TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEYS. 69 



with several large towns and villages and fairly well cultivated ; it 

 forms part of the plateau of Bajputana, and is on the average about 

 1,600 feet above the sea ; while, after crossing the water-shed the 

 change is quite abrupt : the ground is intersected by watercourses 

 which gradually deepen into narrow valleys, and the general fall of 

 the face of the country shows a drop of 950 feet. 



In 1877-78 the work of the party lay in the vicinity of TJdaipur 

 and east of the Aravalli mountains, a region part of which is inha- 

 bited by the notorious Bhils.* Lieutenant Hobday penetrated into 

 one " pal " or settlement (liter. " the embankment of a tank "), where 

 no one except Captain Oonolly of the Bhil Corps had ever dared to 

 venture. He, however, trusted the people, and was well received. 

 The Bhil Corps appears from the accounts of Captain Strahan and 

 his assistants to be doing excellent work among the wild denizens of 

 these parts. Before the organization of the corps, the Bhils trusted 

 no one, looked on all intruders as enemies, and were so incredulous 

 of the good faith of the British that they had to be paid daily, 

 simply because they could not believe that if they remained they 

 would really receive their pay at the end of the month. Now there 

 are always a number of young men waiting for vacancies to be 

 enlisted in the regiment. Desertion is still frequent, but this is 

 partly due to their love of home and the distances to be traversed, 

 it being no uncommon thing for a sepoy to walk 15 or 20 miles to 

 his home after his day's work and be back in time for parade in the 

 morning. A great deal of topographical information respecting 

 this country was amassed by Captain Strahan, including a detailed 

 description of the great fort of Chitorgarh.-j- 



During this season the party was deprived of one of its most 

 highly-valued members by the death of Mr. H. J. Bolst, who suc- 

 cumbed to typhoid fever after a long illness. He had been 27 year.3 

 in the Department, 17 years of which had been spent in this party, 

 where he had rendered most useful service. 



The programme for 1878-79 involved a partial diversion from the 

 ordinary work, and included a survey of the Pachpadra salt fields 

 (described by Captain C. Strahan in the appendix) on the 4-inch scale, 

 and of the land adjoining the Luni Biver on the I -inch scale, both 



* Some interesting details respecting the Bhils by Sub-surveyor Abdul Sobhan will 

 be found at page 43 of the Topographical Survey Report for 1876-77. 



f See page 101, et seq., of Surveyor General's Report for 1877-78. Also pages 41 

 and 42 of Topographical Survey Report, for 1876-77. 



