38 WESTERN H I N D O O S T A N. 



of the place has received a confiderable check, ^he'cenot adds 

 another reafon, that in his time, about the year 1665, the river 

 was choaked np, which obftrucfted greatly all commerce from 

 Lahore, and other places to the north-eaft. 

 Ban-ians. This city is the great refidence of the Bayiians, or merchants 



and brokers of India. They are of this country, and have here 

 their chieftain. They are of the great commercial caft of the 

 Bhyfe, created, fay the Hindoos, by their Brimhas, or Supreme 

 Being, from his thighs and belly ; but I fhall fay more of the 

 Casts hereafter. Thefe form fettlements in all the commercial 

 towns in India. They alfo fend colonies, for a certain number of 

 years, to the trading towns of Arabia and Ferfa, and we find 

 them even as far as AJlrakan. In the beginning of the prefent 

 century, about a hundred and fifty or two hundred of this 

 community went from Mmltaji to that city, and carry on a 

 great trade in pretious flones ; they live in a large ftone Cara- 

 •vanjery. As they die away, or incline to return home, a fupply 

 is fent from India by their chief, feledted from among their 

 young unmarried relations. As they have no females from 

 their own country, they keep, during their refidence at .4/?; vz- 

 Jtan, Tartarian women, but the contrail is only during that 

 time. They are a fine race of men, and are highly ell:eemed for 

 the integrity of their dealings *. Thefe fupport the molt im- 

 portant trade of AJlrakan, by carrying it through AJlrabad to 

 the inland parts of, the Mogul empire. This points out a more 

 fouthern inland road than was known in the middle ages, when 

 the merchants went by the way of Bochara and Samarcand, to 

 the northern cities of India, Candabar and Cabul. 



* Commuiiicatcd to me by Dr. Pallas. 



At 



