_Table of Bezique Scores._
_Seven of trumps_, turned up, dealer marks 10
_Seven of trumps_, declared (see below) or exchanged, player
marks 10
_Marriage_ (king and queen of any suit) declared 20
_Royal marriage_ (king and queen of trumps) declared 40
_Bezique_ (queen of spades and knave of diamonds) declared 40
_Double bezique_ (all the four bezique cards) declared 500
_Four aces_ (any four, whether duplicates or not) declared 100
_Four kings_ (any four) declared 80
_Four queens_ (any four) declared 60
_Four knaves_ (any four) declared 40
_Sequence_ (ace, ten, king, queen, knave of trumps) declared 250
_Aces and tens_, in tricks, the winner for each one marks 10
_Last trick_ of all (as sometimes _played_, the last
trick before the stock is exhausted) the winner marks 10
A "declaration" can only be made by the winner of a trick immediately
after he has won it, and before he draws from the stock. It is effected
by placing the declared cards (one of which at least must not have been
declared before) face upwards on the table, where they are left, unless
they are played, as they may be. A player is not bound to declare. A
card led or played cannot be declared. More than one declaration may be
made at a time, provided no card of one combination forms part of
another that is declared with it. Thus four knaves and a marriage may be
declared at the same time; but a player cannot declare king and queen of
spades and knave of diamonds together to score marriage and bezique. He
must first declare one combination, say bezique; and when he wins
another trick he can score marriage by declaring the king. A declaration
cannot be made of cards that have already all been declared. Thus, if
four knaves (one being a bezique knave) and four queens (one being a
bezique queen) have been declared, the knave and queen already declared
cannot be declared again as bezique. To score all the combinations with
these cards, after the knaves are declared and another trick won,
bezique must next be made, after which, on winning another trick, the
three queens can be added and four queens scored. Lastly, a card once
declared can only be used again in declaring in combinations of a
different class. For example: the bezique queen can be declared in
bezique, marriage and four queens; but having once been declared in
single bezique, she cannot form part of another single bezique. Two
declarations may, in a sense, be made to a trick, but only one can be
scored at the time. Thus with four kings declared, including the king of
spades, bezique can be declared and scored, but the spade marriage
cannot be scored till the holder wins another trick. The correct formula
is "Forty, and 20 to score." The seven of trumps may be either declared
or exchanged for the turn-up after winning a trick, and before drawing.
When exchanged, the turn-up is taken into the player's hand, and the
seven put in its place. The second seven can, of course, be declared. A
seven when declared is not left on the table, but is simply shown.
The winner of the last trick can declare anything hitherto undeclared in
his hand. After this all declarations cease. The winner of the last
trick takes the last card of the stock, and the loser the turn-up card
(or seven exchanged for it). All cards on the table, that have been
declared and not played, are taken up by their owners. The last eight
tricks are then played, but the second player must follow suit if able,
and must win the trick if able. Finally, each player counts his tricks
for the aces and tens they may contain, unless (as is often done) they
are scored at the time. If a player revokes in the last eight tricks, or
does not win the card led, if able, the last eight tricks belong to his
adversary. The deal then passes on alternately until the game (1000) is
won. If the loser does not make 500, his opponent counts a double game,
or double points, according as they have agreed. The score is best kept
by means of a special bezique-marker.
_Three- and Four-Handed Bezique._--When three play, three packs are
used together. All play against each other. The player on the left of
the dealer is first dealt to and has the first lead. The rotation of
dealing goes to the left. If double bezique has been scored, and one
pair has been played, a second double bezique may be made with the
third pair and the pair on the table. Triple bezique scores 1500. All
the cards of the triple bezique must be on the table at the same time
and unplayed to a trick. All may be declared together, or a double
bezique may be added to a single one, or a third bezique may be added
to a double bezique already declared. The game is 2000 up. Sometimes
the three players cut, the one who cuts the highest card plays against
the other two in consultation, and continues to do so till the allies
win a game, when the two cut as before to see who shall be the single
player. Only two packs are then used.
When four play four packs are used. The players may then score
independently or may play as partners. A second double bezique or
triple bezique may be scored as before; to form them the beziques may
be declared from the hand of either partner. A player may declare when
he or his partner takes a trick. In playing the last eight tricks, the
winner of the last trick and the adversary to his left play their
cards against each other, and then the other two similarly play
theirs. Four people may also play in pairs by consultation, only two
packs being then required.
_Polish Bezique_ (also called "Open Bezique" and "Fildniski") differs
from ordinary bezique in the following particulars. The game is not
less than 2000 up. Whenever a scoring card is played, the winner of
the trick places it face upwards in front of him (the same with both
cards if two scoring cards are played to a trick), forming rows of
aces, kings, queens, knaves and trump tens (called _open_ cards).
Cards of the same denomination are placed overlapping one another
lengthwise from the player towards his adversary to economise space.
When a scoring card is placed among the open cards, all the sevens,
eights, nines, and plain suit tens in the tricks are turned down and
put on one side. Open cards cannot be played a second time, and can
only be used in declaring. Whether so used or not they remain face
upwards on the table until the end of the hand, including the last
eight tricks. A player can declare after winning a trick and before
drawing again, when the trick won contains a card or cards, which
added to his open cards complete any combination that scores. Every
declaration must include a card played to the trick last won. Aces and
tens must be scored as soon as won, and not at the end of the hand.
The seven of trumps can be exchanged by the winner of the trick
containing it; and if the turn-up card is one that can be used in
declaring, it becomes an open card when exchanged. The seven of trumps
when not exchanged is scored for by the player winning the trick
containing it.
Compound declarations are allowed, i.e. cards added to the open cards
can at once be used, without waiting to win another trick, in as many
combinations of different classes as they will form with the winner's
open cards. For example: A has three open kings, and he wins a trick
containing a king. Before drawing again he places the fourth king with
the other three, and scores 80 for kings. This is a simple
declaration. But suppose the card led was the queen of trumps, and A
wins it with the king, and he has the following open cards--three
kings, three queens, and ace, ten, knave of trumps. He at once
declares royal marriage (40); four kings (80); four queens (60); and
sequence (250); and scores in all, 430. Again: ace of spades is turned
up, and ace of hearts is led. The second player has two open aces, and
wins the ace of hearts with the seven of trumps and exchanges. He
scores for the exchange, 10; for the ace of hearts, 10; for the ace of
spades, 10; and adds the aces to his open cards, and scores 100 for
aces; in all, 130. If a declaration or part of a compound declaration
is omitted, and the winner of the trick draws again, he cannot amend
his score.
The ordinary rule holds that a second declaration cannot be made of a
card already declared in the same class. Thus: a queen once married,
cannot be married again; a fifth king added to four already declared
does not entitle to another score for kings. The fundamental point to
be borne in mind is, that no declaration can be effected by means of
cards held in the hand. Thus: A having three open queens and a queen
in hand cannot add it to his open cards. He must win another trick
containing a queen, when he can declare queens. Declarations continue
during the play of the last eight tricks just the same as during the
play of the other cards.
_Rubicon Bezique._--Four packs are used. Nine cards are dealt by three
to each player. The rules of Polish bezique hold good in regard to
dealing, leading, playing to lead, drawing and declaring; but a player
who receives a hand containing no picture-card (king, queen, or knave)
scores 50 for _carte blanche_, which he shows. If he does not draw a
picture-card, he can again score for _carte blanche_. The trump suit
is decided by the first sequence or marriage declared. As four packs
are used, triple and quadruple bezique may be made. Triple bezique
counts 1500, quadruple 4500. Tricks are left face upwards till a
_brisque_ (ace or ten) is played, when the winner takes all the played
cards and puts them in a heap; their only value is the value of the
_brisques_, which are only counted when the scores are very close;
then they are used to decide the game. They may be counted during the
play, provided there are not more than twelve cards in the stock.
