Surveyors. Lieut. Macartney, 5th Reg. Bengal Native Infantry (commanding the cavalry of the escort), and Lieut. Tickell, Bengal Engineers. Officers attached to the Escort. Capt. Raper, 1st Bat. 10th Regiment. Lieut. Harris, Artillery. Lieut. Cunningham, 2d Bat. 27th Reg. Lieut. Ross, 2d Bat. 6th Regiment. Lieut. Irvine, 1st Bat. 11th Regiment. Lieut. Fitzgerald, 6th Reg. Nat. Cavalry. Lieut. Jacob, 2d Bat. 23d Regiment. The escort was composed of a troop from the 5th Regiment of Native Cavalry and a detail from the 6th (making one hundred men), two hundred infantry, and one hundred irregular cavalry. All things being prepared, the embassy left Delly on the 13th of October, 1808. From that city to Canound, a distance of about one hundred miles, is through the British dominions, and need not be described. It is sufficient to say, that the country is sandy, though not ill cultivated. "On approaching Canound," says Mr. E., "we had the first specimen of the desart," (the Indian Desart of the maps); and it will be seen, that the ambassador obtained, almost as soon, a tolerably striking specimen of its inhabitants : On approaching Canound we had the first specimen of the desart, to which we were looking forward with anxious curiosity. Three miles before reaching that place, we came to sand hills, which at first were covered with bushes, but afterwards were naked piles of loose sand, rising one after another like the waves of the sea, and marked on the surface by the wind like drifted snow. There were roads through them, made solid by the treading of animals; but off the road, our horses sunk into the sand above the knee. We set off from Canound on the 21st of October, and in the course of the march we quitted the dependencies of our own Government, and entered the district of Shekhawuttee (so called from a predatory tribe of Raujpoots who inhabit it), the country becoming more and more desart as we advanced. On the 22d, we reached Singauna, a handsome town, built of stone, on the skirts of a hill of purplish rock, about six hundred feet high. I was here met by Rajah Ubhee Sing, the principal chief of the Shekhawut tribe. He was a little man with large eyes, inflamed by the use of opium he wore his beard turned up on each side towards his ears, which gave him a wild and fierce appearance; his dress was plain; and his speech and manners, like those of all his countrymen, rude and unpolished. He was, however, very civil, and made many professions of respect and attachment to the British. I saw him several times, and he was always drunk, either with opium or brandy. This was indeed the case with all the Shekhawuttee Sirdars, who are seldom in a condition to appear till the effect of their last debauch is removed by a new dose; consequently it is only in the interval between sobriety and absolute stupefaction that they are fit for business. Two marches from Singauna brought us to Jhoonjhoona, a handsome town, with some trees and gardens, which look well in such a desart. Each of the chiefs, who are five in number, has a castle here; and here they assemble when the public affairs require a council. At this place I saw the remaining four Shekhawut chiefs; they were plain men. One of them, Shaum Sing, was remarkably mild and well behaved; but some of the others bore strong marks of the effects of opium in their eyes and countenance. They were all cousins, and seemed to live in great harmony; but scarcely had I crossed the desart, when I heard that Shaum Sing had murdered the three others at a feast, stabbing the first of them with his own hand. In perusing the "Introduction," which is every where written with neatness and perspicuity, extending only to the length of eightytwo pages, and in which, on the one hand, (always excepting the spelling of the proper names) we have found nothing to offend us, while, on the other, almost every paragraph has struck us as filled with interesting particulars, we had marked down, for extracts, passages so very numerous and extended, that upon revision, we find ourselves obliged to cancel our notes, and almost to be contented with appealing exclusively to this account of them, in testimony of the satisfaction which we have received in executing this part of our task, and in support of our promise of similar gratification to those who shall follow us. In the mean time, we shall proceed to trace the progress of the journey, indulging ourselves, as we advance, with producing a few of the many passages to which we have referred. The landscape and general aspect of the desart, a curious account of its wells, and the condition of some of its princes, are given in what follows: A few miles beyond the Shekhawuttee border, we entered the territories of the Raja of Bikaneer. This Raja is perhaps the least important of the five princes of Raujpootauna. Those of Jypoor and Joudpoor, are at the head of considerable states; the reduced power of the Raja of Ondipoor is