CHAP. VIII.

THE INDUS, FROM SEHWUN TO BUKKUR.

~Bukkur, its position.~

The insulated fortress of Bukkur is situated on a rock in the Indus,

between the towns of Roree and Sukkur. It is a degree and twenty

minutes north of Sehwun, being in latitude 27° 4´; and in longitude it

is 56 miles eastward of that town. The distance by the river amounts to

160 miles, and we voyaged it in nine days.

~Indus.~

Between these points the Indus flows in a zigzag course, nearly

south-west, till it is impeded by the Lukkee mountains, below Sehwun.

The intervening country is richly watered by its meanderings, and,

from the lowness of the banks, the tract is disputed by the river and

its ramifications, and formed into numerous islets of the richest

pasture. On the least approach of the swell, both banks are inundated

and irrigated: the superfluous water often forces for itself a passage

into the desert by Omercote, and joins the eastern mouth of the Indus

or Koree, which passes Cutch. The channel of this watercourse commences

above Bukkur, and passes four miles eastward of that place, the

ancient city of Alore.

~Fertility of the country.~

About twenty-five miles below Bukkur, the Indus sends to the westward

a branch called Nara, that washes the base of the Hala, or mountains

of Beloochistan, and, after pursuing a parallel course of many miles,

rejoins the river at Sehwun. Its waters are courted, and distributed

by canals, which add to the blessings bestowed by nature on this flat

and fertile land. The eastern bank, though less favoured than the

opposite one, is highly cultivated, and most of the towns and villages

stand on the verge of canals, which bounteously distribute the waters

of the periodical swell, and attest the industry and assiduity of the

inhabitants.

~Current, depth, &c.~

The river but rarely flows here in one undivided stream; with a width

of three quarters of a mile, in some places, it preserves a depth of

fifteen feet in its shallowest bed. There is nothing approaching to a

ford in any part of its course: two hundred boats would be found at

the various villages in this part of the river. The declivity on which

the Indus runs to the ocean must be gentle, for above the delta it

glides sluggishly along at less than two miles and a half in the hour.

From Sehwun upwards, the Indus is called “Sira,” which means north,

in contradistinction to the southern portion, which is called “Lar.”

Mehran is a foreign term, with which the natives of the country are not

acquainted.

~Eastern bank of the Indus.~

The immediate vicinity of the Indus is alike destitute of beauty and

inhabitants. It is overgrown with tamarisk shrubs, and the villages

are purposely raised at the distance of two or three miles, to avoid

the calamities of inundation; yet there were an hundred wheels at

work on the verge of the river. The eastern bank, from Sehwun to

Bukkur, is by far the best peopled portion of Sinde; but the inhabited

places which do occur are rather numerous and thriving than large and

wealthy: many of them have 500 houses. This territory is subject to

the chief of Khyrpoor, and is enriched by a canal forty feet broad,

called “Meerwah,” which conducts, by a southerly course, the waters

of the Indus from the neighbourhood of Bukkur to a distance of ninety

miles, where they are lost in sands, or deposited in the fields. There

are numerous other canals beside the one which I have now described;

and, while their banks are fringed with villages and agriculture, they

likewise afford the means of transporting, by boats, the produce of the

soil. In the fair season, when dry, they become the beaten footpaths

of the people, and are excellent cart-roads, preferred at all times to

the common pathway, which, from the exuberance of vegetation in this

country, is generally impeded by bushes.

~Western bank of the Indus.~

The western bank of the Indus, which is intersected by the Nara, is

called Chandkoh, from a Belooche tribe of that name, and yields the

greater portion of the land revenue of the Hydrabad Ameers. This

branch, which leaves the Indus below Bukkur, in the latitude of

Larkhana, in its passage to the main stream, forms a small lake, called

Munchur, which abounds in fish. Further down, it changes the name of

Nara into that of Arrul, before falling into the Indus; it is a narrow

river, about 100 yards broad, and only navigable during the inundation.

Numerous cuts, the chief of which is the Larkhana canal, extend the

cultivation beyond its banks; and, in addition to the swell of the

Indus, this district is watered by rills from the lofty mountains to

the westward. The lake of Munchur is environed by fields of wheat in

the dry season: its waters then partially subside, and leave a rich

mould on which good crops are reared.

~Fort of Bukkur.~

The fortress of Bukkur is constructed of brick, on a low rocky island

of flint, at a distance of 400 yards from the left bank of the Indus,

and about fifty less from the eastern side of the river. Its walls are

loop-holed, and flanked with towers, that slope to the water’s edge:

they do not exceed twenty feet in height. There is a gateway on each

side of the fortification facing Roree and Sukkur, and likewise two

wickets. The interior of the works is crowded with houses and mosques,

many of which, as well as parts of the rock itself, appear above

the wall. In shape it approaches to an oval, and is about 800 yards

long, and 300 in diameter. At some places the rock has been pared and

scraped; but Bukkur has no strength in its works, and is formidable

only from its position. The garrison consists of 100 men of the

Khyrpoor Ameer: there are fifteen pieces of artillery, few of which are

serviceable. The walls enclose the entire island, with the exception

of a small date grove on the northern side, where a landing might be

effected without difficulty, from the right bank, and the place would

fall by escalade; or it might be previously breached from the bank

of the river. There is a depth of four fathoms on both sides of the

island; but the eastern channel becomes shallow in the dry season, and

is said to have been once forded. The navigation of the Indus at Bukkur

is dangerous, from eddies formed under the fortress itself; and several

other rocky islets below it; but the watermen are considered the most

experienced in Sinde, and, as a boat never attempts to pass up or down

without a pilot, there are but few accidents.

