1. Nunkaran had three sons, Harraj, Maldeo, and Kalyandas; each had issue. Harraj had Bhim (who succeeded his grandfather Nunkaran). Maldeo had Ketsi, who had Dayaldas, father of Sabal Singh, to whom was given in appanage the town of Mandila, near Pokaran. The third son, Kalyandas, had Manohardas, who succeeded Bhim. Ramchand was the son of Manohardas. A slip from the genealogical tree will set this in a clear light.

  1. Nunkaran  
   
       
Harraj. Maldeo. Kalyandas.
       
2. Bhim. Ketsi. 3. Manohardas.
       
Nathu. Dayaldas. Ramchand.
       
  4. Sabal Singh.  

2. [About 75 miles N.W. of Jodhpur city.]

3. Another synchronism (see Annals of Marwar for an account of Nahar Khan) of some value, since it accounts for the first abstraction of territory by the Rathors from the Bhattis.

4. The Gara is invariably called the Bias in the chronicle. Gara, or Ghara, is so called, in all probability, from the mud (gar) suspended in its waters. The Gara is composed of the waters of the Bias and Sutlej. [See IGI, vii. 139, xxiii. 179.]

5. [About 60 miles S. of Jaisalmer city.]

6. [A.D. 1669-95.]

7. The most essential use to which my labours can be applied is that of enabling the British Government, when called upon to exercise its functions, as protector and arbitrator of the international quarrels of Rajputana, to understand the legitimate and original grounds of dispute. Here we perceive the germ of the border-feuds, which have led to so much bloodshed between Bikaner and Jaisalmer, in which the former was the first aggressor; but as the latter, for the purpose of redeeming her lost territory, most frequently appeals as the agitator of public tranquillity, it is necessary to look for the remote cause in pronouncing our award.

8. [Bahāwalpur.]

9. [Lāsa, ‘anything clammy,’ like mud. This is a common pious act, performed at sacred tanks, and by some castes, like the Idaiyans of Madras, at marriages (North Indian Notes and Queries, ii. 111; Thurston, Tribes and Castes of S. India, i. 360 f.).]

10. [This tribe has not been traced.]

11. Saropa is the Rajput term for khilat, and is used by those who, like the Rana of Udaipur, prefer the vernacular dialect to the corrupt jargon of the Islamite. Sar-o-pa (from ‘head,’ sar, to ‘foot,’ pa) means a complete dress; in short, cap-à-pied. [See Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 2nd ed. 808.]

12. Pluto’s realm.

13. A person blind of one eye is incompetent to succeed, according to Hindu law. Kana is the nickname given to a person labouring under this personal defect, which term is merely an anagram of ânka, ‘the eye.’ [This is wrong. It is derived from Skt. kāna, ‘one-eyed’.] The loss of an eye does not deprive an occupant of his rights—of which we had a curious example in the siege of the imperial city of Delhi, which gave rise to the remark, that the three greatest men therein had only the complement of one man amongst them: the emperor had been deprived of both eyes by the brutality of Ghulam Kadir; the besieging chief Holkar was kana, as was the defender, Sir D. Ochterlony. Holkar’s name has become synonymous with kana, and many a horse, dog, and man, blind of an eye, is called after this celebrated Mahratta leader. The Hindus, by what induction I know not, attach a degree of moral obliquity to every individual kana, and appear to make no distinction between the natural and the acquired defect; though to all kanas they apply another and more dignified appellation, Sukracharya [the regent of the planet Venus], the Jupiter of their astromythology, which very grave personage came by his misfortune in no creditable way—for, although the Guru, or spiritual head of the Hindu gods, he set as bad a moral example to them as did the classical Jupiter to the tenants of the Greek and Roman Pantheon.

14. [Ummed Singh of Kotah, A.D. 1771-1819; Mūlrāj of Jaisalmer, 1762-1820; Akhai Singh of Jaisalmer, 1722-62.]

15. Mansura was many miles south of Bakhar.

CHAPTER 6

Treaty with the British.

