RAE BARELÎ DISTRICT
a scrub forest extended for twelve miles on either side of the Sai.
Only a few patches of dhdk (Butea frondosa) now remain. The
numerous groves are chiefly composed of mango or mahud (Bassia
latifolia) and the nim (Melia Azadirachta). Various kinds of fig, the
babiil (Acacia arabica), and jdmun (Eugenia , jambolana) are also
common.
There are a few wolves, but jackals abound. Nilgai and antelope
are scarce. Some cattle still roam wild near the Ganges and Sai.
In the cold season water-fowl and snipe are plentiful; other game
birds include quail and a few partridge and sand-grouse. Fish are
caught in the jhils, and also in the rivers.
The climate is healthy, and the temperature is not marked by
extremes of either heat or cold. Cool nights are experienced well
into the hot season.
The annual rainfall averages a little over 37 inches, the east of the
District receiving the heaviest fall. As a rule the amount is not less
than 24 inches; but in 1877, 188o, and 1896 it was only 13 inches.
On the other hand, in 1867 and 1894 the amount was 6o inches.
The District has never played a large part in history, and it contains
few places of importance. Tradition relates that the Muhammadan
saint, Saiyid Saldr, raided it in the eleventh century;
History. and from similar sources a few details are obtained
regarding the three clans of Ràjputs-the Bais, the Kanhpurias, and
the Amethias-who still hold the greater part of the land. The first
of these occupied a tract in the south and west, which was afterwards
known as Baisward. The earliest historical events of which reliable
accounts have been preserved are, however, connected with the in-
corporation of the District in the Sharki kingdom of Jaunpur, early
in the fifteenth century. At that time the Bhars, who still held part
of the country, were completely crushed. The Ràjputs, however, were
only partially reduced, and warfare was frequent till Akbar estab-
lished a more settled government. Under that monarch Rae Bareli
was divided between the two Subdhs of Oudh and Allahabdd. After
Akbar's death the Ràjputs appear to have increased greatly in im-
portance and power; and when Oudh became a separate state in the
eighteenth century, Nawab Saddat Khan entrusted several of the
chiefs with the collection of revenue in their own parganas. As
disorders increased, attempts to assert independence became more
frequent, and the history of the closing years of Oudh rule is one
of constant fighting between chief and chief or between the Rajas
and the court officials.
At annexation in 1856 a District of Salon was formed, extending
from Purwa in Unao to Allahabad. A year had hardly elapsed when
the Mutiny broke out. The sepoys abstained from rebellion longer
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