~Roree and Sukkur.~

The town of Roree, which faces Bukkur, stands close on the bank of

the Indus, on a flinty precipice forty feet in height, over which the

houses tower. A road cut in the rock, down to the edge of the river,

at a place where it does not approach the precipice, is the point

of embarkation for those passing to Bukkur; but a landing would be

difficult and dangerous when the river is high. The town of Roree has

about 8000 inhabitants, chiefly Hindoos. To the eastward of it, several

detached hillocks of flint present a most bleak and barren appearance,

but add to the strength of the country; beyond their limits a grove

of date trees extends for three or four miles to the southward of the

town, shading numerous orchards and gardens. Sukkur, which stands

opposite Roree, is about half the size of that town: both have been

considerable places in former years, and the ruins of minarets and

mosques remain. The bank of the river at Sukkur is not precipitous, and

the town runs in from it, instead of extending, like Roree, along its

banks. These two towns doubtless owe their position to Bukkur, which,

as a protection in troubled times, added to the courage and hopes of

the inhabitants.

~Khyrpoor and Larkhana.~

The only modern towns of note which require remark, are Khyrpoor and

Larkhana, on the left and right banks of the river, nearly under the

same parallel of latitude, both distant from it about fourteen miles,

and watered by canals from the Indus. Khyrpoor is a modern town, built

by the Talpoor chief, Sohrab, who seized on the northern part of Sinde,

after the subversion of the Caloras. It contains a population of about

15,000 souls, but is merely a collection of mud hovels heaped together

in narrow lanes. It is destitute of fort or defence, unless a mud wall

about a foot thick, which surrounds the house of the Ameer and his

family, can be considered in that light. The country near it is flat

and bushy, and a low dyke has been drawn round the town, to keep the

inundations of the river at a distance. Larkhanu, which stands on the

western bank, is the capital of the Pergunna of Chandkoh: it has about

10,000 people, and is the head quarters and rallying point of the

Sinde Ameers on their N. W. frontier. It has a small mud fort; and an

inefficient train of artillery, about twenty in number, frightens the

refractory in the neighbouring mountains, and maintains the peace of

Sinde. It is governed by a Nuwab, the individual next in rank to the

rulers of the land.

~Productions.~

The productions of Sinde are very similar in different parts of the

country, and the same kinds of grain are produced here as at Sehwun.

There is a shrub very like the wall-flower called “syar,” that

grows in this tract, and the juice of which is considered a valuable

medicine for the diseases of children. The wheat-fields are invariably

surrounded by a low dyke, like rice ground: tobacco grows very

luxuriantly near Roree. The greatest want in Sinde is grass, which is

choked by the tamarisk; to which the people set fire, and derive, by

such means, an abundant crop. There are but few trees in Sinde; the

babool[23], even, does not attain any considerable size; the neem[24]

and sirs, so abundant in India, are rarely seen, and the banian[25]

tree is a stranger. The shrubs of the thurr, the kejra, khair, bair,

akra (swallow-wort), and tamarisk, grow every where. I have already

alluded to the date grove of Roree.

FOOTNOTES:

[23] Mimosa Arabica.

[24] Melia Azadarachta.

[25] Ficus religiosa.

CHAP. IX.

THE INDUS FROM BUKKUR, TILL JOINED BY THE PUNJAB RIVERS.

~The Indus.~

The waters of the Punjab, united in one stream, fall into the Indus at

Mittun, in the latitude of 28° 55´ north. From this point to Bukkur,

the river pursues a south-westerly course, is direct in its channel,

but frequently divided by sand banks. Various narrow, crooked branches

also diverge from the parent stream, retaining a depth from eight to

fifteen feet of water, which are navigated by boats ascending the

Indus, in preference to the great river itself. They extend throughout

the whole intervening space which I have now under review.

~Its breadth and depth.~

The Indus is widely spread in many parts of its course above Bukkur. It

often exceeds a thousand yards in breadth, and at Mittun was found to

be even double that width. The depth was not proportionally diminished:

in some places it exceeded sixteen fathoms, and four fathoms were to be

found every where; which, it is to be recollected, was at a season when

the waters are lowest. There was no greater acceleration of current

than in the lower parts of the river, and the serpentine course of the

narrows just mentioned proves the great flatness of this country.

~Boats of the Indus.~

From Bukkur the Indus is navigated by a different description of

boat from the Doondee, called “zohruk,” and admirably adapted to the

transport of troops, both horse and foot, from being as roomy before as

astern: they are not numerous, but we met ninety-five of them in our

voyage to Mittun. We made the passage in these boats from Bukkur to

Mittun in nine days, a distance of 170 miles by the river.

~Country on its banks.~

The country which this portion of the Indus traverses is of the richest

nature, particularly on the eastern bank, where it is flooded from

innumerable channels, which are generally cut in those parts of the

river running east and west, that the water may be thrown south into

the interior. On the right bank, about twenty-six miles above Bukkur, a

navigable canal called the “Sinde,” the work of the emperors, conducts

a great body of water to Shikarpoor and Noushera, and joins that of

Larkhanu. On that side of the river the cultivation is limited, as the

districts of Boordgah, Ken, and Moozarka, which succeed each other,

are peopled by wandering and unsettled Belooche tribes, who lead a

pastoral and plundering life. The territory on both sides chiefly

belongs to Sinde, for the boundary line stretches, on the right bank,

to within fifteen miles of Mittun, and adjoining the dominions of the

Seik; but it overlaps that on the left, which terminates lower down in

the latitude of 28° 33´, twenty-five miles above Subzul. This stripe

of land on the left bank forms a portion of the territories of the

Daoodpootra chief, Bhawul Khan; and the district immediately below that

chief’s territory in Sinde is named Oobaro, and inhabited by the Duhrs

and Muhrs, who are the aborigines of the country, and known by the name

of Sindees.

~Shikarpoor, Subzul, and other places.~

The town of Shikarpoor, which stands thirty-two miles from Bukkur,

is by far the largest in this tract, indeed in Sinde, for in size

it exceeds the capital, Hydrabad. The country around it is very

productive, but in the change of masters, from the Afghans to the

Sindians, its revenue has deteriorated to half a lac of rupees

annually: the government is oppressive. It still carries on an

extensive inland trade, for the greater portion of its merchants and

people are Hindoos, and have agents in the surrounding countries.