kept from insignificance by his high rank and the respect which is paid him; but the territories of the Rajas of Jesselmeer and Bikaneer, are merely the most habitable parts of the desart, and, consequently, have little to boast in population or resources. The Raja of Bikaneer's revenue only amounts to £50,000, but, as his troops are paid by assignments of land, he was able to keep up 2000 horse, 8000 foot and thirtyfive pieces of field artillery, even after the defeat he had suffered previous to my arrival at his capital. The style of his court verty of his government. His frontier also was very far from indicating the poplace towards the Shekhawuttee, and consequently the first part of his territories which we approached, was Chooroo, which may be reckoned the second town in his dominions. It is near a mile and a half round, without counting its large but mean suburbs; and, though situated among naked sand hills, it has a very handsome appearance. The houses are all terraced, and both they and the walls of the town are built of a kind of limestone, of so pure a white, that it gives an air of great neatness to every thing composed of it. It is however soft, and crumbles into a white powder, mixed here and there with shells. It is found in large beds in many parts of the desart. The chief of Chooroo is a dependant rather than a subject of the Raja of Bika neer. The Shekhawuttee country seems to lose its title to be included in the desart, when compared with the two hundred and eighty miles between its western frontier and Bahawulpoor, and, even of this, only the last hundred miles is absolutely destitute of inhabitants, water, or vegetation. Our journey from the Shekawut frontier to Pooggul, a distance of one hundred and eighty miles, was over hills and valleys of loose and heavy sand. The sometimes formed by the wind on the hills were exactly like those which are sea shore, but far exceeding them in their height, which was from twenty to one hundred feet. They are said to shift their positions, and to alter their shapes according as they are affected by the wind; and in summer, the passage of many parts of the desart is said to be rendered dangerous by the clouds of moving sand; but when I saw the hills (in winter), they seemed to have a great degree of permanence, for they bore a sort of grass, besides Phoke, and the thorny bushes of the Baubool, and the Bair, or Jujube, which altogether gave them an appearance that sometimes amounted to verdure. Among the most dismal hills of sand, one occasionally meets with a village, if such a name can be given to a few round huts of straw, with low walls and conical roofs, like little stocks of Corn. These are surrounded by hedges of thorny branches stuck in the sand, which, as well as the houses, are so dry, that if they happened to catch fire, the village would be reduced to ashes in five minutes. These miserable abodes are surrounded by a few fields, which depend for water on the rains and dews, and which bear thin crops of the poorest kind of pulse, and of Bajra, or Holcus Spicatus, and this last, though it flourishes in the most sterile countries, grows here with difficulty, each stalk several feet from its neighbour. The wells are often three hundred feet deep, and one was three hundred and forty-five feet. With this enormous depth, some were only three feet in diameter; the water is always brackish, unwholesome, and so scanty, that two bullocks working for a night, easily emptied a well. The water was poured into reservoirs lined with clay, which our party drank dry in an instant after its arrival. These wells are all lined with masonry. The natives have a way of covering them with boards, heaped with sand, that effectually conceals them from an enemy. In the midst of so arid a country, the water-melon, the most juicy of fruits, is found in profusion. It is really a subject of wonder to see melons three or four feet in circumference, growing from a stalk as slender as that of the common melon, in the dry sand of the desart. They are sown, and perhaps require some cultivation, but they are scattered about to all appearance as if they grew wild. The common inhabitants are Jauts. The upper classes are Rathore Raujpoots. The former are little, black, and ill-looking, and bear strong appearances of poverty and wretchedness. The latter are stout and handsome, with hooked noses, and Jewish features. They are haughty in their manners, very indolent, and almost continually drunk with opium. The stock consists of bullocks and camels, which last are kept in numerous herds, and are used to carry loads, to ride on, and even to plough. Of the wild animals, the desart rat deserves to be mentioned for its numbers, though not for its size; the innumerable holes made by these animals where the ground is solid enough to admit of it, are indeed a serious inconvenience to a horseman, whom they distress even more than the heavy sand. It is more like a squirrel than a rat, has a tuft at the end of its tail, and is often seen sitting upright, with its fore-feet crossed like a kangaroo. It is not unlike the jerboa, but is much less, and uses all its feet. It is not peculiar to the desart, being found in most sandy places on the west of the Jumna. Antelopes are found in some parts, as is the goorkhur, or wild ass, so well depicted in the book of Job.