Buchanan’s journev through

6 so

Walur paffes through a very barren country, on. which, even at this feafon, there isfcarcely a leaf of grafs to be feen. It is thinly covered with bullies and Hunted trees.Beyond this there is fome cultivation j and towards fome rocky hills, at the foot ofwhich Waculeray Hands, the foil becomes good, and is well cultivated and wooded.Waculeray contains about a hundred houfes, and is fortified by a wall and citadel,both of mud. It has no hedge. The reafon affigned by the farmers for living thustogether, and for {hutting themfelves and their cattle within the walls of a fort, is,the. frequency of robbers, who live in the hills and woods, and who in the nightplunder every thing that is not well fecured.

The farmers in this town are feventeen houfes; and there are twenry-twohoufes of Brahmans, who live better, and are better lodged than the Sudras,although, except two or three officers of government, they all fubfiH uponcharity.

7th July.—I went three coffes to Colar. The firH part of the road palledthrough a narrow valley, confined between two ridges of low, rocky, naked hills.The valley in many places has formerly been cultivated ; but now the whole is wafie,and covered with bullies, among which the oleander (Nerium odorum ) is common.Farther on, the hills to the right difappearing, the country in that diredion is levelto a great extent, feems to be very fertile, and has probably once been almoffi allcultivated. It contains many refervoirs, but from the Want of trees looks very naked.The fpots which at prefent are cultivated do not feem to be more than a tenth part ofthe country.

8th — x ith July. — I paffed thefe days at Colar, examining the Hate of agriculturein its neighbourhood. This is the moH level country that I have feen above theGhats ", but it contains many bare rocky hills, which are fituated at confiderabledifiances, with level ground between them. Rice' forms a very large proportion ofthe crop, and equals in quantity the ragy. The country is very poorly watered, andoften fuffers from a want of rain ; for an old revenue officer of the place remembersfour famines that arofe from this caufe.

Colar has a large mud fort, which is now repairing. The town contains fevenhundred houfes, many of which are inhabited by weavers. It was the birth-placeof Hyder Aly, whofe father lived and died in the town. A handforrie maufoleum•was ereded for him by his fon ; and near it a mofque, and a college of Moullahs,or Muffulman prieffs, with a proper efiablilhment of muficians, were endowedto pray for the repofe of his foul. The whole is kept up at the expenfe of theCompany.

On the hill north from the town was formerly a durga, or hill-fort, in which forfome time refided Coffim Khan, the General of Aurungzebe, who, towards the endof the 17th century, made the firfi regular efiablilhment of Muffulman authorityto the fouth of the Kriihna river. Colar was the capital of one of the fevenpergunnahs, or diftrids, into which that General divided his conquefts, which hadbeen formerly invaded by the Muffulman King of Vijaya-pura (Bejapoor), andafterwards had become fubjed to the Marattahs. The other pergunnahs were,'Sira,Budihalu, Bafwapattana, Penu-conda, Hoffo-cotay, and Burra Bala-pura. Thefeformed what the Muffulmans called the fubah of Sira, or the Carnatic BejapooryBalaghaut, which are recent diftindions not at all khown to the natives, and of whichthe memory is likely foon to be entirely obliterated.

The hilUfort above Colar has not been rebuilt fince it was deftroyed in an invafion ofthe Marattahs. who in the courfe of the 18th century made many attempts to recover