Shikarpoor is surrounded by a mud wall, and the governor of the place

holds an important post, and with it the title of Nuwab. This town and

district fell into the hands of the Sindians about eight years ago, and

is the only unsettled portion of their country, the Afghan family to

whom it belonged making frequent attempts to recover it. The frontier

town of Subzul on the left bank of the Indus, and twelve miles inland,

is about one fifth the size of Shikarpoor: it contains a population of

5000 souls, and like it is surrounded by a mud wall. There are no other

places of note but these which I have mentioned. Mittun, or, as it is

sometimes called, Mittun Kote, has not a population of 1500 people, and

its fort has been demolished.

~Swell of the Indus.~

It will be observed in this part of its course, as well as elsewhere,

that there are no towns or places of size in the immediate vicinity of

the Indus; which is owing to the annual swell of the river rendering it

impossible to cultivate or raise a crop within its reach. This leads to

the waters being conducted inland by canals, the banks of which being

frequently overflowed render the country untenable. The neighbourhood

of Subzul Kote has been deserted on this account, and the great

quantity of water forces for itself a channel from this direction upon

the watercourse at Alore. The Indus is very variable in its rise in

different years, and for these two by-gone seasons has not attained its

usual height.

~Cattle, animals, &c.~

The number of horned cattle to be seen in this part of the Indus is

exceedingly numerous. Buffaloes are so plentiful as to be only a

fourth the value of those lower down the river, and the very best may

be purchased for ten rupees each. Deer, hog, and partridge abound, and

the water-fowl above Bukkur are numerous, even in this season (May).

~Tribes bordering on the Indus.~

I have mentioned the districts lying westward of the Indus, and the

predatory habits of the inhabitants. The Boordees occupy all the

plains north of Shikarpoor, to the borders of the Brahooee country,

or Cutch Gundava. They are emigrants from Kej and Mekran, and of the

Belooche family of Rind. They are a fair and handsome race of men, more

like Afghans than Beloochees: they do not wear the costume of Sinde,

but roll a cloth in folds loosely round their brows, and allow their

hair in long tresses to hang suspended, which gives them a savage

appearance. They took the name of Boordee, from a noted individual in

the tribe, according to the Belooche custom, for the various tribes

are nothing more than descendants of some person of note. The chief

place of the Boordees is Duree, but they have no large towns. The whole

“Oolooss,” or tribe, is rated at 10,000 fighting men, and till their

chiefs were taken into the service of the Ameers, they were constantly

marauding: petty robberies are yet committed. Their language is a

corrupted Persian: of the other tribes, the Juttooees, Moozarees,

Boogtees, and Kulphurs, with many more, they differ from the Boordees

only in name. The Juttooees are to be found in Boordgah: the Moozarees,

whose chief town is Rozan, extend as far as Dera Ghazee Khan, but their

power is now broken, though they plundered in former times the armies

of Cabool. The Kulphurs and Boogtees occupy the hills called Gendaree,

which commence below the latitude of Mittun, and run parallel with the

Indus.

CHAP. X.

THE INDUS FROM MITTUN TO ATTOK.

~The Indus above Mittun.~

While on our progress to Mooltan, by the Chenab or Acesines, I made

various enquiries, and sent different people to acquire precise

information, regarding the Indus above Mittun. The Cabool mission in

1809 came upon that river, at Oodoo da Kote, about 100 miles north of

the point in question; and I was desirous of connecting my own surveys

with that place, and thus complete our knowledge of the Indus from the

sea to Attok.

~Description of it.~

The river runs, in this part of its course, nearly due south, and is

free from danger and difficulty in navigation. It is here generally

known by the name of Sinde or Attok, and traverses a country much the

same as I have described near Mittun, being often widely spread from

the lowness of its banks. Its breadth is considerably diminished; for

at Kaheree, when Mr. Elphinstone crossed it in January, the soundings

did not exceed twelve feet, with a breadth of 1000 yards, while the

Indus, after it has received the Punjab rivers, rolls past Mittun with

a width exactly twofold. On the left bank, too, the soundings were

found to be four fathoms deep.

~Province of Dera Ghazee Khan.~

On the right bank of the river the province of Dera Ghazee Khan

occupies the country as far as the mountains. It is a fertile

territory, and the capital which bears its name is one of the largest

towns on the Indus. It is surrounded by gardens and date groves,

and stands in a very rich country: it has been long numbered among

the conquests of the Seiks, who farmed it, till lately, to the Khan

of Bhawulpoor at an annual rent of six lacs of rupees; but as the

district originally produced but four, every species of extortion was

practised which led to its late resumption. The tract being remote from

Runjeet Sing’s dominions, he is anxious to hold it without requiring

the services of his troops; and the Maharajah has given Dajil and

some portion of the territory to the Brahooees, its former owners, on

condition of military service.

~Commerce, in line of route.~

The productions of Demaun, and the countries westward of the Indus, are

sometimes brought by Dera Ghazee Khan, and crossed to Ooch; but the

more frequented route lies higher up, and passing the ferry at Kaheree

leads to Mooltan. The river is not used in the transport of any portion

of the trade, for the hire of boats is exorbitant, and it is sent on

camels or bullocks. Madder (called munjoot) is an article of export

from this part of the Indus, and used to dye the fabrics of Bhawulpoor.

~Expeditions, why they avoided the Indus.~

It is a remarkable fact that the various expeditions that have been

conducted from the upper provinces of the Indus, to the countries

lower down, have taken the rivers of the Punjab, as far as they went,

in preference to the Indus itself; but we are certainly not to infer

therefrom that the greater river is shut against navigation. The

conquests of Alexander led him beyond the neighbourhood of the Indus,

and in the case of the emperors their capital was long fixed at Lahore,

and several of their fleets against lower Sinde were fitted out at

Mooltan, always a city of great importance in the empire, and on a

river as accessible to the boats of the country as the Indus itself.

~Bridge of boats at Attok.~

The Indus has been crossed at Attok, and an account of it, and that

fortress, will be found in Mr. Elphinstone’s work; but the means which

the ruler of Lahore has used of late years to transport his army to

the right bank of the river, and which I heard from his officers,

and afterwards had confirmed on the spot, deserve mention. Runjeet

Sing retains a fleet of thirty-seven boats, for the construction of a

bridge at Attok, where the river is only 260 yards wide. The boats

are anchored in the stream, a short distance from one another, and the

communication is completed by planks, and covered with mud: immediately

below the fortress of Attok, twenty-four boats are only required, but

at other places in the neighbourhood, so many as thirty-seven are used.

