Journal of a Cavalry Officer; Including the Memorable Sikh Campaign of 1845-1846Humbley, W. W. W. (William Wellington Waterloo)
History
Journal of a Cavalry Officer; Including the Memorable Sikh Campaign of 1845-1846
Humbley, W. W. W. (William Wellington Waterloo)
India -- Description and travel; Sikh War, 1845-1846
AFTER a very stormy night, we reached Monghyr, and at eight on the
morning of the 31st of May, cast anchor before this once celebrated
fortress. It is about fifty-seven miles from Bar, and 436 from
Calcutta. Monghyr is a town in the Province of Bahar, beautifully
situated on the south bank of the Ganges. It was formerly a place of
great importance, and is still celebrated for the cultivation of grain,
and the manufacture of opium. A large portion of the district around,
is hilly and unproductive, but the cultivated lands are extremely
fertile, and yield rich returns. Some fifty years ago, the government
tried the plan of granting certain waste lands, to the invalid officers
and native Sepoys, and the experiment has succeeded beyond all
expectation, some of the reclaimed lands being the best in the place.
In the immediate vicinity, and about a mile from the fort, are some
famous wells; they are called by the natives, "Seetacoond," and are
highly venerated by the Hindoos. Seetacoond is a common appellation for
hot springs among them: Koond in Sanscrit means a spring, hence the
meaning would be the "spring of Seeta," which Seeta was the wife of
Ram. Only one of these wells, however, is really a hot spring, for in
the second well, the water is cold, and in the third chalybeate. They
are all situated about half-a-mile from the Ganges, twenty paces apart
from each other, in a plain backed by hills, and in the midst of rocks.
The hot spring is considerable, and the air-bubbles rise in great
quantities, the temperature varying from 90° to 140°. The water is much
used on voyages to Europe, or on the sea, on account of its extreme
purity; indeed it is asserted that it keeps for ever without becoming
putrid. The renowned goddess Seeta pledges herself for its eternal
purity. It certainly is very good, and people going to England, viâ
the Cape, would do well to provide themselves with a few dozen large
bottles, and fill them at this spring, for the water on board a ship is
often extremely bad.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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