung.—One day’s journey to the north from the
Kechoo river. There is a good deal of ascent on this march and the
road is rough and stony. ‘‘ Chambarangjeung”’ is the name of a large
stone image which stands on a hill near the resting-place, and to
which there is a considerable resort of pilgrims and worshippers. The
history of the image is not known. It is believed to be of immense
antiquity. It is in the figure of a man cut in bas relievo on the rock.
Its height is reckoned at 30 feet and it is well proportioned. There
are no inscriptions on the rocks about it. The right hand hangs on
the thigh. The left is across the breast, and grasps a round stone,
the size of a six pound shot.
38. Tcheuling.—One day’s journey north by east over a level country.
No descent from Chambarangjeung, and it is a nearly level plain all the
way to Lassa. There is a Goomba here of the same name, the Lamas
of which are of the Geloo* order, i. e. they wear the yellow robe and
sugar-loaf cap. The number, with the Gelongs, is about 100. The
country around is well peopled. It appears that from Chambarangje-
ung to Lassa the country is an elevated plateau, and that the Kechoo
river runs along its southern face. The elevation is estimated at about
200 feet.
39. Teloong.—On the left bank of the river Zsheunemoongtcho,
which runs from the north and keeps a southerly course from
“Teloong.” It is crossed by a stone bridge. The country on both
banks is level, well peopled and cultivated.
40. Shemidonka.—This is a small town inhabited entirely by
Chinese, i. e. the males are Chinese, the women are all natives of Tibet.
The Chinamen who serve at Lassa are not allowed to bring their wives
along with them; they marry Tibetans, and on their return to China
leave them and their families behind. The men of this town are prin-
cipally soldiers, and other followers of the Chinese Ampas, resident
Councillars, at Lassa. The distance from Lassa is about 30 miles.
* Géldk-p4, the most modern, but dominant sect of Lamaism.—B. H. H.
970 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. [Apriz,
41. Debong Goomba, or Convent of Débing.—About 15 miles in a
northerly and easterly direction. The road all the way is paved with
stone flags and is broad and level. The country around is fertile and
well cultivated. The grand Lama of Lassa, Gemooramoochi, fre-
quently resides at Debong Goomba, which is a very large one and has
extensive endowments of land.* The Lama has five principal Goom-
bas immediately subject to his control and near to Lassa. His chief
residence is in Lassa, at Patala Goomba. ‘To the east of the city is
«Sera Goomba,” one day’s journey. To the west is “‘ Deboug Goom-
ba,” a similar distance. To the south is “Mol Goomba,” and to the
north is the ‘‘Gandeng Goomba.” The road at Debong Goomba
takes a southerly direction along the Kechoo river to Lassa. The
Kechoo is not crossed before reaching Lassa, it runs to the east of the
city about half a mile. Patala Goomba is built on a rock.
42, Lassa.—15 miles from Deboong ; a paved road all the way. The
capital of Tibet and centre of Tibetan commerce and learning.
Remarks by Mr. Hodgson.
I have carefully compared Dr. Campbell’s Itinerary from Phari to
Lassa, with Klaproth (Memoires relatifs a PAsie ii. 370—417) and
Ritter (Atlas von Asien of Mahlmann). Klaproth, followed by Ritter,
places Phari in 28 N. Lat. and Lassa in 303 N. Lat. His longitude of
the former place is 87—of the latter, 89¢; so that we have 23 degrees
of northing and the same of easting, and cannot allow above 400 miles
for the whole distance, even if we give 100 for the road increase, and
that is too much allowance on that head. Klaproth’s main data are
so well founded (Mem. ubi supra, p. 371) as to command a necessary
assent : wherefore Dr. Campbell’s total of 515 miles is clearly too much
by above 100 miles. On routes like this, where there are few inhabited
places to halt at, lazy folks like Lamas, make innumerable stages,
guided by indolence and by convenience of wood and water,—both very
rare in Tibet. Klaproth has but 21 stages—-Dr. Campbell, 42. Klaproth’s
stages, as far as given, are as follows :—
ly Hehasa ected iin 3 Chumalari occurs between 2-3 stages, much
past of Chasa ; and under the peak is the lake
.. 4 of Ram or Zim ; route is due north all the way.
25: (Gang namy:j./.°. 6%
3. Dochia, .
* Well described in Huc’s narrative.-—B. H. H.
1848. | Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 271
BORAT: Ses cow ds Course N. E. Another lake called Gangla is
5. Simdta,........ J passed.
Course due N. up the Bainam river (Painom-
. Gangamor,...... | chad.) A meridional ridge on either hand.
eG hahiis ) iwrce a That on the left called Chin. At Dzialdze the
» Nami,.......... | roads to Digarchi and to Lassa diverge. That
. Dzidldze, to former down the Bainam, which falls into the
LsSanpu at Digarchi itself.
( Course a little east of north up the Nian
oman &
river, a feeder of the Bainam, which haying
10. Sadv, ........ | flowed S. W. as far as Dzialdze, turns N. W.
Ue ths ise! s' .... } led by the main stream. The Laling and
12. ...0..0002+.-- » Zung are crossed; and oblique meridional
ridges bound the road, which are styled Dad-
rang, and Kharab and Kidbzi. Those on the
(left hand blend with the Gamba range.
13. Nagardzé, .... } Route lies to the N. E. chiefly along the
14. Chaidam,...... | Gamba range. The Sanpti is crossed between
15. Jamaliing, .... | 15-16 stages. The great lake called Yambra
16.) Ciichir,..... .. J) Yam and Yar brok Yi, is left far on the right.
Course nearly north along the right bank of
17. Raya dimba, .. | the Galdze, several feeders of which are crossed ;
Fo. Matane sy oi...
19. Turing Gang,..
205, Dangegar,. . ps.:
one is called Nitang, which name occurs not as
that of a town. The Ram ridge remote on the
left hand. No town of that name occurs. The
Lridge is obliquely meridional.
Oi Lassa,....'.. makes a deep curving bend, embracing Lassa on
the south.
N. B.—A few stages may be omitted. Halts in the desert.
Ranges.
Dr. Campbell’s 2d ridge is probably the Chin of Klaproth, who how-
ever gives it a meridional course parallel to the river Bainam and not
crossed by the route. Dr. Campbell’s Kart ridge may be the Kharab
of Klaproth, and his name, a misprint for Khari-la or mount Khard.
Dr. Campbell’s Kambo range is questionless the Gamba of Klaproth.
The route crosses it according to both. But Klaproth makes it run E.
{ Course S. E. parallel to the river, which
272 Ttinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. [| APRIL,
and W. (from Jagagunggar to Digarchi) only treading a little to the
north ; and he makes the Sanpi hold a parallel course, excepting the
sinuosities of the river. Digarchi is placed by Klaproth on the right
and south bank, and the river runs north of the town in an even eastern
direction, There is another range, according to Klaproth, north of the
river, which also is more or less parallel to its course. The Peaks of
this northern range are called Sing Sting, Bukori, Nam, &c. The
Kambo or Gamba range does not run southwards nor terminate at the —
great lake, nor can it be the boundary of the U’ and Tsang provinces.
A. continuation of it, however, running from Jamaling to the lake is
meridional or follows a south direction, and seems to end at the Jake,
though Klaproth carries it much further south, viz. to Dod, under the
name of Ganglagangri. This portion of the range may mark the
boundary of the two great provinces. But the route, according to Klap-
roth, leaves it far on the right and crosses it where it has a W. and E.
course parallel to the great river.
Towns.
Dr. Campbell’s Giangtche is the Dzialdze of Klaproth, and both
place it at the bifurcation of the Digarchi and Lassa roads. But it is
Dr. Campbell’s 12th and Klaproth’s 9th stage. The other chief places
on or near the route, in Klaproth, are Nagardze, on, Runbung, off,
Baidi, off, Chachar, on, and Dunggar, on, the way. Of these the first
is Dr. Campbell’s Nagarchi: the rest occur not in his Itinerary. I
have noted, at the foot of each page, as a note, the coincidences all along
where such occur between Klaproth and Dr. Campbell.
Rivers.
West considerably of the route and of Phari, Klaproth has several
streams, viz. Nio, Ping, Ghi, La, and Gé, all of which unite to form
the Tchangtchi or river Tchang. This is the Changchoo of the I[tine-
rary, quoad name, but not quoad position. And the Pa of Klaproth is
probably the Ma of the Itinerary, though there again the position of the
stream cannot be reconciled. I have remarked as a note, on the name
Changchu, and also observed on the vague cluster of feeders arrayed by
Klaproth, all which seem identifiable with the Ma, whose remotest
sources are under the great peak of Cholo, whence the Itinerary gives
it 10 stages through Thibet to Phari. Klaproth makes Chumalari, not
Himachal, the great water shed of this part of Thibet: so also Turner.
1818. ] Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 273
The snowy range is here, no doubt, broken with inner and outer ridges,
whereof Chumalari is (for us) the inner and apparently the most elevate,
though Cholo is also of vast elevation. From Chumalari the rivers of the
route flow south to India and north to the Sanpt. Klaproth’s Bainom-
tchii is the Painomchti of our maps, which however sometimes confound
it with the P4 or Gaddada of Rangpur, whereas the Bainomchi runs
due north to Giangchi and N. W. thence unto the Sanpti at Digarchi.
The La Ling, Jang and Nian or Nan, which occur in the route,
according to Klaproth, between Giangchi and Nagarchi, are not identi-
fiable with any thing noted in the Itinerary, which however exhibits
several small streams in similar positions.—b. H. Hopeson.
APPENDIX No. 1.
Darjeeling to Sikim Durbar.
Places. & Remarks.
=
Badamtam, ...... 4 The road runs along the ridge of Lecbong
to Ging, thence descends an offset or small
spur of Leebong.
Rungeet River, ..| 5 A steep descent all the way ; Pine trees on
the roadside about } way down; cross the
Rungno river 3 a mile this side of the ferry
over the Rungeet.
Namgialatchi, ....| 6 The Rungeet, about 150 feet wide in the
dry season and ten to fifteen feet deep, is
confined here within a rocky bank on the
east side. In the rains its bed is probably
400 feet.
OC A ar One day’s journey for a man with a light
load.
Rumphoke,...... Ditto ditto ditto.
Shamphoo Ghat .. On the Teestah river. The road from
Rumphoke is described as very rocky and
the descent into the bed of the river almost
precipitous.
Ryote River, .... An easy march of ascent the greater part
of the way.
Toomloong,...... Residence of the Raja; an easy march.
Kooijhora, Reng, Rungula, Renick, Namgialachi, and thence as
above.
N. B, The distances given are not correct, merely estimated ones.
2N
*-.
274 Tiimerary from Phari im Thibet, to Lassa. [APRIL,
APPENDIX No. 2.
Route from Toomloong, the Residence of the Sikim Raja, to Phari in
Thibet.
™~
No. Stages. Remarks.
1 |Tumloong to Kabi,} The Dikchoo river is crossed by a Sanga
day’s journey, say|about 6 miles from Tumloong.
1S miles, ..c.. 0
2 [La Ghep,........] Through mountains all the way, which are
tipped with snow.
3 |Chalapok, ......{ Ditto ditto; snow on the mountains along
this march.
4 |Chala, ..........| The top of the pass into Thibet ; snow here
at all seasons except in the height of the rains.
5 |Tangz06, ........]| From Chola you begin to descend, and the
road runs north descending almost all the
way. Perpetual snow to the right and left.
6 Eto) oa.4s ales A gradual descent all the way in the bed
of and along the Tangz66 Nuddi. The Tang-
z00 rises close under Chola.
7 iCheomba.’ 2)... On the Machoo river, which is here as large
as the little Rungeet, and has a wooden bridge
over it. The Machoo runs north and east.
Bitisa, 7 OOS), Ce Along the Machoo all the way.
Bukcha, oh Set A considerable town on the Machoo. Houses
on both sides connected by a bridge of stone-
piers with wooden platform. The Sikim Raja
lives here during the rains of every year and
holds a Jageer in the neighbourhood from the
Tibetan Government at Lassa.
10 |To-yeu, ........]| Also on the Machoo river.
11 |Galling, ........] From Toyen to this place the road is over
steep mountains, but in the direction of the
course of the Machoo.
12 |Gango,.......... | A town on the Machoo. Houses of stone.
A bridge of stone piers with wooden platform.
¥3' Sezeung, 7... v A village on the Machoo. There are nu-
merous villages along the river on this march.
14 |Phari, ..........] A town and district so named. The town
is about two miles from the Machoo. It con-
tains shops and traders, and the 4 Soubahs of
the district reside in it. There are a few Tibe-
tan soldiers quartered here.
© 0
The principal town in the neighbourhood of Khari is Rinchingong, a
large mart, two marches east of Choombi. It belongs to Tibet. Here
_ 1848.) Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa. 275
the people of Bootan, Sikim and Tibet meet to trade. It is to the north
- of the snowy range. Pema is the first march from Choombi towards
Rinchingong. At Pema there is a monastery of many Lamas and a
library.
APPENDIX No. 3.
Divisions of the Route.
No. Marches. | Miles.
1 |Darjeeling to Tumloong, the residence of the
Sikim Raja. ... 8 60
2 /Tumloong to “ Choombi,” the Sikim Raja’s
summer residence in Thibet........ 7 84
3. jonoom: to) * Phari,*’a froutier® fart ae
quented by Sikimites, Bootanese, Nipalese
mR USAT S oc cer pei 180 <4s coc ape ahavels mibiniinl 4 7 84
4 |Phari to ‘ Giangtchi,” where the Digarchi
and Lassa roads separate, the latter going
curneteastward. LOT 8, MEMO a ae 12 129
5 |Giangtchi to the lake of Yamdo Yeum. .... 9 112
6 |Yamdo Yeumtso to Yaroo Tzangboo (Sampoo
eer ete nae igi eic es a's! a's 5s 7 84
Pe year tznneboo.te Tassal 2 eee hie 2) 14 190
64 743
Great Mountain Ranges crossed on the Route.
Ist.—The Himalaya proper or great snowy range, visible from Dar-
jeeling, crossed at ‘‘ Chola,” the 11th march from Darjeeling and 4th
from Tumloong.
2nd.—The ‘Yeung range,” which is crossed on the 14th march
from Phari.
3rd.—The “ Karoo range” covered with perpetual snow to the north
of the pass, and said to be very lofty, is crossed on the 3d march from
Yeungla.
4th.—The ‘‘ Kamba range,” covered with perpetual snow and describ-
ed as the most lofty in Tibet, is crossed on the 8th march from ‘“ Ka-
2N 2
5)
276 Itinerary from Phari in Thibet, at Lassa. [APRIE
roola.” This range divides the ‘* Digarchi’’ and “ Lassa” jurisdictions
The Kambo range runs southwards, terminating at the great lake of. .
Yamdo Yeum. It is not given in Pemberton’s map, but in Mr. Hodg-
son’s route from Nipal to ‘'Tazedo,” on the Chinese frontier. (As. Res.
Vol. 17, p. 527.) The Kambha mountain is crossed at the 29th stage
to “ Kambha.” ‘This halting-place is doubtless the same as ‘‘ Kamba-
parzy” of my Itinerary, although in the latter it is 17 marches from
Lassa: and by Mr. Hodgson’s only seven. This discrepancy appears
to arise in some degree from my route taking a northerly direction from
‘** Kechoo,” which is the next stage to Nithang. But the whole differ-
ence I am not able to account for. For instance, by Mr. Hodgson’s
route, “Nam” is only 143 cos from Lassa. By mine the distance is
reckoned at 40 cos. With regard to the estimated number of miles
as taken from the number of stages or journeys, I do not lay any
stress on the correctness of my calculation. The journies have been
taken at an average of 12 miles each: but there is no good reason, or
any rule in Himalaya travelling to warrant this assumption as a gene-
ral result, although I think that when the necessaries of food, wood, and
water do not interfere, 12 miles is about the distance that baggage-car-
riers can travel over mountain-paths in a day.
At the rate of 12 miles for each stage of this itmerary the road dis-
tance from Phari to Lassa would be 504 miles. Estimating each stage
at 3 less, or 8 miles, we should have 369 miles only. I am not prepared
however to decide in favor of either of these results. My informants
have been Lamas who have travelled the road in their vocation ; I do
not doubt that they have halted as often as noted in the route, but it is
impossible to arrive at a correct estimate of distances from that fact ;
nor is it attempted to do so.
C. CAMPBELL.
Darjeeling, March 22d, 1848.
PLLLDIP LFS PILI L I LLOLILIIPISPPLIPLIOI LIL
1848. | The Matchlock of Koteli. 207
On the manufacture of the Matchlock of Koteli.i—By Capt. JAMES
ABBOTT. :
Finding my camp near the fabric of fire arms of Koteli in the Pun.
jaub, I paid a visit to the fabric, which occupies two villages, about
half a mile apart, and situate about 5 miles N, West of Sialkot.
Having witnessed the process of forging a Damask rifled barrel at
Heraut, I did not anticipate any novelty on the present occasion.
Moorcroft has most accurately described the same process in Cashmere ;
but as he gives no figures in illustration, his account may not be
perfectly intelligible to persons who are not familiar with the ordinary
process.
The iron employed at Koteli is chiefly of the produce of Mundi, a hill
district of the Julundhur, from a sandstone formation. That of
Peshawur is also sometimes used. ‘The iron appears to be well adap-
ted to the purpose, soft, ductile, and tolerably free from impurity. And
here it may be observed that the iron of India, not havimg undergone
fusion, having been separated from the ore by the fire of a fuel free
from sulphuric acid, and having been wrought into mass at the expense
of infinitely more labor of the hammer than the iron of Europe, is
generally pure and soft in proportion. The use of stubbs in this
manufacture has never been dreamed of.
The first process is to hammer ont a ribband of soft iron of the
breadth of 1} inches, being about 3-tenths of an inch thick at the one
end and tapering to a thickness of one-tenth at the other. This rib-
band at welding-heat is beaten around a cylindric bar, or mandril of
iron into a tube about 23 feet in length, (See Pl. XXVILI. figure 1.)
Three or four flat pieces of iron are then laid together and secured
in place by wire, (see figure 2.) They are heated to white heat,
and set upon the anvil edge upwards ; plates of block tin are laid upon
them, which melting fill up the interstices and adhere to the iron;
sometimes about 2 rupees worth of silver are added. The whole at
white heat is then submitted to the hammer until the tin and silver
are incorporated with the iron. The mass is then worked into long
slender square bars, of about one-tenth of an inch in thickness.
These bars or square wires being successively heated are by means of
a vice and pincers twisted gradually throughout their extent, one-half
278 The Matchlock of Kotel. [APRIL,
of the uumber bemg twisted to the right hand, and the other half to
the left, (see figure 2.)
If now it is designed to make a twisted damask barrel, a pair of the
twisted bars is secured side to side by wires, and at welding heat is
wrought into a ribband, about 2-tenths of an inch wide by one-tenth
in thickness. This ribband being heated is twisted spirally around the
tube lately formed, (see figure 5.) Both are then covered with
mud and being heated to white heat are beaten rapidly with light ham-
mers, and are jumped upon the anvil, until the edges forming the two
parallel tubes are welded together, and the tubes themselves have be-
come one. |
If not a twisted, but a straight damask is purposed, an inner tube
is in the first place formed of plain iron ; as in the above process, around
this tube some 16 or 18 of the fine twisted bars are laid lengthwise
along the ribband tube; a left and a right hand twist alternately, (see
figure 6.) They are secured in place with wire, covered with mud,
and being heated to welding heat, a mandril is introduced, ‘and they are
wrought together with light hammers, and jumped upon the anvil,
the jumping bringing together the lips of the inner tube. The mud
with which they are secured is to preserve them from atmospheric con-
tact whilst at white heat. Considering that it is added whilst they are
red hot, I should have supposed the decomposition of the water would
have affected the iron even more than atmospheric air. But the
workmen are the best judges, and they never omit the precaution.
Long barrels are generally made in two pieces which are welded to-
gether. The weld is barely discoverable upon examination and would
never be suspected.
The barrel being now formed is to be bored, a process effected in
the rudest manner by means of square bits, having at the reverse a hole
or socket to receive a wooden lever. The matchlock barrel is wedged
into a perforation in an upright post, and the workman, inserting the
bit, leans his weight against it, and turns it with a sudden jerk. No
precaution is taken to preserve the true centre of the cylinder, and if
the bore prove straight or smooth it is a mere accident, for they have
no other boring instrument than this. They were surprised to learn
that our barrels are bored upon a lathe, and had never heard of the
grooved-cylinder of steel, with which we finish the process.
1848.] The Matchlock of Koteli. 279
The barrel is now piled smooth on the outer surface, and being
carefully cleansed from grease by scouring with wood ashes, is set up-
right ina hollow cylinder of brass, whichis filled with a solution of
white vitriol in water. The cylinder is placed upon a slow fire, and in
two days’ the veins of the damask are developed in high relief.
Nothing can be imagined more elegant than the twisted damask of
Koteli. It surpasses I think that of Heraut.
The straight damask being less tenacious than the twisted variety,
should be made of greater solidity. Neither can be compared for
effective strength with the gun barrels forged according to the English
process, in which the barrel being formed, is twisted at welding heat
upon the mawdril. But, there is no doubt that the Koteli barrels are
superior in strength as well as in beauty to ordinary matchlock
barrels ; for the whole of the metal becomes consolidated, and rendered
fibrous by the intimate twisting of its several parts. The worst feature
in the process is the want of care in the construction and finish of the
inner surface, The rude measures employed are quite insufficient to
assure us that the lips of the ribband have met in every part, or that
the square bits turned with no velocity by the hand have effaced those
irregularities of surface which endanger the life in loading. The bore,
not being a true cylinder, and the ball being seldom wrapped in cloth
or leather, it is impossible that the piece should carry with precision,
or that with any given charge, it should range so far as a fuzil of the
same calibre.
Matchlocks are almost universally constructed with an oviform
chamber, which is harmless enough with the weak gunpowder of the
bazars, but dangerous when English gunpowder is employed. It no
doubt economises the charge. The barrel is made to swell abruptly
at the breach to accord with the shape of the chamber, (see plate,
figure 8.)
The matchlock of Heraut is generally rifled, a process unknown at
Koteli, where however flint and detonator locks are made superior to
those of most Indian fabrics. The rifling process is very rudely con-
trived at Heraut. In a cylinder of hard wood corresponding in length
with a gun barrel, two parallel and spiral grooves are rudely chiselled ;
a collar of wood is formed in an upright post, opposite to another post,
into which the barrel is to be jammed, and within this collar are two
280 The Matchlock of Koteli. | APRIL;
short iron pegs, fitting into the grooves of the cylinder. A boring
rod is then firmly attached to the cylinder, the cylinder forming both
handle and guide. The boring bit is a cylindric rod rather thicker
toward the extremity then elsewhere. Its thickest portion exactly fits
the muzzle of the piece. It has a groove at the extremity, into which
fits a small sharp wedge of hardened steel. When first inserted into
the barrel, this wedge scarcely projects above the surface of the boring
rod. It is now introduced into the muzzle, and the wooden cylinder is
pushed forward by the workman who leans his weight against it. Of
course as it enters the barrel, the spiral grooves of the wooden cylinder
being guided by the fixed pegs in the collar give the rod and bit a
corresponding spiral motion by which a spiral scratch is made in the
interior of the barrel. The wedge is then slightly heightened and the
scratch is thus deepened, until the workman considers it suflicient.
This process is repeated until six or seven grooves have been formed.
The Heraut rifle being carefully loaded with balls wrapped in leather
or cloth is tolerably true.
It will be observed that all the beauty and advantage of the Koteli
manufacture are attainable without any of the defects attending the
rude treatment of the material in an Indian smithy. That is to say,
the solidity and the fibrous consistency given to the iron, and the ele-
gant damascene upon the barrels may consist with a perfect inner sur-
face of cylinder. But such barrels could not safely be made so light
as our own twisted barrel, a consideration of little moment as regards
rifles in which weight is essential to steadiness.
The price of the best Kotcli barrel without ornament, is about 15
rupees, or 30 shillings. The fabric is generally considered the best in
India.
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1848} Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 281
A Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab.—By LIneut.
WitxiiAm Hawrayne Parisu, Bengal Artillery.
1. The alternation, on so large a scale, of marl sandstone and con-
glomerate, has given rise to some marked features in the physical out-
line of these hills. Fertile valleys usually intervene between the sepa-
rate ranges, whilst extensive table-lands sometimes crown their summits.
This tract is composed of strata, dipping in general to the north-east,
of sand, sandstone, calcareous marl, clay, and conglomerate, arranged
in distinct formations, which observe a fixed and invariable order of
superposition. It is evident that this country has undergone great
changes in its physical geography since these strata were formed; for
their direction and inclination have scarcely any relation to the existing
drainage of the country. Also, for the more modern valleys, with the
horizontal strata at their bases, as well as the hills which encircle them,
are all posterior to them in date. Here are presented to us the evidence
of a series of events of astonishing grandeur and magnitude, by which
the original form and features of the country have been completely
altered, but not so far obliterated, but that they may be restored in the
imagination. It requires no great effort of the mind to recall its exter-
nal condition and physical structure before these wonderful vicissitudes
began, and whilst it was yet being formed in “ the capacious bed of
waters.” During this early period the various strata of which these
hills are composed were gradually formed ; and the vast beds of sand,
marl, and gravel were deposited. Equal quantities, however, were not
deposited in equal periods, for we have convincing proof of some of the
strata having been formed in comparatively tranquil waters ; whilst the
materials of others were hurried along by strong currents and rapidly
spread over the localities in which they are now found. In some places,
stratified masses more than a hundred feet high, are made up of a suc-
cession of strata of fine sand scarcely an inch in thickness, and single
layers of small waterworn pebbles ; whereas, in other localities, we meet
with beds of sandstone and conglomerate, not less than forty feet thick.
This era of comparative tranquillity must have been followed, however,
by one of violent convulsions, during which this country received the
first impress of its present varied outline.
2 0
282 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. [Arrit,
2. The plain of the Jullundhur Doab is bounded to the eastward
by a long and narrow range of hills, whose highest ridge does not rise
1,500 feet above it. This outer range, distinguished by the name of
the Pamrai-ke-dhar, but better known to Europeans as the Hoshyar-
poor range, extends from the right bank of the Sutlej, from nearly
opposite Roopur, to Hajeepoor on the left band of the Beeasa. Its
direction is nearly N. W. and S. E. and its average breadth about
eight miles. The Kohistan may be said to be divided into three great
longitudinal valleys, more or less distinctly separated from one another
and the countries beyond, by the following principal and nearly parallel
ranges. Next to the outer range comes the Jaswan-ke-dhar, separating
the valleys through which the rivers Sooan and Beeasa, respectively
flow. Next in succession to the eastward, is the Chungar or Joala-
mukhi-ke-dhar, forming the boundary between the Kangra and Joala
valleys : and lastly, the Chumba range, which forms a snowy barrier
between this country, known by the general appellation of the “ Kangra
district,”’ and those of Chumba and Lahoul.
3. The Jaswan Dhoon extends from the Sutlej to within a few miles
of Hajeepoor, where it is terminated by the junction of the Pamrai and
Jaswan ranges. The river Sooan, rising in Siba at the head of this
valley, flows down the centre and empties itself into the Sutlej above
Roopur. The surface of the Jaswan Dhoon maintains an almost unin-
terrupted level, but those of the other two have been considerably dis-
turbed by the upheaval movements, and are consequently more or less
subdivided into lesser valleys, which have received different local names.
This remark applies more particularly to the Kangra valley, where not
only the purgunnahs of Palum and Kangra are divided bya range of
hills, which connect the Joala and Chumba ones together, but other low
ridges have been thrown up, which traverse it in various directions.
4. Although wide longitudinal valleys intervene for many miles
between the successive ranges, yet this uniformity in the physical out-
line must not be supposed to exist throughout the whole extent of this
immense District, for it includes Sookeyt, Mundi, and Kooloo, and even
a part of Lahoul. The three former lie to the east of the Secunder-ke-
dhar, a spur from the Chumba range running direct to the southward.
With the exception of the Chumba range, the hills to the west of this
spur scarcely attain the elevation of 5,000 feet above the sea, whereas
1848. ] Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 283
the mountains on the opposite side are both rugged and lofty, many of
the peaks reaching the highest altitudes. Moreover, even to the west-
ward of the Secunder range this alternation of hill and valley has been
in some places interrupted. Between Noorpoor and Juck-o-bur for
instance, is an irregular mass of hills, intersected by numerous narrow
and deep ravines. Such is the case also in the contiguous purgunnahs
of Muhulmooree and Kumleh-gurh, where the low rounded hills of the
former, rise up into bold peaks in the latter. But between the treeless
hills of Muhulmooree and the Secunder range, a wide valley, named the
Seel Khud, intervenes. ‘This valley is some five or six miles in width ;
and its direction is north and south. There is however, another one,
which requires particular notice. Before the Jaswan range reaches the
right bank of the Sutlej, it divides into two ridges, and encloses a
narrow valley, which is called the Kotlehr Dhoon. The eastern ridge
goes by either the name of the Sola-singha ke-dhar or the Chow-
mukhi ke-dhar, called after two forts on its summit. The western one
is called the Kotlehr ridge. I have thus given a short sketch of the
position of each of the valleys on the western side of the Secunder
range. A more detailed account would be foreign to the objects of
this report ; and, moreover, could not be made intelligible without the
aid of amap. It is almost needless for me to add that this part of the
country has not yet been surveyed.
5. European geologists have three principal tests by which they
determine the relative ages of any set of strata found in acountry ; viz.,
first, mineral character; secondly, superposition; thirdly, organic re-
mains. There is also a fourth proof of which they occasionally avail
themselves, namely, the fact of any deposit containing the fragments of
some pre-existing rocks. As I have not been successful in obtaining
any organic remains, I have always endeavoured, whilst prosecuting my
inquiries, to be guided by one or more of the remaining tests.
6. The two outer ranges, viz: the Hoshyarpoor and the Jaswan,
are composed of strata of sand, sandstone and gravel, intermixed with
variable proportions of clay, mica, and calcareous particles. These
belong to the tertiary period, and I think, will be found contemporane-
ous with those of the Siwalik or sub-Himalayaan range, which has
been traced from the foot of the Sikim hills in latitude 263°, and
longitude 883° to Roopur, and now, should I be correct, as far as
202
284 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. [Avrrin,
Noorpoor. On the summits of these ranges are table-lands of consi-
derable extent. The strata dip mostly to the north-east at angles
varying from 8° to 15°. Amongst the strata are others of a harder and
more durable sandstone, which being better able to withstand the effects
of weathering project from the rest in smooth waterworn ledges.
7. From underneath this sandstone formation, strata of red and
blue marls alternating with sandstone have been thrust up, These
evidently belong to the great saliferous formation which probably
crosses the Punjab from west to east. I have traced it from the
banks of the Ravee, beyond Noorpoor, along the base of the Chumba
range as far eastward as Mundi. Also from Nagrota, near Hurreepoor,
across the Joala valley, into the Pergunnah of Kotlehr, where it makes
its appearance in two high and parallel ridges (the Chow-mukhi and
Kotlehr.) Between the Joala and Chumba ridges conformable beds of
calcareous conglomerate are met with, which are occasionally interstra-
tified with sandstone. The marls are of various colours. Besides the
red and blue are others of a purple colour, as well as some approaching
toa white. Others again are mottled, having greenish or bluish spots
in a dark red base.
8. In consequence of the dip being generally either to the east or
north-east, these lesser hills usually present steep precipitous banks
towards the plains, and easy slopes in the opposite direction. The two
outer ranges send forth numberless spurs to the north-eastward, which
descend gradually to the level of the valleys. These hills have evident-
ly been upheaved from a variety of centres, and the elevatory force has
not been exerted equally over the whole district. This force, however,
nowhere makes its appearance, excepting in the granitic peaks of the
Chumba range. In consequence of these unequal disturbances there
is a great irregularity in the dip, and although the average may be
taken at about 25°, yet in different localities it varies from almost the
perpendicular to nearly the horizontal: and although the strata dip in
general to the north-east, we find them dipping also in the opposite
direction: in fact, no two sections, observed a few miles apart, would,
in these respects, give exactly the same results. As far as regards
these local details, we find remarkable differences in the Pergunnahs
of Kumleh-gurh and Kotlehr. At the head of the Kotlehr Dhoon the
hills present a remarkably disturbed appearance. There, a sudden
1848.] Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 285
break in the continuity of the Jaswan range, occurs. There the strata
dip towards almost every point in the horizon and have also been
thrust up perpendicularly into sharp angular points.
9. Partial formations of lignite are found in different localities,
but they soon thin out and disappear. That at Futtipani has been
almost entirely washed away by the Guj, during the last rains. After
a very careful examination of the strata there,as well as elsewhere
within the district, I feel convinced that no true coal measures will ever
be found in these hills. The strata are of a more modern date than
the carboniferous, and belong to the new red sandstone period. Car-
bonate of lime is abundantly diffused throughout, and frequently makes
its appearance in the form of stalactites and incrustations. Cavernous
masses of this calcareous matter are found in all the nullahs, and are
used by the inhabitants for making lime. Clay-slate from the Chumba
range serves them for roofing; and some of the sandstones afford ex-
cellent building materials. Boulders are generally employed for fencing
and paving. Thermal springs are sometimes met with, That at
Futtipani appears to maintain a uniform temperature of 104° F,
throughout the year. I have taken it on several occasions, and at various
seasons, and have always found it the same. The inflammable gas at
Joala-mukhi is either carburetted or sulphuretted hydrogen, but most
likely the former, There is also a saline spring close by the temple at
the same place. The poorer inhabitants obtaia the salt by evaporation,
and use it for economical purposes. The water of this spring is said
to possess medicinal properties, and has been successfully employed in
the earlier stages of goitre. May it not possess this property from the
presence of iodine? Boulders and erratics are abundant both on the
hill slopes and in the water courses to the east of the Joala range: but
with the exception of the bed of the Beeas, and in the neighbour-
hood of gravel beds, they are nowhere numerous to the westward of
that range. They consist of every variety of rock of which the Hima-
laya are composed.
10. The communication between the Jullundhur Doab and the
Kohistan is maintained through the Naree and Cheenee Ghats. Both
lead over the Pamrai range into the Jaswan Dhoon; and are situated,
one a few miles, on either side of Hoshyarpoor. However, a good deal
of traffic is carried on by the more circuitous route of Hajeepoor,
286 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. ([Aprit,
crossing the Beeas at Rae-ke-puttun. But the principal thoroughfare
between Lahore and the Kangra district is through Umritsur, Adeena-
nuggur, Puthankote, and up the bed of a nullah to Noorpoor ; or from
Adeena-nuggur to Juck-o-bur, on the left bank of the Beeas at Rae-
ke-puttun, and from thence along the bottom of tortuous ravines through
Dhamata and Nagrota to either Kangra or Joala-mukhi. In this dis-
trict, as in other mountainous parts of India, coolies, bullocks, asses,
and mules are employed in the transport of merchandise. I have,
however, occasionally seen camels used for the same purpose. In this
district also, are extensive plain and terraced lands at almost every
elevation from 1,500 to 7,000 feet above the sea, which yield or are
capable of yielding, all the usual productions of the plains, as well as
those of the more temperate regions. Although a great extent of sur-
face is under cultivation, yet large tracts may be seen over which the
plough has not yet been passed, and which appear peculiarly adapted,
both as to soil and situation, for the cultivation of the tea plant. These
uncultivated lands, however, afford pasture for large herds of cattle,
and numerous flocks of sheep : the latter are kept chiefly for their wool.
During the cold months these flocks are brought down into the lower
and warmer valleys, but are driven back again on the first approach of
the hot season to the more elevated and temperate regions of Kooloo
and Lahoul.
11. The principal crops are the sugarcane, rice, wheat, cotton, and
gram (cicer arietinum.) The rice grown in the purgunnah of Kangra
is considered to equal, if not surpass, the finest in Hindoostan. It is
exported in large quantities to all the neighbouring districts, and is in
great demand at Lahore. Sugar and wheat are also exported, but
neither gram nor cotton is cultivated in sufficient quantities to supply
even the local demands. The price of wheat has doubled since the
occupation of the country by the British. Before that event a pucka
maund could be purchased for one Rupee, but since then it has aver-
aged two Rupees a maund. The wages of labour, and the prices of all
commodities areon the increase. There is a great want of timber for
building purposes ; the cheel and the mangoe being the only two avail-
able. The bamboo, however, is plentiful. Along the base of the
Chumba range are large forests of cheel (P. longifolia), oaks (Q. incana ;
and Q. lanata) and rhododendrons. Higher up are also very extensive
forests, but of their composition I know nothing,
1848.] Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 287
12. Kumlehghur and the valley called the Seel khud are bounded
to the eastward by a high range known, as I said before, by the name
of the Sekunder-ke-dhar. Its highest peak rises to an elevation of not
less than 8,000 feet above the sea, and its general direction is north
and south. ‘The next in rotation, and also to the eastward, are the
Gogar-ke-dhar, and the Tiri-ke-dhar, beyond which are an endless
succession of ranges rising one above another until they attain enor-
mous altitudes. These, forming the rugged tracts of Mundi and
Kooloo are lofty spurs from the Chumba range, and run directly to the
southward. With the exception of the Chumba the hills to the west-
ward of the Secunder range scarcely attain the elevation of 5,000 feet
above the sea. The communication between these lesser hills and the
mountainous country beyond, is carried on through three principal
routes. The most northern is by following the course of the Beeas ;
the next, over the Gingeytree ghat, is the high road between Kumleh-
ghur and Mundi-nugger; and the third is over the Secunder ghat :
this last is the direct route from Muhulmooree and the Seel khud to
Sookeyt.
13. The view from the Gingeytree ghat is very grand and imposing.
Looking over Mundi and Kooloo one sees, at this season of the year,
the summits of the nearer ranges of Goger and Tiri covered with a
temporary mantle of snow : the brilliant whiteness of the latter forming
a strange contrast to the dark green of the primeval forests of Pines
and Cedar trees, with which their crestsare adorned. Beyond these
the rugged peaks of Kooloo, bound up in eternal frosts, are seen tower-
ing one above another in glittering splendour. To the north the snowy
ridge of Chumba forms a magnificent limit to the scene. Turning to
the westward, however, a delightful alternation of hill and valley meets
your view: there one sees every variety of landscape that could be
formed of wood and stream, hills and valleys. But the bare hills of
Kumleh-ghur, and the wooded heights of Chungar and Assa-pooree, are
insignificant indeed, when compared to the snow-clad peaks of Kooloo.
(Assa-pooree is an isolated hill in the Kangra valley.) But of all other
sights in these hills the most striking is a view of the Chumba range,
when snow has fallen in the Kangra valley, and on the surrounding
heights. No words could convey an idea of the sublimity of that range
when thus clothed from head to foot in its gelid mantle. It rises ab-
288 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. [Aprit,
ruptly to the height of 12,000 feet above the valley, and nothing inter -
venes to shut out the smallest portion of the range. Perhaps nowhere
in the Himalaya a view of the like extent and magnificence could be
obtained.
14. Sookeyt, the capital town of a district of the same name, is
about 12 miles south of Mundi-nuggur; and is built in the midst of a
jungle at the foot of high hills, and at the southern extremity of the
Ball Dhoon. The Bull Dhoon is somewhat triangular in shape; the
apex is towards Mundi-nugeur, and its base or widest part by the capi-
tal. This valley is about 7 miles wide at the base, and perhaps 10
Jong. It is bounded to the east by the Natchney-ke-dhar, apparently
but a continuation of the 'Tiri range. The Sookeytee river rises near
the principal town, and flows northwards down the centre of the valley ;
it then winds its way through a narrow ravine for two miles,.and at
last reaches the Beeas at Mundi-nuggur. This last mentioned town
is situated within the angle formed by the Sookeytee river flowing into
the Beeas, and is surrounded by high hills. Its position and general
appearance put me very much in mind of Rampoor on the Sutlej.
Sooltanpoor is the capital of Kooloo, and is likewise situated in a deep
and narrow valley, on the right bank of the Beeas, and within the angle
formed by the junction of the Serbari with the formerriver. The com-
munication between Mundi and Kooloo is kept up through the Gogar
and Tiri Passes. ‘The former may be about 6,000 feet, and the latter is
certainly not less than 9,000 feet above the sea.
15. Icannot help pausing here to notice the very excellent roads
the Rajah of Mundi has caused to be made throughout his territory.
Although, no doubt the original motive was rather a selfish one, never-
theless his subjects cannot fail to be greatly benefited by them. These
roads at first extended no further than just in and about the capital,
and were made to enable the Rajah to drive about in his gig. How-
ever, the advent of the late Governor General, and the necessity for the
Rajah returning his Lordship’s visit, were the chief reasons for their
extension. During his trip to Simlah he no doubt felt the advantages
of good roads, and resolved to follow the good custom of constructing
them. But whatever might have been his motives, he nevertheless
deserves the thanks of every traveller, and his conduct being held up
as worthy of imitation,
1848. ] Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 289
16. The Beeas from Sooltanpoor flows direct to the southward for
some miles, along the eastern base of the Tiri range, which it afterwards
crosses, and flows westward towards Mundi-nuggur. Its course then
is to the northward along the western base of the Gogar range. The
river, however, turns again after a few miles to the westward, and enters
the Kangra valley through a gap in the Sekunder range. At this point
of its course, it forms the boundary between Bungall and Kumleh-ghur
It then flows by Raj-ghirri, and Sujanpoor-Tira. Between this latter
town and Nadown it passes through the Joala range, and crosses that
valley until it arrives at the base of the Jaswan range near Chumba
ghat. Its course for the next few miles is along the eastern base of
this range, and through the jaghir belonging to the Rajah of Hurree-
poor Golehr. There, however, it makes more westing, and passing
above the head of the Jaswan Dhoon flows for a short distance along
the foot of the Hoshyarpoor range, and at last enters the plains near
Hajeepoor.
17. The new red sandstone formation becomes more complicated in
Mundi. It there consists of marls, marly-slates, yellow magnesian
limestone, salt, and gypsum. The marly-slates are either of a grey or
dull red colour. The general dip of the strata is still to the N. E.
although sometimes they are nearly perpendicular, or dip to the west.
The salt mine of Drung is situated in the eastern face of the Goger
range, about 10 miles to the north of Mundi-nuggur, and on the right
bank of the Beeas, The salt is seldom found clear and white in any
quantity, but almost always, reddened by and mixed with a very large
proportion of the argillaceous earth with which it is associated. It is
obtained by driving a horizontal gallery into the side of the hill until
the salt deposit is reached. The gallery, four feet square, is supported
by spars of the Cheel or Pinus longifolia, and the inside is lined with
bullock hides. There are also salt mines at Gumba near Beijonauth.
No reliance can be placed on the contradictory accounts of the produce
of these mines. ‘The salt is generally purchased by the poorer classes,
for those who can afford it always prefer that brought from the salt
range near Peshawur.
18. If we proceed still further to the eastward, viz. across Kooloo
in the direction of Mani-karn, we come upon clay-slates occasionally
associated with limestone. The clay-slate is of great variety of colour,
2 P
290 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. [Aprit,
as well as of texture. It is frequently soft, breaking up into quadran-
gular pieces. Sometimes, however, it is met with of a fine texture, of
a bluish colour, and splitting easily into slates, when it is used as roof-
ing slate. It derives occasionally, a shining and silky lustre from the
minute particles of mica it contains. The clay slate is pierced in many
places by veins of quartz, which are sometimes metalliferous, as is the
case near the village of Jerree, situated on the left bank of the Parbati,
and about five miles below Mani-karn. This vein had been worked,
for the galena it produced, by the villagers for some months ; but as
they undermined they took no precautions to prevent the superincum-
bent mass from falling in. This circumstance occurred during the last
rains, and the owners have not thought it worth while to re-open the
mine ; so the working could not have proved a very profitable employ-
ment. The limestone is bluish in colour, compact and hard; also
partially diffused, when compared with the clay-slate. Sometimes it
is non-effervescent, and also becomes silicious. Gypsum is found
associated with the limestone in some situations, as near Jerree.
19, The Parba or Parbati flows along the base of a deep and wind-
ing ravine, the crests of the hills on either side rising some 4,000 feet
above it, Their slopes are adorned with forests of Pines and the
Deodar, and their summits are covered at this season of the year with
snow. In many places the Parba is both wide and deep, but at Mani-
karn it is a foaming torrent, bounding over the rocks in noisy cascades.
This river comes from the eastward, and empties itself into the Beeas a
couple of miles above Bajoura. Mani-karn is situated on the right
bank of the river, about 20 miles above this point. The place is cele-
brated on account of the boiling springs, which issue from the ground
a few feet above the icy stream of the Parba. The springs are nume-
rous, and the flow of boiling water copious. I regret not having hada
thermometer graduated sufficiently high to have enabled me to ascertain
the exact temperature of the water ; but its heat is sufficiently great to
enable the pilgrims, who annually resort there, to cook their rice in it.
Whenever the wind lulls, the steam from these springs rises up in a
perpendicular column full 100 feet high.
20. The hill, at the base of which Mani-karn is situated, is com-
posed partly of limestone and partly of clay-slate. The dip is nearly
perpendicular, and the strata are traversed by veins of quartz. The
1848. ] Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 291
water has an unpleasant taste, and deposits a large quantity of calcare-
ous matter. The newly formed deposit from most of the springs is of
a rusty brown colour, but that taken from one of them is of a brick red.
In one place I remarked a mass of this singular deposit, nearly two feet
thick, and hardened into a compact rock. This mass is divided in
three distinct portions, or stratifications, and each is of about the same
thickness. A spring, therefore, after having formed the first deposit,
must have ceased to flow for a short period, and then burst ont again,
and soon until the three were formed ; when it must have ceased to
flow altogether, or have burst out in another spot. I have preserved
a small portion of each, as well as of other rocks. The elevation of
Mani-karn must be considerable from the circumstance of Cedars, the
P. excelsa, the A. Smithiana, oaks and rhododendrons growing luxu-
riantly on the river’s edge. The P. longifolia is also found there in
great abundance.
21. Ihave mentioned in the former part of this report that boul-
ders and erratic blocks are to be seen scattered in the ravines and
water-courses as well as reposing on the hill sides. I will now endea-
vour tofurnish some additional particulars regarding them. In the
two outer ranges the table-lands and the beds of the water courses are
generally covered with small waterworn pebbles similar in size and
composition to those found in the adjacent gravel, from which they
have evidently been derived. Boulders of every description and of a
moderate size also cover the bed of the Beeas. But it is only when we
get to the eastward of the Jala range that we encounter granitic blocks
of enormous dimensions.
22. Among the many mountain torrents that take their rise in the
snows of the Chumba range, there is not one whose banks are not more
or less covered with large erratics. These streams appear to have cut
their way through several hundred feet of strata, leaving flat terraces at
different levels and at corresponding heights on both banks. On these
terraces and on the shelving banks granitic blocks are seen lying either
in heaps or scattered about indiscriminately. They are also found on
the more elevated lands, and reposing on the hill-slopes either partially
embedded or lying on the surface.
23. Those found in the latter situations were probably deposited
there before this country received its present outline: but the fact of
2P 2
292 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. [Aprrit,
their being also found in heaps along the banks of the torrent beds
seems to point to the probability of floods having occurred at certain
intervals since that period. In this opinion I was confirmed when I
came to examine the course of the Guj, from the Chumba range to the
point where it flows into the Beeas; and also when I saw the effects of
a flood that occurred during the rains of 1845, when the latter river rose
nearly 60 feet above its usual level. This flood lasted for 10 days, and
did an enormous amount of damage to the villages and cultivated fields
situated on the banks of the river. Between Sultanpoor and Bajnoura
considerable patches of land which, before this occurrence, yielded
luxuriant crops, have since been abandoned, on account of the great
number of boulders, the trunks of trees, and especially from the quan-
tities of fine sand that were spread over them by the swollen torrent.
In many places the river cut out new channels for itself, and in others,
permanently enlarged its bed. In fact, throughout the length of its
course in these hills the marks of this flood are everywhere traceable.
The timber it brought down and deposited on the Government lands
alone sold for 3,000 Rs.
24, The Guj rises near Rilloo at the foot of the snowy range, and
flowing aeross the Kangra valley enters a tortuous ravine. Again,
issuing from this at Nagrota, it joins another stream, in the Joala valley,
and finally empties itself’ into the Beeas. The bed of this stream at the
base of the Chumba range is nearly choked up with blocks of granite.
There they appear not so much waterworn ; their edges are sharp and
angular; and their shapes somewhat eubical. We find them also all
along the banks, and in the bed of the stream as we proceed downwards
to Futtipani. There the ravine, through which it flows, widens mto a
small valley about 13 mile in length, and aj broad. There also
gigantie blocks of granite are seen lying in confused masses, and heaped
one upon another on the river’s edge, also from 20 to 30 feet above the
stream. Their present position in heaps, piled confusedly one upon
another, indicates that this small stream either is, or has been, subject
to occasional extraordinary inundations, at which periods it has trans-
ported these vast blocks, and thrown them up upon its banks: and
although erraties are scattered singularily about the valley, and in the
bed of the stream itself, yet one cannot but consider the fact of their
being found in heaps and at different heights and distances along the
1848. ] Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. 293
banks, shows that there has been not only one, but several inundations
in succession, and, moreover, that some were greater than others. One
cannot look upon each heap, but as the lasting memorial of a particular
flood, marking the exact spot, where it had exhausted the greater part,
if not the whole, of its transporting powers.
25. Now the difficulty is, how to account for the origin of these
floods, which have left so many traces of their occurrence behind.
There seems to be but one mode of accounting for them ; viz: the es-
caping of pent up waters from the different valleys. It appears almost
certain that for a considerable period after this country was first up-
heaved, large bodies of water were retained in the hollows formed be-
tween the ranges. I think there cannot be much doubt about the
valleys having been lakes for a considerable period after their first
formation ; for all along the Jaswan Dhoon are thick horizontal depo-
sits of loose sand and gravel of comparatively modern date. Also in
the Kangra valley are thick beds of clay, or sandy-clay with large boul-
ders embedded. These boulders are mostly of granite and clay-slate,
_and were derived, most probably, from the Chumba range. Now, as
the pergunnahs of Rilloo and Kangra form the lowest portions of the
valley in question, the course of the Guj would be one of the natural
outlets, by which any body of water which remained behind, would
escape: and the different bodies of water, escaping from time to time,
would necessarily carry with them the loose materials, which in any
way obstructed their progress, and would deposit them in the manner
we now find them.
26. The boulders embedded in the clay are in every stage of decom-
position. In many instances nothing but the faintest outline is left to
mark the original size and form of the boulder. It then can only be
distinguished from the matrix by the difference in the colour, and in
the composition of the materials. When travelling in the hills near
Simlah, I frequently remarked in the clay-slate certain circular rings,
within which the materials were of a more sandy nature, and also much
less compact, than those composing the indurated clay. I then felt
puzzled to account for their presence, but now the striking similarity
between those and the ones I have since seen in the softer clay of the
Kangra valley, induces me to attribute to them a common origin.
27. Before concluding this report, I beg leave to make a few
294 Report of the Kohistan of the Jullundhur Doab. [Aprit,
remarks on the present condition of the people. Since the time when
this country first became a British Province a new order of society has
been gradually springing into existence. Heretofore the bulk of the
inhabitants were kept in a state of abject poverty by a few Sikh Sirdars
in whose hands all the power and the wealth of the land were concen-
trated. By these unprincipled tyrants every species of mental and
bodily despotism were practised upon the unfortunate people. But a
new order of things has been created; freedom and prosperity have
marked the advent of the British. Life and property have been secur-
ed, and feudalism has been for ever abolished. Wealth is being more
equally diffused, and a middle class is arising to unite the two extremes
of society, which have unhappily too long existed. The foundation of
a new order of society has thus been laid which will form in a short
time the connecting link between the Government and the nation. The
advantages to be derived from such a change are incalculable. To be
convinced of its importance we have merely to trace the progress of
English society from the Norman conquest to the present time. If we
compare the time, when the English people were serfs, and the feudal
Barons the very counterparts of the domineering Sirdars, to that of the
present day, when the wealth and intelligence of the British nation are
concentrated in the middle ranks, we cannot fail to be struck with the
beneficial results of the change. On the other hand, the present con-
dition of Spain affords us a melancholy illustration of a nation possess-
ing only two ranks of society ; where the haughty and indigent Hidalgo
may be compared to our proud needy Suwars. It is wonderful how-
ever to reflect on what has been already accomplished for the benefit of
the people inhabiting these hills since the conquest of the country.
Slavery has been abolished; the rites of Suttee prohibited ; and the
preedial spirit checked :—in- fact, all traces of barbarism have been
swept away in the short space of two years. It has always been consi-
dered an indication of a rising country when the produce of labour, and
the rate of wages are simultaneously on the increase ; but here we have
an additional proof of the improved condition of the country, viz. in
the increase of cultivation. The waste lands are being gradually
redeemed ; and the men, who before were satisfied with a bare existence,
are now looking after their domestic comforts, and are daily becoming
more useful members of society. The people are mild and tractable,
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1848.] Territories of Maharajah Guldb Singh and British India. 295
and not so fond of litigation, as their brethren of the plains. They are
also more truth-spoken, and are not equally given to theft. However
the physical structure of the country may act as a bar to the extensive
perpetration of the latter species of crime, from the difficulty, not to
say almost impossibility, of carrying away the plunder, and the conse-
quent certainty of detection and punishment. I am sorry having to
mention that the inhabitants of the higher hills are addicted to drinking
large quantities of spirituous liquors. I am afraid too that the Lahoul-
ees are sad drunkards, They pass six months of the year in Kulu, on
account of the severity of the cold season in Lahoul, and spend the
greater part of that time in dancing and drinking. But where is there
a race, who possess not passions to be dreaded, prejudices to be hu-
moured, and virtues to be developed? But if our justice be tempered
with expediency, our principle with policy, and our benevolence with
moderation and prudence, we may look forward to the future with
glowing anticipations, and Britons may eventually become the dispen-
sers of still greater blessings to these submissive people.
The annexed diagram may give the idea of the configuration of the
surface, attempted to be described in the body of the Report, such as
may be seen in passing from the plain of the Jullundhur Doab to the
Chumba Range. It has been necessary, however, to exaggerate the
inclination of the beds, and the heights of the several formations, as
compared to their horizontal extent. The total distance may be taken
at about forty miles.
Memorandum by Capt. A. CunninGuHAmM, detailing the boundary be-
tween the territories of Maharaja Gulib Singh and British India,
as determined by the Commissioners, P. A. Vans AGNEW, Esq. and
Capt. A. CuNNinNGHAM, Of Lingineers.
In laying down a permanant boundary through a mountainous country
it appeared to the Commissioners desirable to select such a plan as
would completely preclude any possibility of future dispute. This the
Commissioners believe that they have found in their adoption as a boun-
dary of such mountain ranges as form water-shed lines between the
drainages of different rivers, as detailed below.
296 Territories of Maharaja Gulab Singh and British India. [Aprit,
2. In 1839, when Capt. A. Cunningham surveyed the Lahul dis-
trict the boundary between the states of Kulu and Chamba was formed
by the Nalda and Chukam Nullahs, two tributaries of the Chandra-
bhaga, the one on its left and the other on its right bank. From the
head of the Chukam Nullah the Commissioners determined that all
the country to the eastward which is drained by the Bhaga, the Chan-
drabhaéga and their tributaries belonged to the British district of Lahul ;
and that the boundary between Lahul and the Zanskar district was the
snowy range (called Paralassa by Dr. Gerard) dividing the drainage of
the Bhaga and Chandrabhaga from that of the Zanskar river, as mark-
ed in the Map. (Pl. XXIX.)
3. Beyond the Bara Lacha Pass to the eastward, the Commissioners
found that there was an old well known boundary stone, called Pha-
langdanda, which marked the limit between Lahul and Ladék. This
stone is noticed by Moorcroft (I, p. 220). It stands in the midst of —
an open plain on the right bank of the Yunam River. As there was
no known or recognized boundary mark on the other side of the stream,
the Commissioners selected a remarkable cream-coloured peak, called
Turam, as the northern limit of the British territory on the left bank
of the river. As this peak is situated at the end of one of the spurs
of the great snowy chain, already determined as the northern limit of
the Lahul district, it forms a natural continuation of the boundary line
from the westward. The bearing of the Turam peak from the Pha-
lang-danda is 9° to the northward of west.
4. As it appeared that the country to the eastward of the Phalang-
danda belonged to Piti, the Commissioners determined that the bounda-
ry between Piti and Ladak on the westward should be the Yunam
River. A straight line was accordingly drawn from the Phalang-danda
to the junction of the first Nullah on the right bank of the Yunam,
' from which point the Yunam River forms the boundary as far as the
junction of the Cherpa or Cherep river.
5. Almost due north-east from this junction there is a remarka-
ble square rock on the top of the hill, which from its resemblance to a
fort has recieved the name of Lanka. This curious and well known
peak was selected as another fixed point in the boundary, to which a
straight line should be drawn from the junction of the Cherpa river.
Beyond this to the eastward, the Commissioners, adhering to the
MAP
of the Districts of
RUKCHU,LAHUL» PIT I,
Showing the Boundary between the Territories of
Maharaja GULAB SING
and
BRITISH INDIA,
Searle of Oates te 1 Inch
* . 2 77
MW. The parte colored brim awe allasetnt
Flake whacn hawt Frmnewly Rear tha bests of
Lokec
| Tene Bie
Tribeinith{ enya ff
oHy
Nay
Ui ot
Bae ae
Ny
1848.] On the Oology of India. 297
principle which they had first laid down, determined that the whole of
the Cherpa valley and its tributaries belonged to the British Govern-
ment; and that the snowy range on its right bank which feeds all the
northern affluents of the Cherpa river should be the boundary between
Ladék and the British district of Piti. This same range extends to-
wards the east past the southern end of the Chu-Mureri Lake, where
it forms the well known boundary between Ladak and the Chinese
territory. The Commissioners therefore determined that the boundary
between Ladak and Piti should continue from the head of the Cherpa
along this same range to the Chinese boundary; thus including within
Piti all the streams which water that district, and giving to Ladak all
the streams which water its southern district of Rutchu.
MPI
On the Oology of India :—a Description of the Eggs, also Nests, of
several Birds of the plains of India, collected chiefly during 1845,
°46. By Captain S. R. Ticker, Civel employ.
Oology is a part of Ornithology which has either engaged very little
attention in India, or has been passed over unattempted from the diffi-
culties attending the collection of eggs and nests,—difficulties arising in
a measure from the season of the year in which they are chiefly procur-
able, but principally because very few birds build and breed in this
country, except in the remotest parts of jungles, which are during the
rainy season almost inaccessible from the density of vegetation. In the
limited collection I have been able to make, native agency has of
course been employed; and to avoid adopting the mistatements, ignorant
or wilful, of my ‘‘ deputy collectors,” has cost me no little patience and
sundry cross-examinations. Many evil disposed boys have, for instance,
brought me the eggs of Mynas over and over again, placed in wonder-
ful nests of their own constructing, to be passed off as the produce of
the rarest species of birds. An old woman on one occasion paraded
some tame ducks’ eggs, as just procured from the nest of a species of
wild fowl, at that epoch probably busy breeding in Iceland. And
several similar attempts at duplicity have occurred, for the sake of
enhancing the price, of which the wary Oologist must take good heed.
In the following description the size of the eggs is expressed by the
2a
298 On the Oology of India. [APRIL,
jengths of the long and short axes in inches and fractions of an inch,
and the term “ ordinary”’ is applied to the shape of the common hen’s
egg, as typical.
1. Haliaétus Macei.—The ‘‘ Kokna’’ or “‘ Oogoos” of the natives.
Nest large—massive—about 3 feet in diameter—composed of sticks,
twigs, and lined with hay ; concavity shallow ; usually in the fork of a
Peepul or Bur tree, and near water; eggs two ; shape ordinary ; ra-
ther blunt ; color plain white ; long axis 213, This Eagle never makes
the slightest attempt at defending its nest—a striking contrast to the
marvellous tales we read of, concerning the Golden Eagle in the High-
lands of Scotland, &c.! Lays in December and January.
2. Gyps bengalensis.—‘ Gid” or ‘‘ Girnee.” Nest very large, mas-
sive, shapeless, irregular in size, being sometimes disproportionally small,
composed of branches and twigs lined with hay and down, placed high
up on large trees, near or quite at the summit. Ege usually one—ordin-
ary shape, or rather lengthened ; size 33 x 2,4,; colour dull brownish
white. Lays in December or January. |
3. Strix longimembris, Jerdon: Str. javanica apud Latham. Little
or no nest—at most a little grass scattered and smoothed down—in the
midst of heavy grass jungle, always on the ground. Eggs usually four
in number, round, pure white ; size 13 x 13. November or December.
4. Orthotomus longicauda.—Nest the size of an orange ; globular, of
fine hay, scantily lined with a cobwebby cottony substance, attached to
the stalk of an annual weed, the adjacent leaves of which are made to
adhere to the sides by numerous irregular stitches, formed by passing
the hay in and out through the leaves, one of which is usually bent
over as a roof to the entrance. Eggs 4 in number. Size 13 x ,%, blunt
shape; colour pale greenish blue, with irregular patches, especially to-
wards large end, resembling dried stains of blood, and irregular broken
lines scratched round, forming a zone near the large end. August.
5. Hydrophasianus sinensis. —(* Dulkookra.’”’) Nest large, flat,
thick, of weeds and coarse water mosses placed on reeds and floating
on the water ; upwards of 1} foot in diameter. Eggs 4 to 6 or 8. Spindle-
shaped, being very broad at big end and tapering at smaller size ; 13; x
1,1,; color plain bronze or olive brown. August.
6. Bucco asiaticus, v. cyanops.—(“ Suttra.”’) Nest hemispherical,
5 inches in diameter, coarse; outer covering of tendrils and dry grass,
1848.} On the Oology of India. 299
with the cottony blossoms of jungle grass plastered on: lining of fine
hay. Eggs 4; shape ordinary, size 1,4; + 1,5; color plain white, soiled
with faint brownish here and there. Found ina Mowhooa tree, near
jungle. August. |
7. Ploceus philippinus ? Pl. baya, Blyth.—(“ Baya.) Nest very
large ; pendent; from 2 ft. to 1} ft. in length, attached to branch by a
long neck ; body of nest ovo-globular, the whole solid except a spherical
space near bottom, which is entered from below sideways and contains
the eggs, &c. Nest composed entirely of fine hay, without any other
lining ; sometimes two or three joined together. At all times several
on the same tree, which is chiefly the palm, or Khujoor, or any large
tree of spreading branches and scanty foliage, especially if leaning over
water. Eges 6 to 10 in number, pure white, shape ordinary, size
27x 5%. August.
8. Ardeola leucoptera, (v. malaccensis, Auct.)—Common brown Pad-
dy-bird (‘‘ Chota bug.”) Nest large, 1 ft. in diameter, shallow, coarsely
made of dry twigs, generally on a mango or any medium-sized tree
near water ; often in company with nests of the Crow and Myna. Eggs
6 or 7, much rounded and broad ; pale bluish-green. Male egg 1,9 x
1,4; female egg 1, x 1,3,. August.
9. Herodias bubulcus, v. russata, &e.—{“ Gow bug.”’) Nest as in
preceding ; often several on the same tree. Eggs 2 or 3; narrower and
longer than in 4. Jeucoptera ; same colour ; size 123 x 1,4. August.
10. Columba (Turtur) suratensis.—(‘‘ Googoo.”) Nest large, flat,
of dry twigs, lined with hay ; on a Mowhooa or Mango tree. Eggs 2
to 6; ordinary, rather blunt, pure white: size 1 x 43.
ll. Turtur risoria.—Indian Ring-dove, (« Pundook.’’) Nest and
eggs as in preceding, but larger = 1,3, X 4. August.
12. Dendrocygna arcuata —Whistling Duck (‘‘ Sillee”’ or ‘ Saral.’’)
Nest large, flat ; when onthe ground made of reeds, flags, &c. hidden in
the rank grass, sometimes half floating on the water. Often on the
bole of a mango or peepul tree—at the base of a large fork, or ina
hollow on the summit of the trunk, when it is composed of twigs, with
hay. Eggs numerous, from 6 to 8 or 10. Shape a little lengthened,
with both ends blunt ; pure white with a blush of faint rose-colour and
clouds of opaque white ; size male egg 2 x 15%; female egg, 143 x 12,
July and August.
2Q2
300 On the Oology of India. (Aprit,
13. Nettapus coromandelianus, v. girra.— Fixbaggonets” —« Gy-
ree’ of the natives. Nest and eggs resemble those of preceding in
locality and all other respects, except size, which was not taken by
measurement, but is of course much smaller. Eggs very numerous,
once 14 were brought me. This duck builds more constantly in trees
than does the whistling teal. A pair built on a mangoe tree in the’
town of Poorulia, and must have had to carry their young at least £
mile to the nearest water !
14. Sarcidiornis regius.—(“ Nukwa hunss.”) ‘* Knobbed Goose.”
The eggs of this bird have also frequently been brought me, but I did
not take the measurement ; they are about as large as those of the
domestic duck, pure white; from 8 to 10 or 12 innumber. Nest fre-
quently on the hollow top of a decayed trunk, always in jungly coun-
try and near the water. They are hatched mm August and the duck-
lings, which are early deserted by the parent birds, wander about
during the ensuing cold weather in a small flight by themselves ; they
are then of a dusky colour above and dull white beneath; the gander
has no trace of a frontal knob till after the cold season. I have had
this bird as well as the “ fixbaggonets” and ‘ whistling teal’ hatched
by domestic hens, but they are never thoroughly tamed.
15. Hemipodius bengalensis, Blyth, MS. (“‘Salooi goondroo.””) The
larger Button Quail. No nest but a hollow scraped m the ground and
lined with a little hay ; generally in a field of “ Goondlee” (a kind of
small grain like millet,) orin short jungle grass. Eggs 4; size 22 x 3;
very round, but rather pointed at smaller end. Brownish white thickly,
mottled darker ; with larger spots and blotches of dark brown thickly
sprinkled over the large end half, and small specks of the same else-
where.
16. Pratincola caprata.—(“ Pidda.”) Nest hemispherical ; 4 in.
diameter ; of fine grass, built on a bush in waste jungles or reedy spots.
Eegs 3 ; size 3 x 58, shape ordinary ; colour pale greenish white, sprink-
led equally with brown spots. May.
87. Cisticola eursitans.—(“ Khér ghoosa.”) Little common Grass
Warbler. Nest hemispherical; rather large ; 5 inches diameter ; thick.
Entirely of soft grass with its downy ears. Eggs 5 ; ordinary; blunt,
5 + 1, opaque white, sprinkled with rusty specks, which conglomerate
in a zone round large end, Builds at the bottom of thick clumps of
iecds. June,
1848.] On the Oology of India. 301
18. Malacocercus Earlii.— Burra phenga.” Nest hemispherical ;
of grasses, rather Pia interwoven: generally on bushes in jungle.
Eggs 2to 4; 22% 14; rather lengthened shape ; clear full verditer
blue. June.
19. Malacocercus caudatus, (Dumeril).—‘‘ Chota Phenga.” Nest pre-
cisely the same as foregoing. Eggs also, but size somewhat less, 13 x .
(The bird was snared and brought to me with the nest.) June.
20. Mirafra afinis ? Jerdon.— Leepee.”’ Nest ordinary, of grasses.
4 inches diameter, placed on the ground, under shelter of clods, tussocks
of grass, &c., in fallow fields or open patches in jungles. Eggs 3 or 4,
ordinary, rather lengthened, 413 % ;%;, dirty ashy-white, with stains,
smudges and specks of dusky, ashy, and rusty-brown.
21. Mirafra phenicura.—‘ Koowan leepee.’’? Nest flat, shallow,
circular, 4 inches diameter ; placed in meadows, in long grass, which it
entwines over the nest, leaving only a small passage open. EHggs 4 ;
lengthened, blunted ; 2 x 5; dirty greenish-white, thickly sprinkled with
pale and dark brown confluent spots. June.
22. Sturnus contra.—‘‘ Ram bunnee” of the Bengalees. ‘‘ Goohia
Sharo” of Hindustanees. Common Pied Myna. Nest large, circular,
shallow, sometimes a foot in diameter, of twigs, grasses and down, high
up in Mangoe, Mowhooa, or Doomoor trees ; often on bamboos. Eggs
5, 14 x 14, ordinary—clear greenish verditer-blue.
23. Caprimulgus albonotatus, mihi. ‘‘ Jungle Nightjar.” ‘ Chup-
pa.” No nest. Eggs laid on the bare ground, in bush jungle, generally
2; shape blunt and both ends nearly equal. Male egg 1,4 x 13, pale
fleshy-clay colour, sprinkled with patches of darker brownish-red ; female
ege 1,3. x 4, paler and redder.
24. Gdicnemus crepitans.—Thick-kneed Plover. ‘* Khurma.” Nest
a small patch of grass, moss, and thistle or seed down, about 5 inches
diameter, placed on the gravel, in jungle, without attempt at conceal-
ment. Eggs 2; 143 y 1,%,; shape ordinary, rather blunt, pale clay
colour, splashed and blotched with dark brown, June and July.
93
25. Drymoica sylvatica?— Tot rungee.” Nest very neat, compact,
deep, globular ; 3 inches in diameter. Coarse grasses outside, fine
grass within, the edges cleanly defined ; attached to reeds, rushes, &c.
Eggs 3, blunt; size 3%,%. Fleshy white, with patches and scratches
as of dried blood ; darker spots showing through shell. June.
302 On the Oology of India. [Aprit,
26. Nectarina asiatica, (v. Cinnyris mahrattensis, Sykes.) —* Joogi
joogi.”’ Nest bulbous, bottle-shaped, with lengthened neck, suspended
from the end of a small branch, in thick bushy trees, gardens, banks
of tanks, seldom far in jungle. Nest soft, composed of little bits of
leaves, grasses, fine twigs and chips of bark woven together with a
fibrous substance resembling tow. Entrance by a small circular hole
at bottom and side lied neatly with seed down ; length 8 inches. Eggs
3 4 inch long, rather pointed ; pale greenish white, minutely speckled
dusky, which forms a clouded zone round larger end.
27. Sarciophorus bilobus, (Gm.)—‘ Chota Teet’huree.” No nest.
Eggs found on the ground exposed; 2 in number brought me; shape
blunt and round ; 1,3; X1. Sandy or pale clay colour thickly blotched
over with very dark brown clouds and spots. June.
28. Lobivanellus goénsis.—‘ Teet’huree.”’ ‘Indian Peewhit.”? No
nest. Eggs 6 to 8 or 10, on the ground, amid bushes, &c. in jungle or
among the bushes on sand islets in aiick rivers ; shape round and
pointed at lesser end. Male egg 113X1,%; ; pale clay, blotched as No 27,
but not so thickly and closely. Bagale ego 13%114, with smaller spots
more thickly sprinkled over.
29, Eudynamys orientalis.— Koél” or “ Kokeel.”’ June 1845. 4
egos brought me, placed in a Crow’s nest; blunt at both ends. 11%}3;
dull sap green, sprinkled all over dark brown, especially round large
end. There was one Crow’s egg in the nest and both are strikingly
similar in appearance.
30. Corvus splendens.—“ Khunwa,” Indian Crow. Nest large, irre-
gular, some are flat, others deep, composed of branches, twigs and hay.
Eggs 4 or 5, Lengthened and both ends rather sharp; 1% x15.
Sap green, clearer and bluer than Koél’s egg, and markings more
speckled dark and light. June.
31. Lanius phenicurus.—< Kher Khetta.” Nest in large bushes or
thickets, shallow, circular, 4 inches in diameter, rather coarsely made of
fine twigs and grass. Eggs 3 ordinary ; 38%34 5 pale rose colour, thickly
sprinkled with blood red spots, with a darkish livid zone at larger end.
June.
32: ne palmarum.— Tal chutta.’ Nest was not brought
me. Eggs 2%12 (immensely large for such a bird) ; rather blunt, white,
with rather see spots of deep claret brown, most numerous at big end.
July.
1848.]} On the Oology of India. 303
33. Cypselus afinis.—“ Babeela” or “ Ababeel.’”’ Nest large, fiat,
irregular, of fine straw, hay, and feathers, closely interwoven and kept
together with a glutinous substance supplied from the bird’s salivary
glands, generally glued against some beam in a veranda or out-house,
in some remote corner. Eggs 3, shape lengthened, spotless, white.
Male 22% ,9, ; female 22x9;. July.
34. Passer Uoiuehdu's var? indicus, Jardine and Selby.—‘‘ Gooria’”
or “ Moonia.”” House Sparrow. _ Nest very large, about 8 inches in
diameter, irregular shape, made of any material at hand, generally straw
outside, finer grass and feathers within, with bits of cloth, cotton, tow,
paper, &c. ; in outhouses, under thatched eaves, eee in walls, down
wells, and (rarely) holes of trees. Eggs 5 to 8 or 9; 255 ordinary, pale
ash, thickly sprinkled with dirty rusty brown ; breeds in March, June
and October.
35. Geronticus papillosus.—‘* Karankool.” Black Curlew of sports-
men. Nest very large, flattish ; of branches, twigs, and hay, on large
limbs of the Seemul and such lofty trees. Eggs 2, ordinary, pure
opaque white. Male 2,3,x1,%; female 2,,x1,%. July.
36. Anastomus cor sabe etoucme 28 Tont’h bhunga.” Nest large,
flat, thick, of branches, twigs and grass within; found in numbers
together on large limbs of lofty trees, chiefly the Seemul, together with
nests of Kites, Night-herons, Black Ibises, &c. Eggs 4 ; rather length-
ened ; dull white. Male 2 43x13; female 22x13. July.
37. Grus antigone.—* Surhuns,” Syrus of Europeans. These eggs
have been frequently brought me in Singbhoom and also in Manbhoom,
where they are tolerably common, but I omitted taking the measure-
ments and describe the egg from memory ; (I have one in my collection,
to which I cannot at present refer.) Length about 3} by 25, but
the male egg is longer than the female, colour plain white, not quite so
pure as in the domestic fowl ; without spot or mark of any kind ; general-
ly two in the nest, which is a raised heap of grass, rushes, &c. placed in
heavy grass jungle in retired places, generally at the foot of hills
covered with forest. July.
I cannot understand the difference of colour between my specimens
and that of an egg presented to the Society, said to have been laid by
a Syrus, in Calcutta, and described by Mr, Blyth in a recent number of
the Journal. I can only say I describe the egg from upwards of a
304 On the Oology of India. [Aprit,
dozen brought me at different times by natives, together with young
ones in all stages.*
38. Podiceps minor.—‘‘ Pundoob.”’ Dobchick. Nest very large, flat,
of interwoven weeds, grass, water mosses, &c. floating but moored to
reeds, &c. Egg solitary (?), very large for the bird, pointed at both
ends ; 1x1. Dirty white, marked with pale brownish stains. July.
39. Coracias bengalensis.—< Tas” or “Neel Khunt.” Indian Rol-
ler. Nest rather large, thin, scanty, of twigs and grasses within,
loosely put together, on medium-sized trees, generally at summits and
near water. Egos 4or5. ‘‘ About the size of a Dove’s,” broad but
rather pointed at ends, full deep Antwerp blue. July.
40. Halcyon iictaloibad —‘* Much runga.”” Nest not brought me.
Eggs 3, very round, 22x23 ; semi-transparent and fleshy white.
41. Acridotheres tristis.—‘ Bunnee’’ or ‘ Saloo,’ common Mynar
Nest large, coarse, of twigs, and grass within, on trees or in out-houses,
verandas, &c. Eggs 4, 1x24; rounder than eggs of Sturnus contra—
pale greenish blue. July.
42. Dicrurus macrocercus: D. albirictus,t (Hodgson). ‘ Finga,”
‘King crow.” Nest made on summits of thick bushes, or midway
up medium-sized trees. Concealed in the trunk ; hemispherical, 6 to 8
inches in diameter, of coarse grasses, fibrous roots lined with finer grass
and wool. Eggs 3 to 5, ordinary, 13x14; dullish white, with scattered
blots and spots of pale brown, especially at blunt end. June.
Nore. Several of these nests and eggs were brought to me and by some
averred to be of Lanius nigriceps, Franklin. But, unless satisfactorily
known to the contrary, I am inclined to attribute them to the Fingah.
43. Ciconia leucocephala: C. bicaudata, (mihi). The ‘ Manik-
jore.”’ Nest large, flat, of branches and twigs and lined with hay,
sometimes fragments of snakes’ skins—high up on lofty trees, such
as the Seemul. Eggs 3, ordinary, 232; plain white.
44. Pycnonotus bengalensis.—Common “ Bulbul.” Nest small,
hemispherical, 4 inches diameter, of fibrous roots and fine grasses, Eggs
* The egg described by me was one of several produced by the female of a pair of
tame Sarrus, and there can be no mistake respecting it.—E. B.
+ It is surely better to adopt this most characteristic ‘specific than adhere to the old
* macrocercus,” which to this hour it is impossible to say, applies to this bird or to
“‘annectans,” (Hodgson). ‘“‘ Balicassius” being equally confounded with the two.
’
1848. | On the Ruins at Putharee. 305
3 or 4; ordinary, rather lengthened ; 13 %,% ; pale rosy white, thickly
and equally sprinkled with confluent blotches of claret colour or purpu-
rescent rusty.
45. Gallus Bankivus.—“ Bunkookra,”’ ‘‘ junglee moorug.”’ Of these
I took no note, as they are precisely the same as the eggs of the Ban-
tam fowl. The jungle hen lays in clumps of bamboo, dense thickets
and such inaccessible places, and makes a rude but comfortable nest of
straw, dried weeds and leaves, round which the dust is scraped and
heaped up. The eggs are generally 6 to 10 in number.
On the Ruins at Putharee.-—By Capt. J. D. CunninGuam, Political
Agent, Bhopal.
In the paper which I previously addressed to you on the subject of
the antiquities within the limits of the Bhopal Agency, and which was
published in the number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society for August,
1847, I mention (p. 761), that at Putharee near Oodehpoor (between
Saugor and Serouj), 1 had heard of the stone representation of the
Boar Avatar of Vishnu, My interest in the place was further roused
by what I learnt verbally from Dr. Spilsbury and Lieutenant-Colonel
Sleeman, and I was thus glad that I should have an opportunity of
visiting the place in the course of the present cold season. I. was at
Putharee towards the end of last month, and I found not only the
image of a boar, but a series of antiquities possessed of some peculiar
characteristics and highly deserving of accurate description and deli-
neation.
Putharee is said, according to local tradition, to have been anciently
called Barnuggur, and to have been ruled over by one Muheeputch,
who had seven hundred and fifty sons, in honour of each of whom he
reared a separate temple to Mahadeo, the remains of all of which may
still, it is asserted, be found. Barnuggur is not an uncommon name,
and is evidently a vernacular corruption of the more classical form
of the word, Varaha-nagara. Muheeputch is evidently Muheeput,
i. e. Mehput as now written or pronounced, and the present state of
the ruins attest that at one time the temples must certainly have been
numerous, if not so many as tradition represents. No date is assigned
So
306 On the Ruins at Putharee. [ APRIL,
to the Raja’s reign, but the style of architecture seems to point to the
early centuries of the Christian era.
The place is situated in the midst of isolated groups of low sandstone
hills, and the locality includes two good sized reservoirs formed mainly
by damming up the outlets of rainy season streams. The most im-
portant series of remains is to be found along the banks of the larger
reservoir, while the present town and the smaller lake are distinguished
by a single pillar and a solitary temple. Intermediately there are
ruins of fanes of different kinds, with the fragments of various figures
scattered about ; and one of the isolated hills seems also to have been
occupied by devotees, or by some of the members of the religious estab-
lishments of the place.
The Jain Temple on the larger reservoir.—On the western banks
of the larger reservoir there is situated a Jain temple, perhaps compara-
tively modern. It forms a hollow quadrangle with sides of probably
120 feet in length, but its only peculiarity seems to be that the ranges
of cloisters are surmounted by alternate pyramidal spires of the usual
Indian kind, and domes of the common Mahometan outline. The
sculptured figures are inferior, and the architecture of the building rude
in the extreme.
The Brahmanical Temples on the larger reservoir.—On the northern
bank of the larger reservoir there are several Brahmanical temples, two
of which deserve notice. One, a simple shrine, Buddhist in shape, con-
tains an elaborately sculptured representation of Vishnu as the Boar.
The statue is about 44 feet high, it is covered with figures disposed in
ranks ; it has a diminutive woman hanging by the tusk ofthe God, and
the remains of a serpent may be traced on the ground on which it is
standing, It evidently illustrates the same religious sentiment, or train
of ideas, as the corresponding figures at Ehrin and Oodehghir, describ-
ed in my previous paper, (Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Aug. 1847,
pp. 755 and 760.) The other temple is ruinous, but one chamber still
contains detached figures showing Vishnu in the several forms in which
he is supposed to have become successively manifest. During the
hurried inspection which I made of these figures I noticed nothing
differing materially from other types, and I neither saw nor could hear
of any inscriptions. Both temples however appear to have been of the
flat roofed Buddhist type, and not pyramidal. |
1848. | On the Ruins at Putharee. 307
The Temple called Gurrulmurh, on the larger reservoir.—The most
remarkable of the monuments at Putharee is the temple called ‘‘ Gur-
rulmurh,”’ situated on the southern side of the larger reservoir, and
the legend respecting which is as follows. A certain Gadree or Gare-
ree, i. e, a shepherd, tended the flocks of a Rishi named Gaianath, and
after many years of faithful servitude he was prompted by his wife to
solicit a favor or reward. The Rishi filled the end of his blanket or
plaid with barley and told him to be happy. The shepherd however
disregarded the gift as valueless, and threw it away, or placed it to one
side. His wife’s curiosity could not be satisfied without seeing what
had been received, nor would she believe that the saint would bestow
any thing in vain. She searched, and her faith was rewarded by finding
a heap of gold instead of a heap of corn. Her gratitude moved her to
build and endow a temple, and hence, says the tradition, the name of
Gurrulmurh, i. e. the ‘‘ Muth” or temple of the “Garérun” or Shep-
herdess.
There are the traces of a square inclosure with sides of about 350
feet, and of a pillared entrance or gateway on the northern face.
Within this there is a raised terrace forming a second inclosure of about
140 by 115 feet, with a second pillared gateway opposite the first lead-
ing on to the platform. The temple itself is in the centre, and it seems
to form a kind of Greek cross of perhaps 30 feet by 27 in base, with
the exception of the projecting portico or entrance, which has a depth
of 24 feet. The temple is pyramidal, and it may be as much as 65 feet
in height. (PI. XX VI. fig. 1.) Opposite the centre of three sides, and
also opposite the four corners or re-entering angles of the cross, there are
small flat-roofed temples at a distance of about 40 feet, or on the edge
of the raised terrace. The centre of the fourth side is occupied by the
entrance to the terrace itself, and the general plan of the whole is as
given in the accompanying sketch.
The Gateway of the Gurrulmurh temple.—The outer gateway of all
deserves no particular notice, but that leading up to the terrace at once
strikes the observer as bearing a strong resemblance to the gateways of
the Buddhist ‘‘Tope” at Satcheh near Bhilsa, There is indeed but
one architrave instead of three, but the sculptures at Satcheh show
such a gateway with two architraves only, and the existing entrance at
Putharee seems thus merely to give a further simplification of the
2 #2
)
308 On the Ruins at Putharee. [APRIL,
style. The gateway shows likewise an advance generally in the art of
architecture; the lower pillars have subordinate capitals and bases
formed of Vases filled with flowers, curving over the sides, and the shafts
are made octagonal and are further adorned by bells suspended by
ropes. The upper columns have each the aid of four “caryatid’’ wo-
men at the sides, and of four lions rampant at the corners, in uphold-
ing the architrave, as at Satcheh ;—and further, as there, the ends of
the architraves support couchant lions, between which there is also
placed a central ornament. The upper portion however of the rectan-
gular doorway or opening has been formed into a pointed arch of a more
or less compound form, by the insertion of curved stones, which do not
enter into the construction—that is, the arch is false, as are the archways
of the fronts of Mahometan mosques, at least in design, and it would
indeed almost seem as if the pointed arch of Mussulman architecture ori-
ginated in an adaptation of the existing styles of the time of the Moghul
invasions. The accompanying sketch (Pl. XXVI. fig. 2,) gives a tole-
rably accurate representation of the entrance, but the archway has been
restored by guess, as fragments only of the curved stones are to be
found. It has however been restored according to an existing example
at. Ghearispoor, which is prima facie architecturally Buddhist, and the
re-entering angles of the double curve seem further to afford room for
the projecting forelimbs of the lions. The immediate entrance of the
temple seems only to deserve remark, as being composed of the same
description of pillar upon pillar as in the terrace gateway, the lower
pillars having however capitals of elephants’ heads, and as having
miniature stone screens on either side, which appear to be modifications
of the stone railing of the Buddhist “Tope” at Satcheh. At the
beautiful temple of Mahadeo at Oodehpoor, previously described, there
are similar lateral screens.
The detached fanes of the Gurrulmurh temple-—These shrines seem
to have been formed to contain one image only, with a small pillared
portico in front. Their external dimensions are about 12 feet by 9 in
base, and 10 in height, excepting that to the rear, which may have been
of two stories. They are flat-roofed. The door-posts are elaborately
carved agreeably to the custom of the present day in many parts of
India. These fanes are mostly ruinous, and the images have been
broken or removed. In one the idol seems to have been Ganésh, and
in another there is a rectangular pedestal so formed as to allow the
1848.] On the Ruins at Putharee. 309
water of oblations to run off by a projecting spout, but whether this
pedestal sustained a representation of Mahadeo, or another God, is not
apparent. The figures of the ornaments and the general style seem
Buddhistic.
Outside of the Gurrulmurh temple.—In a niche in the rear, external-
ly, of the temple and in niches on either side, are to be seen seated
figures of Ganésh. Among the sculptures of the front may be noticed
representations of Ganésh, and of the Fish and Boar Avatars of Vishnu,
but there is also a figure ofa seated Buddha, and another, of apparently
the same manifestation, seated. There may be noticed combats be-
tween elephants, and also combats between men on foot and elephants,
the former aided by horsemen. There is also a four-armed female
figure mounted on a lion. On either side of the doorway there are
groups of three female figures, succeeded by a four-armed God, which is
sculpturally a modified Buddha. The limbs of this Deity are marked
with the Sunk or Chukker.
Interior of the Gurrulmurh temple.—The interior walls of the tem-
ple are plain, and the pyramidal roof with its flat, ceiling is in fact
supported by four unadorned pillars. Opposite the doorway there
appear to have been, first, an image of three feet basis, resembling that
of Buddha in style, but which is now in fragments, and may have re-
presented Gunésh, and secondly, a group about 63 feet by 44, and 22
feet over all, which is tolerably perfect. The group is in every way
one of an unusual kindin India. It consists of a female figure about
the size of life, recumbent on a couch with the left hand partly support-
ing her head and with a child lying by her side. The figure is artisti-
cally of fair workmanship and proportions, and is enveloped ina close
fitting drapery which scarcely conceals the shape. Behind the couch
there are five smaller female figures, standing, and apparently repre-
senting menial attendants. Two or more of these hold Chowrees, and
one holds what seems to be a purse of money or a bag containing
articles of utility. The couch is covered with a flowered cloth ; it has
cushions to help to raise the figure and it is supported by four carved
legs, by two couchant lions and by a seated human image. Tradition
declares the figure to be that of the Garerun who built the temple, and
adds that the shepherd missing his wife one day was told that her
heart’s desire had been accomplished, a copious spring had overflowed
and formed a lake close to her temple, and that she herself having done
310 On the Ruins at Putharee. [AerRIL,
with the world had been metamorphosed into stone and had become
the guardian of the fane of her own erection. It is not clear what myth
or what theogonic idea is represented by the group in question, espe-
cially when its importance with reference to the temple is considered.
In addition to the figures above described there may be seen lying on
the floor of the temple a small Lingam with a well proportioned female
head carved in relief on one side. No inscriptions could be seen or
heard of.
General conclusions with reference to Gurrulmurh temple.—The
general impression left upon the mind by an examination of this temple,
is that while it is religiously a brahmanical edifice, it is architecturally
and seulpturally an adaptation from Buddhism, and serves to show how
old material forms are preserved amid mental changes and the revolu-
tions of sentiment. The plan of the Tope is upon the whole readily
traceable; the hemisphere is indeed stretched into a pyramid, and the
four entrances with tutelary Buddhas are here represented by three
exterior niches containing figures of Ganésh, and by the one interior
image opposite the one entrance which every building must at least
have. The temple is surrounded, as at the Buddhist Satcheh (and as
in the purely Saivic Oodehpoor,) by other smaller fanes, and the whole
is inclosed by a wall with a regular entrance. In an artistic sense, the
superiority over Satcheh is greater in an architectural than in a sculp-
tural point of view. Its architecture is much inferior to Oodehpoor, but
both in a religious and artistic aspect it seems to stand half way between
the “ Tope’’ at Sdtcheh and the perfect temple at Oodehpoor, or to show
faith and skill dwelling upon old shapes while imbued with new ideas.
Bheem Sews Gu or Luth.—Near to the western edge of the smaller
lake stands the wand or pillar, now called of Bheem Sen. (PI. XXVI. fig.
3.) It is composed of a single block about 36 feet in height and 23 thick.
The shaft is square in section for a height of eight feet, and it then be-
comes circular. The capital consists of a grooved round disc surmounting
a plain square one, and it originally seems to have sustained a group of
figures, of which a portion only of one now remains. The capital is per-
haps a modification, and ifso, one for the better, of the capitals in exist-
ence, at Ehrin and Satcheh, and the original shape of which, by the way,
seems accurately preserved in the pillar at Bettiah near Benares, and
in the remarkable columns still in existence near Caubul and Ghuznee.
On one side of the square portion of the shaft there is a long inscrip-
1848. ] On the Ruins at Putharee. 311
tion much obliterated, and of which I failed to make even a tolerable
impression. I had however two transcripts subsequently made partly
by guess of the first two lines, which are sent herewith, and which
may enable you to say whether it has been previously published.*
Temple of Siva.—Near to the column is a ruinous temple dedicated
to Mahadeo, among the sculptures of which may be traced figures of
Gunésh, and representations of the combats of animals, and apparently
also of the worship of the Lingam.
Ghir Guj, or Mahddeo’s temple.—Of the numerous ruins to be seen
between the two lakes, there may be noticed a temple said to have
consisted of seven diminutive stories, and to have been dedicated to
Mahiadeo. Ina niche outside may be seen a figure of Ganésh seated.
On the door-jambs of the temple, pilgrims or others have cut a few
sentences, transcriptions of which are inclosed, and one of which con-
tains the date of apparently 103 Sumbut. Near to the temple there is
lying a colossal figure seated cross-legged, said to be of Bheem Sen, and
which has a lofty flat topped ornamented head-dress such as may be
observed in many Buddhist sculptures. Near to it again is another
colossal figure also seated cross-legged, but with a natural covering of
wooly hair on the head.
Kootkeswar Mahddeo’s temple.—Another of the ruins is a temple
termed of Kootkeswar Mahadeo, containing a figure of Siva with three
heads and six arms, and a Lingam with a thousand neoteseningions of
the symbol carved upon its superficies.
Temple of Siva on the hill.—alf way up one of the hills there is a
cave in the sandstone :ock, the front of which is partly blocked up with
pillars and other fragments of a building not now further traceable.
The cave contains a Lingam, with a well shaped human head carved on
each of its four sides, so to speak. The fragmentary pillars have the
subordinate capitals formed of vases with flowers falling over the sides,
as elsewhere noticed, but the workmanship is superior to that exhibited
in the other remains. On a separate stone may also be seen a symme-
trical group of figures, the central portion being formed ofa lotus flower
displayed, supported after the manner of armorial bearings, by two
birds. The birds are flanked by two elephants, and the elephants
again are flanked by two sphynx-like figures, that is figures with hu-
man heads, and the bodies of animals.
* These are wholly unintelligible to our pandit.—Ebs.
312 On the Ruins at Putharee. [APRIL, |
Temple of Jogheswar.—On the top of the hill there is a small
temple dedicated to Jogheswar, which contains two groups of figures
much mutilated. One group seems to have consisted of a central
human idol with apparently a foot placed on the Boar Avatar of Vishnu.
A lion has also fixed upon the hinder quarters of the Boar, while the
head of the hog would further seem to have been cut off, were it not
that the detached head lying in front of the Boar rather resembles that
ofa bull. In front of the Boar there is a small human figure kneeling,
and seemingly on the defensive. The other group has a lion in the
centre with perhaps a human figure behind, and with an unmistakeable
bull’s head lying at its feet. A woman is represented in front as if
impaled, and another behind is shown as if falling from a height. The
impression left on the mind is that the groups represent the triumph of
the lion manifestation over Saivism and also its supercession of the
Boar Avatar.
ADDENDUM.
Ghearispoor.—At Ghearispoor (described in the Journal of the Asia-
tic Society of Bengal for Aug. 1847, p. 756) on one of the beautiful
architectural remains to be seen there, 1 observed two inscriptions, on a
re-examination which I had not before noticed. Transcripts and im-
pressions are forwarded herewith, one showing a date 1039 Sumbut
(982 A. D.), as also the transcript of a third inscription, if a few letters
may be so called, on the same building.
Oodehpoor.—At Oodehpoor (Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Aug.
1847, p. 757,) the industry of a man sent by Captain Ellis of Jhansee
to copy inscriptions has succeeded in bringing to light one in good
preservation on a detached stone lying near the town wall. A transcrip
is annexed, showing a date 1229 Sumbut (1172 A.D.)
Bhojpoor.—As the allusion made to the inscription on the pedestal
of the Lingam on the temple to Siva on the edge of Raja Bhoj’s lake
now dry (Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Aug, 1847, p. 743), may
mislead some into the belief that the inscription is contemporary with
the building, I take this opportunity of saying that although really at
first disposed to regard it as coeval, I am now satisfied after another
inspection, that it is not so. ‘The date however of the inscription does
not affect the argument advanced in connection with ‘ Achintea Deo},”’
or the sign of the incomprehensible.
Camp vid Sehore, Bhopal, February 14, 1848.
SORE! Lf /
VE ARE [].
LAVA =
See’ 7 . b 27°
CEOS yaad)
est
mir)
4
Spee TA
we Se a
ed
*
+ ~.,
dash 6st enlses tan Daa
le an 4 reer ost
van
: a
Ag Vial 4
‘a OS et tee PE i
m ?
©
7]
Ba =
— + «sneer reonallinsh a ee Oe ee eee ae eee een rz
— eens a te ts See
WwW
1848. | Account of the Antiquities of Kalinjar. ok:
Appendia to Ineut. Maisty’s Account of the Antiquities of Kalinar.
We have now the satisfaction of completing Lieut. Maisey’s admi-
rable account of Kalinjar, by publishing the Sanscrit inscriptions, with
a translation of so much of them as was intelligible, prepared by Babu
Sarodaprasad Chakravartti, and have only to regret their very insignifi-
cant historical value. We must not omit to acknowledge the very great
assistance afforded by the careful transcripts made by Capt. Kittoe from —
the original fac-simile impressions.
No. 1.
wa: fara | aaa aaa saagasaary fara std
ASUT HVAT TYLA RAAAS SAT | ATTA WT STRAIT
AATAAYSITMTAT ALERT CUBAIAS: VAWAT AT ATLT-
AAC FT | & | SRlSAaarANHaHRTAaa Alsaararahs-
Ham Aiweaqucgertccar sala) wilds.
altafeccefecrricamana: wintarfaqeuncatega:
Wd ead aft: 12) fo qafad varafe wat Sat fered
a aaa fang afaree: Brat: SarAaEt: | wlcarhas-
SAATAUVAAAMLTLFat: Taiinearate vied Ta-
SUM T 121 Tess Ufccaafs feaaaa frais aat
faoragafat ae waaeterarte carafe: | xaa: fereat
faufereanssa fimahacasaaafaanareus saa Be:
Wg ais fears wmargemed Gard qa
fefaua wrata ATA ST: | <axteque wa fufesrat at aa
WQeat | waarsrmcac feacianahasatay aque:
qUcanafnCaIaaT MaeaRIaafe | ATE
ATA: AVA KAATA AAA FMA Ce wala eH CML VAT VAT
wate fisasiay | taraatraraseew we ht atra safe
2s
314 Account of the Antiquities of Kalinjar. | APRIL,
ahrawataratactadtaraatagaren wrest eco faa-
qquits are afancefad was vaca dow feaadtat
yaaaraatefaa cara | ewedtrastaata saTsATaT-
faatequraimniesafancseagraar gee: | ARTS -
BUA HINT WMWASAe T WerPaIAIafiwaawadayH-
qantas aereruifaaayecaanarsrasatyaa aye:
YIASASHLS RCA CEH ALCat: RUTAFSCATS FE
acmitigaraaaes afurdcatats: qeataaen wea
Auraeqaraatfaataarasrafe aslevreqaay-
Freaarfraqeaigal fatacree STA AEE
frarcuafafactanaifiamtas aawaMaanaraceacy-
Afahrarlsares: Haws efucafayaaetaured
SAMA FT: SMA AAAI AIGA sifagefuag a-
WAG TAATTRITANTS AS TAA: AaIITA Ts
aaaiteatts ufaacarafamtsarara ae a: Fae
wa qq yaa eargarara ata acat Ba
ea feat: WTA AT HLTH ATMASASINT: VSS
aaa euaRifeeqny sa wR ATS: TWIG WAT: warts:
ufcadd faraa sat fafgedtacssquasg | a: wad
aredie: = staf eager fi aa caity ciecETEe
aaratata Gafacet wTiaauefceta 86a
tofamaafiatpaqeqetare Tay as: STR qura-
sagtaray afaaien eceasiiiicast aaisra-
franiinaqirets arama wegicgiefafufaaqstey
aaa Etat frtrhara afeaa| as Tet Hua TAT:
wativayai fiuaeadacaetate aH samt gx) F
1848.] Account of the Antiquities of Kdlinjar. 315
facsraes fasaaanat attaat ash fas ere erate
aufag afaat asta ata sate pases afaa ufaueca-
Tt MWFM AAA ZAM AIT PAAAY AICI ALT: SALAS
cistia fraawufe frags qarlararysraygaelaya-
HITT a Aa Uscta | Gaara saan wars waeta-
aq fasitetaae aasaetes Mewarfrars: | afeat faa-
aufcaatea eycacaarate: Ahucafesaeufa: sara a
ead | waa weanrge wufsat afags feos rawr
tage dteat | srarn vec ued few uf vz wa
yadaacatccsanra wataeahrd | Fae weate ata a-
qa Utraatieaasasrafacacitsalar TAUALTE-
fa, famrafwate fan a feria aaagcatati
qaet:| ag efeuquarety wsrartearatan farce
sfaa aca | fata face weafeatae: Gt saat fax.
ete: qafe wewa faa) claw aa que a ATVAT-
a wetfaeth erauewafa:| ae aea ques faferran
faa duata Fafa audife: | dtestrcafeutsaricw
gueRurs: uguintaaseagrvaty aT: aaa
aeasa fawn frafarnteaaive qratasa fufz-
aTHUIUfes Ad | TH TafsarsraasrIaitasgyga-
Fee Mee aacraa | wiwufaaanarnifsdt aragatata-
fee weatequaeracey | Tad wes afoa BE vo GH
AAAS: |
The first twenty-four lines of this inscription are of no historical im-
portance, consisting of a eulogistic address to Siva and Parvati, con-
ceived in terms somewhat too glowing for the pages of the Journal,
and are omitted accordingly.
