360 
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAPTER 
July 21. 
July 22. 
Appearance 
of the coun- 
try. 
t 
July 23. 
them Chakrantikarn , Upadesa, and holy water, and, when he visits 
the place, receives from each person one Fanam. At marriages, 
and at the annual commemoration of deceased parents, the Pan- 
chcmga acts as Purohita. 
22d July . — I went three cosses to Assauru , a village inhabited by 
cultivators, and said to contain five hundred houses, but which looks 
wretchedly poor. On the way, w r e passed a place which, although 
not so large,, was better built. It is called Bomma Samudra. The 
country in general is level, but contains several ridges of barren 
hills. It is intersected by the channels of several mountain tor- 
rents, which are wide, and full of sand ; but even now they contain 
no water. I am informed, that sometimes, for a little while after 
very heavy rains, they are full. The soil in many places is a rich 
black clay ; and, there being no made roads in any part of this 
country, the travelling in the rainy season is very bad. The culti- 
vation is wretched, and slovenly ; a great deal, that has formerly 
been cultivated, is now waste ; and much that appears to possess a 
very good soil has never been reclaimed. I observed several of the 
reservoirs out of repair. The people attribute this state of the 
country, partly to the oppression of the former government, and 
partly to an uncommon scarcity of rain that has prevailed for ten 
years. The width and dryness of the channels made by the tor- 
rents of former seasons seem to confirm the- last mentioned cause. 
They say, that the country does not want people ; but that, by long 
sufferings, they are disheartened from working. Last year they had 
no sickness among their cattle, but this fatal disorder has now begun 
to make its appearance. 
23d July. —I went three cosses to Doda Bailed ,ui fortified village 
inhabited by farmers, which contains about fifty houses. By the 
way I passed two other such places, near which there was some cul- 
tivation ; but the whole of the other parts of the country was 
covered with bushes or coppice-wood. The ground was no where 
too steep for cultivation j and, except in a few stony places, the soil 
