Cape COMORIN is the fouthermoft point of the peninfula, lat. 8° 12", lon. 77° 32' 30", from which a ridge of mountains, called the GAUTS, GATTES, or INDIAN APENNINE, running north to the Surat or Tapty river, divides the penin. fula into two parts. On the oppofite fides of the cape, the winds are conftantly at variance, being easterly on the one fide, and wefterly on the oppofite, alternately; and the climates are confequently various.

The principal places on the eaft fide of the peninfula, commonly called the COROMANDEL COAST, are, Palamcotta or Tinnevelly, lat. 8° 42', lon. 77° 49′ 15′′, Ramanad, Madura, lat. 9° 32', lon. 78° 12', NEGAPATAM, at the mouth of the Cauvery river, or, more properly, at the middle of three mouths, a city and fortrefs of the English, taken from the Dutch in the late war, lat. 10° 20′, lon. 79° 54′, west from it is TANJORE, which gives name to the country, and TRICHINOPOLY, lat. 10° 49', north of it; TRANQUEBAR, a fettlement of the Danes.--About 65 miles north of this is PONDICHERRY, the capital of the French fettlements in India, lately taken by the English, lat. 11° 56', lon. 80.——About 100 miles north of it, is MADRASS, or Fort St George, the principal fettlement of the English on this coaft, first poffeffed by them about the year 1640, now one of the strongest fortreffes belonging to the British nation, lat. 13° 5', lon. 80° 25'. Madrafs, in common with all the European fettlements on this coaft, has no port for fhipping, the coaft forming nearly a ftraight line, and it is alfo incommoded with a high and dangerous furf or wave that breaks upon it, fo that it can only be approached in boats of a particular conftruction, which are made without ribs or keel, with flat bottoms, and having their planks fewed together, altogether without iron. Thus they are rendered fo flexible, as to elude the effects of the violent fhocks which they receive, by the dafhing of the waves or surf on the beach, which either overfets or breaks to pieces a boat of European make. There is no port for large veffels between Trinkamaly, in the island of Ceylon, and the Ganges. The territory (or faghire) belonging to Madrafs extends about 108 miles along the fhore, and 47 inland, in the widest part.

About 70 miles fouth-weft of Madrafs is ARCOT, the an cient capital of the whole country; fuppofed to be the Soramandalum of Ptolemy; whence corruptly Choro-mandel. Weft from this is MYSORE or Meffur, the country of the celebrated HYDER ALLY, who by his great abilities raised himself from a fubordinate rank to be a powerful prince. He

was

was a foldier of fortune, the son of a person who served in quality of Killadar or governor of a small fortress, to one of the kings of Myfore. Hyder firft diftinguished himself as an auxiliary of the French, a. 1753, in whofe camp he is faid to have acquired the rudiments of war. About ten years afterwards, being put at the head of the Myfore army, he dethroned his fovereign, and governed under the title of Regent. He quickly extended his dominions on every fide; and after various turns of fortune died in poffeffion of a state equal in extent to Great Britain, and yielding an annual revenue of four millions, in 1782. The power of Tipoo Saib or Tippoo Sultan, his fon, has of late been greatly abridged by the English under Lord Cornwallis, and a confederacy of the native princes. The capital of Myfore is SERINGAPATAM, fituate in an island of the Chauvery river, lat. 12° 31′, lon. 76° 46'; north of it is the fortrefs of BANGALORE. Northweft from these is the fine province of BEDNORE or Biddannore, one of the first conquefts of Hyder. About 120 miles north from Madrafs is NELLORE, a strong fortress near the mouth of the river PENNAR. GANDICOTTA, on the south bank of this river, is remarkable both as a ftrong fortrefs, and for having a diamond mine near it.

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All that part of the Peninsula fouth of the Kiftnah river was anciently called the CARNATIC; but that name is now commonly reftricted to the eaftern fide, about 570 miles in length, from north to fouth, but no where more than 120 wide, commonly no more than 75. The Carnatic contains an incredible number of forts and fortreffes of various kinds, which render its geography important.

North of the mouth of the Kiftnah river is a long tract of country, called the four northern CIRCARS, Cicacole, Rajamundry, Ellore, and Candapilly, extending about 350 miles along the fea to the Chilka lake on the confines of Cattack, and from 25 to 75 miles wide; fecured on the weft by a chain of steep mountains, and only acceffible at the two ends; but wholly detached from the other British settlements: the northern extremity being 350 miles from Bengal, and the fouthern 250 from Madrafs. Near the mouth of the Kiftnah river is MASULIPATAM, a city and port of trade, in the diftrict called by Ptolemy Mefolia. North of the Kiftnah is the GODAVERY river, the moft confiderable from the Ganges to cape Comorin. It has its fource about 70 miles to the north-east of Bombay; fo that it traverses almoft the whole breadth of the peninfula, through the Dowlatabad Soubah, and the country of Tellinghana.