2s 2
316 Account of the Antiqurties of Kdlinyar. {[ApRiL,
25. ‘‘He the greatest of Kings, having drunk, like draughts of
honey and curds, the shining fame of the kings his enemies, introduced
a rule for collecting the land revenue without resistance from any foe
(or he became the husband of the earth, which without resistance com-
pleted the ceremony of marriage) .”
26. ‘Some having been easily made prisoners and kept in his own
house, were afterwards released. In a moment he caused some of them
to wander from house to house ; some he made to enjoy happiness; some,
the fathers of little children, with unceasing compassion for them, were
seeking safety for their life within the walls (of some castle). Of the
long arm of this kmg his enemies were afraid as of their fatal enemy.”
27. ‘‘The King of Dasharna like the wind of the Malaya moun-
tain, kisses sportively the lips of the maidens red like the pomegranate,
seizes them by their beautiful tresses, removes the garments that
shine brightly on the high bosoms of the maidens, and easily dries the
perspiration occasioned by sport from the brows of the fair.”’
28. ‘By whom was not the king Paramardi Déva esteemed? He
was as the god with the uneven arrows* upon earth, like a spiritual guide
in the mysteries of love. Hundreds of maidens who approached his bed,
and hundreds of foes who fell at his feet, were rejected by him.
Thou firmament move on, and ye quarters of the world, proceed ; and
thou earth enlarge! ye who have witnessed the wide spread fame of
former Kings, now behold the rising glory of the fame of King Paramar-
di, which like a pomegranate bursting by the swelling of its seeds, extends
over the world. Seeing the gifts of this King, who gives even more
than is requested, the hearts of the Divine jewel (Vishnu’s Chintamont, )
and the heavenly cow (Kama-dhenu, who grants all wishes) would
have burst with shame if the former were not a stone, and the latter an
animal.
The King Paramardi having conquered his enemies, himself com-
posed with his innate faith this eulogy of Purari (Siva).
Oh ye venerable ones! although my liberality is great, still my high
qualities will not be remembered by vicious persons; meditate there-
fore on such works as may satisfy your minds.
* Kama, the number of his arrows being five. Another meaning of this passage is:
He was unparalled by his arrows. Both meanings, this and the other in text, must be
kept in view for the understanding of the passage.
1848. | Account of the Antiquities of Kalinjar. 317
“The able Padma, the favorite of the valiant King Paramardi, the
grandson of an eminent artist, the son of Anrina, and superior to all
artists, has in company with Déoka, his younger brother, composed and
inscribed this praise of the husband of Girija 2’ —
‘* As long as the earth, clad in the garment of the atmosphere, which
is adorned with the garland of stars joining, like two resplendent breasts,
the eastern and western mountains; as long as the earth rests upon
the bed of the hood of the serpent-king, so long let this work of the
king Paramardi endure. Dated Monday the 10th of Kartika, Sudi
Samvat 1298. May prosperity and success attend !”’
INe:..2:
q a aa: fears) saacfa etre afearara af aute
faa gare Treat Pa |
Rae: Bre 9 Haste fagusitatsa fa afar
aT aera Gaaaaaan frata |
2 yaaa ahaats fraqara ¢ sarnifwacisestaa-
aeaceateat at
e faacfaufagatearaatee wae: ¢ arcraatt cagat fa-
Gla AleIHATATa
fafedive gaat: ys ama fA aiea
eer
¢ Ufscqrarcaitata: 2 cfaireastatragqae-
fa aifwurs
© faq ssifa fesrantseaqal ufauire: fraaqcacaraaT-
CIAATT:
= BURR afaaraited st <faarmracMaaar
RUT TWAT
€ GAT te ArTafaqgIga TAT aTAfaea faMTT
arg Aare
318 Account of the Antiquities of Kalinjar. [ApRIt,
lo MRAM T: GMAATCIMNISs: BAAS fia
TUTYSTT
@¢ wale fara art ae: ofan: Bwamfed wae | zT-
Fae MIAATANITCA By.
QR Fass WofHaaAga Xs Teg Aare Ufsare
aware fear
{2 Tie quale Ty ee SAA TIeacHaa-
fa we canta;
{g HAMA He AeA Reis Yee aa: es Fat fersaaAt
grata
Qy Wass Ae ATae By ATA HATTA ATA LTA: TaTT-
TRRTATTATT:
q¢ UEs ate att faaaafoad aerate aaa aatT-
aa frx
Vo at Big aS arafenMY aa: | TTA LAM ALG TAWET-
at fatafefaara
qs fattaaaareard feared sre afequratfaaaaan-
auras |
re danetatsaa ey Wes wy faerie vay
Steal TATA AA
Zo RAIRAALA 8O HRATTATSANACYUTATGHTATAL ART ©
ay ans ay fad fag: aacfasaanthieamens atari.
fa ofaare
22 fxayl HASHAAT AAG BAR F AA aa: A VII
HT AAASICAAT
aq amaafacugciayeataae saarata afeisata va
aftsaa
| 1848.} Account of the Antiquities of Kdlinjar. 319
a8 Sat aramacutaaqaansaeceaean AAIe |
quay
24 SITAVA SAAT AISA AU: FT ACATATH WIAA we.
Tat
xé Hvafacuisaicatedta & qagerfadiat ewan AaA-
Ro at atwaw wast w areal aifanae tasty ae
Sa aya |
Re AS VET: Gaathst eqchaseaceTa
Re FTE HA BHAT ae aacfaacaHAaT
nn ~ ES ~
2° FIA A SUT we puter acaraa age
8% Tet © Brea & qurenta
The meaning of the first six lines is ambiguous,
Z. ‘Was born Bijayapala. From him sprang Bhimipala, who with
his sharp sword destroyed many kings.
8. His son made low the kings, as Agastya made low the mountain
(the Vindhya mountain). Having conquered the southern country,
speedily defeated the immense army of Karna.*
9, «* j%« * * which was watered by the flood of tears of
the gazelle-eyed females of the king of Malwa. * * *
10. ‘* His son, Jaya Varma Déva, who was devoted to the worship
of Narayana (unintelligible).
11. Being wearied of Government the king made it overto * *
Varma, and proceeded to wash away his sins to the divine river * *
12. They departed their lives and obtained all their desires in the
next world.
13. ‘After him Madana Varma assumed the reins of Government
* = -* (anintellizible).
14. Hein an instant defeated the King of Gurjara, as Krishna in
former times defeated Kansha. He undertook an expedition to conquer
ie mend. * Fs
* This sloka contains a double meaning. The word avambhrit is susceptible of two in-
terpretation ; the one ‘‘ Raja,” referring to the word son, and the other ‘ mountain,’ in
connection with Agastya,
320 Account of the Antiquities of Kdlinjar. [APRIL,
15. The younger brother of king Madana was Pratapa Varma, who
was most powerful.
16,.. He was concerned’ fer those **.°* 7° * * °F h*) Pee Stay
were lame and weak; * * * * * * * * who were sick, and
who were distressed.
17. * * * He had double mouths and double eyes (?) He the
Lord, ever endowed with the eminent qualities of a hero. (The rest
unintelligible and obliterated.)
18. He made the eyes of the women of * * warm (with passion)
and confounded the hearts of his enemies.* * Kamala (Lakshmi)
who was against * * in the field of battle. * *
19. * * helooksasa hero * * (unintelligible.)
20, *., *° = Cammtelliaible,) > =
21. * * (unintelligible.)
92,. * * He who delighted the hearts of all the learned Vira
Varma, disdaining pleasure, subduing all his desires.
23. *-* (unintelligible)
24, * *. (unintelligible.)
25, * * he caused various temples, gardens, ponds and tanks to
be made at places. * *
26. * * who was a patronof archers * * * who likethou-
sands of Sumeru, bestowed gold in Tula. * * #*
27. Who established the images of Siva, Kamalé, and Kali in
splendid houses * * *
28. °*) *-* (ommtelligisled)
29. * * * they being tired followed his steps inthe order of their
ranks. This eulogy was * * * by aperson named Valluki Vira.
Nos 3:
IIS WUB aaa AgasTs ARTTSTYRIE
qe farses awa TWIT Was aipy fal wag feacw-
Fo B_asst Sealafawatat aataaatafrdra 3 Ft qat-
at UHVeWVTTIETTae] TAT TT Gufafs arava
satraaaral aeaity vat cfafeyq gararmirsre agar]
cit aaa aaa TA TE TA aleaiangcay.
1844.] Account of the Antiquities of Kalinjar. 321
UU: STAT HLTA ABSA PaAatwaneagemcura wtly
wate vatau:faarha Prasat qeegactat Wafers.
warweira awa: yita qafucrar «qed sews
ale: Tossafeestaty saufawd warwi
euunfaqaistarsaaet sisatsa satay at arta =-
auf qoutes canisaice waratenat feared
TOMA ANS WIT WRU THPTTS faenfa
awa asfatacaetaanrHs ATAU
TRA aarta: aanitafaa at
~~
Of this inscription very little is intelligible.
‘** May Sankara, by whose dancing the curls of his matted hair were
dishevelled, and the shining stars, struck by his uplifted arms,
were agitated ; whose laughter surpasses the beauty of pearls; the
enemy of Chanda; and whose person is adorned with snakes as a sacred,
thread, * * * may he belong to us every day !
*‘There was a Raja the source of the Védas, the place of morality;
modesty, the dwelling of renown * * * well versed in all the Shas-
tras ; who became a perfect yogi and hence attained the undisturbed
fruit of Brahma, and who was the speaker of divine knowledge,
and who though powerful was yet gentle, and like the sun the lotus, de-
lighted good persons ; who was a donor and extremely kind, and an ex-
ample to the human race.”
‘* His son was Jatiladhi, whose principle was to gain the affection
of others: though he was Doshakara, (the mine of guilt,) yet he was
not unclean (or though he was Doshakara, the maker of light, i, e. the
moon, yet he was without spot.)
(The rest unintelligible with exception of unconnected sentences.)
No. 4.
@ PAU CAUZICHA SILT SAUL AULA ACU LAA ST MAT
aqctuufa sta Arse aU STATA PTA TH
VUIGU ASCATGAMAIUGaA Aelaat CLAA FAL
2T
322 Account of the Antiquities of Kdlinjar. [APRIL,
RITAAAWMUAIAM aw Za faafrqannse-
agua: sastitwawy afiac: sWheagaewae:
Sasa: Baccara ficaaretaafa
wat wesc afin ae ¢ war
The welfare to Raja Deva, son of the great king by name Kama-
lenda, born in the Kumara family, was excellent in divine knowledge,
a liberal donor, the worshipper of the lotus foot of Madana Varma
Deva, the learned, the king of kings, most wealthy and a great devotee
of Mahéswara (Siva), and king of Kélinjara; in concert with the very
valiant son of Soluna, the son of the great king, caused this image of
Varada to be made of stone by the same sculptor, the son of Sri Rama,
who made the image of Nilkantha, and who by his innate talent was
able to form an exact likeness. Samvat 1188, Saturday the 6th Kartik,
Sudi,
No. 5.
Afaarnescea: wrchaeiumase aia w-
Hee caafiew atifcy arctiata daq eer
wy afe ¢ Tat
This image of Nrisingha Deva was caused to be made by Sarkkara*
Nrisingha, son of Sarkkéra Kulhana Prabhrita,+ the son of Dikshita,t
Prithwidethara,—Samvat 1192 Sunday the 9th Jaist Vadi.
This image of Nrisingha was made by Nrisingha, son of Kalhana, the
son of Dikshita Prithwidhara.
No. 7.
werasuaatcanfa arcrmacaaasraataqats aa,
yee FAI Bale Bel TEAS fra
* Perhaps a title, such as Sirear, &c.
+ Name of a line. : ‘
+ The word Dikshita means one who received the initiatory incantation.
1848. | Account of the Antiquities of Kdlinjar. 323
*Daily I salute Mohesha, and both Narayanaka and Domanaka.—
Samyat 1597, time Asharha Sudi, written by Duyija.
No. 10.
afaaaAAS ala WAcamaMATaarqzanRcantaesta
GAA doe
Salutation to Malika Arjunat * * * * * .—Samvat 1600.
No. ll.
USIHCUTACALATT BITTE Taq vddo TaTet
via ang fated ciaeta TCATIE Traigcwga UsTAAe
wary
1 This was written in the. Samvat year 1667, on Tuesday the fifth
Sudi of Chait, during the reign of Nawab Abdool Khan, by Ramdas
Tarafdar, son of Gosain Doss. Salutation to Pandanona.
No. 12.
Hae cayaratfacit AIC Ta qaaAsIaA Bs-
ae ufuacafa wuts aacefaaatinawetag Trar-
faa cfararaamfsdstnes toaanaate qa freife
alfa aenfaqasats Stat sae CTS TATA
There are in the solitary valley of Kalinjara, which is free from rents,
the images of Pitémvara (Vishnu); Ganapati, Pandareka (Vishnu),
which is well known by the name of Byaghreswara§ and of Sahasra-
hnga (Indra). He who subdued the Atheists had for his salvation
erected these temples of Siva, which were made of stones. Besides
this for the dancing of the son of Vasantahara, he also repaired all the
destroyed temples as ey erected,
* These Inscriptions are not in Sanscrit language, but in rough Hindi, or in some
language of the hilly tribe mixed with Hindi.
+ The rest is not intelligible. .~ :
t qeantcag | The meaning?of these foregoing letters is I presume nothing dee
than the name of a place, Pandavoferithopa.
§ Here the words wefaa atfa have no perspicuous meaning.
324 Miscellaneous.
MISCELLANEOUS.
What to observe on the Himalayas.
The following instructions what to observe on the Himalaya were
given by Baron Von Humboldt to Dr. Hooker, and have been kindly
communicated to us by the latter gentleman.
Hauteurs auxquelles cessent de certaines familles de plantes.
Le caractére de la Flore Sibérienne: est il, vers Cashemir et Ladak, si
général qu’on le prétend ?
Jusqu’ a quelle hauteur y-a-t-il des poissons dans les lacs ? Comparer
les espéces et les rapporter.
Etre bien attentif a la température du sol 4 différentes hauteurs.
Se servir de sondes a cet effet, comparer les températures du sol entre
les tropiques de 18 pouces a 2 piéds de profondeur (Boussingault) avec
la profondeur de 20 ou 30 pieds plus au Nord.
Eclaircir le probleme de la hauteur des neiges perpétuelles a la pente
méridionale et a la pente septentrionale de ? Himalayah, en vous rappe-
lant les données que j’ai réunies dans le troisiéme vol. de mon Asie
Centrale.
Je ne puis croire 4 l’uniformité et 4 ennui des Gneiss, Micaschis-
tes, ou formations Siluriennes de |’ Himalayah.
Faire plus d’attention aux formations Porphyriques, au Grinstein,
aux Amygdaloides (?) aux Basaltes (?) de la chaine.
Si lon est assez heureux de traverser la grande Cordillére de Kouen-
lun pour arriver 4 Yarkand, en remontant vers les sources du Chajouh,
affluent de P Indus, étre bien attentif au peu de hauteur de la plaine qui
envoye les eaux 4 l’est, par le Tarem au Lae Lop.
Des hauteurs barométriques, ou, s’il-le fant absolument, des degrés
d’eau bouillante, seroient bien précieuses 4 déterminer dans la plaine a
Pest de Yarkand.
Variations horaires du Barométre dans les plateaux et dans |’Hima-
layah méme.
Observations psychométriques, pour en comparer les résultats avec
Yénorme sécheresse que j’ai eprouvée dans les steppes de Sibérie,
Températures des sources, des cavernes.
‘Les Insectes vont-ils moins haut que les plantes ?
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
For Apri, 1848.
The usual monthly meeting was held on the evening of Wednesday,
the 5th of April.
J. W. Cotviie, Esq. President, in the chair.
Dr. Falconer, with reference to the publication of the March num-
ber of the Society’s Journal, on the day of the April meeting, and the
consequent appearance of the Proceedings for March prior to the con-
firmation of the minutes by the April meeting, adverted to this as an
irregularity, and complained of the Report being incorrect in its account
of the part he took in the discussion at the March meeting. Dr. Falconer
also renewed his objection to the irregularity which he considered had
taken place in the last election of an Honorary member.
The President replied, that the publication of the Proceedings was
authorized by the rule adopted by the Annual Meeting of February
from the last Annual Report. As to any error in the Report he was
certain it would be at once corrected when pointed out.
The accounts and vouchers for March were submitted.
The following gentlemen having been regularly proposed and second-
ed at the March meeting, were ballotted for and duly elected :—
C, Gubbins, Esq. C. S.
Lieut. R. McLagan, Bengal Engineers.
Raja Ramchand Singh.
Babu Ramaprasad Roy.
Read notes from—
Lieut. Baird Smith, B. E. and R, Thwaytes, Esq. withdrawing from
the Society.
2.U
326 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ APRIL,
The following gentlemen were named for ballot at the May meet-
ing :—
Dr. Adam Bell, Surgeon to the Governor General, proposed by the
Lord Bishop, and seconded by Dr. O’Shaughnessy.
James Corcoran, Esq. Urdu Translator to the Sudder Dewany
Adawlut—proposed by Dr. O’Shaughnessy, seconded by Mr. H. M.
Elliot.
Andrew Hay, Esq.—proposed by Capt. Douglas, seconded by Mr.
Laidlay.
Lieut. H. C. James, 32d N. I.—proposed by Mr. Laidlay, seconded
by Capt. Thuillier.
Capt. Champneys, Deputy Auditor General, proposed by Mr. Blyth,
seconded by H. Alexander, Esq.
Col. Hearsay, 10th Bengal Cavalry—proposed by Mr. Blyth, second-
ed by Mr. Frith.
Read letters from H. M. Elliot, Esq. Secretary to the Government of
India, Foreign Department, requesting the immediate return of Lieut.
Stack’s Grammar of the Sindhi language, as that officer is desirous of
superintending its publication at Bombay.
From H. M. Elliot, Esq. transmitting for publication by direction of
the Governor General in Council, a second Report from Lieut. Keatinge,
on the navigation of the Nerbudda between Hindia and the Falls of
Dharee. (Ordered for publication.)
From J. Thornton, Esq. Secy. to Government N. W. Provinces, for-
warding a duplicate of the same paper, and requesting to be supplied
with 100 printed copies for distribution.
From H. M. Elliot, Esq. transmitting for publication by desire of
the Governor General in Council, a Report (in original) on the Kohis-
tan of the Jhullunder Doab, by Lieut. Parish, of the Artillery. (Or-
dered for publication.)
From H. M. Elliot, Esq. transmitting a letter from Mr. John Law-
rence, with enclosure and drawings by Lieut. Herbert, 18th N. I., of
Ariano-Pali fragments found by Major Lawrence in the Yusafsye coun-
try. (Ordered for publication.)
From Capt. H. L. Thuillier, Officiating Deputy Surveyor General,
communicating a Tabular monthly statement of the fall of rain; and of
remarkable gales—hurricanes and thunder-storms, experienced in Cal-
cutta for the 19 years, ending December, 1847.
1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 327
From Capt. James Abbott, Boundary Commissioner, Punjab, dated
Camp near Jumboo, 6th March, 1848, sending an account of the pro-
cess employed at Koteli for the manufacture of the Damask Matchlock
Barrels. (Ordered for publication.)
From Dr. Campbell, Darjeeling, forwarding his Itinerary of the route
from Phari in Thibet, to Lassa, with notes by Mr. Hodgson. (Ordered
for publication.)
From Major Madden, Bengal Artillery, Almorah, forwarding his account
of the Turae and outer mountains of Kumaoon. (Ordered for publication.)
From B. H. Hodgson, Esq. Darjeeling, returning by dak banghy,
Humbold’s Asie Centrale and Pemberton’s Report of Bootan, lent Mr.
H. by the Society.
From Lord Arthur Hay, presenting to the Society the last edition of
Wilson’s American Ornithology, and 188 original drawings of Indian
birds and insects, prepared under his Lordship’s superintendence.
The special thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to Lord
Arthur Hay, and personally expressed to his Lordship by the President.
From John C, Erskine, Esq. Judge of the Cis-Sutledge states, en-
quiring regarding a History in Sanscrit by the Pundit Jowahir Lal, with
a map of the place of Pilgrimage called ‘* Kuruk-Kshetra.”
The Secretary stated that the Map has been found, and that the MS.
is supposed to be in the possession of the Rev. Dr. Heeberlin of Dacca,
who has been referred to on the subject.
From Babu Ramgopal Ghose, with reference to the alleged discovery
of certain Sanscrit works mentioned by Capt. Cunningham in his offi-
cial correspondence, but which Babu Ramgopal finds are all procurable
in Calcutta. (Referred to Oriental Section.)
On the “ Oology of India,” a description of the eggs and nests of
several birds of the plains of India, collected chiefly during 1845-46,
by Capt. R. Tickell. (Ordered for publication.)
From Capt. Kittoe, forwarding a proof copy of three inscriptions he
has had printed in Modern Nagree, and translated in the Vernacular,
for circulation in the Benares district ; also transcript of Col. Ouseley’s
inscription from Punjur, and a coloured impression of the famous medal
in the possession of Ram Row Thakea at Benares.
The medal is of the purest gold, weighing 100 sicca weight, copied
from one of Alumgheer.
2u 2
328 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [AprRit,
Views of the Benares College, now erecting by Capt. Eeitie; were
also exhibited to the meeting.
On the Liquidamber tree of Tenasserim, by the Rev. F. Mason, late
of Moulmain. (Ordered for publication.)
From Dr. Roer, conveying the Report of the Oriental eatin on
several references made to it by the last meeting.
To the Senior Secretary, Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Srr,—In answer to your letter of the 29th ult., I have the honour to
convey to you, for the information of the Council, the opinion of the Section
respecting the subjects submitted to their consideration.
2, The Section beg to suggest, that of the Tazkiras of the Persian, Hindi
and Urdd poets, as many should be purchased as the funds of the Society
will admit, and that Mr. Hall be requested to make the selection.
3. As to the rite of Antarjala, I have annexed some passages of the
Puranas, bearing on the subject, which clearly prove, that the rite is well
established, but limited to places near the banks of the Ganges. It is also
mentioned and sanctioned in the Navya Smriti. This rite is, however, of
comparatively modern date, as no allusion is made to it either in the Vedas,
or in the Itihasas, or in Manu.
4. With regard to the work of the Prince Gholaum, the section have not
come to a conclusion, and I would therefore suggest, that the subject be
decided at the next meeting.
5. The Section are of opinion, that Major Troyer has the first right to
print the unpublished portion of the Raja Tarangini; at the same time they
would recommend, that a careful copy of the MS. be taken, before it is
transmitted to Major Troyer.
E. Roer,
With reference to the above Report, it was agreed that the extract
relating to the rite of Anterjali, be communicated to the Rev. Mr.
Keane.
Proposed by Mr. Elliot, seconded by Mr. Seton Karr, and agreed
unanimously, that 300 Co.’s Rs. be expended from the Oriental Fund on
the purchase of such Tazkiras as Mr. Hall might select for the Library
of the Society.
Read a letter from the Secretary of the Oriental Section, sending
translation of a letter from Dr. Maximilian Muller, with a specimen of
his forthcoming edition of the Rig Veda Sanhita.
1848. ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 329
East India House, 18th Dec. 1847.
My preAr Sir,—From the last numbers of the Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, I observed the active zeal with which the Asiatic Society
intend again to show their interest in the ancient literature of India. An
edition of the Vedas in India under the direction of a European philologist,
who can avail himself of the assistance of brahmans acquainted with the
Vedas, and of the rich collections of MSS., has been a wish long time
cherished by many scholars, especially im Germany, since the decease of
Rosen. The interest and enthusiasm for Indian antiquities appeared unfor-
tunately to have ceased of late in India; since Wilson’s departure, and
Prinsep’s death there have been no scholars to represent and promote such
undertakings. Your numerous articles in the Asiatic Journal were after a
long time the first which gained for the ancient Sanskrit again an honourable
place, beside the laws of storms, &c., and the learned world observe with
pleasure, that by your connection with the Asiatic Society you have laboured
to revive a general interest in Sanskrit literature.
Could I have a short time ago anticipated, that an edition of the Vedas
with commentary should be published in India, I would not have thought of
entering here upon such an undertaking, but I heard unfortunately of the
intention of the Asiatic Society, when I had already for three “years been
occupied with collecting materials for an edition of the Rig Veda and its
_ commentary, and when I had made engagements which did not permit me
to give up my plan. But even if you should not publish the Rig Veda, as
I perceive from the August number of your Journal, I rest satisfied, that you
will use the rich materials at your disposal in India in the interest of other
Vedaic works, especially of such as like the Taittiriya Sanhita and Brahmana
are entirely inaccessible in Europe.
You know yourself how difficult it is to publish in Germany a new work
in Sanskrit. We have no MSS., especially no commentaries, which we have
to refer to in the room of Indian Pundits, and a long stay in Paris or London
to collect in the Libraries manuscript materials, is difficult and expensive.
I had for a long time entertained the desire to know more about the Vedas
than it is possible from Rosen’s work, and when I had three years ago an
opportunity to proceed to Paris, it was my principal endeavour to study the
Veda MSS. and to copy as much as I could for an edition of them. I
indeed succeeded to maintain myself so long in Paris, that I copied and
compared the greater portion of Madhava’s commentary. The Bibliotheque
Royale possesses a pretty complete copy of this commentary, beside several
MSS. of some portions, especially of the first book. But, however correct the
MSS. of the text of the Vedas generally are, those of the commentaries are
very much corrupted, At the commencement of my labours I nearly despaired
330 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [APRIL
to give a correct reversion of them, since they are not only full of mistakes
in difficult passages, as in the quotations from the Brahmanas, from Aswali-
yana and Panini, but since even the simplest groups of letters are generally
incorrect. Yet I did not give up my task, and after having studied several
works introductory to the Vedas and having copied the Nighanta and
Nirukta, the Sutras of Aswalayana with commentary, and also the Aitariya
Aranyaka and Brahmana, and Madhava’s commentary of the Yajur Veda,
I became familiar with the style of the commentaries and the mode of
expression in the Vedaic writings, and when E. Burnouf placed also his
pretty correct MS. of Madhava’s commentary at my disposal, I seriously
thought of editing this work, and went to England for the purpose to com-
plete and compare my manuscript materials. Although I did then no longer
despair to restore a correct text of the Vedas and its commentary, I met
with the new difficulty, how to publish so extensive a work. I entered into
proceedings with the Academy in Petersburg, but I was obliged to give up my
plan from circumstances which I could not control. A German bookseller
offered then to print the work, but only under the condition, that a sufficient
number of subscribers could be obtained. When I at last applied to the East
India Company for a subscription, I was informed, that the Directors declined a
subscription, but that they were ready to print the work at their own expense
in England. Although I cannot deny, that I would have preferred to publish
the work in Germany, and although from my staying in England, my German
career must necessarily be somewhat retarded, yet I had to consider. the
many advantages I could derive from the use of the MSS. in London.
Above all the success of the undertaking was by the liberality of the Directors
so completely secured, that I at last resolved to remain in London. I then
commenced immediately to print, and although I at first slowly proceeded
in consequence of some typographical arrangements, I have now the satis-
faction of getting every week one sheet through the press.
There is no want of MSS. here. Beside those I collected in Paris, I
have Colebrooke’s copy for the commentary, another, although incomplete,
copy of Taylor, another more modern from the collection of Prof. Wilson
in Oxford, and lastly a copy Dr. Mill kindly lent me from his private collec-
tion. But as I observed before, these MSS. are incorrect; moreover, nearly
all of them are derived from the same source, and as they almost invariably
present the same errors, they have hardly any value as MSS. A good old
MS., if possible from the southern part of India, would be of great use to
me, especially for the last books, since I have more MSS. for the first
Ashtakas than for the others. There are not many various readings of
importance with the exception of additions and improvements which occur
in more modern MSS., especially in that of Burnouf, which is copied by the
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 331
Marathas, and may therefore contain marginal notes, made by scholars of
that country. Where I thought them useful, I have retained them, and it
would be interesting to examine, whether Madhava’s commentary has been
subjected to a still farther emendation, especially in the Dekhan. Should
you be able to purchase or borrow some other MSS. from India, you would
confer a great obligation upon me; but the copies ought not to be of modern
date, which, as I said before, we have here in abundance. I believe I can
render the text correct by the means of the MSS. at my disposal, especially
by the MSS. of Dr. Mull.
I take the liberty to send you the first 120 pages of my edition, and request
your candid opinion concerning them, as by your labours on the same ground
you are best able to judge. The introduction especially presents a number
of difficulties, and I was obliged to devote a long time to the study of the
Purva Mimansa, to understand and verify the quotations from Jaimini and .
Madhava’s Nyaya-mala-vistara, and to follow, by the assistance of other works,
for instance of Sabara’s commentary, the complicated, but logically precise
argumentation. I have added the passages from Panini, for the purpose of
facilitating its study, as it is often difficult to find the Sdtras, if they are not
complete, and especially the Varttikas, which Boethlinck has unfortunately
often omitted in his otherwise useful and diligent edition of Panini. I also
quote Unadi and Philstitra, Nirukta, Pratisakhya and Aswalayana, which
(quotations) will of course more and more cease in the latter books, I have
not entered upon the quotations from the Brahmanas, as I was not able to
verify all of them; moreover the division in these works is so uncertain, that
it appeared more expedient to wait for an edition of the text. I intend,
however, to verify and explain in my notes the most important quotations
from these works also. 1 did not think proper to omit passages of the
commentary, first, as it is a work of reference, where it is irksome to be
referred from one place to another; and secondly, as in the repeated expla-
nations important additions and differences are frequently met with. I am,
however, willing to improve, where improvements can be made, and I should
therefore feel greatly obliged, if you would transmit these printed sheets to
some of the most learned pundits in Calcutta or Benares for their opinion.
It is of course my wish to render this edition useful also for India, and it
would be very interesting to me to hear the opinion of Indian scholars,
especially as most of them appear to believe, that no European could satis-
factorily execute a work of this kmd. I would especially be gratified to hear
the opinion of learned men above the prejudices of their country, as Raja
Radha Kant Deb, for instance, who by his dictionary has acquired the lasting
gratitude of all Sanskrit scholars, and who best knows, that the ancient
literature of India need not to be screened from the light of publicity, but
332 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ APRIL,
may boldly challenge the comparison of the literatures of all nations the
history of which shows the same progress of intellectual development. There
is no necessity that I should here dwell on the high value of the Vedas, since
you no doubt have the same opinion with me, that they, among works of a
similar kind, are the most interesting and important productions of the human
mind, and give us the most valuable disclosures on the history, language and
intellectual development of-a people highly gifted by providence with the
happiest faculties. It is true, to find the proper value and true sense of
these hymns, we must frequently deviate from the scholastic explanations of
Madhava, however great the regard may be we are to place on his commen-
tary, founded as it is on ancient tradition. I intend to publish my view of
the Vedas in a German translation, after the Sanskrit text has been com-
pleted; Prof. Wilson has, however, promised an English translation, which
will probably be attached to every volume of the text.
I would not have ventured to address you so long about my own affairs
did I not suppose that you take yourself a lively interest in the success of
an undertaking for which you have worked with so zealous an activity. It
would give me great pleasure to hear which part of Vedaic literature you
have chosen first to treat on, and with regard to this I would draw your
attention to the fact, that the Vajasaneya Sanhita will probably soon be
published by Dr. A. Weber in Germany, and also that Bardelli prepares an
edition of the Atharva Veda, Yet there still remains for you a rich field in
India, especially respecting the Brahmanas, in which the European collections
are comparatively poor. As soon as the first volume of my edition is com-
pleted, I will forward the subsequent sheets to the Asiatic Society.
Jan. the 10th.
I am sorry that the transmission of my letter has met with some delay.
I placed it inside of the copy, in the hope, that you would thus most certainly
receive it. The sheets have, however, been sent off separately by the Direc-
tors. The printing has now made further progress, and I trust to be able
to publish in the course of this year a large volume. In conclusion I take
the liberty to ask you, whether there is an opportunity in Calcutta to pur-
chase or copy a large number of MSS. The Prussian Government, which
has bought on a former occasion, the collection of Sir Ch. Chambers, is
desirous to vote an annual sum to complete their collection, which is espe-
cially indispensable with regard to the commentaries to render these MSS.
useful. You would also do great service to all German Sanskrit scholars,
if you could inform me about the mode of doing this, principally about the
terms of copying, unless this gives you too much trouble. The money of course
would be deposited with an Indian banker, and the Prussian ambassador in
London, Chevalier Bunsen, takes an active interest in this undertaking.
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 337
P.S. Would it give you much trouble to ascertain in Calcutta, whether
a copy of the octavo edition of Manu with commentary may be there obtained.
In Europe it is not procurable. Could you also inform me, how I may
obtain a copy of the Sabda-Kalpa-Druma, or if it is not for sale, would you
in my name request Raja Radhakant Deb to favour me with a copy.
With reference to the desire of the Prussian Government to have
copies made in Calcutta at their expense, of several Sanscrit MSS.
and works required to complete their collection, the Council recom-
mend that the Society afford all facilities for the accomplishment of
the wishes of the Prussian Government. (Agreed unanimously.)
From Dr. Roer, forwarding letters from Prof. Lassen and Mr.
Koenig. |
Extract of note from Dr. Roer.
I send you a letter from Professor Lassen to my address, in which he re-
quests me to thank the Society for the copy of Abdul Razzaq’s Dictionary
with which they presented him, and also to inform the Society, that he has
despatched the second part of the first volume of his “ Indian Antiquities.”
He further mentions, that Dr. Benfey, in Goettingen, is publishing the Sama
Veda, and that Dr. Weber, on the part of the Berlin Academy, has gone to
England to collect materials for an edition of the Vasaneya Sanhita. Mr.
Koenig has requested Professor Lassen to express his wish to receive regularly
every month 25 copies of our Journal, and has no doubt that this number
would be disposed of, as there are so many Universities in Germany, all of
which would like to get the Asiatic Journal, if regularly transmitted.
Here are also two letters from Mr. Koenig, the one lately received, in which
he states, that he has forwarded on the 20th December last a package of
books to the Asiatic Society, accompanying this letter. ©
There is, however, no list, as he mentions, but it is in his other letter of
the 14th December, 1846. On receiving this the Asiatic Society resolved to
send him the works he asked for in exchange of those he offered to the
Society, and I was then requested to obtain the works for Mr. Koenig, but
as he had at that time not despatched the books for the Asiatic Society, I
thought it right to wait, until we received information that the books were
actually sent off.
Will the Society now authorize me to get the books in Calcutta and to
despatch them by the first opportunity that offers. The Librarian has also a list
of them, and has told me that he can get them in Calcutta at any time they
may be required.
27th March, 1848, KE, Rorr,
2x
338 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [| APRIL,
To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Srr,—I have received the valuable consignment of Sanscrit books which
the Royal Asiatic Society has done me the honour of sending to my address.
I beg leave, by your kind mediation, to offer to the Society my best acknow-
ledgment of the favour with which they have been pleased to notice my
editorial efforts for propagating the Oriental studies in this country. Asa
slight token of my gratitude I hope the Society will kindly accept the follow-
ing books, which I have lately published and which I shall dispatch to India by
the first opportunity ; these are 1.—Sanscrit—Mudra Rakshasa, cum glossario
instructum, edidit N. Delius, 12 copies. Bibliotheca Sanscrita, ed. Gildemeis-
ter, 20 copies. Lexicon and Index to Panini by Golstiicker 12 copies. Kar-
mavakya, ed. Spiegel, 12 copies. Mricchakati ed. Stenzler, 12 copies. Pan-
chatantra, ed. Kosegarten 12 copies. 2.—Lassen’s Indische Alterthums-
kunde Vols. and 1.2, 6 copies. Lassen’s and Westergaard’s Keil Inschriften, 3
copies. 3.—Other Oriental books. Rieu Abul Ala. Tommer’s biblische Abhand-
lungen, 12 copies. Schleicher’s Sprache des Osseten. Lassen’s Zeitschrift fiir die
Kunde des Morgenlandes, Vol. VII. 2 copies. 4.—Classical Philology. Grafen-
han’s Geschichte der Philologie 4 Vols. 2 copies of Lerseh’ Sprachphilosophie
der Alten, 3 Vols. 2 copies. Neekis, Valerius, 3 copies. 5.—Shraf’s Topo-
graphy of Jerusalem, 2 copies.
As the Society is fully aware of the importance of the university of Bonn
as a central point of Oriental studies im Germany, and of the constant appli-
cations which are made to me as the chief publisher and bookseller for this
department, I hope to be excused for the apparent freedom which I take in
asking the Society’s hberality to send me the following books which are in
their possession: viz. Institutes of the Hindi Religion, by Rughu Nundun_
2 copies. 21 Separate dissertations of Rughu Nundun, 2 copies. Nirnaya-
sindhu, 2 copies. Panc’apaksi, 2 copies. Rudracandi, 2 copies. Shamari-
paydtrapaddhati, 2 copies. Menu Sanhita with Kulluka Bhatta’s commen-
tary, 6 copies. 16 Sanhitas by Bhavanic’ara 2 copies. Sankyapravdcanabhé-
shya 2 copies. Rdmaratnd’s Amarakosha 2 copies. Sabdakulpalatika, 2
copies. Vrittaratnavali 2 copies. Prakastiprakasika, 2 copies. Ganitadhia
2 copies, Goladhia 2 copies. Grahtagara 2 copies. Bhagavata purana,
Suapuvdhaya, Bhagavadgita, Prabodhachandrodaya, Abhijnénasakuntald,
Mahanataka, Gitagovinda, Rasatarangini, Hitopodesa, Sanskritamdld, Bhas-
kara’s Vijaganito.
To the celebrated Radha Kant I shall, by the same opportunity, transmit a
copy of all my publications which I have sent to the Society, for which
consignment you, Sir, will be kind enough to procure one or two copies of
the celebrated Sanskrit dictionary published by Radha Kant. The distin-
guished author will perhaps be the more inclined to comply with my wishes
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 339
as he will benefit by it in a high degree the Oriental students in Germany, as
I don’t design this work for sale, but shall religiously keep it for the numer-
ous applications made to me for its use.
I am Sir, your’s,
H. B. Korn.
Bonn, Dec. 14th, 1846.
To the Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
S1r,—For those books sent to me by favor of the Asiatic Society of Ben-
gal, as advised by letter of the 7th of June 1847, by Dr. T. H. E. Roer, I
beg to offer my sincere thanks to the said Society. The books have as yet
not arrived.
- Through the kindness of Messrs. Allan and Co. London, I forward to your
address this day the already announced package of books, contaiming 97 vo-
lumes, as per enclosed list, which I have the honour to beg the Asiatic Society
to accept of.
At the same time I take the liberty to enclose in the above mentioned
package a parcel of books addressed to Rajah Radhakant, which I beg you
will have the kindness to forward to this gentleman, as a small token of the
high regard I entertain for him, and an acknowledgment of gratitude for his
valuable work which he had forwarded to me. You will find in the package
an open letter addressed to Rajah Radhakant, which will inform you of the
volumes destined for him.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
H. B. Koenica.
Bonn, December 20th, 1847.
Extract of a note from Capt. BRooME.
“JY send herewith a copy of the Raja Tarangini I have just got down from
Cashmere. Its history is this: Mr. Piddington (when I was at Jummoo)
forwarded to me a letter from Capt. Troyer in Paris asking him to procure
a complete copy with the two last, though apocryphal, books. I inquired and
found that in addition to the books of the Pundit Kuln, there were three con-
tinuations of the work by different hands, bringing it up to a comparatively
recent date. I ordered the whole to be carefully copied, and here is the result.
I intend this for Capt. Troyer and shall send it to him, but I think it
would be well to have a copy of it in the Society’s Library, and also to have
it examined to see if it is what it purports to be, and if there is much more
or valuable information in it. If there is, the latter portion (untranslated by
Troyer) might answer well for the monthly serial now started.”
os 2
340 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [APRIL,
Natural History Department.
Council of the Asiatic Society, 5th April, 1848.
The Council submit a Report received from the Section of Natural
History on the reference made to the Section respecting Mr. Blyth’s
claim for an increase of salary anda retiring pension. The Council
propose that the Report be received and adopted by the Society.
W. B. O SHAUGHNESSY,
Secretary, Asiatic Society.
The Secretary’s letter, forwarding the Report, recommended the
immediate preparation of a collection of shells to be forwarded to Mr.
Cumming in return for his donation, and the payment of £25 10s. for
works on Conchology sent by Mr. Cumming on the part of Messrs.
Sowerby and Reeve. A similar recommendation was made in favor of
Mr. Van der Busch of Bremen ; and with reference to an application
from Mr. Mitchell for a gift of specimens of Natural History for the
Museum of Montrose, regret was expressed that such a donation could
not be advised. ‘The above recommendations were unanimously adopt-
ed by the Society,
With reference to the Report on Mr. Blyth’s application, the Report
having been read, and the question put as to its adoption by the Society,
Mr. Newmarch objected to the Report as conceived in an illiberal
spirit, and treating of matters on which the Section were not invited
to offer their opinion. He proposed that it be laid on the table dur-
ing the ensuing month, and be discussed at the May meeting.
This proposition having been seconded by Capt. Thuillier,—it was
agreed, at the instance of Dr. Falconer, that it should be decided by
ballot.
A ballot was accordingly taken, when 16 balls were found in favor of,
and 11 against Mr. Newmarch’s motion.
A majority of two-thirds being required to carry a vote by ballot,
this result caused considerable embarrassment and led to much discus-
sion.
Mr. Bushby said Mr. Blyth should be afforded every opportunity of
replying to the serious charges against him made in the Report.
Mr, H. M. Elliott then moved, seconded by Mr. Heatley,—
That before the report of the Section of Natural History with respect to
Mr, Blyth be adopted, Mr, Blyth be afforded the opportunity of submitting a
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 341
reply to the comments upon his conduct as Curator, and that the same be laid
before the next meeting, through the Council, for consideration.
The general sense of the meeting being that this proposition should
be decided by show of hands, it was put accordingly, and carried by a
large majority.
Council of the Asiatic Society. (Honorary members.)
Dr. Falconer having represented to the President, and through him to the
Council, that the mode of electing an Honorary member adopted at the last
general meeting was uregular, inasmuch as it was decided by a show of hands
and not by ballot, pursuant to the 6th of the original rules adopted from the
Founder’s discourse, by which it is decided that all questions shall be decided
on a ballot by a majority of two-thirds, the President and Council whilst
they express their thanks to Dr. Falconer for calling their attention to this
inconsistency between the practice and the rules of the Society, beg to state
that they have ascertained that for a period of eight years the election of
Honorary members, the election of officers,* and all other questions, have
been decided by a show of hands, and not by ballot. The President and the
Council are therefore of opinion that it would be expedient to reconsider
the election of any one or more of the Honorary members who have been
elected, or to open any question which has heen decided by a show of hands,
or by written votes. They are also of opinion that to decide every question
however trivial which may require the formal decision of the Society by a
ballot, would be extremely inconvenient, and they are therefore not inclined
to recommend the observance of rule 6th in its literal strictness. To meet
however the wishes of Dr. Falconer, and such other members as may agree
with him in thinking that the elections of Honorary members should be more
solemnly conducted than they have lately been, the President and Council do
recommend that in all future cases Honorary members be elected by ballot,
and that no such election take place unless a detailed statement of the literary
or scientific services of the proposed Honorary member be submitted to the
Society at the general meeting next previous to that fixed for the ballot.
By resolution of the Council,
W. B. O'SHAUGHNESSY,
Secretary.
Asiatic Society, 31st March, 1848.
Dr. Falconer, with reference to the above communication, stated that
it overlooked the principal ground upon which his objection rested and
* Except the last annual’election, which was by written votes.
342 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ APRIL,
noticed only the minor ones. The circumstance of there having been no
ballot, although irregular, was but an adjunct: his main objection was,
that the election took place, on a mere verbal intimation by the Secretary.
There was no ballot certificate, nor report brought up from the Coun-
cil, nor a certain voucher of any kind, laid before the meeting ; nothing
in short upon which a valid election could take place. He quoted from
the “ Gleanings,” vol. 1. p. 59, aresolution passed by the Society, on the
5th December 1828, prescribing the procedure for the election of Honor-
ary members, none of the provisions of which had been observed on the
late occasion. Under all the circumstances he considered that the election
should be gone through de novo ; he did so solely out of respect to the
rules and statutes of the Society, and would himself cordially support
Dr. Henry’s election.
The Secretary replied he had done exactly as had been done for ten
years in all similar cases. He produced the written resolution signed
by the President, three Vice Presidents and nine members of the Coun-
cil in favor of the election, which he last month stated had been acci-
dentally mislaid, and expressed his extreme regret that the slightest in-
formality should have occurred.
A re-election being generally objected to on the grounds that every
election of the last ten years should-be similarly remanded to a new
ballot, Dr. Falconer handed in and read a written “ Protest” signed by
himself and Dr. Walker, against the proceeding in question.
The question being put whether this Protest should be printed, Mr.
H. M. Elliot proposed, seconded by Mr. Welby Jackson, that the Pro-
test be not printed. Mr. Elliot having claimed a ballot, his proposi-
tion was carried by a majority of 18 to 5 balls.
Council of the Asiatic Society.— Repairs of House.
The Council Report that eleven beams in various parts of the house
having been found to be totally destroyed by white ants, and a pro-
fessional survey having shown the premises to be in need of immediate
and thorough repair, the Council have, as authorized by the last annual
meeting, accepted the estimate rendered by Mr. Vos, and directed the
repairs, &c. to be commenced forthwith.
This will render it necessary to close the premises with the excep-
tion of the Library for between two and three months, and the Council
advise an adjournment of the monthly meetings during that period, all
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 343
papers and correspondence being meanwhile referred to the Council,
and the Journal issued regularly as at present.
The Council observe that for the early years of the Society, the
meetings were always adjourned from April to October, in each year.
By resolution of the Council,
W. B. O'SHAUGHNESSY,
Secretary.
Asiatic Society, 5th April, 1848.
This proposal was unanimously adopted except as far as relates to
the suspension of the meetings, which it was resolved should be held
at the usual monthly intervals at such place as the Council might
select.
The Secretary then stated that he was authorized to inform the meeting
that the Nawab Nazim of Bengal, Honorary member of the Asiatic
Society, had signified his intention of presenting the Society with a
massive pair of iron gates and complete iron railing for the enclosure
of their premises.
The cordial thanks of the Society were voted unanimously, for this
muunificent donation, to be conveyed through Mr. Torrens, to whose
instrumentality it was understood, the Society is mainly indebted for
the Nawab’s gift.
The Librarian submitted his monthly report, as follows :—
List of Books.
LIBRARY.
The following books have been received since the last meeting.
Presented.
Description of the Asafcetida Plant of Central Asia—By H. Fatconer,
Esq.
Account of Gamoplexis, an undescribed Genus of Orchideous plants. —By
II. Fatconer, Esq.
The Oriental Christian Spectator, Vol. IX. No. 2.—By tur Eprror.
Journal of the Indian Archipelago, Vols. I. and II. No. 1.—By THe
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
General Observations on the Provinces annexed to the Russian Empire
344 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [APRIL,
under the denomination of the territory of Armenia. Translated from the
French by S. Marear.—By tHe AuTHorR.
Bibliographia Armeniaca, or a miscellaneous work in the Armenian lan-
euage. By S. Marcar.—By THE AUTHOR.
Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s Office, Calcutta,
February, 1848.—By Tur Orriciatine Deputy SuRVEYOR GENERAL.
Nityadharmanuranyjika, Nos. 49 to 55.—By Tue Epiror.
Oriental Baptist, Vol. II. No. 16.—By rue Epiror:
The Upadeshak, No. 15.—By Tur Epiror.
The Calcutta Christian Observer, April, 1848.—By Tur Eprrors.
Journal of the Indian Archipelago, Vol. II. No. 1.—By THE Epiror.
Wilson’s American Birds, and 188 original drawings.—By Lorp ArTHuR
Hay.
Exchanged.
London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of
Science, No. 212.
Calcutta Journal of Natural History, No. 30.
Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, No. 87.
Purchased.
North British Review, No. 15.
Edinburgh Review, No. 175.
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, No. 1, of 1848.
Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances de I’ Academie des Sciences,
January to December, 1846, and Nos. 22 to 25 for 1847.
Journal des Savans, November, 1847.
Gould’s Birds of Australia, Nos. 28 and 29.
Report of the Curator Museum of Economic Geology for the month of Febru-
ary and March.
We have not had many contributions of importance during these months,
and I have been occupied with many details and some researches which are
not yet forward enough to report upon if successful.
‘Economie Geology.—Dr. Spilsbury forwarded to us sometime ago a speci-
men of a “Swamy Stone” used for polishing steel arms and accoutrements by
the Madras Sepoys, which as a mineral differs entirely from what we before
obtained and somewhat in its manner of use. The friend who sent it to
Dr. Spilsbury says :—
“T regret being unable to furnish you with such information as you require
regarding the so called “Swamy Stone’? used by the Madras Sepoys for
polishing arms and accoutrements, nor can I gain for you any as to its locality
The mode of using it is very simple ; a few drops of oil being put in the con-
|
:
.
:
,
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 341
cave stone rub with the other until a paste is formed, which with friction by
the hand on either steel or brass will produce a beautiful polish.”
It will be recollected that I ascertained the Swamy stone sent from Europe
by Major William’s brother to be an Agalmatolite, but the present one is
altogether of a different class of minerals, and I am indeed at present inclined
to suppose it to be the red variety of the rare and little known mineral
Indianite ; but I am desirous of obtaming if possible more of it from Dr.
Spilsbury, before destroying the appearance of our present specimen (in its
Economical point of view) by taking sufficient for quantitative analysis which
alone can test the correctness of my supposition, as the mere physical charac-
ters and such qualitative examination as I have been able to make from
splinters will not suffice. The (undoubted) presence of Magnesia also in
our specimen, though but in a small per centage, would make it differ from
Indianite ; but this may be a chance impurity.
Another addition to our Museum is a specimen of the Muscat Rock Salt,
whieh contains I find a considerable portion of Gypsum. This when the salt
deliquesces is left in minute crystals on the surface. This tmpurity is no doubt
the cause of the decomposition, which is said by those in the trade, to go on
when this salt and white salt (sea water salt) are in contact ; but the action is
obscure, unless we also suppose the presence of organic matter (from infu-
soriz) to decompose the sulphate of lime.
The salt contains also muriate of lime and aubpiite of soda, as usual in all
mineral salts.
Captain Sherwill has presented to us a complete set of specimens of the
re and vein-stones of the lead and antimony veins near Bhaugulpore, of which
he had before sent us specimens, and he has accompanied them with a sketch
map of the locality.
These are on the table and are—
No. 1.—Found over the lead.
No. 2.—Pieces picked from the surface.
No. 3.—Soil of the surface.
No. 4.—Walls of the vein.
No. 5.—Ore.
No. 6.—Dyke traversing the vein.
Te has also presented an enamelled brick, found in some ruins in the jun-
gles of the Rajmahal Hills, and a few specimens, said to be those from which
gold 1s obtamed at some place in the Straits of Malacca, which, if this be —
correct (for it is a tale of 20 years ago, as told to Captain Sherwill, by a friend)
is new; for they are partly copper ores, grey copper, Malachite, and copper
pyrites, which were not before known, I think, as being amongst the wrought
auriferous ores of the Straits, nor that cyen the iron pyrites of those localities
aM
342 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. | [APRIL,
were so, and two of the specimens are of this description and perhaps auri-
ferous, but too small for examination.
Captain Jenkins has sent for examination two specimens, which I presume
to have been the silver ore reported some time back in the papers, as he
says of them that they “ have been sent in as something very precious,”’ but
? and in this
he supposes them to be nothing but pyrites in an unusual form ;’
he is right, as they are nothing more than Arsenical Pyrites, the Mispicked of
the Cornish Miners, deposited in, or which have taken the form of, part of
the stem of a plant and are wholly valueless, as they do not contain a particle
of any precious metal.
Mr. Cheap, B. C. §. has presented us with a tray of specimens from Egypt
from which we shall be able to select a few good additions to our building
materials, and one or two to our geological collections. Mr. Cheap’s letter
to Mr Laidlay says :—
“* Beauleah, 26th February, 1848.
‘“My pEAR Sir,—It is hardly necessary for me to describe the specimens
but the localities of some may be interesting and enable others to make,
similar collections if desirable. The Syenite is all from the quarry at Asso-
wan (the Syene of the ancients). The Sandstone from the large quarry at
Siulsilis in upper Egypt, from which nearly all the stone employed to build
the temples in Egypt is supposed to have been taken, and the enormous
space left blank leaves very little doubt that the materials of these magnificent
temples were hewn from these quarries. There are among the specimens some
round stones of a species of flint with circles in the centre. These I picked
up in the valley leading to the tombs of the kings behind Goomoo, and oppo-
site to Thebes. What is singular as regards them is that the Egyptians make
their bread (or rather biscuit, from its hardness) exactly like these in upper
Egypt, and must, from these stones, have taken the idea of the shape and form.
The only other specimen that requires notice is a lump of black granite.
This I picked up near the temple said to have been erected by Philip Arideus
or Alexander (son of Alexander the great) when Ptolemy was governor of
Egypt in their name. The temple is about the centre of those at Karnac,
and it is the only one built of this granite and the facing only is composed
of it. You will observe it is very black, and would no doubt stand a good
polish. It is very similar to what is used to build the Sona Mosjeed or
Mosque at Gour, and also one of the Mosques at Rajmahal. The specimens
were all collected by me during the months of October, November and Decem-
ber, 1841, in Egypt, and if of any use to the Society I beg you will present
them for me at the next meeting.”
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 343
Lord Arthur Hay has obliged us with four specimens of graphite, of which
three are from Travancore and one from Ceylon; the Ceylon specimen is
remarkable for its large lamellae, and one of those from Travancore for its
very large and well separated fibres.
Geology and Mineralogy.—I obtained at an auction a very handsome speci-
men of the bluish grey Pumice of Aden, interleaved with minute laminz of
gypsum, resembling mica, which is an addition to our cabinet which is not as
yet well furnished with the numerous varieties of this remarkable, though
common mineral.
From Captain W. 8S. Sherwill, of the Dinapore Survey, we have received
another of his valuable and beautifully executed Geological Maps of the part
of Zillah Monghyr south of the Ganges, and part of Zillah Bhaugulpore
which include the Kurruckpore hills and the hot well district, with a case of
specimens, a few of which are on the table.
H. Pipp1neron.
The proceedings of the evening were terminated by Mr. Blyth’s usual
exhibition of novelties and donations in his department during the
past month.
Certified to be a true Report,
J. W. Cotviue, President.
W.B. O’SHaucunessy, Secretary.
344 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. | APRIL,
Report of Curator, Zoological Department.*
The douations received since the last meeting of the Society are as fol-
low :—
1. G. T. Lushington, Esq., Almorah. A skin ofthe Kyang (Equus hemio-
nus, Pallas), with skull and limb-bones attached, and perfect, excepting that
it has been mutilated of about half of one ofthe ears. Unfortunately, a quan-
tity of water had penetrated into the tim-case in which it was packed, or this
specimen would have arrived in fine condition. As it is, it does not appear
to have received much: injury, and will, I think, bear setting up. The
animal was killed at the season of shedding its rough winter-coat, and
exhibits in parts both this and its summer pelage.
2, Baboo Debendernath Tagore. The carcass of an adult male Hoolock
(Hylobates hoolock). |
3. Mr. DeCruz, of the Botanic Garden. A particularly fine specimen of
the common Bengal Civet ( Viverra zibetha).t
4. Raja Buddenath Roy. A dead specimen of the Cockatoo Parrakeet
(Nymphicus nove hollandia).
5. J. Laidlay, Esq. A dead River Turtle, or Trionyx, the Gymnopus Du-
vaucelei, Dum. and Bibr.; and numerous specimen of Bats—Cynopterus,
Megaderma, and Nycticejus.
6. R. W. G. Frith, Esq. A dead Shamah (Kittacincla macrourus), in fine
plumage.
7. Mr. Birch, of the Pilot Service. Various fish, crustacea, &c., collected
at the Sandheads.t
* For February meeting, 1848.
+ This species, which on the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal extends southward
into the Malayan peninsula (where, however, it is much rarer than V. tanggalunga),
and is found also im Assam and in the valley of Nepal, does not appear to occur in the
peninsula of India, unless partially to the N. E. on the confines of Bengal; butin the
extreme south, as in Travancore, it is represented by an allied race which entirely resem-
bles the African V. civetta, except that the dorsal crest is not continued forward to
between the ears. There is a specimen of this race in the Museum of the Zoological
Society, referred to V. zibetha in Mr. Waterhouse’s Catalogue of the Mammalia in that
collection, and said there to be from Sumatra, having been presented ,by Sir Stamford
Raffles ; but I strongly suspect that this habitat is erroneously assigned, especially as
the specimen was formerly labelled as having been presented by the late duke of
Northumberland.
t Among Scomberide lately contributed by Mr. Birch and others, may be enumerated
Chlorinemus aculeatus, (Bloch), C.and V. Hist. Poiss. VIII, 282, Caranx nigripes, ibid.
IX, 92, Stromateus securifer, ibid. IX, 293, Curtus Blochii, ibid. IX, 312, Equula in-
sidiatriv, ibid. X, 72, and a Pelamys which appears to be undescribed. I may also
1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatie Society. 345
8, Capt, Phayre, Moulmein. A specimen of Tupaia javanica (v. peguana)
m spirit, and three skins of Squirrels, viz. Se. chrysonotus, nobis, Se. atrodor-
salis apud nos, var., and Sc. pygerythrus (2), Is. Geoff., var.
Of these, the species referred to Sc. atrodorsalis is unquestionably iden-
tical with that from the province of Ye, described in XVI, 872, but differs
from it very remarkably in having the under-parts and inside of limbs deep
maronne-red instead of dilute rusty, the throat and front of the neck being
weaker-coloured in both, and the hairs of the tail are distinctly annulated,
which is not the case with the former specimen. Mr. Gray’s description of
Se. atrodorsalis (quoted in a note to XVI, 873), if his species be truly iden-
tical with the Tenasserim one, would indicate a third variety of colouring.
The long white or yellowish-white whiskers would seem to constitute a mark-
ed feature of all three.
The Squirrel which I refer to Sc. pygerythrus, var., accords in size and
proportions with Sc. vittatus, except that the tail is longer and more bushy.
Entire upper-parts uniformly grizzled, much as in that species, or more
especially as in the tail of that species,—the tip of the tail beg black : under-
parts, inside of limbs, fore-paws above, and almost the entire hind-limbs
exteriorly, together with a broad median line to the tail underneath continued
to its black tip, bright ferruginous-chesnut ; that of the belly bordered
laterally with black : whiskers black. This animal accords very well with my
brief note of Se. pygerythrus, except in having the four paws light chesnut-
rufous above, continued over the exterior of the hind-limbs: and coming
from the Tenasserim provinces, it is far more likely to be the true Sc. pyge-
rythrus of Pegu, that the very distinct species inhabiting the extreme south
of India, which Mr. Elliot would refer to the same (XVI, 1272).
Among the specimens procured in the neighbourhood may be remarked a
small grey Ephialtes, having a rufous tinge on the aigrettes and slightly
elsewhere in parts, which satisfactorily shows the identity of Scops sunia and
Sc. pennata, H., conformably with Mr. Jerdon’s expressed opinion on the
subject (vide XIV, 550). The variation is analogous to that of the N. Ame-
rican Eph. asio (comprising the Red and Mottled Owls of Wilson), and to a
less extent it is observable in the common Syrniwm aluco of Europe, as well
shown by the specimens of this bird in the Society’s museum. Mr. G. R.
Gray unites Sc. pennata, H., with Eph. scops of Europe; from which it is
notice an interesting Clupeadous fish, the Apterygia ramcarata, Gray, of Hardwicke’s
Illustrations, four specimens. M. Valenciennes doubts the existence of this fish, vide
Hist. Poiss. XX, 333; supposing it to be either a mutilated or imperfectly represented
individual of his Pristigaster tartoor: but the total absence of the dorsal fin proves to
be a normal character of the species.
346 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
indeed hardly, if at all, distinguishable ; but I am unaware that the latter is
subject to the same variation of colouring, at least in Europe; and it does
not appear that this variation depends, in any degree, upon the age or sex of
the specimens.
Rhynchea bengalensis. Three newly hatched chicks of this species have
been obtained and added to the collection: I have before taken a fully deve-
loped egg from the oviduct of a ‘ Paimted Snipe ;’ and have several times met
with the half-grown young, which resemble the adult male, not the larger and
more finely coloured adult female.
Mystus chitala, Buch. Ham. A specimen of this common fish, remarkable
for having several large black spots scattered over the whole sides of the
body, though only below the lateral line. In all other respects, perfectly
identical in its characters with ordinary examples of M. chitala, which
species I have never previously observed to vary in this way, though the
number of tail-spots is very irregular.
Strix delicatula (?), Gould. A specimen received long ago from Europe
as the common Str. flammea, was most probably from Australia in the first
instance, but is even smaller than are the dimensions assigned to delicatula
by Mr, Gould, and its beak is proportionally the same as in Sir. flammea.
Wing 93 in.; tail 4in.; tarse 2in.; billto gape 13 in. Plumage exactly
as in. Mr. Gould’s figure of Str. delicatula.
Having had occasion to look again over Capt. Hutton’s specimens (noticed
in AIV, 340, XV, 135, and XVI, 775), I find that the Afghanistan species of
Cat referred to F.chaus (XIV, 342), is of the allied species figured and describ-
edin Jacquemont’s Voyage by the name F. Jacquemontz, Is. Geoff. Capt.
Hutton’s specimen has no blackish markings on the limbs, and is remarkable
for a broad ridge of longer hair continued over the whole spine. At the end
of the tail are two or three somewhat faint blackish rings.* The species of
Cat, No. 6 of Capt. Hutton’s list; was treated of in my last Report, and there
compared with a specimen of F. catus from Scotland.
The Cyanecula from Afghanistan (XVI, 780,) is probably of the species
lately distmmguished by M. Eversmann, by the name Sylvia cyane. That
common in India, according to Mr. Strickland (in epistold), appears to be
the true Motacilla suecica of Linneus, of which M, cerulecula, Pallas, should
therefore be a synonyme; and the bird of southern Europe, currently re-
ferred to suecica (vera), must stand as C. Wolf, Brehm, It does not yet
appear that there are any differences by which the females of these three
races may be discriminated.
E. Biyru.
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The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon.
By Major Mavven, Bengal Artillery.
The following details, chiefly botanical, comprize the result of obser-
vations made during several short excursions from Almorah to the
Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, between the Kosilla and the
Kalee rivers. Performed during the cold season or spring, many defici-
encies must necessarily exist, especially as to the vegetation of the
Turaee and the mountain range immediately above it, which is most
copious and luxuriant during and immediately after the rainy season.
A few days’ sunshine then suffice to wither and efface all traces of
many herbaceous plants. ‘The climate, however, is unfortunately so
unhealthy at that season, as to preclude any thing beyond the most
rapid transit, and even this small advantage the writer has not enjoyed.
Still, he believes the subject may be interesting; the routes including
part of a tract intervening between those exhausted by Drs. Wallich
and Royle, and never visited by either of these gentlemen.
December 6, 1846.—From Almorah to Munjerd, at the Khyrna
Bridge, distant 18 miles. At 5 or 6 miles, below Chousulla village, by
a pretty iron suspension bridge, cross the Suwal river, a little above its
junction with the Kosilla, which it nearly equals in size. Above this
point the Kosilla flows through a very deep and impracticable gorge,
formed on both sides of granite, which, at Chousulla, gives place to
gneiss and slate rocks. On the right or west bank, the granite reaches
No. XVII.—New SERIEs, 22
350 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
to within a few hundred feet of the summit of Seeahee Devee, 7200
feet: on the Almorah bank, its elevation does not exceed 5500 feet.
At 10 miles, the road, now keeping the left bank of the Kosilla,
passes Muners or Munrus, a village partly on, partly at the base of a
hill, in form resembling Tom na heurich at Inverness; it is about 600
feet above the river, and 3847 above Calcutta; there is a considerable
plateau of cultivation to the south, the revenue of which belongs to
Budreenath, across the Kosilla ; Seeahee Devee, covered with pine, rises
boldly, “ by the first intention,’ 400 feet ; far in front, on the same side,
in the Phuldakot Pergunna, is seen a conspicuous tree on the Sher ka
Danda summit, about 6000 feet high ; under this tree is a murhee of
Symdeo, the haunt of a Gunth or diviner by means of rice tossed on
the palm of the hand :—the rogue has selected a site visible to a great
distance in every direction. About a mile short of Munrus, the road
crosses a small stream from the south by a natural rock-arch, known
as Beemota and Bheem ka Sanga.
From Almorah to Munrus, the scenery is bare and monotonous, but
now becomes wild and beautiful, with considerable resemblance to the
Swiss Val de Moutiers. The river, clear as crystal, dashes on amidst
huge quartz rocks, or reposes in deep blue and green pools, abounding
in otters ‘‘od,” and largh fish. The banks rise steeply, covered with a
sub-tropical vegetation, which may have crept in here, with the tigers
and hot winds, behind the alpine and oak-crowned barrier of the Gagur.
Up the long and tortuous course of the river from Chilkiya, about 3
miles short of the Khyrna, the road crosses to the right bank of the
river by a new and very elegant iron-suspension bridge on Dredge’s
principle : the space is 60 paces. Jiaree village, from which it is named,
stands several hundred feet above, and the road, foreed up by precipit-
ous rocks, to the dismay of the wearied traveller, ascends nearly to the
same level, only to fall again, and two miles on, re-cross the river by the
Tipulee Dhoonga Bridge, resembling that at Jiaree, but only 51 paces
over. The original road followed the left bank continuously, avoiding
the necessity for these very creditable but expensive constructions: it
has unfortunately become almost impassable, and in the rains extremely
dangerous from several incurable landslips of quartz-debris from the
northern steeps of the Lohakotee range. There are those to whom
these bridges suggest the idea of the Manzanares, which should have
1848.] The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 301
had a smaller bridge or a larger river ; for above half the year, owing to
the heat of the valley, the route is forsaken by Europeans ; but is the
main line of intercourse by means of the native traders between Almo-
rah and Chilkiya, and that too in quite sufficient numbers to justify the
‘outlay. Be that as it may, their picturesque effect on the scenery is
undeniable ; while such works diffuse over the native mind, a most po-
tent impression of European superiority. The first sight of the Buliya
bridge near Bumouree, shaky enough, and much less handsome than
those of Jiaree, excited shouts of admiration from a company of Golun:
daz, who witnessed with perfect indifference the view of the Snowy
range from the Gagur Pass ; Nurayun was beaten on his own ground
by the Company Buhadoor.
Beyond the Tipulee Dhoonga Bridge, there is a mile of steep narrow
voad, carried along a chloritic precipice beetling over the Kosilla; this
rock is exceedingly tough and occasioned much trouble. We now reach
the Khyrna river flowing north from the Nynee Tal ranges and Eastern
Gagur, in a wide stony channel, not a tithe of which is now occupied by
its brisk clear current—the cold flowing waters that come from a far
country—but which in the rains form a tremendous torrent, requiring a
third suspension Bridge, 48 paces over, and generally known as the
Munjera Bridge, from a neighbouring village, on the grounds of which
we encamped : an exceedingly cold spot in winter from the shade of the
adjacent mountains ; elevation 3000 feet, and severe hoar frost at night.
The left bank of the Khyrna consists here of iron-stone (red heema-
tite) cliffs, which have been deeply mined in former days, but appear
to be unwrought at present. A blue crystalline limestone occurs on the
descent to the Jiaree Bridge, appearing also on the opposite side of the
same mountain between Ramgurh and Peoorah. Between the Jiaree and
Tipulee Dhoonga bridges, dykes of syenitic granite and greenstone pierce
‘and harden the quartzose strata along the right bank of the Kosilla, and
appear to have tilted them into a vertical position ; this forms the nearest
eruption of a granitic rock which we observed towards Nynee Tal.
Below the Jiaree defiles, the Kosilla meanders through a rather wide,
cultivated valley, and finally escapes from the mountains by the Dhi-
kolee Pass above Chilkiya. In the warm season this valley is uninhabi-
table, and in the wet season the river, which must be repeatedly passed,
is unfordable ; but during.the cold weather, when the Gagur Passes are
222
352 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. {May,
shut by snow, it affords an easy, though circuitous route from Almorah
to Chilkiya.
The vegetation from Jiaree towards Almorah consists of—
Rosa Brunonii: “ Kooja.”.. ........ lowest limit,
Cerasus Puddum: ‘‘ Pudm,” ‘ Puya.” pe feet: with Cratzgus
Pyrus variolosa: ‘‘ Mehul.” ........ 2 crenulata; Surjoo Glen.
Hedera helix and H. parasitica. .
Vitis lanata and V. latifolia.
Pittosporum eriocarpum :—“ Gur-silung,” ‘‘ Gur-shoona.’”’
Clematis Gauriana, C. Buchananiana, and C. grata.
Thalictrum foliolosum: ‘‘ Pengla-juree,” ‘ Cliulnia ;’—lowest limit
3000 feet.
Crotolaria sericea : C. tetragona, C. alata, C. albida, and C. prostrata:
“* Goongree.”’
Bauhinia retusa: ‘‘ Kandla:” ‘ Kanulla.”’
Bauhinia variegata: ‘‘ Khweiral,”’ From 2000 to 6000 feet.
Bauhinia Vahlii: “‘ Maloo:” ‘ Maljhun :”’ the fibre of the bark affords
a very strong and durable rope: hence the name from “ mul,” to hold:
or because the leaves are in general used to contain ghee, &c.
Erythrina stricta: “ Roongura.”’
Edwardsia mollis.
Dalbergia robusta, and D. Ougeinensis. ‘The timber of the last, ‘ Sa-
nun,” is very durable, and much used for ploughs, furniture, &c.
Oxyramphis.
Desmodium? a shrub with hoary leaves and yellow flowers.
~ Acacia sirrisa? “ Kulsees.” The bark is applied for hurts to the eye.
Acacia mollis: ‘‘ Burou ;” and A. pennata?
Mimosa rubricaulis ; ** Agla.”’
Pueraria tuberosa. This fine climber is in profusion along the exte-
rior belt of the Kumaoon mountains, and is known by the names
*‘ Bilaee-kund,” “ Billee,” ‘‘ Biralee-pona.” Children are employed in
digging up its enormous tubers, which are exported to the plains, being
considered to possess very cooling properties. It seems to be Dr.
Royle’s No. 71, mm the List of Materia Medica, J. A. S. for October,
1832, andif so is identical also with his No. 78, “ Sural,” and ‘ Suralt,”’
being the names of Pueraria in Sirmour.
Jasminum pubescens, and J, grandiflorum.
W
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 35
Nyctanthes arbor-tristis : ‘‘ Kooree,” ‘ Pariyat.”’
Glycosmis pentaphylla : ‘‘ Potula.”
Murraya exotica: “ Jootee.” From 2000 to 4500 feet.
Bergera Konigii: ‘ Gunee.”’
Sterculia (Wallichii?) : “‘ Bodula.”’
Hibiscus Lampas: ‘‘ Kupusya.”’
Grewia oppositifolia : ‘‘ Bhengool.”’
Bombax malabaricum: “ Semul.”’
Poivrea Roxburghii.
Terminalia Bellerica: ‘“‘ Byhurah.”’
TerminaliaChebula, ‘ Hur:” ‘ Hurura :” the fruit pulled while young
is sold as “‘ Jungee Hurura,” and “ Bedmata’—mother of doctors.
Pentaptera tomentosa: ‘‘ Saj.”’
Andrachne trifoliata : ‘‘ Korsa.”’
Euphorbia pentagona : “ Seehoond.”’
Phyllanthus Leucopyrus ?* “ Ainta ;” and P. Emblicat ‘ Amla.”’
Briedelia montana: ‘‘ Kurgnulia.”
Adelia : a beautiful shady tree resembling Eugenia, ‘‘ Kandagar.”’
Ricinus communis. ‘‘ Eend.”
Rottlera tinctoria. ‘‘ Rooenee” ‘ Rolee.’”” Meets Andromeda ovali-
folia at 4000 feet. Rottlera is the tree called ‘‘ Kamilla in the Simlah
mountains ; and it is curious enough that Dr. Royle (as quoted above—
No. 408,) gives Kunbeel, Kumbela as the dradic terms for “ the stri-
gose pubescence of the fruit.”
Captain Thomas (Views of Simlah, p. 4,) states that the seed of the
‘* Kamilla” is a sure cure for the distemper in dogs, if given immediate-
ly on the appearance of the disease: no quantity is mentioned, a very
necessary element in an Euphorbiaceous recipe.
Captain Thomas, however, is mistaken in affirming that heaths “ in
great variety and beauty, alike of form and colour” exist in the moun-
tains : not one species that I am aware of has yet been discovered. Nor
is it much more probable that ‘the elder is found in abundance all
round Simlah.” Sambucus adnata, indeed, grows on Gosainsthan in
Nepal, and on the mountains of Kashmeer, (Royle, Illus. 236,) but
‘Elder (Sambucus, not the Alnus or Alder) Bhekla’”’ (Thomas, p. 9.)
if the vernacular name be correct, denotes Prinsepia utilis, which yields
oil, but not wine: its berries also ripen in spring. Captain Thomas’
* Fliggea Leucopyus? + Embhica officinalis.
354 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
“Elder” is probably Viburnum or Rhus: and, though a true holly be
abundant, his ‘*‘ Mohroo”’ and “ Kurshoo’”’ are oaks.
Myrsine bifaria.
Saxifraga ciliata: ‘*Silphora.” (The Stone-breaker.)
Casearia Cheela: ‘ Cheela,” ‘ Cheelara,”
Marlea begonifolia.
Cornus macrophylla: ‘* Kagsha.”’
Geranium bicolor and G. Nepalense.
Oxalis corniculata: ‘‘ Chulmoree.”’
Rumex hastatus: ‘‘ Chulmora,” Sorrel.
Rumex Nepalensis. Dock.
Bupleurum tenue.
Bidens Wallichiana: ‘‘ Kutaree.”’
Onoseris lanuginosa: ‘“‘ Kupasee ;” to Jiaree.
Leucomeris spectabilis : ‘“* Punwa.”’
Ammannia rotundifolia: ‘ Durmeea.”
Leucostemma angustifolium.
Leucostemma latifolium, at 6500—7000 feet on Budhan Benaik.
Lindenbergia ruderalis, and L. grandiflora.
Solanum indicum : “ Kutung-karee.”’
Verbascum thapsus: “ Ekulbeer.”’
Callicarpa incana : ‘‘ Duya.”
-Gmelina arborea: “ Kumbhar.”’
Holarrhena antidysenterica: “ Kooer.”’
Holarrhena pubescens.
Wrightia mollissima: ‘‘ Durhela”—“ Dyhra.”
Cryptolepis reticulata.
Vallaris dichotoma. \. Doodhee.”’
Ichnocarpus frutescens.
Carrissa Carandas. ‘* Timookhia.”’
Barleria cristata.
Adhatoda Vasica: ‘ Bashing.”
Colebrookia oppositifolia: ‘‘ Doolshut.’’
Pogostemon plectranthoides : ‘‘Roodra.”
Scutellaria repens.
Hamiltonia azurea,
Txora tomentosa.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kamaoon, 355
1
Ss
Ficus Cunia : ‘“ Kewnia.”’
Ficus macrophylla: ‘‘'Timla.”’
Ficus : “‘ Gur-timla.”’
Ficus : ‘‘ Kewnia,’”—‘* Kismira.”’
Sponia: ‘‘ Khusuroa.”’
Rhus Kakrasinghi: ‘“‘ Kakur.”’ 2000 to 5000 feet.
Rhus parviflora: ‘‘ Runnel,”’ “ Rai-toong.”
Rhus velutina : “ Toong,” ‘“‘ Amee,”’ (from its mango fragrance.)
Mangifera Indica.
Odina Wodier : “‘ Jinghun.”
Elzodendron dichotomum : “ Shouria.”’
Celastrus spinosus : ‘‘ Gwala-darim.”’
Celastrus nutans: ‘‘Malkagnee.”’ The oil expressed from its seeds
highly valued in rheumatism.
Rhamnus virgatus : ‘‘ Chudooa.”’
Sageretia oppositifolia: ‘‘ Uglaia.”” 2000 to 5000 feet.
* Kangnee ka bel.”” ‘‘ Soobela:’’ a very
Gouania leptostachya ? ' common climber of the outer mountains
from the Kalee to the Sutluj.
Hiptage Madablota, (i. e. Madhavi-luta.) ‘* Aita-lugoola.”’
Porana racemosa, and P. paniculata.
Tpomeea ccerulea, and I. muricata.
Deeringia celosioides: ‘‘ Kalee-loaree” ‘‘ Kulia-thoka.”’
Arua lanata.
Trichosanthes palmata: ‘‘ Indrayun.”
Kalanchoe varians : ‘‘ Noonoo.””
Asparagus adscendens: ‘‘ Khyrooa.”
Fritillaria Thomsoniana: to Munurs.
Cissampelos convolvulacea: ‘ Paree.”’
Cocculus cordifolius : ‘‘ Goorcha.”’
Berberis Asiatica: ‘‘Kilmora.” This bush descends to the upper
limit of Nauclea cordifolia, Moringa, and Acacia Catechu—about 2500
feet. There can be little doubt it is the species described by Don and
Roxburgh, but with pendulous racemes ; and apparently identical with
that which Dr. Royle calls Berberis Lycium, under the impression that
it had been erroneously included in B. aristata. Dr. Royle inclines to
identify his B, Lycium with B, angustifolium, Roxburgh ; but Don
356 The Turaee aud Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
more correctly in my opinion, considers the last to be B. aristata—the
**Chotra’” of Kumaoon. Both species are extremely common all over
the Province, from which it would appear that Roxburgh obtained his
specimens. In the List of Materia Medica before alluded to Dr. Royle
also mentions B. asiatica (No. 240,) as growing in the Hills. The ety-
mology and the consent of the Pundits of Kumaoon proves that this,
and not Curcuma xanthorhiza, is the Sancrit ‘‘ Daroo-huridra,” the
Persian “ Dar-huld’’ “ Yellow wood,” of which Rusot (S. Rusangjun) is
the extract. Kushmul is from Kushayu, extract, and mull, having.
Nasturtium officinale: ‘‘ Peeria.”?’ Abundant at Jiaree and Seetabun,
as it is also in the streams at Pinjore, where it might be turned to some
account for the troops at Kussowlee, &c. One is surprised to meet this,
and other north of Europe plants, as Ranunculus sceleratus, Veronica
Anagallis, &c. only at very inferior elevations in the mountains : they
disappear between 4000 and 5000 feet: a circumstance which may be
accounted for by the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, as hinted
by Humboldt.
Adiantum capillus veneris and A. rhizophorum.
Eriophorum comosum : ‘‘ Babur.””
December 8. To Nynee Tal, 12 or 14 miles, involving an ascent of
4475 feet, of which a considerable portion is steep and continuous to
the Ulmah ka khan Pass, 7431 feet above Calcutta, according to the
Trigonometrical Surveyors, but 200 feet less by the observations of
Lieut. R. Strachey of the Engineers, whose determination of heights
in this quarter will be marked by his initials.
Quitting the Kosilla at Munjera, and ascending for about two miles,
the road diverges, one branch to the S. W. leading by the Gagur Fort
on the Budhan Binaik, towards Chilkiya Mundee: this pass is about
7200 feet above the Sea, the encampment between Munjera and Kotah
being at Mehula, an incovenient spot a few hundred feet below the
erest, southward ; the other branch proceeds due south to Nynee Tal.
A more interesting, though somewhat difficult route follows the bed of
the Khyrna, disclosing scenery wild and beautiful, with much of the
character of the Sewalik Passes. At about three miles from the Khyr-
na Bridge, the Ramgar (Khyrna) stream is left to the east, and a mile
farther, the Ninglath or Shamkhet stream, in the same direction, the
course of which is completely misrepresented in the Trigonometrical
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 357
Map. As much further on, where the river route meets the made road
at an elevation of 3896 feet, (R. 8.) the torrent again forks, the eastern
branch rising in the Lurria Kanta Peak, and leading to Ulmah ka
Khan ; that to the west has its sources in Cheenur mountain, and near
Jak and Boodlakot villages, forms several fine cascades just visible from
the road ; the greatest of them has a fall of 270 feet.
In the bed of the Khyrna, below this point, the Datisca cannabina
(or nepalensis) grows luxuriantly : its bitter yellow roots are in some
medicinal estimation under the names Bujr-bhunga and Bhung-jala
(water-hemp). Dalbergia robusta, ‘‘ Buro,” is large and abundant here-
abouts ; and between 6000—6500 feet occurs an undescribed Ipomea,
with small pink blossoms, which Mr. Edgeworth proposes to call I.
oxyphylla. It is also found, I think, below Khathee, on the Pindur.
During the latter portion of the ascent to the Ulmah ka Khan (Ulra
ka Khan in the Map) the mountain scenery becomes exceedingly grand
and varied: to the right, and ahead, the vast summit and inaccessible
steeps of Cheenur are feathered with cyprus and oak ; to the left are
Lurria Kanta and its spurs; to the north, at a profound depth, is the
bed of the torrent, blocked up with great boulders—and over and be-
yond it the long line of the snowy range. The forest on the road side
consists for the most part of Pinus longifolia and Quercus incana, both
of large dimensions. The Pass is named from a Rohilla invader who
was slain here, or from a Devtah of the same name; both accounts are
in vogue. From the crest, there is an abrupt descent of about 1100
feet to Nynee Tal, the upper end of which bears nearly south, distant
one mile, in a horizontal line.
This now celebrated, but somewhat over-puffed lake, is a small tarn,
extending from N. W. to S. E. about seven furlongs, with a maximum
breadth of 21: the greatest depth about 80 feet. Itis fed by a small
rivulet from Cheenur ; and at the opposite or S. E. extremity, issues
one of the sources of the Buliya river, which, flowing down a gentle
and lovely valley of quite Italian scenery, jos the Goula above Bu-
mouree. Through this glen a carriage road is perfectly feasible to with-
ina couple of miles of the station, and its commencement has been
authorized by the Honorable the Lieutenant-Governor, N. W. P.
The water of the lake is perfectly clear, and under the generality of
the skyey influences, exhibits a blue which reminds one of a reach of
3A
358 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
the upper Rhine, or Switzerland’s smallest lake, Zug, which however,
is much larger than Nynee Tal. Near the brink, the surface is matted
with a tangled mass of Potamogeton mucronatum, Myriophyllum indi-
cum, Chara verticillata, Polygonum scabrinervium, and the pretty Eng-
lish Polygonum amphibium, which here, and here only in India, so far
as my experience goes, raises its pmk spikes above the water. Where
free from these, the surface reflects its splendid framework of moun-
tain and wood like a mirror. Though only so recently known to Euro-
pean. civilization, it is said to be described in the Skund Pooran under
the appellation Trikhi or Tririkhi, ‘The Three Saints’—to whom
must now be added a fourth, a Jewish Saint, ‘ St. John in the wilder-
ness,” in whose name a very pretty Gothic church has been erected on
one of the most picturesque sites in the settlement. A new temple of
Devee adorns the exit of the lake, but St. John has put the ‘“ Three
Saints” to flight, and the mountaineers generally consider the waters as
polluted and desecrated by the beef of the butchers, and the skins of
the bibishtees, who follow in the train of his votaries. The consequence
is a sensible decline, and probable fall of the spring-fair held annually
in honor of Devee, the lady of this Indian lake. The modern designa-
tion reminds us of the still more celebrated Nynee Devee, the patroness
of the Sikhs, overlooking from her mountain shrine the Sodee town of
Anundpoor Makhowal, where the Sutluj leaves the Himalaya; we have
Beebee Nanee in the Bolan Pass ; and James Prinsep would have evo-
ked many a Nanaia and Anaitis from his coins and historians. Allowing
a Persian origin to this form of the goddess, we perhaps have the etymo-
logy in nan, bread ; in this instance, unhappily an exemplification of ucus
a non lucendo, the bread of Nynee Tal being the worst in the world.
The lake is separated from the Plains to the S. W. by the rugged
mountain of Uyarpata, so named from the predominance of the Andro-
meda in its woods, which also abound in admirable specimens of the
green oak, Quercus dilatata. This mountain, as well as the low neck of
Hanee Banee (Zcho) which joins it to the lofty and precipitous peaks
of Deoputa to the N. W., is almost exclusively formed of the transition
limestone of Musooree, exhibiting everywhere vast rents, caverns, crags,
and blocks, and falling so abruptly to the water, that till 1847 nothing
beyond an indifferent path-way was attempted ‘the villainous salt-
petre” is now at work on the rocks, and a wide road at the level of the
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 399
Jake underlies half the mountain, which, when completed, will form a
“ Chukkur” of three to four miles, unrivalled in India. It must be ac-
knowledged, nevertheless, that the sense of constraint and confinement
is unpleasant and inevitable ; no view of the snows, or even of the sur-
rounding sea of mountains is procurable at a less expenditure than a
clamber of a thousand feet, except to the residents of the ridges, who
acquire the privilege at the price of a daily descent to the lake, unless
they choose to imitate the Hindoo ascetics and perform a solitary pen-
ance on their “‘aery citadels.” In this respect, Nynee Tal is inferior
to the other Hill stations ; its advantages consist in the exercise of boat-
ing, and, to those who have sufficient health and energy, in excursions
to the many glens around, which to the sportsman, the draughtsman,
and the naturalist, possess a richness of attraction undreamt of at Sim-
lah. There is indeed one extensive tract less open to the above objec-
tion, the Ghiwalee Estate, the property of Captain Arnaud, lying to
the south of Uyarpata, and comprising a series of swelling and beauti-
fully wooded elevated lawns, which, to the south and 8S. W. terminate
abruptly in a facade of magnificent precipices, from 1500 to 2000 feet
high, from the bases of which issues the Nehal river, flowing to Kalee-
dhoongee and the Bhabur, a vast expanse of which, and of the Plains
beyond, lies stretched below like a carpet. To the east, these cliffs are
of clayslate, in the centre of limestone; to the N. W. of slate again,
distinctly stratified, and dipping from the plains. Here, as in the glen
of the Buliya, the rocks appear to rest on beds of blue alum shale and
white gypsum, which must be of immense thickness, as they accompany
us nearly to the foot of the mountains, when the gypsum assumes the
texture of alabaster. There is a strong chalybeate spring in the glen of
the Buliya. We find this same gypsum in exactly analogous circum-
stances, (i. e. just outside the limestone,) at Suhusradhara in the Dehra
Dhoon, and at Subathoo, under the limestone of Kurol ; and this lime-
stone, which in the Lohakotee mountain becomes crystalline in contact
with the micaceous rocks, exhibits precisely the same change at Jutog
near Simlah: a proof that the geological phenomena of the Himalaya,
though ‘‘a mighty maze,” are “not without a plan.” To the very brink
of the Ghiwalee precipices, the woods are composed of oak, ash, maple,
Siberian crab, cypress, and other northern forms, while the sward abounds,
in the Primula denticulata, Parnassia nubicola, &c.; with Poeony at no
2 9
oA ZG
360 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
great distance. Immediately beneath is the semi-tropical vegetation of
northern India. The cliffs are slowly wearing back, and many of these
oaks, &c., must be carried down by the torrents to mingle with the
Naucleas, Odinas, &c. below. Now let us only suppose that a deposit of
coal was formed : what a trap to catch geologists, who would from its con-
tents draw the fullest conclusions as to the anomalous climate which in
former ages had permitted such incongruous materials to co-exist!
The limestone pinnacles of Deoputa are about 7800 feet high; the
rock is here greatly shattered, and a complete wilderness of blocks lie
strewed below in the valley leading to Kaleedhoongee, resembling ano-
ther Glengariff, and equally softened by a mantle of coppice. Deoputa
declines N. E. to a gap, known as the Cheenur or Deoputa ka Khan,
7438 feet high (R. 8.) and opening two routes by the savage glen of
the Bukra (or Boula) river to Kotah. Beyond this, the ridge is con-
tinued in the same direction, till it merges into Cheenur, the broad-
browed monarch of the Gagur, 8526 feet above the Sea, (R. S.) and
2,200 above the lake, from which it stands about a mile and a quarter
horizontal distance, and to which it presents a rocky and shingly front
SO precipitous as to be inaccessible. The basis of the mountain is clay-
slate, apparently dipping West or N. W. yielding excellent materials for
roofing, like that of Ghiwalee : but the summit is capped with limestone,
which also occurs on the acclivities facing the S. W.
On reaching the crest, as seen from the lake, it is found to rmn_ back
towards the N. W. for perhaps 1200 yards as a level ridge, exactly in
the line and direction of the lake’s length. The summit is clothed with
a brushwood of Indigofera, Spirzea, Elsholzia, Salix; Androsace lanugi-
nosa covers the rocks ; Anemone discolor occurs in the shaded places ;
and at the cairn of the Surveyors, grow a new Stellaria (semivestita,
Edgw.) and the Hemiphragma heterophyllum. The Holly (Ilex dipy-
rena) reaches a great size: one measured near the ground was between
16 and 17 feet in girth: but the characteristic tree of Cheenur is the
Quercus semecarpifolia, which fringes the crest, and covers the whole
S. W. face; Budhan Dhoora and Sat-choolium, points of nearly the
same altitude, and at no great distance, on each side of Cheenur, have
not a trace of it; and on the former I could only find a few specimens
of Colquhounia vestita, a very common shrub at Nynee Tal and towards
Budreenath. The Limonia laureola, too, occurs only in this locality on
1848.) The Turaee aud Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 361
the Gagur range, so far as my researches extend ; and though the Cypress
is said to exist in Dhyanee Rao, it appears to be in small quantity,
limited to a grove or two ; the face of Cheenur towards the lake, on the
contrary, bristles with groves and clumps of this dark and stately tree,
which recurs, though in diminished numbers, on the Ghiwalee cliffs, as
low down as 5100 feet. The vegetation of Cheenur and Nynee Tal
thus presents some difficult problems, which the natives resolve at once
by the assertion that the Oak, Cypress, Limonia, Colquhounia, &c.,
were imported from the snowy range and planted here by Devee herself :
and one might really suspect that some of the fanatics who did penance
on Cheenur in days of yore, actually introduced them from the holy
teerths among the snows, were it at all probable that they would have
condescended to such humble plants as the Hemiphragma and Anemone.
Moreover, on this principle it might be surmised that Pilgrim put the
Polygonum amphibium into the lake to make it more English!
The view from Cheenur embraces Rohilkhund, Kumaoon, Gurhwal
and the Snowy range, from the sources of the Jumna to those of the
Kalee. The great Himachul must be about 65 miles distant in a
straight line, and its details are therefore less distinct than from Binsur
and Almorah, whence the superior limit of forest is perfectly defined—
much more so than the snow line—and above which the eye reposes
with a never to be satiated curiosity on the enormous shelving masses
of rock and snow which appear as if they would squeeze Mother Earth
toamummy. Here we have the Gungootree group running apparent-
ly north, with sloping, and apparently stratified planes to the east ;
then comes the great Kedarnath mass, said to be the original Soomeroo,
whence Siva regards with jealous rivalry his neighbour Vishnoo, who
dwells over the way in the still grander mass of Budreenath, or rather
on the Nurayun Purbut, the snowy cone above Budreenath Temple,
which is perhaps the Naubandhana Peak, to which he is fabled to have
moored the ark after the deluge. The base of the great square mass
alluded to, was visited in 1847 by Major Sampson, who ascertained
that the Vishnoogunga rises there to the west of Mana, from three sepa-
rate glaciers, the Sutputee to the S. W.; the Pabeegurh, West ; and the
Soopow, or principal glacier, to the N. W. The last comes down from
a range called Punkwadanree, constituted, as shown by the boulder-
debris, of normal grey granite, the existence of which in the great crest
362 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
had never before, I think, been observed. Much further to the S. E.,
with Binsur for our station, a good glass enables one to detect abreast of
Moongsharee, amongst the western recesses of the Punch Choolla Group
(the fabled abode of the Five Pandoos,) what will probably turn out to be
one of the greatest glaciers of the Himalaya, well deserving the examina-
tion of any future traveller on the Milum route. (It is in good hands.)
Cheenur mountain is prolonged 8. E. in the Boorans ka danda,
‘‘ Rhododendron Range,’ a razor-edged spur, so narrow for several
hundred yards as to try the nerves of the new-comer severely. The
Ulmah ka Khan Pass divides it from the Sher ka Danda, “ Tiger
Range,” a name which from sure indications, I should say was equally
applicable to all; centuries must elapse before it becomes as insignifi-
cant as our own Wolverhamptons, Bearhamptons, &c. The Sher ka
Danda forms the east and north-east boundary of the lake, to which
it falls in the easiest and most regular slopes of the station; but on its
east and S. E. aspects, the slate which composes it crops out in tremen-
ous shelves and precipices, with landslips which have thrown serious
difficulties in the construction of the Post road to Almorah, via Ramgar,
which passes this way. A syce who was unlucky enough to fall over
about two years ago had an escape as miraculous as that of the burgo-
master of Bern, or the Mameluke of Cairo.
The culminating point of the Sher ka Danda throws off a ridge to the
N. E. which in a mile or two ends in the Lurria or Lurooa Kanta, an
enormous mountain, rivalling Cheenur in mass, and attaining the eleva-
tion of 8023 feet (R. 8.) ; its summit is quartz, bold and craggy to the
north. On this mountain and the Sher ka Danda, alone, is to be found
in this quarter, the Quercus lanuginosa: “ Reeanj.”’
Having now completed the circuit of the lake-mountains, it only
remains to search whether any trace remains of the agency which up-
heaved them. To Mr. Batten is due the discovery of the only two
dykes of greenstone which have hitherto been detected—but doubtless
a more careful and extended examination will bring others to light.
One of those already known commences near the north end of the Lake,
and may be traced N. BE. to the summit of the Sher ka Danda ; the se-
cond is on the opposite side of the lake, between Uyarpata and Ghiwalee,
passing through limestone and beds of hornstone. The trappean rocks
are said to re-appear between Koorpaka and Kalaputhur, when they
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 363
derange and alter the other rocks as usual. I have in my possession a
trilobite imbedded in limestone, discovered by my friend Major Samp-
son in the rubble platform on which Sirmouria, “ the Swing village,”’ is
built, between the 4th and 5th milestones, on the descent to Kaleedhoon-
gee—the first, and as yet the last fossil afforded by Kumaoon; (Vide
Plate—where itis drawn by Lt. R. S. of the natural size.)
Houses have rapidly sprung up over most part of the settlement ; some
towards the crest of the limitary ranges are nearly 7500 feet above the
sea: even the rugged and woody Uyarpata is being gradually planted ;
but the favorite sites are on the undulating tract of forest land which
stretches back from the head of the lake to the base of Cheenur and
Deoputa ; in the S. W. angle of this area, about 260 feet above Nynee
Tal, is the Sookha Tal, dry except during the rains ; between this and
some fine limestone crags to the south, lies the road to Kaleedhoongee,
which, after an easy rise, at one mile from the Bazar, quits the valley
and descends rapidly to the plains, from the ‘* Abelia” Pass, 6800 feet
above the sea. Near the Sookha Tal there is a curious circular basin,
with steep and exquisitely wooded banks, known as the Mulla Pokhur
or Upper Pool; it has formerly perhaps been permanently submerged,
but, at present, for the best part of the year, forms a damp rich mea-
dow, decked with primulas and buttercups.
From its vicinity to the plains, Nynee Tal enjoys the full benefit of
the ‘‘ Dhoon Breeze,” and, unless in the wet season, its temperature is
delicious ; then indeed, its weeping climate appears to resemble that of
the west of Ireland and Scotland; more rain falls than at Mussooree,
and twice as much as at Almorah ; the last being screened by the Ga-
gur Range, which arrests and condenses the clouds to an incredible
degree, and bestows on the lake the first and principal squeeze of the
sponge which comes charged with the vapor of the Indian Ocean.
