DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5831#0214
182
scenes in india.
CHAPTER XIV.
chunar.-ban van-tree.-mahomedan tombs.
From Benares we proceeded to Chunar, the fort to
which Mr. Hastings retired after the insurrection of
Cheit Singh in 1781. It is a strong fortress, built
upon a vast rock of free-stone, higher than St . Paul's,
rising abruptly from the plain and extending a good
way into the river, of which the batteries completely
command the navigation. No boat was at that time
allowed to pass the fort without a strict examination,
but of late years I believe this rigid scrutiny has
been discontinued. The prospect from the summit of
this fortified hill is very extensive, overlooking per-
naps one of the best cultivated districts in India.
The town presents nothing attractive to the travel-
ler's eye, being composed of clusters of native huts
and European bungalows, built without the slightest
regard either to order or beauty. There is a canton-
ment for sepoys outside the fortress, which is fortified
with walls and towers built successively one behind
the other, so that at the time of Cheit Singh's rebel-
lion it was considered a place of great strength. These
sturdy walls and towers present a singular contrast
to the mud hovels and frail thatched bungalows of
the modern town. The place is excessively unhealthy
scenes in india.
CHAPTER XIV.
chunar.-ban van-tree.-mahomedan tombs.
From Benares we proceeded to Chunar, the fort to
which Mr. Hastings retired after the insurrection of
Cheit Singh in 1781. It is a strong fortress, built
upon a vast rock of free-stone, higher than St . Paul's,
rising abruptly from the plain and extending a good
way into the river, of which the batteries completely
command the navigation. No boat was at that time
allowed to pass the fort without a strict examination,
but of late years I believe this rigid scrutiny has
been discontinued. The prospect from the summit of
this fortified hill is very extensive, overlooking per-
naps one of the best cultivated districts in India.
The town presents nothing attractive to the travel-
ler's eye, being composed of clusters of native huts
and European bungalows, built without the slightest
regard either to order or beauty. There is a canton-
ment for sepoys outside the fortress, which is fortified
with walls and towers built successively one behind
the other, so that at the time of Cheit Singh's rebel-
lion it was considered a place of great strength. These
sturdy walls and towers present a singular contrast
to the mud hovels and frail thatched bungalows of
the modern town. The place is excessively unhealthy