1 HISTOKV OF the siK Iia * 39
2 carry destruction wherever an opportunity offers,
3 and sometimes cross the Gharra on plundering ex¬
4 peditions.
5 The tJkalee is always known by his blue tur¬
6 ban, and the circles of chUkburi of steel, re¬
7 sembling;. quoits, which he wears over it. These
8 are weapons of warfare, thrown with great pre¬
9 cision and often deadly effect by the Ukalee,
10 No weapons but fire-arms have any chance against
11 such missiles.
12 Not tar from Umritsir is the city of Taruntara. •ranmtaw.
13 It is chiefly inhabited by the Ukalees, and forms a
14 place of some interest in the history of the Gooroos
15 (spiritual teachers).
16 There are many objects of interest in the neigh- ciovindgurh.
17 bourhood of Umritsi r. Near the city, on the road
18 to Lahore, is the fort of Govindgurh, so named
19 after the tenth and last Gooroo, Govind Singh. It
20 is, or was, the depository of the public treasure.
21 The place is strongly built, but the situation is not
22 a commanding one, and could not long stand a
23 siege with guns of a large calibre.
24 Umritsir is a fortified city, but of no great
25 strength. Unlike the fort of Bhurtpore in British
26 India, it is constructed of brick, and whole masses
27 of the wall would tumble down before a battering
28 tram ; while the ditch is insignificant, and filled
29 with water from the Motee Jheel. Several houses
30 are built on the bastions at Umritsir, and on one
31 of them stands the house formerly occupied by
32 Gobjur Singh, a chieftain who went as ambassador
33 c 2