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BEYPUR TOWN AND RIVER. '

335

Bey pur {Beypore., Vaypura, Vada Perapafidd named by I'ipu, Sultdnpainam '). Small town and port on the coast of Malabar District,

—

Madras Presidency.

75° 50' 30" e.

ii° lo' n., long.

Lat.

houses,



926; population (r88i) 6739, namely, 5461 Hindus, 1264 Muhammadans, and 14 Christians. Situated near the mouth of the Beypur river,

Although many attempts have been its maritime position, it was r8s8, when Beypur was made a terminus of the Madras Rail-

6 miles south of Calicut.

made

to utilize the natural

not until

advantages of

The Portuguese {see Ferokh)

way, that the place became important. a factory (Kalyan) here, but as the site of the

capital

it

failed.

Tipu

established

selected

of Malabar, but hardly a vestige of

it

its

shortlived importance has survived. In 1797 sawmills, in 1805 a canvas factory, in 1848 ironworks, and still later, shipbuilding works were started at Beypur but all from one cause or another have failed.

In 1858, however, the railway gave the place its present importance. Being now a regular port for steamers, it possesses a custom-house. All the coffee of the Ochterlony valley, with much from the South-East Wainad, comes to Beypur for export. Rice forms the staple of the import trade. The bar admits craft of 300 tons to the river, and at low spring tides gives soundings of r 2 to r 4 feet. Iron ore and a sort of lignite both exist in the immediate vicinity of the town, and wood in great abundance. The teak grown on the Ghats to the east is floated down to Beypur for exportation. A few miles from the town lies the site of Ferokh, and miles east is Chataparamba (‘ Field of Death ’), remarkable for its 5 ancient stone circles and vol.

iii.

monuments

{see

Soc., Bombay, Salem and Coimbatore,

Trans. Lin.

324), resembling the cromlechs of

p.

and called by the natives being neither a

civil

kiida-kallu or

‘

umbrella stones.’

Beypore,

nor military station, has no administrative

offices.

For details of Imports (r88o-8i), ;j^29,o49, exports, ;^388,903. trade returns, see Calicut. Beypur {Beypore, Fauna-puya, ‘Gold River’). River in Malabar

—

Madras Presidency.

District,

vattam Pass.

descends by a

it

its

The

course, owing to the precipitous and densely

banks, the boulder-strewn channel, and numerous waterfalls,

picturesque and

receives

south of the Neddi-

over the Ghats north of the Karkur Pass.

scenery in this part of

wooded

hills

After draining the Ochterlony valley,

series of cataracts

is

Rises in the

many

rvild.

affluents



After reaching the

sive timber bridge spans the joint stream.

Arikkod,

it

joins the Kodiatur.

south-west

It

Then

—

flowing gently past

debouches into the sea

at

Beypur,

mouth by the Kadalvandi, with which it forms Chaliyam, containing the terminus of the Madras Railway,

being joined near the island of

low country the river where a mas-

the chief being the Karim-puya

line.

its

The Beypur

river is navigable for large boats all the

year round as high as Arikkod, and during the rains

much

farther.