After these falls, one is deafened by the incessant and vociferous chir-
ping of innumerable cicalas: (Cicada pulchella.)
**Cantu querulz rumpent arbusta cicade.”’
During the live-long night, the Singor, a small whitish owl, (Noctua
euculoides,) repeats its monotonous double note at intervals of a few
minutes —the Nightingale of Kumaoon.
* As the wakeful bird
* Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid,
«Tunes her noctural note.”
364 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
These constitute the sum total of my entomological and ornithologi-
cal knowledge of this locality ; the following catalogue comprizes the
more common plants.
Cupressus torulosa, The Cypress. ‘Soorye:’ ‘* Rai-sulla.”
Pinus longifolia. The Pine. ‘* Cheer :” * Sulla.”
Fraxinus (Ornus) floribunda. The Ash. ‘ Ungou.”
Carpinus viminea. The Hornbeam. ‘ Chumkhuruk.”
Betula cylindrostachya, (or nitida.) ‘* Puya-oodeesh,” i. e. * cherry-
alder,” from its leaves: or ‘ Chumbur-muya,” which is properly the
Elm, not observed here.
Alnus nepalensis or obtusifolia. ‘‘The Alder.” The pundits call
this tree ‘ Ootees,’? the Public, ‘*Oodees”’ or ‘* Oodeesh,”’ doubtless
from ood, water, with reference to its usual place of growth. The bark
is used in tanning, dyeing, and in the preparation of red ink. The Al-
morah pundits consider “ Ootees” to be a distinct word from ‘ Utees,”
Aconitum heterophyllum: but in Dr. H. H. Wilson’s Dictionary, the
two plants appear to be confounded under “ Utivisha”—‘‘a tree used in
dying: it is of three kinds, white, red, and black,” from wéi, overcoming,
vish, poison. Hence “ Utivish,”’ antidote. There can be little doubt
that ‘ Utees’—Aconitum heterophyllum, is the corruption of this, and
that Dr. Wallich (quoted in Royle’s Illustrations, p. 47,) was misin-
formed when he rendered ‘‘ Utivisha” by ‘‘Summum venenum.” ‘Uti’
no doubt is often equivalent to ‘‘ much ;’’ but neither of these botanists
appears to have perceived the connection between Utivisha and Utees,
though the uses to which the Utees is applied fully bear out Wilson’s
sense of “ overcoming,” and on my suggesting the correction to my
Almorah friends, they acknowledged its justice. Uzi is defined “ much,
beyond, over,”’ and seems identical with the Greek preposition “anti,”
opposite, in place of :’’ falling in with the idea of much in Shakespere’s
‘¢ vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps its sell, and falls on the other side.”
Oopuvisha, a synonyme of Utees, from oop, reverse, and vesh poison, con-
firms this view. Aconitum ferox, which is truly summum venenum, is
never called Utees, but ‘“‘ mour”’ or ‘ mahoor” (Hindee), probably from
S. mudhoorum, ‘* sweet,” ‘ Poison ;’’ of which ‘ meetha,” the common
bazar name, is a translation. Vishwa, implying a dye, seems to have
been the original word compounded with uti in the name of the Aldar.
Quercus incana. Common oak. ‘“ Banj.”’
Quercus lanata: ‘ Reeanj,” ‘ Ranj.”
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 365
Quercus semecarpifolia: ‘‘ Kurshoo,”’ “ Sanj.”’
Quercus dilatata: ‘‘ Kilonj,” ‘ Tilonj,’”’ but often mistaken for the last.
Quereus annulata: ‘* Phuliant,’ “ Phuniat.”’
Acer oblongum: “ Putunglia,” “ Putungulia.”’
Acer leevigatum and A. cultratum. Maple.
Symplocos paniculata: ‘‘ Lodh.”
Rhododendron arboreum : from 3500 to 10,000 feet. ‘‘ Booroonsh,”’
« Boorans.” The pundits of Almorah affirm that this is the true “ Bun-
dhooka,” ‘‘ Bundhoojeevuka”’ of their sacred books, applied elsewhere,
but with manifest uncertainty, to Ixora, Pentapetes, Pentaptera : all red
flowers ; the word however merely implies that they were ‘‘ bound” as
garlands, a common practice in the mountains, especially with the rho-
dodendron. The name in Nepal is ‘‘ Gooras,” evidently the Sanscrit
**Goorashyu,” a mountain Peeloo (Wilson), from goor, the saccharine
fluid so abundant in the blossoms. The pundits can only say that
Boorans, Booroonsh, are “‘ dhakha ;’’ if not mere variations of Goo-
rashyu, they are probably from vrindisht, very beautiful or charming ;
from vrishnashun (Embelia ribes), Bull-destroying : cattle are said to be
occasionally killed by eating the flowers and young leaves. So Nerium
odorum is called Huyumaruka, the Horse-killer; or, from vrish, to
sprinkle, to rain (honey or flowers.) Humboldt (Cosmos) quotes this
rhododendron as attaining a height of 20 feet: he might safely have
doubled that ; a specimen on Binsur is 13 feet in girth ; one at Nynee
Tal is reported to be 16. One, on Siyahee Devee is 143 feet round at 5
from the ground.
Andromeda ovalifolia: ‘“‘ Uyar :” in Nepal ‘‘ Ungiar,” perhaps from
the Sanscrit “‘unarogyukar,” causing sickness : the young leaves being
very poisonous to sheep and goats. The honey is also considered very
deleterious.
Hydrocotyle hispida. (Mehula, Budhan Dhoora.)
Ilex dipyrena: Holly. The fruit has frequently three seeds.
Ilex serrata? ‘‘ Gurshoon:’’ a superb tree in the vallies below Chee-
nur, to the S. W. and on Siyahee Devee near Almorah.
Prinsepia utilis : ‘‘ Jhutela,’* “ Dhutela.”
Cerasus cornuta: ‘ Jamuna.”
Pyrus variolosa: ‘‘ Mehul.” Wild Pear: when black and rotten,
the fruit becomes very sweet.
3B
366 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Pyrus baceata: “ Gwala-mehul.’’ Siberian crab, or a species very
like it; it is Common here, and along the Shamkhet stream: but does
not occur elsewhere that I am aware of, till we approach the Snowy
range.
Cratzegus crenulata: ‘‘ Geengaroo.” White-thorn.
Cotoneaster affinis: “ Reounsh.” ‘‘ Rous.”
Cotoneaster mycrophylla: ‘Gurree.”
Photinia dubia: ‘“‘ Gur-mehul.” “‘ Soond.”’
Agrimonia nepalensis. |
Potentilla nepalensis, and P. splendens.
Spireea cuneifolia: ‘ Jhar.”’
Rubus rotundifolius, R. tiliaceus, &c. ‘ Heesaloo.’”’ Raspberry.
Fragaria indica, and F. nubicola.
Rosa Brunonii and R. macrophylla.
Limonia laureola: ‘“ Nehur:” ‘ Goorl-puta’’ This is the shrub
alluded to by Mr. Ogilby, in Royle’s Illustrations, p. 71, were we
read that the Musk Deer is ‘‘ said to derive its peculiar odoriferous
secretion from feeding on the Kastooree plant, a kind of ground-nut,
which is strongly impregnated with the same pungent scent, and which
the aninal digs up with its long tusk !”’
Deutzia staminea and D. Brunoniana.
Cornus macrophylla: ‘‘ Kagshee.”’
Cornus oblonga, and C. nervosa?
Populus ciliata. The Poplar. ‘ Chulnia,’? “ Chounia,’’? “ Chan.”
*‘ Gur-peepul.”
Coriaria nepalensis : ‘* Mukola.”
Ruta albiflora. Rue. ‘‘ Oopunya-ghas.”’
Rhus vernicifera: “ Bhuliou.” ‘ Goor-bhuliou,”
Sabia campanulata.
Xanthoxylon hastile: ‘‘ Teemoor.”
Tetranthera pallens, cuipala, and several other Laurine : ** Kouwul,”’
Acacia mollis. The Pink Siris. ‘ Burou.”
Indigofera Dosua, and I. pulchella: ‘Sukena.’”? The flowers of the
last are eaten in times of dearth.
Desmodium elegans, D. hexagonum, and D, parvifolium,
Lotus corniculatus.
Falcatula (Trigonella) pubescens,
ee ee ee eo ee
1848] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, 367
Argyrolobium roseum ?
Astragalus sesbanioides.
Astragalus chlorostachys.
Astragalus leucocephalus.
Cytisus flaccida.
Primula denticulata.
Primula floribunda, and P. speciosa. Low vallies: the first down to
2500 or 3000 feet: the lowest Primula in the mountains.
Androsace lanuginosa, and A. rotundifolia.
Parnassia nubicola.
Saxifraga ciliata: ‘* Silphora.’’
Sedum sinuatum, S. adenotrichum, S. pyriforme ?
Peeonia Emodi. Discovered on Deoputa, by R. S.
Thalictrum radiatum, on trees.
Thalictrum foliolosum: ‘‘ Peela-juree,” ‘ Yellow-root ;” exported to
the plains as ‘‘ Momeeree,”’ where a larger kind, called ‘“‘ Momeera” is
said to be brought from Persia, &c. Dr. Royle inclines to believe T.
foliolosum to be the male plant of T. neurocarpum; were it so, they
would be truly dizcious, for the first flourishes from 3000 to 7000
feet, the second from 8000 to 10,000 feet above the sea, and flowers
much later. Butin fact the first, as noticed in Don’s Prodromus, pro-
duces abundance of fertile flowers chiefly in July and August, with
generally four carpels.
Thalictrum rupestre (provisionally,) a pretty species, not found N. W-
of Kumaoon, common on crags at from 6000 to 8000 feet elevation.
Delphinium pauciflorum: ‘ Moonilla,”’ Larkspur. The root is chewed
on Sundays to cure toothache.
Aquilegia pubescens. Columbine.
Ranunculus leetus, and R. vitifolius. Buttercup.
Clematis montana.
Clematis velutina: ‘ Ghuntiali,” i. e. Row of Bells.
Anemone rivularis, A. vitifolia, and A. discolor.
Epilobium brevifolium. Don, E. leve, Royle.
Corydalis choerophyllum.
Berberis aristata: ‘‘Chotra.” Berberry. Perhaps from S. Chitr
pointed, variegated, alluding to the leaves ; or kshi, kshut, chrut, to hurt,
wound, tear.
\ On Limestone.
368 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Hedera helix. Yellow-berried ivy. ‘ Banda.”
Cissus capreolata: ‘ Punj-puta.”
Ampelopsis Himalayana: ‘‘ Chuhpara.” ‘ Chuppur-tung.”
Lonicera diversifolia : ‘ Bhut-kookra.”” ‘ Cheraya-koormalee,” Fly
Honeysuckle.
Viburnum cotinifolium : ‘‘ Gweea.”’
Viburnum mullaha: “ Tit-muliya.”
Viburnum cylindricum: “ Kala Tit-muliya.”
Kohautia coccinea: ‘‘ Busooliya-ghas.”’
Rubia cordifolia: ‘‘ Mujethee.”” Madder.
Galium latifolium, G. asperifolium, &c. “ Kooree.”
Hamiltonia lanceolata: ‘ Pudera.”
Abelia triflora : ‘‘ Moonree.””
Jasminum dispermum: ‘ Soormalee.”
Jasminum chrysanthemoides.
Jasminum grandiflorum: ‘ Jahee.”’ Very abundant chiefly in the low
vallies towards the plains ; but also on Binsur up to 8000 feet .
Daphne cannabina: “ Set-burwa :” both the white and purple flower-
ing varieties.
Daphne sericea, (Wikstrcemia salicifolia of Jacquemont,) ‘‘ Chumlia,”’
The Nepal paper is made from this and the purple D. cannabina.
Evonymus japonica. .
Evonymus tingens: ‘ Koongkoo :” i. e. smut or mildew.
Lychnis fimbriata.
Geranium lucidum, G. nepalense, G. Wallichianum.
Impatiens amphorata, S. cristata: ‘‘ Booree-ka-til.”
Impatiens Balsamina. (Boodlakot,) used as a dye, and hence called
** Mujethee”’ or Madder.
Oxalis corniculata: ‘ Chulmoree,”’ or “ Little sorrel.”
Rhamnus virgatus : ‘* Chudooa,” Satin Thorn.
Rhamnus purpureus, and R. procumbens. The last on limestone.
Euphorbia involucrata.
Sarcococca nepalensis.
Myrsine bifaria. The so-called Box.
Myrsine semiserrata.
Myrsine acuminata: ‘‘ Choopra.”
Plantago lanceolata, and P. major: ‘ Loohooria.”
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 369
Polygonum amplexecaule, P. punctatum, P. scabrinervium, P, amphi-
bium, P. nepalense, P. Indicum, and P. recumbens.
Viola serpens and V. reniformis.
Elsholtzia polystachya : “ Bhungureea.” The so-called Lavender.
Elsholtzia strobilifera,
Teucrium quadrifarium.
Salvia lanata: “Gunnia.” Sage.
- Salvia glutinosa.
Origanum normale : “ Bun-toolsee.”’
Plectranthus Coetsa, P. patula, P. hispida, P. Gerardiana.
Ajuga decumbens (or parviflora ?)
Nepeta leucophylla and elliptica: Catmint,
Leonurus sibiricus.
Stachys sericea.
Lamium petiolatum.
Prunella vulgaris.
Melissa umbrosa. (M. flava, on Binsur.)
Colquhounia vestita: Bhilmora,” “ Bhermora,” common also be-
low Mularee and Budreenath, where it is called “ Ungeeria,”
Begonia picta and B. dioica.
Chirita bifolia and C. Edgeworthii : “ Sunkh-pooshpa.”
Platystemma violoides. Rock violet.
Scrophularia polyantha ?
Hemiphragma heterophyllum.
Pedicularis elegans and P. carnosa.
Cynoglossum canescens, C. glochidiatum, and C. furcatum: com-
monly called ‘‘ Forget-me-not.”’
Dicliptera bupleuroides.
Strobilanthes attenuata.
Strobilanthes glutinosa—‘‘ Kupoor-nulee.”’
Aster bellidifolia : ‘“‘ Murch-mool.”
Inula asperrima.
Serratula pallida.
Ainslizea aptera, and A. pteropoda.
Onoseris lanuginosa : ‘‘ Kupasee,” affords the tinder called “ Kufee.”
Antennaria cinnamomea, and A, triplinervis.>, All known as ‘‘ Jhoola”’
Antennaria semidecurrens. | and * Bokula ;:” the to-
370 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
Anaphalis decurrens. mentum of the leaves and branches is
Gnaphalium multiceps. much used for tinder and moxa.
Myriactis oleosa, and M. nepalensis.
Solidago nepalensis.
Senecio canescens.
Senecio Jacobeea? raphanifolia? generally considered to be 8. Jaco-
beea : but in habit and site (shady woods) very different. The leaves
are often of a fine purple-copper below.
Amphiraphis rubricaulis.
Conyza pinnatifida,
Calimeris flexuosa.
Artemisia indica, &c. “ Patee.’’ Wormwood.
Bidens bipinnata, and Wallichiana.
Siegesbeckia orientalis.
Carpesium.
Echinops nivea: ©‘ Kunyla.”’ ‘ Jou-kanda.’’ Globe Thistle.
Echenais arachnoidea. N.S. Edgw., “ Thunyla.” White Thistle;
6000—8000 feet.
Mulgedium macrorhizum, and M. robustum.
Leontodon taraxacum, and L. eriopus.
Tragopogon elegans.
Morina Wallichiana. a
Scabiosa Candolliana: ‘ Nara.”
Valeriana Hardwickii: ‘‘Shumeo.” Perhaps 8. shumi, from shum,
to calm.
Gentiana marginata.
Ophelia paniculata.
Ophelia angustifolia.
Ophelia purpurascens.
Ophelia cordata.
Campanula pallida, and C. ramulosa.
Lobelia pyramidalis : ‘‘ Kokilia.” Glens, S. W. of Cheenur.
Marsdenia lucida : (Edgeworth :) a large climber over rocks and trees,
at 7000—7500 feet, in the shadiest recesses of Uyarpata, Siyahee Devee
and Binsur. Its beautiful evergreen foliage and sweet purple blossoms
would make it a favorite in English shrubberies in preference to Peri-
ploca greeca. The only name is ‘ Doodhee.”
Cherayuta.
1848 | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 371
Marsdenia Roylei: ‘‘ Moorkeela.’ The fibre affords excellent fish-
ing lines.
Ceropegia Wallichii.
Roscoea purpurea, R. alpina, R. lutea.
Hedychium spicatum : ‘‘ Kuchoor-Kuchree.”
Liriope (Ophiopogon) intermedia, and L. spicata. ‘* White hyacinth.”
Lilium nepalense, and L. Wallichianum.
Allium leptophyllum: ‘* Peeria-luhsun.”’
Allium lilacmum: ‘ Puderia-luhsun.”’
Allium ellipticum: ‘‘ Sheeolia-luhsun.”’
Asparagus adscendens. ‘‘ Khyrooa.
Polygonatum verticillatum.
Cyanotis barbata.
Commelyna obliqua : ‘ Kana.” Khunjura.”’
Satyrium nepalense : ‘‘ Pukwa.” ‘* Dheemnee.””
Habenaria intermedia, H. pectinata, H. arcuata.
Aceras angustifolia.
Spiranthes ameena.
Davallia elegans,
Pleopeltis nuda.
Polypodium vulgare, P. quercifolium, &c.
Pteris normalis, P. cretica, &c,
Asplenium tenuifolium.
Aspidium squarrosum.
Adiantum venustum. Maiden-hair.
Arundinaria faleata: ‘‘ Vingala.’’? Hull Bamboo.
Erianthus olivaceus. Woods, Uyarpata; ‘“ Plume-grass,”’
Erianthus— : ditto—up to 7500 feet.
Juncus elegans. Carex indica.
Cymbopogon: ‘ Peeria.’”” Common aromatic tufty grass, from 4000
to 8000 feet: refused by cattle. :
Andropogon calamus aromaticus: ‘ Boojura.” Cattle will not touch
it while they can get anything else.
Rhaphis Roylei. ‘Salim :’’ covers all the more shaded parts of the
higher mountains, and though very useful for thatch is too coarse for
cattle: Nynee Tal is thus badly off for pasturage, A species of Trise-
tum occupies the sunny crest of Cheenur,
372 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
The Magnolia, which was supposed to grow at Nynee Tal, does not
exist: the dicecious tree that was mistaken for it, is probably, Mr.
Edgeworth informs me, what Dr. Lindley has described under the
name Gyrandra laurina; it is not uncommon in damp vallies in outer
Kumaoon at from 6000 to 7000 feet, and is known to the natives as
the “ Rukt-Chundun’’—the red-heart wood, being used like the San-
dal, to mark the teeka on their foreheads.
December 12. From Nynee Tal to Kaleedhoongee, 12 miles, with
5700 feet descent. On quitting the basin of the lake by ‘“ the Abelia
Pass,” the road descends rapidly by the “ Glengariff Dell,” choked,
as before mentioned, by a labyrinth of limestone masses from Deoputa :
at 2 miles, pass the Surria Tal, a swampy basin, 5625 feet above the
sea (R. S.) and at 3 miles, the Koorpaka or Koorpa Tal, a pretty cir-
cular tarn in the region of Pinus longifolia, 4931 feet (R. 8.) the Ghi-
walee cliffs are seen to great advantage from this point. Still’ lower
3771 feet, (R. 8.) we pass Sirmouria, the ‘‘ Swing” village, so called
from one of the gallows-like frames on which the hill men amuse them-
selves during their festivals; the vegetation here begins to assume a
decidedly tropical aspect. Near the 6th milestone is Kala-putthur, a
halting-place which has its name from a boulder of dark limestone,
2571 feet above the sea (R. S.) The road now becomes comparatively
level, along the broad shingly bed of the Nihal, at present carrying but
a small stream, which a little lower down, is entirely absorbed by the
gravel and sand. The water is charged with lime, which is described
as so cementing, at particular seasons, the floor of its channel, as to
form for itself an impermeable trough, which carries it on much far-
ther, than when a larger and more violent volume of water descends
and breaks up the crust. An attempt was made to carry a causeway
along this bed of shingle down to Kaleedhoongee: but ‘ Leviathan is
not so tamed :”’ the torrent breached, and finally annihilated the work
during the rainy season of 1847, as every one predicted it would, ex-
cept the public-spirited, but too sanguine projector. The mountains,
richly wooded, and composed of marls and sandstone, may be said to
be left at Kala-putthur, though their ultimate branches hug the right
bank of the Nihal to within 2 or 3 miles of Kaleedhoongee, when the
road enters the forest. This, excepting the Kaleedhoongee clearing of
about two miles in length, is continuous 8 or 9 miles on to Boorhenee
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. hae
on the Moradabad route, where the swamps and prairies commence,
terminating about 20 miles from Kaleedhoongee, at the village Manpoor,
near the left bank of the Kossilla. The Bhabura staging Bungalow is
near Manpoor, but isin bad repair, and the climate is unhealthy till
the middle of October or later: Durial, on the opposite bank of the
Kossilla, is considered safe.
The Bazar at Kaleedhoongee is neatly built, and being now cram-
med with supplies for the use of the 31st Regiment on its march from
Almorah, appears more like Mark Lane than a poor hamlet in the
«Belt of Death.’ It stands in the angle between the Nihal and the
Boula torrents—the latter, from the Kotah Dhoon, once infamous for
the stoppage of travellers and the Post, is now permanently bridged.
The elevation of Kaleedhoongee is about 1100 feet above the sea ;
the name implies ‘‘ black stones,’’ but refers to a site nearer the moun-
tains. The vicinity of the public Bungalow is shaded by magnificent
specimens of the ‘‘ Huldoo,’’ Nauclea cordifolia. This tree is the glory
of the Kumaoon and Gurhwal Bhabur ; fortunately its wood is of no
great value, and is chiefly employed in making up opium chests ; and
writing tablets ; it thus escapes the axe of the feller. From its yellow
color, one would refer the etymology to Huldee; but Wilson gives
the Sanscrit from huri, a monkey, droo, to go: reminding us of Baron
Hugel’s observation cited in Kosmos, that in Kashmeer the large white
ape with the black face znhabits the Chestnut trees. These restless
creatures cannot well be said to inhabit any particular tree, frequenting
those indifferently on which they feed. At Kotah, I noticed them
greedily devouring the iron-like pulse afforded by the Siris, Acacia spe-
ciosa, a meal implying most potent gastric juice.
Between Nynee Tal and Kala-putthur, the most usual trees, &c. are
Ceanothus flavescens: ‘‘ Ghant.”’
Olea glandulifera (or compacta): “Gyr.” “ Guldoo.” <* Guroor :”
2000 to 4500 feet.
Pittosporum eriocarpum: ‘‘ Meda-toomree.” ‘“ Gur-silung.”’
Hamiltonia lanceolata, and H. czerulea: ‘‘ Pudera.’’
Wendlandia cinerea: ‘Choulaee.’ ‘Cheela.” —“ Chilkiya.””
seTeela.””
Clerodendron 6doratum : “‘ Monee.”
Beobotrys indica: ‘ Kulsees?”’ From 2000 to 5000 feet.
3 C
374 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. {May
Ttea nutans: “ Gurkath.”
Leucomeris spectabilis: ‘ Punwa.” ‘* Pundooa.’ Common be-
tween 3000 and 4000 feet ; rarely up to 6000.
Engelhardtia Colebrookiana: ‘ Moua.” ‘ Gobur-moua.” “ Bodul-
moua.”’
Conocarpus latifolia: *‘ Bakla.” ‘‘Baklee.”” Its leaves are export-
ed to the Plains for the use of the tanners ; the timber, under the name
of Dhau is considered excellent in Rajpootana, but seems in small re-
quest here. The Sanscrit Vukoola is applied in Bengal to Mimusops
elengi. The Conocarpus imparts a fine copper tint to the forests in
winter.
Erythrina suberosa, and E. stricta: “ Roongura.” Dr. Royle seems
to consider the Erythrina of the Dehra Dhoon to be KE. spathacia: the
commonest species of similar localities in Kumaoon agrees best with E.
suberosa.
Bauhinia vaiegata, var. candida: ‘‘ Khwyral.’”? Abundant in all the
warm glen below Nynee Tal, and from the Kosilla to the Kalee, flower-
ing in April, It does not appear to extend as far as Mussooree, the
‘© Khyrwal”’ of Gurhwal beimg B. purpurea; nor apparently south to-
wards Silhet, for Roxburgh had only found it in gardens, ‘‘ Khyrwal’*
is evidently the Sanscrit Khurvullica, ‘sharp or sour pedicel:” the
flower-buds being made into pickle. B. variegata is the S. Kovidar,
and Dr, Royle’s kobdar, Illus. p. 185.
Acacia ? «© Kureo,” an immense tree with white bark.
Oxiramphis sericea, (mihi.)
Lindenbergia macrostachya.
Ophelia angustifolia.
Lantana dubia.
Cuscuta grandiflora: ‘‘ Akash-lugoolee.”’
Porana paniculata.
Holmskioldia sanguinea.
Barleria cristata.
Lepidagathis cuspidata.
Sterculia Wallichii? ‘* Bodula.”’
Zingiber ligulatum.
Costus speciosus: ‘ Keoo.’”’ ‘‘ Keolee.”” It is curious enough that
the Sanscrit names Kushmeer, Kushmeerju, of the true Costus, the
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 375
** Koot” and “ Puchuk” of commerce, (Aucklandia Costus) point out
the country where Dr. Falconer discovered it, beyond which, it is not
known to exist.
Saccolabium guttatum.
Vanda cristata,
Ceelogyne nitida.
Pholidota articulata. All and others generally known as “ Banda;”
and, especially the last, by the doctrine of signatures, in much estima-
tion as “ Hurjoj” and “ Hurjor” for uniting broken® bones : though pro-
bably quite inert.
From Kalaputthur to Kaleedhoongee occur,—
Nauclea cordifolia: ‘‘ Huldoo.”’
Nauclea parvifolia : ‘‘ Phuldoo.”’
Bignonia (Calosanthes) indica: ‘ Phurkuth.”’
Bignonia suaveolens: ‘‘ Padul.’’ ‘ Pudeeala.”’
Odina Wodier: ‘‘ Jinghun.”” ‘ Jeebun.”
Sterculia villosa: ‘ Oodial,” a strong rope is obtained from the fibres
of its bark.
Capparis horrida: ‘‘ Oolta-kanta.”’ ‘‘ Bipooa-kanta.”
Capparis sepiaria,
Polanisia viscosa,
Ehretia levis : ‘‘ Kodah.”
Orthanthera viminea: ‘‘ Chupkeea.”
Calotropis gigantea : ‘‘ Ak.” Both white and purple,
Pergularia pallida? ‘ Soorkeela.”’
Ventilago maderaspatana.
Vitis latifolia.
Artocarpus lacucha: ‘‘ Dhou’ * Duhoo.” But apparently only
near the clearings.
December 14.—To Kotah, six coss N. W. The low range of hills
which beyond the Ganges is called the Sewalik, commences about three
miles to the N. W. of Kaleedhoongee, and forms the Kotah Dhoon.
The Boula, Bola, or Bol river, a large brisk stream, which rises on the
S. W. face of Cheenur, waters its eastern portion copiously, and issues
by its 8. E. angle to join the Nihal below Kaleedhoongee, In this
angle, Mr. Batten informs me that a hot spring exists, an interesting
phenomenon in such a locality, which escaped my notice. The route
3c2
376 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumavon. [May,
to Kotah, a mere pathway,lies for about. six miles through dense forest,
frequently crossing the stream: and then over the cultivated lands of
three clearings and settlements of the mountaineers, Huldoobujoonia,
Putulia, and Gintee. A little beyond the last are three large mango
topes, called the Okulee, Sheenath, and Bhurutgiri Bageechas, in the
first of which, covering 25 acres, is the usual encamping ground, by the
high road from Tiaree to Chilkiya. The elevation is probably 2000
feet or more above the sea. Immediately north, and perhaps 100 feet
-below the road, is the channel of the Dubka river, about a mile over
partly cultivated, but chiefly given up to thorny jungle and shingle.
Three distinet terraces are traceable in this channel, formed by the river
at various epochs: the main and highest bank, of boulders and gravel,
has been scooped out into a flat curve. Along this plateau proceeds
the road to Polgurh, where the river has forced its way through the
low ranges into the Plains: the land in this (S. W-.) direction 1s
beautifully eultivated for two or three miles, irrigated by Hools from the
Dubka, which is totally exhausted in the valley—being a very useful
servant, though a bad master. It carries off the drainage of a great
extent of lofty mountains, and the size and number of the boulders in
its bed fully confirm what the people tell of its volume and violence in
the wet season ; the attempt to cross is then frequently fatal, and hence
the name, from dubxa, to overwhelm.
The village of Kotah is a miserable place about three sole above the
Okulee Bagh, on the opposite bank of the river where it emerges from
the mountains by one of the most magnificent gorges in the world.
The eourse of the stream is here diverted by a bluff, on which are the
ruins of Kotah Gurhee, defended by thick stone walls, wooded preci-
pices, and cut off from the cultivated ground to the S. W. by a narrow
but deep ditch. The position is good, but so unhealthy in the ramy
season, that the Gorkhalee garrison, consisting of one company, was
forced to retire to Dola, another fortified post on a lofty mountain
behind.
On the same bank, but lower down, and nearly opposite the Okulee
Bagh, is the romantic temple of Deveepoor, about 200 feet above the
river, on a low range of woody hills, here carved into a ridge by a con-
fluent stream which pours down a narrow, but wild and lovely dell
from the north ; in this paradise a man was killed by a tiger about six
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 377
days since. The temple commands beautiful views of the mountains,
the outer ranges, and the Dhoon, all, except the few clearings, envelop-
ed in forest. About a quarter of a mile east of the temple, I was sur-
prised to come on a mansion and petty settlement, closely hemmed in by
the wilderness, the present residence of Purmen Singh, uncle of the
(by courtesy) Almorah Raja ; he has some villages at Kasheepoor, but
came to this ‘‘sacred storehouse of his predecessors,” to supplicate the
goddess, and to shoot, with small success in either object, being laid up
with fever,
To the east of Kotah the Gagur presents a group of three lofty
peaks, probably 8000 feet high, separated from Cheenur by the col,
Pungoot or Punota ka khet, about 7000 feet high, where the Boodlakot
villagers raise some wheat, nominally for their own use, but really for
that of the Jurao, Ghoorul, and other deer which swarm in the woods
and rocks. Immediately N. W. of the three Kotah Peaks is the Budhan
Binaik : then the Budhan Dhoora, 8500 feet high, where the Gagur
turns west to Souchulia, a point of similar altitude, with a Trigonome-
trical Chubootra, determined to be 8526 feet, due N. of Putulia; and
terminates in the huge rounded, rocky summit, known as the Devee ka
Dhoonga and Bahmunee ka Danda. This, which will probably turn
out the highest point of the range, is marked by a barrow in the great
map, and radiates in every direction: one branch descends west to Dhi-
kolee, another south to Dolaand Kotah forts. The Kotah Peaks send off
to the 8. W. a great spur called the Kureel ka Danda, on a point of
which above the Dhoon is a murhee or cairn, saered to Teet Devee.
All the waters between Bahmunee Danda and the Kotah Peaks unite
to form the Dubka, as the Kureel and Dola spurs do the Kotah Pass ;
up this lies the high road to Almorah, through a glen remarkable for its
extremely wild and savage scenery : for many miles there is not a vestige
of cultivation, or indeed any space for it : nothing but steep and dense
forest, or extensive landslips, which occasion many a wearisome ascent
in what would otherwise be a gradual rise. Before this road was con-
structed, it is difficult to imagine how it was traversed : yet the fort at
its base (Kotah) and another (the Gagur Fort of the map about 200
yards N. W. of the summit) imply that then, as now, it was greatly
frequented and carefully guarded. The crest is the most level of all
the Gagur Passes; and is known as the Budhan Binaik, or simply
378 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. { May,
Binaik. Dr. Wilson gives us as the signification of ‘s Vinayak.” << an
obstacle,” &c.: but as modernized in Kumaoon, the import is that of “a
Pass,” originally perhaps defended by entrenchments, and therefore
equivalent to “a Barrier.”
The rock at and above Kotah Gurhee is the usual sandstone; above
this is limestone : the three Kotah Peaks seem chiefly quartzose rock,
and Budhan Dhoora, the same mixed with slate, dipping N. E, as usual ;
an eruption of greenstone occurs at Sour village on its southern declivity.
The vegetation of the Kotah Pass differs little from that of analogous
localities ; about half way up, at Sut-dhoonga, the rocks and trees are
covered with graceful festoons of Hoya lanceolata or pendula: and every
where the damper and shadier recesses are overgrown by the beautiful
reed-like ‘‘ Ounsa,”’ Thysanoleena agrostis (Agrostis maxima, Roxb.) of
_ which the leaves are considered excellent fodder for cattle. This plant,
which penetrates by the vallies to the base of the snowy range, disap-
pears at Almorah. Grewia hirsuta (W. and A.) occurs below Sut-
dhoonga.
Jatropha curcas: ‘ sufed Eend,” is common about Kotah, and gene-
rally along the base of the mountains.
The forest in the Dhoon is generally constituted of—
Schleichera trijuga: ‘ Koosum.” ‘‘ Gousum,”’ yields an edible fruit,
and a hard, heavy red timber, much used in sugar-mills, &c.
Falconeria insignis: Khinna.” ‘“ Kheena.” 40 to 50 feet high :
it is found in the mountains up to 5500 feet, reduced to about one
fourth the height, and universally killed to the ground in the winter of
1846-47. The acrid milky sap is said to be poisonous, and very
dangerous to the eyesight, like Khirnee (Mimusops Kauki, the name
is probably derived from this milk, (Ksheer.)
Bassia latifolia: ‘* Muhooa.”
Alstonia scholaris: ‘‘Chhatiyoon’” and ‘ Sutiyoon.”’ Nowhere un-
common in the Kumaoon Bhabur: I have met it near Khuruk in the
Dehra Dhoon.
Diospyrus lancizefolia: ‘‘ Urdinia:” extends to 3500 feet on the
outer range,
Cocculus laurifolius: ‘* Tilbura;’? often confounded with ‘* Kir-
kiria’”’ and * Kikra,’’ Cinnamomum albiflorum,
Smilax macrophylla; ‘ Kukurdar,”’
1848.]} The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 379
Syzygium Jambolana: ‘“ Jamun.” ‘ Phounda.” The fruit is that of
Roxburgh’s Eugenia Jambolana: the leaves, those of E. caryophyllifolia.
Syzygium ** Rae-jamun ;’’ a very large, distinct, and
handsome species, still more abundant in the forests of the eastern
Bhabur : unknown in those of Gurhwal.
Vitis latifolia: ‘‘Pun-lugoola.” ‘ Bhyns-umlee.’ An immense
climber, with cable-like stems, sometimes 2 feet in diameter. The first
name imports “ water-climber ;” probably it is one of the species which
in spring afford large supplies of sap.
Vitis tomentosa: ‘‘ Chuppurtung.” Cheprain.” ‘ Ameela ;’’ very
common, and reaching up to 6000 feet in the mountains: Dr. Royle
_ traces this species up to Monghir only: in Kumaoon the leaf is always
trifoliate.
Hymenodyction (excelsum?) ‘‘ Bhoulun.” ‘Bhulena’ <‘ Bhu-
meena.” ‘Dhoulee,’ an enormous deciduous tree. Towards the
Sutluj, this or an allied species is, under the name of “ Burtoo,”’ in
much request for sword scabbards. |
Ficus oppositifolia : ‘‘ Totmeela.”’
Ficus cunia: ‘ Kewnia ;” (hence the trivial name ;) the “ Jurphul’’
of Gurhwal: it occurs from the lower border of the grass tarai up to
4500 and 5000 feet in the mountains.
Ficus cordifolia? ‘‘ Gujeeoon.’? ‘*Gujeena.” Much resembles the
Peepul, as well as the “ Pilkhun”’ of Gurhwal (F. venosa ?) if indeed
it be different from the last. The Gujeeon is found up to 4000 feet in
the mountains, and is frequently parasitical on large trees, the trunks
of which are enveloped in a white network composed of its innumerable
roots, and finally destroyed by them. The Gujeeoon then consolidates
into a stem “deeply furrowed, as if composed of many coalesced
trunks.” (Roxb.) )
Ficus indica: ‘‘ Bur,” (i. e. best or greatest,) and ‘‘ But,” (i. e.
Vut, to tie, its hanging roots being still used as ropes in Dinaj-
poor, Buchanan.) This tree does not ascend the mountains: it is
considered sacred, and its root-stems, which from their toughness
and elasticity make excellent poles for dandees, &c., are not cut till the
in-dwelling, arborescent god has been appeased by the sacrifice of a
goat—that luckless beast which on every occasion bears the brunt of
the sins, real and imaginary, of all Kumaoon.
380 The Turaee und Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
Ficus religiosa: ‘‘ Peepul,” from pa, to preserve; the practice of all
India bears out the etymology; not even a sacrifice atones for the
crime of wounding and maiming it, and fortunately the wood is useless.
This noble tree, abundant in the forests of the Bhabur, is planted as
an exotic by the temples at Almorah, where it is sorely nipped in severe
winters. It is worshipped on Saturday with “ geetgan’” (hymns) and
the “ purkuma” (prukruma) or great circuit, performed by parties of
women. Itis “the Tree of Knowledge,” Bodhidrooma of the Hindoo
mythology ; or simply ‘‘ Bodhi,” intellect, knowledge. Hence the
famous Bo-tree of the Buddhists. It is perhaps fanciful to connect
**Bo” and * Bur’ with the Bo-tree or Bour-tree (elder) of western
Scotland, with which many superstitious notions are associated: and
still more so to conjecture that the islands Arran, Bute, &c. derived
their names from the worship of Buddh, established in that far-west
by the messengers of king Piyadasa, the spiritual father of all mission-
aries.
Sanscrit synonymes for the Peepul are ‘‘ Nagbundhoo,”’ ‘liked by
elephants ;” “‘ Koonjurashun,”’ ‘‘ food of elephants ;” also ‘“‘ Gujashun,”’
and ‘‘ Gujbhukshuk,”’ to the same effect: which is so true that the
spots selected for pitfalls are, if possible, near this or the Bur. Munaka,
S., for an elephant, is from mun, to think, to understand; and Locke
avows his opinion that “dogs and elephants give all the demonstrative
of thinking imaginable, except only telling us that they do so.” (Es-
say, B. II.) The Hindoos have deified the sagacity of the elephant in
Gunes, and perhaps supposed that it was attained by feeding on these
trees. Here is a rational origin of the Tree of Knowledge—only per-
mitted, however, to a German Professor! Milton ventures to affirm
that the paradisaical Fig was no other than Ficus indica, and that its
leaves formed the first clothing of our first parents; a moral and poeti-
cal retribution if the Banian tree may also be considered a tree of
knowledge: ‘the Brahmans,” says Roxburgh, “are partial to the
leaves of this tree to make their plates to eat off; they are jointed
together by inkles.” Hence if existing eastern names and notions
are to be our guides in interpreting the records of oriental antiquity,
after the method of Burder and many others, we must realize the Tree
of Life—the Shujrut-ul-hyat—in Cupressus sempervirens ; and the
Tree of Knowledge—Bodhidrooma, in Ficus religiosa or F. indica, while
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 381
a new interest is thrown on the plains of Hindoostan by their identifi-
cation with the seat of the terrestrial Paradise, ‘‘ Eastward in Eden.”
The conquests of Cyrus would carry the Mythus into the western hemi-
sphere.* Pliny, stating that the fruit of F. indica is rare, and not above
the size of a bean, adds, “sed per folia solibus coctus preedulci sapore,
dignus miraculo arboris.” One of the Sanscrit names is Vrikshadun,
Food-tree. A
Abrus: a pretty climbing species, perhaps the pulchellus of Wallich,
is abundant in the hedges about Kotah, and in the mouth of the
Pass: it is called ‘‘ Luggoolee Imlee,” ‘climbing Tamarind,” and is,
I think, confined to this neighbourhood.
Mimosa pudica: ‘‘ Lajuwuntee.’’ The sensitive plant is completely
naturalized, and grows everywhere about this part of the Kotah Dhoon.
Saurauja nepalensis. Vallies at 3000—4000 feet.
Pladera virgata : (by Kools.)
Tpomea pilosa, and I. hirsuta. (Bed of the Dubka.)
* Tn an analysis of the Pudma Puran, given in the Journal As. Soe. for 1842, No.
131, pp. 1129, 1130, we havea further and very curious illustration of this subject con-
ceived in the spirit of indelicacy and piety so familiar to the Hindoo mind :
“It came to pass that the wives of the Tripoorasoors were dancing round the Uswuttha
(Peepul) which is the king of trees, and endeavouring to obtain the fruit which hung
from its lofty branches. Vishnoo, assuming the form of a priest, told them that they
would not be able to procure the fruit unless they danced round the tree naked. On
their obeying his injunction, Vishnoo, pervading the tree as he pervades all things in
heaven and earth, shook it with a noise like thunder : the women, being frightened, clung
naked round the tree, which immediately assumed the form of a naked young man, in
whose embraces they enjoyed the fruit of their desires, but lost that virtue which gave im-
mortality to their husbands.”
On a former occasion the suggestion was ventured that Peepul and Populus are the
same word : ‘* Gur-peepul” is an usual name of P. ciliata in Kumaoon : and it is evident
the received etymologies of Populus are forced and uncertain, Bullet (Arboretum Bri-
tannicum ) thinks it was so called from the motion of the leaves resembling the acts and
thoughts of a free and enlightened but fickle populace : others that it arose from the cir-
cumstance that the public places at Rome were planted with this tree, hence called arbor
populi, as the Spanish Alameda is from alamo, for the same reason. But why did the
Romans select the Poplar? May it not have been from some lingering association
brought by their ancestors from the east: their language is full of Sanserit forms and
terms ; why should not Sancrit ideas have been imported with them, and the Poplar
chosen as the best representative of the Peepul ? The latter is sacred to Vishnoo, the sun ;
and we find the former connected with the legend of Phaethon, whose sisters, the daugh-
ters of the sun, were metamorphosed into Poplars,
3. D
382 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
Verbena officinalis.
Bidens Wallichiana.
Hamiltonia azurea.
Scutellaria repens.
Shuteria involucrata. iy
Triumfetta oblongata.
Abutilon oxyphyllum. These descend in the Pass to the
Leea Sambucina. > level of Kotah Fort, perhaps
Cheilanthes dealbata. 2500 feet.
Adiantum Capillus Veneris.
Adiantum rhizophorum. J
Lygodium japonicum: about the Kotah Bagheechu.
Hibiscus cannabinus, “ Sun,” is cultivated to a small extent in the
fields about Kotah: Crotolaria tetragona is wild: but the ‘ Sunai’”
Crotolaria juncea, appears to be unknown.
December 15.—To Seetabun, about 6 miles W. S. W. The route
crosses the Dubka, of which the right bank is high and precipitous ;
the broad stony valley is tangled with Acacia catechu. Beyond the
river, the path lies through Sal forest, gradually descending with the
course of a stream, the Dhanee or Chuhul, from the eastern flank of
the Bahmunee ka Danda: this, at Seetabun, is joined by the Bahmu-
nee, a large stream, rising in the N. W. of the range so called: the
united current under the name Kichree, breaks, by a romantic pass,
through the great plexus of jungly hills here forming the outer range,
and ultimately joins the Dubka in the outer forests. The scenery
about Seetabun is extremely wild and beautiful ; Sal, of noble dimen-
sions, occupies the plateau of level, uncultivated land between and west
of the streams ; and beyond the forest, to the N. E. rises the brown
ridge and summit of the magnificent Bahmunee ka Danda, not unlike
Budraj, as seen from the Dehra Dhoon. Patkot, an extensive clearing,
lies at its base. There is no cultivation at Seetabun, nor does any road
exist for the transport of the timber ; the spot owes its name and cele-
brity to the legend that, at the confluence of the two streams, the per-
secuted dove, Seeta, found vepose after her abduction by Rawun; and
though the site be considerably out of the line of operations between
Oude and Ceylon, a grove of Asoca trees (Jonesia Asoca) flourishes in
proof of the fact: introduced, no doubt, by the Gosains, and other
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 383
** Ochreous Saints” who abound here, to shade and sanctify the shrines,
which, however, are few, and unworthy of the extreme beauty of the
spot. Its mythical fame, which seems to be connected with that of
Doonagiri, attracts a considerable number of the pilgrims who visit Hurd-
war, and on these the Ministers of Seeta subsist, the soil producing
no other available commodity.
The outer range behind Seetabun is lofty enough for the growth of
Pinus longifolia: and the climate of the holy spot is at this season dis-
agreeably cold and damp by night, with a warm sun by day. Here I had
the advantage of a meeting with my friend Mr. J. H. Batten, administer-
ing to the foresters the Adil-i- Nousheerwan, and to myself many valuable
hints regarding the routes and natural curiosities of the Province.
The vegetation of Seetabun is that of all the higher and richer sites
of the Bhabur, consisting of—
Vatica (Shorea) robusta: ‘Sal.’ ‘ Sakhoo.”
Semecarpus cuneifolia: ‘‘ Bhuliou.” “ Bhilawa.”’ Marking-nut Tree.
Careya arborea: ‘Koombh.” Gun-match is made from its bark.
Antidesma diandra: ‘‘Surshotee,” ‘‘Surshetee,”’ ‘ Umlee,” The
last name is from its acid fruit and leaves.
Putranjiva Roxburghii: ‘“ Jootee.’”’ ‘* Pootrajiva.”
Grewia elastica : ‘‘ Phursia.”
Randia longispina: ‘“ Thunela.”
Strobilanthes auriculata: ‘‘ Til-kupooree.”’
Ficus Tsiela? Kuth-bur, (about the Temples.)
Morus leevigata: ‘Shah-toot.”’ ‘‘ Siyah-toot.”’
Mucuna atropurpurea: ‘ Kala-goncha.” ‘* Bul-dhaka.”
Tephrosia candida: ‘ Lehtia.’’ Its leaves are employed to poison
fish.
Butea parviflora: ‘‘Moula.’’ An immense climber which penetrates
by the hot vallies a little way into the mountains; it may be seen in
abundance on the Kansrow Pass near Hurdwar. Overlooked in Dr,
Royle’s Illustrations,
Clematis Gouriana. Most abundant.
Asparagus racemosus: ‘‘ Eilora.”
Curcuma angustifolia. To 6000 feet on Binsur.
Zingiber ligulatum, and Z. capitatum.
Zingiber elatum; ‘ Kuchoor,”’ <A favorite food (with the others)
3 D2
384 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
of the porcupine and wild hog. It is dug up in February all along the
foot of the mountains, and sent for sale to the Plains, where it comes
into use as a medicine.
December 16.—To Dhikkolee Pass, (the Dhekuloo of the map,) per-
haps 10 miles, W. by N. About half the distance is over high table-land,
covered with forest, the rest is along a series of most picturesque glens,
the floor and acclivities equally clad in the same dense and beautiful
forest. Close on the north rises the westermost prolongation of the
Gagur, which terminates at Dhikkolee in this long, wooded, spur. It
sends down a multitude of torrents, which, with those of the vallies
towards Seetabun, form the Kukrar or Kukuree-nudee, earrying a brisk
stream along the usual wide and strong channel, adapted to the Rains
supply. It joins the Kosilla at Dhikkolee, where the latter river,
though rapid, is now shallow and easily fordable. Nothing can be
more exquisite in scenery than its cliff banks and shaggy hills, enliven-
ed by flights of birds, which are comparatively wanting in the waterless
forests of the plateaus ; or, where present, belong to genera which only
make the loneliness more marked by their melancholy notes. Amongst
the former the most noisy and remarkable is a large brown-bodied and
white-crested thrush Rolia or Gelooa, gregarious in flocks of 15 or 20,
whose only enjoyment seems to be constant chattering: Cinclosoma
leucolophum ?
Dhikkolee is merely a Chokey in the Pass, 1308 feet above
Calcutta: about a mile higher up is the usual encamping ground.
On the hill to the west there are the ruins of stone houses, wells, &c. ;
perhaps the barracks of the Gorkhalee garrison. It was by this Pass,
which ends about six miles down, that our army penetrated into Ku-
maoon in 1815: no opposition was encountered, and the route, which
is decidedly the easiest into the province, was perhaps indicated by
some of our secret friends at Almorah.
The sections cut here by the Kosilla exhibit thick and nearly hori-
zontal beds of a very stiff, and frequently much indurated red and yel-
low clay, which includes the river bed, and underlies thick strata of
stones, gravel, and earth, which support the forest. This red clay is
said to be the substratum of the vegetable soil of Rohilkhund ; and the
formation appears to be identical with that of Upper Assam. At Dhik-
kolee, on meeting the clay-beds, the water of the gravel, &c., is forced
1848. ] The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 385
out, and is seen to dribble down the cliffs in tiny rills. On receding
ten to fifteen miles from the mountains, these beds of clay come to the
surface, bringing up with them the accumulated waters of the great
gravel talus above, and thus forming the swamps and morasses, which are
so deadly in autumn to all but the Boksars and Tharoos, two tribes who
pretend that they pine and die if removed from their native malaria.
The thickness of the gravel deposit all along the base of the moun-
tains is enormous: half way between Tanda and Bumouree it was
pierced to the depth of 150 feet, without reaching the bottom ; the con-
sequence is that the forest tract, immediately beyond the base of the
mountains, has no water but such as is supplied by Kools, or artificial
cuts from the streams before they are absorbed; at Dehra, Captain
Herbert informs us that the gravel bed is 220 feet thick. We may
suppose that while this tract still formed the bed of the ocean, the
great rivers brought down the materials, which the currents distributed
along the shores, just as the silt of the Nile, which the direction of the
river would carry north, is, by the ocean-current, deposited far to the
East towards Pelusium. That this process has, however, been partial,
appears from two facts ; 1. The gravel extends farther along the line of
the rivers than elsewhere: 2. Its composition is said to exhibit a gene-
ral conformity with the rock peculiar to the mountains in the rear.
One point is certain: everywhere along the crest of the Sewalik range,
we find the same water-worn pebbles as at its base: imbedded in sand
in a position which, from their flatness, they could not have assumed
naturally. The chain was, therefore, elevated after the deposition of
the gravel, and on the same plan as the great ranges behind it, i. e.
with its steep walls and cliffs facing S. W. and forming to the N. E.
gently inclined planes, by the dip of the strata in that direction ; a phe-
nomenon equally true of the Himalaya viewed as a whole ; the slope on
the Tibetan side contrasted with the abrupt front presented to India,
being a conspicuous feature in the narrative of every traveller who has
passed the snowy crest: it may be compared to a sea, with the billows
all breaking towards the S. W. Partial exceptions may be observed ;
abreast of the Bahmunee Danda, the low, exterior range rises in steep
cliffs to the N. E. at Nynee Devee on the Sutluj, the temple occupies
a pivot in the second range, on one side of which the strata dip toward
the Plains ; on the other, toward the snows.
386 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
The strata of sand and marl which contain the fossils of the Sewalik
seem to underlie the great mass of gravel, which thus forms a sort of
chronometer to assure us of the immense period which has elapsed
since they lived: as the enumeration of the species—horses, camels,
hippopotami, tapirs, crocodiles, tortoises, &c.,—proves the change which
has occurred in the ‘ physical Geography” of the tract where they
flourished—the site of the actual Himalaya ; the nature of these animals
would lead us infer much of it to have been then rather a level country
than the reverse ; and that doubtless, was the period when the Ziziphus
grew at and gave its name to Budureenath! Under this aspect the
upheavement of the Sewalik ranges was probably synchronical with
that of the great granitic axis itself, and a consequence of the same
forces. Although intermitted in the most of Kumaoon, the Sewalik
appears to be reproduced in the Chiriaghattee and Bichiakoree ranges
which separate the valley of Nepal from the plains of Tirhoot. But
these speculations intrude needlessly on the province of Dr. Falconer,
and are only excusable by the circumstance that his work has not yet
reached Kumaoon.
December 17.—To Mohan, about 7 miles up the right bank of the
Kosilla, on its west side, and 276 feet above Dhikkolee. A violent and
bitterly cold wind blew down the Pass all the morning lulling about 10
A. M. when the air became calm, and the sun’s rays oppressive. About
two miles up the river, the hills recede on each side, leaving a level
valley, which, with the exception of one or two small clearings, consists
of poor stony land, overrun with low jungle: on the hills the forest is
unbroken. This area must have been occupied by a lake, till the Ko-
silla cut through the Pass; in which an isolated pyramidal mass of clay
and gravel, standing out of the river, remains the momento of the de-
parted mountain. At Mohan, the Kosilla makes a great bend from
the east, and properly turns the western extremity of the Gagur; on
the opposite or East bank is Chookum village, with a spacious flat, laid
out in rice of the first quality. Its cultivation is the inducement to
occupy a spot, of which the appearance of the people attests the insalu-
brity ; they perish in raising the staff of life. The fever becomes viru-
lent in Asar, (June-July,) and lasts till Assouj, (September-October,)
but is most fatal in August and September. The presence of the Maloo
(Bauhinia Vahlii) is one of the tests by which, in the opinion of the
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 387
mountaineers, the unhealthiness of any particular spot is established ;
it is most luxuriant in the Dhikkolee Pass, and generally up to 3500 or
4000 feet. But Chilkiya Mundee, in the open grass and Byr jungle,
is, in spite of Pilgrim’s reclamations, just as deadly as the closest forest,
and is equally forsaken as soon as the rains set in. (There is, however,
a long belt of forest south of Chilkiya.) The source of the malady is
supposed by the people to lie wholly in the bad quality of the river
water : and they state that when well water is drank, there is compara-
tive impunity.
Just now the communication between the mountains and the Mundee
is brisk and constant: large parties of the mountaineers of Gurhwal
constantly passing to and fro. These people prefer fording the river
frequently, in the Pass, to the ascent of 400 or 500 feet which the road
makes on its left flank: for no consideration will induce a hill man to
mount where he can keep to a level, or to make a circuit where he can
go direct. So far as I met them, the Gurhwalees appeared a smaller
and darker race than the people of Kumaoon: they are abundantly
national nevertheless, and sneered at the notion of Kumaoon comparing
with Gurhwal in richness of vegetation. The Ramgunga river they
invariably term Ruhut or Ruput, a name which we meet far eastward
in the Rapty, originally Revutee, from rev to leap, to rave, a very sig-
nificant appellation of most of the Himalayan streams. On the higher
ranges North of the Mohan valley stands or stood a fort, Kath ke Nao
—the wooden boat, an odd name of which I could not discover the
eause: it was held by a Gorkha garrison, which fled on the advance of
Sir Jasper Nicoll in 1815. The made road is continued in this direc-
tion to Budreenath. The Ipomeea quamoclit, I. pes-tigridis, and I. muri-
cata, the Argyreia strigosa, Pharbitis Nil, and Coccinia indica, are com-
mon plants inthe Mohan and Dhikkolee woods: Taberneemontana
coronaria also grows wild here. The Argyreia strigosa abounds in the
Bhabur and penetrates the glen of the Surjoo as high as Kupkot: the
Pharbitis Nil (Bounra) flourishes up to 5500 feet at Almorah. From
one of the clearings, the people brought a young Jurou for sale (Cervus
aristotelis ’?) only 10 or 12 days old they said, and quite unable to walk,
it is now at twelve months old 3 ft. 8 in. high (the horns 3 inches
long) and exceedingly strong. It is curious to observe the instinct of
excessive caution and vigilance with which nature has endowed it, as
388 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
well as the perpetual action of its large ears, the apparatus by which
these qualities are exercised: and that too where no real danger exists :
but proving the numerous enemies to which it is exposed in a wild state.
Unless when at speed, not a step is made without the ears being thrown
forward to gather the slightest sound : and if this be any way unusual,
the angry and repeated stamp with the forefeet is the signal to its com-
panions for immediate flight.
December 18.—From Dhikkolee camp to Chilkiya Mundee, 10 or 11
miles south. In about one mile pass Dhikkolee, a clearing in the jnn-
ele, where a Buniya, a Teekadar and his guard, with one or two culti-
vators, are established. The road keeps the high forest land on the
west side of the Kosilla, but at this season passengers prefer the shorter
route along the stony bed of the river, which finally quits the outer
ranges at Goolur-ghat, whence alarge ‘ool or cut, is sent down to
Chilkiya. The made road, here very rough and stony, descends into
the Plains by the Amdanda Pass, and then reaches Chilkiya after about
4 miles of flat ground, covered with bamboo, byr, (Zizyphus rugosa and
Z. jujuba,) and tall grass jungle. It is now a populous, straggling place,
larger than Huldwanee or Kaleedhoongee, and abounding in the various
productions of the mountains and the Bhabur, either iron from the
Khetsaree and other mines, or vegetable dyes: the Myrobolans, Kae-
phul, and Pomegranate rind ? The Bhotiyas too, whom no considera-
tion would formerly tempt to quit the mountains, now find their
account in descending as far as Chilkiya, and the other marts with their
Borax, Nirbysee, Doloo, or Rhubarb, Kutkee, or Picrorhiza and the leaves
and stems of a small Tibetan Allium, “‘ Jibboo,”’ &c. for which they take
back chiefly sugar and sweetmeets: sheep and goats being their only
beasts of burden.
Chilkiya is 1163 feet above Calcutta, and has no water but from the
artificial cut before mentioned. The mountain views of the Gagur, the
Kath ke Nao, and the Lower range of Gurhwal, are exceedingly beau-
tiful.
In the forest to-day the Diospyrus tomentosa was large and abundant :
it is called ‘‘ Tyndoo,”’ and its timber is sold at Chilkiya as Udbnoos or
ebony: the fruit is edible. With it grows the Grewia sclerophylla,
« Phursia,” a shrub which also produces a large and edible fruit, the
‘ Goorbhelee’’ of the N. W. In the warm shaded ravines of the lower
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 389
range, Biophytum Sensitivum is common, as is Didymocarpus pedicella-
tus, macrophylla of Royle, in the Dhikkolee, as well as in the Bumopree,
and Burm Deo Passes, It is well known in Kumaoon as the “ Put-
thur-loung” or Rock clove, from the strong aroma of its dormant winter
leaves, which are prescribed in cases of diarrhoea. To-day also occurred
the Gynaion vestitum, ‘ Peen,” probably the Cordia incana of Royle.
It is not uncommon in dry stony ground all over the Bhabur, and
ascends the mountains to 2,500 or 3000 feet; the wood is much valued
for mill-work, wheels, &c. The name, denoting fatness, is derived from
the copious viscous juice of the bark and fruit: as the Cordia myxa had
its Hindoostanee name Lusora from “lus,” viscum.
Crotalaria sericea, and C. salicifolia, are common plants in the Chil-
kiya jungles—with Indigofera hirsuta.
December 19.—From Chilkiya to Bundurjoora, called 5 coss, due
east: about half of which may be clearings; the rest, grass, jungle,
and forest. The road admits the passage of hackeries, and there is
just now a considerable number on it, with many passengers from Ka-
leedhoongee to Chilkiya. At 1} mile cross the Kosilla, here divided by
a large island, its bed is formed of gravel and small stones. In ano-
ther mile pass Burwa, a clearing on the Dubka, flowing now in two
pretty large streams : thence through forest to Gybwa, a large clearing,
north of which is an extensive plateau of elevated land and hills, cover-
ed with jungle, and isolated from the lower range; it much resembles
the broken and rugged tract of Shah Munsoor near Kheree, on the
Dehra road, so well known to tiger-parties, Beyond Gybwa is Patapa-
nee, and then Bundurjoora clearing, where I encamped by the Police
station. These clearings all bear marks of recent and extensive enlarge-
ment: many large trees, partially burned or lopped, stand up in the
cornfields, and remind one of the “elegant improvements” of Canada
and the States. To this increase of cultivation in the Turaee is partly
to be attributed the quantity of once tilled, but now abandoned ground,
which we perceive in the mountains.
Bundurjoora Chokey is about a mile from the base of the low range
of the Kotah Dhoon. In the S. W. face of this, about 14 mile distant
there is a copious formation of vesicular calcareous tuffa or travertine,
forming a cliff above 100 feet in height, and most likely constituting
the mass of the range, which it does onthe Kumola Pass, about 5 miles
3 E
399 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. May;
Kast, where the summit, far beyond the reach of running water, is floored
witht ; the Kurra, a torrent rising in the Pass, encrusts every thing
with lime to the distance of three miles from the hills, and probably
much farther. The rock at Bundurjoora is quarried to a great extent
and carried down to the plains on hackeries, each paying a toll of six
annas per load, the owner providing his own workmen and tools. The
tuffa contains numerous impressions of leaves and twigs ; but the peo-
ple affirm that they never come on bones of any kind.
From the crest of the cliff the view over the silent, illimitable forest,
is impressive; a vast expanse of life, the happy medium, as some one
calls it, between the restlessness and misery of thought and its nega-
tion in inorganic matter. To one also, long accustomed to the pano-
rama of mountains which surrounds Almorah, the contrast of the plains
of Rohilkhund, levelled (apparently) like a bilhard table, is very strik-
ing, and perhaps conveys a higher idea of skill than the other does of
power, in so far as the regularity of the one surpasses the wild confusion
of the other : one, the result of the action of water, the other probably
of fire and steam, the three agents which formed our continents in the
first instance, and the last of which is now supposed to be about to
regenerate them, as if the man who travels 50 miles per hour, though
he be a more wealthy, must necessarily be wiser or better than he who
jogs on at the rate of 5, and has time to look in and about him.
However silent these forests appear, they are by no means untenant-
ed: even at the quarries the people are afraid to move a few hundred
yards after sun set, on account of the tigers: while the Police stations
are the outward and visible signs of the serious depredations which
within a few years the bold outlaws of Rohilkhund were wont to com-
mit on the settlers and farmers of the wilderness.
December 20.—To Kaleedhoongee, 10 miles, of which five, .to
Kumola, are wholly through forest. There is a large clearing, and its
usual concomitant, the Goth, at Kumola, watered by cuts from the
Kurra, a stream from the Kumola Pass, about 2 miles distant ; a tolera-
ble road goes over this to Putulia, in the Kotah Dhoon, opening a
hackery route into the sal forest, which here supplies very large timber.
The preservation of the Kumaoon Forests, still more difficult than those
of the Gurhwal, from their position, as often outside as inside the hill
barrier, and therefore exposed to the havoc of innumerable smugglers,
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, 39]
is about to be secured by the politic enactment of exacting one rupee
for every tree felled, which will save the young timber, and igduce
the merchants to search for the largest and oldest trees. The elephants
conspire with man in damaging the woods: whole clumps of Bamboo,
roots and stems, equally overturned by them, are met everywhere.
The ascent of the Kumola Ghat is gradual, and the summit level,
with very gentle fall towards the Kotah Dhoon ; all is completely cloth-
ed with forest. Towards the summit, we find Bassia butyracea, Eleeag-
nus conferta, “‘ Mijhoula;”’ two species of Citrus, probably Limonum and
Medica, ‘‘ Jameer,” and ‘ Bijoura,” (the last also in abundance along
the Surjoo under Gungolee,) ; and abundance of Piper longum, called
** Pippula-mor,” an article of considerable value as an export. ‘There
is also a speciesof Embelia with fruit in umbels ; and a handsome shrub,
Tetranthera fruticosa, or apetala, which also grows at Poonagiri, below
Gungolee, &c., and is sometimes known as the ‘ Gur-bijour,” or wild
citron, and Myda or “ Meda-lukree ;” but the tree particularly so de-
signated, poimted out to me near Ramesur, appeared to be Laurus
villosa, Roxb. and its Hill name Kupooa Kouwul. At the mouth of the
Pass, Rubus distans and Calamus Rotang,* “ Bet,” are found.
The construction and nature of the Goth demand a few words. The
term is corrupted from “goshth,” a station for herdsmen or cattle, and
in the mountains denotes the ground-floor of the house, devoted to cat-
tle, as distinguished from panda, the upper storey, occupied by the
family. In the Bhabur, where the arrangements are temporary, and
only calculated for the winter, ranges of from ten to twenty rude sheds
are placed side by side, formed of branches, and roughly thatched with
grass and leaves. The depth is sometimes 150 or 200 feet, and any
rain-water which might pour down through the re-entering angles of
the general roof, is carried away by small gutters. The exterior walls
are generally well fortified with brambles to repel the approach of wild
beasts. The height is little more than enough to admit the cattle to
stand ; their owners occupy the inner end, which is partitioned off, and
made snug with plaster, &c., for their abode. Here they luxuriate in
boundless ghee, milk, and curds, selling the former in great quantities
to dealers from the plains. It-would seem to be a very prolific food ;
children of all sizes lie about as thick as the quails round the camp of
* Calamus Royle, Griff. ?
392 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
the Hebrews ; and many of them probably depart as suddenly ; at least
the adult population of the mountains is by no means in proportion to
the supply in these nurseries. Filth, exposure, and want of all medical
aid, must destroy one half of them ; but, like the shrimps noticed by
Paley, leaping on the sea sands, their brief existence is a merry one.
But the tenants of the Goth by no means trust solely to their
cattle ; the neighbouring fields exhibit the finest crops of wheat, barley,
and mustard, the produce of the latter alone sufficing, it is said, to pay
the Government revenue. It is called “Dyn” or “Daeen,”’ and
** Laee :” Sinapis glauca var. ? it is now in full bloom, reminding one of the
western ‘* Praiseagh buidhe ;” and will be ripe in February and March.*
These clearances are altogether dependent on artifical irrigation, and
are only to the found where streams debouche from the mountains, or
afew miles to either flank: in the intermediate localities, much of the
ground is too poor and stony to repay the expense of cultivation, while
already, the supply of water scarce equals the wants of the settlers, and
* Several species of Sinapis are cultivated in Kumaoon for the oil, salad, or medicine
they yield. Butas Dr. Royle, very truly says, the genus requires careful revision :
Roxburgh’s descriptions, generally so accurate, are here imperfect, contradictory, or
identical : and recal the reasons of Hudibras—
“« His reasons fitted things so well,
That which was which he could not tell ;
But oftentimes mistook the one,
For the other, as great clerks have done,”
according to the best of my judgment.
“* Rara” is Sinapis glauca, the ‘‘ yellow Surson” of the plains, sent from the Seharun-
i. e. Bengal-surson. The natives of northern India
2
poor garden as ‘‘ Bunga-surson ;’
always understand this when they speak of Surson: the branches being solitary, it is not
S. juncea.
“Dyn :” “ Daeen:” ‘‘ Laee.”” The commonest sp. in Kumaoon; seems to be the
«© Toria” of northern India, which Dr. Royle identifies with 8. glauca.
“ Though not so tall and stout a plant as the Rara, it has much the same habit, and is
equally glaucous. Its round petals, spreading siliques, and reddish brown seeds, induce
me to think it may be Roxburgh’s Sinapis dichotoma: otherwise he does not allude to this
plant: but the stem is not dichotomous. It is either a variety of S. glauca, or a nearly
allied species.
**Luhota,” “ Lyhta,” cultivatedin the Bhabur under this name, seems to be the “ Jurria’?
of Almorah, and probably the Kalee Surson of Seharunpoor, &e.: Sinapis dichotoma, ac-
cording to Dr. Royle. The seeds are nearly black ; Roxburgh’s are described light brown.
“‘ Doowa.” Eruca sativa: cultivated in the Bhabur, and variously knownas “ Tara,”
“* Sehooa,” ‘‘ Gohooa,” from Oude northward, ‘The stem is covered with reflexed hairs.
“Teera.” Raphanus raphanistrum ? said to be cultivated about Benares,
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 393
is a subject of frequent dispute. If therefore, the whole Turaee be
ever reclaimed, it will be by a judicious system of canals from the large
rivers, supposing the levels to admit, and the water to be not demanded
for the richer countries below.
The total area of cultivated acres in the Kumaoon Bhabur, Mr.
Seem OTIEIUS MAES USL Ls. b/g cane a wi v'u eos cs a Riesarelele, aid esta 18,500
pmigioane’ ASSESSed |Al TIPEES,, 52% ..:0:5 fs, 0) ein 'sisje enw bie 0 Sts 9000
Revenue from timber, bamboos, grazing, .............. 18,700
From which it appears that the district is one of more interest to the
naturalist than to the Government.
Each bullock brought to graze is charged by the farmers of the reve-
nue, three annas per season: each buffalo, four. A cart for drawing
timber pays twelve annas to one rupee per trip ; judging by the compe-
tition in this trade, it must be lucrative.
At Kumola the direction of the route to Kaleedhoongee changes
from E. 8S. KE. to East; adjoining the cultivation of the latter is the
extensive clearing, Nyagaon ; both watered by the Bor or Boula river,
the bed of which, now an expanse of boulders and gravel, is crossed near
Kaleedhoongee. Beautiful views of the Nynee Tal group of mountains,
rising tier above tier ; the Symdhar, a pine-covered range of 6800 feet,
breaking off from Deoputa near Koorpaka, is here perceived to inter-
pose between Cheenur and the lower mountains to the S. W. These
last are completely enveloped in forest, much of which is Sal.
December 23.—From Kaleedhoongee to Huldwanee Mundee, 15 or
16 miles, by a good hackery track. To Chousula, 5 miles, the soil is
little else than gravel, supporting a thin and stunted forest, traversed
by half a dozen dry channels of the Nihal, the westernmost of which
passes a few hundred yards east of Kaleedhoongee. Chousula is a
cleared tract close to the mountains, watered by the Bukra, a torrent
from the Bilooa Khan mountain, the summit of which is visible, in the
direction of Nynee Tal. Embelia robusta and Clerodendron siphonan-
thus grow in the Chousula woods: though abundance of the first is to
be had hereabouts ; the Almorah druggists sell the fruit of Rottlera tinc-
toria for it, as the true Bhaberung !
Leaving Chousula, the road, still skirting the mountains, passes the
spacious clearings of Futtehpoor, with a very neat Police Chokey ;
Peepul-pokhra, in the heart of a thick sal forest; and Loogria sal, a
394 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
very large and apparently recent settlement, watered by Kools (parbu-
tice gools) from the Gola river above Huldwanee, which is three miles
on: the intervening land is almost all under cultivation, and Huldwanee
itself is a very open, and compared with other marts of the Bhabur, a
healthy locality. For several years it was the chief entrepot for Ku-
maoon, but Kaleedhoongee will prove a formidable rival. It was found-
ed by Mr. Traill in 1834, and has its name from the Huldoo trees
(Nauclea cordifolia ;) it consists of a quadrangular enclosure, perhaps
80 by 40 yards, the shops facing inwards, but forming a complete anti-
thesis to the Royal Exchange ; there is, however, a brisk traffic in cloth,
blankets, salt, sugar, grain, groceries, &c. in exchange for the products
of the mountains, the natives of which so manage as to arrive here on
Tuesdays, when the market (penth) is held. Close on the east is the
broad, stony bed of the Gola, Goula, or Gargee, the Kitcha of the
Plains, a rapid and considerable river, draining the four mountain lakes,
Nynee, Bheem, Noukoochia, and Mulooa Tals. To the N. E. in the
second range of mountains, Loolan Putee, Dhyanee rao Pergunna, there
is a sacred and very conspicuous cone, called Kylas and Muhadev ka
Ling, the form of which is said to come very close to the original ling
in Tibet : a fair is held on it in Phalgoon, just before the Holee. The
East is not farther from the West, than the state of public feeling which
glories in such a phrase as the above, is from our own. The French
have an anecdote that in a diplomatic conference between Lord Castle-
reagh and Talleyrand, the former, witha terrible solecism in French
grammar, remarked, ‘ Perhaps my life may be longer than your Excel-
lency’s ;? to which the bishop drily replied—‘ Pent-étre.” It was
nevertheless, by this standard that the superiority of Siva over Vish-
noo was measured, for while the Vaishnavas boast the four great shrines
of their lord, Ramisseram, Budureenath, Dwaraka, and Jugunnath,
embracing the length and breadth of the land, they cannot deny that
Vishnoo upwards, and Brahma downwards, in vain endeavoured to reach
the limits of Mahadeo ka ling!
In the neighbourhood of the Kylas Cone there is a remarkable scar
on the declivity of the Birond Mountain, reported to be 8000 feet high,
and lying nearly due south of Almorah, Birond was one of the Great
Trigonometrical Stations: but the Map of this district is hitherto un-
published.
Cee
1848. ] The Turdee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 395
Huldwanee, not Bumouree, is the best and usual encampment for
troops: Bumouree is in fact altogether off the road to the N. W., and
Kath Godam, 3 miles north, at the very foot of the mountains, though
provided with a Buniya and a Bungalow, is extremely disagreeable from
the boisterous winds that blow down the Pass.
Roodurpoor, about 20 miles S, of Huldwanee, rather a large and
pretty place, is most unhealthy, from the prevalence of deep swamps
and stagnant nullahs ; the forest reaches to within six miles of it; the
grass and swamps extend S. as far as Manpoor, nearly 30 miles from
the mountains, being an excess of seven miles over the depth of the
malarious belt on the Moradabad and Nynee Tal line, and an addi-
tional argument in favor of the last. About November the herds of
cattle begin to assemble, and, as the grass is burnt, disperse over the
Turaee, feeding on the sweet and nutritious shoots which in 10 to 15
days, spring from the ashes. ‘Till this general conflagration, such is
the height and thickness of the various Arundines, Sacchara, and other
rank grasses, many of them sufficiently tall to conceal an elephant and
its rider, that this region is impenetrable. In autumn their innumera-
ble waving white plumes convert the prairies into boundless “ seas of
- milk,’ if indeed the Indian expression was not rather derived, as an
ingenious friend suggests, from the seas of white clouds feeling up all
the vallies, and seen from some “heaven kissing hill’ of the Himalaya.
My visit to the Bhabur was at an unfavourable season for identifying
the Graminez, but the following seemed the most conspicuous.
Saccharum spontaneum: *‘ Kas,” ‘ Jusha,” ‘ Jhansh.”
Saccharum semidecumbens: ‘Tat.’ “ Neja,’” its grass, ‘‘ Mora.”
The culms are used for screens, and supply Kumaoon with pens. It
is the “ Kilik” of the Plains, Oude, &c. from ‘ Kil,’ to be white.
Saccharum Munja: ‘‘ Moon.’ The blade beaten and _ twisted,
makes a strong rope: the culm is ‘ Sirkee.”
Saccharum sara and exaltatum: ‘ Surhur,” “ Suroor.”
Arundo karka: “ Nul:’” Nul-toora:” to 5000 feet.
Arundo ? ————— “ Khyla:” “ Khylooa:’ said to intoxicate and
even poison cattle fed on it: to 3500 feet in the mountains. :
Anthistiria arundinacea: “ Oolloo,” ‘ Kunyoor,” ‘ Kundoora :’’ to
3000 feet.
Andropogon muricatus:; ‘ Gandur’—the roots ‘ Khus’—the culm
pe mecnk,”
596 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. (May,
Andropogon (Sorghum) halepensis: ‘ Buroo,” “ Burai: ‘ Rikhon-
da;” to 3000 feet.
Imperata cylindrica: ‘“ Shiro.”
Andropogon Iwaruncusa, (i. e. elephant or best Koos, from idk :)
** Myria,” “ Gangulee,” “ Cheretta.” ‘ Dab,” ‘ Peeria.”” The last
is properly the Cymbopogon so abundant in the mountains, with roots
smelling and tasting of lemon and ginger. A. Iwaruncusa grows along
the Surjoo nearly (perhaps fully) as far as Bagesur, and as high as
3500 feet.
Typha elephantina: ‘ Pudera,” ‘ Petara.’ This penetrates the
mountains a long way by the course of the Kalee: the leaves are much
used in the manufacture of soft mats.
About Huldwanee, Martynia diandra is completely naturalized: the
following trees, &c. are common.
Ulmus integrifolia: ‘ Kunjoo:” the trunk is generally covered with
an orchid, probably Vanda cristata, or Cymbidium tesselatum. Cymbi-
dium triste, Oberonia Iridifolia, Pholidota articulata, &c. abound here,
and on the outer mountains.
Leonotis nepeteefolia: ‘* Gooma.”
Pogostemon plectranthoides : ‘* Roodra,” “ Roodla,” up to Almorah.
Lantana dubia: up to 2500 or 3000 feet.
Sponia — ‘“ Khusuroa.” Its glossy, but extremely scabrous
leaves, are used to polish wood: probably the Khaksi’ of Kirkpa-
trick’s Nepal. |
Solanum verbascifolium : “ Usheta:” the pounded leaves are used to
expel leeches from the nostrils of cattle ; the Reetha or soap-nut is simi-
larly employed.
Solanum diffusum.
Solanum Jacquini: ‘‘ Kunth-karee.”
Solanum rubrum: “ Chhota-gheewaen.” The berries of this night-
shade are eaten with impunity by the mountaneers.
Bauhinia purpurea? B. parviflora, and B. Vahlii (racemosa.)
Cassia Tora, C. purpurea, C. absus: ‘ Bunar.”
Butea frondosa: ‘ Dhak.”
Desmodium gyrans.
Dicerma pulchellum.
Tephrosia purpurea,
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 397
Czesalpinia bonducella: “ Kuronj.’’ The fever-nut : probably intro-
duced.
Clerodendron infortunatum: ‘ Bhutt.”
Clerodendron ternifolia.
Casearia Cheela: ‘‘ Cheela,” ‘* Cheelara.”’
Phyllanthus leucopyrus: ‘ Ainta.”
Spondias mangifera: ‘“ Umbara.”
Wendlandia cinerea.
Gmelina arborea: ‘‘ Goomhar.”’
Ficus Cunia: ‘‘ Kewnia.”” To Roodurpoor.
Ficus oppositifolia: ‘ Totmeela.”
Leea aspera.
Artemisia indica: ‘‘ Patee” : A. elegans (Roxb.) “ Jhou.”
The upper forests to the base of the mountains, are choked with
endless briars: Czesalpinia sepiaria, ‘‘ Hira,” the Mysore Thorn:
Acacia ceesia, ‘‘ Kutrar.’’ Acacia pennata (Buchananiana?), Mimosa
rubricaulis : both called, “ Agla:” the pitiless Acacia catechu: all, ex-
cept the last reaching to about 4000 feet elevation in the mountains,
where Rosa Brunonii is equally bad.
Plants common to the whole Bhabur, are—
Acacia elata: ‘ Buro.”
Acacia speciosa (Lebekh ?) “ Tantia.” Kulsees.”
Acacia Catechu: “ Khyr.”
Robinia macrophylla: ‘ Gonjha,”’ passim.
Dalbergia Sisu: ‘‘ Seesoo,”’ ‘‘ Seesum.”
Flemingia semialata : ‘‘ Bhutia.’’
Mucuna pruritus: ‘ Goncha.”’
Cassia fistula: ‘ Kitola,” “Itola.” ‘ Raj-brichh.” This “king of
the trees” flourislies-to nearly 4000 feet elevation, and is, as Dr. Royle
observes, even more brilliant than the Laburnum—the ‘‘ Golden Rain”
of the Germans. He has, however, fallen into a trifling oversight in
stating (Illustrations: 184,) that it flowers in March: May and June
are the months. The fruit is collected in large quantities and sold at
the various mundees ; the *‘ Umultas” of the Plains.
Abrus precatorius: ‘ Ruktee,” ‘ Rutnulia,”
Bombax malabaricum : “ Semul.” Flourishes to at least 4500 feet in
3 F
398 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
the mountains : the seed is eaten by the Buceros, called here “ Hoong-
zee-bagh,”’
Helicteres Isora: ‘‘ Jonka-phul,” ‘“ Muror-phul.”
Abutilon Indicum.
Moringa pterygosperma: ‘‘Synjuna.”’ ‘* Horse-radish Tree.”
Sesamum orientale: ‘ Til,’ very abundant in the more open woods,
and evidently wild. 3
Premna mucronata: ‘“‘ Ugnioon :” from the Sanserit ‘‘ ugnimuntha,”
‘churning fire ;” from the custom of procuring fire by friction of two
pieces of its wood, about Almorah. ‘‘ Ugnioon”’ is applied to Huonymus
Hamiltonianus.
Premna spinosa. Dr. Wilson gives “ Urni’ as one of the Sanserit
synonymes of this tree: but all over our Northern Provinces it is the
well known name of Clerodendron phlomoides, corrupted in Goojjurat
where it is abundant into “Irun” and “ Arnee.” A more careful exa-
mination of the popular names of plants would considerably diminish
the now improbable number of Sanscrit terms applied to the same object.
Premna and Clerodendron being of the same order are likely to have in
common the property of ignition by friction.
Vitex negundo: ‘‘ Mewree :” “ Shiwalee.” Further enquiry throws
doubt over the probability of Shiwalee being the Sephalica (Nyctanthes),
though in Bengal, the latter is called ‘‘Shioolee:” on the contrary, the
Kumaoon term, (‘Sinwar”’ in Behar) appears to come from the S,
«‘Sindhoovar” ‘‘ choosing the water,’ avery apt designation for Vitex.
The Chinese in Kumaoon make a kind of tea from its leaves. Vitex
trifolia, and V. incisa probably exist, but I have not discriminated them
hitherto.
Emblica officinalis: ‘* Aonla,”’ “ Amla ;” up to about 4000 feet. Wil-
son gives the etymology, “clean, pure: but since “uml,” “aml,”
denote sour, acid, and this is pre-eminently so, these would seem to be the
roots, as avowedly of ‘ umlika,” “ amlika,” the Tamarind. ‘ Emblica,”’
indeed appears to be the same as ‘ Amlika,”’
Rottlera tinctoria: ‘“‘ Rooen.”’ “ Rolee.’’
Terminalia chebula: “ Hur.” ‘ Hurura.”’
Terminalia Bellerica: “ Byhura.”
Pentaptera glabra: ‘‘Saj.”
Lagerstreemia parviflora: ‘ Dhoura,” passim.
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 399
Grislea tomentosa: “ Dhoula.’”’ To Almorah; and 6000 feet.
Ehretia leevis : ‘‘ Kodah,”’ which, at Almorah, is Cordia myxa.
Tetranthera monopetala: ‘“‘Kutmur.” ‘‘ Kukooree,” “ Kerowlee,”’
“ Putoya.”’ Probably the Sanscrit Kutumbura.
Cordia latifolia: ‘‘ Borla,” ‘ Byrala,” ‘ Bourala.”’
Randia dumetorum: ** Munyool,” ‘“‘ Mynphal.”
Kydia calycina: ‘ Puta.”
Sterculia villosa: ‘‘ Oodial.”’
Garuga pinnata: “ Kitmira.”’ The leaves are excellent fodder for
cattle: hence ‘ Khurput,” ‘¢ Grass-leaf,” the name in Gurbwal.
Wrightea mollissima: ‘ Doodhee.”
Holarrhena pubescens, (or antidysenterica) : ‘ Kooer,’” ‘‘ Koora,”’
** Kooda,” passim.
Cucumis Hardwickii: ‘ Air-aloo.”’ In Kumaoon, the term ‘ In-
drain” is appropriated to Trichosanthes palmata.
Lygodium semi-bipinnatum, and L. japonicum : two scandent ferns.
Azadirachta indica: ‘‘ Neem,’ nowhere indigenous, but planted near
the Goths aud Mundees, the leaves being greatly valued by the moun-
taineers. The force of azad-i-durukht” is “spreading tree :’ more
true of the Bukayun than of the Neem.
Cannabis sativa: ‘ Goon-bhanga,”—the fertile plant, yields seed for
oil, and Gunja: ‘ Phool-bhanga” the male plant, fibre only: from this
are made strong ropes, and the sackcloth, called “ Bhungela :’’ “ Koth-
la,” ‘* Bora” and “ Gajee.” The wild hemp, “ Jungulee-bhanga’”’ is of
no use for fibre, and merely affords “ Churrus.” The word ‘“ Sun”
seems never used to denote Cannabis sativa.
December 24th.—From Huldwanee to Bheemtal, about 14 miles.
At three miles is the bungalow called Kath-godam, at the base of the
mountains, and mouth of the Bumouree Pass, 1896 feet above Calcutta.
It derives its name from the wooden Store-room erected here in days of
vore for the commissariat : from which circumstance the ‘ godam’’ has
now in Kumaoon become universal to express supplies of provisions.
The place is now one of small resort, the violent blasts of wind which
rush down the Pass during the night and morning being excessively
cutting and disagreeable at this season ; about 13 miles on the sandstone
rock first occurs in situ at the short ascent called Hath-gya or guleeon,
below which the Hill-porters formerly refused to carry their loads.
3 F 2
400 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
This sandstone, which forms the mountains up to Bheemtal, is exactly
the same that we meet with between Bar and Subathoo: it is here
beautifully stratified: the strata dip N. E. or from the Plains. A short
but rather abrupt descent (the main difficulty in the carriage road to
Nynee Tal,) leads from Hath-guleeon into the hot and narrow, but
pretty valley of Chouhan ka puta or pata, watered by the Goula, with
a hamlet called Hath, and a Goth on the acclivities. A little higher up
is the Mango-grove, ‘“ Ranee kee Bagh,” where the Goula receives the
Buliya from Nynee Tal to the N. W. A little below the point of junc-
tion, ata holy spot called Maeepoor, or Maiapoor, where a fair is held
annually im January, is the Chitr-sila—‘‘the mottled stone,” a huge
rounded boulder of quartz conglomerate, reposing on a deep cleft in
the sandstone, which forms the right bank of the Goula. It is sacred
to Devee and Mahadev, and is greatly venerated—no new thing under
the sun, as may be seen in the book of Isaiah, c. lvii. The people of
Kumaoon always burn their dead at such a “‘sungum” or confluence. A
house, entirely of gold, is believed to exist somewhere here, but invi-
sible from enchantment. The Buliya is here crossed by an iron sus-
pension bridge, a short ascent from which brings us to the stony and
uncultivated dell called Umritpoor, on the Burokhuree or Bheemtal
stream, which also joins the Goula close by. From Umritpoor is the
way to Kylas mountain. From Kath-godam to this point the Pass is
sometimes much infested by tigers, and so many are its intricacies, and
such the luxuriance of the forest which overhangs the road, that their
destruction is rare and accidental. About 25 persons were devoured or
killed here this season; but so capricious are these brutes in their
haunts, that not one casualty seems to have occurred in 1847. The
Nynee Tal cluster of mountains is rather lumpy as seen up the Buliya,
but the glen itself is most beautiful, the path to Nynee Tal keeping to
its south side, deliciously shaded by the forest and the mountains.
There are several small Goths, where Turmeric, &c. is cultivated :
Kushainee, Jeeolee, Dogaree, &c. standing for the most part on elevated
gravel plateaux.
From the upper end of the Umritpoor dell the ascent is nearly conti-
nuous to Bheemtal, passing the Pukurbhura stream, and the Suriam
and Tooshiara Panees, with springs and wells. Ina profound glen to
the right, the Burokhuree rattles along its shingly channel, passing
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 401
under a small village so called, which tradition has handed down as
destined to be overwhelmed one day by the bursting of Bheemtal.
The scenery here is wild and beautiful : indeed the Bumouree Pass is
elorious in the superb and varied outline of the mountains, and in the
exuberant forest which every where clothes them; frequently bound
together into impenetrable thickets by the Acacias, Bauhinias, Robinias,
Vines, Ivys, and other Zianas which coil their boa-like stems round the
trees. This richness of vegetation contrasts remarkably with the thin-
ness and even bareness which prevail more or less on the same south
aspect from 4500 or 5000 to 7000 feet. Nothing can exceed the force
of the wind or the heat of the sun in the Bumouvree Pass, and yet its
forests are without a break. A phenomenon perhaps to be attributed
to the dampness of the climate, which, at all seasons suffices to nourish
very numerous orchideous epiphytes, and in the rainy season, when this
range is drenched with perpetual showers, a profusion of Balsamina,
Didymocarpus, Platystemma, Chirita, and other plants, half vapour,
half zephyr, which become rare, or disappear beyond the Gagur. Thus
in the Belkhet valley also, lying south of the Kanadeo range, answering
to the Gagur, we find the north and south side of the exterior range a
mass of luxuriant vegetation, while the north aspect, forming the south-
ern flank of the second range, is comparatively denuded, till we approach
the summit. Probably twice the quantity of water falls on the outer
ranges, which must find its exit in more copious springs along the base
of the mountains where the forests are thickest. It may be, also, that
the zone of 5000 to 7000 feet, on the south face of the Gagur, and its
continuation, is a sort of debateable land, too cold in winter for the pro-
ducts of the Turaee, and too warm in summer for those of the moun-
tains, which last are found to flourish at the same or much lower level
on the opposite and shaded side: where also, from the diminished
evaporation, ‘the scent of water’ is more abundant.
Either from the presence of this universal forest, and its associated
fever, or that the mountaineers are attracted by the richer and more
easily irrigated lands of the Bhabur, the S. W. border of Kumaoon is
very thinly inhabited and scarcely cultivated at all; while the corre-
sponding belt from Sirmour to the Ravee is densely peopled, and every
where scarped into terrace-fields of corn, ginger, turmeric, &c. ; the last
two being five or six times cheaper than in Kumaoon,
402 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Approaching Bheemtal, we first meetthe Bassia butyracea, ‘* Chioora,”’
or Butter-tree, at Tooshiara Panee, at about 3500 feet elevation ; it
grows considerably lower down in the dell of the Buliya : its flowering
time is Nov.-Dec. The vegetation above Tooshiara Panee begins to
change rapidly, and at length a slight descent from an easy Pass, opens
the Bheemtal, a pretty blue Lake, 3000 feet long by 2400 broad (Her-
bert) and 4445 feet above Calcutta. The road follows its eastern brink,
and near the northern end, crosses the clear, rapid burn which carries
off the superabundant waters into the Burokhuree and Goula. At this
point stands an old temple of Mahadev, shaded by avery fine Toon tree
and a little beyond is the bungalow. This, the N. E. side of the lake,
is bounded by a range of low trap hills, on one of which, south of the
bungalow, the Gorkhalees had a small stone fort, Chhukhata Gurhee,
now dismantled. The name, which is that of the pergunna, is said to
refer to its six Lakes. To the N. E. and N. W. the mountains rise
1000—1500 feet by easy slopes, and though deficient in the crags and
forests of Nynee Tal, present scenery of a very pleasing, open descrip-
tion. To the north, Bheemtal communicates by a tract of flat, marshy,
and partially cultivated land, with the Kooa or Surria Tal, which at
present is merely a large pond: an exceedingly tortuous, but perfectly
clear stream flows down from the Kooa Tal, and only wants a few
willows to resemble the fens of Lincolnshire. A small bund at the
temple would inundate ail this tract to the envy of Nynee Tal: while on
the contrary, a corresponding cutting of the actual barrier would fit it
for excellent cultivation, after the heart of such utilitarians as Baillie
Nicol Jarvie, who would have drained Loch Lomond itself. The mea-
sure might indeed be here expedient to gain land for the Tea Planta-
tions ; several of these, the Kooasar, the Bhurutpoor, the Russiah,
already cover the fields and slopes hereabouts, as well as two miles east-
ward on the Noukoochia Tal: and however their flourishing condition,
and sanguine prospects be admired, it is impossible to shut one’s eyes
and ears to the fact that the owners, or at least, the holders of the
land, are most reluctant to surrender the inheritance of their fathers,
though the Government compensation be on aliberal scale. There was
even “a sough” that they intended to stone the superintendent and
uproot the shrubs: but these were, at the worst angry words: and
when the farms are made over to them, and a handsome price paid them
SS SaaS” °° ©.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 403
for the green leaves, they will probably change their minds on this
matter.
Three to four miles west from Bheemtal across the ridge above the
Kooa Tal, in a deep basin, lies the group of lakelets called “Sat Tal,’’
generally of a circular form, and much resembling volcanic craters. The
neighbouring hills are of trap, capped by siate. These lakelets dis-
charge their waters into the Buliya ; and are fed from a system of glens
separated from that of Bheemtal by a low neck near Mahra village,
north of the latter.
In the Bumouree Pass and upward, occur,
Argyreia strigosa (or setosa) : to 3500 feet.
Coffea Bengalensis : ‘‘ Kuth-jahee.’’
-Holmskioldia sanguinea : “ Koobtolia:” to Bheemtal. It is remarka-
ble that the natives have no well-fixed name for this beautiful shrub,
which is sometimes mistaken for the Fuchsia.
Beehmeria frutescens (or tenacissima) : ‘‘ Poee.’’ Nets are made from
the fibre, which is very tough.
Beehmeria macrophylla (or macrostachya) : “ Gurgela.”’
Boehmeria nervosa: ‘‘ Getee.”” The wood is turned into bowls, &c.
Beehmeria salicifolia: ‘‘ Tooshiaree.”’
Ruellia latebrosa.
Strobilanthes.
Panax fragrans : from 2000 feet up to Bheemtal.
Hedera parasitica: ‘ Kot-semul :” from 2000 to 3500 feet.
Vitis latifolia: ‘‘ Pun-luglee:”’ ‘* Bhynsia-umlee.”’
Vitis lanata.
Cissus serrulata: occasionally an immense climber: from 2000 to
4000 feet.
Croton polyandrum.
Grewia didyma: ‘ Bhimool.”
Abutilon oxyphyllum (Edgeworth): near A. polyandrum, common
here and the Kotah Pass at 3000 feet.
Cocculus cordifolius (or verrucosus) : ‘* Goorcha.”
Pothos officinalis ? “*‘ Huthunglia, “ Guj-peepul.’” The leaves of the
Kumaoon plant are often deeply cut: hence the name: ‘hand and fin-
gers.”
Curculigo recurvata : ‘ Petaree.”
404 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. (May,
Kalanchoe varians: “ Noonoo.” “ Bukul-puta.”’
And, generally, what have been already noted in the descent: from
Nynee Tal; but in the shady dell of the Buliya, between Jeeolee and
Kushainee, we have Wallichia (Harina,) oblongifolia, Griffith ; Ground
Palm, ‘* Kala-ounsa.”’
Sabia campanulata,
And a little lower, between Jeeolee and Dogaree, Thunbergia coc-
cinea covers every tree and bush with its dark stems and leaves : it is in
full bloom all the winter, with innumerable drooping racemes of in-
tensely red blossoms.
Neither this nor the Wallichia Palms, are to be met from the Buliya
to Dhikolee: the former is, therefore, in all probability,* their N. Ww.
limit. Towards the Snowy Range Lieut. R. Strachey found the Walli-
chia on the Ramgunga, within 25 miles of the glaciers.
* At atime when the geographical distribution of Plants is a subject of interest, the
following particulars of the Flora of Rajpootana may not be out of place here.
Cadaba indica: ‘‘ Jethi-mudh.” Palee in Marwar.
Niebuhria oblongifolia: ‘‘ Chekul.” Nusseerabad.
Cassia auriculata : ‘‘ Awul.” Nusseerabad. The bark much used in tanning.
Poinciana elata: ‘ Sundura.” Common by towns and villages in Marwar.
Crotolaria ramosissima: ‘‘ Suntra.” Jeypoor.
Acacia ? “The Cypress Bubool.” Nusseerabad and on towards Dehlee.
Amongst the Mairwara Hills about Beaur, S. W. of Ajmere, occur :—
Balsamodendron agallocha? ‘ Googgul.” The Amyris commiphora of Roxb.
Vogelia indica: ‘‘ Chitrawul.” ‘ Chitra.”
Toddalia aculeata: ‘‘ Duhun.” ‘ Luhun.”
Sareostemma viminale: ‘‘ Dukhunee-tohur.”
Balanites AZgyptiaca: ‘‘ Heengo,” “ Hingota.” Stiff clay land from Goojrat to
Kurnal.
On the sands of Jeypoor and Shekhawutee :
Lithospermum vestitum : “‘ Rutunjot.’’
Leptadenia spartium (or Jacquemontiana). ‘‘ Kheep.”
Ephedra 2) “ Phoks
Orobanche Calotropidis, (Edgeworth. )
Prosopis spicigera: ‘* Jnund”—ceovers extensive tracts in Shekhawutee.
Artemisia elegans? ‘‘ Bunna.’’ Ditto.
Peganum Harmala: “ Isbund.”
Berthelotia lanceolata : ‘‘ Lesun,” ‘ Resun.” 2 Ferozpoor.
Kentrophyllum oxycanthum: ‘ Poree.” 5
Asphodelus clavatus: ‘‘ Piazee.” Whole fields with nothing else, between Umbala
and Ferozpoor.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 405
At Bheemtal we enter on a new vegetable zone :—
Quercus incana: about a thousand feet lower than its limit in the
Simlah mountains.
Castanea tribuloides: ‘* Kutonj,’”? near the Hurria Binaik, above the
lake.
Flacourtia sepiaria: ‘ Kundye.”’
Celastrus nutans: “ Malkaknee.”’
Celastrus spinosa: ‘“ Gwala-darim.”
Cocculus Roxburghianus : ‘‘ Goorjial,” “ Gurjial :”’ the ‘ Peer-gruy”
of Silhet, Enormous tubers.
Cissampelos convolvulacea: ‘ Paree.”’
Phyllanthus leucopyrus: “ Ainta.”
Phyllanthus retusa: ‘* Dhunee.”
Euphorbia pentagona: ‘“Seehoond.” A favorite habitat of the
beautiful saccolabium guttatum, which the Chinese say grows also in
their country.
Cissus capreolata: ‘‘ Punch-puta.”
Clematis Buchananiana and velutina: ‘‘ Ghuntiali.”
Ranunculus leetus.
Ranunculus sceleratus: ‘‘Sheem.” ‘ Jygunee-ainwa,” equally at
home from Chouringhee to Arthur’s Seat.