—It was in the Samvat (era) of Vikrama, 1818,[1] that Rawal Mulraj was inaugurated on the throne of Jaisal; and it was in the year of our Lord 1818, that a treaty of “perpetual friendship, alliance, and unity of interests” was concluded between the Honourable East-India Company and Maha Rawal Mulraj, the Raja of Jaisalmer, his heirs and successors, the latter agreeing “to act in subordinate co-operation with the British Government, and with submission to its supremacy.”[2] This was almost the last act of Rawal Mulraj, who had always been a mere puppet in the hands of Mehta Salim Singh or his father. He died A.D. 1820, when his grandson, Gaj Singh, was proclaimed.

Maharāwal Gaj Singh, A.D. 1820-46.

—Rawal Gaj Singh was fitted, from his years, his past seclusion, and the examples which had occurred before his eyes, to be the submissive pageant Salim Singh required. Isolated, in every sense, from intercourse with the rest of mankind, by the [271] policy of the minister, he had no community of sympathy with them, and no claim upon their aid. Surrounded by the creatures of Salim Singh, who, even to their daily dole, ascribe everything to this man’s favour, each word, each gesture, is watched and reported. The prince himself, his wives and family, are alike dependents on the minister’s bounty, often capriciously exercised. If he requires a horse, he must solicit it; or if desirous of bestowing some recompense, he requests to be furnished with the means, and deems himself fortunate if he obtain a moiety of his suit.

It will be observed from the date of this treaty (Dec. 1818), that Jaisalmer was the last of the States of India received under the protection of the British Government. Its distance made it an object of little solicitude to us; and the minister, it is said, had many long and serious consultations with his oracles before he united his destiny with ours. He doubted the security of his power if the Rawal should become subordinate to the British Government; and he was only influenced by the greater risk of being the sole State in Rajwara without the pale of its protection, which would have left him to the mercy of those enemies whom his merciless policy had created around him. The third and most important article of the treaty[3] tranquillized his apprehensions as to external foes; with these apprehensions all fear as to the consequences arising from ministerial tyranny towards the princely exiles was banished, and we shall presently find that this alliance, instead of checking his rapacity and oppression, incited them. But it is necessary, in the first place, to bestow a few remarks on the policy of the alliance as regards the British Government.

The Treaty of Alliance.

—Its inequality requires no demonstration; the objects to be attained by it to the respective parties having no approximation to parity. The advantages to Jaisalmer were immediate; and to use the phraseology of the treaty, were not only of “great magnitude,” but were vitally important. From the instant the treaties were exchanged, her existence as a permanent State, which was not worth half a century’s purchase, was secured. Her power had been gradually declining, and reign after reign was narrowing her possessions to the vicinity of the capital. One State, Bahawalpur, had been formed from her northern territory; while those of Sind, Bikaner, and Jodhpur, had been greatly aggrandized at her expense; and all were inclined, as occasion arose, to encroach upon her feebleness. The faithless character of the minister, Salim Singh [272], afforded abundant pretexts for quarrel, and the anarchy of her neighbours proved her only safeguard during the later years of her independent existence. Now, the British Government having pledged itself to exert its power for the protection of the principality, in the event of any “serious invasion,” her fears either of Sindis, Daudputras, or of Rathors, are at rest. The full extent of this pledge may not have been contemplated when it was given; like all former alliances, it is the base of another step in advance. Instead of restricting the vast circle of our political connexions, it at once carried us out of India, placing us in actual contact and possible collision with the rulers of Sind and the people beyond the Indus. Marwar and Bikaner being already admitted to our alliance, the power of settling their feuds with the Bhattis is comparatively simple; but with Daudputra we have no political connexions, and with Sind, only those of “perpetual friendship and mutual intercourse”; but no stipulation ensuring respect to our remonstrances in case of the aggression of their subjects on our Bhatti ally. Are we then to push our troops through the desert to repel such acts, or must we furnish pecuniary subsidies (the cheapest mode), that she may entertain mercenaries for that object? We must view it, in this light, as an event, not only not improbable, but of very likely occurrence. Our alliance with Cutch involved us in this perplexity in 1819. Our armies were formed and moved to the frontier, and a declaration of war was avoided only by accepting a tardy amende in no way commensurate with the insult of invading, massacring, and pillaging our allies.[4] In this instance, our means of chastisement were facilitated by our maritime power of grappling with the enemy; but if the insult proceeds from the government of Upper Sind (only nominally dependent on Haidarabad), or from Bahawalpur, how are we to cope with these enemies of our ally? Such wars might lead us into a terra incognita beyond the Indus, or both the spirit and letter of the treaty will be null.