Declarations can only be made after winning a trick and before
drawing. In addition to the ordinary bezique declarations, sequence,
counting 150, can be made in plain suits. Declared cards, except
_carte blanche_, remain on the table. If the holder of _carte blanche_
hold four aces and wins the first trick, he can declare his aces. With
the exceptions already made, the scores for declarations are the same
as at ordinary bezique. Declaration is not compulsory. Cards led or
played cannot be declared. There are three classes of declarations,
their order being (1) marriage and sequence, (2) bezique, (3) fours. A
card once declared can be used for a second declaration, but only in
an equal or superior class. If a card of a declared combination be
played to a trick, another card of the same rank may be used to form a
second similar combination; e.g. if aces be declared and one of them
be played by the playing of a fifth ace, aces can be declared again.
If a player has a chance of a double declaration he can declare both,
but can only score one at the time. As in other variations of bezique
he announces, say, "forty, and twenty to score." He should repeat,
"Twenty to score," after every trick, until he can legally score it,
but if he plays a card of the combination he cannot score the points.
To the last nine tricks, after the stock is exhausted, the second
player must follow suit and win the trick by trumping or over-playing,
if he can. The winner of the odd trick scores 50. The game consists of
one deal. In reckoning the score all fractions of 100 are neglected;
the winner scores 500 for game in addition to the difference between
his own points and his opponent's. The loser is "rubiconed" if he does
not score 1000 points, in which case the winner adds the loser's
points to his own, takes 300 for _brisques_ and 1000 for game, but the
loser may claim his _brisques_ to save a rubicon, though they are not
reckoned among his points. If a rubiconed player has scored less than
100 the opponent counts the score as 100.
BEZWADA, a town of British India, in the Kistna district of Madras, on
the left bank of the river Kistna, at the head of its delta. Pop. (1901)
24,224. Here are the headquarters of the Kistna canal system, which
irrigates more than 500,000 acres, and also provides navigation
throughout the delta. The anicut or dam at Bezwada, begun in 1852,
consists of a mass of rubble, fronted with masonry, 1240 yds. long. Here
also is the central junction of the East Coast railway from Madras to
Calcutta, 267 m. from Madras, where one branch line comes down from the
Warangal coalfield in the Nizam's Dominions, and another from Bellary on
the Southern Mahratta line. Ancient cuttings on the hills west of
Bezwada have been held by some to mark the site of a Buddhist monastery;
by others they are considered to have been quarries. At Undavalle to the
south are some noted cave-shrines.
BHAGALPUR, a city of British India, in the Behar province of Bengal,
which gives its name to a district and to a division; situated on the
right bank of the Ganges, 265 m. from Calcutta. It is a station on the
East Indian railway. Pop. (1901) 75,760, showing an increase of 9% in
the decade. The chief educational institution is the Tejnarayan Jubilee
college (1887), supported almost entirely by fees. Adjacent to the town
are the two Augustus Cleveland monuments, one erected by government, and
the other by the Hindus, to the memory of the civilian, who, as
collector of Bhagalpur at the end of the 18th century, "by conciliation,
confidence and benevolence, attempted and accomplished the entire
subjection of the lawless and savage inhabitants of the Jungleterry of
Rajmahal."
The DISTRICT OF BHAGALPUR stretches across both banks of the Ganges. It
has an area of 4226 sq. m. In 1901 the population was 2,088,953, showing
an increase of 3% in the decade. Bhagalpur is a long and narrow
district, divided into two unequal parts by the river Ganges. In the
southern portion of the district the scenery in parts of the hill-ranges
and the highlands which connect them is very beautiful. The hills are of
primary formation, with fine masses of contorted gneiss. The ground is
broken up into picturesque gorges and deep ravines, and the whole is
covered with fine forest trees and a rich undergrowth. Within this
portion also lie the lowlands of Bhagalpur, fertile, well planted, well
watered, and highly cultivated. The country north of the Ganges is
level, but beautifully diversified with trees and verdure. Three fine
rivers flow through the district-the Ganges, Kusi and Ghagri. The Ganges
runs a course of 60 m. through Bhagalpur, is navigable all the year
round, and has an average width of 3 m. The Kusi rises in the Himalayas
and falls into the Ganges near Colgong within Bhagalpur. It is a fine
stream, navigable up to the foot of the hills, and receives the Ghagri 8
m. above its debouchure.
In the early days of British administration the hill people, the Nats
and Santals, gave much trouble. They were the original inhabitants of
the country whom the Aryan conquerors had driven back into the barren
hills and unhealthy forests. This they avenged from generation to
generation by plundering and ravaging the plains. The efforts to subdue
or restrain these marauders proved fruitless, till Augustus Cleveland
won them by mild measures, and successfully made over the protection of
the district to the very hill people who a few years before had been
its scourge. Rice, wheat, barley, oats, Indian corn, various kinds of
millet, pulses, oil-seeds, tobacco, cotton, indigo, opium, flax and hemp
and sugar-cane, are the principal agricultural products of Bhagalpur
district. The jungles afford good pasturage in the hot weather, and
abound in lac, silk cocoons, catechu, resin and the _mahua_ fruit, which
is both used as fruit and for the manufacture of spirits. Lead ores
(chiefly argentiferous galena) and building stone are found, and iron
ore is distributed over the hilly country. Attempts made to work the
galena in 1878-79 and 1900 were abandoned, and the iron ore is little
worked. Gold is washed from the river sand in small particles.
The climate of Bhagalpur partakes of the character both of the deltaic
districts of Bengal and of the districts of Behar, between which it is
situated. The hot season sets in about the end of March, and continues
till the beginning of June, the temperature at this time rising as high
as 110 deg. Fahr. The rains usually begin at the end of June and last
till the middle of September; average annual rainfall, 55 in. The cold
season commences at the beginning of November and lasts till March.
During December and January the temperature falls as low as 41 deg.
Fahr. The average annual temperature is 78 deg. Bhagalpur formed a part
of the ancient Sanskrit kingdom of Anga. In later times it was included
in the powerful Hindu kingdom of Magadha or Behar, and in the 7th
century A.D. it was an independent state, with the city of Champa for
its capital. It afterwards formed a part of the Mahommedan kingdom of
Gaur, and was subsequently subjugated by Akbar, who declared it to be a
part of the Delhi empire. Bhagalpur passed to the East India Company by
the grant of the emperor Shah Alam in 1765.
There are indigo factories, and other industries include the weaving of
tussur silk and the making of coarse glass. A large trade is carried on
by rail and river with Lower Bengal. The tract south of the Ganges is
traversed by the loop-line of the East Indian railway, and there is also
a railway across the northern tract.
The DIVISION OF BHAGALPUR stretches across the Ganges from the Nepal
frontier to the hills of Chota Nagpur. It comprises the five districts
of Monghyr, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darjeeling, and the Santal Parganas. The
total area is 19,776 sq. m.; and in 1901 the population was 8,091,405.
BHAMO, a town and district of Burma. The town was in ancient times the
capital of the Shan state of Manmaw, later the seat of a Burmese
governor. It is now the headquarters of a district in the Mandalay
division of Upper Burma (Chinese frontier). It is situated about 300 m.
up the river from Mandalay. It is the highest station on the Irrawaddy
held by British troops, and the nearest point on the river to the
Chinese frontier. In 1901 it contained 10,734 inhabitants, of whom a
considerable number were Chinamen, natives of India and Shan-Chinese. It
stretches for a distance of nearly 4 m. along the Irrawaddy bank in a
series of small villages, transformed into quarters of the town, but the
town proper is confined mainly to the one high ridge of land running at
right angles to the river. The surface of the ground is much cut up by
ravines which fill and dry up according to the rise and fall of the
river. When the Irrawaddy is at its height the lower portion of the town
is flooded, and the country all round is a sheet of water, but usually
for no very long time. Here or hereabouts has long been the terminus of
a great deal of the land commerce from China. For years after its
annexation by Great Britain in 1885 the trade routes were unsafe owing
to attacks from Kachins. These have now ceased, and the roads, which
were mere bridle-tracks, have been greatly improved. The two chief are
the so-called Santa and Ponlaing route, through Manyun (Manwaing) and
Nantien to Momein, and the southern or Sawadi route by way of Namhkam.
