: 7 bra . a Ses che 2 - - 2 = = - - 44 1V.—Notice of the Storms experienced at Madras on the 20th October and 25th November, 1846. By J.J. Franklin, Esq. - - 146 V.—Notice regarding the Names used in the Indian Zodiac. By C. P. Brown, Esq. - - - - “ - - - - Lol VI.—Account of the Gold Mines in the Province of Malabar. From Official Papers communicated by Government, - - - 154 © VII.—Notice of an Expedition into the Interior of Southern Africa with a description of a supposed new species of Rhinoceros, - 181 VIII.—Memoranda regarding a Boring executed on the Sea Beach at Madras. By T. G. Taylor, Hsq., - - - 183 1X.—Biographical Memoir of the late William Griffith, Esq., F. L.S. 187 X.—Notices : Professor Lee on the Cufic Signatures in the Copper Grant of the Syrian Christians, - - - - - - - 197 Major Rawlinson on the Intermediate Signatures in the same, 198 Observations on the Temperature of the Earth at Travancore, 199 Barometrical Levellings in the Madras Presidency, - - 200 XI,— Proceedings of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, : - = Be) iis i ee = pers er ¥ CONTENTS. the Civil Service, - - - - = - - - If.—Visit to Mount Sinai, to which is prefixed a brief Geological Sketch of the Peninsula of Sinai. By Captain Newbold, - III.—Notice of the Habits of the large Indian Boa or Rock Snake. By Lord Arthur Hay, - - - - - - - - IY¥Y.—On Supposed early Celtic or Scythian Vestiges, remaining in yarious parts of the Carnatic. By the Rev. W. Taylor, - Y.— Report of the Sub-Committee c.f the Literary Society appointed to examine the Collection of Native MSS. committed to the Society’s charge by the Government of Fort St. George, - VI.—A Supplement to the Six Reports on Mackenzie Manuscripts, (heretofore printed in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science.) By the Rev. William Taylor, - - - - VII.—Meteorological Observations at Madras, . - - - VIII.—Notices : * Rhinoceros Oswelli, - - - + - - - - The Journal of the Indian Archipelago, - - = - Hindu Remains in the Eastern Archipelago, - - - Extract from Mr. H. Low’s work on Sarawak, - - - IX.—Proceedings of the Madras Literary See? and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, - =e : = 2 Page. Agr. I.—Description of the Laccadive Islands. By W. Robinson, Esq., of 1 97 MADRAS JOURNAL OF LITERATURE AND SCIENCE. No. 32. January—June, 1847 . 1.—Translation of the Kongu-desa-rajakal. By the Rev. Wiiiiam TayLor. INTRODUCTION. At an early period of my analysis of the Mackenzie Manu- scripts, I had occasion to introduce a Notice* of the work enti- tled Congu-désa-rajikal, and to give a brief indication of its general characteristics. It does not seem to me that, in writ- ing that notice, I had retained any special recollection of hav- ing before adverted to it ; as in Orient. Hist. M. S. translated, vol. 2, p. 63; which may be accounted for, by my always dis- hking to look again at that work : an aversion the impropriety of which I have only recently seen. A sentence or two from the page adverted to, may be here introduced: “ This Manu- script appears peculiarly valuable from being the only one, as is conceived, bearing on this section of the south country.” — “ The plan of printing Manuscripts verbatim with literal ‘translations, as the foundation of general inferences from the whole, at a future period, is the only means of providing a safe chart to the gencral historian, in this long neglected, and * Ist Report, Journal of Literature and Science, Vol. 7, page 3, A 2 Translation of the [No. 32, supposed to be, barren field.”—%“ Mr. (Professor) Wilson says (Des. Cat. vol. 1, p. 198,) ‘ According to this work the series of Konga, or Chera, princes amounted to twenty-six, from Vira-raya-chacraverti to Raja-malla-deva ; in the time of whose descendants the kingdom was subdued by the Chola-rqa.’ What descendants, or how many of them in- tervened between Maja-malla-deva, and the Chola conquest, seems needful to be necertained, before attempting the ascend- ing series up to Vira-raya.” Before the publication of that volume (in 1835) the mistake, which appeared in a few of the earlier printed sheets of sup- posing the Mackenzie Manuscripts to. be at Calcutta, was re- moved ; and access to those Manuscripts, then deposited at the College, was given to me. One consequence was my trans- lating the Manuscript in question, during a period of some leisure in 1836; and when (towards the close of 1837) the analysis of the collection was begun, I did my best from the two imperfect copies to make one complete, by collation ; but failed of success ; and subsequent care to recover, if possi- ble, the lost leaves, from amongst other fragments in the col- lection, also failed. ‘lhe notice above adverted to, was pen- ned from a general recollection of the translation, but recently made. I had no intention to be particular; and no time to be critically nice. A great work was to be done ; and a very limited time, within which it must be done, had been assigned. Besides in a mere abstract, anything like nicety was excluded. My own notion of exactitude is, a printing of the document on the one page, with a closely literal version on the other page, as above indicated ; and a at various times, was largely dwelt . n: particularly in Madras Journal of Literature and Science, vol. 6, page 156. In consequence of my removal, in 1839, to the Mission Pre- mises at Vepery, and again in 1842, and back to my custom- ary residence in 1840 and 1842, occasioned by the unhealthi- ness of the Mission Premises, my books and papers became subject to considerable disorder: the lighter pamphlets, and papers in particular. Hence my rough yersion of the Congu- 1847.] Kongu-desa-rajakal. 3 desa-rajikal narrowly escaped destruction by termites. When recovered I could not, from want of leisure, pay any atten- tion to it. A few hints aiid suggestions occasionally received from Walter Elliot, Esq. sufficed to keep the document in recollection ; and, very recently, a period of some leisure hay- ing recurred, I took up the rough translation in earnest : after completing an ethnological Essay on Eastern Relations previously forwarded. Various occurrences have unavoidably diverted my attention, notwithstanding, comparative leisure enjoyed. At length I am able to issue the document from my hands ; after bestowing on it as much care and attention as I could command. The translation 1s close and literal ; the original on a paral- lel page is wanting to make the whole complete ; according to the idea of several good* judges, as well as my own idea. That deficiency cannot now be helped : it may be remedied at a future day. I have not intentionally misled the reader ; as I regret to find too many, so called, translations frequently do. It is still very desirable to collate three or more copies, if they can be found, and to fill up chasms ; for much has been made to depend on that defective passage, which is near the close of the Chola dynasty. Throughout the document, the word used is Congu-désa. 1 ‘do not once find Chera-desa.. The Kerala and the Concana- désas, as distinct, do occur. In inquiting verbally about the Congu-nad, as more usually phrased in Tamil, I have been told it was the neighbourhood of the Covmbatore province. Dr. Rottler, in that portion of his Dictionary which was revised by himself, terms the Congu-nad “the Malabar country ;” by which, I presume, he meant “ the Malabar Coast” or Malaya- lam Country. He could not mean the region of “ the Mala- bars,” or Tamil language ; because that is contrary to other portions of the Dictionary ; and to fact. But he states Congen to be an epithet of the Chera king ; or, of an inhabitant of that country. The Migandu extends the title to the raya of Codugu, or Coorg. These remarks are made, because there are. « Madras Journal of Literature and Science, Vol. 6, page 169. : ey 4 Translation of the [No. 32, some discrepancies in the Manuscript ; because the bounds of the Congu and Carnataca-désas are made to run into each other ; and because sometimes the term Carnataca-Congu- desa occurs: implying Congu to be a conquered and subor- dinate portion of Carnata, as it probably was during the Oyisala dynasty of Vellalas. With these few and brief indices, the translation of the Manuscript—in a somewhat homely, and not idiomatic, style —is commended to the attention of the reader: not for the elegance of the manner; but for the possible importance of the matter, which it will be found to contain. MADRAS, Pursewaukum, W. T. April, 1846. ) CONGU-DESA-RAJAKAL. Lhe Dynasty of Srt-Vira-raya Chacraverti, and of Govinda- raya. In the history of Kings in the Cak-yuga the first name inscribed is that of Vira-raya Chacraverti of the Retti* tribe, who ruled in the town of Scandat in the Congze country. He was installed in the throne of the Congu-désam and, being anointed wore the crown; and, enjoying all manner of pros- perity, he ruled with equity and justice, and so protected the coun- try. 1. Vira-raya. Govinda-raya of the solar line, being crowned ruled in Scanda-pura, in Congu-desam, with a splen- dour exceeding that of his father Vira-raya Chacraverti: and, being of illustrious fame, there was no king equal to him. 2, Govinda-raya. Crishna-raya being crowned in Scanda-pura of Congu-desa; and searching the Nits Sastra more, he reigned with greater equity and justice than his father Govin- _ 3, Crishna-raya. * The Retti, or Reddy caste, is a tribe of cultivators of the soil. The Vencata-giri chiefs came from that tribe. It is usually considered a northern tribe. In Canarese and in Telugu the term corresponds with Vallala in the Tamil language. + The exact locality of Scanda-puram is of consequence, It cannot be detexmined by the M.S, alone. 1847. | Kongu-desa-rajakal. od da-raya, and acquired great fame; being without equal among kings. Calavalla-raya being crowned, reigned in Scan- da-pura of Congu-desa: he exceeded his father Crishna-raya in equity and justice ; and, enjoying all prosperity, was much celebrated. — 4. Calavalla-raya. Govinda-raya being crowned in Scanda-pura of Congu-désa was more celebrated than his father Calavalla-raya. Going to war with hostile kings he overcame them ; received tribute from a great many of them; and, performing many acts of charitable munificence, he governed the kingdom. Then (ac- cording to inscription) in the year of Salivahana Saca 4,* in the 17th or Subana year of the Pra- A. D. 82 + or 40-4 bhavadicaptam (cycle of 60 years) in the full moon (9=119. of Vaiyasa month (May), this Govinda-raya made a grant of land and gave a Sassanam (record) to the Jaina named Arichanna. That land belonging to the Culaséa district in the town called Bomacoma, extended to seven Candacas (a measure). The charitable grant was made to the Temple called Congant-varmam-basta Jainya- Devatarchani. The name of the pusarz officiating in that temple, and . the Gurz (spiritual preceptor) of Arichanna was Pranyabacharya. He resided at the foot of Sri-caré-vricsha (the sacred tree, or shrub, planted near Jama temples). In those days the names of (distin- guished) Jainas were Pancha-nandi, Checupa, and Jaya-deva. > ' Sri- Chatur-bhuja- Cannara-deva Chacraver ti, of e cee hye the Rett: tribe, and solar line, who had four hands, being crowned in Scanda-pura of Congu-desa, whenever it became needful to go to war, he went out joyfully with _ eighteen (kinds of) drums, and was a conqueror. He knew how to play on the vina (or lute) and also the Barata Sastra or the art of dancing. He understood the enchantments (mantra ) of the Cotandam, or bow, and of the Waga-archina mantra. He acquired all kinds of banners, taken from conquered kings ; and ruled the kingdom with great equity. Thus there were three persons acquainted with the sacred books of those Jaimas. ‘Their Guru was named Waga-nandi, who was o. Govinda-raya. Salivahana Saca 4. * The year four (4) does not to me appear satisfactory. It has the semblance of a number thrown in conjecturally : and one character on the right side might raise it to 40 or 400. 6 Translation of the _ [No. 32, thoroughly versed in their religious wisdom (Caigsonrarh) veda- njanam. He was one who well explained the spiritual treatises of that religious system to those kings who belonged to it. He lived to a very advanced age. The son (of the before mentioned king) Tird-Vierama-deva Chacraverti, being anointed and crowned, in Scanda-pura, ruled the kingdom. Then Sancara-devar (Siva) visibly appeared to him ; and, in consequence, he quitted the Jaina religion, and was turned to that of Siva; and on setting out to the conquest of the Daeshin* country, he made presents of lands and other things ; and overcame the Chola, Pandya, Kerala, and Malayala countries, and returned. Then the grant of land, by inscription, Saegpena Bacal 00, aS. SS. 100} in the Sidhartha, or 53d year of A.D. 177—8. : sd aN , 5 the cycle in Vaiyast month, in the bright half of the moon’s increase, on Monday, at the time when the moon’s is ' eclipsef was half finished, Zerz- Vicrama-deva 7. Vicrama-deva. : aa Chacraverti gave to the guru named Narasinga- patta, of the Bharadivaja tribe, a charitable inscription (donation) of (Panche-sata) five hundred Candacams of land. That land is situated in Congu-desa near which that Sancara-deva temple is si- tuated, in Scanda-puram (at a distance from the temple.) This king also ruled over the Carnataca-desa. § Srimat-Congani-verma-dherma Mahathi-raya 8. Congani-verma. Js aban _ of the Canavayana tribe, of the Ganga race, be- * The statement that Vicrama-deva after quitting the Jaina religion, and following that of Siva set out to the conquest of the Dacshin (South) country, and overcame the Chola Pandya, Kerala and Malayala countries, requires grave attention as to whether this lan- guage accord with the lower portion of the modern Mysore country. The point will come into further discussion. + The date S. S. 100 or A. D. 177—8 has some appearance of being artificial. By a rough process of my own, grounded a retrocession of the moon’s nodes, reckoning back- wards, I found that an eclipse did occur about that time: and running the calculation forwards, from the eclipse which took place at the déath of Julius Cesar, the like result — occurred. But I wish an astronomer would check the date. Supposing it ever so ac- curate, the date of an eclipse might have been taken from astronomical tables, and in- serted, as that of an inscription. My objection to an inscription of so early a date is a practical one. No legible inscription has been found, in the South Peninsula, higher up than about S.S. 1000. Inscriptions in the Pandya, and Chola, desas, presumed to be of older date, are worn and defaced, by time, with only a few legible letters, ¢ Esteemed of peculiar merit just then, even to the present time. 3 To the best of my knowledge and recollection, the title Srimat or Srimati, is not of Southern usage. In Mahratta, and Canarese, inscriptions, it is of almost: unifornt o¢cur- rence. In the Tamil language inscriptions are I think uniformly commenced with Svasta Sri. 1847. | Kongu-desa-rajakal. 7 ing crowned in Vijaya-Scanda-pura, ruled the kingdom. This king, in going out to conquer hostile kings, was accustomed to cut a stone asun- der with his sword; and then to vow that this was a pattern of what he would do to the kings his enemies. Accordingly he went forth, and killed those kings, who opposed him; taking tribute only from those who submitted before him ; and thus caused his reign to be marked by great princely wealth. The manner of his munificent charity was such, that this king shone like the sun inthe firmament above, in dispersing the darknesses of all the sins of his own Ganga*¥ tribe of people. As he was exceedingly wealthy he first acquired the pre-nomen of Srimathi, and afterwards as he ruled the kingdom, making many charitable donations, he acquired the surname of Dherma-mahathi-raya. As wealth, the Congu country, and great munificence, were possessed by him, he was hence styled Srimat-Con- gam-varma-dherma Mahathi-raya. Having acquired great fame he protected the kingdom. His reign was in S. 8. 111, in Pramodiuta year. The son of that king Sr¢man-madhava-maha- thi-raya being crowned king of Congu-desa in Vijaya Scanda-puram, governed the kingdom like his father ; and understanding many arts, and law books, enjoying kingly prosperity, he gave presents of money and vestments to learned men, to poets, to poor people, and those very poor: he was like the Carpaca-tree of plenty, which gives whatever is sought from it. So he gave to all who asked, and obtaining high reputation in the world, he governed the kingdom. Hence he acquired the fame of Sriman Madhava Mahathi-raya. 9. Madhava. : His son Srimat-Hari-Verma-mahatht-raya be- - gee S- ing crowned king of Congu-desa in Scanda-pu- as ram, being in a great town of the Curnataca-desa called Dalavan-pura he protected (or governed) the country of Car- nataca.t By the four devices of peace, division, tribute, war, (Sama, betha, dhana, tandam) he derived tribute from many kings, and being ; pan «The Vallalas, or agricultural tribe, call themselves Ganga-cula, in distinction per- haps from the Agni cula, fire-tribe, or Chohans. + In the reign of Hari-verma we find a change of capital from Scanda-pur: to Dalavan- pur: Verma is not a Southern title. It was used by the Kadamba dynasty at Banavasi north, near the site of Gootul in modern maps. In this reign the first mention is made of Talicad; Takadur being a dependency. Telikofa is due north of Gootul; and to the northward of east from Belgaum. The M. S. does not spell the word Talcad but Talicadu, g | Translation of the _ [No. 32, more warlike than any of the kings between the four seas, he became more wealthy than even Harz, who dwells with Lacshint (goddess of wealth or plenty) and therefore acquired the name of Srimat Harivarma Mahathi-raya. Ue gave grants of lands, and other things to many persons. The detail of his grants of land is the following : Saca year 210 in Subakirathi year in Pangunt month, in the bright half-moon’s age on the day of the full, on Thursday (Vrihas- pativaram) he gave the village of Yakadur to the Sipahis (soldiers) who before dwelt in the pettah of Zalicad, three portions ; and one portion to a Brahman who performed religious ceremonies iu the temple of Jdulasthanésvara in the said village. His son was Vishnu-kopa-mahathi-raya. Be- os oy ing crowned in Dalavan-pura, the metropolis of Talicad, he conquered to the south at the head of the four kinds of troops, and acquired the fame of a great warrior. He performed many munificent acts; such as, gifts in general, donations for temple service, and gifts to spiritual preceptors, and many others. He built a Vaishnava temple in his kingdom ; and being a great devotee* of Vishnu, he acquired the name of Vishnu- kopa-mahathi-raya, and with it great fame. Both the Congu- desa, and the Curnataca-desa, were subject to him. As this Vishnu-kopa-mahathi-raya at first, for some time, had no child, he adopted a son from the same race, named Madhava-mahathi-raya : he was anointed in Dalavan-puram, and in subordination to his foster father’s directions he, for a time, governed the kingdom. Subsequently Vishnu-kopa- mahathi-raya had a son born to him, named Crishna-verma-ma- hathi-raya ; in consequence of which the said Crishna-verma-mahathi-raya was anointed in the capital, and after having given up to the before mentioned Mad- — hava-mahathi-raya some provinces situated near to the foot of the mountain passes, he then governed the kingdom. This Créshna- verma-mahathi-raya governed the Conganat and Carnataca coun- tries with great equity ; and being a votary of Siva he caused several /tngaimages to be set up, and consecrated in Dalavan- 12. Madhava. 13. Crishna-verma. * In Vishnu Gopa we meet with another change of religion, he being a Vaishnava. Krishna-verma reverts to the Saiva religion. ; +In Krishna-verma and Druhyaniti we find mention of the Congana country ; before it is uniformly Congu-desam. -" 1847.] Kongu-desa-rajakal. 9 puram; and giving lands in donation to those temples, he was like fire in the forest of this sinful Cali age ; (that is removing evil even as fire: burns up a forest,) and thus he governed the kingdom with greater equity than his father. As this king had no son, after the said Crishna-verma-mahathi-raya, one of the above mentioned race (whence Madhava was taken) named Din- dicara-raya, son of Pari-kulatti-raya, held the kingdom in his power. But afterwards the Mantri, the Senapati, and other courtiers, taking counsel together, anointed in Dalavan-puram, Srimat Congant Mahathi-raya, son of the young- 14. Dindicara. 15. Congani. \ s Bites Ap, & Sister of the late Crishna-verma-mahathi-ra- 3 ae "ya; and he, while ruling, being skilled in many sciences (or arts), and understanding many lan- guages, conquered many countries ; receiving tribute from them, and bestowing greater charitable largesses than any of his predeces- sors, he governed the kingdom. At that time some portion of country was under the rule of Hart-chandra-dindicara-rayen. In it near to dlur he (Congani Mahathi) gave the village of Parol-kenur as a charitable present to the wife of his Sirdar (general). His son was Druhva-niti-raya, who being anointed (or crowned) in Dalavan-puram, protected (or go- verned) the Congana and Carnataca countries ; and having read many Mantra-Sastras, and being a great magician in the Mantras, 16. Druhva-niti. whenever he might go to war with his enemies, by the power of his Mantras he would make a loud sound. The forces of the enemies remained mute and motionless, with their warlike arms upright in- their hands, and without knowing how to make use of them. He appeared to his enemies like Yama (the regent of death) in the time of the pralaya (or universal destruction by the deluge). He made a vigilant supervision of justice to the inhabitants of fifteen borders. He conquered the Kerala, Pandiya, Chola, Dravida, Andhra, Calinga, and many other countries besides ; taking from them tribute : and as other inimical kings were afraid to come near him, he acquired the name of Druhva- nithi-raya. His son was Mushcara-raya, who being anointed and crowned in Dalava-puram, excelled his father in the Mantra-Sastra called Dhanur-vidya (science of the bow archery) he took tribute from the countries which his father had conquered ; and, continuing to retain them in subjection, he made them fall at his feet. As he interposed to prevent the regular receipt of the charitable donations made by his predecessors to the | B 17. Mushcara. 10 Translation of the [No. 32, Brahmans and others, he acquired the title of Brahmhari-raya. His son was Trivicrama-raya, who being anointed and crowned in Dalavan-puram, understood fourteen out of the sixty-four vidyas or sciences (known) in the world ; and by the four devices of peace, gift, division, and war, he conquered many countries,; and taking tribute from them, frequently investi- 18. Trivicrama. gating the raja-nitht, or equity of kings, punishing the guilty, or putting them out of the way, and protecting the good, he governed _ the kingdom. His son was Bhuverama-raya, 19. Bhuvicrama. : iy E who being anointed and crowned in Dalavan-puram S. Saca 461 in Sidharthi year, protecting the Congu, and Carndtaca countries, he continued the bestowment of the charities of his father ; and being victorious, in many countries, he obtained many elephants ; and thus acquired the title of Gayapat: ; and, making weapons of the elephants’ tusks, he also formed some royal insignia from the same. He continued the exercise of the public charities of his forefathers in the different conquered countries ; and in this manner protected the kingdom. Hisson was Congani Mahathi-raya, who ruled peaceably, surrounded by the splendour of the nine kinds of jewels which every where covered his crown and his throne ; and he governed the kingdom with charitable equity. He placed his e/der brother (supposed to mean his uncle’s son, or son of the younger brother of his father) as generalissimo of the forces ; and for some time received tribute ; but as several kings of countries did not give to him (the general) the customary tribute he (the king) set out with the elephants, horses, chariots, and infantry (the four In- dian kinds of arms) these four arms, to make war ; and overcame the Chola, Pandiya, Drivida, Andhra, Calinga, Varada, Maharashtaca, and other countries, even to the banks of the river Nirmata (Ner- budda), took tribute, and bringing it home he acquired the surname of Bhuvicrama-raya. He with great resulting renown built the fort of Dalavan-pura ; and, distributing many charities, he protected the kingdom. That Valla-vacya-raya, (the elder brother as supposed) conducting himself by trusting the word of his younger brother, went from country to country collecting the tribute ; and, fighting with many enemies, conquered them. His son Raja Govinda-raya being anointed, and crowned in Dalavan-pura, was a holy man of the Ganga race: and understanding the good and equitable way, he protected the kingdom ; and was like a jewel on the forehead of all kings (that is above them all, or excelling them all). He was like to Parasu-rama in the knowledge of 20. Congani. ~21. Govinda. 1847. | Kongu-desa-raakal. 11 archery,in prosperity like to Devéndra; and he made the garlands on the crowns of all other kings to fall at his feet. Taking with him swords, rockets, and other offensive weapons, he overcame hos- tile kings : he sent a great many persons to the town of Vazvasvata Menu (that is, he killed them). He was a very great votary of the Lingamaream, (or Sawa sect). Consequently he popularly acquired the name of MWandi-verma. He ruled for some time in the town called Maganda. His younger brother named 22. Siva-rama. : ' : Swa-rama-raya, being anointed and crowned in Dalava-pura he, with great devotedness, inquired concerning the Niti-sastra of the divine Brahmans ; and so ruled the kingdom. At that time the manner of making donations of land, that is to say during the time that he lived in Miéganda-patnam, was as follows : | : (according to the mode of making the Sassanams) Beets A.D. §. Saca-vasthu-grega-banna-yaddha 591* in Brah- modut: year 4 of the cycle,in Macara month, (December) the tenth of the year in the Uttarayana (while the sun is to the north of the equator). He was like the Ganda bird among other kings, who were lions (fabled to take them, and carry them away) he was named Swa-maha-raya. The gift was made to Vasa- deyan, his town was called Nettamur ; he was a son of Vishnu (one so called), and was skilled in the Veda-sastra, a man of holy disposi- tion. To him Ulyar-hobhalli and Heli-hall, were given by the king, in free gift, without rent or tax. And in this kind of manner he performed many other acts of charity. His grandson (/é. his son’s son) Prithivi-Congani-mahathi-raya being crowned in Dalavan-pura, ruled over the Carnita- ca-désam ; Sri-Purusha-raya being general of his forces, he gave to him (the general) twelve villages in Vijaya Scanda-puram, who, re- siding in them, made war with hostile kings and conquered them ; 23. Prithivi Congani. and thus giving great satisfaction to the king, the king conferred on him the title of Chaurtya-verma-narendra-Senadipati, (2 e€.) the armed warrior, king of men, and commander of the forces. The manner of giving land to him is the following. S. Saca-Ashta-yuldshya-shutam 668 in the Prahbava year (the Ist of the cycle,) in Chittva month, in the fifth day of the bright half of the moon’s age in the Ase mansion, the first (of the S. Saca, 668. * The date S. S. 591, A. D. 668—9, is introduced, apparently by a specimen of the mode of using words for numbers—vasthu-grega 500, banna 90, yuddha 1. There is some discrepancy in the astronomical date, so that I should suppose that instead of Macara (solar sign) we should read Margasirsha (lunar month) Brain A with Cancer. Astronomical dates are not previously given. 12 Translation of the [No. 32, two) on Monday. Hein the palace, occupied with Mangala-carma (or always doing good or agreeable things) received in consequence the name of Stva-maha-raya ; and joyfully ruled the kingdom. His younger brother was Véjayaditya-raya, whose son was named Raja-malla-deva-raya. We being anointed, and crowned in Dalava-pura, protected. the Carnataca and Congw countries. He was beautiful in form as Manmata (the god of Jove) in war, he was like Arjuna, in kingly splendour like Maha-méru ; he was even as Sri-purusha (Vishnu). In addition to the 12 villages near Vijaya Scanda-pura, before given to the general, the king also gave to him Vijaya Scanda-pura itself. To this gift, the witnesses were, the ministers, and royal princes of his own race: the divine witness was Mallicarjuna-svami*, (the name of the idol introduced into the grant, as knowing and testifying to the truth of the gift). Inthis way he made and bestowed the charity. As he was surrounded by much splendour (alancaram) and as he was always prosperous in enjoyment (occupied in state and ceremony) in the palace, he acquired the name of Stva-maha-raya, and so govern-. ed the kingdom.. His son named Ganda-deva maha-raya being anointed and crowned in Dala- van-puram, and having received the usual insignia of all kings, he took, and brought tribute, from Dra@vida-désam, and making friend- ship with the Chola and Pandiya kings, he governed the kingdom, like Rama in goodness ; and thus with many excellent dispositions, and with great courage he went into the Drdvida-désam, and con- quering the Dravida king who ruled in Canchi-patnamt{ (Conjeveram) and making war with the Chola raja, impressing him with fear, he afterwards made friendship with him ; and thus, bringing fame to the Gangakulam he protected the kingdom. His son was Satya-vacya-raya, who being crowned in Dalavan-pura, rooted the wicked (or evil persons) out of the king- dom, and protected the good; and conducting his affairs with per- fect equity, he acquired a good name with the title of Satya-vacya, 24. Raja-malla. 25. Ganda. 26. Satya-vacya. * Under Raja-malla we first meet with the name of Mallicarjuna as that of an idol; of very frequent after occurrence. That name is not common, or even known, in the South. For some extent of country around about the modern Bellary, it appears to have been the popular deity. + Ganda is said to have conquered Canchi-patnam ; and if we take the latest date pre- ceding 8S. S. 668, A. D. 745—6 and add 45 years for the reigns of Prit’hivi, Raja-malla, and Ganda, it will bring us to A. D. 800. Now Canchipuram was nothing worth the mention- ing before Adondai ; and that date is somewhat antecedent to the period of Adondai. The date is so much the more credible. Canchi must have been taken from the Curumba ruler. \ 1847. | Kongu-desa-rajakat. 13 (the monarch whose word is truth). His younger. brother was Gundaluttuma-raya ; who, being crown- ed in Dalavan-puram, continued with great equity the distribution of the charitable appointments of his predecessors, in the Congu and Carnataca countries. He was on friendly terms with other kings, and so governed his kingdom. His younger brother was Raja-malla-deva-raya, who being crowned in Dalavan-puram, and possessing the insignia of all kings, when he came to make war with the Pandiya king, the latter was defeated ; and Malla-deva, acquired the fame of being with- 27. Gunaluttuma. 28. Malla-deva. out equal in power among any other kings. His elder brother he placed (as governor) in Scanda-pura, and so governed the kingdom. The manner of the charitable benefactions made by his elder brother named Gunaluttama-raya, was the following S. Spe: a Saca,Sombavasu 800,Vihari year (33d of the cycle) Ani month (June—July) on Guru-varam (Thurs- day or Friday) on the full moon day, in the Punarvasu lunar mansion, (the 7th) he gave in full possession, free of all taxes, the village of Vira-halit to the officiating hierophant of the temple of the Jatnza* god named V2shnu-gohalliyam,who wasnamed Sashi-pushana-maha-muni, the disciple of Agora Sdma-bhagavanta, the disciple of Desa Soma bhagavanta, the disciple of Bara Buddha-bhagavanta, the disciple of Congana- Culésvara-bhagavanta, the gift was for the purpose of sacri- fices to ceremonial anointings, and other charities. Subsequently in the island between the two branches of the Ca- ver river, where Gautama had once rendered homage to Pachama Ranghana, Nayaca (Vishnu), but which place now had become overrun with wood, one named Tirumalaiya built a temple to Ran- guna-nayaca and surrounded it with a petty wall; calling the name of the place Sri-rangha-puram ; and to the westward of the same, he erected a small building with a consecrated image of Vishnu in it, to which he affixed his own name, calling it Tirwmala-deva ; and he himself thenceforward officiated as hierophant in Buena 2t°) A.D. both of these temples. This was in Saca year (816) eight hundred and sixteen, in Ananta year in the 7th day of the bright half of the moon’s increase in Vyasz month on Suera-varam (or Friday.) * With Malla-deva this dynasty of kings appears to have closed, in or about, S. S. 800, A. D. 877—8 ; and it would seem as though he had gone back to the Jaina credence. The foundation of a Temple only, by one Tirumala, occurs in S. S. 816, A. D. 893—4. Of course from connected circumstances, this is not Sri-rangham the island near Trichino- poly, but Sri-rangham (the island) the site of the modern Seringapatam in Mysore : the town however not having been founded till long afterwards. 14 | Translation of the [No. 32, II.— Chola Conquest. In the Chola-desam, Aditya-verma-raya, son of Vijayadi-raya,* being crowned in Tanjavur-patnam, he came to Congu-désam, and conquered the Vardar (huntsmen or wild people) of the king of Congu-desam, and took the town of Tali- cad; and, giving many free endowments to many agrahdras, he ; governed that country, in addition to his own. His son was named Vera Chola-rayat and was crowned in the town of Tanjore, as ruling also over the Conga and Carnataca countries : he conquered in other countries ; and as being without fear in war, he was very powerful ; and as he was a great devotee of Narayana he also thence acquired the title of Vera Chola Narayana-raya. This king, in alliance with the Pandzya king, con- quered many other countries. AfterwardsVira Chola Narayana-raya went to Singa-diva, and engaging in war he conquered the Simala- raya (king of Ceylon). Acquiring great fame in the world and building an agraha@ra called Vira-narayana-puram (said to be still existing) on the bank of the Cauvery,in the Chola-desam, he gave free endowments to the Brahmans in it, and also free endowments to other agraharas. He, being one day in (or on) the sea, heard the sound as of the beat- ing of the mathalam (a kind of long drum), and considering whence it proceeded he thought it must be Sabhapati-svami, of Chidambaram, beating the Damaraca, a kind of small hand drum, (called in Tamil uduckat) and most likely the god dancing with Parvati: he in con- 1. Aditya-varma. 2. Vira-Chola. sequence expended great wealth there, and built the Canaca-sabha. This king had a great many children. Among these, he gave the Chola-desam to Desotya-raya, and the Dravida- desam to Harinjaya-raya: and then obtained Swergam (2. e. died.) His son was Desdtya-raya, who being ~ crowned in Yanjavur he caused his elder brother Harinjaya-raya to rule in Dravida-désa ; and himself attended to kingly duties, and all connected matters, with equity, in the Cong country. On the banks of the Cauvery he built four agraharas, called Chatur-samu- dram, or the four seas, and so governed the kingdom. He had no son. His elder brother Harinjaya-raya’s son nam- ed Parantaca-raya, having first fought against the 3. Desotya-raya. 4. Parantaca, * The title Vijayadi-raya would imply that the first of the Chola kings is meat ; that however is not probable. - + The name of Vira Chola appears in all lists of those kings. It is a mere title, the brave, or champion. The founding of Chittambaram gives a clue to aid from other documents. 1847.] Kongu-desa-rajakal. ! 15 Pandiya king, conquered him ; and, taking tribute, was afterwards crowned in Tanjavur, and building an agrahG@ram, on the banks of the Caverz with endowment, he gave presents of land, of cows, and matriage-presents in providing for females, with other charities. He himself married Chitliri, the daughter of Setu-raya ; by which mar- riage a son was born to him. Afterwards, by consequence of over- coming other kings, the title Hari-malc came ; and subsequently he went to another world ; his wife Chettirt burnt herself with his dead body ; but not before many children were born by her. Among the children of that Parantaca- i te raya the one named Divi-raya being crowned in Tanjore, and governing also the Dravida country, he, after a while, became greatly afraid of Vira Pandiya; and afterwards when Vira Pandiya came to fight against Zanjavur, he fought with, and conquered him (that is, the Pandzya) and he cut off his ears. In the sequel Vira Pandiya went to Madura. In conse- me quence the name Hari-tittu was acquired, (by Divi). That Hari-tittu-raya putting a minister in charge at Tanjore, he himself desiring to conquer Udttra-desa (the north country,) he went thither, and remaining there a long time, the people of this Zanjavur who were of the royal family, or race, heed- ing not the counsels of, the minister, fought one against another, which the king hearing of by means of messengers (bearing only a verbal statement) he came back; and, destroying the evil ones, he established the good. He cut out water channels for irrigation from the river Caveri, and distributed the customary charities. He gave the Tolabaram, (or his own weight in gold) to the Brahmans (and the Sodasa-dhanam) or sixteen other kinds of charity. Afterwards he conquered Satti Ranaca of the Vardondaz race ; and receiving from him gold, jewels, (ratnam), precious stones, (manicam), and bring- ing them, he gave them to the Brahmans, as presents to Sri Nara- yana. As he had no child he crowned his young- er brother, named HarivG@ri-deva. That H. V. D. being anointed, and crowned in Tanjavur, during the time that he governed the Chola, Dravida, Congu, and other countries, his elder brother named Dwiraya going against Madura, with the four kinds of forces, fought against the Pandiya king ; who, being defeated in battle, fled away. He in consequence captured the Pandiya-desam, and spoiling Verinji-puram, he again came to Tanjore. Therefore, as he had conquered a king of kings, he acquired the title of Raja-raja. Hari-mali, 6. Hari-vari. Or Raja-raja Chola. 16 Translation of the [No. 82, The mother of this Pandiya-raya, who had fled, being a near re- lative he (only) took from that Pandiya-raya a great quantity of wealth, and then giving up that Madura to him, both parties were subsequently on most friendly terms. Afterwards that king’s general, being a very near relation, he himself came to the house of the latter ; who being greatly delighted thereby performed the anointing with gold (called kanaca-abishecam.)* The king being rejoiced, commissioned him to go and conquer the (adjoining) countries. That Amarbhujangan the general, set out, with the four kinds of forces, towards the west to the mountain named Saya; and, thence proceeding to fight against the Kerala-desa, he heard that its king was performing the Chatur-balayanam, and other.ceremonies; in consequence of which he became greatly incensed and conquered (took) Kotur, Indra-giri, Nila-giri-durga and other places; and, as the entire strength of that king failed him, he embarked on board ship and fled into an island in the midst of the sea. Subsequently this general of the Chola raja, according to the permission of his master, collected, and deposited all the plunder of riches, acquired in this invasion, in the Sazva temple, on the top of the ghaut : and on the extreme west he fixed a conquest-pillar,f with a flag, to denote his victory to that point ; and he thus ac- quired great fame in the world. After that [small chasm apparently by the loss of a palm leaf, which though searched for, throughout the whole collection could not be found. |{ Bhemaraya having heard this news he overcame him that had come hestilely to battle and killed his son. Thereupon he went to fight against the Calnga-desam, and taking thence tribute from that country he went to the Nzrmata§ country ; and there also conquered many kings, and in the Nurmata- desa he planted a pillar of victory ; and in the south, he erected a pillar of victory, on Mahendra mountain, having a tiger on the flag (the emblem of the Chola king as a fish was that of the Pandiya). Then he conquered Vardumba-raya, Cama-raya,|| Dhana-vallya, * Being presented and lifted above the head. It is still practised, and the gold so of- fered is given to Temples, Brahmans, &c. being never taken for use by the individual to whom it is offered. + Jaya-stambha. + The chasm which occurs here is to be regretted. Amarbhujanga had just fixed his jaya stambha, in the extreme west; and disappears. Bhima-raya comes on we know not whence, nor to avenge what quarrel. § Confines of the river Nerbudda: but most likely a great exaggeration. || The name of Cama-raya is to be noticed. It occurs in an inscription at Malla-puram. The account of the Chola kings closes with the reign of Raja-raja Chola in S.S. 926, A.D. 1003—4. The next following date of the Oysala race is S. 8. 991, A. D. 1068—9 an inter- 1847. | Kongu-desa-rajakal. 17 Bhima-raya, Amma-raya, and other kings ; and, taking many jewels and much riches, and as captives, many females of the royal apart- ments, as also the golden image made to resemble Lhema-raya, and coming together with his army he had an interview with the king. The king being greatly rejoiced with the various acquired wealth, he enlarged the temples at Chidambaram. His grandfather had built the Kanaca-sabha only ; but he now with the aforesaid riches erected all kinds of towers, walls, mantapas, flights of steps, &c. and other mat- ters: he also had all kinds of valuable ornaments made for Sabhapati (the idol) and thus performed munificent charity. Subsequently he several times made the Zolabaram—(his own weight in gold) as gift to the Brahmans. He built and gave many agraharas on the Cauvery, in free grant void of taxes to the Brahmans. He also made some grants of land. Then the Congu-desa and Carnataca-desa being subject to him he, the Maha-raja Chola-raya, gave the name of Raja-Raja-Puram to the town of Keriur, in the Talicad district, in the northern part of the Congu-desa ; and he gave it to the mer- chants (Vazsyar) of Dalavan-puram ; and by their hands made agra- haras for the Brahmans, and gave these to them: these Vaisyas having always been accustomed to worship the divine brahmans, | (Deva-brahmanar.) At the same time he performed e, Doha o many other charities S. Saca 926 in the Visvavasa year, in the fifth day afler the new moon, in the Svate-nacshetra ; in this time, performing charity ; being in Tanjore of the Chola kingdom, and taking tribute from many countries, he protected the kingdom. val of 65 years. Nothing of conquest is mentioned ; and the reign of Raja-raja was parti- cularly glorious. The author has left something out. He fills up the interval of 65 years by transition to another race; who, for some time at least, had nothing to do with the Chola kings, and when we meet again with the Congu country it is under Palliya- carar, or local chiefs ; as is always the case in unsettled periods of Peninsular history. I have put Raja-raja-chola in connexion with the date S. S. 926, A. D. 1003—4, but it is by no means certain that the doing so is right, for there is the chasm intervening. Thus it stands, ‘‘ After that * * * * * * Bhima-raya having heard this news he overcame him that had come hostilely to battle and killed his son. Thereupon he went to fight agains, the Calinga-desam.” The he and him, especially the last he cannot be determined, by the M.S. itself. A little further on it is stated that the king’s grandfather had built the Kanaca-sabha at Chitambaram. According to the M.S. Vira Chola did so, and there are the intervening names of Desotya, Parantaca, Divi, and Hari-vari; and then comes Raja-raja. From other sources it is known, that the Chola king who fought against, and conquered part of Calinga, was Kulottunga Chola, and that name, I i Eats, would appear had the M. S. been perfect. Up to this period the word Chera-desam has not even once occurred, in the original Manuscript. Cc 18 Of the race of Oyisala Kings, [No. 32, Of the vace of Oyisala Kings, from the posterity of Yadu. Brahma was (born) from the lotus-flower, which sprang out of the navel of Vishnu, the preserver of the whole world. By him (Brahma) Atri-risht was (born) from the eye of Atri was (born) Chandra. From him Budha: from him Pururava. From him Ayu. From Ayu (was born) Nahusha. From Nahusha (proceeded) Yayatr. From Yayatz, came Yadu. Of the race of this Yadu many kings ruled in the town of Dwaraca, and governed the kingdom. Among those kings one named Sala was a king, who set out with a great army for the purpose of hunting ; and came to a hill named Sim- méchala ; during the time of the hunt he saw there a hare chas- ing a tiger. He reflected—‘ this spot is a strong place” (or one fortunate, or propitious to the brave) ; and while thinking so, as that tiger was about to attack an ascetic, engaged there in his devotions, the king killed the tiger, with an arrow. Thereupon that r7shz, addressing the king, gave to him the title of Vijaya (conqueror). As this king’ named Sala killed the tiger there he also gave him the title of Oyzsala ;* and told him to conquer that land, and gave him the (varam) permission to exercise a kingly rule there : he, by reason of this sanction accordingly teok possession of the country ; and was crowned king. Subsequently when many years had gone by, as a king of that race was very devout he acquired a reputation like that of Aditya (the sun); and by consequence was Vira-cshetrya, 1. Sala, or Oyisala. known by the name of Vinat-dditya (the devo- 2. Vinai-aditya. é man- ade aaa, tional sun, or sun of devotion.) That Vinar-dditya residing in Talcadu subjugated and brought within his power this country, by gradual accessions of territory. He induced the chiefs ( Palliya-carar\) to be on friendly terms with him, and governing (still) comparatively a small country, as Zalicad was not suitable to him he went into the ZuJavat country, and there took possession of © some villages, with connected lands. At that time this Carnataca- * 1 think it should be Visala a title of some Jaina kings in the north. The fable of the hare and tiger is in the native style, when professing to account for anything of which they know no better origin, or reason. + Vinai-aditya gradually acquired territory around Talicadu, and then took possession of villages in the Tuluva country. This statement does not appear to me to aecord with the notion of Talicadu being near the modern Mysore. It is moreover added that the Carnataca-Congu-desa was then under chieftains; that is to say the modern Mysore country. There must be, I think, two localities termed Talicadu ; and I should be dis- posed to take Telicota north for the one, and Talcad south near Mysore for the other. Mallicayjuna is a northern God. I take the capital of Vinai-aditya to have been Telicota - on the west of which is the Tuluya country, or modern Concan. : 1847.) From the posterity of Yadu. 19 ‘congu-desa, which had been accustomed to pay tribute to the Chola king was in the hands of Palleya-carar (chiefs) ; while Vinaz-daditya, ruled this kingdom being in Yalicod, his minister Vidya-vinaiya, gave to Mallicarjuna-svamé (the tutelary God) of Yaltcad a chari- table donation of land ; having first obtained the permission of his master, S. Saca year 991. In Satérana year, = eae D- on the 5th day after the full moon in Chittiré month ; but the letters (of the grant or inscription) are gone (defaced, or lost). That Vinat-aditya’s wife named Kuvala- devi had a son named Vallala. That Vallala- raya, being in the town called Sassa, governed a small extent of country. His younger brother was named Pedda- deva (and another) Utiyaditya-deva. In union with these persons, he assembled a great army; and took with him his son named Peddata and came back again to Talicédu, and having conquered the Congu chiefs, he was crowned in that same Yalicadu, and residing there he conquered Nonampavaddi, Ganga-vadi, Banavasi, Andaicallu; and, being of the Jama religion, he inquired concerning that Sasira. His minister (mantri) named Véca-kadatleum-ayya, obtaining per- mission from the hand of his master, made a charitable donation of ten Candacas of land to Sannakésu-svami, in Saca Bhat ls A.D. year 1015, in Achiya year, in Pushya-bahula-tiry- odast, on Tuesday. That Vallala-raya had born to him by his wife a son named Peddata-raya.* Peddata-vishnuverddhana-raya, being anointed and crowned in Zalicad, he together with his mantr2 named Madhava- nayaka having assembled together some forces, by the favour of the goddess residing in Sassa-puran he conquered Tuluva-désa, Chacra- cuda, Muchangi-kollal, Nila-vali-adurga, Réyarayottama-puram, Terayackur, Kottavadi, Keranct—these and other countries, and governed an extent of country, extending from the west to Codogz (Coorg)in Afalayala-desa,on the north to Jati-malé, on the south to Con- _ gu, and on the east to Alam-padat, he ruled with great devotedness to his guru, and built a palace for himself in 4la@sur-ganda-pura. While protecting the kingdom (dwelling) in Zalicad he fought with 3. Vallala. 4, Peddata. the invading Chola-raya, and conquered him. He also fought much with the raja of Kerala-desa, and killed.a great many of his people. * The reign of Peddata yields local details of places. It is difficult nevertheless to fix the exact localities. His going as far northas Malwa must be an exaggeration; if not, it seems inconsistent with the position of a kingdom in the south of the Mysore country. Something may depend on‘determining to what Srirangha his wife went ; the one at Se= vingapatam, or the one at Trichinopoly. 20 Of the race of Oyisala Kings, [No. 32, He ‘extended his conquests to the north as far as Malava-desa (Malwa) ; and taking great riches, he was as a forest on fire (an ob- ject of great alarm) to the Congau-raya. In prosperity he was like a king of the gods; in personal form like MZanmata ; the protector of those who came to him seeking refuge ; the patron of poets (Cavi- rayar), and inquiring concerning the Sastra of the Jaznas in his own religion, he fostered and encouraged them. The people of Guenkanni, Yasalu-vadavar, Ganga-vadi, Nonampavaidi he pro- tected ; by discountenancing the evil and rewarding the good : and among his own people he patronized many persons. Afterwards his wife going to Sri-rangham, became of the Vazshnava persuasion ; and inquiring fully concerning that Satsra, she determined that this was the true Saséra, and being of firm devotedness in mind, she was a great devotee of the Deva Brahmans, and gave great largesses, and had many virgins married to the Brahmans (paying the marriage expenses and those of furnishing the household) also paying the ex- penses attendant on Brahmans assuming the sacred thread : and, after having done all this she with great joy returned to her husband Pedda-raya, exhorting him to study or inquire into the Dherma- sastra of Vyasa, and counselling him to protect the divine Brah- mans ; and this advice she continued to reiterate: Pedda-raya hearing this remained constantly silent. Subsequently Ramanwacharya quitting the Chola-desa came hither, and as the wife Peddata-raya was of the Vazshnava persuasion, he sent word to her of his arrival. She being greatly rejoiced, informed her husband, and caused him (Ramanuja) to be summoned to the palace. During the conversation as that king insisted that the Jazma Sastra was true—the Jaina Sasiga; Fo\F oF [Here a chasm in the manuscript occurs, which no research could restore. It would appear to be of so much as relates to a change of religion by Peddata-raya, who after coming over to the Vazshnava — credence, obtained the title of Vishnu-verddhana. Some Jainas were in the employ of Colonel Mackenzie: and his collection contained only one full copy of this manuscript. } The charitable donation performed by this Vishnu-verddhana was in the following manner. Saca year 1021 in Bae aD Vicrama year, in Mast month, in the 4rdra- nacshetra, in the Siva-yoga, in the Beva-karnam. In this time he gave Kuruvu-nada, and Kuruvu-nama, village be- longing to Acdje-acamma-yedatur, to Pachama-rangha-svami, in irrevocable manner ; being accompanied by the water of the Ganges. 1847.] From the posterity of Yadu. 21 Subsequently the Dadavaye (general or minister) of Vishnu-verddhana- raya named G'angat Dendati-raya, with the sanction of his prince, gave to his guru named Suba-chandra-siddhanta- deva land, in the following manner Saca year 1039 in Vilambe year in Panguni month, in Sutta-panjami, on Monday ; that is the village Bavaculam, for the expenses of the worship of the svame of Bavukulam ; (Another) grant of land Saca year 1033 in Nandana year, in Mar- gast month, in Sutta-ashtim:, on Monday. ‘The generalissimos of Vishnu-verddhana named Banda-nayaka, and Ganga-manti-sorna- danda-nayaka, these having asked permission of their master Pedda- ta-raya gave lands near the tank of the village called Peddava-hallz that is to say, to the east (or beneath) the tank to the extent that might be sown by twenty Sakae of grain, on the north of the tank forty two Cambams of karum-bumi (fertile land,) on the west of that tank a small garden of two hundred kurzis (2400 kurzi make a mane or ground) and on that side (20) Kambam of land for the making of oil. S. Saca, 1039. 1033. In this way they gave charity. In Saca year 1039 in Vilambi year, in Chitiv2 month, on the 5th day after the full moon (or bahula-panchim?) on Wednesday this Vishnu-verddhana-raya, consecrated the temple of Chennakesava- narayana-svamt at Pelur, and appointed for the ceremonies of wor- ship, and the like matters, the village and district of Vela-puram : in which village the whole revenue, as well as that of twelve con- nected villages. Besides which he gave Appa-turai and Tagara* these two villages: also Palave-nadu and Manavi-nadu, in all twelve connected villages, with Gajakudam and other villages: also Mazsa- nadu, Pedda-cara, Latandi-nadu, Devanur, and all connected lands and privileges : the whole for the service of that svamz or god. He also besides gave to it much money ; and therewith thoroughly re- paired that temple, which had fallen down; and thus performed charity. The record of this transaction is preserved in an inscrip- tion on stone, in the wall of the said temple. Veshnu-verddhana- raya gave to his wife Cujantala-devz, some land. She gave the same to Dhermésvara-svamt, for the worship and pouring on of ghee; that is to say, the village of Lachagat-nadu and Kenjanthi village. The S. Saca, 1044, A.D. year of the giving of this charity was Saca 1044 re. in Subakirathe- year in pushyabahula-dasmi on S. Saca, 1039. * Tagara an-early name of Deva-giri, Deogur, or Dowlutahad: allowing however that there might be more than one place so named, 22 Of the race of Oyisala Kings, [No. 32, Monday, when the sun was in the northern hemisphere. Vishnz- verddhana-raya together with his elder brother named Chicraja- deva gage the following donations of lands. Saca year 1046 in Dunmuge year, pushya-bahula-dasmt, on Sunday when the sun was in the northern hemisphere ; that is in Jdei-turai-nadu, and the island formed by the Cavert and Cavani rivers, which island is called Venisangamam, to Agastya-iswara, the village of Tiru- mukudal, was given for worship, and pouring on of ghee, 2. €. Tuchilur with Vaztalt, situated in I[det-turat-nadu. The whole ex- tent of this land was given by an inalienable grant. Vishnu-verddhana-raya gave the following donations for daily worship and pouring on of ghee, in the village of Mahdabalajalam, to the goddess of Muahabalajala-isvara-samundi, situated on the | south quarter of Mysore, S. Saca 1050 in Saz- pe ee A-D- miya year, in September, in the Hasta-nacshetra. In this time, in the Mysore country, he gave Ma- lalvadi village to the Mahabalajalam-tsvari-samundi-amman, in cha- rity. The following is the inscription fixed in the south side of that temple. Veshnu-verddhana-raya gave for the worship, and ghee pouring, of the Jaina god, the Tanjaz field (beneath or) to the east of the Mysore lake, to the extent of land which might be sown by five Candams of grain; which was given to the Mysore Jazna god. | In S, Saca 1053 in Paritabi (or 46th cycle) year in. March, Vaukula-padm2 on Tuesday, this charity was made. The detail of the charitable donation made by V7 sche Bisidatidwts: raya—made to the Jaina-svami in Paokari,—and the suburban vil- lage of Paokari, Saca year 1054 in Pramadi- chu year Asva-sutta-dasmt on Wednesday in Puratiathi-nacshetra, being ( Purva-bhadrapada ) the 25th. In these days to his guru and first priest, he gave the following charity : Vishnu-verddhana-raya gave Sevili-nadu Muralai village to the Brahmans for an agraharam, and relinquished it to them entirely exempt from taxation. Besides he gave Genje-kari village with its adjunct. Savantana-kari, the whole annual erop and in Mukonti-kart land as much as could be sown by eight Salkaz, and in Mutatiyuria-deva-kari the whole of the land ; the whole of the foregoing being in free gift, exempt from taxation ; which he left at the feet of Srikesava-svami ; this was in Saca year 1055 in ananta year, Phalguni-sutta-saptimt on Wednesday. In this man- ner Vishnu-verddhana-raya performed many other charitable dona- S. ter 1053, A. D. 130—1. S. Saca, 1054. A. D. 1131—2. 1847. | from the posterity of Yadu.. - 23 tions. While he received and trusted in Ramanujacharyéi he with great devotion, protected many Vishnu temples, and was a Vishnu-bakti(votary of Vishnu). This same said Vishnu-verddhana- raya by his wife named Lacshmz, whose face was like the lotus flower, her eyes like the Karunisam flower (or kuvalé flower) her lips like coral, her teeth like pearls, her neck like the chank, her hair like the cloud-rain, who was possessed of other excellent qualities, being like Lacshmz herself, even by this female named Lacshmi he had a son named Narasingha, who was reared with great care and attention (dterally ‘* every day with an increase of stature”) ; and, after his reaching his seventh year, he was taught all manner of learning, by the direction of Vishnu-verddhana-raya who acquired great fame. : The son of Vishnu-verddhana-raya named Narasingha-raya* was anointed and crowned in Talicad ; and, in a degree surpassing his father, with great skill (or © wisdom) was in veracity like Harischandra, in celebrity like Nala-ma- ha-raya ; in kingly munificence like Parasz-sama, in anger like Na- 5. Narasingha, rasingha, in gifts like Cana, in patience like Bhume-devi ; and in this way with great justice (or equity, 22/2) he held in his hand Zaleead and other portions of territory, and protected Conge and Carnataca ; these two kingdoms ; receiving also tribute from Dravida-desa ; banishing the wicked, and protecting the good: protecting the divine Brahmans : performing many charities, and making many dona- tions of land, in the time of his ruling****} he extended his power as far as the sea of mel-turat (the west-coast) and so governed the kingdom. | The detail of the gifts of land by Narasingha. He established the temple of Srz-kesava-svamé in Sorna-varam village belonging to. Nirkunda-naddu, and he relinquished land for the ornaments and worship of that god. In the Saca year 1071, in Se A.D. Prabava year, in Magha-sutta-triyodast, on Tues- day, in Rohini-nacshetra in sign of the Zodiac Can- cer, being crowned, he made the following donations:——he made forty-six presents of cows to as many individuals ; he gave land to the extent of 300 cawnies in Pasz-vidyam in the lower district, and 100 cawnies to the south-west of the tank beneath Maliyanda ; he gave 26 cawnies beneath the tank named Pulaz ; he gave 25 cawnies -* Narasingha seems to have had an extended rule. His chief town was Talicadu, and he protected Congu and Carnata receiving tribute from Drayida; which seems, in this place, to designate the modern Carnatic, +A small chasm in the Manuscript. 24 Of the race of Oyrsala Kings, [No. 32, beneath the tank called Pundésvarz ; he gave 30 cawnies: frem these he released all tribute and similar things ; and besides this he gave to Sangarada-nayaka’s- son, named Bogana-nayaka, land to the extent that might be sown by a candacam of grain ; and to Parija- raca Maliyan (that is, the cook Maliyan) he gave ten Kolagams of land. Thus he performed, and bestowed, charity. Narasingha-raya for the purpgse of the daily pouring on of ghee and offering to 4ghora, Siva Pandit gave the cultivation lands beneath Pitara-karz, |to the extent that might be sown by four Candacams of grain. The year. of the gift was Saca year 1072 in Prajotpatt2 year Pushya-sutia-panchimi,* on Monday in a fortu- nate time of the sun’s being in the northern hemisphere. Cotinda-nayaka was the general manager ofall the affairs of Nara- singha-nayaka : according to the permission of his master he estab- lished a temple to Tiruwmali-deva in Yadava-giri, and endowed it * with lands in Saca year 1080 in Pramddutz year. Sravana-sutta- ashtami ; on Thursday. At this time he gave Pedd-halli, Inda- nadu, Pake-halli, Seracur, Sirumana-halli, Cuman-halli, Hallé- chintu-kottam, Yeriyur, Cupekiyatana-halh, Rindim, Sarange, Pe- pallur, Sara-halli, Matrana-hall, these fourteen villages he gave in charity, in an unalienable manner. This is taken from a copy of an inscription, in stone, in the Temple of Tondanzzr-gopala-svami. During the time when Narasingha-raya governed the kingdom, the charity performed under his sanction by Paviya-sudamani the son of Sekki-raya, and of Locambikat was as follows: He gave the entire village called Antapam to Kucudésvara as a charitable donation. Besides this to his own household god he gave a tribute on tax upon S. 8. 1072, 1159-60. certain commodities ; that is a quarter fanam on every bundle of areca nut, to every package of salt, one valam (a sort of measure) : from every bundle of turmeric one seer; from every package of pepper one valam ; from every bundle of betal leaf a quarter fanam : thus taking tribute he, in this way, made charity to the Covél: it was in the Saca year 1081 in Vicrama year Magha- a gee. nae! sutta-chaturdasi} on Friday, when the sun was in the northern hemisphere. His conduct was very agreeable to the king. While Warasengha-raya was conducting the affairs of the kingdom, one who was his friend named Peddaiya, re- ceiving sanction from the king’s hand, gave a donation to Peddésvara- * Pushya-suddha-panchimi. The fifth day of the bright half of the lunar month Paushya. Reference to a general table at the end. + Magha-suddha-chaturdasi—the fourteenth day of the bright half of the lunar month Magha ; for all other Brahmanical dates see the Table. 1847] From the posterity of Yadu. 25 deva—for the sake of charitable puja, service ; he affixed the name of Peddésvara-puram to the village Kauna-kerai, and bestowed it in . charity, in the Saca year 1082 in Vishu year (15 of Senta aoa cycle) when the sun was in the northern hemis- phere, in the month AZargasirsha (that is May— June) on Monday. Narasingha having great affection for one named Paviya-sudimani gave to him land, which the said Paviya-sudamani with the king’s sanction, bestowed in charity on Aucudésvara-svami, for the sake of puja worship ; that is to say four Kandacams of land in Mettanhaille village which was attached to Yépale village in Saca year 1084, in Subana year, in Chitiri month, on a aa FPS athesSth day of the moen’s increase. In that year Narasingha-raya made an agrahéra of the village Ari-kerai ; and consecrated an image called Srz-malla-nat ha; and for the puja and offerings to that svamé and for the repairs of the building, he charitably gaveHennangur, which was attached to Aum- bada-carai-nidu in full grant, free from tax and irrevocable, in Saca year 1084, Subana year in Margalz* (that is December—January) in the first day of the moon’s increase on Monday, in Danishta-nacshetra. While Narasingha-raya was residing in Dyara-samudra by the sanction of the king Vishnu-danda-nayaka, son of Matana-danda-nayaka, the minister ~(mantri,) of the king gave in charitable disposal to Baukulam Cailasésvara, for the purpose of secret charitable offerings in Saca year 1085, Tarana year, in Pushya-bahula-padyimi or the Ist day after the full moon in the lunar month corresponding with Cancer, on Wednesday while the sun was in the northern hemisphere, in a meritorious time (or day) that is to say, four hundred and twenty £&ni (cawnies) of punja (dry) land, in the village of Baukulam ; the inscription is engraven on stone in the Covdl of Baukula Cailasesvara, The inscription of a grant of land given by Narasingha-raya to a Sawa fane in Méisur-hoballi-calli village. The MJantri named Callaiya by the sanction of the king gave Pedduravadi village in charity. He built the Aovils of Sri-rama-natha-devalya, and Soma. nat’ hésvara-swalya, and bestowed for the purpose of the secret offerings and services in Saca year 1093, in Mandana year, in Pushya-suddha-panchami, on Sunday when the sun was in the 5S. S. 1084. S. S. 1085, A. D. 1162—% ——O. # M.S. Magha a clerical error for a Tamil solar month, DB 26 Of the race of Oywsala Kings, (No. 32, northern hemisphere from the aforesaid village as much land as might be sown by thirty Aw/acems of seed fromthe land beneath the tank. Narasingha-raya gave to Govindesvara and Vinayaga-bhatta, to these two as much land as might be (sown by 10) ten AKulacams of seed. They gave that land to Ndagésvara-devata arc aa A.D. in Saca year 1094,in Vijaya year, Chattra,* Suddha-navami, or Sunday in Punarvasu-nac- shetre. This is a copy of the inscription in Chola-vangalam-nages- vara-svams (temple.) In this way making besides many other donations, and governing the Congz and Carnataca countries, having fought with and received tribute from Kerala, Pandiya-desam, Chola- desam, Andhra-désam, Varatam and Indu-desas, having received the fame of raj&dhi-raya (king of kings) being celebrated under the title of Vira-narasingha, he died in Jaya (28-cycle) year in the month of April (Z@¢. fell at the feet of Ganga-natha or Vishnu.) He ruled 27 years. Subsequently the crown devolved on Vallala-raya his son by Kuvala-devi. Valléla-raya was anointed and installed in Taltead in Jaya year; and, together with his minister (mantrz) named Chandra mavuli, he was as a lion in the estimation of the Congu-mangavadi and other Palliya-carar (chiefs) and going into Kerala-desam with many elephants, horses, and foot soldiers, and troops, he fought with that king, and plundered the whole of Kev ala-desa; besides which he received from him (its king) much wealth. He also received from **** Nayaka, of the Pandya-desam, tribute and afterwards while reigning in Vijaya- puram (perhaps an epithet of his own town “ city of victory”) he received tribute from the Gawdar+} and Palliya-c&rar, and from that place he protected the Chola kingdom ; he fought much with the chieftains of Koneana-desam,{ and having gone thither, his people being afflicted with sickness, he left that country, and returned to his own town. Subsequently Vallala-raya, made many charitable donations, and investigating into many Sastras, he governed the kingdom, according to Dherma-sastra, and bestowed many grants of land on the vajas of his own family (relations of the king, royal family.) 6. Vallala. ¢ The lunar month Chaitra and mansion Punarvasu do not accord. + Generally owners of villages. + The Northern Konkan. 1847. ] From the posterity of Yadu. 2 In the time of /’alléla-raya one named Aran-gaudan of Kurike- nadu (country) and of Mudllanhall village the son of Kolladi-sanca- gaudan, built the village named Aruna-samudra, and built therein a Devalyam ({ane) on the lower side of the village tank. He gave to the Zsvara (image) of that fane by the sanction of the raya 800 valams of puna land, and as much land, adapted for growing rice as might be sown by ten kulacams, situated beneath the village tank, in Saca year 1095, in Jaya year, Pushya-suddha Spur Aue: tithiya (the 3d day of moon’s increase in the lu- nar month Paushya,) on Wednesday ; the date of the inscription. Vallala-raya gave to Swa-sactt Pandit the devasta- nam (fane) called Kalésvara and for the purpose of offerings therein he gave in charity three Aandacams, or as much land as might be sown by fifteen Aulacams of seed, situated on the lower side of the villages of Koravangal-hobhalli, Sekhanhallt,in Saca year 1096 in Manmata year Jyeshtha-bahula Panchimi on Friday. The (mantra) minister of Vallala-raya named Chandra-mavuli,* by the sanction of his master, gave to Chinnésvara-suami of Bauku- lam in the village of Boman-halii in irrevocable Sack Oh AD. sift, in Suca year 1104, in Subakirathu year, Pushya-suddha-dasmi, in Banu-varam (Sunday) while the sun was in the northern hemisphere, in a meritorious time. The Dalavayi (general) of Vallala-raya named Cesavésvara, with the sanction of his king, bought at a fixed price the village Padhalle belonging to Punjavadi in Nireonda-nadu, or country (or else three villages of those names) which he gave to Cesava-svamz, having affixed to it, the name of Cesava-samudra, and had formed a tank Lacshmi-samudra in Saca year 1131}, in Praméduta year, Pushya- suddha-saptimi, on Monday, when the sun was in the northern hemis- phere, the whole of the lands belonging to that village were so bestowed. The Maha-pratani (Treasurer) of Vallala-raya, named Camdiya- te-nayaka, the son of Onannan, while residing in the Virupacsha-osa- * In the reign of Vallala we meet with the three distinct office of Mantri, Dalavayi, and Pratani; implying a regularly formed government; except only, that the second should be third. The Mantri isthe prime minister, the king’s adviser in matters of state ; especially in matters of internal government, and externally of peace or war. The Pratani is the Lord High Treasurer ; often usurped by the Mantri. The Dalavayi is the commander of the forees. In modern, and weak governments, he sometimes assumed the other two offices ; and became ‘‘ Mayor of the palace ;’’ the king being in virtual confinement ; and one shown, as a puppet, occasionally to the people. These remarks relate to Natiye Governments, in general: not to the Visala dynasty in particular. 28 Of the race of Oyisdla Kings, [No. 32, durga or (high fortress) and thence protecting the country, he gave to the Poet who was named Singhi-bhatia, the village named Sam- bikat in irrevocable gift, exempt from taxation, in Saca year 1154,in Vijaya year, Asvini-suddha- taleyu, on Guru-varam Thursday.) Thus, in the like manner, performing many charities ; never re- tiring in battle ; humbling the pride of many chieftains ; receiving tribute from the hands of many kings, and chiefs; while governing the: kingdom, his wife named Kuvitlist-vani, and surnamed Lo- pee neignot ca-rhemba, bore him a son named Somesvara* " very handsome, and of good sense. Causing him to be instructed in all manner of accomplishments, he nursed him with the care ordinarily bestowed on four or five bodies (with very great care.) He assuming the crown in Dwara-samudra governing the Congu and Carnatoca-desam ; and properly causing the Covals of the gods to be well built; and performing many of the S. §. 1159, A. D. sixteen kinds of charity ; he obtained Calusa S. Saca, 1164. 7. Somesvara. 1236—7. (died). The period of his reign was Saca 1159. 8, Narasingha Il. 41 His son was Warasingha raya, who was anoint- years. ed and installed in Dwara-samudra in Saca year 1205. His mantri’s name was Perumal-dan- he pol A.D. da-nayaka. His Dalavdyi’s name was Prama- Cacia sa-mupati. Together with these he governed the kingdom, That is to say he was in form like Manmata, in wealth hke Cuvera ; in victory like Parasu-rama ; in bestowing gifts like the Karpaca tree ; in moderation (or meekness) like Dherma-rga; in governing the kingdom like Rama ; in bestowing lands like Bala- chacraverti, in anger like Jsvara. Thus with many kinds of disposi- tions with (gaja-durga-patati,) elephant, forts, infantry, with many kinds of weapons, setting forth he went to Congu-desam, and took tribute from its chieftains fighting a great deal in Keérala-désa ; total- ly destroying the king of Héra/a and-his army. Afterwards friend- ship being restored, and peace between Kerala-rama-raya, and this * Somesvara transferred the capitalto Turai-samudra that is Dwara-samudra which was south of the river Kistna: probably not very far from the site of Bidenore : but which Col. Mackenzie has identified with the ruins near Hallabi 105 miles North-west of Seringapatam. This point corresponds nearly with the apex of an obtuse triangle, of which the base line would connect Telicota and Talead. Siva-samudra, on theisland of the Cauvery—not far from Seringapatam—was at some early period, a place of great con- sequence, yet we do not trace it as such in this Manuscript. 1847. ] from the posterity of Yadu. 29 king being made, they joined together their forces (they invaded and) took tribute from the Pandya, Chola and Dravida-desa,* and going as far as to Calinga-desam they cut that king and his people to pieces: and then they fought with the Mahomedans who had come from the northward, and conquered them ; and returning by way of Konkana-desa they there also took tribute ; The munificence of i Vira-narasingha- and having come to Dwé@ra-samudra, they made ry many grants of land, cows, and marriage expenses : and building many devdlyas (or temples) and giving grants of lands, tor the customary offerings, and services therein, they revived the bestowment of the ancient endowments that had been made by Pishnu-verddhana in former times. Subsequently the mantri of Narasingha-raya who was named Perumal-danda- Vira narasingha~ »ayaka, by the sanction of his king, in Pollar gave raya, Saca 1206. to S7i-valla-hallala-nat’ha-svami, the customary offerings ; and to 906 Brahmans, who were in Pollur, he divided that village into seven portions, and relinquishing six portions to those Brahmans he gave one portion to that sva@mz. Besides this, to that - Hovil, for drawing the car, and lighting lamps or torches, he gave the well watered villages named Peddata-kota, Pilla-pau-conda, Tipur belonging to these the smaller villages of Kuman-halh, Art’’ha- giuda-haili, Arnai-halli, Rama-giudan-halh, Kudi-tarrukena-kota, Kittava-gattam, Sival-halli, to the east of the reservoir of Kiri-keri; and to the west of the village named Annankuri the fields which Witewe er eine) * ™.) *: the-whole of these lands with the numerous} people on them were given to the before mentioned fanes in Saca year 1206 in Subana year, in Carticey-suddha-padhimni (on Sunday). On this day he made the charitable donation. Véra- narasingha-raya in Saca year 1207, in Vijaya year, the twentieth of the cycle, P’ halguna-suddha- paurnami in the midtime of an eclipse (of the moon) gave the village S. S. 1207. * There is a looseness of language as to the acts of Narasingha IIJ., which looks like exaggeration, and hyperbole ; as in various other passages. He went, we are to suppose, southward to Congu and took tribute. He fought against Kerala ; then made peace with its king. Next, in union with the kings of Kerala, Pandya, Chola and Dravida countries, he went and fought with the king of Calinga, as we may suppose the Ganapati ruler of Warankal : then he fought with the Mahomedans, and returned by way of the northern Koncana country: a very long circuit certainly; though, at the same time, not impossible. + Obscure in the Manuscript. to Sri-madhava-déva to Sri-rama-crishna-svami, | ‘ 30 Of the race of Oytsala Kings, &c. [No. 32, Cannilavadi in irrevocable bestowment, for secret offerings,* public processions, and repairs, connected with three fanes, to Cesava-svame, to Narasingha-svami, and to Gopdala-svamt, which he had caused to be consecrated in the town called /tcrama-santanu. In the place where Vzra-narasingha had consecrated three fanes to Prasanna Césava-svami, Narasingha-svami, and Gopala-svami, his Dalavayz (general) named Brahma-samupati, consecrated (a Kovil to) Sada-swva-svimi : gave two vriddhis (of land) in the vil- lage of Muki-halli (of his own!) and taking from the principal people of that same village, or town six other v7iddhis of land he bestowed the whole on that Aovi; being together eight vriddhis. Besides this, that Brahma-samude-nayaka gave to the pusari of that Kovil two hundred Cambams of waste (or open) land, four hundred Camz- bams of punja land (dry land for dry grain) and also the proceeds of an extrat tax derived from all kinds of commodities to the amount of ninety five pagodas yearly; paid by the people of Unkura-kari village. Besides he gave a garden containing 260 Cambams of ground to the east of the river; and he also gave entirely the gar- dens in the villages Nuhi-halt, Angan-halli, Seman-halh, Deva- halli, Kosala-karai, Gauderi-hali. ‘The people of Saundora-halli, themselves gave the garden of that village: and also one thousand of open land to the east (or beneath) the village tank, also seven hundred Cambams to the east (or beneath) the village of Matapa-kerai ; one hundred Cambams of open land to the east (or beneath) Aeru-kad2, being high forest land measure. In this way bestowing charity they gave the above to Sundésvara-svami. From the village called Pannatakina-kerai, ninety five pagodas of Sitéaya-varaa (extra tax) and beneath (or eastward) of that Herat (or bund of tank) twenty Cambams of open land (vayel) and of punja land 100 Cam- bams. In this relinquishing of much land he bestowed the proceeds on various agraharas, according to perpetual custom. This chari- ee aD10es a table grant was in 8S. Saca, 1210, in Virddhi year, 1287-8. the 23d P*halguni-suddho-paurnami ; the inscrip- tion of the grant was performed on Sunday. The * “Secret offerings’’—I ‘postpone a remark on what I suppose to be the meaning of this term. + The tax is termed Sittaya-varai. It denotes a sort of “ Peter-pence,”’ distinct from the Government tax, for ordinary purposes ; for example, if out of 100 Rupees, the Go- vernment tax be one Rupee then the Sittaya-varai may be one anna: not enfered on the Government account but carried to the benefit of the fane to which it was given. 1847.] The race of Hari-hara-raya. 31 above is the copy of the stone inscription in the village of Nake- Aalli in the Devastanam (fane) of Sada-siva-svame. During the time when Oyisala Narasingha-raya was governing the kingdom the Senaéepatz (or general) named Boma-manande-nayaka gave to one named Basaven four hundred Cambams of land, from beneath the village bund of a tank, which he himself had construct- ed, together with a tank, by means of seven per cent. froma tax call- ed 4szja, both of which he purchased with his own money, and gave irrevocably to the aforesaid Basaven, with a charge to feed daily twelve Brahmans in a choultry, which he (the Sendtipatz) had built in the village of Muki-halli, entitled Soma-nat’ha-puram ; agreeably to which order, that Basaven statedly continued the feeding of the Brahmans ; Saca year 1235, in Ananta year, Car- ticey-suddha-padyami : on Monday the gift of charity was made. ‘This is a copy of the stone inscription in the fane of Chenna-raya-svami.* S. Saca, 1235, A. D. 1312—3. The race of Hari-hara-raya. Yadu, the so called king, was of the Chandra-vamsa (lunar race). Many kings proceeded from that race of Yadu. Among them was one named Sangaman.{ He having come to the Daeshin, to the banks of the Tungabhadra river, and dwelling there, he with elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers, these four kinds of arms, conquered the whole of the 1. Sangaman. * According to the M.S. Narasingha II. was installed S.S. 1205, A.D. 1282—3, and the latest inscription is dated in S. S.1235, or A. D. 1312—3. The 30th year of his reign. That date however is two years later than the date assigned by Ferishta for the sacking of Dwara Samudra by the Mahomedans in A. D. 1310. The difference of reckoning, by lunar and solar years, may account for the discrepancy. Whether the capital ever recovered from the effects of the Mahomedan capture, is somewhat doubtful. The Manuscript adds nothing aboutit. Some revival did occur; but to what extent is not fully known. In about 13 years afterwards Warankal sustained the fate of Dwara Samudra ; and, though in both there were remains of life, yet it is probable that tem- porary subsequent successes, against the Mahomedans, only paved the way for the ascendancy of the most powerful chieftain of the Native confederacy ; probably the Bukha-raya of the Vijayanagara dynasty. We must still look for some powerful prince also named Narasingha who, at a date considerably posterior, upset the first dynasty at Vijayanagara. I think the scattered remains of power of Dwara Samudra and Warankal were concentered in that chief; whose first locality was probably at or near the later Pemnaconda : for to that place, on their final misfortunes, the descendants of that family returned ; asifit had been to their ancient patrimonial domain. + Among the local papers in the Mackenzie Collection there was one, an account of a northern chieftain in very early times, which I considered as probably the pedigree of Sangama. I regret not having been yery particular in my attention. oe The race of Hart-hara-raya. [No. 82, Dacshin ; and taking possession of all the kingdoms, he kept on foot a great army. His sons were Bukha-raya, Hari-hara, Sambu- raya, Maraba-raya, Muttupa-raya: thus five children were (born) to him. Among-these five the one named Bukha- 2. Bukha-raya. i raya was possessed of much good sense, courage, and of a handsome form. ‘That is to say among the five Pandavas as Arjuna was,so was he: in that way he was fearless in war. While abiding on the banks of the Zungabhadra river, inasmuch as he conquered many countries, he constructed, in that place, a town with many streets, with many lofty buildings, a fort like to Yama- cuti (mountain) surrounded with a moat like the Tungabhadra river ; within it many kings’ palaces. ‘Thus with great splendour and wealth, the town Vijayanagara being ornamented, was like the dancing place of Soba-Lacshmi (of great plenty) and was (called) Vijayonagara-patram, as being possessed with the fame of many conquests. While he ¢ Bukha-raya,) was ruling in this V 7jayanagara- patnam he made many offerings (pujas ) to Stva and Vishnu for the sake of (obtaining) a son; and subsequently, by his wife Gauri- ambika, a son was born, resembling Subrahmanya, born from isvart, and as he was the fruit of honors rendered to Hart-hara (Vishnu and Siva) he was in consequence named Hart-hara-raya. He knowing all kinds of science, became celebrated; he was named Hari-hara-bukha-raya. ve na. This Hart-hara-raya being crowned in VY paynage va, and with elephants, horses, and other kinds of arms, having conquered many countries, he also subdued eighteen islands ;* and taking tribute from many countries he performed agreat many acts of munificent liberality, within his own realm. Subse- quently his son Deva-raya was crowned : his young- er brother named Hari-hara-raya, was born with great courage, and much beauty. Deva-raya being seated on the 4. Deva-raya. throne, adorned with the nine kinds of jewels, was installed in the sovereignty ; and became chief patron of the realm in S. Saca year 1270, in Virodhs year,} Harticeya month, in the tenth day of the dark half of the S.Saca, 1270, A. D. 1307—8. * If the dwipa be not rendered island, then the number forbids rendering the term according to the Pauranic Geography. Perhaps it isa mere hyperbole ; as if indicating 18 unknown countries. t The date of S. 8.1250, A. D. 1357-8 is given as that of the installation of Deva-raya. If we allow 40 years for the two foregoing kings it will give circiter 5. 8. 1230;.A, D. 1318 forthe foundation of Vijayanagaram by Bukha-raya ; who must be regarded as properly Aa * 1847.