same purpose as when taken from the mines, and are finally thrown into á pit, where they remain till called for (more to be out of the way of thieves, than as constituting any part of the operation). From Neemoodra the cornelians are carried to Cambay by the merchants who come from thence, where they are cut and formed into the beautiful and much sought after ornaments peculiar to the place.

I ought to have mentioned that the miners do not forsake a pit on meeting with a spring, but merely change the direction; the water never rising to any great height *.

The Rajpiplee country has long been celebrated among the natives who live in its neighbourhood, for the variety of its earths and mineral productions; and is certainly a rich field for the mineralogist and geologist. The native above mentioned informed me, that about twenty-five years ago slight shocks of earthquakes were felt in the province, but that they were far from being frequent occurrences.

On our return from the mines to Neemoodra, we took a circuitous route which brought us to a hill of considerable height, which we ascended; and enjoyed a most extensive prospect. It appears to be composed of vitrified rock, and I think there can scarcely be a doubt entertained of its volcanic origin. On the summit stands the tomb (in good repair) of the tutelar saint of the country, Baba Ghor, to whom adoration is paid more as a deity than a saint, under whose particular protection are the cornelian mines, and to whom the miners recommend themselves before descending into the pit. A little below the tomb is a hollow (answering to the crater) containing a tank of water about a hundred feet in length and fifty in breadth, well built of hewn stone, having steps on its four sides descending in the most regular manner to the bottom. Viewing these works of human art in a spot now so sequestered, at a distance from all human habitation, the country covered with jungle as far as the eye can reach, giving shelter to wild beasts ever at enmity with man, we cannot but admire the political as well as physical changes that are constantly

* This proves the high situation of the bed, and might lead to some interesting conclusions in geology.

taking place in the world, while we learn that this desert was once the site of many flourishing towns and villages. At the shrine of this saint the people of the neighbouring countries offer up their prayers on the 12th of the Mahomedan month of Rujub; thousands then flocking to the sacred spot to perform the vows they have made. This assemblage (in common with other Mahomedan festivals) is denominated a mela (holy fair). To ascertain whether their vows will be accepted, the pilgrims throw twelve cocoa-nuts into the tank: if the saint be propitious, thirteen rise to the surface; but if otherwise, only the number thrown in. Baba Ghor was a prince of the dynasty of Ghuoree, a race which furnished some of the first emperors after the invasion of Hindostan by the Mahomedans. He was sent by his father the reigning emperor (he himself being heir to the throne) with so large an army, that his personal attendants, says the tradition, amounted to thirty thousand men, for the pose of prosecuting the war against the infidels (Hindoos). The huge army was completely routed near these hills, and the prince with all his attendants fell. The tomb has been erected no doubt by the followers of Mahomed, subsequently to regaining their power in this quarter, to perpetuate the name of a martyr to the great cause.

pur

We descended at the opposite side of the hill by a path paved with the fragments of temples despoiled by Mahomedan bigotry, to the extent of nearly a mile; proceeded onwards to Neemoodra, where having made the inquiries previously related we returned to the barge, and crossed over to Shookulteruth, where we arrived at twelve or one o'clock, breakfasted, and returned by water to Baroach, where we landed about six P.M.

I remain, sir,

Your obedient servant,

(Signed) J. COPLAND,

Assistant-Surgeon and Deputy Medical Storekeeper. F.F.

Camp, near Jeenore, 27th February, 1815.

XIX.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMINE IN GUZERAT IN THE

YEARS 1812 AND 1813.

IN A LETTER TO WILLIAM ERSKINE, ESQ.

By Captain JAMES RIVETT CARNAC, Political Resident at the Court

In a very humble endeavour to meet your wishes, by a description of the calamities which have lately visited this province, I send you the few following observations. At the same time I am conscious of my own inability to perform this task with the interest and accuracy which it deserves, and indeed am firmly persuaded that no adequate representation can be made of the manifold miseries I have had the mortification to witness. When we attempt to give an idea of the effects of a famine, it must immediately occur, that such visitations of Providence do not vary materially in their progress and consequences, and that the statements which in all ages have been produced by similar calamities leave little of novelty in a general point of view: I shall therefore confide more in the relation of positive fact for the gratification of your curiosity, than in any observations which my own feelings may occasionally prompt, in the course of this letter, on the horrid scenes created by the misfortunes of our fellow

creatures.

