Sa l t -petre»
into the Ganges', and finally at Onda Nulla, in a fituation which
was defended by vaft mountains, by, fwamps, by the great
rivers, and by every artificial defence, protected befides by- a
hundred pieces of cannon. An army thus fituated might have
thought itfelf impregnable againft any enemy but famine.
Adams made his attack in the dead o f night, on the mountain
fide, the part fuppofed to have been invulnerable. He forced
the entrenchments; an incredible ílaughtér enfued, and as
many perifbed by the facred waters of the river as fell by the
edge of the fword *. The whole country was abandoned to u s ;
the ftrong city o f Mongbeer furrendered in a few days, and
Patna, the fcene of the maflacre, was taken by ftorm, and pof-
fibly multitudes of the innocent fuffered the puniihment due to
the guilty aflaffins.
Patna is one of the great fubordinate refidences of the Eng-
lijh fince they made themfelves fovereigns of Bahar. It carries
on a great trade in falt-petre, opium, fait, and tobacco. The
river Sura, i. e. the Salt-petre river, is fo ftrongly impregnated
with that fait from the earth, as not to be drinkable, as is
the cafe with moft of the waters o f the country. Moít of
the falt-petre imported by the Baft India Company is manufactured
in the province of Babar, from the earth, and alfo
in many other parts of India. DoCtor Watfon, bilhop o f
Landaff, gives ’,an ample account of the procefs of making this
important article, and of the quantities exported into Europe,.
which amounts annually to fiome millions of poupds weight,,
* Mr. Jonathan Scott, vol. ii. p. 4.24.
yefc
yet this is only one-third of the manufacture, the other two being
difperfed over China, and other parts o f Afta, merely for
the making o f fire-works.
T h e Gunduc, or Sulphur river, impregnated with the other
ingredient for illuminations as well as nitre, falls into the
Ganges at Hajypour, oppofite to Patna, riling in Napaul. According
to Abulfazel, in the Ayeen, ii. p. 29, the water is faid to
infeft the drinkers of it with wens, like the goitres o f the Alps,
which grow to a moft frightful magnitude.
T h e Opium, which is fo effential, yet pernicious a necefiary
with the Orientalift, is extrailed here in great quantities by
incifion from the freih heads o f the papaver fomniferum. The
feeds are fown in the beginning of OBober, when the periodical
rains do ceafe. The plant begins to be fit for incifion in'De-
eember, and continues fo till March ',, it requires a dry foil, andean
be brought into maturity only in the dry feafon. The rent
of the land it is cultivated on, is eleven or twelve roupees, or
twenty-feven or thirty ihillings a beyah, or a-third of the Engli/b
acre.
Opium is univerfally fmoked by the foldiery at night, which
flings them into fb deep and heavy a flfeep, that a few refolute
and difciplined men may beat thoufands before they recover
theirfenfes. There have been inftances o f a whole company o f
Sepoys being fent into the other world when thus entranced in-
opium, It is not uncommon for tht Indian foldiery to intoxicate
themfelves with that drug, when- they wifh to animate
themfelves to fome defperate adlion. The duty on this fatal:
drug, the Indian gin, brings in.to Bengal an immenfe revenue.
L e t .
Sulphur R iver.
O pium*