| The race of Hari-hara-raya. 53 moon’s age on Friday in the Uttra-bhadrapada lunar mansion, in the Pritt-yoga (or astrological constellation) in the Bava-karanam (astro- logical division). In this favourable day the illustrious king of kings— king Parameésvara Sri-vira-pratapa-deva-raya took tribute from the Carnataca,Chera, Chola, Pandya, Kerala* and other kingdoms. He rul- ed the kingdom according to the Dherma-sastra ; and gave many do- nations of lands, cows, and marriage dowries. The manner of grants of land made during the time of Deva-rayais the follow- ing. Having built anew thirty-two houses in the agrahara of the town of Deva-raya-puram, he estab- lished therein the families of thirty-two Brahmans, thoroughly versed in the poetical art, and publicly, by pouring water from his hand into their hand, irrevocably made over the same by a perpetual gift. After- wards Hari-hara-raya the son of Hari-hara-buk- ha-raya in 8. S**** was seated on the throne of nine kinds of jewels, and crowned in Vijayanagara and associated with Ganda-danda-natha, as Dalavayi,t he governed the kingdom with great equity. That is to say in courage he was like Deva Indra, in victory like Arjuna, in destroying courage he was like the Rudra of the Pralaya time (deluge) ; in munificence of gift like Parasu-rama ; in wealth like Cavera; in beauty and kingly equity like Dasaratha- rama, in meekness (or moderation) like Varuna ; in form like Man- mata: thus with many (splendid) qualities he was Saesh@t-hari (a second Vishnu). ‘While thus protecting the kingdom his mantrz Gan- da-danda-nayaka was the faithful copy of Swmanira the minister of Desaratha, and like him with many of the four kinds of forces, and many warlike weapons, with the consent of his prince, he set out with the desire of conquering the kings of the world ; and, proceeding northward, he subdued and took tribute from the countries respec- tively of Calinga, Anga, Vanga, Camboja, Simala, Tuluva, Magadha, Deya-raya-mahat- myam, 8.8. 1270. 5. Hara-bukha. first in this dynasty. That is rather earlier than the period assigned by some other authorities. There is however an ascertained connexion between the fall of Dwara- samudraand Warankal (A. D. 1323) and the rise of Vijayanagara; aided by the weakness of the Mahomedan government, for some time afterwards. * Here first occurs the word Chera in the Manuscript ; and it is here distinguished from Kerala. Further remark is reserved. + The intimation of an equality between Hara-bukha and his Dalavayi, Ganda-danda- ~ natha is of consequence to be observed ; for some lists confuse kings, and generals, or rayas and dalavayis, together; and thereby add to the number of princes. Ganda was also Mantriit seems, and by consequence, every thing. The victories ascribed to him agree as to time, and circumstances, with the losses of the weak, and wicked, Mahomed 3rd of Delhi, E 34 The race of Hari-hara-raya. [No. 82; Malava,and Varada; subsequently he fought, for along time, in Padsha- desa, the land of the Turushcaras (Dekhint Mahomedans) and cut the Turushcaras to pieces ; and, taking from those kings much trea- sure, he fixed a pillar of victory in that country. Hence he proceed- ed and conquered the Saindhava and Gujara countries (Sind and Gu- zerat or Cutch $) and succouring the Jndu-desa-raya (king of Sind?) he conquered and fixed triumphal pillars(or columns) in the Concana Malayala, Kerala, and Pandiya countries. In the Chola and Dravida, and other countries he took much treasure, many v@hanas (carriages) arms, and other things, and bringing them to the king he, the minister of Hari-hara-raya received from the great king of kings the Raja Paramesvara many additional armorial banners. Then Hari-hara- raya being greatly pleased gave to him the name or title of V7ra- ganda-danda-maha-samupati. The Brahmans, Cshetriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras, the four orders of men, being greatly rejoiced, they placed joyful confidence in the king ; being persuaded that there could not be a king equal to him in kingly qualities, in the whole world. Afterwards Vishnu-deva-maha-raya * * * * a small chasm occurs * * * Hari-hara-raya gave to Sama-veda-yajna-narayana, Mukili- bhatta, Cali-natcha, and Somayajin, (four persons) the town of great Cadalur which was connected with petty Cadalur, and Gramala-halli, and belonged to Sandt-graémam, in the Oyisala country. By means of these four persons he performed (or made) twelve Sva-siddhi* in the S. Saca year 1303, in Durmati year, Margasira- sucla-pacsham, in the 11th day, and gave the above gift (to the Brahmans) in irrevocable donation, by pouring out of water. Affixing to that town the name of Hari-hara- puram he acquired great renown. Vishnu-deva-maha-rayat being crowned in Vija- yanagara, governed with great equity the Telinga and Carndtaca countries : he established many Vaishnava temples ? and endowed them with lands, for the secret services, and other mat- ters connected therewith. He took tribute from the Concana, Ma- Sse ists. Ay oD: ib 6. Vishpu-deya. * I am not able positively to determine the meaning of Sva-siddhi otherwise than by its apparently literal rendering, a voluntary sacrifice, or gift, which appears to be the meaning of the context: and applicable to a bestowment of land. + The author was going on to Vishnu-deva ; but checked himself ; left a small chasm; and introduced the munificence of Hara-bukha : then resumed. Here occurs the endowment of Vaishnava temples for “ secret services.” What those secret seryices were in Vaishnaya fanes cannot with precision be determined, 1847. ] The race of Hari-hara-raya. 3a layala, and other countries, and gave donations of elephants, and other things ; and, being illustrious as the sun, he at length acquired Swer- 7. RE ana idk gs He had two sons respectively named Madlicar- Juna, and Immadi-deva-raya. Mallicarjuna being crowned in Vijayanagara, and being associated with his younger brother Jmmadi-deva-raya, and also with Timmana-nayaka, as Dalavayz, he protected and govern- ed the Andhra and Carnataca countries. He also conquered the country to the south of these ; and desiring further tribute, he pro- ceeded with many horses, elephants, and other warlike equipage to Kerala-desam, and warring with the Kerala-raja, he took thence much treasure, many jewels, and other matters, and again returned to Vidya-nagarapatnam.* Subsequently governing the kingdom with great equity, he built many temples and Brahman’s dwellings ; and gave to his own favorite God Malhcarjuna-svamyt of Talcad much treasure and land, for the secret services of the temple, and performed much charity. The Mantrt of Mailicarjuna nam- ed Timmana-nayaka built a large car for Pachama-rangha-svami, S. Saca 1376, Yuva year, Pushya and Suddha (Yecadasz or) 11th day on Friday, when the car for Sri-rangha-svuadmt was finished ; and the public procession with it was performed. Subsequently in Saca year 1377, in Dathu year, Sesha-suddha the 11th day, the principal wife of Z2mmana-raya named Lran- gha-amma, voluntarily gave for the secret services of (the temple) of Pachama-rangha-svam the village named Leangha-puram in the tem- ple district of Qné-madu, situated in Cura-vanga-nattu. That Tim- mana-nayaka caused the temple itself to be well built, and gave to Rangha svami many gifts of land. * Vidyanagara.— From other documents we learn that the site of the future metropo- fis was a sort of hermitage, where Madhvacharya dwelt; hence called ‘‘ Town of Learning.” The sage is generally understood to have assisted the sons of Sangaman with his counsels, and more solid aid, against the Mahomedans. + Mallicarjuna-svami of Talicad. WhatTalicad? One placed south of the modern Se- ringapatam ; or one a little north of Anagundi or Vijayanagaram. To me the latter seems most likely. And though Talicota differs from Talicadu, yet it is only thus—Ta- licadu would be the earlier name, and Talicota would come into use after a fort had been built. We find ‘secret services,’’ again, and Mallicarjuna is I believe a name of Siva. Timmana. is termed Mantri, and before Dalavayi: henceitis clear, that he held the reins of Govern- ment. It almost necessarily follows that Mallicarjuna-raya and Immadi-raya were two puppets ; according to a frequent case of Hindu rule ; and to that circumstance probably is to be attributed the invasion (whether with or without treason cannot be determined) of the Yadava chief Narasingha, and the consequent change of dynasty. Immadi-deva and TimmanaDalavayi. S. Saca, 1376. 8. Saca, 1377, A. D. 1454—5. 36 The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. [No. 32, CHANGE OF DYNASTY. The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. Of the Sr¢mat race of the moon Yadu* was born. Ofthat race of YVadu there were many kings, and many branches of dynasties sprung therefrom. Among these the Zuluva race was one ; in which Zimma-rayat was greatly renowned for courageous conduct in war. He greatly exalted the Tuduva race; and was esteemed very holy in the world. From him a king was * Although Bukha-raya was of the race of Yadu, yet the Yadavas, is a term used in the Mackenzie Collection as distinct from Ganapatis-rayas, or Oyisalas, or Bellalas, and is applied to the chief of a territory cut out from the Warankal kingdom south of the Krishna river; subject, at first to the rayas and then superceding them ; after which, and for some time, the Vijayanagara power was felt, down to the extreme south of the Peninsula ; including Mysore partially ; the Carnatic prevailingly ; and the old Chola and Pandya countries. To this stupendous monarchy we are now advancing. A paper in the Mackenzie Collection (see my third report, or M. Journal L. and Sci- vol. 8, page 24,) marks the commencement of the Yadavas in 8.8.755 or A, D. 832—3 ; and gives eighteen successions, down to S. S. 1013 A. D. 1090 a total of 250 years, with an average of 143 years for each reign. But the object of the writer seems to have been to give a connected series of dates; since he introduces the very incongruous per- sons of Pratapa-rudra, Bellala-raya, and Anavema-reddi, with each a very long reign from S. 8. 1071 to 1233, and then enters on the Vijayanagara dynasty : assigning to Buk- ha-raya the very probable period of S. 8. 1249, A. D. 1326—7, Of the list some are Man- tris or Dalavayas ; but it is here introduced in comparison with our present Manuscript authority. Bukha-raya........S. S. 1249, A. D. 1326—7. Hari-hara...cccccecsoces 8. 9» 1263 Saluva gadu....... 8.S. 1319 Vijaya-bukha........0+ 5, 5, 1276 | 10 Deva-raya..... -..- fet stes Sekoae Hasaki or Gaja-deva... ,, ,, 1284 Ganda-yadava. ...-- ,, 5, 1339 opRama-devaeaders cecnece, case lool Cumara-camba...-- ,, 5, 1343 Wirupacshixes.ccdsceoss 55 99 1206 Saluva-gadu. ....... 5, 5, 1850 Mallicarjuna........ Seis sre oUs Saluva-narasingha... ,, ,, 1399 HvaMa-CHAandra.i-icie ese) ass, Ole |) lo) Smmmaci-tim nia) sce eestees en ALO Vira-narasingha........ S.S. 1431, A. D. 1508—9. Kerishnardevaecs «cnc clcsiss 35 F40L ALD: Achyuta-deva..ccccsees 55 55 1464. Sada-Siva.... csecseceee 5) 95 1486, A. D. 1563—4. Tirumali-deva..e.cscces 57 55 1494. Sri-rangha....secee sees 5, 55 1508, A. D. 1585—6. In our Manuscript Rama-raya, a natural son of Krishna-raya, and Dalavayito Sada- Siva, appears instead of the latter ; who, in point of real power, was a cypher. t It is presumed that Timma-raya and Timmana-nayaka, were two distinct persons. If not it would follow that Timma-raya, being Dalavayi, conspired against his master, and secured the crown for hisson. This conjecture is forbidden by two leading circum = stances. It does not accord with Ferishta’s notices of Narasingha, as a rebel chief; nor with the great alteration superinduced on the old Canarese language, by the Telinga conquest : affecting generally the termination of nouns, as well as minor matters. Lan- guage bears testimony to such changes: as for example, the English language*after the Norman conquest, and the Portuguese after a French alliance by marriage. 1847. | The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. ad born by Bukha-masani, a crowned wife. From him was born one named Narasingha-raya, who was very equita- ble, of benevolent disposition, of handsome form, eminent in personal strength. Narasingha-rayain the town of Vi- dyanagara was installed, and crowned, being seated on the throne adorned with the nine kinds of precious stones.. In conjunction with his minister named U¢tandi he governed the Telinga kingdom. Sub- sequently as the chiefs and warriors of the Carndtaca country refused to pay him tribute, he dispatched his minister U¢iandan, at the head of the four kinds of forces ; who going into the Carnataca country warred with them, and taking captive one called Swadhiya-raghaiya, he afterwards caused him to be crowned ; and having taken tribute from those chiefs, he proceeded thence to Malayalam and Keralam ; and there fighting with Vjaya-raja, he took from him great wealth, and making friendship with the Pandya king, he received from him many auxiliary forces, and taking tribute from the Chola and Dra- vida countries, he proceeded thence to the north country ; proceed- ing as far as the Calinga and BangG@la countries ; and as the king of that country came to meet him with a great army, he conquered them, and killed the Gajapati* king ; and, as then the king who was ruling on the banks of the Ganges came with a great force, he con- quered these also: he likewise overcame many Mahomedans ; and having taken much wealth, many horses, elephants, and the like, he returned toV vayanagara town; and, in an interview with Narasingha- vaya, he told him all that had occurred. Thereupon Narasingho-raya, being greatly rejoiced, gave to this minister the title of Vijaya-ut- tandendra, and built many devaliyas (fanes) with the wealth which he had brought. Especially he built the kovil of Virupacshe-deva, with great elegance ; and making grants of lands, of cows, of marri- age portions, and other sixteen kinds of charity, he acquired great celebrity inthe world. Thereupon all kinds of kings gave to this Narasingha-raya the titles of ‘ king of kings,’ Raja-paramésvara- raya-maha-raya ; and, in interviews with him, offered to him all kinds of presents. Then the J/aha-raya being rejoiced gave to them severally, splendid garments and various other honorary gifts ; and thus acquired great fame ; even as far as the Himalayan} isth- mus. ‘This great Rayer’s wives were Dipdeshi and Nagara-dewi ; 1. Narasingha-raya. * The Gajapati was the ruler of Orissa ; and the Ganges king probably the ruler af Gaur in upper Bengal. 7 Himalaya Setu, is a common proverbial expression, 58 The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. [| No. 52; from these two, even as from Cazszl2 and Sumztii, those two women, were born fama and Lacshmana, so to him were born V727a-nara- singha-raya and Krishna-raya. From his wife named Obambiga were born Rangha-raya, and Achyuta-raya, like Krishna and Rama. These four persons being very valiant, having acquired many ac- complishments, riding on horses and elephants, they grew up with very great union and affection existing among themselves. Subse- Died §. Saca, 1401, quently in Saca year 1401, in Sarvart year, A.D.1478—9. the 34th year of the cycle, Narasingha-raya acquired the heavenly world. The Maha-raya- 2. Vira-narasingha- yyya-narasingha-raya was installed and crowned raya crowned, S. Shirl in Vijayanagara town, being seated on the nine jewelled throne, in the same Saca year 1401, in the Sarvarz year, Vira-narasingha-raya in conjunction with his younger brother, ruled the kingdom with equity ; and on sending messengers to demand tribute from those countries which had paid tribute ‘to his father Narasizgha-raya, the Dravida, Chola, Pandya, these countries sent some small measure of tribute, and making friendship with this V2ra-narasingha-raya, they then went away. The chiefs who ruled over the Carnataca and Cong countries, and resided at Unmuttur, Talicad, and other royal towns, refused to pay tribute; in consequence of which Vra-narasingha-raya, being much incensed, assembled many forces, and with many elephants, horses, men and other forces, made warlike preparations, and plac- ing his younger brother A7vshna-raya in Vijayanagara, he himself with Achyuta-raya and Sri-rangha-raya, and with many princes of royal descent, went and encamped (or descended)* near to Unmuttur. Thence he despatched messengers with this message: “If you send us the tribute which was formerly accustomed to be given, we will here confirm and establish you in the government, and depart ; but if you do not despatch the tribute we will take your fort, and _ placing our own people in it will assume the government of your country.” Then the king who was in Unmuttur named Diyaba- yaya sent a reply to the following effect— We ourselves have for a long series of years governed this kingdom, and whether it be our own people or that of the Concana-vermat kings, who for along time * The Tamil word used seems to answer to the phrase to set down before a place. + The country invaded was Carnata and the Congu-desa. Diyaba-raya refers to the Concana-verma kings. These were rulers of Tuluva; having a Capital at, or near Ba- navasi. I cannot reconcile all discrepancies; but I do not think this language accords with a Capital south of the modern Seringapatam. 1847.| The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. 39 ruled here, it was never customary to pay tribute to any one. Such "being the case your father Narasingha having conquered by force took tribute, and went away. But if the matter be properly inyesti- gated, there is no existing right or claim that I should pay you tri- bute. By consequence we will by no means send you tribute.” Vira-narasingha-raya on receiving this message was very angry ; saying—“‘ Since these chiefs were accustomed to pay tribute to Harz- hara-raya and others, what occasion is there now for discussion or inquiry >” Whereupon he proceeded to invest the fort, and fought against it for three months. Those chiefs, assembling a great force, beat the besiegers, and did not allow them to approach near to the fort. Then Warasingha-raya being unable to take that fort, retro- graded his army, and proceeded to invest the town of Syi-rangha- patnam.* Heretofore the great Marasingha-raya had installed and crowned Swvaki-raya, in that place. The son of that Stvaki-raya had greatly strengthened that place with fortifications, and he now sent word to the Unmuttur and Talicad chiefs and calling thence many forces he issued outside of the fort, and meeting Narasingha- vaya, in the outside with a great force, he fell upon him there. Then Vira-narasingha-raya, sustaining a slight defeat, retreated with his army, and came back to Vidya-nagara and said to Krishna-raya, that Unmuttur and Sri-ranghapatnam, being well secured, we must assemble a very great army, and having provided full supplies of provisions, we must then conquer those kingdoms. Consulting thus they continued to rule the kingdom. Subsequently Vera-nara- singha-raya, performing many acts of charity, gave presents of gold, equalling his own weight, Kala-purusha-dhanam, gifts of gold in hills, or heaps, gifts of horses, of elephants, of lands, marriage presents, Brahma-pratishta-dhanam ; making all these, and placing many gifts of food in the public Choultries, he became in giving presents of land equal to Parasz-rama, in reputation ; and acquired the surname, or titles of Rajadhi-raya-Parameésvara, Pravuda-prataba-maha- f raya: in Saca year 1425, in Rudrétkari year, he Died S. 8. 1425, A. ; D. 1502—3. acquired entrance into Vaecont’ha. Subsequently the crown descended to his young- 3. Krishna-raya er brother Avishna-raya. In Saca year 1426, in OS Sala fRacticsht (58th cycle) year in Chitivi month, ares ' Krishna-raya being installed in the nine jewelled * The precise direction of retreat, or retrogradation is not stated ; but the terms here employed, couldagree with a Capital south of Seringapatam. 40 The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. [No. 32, throne in Vijaya-nagara town he associated with himself his young- er brothers Achyuta-raya and Rangha-raya and his minister * * %* * and ruling the kingdom with great munificence, he established a Mint, which was Arishna-murt:. In it he performed a charity to fianghanayaka (the god). Subsequently he well built the fort of Viyaya-nagara; he also built Pennur fort, Chandra-giri and other fortresses ; and assembling a great many people, he got together many elephants, horses, and other forces ; and with the intention of con- quering the kingdom, he went into the Dra@vida* country where he took Kanchi (Conjevaram) Gengi, Vellore, and other places ; and very carefully built the fort of Vellore. In it he placed his own people, and princes of royal descent, and governed the kingdom with distinguished equity. Atthat period the king of Unmuttur alone among the other Car- nataca-rayas, took possession of Stva-samudra (an island in the Cauvery) and as the Cauvery river entered that fort at two ends, or sides, he built that fort very well, and strengthened it with many cannons, and other arms; after which that Diyaba-raya acquired Swerga. In that fort his son Ganga-raya governing the kingdom, he carefully secured that fortress by many arms, and many troops. Af- terwards the Raya. Krishna-raya, having fought with the Carndtaca- chiefs, and being desirous of capturing that country, seeing that in former times his brother Vira-narasingha-raya had gone into that country, and returned without victory, as they did not give tribute, he nourished great anger against them: he set out with elephants, horses, foot soldiers, cannon, and other arms, with the assistance also of some of the country chiefs, and approached the Cauvery in the Carndtaca country, to the eastward of Pachima Rangham, and in- vested the fort of Stva-samudra, having also associated with him Chica-rayat the enemy of the Stwva-samudra chief, and also some other chiefs ; setting down his army on (beneath) the two hills called Pret’ ha-parvata and Keurya-mal, he prosecuted the siege more than a year; and at length, proceeding along the artificial bank of the Cauvery, scaled the walls, and entered by surprise; in consequence of which Ganga-raya threw himself into the deep tank, called Ganga- Susi, and perished. Afterwards Avishna-raya, having taken posses- * Krishna-rayer’s conquest of the Carnatic, either by himself or his generals, is well authenticated. He also ruled by a viceroy in the Pandya kingdom ; though the viceroy speedily became independent. + We have here the first mention of the chief whose family were the modern Mysore rajas. 1847.] The race-of Vira-narasingha-raya. 4i sion of that fort placed his own people in it; and coming to Sre- rangha-patnam he also conquered that town. In that town he re- linquished some countries to Camba-gauda, and Virapa-gauda : he also gave over some countries to Chicca-raya, and having conquered all the chiefs round about in that country, and fixing agents in the va- rious places, he established the tribute money, and had it written in his account books, that the Carndtaca country was to yield him the revenue of acrore. He greatly strengthened the great town of S72- rangha-patnam of the Carndtaca country, in the Saca year 1430, in Prabava year, and erected a very large sized flag-staff there, in the flag of which the Chank and Chacra being represented it was called the flag of Kreshna-raya. Proceeding thence he progressively passed through, and conquered Codugu (Coorg), Malayalam, and Keralam ;* and fixing the scale of tribute, he took possession of Pandya-desam and Chola-desam, and thence returned to Vijayanagara. Thence with many troops, chieftains, many horses, ammunition, balls, and arms, he set out like a second (another) sea, and proceeding to the Northward, he made a treaty of alliance (or formed friendship) with the king of the Calinga country, and taking that king along with him, he went through the Hindu country, aud conquering the Wujara-desa, and Magadha-desa, and also subduing many other countries, he took thence tribute ; and, overcoming many Mahome- dans,f he returned to Vidyanagara city; and being seated on the nine jewelled throne, he enjoyed great fame and was known by the titles of Vadu-kulotbhava-raja, Martanda-raja, Gembira-maha-raja, Bhu- Jedha-krishna-raya-maha-raya, (or the Emperor Avrishna, the great. Emperor, the great king honored by other kings, the far famed king, the king illustrious as the sun, the ruler of the race.of Yadu) having been renowned even to Himalaya, he protected the kingdom in con- junction with Sada-swa-raya, generalissimo of the forces, and per- formed many acts of munificent charity. He gave heaps of gold like AZeru, and others of the sixteen kinds of charity ; and acquired Vaicontha in the Saca year 14—. The following is the man- ner of performing a gift of land in the Saca year 9 oa 1429 to Pachama-rangha-svami, made by Harikeé- * The conquest of Kerala is authenticated by the Kerala-ulpatti. I have looked into the early part of Colonel Wilks’ work to see if there were traces in it of the foregoing transactions, but do not findsuch; and the details which are given require other aid to join in well, with this our present Manuscript. + The defeat of the Mahomedans is admitted by Ferishta; but it led to that combina- tion which, not very many years afterwards, subverted the dynasty. EF. 42 - The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. _[No. 82, rajayya of Sri-rangha-patnam by the direction of Krishna-raya. In the Saca year 1445 in Part’hiva (19th cycle) year, Magha-suddha-paurnami, in an eclipse of the moon, in a propitious time, S7i-krishna-rayeraverkal, gave a me- ritorious grant conveying to Immadi-tattacharya, the son of Tatta- charya, the son of Veda-murti-tirumali-T. attacharaya, atax of one pagoda, each year, on every house of the 37 families of the Camuvar tribe, in the town near the banks of the Tunga-bhadra at Udiya-girz, near to the kovil of Krishna-sv@mi, and for the purpose of carrying on in it the offerings, and customary ceremonies, and also a fee of one fanam from each person of every couple on being married. In the 37th year of Krishna-raya * * * * * * * * 4 space, or chasm, here occurs in the Manuscript. After that the younger brother of Krishna-raya who was named Achyuta-raya being seated on the lion-seat in Vijayanagara city, governed the Dravida, Andhra, Carnataca countries, and with one Chenna-pannen, his generalissimo, together with 4, Achyuta-raya, : 18 years. Rangha-raya, and other princes, he governed the kingdom with great equity ; ruling the Drauda, Andhra, Carnataca, kingdoms, with a great army, he protected the forts of Chandra-giri, Pennaconda, Vellore; and performing many munificent acts of charity,* he favored the divine Brahmans, more than his predecessors, Vira-narasingha-raya, and Krishna-raya, and was beneficent to all orders of people: he also expended much wealth on Pachama-rangha-svimi, and caused the car-festivals, and other festivals, to be conducted, and during the Saca year 1480 in Stdhartiré year of the cycle, he fell at the feet of Rangha-nayaka, (died) the period of his reign was 18 years. S. S. 1440. S. 8. 1480. Subsequently the son of Avishna-raya named Rama-raya, being crowned} and installed in the nine jewelled throne in the city of Vijayanagara along with his younger brother Zzmma-raya, with his generalis- Hale eh A.D. gimo Sada-swa-raya, he governed the Dravida, 558—9. 5. Rama-raya. Andhra, and Carndtaca countries; and having * Inscriptions, and particularly at Conjeveram, confirm this statement. + The Manuscript is here incorrect; but it gives the real power to the right person. Sada-siva succeeded Achyuta, and inscriptions are in his name ; but Rama-raya, his re- lative, as Dalavayi, held all power ; and was, in effect, regarded as the monarch, Sada- siy a being weak and despised. 1847.| The race of Vira-narasingha-raya. 43 been inclined to conquer the north country, having assembled many forces, he set out with a great many people and troops, and going into the north country, he fought there with the Mahomedans,* and conquering them, came back again to Vidyayanagara city ; and go- verned the kingdom in such a way that no one was equal to him. At a later period hearing that the Mahomedans of the north country were assembling many troops, and intended to come hostilely against Vijaya- nagara, Rama-raya set out with all kinds of forces, to meet them ; and on the place where the battle was fought, as the Mahomedahs that came were in very great numbers, he retreated} without victory; and coming to Anagundz he left afew people there ; and taking thence all kinds of provision, he proceeded thence to Pennaconda, and for- tified that place. Then Rama-raya and the Mahomedans, by treaty, divided the country and the Mahomedans took possession of Anagundi, and also of some other portions of the country. Rama- raya residing in Pennaconda itself, governed the kingdom. His sons were Srz-rangha-raya, Rama-raya, Vencatapati-raya, three persons. Afterwards Rama-raya acquired Swerga in the Saca year 1496, he ruled 15 years. Subsequently S7v-rangha-raya being crowned and installed in Pen-_ S. S. 1496, A. D. “aconda, Saca 1496, in Iva year, Rajadhi-raya 1573—4, Sri-rangha-raya being his title, and acquir- 6. Sri-rangha-raya. ing fame; he placed his younger brother Rama- raya in Seringapatam, and his other younger brother Vencatapati- raya in Chandra-giri, he governed the kingdom very equitably ; and during the time when he was performing many acts of charity S7i- rama-raya who was in Sri-ranghapainam died. Then Camba- gauden and Virapa-gauden these two persons strengthening Serin- gapatam sent tribute to Sri-rangha-raya at Pennaconda. Then Chicca-raya a chieftain having assembled many people, stormed the fort of Seringapatam, and capturing it, he also subdued the district or country belonging to it. Sri-rangha-raya hearing this intelligence, he called the son of Rama-raya who before ruled in Seringapa- * Rama-raya’s first successes against the Mahomedans, not yet fully prepared and united, would seem to be fully authenticated. + The writer is very delicate here. He does not choose to write, defeated. The gene- rally received account is, that Rama-raya lost his life, by his rashness, on the field of battle at Telicota in S. S. 1486, A. D. 1564. Some accounts agree with this, in represent- ing him as retiring : but this was most probably Sada-siva, who quitted Anagundi, and retired to Pennaconda. The Mahomedans came and took possession of Vijayanagaram ; which thenceforward, in their orthography, became known as Bijnagu r, 44 | The vace of Vira-narasingha-raya. [No. 32, tam who was named Zirumatli-raya, and bid him go and take pos- session of Seringapatam. Accordingly Zirwmali-raya having fixed Matti-Vencataraya as Dalavayz, and having come to Seringapatam, with a great army, Chicca-raya relinquished the fort over to him, as being the son of the former ruler. Then Zirumali-raya being in Seringapatam, subdued and took possession of the country. Tintmalicraya. Tirumali-raya was crowned and installed at Serin- S. §. 1506, A. D. gapatam in the Saca year 1506 in Part’ hiva—being 1683—4. seated on the throne adorned with the nine kinds of jewels, and together with Matt-Vencatay-yaya the Dalavayz he subdued the whole of the Carnataca country ; and giving over much land to Sri-rangha-nayaka and seeing to the repairs of temples, he eonducted munificent. donations according to the manner in which former rayers had done; and acquired the renown of a king of kings. In Saea year 1512 in Kara year Sri-rangha-raya who was in Pennaconda acquired Swerga. His son Vencatapati-raya was installed in the govern- ment at Pennaconda, and ruled that kingdom. In Chandra-gira, the governing prince was Vencatapati-raya, the younger brother of the before mentioned Sri-rangha-raya. Things being thus, Tiremalt-raya having heard intelligence that Virapa-nayaka* of Madura, with all kinds of people was coming, he called all his troops, and together with his Dalavay2,V encatapati-raya he went by way of Pyney, and fighting with them, conquered them, and the Madura-one, being overcome, retreated. The Dalavay?, Vencatapati-raya, having called the king, and following, he plunder- ed the whole of the Madura country. Madura Virappen having given to Vencatapati-raya much wealth, he being thereby great- ly rejoiced, the said Vencatapati-raya, by craft, delivered over Tirumali-raya into their hands ; and he himself coming with all his forces to Seringapatam, ruled the kingdom. Subsequently Ziru- mali-raya, getting released from their hands, on coming to Seringa- patam, Vencata-raya not allowing him to enter, drove him away. Thereupon Zirumali-raya went and resided in the village of Malenga- cesart. Then all the chiefs listening to the speech of Vencatapat- raya came, being determined to reject Tirumal-raya and laid siege to the town of Malinga-cesari, at which time the Mysore Raja-raja- S.S. 1512, 7. Vencatapati. * Details on this warfare may be seen in Oriental Hist. M. SS. translated Vol. 2, page 182—3 and 237—13: they are also mentioned by Colonel Wilks, in his History of the South of India. 1847] Addendum. 45 Udiyar, with his own force, coming to Cesarz, discomfited those chiefs, and wholly beating them, he thence came to Seringapatam: as all the forces were with Vencatapati-raya, a few people stealthily entered by way of the towers ; and subsequently Raya-Udiyar entering took possession of the fort, Saea year 1531, in Saumya Sea year, when the kingdom came into possession of ree the Raya-Udiyar of the Mysore race of kings. ADDENDUM. I have been reminded, by the way while writing these notes, that a stanza in the Negandu (a Tamil versified Dictionary) defines the epithet Cheran (vide Introduction), as a title which applies to the rajas of Tiruvanchi (Travancore) of Codugu _ (Coorg) and of the Malayala country proper : that is, as I take it, of North Travancore and Wynaad, near which was the Southern end of Aerala, when distinguished from Chera-desa. Col. Wilks (vol. 1, p. 8,) on what authority is not mentioned, states—‘‘ Cheran united Kangzam and Salem, to the dominions of Kerala, or Malabar.” The use of the Brahmanical reckoning in Carnata and Te- lingana introduced to this Manuscript is not, to the best of my knowledge, usual in Tamil documents. The ‘Tamil language retains its own proper solar reckoning ; antecedent to the influx of Brahmans from the North; but it has adopted the cycle of 60 years. The name of the cycle year is generally given ; and sometimes the Saca year. The latter is not to be received implicitly, even when clearly given ; but a reason for dissent should always be shown. The Tamil solar year begins with the Pongal-feast ; the northern Brahmanical year begins with the middle of April.’ The addition of the lunar months, and asterisms, and days of the moon’s age, give intricacy, some- times approaching to confusion. Hence I have referred more than once to a table at the end. Let the Tamil reckoning be first distinctly cleared. ‘The cycle years common to both modes 46 Addendum. of reckoning may be seen in Oriental Historical M.SS. vol. 2, p. 121, or with the northern orthography in Campbell’s _ Telugu Dictionary, wr erin pride, 14. months are: 1. Tai, Jan. 12, to Feb. 11. a. The Tamil solar Adi, July 15, to Aug. 14. [No. 82, 2. Masi, Feb. 12, to Mar. 11. 8, Avani, Aug. 15, to Sept. 14. 3. Panguni, Mar. 12, toApril 11. 9. Piratasi, Sept. 15, to Oct. 15. 4. Chittari, April 12, to May 12. 10. Arapisi, Oct. 16, to Nov. 14. 5. Vaiyasi, May 13, to June 12. 11. Carticeya, Nov. 15, to Dee. 13. 6. Ani, June 13, to July 14. 12. Margali, Dec. 14, to Jan. 11. The Northern solar months are : 1. Mesha,* aries, March, April. 7. Tula, libra, Sept., October. 2. Vrisha, taurus, April, May. 8. Vrishchica, scorpio, Oct., Nov. 3. Mithuna, gemini, May, June. 9. Dhanus, sagittarius, Noy. Dec. 4. Carcata, cancer, June, July. 10. Macara, capricorn, Dec. Jan. 5. Sinha, leo, July, August. 11. Cumbha, aquarius, Jan. Feb. 6. Canya, virgo, Aug. Sept. 12. Mina, pisces, February, March. With the Northern solar months, the lunar months are made to coincide, by intercalations. Each lunar month is divided into two, or more WVacshetras, termed mansions, and as 24 Nacshetras correspond with one zodiacal sign, or thereabouts, it follows that there are only 27 lunar mansions, with an Abhijit, or intercalary portion. Observe first the general coincidence of Solar and Lunar months, | Solar. Lunar. Solar. Lunar. 1. Mesha. Aswini. 7. Tula. Chaitra. 2. Vrisha. Cartica. 8. Vaishchica. Vaisac’ha. 3. Mithuna. Margasir- 9. Dhanus. Jyaisht’ha. sha or Agrahayan. 10. Macara. Ashara. 4. Carcata. Paush. : 11. Cumbha. Sravana. 5. Sinha. Magha. 12. Mina. Bhadra. 6. Canga. Phalguna. Where mention occurs of the lunar month, the corresponding solar month is hereby seen ; and the corresponding Tamil solar month can be found, by looking back, with sufficient accuracy. The next thing is the correspondence of the lunar mansion with the lunar months ; as follows: * Anciently coinciding with the middle of April, N. S. | : 1847.] Addendum. 47 Months. Mansions. 1. Aswini, (27 Revati), 1. Aswini, 2, Bharani. 2. Cartica, 3. Critica, 4. Rohini. 3. Margasirsha, 5. Mrigasiras, 6. Ardra. 4, Paush, 7. Punarvasu, 8. Pushya. 5. Magha, 9. Aslesha, 10. Magha. 6. Phalguna, 11. Purva, and 12. Uttara Phalguni, 13, Hasta. 7. Chaitra, 14. Chitra, 15. Svati. 8. Vaisac’ha, 16. Visa’cha, 17. Anuradha. 9. Jyaisht’ha, 18. Jyesht’ha, 19. Mala. — 10. Ashara, 20. Purva, and 21. Uttara Shadha. 11. Sravana, 22. Sravana, 23. Dhanista. 12. Bhadra, 24. Satabhisha, 25. Purva, and 26, Uttara Bha- drapada. Abhijit or } mansion, whenever used, comes in between Uttara- shadha, and oniay. By this table the relation of the lunar mansion, to the lunar, and northern solar months, and to the Tamil solar months, can be deter- mined with tolerable correctness. Observe next each lunar mansion, corresponds or nearly so, an the bright and dark half of each lunation: the days of each are term- ed fit’hi, which do not correspond with solar days ; though it is customary in Tamil to use the term as equivalent to a day of the month. That however is a loose usage. _ The bright half of a lunation is termed Sucla, or Suddha, pacsham ; and the dark half Kvzshna, or Bahula, pacsham. The day of the new moon is Amdvasya, and of the full moon Purnami, paurnami, punnama, or purnam. A cypher must be understood to represent each. Thenceforward the ¢’his are reckoned by Sanscrit numerals. Padyami Ist, Vidima 2nd, Tadiya 3rd, Chavuti 4th, Panchami oth, Shashti 6th, Saptami 7th, Ashtami 8th, Navami 9th, Dasami 10th, Yecadasi 11th, Dvadasi 12th, Triyodasi 13th, Chaturdasi 14th. The attentive reader may now untie any Brahmanical date oc- curring in the Manuscript ; and will perceive that to translate every such date would be a tedious circumlocution, or needless tautology. The time of a solar eclipse is considered suitable for a gift to avert great danger. The Suddha-panchimi, or 5th day of the crescent moon, is deemed propitious. ‘The moon attains a benign, or sextile, aspect ; and danger from the conjunction is past. ‘The Yecadasz is, 48 Addendum. [No. 32, or ought to be, a strict fast. The origin appears to be medical ; for, in some popular tales, a certain king, by observing and enforcing this fast drove death out of his kingdom ; who complained to the destroyer ; and to cause, by device, the breaking of this fast was the only remedy. Other tales narrate the greatest losses incurred, rather than violate this fast day. We may hence note the great ascendancy which a Calendar Brahman must necessarily acquire ; since such a one alone could tell at what precise point of a solar day the fasting must begin, and end. As regards “ secret services,” which though often referred to T have not before taken up, I may observe that, in Saeva tem- ples, they appear to me to denote, human sacrifices. Such services in Vaishnava fanes I donot pretend to understand. According to the Garuda-purana, as quoted by Col. Vans Kennedy (Ancient and Hindu Mythology, p. 340, 342) the days for this cruental service of Cali are the 9th tet’he of each lunar half month, and the 3d of Margaswsha. ‘The vocations on _ those occasions are of terrible import, and the sounds Hram ! _Hrim! Hrum! \ook like signals for slaughter. Col. Vans Kennedy was notwithstanding a staunch advocate for what is termed Hinduism. I have understood from another good au- thority that there were under ground caves at Anagundi where- in human sacrifices were offered, and such doubtless were the “secret services.” My personal opinion is, that the Grecian “mysteries” were not merely of the like subterranean, but also of like sombre, character. Some time since Walter Elhot, Esq. very kindly favored me with loan of a pamphlet entitled, ‘‘ On the Geographical limits, — History, and Chronology of the Chera kingdom of Ancient In- dia: by Mr. J. Dowson.” The same gentleman has since in- formed me that the document was printed in the Proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society. My long retirement from stu- dies, and pursuits of this kind, and being otherwise occupied in very active duties, not quite harmonizing with those studies as to the tone of mind proper to each, prevented riy in- quiring for, or seeing those Proceedings : and the pamphlet 1847. | a ae Addendum. 49 eame to me, without my previously knowing of its existence. Tt will not be needful for me to add to what I have already pre- mised, in reference to the rather too great stress laid upon a few passing expressions, in my brief notice of the Manuscript in question, in my first report on Mackenzie Manuscripts. It has all the courtesy that could be expected from a stranger ; and I would therefore pass by the introduction without remark. I conceive it probable that the translation which Mr. Dowson used was made by the late Mr. Wheatley of Madura, and being aware of his free manner in translating, |. am not surprised at some errors thence entering Mr. Dowson’s abstract. Such as I have noticed will require to be specified. Notes on a Comparison with Mr. J. Dowson’s Abstract. P. 2, line 5.— SS f Zw, SH = * = a = Ss — 0 0 \M J | TRUE The centre tigure has beew drawn cut of proportion to the rest, and to the Vins, on purpose lv exhibit its peculiarities. The cross belis are | _curtous. The tigures are rudely tashioned ww pottery, without regare ‘ to proportions, hence the size of the warrtor, over that of the aiumad he bestcides which T suppose was trtended to represent a horse.. Ti i en’ ile CC 1847] Neilgherry Hills, Sc. 89 Figures of animals and human beings were dispersed in every direc- tion. These are more fully noticed in the subjoined. Catalogue of Antiquities dug out of the Carn. In Porrery. 1. An entire urn 15 inches high, in shape two hollow globes con- nected by a long neck from which project broad mouldings and fillets giving the vessel the appearance of four smaller ones placed one upon the top of the other. This urn has a lid with a figure of a peacock upon it as a handle, and may be taken as a specimen of the rest in the cairn. 2. Lid of an urn with a coiled snake on the top of it. 3. Cover of an urn, its handle being the figure of a tiger. 4. Ditto surmounted by the figure of an elephant. 5. Ditto having the figure of an animal resembling the hippopo- tamus for a handle. 6. The figure of a dog standing on the cover of an urn. 7. The head and neck of an unicorn. 8. The figure of a quadruped with four humps on its back. 9. The head and fore-part of a sheep with a bell round its neck. 10. Numerous heads of the buffaloe. 11. A small buffaloe with a bell tied to its neck. 12. A double-headed bird which I can only compare with the old wood-cut of a bird with two heads in the travels of Sir John Maun- derville in the M. 8. 8. of the Harleian Collection. 13. Five figures of birds. . 14. An urn cover with a figure holding a shield in his left arm, the right raised and extended as in the act of brandishing a weapon : he has a terrible and frightful aspect, and resembles the Scythian God Woden. , 15. A quadruped with a neck out of all proportion, and on whose back are seated two female figures, the first is in a martial costume, a belt passes round her neck and crosses in front, her waist is encir- cled with a girdle in which is inserted the head of a scabbard, she carries a shield in her left hand, and her right is raised as in the last figure, a necklace passes round her neck and her ears are orna- mented with rings. ‘The figure behind her is also a female, her right arm rests on her hip and the left is raised to the head supporting something upon it. M 90 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, 16. Another figure in a sitting posture. 17. Several figures of female warriors like the one before described and similarly accoutred. Their long hair is tied in a knot behind, and braided over it. In IRON. 18. One iron knife having a broad curved blade and long pointed shaft. 19. A small sickle. 20. A spear or arrowhead. 21. A double spatula. 22. A pair of scissors with a bent spring handle, the ends of which form the blades. The corroding hand of time has laid very heavily on these relics. In Brass. 23. A small semicircular brass basin fluted and chased. 24. Two small bells. 20. The rim of another brass basin the lower part corroded away from it. 26. A conical brass vessel not an inch deep, with broad rim which contained a hard mass of powdered charcoal mixed with some other ingredients. Ix Gop. 27. A broad gold ring ornamented with three rows of bosses. In an adjoining cairn I found some urns, figures of animals, one en- closed in the folds of a snake, some human figures in a similar predi- cament, and one whose waist was encircled by the arm of a wild beast; besides these were a few of the same Amazonian figures found in the other cairn, one with a high conical cap as well as an iron knife ; and an instrument of the same metal, to which I have seen no prototype, resembling two spoons fastened together on their concave sides, CHAPTER 3p. In the course ofa conversation I recently had witha Thautawar of considerable intelligence, I gathered that his people fully believed the cairns were constructed by their forefathers ; indeed a gentleman who has resided upwards of ten years on the Hills stated to me the Thaw- tawars claim all the cairns as the graves of their ancient, chieftains ; and in the course of my peregrinations over the Neilgherries when- ee . Madras Jour: Lit ¥ Science Val XIV. PL. 3. Contents of the Cairns — Brass Vessels fe veal size. Pe Spear § arrow heads js to /4 TEAL SUL, — oi ? | piel : : 7 | Puinted Gunelian’bead 73 real sine. Dump UY, Lith’. se fe fae. ¥ td at je siti a a Sedbas au ond Se de ee i. esi a at ase} 4-5 at : ae Pe) that ae oe phy sie ; Ea ' + eetieot, . im apdacte Sree ena | a ee ON Leas on a! on ‘ pone a siihel - inn rae fer Shin! Weds ‘ ae + boobed were et rave i . Np ate -aitinie Aes 6 1847. |] , Neilgherry Hills, &c. 91 ever I have asked one of the race what the cairns were, I have been invariably informed in reply they were the cemeteries of their an- cesters. ‘The Thautawar above alluded to also acquainted me that his people held the cairns in great veneration, though they never ap- proach them, because none but the direct descendant of a Thautawar buried ina cairn, ought to approach it, and they could not now ascertain which were the proper tombs of their direct ancestors. He said also that a race called the Punja Pandaver were originally here, and the Thautawars came after them, and from the North-West, that his peo- ple had been here from very early times, and had no connection with the Hindus whatever. There is a tradition amongst these people to the effect that the first God was called Oonu who came out of the earth like mist, which seems to refer to the Deluge and to Noah or Nu as he is called in’ Eastern countries. Had this statement about the Punja Pandava emanated from a Hin- doo I should have considered it nothing more than a version of the story of the five Pandoos prevalent throughout India, but coming as it does from a Thautawar I am disposed to look for some other meaning in it, and dismissing the word Punja as an innovation probably from the Hindoos on the Hills, regard it as a tradition that the Neilgherries were once under the Pandyans of the South of India whose empire at one time was very extensive. Iam confirmed in this opinion by the fact that Pandava was the name of the kingdom of the Pandyans, and by what I have elicited from the Burghers, many of whom state that “a race called the Pandaver” (without the prefix Punja) was once set- tled here. From the costumes on statues and monumental effigies we are en- abled to form very accurate conceptions of the habiliments and orna- ments of a former people; and this method of perpetuating a custom contributes greatly to enable a posterity to identify the tombs of its forefathers, Some female figures in pottery disinterred by me from a cairn on a peak of the Khoondas have considerably aided towards establishing the fact of the cairns having belonged to the ancient Thautawars. In their houses the Thautawar women wear no covering save what nature has bestowed, unless occasionally a strip of cloth wound round the middle; they however leave their ornaments on, consisting of large earrings, a necklace with an ornament depending from it in front, large bangles on the arms between the shoulder and the elbow, and a chain 92 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, round the waist. ‘The effigies found in the cairns are decorated in a remarkably similar manner being destitute of covering in every other respect ; with one exception, and this figure has a cloth wound round the middle of her person. The countenances of these images exhibit the Hebrew physiognomy conspicuous in some of the Thautawar fa- milies. Notwithstanding such strong testimony, to the cairns having been constructed by the early Thautawar people, exists, coupled with what I have just adduced, I will have the candour to say it is yet possible these edifices may be the work of a Pandyan people once the inhabitants of these hills. The urns found in the cairns seem to be of Jain or Buddh fashion, while the animals in pottery resemble those sculptured on the ancient monolithe temples at Mahabaliporam on the Coromandel coast. A tradition of a Pandyan race I found amongst the Polygars of the mountain districts of Papanassum in Tinnevelly ; and was told several forts of former Pandyan kings were seated up the mountain : these may have been cairns frequently called forts by the Natives owing to their shape. It is satisfactorily established that the Pandyan kings had their empire in the South of India ; and one of the ancient geographers speaks of them. The Romans traded largely with the Pandyan peo- ple, and there is every reason to believe Killikerry on the Gulf of Manaar was the chief mart of the pearl trade. At this point probably the Roman coins distributed over the site of the ancient Pandyan empire found their way into India. One of these coins was dug out of a cairn on the Neilgherries some years back. Many Jain temples are simply open areas surrounded by a wall and called Betta meaning a hill. The cairns are of this construction and seated on the summit of a hill or peak of a mountain. The urns under the large slabs in the centre of the cairn may have contained the ashes of the males of a Pandyan family whose domestic implements were buried with them ; while the urns buried round the interior with less care may have held the remains of the wives perhaps destroyed at a Suttee: the numerous female figures in pottery in the cairns being their effigies. ‘The conjecture derives some force from the family likeness found to prevail among the figures of the respective cairns. I leave the two theories, both my own, at the bar of public opinion until more facts and further research settle the question. - The adoption of the theory of the cairns haying belonged to the } f= | lol 41V, Fa Serene’. Lae Madvas Jour: Si SE’, oe an elttc 4tncwent ( al History of E Jul, Soa Mi gland and Arche cu LUOPLE’. ' / with 7) Ly 4 ve le thosé uv F nd) ~ i ~\ \ a ; Tar \ SQ : \\\WN ae: Ss | 5 Nes KE ~ SS S Thaataw VL 7 GL Syulchral Stores sted from 7 —S ar VON E COWL H. 1847] Neileherry Hills, &¢. 93 Pandyans would not shake the stability of my opinion respecting the descent of the Thautawars from the ancient Scythians: contact with the races about them having modified their customs, ideas and lan- guage. The cairns and their contents are not the only interesting vestiges of antiquity dispersed over the eminences of the Neilgherries. Be- sides these cemeteries and the double and single rings of stones pre- viously spoken of,-the antiquary may occasionally meet with those ancient temples of Scythicism, found both in Europe and Asia. Of these, one is of a nature so interesting that I have resolved to add a drawing of it to my sketches of the antiquities of the Neilgherries. The temple is an open area environed by a circular wall of unce- mented stones ; in the eastern side of the wallis the entrance. A huge altar of an oblong form, 30 feet inlength, and 11 feet broad, rises to a height of 9 feet from the centre of the area. This temple is precisely what we might look for amongst the ancient Celtic-remains in Cornwall and Wales. It stands on the south side of a gently slop- ing lawn, whose crest is occupied by a Thautawar village and cattle enclosure. A semicircular wall of great antiquity connects the sacred building with the village, and is continued beyond it for some distance to the opposite declivity of the lawn, where it terminates at a Thau- tawar dairy, the aspect and plan whereof is a perfect fac-simile of a house of the ancient Britons (Celtic Scythians); indeed a drawing of one is an accurate representation of the other. In my possession is a sketch of one of those ancient British houses described in the Ar- cheologia, and without the least exaggeration I might say this draw- ing would spare me the necessity of sketching the Thautawar dairy. Both structures are circular, and surmounted with a high conical thatch- ed roof; admission to the interior being obtained through a narrow low hole, scarcely deserving the name of a door, in the body of the building. A-low circular wall encloses the yard wherein the building stands. A Thautawar denied me admission, stating the building was holy and only accessible to the men of his race. When I asked this man what was the use of the enclosed area and altar on the right of the lawn, he replied it was ‘* Deevra” (sacred,) in'other words a church or tem- ple. The word Deevra is clearly of the same derivation as the Deoo of the Zend ; Deev of the Persian ; Deva or Deveta:of;the Sanscrit ; Dewara of the Canarese; Deus or Divus of the Latin ; Diez of the French ; and Divine of the English ; one of those universal expressions 94 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, probably as ancient as certain ceremonies, customs, and superstitions common to all religions, having their origin in that part of Scythia where Noah settled after the deluge. The perfect coincidence subsisting between the Thautawar dairy — and the ancient Celtic Scythian houses, contributes to strengthen my conjecture respecting the affinity of the ancient Scythians with these mountaineers; and I might again emphaticise the striking resem- blance of the temples of these hills, with those of the Druids in our own country. Ata distance of two hundred yards to the north of the dairy, I dis- covered, overgrown by jungle, two cairns on the slope of the seven- cairns-hill, forming a link in the chain connecting the seven cairns on the summit of the eminence, with the open temple on the lawn. Concealed under a thick shroud of brambles and underwood, these cairns had escaped the observation of those antiquaries who had ran- sacked the cairns on the summit ; and they consequently yielded a va- luable addition to my collection, comprehending female warriors on horseback, in pottery, urn covers of the same material ornamented with human figures, and curious animals; a stone pestle, a chased brass vessel, and other relics similar to those previously described. At a subsequent period I opened a smaller cairn in the neighbour- hood, which however contained nothing more than an iron arrow- head, and some fragments of pottery embedded under a slab in the centre. From the middle of many of the cairns, rise trees of prodigious growth, planted by the founders of the sepulchres with a view to protect them in after ages from spoliation. The axe of the ‘ cairn- hunter” has defeated this precaution, and laid prostrate many of these giant protectors; nevertheless, in some instances, from their enor- mous growth, the trees have realized all the wishes of their planters, and still continue to wave their branches over the undisturbed urns beneath. The custom of planting trees over graves is of the highest anti- quity, and was observed by the Celtic Scythians in Britain; the yew still standing in many of the Church-yards being the tree usually chosen for the purpose. About two miles from my house in Ootacamund, lies a cairn from the area of which grows a tree of enormous bulk, measuring nine yards in circumference. Myself and three lascars, with our out- 1847.] Neilgherry Hills, &c. 95 stretched arms joined, could not “ put a girdle round about” this tree: the largest [recollect having seen. If testimony were want- ing to the antiquity of the cairn, the girth of this tree would amply furnish it ; its roots have entwined themselves amongst the stones of | the cemetery, and spread over the entire area. Some enterprising ‘¢ cairn-hunter” has endeavoured to reach the contents of this cairn by. cutting through the roots, on purpose to reach the grave-stone, but his efforts have been foiled ; for after reaching the slab, he found that a root of the tree, having insinuated itself beneath the stone, had wholly occupied the place of the grave. The stone may now be seen suspended in the body ‘of the tree a foot or two below the natural surface of the cemetery. Near this cairn I discovered a barrow consisting of a circular mound of earth encompassed by a trench. In shape and size it is precisely similar to some of those of the ancient Britons (Celtic Scy- thians) which, during my late residence in England, I saw on the cliffs of the Isle of Wight and on Salisbury Plain. Anxious to investigate the contents of this ¢zmelus, I ran a trench along its entire length from North to South, and another at right angles; but was disappointed to find nothing. On some of the lawns and terraces of the hills may be seen old walls of piled uncemented stones; leading, from their frequency and association with the rest of the antiquities, to the conjecture that the early Thautawars were much more numerous in former times than at the present day. Between Ootacamund and Chinna Coonoor lies a ridge covered with architectural remains. At the northern extremity of it is a cir- cular hollow from the area whereof rise several stones once encir- cling an altar. The altar a monolithe of vast dimensions has been removed by violence from its pedestal at the foot of which it now lies. Great labour must have been employed in transporting this stone to its original position. Altogether the place reminds the an- tiquary of Bryn-Gwynn in Anglesea, which is a circular hollow sur- rounded by an immense agger of stones and earth, the case here. Bryn-Gwynn has only a single entrance, likewise the case in the pre- sent instance. The Welsh antiquity is supposed to have been the grand consistory of the Druidical administration. I lately said that bells were frequently found in digging open the cairns ; indeed I discovered two in a cairn near Coonoor ; with re- ference to this fact, and in further proof of the cairns having belonged 96 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, to the ancestors of the Thautawars, I quote the subjoined passage from Harkness’ *‘ Description of a Singular Aboriginal Race inhabit- ing the summits of the Neilgherry Hills” (2. e. the Thautawars). ** A bell, which is generally deposited in some niche within the ‘‘ temple, is the only object to which they pay any reverence. To ** this they pour out libations of milk, but merely as to a sacred im- ‘* plement. ‘They do not sacrifice or offer incense, or make any ‘‘ oblations to it significant of its having in their estimation any “* latent or mystic properties. “To each Teriri is attached a herd of milch buffaloes, part of * which are sacred and from which the milk is never drawn, the *‘ whole being allowed to go to the calves. One among these sa- cred animals is the chief. Should it die, its calf, if a female one, succeeds to its office. Should it have no female calf, the bell before ** mentioned is attached to the neck of one of the other sacred ones, ** and being allowed to remain so during that day, a legal succession ‘is considered to be effected. 6¢ 66 ** In the morning the Pol-aul milks one portion of the herd, carries “the milk into the temple, laves the bell with a small portion of it, “and of such of it as he or his attendant may not require he makes “* butter and ghee.” The method of obeisance practised by the Thautawars when ad- dressing a superior, is precisely similar to that observed by the early inhabitants of Britain, as preserved in a set of figures on the Bayeaux tapestry. In both cases the inferior, his body bent forward, has his expanded hand placed to his forehead, the thumb resting upon it. A Thautawar woman when she meets her father or brother, after some period of absence, kneels in front of him, and puts her head under his foot. The women of the Scythians wore a gold ornament in the shape of the human foot on the head indicative of their submission to the other sex. CHAPTER 4TH. I now proceed to give an account of some antiquities I have lately examined at a place called Fair-Lawn, situated three miles from Oo- tacamund on the road to the Avalanche bungalow. Fair-Lawn is an open spot in the second wood reached after quitting the Cantonment, and commands the western aspect of the ‘One Cairn Hill.” ‘The an- tiquities are found to the right and left of the road, on the top of a 1847.] Neilgherry Hills, Se. 97 hill along the side of which it is carried, and in the valley at the base. : Ascending the hill at the point where the wood commences, I shortly found myself amidst mounds and excavations. A sedulous examination and careful study of them soon convinced me that Istood on the site of an ancient fortified position. My attention was first arrested by a nearly circular mound, seated on the crest of a pro- montory of the hill; the slope descending from this point towards the east is embraced by two long lines of parapet, concentric with the circular fort at the top, one being above the other. While the rampart of the fort has been built of earth, these lines have been obviously formed by excavation, terrepleins being cut in the side of the hill, so as to leave breast-works projecting out of it. This kind of fortress is the most ancient we have any knowledge of : Old-Sarum near Stonehenge is the best instance of the kind I have seen. This place presents the appearance of several circular grass grown mounds, one within and higher than the other, the centremost and highest having been the citadel. The spaces between the circular ramparts are supposed to have been occupied by separate districts of the city. Old-Sarum was the ancient Sorbiodunum, a place of great note in the time of our early Saxon kings, and a capital of the Ancient-Britons (Celtic Scythians) before the Roman invasion. The ruined fortress at Fair-Lawn suggests a comparison with Cer Leb in Anglesea, a moated intrenchment supposed to have been the residence of the Arch-Druid and which was of a square form with a double rampartyand broad ditch intervening, and a lesser one on the outside, having within foundations of circular and square buildings. Two hundred and fifty yards beyond the mounds at Fair-Lawn above described, at a point where the hill turns to the North-west, I reached more ruins of a similar description, somewhat less clearly defined. Beneath this point lies the south margin of the wood, through it a footpath conducts to the lawn which gently descends upon a stream meandering through ravines and hanging woods. On the North side of the clearing, an ancient circular wall of unce- mented stones encloses a space occupied by single and double rings of stones and heaps. Below this place again may be seen another old wall of a circular form, overgrown with jungle, the space within be- ang full of trees. Facing the latter and on the opposite side of the stream, I observed a mass of rock projecting out of the side of * Cne 4 3 N 98 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, Cairn Hill.” The position of this stone, the existence of a circle of stones environing its base, traced with difficulty amongst the ferns and high grasses, as well as the presence of several slabs resting against the rock, induced me to believe that the latter had once been consecrated and made to subserve the purpose of an altar or sacred mound. As I stood upon it, I took notice that upon the bank of the stream underneath lay, sequestered by high banks and depending trees, a mass of stones evidently put together by the hand of man. Curious to examine the heap, I descended, and discovered indica- tions of ancient buildings having once been there. Thus encouraged I extended my researches, and found similar mounds at the base of the lawn as far as where the stream takes a new direction to the East. I now returned and traced the ruins through the wood. At the North end of it I emerged upon a flat lying between the stream and the fortified hill. At this place the an- tiquities assumed a more important character, presenting long rows of ruined walls forming streets, and square foundations of buildings. Some of the streets opened upon the stream, others lay parallel to it. Many of the heaps and mounds were higher than the rest, all being covered with loose stones and vegetable soil : the latter manifesting their extreme age. Apprehensive that “‘ the wish might prove fa- ther to the thought,” and these mounds turn out to be diluvial or fluviatine deposits, I resolved to. ascertain by the strictest scrutiny whether my first conjecture was correct ; and accordingly opened two of the mounds, one at the end and forming part of a street, and the second detached. The bases of both proved to be foundations of regularly built walls, the superstructure having fallen down in heaps. The extent of these ruins from North-east to South-west is hardly less than half a mile; in breadth they are inconsiderable, owing to the narrowness of the valley. The position of the forts imports that they were erected to protect the town and the sacred places adjoining. This place is seated nearly inthe centre of the Neilgherries. No ruins of the same extent have been discovered here. From these and other considerations I conclude, that at a very remote period, upon this spot stood the capital of the ancient Thautawar people. The ques- tion now arises, were the Pandaver, or the Thautawars the first here ? My Thautawar informant, alluded to in a former chapter, distinct- ly stated the Pandaver were first here, an assertion lending’ counte- nance to my surmise of a colony of ancient Scythians haying invaded 1847. ] Neigherry Hills, &c. 99 India, at a period subsequent to its population by the Hindoo race, and established themselves on the Neilgherries, where their descendants are known as Thautawars ; in the same manner as the Massagetan Scythians settled in the mountains in the North of India, where, ac- cording to Sir William Jones, their posterity still continues. On the other hand, is the general belief of the Thautawars being the aborigines of the hills. Were this theory established I should be disposed to regard them as the aborigines of the plains as well, a view that would account not only for the existence of the antiquities of Scythicism or Druidism, I have observed in the plains of India, but . likewise for their presence on the hills. Scythicism I believe was the religion prevailing among the aborigines of India prior to the Hindoo invasion from Upper Egypt, which aborigines were of Scythian origin. There was but one point wanting to confirm the identity of the Thautawar and Scythian religions, and that has been furnished by the Rev. Mr. Muzzy, whose personal observation of the religion of the Thautawars entitles his opinion to the utmost respect. This gentleman testifies to the existence of Sabeism amongst the Thau- tawars. He states in his account of the Neilgherry tribes, publish- ed in the Madras Christian Observer, that the Thautawars salute the sun and a burning lamp when first seen. This superstition belonged to the Scythians. Herodotus informs us that of the Scythian Divinities, Vesta the goddess of fire was without competition the first. He also enumerates 4pollo (the sun.) The sun is said to have been one of the great gods of the Asiatics under the name of _Mithra. We have already seen from Diodorus of Sicily that the ancient Britons (Celtic Scythians) worshipped that luminary under the name of Apollo, and it is supposed by some that the Cromlechs found in Western Europe, which belonged to the Celts, were altars upon which the sacred fire was constantly kept burning. Herodotus also mentions in Clio that the Massagete sacrificed horses to the sun, their only deity, thinking it right to offer the swiftest of mortal animals to the swiftest of immortal beings. Let me now compare the sacrifices of the Thautawars to their deity, with those of the ancient Druids, (Celtic Scythians). My authority for the ceremonies practised at the former is Mr. Muzzy, who says: ““On some occasions the victim isa calf, in the selection of which great pains are taken. It must be of a certain age and free from all blemishes ; numbers are often rejected before a proper one is found. 100 The Antiquitres of the [No. 32, When the victim has been selected, it is brought to a thick and dark forest where a pile of wood and brush is erected. The officiator, hav- ing received a piece of money from the offerer, approaches, having in one hand a bunch of the leaves of the sacred tree, and in the other a short thick club. After waving the leaves many times around the victim and making many salutations to the East, he strikes it with the club on the back part of its head, which generally proves fatal in the first instance. Immediately whilst the limbs are yet quivering, all present throw up their hands and eyes to heaven, and exclaim, may it be an offering from—naming first one and then another of their several places.” ‘** The waving of leaves then continues.” The subjoined account of one of the Druidical sacrifices is extracted from the article Druids in the Encyclopedia Britannica. “« They prepared every thing ready for the sacrifice under the oak, to which they fastened two white bulls by the horns; then the Arch- Druid, attended by a prodigious number of people, ascended the tree, dressed in white; and with a consecrated golden knife or pruning hook cropped the misletoe which he received in his fagum or robe, amidst the rapturous exclamations of the people. Having secured this sacred plant, he descended the tree, the bulls were sacrificed, and the deity invoked to bless his own gift.” Since writing my account of the antiquities at Fair-Lawn I perus- ed the article ‘* Druids” in the same book, and found the account of the sacred enclosures of the Druids so singularly corroborative of my views, that I make no apology for inserting it. ‘¢ The consecrated groves in which they performed their religious rites were fenced round with stones, to prevent any persons entering between the trees except through the passages left open for that pur- pose, and which were guarded by some inferior Druids to prevent any stranger from intruding into their mysteries. These groves were of different forms ; some quite circular, others oblong, and more or less capacious, as the votaries in the districts to which they belonged were more or less numerous. The area in the centre of the grove was encompassed with several rows of large oaks set very closely to- gether. Within this large circle were several smaller ones’ sur- rounded with large stones ; and near the centre of these smaller cir- cles were stones of a prodigious size and convenient height, on which the victims were slain and offered. Each of these being a kind ‘of altar, was surrounded with another row of stones, the use of which 1847. | Nedgherry Hills, &c. 101 cannot now be known unless they were intended as cinctures to keep the people at a convenient distance from the officiating priest.” _* Here I request the reader to compare the italicized passages in my account of the antiquities of Fair-Lawn with the foregoing extract. A few more words remain to be said here regarding the cairns, sufficiently important however to entitle my views about them to fur- ther consideration. | The cairns on the Neilgherries, it has been seen, contain an urn or urns holding burnt bones and charcoal, brass vessels, knives, and spear heads, carefully buried under a large stone in the centre, with numerous other urns dispersed under the surface. Compare this with the following extract from the article ‘ Cairn” in the Encyclo- pedia Britannica. ‘Such might have been the reasons in some instances, where ‘“* the evidences of stone chests and urns are wanting: but these ** are so generally found that they seem to determine the most usual ““ purpose of the cairns in question to have been for sepulchral mo- ** numents.” “The stone chests, the repository of the urns and ashes, are “¢ lodged in the earth beneath: sometimes only one, sometimes more ‘are thus deposited; and Mr. Pennant mentions an instance of 17 “‘ being discovered under the same pile.” The founders of the cairns in Great Britain were Celtic Scythians, and I am endeavouring to show that the Thautawars belonged to the same family. I recently opened a small cairn and found in it an urn just capa- cious enough to hold the partly burnt crantwm of a human being ; within this skull was another vessel full of mould. The skull and knee bones of a deceased Thautawar having been kept for some months subsequent to the cremation of the body, are burnt and buried. A kind of cairn has recently fallen under my observation, that I have not before seen. Instead of the circular mound of stones with a well in the centre, a circular space is enclosed by slabs several feet high, set on end touching each other. Dr. ‘Thomas Browne in his Hydriotaphia or Urnburial states the practice was in use amongst the Celts, Sarmatians, Germans, Gauls, Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians. It is worthy of observation that the contents of some urns dug up | in London coatained many things in common with those found on 102 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, the Neilgherries, viz. Bottles of liquid (a small brass bottle full of some liquid was recently found in a cairn near Kotagherry) nippers or tweezers to pull away hair, spoons, knives, nails, &c., and “ nuts of crystal” (I found in an urn two beads or nuts of cornelian.) Pomponius writes the Druids and ruling priests used to burn and bury. Sir Thomas Browne affords another striking proof to my theory. ‘“¢ Nor were they (the Scandinavians) confused or careless in dis- posing the noblest sort, while they placed large stones in circle about the urns they interred.” CHAPTER OTH. Without noticing the cairns, the remains of Seyipigion found in these hills, consist of, 1. Single and double circles of stones enclosing an open area. 2. The same enclosing smaller rings. 3. Open temples consisting of a high wall of stones enclosing a large altar. 4. Monolithe altars and single stones encircled with rings of stones and having slabs resting against their bases. 5. Large spaces, enclosed by a wall, full of trees. 6. Circular walls of considerable extent enclosing double and sin- gle rings of stones. 7. Barrows. 8. Sacred groves. And my reasons for believing them to have belonged to the early Thautawars are, Ist. The claim of these people to them. 2nd. They are nearly in every instance seated near to and con- nected with a Thautawar village. ord. The religion of the Thautawars is Scythicism and these are- monuments of Scythicism. 4th. They differ wholly from any Hindoo religious edifices, and there is no reason to believe any people but the Pandaver (Hindoos) and the Thautawars were ever settled on these hills. oth. The absence of inscriptions or coins, with reference to the fact that the Thautawars have no written language, and were unac- quainted with the use of money, while the Hindoos had both. Arrived at this point I think it proper to recapitulate my ‘grounds for concluding the Thautawar religion to be Scythicism. 1847.} Neilgherry Hills, §c. 103 Ist. The worship of the deity in groves of the profoundest - gloom. - 2nd. The use of sacred trees and hallowed bunches of leaves, on the part of the Thautawars, compared with the sacred oaks and bunches of misletoe among the Druids. 3rd. Sacrifices of female children, now happily De 4th. The sacrifice of bulls and calves. Sth. The affected inspiration of the priests and their mode of life. 6th. The adoration of the sun. 7th, Their reverence for fire. 8th. The funeral rites and sacrifice of buffaloes compared with the sacrifice of horses amongst the Scythians on similar occasions. Oth. Their notion of a future state. I shall conclude this Chapter with a brief recapitulation of my reasons for considering the Thautawars of Scythian descent. Ist. The identity in the religions of the respective people, viz. Thautawars and Scythians. 2nd. The physiological position of the Thautawars in the great family.of the human race, is the same as that of the Scythians. 3rd. The pastoral mode of life of the Thautawars, and their mi- grations from place to place driving before them herds of the buffa- loe ; as the Scythians, under similar circumstances, did their horses. Ath. The food of the Thautawars, which consisted originally of milk and butter, was that of the Scythians. 5th. Their architecture, religious, military and domestic ; is the same, the yards of the houses of the Thautawars, their temples, their sacred enclosures, their kraals for cattle, are circular as were those of the Celts and indeed of most ancient. people whose divinity was Sun, Light, Fire, Apollo, Mithra, &c. &c., or the same power under any other appellation. 6th. Their marriage customs and funeral rites are nearly identical. 7th. Their ornaments and dress closely approximate. 8th. Their customs are generally similar. 9th. The authority of Sir William Jones, that the ancient Scy- thians did people a mountainous district of India. 10th. History mentions that India has been invaded by. Scythian hordes from the remotest times. llth. Their utter separation in every respect from the races | around them. 104 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, CHAPTER 6TH. In many places on the Neilgherries I have observed single up- right stones, of the form usually found in the Church-yards of EKu- rope, marking burial places and used for the same purpose here. Upright stones of large dimensions from 5 to 10 feet high, some shaped to a point at their summit, others flat, are occasionally found on the Neilgherries on the summits of hills perhaps once consecrat- ed. These single stones are of common occurrence in England and by antiquaries are pronounced to be Druidical relics. The one I have the best recollection of, called the Longstone by the country people, is situated near the village of Mottestone in the Isle of Wight. The name of the village is derived from the stone. The word ‘‘ Mot” is Saxon, and the same with ‘‘ Gemot,” signifying “a meeting together.” The stone was probably the sacred mount or rostrum from which the priests addressed the people, or was one of the mystic stones of their religion. Were other evidence wanting the numerous ruined Todawar vil- lages on the Neilgherries sufficiently attest, that the ancestors of this race were a great people. And Lieut. Ouchterlony of the En- gineers has recently discovered traces of a large road conducting from the Neilgherries to the Coimbatoor country along the valley of the Bowany. I have already said that numerous figures in pottery of the buffa- loe always occur in opening the cairns and the buffaloe is an object of superstition amongst the Thautawars. Gildas an English monk who flourished about the year 511 and whose account of the religi- ous usages of our Celtic ancestors is, I believe, the only one handed down to us by acountryman, for I purposely omit the meagre ac- counts afforded by foreign authors. Cesar, Tacitus, &c., says, the idols of the ancient Britons had the countenances of bulls ; whence Hearne derives many of the names of the towns in the neighbour- hood of Stonehenge such as Bullansdown that is, the down of the bull’s temple ; Bulford, &c. It is a curious fact that numerous cows horns and heads have been dug up in the neighbourhood of Stonehenge, our most celebrated Druidical temple. Half way between the Avalanche and Ootacamund lies a round low hill uncommanded by any other eminence, having remarkable excavations around its base. Some who have seen this place have 1847.] Neilgherry Hills, &c. 105 regarded it as the remains of an entrenched camp, ‘a view in which I entirely concur and am disposed to compare it with the British (Celto Scythic) encampments or stations near Dorchester, which are placed on insulated hills and surrounded by circular or square earthworks. | It will be recollected I have described barrows amongst the re- mains of Scythicism found on the Neilgherries, they contain urns and other antiques similar to those discovered in the cairns. In England barrows are generally found in the neighbourhood of stone circles such as those I have here discovered, and near other Druidical remains. The following account of the opening of a barrow on Deverel Down in Dorsetshire is so corroborative of all I have advanced that I make no apology for inserting it. “On beginning to open this barrow, it was found to consist en- “ tirely of a heterogenous mass of flints, charcoal, and broken ‘ pottery, and it was probably reduced to this confused state by * previous explorers, who removed all the ornaments, and other ** articles of value, and destroyed a portion of the rude clay-urns, ‘* and such articles as were considered worthless. Thus, it is proba- ‘““ ble that the rich store of ancient vases, which were found entire, ‘‘ was only a small part of the original number contained in this ‘“‘ barrow; the larger part of whose contents had been reduced to a ‘¢ disorderly mass of shapeless fragments, by the rough usage of “those who only opened the tumulus in the hopes of finding ** treasure.” ** On examining more minutely, however, a compact bed or pave- ““ment of flints, firmly wedged together, was found, constituting as «it were, a floor to the barrow. ‘The central part of the mound was *‘ therefore dug away, down to this floor, which was on the natural ‘ surface of the earth. When the central part had thus been remov- ‘ed, a singular spectacle appeared. On the level compact floor, ** just described, were arranged twenty large stones, of various irre- *‘ gular shapes and sizes. ‘They were placed in a semicircular form, “and the two extreme stones were much larger than the others. ‘“‘'There were also three other smaller stones, not forming part of *“‘ the general crescent, but placed by themselves. On removing “ some of the smaller stones, and on digging down to a lower level, “it was found that immediately beneath each stone was a rude O -~ 106 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, 4 ‘“‘ earthen vase, placed in a cist, or case, cut in the solid chalk, and *“ covered by the stone. In this manner each stone of the great ‘“ crescent covered a vase, except the two large end stones, which *‘ are therefore concluded to be altars. They are each about four ‘“‘ feet long, and of a conical shape, but one is placed upright, like a ‘* sugar-loaf, and the other is laid flat.” ‘¢ The vases, or urns, contained each the ashes of a human being, ‘‘ mixed with charcoal, which also constituted a great part of the ‘* substance of the barrow, and was probably the result of the funeral *‘ piles. The urns thus buried under the stones of the great cres- ‘cent were not eighteen in number, but only sixteen; because at “* two different places it was found that two adjoining stones did not. ** cover two urns, but that they concealed a third stone, beneath “which was an urn. All the other stones, however, had each a ‘“‘ separate vase. One of the three stones, separate from the crescent, “‘ as described above, also concealed an urn: the other two had ‘“‘none; but near one of them were found two rude cups; one con- “ taining a very rich earth, the other the bones of a bird. ‘“¢' There were also four urns found buried in the floor of flints, * but not covered by stones. Three of them fell to pieces, but the ‘‘ remaining one was the largest of the whole assemblage, and differ- ‘“‘ ed from all the others in being placed with its mouth downwards. “This made a total of twenty-one urns, of which seventeen have ‘‘ been preserved, principally entire, but a few in large fragments.” CHAPTER 7TH. Hitherto I have paid little attention to the language of the Thauta- wars. Mr. Muzzy thinks a connection would be found between it and some Western language, a comparison with the Gothic, Celtic and other ancient languages of Europe is a great desideraium ; but should no affinity be found to prevail, I should not consider the absence detrimental to my views, for this reason, that people of Celto Scythic origin, having various languages have been widely dis- persed. The Parthians and Britons for instance. CHapTerR 8TH. I have recently lighted on the following passage in a paper on the Druidical remains in England by Mr. Woodham. “‘ Structures of this kind are in India known by the appellation “ of ‘Pandoo-koolies ;’ we find like erections also in many other parts 1847.) Neilgherry Hilis, &c. 107 “ of the globe, and to doubt for a moment of their having had the ‘same origin would be absurd, as they all bear the same striking ** characteristics, whether they be in India, on the shores of the ** Mediterranean, in France, Denmark, in Sweden or Norway, or on ** the coast, or in the interior of our island.” ‘‘ Pandoo-koolies,” says Mr. Hough in his letters on the Neil- gherries, is the term applied by the Natives to the cairns on the Ma- labar side of the mountains. When comparing the barrows of the Neilgherries with those in Dorsetshire, I omitted to mention that in one of those ancient Celtic cemeteries was found a young bullock’s head enclosed in a patera of earthenware. It is very remarkable that in resemblance between the urns found in the English barrows and the urns of the Neilgher- ries extends even to the material; in some of the Dorsetshire barrows the urns were made of a highly finished and glazed red pot- tery. Many of the Neilgherry urns have been admired for this rich red glazing, particularly one discovered by Mr. Moegling. ‘The zigzag or harrow-headed-moulding moreover which is the usual or- nament of the Celtic-urns is conspicuous on all found on the Neilgher- ries. CHAPTER 9TH. As the object of my investigations is the truth, and I am not obstinately espoused to any one of my theories to the exclusion of the probabilities of another, I shall now recur to what I have pre- viously advanced respecting the possibility of the ancient cairns having belonged to a people whose religion was Buddhism or that branch of it adopted by the Jains. Even were this established, it would not detract from the force of my arguments respecting the descent of the Thautawars from a Celto Scythic ancestry, who burnt their dead and enclosed the ashes in holes or urns buried under cairns; because the Thautawars of the present day preserve the practice. In favor of the cairns being the cemeteries of Buddhists are the following reasons additional to the ones previously adducefl. 