BONAI
BADfiMGARH (3,525 feet), and KUMRITAR (3,490 feet). Hog, bear,
tiger, leopard, elephant, deer, and peafowl are met with in the forests.
The Brahman!, the only large river, flows from north to south through
the centre of the State. It receives the drainage of the surrounding hill
streams, and waters a beautiful and spacious valley containing large
groves of mango and other fruit trees.
Bonai was ceded to the British Government in r803 under the Treaty
of Deogaon by Raghuji Bhonsla of Nâgpur, to whom it was restored by
a special engagement in 1806. It reverted to the British Government
under the provisional agreement concluded with Madhuji Bhonsla
(Appa Sahib) in 1818, and was finally ceded by the treaty of 1826.
The State is ordinarily administered, subject to certain restrictions,
by the Raja, who is required to pay a tribute and to render military
service in time of war. Indra Deo, the grandfather of the present
chief, received the title of Bahadur for his services in suppressing the
Keonjhar rising. During the minority of the present chief the State is
under the direct management of Government. The total revenue is
Rs. 1,30,ooo, and the tribute is Rs. 500 per annum. The ruling family
claims to have come from Ceylon, but appears to be of aboriginal
Bhuiya origin. In 1905 the State was transferred from Chota Nâgpur
to Orissa. The relations of the chief with the British Government are
regulated by a sanad granted in 1899, and reissued in 1905 with a few
verbal changes due to the transfer of the State to Orissa. Under this
sanad the chief was formally recognized and permitted to administer his
territory subject to prescribed conditions, and the tribute was fixed for
a further period of twenty years, at the end of which it is liable to revi-
sion. The chief is under the general control of the Commissioner of
Orissa, who is Superintendent of the Tributary Mahals, as.regards all
important matters of administration, including the settlement and collec-
tion of land revenue, the imposition of taxes, the administration of
justice, arrangements connected with excise, salt, and opium, and dis-
putes in which other States are concerned; and he cannot levy import
and export duties or transit dues, unless they are specially authorized
by the Lieutenant-Governor. He is permitted to levy rents and certain
other customary dues from his subjects, and is empowered to pass
sentences of imprisonment up to five years and of fine to the extent of
RS. 200; but sentences of imprisonment for more than two years and of
fine exceeding Rs. 5o require the confirmation of the Commissioner.
The recorded population increased from 32,120 in 1891 to 38,277
in 1901, the growth being due partly to a more accurate enumeration
and partly to the country having been rendered more accessible by
the Bengal-Nâgpur Railway. The inhabitants reside in 217 villages, the
most populous of which are situated in the central valley along the
banks of the Brahman!; for the whole State the density is 3o persons
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