The Strategical Importance of Jaisalmer.

—What, therefore, are the advantages we can hold out to ourselves for the volunteer of our amity and protection to this oasis of the desert? To have disregarded the appeal of Jaisalmer for protection, to have made her the sole exception in all Rajputana from our amicable relations, would have been to consign her to her numerous enemies, and to let loose the spirit of rapine and revenge, which it was the main object [273] of all these treaties to suppress; the Bhattis would have become a nation of robbers, the Bedouins of the Indian desert. Jaisalmer was the first link in a chain of free States, which formerly united the commerce of the Ganges with that of the Indus, but which interminable feuds had completely severed; the possibility of reunion depending upon a long continuance of tranquillity and confidence. This object alone would have warranted our alliance with Jaisalmer. But if we look to futurity, to the possible invasion of India, which can be best effected through the maritime provinces of Persia, the valley of the Indus will be the base of the invader’s operations. The possession of Jaisalmer would then be of vital importance, by giving us the command of Upper Sind, and enabling us to act against the enemy simultaneously with our armies east of the Delta, the most practicable point of advance into India. We may look upon invasion by the ancient routes pursued by Alexander, Mahmud, and Timur, as utterly visionary, by an army encumbered with all the matériel necessary to success, and thus the valley of Sind presents the only practicable route. But it would be a grand error, both in a political and military point of view, to possess ourselves of this valley, even if an opportunity were again to occur. It is true, the resources of that fertile region, so analogous to Egypt, would soon, under our management, maintain an army sufficient to defend it; and this would bring us at once into contact with the power (Persia) which clings to us for support, and will be adverse to us only when rendered subservient to Russia. It were well to view the possible degradation and loss of power to Russia, in Europe, as likely to afford a fresh stimulant to her ancient schemes of oriental aggrandizement. By some these schemes are looked upon as Quixotic, and I confess myself to be of the number. The better Russia is acquainted with the regions she would have to pass, the less desire will she evince for an undertaking, which, even if successful in the outset, would be useless; for if she conquered, she could not maintain India.[5] But, to me, it still appears imperative that this power should formally renounce such designs; the state of perpetual preparation rendered necessary by her menacing position, being so injurious to our finances, is worse than the actual attempt, which would only entail upon her inevitable loss. We lost, through our unwise economy, a noble opportunity of maintaining an ascendancy at the court of Kabul, which would have been easily prevailed upon, for our pecuniary aid, to make over to us the sovereignty of Sind (were this desirable), which is still considered a grand division of Kabul.

But setting the political question aside, and considering our possession of the [274] valley of Sind only in a military point of view, our occupation of it would be prejudicial to us. We should have a long line to defend, and rivers are no barriers in modern warfare. Whilst an impassable desert is between us, and we have the power, by means of our allies, of assailing an enemy at several points, though we are liable to attack but from one, an invader could not maintain himself a single season. On this ground, the maintenance of friendship with this remote nook of Rajput civilization is defensible, and we have the additional incitement of rescuing the most industrious and wealthy commercial communities in India from the fangs of a harpy; to whom, and the enormities of his government, we return.

Effect of the Treaty on the Policy of Sālim Singh.

—No language can adequately represent the abuse of power with which the treaty has armed the rapacious minister of Jaisalmer, and it is one of the many instances of the inefficacy of our system of alliances to secure prosperity, or even tranquillity to these long-afflicted regions; which, although rescued from external assailants, are still the prey of discord and passion within. It will not be difficult, at the proper time and place, to make this appear.[6] The Mehta felt the advantages which the treaty gave him, in respect to neighbouring States; but he also felt that he had steeped himself too deeply in the blood of his master’s family, and in that of his noblest chieftains, to hope that any repentance, real or affected, could restore to him the confidence of those he had so outraged. With commercial men, with the industrious husbandman or pastoral communities, he had so long forfeited all claim to credit, that his oath was not valued at a single grain of the sand of their own desert dominion.