1. There is a tradition to the effect that the Pandavers once in- habited the Neilgherries. By this term perhaps may be understood the Pandyan kings of Southern India, though literally translated, it means the ancient gods, but as Ionism or the apotheosis of mortals has prevailed in India as elsewhere, we may render it the ancient rulers. 108 The Antiquitres of the [No. 32, These Pandavers were probably Buddhists or Jains. Mr. Woodham, speaking of the Pandoo-koolies, states, that a being called Pandoo ‘and his children are supposed to have been the au- thors of those edifices. The literal‘ signification of the term Pandy- kooly appears to be, an ancient grave. The word Pandi is used by the Hindoos to express any thing ancient, thus Pandi-rajah means ancient king, Pandi-kooly ancient grave and so forth. 9. The fashion of the ornamented urns found in the ancient cairns on the Neilgherries approximates to the style used in the religious edifices of the Buddhists. 3. Numerous figures of horsemen armed with swords and shields are constantly dug up from the cairns, occasionally two human figures bestriding one horse, and a human figure seated with his legs crossed beneath him, are likewise found. It will be recollected that similar figures are common in the architecture and paintings of the Buddhists. 4, The representation of a chuttar or umbrella in pottery occurs in the cairns as a handle to the urns, and it is a very frequent sub- ject in the Buddhist paintings. 5. Figures riding on elephants are found in the cairns. 6. Animals of the most grotesque and monstrous forms, with obscene images of human beings, are common to the Buddhist temples and to the Neilgherry cairns. The nakedness and colossal stature of many of the human images compared with their horses and other animals, found in the cairns, suggests the recollection of the Gomuta of the Jains, or Gotama. Reviewing these and the former arguments, barren when compared with those which support my view of the ancient cairns having be- longed to the early Thautawars, I am fain to embrace the latter theory, and ascribe the ancient and modern cairns to the same people. But it may now be necessary to account for the difference prevailing between the highly ornamented urns in the former and the iain rude vessels in the latter. Time, the exterminating irruptions of the Polygars amongst the Thautawars, the migratory habits of this people, and their reduced condition from a great race to an insignifi- cant remnant, have contributed to banish from amongst them all recollections of the arts of their forefathers. The fashion leaning to the Buddhist style of art maintained in the urns and their lids, may have been acquired by the Thautawar constructors of the “ early” 1847. ] Neidlgherry Hills, Sc. 109 cairns from the Buddhists about them. In the ‘ earliest”’ cemeteries of this kind probably of an antiquity far beyond the Christian era, the urns are of the most pristine character: the Buddhist fashion not being yet apparent. In such cairns nearly all traces of metal imple- ments have disappeared; gold in shape of rings occasionally being found and that yery seldom; the walls of these cairns are nearly crumbled down to the adjoining level. It is in the next or “ early” cairns for I class these edifices into three periods of construction ex- pressed by “ earliest,” “ early,” and ‘recent,’ that the Buddhist fashion is seen upon the ornaments, which are accompanied by iron implements warlike and domestic. The third or “ recent’ period of construction is typical of the retrogression of the Thautawars to the uncivilized and unimitative habits of their forefathers through the operation of the causes just assigned. In all these periods the effigy of the cow or buffaloe in pottery is found. Amidst the images oc- curring in the cairns of the second period are many, nevertheless, which bear considerable resemblance to the Thautawar people. I have already described some effigies of females from the cairns of Pycara singularly corresponding with the costume of the female Thautawar, and Mr. Moegling dug up at Kotagherry a figure in pot- tery, the first view of which induced me to exclaim it was the exact representation of a Thautawar carrying an axe upon his shoulder. A short time back I dug up a figure in pottery whose lineaments are of the Thautawar race and which is armed with a club, the wea- pon of the modern Thautawar. The prevalence of the Buddhist character in the urns of the mid- dle or ‘‘early” period assists us in determining the advent of the Pandaver to the Neilgherries as subsequent to that of the Thauta- wars: inasmuch as I apprehend the latter borrowed the decorative style of Buddhist art from them. The Thautawars have a tradition to the effect of their once having been under the domination, and ex- posed to the tyranny of a foreign prince, from which it would seem that the Pandavers established themselves in the ancient lands of these aborigines by right of conquest. : The Buddhist fashion obtaining in the urns is not the only point of resemblance subsisting between the Thautawar customs and those belonging to a Buddhist people. Several others occur which, to my surprise have been overlooked by those authors who addressed themselves to describe the religion and usages of the Thautawars. 1. The custom of Polyandria, or one female associating with all 110 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, the brothers of one family is common to the Thautawars, and to the Buddhists of Tibet. 2. The suspension of a bell ‘in the places of worship is found among the Thautawars and the Buddhists. 3. The priests of the Thautawars may resign the sacerdotal office at pleasure, an usage prevailing amongst the Buddhists. 4. The Thautawars have two classes of priests, so have the Bud- dhists of Tibet. Oo. The pointed sacred dairy of the Thautawars in some respects resembles the temples of the Buddhists. 6. The practice of burning and burying prevails both amongst the Thautawars and the Buddhists. ‘ 7. The veneration for particular mountain peaks is common to both. | 8. The villages of the Thautawars have a striking resemblance to those in Ceylon. 9. The Thautawars have a tradition that their ancestors were subjects of Ravannah with whom they fled before Ramah. This Ravannah according to the Hindoo accounts ruled in Ceylon. Hark- ness referring to this tradition states his impression that the Thauta- wars borrowed it of the Hindoos. 10. The Thautawars adore the sun; and Buddha under the name of Akabandhu is regarded by his sect as the kinsman of the sun. But singular to relate these are amongst the conspicuous points. whereon I have based my theory of the identity of the Thautawars with the Celto Scythians: thus I have shown that Polyandria pre- vailed amongst our Celtic ancestors in Britain. That the bell was an object of superstitious regard amongst the Celto Scythians who buried it in their graves. Speed in his chroni- cle represents an ancient Briton with a lance in his hand to the end of which was fastened a bell, and the custom of hanging bells in churches in Europe appears to have been derived from the ancient usages of the earliest inhabitants. It has been seen that the Celts burnt their dead. The resemblance between the Thautawar sacred dairy or temple and the ancient Celtic houses has been pointed at. The resemblance between the Singalese villages and those of our Celtic ancestors has been considered so striking as to induce many learned men to declare some connection must have subsisted between the inhabitants ‘of Ceylon and the ancient people of Britain: an 1847.] ; Neilyherry Hills, &c. — 111 opinion deriving considerable support from an old book entitled ‘ s <. : his ky \\ \ i y\. | : A\\ Re Wh ; S Ny VN Wy S S iN \\ \| Lit GS. j = af : 3 i) S \ > S § y mi = 1847, | Neilgherry Hills, &c. 119 gherries fac-semeles of those in Europe, but that the same legend is attached to both. - Cromlechs, found chiefly in Wales and Cornwall at home by an- tiquaries, are considered to have been altars used by the Druids upon which they kept the sacred fire constantly burning. The one per- haps best known is called Kits Cotty House, near Aylesford in Kent, and consists of three flat stones sustaining a fourth. A drawing of this Cromlech in my possession is an exact representation of one of the most conspicuous at Achenny on the Neilgherries. By some the word Cromlech is derived from the Armoric term crum, meaning “ crooked or bowing,” and deh “ stone,” alluding to the reverence paid to them by bowing. Mr. Rowland derives it from the Hebrew words caremluach, sig- nifying a ‘ devoted or consecrated stone.” The following is an account of some Cromlechs in the Isle of Anglesea. ** In the woods behind Plas Newydd near the Menai Strait are some very remarkable Druidical antiquities. Amongst them are two vast Cromlechs. ‘The upper stone of one is twelve feet seven inches Jong, twelve broad, and four thick, supported by five tall stones. The other is but barely separated from the first; is almost a square of five feet and a half, and supported by four stones. The number of supporters to Cromlechs is merely accidental, and depends on the size or form of the incumbent stone. These are the most magnifi- cent we have, and the highest from the ground ; for a middle-sized horse may easily pass under the largest. In the lands of Llugwy, indeed, there is a most stupendous one of a rhomboidal form. The greatest diagonal is seventeen and a half feet, the lesser fifteen, and the thickness three feet nine inches, but its height from the ground is only two feet: it was supported by several stones. In the woods at this place are some Druidical circles nearly contiguous to each other.” It is very remarkable that the two largest Cromlechs at Achenny, like the ones above described, are ‘‘ barely separated from each other.” At Trer Dryn in Anglesea “ were also the relics of a circle of stones, with the Cromlech in the midst; but all extremely imperfect. Two of the stones are very large ; one, which serves at present as part of the end of a house, is twelve feet seven inches high, and 120 The Antiquities of the [No. 82, eight broad ; and another eleven feet high, and twenty-three feet in girth. Some lesser stones yet remain. This circle, when complete, was one of the temples of the Druids, in which their religious rites were performed. Boddruddn, or the habitation of the Druids, Trer-Beirdd, or that of the bard, and Bodowyr, or that of the priests, are all of them ham- lets, nearly surrounding the seat of the chief Druid, composing the essential part of his suite. At the last is a thick Cromlech, resting on three stones.” 3 In describing the Cromlechs of Achenny, I have said that most of them consist of three upright slabs, planted firmly in the earth and supporting a fourth poised on the top of them horizontally. - Not to trespass on the matter of a paper in this Journal, relative to a Cromlech I found in the low country, I must omit making any more observations on the Cromlechs of Europe, but I have yet to describe a remarkable feature in those of the Neilgherries. Four up- right stones of three Cromlechs have been converted into monuments by a people distinct from the constructors, and are covered with sculptures representing a triumphal procession. _ The monument of victory of the low country is an upright stone erected by some Hin- doo prince to commemorate a victory gained on the spot, and is or- namented with sculptures and inscriptions. I could detect none of the latter in the present case. The following is a description of The Sculptures at Achenny. First Stone.—There are four lines of figures upon the face of this stone, one over the other, twenty-four in number male and female; the former brandishing spears, swords and daggers—some have two swords, one in each hand; the females are represented dancing ; halos cover the heads of many of the figures which are about eight inches high. Second Stone.—The sculptures on this monument consist of three lines of figures nineteen in all, including two horsemen with drawn swords ; in the second line is a male form dragging some quadru- ped along by a rope or chain ; female figures also occur. Third Stone.—There are two lines of figures on this monument, the males armed as above and their heads surmounted with high co- nical caps, they are placed in niches in the same manner as some of Madtas Jour Lit § Science Vil, KN, PLS. Sculptures at Achenney, or Ujeyint rn a en wn nN = aes d Teer yP oayveve, Durnypluy, Lu 1847] Neilgherry Hills, &. 121 the sculptured figures in the caves of the Buddhists and on the tem- ples of the Jains. I have taken a drawing of the sculptures of this stone as being the most characteristic. Fourth Stone.—Has one line of three figures graven upon it, the centre is a male form dragging along or holding a horse, and his head is encircled with a glory. When I recollect, the general opinion of the Thautawars being the aborigines of these hills; and that their religion is Scythicism, as well as their own tradition of having once been subjugated by foreigners; when I recall to mind the tradition of the Pandaver having in past times inhabited the Neilgherries ; and that the nearest and most ancient road from the country of Pandya to the summit of the hills runs close by the village of Achenny where the Cromlechs stand; at the same time knowing that these structures must have belonged to a people whose religion was Scythicism or Druidism such as that of the Thautawars: I cannot dismiss the idea that, inspired by the proximity of their most holy temples and altars, the ancestors of this people here made a stand against the invaders but were defeated by them; and I believe that the Pandyan conquerors, who were Jains, desecrated the temples of the mountaineers by gray- ing upon them a record of their victory. I should observe that a resemblance subsists in many respects between the figures of the sculptured stones and the images in potte- ry found in the cairns of the “ middle period.” Kastward two miles from the village of Achenny lies the ruined Fort of Adi-Raer-Cottay, situated on a small table land and seques-. tered by hills clothed with jungle. ‘The position is strong, being nearly environed with a morass, and stream running along the chan- nel of a deep fissure in the ground. The remains of the Fort indi- cate it was originally constructed of earth in some places, and in other parts of uncemented stones. In shape it is an oblong, the longer side measuring one hundred paces, the shorter fifty-three, and consisting of a double line of works one within the other, the space between the two occupying twenty-five paces in breadth. The re- mains of two square towers are visible adjoining the outer line, one seated on the west face and the other on the south ; the gateway pro- bably ran under the former. 3 Within the inner walls I found some remains of stone buildings, consisting of large blocks and flags unwrought, and two upon which : , Q 122 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, the marks of the chisel were apparent; their surfaces being smooth- ed and pierced by holes, which I apprehend served as sockets for pillars. Fragments of ornamented pottery were dispersed around. I observed several excavations in this part of the fortress, from which I suspect some curious person has been at work before me, and it is likely the fragments of pottery were thrown up in the course of his operations. The native aecount of this place proclaims it was the work of a Rajah called Adi-Raer, who lived many centuries ago and built another fort, the ruins of which yet stand below, in the direction of Srimoga. Referring to a Rajah Paditti or Hindu list of the Pandya, Chola, and Chera kings, with corrected dates, I find that Adi-Raer flourished about the year 990 of our era, and I am inelined to think he was a Jain, from his name Adi, which is one of the appellatives of Jaina. I think we may safely consider this king or one of his chiefs to have been the person who defeated the Thautawars at Achenny and established the dominion of the Pandyans over the Neilgherries, leaving a monument of his victory and of his religion wrought upon their altars—the Cromlechs at that place; and strengthening his conquest by the construction of the fort which bears his name. If this be admitted, we have attained a very important destderatum in the history of the Thautawars, namely, the period at which they were subjugated, by the Pandyan invaders, apparently the latter end of the tenth century. Six generations ago the forefathers of the Burghers and Linga- yets, flying to these hills as an asylum, found protection from the Governor of this Fort who according to their account was himself a worshipper of Siva. There are two other ancient Forts on the Hills: Gunganachiki Cottay, subsequently called Syudabad in the time of Tippoo, is near Coonoor. The other, Mulla Cottay near Sholoor, called Hooseina- bad by Tippoo, I imagine was erected by the Pandyan conquerors of the Hills after their return to the worship of Siva, as a ruined tem- ple at this fort contains images of Buswa, Ganesa, and Anumanta. The discovery of the Cromlechs at Achenny excited in me the ‘hope of finding some of those Druidical relics called by Antiquaries in Europe Kistvaen or “ closed Cromlechs,” frequently occurring in such parts of England and Wales as the Druids most fayored. 1 Ree PRT RSL OA {ESA SA 08 NRTA EAA ASS CT AGP UAEMREY SAA RE WR) NTN DMS WO PUA FT TTD A STA SS TS TaN TFET ED ET ASS TES MT ee ANd Nai Agee te thc fave ia Ks Fe F L l i | | [ | | | | | | ’ | | | | b, XUEL Vo Madras Jour: Lit. ¥ Science ~ Closed Cromlech at Bellike, Nelgherries tront VAN. COLtous Tor near Bellike. Te Neilgherry Hills, &. 128 consequently made many inquiries of the Burghers and offered them rewards to show me any antiquities they were aware of in this locality. In the sequel I ascertained that about a mile beyond Adi- Raer-Cottay there were some stone edifices, ascribed by the Burghers to the former dwarf inhabitants of the hills, and after a little search in company with my informant I had the satisfaction to find a number of Kistvaens, concealed by trees, ferns, and high lemon grass, situated. on a level in the slope of a hill rising out of a deep ravine. The Kistvaens were nearly buried in the vegetable soil, a fact, considering their height (five feet) that sufficiently attests the high antiquity which must be assigned to them. Where these structures occur in the low country, they are found on the summits or sides of rocky hilis devoid of jungle, and hence appear in the state they were originally constructed, unencumbered with soil or rubbish. The Hindoos take no kind of interest in these structures; state that they know nothing about them except so much as relates to their erection by fairies, dwarfs or demons; and do not employ such mausoleums for the interment of their dead : from which considerations I believe the edifices to have been the work of the Celto-Scythic aborigines of the plains and mountains. After removing a large slab five feet long, three broad, and one thick, which served as the roof of one of the closed Cromlechs, I proceeded to excavate the earth that had fallen inside, and reached the floor, another large flag eight feet long by six broad. Here I found fragments ef clay vessels, probably remains of funeral urns. The chamber being cleared presented four walls, each consisting of "an entire stone, and was seven feet long by five broad. The Mono- lithe constituting the eastern wall was pierced by a circular aper- ture about nine inches in diameter, adequate to admit the body of a child, who I conjecture was employed to place the urns inside. Descending to the low country we find both kinds of Cromlechs, the open and closed, in different parts of the Peninsula. On the — Coroomba or Mailgherry Hills, thirty miles south of Cosoor, several are standing, where I believe cairns similar to the Neilgherry ones _ may be found. At Naickenary on the top of the pass, some closed Cromlechs with a small circular aperture on one side may be seen. In Malabar near Ungadapoor and Mungary, that kind of Cromlech called Codacul or umbrella-stone is found along with cairns. In South Coimbatore the Cromlechs and cairns are also found. I think i recollect having seen a Cromlech at Namun in Travancore, and aa 124 The Antiquities of the [No. 82; account of a very remarkable one I found at Pallicondah near Vellore has appeared ina number of this Journal.* As we advance North- ward, the Cromlechs are found in the forests of Orissa. Lieutenant Kittoe, in the account of his journey through these forests, says: “* At this place (Goorsunk) I remarked a number of stones placed in the same manner as the Druidical monuments (such as the Kits- cotty house near Boxley in Kent): viz. three set upright, with one on the top of them, the dimensions of these are however very small,. and have the appearance of a number of three legged stools. A custom prevails in these parts, of relatives collecting the ashes and - bones of the deceased, and after burying them, placing stones over the spots in the manner above described.” Mr. Kittoe also says, he observed: ‘‘ two heaps of stones each at the foot of a tree, which reminded me of the tumuli (cairns) the ancient Britons in the North of England used to construct over the graves of fallen warriors, on which each traveller used in olden times to throw a stone on passing by; upon inquiry I found that these were of the same nature, the like practice existing. Those which I allude to, are over the remains of two chiefs who fell in battle on the spot. I had often remarked similar tumuli in other parts of India.” The inhabitants of these parts are Gonds and Khonds, another remnant of the aborigines of India, and the fact of their having pre- served the Cromlech and cairns, is an additional proof of the edifices of the kind I have prescribed having belonged to the aborigines, and of those on the Neilgherries being the altars of the ancient Thauta- wars, another family of the aborigines of the plains. From my “Sketches of the Goomsoor war,” published in the Asiatic Journal a year or two back, it will be seen that the Khonds had some customs similar to the Thautawars, such as The former sacrifice of children. The sacrifice of buffaloes at funerals. The burning of the dead. The want of respect for brahmins, and some cthers hereafter to be noticed. Speaking of Cromlechs, Mr. Rowland states his belief that they were originally tombs, and that in after times they were used as altars, sacrifices being performed upon them to the heroes deposited within. _ [rather regard them as having been originally altars and subsequent- * Vol, XIII. Part ii. p. 47. 1847.] Neilyherry Hills, 8c. 195 ly in some instances, tombs. Dr. Borlase and Wormius describe them as altars. I have no doubt however that the ‘ closed Crom- lech,” or Hestvaen, of a chest-like figure, was a sepulchre, and I con- sider it the prototype of Sarcophagi and other Mausoleums of that description. In Central Asia, beyond the Himalaya, Cromlechs and other Drui- dical relics exist. In China, the Americas, and in Europe they occur extensively: they are found in short in every region where the deviation from the primeval sacrifice by fire to the worship of the sun or fire, or Sabeism, took place amongst the early descendants of the sons of Noah, and from which perversion descended the various ancient religions I have previously mentioned, wherein fire, or the sun maintained the most conspicuous place. Instead of Druidism being derived from Hindooism, as many suppose, I consider the greater antiquity must be assigned to the former, an opinion I am supported in by many learned men, and by the most ancient writers, who fix the adoption of Ionism or Hel- lenism, which is the deification of heroes and the worship of their images (for example Brahminism and Buddhism) as subsequent to what is called Scuthism, in which the sun, fire, or the elements, were regarded as typical of the deity but not actually worshipped. Scythicism connects Scuthism with Jonism, and is that form of religion in which the first step was made towards idolatry by the use of up- right stones, &c.: it is the same with Druidism. The following is an extract from Epiphanius upon this subject. “The second is Scythism,* which prevailed from the days of Noah and thence downwards to the building of the Tower and Babylon, and for a few years subsequently to that time, that is to the days of Phalec and Ragau. But the nations which incline upon the borders of Europe continued addicted to the Scythic heresy, and the customs of the Scythians to the age of Thera, and afterwards; of this sect also were the Thracians.” Brahminism may be easily shown to belong to Ionism. AUM, the holy name of the Hindu Triad, is the same with AMUN, of the Theban Triad of Upper Egypt, and this Amun or Jupiter Am- mon is the Hellenic perpetuation of Ham the son of Noah, and the ancestors of the Egyptians, whose son Misraim gave the name of Misr to that country, where it is preserved to this day. Bramah and Ra- * Scythism is the same as Scuthism, and must not be confounded with Scythicism. 126 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, enah, two persons of the Hindu Trinity, are the Ionic or Hellenic re- presentations of Ramah the grandson of Ham, one of the ancestors of the Hindus, while his brother Sheba is also remembered in their Trinity as Seva. The word Vish-Nu contains the remembrance of Nu or Noah, and is the same, I imagine, with Sisuthrus, the Chalde- an name of Noah. The Avatar of the Tortoise obviously refers to the preservation of the Patriarch in the ark atthe Deluge. In the Greek Mythology the remembrance of Noah is preserved in Saturn and Neptune. Iam not aware that Sir William Jones in comparing the gods of India with those of Greece has drawn a parallel between Vishnu and Neptune, I shall therefore point out some affinities sub- sisting between them. Kurma, the Tortoise Avatar of Vishnu, I conceive to. be Cromus the son of Neptune, and Narayan, a name of Vishnu, means “* Moving on the waters.” Several of the Avatars of Vishnu resemble the transformations of Neptune. Matsya or the fish Avatar of Vishnu I believe to be the same as the Avatar of Neptune into a dolphin, to obtain the favours of Am- phitrite. Kalkee, the Avatar of Vishnu into a horse, reminds us of Neptune becoming a horse to enjoy the company of Ceres. The amours of Vishnu as the naked Buddha Avatara, strongly resemble those of Neptune. The third Avatar of Vishnu as Varaha the Boar, has a resemblance to the transformation of Neptune into a Ram to deceive Theophane. I have a few more words to add respecting the Ionic remembrance of Ham in Egypt and India. The colossal statues of Memnon or Ammon in Egypt, sitting and upright, are remarkably similar to those ef Buddha or Jaina, in whose names of God AUM a Got. (A.M) M awe G AUM = uta Maha AM U Nee (of Tibet) z. e. The great Amun or Ammon, or Ham, the expression of both Hin- dus and Egyptians is maintained. The common Tamul name of God, Sawmy, contains the holy name Aum. . . The studious manner in which the Egyptians and Hindus have pre- served the names of the progenitors of their race, in the names of kings 1847.|- Neilgherry Hills, &c. 127 and men as well as of gods, is worthy of observation. The resemblance subsisting between the names of the ancient Egyptians and the Hin- dus is another striking proof of an identity which some still persist in doubting. I annex a list in illustration. Names of the Egyptian Kings from Syncellus, Manetho, the old Egyp- Hindoo Names. Ancient Names tian Chronicle, Euse- preserved. bius, Se. Rhamessameno, Ramasamee, Rama. Ramases, Rama, Rama. _Amenuph, Munepah, Phut. Ammonophis, Mahaammonee, Ham or Ammon. Chepren, Curpen, Cetna, Cistna, Cush. Chryses, Chrysna, Chenchres, Chenchee, Cheneres, Cheneah, Canaan. Menes, Meneapen, Menes or Misraim. Maris, Maree, Venephes, | Venepen, Sebercheres, Seva, Shebah Sabtah. Pheron, Verapen, Thampthis, Tamra, -Apachnas, Apasamee, Anoyphis, Anasamee, Amenophis, Menu or Menus, Nu or Noah; or per- haps Menes. Siris, sr2s, or ses is a common termination of Egyptian names - for example Osinosiris, Osiris, Sistres, Sephres, and it probably was used in a similar manner to the Hindu word Sawmy, which concludes so many names. In Hindu literature $72 occurs as a title prefixed _ to the names of gods and kings, signifying, I believe, High, Boun- tiful, Mighty, Sacred, Holy, Great, &c. as well as salutation. Ac- _ cording to Cassiodorus the inscriptions on the obelisks in Egypt were | either in the Chaldaic character, or one closely resembling it. If not Chaldaic or Sanscrit, it was probably a sister character. The Sanserit alphabet deprived of its ornaments, becomes the square cha- racter of Chaldea. _ The name of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, are preserved with re- markable fidelity in the ancient books of the Hindus, originally | brought from Egypt. 128 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, The Puranas contain much historical matter confirmative of the books of Moses; indeed we find some reference to the leading events therein recorded, such as the Creation of the World, the Deluge, the Confusion of Tongues, &c., in all ancient histories. In the Phoenician, Chaldean, Egyptian, and Greek accounts, these events are either described, or broadly alluded to. | CuaprTer 127TH. The great antiquity of the Thautawars and their claims to be con- sidered the aborigines of the plains as well as of the hills, are further established in the fact, that a great number of the words in their language are etymons of the Tamul. To account for this I can only conceive, that the first Hindus adopted a large proportion of words from the aborigines, whence their language became a compound of what they brought with them as well as of the words of the Thauta- wars, &c.; for it is natural to suppose the Hindu invaders had some intercourse with the people they subjugated, a portion of whom acquiesced in the rule of the foreigners. Thus formed, the Tamul language might be compared with the tongue of our own country, which is a compound of the language of her ancient Saxon people and the Norman French of the conqueror. The harsh words of the Indian aborigines were however softened by the more elegant and cultivated Hindus, into the liquid expressions now prevailing in their language. If the derivation of the Tamul words from the Thautawar be not admitted, how are we to account for the fact of so many words being common to both tongues? to me it seems preposterous to suppose that a people of Scythian extraction settled in India before the Hindu eruption (for it has been seen that I have dismissed the idea of this being of subsequent date ;) differing in every respect from the Hindus by whom they were conquered, and not even reverencing their priests ; should have adopted the language of their oppressors. The experiment of forcing a language upon a people has generally failed ; numerous examples of which are afforded in the pages of history. Mr. Stevenson says there is a resemblance between the mountain | tribe of Raj-Mahel (in the North of India where the Tamul is com- | paratively unknown) and the Khonds of Orissa, and the lafiguages of ral both, as well as that of the Thautawars and other descendants of the - | 1847. | Neilgherry Hills, &c. 129 aborigines, have numerous words found in the Tamul and other tongues of the low country. Hamilton writes—‘ in this district (Raj-Mahel) there is a great extent of waste and mountainous terri- tory, inhabited by a wild race of people extremely different from those of the plains, and apparently of an aboriginal stock.’’ We are thus furnished with an additional proof that the various races of the — mountaineers in India are branches from one aboriginal stock of the plains, from whom the first Hindu borrowed much of their language. That the Khonds and Thautawars are not of Hindu extraction is clear, in the fact of their sacrificing calves and buffaloes ; such rites and the customs of infanticide being vestiges of Druidism, ‘“‘ though” says Mr. Stevenson “ a few ideas may have been borrowed from the Hindus.” : Figures of elephants, peacocks, fishes, and so forth are kept by the Khonds in their houses: these images strongly resemble what we _ -find in the cairns on the Neilgherries. I subjoin a few Thautawar and Tamul words in illustration. Thautawar Etymons. Tamul Derivatives. English. Modgh, Mogegul. Clouds. Meer, Mire, Hair. Kuk, (girl) Ukka, Sister. Kovil, Veril, Finger. Voh, Va, Imperative Come. Put, Paity, Fool. Elp, Elemboo, Bones. Kin, Chinna, Small. In a former chapter, speaking of the Thautawar language, I sug- _ gested a comparison of it with the Celtic and Gothic tongues, for the | following reasons. In the remotest periods of the historical era a tribe of Scythians called Getae, the same probably as the Massagetze I have previously _ alluded to, inhabited a part of Central Asia. Some of their descen- _ dants under the same name located themselves in the regions overlook- ing the plains of India. In the same direction lay another Scythian | tribe, who were Celts and from whom sprung the Parthians. I am induced to think that the first inhabitants of India were a mixed peo- ple from those races, and they entered it on the North-west. Epi- phanius writes that the Thracians exercised the rites of Scythicism, -and Strabo identifies the Thracians with a tribe of Getz. Some of R 130 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, the modern historical writers upon the successors of the Grzeco-Bac- trian monarchs of Central Asia have bestowed upon the descendants of the later Getz the appellation of Indo-Scythians. At a period subsequent to the conquests of Alexander the Great, a tribe of Getz bearing the name of Gotce or Goths migrated to Europe, and were the ancestors of one of the great German families. These Goths carried with them a language replete with ancient Persian words, which if not the Pahlevi, was at any rate a sister tongue ; whence we find so many words of Persian origin in the German language. The god of these Goths at that time was Woden, whose resemblance to Buddha is so great as to have induced many antiquaries to identify them. The learned Mr. Schmid wrote a paper in the Madras Jour- nal, contributing to prove that some of the ancestors of the Germans, the same as the Scandinavian Goths, were Buddhists. The celebrat- ed modern Hungarian traveller, Khosma-de-Koros, was so persuaded that the ancestors of his countrymen (Slavonic Scythians) were Budd- hists, that he travelled into Central Asia on purpose to confirm his opinions. The discoveries of Lieutenant Pigou in the caves of Bah- rabad in Affghanistan, indicate that Buddhism prevailed so far West- ward in Asia as the country of the Indo-Scythians, and we know how extensively it has been diffused to the North and East of the Hi- malayah. The Wednesday or Wodensday of the Goths, corresponds with the Puddovam or day of Buddn of the Thautawars. The Thautawar week consists of eight days, which was also the case amongst the ancestors of the Germans. The name of the Thautawar temple near Picarra is called Godima- na, which may be read God-i-mund, or Got-i-mund, i. e. the place of God or Got (Gothic); mund being the Thautawar name of a vil- lage or place. Godimana or Gotimana, a name of Buddha, was pro- bably carried by the Goths into Europe, and from it they derived the name of the deity—-Got or God. To any one entertaining the belief that the advent of the Thauta- wars was subsequent to that of the Hindus, all this would present a strong temptation for not only conceiving that the ancestors of the Thautawars were connected with the Getz or Goths, but also that the tinge of Buddhism was acquired by them before they migrated to India. But as I have relinquished this theory, and am now more 1847, ] _ Neilgherry Hills, &c. 131 than ever satisfied that the ancestors of the Thautawars were the _Celto-Scythian aborigines of the plains, to persist in it would involve an unpardonable anachronism, as it would be tantamount to asserting that Buddhism prevailed in Central Asia before the Hindus invaded India. I therefore adhere to the opinion I formed, relative to the early Thautawars having engrafted upon their Scythic ceremonies some of the rites of the Buddhists or Jains who were once on these Hills ; and I no longer insist upon my statement that in the Buddha or Godama of the invaders “‘the Thautawars would discover’ the Woden of the Scythians; nevertheless I shall retain my comparisons of the customs of the Thautawars with the Scythians of the ‘‘ middle ages” of Asia, it being reasonable to suppose that they very little differed from those of the earliest Scythians. That the idea of the Thautawars having borrowed certain ceremo- nies from the cotemporary Buddhists may not seem extravagant, I ‘cite a passage from Masson, from which it will appear that the dis- ciples of the Mithraic religion, a form of Scythicism, were not indis- posed to blend Buddhism with their more ancient doctrines. ‘Tt may be observed that the later antiquities in Affghanistan and the Pynjaub, or in the countries along the course of the Indus, are apparently mixed Mithraic and Buddhist; nor is it improbable that the two systems, if they were really generically distinct ones, should have been blended in the limits to which both extended, and were both met.”’ The extent ‘to which the Getz spread, viz. from the confines of India to those of Europe ; the fact that in the earliest times they pro- fessed Scythicism ; the resemblance between the Thautawars and the ancient Goths in some respects ; and the certainty that the aborigines | _ of India were a Scythian race—Celto-Scythic : still render a compa- rison between the Thautawar language and that of the Goths as well ‘as of the Celts, a desideratum, which | shall endeavour to accom- plish. Meanwhile I collate some Thautawar Words with Words of Western Languages. Tiggal, (moon) : Gallach, (Celtic.) lige from ben, and jus, (Celtic for woman.) Hurs, - House. Moh, (man) | | Mahen, (German.) Vejun or Vejusn, (wife) 132 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, Thautawar Words with Words of Western Languages. Edra, (milking time in Cel- Err, (buffaloe) fic.) Trooda, (eldest brother) Brooder, (Gothic.) Phin, (chatty or pot) Pan (English.) Got or God, 4 . eres! place } Got or God. On, (1) One. Adjou, You. Ther, (God) Thor, (Gothic. ) Ait, (eight) Fight. Unnoo, Hundred. : The Gothic week consists of Aitnor, (a wees of 8 days,) ‘ eight days. Buddovum, (Wednesday) Wodensday. Tor—1 (mountain) Tor. I have dismissed the idea of the ancestors of the Thautawars being unacquainted with the Buddha of Central Asia, on the ground that Hindooism (properly so called) is more ancient than Buddhism. Fu- ture discoveries may however prove that one is as old as the other. One of the analogues of Buddha is Toth of the Egyptians, the Mer- cury of the Greeks, but who really was Athothes the son of Menes by whom the Egyptian monarchy was founded 2188 years before Christ. And it derives great support from the statues of Buddha, which are precisely those of Memnon in Egypt, having the African features and woolly hair of some of the ancient Egyptians. Moreover the name of Buddha in Siam is Pout, the same, I have no doubt, with Phut of Scripture, the brother of Menes or Misraim of Egypt, the son of Ham. If we correct the old Egyptian Chronicle by the Book of Moses, and substitute the word brother for son, we arrive at the con- clusion that, Buddha or Phout is Phut, who is Toth, who is Athothes, who reigned in Egypt 2000 years before Christ. Sir William Jones conceives Buddha lived 1027 years before Christ ; Abul Fazl 1366; while other accounts speak of a second Buddha who appeared in the sixth century before Christ, and was probably the individual venerated by the Goths as Woden. That the Buddhists’ conceptions of the names of their forefathers are as accurate as that of the Hindus will be obvious, in the following 1847.) Neilgherry Hills, &c. 135 table of the names of their god, wherein they have preserved the me~ mory of their progenitors. MaricsefeBeAANt oymric, Arges gmat of a Font Mahaammonnee, Tibet, ; Ham. Pout, Siam, Phut. Saka, Chinese, Cush. Chaka, Tonquin, Cush. Godama, Ava and India, Ham. In pointing out the features of resemblance subsisting between the Goths and Buddhists, I omitted to mention that in the niches, long pointed arches, and general style of the Buddhist and Jain architec- ture, might be traced the origin of the Gothic architecture of Europe. CuHaprter 13TH. The surface of the Neilgherries may be separated into three regions, viz. the Alpine or Mountainous; the middle or cultivated; and the precipitous or region of precipices and waterfalls. As the antiquary prosecutes his investigations amidst remains precisely similar to those in England, he is constantly reminded by other objects surrounding him of his own old land. The middle region, is perhaps the most picturesque, embracing as it does views of the other two, and exten- sive prospects of the low country. From this region, on one side the spurs of the centre mountain rise up loftily, presenting the wild and grand scenery peculiar to Alpine countries. In the opposite direc- tion the broad vallies of the middle region, (occasionally varied in character by the English cottage of some planter with its stack of chimnies,) abruptly terminate in precipices, and narrow terraces sup- ported by clifts of vast altitude. As you cross the fields of golden barley waving in the breeze, you hear the lark singing as blithely overhead as he does above the wheat fields of England, or you see the wren, or the old black bird in his sable suit, winging his way to some neighbouring coppice skirting the fields, and as clearly defined as the hazle woods at home. Reaching the rugged tracts at the mar- gin of the agricultural district, you shortly find yourself in the midst of luxuriant ferns interwoven with the wild eglantine, the black-berry and wild raspberry. Further on a terrace is reached, green with moss and variegated with wild flowers resembling the blue bell, but- tereup, violet, daisy and other flowers of your native land. On such 134 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, a lawn as this may stand, an ancient Cromlech or Druidical ring, te complete the illusion you have fallen into that you are actually explor- ing the antiquities of England or Wales. The happy dream is how- ever but momentary; altering your position, it is at once dispelled, and you are restored to the consciousness of being still in India, by the prospect of the plains of Coimbatore or Mysore spreading far and wide below you. - One of the most attractive spots in the region of precipices is Saint Catherine’s Fall, about four miles South East of Kotagherry. At this place the bed of a stream which has descended hitherto with but a gentle inclination, grows narrower and is suddenly interrupted by a deep chasm, into which the waters leap from the crest of a preci- pice. To obtain a full view of the Fall, it is necessary to descend the almost upright bank of the ravine, which is accomplished by the aid of overhanging trees, and roots in the soil. Reaching the foot of the Fall you are amply repaid for the trouble of the descent, in the prospect of a stately column of water, upwards of 200 feet high, de- scending in front of you, amidst scenery of the most stupendous cha- racter. This Fall will not however bear comparison with the lower falls of Papanassum and Courtallum, being less voluminous than ei- ther. It more resembles the upper or first Fall of Courtallum, which, as those who have visited that Oasis of the south part of our Presi- dency, will remember, is lofty and occupies the breadth of a ravine. The interest I took in Saint Catherine’s Fall was greatly enhanced by a statement of my guide, subsequently corroborated by the testi- mony of the neighbouring Burghers. He said that on a ledge or platform in the side of the cliff above us, and overlooking the water- fall, was a stone perforated with a cylindrical hole, and related a mar- vellous story of an elephant having been chained to the stone by means of the hole, and forced to occupy the rocky platform by its owner, in the days of the Pandaver. Although unable to satisfy my-_ self of the existence of the perforated stone, from the united evidence of the Natives I have no doubt it actually exists; and dismissing the tradition I believe the stone is in reality, A Tolmen or ‘‘ hole of stone,” as its name imports literally, and which is another relic of the Druidical religion. The Tolmen of Engiand was either an immense stone balanced on the points of a rock, so as to 1847. | Neilgherry Hills, §c. 135 admit the body of a child; or it was a rock with a passage bored through. Not long ago, in some parts of Cornwall, children afflicted with weakness in their limbs were passed through the holes of a Tolmen, and it was thought great benefits were produced thereby. In the Scilly Islands there are two Tolmens. In the tenement of Meu, in the parish of Constantine, Cornwall, is perhaps the most re- markable one we can boast of. It seems to me by no means unlike- ly that the aperture of the Tolmen was also employed as an oracle by the Druids, who acted in the same manner as the Pythia seated on a tripus at the mouth of the cavern of Delphi on mount Parnassus, where she was wont to deliver the answers of that oracle sacred to Apollo, who was also the god of the Druids. The oracle of Tropho- nius at Lebadea, a city of Bzotia, also consisted of a hole under ground from which the responses were delivered. In the neighbourhood of the Fall, close to the ruins of some Thau- tawar villages, is a group of three Cromlechs, and a vast mound or cairn of stones. Three miles North East of this spot I discovered two other Cromlechs. The very sequestered position of the latter reminded me of the name bestowed, in the Northern countries of our quarter of the globe, upon the Cromlechs, where they are called ‘** Blod,”’ that is Bloodstones, in allusion to the sacrifices of human beings once performed upon them; and I could not refrain from associating the existence of these altars on the Neilgherries, with the former sacrifices of children by the Thautawars. On the side of a hill marked by a high tree. on the summit, on the right hand side of the road just before entering Kotagherry from Ootacamund, there is a curious seat formed from a mass of rock by _ the hand of nature: I have called it ‘‘ the Druid’s chair,” its shape being that exactly, having a seat back and two arms. It nearly faces a house known as the wilderness in Kotagherry, from which it is separated by a deep valley. The Druid’s chair commands the best prospect of Kotagherry I have yet seen, and it often reminded me of the accounts I had read of the Warden’s chair, juror’s seats, and table hewn out of the rough moor stone, at Croken Tor at Dart- i. moor. There is not a relic of Druidism existing in England the type of which I have not found on these hills. In the rocky channel of the river I have just spoken of, 136 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, Rock Basins have been excavated. Dr. Borlase considers the rock basins of Corn- wall and Devonshire the work of the Druids, and used by them for the purpose of lustration. Geologists however consider them as the result of the action of eddies of waters in which pebbles are suspend- ed; in this latter view I cannot concur, because [ have frequently observed Rock basins in places over which no stream has ever pass- ed, and within the last few days I have seen one of these excavations on the surface of a rock, in a ravine far above the scope of the water at its highest rise. The last relic of Druidism existing on the Neilgherries which I shall have perhaps to describe, is a Tor near Bellike, called by the Natives Pipacul or barrel-stone, from its resemblance. As usual they have attached some wonderful story to this uncommon object, asserting it marks the spot where a giant or Raksi buried his treasure. This stone is about ten feet high and four feet in diameter at its thickest part, from which it tapers barrel shape to its ends, which are planes. It rests upon and projects over the point of another rock. A diver- sity of opinion exists regarding the origin of Tors and Logan stones, Geologists declaring they are due to the decomposition of the rock, while antiquaries maintain they were wrought by the ancient Britons for the uses of priestcraft. I think an opinion embracing portions of both would be the just one, and I am disposed to consider the Lo- gan stones in most instances the result of natural exfoliation in the stones, and that the Druids—aware of the effects produced in the minds of the vulgar by any natural phenomena or object of unusual occurrence—rendered the Tors and Logan stones subservient to the purposes of their superstition. CHAPTER 14TH. Seeking for fresh evidence of a Buddhist or Jain people having for- merly inhabited the Neilgherries I have collected the following. 1. The Burghers relate a tradition to the following effect. Many centuries ago a race of people called Mauryas flourished here who were the creators of all animals; and were subsequently destroyed by a shower of fire and mud from heaven. The interpretation of the tradition I make thus. Maurya was the family name of the velebrat- 1847] Neilyherry Hills, &e. 137 ed dynasty of Indian kings whose dominion extended nearly over the whole Peninsula. Chandragupta or Sandracottus who confronted Alexander the Great was the founder of this dynasty. He was succeeded by Varisara, and he by Asoka of the same line whose capi- tal was Palibothra. He was the great Buddhist king of India whose rock edicts at Girnar and Cuttack have created so much interest amongst our Indian antiquaries. These edicts contain a prohibition against the destruction of animal life, and publish ordinances for the construction of hospitals or asylums in which men and every kind of living creature were to be provided-for. In this singular law I trace the origin of that part of the Burgher tradition relating to the Mau- ryas having created all kinds of animals. With respect to the destruction of the Mauryas by fire and mud it is clearly the same as the tradition preserved amongst the Mackenzie Manuscripts (vide Rev. William Taylor's Report: A:—Tamil, Palm-leaf M. S. S. No. 165, Countermark 64, marked Chola purva Patayam. . Madras’ Journal, April, 1838). This account states that at the commencement of the Salivahanam era, (1st century A. D.) the great Samana or Jain king destroyed the sacred edifices of the Hindus and oppressed all who would not become converts to his religion. At length Siva moved by the complaints of his people sent a shower of fire and mud upon the Jamas. Whether the tradition about the Mauryas on the Neilgherries relates particularly to the kings of that race, or whether the expression Maurya is now used by the Hindus to designate any Buddhist or Jain people, I am unable to determine. If the latter be the case it furnishes fresh proof of my conjecture respecting Adi- Raer the Pandyan king being a Jaina and the first conqueror of the Thautawars. On the other hand is the statement of a Burgher that the Mauryas were here 2000 years ago, which is about the time that Asoka the Buddhist king of India flourished. Referring to the Puranic lists of kings I find that the Maurya race terminated with Vrihadratha who was succeeded by the Sunga kings the second of whom is called Agnimitra. Agnimitra seems to be compounded of two words signifying fire and mud, and in this name of one of the foreign successors and perhaps usurpers of the Maurya dynasty we may trace the origin of the foregoing fable respecting the Buddhists or Jains having been visited with a shower of fire and mud. 138 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, 2. I have recently found some inscriptions on a rock, one of which is in a character resembling as nearly as possible the inscriptions at Junagarah which are but one remove from the Buddhist alphabet at Gimar. It also resembles the Buddhist inscriptions in the caves of Western India. The rocks on which the inscriptions occur on the Neilgherries are at Bellike. The Rev. Mr. Weigle has also taken a copy of these inscriptions. I shall presently make further mention of them. 3. A gentleman long resident on the Hills has informed me that formerly when exploring the jungles of the Neilgherries for game, he often used to find upright stones, some bearing mixed inscriptions of Jain and Canarese. He states also he believes these upright stones in many cases were the boundary marks of villages when the Hills were much more peopled than at present ; and adds the remains of old wells have been found, and an iron pukotta bucket similar to those used at this day on the plains. 4. At the foot of this chapter I shall present a list of some of the Buddhist or Jain images found by me im the cairns, and point out how strongly they resemble those occurring in the Buddhist caves. The contents of the caves and topes of the Buddhists in Affghanistan consist of vases, crystal beads, &c. which it will be recollected I have described as being some of the things found in the Neilgherry cairns. 5. The images in pottery of warriors on horseback and on foot de- posited by the Lingayets at their Saumy houses on the Hills, in obe- dience to a vow made during sickness; have been fashioned in adher- ence to the costume and arms of the former great rulers who lived here. The busts and heads of these images strongly resemble the heads on the coins of the Saurashtra dynasty, of whom king Rudra was in part a Buddhist. In both cases the heads are surmounted by an iron morion or scull-cap with a broad rim, the neck ornaments too ~ are identical ; indeed the resemblance extends to the cast of features. It is difficult to account for this fact, unless we suppose that amongst the natives are preserved drawings of the costumes of the former in- habitants, or that the potter from generation to generation has copied the clay figures deposited at the Saumy houses, by which process the same character has been preserved from immemorial times. In directing the attention of the curious visitor to the antiquities in the neighbourhood of Kotagherry, I must not overlook the’caves of -~ 3 5 | - a 2 s a y | os t¢ a a = + 2 é 5 7 3 4 Pa ‘ = ¢ » ries fen) See + ae, tin eel ‘pacrics add Yo a } , ATT TERE 6 SA LSD TOF Re LYTR 's — E y : ; s E Madras Jour. Lit ¥ Science On the wall of the 2% Cave. 1847.] Neilgherry Hills, &c. 3 139 Bellike. Although possessing none of the features of interest belong- ing to the cave temples in the West of India, they are nevertheless worthy of observation. Formed by rocks projecting from the moun tain side, the two caves are the work of nature, though the hand of man has inereased their dimensions. The first is known as the cave of Mahmurpullum or the “mango tree,” deriving this name from a grove of large wild mango trees adjoining. It is about 30 paces broad, 12 deep and 20 feet high at the entrance, the roof sloping downwards inside until it joins the floor. Several smaller caverns branch from the outer cave, most of which are now filled up by loose stones and trunks of trees, the performance, I conjecture, of the Co- rumbas who occasionally use this as a place of sacrifice and poojah. In a recess I observed the lair of a bear, whom as I approached the cave I disturbed while feeding a few yards from it. On other thoughts intent I was not prepared to send him to sleep with his forefathers, though I have no doubt this intimation will commit his existence to the tender mercies of some Neilgherry hunter; indeed my rifle supplied me with so many bear skins in Goomsoor that my predilection for this kind of sport has considerably abated. The roof and facade of the’cave present the remains of old paintings of armed men, men on horseback, animals and demons, so rudely executed as to render it as likely they are the wcrk of the Corumbas as of a more accomplished people. Some suppose this and the other cave presently - to be described to have been the hiding places of a Polygar chief of _ the Fort of Adi-Raer Cottay when pursued by some of Hyder Al- ly’s troops. This same chief is erroneously thought by them to have been the Adi-Raer who founded the Fort. The Monegar and other inhabitants of Conagherry assured me, Adi-Raer the founder of the Fort lived many generations ago, they could not say exactly how many, but knew it was upwards of fifteen ; moreover the early Burghers and Lingayets came to these hills at the invitation of a chief occupying the Fort 300 years ago. All the natives in the neighbourhood declare their conviction that Adi-Raer was a great Rajah and not a Polygar chieftain. I think it probable the caves may have been used as cave temples by the early Buddhist or Jain inhabitants of the hills. To reach the second cave it is necessary to proceed in the first instance to Arrawaddy two miles below Conagherry, and procure the services of Corumba guides, the route being so intricate and embar- 140 The Antiquities of the {No. 32, rassed with high grass and jungle as to render the attendance of some one thoroughly acquainted with it indispensable. My pioneers were compelled occasionally to cut a way through the obstacles that grew around us, and which had in many places wholly obliterated the path. From Arrawaddy the journey must be performed on “foot as you have to descend the declivity of a deep ravine, cross its channel by stepping from rock to rock, and then ascend the farther bank of it in which the cave is situated. On my way up I passed an old circular wall that had once formed the outlines of a temple, perhaps a Betta or open temple of the Jains, or a Druidical enclosure. The Corum- bas knew nothing of its origin. On reaching the cave I proceeded to measure, and found its depth thirteen yards, its breadth six, and the height of its entrance forty feet, the roof sloping downwards till it meets the inner wall five feet high. The rock in which this cave is situated is perforated with several passages intersecting each other and connecting the interior of the cave with the flat surface above it. aleve I explored these passages but found nothing except an old iron ring. The sides of the-large cave were marked with outline intaglio figures, and what were perhaps once in inscriptions now so defaced as almost to defy an attempt to copy them. I however contrived to transfer the more legible to paper. On the left side of the cave are the following intaglio cuttings in the rudest style. A human figure having the head of a bird with its waist encircled by the fold of a snake, seemingly expanding and raising its seven heads behind the figure. In front of this human figure is a symbol having some resemblance to one of the Buddhist symbols mentioned by Colonel Sykes. The seven hooded snake is frequently seen accom- panying images and drawings of Buddha. To the proper left of the figure is, what I take to be, another Buddhist or Jain symbol of a gridiron form with a handle above it. To the right of the large figure and snake, is the rude effigy of a human being from whose head rises a long shaft surmounted by a chuckrum or a lotus. To — the left of this emblem are two forms like demons. There is a Budd- hist symbol not unlike these. The same figure which seems to be : | balancing the chuckrum has a broom in its hand, which it will be recollected is one of the symbols of office of the Jaina priests who use it to sweep insects out of their way for fear of treading upon them. In front of the figure of the Jaina priest is a tree. Below this a — | : Re ora ae ees aye Hain wick nee ch S| Ore. Bee ey ee : a ae 4, if Per Madras Jour. Jit : & Sctence Vol XIV FL. fo a | Inscription on a rock at _ On the surtiace of On another rok Badtike . the same rock, v Diye hight side of entrance of the same Cave. — Mi the foot of the tigures on the large Cave. 4 Congreane. ; i Dump Ay, Lik 1847. | Neilgherry Hills, &. 141 figure kneeling and apparently intended to be placed in a square niche. There are numerous cuttings of chuckrums and other devices about. this part of the cave which my sketches can alone convey an idea of. At the bottom of the left hand side wall of the cave are some characters not unlike the old Pali. Near the floor on the right side of the entrance are some other characters. Near the floor on the left side of the entrance are more characters. I copied all these as well as I could decypher them. Returning from the caves I copied the rock inscriptions in the Bellike valley. There are three. One is in old Canarese and means Lingum. This is on a rock on the south boundary of a tract culti- vated by the Burghers and where they say in former days stood a large place, bazaar and gardens. The second inscription is in a character resembling the old Malia- lum. The third inscription resembles the old Sanscrit of the 3rd century before Christ, and the Junagarah inscriptions I have already alluded to. It consists of but one line. Mr. Weigle suggests that the proper reading of the name of Achen- ny may be Ujayini the same as Oojain. I am well disposed to agree with him because it would greatly confirm my conjecture that the Buddhist or Jain conquerors of the Hills won their first battle at the spot, nothing being more likely than that they would bestow upon it the name of their capital Oojain or Ujayina, also one of their origi- nal seats. The Editor of the Madras Journal in his Review of the Mahawan- so states his belief that Buddhism spread to Talcad the ancient capital of the Conga country or modern Coimbatore, and adds, the Jaina faith was once seated on the throne of Mysore, and materials exist to show Buddhism came over from Ceylon into the Pandiya gnd Chola countries, or the districts surrounding Tanjore, Trichinopoly and Madura. List of Figures, &c. in pottery from the cairns on the Neilgherries, of Buddhist or Jain fashion. 1. Figures of lions, tigers, deer, peacocks, which are of common occurrence in Buddhist paintings and sculpture. 2. Figures of coiled snakes. 3. Figures of the cobracapello with its hood expanded. 142 The Antiquities of the [No. 82, 4. Animals enveloped in folds of snakes. 5. Figures of elephants. 6. Figures of human beings riding on elephants. 7. Figures of human beings enfolded by snakes, and in the clutches of tigers. 8. Figures of armed horsemen. 9. Two figures bestriding one horse. 10. Figure of Godama in a sitting posture, leaves of the Ruttimul- ly plant covering his waist, arms and thighs. 11. Figure of Godama having the placid expression of the Egyp- tian Memnon. 12. Human figures with hair brought to a point behind the head. 13. Figures wearing a conical cap. 14. Chuttries forming handles to urns. 15. Urns of Buddhist or Jain fashion. 16. Double-headed snakes forming handles to urns. 17. Human figures whose heads are surmounted by tiaras like the sculptures in the Western caves. 18. Human beings playing on small drums, horns, &c. 19. Animals with bells round their necks. CHAPTER 15TH. A person standing on the ridge behind the traveller’s bungalow at Coonoor might discern with a telescope the battlements of an ancient fortress crowning the summit of the precipitous mass of rock facing - Coonoor in a south direction, and separated from it by the deep ra- vine along the left bank of which the high road descends to Metapol- lium. A melancholy interest attaches to this fortress rumour assign- ing it as one of the places of confinement of Tippoo’s English prison- ers, some of whom are supposed to have been destroyed by being flung over the precipices which guard the Fort. Amongst the Bur- ~ ghers this place is called the Droog Hill, it is also known as Synda- bad and Goganachiki Cottay ; but the people of the low country call it Pukasooren mullay ; the inhabitants of Metapollium, Nellathoray, and other places in the plains at its foot, regard it as the scene of one of the Hindu legends. Once upon a time, say they, the Fort at the top of the Hill was inhabited by its founder a giant or raksi called Pukasooren, who was accustomed to levy a tribute from the people of the country lying beneath him, consisting of a cart load of provi- 1847. | | Neilgherry Hills, &¢. 143 sions daily. After he had devoured the impost, he swallowed the driver, so runs the story, and then with a kick sent the cart back again to bring him a fresh supply the next day. Beeman one of the five Pandoos (the king Arthur of Hindoo romance) travelling in this part of the country came to Moonoor munglum formerly a large city, the ruins of which the natives assert may still be seen on the bank of the river opposite to Metapollium. Struck with the desolate aspect of every thing around him and the sad looks of the inhabitants he inquired into the cause, and resolved to convey himself to the gi- ant the bandy load of provisions, but on the way growing hungry he was fain to appropriate them to his own use. Then substituting mud for_the provisions he drove the cart to the Fort. Pukasooren directly he saw what. had been brought to him fell upon Beeman, who after a hard contest slew the giant, but not before the latter had pro- nounced a curse upon the whole face of the country over which the shadow of his mountain fell during the day, to the effect that it | should be always afflicted with a deadly fever, which, say the natives, has happened ever since. On hearing this story related, it occurred to me that the raksi of the legend was in reality some Buddhist or Jain chief whom the Hindus had identified with an evil personage out of one of their books, to render his memory more infamous, and in conformity with their custom of calling the ancient Buddhists raksies or giants, and demons, Ravannah the Buddhist leader of the expedition from Cey- lon to India being considered the king of them. I therefore resolved to pay a visit to the Fort, in the hope I might discover something to confirm my conjecture. Starting in the morning I crossed the deep ravine, and two others tributary to it, at a point half way between Coonoor and Cartary, reaching Hoolicul about eight o’clock. This village derives its name from the circumstance of a chief having in former days slain a tiger here, and set up a sculptured stone to commemorate his exploit. The present inhabitants were unable to show me this relic of antiquity. A remarkable custom prevails amongst the Burgher inhabitants of this, and probably of all parts of the Hills, ‘‘ it being customary for one who is in want of la- bourers to promise his daughter in marriage to the son, or other re- lative of a neighbour, not in circumstances so flourishing as himself ; and these engagements entered into, the intended bridegroom serves 144 The Antiquities of the [No. 32, the father of his betrothed, as one of his own family, till the girl comes of age, when the marriage is consummated, and he becomes a — partner in the general property of the family of his father-in-law.”’ This custom calls to mind the marriage, and conditions of it, of Jacob with Rachel, thus narrated in Scripture. Verse 15. ‘‘ And Laban said unto Jacob, because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought ? tell me, what shall thy wages be? 18. ‘‘ And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 20. ‘‘ And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.’”—Genesis xxxI. Chapter. From Hoolicul I went Eastward four miles to Kercottah, near which Captain Lucas has erected a hunting lodge, on one of the most charming spots the imagination can conceive. Seated on the very brink of the Coonoor ravine it commands an extensive prospect of Doda betta and other upland scenery of the Neilgherries, Coonoor being immediately in front beyond the ravine and not a mile away ; while to the right the eye may range along the chasm taking in views of the ridges which terminate below Kotagherry and descend abruptly upon the plains. At night the fires in different villages of the low country may be distinctly seen, and the furnace of some potter on the very edge of the horizon mistaken for a star. Not- withstanding the assurances of the inhabitants of Kercottah that no antiquities existed in their neighbourhood, I explored it, and found three Cromlech on the hill above Captain Lucas’s lodge. From Ker- cottah the route now led through a forest for about two miles, we then reached the fort without having experienced any of the obstacles in shape of precipices or ravines I had been led to expect; indeed this side of the position is comparatively so weak that the Mussalmen go-- vernors of the Fortin Tippoo’s time strengthened its defences by embraz- ing and loopholing the wall to which they also added a banquette. Entering the Fort by a gap in the wall I found the interior entirely overgrown with jungle, though not so much as to hide the ruins of many old walls, and the remains of a hut, pointed out as the place where a Mahomedan Fakeer stayed for some days four years ago. I traced the contour of the fortress, consisting of a wall five feet thick for the most part, though of various heights, and constricted of 1847. | Nedgherry Hills, &c. 145 stones cemented with mud. It ran close along the margin of the precipices which bound three sides of the mountain, being strength- ened by projections where a ridge, or-place for the foot of an assail- ant, attempting a surprise, occurred. I should say the length of the Fort is between five and six hundred yards, its breadth varying from one to two hundred, though I made no actual measurements. As may be conceived the view from this elevated position is very extensive and remarkably beautiful. Having found nothing to corroborate my suspicion that the Fort owed its origin to the Buddhists, I returned to Coonoor, marking several cairns for future operations. ‘The next day I rode over toa valley beyond Hoolicul in quest of some shelleuls or sculptured stones which I was told would be found there, but on this occasion I was doomed to disappointment, having searched for them in vain, through the day, over hills and dales covered with high grass. I ob- served, however, on the rocky surface of a hill, some very small Cromlechs about a foot high, associated with slabs fixed upright in fissures of the rock. I made a wide circuit, as I returned to Coonoor, passing by Cartary and admiring its beautiful waterfall, and struck the high road at Aravancad. | During my stay at Coonoor, I opened the cairns between Kercottah and Hoolicul, and others between Coonoor and Aravancad; being of the earliest period they did not prove prolific. The last I opened made the forty-sixth I Have excavated on the Neilgherries, and strange to say without discovering a single coin, or inscription in them. The only coin I have heard of, as having been found ina cairn, was a Roman Azureus. In the low country where cairns have been opened Roman coins in a high state of preservation were found, accompanied by short bladed swords, and black glazed porcelain jars, of very classical forms. About forty-five years ago in the vicinity of Palachy in the Coim- batore district, was dug up a pot of Roman coins consis ing of two kinds, namely, Augustus and Tiberius. On the exergue of the former the word Cesarea indicated the place where they had been struck. It is a matter of history that one of the Pandyan kings sent an embassy to Augustus whom they found at Samos. This might countenance an idea that the urn containing the coins was a part of the valuables with which the Pandyans returned to their native country. T / 146 Notice of the Storms [No. 32, Lieutenant Newbold not long ago read a paper before the Royal Society on a pot of coins subsequently discovered in the same district. These with other Roman coins occasionally discovered may have ~ found their way into Pandaver by Killikerry the Colchos of Ptolemy, being given in exchange for pearls, or imported as previously con- jectured. History makes no mention of a Roman station in the south of India, whence such coins might have been issued; it is very re- markable, however, that the historical books of the Brahmins of Tu- lava in Canara contain an account of an European or Yavana dynasty ruling formerly at Anagundi. By Yavana, I apprehend, is meant the children of Yuvan or Javan the great ancestor of the Greeks, though by slight alteration it might be read Yavana or Euvana, that is the country of Europeans or Europe, ma being an expression indicative of a land found in all quarters of the Globe, thus in Europe Britazz or Britannia, Allemaigne or Germania, Espagne or Hispania, Lusi- tania, &c.; in Asia Hindoostan, Japan, Affghanistan, Turkistan, &c. in Africa Tettean Hinzwan, &c.: in America Yutacan, &c. Huna is another name for Europe occurring in the ancient Brah- minical books. IV. Notice of the Storms experienced at Madras on the 20th October and 25th November, 1846. By J.J. FRANKLIN, Esq. The gale which was experienced at Madras on the 20th October, 1846, was not of that violent nature, which is the usual characteris- tic of these visitations in tropical climates ; and many persons ima- gined that it was not of the class of rotatory Storms from the fact that the wind during its continuance did not veer round more than a point or two. ‘This, however, may be easily accounted for by suppos- ing the nucleus of the storm to have been formed to the North of Madras, proceeding thence in an undulating Northerly direction, and — passing@ettween Masulipatam and Guntoor, at which places it will be seen, on | nsp ection of the diagram, that it was blowing at one and the same time from opposite points of the compass; and that, as the nu- cleus approached and passed those stations, the wind shifted in a man- ner perfectly reconcilable to the assumption of its motion being cir- cular. Some hours before it commenced at Madras the wind had been blowing briskly from W.S. W. to W. N. W. with an unusual’ fall VAXIV. PUTS. PP NOL; 9% weap poddorps (usd Z yo Pa xe DIG PIS JUT? YPM FUN PV TC YR UW, $2 Cort Lith Dyess Fore Score “DN Fuags Woo, C2 TN PUM y Fe © runpdvbvm : 5 2POPOIIYD & Scene LDESh 499ON GCE IIL? PUDNALANYT Mls? auorrag pur sina) Hgnqgeed Nyy Purmoys WE YOVIT UOON'’ Wy, 96 ; a | uP Wey + “YT ouny poousblny ». TOON payyaeuen Madras Jour. Lit- 1847.] experienced at Madras. 147 of rain, and a sky of a leaden colored hue. After noon it veered back to the Westward, and gradually drew to W.S. W.: the sky be- coming more obscure, and the Barometer indicating approaching bad weather. It then increased gradually till, about 9 P.M., when it was blowing a fresh gale from W. S.W.: the rain at the same time fall- ing in sheets of water. By midnight it had amounted to a mode- rate hurricane, at which it remained till about 4 A. M. of the 21st, when the Barometer which had fallen to 29°492, began to rise although slowly. Between 11 and 12 on the night of the 20th, the wind was from S. W. bW, but, the indicating pencil having got involved with that of the rain guage, the register of the direction of the wind was lost for some hours; yet, as at 7 A. M. on the 21st it was found still to be blowing from nearly the same quarter, S. W. bS., and it was generally observed as an extraordinary fact by persons, who took no- tice of the different phases of this gale, that the wind did not at any time blow from the sea, it may be inferred that it remained tolerably steady during the above time when its greatest force was exerted. The amount of pressure on the square foot during this time was not more than 174 lbs., being what would be denominated a heavy gale; but from the damage sustained by the shipping which gota . trifling offing, and which it must be observed experienced the wind | in the same direction as at Madras, that is, off the land, it is proba- * ble that the force was greater at sea than on shore. It is worthy of observation too that the various accounts given by the Commanders of Vessels who were in this gale, although at considerable distances from each other and from the shore, agree in establishing the pe- riod between midnight and 4 A. M. of the 2lst as the time at which the gale was felt in its greatest strength. This must lead to the con- clusion that the body of the hurricane was not passing from East to West, but was formed in such a position as to throw both Madras and the shipping in its S. Eastern Quadrant. At 4 A. M. of the 21st the wind together with the rain, began to subside and to draw round to the Southward, in which quarter it re- mained strong and variable till between 7 and 8 A. M. of the 22d when it backed round to the N. W.: the Barometer gradually rising till the 25th when it attained its previous height of 30°00. On board the Ships Anz Armstrong, Edward Bilton, Lady McNaughten, and _Hleanor Lancaster, between 30 and 40 miles from the land, the Ba- rometer is reported to have ranged between 28 and 29 inches during the height of the gale, giving as a mean of the whole 28°67. This 148 Notice of the Storms [No. 32, shows a difference of nearly an inch from the height registered on shore, and may perhaps be attributable to the instability of the vessels, as well as original incoincidence with the standard Barometer. The fact of its rising after 4 A. M. of the 21st seems nevertheless to be allowed, which further confirms the supposition that the gale passed from them and Madras about the same time, which would not have been the case had its proper motion been from East to West. It now only remains to show that it proceeded in a Northerly di- rection. On the night of the 20th when it was raging at Madras from S. W., no mention is made of the wind having been more than ordinary at Masulipatam and Guntoor. On the morning of the 21st however it blew at both those stations from East to N. E.—at which time, be it remembered, it was still blowing hard at Madras from S. W. to South. The centre of the hurricane must therefore be con- sidered as about midway between these latitudes. It then appears to have travelled slowly to the Northward, making a bold curve to sea-ward; and by about noon of the 22d, when its influence was no longer felt at Madras, the nucleus must have resumed its course over the land, striking it a little inside false point Devi. At this time Masulipatam had it from the Southward, the Agincourt off the Santopilly rocks had it from 8. E., and Guntoor from the North- ' ward. Then continuing its course as before, it clearly passed between these two towns, Guntoor at 10 P. M. of the 22d having it at N. W., and Masulipatam at the same time at S. W.; after which it passed away and probably dispersed. These data appear fully to warrant the assumption that the hurri- cane was of the rotatory description, although not one in which the violence of the wind was exerted to any great extent. The most remarkable feature in it was the extraordinary fall of rain that took place during its duration. From sun-set of the 20th-to sun-rise of the 21st, the Pluviometer showed an amount of 17:5 inches to have - fallen, being for a period of about 121 hours: a fall unprecedented in the meteorological annals of Madras. The whole quantity that fell from sun-rise of the 20th to sun-set of the 21st was 24:33 inches. The hurricane of the 25th November was as usual preceded at Madras by a murky atmosphere with the wind blowing in squalls from the N. W. to North with heavy rain. After noon it veered round to N. N. E. and N. E., the wind rapidly increasing and the Barometer falling. — VoXIV. PLT. “ghigzrady Le we nay; 92 i DIC DISD JUI? YPM PUNY PUY TE YPM VON, $2 ‘TN PON y, 9 ge aorvIY4) LWGh 4VON GCE MIO PUDNAANYT W4IS? auorneng pun asengy goqeed 214) Durnoys WE LIOVTIT ( POM paypsun YPM TY pray 7 Le webu pny Madras Jour. Lit- &Sccence ae 1847.] — experienced at Madras. 