'Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde; accompanied by a geographical and historical account of those countries, with a map.' [‎192] (234/476)

192
BOORJA.
this early period, but I found the grain still more generally ripe as
I advanced to the westward. As soon as the extreme heat had
abated, I again moved on, and at seven in the evening halted at a
very small circular fort, called Boorja (or the bastion), in which
there is a village of fifty or sixty houses; the jungul was more im
pervious than in the fore-part ol the day, and the path so winding,
that I am certain we must have traversed three times the actual dis
tance from Regan to this place. I computed our evening's march
at fifteen miles, making the day's journey twenty-nine; there was
plenty of water in running streams, and some of the scenery was
beautiful in the extreme, the variety of trees, among which I could
distinguish the Peepul, Neem, Tamarind, Habool, Mangoe, Walnut,
wild almond, and Guz *, the latter of the largest size I had ever
beheld, were in full foliage and bloom, and displayed a rich and
surprizing contrast to the rugged and snow-topt mountains on our
left hand.
I had scarcely alighted from my camel, when an ill-looking dirty
scrub, who afterwards turned out to be the Kud Khoda, or chief of
the place, made his appearance, and demanded in a most authorita
tive tone, who we were, and our object; to which 1 made him an
answer in the same style, desiring to know by what right he had
presumed to make any inquiry. At this period my guide, who had
been into the village for a brand to kindle a fire, came up, and ad
dressed my interrogator as the Kud Khoda or chief, telling him that I
was the person he had spoken of; this observation irritated me still more,
as I was convinced by it that the fellow knew all he had questioned me
about, and had unwarrantably hastened out of the fort for the mere
purpose of displaying his self-created consequence, by being insolent;
however, he found himself, in the sequel, egregiously mistaken.
" Yes," replied he to the guide, " I see it is; he does not exactly
* Peepul, Ficus religiosa. Neem, Melia azadirachta. Babool, Mimosa Arabica.
Guz, Indian Tamarisk.