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ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY

Astronomical
Discovery
HERBERT HALL TURNER
Foreword by Dirk Brouwer
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES • 1963

University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
Cambridge University Press
London, England
© 156} by The Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 63-8661
Originally published by Edward Arnold Ltd., London, England, 1904
Manufactured in the United States of America

TO
EDWARD EMEKSON BARNARD
ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERER
THESE PAGES ARE INSCRIBED IN MEMORY OF
NEVER-TO-BE-FORGOTTEN DAYS SPENT WITH HIM AT THE
YERKES OBSERVATORY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

FOREWORD
HERBERT HALL TURNER (1861-1930) was one of
the most colorful astronomers of his generation.
His training at Trinity College, Cambridge, fol-
lowed by a period of service as Chief Assistant at
the Greenwich Observatory, did not differ from
that of many British astronomers of note. In
1894 he was appointed to the Savilian Professor-
ship of Astronomy at Oxford, a position that he
held for the rest of his life.
To a large extent the appointment determined
the course of his career. His predecessor, Pritch-
ard, had committed the Oxford Observatory to a
share of the construction of the Astrographic
Catalogue, and Turner decided at once to make
the efficient execution of this task his main
goal. By devoting his almost unlimited capacity
for sustained hard work to this effort he suc-
ceeded in bringing the Oxford zone to completion
well in advance of all other observatories en-
gaged in similar shares of the large project.
Astronomers of a later generation who may
find it astonishing that a man of Turner's origi-
nality and versatility should be content to de-
vote so much of his energy to a routine task
should remember that the photographic determi-

viii FOREWORD
nation of star positions was then a new field in
which much exciting development remained
to
be done. In the course of the work at Oxford,
Turner made many significant contributions.
Among them was the introduction of the now
commonly adopted form of "reduction" of posi-
tions measured on a photographic plate, involv-
ing the use of so-called standard coordinates and
the solution for plate constants by a set of linear
equations in which the effects of corrections that
vary linearly over the plate were absorbed.
In later years of his life Turner turned his
efforts to a variety of areas of research, including
variable stars, lunar topography, and seismology,
but he continued to give his loyal support to the
work on the Astrographic Catalogue.
The year 1894 is important in Turner's life for
still another reason. In that year he began the
publication of his contributions "From an Oxford
Note Book" to the magazine The Observatory.
These notes were comments on current events of
astronomical interest that were received with
delight and appreciation by astronomers all over
the world. They continued for thirty-six years:
altogether some four hundred such contributions
appeared in print, a literary output of consider-
able magnitude. They exhibit an exceptional
talent for lucid writing and for choosing the
right word. Also, only a man with an urge to ex-
press his personal views frankly and forcefully
could keep up such a task for so long.
These

FOREWORD ix
attributes of his writing ability are apparent in
the present volume.
The book is a selection of chapters from the
history of astronomy in the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries, in each of which a discovery is
the central theme. Astronomical discovery is not
limited to its narrowest meaning, the optical dis-
covery of a previously unknown celestial object,
but rather includes the discovery of the nature of
a phenomenon that was formerly not under-
stood. By treating both types of discoveries the
work succeeds in presenting an effective account
of the trend of the development of astronomy
during these two centuries. When dealing with
the discovery of Neptune, the author's principal
concern is with the roles played by Airy at Green-
wich and Challis at Cambridge in the failure to
secure the optical discovery of Neptune that was
within their grasp with the prediction by J. C.
Adams. The reader is not left in doubt as to who
deserves most of the blame.
In the chapter "Accidental Discoveries" the
discovery of the Oxford new star (Nova Gemi-
norum, 1903) by Turner himself gives the author
the welcome opportunity to write about the
Astrographic Catalogue, so close to
his heart.
The discovery came to him accidentally, but as a
consequence of his keeping in close touch with
the details of the work on the Oxford zone.
Every chapter has the flavor of authenticity
because the author took the trouble to refer to

X FOREWORD
the original records and because he was able to
supply enough background to bring the subject
to life. It is on account of these qualities that the
book remains so readable, notwithstanding the
tremendous changes that have taken place in
astronomy since it was written.
July 1962.
DIRK BROUWER
Yale
University Observatory
New Haven, Connecticut

PREFACE
THE aim of the following pages is to illustrate, by
the study of a few examples chosen almost at
random,
the variety in character of astronomical
discoveries. An attempt has indeed been made
to arrange the half-dozen examples, once selected,
into a rough sequence according to the amount of
"chance" associated with the discovery, though
from this point of view Chapter IV. should come
first; but I do not lay much stress upon it.
There is undoubtedly an element of " luck " in
most discoveries. " The biggest strokes are all
luck," writes a brother astronomer who had done
me the honour to glance at a few
pages, " but a
man must not drop his catches. Have you ever
read Montaigne's essay ' Of Glory ' ? It is worth
reading. Change war and glory to discovery
and it is exactly the same theme. If you are
looking for a motto you will find a score in
it." Indeed even in cases such as those in
Chapters Y. and VI., where a discovery is made
by turning over a heap of rubbish—declared such
by experts and abandoned accordingly—we in-
stinctively feel that the finding of something
valuable was especially " fortunate." We should
scarcely recommend such waste material as the
best hunting ground for gems.

xii PREFACE
The chapters correspond approximately to a
series of six lectures delivered at the
University
of Chicago in August 1904, at the hospitable
invitation of President Harper. They afforded me
the opportunity of seeing something of this
wonderful University, only a dozen years old and
yet so amazingly vigorous; and especially of its
observatory (the Yerkes observatory, situated
eighty miles away on Lake Geneva), which is
only eight years old and yet has taken its place
in the foremost rank. For these opportunities I
venture here to put on record my grateful thanks.
In a portion of the first chapter it will be
obvious that I am indebted to Miss Clerke's
" History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth
Century" ; in the second to Professor R. A.
Sampson's Memoir on the Adams MSS. ; in
the third to Rigaud's " Life of Bradley." There
are other debts which I hope are duly acknow-
ledged in the text. My grateful
thanks are due
to Mr. F. A. Bellamy for the care with which he
has read the proofs; and I am indebted for per-
mission to publish illustrations to the Royal
Astronomical Society, the Astronomer Royal, the
editors of The Observatory, the Cambridge
University Press, the Harvard College Obser-
vatory, the Yerkes Observatory, and the living
representatives of two portraits.
H. H. TURNER.
UNIVERSITY OBSERVATORY, OXFORD,
November 9, 1904.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGE
URANUS AND EROS i
CHAPTER II
THE DISCOVERY OF NEPTUNE 38
CHAPTER III
BRADLEY'S DISCOVERIES OF THE ABERRATION OF LIGHT
AND OF THE NUTATION OF THE EARTH'S AXIS . 86
CHAPTER IV
ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERIES . . . . . .121
CHAPTER V
SCHWABE AND THE SUN-SPOT PERIOD . . . -155
CHAPTER VI
THE VARIATION OF LATITUDE 177
INDEX 221

CHAPTER I
URANUS AND EROS
DISCOVERY is expected from an astronomer. The
lay mind scarcely thinks of a naturalist nowadays
discovering new animals, or of a chemist as find-
ing new elements save on rare occasions ; but it
does think of the astronomer as making dis-
coveries. The popular imagination pictures him
spending the whole night in watching the skies
from a high tower through a long telescope, occa-
sionally rewarded by the finding of something new,
without much mental effort. I propose to compare
with this romantic picture some of the actual facts,
some of the ways in which discoveries are really
made; and if we find that the image and the reality
differ, I hope that the romance will nevertheless
not be thereby destroyed, but may adapt itself to
conditions more closely resembling the facts.
The popular conception finds expression in the
lines of Keats :—
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken.
Keats was born in 1795, published his first
volume of poems in 1817, and died in 1821.
At

2 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
the time when he wrote the discovery of planets
was comparatively novel in human experience.
Uranus had been found by William Herschel in
1781, and in the years 1800 to 1807 followed the
first four minor planets, a number destined to
remain without
additions for nearly forty years.
It would be absurd to read any exact allusion into
the words quoted, when we remember the whole
circumstances under which they were written;
but perhaps I may be forgiven if I compare them
especially with the actual discovery of the planet
Uranus, for the reason that this was by far the
largest of the five—far larger than any other planet
known except Jupiter and Saturn, while the
others were far smaller—and that Keats is using
throughout
the poem metaphors drawn from the
first glimpses of " vast expanses " of land or water.
Perhaps I may reproduce the whole sonnet.
His friend C. C. Clarke had put before him
Chapman's " paraphrase" of Homer, and they
sat up till daylight to read it, "Keats shouting
with delight as some passage of especial energy
struck his imagination. At ten o'clock the next
morning Mr. Clarke found the sonnet on his
breakfast-table."
SONNET XI
On first looking into Chapman's " Homer "
Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen ;
Bound many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.

URANUS AND EROS 3
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-brow'd Homer ruled as his demesne ;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold :
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken ;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a'peak in Darien.
Let us
then, as our first example of the way in
which astronomical discoveries are made, turn to
the discovery of the planet Uranus, and see how
it corresponds with the popular conception as
voiced by Keats. In one respect his words are
true to the life or the letter. If ever there
was a
" watcher of the skies," William Herschel was
entitled to the name. It was his custom to watch
them the whole night through, from the earliest
possible moment to daybreak ; and the fruits of
his labours were many and various almost beyond
belief. But did the planet "swim into his
ken"?
Let us turn to the original announcement of his
discovery as given in the Philosophical Transac-
tions for 1781.

4 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, 1781
XXXII.—ACCOUNT OF A COMET
BT MR. HERSCHEL, F.R.S.
(Communicated by Dr. Watson, jun., of Bath, F.R.S.)
Read April 26, 1781
"On Tuesday the 13th of March, between ten
and eleven in the evening, while I was exam-
ining the small stars in the neighbourhood of
H Geminorum, I perceived one that appeared
visibly larger than the rest; being struck with
its uncommon magnitude, I compared it to H
Geminorum and the small star in the quartile
between Auriga and Gemini, and finding it to be
so much larger than either of them, suspected it
to be a comet.
" I was then engaged in a series of observations
on the parallax of the fixed stars, which I hope
soon to have the honour of laying before the
Royal Society; and those observations requiring
very high powers, I had ready at hand the several
magnifiers of 227, 460, 932, 1536, 2010, &c., all
which I have successfully used upon that occasion.
The power I had on when I first saw the comet
was 227. From experience I knew that the
diameters of the fixed stars are not proportionally
magnified with higher powers as the planets are;
therefore I now put on the powers of 460 and 932,
and found the diameter of the comet increased in
proportion to the power, as it ought to be, on a

URANUS AND EROS 5
supposition of its not being a fixed star, while the
diameters of the stars to which I compared it
were not increased in the same ratio. Moreover,
the comet being magnified much beyond what its
light would admit of, appeared hazy and ill-defined
with these great powers, while the stars preserved
that lustre and distinctness which from many
thousand observations I knew they would retain.
The sequel has shown that my surmises were well
founded, this proving to be the Comet we have
lately observed.
" I have reduced all my observations upon this
comet to the following tables. The first contains
the measures of the gradual increase of the comet's
diameter. The micrometers I used, when every
circumstance is favourable, will measure extremely
small angles, such as do not exceed a few seconds,
true to 6, 8, or io thirds at most; and in the
worst situations true to 20 or 30 thirds; I have
therefore given the measures of the comet's
diameter in seconds and thirds. And the parts
of my micrometer being thus reduced, I have also
given all the rest of the measures in the same
manner; though in large distances, such as one,
two, or three minutes, so great an exactness, for
several reasons, is not pretended to."
At first sight this seems to be the wrong refer-
ence, for it speaks of a new comet, not a new
planet. But it is indeed of Uranus that Herschel
is speaking; and so little did he realise the full

6 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
magnitude of his discovery at once, that he
announced it as that of a comet; and a comet
the object was called for some months. Attempts
were made to calculate its orbit as a comet, and
broke down; and it was only after much work
of this kind had been done that the real nature
of the object began to be suspected. But far
more striking than this misconception is the
display of skill necessary to detect any peculiarity
in the object at all. Among a number of stars
one seemed somewhat exceptional in size, but
the difference was only just sufficient to awaken
suspicion in a keen-eyed Herschel. Would any
other observer have noticed the difference at all?
Certainly several good observers had looked at
the object before, and looked at it with the care
necessary to record its position, without noting
any peculiarity. Their observations were re1
covered subsequently and used to fix the orbit of
the new planet more accurately. I shall remind
you in the next chapter that Uranus had been
observed in this way no less than seventeen times
by first-rate observers without exciting their
attention to anything remarkable. The first
occasion was in 1690, nearly a century before
Herschel's grand discovery, and these chance
observations, which lay so long unnoticed as
in some way erroneous, subsequently proved to
be of the utmost value in fixing the orbit of the
new planet. But there is even more striking
testimony than this to the exceptional nature of