149 It appears to have been formed about 300 miles E. by N. of Madras, Had it come further from the Eastward an inspection of the accompanying diagram will show that the Cressey must have fallen in with it between the 24th and 25th, whereas at noon on the 24th she was running to the Southward with a main royal set; and on the 20th, although she had a heavy confused sea from the S. W. causing the vessel to pitch much, she had fine weather. Taking it for granted then that the formation took place about 300 miles E. by N. of Madras, it appears to have pursued a straight course towards the coast, which it struck about midway between Madras and Sadras, soon after which it seems to have abated. At noon of the 25th I place the nucleus about 160 miles East- _ ward from Madras, at which time the ships that left the roads on the 24th began to feel the hurricane from the Northward, from which | quarter it rapidly veered to West and S. W. as the centre approach- ed and passed to the North of them. The 4yincourt being fur- ther out had it about West at the same time, veering to 8. S. W. and ultimately to S. E. by E. as she passed through the South- Kastern quadrant of the vortex. The Macedon and Sertngapatam were both at this time ex- periencing a gale between South and 8. W., clearly indicating that they must have been sufficiently far from the nucleus not to feel the sudden shifts of wind that always are, and were on this occasion, found to be so dangerous to vessels in its more immediate vicinity. Only the outer part of the South-Eastern quadrant was entered by them, for although the Macedon subsequently ran to the N. W., and crossed the track of the hurricane, it had passed before she _ went over the ground. The Agincourt which was the vessel furthest to the Eastward, _ she having parted on the night of the 23d, felt the greatest fury of _ the storm about midday of the 25th, when the Barometer showed 28:57. The Anna Robertson and Eleanor Lancaster left the roads early on the afternoon of the 24th and experienced its greatest force between 4 and 5 P. M. of the 25th, showing the onward motion of the storm to have been from the Eastward. The | Zarah must have been somewhere near these ships, having run | out about the same time with them, but the memo. of her proceedings | does not show clearly her position. It appears however that she ex- | perienced the height of the storm about the same time as the two I 150 Notice of ihe Storms, 8c. [No. 32, before named vessels, and on a sudden shift of wind was nearly sunk by the shifting of her cargo in a heavy lurch. At this time at Madras the wind was merely a fresh breeze from North to N. E. We were about West of the centre which was travelling W. by S. gradually placing us in the N. W. Quadrant of the hurricane. The Barometer showing, on the morning of the 2oth, still further indication of approaching foul weather, the remaining ships .4¢he- nian, Edward Bilton, Augusta, and Jane Catherine left between 11 A. M. and 2 P. M. on that day; and the three last having run to the Eastward encountered a lull between 7 and 8 P.M. A lit- tle discrepancy occurs in the times at which this is said to have happened, but some allowance must be made for people under such fearful circumstances. Previous to the lull the wind had been N. E. to N. N. E. with all three; the sky still remaining as dense as ever, and the Barometers showing no indication of arise. It re- mained calm for about half an hour when the blast returned in all its fury from West to S. W. throwing all three vessels on their beam — ends. The Edward Bilton and Augusta were dismasted—the latter water-logged was abandoned—but the Jane Catherine provi- | dentially escaped without any very serious damage. The centre of “| the storm may therefore with safety be placed as passing alittle to | the North of these vessels (had it passed to the South of them the | wind would have veered round to the S. E. as it did at Madras) | and their positions may be assumed at between 30 and 40 miles | off shore. This was between 7 and8 P.M. At about 9:45 P. M. | the greatest depression of the Barometer took place at Madras, | being 29:03 inches. The centre had then reached its nearest proxi- a mity to Madras which lay due North of it, shown by the wind being | Fast, drawing round to S. E. as the body of the storm passed tothe | Westward: and it may be inferred that the track of the nucleus was ie not at any very great distance to the Southward from the fact of the fi gale not having been felt at Pondicherry, although it was at Sadras, ~ where however the trees were all blown down from the Westward di- rectly contrary to the strength of the hurricane at Madras. : Unfortunately no register of the force of the wind was obtained rf alter 8 P. M. of the 25th, owing to the connecting link between the o | registering pencil and the plate on which the wind acts having given | way at this time, and there being no possibility of then replacing it. — I] The force of the wind was however computed by a talented Engineer | 1847. | Notice regarding the names, &c. lol Officer to have amounted to 52Ibs. to the square foot, being the amount required to be exerted to overthrow the pillars on the El- phinstone Bridge, one of which was blown down. . Register of the Sympiesometer, Barometer, and Force of Wind at Madras, November 25 and 26, 1846. Sympiesometer. Barometer. Wind. November 25, 8 A.M. 29°26 29°70 5°5 lbs. ne ao ee ME. 29°10 29°57 CRE) et ED NY 5 29:06 29°54 85 ,, a sie ak ae 29:06 29°52 S20, i pas A ae 29:04 29°50 Saibees, va KO WE cs 29°01 29°49 95 ,, i Mee ON 28°98 29°46, 14s, a clair as nie 28°91 29°40 TORN 4s anette ae 28°85 29°31 Par ae a a, Be 28 62 29:12 ) The connecting line of~ oe ey aU SS 28°58 29°03 the registering pen- i Ors 28°58 29°03 cil being broken, no sf ae 10:30" 5, 28°70 29°16 further observation st 26, O380A.M. 29°26 29°63 could be taken. 95 Nite] A 29°36 29°73 J V. Notice regarding the names used in the Indian Zodiac. By C. P. Brown, Esq. An Essay by Mr. C. M. Whish on the origin and antiquity of the Hindu Zodiac was printed in the year 1827; and has been noticed on a recent occasion in the Royal Asiatic Society. In the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal a paper has now appeared (in No. 167, p: 109) by Mr. J. Muir of the Civil Service, verifying Mr. Whish’s assertions. This matter being mentioned to me by Mr. Walter Elliot, I replied that I was already aware of the existence of the Greek words in Sanscrit treatises, having met with them in a manu- script key to astrology. The stanza preserving the twelve names is | well known among those Bramins who are skilled in jotish (correctly, Jyautisham) which, as Professor Wilson observes, includes ‘“* Mathe- matical, Astronomical, and Astrological Science.” Manuscript books on this art are common: there are many in the College Library: which now contains the volumes lately transmitted from the India House as well as my own collection. The treatises on (jotish) astrology are allin Sanscrit: and usually open with an explanation of technical words. I shall first notice a 152 Notice regarding the names used [No. 32, large volume called the Jataca Parijatam, or Rose of Astrology, (vol. No. 2330 in the Catalogue.) It is written in the Malayalam character. It begins with a short hymn addressed to the Trimuriz; then to the sun, the moon, the planets, and genii. ‘Then follow the twelve signs of the Zodiac, by the well known Sanscrit names. Mesham, i. e. Ram. Tula, the Scales. Vrishabham, i. e. Bull. Vrischicam, Scorpion. Mithunam, i. e. Twins. Dhanas, the ‘* Bow.”’ Kareatacam, Crab. Macaram, Sea goat. Simham, Lion. Cumbha, Vessel. Kanya, Virgin. Minu, Fishes. ‘* But, (says the author) the following names are given to these signs.” | (Here follows the stanza quoted by Mr. Whish:) it is in the Arya metre, resembling that used by Horace Miserarum est neque amori, &c. The words are thus spelt: according to MWlkins’s system. Kriya tauru jutuma kulira Léya Parthona Jika, kérp akhyah *Tauxica, Akokérd. Hridrog Aschsthasih cramasah. The same stanza appears in the Vrihajjatacam (written in the Gran- _ dham character, ms. No. 2026) page 6. It runs thus: Kriya tavuru jittuma kulira Léya Parthona jnaka kopp yarkhyah Tauxica Akokéro. , Hridrog asch-antyabham chéttham. q A third manuscript, in the Telugu character, (vol. 558,) of the — Vrihat jatacam, by Bhattotpala, in page 6 exhibits the stanza thus: Kriya tavuru jitumo kulira | Léya, Pardhona, jika kaurp’ akhyah Tauxica akokéro Hridrogasch’ antyabham chéd dham. On comparing the various readings of these three manuscripts, — with those printed by Mr. Whish and Mr. Muir, and with the — Greek names, the following is the result. i Krios, (the Ram) is written in all Kriya. Taurus, the Bull: Tavuru, Taburi, Tauru. Pi Didymus, the Twins; Juthuma, Jituma, jutuma, jittuma. 1847. | wm the Indian Zodiac. 153 Karkinos the crab; is in all kulira: the plain Sanscrit word for the crab.* Leon, the lion, is uniform in all, Léya. Parthenos the virgin; par- thona, Parthéya, and Pardhona. Zyeus, the scales; juka in four mss. and jnaka in a fifth. Scorpios, Korpya, korp, Koppyar. Toxicos, the archer, is uniformly Taukshica—which may also be written Tauxicah. Aigokeros, the seagoat, is uniformly written akokéro. Hydrochoos, Aquarius, is written Hridroga; in all but Mr. Whish’s copy. Ichthyes, the fishes. Isthusi, Aschsthaisih. These words resem- ble the dative, ichthusi. In three manuscripts this word is abandon- ed: being hard to express in Sanscrit characters. The three manuscripts I have consulted are ancient: the first quoted is perhaps two hundred years old: it is one of those received last year from the Honorable Company’s Library in London. The other two are perhaps half as old: they belonged to my own col- lection. All three are written on palm leaves. The verses are familiarly known to most of the Bramins who have had occasion to study astrology. Mr. Whish also cites a Sanscrit verse which mentions the Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus (called in Greek Helius, Hermes, Ares, Zeus, Kronos and Aphrodite) by the names Heli, He- ma, Arah, Jyok, Konah, and Asphujit. Inthe Brihajjatacam I have read this verse: which deviates only in one name, reading (in 008) Jyos for Zeus. This is a yet more apt coincidence. Having satisfied myself that Mr. Whish’s quotations from the as- trological treatises are veracious, I shall close this paper with a que- ry regarding the names of the days of the week. It is well known that among the Hindus Sunday is called the day of the Sun; Mon- day the day of the Moon; Friday the day of Venus; Saturday the day of Sani (Saturn) and so forth : precisely agreeing with European names: and the same names appertaining to the same days. * This word Kulira though uniformly written in all the manuscripts, seems an error for Karkina ; it is the only Sanscrit name used in this verse instead of a Greek name: the metre (Arya vrittam) can use Karkina (a dactyl) in the third seat; and cannot use the (amphibrach) Kulira in irregular seats : viz. Ist, 3d, 5th, 7th. See Colebrooke’s Essay ' on Sanscrit Poetry, vol. 2, p. 72 note. Captain Jervis in his volume on Weights and Mea~ sures, Bombay 1836, page 132, has pointed out these Greek words in the Sanscrit canons. He seems to have read AKurku, which, if correct, is more like the Greek word. \ U . 154 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 52, Now these names are mentioned in modern Hindu Almanacks, and yet they are utterly unknown to all Hindu authors and lexicographers. Ts not this evidently copied from the custom of Europe? For the week or measure of seven days has been known among Hindus only in modern times: in ancient days they measured each month by the increasing and decreasing moon alone: and in the present day a Hindu usually dates a letter or document thus: ‘“‘ On Monday the sixth of the bright fortnight in Magha,” &c. but in old times the day of the fortnight was thus specified without being named: and at pre- sent the name is often omitted. The Hindus have copied the names of the weekly days from Christians: not from Musulmans, whose system is different. What has now been stated shows that the signs of the Zodiac bear Greek names: which however have never come into ordinary use in India. VI. Account of the Gold Mines in the Province of Malabar. From official papers communicated by Government. The existence of Gold in the province of Malabar was made known to Government by the Collector, Mr. Sheffield, in a communi- cation, dated 10th January, 1831, in which he stated that gold dust to the value of Rupees 5.285 had been collected at Carcatode in the Ernaad talook, in the Welamboor valley, at Caraloondy on the sea- beach in the Shernaad talook, and at Moonanaad, Moopeynaad, and Nambalacotta in Wynaad, the whole weighing 11,449 fanams. ‘“‘ Of this quantity” he continues “ by far the greatest portion has been forwarded to the Presidency, the remainder being 2, 90825 new gold fanams weight, valued Rupees 1,226-6-2, will be oc lle over by me to Mr. Hudleston, who has been instructed to collect as much more gold dust for the use of Government, as can be obtained. “I beg however to state that in consequence of an increased de- mand for this valuable commodity owing to a greater number of persons resorting to this province from the eastern districts of Coimbatore, Madura, and T richinopoly to purchase it, the price has risen in the average 5 per cent., or from Rupees 4-2-40 to 4-3-35 — for ten new gold fanams weight. wg “‘ Though gold is found in all the rivers of this district from the stream which falls into the sea at Elatoor, about eight miles-north‘of Calicut, and as far south as the numerous streams flowing through © a alfa sslUcrmrlOrh CZ 1847. in the Province of Malabar. 155 the Palghat valley which at their junction about 15 miles below Pal- ghatcherry form the great Pondny river, [and some of which reach the southern boundary between Cochin and Malabar about one hundred and ten miles to the southward of Calieut|—the places and streams which afford the largest supply of gold dust are the following :-— “ The Toodakull river which rises in the Koondah mountains, and after dividing the Walloowanaad talook from the talook of Neringa- naad falls into the great Ponany river at Moochukul, about two miles north-east of Turtullah. “ The 4rliparambur a rivulet which flows through Walloowanaad and part of Weringanaad, and joins the Toodakull river about two miles east of Cherpoolchery. “The Arnakyem river which has its source in the Mookoorty and Koondah mountains. It forms the boundary between the Ernaad and Walloowanaad talooks, and after passing the tewns of Malapooram and Teroorangaddy meets the sea at Caraloondy. “ The Carcatode stream which rises in the Mookoorty valley and joins the Arnakyem river near Pynaad in the Eraaad talook. “ The gold found at the places above mentioned is the purest that is procurable in the district, its touch being equal to 93. “‘ The sea beach from the town of Parparangady to Caraloondy and thence to Beypoor, extending about eight miles in length, the latter place being seven miles south of Calicut. Here the gold is equal to 82, and it is evidently washed down from the mountains during the great freshes in the south-west monsoon, and after being carried out by the flood beyond the mouths of the Beypoor and Caraloondy rivers it is thrown back by the ac- tion of the surf, in stormy weather and deposited on the sands much higher up than the sea usually reaches when the weather is moderate. “ Kutchambara on the bank of the Coodarapoya river, which comes from the Mookoorty valley, and unites with the Beypoor ri- ver about two miles below Ne/amboor. The touch of the gold found here and in the bed of the Coodarapoya river is nearly 91. “The Carumpoya and Poonapoya, or Golden River, both which ' streams take their rise in a high range of mountains called the Paral . Mallah situated north-east of Mookoorty, and forming part of the main chain of the Veilgherries ; when collected in one body near | Poolliumparra in Wynaad the stream receives the name of the Paun- | dy-poya, but this on approaching the Ghauts is again divided into two streams, and the main branch, called in the Nelemboor valley the 156 Account of the Gold Mines (No. 32, Carumbye, rushes down the Alliampully Cherum. The Poonapoya descends the mountains between Alliampully and the Carcoor Cher- rum, and long before its junction with the Carwmbye it receives both the Kellakumpoya and Caracoorpoya. “The Kellakumpoya and Caracoorpoya above mentioned ; the former river rushes down from Wynaad into the Nelamboor valley through the Pundaloor Cherrum, and the latter descends from De- valla to the right of the road through the Carcoor Pass. ‘“‘ Gold dust is also found on the plains in the Nelamboor valley, and frequently on elevated spots, particularly at Zeeroowdly, a hill near Mambaat Angudy about 150 feet above the level of the Beypeor river during the highest freshes. On the slope of this eminence gold is procured some feet below the surface of the ground, in pits dug by those who come in search of it. “‘ North of the Beypoor river it is found in the Zeeroowambaddy division of Polwye, in a mountain stream which descending the Ghauts to the left of the road through the Zumberchery Pass runs through the Zumberchery and Polwye districts and forms a junction with the great Beypoor river between Pawoor and Sherwaddee and opposite to Mapooram in the Hrnaad talook. ‘The touch of the gold found here and of that which is generally procured in the Ne- lamboor valley is about 83. ‘“‘ Above the Ghauts in Wynaad, gold is found in Parkmeetil, a higher table land, between Manantoddy and Nambollacotta, at a place called Chollyode in Moonanaad and Nillialam and Ponany in Moopeyanaad ; it is likewise found at Devadla and its immediate vi- cinity in Nambollacotta ; but the gold of Wynaad is much inferior to ~ that which is washed down from the lofty mountains actually apper- taining to the Meilgherries and Koondahs, its touch being only 73.” Mr. Sheffield then proceeds to describe the manner in which the gold dust is found and separated, as follows: ‘“‘ The earth or sand in the mountains, hills, paddy-fields and beds of rivers and rivulets known to be dni otitee with this valuable ore is dug up. The places selected are those in or near water such as running streams, ruts, ravines and breaks in the mountains and low ground into which the course of the water is most likely to drive the ore during the rainy season. The earth so collected is put into a kind of wooden tray hollowed in the centre and not unlike a Turtle’s shell, called a Pautey, which is submerged in water just enough to overflow it and no more, and turned with an 8 1847. ] in the Province of Malabar. 157 undulating motion by thé washer with one hand, while the soil is stirred up with the other until all the earthy particles are washed out of it, and a sediment is left in the hollow consisting chiefly of a mix- ture of black sand and particles of Iron and Gold. The Pautey is then taken out of the water, and one end of it being somewhat ele- vated, water is gently poured upon its contents until the gold and metallic sediment appear on the border distinctly divided from the earthy mass. The golden particles are separated with a grain or two of quicksilver which is rubbed into them, and then put in a piece of tobacco leaf, which being placed in a crucible or more generally between two pieces of lighted charcoal the heat causes the quicksil- ver to evaporate, and the gold is then taken out in a pure state. * When gold-dust is found in streams a wooden trough, about 4 to 4% feet long and 15 inches wide, is frequently used, and into this the sand or soil from the bed of the river or rivulet is thrown as fast as it is taken out and then washed by the person in charge of the trough, who is constantly stirring the sand with his right hand and pouring a gentle stream of water upon it with his left, until nothing remains but the heavy black sand and particles of iron and gold, and when the dust appears on its borders it is collected with a proportion of quicksilver and then separated in the manner before mentioned. ‘© Native gold is likewise found in small pieces, particularly in the beds of the several branches of the Beypoor river flowing through the Nelamboor valley before they all unite above Mambaatangady. _ “Tn the rainy season the Pazties are worked upon the mountains, hills and other elevated spots, but these places, owing to the want of — water to assist the operation, are abandoned at the end of the rains, and the Pawties are employed during the dry months in the beds of : rivers and smaller streams. _ “ The sands on the sea beach between Parparangaddy, Caraloon- dy and Beypoor are most productive during the months of June, Ju- ly, August and September, when the rivers which fall into the sea at Beypoor and Caraloondy are filled by the South-west Monsoon, but gold is found here, though in smaller quantities, throughout the year. “There appears no reason whatever to doubt that the matrix of the golden ore is in the mountains and hills of Malabar, and even many elevated spots in the vallies of Nelamboor and Mookoorty, and the immediate vicinity of Devalla and the Koondah and Neilgherry mountains ; whilst that which is found in the beds of rivers and other 158 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 32, mountain streams is fortuitously brought down by the Monsoon rains. ‘‘ Though a very extensive search has been made among the Re- cords of my Office, since the orders of Government under date the 18th November, 1828, to afford information on this subject, I regret to state that I have not succeeded in finding that any endeavour what- soever was made.by the several Collectors, since this province came into the possession of the Honorable Company, to discover the mines or places whence the gold issues. These however appear to have been noticed by the Honorable Mr. Duncan, late Governor of Bom- bay, who enjoined the authorities then in the province, in the year 1793, to collect and submit to him every information that could be obtained on the subject, but it does not appear upon record that any scientific person was deputed to explore the places where the dust is found in order to trace the sources from whence the supplies are de- rived, or that any particular inquiry on the subject was set on foot, though it has been well known from the earliest period that gold is produced in the province, and the collecting of it has been formed out in Wynaad and the Nelamoor valley for the last forty or fifty years.” About the same time that the preceding letter was written a Swiss watchmaker of Cannanore, named Henry Louis Huguenin, petitioned the Governor (the Right Honorable S. R. Lushington) to employ him in exploring the mineral resources of Malabar, and as it appeared that he understood the art of mining and was moreover acquainted with the language and people of that part of the country, his offer was accepted. It was stipulated that he should receive one half the proceeds of the first twelve months, and he was placed under the orders of Lieutenant Woodley Nicolson, of the 49th Regiment N. I., who with a small party* of Pioneers was directed to aid him in exploring the tracts specified by Mr. Sheffield, the whole being under the im- mediate superintendence of Major Crewe, the Officer Commanding the Station of Ootacamund. They commenced their search in June, 1831, in the neighbourhood of Devalacottah, but both Lieutenant Nicolson and Mr. Huguenin were soon afterwards attacked with dangerous fevers which laid them up for a considerable time. They were enabled however to re- sume operations on the 10th December at a place named Carcatode, which was selected apparently in consequence of native reports. The * * A Havildar and 12 Privates. 1847. ] an the Province of Malabar. 159 farther account of their proceedings is given in Lieutenant Nicolson’s own words.* ‘‘ We continued our researches in the same neighbour- hood until the 24th when it became evident from the daily average of work that it was not worth while remaining there, at any rate at this season. The place seems famed for gold in consequence of the superior touch of the small quantity found there, a circumstance which greatly affects the nominal value of the metal to be found elsewhere, a great deal of which is sold by the Nativesas Carcatode gold. The nature of the work in that direction will be found in the detailed reports I shall duly have the honor of forwarding. ‘‘T have now to add that with the view of pursuing the search throughout the Nelamboor valley, we arrived at this place on the 26th ultimo, and were not a little surprised at finding a regular set of mines worked by five or six hundred Moplays, who (if their head- men can be believed) are obliged to give one barley-corn weight of gold per man to the Zemindar per diem, by which a direct daily tax of about twenty Rupees is levied by him without his paying anything to Government. On our arrival the whole of the Moplays made off ; ‘but in consequence of my issuing proclamations that in continuing their work, they should meet with no molestation, a great number have returned to the mines. These works are very extensive, the shafts are generally from ten to fifty feet deep, and the deeper they are, the greater is the quantity of gold tobe found. The only impediment to the work being the continual accumulation of water, which they have no idea whatever of raising but by assembling in great num- bers with chatties. . We could easily employ bamboo syphons for this purpose, but as our work would be overlooked by the Moplays, they would not fail instantly to apply the syphon to all the other mines in the neighbourhood to our great disadvantage hereafter. Therefore until we have a sufficient number of workmen and are suf- _ ficiently strong in Pioneers, or others to place guards over the miners, _ we cannot work them to any great advantage. “Tt will at once appear evident that where five or six hundred ' men find it worth their while to work with the miserable and slovenly apparatus they possess, and with which the very least each man can _ possibly find is the weight of the third of a gold fanam per diem, | which trifling day’s work very seldom happens, (as the quantity found _ by one man daily varies from that just mentioned to the weight of | ten gold fanams, on which occasions the mud is always taken from * Under date, Capul near Mombaat Augady, 3d January, 1832. 160 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 32, the deepest shafts,) it will then as above mentioned, appear evident that were these mines systematically worked on the European prin- ciple, the quantity of gold to be had would be very considerable. But situated as I am without the above means, and with so small a party, we can do little more than as many of the Natives, and can only for the present continue the search for the most lucrative mines in the District, and for those places where it may be worth while for Government to keep up regular Mining establishments, amongst which number these mines may most undoubtedly be classed. The Pioneers have collected nearly an ounce of gold during the week they: have been here, and had I the regular European apparatus this ounce would, I have no doubt, have been a pound.” The mines of Capud do not appear to have been previously known, though Mr. Sheffield mentions that gold had been found by digging pits in the Termoolly Hill near Mombaat Angudy. In addition to the gold collected by the Pioneers at Capul, Lieutenant Nicolson purchased two other pieces obtained by Native workmen in other parts of the Nelamboor valley, which on being analysed in the Assay Office at Madras gave the following results. No. 1. The specimen of gold from the Capul mines is very fine, being B lcar. 34 grs., its weight was 2 dwts. 14 grs., and its value Rupees 5, Annas 9, Pie 5; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following metals : Touch. 528.85 Gold eiticsgaigd sho. a2 Alp 4 0) Silly erie. hs as ARS 0:78 Grain 1 5 5 100-0 One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 43, Annas 4, Pie 8. No. 2. The specimen of gold from the Nelamboor Rajah’s mines is of fineness B 0 car. 22 grs., its weight was 3 dwts. 4 grs., and its value Rupees 6, Annas 8, Pie 6; one hundred parts would consist of the following metals : / Touch GO, 54.0 Golde nyoree cee ecee. UAas 5 12. *O DUVET Aeiaccns eee sacle, vue Grain 0 12 6 100:0 One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 4}, Annas 4. 1847.] in the Province of Malabar. 161 No. 3. The specimen of gold from the Devalla mines is of fineness W 0 car. 2 grs., its weight was 3 dwts. 2 grs., and its value Ru- pees 6, Anna 1, Pie 10; one hundred parts would consist of the following metals : Touch Gi ee GGG. oleate nice siievermners . 90°88 MOE et ASUIVCL, woe ohio tlie aslo 5.0 8:86 UO) Oe Se digi sen ener 0°26 Grain F110 100-0 One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 39, Annas 10, Pie 6. From Lieutenant Nicolson’s next report dated Carembat jungle near Careoor, 25th January, 1832, it appears that his inquiries had excited the jealousy and alarm of the Native Miners. ‘“* The Moplays at the Capul mines” he says “ having commenced a system of de- vastation in filling up the shafts, &c. I have been under the neces- sity of applying to the Collector for a Havildar’s Guard, on the arri- val of which at Capul (having heard that the same system. of depre- dation was going on in the mines in this direction for the purpose of giving us every possible difficulty and impediment in our search) I im- mediately left half my party at Capud under the command of the Pioneer Havildar, with the necessary orders for protecting the works, &c. &c. while I am continuing the search and endeavouring to pre- vent injury being done to the mines in this neighbourhood, which are said to be very numerous and much richer than those at Capul ; as yet however we have only come upon one, which is in a mountain called Combala Nally, one of the Chulumally range close under Nelliallum. “« The average quantity of gold to be found in this mine may be takenat about a gold fanam’s weight per man daily, but in consequence of the constant search we are making in the jungles for the best mines, we have no time for gold-washing.”’ The prospects now appeared so encouraging, that Lieutenant Ni- colson considered his means altogether insufficient for prosecuting the work, and stated additional aid to be indispensable. He proposed that the whole corps of Pioneers should be furnished with Trays or Pauties, and be instructed in the use of them, and set systematically to work. Their employment, he was sanguine, would lead to the dis- covery of many valuable mines, particularly in the Cuondah and Mookoorty Hills, “ to which we have fairly traced the strata which contain gold in that direction.” Ww 162 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 52, Seven Ingots of gold the produce of their labors up to this time, and obtained, apparently, by the processes of washing and amal- gamation, were forwarded to the Mint and yielded the following results. “The specimen No. 1 of gold from the Melamboor mines, is in fineness B 0 car. 22 grs., its weight when received, was 3 dwts. | gr., and its value Rupees 6, Annas 4, Pie 4 ; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions: — Golde os seston opener te ae 94°53 A OY a tieiaye dite i leleae Baie eva S47 100: One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 41, Annas 3, Pie 8.” “The specimen No. 2 of gold from the Nelamboor mines, is in fine- ness B 0 car. 22 grs., its weight when received, was 3 dwts. 1 gr., and its value Rupees 6, Annas 4, Pie 4 ; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions: Golde Me as elelsre e etistae tau 94°53 Alloy.. . 660s aie O47 100: One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 41, Annas 3, Pie 8.” “‘ The specimen No. 3 of gold from the Nelamboor mines, is in fine- ness B 1 car. 0} gr., its weight, when received, was | dwt. 7 grs., and its value Rupees 2, Annas 11, Pie 3; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions : Goldy .108 halicheienahe «(either 96:9 FENTON EL BIB e Or eee Ole a 39} 100- One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 41, Annas 13, Pie 8.” ‘‘ The specimen No. 1 of gold from the Capul mines, is in fineness B 1 car. 3 gts., its weight, when received, was 3 dwts. 16 grs., and its value Rupees 7, Annas 14, Pie 8; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions : ROL. Areca wee tare Medien nemo 98:96 + Alloy, iss é 1:4 1847.] in the Province of Malabar. 163 One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 43, Annas 2, Pie 10.” “The specimen No. 2 of gold from the Capul mines, is in fine- ness B I car. 34 grs., its weight when received, was 2 dwts., 11 gTs., and its value Rupees 5, Annas 5, Pie 1; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions : Goldie esto ee a | 99:22 Gye BBG 1! VaR RE Ae Hise: 2 0:78 100: One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 43, Annas 4, Pie 2.” ‘‘ The specimen No. 3 of gold from the Capzd mines, is in fine- ness B 1 car. 3 grs., its weight when received, was 3 dwts. 17 grs., and its value Rupees 8, Anna 0, Pie 1 ; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions : Sy ie AR Ie ek ee 98-96 PONE hectic oe 1-4 100: _ One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 43, Annas 2, Pie 9.” _ ( ‘The specimen of gold from the Cucatode mines, is in fineness B 1 car. 32 grs., its weight, when received, was 3 dwts. 4 grs., and its value Rupees 6, Annas 13, Pie 8; one hundred parts of this specimen would consist of the following proportions : Gold, A Cimon ws d GoewoOo oD 99-22 ig eh OU RII ola tia, 0:78 100: One ounce of gold of this fineness would be worth Rupees 43, Annas 4, Pie 7.” In reply to an inquiry for explanation regarding the difference be- tween the cheaper rate at which he had purchased the specimens sent and the value assigned to them by the Mint Master, Lieutenant Nicolson observes, that it arose from his ‘ having purchased them from the gold-washers themselves, previous to their getting into the hands of the Soucars, whose customary profits would have other- wise made them much dearer,” and he adds ‘‘if people were stationed at the several mines to purchase the gold on account of Govern- ment, they could obtain it at the following rates : 164 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 32, Value according to the Mint Master’s Rs. Report. En Wives vies Ace, apa). fe peroz. 52 39 10 6 In the Nelamboor Valley. .... Bah Mets seinh sy hic, ene ace bie 44), gO At Capul and Cacatode............. a 36 43 O 0 If required to be melted into ingots 4 Annas per ounce must be added for Goldsmith’s hire and borax—so that the purchase of Wynaad gold will yield a profit of upwards of 23 per cent., Welam- boor gold 20 per cent., and Capul gold 19 per cent.” The success that attended the prosecution of their examination of the Nelamboor valley is thus related. ‘‘ We have returned to Capul after having duly searched as much of the Nelamboor valley as the jungle has permitted us to penetrate, and 1 am happy to add that we have been as successful as could be wished- The mines in that direction are innumerable ; the principal ones however are in the thickest part of the jungle immediately under the Wynaad Hills, and near the following villages belonging to the Yeroopaad of Ne- lamboor, viz. Coranbaat, Kotchapoora, Moondatry and Maneecoote. The Coranbaat jungle is mined throughout wherever the grotnd will admit of water being supplied from the neighbouring Rivers, this being the only thing requisite as the whole of the soil under the Hills contains gold, the quality of which is much the same as the specimen labelled ‘ from the Velamboor Rajah’s mines.’ ” At this stage the party were again compelled to desist from the ravages of fever. Lieutenant Nicolson and Mr. Huguenin were both obliged to return to Calicut seriously ill, and the Pioneers were re- called to the Head Quarters of the Regiment on the Nedgherry Hills. Lieutenant Nicolson came round from Cannanore to Madras by sea, and having sufficiently recovered his health by the voyage re- turned to the scene of his labours in June, 1832, visiting such spots on his way as he considered likely to produce the mineral of which he had been in search for so many months. Tidings of the existence of gold were found “at Darampoory, at the foot of the Shervaroy Hills, at Sadizamungalum, Danagancottah, Addevarum ox Stremogay, — and Metapolliam, in the neighbourhood of which, there are, I am informed, now about thirty people employed in gold-washing,” He likewise made inquiries as to the market prices of gold and found ‘ that in all large bazars where there is a great demand for gold its commercial value far exceeds its real value as reported by the Mint Master, for instance, gold of 9 touch is generally sold in the Madras 1847. ] in the Province of Malabar. 165 bazar at 15 Rupees for the weight of 1 Rupee which is at the rate of 50 Rupees per ounce Tvoy, since that quantity weighs 34 Rupees, while its value as reported by the Mint Master is only 41 donee Annas. Now the original cost at the mines being 34 Rupees (for 9 touch) per ounce; it follows that the profit to be obtained in a com- mercial point of view is nearly fifty per cent., while the real value of the metal at the Mint only gives a profit of about 23 per cent. on the prime cost—thus showing the infallible advantages that must accrue to Go- vernment from their monopolizing the sale of gold wherever it is to be found, by purchasing it direct from the Miners, before it can possibly get into other hands.” This he appeared to consider a more favorable plan for raising a revenue than that of working the mines at the expense of Govern- ment, but it would in that case be necessary “to prevent the gold being smuggled or purchased by the Native Merchants who are al- Ways in attendance, for the produce of every day’s work, and for which they never pay the workmen in coin, but in articles of food, raiment, &c. &c. on which again they charge a very great per centage, so that their profits must be enormous, and as they are in the habit of using false weights, such as introducing lead into the grains of paddy with which the gold is weighed, and various other modes of extortion, the gold bought by these Soucars does not probably cost them more than half what I paid for it. The whole of the Miners appeared to be entirely at the mercy of these Merchants, and were obliged to give them over, every Rupee they received from me.” With regard to the working operations, he observes “It must be nevertheless evident that a little machinery would greatly increase the quantity to be procured. For instance, their present mode of crushing ore, is by breaking one piece against another, until there is a sufficient quantity of dust to fill a tray, which slow mode of working, dees not allow them to wash more than 3 or 4 trays full per man in the course of the day, whereas with pumps and stamping mills, they might | probably wash ten times that number, and no fear can reasonably be entertained of the mines failing or becoming exhausted, since the whole country, for a circle of nearly fifty miles immediately under the | Ghauts contains gold. ~ In addition to the profits I have above enu- |. merated, there is also that of the tax which appears to have been hi- therto raised by’ the Zameendars of Districts, unknown to Govern- | ment. This tax varies from one paddy meinbp of gold per man, to 5 ido. for 3 men according to the produce of the mine. At Capul it is ') apaddy-corn weight per man daily.” 166 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 32, The request for additional means being supported by Major Crewe, orders were issued for the despatch of two 3 inch cylinder pumps, and 8 chests of mining tools from the stores; and as it appeared that cranes and troughs could easily be made up at Paul- ghaut, authority was conveyed to Major Crewe to have the requisite number prepared. On the 19th November, Lieutenant Nicolson re- ported that on arriving at Paulghaut and making all inquiries, he learnt that, the only substantial article procurable for manufacturing machinery was wood, and that iron and all other requisites were of the coarsest possible quality; that no workmen could be found ex- pert enough to put them cleverly or substantially together, all be- ing carpenters of the most ordinary description; and that troughs and rakes were the only articles to be depended on at Paulghaut. He then proceeded to suggest the propriety of assembling a Com- mittee at Capul of such persons as might be considered most compe- tent to form a correct opinion on the present state of the mines and the most practicable mode of working them, as also of the advantages ~ likely to accrue from sending direct to England for machinery. In conclusion he mentioned that at the time of his writing there was a very large quantity of gold for sale at Paulghaut and Commbatore, at prices, which although much higher than at the mines, were still ac- tually lower than the intrinsic value of the metal, as determined by the Mint Master, and solicited permission to buy up on account of Government any quantity of gold he might be able to procure at this comparatively low rate. The quantity which he calculated he could procure in the public bazar was stated to amount to about 00,000 Rupees. In conformity with this suggestion a Committee was appointed composed of Mr. F. F. Clementson, Principal Collector of Malabar. Captain Ross, Superintending Engineer in A/alabar and Canara and Civil Engineer in the Western Division. Assistant Surgeon Ward, M. D., attached to the Medical Establishment at Tellicherry, with instructions to inspect the gold mines in Malabar in communication with Lieutenant Nicolson, and to report on their probable produc- tiveness, the expense which would attend the working of them, and _ the most efficient means of conducting the operations. They were farther desired to take into consideration the expediency of sending to England for machinery. The Committee sent in their report on the 25th of May, 1832. They commence by stating that “in carrying into effect the orders of Government they have directed their inquiries to three subects. 1847. | in the Province of Malabar. 167 I. The productiveness of the gold mines in the Zillah of Malabar. II. The machinery that would be required, and the expense of working them. III. The propriety and utility of sending to England for machine- ry for such purpose.” “On these different subjects, information has been derived from three sources. Ist. The correspondence of thé former Principal Collectors of Malabar and the Officer conducting the search for gold with Govern- ment or its servants. 2d. Personal inspection of some of the places where gold is found, and ! od. The examination of persons connected with the mines.” The Committee then express their regret that they could not obtain such positive evidence on all points, as they would wish to have laid before Government. They had to derive their information on many subjects, from persons connected with the mines, who were interested either in concealing or enhancing their value, and they had therefore to guard against wilful misrepresentation on the one hand and ex- _ aggerated statements on the other. I. On the Productiveness of the Gold Mines. ‘In attempting to ascertain this, the Committee directed their in- quiries to the eight following heads. 1. The number of mines in the Zillah. 2. The number of persons employed in mining. 3. The _ Jength of time the mines have been worked. 4. The taxes levied at different times on the produce. 0. Present state of the mines of Ca- | pul and Mambaat and the native mode of working them. 6. Quan- | tity found by one man per day. 7. Quantity annually produced. 8. ' The condition of those connected with the mines. ! “1. Previous to noticing the number of mines, it may be useful to take vabrief survey of the country in which they are found, and ofthe geologi- cal features which it presents, Nearly the whole of the Province of | Malabar, except that part immediately along the Coast consists of lofty / mountains covered with dense forest or thick jungle. The principal | chain more immediately connected with the present subject is formed ‘of the Koondah and Mookoorty Hills to the south-east of Calicut, the Netlgherries to the east, and the Wynaad mountains to the north- east. These send off numerous lateral ranges between which are ‘deep vallies in most places closely covered with forest. The most p) extensive of these is that of Nelamboor including nearly the whole 168 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 82, of the Hrnaad Talook, bounded on the east by the Aedgherries, on the north by Wynaad, on the north-west by a lateral range running | south from the Ghauts called the Wawoot Hills, and on the south by the Koondah and Mookoorty mountains. From these on all sides innumerable mountain streams descend, and uniting near Velam- door form the #eypoor river of considerable magnitude, which falls into the sea about eight miles to the southward of Calicut. The names of the different streams are particularized in a valuable paper on the gold mines by Mr. Sheffield. In the mountainous district of Wynaad, streams in the same manner descend through every valley and unite into large rivers which fall into the Cavery in the Mysore and Coimbatore countries. The whole of the mountains above men- tioned seem to be of primitive formation, In the Nelamboor valley, so far as the observations of the Committee went, the prevailing rock is Guciss, a kind of stratified granite. Above thisin most places, is a species of clay-iron-stone, which from its softness, enabling it to be cut into the form of bricks for building, received from Dr. Bucha- - nan the name of Laterite. It is what Geologists call the overlying rock of the whole country between the Ghauts and the sea to the westward, and many of the smaller hills are entirely formed of it. ‘‘ When fresh dug it is perfectly sectile, but on exposure to the heat of the sun, and to the weather it becomes of considerable hard- ness. So far as the gold mines are concerned, it may be considered to be a deposit formed in the lapse of ages, from the gradual disin- tegration of the immense mountain masses in the neighbourhood; in which process part of the precious ore may be supposed to have been washed down along with the earthy particles. However this may be, itis certain that gold exists more or less abundantly in the whole of the country on the western side of the Ghauts in every stream which takes its rise from the Koundah, Neilgherry and Wynaad mountains, and in the sands of the sea shore along the whole of South Malabar. It is throughout in the form of minute grains. One of the persons examined states that he had once or twice seen a piece as heavy as a gold fanam (about the ,\, part of an ounce Troy), but in all the specimens examined by the Committee, the por- tions were infinitely smaller. ‘“¢ The most complete list of the places where gold mines have been opened, which has been furnished to the Committee is the following, distinguishing those which are situated in hills and those in the beds of rivers which latter form by far the largest proportion. “Table of Places inJZa/abar in which Gold mines haye been opened: 1847. | an the Province of Malabar. 169 In the Hrnaad Talook. 1. Pally Kooth — River. 12. Poothoo Piryarati River. 2. Kannamannah do. ka Maroothay do. 3. Moothoota do. ie Koottakel do. 4. Maroetangaat do. \15. Karimbaat do. 0. Pathillypaddom do. 16. Mooryatha do. 6. Karote do. 17. Arvacode do. 1. Eddakara do. 18. Varoor do. 8. Catchaporrah do. 19. Mambaat do. 9. Mannakaat do. j20. Kakatode do. 10. Marootheyl do. 21. Kapil Hill. 11. Poolakottee do. 22. Aripanaad do. 23. Tiroowally River. In the Wynaad Talook. 1. Devaloo Hill. 3. Ponery Hill. 2. Nelyalom do. ~ {4. Poolyode do. 5. Cheraukode Hill. in the Koormenaad Talook. 1. Poonoor River. 2. Malapooram River. In the Cahcut Talook. Polwye, Tiroompaddy, and Iroopoomjy Rivers. In the Nedinganaad Talook. : Pandaloor and Alliparam Rivers. In the Shernaad Talook. Kadaloondy and Parpanangaddy on the sea shore. 2. ‘Itis difficult to ascertain the exact number of people engaged in mining throughout the whole Province of A/alabar, but the best informed persons examined by the Committee do not make it exceed 1,000. Most of these are married, so that probably between 4,000 _. and 5,000 people derive a portion of their means of subsistence from | this source. The population of the Hrnaad, Wynaad, Neddinganaad, Koormenaad, Calicut and Shernaad Talooks, in which mines prin- cipally exist, by a Census taken in Fusly 1239 (1829-30) was 4,12,279, making the proportion of those engaged in or deriving subsistence from mining speculations only 3, of the whole. Now from Cald- clengh’s Travels in South America, as quoted in the Quarterly Re- view* it is learnt that in Chel, a country rich in mines of gold and silver, and the population of which is 6,00,000; two-fifths of the people are engaged in mining. It may at first sight ap- * Vol. xxxii. p, 147. x 170 | Account of the Gold Mines ‘[No. 32, pear invidious to institute comparisons between Malabar and Ame- rica ; but when we remember that a search for the precious metals has ever been a favorite speculation with men of all countries, and that there is no want of enterprize among the Natives of India when their own interest is nearly concerned, the small number of persons engaged in mining operation in Malabar, may lead us to form a low estimate of the quantity of gold in the country. Of the 4,000 or 5,000 persons said above to be connected with the mines, few or none indeed, gain their subsistence entirely by this means. It appears in evidence before the Committee, that in the search for gold they employ only these periods during which the weather interferes with the carrying on of agricultural operations. ‘They resort to the beds of rivers in the dry season, and to the hills during the rains, whenever their leisure or inclination leads them, and no instance is known of a person deserting other employments for the exclusive search for gold, another presumptive proof of the general belief of the unprofitableness of the pursuit. 3. ** No correct information could be obtained regarding the length of time during which gold mines have been opened in J/ala- bar. It is pretty certain that Tippoo attempted to make them a source of revenue during his possession of the country. Mr. Sheffield in his letter which has already been alluded to, states ‘ that it has ‘been well known from the earliest period that gold is produced in ‘the province, and the collecting of it has been formed out in Wy- ‘naad and the Nelamboor valley for the last forty or fifty years.’ In the same document it is mentioned that the Honorable Mr. Dun- can, Governor of Bombay, as far back as 1793—drew the attention of the local authorities to the gold mines. The celebrated Dr. Bucha- nan who travelled through Mysore in 1802-3, casually alludes to gold being collected in the Nelamboor valley, and the privilege of collecting it being farmed out to a Nair.* Dr. Whitelaw Ainslie in the first edition of his Materia Medica of Hindoostan published at. Madras in 1813, gives an account of the places where gold is found in India which, as it is applicable to the present subject, may be here quoted with advantage. ‘Gold-dust has been found,’ says he ‘ in the bed of the Godavery and in Malabar in the bed of the river which passes Nelamboor in the Jrnada district; it has moreover been procured in very small quantities in WVynaad, in the Arcot *Travels in Mysore, vol. ii. p, 441. 1847,] in the Province of Malabar. V1 District, and in the sand of the Beypoor river near Calicut. Though the sources are evidently numerous from which this valuable metal can be obtained in the Indian™/Peninsula, it would seem from the little interest they have hitherto excited, that none of them promised to be very productive.’* We have thus positive proof of the exist- ence of some gold mines for at least forty years. Those at Capul have been opened by the Moplays within the last eight years, and those at Teroomaly not more than four or five. 4. “In an extract of a paper, dated 9th January, 1829, by Mr. Sheffield, it is stated that in 1801 the gokd dust in the Hrnaad country was farmed for Rupees |1,408-8-0. He mentions also that at the time of writing (1829) the privilege of gathering gold was formed out above the Ghauts for the sum of Madras Rupees 1,250, and be- low the Ghauts, in Hynaad, for Rupees 937-15-4, making a total of Rupees 2,187-lo-4. Since 1803, a tax of 33 Rupees a year each has been levied on a certain number of pauthies or troughs employed in washing for gold. At present this amounts in Lrnaad to Rupees 839, which is a falling off of 069 Rupees a year since 18015 and in Wynaad to Rupees 1,260. Besides this, the privilege of collecting gold in Kadaloondy has within the last two or three years been farm- ed for Rupees 108; which makes the whole amount now received by way of tax upon gold, paid to the Company, 2,207 Rupees. The smallness of this sum may be adduced as another presumptive proof of the little value attached to the gold mines in Malabar. Had their productiveness been considerable, it is not probable that it would have escaped the observation of the active and talented gentlemen who have at different times been employed in assessing the reve- nue of the province, more especially when we consider that a tax on the precious metals is the fairest possible, as when they are employed as currency it falls upon no body. Accordingly we find that in the Spanish Colonies a seignorage of one-fifth was levied on the produce of the mines{ and Thunberg mentions that in Ja- pan, which may in gold contest the palm with the richest country in the world, the Emperor received two-thirds of the quantity collected.§ Oo. ‘The Committee in the prosecution of their personal examina- tion of the mines, assembled at Nelamboor, a village near the cen- * Ainslie’s Materia Medica of Hindoostan, Ist edit. p.54. + Mills’ Pol. Econ. p. 298. + Mawes’ Travels in Brazil passim, ¢ Travels Vol. iv. page 103. 172 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 32, tre of the valley of that name already described, situated on the Bey- poor river, about thirty miles in a direct line and in a nearly easterly direction from Calicut. Having there learnt from Lieutenant Nicolson, that he considered the mines of Capzl, in the immediate neighbour- hood, the best specimen of those in Malabar, they resolved to be guided by the result of their examination of them in forming an opinion of the rest; on the ground, that if they were found to be worth working, they would be the best to commence operations on, and if they were not productive enough to warrant any outlay for machinery, the rea- soning applied to them would, a fortior?, be applicable to every other place where gold is said to be found. «The mines at Capul are situated about five miles in a south-west direction from Welamboor. The road to them passes through jun- gle, interspersed with patches of paddy fields which are crossed by causeways. The principal mine is on the side of a small hill which rises with a gentle acclivity to the height of about fifty feet, and which has been completely cleared. The soil is a light sandy clay, the laterite protruding through it in many places. The mine is an excavation about forty feet square, and reported to be about 45 feet deep. It is cut through the laterite which has been already described as the overlying rock of the district, and which is here traversed by veins of quartz in fragments varying much in size. The principal shaft was filled with water to the reported depth of thirty feet, but a small one which was kept free by chatties, was open for the inspec- tion of the Committee. From the report of Lieutenant Nicolson, it appears that the Moplays generally pursue the veins of quartz, and wash the portions of rock and earth composing them, from a belief that they are most productive. The Committee had an opportunity of inspecting the process followed by the Natives in washing for gold. The ingredients removed from the mine are put into a small hollow tray or trough of an oval shape, and resembling in forma Turtle’s shell called by the Natives a A/urrzya, submersed in water and agi- _ tated with the hand until all the earthy particles are removed. The larger stones are thrown aside, and by repeated washing there at last remains but a small portion of sand. The tray is now inclined to one side and water is poured in with the hand, the sand is gradually washed nearly away, leaving a small portion of a black colour, in which are seen a few minute grains of gold. The larger par- ticles of the metal are removed, and those which are too small to be taken up by the hand are obtained by pouring in a drop of mercury 1847,] in the Province of Malabar. 173 with which it immediately amalgamates, and from which it is after- wards easily separated by heat. The process with each tray or Murriya takes up from about twenty minutes to half an hour. The quantity found in each worked in the presence of the Committee was exceedingly small, but it proved to them satisfactorily, that gold did exist in the spot examined. Lieutenant Nicolson stated to them however that the most productive veins were in the principal shaft which was completely covered with water, and that fair specimens could not be obtained until this was cleared by pumps. Under these circumstances the Committee deemed it expedient to request Lieute- nant Nicolson to remain in the neighbourhood of the mines until pumps should arrive from Calicut in order to’procure favorable spe- cimens of ore for their examination. His answer is given below* and will be more particularly noticed hereafter. “ The number of men employed at this mine was variously reported to be from 300 to 500; from the immense accumulation of waters we may presume that it had been altogether deserted by the natives for a considerable time. ‘The washing before the Committee was car- ried on by a few of the Pioneers under Lieutenant Nicolson’s orders. ‘The Committee afterwards proceeded to a small hill opposite: to the one above described, where in the midst of jungle they found numerous excavations varying in dimensions some of them apparently from ten to thirty feet in depth. ‘They seem to extend over a space of ground equal to about a square mile. They are worked only dur- ing the rains as the want of water presents operations being carried on in them during the dry weather. Unlike the one first described these are confined to the alluvial deposits on the surface, and do not extend into the laterite. “Next morning the Committee proceeded to examine some mines situated in the bed of the Beypoor River near Mambaat about seven miles in a westerly direction from NWelamboor. They found extensive excavations, from twenty to thirty feet in depth in a bank apparently thrown up by the rivers when swollen by the rains on one side of its channel. The superstratum consists of sand and gravel, below which are large nodules of Quartz and Gneiss, then occurs a *Exiract from Lieutenant Nicolson’s letter, dated 13th March, 1833, “ 1847.] an the Province of Malabar. 175 ten yields sixty-three grains in not more than five pounds weight, which is in the proportion of fifty times as much.’”* 6. “‘The quantity found by one man per day, by the rude methods of working above described, has been variously stated, and it must be expected to vary according to the industry of the parties, the de- gree of productiveness and other obvious circumstances. The Na- tives examined by the Committee state it to be about two grains daily. Lieutenant Nicolson in his answers says, a good workman will collect six grains a day, but mentions the quantity collected by the Pioneers employed under him to be only three grains. They are in- clined to think however from all that_ has come to their knowledge, that one-third of a gold fanam or two grains is a fair average. “As in the course of this Report repeated allusion is made to the new and old gold fanam, as a measure of weight and value it may be useful to state here the proportion they bear to the more usual stan- dards. The average weight of a new gold fanam is six grains nearly and eighty may be reckoned to the ounce Troy. The touch is 462 and the average net mint value of 100 pieces is Rupees 24-8-11. The average weight of the old gold fanam is about 5°79 grains; the touch is 4722, and the mint value of 100 pieces is Rupees 24-7-3. 8 7. “ The quantity annually produced is also difficult to be deter- mined. The proverbial unwillingness of a native to state his wealth ‘and the jealousy more especially regarding any interference of the English with the mines, render it almost impossible to gain any cor- rect information on the subject. The quantity sold in the different bazars in Malabar and the adjacent provinces, if it could be possible to ascertain it, would be some criterion to guide a calculation, but the Committee have been unsuccessful in their inquiries on this point. One of the most respectable natives examined by the Com- mittee states the annual quantity at forty thousand new gold fanams weight or five hundred ounces. Lieutenant Nicolson says that seven hundred Moplays would collect eight ounces aday. The Gomastah employed by Government to buy up gold asserts, he could purchase about one thousand gold fanams weight in the neighbourhood of Nelamboor alone, but from his price being low, this is but a small proportion of the whole produce. Mr. Sheffield mentions that he was informed the annual produce below the Ghauts was 5,200 gold fanams weight, and in Wynaad 6,000, making the total 11,200 or * Volume II], p.p. 58, 59, 176 Account of the Gold Mines [No. 32, 140 ounces troy! Amidst these conflicting statements, a calculation founded on data already admitted, offers the only means of forming even a guess at the actual annual produce. Assuming therefore 1,000 persons to be the number employed in working the mines throughout the whole Zillah, the average produce of each man’s labour a day to be 4 of a gold fanam’s weight, and the average time each man works to be exactly half the year, the total produce will amount to nearly 61,000 gold fanams weight, or 750 ounces, which at the rate of 35 Rupees an ounce will be worth Madras Rupees 26,250 per annum. From various circumstances brought to the notice of the Committee, and more particularly from the facts which will be adduced in the next paragraph, this is probably far above the reality, but even considering it to be near the truth, it is but an insignificant quantity when diffused throughout so large a population as that of Malabar, or when it is compared with the total produce of the globe which is reckoned at a million and a quarter of ounces. 8. “ The condition of those connected with the mines in the ab- ~ sence of more direct evidence, will also enable us to form some opi- nion of their productiveness. Little stress can be laid on the con- | dition of the miners themselves. The accounts of all travellers in America agree in stating the portion of the population employed in the search for gold, to be invariably the poorest and most miserable. In this country, as has been already stated, mining is not pursued as an exclusive occupation: the time not occupied in agriculture is given up to it by a portion of the inhabitants. But these are not in more comfortable circumstances than their neighbours, so far as can be known from the state of their houses, their dress or ornaments. They seem to be enabled merely to purchase a larger portion of Tobacco, Salt and Betel, which to them are ac- tual necessaries of life. Not an instance is known of a person becoming rich by mining. The Tiroopaad or petty Rajah of Nelamboor who has a large extent of country, his own property, and who pays a tax to Government for the privilege of mining, is said to have acquired a considerable portion of his wealth by the gold produc- ed on his estate. Every grain found is so much gain to him as he exclusively employs his slaves, whom he is obliged to feed at any rate, in the search, and from all accounts he is a hard task-master. His case therefore cannot be considered a fair exception to the above statement of the general poverty of those connected with the mines. Nor can this be owing to the want of industry on the part of the 1847.) in the Province of Malabar. 177 Moplays and others. The large excavations already described as having been made by them at Capzl, and the difficulties they have to contend with in keeping the shafts free from water show their perseverance in the search. It may here be asked, why if the pro- fit of mining be so trifling, they continue to employ their labour in this manner? It can only be explained to arise from that natural eagerness which men in all countries show to enter into mining speculations, and by that ‘ unaccountable infatuation’ which often prompts men to desert even the ‘less arduous and more wholesome labours of agriculture’ for the search after gold and silver.* “* Had the productiveness of the mines been considerable, it is highly probable that in a country where labour is so cheap as in Malabar, where a cooly can be hired for a Pagoda a month, and where a thirst for gain is a well known feeling of a large portion of the inhabitants, some person possessed of capital would have invested it in working them—not an instance however is known of a person employing coo- lies for this purpose. One or two monied men indeed are in the ha- bit of advancing small sums to the workmen, charging interest on _ the same and buying up the gold at a certain price. But these men though they must be well aware of the actual quantity yielded, have never entered upon the speculation themselves; and we can only ascribe this to a conviction on their part of its unprofitableness. “In the foregoing short statement of the results of the inquiries regarding the past productiveness of the mines, it will be seen that though found over a large extent of country, the quantity of gold so far as is yet known is in no place great, that the number of people em- ployed in mining bears a very small proportion to the total population of the districts in which gold is found, that those moreover are prin- cipally cultivators and coolies, who in this search employ only the time not occupied in agriculture, that the mines though known for the last fifty years have never attracted any marked attention, that the tax levied on them has been trifling, and that in one district at least it has been considerably reduced, that the richness of the earth in the precious ore is far below that which is reckoned encouraging in other countries, that the quantity found by one man daily is barely suffici- ent to furnish him with the necessaries of life, that the quantity an- nually produced is trifling when compared with the extent of territo- ry and the population, and that no instance has occurred of native * (Caldcleugh’s Travels in South America: loc. cit.) Y 178 Accaunt of the Gold Mines [No. 32, capitalists having engaged in the speculation by employing coolies, on their own account. These considerations weigh powerfully with the Committee in giving it as their decided opinion, that the produc- tiveness of the mines is by no means such as to warrant entering up- on any operations upon them on a grand scale with European Ma- chinery. They are aware that in this decision, they differ widely from Lieutenant Nicolson. They are far from wishing to accuse that gentleman of any intention to mislead; on the contrary they con- sider that he has been actuated by a desire to benefit the Govern- ment under which he serves. But at the same time they may be al- lowed to remark that his sanguine and enthusiastic temper seems to have led him to form his opinion of the value of the mines in JZala- bar, more by his wishes than by the facts before him. He has look- ed on the bright side of the question on all occasions, has always taken the highest average as a guide for his calculations, and has overlooked circumstances, which if properly considered would have convinced him of the futility of his speculations.” II. On the subject of the Machinery required and the expense of working the mines it is unnecessary to follow the report. The Com- mittee estimated the cost of the former at 19,000 Rupees, one item of which—a Steam Engine with buildings—alone amounted to 12,000 Rupees, or including cover for the workmen 20,000 Rupees for the Capul mine. In calculating the produce of the same mine they assumed from the fact already ascertained of the produce of one man’s unaided labour being 3 of a gold fanam or two grains per diem, that with machinery it might amount to 10 grains which with 100 men would be 1,000 grains a day. ‘The principal advantage of Machinery” they observe ‘‘lies in the facility of keeping the shafts free from water, the rapi- dity of bringing the earth containing the gold to the surface, and the washing of a larger quantity at once.”” They supposed therefore that one man might in this way accomplish the labour of five, and they quote the experience of the South American mines that the applica- tion of machinery had trebled the quantity obtained without it. Tak- ing the number of working days then at 24 in the month and not reckoning for several minor items, such as the price of mercury for amalgamating, &c. they give the result of their estimate in the following Table: ——— So ES Se EES ——— 5 SSS 179 0 0 [00012 | “seedny [eo], | (0 [0001S * seedny [wI0L | | = | 0 !0 (00% ~=—s| ‘aad & ut SauTyY OY JO OAR] UT OOURTLG OF, | = 0 0 |008°0@ | oe = = S 0 |0-|006 T_ | <=> 22 22 -*-onip 107 ‘oyip sed yora = - |soodny Qf 3e soljsteyy ¢ pure ‘qyUuOU ( | e@ soodny QC 38 oO}IP jURsIssy 9UO “ | > & 0 10 1009S |°°°c°*°** ° "0991p IOy ‘0431p aed soodny ~ . 00g 3@ juepuejutmedng uvedoinq yw “ cs) 2 0 |0 |00@‘P |‘xee4 ouo a0; ‘uiasuout 10d seadny gee 32 Ry ‘Om ‘sroquadieg ‘syjuig ‘1aquiiy, ‘uo1y “ oe ¢ sS 0 10 009‘e Tosser eeeeeerssees*oqrtn ror ‘oWIp ad | x ' : yore soodny e ye syoo][ng 09 jo euyy * 0 [0 JOOO'TZ|"°""" rete esses a0uno sad soodny - 10 'o loon |oerctce tree eet aeak auto 107 “tas GE 38 pfoy jo sord oy} Sutuoxoor reak | -uow ted soodny ¥¢e ye uow Qo] jo Avg ‘ 9} JNOYSNOIY} ssvi0ae Ue ye YIUOU ey} ul skep pz SutyI0M yore ‘Aep rod suresg 0 lo l000'F | teert coe tte ees 82 saodny Qoo‘os i. OL JO O7e1 OY} 4B HEY OOT Jo sonpord Lg uo ‘umuue sed -ju90 Jad gz 48 18010} OT, d|'v|-sdny 5 ‘d|'V| ‘sdny | rm ™ E See ee ! Se ee — [0-@) 7} : ee HD “DUU0D sO a4 180 Account of the Gold Mines, &c. [No. 32, III. With regard to the utility of sending to England for Machi- nery to work the mines, the Committee state that, “they consider they have clearly proved that the productiveness of the mines is by no means such as to warrant the outlay of a considerable sum, with a very doubtful prospect of profit. But even did the precious ore exist in such quantity as to realize the golden dreams of the most | enthusiastic speculator, the unhealthiness of the country in which the mines are situated would weigh as a powerful objection on the minds of the Committee, against recommending the purchase of expensive machinery to work them. In the deep forests and jungles of Mala- bar, during six months of the year, from April to October, a fatal form of fever arising from Miasmata, is apt to attack Europeans who venture to reside in them. Sufficient proof of this has been obtained and a forcible one exists in the letter marked No. 5 from Lieut. Nicolson.* ‘That gentleman has been thrice attacked with fever, and on the last occasion his life was despaired of for several days. Indeed the Committee doubt if any European of skill and acquirements in science, sufficient to enable him to superintend the operations of min- ing, could be induced, for any salary, to remain in their neighbour- hood during the whole year. “ a.” Hastras Joe Lit he Science MAP / | ’ of the Routes of E MU: Osu A) Vendon | ral in SOUTH AFRICA k | & : WIGS 46. ae , 8 Ss =i i Notletn craal Basilica WW idlequa Hills ufested: by Flas destructive to Cattle Thinly peopled by Bellala’ Lyn chitune é Rorks Bakalaw hart Desert, Water very scarce. o Bamapeda WP. Water in Pools” « Caffer Craals Sux otherrivers are said by the Fialirs to unite. with the “Limpopo” tive Aowing frone the ! North, and North west, and one the Mohotoquana” trom the South, The names of the fi we, are as follows: Johatsant” Lebetu, Movtovitze, hart’ Sharan’ 2h vem The dotted line shews our course in 1845. The plan in 1846. The homeward route fiom the Mahalapi was the same both years. | a » LE LE | LEE ES, | TTL | IG LLL | ILE | TTT | MEN.) STMT TY. Lee Ay Y 1847.] Notice of an Expedition, §c. 181 ficiently great elevation, the argument founded on the unhealthiness of the country would not of course be applicable to them. But no proof has been adduced before the Committee, of their existence ; no veins have yet been traced in these mountain masses, and Lieutenant Nicolson rests his assertion on the vague report of a native, communi- cated to him in a letter. ‘The Committee on mature consideration of all points and guided more particularly by the conviction on their minds of the usual un- profitableness of speculations in gold mines, derived from a careful perusal of various works on the subject, do not feel justified in recom- mending the adoption of Lieutenant Nicolson’s suggestion.” On receipt of this report the Government, under date 25th Oc- tober, 1833, ordered the search for gold to be abandoned—a resolution which was approved by the Court of Directors with the following pithy, addition, ‘‘ that if the Government had directed these inquiries to be made before they authorized the commencement of any opera- tions, a considerable expense would have been saved to them.” VII. Notice of an Expedition into the interior of Southern Africa, by Mr. OswEL and Captain Varvon, with a sketch of the course of the Limpopo, and a Figure of a supposed new species of Rhinoceros. We have much pleasure in presenting our readers with the ac- companying sketch-map, for which we are indebted to Mr. Oswell of the Civil Service, showing the extreme points to which he penetrated in the course of two expeditions into the interior of South Africa made in search of game in 1845 and 1846. On the first occasion ac- companied by Mr. Murray, he reached the Bakaa mountains and returned by the valley of the Limpopo. This line nearly coincides with the track of Mr. D. Hume in 1830, In his next journey he was joined by Captain Vardon, and they together explored the course of the Limpopo to a greater extent than had been done by any previous travellers. Mr. Oswell was at first led to suppose that the stream pursued a more northerly course, | indicated by the red line in the map, | and he had placed their turning point in the Limgwapa mountains somewhere between the 20th and 21st°S. Lat. But subsequent consideration and the result of a communication from Mr. Living- 182 Notice of an Expedition, &c. [No. 32, stone, the enterprising Scotch Missionary in Caffraria, induced him to exhibit the direction of the river as it now stands. ‘‘ This sketch” observes Mr. Oswell “ is not supposed to be strictly accurate. We “* laid down the course of the river Limpopo as correctly as we could ‘* from the tops of hills, &c., with a compass, but having no other ‘* instrument we are aware that many errors may have crept in and “* only hope that others, more carefully provided, may some day or ‘“‘ other give the world a better. The present will at all events * serve to show the wanderer in these parts, where water may be “‘ obtained at a distance from the river and information such as this *¢ even, is not to be despised in Africa.” The Bekaa and Bamungwatow tribes, whom Mr. Oswell visited in his first excursion, mentioned three other people as living to the north of them, viz. the Makalakka,Mancupani and Mashuna. They were also familiar with the existence of the great Lake and had fre- quently visited it. They described it as lying in a W. N. W. direc- tion from their location, at a distance of 12 or 14 days journey for a man on foot, (which would be about 300 miles,) or a month with a waggon. Mr. Oswell adds with reference to the sketch-map, “* The lines dotted and plain mark the track of the waggons, but the country was well quartered on horseback for 40 or 50 miles on either side. The Inmpopo is supposed to reach the sea at or somewhere a little to the North of Delagoa Bay.” 3 It was on the banks of the Makélwé, an important tributary of the Limpopo, that the travellers first met with the singular animal of which we have given the accompanying figure,the fidelity of which is attested by Mr. Oswell. He describes it as resembling generally the white Rhinoceros (Rh. Simus) “except in the formation of the horn, which is longer, much straighter and curved, though but slightly, in exactly the contrary direction : the two specimens of the horn which we brought from the interior, are abraded at the points, on the lower sides, probably from coming in contact with the ground whilst the animal is feeding. When running at speed also or when alarmed, it carries the head very low, as do likewise the other species, and the horn then standing nearly straight out from the nose with a trifling curve downwards, may occasionally strike or rub against the inequa- lities of the ground.” “From the circumstance of the Quebaba being found in the same . = PIUITIE 8 SZ27 NOL SD.ISPD YY WME MBE VAL 1847.] Memoranda regarding a Boring, §c. 185 neighbourhood, and from its general resemblance to the White Rhi- noceros, we at first supposed the peculiarity of the horn to be merely a malformation, but the fact of five having been seen, two of which were shot,—of the Bechuana who inhabit the country in which the specimens were obtained, knowing the animal well under a distinct name, and describing it as frequently to be met with, though by no means so common as the other kinds,—together with the circumstance of its being unknown to the south of the Tropic, though the com- mon white Rhinoceros is there found in abundance,—caused us to change our opinion and to consider it as certainly a distinct spe- cies.” The name Quebabais that by which the Bechuana distinguish _ it from the common white species which they designate Chakuru,— the Mahuhu of the Matabilt. Concurringin opinion with Mr. Oswell, that the above facts render the existence of the Quebaba as a distinct species, highly probable, we have named it provisionally after its dis- coverer [vhimoceros Oswelli. In the same neighbourhood they fell in with a most destructive spe- cies of Gadfly, which stung the cattle and horses to madness, and in many instances produced such painful sores, as to occasion the death of the poor animals. We hope to be able to add some farther details of this interesting expedition on a future occasion from Captain Vardon, who has kindly promised to send us a communication on the subject. ‘a VIII. Memoranda regarding a Boring executed on the Sea Beach, at Madras, in the Months of July, and August, 18405, under the orders of the Pier Committee. By TY. G. Tay- Lor, Esq. Wednesday, 16th July, 1845.—A convenient site was selected nearly opposite the Master Attendant’s Office at about 30 yards from the margin of the sea and at about 10 feet within the bulwark ; this part of the Beach was found to be 13 feet above the lowest low water level and 81 feet above the highest spring tides. ~ First day, l0feet- Tharsday, 17th.—Commenced boring, and on leav- ing off in the evening found the depth attained to be 10 feet, the soil was dry and extremely uniform in its composition, being ordinary 184 © Memoranda regarding a Borg [No. 32, sand during the day, one small sea shell and two agate pebbles were met with: Second day, 13 feet riday, 18th.—The sand was found to be moist at epee the commencement, and to be freely mixed up with water as the boring proceeded, so that much time was lost in bale- ing out the accumulating water with the water cylinder. Notwith- standing which a depth of 13 feet 6 inches was arrived at by the evening. Thied day 17 Heat Saturday, 19th.—On commencing operations this inches. day, there was four feet of water in the hold, by rea- son of which, the auger, although penetrating to a depth of from 12 to 14 inches at each boring, nevertheless, on being brought to the surface, was found tocontain but a very inconsiderable quantity of sand; and on being again lowered, 12 out of 14 inches before appa- rently gained was now necessarily Jost. It would in fact appear, that the auger although well adapted to boring, was, nevertheless under the present circumstances, not well fitted for removing the sand ex- cavated ; a vigorous application of the water cylinder, however, ena- bled us by the evening to arrive at a depth of 17 feet 6 inches. The soil both to-day and yesterday was extremely uniform, being a coarse sea sand, with here and there one or two minute pieces of broken shell. The borer, from the commencement had been continued in ac- tion until the force of four men was insufficient (by reason of the depth attained) to produce further movement, until in fact the au- ger became jammed ;—this uniformly occurred after excavating from 12 to 14 inches. Fourth day, 23 feet, Monday, 21st—We had now eight feet of water 0 inches. in the hold: hitherto the auger had been accompa~ | nied in its downward progress by 2 nine inch protecting cylinders of Iron (placed end on end,) each of 9 feet in length; these being very heavy, a small force only had been necessary in addition to their own weight to make them keep pace with the auger, but we now ~ begin to find that increased depth renders this a matter of difficul- ty—by the evening we had arrived at a depth of 23 feet; but the protecting cylinders had stuck fast. The soil,—ordinary coarse sea sand, towards evening was distinguished by being mixed up with mi- nute glittering particles (probably Mica.) Fifth ay hele Tuesday, 22nd.—We had now 124 feet of water in 3 inches. the hold—continued hammering—lowered the pro- . ° t 1847.] executed on the Sea Beach, Madras. 185 tecting cylinder nine inches, after which all attempt at sinking them deeper was given up and the auger and water cylinder con- _ tinued in action throughout theday. The soil—coarse sea sand,—as hitherto; and, from the quantity brought up a depth of 28 feet should have resulted, but at no time during the day did we exceed a depth of 24 feet 3 inches, making it plainly appear, that although sand may be excavated until the whole Beach be undermined, still a greater depth than that now arrived at cannot be attained without the pro- tection of a cylinder to accompany the auger; notwithstanding this, a depth of 14 inches was all that could be reached by the auger when worked by five men—showing, that the soil although permea- ble to sea water, is still capable of resisting in an eminent degree the advance of solid bodies. Sixth and seventh ~U@sday, 29th, and Wednesday, 30th.—Having day, 33 ft.0in. eompleted the manufacture of an Jron cylinder of 23 feet in length by 64 inches diameter, it was lowered within the 9 inch cylinders hitherto employed, and boring recommenced. In the course of the day, asthe smaller cylinder began to des- cend, the larger one likewise began gradually to settle, and dur- ing this and the following day (in proceeding from 24 to 34 feet) the two cylinders continued to advance simultaneously with the pro- _ gress of the boring. | Bighth day, 34 feet | Thursday, 31st.—The cylinders had becomes lug- 10 inches. gish in their movement and consequently a corres- ponding small depth of boring only was effected, viz. (1 foot 10 _ inches) although a large amount of sand had been brought up by the water cylinder. Ninth day, 44 feet Friday, August 1st—The large amount of exca- 3 inches. vation, effected yesterday, rendered the descent of _ the cylinders this day most decided. The soil consisted of layers | of sea sand with broken shells and stiff black mud;—the borer was unable to penetrate beyond a-depth of 10 inches into the soil, not- | withstanding which, the progress made by the water cylinder was | most rapid, in as much as a depth of 9 feet 5 inches was gained dur- | ing the day, the cylinders settling a little but not quite keeping _ pace with the borer. | Tenth day, 47 feet Saturday, 2nd.—Thelarger cylinders advanced very dimmches. sluggishly to-day, and notwithstanding a large amount of excavation was effected we had only gained three feet during the (day, or had arriyed at 47 feet 3 inches from the surface soil consist- Z 186 Memoranda regarding a Boring, &c. [No. 32, ing of sea sand and minute broken shells with a larger proportion of black mud—small cylinder, which had not moved, only reaching to A2 feet, or 5 feet 3 inches short of the boring. Binet day. 48 Monday, 4th.