Berberis asiatica : ** Kilmora,”’ (B. aristata commences at 5000 feet,
near Shamkhet.)
Prinsepia utilis: ‘ Jhutela.” |
Rosa Brunonii: “ Kooja.” ** Kweea,” ‘* Kweeala.”’
Rubus rotundifolia: ‘‘ Heesaloo.”
Pyrus variolosa : ‘‘ Mehul.” :
Crateegus crenulata: “ Geengaroo.”’ From 2500 to 7000 feet, but
most luxuriant between 5000 and 6000.
Cerasus puddum (Royle.) Prunus cerasoides (Don’s Prodromus.)
* Puya,” “ Pudm.” A sacred (pavitra, pure) tree amongst the Hindoos ;
the name is from the 8. ‘* Pudmaksh,”’ ‘‘ Eye of the Lotus,”’ in allusion
toits pink blossoms, which appear in Oct.-Nov., and are soon succeeded
by the leaves, which are of a glossy green, and in January, beset by
myriads of aphides, which distil great quantities of honey-dew over
them. This tree attains its perfection at Almorah, where it is the only
evergreen, a very ornamental object amidst the prevailing sternness of
3G
406 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
the scenery. The fruit ripens in spring: but it was completely de-
stroyed by the snow of January and February 1847.
Viola Czespitosa.
Impatiens balsamina: ‘‘ Mujethee.”’ A red dye is made from its
leaves and flowers.
Jasminum dispermum: ‘ Soormalee.”’
Medicago lupulina ]
Lathyrus. { angulatus.
aphaca. Common in the fields.
Androsace incisa.
Ervum hirsutum.
Tlex excelsa.
Tetranthera: “ Kouwul.’”’ Several species.
Streptocaulon calophyllum: ‘ Dal-bhengoola.”
Chirita bifolia.
Echmanthera tomentosa or gossypina: ‘ Joundela.”’ Jhoola-
boota.”? In profusion on all the hills around : especially towards Mu-
looa Tal. In the low vallies between Cheennur and the Kotah Dhoon,
it rises 10 to 12 feet high, a strong bush.
Porana racemosa.
Tragopogon elegans: ‘ Gwalla.” ‘ Golshia.” <A pot-herb.
Bryonia laciniosa: var.
Zingiber chrysanthum ? a sp. with habit of Z. ligulatum,
Salix tetrasperma: “ Bhynsh.” Syzygium jambolana, ‘‘ Jamun,”
Ilex excelsa, &c. fringe the lake with Banj oak : the Lotus, Nelumbium
speciosum, ** Kouwul,” or “ Kunwul,” grows in the lake, but still more
abundantly in Noukoochia Tal: this, 4500 feet, being the highest level
at which it seems to flourish. In the Lake are also to be found—
Potamogeton mucronatum, crispum, and
Hydrilla verticillata.
Phragmites nepalensis: “ Nul.’ ‘ Tot-nul.’”’
Scirpus lacustris? a great Bullrush.
Sagittaria sagittifolia.
Myrioplyllum indicum,
and on the swampy brink towards the north end,
Altirnanthera nodiflora : ‘ Bheemraj.”’
Veronica anagallis.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 407
Ammania rotundifolia.
Plantago lanceolata.
Procris ————— “ Souchula,” used as a pot-herb.
Nasturtium officinale.
Drymaria cordata.
Acoruscalamus: ‘ Buj.” ‘* Goor-buch.”’
Coix gigantea,
Egnisetum.
Adenostemma latifolia.
Epilobium (cylindricum? Don.)
Mentha Royleana.
Hydrocotyle tenella.
Polygonum horridum: here only : abundant.
December 25.—From Bheemtal to Mulooa Tal, 8 or 9 miles East.
Path rugged, gradually ascending an arid quartz mountain, of which
the last ascent, at 3 miles, is composed of an exceedingly hard syenitic
greenstone, of which Captain Herbert detected scattered fragments only
near Bheemtal. He appears to have passed this district almost unaware
of the predominence of this class of rocks. The brow of this moun-
tain, known as the Ekwye Binaik, is from 5500 to 6000 feet above the
sea ; it slopes south in a richly cultivated talus, to the Noukoochia Tal,
a pretty tarn, embosomed in low rounded hills ; the outline broken into
deep bays, originates the name, which signifies ‘‘ Nine-angled.’”’ Its
level (4368 feet) is somewhat below that of Bheemtal. Each lake
sends forth its stream, which, meeting in the centre of the dale, form
the Burokhuree. About the junction, there is an extensive formation
of green and slate-coloured clay, called Komet, used in washing walls,
&e. arguing perhaps the former extension and even union of the two
lakes.
Fully 2000 feet below the Ekwye Pass to the East, flows the Goula,
in its narrow and beautiful ravine : beyond this rises a lofty oak-cover-
ed spur of the Gagur, in the highest and remotest recesses of which are
the sources of this river. The people call the spot the Champee ka
gar, denoting probably the Satchoolia Group, East of the Gagur Pass :
this latter also furnishes its tributary.
Descended S. E. over quartz rock, and amongst pine, oak, rhodo-
dendron, and a coppice of Aichmanthera, to the Goula, at Sukinjala
3G 2
408 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon.. | May,
Goth, about a mile above the spot where it expands into the Mulooa
Tal: it isa pretty large and perfectly clear stream, but is pushing a
great bank of stones and gravel into the lake, which must ultimately be
filled up, if not previously emptied by the bursting of the barrier at its
lower extremity, which is said to be wearing down rapidly. The dimen-
sions of the lake are about three-fourths of a mile from N. W. toS. E.
by 200 to 300 yards across ; the water clear, very deep and of a beauti-
ful green, Como tint, derived perhaps from the reflected woods. Unlike
the other Kumaoon lakes, it is well stocked with large fish; a circum-
stance due to its inferior elevation, being only 3751 feet above Calcutta :
this is accompanied by a sub-tropical vegetation, and the small villages
in the neighbourhood, Kunialee at the upper, Shewa Kanulla at the
lower end, are forsaken in the wet season, from the presence of oud or
Turaee fever. The lateral mountains fall so abruptly to the water, that
much difficulty is experienced in getting round the lake. High above
the exit of the Goula, on the N. E. mountain, is the immense scar,
called the Mulooa ka Pyhra—‘“ the landslip or rather rockslip of Mu-
looa,”’ the fall of which, according to the tradition of the country,
formed the lake by damming up the narrow glen: and certainly must
have deepened it. The people preserve the usual legend, and even the
name (Bhoor Koonda) of the village which was overwhelmed by the
landslip ; Mulooa, the owner of this village, shared its fate, and left
his name to the Lake. His actual residence here being about as authen-
tic as that of Pontius Pilate at the Alban Lake, we may rather search
for the meaning of the term in “ Mulla,” ‘ Malwa’—* high,” which
the tal is with reference to the Bhabur. | |
On the shingle at the upper end of Mulooa Tal, occurred a plant not
yet quite in flower, which seemed to be Wallich’s Lobelia rosea: 5 to 6
feet high : L. pyramidalis is to be seen in the glen of the Bukra below
Nynee Tal: and in still greater abundance at 6500 feet on the Eastern
face of Jagesur : it is exceedingly acrid.
December 26.—From Bheemtal over the Gagur Pass to Ramgar
Bungalow, 12 miles north. The route keeps along the upper Basin of
the Kooa Tal, and leaving Mahra village to the left, ascends to the head
of the Shamkhet valley, 5700 feet above the sea (R. 8.), remarkable as
forming a depression of 3000 feet between the Eastern or Satchoolia,
and the Western or Cheenur line of the Gagur, thus forming the lowest
1848.]. The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 409
passage from its south to its north face: it is drained by the Ninglat
stream, which first flows West in the direction of the path to Nynec
Tal, and then north to the Kossila: exactly the reverse of the course
laid down in the Trigonometrical Map, where the engravers have drawn
the Gagur continuously, and were therefore compelled to make their
stream countermarch.
From the Shamkhet valley the Almorah road ascends gradually to
«« Jureepanee,”—the root or source of the water—(one of the feeders of
the Goula), and then very steeply for 900 feet to the crest of the Gagur
Pass, 7200 feet above Calcutta by the observations of Lt. R. Strachey,
but 7768 according to Webb, which, though a probable misprint for
7168, is adopted by the geographers of Berlin, who mark the elevation
7314 Paris feet. Captain Herbert states it to be 7121. The moun-
tain is densely wooded with Rhododendron, Andromeda, Benthamia,
Viburnum, Pinus longifolia, and fine Quercus incana and dilatata; but
Bishop Heber was misinformed as to the Deodar, which does not grow
here. His warrantry of the scenery renders description superfluous ;
yet it is by no means equal to what one commands from many other
points, as any of the peaks above the new road from the Pass to Nynee
Tal, or from the Peoorah Bungalow. The traveller from the N. W. is
struck by the nearness and boldness of the Himalaya—not a long cur-
tain, but broken up into huge groups, masses, and pinnacles—the Puyj-
choola, the precipitious facades of Nunda Devee, and the colossal mass
of Trisool, being right in front. The line between these and Budree-
nath is partially masked by the Chamee ka Dhoora, the Choor of Ku-
maoon, a huge branch of the Trisool, attaining the elevation of about
13,500 feet. The nearer views comprize Binsur, Bhutkot, Doonagiri,
Seyahee Devee, and the long blue, or in winter white, Doodootolee
range, which fills the western horizon, and divides Kumaoon from Gurh-
wal. To the south the prospect is limited : but by ascending the West-
ern portal of the Pass, Bheemtal, with the exterior ranges, and a long
expanse of plain and forest come into the field of view.
The Gagur Range has its appellation from one Gurg, who performed
penance at the source of the Goula: those cool regions which are hea-
ven to the Englishman, being hell to the Hindoo. Wilson explains
Gurg to be “‘ one of the ten principal moonees or saints, a son of Brah-
ma.’ Garggu means “ descended from Gurg,
b
’ and Gargee, the name of
710 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
the Saint’s wife, is often applied to the Goula river. There is no decent
proof, indeed, that any other wife ever existed, or that the Saint himself
is not as imaginary a personage as his putative father. The Sanscrit
root, gri, to sprinkle, to wet, seems to supply a more easy and natural
derivation for the name, or ‘‘gurgur,” making a gurgling noise; in
allusion to the heavy rains which deluge the mountain and their result
in innumerable streams. The Gagur is therefore the Indian Gargarus.
A pretty steep descent of 1300 feet down the north side of the
mountains brings us to the Ramgar Bungalow, built on a plot of culti-
vated ground called Gujooteena, 5950 feet above Calcutta (R. 8.)
There is little space for the encampment of troops, but here, as at the
other stages on this route, some shelter is provided in the way of sub-
stantial slated sheds, here called ‘‘ Barracks,” originally mule-sheds,
which are available to passengers generally, and very useful in the cold
and wet seasons. A Buniyais stationed at each Bungalow. Water, natur-
ally scarce and distant, is brought down from the Pass to the Bungalow
by wooden pipes. From its northern exposure, the climate here is
colder than would be expected from the elevation. There is not much
in the way of scenery; the bare, brown mountain of Lohakotee rising
in front to perhaps 7500 feet, eclipses the snows: but to the S. EK.
the Sat-choolia or Sut-boonga, summits of the Kastern Gagur, are fine,
not alittle resembling Jukoo as seen from Elysium at Simlah, and
(8450) nearly the same height.
From below Jureepanee to the crest of the Pass, and on the north
side for 2200 feet down to the Ramgar valley, the Gagur Range is
composed of syenitic greenstone, with occasional beds of clay and chlo-
rite slate: at Jureepanee we also find masses of the identical syenite
which has been erupted at the Binsur Muhadeo, and which Lt. R.
Strachey informs me also forms the Surjoo base of that mountain. The
Gagur syenitic greenstone extends eastward to the foot of Sat-choolia,
and westward along the range traversed by the new road from the Pass
towards Nynee Tal, which crosses the Ninglat stream at about 5500
feet, just where it enters the Shamket Gorge before mentioned: the
flanks of this exhibit the greenstone much decomposed into rhomboidal
fragments, finally merging, as at the Sat-choolia, into the quartzose
rocks of Lurria Kanta. It thus forms perhaps the greatest formation
of greenstone yet observed in the Himalaya.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 4\1
The vegetation of the Gagur Pass is nearly identical with that of
Nynee Tal: the following additions owe their existence most probably
to an imperfect survey of the latter,
Astilbe rivularis.
Polygonatum multiflorum : Solomon’s seal.
Leycesteria formosa: ‘ Nulkurroo.” “ Sounjla.”’
Stauntonia latifolia and angustifolia: ‘ Gophla.”
Millingtonia pungens: ‘“‘Gurdar.” Khurus.”
Staphylea Emodi.
Eurya acuminata: “Dewra.” From 3000 (Kotah Pass) to 7500 feet.
Oxyramphis macrostyla.
Ulmus virgata: ‘ Chumburmuya.”
Paris polyphylla.
Sempervivum.
Sedum multicaule.
Polygonum Sinense.
Ophelia paniculata.
Aplotaxis canescens.
Calanthe plantaginea. Hyacinth Orchis.
Gymnogramme caudata: ‘ Ooneena.”
Michelia Kisopa: ‘‘ Bun-chumpa;” a large tree flowering September,
October: Dr. Wallich says April, May, in Nepal.
In the shady dell at Jureepanee we have the Gyrandra laurina ?
«* Rukt-chundun,” “ Rutungulia,” before alluded too ; and here also the
rocks and trees are covered with the beautiful Clemates Nepalensis D.
C. montana of Don, flowering at mid-winter, each blossom with its
involucrum, Its range appears to be from 6000 to 7000 feet, growing
by and in streams—-apparently a rare plant, as I have only found it
here and at Devi Dhoora. Dr. Royle mentions choor, wrukta, &c.
9000—10,000 feet as its site, and May as its flowering season—referring
most probably to the Clemates barbatella of Mr. Edgeworth.
The western face of the Sat-choolia group, from about 6500 ft. is
covered chiefly with Reeanjoak, Quercus lanuginosa, reaching up to
about 8000 feet: where it is superseded by Q. dilatala, fringing the
northern crests and declivities: associated with ash, holly, maple,
Symplocos, crateegifolia, Millingtonia dillenifolia, Kadsura grandiflora,
Marsdenia mollis, and the clambering Xanthoxylon oxyphyllum.
412 The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | Miy,
Sopubia parviflora is in abundance at from 7000—8000 feet, above
Borakot.
Towards the lower limit of Quercus lanuginosa, in dense damp forest
near Jilwa Deo, at the foot of Sat-choolia, I came unexpectedly on
several low plants of the Thakil Palm, Chamerops martiana (vel Khas-
yana), which I afterwards found of similar dimensions considerably
north of this on the Bhatkot mountain. Should future search not bring
taller specimens to light, the dwarf stature of these may be accepted as
an indication that the tree attams hereabouts its western limit.
27th December.—To the Sat-choolia (or Sut-boonga)summits, a walk
of three hours E. 8. E. from the Ramgar Bungalow: the distance
greatly exceeds the estimate, consequent on the suppression from below
of several long and comparatively bad ridges. No guide being procur-
able, we went to work bull-dog fashion, descending to a branch of the
Borakot stream, and then breasting an almost precipitous acclivity. A
much easier way is to ascend a mile or more towards the Gagur Pass,
and then strike off eastward, through beautiful forests to the col, east
of the rural shrine Jilwa Deo, where at the termination of the green-
stone, elevation 6800 feet, the routes meet. Hence to the summit, the
ascent is somewhat difficult, the huge crags and cliffs of quartz rock,
which constitutes all the upper portion of the mountain, offering consi-
derable obstacles. The western summit, elevated 8450 feet (R. 8.), or
about 100 less than Cheenur, consists of a ridge level for a few hundred
yards from north to south, but of no width: about half an hour’s walk,
east, and divided by a neck depressed 150 to 200 feet, is a more roomy
summit, apparently of equal altitude, devoid of timber, and wholly
overgrown with Cherayuta (Ophelia cordata and purpurascens) ; on this ~
is a cairn and mast of the Trigonometrical survey.
There is no water on the western face of this group for the last 3000
feet: but it probably would be found at no great distance down the
woody glen facing the north.—Marks of wild animals were abundant,
hog, deer, &c. ; several surrow, ghoorul, and kakur, showed themselves,
as well as the foot prints and other vestiges of tigers, which roam all over
Kumaoon in the hot and rainy seasons: the mountaineers firmly believe
them to be very regular in their devotions to Devee on the high places.
Choola and Chooda, or Choor, are identical terms, signifying ‘ head,’
‘crest,’ &e., from chool to elevate, and are distinct from choolee, a fire-
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 413
place; yet it seems to have been chiefly from this misapprehension,
aided by an occasional riband-like wreathe of cloud extracted from
the snow by the sun, that the Punj-Choola has been reputed the seat
of volcanic action. The only evidence of this hitherto known in the
province, is that arising from the recurrence of frequent, but happily
slight shocks of earthquakes.
Sat-choolia and Sat-boonga denote either the pure or the seven
summits: they overlook an immense expanse of the Himalaya and of
Hindoostan, and are composed exclusively of quartz rock, of which
the strata dip to the N. E. and form tremendous precipices to the S.
W., amongst which are the springs of the Goula. The range is conti-
nued round a deep bay to the N. E., in which direction is the Motesur
or Motchur summit, also called Motee Pathur, 7782 feet, of which the
rock is mica slate, the dip of the strata identical with that of Sat-choolia,
The Mussooree and Landour rocks are all tilted up in the same direc-
tion here at Sat-choolia, as well as at Mussooree, this is probably due
to the outbursts of trap rocks tothe S. W. The parallel dip of the
strata in the higher mountains noticed by Herbert and others, would
appear to depend, in like manner, on the line of granitic eruption which,
inside the Gagur, extends through Kumaon from N. W. to S. E.
nearly ; still higher up, but equally parallel, is the great range, in which
the chief rivers have their sources ; between these, running S. W. and
even south, are the loftiest summits of the Himalaya, the highest of
which, Nunda Devee, with its precipitous and apparently stratified front
towards Almorah, seems built up on the same model as the lower
ranges. The whole of the rocks of the main chain, however, can scarce
be stratified: my friend Major Sampson, found the blocks brought
down by the Vishnoogunga Glacier above Budreenath to be a normal
grey granite. Moreover in the Jagesur range, near Almorah, which
attains the elevation of 7721 feet, the rock (mica-slate) dips to the
plains. In the case of the Bumouree ranges, where the sandstone
strata rise steeply towards the plains, where not a vestige of any up-
heaving substance remains, but on the contrary, the land is exceedingly
low, it is difficult to account for their position, except by the suppo-
sition that the subterranean force acted in a line with a very oblique
inclination to the surface.
The descent from Sat-choolia may be varied from the ascent by
3 L
414 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
dipping down an exceedingly steep cloof on Borakot village, 3000 feet
beneath; it has the disadvantage of a subsequent ascent of 1000 feet
to the bungalow.
December 28th.—From Ramgar Bungalow to Peoorah, 9 or 10 miles.
The road dips 1000 feet to the level and rather open valley of the
Ramgar stream, on the south or left bank of which was the original
bungalow, a singularly unhappy position, exceedingly hot in summer,
and, till warmed by the sun, as intolerably cold in winter. So cold
are these vallies at night, that at Hawulbagh, only 4000 feet above the
sea, and comparatively open, many plants are killed by frost, which
escape at Almorah, 1500 feet higher.
A mile or so east of this, the road crosses to the north bank by an
iron suspension Bridge (elevation 5050 ft. R. S.), 200 feet above which
stands the village of Naikena or Ramgar, consisting of about 50 houses,
as neat and correct in externals as the character of the inhabitants is,
in our eyes, infamous. The place is the property and residence of a
community of hereditary and, in their own estimation, high-caste Pa-
turs, who keep up strong establishments at Almorah, Khilputee, &c.
tending in no small degree to the demoralization of the province, and
inflicting serious injury on the health and discipline of the troops in
garrison. Nor are they content with Kumaon, for each cold season,
this deplorable sisterhood detach some of their numbers to the various
cities of Rohilkhund. The female children are all brought up in the
profession of their mothers ; the boys become WNaiks, as the men of
the village are called, who, in case of deficiency at home, get their
wives from the iron-masters of Agur: no respectable family would
think of an alliance with them: and Venus, as of old, marries with
Vulcan.
From the bridge, there is rather along ascent to what is called the
Ramgar Gallery, when the road keeps for two miles the S. E. face of
the hot and bare Lohakotee mountain, which rises fully a thousand feet
higher : immediately beneath flows the Ramgar in a narrow and preci-
pitous gorge formed by the Lohakotee and Sat-choolia mountains. Its
head waters are in the deep recess formed by the latter and Motesur,
on leaving which it irrigates the broad, undulating, and cultivated vale
of Agur, possessed by a race who for ages back have worked the iron
mines from which the Lohakotee mountain has its name, The old
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 415
mines are on the ascent above the village of Ramgur; those wrought
at present lie more to the west, abreast of the bungalow. These men
also work the iron-mines of Khetsari near Lohba in Gurhwal, whither
they annually emigrate in November with their families and cattle.
The mines on the Punar near Ramesur, and I believe those along the
Ludheea, between Doorga Peepul and Deo Dhoora, are also in their
hands. It is curious enough that Kirkpatrick calls the miners of Tam-
bakan, a similar locality in Nepal ‘the Agrye caste or tribe.” The
name may be connected with the Agurwals of N. W. India, and it is
certain that in the Aguri-kars, or artificers of Agur, Jacob Bryant
would have infallibly discovered the remnant of the Egregori, the prime-
val instructors of savage man in metallurgy and husbandry.
About Ramgar village commences the Mica slate formation so
general thence northward: on the Gallery, it is blended with strata of
blue crystalline limestone, the whole dipping N. E. At the east end
of the Gallery is the Deodara Pass, 6346 feet above Calcutta, on the
neck which joins Motesur to Lohakotee. Here Almorah is first seen,
backed by the snows, but the view is speedily lost, for the road now
makes asecond deep dip into the glen of the Deodar stream: this
rises in Motesur, and flowing north, joins the Kosilla above Munrus. Its
slopes exhibit a rich expanse of cornfields, with the villages Kilor,
Banj, &c. a cheerful contrast with the gloomy woods of the Gagur.
Tradition has it that valuable treasures are buried where the road
crosses this brook: it is more certain that a wearisome acclivity must
be breasted to the Laldana Binaik, about 6000 feet high; this pass
was formerly guarded by a petty stone gurhee to the left, but is just
now entrusted to the protection of the Deotahs, whose good will is
secured by a number of paltry shrines, where the bushes are plenti-
fully decorated with rags of every age and color. The ravages of tigers,
since mitigated, led to this display of piety; but the animals still fre-
quent Motesur mountain immediately above.
Peoorah Bungalow, elevated 5800 feet (R. S.) is nearly a mile east
of the Laldana Binaik, and 150 to 200 feet lower: being on the north-
ern face of the mountain, it has little sun, and isa chilly spot in
winter. About 5 miles distant to S. E. is the Motesur summit, 7782
feet, covered with Quercus dilatata, which shelters one or two low
shrines of Muhadeo, Symdeo, &c. On the crags a little below are
3 L 2
416 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. (May,
certain marks which the people believe to be the footprints of elephants,
horses, camels, &c., the army of a certain, or rather, uncertain god ;
who, wishing to pass this way, was resisted by the demon of the place:
this latter obtained ‘‘moksh,” emancipation from existence, by being
quoited down amongst the Aguris: and hence they say comes Motesur
or Mooktesur. The Motia Patthur is said to be distinct, lying between
this and Devee Dhoora.
The vegetation about the Ramegur valley consists of Craniotome
versicolor.
Pupalia sequax. '
Rubia cordifolia.
Marsdenia Roylei.
Jasminum dispermum.
Mimosa rubicaulis (its upper limit.)
Bryonia scabrella.
The coppice about Peoorah exhibits the usual shrubs, with Spireea
cuneifolia.
Rhus semialata: ‘‘ Dukmeela.”
Rhus vernicifera: ‘ Goor-bhuliou.
Rhus parviflora: ‘“‘ Runnel,” (Highest limit.)
Benthamia fragifera: ‘“‘ Bumoura.”
Eleeagnus arborea: ‘‘ Gheewaee.”’
Myrica sapida: ‘ Kaephul.”’
Cotoneaster affinis: ‘* Rous.”’
Alstonia lucida: ‘‘ Doodhee.”
Quercus annulata: ‘ Phuliant,” “ Funiyat.” Upper limit 6000 ft.
lower 2000.
Pardanthus Sinensis: to 7700 feet on Motesur.
Hedychium villosum.
Hedychium tenuiflorum? Between Ramgar and the Gallery, flower-
ing in August, and discovered here by Moonshee Murdan Alee* of the
Seharunpoor Botanic Garden.
* This very intelligent and respectable Syyud, the first of his race, perhaps, who
addicted himself to Natural History or any useful knowledge, and in whose honor Dr.
Royle established the genus Murdannia, has, under the occasional instruction of Messrs.
Royle, Falconer, and Edgeworth, his masters and mine, attained a considerable profi-
ciency in Botany, and has compiled a Hindoostanee work on the subject, containing a
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 417
The warm exposure of the Ramgur Gallery exhibits the following
plants :—
Amphiraphis cuspidata.
Osyris nepalensis: “ Bukurdhura.” ‘ Bukurja.”
Hypericum cernuum : “ Ulooa-bena.”’
Thalictrum rupestre.
Leea aspera : “ Koomalee.”’
Glochidion bifaria: ‘‘ Mowee,” “ Byr-mowee.” ‘ Bukulwa.”
Cedrela serrata: ** Dul,”’ ‘* Dula.”’
Vitis rugosa: ‘ Assoujia.” ‘ Puhur-phoota.” The first referring
to the season, Sept.-Oct., when the grapes ripen, which are edible ; the
second means ‘‘ mountain-splitter,” from the habitat of the plant. It is
also common on the crags of Motesur, Bandunee Devee, Binsur ; and is
the same which in J. A. 8S. March 1847, p. 242, is termed V. macro-
phylla. But there is no need for a new name; it is well-described by
Dr. Wallich in the Flora Indica, with this exception that (in Kumaon
at least), it does not inhabit ‘mountain and other forests,” but open
warm crags. Wight and Arnott (Prodromus 131), and Royle (Illus-
trations, 145), identify it with V. lanata, Roxb. The two plants, how-
ever, are perfectly distinct, and never confounded by the people here.
V. lanata, “ Poorain,” celebrated amongst them for the abundance of
sap yielded by its stock in spring (as V. latifolia and rosea are in the
Bhabur) chiefly affects the warm vallies, from 4000 to 5000 feet, flour-
ishing by the streams, and climbing over high trees. It flowers in
May, with pale yellow petals, cohering at the apex, and in that form,
heaved off by the stamens.
V. rugosa, on the contrary, prefers the most exposed crags, over and
amongst which it creeps but never climbs, at from 5000 to 6500 feet or
‘more, where V. lanata becomes rare. The stems rarely exceed six feet
in length, and, as Wallich observes, the leaves rival in size those of the
common Burdock or the Rhubarb. The flowers do not appear till
‘general introduction to the study, followed by a detail of the orders and genera, after
the Natural System, comprising most of those indigenous to the upper provinces of India
and the Himalaya. The work still languishes in MS. the expenses of printing being be-
yond the author’s means. With some previous supervision, it is deserving the attention
and patronage of the Asiatic or any other Society interested in the progress of Botany in
India, amongst the Indians.
418 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, [ May,
July, the colour deep red, the petals spreading, distinct ; and scarcely
to be distinguished from those of V. tomentosa, ‘‘Chuppertain,” a
resemblance noted in the Prodromus. The three species may be com-
pared growing in company on the Ramgar Gallery, though V. lanata
and tomentosa are rather rare in this locality.
It is an agreeable task thus to vindicate the fair fame of one whom it
has recently been the fashion in Bengal to depreciate with a persever-
ance which would be amusing were it not malicious and dictated by
personal hostility. The Doctor gives a description ; it is rejected: he
gives none; and is held up to our admiration with a “ sine characte-
re!!!” Truly may he exclaim, we have piped unto you, and ye have
not danced, &e.
In the vicinity of Peoorah, and generally over similar ground in Ku-
maoon, two forms occur, the tender fronds of which are commonly eaten,
and are sometimes brought to market. One, ‘‘ Kootra’ is the Nephro-
dium eriocarpum ; the other “ Lingra,” ‘ Lioongra,”’ ‘‘ Leeoor,” (a very
difficult sound) is the Asplenium polymorphium ; the first coming unto
season in spring, the second in autumn.
Cinnamomum albiflorum: ‘ Dalcheenee,’’ ‘ Kikra,”’ is a common
plant in the valley of the Koomnia below Peoorah.
December 29th.—To Almorah, 9 or 10 miles. There is a long de-
scent of about 1800 feet to the Koomnia river, which is passed by the
Synj Iron suspension Bridge ; then a rise of perhaps 1000 to the
Dheeakot Binaik, on the spur from Roulakot, a bluff point connected
with Bandunee Devee, and about 400 feet lower :—then a second-descent
to the Suwal (Salmulee or Semul) river, which is crossed by the “ Lat’
Iron Suspension Bridge: and lastly, a tedious, rocky, very bare, and in —
Summer exceedingly hot ascent of 1600 feet to Almorah, by no means
calculated to impress the visiter very favorably in the first instance. The
rocks are quartz, mica slate, (with freestone beds in the Huree Doongree, )
gneiss, and finally granite, which forms an entire mountain S. W. of the
station, and has apparently lifted up, and in some places, coutorted the
others to a remarkable degree: to the south, indeed, the strata appear
to dip under the granite: they also contain in this neighbourhood the
quartz dykes supposed to indicate the action of granite. ‘The quarries
of micaceous and quartzose rocks supply excellent materials for building
and roofing,
1848. ] The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 419
Approaching Almorah in this direction during the hot season, multi-
tudes of large lizards may be observed basking on the rocks, conspicu-
ous by their cobalt-blue legs, and the sure index of a broiling tempera-
ture : indeed, in the low vallies, where they rival the Gosamp in size,
the climate in May and June differs little from the fabled one of the
Salamander. These reptiles are generally considered to be insectivo-
rous ; here, however, they also devour grass and other herbs with avi-
dity, and are very destructive in the gardens.
The town of Almorah in Purgunna Baramundil has already received
its meed of description from Bishop Heber and Mr. Batten, to which I
will only add one or two remarks on the animals, &c. of the vicinity.
Mr. Hodgson, I think, tells us that the Jackal (here called Shial),
seldom or never appears in the Himalaya; this is by no means true of
Almorah, towards which they may be seen stealing every afternoon to
pay their attentions to the poultry-yards, and goats; the handsome
hill fox, ‘‘ chooria-shial,”’ is also not uncommon, and though Captain
Thomas asserts the reverse, is, or at least was to be seen about Simlah.
I observe also that Mr. Ogilby, in Royle’s Illustrations, concludes that
the domestic Ass has not been introduced into any part of these moun-
tains ; they are in common use as beasts of burden at Kanum and
Soongnum in upper Kunawur. Leopards are numerous at Almorah,
and levy heavy contributions on the flocks, the dogs, and the poultry ;
bears only approach during the autumnal harvest: tigers are never
now known to come within ten miles of us. The Hare, Susoo, is not
very common. Snakes and scorpions are common, some of the former
above 6 feet in length, but generally harmless, though much dreaded
by the people ; in two years’ residence I have never heard of an accident ;
but at Hawulbagh the Cobra is well known. A plant, “* Guroor-bootee”’
is considered a cure for the bite: what was pointed out is Barleria
ciliata.
Amongst birds, the common Plover or Peewit of the plains, Vanellus
Goensis, is frequently to be seen; the people know it by the name
Tishta ; and, in common with their low-land neighbours, have the odd
idea that it sleeps on its back with its legs upwards to prevent the sky
from falling on it. No easy matter, with so watchful a bird, to bring
to the test of actual observation, and hence perhaps the origin of the
belief.
420 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kuimaoon. | May,
The highest point of Almorah, Fort Moira, is about 5577 feet above
Jaleutta; the general level of the ridge being from 50 to 100 feet
lower. This elevation ensures a temperature sufficiently high in sum-
mer and autumn to induce the visits of the Firefly, the Cardinal, Rocket,
and Mango birds, the Hoopoo, the Myna, flights of a beautiful Perro-
quet, the king of the crows, Bulbul, Shrike, the loud-wailing ‘“ Neoula,”
and other denizens of the plains, who here meet the Goldfinch, Sky-
lark, Cuckoo, Black-bird, Field-fare, Jays, Tomtits, and Wagtails of
several species, the pretty Certhia himalensis or Wall-creeper, the
Woodcock (Simkookra), and other natives of the north; the whole
kept in order and number by a very strong force of ravens, owls, hawks,
falcons, kites, eagles, (a fine black eagle,) vultures, and demi-vultures.*
The phenomena of the vegetable kingdom are analogous, (though in
part due to the agency of man,) denoting a middle term, where many
tropical plants will not live or flower, from the cold, while the alpine
ones either perish, or refuse to flower, from the heat. The climate
seems very congenial to many of those from the more temperate regions
of Central America. We have Butea frondosa, Cordia myxa, Ficus
religiosa, Grislea tomentosa, Sapindus acuminata, Lagerstroemia indica,
Cedrela Tuna, Melia azedirach, Acacia Farnesiana, Cassia aurata, Mi-
chelia champaca, Yucca gloriosa, Ricinus communis, Musa sapientum,
Eriobotrya japonica (which, however, never matures its fruit), associated
with Populus ciliata, Pavia indica, Alnus obtusifolia, Juglans regia,
Cedrus deodara, Cupressus torulosa, Pinus longifolia, Cerasus pudum,
Pyrus variolosa and domestica, Crataegus crenulata, Armeniaca vulgaris,
Clematis, Thymus, and other northern forms.
Such data, fortified by experience, will enable us to rate at its proper
worth the colonization cant which so often fills the gazettes, combined
with the most exaggerated pictures of Himalayan resources, and the
most chimerical schemes for railways, in a country where we are only
* Gypaetos barbatus, ‘“‘ Gidh,” the common vulture, is a corruption of the Sanscrit
Gridhra, which is our own word greed, greedy. Several of the birds enumerated are
only to be seen here during the winter: the Cuckoo, ‘‘ Hupooa” makes its appearance
in the latter half of March: it is an interesting point, perhaps still undetermined, to
detect the winter habitat of this bird: it would appear to be in the south. I have heard
them as far down as Cawnpore.
The Melia azedarach ( Betain of Almorah) agrees with the Bukayun of Meerutt, &e.
ihe ridges of the nut bemg somewhat less prominent,
1848. | The Turuee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 421
too happy to find any roads at all. In sober truth, the resources of
the mountains are not many, and are already as much developed as the
nature of the country will admit of. Consequent on the cost of tran-
sport, the timber, tar, iron, hemp, madder, &c., cannot at any remune-
rating price, come into competition with the water-borne articles of
Europe, and other maritime lands; or the supply already equals the
demand. The soil, except in the low vallies where the European colonist
cannot exist, is generally poor, besides being pre-occupied, and often
exhausted, by the aboriginal population. Of the feelings with which
these would regard any extensive immigration of agricultural Europeans,
we may judge by the dissatisfaction with which they relinquished the
comparatively trifling lands required for the Tea plantations. The fine
tracts of rich meadow, which flank the Snowy Range, are too remote for
settlers, and are too high and too cold to ripen grain.
Then as Russia has been termed a despotism tempered by assassina-
tion, so the Himalayan climate is a tropical one tempered by thunder-
storms. It is certainly less salubrious than is commonly supposed, and
seldom so cool as to admit of European out-door labour. Everywhere
we encounter miserably diseased objects amongst the natives—much to
be ascribed to filthy habits, no doubt :—and up to 5500 or 6000 feet,
the amount of sickness amongst Europeans, though not of a serious
description, is considerable, and of a nature which singularly indisposes
and unfits the subject for occupation. Such, too, is the power of the
sun at all elevations, from April till October, between 9 a. m. and 4
p, M. that Europeans can rarely with impunity brave its rays.* The
mean annual temperature at 7500 feet elevation is nearly that of Lon-
* On this point, Professor Forbes furnishes us with some results very instructive fo
those who think that by escaping to the Himalaya, they also escape the Indian sun, (sup-
plementary Report on Meteorology, in the Report of the British Association for 1840. )
“ Saussure seems first to have thought of comparing directly the intensity of solar heat
at the top and bottom of a mountain: * * * * and, by experiments on the Cramont, to
the south of Mont Blanc, he actually proved the increased intensity of the solar rays as
we ascend, notwithstanding the diminution of temperature.” The Professor himself, by
*‘ comparative experiments at the top and bottom of a column of air 6500 feet high, of
known density, temperature, and humidity, under the most unexceptionable circum-
stances in point of weather” found the loss of solar heat vertically traversing the atmo-
sphere to amount, at the level of the sea, to 29 per cent.: ‘‘a near agreement with the 32
per cent, independently determined by the method of Bouguer and Lambert witl the same
3M
422 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
don; but the fact that few of the trees indigenous at that altitude can
stand an English winter, points to a signal difference of conditions im the
distribution of Himalayan heat and moisture. Dr. Royle well observes,
after the astronomers, that, in advancing north from the equator, the
sun passes over 12° in the first month, 8° in the second, and only 330
in the third ; and that hence, from his longer presence there, and the
greatly increased length of the day, the heat is more intense at the
tropic than at the equator: at the latter, the sun is more or less verti-
cal for about six days only ; at the latter for nearly two months. The
distance of the Himalaya from the northern Tropic is not great ; and
where we have a southern exposure, is more than compensated ; there
indeed, the sun’s rays strike vertically with intolerable power, augment-
ing in the ratio of our ascent, so that one is absolutely scorched while
walking on a glacier. What a contrast also between the generally serene
brilliant sky, and extremely ,dry atmosphere of the Himalaya during
eight or nine months of the year, and the cloudy canopy which so
generally rests over the British Islands! The sun’s arrival at the Tro-
pic of Cancer is marked here by that of the rainy season, when the
previously dry atmosphere is suddenly, and for three months, saturated
with moisture, with a sun potent enough to knock down an ox, when
he does show himself, which is not seldom. During this period, one
is alternately baked and chilled half a dozen times during the twenty-
four hours, and that not in the low confined vallies, but on perfectly
open ridges such as Almorah, where it is, consequently, a matter of some
difficulty to adjust one’s clothing to the frequent fluctuations of tempe-
rature, the annual change of dress which Mr. Fortune describes amongst —
the Chinese being here diurnal. The result at Almorah, Kussowlee,
&c., appears to be as much, though not so dangerous sickness as in the
instrument (actinometer) at the same time :” again: ‘‘ estimating the loss of radiant heat
by a vertical passage through the atmosphere at only 25 per cent. ; at an angle of eleva-
tion of 25°, the force of the solar rays would be reduced to a half, and at 5° to one twen-
tieth part,” from the varying thickness and transparency of the atmosphere. Hence the
necessity for shelter except in the morning and afternoon.
‘‘ The increased intensity of the sun’s rays at great elevations supplies the probable rea-
son (suggested to me by Lt. R. Strachey) of a phenomenon noted on a former occasion,
viz. that the seeds of the same species of plant ripen much earlier on the lofty passes of
the Himalaya than at their base.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 423
much abused plains, the misfortune of which is that one cannot breathe
there.*
If the above be a true view of the case, it appears chimerical to hope
that the Himalaya can ever maintain an independent body of colonists,
such as might supersede the necessity of drawing recruits from Europe,
or such as, on any emergency, could be brought down to act in the
defence of the Lower Empire. This is a very different question from
that of the fitness of the mountains for sanatory settlements occupied
by those in the service of Government, and whose means of subsistence
are drawn from the Plains: that, indeed, is no longer a question: a
hundred applications for every vacant appointment in the mountains
attest the ‘‘deep damnation’ of a life in Hindoostan.
The following list includes most of the plants found at Almorah and
Hawulbagh, from 4000 to 5500 feet above the sea.
Anemone vitifolia.
Clematis grata: ‘“‘ Ghurmalee.”’
Clematis velutina: ‘“ Ghuntiali.”
Clematis Buchananiana :
rare.
Ranunculus letus: ‘‘ Dhynia.”
Ranunculus sceleratus : ‘“‘ Sheem,” (any marsh plant.)
The Sooruj-jal, or ‘‘ water-sun’’ of northern India.
Ranunculus arvensis: ‘* Ainwa.”
Delphinium Ajacis, naturalized.
Delphinium pauciflorum: ‘ Moonila.” The root, chewed on Sunday,
is a popular remedy for tooth-ache.
Thalictrum foliolosum: ‘ Pengla-juree,” ‘ Chulnia.”’
Papaver glabrum, (Royle ;) Cornfields: “ 'Tukoovia,” often perfectly
glabrous, but sometimes stem, peduncle and calyx are extremely hairy.
Argemone mexicana: “ Kuntela,” rare.
’ Fumaria vaillantii : ‘“‘ Khyrooa,” considered to be injurious to esiitle.
Corydalis paniculata: (N. S. Edgeworth) at 3700 feet, about Binsur
Temples.
* Having lately adventured some observations on the tidal currents of the atmosphere
in these mountains, and endeavoured to show why the day-stream is from the Plains, and.
why the nocturnal one should be the reverse, 1 may here add that subsequent observation ,
during the hot season, proves the early morning breeze to be almost invariably from
the East, or within a few points of it: but of a force much inferior to the other, which
reaches us up the gully of the Kosilla.
om 2
424 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
Kadsura propinqua: ‘ Sindrain.”
Jasminum dispermum : ‘ Soormalee.”’
Jasminum grandiflorum: ‘ Jahee.’”? ‘ Chumbelee.”
Feeniculum panmorium : “ Sonp,”’ ‘ Sonf,” “ Fennel.” Cultivated.
Bupleurum.
Hydrocotyle tenella, (Don.)
Coriandrum sativum: ‘ Dhuniya.”’ Cultivated.
Heracleum.
(nanthe ?
Anethum sowa: ‘‘Soa.” Cultivated.
Ptychotis ? Pimpinella: ‘“ Dhunjuree.” Edible root.
Hedera helix: “Banda.” ‘Ivy.’ From 2500 to 9000 feet.
Berberis asiatica: ‘ Kilmora,” passim.
Ampelopsis himalayana: ‘‘ Chuppurtung.”
Vitis parvifolia: ‘* Berain.”
Vitis lanata: ‘ Poorain.”’
Vitis tomentosa: ‘ Chuppurtain.”
Vitis rugosa: ‘* Assoujia.”” On Bandunee Devee,
Leea aspera: ‘‘ Koomalee,” “ Koormalee.”
Cissus capreolata.
Olax nana.
Pittosporum eriocarpum : rare.
Epilobium leve and cylindricum? Don.
Circeea intermedia: (7000—8000 feet, Binsur.)
(Enothera nocturna, longiflora and rosea: naturalized.
Poivrea Roxburghii.
Combretum nanum: “ Phursia.”’
Osbeckia stellata: ‘‘ Kookur-makree.”’
Osbeckia angustifolia.
Punica granatum: “ Darim.” The rind of the fruit “ Kooshiala.”
‘* Nashpal.”’
Deutzia staminea: ‘‘ Moonetee.”’
Viscum album (stellatum, Don.) ‘* Banda.’
Trichosanthes palmata: Indrain.”’
Bryonia umbellata : “ Gwala-kakree.”
Bryonia scabrella, and Nepalensis?
Begonia picta,
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 425
Lepidium sativum : ‘ Halim.” Cress. Cultivated.
Nasturtium officinale: ‘‘ Peeria halim.” Water-cress.
Alyssum maritimum : naturalized.
Sisymbrium sophia. «« Joua-ghas.”
Arabis Thaliana. p abana in the cornfields.
Thlaspi arvense. ‘* Dhupreea.”
Arabis longisiliqua: N. 8. Edgeworth, on walls, &c. 4000 to 6000
feet. ‘* Rai-ghas.”’
Capsella bursa-pastoris : passim.
Cardamine impatiens: ‘‘ Shelia.” ‘Shevia.”’ Passim.
Raphanus sativus: ‘ Moollee.” Cultivated.
Viola czespitosa and aspera: (canescens, Wall.) The first down to
2000, the last to 3000 feet.
Drosera lunata: ‘ Mukhajalee.” Sundew. 4000—8000 feet.
Passiflora foetida (or coerulea?) “ Sunkhya.”’ Naturalized.
Hypericum cernuum: ‘ Ulooabena.” ;
Hypericum uralum, Nepalense, Japonicum.
Polygala crotalaroides, elegans, glaucescens.
Linum trigynum: “ Peoonra.”
Linum usitatissimum : ‘ Ulsee.’? Occasionally cultivated.
Bombax malabarica: ‘* Semul.”
Riedlea corchorifolia.
Malva rotundifolia.
Malva mauritiana: Gardens. ‘ Til-chonee.”
Urena lobata: ‘ Soojia.”
Sida rhombifolia: ‘ Bhao.” ‘ Kala-bulee.”’
Sida cordifolia and —-———
Lagunea lobata.
Hibiscus aculeatus : ‘‘ Fields.
Abelmoschus pungens and cancellatus: ‘ Kupusya.”
Corchorus acutangulus and -
Triumfetta oblongata: ‘‘ Leshwa.”? ‘ Koomuria.”’
Triumfetta angulata.
Grewia oppositifolia: ‘“‘ Bhengool.’’
Grewia asiatica, var. nana: ‘ Phursia.”’
Ammannia rotundifolia: ‘* Durmeea.” Very common.
Ammannia sessiliflora.
426 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. {May,
Grislea tomentosa: ‘‘ Dhoula.” To 6000 feet. |
Cedrela serrata: ‘ Dhul.”
Cedrela tuna: ‘ Toonnee.”
Rhamuus virgatus : ‘ Chudooa.”
Sageretia oppositifolia: ‘ Uglaia.” From 2000 to 5000 feet.
Berchemia floribunda: ‘ Kala-lug.”’
Ceanothus flavescens : ‘‘ Ghont.”
Euphorbia pentagona: ‘‘Sehoond.”? To 6000 feet.
Euphorbia angustifolia: ‘‘ Muhabeer.” ‘‘ Doodhila.”’
Euphorbia hirta and involuerata.
Emblica officinalis: ‘* Amla.”
Phyllanthus parvifolia, (Don.)
Phyllanthus retusa: ‘* Dhunee.”
Phyllanthus leucopyrus: ‘‘ Ainta.”’
Phyllanthus urinaria: ‘Seeahee.”’
Glochidium bifaria: “ Mowee.” “ Bukulwa.” ‘ Byrmoua.”
Cluytia ?
Rottlera tinctoria : ‘‘Rooenee.” Upper limit 4000 feet.
Evonymus Hamiltoniana: ‘ Ugnoo.”’
Staphylea Emodi: on Siyahee Devee.
Portulaca oleracea: ‘ Loonia.” ‘ Koolfa.”
Gypsophila vaccaria: cornfields.
Silene Falconeriana: (S, armeria naturalized.)
Arenaria serpyllifolia, and muralis: N. S. Edgeworth.
Leucostemma angustifolia: on every terrace-wall.
Stellaria media.
Schizotechium crispatum : Siyahee Devee.
Cerastium triviale, var. glomeratum.
Drymaria cordata.
Polycarpzea corymbosa.
Ruta albiflora: ‘Oopuniya-ghas.” Descends to 5000 feet.
Xanthoxylon hostile: “Teemoor.” ‘ Tejbul.”
Xanthoxylon tomentosum: ‘‘Seemoor.” N. 8. Edgeworth, 6500
feet, north face of Bandunee Devee.
Geranium Nepalense and bicolor.
Impatiens umbrosa.
Tropecolum majus ; naturalized.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 427
*Qxalis corniculata: ‘‘ Chulmoree.”
Coriavia Nepalensis: ‘‘ Mukola.”
Photinia dubia: “ Gur-mehul.” ‘ Soond.”
Pyrus variolosa: ‘‘ Mehul.”
Crateegus crenulata: “Geengaroo.”” assim.
Cotoneaster microphylla: ‘‘ Gurree.”
Rosa Brunonii: ‘ Kooja.”
Rubus rotundifolius : ‘“Heesaloo.” Passim.
Rubus tiliaceus and lasiocarpus: ‘ Kala-heesaloo,”
Spireea cuneifolia: “ Shar.”
Spireea chameedrifolia.
Fragaria indica.
Potentilla —————, 2 species.
Cerasus pudum: “ Puya.”
Cydonia vulgaris: ‘ Bihi.”’
Armeniaca vulgaris: ‘‘Chooaroo.” ‘ Zurdaloo.”
Persica vulgaris: “ Aroo.” Does not ripen its fruit.
Prunus : two cultivated species : “ Ludakh” and “ Bhotiya-budam.”
Prinsepia utilis: “ Jhutela,” “ Dhutela.”’ Passim, and in flower all
the winter: the name means “ tangled.”
Crotalaria sericea, anthylloides, alata, prostrata, and albida: all
known as “‘ Goongree.” The claws and lower side of the wing and Kul
petals of the first are copiously ciliate: otherwise the name is very in-
appropriate.
Melilotus parvifiora.
Lotus corniculatus: on every wet bank.
Trifolium repens and pratense : introduced.
Trigonella foenum-grecum: ‘ Methee.” Cultivated.
Indigofera atropurpurea: ‘ Kala-sukena,” or ‘ Sukna.”’
Indigofera pulchella and Dosua: ‘ Sukena.”
Indigofera ————— “ Moos-sukena.” A low shrub.
Indigofera prostrata.
Indigofera hirsuta: “ Nanee}-goongree :” ‘little Crotalaria.”
* Moonshee Murdan Ulee gave me a specimen of Oxalis acetosella, gathered some-
where, he said, in the Himalaya, and was surprised that Dr. Royle had not mentioned it.
+ “ Nana :” this word, neither Hindee nor Sanscrit, is the common Kumaoon term for
“small :” a curious coincidence with the Latin, _ The Khusiyas of this province say that
428 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Robinia macrophylla: ‘‘ Goujha.” Upper limit, 4000 feet.
Pisum arvense: “Kulon.” “Kolai.” S. Kulayu: “ generating
wind,”
Vicia sativa, var. angustifolia: ‘ Koor-kosha.”’
Lathyrus angulatus, aphaca, and Sativus: ‘ Mutur.’ The first
“‘ Goor-kosha.”
Ervum hirsutum: “ Kooree.”
Zornia angustifolia.
/Eschynomene indica.
Smithia ciliata: very common by streams.
Alysicarpus vaginalis and bupleurifolius.
Uraria alopecuroides and picta.
Desmodium gyrans, triflorum, parvifolium and polycarpum.
Lespedeza elegans.
-Oxyramphis macrostyla, himalensis, and ————— .
Dumasia villosa.
Mucuna pruritus: ‘‘ Goncha.”
Erythrina arborescens: ‘ Roongura :” 4000 to 6500 feet.
Dolichos —————:: “ Moos-kela.” A procumbent species with
deep-red flowers, and edible tuber.
Cantharospermum paucifloram ? and ————.
Eriosema —————., “‘sp. very common on Simtola Hill: 5000—
6000 feet.
Phaseolus scaber: ‘‘ Guhutia.” Sweet Pea.
Phaseolus angustifolia: ‘*‘ Bun-moong.”
Rhyncosia ?
Flemingia semialata (to 6000 feet) ‘‘ Bhutooa :” and sp. resembling
procumbens,
Dalbergia robusta.
Edwardsia mollis: ‘‘ Puhur-goongree.”’
Ceesalpinia sepiaria: “ Kurounj.” Agla.”’
their dialect comes closest to that of Bhojpoor in Behar. Kumaoon may have been colo-
nized by that warlike district.
A “ Khus” dynasty is said to have expelled for some ages, the Rajpoot line (from
Jhoosee near Allahabad) which, founded by Somchund, reached down to the Gorkhalee
conquest. The names of these autochthonal chiefs, which are,still in common use, are,
the last two excepted, not at all Hindoo: they are given thus: Beejud, Jeejud, Jajud,
Jud, Kaloo, Kulsoo, Jahul, Mool, Goonakur, Keeda, Nagoo, Bhagoo, Jypal, Soupal.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 429
Cassia tora, absus, purpurea: ‘ Bunar.”’
Cassia ameena, pumila, wallichiana, and dimidiata: ‘ Silputiya.”
Bauhinia variegata: ‘‘ Khwyral.” 6000 feet W. face, Kaleemuth.
Acacia mollis: ‘‘ Burou.”
Saxifraga ciliata: ‘ Silphora.”
Tilleea pentandra.
Kalanchoe varians: “ Noonoo.” ‘ Bukulputa.”
Sedum adenotrichum.
Rhus parviflora: “Runnel.” “ Rai-toong.”
Rhus velutina : ‘‘ Toong.”
Rhus semialata: ‘‘ Dukmeela,”’ “ Dutmeela.”
Rhus vernicifera: “ Bhuliou.” ‘* Goor-bhuliou.”
Rhus acuminata? ‘ Kakursinghee,” i. e. ‘‘ crab’s claws :” from the
long curved excrescences. The timber is exceedingly beautiful.
Alnus obtusifolia: ‘ Oodeesh.”
Urtica parvifolia: ‘“‘Shishona.” Buffaloes are fed on the bruised
leaves and shoots, which are also the favorite food of several cater-
pillars.
Urtica heterophylla: “‘ Awa.’ ‘Bichhoo.” The Badbur of Sim-
lah: the fibre makes good cord and twine, which however perish spee-
dily from moisture.
Urtica pentandra: ‘“ Jephul-juree.”’
Beehmeria salicifolia : ‘‘ Tooshiaree” or “ frosty-leaved.”
Behmeria platyphylla and rotundifolia: ‘ Gurgela.”
Procris punctata and peduncularis: ‘ Souchula.” ‘ Golka.” Used
as a vegetable.
Cannabis sativa: “‘ Bhung,” “Bhanga.” Forms a rank and offen-
sive jungle, and should be eradicated in the vicinity of the town. It is
cultivated in Gungoleehath and other parts of the province.
Humulus lupulus: Hop, Flowers well at Hawulbagh, but not at
Mussooree (Dr. Jameson.)
_ Morus serrata: ‘“‘ Kemoo.”
Ficus laurifolia : ‘* Doodhla.”
Ficus macrophylla: ‘ Timla.”’
Ficus rotundifolia? ‘ Beroo.” } Bcible.
Ficus ovata? (Don.) ‘ Bedoolee.”’ Creeps extensively over rocks
and trees: perhaps F, Luducca, Roxb. Edible.
3 0
430 The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Ficus Luducea? “ Kabra.”
Ficus chincha? foveolata? “ Kismira.’’ ‘ Kewnia.”’
Ficus cunia: ‘ Kewnia,”
Ficus.
Celtis tetranda: ‘* Khuruk.” Grows to be a large tree, much plant-
ed about the villages, as the boughs fork conveniently for the stacking
of hay, grass, straw, &c, The male flower is frequently pentrandrous.
Flourishes to 7000 feet at Simlah.
Myrica sapida: ‘ Kaephul.” The fruit is brought in large quanti-
ties to Almorah, and the bark is exported to the Plains as a dye and
medicine.
Salix tetrasperma and : © Bhynsh.”
Juglans regia, Walnut: ‘ Ukhrot.’’S. Ukshod. Akhod. ‘“ Ukor.”
Peperomia saxatile: ‘‘ Methia-banda.”
Osyris Nepalensis: ‘ Bukurdhura.”’
Eleeagnus gheewaeen : ‘‘ Gheewaeen.” Edible Oleaster.
Daphne cannabina: “‘ Set-burwa.” Paper shrub.
Cinnamomum albiflorum: “Tujpat.” “ Kirkiria.”’
Amaranthus spinosus.
Alternanthera nodiflora.
Celosia argentea: “Siralee.” ‘* Ghogia.”
/Erua lanata: ‘‘ Sajee.”
Pupalia sequax: ‘ Jhut-kooree.”’
Achyranthes aspera. The Oude Rajpoots consider this plant to be a
safeguard against scorpions, which it is believed to paralyze. This
corroborates Sir W. Jones, (As. Res. IV. 300.) ‘‘ The vulgar name,
however, of the Ichneumon Plant is Rasun, (Rasna?) * * * it is
asserted by some that the Rasun is no other than the rough Indian
Achyranthes.” Dr. Royle states that the leaves of Salvadora (Peeloo,
Jal,) are sold in the bazars as Ra-suna; this may signify ‘ Mustard
Senna ;” the leaves and fruit having the pungency of mustard or cress :
a circumstance which led Captains Irby and Mangles as long ago as
1817 to identify the Salvadora with the Mustard Tree of the N. Tes-
tament. But Dr. Falconer has since ascertained Ra-suna to be the
leaves of Berthelotia lanceolata, which is indeed called Resun at Feroz-
poor : apparently the S. Rechuna, from rechun, cathartic.
Chenopodium album: ‘ Bhutooa.”
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 431
Ambrina Botrys.
Beta bengalensis: ‘ Palung.”’
Phytolacca acinosa: ‘ Jirrug.”’
Rumex nepalense: Dock. ‘‘ Huloonia.”
Rumex hastatum: Sorrel. ‘‘ Ulmoru.’’*
Fagopyrum vulgare: “Ogul.”’ Buckwheat. Cultivated as a vege-
Culenatad:
table. The species, F. emarginatum, grown in the Upper Himalaya,
is called ‘‘ Phaphur ;” a nomenclature reversed by Dr. Royle.
Fagopyrum corymbosum: “ Bun Ogul.”
Polygonum convulvulus, repens, recumbens, lanigerum, scabriner-
vium, herniarioides, glabrum.
Mirabilis jalapa. Completely naturalized, and of many varied colors :
the blossoms open regularly about 4 p.m. The name “ Gool-bansa,”’
or Flowering Justicia, may be the origin of Gool-Abbas.
Boerhaavia procumbens.
Cocculus laurifolius: ‘‘ Keekra.”’ ‘ Tilbura,’’ ‘ Tilpara.”
Cocculus Roxburghianus: “ Gujera.” “ Gurjial.”’
Cissampelos convulvulacea: ‘ Paree.”
Clypea. N. 8. Edgeworth.
Stauntonia latifolia: ‘‘ Gophla.”’ Edible.
Andromeda ovalifolia: ‘* Uyar.” Nearly exterminated
Rhododendron arboreum : ‘“ Booroonsh.” about Almorah.
Primula speciosa: “ Biskhopra.” “ Jul-kootia.” Abundant by streams
from 3500 to 5500 feet, and considered poisonous to cattle.
Anagallis cerulea: “ Jonk-mura.” ‘ Jynghunee.”’ ‘Triturated, it
is employed to poison fish, and to expel leeches from the nostrils.
Lysimachia alternifolia, pyramidalis, lobelioides.
Androsace rotundifolia and incisa.
Samolus valerandi: On the Suwal.
Myrsine bifaria.
* Almorah has its name from the prevalence of this plant; Musooree from Coriaria
nepalensis ; and Simlah perhaps from the Semul, there being a Simlah at Calcutta also.
Tn this, the people only follow the example of their fathers, who were so addicted to bota-
nical nomenclature, that six out of their seven Dweeps are named from plants: viz.
Jumboo: Eugenia jambolana. Koosh: Poa cynosuroides. Pluksh: Ficus infectoria
and religiosa. Salmulee (Semul) : Bombax malabarica. Sak: Tectona grandis, Poosh-
kur: Nelumbium speciosum, All tropical, or nearly so.
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432 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Symplocos paniculata: ‘ Lodh.’’ The tree which grows from 7000
—9000 feet seems to be a distinct species.
Ilex excelsa.
Cuscuta grandiflora: ‘‘ Akash-luggoolee.”
Porana ramemosa.
Evolvulus sericea.
Aniseia barlerioides: Banks of the Kosilla: 4000 feet.
Tpomeea ceerulea, muricata, pes-tigridis, sphaerocephala.
Pharbitis purpurea : naturalized.
Lobelia trialata.
Campanula ramulosa? pallida, and sylvatica (integerrima, Don.)
The last, which abounds from 4000—8000 feet, much resembles C. lan-
cifolia in Wallich’s Ed. of Roxburgh, F. T.
Cephalostigma hirsuta.
Hamiltonia (Leptodermis) lanceolata: ‘‘ Pudera.” Passim.
Hamiltonia azurea: ‘ Jogia-pudera.” Very sweet when let alone:
extremely offensive, when bruised.
Gardenia tetrasperma: ‘ Burra-gurree.”
Hymenopogon parasitica: ‘‘ Bhynsia-pudera.”’ Oaks, 7000—8000
feet. Binsur.
Argostemma sarmentosa.
Kohautia coccinea and gracilis.
Hedyotis Burmanniana and Lindleyana.
Spermacoce articularis and stricta; the last to 6000 feet.
Knoxia mollis.
Rubia cordifolia: “* Mujethee.”’ Madder.
Galium latifolium, (elegans, Wall.) and asperifolium : ‘‘ Kooree.” G. _
aparine in cultivated land.
Lonicera diversifolia: ‘ Bet-kookree.” :
Vernonia anthelmintica: ‘ Kaljeera.”” Cinerea: and var. scabrida.
Adenostemma latifolium. |
Eupatorium longicaule: at 6000 feet, Binsur road.
Aster bellidifolia: ‘* Murch-mool.”
Callistephus smensis: China aster. ‘ Nypala:’’ said to be origi-
nally from Nepal.
Leptocoma racemosa: (Siyahee Devee.)
Bellis perennis. Introduced from Ireland and flowered for the first
time, August 14, 1847; continuing to bloom most of the year.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 433
Myriactis oleosa.
Solidago nepalensis.
Amphirapis cuspidata.
Spheeranthus mollis.
Dicrocephalus gracilis.
Cyathocline lyrata.
Conyza pinnatifida and veroniceefolia.
Blumea alata: “ Umdok,”—and lacera.
Inula cappa: ‘ Tamagurree.”
Vicoa indica.
Eclipta prostrata and erecta.
Siegesbeckia orientalis : ‘‘ Gobureea.”’
Xanthium indicum: to 5000 feet.
Zinnia elegans and multiflora: naturalized.
Wedelia —————: Eagerly eaten by rabbits : ‘* Koorshinia.”
Calliopsis tinctoria: naturalized.
Bidens Wallichiana, bipinnata, and repens (trifida) : ‘‘ Kutaree.”’
Artemisia indica: Wormwood. “ Patee.” Offered to the gods,
Artemisia scoparia (elegans, Roxb.) ‘ Jhaoo.”
Artemisia parviflora.
Gnaphalium hypoleucum ? and ramigenum.
Filago indica,
Antennaria contorta and semidecurrens: ‘‘ Jhoola.” “ Bokula.”
*‘ Goofa.” The tomentum is in general use for tinder and moxa.
Carpesium trachelifolium : 7300 feet, Binsur Temples.
Emilia sonchifolia.
Senecio pallens : “ Rut-putya.”
Echinops nivea: Globe-thistle.
Aplotaxis carthamoides.
Tricholepis reticulata.
Echenais? ferox, N. S. Edgeworth. |
Echenais arachnoidea: N.S. Edgeworth. ‘ Thukyla.” White This-
tle: root edible.
Serratula pallida ; lowest limit, Almorah.
Ouoseris lanuginosa: ‘“ Kupasee.”’ The tomentum, ‘‘ Kuphee.”
Leucomeris spectabilis : “‘ Punwa.’ 6000 feet on Kaleemutia.
Berniera nepalensis (Chaptalia maxima, Don.) 7000 to 7500 feet on
Binsur,
434 The Turaee aud Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
Leontodon taraxacum and eriopus.
Tragopogon elegans.
Sonchus arvensis and Royleanus: ‘‘ Oophut Kunyla.”’ “ Nulsha.’’
The last is eaten.
Prenanthes (Lactuca) procumbens, Roxb. Microrhynchus patens.
“Tungulee-gobhee.”? <A favourite food of rabbits and chukors.
Lactuca arvensis.
Barkhausia aspera; N. 8S. Edgeworth. Cultivated grounds from
5000 to 7000 ft.
Youngia runcinata,
Plantago erosa: (Don.) ‘* Lohooria :” and lanceolata.
Scabiosa candolliana: ‘ Nara.” Descends to 5000 feet.
Dipsacus? (lilac) ‘‘ Narou.” Root used in washing the hair.
Valeriana Hardwickii: ‘ Shumeo.”’
Valeriana elata.
Plumbago Zeylanica.
Ehretia serrata: ‘‘ Poonya.”
Heliotropium brevifolium : much resembles a sp. common at Lodi-
hana.
Trichodesma indica.
Cynoglossum canescens and glochidiatum : ‘* Kooree.”
Plectranthus cordifolius, rugosus, Gerardianus, Coetsa, rubicundus
(Don.), and pilosus.
Coleus barbatus: ‘‘ Feewaee.’’ Passim.
Pogostemon plectranthoides: ‘‘Roodla,” ‘ Roodra.”’ Kala-
bashing.”
Dysophylla cruciata ; swamps.
Elsholtzia pilosa and crenata.
Elsholtzia polystachya, (flava?) : “ Bhungria.’ Descends to 5700
feet. |
Colebrookia oppositifolia: ‘‘ Doolshut.” Ascends to 5500 feet.
Perilla ocimoides: ‘‘ Bhungera.’”’ Cultivated: but apparently wild
in the Bhabur.
Mentha viridis: ‘ Poodeena.”’ Quite naturalized, but popularly said
to be of English introduction.
Salvia lanata: “Gunnia.” Sage.
Salvia plebeia. Hawalbagh.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 435
Origanum normale: ‘ Bun-toolsee.”
Thymus serpyllifolius : ‘ Bun-jowain.”’
Hedeoma nepalense.
Micromeria biflora.
Mellissa repens and umbrosa: (M. flava, at 8000 feet on Binsur.)
Scutellaria linearis, repens, and scandens.
Anisomeles ovata.
Lamium amplexicaule.
Stachys sericea.
Craniotome versicolor.
Roylea elegans: ‘‘Tit-patee.”’ ‘ Barh-ka-teeta,” i. e. Hedge bitter.
Leucas lanata, indica, cephalotes.
Teucrium quadrifaria.
Ajuga parviflora and bracteosa.
Verbena officinalis.
Clerodendron serratum, odoratum, ternifolium, foetidum.
Callicarpa incana: “ Duya,”
Vitex negundo: ‘ Shiwalee.”’
Premna barbata.
Bignonia suaveolens: ‘‘ Padul.’’ Upper limit, 4000 feet.
Didymocarpus lanuginosus.
Strobilanthes attenuata and glutinosa: ‘ Kupoor-nulee.”’
Barleria ciliata: ‘‘Surp-jeeba.” Seeds employed to cure snake-
bites.
Adhatoda vasica: “ Bashing.” Indigenous to 4500 feet: the stems
are used for gunpowder charcoal,
Lepidagathis hyalina and cuspidata.
Rostellaria procumbens.
Dicliptera bupleuroides.
Utricularia stellaris.
Verbascum Thapsus : ‘ Ekulbeer.”
Linaria incana: (L. bipartita: naturalized.)
Antirrhinum orontium : cornfields.
Scrophularia auriculata: ‘ Gujjyla.”’
Mimulus nepalensis.
Mazus surculosus, and rugosus.
Lindenbergia grandiflora and ruderalis,
436 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Limnophila menthastrum : “ Jungulee Sonf.” « Loung-mooshk.”
Limnophila hypericifolia : (Cybbanthera connata, Don.)
Herpestis Monniera: ‘ Jul-neem”’ of the Plains.
Vandellia pedunculata and nummularifolia.
Bonnaya bracteata (and grandiflora’)
Buddlea crispa and Neemda: ‘ Bhatee.” ‘ Dhoula.” “ Shioontra.”’ .
The first is very fragrant.
Veronica anagallis, agrestis, deltoidea? and biloba.
Buchnera hispida: (blue.)
Striga lutea and euphrasioides.
Gerardia delphinifolia: (yellow.)
Centranthera hispida.
Pedicularis carnosa. .
Solanum rubrum: ‘Chhota-gheewaeen.” Ink is made from its
juice.
Solanum verbascifolium: ‘ Usheta.”
Solanum lycopersicum.
Physalis peruviana.
Nicandra physaloides. \ plotagmaees
Datura alba and ferox: a var. of the latter? with double yellow
flowers is commonly planted by the temples of Muhadeo.
Nicotiana tabacum: cultivated: 2 varieties. ‘'Tumakoo,” “ Dhu-
makoo.”
Petunia pheenicea: naturalized.
Pladera pusilla.
Gentiana marginata and pedicellata. .
Ophelia angustifolia and alata: ‘‘ Cherayuta.” From the S. “ Kira-
ta-tikta,” the Bitter of the Kiratas, the Kirrhade of the Greeks,
still existing as the Kirantis and Limboos about the sources of the
Kosee, as we learn from Hodgson, Campbell, and Kirkpatrick : the
latter states that they conquered Nepal, and it is probable the Newars
are their descendents. The mountain name of the plants is “ Teeta-
kana,” from the S. “ Kanda tikta,’” Bitter stem.
O. paniculata, purpurascens, cordata, abound on all the neighbouring
mountains.
Alstonia lucida: ‘* Doodhee.”’
Nerium odorum: “ Kuniyoor.” Banks of Kosilla.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 437
Vinea parviflora.
Ceropegia wallichii, and gracilis, (N. 8. Edgeworth.)
Marsdenia Roylei: ‘‘ Moorkeela.’’
Marsdenia mollis: (undescribed, Edg.)
Cynanchum glaucum and Dalhousie.
Cryptolepis reticulata: up to 4000 feet.
- Gongronema —————:: N.S. Edgeworth : common climber on the
vranite rocks, Almorah to the Kosilla.
Pinus longifolia: ‘ Cheer,”’ “ Surul,” ‘ Sulla :”’ the oe is from the
Sanserit ‘ Ksheerahva,” Milky, resinous. It descends to 2500 feet
along the Surjoo.
Equisetum : ‘ Guthia.” «* Poodpooree.”
Curcuma angustifolia: ‘‘ Huldee.”’
Curcuma kuchoor: “ Huldee.” Cultivated.
Hedychium coccineum: “ Rukto-huldee.”’
Hedychium spicatum: ‘ Kuchoor-kuchree.” The rootstocks are
pounded down with tobacco intended for the Hookka.
Hedychium flavum: “ Keola.” Gardens.
Canna speciosa: ‘‘ Keewara.”’ Ditto.
Globba secunda? Hawalbagh.
Amomum subulatum ? ‘ Ilachee.” Gardens.
Curculigo orchioides : ‘‘ Petaree.”’ Up to 6400 feet.
Hypoxis minor.
Crinum: “ Chundur-Kunwal.” ‘“ Pindur.’” “Kunmoo.” A gar-
den sp. not ‘agreeing with any in the Flora Indica.
Pardanthus sinensis: “ Kutar-puta.”” -Passim.
Iris nepalensis: ‘ Kutaria.”’ ‘ Neel-Kumul’ Gardens, and about
temples.
Cyrtopera flava. To 4500 feet.
Satvriam nepalense. Descends to 4000 feet.
Platanthera susannee, pectinata, arcuata,
Wabenaria rostrata.
Gymnadenia? commelyneefolia. At 6000 feet on Kaleemuttia.
Phoenix sylvestris (humilis): ‘*Khujoor.”. *‘Thakil?? To 5000
fect.
Paris polyphylla, Descends to 5000 feet.
Anguillaria indica. To 6000 feet.
Cs
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438 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, | May>
Gloriosa superba: ‘* Bish-nangul.”’
Lilium wallichianum.
Fritillaria Thomsoniana.
Tulipa stellata: ‘*Mihoula.” Nulkia.”’ Abundant in the culti-
vated ground : the bulbs are edible and exported to the Plains.
Scilla indica: ‘* Ghesooa.” To 6400 feet.
Summit of Kaleemuttia, and near Pugog vil-
lage, Simla.
Liriope spicata: (Ophiopogon).
Polygonatum cirrhifolia.
Uvularia Leschenaultiana.
Asparagus adscendens: ‘ Khyrooa.”
Yucca gloriosa: naturalized.
Aloe perfoliata: ‘*‘ Gheekwar.” Gardens, but rare.
Smilax villandia: ‘ Kookurdhura ”
Juncus bufonius: ‘‘Sheem,” ‘ Chhota Guthia.’’ Passim in swamps,
&e.
Commelyna obliqua: “ Kanjura.” ‘* Kana.’ Root edible.
Commelyna. Two other undetermined sp.
Cyanotis barbata.
Dithyrocarpus paniculatus (Tradescantia paniculata, Roxb., and pro-
bably Aneilema hispida, Don.) ‘‘ Kundera.’ To 4500 feet.
Murdannia scapiflora.
Pontedera vaginalis. Ricefields.
Dioscorea versicolor: ‘‘ Genthee.’’ Deliciously fragrant.
Dioscorea sagittata: “Tyr.” ‘Turoor.’ Tubers edible, lying.
from 3 to 6 feet deep in the soil.
Dioscorea pentaphylla: ‘‘Tegoona.” ‘* Takoolee.”’
Dioscorea quinata: ‘‘ Muggia.”” ‘‘ Moonia.’? Tubers white, edible.
Dioscorea deltoidea: ‘‘ Goon.” Siyahee Devee.
Sauromatum guttatum: ‘ Kala” or ‘ Chilia-bank.”’
Arum hastatum.
Arum colocasia, (Roxb.) ‘ Jungulee-gheoeea.” ‘‘ Roolkia.”’ ‘* Gur-
papur.”’ Leaves edible.
Arissema: several sp. ‘Surp ka goga.” ‘ Samp ka bhootta,”’ i. e
Serpent’s maize.
Remusatia vivipara: ‘* Ban} ka pindaloo.” Passim on rocks and
oaks from 3000 to 8000 feet.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 439
Acorus calamus. ‘“Buj,” ‘Buch.’ The dried rhizomas are put
amongst seed corn to preserve it from the weevil: they are also worn as
an amulet against sorcery : (‘‘ goor-buch.’’) r
Potamogeton mucronatum: “ Putulia.”’
Lemna (minor ?) “ Kall.’ ** Turai.””
Azolla, ‘‘Pun-tyra.” “Tura.” Covers the pools, &c., of a deep
red all the spring. Believed to fall with the rain.
Saccharum spontaneum: “ Jusha,” “ Jhansh.’ The blades of its
long rooting surculi, are substituted by the Almorah Brahmans, in va-
rious religious ceremonies, for the soos, whieh they teaeh the people is
this saccharum : its proper name, ‘‘ Kas” is transferred to a beautiful
species of Erianthus. Saccharum procerum, “ Ramshur,” is planted
near sacred wells, but does not appear to flower at Almorah.
Imperata cylindrica. ‘‘ Shiro.”
Arundo karka: ‘‘ Nultoora.” To 5000 feet. Baskets, &c., are made
from its culms.
Thysanolzena agrostis, (Agrostis maxima, Roxb.) ‘‘ Ousa,’’ * Quns.”’
Up to about 5000 feet,
Andropogon calamus—aromaticus : ‘* Boojura,”’ “ Palakhuree.”’ Gives
the mountains at 5000 to 6000 feet, their rich brown colouring in Nov.
Dec. The seeds seem different from those of the Neemaroil-grass :
and have neither the same pungent odour or oily feel.
Andropogon punctatus.
Andropogon ceruleus: ‘ Ghweria,”’ excellent forage.
Andropogon (Rhaphis) microstachys: ‘‘ Cheroula.’ ‘ Chura.”’
** Pulkia.” 5
Andropogon contortus: ‘‘ Koomuria.”’ Spear-grass.
Rhaphis Royleana: ‘ Salim.”
Cymbopogon —————: “‘ Peeria.”” Aromatic.
Perotis latifolia,
Erianthus: ‘ Kas.”
Erianthus ; ‘‘ Nounia” (Butter) : ‘ Telia.”
Erianthus.
Anthistiria anathera: ‘‘ Chooneria.” ‘‘ Jyotishmati,’”’ roots fre-
quently luminous.
Ischeemum corollatum : also called ‘* Nounia,”
Coix gigantea: ‘ Loochoocha.”
A40 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
Paspalum longiflorum: “ Kana.” Ricefields.
Panicum frumentaceum and chameeraphe.
Panicum miliaceum, apparently wild at Hawalbagh.
Panicum colonum: ‘‘Soun.” ‘ Jungulee Mandira.”
Pennisetum triflorum: “ Bemulshia.”
Setaria glauca.
Aristida cyanantha: “ Binnia,.” ‘ Kukulsena.”
Sporobolus elongatus.
Polypogon fugax : “ Geewa.”’ ‘‘ Geeolia.”’ In streams.
Cynodon dactylon : ‘‘ Doob.”’
Digitaria Roylei.
Eleusine indica.
Avena fatua: “Jou-ata.”’ Corn-fields : the straw is given to cattle :
but is suspected.
Poa.
Eragrostis.
Briza.
Plagyeelytrum filiforme.
Arundenella miliaris and hirsuta.
Bambusa. Grown at Dhamus, 4000 feet, for baskets.
Lolium temulentum. Corn-fields,
Carex indica. Binsur, &c.
Tsolepis trifida.
Scirpus muticus.
Eriophorum comosum: ‘ Babila.’ ‘ Babeo.” ‘ Babur.” “ Byb.”
The rope made of this, is in general use: the Almorah species, ‘‘ Pun-
babeo” is by the people distinguished from that which yields the
**Byb:” but apparently without foundation: they believe that the
latter never flowers. |
Cyperus tenuiflorus.
Cyperus —————-: “ Motha.” . Used for mats.
Mariscus dilutus? ‘ Pun-motha.” ‘ Nagur-motha.”
Lipocarpha argentea.
Eriocaulon sollyanum. Passim, swamps.
Adiantum capillus-veneris: rhizophorum.
Asplenium sinuatum; Walls.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 441
Asplenium polymorphium: ‘ Lingra.” yOuNS
1 i rT 4, (0D fronds
Nephrodium eriocarpum: ‘* Kootra.
edible.
Botrychium —————: “ Bish-Kootra.”
Woodwardia radicans.
Cheilanthes dealbata? Walls.
Pteris —————: “‘ Roun.”
Platyloma ——~ : Rocks, 4000 feet.
Lygodium semibipinnatum? “ Murora.” Bun-dhuniya.”’
Lycopodium tenellum : obtusifolium? Oaks on Jagesur at 7000 feet :
and the beautiful L. setaceum? on the Ramgunga at 4800. (R. S.)
Lycopodium circinale ? Damp rocks, 4000 feet.
Agaricus —————- Mushroom: ‘ Chheoo,” “ Chhao”’
Lycoperdon. Puffball: “ Phuskia.” ‘ Houla-toomree.”’
The list of grasses and ferns might be much extended.
The Cerealia and Leguminose, &c. cultivated about Almorah, and
generally in Kumaoon, consist of, for the Rubbee crop, reaped in April
and May.
- Triticum vulgare: “Lal Gehoon, “ Tanga,” and “Joosher.” The
red or bearded varieties : Daood khanee or Duwa the white or awnless :
the last sells at from four to six seer per rupee less than the first, and
is grown in large quantities about Somesur, &c. “ Kunnik’’ in this Pro-
vince denotes flour, not the grain. |
Hordeum hexastachyum: “Jou.” A short-awned variety is called
’
Rena.
Hordeum celeste: ‘ Ooa-jou.”
Pisum arvense: ‘ Kulon.”? ‘Grey Pea: Ervum lens, “ Mussoor,”’
Grey Lentil ; Circer arietinum, ‘‘ Chuna,”’ Gram, are also grown, the
last two sparingly, in the warmer locations and are reaped at this season,
Papaver somniferum: both white and purple. ‘ Posht.” Opium
is made to a small extent, chiefly in Shor: but in the Gurhwal raja’s
territories, it is said to be abundantly produced.
Sinapis glauca: (Royle?) dichotoma? (Roxb.) is much grown either
alone or with barley, for its oi]: 8. glauca, (Roxb.) ** Daeen,” “ Dyn,”
** Rara,” or * Rada,” though it affords more oil, is much less common,
requiring a very rich soil, ,
In the environs of Almorah, the Juria’ or ‘ Judia” is a favorite
442 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
crop, as an oil-seed : it is probably Sinapis dichotoma, but much resembles
Brassica rapa, and the malees all assert that it may be and is converted
into the Turnip.
Several species of sinapis are also grown as salads, turkarees, and
condiments, of these :
‘* Burlai” is S. ramosa: ‘ Race” of N. India: S. rajika, from ray,
to shine: very appropriate to the whole genus in flower: or from raji a
row, a line, in which they succeed much better than in plots.
‘* Bhotiya-raee :”” ‘‘ Badshahee-lai ;’ S. rugosa. Introduced by the
Gorkhas, and greatly valued. They also brought from Nepal another
‘«* Badshahee-lai,”’ called “ Kurm-kulla,”’ probably 8. brassicata: but it
has disappeared. ‘This species is nearly allied to S. ramosa, It has
been introduced to the Dehra Dhoon.
“Raee.” Mukura-raee” (Tarantula mustard) of Hindoostan : the
“‘Surshuf” of the hospitals, where this species is employed: the seeds
and the leaves being exceedingly pungent. It is not described in
the Flora Indica, but approaches 8. erysimoides: and is probably
S. near S. nigra: S. sinensis in Ainslie’s Mat. Med.
** Doowa.” ‘Chara.’ Eruca sativa: comes up accidentally with
the above: but is not cultivated.
The “ Khurbee” or autumnal Harvest, comprizes a less valuable but
more numerous catalogue, on which depends generally the subsistence
of the lower classes.*
Oryza sativa: “Dhan.” The rice is sown about the middle or end
of April, either in beds, ‘‘ Khiaree,” from which it is transplanted ; or
* About the middle of July, (on the Ist of Sawun) is celebrated the greatest of the
Khushia festivals, known as the ‘‘ Huriyala,” a name marking the universal verdure and
the appearance of the ear in the corn at this season. This occasion embraces both har-
vests, small patches of wheat and the other rubbee grains being raised purposely ; so that
bouquets of all the cerealia and leguminosz (Mundooa and Bhut excepted) may be pre-
sented to the gods. On thisday, also, the mountaineers generally deck their own heads
with a few blades of corn, exactly as the shamrock and leek are worn in Ireland and
Wales, originally, perhaps, for the same reason.
On the Ist day of the Indian Bacchanalia (the Holee) about the middle of March, the
Gorkhas of the Kumaoon Battalion, proceeding to the East, deposit some coins, &e. at the
foot of a wild Pear tree, which is afterwards cut down, and ornamented with innumera-
ble shreds of red cloth, (from which it is called the Cheer,) is carried in procession and
planted in front of the lines with boisterous merriment: and is sung and danced round
daily till the orgies are over : itis our own May-bush precisely, the pear-tree being n@
doubt chosen for the same reason of its being then in full blossom,
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 443
less frequently, in the fields where it is to remain. These are carefully
and laboriously manured and worked up by the treading of cattle: and
in May, the task of removing the young plants from the nurseries falls
on the women and children, who work cheerfully under a sun which
would be fatal to the European. They are also the only reapers and
weeders of the province, and are, in truth, little better than slaves.
During the wet season, and indeed at all seasons, the crop is kept con-
stantly inundated : and had Collins ever tried the experiment, he would
never have written the line ‘‘ what times ’tis sweet o’er fields of rice to
stray.” In the upper grounds the people well understand the propriety
of the rotation of crops: but where a copious supply of water and a
hot sun are conjoined, rice seems to be planted from year to year. The
Harvest takes place from the middle of September to that of October.
There are many varieties of this grain ; the best has its name from the
Salim district on the Punar river, S. E. of Almorah.
Sorghum vulgare: ‘ Joonulee:’’ S. Yonul. Little grown.
Panicum frumentaceum; ‘‘ Mandira.” ‘Jhoongura.” ‘ Sama.”
Panicum italicum: ‘‘ Konee,” ‘‘ Kungnee,”
Panicum miliaceum : ‘‘ Cheena.”
Eleusine corocana: ‘* Mundooa.” The latest crop to mpen, and
most extensively grown, though a bitter and indigestible food. The grain
is rudely broad-cast, and afterwards transplanted and regularly distri-
buted during the first heavy showers of June.
Zea mays: “ Mukkuee.” ‘‘ Bhootta.”
Amaranthus anardana: ‘‘Chooa.” ‘* Ramdana.”
Amaranthus speciosus: The drooping ditto: gardens.
Fagopyrum vulgare: “‘Ogul.”” Buckwheat.
Perilla ocimoides: ‘‘ Bhungura.”
Sesamum orientale :* “Til.” The white variety, ‘“ Tilee.”
* This plant, (with black seed) wild everywhere in the Kumaoon. Bhabur is largely
cultivated as high up as Almorah. Dr. H. H. Wilson, in an interesting paper in a recent
number of the R. A. Society’s Journal, comparing the Indian festivals with those of Eu-
rope, remarks the custom of the Greeks on occasion of marriages to mix Sesamum in the
sweetmeets distributed to the friends and guests of the parties. The same practice is
universal amongst the people of Kumaoon; ‘‘ Luddoo” being the vehicle used. From the
Sanserit ‘ til,’ to be unctuous, probably comes the Latin Tilia; our English “ Lime” may
allude to the same honey-like exudation from the leaves.
444 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | May,
Solanum melongena: ‘ Baingun.” “ Bhutta.” A very fine variety
of a rich purple color which gives the adjective ‘‘ baingunee.”
Saccharum officinarum: ‘‘ Rikhoo”’ (from Sans. riksh, to ent?)
“Gunna.” The large variety is called ‘‘ Poona,” the small, “‘ Kanthee
Rikhoo.” Chiefly from the districts about Dwarahath and Gungolee-
hath.
Colocasia Himalensis: Royle. ‘‘ Ghweea’’ of the Plains : two varie-
ties, the white, “ Pindaloo,” the red, “‘ Guderee ;” the leaf ‘ Papur,”*
and the unrolled leaf ‘* Guba” are also edible.
Capsicum frutescens: ‘ Koorsanee.”
Solanum tuberosum; ‘‘ Aloo.” The Potato, from English tubers,
introduced in 1843, by Major Welchman, yields excellent produce at
Almorah and Lohooghat ; up to the end of 1847, no vestige. of the roé
has shown itself: the hypothesis, therefore, that the Plant is worn out
by continued propagation from the tubers cannot be sustained. |
Cucurbitaceee : Almorah is supplied with most of the kinds which
grow in northern Hindoosthan: Cucumis sativus, ‘ Kakura,” very
large: Charantia muricata, “ Kurela:’ Luffa acutangula, “ Torai:”
>
Luffa pentandra, ‘“‘Gheea Torai:” Trichosanthes anguina, “ Chi-
chinda:” Cucurbita maxima, “ Gudooa,” Kudoo :” Lagenaria vulgaris,
** Louka,” ‘ Loukee:” avery fine variety introduced in 1846, from
Jubulpoor, by the men of the first Co. 7th Bn. Artillery. The small
variety is called “*Toomree.”” Benincasa cerifera (Cucurbita pepo,).
‘«* Bhoonja,” “ Petha,” and ‘“‘ Kumhra.” , -
Zingiber officinalis: «Ada:” grown in all the hot vallies. Curcuma
longa (or “ Kuchoor ?” ‘ Huldee :’’) ditto.
Dioscorea : ‘‘ Genthee,”’ and “ Ghunjeer,”’ or “* Ghujeera:”’ cultivat-
ed: species unknown: the pundits affirm the Ghujeera and D. quinata
or pentaphylla to be the ‘* Kakolee’” and “ Ksheer-kakolika”’ of their
old books. Generally amongst the cerealia, will be found some of the
undermentioned leguminous plants.
Dolichos uniflorus : “‘ Guhut :” the “ Koolut” of the N. W.
Dolichos catjang: “ Rensh,”’ “ Ree-ensh,” or Rysh: 3 varieties, of
which one is called ‘* Sonta.”’
Soja hispida: ‘ Bhut.” Common about Almorah: “ Khujooa” of
Rohilkhund.
Lablab cultratum: “ Sheemee :” gardens.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 445
Phaseolus radiatus : ‘“ Oord.”
Phaseolus mungo: ‘“ Moong,”’ (rare.)
Phaseolus torosus: ‘ Gooroush,” or ‘‘Gooroonsh.” One var. with
red, another with cream-coloured seeds: these are grown at a higher
level (6500 feet) than the other kinds of pulse: chiefly in Kalee Ku-
maoon, but also cultivated about Almorah.
- Almorah cannot boast of much or good fruit : the grapes are only fit
for verjuice; the apples and pears indifferent: the cherries only fit for
Kirschenwasser ; the apricots for jam and pigs: there are two species of
plum, palatable, but unwholesome ; one, a dark-blue damson, ‘ Bho-
ripens in July; the other, which is called “ Ludakh,”’
>
‘tiya Budam,’
is orange-red, much larger, and ripens in June. ‘Tolerable plantains
are produced in the warmer vallies ; and the oranges, the best from the
low vallies to the eastward, are excellent. The lemons produced about
Almorah in the cold season, and allowed to mature in straw, are not to
be excelled in size and flavor ; citrons ‘‘ Beejoura,” and ‘ Kurunphul,”’
are also grown: the shaddock and lokat ripen at Hawulbagh; the
sweet lime, ‘“‘ Umritphul,” towards the Surjoo. The wild fruits “‘ Kae-
phul” (Myrica sapida,) “ Bumoura” (Benthamia fragifera, ) “‘ Heesaloo”’
(Rubus rotundifolius,) ‘‘ Gheewaeen’”’ (HKleeagnus gheewaeen,) come un-
der Dr. Lindley’ category, “‘ Katable, but not worth eating.’ In truth
Almorah is not the spot for an epicure to fix on; the feast of reason is
the only one indigenous to the Kuropean; and while his eye rests with
delight on terrace rising above terrace for fifteen hundred feet following
the N. dip of the strata, all green and glowing with the precious fruits
of the earth enumerated above, and each, in autumn, divided by its
white belt of “ Jhoola,”’ (Anteunaria semidecurrens, ) to him the welcome
symbol of the coming winter, he must acknowledge that if elsewhere the
proverb comes true that God sends us food and the devil cooks, at Almorah
the last are better than the first, and that he must needs remain a gas-
tronomic Manichean. Such being the case, we may as well re-descend
to the Plains and continue our lowland route eastward from Bumouree.
8th March, 1847.—From Huldwanee to Jam Goth, 6 or 7 miles ;
‘path indifferent, and the jungle generally of small Khyr and Sissoo,
with some Kunjoo, Huldoo, and latterly a few large Sal, now coming
into flower. Many of the trees are leafless, while those on the heavily
wooded mountains present a mass of verdure.
446 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [May,
Close to Huldwanee cross the stony bed of the Goula, about half a
mile across: almost all its waters are diverted above this into the nu-
merous kools which irrigate the forest cultivation of Kounrpoor and
Nougaon Goths, at about the 4th mile on the route. They comprize a
large tract of luxuriant wheat and mustard cultivation, the former now
in the green ear, the latter ripe. Amongst the corn, I observed grow-
ing in abundance the Lathyrus aphaca “ Ghora-Kulon,” the Lathyrus
angulatus, “ Ningala-Koshee,” (i. e. Hill-Bamboo Legume,) Ervum
hirsutum, ‘‘ Kooree,” and Melilotus leucantha, “ Gureela.” The hemp
plant is also abundant, but apparently less luxuriant than in the Hills.
About 2 miles beyond Nougaon is Jam, another Goth, where one of
the sheds afforded a welcome refuge from the exceedingly hot sun; the
temperature too, is becoming so high, that the people are already send-
ing their wives and children back to the mountains: these are about a
mile and a half distant : the Sookhee nudee issues from them, and flows
east of Jam, separating the Chhukhata Bhabur from that of Chou-
bhynsia.
None of the people can give any etymology for this word Bhabur: or
Bhawur: some have erroneously derived it from the Babur grass (Hrio-
phorum) which does not grow here, but in the Hills ; and is also differ-
ently spelt, as applied by the people of Kumaoon, it denotes the high
and dry tract of forest land at the base of the mountains; Turrai, a
word which is scarcely known, is properly the tract of swamp and grass
lower down, and may either come from the Persian ¢uree, moisture,
water, in opposition to dry land (Shakespeare) or from the Hindee
tule, low, below ; by the Gorkhas the whole space is often called Mudh-
des, ‘‘middle country,” between the hills and plains, or rather perhaps, |
they preserve the favorite Hindoo notion that India is the central
country of the world. It is strange enough that Humboldt (Cosmos,
note 7,) should confound Madja-desa with the Chinese Mo-kie-thi,
which is manifestly Magadha, or South Behar.
Jam is but a small Goth, and the people are in great fear of the
tigers : a man was carried of from a field a week ago: and they assert
that a few days since two of these “ police of nature’ fought, till one of
them was left dead on the spot, nor far from this.
9th March.—To Chorguliya, about 9 miles, called 7 coss: the path
stony and bad, generally close under the mountains, through dense for-
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 447
est of Sal, Semecarpus, Hymenodyctum, &c. Near Jam_hackery
tracks come up perpendicularly to the Hills, for drawing the Sal tim-
ber. But most of the large trees near the route are gone. At about 5
miles pass a Goth called Surria Panee, from its lethzean stream of
bad water, and two miles farther, where the Dewa debouches from the
mountains, the richly cultivated and irrigated settlement of Lukhmun
Mundee: here the path leaves the base of the mountains, and two miles
on, reaches Chorguliya, a large and ancient clearing, well sprinkled with
huts and Goths, but without a tree to shade the luckless passenger,
though millions are in sight all round. The place probably has its
name from Chor-gurha, a pitfall, or Chorguliya, “ defile of the thieves.”
The Dewa flows about a mile to the east, in several broad stony chan-
nels, covered as usual, with Seesoo, now coming into leaf and flower ;
at present only one of these channels carries a small runnel of water.
This stream rises amongst the lofty mountains of the Dhyanee Rao
Pergunna, apparently from a huge bare range called Neta: it is known
in the hills under the name Nudour, in the Turaee as the Dewa, and
under the third name of Gurra, passes Peleebheet and Shahjuhanpoor,
and finally joins the Ramgunga.
From Chorguliya there are two routes to Burm Deo; one makes a
great circuit to the south, through the grass jungle to Nanukmuth, 12
miles, Suniya, 12, and Burm Deo 11. Nanukmutha is reported to
have been founded by the prophet of the Sikhs, with a promise that
the rule of his disciples should one day include it: there is a temple
there, where the offering consists of the Soapnut, which, in its common
form might imply a sarcasm on the personal purity of the divinity ;
but in this case the fruit, called Goolia-reetha, is said to be sweet and
edible, from a spot known as Raj ka Shera in upper Dhyanee Rao ;
where if the chronicles lie not, grows a tree of which one side produces
sweet, and the other, the common nut: the prodigy was effected by a
hungry fakeer,. Nanukmutha is 773 feet. above Calcutta. Suniya, a
mart for ratans, 829 feet, is the same as the Bilehree Mundee of the
maps, and I believe with Khetul Sanda. Between this line and the
mountains, at from 8 to 16 miles distance, there is in the Choubhynsia
district, an impassible belt of cane-brake, the favorite lair of the Cheeta
(Python tigris) commonly called the Boa; they also penetrate into the
great vallies of the Surjoo, and are held in much terror by the people :
bP)
the name is from “ chitr,” spotted.
448 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ May,
The second route, which I followed, contrary to certain visionary
objections of Choundhree Burgulia the Teekadar of Chorguliya, keeps to
the forest, close under the mountains: it cannot be traversed after
March, as the Goths, which furnish the necessary guides, are then
deserted ; and even in March it is desirable to travel by night and by
moonlight: the heat in the day time is very great, and such is the
intricacy of the forest, and the narrowness of the path, that one cannot
well get on beyond a walk. There is a direct path under the moun-
tains from Jam via Dhaktuliya to Joulasal. Near Jam oceurs a very
beautiful and exceedingly bushy Acacia called Bhes either dumosa or
latronum ; and on the Dewa we first meet a large scandent Dalbergia
probably D. volubilis ; it is called Bhuteea, and becomes more and
more common as we advance to the East. In swampy places the Ran-
dia uliginosa, a handsome shrub, abounds; it is called ‘ Pindara,’
** Pindaloo,” and yields an edible fruit when cooked.
March 10th.—To Joulasal, called 7 coss, about 10 miles, East :
crossing the Dewa, passed a large Goth called Kulluga, 964 feet above
Calcutta: here the path again abuts on the mountains, and skirts them
to Hathgar, another large Goth about half way to Joulasal, behind
which the mountains recede in a beautiful bay. These are mere sta-
tions of shepherds and wood-cutters ; there is not a vestige of cultivation
between Chorguliya and the vicinity of Burm Deo. The second half of
the route is through still denser forest than the first, composed of Sal,
Dhak, Huldoo, Saj, Jamun, Rai-jamun, Amla, Bhuliou, Sahujna,
Koombh, Amultas, Rolee, Hymenodyction, Callicarpa lanata, (“‘ Ghi-
wala,” ‘ Dera,”’) Casearia cheela, (cheela, cheelara,). Hibiscus lampas :
and in several places Symplocos racemosa. Near Joulasal, occur Ficus _
nitida, Trewia nudiflora, ‘“‘'Toomree,’ and a tall species of Globba,
‘“‘Soura,” “Sara :” growing in swamps. The whole of this tract affords
large supplies of timber, bamboos, and grass, which is hereabouts ex-
ceedingly high and thick. At the Goths the Babur grass, brought
from the hills, is stacked extensively for the dealers from the Plains :
the people are also collecting the capsales of the Rolee (Rottlera) for
the red dye they are covered with. This forest stands on a high level,
and is intersected by low belts of prairie: contrary to its. usual cha-
racter, the water reaches to within 5 or 6 feet of the surface, and in
some places still less. Old obees or elephant pits are met, with scattered
all over Choubhynsia ; and about half way between Hathgar and Jou-
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 449
lasal we came on the fresh ones: it was quite light at the time, and
the straw, grass, &c., with which they are covered enabled us to avoid
them, though placed right in the path, or so closely on each hand as to
leave a very narrow ridge between. The owners are Europeans, and
have as yet taken but one young elephant this season ; but the chances
improve when the herdsmen quit the forest. The obees are now nearly
full of water: they are covered with branches and grass, so thinly
towards the centre that a dog belonging to one of my people fell in
when crossing.
