LASWARI

laswari, one of the decisive battles of india. it was fought on the 1st of november 1803 between the british under general lake, and the mahratta troops of sindia, consisting of the remnant of perron's battalions. laswari is a village in the state of alwar some 80 m. s. of delhi, and here lake overtook the enemy and attacked them with his cavalry before the infantry arrived. the result was indecisive, but when the infantry came up there ensued one of the most evenly contested battles ever fought between the british and the natives of india, which ended in a complete victory for the british. latacunga (llactacunga, or, in local parlance, tacunga), a plateau town of ecuador, capital of the province of leon, 46 m. s. of quito, near the confluence of the alagues and cutuchi to form the patate, the headstream of the pastaza. pop. (1900, estimate) 12,000, largely indian. latacunga stands on the old road between guayaquil and quito and has a station on the railway between those cities. it is 9141 ft. above sea-level; and its climate is cold and unpleasant, owing to the winds from the neighbouring snowclad heights, and the barren, pumice-covered table-land on which it stands. cotopaxi is only 25 m. distant, and the town has suffered repeatedly from eruptions. founded in 1534, it was four times destroyed by earthquakes between 1698 and 1798. the neighbouring ruins of an older native town are said to date from the incas.