Page images
PDF
EPUB

length, by repeated and well-directed difcharges, compelled them to retreat..

A few days after this occurrence, the weather becoming more favourable, and Mr. Thomas having rallied the fugitives, erected a battery, from which he fired with fuch good effect, as to bring down a confiderable part of the wall; but night intervening before he could prepare for ftorming, the affault was delayed until the enfuing day. It was however rendered unneceffary by the enemy's having evacuated the town during the night.

The best and bravest men of Hurrianah being in this town, Mr. Thomas reduced the other places with but little resistance. In a fhort time he gained complete poffeffion of the whole fouth part of the province; but the north-western part being occupied by the Batties, the rajah of Pattyalah, and other feik chieftains, it coft him confiderable time and much trouble to establish his authority as far as the river Cauggur.

The fuccessful termination of this campaign,

affords us an opportunity of presenting a detailed account of the country poffeffed by Mr. Thomas; with fome relative obfervations on the nature and quality of the foil, and on the general character of its inhabitants.

In the district called Hurrianah, ninety miles to the north-west of Delhi, is the country of Mr. George Thomas. It extends eighty cofs from north to fouth, and the fame distance from east to west. To the northward it is bounded by the poffeffions of Sahig Sing, chief of Puttialah, on the north-west by the Batties, weft by the dominions of Beykaneer, and fouth by Jypore, fouth-east by the pergunnah of Dadaree, caft by the diftricts adjoining to Delhi, and north-east by the cities of Rhotuck and Panniput. That part of the country more immediately occupied by Mr. Thomas, is in fhape nearly oval, and extends from fixteen to twenty-four cofs* in different directions. The northern boundary is formed by the river Cauggur, beyond which are the feik territories. To the fouth it is bounded by the town of Behal,

[blocks in formation]

eaft by Mahim, and weft by Behadra, containing in all eight hundred villages.

Within this tract of country, as in moft parts of Hurrianah, water is fcarce, more efpecially during the hot season. To remedy this inconvenience, the inhabitants have constructed wells of confiderable depth, not unfrequently from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty feet.

In addition to this each diftrict has two or three tanks faced with ftone. These afford a plentiful supply of water until the approach of the hot winds of the enfuing feafon, when they are dried up. The number of wells differ according to the industry of the respective inhabitants. At Hiffâr, for inftance, are three hundred; at Hanfi, thirty; at Mahim, one hundred; Tuhana has only fix; and some of the smaller towns from two to five. In this country the Cauggur river is of the greatest fervice to the inhabitants. It is overflowed during the rainy feafon by the acceffion of the ftreams which iffue from the mountains; and on the retiring of the waters, leaves, like the

waters of the Nile, a rich and greafy earth, which yields an abundant crop of the finest wheat. Other parts of Mr. Thomas's poffeffions produce joar, rice, bajerah, and various forts of pulfe, chunah, and barley; but the latter depends on the rain that may fall from the month of October to Christmas. Within the aforementioned tract, the pafturage is uncommonly luxuriant, and produces perhaps the largeft fupply of forage to be met with in any part of Afia. The grafs in Hurrianah is alfo of a very fuperior quality, both as to wholefomenefs and nourishment. Hence the cattle excel those of other parts. The climate is in general falubrious; though, when the fandy and defert country lying to the weftward becomes heated, it is inimical to an European conftitution.

The peyook, or Guinea-worm, fo common in feveral parts of Arabia and Perfia, is likewife extremely troublesome in this province. To fome it proves dangerous; though it is remarked by Mr. Thomas, this diforder feldom attacks Europeans, and is in general confined to the peafantry of the country.

culus

The Peyook, or Guinea worm, the dracunpersarum of Kompfer,* is found chiefly on the shores of the Perfian gulf, and in the fouthern parts of Perfia; more especially in the province of Carmania, and on the island of Ormuz. The origin and progrefs of the dif order occafioned by this fingular worm, is defcribed by Koempfer in his Amoenitates Exoticæ, with fo much accuracy and spirit, that we hope to be pardoned in presenting our readers with an extract from this valuable work, which, it is much to be regretted, has not hitherto been given to our countrymen in an English drefs.

* Vide Kampfer's Amœnitates Exoticæ, Fasciculus 3d, Observatio 4th, p. 529.

+ In lucem prodituri nuncia plerumque est febricula, ut plurimum ephemera, non nunquam in tertiam diem protracta, cum fetæ partis rubidine et tumore; in quo postridie exsurgit postula pisi magnitudine, tenera, aquosa, pellucida, non raro atricolor: qua' post unum aut alterum diem sponte ruptâ vel acu apertâ, prosilit lumbrici summus apex, sive rostellum, ibidem hactenus absconditum, quod pedetentim et reliquum corpus undecunque subsequitur, blandâ attractione quotidié solicitatum. Sæpè etiam non nisi prævió partis dolore, et duritie vix sensibili nascitur; rupto ibidem, quo perpetuo sibi viam parat, ul

« PreviousContinue »