Cart roads are now being constructed on both routes, and that south of
the Taiping river could easily be continued through Manyun to Momein if
the Chinese should be induced to co-operate. There is a fairly large
military garrison in Bhamo distributed between two forts to the north
and east of the town. There are in general stationed here a native
regiment, two sections of a battery and the wing of a European regiment.
Besides the barracks there are a circuit house, dak bungalow,
courthouse, and post and telegraph offices. There is a branch railway
from Myitkyina to Katha, whence there is daily communication by river to
Bhamo.
The DISTRICT OF BHAMO lies wholly in the basin of the Irrawaddy, which,
as well as its tributaries, runs through the heart of it. On the east of
the river is the Shan plateau, running almost due north and south. West
of the Irrawaddy there is a regular series of ranges, enclosing the
basins of the Kaukkwe, Mosit, Indaw and other streams, down which much
timber is floated. Beyond the Kaukkwe there is a ridge of hills, which
starts at Leka, near Mogaung, and diverges to the south, the eastern
ridge dividing the Kaukkwe from the Mosit, and the western forming the
eastern watershed of the Nam Yin and running south into Katha. It is an
offshoot from the latter of these ridges that forms the third defile of
the Irrawaddy between Bhamo and Sinbo. The district covers an area of
4146 sq. m., and the population in 1901 was 79,515. It is mainly
composed of Shan-Burmese and Kachins. The Shan-Burmese inhabit the
valleys and alluvial plains on each side of the river. The Kachins, who
probably came from the sub-regions of the Himalayas, occupy the hills
throughout the district. There are also settlements of Shans,
Shan-Chinese, Chinese and Assamese. There are extensive fisheries in the
Shwegu and Mo-hnyin circles, and in the Indaw, a chain of lakes just
behind the Mosit, opposite Shwegu. The district abounds in rich teak
forests, and there are reserves representing 60,000 acres of teak
plantation. The whole of the country along the banks of the Irrawaddy,
the Mole, Taiping and Kaukkwe, is generally in a water-logged condition
during the rains. The climate in the district is therefore decidedly
malarious, especially at the beginning and end of the rains. From
November to March there is very bracing cold weather. The highest
temperatures range a few degrees over 100 deg. F. up to 106 deg., and
the lowest a few degrees under 40 deg. The average maximum for the year
is about 87 deg., the average minimum about 62 deg. The rainfall
averages 72 in. a year. (J. G. Sc.)
BHANDARA, a town and district of British India, in the Nagpur division
of the Central Provinces. The town (pop. in 1901, 14,023) is situated on
the left bank of the river Wainganga, 7 m. from a station on the
Bengal-Nagpur railway. It has considerable manufactures of cotton cloth
and brass-ware, and a first-grade middle school, with a library.
The DISTRICT OF BHANDARA has an area of 3965 sq. m. In 1901 the
population was 663,062, showing a decrease of 11% since 1891 compared
with an increase of 8% in the preceding decade. The district is bounded
on the N., N.E. and E. by lofty hills, inhabited by Gonds and other
aboriginal tribes, while the W. and N.W. are comparatively open. Small
branches of the Satpura range make their way into the interior of the
district. The Ambagarh or Sendurjhari hills, which skirt the south of
the Chandpur pargana, have an average height of between 300 and 400 ft.
above the level of the plain. The other elevated tracts are the Balahi
hills, the Kanheri hills and the Nawegaon hills. The Wainganga is the
principal river in the district, and the only stream that does not dry
up in the hot weather,--its affluents within the district being the
Bawanthari, Bagh, Kanhan and Chulban. There are 3648 small lakes and
tanks in Bhandara district, whence it is called the "lake region of
Nagpur"; they afford ample means of irrigation. More than one-third of
the district lies under jungle, which yields gum, medicinal fruit and
nuts, edible fruits, lac, honey and the blossoms of the _mahua_ tree
(_Bassia latifolia_), which are eaten by the poorer classes, and used
for the manufacture of a kind of spirit. Tigers, panthers, deer, wild
hogs and other wild animals abound in the forests, and during the rainy
season many deaths occur from snake-bites. Iron is the chief mineral
product. Gold is also found in the bed of the Sone river. Laterite,
shale and sandstone occur all over the district. Native cloth, brass
wares, pot-stone wares, cartwheels, straw and reed baskets, and a small
quantity of silk, form the only manufactures. The principal crops are
rice, wheat, millet, other food-grains, pulse, linseed, and a little
sugar-cane. The district is traversed by the main road from Nagpur to
the east, and also by the Bengal-Nagpur railway. It suffered in the
famine of 1896-1897, and yet more severely in 1900.
Bhandara district contains 25 semi-independent chiefships. These little
states are exempted from the revenue system, and only pay a light
tribute. Their territory, however, is included within the returns of
area and population above given. The climate of Bhandara is
unhealthy,--the prevailing diseases being fever, small-pox and cholera.
Nothing is known of the early history of the district. Tradition says
that at a remote period a tribe of men, called the Gaulis or Gaulars,
overran and conquered it. At the end of the 17th century it belonged to
the Gond raja of Deogarh. In 1743 it was conquered by the Mahrattas, who
governed it till 1853, when it lapsed to the British government, the
raja of Nagpur having died without an heir.
BHANG, an East Indian name for the hemp plant, _Cannabis sativa_ (see
HEMP), but applied specially to the leaves dried and prepared for use as
a narcotic drug. In India the products of the plant for use as a
narcotic and intoxicant are recognized under the three names and forms
of Bhang, Gunja or Ganja, and Churrus or Charas. Bhang consists of the
larger leaves and capsules of the plant on which an efflorescence of
resinous matter has occurred. The leaves are in broken and partly
agglutinated pieces, having a dark-green colour and a heavy but not
unpleasant smell. Bhang is used in India for smoking, with or without
tobacco; it is prepared in the form of a cake or manjan, and it is made
into an intoxicating beverage by infusing in cold water and straining.
Gunja is the flowering or fruit-bearing tops of the female plants. It is
gathered in stalks of several inches in length, the tops of which form a
matted mass, from the agglutination of flowers, seeds and leaflets by
the abundant resinous exudation which coats them. Churrus is the crude
resinous substance separated from the plant. The use of preparations of
hemp among the Mussulman and Hindu population of India is very general;
and the habit also obtains among the population of central Asia, the
Arabs and Egyptians, extending even to the negroes of the valley of the
Zambezi and the Hottentots of South Africa. The habit appears to date
from very remote times, for Herodotus says of the Scythians, that they
creep inside huts and throw hemp seeds on hot stones.
BHARAHAT, or BARHUT, a village in the small state of Nagod in India,
lying about 24 deg. 15' N. by 80 deg. 45' E., about 120 m. S.W. of
Allahabad. General A. Cunningham discovered there in 1873 the remains of
a _stupa_ (i.e. a burial mound over the ashes of some distinguished
person) which were excavated, in 1874, by his assistant, J.D. Beglar.
The results showed that it must have been one of the most imposing and
handsome in India; and it is especially important now from the large
number of inscriptions found upon it. The ancient name of the place has
not been yet traced, but it must have been a considerable city and its
site lay on the high road between the ancient capitals of Ujjeni and
Kosambi. The _stupa_ was circular, 70 ft. in diameter and 42 ft. high.
It was surrounded by a stone railing 100 ft. in diameter, so that
between railing and _stupa_ there was an open circle round which
visitors could walk; and the whole stood towards the east side of a
paved quadrangle about 300 ft. by 320 ft., surrounded by a stone wall.
