1850.] Descriptive notice of the District of Jhilum. 59 



was once a fort. Salt lies here on the surface, and used to be fre- 

 quently abstracted by the zemindars, who are of the troublesome caste 

 of Awan. This stubborn race is to be found chiefly in Nurpur, 

 Tulla, Pukar and the Jageer districts of Sone and Khubakki, whence 

 it runs westward till it is encountered by the Pathans on the Indus. 

 Coal is found at a village called Bhul, but is not of good quality. In 

 the hills between Nurpur and Kutha, the mountain sheep above 

 alluded to is found, and is known by the natives as the 'urial.' It 

 is found generally in the salt range from Mt. Tillah to Mt. Sikesar ; 

 but is apparently seldom met with, being either very scarce or very 

 shy. The body of the animal resembles that of a deer both in its 

 contour and in the colour of the hair ; the head however is like that 

 of a sheep, and is adorned by splendid horns resembling those of a 

 fighting ram, but much larger. The horns are 12 inches long, and have 

 some 25 annulations. The ears of the animal are about 4 inches long, 

 and from the chin on either side depends a bunch of coarse black 

 hair, 4 inches long, like the beard of a goat. A streak of similar hair 

 runs along the chest which is white. This animal is probably a new 

 species. 



Nurpur Suhutti was in former days a Jageer of Sirdar Jodh Singh 

 Bhangu. 



Tulla-ganj is a rich fertile district resembling the plain of Chakho- 

 wal, of which it is in fact a continuation, being about 24 miles west of 

 that place. It was formerly a Jageer of Dhuna Singh Malwe, one of 

 the oldest and most respectable Sikh Sirdars, but was confiscated by 

 Raja Lai Singh, during his Vizarat among his other remedies for 

 patching up the state. The land being light, gram is grown in great 

 quantities here, as in Chakhowal, and is carried south to the canton- 

 ments of Vazirabad and Lahore. In fact this plain of Dhuni is 

 emphatically the gram country of the Punjab. 



The town of Tulla contains 600 houses, and is flourishing. The 

 Zemindars are Awans and very turbulent. 



In the streams of this district, gold is found in some quantity, espe- 

 cially in that of Gambhir, the gold of which is very good. The total 

 number of druns varies, but may be estimated at 50, the assessment 

 on which is 100 yearly. From Tulla a road leads to Nurpur Suhut- 

 ti via Chenji through the hills. An offshoot of the sect of Gorak- 



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