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temple amount to nearly 50,000. A belief is prevalent 

 among Hindus that Bhadrinalh is the dwelling-place of 

 many holy persons, who have been living there in retirement 

 f T many thousand yean. To favour this belief cavern is 

 pointed out to pilgrims as being the abode of these sancti- 

 fied personages, but a* the mouth of this cavern is closed 

 by a great mass of snow, it is not possible for any of the 

 visitors to satisfy their curiosity by invading the sanctuary 

 of its inhabitants. The principal idol preserved in the temple 

 is a figure cut out of black marble, which, during the season 

 at which pilgrims resort to the shrine, is clothed in gold and 

 s-ilx 'IT brocade, and is attended by a numerous retinue of ser- 

 vants. But with the departure of the pilgrims the glory of I he 

 idol departs also ; the attendants are dismissed, the clothing 

 is removed, and the figure itself is stowed away in a vault. 



The principal part of the houses in the town are occupied 

 by brahmins and other attendants on the temple, most of 

 whom withdraw from the place during winter, and return 

 in time for the reception of the pilgrims. 



Hhadrinath stands in the centre of a narrow valley about 

 four miles in length. The town is 1 0/294 feet above the 

 level of the sea. The land to the north rises to a great 

 weight, the peak of one mountain being 23,411 feet above 

 the sea. At the end of May, masses of undissolved snow 

 seventy feet thick have been observed on these mountains; 

 some of them are perpetually covered with snow. Near to 

 the high peak just mentioned is a spring of hot water, the 

 team rising from which emits a sulphurous smell. 



(Asiatic Researches ; Hamilton's East India Gazetteer.) 



BHURTPORE, a district in the province of Agra, ex- 

 tending from Biana, in 26 57' N. lat., 77 8' E. long., to 

 Gjpaulghur, in 27 39* N. lat. and 77 12' E. long., and 

 forming the western boundary of the province of Agra. 



The soil in general is light and sandy, and the country is 

 bare of trees. The land is represented by Bishop Heber as 

 being one of the best cultivated and watered tracts that he 

 had seen in India ; it is irrigated only from wells. The 

 principal productions are corn, cotton, and sugar, the last- 

 mentioned of these being more carefully attended to than is 

 usual in India. The villages are said by the bishop to have 

 been in good condition and repair, while the whole country 

 afforded a pleasing picture of industry. 



The territory of Bhurtpore is governed by an independent 

 native rajah, who is one of the principal chieftains of the 

 Jauts. His dominions, the area of which is little less than 

 5000 square miles, contain, besides Bhurtpore. the capital, 

 several towns, among which are, Combher, Deeg, We\ iv. 

 Biana, Kurnau, Gopaulghur, Nuggur, Robass, Wheeguish, 

 Roodawah, Nudbharee, and Phurser. Combher, which is 

 in 27 17' N. lat, 77 14' E. long., is the place where the 

 salt is manufactured which is largely consumed in Upper 

 Hindustan under the name ofbalumba: this salt is pro- 

 cured by evaporation from the water of some brine springs 

 found in the neighbourhood. Deeg is situated in 27 30' 

 N. lat, and 77" 12' E. long., fifty-seven miles north-east of 

 Agra. The ruins of many fine palaces give this fortress 

 the appearance of having once been a place of importance. 

 A severe action was fought under its walls in ISOj be- 

 tween the English forces under Lord Lake and the army 

 of Holkar, in which the latter was defeated with L-P-.II 

 slaughter. During the rainy season the town would lie 

 subject to injury from the torrents that pour down from the 

 high land* but for extensive embankments, which are con- 

 stantly kept in repair. Weyre, in 27 2' N. lat, 77 2' E. 

 long., is on the high road from Jeypore to Agra, and fifty 

 miles west of the latter city. The town is surrounded by 

 mud walls with circular bastions ; the interior consists, like 

 many other Indian towns, of an incongruous assemblage of 

 mud huts and magnificent marble dwellings with gardens 

 and fountains; the inhabitants are a mixture of Jauts and 

 Mohammedans. Biana, which was the capital of the pro- 

 of Agra when the site of the present capital was oc- 

 fiipied hy a small village, is situated in 26 57' N. lat, 77 

 -' K long. Biana is built on the Ban Gunga river, fifty 

 miles wert-south-weit from Agra. This town was first con- 

 quered by the Mohammedans in 1197. It is still a con- 

 siderable place, containing several large stone houses. The 

 inhabitants embark with activity in commercial pursuits. 

 The tQwn of Kurnau covers an extensive site, but is for the 

 most part in ruins, only the eastern quarter being at all in- 

 habited; it has a large brick fort in the centre, which is 

 also in ruins. The other town* the* have been named do 

 not require further notice. 



