sm. The capital of Bashahr, Rampur,
on the left bank of the Sutlej is at an elevation of 3300 feet. The
Gurkhas never succeeded in conquering Kunawar. They occupied Bashahr,
but in 1815 the British Government restored the authority of the Raja.
The present chief, Shamsher Singh, is an old man, who succeeded as long
ago as 1850. He is incapable of managing the State and an English
officer is at present in charge.

[Illustration: Fig. 125. Bashahr.]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 15: J.=Jain.]

CHAPTER XXVII

THE NORTH WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE

1. _Districts_

~The Province.~--The N. W. F. Province consists of five British
districts, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat, Peshawar, and Hazara with a
total area of 13,193 square miles, of which rather less than one-third
is cultivated. Of the cultivated area 70 p.c. depends solely on the
rainfall. In addition the Chief Commissioner as Agent to the Governor
General controls beyond the administrative boundary territory occupied
by independent tribes, which covers approximately an area of 25,500
square miles. In 1911 the population of British districts was 2,196,933
and that of tribal territory is estimated to exceed 1,600,000. In the
districts 93 persons in every hundred profess the creed of Islam and
over 38 p.c. are Pathans.

[Sidenote: Area, 3780 sq. m.
Cultd area,
851 sq. m.
Pop. 256,120.
Land Rev.
Rs. 306,240
= L20,416.]

~Dera Ismail Khan~ lies to the north of Dera Ghazi Khan and is very
similar to it in its physical features. It is divided into the three
_tahsils_ of Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, and Kulachi. It has a long river
frontage on the west, and is bounded on the east by the Suliman Range.
The Kachchhi of Dera Ismail Khan corresponds to the Sindh of Dera Ghazi
Khan, but is much narrower and is not served by inundation canals,
except in the extreme north, where the Paharpur Canal has recently been
dug. It depends on floods and wells. The Daman or "Skirt" of the hills
is like the Pachadh of Dera Ghazi Khan a broad expanse of strong clayey
loam or _pat_ seamed by torrents and cultivated by means of dams and
embanked fields. The climate is intensely hot in summer, and the average
rainfall only amounts to ten inches. Between one-fourth and one-fifth of
the area is cultivated. The Pachadh is a camel-breeding tract.

[Illustration: Fig. 126. Sir Harold Deane.]

[Illustration: Fig. 127. NORTH-WEST FRONTIER-PROVINCE]

[Illustration: Fig. 128. Map of Dera Ismail K