The bardic annalist of Rajputana, when compelled to record the acts of a tyrant, first announces his moral death; then comes the metempsychosis—the animating his frame with the spirit of a demon. In this manner is delineated the famed Bisaldeo, the Chauhan king of Ajmer. Whether the Bhatti minister will obtain such a posthumous apology for his misdeeds, a future historian will learn; but assuredly he is never mentioned, either in poetry or prose, but as a vampire, draining the life-blood of a whole people. For a short time after the treaty was formed, he appeared to fall in with the march of universal reformation; but whether it was that his crimes had outlawed him from the sympathies of all around, or that he could feel no enjoyment but in his habitual crimes, he soon gave indulgence to his rapacious spirit. The cause of his temporary forbearance was attributed to his anxiety to have [275] an article added to the treaty, guaranteeing the office of prime minister in his family, perhaps with a view to legalize his plunder; but seeing no hope of fixing an hereditary race of vampires on the land, his outrages became past all endurance, and compelled the British agent, at length, to report to his government (on December 17, 1821), that he considered the alliance disgraceful to our reputation, by countenancing the idea that such acts can be tolerated under its protection. Representations to the minister were a nullity; he protested against their fidelity; asserted in specious language his love of justice and mercy; and recommenced his system of confiscations, contributions, and punishments, with redoubled severity.

Misgovernment of Sālim Singh.

—All Rajwara felt an interest in these proceedings, as the bankers of Jaisalmer, supported by the capital of that singular class, the Paliwals, are spread all over India. But this rich community, amounting to five thousand families, are nearly all in voluntary exile, and the bankers fear to return to their native land with the fruits of their industry, which they would renounce for ever, but that he retains their families as hostages. Agriculture is almost unknown, and commerce, internal or external, has ceased through want of security. The sole revenue arises from confiscation. It is asserted that the minister has amassed no less than two crores, which wealth is distributed in the various cities of Hindustan, and has been obtained by pillage and the destruction of the most opulent families of his country during the last twenty years. He has also, it is said, possessed himself of all the crown-jewels and property of value, which he has sent out of the country. Applications were continually being made to the British agent for passports (parwanas), by commercial men, to withdraw their families from the country. But all have some ties which would be hazarded by their withdrawing, even if such a step were otherwise free from danger; for while the minister afforded passports, in obedience to the wish of the agent, he might cut them off in the desert. This makes many bear the ills they have.[7]

A Border Feud.

—We shall terminate our historical sketch of Jaisalmer with the details of a border feud, which called into operation the main condition of the British alliance—the right of universal arbitration in the international quarrels of Rajputana. The predatory habits of the Maldots of Baru originated a rupture, which threatened to involve the two States in war, and produced an invasion of the Rathors, sufficiently serious to warrant British interference. It will hardly be credited that this aggression, which drew down upon the Maldots the vengeance of Bikaner, was covertly stimulated by the minister, for the express purpose of their extirpation, for reasons which will [276] appear presently; yet he was the first to complain of the retaliation. To understand this matter, a slight sketch of the Maldot tribe is requisite.

The Maldot Tribe.

—The Maldots, the Kailans, the Birsangs, the Pohars, and Tejmalots, are all Bhatti tribes; but, from their lawless habits, these names have become, like those of Bedouin, Kazzak, or Pindari, synonymous with ‘robber.’ The first are descended from Rao Maldeo, and hold the fief (patta) of Baru, consisting of eighteen villages, adjoining the tract called Kharipatta, wrested from the Bhattis by the Rathors of Bikaner, who, to confess the truth, morally deserve the perpetual hostility of this Bhatti lord-marcher, inasmuch as they were the intruders, and have deprived them (the Bhattis) of much territory. But the Rathors, possessing the right of the strongest, about twenty-five years ago exercised it in the most savage manner; for, having invaded Baru, they put almost the entire community to the sword, without respect to age or sex, levelled the towns, filled up the wells, and carried off the herds and whatever was of value. The survivors took shelter in the recesses of the desert, and propagated a progeny, which, about the period of connexion with the British, reoccupied their deserted lands. The minister, it is asserted, beheld the revival of this infant colony with no more favourable eye than did their enemies of Bikaner, whom, it is alleged, he invited once more to their destruction. The lawless habits of this tribe would have been assigned by the minister as his motive for desiring their extermination; but if we look back (p. 1232), we shall discover the real cause in his having incurred the lasting enmity of this clan for the foul assassination of their chief, who had been a party to the views of the heir-apparent, Rae Singh, to get rid of this incubus on their freedom. The opportunity afforded to take vengeance on the Maldots arose out of a service indirectly done to the British Government. On the revolt of the Peshwa, he sent his agents to Jaisalmer to purchase camels. One herd, to the number of four hundred, had left the Bhatti frontiers, and whilst passing through the Bikaner territory, were set upon by the Maldots, who captured the whole and conveyed them to Baru. It is scarcely to be supposed that such an aggression on the independence of Bikaner would have prompted her extensive armament, or the rapidity with which her troops passed the Bhatti frontier to avenge the insult, without some private signal from the minister, who was loud in his call for British interference; though not until Nokh[8] and Baru, their principal towns, were levelled, the chief killed, the wells filled up, and the victorious army following up its success by a rapid march on Bikampur, in which the fiscal lands began to suffer. The minister then discovered he had overshot the mark, and claimed [277] our interference,[9] which was rapid and effectual; and the Bikaner commander the more willingly complied with the request to retire within his own frontier, having effected more than his object.

