CHAPTER XXX.

то ELLORA.

March of Sir R. Hamilton-Indor-The Rajah's Palace-Strike into the Mail-road-Revolt of Kuhárs-Cavalcade-Origin of the present Rajah-Mhow-Goojree-Kurrumpoors-A Stray White Man-Manners of Natives-Sindwar-Fortress in Ruins -Sirpoorah-Peculiar Police Regulation-Old Venetian Coins-Enter the British Dominions-Dhoolia-Native Town-Evidences of having entered British Territory -Malligaum-Cantonments-Native Town-The Fort-Parallel Defences--Nandgaon-Camp in a Grove-Sakigaon-Put up in a Temple-Enter the Děkkun-Physical Geography-The Nizam-" Might makes Right."

WE left Oojén on the evening of February 9th, for Indor, distant thirty-eight miles. The next morning we breakfasted by the roadside, just outside a village, where were pitched the tents of Sir R. Hamilton, the Resident at Indor, who was marching from that place to Mehidpoor. During the breakfast, parties of soldiers; ladies and gentlemen on horseback, in carriages, or in shigrams; elephants, camels, and hǎckurees belonging to his train, were constantly coming in; and all day long we were passing people belonging to the camp, on foot, or variously mounted.

Marching is a most delightful mode of travelling. You go into tents, taking with you all your furniture and attendants, and in this way may travel any distance with all the comforts of home. The march, which is generally from twelve to eighteen miles, is made in the early morning, on horseback, or in a carriage. On arriving at the camping-ground, you find a breakfast-tent already pitched, and breakfast ready. During the discussion of the meal, the large tents and attendants come up, and a most comfortable home for the day is arranged in an inconceivably short time.

Indor is a large town strongly walled, and the residence of Holkar, one of the great Maharatta princes. The Rajah's

palace fronts on an open square, in which we found a great mela, or fair, going on. The palace is over three hundred feet square, and six stories high. Its style of architecture is impure Saracenic. Within, there is a court surrounded by tall pillars of black wood. We were not admitted into the interior of the palace.

The town seemed thriving, and the streets were filled with people. The houses were generally high, and built with frames of dark wood.

At Indor, we struck the mail-road between Agra and Bombay, and consequently got along much more easily, as our bearers could do the same distance in shorter time, and the bungalows were at regular intervals on the road. All the way from Agra we had hardly seen anything better than a mere wagon track, and for part of the way there was not even that. Most of the merchandize we saw on the road was being conveyed on the backs of bullocks, of which we sometimes met droves of five or six hundred. After leaving Indor, we used to see the mail-cart every day, which reminded us that we were not entirely out of the reach of civilization; but in the country in which we had been, the only mails were those for the few places in which English officers were stationed, and they were easily carried by a running hurkáru, or postman.

We were detained a day at Indor, by a revolt of our kuhárs, who refused to go on, unless they were paid some demands for demurrage. We were finally obliged to call in the aid of the law, in the shape of a police jumatdar, who read them the ěkranama, or Persian agreement which they had signed before leaving Agra; and soon brought them to reason by threatening them with imprisonment in case of noncompliance with our requisitions. These men had been dissatisfied for a long time, but were too wise to make a complaint in the native territories through which we had been passing, knowing, as they did, that however right they might be, they would stand no chance of justice from a native judge. They chose Indor as the scene of the revolt, because they expected that the case would come before Sir R. Hamilton, or

an English magistrate. Luckily, however, they were all absent, and the jumatdar arranged matters, without giving us any trouble, for the small reward of two rupees. He even promised to have some of the mutineers flogged, if we liked.

On one of our walks to the town, we met a long cavalcade of chobdars, (men with silver maces,) couriers, native cavalry, and sepoys; the latter of whom wore the Rajah's uniform of dark green, made in the English fashion. They were escorting one of the Rajah's young relations, (I believe a brother,) who had been visiting a garden near the city. He was a little boy, not over eight years of age, very splendidly dressed, and riding a large white horse, richly caparisoned. The Rajah himself was quite young, and was originally a poor shepherd boy. On the death of the last Rajah, without descendants, the Company might easily have annexed his territories, but instead of doing so, they at last discovered this distant relative, and raised him from his humble position to a seat on the Musnud.

