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flWDUSTAN. 



HINDUSTAN. 



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U Ui« rotidenoe of tha MkhratU prinoe Holluu*. Dkar, onc« a very 

 Um place, haa itill a population of 30,000. Nearly in the centre of 

 lUwa ia OujeiH, a very ancient town. It wan furmerty the reaidonce 

 of MahanOa Scindia, ia well built, full of temple*, and other 

 buildings, and containa 150,000 inhabitanta, Bhampoor, on the rirer 

 Chumbul, nearly opposite Rampoor, is a plaoe of great commeroe, 

 bring situated at the pasa of Mokundra, which leads over the 

 Harraouttee Mountains to Uperroa] ; it contains 5000 houses. South 

 of it ia the town of Gurrote, with 1200 hoiiaes, and in ita neighbour- 

 boodara the temples of Dhumnar (24° 12' N. lat, 75° 3i' E. long.), 

 which are excavated in the roclu. In the north-western comer of 

 the table-land is Pertabgkur, a considerable place, situated on the 

 great road which leads fh>m the table-land to the plain of Qujerat aqd 

 toCutch. 



Between 6S° 30' and 73° E. long, lies the district of Gvjerat. On its 

 eastern side the plain of Qujerat, with an average breadth of about 45 

 miles, extends southward to thebankaof the Tupty at Surat, and north- 

 ward to the river Subarmatti, which enters the most northern comer of 

 the Qulf of Cambay. It ia one of the richest and most populous districts 

 of Hindustan, having a good soil, and receiving the heavy rains brought 

 on by the south-weatem monsoon. It is also well watered, though 

 some of ita rivera, espeoialljr the largest, the Mhye, have furrowed 

 out deep beds, sometimes more than 100 feet below the surface of the 

 plain. Rice is nearly the only grain which is cultivated ; but the 

 numerous villages are surrounded by extensive plantations of cocoa, 

 mango, and other fruit-trees. The number of large towns is consider- 

 able. [Ahmkdabad ; Baroacb ; Baroda ; Cambat.] The Oulf of 

 Cambat is described separately. At the most northern comer of the 

 Qulf of Cambay, and on the western banks of the river Subermatti, 

 lies a very flat tract, covered with an alluvial soil, which continues in 

 a north-western direction until it meets that part of Cutch which is 

 called the Rimn. [CCTCB.] This tract is so low, that when the 

 Runn is covered with water, it is likewise inundated, and the penin- 

 sula of Gujerat is changed into an island. It is only used aa pasture- 

 ground, and may be considered as a continuation of the Runu. 



The peninsuln of Gujerat is separated by the Qulf of Cutch from 

 the island of Cutch, and by the Qulf of Cambay from the plain of 

 Gujerat The greatest part of it is covered with mountains and hills, 

 but a fertile plain extends along ita northern shores from 15 to 20 

 miles inland, and the flat swampy tract along its eastern border con- 

 tinues along the Qulf of Cambay as far south as Bbuwnuggar. The 

 mountains in the interior are imperfectly known. They seem to extend 

 in a general direction from east to west in two continuous ranges, of 

 which the northern is called the Mandwa Moimtains, and the southern 

 the Junaghur Mountains. The whole of the peninsula is well 

 watered, and the rivers, with the exception of those which fall into 

 the Gulf of Ctitch, preserve their water all the year round: the 

 Bhunder, which entera the sea at Nuwee Bunder on the western coast, 

 is even navigable for small river-boats during the greatest part of the 

 year as far as Kotyana. In the lower country which separates the 

 two motmtain ranges several extensive tracts occur which are culti- 

 vated, but the best cultivated district is the northern plain, where 

 the common grains of Hindustan are raised in abundance, together 

 with cottoa Here alao is the principal commercial town Nowan- 

 nuggur, which carries on a considerable commerce with Arabia and 

 the Penian Qulf. It is a large place, and has good manufactures of 

 cotton, and many dye-houses. The most mountainous districts are 

 inhabited by native tribes who live by the produce of their herds. 