A treaty was concluded in 1803 between the English and 

 the rajah of Bhurtpore, which provided that hi" dominions 

 should be taken under Ui. lion, while he, on llu 



utlier hand, engaged to assist the English agamM Scindta 

 ami the rajah of Berar, with whom they were then at war. 

 In the following year, when h'; mencod likewiae 



with Jeswunt Rao Holkar, the rajah of Bhurti>urc. disre- 

 garding the treaty, joined his forces with those of Holkar 

 The fortress of Bhurtpore was in consequence invested by 

 the army under Lord Lake, to whom it w.is delivered up in 

 April, 1805, when a fine of twenty lacs of rupees was im- 

 upon the rajah. This chief, Ithundcr Sing, died in 

 October, 1 8'23, childless, and was succeeded by his brother, 

 Buldeo Sing, who died in February, 1825, leaving a son 

 named Bulwunt Sing, then only six >ears of age. His suc- 

 or ion was dispute'! hy his uncle, Doorjau Lall, who assumed 

 the sovereignly. Bulwunt Sing having been previously re- 

 cognized hy Lord Amherst, then governor-general, a 

 commanded by Lord Combermere, consisting of 25,000 men, 

 with a train of artillery, was sent against the usurper, and 

 the fortress of Bhurtpore was carried by assault on the 

 of January, l-.'6, with a loss to the British forces of 3000 

 killed and wounded. The young rajah, Bulwunt Sing, was 

 then duly installed, and the territory of Bhurtpore was 

 charged with the expense of the military operations, amount- 

 ing to 24,39,173 rupees. At that time the fortress was a 

 place of great strength, being surrounded by high walls sixty 

 feet thick, and having a wide and deep ditch beyond. The 

 wall-, which were Hanked at short intervals by bastions 

 amply provided with artillery, are about eight miles round. 

 The principal fort stood on high ground, at the eastern side 

 of the town. This fort, with the principal bastions and other 

 military defences, have since been blown up and demolished. 



(Mills's History of British India ; Bishop Heber's Jour- 

 nal ; Keport of the Committee of the House of Commons on 

 the Affairs nf the East India Comp., ) 832, political section.) 



BIAFRA, BIGHT OF, is the innermost part of the 

 Gulf of Guinea, on the western coast of Africa : it is 

 bounded on the S. by Cape Lopez (about 1 30' S. lat.) and 

 on the N. by Cape Formosa (5 40' N. lat. and near 6 

 E. long.) ; Cape Formosa divides it from the Bight of Benin. 

 A straight line uniting both promontories and passing near 

 Prince's Island (I sola do Principe) would measure about 

 580 miles, and would be upwards of 250 miles from the 

 mouth of the Old Calebar river, which enters the inner- 

 most corner of the Bight. The shores of the bay probably 

 extend to more than 800 miles. 



The current prevailing in this bay does not appear to bo 

 in any way connected with the equatorial current of the 

 Atlantic Ocean, which commences near the island of Anno 

 Bom [see ATL\XTIC OCEAN], but to be a continuation of 

 that current which comes up from the Cape of Good Hope 

 along the western shores of Africa; for Captain H 

 observed that all the currents along Prince's Isl.uid ><( 

 strong, and in the dry season commonly between N.N.W. 

 and N.N.E. The wind generally blows ironi the ,S.W. or S. 

 The current, huwcu r, is changed by the tornadoes when- 

 r\cT they orrur at full or change, at which time blow- 

 ing fron; the S.E.or N.E. with great Moleiioc. I hoy all' 

 in of tin- current to W.S.W. or U.NAV. 



The northern shores of the bay, nearly to the mouth of 

 the Old Calebar river, are Hat and low, belonging to the 

 extensive delta of the Quorra river, or Niger, whose prin- 

 cipal branch, the Nun, empties itself into the sea near 

 Cape Formosa. The Old Calebar river is the first river on 

 tins side which has no communication with the Quorra, 

 to which it runs parallel, and is separated from it K a 

 hilly country, which also extends southward to the Rio 

 del Rev. To the south of the Rio del Rcy the country 

 into mountains, which, opposite the Island Fernando 

 attain a considerable height. Tl 1 Ca- 



meroon Mountains, from the river Cameroon, which hounds 

 them on the south, contain a peak, winch, according to esti- 

 mation, ri-rs to 13,000 feet above the sea, and semis to bo 

 connected with the Knniby Mountains which skirt the delta 

 of the Quorra on the east. 



South of this mountain-region runs the river Cameroon, 

 nf which very little is known : and south of the river ex- 

 tends a hilly or rather mountainous country, whic h, how- 

 ever, by d. urces recedes farther into the interior and l< 

 a low and often swampy tract along the shore, especially to 

 iih of Cape fit. John. South of this cape the coast 

 form* two cmaller bay*, divided from one another by a com- 



