1845.] a History of Sindh. 169 



governor will be swallowed up this night; whoever wishes to escape 

 from destruction, has now the opportunity of doing so." Some few be- 

 lieved him. On the first night the city escaped, in consequence of the 

 watchfulness of an old woman at her wheel ; on the second, from the 

 working of an oil mill : at length, on the third night, the whole city with 

 its inhabitants was swallowed up and destroyed, and one minaret, as an 

 example and to record the fact, yet remains.* 



Account of the men of Sum? ah taking possession of Cutch. 



This tribe inhabited the country of Cutch, and the ruler of that 



province protected and encouraged them. After a 



The Sumrahs take t | me tn i s tribe said, " We are strong and numerous, 



possession of Cutch •, D ' 



legend appertaining and we have lived safely under your shadow until we 

 thereto. ' . . 



become troublesome : now give us a portion of waste 



land, so that we may cultivate it and pay tribute." The Rahi of Cutch 

 with kindness gave them broad lands, and taxed them at 500 carts 

 of grass from their crops. The tribe continued to pay the tax, and in 

 a short time became acquainted with the manners and customs of the 

 people and governors ; they then determined amongst themselves to 

 acquire possession of the country. Now at the gate of the fort occupied 

 by the governor of Cutch, a brahmin and astrologer was placed, and he 

 permitted all to pass in after he had inquired their business. This tribe 

 had collected their 500 carts of grass, but in the grass of each cart they 

 placed two armed men, and one drove the cart into the city ; they say 

 that when the carts came in, the brahmin said " there is the smell of 

 flesh in these carts :" the door-keepers rejected his suspicions, and said> 

 11 What can there be in grass ?" But some of those present thrust their 

 spears into the grass. They say, that those in the carts wiped the 

 blood of their bodies from the points of the spears, so that they should 

 not be discovered. So the door-keepers accusing the brahmin of false- 

 hood, allowed the carts to pass in, and thus the men took possession of 

 the city, and overthrew the Rahi of Cutch, and became Chiefs of the 

 country ; until this time the descendants of the Sumrah are, in various 



* Brahmanabad must have been situated in the Lar } or delta division of Sindh; its 

 site is not fixed. 