It is interesting to mark the harbinger of those calamities which fell upon Guzerat: the superstitions of the natives attributed them to the sins of this quarter of India; while we cannot but lament that the danger which in its origin was at the remotest extremity, should at last have fixed its influence in the western division of the peninsula. It has been often re

marked, that the appearance of locusts is prognostic of other evils. Flights of these destructive insects first appeared from the eastward in the Bengal provinces about the beginning of the year 1810, and taking their course in a northerly direction, passed through parts of the country designated by the southern people Hindoostan; and in the revolution of fifteen months arrived at the province of Marwar, skirting the large western desert of India. In the year 1811, the annual fall of rain failed in Marwar; and when every vestige of vegetation had disappeared the locusts made way into the north-west district of Guzerat named Puttun, and from thence scoured Kattiwar; on one occasion only appearing as far south as the city of Baroach on the Nurbudda. Beyond this point the locusts were not known to extend; and by the commencement of the monsoon of 1812 this plague vanished from the face of the country.

The destruction committed by these insects in the western parts of Guzerat was deplorable. During the circuit of the subsidiary force at the latter end of 1811, extensive tracts were covered with cultivation; and until examined, the spectator would have considered the harvest as being in a most flourishing condition. The locusts, however, had devoured the grain, and the stalks were left as unworthy of being cleared from the ground. The failure of rain in Marwar, and the ruin by the locusts of the products of the land during the preceding year, drove the inhabitants of that unfortunate country into the bosom of Guzerat, where their condition was comparatively improved; though one of the causes which compelled them to seek refuge at a distance from home, had begun to operate also in that province. Miseries seemed to follow the footsteps of the Marwarees, and to mingle their neighbours in their untoward destiny; for it was in the year 1812 that Guzerat also experienced a failure of rain, when the demands on its resources had augmented in a twofold degree. The enhanced price of grain, added to the apprehensions of the inhabitants, which impelled them to store their individual resources in times of such danger, and the villanies practised by higher classes to derive pecuniary advantage from the pressing wants of the people, soon reduced the half-famished emigrants to the greatest privations: the endu

rance of hunger was supported, however, by the Marwaree people with unaccountable pertinacity, which in some degree blunted the natural feelings of sympathy in their lot. Whether the ready assistance rendered to these people on their first entrance into Guzerat had induced them to imagine, that under no circumstances the hand of charity would be withdrawn; or whether it was from the innate indolence of their character, or the infatuation which often accompanies the extremes of misfortunesthat they rejected the certain means of subsistence by labour-it is notorious that in all cases when the benevolent tendered employment to these people, it was uniformly declined, even with the certainty of death being the consequence of refusal. The diversity between the laudable energies of the Mahratta, when under the influence of similar misfortunes, and the apathy of the Marwaree, was strikingly evinced.

The mortality which ensued among the emigrants, who had sought refuge after the sufferings of a famine in their own country, covered with disease, regardless of every consideration but that prompted by the calls of hunger, almost surpasses my own belief, though an unhappy witness of such horrid events.

In the vicinity of every large town, you perceived suburbs surrounded by these creatures. Their residence was usually taken up in the main roads under the cover of trees; men, women, and children promiscuously scattered; some furnished with a scanty covering, others almost reduced to a state of nudity, while at the same moment the spectator witnessed, within the range of his own observation, the famished looks of a fellowcreature aggravated by the pains of sickness; the desponding cries of the multitude mingled with the thoughtless playfulness of children; and the unavailing struggles of the infant to draw sustenance from the exhausted breasts of its parent. To consummate this scene of human misery, a lifeless corpse was at intervals brought to notice by the bewailings of a near relative; its immediate neighbourhood displaying the impatience and wildness excited in the fortunate few, who had obtained a pittance of grain, and were devouring it with desperate satisfaction. The hourly recurrence of miseries had familiarized the minds of these poor people, as well as of