Such a bridge can only be thrown across the Indus from November to

April, on account of the velocity of the stream being comparatively

diminished at that season, and even then the manner of fixing the boats

seems incredible. Skeleton frame-works of wood, filled with stones, to

the weight of 250 maunds (25,000 lbs.), and bound strongly by ropes,

are let down from each boat, to the number of four or six, though the

depth exceeds thirty fathoms, and these are constantly strengthened

by others to prevent accident. Such a bridge has been completed in

three days, but six is a more usual period. We are struck with the

singular coincidence between this manner of throwing up a bridge, and

that described by Arrian[26], when Alexander crossed the Indus. He

mentions his belief regarding Alexander’s bridge at Attok, and except

that the skeleton frame-works are described as “huge wicker-baskets,”

the modern and ancient manner of crossing the river appears to have

been the same. The Afghans farmed the construction of a bridge at Attok

for the sum of 14,000 rupees; but the Seik has put a stop to the ruin

of habitations and houses which it invariably caused, and keeps up

an efficient supply of materials. An army which does not exceed 5000

men is crossed at Attok by the ferry boats with less labour than by a

bridge.

FOOTNOTE:

[26] Vide lib. v. c. 7.

CHAP. XI.

THE CHENAB OR ACESINES JOINED BY THE SUTLEGE OR HESUDRUS.

~Chenab or Acesines.~

The Acesines of the Greeks, or the modern Chenab, is lost in the Indus

at Mittun, having previously gathered the waters of the Punjab rivers.

The junction is formed without noise or violence, for the banks are

depressed on both sides, and the river is expanded: an eddy is cast

to the eastern side, which sinks the water below the usual level, but

it does not occasion danger. The Euphrates and Tigris, when joined,

pass to the ocean under the name of the “river of the Arabs,” and the

appellation of Punjnud, or “the five rivers,” has been bestowed on

this portion of the Chenab; but it is a designation unknown to the

people living on its banks, and adopted, I conclude, for geographical

convenience.

~Joined by the Sutlege.~

Under the parallel of 29° 20´ north latitude, and five miles above

Ooch, the Chenab receives the Garra, or joint stream of the Beas and

Sutlege (Hyphasis and Hesudrus of antiquity). This junction is also

formed without violence, and the low banks of both rivers lead to

constant alteration in the point of the union, which, but a year ago,

was two miles higher up. This circumstance renders it difficult to

decide on the relative size of these rivers at their junction; both are

about 500 yards wide, but the Chenab is more rapid. Immediately below

the confluence, the united stream exceeds 800 yards; but in its course

to the Indus, though it expands sometimes to a greater size, the Chenab

rarely widens to 600 yards. In this part of its course it is likewise

subject to change. The depth is greatest near its confluence with the

Indus, exceeding twenty feet, but it decreases in ascending the river

to about fifteen. The current is swifter than the Indus, running at

the rate of three and a half miles an hour. The Chenab has some sand

banks, but they do not interrupt its navigation by the “zohruks,” or

flat-bottomed boats, forty of which will be found between Ooch and

Mittun, a distance of forty miles, and a five days’ voyage.

~Banks of the Chenab.~

The banks of the Chenab seldom rise three feet above the water’s edge,

and they are more open and free from thick tamarisk than the Indus.

Near the river there are green reeds, not unlike sugar-cane, and a

shrub called “wahun,” with leaves like the beech-tree, but the country

is highly cultivated, and intersected by various canals. The soil is

slimy, and most productive: the crops are rich, and the cattle large

and abundant; the villages are exceedingly numerous, and shaded by

lofty trees. Some of these are the temporary habitations of pastoral

tribes, who remove from one place to another, but there are many of a

permanent description on both banks. Their safety is nowise affected by

the inundations of the river or those of the Indus, for the expansion

of these has been exaggerated, and it rarely extends two miles from the

banks of either river.

~Ooch, its productions, &c.~

The only place of note on the Chenab, below its junction by the Garra,

is Ooch. It stands four miles westward of the river, and no doubt owes

its site to the junction of two navigable streams in the vicinity.

The country around it is highly cultivated: the tobacco plant in

particular grows most luxuriantly; and after the season of inundation,

the tract is one sheet of green fields and verdure. The productions

of the gardens are various; the fig, vine, apple, and mulberry, with

the “falsa,” which produces an acid berry, may be seen, also the

“bedee mishk” (odoriferous willow). Roses, balsams, and the lily of

the valley, excite a pleasing remembrance, and there are many plants

foreign to India. A sensitive shrub, called “shurmoo,” or “the modest,”

particularly struck me: its leaves, when touched, close and fall down

upon the stalk, as if broken. The mango does not attain perfection in

this soil or climate, and seems to deteriorate as we advance north.

Indigo is reared successfully. Wheat and other grains are cultivated in

preference to rice, which does not form here, as in Sinde and the lower

provinces of the Indus, the food of the people, though it may be had in

great quantities.

CHAP. XII.

ON BHAWUL KHAN’S COUNTRY.

~Its extent.~

The small territory eastward of the Indus, which lies between the

confines of the chief of Lahore and the Ameers of Sinde, belongs to

Bhawul Khan Daoodpootra. His frontier to the north may be loosely

said to be bounded by the Sutlege, or Garra, but at Bhawulpoor it

crosses that river, and, running westward to a place called Julalpoor,

comprises a portion of the country between the Sutlege and Acesines,

the Acesines and the Indus. The Rajpoot principality of Beecaneer

bounds it to the east. It has Jaysulmeer to the south, and, on that

part where it approaches Sinde, a tract of four miles in either country

is left without tillage, to prevent dispute on the marches.

