mountains or high hills near it, but it rises singly from the plain. In its natural state it must have sunk in a declivity to the plain, but it has been rendered by the hand of man perpendicular for one hundred and eighty feet in height all round! The ditch is fifty feet deep, cut out of the solid rock. The only entrance to this wonderful instance of human labour is over a bridge, so extremely fragile, that it could be broken down in a few minutes; having crossed which you enter a place excavated in the mountain, and passing through another you ascend a spiral set of steps, about two hundred in number, and issuing out of a trap-door made of iron, once more breathe fresh air. This outlet is above the perpendicular part of the rock. The trap-door is perforated with holes, on which a fire can be kindled, and a part of the rock is so constructed that it acts as a bellows on this fire, and the smoke descends into the caverns beneath, through which you must enter; so that if you were to cross the ditch and get inside the mountain (recollect there is no passage

in

outside) against the wishes and inclination of the inhabitants, they can, by lighting a fire on the trapdoor, suffocate you with the smoke which would descend into the caverns. There are but few guns Dowlutabad, but the place is more naturally made for defence than offence. The inhabitants reside in the several caverns in the mountain, which is plentifully supplied with water. The suburbs are ex

tensive, and numerously inhabited. The evident intention of this fort, which I have attempted to describe, is a place where treasure can be safely deposited in time of war and tumult; and Arunzebe, in building Arungabad so near, must have had this idea in his mind, Dowlutabad at that time belonging to him. It was once taken by the French by stratagem, the native commandant not being resolute enough to resist the offer of money; it afterwards was restored to the rightful owner, and is now in the possession of the Nizam, who is very jealous of allowing strangers to enter the fort; the letters we had to some Rajas procured us the favor and honor we met with.

SIR,-An old and almost unknown traveller gives a description of a Ganges boat, which may be rescued from oblivion, and at the same time afford information and amusement in your hands.

Here (at Patna) are certain pleasure boats used by great men, which because of their strange shape, 1 will describe in a few words. These boats I cannot resemble to any thing better than to a Gaefish; they are extraordinarily low, long and slender, with twenty, twenty-five, or thirty oars of a side; all severally painted, some green, some red, blue, &c. The place where the great man sits, is

either afore or in the middle, in a curious Choutree made purposely. When they journey the vessel is stuck full of flags; these hang down on the prow which is excessively elongated; as also is the stern, both ends being sharp alike. On of those cow tails so much esteemed. both sides of the prow hang down many They use a cheer to their pulling, as we first, and all the rest answering. From do in our barges, one giving the word our house which stood on the banks of the river, we often saw hard by the shore, Albicores, leaping in the same manner as many great fishes as big as Bonitos or they do at sea. They are called Soa.

Brahmini geese.* and small shrikes hovering over the river. At three hundred and thirty-six paces ascend the foot of the mount, ranging with the river, which runs about eighty yards to the left. At one thousand three hundred and sixty paces, the plain is divided into an upper step about two miles broad, and a lower one, in which is the river following the middle of the lower step or valley, and about a mile in breadth. Many wild horses on the upper step. At three thousand two hundred paces myriads of small flies, very troublesome. At four thousand two hundred and five, road very uneven from hillocks and hollows. The surface of the ground covered with salt. At five thousand seven hundred and twenty, the various currents which divided the valley unite and form a large and clear stream, of considerable rapidity. At six thousand, a very large but dry watercourse leads to the river. At eight thousand six hundred, a valley opens from two or three miles broad, and covered with large pebbles. Heat very great. At eleven thousand two hundred and seventy-eight, come to five currents of a river, which we cross. This river rises from mountains covered with snow lying S. 75 E. and falls into that just mentioned. Ghertope, formed by some black tents at a considerable distance, bears from hence N. 5 E. The intervening plain, and indeed as far as the eye can reach until it is bounded by a pass to the N. W., is covered by prodigious bodies of sheep, goats, and yaks, amongst which is a small number of horses. The number of cattle cannot I think be less than forty thousand. At fourteen thousand paces reach the town, or rather assemblage of tents in clusters, made of blankets surrounded by hair ropes fixed to stakes. Over the tents are variously coloured shreds of silk and cloth as flags.

We had only just pitched our tents and arranged our baggage, when a messenger arrived from the Déba and Wazir, desiring us to pay them a visit to-day, and we should proceed to business the following day; the terms of the message were too pressing to admit of delay, accordingly we proceeded to the house of the Déba with our presents. It was enclosed

* Anas Casarca.