URANUS AND EROS 7
Herschel's achievement. It is
a common experience
in astronomy that an observer may fail to notice in
a general scrutiny some phenomenon which he can
see perfectly well when his attention is directed
to it: when a man has made a discovery and
others are told what to look for, they often see
it so easily that they are filled with amazement
and chagrin that they never saw it before. Not
so in the case of Uranus. At least two great
astronomers, Lalande and Messier, have left on
record their astonishment that Herschel could
differentiate it from an ordinary star at all; for
even when instructed where to look and what
to look for, they had the greatest difficulty in
finding it. I give a translation of Messier's words,
which Herschel records in the paper already quoted
announcing the discovery :—
" Nothing was more difficult than to recognise
it; and I cannot conceive how you have been
able to return several times to this star or comet;
for absolutely it has been necessary to observe it
for several consecutive days to perceive that it
was in motion."
We cannot, therefore, fit the facts to Keats'
version of them. The planet did not majesti-
cally reveal itself to a merely passive observer:
rather did it, assuming the disguise of an ordinary
star, evade detection to the utmost of its power;
so that the keenest eye, the most alert attention,
the most determined following up of a mere

8 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
hint, were all needed to unmask it. But is the
romance necessarily gone ? If another Keats
could arise and know the facts, could he not
coin a newer and a truer phrase for us which
would still sound as sweetly in our ears ?
I must guard against a possible misconception.
I do not mean to convey that astronomical dis-
coveries are not occasionally made somewhat in
the manner so beautifully pictured by Keats.
Three years ago a persistent "watcher of the
skies," Dr. Anderson of Edinburgh, suddenly
caught sight of a brilliant new star in Perseus;
though here "flashed into his ken" would per-
haps be a more suitable phrase than " swam."
And comets have been detected by a mere glance
at the heavens without sensible effort or care on
the part of the discoverer. But these may be
fairly called exceptions ; in the vast majority of
cases hard work and a keen eye are necessary to
make the discovery. The relative importance of
these two factors of course varies in different cases ;
for the detection of Uranus perhaps the keen eye
may be put in the first place, though we must not
forget the diligent watching which gave it oppor-
tunity. Other cases of planetary discovery may
be attributed more completely to diligence alone,
as we shall presently see. But before leaving
Uranus for them I should like to recall the
circumstances attending the naming of the planet.
Herschel proposed to call it Georgium Sidus
in honour of his patron, King George III., and

URANUS
AND EROS 9
as the best way of making his wishes known,
wrote the following letter to the President of the
Royal Society, which is printed at the beginning
of the Philosophical Transactions for 1783.
A Letter from WILLIAM HERSCHEL, Esq., F.R.S.,
to Sir JOSEPH BANKS, Bart., P.R.S.
" SIR,—By the observations of the most eminent
astronomers in Europe it appears that the new
star, which I had the honour of pointing out to
them in March 1781, is a Primary Planet of our
Solar System. A body so nearly related to us by
its similar condition and situation in the un-
bounded expanse of the starry heavens, must often
be the subject of conversation, not only of astro-
nomers, but of
every lover of science in general.
This consideration then makes it necessary to
give it a name whereby it may be distinguished
from
the rest of the planets and fixed stars.
" In the fabulous ages of ancient times, the
appellations of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn were given to the planets as being the
names of their principal heroes and divinities. In
the present more philosophical era, it would hardly
be allowable to have recourse to the same method,
and call on Juuo, Pallas, Apollo, or Minerva for
a name to our new heavenly body. The first
consideration in any particular event, or remark-
able incident, seems to be its chronology : if in
any future age it should be asked, when this last

to ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
found planet was discovered? It would be a
very satisfactory answer to say, ' In the reign of
King George the Third.' As a philosopher then,
the name GEORGIUM SIDUS presents itself to me,
as an appellation which will conveniently convey
the information of the time and country where
and when it was brought to view. But as a
subject of the best of kings, who is the liberal
protector of every art and science ; as
a native
of the country from whence this illustrious
family was called to the British throne; as a
member of that Society which flourishes by the
distinguished liberality of its royal patron; and,
last of all, as a person now more immediately
under the protection of this excellent monarch,
and owing everything to his unlimited bounty;—I
cannot but wish to take this opportunity of ex-
pressing my sense of gratitude by giving the
name
Georgium Sidus,
Georgium Sidus
jam nunc assuesce vocari,
Virg. Georg.
to a star which (with respect to us) first began to
shine under his auspicious reign.
" By addressing this letter to you, Sir, as Presi-
dent of the Royal Society, I take the most
effectual method of communicating that name to
the literati of Europe, which I hope they will
receive with pleasure.—I have the honour to be,
with the greatest respect, Sir, your most humble
and most obedient servant, AY. HERSCHEL."

URANUS AND EROS
This letter reminds us how long it was since a
new name had been required for a new planet,—
to find a similar occasion Herschel had to go to
the almost prehistoric past, when the names of
heroes and divinities were given to the planets.
It
is, perhaps, not unnatural that he should have
considered an entirely new departure appropriate
for a discovery separated by so great a length of
time from the others; but his views were not
generally accepted, especially on the Continent.
Lalande courteously proposed the name of Her-
schel for the new planet, in honour of the dis-
coverer, and this name was used in France; but
Bode, on the other hand, was in favour of retain-
ing the old practice simply, and calling the new
planet Uranus.
All three names seem to have
been used for many years. Only the other day
I
was interested to see an old pack of cards, used
for playing a parlour game of Astronomy,
in which
the name Herschel is used. The owner told me
that they had belonged to his grandfather; and
the date of publication was 1829, and the place
London, so that this name was in common use
in England nearly half a century after the actual
discovery; though in the "English Nautical Al-
manac" the name "the Georgian" (apparently pre-
ferred to Herschel's Georgium Sidus) was being
used officially after 1791, and did not disappear
from that work
until 1851 (published in 1847.)
It would
appear to have been the discovery of
Neptune, with which we shall deal in the next

ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
chapter, which led to this official change; for in
the volume for 1851 is included Adams' account
of his discovery with the title—
"ON THE PERTURBATIONS OF URANUS,"
and there was thus a definite reason for avoiding
two names for the same planet in the same work.
But Le Verrier's paper on the same topic
at the
same date still uses the name " Herschel" for the
planet.
The discovery of Neptune, as we shall see, was
totally different in character from that of Uranus.
The latter may be described as the finding of
something by an observer who was looking for
anything-; Neptune was the finding of something
definitely sought for, and definitely pointed out
by a most successful and brilliant piece of metho-
dical work. But before that time several planets
had been found, as the practical result of a
definite search, although the guiding principle
was such as cannot command our admiration to
quite the same extent as in the case of Neptune.
To explain it I must say something of the relative
sizes of the orbits in which planets move round
the sun. These orbits are, as we know, ellipses;
but they are very nearly circles, and, excluding
refinements, we may consider them as circles, with
the sun at the centre of each, so that we may
talk of the distance of any planet from the sun
as a constant quantity without serious error. Now
if we arrange the planetary distances in order, we

URANUS AND EROS 13
shall notice a remarkable connection between the
terms of the series. Here is a table showing this
connection.
TABLE OF THE DISTANCES OF THE PLANETS FROM
THE SUN, SHOWING " BODE'S LAW."
Name of Planet.
Distance from
Sun, taking
that of Earth
as 10.
" Bode's Law "
(originally formulated
by Titius, but brought
into notice by Bode).
Mercury . 4 4+ 0= 4
Venus 7 4+ 3= 7
The Earth 10 4+ 6= 10
Mars
15 4+ 12= 16
( ) ( ) 4+ 24- 28
Jupiter 52 4+ 48= 52
Saturn
95
4 + 96 = 100
Uranus 192 4+ 192= 196
If we write down a series of 4's, and then add
the numbers 3, 6, 12, and so on, each formed by
doubling the last, we get numbers representing
very nearly the planetary distances, which are
shown approximately in the second column. But
three points call for notice. Firstly, the number
before 3 should be ij, and not zero, to agree with
the rest. Secondly, there is a gap, or rather was
a gap, after the discovery of Uranus, between
Mars and Jupiter; and thirdly, we see that when
Uranus was discovered, and its distance from the
sun determined, this distance was found to fall
in satisfactorily with this law, which was first
stated by Titius of Wittenberg. This third fact
naturally attracted attention. No explanation of

14 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
the so-called " law " was known at the time; nor
is any known even yet, though we may be said
to have some glimmerings of a possible cause;
and in the absence of such explanation it must
be regarded as merely a curious coincidence. But
the chances that we are in
the presence of a mere
coincidence diminish very quickly with each new
term added to the series, and when it was found
that Herschel's new planet fitted in so well at
the end of the arrangement, the question arose
whether the gap above noticed was real, or
whether there was perhaps another planet which
had hitherto escaped notice, revolving in an orbit
represented by this blank term. This question
had indeed been asked even before the discovery
of Uranus, by Bode, a young astronomer of Berlin ;
and for fifteen years he kept steadily in view this
idea of finding a planet to fill the vacant interval.
The search would be a very arduous one, involv-
ing a careful scrutiny, not perhaps of the whole
heavens, but of a considerable portion of it
along
the Zodiac; too great for one would-be discoverer
single-handed; but in September 1800 Bode suc-
ceeded in organising a band of six German astro-
nomers (including himself) for the purpose of
conducting this search. They divided the Zodiac
into twenty-four zones, and were assigning the
zones to the different observers, when they were
startled by the news that the missing planet had
been accidentally found by Piazzi in the constella-
tion Taurus. The discovery was made somewhat

URANUS AND EROS iS
dramatically on the first evening of the nineteenth
century (January i, 1801). Piazzi was not look-
ing for a planet at all, but examining an error
made by another astronomer; and in the course
of this work he recorded the position of a star of
the eighth magnitude. Returning to it on the
next night, it seemed to him that it had slightly
moved westwards, and on the following night this
suspicion was confirmed. Remark that in this
case no peculiar appearance in the star suggested
that it might be a comet or planet, as in the case
of the discovery of Uranus. We are not unfair
in ascribing the discovery to pure accident, al-
though we must not forget that a careless observer
might easily have missed it. Piazzi was anything
but careless, and watched the new object assidu-
ously till February nth, when he became danger-
ously ill; but he had written, on January 23rd, to
Oriani of Milan, and to Bode at Berlin on the
following day. These letters, however, did not
reach the recipients (in those days of leisurely
postal service) until April 5th and March 20th
respectively; and we can imagine the mixed feel-
ings with which Bode heard that the discovery
which he had contemplated for fifteen years, and
for which he was just about to organise a diligent
search, was thus curiously snatched from him.
More curious still must have seemed the intelli-
gence to a young philosopher of Jena named
Hegel, who has since become famous, but who
had just imperilled his future reputation by pub-

16 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
lishing a dissertation proving conclusively that the
number of the planets could not be greater than
seven, and pouring scorn on the projected search
of the half-dozen enthusiasts who were proposing
to find a new planet merely to fill up a gap in a
numerical series.
The sensation caused by the news of the dis-
covery was intensified by anxiety lest the new
planet should already have been lost; for it
had meanwhile travelled too close to the sun
for further observation, and the only material
available for calculating its orbit, and so predict-
ing its place
in the heavens at future dates, was
afforded by the few observations made by Piazzi.
Was it possible to calculate the orbit from such
slender material
? It would take too long to ex-
plain fully the enormous difficulty of this problem,
but some notion of it may be obtained, by those
unacquainted with mathematics, from a rough
analogy. If we are given a portion of a circle,
we can, with the help of a pair of compasses,
complete the circle: we can find the centre from
which the arc is struck, either by geometrical
methods, or by a few experimental trials, and
then fill in the rest of the circumference. If the
arc given is large we can do this with certainty
and accuracy; but if the arc is small it is difficult
to make quite sure of the centre, and our drawing
may not be quite accurate. Now the
arc which
had been described by the tiny planet during
Piazzi's observations was only three degrees ; and

