38. Samthar is a small state, lying between the Betwa and Pahûj rivers, to the south-west of the Jâlaun district. It was separated from the Datiyâ State only one generation previous to the British occupation of Bundêlkhand. A treaty was concluded with the Râjâ in 1812 (_N.W.P. Gazetteer_ (1st ed.), vol. i, p. 578). 39. Gûjars occupy more than a hundred villages in the Jâlaun district, chiefly among the ravines of the Pahûj river. The Gûjar caste is most numerous in the Panjâb and the upper districts of the United Provinces. It is not very highly esteemed, being of about equal rank with the Âhîr caste and rather below the Jât. Gûjar colonies are settled in the Hoshangâbâd and Nîmâr districts of the Central Provinces. The Gûjars are inveterate cattle-lifters, and always ready to take advantage of any relaxation of the bonds of order to prey upon their neighbours. Many sections of the caste have adopted the Muhammadan faith. 40. The small state of Chhatarpur lies to the south of the Hamîrpur district, between the Dasân and Ken rivers. The town of Chhatarpur, on the military road from Bânda to Sâgar, is remarkable for the mausoleum and ruined palace of Râjâ Chhatarsâl, after whom the town is named. Khajurâho, the ancient religious capital of the Chandêl monarchy, with its magnificent group of mediaeval Hindoo and Jain temples, is within the limits of the state, about eighteen miles south-east of Chhatarpur, and thirty-four miles south of Mahoba. The Pawâr adventurer, who succeeded in separating Chhatarpur from the Panna state, was originally a common soldier. 41. Concerning Chhatarsâl (A.D. 1671 to 1731), see notes _ante_, Chapter 14 note 9, and chapter 23 note 11. He was one of the sons of Champat Râi. The correct date of the death of Chhatarsâl is Pûs Badi 3, Sanwat, 1788 = A.D. 1731. Hardî (Hirdai) Sâ succeeded to the Râj, or kingdom, of Pannâ, and Jagatrâj to that of Jaitpur. These kingdoms quickly broke up, and the fragments are now in part native states and in part British territory. The Orchhâ State was formed about the beginning of the sixteenth century, and the Chandêrî and Datiyâ States are offshoots from it, which separated during the seventeenth century. 42. As already observed (_ante_, Chapter 26, note 29), the Jâlaun State became British territory in 1840, four years after the tour described in the text, and four years before the, publication of the book. The Jhânsî State similarly lapsed on the death of Râjâ Gangâdhar Râo in November, 1853. The Rânî Lachhmî Bâî joined the mutineers, and was killed in battle in June, 1858. CHAPTER 27 Blights.