row rocky glen. During the dry season, it is fordable. After rain, the only means of crossing it, is by one of those suspension-bridges, of branches and ropes made of grass, which have been from ancient times common in these mountains, and appear to have given the original hint to the chain-bridges of Europe. The summer in the valley is much hotter, so that plantains and mangoes come to some perfection; but in winter, there is more and harder frost than at Almorah, "In the neighbourhood of the snowy mountains, the vegetation, as much of it as exists, is nearly approaching to that of Europe. Raspberries, blackberries, cranberries, and bilberries are found in considerable numbers. The birch and willow here, as in Norway, are the latest trees which shew themselves to persons ascending the hills; but the sides and lower ravines of their feet are covered with noble silver-firs. Few cedars are now to be found in the province. Tradition describes them as having been once very numerous, and as having been destroyed owing to their value as building materials. In the present forests, fir is the prevailing timber; but, except the silver-firs, they are of a very bad, though tall and stately kind. Great devastations are annually made in these woods, partly by the wasteful habits of travellers, who cut down multitudes of young trees to make temporary huts, and for fuel, while the cattle and goats which browse on the mountains, prevent a great part of the seedlings from rising. Unless some precautions are taken, the inhabited parts of Kumaoon will soon be wretchedly bare of wood; and the country, already too arid, will

"All the beams in the old Raja's palace at Almorah, when that was taken down to make room for the fort, were found to be of cedar."

lose not only its beauty, but its small space of fertility."

The province of Kumaoon comprehends the hilly tract lying between the western branch of the Goggrah, called the Kali-nuddee, which divides it from Nepaul on the east, and the Ram-gunga, its western boundary towards Gurwal. Its former capital was Champavati (Champawtee or Chumpwut), the Sanscrit name of which is said to be Kurmachal. The family of the late Rajah originally came from J'hansee near Allahabad, and are said to have been Rajpoots. By what means or authority they were raised to the throne of this distant principality, does not clearly appear; but there seems reason to suppose, that here, as, in Cashmeer, intrusive Brahmins had contrived to obtain a political ascendancy, and that they disposed of the crown at their pleasure. † "The marks, indeed, of the sacerdotal power," we are told by Mr. Fraser, 66 are said to be very prevailing throughout Kumaoon, in the very ancient and comparatively magnificent temples found in different parts." The population also is represented as differing from that of Gurwal and the states to the westward; approaching nearer, in their dress, manners, and customs, to the people of

Heber, vol. ii. pp. 211-216. Almorah, according to Hamilton, stands in lat. 29° 35′ N., long. 79° 44′ E., ninety miles N. by E. from Bareilly.

"During the time of the Rajahs of Kumaoon, we are informed, that the power of the priesthood was so great that it might have been deemed absolutely a Brahminical government. The Brahmins of the Josi caste had so overwhelming an influence, that they could do what they pleased-depose or elevate a prince. An instance of this occurred not long ago, when a relative of the Rajah of Sreenuggur was called to the government of Kumaoon by a faction of the Brahmins, and was afterwards deposed by their intrigues."-Fraser, p. 537. See also Hamilton's Hindostan, ii. 651.

the plains, than to those of the neighbouring hills. Champavati is stated expressly to have been colonized with pure Hindoos. Almorah was built by a Rajah of the Chandra race, who flourished in the reign of Akbar, and who greatly extended his hereditary dominions he afterwards became a favourite with the Mogul sovereign of Delhi, who granted him permission to coin money in the royal name and Persian

