A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & IISleeman, W. H. (William Henry), Sir
History
A Journey through the Kingdom of Oude, Volumes I & II
Sleeman, W. H. (William Henry), Sir
Oudh (India) -- Description and travel
The Sarjoo rejoins the Ghagra a little above Fyzabad, and the united
stream takes the old name of the Sarjoo. This is the name the river
bears, till it emerges from the Tarae forest, when the large body
takes that of the Ghagra, and the small stream, which it throws off,
or which perhaps flows in the old bed, retains that of the Sarjoo.
The large branch absorbs the Kooreeala, Chouka, and other small
streams, on its way to rejoin the smaller. Some distance below
Fyzabad, the river takes the name of _Dewa_; and uniting, afterwards,
with the Gunduck, flows into the Ganges. Fyzabad is three miles above
Ajoodheea, on the same bank of the river. It was founded by the first
rulers of the reigning family, and called for some time _Bungalow_,
from a bungalow which they built on the verge of the stream. Asuf-od
Dowlah disliked living near his mother, after he came to the throne,
and he settled at Lucknow, then a small village on the right bank of
the Goomtee river. This village, in the course of eighty years, grown
into a city, containing nearly a million of souls. Fyzabad has
declined almost in the same proportion.
The Nazim has six regiments, and part of a seventh, on duty under
him, making, nominally, six thousand fighting men, but that he
cannot, he tells me, muster two thousand; and out of the two
thousand, not five hundred would, he says be ready to fight on
emergency. All the commandants of corps reside at Court, knowing
nothing whatever of their duties, and never seeing their regiments.
They are mere children, or Court favourites, worse than children. He
has, nominally, forty-two guns, of various calibre; but he, with
great difficulty, collected bullocks enough to draw the three small
guns he brought with him from Sultanpoor, to salute the Resident, on
his entering his district. I looked at them in the evening. They were
seventy-four in number, but none of them were in a serviceable
condition, and the greater part were small, merely skin and bone. He
was obliged to purchase powder in the bazaar for the salutes; and
said, that when he entered his charge two months ago, the usual
salute of seven guns, for himself, could not be fired for want of
powder, and he was obliged to send to the bazaar to purchase what was
required. The bazaar-powder used by the Oude troops is about one-
third of the strength of the powder used by our troops. His authority
is despised by all the tallookdars of the district, many of whom
refuse to pay any rent, defy the Government, and plunder the country,
as all their rents are insufficient to pay the armed bands which they
keep up. All his numerous applications to Court, for more and better
troops and establishments, are disregarded, and he is helpless. He
cannot collect the revenue, or coerce the refractory landholders and
robbers, who prey upon the country.*
[* The Nazim for 1850-51, got both Captain Magness's and Captain
Banbury's regiments.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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