1904.] 
G. N. Dutt —History of the Hutwa Raj. 
191 
bourhood, in terrorem to the rest. We have plenty of provisions of all 
sorts and commonly get it for the trouble of taking it from deserted 
villages, or of those who are disaffected to us, which villages we always 
burn.” 
At Aurangabad Baja Narain Singh of Siris and Cutumba had col¬ 
lected a large body of matchlock men and joined Chait Singh’s fauj- 
dar, Becliu Singh, at Marahab, with a force estimated at 15,000 strong, 
and in order to resist progress of Major James Crawford’s regiment 
which marched from Chetra to effect a junction with Major Moses Craw¬ 
ford at Buxar, who was directed by the Governor-General to take post in 
the vicinity of Bijugarli to intercept Chait Singh’s troops at Bamnagar, 
Narain Singh posted himself at the foot of the pass of Argoor with 
1,500 matchlock men intending to dispute the passage of the troops. 
Major Crawford hearing of this arrangement quitted Argoor and made 
for Cowreali pass which he occupied, and pushed his way without moles¬ 
tation over the hills to Bijugarli. Narain Singh was afterwards arrest¬ 
ed and prosecuted for rebellion and murder of one Byroo Singh, an in¬ 
ferior zemindar under him, and was sent to Dacca as a State prisoner. 
Baja Akbar Ali Khan of Nurhat and Samoy was confiued at Patna 
for owing heavy arrears. On the breaking out of Chait Singh’s rebel¬ 
lion he made his escape and raised a body of 5,000 matchlock men and 
commenced plundering the country. On the 13th October, 1781, En¬ 
sign Downes, of Militia, was sent to quell the insurrection and to capture 
the rebel, but he speedily found his force of one company insufficient for 
the purpose, as the Baja had taken a strong position in the Gumeah 
pass to resist the advance of the troops. Accordingly two companies of 
soldiers under Captain Powell were despatched from Dinapore, who after 
a hard struggle on the 22nd October, occupied a hill which commanded 
the enemy’s position. The rebel was driven out of the pass with sig¬ 
nal loss and chased into the Kharackpur hills in the jurisdiction of Mr. 
Cleveland who was requested to seize him. Apparently afterwards the 
rebellion of Akbar Ali was condoned. 
Such being the troubled times in Beliar, and the North-West, it 
was impossible for Maharaja Fateh Shahi to keep quiet and not to avail 
of this opportunity. In forwarding the petition of Maharaja Kalyan 
Singh, of Patna, and his Naib Baja Kiieali Bam—persons with whom the 
whole of Subah Behar was settled by the Governor-General in April, 
1781, under the title of Dewan of the company—to the Governor-Gene¬ 
ral at Chunargarh on the 30th August, Mr. Boss wrote : “ Fateh Shahi 
had been induced from the present aspect of things to enter Husainpur, 
but Mr. Grome, the Collector of that district, had taken the most effec¬ 
tual measures to prevent him from penetrating any great length in the 
