﻿FROM CHUNARGHUR TO YERTNAGOODUM. 71 



caufe originated with the Rajah, "Nvho being chagrined 

 at my determination to proceed, and having expected, 

 from the unfavourable defcription he had given me of 

 the road and country, that I fhould have been in- 

 duced to return to Benares, had refolved to cut off 

 our fupplies of grain. 



Feb, 15th. We proceeded to the y'lWage of Deykak, 

 fituated clofe under fome very high hills. In its vi- 

 cinity were feveral other villages; and the country, 

 to a conhderabie extent, was m a high ftate of culti- 

 vation. I was much vexed to find that Shalikram 

 Ihewed a determined intention of carrying into effect 

 the Rajah^s deligns; for, although the village was 

 full of grain, the people would not fell us a particla. 

 As my people were now becoming clamorous for want 

 of food, I fent for Shalikram, and told him, that it 

 vas my determination to have fifteen days provifions 

 from the village before I left it. He appeared to be 

 fomewhat perplexed at this ; but knowing that he had 

 -driven av.'ay the inhabitants from the village, he yet 

 conceived that I would not venture to touch the 

 property in it during the abfence of the proprietors, 

 and without their con fent. But to be ftar\'ed in a land 

 of plenty, by his fhallow devices, would have been 

 abfurd in the extreme; fo I took him with a party of 

 my people to the village, and went directly to a large 

 hut, which was pointed out to me as a granary, but 

 which he declared contained no grain. On opening 

 the door, we perceived many large jars of unbaked 

 earth, the mouths of which being clofcd, we could 

 not fee what they contained, until the prelfing appe^ 

 tite oTa hungry fepoy urged him to break one of the 

 jars with the butt end of his mufket ; when imme^ 

 diately a quantity of the fined rice tumbled out upon 

 our feet. The difcovcry of fo palpable a cheat fully 

 convinced me of the Rajah's evil intentions, and that 

 no further reliance was to be put in Shalikram. Find- 

 ing now fome weights and fcales in the hut, we pro- 

 ceeded withoiit further delay to weigh fifty maunds of 



£ 4 rice 