URANUS AND EROS 17
if any one will kindly take out his watch and
look at the minute marks round the dial, three
degrees is just half a single minute space. If
the rest of the dial were obliterated, and only
this small arc left, would he feel much confidence
in restoring the obliterated portion ? This problem
gives some idea of the difficulties to be encountered,
but only even then a very imperfect one.
Briefly, the solution demanded a new mathe-
matical method in astronomy. But difficulties
are sometimes the opportunities of great men,
and this particular difficulty attracted to astro-
nomy the great mathematician Gauss, who set
himself to make the best of the observation avail-
able, and produced his classical work, the Theoria
Motus, which is the standard work for such cal-
culations to the present day. May we look for a
few moments at what he himself says in the pre-
face to his great work ? I venture to reproduce
the following rough translation (the book being
written in Latin, according to the scientific usage
of the time):—
EXTRACT FROM THE PREFACE TO THE
Theoria Motus.
" Some ideas had occurred to me on this sub-
ject in September 1801, at a time
when I was
occupied on something quite different; ideas
which seemed to contribute to the solution of the
great problem of which I have spoken. In such
cases it often happens that, lest we be too much

18 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
distracted from the attractive investigation on
which we are engaged, we allow associations of
ideas which, if more closely examined, might
prove extraordinarily fruitful, to perish from
neglect. Perchance these same idea-lets of mine
would have met with this fate, if they had not
most fortunately lighted upon a time than which
none could have been chosen more favourable for
their preservation and development. For about
the same time a rumour began to be spread abroad
concerning a new planet which had been detected
on January ist of that year at the Observatory of
Palermo ; and shortly afterwards the actual obser-
vations which had been made between January ist
and February nth by the renowned philosopher
Piazzi were published. Nowhere in all the
annals of astronomy do we find such an impor-
tant occasion; and scarcely is it possible to
imagine a more important opportunity for point-
ing out, as emphatically as possible, the impor-
tance of that problem, as at the moment when
every hope of re-discovering, among the innumer-
able little stars of heaven, that mite of a planet
which had been lost to sight for nearly a year,
depended entirely on an approximate knowledge
of its orbit, which must be deduced from those
scanty observations. Could I ever have had a
better opportunity for trying whether those idea-
lets of mine were of any practical value than if I
then were to use them for the determination of
the orbit of Ceres, a planet which, in the course

URANUS AND EROS 19
of those forty-one days, had described around the
earth an arc of no more than three degrees? and,
after a year had passed, required to be tracked
out in a region of the sky far
removed from its
original position? The first application of this
method was made in the month of October 1801,
and the first clear night, when the planet was
looked for by the help of the ephemeris I had
made, revealed the truant to the observer. Three
new planets found since then have supplied fresh
opportunities for examining and proving the effi-
cacy and universality of this method.
"Now a good many astronomers, immediately
after the rediscovery of Ceres, desired me to publish
the methods which had been used in mycalculations.
There were, however, not a few objections which
prevented me from gratifying at that moment
these friendly solicitations, viz. other business,
the desire of treating the matter more fully, and
more especially
the expectation that, by continu-
ing to devote myself to this research,
I should
bring the different
portions of the solution of the
problem to a more
perfect pitch of universality,
simplicity, and elegance. As my hopes have been
justified, I do not think there is any reason for
repenting of my delay. For the methods which I
had repeatedly applied from the beginning ad-
mitted of so many and such important variations,
that scarcely a vestige of resemblance remains
between the method by which formerly I had
arrived at the orbit of Ceres and the practice

2o ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
which I deal with in this work. Although in-
deed it would be alien to my intention to write
a complete history about all these researches
which I have gradually
brought to even greater
perfection, yet on many occasions, especially
whenever I was confronted by some particularly
serious problem, I thought that the first methods
which I employed ought not to be entirely sup-
pressed. Nay, rather, in addition to
the solutions
of the principal problems, I have in this work
followed out many questions which presented
themselves to me, in the course of a long study
of the motions of the heavenly bodies in conic
sections, as being particularly worthy of attention,
whether on account of the
neatness of the analysis,
or more especially by reason of their practical
utility. Yet I have always given the greater care
to subjects which I have made my own, merely
noticing by the way well-known facts where con-
nection of thought seemed to demand it."
These words do not explain in any way the
methods introduced by Gauss, but they give us
some notion of the flavour of the work. Aided
by these brilliant researches, the little planet was
found on the last day of the year by Yon Zach at
Gotha, and on the next night, independently, by
Olbers at Bremen. But, before this success, there
had been an arduous search, which led to a curious
consequence. Olbers had made himself so fami-
liar with all the small stars along the track which
was being searched for the missing body, that he

URANUS AND EROS 21
was at once struck by
the appearance of a stranger
near the spot where he had just identified Ceres.
At first he thought this must be some star which
had blazed up to brightness; but he soon found
that it also was moving, and, to the great bewilder-
ment of the astronomical world, it proved to be
another planet revolving round the sun at a dis-
tance nearly the same as the former. This was
an extraordinary and totally unforeseen occurrence.
The world had been prepared for one planet; but
here were two!
The thought occurred to Olbers that they
were perhaps fragments of a single body which
had been blown to pieces by some explosion, and
that there might be more of the pieces; and he
therefore suggested as a guide for finding others
that, since by the known laws of gravitation,
bodies which circle round the sun return perio-
dically to their starting-point, therefore all these
fragments would in due course return to the
point
in the heavens where the original planet had
exploded. Hence the search might be most pro-
fitably conducted in the neighbourhood of the
spot where the two first fragments (which had
been named Ceres and
Pallas) had already been
found. We now have good reason to believe
that this view is a mistaken one, but nevertheless
it was apparently confirmed by the discovery of
two more bodies of the same kind, which were
called Juno and Vesta; the second of these being
found by Olbers himself after three years' patient

22 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
work in 1807. Hence, although
the idea of
searching for a more or less definitely imagined
planet was not new, although Bode had conceived
it as early as 1785, and organised a search on this
plan, three planets were actually found before the
first success attending a definite search. Ceres,
as already remarked, was found by a pure acci-
dent ; and the same may be said of Pallas and
Juno, though it may fairly be added that Pallas
was actually contrary to expectation.
MINOR PLANETS, 1801 TO 1850.
Number. Name. Discoverer. Date.
I Ceres Piazzi 1801
2 Pallas Olbeis 1802
3
Juno Harding 1804
4
Vesta Olbers 1807
5 Astraea Hencke 1845
6 Hebe Hencke 1847
7
Iris Hind 1847
8 Flora Hind 1847
1848 9 Metis Graham
1847
1848
10 Hygcia 1
>e Gasparis 1849
11 Parthenope De Gasparis 1850
12 Victoria Hind 1850
13
Egeiia De Gasparis 1850
Here now is a table showing how other bodies
were gradually added to this first list of four, but
you will see that no addition was made for a long
time. Not that the search was immediately aban-
doned ; but being rewarded by no success for some
years, it was gradually
dropped, and the belief
gained ground that the number of the planets

URANUS AND EROS 23
was at last complete. The discoverers of Uranus
and of these first four minor planets all died before
any farther addition was made; and it was not
until the end of 1845 that Astraea was found by
an ex-postmaster of the Prussian town of Driessen,
by
name Hencke, who, in spite of the general
disbelief in the existence of any more planets, set
himself diligently to search for them, and toiled
for fifteen long years before at length reaping his
reward. Others then resumed the search ; Hind,
the observer of an English amateur astronomer
near London, found Iris a few weeks after Hencke
had been rewarded by a
second discovery in 1847,
and in the following year Mr. Graham at Markree
in Ireland (who is still living, and has only just
retired from active work at the Cambridge Obser-
vatory) found Metis; and from that time new
discoveries have been added year by year, until
the number of planets now known exceeds 500,
and is steadily increasing.
You will see the great variety characterising
these discoveries ; some of them are the result
of deliberate search, others have come accident-
ally, and some even contrary to expectation. Of
the great majority of the earlier ones it may be
said that enormous diligence was required for
each discovery ; to identify a planet it is necessary
to have either a good map of the stars or to know
them thoroughly, so that the map practically exists
in the brain. We need only remember Hencke's
fifteen years of search before success to recognise

24 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
•what vast stores of patience and diligence were
required in carrying out the search. But of late
years photography has effected a great revolution
in this respect. It is no longer necessary to do
more than set what Sir Robert Ball has called a
" star-trap," or rather planet-trap. If a photograph
be taken of a region of the heavens, by the methods
familiar to astronomers, so that each star makes a
round dot on the
photographic plate, any suffi-
ciently bright object moving relatively to the stars
will make a small line or trail, and thus betray its
planetary character. In this way most of the
recent discoveries have been made, and although
diligence is still required in taking the photo-
graphs, and again in identifying the objects thus
found (which are now very often the images of
already known members of the system), the tedious
scrutiny with the eye has become a thing of the past.
TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF MINOR PLANETS DISCOVERED
IN EACH DECADE SINCE 1850.
1801 to 1850- -altogether
'3 discoveries.
1851 to 1860-
it 49 71
1861 to 1870- ~ a 49 11
1871 to 1880-
~ »>
108
11
1881 to 1890- ~~ 5» 83 11
1891 to 1900-
11
180 announcem
In 1901
11 36 11
>>
1902
11 5° 11
1903 11 4i 11
Total 609
\_N~.B.—Many of the more recent announce-
ments turned out to
refer to old discoveries.]

URANUS AND EROS 25
The known number of these bodies has accord-
ingly increased so rapidly as to become almost
an embarrassment; and in one respect the embar-
rassment is definite, for it has become quite
difficult to find names for the new discoveries.
We remember with amusement at the present
time that for the early discoveries there was
sometimes a controversy (of the same kind
as in the case of Uranus) about the exact
name which a planet should have. Thus when
it was proposed to call No. 12 (discovered in
1850, in London, by Mr. Hind) "Victoria,"
there was an outcry by foreign astronomers
that by a subterfuge the name of a reigning
monarch was again being proposed for a planet,
and considerable opposition was manifested,
especially in America. But it became clear,
as other discoveries were added, that the list
of goddesses, or even humbler mythological
people, would not be large enough to go round
if we were so severely critical, and must
sooner or later be supplemented from sources
hitherto considered unsuitable ; so, ultimately,
the opposition to the name Victoria was with-
drawn. Later still the restriction to feminine
names has been broken through ; one planet has
been named Endyijiion, and another, of which we
shall presently speak more particularly, has been
called Eros. But before passing to him you

26 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
may care to look at some of the names selected
for others:—
No. Name. No. Name.
248 . .
Lameia 389 • . Industiia
250 . .
Bettina
39« • . Ingeborg
261 . Pryrnuo
433 •
Eros
264 . .
Libussa
443 •
. Pliotographica
296 . .
Phaetusa 457 • . Alleghenia
340 . .
Eduarda 462 . . Eri phyla
341 • .
California
475 •
. Ocllo*
35° • .
Ornamenta 484 - . Pitt-burgliia
357 • .
Ninina 503 . . Evelyn
385 . .
Ilmatar
In connection with No. 250 there is an interest-
ing little history. In the Observatory for 1885,
page 63, appeared the following advertisement:—
" Herr Palisa being desirous to raise funds for his
intended expedition to observe the Total Solar
Eclipse of August 1886, will sell the right of
naming the minor planet No. 244 for ¿£50." The
bright idea seems to have struck Herr Palisa, who
had already discovered many planets and begun to
find difficulties in assigning suitable names, that
he might turn his difficulty into a source of profit
in a good cause. The offer was not responded to
immediately, nor until Herr Palisa had discovered
two more planets, Nos. 248 and 250. He found
names for two, leaving, however, the last dis-
covered always open for a patron, and on page
142 of the same magazine for 1886 the following
note informs us how his patience was ultimately
rewarded:—"Minor planet No. 250 has been

URANUS AND EROS 2 7
named ' Bettina' by Baron Albert de Rothschild."
I
have not heard, however, that this precedent has
been followed in other cases, and the ingenuity of
discoverers was so much overtaxed towards the
end of last century that the naming of their
planets fell into arrears. Recently a Commission,
which has been established to look after these
small bodies generally, issued a notice that unless
the naming was accomplished before a certain
date it would be ruthlessly taken out of the hands
of the negligent discoverers. Perhaps we may
notice, before
passing on, the provisional system
which was adopted to fill up the interval required
for
finding a suitable name, and required also for
making sure
that the planet was in fact a new
one, and not merely an old one rediscovered.
There was a system of numbering in existence as
well as of naming, but it was unadvisable to
attach even a number to a planet until it was
quite certain that the discovery was new, for
otherwise there might be gaps created in what
should be a continuous series by spurious dis-
coveries being struck
out. Accordingly it was
decided to attach at first to the object merely a
letter of the alphabet, with the year of discovery,
as a provisional name. The alphabet was, how-
ever, run through so quickly, and confusion was
so likely to ensue if it was merely repeated, that
on recommencing it the letter A was prefixed,
and the symbols adopted were
therefore AA,
AB, AC, &e. ; after completing the alphabet