by a fence about four feet high, and surrounded by the same litter of bones, horns, and scraps of wool, that we had remarked at Dábá. After entering an enclosure, we stopped a few seconds at the close of a small yard, in the front of which were some matchlocks and bows and arrows, piled in a kind of guard house; and we were desired to go through a low door into a room, about twenty feet long. At the opposite end, on a raised bench of earth, covered with a carpet and cushions, sat an elderly man, bare headed, and clothed in a greasy yellow damask gown. This was the Déba. On the right hand from the Déba was a dark complexioned person, who was his younger brother; and on his right again, a rather fair young man, who was the son of the late Wazir, and now shared the authority of government with the Déba. The Déba had rather a shrewd countenance. His brother had a sullen expression, and was ill-favoured. The young Wazir had a pleasing face, of the Tatar kind. We had cushions placed on the side of the room, opposite to the young men; and our attendants with those of the household occupied the lower parts of the chamber. Some conversation passed through the medium of our interpreter, which turned upon our usual place of dwelling, and the articles we had brought with us, of which an inventory was handed to the Déba, and after being looked over by him, given to the Wazir. The apartments were built of sods. The roof was flat, made of branches of trees laid across, covered with sods, and having a square hole near the centre, which answered the double purpose of letting in light and giving vent to smoke: the sides of the room were hung with dirty yellow silk. On the right hand of the Wazir were two dogs. The Déba sat at the upper end of the room on a platform of sods two feet high, covered with an old carpet, on a cushion faced with China satin. Before him was a little long table, on which were a box with barley-meal, a blue and white large China tea-cup, a thing like a small lead tea canister, used as a spitting pot and a greenish jasper tea-cup, less than the other. This latter was frequently filled by a boy, from a large earth. en tea-pot with a pale coloured lid, apparently cold. Superstition in easteru

countries attaches to jasper cups the property of splitting, if poison be put into them; and this trait, at first blush, does not speak in favour of the morality of our Tatar friends.

Over his head, to defend him from the earth of the sods or other annoyance, were two or three pieces of common chintz, and at the right corner was a small square apartment, made by a chintz curtain, in which was a light. As the Déba lighted his pipe from a chafing dish of charcoal, which was on the floor, I suspect him to be a worshipper of the sun and fire; and this suspicion is strengthened by the long hymns which our attendants chanted on the road, at the first appearance of that luminary.

Our interview was very long; but it was easy to see that the impression of our being either Gorkhas or Felings, (so the Tatars call Europeans) wore off either by the representations of the Deba of Dábá, or by the weight of our presents. Particular inquiry was made for pearls, and cups of crystal. Round the Déba's neck was a string of beads, thick in the middle and squeezed in at the ends, each bead about an inch and a half long, of a black substance resembling elastic gum, and marked with a deep circular impression made by a kind of seal. At the bottom was a small oblong, rounded gold box, with a little turquoise stone in the middle of the lid. In each ear he had a long pendant, consisting of a large pearl between rows of small turquoise stones set in gold. All the three persons mentioned had on their tail, which is twisted from three plaits, a gold circular ornament in lieu of a rosette. This is generally larger than a crown piece, half an inch thick, with a raised edge defended by very beautiful filigree work enriched with some decoration of the turquoise. This is really an elegant trifle, and with the exception of a dagger case, and an etui for long iron sticks to clean the throat of their tobacco pipes, was the only real decoration, betokening taste, I have seen in the country.

July 18th. This morning we displayed our goods as detailed in our inventory. After we returned, a Cashmirian Vakil from the Rájá of Laták sent word, that he was ready to buy our goods, if the

Déba did not close with our terms. He said that he should be glad to open a commerce with Hindustan for goods of that country in exchange for the productions of Laták. That place, he said, was about sixty kos or ten days journey from Gherlope, and the same distance from Cashmir. He mentioned a place called Busheer, twenty days journey from Latak and ten only from Bokhara. The road through Cabul, from Dehli to Bokhara, he represented as very circuitous. From Amritsir to Laták the journey was from twenty to twenty-five days, and the best season for it was the hot weather or the rainy season, but it would be preferable to go in the former and return in the latter period. He purchases shawl wool on advances at thirty negis per rupee; the first quality sells in Cashmir at twelve negis, and the second fifteen negis per rupee. The best wool comes from the neighbourhood of Ouprang Kote near Mánasaróvar.

July 19th-The Latákis, as well as the Uniyas, are not able to grow grain enough for their own consumption, but are supplied by the inhabitants of the hills. The Uniyas procure their grain from the Jouáris, the Marchas, and other traders, through the passes as far as Baschar, the Latakis from the Cashmirians.-The supply of grain is highly important to the Uniyas as they live on barley meal and rice, which they eat with their tea. Animal food seems to constitute only a small portion of their diet.

The shepherds are now beginning to shear their sheep and goats, Jouári and Baschar merchants are purchasing sheep wool which they manufacture into Pankis and blankets; and those from Laták are collecting the shawl wool. I purchased a small quantity of the latter, at the rate of twenty-five negis per rupee. The Latákis require thirty. The Déba hinted that he might be disposed to give twenty; and this in the beginning it may be prudent to take, until a footing be established. It is important to shew, that he will receive more advantage by dealing with our agents in future than with the Latdkis. These have some shawl goats, but not in numbers sufficient to supply the Cashmirian market. However, if a portion of the quantity raised in Undés, can