1835.] the capital of little Tibet. 599 



is asserted, that the dynasty of the present ruler has been in uninter- 

 rupted possession of the country for the last 14 generations. He does 

 not owe allegiance to any foreign state, being subject to none in tribute 

 or service ; but the Sikhs have attempted to extend their conquests 

 beyond Kashmir in that direction, which has tended to excite his alarm 

 and jealousy. There is no standing army ; the troops of Ahmad Shah 

 consist of his vassals. They are landed proprietors, who receive no 

 regular pay, but are exempted from taxation in requital of military 

 service. Whenever an exigency occurs to render the collection of a force 

 necessary, the ruler calls out the peasantry of the country, and forms 

 them into a sort of militia. He provides them with arms and ammu- 

 nition, so long as they may be kept embodied ; and when the occasion 

 for their services is over, they are disarmed and dismissed. The 

 revenue of the state is collected in kind in the following form : — one 

 kharwar of wheat, one of barley, and one of mustard or millet are 

 levied from each landholder. Some of the zemindars pay their 

 rents in one kharwar of ghi each, instead of the other three articles. 

 A kharwar is about 40 seers in weight. 



Extension of Sikh conquests in the direction of Iskdrdoh. — Lying 

 between Kashmir and Iskdrdoh, there is a small territory called Kathaf. 

 About seven years ago, Kirpa Ram, the Governor of Kashmir, sent a 

 force of 500 men to erect a fort there. The Muzaffardbdd chief, of 

 whom it was subject, opposed the design ; but Kirpa Ram persisting in 

 his object, an action ensued, in which the Sikhs were defeated, 200 of 

 them were killed and wounded, and the rest taken prisoners, who 

 were converted to Muhammedanism. After the action, the chief of 

 Muzaffardbdd advanced to Bard muld, and reduced the Sikhs to take 

 refuge in the fort at that place ; but he was soon obliged to retire. The 

 Sikhs being reinforced, renewed the attack, and ultimately established 

 their authority in Kathai. 



Connexion with the Chinese frontier . — The northern limits of Iskar- 

 doh are connected with the Chinese frontier. There are known to be 

 three great tribes among the people of China : one of them is called 

 Manchu, from which the royal family is descended ; another Kara 

 Khatai, (implying black-colored,) which inhabits the eastern part of 

 the Chinese empire ; the third, Tinyani: these are Muhammedans, and 

 occupy the country on its western frontier. 



State of the north-western provinces of China, with an account of the 

 origin and progress of the insurrection which broke out in 1827, to sub- 

 vert the Chinese authority in that quarter. — Kashghar, Ydrqand, Khotan, 

 Axu, Ilah, and the country of the Sarah Nashin, generally called 

 4 h 2 