On the top of the _stupa_ was an ornament shaped like the letter T, and
as the base of the _stupa_ was above the quadrangle, the total height of
the monument was between 50 and 60 ft. But its main interest, to us,
lies in the railing. This consisted of eighty square pillars, 7 ft. 1
in. in height, connected by cross-bars about 1 ft. broad. Both pillars
and cross-bars were elaborately carved in bas-relief, and most of them
bore inscriptions giving either the name of the donor, or the subject of
the bas-relief, or both. There were four entrances through the railing,
facing the cardinal points, and each one protected by the railing coming
out at right angles, and then turning back across it in the shape of the
letter L. This gave the whole ground plan of the monument, and no doubt
designedly so, the shape of a gigantic _swastika_ (i.e. a symbol of good
fortune). By the forms of the letters of the inscriptions, and by the
architectural details, the age of the monument has been approximately
fixed in the 3rd century B.C. The bas-reliefs give us invaluable
evidence of the literature, and also of the clothing, buildings and
other details of the social conditions of the peoples of Buddhist India
at that period. The subjects are taken from the Buddhist sacred books,
more especially from the accounts given in them of the life of the
Buddha in his last or in his previous births. Unfortunately, only about
half the pillars, and about one-third of the cross-bars have been
recovered. When the _stupa_ was discovered the villagers had already
carried off the greater part of the monument to build their cottages
with the stones and bricks of it. The process has gone on till now
nothing is left except what General Cunningham found and rescued and
carried off to Calcutta. Even the mere money value of the lost pieces
must be immense, and among them is the central relic box, which would
have told us in whose honour the monument was put up.
See A. Cunningham, _The Stupa of Bharhut_ (London, 1879); T.W. Rhys
Davids, _Buddhist India_ (London, 1903). (T. W. R. D.)
BHARAL, the Tatar name for the "blue sheep" _Ovis_ (Pseudois) _nahura_,
of Ladak and Tibet. The general colour is blue-grey with black "points"
and white markings and belly; and the horns of the rams are olive-brown
and nearly smooth, with a characteristic backward curvature. In the
absence of face-glands, as well as in certain other features, the bharal
serves to connect more typical sheep (q.v.) with goats.
BHARATPUR, or BHURTPORE, a native state of India, in the Rajputana
agency. Its area covers 1982 sq. m. The country is generally level,
about 700 ft. above the sea. Small detached hills, rising to 200 ft. in
height, occur, especially in the northern part. These hills contain good
building stone for ornamental architecture, and in some of them iron ore
is abundant. The Banganga is the only river which flows through the
state. It takes its rise at Manoharpur in the territory of Jaipur, and
flowing eastward passes through the heart of the Bharatpur state, and
joins the Jamna below Agra.
Bharatpur rose into importance under Suraj Mall, who bore a conspicuous
part in the destruction of the Delhi empire. Having built the forts of
Dig and Kumbher in 1730, he received in 1756 the title of raja, and
subsequently joined the great Mahratta army with 30,000 troops. But the
misconduct of the Mahratta leader induced him to abandon the
confederacy, just in time to escape the murderous defeat at Panipat.
Suraj Mall raised the Jat power to its highest point; and Colonel Dow,
in 1770, estimated the raja's revenue (perhaps extravagantly) at
L2,000,000 and his military force at 60,000 or 70,000 men. In 1803 the
East India Company concluded a treaty, offensive and defensive, with
Bharatpur. In 1804, however, the raja assisted the Mahrattas against the
British. The English under Lord Lake captured the fort of Dig and
besieged Bharatpur, but were compelled to raise the siege after four
attempts at storming. A treaty, concluded on the 17th of April 1805,
guaranteed the raja's territory; but he became bound to pay L200,000 as
indemnity to the East India Company. A dispute as to the right of the
succession again led to a war in 1825, and Lord Combermere captured
Bharatpur with a besieging force of 20,000 men, after a desperate
resistance, on the 18th of January 1826. The fortifications were
dismantled, the hostile chief being deported to Benares, and an infant
son of the former raja installed under a treaty favourable to the
company. In 1853 the Bharatpur ruler died, leaving a minor heir. The
state came under British management, and the administration was
improved, the revenue increased, a system of irrigation developed, new
tanks and wells constructed and an excellent system of roads and public
buildings organized. Owing to the hot winds blowing from Rajputana, the
climate of Bharatpur is extremely sultry till the setting in of the
periodical rains.
In 1901 the population was 626,665, a decrease of 2%. The estimated
revenue is L180,000. The maharaja Ram Singh, who succeeded his father in
1893, was deprived of power of government in 1895 on the ground of
intemperate conduct; and in 1900 was finally deposed for the murder of
one of his personal attendants. He was succeeded by his infant son
Kishen Singh. During his minority the administration was undertaken by a
native minister, together with a state council, under the general
superintendence of the political agent. Imperial service cavalry are
maintained. The state is traversed for about 40 m. by the Rajputana
railway.
The CITY OF BHARATPUR is 34 m. W. of Agra by rail. The population in
1901 was 43,601, showing a decrease of over 23,000 in the decade. The
immense mud ramparts still stand. It has a handsome palace, a new
hospital and a high school. There are special manufactures of _chauris_,
or flappers, with handles of sandalwood, ivory or silver, and tails also
made of strips of ivory or sandalwood as fine as horse-hair.
BHATGAON, a town of Nepal, 8 m. from Khatmandu. It is a celebrated place
of Hindu superstition, the favourite residence of the Brahmans of Nepal,
and contains more families of that order than either Khatmandu or Patan.
It has a population of about 30,000, and its palace and buildings
generally are of a more striking appearance than in other Nepalese
towns. The town is said to possess many Sanskrit libraries.
BHATTIANA, a tract of country in the Punjab province of India, covering
the Ghaggar valley from Fatehabad in the district of Hissar to Bhatnair
in Bikanir. It derives its name from the Bhattis, a wild Rajput clan,
who held the country lying between Hariana, Bikanir and Bahawalpur. It
skirts the borders of the great sandy desert, and only contains a small
and scattered population. This tract was ravaged by Timur in his
invasion of India; and in 1795 paid a nominal allegiance to George
Thomas, the adventurer of Hariana. After the victories of Lord Lake in
1803 it passed with the rest of the Delhi territory under British rule,
but was not settled until 1810. A district of Bhattiana was formed in
1837, but in 1858 it was merged in the Sirsa district, which was divided
up in 1884. The Bhattis number some 350,000, and are a fine tall race,
making capital soldiers.
BHAU DAJI (RAMKRISHNA VITHAL) (1822-1874), Hindu physician of Bombay,
Sanskrit scholar and antiquary, was born in 1822 at the village of
Manjare, in the native state of Sawantwari, of humble parents dealing in
clay dolls. Dr Bhau's career is a striking instance of great results
arising from small accidents. An Englishman noticing his cleverness at
chess induced his father to give the boy an English education.
Accordingly Bhau was brought to Bombay and was educated at the
Elphinstone Institution. He relieved his father of the cost of his
education by winning many prizes and scholarships, and on his father's
death two years later he cheerfully undertook the burden of supporting
his mother and a brother (Narayen), who also in after-life became a
distinguished physician and surgeon. About this time he gained a prize
for an essay on infanticide, and was appointed a teacher in the
Elphinstone Institution. He began to devote his time to the study of
Indian antiquities, deciphering inscriptions and ascertaining the dates
and history of ancient Sanskrit authors. He then studied at the Grant
Medical College, and was one of the first batch who graduated there in
1850. In 1851 he set up as a medical practitioner in Bombay, where his
success was so great that he soon made a fortune. He studied the
Sanskrit literature of medicine, and also tested the value of drugs to
which the ancient Hindus ascribed marvellous powers, among other
pathological subjects of historical interest investigating that of
leprosy. Being an ardent promoter of education, he was appointed a
member of the board of education, and was one of the original fellows of
the university of Bombay. As the first native president of the students'
literary and scientific society, and the champion of the cause of female
education, a girls' school was founded in his name, for which an
endowment was provided by his friends and admirers. In the political
progress of India he took a great and active interest, and the Bombay
Association and the Bombay branch of the East Indian Association owe
their existence to his ability and exertions. He was twice chosen
sheriff of Bombay, in 1869 and 1871. Various scientific societies in
England, France, Germany and America conferred on him their membership.
He contributed numerous papers to the journal of the Bombay branch of
the Royal Asiatic Society. He found time to make a large collection of
rare ancient Sanskrit manuscripts at great cost and trouble. He died in
May 1874. His brother, Dr Narayen Daji (who helped him to set up the
charitable dispensary in Bombay), did not long survive him. Dr Bhau was
a man of the most simple and amiable character and manners; his kindness
and sympathy towards the poor and distressed were unbounded, and
endeared his memory among the Hindus of Bombay. (N. B. W.)