Joulasal consists merely of a clearing spacious enough for the huts
of a confideration of some 20 villages from the mountain districts of
Dhyanee Rao towards Deo Dhoora: about a mile back the mountains
form another beautiful bay like amphitheatre leading into the Doorga
Peepul Dhoon, 2155 feet above Calcutta, and 12 miles from Joulasal.
There is a route hence to Chumpawut vid Birgool, and the Sidh ka
Dhoora, south of Furka: and another vid Koolelgaon on the Ludeea,
10 miles on, to Deo Dhoora, The Doorga Peepul Dhoon possesses
quantities of Toon timber, which is uncommon in the rest of the Bha-
bur : it is cultivated with rice, and amongst its morasses rises a consi-
derable branch of the Dewa, which grows by Joulasal on the west.
Nanukmutha is called 6 coss south of this.
In the afternoon moved on to Doogola, 15 or 2 miles by the path,
and thinking to effect this without a guide, we lost our way in the
dense Sal forest, and wandered twice that distance. Doogolais a small
goth at the foot of the mountains on the high eastern bank of a stream
which here leaves them, and flows south. There is a route hence to
Suniya by Gungapoor, 2 coss: Deea, 2 coss: Bireea-mujhoula, 1 coss :
Kheree nikal, 2 coss : Khetul sanda, I coss : Nougaon, } coss : Suniya,
1 coss. Suniya is held by the Tharoos, a race who occupy the exterior
Turaee, and are said to extend far down to the 8S. KE. The Dewa sepa-
rates them from the Boksars, a kindred race to the N. W. These
people inhabit this ‘‘ Belt of death” with impunity by observing two
precautions ; one is never to be out after sunset during the malarious
season ; the other is to raise their houses on piles, after the manner of
the Indo-chinese nations. It seems extremely probable that with this
proviso and small grass bungalows and sheds raised 12 or 15 feet about
the soil, Europeans and natives of India might pass the Turaee or the
450 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon.
swamps of Guinea, with perfect safety at the worst season. From this
custom of the Tharoos, and a few strange words, as ‘“‘ Koron’’ for the
Sal tree, I supposed these people might be of the Mongolean species,
but they assert themselves to be Rajpoots from Hustinapoor, who fled
in battle, and hence the nickname Tharoos “ Quakers” from thurthu-
rana, totremble. A Mugur or Goorung Gorkhalee will equally assert
his Rajpoot origin ; a descent which is at once disproved by his Tarta-
rian face.
Near Doogola first occurred the ‘‘ Beejesar’’ a species of Pterocarpus,
probably marsupinm ; like several instances already alluded to, it be-
comes more abundant as we advance eastward : the wood is in much
requisition for making dholuks, &c.,the wood-cutters affirm that it does
not grow to the westwasd. It is No. 77 of Dr. Royle’s catalogue,
Journal, Oct. 1832, and the name perhaps comes from veej, marrow,
kshur, to ooze, or sar essence, in allusion to the copious risen which
exudes from the bark on wounding it.
(To be concluded in the next No.)
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ASTATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
For May, 1848.
The usual monthly meeting was held at the Town Hall,* on Wed-
nesday, the 3rd May.
J. W. Cotvite, Esq., President, in the Chair.
The proceedings of last meeting were read.
The accounts and vouchers for April were submitted.
The following gentlemen who had been duly proposed and seconded
at the April meeting, were ballotted for and elected members :
Dr. ddam Bell, Surgeon to the Gov. Genl.
James Corcoran, Eisq., Urdu Translator, Sudder Dewanee Adawlut.
Andrew Hay, Ksq.
Lieut. H. C. James, 32d Regt. N. I.
Captain Champneys, Deputy Auditor Genl.
Colonel Hearsey, 10th Lt. Cavalry.
- Read notes from R. O’Dowda, Esq. and J. Ward, Esq. withdraw-
ing from the Society.
John Strachey, Esq. C. S. was named for ballot as an ordinary mem-
ber; proposed by Dr. O'Shaughnessy, seconded by Mr. Elliot.
George Massey, Esq. proposed by Mr. W. P. Grant, seconded by
Mr. Colvile.
Lieut. Albert G. Austen, B. A. proposed by Dr. Falconer, seconded
by H. Walker, Esq.
Wm. Tayler, Esq. C. S. proposed by the President, seconded by
Mr. Bushby.
Mr. H. Hamilton, Resident at Indore, under explanation of his name
having ceased accidentally to be found on the list of members, signified
his desire to rejoin from the 1st January, 1847.
* The Society’s house being under repair.
452 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ May,
Mr. G. Blundell, C. S. also expressed his desire to rejoin the Society.
The following letters and communications were submitted.
From IT. M. Elliot, Esq. Secretary to Government, Foreign Depart-
ment, forwarding Reports by Lieut.-Col. Wilcox on the Observatory
of Lucknow.
From the same, enclosing Lieut. Dalton’s account of his visit to Dew-
angari, Upper Assam.
From J. H. Batten, Esq. Senior Assist. Commissioner, Kumaon, for-
warding the first part of Lieut. Strachey’s tour to the lake districts of
Manasarowar, in Thibet.
From Capt. Thuillier forwarding Meteorological Register for April,
kept at the Surveyor General’s Office.
From John R. Broadhead, Esq. United States Legation, London, pre-
senting in the name of the Legislature of New York, 3 Vols of the
“ Natural History of New York,” in continuation of the preceding
volumes of the same work formerly presented.
The respectful thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to the
Legislature of New York, and directions given to request their accept-
ance for the State Library of a complete set of the Society’s publi-
cations. ,
From the most Rev. the Archbishop of Edessa and Vicar Apostolic
of Bengal, transmitting extract of a rescript from His Eminence the
Cardinal Prefect, signifying the pleasure with which His Holiness Pius
the IX. has consented to accept the works presented by Mr. Hodgson
and by this Society.
Resolved, that the thanks of the Society be conveyed to the most
Rev. Dr. Carew, and copy of the rescript of the Cardinal Prefect for-
warded to Mr. Hodgson.
From H. M. Elliot, Esq. inviting the attention of the Society to an
elaborate essay by Colonel Wilford on the ancient Geography of India
which exists in MS. in the Society’s Library.
To the Secretary Asiatic Society.
Sir,—I beg leave to bring to the notice of the Asiatic Society that there
exists in their Library an elaborate essay by Colonel Wilford, on the ** Ancient
Geography of India,” which, as far as I can ascertain, has never yet been
published. An essay of his, with the same title, was printed in the XIV. Vol.
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 453
of the Asiatic Researches, but it is in no other respect identical with the one
I now bring to notice. Even where the names of places mentioned are
the same, the manner of treating them is different, and the arrangement
of the two essays does not all correspond. It is certainly not an early
work of the learned author, for the IXth Volume of the Asiatic Researches
is quoted in it; so that, although it abounds with the fanciful illustrations,
conjectural etymologies, and forced constructions for which he is celebrat-
ed, we may be sure that his notorious Pundit had no concern in it.
I am not aware whether the work is known or not to Professor Wilson.
Many of Wilford’s Sanscrit manuscripts on Geography were lost or dispersed
at his death, but a few leaves which were purchased for the Calcutta Sanserit
College were translated by the Professor, and published by him in the
Oriental Quarterly Magazine for December, 1824. (See Vishnu Purana,
note p. 179.) It is possible that in this translation some allusion may be
made to the work I now bring forward, and the translator may have express-
ed an opinion of its merits. Unfortunately that Magazine is nowhere
procurable in the city of its birth, and I cannot ascertain this point.
As however the work is no doubt known to Professor Wilson, who had for
so many years the command of our Library, it might be as well to ask his
opinion of it. If it has escaped his observation, I can only add that I think
it worthy of publication in our Journal, in which it would occupy about 120
pages ; for even the extravagances of such an author as Wilford, are worthy of
record, and his writings are still highly valued for the occasional glimpses of
knowledge which they impart, even by those who are most competent to
detect and expose their errors.
I have the honor to be, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
H. M. Extior.
_ April 28th, 1848.
Mr. Laidlay stated that Capt. A. Cunningham had undertaken to
edit and publish the MS. referred to.
From H. M. Elhot, Esq. forwarding a paper by Dr. Aloys Sprenger,
entitled Notice of some copies of the Arabic work Rasay el Akhwan al
eafa. Referred to Oriental Section. |
. From the.Rev. Mr. Heeberlin of. Dacca, stating that the MS. of the
Pandit Jawahir Lal had never been in his possession—also regarding the
Sanscrit dramas referred to by Capt. Cunningham. Referred to the
“ Oriental Section.”’
454 Proceedings of the Asiatie Society. | May,
From Capt. Alex. Cunningham regarding his discovery of certain
Sanscrit dramas—in reply to Babu Ramgopal Ghose,—also referred to
Oriental Section.
From Mr. Mansel, Calcutta, stating that the Taj model has been re-
paired and recommending a massive Table to be provided for it. (Order-
ed accordingly).
From Messrs. Allen and Co. forwarding bill of lading of a case of
books presented to the Society by Mr. Konig of Bonn.
From Johannes Avdall, Esq., presenting a copy of the ‘“ Grammaire
Polyglotte,’ a grammar of the Armenian, French Russian, Arabic,
Persian, Turkish and Tatar languages, per Le P. Minas Medici, printed
in 1844 at the Armenian College, Venice. The thanks of the Society
were voted to Mr. Avdall, and personally expressed by the President in
presence of the meeting.
From Dr. Roer, forwarding the 3rd Fasciculus of the Bibliotheca In-
dica, containing the continuation of the first two lectures of the Sanhita
of the Rig Veda.
From Mr. Vos, Architect, submitting estimate for a skylight and
for enclosing the south veranda of the Society’s house, as an additional
apartment for the museum.
The Council were authorized to take the estimate into consideration
and proceed with the suggested alterations as they might think fit.
From J. W. Laidlay, Esq., forwarding a note, with Electrotype im-
pressions in copper of the gold coins presented by Mr. Cunliffe.
The eight gold. coins submitted to the imspection of the Society by Mr.
D. Cunliffe, are stated by that gentleman to have been found at a village
named Kussaraya, in the south-western part of the Monghir district. They
belong to what has been termed the Indo-Scythic series.
No. 1.—The analogues of this coi have been figured by Wilson, plate
XIV. figs. 12 and 13, with which the present specimen agrees in rudeness of
execution and in its general appearance. The name of the prince is Baraoro,
or Varaoro, according to Wilson, but is unfortunately not more distinctly
legible on this coin than on those which he figures.
Obverse: the prince} holding in his left hand a trident, and depositing an
offeriag with his right upon an altar. Legend, POO NONO POO (B O)
ONO KOPONO.
Reverse.—A figure of Shiva and the word OK PO.
No, 2.—A coin nearly identical with this is figured by Wilson, plate XIV.
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 455
fig. 14. The execution, though barbarous, is superior to the foregoing, so
much so as to render it doubtful whether it should be attributed to the same
prince.
Obverse.—PAO NANO PAO * * OANO KOPANO.
Reverse.—OKPO.
No. 3.—Apparently Piliched
Obverse.—Bust of the prince, with legend only partially legible—NO
KOPANO.
Reverse.—Standing figure with crescent-shaped wings ; legend MAO.
No. 4.—A very rude coin of similar type to No. 1, but legend illegible,
except on the reverse OKPO.
Nos. 5 and 6.—Coins of the same prince. Obverse.—Bust of the monarch.
Legend PAO NANO PAO OOHPKO KO PANO. Reverse.—Figure m a long
robe holding a cornucopia. Legend APAOXPO.
No. 7.—Of the same prince apparently, having the same inscription on the
obverse as the foregoing, but instead of a female figure with a cornucopia on
the reverse, there is a soldier with a spear in his left hand and what seems
a parasol in his right.
No. 8.—Analogues of this coin published by Wilson, pl. XIV. figs. 19, 20.
a1, 22.
Mr. Cunliffe states that these cos form a portion of 84 found in the bed
of the river; and that as the claimants are unable to prove their right to
them, the whole will most probably revert to Government, from whom he
suggests they might be obtained by the Society upon application, for the
museum. If to be had on such easy terms I need not say that their acquisi-
tion would be most desirable; but lest it be otherwise, I have made electro-
type facsimiles of them for deposit in the museum; and take the present
occasion to observe that if numismatologists would furnish us with accurate
impressions of such novelties as they may discover, we should soon be able
to get up a cabinet of facsimiles scarcely inferior in authenticity and historical
value to the originals.
Section of Natural History.
Council of the Asiatic Society, 3rd May, 1848.
The Council of the Asiatic Society submit a reply from Mr. Blyth to the
Report of the Section of Natural History on the reference made to the Sec-
tion regarding Mr, Blyth’s application for an inerease of salary and a retiring
pension,
456 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. | May,
The Council recommend that Mr. Blyth’s reply be read to the May meet-
ing, and referred to the Section of Natural History for their consideration ;
further, that the subject be again brought up and finally disposed of at the
next meeting.
W. B. O’SHAuGHNESsSY,
Secretary Asiatic Society.
Mr. Blyth’s reply, which was of great length, was read by the senior
Secretary.
The proposition of the Council having been put to the vote, the fol-
lowing amendment was proposed by Mr. Newmarch and seconded by—
That the report of the Section of Natural History with Mr. Blyth’s reply
be referred for consideration to the next meeting of the Society, and that in
the meantime the Section be requested to communicate with Mr. Blyth, in
order that statements of facts may be laid before the meeting, to the correct-
ness of which both assent, and nothing be left to the meeting but to decide
upon the merit of Mr. Blyth’s services.
After considerable discussion the amendment was put to the vote and
lost, and the proposition of the Council adopted by a majority of 11 to 4.
The Librarian submitted his usual report as follows :
LIBRARY.
The following books have been received since the last meeting.
Presented.
The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, Vol. HW. Nos. IT.
i11.—By tue Epiror.
A Chrestomathy of the Afghan Language.—By tne Aurnor.
Twelfth Report of the Inspectors of Prisons presented to both Houses of
Parliament by command of Her Majesty—ForwarbDeEpD By THE SOCIETY’s
Lonpvon AGENTS.
The Rocks of Pulo Ubin, by J. R. Logan.—By rue Autuor.
Nityadharmanuranjica, Nos 56, 57.—By tus Epiror.
Tatwabodhini Patrica, No. 56.—By rue TATWABODHINI SABITA.
Draft Report on the Principles of Punishment.—By M. Hiun, Esq.
Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s Office, Caleutta,
for the month of March, 1848.—By THe Deputy Surveyor GENERAL.
~ Natural History of New York, part 2nd, Vols. I. I. and part 5th.—By
tHE GOVERNOR AND SECRETARY OF THE STATE OF New York. ’
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 457
On the coins of the Patan Sultans of India. By Ed. Thomas Esq., B.C. S.
By THE AUTHOR.
Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Weten-
schappen, XXI. eerste Deel.— By tue Eprror.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. X. part III.—By rue Socirry.
The Oriental Christian Spectator, Vol. 1X. Nos. 3, 4.—By THe Eprror.
Journal of the Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society, No. 11.—By THE
SocIETY.
The Oriental Baptist, No. 17.—By tHE Epiror.
Upadeshaka, No 16.—By tue Epiror.
Exchanged.
The Athenzum, No. 1059.
Purchased.
Caleutta Review, No. 17.
Certified to be a true Report,
James Wo. CoLvi.e, President.
J. W. Laipuay, Secretary.
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SAPRASAAADLSADRLAADRDALAANALDALAAAAADRAARDAAADRAADARRRADARARAAN
Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains in the vicinity of Sud-
dyah, Upper Assam.—By Major S. F. Hannay. Communicated
by W. Seton Karr, Esa., Under-Secretary to the Government of
Bengal.
Being desirous of making some researches in the jungles north of
Suddyah for the remains of the former inhabitants of that section of
Upper Assam, I took the opportunity of my yearly visit to Laikwah,
to make excursions in the different directions pointed out by the vil-
lagers as leading to temples, tanks, and other remains of a people differ-
ent in every respect from the present races inhabiting the country, and
who are associated in their ideas with the Demigods and Deotas of
ancient Hindooism.
Bishmook Nuggur.—This is a Hill Fort ; built according to the tradi-
tions of the people of Upper Assam, by a rajah of that name (Bish-
mook), whom the Hindoostanees appear to identify with Bheekrum,
rajah of Koondilpoor, the father of the celebrated Rukhmini. It is
situated at the foot of the mountains nearly north of Suddyah, between
the Dikrung and Debong rivers, and may be distant about 16 miles.
In proceeding to this Fort, we passed over the Suddyah plain ina
northerly direction, and at a distance of about six miles came out on
the Dikrung river, up the bed of which we continued our course on ele-
phants, till the morning of the 3d day, when we reached the hills. The
route was then on foot, through the tree jungle on the right bank of
the river, winding along the tracks of wild elephants (but more frequent-
ly obliged to cut our path) for about two hours, when we found our-
No. XVIII.—NeEw Series. 3R
460 Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains [JuN §,
selves at the foot of a steep ascent of 80 or 100 feet, up which we scram-
bled to a fine piece of table-land covered with splendid timber, amongst
which we observe the Jack, Toon and Tchaum. Uere our gnide,
who by the bye had never seen the Fort, said we had reached it, and
mentioned that the tract of table land covered with various fruit trees
extended inland to the foot of the Guroee mountain.* No vestiges of
architecture were visible however, and we were thus disappointed. as in
the absence of any knowledge whatever as to localities, it would have
been too laborious an undertaking to explore such an extent of country.
It was agreed upon therefore to proceed for some distance along the
edge of the steep bounding the table-land on the left, in the hopes of
finding a road or path which might lead to a gateway, and perceiving
in our course one or two paths, well worn by wild animals in their pro-
gress to water, we passed down one of these, and were fortunate enough,
after turning and winding through the hollow ground formed by the
steep we had just left, and an opposite spur of the elevated land, to dis-
cover that a high rampart of earth crossed the opening towards the
plain ; crowning this, we found ourselves amongst bricks scattered about,
with a low wall running along the top of the outer edge, which on
nearer inspection proved to be an upper parapet overtopping the ram-
part, the lower portion showing a solid facing of hewn sandstone blocks,
of more or less height, according to the nature of the ground.
This rampart ran in a direction about North West, and in the distance
of + mile, which we inspected, the brick wall continued on the left,
sometimes to the height of five feet, loop-holed in several places, appa-
rently for arrows and spears, but more frequently in a very dilapidated
state from huge trees having taken root in the rampart, and wild animals
passing over it. At the distance of 3 of a mile, a spur of the table-
land touched upon the rampart and a brick wall crossed it, ascending
the spur apparently to the level land above; here also must have been
a gateway or passage of some kind through the cross wall, but all had
* Guroee Mountain, and also Geree, so called from a tribe of Mishmees inhabiting
the lower spurs. The Thi Gureee is North of Suddyah, and in a direct line about 20 miles
distant. ‘The highest peak must be upwards of 8000 feet, being often covered with snow
in the cold season, and behind it are seen several snow-capped mountains of a higher
range. The Diggaroo and Dikrung rivers rise from the Southern slopes of this mountain,
and the former brings down those beautiful boulders of primitive limestone-marble which
supplies Western Assam with lime.
1848. | in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper Assam. 461
disappeared in the heaps of bricks lying about. The wall and rampart
however still continued to the north-west, but having so little local
information about the place, and being limited in our researches to that
day only, it was considered advisable to return. We therefore confined
our further observations to that portion of the works we had passed.
Conjectures as to the nature and extent of the works.—The table-
land to the east being naturally strong from the steepness and difficulty
of ascent, required no artificial defences, and from the circumstance of
the rampart and wall abutting upon the southermost point of the table-
land, it appeared to me evident that those works, to their utmost ex-
tent westward, probably to the Dibong, about 4 miles distant, were
merely intended to enclose the table-land at the foot of the hills, and
thus forma place of refuge in time of invasion. The quantity of
fruit trees, such as Shaum (Artocarpus chaplasha,) Jack and Mangoe,
would also lead us to suppose that the place had been peopled, or at
least that it had been occasionally occupied as a summer residence. No
buildings however are said to be on this hill fortification, but the
Mishmees, who describe it as of great extent, speak also of a gateway
by a hill stream, where there are large earthernware vessels ‘similar to
the Naud, used for holding water, besides other smaller vessels of vari-
ous shapes ; and the truth of the latter is confirmed by the numerous
debris of earthern vessels found in the bed of the Dikrung river, of a
description totally different from the manufactures of the present day m
Assam, being more (as regards quality of material and shape) of that of
the earthernware of Gangetic India.
Description and quality of works.—Although bearing the appearance
of great age, for in many places the wall has bulged and fallen down, it
has evidently been well and substantially built ; the sandstone blocks,
varying from 10 to 8 inches thick, 1 foot broad and 20 inches long, are
rudely, but evenly chisselled with the pomt, and they are closely and
regularly laid. The bricks are first rate, varying in size from 8 to 5,
and 6 to 4 inches, and from 13 to 24 inches thick, and the parapet wall
formed of these, about 4 or 44 feet in thickness. The sandstone facing
of the rampart may be somewhat less, but the whole masonry work is
laid without cement or fastening of any kind ; immediately over the
sandstone, are two rows of bricks, and over these two others projecting,
so as to form arude cornice, which gives an appearance of neatness.
3 RZ
462 Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains [JUNED
The rows or layers of masonry (sandstone) alternate from 5 to 7 and 9
from the bottom of the wall outside, a difference which may be account-
ed for either from the natural steepness of the ground in some parts,
requiring less wall; or from the earth having accumulated against the
wall from natural causes, during a long period of time. Close to where
the wall abuts against the table-land, there is a turn at right angles
given evidently to form a flank defence. No writing or rude marks
on the stones such as I subsequently found at other places, were dis-
covered in this hill fortification.
The Tamaseree Mai, or Copper Temple.—This temple is designated by
Buchanan “the Eastern Kamykya,”’ and its site is stated by him to be
on the Dikkori Basini, near the north-eastern boundary of the ancient
kingdom of Kamarupa.
The small romantic little stream, on the right bank of which it is built,
is not the Dikharoo river however, although in its course to the Burrum-
pooter it receives several accessories from that river. Dol, or Déwdl panee,
is the name by which the temple stream is known to the Assamese.
Formerly, and whilst the remains of the Hindoo races on the north
(right bank) of the Burrumpooter were still unmolested by the Ahom or
Shan dynasty in Assam, the eastern Kamykhya was accessible from
Western India, by that stupendous work the raised road or alley, which
is known to have extended from the modern Kooch Behar to the Eastern
confines of the Assam valley ;—subsequently also, as the Ahoms be-
came proselytes to Hindooism, although their zealous policy excluded
people from Western India, the natives of the valley had permission to
propitiate, and I believe a road went direct through the present Sud-
dyah tothe Temple, or vid Choonpoora or Sonipore of the maps, a
place on the north bank of the Burrumpooter, the residence of the
Suddyah Kwa Gohain, an officer of the above government, in charge
of the eastern districts of Assam. Choonpoora is about 10 miles east
of the present station of Koondil Mookh, and the Temple may be about
8 miles inland from Choonpoora, in a north-east direction.
A generation and more has passed away since the votaries of this
Temple were numerous enough to keep the roads open, and the only
accessible route now-a-days, is by the course of the Dalpanee, up which
the anxious pilgrim frequently wanders for days without being able to
find the object of his search, for the country is one mass of dense jungle,
1848. | in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper Assam. 463
aud so many streams fall into that which passes the holy spot, that
even those who have visited the place, and ought to have a knowledge
of the landmarks, are frequently puzzled, that an idea prevails, that the
goddess, or titular deity of the Temple, is to be found and propitiated
only when it pleases herself. I believe indeed that in more than one
instance, pilgrims have returned ungratified ; and Byragees and others
from Western India, in attempting to find the Temple alone, have perished
from hunger, or become a prey to the tigers, which are numerous.
According to the accounts of my learned Hindoo friends, the worship
at the eastern Kamykhya is the Yoni, but more properly the Linga of
Siva, in conjunction with the Yoni. Siva has also been propitiated in
his character of the destroyer, and it is well known that human sacri-
fices have been made there within the present century. I have not been
able, however, to ascertain the date of the last sacrifice, and whether it
existed up to the invasion of the Burmese, but I have been told as a
positive fact, that the particular class of people from amongst whom the
victims for such sacrifice were taken, are still in existence, and one
family is now living in Suddyah. However, I have not made any par-
ticular inquiries regarding so barbarous a rite, and will merely observe
that orthodox Hindoos do not admit the necessity for human sacrifice
at the Eastern Kamykhya,* and account for its introduction, by the
barbarity and ignorance of the people. My own opinion is also in
favor of this, and the probability that it was so introduced by the
Ahoms in their early ignorance of Hindooism, or that some wily and
bigotted brahman, may have made it a price for the liberty of proselyt-
ism to his creed, the sects of which in Assam, the Ahoms, following
their advent into the country, had long persecuted.
That Hindu Buddhism and Brahminical Hindooism both existed
from a very remote period in Assam, I think we need not doubt, as well
as, that the latter came down to a very Jate date; of which indeed,
there can be no better proof than the fact of its influence having led to
the conversion of the Bhuddistical Tai race who had become the rulers
of the country.
* Kamykhya should be more properly written Kam Ichchha, from Kama and
Ichchha.
+ According to Hiouan thsang, Buddhism had made no progress in Assam up to the
middle of the seventh century. The Tibetan accounts which make Assam the scene of
Sakya’s death, are now well ascertained to be in this respect erroneous.— Eps.
464 Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains [JUNE,
Admitting also that the kingdom of Kamroop had attained to an
equal degree of civilization with coeval Hindu dynasties of central
India,* there is nevertheless but little doubt of its having fallen away
into a state of anarchy and barbarism, for centuries perhaps, before the
middle of the 15th, and this from the influx of impure tribes, on every
side ; and their mixing up with the original inhabitants of the plains.—
The advent of these having followed upon the dying off of the former
dynasties, or their downfal by invasion from Gangetic India, of which
last there are two mentioned, that of the Emperor Vicramaditya and
of Yitarift a pious Rajput, from Western India, who was the founder of
a dynasty in central Assam, which became extinct with Rajah Sukrauk
in 1478 A. D.
Indeed from whatever cause, its beauty, extraordinary fertility, and
richness,—or perhaps the unwarlike character of its inhabitants, {t—
itis certain we hear of Kamaroopa having been the prey of the invader
from India, from the time of its being the abode of the primitive
Assurs, and Deotas,§ to the last invasion of the Mahomedans of Bengal
in the middle of the 17th century ; I am inclined however to give its
downfall from former greatness, a very early date, at least to a period
prior to the first Mahomedan invasion of Kamroop, and would attribute
it solely to the peculiar tenets of its people (the worship of Siva) and
the prolonged struggles which in former times took place throughout
India, between this and the opposite sect of Vaisnava; and here also
we shall find the true cause of the unfinished and ruinous state of the
extensive remains in central Assam, as also on its Eastern confines, and
not ascribe the desecration, either to the rude hand of the Mahomedan, or
the Shan invader.|| About the middle of the 15th century, and perhaps
* The extensive ruins of Sonitpoor or Lohitpoor, as described by the late Capt.
Westmacott, prove this I think, and in the praises of Chandragupta, as translated from
inscription No.2 of the Allahabad Pillar, and published in J. A. S. for June 1836, we
havein stanza 19, ‘‘ Of him who when his fame penetrated to the friendly forest of
Pines, to Kamarupa, to Nepal,” &c.
+ Generally known as Dhuram-pal.
t In latter days at least.
§ In thus alluding to the Assurs and Deotas, I am of opinion that Assam or Kama-
roopa was one of the earliest conquests of Indian Khetri kings, and the seat of that pri-
mitive Hindooism, (or shall we say Buddhism, ) which existed previous to the Brahmini-
cal or priestly doctrine which superseded it.
|| The first invasion of the Mahomedans is stated to have been in the parly part of the
1848. | in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper Assam. 465
before the death of Sukrauk, the last of the Yitari or Dhuram-pal line in
A. D. 1478, a revival of Hindooism according to Brahminical tenets,
appears (from Prinsep’s Chronological Table of the North bank Bur-
rumpooter dynasty) to have been carried out, by the introduction of
Brahmins from Gour, and from this time, we may date a gradual ex-
tension of its influence over all classes, the Tai rulers of the country
having become proselytes somewhere between 1611-49. After the
death of Sukrauk without issue, the different classes of the people,
appear by the same Chronological tables to have been formed into 12
Rajs, known in Assam as the Barah Bhédéeedh—these however, soon
came under the dominant power of the Ahoms, who commencing with
the Cassarees and Sooteeahs on the East, slowly but securely extended
their supremacy by force and intermarviage, until they eventually
assumed the sovereign power to the confines of Bengal.
Structure of Temple and style of architecture-——The Temple is
situated close on the right bank of the romantic little stream, called the
Dolpanee in the midst of a dense forest, in which there are some
splendid specimens of the Nagasur. The dimensions of the imterior
is a square of 8 feet, the walls being about 44 feet thick, excepting
in front, where there are two recesses on each side of the door, which
is formed of three entire blocks of stone. The outer line of wall
therefore encloses a square of about 17 feet. With the exception of the
lintel and sides of the doorway, (Pl. XXX, fig. 1) the four walls are
quite plain, both inside outside ; from the basement outside however, at
the height of 10 feet, there is a projection of stone slightly fluted on
the underside, which forms a cornice, and above this there may have
been about 2 feet more of wall upon which the roof rested, as
not a vestage is remaining of this last, it would be difficult to
speak confidently of its particular construction, but as there are
several long pieces of stone, levelled at the lower end which have
fallen inside, it is possible that these may have formed the groins
of support to the roof—eight in number—the intermediate spaces
between these, being filled in with thin slabs, of which there are
many lying about, and the whole covered over with sheets of
beaten copper, laced together through copper loops fastened on the
13th century, but it does not appear that they penetrated beyond Rungpoor, Bengal,
which anciently belonged to the kingdom of Kamrupa.
466 Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains [JuNE,
edges of the different sheets ; as the groins however, are not above 5 or
6 feet long, the roof must have been rather flat; a carved vase-shaped
block, now lying in the river, in all probability formed the centre of
the dome. The Linga, two in number, are in the middle of a large
stone inside, and accessible by a descent of a few steps from the door-
way ; in which there was a folding-door of stone or wood, judging
from the hole at top and bottom on each side.
The style of architecture is ancient, but I should be inclined to think
the present building of comparatively modern date, from the cireum-
stance of finding a thin layer of brick soorkee or mortar between the
rows of masonry ; if such is the case, we might reasonably suppose it
had been rebuilt about the time of the revival of Brahminical Hindoo-
ism, as before noticed. The original shape has without doubt been
adhered to, and the same material employed as on its first construction.
This looks old, and bears marks of iron fastenings now completely de-
eayed.
Building material of Temple and enclosure-—The material of the
temple, with the exception of the door lintel sides, and projecting wall
on each side, is a course grit, well adapted for building purposes. The
blocks averaging from one foot thick, the same in depth, and 18 inches
long, are smoothly chiselled, and the masonry is evenly and closely fitted.
The three blocks forming the doorway, each of 73 feet long and 2 feet
by 18 inches in girth, with the blocks of the projecting wall, are red-
dish porphyritic granite of an adamantine hardness; and must have
required exceedingly well tempered tools to work, the chiselling being
with the point in straight lines, which give a ribbed appearance.
The site of the temple is as near as possible square with the cardinal
points, the doorway to the west, the back wall having only a space of
12 paces between it and the wall of the outer enclosure, which on the
east, rises directly up from the right bank of the stream. ‘This is a
substantial brick wall, about 44 feet thick rising to the height of 8 feet,
on a foundation of rudely cut blocks of sandstone. The entrance of
this enclosure is on the west face, where there has been a stone gate-
way and door, of which the lintel carved on the edge in a chain of
lotus flowers, is lying close by, as well as some ornamented small _pil-
lars upon which in all probability the elephant* (Plate XXX. fig. 2.)
* The tusks of this elephant are said to have been of silver. The block from whieh
it is cut measures 4 feet in length, 2 feet high, 18 inches broad.
1848. ] in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper Assam. » 467
was placed near the doorway ; at the south-east corner, there was also
a stone gateway leading to the small stream, in the bed of which are
several carved and plain blocks of granite and sandstone to which it
would be difficult now to assign a place; one of these is the triangular
shaped weather-worn block of granite (Fig. 3, Pl. XXX.) on which
are symbols, which perhaps may have some meaning, and give a
clue to the era of the building ;—one or two of the letter-like figures,
assimilate with some of the characters of the ancient Nagree alphabet,
but the shaded figures are too deeply cut to suppose they are more
than symbolical of a particular era and people. On some of the blocks
lying in the river, and in the foundation of the enclosure wall, as also
on the elephant, I found the marks, represented at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, of
P]. XXX, and which I fancy are typical of the sect of the mason, or of
the builders. In front of the temple, and lying between a small brick
terrace opposite the door, are several round-shaped plates of granite
sunk to a level with the ground, upon which offerings are said to have
been placed. The brick terrace has a low wall on three sides, now in
ruins, but the outer enclosure wall is in a tolerable state of preserva-
tion, and along the inside of both eastern and western faces, brick
tiles about 14 inches square are let in, having stamped upon them in
high relief, figures of some of the Hindoo Avatars; the principal are
the caparisoned horse—the same with warrior, in a high conical cap,—
Hunooman,—the fabulous horse and tree,—two peacocks fighting,—one
bird preying on another, with a variety of flowers of the Lotus, Cham-
pa, and Nagasur, done in different forms ; most of the figures are dress-
ed in the conical shaped cap ; but I am inclined to think, this wall and
its embellishments, are coeval with the second building of the temple
about 400 years ago.
The present ruinous state can be easily accounted for by the jungle
having grown up so thick around it and upon it; for it is quite im-
possible that such buildings could stand when once trees and shrubs had
taken root on the walls, as one stone‘displaced, the roof would soon come
down. The present state of dilapidation is however ascribed to an
earthquake about 5 years ago, no doubt assisted by the numerous wild
elephants who tear down the shrubs from the highest points they can
reach, and rub themselves against the walls.
Altar of worship called Boora Booree,—Following my visit to the
3S
468 Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains [JUNE
Copper Temple, I was induced from the reports of Deoree Sooteeahs*
of Suddyah to visit a temple or place of worship, situated close on the
left bank of the Dikrung river, and to look for other remains which
were said to exist in the Doab, or tract of country lying between that
river and the Debong, connected, according to the traditions of the
people, with the Rajah Bishmook before mentioned, and his capital of
Koondilpoor.
We found this temple of worship about 10 miles distant from Sud-
dyah, the last four miles of the road lying along the bed of the Dik-
rung to the mouth of a small stream on the left bank, called the
Deopanee, in the immediate vicinity of which it is situated. This
extraordinary looking place, represented in sketch No. 3, and rough
ground plan annexed, is considered by the natives of the district, the
most ancient and holy spot in Upper Assam; and the source from
which all other objects of worship have sprung, not even excepting that
of the Copper Temple. By the orthodox Hindoos, it would be consi-
dered an altar to Mahadeo, or Siva and Parvatti, with their attendant
Gunas. From its shape and the number of the Linga however, I
* The Deoree Sooteeahs are the hereditary officiating priests of the copper temple,
and Boora Booree. They belong to aclassof the Assamese population deserving of
notice, as the Sooteeahs or Chootyahs, who at one time previous to Ahom supremacy
held power on the North and South bank of Burrumpooter, in the modern district of Sud-
dyah and Saikwah, and according to their own account, are descendants of the original
Hindoo Khetree races of ancient Kamarupa. (The family of the late Muttack Sena-
puttee are Chootyahs). This tradition might derive some corroboration from the fact,
that the language of this race, now only known to the families of the priests, contains a
great proportion of Sanscrit and Hindee as well as Burmese words, which last are pro-
bably derived from Pali, and the whole language may therefore have been originally
one of the Pracrit dialects of the day; according to the Tai races also, the ‘‘ Khwam
Chootyah (or Chootyah, ) language appears to have been the only written language in ex-
istence at the period of their advent in Assam ;—and it is notorious, that both Burmese and
Shans substitute the Y for the R,and we would then have it written more like Xshattrya or
Chuttryah. In the present time the Sooteeahs are called Hindoo Sooteeahs, and Ahom
Sooteeahs, the last named being those with whom the Ahoms or Saums intermarried at
an early date. The class of the Assam population known as Beheeahs in upper Assam,
also consider themselves belonging to the Hindoo Sooteeah family. With reference
indeed, to the characteristic features of the different people in Upper Assam, it may be
generally remarked I believe that amongst the Chootyahs—Beheeas and Kilitas who
have not intermarried with the Saums, the high and regular features of the Hindoo pre-
dominate. Many of the latter indeed are very well featured, with the grey eye which we
frequently find amongst the Rajputs of Western India.
1848. | in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper Assam. 469
should be inclined to think that no better explanation of its original
and pecular worship could be given, than what is written of the attri-
butes of Adi Buddha, and Adi Prajna, in the quotations from original
Sanscrit authorities on Buddhism, published in the Journal of the
Asiatic Society for the month of Feb. 1836.
The altar is a hexagon, each face measuring about 8 feet inside. The
architecture quite plain, the wall two feet thick, showing on the outside
from the foundation 5 rows of sandstone blocks, varying from 10 to 8
inches thick, the masonry bound together with iron clamps. The inner
side of the wall is brick, and on the top is a coping of brick soorkee
without lime, which last looks like a comparatively modern addition
The whole space inside has been paved with rough flags of sandstone ;
and in the centre, placed north and south, is a large slab shaped like a
gravestone, containing the Linga, as represented in the rough ground
plan.
In front of the altar on the West side, is a terrace or choubootra,
upon which offerings are placed.* In later days, since the proselytism
of the Ahoms, and the re-establishment of the worship at these
temples, the Boora Booree had a light roof supported on posts, cover-
ing the whole space ; this however is long since decayed and gone,
At a distance of 180 feet from the North-East corner of the altar is
an outer rampart and deep ditch, corresponding exactly with the inner
hexagon ; and at a somewhat less distance is another, but lower rampart
of the same shape. There is no gateway, or the remains of one, visi-
ble in these outer works ; but a raised road leads out from the Western
face of the altar; within the first enclosure, also in the North-West
corner, is the remains of a small tank, and about 20 paces in front of
the terrace is an upright stone (sandstone) with a moulding on the
edge, placed there I was told for sharpening the dhas of sacrifice.
The whole space is a dense jungle, and the site of the altar had to be
cleared, before it could be examined ; within the enclosed ground, as
well as on the inner rampart, are some of the most magnificent Nahor
trees I have ever seen. The surrounding jungle (underwood) is
mostly the wild Betelnut (as it is called,) and the vicinity of the spot
* The most esteemed offering made at this temple is a white buffaloe, but pigeons,
kids, and ducks are also sacrificed along with offerings made of money, cloth, opium,
flowers, rice, and in fact every article of food.
a S32
470 Notes on Ancient Temples and other remains [ JUNE,
is notorious for the number of the Sewah Palm (Caryota Ureus). Toon
of a large description, and other timber trees, common to upper Assam,
are also in abundance.
During a sojourn of a week on the banks of the Dikrung river, daily
excursions were made into the jungle, in the hopes of finding the remains
of another temple and tank, said to exist in, or near the site of an an-
cient place called Pritthimee, and by some Phoontook Nuggur ; situated
between the Dibong and Dikrung rivers there, about five miles apart.
The result of our searches (although not fortunate enough to find
the temple and tank we looked for) were three very fine pucka tanks,
all of which were, in form, a parellelogram, three times the breadth in
length, with two opposite bathing ghauts, exactly in the middle of the
embankments, which last were built of first rate bricks, laid in three
steps or ledges to the water’s edge and without lime or soorkee, the
upper surface of the embankment being also paved with bricks.
One of these tanks, situated several miles inland, was by rough mea-
surement, 280 yards long, by 96 broad, and the site lengthways, north
and south, as near as possible. The bathing ghauts, although ruinous,
were built of hewn blocks of sandstone, flags of the same stone shield
shaped, as at No. 8 of typical marks (Pl. XXX,) forming the side-ways.
Here also, on detached blocks from these ghauts, 1 found inscribed the
Fursah or Battle-axe, and other marks similar to those of the Copper
Temple.
On the embankments near the ghauts, were several very large Bani-
an trees; and besides numbers of fine Nahor, we found the Neribi,
(Canarium strictum), Tapor (Xanthochymus pictorius), and other fruit
trees ;—the surrounding small jungle where the ground was high and
dry, was invariably the wild Betelnut, with an occasional Sewah.
Another of these tanks is situated close on the right bank of the
Dikrung, and from its immediate vicinity a high rampart of earth with
a ditch, proceeds south-west and west, circling round for several miles
north-west to north, at which point we found the remains of a brick
gateway, with rampart, and the tank I measured, close to it; a road
also proceeds from this point to the westward (afterwards traced as
far as the Dibong). In front of the gateway, is a small water-course,
or continuation of the outer ditch, on each side of which were the re-
mains of buttresses of hewn sandstone, and some large slabs were lying
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1848. | in the vicinity of Suddyah, Upper Assam. 471
about ; it is evident therefore that a bridge crossed the ditch at that
point.
None of the natives who accompanied us had seen these remains,
and of course had no knowledge as to the extent of country enclosed by
this rampart ; but as it is some 18 feet high, with fine timber growing
upon it, it is quite possible to trace it to the point where it again per-
haps touches on the Dikrung. The tanks we found are all inside this
rampart, and as others are reported to be in existence, we may conclude
that it enclosed the site of a large town or inhabited tract of country.
In fact, from the accounts of different people who prowl about these
jungles elephant-shooting, and who describe various works of brick
and stone,—high earthen mounds, with tracts of cultivatable land
intermixed, I am inclined to think that the country from the Dibong
to the Koondil river, a distance of 10 or 12 miles, with the hill forti-
fication known as Bishmook Nugger, and Sisoopal Nugger,* belonged
to one people and dynasty. It is indeed quite obvious that the mason-
ry either of brick or stone, which we examined, is the work of the same
people, and that the sandstone is the produce of one quarry, apparent-
ly of the old red sandstone formation, which we might expect to be in
existence on the southern edge of the neighbouring mountains.
Our researches on the Dikrung ended with the discovery of the carved
block of sandstone, represented in Pl. XX XI. This stone, 7} feet long
by 18 inches broad, and 10 inches thick, was found inside a substantial
brick enclosure 96 by 84 feet, built without lime or morter, but of the
finest bricks I have ever seen; some of them in the doorway (situated
in a buttress in the west face) 18 inches by 1 foot, and 34 inches
thick, the wall 43 feet in thickness, and upwards of 6 feet high, the
coping of entire bricks included.
In one corner of the enclosure was a well, made with the tile rings
used in Bengal, and close to the eastern wall was a brick terrace, upon
which the stone was placed parallel to this face. The inner side
(which was uppermost), was divided by a ledge 14 inches high, into 3
* Tam ata loss to know why this place, which was visited by Lieut. Rowlatt, is so
called. Sispal, or Sisupal, whowas Rajah of Chanderi in Bundlekund, may have accom-
panied his cousin Krishna in his wanderings ; but he could have had no connection with
the country of Bishmook beyond this, if we may except the story of his having been be-
trothed to Raékhmini, the daughter of Bishmook, and if we can believe that the Bedhurb
of the Hindoos is the modern Suddyah, and the Koondilpoor of the Prem Sagur.
472 Notes on Ancient Temples, Se. [JUNE,
compartments, the centre containing 3, the others 2, in all 7 cavities,
which led the natives of the present day to suppose the stone had been
used as a Dhenkiri, for pounding rice.
There can be little doubt however of the object of the people who
placed it in the position we found it; as well as, that its dimensions,
and clearly sculptured face,* shows that at one time it formed the left
hand. side of the door of a temple, and taking into consideration that
this building was at a considerable distance from the works enclosing
the tanks, &c. we may reasonably imagine that the stone with the whole
of the brick work was taken from the site of the temple, we were in
search of, and to a certain extent corroborates the reports of the natives
as to its existence within the site of Pritthimee Nugger, the discovery
of which however, must depend upon further researches in that quarter.
In the present time it would appear difficult to account for the exist-
ence of such extensive remains of population so far inland from the
Burrumpooter. The traditions of the people however go to say, that
the course of this river eastward of Suddyah even ran in former times
much nearer to the northern mountains, but at what particular point
the Burrumpooter subsequently receded from the hills, cannot now be
well determined ; as the land is high at Choonpoorah, and continues so,
as far inland at least as the Copper Temple. Itis evident notwithstand-
ing, and it is the current belief of the people, that the extensive plain
of Suddyah is an alluvial deposit of no very ancient date. I have seen
indeed, when the Burrumpooter was encroaching upon the station of
Koondil Mookh, drift timber of immense size exposed by the abrasions
of the river, and at the mouth of the Koondil, it appeared as if a forest
had once existed, under the Suddyah alluvial deposit ; which I believe, —
at the highest, is not more than 16 feet above the dry season level of
the water in the river.
As the Suddyah land falls again inland at about 4 or 5 miles distance
towards the Goormoorah Nuddee, it is possible that this last may in
former times have been the bed of the Burrumpooter, which would
thus have joined the Debong, where the Dikrung and the united waters
of the Goormoorah now fall into that river. This would bring the
remains of Pritthimee and Bishmook within a reasonable distance of
the great river of the valley.
* The figure on this stone is supposed to be that of Krishna ; lying alongside of this was
a smaller block, the edge carved in a chain frieze, apparently part of a cornice.
1848. | Description of the Tomb of an Ahom Noble. 473
Description of the Tomb of an Ahom Noble, in a letter to Major S. F.
Hannay ; by Serjeant C. Cuayton, Depart. Public Works.—Com-
municated by W.Srtron Karr, Lsq. Under-Secretary to the Go-
ment of Bengal.
In compliance with the request contained in your note of the 19th
instant, I beg herewith to enclose a rough Plan and Section* of the
**Maidom” or Tomb, of which I superintended the opening at the re-
quest of Captain Brodie.
The Tomb is said to be that of the Burra Ghohain ‘* Purnananda,’>
who exercised great authority during the latter part, and after the reign
of Gowrienath Singh ; it was built entirely of massive timber of the
dimensions shewn in the plan, the posts and beams being of Nahr and
the plank of Oriam, all in excellent preservation.
The shell or coffin was placed upon a mechan, not in the centre of the
room, but much nearer to the north side ; and from the upper edges of
the mechan rose a wall of thin rough boards enclosing the coffin on all
four sides but open at top, which however rose to within a foot of the
main roof. The coffin was placed east and west, but there was no-
thing in the shape to shew the head from the foot ; it was something
wider at top than bottom, and the lid (cut from a single plank) was
slightly convex outside, and hollowed within ; it rested on a groove cut
round the edge of the coffin to receive it, without any other fastening.
Under the coffin were four legs or stands, with a cross-bar connecting
each pair ; they were of very rough workmanship, similar to the com.
monest sort used under the cots of the natives. One peculiarity in this
tomb from others that I have seen, was the total absence of iron work
in the shape of nails, bolts, or other fastenings from every part of it.
Within the coffin, not the slightest vestige remained of its former occu-
pant, if I may except a quantity of ashy looking dust over a thin layer
of sand ;—the personal ornaments, such as rings, toothpick case, ear
ornaments, &c. were all in one spot about the middle of the coffin, or as
if placed under or near where the hand might have been, and not in
their usual places about the person. Outside the coffin, on the platform
of the mechan were placed the eating, drinking and cooking vessels, but
the whole of those being of copper or brass were so much decayed as
* We have given the Section, which is sufficiently intelligible without the Plan, in
Plate XX XII.—Ebs.
474 Description of the Tomb of an Ahom Noble. [JuNr,
to render it difficult to say what they had formerly been. The only
other articles taken out of this tomb were two or three small iron
hatchets of the common Assamese pattern, and as a guard was kept
over the place from the time it was practicable until I searched every
part of it, I am convinced that nothing was taken out clandestinely.
The most valuable article found in the coffin was a small gold vessel for
holding ‘* chuna” or lime to be used with the beetle nut, and which I
have been told was afterwards purchased by Mr. Bedford. The tooth-
pick case was silver, and the gold ear-ornaments were deficient of the
usual ornamental stones at the ends. This tomb was, I am afraid, of too
recent a date to answer the purpose of comparison, for which you re-
quired the description. Robinson’s ‘‘ Assam” makes no mention of
the particular time or circumstances of this Burra Gohain’s death ; but
I have met with two or three elderly men who stated they could re-
member it, and I am inclined to think that it must have taken place so
recently as 1810-11, during the reign of Chundra Kanta Singh. The
tradition regarding itis as follows :—Immediately after the accession of
Chundra Kanta the Burra Ghohain received private intimation that the
Rajah had joined in a plot against his life, and that the Bar Phukan
was a principal leader in it, he therefore used every means to get the latter
into his power, who however fled from Assam to Calcutta, and after-
wards to the Burmese Court, from whence he returned to Assam with
a powerful force, and on arriving within a few marches of Joorhath, he
is said to have addressed two letters, one to the Rajah, stating amongst
other matters, that he had already prepared instruments of torture for
the purpose of putting to death his old enemy the Burra Gohain ; and
the second addressed to the Burra Gohain in terms of the greatest
friendship for the purpose of getting him into his power ;—the letters
by some accident were exchanged, that to the Rajah falling into the
hands of the Burra Gohain, who despairing of escape, suffocated him-
self by swallowing a large daimond. I trust you will excuse my
troubling you with this digression, but I have thought that however
exaggerated, there was probably some little truth in the leading points of
the story; and if so, the position of the Burra Gohain at the time, to-
gether with the troubled state of the country, will account for the
apparently rough way in which so great an officer was interred, and the
trifling articles of value that were found with him,
oa a
gp7y weghny7 , [ay
LIXXX ld ,
i
1848. | Description of the Tomb of an Ahom Noble. 47
I have seen the interior of another old tomb after it had been plun-
dered, in which was also a coffin, and the general plan of the place was
precisely similar to the one I have described.
A third that I had an opportunity of seeing, differed so far as regards
the substitution of a bedstead highly ornamented with carved wood
work for the coffin ; and from this grave a small portion of the bones of
the head and other parts were taken out ; a great number of jars (from
30 to 40 of different sizes,) of the common black earthenware of Bengal,
and of the usual pattern, were found, and several neatly made small
boxes, some of which appeared to have contained articles of clothing,
others books or papers ; one appeared to have held a quantity of redish
coloring matter that might have been “ Sindoor,” and another had been
filled with miniature tools and weapons, such as spear and arrowheads,
hatchets, hammers and chisels ; the usual eating and cooking vessels
were found, and a block upon a stand that had been used for preserving
the shape of the turban or head-dress. From all that I can learn
amongst Coolies and others who have been employed in digging out those
graves, it appears that (Rajahs excepted) any variation from the tomb
Ihave attempted to describe, has been owing to the rank in life or
means of the party, causing them to be larger or smaller, stronger or
slighter, accordingly ; but all on nearly the same principle, and the articles
buried with them appear to have been invariably the personal orna-
ments, eating, drinking and cooking vessels of the deceased.
I have further taken the liberty of enclosing a sketch of what is
traditionally said to be the ground-plan of the tomb of the older Ahom
Rajahs previous to the reign of Chukunpha, alias Rudra Singh, A. D.
1695 or A. A. 1620. This Rajah is said to have prohibited the bury-
ing alive of his queens, guards, attendant slaves, elephant, &c. at his
decease, and if this story has any foundation it would cause a material
alteration in the size and arrangement of the tombs, as such a number
of apartments would not then be required.
The rough plan of the Rajah’s tomb I drew from information given
me by an old Ahom villager who was pointed out to me as a man well
acquainted with their old customs and traditions; he drew the plan
_ with a stick on the ground, and named each apartment, and I must say
that he, at least, appeared firmly to believe in the truth of what he was
describing to me. Some part of his story has since been corroborated
aT
476 Veryfication of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang [JuNeE,
by coolies who have been in those places, so far as separate apartments,
remains of musical instruments, arms, &c. having been found in them,
but from the way in which those tombs are opened, generally by a
narrow shaft from the top, and the hurried way in which they have
been explored, the foul air preventing them from being searched far
from the opening of the shaft, it is very difficult to gain any correct
information regarding the interior. In my rough sketch I have
assumed the space occupied by the elephant to be 10/5’, and for the
horse 10’x3/, with a partition wall of 2 feet, which would give a square
apartment of 10/10! inside, and allowing the outer rooms to have
béen all of one size, the partition walls 2 feet thick and the outer walls
3’, the outside dimensions of the whole building would be a square of
88 feet, and the size of the mound said to contain the tomb of Rajah
Gadhadarra Sing at the Chereeai or Seereai Diew, is sufficient to cover
a building of much larger dimensions ; this however I need scarcely
say is at present little better than supposition.
Some system of embalming is said to have been practised for the
royal family; but if so, it must have been a very imperfect one, as I
have ascertained that nothing more than scraps of bones have ever been
found in any of the tombs, although I have met with several men who
have asserted that the remains of more than one human being have
been found in them.
I trust that you will kindly excuse my having trespassed so very far
on your patience with what I am aware must for the most part be
already more correctly known to you; but I have been induced to do so
in hope that some apparently trifling matter might serve asa clue or
connecting link to more important information previously in your
possession.
PPI Pm—pyyw—~wer—"'y
Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Tusane through Ariana and
India, with reference to Major Anderson's hypothesis of its modern
compilation. By Capt. Aunx. Cunnincuam, Bengal Engineers.
The Itinerary of Hwan Thsang* is the most valuable document i
that we possess for the history and geography of Ariana and India ’
* See Appendix to the For-Kve-k1.
1848. | through Ariana and India. 477
prior to the Mahomedan conquests. The minute accuracy of its details
and the faithful transcription of the native names of men and places,
give it a vast superiority over all the Mussalman works that I have
seen, excepting only that of Abu Rihén. And yet this invaluable ac-
count has been impugned by Major Anderson of the Bengal Artillery, who
states his conviction that in its present form the nomenclature of Hwan
Thsang cannot claim an antiquity of one hundred years: and he after-
wards remarks that ‘‘ the distances and directions are utterly worthless,
being the combined results of misreadings, misunderstandings and guess-
work.” This is a sweeping condemnation of one of the most accurate
of all ancient works, but I am happy to say that I can prove beyond all
doubt that Hwan Thsdng is nearly always right in his “« distances and
33
directions,’ and that the Major is generally wrong in his conclusions.
In the first place, Major Anderson has used the wrong key, and he
has consequently failed in unlocking the treasure of Hwan Thsang’s
Itinerary. Having fallen upon the word CHI-NA-LO-CHE-FE-LO,
which Hwan Thsang says was the name given to the peaches introdu-
ced into the Panjab from China, the Major’s Persian reading immedi-
ately suggested that it was derived from the Persian term shaftdli (a
peach), with the name of China prefixed to designate the country from
whence the fruit had been imported. But a partial similarity of sound
cannot be admitted as a proof of identity, when we have the direct tes-
timony of Hwan Thsang himself that the name bore a very different
meaning. Chini-shaftdlu means simply “ China peaches, ”’ whereas the
meaning of the original name was “son of the king of China.”’ These
translations, added to the transcriptions, enable us to identify the names
in Hwan Thsang’s Itinerary beyond all possibility of doubt. Thus
CHI-NA-LO-CHE-FE-TA-LO, is only a transcript in Chinese syllables of
China-raja-putra, ‘sons of the China Raja.”’ The Chinese alphabet
possesses no R, and consequently this letter, as in the present instance,
is always replaced by Z. I have stated that Chint-shaftdlu bears only
a partial similarity to Hw4n Thsing’s name: for it will be remarked
that the third syllable of the original is altogether omitted in the
Major’s proposed reading ; whereas my rendering of the term gives an
equivalent for each syllable, and at the same time possesses the exact
‘ meaning attributed to the appellation by Hwan Thsang.
on 2
478 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang (JUNE,
Having thus started with the erroneous idea that all the names in Hwan
Thsang’s itinerary could be identified by rendering them into Persian and
Arabic characters, the Major proceeds to an examination of those men-
tioned in Northern India and Afghanistan : and believing in the fancied
identification of KELu-si-MIN-KIAN with Kilah-semangdn, of Tuse-
KIA, with SAzkdrpur, of Po-ra-tTo, with Bhawdlpur, of U-ro-xK1a-
HAN-CHA with Attok, and of Tu-man with Hazrat-Imam, he comes to
the conclusion that the work of Hwan Thsang is of an age posterior to
the Moslem invasion of Afghanistan. I will now examine these iden-
tifications in detail; merely premising that, by the same style of rea-
soning, we may bring down the date of the composition of one part of
the Bible to the reign of Queen Elizabeth, because Satan is therein
named Abaddon, which in the English tongue is an appropriate name
for the Devil.*
Ist. Kenu-st-min-K1AN.—Hwan Thsang particularly specifies that
this place was to the south of Fo-x1a-Lane, or Baghaldu. Now
Semengan was the ancient name of Heibuk, which lies to the North of
West from Baghalan, instead of to the South. Of course Major Ander-
son will say that this is one of Hwan Thsang’s misdirections, but I
will hereafter show from numerous instances that it is the Major him-
self who is wrong in his directions ; he having been led astray by the
ignis-fatuus of Arabic and Persian. Now his identification of K-1Lu-
SI-MIN-KIAN, with Semengdn, rests only on similarity of sound, for he
had not proved that Semengan was ever called Kilah Semengan, which
is a very necessary desideratum before we can admit the identity of the
* In like manner we might bring down the date of Pomponius Mela to the period of
British supremacy in India, as amongst the ugly Scythian tribes, he mentions the
Riphaces ( Wry-faces), a name which could only have been derived from us Britishers.
An amusing squib might be written in this style against all the ancient geographers ;
more especially if it was combined with Mr. Vigne’s ingenious system of etymologies.
According to him, Hem-babs, the Tibetan name of Dras, is derived from Hima (snow, in
Sanskrit), and Bab (a pass, in Arabic.) In humble imitation of this style I would
suggest the possible derivation of the name of London, or Londinium, from Lon (salt in
Sanskrit) and Donna (a lady, in Spanish.) From this natural combination, we find that
London means “ the place of the salt lady,” in which we have perhaps an allusion to
Lot’s wife. Mr. Thornton in his Gazetteer innocently quotes several of Vigae’s etymolo-
gies as if they were correct.
1848. | through Ariana and India. 479
two places. So far from its being a fort, we know from Edrisi that it
was only a good sized town with “mud walls’? (murs en terre). It
could not therefore have been called Kilah Semengan; and the conse-
quent deduction that the Chinese syllables Kelu represent the Arabic
word Kilah (fort) must be abandoned.
2nd. Tuse-x1a. Major Anderson identifies this place with Shikdrpur,
but Hwan Thsang’s distances and directions give it a very different
position. On the west was the river S1n-Tvu, the Sindhu or Indus ;
and on the east was the river Pi-po-che, the Vipdsa or Byds. As there
is no river to the eastward of the Indus at Shikarpur, the Major has
prudently passed over the P1-po-cue in silence. But Hwan Thsang
adds another important particular regarding the position of THsE-KtA ;
namely, that at 14 or 15 li (about 23 miles) to the South-West of it
stood the ancient town of CHE Ko-Lo, with a stupa or tope which had
been built by Asoka. This is no doubt the Sdkala of the Mahabharat,
and the Sangala of Arrian and Q. Curtius. Its position to the West-
ward of the By4s agrees precisely with that assigned to the others ;
and the fact that Asoka built a Stupa there, proves that it was a place
of consequence within 50 years of Alexander’s death. And now for
the first proof of the accuracy of Hwan Thsang’s distances and
directions. Hw4n Thsdng states that to the Eastward of Tuss-
KIA at 500 li (about 83 miles) stood the monastery of THa-mo-
SU-FA-NA, (forét obscure) and at 140, or 150 li (24 or 25 miles)
to the North-Eastward from the monastery, was the town of CuE-
LAN-THA-LO, or Jalandhara. The monastery must therefore have
been near the present Dakhani Serai, on the K4li-Véhi river, and
Tusk-k1A, and CuEr-Ko-Lo must have been in the neighborhood of
Lahore and Amritsar. Now from Dakhani Serai and Sultanpur, the
whole of the Western Doab-i-Jdlandhara-pita is covered with a thick
jungle, from which the monastery no doubt took its name of THa-mo-
SEE-FA-NA, or “ forét obscure,’ from aaa tamas, darkness, and 44,
vana, ajangal. The actual position of Cue-Ko-Lo, Sdgala or Sangala,
Icannot at present determine, but we have no less than three distinct
authorities, all of whom agree in placing it to the westward of the
Byas, and on or near the high road leading across the Panjab.
; But the position of this place furnishes a second proof of the accura-
480 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang [JuNE,
cy of Hwan Thsang’s distances and directions, and the consequent
inaccuracy of the Major’s identifications. The Chinese pilgrim states
that to the South-Westward of K1a-sHE-m1-Lo, or Kashmir, and across
the mountains at 700 dz (about 117 miles) was Pan-nu-cwHa, which all
the continental savans have identified with the Panjab, in spite of the
assigned distance and direction. Major Anderson does the same, and
remarks that the mention made by Hwan Thsing that Pan-nu-cHa,
was a dependency of Kashmir would, if the time could be ascertained,
give aclue to the period when the work was composed. But Pan-
NU-CHA is certainly Panuch or Punach, the Pinch of the maps, which
was always a dependency of Kashmir durmg the Hindu rule. Hwan
Thsang’s distance and direction are therefore again correct. Hwan
Thséng further states that to the South-Eastward of Pan-nu-cHa, at
400 Zi (about 66 miles) was Ko-Lo-cHE-Pu-LO, and at 700 li (about
117 miles) more to the South-Eastward, was Tusr-K1a; or in other
words, that Tusr-K1A was situated about 183 miles to the south-east-
ward of Punach. This brings us again to the neighborhood of Lahore
and Amritsar, the very position already obtained by working Westward
from Jalandhara. As Amritsar was originally called Chek, it seems
probable that the holy city of the Sikhs, stands in the actual position
of the Sdkala of the Mahabharata, and the Sangala of Arrian.
These detailed distances and directions, from two such well ascertain-
ed places as Kashmir and Jalandhara, fully establish the accuracy
of Hwan Thsing’s Itinerary in this part, and the incorrectness of
Major Anderson’s identification of Tusr-K1a with Shikdrpur ; more
particularly as Shikarpur is to the west of India, and not to the north,
as THSE-KIA is stated to be by Hwan Thsang.
3rd. Po-ra-ro. This isplaced by Hwan Thsang at 700 li (about .
117 miles) to the North-Eastward of Mrtit-Lo-san-pu-Lo, or Mallis-
thdnpura, the present Multan. Major Anderson identifies Po-ra-ro
with Bahdwalpir to the South-Eastward of Multan, a direction contrary
to that indicated by Hwan Thsang. As the town possessed no less
than 4 topes built by Asoka, its antiquity may be placed as high as
the period of Alexander. Now the distance and direction bring us to
the banks of the Ravee, and to the neighborhood of Harapa, an ancient
city now in ruins, which both from tradition and position, must have
been one of the large fortified towns taken by Alexander. The Major
1848. | through Ariana and India. 48}
has been particularly unfortunate in his selection of Bahawalpur as the
representative of Po-ra-ro, as that place was founded by Bahawal
Khan within the last century. Chicha-watnt may perhaps be the
actual position of Po-ra-To, as the second and third syllables are
identical.
4th. U-ro-k14-HAN-CHA. The position of this place can bé deter-
mined very nearly by Hwan Thsang’s distances and directions. From
SHANG-MU-KIA-PHU-SA, which appears to have been a holy spot in or
near the city of Pu-sr-Ko-Lo-ra-T1 (Pushkaldévati or Peukelaotis, the
modern Hashtnagar) to the South-Kast was the town of Pa-Lu-sHA ;
to the north-east of which at 50 di (upwards of 8 miles) stood the
temple of Pr-ma, the wife of Iswara (Bhimd, one of the many names of
Durga). To the south-east of this temple at 150 & (25 miles) was
the town of U-ro-K1A-HAN-CHA. From these data I have ascertained
by measurements on Walker’s and Mirza Mogal Beg’s maps that the
temple of Bhima must have stood close to the present town of No-
shehra, and that U-ro-K1A-HAN-CHA must have been at or near the
modern Niléb. Major Anderson identifies the latter with Attok, and
points to the identification of PHo-Lo-Tu-Lo with the ruins of Pertér,
as asimple proof of his correctness. But the ruins of Bithor lie to
the South of Attok, while PHo-Lo-THU-LO was 20 1 (or 64 miles) to
the North-West of U-ro-K1A-HAN-CHA, which I identify with Nilab,
between which place and Attok the-hills are covered with the ruins of
Bithor and Messa Kot. Major Anderson is wrong in disputing Hwan
Thsang’s measurement of the Indus at this place. For the accurate
pilgrim does not say that the river was one mile wide; but that it was
from 3 to 4 i (as nearly as possible half a mile) in width; which it
actually is in many places in this neighbourhood. The Major may
therefore keep his note of admiration for the breadths of rivers recorded
by Arrian. The very fact that the & of Hwan Thséng differs so much
from the i of the present day proves the antiquity of the composition
of his work : for there are about 6 of his / to the British mile, whilst
of the modern /i there are only 3 to the British mile. This is not a
mere assertion, but a point which I have ascertained by Hwan Thsang’s
recorded distances between Kashmir and Jalandhar, before alluded to ;
and by the recorded distances in the Kabul valley, which I will now
mention,
482 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsang [JUNE,
Beyond Fan-yan-na, or Bamran to the Kastward, and across the
snowy mountains, or Koh-i-Bada, lies the town of K1a-p1-sHe, which
is undoubtedly the Kapisa of Ptolemy and the Capissa of Pliny. Major
Anderson identifies K1A-p1-sHe with Kabul ; and thinks that ‘“ S1-p1-
TO-FA-LA-SSE may be Estalif.’ But Estalif lies to the North of Ka-
bul, whereas S1-P1-TO-FA-LA-SSE was to the South of K1a-pi-sHe. The
Major is therefore as unfortunate in his conjectures as in his more elabo-
rate deductions. S1-pi-TO-FA-LA-SSE is an exact transcript syllable for
syllable, of the Sanskrit Sweta-Versha. Now Ptolemy mentions both
Kapisa and Kabura, and places the former to the Northward of the
latter, and in the neighbourhood of Barborana or Parwan, of Parsiana
or Panjshir, and of Niphanda (read Ophiana) or Hupidn. It is highly
probable therefore that we may identify it with the present Kushdn
more particularly as Solinus calls the place Caphusa ; for the name of
Kushan, wl%sS, is often written wlwiS, Kafshan, in the same way
that we have both Afghan and Aoghan.
This point being established I will now proceed to examine Hwan
Thsang’s ‘ distances and directions.” From Kiapishe to the eastward
at 600 d was Lan-puo, or Lamghdn (Lambate of Ptolemy.) Thence
to the South-East at 100 & and across a large river was Na-KO-LO-HO,
or Nangrihdér. Major Anderson calls this district Nang-nehar, which
is only another erroneous fruit of his Persian predilections, that name
being the Persian corruption of Nangrihar, as the word is spelt in
Pushtu works, and which is faithfully preserved in the Chinese trans-
cript. Professor Lassen has identified it with the Nagara or Diony-
sopolis of Ptolemy, which was no doubt the same as the Begrdm near
Jalalabad, around which several topes still exist as witnesses of Hwan
Thsang’s accuracy. Ptolemy’s name of Dionysopolis was still in use
so late as A. D. 1000, for Dinuz or Dinus, is mentioned by Abu Rihan
as lying nearly midway between Kabul and Peshawur. Now, from
Kia-pi-sHE to Na-Ko-Lo-Ho being 700 li or 233 miles by Major
Anderson’s estimate of the /7, it follows that if he is correct in his iden-
tification of the former with Kabul, the latter must be situated to the
eastward of Peshawur ; but as he identifies Na-Ko-Lo-Ho with Nangri-
har, it is clear that his estimate of the Zi must be wrong. According to
my estimate of 6 / to the British mile the distance will be 117 miles ;
which is only a few miles more than the distance measured upon Walk-
1848.] through Ariana and India. 483
er’s large map. Again, from Na-Ko-Lo-Ho to Ktan-To-Lo, or Gan-
dhdra, and its capital, Pu-Lu-sHa-pu-Lo, the distance is said to be 500
i, which according to Major Anderson’s estimate, would place the
latter somewhere to the eastward of the Jehlam. By my estimate the
distance is upwards of 83 miles, which is somewhat short of the dis-
tance measured by the perambulator. But the total distance by my
estimate is exactly 200 British miles, which agrees nearly with the
measured distance of Alexander’s surveyors between Alexandria Opiane
(Hupian) and Peukelaotis (Hashtnagar) which was 227 Roman miles,
or 2074 British miles. From these statements it is clear that it is
not Hwan Thsang’s distances that are wrong, but Major Anderson’s
estimate of those distances.
Sth. Iu-man. This Major Anderson identifies with Hazrat
Imam ;—but Hwan Thsang’s statements point toa different place :-—
for Hazrat Imdém lies to the south of the Oxus, whilst all the places
to the East and West of Juman lie to the north of the Oxus. Besides
which the itmerary of the Southern bank from AN-THA-LO-FO or
Anderéb to Sur-Kui-nt, or Shakhnan, is detailed in another place.
According to Hwan Thsang Iu-man was situated between TAN-Mt1, or
Termed, to the North of the Oxus, and Ko-ru-xo, or Khatldn, a
district likewise to-the North of the river. Now in this very position
we have the Shumdn and Nomin of Ibn Haukal, the Sumdn of Edrisi
and the Shumdn of Abulfeda. But the itinerary of Edrisi agrees
exactly with that of Hwan Thséng. To the eastward of Tan-ni, or
Termed, was Cut-Ao-YAN-NA or Chaganian ; to the east of which again
was Hu-Ltu-mo, the Hamirdn of Idrisi, situated at 30 miles from
Chaganian. Then to the east of Hu-tu-mo was Iu-man, the Sumdn of
Edrisi, 39 miles from Hamurén. Beyond Iu-man was K1v-H0-YAN-NA,
the dndidn of Edrisi, and the Aluddn of Ibn Haukal. Then to the east-
ward was Hu-sua, the Waksh or Washgerd of the two Musalman
geographers ; beyond which again was Ko-ru-xo, or Khutlan, a district
on the northern bank of the Oxus. This well known place the Major
identifies with Kator to the south of the Hindu Kush. From these
distinct details it is certain that Iv-man cannot be identified with
Hazrat Imim.
I have now examined one by one the chief positions on which Major
Anderson relied for the proofs of the correctness of his system of iden-
3 U
484 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwdn Thsang [| JUNE,
tification. As not one of them has stood the test of a rigid examination
I consider it clear that the Major’s system must be wrong: in further
proof of which I will examine a few more of his geographical identifi-
cations before proceeding to the historical part of the enquiry.
P. 1189, ‘‘ Kru-m1-rHo.”—“ Kunduz I suspect.” Hwan Thsang
has just before been detailing the itinerary of the northern bank of the
Oxus from Termed eastwards: and beyond Ko-ru-to or Khutldn,
(mentioned above) he placed the mountains of Tsune-Line and Kv-
MI-THO, which must therefore be to the eastward of Khutldn near the
source of the Oxus; in which position we find the Komede Montes of
Ptolemy answering to the Tsune-Line, and the Vallis Komedorum
answering to the district of K1iu-m1-rHo, Hwan Thsang is therefore
right again.
P. 1189.— Cut-Kur-n1, Cherkes-Circassia,” Circassia! To jus-
tify this seven-leagued saltation the Major states that he has no doubt
“‘a leaf has here taken its wrong place.’ I feel bold enough to ex-
press my opinion that the leaf is certainly in its right place, and that
CHi-KHI-NI is as certainly in the very position indicated by Hwan
Thsang. The origin of many of the Major’s most erroneous conclu-
sions may be noticed in his attempted identifications of this word, in
which he evidently reads the French ch as an English hard ch, instead
of as the English sh. After correcting this curious ‘‘ misreading” we
have, according to Hwan Thsang, the river Fa-rsu or Oxus to the south-
west of Kru-m1-rHo, and the mountains of Tsung Ling; and to the
south of the Oxus, we have Sui-xui-nr or Shakhndn, the Lakinah of
Ibn Haukal, and the Sakind of Edrisi: the district on the Shakh-Dara, —
one of the head waters of the Oxus.
To the south of Sui-KHI-NI, on crossing the Oxus, we come to
THA-MO-SI-THIEI-TI, or Hu-m1, of which the inhabitants had green
eyes. ‘This district Major Anderson identifies with Daghestan on the
Caspian: but from the position assigned to it by Hwan Thsang there
can be no doubt that it is the present Wakhdn. The dimensions given
to it agree very well with those of the narrow valley of the upper Oxus.
Hvu-mi was from 1500 to 1600 i (250 to 266 miles) from east to
west ; and only 4 or 5 di (rather more than half a mile) in width, from
north to south. Now from the Sir-i-kol lake to the junction of the
Shakh-dara, the Oxus is 170 miles in length, measured direct by a pair
1848. | through Ariana and India. 485
of compasses on Wood’s map, to which must be added one half more
for the windings of the stream, making a total length of 255 miles.
From Ish-kashn to Kundut the valley of Wakhan, according to Wood,
is from “‘a few hundred yards to a mile in width.”—The average width
is therefore somewhat more than half a mile, as accurately stated by
Hwang Thsang. ‘This is one more proof that the distances and direc-
tions of the Chinese pilgrim are correct.
But there is another interesting point mentioned by Hwan Thsang
connected with this identification of Hu-m1 with Wdakhdn that in my
opinion adds the last link to the chain of evidence in favor of the cor-
rectness of my identification. Hwang Thsang says that Hu-mr was
one of the ancient districts of the Tu-Ho-Lo, or Tochari. Now one of
the five tribes of the Tochari was named H1rrvu-my1, and their chief
town was called Ho-m1. From them I believe that the Oxus received
its name of Amé. This was no insignificant clan, but a mighty tribe,
wkose king, Kadphises Hoémo (OQOHMO), judging from the numbers
of his coins still existing, must have ruled over Kabul, and the Panjab
for a long time.
The mention of green eyes points to a mountainous country, and
not to the low banks of the Caspian. For it is a well known fact that
in lofty mountain-valleys the inhabitants generally have blue or grey
eyes, often inclining to green, as is likewise the case with the same
colored eyes in Europe.
P. 1197.—“ Ou-La-cui may be Uch.” This ts another instance of
the French cf being misread as the hard English ch. U-va-sui is no
doubt the Urasa district of the Kashmirian history, the Urasa regio
of Ptolemy, and the Rash of the present day, for the district of Rash
lies just to the westward of Mozafarabad, and to the north-east of
Kashmir ; agreeing with the direction indicated by Hwan Thsang.
P. 1199.—*“ CuE-1To-THOUV-LO,—Khoozdar.”’ Thisis a third instance
of the misreading of the French ch, and distances and directions are
again mistaken. According to Hwan Thsang to the north-east of
CHE-LAN-THA-LO, or Jdlandhara, and across precipitous mountains
at 700 d¢ (about 117 miles) was Kuru-Lvu-tTo, the boundary of India
on the north. Both distance and direction pomt to the district of
_ Kulu, which as Hwan Thsaing correctly states, is “surrounded by
mountains, and close to the snowy mountains.’ Major Anderson iden-
3u 2
486 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwén Thsang | JUNE,
tifies Kuivu-Lu-ro with Keldt-i-Ghilzi Now from Kurvu-tvu-ro to
the south, at 800 d (about 133 miles) across high mountains and a
large river, was SHE-TO-THU-LO, bounded to the west by a great river.
This name, SHE-TO-THU-LO is an exact transcript of the Sanskrit
Satadru, the Zadadrus of Ptolemy, and the Hesudrus of Pliny, now
called Satrudr or Satlaj. ‘The other large river crossed on the road
from Kulu is of course the Vipdsa or Byds.
These two identifications of Ku1u-Lu-ro and SHE-TO-THU-LO with
Kulu and Satadru, ave I think, conclusive of Hwan Thsang’s accuracy
both in distances and directions, and of the erroneousness of the
Major’s system of identification founded upon Persian readings and
etymologies. My identifications prove that Hwan Thsdng derived his
names from Sanskrit originals; witness the rivers P1-po-cur, or
Vipisa, Sux-to-THu-Lo, or Satadru, Su-pHo-Fra-su-To, or Subha-
vastu, with the towns Pu-sre-Ko-La-FA-TI, or Pushkaldvati, Sarua-
NI-SHE-FA-LO, or Sthaneswdéra, and numerous others, all of which
show that Hwan Thsdng could not have copied his names from the
misspelt spoken names of Mahomedan authors. As Major Anderson
has stated his conviction that Hwan Thsang has derived his information
from “Arabic and Persian geographical publications,” it behoves him
to point out the Musalman geographer from whom the Chinese author
has copied. If sucha work really exists it will be invaluable. I will
now proceed to an examination of some historical points mentioned by
Hwaéng Thsang for the establishment of the perfect correctness of the
date (600 to 650 A. D.) claimed for him by Chinese authors.
Ist. In his mention of the kingdom of Sin-ru or Sindh, Hwan -
Thsang states that the king was of the race of CHov-ro-Lo (or in
English characters, Suu-To-Lo) an exact transcript of the Sanskrit
Sudra, one of the four well known castes of Hindus. Major Anderson,
using the same mispronunciation of the French ch for a fourth time,
identifies the Cuov-To-Lo with “ Chator, acelebrated tribe of Rajputs.”
Chitor or Chitréwara, is the name ofa celebrated fortress, as its
meaning implies, and not that of a tribe. The Rajputs of Chitor are
now called Sisodia, but in Hwan Thsing’s time they were known un-
der the names of Grdhilét.
Now the period at which Sudras reigned over Sindh must be the date
of Hwan Thsdng’s visit. In the Chach-Ndmeh, or Persian history of
————
1848. ] through Ariana and India. 487
Sind, we find that Mohammed bin Kasim conquered that country from
Raja Dahir in the year A. D. 711. As Dahir reigned 33 years, and
his father Chach reigned 40 years, we obtain A. D. 638 as the date of
Chach’s accession. Nowas Chachand Dahir were Brahmans, and
their successors were Mahomedans it is clear that the Sudras must have
reigned prior to A. D. 638; which agrees precisely with the period
assigned to Hwan Thsang’s travels from A. D. 629 to 646. I cannot
positively assert that Chach’s predecessor was a Sudra ; but it is certain
that he was not a Brahman, for the Rana of Chitor addressing Chach
says “‘you are a Brahman ; the affairs of Government cannot be carried
on by you;” thereby intimating that his predecessor was not a Brah-
man. |
2nd. At 1000 & (about 166 miles) to the north-east of U-cun-yvan-
wa or Ujain was the kingdom of Cui-cui-To of which the ruler was a
Brahman. Now from Abu Rihan’s description of Jajdwati (read
Chachdvati) of which the capital city was named Kajurdhah, there can
be no doubt that the place indicated was the principality afterwards
held by the Chandél Rajputs, Kajurdha still exists; and from the
inscriptions yet extent, as well as from the genealogy preserved by the
bard Chand in his Chand Rds, we know that the Chandel Rajputs held
this district from about A. D. 700 down to the period of the Mahome-
dan conquests. ‘The time at which a Brahman reigned there, and con-
sequent by the date of Hwang Thsang’s visit must therefore be anterior
to the accession of the Chandel Rajputs, or prior to A. D. 700 which
agrees with the time assigned to Hwan Thsang’s travels.
3rd. In his mention of Ma-x1E1-THo or Magadha, Hwang Thsang
gives the name of five kings who reigned there previous to his visit.
Their names are,
SO-KIA-LO-A-YI-TO. or Sankaraditya.
Fo-THO-KiU-TO. Budhagupta.
THA-KA-TA-KIU TO. Takatagupta.
PHO-LO-A-YE-TO. Baladitya.
Fa-CHE-LO. Vajra.
Of the second, fourth, and fifth of those Princes there are coins still
existing to testify to the truth of the pilgrims narration. But we have
yet more explicit evidence of his accuracy in the date of Budha-gupta’s
inscription on the Eran Pillar, This date is 165 of the Gupta era
488 Verification of the Itinerary of Hwan Thsdng. [JUNE
which as we learn from Abu Rihén commenced in A. I). 319. The
date on the pillar is therefore equvalent to A. D. 484. Supposing that
Budha-gupta reigned until A. D. 500, and that the three following
princes occupied the throne during the 6th century we have the date
of A. D. 600 as the earliest limit of the period of Hwan Thsang’s visit.
4th. The king of Puo-Li-yE-THA-Lo was of the race of Fr1-sHE or
Vaisya. PwHo-Li-yE-THA-LO is a literal transcript of the Sanskrit
Vrihadhara, the ‘‘ much-containing,” a synonyme of Indra, and the
recorded bearing and distance of 83 miles to the westward of Mo-ruv-
Lo or Mathura point to Indra-prastha or Delhi, as the place visited
by Hwan Thsang. Now we know from Abul Fazl’s lists that prior to
the conquest of Shahab-ad-din in A. D. 1188, the throne had been
occupied for 83 years by 7 Chohdn kings, who reigned 83 years and
before them by 20 Tuar kings who reigned 437 years. From these
data, we have A. D. 1188—83—437—668 A. D. the latest date at
which a Vaisya prince could have reigned at Delhi.
I have now shown from four independent historical statements made
by Hwan Thsing that the period of his visit from A. D. 600 to 668
corresponds precisely with the date assigned by the Chinese authori-
ties, namely the first half of the 7th century. This date is moreover
fully corroborated by other internal evidence of which the principal
points are ; Ist, the total silence of the pilgrim regarding the Arabs and
their conquests ; 2nd, the mention that the king of Fon-L1-sH1-sA-TANG-
nwa or Parashasthan, (the present Panjhir or Panjshir) was of the race
of Thu-kiuei or Turk ; therefore prior to A. D. 900, the period of the
usurpation of the Brahman Kallar, whose descendants reigned over
the Kabul valley until Mahmud Ghaznavi’s conquests. This is distinct-
ly proved by Abu Rihan. 3rd, That all the districts along the Oxus
were in the possession of the Tu-Ho-Lo or Tochari : therefore prior to
the Arab conquests in the beginning of the 8th century.
In conclusion I would ask Major Anderson to state in what Maho-
medan author Hwan Thsang could have found the Sanskrit names of
kings and countries already noticed. I will answer the question my-
self. ‘In none:” for, to quote the words of Ibn Hankal regarding
Hind, (India) as the greater portion of the country belonged to Kafirs
and Idolaters, “a minute description of it would be unnecessary and
unprofitable.”
1848. ] Coal Beds in the Namsang Nago Hills. 489
Correspondence regarding the Coal Beds in the Namsang Nago Hills.
Communicated by Capt. T. E. Rogers, Superintendent of Marine.
No. 191 of 1848.
To Capt. T. BK. Rogers, I. N. Superintendent of Marine,
Fort William.
Dated Gowahatty the 13th April, 1848.
Srr,—I have the honor to submit a letter No. 175 of the 9th ultimo
from Mr. J. Thornton, sub-assistant, accompanied by a map prepared
by that gentleman reporting his visit to the coal beds on the banks of
the Dikoo, which were discovered, and partially worked at the expense
of Government by the late Mr. Sanders.
2. Inlaying this report before you I have no other immediate object
than to place at your disposal all the information we may obtain from
time to time relative to the coal formations of this province, should the
Government at any time be induced to work any of the beds on their
own account.
3. The quality of this coal you will find by reference to the pro-
ceedings of the coal committee has already been favorably noticed, and
I believe it is in all respects equal to the Jeypoor coal, and much more
favorably situated for being worked and transported downwards whilst
there is reason to suppose it exists in much more extensive beds than
at Jaipore.
4, It might be desirable that this and other similar reports should
be published for general information, and perhaps the Asiatic Society
would give them publicity as information connected with economic
museum of Geology forming by that Society.
I have, &c.
(Signed) F. JENKINS,
Agent Governor General.
No. 175.
To Major F, Jenkins, Governor General's Agent N. LE. F.
Gowahatty.
Seeb-Saugor, 9th March, 1848.
Sir,—lI have the honor to state that I have returned from an inspec-
tion of the coal beds in the Namsang Nago hills, having proceeded
490 Coal Beds in the Namsang Nago Hitis. | JUNE,
thither with a view of reporting on the practicability of supplying coal
from thence for the use of the Government Steamers coming monthly to
Assam.
2. Tam having a survey made of the road or path from Nazeerah
to the coal beds from which a map will be drawn up and furnished to
you, I trust in a fortnight. I beg to note im the margin, the distances
in detail from Nazeerah to the coal
From Nazeerah to the foot of the
TMs cies hice cr Se. | MOE eMnleRe beds; the first distance is along a
From thence to coal de- broad road which has been long neg-
pot on the Dikhoo j Silene,
river, .......+-.-. 32 do. lected but by repairs may be made a
From thence to coal t's :
iMag pinion We Btida, Oe good road. The second distance
From Nazeerah to coal is a foot-path over low hills and may
beds. oe sii: 1 Ao:
be made a tolerably good road at a
moderate expense. The last portion of 23 miles is the most difficult
part of the whole, being over a hill about 1800 feet high with two or
three steep ascents. A coolie cannot take more than two light loads
from the coal beds to the coal depdt in the course of a day.
3. Respecting the transport of the coal by water, I beg to state that
the difficulty les only near and under the hills where the rapids are
numerous, But as boats of the largest size during the rainy reason can
proceed up the Dikhoo to the first rapid and as canoes of 15 or 20
maunds in the dry season, and of 100 maunds in the rainy season, can
be taken over the rapids to the coal depot, I see nothing to prevent the
conveyance of coal by water to Gowahatty. I came down in a canoe of
20 maunds over most of the rapids without any danger or difficulty.
I did not see all the rapids, but those that I came over appeared to
consist entirely of loose stone of various sizes; by removing which, or
turning them into weirs, the navigation of the river would be considera-
bly improved.
4. The bed of the coal that is now being worked by the Contractor’s
men, crops out on the brow of a hill about 1400 feet high, and is situated
on the right side of the Namseesoo valley, down which flows a mountain
torrent called the Namseesoo Nuddee. Itis considerably elevated above
the bed of the torrent. The thickness of the coal-bed strata is about 10
feet, of which the pure coal bed is from 3 to 4 feet. The remainder, con-
sisting of black powder and soil interspersed with lumps of iron pyrites
—the dip of the bed is about 36° and the direction 40 S. W. and N. EB.
,
a
ia
~
aS
4
we
>}
‘
SMW A
CAV
Was
> yif
Sig
ASS
. MAP v ine ROAD
Stor Naxcerad to the @at Beds
NAMSANG NAGAH HILLS
Scate,.....1 Mile to 42 Inch
440 880 1920 180 yards 4
¥ fe
Ley
Pip.
a es
. ¥ ‘
1848. | Coal Beds in the Namsang Nago Hills. 491
From pieces of coal and traces observed of excavation made by Mr. San-
ders in 1842, I am of opinion that there are other beds of coal at various
depths under the one at present exposed to view, which is at the point
of now being worked, about 10 feet below the surface of the soil. With
a dip of 36° it must increase in depth rapidly, but this renders it not im-
probable that coal may be found at a lower elevation in some other part
of the valley.
5. The present Contractor, Muneeram Dewan, has never visited the
coal beds, and has shown their capacity by returning 200 rupees of the
advance he received. The difficulty of supplying coal from the Nam-
sang hills is great, but not in my opinion insurmountable. A respecta-
ble man, Roodram Hensoa Boowah, proceeded with me to the coal beds,
and after due examination he is willing to contract for the supply of
coal at Gowahatty at the rate of 8 annas per maund. I would therefore
beg the favor of your permitting an advance to be made to him of
Co.’s Rs. 250 on proper security, and sanctioning an outlay of Co.’s
Rs. 250 for the clearance of the road from the foot of the hills to the
coal beds, a distance of 64 miles. I am in hopes that by opening
the road and making a proper search in the several mountain streams
of the low hills, other beds of coal may be discovered more accessible
than those at present under notice.
6. I have not fowarded any specimen of the coal because the pre-
sent contractor has furnished several maunds of it to the Steam Agent
at Gowahatty. Besides this, the Coal Committee know the quality of
the coal from Mr. Sanders’ reports and specimens. Mr. Mornay,
Superintendent of Assam Company, accompanied me to the coal beds.
He has been employed for some time at the Bengal Collieries and his
opinion is that the Namsang coal is far superior to any obtained from
the Damoodah and Adji coal mines.
I have, &c.
(Signed) Joun THorRNTON,
Sub-Assistant Commissioner in charge.
Seeb-Saugor Commissioner’ s sect A
the 9th March, 1848.
OA DV"
492 Sanscrit Inscription from Behar. [JuNE,
Sanskrit Inscription from Behar, with a translation by Dr. BALLAN-
TYNE and remarks by Capt. M. Kirtor.
france efaagza ots are ot BRTATRT A TH
ae FU HfeeUIT YE GET SA AU
Q Maal safe eafearsw eae nara SY
Hai SCAAASASTTA: PHTCSACLHAALUASTT: |
2 MAMA KCAINIL IT CHAI TTAMAT A TT ale KqaT
a aaarafataagH4r: ||
3 calsiaaagarayatat scat afsawstareaaia-
HATTA BAST ||
e UcTafsyaMAay fae LlTATAAT SIRE LATMAT: ||
y watgstaateaicasg THAT ATK a CTSA |
CST ARATE aAL EAT AT VFSUTT HCL ARTA TT TAS:
amutasanayeaiaadatad saa Hela Gel
ge arrasaaya: gaat feaat Fare ca afaa: weara-
TIT II
© TaTHMEUIts facm yasTITqNaMEAAAT Ga |
qcadia GAT HIMitan Baal St.
faster |
< WMA AVEINATA TAMU PAA TATA ANE ||
e Grifaqetmaaayfeale fran gpqerqaM saw sha:
qaeqafanayaqaatrsaciafaraacty Seay
Ao AMAA PCAN MNAASAAAITA GT CYAAATS-
1848. | Sanserit Inscription from Behar. 493
@t mae eetaiaa Maagtiaayetawe | fret eatae
afaufwere: Bteaurayaatfarsary st ||
grasastateateay ica: Teac CATATALLATS ||
aa fadimaa: GegaEs Haass araeufcara
wafaqrwafaaattiaa: |
Rg GaaregcfaanTage Sarasa BaMAT aaa
AUAPHA AAT |
qs acaraufentsascaasiateercufe erefaataa4r gi
sgifeastasats ayufraaearreryfafa areyaat
TI: ||
qn frasst rasasay eee cutest area vara
qd PAtgaTaU ley MAA Ca ATA RATMARW AMAA: II
{o F AATARAA MAA ASS I A PAAYA IAA TATAAT |
adage hastafaaraanaa LATTA CAC FUT I
qe HAMUAT AHS TSCA aauitaterad
auf fear waaa fasfrnfsee eae.
functwata Gaatrasa sfearasraaqaiag ||
te Gua faqaagcwaltd daha aqaaT oA
20 mallcaatuat TeatAY aafuaquaciftetaTg” ||
Re Waa Tara asia aafa UAT
ar aaeqncha farraatinie awaalaTaaaautea-
aaa aoe Ty BAT ||
Translation.
‘Glory to that holy Munindra who has obtained an acquaintance with
the truth by directing his excellent understanding to the welfare of all
3x2
494 Sanserit Inscription from Behar. [JuNneg,
beings, the sole bridge by which the soul-wearied can cross this world-
ocean, the midway of which is hard to pass in consequence of those
sharks, our sins! May that holy one protect this whole world, he who
is firmly seated in wisdom, he who was left unassailed by the God of
desire, for Kdmadeva’s reflection was this :—‘ If I am powerless against
this Lord of the three worlds, when all my agents united,—(women,
odours, the spring time, moonlight, and all other things that incite to
love) have failed to attract his thoughts, why need I be ashamed ?’
“There is in the northern quarter, placed in the loveliest of lands, the
best of places, named Nagarahdra. There, there was a twice-born man
named Indragupta, a friend of the king, who had been born in the
country called Bengal. That worthiest of the twice-born was insepar-
ably united with his wife Rajjoka, as the moon is with its lustrous
digits ; and when people spoke of the histories of devoted wives, the
first name mentioned was always hers,. To those two there was born a
son, most sagacious, who, even whilst he was reckoned a child, in con-
sequence of his desire to know of the other world, abandoned his com-
fortable home, where every luxury was at his command, in order
ascetically to follow the instructions of Buddha.
* Having perused all the Vedas and having pondered the Sdséras, he
went to the holy convent called Kanishka, where the best of teachers
were to be found, and which was famous for the quietism of its fre-
quenters. ‘There he devoted himself to asceticism.
‘‘This student became adorned by qualities, practices, and fame like
those of his teacher, renowned for purest virtues. Viradeva was his
name. ‘The sages honored him, for he was pure from stain as the new
moon.
‘Once he went to visit the greatest of the Buddhas Vajrdsana (the
occupant of the adamantine throne) ; then he went to the city of Behar,
the city of king Yasovarmmd, to visit the holy mendicants and their
disciples. He, the quintessence of truth, having staid long there,
received the respectful attentions of the Lord of the land, Sri Devapala.
Resplendent he shone, daily fulfilling the hopes of men, as the sun,
filling the four quarters of the heavens, dispels the darkness.
‘“‘He was the friend of the pious mendicant Satyabodhi, intent on
keeping the road to salvation ; he was as close a friend to him as his own
soul, as his own arm. Practising all the duties of asceticism, he raised,
1848. | Sanserit Inscription from Behar. 495
for the world’s benefit, these two gems of tumuli evidently as beautiful
as the peak of mount Indrasaila. He was lauded by the good with
reiterated applauses, as the Lord of fame, though his chief glory was
his keeping the true word of salvation ; a path whose glory consists in
the abandonment of all worldly pomp and pleasure. By him was the
splendour of even Dhanwantari (the physician of the Gods) eclipsed,
for he soothed by a glance the thought-fever of afflicted mortals. The
world, all whose wants and wishes he supplied, took him for the (all-
bestowing) Kalpa tree. By him was erected this temple of Vajrdsana,
the best in the world, lofty as his own soul, the sight of which put the
Gods in doubt whether it were mount Kaildsa ; they beheld by him
the every way bountiful, the friend of all that exists, the practiser of
asceticism, whose practice thereof was combined with a thirst for know-
ledge and a perseverance as imitable as his other virtues.
«By him, occupied in his high and holy duties, were built two
vaulted edifices in the northern regions, as the pennants of his fame.
Having made this fame a staircase (or Jacob’s ladder) to the city of
salvation, it was his desire that the whole multitude of his ancestors
—his father taking the lead—should thus attain the fruits of saving
knowledge.
“‘ So long as the tortoise shall support the earth ocean-garlanded, so
long as the bright-beamed sun shall shine, dispelling darkness, so long
as night shall seem pleasant with the cool moon-beam, so long may
the fame of Vdradeva shine lustrous on the earth !””
Remarks.
This curious, and I think valuable inscription, I discovered partly
by chance, for though I had made every enquiry I learnt nothing
till I was about leaving the village of Pesserawa, for my onward
march, when some children gave information of its having been found in
the mound from whence the people were then digging bricks, and which
has been the site of a large Bauddha temple of the Tantra period, which
the numerous idols, mutilated and entire, clearly show ; there have been
more than one temple on this spot, for the mound is extensive. The
inscription points to this being the case ; there is no tradition beyond a
couplet concerning Durga or Devi, to whom there is a small temple of
modern date a little to the west of the mound; but saving the idol of
Durga slaying Mahishdsura, the rest are all purely Buddhist collected
496 Sanscrit Inscription from Behar, [JuNE,
from the mound. There is one of [la giving birth to Sakya; the child
is jumping from her side whilst she holds the branch of a tree ; heavenly
musicians are playing and her attendants are with her. I tried to ob-
tain this, but they would not sell it, though they readily sold the
inscription; however, afterwards, some ignorant Brahmans upbraided
the zemindar for so doing. I removed the slab to Behar, where I took
perfect fac-similes in triplicate, and returned it to the village, where I
had it fixed ina niche in the outer wall of the modern temple above
described, having first engraved in English on the margin the date of its
being recovered and set up by me for preservation on account of
Government. I hoped to inspire confidence by this means and thereby in-
duce people to disclose any other such mounds, of which I have no doubt
there must be many where these great ruins exist ; Bargaon, Lettara-
wa, Yogespur, &c. &e. &c. It is very difficult to gain any information
in Zillah Behar, the people are bearish and ill-disposed in the extreme.