~Its nature.~

The greater part of this country is a barren waste of sand-hills. In

the vicinity of the rivers, the tract is rich and fertile, watered,

like the other banks of the Indus, by the annual swell. The towns are

few in number, and scantily distributed, but there are numerous hamlets

on the Acesines. Bhawulpoor, which stands on the left bank of the

Sutlege, has a population of about twenty thousand people, and is the

mercantile capital; the walled town of Ahmedpoor, further south, and

about half the size, is the residence of the chief, as it lies closer

to Durawul, an ancient fort in the desert (without a town), and the

only place of strength in the country. Durawul is mentioned in the

histories of Sinde as a fortress worthy of Alexander: it was taken by

Mirza Shah Hoosein, in the year of the Hejira 931; but an account of

the siege proves its position to have been more formidable than its

strength: it is built of brick.

~Power and importance.~

The influence of the chief of Bhawulpoor is as limited as his

territory, his power having been crushed by the Seiks, and only saved

from entire overthrow by a treaty, which prevents Runjeet Sing from

crossing the Sutlege. The revenues do not exceed ten lacs annually

(excluding Dera Ghazee Khan; which, properly, belongs to the Seik),

three of which are demanded in tribute by the Lahore chief, for his

lands north of the Sutlege; yet Bhawul Khan maintains some state, and

has about two thousand regular troops (such as they are), with a train

of artillery, to second the efforts of his feudatories in the field;

and his forces collected would exceed twenty thousand men. The present

chief inherited a large patrimony in treasure.

~Daoodpootras, their descent.~

The Daoodpootras are a tribe of Mahommedans from the district of

Shikarpoor, on the right bank of the Indus, which they held in the

earlier part of Aurungzebe’s reign. They crossed the river, and

achieved, by daring acts of bravery, the conquest of the lands now held

by them, from the Duhrs, Muhrs, and other Sindee tribes, and have been

settled in Bhawulpoor for five generations. As the name Daoodpootra

implies, they are descendants of one Daood or David; but the chiefs

claim a lineage from the holy line of Abbas, the uncle of Mahommed. The

chiefs of the tribe are named Peerjanee, and the common people Kihranee.

The community are not allowed to assert their right to the same holy

descent as their masters, which casts some doubt on the lustre of their

parentage. The whole tribe does not exceed fifty thousand souls. They

are a fair and handsome race of people, but disfigured by long bushy

tresses of hair, which they allow to hang over their shoulders.

~The reigning family.~

Bhawulpoor was tributary to Cabool as long as that kingdom lasted; and

the chief had the title of Nawab, but was nearly independent. The three

last rulers have taken the name of Bhawul Khan, from a saint of great

repute in Mooltan; and the designation of Nawab has been changed to

that of Khan, by which title he is familiarly known to his subjects.

The present Bhawul Khan is about thirty years old, and much beloved by

his people: he has a turn for mechanics, and gives great encouragement

to trade and agriculture. He succeeded, about five years ago, to the

prejudice of his elder brother, who now holds an office under him; his

power is firmly fixed, and he has a family of three sons. The form of

government is despotic, and there is no chief of any great importance

in the country but the Khan himself; and the style and formality of his

court keep even these humble, and at a respectful distance.

~Trade of Bhawulpoor.~

The manufactures of Bhawulpoor consist of loongees, which are

celebrated for the fineness of their texture. The weavers are Hindoos,

a numerous class in this country, and who enjoy more toleration in

their trade than their religion. The merchants of Bhawulpoor deal

extensively in goods of European manufacture, which they receive from

Pallee, in Marwar, by way of Beecaneer and the desert, and send into

the Dooranee country by the route of Mooltan and Leia, crossing the

Indus at Kaheree. The Hindoos of Bhawulpoor, and, indeed, of all this

country, are a most enterprising race of men: they often travel to

Balkh and Bokhara, and sometimes to Astracan, for purposes of commerce:

they take the route of Peshawur, Cabool, and Bamean, and, crossing the

Oxus, exchange at Bokhara the productions of India, for that quarter

of Asia and Russia, which are annually brought by the merchants of

that country. They spoke highly of the Uzbek King, and praised Dost

Mahommed, of Cabool, for the protection he afforded to trade. The

Sutlege, or, rather, the joint stream of it and the Beas, called Garra,

on which Bhawulpoor stands, is a navigable river, though not used in

the transport of its merchandise. It does not lie, however, on any

available line of route, except that of Sinde; from which country, as

I have before repeated, there is no trade with the upper provinces of

the Indus. Of the name of this river, the Beas, I may add, that it is

a contraction of Bypasa, in which we have nearly all the letters of

Hyphasis, the designation of it found in the ancient authors.

CHAP. XIII.

THE PUNJAB.

~Extent of Runjeet Sing’s territory.~

The territories of Maha Rajah Runjeet Sing stretch from the Sutlege

to the Indus, from Cashmere to Mooltan, and comprise the whole of the

countries watered by the Punjab, or five tributary rivers, eastward

of the Indus. The power of the Maha Rajah over this tract of country

is consolidated: he commands the fastnesses of the mountains, and

its alluvial plains. So entirely has the Seik nation altered its

constitution, under this chief, that, within a period of twenty years,

it has passed from a pure republic to an absolute monarchy. The genius

of one man has effected this change, though contending with powerful

opposition, from a religion, that inculcates, above every other,

democracy and the equality of all.

~Changes in the Seik government.~

This change of habits has been general, and the fortunate prince who

achieved it, is not more pre-eminent among his nobles, than they are

among their followers; from whom they receive a respect bordering

on veneration. We have now no convocations at Umritsir, the sacred

city of the Seiks, where the affairs of the state were discussed and

settled, and none of the liberty which the followers of Gooroo Govind

proudly claimed as the feature of distinction in their tribe. It is

evident that the change will affect the energies of the Seik nation,

for they sprang from a religion which was free from the worn-out dogmas

of Hindooism, and the deteriorated Mahommedanism of their neighbours,

the Euzoofzyees: their bravery was coeval with that religion, and based

upon it; their political greatness sprang from their change of faith,

and though that has been changed, the Seiks are yet left with peculiar

tenets, and continue to all intents and purposes a distinct people.