The tortuous policy, the never-ending and scarcely-to-be-comprehended border feuds of these regions, must, for a long while, generate such appeals. Since these associated bands attach no dishonour to their predatory profession, it will be some time before they acquire proper notions; but when they discover there is no retreat in which punishment may not reach them, they will learn the benefits of cultivating the arts of peace, of whose very name no trace exists in their history.

We have lost sight of the Rawal, the title of the prince of Jaisalmer, in the prominent acts of his minister. Gaj Singh, who occupies the gaddi of Jaisal, to the prejudice of his elder brothers, who are still in exile in Bikaner, appears very well suited to the minister’s purpose, and to have little desire beyond his horses, and vegetating in quiet. The physiognomists of Jaisalmer, however, prognosticate the development of moral worth in due season; a consummation devoutly to be wished, and the first symptom of which must be the riddance of his minister by whatever process. The artful Salim deemed that it would redound to his credit, and bolster up his interest, to seek a matrimonial alliance with the Rana’s family of Mewar. The overture was accepted, and the coco-symbol transmitted to the Rawal, who put himself at the head of the Bhatti chivalry to wed and escort his bride through the desert. The Rathor princes of Bikaner and Kishangarh, who were at the same time suitors for the hands of another daughter and a granddaughter of the Rana, simultaneously arrived at Udaipur with their respective cortèges; and this triple alliance threw a degree of splendour over the capital of the Sesodias, to which it had long been a stranger. Gaj Singh lives very happily with his wife, who has given him an heir to his desert domain. The influence of high rank is seen in the respect paid to the Ranawatji (the title by which she is designated), even by the minister, and she exerts this influence most humanely for the amelioration of her subjects[10] [278].

1. [A.D. 1762.]

2. See Appendix No. III. for a copy of this treaty. [See end of Vol. III.]

3. Art. III. “In the event of any serious invasion directed towards the overthrow of the principality of Jessulmer, or other danger of great magnitude occurring to that principality, the British Government will exert its power for the protection of the principality, provided that the cause of the quarrel be not ascribable to the Raja of Jessulmer.”

4. The attitude assumed by the energetic governor of Bombay, Mr. Elphinstone, on that occasion, will for a long time remain a lesson to the triumvirate government of Sind. To the Author it still appears a subject of regret, that, with the adequate preparation, the season, and everything promising a certainty of success, the pacific tone of Lord Hastings’ policy should have prevented the proper assertion of our dignity, by chastising an insult, aggravated in every shape. A treaty of amity and mutual intercourse was the result of this armament; but although twelve years have since elapsed, our intercourse has remained in statu quo; but this is no ground for quarrel. [Rāo Bharmall of Cutch, on account of his disloyalty to the British Government, was coerced by a force commanded by Captain MacMurdo, the Resident, which, on 25th March 1819, escaladed the fort of Bhuj, and compelled the Rāo to surrender (BG, v. 162).

5. [This prediction has been fulfilled by recent events.]

6. It is my intention (if space is left) to give a concise statement of the effects of our alliances, individually and collectively, in the States of Rajwara, with a few hints towards amending the system, at the conclusion of this volume. [This was not done.]

