47i
coming the natural difficulties of a malarious climate and Nepal war,precipitous hills, our troops were on several occasions fairly l8l 4 -r 5 -worsted by the impetuous bravery of the little Gurkhas, whoseheavy knives or kukris dealt terrible execution. But in thecold weather of 1814, General Ochterlony , who advanced by Secondway of the Sutlej , stormed one by one the hill-forts which still cam P a 'g n -stud the Himalayan States, now under the Punjab Govern ment , and compelled the Nepal darbar , or court, to sue forpeace. In the following year, 1815, the same general madehis brilliant march from Patna into the lofty valley of Khat-mandu, and finally dictated the terms which had before beenrejected, within a few miles of the capital. By the treaty of Treaty ofSegaulf, which defines the English relations with Nepal to the ^|g S ul1 ’present day, the Gurkhas withdrew on the south-east from Hima-
Sikkim; and on the south-west, from their advanced posts in la y an^ tracts
the outer ranges of the Himalayas , which enabled us to obtain jgjj/
the health-giving stations of Naini Tal, Masuri (Mussooree),
and Simla.
Meanwhile, the condition of Central India was every year Thebecoming more unsatisfactory. The great Maffitha chiefs hadlearned to live as princes rather than as predatory leaders.
But their original habits of lawlessness were being followed bya new set of freebooters, known as the Pindarfs. As opposed tothe Marathas, who were at least a Hindu nationality bound bythe traditions of a united government, the Pindaris were merelyplundering bands, closely corresponding to the free companiesof mediaeval Europe. Of no common race, and of no common Pindarireligion, they welcomed to their ranks the outlaws and brokenmen of all India —Afghans, Marathas, or Jats. They repre-sented the debris of the Mughal Empire , which had not beenincorporated by any of the local Muhammadan or HinduPowers that sprang up out of its ruins. For a time, indeed,it seemed as if the inheritance of the Mughal might pass tothese armies of banditti. In Bengal, similar hordes hadformed themselves out of the disbanded Muhammadan troopsand the Hindu predatory castes. But they had been dis-persed under the vigorous rule of Warren Hastings . InCentral India, the evil lasted longer, attained a greater scale,and was only stamped out by a regular war.
The Pindari headquarters were in Malwd, but their depre-dations were not confined to Central India. In bands, some-times of a few hundreds, sometimes of many thousands, theyrode out on their forays as far as the opposite coasts of Madrasand of Bombay. The most powerful of the Pindari captains,