Rohilkhand

“ On the 2d of January he forced a passage across the bridge over the Kálí Nadí, in face of a very strong opposition, and drove the survivors of the rebels into Rohilkhand. The next day he occupied the fort of the rebel Nuwáb of Fathgarh, a man who had almost equalled Náná Sáhib in his cruelties towards Englishmen, and who was now a fugitive. There, the following day, the junction of Walpole and Seaton's divisions raised his force to more than 10,000 men. Sir Colin was anxious now to push on at once to the recovery of Rohilkhand. ”

“ Both before and after that year, however, the Bareilly Mahommedans have distinguished themselves by fanatical tumults against the Hindus. The district is irrigated from the Rohilkhand system of government canals. There are no manufactures except for domestic use and little external trade. Several lines of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway pass through the district. ”

“ The administrative headquarters are at the village of Pauri, but Srinagar is the largest place. This is an important mart, as is also Kotdwara, the terminus of a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway from Najibabad. ”

“ There are native manufactures of gold and silver brocade, muslins, embroidery, brass and copper wares, pottery and moulding in clay. There are also important European industrial establishments, such as iron-works and paper-mills. Lucknow is the centre of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway system, with large workshops. Lines radiate to Cawnpore, Bareilly, Gonda, Fyzabad and Rae Bareli. Lucknow is the headquarters of the 8th division of the northern army. ”

“ After his death in 1770, however, his son Zabita Khan was defeated by the Mahrattas, who overran all Rohilkhand. In 1772 the nawab of Oudh made a treaty with the Rohillas, covenanting to expel the Mahrattas in return for a money payment. ”

“ The general drainage of the country is from north-west to south-east. Several large lakes exist, some formed by the ancient channels of the northern rivers, being fine sheets of water, from 10 to 20 ft. deep and from 3 to 4 m. long; in places they are fringed with magnificent groves. The whole north of the district is covered with vast forests, of which a considerable portion are government reserves. Sāl occupies about two-thirds of the forest area. The district is traversed by a branch of the Oudh & Rohilkhand railway from Lucknow to Bareilly. ”

“ The Rohillas were distinguished from the other inhabitants of India by a peculiarly fair complexion. They were more honorably distinguished by courage in war, and by skill in the arts of peace. While anarchy raged from Lahore to Cape Comorin, their little territory enjoyed the blessings of repose under the guardianship of valour. Agriculture and commerce flourished among them; nor were they negligent of rhetoric and poetry. Many persons now living have heard aged men talk with regret of the golden days when the Afghan princes ruled in the vale of Rohilcund. ”

“ The province of Katahr had been conquered some fifty years before by a band of Afghan adventurers called Rohillas, from whom it had received the name of Rohilkand. Lying between the eastern frontier of the Oudh dominions and the special domain of the emperor, and constantly liable to Mahratta invasion from the southward, it was becoming a kind of chronic sore in the bosom of Hindustan. Though impotent against the Mahrattas, the Rohillas fought bitterly among themselves, while the original population was rack-rented and left without protection to life and property. ”

“ Consequently, the rich country of the Rohillas (an Afghân race who had settled in India) , which reached up from the Delhi plains to the Sivâlik hills, attracted him as a means of again filling his treasury. The Mahrattas were, naturally, nothing loth; so the combined forces marched on Rohilkund, despite the fact that its people were friendly. In the general catch-who-catch-can of India in these days, friendship, honour, truth, counted for nothing it is to be feared, neither with East nor West.
For the tall price of £400,000 the Nawâb of Oude promised to rid the Rohillas of the Mahratta hordes ”

“ A very comprehensive application is given to the term Roh in the quotation from Firishta. A friend (Major J. M. Trotter) notes here: "The word Rohilla is little, if at all, used now in Pushtu, but I remember a line of an ode in that language, 'Sádik Rohilai yam pa Hindubár gad,' meaning, 'I am a simple mountaineer, compelled to live in Hindustan'; i.e. 'an honest man among knaves.'"
c. 1452.—"The King ... issued farmáns to the chiefs of the various Afghán Tribes. On receipt of the farmáns, the Afgháns of Roh came as is their wont, like ants and locusts, to enter the King's service.... ”