BHAUNAGAR, or BHAVNAGAR, a native state of India in the Kathiawar
agency, Bombay. Its area covers 2860 sq. m. In 1901 the population was
412,664, showing a decrease of 12% in the decade; the estimated revenue
is L255,800, and the tribute L10,300. The chief, whose title is thakor
sahib, is head of the famous clan of the Gohel Rajputs of Kathiawar. The
enlightened system of administration formed during the rule of the
thakor sahib maharaja Sir Takhtsinghji Jaswatsinghji, G.C.S.I., was
continued with admirable results under the personal supervision of his
son, the maharaja Bhausinghji, K.C.S.I. (b. 1875), and forms a model for
other native states. The Gohel Rajputs are said to have settled in the
district about 1260. Bhaunagar suffered terribly from the famine of
1899-1900. About 60 m. of the Bhaunagar-Gondal railway run through the
state, with its terminus at the town of Bhaunagar, which is the
principal port. The town of Bhaunagar is situated on the west coast of
the gulf of Cambay. The population in 1901 was 56,442. It is the chief
port in Kathiawar, though only admitting vessels of small burden. It was
founded in 1723 by the thakor sahib Bhausinghji, after whom it is named,
in place of his former capital, Sihor, which was considered too exposed
to the Mahratta power.
BHEESTY (from the Persian _bihisti_, paradise), the Hindustani name for
a water carrier, the native who supplies water from a pigskin or
goat-skin bag.
BHERA, a town of British India, in the Shahpur district of the Punjab,
situated on the river Jhelum. Pop. (1901) 18,680. It is the terminus of
a branch of the North-Western railway. It is an important centre of
trade, with manufactures of cotton goods, metal-work, carving, &c. Bhera
was founded about 1540 on its present site, but it took the place of a
city on the opposite bank of the river, of far greater antiquity, which
was destroyed at this period.
BHILS, or BHEELS ("bowmen," from Dravidian _bil_, a bow), a Dravidian
people of central India, probably aborigines of Marwar. They live
scattered over a great part of India. They are found as far north as the
Aravalli Hills, in Sind and Rajputana, as well as Khandesh and
Ahmedabad. They are mentioned in Sanskrit works, and it is thought that
Ptolemy (vii. I. 66) refers to them as [Greek: Phullitai] ("leaf
wearers"), though this word might equally apply to the Gonds. Expelled
by the Aryans from the richer lowlands, they are found to-day in
greatest numbers on the hills of central India. In many Rajput states
the princes on succession have their foreheads marked with blood from
the thumb or toe of a Bhil. The Rajputs declare this a mark of Bhil
allegiance, but it is more probably a relic of days when the Bhils were
a power in India. The Bhils eagerly keep the practice alive, and the
right of giving the blood is hereditary in certain families. The popular
legend of the Bhil origin assigns them a semi-divine birth, Mahadeva
(Siva) having wedded an earth maiden who bore him children, the ugliest
of whom killed his father's bull and was banished to the mountains. The
Bhils of to-day claim to be his descendants. Under the Moguls the Bhils
were submissive, but they rebelled against the Mahrattas, who, being
unable to subdue them, treated them with the utmost cruelty. The race
became outlaws, and they have lived their present wild life ever since.
Their nomad habits and skill with their bows helped them to maintain
successfully the fight with their oppressors. An unsuccessful attempt
was made in 1818 by the British to conquer them. Milder measures were
then tried, and the Bhil Agency was formed in 1825. The Bhil corps was
then organized with a view to utilizing the excellent fighting
qualities of the tribesmen. This corps has done good service in
gradually reducing their more lawless countrymen to habits of order, and
many Bhils are now settled in regular industries.
The pure Bhil is to-day much what he has always been, a savage forest
dweller. The Bhils are a stunted race, but well built, active and
strong, of a black colour, with high cheek-bones, wide nostrils, broad
noses and coarse features. Like all Dravidians the hair is long and
wavy. The lowland Bhils are not now easily distinguished from the
low-caste Hindus. Surgeon-major T.H. Hendley writes:--"The Bhil is an
excellent woodman, knows the shortest cuts over the hills; can walk the
roughest paths and climb the steepest crags without slipping or feeling
distressed. Though robbers, and timorous owing to ages of ill-treatment,
the men are brave when trusted, and very faithful. History proves them
always to have been faithful to their nominal Rajput sovereigns,
especially in their adversity. The Bhil is a merry soul, loving a jest."
The hill Bhils wear nothing but a loin-cloth, their women a coarse robe;
lowland Bhils wear turban, coat and waist-cloth. The Bhils have oaths
none of them will break. The most sacred is that sworn by a dog, the
Bhil praying that the curse of a dog may fall on him if he breaks his
word. Their chief divinity is Hanuman, the monkey-god. Offerings are
made to the much-feared goddess of small-pox. Stone worship is found
among them, and some lowland Bhils are Moslems, while many have adopted
Hinduism.
The Bhils of pure blood number upwards of a million, and there are some
200,000 Bhils of mixed descent.
See Gustav Oppert, _The Original Inhabitants of India_ (1893); T.H.
Hendley, "Account of Marwar Bhils," in _Bengal Asiatic Journal_, vol.
44; W.I. Sinclair in _Indian Antiquary_, vol. iv. pp. 336-338; Col. W.
Kincaid, "On the Bheel Tribes of the Vindhyan Range," _Jour. Anthrop.
Institute_, vol. ix.
BHIMA (Sanskrit, "The Terrible"), in Hindu mythology, a hero, one of the
Pandava princes who figure in the _Mahabharata_. He was distinguished by
his huge body, strength and voracity.
BHIWANI, a town of British India, in the Hissar district of the Punjab,
38 m. S.E. of Hissar town by rail. Pop. (1901) 35,917. It is an
important centre of trade with Rajputana, and has factories for ginning
and pressing cotton, and metal manufactures. Its rise dates from 1817,
when it was made a free market.
BHOPAL, a native state of India, in the central India agency. Its area
is 6902 sq. m., and its population in 1901 was 665,961, showing a
decrease of 30% in the decade. This seems to be in part due to a
difference in numeration, but the state suffered heavily from famine in
1896-1897 and 1899-1900. Bhopal is the principal Mussulman state in
central India, ranking next to Hyderabad among the Mahommedan states of
India. The surface of the country is uneven, being traversed by the
Vindhya ranges, a peak of which near Raysen is upwards of 2500 ft. above
sea-level. The general inclination of the country is towards the north,
in which direction most of the streams of the state flow, while others,
passing through the Vindhya ranges, flow to the Nerbudda.
Bhopal state was founded in 1723 by Dost Mahommed Khan, an Afghan
adventurer. In 1778, when General Thomas Goddard made his bold march
across India, the state of Bhopal was the only Indian power that showed
itself friendly; and in 1809 when another British expedition under
General Close appeared in the same parts, the nawab of Bhopal petitioned
earnestly but in vain to be received under British protection. But in
1817, at the outbreak of the Pindari War, a treaty of dependence was
concluded between the chief and the British government. Since then
Bhopal has been steadily loyal to the British government, and during the
Mutiny it rendered good services. The throne has descended in the female
line since 1844, when Sikandar Begum became ruler. Succeeding begums
have taken a great interest in the work of governing the state, which
they carried on with marked success. The sultan Jahan Begum, succeeded
on the death of her mother, Shah Jahan Begum, in June 1901, being the
only female ruler in India.
The estimated revenue of the state is L250,000, and the state pays a
subsidy of L13,000 for the Bhopal battalion. Besides the Bhopal
battalion, a regiment of imperial service cavalry is maintained, under
the name of the Victoria Lancers. There is a branch railway from Itarsi
to Bhopal city, continued to Jhansi. The British currency has been
introduced, and in 1897-1898, Rs. 71,00,000 of Bhopali coins were
converted. The residence of the political agent and the headquarters of
the Bhopal battalion are at Sehore, 20 m. west of Bhopal city. The city
of Bhopal, a railway station, had a population in 1901 of 76,561. The
palace, with its rock fortress, is called Fatehgarh. An excellent
water-supply has been provided from two large artificial lakes. There
are two hospitals. There is an export trade in opium.