—In the interval from Saturday night feet 3inches. tg Monday morning the large cylinders had sunk about 2 feet, and in the course of deepening the pit between 7 and 10 A.M. a further sinking to the amount of 18 inches took place. On sounding, it appeared that 5 feet 3 inches of soil had made its way into the boring,* or up to the lower edge of the small cylin- der since Saturday night. On using the water cylinder the whole of this accumulation was removed in little more than an hour, and at 11 a. m. (depth 48 feet 3 inches) it appeared that 6 feet 3 inches had been gained in 1 hour 45 minutes, further pro- gress was now prevented by the surface soil having fallen in at the top in consequence of the sinking of the upper cylinder. The | black mud above alluded to, which seems to merit particular at- tention, commences to make its appearance at about a depth of 35 feet, and although at this point its amount is small in comparison with the sand with which it is mixed up, still it appeared to modify to some extent the advance of the cylinders, at a depth of 42 feet the soil had become extremely dark coloured, and here for the first time since the commencement of the boring we were able to make a considerable advance with the borer (to the amount of 6 feet) beyond the end of the cylinder, the tenacity of the soil being such as to arrest its further progress. The auger employed during the latter part of the boring, although smaller than that used at its commence- ment, could with difficulty be screwed into a depth of 10 inches, showing that in its natural or compressed state the soil was well cal- culated to withstand pressure or other imposed force. From a rough examination of the mud at the depth of 47 feet, it appeared to consist of 20 per cent. of sea sand, the remainder being made up of Aluminum, Carbonate of Lime and Humus, but the me- . chanical qualities of the soil rather than its chemical composition being the object of inquiry, no more accurate analysis has been thought necessary. * This breaking down or infiltration of the soil into so large an aperture is a result which might naturally be expected to occur under the circumstances in any alluvial be howeyer stiff its composition. ° “aa : 1847.) Biographical Memoir, &c. 187 Boographical Memoir of the late Witt1am Grirritn, Esa., F. L.8., Assistant Surgeon, Madras Establishment. The cessation of this Journal for nearly two years has prevented an earlier notice of the subject of the following Memoir. It is not however too late to record a tribute to the private worth and public fame of one, whose connection with this Presidency and service, we have justly reason to be proud of. Genius confers glory not only on its possessor but on all related to him, on his country—his fami- Jy—and on the community to which he more especially belongs. Such an interest we feel entitled to claim in the memory of William Griffith, who, unpatronised and unbefriended, zealously devoted him - self to the study of nature and to a Jaborious course of physical re- search, by which he achieved a reputation in the higher walks of science, more readily appreciated by the philosophers of HKurope* than acknowledged (until too late) by his countrymen in the East. _And this too, derived from the first fruits of his exertions only,—cut off at the early age of 34,—before time was allowed him to reap the rich harvest of his many toilsome journeys and patient investigations ! William Griffith was born at Ham in Surry sometime in March 1810, and entered the service of the East India Company as an As- sistant Surgeon on the Madras Establishment on the 24th September, 1832. From his earliest boyhood he evinced a taste for Botany, the pursuit of which was much encouraged in the family of the private Tutcr, where with his brothers, he received the first rudiments of his education. When more advanced in years, he was in the habit of tra- versing the country with a wallet at his back, in quest of plants, and always returned with large additions to his herbar2um. His more mature studies were completed at the London University, where he continued to display the same predilection for Natural History and particularly for his favourite branch of it, which he cultivated under the instructions of Robert Brown and Lindley, and obtained the Lin- nan Gold Medal of the Society of Apothecaries, in the Botanical class of 1830. His first service after his arrival in India, was in medical charge of the military post at Mergui, but he did not long remain under the orders of his own Presidency. In 1835 he was de- * He was, without any solicitation on his part elected a Member of the Imp. Acad. of Bonn; of the Roy. Acad. of Sciences of Turin ; of the Roy. Botanical’ So- etety of Ratisbon, &c. 188 Biographical Memoir of the late [No. 82, puted by the Supreme Government in company with Drs. Wallich and M‘Clelland to examine the vegetable productions of Assam and more particularly to inspect the tea-plants said to be indigenous to that province, on which he furnished a report of great value and full of scientific research. Here he attracted the notice of Captain Jenkins, Commissioner in Assam, who begged that he might be per- manently attached to the Agency, and shortly afterwards, on the loth October, 1836, deputed him to explore the Mishmee mountains and the valley of the Burrumpootra or Lohit, from which expedition, (a_ sketch of which was printed in the VI. Volume of the Journal of the Asiatic Society.) he culled a rich botanical harvest. He next proceed- ed with Major White the Political Agent in Upper Assam to meet certain Burmese Commissioners on the boundary of the two territories, for the adjustment of various frontier disputes, but after two fruit- less endeavours to accomplish this object, Major White relinquished the attempt as hopeless. Mr. Griffith however determined to perse- vere, and on the last occasion, in the early part of 1837, proceeded alone from Suddya, into the Burmese territory, with the hope of join- ing Doctor Bayfield, who had been directed to advance simultaneously from Ava to the place of rendezvous, in company with the Burmese officers. After numerous difficulties and dangers his perseverance was rewarded by success. He met Doctor Bayfield, accompanied him back to Ava, and returning thence by way of Rangoon with despatches from the Resident, proceeded to Calcutta where he ar- rived in June, just as the news of his assassination had been made public, from official information transmitted to the Government two months before. | The embassy to Bootan under Major Pemberton was on the eve of departure. He was appointed to it as medical officer, but indefa- tigable in the pursuit of knowledge, he proceeded in July, in advance of the party, to complete his examination of the Kasyah Hills, after having in the short interval preceding his departure, arranged his - collections, rich both in botanical and zoological acquisitions, and drawn up an interesting memoir of his adventures for the Go- vernment. He joined the embassy at Goalpara and continued with it from the 21st December, 1837, when it set out from Gowahatti till its close. His account of their proceedings is contained in a Jour- nal published in the VIII.. Volume of the Journal of the Asiatic Society. In November, 1839, within four months after his return to Calcutta, 1847.] William Griffith, Esq., F. L. 8. 189 he joined the Army of the Indus and thoroughly -investigated the botany of Affghanistan, not neglecting at the same time its zoology, meteorology and statistics, for the illustration of all of which, he amassed copious materials. It was at this period that his naturally strong constitution, shattered by the privations of his former journeys, received a severe shock from illness brought on by indefatigable de- votion to his pursuits, and the attack was so severe as at one time to iend currency to a report of his death. Returning to India in 1841, he resided for a short time at Simla and from thence paid a visit to Jubbulpoor, where his brother was then stationed and where his expe- rienced eye detected a new character of vegetation, so different from the regions he had already examined, as to make him regret deeply the necessity that obliged him to leave the valley of the Nerbudda unexplored. In August of the same year he was appointed Civil Surgeon at Malacca, but a twelve month had scarcely elapsed ere he was recalled to take charge of the Botanical Garden at Calcutta, and to act as Professor of Botany at the Medical College (in August, 1842) during the temporary absence of Dr. Wallich at the Cape. On be- ing relieved in. December, 1844, by the Superintendent’s return he rejoined his humble appointment in the Straits, but had scarcely ar- rived there when he was attacked with a fatal illness and fell a vic- tim to disease of the liver on the 10th February, 1845. From this rapid sketch it will be seen that his whole life was one continued round of unremitting and laborious action which left him with scarce a moment’s leisure for the generalization of his dis- coveries. Yet these were not neglected. The able reports of his political duties submitted to the Government of India, and the scientific memoirs that have appeared in the pages of the Linnean transactions, in those of the Agri-Horticultural Society, in M‘Clel- land’s Journal of Natural History, &c.—papers furnished in the brief intervals of his several journies, at the same time that he was occupi- ed in the packing and transmission of his collections to the East India House, often whilst labouring under illness the effect of fatigue and exposure,—sufficiently attest his industry and zeal. In addition to all this he kept up an extensive correspondence both Indian and Kuropean, the latter including the first Naturalists of the age,—and such names as Mr. Robert Brown, Sir W. Hooker, Dr. Martius, Professor Lindley, Dr. Nees von Esenbeck, M. anpial Mr. Solly, Dr. Wight, Mr. Lemann, &c. It appears to have been the great object of his ambition to have 190 Biographical Memoir of the late [No.:32, given a complete view of the flora of Southern Asia. For this his own personal researches had furnished him with an immense mass of new material, and it is deeply to be deplored that he was not per- mitted to accomplish his design. It can hardly be expected that any other person will be able to bring to the task an amount of scientific knowledge and individual experience, at all approaching the extent, to which these eminent qualifications were combined inhim, For he was no common observer of superficial forms or mere collector of isolated facts. He had penetrated deeply into the unexplor- ed arcana of vegetable physiology. His patient and assiduous mi- croscopic investigations of the structure and functions of plants had enabled him to throw new light on the economy of vegetable life. F'rom his own personal observations he had noted the geographical distribution, the climatology and other characteristics of the various classes of plants from the Paropamisan Mountains to the Golden Chersonesus. ‘The few admirable treatises on detached subjects which he found time to give to the world, serve to show how great would have been the value of his discoveries and speculations when applied to a larger field. Added to these eminent philosophical qualities he possessed in a high degree, that sagacity and sound judgment which enabled him to form correct views of the common affairs of life. Warned by the symptoms of smouldering discontent which his habits of observation detected during his excursions among the rude tribes beyond the Indus, he early foresaw and made known to the higher authorities, the probable results of the line of policy pursued in Affghanistan,— which led to the fatal tragedy of Cabul. But his warnings, uttered during the spring tide of success, proved unpalatable and did their author no good. In private life his kindness of heart and amiable disposition gained him the affectionate regard of all who knew him, whether equals or dependants. The love he inspired in the breasts of those who were ~ more particularly honored with his friendship is strikingly apparent in the language of the various testimonials to his worth which appeared afterhisdeath. The natural ardour of his temperament, which induc- ed him to brave every risk and privation in the furtherance of his favorite pursuits, led him to join in the assault of Ghuzni, for which he received a medal, and his contempt of danger frequently brought him into hazardous collision with the people of the uncivilized tracts which he was engaged in exploring. 7 : | | | 1847] William Grifith, Esq., F. L. 8. 191 It might have been supposed that the services of such a man would not only have been eagerly employed by the Government he served, but would have led to honor and emolument and to the enjoyment of that leisure so necessary for the elaboration of philosophical specula- tions. Such however was not the case. And this is the more extraor- dinary as the latter years of Mr. Griffith’s life were passed under the auspices of a nobleman who more than any other Governor General extended his patronage to scientific pursuits. Whether it be from pre- judice or indifference or ignorance or from whatever other cause, certain it is, that such avocations are considered to form the peculiar province of foreigners and to be altogether unsuited to the English character. While the rare merits of Mr. Griffith were overlooked and he was painfully pursuing his unaided researches on the pittance of an As- sistant Surgeon’s pay, a foreigner of infinitely inferior pretensions was placed at the head of a scientific expedition to the Tenasserim Provinces on a salary of 1,300 Rupees a month with every collateral ' support and assistance. It is from the same cause that notwithstanding the unparalleled facilities afforded by British domination in India, the harvest of dis- covery has been so largely reaped by strangers whilst Englishmen _ have been content to look supinely on. Hence the just celebrity at- taching to the names of Sonnerat, Leschenault, Duvaucel, Diard, Delessert, whose labors were promoted and encouraged by their own Governments and by the learned societies to which they belonged. While during the same period the indifference of scientific bodies and public men among ourselves, overlooked the opportunities of turning to account, the talents and exertions of a Buchanan, an Anderson, a Jack, a Griffith, a Hodgson. The evidence borne to Mr. Griffith’s merit since his death, has been as general as the regret for his untimely loss has been sincere and deep felt. His friend and fellow laborer Dr. M‘Clelland at once an- nounced the abandonment of the Calcutta Journal of Natural His- tory on account of the loss of its most able supporter and proposed to devote the unsold copies to the formation of a fund for the pub- lication of his extensive Manuscripts. He was subsequently how- ever prevailed on to continue the publication, and he soon afterwards published the Memoir of his life, which couched in language of ge- nerous enthusiasm, appeared in the IV. Volume of the Agri-Horti- cultural Society’s Journal.. 192 Biographical Memovr of the late [No. 32, The Friend of India announcing the melancholy intelligence of his death observed that ‘‘in him the science of Botany has lost one: of its most ardent and successful votaries. There can be no hesita- tion in asserting that he was unquestionably the most eminent Bo- tanist in the East. No man in our days has pursued his botanical researches over so extensive a field. *¥ & * * “ Fis loss will be deeply deplored in the Scientific world, in which he enjoyed so distinguished a reputation. His zeal in the pursuit of botanical knowledge was genuine, and unalloyed by inferior considerations. He had all that simplicity of character which is so constantly found in combination with true genius. His attain- ments in the science to which he devoted his energies, were of the very first order; and if his valuable life had been spared there can be little doubt that he would have made the most important additions to the Botany of the East. But though his loss to the public inter- ests will be great, it will be still greater to his friends and conmnec- tions whose esteem he commanded by his high and noble sensibilities, and whose warmest. affections he secured by his amiable and bene- volent disposition. «The melancholy thoughts which crowd on the mind on this oc- casion are increased by the reflection that scarcely three months had elapsed since he entered into the most tender connection of life, and that his death consigns a youthful wife to unexpected and premature widowhood.” Again on another occasion the Editor writes : “ The value of his Jabors did not consist so much in the vast collections of new plants he was enabled to make, as in his philosophical researches on vege- table impregnation, and the progressive development of organs, to which his unremitted attention was given, but which he was not per- mitted to complete. Yet, if we confine our view to the extent of his labours in exploring the fora of unknown regions, beyond the limits of Hindoostan, we may say without exaggeration that no individual has ever been able to accomplish so much in so short a time. The number of countries which he traversed during the period of his Botanical enterprises, which may be reckoned from 1833 to 1842 is of itself enough to fill one with surprise. His tra- vels extended from the southern limits of Mergui, to the heights of Bamean and the snows of the Caucasus. They embraced the Tenasserim Provinces, Assam, the Northern Division of ® 1847. ] Wilham Griffith, Esq., FL. 8. 193 Burmah, untrodden before by any civilized being, Bootan, Aff- ghanistan, Khorasan, and the Peninsula of Malacca. During his progress through these various countries he was exposed to difficul- ties and privations, and to the most eminent hazard of health and life. Through these trying scenes he was successfully carried by his indo- mitable courage, and by that spirit of scientific enthusiasm which was one of the most prominent features of his character. No man has ever joined such extensive opportunities of enlarging our knowledge of the jlora of the east; and his success was commensurate with his opportunities, Had he encountered such dangers and privations in different and widely separated countries, and secured success through the same display of courage, energy and perseverance, in a military expedition, he would have ‘ had a Gazette to himself,’ and have been honored with stars and pensions.” Soon afterwards on the annual distribution of prizes at the Medical College on the 27th March, Sir Henry Hardinge in addressing the Students alluded to the feeling terms in which the Secretary of the Institution (Dr. Mouat) had adverted in his report to the loss sus- tained by the College in the death of their late distinguished Professor. His Excellency observed that he had heard Dr. Griffith spoken of as a valuable public officer, and his name mentioned in every quarter as a man of eminent scientific attainments, like whom few had ever come to India. Lord Auckland also when as President of the Royal Asiatic Society, he delivered his address at the Anniversary Meeting of the Society on the 17th May, incorporated with it a short but discriminating and highly honorable sketch of Mr. Griffith’s life, commencing in the following terms. ‘¢ Mr. Griffith was one of the most accomplish- ed Botanists of our days ; with the most accurate and extensive ac- quisition of learning in his department, he combined a spirit of ac- tivity and enterprise, such as has been rarely equalled, great ta- lents, and a very remarkable power of labor, arrangement, and ap- plication.” The last tribute we shall notice is that offered to his memory by his fellow Officers of the Medical Service at Madras, a few of whom in acknowledgment of the honor conferred upon their body by one so eminent in every professional acquirement, have procured the erection of a mural tablet in the Cathedral Church of St. George at that place, bearing the following inscription : Aa 194 Biographical Memovr of ihe late | [No. 32, Sacred to the {Memory of WILLIAM GRIFFITH, Esa., F. L. S. Madras Medical Service, Born at Ham, in the County of Surry, March, 1810, HE HAD ATTAINED TO THE HIGHEST EMINENCE IN THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD, AND WAS ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED BOTANISTS OF THE AGE. HE ACQUIRED HIS KNOWLEDGE BY PERSONAL INVESTIGATION IN THE DIFFERENT PROVINCES OF BRITISH INDIA, AND IN THE | NEIGHBOURING KINGDOMS, FROM THE BANKS OF THE HELMUND AND OXUS, TO THE STRAITS OF MALACCA, WHERE, IN THE CAPACITY OF CIVIL ASSISTANT SURGEON, HE DIED 9TH FEBRUARY 1845, IN THE 3DTH YEAR OF HIS AGE, AND THE 13TH YEAR OF HIS PUBLIC SERVICE IN INDIA. HIS EARLY DEATH IS DEEPLY DEPLORED BY NUMEROUS PRIVATE FRIENDS, AND HIS LOSS TO THE CAUSE OF SCIENCE ELICITED A PUBLIC AND EMPHATIC EXPRESSION OF REGRET | FROM THE GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA. THIS TABLET IS ERECTED AS AN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO HIS MEMORY, a BY A FEW OF HIS MEDICAL BRETHREN, OF THE MADRAS SERVICE. The following list of his publications is derived chiefly from Dr. ea M’Clelland’s Memoir. - Botanical. 1. Onthe Family of Rhizophoree. Trans. Med. and Phys. Soc. Calcutta, 1836, vol. viii. 2. Description of two genera of the Family of Hamamelidee, two species of Podestemon, and one species of Kaulfussia. Asia- tic Researches, vol. xix. 1836. 3. Muscologia Itineris Assamici; or description of Mosses collect- _ ed during the journey of the Assam Deputation in the years 1835 and 1836. Proceedings of the Linnean Society 1838, Calcutta Journal of Natural History, vol. ii p. 465, vol. iii. p. 06, '‘p. 270. 4. Remarks on a collection of plants made at Sudyah, in Upper Assam, from April to September, 1836. Journal of the Asiatic Society, vol. vy. p. 806. 1847.] Witham Griffith, Esq., FL. 8. 195 Ou 6. Some remarks on the development of Pollen. Journal Asiatic Society, vol. v. p. 732. Description of Grasses which forma part of the vegetation of the Jeels of the Sylhet Districts. Journal of the Asiatic So- ciety, vol. v. p. 570. . On the structure of ovula in two species of Ephedra. Ditto in some Orchideous plants. Ditto in Callipeltis and Galina. Proc. Linnean Society 19th January, 1841, No. xi. p. 90. Ditto on Santalum and Osyris, 0. c. No. xiv. p. 121. , Ditto in Isoetes capsularis, Roxb. showing the sporules or seeds to be produced from the division of a simple cell, or its con- tents, and that several sexual distinctions do not exist, as received by botanists, either in Isoetes or Azolla. 1. c. 9. Report on the Tea Plant of Upper Assam. ‘Transactions of 10. 1a 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. ve 18. 19, 20. 21, the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, vol. v. Calcutta, 1838. On some plants, mostly undescribed, in the H. C. Botanic Gardens, Calcutta. Cal. Journal Nat. Hist. vol. iv. p. 375. Palms of British India. Cal. Journal Nat. Hist. vol. v. p. 1, 211, 240. On Azolla and Salvinia. Cal. Journal Nat. Hist. vol. v. p. 229. On some plants in the H. C. Botanic Gardens. Cal. Journal Nat. Hist. vol. v. p. 355. On the development of the ovulum of Santalum and Loranthus. Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. xvill. On the ovulum of Santalum, Osyris, Loranthus, and Viscum. Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. xix. 171. Some account of the Botanical collection brought by Dr. Cantor, from the Eastward. Asiatic Researches, vol. xxi. On the Black-dye plant of the Shans, and on the Gutta Percha, or Gutta Tuban. Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India, vol. iii. p. 143. An attempt to analyse Rhizanthee, &c. Proceedings Lin- nean Society, 1844. On a few plants from Central India. Cal. Journal of Nat. Hist. vol. iii. p. 361. On the root parasites referred by authors to Rhizanthee and. on various plants related to them. Transactions of the Lin- nean Society vol. xix. 103. Note on the development of the ovulum of Osyris. Ibid, p. 487. 196 Biographical Memoir, &c. [No. 32, 22. On the development of the ovulum in Avicennia. Trans. Lin. Soc. vol. xx. 1. 23. On the Indian species of Balanophora and on a new genus of the family Balanophoree. Ibid. p. 93. 24. Notes on the Botanical geography of the Tenasserim Pro- vinces. Cal. Jour. Nat. Hist. vol. viii. p. 72. Political and Statistical. 1. Journal of a Mission to Bootan 1837-38, communicated from the office of the Pol. Secy. to Government of India. Journal Asiatic Society, vol. vill. p. 208, 241. 2. Journal of a visit to the Mishmee hills in Assam. Journal Asiatic Society, vol. vi. p. 329. 3. Extracts from a report on subjects connected with Affghanistan, communicated from the office of the Political Secretary to the Government of India. Journal Asiatic Society, vol. x. p. 797. Besides which he was engaged in editing Dr. Voigt’s Hortus Su- burbanus Calcuttensis ; the posthumous papers of the late Mr. Jack and Dr. Roxburgh’s work on Criptogamous Plants, the two latter in M’Clelland’s Journal of Nat. Hist. vols. iv. and v. His unpublished M. 8.8. extend to nearly twenty folio volumes, half of which contain botanical drawings and descriptions of plants. The remainder consist of narratives of his various Journeys, with full details of his botanical researches,—observations on the natural pro- ductions and statistics of the region generally, measurements with the barometer to determine heights and astronomical observations to fix the situations of places. His collections of plants which were very extensive were distribut- ed chiefly according to the countries in which they had been made, but some of the natural families in which he felt most interested were arranged generally. He had formed a separate collection of mosses and ferns, duplicates of which had been forwarded to Sir W. Hooker — and Mr. W. Harvey. On his second departure to Malacca he left in Calcutta specimens of nearly 8000 species, all carefully labelled for future reference and study, whenever he should be appropriately settled; besides which large collections had in like manner been left in the Straits, when he came to Calcutta, all of which were independent of the copious supplies transmitted from time to time to the East India House, and of sets of duplicates furnished to scientific friends at home. 1847. | —— Noivees. roy The whoie of the above he bequeathed to the Court of Directors, with a request that his friends Sir W. Hooker, Mr. Lemann, and Mr. Bentham might be allowed to arrange them, Of his zoological acquisitions, the quadrupeds and birds par- ticularly those obtained in Affghanistan, many of which are new to science, have been lodged in the museum of the EK. I. House. A notice of some of his entomological spoils by the Rev. F. Hope, has been given in the XVIII. Volume of the Linnean Transactions and an account of the fresh water fishes obtained by him in various localities, drawn up by Dr. M’Clelland, will be fotind in the Calcutta Journal of Natural History, vol. ii, p. 580, and vol. ii. p. 283. a oy NOTICES. Professor Lee on the Cufic Signatures in the Copper Grant of the Syrian Christians. We have been favored with the following Extract from a letter by Dr. Lee, Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge, on the above subject. The Madras Journal which you were so good as to send me, gives a very exact copy of this Cufic impression (Vol. xiii. Plate viii.) ; and, at page 143, a decipherment of this is given, on the whole, I think, very correctly. In one or two instances, however, there seems to me to be room for amendment. The notes here, which proceed perhaps from the Editor, translate this decipherment thus: “The first word,” says this writer, ‘“ which is wanting may be 1D the reading would then be Meimum son of [brahim arranged this for you.” But I cannot see, how wy 94/0 pa) os V2 can mean, “Meimum arrang- p) ed this for you.”” I can find no instance in which is used as a verb, or, asa noun, having the sense of arranging. I should rather think that, if we are to take 142 as the first word of this plate, some such verb as any) should follow it, thus pratt 9 ey 90 WS) AY) jo \S2 meaning, ‘‘Jdezmumthe son of Jorahim bestowed this mu- | nificently upon thee ;” &c. which should still require some additional matter to have proceeded. Or if s 3) was the preceding word,—which appears to me not unlikely,—then the place would read thus tS! a. ad esolyl w? w 94:2 &e. “Meimum the son of Ibrahim, the power | is thine, or for thee;’” that is, over whatever had previously been ty 198. Notices. | [No. 32, mentioned as granted.* The plate then goes on, “and Makommed son of Mania has borne witness,” &c. I doubt whether mile, jst} is the true reading of the fourth line. JI am tempted to think that oho , esl alhurman or something like it, would be nearer to the Cufic. At any rate 4 Hazramat can be a correct translation of neither. It must be “alhazramat” according to this deciphering ** Alt” is perhaps an error of the press. In the beginning of the 7th line the proper name has not been made out. It seems to me to be is trcll or Ustaall or the like; 2. e. alsanafi or alsazfi. I see no reason to object to any thing else occurring in this inscription. The Mahommedan histories of the times of this grant may possibly sup- ply some information as to the persons here mentioned. I do not however remember to have met with any such. Major Rawlinson on the Intermediate Signatures of the Sy- rian Plates. On the first publication of the fac similes of these plates, we trans- mitted a copy of them to Major Rawlinson, who then stated his belief that the final characters were a form of Pehlevi and promised a fur- ther communication after he had made a more careful examination of them. In his paper on the Behistun Inscriptions in the 10th Volume of the Asiatic Society’s Journal he describes the early cursive charac- ter which he supposes to have been in use among the Persians ante- cedent to the introduction or rather invention of the Cuneiform al- phabet, and then continues in a note: “In the names of the Parsi witnesses attached to the copper sasanam, which is at present in pos- session of the Syrian Christians of Malabar, we have probably an in- teresting specimen of the Pehlevi character, as it was carried to In- dia by the first emigrants of the Zoroastrian faith, when they fled from the Arab army on its approach to Abilah, at the mouth of the Euphrates, and sought refuge at Sindan, a town on the coast of | Guzerat, well known in Arab geography, but which, without this direct testimony of Hamzah Isfahani, we should have some difficul- ty in recognizing in the Saint John of the modern maps.” The above singularly corroborates the following observation of * It must be borne in mind that the grant was conferred by the Hindu Sove- reign of Malabar, and that the names following it were those of the subscribing witnesses—Jewish, Arab and Persian Merchants of the same place. ba 1847. | Notices. 199 Dr. Gundert’s in a letter dated March, 1845, and received subsequent to the publication of his paper. ‘When I wrote about the name Tarisa, I was not yet aware that Tarsa las} signifies a “ Christian” in Persian. ‘This agrees then with Cosmas’ description of Christia- nity in Malabar and Ceylon, as originating with Persian merchants.” In the same letter he further remarks *‘ 1 have become convinced by a perusal of Anquetil du Perron’s Journals that the last plate is lost to us. He begins a list of Malayalam names, as witnesses sub- scribing to the document—with Vel cula Sundara, the next name is Vijaya Narayana, many others follow. The plates as we have them close with the word Samew [| Vejaya|. My translation of the pre- ceding sentence is therefore incorrect. It ought to be: ‘ agreed to and subscribed by Vel cula Sundara. Anquetil du Perron has his account of the documents from a Sanscrit version, in the hands of Sy- rian Clergymen. This may perhaps still be in existence in Travan- core though the plate is lost.” ee ey Temperature of the Earth in Travancore. The following mean results of a series of observations of the tem- perature of the earth made by Mr. Caldecott at Trevandrum were exhibited by Prof. J. D. Forbes at the 17th Meeting of the British Association for the advancement of Science in June last. Air. He Feet. ct, | | 12 Feet. January, = sh ella ag - -| 78:9 85:0 | 5 85°5 Bevmary, - 0) | 834 16-6 85:8 March, | - - - = -| 82:7 88:8 86:4 April, - a ee - - 83°4 | 89:6 86:9 eanpeeeo en a el BIG 88-4 | June, - - - - - 79:9 85:0 86:9 July, - - - - - -, 79-4 83°2 86°5 August, = - - = = = 79:0 83°6 85°9 September, - - a - -| 80-0 84°6 85°6 October, - - - - - 79:1 84-7 85°7 November, - - - - =) an 84:6 85:7 December, - - . - 78:0 84:2 | | 85:6 | e 80:0 85:7 86:0 ES EE NNN Professor Forbes exhibited also curves showing the mean changes of the temperature of the air and of the earth at different depths through the year, which indicated clearly two maxima and two minima corres- ponding to the two summers and two winters of Trevandrum ; the lowest 200 Notices. — | [No. 32, minimum occurring in the rainy season. He concluded by some ge- neral remarks to the effect that the results are confirmed by observa- tions on the temperature of springs and wells at Trevandrum, which have been communicated to him by Major General Cullen, and that from these facts it was easy to infer that the phenomena of the pro- pagation of heat into the ground near the equator resemble those of the temperate latitudes, though modified in character and extent. Mr. Caldecott’s experiments establish also the unsoundness of the conclusion of M. Boussingault, at least for the Eastern hemisphere, that the annual temperature near the equator remains unchanged at a depth of one foot below the surface in the shade :—a mistake the more important to correct because M. Poisson has tried to confirm his theory of heat by applying it to explain this alleged fact. ‘These observations also establish incontestably the considerable excess of the temperature of the earth above that of the air; the latter being in its mean quantity rather below than above 80°. In both these particulars the observations of Mr. Caldecott are confirmed by those | of Captain Newbold, of the Madras Army, in a paper lately published in the London Philosophical Transactions. Atheneum, No. 1027, page 712. — Barometrical Levellings in the Madras Presidency. At the late meeting of the British Association, Colonel Sykes ex- hibited and explained two maps constructed by Major General W. Cullen, of the Madras Artillery, comprising five sections of country, showing the relative levels, by barometrical observation, at distances varying from 10 to 20 miles. One section extended from Cape Comorin to Multai, at the source of the Tapti, a distance of about 1170 miles, proceeding through Ma- dura, Trichinopoly, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Nagpore, to Multai. Another from the Caves at Ellora to Masulipatam through Jaulnah, Beder, Golconda, Condapilly, to Masulipatam, being a road distance of 545 miles. The second map contained three sections: one from Nagpore to Jaulnah, through Oomrawuttee, of 265 miles; another from Goa to Bellary, through Belgaum and Dharwar, 280 miles ; and a third from Mysore to Madras, through Seringapatam, Bangalore, Vellore, and Arcot, road distance 293 miles. A third map gave ba- rometrical sections from Madras to Bellary, on a line about W. N. ° - 1847.] Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society, &c. 201 W. 244 miles; and from Bellary to Iddamaeul, on a line about W. by S. 156 miles. This map, without pretending to be a complete geo- logical section, showed the prevailing rocks on the route. Associat- ‘ed with the sections were notices of the climate and mortality at most of the principal stations; comprising the maxima, minima, and mean pressure of the barometer for some years,—the maxima, minima, and mean indications. of the thermometer,—the falls of rain, the nature of the monsoons,—and the sickness and per-centage, mor- tality of the European and Native troops. The whole of these labori- ous results indicated no ordinary industry and judgment. Colonel Sykes’ object in exhibiting the sections was to call the attention of railway Engineers to the use of the barometer as the precursor of the Theodolite in determining the general levels of a country, with a view to the selection of lines. He suggested also that Geologists might use the barometer to fix the height above the sea of the strata described. He stated that in the tropics the moderate oscillations of the barometer admitted of levels being determined with some accu- racy even when the instrument was used independently; but that when the instrument used had been previously compared with a stan- dard barometer, and that contemporaneous observations were made, he could testify from his own experience that a height so determined might not differ 10 feet, when re-tested or re-observed after a lapse of years. Atheneum, No. 1029, p. 771. ProcEEDINGS OF THE MADRAS LITERARY SOCIETY AND AUXI- LIARY OF THE Roya ASIATIC SOCIETY. Ata Meeting of the Managing Committee held on T ae evening the 21st January, 1845. Read a letter from Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co., dated 18th October, 1844, enclosing a Bill of Lading and Invoice for a case of Books consigned _ to the Society on the “ Emerald Isle.” Read the following letter from Captain R. Gill. Rees The Secretary to the Literary Society, Madras. SIR, I have to apologize for the long delay which has occurred in answering | your kind communication from the Society ; which I was unable to do Bb 202 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, without reference, and I now fear that my reply will be very unsatisfacto-. ry, as all I can promise is, that I shall be most happy to meet the wishes — of the Society as far as consistent with my duty to Government. I beg you will convey to the Society my gratitude for the feeling con- veyed in your letter, and with every assurance of respect, I remain, Sir, ARCOT, Your’s faithfully, December 18, 1844. ; (Signed) Ros. GI. Laid before the Meeting two printed papers received from the Royal Geographical Society of London, containing queries respecting the Hu- man Race. Laid before the Meeting a copy of the Munich Society’s Almanac re- ceived from Dr. Martius. Read a letter from the Rev. G. Knox, dated 18th January, 1845, noti- fying his retirement from the Committee. The Committee resolve to record their regret at the loss of Mr. Knox’s co-operation and assistance. (Signed) J. MincuHin, Secretary M. L. S., &c. =e At a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Tuesday evening the 4th March, 1845. The Secretary laid before the Meeting three letters from Messrs. Wm. H. Allen and Co., dated 24th December, 1844, and 10th and 18th January, 1845, forwarding their account with the Society for the past year, and advising the despatch of Books and Magazines per the Steamer “ Plan- tagenet,” and the “ John Fleming.” Read the following letter to C. P. Brown, Esq. To C. P. Brown, Esq. SIR, With reference to your letter of the 27th Ultimo, I am instructed by the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society to furnish you with the annexed extract from the Proceedings of the Annual General Meeting of the Society, held on the 1st Instant. I have the honor, &c. LITERARY SOCIETY, COLLEGE, t (Signed) J. MIncutn, 4th February, 1845. Secretary M. L. &., §e- 1847.] and Auciliary Royal Asiatic Society. 203 Latract from the Proceedings of an Annual General Meeting of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic So- ciety, held at the Society’s Rooms at the College, on Saturday, the Ist February, 1845. Proposed by J. C. Morris, Esq. and seconded by Walter Elliot, Esq. “ That the warmest and best thanks of the Society be given to C. P. Brown, Esq. for his munificent present of Oriental Manuscripts, and that he be informed that immediate measures shall be taken to carry into effect his suggestion as to their preservation ; and that pending a refer- ence to Government, the Secretary be authorized to entertain the three persons recommended by Mr. Brown in the service of the Society.” Car- ried unanimously. A true Extract. (Signed) J. Mincuty, Secretary M. L. S., &c. At a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Tuesday evening, the lst April, 1845. Read the following letter from Walter Elliot, Esq. Guntoor, March 11, 1845. My Dear MIncHIn, ° 4 I enclose a communication from Dr. Bird of Bombay, your brother Se- cretary of the Western Branch of the Parent Society, which I wish you would lay before the next Meeting of our Society, I dare say Felix will say a good word in favor of the Sister Institution of which he, I’believe, as well as myself, is also a Member. , Your’s sincerely, (Signed) WALTER ELLIOT. James Minchin, Esq. Bombay Asiatic Sociery’s Rooms, 20th February, 1845. My Dear Sir, I regret to say that the low state of our Society’s present income will oblige us to discontinue the publication of our Quarterly Journal, and can see no means of avoiding this but by obtaining a sufficient amount of subscription, among those interested in Oriental matters, in order to cover the expense. I have now in my possession much interesting matter quite enough nearly for two succeeding Numbers after the October one, and two Dissertations of Professor Lassen are on the way out to us; so that I think it would be a pity to abandon the publication of the work, without making an effort to continue it. I will therefore feel much obliged if you 204 Proceedings of the Mad. Lat. Society [No. 32, will do me the favor of laying before the Madras Literary Society the ac- companying Prospectus for subscriptions, which has been circulated here to the Members of our Society. The Bengal Journal which was madé by Prinsep so successful a medium for encouraging and diffusing a taste for Oriental Research in all its branches now contains little beyond statis- tical papers and some subjects of Natural History, and the time seems now favourable for combining the efforts of all in India, interested in pro- secuting Orzental inquiries. Few have more successfully devoted their leisure time to such inquiries than you yourself have done, and I am sure you have not yet exhausted the store of your knowledge, and are still ca- pable of giving us valuable aid in this way. | I heard of our friend Shaw from Cannanore, and Mrs. S. wrote me to say he was much better. Believe me, &c. (Signed) JAMES BrIRD. N. B.—Is Major Felix at Madras or Simla? (Signed) J.B. Quarterly Journal of the Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society, edited by the Secretary. The Committee of the Society, appointed at the Meeting of the 12th December last, to audit the accounts and for other financial objects hay- ing reported that the ‘expenses of the Quarterly Journal can be no longer debited to the current income of the Society, but must be liquidated from special subscriptions to this individual object ; the Secretary begs leave to intimate his willingness to carry on this publication under the auspices of the Society, provided nearly sufficient subscriptions, among the Resident, non-Resident Members of the Society and others, are obtained for de- fraying the expenses of publication. Situated so favorably as we are in Western India for investigating and illustrating peculiar and particular objects of research relative to Hindu Mythology, Philology and History, we are in possession of exclusive advantages for acquiring novel and use- ful information on the Ethnography of the various Asiatic races, and re- garding the Geography and Natural History of the neighbouring coun- tries, and on the Paleography and arts of their inhabitants, placed as we find ourselves between Arabia, Persia and Tartary on the one hand, and Egypt, Ethiopia and Africa on the other. With such advantages of loca- lity it seems incumbent on us and the Society to diffuse and make known that information, on various subjects of Oriental research which many; the Editor has found, are willing to collect and communicate. No exer- tion of his shall be spared to make the Journal as extensively useful and interesting, on all subjects, as the advantages of the locality naturally promise ; and he is sanguine, from the assistance hitherto given, that the. ° 1847.] and Auciliary Royal Asiatic Society. 205 exertions of contributors will rather increase than diminish. The size of each number will be generally about a hundred octavo pages with Litho- graphs : for which it is proposed to charge Rupees 2-0-0 to Members of _ the Society, and Rupees 2-8-0 to Subscribers not Members. The follow- ing are the contents of the October number, now nearly ready for issue from the Press. ist. Two ancient inscriptions in the Cave character and Sanscrit language translated into English. 2d. An account of the Tem- ple of Somnauth, and translation of a Sanscrit inscription found there. 3d. The late Mr. Prinsep’s correspondence relative to Indian antiquities. 4th. Hamaiyaric inscriptions from Aden and Saba translated into Eng- lish. 5th. Geological observations on the alluvial soil of Sindh, and Hills in the neighbourhood of Hydrabad. 6th. Observations on the Runic stones of Scotland. 7th. Notice on Hindu Gold Coins found in the Southern Conean, and on the Gold Zodiac Coins of the Emperor Jehangir. 8th. On the origin of the Hamaiyaric and Ethiopic Alphabets. 9th. Analysis of a work entitled ‘“ Historical Researches on the Origin and Classes of the several Cave Temples of Western India.” 10th. Literary and Scientific Notices. 11th. Proceedings of the Society. At the JAnuary monthly meeting of the Society, the following Gentle-. men subscribed their names to the continuation of the Journal, and such _ resident Members of the Society as are disposed to suepee it will favor me with their names and address. Bomsay, (Signed) JAMes Birp, B. R. A. 8.’s Rooms, Secretary. I7th February, 1845. James Burns, M. D., Bombay. Captain H. B. Turner, Engrs., Bombay. Lieutenant Stuart, do. John Gordon, Esq., Bombay C. S. Dr. George Buist, Bombay. C. D. Pestonjee, Esq., do. Dr. J. Boyd, Medical Service, Bombay. M. Stovell, Esq., do. James Bird, Esq., do. Poona Library, Poona. Sattara Library, Sattara. Resolved,—That two copies of the above work be taken by this Society. Read the following letter from NGentam T. J. Newbold. Kurnool, March 18, 1845, My DEAR Mr. Hprcaaial T have sent a cooly to-day with a box containing the Books kindly lent vme by the Society, and beg to request that Buchanan's Travels in Mysore, | 206 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, Canara, &c., Scott's Ferishta’s History of the Deccan and Heyne’s Tracts _ may be sent me and the last numbers of the Journal of the French Asiatic Society - If this request be granted, please send the Books to Griffiths and Co. Would you also send to Griffiths a set of the Madras Journal for M. Garcin de Tassy. I will pay for those you have sent up to me. In the Box you will finda packet for Professor Owen ; it contains bones from the caves of Kurnool. Also two for J. de Carle Sowerby, containing fos- sils from Trichinopoly. These please send on with the cooly to Messrs. Grif- fiths who will pack them on my own account and send them to London. As soon as described by Professor Owen and Mr. Sowerby, I shall not fail to apprize the Society of the results. Messrs. Griffiths will pay the cooly his balance, but please write me a line in answer to say you have re- ceived the books, &c. There are 3 packets for you. One containing the Journals of the French Asiatic Society. Another, small specimens from the fossil bone caves, and the third, some minerals as per enclosed list— both of which please present to the Society from me. No. 14, in the list is a mineral though not new to European Minera- logy, yet new to the Mineralogy of S. India. I discovered it in the lead mines in the Nulla Mulla hills a little to the east of Gazoopilly associated with galena, sulph. of barytes, chert and an olive green crystallized mine- ral hitherto not analyzed. Of No. 14, Mr. Piddington who He analyzed it, thus writes; ‘I have the pleasure of informing you that your red mineral is as you suppose an ore of cerium, and moreover of that most rare kind carbonate of cerium. It contains iron, lead, lime, silex, alumina, and perhaps yttria and mag- nesia. KURNOOL, March 18, 1845. (Signed) T. J. NEWBOLD. For the Asiatic Society of Madras. No. 1. Packet contains French A. Society Journals. No. 2. Fossilized bones from bone caves of Billa Soorgum, Kurnool frontier, with two specimens of the calcareous and gypsious bone breccia. No. 3. Contains 14 Geological specimens as follow: No. 1. Steatite quarried in the diamond limestone of Kurnool and ex- ported in considerable quantities to Hydrabad, Madras, &c. It is used _ chiefly for pencils to write on the black prepared cloth books in which Natives keep accounts and for smoothing the surface of chunam pillars, &c. It passes into the substance called French chalk. No. 2, 3, 4, and 5, varieties of Steatite. No. 6. Crystallized sulphate of barytes from diamond limestone of Kur- . 2am THVT Padi Ge Wa ARR PST ta 1847.] and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. 207 nool. It is called Mugharai by the Natives and used by the Brah- mins coarsely powdered in delineating the figures before the doors of their houses. It is preferred for this purpose to chalk as the powder has a peculiarly glittering appearance when the rays of the sun fall upon it. No. 7. Specimen showing diamond sandstone and the chocolate colored shales of the limestone at the time of junction when nests of micaceous iron ore are observable. No. 8. Diamond limestone exhibiting cubic iron pyrites in process of dis- sintegration which dropping or being finally washed out leaves circular cavities on its surface. No. 9. Diamond limestone with scorings on its surface. No. 10. Do. with furrows. No. 11. Do. with marks resembling those said to be caused by ancient rains on the surface of the new red sandstone of England. No. 12. Altered Diamond sandstone near contact with trap dyke, exhi- biting an actynolitic development in its structure. No. 13. Specimen from line of contact of diamond limestone, exhibiting actynolite passing into asbestus and mingled with cale spar. No. 14. Carbonate of Cerium, a mineral new to 8. India, discovered by me in the Eastern Ghauts near Gazoopilly, Kurnool, associated with gale- na, chert, sulph. of barytes, an olive green crystallized mineral not yet analyzed, yttria and probably magnesia. (Signed) T. J. NEWBOLD. _ Resolved,—That the Books requested by Captain Newbold be forwarded to him, and the thanks of the Society be rendered to him for his valuable present of Fossil bones and minerals. (Signed) J. Mincutn, Secretary M. L. &., §&c. Ata Meeting of the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, held on Tues- day evening, the 6th May, 1845. PRESENT. Chairman. J.C. Morris, Esq. Members. J. U. Evxis, Esq. Lorp ARTHUR Hay, Lieut. COLONEL Feiix, Caprain Losu, and J. MINCHIN, Esq., Secretary. 208 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, Read the following letter tothe Chief Secretary to Government. To The Chief Secretary to Government. SIR, Thave the honor by desire of the Committee of Management of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society to request that you will submit to the Most Noble the Governor in Council the accompanying copy of a letter addressed to me by Mr. C. P. Brown, who kindly undertook to arrange and make a Catalogue of the Oriental Books recently forwarded to the Society by the Honorable the Court of Directors. It will be observed that in addition to this important service Mr. Brown q has made to the Society the munificent gift of his extensive Library of Native works principally in the Sanscrit and Telugoo languages. The works in the Native languages now in the keeping of the Madras Literary Society, comprising the Mackenzie Manuscripts, those received from the Library at the India House during last year, and those now pre- sented by Mr. Brown, form the largest and most valuable collection ever made, and it appears to the Society to be an object of national importance that they should be kept up and carefully preserved, It appears from Mr. Brown’s letter that to do this effectually the ser- vices of three persons, on salaries amounting to 51 Rupees per mensem, will be absolutely requisite, and as the Literary Society have no funds which are appropriable to such a purpose, they are induced to apply to his Lordship in Council for the requisite assistance to effect this very desirable object. The Committee desire me to add that should Government be pleased to comply with their request, they will consider it their duty to see that the works are properly attended to, and they will be happy to give access to the Library to respectable persons, under any rules or regulations which the Government may be pleased to prescribe. In conclusion the Committee would beg to recommend that the payment of the individuals for whose entertainment they now apply, should be en- trusted to the Secretary to the College on the production of a certificate from the Secretary to the Literary Society, that the parties have carefully attended to their duty. LITERARY SOCIETY, COLLEGE, (Signed) J. MINcHIN, Sth April, 1843. Secretary M. L. S., Sc. Read the following letters to W. Elliot, Esq., James Bird, Esq. and Captain T. J. Newbold. 1847.] and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. 209 To WALTER ELLIOT, Esq. Guntoor. SIR, In acknowledging the receipt of your communication of the 11th ult. and the enclosures, I have to acquaint you that the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Socie- ty have resolved to subscribe for two copies of the Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and I have accordingly written to Mr. James Bird to transmit to the Society as soon as published, two co- pies of each No. MaApRBAS LITERARY SOCIETY, I have the honor to be, &c. COLLEGE, ¢ (Signed) J. MINCHIN, 15th April, 1845. Secretary M. L. &., &es Lo JAMES BIRD, Esq. : Secretary Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society. IR, With reference to your letter to Walter Elliot, Esq., dated 20th Feb- ruary last, I am instructed by the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, to request you will be pleased to put down the name of our Society for two copies of the Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, and to transmit the same by Banghy as they issue from the Press. Mapras Literary SOCIETY, I have the honor to be, &c. COLLEGE, (Signed) J. MINCHIN, 15th April, 1845. Secretary M. L. 8., $c. Zo Captain T. J. NEWBOLD, Kurnool. SIR, In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 18th Ultimo, I am in- structed by the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, to convey to you their best thanks for the mineral and fossil specimens which you have done them the honor to present to the Society. I avail myself of this opportunity to inform you that the Books, &c. forwarded by you by cooly have been received, and the parcels addressed to Professor Owen and Mr. Sowerby have been, in compliance with your request, sent to Messrs. Griffiths and Co., to whom I have also sent for cc 210 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, transmission to you, the undermentioned Books from the Society’s Library as requested in your letter under acknowledgment. I have the honor to be, &c. LITERARY SocreTy, COLLEGE, (Signed) J. MINCHIN, 15th April, 1845. t Secretary M. L. S., §c. Buchanan’s Journal through Mysore, Canara, Xe. 3 vols. Heyne’s Tracts on India. Journal Asiatique from July to December, 1844, 5 Nos. Madras Journal of Literature and Science, 24 Nos. \ Read the following communication from the Chief Secretary to Go- vernment. Public Department. No. 383. Extract from the Minutes of Consultation, dated 28th April, 1845. Read the following letter from the Secretary to the Committee of Ma- nagement of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asia- tic Society. Here enter 9th April, 1845. Resolved,—That the Government of India be moved to sanction the ex- penditure contemplated in the foregoing letter, and that the Secretary to the Committee of Management of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, be requested to furnish the Go- vernment with a Catalogue Raisonnée of the Books and Manuscripts, si- milar in its character to Professor Wilson’s Catalogue of the Mackenzie M.S. 8. They will also be pleased to report to Government the estimated value of this collection. (A true Extract.) (Signed) J. F. THomas, Chief Secretary. To The Committee of Management of the Madras Interary Society and Auxihary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Resolved,—That a copy of the foregoing communication be forwarded to C. P. Brown, Esq., and that he be requested to furnish the Society with a copy of the Catalogue of the Manuscripts prepared by him, and to state his opinion as to their estimated value, in order that the same maybe transmitted to Government, the Committee being unable to make a Cata- logue Raisonnée of the Manuscripts. Resolved,—That the late Mr. A. K. Bantleman’s Report on the Society’s Manuscripts be circulated to the Committee. (Signed) J. MINCHIN, Secretary M. L. S., §& a a 1847. ] and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. 211 Ata Meeting of the Meng Committee, on Saturday evening, the oth July, 1845. Read the following letter from Captain T. J. Newbold. My Dear MINCHIN, You will be surprised to find me so near, a Broken blood vessel in the lungs, or rather its consequences induced my Medical attendant at Kur- nool to hurry me down to the sea side in anticipation of regular sick leave I am confined to my room for the present ; but ere long hope to do myself the pleasure of calling on you. Please present the two papers herewith sent to the Madras Literary Society. Can you tell me who has charge of the publication of the Madras Journal in Best’s absence. I sent a paper on Geology, which I should very much wish to get back if possible. When is the next number to come forth and what are the Articles ip is to be composed of ? CLUB, Your’s very sincerely, 8th May, 1845. $ (Signed) T. J. NEwxo.p. Read the following letter to C. P. Brown, Esq. To C. P. Brown, Esq. SIR, In forwarding to you the annexed copy of a communication received from Government I am instructed by the Managing Committee of the {adras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, to request you will be pleased to furnish the Society as early as practicable with the List of the Manuscripts prepared by you in Telugu, and to state also their estimated value for the information of Government. : I have, &c. LITERARY SOCIETY, COLLEGE, (Signed) J. MINcHIN, 16th May, 1845. } Secretary M. L. S. &c. Read the following letter from James Bird, Esq. To J. MIncHIN, Esq. Secretary Madras Interary Society. SIR, I was favored with your letter of the 15th of April last, intimating that the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society had subscribed for two copies of the Journal, Bombay Branch Royal Asiatic Society, to be transmitted on publication per Bangy dawk. I have now the plea- 212 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, sure of forwarding by this day’s dawk two numbers of the Journal last published ; for which a memorandum of the cost is also enclosed. I further beg leave to acquaint you that the January number of the - Journal is now nearly ready for issue, and will be transmitted as soon as published. May I further request you will do me the favor of endeavouring to extend our Subscription List at Madras, as I much fear I shall be obliged to discontinue the publication, if no additional Subscribers be obtainable, in Madras and Bengal : and this I will much regret, as a Journal on this side of India has much in its power to collect information, and extend the field of Oriental Research. I remain, &e. BomBAY Brancu, R. A. Society, } (Signed) James Birp, 13th June, 1845. Secretary. Read two letters from Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co., dated 19th April and 19th May last, advising the despatch of books and periodicals per Steamer. Mr. Minchin having intimated that the situation of Secretary will be- come vacant on the 10th instant, by his departure for England, The Committee desire to express their regret that the Society is about to be deprived of the valuable services of that Gentleman, and to tender to him their best thanks for the interest he has taken in the welfare of the Society, and for the able and efficient manner in which he has performed. the duties of Secretary during the last seven years. (Signed) J.C. Morris, For the Secretary. At a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Friday evening, the 8th August, 1845. Read the following letter from C. J. Bird, Esq. 17th July, 1845. My DEAR Morris, I send you the Stone* and hope the fellow likes carrying it—20 lbs. 14 oz.: I was so pressed for time at the time I got the stone that I sent the rough notes concerning it along with the stone to Madras—Walter Elliot had them. The Astronomer also saw the stone—and I understand a no- * The Meteoric Stone of which a notice will be found in the Journal, Volume xiii, Part ii, Page 164, 1847. | and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. 213 tice on the subject has been compiled to appear in the next No. if ever there is one, of the Madras Journal of Literature and Science. Believe me, &c. (Signed) C.J. Brrp. P. 8.—I send a paper of sadly broken “ Edible Birds’ Nests” from the Straits, I fear they are not worth a place in the Museum; let any body make soup of them that likes. Read the following letter from the Honorable H. Dickinson, Esq. To The Secretary of the Lnterary Society, Madras. SIR, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th Instant, and have to beg that you will assure the Honorable the President, | the Honorable the Vice Presidents, and the Members of the Managing _ Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asia- tic Society that I accept with great satisfaction the honor to which they have invited me of becoming one of the Vice Presidents of the Socicty. ADYAR, I have, &c. . 21st July, 1845. | (Signed) H. Dickinson. Read the following letter from the Chief Secretary to Government. No. 696. Public Department. GENTLEMEN, With reference to the Extract from the Minutes of Consultation of the 28th April last, No. 383, I am directed by the Most Noble the Governor in Council to request you will cause the Catalogue and information there called for, in respect to the Books and Manuscripts presented by Mr. C. P. Brown, to be furnished to this Office at an early date. IT have, &e. Fort St. GrorcegE, } (Signed) J. F. THomas, 7th August, 1845. Chief Secretary. Lo The Committee of Management of the Madras Literary Society, and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Read two letters from Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co., dated 14th and 19th June, 1845, intimating the despatch of Books and Periodicals. (Signed) T. C. JERDon, Secretary M. L. S., Se, 214 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, At a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Tuesday evening, the 9th September, 1845. Read the following letter from the Chief Secretary to Government. Public Department. No. 737. Extract from the Minutes of Consultation, dated 15th August, 1845. Read the following letter from the Secretary to the Government of India. No. 490. From G. A. Busupy, Esq. Secretary to the Government of India. To J. F. THomas, Esq. Chief Secretary to Government, ort St. George, Dated the 19th July, 1845. Home Department. SIR, I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 8, dated the 28th April last, with enclosures, and in reply to state for the information of the Most Noble the Governor in Council that the Governor General in Council being willing to afford reasonable encouragement to Scientific Societies towards the preservation of valuable collections of Oriental. Lite- rature, is pleased to sanction the employment of the Establishment noted Aa Fe eo oe in the margin* at a cost of Rupees 51 per mensem ; do. de. te for the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of — the Royal Asiatic Society. Rups. ol I have, &e. Fort WILLIAM, (Signed) G. A. Busuey, The 19th July, iohe Secy. to the Govt. of India. Ordered to be communicated to the Committee of Management of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society with reference to. their Scerctary’s letter of the 8th April last, and to the Offices of Account and Audit. (True extract and copy.) (Signed) J. F. Tuomas, Chief Secretary. To The Committee of Management of the Madras Literary Society, and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. 1847.] and Auxihary Royal Asiatic Society. 215 Read the following letter. To The Chief Secretary to Government, et Fort St. George. SIR, T have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th Instant, and in reply beg to state that I have communicated with Mr. C. P. Brown on the subject of your letter, and that Gentleman will as early as possible give the information therein required. I have, &e. LITERARY Society, COLLEGE, (Signed) T. C. Jerpon, 16th August, 1845. Secretary M. L. S&., Sc. Read the following communication. To C. P. Brown, Esq. SIR, The Madras Government having again addressed the Society on the subject of the Mackenzie Manuscripts, I am instructed by the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society to direct your attention to the communication forwarded to you by my predecessor James Minchin, Esq. on the 16th May last ; and to request you will be pleased to inform them how far it may be in your power to enable them to supply the information required by Govern- ment. I beg to forward a copy of the letter received from Government on the subject. IT have, &c. LITERARY SOCIETY, COLLEGE; . (Signed) T. C. JERDON, 16th August, 1845. Secretary M. L. S., §¢ Read the following communication from C. P. Brown, Esq. ~ To The Secretary to the Literary Society. SIR, I have to acknowledge your letter of the 7th Instant. Illness has delay- ed my reply. I am herein asked to furnish a Catalogue Raisonnée of my Library, presented to Government. To do this would occupy more than one year and would demand a Native establishment for the express purpose. The question as to the sum this Library cost me is not easily answered. Including transcribers, paper, binding, money paid to examining Pundits, and other items I have usually rated it about 30,000 Rupees, It is not 216 Proceedings of the Mad. Lit. Society [No. 32, right however to put the valuation to me—the question ought in propriety to be considered by others. - J have, &e, 21st August, 1845. (Signed) OC. P. Brown. A paper on the “ Antiquities of the Neilgherry Hills” communicated by Captain Congreve, was laid before the Meeting which the Committee has resolved to publish in the Society’s Journal. (Signed) T.C. JERpDoN, Secretary M. L. S., ¥c. At a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Tuesday hee the 7th October, 1845. Read a letter from Messrs. W. H. Allen and Co., dated 19th August, 1845, advising the despatch of Books and Periodicals per Steamer. Read the following letter from Captain 8. C. Macpherson. Manras, 22d August, 1845. My Dear Sir, I beg leave to offer for the acceptance of the Madras Branch of the Roy- al Asiatic Society a pair of horns of the Cervus Frontalis of Munnipore, in Assam, discovered by Captain Guthrie, Bengal Engineérs. Very truly your’s, < (Signed) S. 0. MacrHerson. LO T.C. Jerpon, Esq. Secretary M. Asiatic Society. Ordered that these be deposited in the Society’s Museum, and that the thanks of the Society be communicated to the Donor. (Signed) T. C. JERDON, Secretary M. L. &., &e. Ai a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Wednesday evening, the 5th November, 1845. Read the following letter to the Chief Secretary to Government. To | J. F. THomas, Esq. Chief Secretary to Glovernment. SIR, The Government of India were pleased under date the 19th July last to sanction an establishment amounting to 51 Rupees per mensem for the custody of the extensive Library of Oriental Works under the care of the a 1847. ] | and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. 217 Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society of which due notice was given to the Society in the Minutes of Consultation of Government, under date the 15th August, and a bill was accordingly presented to the Civil Auditor for the pay of the said establishment from ' the date on which it was entertained. It will be observed however from the accompanying copy of an official memorandum of that Officer that he does not consider himself authorized to pass the bill for the period anterior to the date of the said Minutes of Consultation, without the special sanction of Government. It has already been explained in my predecessor’s letter of the 8th April last, that the Literary Society is not in possession of any funds from which the charges of the establishment in question can be defrayed, and as the Supreme Government have recognized the importance of the object con- templated by sanctioning the establishment, the Committee of manage- ment beg me to express their hope that Government will be pleased to authorize the payment of the sum granted, from the date on which the establishment was entertained, viz. lst February, 1845. P I have, &e. LITERARY Society, COLLEGE; (Signed) T. C. JERDoN, da November, 1845. Secretary M.L.S., §c. OFFICIAL MEMORANDUM. The Civil Auditor regrets that he cannot pass the accompanying _ * ° m ° Dire terettuay bills* as forwarded to him. The regulations of to 3lst August, 1845.— Government are that when new establishments are Rupees 357 "0 0 : Mi 1. From 19th July to sanctioned their pay should be drawn from the date os eaten ee —Ru- of their entertainment, subsequent to the orders of Government. It appearing that the establishment now sanctioned for the Literary Society was entertained previously to the receipt of the Minutes of Consultation of Government, the Civil Auditor «For Rupees 27-15-5 has passed* the Bill from the date of those Minutes non loth to dist August, byt he cannot pass the charge for the previous pe- 845. c riod without the special sanction of Government. Port SAINT ae (Signed) J. C. Morris, Civiz AUDITOR’sS OFFICE, Ciel Audion. 8th September, 1845. To The Secretary Madras Literary Society and - Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Soctety. 218 Proceedings of the Mad. Int. Society [No. 82, Resolved,—That a letter be circulated regarding the frequent practice of late of making pencil remarks in the books of the Society. (Signed) T.C. Jerpon, Secretary M. L. S., &e. At a Special General Meeting of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society, held at the Society’s Rooms, at the College, on Monday, the 24th November, 1845. The Honorable Sir E. Gambier, President, in the Chair. The Meeting proceeded to elect the following Gentlemen as Members of the Managing Committee in the room of T. V. Stonhouse, Esq. who has resigned, and Captain 8. Best and Lord Arthur Hay who have left the Presidency. Rev. G. Knox proposed by J.C. Morris, Esq., seconded by Walter El- liot Esq., and carried unanimously. Lieutenant Colonel Pratt, c. B. proposed by Lieutenant Colonel Felix, seconded by Walter Elliot, Esq., and carried unanimously. T. Pycroft, Esq. proposed by J.C, Morris, Esq., seconded by Lieutenant Colonel Watkins, and carried unanimously. Proposed by J.C. Morris, Esq., and seconded by Walter Elliot, Esq. that Captain S. Best be considered as an Honorary Member of the Managing Committee ; carried unanimously. It was resolved by the Meeting that the appointment of T. C. Jerdon, Esq. as Secretary by the Honorable the President at the recommendation of the Managing Committee, be confirmed. Mr. Walter Elliot lays on the Table a set of Earthen Vessels dug out of an old sepulchre in the American Mission Compound at Madura, ae forwarded to him by the Rey. William Tracy of that Mission. A large fragment of Meteoric stone presented by C. J. Bird, Esq., which fell at Rajahmundry in 1844, is also laid on the Table. See Society’s Journal No. 31. The thanks of the Meeting were unanimously voted to the Honorable the President for his conduct in the Chair, (Signed) E. J. Gamrer, Pr. esident. (Signed) T.C. JERpDoN, Secretary. 1847.] and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. 219 At a Meeting of the Managing Committee, on Tuesday evening the 9th December, 1845. 7 Read the following communication from the Chief Secretary to Go- vernment. No. 1057. Public Department. Extract from the Minutes of Consultation, dated 15th November, 1845. Read the following letter from the Secretary to the Committee of Ma- nagement, of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Here enter 3d November, 1845. The Most Noble the Governor in Council authorizes the Civil Auditor to pass the Bill of the Secretary to the Madras Literary Society for the Establishment referred to in the foregoing letter from the date of its en- tertainment, viz. the lst February last. (A true Extract.) (Signed) J. F, THomas, Chief Secretary. To The Committee of Management of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Read the following letter from T. Pycroft, Esq. To T. C. JERDON, Esa: SIR, I do myself the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day’s date, and beg in reply to state that it will afford me much pleasure to become a Member of the Managing Committee of the Madras Literary _ Society and Auxiliary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Manpras, ‘ I have, &c. 26th November, 1845. (Signed) T. Pycrort, Read the following letter from Captain J, T, Smith, Engineers, report- | ing the arrival of a box of minerals for the Museum of the Society from Major General Cullen. 220 Proceedings of the M. L. Sociely, §e. [No. 382, 1847.] To T. C. Jerpon, Esq. DEAR SIR, I have received a large chest of Minerals from General Cullen, part of which he requests I will send to the Museum of the Literary Society; I believe they are all, or chiefly, specimens of a peculiar species of limestone, which General Cullen considered likely to be valuable as a water cement, and he requests me to make some experiments with it. I have not been able to do more than make a single trial, of which I will report the re- sult to him. As the box is a heavy one, I shall be much obliged if you will kindly inform me where to send it and to whose care it ought to be consigned. Mint, Your’s truly, 4th December, 1845. | (Signed) J. T. SmitH. Resolved,—That the thanks of the Society be communicated to Major General Cullen for the box of Minerals presented by him for the Museum of the Society.* Read a letter from Messrs. William H. Allen and Co., ands the des- patch per Steamer of the Magazines for October and several Books. Resolved,—That Roxburgh’s Flora Indica be purchased from OC. P. Brown, Esq. for 36 Rupees, and that Owen’s Odontography, first part, be purchased for 10 Rupees. Resolved,—That the works of Balzac, Victor Hugo, and Paul de Kock, for sale at Messrs. Miller and Son’s, be bid for at the sales by the Secre- tary. (Signed) T. C, Jerpon, Secretary M. L. S., §e. * These minerals are from the same locality as those described in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume xiv. Proceedings, page exvi. 7 __Atadras Jour Lich Stuence. + leah, Vel I P-I6. eras Sassi SS \ eae aoa] : : im Mangalore G | | ae y | | | | r | H | Z . | ; | | ; | NS 30 . | § | Cherbaniaui Rock Pin 3 r : 8 GHART ] of the | : LACCADIVE ISLANDS t : ’ reduced fromL ved? Moresbys 1 | ’ Survey 118 28. ae > | i eels e 2 ” \ Brramgore Reef "Soh wing reels) Bey erydpuiny reels, Sor bew SuPorramosce wrecked sare Now, Si887. / OS ! Betrapar*™ i [Burul J G ia (ape : i Bion, = pant Bauk Reet , ‘ 4 ; « Lere- ee @ : ‘ : nitrite ed ae not very quod ra Ost | x so : a a ay, Bank lee) MADRAS JOURNAL OF LITERATURE AND SCIENCE. ot No. 33. July—December, 1847. I. Description of the Laccadwe Islands. By W. Rosiy- son, Esa., of the Cuil Service. [THE following interesting account of these little known Islands has been transmitted to us for publication by order of Government. In or- der to render the paper as complete as possible, we have prefixed an abstract of such notices of their early history as have been discovered in * the few works of reference accessible. J The Laccadive Islands or according to Lieutenant Wood as the name is pronounced by the islanders, ‘‘ Lakera deevh” [Lak’h or Laksha dwipa quast ‘* Myriad Isles”] from the most northerly group of that extensive chain in the Indian ocean extending from about 10° N. Lat. to 89 S. Lat. By the ancients they were little known. Ptolemy* mentions them un- der the name of Dimurce Insule [the detached isle of Minicoy, being probably that distinguished by the appellation of Zibula,] to the South- ward of which, he adds, lay a multitude of islands reckoned at 1,378 in number,—evidently referring to the Maldives. The author of the Peri- plus of the Erythrean Sea in enumerating the exports from the port of Baraké or Neleynda} (NeAcvyda) specifies a particular kind of tortoise- # Lib. vii. 4. ; Vincent. Perip. p. 459. Neleynda or more properly Nelecoonda, described as a town of consequence on the river Baris, has generally been identified with Neleseram but ap- pears to correspond better with Neelcoond onthe Tadry river, the mouth of which not only forms the best harbour on that part of the coast, but is to this day the main outlet to the trade of the interior through the parts of Coompta and Mirjan. The Neelcoond ghat or pass also leads to Banawassi, formerly a city known to Ptolemy, and now super- seded by Sircy. ; a» 4 Description of the [No. 33, shell as obtained from the islands lying off the coast of Limyrice or Cana- ra. But in early times they seem to have been more generally confound- ed with the Maldives, the whole being known under the collective title of Divi or “ the Islands.” It is thusthat Ammianus Marcellinus in the Ath century alludes to them in his eulogium on the memory of the Empe- ror Julian: ‘* Inde nationibus Indicis certatim cum donis optimates mit- tentibus ante tempus abusque Divis et Serendivis.” * The Persians and Arabs employed a similar collective designation in speaking of them, viz. Dibajat [ome lasts .] which is merely the Hindu word with the Persian form of the plural.t The Arabian work Silsilah ut Tawarikh, translated in part by M. Reinaud, enumerating the seven seas traversed by the merchants trading to China in the 9th century, reck- ons the number of the islands at 1,900, and describes them as lying be- tween the seas of Herkend and al-Larevi [Larike of Ptolemy the modern Guzerat] as producing amber (ambergris) and cocoanuts, with a currency of cowrees, and governed bya woman. No distinct mention of the Lacca- dives occurs in Ibn Batuta, who visited Malabar in the early part of the 14th century and resided for some time in the Maldive Islands. He found the greater part of the southern coast both of Malabar and Coro- mandel in the possession of Mohammedan or Arabrulers, and makes par- ticular mention of the chief of Honore [ 9 Aa | named Jemal-ud-Din whom he accompanied in a hostile expedition against the island of Sindaboor. [ yy N Nd 8 Ip je] The force was conveyed in 52 vessels and the island was occupied not without resistance. It is difficult to identify the place here indicated. None of the Laccadives appear likely to have been of suffici- ent importance to draw down such an invasion, and yet it cannot refer either to the Maldives or Ceylon, both of which were subsequently visited by the traveller and described in great detail. From Sindaboor he returned af- ter some months to the mainland to look after some property left at Cou- lam ( e! 8 or Quilon), and thence proceeding northward through Calicut, he once more repaired to Honore and again by sea.to Sindaboor, but finding his patron Jemal-ud-Din besieged there by an infidel king, he sailed for the Maldives [coheatl aay o] where he arrived after a voyage of ten days. A His description of these is very minute and agrees with that of the Silsilah ut Tawarikh above quoted. He reckons them at about 2,000 in number, alludes to their disposition in atolls or circular reefs, to the pro- duction of the cocoanut, the circulation of cowries for money, and the do- mination of a female Sovereign. From this period we have no further t mention of the Laccadives until their discovery by De Gama in 1499. a * Lib, 22. c. 7: + Reinaud, Rel. des. Voy. I. ly. 1847.] a Laccadive Islands. 3 At this time they seem to have belonged to the Ali Rajahs or Mo- hammedan chiefs of Cannanore, who are said to have assumed this title signifying in Malayalum ‘‘ Prince of the Sea” from the posses- sion of these Islands. ‘The author of the Tohfat al Mujahidin in describing the contests between the Portuguese and the Native chiefs of Malabar, makes the following mention of a plundering expedition undertaken by the Franks against the Laccadives on the occasion of a war between them and the Ali Rajah about the year 1558, a trans- action bearing some resemblance tc the invasion of Jemal-ud-Din relat- ed by Ibn Batuta. “During this warfare against the infidel Franks, Alee-Azraja, a Mohammedan leader of great consideration (upon whom may God shower down His best blessings!) greatly distinguished himself, having exerted himself with superior zeal and bravery, and lavished his wealth without sparing, in the cause ; although he was not seconded in these his efforts by the Ray of Koltree, or by the great body of the po- pulation of his dominions. In consequence of the zeal shown by him, however, these cursed Franks (whom may God abandon to destruction !) set sail in a fleet of galliots to attack the Islands of Malabar, which be- longed to Azraja, and which acknowledged his authority ; and arriving amongst them, they made a descent upon the Island of Ameni, slew a vast number of its inhabitants, and made captives of more than four hun- dred souls, men and women. They plundered also every thing of value that it contained, and burnt the greater part of the mosques and houses that were upon this Island. And before their descent upon Ameni they had visited Shatelakum, where they had put to death the chief part of its inhabitants, and taken many prisoners. Now the natives of these Islands are the whole of them an inoffensive race, being possessed neither of arms, nor any means of defence whatever. Notwithstanding this, a large portion of them suffered death, being victims to the barbarity of the Franks. And amongst these was a man of great virtue and piety, one who was far gone in years, and also a woman, who was his equal in good- ness and piety ; for although these were possessed of no means of self-de- fence, yet the Franks seized them, and put them to death in the most cruel manner, casting earth and stones upon them, and striking them with blows that caused ghastly wounds, persevering until death released their victims from their barbarity. May God, whose mercy is unbounded, have compassion on their souls! To return, however, these Islands are many in number ; but the principal ones, and those which contain cities, are only five; and these are Ameni, and Kordeeb, and Anderoo, and Kaluftee, and Mulkee; and of the smaller ones, the most inhabited are Accanee, Kunjamunjula, and Shatelakum.”* This account bears evident signs of exaggeration, but the atrocities * p. 150, 4 Description of the [No. 34, which disgraced the early operations of the Portuguese and the plunder- ing expeditions of Scdre, Barreto, Sanpayo and others, leave too much reason to believe that the relation of the Arabian historian is not without foundation. Notwithstanding the maratime superiority of the Ali Rajas which led them even on severa! occasions to attempt the conquests of the Maldives they were unable to retain undisputed possession of the Laccadives. The most northerly Islands of the group seem to have been for a considerable period under the dominion of the Hindu Princes of Bednore or Nuggar, whose dominions comprehended the northern portion of Mysore and the whole of the modern province of Canara. ‘ Four of the Islands,” observes Mr. Ravenshaw in an official communication to the Government of Fort St. George, “ with their subordinate islets were formerly comprehended in the territories of the Bedur Ranis of Bednore, and continued so until the war between that State and the Ali Rajah of Cannanore, during which they were captured ‘and retained till ey when the inhabitants of Ameen- divi under a pretence of oppression and ill treatment from the Bibi’s peo- ple came to Mangalore and entreated Mahommed Sahib, the Amildar un- der Tippoo, to get them transferred to his management. He accordingly wrote to Seringapatam on the subject, and the business was adjusted with the Bibi’s vakeels there, Tippoo ceding 5 tarahs of the Cherical district as- sessed at 1,509* Pagodas per annum in lieu of them. This was deemed a fair equivalent according to the then value of the islands which were rated to yield 200 candies of coz to the Circar at a government price of 73 Pa- godas per candy, which were sold again on account of the state at 15 Pago- das, and 1,500 were thus netted to the public Treasury.” When the Mysore troops were driven out of Malabar, the Rajah of Cherical repossessed him- self of the districts wrested from him by Tippoo. On the restoration of peace the Bibi claimed the interference of the Joint Bengal and Bombay Commissioners appointed in 1793 to adjust the cessions of territory exact- ed by the first treaty of Seringapatam. By them it was decided that the grants made by Tippoo out of the Cherical District, having been confer- red “ whilst the Rajah had no power to resist or object, it was very na- tural for him to resume, on recovering his country, those temporary aliena- tions from it, especially when made in favor of a party whom he had ever looked on as highly inimical to his family, in explanation of which, - it hath already been noticed that the Bibi’s uncle and predecessor held all Cherical under Hyder from 1766-7 to 1776-7, when he was dispossessed by Hyder in favor of the then Rajah, Ravi Varma, who was again driven out by the Bibi’s husband in 1783; besides which a long series of other mu- tual ill offices appears to have existed between these rival families, so * Mr. Warden states that her sunnud which he had seen specified the 5 Tarahs to be worth 7,380 Rupees or 1,845 Pagodas annually. 1847. ] Laccadive Islands. 