About

of

About ninety miles above the fea it is joined by Bain Gonga ; at Rajamundry it feparates into two principal chamels; and thofe fubdividing again, form feveral tide-harbours for vefiels moderate burden, namely Ingeram, Coringa, Yanam, Bandarmelanka and Narfapour. Extenfive forefts of teek trees border on its banks within the mountains, which supply timber for the use of thefe ports. European built fhips feldom laft five years in the Indian feas, but thofe built of the native tech timber are found to last forty years and upwards. North of this, on the coaft, are Vifagepatam, lat. 70° 42', lon. 84° 23'; Ganjam, &c.

Weft from the Circars are the territories of the NIZAM, or fucceffor of the famous Nizam al Muluck, comprifing the province of Golconda, called anciently Tellingana, or Tilling, fituate between the lower parts of the courfes of the Kiflna and Godavery rivers, and the principal part of Dowlatabad; together with the western part of BERAR, fubject to a tribute of a chout, or fourth part of its net revenue, to the Berar Mahrattas. His capital is HYDERABAD or Bagnagur on the Maui river, lat. 17 12', lon. 78° 51′. About five or fix miles north-weft of it, is the famous fortrefs of GOLCONDA, on the fummit of a hill of a conical form, which is deemed impregnable, and joined to Hyderabad by a wall of communication. When Aurungzebe conquered the kingdom of Golconda in 1687, this fortrefs was taken by treachery. Aurungzebe made Aurungabad the capital, north of the river Godavery, lat. 19° 45', lon. 76 2′, which he called after his own name. The old capital was DOWLATABAD or DEOGIRE, near a fortress of the fame name built on the top of a mountain, about nine or ten miles north-west of Aurungabad. The Einperor Mahomed, when he conquered this part of the country, in the fourteenth century, attempted to eftablifh the feat of his empire at Dowlatabad; and with that view almoft ruined Delhi, by forcing the inhabitants to remove about 750 miles from their ancient habitations to his new capital.-Near Dowlatabad are the pagodas of ELORA, most of which are cut out of the natural rock.

North of the territories of the Nizam and the Circars are the territories of the Berar, or Eaftern Mahrattas; poffeffing the provinces of BERAR and ORISSA or Orixa. Their prefent chief or Rajah is MOODAJEE LOUNSLA or Dorfold, a defcendant of SEVAJEE, the founder of the Mahratta empire. The capital of Berar, and the refidence of the Rajah, is NAGPOUR, a very large and populous city, though meanly built,

and in a manner defencelefs; fituate nearly in the centre of India, where a great number of the great roads through that country meet, and therefore an important point or ftation in the geography of it, lat. 21° 8' 30", lon. 79° 46′, 722 miles from Calcutta, 631 from Delhi, 552 from Bombay, and 673 from Madrafs. Moodajee's principal fortrefs, the depofitary of his treasures and valuables, is GYALGUR, or Gawile, fituate on a steep mountain, above 100 miles north-west of Nagpour. Each of the native princes in India has a depofitory of this kind, and commonly at a distance from his place of refidence; the unfettled ftate of the country making this neceffary. North-eaft from Nagpour is RUTTUNPOUR, lat. 22° 16', lon. 82° 36', the capital and refidence of BAMBAJEE, who holds the eastern part of the Nagpour territories, under his brother Moodajee. The capital of Oriffa is CATTACK or Cuttack, on the river Mahamuddy, no less than 480 miles almoft ftraight eaft from Nagpour. It lies on the only road between Bengal and the Northern Circars, and therefore is a place of importance to Britain. We know lefs of the interior parts of Berar than of most other countries in Hindooftan. That part of the Berar dominions which borders on Bengal, is generally woody and uninhabited; fo that the usual caufe of jealoufy between contiguous ftates, the defire of enlarging their frontier, is thereby removed.

The northern provinces of the peninfula are called the DECCAN, that is fouth, because they lay fouth of the original territories of the Delhi empire. This name anciently comprehended the whole peninfula. Some limit the name of peninfula to that part of it fouth of the Kistna river, see Introduction to Major Rennel's Memoir, p. xix.