BHOPAL AGENCY, an administrative section of central India, takes its
name from the state of Bhopal, which is included in it. The Bhopal
agency is administered by the agent to the governor-general in central
India. Its area is 11,653 sq. m., and its population in 1901 was
1,157,697. It was created in 1818. In 1900 this district suffered
severely from famine owing to the complete failure of the monsoon, and
the cultivated area decreased by 50 or 60%; but, on the whole, trade has
improved of late years owing to the new railways, which have stimulated
commerce and created fresh centres of industry.
BHOPAWAR, an agency in central India. It consists of the Dhar and
Barwani states, three minor states, Ali Rajpur, Jhabua and Jobat, and a
number of districts and estates. Its total area is 7684 sq. m., and its
population on this area in 1901 was 547,546. But in 1901 and 1904
certain districts were transferred from this agency to the Indore
residency, created in 1899, and the area of Bhopawar was thus reduced by
3283 sq. m. The chief towns are Dhar (pop. 17,792), Barwani (6277) and
Kukshi (5402).
BHOR, a native state of India, in the Poona political agency, Bombay,
forming one of the Satara Jagirs; situated among the higher peaks of the
Western Ghats. Its area covers 925 sq. m. The population in 1901 was
137,268, showing a decrease of 12% in the decade; the estimated gross
revenue is L21,437; the tribute, L310. The chief, whose title is _pant
sachiv_, is a Brahman by caste. The town of BHOR is 25 m. south of
Poona. In 1901 the population was 4178. The Bhor Ghat, on the northern
border of the state, has always been the main pass over the Western
Ghats, or means of communication between the sea-coast and the Deccan.
Since 1861 it has been traversed by the main line of the Great Indian
Peninsula railway.
BHUJ, a town of India, the capital of the native state of Kach, in the
Gujarat division of Bombay, situated at the base of a fortified hill.
Pop. (1901) 26,362. It contains some interesting examples of
architecture of the middle of the 16th century and later; it was a place
sacred to the snake-god Bhujanga.
BHUTAN, an independent kingdom in the Eastern Himalayas, lying between
the Brahmaputra and the southern face of the mountains. It is under
various commercial and other arrangements with the government of India,
from whom it receives an annual subsidy of L3333. It is bounded on the
N. by Tibet; on the E. by a tract inhabited by various uncivilized
independent mountain tribes; on the S. by the British province of Assam,
and the district of Jalpaiguri; and on the W. by the independent native
state of Sikkim. The whole of Bhutan presents a succession of lofty and
rugged mountains abounding in picturesque and sublime scenery. This
alpine region sends out numerous rivers in a southerly direction, which,
forcing their passage through narrow defiles, and precipitated in
cataracts over the precipices, eventually pour themselves into the
Brahmaputra. Of the rivers traversing Bhutan, the most considerable is
the Manas, flowing in its progress to the Brahmaputra under the walls of
Tasgaon, below which it is unfordable. At the foot of Tasgaon Hill it is
crossed by a suspension bridge. The other principal rivers are the
Machu, Tchinchu, Torsha, Manchi and Dharla. Information respecting the
country accumulates but slowly. In 1863 Captain Godwin Austen
accompanied Sir Ashley Eden's mission to the court of the Deb raja, and
made a survey of the route to Punakha. There has also been a certain
amount of geographical sketching combined with trigonometrical
observations; and there are the route surveys of native explorers. In
1887-1888 two native Indian explorers "R. N." and "P. A." traversed a
part of Western Bhutan, but were forced to retire owing to the disturbed
state of the districts. They re-entered the country on the east from
Dewangiri. Here they explored the Kuru, or Lhobrak Chu, which proves to
be the largest river in Bhutan. It drains the tract between the Yamdok
Tso and Tigu Lakes, and is fed by the glaciers of the Kulha Kangri and
other great ranges. The Lhobrak was finally identified with the Manas
river, a geographical discovery of some importance. A previously unknown
tribe, the Chingmis, were discovered in Eastern Bhutan, who are socially
on a higher level than the Bhutias, and differ from them chiefly in the
matter of wearing pigtails. Some excellent survey work was done in
Bhutan by a native surveyor during the progress of the Tibetan
Expedition in 1904. The Monla Kachung pass (17,500 ft.), by which "R.
N." crossed into Tibet, is nearly on the meridian of Gualpara, and is
one of the most important passes between Bhutan and Tibet. East of
Bhutan, amongst the semi-independent hill states which sometimes own
allegiance to Tibet and sometimes assert complete freedom from all
authority, the geographical puzzle of the course of the Tsanpo, the
great river of Tibet, has been solved by the researches of Captain
Harman, and the explorations of the native surveyor "K. P." The Tsanpo
has been definitely ascertained to be the same river as the Brahmaputra.
The tracts inhabited by the aboriginal tribes entitled Lo Nakpo, Lo
Karpo and Lo Tawa ("Lo" signifies "barbarous" in Tibetan), are described
as a pleasant country; the lands on either side of the Tsanpo being well
cultivated and planted with mangoes, plantains and oranges.
Nothing is known certainly about the area and population of Bhutan, the
former being estimated at 16,800 sq. m. At the head of the Bhutan
government there are nominally two supreme authorities, the Dharm raja,
the spiritual head, and the Deb raja, the temporal ruler. Recently
official correspondence has been written in the name of the Dharm raja,
but it is not known whether this change really signifies anything. To
aid these rajas in administering the country, there is a council of
permanent ministers, called the Lenehen. Practically, however, there is
no government at all. Subordinate officers and rapacious governors of
forts wield all the power of the state, and tyranny, oppression and
anarchy reign over the whole country. The Dharm raja succeeds as an
incarnation of the deity. On the death of a Dharm raja a year or two
elapses, and the new incarnation then reappears in the shape of a child
who generally happens to be born in the family of a principal officer.
The child establishes his identity by recognizing the cooking utensils,
&c., of the late Dharm raja; he is then trained in a monastery, and on
attaining his majority is recognized as raja, though he exercises no
more real authority in his majority than he did in his infancy. The Deb
raja is in theory elected by the council. In practice he is merely the
nominee of whichever of the two governors of East and West Bhutan
happens for the time to be the more powerful. The people are
industrious, and devote themselves to agriculture, but from the
geological structure of the country, and from the insecurity of
property, regular husbandry is limited to comparatively few spots. The
people are oppressed and poor. "Nothing that a Bhutia possesses is his
own," wrote the British envoy in 1864; "he is at all times liable to
lose it if it attracts the cupidity of any one more powerful than
himself. The lower classes, whether villagers or public servants, are
little better than the slaves of higher officials. In regard to them no
rights of property are observed, and they have at once to surrender
anything that is demanded of them. There never was, I fancy, a country
in which the doctrine of 'might is right' formed more completely the
whole and sole law and custom of the land than it does in Bhutan. No
official receives a salary; he has certain districts made over to him,
and he may get what he can out of them; a certain portion of his gains
he is compelled to send to the durbar, and the more he extorts and the
more he sends to his superior, the longer his tenure of office is likely
to be."
