Notes on Goorkhas
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
T H I S book is in s c ribe d by p e rm is sio n to H is Ex c el len e Sir F ed ic k lei h o be s B a V . C . y r e r S g R rt , rt , , C om m n d r - in - C hie f in I ndia as R . A . a e , , a s m all t oken of gratitu d e for the great in te re s t invari - n in l o i ably shfiw by al G orkhé R eg ment s . “ AN SI ED EN V TTART Ca . , p t h 5t Goor kha s . SI M LA, M a te be? 1-8 8 ! Sep m 9 , P R E FA C E . Y b e c in i in his book has bee n t o- f ld M o j t w r t g t w o . —I h a e end ea ou e d to a her f o m all h I SL v v r g t , r aut o ri ies on N é él and its his o s uch oin s as I ho e t p t ry , p t p in eres in may prov e t t g . —I h a ied to l d n c u a l a 2nd1 . ve a ow as ac e s os y tr y , r t y p e l n c f h fi htin c las s e i le the rib s c a s & . o t e s of s b , t , , , g g N e al o e h e w ith h ei cu s om s and c ha a c e is ics . p , t g t r t r t r t r t I n obtainin the firs ob e c I have b ee n m uc h as g t j t , . s is ed b in form a ion iven to m e in N e al i s elf and b . t y t g p t , y ow in Whe n eve I con sid ered it ne ces s a f om the borr g , r ry, r follow ing au thors ’ e 1 . C olonel Kirkpatrick s Mission to N pal , 7 93 ’ o e 1 8 1 Doctor F . Hamilton s acc unt of N pal , 9 . T Sm ’ Y ’ e Captain . ith s Five ears Residence in N pal, from 1 8 1 84 1 to 4 5. ’ h s A C . C ave na N é al aptain O g ccount of th e Kingdom of p , 1 8 5 1 . ’ &c . N é l s a c . Brian Hodg on s Essays of the Language, , of p , & , 1 8 74 . ’ l s e 1 88 Doctor Old fie d s Sketche of N pal , 0. ’ 1 8 1 88 . Quarter Master General s No . of 3 1 8 8 . Confidential Report, 4 h n I n my s e c ond obje ct I av e bee mu ch a ssis ted by ii P r ef a ce . a a s s e n o m e f o m N e a a n d b the ve rn a cu l r p p er t t r p l , y follo wing a u tho ritie s ’ o Brian H o dgso n s bo k . ’ - S s s Lieutenant General R . ale Hill Note , with addenda by Sir C . 1 8 . General Reid , dated 74 ’ - o A Lieutenant C lonel E . Molloy s Memorandum dated bbott 1 8 8 . abad , 5 I hav e als o ga thered m uch in forma tion from many sou c es hils o n re c ui in du at Go akh u an r w t r t g ty r p r, d ha ve b een greatly assis te d e s p ecially by S ubad ar Jagbir a na of th e 2 - th Goorkhas and ubad ar- Ma o P l R 4 , S j r arba G urung an d S u ba da r K ulbir Thap a of the 1 - sth Goor khas . ED EN V AN I TTA T Ca t S R , p " ’ th Goor kh 5 as . IT S C E C UN ED ERVI LUB, SI MLA ; e n d Se tember 8 p 119 9 . T H E G O O R K H As P A R T I . G EOG AP R H Y . EP A N L. “ ” e is “ HE word N pal derived from Nai , the name of a “ ” s s certain god , and pala, cheri hed , and therefore mean ” cherished by Nai . Nepal is a narrow tract of country extending for abo ut 520 miles along the southern s lopes of the cen G enera des cr t o n l ip i . o s tral porti n of the Himalaya , between the 8 8 8 th oth and degree of East Longitude . w 1 0 w Its breadth no here exceeds 4 miles , and averages bet een 90 and 1 00 miles . I ts s . general direction is from west to east, the mo t south e m and eas tern corner at the Michi River reaches a s low as the 26th w s its s n o s , hil t mo t rthern and western angle extend up to “ the 3oth degree of North Latitude . It is bounded on the north by Thibet ; on the east by Sikhim and the River Michi ; on the south by Bengal and the N orth West P rovinces ; and on the west by Kumaon and the River Kali (Si rdar) . P revio us to 1 8 1 5 the kingdom of Nepal w as much more ex tensive , and included Kumaon and the hill country up to the l T w as s River Sat ej . his territory ceded to the Briti h by the treaty of Segow li. The country consists of four di s ti n ct zone s running eas t r Character of count y . and we s t ' — 51 h Ten iz . A s $ ( 1) T e belt of gras or jungle, varying in bre ad th from 1 0 to 30 miles, and skirting the British frontier from the Sérd a h to the Michi . — l s ( 2) t ins o r M i n is Beyond the sa forest and eparating w e D hii ns n . it from the s econd zone , , the , is the sandsto e range B kés 2 Th e Goor k . d o This range run s i n a m o re o r les s pro noun c e form al ng the to 600 s s th o 3 00 w h o le fro ntier, and doe not ri e more an fr m feet d s is to ab o ve its imme iate ba e , and from feet above the level o f the s e a . The D hti n s or Maris are valleys lying behind and below th e sands tone ridge , generally at about feet above the s o s . s e a , and between the andstone and the sec nd range of hill ’ ’ D h s Dehra D h ti n was one of the im . — (3) H ill cou n try From the northern extremity of the ’ ” h n s D ii , the main range of the Himalayas rises to the north ; hill succeeding hill until they culminate in the snowy range . This hill regi o n up to an elevation of feet may be taken as the third zone . (4 ) The fourth zone is formed by the Alpine region above that altitude . The of e th territory N pal, within the hills , from Kumaon in e s Sikhim s in we t to on the ea t, is divided e as ns R iv r b i . s to three large natural division , by four w off very lofty and massive ridges , hich respectively are given from the high peaks of Nunda Devi D e w algiri Gosainthan and K in chinj anga w and (Mount Everest lies about midway be een the two last, s off . i feet , but throws no main ridges ) These four enormou s ridge s stand o ut at right angles from s h the central axi of the H imalayas, and run parallel to eac o s e other nearly due south t wards the plains . Each of the e thr e natural division s into w hich Nepal is divided by the s e lofty — ridges is w alled in on all four sides by mountain barriers ou the a nd north by the snowy r nge , on the south by the chain of sa s e stone hill , and on the east and west by one of the abov ridges . Each of these districts thu s walled i n forms a large moun w nu tain basin , sloping gradually to the south , and furro ed by me rous m o untain stream s which rise in the surrounding amphi . All and theatre of mountains these flow towards the plains, w s all converge to ards each other in their course through the hill , s o d decide ly, that they unite into one large river in tw o out of s b h three di tricts , efore t ey reach even the sandstone range of s bill .