 The climate of Qujerat is rather mild, and not unhealthy even for 

 Europeans, T^e highest point to which the thermometer haa been 

 observed to riM is 102° ; m January it sinks aa low as 55°. 



Gujerat is partly subject to the Quicowar, partly to the British, 

 and partly to native cluefs. An account of the Quicowar is given 

 under Barooa, which is his capital At the most southern point of 

 Qujerat the Portuguese are in possession of the small island of Siu, 

 where there is a good harbour and a fort erected for its protection. 

 It was formerly a considerable place, but has now little or no 

 oonnnerce. 



The principality of COTOH is described separately. 



On the north side of the table-land of Malwa, and separated 

 from it only by the Harraouttee Mountains, lie< a mountain region 

 called by the natives Upcrmal, or mountainous country. Its western 

 boundary is well defined, and protected by the Aravufli range, which 

 runs in a north-north-east direction between 24* and 28° N. lat, 78° 

 and 76° E. long. [Abavulli.] The country between this range, the 

 Harraouttee Mountaina, and the Kimoor division of the Vindhya 

 Mountains, ia traversed by several ridges nmning nearly parallel to 

 the AravuUi Mooutains, They decrease in elevation and width as 

 they advance eastward, and the valleys which divide them are also 

 oompantively more narrow. This country occupies nearly double the 

 area of the UUe-land of Malwa. 



The Chitore Mountains are neareat to the Aravulli, with whose 

 southern extremity they are united by a kind of mountain-knot, in 

 which the Harraouttee range also terminates on the west They 

 extend from about 24° N. lat, 75* E. long., in a north-east direction, 

 to about 26* N. lat, 77* E. long., within about 30 miles from the 

 banks of the Jumna. Though of inconsiderable elevation, being only 

 •bout 600 feet above their base, and 2000 feat above the sea-level, 



their steep declivities and extremely broken surface oppose gmat 

 impedimenta to an easy oooununioation between the two valleys whioh 

 they separate. 



The country between the Chitore Mountains and the Aravulli, 

 which, on an average is 60 miles acroas, but towards the north con- 

 siderably wider, may be conaidared aa a plain with an un<lulHtiiig 

 surface, which becomes hilly towards the north. Ita southern por- 

 tion forms an inelined plain, deaoeoding gently to the eaxt Wheats 

 barley, and javaty are produced in abundance ; opium is also raised. 

 The rains fail from June to September with west wind* ; but they 

 are preceded by north-easterly winds, which last for four months, and 

 are extremely hot. During these months vegetation almost entirely 

 disappear*. North of 26° N. lat, the plain has the appearance of a 

 sandy desert, from which isolated and strangely-formed rooks rise, 

 generally to an elevation of 300 feet, and occasionally to 700 feet. On 

 the highest of theee isolated rocks is the town of Alwur, 1200 feet 

 above the plain. This country forms a portion of Rajpootana. 



The country south-east of the Chitore Mountains, and between 

 them and the Vindhya range, is known in its western districts by the 

 name of Harraouttee, aud in the eastem by that of Bundelcund. It 

 is a succession of narrow valleys, separated by broad-backed mountain 

 ranges. On the table-land of Panna, between the Cane and Tonsa 

 rivers, is the town of Panna, a well-built place, perhaps 1800 feet 

 above the sea, the neighbourhood of which contains the richest 

 diamond-mines in Hindustan. North of Panna, on the banks of the 

 river Cane, is the town of Banda, which is well built and carries on 

 a considerable commeroe, especially in cotton. This town is situated 

 where the mountain region borders on the plain of the Gauges. The 

 fortress of Gwalior, 8ituate<l in 26° 17' N. laty 78° 4' E. long., is built 

 on a rock, having a tolerably level surface of considerable extent, and 

 a steep descent on all sides. At the foot of the rock is the town of 

 Gicalior, which contains 30,000 inhabitants. In the plain which 

 extends between Kota and Pally is Patun, a thriving commercial 

 town, in which nearly the whole commerce between Malwa aud the 

 other parts of Northern Hindustan is concentrated. 