~Policy of Runjeet Sing, and state of his army.~

The power which Runjeet Sing acquired has been preserved by his policy:

he has a disciplined army of infantry, with a due proportion of cavalry

and artillery. The system is unpopular in the country, and the Seik

Sirdars view with distrust the innovation, and the innovators. The

French officers, when deprived of their patron, would find it necessary

to stand aloof, from motives of personal safety; and, if they left

the country, the wreck of their labours would soon perish in the

general tumult. At present their battalions manœuvre with regularity

and precision: they are well accoutred and dressed, but destitute of

the most essential quality of a soldier,--discipline. Their payment

is irregular: they undergo cheerfully the mechanical duties of the

soldier, and have shown their gallantry on service; but there is no tie

between the army and the government, and the greater and more glorious

victories of the Maha Rajah were achieved before he had regular troops.

~Seik Sirdars, or chiefs.~

The Sirdars of the Seik nation lose their power in their own feuds.

Runjeet has not failed to foment these, and turn them to advantage;

and, as a mediator of differences, he has always despoiled both parties

to aggrandise himself: he considers it justifiable to profit by the

vices and bad qualities of human nature, and cares not how much he

promises, and how little he fulfils. The Maha Rajah, however, has

portioned out, with a liberal hand, the lands and conquests among his

Sirdars, and conciliated them by this means; few of them place any

reliance on his character: they are aware of his power, and dread to

give him offence.

~Revenues of the Punjab.~

The revenues of the Punjab and its dependencies amount to about two

and a half crores of rupees annually: the principal item in this sum

is derived from Cashmere, which furnishes thirty-six lacs of rupees.

I may add, that all the jagheers and revenues of religious persons

are included in the net sum I have named. The revenue is collected by

arbitrary exactions, at the will of the collector, as in other native

governments. They are presumed, at the outset, to be dishonest, and,

aware of the fact, rifle the peasant, and are prepared to be rifled in

return. The exactions, as regulated by Runjeet himself, are mild, and

his late acquisitions about Mooltan are in a most prosperous condition.

Cashmere, on the other hand, is described as the very essence of bad

government: the people are oppressed, and the Maha Rajah is afraid to

trust other but menial servants with that valuable ornament of his

crown.

~Revenues might be increased.~

The revenues of the Punjab might be increased by annexing to it the

provinces _immediately_ westward of the Indus, some of which have been

subdued by Runjeet Sing; but he has shown, in this instance, his usual

foresight and discrimination. Across the Indus, he would encounter a

most fanatical people, the Euzoofzyees, who would occupy the time of

his army; he contents himself, therefore, with an annual tribute of

some horses and rice from Peshawur. Lower down the Indus, he farms the

province of Dera Ghazee Khan to the Khan of Bhawulpoor.

~Military resources.~

The military resources of the Punjab are great: it yields more grain

than is sufficient for the consumption of its inhabitants; but the

scarcity of population prevents the full measure of its production.

Camels, mules, horses, and cattle abound, and all of them, except the

cattle, which are small, are of a superior description. The roads, from

one extremity of the country to the other, admit of wheeled carriages,

except among the mountains: the Indus, and all the other rivers are

navigable, though not navigated. They have ferry-boats in abundance,

and there are also materials for their further construction; these

rivers are frequently passed on skins, but these are more in use among

the mountains than the plains.

The paucity of Seiks, in a country ruled and governed by them, is

remarkable. The mother earth of the tribe is the “doab,” between the

Ravee and Sutlege; but there are few of them to be found thirty miles

below Lahore. There are no Seiks westward of the Hydaspes; and to

the eastward of Lahore, where they are said to predominate, they do

not certainly compose a third of the population. The Punjab, indeed,

is a poorly peopled country, in proportion to its fertility, though

it is probable that it has increased in population under the present

ruler.[27]

FOOTNOTE:

[27] A more full account of the Punjab has been given in Vol. II.,

which was drawn up after my last visit to that country.

CHAP. XIV.

THE CHENAB, OR ACESINES, JOINED BY THE RAVEE, OR HYDRAOTES.

~The Chenab described.~

The Acesines is the largest of the Punjab rivers, but its size has

been exaggerated. Ptolemy informs us that it is fifteen furlongs wide

in the upper part of its course; and Arrian states that it surpasses

the Nile when it has received the waters of the Punjab falling into

the Indus by a mouth of thirty stadia. Alexander warred in the rainy

reason, when these rivers are much swollen, and when the inundation

had set in for two months. We have already exposed the latter part of

this amplification, in confining the Chenab to a breadth of 600 yards,

and a depth of twenty feet. There is no perceptible diminution in the

size of this stream, from the Sutlege upwards, for that river increases

the depth without adding to the breadth; and the Chenab, south of the

Ravee, will be found, as I have before described it, only with the

shallow soundings of twelve feet. Its banks are so low, that it is

in some places spread as much as 1200 yards, and looks as large as

the Indus. At Mooltan ferry it was 1000 yards across, and below its

junction with the Ravee, above three quarters of a mile; but these are

exceptions to the general feature of the stream.

~Its banks, &c.~

The Chenab receives the Ravee, or Hydraotes, below Fazilpoor, under

the parallel of 30° 40´ north latitude, nearly 180 miles from Ooch, by

the windings of the river, and upwards of 53 miles from Mooltan; in

the neighbourhood of which city it passes on its course to the Indus,

by a direction about south-west.[28] The redness of its water has

already been mentioned, and that of the Ravee has even a deeper tinge.

It runs quicker than the Indus, or any of the Punjab rivers, and its

banks on both sides are open and richly irrigated by larger canals of

running water, dug with great labour; on the right bank, from Mooltan

upwards, there is a desert of low sand-hills, which does not admit

of cultivation, and presses in upon the cultivated land at the short

distance of two miles from the river. It is a mistake to believe that

this desert commences so low as Ooch, and occupies the “doab” of the

Indus and Acesines; for that tract has many large villages, and is rich

and fertile across from one river bank to the other. The distance

between the two rivers is about twenty-five miles, nor does it become

desert till it widens beyond that space below Mooltan.

~Boats of the Acesines.~

~Wood, &c.~

At Mooltan the Acesines is navigated by the “zohruk;” but the vessel

differs in some degree from that used in the Daoodpootra country: the

waist is little more than a foot above water; they are much smaller,

and hoist a mat-sail on a small mast. As there is no trade, ferry-boats

are only to be had, if we except the few which bring down salt from

the Jelum or Hydaspes. We embarked in a fleet of ten boats, while such

an additional number are not to be procured on this part of the river.

