NEPAL: A LITTLE-KXOWX KINGDOM 



28a 



even to the present day, mere puppets in 

 their ministers' hands. Most of them 

 die suspiciously young and before they 

 can take the reins of government into 

 their own hands. 



Internal intrigues and persistent hos- 

 tility on the part of the Gurkhas toward 

 the British Government continued till the 

 year 1846, when Jung Bahadur, a re- 

 markable man, became Prime Minister, 

 a post he retained till his death, in 1877. 

 During his tenure of office Nepal en- 

 joyed comparative peace, and after his 

 visit to England in 1850 the bearing of 

 the Nepal Durbar became more friendly. 



In 1854 the Nepalese again invaded 

 Tibet, and shortly after a treaty was con- 

 cluded by which the Tibetans agreed to 

 pay Nepal an annual sum of R 100,000 

 ($33,000), but hostilities in a minor de- 

 gree were carried on till 1883. 



At the time of the Indian Mutiny, in 

 1857, the Nepalese rendered great as- 

 sistance to the British Government, and 

 as a reward the whole of the territory in 

 the Terai, forfeited in the war of 1814, 

 was restored to them. 



HUNTING GROUND TOR ROYALTY 



In 1876 the Prince of Wales, after- 

 ward King Edward VII, visited the Nepal 

 Terai on a shooting expedition and was 

 entertained by Jung Bahadur's brother, 

 General Dhir Shamshere Rana Bahadur. 



After Jung Bahadur's death there were 

 the usual successional intrigues, some 

 peaceful and some accompanied by much 

 bloodshed, till in 1901 General Chunder 

 Shumsheer Jung Rana Bahadur was ap- 

 pointed Prime Minister. He visited In- 

 dia twice, England once, and was made 

 Knight Grand Commander of the Star 

 of India in 1905. 



In 1904 the Nepal Durbar received the 

 thanks of the Government of India for 

 the correct and very friendly attitude 

 adopted during the British Mission to 

 Lhasa. 



His Majesty the King Emperor visited 

 the Nepal Terai on a shooting expedition 

 in 1912, after the Delhi Durbar, and had 

 excellent big-game shooting. Sumptuous 

 camps were prepared and roads were 

 made in all directions through the jungle. 



Nepal maintains a well-drilled and effi- 

 cient army of about 32,000 infantry and 



2,500 artillery, with about 100 service- 

 able and 150 unserviceable guns. The 

 Maharajah is not permitted to have any 

 intercourse with Europeans, and should 

 the Resident or any official have occasion 

 to interview him it is always in the pres- 

 ence of some Nepalese official. 



The Kingdom of Nepal is to be found 

 between latitude 27 30' and 30° north 

 and longitude 8o° and 88° east. In the 

 south it runs for some distance into the 

 plains of India, along the Terai, or flat 

 ground, at the foot of the hills, its area 

 embracing about 54,000 square miles. 



In consequence of Nepal's excessive 

 seclusion, the internal administration has 

 remained almost entirely unaffected by 

 European influence or ideas. 



VALLEY ONCE WAS LAKE 



In the Valley of Khatmandu itself, 

 called by the natives Nepal, and covering 

 about 300 square miles, are situated the 

 modern capital of Khatmandu and the 

 old and much more picturesque capitals 

 of Patan and Bhatgaon. At some time 

 in the remote past this valley was a lake, 

 and the erosion of the vast accumulation 

 of water must eventually have cut for 

 itself an outlet through the barrier of 

 mountains to the south. Gradually there 

 was left bare the rich alluvial deposit 

 now drained by three rivers — the Bagh- 

 mutti, Vishnumatti, and Manchera. 



These rivers have cut deep channels, 

 through which they make their way till, 

 converging in a narrow gorge, they finally 

 find their outlet to the plains of India as 

 the Baghmutti. 



This old lake bed forms an expanse of 

 the most fertile soil, industriously culti- 

 vated from end to end, on which is grown 

 a succession of many and varied crops 

 throughout the year. 



Old legends also hand down the tale 

 that the valley was in early days filled 

 with water, and attribute its drying up 

 to the miraculous power of one Manju 

 Sri, of whom it is related that he smote 

 the mountain with his sword, thus mak- 

 ing the cutting by which the lake was 

 drained and the valley became fit for 

 habitation. 



Tbe population of the valley is about 

 500,000, of which the town of Khat- 

 mandu contains 30,000. 