I have here traced part of the first line of the inscription to give an idea
of the style of writing,* which is a good specimen of an early type of
Mithila Nagri, that in which most of the inscriptions on the Idols are
written, more or less modified ; the letter M, a, is written 4, which is
but aslight remove from ¥ of the Gupta writings. I attach much weight
to these apparently trifling variations, as I feel convinced that they aid
materially in deciding the date of sculptures and writings. In the pre-
sent case for instance, I am inclined to think that Devapala, whose
name occurs in Abul Fazl’s list, in the copper plate from Monghyr and
that from Dinajpiir, as an early sovereign of the Pala dynasty of
Goura or Bengal (vide Prinsep’s Useful Tables, p. 117) must have
reigned in the 9th century of our era the style of writing even in
Naraéyanpala’s time being of a more modern stamp though early dates
are found in inscriptions of a like type. The Dinajpur plate gives
1027 S. as the date of Vigrahapala; Deopal or Devapala is 8th in
succession before him ; allowing 25 years as an average for each reign,
we have 7 intervening, or 25 x 7= 175—1027; leaving 852 Sumbut for
the approximate period of Devapala’s reign ; consequently of our inscrip-
tion, albeit Abul Fazl gives 1050 S. as the date, there are other rea-
sons for supposing him to be in error, the inscriptions found by me
* We have thought it worth while lithographing a fac simile of this line in Plate
XXXIV.—Ebs.
1848. | Sanscrit Inscription from Behar. 497
at Gaya by the Sudra family date in the reigns of Nayapala and
Vigrahapéla the style of writing in them is far more refined, indeed it
is the most elegant of any Indian writing. More than one of Narayana-
palas reign are clearly of a later type than the one under review. The
fine inscription at Uffsur is an intermediate type again between this
and the Gupta of the coins and pillars. I shall be excused for this
digression when it is considered how desirable it is to ascertain the date
of an inscription bearing so much on several points of historical interest
and particularly on the subject of Buddhism. We clearly see that it
must have been revived after the persecution of Sankara Acharya and in
a degenerate form; we learn that the author was a twice-born man
(fasrcisa Dwijraj) par excellence a Brahman, though the term is applica-
ble to other classes, he was learned in the Vedas and Sastras, showing
that both were studied at the time by Buddhists, that the deities of the
Hindus were acknowledged, for the last verse invoking the blessing of
preservation says ‘as long as the earth shall remain firm on the back
of Kurma the Tortoise,’ also the passage concerning the temptations of
Kama Deva. We find mention made of the famous Vihara founded by
Kanishka, who is no doubt the same who as king of Kashmir re-estab-
lished Buddhism, it is not clear from the text whether Vira Deva the
hero of the inscription studied under Kanishka, or merely at his Vihara;
if the former it would show a monstrous anachronism in the Raja Tarin-
gini or history of Cashmir, a point by no means to be wondered at. I
would invite the particular attention of Sanscrit scholars to the passage
- in the text for the pundits first read it so. Dr. Ballantyne (Principal of
Benares College) has kindly taken much pains to arrive at a correct
meaning, for both my own pundit a young man educated in the Benares
College, Hunuman Dyal, and Hiraénand the talented teacher in the
Sanscrit Pathséla, as well as others, have been at a loss on account of
terms the meaning which they were unacquainted with. In the sentence
Rasarawag class, or rather Sri Madyaso Varmma puram Viharum.”
The one reads it ‘‘ Dharma Puram,” or “ city of righteousness Behar.”
The other the “town of the great Yasovarma,” though the sense scarcely
admits of this last reading, yet the letter is clearly 4 and not ¥. The term
Acharya Varya it is written S¥Tq instead of yraqtay aa. The term imply-
ing I believe “ religious instructor’ occurs in Fa Hian. The term “ Na-
landa,” @Ta=t (Ta=e7) Hirdn and says is to be found in the Vocabulary
498 Sanserit Inscription from Behar. [JuNE,
of Jain sentences, meaning the cross-legged position of absorptive con-
templation of the Buddhas, the word could not be found in any dictionary.
Be the date the 9th or the 10th century, we have here clear proof that
the Buddhist faith flourished in India (all the land) at that period, that it
did so even much later, is proved by the numerous short inscriptions on
the images and Chaityas abounding in the district ; and even at Sarnath
near Benares. I have on former occasions noticed the existence of the
Linga amongst Buddhist fragments. The figure of Surya, and Mahesh
and of Vishnu as Gadadhar, and Varaha are of equally common occur-
ance ; there are other idols of the Surrawuc Jains and of the Sheshanag
type all jumbled together in this district, and particularly one of Siva
with a Buddha on his forehead, also female figures with the same, and
Buddhas with the trisdl, one figure at Bargaon represents a fury danc-
ing on a prostrate Ganesha with an attendant holding a royal umbrella
over her head: all belong to one period, ranging as I infer, from the
8th to the 10th century if not later ; the later sculptures are the poorest
in execution, and most extravagant in form. I have made a tolerable
collection of drawings which are about to be submitted to Government
officially as the result of my tour. This season they will no doubt be
laid before the Society. I think that a grand collection should be made
and published; but it is a work of labour and care. The collection
I have made, and which will be sent to Calcutta, is very good and
instructive.
My friend Mr. Laidlay considers that the Nagarahara mentioned
in the inscription as the birth-place of Vira Datta is Jalalabad or some-
where in its vicinity. I had imagined it to have been somewhere in the
Gorackpur, district as the term northern country is used, but the pan-
dits allow that Uttara Desa implies Cashmir and Cabul. Maha
Bodh is mentioned as a place to which the scetic proceeded. This is
modern Bédh Gaya still known by that name.
Note on the foregoing by J. W. Laidlay.
I suggested the identification alluded to by Capt. Kittoe, as well on
the ground that there is no other celebrated Buddhist locality of the
same name in northern India, as from the reference made in the in-
scription to the neighbouring convent or monastery of Kanishka. Of
Nagarahara, what little we know is derived from the narratives of the
Chinese travellers Fa hian and Hiouan thsang, by the former of whom
1848. } Sanscrit Inscription from Behar. 499
J
itis named Na fie, and by the latter Na kolo ho. These are, as
pointed out by Lassen, the Chinese transcripts of the Sanscrit word
aux, nagara, a town, which he further identifies with the Nayapa of
Ptolemy.* It is curious, however, that the redundant syllable Ao in
Hiouan thsang’s transcription has escaped the attention of both Lassen
and Wilson, and is now explained for the first time by the reading of the
name in Capt. Kittoe’s inscription, aucet<, Nagarahdra. What the
exact import of the suffix wI< may be, I have not been able to ascer-
tain. In Wilson’s Dictionary it is stated to mean taking, conveying ;
also a string of pearls. Inthe latter sense it may possibly imply the
* precious or splendid city.’
At a period subsequent to the visit of these pilgrims, a nasal appears
to have been introduced into the first syllable ; for we find Ma-twan-hn,
quoting another Chinese traveller, Kwang yuen, who visited India in
983, spells the name Nang go lo ho lo ; the most exact transcription
(omitting the nasal) which his language could supply of Nagarahéara.
Since then, the word has further degenerated into Nangrihar, or more
corruptly, Nangnihar, which, according to Lieut. McGregor (J. A. S.
vol. XI. p. 116), signifies in the dialect of the country, the Nine Rivers,
and is applied to the entire valley of the Cabul river.
The convent or monastery of Kanishka, is no doubt that srectéa
by him at Peshawur (Purushapura), the capital of Gandhara, and
described by Fa hian and Hiouan thsang as the most magnificent in
all Jambudwipa. Kanishka was the monarch under whose aus-
pices, according to Tibetan authorities, the third revision of the Serip-
tures took place 400 (or, according to Mongolian Chronology, 300)
years after the death of Sakya, It is greatly to be regretted that this
important inscription is without a date; for it clearly indicates that at
the time of its composition, Buddhism, or at least a Hindu-Buddhie
syncretism, flourished and was taught in public mstitutions in the coun-
try immediately west of the Indus. At a much later period Marco
Polo speaks of the existence of Buddhist monasteries in Cashmere ;
and even so late as the reign of Akbar, Abulfazl met with professors
of that faith in the same country.
The hill designated Indrasaila in Capt. Kittoe’s inscription, is that
contiguous to the village of Giriyek near Behar, in the Chinese transerip-
* Zur Geschichte, &c, p. 147.
©
rd
500 Sanscrit Inscription from Behar. [JUNE,
tion of which Yn tho shi lo gu ho, (<=atwet ANT, Indrasailaguha, or
the ‘rock cave of Indra’) the original name may be easily recognised.
It is the most easterly of the range of hills in which Rajagriha was
situated, and was famous among Bhuddists as the spot where Sakya is
fabled to have propounded the greater part of the Prajndé Paramitd.
With regard to Ndélandd, which appears to have puzzled the Pandits
of Benares, it appears to me to be the name of the famous monastery near
Rajagriha frequently mentioned in the Du/-va ; and on requesting Babu
Rajendralal to ascertain if the passage would admit of this interpreta-
tion, he writes :—“T have very carefully examined the sloka you allude
to, and think att is the name of a place. The expressions,
areargtcareata, “for the preservation of Naianda,” and qaTe-xaqray-
fcoifera, “preserved by Nalanda,” favour this supposition, and there
is nothing against it. But as I have never met with this word in
Sanskrita, and have not got a copy of Hemachandra’s Dictionary of
Bauddha terms at hand to refer to, I cannot be very positive. I may
add, however, that Pundit Jayanarayana Vidydlankara of the Sanskrita
College of Calcutta, is of the same opinion with myself, and believes
Nalanda to be the name of a place.”
Nalanda was a very famous place in its day, and the frequent scene of
Sakya’s disputations. It is the Na lan tho of the Chinese, the site of
which, however, could hardly be identical with that of Gusserawa,
where Capt. Kittoe discovered the inscription.
Before quitting this still unexhausted locality, I may take this occa-
sion of mentioning another identification which cannot fail to interest
such as are engaged in the investigation of Buddhist antiquities ; I mean —
that of the Sattapanni cave, the scene of the “ first convocation on reli-
gion,’ an ample account of which may be found in Mr. Turnour’s
extracts from the Pali Buddhistical Annals (J. A. 8. vol. VI, p. 510.)
and in the third chapter of the Mahawanso. It is there narrated that
the convocation in question was held in the 8th year of the reign of
Ajatasatru, six months after the death of Buddha, in a magnificent hall
in front of the Sattapanni cave, in the Webharo mountain,—one of the
hills that surround the ancient city of Rajagriha. Fa hian in his ac-
count of that city mentions the scene of the first convocation, and the
‘* grot of Pin pho lo,” or ‘ Pi pho lo,’ lying 300 paces to the west of
the pass or valley that leads from the old to the new Rajagriha; a site
aia
1848. | Notices of an Arabic Work, &e. 501
easily recognised from the marked and unchanging features of the loca-
lity. None of the learned French commentators on Fa hian has at-
tempted any restoration of Pi pho lo ; but in connection with the pre-
ceding tradition, it is obviously the Chinese transcript of the Pali
Webharo, or of its Sanscrit equivalent. Now if we turn to Capt. Kit-
toe’s interesting paper in the Journal for September 1847, we shall
find in the Sketch Map at foot of Plate XLII., the Son Bundar cave
set down in the Baibhar hill in the precise position indicated by Fa
hian. The cave itself is thus described by Capt. Kittoe: ‘To the
left or west side of the pass is a chamber called Sone Bundar, of pre-
cisely the same shape as those of Burabur. There are sockets to
admit of timber roofing on the exterior of the cave, and there have
been buildings extending to some distance in front : it would be inter-
esting to clear the rubbish here. There are several short inscriptions,
and some of the shell shape ; one has some resemblance to Chinese ;
but the cave has been sadly used by a Zemindar, who tried to blow it
up many years ago, hoping to find hidden treasure, and a large piece of
rock has been broken away at the very spot where we should have ex-
pected to find an inscription.’ There is scarce room to doubt that
this is the very site of the hall of the first convocation “ at the entrance
to the Sattapanni cave on the side of the Webharo mountain,” and the
precise spot where, as Fa hian assures us, “‘ Foe, after meals habitually
resorted to meditate ;” and if subsequent investigation shall confirm this
identification, it affords great encouragement to Capt. Kittoe to prosecute
his labours in this interesting locality with renewed vigour. All the short
inscriptions he mentions should be carefully copied. I fear, however,
that the expense of digging and of clearing away the rubbish, without
which no important result can be expected, will prove his greatest
impediment.
PDAS
Notices of some copies of the Arabic work entitled “ Rasayil I[khwan
al-cafad?—\9) QA y (aa! wilyd! USle) By Dr. A. SprenGER, Com-
municated by H. M. Exuiort, Esq. V. P.
In the year 1812, the Rev. T. Thomason published a fragment of
this work, which by the novelty of the ideas, the peculiarity of style,
and even of the language, created considerable sensation. Baron Von
9
py ate
502, Notices of an Arabie Work, Se. [ JUNE,
Hammer revieewed this publication in the Jahrbiicher der Literatur,
and shed some light on the origin of the book ; and in 1837 Mr. Nau-
werk published a monography on it.
A further notice of this curious production would be uncalled for had
these scholars been in possession of a complete copy, or were there a
complete copy to be found in Europe.
In the Tawarykh al-Hokama of Shahrziry we find the following pas-
sage on the origin of these memoirs :—
‘Aba Solayman Mah. b. Mosh’ir b. Nasby, who is known by the
name of Mogqaddisy, and Abdé al-Hasan b. Zahrin Ryhany, and Abt
Ahmad Nahrajiry, and al-’ Aufy, and Zayd b. Rofé’ah are the philoso-
phers who compiled the memoirs of the Ikhwan al-cafa, which have
been recorded by Mogqaddisy.” ‘The date is not stated, but in the
book from which this passage is derived mostly the chronological
order is observed, and this note occurs immediately after the biography of
Faryaby who died A. H, 319, we may therefore suppose that Mogad-
disy flourished about the beginning of the fourth century of the Hijrah,
M. Gayangos (Mohammadan dynasties in Spain I. p. 429) has shown
that they were imported into Spain by Majaryty who died in A, H.
398. It is probable that Nahrajtiry, one of the compilers, is identical
with Aba Yaqib Ishaq b. Moh Nahrajiry, who is mentioned in
Ooshayry’s letter to the Gufys,* and who died at Makkah im 330.
I have seen four copies of the Ikhwan al-cafaé in India: a complete
copy is preserved in the Moty-mahal library of the king of Oudh ;
a splendid MSS. of the second half, beginning with page 336, and the
24th memoir, is in possession of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It was
written at Fayzabad in 1184, and contains marginal corrections by
another hand; unfortunately there are several lacunas in it. A third
and rather valuable copy containing chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11;
12, 13, 17, 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 5, 6, 47, 48,
49, 50, 51, conclusion, 42, 43, 44, 40, 41, belongs to Mufty Sadr
* See also Jamy’s Safahat, N. 140.
1848. | Notices of an Arabic Work, Se. 503
al-dyn of Delhi, and a fourth fragment, containing about one-eighth of
the work, is in my possession.
The book is divided into four sections : the first treats on Mathematical
Sciences, Ka ly wi ; the second on Natural Philosophy, Bas Lge W938
&szaab ; the third on Psychology and Speculative Sciences, &s)l—2 wo
alge and the fourth on Religion and Metaphysics, &g/T Kawa gucld wid,
Section 1.—Abstract Sciences. —Memoir on numbers ; the elements of
arithmetic ; metaphysical theories (of Pythagoras, who is repeatedly
quoted) on numbers. Four is considered the basis of the decimal system,
for it is said, 1+2+3+-4==10. The authors have a fancy for the number
four, because there are four elements.
2. The Elements of Geometry. This chapter contains little more
than the definitions of Euclid and the methods of calculating the area
of a triangle.
3. Astronomy. This chapter gives a very clear view of the system
of Ptolemy.
4. Music and the elements of versification.
5. On Geography.—Many authors dwell particularly on Mathemati-
cal Geograghy, which is treated very much in the same manner as by
Abiulfeda, but it is considerably fuller. In the detailed description of
the climates, the tables showing the longitude and latitude of places
are unfortunately omitted in the code before me, but the space left
blank to receive them is very small, and they cannot have been of much
importance. The following is the description of the first climate:
«This climate is 9000 miles, or 3000 farsangs long from east to west,
and 445 miles, or 146 farsangs, from south to north. It begins at the
equator, &c. &c. see Abdlf. p. 8. In this climate are chains of moun-
tains which are from ten to one hundred, and even one thousand farsangs
long; there are no less than thirty large rivers, some of which are 20,
others 100, and others 1000 farsangs long, and it contains about fifty
large and celebrated cities. The most eastern country of this climate is
the island of Niphon, wy°l ; then comes southern China, then the
south of Ceylon, then central India, then subcentral and Sind, then be-
yond the Persian Gulf the south of ’Oman, then comes the centre of
the country of Shir, then central Yaman, then across the Red Sea,
central Messynia ; then across the Nile is Nubia; then the centre of the
504 Notices of an Arabic Work, Se. [ JUNE,
country of the Barbar; then comes southern Bartayitah, &ilby, and
finally the western ocean. Most of the inhabitants of this climate are
black.” Here follows a blanck of space of about three inches for the
names of the principal cities. I believe this is the only Arabic author
who mentions Niphon ; the island of Waqwagq, which is far east of China,
and which is frequently mentioned by Asiatic Geographers is probably
the Fu-sang of Chinese writers, which has been lately identified with
Mexico.
** Second climate.—It has about 17 great mountains and as many
great rivers, and about fifty large and celebrated cities. Proceeding
from the east, we come first to central China, then to the north of
Ceylon, then to northern India, then to Kabul and Candahar, then to
the north of Sind and to the south of Makran, then we go across the
Persian Gulf to central Arabia; across the Red Sea, we find Mes-
synia, and the south of upper Egypt; on the other side of the Nile is
Africa provincia, then the north of the country of the Barbars, then the
south of the country of Qayrowan, then central Bartaytah, and finally
the western Ocean.”
This will suffice as a specimen.
6. On ratios and proportions of quantities (in Arithmetic, Geometry,
Music, &c.)
7. On creeds and professions. The definition of “art” is the same
which has been given by modern authors on esthetics (,2 &los| dasa}
sore cs? leeds 9 9 G9 GUhyall allel lal! lyst cE Sigh oe eae
giving body to an idea.” The authors seem also to understand that
labour is wealth ; for they say that a piece of brass which is worth five
dirhams will fetch one hundred if manufactured into an astrolab,
8. On sciences. They are of three kinds of professional 4424) which
give us certain abilities by which we may gain our livelihood, they are
1, Reading and writing, Sl yQly SUS. 2° Grammar and linguistic, 41}
Peo '9; 4, Arithmetic, lass! |; 5, Sorcery, alchemy, short hand, &c. os ]
yx! ly LoaSy; 6, Versification and poetry, »x/ly err! ; 7, Commerce
and agriculture ; 8, Trades and professions, eto > ; 9, History and
biography :—b., Religious Sciences the object of which is the salvation of
our souls. They are: 1, the knowledge of the Qoran, Uys ple ; 2, of its
(mystical) commentaries, Uy gi ale ; 3, traditions, yaa Yly wlty,)! 5 4, the
1848. ] Notices of an Arabic Work, &c. 505
knowledge of law and ordinances of God and of legal divisions, grimly Si)! obs
eSaMy; 5, religious duties and ascetics, SAI SB5JSy Eetyel!y aTdil ;
6, explation of dreams, w»LolisJ'Ule95 ; c. Philosophical sciences, &:2J9e gle
which are first the Mathematical Sciences, & 44)! or Arithmetic rrbles!
Geometry &oi# Astronomy neg plone! and music (R90! ; second, logic,
wlaaii,t! in which are comprehended poetry, rhetoric '%),4:) the topica
aasy3 and analytica &sb,J,31 and sophistica Rahm%y0; third, Natural
Philosophy &ztrbJi eglsJ! which comprehends the following seven Sciences:
the Sciences of the first principles of a body &a) (ene csole ple ; those
are matter, shape, time, place, and notion ; 2, the Science of the heavens
and of the universe piledly S\aud! ale which teaches of what matter the stars
and heavenly spheres are composed, how many there are, the cause of
their motion, whether they are subject to destruction in the same
manner as sublunary bodies which are composed of the four elements ;
3, de generatione et corruptione Skully US ele ; this Science treats on
the nature of the four elements, on the influence of the stars, on sublu-
Nary bodies; 4, meteorology Fond ISolga ple; 5, mineralogy wale ale ; 6,
botany way} gle ; 7, zoology w! ga ale which comprises anatomy
and physiology.—d, metaphysical sciences &ag!T pole to which belongs,
1, theology ; (i. e. the Science of God); 2 the knowledge of spirits
why lay Jobe ; Spirits are free from all matter, but act upon it, they are the
angels of God, and the spiritual spheres which encompass the spheres of
the heavens ; 3, the knowledge of the souls 3 ln] pls souls ely! Cr yds
dwell in the spheres of the heavens and in the elements from the ninth
sphere to the centre of the earth. 4, The knowledge of government
Kulredlahe ; 5, the science of things connected with a future state oleeJi ale,
10. Memoirs. An abstract of Porphyry’s Isagoge in which the “ six
words” 12! Sim are explained ; these are uss! or genus; 2, ey
species (cdos) ; 3, as) individual (aroyos) ; 4, cole! | proprium (.d:0r) ;
D, 6 pal accidence (cupBeByxus) 6, Las! differentia (Siapopa)-
11. An abstract of Aristotle’s Categories, or on the ‘ten words’’
Zyaras| Ll I or xysaa!! wIyke! they are ge substantia (Ovc.a) ; 2,
road quantum rocov ; 3, e248! quale (mor) ; 4, SLee! relatum (mpos rx) 5
5, wd! ubi (ov) ; 6, ceded! quando (more) ; 7, &a4/! situm esse (Kee) ;
8, &S.U! habere Kexealhg Q, Jax, facire (corer) 5 10, 223, pati (varxeuw)-
The Categories are compared by the authors with the units.
506 Notices of an Arabic Work, Se. [Junr,
12. An abstract of Aristotle’s book “de interpretatione.”” This
memoir contains also an essay on the utility of Logic.
13. Aristotle’s Analytica Priora.
II Section.
1 (14.) An abstract of the Analytica Posteriora.
2 (15.) An abstract ofthe work de Ccelo. Besides discussing some
of the questions propounded by Aristotle, our authors enter much into
Astronomy, which like other subjects, is mystified by them. They
assert that the ceremony of walking round the Kabah is expressive of
Astronomical data.
3 (16.) De generatione et corruptione. This chapter like the pre-
ceding differs widely from Aristotle’s work of the same name. It
contains a popular explanation of Aristotle’s ideas on the subject, inter-
spersed with numerous moral reflections, and other extraneous matters.
4 (17.) On matter, space, motion, and time.
5 (18.) On minerals, their component parts, causes of the difference
of their substance ; how they are generated in the bowels of the earth ;
proofs that they are the first 6 productions of nature in the sublunary
regions, or rather the souls of the world, or universal soul, and the low-
est step of the ladder by which particular or differentiated souls ascend
from the centre of the earth to the highest sphere of the heavens,
where they enter into the society of angels (1. e. the highest spheres
of the heavens), and into eternal bliss.
6 (19.) What nature (the soul of the world) is ; how it acts on the
four elements on their compound productions: animals, plants and
minerals ; moral application.
7 (20.) On the various kinds of plants. On their generation ; causes
of the differences of plants in shape, colour, taste, &c. ; faculties of the
souls of plants. How one class of minerals stands in connexion with
plants, and one class of plants with animals, and one class of animals
with man, and man with angels. God is the head of the chain of
beings.
8 (21.) On the various kinds of animals; their structure and consti-
tution. Classification of animals, on their habits; how they educate
their young. Proofs that some animals are animated by angels who
worship man (an allusion to the Qoran) who is the representative of
1848. ] The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. 507
God on earth whilst other animals are animated by evil spirits. The
specimen of the Ikhwan al-cafai published by the Rev. T. Thomason
forms part of this chapter.
9 (22.) On the Economy of the human body. Man is a microcosmos,
and his body is like a well regulated city, the sovereign of which is the
soul.
10 (23.) De Sensu et Sensili. Though this chapter bears the inscrip-
tions of one of the works of Aristotle, it has little to do with the opini-
ons of that philosopher. Impressions received by the senses are con-
veyed to the anterior portion of the brain where the faculty of imagina-
tion Klatz .a) resides ; from these, they are communicated to the
central portion of the brain which is occupied by the faculties of reflection
8 ,S2ieJI3 431; then they are committed to memory &bstx/1y43), which has
its seat in the posterior part of the brain, &c. (compare Avicenna, Lib. I.
p. 35.) Astrological influences on the various parts of the body.
11 (24.) On feetal life ; the authors take an astrological view of the
subject, naming the planets under the influence of which the foetus is
during every month of pregnancy.
OPP EMAAMAAARARAS
Reports upon His Majesty the KinG or Oupe’s Observatory at Luc-
know. Communicated by H. M. Exxior, Lsg. Sec. to the Govern-
ment of India.
To his Excellency Major General Sir. G. Potuock, G. C. B. Envoy
to the King of Oude, Dated Lucknow 18th January, 1844.
Srr,— For the information of the Right Hon’ble the Governor General
of India, I have the honor to submit my report on the affairs of his
Majesty’s Observatory during the past year.
Within this period, the Observatory has been rendered as complete
in the Astronomical Department as I can expect to see it, by the
acquisition of a very fine Equatorial which may be usefully employed
on many extra-meridional observations for which an appropriate instru-
ment has hitherto been wanting. It has a Telescope of 9 feet focal
length ; the polar axis is carried round by clock work, and the hour
and declination circles are of 2 and 3 feet diameter. I have been under
3 Z
508 The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. [ June,
the necessity of placing it on the pillar designed for an instrument of
this description by my predecessor Captain Herbert, but whatever the
advantages gained by an elevation of 35 feet above the ground in
enabling the observer to command a more uninterrupted view, they are
more than balanced by the disadvantage of the optical power of the
Telescope being impaired by the vibrations to which so high a pillar
of brick-work must always be liable; and I fear that this beautiful
instrument cannot while so placed be applied to all the purposes for
which its great power would otherwise fit it.
In the Magnetic Observatory the arrival of the vertical force and
inclination instruments has enabled me since the month of April to
make the daily routine of observations correspond with that of all the
Magnetic Observatories established by Government.
With respect to the subjects on which the instruments are employed :—
The observations of the planets are, at the suggestion of the Astronomer
Royal, carried forward into the day as much as_ possible, the lesser
planets are likewise at his suggestion carefully observed, and I believe
that favored by our climate, we are more successful in frequently seeing
them than they are in Europe. Besides the principal stars for latitude,
&c., the Zodiacal stars, in number about 500, comprised in the cata-
logue of Caturegli, have been observed, as also those pointed out by
Mr. Baily as requiring observation ; and the re-observation has been
commenced of the stars of the 3rd and 4th volumes of Mr. Taylor’s
Madras observations. We have in fact made more observations than
we can easily reduce.
In the Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory, observations are .
made throughout the 24 hours, at each even hour of Gottingen mean
time in accordance with the instructions of the Committee of the Royal
Society. The term days have been kept and a few instances of mag-
netic disturbances have been observed in accordance with the same
instructions, at every 5 minutes. ‘The periodic experiments on intensi-
ty, I am sorry to say, have not yet been included for want of a dupli-
cate instrument on the “Auxiliary” one especially adapted to the
purpose, which has been ordered from England some time past, but
has not yet arrived. I hope, however, partly to make up for the defi-
ciency by means of a temporary instrument which I have had construe-
ted at Lucknow.
’
1848. | The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. 509
Of the forward state of the reductions, I cannot speak as favorable
as I could wish, but this has in a great measure arisen from my first
Assistant having been compelled by ill-health to leave Lucknow at the
same time that I was called away on Regimental duty, at the end
of last year. It is likewise owing to my having undertaken the addition-
al duties of the Magnetic Observatory with an establishment altogether
unequal to them, when superadded to those of the Astronomical Depart-
ment. The Assistant I have alluded to having been incapacitated by
continued ill-health, I recommended the employment in his place of 3
educated native youths from the Allahabad school, and the calculations
have since proceeded with greater rapidity, the reductions for 1841
having been completed and considerable progress having been made
with those for 1842, whole copies of a large portion of the Magnetic
and Meteorological Observations have been prepared for transmission
to the Committee of the Royal Society. I must not omit to state that
I have reason to be highly satisfied with the zeal and ability of my
Native Assistants.
His Majesty’s pleasure respecting the publishing of the observations
has not yet been ascertained ; indeed the meridian instruments not
having been ready for use till August and September 1841, it seems
scarcely expedient to propose publishing a separate Volume for that
year. Should His Majesty object to the expense of printing in Cal-
cutta, or (which would be better) in England, the results may be pre-
sented to the Astronomical Society for publication in their Memoirs.
The observations in the Magnetic Department will all be forwarded to
the Royal Society.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) R. Witcox, Major.
Lucknow, 18th January, 1844.
To Captain J. D. Suaxesrrar, Ofig. Resident at Lucknow.
Dated Lucknow, 25th February, 1845.
Sir,—For the information of the Right Honorable the Governor
General of India, I have the honor to present my report on the general
state of his Majesty’s Observatory for the past year. I fear that it
will be found somewhat deficient in interest, but I have indeed, little
342
510 The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. [JUNE,
to mention beyond the facts that the instruments remain in excellent
condition, and have been industriously, and as I believe, usefully em-
ployed.
The only alteration in the Meridional Instruments, which are in as
excellent order as when they were first put up, is the introduction in
the Mural Circle of a collimating eye-piece, the invention of Mr. Tay-
lor of Madras, by the aid of which the image of the fixed horizontal
wire in the eye end of the Telescope is seen reflected from the surface
of Mercury and the zenith point is obtained at a much less expense of
time, and I have reason to think with at least equal accuracy, as by the
former method of observing the direct and reflected images of several
stars. Its use for measuring the collimation error of the transit instru-
ment would be equally advantageous were it not that the great height
of the latter instrument above the floor makes its application inconve-
nient. I have before alluded to the tall pillar on which I was obliged to
mount the Equatorial Telescope, and this beautiful instrument has been
less frequently employed than under the more favorable circumstances
of its pier being shorter and more stable, it might have been ; but a
good number of Eclipses of Jupiter’s Satellites have been observed, and
it is well suited for observing occultations of stars by the Moon, al-
though from the pressure of business in the Magnetic Department,
which has occupied a good deal of my own time, it has not been
brought into use so frequently for this purpose during the last year as
I hope it will be m future.
For the Magnetic Department we have received an instrument which
was commissioned two years ago for experiments on absolute intensity, _
the measurement of which had hitherto been effected with the aid of a
less perfect apparatus constructed by myself on the spot. An Induc-
tion Inclinometer has also been commissioned to supersede the Balance
Magnetometer, which here, as elsewhere, has proved to be an instru-
ment of inferior value ; but its despatch from England has not yet been
reported.
The Meteorogical Instruments are in good order, and Oster’s self-
registering Anemometer continues to act well, with the exception of a
fault which I observe has been noticed in it at other places, that it is
not delicate enough for recording the pressure of the light winds, which
more generally prevail.
1848. | The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. dL]
The course of observations remains unaltered. With the Meridio-
nal instruments, the moon has been observed at every practicable op-
portunity ; the larger planets whenever they pass the Meridian be-
tween the hours of 5 a. mM. and 11 p. m.; and care has been taken to
carry forward the observations into the day so long as the planets can
be seen and to commence again with them as soon after noon as they
can be distinguished. The lesser planets at every opportunity ; the
stars of the Nautical Almanack have been observed, and a large num-
ber of small stars taken from the Catalogues of the Astronomical
Society, and from those of Piazzi and Bode, ten observations being
considered the least number to be made on each star before it is relin-
quished in favor of another.
The Magnetical and Meteorological observations have been continued
on the plan recommended by the Committee of the Royal Society.
The Declinometer, the Horizontal and Vertical force Magnetometers,
the Barometer and the wet and dry Thermometers have been observed
every two hours day and night, Sundays excepted—the dew point at
every four hours throughout the season of the hot winds when ice was
obtainable, and when a comparison of it with the results obtained from
the wet bulb Thermometer is of most value : the great expenditure of
Ether, at other seasons almost precluding its observation throughout
the whole year. The Dip has been observed twice on each Tuesday
and Friday. The self-registering Anemometer has been in constant use.
Absolute intensity observations have been made from the month of
February, when the temporary instrument before mentioned was com-
pleted : and temperature experiments on the loss of Magnetic moment
of the bars from accession of heat, were likewise then made.
I have made arrangements by which, without any increase of expense
to the King, the principal Magnetic and Meteorological Instruments
will be observed throughout the present year at every hour, instead of
every two hours.
The reduction of our observations remains much more in arrear than
I could wish, but compared with the same period last year we have
_gained very considerably ; the whole of the magnetic and meteorological
observations for 1842 and 1843, having within the last twelve months
been transmitted to England, anda large portion of those of 1844 being
in a state of considerable forwardness. When the arrears in this
512 The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. [ JUNE,
department have been fairly cleared off, which in a few months more I
hope to see effected, the aid of the assistants in the Astronomical —
Department will not be required to any extent, and as we have now an
efficient establishment in both Departments, which was far from being
the case when the onerous duties of the Magnetic Observatory were
undertaken, I hope to report a rapid recovery of the arrear of our
Astronomical reductions. |
I have before reported that translations of Dr. Brmkley’s Astronomy
and of Vince’s smaller work on the same subject made under my super-
intendence, were being printed at his Majesty’s Lithographic press.
Some little progress has been made with them during the past year ;
but there is so much employment of various kinds for the press that I
fear it will be long before they are completed. A translation of Simm’s
Mathematical Instruments is being copied for the Delhi Translation
Committee. The article on Magnetism from the Library of Useful Know-
ledge is also ready ; and the King has ordered it to be printed. But
seeing how long the works on Astronomy have occupied and are likely
to occupy, I have not much hope of seeing a third treatise printed
here.
I have, &e.
(Signed) R. Wricox, Major.
Royal Observatory, ed itt
the 25th February, 1845.
To T. R. Davipson Esq. Resident at Lucknow.
Dated Lucknow the 9th July 1846.
Sir,—For the information of the Right Hou’ble the Governor Gene-
ral, I have the honor to present a report on His Majesty’s Observatory.
As it might be interesting to His Lordship to have some account of
the equipment of the Observatory, it may be proper to mention that
our Transit Instrument and Mural Circle are upon the same scale as
those at Greenwich, on the model of which they were indeed constructed
by the same maker.
The Equatorial is likewise a fine instrument, having a telescope of 9
feet focal length, but its efficiency is a good deal impaired by its being
1848. ] The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. Sie
raised to a considerable height above the ground upon too slender a
pier. The clocks are by Molyneux, one of the best of the present
makers. The whole of these are in as fine order as when they were
first placed upon their piers, with the exception of the Transit, the
Micrometer of which being peculiarly exposed to injury, has suffered
from an accidental blow during the past year, but fortunately the injury
is of little detriment to the use of the instrument.
In the Magnetical department our instruments are similar to those
with which the Observatories established by the British Government
and by the Court of Directors were equipped, and our Meteorological
instruments are also similar.
It is my endeavour to employ the Meridian instruments, firstly, on all
those objects which cannot be so well observed in Kurope, the larger
planets therefore have hitherto been always observed when they have
passed the Meridian between the hours of 5 in the morning and 11 at
night, and will for the future be also observed at all hours whenever
they are south of the equator ; great care is taken in observing the
moon and moon culminating stars, and the smaller planets, which are
not well seen in Europe, are observed at all hours ; we are aiso deter-
mining the places of a large number of the smaller stars by at least 10
observations on each. The methods of ascertaining the amount of the
various corrections to be employed are nearly the same with those adop-
ted at Greenwich.
In the magnetical and meteorological department since the com-
mencement of 1845, in lieu of two hourly observations, we have taken
them at each hour of the day and night of Gottingen time.
The observations of this class, in the form of abstracts showing the
hourly and daily mean readings for each instrument, have hitherto been
forwarded to the Royal Society, with the expectation that they would be
published in their transactions, either in the extended form in which
they are forwarded, or after discussion by a Committee of that Society ;
but the Board of Ordnance having ordered the observations taken by
the officers employed under their direction to be printed at the expense
of Government, and the Court of Directors having likewise undertaken
to print those made at their own observatories, it may become necessary
to ask the King of Oude to incur the expense of completing by publica-
tion the work which he has so liberally commenced.
514 The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. [JUNE,
No arrangement has yet been made for publishing our Astronomical
observations, and it has always appeared to me that unless we hada
printing press on the spot so that it might be done under my own in-
spection and revision, it would be difficult to get them printed in India,
since it 1s not to be supposed that people capable of the task would be
found attached to the printing establishments in Calcutta, while if there
were, the expense would probably be greater than in England, where it
could be done much better. The practice in the Royal Observatories
of England and larger public ones, as Cambridge and Edinburgh, is to
publish yearly, and it is considered important that the crude observations
should be given in detail in order that the means of verification may at
all times be at hand, and as I believe the Lucknow observations will be
found equal to any that are made, it may be desirable that ours should
be published in the same form. It has, however occurred to me that if a
copy of our crude observations, with all the details necessary in case of
need for the verification of our computations, were made over to the
Royal Astronomical Society, in whose custody they would always be
available, that then there would be no absolute need of publishing more
than our results, which might appear from time to time in their memoirs.
I have accordingly placed myself in communication with the Secretary,
whois also one of the most influential members of the Society, and have
lately been favored with his opinion, and find that he coincides with me
in thinking that this mode of publication would have all the advantages
that I propose, while the saving of expense would be great. I am also
told that on the proposition being formally made, I need have little
doubt but it will be accepted by the Society, but that according to an
established rule, which has in no instance been departed from, the
printing must be done at the King’s expense.
I do not apprehend that the king would refuse to pay the cost, which
could not be very heavy, but it will be proper before taking further steps,
to ascertain whether this course would be acceptable to his Majesty, or
whether he would not prefer to expend a much larger sum in order that
the volumes might appear solely in his name.
My establishment being more efficient for making observations than
for reducing them, our computations are still very much in arrears, but
we have entered upon a portion of the reductions for 1844, and I hope
before the end of the year to have made great progress with them, I
1848. | The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. 515
must not close this report without expressing my satisfaction with the
zeal and industry of my assistants who, with the exception of one, are
young Hindoos from the College of Agra and the Allahabad school.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) R. Witcox, Lt.-Col.
Director of the King’s Observatory.
Royal Observatory,
Lucknow, the 9th July, 1846.
From Lieutenant Colonel R. Wiucox, Superintendent of Odbservatorys
To Colonel A. F. Ricumonp, C. B. Resident at Lucknow,
Dated Lucknow, 24th March 1848.
Srr,—lI have the honor to submit to you, for the information of the
Right Honorable the Governor General of India, a report on bis Ma-
jesty’s Observatory, which is under my care.
The Meridian Instruments, 1. e. the Transit Telescope and Mural
Circle which are on the same scale and by the same makers as _ those of
Greenwich, remain in excellent order. The Equatorial is still in the
unsatisfactory state alluded to in former reports, and has in conse-
quence been little used as a measuring instrument, the want of stability
of the high pillar on which it is mounted is such, that it is difficult to
form any judgment whether the apparent defects of the instrument are
not mainly to be attributed to the defects of the pier alone.
The Magnetical and Meteorological instruments for daily observation
are in perfect order.
The meridian instruments have been employed, as in former years,
in determining the places of a great number of the smaller stars, by
at least 10 observations in right ascension and north polar distance
of each ; the Moon and Moon-culminating stars are observed as fre-
quently as possible, the larger Planets when they are south of the
Equator at all hours ; and whether north or south at all hours during
the day whenever they can be seen with sufficient distinctness, and
favored as we are by climate and position. I have remarked that we
have occasionally been successful in continuing our day light observa-
tions for two months longer than appears to have been practicable at
Greenwich, of the smaller Planets; Ceres and Vesta, and sometimes
Pallas, have been observed whenever it has been practicable; of these
4a
516 The King of Oude’s Observatory at Lucknow. | JUNE,
likewise we have been able to collect a larger number of observations
in one year than has been done in Europe. On account of their small
size we have not been very successful in seeing Pallas and Juno, the
latter indeed has seldom if ever been satisfactorily observed.
The time has scarcely yet arrived when observations made at so
distant a spot could be turned to any account of those Planets which
have been recently discovered. We have not however failed to observe
Neptune from the month of November until it passed the meridian too
late to be visible.
The hourly observations of the magnetical and meteorological instru-
ments I propose to continue until the close of 1848, and if on reference
to England it should appear desirable, they can at a trifling cost be
carried on beyond that time ; but as it is improbable that the King will
choose to incur the expense of printing them, and they have already
become very volumimous in manuscript, I doubt the advantage of it ;
while on the other hand, the time now bestowed on their reduction
could be employed in reducing our astronomical observations, the
computations of which, though more forward than at a similar period
last year, are still much in arrears ; complete abstracts of our magnetical
and meteorological registers will continue to be forwarded to the Royal
Society.
With respect to the printing of our astronomical observations, in my
last report I mentioned, that the course which on account of there being
no printing press on the spot, appeared to me to be fraught with the
least difficulty, was to request the London Astronomical Society to print
our results, that is, results only, in their memoirs, which at the King’s
expense, I have no doubt they would willingly consent to do, complete
copies of our crude observations being furnished to them to be placed
amongst their records for reference ; but I expressed a doubt whether
on the question being submitted to him, the King might not prefer to
expend a larger sum in order to kave the volumes appear solely in his
own name. Mr. Davidson had the kindness to take much trouble in
ascertaining the King’s wishes on the subject, and the result was as I
had anticipated, that he preferred the latter course, though possibly be-
cause the cost weighed heavily in the King’s estimation, some months
elapsed before permission reached me officially to expend the sum of six
thousand rupees in printing the observations of 3 successive years.
1848. | Seateenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. O17
This sum, in the absence of proper data on which to found a calculation,
I had myself named as likely to be sufficient, but I have lately received
estimates from two of the most respectable of the London printers
(one being the printer of the Greenwich observations) which would
make the cost nearer to 12,000 than 6,000 rupees for 3 volumes ; the
question therefore remains for the present unsettled, but it seems desir-
able that the mode of printing which I first gave the preference to,
should be finally adopted. The great advantages that would be found
in having a printing press working under my own eye have not escaped
me, but Colonel Boileau’s experience proves that the services of a pro-
fessional printer would be absolutely necessary, and hence it is doubtful
whether by this means the expense would be materially lessened.
I have mentioned in former reports that a translation of Brinkley’s
Astronomy, made under my supervision, was being printed at the
King’s Lithographic press: I have now the pleasure of announcing its
completion.
I have, &c.
(Signed) R. Wiicox, Lt.-Col.
Supdt. of Observatory.
Observatory, Lucknow, the 24th March 1848.
A Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms ; being the Hurricanes of
the Marta Somes and other ships, in the Southern Indian Ocean,
in March 1846. By Henry Pippineton, President of Marine
Courts of Enquiry, Calcutta.
The appalling catastrophe of the suffocation of fourteen individuals,
with the maiming of others, and the severe sufferings and narrow escape
of the whole detachment of 320 men, women and children of H. M. 90th
Foot, on board the transport ship Marca Somes from Ceylon to England,
excited much attention both in India and in England at the time, and
I spared no pais to collect from every quarter data for the inves-
tigation of this hurricane. I have not been very successful, but as
ships do not now sail in fleets we have usually a task of no small
difficulty to collect together the scattered logs of the few vessels,
4a2
518 Stawteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JuNeE,
which may have crossed a frequented tract of ocean about the time of
any severe weather, as long periods elapse before their return to the
port, if they return at all. This and the completion of my new work*
has prevented me from publishing sooner the results of what I had
obtained. Nevertheless it will be seen that the facts demonstrate a
new peculiarity in these mysterious phenomena, of no little import to
the Mariner, since it may occur in other parts of the world as well as
within the dangerous tract to which this Memoir alludes. I refer to
the summary at the end for full details of this new feature in the
Hurricanes of Tropical Seas.
Abridged Log of the Barque Orn1ENT, Capt. WAuEs, reduced to Civil
time.
22d March, 1846.—At noon in Lat. 8° 12’ South; Long. 792% 28’
East ; running to the South and 8. S. W.: Westerly winds.
23rd March.—Noon, Lat. 10° 17/8. ; Long. 79° 00° East ; towards
noon heavy S. 8. E. swell; thick cloudy weather and wind S. S. W..;
p. Mm. W. N. W. wind died away.
24th March.—Gloomy dark weather and drizzling rain with a heavy
short S. E. swell. No observations; Bar. 29.76, Simp. 29.62, Ther.
81°; p. m. light westerly breeze and then “wind veering all round the
compass,” with dirty unsettled weather. Very heavy southerly swell.
25th March.—a. M. squally from the N. W. and N. E. and veering
again from North to Hast. No observation ; Bar. 29.57, Simp. 29.46 ;
p. M. thick, rainy, gloomy, heavy appearance. 4 pv. m. Bar. 29.50; at
6, 29.45; at 8, 29.40; at 10, 29.40; at midnight 29.35. Wind ~
variable from N. W. to N. E., S. E. and by 8 p. m. a gale from E. 4
S. when the ship hove too on the port tack ; blowing in hard squalls with
thick weather tothe Eastward. Simpiesometer also fell from 29.40,
at4 p. M. to 29.20, at midnight ; wind at 10 p. m. East; at midnight
tb .IN..
26th March.—a. M. furious squalls and high sea; wind N. E. b. E.
at 2.a.mM; EH. N. E. at 4; KE. b. N. at 6; and E. b. S. at 8.4. m.
At noon wind is marked as “ veering gradually round to South” with
very heavy squalls and a high confused sea, and from 8 till noon ‘“ gale
* The Sailor’s Horn Book for the Law of Storms in all parts of the world. Jan, 1848
\Cerctve 252-2678
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1848.] Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 519
blew furiously with every few minutes terrific gusts threatening to
dismast us. Sea running tremendously in every direction and perfectly
white with foam. At noon a perfect hurricane.” Bar. 2 a. mM. 29.35,
Simp. 29.20, Ther. 81°; at 4, 29.30, Simp. 29.16; at 6, 29.30, Simp.
29.16; at 8, 29.20, 29.5. At 12, 29.10, and 28.95; Simp. 29.95.
p. M. hurricane, wind veering from W. 8S. W. to W. b. N. Bar. 29.10,
Simp. 28.95. At6p.m.the same, wind marked W.N. W. and at
9, N. N. W.; Bar. at 6 p. m. 29.30, Simp. 29.20.
27th March.—a. Mm. hard gale N. N. W.; squalls not so strong ;
Bar. 29.40, Simp. 29.30. 5 a. mM. moderating fast; Bar. 29.50, Simp.
29.40. 9 a.m. bore up to 8. b. W. and made some sail; Bar. 29.65,
Simp. 29.55. 10a. ™M. squally, thunder, lightning and heavy rain.
11 a.m. hove to again and furled every thing, Bar. having fallen to
29.60, and Simpiesometer to 29.50, in arun of 15’ to the S. b. W.
p. M. fresh gale, North, hard squalls and heavy cross sea. 6 p. mM. Bar.
29.60, Simp. 29.50, Ther. 80°. 9 p. m. bore up again and made some
sail, steermg S. W. with wind North.
28th March.—a. M. steermg S.S. W. and South. 64. M. hove
too again on account of the weather and sea ; noon wind North; Lat.
Indiff. Observation, 12° 33/S. Long. Acct. (worked back from the 29th)
76° 54/ Kast ; Bar. not noted. p.m. bore up; wind North ; course South,
and at 5 p. m. S. W. b. S. 6 pe. m. Bar. 29.60, Simpiesometer
29.50, Ther. 803°. Midnight hard gale, “‘ very threatening appearance
in the weather, not wishing to run more to the South as the weather
got worse every mile” and Bar. falling again to 29.50, and Simp. 29.43,
hove too at 1 a. m. on the 29th, having run 86/ South and S. W. b. S.
29th March.—a. m. wind at N. N. W. 64. m. hard gales with
squalls and rain anda very high sea running in all directions ; Bar.
29.55, Simp. 29.50; noon more moderate ; Lat. 14° 36/8. Indiff. Ob-
servation; Long. 76° 28/ East. pv. m. wind North. 4 pe. m. bore up
again. 8 p.m. wind N. N. W. Lightning to the South at 10 p.m. ;
midnight severe gusts.
30th March.—a. m. wind N. W. moderating to noon, when fine ;
Lat. 15° 4’ S. Long. 75° 45’ East; 8 a.m. Bar. 29.80, Simp. 29.78,
Ther. 805. Noon Bar. 29.87, Simp. 29.77.
31st March.—Light Westerly breeze ; 7 a. m. Bar. 29.90, Simpieso-
meter 29.80, Ther. 82° ; Lat. Obs, 15° 46’ S. Long. Chr. 75° 14’ East.
520 Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. . [ JUNE,
Abridged Log of the French Ship Le Granp Dusaquene, from
Calcutta to the Mauritius. Civil time.
25th March, 1846.—Noon wind N.N. W. ship standing to the
S. W.; Lat. 10° 4’ 8. Long. 81.22, Kast (of Paris ?)and thence 83° 42/
East of Greenwich. For the preceding 24 hours the weather cloudy and
a high confused sea, the wind from N. N. W. to N. W. pe. Mm. squally
wind N. N. W., ship standing to the S. W. under double reefs.
26th March.—a. Mm. wind N. N. E. to North; heavy sea; noon Lat.
11° 19/ Long. 79.54, E. Paris; 82.14, Gr. p.m. wind North, 5 Pp.
m. N,N. E. to N. E. weather and sail as before to midnight.
27th March.—Heavy squalls, dark weather with torrents of rain.
a. M. wind N, E, and East to noon, when Lat. by Acct. 12° 20/S. Long.
77.54, E. Paris, 80° 14/ Gr. ep. m. to midnight heavy gale, apparently
increasing to hurricane violence, from the N. E. to 4 p.m. N. Ei.
to E.N. E. to 7 p. m. and E.N. E. to midnight ; ship scudding
right before it under foresail, and double-reefed maintopsail. 11 P.
m. hauled up the foresail and the maintopsail blew away. Hove or
broached to (it is not noted which).
28th March.—a. mM. wind N. N. E.; vessel buried in the sea. At 3
A. M. cut away the mainmast, which carried away the foretopmast and
head of the foremast, the foremast, foreyard and bowsprit also went
with them. At noon wind marked N. N. E.; Lat. Acct. 13° 18’;
Long. 77° 15’ E. Paris, or 79° 35’ Gr. ep. m. wind N. N. E.; threw
120 bags rice overboard; 5 p.m. wind N.N. W. and variable to
midnight.
29th March.—Weather the same; 5a. Mm. wind N.N. E.;8 a.m.
more moderate. Noon, Lat. 13° 43’ S., Long. 77° 38’ E. Paris ; 79° 58
Gr. p.m. wind N.N.E. At midnight fine.
30th March.—Weather continuing fine; rigging jury-masts and
throwing cargo overboard.
Noon Lat. 13° 47/ Long. 78° 00/ E. Paris, or 80° 20’ E. Gr.
On the 31st Lat. 14°54’ S. Long. 74° 4’ E. Paris, 76° 24’ of
Greenwich by observation and Chr. by Acct. Lat. 14° 42’ and Long.
77° 37! East of Paris, or 79° 57’ of Greenwich. The vessel and
having been drifted, as would appear from her log, 213’ to the westward
and 12 miles to the Southward, or about 71’ per day for the three days
nue ee ee SS eee a
eee an
1848. ] Seateenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 521
of heavy and hurricane weather ; the exact drift being 8. 87° W. 214
miles, but as it was undoubtedly at the highest rate when the vessel was
nearest the centre, we may call the drift 33 degrees of westing and 12! of
southing, and allowing the southing, which is a trifle, to have been made
equally on each day allow this to be a westerly or storm-wave drift.—
For the 27-28th, when the ga/e increased to hurricane violence, of one
degree, which would give us asa corrected position for the 28th, Lat.
13.22. Long. 78.35 East of Gr.
For the 28th to 29th of two degrees, giving for the 29th, Lat. 13°51
S. Long. 76° 58’ E. of Gr.
For the 30th, being at the close of the gale, of half a degree, giving
for that day Lat. 13° 59’ 8. Long. 77° 06’ E. Gr.
On the 31st the position as shown by observations is 14° 54/, S. Long.
76.24, E. of Gr. and these corrected positions are thus marked on the
chart. They are, it is true, to some extent uncertain, but the log is
very well kept and the leeway carefully marked, and had the difference
between the position and account been owing to the drift or storm
current it would have been an excess of southing and not of westing,
the wind throughout being from N.N. E. toN. N. W. This is
therefore a distinct case of the storm-wave.
Abridged Log of the Ship Cove, Capt. Spratt, from Calcutta to the
Mauritius
Civil time.
On the 23d March 1846—the Cove was at noon in Lat. 11° 18!
S. Long. 79° 46’ E. having run from midnight with a smart rainy
breeze variable from N. N. W. and N. N.E. tothe S. Westward, but at
noon it was calm and rainy with a high sea from S. W. and also a N.
Westerly one, creating a very confused sea together. Pp. mM. calm, rain
and variable, but at 8 p. m. breeze increasing to a gale; at 9 wind E. 8.
E. with hard squalls, rain and high sea.
24th March.—Gale increasing to noon with a high S. E. sea. Lat.
Acct. 12° 49’S. Long. 77° 46’ E. p. m. wind S. E. ship running till
midnight to the S. W. and S. W. b. W.
25th March.—The same wind, but fine weather though with
hard squalls at times. Lat. Acct. 14° 15/S. Long. 75° 16/. ep. M.
p.m. The same, decreasing at midnight to a fresh breeze but a heavy
sea breaking on board at times.
rs
cr
22 Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [ JUNE,
26th March.—By noon fine weather and a strong trade. Lat. Acct.
15° 38’ S. Long. 730 5’ E.
Abridged Log of the Barque Duncan, Capt. Fawcert, from Cadiz
to Calcutta—reduced to Civil time.
26th March, 1846.—At noon the Duncan was in Lat. 16° 47/ S,
Long. 78° 19’ East, with strong breezes from East and squally weather
since midnight ; a high cross-sea and vessel labouring and lurching hea-
vily. Simpiesometer oscillating a little between 29.76 at 2 a. m., and
29.79; at noon 29.76. Running 7 knots to the N. N. E. ev. m. wind
E. b. 8S. To midnight the same. Simpiesometer 29.68, Ther. 81°.
27th March.—a. Mm. wind Kast, squally and rain ; course N. N. E. 5
knots ; noon Lat. 14° 43’ S. ; Long. 78° 54’ E. ; Simpiesometer 29. 59,
Ther. 81°; Ship under double reefs. Pp. M. increasing wind and gloomy
looking weather. ‘‘ Prepared for a hurricane, and at 6 p. m. hove too with
wind East ; at midnight strong gales, hard squalls and vivid lightning.
28th March.—To noon lying too with a heavy gale, hard squalls,
torrents of rain and vivid lightning occasionally ; heavy sea getting up.
Wind marked E. N. KE. Lat. Acct. 14° 11’ S.; Long. 78° 16’ E. ; Sim-
piesometer 29.46, Ther. 82°r.m. Heavy gales; N. E. b. N. At
midnight vivid flashes of lightning all round the horizon ; Simpiesometer
29.48.
29th March.—a. m. to noon heavy gales and high sea ; 4 a. m. wind
N. b. E.; 10 a.m. North; “5 a.m. a most singular phenomenon
occurred about two miles astern of the ship; the water was rushing and
foaming up to an astonishing height, gyrating round a centre and pas- |
sing the track (wake*) of the ship with astonishing velocity. The
diameter or breadth of the vortex of the whirlwind could not be less
than 2 miles from the appearance of its spread, and how far the circle
of its attraction extended I was unable to guess.”
Noon no abatement of the gale and avery high sea; Lat. observed
14° 45’; Long. 78° 00’. Simpiesometer 29.50; Ther. 82°, p. m. strong
gale N.b. W.; 6e.m.N.N.W.; 4p. m. beginning to moderate ; mid-
night strong wind only, with squalls and lightning ; Simpiesometer 29.60.
30th March.—Noon moderate and fine ; Lat. 149° 20’; Long. 78° 50/;
Ther, 63°.
* As she was then lying to.
SS ee ee eee eee
ee ee
————
1848. | Stateenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 523
Abridgment of an extract from the Log of the Transport Maria SoMEs,
(No. 24), WittiAM Kine, Commander, from Ceylon to England.
Civil time.
It is necessary to note here that this extract from the Log is so
far imperfect that it begins on the 27th March only, though it would
appear, and this, as will be seen is important, that they had had some
bad weather before, as indicated by the expressions which I have
marked with commas or in italics. A Mauritius newspaper says
that she “ experienced a hurricane in 15° §. 780 East ;’’ which may be
the approximate position of this day ’—and another that the Maria
Somes experienced “ dreadful weather from the 24th to the 3lst
March,” so that we certainly have not the whole of the bad weather,
but only the latter part of it.
27th March, 1846.—a. m. moderate winds, variable,* and cloudy
with squalls and rain ; lightning from the Eastward ; heavy cross sea.
{n third reefs, furled foresail ; 6 decreasing wind, and hazy ; out 3rd reefs
and set reefed foresail. At 8 light wind and cloudy ; out reefs of courses,
to dry, being split ; sea going down and every appearance of fine weather.
Barometer still down to 28.50, no change. Course 8.8. W. 36/ to noon.
p. M. course 8. S. W.; wind now marked W. N. W. with which the
log is marked to3 p. Mm. 14/ to the S, S. W., making altogether from
midnight 50 miles run to the S.S. W. p. m. moderate wind and sea
going down; xo change in the Barometer; still standing at 28.50,
1 p. m. close reefed fore and maintopsail, unbent the split mainsail and
commenced bending the best foresail ; ‘‘ the gale increasing or westering
(the word is pestering in MSS. and I am doubtful which was meant ;)
put the courses below. At 2 increasing “furled foretopsail and
hove too with ship’s head to 8S. S. W.; wind at West veering to the
North ;” secured yards, sails and every thing for bad weather. At 3
a terrific gale burst on the ship, throwing her completely on her beam
ends ; sea drifting over her in the most furious manner, when she lost
the three topmasts, jib boom, &c. At 8 blowing a dreadful hurricane
to midnight.
28th March.—a. mM. “hurricane still raging in a most terrific man-
ner; at 2 a. m. wind veered from N. W. to North and back to West.”
* Direction not marked.
524 Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JUNE,
During the whole day the vessel in the utmost distress and people
suffocating ; crew nearly all paralysed with fear; direction of the wind
not given. During the night the hurricane sensibly moderated. It
is noted that ‘‘three strong men were required to carry a hammock
rolled up into the mizen rigging,” from the excessive violence of the
wind.
29th March.—* Hurricane blowing with unabated violence :’ 1 p. m.
cut away the mainmast; some abatement taking place hatches were
partly opened and fourteen persons found suffocated! Even in the
cuddy the passengers women and children were in a dying state from
exhaustion. Direction of the wind is not marked.
30th March.—“ Continued gale and heavy rolling sea ; Barometer is
stated to be” rising from 28.20, to 29.20, and the gale subsiding fast ;
Lat. observed 16° 55/; no Longitude given.
31st March.—Moderate and cloudy. Head S. W.; windS. S&S. E.
Lat. observed 17° 05’; Long. 78° 07, East.
Abridged Log of the American Ship Loo Cuoo, Captain Harcu,
Jrom Canton to New York—reduced to Civil time.
28th March.—Noon to midnight running to the W. b. S. 2 S. 993
miles, with the wind E.S. E. brisk trade and squally ; position at noon
not given. :
29th March.—a.™m. to noon the same course, 10624 miles. No
position given ; Pp. mM. to midnight the same course, 108 miles. Breeze.
increasing and sail reduced ; midnight closereefing, blowing very hard
in squalls.
30th March.—At 3 a.m. “gale suddenly increasing,” hove too ;
head 8.8. E., wind therefore about E. b. N. at 6 a. m. and to noon the
course (ship’s head) is marked as ‘‘ South off to North.” Ship hove
too with only a tarpaulin in the mizen rigging ; daylight “increasing
and veering to the Southward.” By noon had lost maintopmast, boats,
&e. Lat. 18° 00/S8.; Long. 77° 33’ Kast by Acct. 1 Pp. Mm. cut away
the mainmast. Wind marked as “ about South,’ and from 1] to 4 as
“Sonth to West,” and “ship lying West to North.’ At 4 the wind
abated a little. At 5 quite moderate and set the foresail. At 8 Pp. M.
wore, and at midnight fine, being in Lat. 17° 38’; Long. 76° 00’.
31st March.—Noon, Lat. 18° 04’; Long. 76° 00! E.
Ga
b
SD |
1848. | Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms.
SUMMARY.
As there are evidently the records of two or three separate storms in
the foregoing documents, I shall begin, in explaining the reasons for
the tracks assigned to them, with that which is first in order of date,
as well as to the Northward on the Chart, which is the Orient’s
hurricane. This ship was evidently gradually approaching a zone of
threatening weather from the 24th of March, or rather from the p. m. of
the 23rd. On the 25th the Barometer had been and continued steadi-
ly falling, and by 8 p.m. on this day she had “a gale’’ from the E. }
S., and hove to on the port tack. Simpiesometer falling from 29.40
at 4 p. m. to 29.20 at midnight; the Barometer from 29.50 to
29.35. ‘Thick weather to the Eastward” is also noted. There is no
doubt then that by this time she was involved in the vortex of which
the centre bore about N. by W. from her at midnight. By the rule
given at page 199 of my new work, the Sazlor’s Horn Book, the fall
of the Simpiesometer being taken as the average one,* of about -025 per
hour, the distance of the centre from her between 8 p. Mm. and midnight,
or say at 10 p. m. may have been about 200 miles, which would place
it in about Lat. 8° 30’ S., Long. 77° 18’ E., and it was either travelling
down much faster than it did on the following days, or this distance is
too much ; but in either case the rule holds good, because the seaman
should never allow less than 10 or 12 miles per hour. If we suppose
the track somewhat curved the distance is 215 miles to the position of
the centre at Noon on the 26th, which for the 14 hours from 10 Pp. m.
to Noon is 154 miles per hour. Hence if the distance was too much
the rate of travelling assigned in usual cases corrects it sufficiently for
all praetical purposes.
From this hour, 10 p. m. we find the wind gradually veering, first as
far as to the Northward of E. by N. as N. E. by K. fora couple of
hours, then again to the Hastward, and gradually round to South at
noon on the 26th. Thisis while the ship was making an average
drift to the S. W. by W. and W.S. W., and would indicate a slight
veering of the track (or a somewhat eccentric direction of the wind :)
but it is clear that it passed close to the Eastward of the Orient, and
very rapidly, by the veering from Kast at 10 p. mM. to South at noon, or
* Because the Barometer tide was for this time, 4 rp. m.to 10 Pr. mM. against the fall ;
i, €. It was the time of the rise.
4g82
526 Siateenth Memorr on the Law of Storms. [JUNE,
eight points of the wind-circle in the fourteen hours, and of these 7
points, or from KE. b. S. at 8 a. m. to South at Noon, are marked in the
last 4 hours of this interval; the Bar. is also marked at this time at
28.95. If the storm was really formed and coming down, as we have
now supposed, its rate of progression at this time was 154 miles per
hour, which is not excessive, and the “‘ terrific gusts threatening to dis-
mast the vessel’’ “* with the sea running tremendously in every direction,”
are exactly the weather and sea to be now looked for. We find that
in the interval from Noon to 2 p. mM. the wind was W.S. W. to W.
b. N., at 6 W. N. W.; and at 9 N. N. W. to midnight, the Barometer
being “inclined to rise; at 4 p.m.and at 6 it is marked 29.30.
The wind continues up to midnight at N. N. W. From this it would
seem that the vessel from being close upon the centre* which passed
close astern (to the Eastward) of her, at noon was drifted rapidly into and
round the Northern semicircle, and had the centre by 9 p. Mm. bearing W.
S. W. of her position, the wind being then steady about N. W. to mid-
night. She may possibly have been carried now to the Southward by
the storm-wave, as she might have been before to the Northward, by
the same cause, being so close upon the centre. The track, as I have
before explained, is marked in a straight line, but it does not follow that
it really was one. The storm does not appear on this day to have
reached the Grand Dusquesne, which vessel, at noon 26th, was at 280
miles from the Orient.
On the 27th March at midnight, we have the Orient at 1 a. mM. with
the wind still N. N. W., the Barometer and Simpiesometer rising a
little. At 5 a. M. it is said to be “moderating fast,” the Barometer
having risen one-tenth since midnight, and by 9 a. m. it had risen to
29.65, and the Simpiesometer to 29.55. The ship now bore up and ran
15’ to the 8. b. W. but by 11 a. w. Capt. Wales prudently hove to,
again, the Barometer having} fallen to 29.60, and Simpiesometer to
29.50, with very threatening weather and a high confused sea. At 6
p. M. the Barometer had not risen and the wind was still at North.
At 9 she bore up again with the wind still at North. I shall remark
presently on the peculiarity of the wind remaining so long at North
* The reader will recollect not only that the centre (or focus) is of course an imagi-
nary point or space, but moreover that itis probable that while many circular storms
have no central calm space, some have a very wide one. In time we shall no doubt be
able to class these varieties of hurricanes.
1848. | Stateenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 527
and N. N. W. as it did. From the best calculation I can make of the
Orient’s position at noon on the 27th, she was in Lat. 11° 31’ South ;
Long. 77° 00/ East, and the Grand Dusquesne was at this time 205
miles to the E. S. E. of her, with a gale commencing in the usual
way, with torrents of rain and wind, till noon, from N. E. to East,
showing that she was on the outer verge of a separate vortex.”
The Duncan also, at this time, Noon 27th, being 223 miles to the
8S. E.b. 8. of the Orient, was under double-reefs, with the wind at about
East. In the afternoon she was preparing for bad weather, being also
just on the verge of a vortex, which both ships soon after fell into, the
Duncan heaving to at 6 ep. M., and the Grand Dusquesne running down
onaS. W. and W. S. W. course to midnight, (when she hove or
broached to) so as to approach the centre rapidly, for she was obliged
to cut away her mainmast by 3 a.m. onthe 28th. I have thus placed the
centre of the Orient’s hurricane for this day in 11° 30/8. ; Long. 76°
30/ East, or 30 miles to the Westward of her position, extending the
circle to 150 miles in diameter only, as supposing another vortex forming
for the Duncan and Grand Dusquesne, to the Eastward, which by the
wind, must have been the case. We can say nothing of the Mariza
Somes’ position on this day, or rather of the supposed position of that
vessel according to the very imperfect log and newspaper accounts which
we have from her; and she had at this time the wind about West, so
that she was on the Northern edge of another vortex. Her very low
Barometer (which appears to have remained so from the previous bad
weather) is some evidence that it was affected by the Orzent and Grand
Dusquesne’s storms.}
For the 28th of March we find the Orient running and drifting down
with a gale (always from the North) 65 miles to the 8. 8S. W. of
her position on the 27th; and as the wind was North at noon the
centre of her storm must either have moved down parallel to her track or
* This ship unfortunately had no Barometer, at least none is noticed, and _ this is the
more to be regretted that she probably from her position felt the effects of both storms.
+ The only instance in which I have been able to obtain a good Barometer note
when contemporaneous and closely parallel storms were undoubtedly raging, is that of
the ship Eliza, Capt. McCarthy, IX. Memoir, Jour. As. Soc. Vol. XII. p.—in which
a sudden fall of an inch took place, both storms travelling with considerable rapidity.
In the case before us the storms were nearly stationary, that is moving very slowly, as
we shall see.
528 Stateenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. [JuNE,
slowly away to the S. W. or S. S. W., so as to keep her always on about
the same bearing from its centre. ‘The Duncan, which ship had been
lying too from 6 p.m. of the 27th, was on this day at noon in Lat.
14° 11’; Long. 78° 16/, her position being tolerably well ascertained,
lying too in a heavy gale with the wind at KE. N. E., making the centre
to bear N. N. W. from her, a bearing which would place it nearly 40
miles to the Hastward of the Orient’s position ; for that ship was now
lying too with a Northerly gale, and thus must have had the centre to
the Westward of her. It follows therefore that the Duncan’s hurri-
cane and that of the Orient could not have been the same storm. The
Grand Dusquesne, which vessel was dismasted at 3 A. M., had the wind
at N. N. E., and the two ships were at this time 52 miles apart. These
winds and the positions of the ships would place the centre of their hur-
ricane in Lat. 13° 00/S.; Long. 77° 43’ E., but I have marked it in
Lat. 13° 12’; Long. 77° 49’ E., or 21 miles to the 8. E. of this spot,
both to allow of striking the circle of the Orient’s storm, and because
the exact position of the Grand Dusquesne, as shown precedingly is very
uncertain. The Orient was also probably farther to the Westward than
she appears on the chart, which would allow the two storms (for there
undoubtedly were two, since the Duncan’s position is so carefuly given
and the Dusquesne passed so close to the centre but a few hours before)
more space for their development. Supposing them at a reasonable
distance, we can now understand very clearly by looking at the Orient’s
track how it was she found “the weather growing worse every mile
she made to the Southward,” when she attempted to bear up after
this time to midnight.
The Maria Somes on this day, the 28th, was probably during the
whole of it close to the centre of her hurricane, which was ‘‘ veering from
N. W. to North and back to West,’ which is an instance of what I
have advanced in another work, and in a former Memoir, the XIII.
Journal, Vol.—of the incurving of the winds.* And it must have been
of small extent, as it did not reach the Duncan, which ship, it will be
recollected, was on the Southern quadrant of her storm ; yet the two, if
* For if we place in imagination a vessel on a storm card with the wind at West, any
incurving must make it, in the Southern hemisphere, N. Westerly and gradually North-
erly, by which time she will be drifted (and the storm have moved down) so as to
bring it again to Westif it is moving to the Southward as this was.
1848. | Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 529
we have laid down the Maria Somes’ position at all correct, were not
more then 90 miles apart! I have thus given the Maria Somes a storm
circle of 120 miles in diameter only for this day, marking a small incurv-
ing vortex at the centre.
We have thus the remarkable fact ascertained of THREE separate hur-
ricanes raging together at the same time, of which two certainly were
of excessive, and one of them of terrific violence, since it dismasted and
nearly destroyed the Maria Somes and dismasted the Loo Choo on
the following day, and this too occurs within a space of five or six
square degrees, the centres of the two most distinct ones not being 4
degrees apart, and all this occurs in the fatal Storm Tract* to which I
have so frequently referred and so urgently warned the mariners of our
Eastern seas against.
For the 29th of March, we have now the Orient, which ship in the
latter part of the 28th had run 86/ to the Southward, lying too at noon
with the wind still at North, so that the centre of her storm must have
been bearing West of her position, which however must be on this day
considered as very uncertain, but there is no sort of doubt that it was
travelling down with her somewhat as shown in our chart. The Duncan
and Grand Dusquesne, 78 miles apart, had, the first with the wind about
N. b. W., her “gale continuing without abatement,” the second with
her storm abating rapidly and the wind about N. N. E. This last wind,
as will be seen by the chart does not agree with the Duncan’s storm as
before, but rather appears (supposing always positions to be tolerably
correct, though in truth they are, after a continuance of such weather
but approximations) as if the Dusquesne’s storm had disappeared, since
it was getting fine at noon, or had fallen into the Orient’s storm circle,
leaving a smaller one for the Duncan. We may suppose it possible that
the fearful whirlwind seen by the Duncan, at five a. m. was an effect of
this partial coalition between the storms.*
The Maria Somes on this day, 29th, cut away her mainmast, and
seems during the most of the day to have had the hurricane unabated
as to violence. Having no wind marked we can only place the centre
near to her supposed position, and as the Loo Choo did not begin to feel
* 5° to 25S. and 75° to 105 East.
+ This coalition of storms has been distinctly and repeatedly observed in the case
of hail-storms. See Quarterly Journal of Science for 1829, pp. 214, 215. Count de Tristan
on the Progress of Storms.
530 Sixteenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. | JUNE,
the gale before midnight and had to cut away her mainmast on the 30th
at 1 p. m. close to, but to the West of the centre, we may say with
much probability that the two were the same storm, and that like the
Orient’s it was moving slowly down, to the South a little Easterly, with-
out increasing much if at all in size.
On the 30th March, we have the Oriené with the wind veering to
N. W. and moderating to noon, when it became fine, hence we conclude
that her storm had either broken up or moved away from her ; and I
have thus marked no circle for it on this day. The Dusquesne and
Duncan had also both fine weather on this day.
We have thus only the Loo Choo’s hurricane dismasting her with
the wind about South, and the Maria Somes with her part of it sub-
siding rapidly and the Barometer rising fast. Having also her Latitude
for this day and the Loo Choo’s position well determined we are enabled
to say with tolerable certainty that the diameter of the Maria Somes’
hurricane did not much exceed 120 miles, which is that which I have
assigned to it on this day, and it must either have been of small extent
or moving very rapidly,* for at 5 p. m. it was quite moderate with her.
The rates at which these different storms travelled appears to have
been as follows :—
Orient’s Hurricane
Sor the 24 hours. Per hour.
oonils tr 268,02 dma dort ee
26th to 27th Wes ners a 64 ales ee: 27
27th to:28th; 8. Wake 8. PBs 74 oR eae ee
28th to; 20th, Sob Wisk Ward. Oat 1. eee
Grand Dusquesne’s Hurricane.
27th toes. SS. Wh be 3 Ws 22) oe 5.0
2th to Deth; S. bo Wiad: Wow T0808 een ae 4.5
Maria Somes’ Hurricane.
26th to: 29 thx be, Wik We. 42) saan oo ee Qe
20th corS Othe Sew. Wes a eet MOON ARK eee ake 4.5
The mean track of the three storms is S. W. 4S. and their mean
rate of travelling excluding the first day of the Orient’s storm 3.9 miles
per hour.
or lifting wp which there is reason to suppose may be different
* Or contracting
5?
modes by which hurricanes terminate. Sailor’s Horn Book, p. 261.
+ Uneertain.
1848. | Siateenth Memoir on the Law of Storms. 531
At first sight these appear too capricious to be entitled to much
confidence, but we are fortunately able to corroborate them by our former
knowledge of this peculiarity of the hurricanes of this tract. It will
be seen by reference to the eleventh of these Memoirs, Journal, Vol.
XV. p. 69, that the hurricane of November 1843, in this same latitude,
and in from 82° to 88° East, and which has been traced by a sufficient
number of Logs to entitle us to consider its track and rates of travel-
ling as nearly correct, moved as follows :—
Hurricane of Nov. 1843.
Sor the 24 hours. Per hour.
Mma. Pees ORO, GO makes 2/8 crons ee ees
STO NUL ONS ei Lio rate ti Ss a eee
ee antto BH. TS. HSS. Be Laie. weil ier ile eet mB
EEL Oe Nene Eo IN NE AVN ak EES RUN aco abd)
STALEY apa 8d t's Soereralyo «fh DOA SE oe Cg a Oe RO? see
Evidently showing that tendency in all the storms in this dangerous
locality which Colonel Reid so sagaciously conjectured from a considera-
tion of the Albion's hurricane of 1809.
‘¢ Not to be moving onward with the regular progression of those which have been
traced on the charts, but more to resemble the commencement of a whirlwind floating
with an irregular motion, as waterspouts do in calm weather.”
I have slightly altered this quotation from Col. Reid’s Law of Storms
2d Edition, p. 241. It will be recollected that the <Albion’s was a
hurricane of terrific violence, in which three East Indiamen, out of a fleet
of nine, foundered. Did they meet with a whirlwind like the Duncan’s ?
Be this as it may, the singular occurrence of ¢hree hurricanes toge-
her within so confined a space, and the danger of one storm so heightened
by the awful phenomenon above alluded to,* shows clearly that our
cautions for the last seven years to mariners in crossing this tract are by
no means superfluous. It was however so far providential that they did
occur at the same time that, for the Maria Somes, Loo Choo and Grand
Dusquesne, it might have been destruction to have fallen in with a second
* The position of which I have marked on the Duncan’s track, close to Noon of the
29th. It may have been the joint effect of the Maria Somes’ hurricane which was the
nearest, and that of the Duncan’s, and this whether an electrical or dynamical pheno-
menon. Mr. Redfield in his recent memoir on the Cuba Hurricane of 1846 p. 94
mentions an instance of a local tornado of resistless violence occurring in the midst of it,
and he states that in America and the West Indies they are not unfrequent.
4c
532 The Liquidamber tree of the Tenasserim Provinces. |JUNE,
hurricane, which they might have done if the storms had succeeded
each other at intervals of a day or two.
I should perhaps explain that I have not noticed in these remarks the
run of the Cove across the middle of the space which a day or two
afterwards was occupied by the hurricanes, because it is doubtful if
her gale at S. E. was any thing more than a stormy trade. It might
however have been the commencement of the “ dreadful weather,”
mentioned in the newspaper extract quoted at p. 523 as prevailing from
the 24th to the 31st, and as we frequently obtain in the course of time
additional documents I have thought it right to give this one asa
record.
MISCELLANEOUS.
The Inquidamber tree of the Tenasserim Provinces.—By the Rev. F.
Mason.
«Did you ever see in this country the tree which produces the
Balsam of Tolu?’’ a gentleman once asked the writer. ‘I never did,”
was the reply. ‘I have one in my compound,” he continued; but
unfortunately his compound was two hundred miles distant. Years
passed away and I found myself beneath this tree in flower, and soon
discovered that it was not Myrospermum toluiferum, but Liquidamber
altingia ; and that it produced not Balsam of Tolu, but liquid Storax.
The tree is indigenous on the coast, and in some sections is quite
abundant. A considerable stream in the Province of Mergui derives
its name from this tree, in consequence of its growing so thick on its
banks. It seems to have escaped the notice of Dr. Helfer, for, if I
recollect right, it is not once alluded to im any of his reports, nor has
it ever been brought to notice by any one; if we except a Catholic
Priest, a resident of Rangoon, who has introduced it in a little Bur-
mese medical treatise that was lithographed a few years ago by Col.
Burney, who took a lithographic press with him into Burmah.
The Padre seems however to have been ignorant of Botany, for he
describes it as the tree which produces the Balsam of Peru (Myros-
permum Peruiferum) and which belongs to a different natural family.
The medicinal properties of their exudations too, are materially differ-
ent. Liquid storax, the production of this tree, is described by Lind-
ley merely as “A stimulating expectorant substance—influencing the
1848. | The Neutral Point of Barometers. 533
mucus membranes, especially that which lines the air passages.’ The
writer of the Burmese medical treatise recommends the exude of the
tree for the usual purposes to which the Balsam of Peru is applied,
under the delusion that it is the same substance!
Here is a fine illustration of the fallacies of medicine. It is proba-
ble that this substance has been used in all the various cases many
times by the author, and quite as much good done, and as wonderful
cures effected, as if he had used the veritable Balsam of Peru. And
the same glorious effects are still being produced, for the book is in the
hands of many natives and is highly valued, but no part more so than
this, because it points them to a production of the country, while most
of the medicines mentioned are foreign productions.
It seems to me that our liquid storax might be made an article of
commerce, but I know not how it sells in the market.
The tree is called by the Burmans ppoogod Nan-ta-rouk.
Note on a method of determining the Neutral Point of Barometers
having small circular cisterns.—By Capt. J. C. Hannyneton,
24th B. N. I, Assistant Commissioner, Chota Nagpore.
1. For any barometer having a circular cistern of small diameter, let
h be the approximate height of the column of mercury, + the ratio
of the capacities of the tube and cistern, P the neutral point, and H
the true height, then,
ye (ed)
2. When two or more barometers are compared together side by
side, the vacuum in each being equally perfect, it is for practical pur-
poses assumed that after applying the small corrections for capillary
repulsion, and difference of temperature, the actual heights of the
several columns are equal.
3. Therefore if P, the neutral point of the instrument from which
A is derived, and of which 5 is the ratio of the capacities, be un-
known ; H may be obtained by simultaneous observations with another
barometer, and this independent value of I may be put in the above
equation, which will still remain true.
4cz2
534 The Neutral Point of Barometers. [June,
4. Hence it will follow that,
Ist, When A is greater than H ; P=h+ (h—H) €;
2nd, When / is less than H, P=A—(H—A) c.
5. Both cases are included in the following rule.
Rule. Multiply the difference between the true height of the mercu-
rial column (ascertained by a correct barometer) and the approximate
height as found by the instrument of which the neutral point is sought,
by the reciprocal of the proper fraction expressing the ratio of the
capacities of the latter instrument ; the product being added to or sub-
tracted from the approximate height, according as that is greater or
less than the true height, will give the neutral point that was required.
Example. Barometer. Temp.
Standard Instrument, .......... 29.979 85
Barometer No.'36, .....:..7... 29:97 9]
Barometer No. 36 ahecevet Cela ios ee We Sara 29.970
COL TOST TET SNe eae a SG APU
Correction for +6°temp......... —.018 +0.011
Appromimmteheiohty. ee ae, eel 29.981
Trie hemiletby ‘Standard, 20.2.) Ue 29.979
Difference 0.002
No. 36, Capacities J, ; Reciprocal,.......... 48
Product 0.096
Approximate height, 29.981
Neutral point Ol INO. Ds... 2.8. 0s» cmases ois 210 © 30.077
6. The Neutral point of No. 36, as marked by the maker, is 30.075.
The result here shown is a proof of the correctness of both the instru-
ments used. The standard is that in the Surveyor General’s office ;
No. 36 is a portable barometer by Newman, belonging to Colonel
Ouseley.
7. As the Neutral point of portable barometers is liable to material
alteration by the accidental escape of a small portion of mercury from
the cistern, the above simple rule may be found useful, either for
verification or discovery.
1848. | Proposed Archeological Investigation. 535
Proposed Archeological Investigation.
The discovery and publication of all the existing remains of archi-
tecture and sculpture, with coins and inscriptions, would throw more
light on the ancient history of India, both public and domestic, than
the printing of all the rubbish contained in the 18 Puranas.
The fact that Buddhism continued to flourish throughout India for
many centuries, is to be ascertained from monuments almost alone.
Buildings, coins, and inscriptions all point to Buddhistical ascendancy
until the attacks of the Musalméns under Mahomed Ghaznavi. In
corroboration of this view we have the direct testimony of several
Chinese pilgrims and the explicit statements of the Kashmerian History.
But in none of the Hindu books is there any allusion to Buddhism.
The institutes of Menu, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the fabu-
lous Puranas are all silent regarding Buddhism, as if that religion had
never flourished in India. The publication of all the existing remains
of Buddhism in the shape of architecture, sculpture, coins and inscrip-
tions would I conceive be equally valuable for the illustration of the
history of India, both religious and political, with the printing of the
Vedas and Puranas. It isa duty which the Government owe to the
country. The remains of architecture and sculpture are daily deterio-
rating, and inscriptions are broken or defaced ; the sooner therefore that
steps are taken for their preservation, the more numerous and conse-
quently the more valuable these remains will be.
As Pliny in his Eastern Geography follows the route of Alexander,
so an enquirer into Indian archzeology, should tread in the footsteps of
the Chinese pilgrims Hwan Thsang and Fa hian. Guided by them he
would visit Thanesar and Delhi—Behat and Sadhora, Mathura and
Samkassa, Kanoj and Ajudhya, Kapila and Kusinagara, Kasi and
Pataliputra, Gaya and Rajagriha. All these places were esteemed holy
by the Buddhists, and possessed topes built over relics of Sakya or of
other Buddhas. But there are other places in Central India that
should be carefully examined, of which Kasurata, the capital of the
ancient kingdom of Chichavati, together with Kalinjar, which is men-
tioned in the Vedas, and Ujain the Ozéne of the Greeks, are the prin-
cipal. The whole of Malwa, however, is full of ruins, both Brahmanical
and Buddhistical. In fact Hwan Thsang remarks that there were two
536 Extract of a letter from Capt. Kittoe. [Junr,
districts in India famous for religion—Magadha in the N. E. and
Malwa in the S. W.
To conduct these researches in the most efficient manner would require
the services of at least two persons, one of whom should be a good drafts-
man. But the one to whose judgment the selection of objects for
preservation is to be confided should have a knowledge of the ancient
history of India. He should be conversant with the sculptured forms
and religious practices of the present day, and with the discoveries made
by Prinsep and others in Indian Paleography and Numismatology ;
without such a head to guide the selection of objects worthy of preser-
vation the labor of the most perfect draftsman would be thrown away.
A. CUNNINGHAM.
Extract of a letter from Capt. KitTor.
*‘ As the month is drawing to a close I may as well give you a brief
sketch of my doings since my last, which I have given extracts of in
the March No. of the Journal.
My last left me at Nawada about to visit Behar, &c. &c. I first
went to Giriyek, and on my way visited the hot springs called Agni-
dhara, There are four springs, all very weak ; the temperature in one
was 125°. There is only one cistern here, much neglected ; there have
been temples in former times of which traces remain, also of many
buildings. I next went to Buddha’s cave, called Gadadwar, or as I
explained it in my notes on Fa Hian’s route, “ Gridha Dwara.” I
examined both caves thoroughly except that I could not get to the end
of the passage, which is insufferably hot and stinking from the bats ;
there have been several cavities originally made use of by ascetics.
They are natural curiosities which have perhaps been slightly enlarged
by picking out loose fragments. I am satisfied of this, as there are no
tool marks which in a bad light I had imagined I saw last year. The
rock is too hard to allow of it.
I could have wished to have been able to devote more time to Giriyek,
but the exertion of climbing these barren rocks at this season of the
year is too great to be repeated. I climbed the hill, to the tower called
Jarasandha’s ; it is decidedly a chaitya, to the south of which, on the
1848. | Extract of a letter from Capt. Kittoe. 537
highest peak, has been one much larger, and no doubt that called by
Fa Hian “ the throne of the Buddhas,’”’ I am now able to explain why
the thousands of “ grottos” are not to be found; “ grotto” (grotte) is
the proper definition for the residences of the Rishis, not “caves ;”
the whole eastern face of the hill and in other spots, there have appa-
rently been numerous little chambers of brick and of stone from the
water’s edge to the top, not one of which is now entire ; there have been
bowers and larger buildings also.
From Giriyek I went to the Jain fane, called Pawa-puri and Pokar-
puri; I am satisfied that this is a very modern work, not earlier than
the reign of Shah Jehan; an inscription indeed tells you as much. The
village of Pawa is 2 miles north; it has no mark of great antiquity ; it
was here Mahavir, the 24th Jain Tirhankar, was born.
From Pawa Puri I went eastward to the village called Gusserawa,
where there are many idols, some extensive mounds (sites of temples)
and several tanks. The idols belong to the later period of Buddhism.
Here I was fortunate enough to get possession of a beautifully cut
inscription which has lately been dug out of the mound; I purchased
it for three rupees, and after taking correct fac similes in triplicate, I
had it fixed into the outer wall of a modern temple ina niche. The
inscription records the adoption, by a young bréhmin, of the Buddhist
faith, and his subsequent admission to great honors as a holy personage.
The name of Deva Pala as ruling prince occurs ; he would seem to have
been a Buddhist; this must be Deva Pala of the Bengal kings, who
it would seem were rulers of the whole country. The name of Kaniska
also occurs, as founder of a Vihara (in the north) ; this Kaniska was the
third Tartar prince of that name ruling in Cashmere, who, we are told
in the Raja Taringini, restored Buddhism (see Prinsep’s Useful Tables).
Dr. Ballantyne, Principal of the Benares College, has prepared a careful
and elegant translation, which, with a transcript of the original Sanskrit,
I send with this letter. The character is an early type of the Goura
or Kutila, and very distinct. The inscription is worthy of patient
investigation, for there are several doubtful passages, and the pundits
are by no means unanimous in their reading.
From Guserawa I went to Uphsur, the spot I paid a hurried visit
to last year. I put a number of workmen to clear the earth and
rubbish in which the great image of Varaha was buried ; I was well
538 Extract of a letter from Capt. Kittoe. [| JUNE,
repaid for the expense and labour, for a more curious and interesting
piece of sculpture could not well be found. The figure of the goddess
Prithee is a fine specimen of art; the group represents Vishnu as the
Sweta Vardaha, with the holy men escaping the deluge in his bristles, and
Prithee raised on his tusk ; Schesa appears on his right, half man half
snake. On the hog’s back is a rock on which is a Schesnég and remains
of figures, apparently Maha Deva and Parvati. On the tip of the
tongue Buddha is seated. The figure is about nine feet high and as
many in length; the stone is a compact sandstone, the same as that of
the Asoka pillars, and is one single block ; I have taken drawings and
made a careful copy of the inscription which had received furthur injury
since I saw it last year, and have brought it away to re-examine it, and
to restore as much as possible before having it fixed in a pedestal near
the Varaha. This inscription is extremely curious, and had it not been
for the centre portion being ground out by the sharpening of tools, it
would have proved the most useful and interesting relic next to the
Asoka inscriptions that we have ever become possessed of ; as far as I
have transcribed it, the pundit has explaimed the meaning; there are
six princes named of the Gupta Dynasty, mostly names new to us and
two are to be found in the Raja Taringini. Hushka Deva is one: the
writer of the inscription records his having met in battle a large army
of Huns whom he defeated, and here the inscription is defaced ;
allusion is made to the great tank which still exists at the N. KE. corner
of the village ; the Varéha is not mentioned. It was very near this place
that the coins which were lately sent to the Society from Monghyr were
found. Leaving (Uphsah) and about one mile to the north washed
on its western face by the Sikri river, is an isolated rock about 3 of a
mile in circumference, or less; on this have been fortifications and
several large chaityas, of which there are clear traces ; there are several
mutilated figures of Buddha of colossal dimensions ; there is a small
village under the north face; I could glean no tradition concerning
this curious place. From hence I proceeded to Tettarawa, where there
have been many chaityas and viharas in former times, but of the later
periods of Buddhism. There are a great many images scattered about
in all directions, one in particular of Buddha, on the site of a chaitya
beside a large tank, is of gigantic size and finely executed ; a terrace has
lately been built under it and behind it; it is worshipped as Bhairab. -
1848. | Extracts of a letter from Capt. Kittoe. 539
I found the people excavating, for bricks they said, but I believe, in
search of treasure, or of metal idols. I descended into one excavation
and removed a huge block of stone in which there were niches which
had evidently contained relics embedded in some ruinous substance that
had been partly charred by the fire, which had evidently destroyed the
building, for upon removing the stone which was much split I found
a chamber filled with ashes, and burnt bones, and I was told that every
place exhibited the same marks of destruction. From this village I
proceeded to Behar, where I passed several days. ‘The Mahomedans
have destroyed every thing, even the stone pillar on which there are
inscriptions in the Gupta, as well as Chinese looking characters. These
I copied, and the former have been made out as satisfactorily as their
mutilated condition will admit of ; one is nearly verbatim the same as
that of the Bhitari pillar, translated by Prinsep ; the other appears
to relate to the victory of Chandra Gupta over the Nandas, but it is
very imperfect. Surely these cannot be the same inscriptions sent by
Mr. Ravenshaw, and published by Mr. Torrens im the 9th volume, (I
think) of the Journal, with an alphabet? You will have an opportunity
of comparing notes when my official report and journal is submitted
to government. I visited “the little hill’ of Fa Hian; on this are
numerous tombs of Mussulmans and the massive Mausoleum of Mulik
ben Ibraheem, who flourished durmg the reign of the first Feroz
Affghan of Dehli; these tombs are all constructed on the sites of
Buddhist buildings no doubt, and with their materials. The citadel
of Behar is evidently an unfinished Mahomedan structure and decidedly
not Hindu, as conjectured by Buchanan and asserted by the people; the
place has been nothing more than what the name implies, viz. a Vihara,
or perhaps many Viharas and Chaityas. There are a few very beauti-
ful fragments here and there. From Behar I went to Bargaon ; this
must have been a famous place, and I consider it to be the “ Na lo” of
Fa Hian; there are some splendid tanks some half a mile or more
iu length ; there are mounds innumerable and broken idols also, they
are all of the later times ; some are half Vishnuvite half Buddhist, some
are Surrowuc Jain, and some of the Naga type. There are linga and
several figures of Durga slaying Mohesh ; there is a Jain temple in the
village in the same state as those at Pawa Puri, it is to the south of
the tanks that there are the greatest masses of ruins ; there appears to
4D
540 Exutract of a letter from Capt. Kittoe. [JuNE,
have been five large towers or temples, one or more of the mounds
should be excavated. They appear to have had chambers vaulted in
avery clever though primitive manner, which is termed “ Vang,” 4a,
in the Gussurawa inscription. The bricks are overlapped like an
inverted staircase till they meet at a point in the centre.
I observed a chamber that had been lately excavated, from which
ashes, charcoal and bones were cleared in large quantities again, showing
the place had been destroyed by fire; weapons are occasionally found
among the ashes.
From Bargaon I went to Raja Griha; I found nothing new there
except the remains of an ancient temple to Maha Deva on the crest
of one of the hills, called Abhaigiri ; I saw remains of small towers on
this hill, but the Jams have appropriated every site and built very
indifferent temples on them, I took a bird’s eye sketch of the town
of Raja Griha; the tower at the western gate has evidently been pur-
posely destroyed and excavated so that to renew the operation would
be fruitless. I heard of the ruins of a temple some miles off in one
of the recesses of the hills, but the heat prevented my visiting it because
I could not go by night through the thick thorny jungle’; it is said to
have been a brick building. 1 had been daily suffering from exposure
and was too unwell to prolong my tour, so I returned to Gaya, and after
fruitless attempts to get the Gayawals to allow me to copy those inscrip-
tions that yet remained to be done, I broke up my camp, first of all
arranging for the despatch of my collection of sculptures.
The day before leaving Gaya I went to Buddha Gaya to return the visit
paid me by my friend the Mohunt ; I here saw the inscribed slab which
is used as a door site ; it is uninjured and the Mohunt has promised to
remove it and send it to me; itis Buddhist and of a later date than that
of Gassurawa. I returned to Benares by dwak, and thus ended my
first oficial tour as Archeologist for 1848. My next must be to
Gorakpur and thence to Patna to explore the many sites of cities in
that direction.
I have now given you a tolerable idea of my doings ; for more minute
particulars you must wait for my official report and drawings.
1848. | Hindi and Urdu Hindi Tazkiras. 04]
Mindi and Urdi: Hindi Tazkiras.*
Letter from F. Edward Hall, Esq. to the Senior Secretary, Asiatic Society of
Bengal.
Among various works to which I have frequently been desirous of
referring, in connection with my Oriental studies, but which I have
found our library to be meagrely supplied with, I may mention, in par-
ticular, Tazkiras of the Persian, Hindi, and Urdi Hindi poets. These
Tazkiras contain biographical notices,—of poets especially,—and selec-
tions from their writings. At present I wish to call your attention to
those Tazkiras only which have reference to authors that have written
in Hindi and Urdt Hindi. The number of works of this description that
exists, has not yet been ascertained. M. de Tassy had been able to procure
but seven, when he published the first volume of his invaluable ‘* His-
toire de la littérature hindoui et hindoustani,” in 1839. In his preface
he gives the names of two more that had reached Europe, but which
he had not been able to avail himself of. These were in the collection
of the late Sir William Ouseley. Several others are mentioned in the
body of his work. His “ Additions” will probably furnish the names of
some which I am as yet unacquainted with. In an interesting paper
in the January number of the “ Nouveau Journal Asiatique’’ for 1843,
M. de Tassy gives some account of the Majma-u-lintikhab of Shah
Muhammad Kamal, the most voluminous and complete work of its
kind that had until then appeared. Capt. Newbold enjoys the credit
of having sent the first copy of this work to Europe, and perhaps of
being the first Kuropean aware of its existence. It was written in 1804-5.
Kamal was engaged about twenty years in collecting materials for it,
and two more in arranging them. From this compilation the curious
discoveries have been made, not only that Sadi wrote in Rekhta, but
that a fragment from his pen is the oldest specimen of Urda Hindi
composition extant. Kamil even goes so far as to call Sadi the caventor
of the Rekhta language (aisty wh do 5%). The authority which the
compiler of the Majma-u-lintikhab adduces for these statements, is the
poet Qaim, who died about fifty-five years ago.
* For a resolution passed with reference to this communication, see the Proceedings of
the Society for April last.
fe 5 ip
542 Hindi and Urdu Hindi Tazkiras. [JuNE,
The subjoined list comprises the names of all the Tazkiras of Hindi
and Urdi Hindi writers, that I have anywhere seen mentioned. Nos. 4,
22, and 23 are Anthologies. Works of this description are often useful
in verifying extracts found in Tazkiras. A small portion only of the
first Anthology just referred to, is devoted to the poetry of the vernacular
language of Hindiistén; and the same may be said of the Tazkira of
Abi Talib. These small portions are, however, valuable.
Iam unable at present to say whether No. 11 is a Persian, or a Hindi
Urdu Tazkira, or a compound of both; and I am in the same doubt with
regard to several others whose names I have not given. A number of
these, there are strong reasons to suppose, treat, in good part, of writers”
of the vulgar tongue.
If encouragement be offered to my present project with reference to
Hindi and Urdi Hindi Tazkiras, I may on some future occasion prepare
alist of Tazkiras containing memoirs of natives of India that have
written in Persian. Nearly all of the Urdd Hindi authors of celebrity,
and very many of inferior rank, have written more or less in the lan-
guage of Hafiz and Firdausi. Works of the class just mentioned must,
consequently, in so far as they treat of Indian writers, possess almost
equal importance with Hindi and Urdé Hindi Tazkiras, strictly so called.
Biographies of this description are very numerous. A formidable list
might be culled from Mr. Bland’s searching article on the lives of the
Persian poets, published last year in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society.
1. Tazkira-i Shuaré-e Hindi, by Ghulam-i Hamdéni Mushafi.
2. Tazkira-i Shuara-e Hindi, by Fath Ali Khan Husaini Gurdaizi.*
- Gulzar-i Ibrahim, by Nawwab Ali Ibrahim Khan.