28 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
again, the letter B was prefixed, and so on; and
astronomers began to fear that they had before
them a monotonous prospect of continually add-
ing new planets, varied by no incident more excit-
ing than starting the alphabet over again after
every score.
Fortunately, however, on running through it
for the fifth time, an object of particular interest
was discovered. Most of these bodies revolve
at
a distance from the sun intermediate between
that of Mars and that of
Jupiter, but the little
planet which took the symbol DQ, and afterwards
the name of Eros, was found to have a mean
distance actually less than that of Mars, and
this gave it an extraordinary importance with
respect to the great problem of determining the
sun's distance. To explain this importance we
must make a small digression.
About the middle of the last century our
knowledge of the sun's distance was very rough,
as may be seen from the table on p. 32 ; but there
were in prospect two transits of Venus, in 1874
and 1882, and it was hoped that these would give
opportunities of a special kind for the measure-
ment of this important quantity, which lies at the
root of all our knowledge of the exact masses and
dimensions of not only the sun, but of the planets
as well.
The method may be briefly summarised thus :
An observer in one part of the earth would see
Venus cross the disc of the sun along a different

URANUS AND EROS 29
path from that seen by another observer, as will
be clear from the diagram. If the size of the
SUN
FIG. t.
earth, the distance of the sun, and the relative
distance of Venus be known, it can be calcu-
lated what this difference in path will be.
Now the relative distance of Venus
is known
with great accuracy, from observing the time of
her revolution round the sun; the size of the
earth we can measure by a survey; there remains,
therefore, only one unknown quantity, the sun's
distance. And since from a knowledge of this we
could calculate the difference in path,
it is easy
to invert the problem, and calculate the sun's
distance from the knowledge of the observed
difference in path. Accordingly, observers were
to be scattered, not merely to two, but to many
stations over the face of the earth, to observe the
exact path taken by Venus in transit over the sun's
disc as seen from their station ; and especially to
observe the exact times of beginning and ending
of the transit; and-, by comparison of their results,

30 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
it was hoped to determine this very important
quantity, the sun's distance. It was known from
previous experience that there were certain diffi-
culties in observing very exactly the beginning
and end of the transit. There was an appear-
ance called the " Black Drop," which had caused
trouble on previous occasions; an appearance as
though the round black spot which can be seen
when Venus has advanced some distance over the
sun's disc was reluctant to make the entry and
clung to the edge or " limb" of the sun as it is
called, somewhat as a drop of ink clings to a
pen which is slowly withdrawn from an
inkpot.
Similarly, at the end of the transit or egress,
instead of approaching the limb steadily the
planet seems at the last moment to burst out
towards it, rendering the estimation of the exact
moment when the transit is over extremely
doubtful.
These difficulties, as already stated, were known
to exist; but there is a long interval between
transits of Venus, or rather between every pair
of such transits. After those of 1874 and 1882
there will be no more until 2004 and 2012, so
that we shall never see another; similarly, before
that pair of the last century, there had not been
any such occasion since 1761 and 1769, and no
one was alive who remembered at first hand
the trouble which was known to exist. It was
proposed to obviate the anticipated difficulties
by careful practice beforehand; models were

URANUS AND EROS 31
prepared to resemble
as nearly as possible the
expected appearances, and the times recorded by
different observers were compared with the true
time, which could, in this case of a model, be
determined. In this way it was hoped that the
habit of each observer, his " personal equation " as
it is called, could be determined beforehand, and
allowed for as a correction when he came to
observe the actual transit. The result, however,
was a great disappointment. The actual appear-
ances were found to be totally different in
character from those shown by the model ;
chiefly, perhaps, because it had been impos-
sible to imitate with a model the effect of the
atmosphere which surrounds the planet Venus.
Observers trained beforehand, using similar in-
struments, and standing within
a few feet of each
other, were expected, after making due allowance
for personal equation, to give the same instant for
contact; but their observations when made were
found to differ
by nearly a minute of time, and
after an exhaustive review
of the whole material
it was felt that all hope of determining accurately
the sun's distance by this method must be given
up. The following table will show how much
was learned from the transits of Venus, and
how much remained to be settled. They left
the result in doubt over a range of about two
million miles.

32 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
SUN'S DISTANCE, IN MILLIONS OF MILES, AS
FOUND BY DIFFERENT OBSERVERS
Before the Transits of Venus estimates varied
between 96 million miles (Gilliss and Gould,
1856) and 91 million (Winneche, 1863), a range
of 5 million miles.
The Transits of 1874 and 1882 gave results lying
between 93J million (Airy, from British observa-
tions of 1874), 92i million (Stone, from British
observations of 1882), and 91^ million (Puiseux,
from French observations), a range of if millions.
Qill's Heliometer results all lie very near 93
millions. The observations of Mars in 1877 give
about 100,000 miles over this figure: but the
observations of Victoria, Iris, and Sappho, which
are more trustworthy, all agree in giving about
100,000 miles less than the 93 millions.
It became necessary, therefore, to look to other
methods; and before the second transit of 1882
was observed, an energetic astronomer, Dr. David
Gill, had already put into operation the method
which may be now regarded as the standard
one.
We have said that the
relative distance of
Venus from the sun is accurately known from
observations of the exact time of revolution. It
is easy to see that these times of revolution can

URANUS AND EROS 33
be measured accurately by mere accumulation.
We may make an error of a few seconds in noting
the time of return ; but if the whole interval
comprises 10 revolutions, this error is divided by
10, if 100 revolutions by 100, and so on; and by
this time a great number of revolutions of all the
planets (except those just discovered) have been
recorded. Hence we know their relative dis-
tances with great precision ; and if we can find
the distance in miles of any one of them, we
can find that of the sun itself, or of any other
planet, by a simple rule-of-three sum. By making
use of this principle many of the difficulties
attending the direct determination of the sun's
distance can be avoided; for instance, since the
sun's light overpowers that of the stars, it is not
easy to directly observe the place of the sun
among the stars ; but this is not so for the planets.
We can photograph a planet and the stars sur-
rounding it on the same plate, and then by care-
ful measurement determine its exact position
among the stars ; and since this position differs
slightly according to the situation of the observer
on the earth's surface, by comparing two photo-
graphs taken at stations a known distance apart
we can find the distance of the planet from the
earth ; and hence, as above remarked, the dis-
tance of the
sun and all the other members of the
solar system. Or, instead of taking photographs
from two different stations, we can take from the
same station two photographs at times separated

34 ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERY
by a known interval. For in that interval the
station will have been carried by the earth's rota-
tion some thousands of miles away from its former
position, and becomes virtually a second station
separated from the first by a distance which is
known accurately when we know the elapsed
time. Again, instead of taking photographs, and
from them measuring the position of the planet
among the stars, we may make the measurements
on the planet and stars in the sky itself; and
since in 1878, when Dr. Gill set out on his enter-
prise of determining the sun's distance, photo-
graphy was in its infancy as applied to astronomy,
he naturally made his observations on the sky
with an instrument known as a heliometer. He
made them in the little island of Ascension, which
is suitably situated for the purpose; because,
being near the earth's equator, it is carried by
the earth's rotation a longer distance in a given
time than places nearer the poles, and in these
observations for " parallax," as they are called,
it is important to have the displacement of the
station as large as possible. For a similar reason
the object selected among the planets must be as
near the earth as possible; and hence the planet
Mars, which at favourable times comes nearer to
us than any other superior planet1 then known,
was selected for observation with the heliometer.
And now it will be seen why the discovery of
1 The inferior planet Venus conies closer, but is not visible
throughout the night.

URANUS AND EROS 35
the little planet Eros was important, for Mars
was no longer the known planet capable of
coming nearest to us; it had been replaced by
this new arrival.
Further, a small planet which is in appearance
just like an ordinary star has, irrespective of this
great proximity, some distinct advantages over a
planet like Mars, which appears
as a round disc,
and is, moreover, of a somewhat reddish colour.
When the distance of an object of this kind from
a point of line such as a star is measured with the
heliometer it is found that a certain bias, some-
what difficult to allow for with certainty, is intro-
duced into the measures; and our confidence in
the final results suffers accordingly. After his
observations of Mars in 1878, Dr. David Gill was
sufficiently impressed with this source of error
to make three new determinations of the sun's
distance, using three of the minor planets instead
of Mars, in spite of the fact that they were sen-
sibly farther away; and his choice was justified
by finding that the results from these three
different sets of observations agreed well among
themselves, and differed slightly from that given
by the observations of Mars. Hence it seems
conclusively proved that one of these bodies is
a better selection than Mars in any case, and the
discovery of Eros, which offered the advantage
of greater proximity in addition, was hailed as
a new opportunity of a most welcome kind. It
was seen by a little calculation that in the
winter

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dates, gum-arabic, borax, coco-nuts, broadcloths, silks, sandal-
wood, camphor, dyes, drugs, oxide and sulphuret of arsenic, spices,
coffee, etc. In exchange, they exported chintzes, dried fruits, jira,
[12]
asafoetida from Multan, sugar, opium (Kotah and Malwa), silks and
fine cloths, potash, shawls, dyed blankets, arms, and salt of home
manufacture.
Caravans.—The route of the caravans was by Suigam,
[13]
Sanchor, Bhinmal, Jalor to Pali, and the guardians of the
merchandise were almost invariably Charans, a character held sacred
by the Rajput. The most desperate outlaw seldom dared to commit
any outrage on caravans under the safeguard of these men, the
bards of the Rajputs. If not strong enough to defend their convoy
with sword and shield, they would threaten the robbers with the
chandni, or ‘self-immolation’;
[14]
and proceed by degrees from a gash
in the flesh to a death-wound, or if one victim was insufficient a
whole body of women and children was sacrificed (as in the case of
the Bamaniya Bhats), for whose blood the marauder is declared
responsible hereafter.
Decay of Commerce. The Opium Trade.—Commerce has been
almost extinguished within these last twenty years; and paradoxical
as it may appear, there was tenfold more activity and enterprise in
the midst of that predatory warfare, which rendered India one wide
arena of conflict, than in these days of universal pacification. The
torpedo touch of monopoly has had more effect on the Kitars than
the spear of the desert Sahariya, or Barwatia (outlaw) Rajput—
against its benumbing qualities the Charan’s dagger would fall
innocuous; it sheds no blood, but it dries up its channels. If the
products of the salt-lakes of Rajputana were preferred, even at
Benares, to the sea-salt of Bengal, high impost duties excluded it
from the market. If the opium of Malwa and Haraoti competed in the
China market with our Patna monopoly, again we intervened, not
with high export duties, which we were competent to impose, but by
laying our shackles upon it at the fountain-head. “Aut Caesar, aut
nullus,” is our maxim [168] in these regions; and in a country where

our Agents are established only to preserve political relations and
the faith of treaties, the basis of which is non-interference in the
internal arrangement of their affairs—albeit we have not a single
foot of land in sovereignty—we set forth our parwanas, as
peremptory as any Russian ukase, and command that no opium shall
leave these countries for the accustomed outlets, under pain of
confiscation. Some, relying on their skill in eluding our vigilance, or
tempted by the high price which these measures produce, or
perhaps reckoning upon our justice, and upon impunity if
discovered, tried new routes, until confiscation brought them to
submission.
We then put an arbitrary value upon the drug, and forced the
grower to come to us, and even take credit to ourselves for
consulting his interests. Even admitting that such price was a
remunerating one, founded upon an average of past years, still it is
not the less arbitrary. No allowance is made for plentiful or bad
seasons, when the drug, owing to a scarcity, will bear a double price.
Our legislation is for “all seasons and their change.” But this virtual
infraction of the faith of treaties is not confined to the grower or
retailer; it affects others in a variety of ways; it injures our
reputation and the welfare of those upon whom, for benevolent
purposes, we have forced our protection. The transit duties levied on
opium formed an item in the revenues of the princes of Rajputana;
but confiscation guards the passes of the Aravalli and Gujarat, and
unless the smuggler wrap up his cargo in ample folds of deceit, the
Rajput may go without his amal-pani, the infusion of this poison,
dearer to him than life. It is in vain to urge that sufficient is allowed
for home consumption. Who is to be the judge of this? or who is so
blind as not to see that any latitude of this kind would defeat the
monopoly, which, impolitic in its origin, gave rise in its progress to
fraud, gambling, and neglect of more important agricultural
economy. But this policy must defeat itself: the excess of quantity
produced will diminish the value of the original (Patna) monopoly, if

