estate of Pyagpoor, the same atrocities were
committed. Rajah Rughbur Sing seized upon this estate as soon as he
entered upon his charge in 1846, and put it under the management of
his own agents; and, after extorting from the tenants more than was
justly due, according to engagement, he attacked the Rajah's house by
surprise, and plundered it of property to the value of fifteen
thousand rupees. The Rajah, however, contrived to make his escape
with his family. He had nothing with him to subsist upon, and in 1847
he was invited back on solemn pledges of personal security; and, from
great distress, was induced again to undertake the management of his
own estate, at an exorbitant rate of assessment.

In spite of this engagement, Goureeshunker, when the tenants had
become lulled into security by the hope of remaining under their own
chief, suddenly, with his troops, seized upon all he could catch,
plundered their houses, and tortured them till they paid all that
they could prevail upon their relatives and friends to lend them.
Eighteen hundred of their plough-bullocks were seized and sold by
him, together with many of their wives and daughters. While under
torture, Seetaram, a respectable Brahmin, of Kandookoeea, put an end
to his existence, to avoid further sufferings and dishonour. Sucheet,
another respectable Brahmin, of Pagaree, did the same by opening a
vein in his thigh. A cloth steeped in oil was bound round the hands
of those who appeared able, but unwilling, to pay ransoms, and set
fire to, so as to burn like a torch. In these tortures, Lala Beharee
Lal, Rughbur Sing's deputy, was the chief agent. "I found," says
Captain Orr, "the estate of Pyagpoor in a desolate condition; village
after village presenting nothing but bare walls--the finest arable
lands lying waste, and no sign of cultivation was anywhere to be
seen. Even the present Nazim, Mahommed Hussan, after conciliating and
inviting in the Rajah on further solemn assurances of personal
security, seized him and all his family, and kept them confined in
prison for several months, till they paid him an exorbitant ransom.
The poorer classes told me, that it was impossible for them to plough
their fields, since all their plough-bullocks had been seized and
sold by the Nazim's agents. Great numbers in this and the adjoining
estates have subsisted entirely upon wild fruits, and some species of
aquatic plants, since they were ruined by these atrocities."

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