. Guldasta-i Nashat, by Manni Lal Lahori.
» Diwan-i Jahan, by Beni Narayan} Jahan Lahori.
» Nikat-u-shshuara, by Mir Muhammad Taqi.
- Gulshan-i Hind, by Mirza Ali Lutf.
NO GO BH
* In the older of the two MSS. of this Tazkira that once belonged to the library of
the College of Fort William, which is now in my possession, I find O39 95 or S3y 98
instead of bsg 7S. But I find no such place on the maps.
+ This is the orthography which this writer uses in his Chahar Gulshan, in preference
to the vulgar corruption, Narayan,
1848. | Hindt and Urdi Hindi Tazkiras, 543
8. Majma-u-lintikhab, by Shah Muhammad Kamil.
9. Gulshan-i Be-khar, by Nawwab Mustafa Khan Bahadur Shefta.
10. Khulasat-u-lafkar, by Mirza Abu Talib Khan.
11. Tazkira-i Shuard-e Jahangir Shahi.
12. Tazkira, by Maulavi Qudrat-u-llah.
13, Tazkira, by Miyan Muhammad Qaim.
14, Tazkira, by Mir Muhammad Ali Tarmazi.
15. Tazkira, by Ghulam-i Husain Shorish.
16. Tazkira, by Mir Ghulam-i Hasan.
17. Tazkira, by Mir Fakhr-u-ddin.
18. Tazkira, by Abd-l-Hasan.
19. Tazkira, by Mirza Jawin Bakht Jahandér Shah.
20. Tazkira, by Imam Bakhsh Khan.
21. Tabkat-i Shuard-e Hind, by Maulavi Karim-u-ddin.
22. Guldasta-i Nazninan, by the same.
23. Intikhab-i Dawawin, by Maulavi Imam Bakhsh Sahbai.*
Of these works we have the first five only in our library. Five of
the twenty-three have been printed, Nos. 4, 9, 21, 22, and 23,—the first
in this city, and the rest at Dihli.
The importance of securing as many of these works as possible,
without delay, must be obvious to all that are aware of the growing
indifference of Musalmans to perpetuate manuscript writings of other
than the very highest importance. Large additions might without
doubt be made to M. de Tassy’s biographical memoirs, from materials
which it is in the power of this Society to collect at a trifling expense.
If the Society should see fit to listen favourably to a proposition to
this effect, I would cheerfully do everything in my power towards pro-
moting it, by making the requisite investigations. The expense of
copying those works of the list above given, which are not in the
library, and which there is any ground for expecting to find at present,
would not probably exceed two hundred ripis, and might fall much
short of that amount.
* This author has, I believe, compiled a Tazkira, in addition to the Anthology above
mentioned.
It is a curious fact that No. 21 is little more than a translation of the Ist vol. of
M. de Tassy’s ‘‘ Histoire.’ I have not yet had time fully to ascertain its merits.
For information with regard to the last three works of my list, 1 am indebted to the
ready kindness of F. Taylor, Esq., Officiating Principal of the Dihli College.
S44 Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas. [Junz,
Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas.
Extract of a letter from B. H. Hodgson, Esq. to Capt. Cunningham, Tibet
Mission.
I have now the pleasure to send you the specimen of the Khas lan-
guage of the eastern Sub-Himalayas, from the Kali to the Tishta. It
is, you see, a strangely mongrel tongue in these parts, and I suspect
it is not less, but more, so in the western parts, or where you are,
There are nevertheless traces of a primitive speech, though the present
list of words,—a bad one, by the way—shows them ill. But it must be
confessed that (me judice) no summary vocabulary can exhibit an ade-
quate sample of any language whatever as to whose vocables there be
room for doubts looking to proximate tongues. I prefer therefore in
such investigations the ample style of research which my Essay on
the Kéch, Béd6 and Dhimal exhibits, and which I am preparing to send
you a copy of, so soon as I can get one duly corrected, for the errors
of the press are very many. But, though that be the true model, yet I
suspect it will prove too weighty for general adoption, and therefore I
am anxious that the more summary one sent you already, and which
has now been applied to some 40 tongues, should meet with favour
and be the means of enabling us to make a general comparison of all
the Aborigines from Cape Comorin to the snows. I have sent copies
to Newbold, Elliot of Madras, Jenkins of Assam, Ouseley, Sleeman,
your namesake of Bhopal, &c. &c. And I have already got a few and
am promised more fillings-up from the several aboriginal tongues with-
in reach of my numerous correspondents. I hope you will not be
behind hand but send me the Garhwali and upper Kanaveri, and any
other dialects of vour parts which are not of Sanscrit origin, whether
the people speaking them dwell towards the snows, like the Garhwilis,
or towards the plains, like the Tharts and Boksars, or midway, like the
Helots (Doms) of Kumaon. All and any such (which are clearly not
Prakrits, or of the Indo-Germanic stock) will be welcome to me. I have
now residing with me Doctor Hooker, an accomplished Botanist and
master also of all the other branches of science at all allied to, or cal-
culated to throw light on Botany. He will stay with me for the next
6 months. Weis much taken with my skeleton of the physical geo-
1848.] Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas. 545
graphy of Tibet and the Himélayan region, and he and I want you
and other friends in the Norwest, to let us know what you think of
this skeleton, and to help us to amend and fill it up before we com-
mence a serious project we have on the tapis, viz. disposing all the
plants and animals according to their territorial arrangement, and thus
demonstrating its utility and value. Here is the outline :—
Lengthwise division of the Sub-Himalayas into basins—
1. Alpine basin of the Indus.
Alpine basin of the Ganges.
Alpine basin of the Karnali.
Alpine basin of the Gandak.
Alpine basin of the Kési.
Alpine basin of the Tishta.
7. Alpine basin of the Dihong.
I suppose this series of basins to be formed by the pre-eminent snowy
peaks, and I have perfect proof that such is the fact in Nepal, where
Dhoulagiri, Gosainthan and Kanchan form most precise deltizers of
the very perfect deltic basins of that part of the mountains. I cannot
however so well find deltizing peaks W. and KE. of Nepal. I want you
to help me in that search, and also to say if you think practical utility
would be forwarded by additional basins? and if the physiognomy of
the western hills requires or sanctions a separation of the basins of the
Sutlege from the Indus, or of the Jamna from the Ganges? Remem-
ber however always that though it be interesting to show the cause of
the series of Sub-Himalayan basins, yet the series may be good though
the cause be bad. Therefore look for causative snowy peaks, but don’t
reject the deltic basins because you find them not, or not all of them,
ooh wt
or even some peaks that seem to conflict with the theory. Next we
have the transverse or breadthwise division of the Sub-Himilayas into
the following series, primarily triple, but in whole quinary, thus ;—
Breadthwise climatic division—
Miles.
Be eNemrcueri resign, OF Waelary tee... sess cs tua ns sees | OO
Central TemMane. Arak. eck eu a ae sce cae aa ese «5 OO
Subdivided into Lower
2 Higley s.3h4 «ear! el O ;
ee eLower recion; ...... seme dhl. ion, aes aan 30
A CO ey eae 3—10
546 Lthnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas. [Junx,
Bxtond,. §. PEEP U LOS HO Elevation.
1. 30 miles, } Crest of snows to {16 to 10,000 above sea.
2. 30 miles, verge of true< 10 to 3000 above sea.
3. 30 miles, plains. 3000 to 1000* above sea.
Subdivisions of 3, each 10 miles in extent.
Such is the scheme for giving a convenient nomenclature to the topo-
graphy of these mountains, based on their true physiognomy and climate.
A better judge of its apparent value could not be than Dr. Hooker, and
he feels as much confidence as I do, after much examination of maps
compared with the results of my personal knowledge, that the apparent
and the real values will prove, in this case, one. So that nomenclative
convenience will go hand in hand with a solid and considerable accession
to physical Geography.
And now my feeble state, the consequence of a severe attack of ill-
ness, warns me to pause for the present, though your very interesting
letter tempts me to dilate on some of the numerous topics thereof. I
can only say at present that I congratulate you on your discoveries.
Notse.—The Khas are undoubtedly one of the aboriginal tribes of
these mountains, however much the traces of their origin may be
obscured by intermixture with the Arian Hindus. And accordingly
we find the Khas, like the Kirantis, mentioned in the Purans and in
classical authors as barbarian tenants of the Sub-Himalayas. The
Khas, however, welcomed the Hindu immigrants into these moun-
tains at a very early period, and soon became so intermixed with the
Brahmanical and Kshatriya tribes (the genuine Arians) that all physi-
cal or lingual traces of their aboriginal lineage are now much weakened
or obliterated. And as they have become, since the predominance of the
Gorkhali dynasty in Nepal, the dominant race in a Hindu kingdom,
they are themselves very anxious that those few traces should remain
unnoticed, But no one practised in Ethnological researches can fail to
discern the aboriginal and Mongolian origin of the Khas in their forms
and faces: nor does their language, how much Prakritized soever want
some vestiges of that origin, though the following list of words is not
happy in the exhibition of them. All Khas gentlemen in Nepal parade
a Rajput origin, and it is no doubt true that by the father’s side very
* Assumed plain level. But it varies from 1200 to 250 between N. W. and S. E.
extremes. We must take the plain level and correct for it. The elevations, as limits,
of course refer to organic life in Zoology and Botany.
1848.| Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas.
947
mauy of them are descended from Brahmans or Kshatriyas of the
plains.
But their mixed lineage is undoubted, and it is therefore the
more remarkable that the rank and privileges of the 2d order of Hin-
duism have been conceded to them under a strict Hindu regime—a
striking proof that Brahmanism is not the unalterable institute which
some Europeans of note have represented it to be. Capt. C. supposes
he has discovered many traces of the aboriginal Khas in the Nor-west.
PRUVONW, os so doe es
Mai yic cle: o.0 5 0
Py aiccic we Bc oe
PROG gas scien e'se as
Brass, ..
MES. Sicislapin ae.
Brother,
eeeo0 0008
Palo, 20 s.04 4 s.0 4 Dhainsa,
CAME ccc sass 06
ae eats cats Ge ae
TG esc lne wee ao
CODPeT 0 vs os) os
Cotton, e20800e 00 ee
Re gavice ce ss Js 0
Damehter, .. i. 4000
ie ieeiea <n! 4 peas
WIG alec aes o06 oe
Ear, eceece ce ce ee
EN ee bin ae 64 0.0
Pilephams,, .< «.. «0-0
Eye, 000200 0808 oe
Father, :.....
| re
PPB o's) 5 scx 00. ce oe
LL Ce
eine nc web. ae
CC an
Prot, ...%
PEE aS. c sove.n «0,00
RPE ie noone 0,6 0's
ey he pace wc.cn,
EONN Gals Sia einen. aje.s «
Ba, slo 4 aes «
Head,
BENE, ais clr phic g cs
NOUMBE, csccclagae
MUEE, nc cc cclcone
WAMSDADG, 26 005 c0
ee
ee
ee
eeeeesen en ee
KHAS LANGUAGE.
Kand,
Chara, *H,
Rakat, Ss.
Diinga,
Pital, HH.
Ynth, H.
.-. Daji, elder, B.
H.
nth, H.
Biralé,
Mégh, Ss.
També, H.
Kapas, H.
ai, H,
Chori
Din, H.
Kiukar,
Kan, H.
Prithivi, Mati, S. H.
Hathi, Tf.
Ankha H.
Baba,
Agé, H.
Machha, H.
Phil, H.
Gora, HH.
Garh, H.
Phal,
Boka, (mas.)
Sin, H.
Ghas, H.
Raon,
Hath, ba
Tau, Tou, Tou ko,
Moho,
Ghora,
Ghar,
Poi,
Phalam,
H.
H.
Rajah, H.
Sis, H.
| S| ae
Light, 4...
Lightning,.....<¢..
Weis che reei'stalere oe
Miligyiais daicude aerete
MUGGD, Asis: ace) apevere
Motifer, .. «6 06 eee
Mountain,.. ..5. 0.
Mouth, J...:<%
Name, 4. cate
INieht, sf. steareerds
INGE). <:cha'cis oR STE 8
(0. Beene Larne
Ramen oe. eee
WEVED cd eas 5s
Roads) seas o's ad
DAR a sw eu te es
SHEEP selsay< 3
RIOR SP oiee, wie chs
DEVE is nlc ots
SU) ard ae
EV a sibewiee «<6
MOM | acres cates
Snake, .. 304.
SNOW .6 0 a< 5-6
SCI ea
Stone,
LS pe
Prunder, 0 30s
WAGE, escia vale eeee
MOOG S: a's Sra: ahe: whats
PORE, is cai ee Wace
Tree, .. ee we oe Coes
Tribe,
Witlave, i...
WVaiter;... 3.2 Pek
WEE 0.0 tnos e'e ate
1 og
WrOMaM,. eh. 8g
BV Omir A, ies ee
Wool,
* Nore.—H. postfixed indicates a Hindi or Urdu origin, S.
«
e
e
ee ee
e
e
e
Pat,
Joti,
Bajar,
Manis, Légnya,
Dido,
Chand, Jun,
Amma,
Danda,
o Miukh,
Naon,
Rati,
Naka,
Tél,
Barkha,
Khola,
Baté,
. Nun,
. Bhéra,
Panai,
. Chandi,
. Bahini, Didai,
Sarg,
.. Chéra,;
. Sap,
4
ntl
. Tara,
7 2
Dhinga,
. Straj,
Garan-giran,
Bag,
. Dant,
. Sahar, Pers.
Rukh,
Thar,
. Gaon,
Pani,
J 6i,
Batas,
. Swasni,
Kath,
Raon,
a Sanscrit one.
A. Se
548
Ethnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas.
North, eo eeeece ve Uttar,
South, e@eeeooeo eon ee
Fast,.. @eeeeseee
o
m
cr
~
e@oeoaoveoeoe @
@eeeeeee ee ee
m@eeeeeneeeosn ed
@saeeeev 02000268
@eeeovesoe ee ee e8
eeeeed
we oar eee
en eeee Ce ee ee
eeeoeaoeooee 2880
@eeoeeeee ee eo
2@epesese oe @ece
20. eeoen
eceoese oo 0@eane
@eeeoeeeoeoeees
@eeseeee ee eree
e @eeeeeeeaoeeede
ese@eeneao ee e008220@ 88
e .@ee 6866608 @e
e @egoeoecae ©8280
. @eeeeseeven0e2 6008
DGG s ccc e's oe sueteiee
After,
Bad, oe ee ee ec ee co
BELO E iors see ealetele
Beneath, «. acicces
WA, <siaicc 0s sionare
COA cick cide wiekats
Crooked,: cies s:seisw
MDG; on'els a = Getareiaic
Good,
EIgede: calosap\ sapsie
ELCHYIYs oe sche ieiaiehals
Here,..
High, e@oce es ee ee
RMIT y iin \clsialavee avelosste
Baree, ae «e aniaaieie
ENGEL, (oc. oc'snjoras
LONG, 0's jaisteeverieie’e«
DMB aV ig niareis Gialetelemets
INMGBV joe eo lie'ce
GL winca ae si lanitn
Quick, ste as
TRAWis is ees + o'clbiokela
BUG pons abi cial meine
WOH, owes «6
BPTI, S's cle bs cee
SSID pain laine prais wietos
Small, oe 08 08 06 ee
SHIOGEN, | .c.00e'a aisivle
DOL, ccc bie paaoiatin’
eoeeocen 02868
@eeon ee ee ee
Dakhin,
Parba, S.
H.
. Paschim,
Kk, 7)
Dwi,
Tin,
Char,
Panch,
Chah,
@eeeee ee ee ee Sat,
Ath,
Nou,
Das,
Egaro,
Barah,
Bis,
Tis,
Chalis,
Pachas,
Sai,
Hajar, J
Pahila,
Dasra, |
Tisra, +
Choutha, }
Dasén, J
Pachi, H.
Naniko, Ghin lagdo,
Aghi, H.
Tala, Muni,
Choura,
Chiso,
Bangé,
Sakyo,
Niko,
Saré,
Garang,
Ita,
Algo,
Tato,
Thilé,
Haling,
Lamo,
Naya,
Ailé,
Piran,
Chandohinya, Chit
Kaché,
Paké,
Khasro,
Dallo,
Dhilo,
Sanu,
Masino,f Chillo,
Kawala,
rn 7
Pers.
H.
a
H. By thee,
° What, ee C8 eos
Square, e000 8000 ce Char patya,
Straight, Sojo,
Sweet, eoee ©2880 60 Mitho,
esa eo eeed
THGNgh owe. cscs oes Lames
TREC, ac s'aies.0.6¢ (Ubae
S. MPHIC“) | ASA os Mote,
Dablé,
Bhijyo, Chisd,
Jailé,
Rato,
Pahelo,
Nild,
Haryo,
Kald,
pli eee te
IVEL, sciss sareecchr ce
When, ..
Red, eoeecct es 0008
WiellOW:, cic’ s'e aarete us
BUC i ae set'sse ie 6 eee
METE CTS p's 'eeleis te eters
Black, ee asce coos
White, .. cee... Shéto,
Right, ....045-cerDames
Diels oe c.es\0 op00ics MDGVES
9 80 0@ ee ce ee ecece Man,
Of me, ..eee.e0e+ Méra,
LOE): 00 «9:05 coueeih antares
MiG. awe ses op oe fla date
By Me, ‘x. .s0s0cee Mai Ié,
Wey. ooceccce.oece clam Hern,
Of us, «2000+. Hami héri ko,
To US, @@ee2eoe0802880 Hami* hért lai,
Us, 2. ccc ve cenculamnian,
BY (US, ccs cawicee Saami Ge,
THOU, «6;s »pernjae nee lO Lan
OF thee, _ s:0:cis 00 vet EDD,
To thee, ......-. Lon lai,
TREC, «ole. 6000's e.0e¥COMNIaD.
wiv wicspoleie LAE Lee
Ves ce ckise ow oc coud UN neRe.
Of you, coeeeseeee Limi héri ko,
To you,.......+.. Limi héré lai,
Yous se des + siejee es Lum heravial,
By you,..ccseeeee Limi héra lé,
He, ecco 10 cece ee
OPI, circ axsistereyete Uské,
To him... 0:00 os0a" Ui slal,
Ebony, 5 clever, =F -oyele he Ole,
By him,. 6.0.0.0 Usle,
THEY js. 00 oc se ene MNMerE,
Those, ...eeeee+- lini hérd,
Of them, ........- Uni héri ko,
To them, ........ Uni héra lai,
a) HOM, ~ 0.0 00 00 ie,00 1M NeEm Lal,
, By them, ........ Uni heérn le,
W LiOy se nies a:<60o'e cw UT, WO,
Of whom, ........ Jas ko,
To whom,........ Jas lai,
By whom, .....oee Jas lé,
o. Jya,
Of what, ....ees. Jyd ko,
To what, .....+e. Jya lai,
By what, ....ee08 Jya le,
* Pluralizing sign héré omissible.
4 Corruption of Mahim.
[ JUNE,
°
@-
= DSexttnin
H.
1848.| kthnography and Geography of the Sub-Himalayas, 549
Ue nipe os cs ceteas YO, H.- To Hear,y.... cc... 5unnt, H.
IT TIS, 00 sc ss veces LES kO, ys Gy Goce ce obese ADE. H.
We this,s. Ss ss oe oe YES lai, », Carry away, .... Léjanu, H,
By this,..s soe. VES lé, gp ERGUEGy e906 ole ene UCHAlMIy
Nat asses’ od ues LYO; 99 COOK icc 00 ah ce PaKOURG, H.
To speak,........ Kira garni, 9) Ope ..c veeece U bhai, H.
BUNS, avescess LEAK, HW: 55 Weigh, ...cseens00knnn, H.
PENG, oo sc seco Marni, H. 4, Bind, «....%.. Bandas, H.
PEC, 204+ ee nee. HErni, spl, colssapee'vie oo MEAGRE, H.
prin, son. oe 00 Pyint, He? sy L edb psis ses ae os Chiyatnin,
Sent, - acc ee ciess DOSNU, TA. ea WiIpe) joc cece oc LOChINiE H.
9 Give, ssc bs cone Dini, H, ”? Call, se 68 vase ee aki,
PRE be nc osltoce ELON, He” jj) BlOW,. ..o 0000s Louk, H.
BP ROMNES | pe we cecs AUMU, He alle cy. en Kebsnie,
SEROMA was scoce ss JAN, H, .,, Make, ........ Banount, H,
”? Stand, eooeeede Ubhina, ”? Clean, senevee +» Majhna, H.
4
Meteorological Summary for 1847.
9°32 oe *°sqyour
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"nuauay wohawingy ‘dag “AXITIIONY, "TY ‘2409 fa ‘LER 1 wof hun mung jnarsojouoazayy
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
ASTATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,
For June, 1848.
At a Meeting of the Asiatic Society held at the Town [fall, Calcutta,
on the evening of Wednesday, 7th June, 1848.
J. W. Cotvixe, Esq, President, in the Chair,
The proceedings of the last meeting were read.
The monthly accounts and vouchers were laid upon the table.
The following gentlemen, having been duly proposed and seconded
at the preceding meeting, were balloted for and elected members of the
Society :—
J. Strachey, Esq. C. 8.
Geo. Massey, Esq.
Lieut, Albert Austen, H. A.
Wm. Taylor, Esq. C.S.
The names of the following gentlemen were submitted for election at
the next meeting:
Dr. J. McLelland, proposed by Mr. J. W. Laidlay, seconded by
Dr. Walker.
Tneut. John Harley Maxwell, Bengal Engineers, proposed by Dr.
Falconer, seconded by Mr. Laidlay.
Read letters from the following gentlemen withdrawing their names.
from the list of members : Rustomjee Cowasjee, Eisq., Manickjee Cowas-
jee, Esq. and Babu Nripendranath Thakur.
Read a letter from W. Seton Karr, Esq. Under Secretary to the Govt.
of Bengal, transmitting copy of a letter from the Secretary at the India
House, with enclosure from the Prussian Consul General, announcing
the shipment of a box of books presented to the Society.
4k
ery
on
BO
Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ Jung,
No. 592.
From the Under Secretary to the Government of Bengal, to the Secretary to
the Asiatic Society,
Dated Fort William, the 10th May, 1848.
Sir,—I am directed to transmit for the information of the Asiatic Society
the accompanying copy of a letter from the Secretary at the India House,
dated the 21st March last, and of its enclosure, from the Prussian Consul
General, reporting the shipment per “ Mary Anne” of a box of Books
addressed to the Vice President and Secretary to the Asiatic Society of
Bengal.
2. The Superintendent of Marine has been desired to land and forward to
you the box of Books above referred to.
I have, &c.
A. Sreron Karr,
Under Secy. to the Govt. of Bengal.
Public Department.
East India House, London, 2\st March, 1848.
Sir,—I am commanded by the Court of Directors of the East India
Company to transmit you a bill of lading for the Shipment per “ Mary Anne”
of a box of books addressed to the Vice President and Secretary of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, which the Court have undertaken to
forward in compliance with the request contained in a letterfrom B. Hebeler,
Esq. the Prussian Consul General, dated 23d September, 1847, of which a
copy is enclosed.
All charges in respect of the box have been defrayed, and it is to be deli-
vered as addressed, free of expense.
I have the honor to be, &e.
(Signed) James C. MELVILL, Secy.
To the Chief Secretary for the time being at Fort Willam, im Bengal.
Royal Prussian General Consulate, London, (106 Fenchurch Street),
23d September, 1847,
Sir,—l have the honor to transmit you the accompanying letter received
by me from His Excellency Mr. Eichhorn, His Prussian Majesty’s Minister
for Public Instruction, addressed by Dr. Pertz, Principa! Librarian of the
Royal Library at Berlin, to the Vice President and Secretary of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal, in Calcutta, and with reference to its contents, I beg to
announce the arrival in this port of a case with the sundry valuable works
presented to that learned Society.
1848. ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society: 55a
Awaiting your obliging instructions regarding the transmission of this
present to the Royal Asiatie Society in Calcutta,
I have, &e.
(Signed) B. HEBELER,
Prussian Consul General.
J.C. Melvill, Esq. (True Copies)
&e. &e. &e. W. Seton Karr,
East India House. Under Secy. to the Govt. of Bengal.
Resolved, that the marked thanks of the Society be returned to the
Prussian Government, through the same channel, for this very valu-
able donation.
From the Secretary to the Superintendent of Marine, forwarding the
case of books referred to. (See Library report.)
From the same, forwarding copies of letters from Major Jenkins
and Mr. Thornton, on the coal formations of Assam, with a map of the
road from Nazeerah to the coal beds on the Nainsing Naga hills.
—(Ordered for publication in the Journal.)
From W. Seton Karr, Esq. Under Secretary to the Government of
Bengal, transmitting papers from the Commissioner of Assam relating
to some ancient remains of temples in the vicinity of Suddyah, recently
visited by Major Hannay.
From Capt. Thuillier, forwarding a Meteorological Summary show-
ing the mean temperature and pressure, and the fall of rain in each
month of 1847, and a comparison of the most remarkable atmospheric
phenomena during that year and 1846.
From Brigadier Stacy, Meerut, forwarding a drawing by Ensign
Anley, of a remarkable insect. (Referred for examination to Mr. Frith.)
From the Rev. W. Keane, giving an account of the process of cure
followed by a snake-catcher when wounded by a Cobra, and forwarding
for inspection the substance employed.
The substance is evidently nothing but a fragment of charred bone.
From E. S. Brandreth, Esq. enclosing a fac simile ofan inscription
on the wall of a Jain Temple near Ajmere. The inscription is in
Arabic, in Kufie characters, and of no historical importance.
Sil tie » gettion a ve Ama hate gists cay yell aI
4F2
554 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ JUNE,
“* Under the administration of Abubekr bin Ahmad, Khalu-l-harovi,
in the month of Zilhija, and in the year 666.”
My pear Sir,—I have the pleasure to enclose the fac-simile of an in-
scription on the wallof a Jyn temple near Ajmeer. I thought on looking at
the writing from below from its position inside the temple itself, that it
might throw some light on the early history of the temple, but it appears
to be in the Persian language, though no one here understands the character
in which it is written, and was probably added by the Mahometans when
they converted it into a place of worship for their God. A drawing and deserip-
tion of the temple is given in Tod’s history of Rajpootana, but the author
does not give any account of its origin, and did not apparently observe the
inscription. He makes allusion to what he believed to be Sanskrit letters
on the arch in front of the temple, but with the aid of a ladder, I made an
examination of the suspicious appearances and found them to be merely
ornaments in the sculpture. Among the sacred records in the possession of
the Sireepooj of the Suranngees, I find it stated that the “ prutishta,” conse-
cration of the temple, took place in S. 717, in the time of the gooroo Padm- -
chund Chutyara, and that it was built by a Suranngee merehant named:
Beerundas Kala, who spent seven lacs of rupees in its construction. Ala-u-din
converted it into a Mahometan place of worship; he took out all the larger
images and buried them in the ground, he defaced all the smaller ones that
were sculptured on the pillars, and finally built seven magnificent arches in
front of the temple. Since his time it has been called the “ Arhai din ka
jhompra,” though for what reason more creditable than that it was built in
two days and a half, 1 could never learn. During the last three or four years
several of the images buried by Ala-u-din have been dug up. I suppose you
will be able to decipher the inscription im Caleutta, and will then learn whe-
ther it possesses any interest.
Your’s truly,
E. 8S. BRANDRETH.
Ajmeer, May 16, 1848.
From J. Strachey, Esq. forwarding the last sheets of his brother, Lieut.
Strachey’s, Journal of his travels in Tibet.
Also a letter from Mr. Batten on the same subject.
From Capt. Cunningham, forwarding a continuation of his verifi-
cation of the route of the Chinese Pilgrim Hwan Thsang through
Afghanistan and India, during the first half of the 7th century.
Also a memorandum by the same on proposed Archzeological Inves-
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 555
tigations. (Published under the Miscellaneous head in the present
number.)
The ordinary business of the evening having been disposed of, the
Second Report of the Section of Natural History upon Mr. Blyth’s ap-
plication for an increase of salary and a retiring pension, was then read,
together with the following resolutions of the Council upon the subject.
Council of the Asiatic Society.
Section of Natural History, 7th June, 1848.
The Council of the Asiatic Society submit a report from the Section of
Natural History on Mr. Blyth’s reply to the former Report made by the
Section on Mr. Blyth’s application for an increase of salary and a retiring
pension.
The Council having perused with extreme care the whole of the statements
made by Mr. Blyth on the one hand and the Section of Natural History on
the other—deem it now their duty to propose,
lst.—That the Report now made by the Section of Natural History be
~ received, read and laid upon the table.
2d.—That the Society must decline to forward or support the application
of Mr. Blyth to the Court of Directors for an increase of salary or a retiring
pension.
3d.—That the Society cannot acquit the Curator of serious neglect of duty
in permitting the collections of shells, fossils and insects, to fall into the
state of dilapidation and decay in which the same are now found to be.
4th.—That the Section of Natural History be requested to adopt measures
for the restoration and re-arrangement of these collections.
5th.—That the documents laid before the Council during this enquiry and
by them submitted to general meetings, be printed in a separate shape and
circulated to the members generally.
6th.—That the thanks of the Society be voted to the Section of Natural
History for the service they have rendered to the Society by their investi-
gation of and reports upon the manner in which the duties of the Zoological
Curator have been discharged.
W. B. O’SHavuGunessy, Secy.
The first of these resolutions was adopted by the meeting. On the
second being put from the chair, Mr. Newmarch proposed as an amend-
ment,
That the report now received and read, together with the minutes of
reference to the Zoological Section and their original report thereon,
556 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [ JUNE,
and Mr. Blyth’s reply, be printed and circulated to the members of the
Society, and that the questions thereby raised be reserved for consider-
ation at the next monthly meeting.
The amendment being put and carried, the meeting idvauteedl
Certified to be a true Report,
James Wn. Cotvite President.
J. W. Laipuay, Sec.
LirRARY.
The following books have been received since the last meeting :—
Presented.
Rgya Tch’er Rol Pa, ou Développement des Jeux, contenant I’Histoire du
Bouddha Cakya-Mouni, traduit sur la version Tibétaine du Bkah Hgyour, et
revu sur lorigimal Sanscrit par PH. Ed. Foucaux. Premiere Partie.—Texte
Tibétan.—By THE EpiTor.
Verzeichniss der Chinesischen und Mandschu-Tungusischen Biicher und
Handschriften der Koniglichen Bibliothek zu Berlin. Von Dr. Wilhelm
Schott.—By tHe Royau ACADEMY OF BERLIN.
Lucernz veterum Sepulchrales Iconice, ex Cavernis Rome subterraneis
collectze et editze a Petro Sancti Bartoli, cum observationibus J. Petri Bellorii.
—By THE SAME. |
Han Tst Sy y Pod, ou Supplement au Dictionnaire Chinois—Latin du
P. Basile de Glemona. Publié par Jules Klaproth.— By THe same.
Chrestomathie Mandchou, ou Recueil de Textes Mandchou, destiné aux
Personnes qui veulent s’occuper de l’etude de cette langue; par M. Jules
Klaproth— By THE SAME.
Uber Inhalt und Vortrag, Entstehung und Schicksale des Koniglichen Buchs,
eies Werks von der Regierungskunst, als Ankiindigung einer Uebersetzung
nebst Probe aus dem Tiirkisch-Persisch-Arabischen des Waassi Aly Dschelebi
von Heinrich F. von Diez.—By THE SAME.
Ermahnung au Istambol oder Strafgedicht des Tiirkischen Dichters Uweissi
iiber die Ausartung der Osmanen. Uebersetzt und erlautert, nebst dem Tiir-
kischen Text, von Heinrich F. von Diez.—By THE SAME.
Index Librorum Manuscriptorum et Impressorum quibus Bibliotheca Regia
Berolinensis aucta est anno 1835 to 1839, 4 vols —By THE SAME.
Numismatum Modernorum Cimeliarchi Regio-Electoralis Brandenburgici
Sectio Prima, continens Numismata Pontificum Romanorum, Aliorumque
Ecclesiasticorum Rariora et Elegantiora; Autre expressa et Dialogo illus-
trata 1 Laurentio Begero.—By THE SAME.
1848.] —- Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 557
Ulysses Sirenes Preetervectus, ex delineatione Pighiana, subjectis aliis qui-
busdam de Ulysse Antiquitatibus, dialogo illustratus 4 L. Begero.—By THE
SAME.
Poenz Infernales Ixionis, Sisyphi, Ocni, et Danaidum, ex delineatione
Pighiana desumtz, et Dialogo illustrate, a L. Begero.—By THE SAME.
Regum et Imperatorum Romanorum Numismata Aurea, Argentea, Aurea,
a Romulo et C. Jul. Cesare usque ad Justinianum Aug. Cura et impensis
Illustrissimi et excellentissimi Herois, Caroli, Ducis Croyiaci et Arschotani,
S. Rom. Imp. Principis, ord. Aurei velleris equitis, Belge, &c, a L. Begero.—
By THE SAME.
Verzeichniss der Chinesischen und Mandshuischen Biicher und Hand-
schriften der Koniglechen Bibliothek zu Berlin, verfasst von M. Jules Klap-
roth.— By THE SAME.
Denkwurdigkeiten von Asien in Kimsten und -Wissenschaften, Sitten,
Gebrauchen und Alterthiimern, Religion und Regierungsverfassung ; aus
Handschriften und eigenen Erfahrungen gesammelt von H. F. von Diez, (2
vols)—By THE SAME.
Buch des Kabus oder Lehren des Persischen Konigs Kjekjawas fiir seinen
Sohn Ghilan Schach.—By THE SAME. :
Index Librorum ad Celebranda Sacra Secularia Reformationis Ecclesiasticz
annis 1817 et 1819 cum in Germania tum extra Germaniam Vulgatorum,
quos Bibliotheca Regia Berolinensis ad hunc usqne diem comparavit.—By
THE SAME.
Entwiirfe und Studien eines Niederlandischen Meisters aus dem XV. Jahr-
hundert.
Corpus Inseriptionum Grecarum, 3 vols—By THE SAME.
Aristoteles Latine Interpretibus Variis.—By THE SAME.
Schoha in Aristolelem, collegit Christianus Augustus Brandis —By Tue
SAME.
Abhandlungen der Koniglichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin,
Annis 1822 to 1844, 27 Vols.—By THE SAME. |
Annales des Sciences Physiques et Naturelles, d’Agriculture, et d’ Industrie.
Tome IX.—By Tue Socie’tn’ RoyAue D’AGRICULTURE, Paris.
Upadeshaka, No. 17.—By rue Eprror.
The Calcutta Christian Observer, Nos. 192-3.—By THe Eprrors.
The Oriental Baptist, No. 18.—By THE Epiror.
Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Vol. III. part 1V.—By
THE ZOOLOGICAL Society or Lonpon.
Reports of the Council and Auditors of the Zoological Society of London
for the year 1847.—By THE SAME.
A List of the Fellows and Honorary Foreign and Corresponding members
of the Zoological Society of London 1847,—By rus same.
558 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (June,
Moore’s Indian Appeal Cases, Vol. II. part II.—By rue Eprror.
Journal of the Indian Archepelago, Vol. II. No. 1V.—By rue Eprror.
Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Vol. VII. part H.—
By THE Society.
Meteorological Register kept at the Surveyor General’s Office, Calcutta,
for the month of April, 1848.—By Tue Orriciatinc Deputy SuRvEyYoR
GENERAL.
Nityadharmanurangica, Nos. 58-9.—By THE Epiror.
Tatwabodhini Patricé, No. 57.—By THE TATWOBODHINI SABHA.
Molarehul Azkia Ohaddiatul Ahabba—By Moutuvi Reza Hossun
KHAN.
Eachanged.
The London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine, Nos. 213-14
Journal Asiatique, Nos. 48 to 51.
The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, No. 13.
The Athenzeum, Nos. 1058 and 1061 to 64.
Purchased.
Comptes Rendus Hebdomédaires des Séances de I’Académie des Sciences,
Tom. XXV. No. 26.
The North British Review, No. XVI.
The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Nos. 2-3, N.S. V.
Journal des Savants for Dec. 1841.
Fauna Antiqua Sivalensis,—being the Fossil Zoology of the Sewalik Hills.
By Dr. H. Falconer, and Capt. P. S. Cautley, Parts II. to VI. (three copies).
The Edinburgh Review, No. 176.
Report of the Curator, Museum Economic Geology, for the Month of May.
We have very little in the way of contributions to announce for this month,
and the closmg of the Museum, with all the imconveniencies necessarily
attendant thereupon, have confined me to the laboratory, in which however
my work is not far enough advanced for report.
In despatching for Major Jenkins a box of his Assam serpentines which
were at his request exhibited at the Society’s meeting, I have added also, as
requested by him (and as an instalment only of the large debt we owe to so
liberal a contributor) eight specimens of various Indian minerals, &c.
From Mr. C. McLeod, we have received a collection of sundry minerals
with a few fossils.
I have some other contributions on hand but cannot yet report upon them.
Or
Gyr
on)
1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Reports of Curator, Zoological Department.
For March Meeting, 1848.
The following Donations have been received.
1. Walter Elliot, Esq. Madras C.S. A living specimen of the Cheeta,
(or Hunting Leopard,) Felis jubata: a species, remarks Mr. Eiht, which is
“common, though not plentiful, throughout Southern India, and which I
have myself met with in the wild state, though I have never actually killed
one.* This one is quite tame, and may be handled with perfect freedom. I
Jet him loose in my stables, and he plays about with the dogs and suffers
himself to be tied up again without difficulty.”
2. Mr. H. Greenfield, Akra farm. A very fine adult male of the common
Bengal Otter, Lutra chinensis et indica, Gray, as now identified by that syste-
matist,—L. tarayensis, Hodgson.
3. Capt. Phayre, Maulmein. <A specimen in spirit of Sciwrus Barbei,
nobis, XVI, 875: and two skins of Rhizomys sumatrensis, (Raffles, v. cinereus,
M’Clelland), adult and young, sent in weak spirit and the hair coming off
with the cuticle, so that the skulls only have been retained for the museum.
4, Baboo Rajendro Mullick. A dead Tragopan (Satyra cornuta), young
male.
5. Mr. E. Lindstedt. A dead white-handed Gibbon (Hylobates lar), from
Malacca. This animal had been living for some months on the Society’s
premises ; and the contrast which it offered with H. hoolock, was very re-
markable. The body is proportionally much shorter ; and it was quite incapa-
ble of walking in the erect attitude commonly assumed by H. hoolock, always
creeping forward when on the ground in acrouching position. Both skin
and skeleten have been preserved.
6. J. Pybus, Esq. Careass of a Bear (Ursus labiatus); now mounted
in the museum.
7. Mr. Robt. J. Rose, of the Police. A small Crocodilus biporcatus,
6 ft. long, taken out of the Wellington tank, Calcutta.
8. Major Brodie, 5th N. 1. Two fine Buffalo skulls, with large horns ;
from Assam.
9. Robt. Ince, Esq., Chittagong. A few insects in spirit.
10. F. Skipwith, Esq., C. S., Chittagong. Two bird-skins.
11. Mr. Birch, of the Pilot service. A few common fresh-water shells from
the Soonderbuns.
12. Mr. Templeton, of the museum. Skin of Cuculus innotatus, juv.;
Australia. K. Biya.
For April Meeting, 1848.
1. Raja Buddenath Roy. A dead female Cassowary, now mounted in the
museum.
2. G.T. Lushington, Esq., C. §., Almorah. Two fine skins of the Goral.
3. Mr. J. Bell, of the Preventive Service. A brown variety of the Black Rat
(Mus rattus, L.); dead.
* Since writing the note to Vol. XVI, 1272, I have learned from Dr. R, Templeton,
that the Leopard, and not I’. jubata, is the so called ‘‘ Tiger” of Ceylon.
+ Mr, Elliot adds—‘‘ I had three kittens of Felis ruwbiginosa for you, but unluckily
they all died. With reference to your Report in the March Journal (p. 247 ante), [
’ may remark on the subject of Cats that 1 recently met with an undoubted hybrid be-
tween F’. chaus and the domestic Cat. The Lynx-Jike tail, the bars on the thighs, the
patches of true chaus colour and fur, with the more variegated colour and white pelage
of the domestic kind, were distinct and patent to the most careless observer.”
560 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. | JUNE,
4. Baboo Rajendro Mullick. Two dead Pheasants.
5. Jas. J. Davidson, Esq. A misformed egg of the common fowl, kidney-
shaped : though small, it was probably double-yolked.
6. Baboo Janmejaya Mittra. A coal black Jackal, young, (but about full
grown,) female, dead. Now stuffed in the museum.
7. W.Thompson, Esq. Ballygunge Frontlet and horns of the European
Roe-buck ; and skin of a Tern (Anous tenuirostris), procured off Madeira !
8. Willis Earle, Esq. A few fishes and sea snakes, procured at the
Sandheads.
9. Major Jenkins, Gowhatti. Some skins of Ducks.
10. Mr. A. Bruce, Chittagong. Skin of an Oyster-catcher (Hematopus
ostralegus).
11. J. M’Clelland, Esq., Bengal Medical service. Carcass of a Wanderoo
Monkey (Inuus silenus).
12. Capt. Berdmore, Madras Artillery, (through Capt. Phayre,) Maulmein.
A living Paradoxurus, apparently undescribed ; since dead and preserved in
the museum. Dr. Helfer procured the same species. in the Tenasserim pro-
vinces, and Capt. Phayre in Arracan, where it is rare.
13. Murray Gladstone, Esq. A few Darjeeling birds, much injured; but
among them is a new Heteromorpha, Hodgson, conneeting that division with
Paradoxornus, Gould.
14. Rev. J. Mason, Maulmem. A few flat skins of bird. E. BuytH.
For May Meeting, 1848.
1. J. M’Clelland, Esq., Bengal Medical Service. Skin of Hylobates lar.
2. Baboo Rajendro Mullick. A small species of Kangaroo, dead: pre-
pared as a skeleton, the fur having been clipt short ; skin of head preserved.
3. Capt. Roger Rollo, 30th Madras N. I. A few bird-skins, from the
Nilgherries ; and with them an imperfect skin of Seturus macrourus, perfectly
similar to the animal of Ceylon.
4. Capt. E. F. Smith, Sadyia. Skin of a new species and genus of Caprine
Ruminant, with horns nearly as in the Gnoos (Catoblepas) : adult female, now
mounted in the museum.
5. Mr. McFarlane. 3 deformed living Pigeons.
6. Mr. Wagentrieben. A young living example of Monitor salvator,
found on board ship upon the voyage from Bombay to Calcutta.
7. Mrs. Duncan Stewart. Three specimens of snakes, from the neigh-
bourhood.
8. Capt. Phayre, Maulmein. A box of sundries, containing two skins,
with separated skulls, of Nemorhedus sumatrensis, from Tenasserim ; the hairs:
of the nuchal mane but partially white: portion of a skin of Presbytis Phayrei,
nobis, XVI, 773: and imperfect skin of Felis bengalensis, resembling the
ordinary Nepal, Assam, Sylhet, and Arracan variety, and not approximating
to the markings of the Malayan variety (?), v. F. gavanensis: vide p. 250,
ante.
9. Capt. Berdmore, Madras Artillery, (through Capt. Phayre.) A living
specimen of the large Tenasserim land Tortoise ; identical im species with an
individual formerly sent from Arracan by Capt. Phayre. E. BuytH.
For June Meeting, 1848.
1. Walter Elliot, Esq. Madras C.S. Two skins, male and female, of the
four-horned Antelope, sent as Tetraceros subquadricornis, Elliot, the male
having the anterior horns reduced to slight rudiments not visible above - the
1848. | Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. : 561
hairy pelage of the brows. Nevertheless, it does not now appear to me that
this animal is distinet from the common Bengal species, in which I find that
the anterior horns very commonly remain permanently rudimental, as m an
individual just dead, which i have kept for more than a year, and in another
which I formerly possessed and which is also now mounted in the museum.
These differed in no other respect whatever from a male which I still have living,
but in which the anterior horns have attained their full development: and
that the age of this and of the animal just dead was about the same, 1. e. that
they were kids of the same season, is indicated by their both shedding the
blunt outer sheath of their horns at the same time. All are from the Rajymahl
hills; and during the year and upwards that I have kept the animal just
dead, its rudimental anterior horns did not increase im size. Capt. Hutton
even writes me word—‘ Depend upon it all the 4-horned Antelopes are
T. quadricornis—the development of horns is very variable. I have one skull
in which the posterior horns are 3 in. long; the right anterior horn is 1? in.,
long and perfect,—whereas the left horn is not quite | in., forming a mere
knob. Ihave been told,” continues Capt. Hutton, “ by sportsmen who had
often shot them that ;the front horns are very often mere knobs, and that it
is somewhat rare to get a perfect head in this respect.’?? Mr. Elliot once
sent me on loan a specimen with fully developed anterior horns from the
Wynaad: but such individuals would seem to be rare in S. India. Of
his (so termed) sub-quadricornis, he writes—‘‘ They are found throughout
the Dekhan : the specimen now sent is from the eastern ghats between Nellore
and Cuddapah. I have also received young living specimens from the hills
above Chittoor and Vellore on the borders of the Barahmahl, which shows
the distribution to be very general.”” The young might, however, be refer-
able to either variety,
2. Major Ouseley, Chota Nagpore. Skin and skeleton of a young bull
Gaour.
3. Baboo Rajendro Mullick. A dead Kangaroo, of the species Halmatu-
rus derbianus ; now preserved as a stuffed specimen.
4, Mr. Ransom, of the Pilot Service. A living Tropic-bird, or “ Bosw’n
bird” (Phaeton ethereis), sce dead and preserved as a skeleton. This bird
was very helpless on the ground,—unable to stand up, with its legs stretched
outward; but on a steep surface it could climb, using its beak like a Cormo-
rant.
5. Mr.C. McLeod. Skin of a large and very handsome Tibetan Dog,
with Wolf-like head: and a collection of chiefly marine shells, with a few
corals, echini, &c.
6. Mr. P. J. Van Grieskin. A living domestic cock, with one leg reduced
to a minute rudiment.
7. G. T. Lushington, Esq., C. §., Almorah. A skin of Ovis ammon in good
order ; and two skins of Gazella picticaudata, (Hodgson,) one perfect, the
other having the muzzle eaten away. '[he O. ammon, if not required by the
Society (which it is not), Mr. Lushington requests may be presented im his
name to the museum of the Hon’ble Company, in London.
8. J. M’Pherson, Esq. A few common Crustacea, among which is a
Palemon carcinuos, having an arborescent fucus growing from the extremity
of the rostrum.
9. F. W. Russell, Esq. Collection of shells, chiefly marine.
10. Mrs. Bacon. A few shells from Australia and Torres’ Straits.
11. Capt. Thomas Hutton, Mussooree, some small birds from that neighbour-
hood, comprising 4 males and a female of Aigithaius flammiceps, a male Picum-
nus innomimatus, and 13 other specimens, among which are two of a Phyl-
loscopus, new to the Society’s museum, but with which I have long been
familiar. Kk, Buyta,
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JOURNAL
OF THE
-ASIATIC SOCIETY.
SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER FOR JUNE, 1848.
THE TURAEE AND OUTER MOUNTAINS OF KUMAOON,
By Mayor Mavpven, Bengal Artillery.
(Concluded from page 450.)
11¢h March.—To Kulounia, called 8 coss, about 12 miles, which,
with the intensity of the heat, direct and reflected from the mountains,
at the very foot of which lies the rough and circuitous pathway,
greatly fatigued the coolees. The following stations occur » Gurjoo
Goth, 2 coss: Belpanee, 1: Sukar Kholee, 1: (both these are just
deserted :) Doguree, 1: Deolagar, 2: Kulounia, 1 coss.—These are
generally at the exit of a stream from the mountains ; placed aamadst the
most lovely scenery ; the mountains of every height and fornt“covered
with forests of every tint, green, red, and yellow. To the right of the
path stretch to the south several prairies of tall grass, where the guides
were in no small fear of encountering the elephants, which are infinite-
ly more dangerous in their opinion than the tigers : but neither appear-
ed. Between Doogola and Gurjoo, we passed a pretty large, but nearly
dry channel, called Kullooah Ghat, about a coss up which is Burgoth :
we avoided this, and struck direct: through the Sal forest, regaining
the path a mile eastward. A little east of Belpanee, the route passes
Lybur Mundee, whence there is a hackery route to Bireea Mujhoula ;
it lies on the north bank of the Kaminee river, which here leaves the
mountains with a brisk current. The Mundee enjoys a considerable
traffic in timber, bamboos, and hill products. The Kaminee flows
on the right hand down to Dogaree, ‘the two streams ;’’ this is the
4G
564 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JUNE,
name of another considerable Goth in an open prairie, where it receives
a tributary of equal size from the east, the Deolagar; this gives name
to another mart for timber, &c. close under the hills. The path keeps
to the right or north bank of this stream, under a beautifully wooded
escarpment; on the summit of this, two miles east of Dogaree, is the
Syna ka Panee Goth; and at its base crop out large masses of brown
iron ore, or brown Hematite, said to be rich in metal, and often asso-
ciated with coal. The spot is called Dhan Dhoonga. The last two
miles from Deolagar to Kulounia lie through Sal forest, with half a
mile more in the deep Khyr and Seesoo growing bed of the Puneean or
Punwyn river, which is about 100 feet below the level of the Sal, and
carries a small stream of good, clear water. It is said to be called
Jugboora in the plains, and to flow to Suniya, 5 coss down; dividing
the Choubhynsia district from that of Tula Des—‘“‘the low country,”
which includes Burm Deo, and the outer hills as far as Chhirapanee.
Kulounia is a small Mundee just on the gorge of the mountains, on the
west bank of the Punwyn: now vilely hot, with myriads of flies, and
little or no shade. The inhabitants are mountaineers from Furka, and
traders from Peleebheet, engaged in the timber and drug business.
One of these, Nuthoo Mull, who also keeps a Buniya’s shop, was very
civil, and gave me shelter under his roof; the heat in a pal being in-
supportable. He has 10,000 rupees embarked, chiefly in the manu-
facture of Kuth, (Terra japonica) here called Kutha; but nothing
comes amiss: till late at night he was sedulously engaged with the
hillmen, and loud and frequent were the disputes as to the value of the
various articles, which he purchased, independantly and in small quan-
tities: no temperament but that of a Hindoo could stand the wear
and tear. The following are the prices he pays :
Babur or Byb grass: 3 to 4 rupees per 100 muns.
Moonj, Sirput, and Tat culms for pens: various.
Ghee: 1 rupee for 7 kucha sers.
Borax, brought by the Bhotiyas : 7 to 8 rupees per mun.
Lichens for dying rose-color: ‘‘ Chulpooree,” ‘‘ Charchubeelu,” 14
rupee per mun.
Turmeric: 4 rupees per mun.
Myrobalans (Hur) 1 rupee per ditto: said to be produced (abun-
dantly) only every third year: a belief common here in reference to
many other fruits.
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 565
Madder: ‘ Munjeeth,” 4 annas per Puseeree.
Kaephul bark (Myrica sapida,) 2 pice per ditto.
Tuj bark (Cinnamomun albiflorum,) 1 ana per ditto.
Meee rere ee eae: . 1} ditto ditto.
small : 201 to 1 30 score per rupee.
Bamboos : medium. 6 ditto ditto.
large. 2 ditto ditto.
Soapstone: ‘ Khuree.” Probably from the Thakil.
Kuth, Catechu, 6 rupees per mun.
This traffic will be terminated in a week or two, as the mountaineers
cannot stand the heat : the Kuth manufacture, however, goes on till the
setting in of the rains: the workmen, who are all Dooms, called
**Khyrees,” from the Acacia catechu, then retire to the hills till De-
-cember, and Nuthoo Mull retreats to Peleebheet. During the season,
one portion of the Khyrees is constantly employed in cutting down the
best trees, and for these they have to search far in the jungles: only
those with abundance of red heartwood will answer. This is chopped
into slices a few inches square. Under two large sheds are the furnaces
shallow, and with a slightly convex clay roof, pierced for 20 ordinary
sized Kedgree pots: these are nearly filled with chips: and water is
then poured in and boiled, till the contents of twenty will only fill two
pots; which takes place in about an hour anda half. The liquor
resembles thin, light Port, and the Kuth crystallizes on leaves and
twigs thrown into it for the purpose: each pot yields about a ser : of
an ashy white color. The work is carried on for 20 hours out of the
24, by relays of women and children: the men merely preparing the
wood; this after being exhausted, is turned to account as fuel. Each
furnace pays a tax of 4 rupees per annum to Government.
Nuthoo Mull informed me that the open bed of the river exposed to
the full force of the wind, is the only ground tenable during the hot
season, and that at the expense of much fever. Wherever from the
contour of the mountains, or the screen of the forest, the wind is
excluded, the climate is deadly. All agree that in advancing eastward,
the Turaee becomes more unhealthy ; a fact more to be attributed to
its increased moisture and denseness of vegetation than to any addition
of dimension : for it appears from Kirkpatrick that the Nepal forest is
not above 10 miles wide.
4G 2
566 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JUNE,
The Buchanania latifolia: ‘‘ Mooria’” and ‘* Piyal,” the fruit ‘ Chi-
ronjee,” is abundant on the hills behind Kulounia ; and in the thickets
are Ventilago maderaspatana, with Berchemia laxa? both called “ Kala-
lug,” but the former also known as Rukut-peeta. Mimosa rubiginosa :
* Ugla,” Acacia ceesia, ‘‘ Kutrar,” and an enormous climbing Acacia,
called “Agla’ and “ Awul,” are also common. ‘The stem of the last
attains a thickness of two and a height of 100 feet : the bark is used
for what Roxburgh calls the ‘nefarious purpose,” of poisoning fish.
It seems to be his Acacia pennata.
The epochs of the months, as kept here by the Peleebheet traders,
differ from those of the mountaineers. Thus, according to the former,
March 12 answers to the 10th of Chyt, while by the hill reckoning it
is only the Ist. The difference is said to be occasioned by the low-
landers employing the lunar month, calculated from the full-moon: the
hillmen use the solar month, calculated from one Sunkrant (or sun’s
entrance into a sign) to another, commencing the year with Magh,
answering to January and February, and so on: the 9th month they
call ‘ Ussouj,” a corruption of Aswuyuja; and the 11th, comprising
Nov. Dec. is ‘‘ Mungsir,” from ‘ Mrigasirus,’ ‘the head of the
deer,”’ one of the 27th Nukshutras or lunar mansions. The “ Sun-
krants,” are all more or less observed as Holydays : that of the sun in
Aries is illustrated by the Holee, which is kept by the Gorkhas with a
regular May-bush, cut and brought in with pomp and music, and deco-
rated with parti-coloured shreds, as used to be the casein Kngland ; the
sun’s entrance into Libra in Ussouj is also a great day with the hillmen,
being the Kalendaric termination of the wet season, and commencement
of the autumnal harvest ; on this occasion a human effigy called ‘ Khu-
turwa,” is made of straw and sticks, decorated with the jhoola (Anten-
naria) and other flowers, paraded about the village, and in the evening
thrown into a large bonfire : an emblem perhaps of the parting sun.
12th March.—To Burm Deo, 8 coss, about 10 miles. The places
which occur on the route are Tootooria, 1 coss: Chela, an open spot
without trees or water, (such are called “ Thuppur’’) ; both these Goths
are just deserted : a little beyond Chela, called 2 coss from 'Tootooria,
is Kopatal, so named from a deep pool formed by a stream which here
issues by a most romantic, shaggy, glen from the mountains: the path
ascends by its right or south bank through Sal forest to Dana Goth
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 567
1 coss; this is rather a large settlement, still tenanted by people from
Chumpawut. Nearly opposite this, at the base of the mountain is
Bushtia village, above which are the fort and pass of Timla, leading to
Chumpawut, and crossing the Ludheea river at Kela Ghat. Timla fort
is 3908 feet above Calcutta ; Kela Ghat 2204 ;—it was by this route
that Captains Gardner and Hearsay invaded Kumaoon in 1814, but
miscalculating the strategy and bravery of the enemy, were defeated
and taken prisoners by Hustee Dul near Khilputee, and carried to
Almorah. The pass is said to be very easy, and as the only made road
goes round by Burmdeo, it is in contemplation to construct one here,
which would greatly benefit the communication between Suniya and
Chumpawut. Limestone is to be had at Choonapanee, somewhere near
Bushtia, 1587 feet above Calcutta. Dana Goth is situated on the N.
W. bank of a wide stony channel, the Keela rowl; the path crosses
this and keeps its left bank for halfa mile towards Khulooa Kholee,
1 coss: and then proceeds vid Ginda Khalee and Bhewria Khalee to
Burm Deo. At these last clearings, and others in this direction, rice,
ghweeas, turmeric, &c., are cultivated in the hot and rainy seasons: but
the farmers all take refuge nightly in the mountains ; the young plants
are protected from the heat of the sun in April and May by screens of
Sal branches with their leaves, which check the evaporation. From
this point the Sooa river is seen entering the Kalee about 2 coss south of
Burm Deo : it flows in a very wide stony bed, and comes from the west,
apparently combining all the streams which do not join the Dewa.
Somewhere on its banks the Gorkhalees under Hustee Dul were defeat-
ed by the Rohillas.
Bhewria Khalee is about one coss from Burm Deo, on the brink of
the low Kadir land, which seems admirably fitted for cultivation, but is
very partially tilled. As far as Chela Goth, the path to-day was bad,
with several steep stony ascents and descents at the torrents which
cross it ; from Chela Goth there is a hackery track through the forest
to Burm Deo; but the guides frequently adopted short cuts, which
were bad enough.
Burm Deo is the great mart for Eastern or Kalee Kumaoon, and the
Gorkhalee province of Dotee. Its proper name is Moondias, Burm Deo
being a Goth about a mile north, the limit of wheeled carriages, oppo-
site to which the Kalee pours down in its last rapid. Here it is said
568 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JUNE,
that Bruhm did penance—not Brahma the Creator, who in these
parts is reduced, under the designation of Choumookhee, to the office
of an agricultural care-taker,—but the Supreme Being himself. No one
can say for what purpose HE did so: but a Hindoo is never at a loss
for a reason, and when twitted with the peccadilloes of his gods, will
reply that they were always well whipped for them : and if gods do not
escape punishment, how much less men! a conclusion more ingenious
than sound. Burmdeo is given as one of the Kutyoor rajas, and the
place may have been named from him. Except in the unhealthy sea-
son, Burm Deo is not a scene for penance ; it is on the contrary, placed
at the gorge of perhaps the most magnificent portal to the Himalaya.
The Kumaoon chain, bold, lofty, and scarped, with a superb glacis of
forest along its base, here meets the Dotee mountains at a right angle ;.
these, if possible, clothed im still thicker forest, extend north and south,
running far down in this last direction, with the Kalee flowing at their
foot so closely as to leave our restless neighbours scarce room for their
Mundee. The river indifferently known as the Kalee, Surjoo, Sarda,
Ghughra, winds its way through the angle to the N. E., where the
mountains on the Kumaoon side are scarped into lofty walls and pinna-
cles, on the topmost of which, about 8 miles distant, is the far-famed
shrine of Poonagiri, where Devee is adored by pilgrims from mountains
and plains. Behind this, the magnificent mountain of Nalee-mun rises
far above the forest: on its western flank is the pass to Chumpawut.
The Kalee opposite the Mundee, is about 100 yards across, and from
10 to 15 feet deep, perfectly clear and flowing with a strong steady
current, like the music of Mira O Norma; it is now about 20 feet below
its level in the wet season: the only means of passing are four canoes,
the hollowed trunks of Semul trees, two of which are ours, the others
belong to the Gorkhas. During the malarious season, or from May,
when Burm Deo becomes a solitude, the boats are hauled out and laid
up in ordinary. Below Burm Deo the river wanders amongst a laby-
rinth of low stony islands covered with Seesoo ; they belong to the
King of Oude, and are called ‘‘Chandnee Chok,” apparently in jest.
Great quantities of Sal, Seesoo, Bamboos, &c. are floated down from
the mountains, and 30 miles below this, the river becomes permanently
navigable at Moondia Ghat, the Gurhmooktesur of the Surjoo. It is
described as flowing between steep, well-defined banks, through a beau-
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 269
tiful country, and joins the Gogra proper at a place called Swurg-dwara
“the gate of heaven.” Captain Herbert calculated the following as
the discharge per second in cubic feet, where they enter the plains :—
Kalee 4,800.
Jumna 4000.
Ganges 7000.
Sutluj 8,100. This is probably greatly in excess : the last is certainly
a smaller river than the Ganges.
Moonias Mundee is placed close to the right bank of the river, 885
feet above Calcutta: it consists of one good broad street, but the habi-
tations are mere sheds constructed in the slightest manner of mats and
sirkee, so as to be taken down on the first alarm of fire, which has
destroyed the place more than once, and is especially fatal here from
the furious gales which blow alternately up and down the river: they
are stocked with vast quantities of turmeric, &c. denoting a very consi-
derable traffic: and sold, I was informed at the following rates :—
Peepla mor (Piper longum root) : 5 to 20 rupees per mun.
Rooenee (Rottlera tinctoria powder) : 10 to 16 ditto.
Lodh bark (Symplocos racemosa and. paniculata.)
Balchhur or Mashee (Valeriana Jatamansi, Spikenard) : 10 ditto.
Seer PHOT AS) 5: taal Wetpaiaha: de eas seit. aes LO ditto.
Turmeric, 44: Ginger 5 per mun.
Hachee)(larze Dotee Cardamoms)s....0i0)0.3..5.... 20 ditto. -of
Churayuta: 2 sorts, chiefly from the Thakil and other mountains
Sisariand-Dotee—yellow root. 00 .i.000. 05. jh6....... 4 ditto.
darleirooth. eee ls... 2 ditto.
Honey, Wax, Sunkhya and Hurtal, (from Tibet,) Kutki, (Picrorhiza),
Rhubarb, Meetha (Aconitum ferox), Nigala Bamboo, hawks, the Nepal
black Myna (from Dotee, each pair costing 5 rupees and paying 12
annas on crossing the river!) and a drug called Churmis, are also procu-
rable here: the latter seems to be a root, of the same nature as the
Aconite, but longer, thinner, and much curved: from these circum-
stances it would be identified with the Seengiya Bikh, but the druggists
say they are different, and the Churmis is attacked by insects. The
word comes from the Sanscrit Churmmu-kusha “ destroying the skin.”
Most of the dealers here are from Peleebheet, which is a place of
much trade and importance, by their account.
570 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JUNE,
Opposite to Moonias Mundee the Gorkhas have their mart, called
Sooa Mundee, built irregularly on the stony bed of the river, and
backed by a high bank of clay and gravel, on which grows the forest.
The situation is convenient and confined: much less business going
on than on our side, where there are no duties. The Gorkha govern-
ment farms its duties here for 24,000 rupees per annum they told me.
They keep here a party of 25 Sepoys, apparently Dotee men, under a
Soobadar ; the authorities and the people were very civil in showing me
over the mart, but the former will not admit further progress : in truth,
as there is nothing but forest and mountain, there is, save to the natu-
ralist, no great inducement to wander. The civil authorities were in
Kucheree, but seemed to have little or nothing to do ; yet on our side
the general impression is that crimes and outrages of every description
are rife, and meet little check or redress in the Gorkha territories.
Our people occasionally complain of the delays of the Courts, and the
corruption of the native officials, who always side with the longest
purse, but no one can travel over India and enquire amongst the mass
of the people without finding a very generally expressed opinion of the
superiority of the English rule; aud, in native states, a frequent wish
to come under it. “Is the rule of the Gorkhas returned?’ is the
usual exclamation in Kumaoon where a person thinks himself wronged.
A cursory examination of the forests about Burm Deo and Poonagiri
discloses a number of interesting plants: and probably the glen of the
Kalee up to Ascot would afford many novelties.
Xanthoxylon Connaroides ? W. and A. arboreous : near the Bitreegar.
Petalidium Barlerioides: ‘ Bukroula.”
Eranthemum nervosum,
Strobilanthes auriculata: “ Til-kupooree.”
Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus.
Gouania nepalensis, Wallich.
Acacia ‘‘ Khyn:” an armed tree with the blossoms of the Khyr and
the fruit of the Siris : wood excellent.
Inga bigemina : “ Kuchlora,” a large and useful timber tree.
Symplocos spicata: ‘ Lodh,” a large tree. The pitcher-shaped,
ribbed seeds, called ‘* Bholia,” are worn in necklaces by children at
Almorah to preserve them from ghosts, &c.
Annona squamosa: ‘ Behé,”’ most abundant in the swamps.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumacon. 571
Ficus Kuthburee: a large tree. Poonagiri.
Rondeletia exserta? a tree, common also at Gungolee Bridge.
Chonemorpha (Echites) macrophylla : “ Gur-budero.”
Sabia paniculata: ‘“ Bukul-puta:” an extensive rambling, scandent
shrub, with yellow flowers, at Poonagiri: on the Buliya: and at Gun-
golee Bridge.
Bassia butyracea: “‘Chyoora:” from about 1500 or 1800 feet up to
4500 : abundant in the shady glen below Poonagiri.
Wallichia (Harina) oblongifolia. ‘ Gor-ounsa.” ‘ Kala-ounsa.”’
(‘Black Reed’’) : shady glens about Poonagiri temples. The fronds
of this palm are said to form an imperishable thatch, and are also used
for combs.
13th March.—To Poonagiri temples, about 8 miles E. N. E. and
back to Burmdeo in the afternoon. The route is by Burmdeo Goth,
of which the houses are permanent and firmly built on posts: this is
the residence of the ferrymen. Hence we followed the Chumpawut
road for 14 or 2 miles, undulating on high ground covered with forest,
the Kalee following beneath on the right hand in a magnificent gorge.
The path then quits the main road, turning off to the right near Ranee-
hath Goth, and for the rest of the way is rugged and difficult, the
Ladagar torrent following in a woody ravine on the left. The total
ascent cannot be under 2000 feet, which would make the elevation of
the shrine nearly 3000 above the sea: at this level, though greatly
cooler than Burmdeo, the malaria of the Bhabar still prevails, with Sal
woods and fine clumps of bamboo, which last, being sacred to Devee
are never cut, the popular belief being, that if converted to use, scor-
pions and centipedes innumerable would issue forth to punish the sacri-
lege ; so amongst the Greeks, the cultivation by the Phocians, of the
Crisszean Plain, dedicated to Apollo and to perpetual sterility, induce
_ the sacred war. It is not generally known that the vernacular “ Bans,”
Bamboo, comes from vuns, a family, either from the habit of the plant
to produce its numerous stems in clumps, or from the fact that under
the patriarchal Government, as still under the Chinese, the Bamboo is
a chief means of maintaining social order. The Sal in Kumaoon is
found, mixed with Cheer Pine, fully up to 3500 feet, a much higher
level than it attains to the N. W. On the sunny slopes about the
4 yu
572 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JuNE,
Poonagiri temples the Byb or Babur grass (Eriophorum cannabinum)
is abundant, and does not appear to flourish at much lower levels.
Nothing can surpass the variety and beauty of the scenery about
Poonagiri: nature absolutely revels in the luxuriance of the universal
vegetation, which no American forest, north or south, can possibly
exceed ; but to superstition alone are we indebted for a path through
and over the otherwise impassable thickets and precipices. The first
symptom of sanctity in the wilderness is a small Murhee, dedicated to
Bhairoo, or Muhadey, considered as his own door-keeper; here the
pilgrims leave their shoes; and no man of low caste, of notoriously bad,
or even unfortunate character, or filthy in person or discourse, is know-
ingly allowed to advance further. Coming under the first, at least, of
these predicaments, I had arrived within a few hundred yards of the
small village of Toonias, the residence of the 20—30 Poojarees who do
the honors of the place, when, to my astonishment, I was assailed by
the whole crew, loudly proclaiming that the shrine was deserted by my
intrusion, that no European had ever approached it before, and demand-
ing, ina very insolent, and almost violent manner, my immediate re-
turn. I assured them that such was impossible during the heat of the
day, after a three hours’ walk; that I certainly should not descend till
I had breakfasted and looked about; and that the mountain was mine
as much as theirs. They were exceedingly angry; but we at length
effected a pacification by the compromise that I was not to go nearer
than a hundred yards to any of the temples, and that I was to offer a
bottle of cognac to the goddess, in default of a goat, which was not to
be had, and about which I demurred, though they alleged the example
of sundry sahibs, who had sent proxies for this purpose. On the
contrary, I expressed my horror and disgust at the custom of polluting
the hill-tops and groves, with the gore of miserable bleating kids and
goats, which must have a tendency to brutalize the character, to recon-
cile and familiarize the mind with bloodshed and murder, and to foster
the pernicious sentiment that the gods are necessarily pleased when-
ever themselves and their priests are stuffed with roast-meat. A most
furious altercation among themselves, which lasted about two hours,
respecting the division of the spoils of my followers and other pilgrims,
was the corollary to this homily.
Toonias Hamlet lies in a sheltered glen about 200 feet below the
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, 373
westernmost of the three shrines, the only one which I visited; it is
a small, black, domed structure, coated with copper, and placed on the
crest of the great mural precipice of sandstone which here faces the
south. A little to the south-east, this wall terminates and the moun-
tain springs up into a very lofty and remarkable pinnacle of rock, pre-
senting a precipitous face to the river, which rolls at its base in a_
winding chasm of vast depth, the waters generally calm and of a lapis-
lazuli tint. The gorge makes a rapid bend here, which brings the
current right against the upper end of the cliffs, which perhaps owe
their existence to its slow operation. Each shoulder of the rocky
pinnacle is consecrated by its temple, the easternmost being the
most sacred, and of very difficult access over cliffs and razor-edged.
ridges. Here the animals are sacrificed, and the sinners properly
japanned and fleeced. The Brahmans appropriate the head, and I
believe one shoulder of each beast assassinated, with all the cash they
can extract, and considerable numbers of cocoa-nuts, the offering of
which seems to be a sign connecting the mountain goddess and her
rites, with the ocean-loving Kalee of Calcutta. The acme of merit is
attained by him whose offering, like Balak’s, consists of seven goats.
The peak itself is the adytum of the goddess, where none can intrude
with impunity : a fukeer who ventured to do so in days of yore was
hitched across the river, and found flattened to a pancake in the Sidh
Bun of Dotee.
The classical name of this holy site is Poornagiri, which the Brah-
mans render by ‘“‘complete or entire mountain,” an unhappy interpre-
tation, since the mountain is cut in two, and one half removed ; a more
likely derivation is afforded somewhere by Wilford in the suggestion
that the Anna Perenna of the Romans was identical with the Sanscrit
Unn-poorna, “The filler with corn,’ a name of Devee, indicating
also by the suppression of the digamma, the origin of Diana (grain
goddess) and Demeter (Ceres) Mother-goddess: the Indian goddess
being still familiarly known as Mace and Muha-Maee ; ‘‘ great mother.”
She is also adored near Almorah as Putal-devee, Queen of Hell, a
function similar to Persephone’s. At Nynee Devee on the Sutluy, at
Kedarnath, at Syama or Siahee Devee near Almorah, and probably at
Poonagiri, she is entirely clothed in black, and we find that one of
Proserpine’s epithets was Me/ampeplos. The most philosophical in-
4 Ee 2
574 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
vestigators into the nature of mythology seem now agreed that the
legend of Ceres, and Proserpine “ gathered by gloomy Dis,” is to be
explained by the history of Seed-corn from the time it is buried in the
earth to harvest : those who “ plucked the heart of the mystery,” were
not perhaps aware that Proserpina is good Sanscrit (prusurpun) for
the “sprouting,’’ or germination of corn: Burns has done unconscious
justice to the allegory so understood in his spirited Ballad of ‘* John
Barley corn.”’ By such clues we come to reject the Miltonic but puerile
doctrine that the deities of the nations are so many “real essences,”
intelligent, but generally malevolent ; to replace it by the conclusion, ,
drawn from a multitude of converging proofs, that they are none other
than the powers and operations of nature deified in the struggling
infancy of agriculture and society. As such, the adoration still paid
them, if useless, is at all events harmless: and viewed in the light of
reason, their worship, personified as idols, is by no means so different
from our own as to justify the outcries which resound from the oracles
of Exeter Hall, ever ready to judge another man’s servant. For, says
Locke, man being the measure of all things, can only form an idea of
the incomprehensible divinity, by enlarging towards infinity, as best he
may, the qualities and powers, which by sensation and reflection, he
perceives to exist in himself. He allows, in degree, the same attributes,
to the angels, &c. ; but in neither case can his ideas surpass in number
and variety the qualities which he experiences in his own mind. And
then the English metaphysician and man of sense, goes on to conclude
that the First Being “it is certain, is infinitely more remote, in the
real excellency of his nature, from the highest and perfectest of all
created beings, than the greatest man, nay purest seraph, is from the
most contemptible part of matter; and consequently must infinitely
exceed what our narrow understandings can conceive of him.” It
appears, then, that whether the object be the abstract conception and
work of our minds, and their image, or that of our bodies and the
work of our hands, it must infinitelv fall short of the truth ; and that
neither party can consistently upbraid the other with its mean concep-
tions of the divine nature. In this view, also, tne Brahman is justified
in his tenet that Bruhm is identical with his own mind. The argument
might, by those concerned, be turned to good account against the
Mohammedans, by showing that their idea of Alla is not so utterly
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. o.5
removed from that of the idolators as they commonly plume them-
selves ; while it is certain that no people are more ingenious than the
Hindoos in concealing their ignorance on these subjects under the mist
of grandiloquent negatives.
During the heat of the day, whether exhausted by their quarrel,
mollified by the brandy, or acting on the Shaksperian maxim that
“things without remedy should be without regard,’ the Brahmans
became more reconciled to the profanation of my presence, and entered
on a conversation from which I learned for the first time, that the
position in time of the Dwaptr and Treta Yoogs had been inverted ;
the latter, which would have been the third in order had events followed
their natural course, having by the will of the gods, become in reality,
the second age; while the Dwapur became the third. To what reform-
ation of the Indian Kalendar such a countermarch should be ascribed
would now be difficult to discover, and were the events historical,
would sorely puzzle the chronologist; but where all is chimera and
fable, it is of no importance how the parts are arranged. During the
Golden age my informants agreed that men, and even women, were
very silent, and only used their tongues from urgent necessity ; a suffi-
cient proof, as I told them, that the Iron age was fully come. Their
dogmas on the mathematical ratios of virtue and vice in the Four ages
are calculated to exercise an injurious influence on the national morals ;
for where men are taught that crime and calamity are destined before-
hand to become more and more rife, they will commit every enormity
with a pious resignation and conformity to the will of heaven, and
«‘ make guilty of their disasters, the sun, the moon, and the stars, as
if they were villains by an enforced obedience of planetary influence.”
Would not a general reformation, bring about a state of affairs, which,
by contravening the statements of the Shasters, would, in fact, dis-
prove their divine origin? But the prophecy is really working itself
out so far as the institutions of Hindooism are in question; daily are
Brahmans less and less honored, kine more and more eaten, widows
less and less burned. The dominion of the English in Hindoosthan
was, they said, clearly predicted in the Poorans, with an assigned
duration which would satisfy even the proprietors of railway and India
stock, and fill with dismay the hearts of Parisian Journalists; these
seers of Kumaoon, who know very little of the present, and, save the
576 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | JUNE,
dreams of the Shasters, nothing of the past, assured me that we were
safe for I know not how many thousand years. On such occasions
one is inevitably reminded of the aphorism stamped by the quotation
of Alexander—a fair guesser is the best prophet—as well as of the
famous Divining Ape of Master Peter, who, as his owner candidly
admitted, told much more concerning things past than things to come.
It is, fortunately for human responsibility, a mark of authentic prophe-
cies to be so obscure before the event, and very frequently even after
it, that it is impossible for the agents to discover that they are merely
performing what had been written of them ages previous to their birth ;
but Hindoo prophets thought differently, and if my Brahmans were
not lying or deceived, the rise and progress of the English in India is
detailed in their books with a minuteness surpassing even the notices
of the kings of the north and south ; of our decline and fall, distant as
they are, they politely omitted all discussion. The pilgrims begin to
arrive here in November, and the Teeruth ends in April.
14th March.—To Belkhet, 13 miles, over the Byala or Bylchheena
Pass; the road gradually rises, with several interruptions where tor-
rents occur; pass Chundrabun, a deserted Goth, marked by a large
Peepul tree: then the Bitreegar nudee, carrying a good stream of
brilliant water ; next, Tula and Mula Duh, two small, cultivated, crater-
like depressions; and, a little higher, the Toongagar stream. In
this neighbourhood there are said to be some small tarns called Shiala,
which I did not visit. At the Toongagar the road becomes excessively
bad, very indifferently lined, and almost blocked up by large angular
boulders. A steep, and at this season very hot ascent, leads to the
crest of the Bylchheena Pass, from 4000 to 4500 feet above the sea.
Near the summit, Mr. Lushington, the Commissioner, has constructed
a Noula or covered well, which affords the fainting coolee a very wel-
come and necessary refreshment. A favorite Dhurmm, or good work
amongst the richer natives of the mountains, is to pay a man of good
caste to station himself in such sites as this, and supply gratis, without
distinction of caste, a cup of cold water to every passenger ; the custom
is known also in the plains, and is said to be founded on the express
precept of the Shasters ; it seems unknown to those who in Europe and
elsewhere declaim so volubly and so ignorantly against the selfishness
of the Hindoo nation.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. a/7
The descent from the pass is continuous on the north side, and lat-
terly very steep, to the Ludheea or Loodheea river, 4 or 5 miles down :
it is even now a pretty large and rapid stream, and when the rains fill
its wide stony channel becomes unfordable, and closes this route for
many days together ; not that in the wet season it is much frequented ;
but many fatal accidents cry out for a bridge. Its sources are on the
southern face of the Deo Dhoora range, whence, separated from the
plains by the Dhyanee Ras and Tula Des mountains, it flows S. E. to
join the Kalee above Burm Des, about 4 miles below Belkhet. The
road from the foot of the pass turns to the left, up its right bank, and
in a mile or so we reach a hut, with some scanty cultivation across the
river, which bears the name of Belkhet ; but no supplies are procurable
here, or indeed any where between Burm Deo and Chumpawut. The
glen is here less than a mile across, and being only 1300 feet above
the sea, and walled in by lofty mountains, is exceedingly hot and un-
healthy. The pretty Bantam-like jungle fowl is very common, and so
tame that I noticed several emerging from the thickets to fraternize
with their bulkier but degenerate race of the barn-door.
The scenery of to-day’s route is beyond praise ; and everywhere the
mountains and vallies exhibit the most exuberant vegetation; the
“« dense forests of exotic plants,” noted at p. 25 of the Geology of
Kumaoon ; an inexact phrase which is repeated in the map on each side
of the Surjoo at Ramesur Bridge: but properly speaking, the plants
cannot be said to be ewofic, unless removed to the Edinburgh, or some
other foreign Botanic Garden. Besides those of Burm Deo and Poona-
giri, the beautiful Pothos scandens covers the trunks of large trees on
the northern aspect of the pass; where also, in the damp, half dark
glens, the still more beautiful Wallichia Palm occurs in profusion
(which, till the fruit was seen, I took for a Fern,) with here and there
a specimen of the wild Plantain (Musa,) probably its utmost limit to
the N. W. ; but in the glens of the Kalee and Goree rivers, near Askot,
it forms whole jungles. On the southern side of the pass, especially
about the Toongagar, the Thunbergia (Hexacentris) coccinea, called
** Kul-jonka,” climbs abundantly over the lower trees. Mr. Batten
brought me specimens from the Doorga Peepul pass, a few miles N. W.
of this, beyond which it is hitherto unknown : (since met with in the
Bunlouree pass.) Towards the summit of the pass, Cissus serrulata
578 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
covers every rock, and Olea glandulosa (or compacta) forms a large
timber tree; monkies and langoors* are innumerable, and no doubt a
proportion of tigers to feed on them ; the flesh of the monkey however
is said to be too pungent for the tiger.
The Byala pass is described by Dr. McClelland to consist of argilla-
ceous and calcareous sandstones, which Dr. Falconer has since observed
to be in one spot greatly altered by a trap-dyke. The Belkhet valley
consists of greenstone and dolomite ; the mountains to the north exhi-
bit green and blue dolomite in vertical strata, with hornblende slate
near the Ludheea; the summits are of gneiss and granite which last
Dr. McClelland found reposing on gniess and hornblende slate on the
S. W. declivity of Chhirapanee. .
The usual solitude of Belkhet is just now enlivened by considerable
numbers of families returniug with their cattle from the Bhabur ; seve-
ral parties of Darma Bhoteyas are also on the way back to their native
snows, their sheep and goats well laden with cloth, sugar, sweetmeets,
tobacco, and grain: not a man present with this party understands
a word of Hindoostanee or Hindooee.
15th March.—To Chhirapanee, 12 miles, which took the best of
my coolees 7, the worst 9 hours to accomplish: the elevation is pro-
bably from 7000 to 7500 feet, which gives about 5500 for the stage.
The route penetrates the entire zone of Pinus longifolia, and then enters
the region of Quercus incana and lanuginosa, Androsace lanuginosa,
and similar evidences of considerable elevation. In many spots the
mossy banks and Quercus incana were matted with Orchidez, amongst
which I recognized Ceelogyne nitida, ‘‘ Hurjoj,” Phaius albus, Dendro-
bium Paxtonii, Octomeria spicata? ‘“ Guroor-punja ;’’ Oberonia iridi-
folia, and several others unknown. Near Chhirapanee at a probable
height of 7000 feet is a bed of Tulipa stellata, the most elevated spot
at which it has come under my observation ; its natural belt appears to
be from 3500 to 6000 feet above sea-line ; it certainly does not reach
near the limit of perpetual snow where Humboldt places it. (Cosmos
I. Note 4.)
On leaving Belkhet, the road follows the right bank of Ludeea for
a mile or more, and then under a small village called Oopurkut, placed
on a cultivated plateau, crosses the stream where the entire width of
the glen is occupied by its channel of stones and huge boulders, the
* Entellus.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 579
latter rudely piled on each other with a general dip towards the head
of the stream. (R.S.) Here the Ludeea receives from the north a
small, but brilliantly clear tributary, the Bhubgoolia, up the course
of which lies the road, now commencing to rise in earnest ; as do the
rocks on every side in vertical walls. The first crest is attained at a
village called Kookrounee; hence along an undulating ridge, 2 miles to
Sulla, a fit place to breakfast; there is a Deodar grove and spring
called Burm, about a mile beyond this, a little down to theeast. Here
commences the second pull up one of the great spurs of the Kanadeo
range, the Gagur of Kalee Kumaoon, and only terminates about three
quarters of a mile short of Chhirapanee, which lies rather beyond
the highest point of the pass. The declivities on each hand during
this ascent are extremely steep and deep; beyond them to the left is
the Loungchoola range, connected with Kanadeo: its spacious pine-
covered flanks present numerous patches of cultivation.
Chhirapanee, sometimes called Chourapanee, derives its name from
asmall stream which falls over the rocks here in a petty cascade:
rising in the Kanadeo summit, which may be about 700 feet above to
N. E. and is estimated by Dr. McClelland to be 8000 feet above the
sea. It is 24 miles due east of the Birond summit near Bumouree,
and like that, is one of the Trigonometrical stations : the Quercus lann-
ginosa (Reeanj) clothes the summit, which is consecrated by a neat
temple to Muhadeo, invoked as ‘‘ Kanadeo ;” “the God with one
eye.” Beyond a neck, the range is continued to the east, in two more
reat points of equal elevation: and there appears to trend S. KE. The
view hence, as from camp (there is no village,) is grand. To the
south, Nalee mun is conspicuous amongst the outer ranges; to the
N. W. far beneath, is the broad undulating vale of Kalee Kumaoon,
studded with dark groves of Deodar, but otherwise highly cultivated,
with the old capital of Chumpawut W. N. W. towards its farther
extremity ; beyond this, partially concealed by the intervening ridge
of Mulsa Deo, is the basin of Lohooghat ; to the N. E. is seen the
precipitous face of the Thakil; and to the north, and far on each
side, the snows. They assume forms considerably different from those
in the vicinity of Almorah; the Trisool is foreshortened into a bastion-
_ ed mass like that of Budreenath, and brought nearly into contact with
Nunda Devee; the pinnacles of the Punj-choola, immediately in front,
4 N
580 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. (June,
are compressed into a cluster; while the vast groups of Dotee and
Joomla appear to eclipse Nunda Devee itself in mass and elevation.
The scene issuch that Muhadeo has need of both his eyes to do it
justice.
16th.—To Lohooghat, about 10 miles ; all descent for several miles
nto the vale of Chumpawut, which the road traverses for several miles
—leaving the place so ealled to the left : it occupies a spur of the slop-
ing western mountains, but is now reduced to a village. The rock is
eneiss and granite, deconrposing rapidly, and to this eause Dr. McClel-
land (pp. 47, 48,) attributes the desolation of the city m a passage
which recals the Burdens of Isaiah and Jeremiah against Babylon.
The Almorah people assign a cause not less fanciful; according to
them, the Raja Kulyan Chund, was hunting in the forest which then
covered the site of Almorah; a hare chased into a thicket was meta-
morphosed into a tiger: which the Chaldzeans pronounced an omen so
auspicious that the seat of Empire was removed forthwith, with the
promise that whoever dared to hunt any of his race, would soon dis-
eover he had tigers to deal with. As might be expected the real cause
originated in political motives, A. D. 1563: conquests had been made to
the northwest, and Chumpawut was not sufficiently centrical. Want
of time prevented a visit to the spot, where the antiquities, especi-
ally a ruined temple, are said to be interesting. Before coming
abreast of its old fort, the road passes by.a fine wood of Deodar trees on
a rising ground, on which is a temple to Gutkoo Deotah, in whose
honor an annual fair is held here; this mound is said to be named
«‘ Koorm-achul,”” Tortoise mountain, in the Skund Poorana, because in
this spot Vishnoo assumed the form of a Tortoise to support the moun-
tain Mundura, when the ocean was churned for the water of life after
the deluge. The designation of the province, ‘‘ Kumaoon,” is said to
be a corruption of Koorm-achul ; the people themselves write and pro-
nounce it, * Koomaoo :”? having the reputation amongst their neigh-
bours of being quarrelsome and litigious, one is disposed to derive the
word from ‘* Koomun,” evil-disposed ; but such a brand would scarcely
be adopted by the people themselves.
The old cantonment of Goorl-chour was situated to the left of the
road near Koorm-achul wood ; the site was hastily deemed unhealthy
from the great mortality which occurred there im 1815, among our
1848. ] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 581
sepoys ; the true source of which was their march through the Burm
Deo Turaee in the months of June and July,—an open valley, elevated
5330 feet above the sea, or 5830 according to Mr. Trail’s estimate,
with a soil composed of decomposing granite, could scarcely contain in
itself the seeds of disease to such an extent. It is traversed by the
Geendia, an affluent of the Lohoo river ; an easy ascent brings the tra-
veller to the summit of the Mulsa Deo or Makha Lekh pass, from
which the station of Lohooghat is seen about three miles north; the
descent is gentle ; the hills prettily cultivated, and at their base the
Lohoo flows in a deep rocky channel: it is passed by a picturesque
but ricketty wooden bridge; a little beyond this, on the left or east
bank is the holy shrine of Rikhesur, prettily situated amongst cedar
groves, and rejoicing in the privilege of a linga, which has the property
of growth.
The station is a short walk farther, and occupies a pleasant tract of
grassy undulating ground, sprinkled with Deodars, and the very neat
and English-looking houses and grounds of the European residents. It
is calculated to be 5649 feet above Calcutta. The granite of Chumpa-
wut here disappears, and gives place to blue clay slate in vertical strata,
with some quartz. ‘The ground rises gently towards the north, and at
about three miles distance is backed by the grassy saddleback moun-
tain called Sooee in maps, but by the natives Junoom. Thesummit is
reckoned 7500 feet high, and Dr. McClelland quotes it at 8000, and
states the rock to be dolomite; Captain Webb at 5910, which must
refer to Sooee, a group of villages on its western declivity or base, with
a considerable tract of level cultivation, entirely in the hands of a
Brahman colony, who are said to traffic advantageously with the Bho-
teyas of Dharma and Byans. The road to Pithoragurh passes between
the mountain and the villages, where the slopes are beautifully wooded
with Cedar.
The Jhoom mountain is continued far down to the 8S. E. to Khilpu-
tee, by a level, woody range perhaps 6500 to 7000 feet high, copiously
wooded with Quercus incana and Rhododendron arboreum, &c. ; on this,
about 2 miles, N. N. KE. of Lohooghat, Mr. Batten, C. 8S. has a
shooting box, called Rykot, commanding agreeable walks along the
park-like plateaus, with one exception that the solitary wanderer ruus
a good chance of being picked up by a tiger.
AN 2
582 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
On a conical peak, about 5 miles west of the station is Kotulgurh,
the Fort Hastings of our maps, fabled to have been the stronghold of
the arrow-demon Banasoor Danava and Daitya, son of Raja or Muha-
--buli, who here fought with Vishnoo and his Soors, and prevailed not,
though the conflict was long doubtful. No sooner was a Daitya slain,
and his blood poured on the ground, than it produced a hundred others,
so that the greater the slaughter of their enemies, the farther were the
gods from victory. In this difficulty, Muhakalee was created, like
Pandora, by general donations from the celestials, and by her were the
giants at length exterminated. Amongst those who fell by her hand
was Kottuvee, the mother of Banasoor, who, with a coat of mail over
her bust, and naked from the waist downwards, fought like an amazon
on the battlements: which are said to derive their name from her
exploits and appearance, Kotulgurh being interpreted by “ The fortress,
the abode of the naked woman.”
The existence of Banasoor in any age or place would be a matter of
no easy proof, but the received traditions of India locate Muhabulipoor
on the Coromandel shore below Madras, and Banasoor still further
south near Devicotta ; the learned pundits of Kumaoon, however, locate
all these wonders at and around Lohooghat, and affirm that Sooee is no
other than Sonitpoor—“ the red city,” of the Shasters, the abode of
Banasoor. The peculiarities of the soil at and around Lohooghat explain
the mystery. On removing the sod, in some places a blue, but far
more generally a deep red ferruginous clay is found to form the ground,
and to this the people appeal as ocular demonstration of the legend :
it owes its color to nothing else than the blood of the giants. During
the rainy season, the Lohoo or ‘ blood’’ river, is similarly discolored :
and hence the name of the station. We find the same idea in the
mountains of Lebanon, where
- “ Smooth Adonis, from his native rock,”
‘“¢ Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood,
Of Thammuz yearly wounded.”
It is amusing enough to find that Banasoor was ‘an inhabitant
householder at Sooee, paying scot and lot, and had a house on the
right-hand side of the way, as you go down the Jhoom hill, just
opposite the poulterers:” but to those who hold morally and meta-
physically the opinions maintained geologically by Lyell and_ his
school, viz. that forces still in operation, have produced all the exist-
1848. ] The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon- 583
ing phenomena of society, the instance of Kumaoon may be instructive
also. So far as his own experience goes, the European may be a Sad-
ducee : yet, were the popular belief to guide him, he actually breathes
and lives in an atmosphere of the supernatural; a god, a ghost, an
angel, a devil, a witch, lurks behind every stone and bush, and posses-
ston by them is a daily affair. All sickness is in fact considered of
diabolical origin, and an approved charm for getting rid of it and
pegging down the devil, is driving a wooden pin into the ground where
four ways meet, and burying certain grains and drugs on the spot ; these
are speedily disinterred by the crows, who really profit on these occa-
sions, as do the principals occasionally, in virtue of the force of imagi-
nation. Last year, the common Prickly Pear, Cactus Indicus, was
fortunately annihilated at Almorah by myriads of a species of Coccus :
but no such evident cause would satisfy the people: the plant withered
and died under the curse of a fukeer, who had suffered from one of its
thorns. What appear to our western intellects, the most senseless
legends, are here divine, not only probable, but certain, attested by the
inspired Moonees, and perfectly consonant with the then order of nature
—no small portion of which is believed to be still in force. The grave
old Pundit will fall into ecstasies of admiration and approbation of the
erotic exploits of Krishn, which in Europe, would place the god in
the stocks. One feels the standards of judgment and moral approba-
tion shaking under one’s feet. Yet in practice, neither the understand-
ing nor the conscience of the Hindoo seems to be seriously impaired
by his reception of these puerilities. We may laugh at him asa spiri-
tual Don quixote, but in the ordinary business of life, he is sensible
and shrewd, and, generally speaking, as honest and moral as his judges.
In the performance of the pilgrimages and ceremonies built on his
fables, he derives a satisfaction and a merit which compensate him for
the negation of philosophy. His legends would evaporate before the
acid touch of Hume’s famous Essay as the system of our Puseyites
would fade before an honest perusal of “fiddling Conyers” free
Inquiry ; but Cui bono? in either case. On the ascent to Poonagiri,
was a family returning from the pilgrimage; the old mother trembling
and crouching along the precipitous ledges—but the sparkle of the
spiritual dram was in her eye, which proclaimed her conviction that she
had just secured her eternal happiness. Tow cruel to undeceive her.
“No more; where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.”
584 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
But these legends are also his substitute for our drama, opera,
romance, novel, poem and newspaper; and are probably in the long
run as true and exact as the adventures and motives with which the
western world is contented. It is more than likely that no such per-
sons as Ram and Krishn ever lived, but what of that? If we analyze
our own feelings we shall find that Hamlet, Falstaff, Jonathan Old-
back, though utterly fictitious in event, enjoy a real presence and life
in our minds and speech, while Alexander and Cesar are little more
than shadows ; it was perhaps this train of thought carried beyond its
legitimate limits which led the Indian writers to neglect the ordinary
method of history, and adopt the spiritual romance in its stead. That
the character of their heroes should exhibit what to us appear so many
objectionable traits, may arise from the fact that their celestial system
is so adapted to the analogies which they felt and saw in themselves
and around them, that it does not recognize the existence of beings
either supremely good or hopelessly bad: the former class fall occa-
sionally like Vulcan of old into the nets of Venus, the latter, by
penance, obtain the dominion of the world. There is no personifica-
tion of “ nature’s mischief,” undiluted, to be held forth as a moral
beacon.
The Pauranic legends regarding Kumaoon are contained in the
Manuskhand section of the Skund Poorana: Mr, Batten promises
a Hindee version, which would be of much local interest: otherwise
their tenor will be to the effect how this saint inherited the earth by
standing on his head, or between five fires for so many years: and
that he obtained the beatific vision, perhaps the magnetic trance, by a
sedulous contemplation of the tip of his own nose, &c.
There is nothing peculiar in the botany of Lohooghat, except per-
haps the great abundance of a lilac Primula which fringes every
stream, flowering during the winter and early spring. It is equally
abundant at Chumpawut and Pithorahgurh : and pretty common at
Almorah: and if not P. speciosa, Wall. should be distinguished as
P. rivularis. Dr. Dollard states that Ranunculus lingua flourishes
luxuriantly in the low marshy vallies, and is fatal to the sheep and
goats which feed on it with avidity. The plant intended was probably
i. arvensis.
17th March.—F rom Lohooghat to Dhurgura, about 10 miles north ;
the road good, but narrow, and one succession of ups and downs.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 585
Near Lohooghat, it passes through the Sooce groves of Deodar Cedars;
these are extensive, and the tree has spread and perpetuated itself for
ages: but neither here nor in any other portion of the province does it
seem truly indigenous, being always found near temples and _ villages,
(the oldest and finest trees by the former), and never, so far as I
know, on the open mountains. Once over the Sooee heights, all ap-
pearance of undulating downs is lost, and the view resumes its usual
Chaotic character ; the road passes under the western face of Jhoom,
which is steep and precipitous ; and passes its contination in this
direction by the Kolakot ka Chheena ; a little beyond which, 4 miles
from Lohooghat, are the pretty hamlets of Jirkoona, perched under
steep crags of dolomite, and famous for the growth of excellent ginger.
To the right, Jhoom is continued to a high knob called Choomulkot,
below which is a grove of Deodars called Regroo Banee, on the round-
ed back of a mountain, at the base of which flows the Surjoo. Pass-
ing above Barakot village, the road now reaches the Janghee-ka Koot-
kee, about a mile short of Dhurgura; here for several hundred yards,
there is an almost perpendicular slope of grass and trees on the right,
the road itself descending steeply at the same time ; it was formerly a
very dangerous spot, and is still not very safe: Dr. V. of the Kumaoon
Battalion, fell over with his pony a few years since; he had a miracu-
lous escape, but the pony was killed. There is a small, but welcome
Bungalow of two rooms at Dhurgura, which is reckoned about 5000
feet above the sea: the Fritillaria Thomsoniana is very abundant on the
Janghee ka Kootkee ; and about the Bungalow, the Bauhinia parviflora,
Rottlera tinctoria, Poivrea Roxburghii, MHedera eesculifolia ‘ Gur-
semul,’ &c. mark a warm site. The Thakil mountain is just across
the Surjoo ; its gigantic ribs, and rocky scarps, falling steeply towards
the river are very fine, and reminded me of Ben Nevis as seen from
Fort William (N. B.) On its western shoulder bearing I. N. E. from
Dhurgura, is the Kunthagaon Bungalow, about 500 feet lower, 8 or 9
miles distant by the road, but only 4 as the crow flies: between them
is the profound glen of the Surjoo river.