These vessels are built of the dyar, or cedar wood from the mountains

in which the Punjab rivers have their source: the supply which the

inundation roots up and floats down, is sufficient for all purposes,

without any one carrying on a professed trade in it. While the boats

here are constructed of this wood, they are repaired with the “talee”

tree, which may be found near every village; and, though this country

is not well wooded, an army might soon procure a supply by cutting

trees from the villages near the river, and floating them down to any

place of rendezvous.

~Crossing the river.~

The natives of this country cross the rivers without boats, on skins

or bundles of reeds; and whole families may be seen passing in this

apparently insecure mode. I have observed a man, with his wife and

three children, in the middle of the stream, the father on a skin

dragging his wife and children, who were seated on reeds, and one of

them an infant at the breast: goods, clothes and chattels form a bundle

for the head; and though alligators do certainly exist, they are not

numerous, or such as to deter the people from repeating an experiment,

to say the least of it, not free from danger.

~District of Mooltan.~

The greater part of the country bordering on this part of the Acesines

is included in the district of Mooltan, which, besides the city of that

name, contains the modern town of Shoojurabad. The government, when

tributary to Cabool, has been described in the worst terms; but Runjeet

Sing has recruited its population, repaired the canals, and added to

their number, raising it to a state of opulence and prosperity to which

it had been long a stranger. The soil amply repays the labour, for such

is its strength, that a crop of wheat, before yielding its grain, is

twice mowed down as fodder for cattle, and then ears, and produces an

abundant harvest. The indigo and sugar crops are likewise rich, and

one small strip of land five miles long, which we passed, afforded a

revenue of 75,000 rupees. The total revenue amounts to about ten lacs

of rupees a year, or double the sum it produced in 1809. The tobacco

of Mooltan is celebrated; but, for an Indian province, the date-tree

is its most singular production. It yields a great abundance of fruit,

which is hardly inferior to that of Arabia; for the trees are not

weakened by extracting a liquor from them, as in Lower India. I imagine

that they owe their maturity to the great heat of Mooltan; for dates

seldom ripen in India. The mangoes of Mooltan are the best of Upper

India, and their good qualities seem also to arise from the same cause,

as the mango is usually but an indifferent fruit beyond the tropics.

FOOTNOTE:

[28] We performed the voyage from one junction to the other, in six

days, against the stream.

CHAP. XV.

THE RAVEE, OR HYDRAOTES, BELOW LAHORE.

~The Ravee.~

The Ravee is the smallest of the five Punjab rivers, but, in connection

with them and the Indus, forms a navigable channel from the sea to

Lahore. It joins the Chenab in the latitude of 30° 40´ north, near the

small village of Fazil Shah, by three different mouths, all of which

have eight feet of water. From Lahore downwards, the Ravee preserves

a breadth of about 150 yards, and, as its banks are high and firm,

there are but few places where it is more expanded. This river is so

winding, that sails cannot be hoisted, and a day’s voyage often gives

but a direct progress of three or four miles, when the turnings of the

river have been sixfold. Lahore is only 175 miles from the mouth of the

Ravee, but, by the river, the distance exceeds 380 British miles.

~Its navigation.~

The Ravee is fordable in many places during eight months in the year,

but its general depth is about twelve feet, and I am satisfied that a

vessel drawing four or five feet of water could navigate this river.

The boats of the country do not draw more than two or three, but they

are the common flat-bottomed craft already described. There is no

obstruction to these vessels in any season of the year, yet the Ravee

is not used by the merchants, and the boats are only built for purposes

of ferrying. Below Lahore there are fifty-two of them, we ascended

in these vessels, none others being procurable. The voyage occupied

twenty-one days, and was exceedingly tedious. I am disposed to think

that it is the extreme crookedness of the river which prevents its

being navigated.

~Peculiarities of the Ravee.~

The Ravee is a foul river, much studded with sand banks, many of which

are dangerous quicksands. The zigzag course it pursues, bespeaks the

flat nature of the country it traverses; its banks are more firm and

decided than those of the Indus, or any other of the Punjab rivers.

Near Lahore, they rise sometimes to a perpendicular height of forty

feet; in many places they attain half that elevation, and give to the

river much the appearance of a canal. The country bordering on the

Ravee is little liable to be flooded; and it is worthy of remark, that

there are no cuts from this river, for the purposes of agriculture,

below Lahore. Its current is something less than three miles an hour.

The water is of a reddish colour, like the Chenab; but it is liable to

change, as we remarked in our voyage, from the fall of rain in the

mountains. This river is sometimes called Iräoty, in which we recognise

the Hydraotes of the Greeks.

~Towns, and their inhabitants.~

The banks of the Ravee are open, and peopled from its mouth upwards;

but the villages, for half the distance to the capital, are of a

temporary description, the moveable hamlets of the pastoral tribe

before mentioned, called Jun or Kattia. From Futtipoor they are

numerous, and the country is cultivated; but the space below that town

is uncultivated. The tract between the Ravee and Sutlege is of the same

sterile and unproductive description as on the northern side of the

river towards the Hydaspes. Saltpetre is manufactured in considerable

quantities on both sides of the Ravee.

~Lahore.~

Lahore is the only town of note on the banks of the Ravee, but the

river has lately forsaken its immediate vicinity, and this ancient

capital now stands on a small branch. The position of Lahore is good,

in a military and commercial point of view. It is equidistant from

Mooltan, Peshawur, Cashmeer, and I may also add Delhi. It stands in

a most fertile country; and an army of 80,000 men has been supported

on the resources of its neighbourhood, while the people assert that

provisions have not increased with the increased demand. The city now

contains about 80,000 inhabitants. It is surrounded by a strong brick

wall and ditch, that may be flooded from the river. There are twelve

gates, and as many semicircular outworks. It could not withstand a

siege, from the density of its population; but might afford security

against irregular troops. Umritsir is superior in size and strength to

Lahore: it is a mud fortification of great thickness, and about seven

miles in circumference, and also protected by the strong citadel of

Govindghur. It has a population of about 100,000 souls. Tolumba is a

small town near the estuary of the Ravee, with a population of about

1500 people. It has a weak brick fort of a circular shape, and stands

in a thick grove of date trees two miles south of the river.

