extract Trow' terveRnier’s voyages.

2 44

feeing that his revenues would not enable him to pay it, quitted the plain country,and intrenched himfelf with his fubjects in the mountains. On the news of the Rajah’srefufal, Cha-Gehan, who had no idea of his retiring to the mountains, but thought ra-ther, he would obftinately defend himfelf, led an army into his country, where he hadbeen taught to believe he would meet with quantities of diamonds. But it happenedquite the contrary,' for thofe he fent into the,.Rajah’s territories found neither diamonds,nor people, nor fubfiftence, the Rajah having caufed all the grain his fubjects were un-able to carry away to be burnt, fo that the greater part of Cha-Gehan’s army perifhedwith famine. The ilfue of this onterprife was, that the Rajah returned to his countryon condition of paying annually a fmall tribute to the Great Mogul.

The following is an account of the road in going from Agra to the mine.

From Agra to Halabas, coffes ----- 130

From Flalabas to Banarous, coffes - - - - 33

From Banarous to Saferon, coffes - - - - 4

From Agra to Saferon you keep always to the eaft; but in going from Saferonto the mine, you turn to the fouth, when you prefently meet with a large town, coffes21. This town is in the territories of the Rajah before mentioned, to whom alfo be-longs the land through which the river where the diamonds are found takes itscourfe.

From this town you come to a fortrefs called Rodas, coffes - - 4

This is one of the ftrongeft places in all Aha, being built on a mountain, having fixlarge baftions and twenty-feven pieces of cannon, with three moats full of water, inwhich are good fifh. There is but one way to gain the fummit of this mountain, onwhich is a plain nearly half a league in extent, where they fow corn and rice, and isiupplied with more than twenty fprings which water the earth, and all around themountain, from the bottom almofhto the top, there are nothing but precipices for themoll part covered with wood. The Rajahs generally maintain a force of feven ox-eight hundred men in this fortrefs, but at prefent it belongs to the Great Mogul, whogained it through the addrefs of that great Captain Mirgimola, of whom I have fo oftenhad occafion to fpeak.

The laft Rajah left three fons, who betraying each other, the eldeft was poifoned,the fecond fled to the court of the Great Mogul, who gave him the command of fourthoufand horfe, and the youngeft remained in poffeflion of the country, on paying thefame tribute as his father. All the Indian kings, fucceffors of Tamerlane , have be-fieged this place without being able to take it, and two of thefe Kings died in the townof Saferon.

From the fortrefs of Rodas to Soumelpour, coffes - 30.

Soumelpour is a large town, the houfes of which are made with earth, and coveredwith branches of the cocoa tree. In travelling thefe laft 30 coffes, you pafs throughnothing but woods, rendered extremely dangerous on account of robbers, who knowingthe merchants never go to the mine without money, fometimes lay wait to murder them.The Rajah lives about half a cofs from the town, and his dwelling is under tents erectedon a charming eminence, at the foot of which runs the Gouel, and it is in this river,which takes its fource from the high mountains on the fouth fide, afterwards lofingitfelf in the Ganges , that the diamonds are found.

The following is the method of fearching for diamonds in this river. After therainy feafon has palled, which generally lafts till December, they yet wait all themonth of January ‘till the river be clear ; becaufe then in feveral places it is not morethan two feet deep, leaving much of the fand difcovered. About the end of January

8 or