115 



called Cubbeer-burr, eighteen hundred feet in circumference,as fully 

 described in another place. Proceeding from thence by Coral, 

 Ranghur, and Zinore, all situated on the lofty banks of the Ner- 

 budda, the army encamped two nights in a delightful spot not far 

 from the water-side, from whence the country in every direction 

 presented a charming picture: to the north and west an extensive 

 cultivated plain, abounding with mango groves and villages, on 

 the east and south the river meandered boldly through a fertile 

 and populous champaign, bounded by the woody hills and lofty 

 mountains of Rajpipley. This hilly tract belongs to an indepen- 

 dent rajah, whose wild domain is situated in the midst of the 

 Mahratta empire. By paying an annual tribute, he remained 

 unmolested. 



Our march on the tenth was very fatiguing; in hopes of sur- 

 prising the enemy, we had not pursued the direct road to Dhuboy, 

 but followed them towards the pass of Bowa-Peer, where we were 

 informed they had encamped. The heat this day was dreadful; 

 a European serjeant was killed instantaneously by a coup de soleil, 

 and several in the ranks were recovered with difficulty. The country 

 was still beautiful, but the hot winds and burning dust which con- 

 tinually overwhelmed us, were an alloy to every pleasure; the im- 

 mense clouds of the latter,occasioned by the motion of threehundred 

 thousand men and animals, in a light soil, which for eight months 

 had not been moistened by a single shower, is inconceivable, nor 

 have I language to describe the rage of the hot winds. Bernier, 

 in his excursion with Aurungzebe from Delhi to Cachemire, truly 

 characterises our situation, as well as my sensations for havino- ex- 



