valley, stretching from Napaul to Sirinaghur, are covered with snow all
the year. Their height must be very great; for, on a clear day, they may
be seen from the Golah at Patna, though distant little less than 300
miles. From the north-west part of this Alpine range, the Ganges and
Barampooter derive their sources, as before described, back to back from
the same mountains. To the dissolution of a part of the snow which
cloaths their summits, we may, perhaps, safely attribute a slight
encrease that takes place about the middle of May in those rivers:
fluctuating, more or less, at intervals, until the periodical rains set
in; generally about the middle of June. Some have ascribed their rise to
heavy rains in the countries through which the streams pass; but such
cannot be considered as the true cause, for various reasons. Firstly,
those rains must be extremely heavy if they tended to swell the rivers;
the ground being parched, and requiring great moisture to saturate it.
Secondly, the encrease is not attendant with any turbid appearance; as
would indisputably result from such heavy rains, as, after saturating
the thirsty soil, could raise such large rivers, often a foot, or more.
Thirdly, there are other rivers which derive their sources from the
Kammow Hills, and from the Morungs, not so distant from the Thibet Hills
but that they might be expected to receive their share of the rains, and
to shew some encrease, which they do not; the rise being confined to the
Ganges and Barampooter, whose sources lie among the snow-clad mountains.
Fourthly, the encrease happens at the hottest time of the year, and the
water loses the genial warmth imparted by the solar ray, becomes harder,
and, in the upper country, near Annopshier, about sixty miles below the
Cow’s Mouth, is found, at that particular season, to cause acute bowel
complaints, which is not the case at other seasons. Add to this, that,
among the natives of the countries above Hurdwar, the _goiture_, or wen
in the throat, in some measure prevails: a strong symptom of the
dissolution of snow.
The following may, generally, be considered the soils peculiar to the
several provinces through which the Ganges has its course, after leaving
Hurdwar. The west bank is generally high all the way to Benares, and
consists, with little exception, of lime, concreted into irregular
masses, much like roots of ginger, or Jerusalem artichokes, of various
sizes, some weighing perhaps five or six pounds, others scarcely an
ounce. These are of a ginger, or ash color; though some, being more
mixed with the gravelly part of the soil, are of a yellowish red. This
kind of concretion is known throughout India by the name of _kunkur_,
and, when burnt, yields a very inferior kind of cement, friable, and not
very tenacious in regard to the body whereto it is applied, nor
hardening so as to resist moisture effectually.
All the rivers, therefore, which issue from the western bank, are, more
or less, impregnated with this kind of lime; while, on the opposite
bank, the waters partake of a strong solution of nitre, with which most
of the plains of Oude, Fyzabad, Gazypore, &c., abound. Such is the
abundance, that the Company are induced to prohibit the salt-petre
manufactured in the Nabob Vizier of Oude’s dominions, from being
imported within their own provinces; otherwise, the cheapness of the
former, which is usually sold at Furruckabad for about two shillings and
sixpence per cwt., would destroy the manufactories at Patna, where it
ordinarily sells for double that price.
The country lying between the Ganges and the Goomty, (on the eastern
bank,) from Currah to Benares, is replete with alkali in a fossile
state, known by the name of _sudjy_. This is usually found on the
surface, at the close of the rainy season especially, when it begins to
shew itself very obviously, and is pared off with mattocks; rising in
large cellular strata from one to three inches in thickness, and much
resembling thin free-stone, though far more porous. In this state it is
carried to market, where it is purchased by the manufacturers of soap at
Allahabad, Patna, and other places; it is generally combined with oil,
and, when ready, sells at about ten shillings the maund of 80lb. At
Calcutta it is ordinarily sold at about 50 per cent. profit. It is made
in baskets, is of a dark color, and very moist.
It is curious that the inhabitants of these countries have never turned
their thoughts to the effects produced by these substances. On the
western bank the people are subject to nephritic complaints, which they
generally express under the vague term of _kummer-ka-dook_ (or pains in
the back); while, on the eastern bank, they are troubled with the
_moormoory_, (or gripes,) with which those living inland, especially,
are severely afflicted, owing to their use of tank-water.
