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Ahmood : the former in ihe rainy months is a rapid stream, con- 

 fined within a narrow bed; the latter broad and gentle. So late in 

 the season they were both nearly dry. The soil in the Ahmood 

 pergunnais a rich, black mould, producing cotton, rice, wheat, and 

 -a variety of Indian grain. The Ahmood cotton is esteemed the 

 best in these fertile provinces, and is sold at the highest price in 

 the Bengal and China markets. 



I passed the night at Ahmood, a small town which gives its 

 name to the district; it is built on the borders of a shady lake, and 

 belonged half to the English and half to a Gracia rajah, between 

 whom the revenues of the purgunna were also divided. The for- 

 mer possessed the citadel, a place of little strength, and a small 

 garrison. A member of the council at Baroche occasionally re- 

 sided there to collect the company's share of the revenue, which 

 annually amounted to a lac of rupees, or twelve thousand five 

 hundred pounds. 



The next morning I renewed my journey, and about three miles 

 from Ahmood reached the Dahder, then a small stream, but six 

 years before, when Ragohah's army was encamped on its banks, 

 and J passed a wretched night under the lee-side of an elephant, a 

 tremendous torrent. In the rainy months the mountain floods 

 swell the small rivers of India in a wonderful manner. Within a 

 few hours they often rise twenty or thirty feet above their usual 

 height, and run with astonishing rapidity. The Nerbudda, Tap- 

 pee, and larger rivers, generally gentle and pellucid, are then furi- 

 ous and destructive, sweeping away whole villages with their inha- 

 bitants and cattle ; while tigers, and other ferocious animals from 

 the wilds, join the general wreck in its passage to the ocean. 