its now deteriorated quality should fail to open the eyes of the quick-
sighted Chinese, and exclude it from the market altogether.
[15]
Fairs.—There were two annual fairs in his country, Mundwa and
Balotra; the first chiefly for cattle. The merchandise of various
countries was exposed [169] and purchased by the merchants of the
adjoining States. It commenced with the month of Magh, and lasted
during six weeks. The other was also for cattle of all kinds, horses,
oxen, camels, and the merchandise enumerated amongst the
imports and exports of Pali. Persons from all parts of India
frequented them; but all these signs of prosperity are vanishing.
[16]
Administration of Justice.—The administration of justice is now
very lax in these communities; but at no time were the customary
criminal laws of Rajputana sanguinary, except in respect to political
crimes, which were very summarily dealt with when practicable. In
these feudal associations, however, such crimes are esteemed
individual offences, and the whole power of the government is
concentrated to punish them; but when they are committed against
the community, justice is tempered with mercy, if not benumbed by
apathy. In cases even of murder, it is satisfied with fine, corporal
punishment, imprisonment, confiscation, or banishment. Inferior
crimes, such as larcenies, were punished by fine and imprisonment,
and, when practicable, restitution; or, in case of inability to pay,
corporal punishment and confinement. But under the present lax
system, when this impoverished government has to feed criminals, it
may be supposed that their prisons are not overstocked. Since Raja
Bijai Singh’s death, the judgment-seat has been vacant. His memory
is held in high esteem for the administration of justice, though he
carried clemency to excess. He never confirmed a sentence of
death; and there is a saying of the criminals, yet extant, more
demonstrative of his humanity than of good policy: “When at large
we cannot even get rabri (porridge), but in prison we eat laddu
(sweetmeat).” Here, as at Jaipur, confined criminals are maintained
by individual charity; and it is a well-known fact, that at the latter
place, but for the humanity of the mercantile classes, especially

those of the Jain persuasion, they might starve. Perhaps it is the
knowledge of this circumstance, which holds back the hand of the
government, or its agents, who may apply to their own uses the
prison-fare. When once confined, the criminals are little thought of,
and neglect answers all the ends of cruelty. They have, however, a
source of consolation unknown to those who have passed “the
bridge of sighs,” or become inmates of the oubliettes of more
civilized regions. That fortitude and resignation which religion alone
can bestow on the one is obtained through superstition by the other;
and the prayers of the prison are poured forth for one of those
visitations of Providence [170], which, in humbling the proud,
prompts acts of mercy to others in order to ensure it to themselves.
[17]
The celestial phenomena of eclipses, whether of the sun or
moon, although predicted by the Pandits, who for ages have
possessed the most approved theory for calculation, are yet looked
upon with religious awe by the mass, and as “foreboding change to
princes.” Accordingly, when darkness dims the beams of Surya or
Chandra, the face of the prisoner of Maru is lighted up with smiles;
his deliverance is at hand, and he may join the crowd to hoot and
yell, and frighten the monster Rahu
[18]
from his hold of the “silver-
moon.”
[19]
The birth of a son to the prince, and a new reign, are
events likewise joyful to him.
Trial by Ordeal.—The trial by sagun, literally ‘oath of purgation,’
or ordeal, still exists, and is occasionally had recourse to in Maru, as
in other parts of Rajputana; and, if fallen into desuetude, it is not
that these judgments of God (as they were styled in the days of
European barbarism) are less relied on, but that society is so
unhinged that even these appeals to chance find no subjects for
practice, excepting by Zalim Singh; and he to the last carried on his
antipathy to the Dakins (witches) of Haraoti, who were always
submitted to the process by ‘water.’ Trial by ordeal is of very ancient
date in India: it was by ‘fire’ that Rama proved the purity of Sita,
after her abduction by Ravana, and in the same manner as practised
by one of our Saxon kings, by making her walk over a red-hot
ploughshare.
[20]
Besides the two most common tests, by fire and

water, there is a third, that of washing the hands in boiling oil. It
should be stated, that, in all cases, not only the selection but the
appeal to any of these ordeals is the voluntary act of the litigants,
and chiefly after the Panchayats, or courts of arbitration, have failed.
Where justice is denied, or bribery shuts the door, the sufferer will
dare his adversary to the sagun, or submission to the judgment of
God; and the solemnity of the appeal carries such weight, that it
brings redress of itself, though cases do occur where the challenge is
accepted, and the author has conversed with individuals who have
witnessed the operation of each of the ordeals.
[21]
Panchayats.—The Panchayats arbitrate in civil cases. From these
courts of equity, there is an appeal to the Raja; but as unanimity is
required in the judges, and a fee or fine must be paid by the
appellant, ere his case can come before the prince [171], litigation is
checked. The constitution of this court is simple. The plaintiff lays his
case before the Hakim of the district, or the Patel of the village
where he resides. The plaintiff and defendant have the right of
naming the villages (two, each), from whence the members of the
Panchayat are to be drawn. Information is accordingly sent to the
Patels of the villages specified, who, with their respective Patwaris
(Registers), meet at the Atai or ‘village-court.’ Witnesses are
summoned and examined on oath, the most common of which is the
gaddi-ki-an, ‘allegiance to the throne,’ resembling the ancient
adjuration of the Scythians as recorded by Herodotus.
[22]
This oath
is, however, more restricted to Rajputs; the other classes have
various forms based upon their religious notions. When the
proceedings are finished, and judgment is given, the Hakim puts his
seal thereto, and carries it into effect, or prepares it for appeal. It is
affirmed that, in the good times of Rajputana, these simple tribunals
answered every purpose.
Fiscal Revenues.—The fiscal revenues of Marwar are derived
from various sources; the principal are—
1. The Khalisa, or ‘crown-lands.’
2. The salt lakes.

3. Transit and impost duties.
4. Miscellaneous taxes, termed Hasil.
The entire amount of personal revenue of the princes of Marwar
does not at present exceed ten lakhs of rupees (£100,000 sterling),
though in the reign of Bijai Singh half a century ago, they yielded full
sixteen lakhs, one-half of which arose from the salt lakes alone. The
aggregate revenue of the feudal lands is estimated as high as fifty
lakhs, or £500,000. It may be doubted whether at present they yield
half this sum.
[23]
The feudal contingents are estimated at five
thousand horse, besides foot, the qualification being one cavalier
and two foot-soldiers for every thousand rupees of income.
[24]
This
low estimate is to keep up the nominal value of estates,
notwithstanding their great deterioration; for a ‘knight’s fee’ of
Marwar was formerly estimated at five hundred rupees.
The sum of ten lakhs, mentioned as the gross income of the
prince, is what is actually realized by the treasury, for there are
many public servants provided for out of the crown-lands, whose
estates are not included.
Methods of Revenue Collection.—The revenues are collected
from the ryots in kind. A corn-rent, the only one recognized in
ancient India, and termed Batai, or ‘division,’ is apportioned equally
[172] between the prince and the husbandman: a deviation from the
more lenient practice of former times, which gave one-fourth, or
one-sixth to the sovereign. Besides this, the cultivator has to pay the
expense of guarding the crops, and also those who attend the
process of division. An assessment of two rupees is made on every
ten maunds,
[25]
which more than covers the salaries paid to the
Shahnas (watchmen), and Kanwaris,
[26]
and leaves a surplus divided
by the Patel and village register (Patwari). A cart-load of karbi (the
stalks of juar and bajra) is exacted from every cultivator as fodder
for the prince’s cattle; but this is commuted for a rupee, except in
seasons of scarcity, when it is stored up. The other officers, as the
Patwaris and Patels, are paid out of the respective shares of the
farmer and the crown, namely, one-fourth of a ser each, from every

maund of produce, or an eightieth part of the gross amount. The
cultivators of the Pattawats or feudal chiefs are much better off than
those of the Khalisa: from them only two-fifths are exacted; and in
lieu of all other taxes and charges, a land-tax of twelve rupees is
levied on every hundred bighas of land cultivated. The cultivators
repay this mild assessment by attachment to the chiefs.
Poll Tax.—Anga is a poll-tax (from anga, ‘the body’) of one
rupee, levied on adults of either sex throughout Marwar.
Cattle Tax.—Ghasmali is a graduated tax on cattle, or, as the
term imports, the right of pasture. A sheep or goat is estimated at
one anna (one-sixteenth of a rupee); a buffalo eight annas, or half a
rupee; and each camel, three rupees.
Door Tax.—Kewari is a tax on doors (kewar), and is considered
peculiarly oppressive. It was first imposed by Bijai Singh, when,
towards the latter end of his reign, his chiefs rebelled, and retired in
a body to Pali to concert schemes for deposing him. Thither he
fruitlessly followed in order to pacify them, and on his return found
the gates (kewar) of his capital shut in his face, and Bhim Singh
placed upon the gaddi. To supply the pecuniary exigencies
consequent upon this embarrassing situation, he appealed to his
subjects, and proposed a ‘benevolence,’ in aid of his necessities, of
three rupees for each house, giving it a denomination from the
cause whence it originated. Whether employed as a punishment of
those who aided his antagonist, or as a convenient expedient of
finance, he converted this temporary contribution into a permanent
tax, which continued until the necessities of the confederacy against
the [173] present prince, Raja Man, and the usurpation of the fiscal
lands by the Pathans, made him raise it to ten rupees on each
house. It is, however, not equally levied; the number of houses in
each township being calculated, it is laid on according to the means
of the occupants, and the poor man may pay two rupees, while the

wealthy pays twenty. The feudal lands are not exempted, except in
cases of special favour.
Sāīr.—In estimating the amount of the sair, or imposts of Marwar,
it must be borne in mind that the schedule appended represents
what they have been, and perhaps might again be, rather than what
they now are. These duties are subject to fluctuation in all countries,
but how much more in those exposed to so many visitations from
predatory foes, civil strife, and famine! There is no reason to doubt
that, in the “good old times” of Maru, the amount, as taken from old
records, may have been realized:—
Jodhpur Rs.
76,000
Nagor 75,000
Didwana 10,000
Parbatsar 44,000
Merta 11,000
Kolia 5,000
Jalor 25,000
Pali 75,000
Jasol and Balotra
fairs
41,000
Bhinmal 21,000
Sanchor 6,000
Phalodi 41,000

Total 430,000
The Danis, or collectors of the customs, have monthly salaries at
the large towns, while the numerous petty agents are paid by a
percentage on the sums collected. The sair, or imposts, include all
those on grain, whether of foreign importation, or the home-grown,
in transit from one district to another.

The revenue arising from the produce of the salt lakes has
deteriorated with the land and commercial revenues; and, though
affected by political causes, is yet the most certain branch of
income. The following schedule exhibits what has been derived from
this lucrative source of wealth [174]:—
Pachbhadra Rs.
200,000
Phalodi 100,000
Didwana 115,000
Sambhar 200,000
Nawa 100,000
Total 715,000
Banjāras: Salt Trade.—This productive branch of industry still
employs thousands of hands, and hundreds of thousands of oxen,
and is almost entirely in the hands of that singular race of beings
called Banjaras, some of whose tandas, or caravans, amount to
40,000 head of oxen. The salt is exported to every region of
Hindustan, from the Indus to the Ganges, and is universally known
and sold under the title of Sambhar Lun, or ‘salt of Sambhar,’
notwithstanding the quality of the different lakes varies, that of
Pachbhadra, beyond the Luni, being most esteemed.
[27]
It is
produced by natural evaporation, expedited by dividing the surface
into pans by means of mats of the Sarkanda grass,
[28]
which lessens
the superficial agitation. It is then gathered and heaped up into
immense masses, on whose summit they burn a variety of alkaline
plants, such as the sajji,
[29]
by which it becomes impervious to the
weather.
habits of secreting money. A very large treasure was discovered in
Nagor by Bijai Singh, when demolishing some old buildings.
Military Forces.—It only remains to state the military resources
of the Rathors, which fluctuate with their revenues. The Rajas
maintain a foreign mercenary force upon their fiscal revenues to
overawe their own turbulent vassalage. These are chiefly Rohilla and

Afghan infantry, armed with muskets and matchlocks; and having
cannon and sufficient discipline to act in a body, they are formidable
to the Rajput cavaliers. Some years ago, Raja Man had a corps of
three thousand five hundred foot, and fifteen hundred horse, with
twenty-five guns, commanded by Hindal Khan, a native of Panipat.
He has been attached to the family ever since the reign of Bijai
Singh, and is (or was) familiarly addressed kaka, or ‘uncle,’ by the
prince. There was also a brigade of those monastic militants, the
Bishanswamis, under their leader, Kaimdas, consisting of seven
hundred foot, three hundred horse, and an establishment of rockets
(bhan), a very ancient instrument of Indian warfare, and mentioned
long before gunpowder was used in Europe. At one period, the Raja
maintained a foreign force amounting to, or at least mustered as,
eleven thousand men, of which number two thousand five hundred
were cavalry, with fifty-five guns, and a rocket establishment.
Besides a monthly pay, lands to a considerable amount were granted
to the commanders of the different legions. By these overgrown
establishments, to maintain a superiority over the feudal lords which
has been undermined by the causes related, the demoralization and
ruin of this country have been accelerated. The existence of such a
species of force, opposed in moral and religious sentiment to the
retainers of the State, has only tended to widen the breach between
them and their head, and to destroy every feeling of confidence.
In Mewar there are sixteen great chiefs; in Amber, twelve; in
Marwar, eight. The following table exhibits their names, clans,
residences, and rated revenue. The contingent required by their
princes may be estimated by the qualification of a cavalier, namely,
one for every five hundred rupees of rent [176].
Names of
Chiefs.
Clans. Places of
Abode.
Revenue. Remarks.