7. [“Up to 1823 Sālim Singh constantly urged, in the name of his master, claims to the territories of other chiefs, but these were rejected as the investigation of them was inconsistent with the engagements subsisting between the British Government and other States. In 1824 Sālim Singh was wounded by a Rājput, and as there was some fear that the wound might heal, his wife gave him poison.” Some support was given for the succession of his eldest son as prime minister, but the British Government declined to interfere in the appointment or punishment of a minister, on which all parties returned to their allegiance, and Rāwal Gaj Singh assumed personal charge of the administration (Erskine iii. A. 15 f.).]

8. [Nokh, 96 miles N.E. of Jaisalmer city.]

9. The Author has omitted to mention that he was political agent for Jaisalmer; so that his control extended uninterruptedly, almost from Sind to Sind; i.e. from the Indus, or great Sindh, to the Chhota-Sindh, or little river (see map). There are several streams designated Sindh, in Central India, a word purely Tatar, or Scythic. Abusin, ‘the Father-river,’ is one of the many names of the Indus. [Sindhu is a Sanskrit word, probably connected with the root syand, ‘to flow.’]

10. I had the honour of receiving several letters from this queen of the desert, who looked to her father’s house and his friends, as the best objects for support, whilst such a being as Sālim was the master of her own and her husband’s destiny. [Gaj Singh earned the special thanks of the British Government for his services in supplying camel transport in the Afghān war of 1838-39; and in 1844, after the conquest of Sind, the forts of Shāhgarh, Gharsia, and Ghotāru, which had formerly belonged to Jaisalmer, were restored to that State. Gaj Singh died without issue in 1846, and his widow adopted his nephew, Ranjīt Singh, who died without an heir in 1864 (Erskine iii. A. 16).]

CHAPTER 7

Geography of Jaisalmer.—The country still dependent on the Rawal extends between 70° 30´ and 72° 30´ E. long., and between the parallels of 26° 20´ and 27° 50´ N. lat., though a small strip protrudes, in the N.-E. angle, as high as 28° 30´. This irregular surface may be roughly estimated to contain fifteen thousand square miles.[1] The number of towns, villages, and hamlets, scattered over this wide space, does not exceed two hundred and fifty; some estimate it at three hundred, and others depress it to two hundred; the mean cannot be wide of the truth. To enable the reader to arrive at a conclusion as to the population of this region, we subjoin a calculation, from data furnished by the best-informed natives, which was made in the year 1815: but we must add, that from the tyranny of the minister, the population of the capital (which is nearly half of the country), has been greatly diminished.

  Fiscal and Feudal. Number of Houses. Number of Inhabitants. Remarks.
Jaisalmer Capital 7,000   35,000  
Bikampur Pattayat 500   2,000 { The chief has the title of Rao, and twenty-four villages dependent, not included in this estimate.
Sirara Do. 300   1,200 { Kelan Bhatti: the Kelan tribe extends to Pugal.
Nachna Do. 400   1,600   Rawalot chief.
Katori Fiscal. 300   1,200    
Kaba Do. 300   1,200    
Kuldaro Do. 200   800    
Satta Pattayat 300   1,200   [279]
Jinjiniali Do. 300   1,200 { Rawalot: first noble of Jaisalmer.
Kuldaro Do. 200   800    
Balana Pattayat 150   600    
Satiasa Do. 100   400    
Baru Do. 200   800 { Maldot: has eighteen villages attached, not included in this.
Chaun Do. 200   800  
Loharki Do. 150   600 }  
Noantala Do. 150   600 All of the Rawalot clan.
Lahti Do. 300   1,200  
Dangari Do. 150   600    
Bijorai Fiscal 200   800    
Mandai Do. 200   800    
Ramgarh Do. 200   800    
Birsalpur Pattayat 200   800    
Girajsar Do. 150   600    
  56,400  
Two hundred and twenty-five villages and hamlets, from four to fifty houses each; say, each average twenty, at four inhabitants to each } 18,000  
Total 74,400  

According to this census, we have a population not superior to one of the secondary cities of Great Britain, scattered over fifteen thousand square miles; nearly one-half, too, belonging to the capital, which being omitted, the result would give from two to three souls only for each square mile.

Face of the Country.

