1848.] Narrative of a Journey to Cho Lagan, fyc. 113 



Bhotia. A case occurs on the opposite frontier of northern Garhwal, 

 not unlike this of the Tinkar valley, but otherwise disposed of. " Nag- 

 poor occupies the Dooab between the Mundakhnee and Alaknunda, 

 branches of the Ganges uniting at Roodur-Pryag. From Tirjoo-ke- 

 Narain near Kedarnath, however, there stretches down from North to 

 South a high range of mountains lying a few miles to the west of the 

 Mundakhnee, and the intervening space is occupied by two or three 

 Khalsa villages of Nagpoor, but chiefly by the Suda-burt puttees of 

 Purkundee, Bamsoo and Mykhunda, rent-free endowments of the 

 Kedarnath shrine. In former years of the British rule, there arose 

 some doubt whether this tract of country, being west of the river, did 

 not properly belong to the Raja of Gurhwal's reserved territory, but as 

 it was proved always to have formed a constituent part of Pergunnah 

 Nagpoor, the claim of the Raja was disallowed." (Batten's Report on 

 the Revenue settlement of Gurhwal, Appendix, para. II.) 



Jashpal Budha of Changrew appears to be one of the most decent 

 and intelligent of the Byansis. He considers it the misfortune of his 

 village that it was excluded from the British territory, though their 

 condition has been a good deal improved, he says, since they have been 

 allowed to pay their revenue dues to the Gorkhali Vakil at the Bages- 

 war Fair (an arrangement suggested by the late Commissioner Traill 

 I believe), instead of suffering the visitations of a Tehsildar ; but he 

 complains that no abatement of the Government demands has been 

 made for the loss of whole fields of their village by landslips. 



The district of Marma lies to the south (by east) of Byans, as Diing 

 does from Chaudans. There was formerly a pass from the top of the 

 Marma valley into the valley of the Tinkar by the Nampa Dhiira and 

 Gar ; but this has become impracticable, and the Marma people going 

 to Pruang (with which they have some little traffic) have now to come 

 round through Diing and Chaudans, for they are also snowed up on 

 the north and north-east, having no practicable passes that way into 

 Pruang. Marma has iron and productive copper mines : the people 

 bring copper pots, &c. to Dharchula for barter with the Chaudansis 

 and Byansis : they have a Raj bar ; his son, Amar Sing, has come to 

 Dharchula occasionally. 



Beyond Marma again, eastward and separated by snowy mountains 

 (which are also impassable, I suppose, else the Marma people would go 



Q 