5 that neither could expect any favor or forbearance from the other, and as we thought the Rajah was entitled to use his discretion in regard to the two resumptions in question, we tolerated them.” The Islands though not formally ceded by the first treaty of Seringa- patam were not restored to the Bibi, and her claim was finally extinguish- ed when the whole of the Sultan’s remaining possessions passed into the hands of his conquerors, by the right of the sword, in 1799. The Bibi having thus in consequence of her close alliance with the Sul- tan, lost both the Islands and the districts conferred in lieu of them, threw herself on the liberality of the British Government. Her claim for the restoration of the former was rejected by the Madras Government in 1804, but met with more lenient consideration from the Court of Directors, who in 1806 declared “ that though from the former aversion of the inhabitants to the Government of the Bibi it would not be advisable to restore the Islands themselves, some consideration in money should be allowed on account of them.” Owing to various causes the final adjustment of this indemnity was deferred from time to time and was only finally settled at a remission of 1,500 Pagodas in the amount of the tribute paid by her for her possessions on the mainland by the orders of Government, dated 23d March, 1823. Since that time the Islands have remained in the condition in which we find them described by Mr. Robinson. ] aa The following description of the islands of the Laccadive group attached to the district of Canara is the result of observations made during two expeditions thither in 1844 and 1845. Though unable to visit the islands under the Beeby of Cannanore, I made such inquiries into their condition as appeared necessary to enable me to compare the two divisions of this group. The Laceadive group occupies a space extending from 8° 30! to Names of the Islands. 12° North Latitude and from 71° to © Chetlat. ° : és (Xeltan, 73°, 40 degrees East Longitude. It £8 Heer (uninhabited island.) consists of 8 or 10 more or less in- adama A ° a S ‘ Ameendevy. habited and cultivated, and one or two ae Cheryapany,t open reefs, uninhabited islands, besides a few iso- 73 (Permalla, lated rocks. Beyond the group to the SEES (Akaty. north-west stretch the extensive reefs SSse | Kouraty. . = 6 § | Androt. of Cheryapany and Belyapany. The 8 So aX Kalpiny. ‘ , ] i S088 | Suhel, ( Cuninbabited group runs nearly parallel to the line 86 (Meenkat of the Coast at a distance of 170 to 200 6 Description of the [No. 83, miles, and is nearly equally divided between the Beeby of Cannanore and the district of Canara.* Unlike coral formations of this description the islands and reefs on which they stand lie 15 or 20 miles distant from each other and are all separated by channels of great breadth and perfectly free from shoals and rocks. With one exception they are out of sight of each other. * The following is Lieutenant Wood’s Tabular ne of the Islands. Jour. R. Geog. Soc. yol. vi. p. 30. ‘s 1 LAKERADEEVH ARCHIPELAGO. Islands. Population. Articles of Commerce 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ——— ee ee a eS a To wh Inhabi 2 Reli WwW m ‘ om No. Names. paloneine: caek S gion Sect. | Exports. | Imports. jes eS ea 1| Anderot ) ( 1,800 a= : a rh Bebee or | 5) on a5 ° 2|Cabarettce Rariee 1,200 aS 0 ic) 3| Akhat OCA 1300] &@ ht @ | 83 | 5 ate | nanore. | ? & g » | BSE, 2 : mat oS i) 4) Kélpance J Gia 800) | 2) ee ee ks 3S 3 - 3 spb wn 5|Ahmanee ( S002 ees | = | oo 83 3 =; — q ems oO 6| Kadgong | Ostensibl | 301 a S55 rg ° 3 ¥ Be X=) S > British. < 224s 3 7|Kerten | | 350 O 3 to 2 Sas = 8|Shait-tu-lacum | J l 300 ts cL a Ua TLE ea ae cin 9)Sheréah 6,580|Total. — 2ue 10' Tatacum bo a ade, g 11{Soilee 5Ss | Bom 12|Tennakerry See, z Uninhabited. SRE 13! Bangdram goog 14| Battera saa 5 15|Cabaretee Feetce y ro | cs ofe o eao 16| Kalpance-Feetce Ns E _ — — alae 2 Ls 17/Akhatce Feetce \ I BEd A Islands forming sand- Sea banks. ros noo ee o> N.B. 4, pronounced as in the French—fable, 4, its sound in the English—fate. No. 7 and 11 as French words, 1847.] Laccadive Islands. ii Each of the islands is situated on an extensive coral shoal and contains from 2 to 3 square miles superficial area. Their surface is flat and no part of any of these formations is more than 10 or 15 feet above the level of the sea. All round a more or less extensive fringe of coral reef extends broader and more shelving on the west, where the island naturally most requires protection, and narrow and abrupt on the east. The outer edges are higher than the body of these shoals and ex- tending in a semicircle at a distance of 500 yards to # of a mile round the west, enclose a regularly formed lagoon, in which the water is so still, that in the worst weather coir may be soaked within the low water mark without danger of being washed away. ‘The body of the island is the more perfect development of the eastern and pro- tected side of the coral formation.* The same feature characterizes all these shoals and leads to the conjecture that they rose to the sur- face in the form of circular or oval shallow basins, and that under the protection of the shoal the east rim gradually developed itself towards the centre and formed an island. This conjecture is strengthened by the fact that in some of the islands this gradual increase towards the lagoon is still going on. The receding tide leaves the outer edge of the reef nearly dry, and the water gets out of the lagoon by two or three breaches in the outer rim, sufficiently large to admit the light native craft into the natural harbour, several feet deep even at low tide, which the lagoon forms. The foundation of the soil in all these islands is a stratum of coral or lime-stone, which varying from one foot to one and a half foot in thickness, is seemingly above the highest level of the water, and of a piece with the whole shoal, stretches uniformly throughout the portion of the formation which Soil. is above water. Within, this crust contains loose wet sand, and by removing a few spadefuls to allow the water to accumulate a pool of fresh water may be obtained in any part. All the wells, tanks and * According to Lieut. Wood, Anderot is an exception to this general characteristic. “The other islets are situated to the leeward of their respective reefs, whereas Anderot not only presents a bold front to windward, but tha¢ front is one side of the island itself and not a reef as is generally the case, the coral reef on which it is based projecting to leeward instead of to windward, S.W. being considered the prevalent direction of the wind,”’ 8 Description of the [No. 35, pits for soaking coir, where soaked in fresh water, are made by breaking through this crust and taking out the sand. The sand gra- dually presses towards this excavation, and from the constant removal of it some of the wells and tanks are very extensive under this vault of coral. The water in these wells is quite fresh but is affected by the tide, rising and falling several inches, the effect probably of the increasing and decreasing external pressure on the porous cistern in which it is contained. Water is abundant and never fails, but is said not to be very wholesome. Above this crust, the soil les to a depth varying from two to six feet and is generally composed of light coral and sand, finer but quite — as dry as common sea sand. In some parts the soil is entirely com- posed of small loose pieces of coral without any other soil, and thus is said to be particularly well adapted to the cocoanut. The surface of the soil is naturally so barren that there is little or no spontaneous vegetation in most of the islands, and though during the monsoon some small crops of coarse dry grains are produced, their scantiness shows that the prosperity of the islands must ever depend on the cocoanut. ; The inhabitants are now Moossalmans, but are pro- Inhabitants. Lia ; bably of pure Hindoo origin from Malyalah. The tradition preserved among them is that their forefathers formed a part of an expedition from Malyalah, which set out for Mecca in search of their apostate king, Bharman Permal, and was wrecked on these islands. They certainly were Hindoos for a long time after their first settlement, and were probably converted not more than 250 or 300 years back. They retain some of the general distinctions of caste as well as the law of alya santan* but with some local modifications. This law is still adhered so strictly on the island of Ameendevy, where dis- tinctions of caste and a numerous population have been obstacles to the gradual change by which the custom of regular filial descent is supplanting it on the islands of Kadamat, Kiltan and Chetlat. In Ameendevy there are four castes, said to correspond with castes in Malabar. The Tarway and Tanakaporandony correspond with Namboories and Nairs—of these there are but a few families of the chief inhabitants ; the two lower and more numerous castes are * Descent of inheritance through the female line. 1847.] Laecadive Islands. 9 the Kadgaher and the Melacherry, and correspond with the fisher- men and Teers of Malabar. The higher and lower castes at least do not intermarry. These distinctions are confined to the island of Ameeny, all the inhabitants of the others being of the Melacherry caste. The people are quiet and inoffensive, many read and write, and some find employment on the coast as teachers and mookries. They also make good pilots and several have been so entertained on Arab ships. Their language is a dialect of Malyalum, which they write in the Arabic character. The group was discovered by Vasco de Gama on his return from his first voyage in the end of the 15th century, and has probably been visited from time to time by ships on the Goa trade. It is even said that there were once European settlers on Ameendevy, one of the islands, the tradition probably arose from the detention of some shipwrecked crew, on the island where it is said they were murdered ; there could be no inducement to European adventurers to settle there. Of their subsequent history the islanders seem to know nothing ; but for some centuries they have been subject to the small kingdom of Cannanore—the circumstances which first placed them under that rule, are preserved armong the islanders only in im- probable and vague legend. Under the Cannanore rule, the system still obtaining in the islands which remain to the Beeby, extended over the whole group. The local management was entrusted to an officer on a nominal salary in kind, who lived on contributions, &c. from the islanders. ‘Their powers were frequently abused, and it was the oppressive conduct of one of these Kavilgars, as they are called, towards the inhabitants of Ameendevy which produced the revolt of that island and the three others to the north ofit in 1786 or 89. The islanders then brought their coir the staple produce of the islands to Mangalore, and proffered their allegiance to Tippoo’s cfiicers here. The supply of good coir was probably found at the time convenient, although it is said that several unsuccessful at- tempts were made to induce the islanders to return to their allegi- ance. At length an equivalent from the Cherical Rajah’s territory was found for the Cannanore house by the Sultan, and Ameeny, Ka- damut, Kiltan, and Chetlat with Bitra and the other shoals north of | Ameeny remained in the hands of the Sultan. When the Cherical Rajah’s territories were ceded to the British in 1792 the Rajah was 8 10 Description of the : [No. 35, allowed to resume this equivalent, the islands still remaining un- der Mysore and attached to Canara. In the bond executed to the Honorable Kast India Company by the House of Cannanore in October 1798, these islands are specifically excluded and no mention of an equivalent is made. ‘The Laccadivies being thus attached to Canara, came along with ‘“‘ that province under the dominion of the British; but as they had ‘* constituted a part of the Mysore possessions at the close of the war ** in which Tippoo fell, and the Beeby had not previously the slight- ‘“‘ est prospect of recovering them, her claim in 1803 to the north- ‘‘ ernmost, not being ruled by the laws of nations, stood in need of ‘‘ indulgent consideration, the result was, that the claims were ** declared inadmissible on the ground that she had no right to be *‘ placed by the conquest of Mysore in any other situation, than that *‘in which she would have stood had no such event taken place. ** In addition to which it was thought inexpedient to vest the ** Beeby with authority over the Laccadivies, under the declared ‘* aversion of the islanders to her Government.’’* Notwithstanding this determination the claim must have been per- sisted in, for a remission of revenue of 1,500 Pagodas (5,250 Rupees) was, I believe, sanctioned by the Court of Directors in compensation under date 27th June, 1822, and is now remitted as enam-jaree from the-assessment paid by the Beeby to Government in Malabar. The salary of the Kavilgar of the Beeby’s island is I understand, a nominal one still, of 12 to 15 moodas of rice per annum, and the appointment is conferred for a mazzer of 50 to 70 Rupees. His household and other expenses are probably found by the islanders, and he is allowed to exact a considerable per centage on all that is introduced into the islands, and on the small surplus produce which they export; besides appropriating all the tortoiseshell and am- bergris got by the islanders, with various other little perquisites given up by us on assuming the management of the northern islands in 1805. The condition of the islanders attached to Canara is perhaps as_ good as it could be, where the soil is so poor; and the advantages of their condition is the more felt by our islanders from the contrast being so near. Entirely exempted from direct burdens on the land and all official interference, they have a ready and neyer failing * Hamilton’s Gazetteer. 1847.] Laccadive Islands. il market for their principal surplus produce at fair and unchanging prices. Communication being open during three or four months of the year only, were their whole surplus raw produce on their own hands, they might find difficulty in watching the market, and the same cause would render it easy to cheat and oppress them. In practice at least they are quite unaffected by the salt monopoly, and the tobac- co monopoly only reaches them indirectly by enabling the smugglers of Bengal tobacco to demand higher prices than a mere remuneration. In the islands subject to Cannanore all surplus produce of cocoa- nuts as well as of coir is monopolized by the rulers for the former, the islanders are paid 4 Rupees per 1,000, probably 50 per cent. below the market value, for the latter only 114 Rupees per candy are allowed. A good deal of land also, I understand, is cultivated on account of the Beeby by her Kavilgar probably mainly by means of pressed labour. Intercourse between the islands is a good deal discouraged as our islanders smuggle for the Beeby’s subjects. The population of the Beeby’s island is stated to be about 3,000. Rights to the Soil, The proprietary right in the soil seems never Grants, Nazzers, &c. : : to have been a question of much importance on these islands. Unable at first to pay any assessment, the monopoly of the surplus produce became originally the fund from which a revenue was derived, and soon proved more productive than any equitable assessment. As increased production only could augment this fund, every facility for the occupation of waste land seems to have been afforded. Nazzers were never demanded and no traces of grants exist, or were ever heard of. No enclosures or land marks exist throughout the islands except in the fot of Ameendevy, nor does it appear that there ever was any system for the occupation of waste land. Each ryot planted as he was able, and claimed no other right than that of replanting where his tree had formerly stood. The properties in trees are consequently detached, and intermixed in the most extraordinary manner ; often single trees at great distances from each other and known only to the proprietor. The custom prevails of marking the trees with certain house marks, as we do sheep in large droves belonging to different owners. In Ameendevy where the whole soil has been long fully occupied, immemorial enjoyment has given certain persons a prescriptive right to plots of ground, but on the other islands no proprietary right in certain parts of the soil as against each other is contended for, though strenuously and most 12 Description of the [No. 33, unreasonably sought to be substantiated as against our right to mark off certain spots of waste land with a view to introducing a regular system of granting it for cultivation. In the ¢ot.of Ameendevy which will be described afterwards, it was probably otherwise—it was kept for other than cocoanut cultivation. The crust of coral could only be removed with great labour, anda regular system of land marks here too exists. Still, no grants of this land are forthcoming and I have not been able to discover how the families now enjoying it came first into possession: immemorial enjoyment seems the only claim. This is the more extraordinary, as its produce under the coir mono- poly system, could yield nothing towards the support of the Govern- ment. Small zazzers of 4 to 8 hoons* were requiredon the death of each of the head inhabitants (4@romar or Moopah) for the continu- ance to their families of small local rights such_as sitting at the koots or panchayets, wearing certain ornaments, carrying umbrellas, &c. but no grants of land ever accompanied privileges. Sales, Mort- No proprietary right to land existing, perpetual alie- gages, Leases, seis . Rents, &c. nation is quite unknown as yet. On trees, mortgages are secured, at the rate of one rupee per tree of good quality, the mortgagee entering on possession. Bonds or documents of these transactions have never been preserved ; the recollection of the principal inhabitants and oral tradition are the only guaran- tee for these rights. ‘The fall of the tree is equivalent to the redemp- tion of the mortgage. The principal inhabitants, varying in different islands from 10 to 20 individuals, own generally considerable numbers of trees—the greater part of which they prefer keeping in their own hands. Most of the inhabitants, however, have small independent properties in trees ——for where no proprietary right was acknowledged or claimed in the soil each individual became an owner for the trouble of planting. The larger tree owners let trees to those, who have none, on Service rents only, stipulating that the tenant shall carry on his master’s dry cultivation, serve in his boat, &c. and though he has the enjoyment of the whole produce of the trees, and receives also the price of the coir produced on them, he is obliged to export all his coir on his master’s boat. If a neera drawer (neera@ is the local name for the * Pagodas. 1847. } Laccadive Islands. 13 or boiled down into jaggery) he supplies his master’s family with one-third of the raw produce, boiling the rest down into jaggery which he sells entirely on his own account. This is the only species of produce rent existing on the island. Money rents are as yet quite unknown and generally rents may be said to be confined to labour rent. The facilities of becoming owners or establishing themselves on less thickly occupied islands are so great, that these tenants enjoy, of course, favorable terms, and the allowance is generally from 30 to 5Q trees per man. Quarrels between these tenants and their masters are there the principal source of dispute. It seems too to have been customary, for the poorer families in for- mer days, to put themselves under the protection of the richer, en- gaging to send their coir to the coast in their boats and to work as Kalasstes* on these occasions. In many cases also these good will services were mortgaged. The former was probably necessary under the Native Government, but these are claims which the dependants are now often unwilling to acknowledge, and give rise to frequent disagreements. The cocoanut may be said generally to be the only production which can be taken into account, for with the exception of a small quantity of plantain and dry grains produced in the tof of Ameendevy, and other agricultural production is very insignificant. On some spots not yet occupied by trees a little coarse grain is sown during the monsoon but the quantity is very limited ; and its value certainly not greater than that of the hakkal} cultivat- ed in this district. Like all fishing communities, the generality of the inhabitants are very poor, and prefer that agreeable Dry Grain. The Cocoanut. employment or pastime to the labours of agriculture. The soil is however so well adapted by nature to the cocoanut that the life of the tree and at least a certain degree of productive power seem to be quite independent of agricultural attention, artificial manuring or frequent watering. In most of the islands it is necessary to rear the plants with some attention for the first year, and after transplant- ing, to water them fora few weeks till they strike root, the tree is then left entirely to itself and comes into bearing at periods varying, ac- cording to the situation and soil as well as in different islands, from * Or Sailors. + The most inferior kind of dry land. * 14 Description of the [No. 38, 10 to 20 years; it will then continue in full bearing for 70 or 80 years. Some were pointed out to me which were confidently asserted to be upwards of a century old. The full grown trees are never watered. The tree is not so large and strong as that of the coast, and the nut about two-thirds of the size only, and rounder in shape. The husk is smaller and less woody, and the fibre finer and more delicate, but stronger than that of the coast nut. The nut also is said to be more compact and oily and to keep better than the coast nut, although for the sake of the coir, the nut is cut before being quite ripe. It seems doubtful whether more manuring and watering would make the tree more powerful and the fruit larger, but a very little more attention would make the tree much more productive. The palmyra and date palms are unknown on these islands. The productiveness of trees depends on the soil and situation. Trees on the dryer parts of the islands, with a westerly or south-westerly exposure are of little value, while in the beds of old tanks and where the coral has been removed, or with an eastern exposure, trees are — highly productive. In the different islands, the average produce va- ries, that of Kadamat and Kiltan stands a fifth or sixth higher than that of Ameendevy or Chetlat. In describing the islands separately the probable average fixed by the islanders themselves whom I ques- tioned on this subject, will be mentioned. The Natives state that the cocoanut palm should throw out one leaf and a flowering branch once a month, but this is an exception of rare occurrence, and the best tree will only produce 9 or 10 flowering branches a year, bearing on an average 15 to 20 nuts, while the annual produce of other trees will not exceed 30 or 55 nuts,a general average of 60 or 70 nuts per tree per annum would probably be a pretty fair one for the islands taken together. Produce. The principal food being the cocoanut by far the greater portion of the produce is consumed at home, but for the small quantity they are enabled to export prices varying from 6 to 8 rupees per thousand are obtained, if, after making the necessary deduction for the expense of transport to the coast, &c., we take 5 rupees per thousand as the value of nuts on the island, it will be a fair average, and give the value of the cocoanut produce of a tree from # annas to 53 and that of 100 trees about 30 rupees. : As the husk gets hard and woody if the fruit is al- Coir and me- : ° . thods of soaking. lowed to become quite ripe, the proper time for cut- Its value. 1847. | Laccadive Islands. 15 ting it is about the 10th month: if cut before, the coir will be weak, if later, it will be coarse and hard, and require to be longer in the soaking pit,—it will be difficult to rid it of the woody particles, and it will be darker in colour and more difficult to twist. When cut, the husk is severed from the nut and thrown into soaking pits to loosen the woody parts. In all the islands, except Ameendevy, the coral reefs beyond the lagoon are well formed and protect the shores of the island from the surf; their soaking pits are therefore holes in the sand just within the influence of the astringent salt water. In these the husks are buried and lie for a year, and are kept down by heaps of stones thrown over them to protect them from the ripple. The island of Ameendevy occupies nearly the whole of the shoal on which it stands, and its shores are but imperfectly pro- tected; the soaking pits are consequently all fresh water tanks under the crust of coral. In these the water never changes and the decay of a quantity of vegetable matter makes it foul and dark coloured : this tinge is imparted to the coir, and is the cause of frequent com- plaint by the buyers of the coir, but one over which the islanders have no control. A further effect of the fresh water is to weaken the coir in some degree. When thoroughly soaked the fibrous parts are easily separated from the wood by beating—if taken out of the pits too early the coir is difficult to rid of impurities: if neglected too long the fibre will be weakened. Use ofcoirjn In these islands coir is one of the chief commodities aad and of barter for the necessaries of life—rice, salt, tobacco, itS €i€Cce. &e. coir from the pit before the wood is perfectly rotted, and twist it has- and the temptation is naturally great to take the tily up to meet more immediate necessities. As the Government receives it by weight and at certain fixed rates, the quality, colour and care in twisting are scarcely considerations among the barterers. The coir is made up for their petty traffic in short huts of a fix- ed length and weight, and at the end of the year these are collected and made up into lengths of 70 to 75 fathoms as received by the Go- vernment. The making up the Government remittance at a cer- tain time every year is another temptation to anticipate the proper periods of cutting the fruit and soaking the husks. To these caus- es I mainly attribute the dirty and ill-twisted state of Ameendevy coir, which is so frequently complained of. There the population is greater and consequently the use of coir in this way most gene- ral. 16 Description of the [No. 83, Quantity of The difference in the quantity of coir manufactur- Ree ee ed from a coast nut and an island nut is very consi- derable. Three large coarse coast nuts will yield one Ib. of coir measuring 22 fathoms, whereas 10 small fine island nuts go to about a lb. of coir; but this will measure 35 fathoms ; 2 lbs. of such yarn measuring from 70 to 75 fathoms are made up into soodies of which there are fourteen to a bundle averaging about a maund of 28 ibs. A Mangalore candy of 560 lbs. will therefore be the produce of 5,600 nuts and should contain about 20,000 fathoms of yarn. Thus if the annual produce of a tree e about 60 or 70 nuts, on an average, a maund would be’ the produce of 4 or 5 trees and the candy that of 80 to 100 trees. The actual price of coir received by the islanders is about 13 rupees per candy ; the produce of 5,600 nuts: the value of the coir produce of a tree would therefore be from 2 to 23 annas, and that of the produce of 100 trees from 14 to 15 rupees. The average value of the total raw produce of a tree bearing fruit would thus be 7 annas to 4 a rupee, and that of a plot of 100 trees about 45 rupees. Mea tietirc The manufacture of coir is entirely entrusted to the of Coir. women, the male population being frequently absent on fishing expeditions, or engaged in navigating their boats during the season to the coast. The women never leave the islands and seem industrious. When the coir has soaked sufficiently long, itis taken out of the pit and beaten with a heavy mallet, when quite clean, it is ar- ranged into a loose roving preparatory to being twisted; which is done between the palms of the hand in a very ingenious way so as to produce a yarn of two strands at once. No mechanical aid, even of the rudest description, has yet found its way into these islands. Neera, Jagge- A considerable number of trees are cut for the ty, &e. juice, which is much used in its unfermented state by the islanders. They are still so strict in the abstinence from all fer- mented liquors, that the manufacture of toddy would not be tolerat- ed in the islands. The juice is drawn frequently, and fermentation is checked by chunam. When this xeera, as it is called, is used in the raw state,itis drunk warm, and is sweet and thickish and said to be very nutritious but it is not wholesome for strangers. What re- mains after supplying the demand of the raw article is boiled into jaggery. The jaggery of these islands isin a partially liquid state, but appears highly granular and seems to contain a considerable quantity of saccharine matter. It is a good deal used on the coast. 1847.] Laccadwe Islands. 17 Quantityand A tree yields from {} to 3 a seer of neera per 2 value. diem, and bleeding for 6 months of the year, will pro- duce 60 to 90 seers of the juice. This will yield after boiling 6 to 8 seers of jaggery, which at the rate of 1 anna or 1j anna per seer would give the annual produce of the tree a value of 6 annas to half a rupee, when the trouble of cutting the trees, and gathering firewood is considered it will be seen that this species of cultivation is not so lucrative as that of the nut and the manufacture of the coir. Our islanders consequently do not manufacture enough for the home con- sumption, but import from the Beeby’s islands of Androt and Kou- raty where large quantities are manufactured—probably the conse- quence of the system pursued there. Both cocoanuts and coir are there under monopoly, 11 rupees per candy being paid for-the latter, and only 4 rupees per 1,000 delivered on the coast; for the former their value on the island would therefore not much exceed 3 rupees per thousand, and the value of the average gross produce of a tree pro- ducing fruit would at this rate not exceed 5 annas, and that of 100 trees but be within 20 rupees. Under these circumstances it is probably found that the boiling of the jaggery is the more profitable. ‘This class of trees contributes nothing towards the revenue of Go- ‘vernment under the present system. The general effect of cutting is to weaken the trees but it is often beneficial, where, from over- exuberance, trees shed their fruit as soon as the flowering branch bursts. The island of | Ameendevy, the principal and most populous island Ameendevy. of the group, is attached to Canara and is now the re- sidence of the Monigar in local charge of the islands. The length of the island may be 2 miles by 2 in breadth. It is low and the surface very even, but unlike, the other island is so imperfectly pro- tected by the reefs on which it stands, that the soaking of coir among the sea sand is impossible. The island is divided into four grams—Pullakerry, Yeduct, Pora- | -kery and Kodacherry; divisions, originating probably in the local privileges of certain principal families, but the people live scattered throughout the island. The principal inhabitants of this island have an acknowledged superiority, and exercise considerable influence over the inhabitants of the other islands. ‘They appear pretty com- fortable. Their houses, built of slabs of lime-stone and thatched with cocoanut leaves, contain several rooms and have out-houses at- c 18 Description of the [No. 35, tached. They have generally some cows, sheep and chickens, still the greater part of the population is poor. The statement in the margin, Population. ‘ : : the last entries of which I believe 3 = ; a |= |q to be pretty correct, shows Eh us = | | | crease of nearly 20 per cent. since = fy ‘sl | 1831 in the population of this is- For 1831..] 944] 99411,938 ‘ Ameendevy. ; ,, 1839..|1,081]1,161'2,242| land. It is now nearly double that 15 De ah a va lof all the other islands put together. The soil of Ameendevy is poorer naturally than that of Kiltan or Kadamat, and, the consumption in various ways of the fallen leaves by its dense population, robs it of the advantage of a natural manure which the others possess in some degree. Some of the trees in Ameendevy are most advantageously situated, but the punchayet of islanders examined by me set the average gross produce of a tree at 60 nuts per annum ; an average somewhat larger than I could arrive at by making actual experiments. The statement in the margin __..__, would lead us to conclude Cocoa Plantation. that the plantation had been perfectly stationary for 20 uy ee t seta ae é | Be ZS years, but these statements Trees “55 | 2 =a | cannot beimplicitly relied on. a5 | oa | iS In Ameendevy there is very a Hom B21. eri 2,745 | 20,716 | 44,073 | little to be ae now in the © | j 18310. esl dene. |yoeoee lege cal, Lay, On Bau the great- <7 \,, 1844../64,172] 4,052 | 15,891 | 44,229 | er part of the island is a N.B.—The chouk trees are excluded in this state- perfect thicket of cocoa- Pages palms, but quite clear of underwood, and that which remains unoccupied is of little or no value and in exposed situations. In the middle of this island, over about 50 acres, The Tot or Kat. : the crust of coral already mentioned has been removy- ed, and the whole centre of the island presents a fine low damp soil probably hardly above the level of the sea. The whole bears marks of a well laid and ably executed design, on which an enormous amount of labour, must have been expended ; but tradition has pre- served no account of the circumstance under which this vast and be- neficial work was executed. All that is known is that, it was com- 1847] Laccadive Islands. iy pleted while the inhabitants were still Hindoos. The soil of this to¢* or kat is light, sandy and poor, but, water lying within a foot or so of the surface, it is fertile. The cocoanut trees planted in or about its edges are exceedingly fine, but it has been hitherto reserved chiefly for the cultivation of dry grains as leba,’ jowa,” badag,’ and raghee,* with some kind of vegetables, as the sweet potatoe and a kind of yam—considerable numbers of plantain trees too are reared within it. This land is strictly private property, and though none of the gardens are enclosed, the boundaries are well defined by stone land marks. It is by far the most profitable land in the island, and produces probably a fifth of the food used there, but it contributes nothing, and probably never did, to the revenue of Government, un- der the monopoly system. While the profits of the monopoly of the other produce were great, this land was left unburdened as a com- pensation, but it might now be well to take its condition into consi- deration. Round the edges of the ¢o¢ the bread-fruit tree grows most In 1881—438 Juxuriantly, and the number of trees is increasing, as , 1839—834 ; ’ 1844-853 shown in the margin. Soopary Trees. I observed a considerable number of Soopary trees In 1831389 interspersed among the cocoanut trees round the edges > 3 ee of the fot, they seemed fine, and I think much more ‘i numerous than shown in the native returns—but the Islanders manifested great unwillingness to give any information about them. I learnt however that the tree was introduced lately, and thrives well. I think the whole fof might with great ease and profitably be converted into areca-nut gardens. The undel? and potang’ bushes are cultivated, the one for its oil, and the other for its dye, and several ewts. of the fruit are exported yearly to Malabar. The lime of Ameendevy is remarkably fine and the trees numerous. Other Trees. Unoccupied The z¢o¢ corresponds with the oblong shape of the land, island, and occupies the whole centre of the island. On all sides it is surrounded by dense cocoanut plantations. Round from the east to the north of this island (the least exposed sides) this plantation runs down to the sea side, but along the west, lies * Tot, quere from tota—a garden ? 1 Dolichos sinensis. 4 Cynosurus corocanus. 2 Holcus sorghum. & Ricinus commanis ? 3 Panicum semi verticillatum. © Bixa orellana ? * 20 Description of the [No. 33, a strip of waste land about 200 yards in breadth between the plan- tation and the shore—and round to the south-west and south end of the island many acres are still waste: the exposure is too much for young trees, and the dry sand is deeper than elsewhere. This space was at one time walled off for the cattle, which are very destructive to the young trees, and were not allowed to graze among the trees. The wall has fallen, but may yet be traced, and till within 20 years no plantation existed within this enclosure, but all the eligible spots such as the beds of old tanks and holes have now been planted and are claimed by the owners of the trees. I examined the principal and disinterested inhabitants, who de- elared this an encroachment, and that all land unoccupied when the islands came under the British rule, was liable to be recovered as circar waste, and to be given on hossagamy* terms, but that such had not been the usage of the islands. These trees may either now be assessed or the encroachment be overlooked, and better care of this land be taken in future. Ido not think it probable, that this land will ever be much in demand, for it is of the poorest description, and would not remunerate the cultivation unless given in the lowest terms, and years must probably elapse before the increase of popula- tion will force it into cultivation. The Monigar has been ordered to mark off all these spots with stones and carefully to prevent encroachment in future. The whole may amount to 00 acres. There are so called Circar gardens in this island, which will be in- troduced afterwards. : island ofa. Kadamat lies due north from, and within sight of damat. Ameendevy at a distance of 6 or 8 miles. The coral formation on which this island stands. is the most ex- tensive of those I visited, and the lagoon enclosed by the reefs is very large, well stocked with fish, and much frequented by the peo- ple of Ameendevy on that account. The island is long and narrow probably 3 to 34 miles long by three-fifths of a mile broad. The body of the — island appears generally lower than that of any of the others, and a has an excellent natural protection against the weather in a ridge of Soil. : low sand drift which runs down the west side. The superficial area of this island must be considerably greater than that of any of the * Hossagamy, a native term for land newly recovered from rivers, &c. 1847,] Laccadive Islands. 21 others, and the natural fertility of its soil exceeds all, except that of Kiltan which it quite equals. It is however in a wretchedly back- ward state, with hardly an eighth part of the soil which might be most ~ ©} * ~~~| advantageously taken in, cultivated. Population. . The return of population for 1844 i E = | Shows an increase nearly 75 per cent. = |2 || on that of 1831. The inhabitants e eo = : SS mee ae | ss 1 ge | abe Very poor, shy and spiritless, and Kadamat.. ,, 1839..) 60 | 54/114 | are somewhat domineered over by » 1844,.) 71 | 62 |133 : their neighbours of Ameendevy, who Condiicn of Inhabitants. exact certain services from them and plunder their trees when on fishing expeditions about the neigh- bouring shoal. Many of them are affected with blindness, and the worst description of leprosy and other gangrenous diseases prevalent throughout this group,—to be attributed possibly to the limited scope for seeking change of blood in their marriages, as well as to the unwholesomeness of their provisions, principally saltfish. Pro- bably the island was once in a more flourishing state than it now is, and it is said that 70 or 80 years ago, it was visited by an epi- demic which thinned their numbers, and entirely extirpated several families. ‘The sites of several ruined houses are still pointed out in testimony. They certainly had then two shore-going boats, and exported their own coir; for the transport of which they are now entirely dependent on Ameendevy, as they possess only small fishing boats themselves. ete of the The cocoanut cultivation is limited to a strip Plantation. across the middle of the island, leaving by far the greater portion of the island, divided in about equal portions on both sides, unoccupied. The southern portion of the island is covered with a thick jungle of underwood, which might be removed with the greatest ease. The western portion is open plain, covered with weeds andlow bushes. The soil is light and sandy but naturally damper and firmer than that of Ameendevy, and the productive- ness of trees where the island has been planted, proves that were the whole under cultivation, it might support a population at least equal tothat of Ameendevy. The average produce of trees in this island may safely be set at 80 nuts per annum, and coming rapidly into bearing, they require no attention while growing. The statement in the margin shows 22 Description of the [No. 53, a small advance in the plantation, Cocoa Plantation. : but a perfect trifle when compared z a 52 2 with the capabilities of this island. iS 23 “s Ag The coir produced on it is of the 5 | ae Bs \3° very best description, and is all e loPtles le sea-soaked, but the yearly produce For 1827..| 2,936 | 66 | 1,126! 1,744] Cannot be ascertained as it comes to Die ee 2101! 138 915 |1318| the coast mixed indiscriminately | oe LESSOR: 4,729 | 237 | 2,731 | 1,731 a ae |e 153 804 756) with that of Ameendevy, and is N. B. The chouk are excluded in entered in the accounts as Ameende- this statement. vy coir. Dry Cultiva- There is no ¢of or kat in this island where the tk substratum of limestone has been broken up, but its natural soil is the most favorable to dry cultivation to be found on the group, and a considerable portion of the dry grain raised, is grown in this island. ‘he people from Ameendevy go there and cultivate during the monsoon, raghee, jowaree, and loba.* Under the pre- sent system, this species of cultivation escapes the contribution of its quota to the revenue, while it no doubt retards the advance of the cocoanut plantation in this island, which does contribute. Condition. ~The Island is still in a most backward state, and of all most claims attention with a view to raising the condition of its in- habitants, as also securing the interests of Government. It is capa- ble of becoming the most valuable of the group as well from the na- ture of the soil, as the extent of land. At least by nature 20 per cent. more productive than Ameendevy and fully equal to Kiltan, scarcely one-eighth part of the island has been planted, it lies near the former over-peopled island, whose inhabitants are already de- pendent on it, for part of their dry grain, and is at no great distance from the fully planted island of Kiltan whose inhabitants will perhaps extend their enterprize here in course of time. With this view it might be of great advantage to allow the islanders a small twecavyt to enable them to build a couple of shore-going boats, this would make them at once independent of the people of Ameendevy, save to them a large amount of freight which is exacted for taking their nuts and coir to the coast, and much improve their spirits and stimulate their energy ; such an advance would be most gratefully received and easily and regularly recovered. The bounds of the cultivation * See Notes p.19. + Advance of money. wy 1847.] Laccadive Islands. 23 as it now stands have been carefully, but I hope liberally, laid down during the last year, with a view to placing the occupation of waste land under some system. The extent of the dry cultivation should now be accurately ascertained and the claims of the people of the island of Ameendevy to proprietary right in some spots of land now claimed by them, examined. However the whole dry cultivation of the island is probably not above 10 or 12 moodas of seed extent of land, and its value will not exceed that of hakkal* land on the coast so that any assessment on it would be so trifling, as te be scarcely worth weighing against the discontent which its novelty would create ; unless it were expedient as a restrictive measure to force the cocoa- - plantation. enh eae Kiltan lies about 20 miles from Ameendevy in a se -north-easterly direction, and though the least, is at present the most thriving and active island in the group. When the ship Byramgore was lost, a large quantity of treasure found its way into this island, and the greatest activity in planting has since been evinced, and the generality of the inhabitants seem well off. The superficial area of Kiltan may be about 12 square mile, and the reef on which it stands is extensive. The lagoon is large but shallow and is rapidly filling up, and even now, there is not sufficient water within it at low tide to float one of the native koondras, if laden—within the last 50 years many feet of land have been — gained towards the lagoon. The reefs are sufficiently extensive to protect the shore effectually, all the coir is soaked in the sea sand and trees are planted to the water’s edge on every side. The population of the island as shown by the marginal statement, r+ |. | has increased within the last 15 years from 35 Population. ene . to 40 per cent., but itis still far below what the island could support and does not afford hands to make up the coir now grown. The whole population as that of Kadamat and Chetlat is For 1831..] 224] 241] 465 »» 1839..| 263] 268} 531| Of the Malachery, the lowest caste ; they have », 1844..| 316] 323] 639 ; : the appearance of considerable comfort, and few really poor are to be found in this island. Its inhabitants are by far the most cunning and difficult to manage, and evince considerable dislike to any inquiry being made into their condition. Female. Male. Total. * The poorest kind of dry land. * 24 Description of the [No. 33, The statement in the margin shows the state of the cocoanut cultivation Cocoa Plantation. t - m 1 . 5 e See | eee on this island. The column “ total c:5) ~ ~~ E : 3|"8]# | productive trees” shows their num- Bi Oi AERRS pitas 5 | 3 | 22; 5% |22 | ber to have nearly doubled since ° road ° oF SiS alebal |= 1827, and the column “ young trees” For 1827..|29,975| 2,102]19,851| 8,022] testifies to the activity with which ,, 1831..|34,428] 1,207]23,433) 9,788 », 1839../27,100] 3,630]11,823/11,647| the planting goes on. The exactness », 1844..129,297] 2,525/11,855] 14,917 of these native returns however I fear cannot be relied on. ‘The counting of trees on these islands is a business of great difficulty, for they are perfect thickets without © ~] land marks of any description, besides which a good deal of care and attention is requisite in classifying the trees. Our sibbendy* is so weak that the Monigar is unable to conduct this computation in all the islands, and it is deputed to a yeon and eventually to the Islanders themselves who probably (and especially the cunning fellows of Kiltan) understate the numbers. The establishment is perfectly large enough to perform all its duties, this only excepted, and a small hangamy} establishment sent over once every 5 years would be quite sufficient to keep up a very accurate knowledge of the state of these islands— for no material changes can take place in cocoanut plantations in less than 5 years. These remarks apply more or less to all the islands. Cossarut The whole island is given up to cocoanut plantation. Plantation. The bread-fruit tree, soopary and lime tree do not thrive, and there is no kat where the stone has been broken up. Dry cultivation has gradually given way before cocoanut cultivation and may be said now hardly to exist on this island, but under cocoa- nut plantation the soil is remarkably productive. The limited popu- lation cannot consume the leaves, and the ground in some parts is covered with decaying vegetable matter most beneficial to the trees. In other islands, it is necessary to rear plants for one year with care and then transplant them ; in this, a nut buried with a knife will grow, requires no attention, and comes into bearing early. The average annual produce may be taken at 80 to 85 nuts per tree, and in many parts I observed trees, where it had been necessary to support the luxuriant growth of fruit, artificially. Coir—proba- The hands in this island are unequal to making up ble waste. into yarn all the coir produced, and with a large surplus * Fiscal Establishment. + Temporary. 1847.] Laccadiwe Islands. 25 produce of nuts to look to, and exchange for rice, the laborious manu- facture of coir is somewhat neglected, and a vast number of husks are wasted. The average number of bearing trees in this island during the last 7 years was upwards of 13,000, the produce of which, taken at an average of 80 nuts per tree per annum (a low average) should yield, at the rate of 5,600 nuts toa Mangalore candy of 560 lbs., fully 195 candies—the average yearly import from this island of coir, for the same time has been 146 candies, to which add 5 per cent. for home consumption and the quantity produced would appear not to exceed 155 candies, or 45 candies below what it should be. When examin- ed the Islanders averaged the daily consumption of nuts at 5 per man (for in this island there is no coarse grain.) The average population during the last 7 years was 585, for the support of which 10 lacks and a half of nuts would be requisite. The exports of nuts may be taken at 2 lacks per annum, and the calculation will give within half a lack of nuts of the result of that on the produce of the trees and show that about 20 per cent. of the coir grown remains unmanufactured. This might be urged as an argument against a system, in which the Go- vernment interests are left so unprotected. The coir which is im- ported from this island is of the finest description. Little unoccupied land now remains on this island and such as did so, 1s the least promising there—some years ago one spot was marked off by the Monegar, and plantation within it already swells the amount of hossagamy cultivation; had the plan been more vigor- ously carried out, a good deal would doubtlessly have been under Government management which the Islanders now enjoy as their own. What now remains has been in part carefully marked off, but against the will of the Islanders. Dsland of (Chet: Chetlat the most northerly of the group lies about lat. 15 miles distant from Kiltan and 25 to 30 from Ameendevy. The shoal on which this island stands is extensive, the lagoon is large and very perfect and the shores well protected. The island is from 2 to 2§ miles in length and about $ of a mile broad. The surface is not so even in the other islands, and a ridge of low sand drift running up the middle prevents or at least retards the plantation in this island. Though not in nearly so backward a state as Kadamat, it is naturally the least promising of the islands. ' The soil is very poor, the trees very slow of growth and not pro- | ductive. Low mounds of sand occupy a great part of the centre, ' and best protected parts of the island, on which nothing grows, D 26 Description of the [No. 3, except scanty crops of a plant called ¢eerny on the roots of which a small ball about the size of a pea grows, after the plant has with- ered—these are gathered from among the loose sand, and used by the Islanders. Dry cultivation on this island is very insignificant. The native returns of population show a considerable increase since 1831, but I am not inclined to place Population : rS much confidence in them. The inhabitants are = = | =| allpoor, but quiet and well behaved and devote 2 2 bl . . = ‘= 1& | most of their time to fishing, as the returns For 1831..| 140) 213) 353 . . 1839..| 234| 237| 471; from plantation are not sufficiently large to 1844..| 263) 259] 522 induce them to take much pains with it. The returns of plantation in this island are very inaccurate, a ee as must be seen on comparing the Cocoa Plantation. Shapes ee Bands returns of 1831 with those of the F Es | 23 | Ee other 3 years. In 1839 and 44 the E Se | “2 £* | young and still unproductive trees | a jee] £3 =| are entered as upwards of double the | = 6 |=" 16" | number of the productive. Eight For 1827..191,336 4831 14,465! 6,288 | thousand is certainly far short of 4,246 20,112 18,523| 7,283| the number of the latter, and the a as progress of plantation is not nearly in ight es trees are excluded.) active in this island as the former would indicate. I think that at least two-fifths or a half of these “‘ young trees” should have been brought under the class ‘* produc- tive,” which should show from 13,000 to 14,000. This conjecture may be verified by calculations of the probable number of nuts necessary for the support of the population, and the number of trees that would be required to produce the coir annually exported; trees in Chetlat are very poor, and their average annual produce should not be taken higher than 50 nuts per tree, at which rate the produce of 14,000 trees would be required to support a population of 500 persons consuming four nuts per diem (an average below that stated by the islanders). The exports at the average of 7 years have been upwards of 80 candies, which with 10 candies added for home consumption would be the produce of 10,000 trees if the rate assum- ed for other islands of 5,600 nuts per candy of coir be retained. As in Kiltan a considerable quantity of the husks are wasted, to which must further be added the number of trees which are cut for the juice. All things considered, it is probable that the return of productive trees should be double what now appears. 1831../24,899} 541 1839. . 197,501! 1,695 ee aaa 1,399 1847.) Laccadive Islands. 27 Eemorapied There is still a good deal of unoccupied land in Chetlat perhaps ith or }th of the whole, but it is gene- rally the most worthless. This will be carefully marked off this year. The ceir exported from this island is of the first description. The island of Bitra alone remains to be mentioned, I was unable to visit it myself but endeavoured to learn all the particulars relative to it. The island itself is not half the size of the others described, but the sheal on which it is situated, is very extensive and abounds with fish, and is on that account much frequented by the islanders, chiefly those of Chetlat. The island is sacred to a Peer whose tomb stands in the middle of it. and there are from 150 to 200 trees planted round it as votive offerings to his name, the fruit of these is used by any of the fishermen who happen to land there. The greater part of the island is covered with a thick low brushwood among which, till within the last 10 years, extraordinary flocks of sea birds laid their eggs and bred. The Islanders told me that they have gathered from 30 to 50,000 eggs in a day. While these birds continued here, their eggs were a great support to the whole group, but not one remains, all having, without any apparent cause, migrated, it is supposed, to the Mal- dives. The soil is said to be excellent and the cocoanut tree grows rank and luxuriant, and would doubtless prove a most productive tree were its exuberance kept down by the regular and proper exercise of its powers. Mat eariivesh The want of fresh water has impeded the occupa- water. tion of this island. When told so, I was incredulous and had the stone cut through this year where it was 9 or 6 feet thick, but the water within, which in all the other islands is quite fresh, was found, as the Islanders assured me before, quite salt. I was unable to see it myself, but report and experiment go to confirm a fact which must render this island unproductive for ever, for at a distance of 40 miles from the nearest island, and the passage imprac- ticable for 5 months in the year, a population could never be suppli- ed elsewhere. When the fishermen run short of water they dig a hole in the sand near the sea, and use the brackish percolations from the sea, in preference to the well water. This fact the Islanders at- tribute to the effect of the roots of the brushwood, and various other Island of Bitra. insufficient causes. Sea Slug and The tortoise is frequently taken while laying its Shark, eggs on this lonely island, and amongst its extensive 28 Description of the [No. 35, shoals great quantities of the holothuria or sea slug, of a better des- cription than that found on the other islands, is found. During the fishing season, a good many of the Islanders are employed by coast Moplah merchants in the manufacture of what the Islanders call coke of this sea worm. Found on all coral formations which rise near the surface, it is here collected in great quantities, and half boiled in the water which it has imbibed, it is then laid out and dried in the sun, and in this state it isin good demand for the Chinese market at Bombay. The shark also abounds about these shoals, and several candies of fins are yearly exported from these islands chiefly taken in the neighbourhood of Bitra. In each of the islands there are so called Circar gar- Circar Gardens. ; 2 dens which consist of lots of trees held by Islanders on a darkast or agreement to supply certain quantities of coir yearly to Government. These have been Circar gardens since the time of the Cannanore rule, when it was usual to confiscate property in place of penal punishments, for instance that entered third in the list of Ameendevy was confiscated for a murder committed by its owner. The history of them all seems to be well known to the principal in- habitants, and were in future any system adopted under what it would be advisable to return these, properly assessed, to the descendants of the original proprietors, their heirs might easily be traced. The following statement exhibits the number and value of the Circar ee in each of the islands. eee i Eile cal saa 5 < for ea 3 ee ey ah Pay ea oe onl vee ainae | Se We ere i= to oO <2) ~~ as & a-} & ro Si BS a qe 43 g 3 3 oa me S Sulisoainline | D, suet ies | & faa) oy mal FQ NM = No. | No va Wo lawo.| Notlinds 1neluanm hie GardensinAmeen | devy, 5 391} 291 0 0 0 0 18) 0} Page 18. Do. in do 410 299 0 0 9 16 18) oe use ae ! will soon be in bearin | Do. in Kiltan,! 380) 228] 0} 148] 0] 0) 6) O/raze 23.4 chouk trees are pe in Kada- xcluded 152} 148) 0 | 0} Of 9 O/ Page 23. | ae Chetlat,| 206} 142! o| 61! of of 9/14 Page 26, Chouk trees are ex: Hossagamy Trees clu in ie aeendey ry,| 5389} 402) 30 107 O} O} 19} 0 Page 20. Total. .|2,078| 1,510} 30] 316| 9! 16| 79] 14 ee - eR es NS DEE AS ee ee 1847. ] Laccadive Islands. 29 Other exports The staple export from the islands, and the chief from the islands. source of the income is coir, but they have a few other sources which may be well to mention here, before describing the coir management on the coast of these, the export of the surplus ee nuts is the chief. No accounts of this have been kept, and we must rely on the statements of the people, who seemed ready enough to tell the probable exports of their neighbours though willing to understate their own. From 7 to 10 Rupees per thousand are obtained on the coast, but the nuts are small and the average From Ameen Plices may be taken at 8 Rupees. The people of devy. Ameendevy assert that their surplus is decreasing, this they attribute to the increase of population in an island in which the good soil is all occupied, and consequently progressive cultivation does not yield proportionate returns. The exports from this island may be taken at one lac to 120,000 nuts per annum which, at 7 Ru- pees per 1,100 (for 10 per cent. is always allowed for luck in these sales) would be worth between 6 and 7 hundred Rupees. J or this rice is always brought home, and exchanges at. 3 to 4 maunds of coir per moodah of rice, making the profits nearly cent per cent to a man who exporting his own nuts imports rice. ‘This traffic is limited by the home consumption, but is far the most lucrative from the islands, and in Kiltan, where the home consumption is not so great, its profits are so large and distributed among so few that the Islanders do not feel the absolute necessity of applying themselves industriously to the manufacture of coir. The nut exports of this island (Kiltan) average from 14 lac to 2 lacs per annum valued from 1,000 to 1,300 Rupees. The exports from this island are Increasing rapidly. From Chetlat the exports are within 50,000, and from Kadamat very trifling as yet and not to be distinguished from those of Ameendevy. The princi- pal market isin Malabar. In the Beeby’s islands the Ryots are de-~ prived of this by a monopoly under which only 4 Rupees per 1,000 is paid for nuts delivered on the coast. From Kiltan. From Chetlat. A few hundred mats are yearly exported and prized on the coast, their texture being fine. They are made of the cocoanut leaf cut out of the heart of the tree just before it un- folds. This involves the loss of the bunch of fruit which comes out with each leaf; and the value of the fruit and coir in our island checks the manufacture of mats. Probably the leaves of chowk trees are Mats. 30 Description of the [No. 33, chiefly used. The sails of smaller boats are of these fine mats, and hence a considerable home consumption. Shells and chanks are hardly v worth calling an arti- cle of export from these islands. From one to two hundred Rupees worth of tortoiseshell may be exported from year to year, of late years, there has been little taken. A few candies of shark fins are accumulated during the season, and exported to the coast. Ambergris is occasionally picked up and is valuable. This with tortoiseshell were formerly perquisites of the rulers, and in the Beeby’s islands still, the finders are always deprived of them. These Islanders do not manufacture coke (the dried holothuria or sea slug) of their own accord. Moplahs from the coast go to the is- jands and employ them at the usual rate of wages, one seer of rice per diem, to manufacture it for them. So that the profits of this are lost to the Islanders. I have no doubt that considerable traffic in chu- nam, which is very fine and white, might be carried on, and that the Islanders might supply chunam considerably below the bazar price on the coast, but they do not appear to have attempted to export it. The Government islands import jaggery for their own consump- tion from the Beeby’s, so that if the 100 or 200 seers which yearly come to the coast in their boats be the produce of our islands—its place is supplied by imports from elsewhere. Chanks, &c. Boats. The marginal statement shows the number of boats See ar ere in each of the islands in ES) iS) bey ’ EE Wea Pe the years 1839 and 1844, ro) = i) af f=} mM ° ans 5 8s no earlier record of these eo m we Pa] WS | 8 | numbers can be found. CP eae Sue plies il Stoo) oes eos The first class are large Za Sy Q = : i shore going boats for car- For 1839..} 17 | 14 | 72 | 108 , ; |Ameendevy, | git visi ie | 97 | 133 | rying coir, Ke. trom, 6G yte 221839. 200 oi we ee fe i Kadamat.. i Bete) o 2 9 | 11 | 15 tons burthen, they will Kilt poeieg gy [Fieger ial oem eso ta |iagg | an.. ” isi | 12 | 1 | 73 | 96 | be worth 4 or 5 hundred a 1839 8 | 20 | 66 | 94 Chetlat.. ae yealcaee of | i9 | zw | 97 | Rupees each, and belong ST ONE ene wien teenie increase of four of these expensive boats in Kiltan is a sure sign of its prosperity. In Kadamat there are none, and they are de- pendent on Ameendevy. The 2nd class are fishing boats of 1 ton to 14 ton burthen, which are manned by 8 or 10 men, but seldom leave the group; the last column shows the number of small boats for r 1847.] Laccadive Islands. 3} pursuing fish, as the Islanders use the harpoon almost exclusively in taking fish. The boats are all light coir sewed craft, built on the islands of wood brought from the coast. Cocoanut wood is never used Cooly Hire, #8 Sometimesis asserted. The rate of cooly hire in Freight, &c. the islands is one seer of rice per diem (00 seers to a moodah) with the other little necessaries as betlenuts, tobacco, &c. altogether probably within one anna. Freight to and from the coast, is charged at ten per cent. on all bulky articles, as nuts, coir, &c. and levied on the return cargo of rice. This is divided at certain rates between boat owner and the halassies. qlee team I am not inclined to believe that there is much clan- am Com: destine traffic in coir from the islands. The imports to Mangalore will always be found to fall short of any calculation made of the probable produce of the “ returned” number of bearing trees, but 5 to 74 per cent. must be allowed for home consumption ; a considerable number of trees are cut for meera and many nuts are used for drinking before the husk is formed, besides which, no doubt a large quantity of husks are wasted and not made up into yarn, particularly in Kiltan. The Islanders probably make up some coir into cables for their own use, which they may subsequently be in- duced to dispose of elsewhere, but the strictest inquiries I could make, lead me to believe that though I have heard some hints against the inhabitants of Kiltan, there is no extensive and systematic smug- gling now. Since the value of coir has fallen it has been the inter- est of the Islanders to keep up the monopoly system under which their surplus produce has a ready and steady market. If the prices paid are not quite equal to what they might obtain elsewhere, they are paid with the greatest regularity and the Islanders are perfectly sensible that this difference does not press so heavily on them as would a regular assessment on the land or trees. I believe from these considerations they are jealous of any irregularity among themselves, which might endanger the continuance of the system. Pattamars ne- ver visit the islands, and ships avoid them if possible, a few only, from the southern harbours of India, going direct to Arabia, sight them but probably not more than 5 or 6a year; and whenever a boat returns from a trip, she is drawn out of the water, and before being launch- ed again it is necessary to obtain the Monegar’s permission and a peon searches her before she starts. This may act as a slight check, though it may be evaded with the greatest ease, were it not their in- terest to avoid raising the least suspicion. 32 Description of the [No. 33, The whole of the salt consumed in these islands is imported from Goa, whither two or three boats are sent every season for the annual supply. It is there bought for 34 annas per moora, and is sold in the islands at 7 annas per moora, a price very much below what it could be got for in the Government godowns. ‘The Beeby’s islands are supplied chiefly from ours. The Islanders of Ameendevy stated their annual consumption to be about 800 to 1,000 mooras per an- num, that of all the islands attached to Canara may amount to 1,500 to 1,800. The Islanders, who made no secret of this, said that they had always been in the habit of getting their salt from Goa, and quoted as a direct permission an order of 1840 direct- ing the Monegar to release 100 mooras of salt which he had stopped, and reported for orders, and ordering that the Islanders should be permitted to import salt in the way they had hitherto been accus- tomed. This smuggling has been winked at all along from a feeling that the enforcement of the monopoly would be attended with the great- est difficulty, and probably with most unsatisfactory results. A strict prohibition would contract the consumption of salt among the poor, who would use sea water in their cooking instead, as they now do when the supply is deficient, but possibly without forcing the body of the Islanders to seek their supply from the Government godowns. Every conceivable facility for smuggling exists in such islands. There is no commanding spot to look out from, and per- fect thickets of trees, as they are, they may be approached by boats almost unperceived unless by a person on the shore and on the look out, from the low shore a boat is not seen above a few miles distant, and the Islanders are in the habit, when they wish to avoid the Go- vernment officers, of just sighting the islands from the mast head, and then lying to till after dark; they run in during the night and the cargo is safe before the morning. Were the sibbendy doubled, where the interests of the whole population are so perfectly at one as on this subject, their vigilance would scarcely prevent the illicit introduction, while, themselves personally interested in the introduction of a certain quantity and beyond the influence of ef- fectual supervision, it is not improbable that these peons might be remiss in their duties. The Islanders would be burthened with an increased, and otherwise unnecessary establishment, while the advantage to Government would probably hardly pay the ex- penses. 1847.] Laccadive Islands. 33 With regard to tobacco the Islanders generally take a few maunds from the Government godowns for form’s sake, but the principal consumption on the islands is of Bengal tobacco. On this point the Islanders were more reserved, and though I could not thoroughly trace its introduction, it seems to be through the Beeby of Canna- nore. She probably has some traffic with Bengal, and supplies her own island, and from them it is introduced into ours. The prices are about 2 of the Government prices and sufficiently low to induce consumers to prefer it. This also has been frequently reported by the local officers, and Bengal tobacco stopped, but it has been tolerat- ed under the same considerations as influenced the directions with reference to salt, and the tobacco returned to the Islanders with a warning not to smuggle in future. It would be still more difficult to put a stop to this; less bulky than salt it is introduced in small quantities from the neighbouring islands and often about the person. Sibbenay. ‘The management of the island is entrusted to a Monegar with the powers of an Ameen of Police, whose station throughout the greater part of the year is Ameendevy. He has 5 peons on pay of 5 rupees per mensem, of whom two are with him in Ameendevy and the rest distributed, one in each of the other islands. The Monegar sees that there is no clandestine traffic in coir from the islands, but he has nothing to do with the accounts, weighing, &c. of the coir and his duties are exclusively police. He has the assistance of one of the Islanders as a Karany to take down depositions, and to read them, for the character used is the Arabic. In addition te these duties the Karany has those of the Shanbogue or accountant; he keeps the accounts of the trees and the coir in the islands, and makes out and delivers the accounts of coir brought to the coast, in short he is the working man of the islands. His remu- neration is 18 mooras of rice per annum worth about 27 rupees or little more than 2 rupees per mensem, and less than half of a peon’s pay. It has always been an ill-paid office, but under the Beeby’s rule the Karany, besides this nominal remuneration, had several per- quisites which of course he does not now enjoy. The expenses of the Sibbendy are entered in the margin, show an average for 10 years of 530 rupees Rs, |A.|P 1 Monegar per mensem...| 17 | 8} 0} per annum. The Karany’s allow- 5 Peonsato Rs. do. .... 25 | 0] 0 Stite) " : : a alyl ance 38 included which being paid alta in rice and varying according to the Per Annum....- : market value of the article, causes E 34 Description of the OLN p¥eaq )———_——_—_____. e h ee easly ea eee 535) 0, 0; In part the slight irregularity obsery- ER Ses soon Bs RO ie . Bian Cae eee 523 10/9) able. For extraordinary occasions, Bs alge LAD tee hae eis, 37 i aa aun eae 235 {13|'9| Such as the protection of wrecks, Mile IAB cate oh cee 546 {14|1¢ ‘Si Rear eae sit |sto| happily of rare occurrence, this Sib- CO e seeee ccs Di i ite i ah parereenceces e | 73s Glig]| bendy is quite inadequate, and to 959 QC ° 32 Reese Ss aaiap 53% | 612) meet such emergencies a large ad- Porat Bsos eh)... « Bi —|—| dition would be requisite, 2 or 3 Averase (cn osce 53890 ;13] 3 peons among 1,000 men so keen as they are, would be disregarded, and on the occasion of the wreck of the Lyramgore the Sibbendy themselves were robbers to a large amount. The only hope is to engage the body of the Islanders in the work of the salvage, and for example’s sake to deal with them according to the strictest letter of the law in case of a recurrence of these barbarous practices. The former I have attempted to do by pointing out to them and fully explaining the nature of salvage transactions, and have fully warned them of the severity of the English law in such cases, but with what success remains to be seen; of this I am convinced, from what I experienced that under the similar circumstances, a small extra Sibbendy would be of little or no value. At present I think that no extra establishment is necessary, and that the Moktessers or head men should be made more use of. Ficad@ Taha. In these small islands there are no Potails or heads eats: of villages, but their places are supplied in each of the islands by the body of Karomars, the hereditary heads of families that formerly paid nazzers regularly for their local honors and privi- leges to the house of Cannanore. Many of their privileges have fallen into disuse, but that of sitting at Koots* is one still jealously guarded. In Ameendevy these are 2] in number and divided into 2 classes, in the first are the heads of the 4 principal families of Paudambelly, Pordcat, Porart and Beamady, the 17 others, sit at the koo¢s and de- cide the petty disputes of the island, but have not so much influence. The Karomars of Ameendevy have considerable influence in the other islands but they too have their Karomars though less numerous. These with the permission of the Monegars or peons assemble Koots — for the various purposes of internal economy of the islands,as when thefts of fruits are very frequent, to inquire into them and discover the thieves, who before the hoofs will generally confess. At certain periods they assemble to settle a day or week for killing rats, or the cocoanut beetle which are so destructive to the trees in all the islands * Assemblies. oo 1847.| Leaccadive Islands. 5) except Kiltan. To them is referred every case of the nature of a civil dispute, and though not always impartial, and generally dilatory in their work, they are a valuable body of judges where custom and hearsay rule almost every question ; for until very lately the use of documents was unknown in these islands. As much business as is possible of this nature should be referred to them for decision, and will be decided more to the satisfaction of the parties generally than could be done by officers holding local civil jurisdiction. Hitherto the Collector has taken cognizance of all cases in which rights were concerned, and referred them to their Karomars for decision. As long as this body exist to appoint Moonsiffs or any civil authority would be to entail expense, if nothing worse. It has been the custom of these assemblies or koots as they are called to impose small fines paid in coir to Government on members who absent themselves with- out sufficient cause, as well as on those who do not appear before them when called, and this excellent custom has always been recog- nized by .the Magistrate, and such fines confirmed. The Karomars stand bail for all persons charged with ‘crime, for which it will be necessary to bring them to the coast, and undertake to deliver them before the Magistrate ; and in cases of fines, some one of them undertakes to levy the amount of coir and deliver it on the coast according to the Monegar’s list. No coir is ever collected by the police. ‘To these Karomars with the Karony is left the whole coir management, and it may be said that the generality. of the Islanders are the dependants of some one or other of them. By im- memorial custom they are required to furnish boats and rowers gratis, to take the Monegar the tour of the island once in the beginning of every season, to make inquiries into what has happened during the monsoon and examine any cases that may have accumulated. The state of crime in these islands for the last 8 years is shown wy \a8.4| | Amouat| by the marginal statement to be on n ° b - Pegi e e e eee) 3 of colt.’ the whole increasing, but I attribute Year. | A a feligel | at : ‘ f yikes uae ‘ eduinke To jeest & |i this to greater vigilance in bringing S23 [sz] 5 [8 || 2) offenders forward. ‘Tl t fi v Ow i) a a) @ ward, S oO. e*|s 2 is isle ) puens orwarc 1e mo re quent crimes are petty assaults and 1837..| 79 re ee PC 1838..| 76 7 69 | 0 {19/173} theft of nuts from the trees, but there 1839..1 34 Oo; 34/0] siz] . ; 1940,.| 167 | 291 138] 2117/7 { Is from time to time a case of steal- ite) 160] 45! 120] 2! sla; . : ig42,.} 1051 19] 86}2\11) 7] ing from houses and slight house- 1843 Rey 31 712/11! 0 : s ape . 1844 33 | 1) 45 E i3/} 0 | breaking. Great difficulty is, ex- ee POrienced in making out a case which 36 Description of the [No. 35, Islanders see will require to go before the Court, from the fear of being ob!'zed to attend as witnesses. This is especially the case . when the witnesses are chiefly females, for they will not leave the islands, the matter is therefore immediately compromised and justice frequently defeated. The Monegar has no proper place of confine- ment, and the punishment of imprisonment for theft is quite a farce and ineffectual; the principal inhabitants generally recommend flogging. For petty assaults fines are levied in coir at | rupee per maund. The | price actually paid by Government is only about 11 annas per maund, the commutation rate then is greatly in favor of the fined, but even this calculation will not measure its value to a man who has the raw material about him, and has merely to direct the woman of his house to make up a little more coir. The fines are never paid at once, for the Monegar has no room to keep coir, and its weight always varies, but are undertaken by one of the Karomars so that all things con- sidered the commutation rate should at least be doubled. The Monegar makes the tour of the islands only once a year ge- nerally though situated near each other. This is not sufficient for ef- fectual supervision, and he should be authorized to engage a boat for that purpose at least once a month, while communication is open. Gor snonupoly, The management of the coir in the Government mo- on the Coast. nopoly, and the sources whence we look for a small revenue alone remain to be described. ‘The months of January and February are very busy ones on the islands, the accumulations of coir for the season are gathered and made up into yarns of 70 to 75 fathoms long and brought by,each family to the boat owner whom they are bound to employ; he receives their coir by weight but with- out reference to the quality and undertakes to pay to each on his re- turn, their due proportion of the price received from Government for the boat load, and this too is done without reference to the classification on the coast. The coir is then unrolled, and packed tightly into boats which will carry from 40 to 60 candies. The boats are generally so top heavy from the article being bulky that should they meet squalls, they are obliged to throw a large quantity overboard ; the loss of coir in this way is frequently very considerable. In March and April, the coir is brought to the coast. It is dried for 8 days, weighed and deliver- ed into the godowns by the Islanders, and no expense is incurred. No separation of the coir into different classes or particular examina- tion into its quality takes place at the time of receiving the coir, it is only on payment of the prices that any classification is « 1847.] Laccadive Islands. 37 Classification of Made, and since 1837, the quantities to be received in Coir. each class have been fixed at a certain rate per cent. according to the general character of the coir supplied from each of the islands. Of Ameendevy and Kadamat coir—(for imported together they are received indiscriminately, though the latter is of the best quality,) 70 per cent. is paid for, as Ist class coir at 21 rupees 14 annas per Mangalore candy of 560 lbs. (equal to 25 rupees per Calicut candy of 640 lbs.) 20 per cent. is paid for as 2nd class at the rate of 17 rupees 8 annas per Mangalore candy, (or 20 rupees per Calicut candy) and 10 per cent. is entered as 3rd class coir and paid for at the rate of 13 rupees 4 annas 6 pie per Mangalore candy (equal to 15 rupees per Calicut candy) this will give the average price paid for a Mangalore candy of Ameen- devy coir 20 rupees and 2 annas (or 23 rupees per Calicut candy of 640 Ibs). Kiltan and Chetlat coir is finer and whiter and is re- ceived on a somewhat better footing. Of this 80 per cent. is paid for as Ist class, 15 per cent. as 2nd class, and 5 per cent. only is taken as 3rd class, at which rate the value of a Mangalore candy is 20 rupees 12 annas 7 pie, or 23 rupees 12 annas per Calicut candy and the difference between the prices paid for Ameendevy coir and Kil- tan and Chetlat coir amounts to about 2-3rds per cent. In some of the Ameendevy reports I find the average price paid for coir stated as 17 rupees 8 annas per candy, which, from the above, is shown to be erroneous. Probably 2-3rds of the coir being entered as Ameen- devy coir,is paid for at the lower average rate, but even then the average rate would be 20 rupees 5 annas 6 pie per Mangalore candy, or 23 rupees 4 annas per Calicut candy. Until the year 1820, all coir was paid for at the rate of 21 rupees 14 annas per Mangalore candy, or 25 rupees per Cali- cut candy of 640 lbs. It. appears from the records, that in that year the Head English writer reduced the price of some considered inferior to 17 rupees 8 annas per Mangalore candy, an arrangement which was confirmed by Principal Collector Harris, under date the 8th April, 1820. The native servants soon intro- duced a 3rd class, and made still further reduction, and the classi- fication of the coir became a cause of yearly complaint on the part of the Islanders against the partiality and injustice of the pub- lic servants, who, they alleged, were inexperienced and unfit to judge the qualities of the coir. Mr. Lewin referred the matter in 1837 to a punchayet of experienced merchants, who decided that 38 Description of the [No. 33, 90 per cent. of Chetlat and Kiltan coir should be paid for as Ist class coir, and 10 per cent. should be received as 2nd class coir, but that none of the coir supplied from these two islands was so inferior as to justify its being placed ina 3rd class,they recommended that 70 per cent. of Ameendevy and Kadamat coir should be paid for as Ist class, 19 percent. as 2nd class, and 6 per cent. as 3rd class. From a compara- tive statement of the classification made by the servants during the five preceding years it appeared that, on an average 66 per cent. only, of Ameendevy and Kadamat coir had been paid for as Ist class, 223 per cent. as 2nd, and 113 per cent. as 3rd class, that of Chetlat coir 773 per cent. had been taken in the Ist class, 15 per cent. as the 2nd, and 72 per cent. as the drd, while the average classification of Kiltan coir had been 75 per cent. as the Ist class, 152 per cent. as the 2nd, and 95 per cent. as the 3rd. It appeared from this that the classification by the native servants had been to the disadvantage of the Islanders, but the recommendation of the merchants was considered too fa- vorable. The Islanders and Karany were then examined, and after some discussion the rates were fixed as they now stand. By this arrangement an end was put to the constant, and in part just, com- plaints of the Islanders and to a great deal of trouble and loss of time in classifying the coir, a classification of which no notice was taken in selling it. The Islanders were fully warned that if advan- tage were taken of the arrangement, and coir found to deteriorate, it would be given up. I donot think that this had had the effect that was feared; the most material differences in the quality of coir arise from causes over which the Islanders have no control, and they manifest a most wholesome dread of the old state of things being reverted to. Up to fusly 1235* the Bombay and Bengal Govern- ment took almost the whole of the coir brought from these islands, and credited this Collectorate with 65 rupees per candy. The price hassince fallen very much, the Bengal Govern- Prices. ment now seldom require = SS. se cde ‘ Metis more than 3 or 3ds. of what sodels acon Sane alea Tele aoe old we have, and the rest, which ain $8} (EE) 8 4) Aah 8) sm. general of « 2nd. sae IAN Ae: 401 _|’3| alesl 0 f10°081 20! 5| quality after selecting for the : =H 35 97815) rover Ge ee He 2 o| of easel ro! bengal, Govexnmeni 36 sa taegc000000.) op. | elusla| o| olizctaa| alia] pete by public valeiion, — &% D254. sees 265 i slealos! 0] 6| 6.6371 51 21 marginal statement shows the * A, D. 1825-26. | | 1847. ] Laceadwe Islands. 