They hailed from Surat, and had arrived in Berar on a trade mission with an escort of fifty men, of whom their present attendant, Bhagwan Dass, was the solitary survivor; and this came of believing that a "protection" from the Nizam would carry them anywhere in the Nizam's supposed dominions, whereas the de facto rulers of Berar were certain Mahratta chieftains who collected its taxes and who had politely forwarded the mission into the fastnesses of the mountains.
"Hetty Wesley"
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
186. Mahratta States and Nizam of Deccan, iii.
"A History of the Four Georges, Volume I (of 4)"
Justin McCarthy
138. Nizam-Al-Mulk, Viceroy of Deccan, death of, ii.
"A History of the Four Georges, Volume I (of 4)"
Justin McCarthy