Physically the Bhutias are a fine race, although dirty in their habits
and persons. Their food consists of meat, chiefly pork, turnips, rice,
barley-meal and tea made from the brick-tea of China. Their favourite
drink is _chong_, distilled from rice or barley and millet, and _Marwa_,
beer made from fermented millet. A loose woollen coat reaching to the
knees, and bound round the waist by a thick fold of cotton cloth, forms
the dress of the men; the women's dress is a long cloak with loose
sleeves. The houses of the Bhutias are of three and four storeys; all
the floors are neatly boarded with deal; and on two sides of the house
is a verandah ornamented with carved work generally painted. The Bhutias
are neat joiners, and their doors, windows and panelling are perfect in
their way. No iron-work is used; the doors open on ingenious wooden
hinges. The appearance of the houses is precisely that of Swiss chalets,
picturesque and comfortable--the only drawback being a want of chimneys,
which the Bhutias do not know how to construct. The people nominally
profess the Buddhist religion, but in reality their religious exercises
are confined to the propitiation of evil spirits, and the mechanical
recital of a few sacred sentences. Around the cottages in the mountains
the land is cleared for cultivation, and produces thriving crops of
barley, wheat, buckwheat, millet, mustard, chillies, &c. Turnips of
excellent quality are extensively grown; they are free from fibre and
remarkably sweet. The wheat and barley have a full round grain, and the
climate is well adapted to the production of both European and Asiatic
vegetables. Potatoes have been introduced. The Bhutias lay out their
fields in a series of terraces cut out of the sides of the hills; each
terrace is riveted and supported by stone embankments, sometimes 20 ft.
high. Every field is carefully fenced with pine branches, or protected
by a stone wall. A complete system of irrigation permeates the whole
cultivated part of a village, the water being often brought from a long
distance by stone aqueducts. Bhutias do not care to extend their
cultivation, as an increased revenue is exacted in proportion to the
land cultivated, but devote their whole energies to make the land yield
twice what it is estimated to produce. The forests of Bhutan abound in
many varieties of stately trees. Among them are the beech, ash, birch,
maple, cypress and yew. Firs and pines cover the mountain heights; and
below these, but still at an elevation of eight or nine thousand feet,
is a zone of vegetation, consisting principally of oaks and
rhododendrons. The cinnamon tree is also found. Some of the roots and
branches were examined by Captain Samuel Turner during his journey to
Tibet; but the plant being neither in blossom nor bearing fruit, it was
impossible to decide whether it was the true cinnamon or an inferior
kind of cassia. The leaf, however, corresponded with the description
given of the true cinnamon by Linnaeus. The lower ranges of the hills
abound in animal life. Elephants are so numerous as to be dangerous to
travellers; but tigers are not common, except near the river Tista, and
in the dense reed jungle and forests of the Dwars. Leopards abound in
the Hah valley; deer everywhere, some of them of a very large species.
The musk deer is found in the snows, and the barking deer on every hill
side. Wild hogs are met with even at great elevations. Large squirrels
are common. Bears and rhinoceros are also found. Pheasants, jungle
fowls, pigeons and other small game abound. The Bhutias are no
sportsmen. They have a superstitious objection to firing a gun, thinking
that it offends the deities of the woods and valleys, and brings down
rain. A species of horse, which seems indigenous to Bhutan, and is used
as a domestic animal, is called _tangan_, from Tangastan, the general
appellation of that assemblage of mountains which constitutes the
territory of Bhutan. It is peculiar to this tract, not being found in
any of the neighbouring countries of Assam, Nepal, Tibet or Bengal, and
unites in an eminent degree the two qualities of strength and beauty.
The _tangan_ horse usually stands about thirteen hands high, is
short-bodied, clean-limbed, deep in the chest and extremely active, his
colour usually inclining to piebald. In so barren and rude a country the
manufacturing industry of its people is, as might be expected, in a low
stage, the few articles produced being all destined for home
consumption. These consist of coarse blankets and cotton cloths made by
the villagers inhabiting the southern tract. Leather, from the hide of
the buffalo, imperfectly tanned, furnishes the soles of snow boots.
Circular bowls are neatly turned from various woods. A small quantity of
paper is made from a plant described as the _Daphne papyrifera_. Swords,
iron spears and arrow-heads, and a few copper caldrons, fabricated from
the metal obtained in the country, complete the list of manufactures.
Trade connections are rather with Tibet than with India. In 1901-1902
the value of the import and export trade with British India amounted
only to L57,000. The military resources of the country are on an
insignificant scale. Beyond the guards for the defence of the various
castles, there is nothing like a standing army. The total military force
was estimated by the British envoy in 1864 at 6000. The climate of
Bhutan varies according to the difference of elevation. At the time when
the inhabitants of Punakha (the winter residence of the rajas) are
afraid of exposing themselves to the blazing sun, those of Ghasa
experience all the rigour of winter, and are chilled by perpetual snows.
Yet these places are within sight of each other. The rains descend in
floods upon the heights; but in the vicinity of Tasisudon, the capital,
they are moderate; there are frequent showers, but nothing that can be
compared to the tropical rains of Bengal. Owing to the great elevation
and steepness of the mountains, dreadful storms arise among the hollows,
often attended with fatal results.
_History._--Bhutan formerly belonged to a tribe called by the Bhutias
Tephu, generally believed to have been the people of Kuch Behar. About
A.D. 1670 some Tibetan soldiers subjugated the Tephus, took possession
of the country and settled down in it. The relations of the British with
Bhutan commenced in 1772, when the Bhutias invaded the principality of
Kuch Behar, a dependency of Bengal. The Kuch Behar Raja applied for aid,
and a force under Captain James was despatched to his assistance; the
invaders were expelled and pursued into their own territories. Upon the
intercession of Teshu Lama, then regent of Tibet, a treaty of peace was
concluded in 1774 between the East India Company and the ruler of
Bhutan. In 1783 Captain S. Turner was deputed to Bhutan, with a view of
promoting commercial intercourse, but his mission proved unsuccessful.
From this period little intercourse took place with Bhutan, until the
occupation of Assam by the British in 1826. It was then discovered that
the Bhutias had usurped several tracts of low land lying at the foot of
the mountains, called the Dwars or passes, and for these they agreed to
pay a small tribute. They failed to pay, however, and availed themselves
of the command of the passes to commit depredations within the British
territory. Captain R.B. Pemberton was accordingly deputed to Bhutan to
adjust the points of difference. But his negotiations yielded no
definite result; and every other means of obtaining redress and security
proving unsuccessful, the Assam Dwars were wrested from the Bhutias, and
the British government consented to pay to Bhutan a sum of L1000 per
annum as compensation for the resumption of their tenure, during the
good behaviour of the Bhutias. Continued outrages and aggressions were,
however, committed by the Bhutias on British subjects in the Dwars.
Nothwithstanding repeated remonstrances and threats, scarcely a year
passed without the occurrence of several raids in British territory
headed by Bhutia officials, in which they plundered the inhabitants,
massacred them, or carried them away as slaves. In 1863 Sir Ashley Eden
was sent as an envoy to Bhutan to demand reparation for these outrages.
He did not succeed in his mission; he was subjected to the grossest
insults; and under compulsion signed a treaty giving over the disputed
territory to Bhutan, and making other concessions which the Bhutan
government demanded. On Sir A. Eden's return the viceroy at once
disavowed his treaty, sternly stopped the former allowance for the Assam
Dwars, and demanded the immediate restoration of all British subjects
kidnapped during the last five years. The Bhutias not complying with
this demand, the governor-general issued a proclamation, dated the 12th
of November 1864, by which the eleven Western or Bengal Dwars were
forthwith incorporated with the queen's Indian dominions. No resistance
was at first offered to the annexation; but, suddenly, in January 1865,
the Bhutias surprised the English garrison at Dewangiri, and the post
was abandoned with the loss of two mountain guns. This disaster was soon
retrieved by General Sir Henry Tombs, and the Bhutias were compelled to
sue for peace, which was concluded on the 11th of November 1865. The
Bhutan government formally ceded all the eighteen Dwars of Bengal and
Assam, with the rest of the territory taken from them, and agreed to
liberate all kidnapped British subjects. As the revenues of Bhutan
mainly depended on these Dwars, the British government, in return for
these concessions, undertook to pay the Deb and Dharm rajas annually,
subject to the condition of their continued good behaviour, an allowance
beginning at L2500 and rising gradually to the present figure. Since
that time the annexed territories have settled down into peaceful and
prosperous British districts. The recent relations between the Indian
government and Bhutan have been satisfactory; and during the troubles
with Tibet in 1904 the attitude of the Bhutias was perfectly correct and
friendly.