FIRST CLASS.

1.Kesari
Singh
ChampawatAwa 100,000Premier noble of
Marwar. Of this

sum, half is the
original grant: the
rest is by
usurpation of the
inferior branches
of his clan.
2.Bakhtawar
Singh
KumpawatAsop 50,000
3.Salim SinghChampawatPokaran 100,000The Pokaran chief
is by far the most
powerful in
Marwar.
4.Surthan
Singh
UdawatNimaj 50,000The fief of Nimaj
is now under
sequestration,
since the last
incumbent was
put to death by
the Raja.
5... Mertia Rian 25,000The Mertia is
deemed the
bravest of all the
Rathor clans.
6.Ajit SinghMertia Ghanerao 50,000This feoff formed
one of the sixteen
great feoffs of
Mewar.
7... KaramsotKhinwasar 40,000The town, which
is large, has been
dismantled, and
several villages
sequestrated.
8... Bhatti Khejarla 25,000The only foreign
chief in the first
grade of in the
first grade of the
nobles of Marwar.

SECOND CLASS.

1.Sheonath
Singh
UdawatKuchaman 50,000A chief of
considerable
power.
2.Surthan
Singh
Jodha Khari-ka-
dewa
25,000

3.Prithi SinghUdawatChandawal25,000
4.Tej SinghDo. Khada 25,000
5.Anar SinghBhatti Ahor 11,000In exile.
6.Jeth SinghKumpawatBagori 40,000
7.Padam
Singh
Do. Gajsinghpura25,000

8... Mertia Mehtri 40,000
9.Kartan
Singh
UdawatMarot 15,000

10.Zalim SinghKumpawatRohat 15,000
11.Sawai
Singh
Jodha Chaupar 15,000

12... .. Budsu 20,000
13.Sheodan
Singh
ChampawatKaota
(great)
40,000

14.Zalim SinghDo. Harsola 10,000
15.Sawal
Singh
Do. Degod 10,000

16.Hukm
Singh
Do. Kaota (little11,000

These are the principal chieftains of Marwar, holding lands on the
tenure of service. There are many who owe allegiance and service
on emergencies, the allodial vassals of Marwar, not enumerated in
this list; such as Barmer, Kotra, Jasol, Phulsund, Birganw, Bankaria,
Kalindri, Barunda, who could muster a strong numerical force if their
goodwill were conciliated, and the prince could enforce his

requisition. The specified census of the estates may not be exactly
correct. The foregoing is from an old record, which is in all
probability the best they have; for so rapid are the changes in these
countries, amidst the anarchy and rebellion we have been
describing, that the civil officers would deem it time thrown away, to
form, as in past times, an exact pattabahi, or ‘register’ of feoffs. The
ancient qualification was one horseman and two foot soldiers, “when
required,” for each five hundred rupees in the rental; but as the
estates have been curtailed in extent and diminished in value, in
order to keep up their nominal amount, one thousand is now the
qualification [178].
[30]

BOOK VI
ANNALS OF BĪKANER
CHAPTER 1
Bikaner holds a secondary rank amongst the principalities of
Rajputana. It is an offset of Marwar, its princes being scions of the
house of Jodha, who established themselves by conquest on the
northern frontier of the parent State; and its position, in the heart of
the desert, has contributed to the maintenance of their
independence.
Rāo Bīka, A.D. 1465-1504.—It was in S. 1515 (A.D. 1459), the
year in which Jodha transferred the seat of government from
Mandor to Jodhpur, that his son Bika,
[1]
under the guidance of his
uncle Kandhal, led three hundred of the sons of Siahji to enlarge the
boundaries of Rathor dominion amidst the sands of Maru. Bika was
stimulated to the attempt by the success of his brother Bida, who
had recently subjugated the territory inhabited by the Mohils for
ages.
Such expeditions as that of Bika, undertaken expressly for
conquest, were almost [179] uniformly successful. The invaders set
out with a determination to slay or be slain; and these forays had
the additional stimulus of being on “fated days,” when the warlike
creed of the Rajputs made the abstraction of territory from foe or
friend a matter of religious duty.

Bika, with his band of three hundred, fell upon the Sankhlas
[2]
of
Janglu, whom they massacred. This exploit brought them in contact
with the Bhattis of Pugal,
[3]
the chief of which gave his daughter in
marriage to Bika, who fixed his headquarters at Kuramdesar, where
he erected a castle, and gradually augmented his conquests from
the neighbourhood.
The Conquest of the Jats.—Bika now approximated to the
settlements of the Jats or Getae, who had for ages been established
in these arid abodes; and as the lands they held form a considerable
portion of the State of Bikaner, it may not be uninteresting to give a
sketch of the condition of this singular people prior to the son of
Jodha establishing the feudal system of Rajwara amongst their
pastoral commonwealths.
Of this celebrated and widely spread race we have already given a
succinct account.
[4]
It appears to have been the most numerous as
well as the most conspicuous of the tribes of ancient Asia, from the
days of Tomyris and Cyrus to those of the present Jat prince of
Lahore, whose successor, if he be endued with similar energy, may,
on the reflux of population, find himself seated in their original
haunts of Central Asia, to which they have already considerably
advanced.
[5]
In the fourth century we find a Yuti or Jat kingdom
established in the Panjab;
[6]
but how much earlier this people
colonized those regions we are ignorant. At every step made by
Muhammadan power in India it encountered the Jats. On their
memorable defence of the passage of the Indus against Mahmud,
and on the war of extirpation waged against them by Timur, both in
their primeval seats in Mawaru-l-nahr,
[7]
as well as east of the Sutlej,
we have already enlarged; while Babur, in his Commentaries,
informs us that, in all his irruptions into India, he was assailed by
multitudes of Jats
[8]
during his progress through the Panjab, the
peasantry of which region, now proselytes to Islam, are chiefly of
this tribe; as well as the [180] military retainers, who, as sectarian
followers of Nanak, merge the name of Jat, or Jāt, into that of Sikh
or ‘disciple.’
[9]

In short, whether as Yuti, Getae, Jats, Juts, or Jāts, this race far
surpassed in numbers, three centuries ago, any other tribe or race in
India; and it is a fact that they now constitute a vast majority of the
peasantry of western Rajwara, and perhaps of northern India.
At what period these Jats established themselves in the Indian
desert, we are, as has been already observed, entirely ignorant; but
even at the time of the Rathor invasion of these communities their
habits confirmed the tradition of their Scythic origin. They led chiefly
a pastoral life, were guided, but not governed by the elders, and
with the exception of adoration to the ‘universal mother’ (Bhavani),
incarnate in the person of a youthful Jatni, they were utter aliens to
the Hindu theocracy. In fact, the doctrines of the great Islamite
saint, Shaikh Farid,
[10]
appear to have overturned the pagan rites
brought from the Jaxartes; and without any settled ideas on religion,
the Jats of the desert jumbled all their tenets together. They
considered themselves, in short, as a distinct class, and, as a Punia
Jat informed me, “their watan was far beyond the Five Rivers.” Even
in the name of one of the six communities (the Asaich), on whose
submission Bika founded his new State, we have nearly the Asi, the
chief of the four tribes from the Oxus and Jaxartes, who overturned
the Greek kingdom of Bactria.
[11]
The period of Rathor domination over these patriarchal
communities was intermediate between Timur’s and Babur’s invasion
of India. The former, who was the founder of the Chagatai dynasty,
boasts of the myriads of Jat souls he “consigned to perdition” on the
desert plains of India, as well as in Transoxiana; so we may conclude
that successive migrations of this people from the great “storehouse
of nations” went to the lands east of the Indus, and that the
communities who elected Bika as their sovereign had been
established therein for ages. The extent of their possessions justifies
this conclusion; for nearly the whole of the territory forming the
boundaries of Bikaner was possessed by the six Jat cantons, namely
—
1. Punia.
2. Godara.

3. Saharan.
4. Asaich.
5. Beniwal [or Bhanniwal].
6. Johya, or Joiya [181].
though this last is by some termed a ramification of the Yadu-
Bhatti: an affiliation by no means invalidating their claims to be
considered of Jat or Yuti origin.
[12]
Each canton bore the name of the community, and was subdivided
into districts. Besides the six Jat cantons, there were three more
simultaneously wrested from Rajput proprietors; namely, Bagor, the
Kharipatta, and Mohila. The six Jat cantons constituted the central
and northern, while those of the Rajputs formed the western and
southern frontiers.
Disposition of the Cantons at that period.
Cantons. No. of
Villages.
Districts.
1.Punia 300 Bahaduran, Ajitpur, Sidmukh,
Rajgarh, Dadrewa, Sanku, etc.
2.Beniwal [or
Bhanniwāl]
150 Bhukarka, Sondari, Manoharpur,
Kui, Bai, etc.
3.Johya 600 Jethpur, Kumbhana, Mahajan,
Pipasar, Udaipur, etc.
4.Asaich 150 Rawatsar, Barmsar, Dandusar,
Gandeli.
5.Saran 300 Kejar, Phog, Buchawas, Sawai,
Badinu, Sirsila, etc.
6.Godara 700 Pundrasar, Gosainsar (great),
Shaikhsar Garsisar,
Gharibdesar, Rangesar, Kalu,
etc.
Total in the six
Jat cantons
2200

7.Bagor 300 Bikaner, Nal, Kela, Rajasar,
Satasar, Chhattargarh,
Randasar, Bitnokh, Bhavanipur,
Jaimallsar, etc.
8.Mohila 140 Chaupar (capital of Mohila),
Sonda, Hirasar, Gopalpur,
Charwas, Bidasar, Ladnun,
Malsasar, Kharbuza-ra-kot.
9.Kharipatta, or
salt district
30
Gêand Total 2670