“ Then he showed Rolf his arrows, which were heavy, short, and thick, like the bow. He laid one on the string, and drew it to the head, and behold! it rushed forth with a great whir, and with such force that it might pierce a man behind his shield. And it flew far beyond the arrow of Rolf, full five rood further.
"What thou dost with skill," said Grettir, "I do with strength." But Rolf cried with great joy:
"Thou art the man I have been seeking!" Then he asked: "Wilt thou go with me and shoot an arrow before witnesses, to prove that my father was unlawfully slain?" ”

“ If they conquered them, they would next attack Oude, and, succeeding there, would descend the Ganges and spread over all Bahar and Bengal. He therefore proposed that the British should assist him to conquer Rohilcund for himself, and add it to Oude. For this service he would pay all the expenses of the campaign, the British army would obtain a rich booty, and at the end he would pay the British Government besides the sum of forty lacs of rupees. Hastings had no cause of quarrel with the Rohillas, but for the proffered reward he at once acceded to the proposal. ”

“ Swish—clash! they sounded behind her; then a sickening jar, as Rothgar’s terrible axe fell. A yell of agony rent the air. Swish—clash! the blows came faster; her ear could no longer separate them. The thud of the falling axes became one continuous pound. Faster and faster, heavier and heavier,—they blended into a discordant roar that closed around her like a wall. Here and there and to and fro, Rothgar’s great charger followed the King; and here and there and to and fro, on her foam-flecked horse, Randalin followed the son of Lodbrok, staring, dazed, stunned. ”

“ But the Hindu, drawing her nearer, repeated with subdued fierceness:
"I ask it again—but you?"
"I do not know," muttered the woman, keeping her head lowered and moving in the direction of the steps.
But Chunda Lal intercepted her.
"Stop!" he said—"not yet are you going. There is something I have to speak to you."
"Ssh!" she whispered, half turning and pointing up toward the door.
"Those!" said the Hindu contemptuously—"the poor slaves of the black smoke! Ah! they are floating in their dream paradise; they have no ears to hear, no eyes to see!" ”

“ Rohilcund was troubled with nothing beyond trifling disturbances during the month of July; and these came chiefly from Oude. Rebel leaders, with small bands of depredators, crossed the frontier, and harried some of the neighbouring villages. So little, however, was there of an organised rebel army in the province, that the predatory irruptions were easily quelled by means of small detachments of troops. At one period in the month a body of Oudians crossed into the northern part of Rohilcund, and combined with a rabble under one Nizam Ali in the wild Roodurpore tract of country. ”

“ Next Rolf went to Thord of Laxriver, but that failed completely, for by now Rolf could shoot even as far as Thord. After that he went about in the dales, to find men who were good at archery; but though he heard of many with great names, those men proved to be nothing helpful to Rolf, for none could surpass him at all. So he began to learn how much is a little distance, even so much as a palm's breadth, at the end of a race or of the fling of a weapon. And time drew on toward the sitting of the Althing, so that Rolf feared that he should be able to make out no case against Einar. ”

“ He lived upon his farm, with two thralls and a bondservant; and husbanding his goods well, by little and little he made money which he put out at call, and so bade fair to do better than his father, for all his poor start in life. And a loving spouse he had in Asdis, his wife, who one day bore him a son.
They named the lad Rolf, and he grew to be well knit; he was not powerful, but straight and supple, and of great craft in his hands. And from delight in the boy Hiarandi changed his ways, and became more gay, going to fairs and meetings for the sake of Rolf. ”

“ Thy son Grani is abroad, in the fostering of the Orkney earl; but some day he will come home, and then will need men to serve him. Let Rolf give up his holding and become thy man; so canst thou protect him from all harm. Then when thy son returns Rolf shall be his bow-bearer, and shall be atoned by the honor for the death of his father."
Some laughed, but not for long, and so far was this from a jest that the most were silent. Then Thurid chanted:
"For Einar's son shall Rolf bear bow. ”