During the rainy season, these powerful agents combine, and give birth
to most alarming and excruciating maladies, which, however, readily
yield to a few gentle cathartics, aided by _congee_, (or rice-water,) by
which the intestines are sheathed. The natives generally have recourse
to opiates; whereby they often fix the disease. In the dry season, that
is, from the end of October to the middle of June, the river water,
having deposited the noxious particles, is remarkably clear and
wholesome; except when the rise takes place, about the middle or end of
May, as before related. The bed of the river being invariably a coarse
sand, occasionally blended with immense sheets of _kunkur_, whereof the
banks are formed for miles in some parts, easily receives the lime and
alkali, leaving the running waters clear, and free from those
substances.
Europeans never drink of water fresh drawn in any situation; it being
always left to stand for at least one day; during which, a copious
deposit takes place: in the rainy season, perhaps full a fourth of the
contents of the vessel. Some gentlemen are very particular in having
their water boiled.
The low plains of the Shawabad and Buxar districts, situate on the
western bank of the Ganges, are chiefly cultivated with rice, while the
higher parts are productive of white corn, opium, sugar, &c. The swamps
near Saseram, bordering the range of hills at the western boundary, and
which come round to Chunar, are annually in a state of partial
corruption, sufficient to occasion terribly malignant diseases, about
November; when the sun’s power promotes an astonishing evaporation,
filling the air with miasma, and spreading destruction among all the
living tribes. But those waters are, in themselves, highly dangerous;
both on account of the putrefaction of the vegetables they contain, and
of the powerful coalition of various mineral streams, which, having in
the rainy season exceeded their ordinary limits, stray into the low
country, and mix with the already deleterious mass. Finding a discharge
for their redundancy, by means of the multitude of fissures, or small
channels, every where existing, these blend with the purer torrents,
occasioned by the impetuous rains, and cause a fever to prevail, which,
in addition to the lime and nitre already afloat, perform wonders in the
cause of desolation.
This assemblage of rivulets forms that great river the Soane, which, for
the short course it has to run, not being more than sixty miles from its
numerous sources in the hills before noticed, presents an uncommon
expanse, being generally from three quarters of a mile to two miles in
breadth; but, in the dry season, contracting its stream to a very narrow
channel, winding in the most fanciful meanders, and causing, by its
waters being so dispersed in a very flat bed, more quicksands than
probably are to be found in any river in the world. It is worthy of
remark here, that several rivers in that part of the world, which have
sandy beds, appear suddenly to be lost; owing to sand banks, that,
during the stream’s violence, have been thrown up, so high as to be
above the waters when the rains have subsided: the current continues
very perceptible, but as the bar prevents the water from going forward,
it passes through the intervals of the very coarse grit which forms that
bar; and, perhaps, at the distance of half a mile lower, re-appears. The
natives, who attribute every thing that can bear the perversion to some
invisible agent, never fail to apply this as a curse upon any village
that may be opposite to such a bar, under the opinion that the waters
ceased to run in its vicinity on account of some impiety, either known,
or concealed, perpetrated by the inhabitants.
The Gogra, or Dewah, which takes its rise in the hills north of
Gorackpore, dividing Napaul from the Company’s possessions, rolls its
impetuous course through a country nearly desolate, and bounding its
banks with most extensive forests and wildernesses. The soil is not so
impregnated with nitre as in other parts, nor are the streams that form
its volume tainted so strongly with minerals. Perhaps owing to the
length of its course, which may be about 250 miles, or more, the more
weighty particles may be deposited; for it is held that this river
contains less obnoxious mixture than any part of the Ganges. Of lime it
may certainly partake, since it runs through some tracts abounding with
_kunkur_; but its course is chiefly through clay, sand, and a species of
black potters’ marle, of which crockery is made in some parts of north
Bahar, in imitation of our Staffordshire ware; though very inferior as
to form and finish. For this, the neighbourhood of Sewan is famous.