2. INDIA beyond the GANGES*, forms a great peninfula, between the Bay of Bengal on the weft, and the Chinese fea

on

The GANGES (called by the natives Pudda or Padda; alfo Burra Ganga, the GREAT RIVER; or, by way of eminence, Ganga, the RIVER) rifes among the vast mountains of THISET; and, after wandering through thofe rugged re gions about 800 miles, as it is thought, gufhes forth at an opening in the mountains called Himmaleb, the Iiimaus or Imaus of the ancients; whence it precipitates itself into a vaft bafon, which it has worn in the rock. Superftition has given to the mouth of this ca crn the form o. the head of a cow, an animal held nearly in the fame veneration by the Hindoos, as the god Apis was by the ancient Egyptians; whence this fuppofed fource of the Ganges has gotten the name of Gangetri, or the Cow's mouth. The fabulous account of the origin of the Ganges is, that it flows out of the foot of BESCHAN, (the fame with Virou, the Preferving Deity; whence fay the Bra mins, it has its name Pudda, that word fignifying foot in the Sanferit language; and that, in its

on the east. It is about 2000 miles long, and 1000 broad;
between 1 and 30 deg. N. lat. and 92 and 109 deg. E. lon.
and contains the following kingdoms: Achem, Ava, Aracan,
Pegu,

course to the plains of Indoftan, it passes through an immense rock shaped like
a cow's head. This allegory is highly expreffive both of the veneration which
the Hindoos have for that famous ftream, and of their gratitude to the Supreme
Being for the bleffings it confers.

From Hurdwar or Hurdoar, in lat. 30, where the Ganges enters the plains
of Indostan, it flows with a smooth navigable stream through delightful plains
during the remainder of its course to the fea, (which is about 1350 miles), dif-
fufing plenty through the adjacent country, both by its living productions and
annual inundations. In its course through the plains it receives eleven rivers,
fome of which are equal to the Rhine, and none smaller than the Thames,
befides as many others of leffer note. Its bed is very unequal in point of breadth.
From its first arrival in the plains at Hurdwar to the conflux of the Jumna,
the first river of note that joins it, its bed is generally from a mile to a mile
and a quarter wide, and, compared with the latter part of its course, toler-
ably ftraight. From hence downward its courfe becomes more winding, and
its bed confequently wider; half a mile where narroweft, and three miles in
the widest part, and that in places were no iflands intervene. The ftream is
always increafing or decreafing, according to the feafon. It is rifing from the
latter end of April to the middle of Auguft, and falling during the rest of
the year.
When at the loweft, it is about three quarters of a mile broad.
The Ganges is fordable in fome places above the conflux of the Jumna, but the
navigation is never interrupted. Below that the channel is of considerable
depth; for the additional streams bring a greater acceffion of depth than width.
At 500 miles from the fea, the channel is thirty feet deep when the river is at
the loweft; and it continues at least this depth to the fea, where the fudden
expansion of the ftream deprives it of the force neceffary to fweep away the
bars of fand and mud thrown across it by the strong foutherly winds; fo that
the principal branch of the Ganges cannot be entered by large veffels. About
220 miles from the fea, (but 300 reckoning the windings of the river), com-
mences the head of the delta of the Ganges, which is confiderably more than
twice the area of that of the Nile. The two westernmoft branches, named the
Coffimbuzar and Jellingy rivers, unite, and form what is afterwards named the
Hoogly river, which is the port of Calcutta, and the only branch of the Ganges
that is commonly navigated by fhips. The numerous canals cut from the diffe-
rent branches of the Ganges form one of the most extenfive inland navigations
in the world, which is faid to afford conftant employment to 30,000 boatmen.
The chief danger attending this inland navigation arifes from fudden and
violent fqualls, called Northwefters, from the quarter whence they usually blow,
They begin about the middle of March in the eastern parts of Bengal, and
fomewhat later in the western. They recur every three or four days, till the
commencement of the rainy season; and though of no long duration at each
time, yet they often produce fatal effects, if not carefully guarded againft,
whole fleets of trading-boats having been funk by them almost instantaneously.
They are more frequent in the eastern than western parts of Bengal, and hap-
pen oftener towards the clofe of the day than at any other time. As they are
indicated fome hours before they arrive by the rifing and very fingular appear-
ance of the clouds, there is commonly time enough for feeking a place of thei
ter. It is only in very broad parts of the river that they are fo truly formi
dable.

That part of the delta bordering on the fea, is compofed of a labyrinth of rivers and creeks, all of which are falt, except thofe that immediately communicate with the principal arm of the Ganges. This tract, known by the 40 24

pame