We left Indor on the 12th of February for Mhow, distant thirteen miles, which is a station of the Honourable Company's troops. From Mhow we marched the next day to Goojreetwenty-seven miles-arriving there on the 14th. The following day's march was to Kurrumpoora, twenty-five miles. On the way, we crossed the famous and sacred river Nurbudda; but we did not see much of it, as it was three o'clock in the morning when we reached it, and the night was very dark. We had now left the great plain of Northern India, the waters of which flow into the Ganges. Even at Indor there is a branch of the Chumbul which eventually flows into that great stream. But after leaving Mhow, the slope of the country was to the westward, and the road descended to the coast over successive plateaux, separated by ridges of hills, high to the westward, but low to the eastward.

Kurrumpoora is situated in a barren and hilly country; the village is small, and composed of mud huts, but contains a fine large surai, or open court for the accommodation of travellers. It is built at the foot of a low, but steep hill, on the top of which is the dâk-bungalow. During the day, as we

were sitting talking within the bungalow, one of our servants announced that the jumatdar of the village craved an audience. He was accordingly admitted, and after profuse saláms, and a great deal of circumlocution, informed us that he had caught a stray "gora," and had come to ask what he should do with him. We supposed he meant "ghora"-a horse; and were surprised that he should find any difficulty in disposing of the animal, if it had come into his possession. He said his men had caught it wandering about the country, a week before; that since that time he had kept it in a cage, and was now desirous of getting rid of it, as he found its feeding expensive. Finally, we told him to bring it up for our inspection. In a few minutes he returned, followed by a crowd of nearly naked blacks, with swords and spears, surrounding a white man. The mystery was now all explained, and we recollected that "gora" is the native word for a white man, a term, however, scarcely ever heard, as it is not applied to any person of respectability, who is always called sahib-a lord. The "gora" proved to be a poor German sailor, who had a relation at Agra, and had started to walk from Bombay to that place. He was very pale and thin, and said that he had been treated hardly by the natives, all the way up. He could not speak a word of English, or any native language, and might have remained a month in the cage if the jumatdar had not luckily thought of applying to us. His feeding, he said, could not have cost much, as they gave him only coarse bread, and short rations of that. We recommended him to turn back, as he was likely to receive even worse treatment further up the country; but as he persisted in his original design, we supplied him with some funds, and dismissed him and his late jailors. This little anecdote, although uninteresting in itself, shows the light in which a poor white man is looked upon by natives, and the amount of consideration and kindness which he may expect. They regard such persons, in fact, very much as the blacks of the Southern States do the "poor whitefolk." We had frequently experienced the same thing ourselves, when we had walked far ahead of our bearers. The natives know that the consideration which they will receive depends

entirely on their rank, and therefore surround themselves on all occasions with all the evidences of their position. All who can afford it go on horseback, and if possible, have with them at least one follower, and as many more as they can command. We, of course, did not mind such fictitious honours, and therefore used often to walk some distance ahead of our train, clad, frequently, in merely a shirt and trowsers. The puzzled or insolent demeanour of those whom we met only amused us, but, at the same time, we saw enough to show that a pedes trian tour through India would not be the most agreeable way of seeing the country, although it might give an accurate knowledge of the real character of the inhabitants.

The next day's march was thirty miles to Sindwar. The bungalow was unfit for a stable, and showed clearly that we had left the limits of Bengal influence. The village was a miserable huddle of mud huts, but near it was a large stone fortress on the plain. It is now in ruins, but contains the remains of a fine palace and tank, and must once have been a place of considerable strength and importance.

From Sindwar we marched thirty miles to Sirporah, where we arrived on the morning of February 17th. In Sirporah bungalow we fell in with the first traveller that we had seen since leaving Agra. He proved to be Lieutenant Black of the Bombay service, who was going by mail-cart to Bombay from Agra. He had held a civil appointment in Oude, and was well acquainted with Captain Hayes of Lucknow, and some others whom I had known there. We invited him to join our breakfast, and found his company and conversation very pleasant, as he was almost the first Englishman that we had spoken to since leaving Agra. After breakfast, we saw Lieutenant Black off; and in the afternoon we walked into the village, which is of large size, but exclusively composed of mud huts, and surrounded by a mud wall.

Outside the town were a number of baskets, about six feet long and three feet high. Each stood on a little raised platform of earth, and was sheltered by a thatched roof. One end was open and used as an entrance, but could be closed by a frame of basket-work which fitted into the aperture. We,