2-888-706 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

His Excellency Jung Bahadoor riding up a Granary at Patna, 1850. '...an extraordinary feat performed by his Excellency during his stay at Patna [in India]. The exploit consisted in riding to the summit of a large masonry granary on the back of a hill pony, which animals are famous for their sure-footedness; and a more trying experiment, both to the rider's nerves and to the pony's paces can scarcely be conceived; the height of the dome is about 200 feet, with two most peculiarly awkward and dangerous staircases leading to the summit. This granary was the first of an intended series proposed to be built at all the principal towns in the province of Behar, in order to avert famine and want during the years of excessive drought; the occasion of its being built was the dreadful famine of a.d. 1770, when nearly one-third of the population of Behar was swept away...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.