GURWAL, a province of Northern Hindustan, situated at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, principally between the thirtieth and thirty-first degrees of north latitude. The great Himalaya range separates it from Thibet on the north; on the south it has the plain of the Ganges; to the east the Dauli, Alacananda, and Ramgunga rivers; andtothe west the Jumna. It comprehends an area of9000 square miles. This country formerly included the province of Kemaon; and in 1814 the Ghoorkhas had possession of the whole tract which extended northward to the dependencies of China. Since the country was conquered by the British, it has been divided into two distinct portions, the British government having retained possession of the Dcyrah Doone, the passes of the Ganges and Jumna, at either extremity of that valley, as also all the country to the eastward of the Alacananda and Bhagirathi, which last tract has been annexed to Kemaon, and the remainder restored to the expatriated rajah. The present boundaries, therefore, of his territories are the Alacananda, from Rudraprayag until its conjunction with the Bhagirathi, and thence to the plains by the united streams of the Ganges, and above Rudraprayag, where the Alacananda receives the Mandakini by the latter river. The territory to the east of that line has been permanently annexed to Kemaon. This country being the commencement of the Himalaya Mountains, presents to the southward, towards Lolldong, an assemblage of hills jumbled together in many forms and directions; sometimes in chains lying parallel to each other, but of no great extent, and often connected at their termination by narrow ridges running across the valleys at right angles. The summits of all are usually narrow, and of various shapes, and the distance between each other short; and so confined are the valleys, that it is scarcely possible within their narrow limits to accommodate a corps of 1000 men. These ranges are occasionally covered with trees; others are naked and stony, affording shelter for neither birds nor beasts. On the eastern borders of this province, amongst the lower ranges of the mountains, are extensive forests of oak, holly, horse-chestnut, and fir; and beds of strawberries are also seen (denoting the temperate nature of the climate), which equal in flavour those of Europe. From Lolldong to the Ganges the country forms, with very little interruption, a continued chain of woody [7:11:88]hills, which extend eastward to an indefinite extent. The elephant abounds in these forests, but is greatly inferior in size and strength to the Chittagong elephant, on which account it is seldom domesticated. On the eastern borders there are hill pheasants among the mountains, which seldom, however, venture into the valleys, unless compelled by heavy falls of snow. A small portion of the country is only cultivated, a great proportion being left in the undisturbed possession of the wild animals. Gurwal is tolerably well watered by the head streams of the Ganges. The Bhagirathi and Alacananda, whose junction forms this great river, are the largest streams in the country. The Bilhang, which falls into the Bhagirathi, the Mandakini, the Finden, the Mandaioki, the Birke, and + the Dauli, all of which join the Alacananda, maybe considered as streams of the second order. Most of these streams have their sources in the Himalaya Mountains; the Dauli penetrates these mountains, and is the remotest source of the Ganges. None of them are fordable; and they are crossed by rope and platform bridges, at the most convenient points of communication, the rocks and stones which encumber their channel preventing the use of boats. The roads are merely foot-paths, carried along the slope of a mountain in the direction of the principal streams and watercourses. Those leading to Bhadrinath are annually repaired for the accommodation of pilgrims, who congregate in great numbers at this sacred resort; but they are almost impracticable for cattle. This province abounds with celebrated places of worship, which have been held sacred for many ages, although the conversion of the inhabitants to the Brahminical faith is not of any very ancient date. Four of the five places noted for the holy junctions of rivers, and celebrated for their sanctity, are within the limits of this province.

Gurwal was a dependent province on some of the neighbouring and more powerful hill states until the reign of Mohiput Shah, who declared himself independent, and built Serinagur, where he resided. His son was his successor, and he was succeeded by his uncle’s son, who considerably extended the Gurwal territories to the north, penetrating into Thibet, and exacting a tribute from the rajah of Deba, which continues to the present day. Gurwal was subdued by the Nepaulese about the year 1803. The rajah sold the family throne for 150,000 rupees, and retired into the British territories, where, having raised some troops, he returned and fought a battle with the invaders of his territories, in which he was defeated and slain. After the country was conquered by the British in 1814, part of his dominions, with a revenue of 40,000 rupees, was restored to the rajah. But Serinagur, the chief town, is within the territory reserved by the British. The rajah has consequently fixed his residence at Bara-haut, where the details of his civil government are conducted by his own officers, and he is under the protection of the British government. The district over which he rules was estimated by the Nepaulese, when they were in possession of the country, to contain 25,720 inhabitants; a very scanty population for so extensive, and in many places so fertile, a tract of country. (See Buchanan’s Travels, Hamilton’s Descriptioìi of Hindustan, &c.)