from
700 to 800 men, but at present it belongs to the Great Mogul, who
acquired it by skill of that great Captain Mir Jumla of whom I have so
often had occasion to speak. The last Raja, left three sons who
betrayed each other ; the eldest was poisoned, the second attached
himself to the court of the Great Mogul, who gave him the command of
4,000 horse, and the youngest maintains his position in the country by
paying tribute like his father. All the Kings of India, successors of
Tamerlane, have besieged this place without being able to take it, and
indeed two of these Kings died in the city of Sasaram.1
From the Fortress of Rohtas to Soumelpour it is 30 coss. Soumelpour 2 is a large town with houses built only of clay, and thatched with the branches of the coco-nut tree.3
Throughout this march of thirty coss there are jungles which are
dangerous, because the thieves, who know that merchants do not visit
the mine without carrying money, attack them and sometimes murder them.4
The Raja, lives half a coss from the town, and in tents placed on an
eminence. The Koel passes the fort, and it is in this river that the
diamonds are found. It comes from the high mountains to the south and
loses its name in the Ganges.5
This
is the manner in which diamonds are sought for in this river. After the
great rains are over, that is to say usually in the month of December,
the diamond seekers
1
Sher Shah, killed at Kalanjar, his father Hasan Shah Surl, and Islam or
Salim Shah, son and successor of Sher Shah, who died at Gwalior, are
buried at Sasaram.
*
This name is left in its original form in the text, as its
identification with Sema, although most probable, has not been
absolutely proved.
*
The coco-nut has been observed nearly as far inland as this locality,
but it is possible that the leaves of the Tal palm (Borassns flabelli-Jormis, Linn.) are meant.
4
Descendants of the thieves belonging to the Dom tribe, especially of
the Maghaiya branch, still roam about Palamau. Out of three occasions
when Ball's camp was robbed during seventeen years' travelling in
India, two were in this district and the third not very far from its
limits.
'
It joins the Son, which flows into the Ganges. It is possible that
Pliny's mention of the Ganges as yielding precious stones may be
connected with this fact ; but the statement {Nat. Hist., xxxvii. 1, 9) is vague.
II
F