With such rapidity were States formed in those times, that in a
few years after Bika left his paternal roof at Mandor he was lord over
2670 villages, and by a title far stronger and more legitimate than
that of conquest—the spontaneous election of the cantons. But
although three centuries have scarcely passed since their
amalgamation [182] into a sovereignty, one-half of the villages cease
to exist; nor are there now 1300 forming the raj of Surat Singh, the
present occupant and lineal descendant of Bika.
[13]
The Jats and Johyas of these regions, who extended over all the
northern desert even to the Gara, led a pastoral life, their wealth
consisting in their cattle, which they reared in great numbers,
disposing of the superfluity, and of the ghi (butter clarified) and
wool, through the medium of Sarsot (Sarasvati) Brahmans (who, in
these regions, devote themselves to traffic), receiving in return grain
and other conveniences or necessaries of life.
Bīda conquers the Mohil Clan.—A variety of causes conspired
to facilitate the formation of the State of Bikaner, and the reduction
of the ancient Scythic simplicity of the Jat communities to Rajput
feudal sway; and although the success of his brother Bida over the
Mohils in some degree paved the way, his bloodless conquest could
never have happened but for the presence of a vice which has

dissolved all the republics of the world. The jealousy of the Johyas
and Godaras, the two most powerful of the six Jat cantons, was the
immediate motive to the propitiation of the “son of Jodha”; besides
which, the communities found the band of Bida, which had
extirpated the ancient Mohils when living with them in amity, most
troublesome neighbours. Further, they were desirous to place
between them and the Bhattis of Jaisalmer a more powerful barrier;
and last, not least, they dreaded the hot valour and “thirst for land”
which characterized Bika’s retainers, now contiguous to them at
Janglu. For these weighty reasons, at a meeting of the “elders” of
the Godaras, it was resolved to conciliate the Rathor.
Pandu was the patriarchal head of the Godaras; his residence was
at Shaikhsar.
[14]
The ‘elder’ of Ronia was next in rank and estimation
to Pandu, in communities where equality was as absolute as the
proprietary right to the lands which each individually held: that of
pasture being common.
The elders of Shaikhsar and Ronia were deputed to enter into
terms with the Rajput prince, and to invest him with supremacy over
their community, on the following conditions:—
First. To make common cause with them, against the Johyas and
other cantons, with whom they were then at variance.
Second. To guard the western frontier against the irruption of the
Bhattis [183].
Third. To hold the rights and privileges of the community
inviolable.
On the fulfilment of these conditions they relinquished to Bika and
his descendants the supreme power over the Godaras; assigning to
him, in perpetuity, the power to levy dhuan, or a ‘hearth tax,’ of one
rupee on each house in the canton, and a land tax of two rupees on
each hundred bighas of cultivated land within their limits.
Apprehensive, however, that Bika or his descendants might
encroach upon their rights, they asked what security he could offer
against such a contingency? The Rajput chief replied that, in order
to dissipate their fears on this head, as well as to perpetuate the
remembrance of the supremacy thus voluntarily conferred, he would
solemnly bind himself and his successors to receive the tika of

inauguration from the hands of the descendants of the elders of
Shaikhsar and Ronia, and that the gaddi should be deemed vacant
until such rite was administered.
In this simple transfer of the allegiance of this pastoral people we
mark that instinctive love of liberty which accompanied the Getae in
all places and all conditions of society, whether on the banks of the
Oxus and the Jaxartes, or in the sandy desert of India; and although
his political independence is now annihilated, he is still ready even to
shed his blood if his Rajput master dare to infringe his inalienable
right to his bapota, his paternal acres.
Former Owners conferring Titles on their Successors.—It is
seldom that so incontestable a title to supremacy can be asserted as
that which the weakness and jealousies of the Godaras conferred
upon Bika, and it is a pleasing incident to find almost throughout
India, in the observance of certain rites, the remembrance of the
original compact which transferred the sovereign power from the
lords of the soil to their Rajput conquerors. Thus, in Mewar, the fact
of the power conferred upon the Guhilot founder by the Bhil
aborigines is commemorated by a custom brought down to the
present times. (See Vol. I. p. 262.) At Amber the same is recorded in
the important offices retained by the Minas, the primitive inhabitants
of that land. Both Kotah and Bundi retain in their names the
remembrance of the ancient lords of Haraoti; and Bika’s descendants
preserve, in a twofold manner, the recollection of their bloodless
conquest of the Jats. To this day the descendant of Pandu applies
the unguent of royalty to the forehead of the successors of Bika; on
which occasion the prince places ‘the fine of relief,’ consisting of
twenty-five pieces of gold, in the hand of the Jat. Moreover, the spot
which he selected for his capital was the birthright of a Jat, who
would only concede it for this purpose on the condition that his
name should be linked in perpetuity with its surrender. Naira, or Nera
[184], was the name of the proprietor, which Bika added to his own,
thus composing that of the future capital, Bikaner.
[15]
Besides this periodical recognition of the transfer of power, on all
lapses of the crown, there are annual memorials of the rights of the

Godaras, acknowledged not only by the prince, but by all his Rajput
vassal-kin, quartered on the lands of the Jat; and although ‘the sons
of Bika,’ now multiplied over the country, do not much respect the
ancient compact, they at least recognize, in the maintenance of
these formulae, the origin of their power.
On the spring and autumnal
[16]
festivals of the Holi and Diwali, the
heirs of the patriarchs of Shaikhsar and Ronia give the tika to the
prince and all his feudality. The Jat of Ronia bears the silver cup and
platter which holds the ampoule of the desert, while his compeer
applies it to the prince’s forehead. The Raja in return deposits a
nazarana of a gold mohur, and five pieces of silver; the chieftains,
according to their rank, following his example. The gold is taken by
the Shaikhsar Jat, the silver by the elder of Ronia.
Conquest of the Johya Tribe.—To resume our narrative: when
the preliminaries were adjusted, by Bika’s swearing to maintain the
rights of the community which thus surrendered their liberties to his
keeping, they united their arms, and invaded the Johyas. This
populous community, which extended over the northern region of
the desert, even to the Sutlej, reckoned eleven hundred villages in
their canton; yet now, after the lapse of little more than three
centuries, the very name of Johya is extinct. They appear to be the
Janjuha of Babur, who, in his irruption into India, found them
congregated with the Juds, about the cluster of hills in the first
duaba of the Panjab, called ‘the mountains of Jud’; a position
claimed by the Yadus or Jadons in the very dawn of their history,
and called Jadu ka dang, ‘the Jadu hills.’
[17]
This supports the
assertion that the Johya is of Yadu race, while it does not invalidate
its claims to Yuti or Jat descent, as will be further shown in the early
portion of the annals of the Yadu-Bhattis.
[18]
The patriarchal head of the Johyas resided at Bharopal;
[19]
his
name was Sher Singh [185]. He mustered the strength of the
canton, and for a long time withstood the continued efforts of the
Rajputs and the Godaras; nor was it until “treason had done its

worst,” by the murder of their elder, and the consequent possession
of Bharopal, that the Johyas succumbed to Rathor domination.
Foundation of Bīkaner, A.D. 1455-88.—With this accession of
power, Bika carried his arms westward and conquered Bagor from
the Bhattis. It was in this district, originally wrested by the Bhattis
from the Jats, that Bika founded his capital, Bikaner, on the 15th
Baisakh, S. 1545 (A.D. 1489), thirty years after his departure from the
parental roof at Mandor.
When Bika was thus firmly established, his uncle Kandhal, to
whose spirit of enterprise he was mainly indebted for success,
departed with his immediate kin to the northward, with a view of
settling in fresh conquests. He successively subjugated the
communities of Asaich, Beniwal, and Saran, which cantons are
mostly occupied by his descendants, styled Kandhalot Rathors, at
this day, and although they form an integral portion of the Bikaner
State, they evince, in their independent bearing to its chief, that
their estates were “the gift of their own swords, not of his patents”;
and they pay but a reluctant and nominal obedience to his authority.
When necessity or avarice imposes a demand for tribute, it is often
met by a flat refusal, accompanied with such a comment as this:
“Who made this Raja? Was it not our common ancestor, Kandhal?
Who is he, who presumes to levy tribute from us?” Kandhal’s career
of conquest was cut short by the emperor’s lieutenant in Hissar; he
was slain in attempting this important fortress.
Death of Bīka. Nūnkaran or Lūnkaran, A.D. 1504-26.—Bika
died in S. 1551 (A.D. 1495), leaving two sons by the daughter of the
Bhatti chief of Pugal, namely, Nunkaran, who succeeded, and Garsi,
who founded Garsisar and Arsisar. The stock of the latter is
numerous, and is distinguished by the epithet Garsot Bika, whose
principal fiefs are those of Garsisar and Gharibdesar, each having
twenty-four villages depending on them.
[20]
Jeth Singh, A.D. 1526-41.—Nunkaran made several conquests
from the Bhattis, on the western frontier. He had four sons; his
eldest desiring a separate establishment in his lifetime, for the fief of

Mahajan and one hundred and forty villages, renounced his right of
primogeniture in favour of his brother Jeth, who succeeded in S.
1569. His brothers had each appanages assigned to them. He had
three sons: (1) Kalyan Singh, (2) Siahji, and (3) Aishpal [186]. Jethsi
reduced the district of Narnot from some independent Girasia chiefs,
and settled it as the appanage of his second son, Siahji. It was
Jethsi also who compelled ‘the sons of Bida,’ the first Rathor
colonists of this region, to acknowledge his supremacy by an annual
tribute, besides certain taxes.
Kalyān Singh, A.D. 1541-71.—Kalyan Singh succeeded in S.
1603. He had three sons: (1) Rae Singh, (2) Ram Singh, and (3)
Prithi Singh.
Rāē Singh, A.D. 1571-1611. Bīkaner subject to the
Mughals. Akbar’s Marriage.—Rae Singh succeeded in S. 1630
(A.D. 1573). Until this reign the Jats had, in a great degree,
preserved their ancient privileges. Their maintenance was, however,
found rather inconvenient by the now superabundant Rajput
population, and they were consequently dispossessed of all political
authority. With the loss of independence their military spirit decayed,
and they sunk into mere tillers of the earth. In this reign also
Bikaner rose to importance amongst the principalities of the empire,
and if the Jats parted with their liberties to the Rajput, the latter, in
like manner, bartered his freedom to become a Satrap of Delhi. On
his father’s death, Rae Singh in person undertook the sacred duty of
conveying his ashes to the Ganges. The illustrious Akbar was then
emperor of India. Rae Singh and the emperor had married sisters,
princesses of Jaisalmer.
[21]
This connexion obtained for him, on his
introduction to court by Raja Man of Amber, the dignity of a leader of
four thousand horse, the title of Raja, and the government of Hissar.
Moreover, when Maldeo of Jodhpur incurred the displeasure of the
king, and was dispossessed of the rich district of Nagor, it was given
to Rae Singh. With these honours, and increased power as one of
the king’s lieutenants, he returned to his dominions, and sent his
brother Ram Singh against Bhatner,
[22]
of which he made a conquest.

This town was the chief place of a district belonging to the Bhattis,
originally Jats
[23]
of Yadu descent, but who assumed this name on
becoming proselytes to the faith of Islam.
Subjugation of the Johyas.—Ram Singh at the same time
completely subjugated the Johyas, who, always troublesome, had
recently attempted to regain their ancient independence. The
Rajputs carried fire and sword into this country, of which they made
a desert. Ever since it has remained desolate: the very name of
Johya is lost, though the vestiges of considerable towns bear
testimony to a remote antiquity.
Traditions of Greek Settlements.—Amidst these ruins of the
Johyas, the name of Sikandar Rumi (Alexander the Great) [187] has
fixed itself, and the desert retains the tradition that the ruin called
Rangmahall, the ‘painted palace,’ near Dandusar, was the capital of a
prince of this region punished by a visitation of the Macedonian
conqueror. History affords no evidence of Alexander’s passage of the
Gara, though the scene of his severest conflict was in that nook of
the Panjab not remote from the lands of the Johyas. But though the
chronicler of Alexander does not sanction our indulging in this
speculation, the total darkness in which we appear doomed to
remain with regard to Bactria and the petty Grecian kingdoms on the
Indus, established by him, does not forbid our surmise, that by some
of these, perhaps the descendants of Python, such a visitation might
have happened.
[24]
The same traditions assert that these regions
were not always either arid or desolate, and the living chronicle
alluded to in the note repeated the stanza elsewhere given, which
dated its deterioration from the drying up of the Hakra river, which
came from the Panjab, and flowing through the heart of this country,
emptied itself into the Indus between Rohri Bhakkar and Uchh.
The affinity that this word (Hakra) has both to the Ghaggar, and
Sankra,
[25]
would lead to the conclusion of either being the stream
referred to. The former we know as being engulphed in the sands
about the Hariana confines, while the Sankra is a stream which,
though now dry, was used as a line of demarcation even in the time