* This animal is sometimes found alone, but oftener in herds. It resembles a mule rather than an ass, but is of the colour of the latter. It is remarkable for its shyness, and still more for its speed: at a kind of shuffling trot peculiar to itself, it will leave the fleetest horses behind. The foxes may also be mentioned; they are less than our fox, but somewhat larger than the common one of India; their backs are of the same brownish colour with the latter, but in one part of the desart, their legs and belly up to a certain height, are black, and in another, white. The line between those colours and the brown is so distinctly marked, that the one kind seems as if it had been wading up to the belly in ink, and the other in white-wash. At Chooroo, the travellers prepared to cross the desart, on their march to Bikaneer, during the first week of their halt at which place, upward of forty persons of the mission, of all descriptions, expired, through "the combined effects of fatigue, bad water, and the excessive use of water-melons :". Our march to Bickaneer was attended with few adventures. Parties of plunderers were twice seen, but did not attack our baggage. Some of the people also lost their way, and were missing for a day or two, during which time they were in danger of being lost in the uninhabited parts of the desart, and were fired on by Who has sent out the wild ass free? or who has loosed the bonds of the wild ass? whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings he scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches after every green thing. Job xxxix. 5, 6, 7, and 8. all the villages which they approached in hopes of getting guides or directions for their journey. At last on the 5th of November, in the midst of a tract of more than ordinary desolation, we discovered the walls and towers of Bikaneer, which presented the appearance of a great and magnificent city in the midst of a wilderness. Even after we reached our ground there were disputes in camp whether it or Delly was most extensive; but a little farther acquaintance removed this impression. The town was surrounded by a fine wall, strengthened with many round towers, and crowned with the usual Indian battlements. It contained some high houses, and some temples, one of which had a lofty spire, and at one corner was a very high and showy fort. It was distinguished by the whiteness of all the buildings, arising from the material already described at Chooroo, and by the absence of trees, which give most Indian towns the appearance of woods rather than of inhabited places. The beauty of Bikaneer, however, was all external. On entering the gates most of it was found to be composed of huts, with mud walls painted red. It was exceedingly populous, perhaps from the number of people who had fled to the capital in consequence of the state of the country. "Bikaneer was at this time invaded by five different armies, one of which, belonging to the Raja of Joudpoor, and 15,000 strong, had arrived within a few miles of the city;" and "I was," says Mr. E., assailed by both parties with constant applications, the Joudpoor general urging me to come to his camp, and the Raja desiring me to take part with him. The former could only throw out hints of danger from omitting to comply with his wishes, but the Raja could at pleasure accelerate or retard the provision of our cattle and supplies; and by placing a guard over the well which had been allotted to us, he one day shewed to our no small uneasiness how completely he had us in his power. As we pursue the narrative of our author, there are few parts of it in which we find ourselves more interested, than those wherein he describes the persons, manners, state, sentiments, and amusements, of the several princes with whom he had occasion to converse, from the rajahs of the desart to the lord of Peshawer, as far as they fell under his hasty observation. First, in order, of these pictures, is that of the Rajah of Bikaneer : The time of our residence was variously occupied. At first there was some novelty in observing the natives, with whom our camp was crowded like a fair. Nothing could exceed their curiosity; and when one of us appeared abroad, he was stared at like a prodigy. They wore loose clothes of white cotton or muslin, like the people of Hindoostan ; but were distinguished from them by their Raujpoot features, and by their remarkable turban, which rises high over the head like a mitre, and has a cloth of some other colour wound round the bottom. Some of our party went