On the other hand, when Baber visited Tali in 1877, only four years after the fall of the city, he was told by the captain of his escort, who claimed to have been a participator in the events, that "he did not think there could have been more than 500 corpses, or the water would have stunk more."[1] Thus ended the rebellion which had scourged the province for a period of seventeen years, dislocated its industries and commerce, and reduced its population from 16,000,000 to 6,000,000.
The town, like the whole country, still bears traces of these days of strife. The south gateway is imposing, and the main street which runs from it the whole length of the town to the north gate is one continuous jostle—pigs, poultry, clogs, and people vieing with one another to block the way; but for the rest, large spaces within the city walls are unbuilt on, and wear a depressing and poverty-stricken aspect. My arrival coincided with that of the New Year, and not only was I constrained to halt for three days in order that my coolies
- ↑ Notes on the route of Mr Grosvenor's Mission.