See _Report on Explorations in Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet_ (Deva Dun,
1889); Tanner, "Our present Knowledge of the Himalayas," _R.G.S.
Proceedings_, vol. xiii. (T. H. H.*)
BIANCHINI, FRANCESCO (1662-1729), Italian astronomer and antiquary, was
born of a noble family at Verona on the 13th of December 1662. In 1684
he went to Rome, and became librarian to Cardinal Ottoboni, who, as Pope
Alexander VIII. (1689), raised him to the offices of papal chamberlain
and canon of Santa Maria Maggiore. Clement XI. sent him on a mission to
Paris in 1712, and employed him to form a museum of Christian
antiquities. He died at Rome on the 2nd of March 1729. A paper by him on
G.D. Cassini's new method of parallaxes was inserted in the _Acta
Eruditorum_ of Leipzig in 1685. He published separately:--_Istoria
Universale_ (Roma, 1697), only one volume of which appeared; _De
Calendario et Cyclo Caesaris_ (1703); _Hesperi et Phosphori nova
Phaenomena_ (1729), in which he asserted Venus to rotate in 24-1/3 days;
and (posthumously) _Astronomicae et Geographicae Observaliones Selectae_
(1737) and _Opuscula Varia_ (1754).
See Fontenelle's "Eloge" (_Memoires de l'Acad. de l'Histoire_, p. 102,
Paris, 1729); Mazzoleni, _Vita di Francesco Bianchini_ (Verona, 1735);
Tipaldo, _Biografia degli Italiani Illustri_, vii. 288 (Venezia,
1840); Mazzuchelli, _Scrittori d' Italia_; Maffei, _Verona
Illustrata_, p. 254, &c.
BIARRITZ, a watering-place of south-western France, in the department of
Basses-Pyrenees, on the sea-coast about 5 m. W.S.W. of Bayonne. Pop.
(1906) 13,629. From a mere fishing village, with a few hundred
inhabitants in the beginning of the 19th century, Biarritz rose rapidly
into a place of importance under the patronage of the emperor Napoleon
III. and the empress Eugenie, with whom it was a favourite resort. The
town is situated on a promontory jutting north-west into the Bay of
Biscay and on the coast which extends on each side of it. The beach to
the north-east is known as the Grande Plage, that to the south-west as
the Cote des Basques. The Grande Plage is more than half a mile long and
stretches to the Cap St Martin, on which stands a lighthouse. It is
divided into two parts by a small headland once the site of the villa of
the empress Eugenie, between which and the main promontory are the two
casinos, the principal baths and many luxurious villas and fine hotels.
Towards the north-east the promontory of Biarritz ends in a projection
known as the Atalaye, crowned by the ruins of a castle and surrounded by
rocky islets. Some of these are united to the mainland and to each other
by jetties which curve round so as to form the Port de Refuge, a haven
available only in fair weather. South-west of the Atalaye lies the
Port-Vieux, a sheltered cove now used only as a bathing-place. The Port
des Pecheurs, the principal of the three harbours, is on the south-east
side of the Atalaye and is that most used by the fishermen of the town.
Apart from unimportant manufactures of pottery, chocolate, &c., fishing
is the only industry; Biarritz depends for its prosperity on the
visitors who are attracted by its mild climate and the bathing. The
season is almost continuous; in the winter the English, in the summer
Russians, Spaniards and French fill the hotels of the town. Among its
attractions is a golf club, established in 1888, with a course of 18
holes.
BIAS of Priene in Ionia, one of the so-called Seven Sages of Greece, son
of Teutamus, flourished about 570 B.C. He was famous for his patriotism,
the nobility of his character and his eloquence. A number of gnomes or
aphorisms are attributed to him, which may be found collected in F.W.A.
Mullach, _Fragmenta Philosophorum Graecorum_ (1860). He is said to have
written a poem on the best means of making Ionia prosperous. His advice
to its inhabitants, at the time of the Persian invasion, to migrate to
Sardinia and there found a single pan-Ionic city (Herodotus i. 170), has
generally been regarded as historical. One much-quoted saying of his may
be mentioned. When his native town was besieged by the enemy, the
inhabitants resolved to escape with their most valuable belongings. One
of them seeing Bias without anything, advised him to follow the example
of the rest. "I am doing so," said lie, "for I carry all my belongings
with me" (_omnia mea mecum porto_). He was honoured with a splendid
funeral, and a sanctuary called Teutamium was dedicated to him.
See Bohren, _De Septem Sapientibus_ (1860).
BIAS (from the Fr. _biais_, of unknown origin; the derivation from Lat.
_bifax_, two-faced, is wrong), something oblique or slanting. The term
is used especially of a piece of cloth cut obliquely across the texture,
or of a seam of two such pieces brought together; and in the game of
bowls (q.v.) it is applied alike to the one-sided construction of the
bowl, flattened on one side and protruding on the other, and to the
slanting line the bowl takes when thrown. The figurative sense of the
word, prejudice or undue leaning to one side of a subject, is derived
from this bowling term.
BIBACULUS, MARCUS FURIUS, Roman poet, flourished during the last century
of the republic. According to Jerome, he was born at Cremona in 103
B.C., and probably lived to a great age. He wrote satirical poems after
the manner of Catullus, whose bitterness he rivalled, according to
Quintilian (_Instit._ x. i. 196), in his iambics. He even attacked
Augustus (and perhaps Caesar), who treated the matter with indifference.
He was also author of prose _Lucubrationes_ and perhaps of an epic poem
on Caesar's Gallic wars (_Pragmatia Belli Gallici_). Otto Ribbeck
attributes to him one of the shorter poems usually assigned to Virgil.
It is doubtful whether he is the person ridiculed by Horace (_Satires_,
ii 5. 40) and whether he is identical with the _turgidus Alpinus_
(_Satires_, i. 10. 36), the author of an Aethiopis dealing with the life
and death of Memnon and of a poem on the Rhine. Some critics, on the
ground that Horace would not have ventured to attack so dangerous an
adversary, assume the existence of a poet whose real name was Furius (or
Cornelius) Alpinus. Bibaculus was ridiculed for his high-flown and
exaggerated style and manner of expression.
See Weichert, "De M. Furio Bibaculo," in his _Poetarum Latinorum
Reliquiae_ (1830); fragments in L. Muller's edition of _Catullus_ in
the Teubner Series (1870).
BIBER, HEINRICH JOHANN FRANZ VON (1644-1704), German violinist and
composer, was for some time musical conductor at Salzburg, and was
ennobled by the emperor Leopold in 1681. He is regarded as the earliest
important German composer for the violin, his works including sonatas
and church music.
BIBERACH, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Wurttemberg, on the Riss,
a small affluent of the Danube, 22 m. S.S.W. from Ulm. Pop. (1900) 8390.
It is still surrounded by medieval walls and towers, and is strikingly
picturesque. Its principal church dates from the 12th century, and it
possesses a hospital with rich endowments. Its main industries are
cloth, bell-casting, toys and zinc wares, and its fruit markets are
famous.
Biberach appears as a village in the 8th century, and in 1312 it became
a free imperial city. During the Thirty Years' War it underwent various
vicissitudes, and was for a while held by the Swedes. In 1707 it was
captured and put to ransom by the French, who afterwards, in 1796 and
1800, defeated the Austrians in the neighbourhood. In 1803 the city was
deprived of its imperial freedom and assigned to Baden, and in 1806 was
transferred to Wurttemberg. Biberach is the birthplace of the sculptor
Johann Lorenz Natter (1705-1763) and the painter Bernhard Neher
(1806-1886); Christoph Martin Wieland, born in 1733 at the neighbouring
village of Oberholzheim, spent several years in the town.
BIBIRINE, or BEBEERINE, C19H21NO3, an alkaloid obtained from the bark
and fruit of the greenheart (q.v.) tree, _Nectandra rodiaei_, called
_bibiru_ or _sipiri_ in Guiana, where the tree grows. The substance was
discovered about the year 1835 by Hugh Rodie, a surgeon in Demerara, who
used it as a febrifuge in substitution for quinine.