The province of Bahar abounds in nitre; and every petty rivulet either
takes its rise from some swamp strongly impregnated therewith, or passes
through soils which yield it profusely. Those streams that originate in
the Chittrah, Ramghur, Gyah, and Monghyr Hills, are often so very highly
saturated with deleterious substances, as to betray their bad qualities
even to the eye. The Mahana, the Mutwallah, and various mountain rivers
in that quarter, which rush into the Ganges between Patna and Boglepore,
are frequently tinged with copper, of which some small veins are to be
found. An instance occurred, while the 12th battalion of native infantry
was marching from Patna to the Ramghur station, where the whole corps
were so extremely affected by the water, as scarcely to be able to
ascend from the camp, then at Dungaie, to the summit of the Kanachitty
Pass; such was the state to which it had, by its cupreous solution,
reduced both men and beasts. Fortunately, it was very cold weather, and
the use made of the waters had been very limitted.
Some officers from the same corps being on a shooting party, during the
next year, happened to encamp at Dungaie. The kettle had been put on;
the water, indeed, was ready for breakfast; but the gentlemen, on
alighting from their horses, as usual, had water brought them to wash;
when the contraction it occasioned in their mouths instantly reminded
them of their former escape, and thereby set them on their guard: on
enquiring, they found, that, either from want of memory, or through
indolence, their servants had taken the water from the rivulet running
at the foot of the pass, in lieu of drawing it from a well in the town,
which was at no great distance.
Many such streams pour into the Ganges, either singly, or in conjunction
with others. As to chalybeate influence, that cannot be wanting; for the
whole range of hills, in the elevated parts of Ramghur, Rotas, Chittrah,
Tomar, Pachete, Beerboom, Ragonautpore, Midnapore, &c., may be termed
one mass of iron; lying in huge projections exposed to view, and giving
the soil a strong rust color. The natives, in those parts, fuse immense
quantities for sale.
The country from Benares to Patna is generally fertile in the extreme,
abounding in rich plains, and affording far purer water than is to be
found above that interval. At Gazypore and Buxar the waters receive no
additional adulteration, except from the Caramnassa, which certainly is
an impure stream. Such is the opinion held by the natives regarding this
river, that, on account of its being necessary to cross it between
Saseram and Benares, a road much frequented by pilgrims and devotees;
particularly the immense hordes who repair from the Maharrattah country,
to visit the holy Hindu city of _Kassi_, which is the name they give to
Benares; that a rich man, residing so far off as Poonah, the capital of
the Maharrattah empire, near Bombay, bequeathed a large sum of money for
building a bridge, thereby to obviate the necessity pious travellers
were under of being carried over on the backs of men; who gained a
livelihood by transporting those who, from over-nice scruples, would not
wade through the stream, as they must have done through hundreds of
others, before they got so near their holy object. Unhappily for those
delicate gentry, the bridge did not, when I last saw it, about twelve
years ago, seem likely to perform its office: the soil being sandy, and
the architect understanding but little of his profession, piers had
repeatedly been raised to about seven or eight feet high, but always
gave way; so that I fear the poor itinerants must still pay their pence,
and ride across as before; unless the edifice may be entrusted to
European architects.
The Coosah comes down from the Morungs, a wild, mountainous country,
replete with impenetrable forests, and containing some few minerals:
however, on that head little is known; the extent of the wilds being
such as to debar the possibility of exploring the supposed riches
contained in the bosom of the mountains. From this quarter, and the
continuance of the forest before described, which stretches eastward to
Assam, and westward to Peelabeet, or further, the whole of the lower
countries are supplied with _saul_ and _sissoo_ timbers, and some firs.
Such is the country in which the Coosah has its rise; quitting which,
after a foaming course of about forty miles, it enters the extensive
plains of Purneah, through which it passes in a more tranquil state,
though ever rapid, until it joins the Ganges a little below Colgong,
which stands on the opposite bank, and where the Termahony, a small
sluggish river of about eighty or a hundred yards in breadth, blends its
waters with the great river. The Termahony is very deep, and, in the
rainy season, equally impetuous. Like the Coosah, it flows chiefly
through a flat country, during its short course, and as the soils in
this part are sabulous, there does not appear any thing remarkable in
the effects of the waters upon the inhabitants.