39 amount sent to Bengal yearly since 1247, and the amount credited per candy at the bazar rate in Mangalore. The prices realized have fluctuated greatly during the last 20 years; they have been frequent- ly below the price paid to the Islanders, and at best, have never yielded about 12 to 20 per cent. profit. Sources of During the first five fuslies of the British rule in Ca- Surplus re- ; venue, nara, the islands were rented to Packy Beary by whom probably very large profits were made. In 1804 their management was assumed by the Government, and from that year till fusly 1226 a considerable surplus revenue was derived from these islands, prin- cipally from the difference between the purchase and sale prices of the article. The average surplus profits of the monopoly for 5 years from 1814 to 1818 was rupees 23,424 per annum, and of 5 years from 1819 to 1823 both years inclusive was rupees 25,105 per annum. The value of coir having fallen, the Bengal Government declined crediting the district with more than the Mangalore market price for the article supplied to them, and the average price realized by the sale of coir since 1237 has been rupees 21-8-8 per candy, but as the purchase price was about 20-5 per candy scarcely more than 5 per cent. was derived from the proper source of a monopoly revenue. Some excess of receipts over disbursements however has been main- tained in the following manner. The price of coir paid to the Islanders has from time immemorial been paid ith in coir and 2th in rice, at a fixed average rate of 84 rupees per corge of 42 MOOTAS. State of the § The accounts of 17 years since the important change Revenue of , 5 : : late years, in the prices obtained for coir, show that as far as con- cerns this district, there has been a balance of receipts over disburse- ments in 15 years averaging for the 19 years, rupees 3,/41 annas 12 pice 9 per annum. In 1832 and 1833 there was a net deficiency as an offset against this balance I believe an allowance of 1,500 pagodas (5,250 rupees) enjoyed by the house of Cannanore as compensation since about 1,232 should be reckoned. Should such an allowance exist it is clear that during 12 years from 1237 to 1241 there was, with two exceptions, 1245 and 1247, an annual net deficiency in the revenues of the islands as compared with the charges. However since 1249 the prices realized have been steadier and better, during the 5 years 1249 to 1253 there has been an excess of receipts over disburse- ments, averaging annually rupees 7,897 annas 8 pice 4, and leaving, eyen if necessary to charge the whole allowance above alluded 40 Description of the [No. 35, against these islands, a net surplus revenue averaging about 2,600 rupees per annum. Of the system Lhe unproductiveness of the coir monopoly, and the generally. position of Government receiving as it does large quan- tities of raw produce, fortunately not of a very perishable nature, which frequently lies on its hands upwards of a year after the pur- chase money has been paid, and for which, were not a distant market provided, probably scarcely higher prices than those prescriptively fixed as payable to the producers would be obtained; these consider- ations, and the irregularity and uncertainty of the fund from which the present occasional surplus is obtained as shown in practice, seem to have suggested to the officers in charge of the district for several years back, the idea that some change of system might be advisable. The growth of coir on the coast has increased so much, that though the quality of Laccadivy coir will always enable it to command bet- ter prices than the coast grown article, the former prices will never again be obtained and even a still further fall may occur. The following paras. are from Mr. Collector Cotton’s Aumany Report of 1835, and the same sentiments seem to have been adopted by several Officers since. ey! ‘I see no reason why the Islanders should now be ‘““assessed in so peculiar a manner, the inhabitants “ should, I think, be allowed to trade in coir as well as any other ‘‘ produce, and whatever revenue they may be considered liable to “ pay for the protection they enjoy, should be levied on their land or ‘Cin export duties. I do not mean however to recommend the im- ‘mediate adoption of any measure which may cause distress to the ‘¢ Islanders.” “The present price of coir in the market of Manga- “lore is about 18 rupees per candy, which is nearly the ‘average amount of the three sorts as they are paid for by Go- ‘‘ yernment, but the Islanders would not be able to find an immedi- “ate market for the whole of their coir even at a lower price if «the Government discontinued to purchase it, and would no doubt ‘suffer considerable difficulty. The Government having enjoy- “ed all the advantages of high prices for many years, cannot now “ fairly call upon the Islanders to share in the loss of low prices, but ‘¢] think a better system of assessment may be substituted for the “coir monopoly when circumstances render a change equitable to “ both parties.” Para. 32. 1847,] Laccadive Islands. 41 The nature of the proposed change is not specified, but before these paras. were written, Mr. Collector Cotton was aware of the declared aversion of the Islanders to a change which would substi- tute an assessment for the present system of monopoly. The senti- ments of the principal inhabitants were taken by a deposition from them in 1834, which was lost with the rest of the records in 1837, and I cannot now cite their special reasons, but from conversation which I had with them, there can be no doubt that they still prefer the present system. Their reasons are probably a general dislike to a change in an immemorial practice. For good or for evil, so radi- cal a change as must take place, if the present monopoly is aban- doned, cannot fail to excite at first sight dissatisfaction amongst the conservative spirits of a small and exclusive native community, throughout which the infiuence of such a change must be extensively felt. The weightiest objection, however, on their minds is no doubt the fear of a heavy direct land assessment with its official interfer- ence and its calculations and rules unbending to individual cireum- stances, In exchange for their present light contribution to the public revenues; for it must be borne in mind that the coir produce of a tree is not more than one-third of the gross produce, and if under the cir- cumstances above detailed 45 per cent. of the market value of this coir falls to Government, it is less than one-sixth of the gross pro- duce. This contribution is paid in the most indirect way by the sale of surplus produce, and payment in food, and so that Govern- ment participates fully in any loss from deficiency of crops or even from the idleness of the Islanders in manufacturing the coir, while it bears exclusively any loss from enhanced prices of rice. Another objection would be the difficulty of paying a money as- sessment—the total absence of money rents would indicate that the Islanders are not ready to pay a money assessment. The ready and steady market for their surplus produce which the present system affords is certainly in some measure a boon, and asa reason for main- taining the system, the Islanders press especially the difficulties and disadvantages to which they must be caroned in the market, that they would be obliged to find a market for 5 or 6 hundred candies of coir within a few months, that they would have scarcely time to watch the market, and being obliged to return to the group, where they are shut up for so many months they would find difficulty iu recovering their debts. Possibly too much weight is given to these considerations, urged by the Islanders with a different view, and F 42 Description of the [No. 33, adopted without full consideration. The whole length of the coast, (their boats sometimes go as far as Bombay,) with many good marts, would not feel the supply of afew hundred candies of good coir materially, and occurring as it would periodically would soon correct itself. The latter considerations are important but Moplas are skilful traders and the Islanders find no difficulty in getting a market for their surplus nuts. Take the market price of the raw coir yarn at 24 or 25 rupees per candy, and set all these disadvan- tages down as a deduction of 20 per cent., and the price which would be realized by the Islanders would be at least 40 per cent. above what they now actually receive for it in this shape from Government. But under the present system the Government requires the producer to give up the article in an almost raw state, there is no encouragement to enhance its value by the employment of skill or labour; in fact such is discouraged as the only object can be illicit traffic. Now the easy disposal of the raw article is probably a cause of congratula- tion among these lazy fishermen, but the native energy of the Mop- la would engender industrious habits, and independence of charac- ter, were the monopoly thrown open and the people obliged to com- pete in the market. Reduction of Lhe Islanders of course strenuously maintain that EGS: a change in the prices is a breach of mamool* and 25 rupees per Calicut candy is guaranteed to them by prescription. In the introduction of classification with reference to the quality of the coir an infraction was made on this imaginary guarantee, and the Beeby of Cannanore has very materially modified her prices of late years. Reduction of these now would give rise to great discontent, and be but a temporary measure, further fall in prices’ would again require the application of the same remedy. It would tend to re- produce the objections, on the score of the moral effect on the peo- ple, to monopolies. The body of the people certainly are impressed with the idea of the fixity of the present rates. ‘Twenty-five rupees per Calicut candy was paid by former Governments, and has been | the basis of the rates paid by us for nearly half a century during the greater part of which period we have been gainers. MANGALORE, 16th July, ee: * Prescriptive usage. EE, STE ee ee! 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By Captain New- BOLD. The Peninsula of Sinai is a triangular tongue of land between the Gulfs of Suez and Akaba comprehended between the latitudes of 30° and 27° 40’ N. and longitude 302 and 35° E. A line drawn from the head of one gulf to the other forms the base of the triangle about 107 miles broad from E. to W. which terminates to the south in the apex of Ras Mahomed, where the two gulfs unite in the com- mon channel of the Red Sea. The average length of the peninsula from N. to S. is about 108 miles. The elevated plateau of Et Tih occupies the northern parts of. this tract, and the mountainous central region of Mount Sinai may be considered as reaching from the southern base to the vicinity of Ras Mahomed, which is a low ridge of rock not deserving of the name of a promontory. . On the eastern side the mountains almost fringe the gulf of Akaba, but on the western flank a maritime plain extends between the base of the central mountainous region and the Red Sea, here and there interrupted by mountain-spurs, as at Jebel Pharoun and Ras Je- han, coming down to the sea. The longitudinal and the transverse vallies by which the southerly or mountainous region is strangely fissured, form the natural routes and lines of drainage—the wadis of the Arabs. The plateau of Et Tih literally, meandering, is a dreary desert, elevated, flat, often covered with drifted sands, beds and mounds Of gravel, of quartz, flint, caleareous and jaspideous pebbles resting on a tertiary limestone, which stretches across the isthmus of Suez into Egypt on the one side, and to the ranges of Libanus on the other, sinking northerly to- wards the sandy maritime tracts skirting the Mediterranean. It has received its name of Et Tih from its level and almost trackless extent. Geological Fea- tures. This limestone is often of a chalky texture and colour. Where it is so, it generally contains imbedded nodules of flint, which are often black, in regular and almost horizontal layers, conforming to the stratification. In other localities it is usually of a cream or buff colour, and close in texture. Among its numerous fossils I found 48 Visit to Mount Sinat. [No. 33, ostrece, echini, madripores, pecteus. Rock-salt and Gypsum occur in layers. The limestone beds of Jebel Pharoun, Jebel Hummam and other ranges on the eastern coast, appear to be spurs and outliers from Et Tih. The central region around Mount Sinai presents a magnificent outburst of granitic and porphyritic rocks which have uplifted and thrown into-confusion a zone of hypogene rocks, principally horn- blendeschist and gneiss, all penetrated by great dykes of basaltic greenstone, which present a singular feature in this extraordinary tract, passing through and over high bare mountains of red granite, in dykes and walls, and adding much by their black rugged exterior to the desolation which prevails. The greatest elevation which the granite attains is within a short radius from Mount Sinai—itself a granite mass 7,412 feet above the sea. Mount Catherine 2 miles to the 8S. W. is 8,063 French feet ; Jebel Serbal 6,342 French feet; Om Shomar, about 7 miles S. by W. from Mount Sinai, is however said to be the highest peak in the Peninsula. The heights of the southern pro!ongation of the central region towards Ras Mahomed, put down in the maps under the general term of Jebel Et Turfa, have not been ascertained. The nearest approach of the granite to the western coast is near its N. W. angle in about 29° 4’ at Wadi Dhafery. At Tor it is about 5 miles dis- tant. It spreads out, breaking up the hornblendeschist, to the eastern coast, where it forms a range from 800 feet to 2,000 feet above the sea. Emerging on the north in about latitude 29° from the sandy plain of Debbater Ramleh at the base of the plateau of Et Tih it disappears to the S. under the tertiary fossiliferous limestone of Ras Mahomed. Sandatene foe: A broken frame-work of sandstone is seen resting on ET the borders of the granitic and hypogene areas, and sometimes entangled in them, the limits of which it is difficult to de- fine. On the north it appears to be bounded by the limestone of Kt Tih and is seen near the coast of the Red Sea in the vicinity of Ras Zulima, a little south of the limestone of Jebel Pharoun, and forms the ranges of Jebel Mookattil, En Nasb, Serabut, al Kadim, and the mountain of the Bell, “ Zn Nalkds” S. of which it disappears under the tertiary limestone of Jebel Hummam and El Kaa near Tor. 1847,] Visit to Mouné Sinat. 49 T am not aware that it has been seen south of this on either side of the Peninsula, butit will probably be found lower on its eastern flank. At Jebel Nakiis it appears insulated from the granite and hypogene schists, amidst a formation of tertiary limestone, I could discover no traces of the former rocks ém sitd in this locality, though the proba- bility is they are at no great distance below its base. Near the eastern coast it caps the hornblende rock at Ograt el Faras and hence to Wadi Murrah and El Ghor. It caps the granite of Jebel Sumghy, Es Sadeh and northerly it is seen occasionally rest- ing on the granitic rocks, as at Muzirk and Ras el Musry to the head of the Akaba gulf. In lithologic character it varies from 2 compact reddish quartz rock as at the western mountain near Tor to a whitish grit as at En Nakds and to variegated sandstones as at Wadi Murrah. The extensive sandy tracts and dunes in the interior which usual- ly mark the vicinity of this formation, are the result of the weather- ing of the less consolidated beds of this rock and which possibly in some cases never have been consolidated. This remark is however not intended to apply to the drifts of fine blown sand which are so remarkable on the sides of the ranges which skirt the Red Sea; and which have evidently been blown up from the sandy shore. More recentde- | Lhe low maritime plains are usually covered with OSS sand and sometimes with a gravel which as on the plain of El Kaa has been transported a considerable distance from the granitic rocks in the interior. This gravel it is easy to ac- count for in the beds of the Wadis by the action of the mountain torrents, which come down occasionally with great violence during the rains; but a considerable portion of it is now far remote from their present action. It is however in greatest abundance near the mouths of the Wadis which have in many cases cut their channels through beds of it of considerable thickness, and which on the eastern coast, as Professor Robinson informs us, reach from the base of the mountains to the sea, sometimes in beds feet thick. I examined the beds at the mouth of Wadi Hebron where it cpens into the plain of El Kaa, under the impression that they might be ancient moraines but found the pebbles of moderate size and smaller, regularly interstratified with layers of sand, and no signs of glacial action on the rocks. The rapid melting of the snows which are G 50 Visit to Mount Sinar. [No. 83, known to cap the peaks of Sinai during the winter months, no doubt adds to the force of these Wadi torrents. It appears to me that much of this gravel which cannot be account- ed for by existing causes of transport, was accumulated during oscil- lations of the surface of the land. Underneath the surface of the sand, especially near the head of the gulf of Suez and in many places rising in small hillocks above it, we see thin beds of a grey and greenish clay, sand and marl, often lami- nated, imbedding layers of lamellar crystallized gypsum and muriate of soda or rock-salt and sometimes existing pelagic shells, also little mounds abounding in little worn fragments of Egyptian pebble, jas- pers, and hard calcareous stones, light coloured interiorly ; but of a dark brown exterior, evidently stained with oxide of iron, which has a tendency to blacken when in contact with calcareous matter. This dark appearance is so remarkable that Niebuhr and others after him, thought the stones had been blackened by the sun. The water of the wells rising in these saliferous beds is usually brackish as might be expected. Raised beaches of recent coral a few feet high, occur at Tor and many other places on the Red Sea. According to Riip- pell there is a raised coral beach, 13 feet above the sea level, at Ras Mahomed. Laborde and others have doubted the existence of volcanic rocks on the peninsula of Sinai, from not having observed them, and from Ruppell’s arguing their absence from not finding titaniate of iron mingled with the sand brought down by its streams. Burckhardt distinctly states their occurrence to the south near Shurm, on the east coast north of Ras Mahomed, as black and red rocks, forming crater-like configurations. He also mentions basaltic tufa composing low hills between Wadis Ruman and Mukatteb. They are no doubt rare. V oleanie Rocks. Rye ot ihe Regarding the supposed age of the different rock Rocks of Si- formations, Burckhardt and Professor Robinson, from © os whose valuable works a large share of the informa- tion contained in this sketch has been derived, say nothing and indeed tell us little, beyond the surface changes, from sandstone and limestone, to granite gneiss and griinstein as they travelled along, —observations however, extremely useful and to be prized. As it is, nothing beyond the relative ages of the rocks, except the 184 7.] Visit to Mount Sinat. ol tertiary limestone and more recent deposits just described, can be guessed at. t is evident that the granite must be of more recent origin than the hypogene schists, the strata of which I observed in the vicinity of Mount Sinai to have undergone great disturbance thrown on their edges and altered by it. ‘The porphyries are more recent than the granite which they penetrate, and the basaltic greenstone penetrates both the porphyries and the granite. Next in order of superposition to the hypogene schists comes the sandstone which rests on them in slightly inclined and unconformable strata; it marks the era of a subsequent period of disturbance but less violent, and was deposited while the granite peaks either formed inequalities in the ocean’s bed or appeared as small islet points just above its surface, with which it rose to the heights we now see it. _ The continuity of the sandstone strata apparently suffered from inundation. The tertiary limestone from its usually undisturbed horizontal stratification appears to have been elevated slowly without any vio- lent paroxysms of plutonic or volcanic energy like the more recent formations. Its fossils have not been yet scientifically described, but im general character they resemble those of the Egyptian tertiary limestones. The mineral character of the rock too, is much the same. A minute examination of these limestone strata may give groups of more than one epoch. In the sandstone I could discover no fossils to afford any indi-- cation of its age. From Burckhardt’s account of the volcanic rocks near Shurm no: elue to their relative age could be gained. Metallic © Ores The great scantiness of metallic ores and minerals. and Minerals. not only in the peninsula of Mount Sinai but in Egypt and Arabia is a remarkable feature. Iron ore, the most useful of all, occurs in very small quantities though it is seen in a state of diffusion strongly colouring the sandstone rocks. I picked up a few nodules of a poor hematite, in the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai, but I am not aware that the Arabs ever reduce this or any other iron ore to a metallic state. Their weapons and few iron utensils being generally purchased at Suez, Cairo, or from native craft touching at Tor. Mr. Leider showed me in his collection at Cairo, a specimen of 52 Visit to Mount Sinar. [No. 33, sulphuret of iron, said to come from Mount Sinai, the crystals of which have a curious resemblance to Cufic characters. Laborde® tells us that in an extensive bed of free- stone commencing in the plain of Et Tih and reach- ing as far as Nasb and Serabut al Kadim and S. towards Wadi Ma- gara, traces of copper exist, and that there are the remains of ancient minesin Wadi Magara. Specimens of the turquoise (malachite ?) were brought him from the rubbish of Serabut al Kadim by his Arab Tiussain. If these were really in situ the probability is they were malachites as the true turquoise or calaite rarely if ever occurs in sandstone. Its geological situs in Persia is trap rock and its alluvium. Professor Robinson states? that he saw no traces of mines around Serabut al Kadim, as mentioned by Laborde; but his Arabs informed him that towards the west in Wadi Suhan, a branch of Wadi en Nasb was found, the stone from which el kuhal is made and carried to Muskat. He supposed it to be an- timony though he acknowledges he saw none of it. According to Burckhardt* a few hours to the N.E. of Wadi Osh is the mountain of El Shugger, where native cinnabar is collected by the Arabs under the name of rosokht Copper. Antimony. Cinnabar. tlw). It occurs, he describes, in small pieces about the size of a pigeon’s egs, and very seldom crystallized; but there are some- times nodules on the surface. It stains the fingers of a dark colour, and its fracture is in fibres. He did not hear that the Arabs traded init. In Wadi Osh the rocks are of gneiss mixed with granite, but the exact matrix or geological situs of cinnabar, Burckhardt does not specify. Beds of a yellowish clay oceur in Wadi Shaikh which Burckhardt ascribes to the decay of the felspar in the granite. It is sold by the Arabs at Cairo, is used as a fuller’s Tafal. earth, and by the poorer classes instead of soap. It is called by them ‘‘ tafal.”’ Rock salt is procurable very generally in the gypsi- ferous beds as mentioned above. I am not aware that the Arabs use the gypsum for any purpose. Rock crystal eccurs in the granite rocks of Mount Sinai. @ Laborde’s Sinai and Petra, English Ed. pp. 81 and 84. b Researches, p. 116. ¢ Travels in Syria, &e., p: 487. Common Salt. : a 1847.) Visit to Mount Sinat. 53 | “Visit to Mount Having despatched our boat and Arab crew to Sinai. await our arrival at Tor, we sailed from Suez in the | Colombo. Our worthy Commander, Captain McKellar, having kind- _ ly volunteered us a passage, an offer, of which we gladly availed our- _ selves. We weighed anchor on the Ist June at sunset after a | tiresome detention at Suez, and reached Tor about noon the follow- | ing day. Here we found our boat and crew who did good service by assist- ing in getting up an anchor which the Colombo had left in a coral reef on a former voyage, when she had Sir Peregrine Maitland and family on board. We took leave of the good ship at 3 P.M. and instantly com- _ menced preparations for starting the same evening towards Mount Sinai. It was with great difficulty we could get the phlegmatic old Greek Nicolai to bestir himself. He evidently thought pipes, coffee, a good pilau, and a night’s rest, indispensable preliminaries to a trip into the stony Wadis; and it was with some difficulty and personal exertion that we succeeded in mustering three saddle donkeys, and a baggage camel with two Arab guides before sunset, for the sum of 180 piastres. Our imposing caravan got under weigh about 7 the same evening and at the rate of 24 miles an hour. The Arabs called a halt about _ midnight, the camels (for some others had joined us on route) went down on their knees, and the donkies, wide awake to the signal stood planted. We dismounted somewhat reluctantly as the night air was delightfully cool, and pleasant for travelling. The tiny cups of fra- grant coffee were soon prepared by our Egyptian servant Ali, and in a few minutes we were stretched on the gravelly plain of E] Kaa—fast asleep. . The town or rather village of Tor (or more properly speaking Tur | se) comprises the flat roofed, half-mud, half-stone houses of a few Greek Christians and the huts of one or two Arab families. The Arab fort is, and was in Niebuhr’s day, aruin. It is situated on the shore near the mouth of a small bay, the entrance of which is intri- cate from coral reefs. Tor partly stands on a raised coral reef co- vered with sand. Behind is a strip of low marshy ground dotted with dates and 54 Visit to Mount Sinat. [No. 33, palms ; beyond that the plain of El] Kaa bounded to the east i the mountains of Sinai. El Wadi and On leaving the walls of this dusty wretched town, le Hum- we travelled on a N. by W. direction along the mar- shy and sandy flat to the palm and date shaded vil- lage of E] Wadi which is a little morethan a mile from Tor. Near El] Wadi we crossed the Wadi itself which appears to be the dry broad channel of a monsoon torrent. After travelling 3 or 4 miles further on, we turned in an E. direction to our right over a low ridge apparently the southern prolongation of Jebel Hummam. Jebel Hummam ,\4> Us derives its name from some tepid springs called the Baths of Moses “‘ Hummam Mussa’ (which I vi- sited on another occasion,) close to the gardens of El Wadi. The rock there was fossileferous limestone with millepores. By some travellers the wells in the Wadi and palms have been supposed to be the wells of Hlim. The principal objection that has been urged against this opinion is that if the Israelites crossed the Red Sea near its northern extremity in their road from Egypt to Mount Sinai and to the promised land ; it is not likely they would have come so far south out of the direct route. This can hardly be received as an objection when we reflect that the progress of the Israelites towards the promised land was not a direct one, after the passage of the Red Sea, but a series of wander- ings in the wilderness decreed by the Almighty Himself for their chastisement. The direct road would certainly have been from the eastern shore of the Red Sea to Gaza but avoiding altogether Mount Sinai, Edom and Mount Hor where Aaron died, before the land flowing with milk and honey was permitted to be attained. June 3d. We rose before dawn; the morning extremely cold; and pursued cur route north-easterly, across E] Kaa toward the pass of Wadi Hebron which debouches on El] Kaa from the grand moun- tain mass of peaks before us. The plain rises gently towards the base and nearer the mouth of Waai Hebron is broken up by diverging beds of torrents. Here our Arabs called it Hulleh Hebron. It was a lovely sight to witness from the plain of E] Kaa the rays of the rising sun gilding the lofty peaks of Mount Catherine, Jebel Sherban, Muara and Om Shomar. aS y F i & 1847.] Vistt to Mount Sinat. 55 The last two bore southerly of the other peaks. Mount Sinai was not visible hence. The plain is covered with sand generally of a coarse quartzose nature, often strewn with a gravel composed of fragments of the granitic and hypogene rocks, both angular and rounded, from the size of a pea to that of an orange; the pebbles are principally of reddish granite, porphyritic and close-grained hornblende-schist, basaltic ‘greenstone, compact felspar coloured green with actynolite—actyno- lite with quartz and felspar in drusy crystals, and porphyry of vari- ous descriptions including melaphyre. The most prevalent variety is like that of Egypt, being composed of a brownish felspathic paste imbedding felspar crystals of a light reddish brown, white and of a pink hue; also ablack augitic paste imbedding crystals of red, white, or pale green felspar. Bee ‘Wadi Hebron is a transverse fissure in the western Wadi Hebron. ranges of the peninsula of Sinai, which here run 8. by E. towards the apex, at Ras Mahomed. This pass is often from 300 to 400 yards broad, but sometimes contracts to 20. The course at the entrance is E. N. E. but afterwards winds about. Its sides are composed of bare rocks, often rising almost perpendicularly from 200 to 700 feet high. The rocks are of a granitoidal gneiss in nearly vertical strata penetrated by granites, dykes of basaltic greenstone, and porphyry. Opposite the mouth of the pass, the torrent which during the rains issues from it down to El Wadi, has worn its way through deep beds of gravel which are seen to extend along the seaward base of the mountains to the right and left of the mouth of the pass. They are piled up to the height of about 40 feet near the moun- tains and gradually slope into the general level of the plain. These beds of gravel could not have been altogether accumulated by the present torrents of the wadis which however during the rains rush down with force enough to tear up trees, and cover a consider- able space of ground with debris, but their utmost limit does not extend to those of these gravel beds, which appear to me to be more like the remains of an ancient coast-line in which the mouths of the wadis formed indentations or bays. I could not trace any decided glacial furrows on the sides of the rocks. In localities where furrows did exist they were always more or less conformable to the relative hardness or softness of the rock and its veins, 56 Visit to Mount Sinat. (No. 83, These beds often form a talus at the base of the mountains, usually nearly flat, or sloping gently towards the plain. Part of one of these beds opposite the mouth of the pass has remained an isolated mass, the sides have been swept away and resembles much an em- brasured redoubt to guard the mouth. In the examination of their structure one finds the sand and gravel in regular layers very unlike the confused order of the materials composing a moraine. The peb- bles are in general rounded and derived from the rocks in the vicinity similar to those described as lying loose on the surface of the plain of E] Kaa. The gravel bed and those resulting from the decay of the granite and hypogene rocks are often cemented and consolidated by the water of springs charged with carbonate of lime, assisted by the oxidation of a portion of the iron contained in the rock itself. Beds of gravel are mentioned by Professor Robinson as occurring at the base of the mountains of the eastern coast of Sinai near the mouths of the wadis sloping from the basis of the ranges towards the sea, but he does not say whether stratified or not. Of the nature, size, or shape of pebbles imbedded we have no information. Small clear springs still trickle through Wadi Hebron. The water had a temperature at noon, in the shade of 78°2° Faht.; air in shade 76°4° ; on granite rock freely exposed to thé rays of the sun, the mercury rose to 119° (noon). About 8 a. M., we alighted under the shade of some cliffs over- hanging a verdant spot in the wadi where the spring had collected into a small pool which afforded us a most refreshing bath. In the shallow parts of the rivulet grew a rush, which reminded us of the English rush, and which the Arabs call stimar, the broad-leaved khubba flag and the cotton-podded shiat. After splashing about in the water for some time we dressed and breakfasted under the shel- ter of some date bushes. At 4 in the afternoon we again pushed on up the wadi, walled in on either side by most picturesque rocks and its surface often green with large tamerisk bushes, for 5 hours without interruption in a general N. E. direction. It was evident we had been ascending for the first 4 hours; and the last hour was spent in mounting a steep defile. On our left lay a deep precipitous ravine headed by a rocky barrier of considerable height which appeared to close the pass forming a cul-de-sac; and which from .a cursory examination by 1847.] Visit to Mount Sina. bv starlight struck me as being the head ef the valley called Wadi Hebron and forming a water shed between Mount Sinai and the sea of Suez. But I must not emit to mention a singular peak, which we passed at 6 p. M. apparently fully 900 feet above us with the figure of a large white cross en the precipitous side of the bare cliff forming its summit. If the appearance be not the work of man’s hands, but the result of some vein in the rock it could not have escaped the atten- tion of the early pilgrims to the sacred mount, and would be regard= ed by them as a rainbow of hope to comfort them on their journey through the wilderness. The cold on the top of the rocky barrier was so great in com- parison to the khamsin we had been grilling in at Suez that we could not sleep. The stars shone in the deep blue heaven with a brilliancy rarely surpassed even in India. Well might the Chaldean shepherds while tending their flocks, during the still watches of the night turn star-gazers and note the revolutions of the heavenly bodies over so clear and beautiful a mirror. 4th June.—At half an hour before sun-rise we descended the rocky barrier into the head of another ravine called by the Arabs _ with us Wadi Feiran. Bai Our course now instead of being N. E. turned Wadi Feiran. is ‘ : bagi : . to E.S. E. and that of the little spring in Wadi Feiran has a similar direction, nearly opposite to the rivulet of Wadi He- bron. The descent easterly however is of short continuance and we soon lost the course of the rivulet which finds its way in one of the smaller wadis which open on Wadi Feiran to the 8. Wadi Feiran offers far less picturesque features to the traveller than Wadi Hebron. The rocks are principally of the hypogene schist, gneiss, mica, felspathic actynolite, chlorite and hornblende schist, (the latter prevailing), the contour of which is always less bold than that of the granite and porphyry with which they are associated. The surface of the valley is free from rocks, and better clothed with vegetation—principally tamarisk trees. Hence is a fine view to the N. W. of five of the lofty granite peaks of Jebel Serbal rising high above his neighbours. H 58 Visit to Mount Sinai. [No. 33, At 93 a. m. reached Wadi Hawa. Emerging from Feiran we confronted the high jagged ridge of Syed Musa through which lies the deftle of Abu Tok or Nakb Hawa over- looked by Jebel Feiran. The entrance to Wadi Hawa is narrow and steep; and lies along the right or S. side of a ravine called Nakb Hawa. Part of the road has evidently been cut in the rock. Wadi Hawa. Hajjer Abu On the top of this high pass, commanded on each Tok. side by naked granitic and porphyretic rocks, ris- ing in a sloping surface from the edges. of the ravine, we halted to breakfast, under shelter of some large detached masses of granite at 104 a. M. These masses are covered often with basin shaped, and irregularly formed cavities apparently caused by watery erosion, many of which are confluent and impart a grotesque appearance to the surface on which may be often traced a rude resemblance to the human face, while the general contour of the mass, originally cuboidal, with its rounded off-angles assumes the outline of a skull. This granitic Golgotha has evidently been formed by the spon- taneous splitting and exfoliation of the adjacent granite rocks, and many of the masses thus detached have slid down from the summit as seen every day in the granite rocks of India. ‘They are therefore not boulders in the geological acceptation of the term. The erosions occur both on the tops and sides of some of the blocks which shows that they must have shifted position more than once while exposed to watery action. The lips and sides of the cavities are smooth apertures, and channels of communication from one to another have been made, precisely similar to those of the rock basins in the beds of Indian rivers. Some of them contain pebbles. ‘These at first might be taken for the gravel brought down by the stream which had contributed to hollowing out the cavities, but some Arabs, who brought us goats’ milk, said the pebbles had been deposited there for good luck by Arab travellers. On one of these masses about 20 feet high and 40 long are rudely engraven on its N. E. side, some of the celebrated Sinaitic characters which have so long puzzled travel- lers and the literati of Europe, and which have in great measure been lately deciphered by the indefatigable and learned Professor Beer of Inscriptions. @ 1847,] Visit to Mount Sinai. 59 Leipzig. As Ido not see any copy of this particular inscription in Burckhardt, and not having Mr. Grey’s collection of 177 to refer to, I have preserved the copy I took on the spot, another was taken by my. fellow traveller Mr. Shute at the time, and both were com- pared and found exactly alike. : 3 ry cad a ass ee Breet Ts eee : CH = atl 1 H ‘ 3 mt Hie : 4 5 Hae PF ed ee ERs Re a ie o 6 © 4 Ba Ca 4 3 OP Ace Oa henems 5 6 3 i 6 af a9 ‘4 . 2 : “A bias mes Pars bos s a 2 4 ; t ie? C = i : ts. f , 2% a ey 1 4 BL 3 1] c = tri Sueoise ee 4 Se 4 pian sea ( Oy anNew ce a) OUAN veut . 2.6 a SOASACe Dl Te a “Se Anos “eennae << — The letters are from 2 to 6 inches long, and are now faint and nearly obliterated. The stone is a coarse granite, of reddish felspar, "quartz, mica, and hornblende, the upper surface of which is exfoliat- ing in thin flakes. There is little doubt that hundreds of these inscriptions have been lost, and are daily vanishing under this natural process of obli- teration, and if the researches of Professor Beer tend to show that they may throw any light on history or add to literature, instead of being merely the idle scratches of wandering pilgrims, no delay should take place in collecting complete and accurate copies. ‘Those given by Pococke, Kircher and Niebuhr, are confessedly erroneous. Those of Seetzen and Burckhardt are better, truly remarks Professor Robinson, who goes on to say,” hitherto Professor Beer has found no date in those inscriptions already deciphered ; but that on paleeo- graphic grounds and the character of the writing, he supposes the greater part of them could not have been written earlier than the 4th century. The letters like crosses are also adduced by Professor Robinson as proving them to be posterior to the Christian era and to the work of pilgrims. These are cogent arguments in favor of the modern origin, but how these crosses, strong resemblances to which may be found in Egyptian hieroglyphics and in characters more ancient than the Christian era got into the Sinaitic alphabet,’ by a Researches, vol. 1, p. 553. 6 Not one Jewish or Christian name has yet been found. In some cases I have observed crosses quite distinct from the inscriptions, which are evidently the recent work of pilgrims, ; 60 Visit to Mount Sinai. [No. 83, what great political revolution the characters of a written language and the nation which used it should have been so totally forgotten and unknown in the short space of the last 15 centuries, has not yet explained. Professor Beer finds the characters to belong to a distinct and independent Alphabet, ‘some of the letters are wholly peculiar and their affinity with the Cufic” he goes on to say “is so great as to lead to the supposition, that the Cufic was afterwards developed Jrom this alphabet.” 'These facts I think are hardly in favor of the modern origin of these strange characters, which, and the nation which used them, even in the days of Cosmas, who wrote in the begin- ning of the 6th century, were as unknown as when Professor Beer commenced his researches. Some of the letters, he says, have more or less affinity with the Palmyrene and particularly with the Estran- gelo. In form several letters much resemble each other, as is the case in other ancient alphabets. The words which are not proper names, Professor Beer re- gards as belonging to an Arameean dialect which, he supposes, may have been spoken by the inhabitants of Arabia Petreeaa or Naba- theans before the present Arabian language spread itself over those parts. The old questions as to the reason of these inscriptions being seen only in the rocks west of Mount Sinai, their entire absence on its eastern side, in Egypt, and in other countries west of the Red Sea, and their prevalence in the great routes which lead towards Mount Sinai and Jebel Serbal are still not satisfactorily answered. Professor Beer thinks they are the only known existing monuments of this Sinaitic language and character, although doubtless they exist in other places. The suppression of these ancient languages and characters I am inclined to attribute in great measure to the great religious and social revolution effected by Mahomed and his followers, who esteeming the Koran and its languages as alone needful, burnt the whole of the superfiuous learning of the Egyptians, written on perishable papyri but have left us from superstitious motives and indolence, its hiero- glyphics graven in imperishable characters on the glorious monu- ments of that great and extraordinary country. The strike of the hypogene strata is nearly parallel with the northerly direction of the peninsula. The dip is nearly vertical and towards the east. | 1847.] Visit to Mount Sinar. 61 At 3 P.M. we continued our route along the same rocky slope with the ravine of Nekb Hawa below us to our left ascending all the way to the rocky barrier of Sherwut Hawa whence Horeb’s imposing front burst suddenly into view ris- ing 1,400 feet in stern and naked majesty, from the bottom of the Sherwut Hawa. wide valley or plain of Er Rahah a\ il which slopes from the base of the ridge on which we stood to the very foot of Horeb flanked on either side by lofty walls and pinnacles of granite and porphyry and forming a glorious natural avenue, or pronaos to the holy mount. Among these peaks Mount Catherine, and Abu Gurus to the south are conspicuous. We descended the barrier by the pass and wells Abu Soheli. és of Abu Soheli. Here we observed two rocks, bear- ing Sinaitic inscriptions with the usual prefix a (ye Plain of Er The plain of Er Rahah is about two miles long Rahah. by half a mile average breadth, and runs ina S. E. di- rection from the well of Abu Soheli to Mount Horeb. Its surface is in general unincumbered with rocky masses and evenly covered with gravel,—the detritus of the rocks which tower over it. Its surface is often pretty thickly covered with the usual balsamic shrubs of the pe- ninsula. In this plain or valley, the largest in the interior of the penin- sula doubtless where the Israelites long encamped under the shadow of Horeb, “The Repose,” as the word Rdhah [aot] literally signifies. kaka however another Arabic word dey exactly describes this plain, signifying a plain surrounded by hills. I have however adopted Burckhardt’s way of spelling it. The rocks from Hajjar Abu Tok in the Nakb Hawa to Mount Horeb are chiefly granite, porphyritic granite, brown porphyry in veins or dykes in granite, and hornblende rock. All these rocks are penetrated by enormous dykes of basaltic greenstone. A coarse granitic detritus is seen at the bottom of the Wadi Hawa occa- sionally in beds of some hardness. The cementing matter is chiefly clay and oxide of iron, the result of the decay of the felspar mica and hornblende in the granite, with a little lime derived from springs. From the plain of Er Rahah we first saw the cypress tree of the 62 Visit to Mount Sinai. [No. 83, convent garden in the valley of Shueib or Ed Dair. At the mouth of another valley running along the opposite flank, are the cypress trees, and garden spots marking the old gardens of the convent. This is the entrance to the valley of the 40 martyrs; Al Arbain or El Lejjah. Having traversed Er Rahah we crossed the mouth of Wadi Sheikh (the high road to Suez and Wadi Gherondel,) which opens on Er Rahah from the N. E. and passed into the narrow rugged defile of Ed Dair (the convent) by the Arab burial ground at its mouth, and by the ‘“‘ Chair of Moses,” towards the convent. The figure of the monk on the walls reconnoitring our small party soon became visi- ble. A white flag with the red cross having a black one below it was over one of the turrets. Twenty minutes from the mouth of the defile brought us to the convent. After a parley under the lofty walls, we dismounted, were duly hoisted up through the pigeon hole in the way so often described, and were not strangled by the loving embraces of the monks. Having partaken of coffee with the grey-bearded superior, Nicodemus, we retired to our cell attended by the worthy old monk Demetrius, a strange being, native of Hellas in the Morea. He spoke Hin- dustani fluently, to our surprize, and has repaired to this sacred spot after many wanderings and vicissitudes, to repent him of his sins, and to lay his bones in the dismal necropolis attached to the convent. Ascent of Mount 2h June.—After a night’s refreshing repose we Sinai. rose at sunrise accompanied by a Greek monk of Anatolia descending the steps from the gallery into the open quad- rangle of the convent, we passed by the lower cloisters to a flight of steps leading down a narrow subterranean passage closed by a low iron door; after groping along its sloping floor for a few seconds, we emerged into a lovely garden filled with apricot, apple, almond, orange and other fruit-trees, whose light, graceful foliage, relieved the sombre hue, and stately forms of the tall cypresses. From the garden we passed through a door in its high wall, and stood on the slopes of Horeb. The sun had not yet penetrated into the depths of this valley. The ascent lay in a S.S. W. direction by a defile obliquing up the ~ mountain’s flank of bare granite. Ten minutes brisk walk brought us to the Virgin’s or the Mountain Well, Mayeh El Jebel, under a «= 1847.] Visit to Mount Sinai. 63 rock ¢alled by our monk Hajjar Mariam. It is about a foot deep by 4 or 5 broad of clear, delicious, crystal water, delightfully cool. Temp. 59° 5 Faht. Air in shade 75°. In twenty minutes more up the ravine, the chapel of the Virgin of the Ikonomos was reached; and a quarter of an hour more saw us through the two old confessional portals and the narrow defile, having taken second breath under the single cypress which stands a solitary sentinel near the well and chapel of Elias or proper- ly speaking of Elijah and Elisha. Having provided ourselves with a rope and brass cup we were enabled to take a draught of the sweet water which lies at about 14 feet from the surface. | The depth of the water was 7 feet. Temp. 585°. Air in shade eda? 4. After a steep ascent of 15 minutes we stood on a bold, high, narrow mass of granite overlooking the valley of Es Sebaieh, on which the monk assured us Moses watched the battle of the children of Israel with those of Amalek (‘‘ Amalek Polemasser’’) in the valley of Re- phidim (Sebayeh) below. _ Thirty minutes more of a steep ascent brought us, breathless, to the summit of Sinai, partly lost in astonishment at the arid rugged- ness of the wilderness of confused rocks which lay like a petrified stormy sea at our feet—and partly agitated by the certainty of having at length attained at least the immediate vicinity of the most sacred spots recorded in the Old Testament. The monk pointed out a cleft in the rock as that in which Moses sat when he saw Jehovah pass before him. It is a natural fissure in the granite in which I could barely get shelter from the sun; situated under a large impending mass of granite at the eastern extremity of the peak. The peak itself is a small platform of granite about 40 paces long by 20 broad. On it stands a mosque and 12 paces N. E. of it a small chapel, and the shell apparently of an old watch tower, evident remains of more ancient buildings. Under the mosque is a narrow grotto formerly the dwelling place of the anchorites and penitents who used to spend a period of prayer and penance on this secluded spot. A little below the peak is a well or reservoir of good water filled, it is said, by the rains and melted snows, 10 feet deep and 16 to the surface of the water. Its temp. was 55° 5’ and that of the air in shade 70. 64 Visit to Mount Sinat. [No. 33, On the descent of the rock to the right the Arabs show an im- pression something like that of a camel's foot. about 73 inches across the toes, 3} across the heel and 83 long on the surface of the rock. It is apparently a natural cavity modified by art, the Arabs assert it is the mark of their Prophet's camel's foot when he visited Jebel Masa, the Mountain of Moses, for such they invariably style this peak. It reminded me of the rock impressions of the ** Sacred foot” in India and Ceylon. The day was tolerably clear, and the sun shining brightly, but we were not able to discern Tor, the Gulph of Suez or the Red Sea, South of Ras Mahomed, the most southerly point of the peninsula. The Elamitic Gulph, or sea of Akaba was distinctly visible, as also © the mountains beyond. Schubert states the sea is visible on three | sides of the peninsula. Neither the convent, the plain of Er Rahah nor Jebel Serbal are visible. Om Shomer and St. Catherine are hidden by the nearer ridges of Jebel Homr and of St. Catherine which — bears S. W. &t. Catherine is evidently higher than the summit — on which we stood. Riippell makes it barometrically 1,020 French ~ feet higher than Sinaii The approximate height of Mount Sinai © by the boiling point of water, I made to be 7,390 feet above the sea | which is not very wide of the average of 3 separate barometrical © measurements of Russegger, Riippell, and Schubert, viz. 7,412 feet. cia Lieutenant Wellsted, however, by trigonometrical observation, from two points within the sea of Akabah, makes it 7,530 and 7,480 © feet above the sea, and 2,500 above the convent, which by the boil- ing point I found to be about 5,000 feet above the sea,—a near ap- © proximation to the truth. The thermometer freely exposed to the” sun's rays on the summit rose from shade to 992°; the air calm : ; and sky serene. In winter, the monks inform me, the summit i covered with snow which, in melting, fills the deep well just beloal . the peak. Z A pistol fired from the top of the chapel on the highest or eastei end of the peak produced some fine reverberations among the sur- rounding rocks during the stillness of the air which prevailed. a We descended after a two hours stay on the summit to the cypres tree chapels of Elijah and Elisha on Mount Horeb, where we a short survey of this part of Mount Sinai which, with a subsequent trip nearly round the base enabled me to give the subjoined diag B47. Visit t2 Mount Sinai. 65 It will serve to give perhaps better than description a rough idea of “the profile of this mountain mass of granite from the level of the "convent. ; ee ee a eee aL Peak af Gh of Eijah Mt. Simar nd. Esha. of Kir Rahah, Seale of height Seale of length. > S80 000 2 i : : One mile. 3 i : : : f : 1 The small plam, on which stand the chapels of Elijah and Elisha, @8 accounted by the monks to be part of Mount Horeb, and the term Gf Mount Sinai is restricted to the peak above it to the S. E., called Jebel Musa. Numerous have been the ingenious objections to these ‘old traditions. Be that as it may, I think there is no man who can ) gaze from the plain of Er Rahah on the front of that part of Sinai Which the monks call Horeb, and after ascending the peak they call Simai, and examining the base of this mountain msss and the adjoin- ime narrow defiles, without coming to the conviction, that the whole map here described is the Sinai and Horeb of Scripture. without to any particular rock, peak, or cleft; and that the reat ‘body of the Israelites must have encamped on Er Rahah in front of that part of Sinai called by the monks, Horeb. No description can Convey to the mind of the reader, the strong impression of the hali- | of the spot produced by the surrounding awful scenery and physical aspect of this mountain on the imasination of the » 2 Se FF @ FF F = seems both puerile and unreasonable to hesitate, cavil, and doubi the great leader of the Israelites could not see the camp from or that part of the mountain, or because an ascent two or three 5 “times a day to its more inaccessible parts would have been a phy- | Sical impossibility. 4 Tcan only say in my own case that these and other ingenious- — immediately —_—- like the mists of night before 66 Visit to Mount Sinai. (No. 38, the rising sun, at the sight and examination of this singular mountain and the plain of Er Rahah. Lord Lindsay thinks Jebel Meneggia to be the true Sinai; but after a visit and survey of the locality, I am of opinion that there are no solid grounds for such a theory. Burckhardt on the strength of finding far more numerous inscrip- tions in the Sinaitic character on Jebel Serbal, and in the wadis lead- ing to it; and taking for granted that these were the work of Chris- tian pilgrims, a theory in which Professor Robinson more recently coincides, thinks Serbal has stronger claims. But as I have stated before, the exclusive occurrence of heathen names in these inscriptions, and it may be added, the non-occurrence of that of Christ, together with the character in which they are written, rather induces the belief that the engravers were infidels, and therefore Serbal and not Sinai would be the chief place of their pilgrimage. The central position of Sinai, as a place of refuge from the Egyp- tians on the west and the hostile tribes of Amalek and others to the east, guarded on all sides by narrow defiles, opening near its base, into the broadest valleys of the peninsula, and above all its abundant never-failing supplies of fresh water, render it physically speaking, the spot which would retain longest any nomadic tribe, armies, or other bodies of men. From the plain of the cypress tree we descended into the valley of Martyrs, Wadi El Arbain or El Lejjah, by a partly made path in the rock, running on the opposite side to the convent. ‘The little chapel of St. Pantalinion was perched on the rocks to our right, and a large wooden cross was seen in relief against the sky surmounting a high cliff. Convent of the Passed through a garden of apricot, apple, fig, po- 40 Martyrs. megranates, and poplars, irrigated by a fresh spring of clear water, to the convent—now deserted except by a couple of monks from Mount Sinai who have charge of the gardens and the pictures of the 40 monks who gained the crown of martyrdom, The course of the valley towards the western corner of the plain of Er Rahah on which it debouches, is N. by W. Rock struck by | Between the Convent and Er Rahah many large es masses of granite, fallen from the overhanging rocks on its flank, lie on the bottom of the valley: among the rest ‘ the ed 1847. ] Visit to Mount Stnat. 67 Rock struck by Moses.” It is a cuboidal mass of granite, some- what large grained, 12 feet 9 inches high, 17 feet long and 10 feet thick. The corners have been rounded off by exfoliation. A vein of closer grained reddish granite crosses it diagonally from ene of the corners to the middle, passing through the entire substance of the mass. Running across this vein on the W. side of the rock are 10 very distinct chinks, and two indistinct cracks, a fact which settles the long vexata questio as to whether there are 10 or 12 fissures in the rock, whence gushed the miraculous water. A late intelligent travel- ler Professor Robinson enumerates 10 only. It is supposed that the number 12 had some reference to the number of the tribes of Israel, but as the story of its being really the smitten rock of Scripture is merely a monkish tradition, it is not of much importance whether there are ten or twenty chinks. The seams are shaped somewhat like mouths—and Burckhardt thought they were artificial, but as I found one of them near the summit, pass by an almost imperceptible crack through the rock to the opposite or eastern side, and as these fissures are frequently seen ) in granite veins, I conclude them to be natural. It is possible their tips on the western side may have received a touch or two from the chisel of the monks. The apertures are from 3 inches to 3 feet in horizontal length, and the breadth of the openings from 1-8th of an inch to 3 inches, smooth and apparently waterworn. The block cannot now be con- nected with any spring as it is evidently an insulated mass that has fallen from the cliffs above. Looking back from this part of the valley of Lejjah called by the convent Arabs (frem this rock) Wadi E] Hajjar Masa, we found we had lost sight of the peak of Sinai. Near this and below it, are the Sinaitic inscriptions copied by Burckhardt. At the mouth of the valley we passed through the gardens marking the sites of former convents of the monks, on Er Rahah, and turning to our right took the road along the northern base of Horeb’s front, N. Easterly towards the mouth of the valley in which the convent lies, (Wadi Esh Shuieb). The stone of Moses bore the name of “‘Giovanni Finati, 1827,” and that of “C. Bradford 1839,” the young American who died at Jerusalem and of whose fate Professor Robinson giyes an interesting account. 68 Visit to Mount Sinai. [No. 33, At the base of Horeb we passed the so called mound in which Moses cast the golden calf’s head, and an Arab encampment. Their simple tents of black woollen cumblies reminded me of those of the wandering castes of S. India. These ancient burial grounds at the mouth of the convent valley, said to be originally as old as the Prophet, resemble those of the Malays, but have two stones erected within a raised circle of earth instead of wooden pillars to mark the head and feet of the corpse. The whole burial ground is also raised slightly from the level of the plain. Instead of proceeding direct to the convent, I turned aside to see a rock from which Aaron is said to have addressed the Israelites when they danced round the calf in Er Rahah near the mouth of the Wadi Sheikh, and certainly he could have hardly selected a better situation for his pulpit, situated as it is near the junction of the wide valley of Wadi Sheikh with Er Rahah and that of the valley of the convent. The rock is of no great height or extent and stands isolated in the plain. On the top are the ruins of some building absurdly pointed out by the monk with us as Aaron’s house. It is more like the remains of an ancient watch tower than any thing. About a mile nearer the convent at the foot of Horeb, was shown the granite slab on which Moses broke the tables of the law; nothing remarkable about it but a few surface indentations. We re-entered the convent just as night was closing in. Mount Sinai is a mass of granite, red in its lower portions ; brownish in the central and more elevated parts, while the cliffs composing the summit are grey. These colours are so well defined as to be visible even at a distance. The granite rock above the chapel of Elias whence Moses is said to have witnessed the battle with the Amalekites is a fine grained granite with a brownish compact felspar and dark mica in small scales. The rock of Aaron at the mouth of Wadi Sheikh is of a sin- gular variety of porphyritic granite with reddish brown felspar crys- — 7 tals. The grey granite of the peak is composed of white felspar quartz, mica and a little hornblende and is small grained. The red granite is often porphyritic, and composes most of the pic- turesque pinnacled summits, we view in drawings of Sinaitic scenery ; it is also penetrated by dykes of brown, and black porphery pre- . viously described. 1847.) Vastt to Mount Sinai. 69 Pegmatitic veins, veins of felspar coloured green by actynolite, veins of quartz and rock crystal in hexagonal pyramidal crystals, both white, roseate and smoky, prevail in the granite particularly in the porphyritic varieties. The crystals are collected by the Jebeli or convent Arabs and sold as curiosities. Large dykes of basaltic greenstone can be traced for miles over the granitic rocks. Veins of compact greenish felspar and eurite are not uncommon in the granite, near these basaltic dykes. The rock composing Jebel Meneggia is principally of a chloritic hornblende and a white felspar, spotted green with hornblende. Some varieties would pass for diallage, in hand specimens, though the rock has an obscurely stratified structure. Its weathered exterior has a dark rusty colour. : The dykes of basaltic greenstone rarely overlap the granite and hypogene schist they penetrate, but seem to have existed in a soli- dified state in them, at the time they were broken up. Faults of considerable extent may be thus traced even in the granite itself. The following diagrams are taken from detached porphyritic granite rocks of Wadi Abu Tok to the N. W. of Mount Sinai, which have been greatly invaded by basaltic dykes. The general direction or stratification of the hypogene schists, forming the lower ranges around Mount Sinai is nearly N. and S. but great disorder is visible both in dip and stratification. The schists are often seen on their edges. Around Mount Sinai with the exception of the gardens, there is not so much verdure as in Wadi Hebron and Feiran where the waters of the springs linger in the bottom of the vallies. In Wadi Hebron, the tamarisk [¢aurfa or manna] which is usually little higher than a bush sometimes rises to the dimensions of a tree nearly 30 feet high: we saw no manna either on or in the ground under 70 Visit to Mount Sinai. [No. 33, the branches. The leaves and stems have a salt taste which appears to be relished by the camels. This saline secretion renders it impro- bable that the manna should be an exudation from this plant, and if obtained must be, as Ehrenberg is of opinion, the secretion of an insect, a sort of Coccus. The Arabs say that it is found on and under the tree and got us a pot of it in rather an impure liquid state at Mount Sinai. Date trees are seen in the middle and upper parts of Wadi Hebron, from them and the date trees of Tor a pleasant ‘‘ arake’” is distilled by the Greeks and quaffed with much gusto in the convent. The trailing handhal colocynth, with its orange coloured fruit fair to look upon but full of bitterness within, like the apples of the Dead Sea is occasionally seen hugging the sands. Shaik Salih our Arab guide seeing me gather one of these bitter apples hastily ran towards me, thinking of course that I was about to eat it, and snatched it away: but presently returned with a fine bunch of ham’r in full yellow blossom; the green leaf,is much re- lished for its pleasant sub-acid taste (like sorrel) and used by Arabs to quench their thirst. He begged me earnestly to partake of his prize which I did and found it allay thirst to a great degree. The name in Arabic ye signifies also a tamarind. In the pools of Wadi Hebron grows the rush sumar, the flag khubba, and the cotton podded shiah, the ghissaneah, the balsamic ghillano, [mesembryanthemum copticum, | and beitharan, (santolina fragrantissima of Forskal) the broom ratham, (genista raetum) loved by camels. The balsamic yellow flowered yarra and the stately lebaid, 10 feet high, we saw in Wadi Hawa near Abu Saili. It reminded me of the hollyhock. The beitharan is abundant on the plain of Er Rahah ; it smells like camomile and also the bitter rhum. We saw a wild fig tree near a well in Abu Saili. The ghurkind (nitraria tridentata) with its pleasant acidulous red berries, grows in Wadi Hebron. Our Arabs declared it is not used by them in sweetening bitter water. The camels browse on this thorn. On the plain near Tor a few dates and palms, chiefly at the wad, break the sterility of the flat sand. The nebk and dowm are seen in the interior. The temperature of the wells at Hammam near this I found 90° 5’ at the surface and 91° 6’ where the water bubbles up from the 1847.) — Visit to Mount Sinai. 71 limestone (temp. of air in shade 84°). A few gaseous bubbles escape from the bottom which have but a very slight odour of sul- phuretted hydrogen, but the water has very little saline taste, and small fish exist in it. The well in which we bathed, being a sort of spa for the sick of Tor, is about 6 paces long by 4 broad and about 3 feet deep. The water rises to within 22 feet from the surface. It is evidently slightly thermal. The temperature of two wells which lie on the other side of the town, viz. Bir Eshesh and Bir Mussact did not quite reach 80°. I did not ascertain the temperature of the third well, that of Selim, nearer the shore. The hot spring of Hummam Pharoun, issues from the limestone and is said by Russegger to deposit salt mixed with sulphur. Its temperature is stated at 00° 7’ reaum. of air at same time 26° 3. The wells which rise in the granite regions are usually pure and good. The water of Mount Sinai is deliciously cool and re- freshing. ; fae aline an After Burckhardt’s excellent description little need Peninsula, be said about the Sinai Bedouins. The principal tribe is still that of Cuwaliha which comprehends most of the others except the fellahs, or slaves of the convent and the Muzeini east of the convent. The Korashi were still under Shaikh Saleh Abu Nassir and muster now, it is said, about 60 able bodied men. The Aulad Syed under Shaikh Musi, muster about 120 men. The Muzeini under Salih Abu Ama muster, it is said, 200. The Owarmi under Suliman 50, and the Alikah under Salim Budyako 50. The Turabin under Sheikh Salim Abu Sitti muster about 1,000. The Bedouins of Akaba,—the Alouins are under Abu Enjado and the Haimut under Shaikh Mutteyr, the Tiaha of Et Tih, are under Ahmed Bin Ahmir and muster about 200. The Bedouin females met with, did not strike me as much hand- somer than their Egyptian and Syrian sisters. Their common dress is a black or deep blue cotton shift, close in front, leaving an aper- ture barely sufficient for the head to come through. Over the head they throw a dark coloured furha like a scarf and wear a white or light coloured veil instead of the black one seen in Egypt—but most of them merely wear the shift and loose drawers. The best classes among the men usually wear a dirty white hod, 73 Visit to Mount Sinaz. [No. 33, something like a carter’s smock-frock with capacious hanging sleeves, confined at the waist by a girdle. Short loose drawers; a red tar- boosh on their heads with ‘a turban twisted round it. Underneath the farboosh a tagheia or cotton skull-cap is sometimes worn, which can be replaced and washed. In winter they wear the white and brown striped woollen abba or a black cumdi or blanket of goats hair. A matchlock is slung across the back, with a piece of match rope of aggal fibres twisted round the stock. Over the left shoulder is a leather belt suspending a rude cartouche box and priming flask of ram’s horn, and over the right is slung the usual Arab sword with wooden scabbard ; a flint, steel, and amadon, a curved dagger, the noted jumbia, garnish his brass-buckled waistbelt and kwmmerbund, while his feet are protected by strong buffaloe or camel leather sandals, and a short reed or cherry-stick pipe completes his travelling costume. An Arab however so well dressed is rarely met with, the intermediate shades ranging to rags and almost nakedness. Yet after all, these light breeched nomades appear to be one of the happiest races of the world. Except the Arabs we encountered but few living things, a few crows resembling those of Europe more than the grey necked species in India; hawks, an eagle, and a red-legged partridge; sparrows, a few lizards and green locusts, the mosquito and common fly make the whole of the list. The hyena, gazelle, and a sort of ibex are said to roam the mountains. I saw none of the burrows of the jerboa which in some of the passes of upper Egypt completely undermine the ground. We found much to interest us in the customs of the convent of Mount Sinai and of its inmates, but this paper is. already too long. I obtained copies of some papers found deposited among the skulls in the chests of the charnel-house which contain those of the supe- riors of the convent, the bishops of Feiran and other elevated per- sonages. ‘Those of the multitude form a grinning ghastly pile. The copies of these inscriptions accompany this paper.* * Copied for me from an inscription, or marble, found in one of the chests of the skulls of Bishops, by Yuseff, monk of Sinai, native of Roumelia, 7th June, Convent of Mount Sinai. To wags timiay Aehbavovumaexer Tov panapilalou warPiaexou ‘Tegoscvupawy xvpiou Oodvpuiou' xak evel’ 'avanopadn los & x 0: 1847] Visit to Mount Sinai. 78 The custom of preserving and piling up the bones of monks is still kept up, but they have discontinued that of exposing the corpse on an iron bier until the flesh falls off. ‘ameidhiv. a. nar ere9n madw utla Tov waxaodlals Taloos nwy dQ- Xiemonons, udev “Lwond? a x & 9. amoudruw’ @. “‘This is a precious relic of the most blessed Patriarch of Jerusalem, the lord Osthumius; and the recovery of the remains occurred on the Ist April in the year 1664; and they were deposited again with our most bless- ed father, Archbishop the lord Joseph, 1st April, 1664.” Copied from an inscription in one of the chests of skulls of the Archdeacons, by a Greek Monk. : Ocra tov Soiov mateos ‘nrdv, xat ’ovtos veou doxnlou Aapasxnvou "ex Ths enapyias Kulixs ex xwoas xarovevns Muxswuas’ exoandn "ev Kuoiw en’ tos 1696: cexrepGoir. *"Avanxopidn Tay AcrLavwy avis, clos 1712, xolis 20: coxseoutevov- -Tos TOU Tavieowlalov malpos nwav A9avaciov, xat etxdvous Nebavanr REX * Oew Cndw nuvebevies of Soi maloes, exomiacay WOAAK “es TO mapry epyov' waAriara 6 yeewv "Iyvarios. The bones of our holy father, being still young, the accomplished Da- mascenus, from the Province of Cyzicum from the country called Mychao- nia: he fell asleep in the Lord in the year 1696: of September. The recovery of his remains (took place) in the year 1712, the 20th of March; our most holy father Athanasius exercising the office of chief priest (Archbishop) and Nathaniel being Auconomus. The holy fathers being moved with zeal towards God laboured much in the present work especially the aged Ignatius. Original Scrip found in a chest of skulls, Convent of Sinai. K pisos, avyyeAn, asouve, pwapla yyioCave,reosxnvnls, vinohas, Je0- D0g8, lep.n0vaNXe, | IAig lwavvn, iAia vindha Davayiols MposunvnTs, TOV KEKN[AEVOY =tQavos toxvva, Tov Is wordeoK0 weloo, wan, pave meocxnvile ye- OpYIOTOYIAV0, ABosoAl, Woocunvnle, savxo, PewQavia, MIXAAt, Avasacis, Owantpis, sano, Oysters, WeosxnvnTs, uvB@odos, aVKTA, WAN, rye0g- yl0S, CBO, exaTeolW yneowE soylavn, TeIPovos, dios. This seems a mere list of names. * K 74 Notice of the Habits of the large [No. 33, IIl.—Notece of the Habits of the large Indian Boa or Rock Snake.” By Lord Arthur Hay. Beyond exaggerated and overdrawn stories regarding this animal little is generally known relative to its habits and structure—I trust therefore that the few following remarks may be found of some interest to the general reader though offering nothing of novelty to the experienced naturalist. The great Boa Constrictor of India is one of the most dreaded enemies of the denizens of the forest, for though totally devoid of poisonous fangs its colossal strength renders it capable of overpow- ering most of the larger animals when once within its grasp. The constricting serpents have been separated by most naturalists into two divisions, those of the new world retaining the generic name of Boa, and those of the old that of Python. In form and generic differences they disagree but slightly, and from all accounts they seem to possess similar habits. The Boas of South America attain perhaps to a greater size than our continental Indian species, but still the Pythons of Sumatra, Java and most of the other Eastern Islands, have been found of almost incredible lengths; from 30 to 40 feet however may be consi- dered the maximum length of these snakes, though few are found in Southern India of greater lengths than from 15 to 20 feet. I have received through the kindness of General Cullen what was consider- ed in Travancore to be a large specimen of the Indian Python, it having been killed in the jungles of that country just after having swallowed a full grown spotted deer. Its victim was a doe and large with fawn at the time—the snake is 17 feet long and measured 4 feet in circumference when it contained its prey—this is one of the largest Pythons I have heard of, as having been killed in Southern India,—that is authenticated specimens—though I have frequently heard of much longer and larger monsters having been seen, though seldom actually measured. There can be little doubt that such a snake would be fully capable of overpowering the strongest man; and the natives of the jungle from whence my specimen come assert, that Bison, are often destroy- * Python molurus, of Linné, P. tigris, Daudin. P. bi-vittatus, Schlegel. Pedda poda and Bora, Russell, Pl. 22, 23, 24, and 39. 1847.] Indian Boa or Rock Snake. 75 ed by them. This remains to be proved by ocular demonstration, for though perfectly possible and far from improbable, few would believe it without unimpeachable evidence. When first examining one of the large reptiles the question natu_ rally arises, how does it attack its prey, and when seized how is it possible to swallow it through so small an aperture as its mouth. A little further examination soon explains the difficulty, but as I do not suppose every one has the same opportunities I have had, and if so the inclination, I shall endeavour in a few words to show how beauti_ fully nature adopts the structure of her ever varying forms for the position in which they are placed and to answer the ends for which they are created. On the first view the Python seems a heavy, thick though powerful snake, its body seemingly less rounded than the more active and graceful serpents. Its belly is cased in broad-flat uniform scales of a hard enamelled texture, the breadth of the body being their greatest length. These scutce form in this as indeed in nearly all snakes the organs of locomotion. Its head is flattened and its jaws are armed with two rows of strong teeth, bent backwards ; these when once buried in the flesh act like hooks and prevent any animal from withdrawing itself as long as the jaws remain closed ; the vertibral column is so constructed that from the middle of each vertebra on both sides a rib articulates, so loosely, that the most per- fect flexibility is retained; the lower ends of each pair of ribs are joined to the inner surface of the abdominal scales and can through cer- tain muscles be moved forward by pairs; as each pair is moved the scale to which it is joined does the same and this being pressed upon the ground, the sharp posterior edge takes hold of the surface,— and so on with them all. This principle of progression may be best seen when a snake is ascending the steps of a stair, each scale in its turn being then easily observed to catch upon the sharp angle of the step and form a point from which the next is moved. As faras I have Geen able to observe the Python is sluggish in its habits and prefers lying in wait for its prey. The smaller ones feed upon frogs,— small mammalia, such as rats, mice, &c. and also birds, principally partridges and quails, these living mostly on the ground. The larger ones that are found in the jungle lie concealed from view by some bush or long grass, and when lying motionless resemble the trunk of a tree or bit of stone, so closely, that the eye is frequently deceived as to the object. They adopt this method of lying in wait from the com- parative slowness of their progressive motion, their muscular powers 76 Notice of the Habits of the large [No. 33, being more adapted for constriction than locomotion. At the root of the tail two organs may be seen resembling hooks or claws, and which have been supposed by some authors to be mere useless ru- diments of limbs, but to the animal they are of the most important use, particularly to the larger species; for by them the snake fastens itself to a tree, thereby giving itself greater power and free use of its body when encircling some victim within its folds. The neighbourhood of water or the vicinity of some forest path is the favourite haunt of this reptile—his tail entwined round the trunk or stump of a tree, his body carefully hid from view by the thick fo- liage or rank grass of the jungle, he lies perfectly still and motion- less waiting for any unconscious animal that may be repairing to the stream to slake its thirst. The moment its intended victim passes within reach the snake darts upon it, making the jaws meet in its throat, and entwining its body in folds around the chest of the prey, so as to cause suffocation; death ensues merely from want of power of expansion in the chest to enable the lungs to play. When satis- fied that life is extinct, the reptile gradually unlocks each limb by unfolding its body and does not, to the best of my knowledge, fur- ther break the bones of its prey (as is commonly believed) to better enable deglutition; if any bones are fractured it is merely from the force used in suffocating the prey. In the case mentioned above there was not a single broken bone in the body of the deer which is sufficient proof to show that deglutition can take place without frac-’ ture of the skeleton. The next act is that of swallowing, and this is an operation that takes considerable time and exertion on the part of the snake. He. a generally commences by the head, which being the smaller part serves to extend the throat of the Python and prepare it gradually for the immense strain it has to undergo when forcing down the more bulky part of the prey. The mechanism of the jaws of the snake is wonderfully adapted for the distention they have to undergo— the under-jaw articulates so loosely in the upper that dislocation can — take place at the symphasis without causing pain; in carnivorous animals and particularly among the feline or cats, such as the tiger, _ the condyle of the lower jaw is deeply set in a groove in the upper — which makes it, combined as it is with its shortness and the strength of the temporal muscles, the most powerful jaw in existence. ‘The tiger’s jaws are merely meant to hold fast and tear his prey, for he, — like the Python, bolts his food without mastication, the tuberculated — 2 1847.] Indian Boa or Rock Snake. ui molars in the back of his head being only to crunch and grind ‘bones. From the depth’ of the sockets in which the condyles are placed, a lateral notion is impossible, whereas in the ruminating ani- mals, its shallowness enables them to use the lower jaw laterally as well as perpendicularly. In the Python however, beyond the act of holding its prey, the jaws are not of any use and consequently nature has only provided them with a structure to answer that end already noticed in the recurved form of the teeth. Dislocation takes place as gradually as the increasing size of the prey renders distension necessary ; the lower jaw hanging at length quite loose and discon- nected from the upper. It is an erroneous idea though a very prevalent one that the snake covers the whole of its victim with saliva from the tongue before swallowing it. A single glance at the structure of the tongue of any reptile would at once prove the absurdity of this notion, that organ being of a very long and slender form, wholly unadapted for either licking or tasting. The glands that generate the saliva are only called into action when the animal has begun to swallow. The mucus then secreted naturally assists deglutition to a great degree but it is never poured forth till the animal actually begins to swallow. To prevent suffocation while forcing the body down the csophagus, two small muscles, attached to the lower jaw and also to the trachea have been discovered which can bring forward the larynx nearly to the mouth, which would enable any one to observe the larynx opening and shut- ting while deglutition is proceeding. After the entire animal is swallowed, a kind of lethargy pervades the system of the snake and he then may be safely approached. Of this the natives are well aware and attack him in consequence without fear. Such are afew of the habits of this monster reptile. Much information regarding it is yet required which could easily be gained by persons living in the neighbourhood of large jungles where it always arrives at the great- est size, while a few notes concerning the dimensions of specimens killed, made upon the spot, would go further towards our knowledge of the sizes arrived at, than all the vague conjectures or hearsay re- ports often so freely circulated without any foundation. 78 On Supposed early Celtre : [No. 33, 1V.— On Supposed early Celtic or Scythian Vestiges, remaining in various parts of the Carnatic. By the Rev. W. 'Tay.ox. The paper by Captain H. Congreve, No. 5, in the 3ist number of the Madras Journal of Literature and Science attracted my at- tention at the time of publication; and awakened the recollection of inquiries made by me several years since, and of some recent conversation, on northern tribes and people, with a German Literate, to whom I may have occasion more fully to advert. The incident— occurring as far back as 1835—which first drew my attention to the general subject, may best appear presently in its own connexion. After reading Captain Congreve’s paper, there rested on my mind a vague impression not only that I had written something pertaining to that matter, but also that it was printed. I searched the Madras Journal in vain, and also another Madras periodical, with the same result. But now very recently, when engaged on the manuscript* entitled ‘* Congudesa rajakal,” and in turning over some past studies, long neglected, I met with copies of papers in the Tamil language, and with translations of the two principal ones; accompanied by an introduction, in the shape of a letter to the Editor of the Madras Journal, written in the rough, but not copied fair; and, as appears tolerably evident, set aside, on my attention being attracted in 1836 to the revisal of part of Rottler’s Dictionary. The whole matter had faded from my recollection, until imperfectly revived by the paper adverted to. What I may have to state may be better received after the publication of Captain Congreve’s paper; and it has greatly helped me to clear up what was to me obscure, as to old remains sometimes termed ‘* houses,’ and sometimes “ pits.” The Crom- lechs it now appears, are the ancient houses ; and to be distinguish- ed from ancient excavations: concerning both of which matter is forthcoming, In the development of my present object, it seems to me best, to - insert a copy of what I had written as an introduction, divested of its epistolary form. Then to add the two translations made previously to writing that introduction; to give a translation, which I shall * To prevent mistake it may now (June 1848) be expedient to note, that this present paper was forwarded soon after the publication of No. 31. The Manuscript referred to, translated with notes, appeared in No. 32; the selection, of course, resting with the Editor. 