In the afternoon descended to the Ramesur Bridge, 5 or 6 miles
distant, a considerable portion of the route pretty steep, and near the
Surjoo exceedingly so. The fact of the bridges being thrown across
the narrowest part of the rivers, ensures abrupt approaches. The only
586 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. | JUNE,
level is for a mile neara recently established hamlet called Singda
about half way down. From this point there is a fine view of the
junction of the Ramgunga with the Surjoo, about 2 miles above the
bridge ; on the right bank of the latter river there isa large patch of
cultivation, above which is the small village of Ramesur : notwithstand-
ing the name, the confluence is sacred to Muhadey, as the word is clas-
sically pronounced in Kumaoon, The inhabitants complain much of
the ravages of deer, which the numerous tigers,—for which the whole
neighbourhood is infamous—are unable to keep down. The elevation of
Ramesur Temple is only 1587 feet above Calcutta; that of the bridge
about 1500: this, with the extreme narrowness of the glen (the river
occupying its entire floor) and the thick jungle, ensures a very hot,
and in the rains damp and unhealthy climate ; the people describe the
heat as absolutely suffocating. The Surjoo is here spanned by a hand-
-some iron suspension bridge, 59 paces (180 feet) over: the river form-
ing at this point a deep green pool, in which as in the Kossilla at
Dhikkolee, may occasionally be seen the fresh-water shark ? called Gons
ot Gonch (a species of Silurus, Dr. Jameson informs me,) said to be of
an ovate form, to have no scales, an immense head, with projecting
snout, frightful rows of teeth, and corresponding voracity. It attains
the length of six fect, is found up the river as far as Bagesur, as well
as in the Ganges at Hurdwar. The people affirm that a man was
recently attacked here by one of them. There is also in the Ramesur
pool a huge boulder, called Muhadev, now about 15 feet out of the
water, but wholly covered in the rains. Below the Dhurgura Bunga-
low, Pinus longifolia covers the mountains, and reaches to within a few
hundred feet of the bridge. Sal commences 500 feet below the Bunga-
low, and Sauravia Nepalensis (Gogunda, Gogeena), Bauhinia Vahlu,.
Dalbergia Ougeinensis, Robinia macrophylla, and Hedychium coccineum
in profusion, soon make their appearance.* With the Sal, and reach-
* About 15 miles higher up the Surjoo, near the Gungolee or Shera Bridge, at an ele=
vation of 2500 feet—and a 1000 feet upward, the following plants were found.
Sauravia Nepalensis.
Leea staphylea ?
Curculigo recurvata.
Wallichia Palm (Urightea, Rexk.)
Hiptage madablota.
Sabia paniculata,
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 587
ing down to the level of perhaps 3000 feet, occurs a new species of
Rubia, which Mr. Edgeworth has named R. nervosa. It has round
stems, sessile lanceolate leaves, and buff-colored flowers ; the plant is
entirely procumbent, growing on the steep banks to the length of 5 or
6 feet, with a very large root of the finest red ; it exists in less quanti-
ty on the opposite bank; neither myself nor any of my people have
met it except here and 15 miles higher up at the Gungolee Bridge.
Nevertheless as growing by the roadside on the only high ways in the
country, it is curious it should have escaped notice hitherto; the fact
proves how imperfectly we are yet acquainted with the Botany of the
Boswellia? ‘‘ Googgur :” leafless.
Thunbergia coccinea.
Piper sylvaticum ?
Citrus Medica? ‘‘ Beejoura.”
Toddalia aculeata. ‘‘ Kunj.”
Chonemorpha macrophylla.
Pittosporum.
Uncaria pilosa.
Evonymus N. S.?
Lysionotus ternifolia (Don.) probably,
Clematis loasefolia. 3500-4000 feet not found west of the Surjoo glen.
Laurus tomentosa? ‘‘ Kupooa-kouwul.”
Laurus lanceolaria. ‘‘ Soon-kouwul.”
Tetranthera apetala? ‘‘ Gur-beejour.”
Ficus lamellosa? ‘* Gur-timla.” A very shrubby sp. on the rocks along the margin
ot the river.
Ficus ovata? Don. ‘‘ Bedoolee,” and another, a lofty climber.
Boehmeria tenacissima. ‘“‘ Poee,” ‘‘ Phoosur-puta.”
B. frutescens ? ‘‘ Gur-tooshiara.”
Boehmeria macrophylla ( Don.)
Boehmeria platyphylla. } “ Gurgela.”
Boehmeria rotundifolia.
Boehmeria salicifolia. ‘‘ Tooshiara.”
Boehmeria nervosa. ‘‘ Getee.”
Procris. Several species.
Blumea laciniata.
Gynura nepalensis : a very succulent shrub.
Polygonum glabrum. ‘‘ Kurra.”
Amongst the stones by the river side at a temporary native bridge about a mile above
the Iron one, grows a small pubescent shrub, which Mr. Edgeworth thinks ts a species
of Rhabdia. It must be altogether submerged during the wet season :—and for as long
in the dry months, exposed to the fiercest heat.
40
588 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [Junn,
mountains, and how many novelties may exist in the uncounted glens
never yet traversed by the European; the native collector is satisfied
by saying (with Sheridan) he has been there. The Rubia nervosa
would probably succeed in any of the hilly countries, if not in the
plains of India.
From the Glaciers of Pindree and Kuphinee Messrs. Strachey
brought me in May, 1847, a plant called ‘ Roogee,” the large tap-root
of which is eaten by the mountaineers : it has a slight flavour of Horse-
radish ; it speedily perished at Almorah, but from the best examination
afforded by very young and imperfect flower buds, it seemed to be a
new species of Actea. The same gentlemen also brought me from
those sites abundant specimens of Primula petiolaris, nana, and another
with the habit of P. denticulata, which I have also had from the Milum
glacier, and which Mr. Edgeworth thinks new, and proposes to call P.
densiflora : (Primula treviscapa N. 8. Edgeworth from near Sooring) :
also a new and pretty purple Corydalis, two new Saxifrages, and Trol-
lius pumilus. Gagea elegans is a common plant near Pindree. From
specimens found in seed only, I have good reason to suppose that
Trollius europzeus grows between Rasrung and the cascades, on the
south face of the Roopin pass, and would be found there in flower by
any visiter in May and June.*
* Some of the plants collected towards Pindree in 1846, having had, in common with
most of those enumerated in this paper, the advantage of Mr. Edgeworth’s examination,
Iam enabled to state that the creeping Raspberry of p. 246, No. 176, J. A. S. is Rubus
nutans. Wahlenbergia of Wachum, p. 247, is W. viridis: a specimen froma weak strug-
gling shrub near Dooglee, not alluded to in the Journal, is probably Panax pseudo-gin-
seng, another approximation of the local botany to that of Gosainsthan. In an earlier
paper on the Shatool and Roopin passes (p. 16.) I have named the ‘‘ Kusbul,” Saussu-
rea gossypina ; but have now every reason to believe it is Mr. Edgeworth’s N. S. Saus-
surea sacra. A slip in the nomenclature of the Composite is pardonable : most of these
have as many names as a Spanish grandee.
Several grievous errors of punctuation having disfigured the narrative in No. 176, the
following alterations are very necessary to the sense. .
P, 231,1.30. For ‘‘ also found,” read “‘ not found.”
246, 1. 2. Insert a period after “ plains,” and comma after Kalaputthur.
», lastline but one. Insert period after S. E. and dele it after Khathee.
256, for 1807 read 1847.
260, 1.22. Dele the commas after ‘‘ Dooglee,” and “ Diwalee,” and insert one
after ‘* hour.”
», 2 From bottom. Put the semicolon after ‘‘ Nynee Tal, &c.” and dele it
after“ 3 P.M.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 989
March 18th.—To Pithoragurh, 14 miles. The ascent northwards
to Kunthagaon Bungalow, is long but generally easy, the road being
well lined, the Surjoo flowing, often in rapids, immediately below. To
the trees enumerated on the opposite bank may be added Kydia caly-
cina, Lantana dubia, a shrubby Procris, Gynaion vestita ‘ Peen,”’
Edwardsia mollis, Bassia butyracea ‘‘ Chyoora,” the last in great abun-
dance, reaching the size of a large tree as high up as Kunthagaon,
4000 feet. The name probably comes from the Sanscrit choorn to
pound, oil impregnated with the essence of flower, pounded sandal, &c. :
or from Kshood, to bruise, to pound, whence Ashoudru, “ honey, bee,
and Michelia champaca:” but the signification Bassia is unknown to
the dictionaries, as is “ Phoolel,” the “ butter’? made from the fruit to
the hill people, who call it “‘ Chyoora ka peena,’—* fat of the Bassia.”
The tree flowers in November, and from its blossoms and those of the
‘© Joundela,” Aichmanthera gossypina, which is in the greatest abun-
dance about Kunthagaon, bees are supposed to make the best honey,
and hence that of Pithoragurh and Dotee is in much request.
Basella alba, “ Koee,” ‘ Belia-palung’’ is cultivated in some of the
villages about Ramesur.
Approaching Kunthagaon, the road turns to the right up the
glen of the Gunnik or Jameer (Citron) river, presenting the finest
rock scenery in outer Kumaoon. The torrent roars at a great
depth below, veiled by the most beautiful woods: the north bank
rises in a splendid facade of crags, called Baroonee or Barooree,
to the N. E. of which is a still loftier and very precipitous range, call-
ed Mason and Bissar, amongst the acclivities of which are two hamlets
called Jak Pooran. There are several fine cascades from the precipices,
which are apparently all limestone. On the south side of the glen,
the road to Pithora is, for 2 or 3 miles, carried along the N. W. flank
of Thakil, falling to the Gunnik in steeps and precipices by no means
agreeable to the equestrian, though the road itself is good. Kuntha-
gaon Bungalow stands on the brink of a tremendous steep, to the
S. E. of which is a lofty peaked precipice from which it is named.
This supports a petty village called Goguna (Sauravia:) the distance
is 17 miles from Lohooghat, 10 from Pithora. Two miles from Kun-
thagaon is Goon or Goorna village, where the worst part of the road is
over, and there is some level cultivation. About Goon, Herbert notices
402
590 The Turaee aud Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ June;
a remarkable orange-colored cechreous rock, of rhomboidal cleavage,
and very low specific gravity. It strongly resembles the layers obser-
vable between the basaltic strata of Antrim, and is probably a clay-
slate altered by the action of trap, a vein of which comes to the surface
of the mountain a few hundred feet. above the village; at Ramesur
Bridge Dr. McClelland states the rock to be Hornblende slate: above
that it seemed to be chiefly limestone, with some slate and trap: and
Kunthagaon stands on slate highly inclined. No allusion to the presence
of greenstone hereabouts occurs in Captain Herbert’s memoir. From
Goon to Pithora the rock is chiefly clayslate: this according to Dr,
McClelland forms the basis of Thakil : at Pithora, the rocks are slate and
limestone, the latter generally in tabular hills: at the base of Fort Lou-
don there are some trap boulders, which Herbert says were only detach-
ed from the crown of the hills when the works were raised about 1815.
On the road side between Kunthagaon and Goon, the Pheenix syl-
vestris is to be seen in abundance, and of all heights, fronf a mere
shrub to a tree of 30 feet: in the Sal forests of Choubhynsia, and
Poonagiri, it also grows abundantly as a shrub, as well as up to 5000
feet or more at Almorah: under this aspect, it seems to be the Pheenix
humilis of Royle. The steeps of Thakil towards Goon are also adorned
with a profusion of the magnificent Lilium Wallichianum ‘ Findora,”
growing six feet high, and producing 1, 2, and rarely 3 white blossoms,
occasionally a foot in length. The Edwardsia mollis, Himalayan Labur-
num, is now in full bloom in the same spots with a shrubhy ashy, species
of Desmodium? called “ Shialee’’ and ‘‘ Phoosur-puta,” bearing yellow
flowers, which I have only seen here and at Jyaree, between 3000 and
4000 feet. The Pinus longifolia covers all the lower Thakil, with here
and there a Chestnut (Castanea tribuloides,) of which the zone is between
2000 and 6000 feet. A shrubhy Sapium occurs near Tholee village.
Beyond Goon, the road quits the line of the Jameer and turning a
little to the right, passes up a pretty cultivated glen to Thokee, a group
of villages just below a low pass, on which is built one of the cairns
called “‘ Kutputya,’ Thokee is the point from which pilgrims generally
ascend the Thakil, by a good path. A stream which rises between the
two highest cimes of the mountain here tumbles down a rocky recess
in a fine cascade: it is the highest source of the Jameer. The Thokee
pass leads down into the vale of Thurkot, a large village with consider-
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Moflatains of Kumaoon. O91
able cultivation ; the acclivities of the surrounding mountains, cut down
into cliffs, or rounded into rocky knolls, are covered with thickets of
the “Runnel’ Rhus parviflora; its leaves blighted by the late severe
snows, give the glen much of the wild heathery look of the Irish and
Scottish mountains. The Cratcegus crenulata, so abundant in Kalee
and western Kumaoon does not grow hereabouts : the limestone may be
inimical to it.
From Thurkot, the road gradually rises to the Hichoolee ka khan
(one of the sources of the Jameer) on the crest of which, to the east,
lies the vale of Shor, commonly known to Europeans as Pithoragurh ;
the name is said to be from the Sanscrit Swurg-arohun, “ the ascent to
heaven,” one of the avatars having selected this route to return there.
The station is still nearly two miles distant. The valley had an aspect
strangely remote from any other in our territories, and in itself and the
character of its surrounding mountains, brings Europe to our recollec-
tion moré vividly than any other spot I have seen in Asia. At a rough
guess it may be about 5 miles across, falling gently to the south-east,
and bisected into north and south by a tabular ridge of slate, limestone,
and greenstone, originating in the mountains to the N. W. and branch-
ing down to 8. HE. On the south-western exposure of this spur stands
the station, now occupied by two companies of the Kumaoon battalion.
Fort Loudon or Pithoragurh is, a few hundred yards to the west, on
a mound, apparently artificially scarped, about 15 feet high, crowned
by a loop-holed wall, 7 or 8 feet high, with the barbette platforms,
and broken cisterns which will hold no water ; on a commanding point
to the N. W. there is a pepper box-kind of outwork, called Wilkie-
gurh. The elevation of the station above Calcutta is 5547 feet. The
whole valley is prettily dotted with small villages, generally placed on
eminences, and surrounded by the only trees visible, except the distant
forests of Bissar and Thakil. The land is often nearly quite level for
extensive tracts, and is carefully cultivated with wheat, &c. The soil
is a stiff clay, which, after ploughing, requires being broken up by
wooden mallets. The people do not emigrate to the Bhabur, which,
with the fertility of the soil, is the cause of the abundance and cheap-
ness of provisions compared with Lohooghat and Almorah. Flour
here sells for about 30 sers the rupee, when it is only 18 at Almorah,
and would be still cheaper if the Bhotiyas did not carry away much ;
592 The Turaee and Ou Mountains of Kumaoon. | JUNE,
as for Lohooghat, the garrison and the traveller there exist on the
verge of perpetual starvation; the inhabitants appear to grow little
more than they require for themselves: and when the whole regiment
was quartered on Eastern Kumaoon, the glaring violations of the free
trade system were so frequent and extensive as to lead to constant dis-
satisfaction and almost open conflict between the pinched soldiery and
the oppressed peasantry ; affairs will now improve, as Kalee Kumaoon
has but to support two companies, aided by supplies from the plains.
Each section of Shor valley has its stream: that to the south, named
Chundurbhaga, flows along the south end, and, joined by the branch
from the N. W. forms the Okul of the map, escaping south to the
Kalee by the temple and glen of Choupukhya. The outline of the
enclosing mountains is extremely bold and varied: their sides sloping
and grassy in some parts, steep as walls in others. To the east is the
Durge range, about 7000 feet high, connected on the N. with the
remarkable summit of Dhuj, upwards of 8000 feet high, with a con-
tour exactly similar to a section through a parapet. S.S. W. is the
long ridge of Thakil, with its three summits, the northern aspects still
showing a few patches of snow. To N. N. W. are the mountains over
which goes the direct road to Almorah, (viz. Bans, 9 miles: Gungo-
leehath, 13: Nynee, 12: Punwanoula, 10: Almorah, 11,) and N. N. E.
is a bold and lofty cone, the Kotesur ka Devee, but better known to
the English residents as the “ Drill” hill. It is reported to bear this
last appellation from the tradition that in days of yore, Colonel S. S.
was accustomed to punish delinquents in his regiment by ordering
them to trudge, in full panoply, to the top of this mountain, their
commanding officer, telescope in hand, superintending the distant
penance, in his own veranda! The ‘‘ Present Arms” was the signal
of its accomplishment, and poor Jack, ‘‘ remote, unfriended, melancho-
ly, slow,”’ returned to his lines a wearied and reformed man.
Tn this direction runs the road to Byans; the Chipula mountain,
13,500 feet high, the last ramification of the Punch Choola, closes the
horizon, which has now become so hazy that the snowy range is barely
visible.
About 16 miles east of Pithoragurh, the Kalee is passed by an Iron
Suspension Bridge, the boundary between the British and Gorkhalee
territories, where each nation has a guard. The river is said to be
1848. | The Turaece and Outer Motntains of Kumaoon. 593
there confined to a very narrow width between limestone cliffs. Dr.
McClelland found precious serpentine at Goorat village, on the way
down from Pithora.
The people of Shor have a general impression that the prevalence of
goitre in their valley is owing to the presence of so much limestone ;
and one may occasionally hear a hill man object to Nynee Tal on the
score of the water there being impregnated with lime. Dr. McClel-
land has adopted this opinion (apparently first broached by Mr. Coxe,
in reference to Switzerland) and endeavours to prove by an induction
of particulars, that where the springs are in limestone, the disease
prevails: where in slate, that it is unknown. The evidence adduced
is certainly startling, but when familiar with a whole country such as
Ireland, three-fourths of which are limestone, and where goitre is
unheard of, one cannot but suspect a fallacy, especially as the disease
is exceedingly prevalent in some of the gneiss and mica-slate districts
of Busehur. It was the fashion at one time to ascribe goitre to the
use of snow water; a theory which was overthrown by the discovery
that the disease was known where snow and snow-water were equally
unheard of ; by parity of reasoning the theory of lime-water must be
relinquished, if it be proved, as I think it may, positively, that goitre
affects many slate districts, and, negatively, that it is unknown in lime
ones! There is not a trace of lime at Almorah, yet the malady has
shown itself there in several Sepoys, natives of the plains, as well as in
European children, none of whom could have had any hereditary pre-
disposition ; Dr. Dollard found the case the same at Lohooghat.
March 20¢th.—¥rom Pithoraghur to the N. E. peak of Thakil
mountain, which took nearly four hours. The route strikes off from
the Eichoola Pass, and, crossing a range of little height by a gap with
several old Sillung trees, enters the large, level, and beautifully culti-
vated valley of Deodar, which appears to join that of Pithora towards
Choupukhya. The vista down this valley and across the Kalee far
amongst the Dotee mountains, is exceedingly beautiful. One of these
last, with a double head and very lofty, is called Bhaga-ling ; near it is
the Sheonath Quarry, affording a very hard, black-stone, in much re-
quest for millstones,
The Deodar valley crossed, the ascent commences in earnest up the
N. W. side of the mountain, at first steep, rocky, and inaccessible to a
594 The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [June,
pony, but afterwards more gentle. The only plants in flower were
Saxifraga ciliata, Gentiana marginata, and Primula denticulata, the last
high up, in wonderful profusion and perfection. In the upper 1500 or
2000 feet, large meadows occur of the tall hairy grass called ‘ Salim,”
Rhaphis Royleana, common also on the Gagur, Binsur, Bhutkot, &c. ;
it is considered the best material in the mountains for thatching, a
comparatively thin layer of it, especially if used when fresh cut, being
said to exclude water perfectly. My people fired these meadows in
several places, when it was surprising to observe the rapidity with
which “ the tongue of fire’’ licked up the tall bending culms, and speedi-
ly enveloped the mountain side in a mass of flame eating its way
down and against the wind as well as up and with it. The amusement
was safe up here, but lower down might be fatal ; it is only a few years
ago that a party of eight or ten fiddlers (meerasees) on their way to
Pithoragurh were overtaken on the high road between Goong and
Thokee, and suffocated to aman. In addition to the accidental fric-
tion of bamboos, &c. the mountainers believe that these fires are some-
times let by the sparks elicited by falling masses of rock, Arundinella
hirsuta is a very common grass on the S. face of the mountain from
6000 to 7000 feet. The ash-leaved Berberry, Berberis, (Mahonia) Ne-
palensis ‘ Pande-Kilmora,” or “ Chotra,”’ is a common shrub on the up-
per Thakil: and, in the woods as well as on the open downs, various spe-
cies of Cherayuta spring up in abundance, as if nature had here opened
a druggist’s shop for the cure of the fevers which her agency induces
in the Turaee below; a dualism of operation which reminds us of the
experiment recorded by Dr. Braid, who, magnetizing the organ of phi-
loprogenitiveness on one, and that of destructiveness on the other side
of a young lady’s head, was embraced by her with one hand, but
knocked down with the other. For an effectual cure of ‘‘life’s fitful
fever’’ itself, the mighty mother despatches us to the limits of perpetual
snow, where she produces her aconite, and sweetens its root as an
earthly mother does the medicine for her children; if, with Macbeth,
you “gin to be aweary of the sun,” as well you may in India, swallow
but a small dose of this, and
‘Nor steel nor poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing
Can touch you farther.”
~ 1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 299
But the glory of the Thakil mountain is its Palm, Chameerops Mar-
tiana, to which it is also indebted for its name ; it commences at about
6500 feet, but reaches its perfection in numbers and size towards the
summit, where, at about 7800 feet, it occurs, chiefly on the N. W.
aspect in clusters and lines, growing from 20 to 30 feet high, with a
superb crown of dark fan-shaped leaves, rattling loudly to the breeze.
To the Anglo-Indian, who associates the Palm with heat, sea, and level
plains, it is startling to meet one thus, growing on the mountains above
the Pines ; with, and actually above, the Holly, Maple, Oak, Yew, with
beds of Primula at its foot; it isin botany what in zoology would be
the lamb and the lion feeding together. The fact, however, has its
parellel in America, where in about 4° north, on the Andes of Quindiu
and Tolima, Humboldt discovered the Ceroxylon Andicola at from 5800
to 9500 feet elevation. ‘‘ The association,” says this illustrious travel-
ler and philosopher, “of Palms and Coniferee which we have noticed in
the coal measures continues through all the succeeding formations,
‘until far into the tertiary period. In the present day, it may almost be
said that these families avoid each other’s presence.’ Yet he states
that on the western slope of Mexico, Corypha dulcis is mixed up in
forests of Pinus Occidentalis. At Dwarahat, elevated 5000 feet above
the sea, Pheenix sylvestris flourishes as a large tree, with Pinus longi-
folia all around. Baron Humboldt, no doubt from the imperfection of
his materials, appears to have had an inadequate idea of the Himalayan
palms : he says (Cosmos) ‘‘ scarcely is a single palm-tree found so fat
north as the beautiful vallies of Kumaoon and Nepal.” Yet Dr.
Griffith enumerates Licuala peltata, Wallichia oblongifolia, Areca gra-
cilis, and several more, as natives of the Darjeeling mountains ; others
will probably be added to the list whenever the great belt of richly
wooded mountains thence to Kumaoon, has been explored ; just now,
it is not better known than Timbuctoo. Dr. Griffith distinguished
Chamzerops Martiana by its superior stature and yellow fruit from
Chamezrops Khasyana, which he describes as a low tree, with blue fruit.
The last is that of the Thakil Palm, but the stature of the trees fully
equals his measure of Ch. Martiana. If the color of the fruit be taken
as the test, we have here this second species of palm, adorning a range
8000 feet above the level of the sea; 4000 feet lower, Phoenix sylves-
tris is in abundance ; while, at the base of the mountain, the hot, but
4 p
596 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
shady dell of the Surjoo is in many places a thicket of the Wallichia
oblongifolia, which has been traced from Bumouree to Assam,
Linneeus classed the Palms as the “ Principes,” of the vegetable
kingdom, and with all subsequent Botanists, places them near the
grasses : it is not a little interesting, then, to find that, perhaps before
Sweden emerged from the waves of the sea, the Indian writers had
designated the Palm, ‘ Droomeshwur,’—Sovereign of trees, and
“Trinraj,” King of the grasses: (Borassus flabelliformis.)
There are some trees of Mesua ferrea, Nagkeshwur, in Dotee opposite
to Askot; the people, with botanical rivalry, boast that Kumaoon has
none, which is true enough. The Gorkhas tell me that the Chilounia,
Gordonia integrifolia, is abundant in the mountains to Thansen (Palpa, )
but no farther towards the N. W.
The Thakil mountain is generally, in Shor, known as the Thul-
kedar, which one might be inclined to refer to the growth of the
Palm, Tul or Tal; but the word really comes from its Sanscrit
name, Sthul-kedar, ‘‘the station mountain,” or “place of the sign,”
from a not very remarkable temple of Muhadev, which crowns the
N. E summit. The ridge here is composed of crags of a compact
reddish-purple dolomitic limestone, which indeed forms the whole
upper mass of the mountains ; in the main summit, about a mile to
S. W. this rock is of a pale blue color, distinctly stratified: the beds
flush with the surface, and only supporting a scanty vegetation of grass
and Gentians; the strata seem to dip here to the S. E. and on the
S. W. prolongation of the mountain, crop out in precipitous tiers, in one
locality greatly contorted. At the temple the dip of the strata seemed
north or N. E.: the whole mass is pervaded by layers of chert, or
hornstone, as Herbert calls it, which resist decomposition much longer
than itself, and project in bevelled cornices; as in the limestone of
Shalee mountain near Simla. Between the hut and the main summit there
is a mine of very compact steatite, of a much better description than
that in the dolomite of the Ladder Hill above Bagesur. The loftiest
point of Thakil is 8221 feet above Calcutta ; between it and the temple
is a col, perhaps 400 feet deep, in which, sheltered by some fine oaks
(Quercus dilatata,) Major Drummond has a shooting hut, which saves
the labour of bringing up tents. The abundance of wood and grass in
the mountains affords great facilities for the construction of these
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. . 997
accommodations ; the people of Shor are also peculiarly skilful in the
manufacture of mats, chiks, baskets, &c., from the Nigala Bamboo,
which grows copiously on Thakil.
The Thakil mountain is an enormous mass, perhaps not less than
sixty miles in circuit at the base, and, towards the summits, affording
ample scope, at good levels, for extended roads and paths. Each of the
summits sends down a huge buttress to the 8. KE. between which lies
a broad, undulating valley, with Burabagh village on its north side.
Still lower, in the district called Goomdes, is the confluence of the
Surjoo and Kalee at Puchesur, a spot sacred indeed, and celebrated
amongst fishermen for its Muhaseer, but so hot and narrow as to be
uninhabitable. To the west, the main range is continued towards
Goong, in another great spur, expanded near its origin, into broad
wooded knolls, and then changing into a very narrow rocky ridge, with
grassy, but extremely steep shelves to the south. This stretches to
Kunthagaon, but above Goong is broken by a deep neck, the Lutkhola
Binaik, the upper flank of which turned out so steep as on the 21st to
force us down on Goong by a secondary ridge, itself sufficiently steep, and
slippery from the dry grass and pine-leaves, to ensure repeated falls.
The haze which now shrouded Kumaoon barely enabled me to judge
what the view from the Thakil must be with a transparent atmosphere ;
even the natives, not often enthusiastic on this point, speak of it with
admiration, and tell how, in the rains, it includes a mighty expanse of the
Rohilkhund plains, with all the exterior, the central, and the culminat-
ing ranges of the multitudinous Himalaya, seen from this Mercury station
with all the advantage and pride that a General reviews his long line or
massive columns of holy bayonets, glittering sabres, and clouded artillery.
The Thakil crags and forests are a favorite haunt of the wild
Boar, Bear, Ghorul, Jurao, Kakur, also known as Rutwa, and other
deer. ‘The wild dog pays the mountain occasional visits, and has been
seen by Major Drummond forming a regular semicircle about its prey,
a female Jurao with her young; and, on an evidently concerted and
well understood signal, starting after them in full cry. Amongst the
oak woods I noticed flocks of a large pigeon much resembling in size
and color the English woodquest ; they are called Bujewa and Lekh-
wal, and appear to be the Columba Palumbus of Dr. McClelland ; the
wings are of a slate color, barred with white: the breast, purple or
4p2
598 The Turace and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JuNE,
puce-colored, the back of the neck, brownish. Their food is the
acorn of Quercus incana, which is equally relished by bear and langoor ;
they are common in Kumaoon at similar elevations. The Alpine
Lammergeyer (Gypaetos barbatus) “whose happy flight is highest
into heaven,” soars majestically along the precipices; its Kumaoon
name is Reeshee, and the people here and in Gurhwal generally iden-
tify it with the Guroor or Bird of Vishnoo; it probably is the primi-
tive ‘‘ vehicle’”’ of the god; but at*Budreenath, Guroor is represented
by a winged boy, a Himalayan Ganymede.
March 25th.—From Lohooghat to Furka, 9 miles: road good, at
about 4 miles passing immediately below Kotulgurh or Fort Hastings,
to the south, and perhaps 600 feet lower. The elevation of the fort
above Calcutta is 6327 feet; it occupies a steep knoll, 150 to 200
feet above the general level of the mountain, separated by a deep neck
from a plateau to EH. N. E., on which stood anoutpost called Rounj,
from which Kotulgurh could be easily battered. The area comprises
a tract about eighty yards from N. to S. and twelve or fourteen from
east to west: surrounded by a good stone wall eight to ten feet high,
and five thick. The gate is on the EK. N. E. side: and there is a pos-
tern at the N. W. angle. There is a deep reservoir, but no water
in the place; the nearest supply is under Rounj to the 8. KE. a mile
distant: there is also a small spring to the west; were the reservoir
water-tight, and filled, the position, though somewhat open to escalade,
would be rather a strong one; except from the east, the approaches
are extremely steep. The garrison consists of a Naick and four Sipa-
hees, retained simply to protect some spare timber, &c.; as the spot
affords no supplies they depart daily to Lohooghat for their dinner,
and assured me that the stronghold of Banasoor takes very good care
of itself; it is destined to be dismantled shortly. The place was in-
tended to command the very pretty and extensively cultivated valley
of Bisoong, which, with its groups of villages and clumps of trees lies
below to the south and west. Inthe fields Papaver glabrum, Tulipa
stellata, Ranunculus arvensis, and Lotus corniculatus by the streams,
are very abundant, the first two and the last now in full bloom. A
gentle ascent leads to the head of the glen at a fine Deodar wood, sacred
40 Dernath Devee. Here the slate rocks change to granite, which
continues to Furka, mostly in a state of complete disintegration, Hence
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 599
the road generally keeps to the summit of the ridge, from which the
ground slopes easily to the south, forming a series of open vallies,
beyond and parallel to which rises the Sidh ka Dhoora range and
Chuloun summit, about 4 miles 8. of Furka, covered with Quercus
dilatata, which also occurs at Furka and along the road side, especially
a large grove at Dana near Dernath: descending hereabouts to 5800
feet, probably its lowest level a mile beyond Dana is Lullia, a ruined
temple, with the usual cedars: here a large treasure is reported to
have been discovered. Furka Bungalow is above a mile on, and here
is another and very beautiful cedar wood. The elevation is 5827
feet above Calcutta: there are many villages scattered over the neigh-
bouring dales, the nearest of which are Maragaon and Kumlekh. ‘The
inhabitants are all still in the Turaee, and I visited several of the ham-
lets without meeting or seeing a single person: all the doors locked,
and the crops apparently uncared for, but luxuriant: one is at a loss
to know how they escape the deer. Much rice is grown in the
swampy bottoms: the streams join the Ludheea at Kela Ghat.
March 26.—13 miles to Devee-dhoora, the Deo Dhoora of the map,
often known as Dé simply : road good but tortuous, following the tabu-
lar and rounded summit of the granitic range ; this is well grown with
Rhododendron, Cheer Pine, Pear, Kaephul (Myrica sapida), and
Banj oak which with its young hoary leaves well justifies the epithet
incana. 'Those of Quercus dilatata are now of a beautiful glossy
brownish yellow and pink; but though the mountains are loftier than
towards Furka, this species does not occur on to-day’s route. The
road descends at once from Furka Bungalow for 14 mile and then
ascends as much to the temple of Eiree and Ahree Deotah, with the
village Guhtora below to the north. Ahree is one of the most popular
of the minor and probably aboriginal gods of the mountaineers, such as
Symdeo, Nagnath, Hurroo (Hurjoo, or Mahumbulee,) &c, whose rustic
shrines are met in every grove and on every summit; they are now
considered to be men of the Golden age, deified for their many virtues
and powers, and so far answer to the classical deemons of the Greeks as
defined by Hesiod. The Dies Ire, some time in October, is kept as a fair,
and is celebrated with feasting and dancing: during the revelry, the de-
mi-god, aided by bhang and churrus,* seizes and takes possession of one
* Intoxicating products of hemp, Cannabis Sativa,
600 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
of the party, who, half drunk, half inspired, and wholly mad from excite-
ment, is supposed to acquire the gift of prophecy, the power of reveal-
ing the place and agent of stolen goods, the seat, cause, and cure of
diseases, &c. Ahree, a mighty hunter, armed with bows and arrows
of steel, presides over ordeals, and it is said that an oath taken in his
name is held in great reverence. The true name of the peak near
Somesur, called Ihooee Deo in the map is Ahree Deo: Raee peak in
Gungolee is also sacred to this hero. At the 6th mile from Furka, the
road passes a cedar grove and shrine called Patee Jounlaree, with the
village and valley of Keemwaree to the south; the soil is undulating,
but apparently poor, consisting of granitic detritus. The streams in
this direction from the heads of the Ludheea; between the two main
branches, in the Dhyanee Rao purgunna, are the Nai iron-mines con-
sidered the best in Kumaoon ; apparently the “ Muglig’” of Herbert :
the ore is magnetic. At 4 miles from Deo Dhoora, the road descends
to a deep col called Gursa Lekh, with the village Goom Gursaree below
to the left : hence there is a considerable ascent to Deo Dhoora, 6867
feet above Calcutta, a remarkable spot, where on the N. W. face of the
mountain, a few feet below its crest, there are two groups of colossal
blocks of gray granite, piled on each other in the Titanic style proper
to the rock, consecrated to Muhadeva, Devee, Bheemsingh, and soften-
ed by a few picturesque cedars, oaks, walnuts, and a large Sillung tree.
Similar boulders are strewed over the surface of the surrounding moun-
tains, especially on the upper part of the deep depression in the range,
immediately north. Between two of the main boulders, in a Druidic
recess, is the temple of Muhadev, and the place of sacrifice, where, as
at Poonagiri and hundreds of other Indian fanes, innumerable goats and
buffaloes are yearly offered, to the confusion of archbishop Magee and
his sect. Neither of these rocks is probably much under fifty feet in
height. A little to the west are two other boulders, the uppermost of
which called Runsila, about one hundred feet in length is cleft right
through the centre by a deep fresh-looking fissure: at right angles to
which there is a similar rift in the lower rock. On Runsila rests a
smaller boulder, said to be the same that was employed by Bheemsingh
to produce these fissures, in proof of which the print of his five fingers
is still pointed out, just as at Rephidim the twelve sources whence the
water gushed from a similar mass are exhibited to the credulity and the
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 601
kisses of the faithful. The surface of Runsila also presents certain
ether marks and diagrams, on which the gods amused themselves at
whist, pucheesee, &c. Both boulders and fissures are indeed sufficient-
ly extraordinary to warrant some superstitious legends in an ignorant
population. Humboldt adopts the opinion of Von Buch that these
wildernesses of granitic boulders, as well as the fissures, originated in
‘a contraction of the distended surface of the granitic when first up-
heaved.” McCulluch, Herbert, &c., seem more inclined to attribute
the boulders to the existence of hard and highly crystallized nuclei,
which have resisted the decomposition going on all around, caused _ pro-
bably by the action of water on the superabundant felspar. Many of
the boulders are also perishing, but somewhat differently ; large and
thick concentric coats scale away, and crumble, by the process which
Herbert terms, “‘desquamation,”’ which is equally remarkable in the
trap rocks. The fissures appear to be too fresh and sharp to allow of
the supposition that they are coeval with the elevation of the rock :
they are probably due to the unequal cooling of the mass when a frosty
night has succeeded a very hot day.
This granitic ridge extends continuously from Dernath near Fort
Hastings to Sour Phutka, within three miles of Dol; Herbert’s map
gives a wrong idea of its area by a single patch only: at Sour Phutka
the road leaves it, but the formation is probably continues to Syahee
Devee, as the granite re-appears on the west and south faces of Ban-
dunee and Motesur mountains ; in the bed of the small stream which
joins the Koomnia below Peorah, and on both sides of the Koomnia
up to Kupleshwur. In this great outburnt of granite in central Ku-
maoon, and the equally important one of greenstone along the line of
the Gagur, we are probably to seek the true origin of the curious
reversal of the dip by which the gneiss and mica slates of the snowy
range have been brought to rise towards the plains. We may suppose
that the primitive eruption of the granite in the snowy range originally
raised them more or less parallel toitself: and that the subsequent out-
burst in central aud outer Kumaoon, forced out laterally by the resis-
tence of the main range, tilted up their inferior edges into the extraordi-
nary position in which we now see them: (T. E. 8.). Isolated instances
of the original dip remain to countenance this view: thus Binsur and
Jagessur mountains are composed of gneiss and mica slate in highly in-
602 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
clined strata dipping from S. 8. W. to S. 8. E., and crossing out on the
‘north face of the mountain in steep precipices facing those of the
Khurei limestone across the Recthagar, of which the dip is N. 60° E.
The lever at Binsur was apparently an eruption of syenite, which has
reached the surface at the gorge of the temple. Eruptive rocks seem
in fact to abound all over the province: Major T. E. Sampson detected
a great outburst of trap near Chandpoor, south of Kuruprag, on the
route from Almorah to Budreenath: at Dhamus, on the declivity of
Siyahee Devee, a dyke of greenstone, about one hundred yards across,
separates the mica slate from the granite, which there forms the upper
part of the mountains. It is rapidly disintegrating, and is arranged
in concentric layers of very considerable diameter, each with a hard
spherical nucleus: numbers of these lie about, exfoliating more slowly,
and forming those natural boulders so abundant and troublesome on
the trap plateaus of central India: the operation of fire thus operating
as water does in the case of river boulders. Strewed on the surface of
this dyke there ave many cuboidal masses of an extremely hard and
sonorous black hornblende rock, from which the spot is known as
Kala-putthur and Tipooria Putthur ‘The Peeling stones.”’*
There is no village at Deo Dhoora, but the Poojaree, an importunate
beggar, has a respectable house, about which there is a collection of
slated huts, for the convenience of the many pilgrims who assemble to
celebrate the annual fair in September. On this occasion it is or was
the custom for the people to form into parties which fought with sticks
and stones, with a not unfrequently fatal result, and all in honor of
the presiding goddess. Such combats answer in society the part of
Cowper’s “ animated No” in conversation ; and in this case were doubt-
less the escapes and safety valves of the spirit of litigation for which
the people of Kumaoon are noted. It seems to be in truth almost
their only serious defect, and no where does one more frequently hear
complaints of the meshes of the law: “ Jal-sazee.”’ This state of
things is an unavoidable result of the law of inheritance, which allows
the sons “share and share alike” of the father’s property ; so that
* T observe that Dr. Royle confounds Wangtoo Bridge in Kunawur with Whartoo
(Huttoo) near Simlah: the latter mountain is gneiss; but at Wangtoo, the Sutluj has
cut its way through a mass of the hardest granite.
Illustrations, p. XXXV,
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 603
honses and lands are divided ad infinitum into the most intricate mul-
tiplicity of parcels, so small as scarcely to afford a livelihood to the
owner, and yet absolutely, necessary to his existence ; emigration being
precluded on the one hand by the snows, on the other by the heats of
the plains. The result is shown in the extreme anxiety of numbers to
obtain employment under Government or with residents of the province,
as wellas in the amount of litigation and heart-burning concerning
boundaries and succession ; yet so pacific and honest are the inhabitants
generally, that one travels almost for months without meeting police of
any kind, their democratic institutions as to property going hand in
hand with the most absolute principles of monarchy and implicit obe-
dience. Instead of shooting their landlord, the custom in Tipperary,
they merely file a suit against him: it is difficult to meet one who has
not some little affair of this kind on hand. The right of primogeniture
is only acknowledged to the extent of perhaps a cow, or the most aus-
piciously situated tract of land, being given to the eldest son :—daughters
appear to get nothing beyond a husband.
Deo Dhoora occupies the N. E. and highest angle of a great granitic
plateau, steep on the east and north, but sloping gently to the west
and south: it is covered with wood, and furrowed by deep ravines.
One of these commences at the shrine, and soon collects a pretty
stream, deeply shaded by horse-chestnut and other trees: at its head
is a Noula or covered well, now in process of repair; the artificers of
Kumaoon being all of the outcasts called Dooms or Doomras, no Brah-
man, Rajpoot, or man of any good caste will touch the water till the
well has been carefully purified by sacrifice and prayers. None of this
proscribed race dare openly to drink of a well appropriated to the
privileged classes: nor, under the native Governments were they
allowed to build temples, to have marriage processions, to mark them-
selves with the teeka, all of which they now practise with impunity : and
they may console themselves for their exclusion from the springs by
the fact that at Almorah the Christians and Musalmans are in precisely
the same humiliating category. Against these Helots it may be justly
charged indeed that they are in their food, persons, and habitations,
disgustingly filthy: scarcely anything comes amiss to them, and they
appear indifferent as to whether themselves or disease have the killing
of their meat ; fowls, pigs, cows, being equally acceptable. They have
4a
604 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JuNE,
even different deities from the Hindus, who merely bestow a faint
recognition of respect on passing these Dii minorum gentium. The
chief of these is called ‘“‘ Nurungkar’—*“ the maker of men,” to whom
they offer hogs, fowls, and other unclean things, a practice which may
indicate a connection with the non-Hindoo races of the mountains and
forests of India. They also hold the demigods Hurroo, Sym, &c. in
great veneration, A common tradition relates that the Dooms once
gained the mastery of the province, and established a leather coinage :
AKsop’s fable in operation! The view from Deo Dhoora is celebrated as
being one of the finest in Kumaoon: it includes Thakil, Jhoom,
Binsur, and a host of nameless ranges to the west and south; the
snows were but dimly visible through the haze which has set in un-
usually early this season, and, while it lasts is a most effectual “Burke
on the sublime and beautiful.” Its origin is disputed ; some consider
it to be fine dust blown up from the plains, the winds restoring to the
mountains what the waters have carried away, or a portion of it: but
having observed that the atmosphere is little if at all cleared by heavy
falls of rain at this season, I should say it was more justly considered
to be aqueous vapor, in the state which Professor Forbes calls “ dry
haze.” Early in August 1847, after a very wet July, which (to adopt
a conceit of the Edda), must have converted the dust of Hindoosthan
into its brother, mud, the haze returned as dense as before, so as to ob-
scure every object beyond a range of four or five miles. The ordinary
termination of this Egyptian darkness is the commencement of the wet
season, the intensity of the vapor, whatever it consist of, increasing up
to that period.
Deo Dhoora, 6800 feet, is the highest, Kupkot on the Surjoo, 3400
feet above the sea-line, the lowest level at which I have observed the
Silung ; flourishing, however, at both points, so that its limits may
safely be extended a thousand feet more in each direction. Mr. Edge-
worth thinks it is Olea acuminata var. longifolia: and the Almorah
Pundits inform me that it is the Shileendruh of the Sanscrit scriptures.
H. H. Wilson merely defines the word ‘‘a sort of tree,’ and does not
give the etymology, which seems to infer ‘‘ holding a stone,” or “ firm
33
in stones ;”’ in allusion either to its druped fruit, or to the stone seats
which are usually built about its base, for the accommodation of the
Himalayan Wittenagemotes. * &-
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 605
A few hundred yards down the S. W. glen here, we also find the
pretty and interesting twiner, Gardnera ovata; also growing in similar
localities on Siyahee Devee, near Almorah: the people are little ac-
guainted with the shrub, which seems not common, and term it, “ Bun-
jahee,” or wild Jessamine. Having examined numerous specimens in
flower and fruit, the Kumaoon plant I should say combines the charac-
ters of Dr. Wallich’s two species, G. ovata and angustifolia, but differs
from each in having a two-celled berry, with ¢wo seeds in each cell.
The pretty little Geranium bicolor (Royle) now in full bloom, is
abundant at Deo Dhoora.
27th March.—TYo Dol Bungalow, 17 miles, a distance which to the
solitary traveller, appears so long, that he is apt to enquire with Paddy
uncoiling the rope, whether some one have not cut the end off. Last
evening, about 7 o'clock, a tremendous storm of lightning, thunder,
wind and rain, from the west, burst on Deo Dhoora, and seemed for a
while as if it would annihilate the everlasting mountains. The flashes
of lightning were constant and most vivid for about an hour; and the
rattling peals and roaring of the thunder, reverberated from a thou-
sand points, were terribly sublime. The rain continued all night, and
several smart showers fell during the day, with most boisterous and
English-like gales, veering from W. to 8S. E.: the seudding clouds ad-
ding a thousand fresh tints and changes to the nearer scenery, but all
beyond was as obscure as ever.
On quitting Deo Dhoora Bungalow, there is a steep descent of 1200
—1500 feet to the Kotahgar, the central feeder {of the Ludheea,
and the boundary between Kalee Kumaoon and Almorah. A large
village, Waree, is seen far down on its banks; about this spot, Ceelo-
gyne proecox will be found on the trees, blooming im November. One
of the sources of the Punar, which is apparently the true Kotagar, a
large affluent of the Surjoo, rises in the same depression, and affords a
path down towards Doongra, another considerable village. Hence the
route ascends gradually and for a long way, the opposite side of the
Col, the summit of which is called the Berchoola, along which it undu-
lates, winding terribly, to Dol. The scenery is beautiful, and must be
grand indeed when crowned by the snowy range. ‘The mountains are
heavily wooded with Quercus incana and dilatata, Rhododendron,
Andromeda, Millingtonia pungens, Photinia dubia, Myrica sapida,
4az2
606 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JUNE,
Carpinus viminea, Betula cylindrostachya, Evonymus japonica, Eurya
acuminata, and the level is high enough for Primula denticulata and
an occasional yew, denoting a greater elevation than that of Deo
Dhoora: though this northern tree descends occasionally in Kumaoon
as low as 6000 feet. The thickest and most luxuriant woods are on
the northern aspects, which are exceedingly steep along this range,
where the poor granitic soil is covered by a deep layer of black mould.
Cupressus torulosa, under the name of Rai-sulla is reported to occur on
the southern declevities. |
At perhaps seven miles the road passes Puya Panee, “cherry tree
water,”’.a lofty, and to-day a cold bleak spot, the head of the Ludheea
river. At three miles short of Dol, the route decends to a second Col,
called Sour Phutka, the Sarput ka dhoora of Herbert: there are pools
of bad water here, and the people of Salim are clearing large tracts of
the mountain forest for wheat and barley: such land is called ‘ Jjur,”’
and being often temporarily abandoned after two or three years’ culti-
vation, produces the erroneous impression that the agriculture of the
province is retrograding, more disagreeable settlers than those from
Salim, are not unfrequently met, in the feline form, on the route
between Sour Phutka and Devee Dhoora; but they rarely approach
much nearer to Almorah.
At Sour Phutka, the granite rock ceases, and is succeeded by the
stratified rocks quartzose, micaceous, and slaty, dipping north. About
Dol, these are completely established, with abundance of the black
graphite slate, so common on Kaleemuth, Bandunee Devee, &e.; the
presence of this may probably be connected with the neighbourhood of
the granite.
A mile beyond Sour Phutka, the road passes an extensive wilderness
of vast angular gneiss fragments : perched on the top of a group of these
is arudely conical mass of the same material, 20—30 feet wide at the
base, and fully 50 feet high: it is called Nagdeo, and seems to be
revered as a phallus: the foundations of old buildings are visible
around. A rivulet, one of the heads of the Punar, rises a little way
down, between these boulders and the high road ; following this for a
mile, we come on a small and exceedingly pretty secluded dell, shaded
by cedars, horse-chestnuts, and Tilonj oaks, with a fane sacred to
Vishnoo, and several houses, untenanted at present. A path leads
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. G0
hence direct to Dol, situated in the Murhoree Putee, which includes
Peorah, and belongs to Kedarnath temple.
Dol is a petty hamlet on the spur below the bungalow;; still farther
down, in the various glens to the east, are scattered the villages of
Salim, celebrated for its excellent rice. A little north of the bungalow,
rises the eastern branch of the Koomnia river, with the road to Almo-
rah, on its right or eastern bank ; 3 coss from this, at the junction of
the S. E. or main branch, stands the rather famous shrine of Kuplesh-
wur, with a large temple of Muhadev, built by Oodiot Chund, son of
Baj Buhadoor, on the north bank at the exact spot where Kupila
Moonee did penance in days of yore, kept in countenance, across the
2, who
>
was similarly engaged. ‘There is scarcely a confluence of two streams
junction, by no less a personage than Seshnag, the serpent kin
in the mountains, where, for a recondite reason, Muhadev is not wor-
shipped. The present site is a narrow Pine-clad glen, just at the end
of the cultivated lands ; a mile lower down, the Koomnia forces its way
amidst great smooth boulders of granite, the debris of the mountains
above ; here, on its south bank, facing Roulakot, is a huge outburst of
granitic masses, piled one over another to the height of 150 feet ; the
higkest and most external, shaped like the beak of an anvil, is known
as the Birdeo. The place is about four miles from Choumoo village,
near Dheeakot, between Almorah and Peorah. Placed thus at the
fountains of water, Dol also merits a temple to the winds, which blow
here so generally and strongly that one is tempted to believe an enemy
must have sown the Hornbook of storms under the foundations, A
Buniya presides here over a temple of Ceres, in which the worshippers
are earnest and numerous.
28th March.—To Almorah, 15 miles: the first 9 pretty level, and
then a dip of 2500 feet from Bandunee Devee to the Suwul river, and
arise of 1500, by a bad, rocky, warm road, to Almorah. About six
miles from Dol, leave that village, a little to the south, 6200 feet above
Calcutta; soon afterwards Almorah comes into view from the pass
called Goona Panee, by which we enter on the north face of Bandunee
Devee mountain, and lose sight of Kana Deo, Jhoom, and Thakil,
Fifteen or twenty years since, all this was thick forest, but the hewers
of wood from Almorah have now left little beyond some scrubby oak,
Dul (Cedrela serrata) Rhus semialata, an unknown olea with very bitter
608 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JuNE,
leaf, with a copious brushwood of Elsholtzia polystachya, Berberis
aristata, Deutzia Brunoniana, Spirzea, Symplocos, Clematis montana,
and a new species of Xanthoxylon, (tomentosum, Edgeworth,) called
** Seemoor,”’ which grows here and on Boodha Jagesur, in profusion :
the whole in autumn closely matted with the odoriferous cuscuta gran-
diflora, and the ground covered with wild Thyme, Chirayuta, &e.
About a village called Rurown, north of the road, occurs the yellow-
flowering Artemisia vestita, called “‘ Deopatee,” from its superior fra-
grance ; it is a common plant in Joobul, towards the Choor mountain.
The road passes from 200—300 feet below the Bandunee summit,
which, seen as a peak from some points, consists really of a level oblong
area, 150 to 200 yards by 20 to 30; it is 6800 feet above Calcutta,
and with its oaks, is consecrated by a temple of Devee, in front of
which is one of those tabular stone altars on four low pillars, called
Choukootiya in Kumaoon ; they closely resemble the Druidical crom-
lechs, and are used for the sacrifice of goats, the deposit of flowers, &c. :
nor will any Shikaree pass a shrine of this sort without some small
propitiation to the Indian Diana to send him game and good luck.*
The view over Kumaoon from the Gagur to the snows is exceedingly
fine from Bandunee Devee, and Almorah town is hence seen to the
greatest advantage. During the rainy season, the phenomena of diverg-
ing rays opposite to the place of the sun may commonly be witnessed
of an afternoon towards this mountain. According to Professor
Forbes, writing of the shadows of clouds, mountains, &c., projected to
a great distance in the air, and rendered visible by its imperfect trans -
parency, ‘the diverging rays so often seen proceeding from the sun,
when near setting, are of this kind: and the corresponding fact of rays
(or clear intervals between the shadows of clouds), which appear to
* The coppice and ravines of Bandunee, and onwards, are favorite haunts of bears :
the people report that as many as nine have been shot hereabouts in one day by a party
of officers. A doubt seems still to be entertained whether the bear be carnivorous: but
unless I am mistaken, Captain Henry Ramsay of Gurwul has seen them feeding on a
Jurao. As long ago as the second century B. C., we find the same affirmative fact fami-
liar to the Syrians : ‘‘ And behold another beast, second, like to a bear, * * * and it had
three ribs in the mouth of it, between the teeth of it, and they said thus unto it, Arise,
devour much flesh.” Daniel vii. 5.
Eight hundred years earlier David tells King Saul: ‘‘ There came a lion and a bear,
and took a lamb out of the flock, 1 Sam. xvu. 34,
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 609
converge to a point diametrically opposite to the sun. This rarer phe-
nomenon we have twice seen.” These, and the haloes so common in
the mountains are the original “ glories,’ of Hindoo and Catholic gods
and saints.
Descending to the Suwul river, so named from a village a few miles
up, we pass it, at 3927 feet elevation (R. 8S.) by an iron suspension
bridge, called Bisheshur, from an adjacent temple placed at the conflu-
ence of a brook from the Huree Doongra. At this bridge of Sighs,
the Hindoo dead of Almorah, are first reduced to ashes and then com-
mitted to the stream in the hope of their being finally mingled with
the holy water of the Ganges, and the ultimate prospect of adding to the
extent and the fertility of Bengal: a nobler futurity than the stopping
the bung-hole, &c., which Hamlet contemplates as the fate of Alexander
and Ceesar. The Hindoo does not, however, believe that this is all:
the spirits of the deceased, going neither to heaven nor to hell, remain
lurking about Bisheshwur, where they are occasionally seen by the
“belated peasant,” celebrating orgies like those revealed to Tam
O’Shanter, except that matchless Satan is unknown here; at other
times, under the guidance of one Bholanath, on horses, dandees, or
foot, they promenade through Almorah with lingering visits to the
spots most loved when they were in the flesh—the Buniya’s shops. It
is not considered either safe or fortunate to meet or even see any of
these immaterial pageants, and death is supposed often to follow
shortly. Those, however, who survive, affirm, or are believed to affirm,
that very many of these ghosts are deficient in one or more members
one has no head, another no feet, and so on, and yet they manage to
dance, speak, &c., as well as the rest. This is considered a great won-
der: but I explained to my informant that a still greater wonder
remained, which was, that after all their members had been dispersed
by the elements, any of them should possess head, feet, or any thing
else: a difficulty he admitted, but not sufficient to cancel the experience
of centuries and of a whole nation.
The following details belong to another excursion.
8th May, 1847.—From Almorah, vid Hawulbagh to Somesur, 12
coss, about 18 miles. The road is good, and beyond Hawulbagh keeps
along the west or right bank of the Kosilla, passing, beyond the latter
place, under spacious cultivated plateaus. The scenery during the
610 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JUNE,
march is always pretty and frequently eminently beautiful, especially
the vistas up the lateral vallies. The river winds greatly, sometimes
abruptly, flowing in rocky beds, or over broad stony channels; the
banks are fringed with willow, Quercus incana, and annulata, Ilex
excelsa, Nerium odorum, Photinia dubia, Rosa Brunonii, and most
luxuriant Pomegranate trees; the last four are now in full bloom ; the
Photinia one mass of Hawthorn-like flowers. The upper portions of
the mountains are covered with Cheer: lower down, the cultivation is
pretty general. About three miles short of Somesur, on the left bank
of the river, immediately under the furrowed side of Gunnanath, there
is a long tract of rich and very level ground, covered with the finest
wheat, now nearly ripe ; it is called Soopeh Kot, and is continued to
and above Somesur, which is placed in the fork of the Kossilla, and
Salee or Salmulee rivers, in one of the richest and most lovely vallies of
the Himalaya. The elevation is probably 4700 feet above Calcutta,
which ensures a warm climate and myriads of flies at this season ;
Baalzebub, their king, certainly keeps his court here: the spot however
is sacred to Muhadey, as “ master of the Moon.” His temple stands
between two fine deodars, outside which are many shady walnut trees,
under which we encamped. The district comprizes 50 to 60 villages,
the revenue of which is about 4000 rupees: but many Brahmans are
settled, or have possessions hereabouts, whose property is rent-free.
Somesur probably owes its sanctity to the junction here of two other
streams with the Kossilla, viz., the Salee from the west, and the Mun-
saree Roul from the east. The last rises on the N. EK. side of Gunna-
nath, in the pass called Giri-chheena, which separates the affluents of
the Kossilla from those of the Surjoo, and affords a route from Bagesur
to Somesur, much frequented by the Bhotiyas on their way to Chilkiya.
The lower part of this vale is also finely cultivated. The Giri-chheena
pass and that of the “ Ladder Hiil,”’ between Almorah and Bagesur
are in the same range.
The rocks between Hawulbagh and Somesur, are chiefly clayslate, in
highly inclined strata, transverse to the course of the river, and dipping
south : through these the river has excavated deep gorges. On the
right bank, there are two or three partial outbursts of granite; about
Somesur, the rock is chiefly quartzose, in vertical strata; with red and
dove-colored clayslate ; higher up the glen there is a quarry of blackish
1848. | The Tuxaee aud Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 611
chlorite slate, near which dykes of decomposing greenstone. appear ;
about Lodh, the rock is granular quartz.
The priests of Somesur possess a sunud engraved on copper, of which
the following is a translation: a copy of the original is appended,
interesting in its exhibition of the patois spoken at the court of
Almorah three centuries ago: both are by my friend and fellow-tra-
veller, Major T. E. Sampson.
«‘ Sree Someshwur.
(A dagger here, the mark of the Raja.)
By Muharaja Dheeraj Sree Raja Baj Buhadoor Chund Devjee: (the
7th from Kulyan Chund.) F
In Barmundil (pergunnah, and village,) Royetee, two alees were here-
tofore (dedicated) to (the above) deity. Having measured two and a
quarter (23) alees of the unoccupied land, with the banks of the Kosee
(adjoining) there are (now) four and a quarter alees (dedicated to him.)
To this land appertain the streams, mills, together with the woods and
grounds temporarily reclaimed ; all taxes are remitted; all disputes
dismissed ; all griefs discharged ; fines for illegitimate births ; rights of
reversion (on extinction of families) ; what may fall from heaven to
beneath hell; dues to horsemen, dog-keepers, hawk-keepers, musici-
cians ; all taxes have I relinquished. Having made (an inscription to
this effect on) a copper plate, I have offered 1t according to my previ-
ous vow: (in consideration of the above) provision for the food of the
deity, (is to be made as follows.) Four seers of rice, half a seer of
dal, one tuka weight of ghee, one pysa weight of salt, incense, sandal,
with the eight perfumes, one tuka weight of oil for the lamp for pre-
senting the food in good remembrance of the presence (the Raja.)
Witnesses. Roodur Dev, Luchmeedhur Panre, Beesee Sugutee
Gosayun, Bykunt Poorkho Joesee, Nurayun Sahoo, Kasee Adeekaree,
Sutroo Sinh Karkee, Negee of Barmundel, Pudarut, Bagyoot Bhun- 7
daree, Nukool Sejalee, Kaira Bora. Written by Bhub Dev Joesee,
year (of Salivahun) 1570, second day of the dark half moon of Phal-
goon ; engraved by Gopal Sonar. Place Rajpoor (Almorah.)
(Sloka.) The gift of himself or another whoever shall resume, seven
thousand years may he be a worm living in ordure.
May you be happy and prosperous.”
9th May.—To Lodb, about 6 miles, nearly west, up the wide and
AR
612 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
beautifully cultivated vale of the Salee river, which rises in and about
the level neck of grassy land connecting the Bhut Kot range with the
Kiree Deo Hills (Thoee Deo of the map) to the south. The path lies
amongst the fields, and is not good. On each side the woody moun-
tains rise in a thousand picturesque forms; in one of the southern
glens, near a village called Chinoulee, amongst extensive groves of
cedar, is the shrine of the rural deity, Chetr Pal—the Protector of the
fields. Towards the end of the stage, the great rounded summit of
Doonagiri appears right ahead, to the west, and from Lodh itself, and
the hills to the south, there is a good view of the craggy ridge of Bhot
Kot, stretching from N. W. to N. N. W. and north ; called three coss,
about 5 miles, distant ; 4040 feet above the village, the elevation of
which is 5180 feet above Calcutta.
Lodh is but a small village, a little way down the eastern side of the
neck above referred to, which divides the pergunnah of Bora ke rao to
the east, from that of Kyra ke row to the west. On the grassy sum-
mit of the col are some erect stones, resembling those in the Druidical
circles ; the western declivity of this neck is steep ; at its base flows the
Dhoulee river, which issues by a tremendous gorge from the great
southern glen of Bhot Kot, and pursues its way to the west to join the
Gugas, the easternmost affluent of the Ramgunga.
The people of Lodh possess considerable numbers of cows and
buffaloes, but do not visit the Bhabur. Amongst the fields, I noticed
the cotton plant cultivated to a considerable extent. From its open
site, the village enjoys more and cooler air than Someshwur; but the
flies were equally countless and tormenting. |
10¢h May.—To the summit of Bhot Kot and back again. The
atmosphere was hazy as we ascended, and we had scarce breakfasted
on the summit, before the clouds began to collect in the N. W. and
thoroughly closed the view, which must be one of the grandest in
Kumaoon. Thermometer at noon on the summit 72°, in the shade ;
21 hours after, the storm burst heavily, thunder, lightning, rain, wind,
and very large and copious hail, under the auspicies of which we effect-
ed the descent : the rain continuing till 7 P. M.
The ascent lies north from Lodh, along the brink of the precipitous
gorge of the Dhoulee; we ultimately descended 300 or 400 feet to this
stream, and crossed it, beyond which there is no vestige of a path ; but
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 613
there are no difficulties beyond the excessive steepness of the acclivity,
which, for one pull of 1500 feet is sufficiently great to render the hands
almost as useful as the feet. To this succeeds a long, and finally very
narrow ridge of rock, and then another, but a shorter steep ascent leads
to the summit. The whole mountain is composed of quartz-rock,
cragey, but not precipitous on the route, except the defile of the
Dhoulee. The summit comprises a level ridge from 200 to 300 yards
long, but is not marked by a temple of any kind. ‘To the west it falls
rapidly for 2500 feet or so, forming a deep neck, beyond which, bear-
ing W. by N. isthe Pundooa Khol, the craggy central bluff, perhaps
8500 feet high, seen from Almorah between Doonagiri and Bhut Kot.
Between the Pundooa Khol and Doonagiri, in a densely wooded recess
called Lodh Moona, rises the Gugas, which from the summit of Bhut
Kot is seen flowing for many miles due south, to join the Ramgunga,
here known as the Ruhut and Ruput.
Two or three miles N. E. of Bhut Kot, but separated by a precipi-
tous rocky neck, is the nearly equally elevated ridge of Boora Pinnath,
which contains the sources of the Kosilla, and is consecrated by a tem-
ple of Muhadev. Between these lofty points, the mountain sends
- down a precipitous spur to the S. E. on which is the high bluff called
Kourhia, the ramifications of this run down to Lodh. On another
point, which lay to our left as we ascended, is the hamlet of Oodeh-
poor, with a temple to Goorl Deo, the same who gave name to Goorl-
chour, the old cantonment of Chumpawut, and from whom the Limonia
laureola is named Goorl-puta. Bhut Kot is well wooded to the summit ;
the northern side of the whole range is indeed covered with the densest
forest. The ascent commences with Pinus longifolia, then Quercus
incana, lanata, dilatata, and for the last 1500 feet Quercus semecarpi-
folia in abundance. Rhododendron arboreuin reaches the summit,
where we also meet witn the Gaultheria nummularioides, and in the glens
to the north, Pyrus lanata and vestita, Cerasus cornuta, Kadsura gran-
diflora, Lonicera Govaniana? and another, Symplocos crateegifolia,
Anemone discolor : but the storm prevented any efficient investigation.
The Pundooa Khol possesses the Poeonia Emodi ; and there, as on
Pinnath, Sutboonga, and Motesur, between 7000 and 8000 feet, in
shady localities, is to be seen the Xanthoxylon oxyphyllum of Mr.
Edgeworth, which, generally a weak straggling bush, exhibits itself in
4R2
614 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [June,
its perfection as a strong scandent shrub, climbing from 30 to 40 feet
or more, up the forest trees. Very many of the Cheer Pines on Bhut
Kot, and indeed generally in Kumaoon, have their fibres spirally twist-
ed to an extraordinary degree: the natives attribute the phenomenon
to the action of the winds. The straight and more useful trees are
called by them ‘‘ Sapin,” which signifies straight, one of the meanings
of the Sanscrit Swru/; a curious coincidence with the French Sapin:
though less so perhaps, than that of mirage and the Sanscrit equiva-
lents Mrigutrish, ‘‘ thirst of the deer,” deceived by the appearance of
water and Mureechika “resembling light.” The bark of the Cheer is
employed almost exclusively in the smelting of iron-ore in outer
Kumaoon.
Having afterwards visited Boora Pinnath summit from the eastward,
it may be as well to note here its vegetable peculiarities, being in reality
the same mountain as Bhut Kot. Though from 400 to 500 feet lower,
it abounds with the Picea Pindrow, which continues a long way down
the glen of the Kosilla, forming, with the following, one of the densest
forests I have traversed; this is the nearest point to the plains at
which this fir is met, the direct distance being about 35 miles. Asso-
ciated with it are the trees enumerated on Bhut Kot, of which the
Kilonj (Quercus dilatata) here attains a size and beauty rarely seen.
Just below the summit, a large tract of rich shaded soil is covered
with Aconitum leve, now in full bloom, as is the Nigala, or Hill Bam-
boo, which forms impenetrable thickets. The Ribes acuminatum (or
glaciale ?) black currant ; Taxus baccata, Strobilanthes Wallichi, Limo-
nia laureola, Stauntonia angustifolia, Pavia indica, Wulfenia Amhers-
tiana, Orobus luteus, Asparagus curillus, Uvularia Leschenaultii, Carpi-
nus viminea, Berberis aristata, Eurya acuminata, Sabia campanulata,
Caragana spinosissima, Ulmus virgata, Rosa macrophylla, and Bru-
nonii, Daphne cannabina and sericea, several Lauri and Viburna, Evony-
mus tingens, Japonica, and —————- ; two maples, two hollies, one the
common Ilex dipyrena, the other a species, (or variety of dipyrena,)
not unfrequent in Kumaoon at about 6000 feet elevation, with a 4-
seeded berry. The Gaultheria descends to about 7000 feet, at which
elevation near the gorge of Kosilla, occurred a tree which appeared to
be Andromeda formosa; at about 7500—8000 feet occurred a few
stunted specimens of Chameerops, exactly in the same state as those on
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 615
the Gagur ; the name hereabouts is Jhungra or Jugger: with them, and
amongst the Pindrow firs and yew trees, one is surprised to meet the
Dioscorea deltoides, ‘‘ Goon,” which, in shaded and wet localities,
descends to about 6000 feet ; its tubers, of a bright yellow inside, are
employed to poison fish.
11th May.—To Dwarahat, about 10 miles west, a cloudy day with
smart showers, which, as well as yesterday’s storm, a knowing moun-
taineer told me, were caused by a number of marriages going on in the
plains ; but how the two facts were connected, he could not explain.
Some confused idea of the figurative tempests said occasionally to brew
in the matrimonial atmosphere may have been present to his mind, as
well as the storms which are here also popularly believed to accompany
the conjunction of sun and moon, or the “ Lugn,” or entrance of the
sun intoasign. The people of Kumaoon compute falls of rain by
various measures of weight and capacity ; from a mana (half ser,) up to
a nalee and puseree, the last being that which soaks the ground tho-
roughly, and such as we experienced to-day. Beyond this they keep no
reckoning: it is “‘ be-thikana.”
They also measure time by weight (the chitak): no doubt from the
use of the ghuree (clepsydra.)
The path follows the left or south bank of the Dhoulee to its junc-
tion with the Gugas, and is stony, and bad from the frequent water-
cuts for irrigation. The Cimnamomum albiflorum, now in flower, is
abundant, and conspicuous by its young leaves of a delicate pink color.
At the meeting of the waters, the vale is beautifully cultivated, by the
inhabitants of two pretty large villages, Bint on the right, Bhutor on
the left bank. The climate is sufficiently warm for the Bauhinia varie-
gata, Dalbergia Ougeinensis, and several large Bombax malabaricum.
Hence in a W. S. W. direction, there is a rather steep ascent of a thou-
sand feet to the Ookhul Lekh pass, over the southern shoulder of
Doonagiri; then a descent for about four miles down a narrow and
pretty glen, and finally over extensive cultivated levels on which are
scattered the villages of Dwara, “ the Sublime Porte,” of the Kutyoors :
this is the name of the Pergunnah, Hath being that of the chief village :
5082 feet above Calcutta. In days of yore it was the residence of the
Kuhtora or Kutyoor chiefs of Kumaoon, to whom popular tradition
assigns the possession of the mountains from Joomla to the Ganges,
616 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon, [| JUNE,
and the construction of 360 temples and 72 wells ; of the latter one
only remains, covered in by a dome exceedingly well built of cut stone.
The temples are of the same material, and are scattered in groups and
lines over the fields. They are of the usual pyramidal form, surmount-
ed by the Turkscap ornament, with porticoes indifferently to the east
or west. The greatest height is about 30 feet. They are of a plain
style, but near the tank Shalde Pokhur, by a clump of date trees, and
an old Sillung, are the ruins of a small, but elaborately carved temple,
covered with sculpture representing gods, men, elephants, &c. ; it is
much dilapidated, and its graven images and stories lie scattered
around. None of these edifices are any longer held in any respect ;
on the contrary, having been desecrated by the Rohillas, they are
made available as hay and corn stores, being succeeded by a much
more modern, and well-built temple, where Budreenath and his priests
are well cared for. The Kuthoora would appear to have been a more
liberal and powerful dynasty than any that succeeded them; the name
may possibly be allied to that of the Kuttaur tribe of Siyahposhes,
amongst whom also we find at Chitral the chief styled Shah Kutore ;
but they are generally considered Soorujvunsee Rajputs. No remnant
of an inscription remains at Dwara, but a portion of one has been carri-
ed up to the shrine of Devee on Doonagiri, bearing date Saka 1105,
A. D. 1029, which may be assumed as that of the temples.
On the Ookhul Lekh, the rock is quartz, which at Dwara is suc-
ceeded by gneiss, the strata rising N. E. towards Doonagiri; to the
S. E. blocks like granite boulders are seen on the continuation of the
Ookhul Lekh range. Doonagiri is composed of blue clay slate, with
some quartz, apparently rising towards Bhut Kot, in the same direction
as the gneiss ; towards the eastern base of the mountain, there is a
great deal of red Ochry soil, probably arising from the disintegration of
the slates and quartz. Doonagiri as seen from Dwara, is a fine saddle-
back mountain, its easy slopes covered with woods and clumps of Banj
oak, interspersed with spacious glades of meadow. The summit may
be about 2 miles distant from the bungalow, and is continued far to
the N. W. in a range of nearly equal elevation. In a pretty cultivated
dell along its S, W. side flows the Kotlar Nudee, of which the source is
at Dwara from Doonagiri ; the. road to Lohba and Budreenath follows its
course towards the Ramgunga, beyond which the lofty range called
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 617
Doodootolee attains above 10,000 feet elevation ; another road leads via
Palee to Sireenugger ; there is also a route, though a bad one, to Kakur
Ghat, near Munurs, on the Kosilla.
13th May.
of Doonagiri, elevated above Calcutta 7454 feet. The woods on the
west side are chiefly of Quercus incana; on the summit, Quercus
An easy walk of two hours brought us to the summit
lanata, Iphisia govaniana, and Caragana spinosissima, (the last now in
flower,) are found; the eastern side is wholly covered by Pinus longi-
folia, a tree which seldom allows a rival near its throne.
Doonagiri is said to be the “ Dronachul” of the Poorans. ‘The
mountain of Drona,” the Military Preceptor of the Pandoos, who have
left many traditions about here. The Pundooa Khol to the N. N. E.
of this, derives its name from them, where the Gugas rises in the sacred
forest called Lodh Moona, where Gugas Rekhi performed penance,
erected lings, and by magic power, caused the springs of the stream,
which since bears his name, to gush from the quartz formation. The
people consider him identical with Gurg, the saint of the Gagur.
Doonagiri was originally part and parcel of Ceylon, and was brought
here, half way on the back of Hunooman, who getting weary or sleepy,
the rest of the ¢rajet was performed on a flash of lightning,—or
Indra’s rocket, as the people poetically call it. They affirm that
the Philosopher’s stone exists here, and several peasants cutting grass,
have had their Koorpees turned into gold by accidentally striking it ;
a fiction probably connected with the Jwalamat grass (Anthistiria
anathera,) which grows here, and has luminous roots.
The summit of the ridge is rounded, and affords easy and pleasant
walks, especially to the north. The loftiest point is occupied by a
celebrated shrine of Devee, which however consists merely of a small
and simple roofless enclosure, containing two small slabs of stone,
believed to have placed themselves here spontaneously,—with a small
sculpture representing Muhadev and Devee; evidently from Dwara.
From the same quarry are two broken pieces of carved stone, contain-
ing a portion of an inscription bearing date 1105 Saka: but so far are
the people from believing these were brought up from Dwara, that they
are persuaded the fragments were rained from heaven (akash se
burkha.) The officiating priest, however, set small store on the hea-
venly gift, for he sold it for four annas to my fellow-traveller, who was
618 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
desirous of decyphering the inscription at his leisure, and actually car-
ried it to Lodh ; there however, the whole countryside assembled to
reclaim their goddess, which was freely restored with mutual explana-
tions, my friend shewing them it was merely a bit of some old edifice,
and they assuring us that it had fallen from the skies. Their extreme
docility in these matters is indicated by such a government under a
Queen Log; in Kunnawur, the inhabitants require being kept in order
by the most frightful images of alligator and tiger-headed monsters,
and, Chimerus with a hundred arms, disemboweling and devouring
their foes. It is wonderful that the temporal rulers of the world
should never have taken a hint from the sanctuary, and converted their
menageries into active means for quelling the spirit of revolt ; it is pro-
bable that a hundred lions judiciously loosed in Paris during the Three
glorious days might have saved their master his throne; but hitherto,
this engine of state has only been brought passively into operation, and
by only two nations, the Chaldeeans and the Romans, who were wont
to feed their lions on the martyrs ; but martyrs are rare now-a-days.
At the celebration of the Dusuhra, the inhabitants of the surround-
ing districts assemble at Doonagiri in considerable numbers for devotion
and traffic ; the existence of the fair, however, denotes a somewhat infe-
rior rank in our “ Dark Lady of Doona ;” at Doonagiri, &c., her festi-
val is supposed to be perpetual; and gifts are equally acceptable during
all the twelve months. Returned to Lodh in the afternoon, and on
the 14th to Somesur, where the heat is now becoming oppressive.
15th May.—To Pinnath village, the ‘‘ Muth’ of the map ; distant
about 7 miles: the first half up the right bank of the Kosilla, the
remainder till, close to Pinnath, on the left. About three miles from
this place, the made road turns up the mountain to the east, to Byz-
nath, which is called 6 coss distant. The scenery is very lovely ;_ hills
of every size and form covered with oak and pine contrasting with the
rich, though narrow belt of ripening corn along the course of the river,
which, now reduced to a mere burn, flows along a ravine fringed with
Rose, Whitethorn, Willow, Phulliant and Banj oak, Symplocos race-
mosa, Berberis aristata, Berchemia floribunda, Indigofera (arborea 7)
Photinia dubia ; forming a delicious jumble of colors and scents. About
2 miles above Somesur, on the opposite bank, is the romantic hamlet
of Jyoshee ka mulla, on a bill, with a Vallombrosian foliage of Walnut,
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 619
Deodar, Kharuk, Pomegranate, &c. Approaching Pinnath, we crossed
a jutting spur on the left bank of the river by the Rooena Chheena ;
above this the valley again expands and is well cultivated for four or
five miles to the N. W., where the Kosilla flows east from its source,
but is turned S. K. by a range on its left bank, over which, near the
angle, is the Hur Chheena pass, leading to Byznath. Pinnath village
is half a mile beyond the Rooena Chheena, and is perhaps 5200 feet
above the sea, and 3500 below the craggy summits from which it has
its name. A colony of Gosains resides here in several very substantial
houses, surrounded by trees. Six or seven of their successive Muhunts
or Abbotts, are buried close by, each with a small dome over his
remains, and a miniature ling as his only epitaph ; perhaps as the
symbol of his devotion to Siva, who, as Pinakeshwur, “ Lord of the
Bow,” or Trident, gives name to the spot. The Bow is probably the
moon’s crescent, Siva being Somesur, or Lord of the moon. The
monks here possess two brass plates, with Sunuds engraved, of which
the following are translations by Major Sampson, whose transcripts of
the originals are also annexed. The dates coincide with the foundation
of Almorah, the rulers of which probably thought it expedient to endow
or sanctify the source of the river which passed by their new capital.
(No. 2.)
Sree Peenakees.
(Raja’s mark—a dagger.)
By Muharaja Dhiraj Sree Raja Oodeot Chund Dev.
An offering of land.
In Row Pergunna three alees in Dhamkurow ; in Idiakot one alee in
Dheolrow ; these places offered (making together) four (alees.) In the
Pergunna of the plains, Roodurpoor, I have offered (the village of)
Pepuliyukan Oortawala; together with their streams, mills, woods,
ground temporarily cleared, forests (and) mountains, have I offered for
lighting a lamp without intermission. All taxes are remitted, disputes
dismissed ; fines for illegitimate births, rights of reversion, what may
fall from heaven, to below hell, dues to horsemen, dog-keepers, hawk-
keepers, musicians, grooms ; all taxes have I relinquished and offered.
Witnesses Muharaj Koomar Sree Gyan Chund, Sree Hureehur
Chund Gosayen, Beereshwur Pande Poorohit, Beereshwur Lukshmee-
putee Pande Gooroo ; Sree Nurayun Joo ; Pruta Padeel, Juswunt Sing ;
4s
620 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [June,
Arjoon Sing ; Jeetru Bhan; Soojan Sing Goosahee; Ruma Pundit ;
Sreenath Adhikaree ; Reekhee kes Josee; U rjoon Sahoo; Kheem-
kurnu Sejwalee ; the twenty-two thousand (inhabitants) of Barmundil ;
written by Bhub Dev Josee, year (of Salivahun) 1613, the fourth day
of the light half of Phalgoon. Friday: Engraved by Gopal Sonar.
(No. 3.)
Sree Peenakeshwur. Sree Bhuwanee.
(Mark of the Raja, a dagger.)
By Muharaj Dhiraj Sree Raja Baj Buhadoor Chund Dev. By
Sree Ranee Bisekmutee Jee,
In fulfilment of a vow, an offering of land to the gods (above named.)
In Mulleepucheesee (Pergunna) in Idiakot (village) six lees,
eighteen beesees in Rolena (name of a portion of the village lands)
have we offered ; (also) two alees six beesees in Loesul (village) instead
of (the like already dedicated) in Akolia (village) in ‘Tulleepucheesee
(Pergunna) have we offered for offermg to Purmeshwur every day
food, viz., five muna (23 sers) rice for the food, one muna of mas dal,
one handful of unbroken rice (for the teeka on the god’s forehead ;)
half a pul (2 pice weight) of ghee for the lamp, half a pul of ghee for
the incense along with the food ; thus much for Muhadev’s food. Four
munas of flour, two puls of ghee, are to be offered to Devee Jee daily.
To these lands are to appertain the streams, mills, woods, grounds tem-
porarily cleared, (and) wastes ; all taxes are remitted,—we have relin-
quished all; be they free from all disputes, fines for illegitimate births,
rights of reversion, what may fall from heaven, to below hell, dues to
horsemen, dog-keepers, musicians, watchmen ; all these taxes have be-
come Purmeshwur’s. Let there be no hindrance. Witnesses Muharaj
Koomar Sree Oodoo Chund Gosayee, Bisee Jugutee Rai Gosayee, Id-
hyakoont Poorkho Josee, Nurayun Bhan Sahoo, Kasee Adheekaree
Soor Sinh Karkee, Koomeroo Teragee, Suntokh Choudree, Dulputee
Karkee, Saliwan Boro, Gourja Chakur, Pudarut Bhagyoot Bhundaree,
Nukool Sejwalee. Written by Chinta Sahoo, year (of Salivahun) 1576,
the 30th of the dark half of Asar, Sunday. Place Rajpoor (Almorah. )
Soobha Negee, Anunt Dev Josee. Engraved by Gopal Sonar.
The most remarkable circumstance in the last grant is that one of
the donors should be of the sex, which however subject in all ages and
countries, to the influence of the Josees, seldom in Indian documents,
appears on the scene.
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 621
16th May.—To Pinnath temple and summit; home by the source
of the Kosilla ; which occupied 103 hours’ actual walking. The route
to the temple, which is about half way up, followsa great spur, and
except in one place where steps have been cut to facilitate the approach,
is easy, with a deep glen on the left, through which flows the Deogar
stream to join the Kosilla at the village. The temples are scarce worth
visiting, but the site is pleasant ; a grassy expansion of the ridge, shad-
ed by some superb Kilonj oaks ; the first is a small conical structure,
8 or 10 feet high, dedicated to Bhyroo; the main temple is close to
this-on the north, a square, slated edifice, with the door facing the
south, and figures of rajas, &c., sculptured on the walls. The roof of
the portico is formed by the Indian arch, and on its sides are repre-
sented the five Pandoos ; the adytum is small, and contains nothing
but one or two images of Muhadev and Devee; about 44 years since
the original pile was nearly all overthrown by an earthquake, which
sent most of the materials and apparatus bounding down the steep
glens to the Kosilla. The place is only frequented im the rainy season
and autumn, when in October, there is a mela. The want of water is
poorly supplied by a cistern and several wells, 12 or 15 feet deep, ex-
eavated in the rock, the contents of which are by no means inviting.
The elevation as given in the map, is 7,111 feet, which seems correct ;
but elsewhere (Asiatic Researches, &c.) Captain Webb quotes it at
7628 and 7700. So far, the rock is quartz, and slate, but onwards
quartz only, disposed in vast beds, the outcrop of which faces W. S.
W. forming crags which near the summit are rather difficult to climb
over. The area of this is not above fifteen feet across, with precipitous
glens all around, and an exceedingly narrow rocky ridge connecting it
with Bhut Kot, which seems about 500 feet higher, bearing S. W.
The Boora Pinnath range is continued N. W., in a very lofty and com-
paratively level spur, called Birchoola, not under 8000 feet, excessively
precipitous to the left, or W. S. W., but on the right sloping gently,
and clothed with dense forest of Pindrow fir and other alpine trees of
magnificent dimensions and verdure ; in this is the main source of the
Kosilla, which hence flows nearly due east for about 5 miles, its north
ern bank being formed by the slopes of Gopalkot mountain, on
whose craggy summit the Kutyoora rajas had a stronghold in which
their treasures were deposited. The waters between Bhut Kot and
4s 2
622 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JuNE,
Birchoola form a considerable stream which joins the Ramgunga, a few
miles short of which it passes through a crater-like cavity, now nearly
dry, but full in the rains, called the Turag ke Tal, or Lake of the Pool.
It is seen from Boora Pinnath, and is 4028 feet above Calcutta. Mr.
Batten found that this pool owns its existence toa high natural dyke of
limestone conglomerate, through which the stream flows by a series of
caverns, from one of which it issues in a fine cascade.
Beyond Gopalkot, the Birchoola range is crossed by the Burm Deo
Chheena, which is the pass between Byznath and the Ramgunga; I
only followed it for about three miles to a spot where the “ Duree
Panee,”’ a good spring, rises close to the summit level and sends astream
towards the Turag ke Tal ; from this point we dipped by a pathless and
extremely steep fall of a thousand feet to the apparent source of the
Kosilla, now perfectly waterless, nor, for two or three miles down does
its bed contains any thing but occasional pools. Hereabouts we came on
several traces of bears and tigers, and on the half eaten carcase of a
deer. The woods are so dense, as quite to exclude the sunbeams,
with thickets of hill bamboo, &c. almost impenetrable. In a few miles,
the course of the river becomes no longer practicable; the stream
entering an extremely narrow and deep gorge, in which it flows for two
or three miles, till it emerges on the valley of Pinnath ; on each side of
the entrance, the quartzose strata rise vertically and form two grand
and most jagged portals, the bases of which as well as the gorge itself,
are exquisitely wooded. The Kosilla here pierces the bearing of the
range from Doonagiri N. E. These rocks are known by the name
Sutulia or Chetulia, which is that of the mountain here forming the
left bank, to the summit of which, at least a thousand feet above the
river, we gradually ascended, by a very narrow path, with vertical
steeps beneath ; this is called the Shookona pass. The summit com-
mands a beautiful view of Pinnath valley to the S. E. on the left hand,
and in front stretches the spacious and level valley of Kuthoor or
Kutyoor, with Byznath in the centre, at the junction of the Gurool
with the Gaomutee river. The elevation is 3545 feet above Calcutta ;
the climate is said to be hot, and the air unhealthy : yet the cultivation
seems extensive, and is said in former days to have reached far up the
neighbouring hills, now covered with Pine. The place is still distin-
guished by the finest temples in Kumaoon, though much ruined by
1848.] The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. 623
the Rohillas ; near these the fish are religiously preserved, no doubt in
honor of the Matsya avatar ; it is curious enough to discover the same
superstition amongst the ancient Syrians, as noted by Xenophon in the
Anabasis.
With frequent falls to all hands from the quantity of pirol or pine-
leaves on the ground, we descended to the Kosilla and crossed it where
it quits the Sutulia gorge between two huge crags. A mile or more
lower down, on the right bank is Kantulee village, 5395 feet above
Calcutta (R. 8.) where the Sugar-cane is largely cultivated. Pinnath
(Muth) Hamlet is two miles farther down.
18th May.—From Somesur to Gunnanath, 6 or 7 miles, the first two
along the left bank of the Kosilla, crossing the Munsaree Roul, and
then up the pretty dell of Khylkhoor watered by a stream from Gun-
nanath. Near its confluence with the Kosilla stands a grove of cedars,
sacred to Kshetr Pal; a little higher up, on the same (left) bank,
dwells an “ Olia,” or Hail-man, ‘ Indra-ka-bhugut,’”? whose duty, for
which he is well fed, consists in the repetition of ‘“‘ munturs,”’ or, in ex-
treme cases, pouring out libations of his own blood to Jupiter Tonans,
in order to protect the crops from the hail. Lightning conductors
would, perchance, be more effectual than both Tonans and Wizard;
for, in spite of all his incantations and cuttings, and this sacerdotal
guano with which he sprinkles the fields, the hailstorms are very
destructive in Kumaoon: during this very month, the entire rubbee
crop of the Kupkot valley was levelled with the ground, and abandoned
to the cattle ; on the 20th of October following, a hailstorm from the N.
W. fell on the province, including Almorah, killing birds, the lesser
cattle, and breaking down the little vegetation there remaining. It
came on about 3 p. . like one of Milton’s “two black clouds with hea-
ven’s artillery fraught,” in the form of a stupendous arch, which rapidly
overspread the sky, and, depositing a thick stratum of hail on the
ground, passed over in about half an hour. This storm extended its
devastation as far south as Banda in Bundlekhund, and probably much
further. The foul weather, which we experienced on Bhut Kot, was
also very general over India, which probably shares in all the greater
atmospheric changes of the Himalaya.
Daily observation in these mountains, commends the sagacity of the
European Philosopher, who, in his distant study, detected and unravel-
624 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [ JUNE,
led the tangled processes of thought and practice, which maintain the
Olia and similar swindlers. ‘‘ Ayant eprouvé que certaines pratiques
envers ses semblables avaient l’effet de modifier a son-gré leurs affections,
et de diriger leur conduite, il employa ces pratiques avec les étres puis-
sants de univers; il se dit; “‘quand mow semblable, plus fort que
moi, veut me faire du mal, je m’abaisse devant lui, et ma priére a l’art
de le calmer. Je prierai les tres puissante qui me frappent ; je supplie-
rai les intelligences des vents, des astres, des eaux, et elles m’enten-
dront ; je les conjurerai de detourner les maux, de me donner les biens
dont elles disposent ; je les toucherai par mes larmes ; je les flécherai
par mes dons, et je jouirai du bien-étre.
Et Phomme, simple dans lenfance de sa raison, parla au soleil, a la
lune; il anima de son esprit et de ses passions les grands agents de la
nature; il crut, par de vains sons, par de vaines pratiques, changer
leurs lois inflexibles: erreur funeste! Il pria la pierre de monter, l’eau
de s’elever, les montagnes de se transporter, et substituant un monde
fantastique au monde véritable, il se constitua des étres d’opinion, pour
Pepouvantail de son esprit, et le tourment de sa race.”’ Les Ruines,
Coixxi
If there be but one step from the sublime to the ridiculous, a step
in the opposite direction leads to superstition ; which seems to enslave
the mind of the mountaineer in the same degree as “the mountain
Nymph, sweet liberty,” emancipates his person; the grand scale as to
quantity, number, force, and variety, on which all the processes of
nature are carried on around, seems universally to have quelled his
spirit to the most abject submission to the marvellous and supernatural.
From the enchanter’s home, our path gradually ascended the sloping
southern face of Gunnanath, amongst Pine, and a profusion of Combre-
tum nanum ; on the right hand, across the Khylkoor, is the woody
range of Bhalkot, on which Hustee Dul, the Gorkhalee Governor of
the province was killed in 1815. It is connected with Gunnanath to
the N. E. by a low and spacious plot of grassy land, called Gunes ka
Tul, from which the Khylkoor flows to the west, and the Takoola,
also draining the south face of Gunnanath, to the east and south,
where it waters the Sutrali valley.
Gunnanath mountain extends from east to west about 25 or 3 miles,
and is composed of a kind of iron clay slate (or greenstone’) with a
1848. | The Turaee and Outer Mountaims of Kumaoon. 625
ferruginous quartzose breccia; towards the Somesur foot of the moun-
tain, Lieutenant R. Strachey came on large masses of black basalt.
The southern face is rather bare, but grassy, with a continuous decli-
vity, seamed by many rounded, and comparatively shallow furrows ;
the northern face, on the contrary is very steep, covered with Rhodo-
dendron, pine, banj oak, &c. Some of the latter also flourish in groups
towards the eastern summit, offering admirable specimens of this tree
in its perfection, with a magnificent spreading crown, almost reaching
the earth all round. The temple of Malka Devee, small and in ruins,
occupies this end ; on the western extremity, 6,930 feet above Calcutta,
Hustee Dul erected a stockade of which tracesremain; but the posi-
tion was bad, without water and of easy access from the east, the whole
summit affording a nearly level and very pleasant walk, over swelling
lawns, possessing much of the character, though not quite the breadth
of an English Park ; with a view of Emodus such as no Park in the
world can pretend to.
The shrine of Gunnanath nestles in a snug nook on the southern ex-
posure of the mountain, in one of the furrows before mentioned, nearly
600 feet below the summit. Here the rock forms an overhanging crag
of perhaps fifteen feet, from which a streamlet trickles down, and is
received in a reservoir shaded by laurel and Sillung trees. Under the
rock repose the images of Gunes, Devee, the Ling, &c., duly beflowered
and begheed by a rather strong establishment of brahmans and
gosaeens, who inhabit a substantial dhurmsala, included in the gully,
and commanding a pleasant view of the fertile vallies beneath, on which,
like so many eagles, they pounce at their prey.
May 19th.—To Hawulbagh, called 8 coss, about 13 miles. De-
scended to the Sutrali valley opposite Unkholee or Umkesur, the usual
stage between Almorah and Bagesur ; and thence followed the Takoola
to Bukona (not half the distance,) where we breakfasted by a mound
sacred. to Goorl Deo, and shaded by large Khuruk and Kukur trees.
The rock here is mica-slate, but higher up, towards Umkholee, all
gneiss. Below Bukola, the road becomes very rocky and seems not to
have been repaired for many years: though hilly and uneven, there are
none of the heavy ascents which exist on the direct route to Almorah.
Opposite Koron village the mountains assume a most picturesque and
diversified outline ; here the road quits the line of the Takoola, and
626 The Turaee and Outer Mountains of Kumaoon. [JuNE,
ascends some hundred feet to the Moonee-moonee pass, on the crest of
which there is a fine old newla or covered well, affording cool water,
which none of the streams do at this season. From this we descended
to the Patia valley, with many hamlets and good cultivation, lying along
one of the Binsur streams ; and reached the Kosilla about three miles
above Hawulbagh, opposite the neglected temple of Bumsir. One mile
on, the road crosses the ‘“‘ Beemoota,” a long and narrow rent 50 feet
deep, in a stratum of mica slate, and dipping with it N. E.: tradition
attributes the chasm to an act of Bheem Singh, which only a Hindoo
traveller would commit to paper. About a mile east of Almorah town,
500 feet lower, on the open Gwalkakooree ke Dhar, about 400 yards
east of the Dhamoo' ka Dhoora garden, and south of Buldotee Quarry,
Mr. John Strachey, C.S. discovered a smaller pit, also in the mica
slate, about five feet deep, from which issues a considerable column of
steam, marking the presence of a hot spring beneath. In the cold
season, eatly in the morning this is condensed into vapor, which long
since attracted the attention of the townspeople, who ascribe the origin
of the phenomenon to this spot being a Sidh ka Sumadhi, or tomb of
an ascetic whose body burns with the fervour of divine love. The
Khusya. population, however, assert that all such hot water is made by
Devee. ‘ No religious respect is now shown to the spot ; on the 14th of
November last, at 63 a. m. the temperature of the air being 40°; that
of the steam at 5 feet deep was 68°: beyond this it was’ impossible to
introduce a thermometer, the crevice being too small to admit one’s
body, and at this depth altering its direction laterally. The growth of
grass, ferns, &c., in the mouth of the pit proves that no deleterious gas
accompanies the vapor: this test, however, will not hold for Carbonic
acid gas.
Report.
Disbursements of the Asiatic Society, for the year 1848.
1]
DISBURSEMENTS.
By Museum.
Paid Mr. E. Blyth’s Salary as Curator
for 12 months, at 250 Rs. per month, 3,000 6 0
Ditto house-rent for ditto at 40 Rs. per
GUO. cacsicdacicisies<scaicscesss. 480) 0 0
———_-—— 3,480 _ 0
Ditto Establishment of Taxidermists, Artists, Carpen-
ters, &c., ditto ditto at 147 Rs. per month, ...... 1,764 0
Ditto Contingencies, dicta ditto, <.).. cena a eo | 2
Ditto for 5 dozens and 2 Stoppered Bottles, sae tetae ote i 1
Ditto for 1 tin-lined Case for packing Minerals for Syd
ney Museum, .... .- es cece ee se cece cece cece oes 3.1
Ditto Mr. H. Mansel, for a Teak Wood
Glass Case for the Model of the Taj, 40 0 90
Ditto ditto for expences incurred in re-
placing the Missing pieces of Ivory,
GG iOt tHe ADOVE, so nsec ccc <0 wsc0 16 0 0
0
Ditto for repairing and enlarging a Teak Wood Table '
MUO RELD Gono av'c:cinG efe.e'd ss wis ele neiice ae casitanetate 12 0
Ditto for a Glass Case for depositing Shells, AR CRE Oe FOZ
w.
By Muszum Economic GroLoecy.
Paid Mr. H. Piddington’s Salary as Joint-Curator for
12 months, at 250 Rs. per month, .............. 93,000 0
Ditto Establishment for ditto at 31 Rs. per ditto,.... 372 0
Ditto°Contingencies for ditto, .. 06.6 ee secede cece 89 13
Ditto for a Copy of Lyall’s Principles of Geology,.... ll 4
Ditto for a Silver Evaporating Basin, ...........- 28 8
Ditto Messrs. Scott and Co. for a Copy of Bengal Di-
REE CRMROL (LOAD. (ais) 'o!sfalioiala «sien sl sisi ee « Baie sis we 8 0
Ditto for a Copy of Quarterly J ournal of Geological
RUMNCEAG INS Ue rcts' oie aieiisio alee eve hies'slai's's0 dis\e, see cree 4 0
Ditto for 4 lbs. and 5oz. of liquor ammonie with stop-
PIERGMOOULICS «gi arciotolgia c's s/e/s evs selde'ssiéai seisiena « sie 18 0
By MINERALOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM.
Paid Contingencies for 12 months, ........ eee. 65 10
Ditto Mr. J. C. Sherriff, for printing Geological Cata-
logue in February 1841, ....cececesececccceens 89 13
Ditto ditto Mineralogical ditto, Smioie:slela@ siesta es sieilale 61 10
Ditto for a Saw for cutting Specimens, .... s+ esses 7 8
Ditto for Teak planks for making a chest of drawers,. » 13 4
S
(=r) ooo
6
6
0
6
5,929 12 0
3,531 9 6
237 14 6
9,699 4 0
Carried over,..
%
12 Report.
Brought forward, Co.’s Rs. 7,393 8 0
By LinpRARy.
Received by Sale of Books, ...00.0. 2020 R920 6008 08 65 6 6
=e 65 6 6
To Orienrat PuBLications.
Received from the General Treasury the amount of
grant from Government for 12 months, at 500 Rs.
per Month, 5 cscece secs ahha le emeeaweerh ahiee 10, 000..0% -¢
Ditto by sale of Oriental Publications,.. 770 0 O
Ditto (by transfer) from Mr. H. Torrens,
Gitio,. 0! adie ahs Joona: « LOLatnD
Ditto ditto Mr. J. Muir, ditto, ...e0... 24 0 0
i_—o—n 925 0 0
"6/9290. teet
eae
Carried over;.. 14,386 14 6
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