“ Operations commenced in April, and Colonel Champion gained a great victory over the Rohilla chiefs, on the side of Babul Nulla, which placed the whole country at the mercy of the conquerors. The Nabob of Oude made a cruel use of the victory, by plundering and burning towns and villages which belonged to the quiet Hindu inhabitants; and who, so far from making common cause with the Rohillas, were ready to render all the services they were capable of rendering against them. ”

“ Vemund laughed, and the other baresarks also, calling Rolf a boy. "Let me see thy weapons," said Vemund. Rolf showed him his quiver, and the baresark touched the point of each arrow with his finger. "Wilt thou look upon my weapons?" asked Vemund.
Rolf said he would not. "Now," said he, "withdraw thy men to the beach, and let us begin."
"Thou art eager for death," said Vemund with a grin. "I will do as thou sayest, and then will come at thee. ”

“ And our beacon saved thee."
"Aye," said Kiartan. "We had work to save our lives, and a close miss we made of the Tusks." But he never gave a word of thanks, either to Rolf or to Hiarandi, for the saving of his life. "Thou art wise to stay at home, boy; for see how a sailor's life hangs ever on a thread. Now stable the horse, and I will see thy mother. The farmer is likely in the field."
So Rolf stabled the horse, and called his father from his work; and Hiarandi came, muttering (though he meant not that Rolf should hear) , "Poor steel comes often home for a new edge." ”

“ The condition of Rohilcund has been, in some respects, peculiar. The progress of the Revolt in the interior has until lately suffered little check. The people, left to themselves, have in many quarters engaged actively in hostilities against each other; but direct opposition to British authority has been mainly confined to the several Sudder towns, to the frontier on the Ganges, and to the expeditions against Nynee Tal. ”

“ He had forgotten his mother's teaching: “If any man do anything sincerely, believing that thereby he is worshipping God, he is worshipping God.” He disliked seeing Quonab use an axe or a gun on Sunday, and the Indian, realizing that such action made “evil medicine” for Rolf, practically abstained. But Rolf had not yet learned to respect the red yarns the Indian hung from a deer's skull, though he did come to understand that he must let them alone or produce bad feeling in camp. ”

“ Harley lowered his voice and his expression grew even more stern.
“I mean to suggest,” he said, an icy note in his voice, his expression more stern, “that the S. Group may today be in possession of the secret of Ernst's Trajector!”
“Then God help us all!” muttered Latham.
“If I fail, tonight, God help us all, indeed!”
“Tonight?”
“Tonight!” Harley repeated grimly. “You are Indian Army, old man, and I can tell you nothing about the unrest in the East that you don't know already. India is not to blame. India as we know it is loyal to the core. China is our friend. ”

“ In 1879 Rohlfs, penetrating from the Aujila oasis southwards, at last succeeded in reaching Kufra, where, however, he ran a great risk of being massacred, with all his followers. From the last encampment in the Jalo oasis at the Battifal wells to the first springs in the Kufra district, the whole distance is no less than 210 miles. But the track does not follow a straight line, and, especially in the night, caravans often retrace their steps. The route taken by Rohlfs is estimated at 240 miles, a space of absolutely desert land, covered by an uninterrupted march of 106 hours. ”

“ So skilled was he in this that he was called Craggeir, the Cragsman; and no man could surpass him, whether in daring or skill. But there were times when there were no eggs nor fledglings, and from his earliest boyhood Rolf practised in shooting with his bow at the birds, and he kept the larder ever full.
Happy was Hiarandi watching his son, and his pride in him was great. As the lad grew stronger, the father made for him stronger bows and heavier arrows, until at the age of fourteen Rolf used the bow of a man. ”

“ The Díwán Newal Ráe lost his life in one of these engagements. The next year, 1164 Hijri, Safdar Jang came to Gutni, † and, with the aid of the Mahrattas and the Játs, defeated the Rohillas, and drove them into the lower branches of the Himalayas, which form their boundary on the north-east. The Rohillas, as has been previ- ously stated, were in possession of the city of Allahabad for forty-five days, and they sacked and plundered it. An attempt was made to eject Safdar Jang's faujdar, Janesar Khan, from Mánikpur, and to place Kále Khan's nephew, Usmán, in possession. ”