The Ganges may be considered as far more pure between Raje-Mahal, in the
Jungleterry district, and Mauldah, or Bagwangolah, than for some
distance above; during the dry season, it is remarkable for the
clearness and lightness of its waters: after leaving this to proceed
southward, we find them greatly changed during the rainy season, when
the immense inundation which prevails throughout Bengal, properly so
called, and which, moving in general at a rate not exceeding half a mile
in the hour, may be considered as stagnant.
We now lose the great body of sand that in all the upper country forms
the bed, not only of the Ganges, but of every river whose course
continues uninterrupted during the dry season; though its stream may
become insignificant. Here it should be remarked, that sandy beds
generally produce the finest beverage, and that the water will be found
more pure in proportion as the sand is coarse. Hence, the waters in the
deep parts of such streams are invariably the sweetest; for the coarse
sand will naturally find its way to the greatest depths, precipitating
the impurities with it. On the contrary, the light floating sands, which
with every little motion become agitated, will set the impurities also
in action. Such are generally found on the borders of the stream, whence
most persons derive their supplies, and where it may usually be seen in
an active state; or, if at rest, blended with slime, or fibrous
substances.
We should ever remember the distinction between the effects of fine and
of coarse sand as strainers. Coarse sand allows heavy, or coarse bodies,
to pass through it freely, provided the particles be not adhesive, or
too gross for filtration: consequently, when such sand is deposited in
the bed of a river, the lesser particles of lime, or of minerals and
their ores, will sink, and remain fixed. Not so with fine sand; which
has a greater tendency to compactness, and which, gradually filling up
the smallest intervals, becomes firm, and resists all admixture with
heterogeneous substances; the latter must, of necessity, remain on their
surface, subject to be taken up with the water. Persons accustomed to
filtration must know, that, owing to this tendency, fine sand is by far
the best medium to filter _through_, while coarse sand is preferable for
the purposes of _precipitation_.
The inundation which overflows Bengal, especially in the districts of
Nattore, Dacca, Jessore, the southern parts of Rungpore, and a part of
Mahomed-Shi, is, perhaps, one of the most curious of nature’s phenomena!
The wisdom of our Creator is most conspicuously shewn in the
appropriation of sustenance, both for the human and for the brute
species, suited to meet this annual visitation of the waters. However
copious the rains may be in the southern provinces, though they might
become boggy, and be partially inundated where the lands were low, yet,
without the influx of these immense streams, which, owing to the
declivity of the surface, pour down from the upper country, Bengal
would, at such seasons, be but a miry plain, or a shallow morass. The
great inundation does not, generally, take place till a month after the
period when the rains have, according to the phrase in use, ‘set in.’
The thirsty soils of Oude, Corch, Allahabad, Benares, Gazypore, Patna,
Rungpore, Boglepore, Purneah, and all beyond the 25th degree of
latitude, require much moisture to saturate them, as do also those
parched plains into which they ultimately pour their streams, before any
part of the soil can be covered, indeed, such is the state of the
southern provinces after the cold season, that that rich friable soil in
which they abound is seen cake-dried and cracked by fissures of many
inches in breadth, as though some great convulsion of nature had been
exerted to rend the surface into innumerable divisions.