—The greater part of Jaisalmer is thal, or rui, both terms meaning ‘a desert waste.’ From Lohwar, on the Jodhpur frontier, to Khara, the remote angle touching Sind, the country may be described as a continuous tract of arid sand, frequently rising into lofty tibas (sand-hills), in some parts covered with low jungle. This line, which nearly bisects Jaisalmer, is also the line of demarcation of positive sterility and comparative cultivation. To the north is one uniform and naked waste; to the south are ridges of rock termed magra, rui, and light soil [280].

The ridge of hills is a most important feature in the geology of this desert region.[2] It is to be traced from Cutch Bhuj, strongly or faintly marked, according to the nature of the country. Sometimes it assumes, as at Chhotan, the character of a mountain; then dwindles into an insignificant ridge scarcely discernible, and often serves as a bulwark for the drifting sands, which cover and render it difficult to trace it at all. As it reaches the Jaisalmer country it is more developed; and at the capital, erected on a peak about two hundred and fifty feet high, its presence is more distinct, and its character defined. The capital of the Bhattis appears as the nucleus of a series of ridges, which diverge from it in all directions for the space of fifteen miles. One branch terminates at Ramgarh, thirty-five miles north-west of Jaisalmer; another branch extends easterly to Pokaran (in Jodhpur), and thence, in a north-east direction, to Phalodi; from whence, at intervals, it is traceable to Gariala, nearly fifty miles due north. It is a yellow-coloured sandstone, in which ochre is abundantly found, with which the people daub their houses.

These barren ridges, and the lofty undulating tibas of sand, are the only objects which diversify the almost uniform sterility of these regions. No trees interpose their verdant foliage to relieve the eye, or shelter the exhausted frame of the traveller. It is nearly a boundless waste, varied only by a few stunted shrubs of the acacia or mimosa family, some succulent plants, or prickly grasses, as the bharut[3] or burr, which clings to his garment and increases his miseries. Yet compared with the more northern portion, where “a sea of sand without a sign of vegetation”[4] forms the prospect, the vicinity of the capital is a paradise.

There is not a running stream throughout Jaisalmer; but there are many temporary lakes or salt-marshes, termed sar, formed by the collection of waters from the sand-hills, which are easily dammed in to prevent escape. They are ephemeral, seldom lasting but a few months; though after a very severe monsoon they have been known to remain throughout the year. One of these, called the Kanod Sar, extends from Kanod[5] to Mohangarh, covering a space of eighteen miles, and in which some water remains throughout the year. When it overflows, a small stream issues from the Sar, and pursues an easterly direction for thirty miles before it is absorbed; its existence [281] depends on the parent lake. The salt which it produces is the property of the crown, and adds something to the revenue.

Soil, Husbandry, and Products.

—Notwithstanding the apparent poverty of this desert soil, nature has not denied it the powers of production; it is even favourable to some grains, especially the bajra, which prefers a light sand. In a favourable season they grow sufficient for the consumption of two and even three years, and then they import only wheat from Sind. When those parts favourable for bajra have been saturated with two or three heavy showers, they commence sowing, and the crops spring up rapidly. The great danger is that of too much rain when the crops are advanced, for, having little tenacity, they are often washed away. The bajra of the sand-hills is deemed far superior to that of Hindustan, and prejudice gives it a preference even to wheat, which does not bear a higher price, in times of scarcity. Bajra, in plentiful seasons, sells at one and a half maunds for a rupee;[6] but this does not often occur, as they calculate five bad seasons for a good one. Juar is also grown, but only in the low flats. Cotton is produced in the same soil as the bajra. It is not generally known that this plant requires but a moderate supply of water; it is deteriorated in the plains of India from over-irrigation; at least such is the idea of the desert-farmer, who perhaps does not make sufficient allowance for the cooler substratum of his sand-hills, compared with the black loam of Malwa. A variety of pulses grows on the sheltered sides of the tibas, as mung, moth, etc.; also the oil-plant (til) and abundance of the gawar, a diminutive melon, not larger than a hen’s egg, which is sent hundreds of miles, as a rarity. Around the capital, and between the ridges where soil is deposited or formed, and where they dam up the waters, are grown considerable quantities of wheat of very good quality, turmeric, and garden-stuffs. Barley and gram are, in good seasons, reared in small quantities, but rice is entirely an article of import from the valley of Sind.