EXCURSION TO PITTURKA. 121 



market clay, and I was informed that three or 

 four thousand people were assembled, when my 

 elephant appeared ; at the sight of it, they all 

 decamped, so that at the time of my arrival, 

 there was not the least appearance of a market ; 

 the head man of the place came to me and 

 begged that I would not be alarmed at the circum- 

 stance, observing, that they had run away from 

 the supposition that a battalion of soldiers were 

 approaching, and that he could not persuade them 

 to the contrary ; that he was obliged to send off 

 an express to the Rajah at Palcote, about sixty 

 miles distant, to explain the particulars, or the 

 market people would give him false information, 

 and drive him from his residence into the thickest 

 jungles; for such was his dread of the English 

 Lascar (troops) that he had made a vow to his 

 father never to see an Englishman ! the cause of 

 it was well known to the inhabitants, and com- 

 monly talked of ; but as it is not my intention to 

 enter into any political disquisition, I shall only 

 observe that our jurisdiction did not then extend 

 to this country, which was considered only tri- 

 butary to the English. 



I requested the head man to procure me a few 

 people the next morning to beat the covers, as I 