1847.] ‘f or Scythian Vestiges, Se. 79 have to make, of another very brief paper, relative to chiefly one lo- cality; and to close the whole with some general annotations. Hitherto the subject, I believe, has received but little attention from Kuropeans ; but it may be deserving of more; and possibly the per- sons best qualified to pursue an investigation would be gentlemen of the order in society specified in the document immediately fol- lowing. ! The paper which, in 1836, I prepared, as an introduction to the subject, is here annexed: ‘‘ Some time since when I had issued a prospectus with the intention of publishing some native manuscripts one of them being the ‘‘ Pandion Chronicle,’ I met, at the reading room of the Literary Society, with a gentleman deservedly well known in the ecclesiastical, and literary circles, who, while hinting some doubts, whether any thing could be successfully accomplished towards elucidating the ancient history of the peninsula of India, at the same time inquired if I had met with any book, or manuscript, referring to certain curious ancient remains, which he alluded to as existing specifically near Chittoor ; consisting of small grotto-houses, or possibly tombs, which on being opened had been found to contain pots, or jars, which tombs, or grottos, the natives termed Panja-Pan. daval (or the five Pandavas). This gentleman further added that a Surgeon (now a member in the Medical Board) had carefully examined these pots (or urns, as we may suppose them to have been) and declared decidedly that the bones did not belong to the human species. It was also added, that the tombs or houses, were very small, and could not, at any time have been human abodes; as also that Colonel Mackenzie had published an account of them; and that some reference to them might be found in (the then) Colo- nel Welsh’s Reminiscences. “The subject was at that time quite new to me; but was borne in mind. Down to the present time I have not been able to meet with Colonel Mackenzie’s printed account; though doubtless he made use of materials in his collection, to which I have presently to ad- vert. The account by Colonel Welsh of the Panty-wa&r and their singular mountain-top dwellings, above the ghauts, I subsequently had an opportunity of perusing; and found these to be quite a dif- ferent subject of consideration. These bandits, merely assume that they are descendants of the ancient, and aboriginal, inhabitants of the Mysore country: the term Pantya-wir meaning only ancient people ; and possibly they may descend from the Oyisala or Valala 80 On Supposed early Celtic [No. 53, rulers, who were lords of that land, long antecedent to the first acces- sion of the dynasty whence the present raja is an offspring; con- cerning which early regime, I have a manuscript already translated, from the Mackenzie Collection, bearing the general title of Congu- desa-rajakal. ** Ata later period than the one referred to, while investigating the contents of the Mackenzie MSS., I met with a paper on the sub- ject of the aforesaid ancient remains, which was read, copied, and put by. More recently another shorter paper occurred, which I at once translated, and being reminded of the other one, I recurred to it, and translated it also. The shorter one seemed to be an abstract of the first ; and both by the same individual native. It has seemed to me that it might be well to give copies of both translations, as further specimens of the lighter and more versatile parts of the col- lection, whence they are taken. “« They present a subject curious, yet still dark. The various tra- ditions narrated show that the present natives of the Peninsula know nothing certain about these remains. Yet the kitchen utensils said to be discovered, in some of the caves, &c. are those used by natives still; indicating an affinity of relationship. The tradition placed first in order, is derived, I conceive, from the opening portion of a very voluminous, and, in many respects, valuable Manuscript enti- tled Chola-pattayam ; (Prof. Wilson’s Des. Catalogue, vol. 1, A. II. 2; and Or. Hist. MSS., vol. 2, App. p. 34,) wherein the same ac- count substantially is recorded. These accounts have an air s0 le- gendary that, though of use to elucidate the habits and modes of opinion of the people among whom we dwell, they seem, for the rest, not worthy of special confidence. ‘ an i) ; -—" - 1847.] or Scythian Vestiges, &c. 81 own country, buried ina sepulchre with a quantity of gold-chains, and other ornaments, part of the plunder, and covered with a cloth of gold: corresponding with what is stated, in one of the following trans- lations, as to the tombs of the Simancal, or honorable men. Native history uniformly declares, that various tribes of barbarians from the North, or North-West, at different times entered India: and even ruled the whole extent of country. Andasmile of incredulity will not easily set this, however imperfectly given, testimony aside. I would not draw any conclusion, without more extensive, and better data. But I would suggest that some of the young, intelligent, and enterprising, civil servants of the Company, who in pursuit of their revenue duties are in the habit of intersecting the country, in all directions, might inquire into, and describe these remains, if they still exist ; and others better read than myself in Siberian, and other, travels might give a comparative description of Siberian, Punjaube, or Cashmerian an- tiquities, of like character : whence possibly some definite conclusion might be drawn. I will only add that Marcandéya-rishi mentioned in the following papers, and so well known to Hindu fables, is, by all fair inference, an antediluvian patriarch—that his name, in all ancient maps, is given to a famous town North-West of India,—that Samarcand, its modern Persic name, is an abbreviated corruption: “ Marcand for Marcandéya (as they spell Bickermajit for Vicrama- ditya) and the prefix su denoting good or sacred. The locality of Samarcand is not very remote from Siberia. It is the locality of the ancient Sacae ; whence I believe we derive Scythia and Scythians : one with which India, in earlier ages, unquestionably had some con- nexion, or relation. I shall not however here enlarge. We as yet want a greater number of facts, on which deductions can be more safely founded, as to the ancient relations of India; and the origin of its various classes of people.” So far proceeds the introduction heretofore written. Ata period, later than that of making two of the following translations, I met with a notice of cutting into topes in the Punjaub, of which I took a memorandum, sufficient for my own recollection, without being a copy. It here follows, as I might spoil it by attempting emendation. The reference to the number of the Journal will enable any one Bee sessing it, to consult the entire paper. ‘* In twelve days—they—had discovered nothing but a kind of square “ cell, inthe centre of the masonry, constructed of stones regularly cut. *‘ This cell which was about 8 feet square was filled with large rough L 82 Account of Ancient Subterranean [No. 33, ‘“ stones. M. Honigberger forbore to penetrate farther, &c. ‘* within three feet of the centre—they found in the masonry a new ‘* construction, of a round shape, of very small stones, cemented toge- “ther, enclosing a small cell, a foot square, formed by six slabs of * black stone, very regularly cut. In this chamber situated in the ‘* centre of the monument, and two or three feet from the ground, M. ** Honigberger found a box of soft, compact pot-stone (ollaris) yellow «with grey and black veins, which is found in large masses in Kan- ‘** dahar ; it has evidently been turned, and bears traces of the ope- “ration. A description follows; with an enumeration of the con- ‘tents of the 3d compartment of the vessel—these appear to be si- ‘‘ milar to the vases, described by Dr. Malcolmson, as found at Hy- “* derabad.” “Tn the centre of this inner ¢ope (the Boorji-Kenri) was made a ‘‘ cavity formed by six stones, of regular shape, abouta foot square, ‘‘ which contained a bronze basin gilt, of a round shape, not high, ‘* about 8 inches in diameter, much oxydized ; the bottom being almost “ entirely gone. This basin was covered with a fine cloth, which fell ‘‘ into powder wheu touched.” [ Asiatie Journal for January, 1837, p. 52—54. TRANSLATION I. Account of Ancient Subterranean Dwellings, from verbal ac- counts, obtained in the Jaghire and Arcot district. They say that there is no account of the Pantu Kurzical (or an- cient subterranea) in any written record. In consequence there is no obtaining, from any one, any thing like a regular or well connected, statement concerning them. In what follows, there will be offered an account according to the oral traditions, given by various persons. That is say, In the_first place, these ancient excavations are”not spoken of by one uniform term: but are variously named by various persons. For instance, by only a few, they are called Pantu-curzi; while some persons term them Padu-curz, and some Padai-cudi; others Pantu-Samathi, others again P@ndaval-curz, and Pantaval-kovil; and others Vedar-cudi, or Curumbar-cudi; others Vali-cudi, or else Curungu-bara. The places where these are found, so far as I have seen with my own eyes, are in the Company’s Jaghuire the fol- lowing—Padavur, Vallam, Mammai, the vicinage of Chingleput, @ 1847.) Dwellings, from Verbal Accounts, &e. 83 Anni-ur, Cunnatir, Avdthir, Kavathur, Vaiyd-vur, Kolattur Chittamur, Uttra-mérur, (Ootramaloor) Ayar-pakam, the mountain belonging to Vellam-pakam. Besides these places, there are others in the Company's Jaghire, which I have not seen, and in great num- bers, as the people say. Besides, in the Chittoor country, and in Tirutonz, in the country round Gingee, in the Bhavani district, and to the westward in a great many places, they are to be found, as some trustworthy men report. There is sufficient foundation to be- lieve these statements. For the rest, the details concerning them are the following: Pantu-curzi, means ancient excavation ; Padu-cudt, means the dwelling of suffering, or pain ; Padat-cudi, means the place of the fu- neral bier; Pantu-Samathi, means the place of depositing dead bodies of old time; Péndaval-Kovil, means the fane of ancient peo- ple ; Verdar-cudi, means the abode of hunters ; Curumbar-cudi, the dwelling of the Curwmbar (wild people); Vadi-cudi, means the abode of men having tails, like monkeys; Causungu-bara, means the stone- houses of monkeys. 1. Concerning the history of these things, some say as follows :— In the commencement of the era of Salivahauna the Brahmans, incited by certain famous astrologers who were Sastris, examined their own astrological books, and declared before hand that destruction would come by a rain of fire. The men of that day, being awakened, took counsel together; and, with the view of preserving their lives, constructed houses of black stone (pegmatite, or sienitic granite) at the foot of mountains, and in wilderness-places. In these having placed all needful provisions, they went, and dwelt in them, Then a golden shower fell; and some, from the desire of collecting gold, went forth from their retreats to gather it, and when they did not think of it, it rained fire. ‘Those who went out to gather up the golden shower, all perished. Some who were within these stone- houses perished, by reason of the fire rain. Some although suffer- ing greatly, yet survived ; and re-peopled the country. Ilence these places came to be named Padu-curz or sufferance-caves, as some report. 2. Some narrate the following account. ‘Towards the end of the Dwapara-yuga, the offspring of the Pdntavar (ancients) so called dwelt in the world. They were much more diminutive than men, and like pigmies. Their food was the r@vélaz and nédvelai, so ealled seeds or fruits. At the same time they possessed the strength 84 Account of Ancient Subterranean [No. 33, of seven elephants. They had no marriage relations ; but were, in ihis respect, like beasts of the field. It wasan easy thing, for them, to split rocks. These pigmies, for the convenience of their own re- sidence, constructed this kind of houses under ground. In the flood, at the end of the Yuga, they all perished. Subsequently these old excavations remaining, they were termed Pantavar-curzi, after these same persons, as-the story goes. 3. Some say that at the beginning of the Caliyuga the five Pan- davas dwelt in the wilderness ; in consequence of Duryodhana’s persecution of them. Then, they having come to dwell in the waste places, in order that people might afterwards know that they dwelt there, they constructed these dwellings, as some say. Hence they are called Pandaval-curzt. 4, Some deliver the following account. In ancient times men paid homage to goddesses named WV%la-mzcari; and monthly (annu- ally?) celebrated a festival. But since, if the festival were to be celebrated in habitations of men, it would be defiled, and attended with the destruction of human life, they built these houses, near the foot of mountains, and in waste solitary places; and carrying thither all needful provisions, went annually, and dwelt in them, during the period of the festival. Hence, as it is said, they came to be called Pantaval-Kovil* fane or temple of the ancients. 5. The account of other persons is to the following effect: after the flood, at the end of the Yaga, this world was all covered over with forest, and inhabited by ferocious hunters, and wild beasts. Then these same hunters, killing the beasts, cleared away a part of the forest. In those days, with a view of preserving their wives and children, from the savage beasts, they constructed these places. Thence these were called Vedar-cudi hunters’ huts. Afterwards, the Curumbars appropriating these places to themselves, they came thence to be called Curwmbar-cudi, as they say: that is dwelling of the Jaznas. 6. Some give the following narrative : During the reign of /2ama, men having tails, and like to monkeys, inhabited these kingdoms. These were ferocious tribes. They possessed the Cama-rupa (form of Cama, that is, monkey-like.) They were possessed of heroical qualities, and were very courageous. They were exceedingly able to cut out rocks, and carry (heavy) * These I suppose to be Cromlcchs. 1847.] Dwellings, from Verbal Accounts, &c. 85 stones. They constructed these stone caves under ground, for their own residence; and, after living in them for a length of time, were destroyed in the deluge, at the close of the Yuga. In consequence of which these came to be called VGli-cudi and Curungu-bara, monkey dwellings. 7. Some say to the following purport.—In early times Racshasas dwelt in these lands. They had a deceptive form (capable of various appearances—Protean): they dwelt in the forests, like wild beasts. In order to preserve their wives and children, they constructed these kinds of stone houses, underground; and as they resided in them, these acquired the name of houses of Racshasas. 8. In former times the son of Mricanda-risht was Marcandeéya- rishi; in the time of both of whom, mankind lived 900 years, 1000 years, 1900 years, and did not die, even until the time of the flood ; and were healthy. During many years they were strong and stout; afterwards feeble through age, like ripe fruit; and being unable to rise up, they remained stretched on their mats. Their body was like the ripe pumpkin-fruit: the eye only remained uninjured, and sight clear. It was very difficult for them to eat, and the like. Besides they always remained as if like corpses in a lying posture. They had great numbers of grandchildren; and there were many wives of their grandchildren. Such kind of ripe-fruit-like persons, remained a long time lying in their houses. At last, at the time prefixed (astrologically) for their death, the younger persons did not like that these ripe-fruit-like men should die in the houses, and constructed, for each one, a stone sepulchre under ground, in which they put him, together with the wealth which he had acquired, with pans, pots, fire-wood, and all other similar kind of provisions daily. As long as he lived his relatives went and watched at the door of that sepulchre; at length when the end was come, and he had ob- _ tained beatification, the most aged among his relatives came, and having made the lamentations closed up that door with earth, and by an addition of other earth they made it thoroughly secure. The cause was this—if he died within the house, the house would be de- filed—his personal utensils were defiled—and if his property were inherited, it would not only bring pollution, but would be a sin, and would tend to the destruction of the family: according to the tradi- tions which they followed. That this is certain a great many per- sons aver for true. Thus the places of sepulture constructed by the Panta-vareal (or ancients) in early times are called stone-sepulchres, 86 An Account of Ancient Excavations, [No. 33, or Pdantu-curn, Paddai-curzi, Padu-cudi or Pandaval-samathi; so they maintain for certain. These excavations, are not merely of one kind, or fashion. In the places which I have seen, some are four-sided, some are round, some are built in fashion of a* fort, some are very large, some small, some a little small, some are covered over at top, some are without top covering. In this way they are of very various sorts. Some of them are called Simancal-curz or sepulchres of honorable men, some are called those of in some degree, honorable men—some are those of common people, some those of poor people, some those of beggars. In this way, it is said, there is great distinction of rank observable. Besides, in the sepulchres of the honorable men, all the wealth they had acquired was put, as itis said, and it is also re- ported that many persons, after searching, took away the said wealth. In other dwellings there was nothing (as to wealth); but only pans, pots, a fixed kurve in wood (kitchen utensil) an instrument for reducing cocoanut into pulp; knife, bill-hooks without handles, hatchets without handles, chunam-pots, round stones, curry-stones, and hand-mills. In the Simancal-curzi countless treasures, they say, are to be found; and many persons have taken such away, as people still assert, and very strongly maintain. TRANSLATION 2D. An Account of Ancient Excavations. 1. About the 25th year of the era of Salivahana certain Brah- mans, who were astrologers, came from a great distance northward ; and announced their astrological predictions to the people of this (southern) country. They declared that on a certain day of a certain month, when the sun would be in a particular constellation, there would be a fire- rain; which would destroy all mankind. Whereupon the people of this country, taking counsel one with another, with the view of escaping destruction, and preserving their lives, went to the hills, and brought thence large slabs, and great stones, and constructed those stone-houses, under ground, which are now termed the ancient excavations (Pantu-curzucal); and, placing within them needful provisions, they, at the time indicated (by the astrologers), took refuge therein. But before the fire-rain, there was a golden shower. Several men incited by cupidity, went forth in order to * Cromlechs, 1847. ] An Account of Ancient Excavations. §7 eollect the gold. At the same time the fire-rain falling, destroyed a great many persons. Those persons who, not being stimulated by the profferred gold, continued still shut up within the stone-houses escaped. In this way originated those old excavations. But since a long time has elapsed, people now erroneously think, that the Pandavas resided within them; and hence term them the Pdantu- grottoes. They ought to be termed Padu-caves; seeing that were houses, or dwellings, constructed in order to escape from suffering (or danger. ) 2. Some persons term them Péantu-covil (or old temples, or fanes). The detail is thus; anciently men paid homage to the goddess named Nila-Mohini. 'The village-people annually were ac- customed to render offerings to it (this goddess) each one going alone, that the offering might not be polluted. As this was a sub- terranean goddess, and since,as a preservative from pollution, it was necessary to conduct the worship separately, some persons say, that those stone-houses, called Pdantw-caverns were constructed in the ground; beneath every house, and all needful matters being put therein, the annual offerings were every year made. 3. Some term them dwellings of the Curumbars. That is to say, while this land was still the Dandaca-aranya (or Dandaca wil- derness) after the hunters (speken of in the amdyana) the Curum- bars continued to dwell in these wilds. Some say, that they con- structed these houses called Panfu-caverns, in order to protect, and preserve, their wives and children. 4. Some term them Hunier’s-caves. Anciently, before the times of the Curumbars, those who were in this Dandaca-aranya, with a view to protect their wives and children, constructed these stone- houses, under the ground. Such is the account of some persons. 5. Many persons call them Y@lz-houses. The meaning is, that during the wars (between Vale and Sugriven), in the reign of Rama, men with monkey-tails called Vale dwelt under ground. They are stated to have been Cama-rupi* (that is like the images of Cama). They constructed these houses; as some say for their places of abode. 6. Some term them Pantu-mzthi (ancient hoards). The reason is this:—In early times, ancient men constructing these houses, put therein the wealth which they had acquired, and placed a magical * Cama-rupa-desa, one of the fifty-six Hindu countries, is considered to be Assam, The Mughs of that country have a peculiar kind of countenance, 88 An Account of Ancient Excavations. [No. 33, spell as a guard ; they also took a man alive and burying him therein, killed him: and if now these depositories be dug (or cut) open, and examined, that ghost* conceals the whole; but if the proprietor come, it will be found; or if a human sacrifice be offered, it will be found: so they say. Besides they add that in some places treasure has been privately appropriated. 7. Some term them Pantu-Samathi, old burying places. This is narrated according to the Puranas. In the days of Marcandeya- rishi, the son of Mricanda-rishi, the god Siva gave to Marcandeya, sixteen years as the term of his life. At its close Yama came to seize the youth; Szva said, I have given him to be always sixteen years; andon saying so killed Yama. Then Bhumi-devi (goddess of the earth) not being able to sustain her load, according to the re- commendation of Varayana, and the four-faced one, (Brahma) Siva again raised up Yama; and appointed that men when old should die of themselves. From that time forwards men began of them- selves to die. But their age was very great. They lived to one hundred, two hundred, three hundred years, and upwards. Be- yond that period these who survived continued bed-ridden, and unable to rise. Should the dying breath be drawn in the house, it was thought to be pollution; and therefore these houses were constructed apart, and making a bed of baked potters earth, they placed the aged decrepid person, like a ripe fruit, within it: also they put therein provision sufficient for a week; and then, together with the man lying in it, put it into the cave. As soon as it was known that he was dead, his aged relatives made great Jamentations in that place; and shutting up the cavern (or house) covering it with earth brought from some distance around, they se- cured it well; and then, after bathing, returned to their houses. Thus some say. This last account seems to be the right one. But concerning these things, among many different persons, there are many varying opinions. At the time when the two foregoing papers were translated, I was as- sisted by Vencata-raya-pillaz, (since dead) son of a Tamil poet, the au- thor of a popular Vataca. Vencata stated that, when he was young, he was employed at Chingleput, connected in some way with the Nanji-raja then staying there. It was in 1821, and his recollection * The shade, or manes. 1847.) _ Of the Old Caves at Paduvur. 89 in 1836-7 he said was not perfect. But he remembered seeing two of those caves. They were among the mountains, on the side near the Péalar-river. A gentleman named Fullarton was judge; and under his sanction, convicts, and others, were set to work. These two caves were found one and a half foot below the surface of the ground. He thought they were about 8 feet square, as I understood him, formed of blackstone. Inside was found an old rusty sword, and an earthen jar, said to contain nothing. Within the fort of Chingleput also there was a large room disco- vered: the sepulchre, as supposed, of a raja. It contained a turban and jewels; and there was a copper plate inscription. Speaking of the former in comparisen he said they were like a tub or vessel, but this was a room; and also under ground. Iam not at present exactly aware of the origin of Chingleput fort; but there were, at an early period, ferocious chieftains in that neigh- bourhood ; details of whose atrocities have been traditionally handed down; and are embodied in the miscellaneous Mackenzie papers. TRANSLATION 3d. Of the Old Caves at Paduvur. Anciently men wearing tufted hair, Curumbars and various others, of the Jaina credence, dwelt in this town. They were the aborigi- nal residents. Those beings, from very old times, were ruled by Jaina kings. By a Jaina king named Pandya-dever, this town was given, as an entire and independent endowment, to a Jatna-bdst: (or temple) built by the Jaimas here. In proof of this, on the site of the said fane there is here its original cause of foundation: that is, a Jainesvara image. And, seemingly belonging thereto, in proof of the said Sarva-mdanya, gift (or endowment,) there is here an inscription on stone. ‘The subject inscribed therein 1s as follows: The divine gift of Svasta-sri-Mayanar ruling the world. Padu- vur, and its entire precincts are given in full and perpetual grant to the aforesaid temple—so it is recorded. This full endowment, for a length of time, pertained to the Jaima-basti. Afterwards in the days of Adondai-Cholan, when, by the advice of the Lrahmans, he des- troyed the Jamas, it was added to the common revenue. Anciently in this town, they did not keep the very old people (in the houses) until death; but seeing the time approach, they put them in yery strongly-made earthen jars, together with food suitable for M 90 Of the Old Caves at Paduvir. [No. 33, them. Such was the practice in this Paduva. They would die off, some little time after being placed there. Such kind of earthen jars are termed Jatamaccachal.* Though these were placed in early days, yet even now many such chdls (pans or buckets) are to be seen- Human bones, and drinking vessels which had been placed therein, have been taken out, andburied. In this way the anciently pleasant suburbs, which were as a continuous town, the towns-people turned into a half desert; and in it having placed those A/atamaccachal, they returned. The posterity of the Pandavas and other wealthy people, in order to preserve for many days, the memory of their several state, or renown, having built sepulchres, they placed the people of their race there, and returned (or were accustomed to place them). As the race of the Pandavas was put therein, and as they were, of old custom, burial places, they were called Pantu-curzi. As some were placed there being alive, and as they suffered being there, these places came to be termed Padu-kudi, and Padai-kudi, dwelling of suffering, &e. As these Padu-kudi were here from ancient time, the town came to be called Paduviur, town of pain. In the time of Adondai- Cholan, as two Saiva images were consecrated here, the Jasna renown was shut up (or buried). Again, in A7ishna-raya’s day, a Vaishnava fane was here consecrated. In this Paduvir, near to the old excavations there is an inscription on stone. But being very old it is not possible to distinguish and read off the letters. To the east of Paduvur there are seventy-five of these ancient pits or caves. To the South of Paduvur they are in a row (as I un- derstand the imperfect passage) to the north there are sixty ancient excavations. . So far proceeds the brief translation, which I have now made for the present express object. In reference to this Paduvzu', I cannot but think that the name commemorates one of those cruel tragedies, in the extermination of the Bauddhas and Jainas, of which so many occurred: made by kings under the influence of Satva-Brahmans. In another paper of the Mackenzie collection it is said that the Bauddhas, or Jainas, were crushed to death in oil mills: and as a particular kind of drinking vessel with a peacock’s-tail fan, was a * Which, I apprehend, must be rendered—‘ heretic dog kennel,’ 1847] Of the Curumbars. 91 distinguishing mark of devotees of that class, I conceive it to be not impossible that the crushed mass, with drinking vessels, &c. were put into those jars and so buried. The contemptuous name given to the said jars traditionally, of course by Hindus, tends to confirm the supposition. Tn a brief document which I find annexed to the foregoing, it is stated, that the Curumbars had sixty-four forts. It is also stated, that they took part in the wars of the Paémdavas, and were greatly scattered in consequence. The name of their original country is stated to be Zoda-nadu ; which, ina striking manner, would indicate the Toda-var of the Neilgherries as their descendants. The chief occupation of the Curumbars was also keeping flocks. A jocular proverb, it seems, was hence formed at their expense; they being a little dull of wit. In case of a death occurring among them many of the tribe con- gregated together; and each one had his head cleanly shaved. Oc- casion was taken hence to kill many hundreds of them, at a place called Nerumbur. In another paper I remember this treachery is ascribed to the Wiyalvar of the Agniculam, and it was accomplished by means of the barber tribe. Mention is made of twelve of their forts. Porzal (the red-hills) being the chief one. But one is named Puliyur, and I suppose* Pullicondah to be a hill near that town. The fire-race (agniculam) are supposed to be Siberian in origin. Hence it is open to doubt whether cromlechs, caves, &c. were the work of Curumbars, or of different classes of their conquerors. The papers translated seem to indicate the former conclusion. I should myself rather incline to the latter. I have heard that there are caves of the kind indicated at the red- hills, only ten miles from Madras; and Cunnatur, or Connatore, is only fifteen miles from Madras, and two or three miles from Poona- mallee. ‘The exact locality of Paduvzr I do not know. That the greater part of the ancient remains indicated are not Cromlechs is quite clear. They have a nearer affinity to the Panja- be fopes, and are still more likely some of them Patan or Moghul in * In further allusion to Captain Congreve’s paper—I remember, several years ago, noticing something peculiar in the arrangement of stone circles on a little rocky emi- nence between the Mount and Palaveram. As regards Stonehenge is it not possible that the piles of stone there were raised over the slain, in those great battles which oc- curred, on the plain, between the Britons and Saxons? rather than being Druid temples. 92 On Supposed early Celtic [No. 33, origin. The customs of early Patans, and neighbouring Siberians, were probably similar. As regards Cromlechs I find there is a two-fold supposition: that they were places of sepulture or altars; or mid-way, first sepultures, and afterwards altars. In Denmark they would seem to have been monuments raised over the burial places of kings. In An- glesey they are supposed to have been altars; or even a sort of plat- form, from which the Druids addressed an audience. I find more- over that the Kést-vaen and Cromlech had some similarity; so that the words came to be used interchangeably. But the Cromlech is open at the sides and the top, supported by pillars; while the Aest- vaen was closed at the sides, and more like achest. These last seem to be the predominating form in the Carnatic; only it does not appear that the Avsé-vaens were subterranean. But further there is a singularity connected with the inquiry, and one which had not at- tracted my attention, until drawn to it by the present subject. I quote from the Ency. Britannica, .4rt. Anglesey. ‘ Bod-drudan or the habitations of the Druids, Tyrer Beirdd, or that of the bard, and Bodowyr, or that of the priests, are all of them hamlets, nearly surrounding the seat of the chief Druid. At the last is a thick Cromlech resting on three stones.” I was previously aware that the Pailt and Sanscrit word, for knowledge, wise men, and wit or wisdom was found in Saxon; but I did not before know that it entered the ancient British tongue. Here however we find the word, and as if it were synonymous, or the same, with our common word abode; which Idoubt. Iwill not assert, but I suspect strongly, that the one almost universal religion of Buddha (or the sage) was found among the Druids. Bodowyr I take to be the old British of the word Béddar, as the Bauddhas are usually termed in Tamil. In this paper it is not my intention to draw any positively final conclusions; but merely to offer data and suggestions, tending to final results. In so far as any of the remains in question may be deemed Patan in character, we may possibly trace them up to the first incursion of the Moghuls from Delhi, which took place south of the Krishna river A. D.1312. They proceeded by way of Mysore; and Madura was captured by them A. D. 1324. They were drivenback 40 or 50 years afterwards, by Campana-udiyar a Mysore chieftain; and, as his in- terposition is recorded as occurring at Trichinopoly, it is to be in- ferred, that their retreat was by way of the modern Carnatic. Very 1847.} or Scythian Vestiges. 93 few of them returned ; many of them left their bones by the way; and it is an open question whether some of the sepulchres discovered were not those of that predatory horde; their plunder, in some cases at least, would be buried with them. During the lapse of four or five centuries, customs may have been altered; if not, at Uttra- Merur (that is in vulgar spelling, Ootramaloor) a great action was fought between Mahomedans and Hindus, the former under the command of David, or Daoodkhan: hence possibly the caves in that neighbourhood. As regards Paduvur were my passing conjectures before offered correct, that might explain some things there. It has occurred to me however since, as an objection, that the construction of the caver imply art and labour; such as would not be bestowed for remains deemed no better than those of deaddogs. And the statement of the 3d translation that those places were tombs, carefully prepar- ed for their ancestors by the Jaznas, may possibly best remain un- disputed. If there be any weight in the conjecture, that the old Druids were professors of the Bauddhist religion, then we could trace a relation between both Aest-vaen and Cromlech of western countries, and the like remains in the Carnatic. The slight analogy is I fear not solid; especially considering the strong objection arising from the fact that - the Druids offered human sacrifices: any cruental sacrifice whatso- ever being abhorrent to the spirit of the Bauddhist system. An indication already given may here be somewhat developed. When the pauranical accounts of the Hindus close, the ascendancy of barbarous races ismentioned. Sir W. Jones gives the names Abhira Gardabhin, Canca, Yavana, Turushcara, Bhurunda, Maula. Wil- ford gives, Abhiras, Sacas, Tushearas, Yaranas, Maurundas, Maunas, and Gardhabinas ; and southern Tamil MSS. (as stated by me in Or. Hist. MSS. vol. 1, p. 247,) give Abiral, Gardhabi- yal, Buvathiyal, Yavanal, Maruntiral, and Mavunal. Now of those names, the Abhiras are probably Afghans, the Sacas are Scythians, i. e. Siberians, the Zush-caras Parthians or Turcomans, and the Marundas, or Maunas, or Mavunal, most probably Huns. It is now some eleven years ago that I read a little Tamil book prepared by the Rev. B. Schmid for a seminary; and I found him stating, from German authorities, that the Huns had ravaged India, as well as other countries. I have very recently conversed with Dr. Schmid on the pubject ; and I believe that there are many German works that may 94 : On Supposed early Celtic [No. 33, throw light on the emigration of people from east to west. Wilford considers the AZarundas, or Maunas, to be Huns. The Tamil has no aspirate, and Mavunal may be (without the sanzdhi) Ma-Unal the great Hun people. The -4bhiras are sometimes considered as equi- valent to a7-veral six fingered people; and tribes so distinguished are said to have been known. A field wide enough is certainly opened ; but if the Celtae were known in lesser Asia by the name of Titans and Sacks, and as the Cymri in Wales, that alone is almost sufficient to throw light as to the existence of Cromlechs in the Carnatic. For the Sacks were doubtless a branch of the Sacae or Scythians (not des- cended from Gomer, but closely related), then it may follow that the Danes and Cymri, and Scythians had customs in common: the use of the Cromlech being one of them. And that the Sacae, or Scythi- ans, penetrated through the length and breadth of India seems more than probable. With respect to the Huns, I am not at all clear in my perception as to their entry into India; unless it were that class of them residing north of Persia. I should be glad if this paper might meet the eye of Dr. Schmid, now on the Neilgherries, and in- duce him to favour the Journal with a paper on the subject of their connexion with India, if he deem the matter of sufficient consequence. I have yet a little to add which must be somewhat of a discursive character. Several years ago when I was in the habit of receiving periodicals direct from England, there was a paper in one of them, in the shape of a review, which interested me. It traced the passage of Bauddhism into the north of Europe; dealt in legends of Thor, Woden (Buddha) and on Runic inscriptions; one in particular. Had it not been my own I should have taken notes; but thinking it al- ways available it has come not to be so, being either mislaid or lost. My memory however serves in one point, sufficient for the present purpose. There was a Siberian legend quoted, which though under different names, I at once recognized as being identically the same with the somewhat ludicrous one, given from the Mackenzie papers, in this Literary Journal,* vol. 7, p. 12, 4gastya figures in that legend. _ * I take occasion to remark, by the way that the mounds of scoriae noticed by Captain Newbold, and supposed by the Editor to have some possible relation with the hillock of pebbles in the Carnatic, were probably the burnt bones of the vast multitudes who fell in the wars between the Dekhini Mahomedans, and the Vijayanagarans. Ferishsta speaks of piles of heads, in their neighbourhood. It is not impossible that in other places indicated, vol. 7, p. 132, the heaps may be the burnt bodies of Bauddhas or Jainas, for a connection with the Bauddhas is intimated by the names given; and a sufficient num- ber of them were killed in the times of persecution. Besides some of the localities are those of great battles, 1847,] or Scythian Vestiges. 95 Now 4gastya was by common consent once a Bauddhist; but, with some marvellous accompaniments, was again born asa Brahman. In the Siberian tale one of the Bauddhists performed the part of dAgastya. The occurrence of a like legend, in places so widely apart as Siberia and the Carnatic, argues intercommunication somehow or other. In some still lighter and more discursive papers, I have met with essays, on popular superstitions of the northern nations. The position of the writer, following the late Sir Walter Scott, is that the popular my- thology of a remote age, becomes, under a change of religion, the rem- nants of superstitions, fairy tales, and tales of the nursery. I was not before prepared to find the Devergar so well known in Hindu history, in the Dwergars of Scandinavia; still less in the dwarfs and fairies of Europe. And much less was I prepared to find that the legend of Agastya above adverted to had passed into Europe; and, by the process indicated, lives in the nursery tales of Tom Thumb, and Jack the Giant Killer. Such however, very probably, isthe case. gas- tya is always stated to be small of stature. ‘The reverse of the pro- verb “stories never lose by carrying” seems to have occurred, in the progress of mythology north and west, into the tales of the nursery. There are however additions in such tales, as to variety of incidents. That languages will show an affinity between the east and the _ west has long been my opinion. _ The affinity is particularly great between the Pal, and old Saxon. _ But, on this point, I must not now enlarge. _ In looking for the periodical containing the Siberian legend quasz of Agastya, though I found it not, yet I met with another number, _ containing an article on old Northern History and Antiquities, with | reference to Proceedings of the Royal Society of Northern Antiqua- _rians at Copenhagen, with one or two extracts from which I purpose to close this paper. I must pass by matter of only general interest, and the five great streams of population which flowed westward, or | north-westward—to wit, the Iberians, the Celts, the Teutones, the | Sclavonians, and Finns—and all connected matter, in order to come | at the J2unzc inscription at Hoby near Carlshamn in Sweden: the | oldest of the kind in the north; which, after many failures, is at length I hope rightly translated. The first portion is, HILDEKIN received the kingdom Garp hewed out Or took the oath Opin consecrate these runes. 96 On Supposed early Celtic [No. 33, Now Garp or rather GARDHR, the name of ascald and warrior, is indeed but a faint indication, but it is the root of the word Gardha- bhina ;* and, if the name indicate the race, the ancestors of the Danes had something to do with India, for Hildekin was otherwise Harald, a King of Denmark. The third verse is more definite. Opin and Frey And the Aser race Destroy—destroy Our enemies. The ser race would seem pretty evidently to be the same with the Asuras of Hindu fable. I am aware that the combats of the Surs and Asurs have been supposed to have taken place in some super-terrestrial region. But I cannot think so.f I believe they were flesh and blood mortals, like ourselves. The quotation which I next make bears more immediately on the leading subject of the present paper. It is as follows: ‘** The Scandinavian antiquities, whether belonging to the ancient heathen period, or the earliest Christian times, bear so great are- semblance to those of Britain and Ireland that, when accurately ex- amined and described, they mutually explain, and elucidate each other. This is especially the case with the Pagan stone circles, stone altars (cromlechs?) barrows (topes? or kist-vaens,) &c. The most ancient of such British erections are generally ascribed to the Druids; but it is very possible that these sages of the olden time, had more in common with the Druttst or Drotts of the North, than a mere si- milarity, of name, or than the rearing of such monuments. The stone erections in the Scottish, Orkney, and Shetland Isles, show themselves to be purely Northern, or reared by people of decidedly Northern extraction.”—Report of Roy. Soc. of Northern Antiqui- ties. Introd. p. 9—10. Though I have been more verbose than I purposed to be, yet the subject, I am persuaded, is not exhausted. Good drawings or descriptions of old remains, and the same classified, as to kind, and apparent antiquity, are wanted on the one hand; and if through the * The Gaudari were a Scythic people; precise agreement in orthography, from differ- ent hands, cannot be expected. + In the Cyropedeia of Xenophon we find the ames plain enough kareg- rotWaro de Lipouc, Acouptovg x. 7. A. Book I. Introduction. +t Query—if the classic Druidae be not a corruption of this term? 1847. ] Report of the Sub-Committee of the L. S. 97 channel of the Munich Academy, or any other and nearer source, the results of inquiries by German Philologists and Antiquaries, as to the emigrations of ancient people, could be brought to bear on the other hand, it is possible that some further light might beam on the remoter period of Peninsular history. ADDENDUM. It may be expedient to note that the foregoing paper was prepared, and transmitted to the Editors, antecedent to the ap- pearance of No. 32 of the Journal. The reference to Scythian Invaders of India, and to matters pertaining to the Bauddhas, are consequently distinct and independent statements ; not de- rived from Captain Congreve’s valuable series of papers in that number. I think those papers throw light on some passages of the Congudésa Rajakal; though it is not quite convenient to enter on any detail, in connexion with the present already lengthened essay. rer es ee V.— Report of the Sub-Committee of the Literary Society ap- pointed to examine the Collection of Native MSS. com- mitted to the Society’s charge by the Government of Fort St. George. The duty on which the Sub-Committee have now been employed arose out of the application made by the Society on the 23d Septem- ber, 1843, for certain MSS. in the vernacular languages which it was understood from one of our Members, Mr. C. P. Brown, (then Joint Secretary of the Society in the Asiatic Department,) were lying unnoticed and unarranged in the Library of the East India House. The Honorable the Court of Directors were graciously pleased to -comply with the request as stated in their despatch of the 6th March, 1844, communicated by the Chief Secretary on the 3d May following. The MSS. themselves contained in 11 cases arrived in the ‘‘ Duke of Cornwall” in the month of August and were safe- - ly deposited in a part of the large room devoted to the College N 98 Report of the Sub-Committee [No. 33, Library, together with the portion of the McKenzie collection for- merly received from Calcutta which had previously been deposited in the rooms occupied by the Library of the Society. On the 27th January our associate Mr. C. P. Brown made an un- reserved tender of his own unrivalled collection, and proposed that it should be incorporated with those already deposited in the College, and that the whole should be placed under the charge of the Native Librarians hitherto in his own service. ‘This munificent offer was accepted and the Committee having applied to Government for the necessary authority to employ these men, the sanction of the Supreme Government was obtained for a monthly expenditure of 51 Rupees, on that account. The Government at the same time called upon the Society to furnish a catalogue raisonné of the collection similar in character to that of the McKenzie MSS. drawn up by Professor Wilson, and farther to report upon the estimated value of the whole collection. This call was repeated sometime afterwards but with special re- ference to Mr. Brown’s collection alone. It was for the purpose of considering how this information was to be supplied that your Sub-Committee was appointed at the Meeting of the 9th September, 1845. After having assembled repeatedly at the College and made such an investigation as was at present practicable, we have resolved to submit the result of our inquiries, imperfect as they are, reserving farther details to a date when they may be more completely within our knowledge. And at this stage we desire to offer our best acknowledgments for the aid and information we have at all times received from Mr. Brown. The MSS. now united into one Library comprise 5 collec- tions : 1. That recently transmitted from the East India House. Mr. Brown's. That portion of the McKenzie collection received from Bengal. The old Library of the College of Fort St. George. The collection of the Literary Society. The whole five collections thus brought together and lodged in the College are composed of 5,751 Volumes, of which 2,735 are in Sanscrit, and 3,016 in the modern vernacular languages, according to the following Tabular Statement, RAT Fe 4 % e we z Ee: 1847,] “4110 -SURG PUL Ie[NIvUIAA [e}0J, es "SyIOAA Te[MoeUIEA [2}OJ, of the Literary Society. | | (=) = co oo [o.2) = =~ Oo = la! st a ao (-.) i] es =) 1,141 168 B02 901 CCooES ——— | Aa S NOH resins o 8), B1NP TA eke TU, wage 3) S Sy Sone ro) Pa o Some oS -1e3uegq | —- iS) S co So So 4 ait panini wn SS as cet eth ou) [-*) S Sei Ss om a "asouling : Ts = SoS oman oan Nae 5 2 Se S x ea = oyolic Sa Z -ehIQ - i x 4 |—— Pe eee ° So SSeS mali e crore eerie ee i S CRMC ed UN acs | et SE ST el aol Sigh = 1S) ° [—) fry i= oo S isos ] o oO Ne4 Ss = S en cre : ee BESO a 2 oo Sf = = eouere BS oe . R ee Ps oS Espey Mee So S “nsnyaL,—— > = es) Q [o a) Yo) foo) i= is) a R OE ae ee s & 5 So Oo 4H a =) a ar 1240], Batetnieaiy eset me el) Wake rm ~ a paeeaies ACES, Vane Ga > — o Cc So =H op esueg iB y, oo TS S) ‘op ekg |— Ls me io) ° So iF BR oS r 5 ST TST OS —_—— | —— — : i} Ss xy op weeteles pea Reece os) ee) SoS rt Re R ° 4 ©, = wo a Ms Aa S oo 8 o Sin S P Byerye yy is So oo cs Sa are > |— ae , Go Re fra) ee an Ca iS ‘Op Wes be) SC Tg ie Be soe — SSS as fee I Ee As — eo eo ¢ S o ca ‘6p [twee J, ——_ — D : : S oS == 2 iS) co 2 S So ° Sa < a = ROHS S ca e c URE A STN MEN RIN a) op wiryjurer9 ; Ss Sas = | iS) = tr = a 3) oO °O 3S20. a See es P a1eued 3 = SS = = = = WIRE sie = co) x oo oO oO S [on Xr) ie a "slapOBIVYyD nsnjay,| —— U i ° eel a m ena ed tN ee | (©) a -_= _— ae i RO eo aS ae ‘ res, ° : : Ne n $ SSO NS set ° As ae) ° e cs so v2 . qd ° @ oO ° i UNS RES OLN abe g Bors rOMven at pes 3 Bo Gee oH ja) S Sy —Q = to ct) a ro ° er Se Me ) SSP Sie ie O Ppa ores — 4 —_ om a Oo FW a A ee a eS 99 100 Report of the Sub-Committee [No. 33, The Sanscrit portion contains two complete copies (besides many detached portions) of the Vedas, one on palm leaves in the Grantham character, the other on English paper in the Telugu character. A considerable number of volumes principally from Mr. Brown’s collection, are written on English paper and bound as English books, some of which are in Sanscrit, some in the Telugu, and others in the Canarese languages. To make a catalogue raisonné of these numerous works, is an undertaking that far exceeds the unaided means of this Society. The persons in charge of the collection are mere custodians who are able to do little more than read the titles of the works. Indeed to frame any thing like a catalogue raisonné that would prove suitable to the European reader is a task beyond the powers of any Native. The members of the Sub-Committee would therefore have had them- selves to undertake the labour of examining and abstracting the con- tents of each MS. to enable them to furnish such a list as the Go- vernment desire, and this it must be evident requires more time and exertion than they could possibly afford for the purpose. As a first step however to such an object they directed the Librarians to pre- pare a new list of the works according to their different subjects, of which a programme was furnished for their guidance, but after much delay and raising many difficulties they have totally failed. An al- phabetical list of his own collection was framed many years ago by Mr. Brown, and under his directions it had been extended to the other collections, not however in such a manner as to show the pro- portion belonging to each, and as there are many duplicates and fre- quently several copies of the same work in the same collection, this document necessarily affords but an imperfect idea of the whole. Another statement is now in preparation distinguishing the relative contents of each collection, which will show not only the number of duplicate works in the same collection, but likewise the number of copies in all the collections. In the catalogue prepared by Mr. Brown the whole collection is arranged alphabetically and numerically with Indexes framed for the most part in the language in which the books are written. These lists may merit translation into English, and in their present state are probably sufficient to serve the purposes of such native scholars as may require the books. An abstract of these catalogues will be found in the enclosure 1847] of the Literary Society. 101 No. 1 accompanying this Report and a translation of the preface to Mr. Brown’s original Telugu Catalogue, for which the Sub-Committee are indebted to that Gentleman, and which shows the manner in which these lists have been prepared, forms enclosure No.2. A third statement (enclosure No. 3,) exhibits the books presented by Mr. Brown distinguished from those contained in the other collec- tions under their several heads. The McKenzie MSS. have been partly and the Sub-Committee think sufficiently described by the Rev. Mr. Taylor, whose catalogue has been published in the Society’s Journal. A general notice of the whole of the materials collected by the late Colonel McKenzie was likewise published by Professor Wilson in Cal- cutta in 1828, in which the specification of some volumes (under 200) of the works afterwards forwarded to this Presidency was included. Mr. Brown’s collection is accompanied by a catalogue framed un- der his own directions nearly twelve years ago, and subsequently ex- tended to the other collections under consideration. An explanation of this list, as has been stated above, is contained in enclosure No. 2. The collection received from the EH. I. House has not yet been fully examined. It seems to have been collected by various persons and at different times. A large proportion of it, as appears by the Honorable Court’s despatch, was included in the collection of the late Dr. Leyden, whose MSS. were purchased by the E. I. Com- pany. Many of them are without title-pages, ill written and in bad condition. They appear from superscriptions on many of the vo- Jumes in the Bengali character, to have travelled in the first in- stance to Calcutta and thence to have been transported to London, there to haye lain unnoticed for many years. A large proportion (about 900 Volumes) are in the Canarese character but others are writ- ten in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Orya, Devanagari, and Burmese. The College collection was never very extensive, and has suffered sreatly in the Hindu portions from the dishonesty of a former Bra- min Librarian. The collection of the Literary Society has likewise been much curtailed in extent, as appears from a useful catalogue in the Society’s records containing a succinct and clear account of each work drawn up many years ago by the brother of their Librarian, Mr. Bantleman. The Sub-Committee will now advert to the means that have sug- gested themselves for amalgamating these several catalogues as far 102 Report of the Sub- Committee [No. 53, as they go, and for completing them where they are defective in such a manner as to supply the desideratum of a catalogue raisonné re- quired by Government. For this purpose they would recommend that at least fwo Pundits acquainted with the various languages in which the MSS. are written should be attached to the Library till such time as the whole have been examined, and that they should be placed under the superintendence of a European Officer qualified to direct their researches and to exhibit the results in an English dress —the cost of such an establishment on the most economical scale would be as follows: Rups. Superintendent, - - - - - - = =) OO. 2 Pundits at 50 Rupees, . - - - 100 English Writer, = iy @ouiventinps ad!) sy eereead ——- 200 per mensem. It is probable that a suitable person to direct these proceedings may be found without much difficulty among some of the young Of- ficers who have devoted their attention to the study of the Native languages to whom such an employment might be made both a re- ward for past industry and an incentive to the cultivation of talents already displayed. ‘The arrangement might be sanctioned at first for a period of two years, during which time the Superintendent should be required to furnish periodical reports from which a judg- ment could be formed of the value of the results and of the propriety of continuing the examination to a conclusion. The next point to be considered is the safe custody of the collec- tion which at present is lodged in the same building as is the College Library but under distinct guardians. These are the individuals originally in the service of Mr. Brown, the expense of whose salaries he has already received the sanction of Government Soorap Sing, - 25 as per margin, besides whom Mr. Brown still Nee e maintains two peons at his own charge for dust- | a ing and moving the books. The Sub-Committee © have found the three individuals above mentioned to be very inefficient and they are of opinion that better qualified persons might be found for the duty hereafter. But at present they think that two of them should be retained on account of their practi- cal acquaintance with the volumes, the result of long association with them, and that the third should be discharged and his salary devoted to the support of the two Peons or Lascars employed by Mr. 1847.] of the Literary Society. 103 Brown, thereby relieving that Gentleman from the charge still volun- tarily incurred byhim. The whole might with advantage be ‘placed un- der the charge of the Secretary to the College as a temporary expedi- ent, who should be considered responsible for the preservation and safety of the collection, and should see that the volumes are frequent- ly counted and their condition examined by his establishment. But this arrangement which is only supported by considerations of present conveniency, should ultimately give place to one more calcu- lated to render the MSS. accessible to persons able and desirous to make use of them. Overtures have been made to the Literary Society for the formation of a Public Library, with which, should the plan succeed, the collection might be incorporated or it might hereafter be lodged in the Library of the University, (whenever one is formed) as being more particularly a Government Institution. But in every case the greatest precautions must be taken to prevent the MSS. being pilfered and carried away, a fate to which they will be very liable from the value they possess in the estimation of the Native community. Asan immediate precaution they might be stamped or sealed with a Government chop, but this could only be done with such as are written in paper. The Sub-Committee are not aware of any means for impressing a permanent mark on the eadjans which form so large a proportion of the collection. With regard to the value of the collection the Sub-Committee have no hesitation in stating that as a Library of Southern Hindoo Literature it is unrivalled. As regards Sanscrit Literature more especially Law and Grammar, it cannot compete with some of those to be found in Calcutta, but certainly no collection in the Peninsula can approach it. As a whole, it far excels all known collections in extent and probably none has ever existed, so distinguished for the variety and general interest of its contents. The Libraries of Native Princes and of Mat’hams or Colleges, usually consist for the most part of works in Sanscrit only, and if vernacular compositions are admitted, they are confined to the dialect of the district in which the collection has been formed. Religious bigotry excludes every work deviating from the particular creed of the founders and the lighter literature which the learned despise, but which the people value, finds no place in institutions of such pretension. But the present collection formed by European scholars, embraces every language, every creed, and every class of literature, 104 Appendix. [No. 33, To estimate in money the value of objects, which have no certain marketable prices, but of which the cost fluctuates with the labour of transcription, the wants and fancies of purchasers, actuated some- times by religious zeal, sometimes by desire of amusement, sometimes by curiosity, is almost impossible. Mr. Brown estimates the actual outlay made by him on his own collection at above 30,000 Rupees. The Committee consider this to be a fair and moderate valuation, and the remaining volumes may be taken at a somewhat smaller sum. On the whole they consider that they are within the mark in stating the entire collection to be worth about 50,000 Rupees. It must also be borne in mind that the waning encouragement of royal and noble patrons of literature in the present state of India, has tended to lessen the supply of MS. copies of vernacular compositions and that they may be expected to become scarcer and scarcer every day. This enhances the value of the less known works and renders their pre- servation a matter of the greater interest and importance. a APPENDIX No. I. An Abstracted List from the Telugu Lists of the Oriental Manu- scripts contained in the several Collections at the College. BROWN’S COLLECTION PAPER. Sanscerit Works, Telugu Character. Védas. From No.1 to 24.... 9 » » 1 to 59.... € No. 130.—Unbound Sections, except ” a a sil COLO” ae 2 Numbers bound. ihe Sp ere DOME ee Mantras. From No. 1 to 137.. Bound, contains 720 Mantras, works and Mantras. Védanta. From No. 441 to 446..No. 6.—Bound. Puranas. From No. 351 to 429..No. 79.—Bound, each Volume contain- ing a single work or more. Skanda Purana. From No. 618 to 633..No. 16.—Bound. Kavya, Nataka, y From No. 451 Alank4aras. to 5388. .No. 88.—Bound. Vyakarana, Ch’han- From No. 600 da, Nighantu. to 617..No. 18.—Bound. Telugu Works. Telugu Character. Kavya, Nataka, ice No. 1 to Alankara Purana, : Vaasa 3......... Bound, contain 700 works. Lists and Indexes. From No. 401 to 419.,,....No. 19.—Bound. 1847.] Appendie. | 105 Telugu and English. English and Telugu. _ Dictionaries, Grammars, &c. From No. 371 to 389,....No. 19.—Bound. Canarese Works. Telugu Character. Various Works. From No. 341 to PDE bene Geycu ae eee No. 18.—Bound. BROWN’S COLLECTION. PatM LEAVES. Sanserit Works. Telugu Character. Mantras or Magic YFromNo.1 to 7 No. 165. Contain 2320 Mantra works and Secret Rites. b AG OU peer 2 } and Mantras. Védanta. From No. 401 to545.... ..No. 145.—Contain 480 works. Puranas. From No. 201 to 400...... No. 200.—Contain 450 works. Kavya, Nataka, ! From No. 601 » Alankaras. CONOGs ee cae No. 166.—Contain 360 works. Jyotish. From No. 581 to582........No. 32.—Contain 70 works. Vaidya. From No, 901 to 925........No. 25.—Contain 40 works. Vyakarana, Khan- y From No. 801 da, Nighantu. § to 878....... .No. 78.—Contain 140 works. Various Works. From No. 1001 to 1015. ..No. 15.—Contain 110 works. Telugu Works. Telugu Character. Vedanta. From No. 601 to 643:.....No. 43.—Contain 150 works. Kavya,Puranas. From No. 1 to 553...No. 553.—Contain 1090 works. Jyotish. From No. 721 to,755.......No. 35.—Contain 70 works. Ganita. From No. 701 to 711......No. 11.—Contain 50 works. Vaidya. From No. ‘761 to 841.......No. 81.—Contain 270 works. Chhandas, 2 From No. 651 to 694..No. 44.—Contain 80 works Nighantus. ¢ ‘rom No. 651 to 694..No. .—Contain 80 works. Various Works. From No. 842 to 913.No. 72.—Contain 72 works. BROWN’S COLLECTION PAPER KASY FORM, Sanscrit Works. Telugu, Nagri, and Mahratta Characters. Vedanta. From No. 951 to 958.... .No. 8.—Contain 40 works. Sanscrit Works. Telugu and Nagri Characters. Puranas. From No. 959 to 972......No. 14.—Contain 16 works. Sanscrit Works. Nagrt Character. Kavya, Nataka, 7 From No. 973 - Alankaras. to 975... ...... No. 3.—Contain 3 works. Sanscrit Works. Telugu, Nagri, and Bengal Characters Tarka, Vyakar- .From No. 976 na. to 982...........No. 7.—Contain 23 works. MACKENZIE COLLECTION PAPER. Telugu Works. Telugu Character. Various Works. From No. 501 No. 197.—Bound, contain one or LOuOOSier. cys more works in each No. Tamil Works. Tamil Character. Various Works. From No. 784 )No. 67.— Bound, contain one or toS50)- 2 more works in each No. Do. . From No. 959 to 963. No. 5.—Bound, = do. do. Q 106 Appendiz. . [No. 83, Canarese Works. Canarese Charaoter. Various Works. From No. 701 COnsOOR koe No. 66.—Bound, contain 66 works. Malayalim Works. Malayalim Character. LACTIS AR 1 070 OE | Pe ne eS Bound, 2 works. Mahratta Works, Mahratla Character. Various Works. From No. 851 to 956....No. 106.—Bound, 106 works. MACKENZIE COLLECTION PAPER. PaLM LEAVES. Canarese Works. Canarese Character. Various Works. From No. 1801 to 1985......No. 135.—135 works. SEE ESE Se OLD COLLEGE COLLECTION PAPER. Sanscrit Works. Telugu Character. Various Works. From No. 701 to 728....No. 28.—Bound, except 2 Nos. Sanscrit Works. Grantham Character. Various Works. From No. 729 to 740....... No. 12.—Bound, except 2 Nos. Sanserit Works: Nagri Character. Various Works. From No. 741 to 762......No. 22.—Bound, except 5 Nos. Pautm LEAVES. Telugu Works. Telugu Character. Various Works. From No. 484 to 500....No. 17. Canarese Works. Canarese Character. From No. 698 to 700.........,...No. 3, Tamil Works. Tamil Character. Various Works. From No. 67 tous SB ee INOS aT, Burman Works. Burman Character. Names not known. From No. 2381 to 2474......No. 94, COLLECTION RECEIVED FROM THE EAST INDIA HOUSE. Patm LEAVES. . / Sanserit Works. Telugu Character. Various Works. From No. 1051 ,No. 300.—Contain many works in to 1350... each No, 1847.] —— Appendiz. 107 Sanserit Works. Canarese Character. Various Werks. From No. 1351 é ie ee ee ee Do. From No. 2331 to 2363 No. 33. j Sh i regal iele h . Sanserit Works. Grantham Character. Various Works. From No. 1701 ae 399.—Contain many works in to 2099...... each No. Sanscrit Works. Nagrt Character. Various Works. From No. 2101 ) No. 157.—Each No. contains a single Go 220i. ss work or more, Sanscrit Works. Malayalim Character. Various Works. From No. 2281 oh 50.—Some numbers contain a toy2os0.. Ae: single werk in each. Sanscrit Works. f Odra Character. Various Works. From No. 2365 LENZ ad oN luck No. 9.—Contain 9 works. Telugu Works. Telugu Character. Various Works. From No. 1001 1. No. 113.—-Each No. contains a single and 1113.... work or portion of a work. Canarese Works. Canarese Character. Various Works. From No. 1201 ) No. 533.—Kach No. contains a sin- LOG So... 4s gle work or portion of a work. Malayalim Works. Malayalim Character. Various Works. From No. 1951 to MO GOR No. 19.—Contain 19 works. Tamil Works. Tamil Character. Various Works. From No. 1981 ) No. 393.—Each No. contains a sin- to 2373..... gle work or portion of a work. Odra Works. Odra Character. Various Works. From No. 2475 ) No. 28.—Each No. contains a single tO) 2502508): work or portion of a work. APPENDIX No, II. Translation of the Telugu Introduction to a Catalogue of Telugu and Sanscrit Manuscripts, in the possession of MR. C. P. Brown, Ci- vil Service. Ragaumunpry, November, 1834. 1. The manuscripts are divided first into Sanscrit and Telugu, each of these classes is divided into ancient and modern copies—these four series of figures are. used. 108 Appendix. [No. 33, 2. The modern copies are those prepared under Mr. Brown's di- rections in the shape of English volumes properly bound. All the rest Whether on paper or on palm leaves are described as ancient. 3. Some volumes contain four, five or ten different books, but each volume is considered only as one item. Thus each of the five or ten books bear the same number. 4, Some of the ancient copies are marked 4 that is, (asamagranh,) incomplete. 5. There are thus four catalogues for the four classes each of which is arranged numerically. It was found difficult to place each branch of learning in a separate catalogue, but this has been done as far as was practicable and afterwards one consecutive numeration was applied to all. Still the four classes remained separate. 6. And where one class terminated, a few numbers have been left unoccupied for such books as might be hereafter met with appertain- ing to this class. 7. Some ancient books particularly those written at Benares, are on loose leaves of paper tied up in cloths which are called Dafters. These were at first classed separate from the rest, and have not yet been all brought under the general class being marked ‘ Dafter No. 2, &c.”’ And they are numbered under the ancient series. 8. After the four lists were completed two alphabetical lists were prepared one to each language. 9. Each of the alphabetical catalogues has two columns, the first giving the ancient articles, the second the new ones. For instance Vasu Charitra, we find in the first column Nos. 15, 63, which denote two books in the antique (or native) form, and in the second column number 85 denotes that there is also a copy written in the European form, that is ina bound volume. 10. But it must not be imagined that the new copies are mere transcripts of the old ones, on the contrary most of the new copies were made from books lent to me and which are not now in the — Library. 11. Further: very few of the ancient manuscripts are complete while an incomplete book rarely occurs among the new copies and only among unimportant works, for the new copies were each ground- ed on five or six copies lent me. | 12. It is impossible to procure one uniform ancient copy of the Telugu Mahabharatta which is found only in separate volumes. 1847.] Appendix. 109 But my modern copy is grounded on numerous ancient ones, at least eight copies having been procured of some parts and twelve copies of others, thus my collated copy is at least equivalent to eight com- plete ancient manuscripts. 13. Sometimes Sanscrit books are found in the same volume with a Telugu poem. In such cases the volume is only numbered as one, and is placed under one list, in the other list there is a reference to it, as, vide other catalogue. : 14. Some books have two titles, the whole details are therefore given under one name to which there is a reference under the other (instances are given). 15. It is the custom in India to call the various portions, books, or cantos of a work by separate titles, thus the ‘‘ Yuddha Canda”’ i. e. ‘The Battle,” is in truth “the sixth book of the Ramayanam” as it would be called in Europe. This is inexpedient; accordingly all such subordinate names are omitted in the alphabetical catalogue : but will be found at full in the numerical arrangement. 16. It is also the mode to prefix a title (as Holy Bible,) for the one name Bible. Thus ‘‘ Sri” is prefixed to the names Bhagavatum and Ramayanam ; this is not expedient and I have not adopted it in the alphabetical arrangement, I have placed these names under their res- pective initials not under 8. i7. Yet some portions are very generally classed as separate books, and accordingly I have allowed the celebrated Bhagavat Gita with its various commentaries to stand as one work instead of class- ing it under the Maha Bharatum to which it originally belonged. Thus also the Kasi Khandum is placed under K. instead of being in- cluded in the *‘Scanda Purana’ under S. It is difficult to state the exact number of books in the Library in round numbers ; it may be stated, that there are about 900 separate ancient volumes of Sanscrit, and about 360 newly written volumes. Some works extend to ten volumes some to twenty. Among the rest there is a complete copy of the Vedas, and of seventeen Puranas with fragments of the 18th called Bhavishya. The total of separate items is about 4,000.* It is yet more hard to classify the books rigidly according to titles. * This includes only my private collection: which after my return to India was some- what increased, 1i0 Appendix. [No. 33, Sometimes we find the comment classed separate from the text and bearing a separate title. Thus the chief commentary on the Bhaga- vata is called Sri Dhariyam, as being written by Sri Dhara Swamy and one on the Ramayanam is called Tirthiyam. Seme treatises on Telugu grammar are written in Sanscrit, but are classed under Telugu, because appertaining to that language. There are no printed books in this catalogue. The printed San- scrit and Telugu books being placed in a separate list, viz., that of my English library. | There are some trifling miscellaneous articles which did not de- serve a place in the alphabetical catalogue, such as medical receipts which were found written at the end of more important books, like- wise modern compositions, as my translations of parts of the Bible and copies of some trials and Telugu letters. These are placed at the close of the alphabetical catalogue in several lists, as medical fragments, poetical fragments, fragments on law, &c. &c. These catalogues were framed in the year 1834, when I was act- ing Judge at Rajahmundry. The present remarks are drawn up both in Telugu and in English by me as a key to the catalogues. The entire library cost me about twenty-four thousand Rupees, the greater part of which was laid out in pay to the learned Bramins, who under my directions framed commentaries on the Telugu poems, and also the copyists who assisted me in my Dictionary. © It requires a little experience to use the present catalogue; thus under the title Bharata, we find the name Annsasanicam which is marked so as to show that there are no MSS. of that poem. But a little lower down we find a complete MSS. of the entire Ma- habharat, in the English form, which not only contains the Afinsa- sanicam (or eleventh book of the Bharat) but exhibits the various readings found in nine collated manuscripts. (Signed) C. P. Brown. 4 ee Posrscript.—F or four years after my return to India, 1838, 39, 40, 41, my establishment of Writers, with bills for paper, printing, and binding native books cost me just about two hundred Rupees a month. During several menths, the expense was double that amount. (Signed) C, P, Brown. @ 1847.] Appendix. 111 APPENDIX No. III. Statement of Manuscripts now placed in the College Library, under the charge of the Literary Society: distinguishing those presented by Mr. C. P. Brown, from those which formerly belonged to other Collections. (ES SS eee TD SASSER ED Sree EN NS = ee Be = eer J. SANSCRIT. In Telugu Characters on Palm Leaves, - - es SS Vols.| Vols. Vols. 798! 300] 1098 6 ar es — Canarese do. - - - 15] 384 399 — Grantha do. - = s =) 01 399 399 — Devanagari do. = = = 0} 167 167 — Malayalum do. - = 2 5| 45 20 — Odhra do. - - - Oo} 9 9 : Totals -818)1304) 2129 II. Sanscrit in Bounp VOLUMES. Telugu Character, bound 216 not a - - | ag 28), 1) 207 Do. Benares form, - - - = 25| 0 25 Do. in Grantha Character, - - - - = OG. 12 12 Dow Nagar, 9 -' - - oe - 1 2) 22 24 Do. Bengali, - - ° - - Bh ene) Se auisy ee 10) 5 Totals 297| 68 360 WW. In TELUGU LANGUAGE. | = | Palm Leaf Volumes, - - - - ee alg LO ZOO. 6 Goo In Canarese do. - - - - - = = 0} 639 639 7 ao. Caditams, 9-9 7 -) 0} 28 28 — Malayalum Palm Leaves, -_ - irks ah yale £6 19 — Tamil, - - - - - - - : 4| 379 393 — Burmese, - = - - - - - 2a es 94 — Odhra, - - - = - - - - 0; 28 28 ———— | Totals..| 748|1422| 2170 IV. VoLUMES ON EUROPE OR OTHER PAPER USUALLY|——|—— BOUND IN LEATHER. BR em tlm lm lm | 627) 208)" 736 Canarese, - - - Si Ps - - - “Iron Goins Mamie 2 24 mio = iy see = Quilon = 241 O 24 Do. Miscellaneous, - - - = - - -| O| 89 89 Malayalum, -~ - SN ee om Uae et 0} 2 2 Mahratta, - mh oe les Sein a fy, 0] WO4he 104 ‘- Do. in Nagri Character, =e - 0} 12 12 Miscellaneous, - nee dates Fame ae 25) 0 25 ' 605} 485} 1090 Grand Total. .{2468|3274| 5742 L TSS FR NESSES T INT 112 A Supplement to the Six Reports [No. 33, VI.—A Supplement to the Six Reports on Mackenzie Manu- scripts (heretofore printed in the Madras Journal of Litera- ture and Science) by the Rev. WiLt1AM Tayror. INTRODUCTORY NOTE. Causes beyond my control prevented the publication of some of the Reports on my Analysis of Mackenzie manuscripts, till long after they had been sent in ; and the preparation of fol- lowing matter consequently lingered in my hands: it being by no means certain that the documents were acceptable. At length a remaining portion of the sixth Report was called for ; and was published. As I had made it known that further materials remained behind, I was induced to have these oc- pied; and, as so much as pertained to Tamil documents only, seemed sufficient for one paper, 1 have made up this supple- ment from them alone. There still remains some other por- tions relative to other languages. It has always been my wish to see the whole in print, and then to form a summary having reference to the printed pages ; to which summary some general conclusions might be attach- ed. ‘Translations of papers, or parts of papers in the most valu- able portions would be a very fitting close of the entire analy- sis. And this plan I had contemplated in the shape of a dis- tinct publication. Experience however has taught me that it could not be undertaken without heavy loss. The cost of pub- lishing in this country is greater than in Europe; the getting up usually inferior; and as few copies can be printed, the price of each copy is necessarily high, and few persons choose to subscribe or purchase. To labor long and painfully, and to find pecuniary loss a result is not agreeable. Hence I pre-. fer to place this supplement, as one more step of progress, at the disposal of the Editor of the Madras Journal, &c.; and if permitted to work out my plan to the close it may be well. If not I shall have done as much as adverse circumstances would permit. The absurd condemnation of the Mackenzie manu- scripts, by superficial contempt, I regret. ‘They contain some matters of value which, once lost, cannot be retrieved... 1847.] on Mackenzte Manuscripts. lis A—TAMIL. A—Palm-leaf Manuscript. Sambhava Candam of the Scanda Purana No. 7. Yuddha Candam of the same No. 8, C. M. 14. The term Sambhava signifies origin, or birth; and is applied, I believe, to the birth of Scanda or Subrahmanya ; the word Yuddha signifies war : but these two books are only two parts, or volumes, in continuation of the same general subject. The two contain six Candams, 7. e. books, or sec- tions with the following titles, to which are added the number of Pada- lams or chapters, and Stanzas in each. Pe Opa CANdan . 2 31 Padalams1785 Stanzas. A. “Asura-uipatt: Candam... 66.6... 2.68. 44 5 1936 Fe WWI. Vira Mahendra Caindam............. 21 2 1163 R TV. Yuddha Candam............. ad 14 pi 3935 ee eee COndait.. oe. cc ee es 6 < ‘452 ‘3 VI. Dacshana Candam.......... eas Moe 22 3 1994 i The total should be 11,265 stanzas: but as there is one Padalam defi- cient in the sixth candam: so the MS. itself enumerates 11,259 stanzas: these are of the difficult measure termed Virutiam. The following out- line will give some idea of the contents of the different sections. 1. The Utpatti Candam or introductory section. 1. Invocation to the deity. 2. Plan of the work detailed. 3. On the river, or the Ganges. 4. The inscription, and praise of the neighbouring country. 5. The same, as to the town. : 6. Other preparatory matter. 7. Concerning Cailasa. 8. On Par- vati. 9. On Maha Meru. 10. Legend of Cama. 11. On the discon- tinuance of Siwva’s penance. 12. Further matter concerning that penance. 13. Relates to the second marriage of Siva with Parvati, daughter of the king of Himalaya. 14. The said king called Visvacarma, the artificer of the celestials, and requested him to ornament the said mountain with buildings. 15. Narrates the attendance of Brahma, Vishnu, and a great multitude of inferior celestials, rishis, &c. at the nuptials of Siva. 16. Describes the marriage of Siva with Parvati, or Uma, and their then going away to Cadlasa. 17. Narrates what is termed the teru avatdéram or sacred incarnation of Subrahmanya. Siva sent from his frontlet eye six beams, or rayons, of P 114 A Supplement to the Six Reports [No. 33, fire, which entered into a tank called Saravana-poyikai,* and there uniting assumed the shape of six bodies. 18. Siva formed nine Sactis or feminine personifications of his own passive energy, and from them caused nine sons to be born as helpers to Subrahmanya. These are the nine virdls or champions. 19. Stva and Uma went to the Sarvana pool, took thence the six -in- fantine forms, moulded them into one body, having six heads and twelve arms, and then carried this child to Cazlasa. 20. Relates the pastimes of the young Subrahmanya, who amused him- eelf by setting the elephants at the eight points, supporting the world, to fight with each other. He also skirmished with Indra, who being over- come, mentioned the character of the young warrior to Vrihaspati, precep- tor of the celestials, who came and paid homage to Subrahmanya. 21. Nareda performing a sacrifice, out of it proceeded a sheep or goat, which he gave to Subrahmanya for a vahana, or vehicle. 22. Subrahmanya inquired from Brahma the meaning of the Vedas, and as Brahma could not inform him, he put Brahma in prison, and him- self undertook to carry on the work of creation. 23. The release of Brahma. After long durance Siva asked Subrah- manya, or Cumara-svam, to release Brahma, to which the said Cumera consented. 24. The celestials making known to Siva the molestation which they sustained from Surapadma, he gave permission to Subrahmanya, to go and make war against the said asura. 25. Subrahmanya (herein styled Comara-vel) set out with two thou- sand vellums} of gigantic warriors and the nine virdls, or champions, to make war. 26. Zaruca, the younger brother of Surapadma, was met at an illusive mountain named Krauncha-girt. Subrahmanya overcame and killed Ta- ruca, and destroyed the mountain. 27. Concerning Deva-girt. In place of the said mountain Sudrah- monya had another mountain formed, which was termed Deva-girv. 28. Concerns the conduct of Asurendra. He was the son of the slain Taruca ; he went to Mahendra girt the residence of Surapadma, and re- ported that his father had been slain by Subrahmanya. 29. The journey of Subrahmanya. The said Cumarasvami proceeded to the banks of the Céver? river; passing by the way the (celebrated Saiva) shrines of Gedara, Cast, Vencata (Tripety) Calahasti, Valancadu, Canchipuram, Tirunamalai, Nallur, Vriddhachalam, and Chitambaram. 30. From the Caveri he went to Cumarapuram, and thence proceeded ~ to Trru-vallur. * Al Tirtani near Madras, there is a pool, which bears that name, and with which the usual liberty is taken by describing it as the precise birth place of Subrahmanya. + An indefinite term, vaguely intended to denote a great number. A. heehee Ine i) 4 , § j r " : i, 4 * E ae 1847.] on Mackenzie Manuscripts. 115 31. Thence he passed by a dry, hot, and barren land, and met with six sons of Parasara, who conducted him to Tiru-paran-kunru (or the hill of the heavenly one, an epithet of Parzanz) which he inspected. 32. Relates to Tiru-chandipur. From Pyney the said Cwmara proceed- ed to Trichendur ; where he met with Indra, from whom he inquired the origin and birth of Surapadma, and his subordinate asuras. ‘The relation is commenced by Indra forming the matter of the second book. OI. The Asura-utpatti-candam, or account of the origin of the asuras. Each padalam of this division will not require a minute specification. It is throughout related by Jndra, in the first person, to Sudrahmanya. In the early part Castyapu is introduced. It must be remembered that in other books, he is stated to have had two wives, named Diti and Adit by whom were produced the devatas, or celestials, and the datiyas, or Ti- tans. In this book he is described as father of the asuras by Surasi, an obscure female of low, or foreign race, who was instructed by Sucra, pre- ceptor of the asuras, and by him surnamed May, or deceptive one. ‘The eldest born of the sons of Casyapa, by Surasi, was named Surapadma, and. other two sons were called Simghamucha and Animuc’ha (or hon-face and elephant-face) and with them a vast multitude of other asuras. Va- rious minor matters, relative to this illegitimate family, are mentioned. Among other things their departure or separation from their place of birth, and building a new* capital which, in a legendary way, is said to have been effected by Surapadma calling Visvacarma and giving him di- rections to buildatown. A distinct colony, or nation was thus formed. This principal matter being stated, Indra introduces in an episode, an account of Agastya having been commissioned to go to the south ; on the way he was resisted by a vast barbarian, huge as a mountain, named Krauncha, on whom Agastya denounced a curse of becoming fixed asa mountain; and of being ultimately destroyed by Cumara the son of Siva ; explaining a reference to Krauncha-giri, in the first book. The other adventures of Agastya by the way as to the Vindhya mountain, and with Vil and Vathan the two cannibals, are adverted to as in the Cast Candam (before abstracted) only with more brevity. Indra also adverts to his own penance, and thereby returns to the lo- eal and family affairs of the asuras and their posterity. Ill. The Vira Mahendra Candam. Subrahmanya remaining at Tiru- chandi puram sent Vira-bahu, his general, as ambassador to Mahendra- girt, to ascertain whether Surapadma was willing to submit, or desirous of war. ‘The ambassador was ordered to release the celestials that had been imprisoned by Surapadma. A colony went out from the land of Shinar underAshur and built Nineveh, capital of the Assyrian empire. Ashur Greve is Assour, or Assur. Suria, in the Septuagint, de- | signates Mesopotamia, 116 A Supplement to the Siz Reports [No. 35, The proposal to submit was rejected ; and various episodes occur, nar- rating various skirmishes between the belligerent powers. In one of these Vira bahu killed