of Nadir Shah. It ran eastward, parallel with the Indus, and by
making it his boundary, Nadir added all the fertile valley of the Indus
to his Persian kingdom. (See map.) The only date this legendary
stanza assigns for the catastrophe is the reign of the Sodha prince,
Hamir.
Ram Singh, having thus destroyed the power of future resistance
in the Johyas, turned his arms against the Punia Jats, the last who
preserved their ancient liberty. They were vanquished, and the
Rajputs were inducted into their most valuable possessions. But the
conqueror paid the penalty of his life for the glory of colonizing the
lands of the Punias. He was slain in their expiring effort to shake off
the yoke of the stranger; and though the Ramsinghgots add to the
numerical strength, and enlarge the territory of the heirs of Bika,
they, like the Kandhalots, little increase the power [188] of the State,
to which their obedience is nominal. Sidmukh and Sanku are the two
chief places of the Ramsinghgots.
Thus, with the subjugation of the Punias, the political annihilation
of the six Jat cantons of the desert was accomplished: they are now
occupied in agriculture and their old pastoral pursuits, and are an
industrious tax-paying race under their indolent Rajput masters.
Rāē Singh in Akbar’s Service.—Raja Rae Singh led a gallant
band of his Rathors in all the wars of Akbar. He was distinguished in
the assault of Ahmadabad, slaying in single combat the governor,
Mirza Muhammad Husain.
[26]
The emperor, who knew the value of
such valorous subjects, strengthened the connexion which already
subsisted between the crown and the Rathors, by obtaining for
prince Salim (afterwards Jahangir) Rae Singh’s daughter to wife. The
unfortunate Parvez was the fruit of this marriage.
Karan Singh, A.D. 1631-69.—Rae Singh was succeeded by his
only son, Karan, in S. 1688 (A.D. 1632).
[27]
Karan held the ‘mansab of two thousand,’ and the government of
Daulatabad, in his father’s lifetime. Being a supporter of the just
claims of Dara Shukoh, a plot was laid by the general of his
antagonist, with whom he served, to destroy him, but which he was

enabled to defeat by the timely intelligence of the Hara prince of
Bundi. He died at Bikaner, leaving four sons: (1) Padma Singh, (2)
Kesari Singh, (3) Mohan Singh, and (4) Anup Singh.
This family furnishes another example of the prodigal sacrifice of
Rajput blood in the imperial service. The two elder princes were slain
in the storm of Bijapur, and the tragical death of the third, Mohan
Singh, in the imperial camp, forms an episode in Ferishta’s History of
the Dekhan [189].
[28]
Anūp Singh, A.D. 1669-98.—Anup Singh succeeded in S. 1730
(A.D. 1674). For the services of his family he had the castle and lands
of Adoni
[29]
conferred upon him, with ‘the mansab of five thousand,’
and the governments of Bijapur and Aurangabad. Anup Singh led his
clans with the head of his race, the prince of Jodhpur, to quell a
rebellion amongst the Afghans of Kabul, which having effected, he
returned to the peninsula. Ferishta and the native annals are at
variance on his death; the former asserting that he died in the
Deccan, while the latter say that he left that country, disgusted with
the imperial commander’s interference about his ground of
encampment, and that he died at Bikaner.
[30]
He left two sons, Sarup
Singh and Sujan Singh.
Sarūp Singh, A.D. 1698-1700.—Sarup, who succeeded in S.
1765 (A.D. 1709), did not long enjoy his honours, being killed in
attempting to recover Adoni, which the emperor had resumed on his
father’s leaving the army.
[31]
Sujān Singh, A.D. 1700-1735.—Sujan Singh, his successor, did
nothing.
Zorāwar Singh, A.D. 1735-45.—Zorawar Singh became raja in
S. 1793 (A.D. 1737). The domestic incidents of this, as of the
preceding reigns, are without interest.
Gaj Singh, A.D. 1745-88.—Gaj Singh succeeded in S. 1802 (A.D.
1746). Throughout a long reign of forty-one years, this prince
carried on border strife with the Bhattis and the Khan of Bahawalpur.

From the former he took Rajasar, Kela, Raner, Satasar, Banipura,
Mutalai, and other villages of inferior note; and from the Khan he
recovered the important frontier castle of Anupgarh.
He laid waste, filling up the wells, a considerable tract of country
west of the frontier post of Anupgarh, to prevent the incursions of
the Daudputras.
[32]
Raja Gaj had some celebrity from the number of his offspring,
having had sixty-one children, though all but six were the ‘sons of
love.’ The legitimates were, Chhattar Singh, who died in infancy; Raj
Singh, who was poisoned by the mother of Surat Singh, the reigning
prince; Surthan Singh and Ajib Singh, both of whom fled the
paternal roof to escape the fate of their elder brother, and are now
at Jaipur; Surat Singh, Raja of Bikaner; and Shyam Singh, who
enjoys a small appanage in Bikaner.
Rāj Singh, A.D. 1788.—Raj Singh succeeded his father, S. 1843
(A.D. 1787), but he enjoyed the dignity only thirteen days, being
removed by a dose of poison by the mother
[33]
of Surat Singh, the
fifth son of Raja Gaj. The crown thus nefariously obtained, this
worthy son [190] of such a parent determined to maintain his
authority by like means, and to leave no competitor to contest his
claims. He has accordingly removed by death or exile all who stood
between him and the ‘gaddi of Bika.’
Partāp Singh, A.D. 1788. Usurpation of Sūrat Singh.—Raj
Singh left two sons, Partap Singh and Jai Singh. On the death of Raj
Singh, the office of regent, a word of ominous import in these
regions, was assumed by Surat Singh, who, during eighteen months,
conducted himself with great circumspection, and by condescension
and gifts impressed the chiefs in his favour. At length he broke his
plans to the chiefs of Mahajan and Bahaduran, whose acquiescence
in his usurpation he secured by additions to their estates. The
faithful Bakhtawar Singh, whose family during four generations had
filled the office of Diwan, discovered the scheme, though too late to
counteract it, and the attempt was punished by imprisonment.
Prepared for the last step, the regent collected foreign troops from

Bhatinda
[34]
and other parts, sufficient to overcome all opposition.
The infant prince was kept secluded, and at length the regent issued
the warrant in his own name for the nobles to assemble at the
capital. Except the two traitors enumerated, they to a man refused;
but instead of combining to oppose him, they indolently remained at
their castles. Collecting all his troops, the usurper passed to Nohar,
where he enticed the chief of Bhukarka to an interview, and lodged
him in the fortress of Nohar.
[35]
Thence he passed to Ajitpura, which
he plundered; and advancing to Sankhu, he attacked it in form.
Durjan Singh defended himself with valour, and when reduced to
extremity, committed suicide. His heir was put in fetters, and a fine
of twelve thousand rupees was levied from the vassals of Sankhu.
The commercial town of Churu was next attacked; it held out six
months, when the confined chief of Bhukarka, as the price of his
own freedom, treacherously offered to put the tyrant in possession.
He effected this, and a fine of nearly two lakhs of rupees (£20,000)
was offered to spare the town from plunder.
By this act of severity, and the means it furnished, Surat returned
to Bikaner, determined to remove the only bar between him and the
crown, his prince and nephew. In this he found some difficulty, from
the virtue and vigilance of his sister, who never lost sight of the
infant. Frustrated in all attempts to circumvent her, and not daring to
blazon the murder by open violence, he invited the needy Raja of
Narwar to make proposals for his sister’s hand. In vain she urged her
advanced period of life; and in order to deter the suitor, that she had
already been affianced to Rana Arsi of Mewar. All his scruples
vanished at the dower of three lakhs, which the regent offered [191]
the impoverished scion of the famous Raja Nala.
[36]
Her objections
were overruled and she was forced to submit; though she not only
saw through her brother’s anxiety for her removal, but boldly
charged him with his nefarious intentions. He was not content with
disavowing them, but at her desire gave her the most solemn
assurances of the child’s safety. Her departure was the signal of his
death; for not long after he was found strangled, and it is said by

the regent’s own hands, having in vain endeavoured to obtain the
offices of the Mahajan chieftain as the executioner of his sovereign.
Sūrat Singh, A.D. 1788-1828.—Thus, in one short year after the
death of Raja Raj, the gaddi of Bika was dishonoured by being
possessed by an assassin of his prince. In S. 1857 (A.D. 1801), the
elder brothers of the usurper, Surthan Singh and Ajib Singh, who
had found refuge in Jaipur, repaired to Bhatner and assembled the
vassals of the disaffected nobles and Bhattis in order to dethrone the
tyrant. But the recollection of his severities deterred some, while
bribes kept back others, and the usurper did not hesitate to advance
to meet his foes. The encounter, which took place at Bigor, was
obstinate and bloody, and three thousand Bhattis alone fell. This
signal victory confirmed Surat’s usurpation. He erected a castle on
the field of battle, which he called Fatehgarh, ‘the fort of victory.’
Flushed with this brilliant success, Surat Singh determined to
make his authority respected both at home and abroad. He invaded
his turbulent countrymen, the Bidawats, and levied fifty thousand
rupees from their lands. Churu,
[37]
which had promised aid to the
late confederacy, was once more invested and mulcted, and various
other places were attacked ere they could join. But one solitary
castle was successfully defended, that of Chhani, near Bahaduran.
Here the usurper was foiled, and, after six months’ fruitless siege,
compelled to return to his capital.
Shortly after, he eagerly availed himself of an opportunity to
punish the excesses of the Daudputras, and to withdraw attention
from himself, by kindling a popular war against these powerful and
turbulent neighbours. The occasion was the Kirani chief of Tirhara
demanding his aid against his liege lord, Bahawal Khan. As these
border feuds are not extinguished even in these days of universal
peace, it may not be uninteresting to see the feudal muster-roll of
the desert chiefs on such occurrences, as well as the mode in which
they carry on hostilities. It was very shortly before that victory had
preponderated on the side of the Rathors by a gallant coup-de-main
of [192] the lord marcher of Bikaner, who carried the castle of
Mozgarh
[38]
in a midnight assault. The hero on this occasion was not

a Rathor, but a Bhatti chief, in the service of Bikaner, named Hindu
Singh, who gained ‘immortality’ by the style in which he scaled the
walls, put Muhammad Maaruf Kirani, the governor, and the garrison
to the sword, and brought away captive to Bikaner the governor’s
wife, who was afterwards ransomed for five thousand rupees and
four hundred camels.
The outlaw who sought saran at Bikaner, on this occasion, was of
the same tribe, Kirani, his name Khudabakhsh (‘gift of God’), chief of
Tirhara, one of the principal fiefs of the Daudputras. With all his
retainers, to the amount of three hundred horse and five hundred
foot, he threw himself on the protection of Surat Singh, who
assigned him twenty villages, and one hundred rupees daily for his
support. The Kiranis were the most powerful vassals of Bahawal
Khan, who might have paid dear for the resumption of Tirhara,
whose chief promised the Rajput nothing less than to extend his
conquests to the Indus. Allured by this bait, the Kher was proclaimed
and the sons of Bika assembled from all quarters.
Horse.Foot.Guns.

Abhai Singh,
chief of
Bhukarka
3002000

Rao Ram Singh,
of
Pugal
100400

Hathi Singh, ofRaner 8150
Karan Singh, ofSatasar 9150
Anup Singh, ofJasara 40250
Khet Singh, ofJamansar 60350
Beni Singh, ofJanglu 9250
Bhum Singh, ofBithnok 261
Feudal retainers 5283611
Park under Maji Parihar — 21

Foreign
Brigade in
the Raja’s
service.
Khas Paiga, or household troop 200—
Camp of Ganga Singh 2001500 4
Do. of Durjan Singh 60600 4
Auxiliary
Levies.
Anoka Singh
Sikh chieftains
300—
Lahori Singh 250—
Budh Singh 250—
Sultan Khan
Afghans 400
—

Ahmad Khan
Total21885711 29
[193].
Attack on Bahāwalpur.—The command-in-chief of this brilliant
array was conferred on Jethra Mahto, son of the Diwan. On the 13th
of Magh 1856 (spring of 1800) he broke ground, and the feudal
levies fell in on the march by Kanasar, Rajasar, Keli, Raner, and
Anupgarh, the last point of rendezvous. Thence he proceeded by
Sheogarh,
[39]
Mozgarh, and Phulra, all of which were taken after a
few weeks’ siege, and from the last they levied a lakh and a quarter
of rupees, with other valuables, and nine guns. They advanced to
Khairpur,
[40]
within three miles of the Indus, when being joined by
other refractory chiefs, Jethra marched direct on the capital,
Bahawalpur, within a short distance of which he encamped
preparatory to the attack. The Khan, however, by this delay, was
enabled to detach the most considerable of his nobles from the
Rajput standard: on which the Bikaner Diwan, satisfied with the
honour of having insulted Bahawalpur, retreated with the spoils he
had acquired. He was received by the usurper with contempt, and
degraded for not fighting.
Bhatti Invasion of Bīkaner.—The Bhattis, smarting with the
recollection of their degradation, two years after the battle of Bigor
attempted the invasion of Bikaner, but were again repulsed with
loss; and these skirmishes continued until S. 1861 (A.D. 1805), when
Raja Surat attacked the Khan of the Bhattis in his capital, Bhatner. It

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