of Gorkha, it never seems on any one occasion to have been employed.
Etawargiri is a merchant nominally dedicated to religion, (Atithi,) who was born at Chhinachhin, and who still adheres to the Raja. He left the country when very young, but has since made three journeys thither to purchase horses, there being at the place several merchants of this order, who deal to a considerable amount. They carry up metals, spices, and cloths; and bring down cow tails, salt, horses, a woollen cloth called Pheruya, medicinal herbs, musk, etc.
Etawargiri, setting out from Tulasipur, in the dominions of the Vazir, crossed the Bheri, and proceeded through Jajarkot, the territory of which reaches within three coses of Chhinachhin; but from Jajarkot to the boundary took him nine days over a hilly country. At the boundary he entered a fine plain cut with deep ravines, like that of Nepal, but well cultivated. It is said to extend eight coses from north to south, and fifteen from east to west. It is cultivated by the plough drawn by oxen, and produces much wheat, barley, phaphar, and uya; with some urid, peas, lentiles, and maize, and a little transplanted rice. Sugar-cane, kodo, (Paspalum frumentaceum, Roxb.) and chana, (Cicer arietinum, Lin.) will not grow there, for there is snow in winter. In this level part of the country, each ploughgate of land is said to pay ten rupees a-year; but in the high poor parts of Yumila, one rupee is the rent.
According to the accounts which Colonel Kirkpatrick received, [284] this valley is nearly of the same extent as that of Nepal, but is rather more contiguous to the Himaliya mountains, and more chequered with low hills. The ridge of mountains immediately to the north is called Seela pahar, (Sweta pahar, white mountain,) and makes part of the greater Himaliya.
Chhinachhin is a large scattered place. All the houses are built of brick or stone, and have flat roofs. The two most remarkable temples at Chhinachhin, at least in the opinion of Etawargiri, belong, of course, to Siva. The one is called Chandranath, the other Bhairav’nath. In the daily market are exposed for sale the birds called Manal and Dhangphiya, mentioned above, (page 95,) and another called Chakuri, which I do not know, unless it be the Chakor, mentioned in page 95. These are commonly eaten. There are also exposed for sale many sheep and goats, loaded with salt, musk, medicinal herbs, and a seed called Bariyalbhera. Near Chhinachhin there are some of the cattle whose tails form the chaungri [285] chamar, or changwari, of the vulgar tongue, and the chamari of the Sangskrita, and they are very numerous in the hilly parts. Sadhu Ram says, that in Bhot there are three kinds of cow; the Changwari, the Lulu, and the Jhogo. The tails of all the kinds are bushy from the root, but those of the changwari are the most valuable. None of these kinds of cattle have the undulated dew-lap of the Indian cattle.
Besides the plain on which Chhinachhin is built, the Rajas held a very great extent of narrow vallies and mountains, many of the latter perpetually covered with snow. Towards the east, the country extended fifteen days’ journey to Bhot. I know from other circumstances, that it reached to Kagakoti on the Narayani, which is said to be about nineteen miles east from Butaul, and Chhinachhin is nearly north from Dalu Basandra, which, according to the map that I procured, is 124 miles west from Butaul; the fifteen days’ journey gives, therefore, 143 miles direct distance, or about 9½ miles for each. Chhinachhin, at this rate, allowing it to be six miles from the boundary,
would be about ninety miles north from Jajarkot, which is nearly north from Dalubasandra, and Jajarkot, according to the map deposited in the India House, is 108 miles from the plains of India. But to admit these situations as accurate, we must suppose, that the snowy mountains take there a great bend to the north, which is not said to be the case, and we must, therefore, allow that Jajarkot stands much farther south than it is placed in the map; and that Yumila is much nearer Jajarkot than Etawargiri supposes.
Colonel Kirkpatrick gives a route from Beni, the capital of Malebum, to Chhinachhin, the two places lying east and west, distant by the road 250 coses. Their actual distance, by the native maps, being about 143 miles, will give, on a long route, rather more than half a mile (0.57) of direct horizontal distance for the cose of road distance.
One of the most important productions of Yumila is salt, which is said to come from a place called Mukhola, reckoned ninety or a hundred miles road distance from Chhinachhin, towards the north-east. It is said, that, at Mukhola, there is a large space, containing many pools, that in winter are covered with snow. When this melts in spring, the water is thrown out, and cattle arc turned into the muddy pools to tread the bottom with their feet. As summer advances, a crust of salt is formed, and removed. I do not understand the nature of such a process, and suspect some mistake, as the dialect spoken by Etawargiri was not clearly understood by any of my people, much less by myself.
About half way between Chhinachhin and Mukhtanath is a frontier fortress of Yumila called Tibrikot. It is remarkable for a temple of the goddess Tibrisundari.