Under the circumstances of a flood, which lasts for many months,
fluctuating from the middle or end of July to the beginning of October,
(though the water does not drain off before the middle of December in
low situations,) the inhabitants might be supposed to suffer under all
the miseries of a general ruin and subsequent scarcity. The reverse is,
however, the fact; for, provided the rains do not fall in such torrents
as to wash away their habitations, and to occasion so rapid a rise in
the fluid plain as to overwhelm the growing rice, the more ample the
_bursauty_, (_i.e._ the rains,) the more plentiful the crop, and
generally the less sickly does the season prove. The latter point will
appear self-established, when we consider that amplitude of inundation
serves, not only to divide the septic matter contained in the water, but
likewise to accelerate its action, and cause its proceeding with added
impetus to discharge itself into the bay. At this season, rivers are
only known by the currents, and consequent swells, which appear amidst
this temporary ocean! The navigation, for several months, assumes a new
appearance. Vessels of great burthen, perhaps of two thousand maunds,
(each 80lb.,) equal to nearly one hundred tons, are seen traversing the
country in all directions, principally with the wind, which is then
within a few points on either side of south. Noted cities, exalted
mosques, and populous _gunjes_, or grain-markets, on the river’s bank,
are not objects of attention. The boatman having set his enormous square
sail, proceeds by guess, or, perhaps, guided by experience, through the
fields of rice, which every where raise their tasseled heads, seeming to
invite the reaper to collect the precious grain. As to depth of water,
there is generally from ten to thirty feet, in proportion as the country
may be more or less elevated.
It is curious to sail among these insulated towns, which, at this
season, appear almost level with the surrounding element, and hemmed in
by their numerous _dingies_, or boats, which, exclusive of the necessity
for preparing against an over-abundant inundation, are requisite for the
purposes of cutting the _paddy_: rice being so called while in the husk.
So soon as what is considered the final secession of the inundation is
about to commence, the whole of the boats are in motion, and the _paddy_
is cut with astonishing celerity. It is fortunate, that, owing to the
country on the borders of the sea being higher than the inundated
country, the waters cannot draw off faster than they can find vent, by
means of the rivers which discharge into the Bay of Bengal, else the
growing rice would be subjected to various fluctuations unsuited to its
nature, and occasioning the straw to bend; whereby its growth would be
injured, even if it should recover from its reclined state so as again
to assume a vigorous appearance on the surface.
The waters of the inundation, it will be seen, are a mixture of all the
streams flowing from every part of the extensive valley formed by the
ranges of mountains stretching from Chittagong to Loll Dong, or Hurdwar,
on the east and north-east, and from Midnapore to Lahore on the west and
north-west, a course of not less than fifteen hundred miles, and
generally from two to four miles in breadth. It may be supposed, that
many impurities must be involved with these contributary streams, as
particularized in the foregoing pages: to this we must add the
offensive, and certainly not salutary, effect, induced by the Hindu
custom of consigning every corpse to the waters of the Ganges, or of any
stream flowing into it.
The Hindu religion requires that the deceased should be burnt _to
ashes_, on the borders of the Ganges, and that those ashes, with all the
remnants of wood used in the pile, should, together with the small truck
bedstead on which the body was brought from the habitation to the river
side, be wholly committed to the stream. The wholesomeness of such a
practice, in a country where the strides of putrefaction know no bounds,
infection and its effects being prodigiously extensive and rapid, cannot
be disputed; such an ordinance may vie with the acts of any other
legislature, however enlightened. But, either the poverty, the
indolence, or the sordidness, of the people, has, in time, converted
this wholesome precaution into a perfect nuisance. From fifty to a
hundred bodies, in different stages of putrefaction, may be seen
floating past any one spot within the course of the day. These having
been placed on a scanty pile, and that not suffered to do its office,
either on account of hot, cold, or wet, weather, have been pushed, by
means of a bamboo pole, into the stream, to the great annoyance of
water-travellers, and of all persons abiding near those eddies, where
the nuisance may be kept circling for days, until forcibly removed, or
until the _pariah_ dogs swim in, and drag the carcase to the shore:
there it speedily becomes the prey of various carrion birds, and of the
indigenous village curs known by the above designation.
Under all the circumstances of such a combination of putrid animal and
vegetable substance, of mineral adulteration, and of the miasma
naturally arising from the almost sudden exposure of an immense residuum
of slime, &c.; added to the cessation of the pure sea air, the wind
changing after the rains from the southerly to the northerly points, are
we to wonder at the malignancy of those fevers prevalent throughout the
province of Bengal Proper, from the end of September to the early part
of January, when the swamps are generally brought into narrow limits,
and the air is laden with noxious vapors?