* Dr. Buchanan Hamilton gives the following account. "It is generally agreed, that the founder of the family of Kumau was Thor Chandra, a needy but high-born descendant of the family of the Moon (Chandra), who, about 350 years ago, left Jhansi or Pratishthan, opposite to Allahabad, in quest of fortune. He was accompanied by a pure Brahmin, equally necessitous, named Jahdev, from whom the Nidhis, my informants, claim a descent. They found service from an impure chief of the Jar or the Magar caste, who had a small territory, for which he paid tribute to the Rajahs of Karuvirpoor. Having secured this man's favour, and invited some pure men like themselves, the two servants cut off their master, expelled his subjects, and settled the country with pure Hindus, building the town of Champawati or Kurmachal. Jahdev (to whom the soldier offered the half of the territory) declined the office of government, and contented himself with stipulating for the hereditary officer of register and steward for all the estates which the prowess of the Rajas might acquire." On the death of the grandson of Thor Chandra, without heirs, the Brahmins sent to Jhansi, and procured as a chief, another needy descendant of the Moon (family). His descendants, like their predecessors, continued to pay tribute to the Rajahs of Karuvirpoor, till Roodra Chandra (or Rooderchund), in the time of Akbar, availed himself of a disputed succession to make himself master of that sovereignty. Having extended his conquests in other directions, he built Almorah, and made it the capital of his dominions. He also built Rudrapoor. This prince claimed to be a descendant of "the illustrious Buddha." See Hamilton's Nepaul, pp. 291–297. Also pp. 9-24. Mr. Fraser gives a similar account, with some variations. According to his statement, Almorah was founded by Kuleanchund, the father of Rooderchund; and the first rajah of the family, instead of being an adventurer, was elevated to the throne at the age of sixteen or seventeen.-Fraser's Himala Mountains, pp. 539, 40.

character. * One of his successors fought in the Deccan, in the service of Shah-jehan. The throne continued to be occupied by Rajahs of the same family, though not in the direct or legitimate line, and the country enjoyed outward tranquillity, till, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it was invaded and desolated by the Rohillas under Ali Mohammed. They were at length expelled from the mountains; but the rich possessions which the Kumaoon rajahs held in the low country, were never recovered. This invasion was followed by a series of intestine disputes and revolutions, till, about 1790, the Ghoorkalese armies, invited by the discontents, entirely reduced the whole country. They were, in their turn, expelled by the British in 1815; and the territory, with that portion of Gurwal which lies east of the Alaknunda and Ganges, was permanently united to the Company's dominions.

The face of the country, though similar in character to the adjacent territories, is said to be less savage and rough than Gurwal. The hills are less lofty, and the valleys more susceptible of cultivation. The people also are of a milder and more effeminate nature. The agricultural labours are conducted chiefly by the women. Bishop Heber speaks of the natives as dirty to a degree which he never saw among Hindoos, and extremely averse to any improvements in their rude and inefficient agriculture, but honest, peaceable, cheerful, and diligent; and "as remarkable for their

1 * "No other hill chief had a mint except Nepaul, the Rajahs of which have always coined money in their own name, and in the Nagri character."-Buchanan Hamilton. After the overthrow of Karuvirpur, the Yumila Rajah was acknowledged as liege lord, by all the chiefs of the mountains; but his power gradually declined before the rising fortunes of the Chandra rajahs.

love of truth as the Puharrees of Boglipoor." Gentle, however, as they are, they "use their women ill, employing them in the most laborious tasks. A wife is regarded by the Khasya peasant as one of the most laborious and valuable of his domestic animals." They are rigid Hindoos, yet not so inhospitable as their brethren of the plains. The population of Kumaoon amounts, according to the information he received, to about 300,000 persons. That of Gurwal, on the other side of the Alaknunda, is yet more considerable.

The whole population of Gurwal and Kumaoon are called Khasyas, as having settled in the Khas country ;* but all pretend to have descended from colonies who have migrated from the south, and disclaim every connexion with the impure barbarians who originally possessed the country.+ The Khasyas, Bishop Heber says, pretend to be all Rajpoots of the highest caste, and are very scrupulous in their eating and drinking. They will not even sell one of their little mountain cows to a stranger, unless he will swear that he will neither kill it himself, nor transfer it to any body else to be killed." One curious peculiarity in their habits is mentioned by the Bishop as distinguish

"To the north of these hills (the Sewâlic) and of that unknown race of men whom they call Kás, lies Tibet."-Baber's Memoirs, p. 313.

+ Hamilton, vol. ii. p. 635. "West from Gurwal, the term Khas is altogether rejected, and it is pretended, that this impure race never held the country." There can be no doubt, however, that Kashmeer, as well, probably, as Kashgar, Kastwar, and the Koh Khas, or Caucasus, have taken their name from the aboriginal race, who appear to have possessed the Indian Caucasus, from the eastern limits of India to the confines of Persia. Colonel Wilford supposes their country to be the Casia of Ptolemy, and that the Caspian sea was also denominated from them. As. Res., vol. vi. pp. 455, 6. They were, probably, of the same family as the modern Bhotiyas or inhabitants of Bootan.