All the rivers which traverse the table-land of Halwa and the 

 mountain region of Upermal fall into the Jumna or the Ganges, their 

 course being uorth-ea.'it. The largest is the Chumbul, which originates 

 on the northern declivity of the Vindhya Mountains, in three branches, 

 between which the towns of Dhar, Sagore, and Indore are built : it 

 receives a great portion of the drainage of the table-land before it 

 leaves it It then entera the Harraouttee range near Rampoor, and 

 runs in a narrow cleft aa far north as Kota. In the plain below 

 Kota it is joined by other rivers, especially the Newy and Parbuttee, 

 which bring to it the waten of the eastem districts of Malwa, and 

 likewise traverse the Harraouttee Mountains in narrow valleys. The 

 Chumbul begins to be navigable only a short distance above its 

 junction with the Jumna, which takes place between the towns 

 of Etaweh and Csilpee, after a course of about 400 miles. The other 

 rivers of Upermal are the Sindc, Betwa, and Cane, which fall into 

 the Jumna, and the Tonsa, which empties itself into the Ganges. The 

 most eastem of the rivera of the mountain region of Northern Hindu- 

 stan, the Sone, rises on the eastern declivity of the table-land of 

 Omercuutuc, south of 23° N. lat, and near 82° E. long. It skirts 

 that table-land on the east, flowing north-north-west to 24° N. lat., 

 where it Bu<ldenly turns east-north-east, in which general direction it 

 continues until it joins the Ganges above Patna. Its course is in a 

 narrow valley as far as Ratasghur, below which fortress it entera the 

 plain of the Ganges and becomes navigable. 



The mountain r^on of Northern Hindustan is for the most part 

 in the possession of native princes. The British have however 

 annexed the countries south of the Sone to the presidency of Bengal, 

 and the tract between the Sone and the Ganges to the North-Weatem 

 Provinces. Between the two British possessions the territories of the 

 Raja of Rewa are inclosed, which comprehend a tract of mountainous 

 country on the upper Sone and on the Tonsa. The remainder is 

 divided between the Mahratta princes, Scindia, Holkar, the Quicowar, 

 and the Rajpoots. 



Rajpootana ia an extensive territory, so called because the greater 

 part of it belongs to the Rajpoot princes. It is, to a considerable 

 extent, coincident with the ancient province of Ajmeer. Rajatt'han, or 

 ' the abode, or country of princes,' is another name for the same 

 territory. Rajpootana is situated between 22° 45' and 31° N. lat, 

 68* 26' and 77" 45' R long. It is bounded N. and W. by the Hill 

 States, Lahore, Moultan, Bahwulpoor, and Sinde; S. by Gujerat 

 and Malwa; and E. by Agra and Delhi Rajpootana comprehends 

 the states of Alwur, Banswarra, Bikaneer, Doongerpore, Jessulmeer, 

 Marwar (or Joudpoor), Jypoor (or Jynagur), Jhallawar, Mewar (or 

 OodipoOr), Tonk, Cutch, Sirohi, Kerowlee, Kishengurh, Pertabgurh, 

 Kota, and Boondee. The city of Ajmeer, with a small territory 

 surrounding it, belongs to the British. 



The great chain of the AravuUi Mountaina stretches, in a north- 

 eastern direction, through the greater part of Rajpootana, from 

 the hilly country which connects it with the Vindhya Mountains 

 almost to the confines of Delhi. Nearly the whole of the countnr 

 west of the Aravulli is a sandy waste, extending to the Qharra branch 

 of the Indus, and rising towards the south in a succession of steppes. 

 In this barren territory oi* comprised the principalities of Marwar, 