into the town, where, although curiosity drew a mob round them, they were treated with great civi lity; others rode out into the desart, but were soon wearied with the dreary and unvaried prospect it afforded; for within ten yards of the town was as waste as the wildest part of Arabia. On the northern side alone there was something like a woody valley. The most curious sight at Bikaneer was a well of fine water, immediately under the fort, which is the residence of the Raja. It was three hundred feet deep, and fifteen or twenty feet in diameter. Four buckets, each drawn by a pair of oxen, worked at it at once; and, when a bucket was let down, its striking the water made a noise like a great gun. Great part of our time was taken up with the Raja's visit, and our attendance at his palace. The Raja came to my camp through a street, formed by his own troops and joined by one of our's, which extended from the skirts of the camp to the tent where he was received. He was carried on men's shoulders in a vehicle, like the body of an old-fash ioned coach. He was preceded by a great many chobdars, bearing slender silver mates, with large knobs at the top, which they waved over their heads in the other Hindostanees, and marked by their air, and followed by a numerous retinue. He sat down on a musnud (a kind of throne composed of cushions), under a canopy, or rather an awning of red velvet, embroidered and laced with gold, and supported by four silver pillars, all of which he had sent out for the purpose. We conversed on various subjects for an hour. Among other topics, the Raja enquired about the age of the King, the climate of England, and the politics of the nation. He showed a knowledge of our relation to France; and one of the company asked, whether my mission was not owing to our wars with that nation? Presents were at last put before him and his courtiers, according to the Indian custom, after which he withdrew. Raja Soorut Sing is a man of a good height, and a fair complexion, for an Indian. He has black whiskers and a beard (except on the middle of his chin), a long nose, and Raujpoot features: he has a good face, and a smiling counte I returned his visit on the next day but one, having been invited by his second son, who, though an infant, was sent for that purpose with a great retinue. The fort looked well, as we approached. It was a confused assemblage of towers and battlements, overtopped by houses crowded together. It is about a quarter of a mile square, surrounded with a wall thirty feet high, and a good dry ditch. The palace was a curious old building, in which, after ascending several flights of steps, we came to a court surrounded by buildings, and then had one hundred yards to go, before we reached a small stone hall, supported by pillars, where the Raja took his seat under his canopy. The court was different from any thing I had seen, those present being fairer than It is whimsical that the Hindoos of the sands of Bikaneer should particularly object to eating fish. Asiatic Journ.-No. 1. Jewish features and showy turbans. The Raja and his relations had turbans of many colours, richly adorned with jewels, and the Raja sat resting his arms on a shield of steel, the bosses and rim of which were set with diamonds and rabies. After some time, the Raja proposed that we should withdraw from the heat and crowd, and conducted us into a very neat, cool, and private apartment, in a sepa rate court; the walls were of plaster, as fine as stucco, and were ornamented in good taste; the doors were closed with curtains of China satin. When we were seated on the ground, in the Indian way, the Raja began a speech, in which he said he was a subject of the throne of Delly, that Delly was now in our hands, and he seized the opportunity of my coming, to acknowledge our sovereignty. He then called for the keys of his fort, and insisted on my taking them, which I refused, disclaiming the extended rights ascribed to us. After a long contest, the Raja consented to keep the keys; and when some more conversation had passed, a mob of dancing women entered, and danced and sung till we withdrew. From the territory of the Rajah of Bikaneer, the mission advanced into that of the Khan of Bahawulpore, situate on the further edge of the desart, and not far short of the banks of the Gharra. The country of Bahawulpore (notwithstanding the green bordering given to Bikaneer in Mr. E's map) is also the most eastern of the Af ghan possessions, on the line of march of the embassy; and the reader has the pleasure to find our countrymen's entrance into the dominions to which they were deputed, marked by an interchange of good offices, and tokens of respect, between themselves and the provincial government : On the 21st, we marched at day-break, and for the first ten or twelve miles were in sand as above described, after which we reached the hard plain. No sooner were we clear of the sand-hills, than our VOL. I. I |