[Illustration:

Drawn by W. Purser. Engraved by E. Finden.

_Sindree on the Eastern branch of the Indus._

SINCE SUBMERGED BY THE EARTHQUAKE OF 1819.

_From a sketch taken on the spot by Capt. Grindlay in 1808._]

CHAP. XVI.

A MEMOIR ON THE EASTERN BRANCH OF THE INDUS, AND THE RUN OF CUTCH,

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ALTERATIONS PRODUCED ON THEM BY AN

EARTHQUAKE IN 1819, ALSO A DESCRIPTION OF THE RUN.

[I cannot introduce more appropriately than on the present occasion,

the following paper, which was drawn up some time since. It is

necessary to mention this circumstance, as a few of the facts

communicated are already before the public, and have been noticed by

Professor Lyell.[29] Of the Run of Cutch I am not aware of any other

account having been published, though it is a tract without parallel

on the globe.]

~Cutch, its position.~

In the north-western extremity of our Indian possessions, and under the

tropic, is situated the small and sterile territory of Cutch, important

to the British from its advanced position, but of more attraction

to the student of history, from its western shore being washed by

the waters of the classic Indus. Cutch is a country peculiarly

situated.--To the west, it has the inconstant and ever-varying Indus;

to the north and east, the tract called Run, which is alternately a dry

sandy desert and a muddy inland lake; to the south, it has the Gulf of

Cutch and the Indian Ocean, with waters receding yearly from its shores.

~Alterations in its western coast by an earthquake.~

~Former fertility.~

The physical geography of such a province is full of interest; for,

besides the alteration in its fluctuating boundaries, it is subject

to earthquakes, one of which has lately produced some unlooked for

changes in the eastern branch of the Indus. To particularly detail and

explain these, is the object of the present memoir. Cutch at present

labours under disadvantages inflicted on it by the vindictive hatred of

a jealous and cruel neighbouring Government. Previous to the battle of

Jarra, in the year 1762[30], the eastern branch of the Indus, commonly

called the Phurraun, emptied itself into the sea by passing the western

shores of Cutch; and the country on its banks participated in the

advantages which this river bestows throughout its course. Its annual

inundations watered the soil, and afforded a plentiful supply of rice;

the country on its banks being then known by the name of “Sayra.”

~Sindians destroy it, by damming the eastern branch of the Indus.~

These blessings, which nature had bestowed on this otherwise barren

region, perished with the battle of Jarra; for the Sindian chief,

irritated at the unsuccessful result of his expedition, returned to

his country full of vengeance, and inflicted the deepest injury on the

country which he had failed to humble. At the village of Mora he threw

up a mound of earth, or, as it is called, a “bund,” across that branch

of the Indus which fertilised Cutch, and by thus turning the stream,

which so much benefited its inhabitants, to flow into other branches of

the river, and by leading it through canals to desert portions of his

own dominions, he at once destroyed a large and rich tract of irrigated

land, and converted a productive rice country, which had belonged to

Cutch, into a sandy desert.

~Injury of the “bund” or dam, on the tract near.~

The mound which had been raised, did not entirely exclude the water of

the Indus from Cutch; but so impeded the progress of the main stream,

that all agriculture depending on irrigation ceased. In process of

time this trivial remnant of prosperity disappeared, and the Talpoors,

who succeeded the Kaloras in the government of Sinde, threw up other

mounds; and about the year 1802, the erection of one at Ali Bunder

excluded the waters of the Indus, even at the period of inundation,

from the channel which had once conveyed them past Cutch to the sea.

Since then, the stripe of land which once formed the fertile district

of Sayra ceased to yield a blade of vegetation, and became a part of

the Run of Cutch, on which it had formerly bordered. The channel of the

river at the town of Lucput shallowed[31]; and, above Sindree, filled

with mud, and dried up. Lower down it changed into an arm of the sea,

and was flooded at every tide.

The Raos, or Princes of Cutch, possessed at one time military

stations in three different places of Sinde,--Budeenu, Ballyaree, and

Raomaka-bazar,--yet they submissively bore these indignities, as well

to their own detriment as that of their subjects. They used no exertion

to recover that which nature had bestowed on their country, or to wipe

off those injuries which had been offered, at variance, as they no

doubt were, with the law of nations, which requires “that different

nations ought, in time of peace, to do one another all the good they

can, and in time of war, as little harm as possible, without prejudice

to their own real interests.”[32]

~Earthquake of 1819 overwhelms Sindree: forms a lake.~

In this state of indifference, there occurred, in June, 1819, a severe

shock of an earthquake, by which some hundreds of the inhabitants of

Cutch perished, and every fortified stronghold in the country was

shaken to its foundations. Wells and rivulets without number changed

from fresh to salt water; but these were trifling alterations, compared

with those which took place in the eastern branch of the Indus, and

the adjacent country. At sunset, the shock was felt at Sindree, the

station at which the Cutch Government levied their customs, situated on

the high road from Cutch to Sinde, and on the banks of what had been

once the eastern branch of the Indus. The little brick fort of 150 feet

square, which had been built there for the protection of merchandise,

was overwhelmed by an inundating torrent of water from the ocean, which

spread on every side, and, in the course of a few hours, converted the

tract, which had before been hard and dry, into an inland lake, which

extended for sixteen miles on either side of Sindree. The houses within

the walls filled with water, and eight years afterwards I found fish

in the pools among them. The only dry spot was the place on which the

bricks had fallen upon one another. One of four towers only remained,

and the custom-house officers had saved their lives by ascending it,

and were eventually transported to dry land by boats on the following

day.[33]

~Raises up a mound called “Ullah bund.”~

But it was soon discovered that this was not the only alteration in

this memorable convulsion of nature; as the inhabitants of Sindree

observed, at a distance of five miles northward, a mound of earth

or sand, in a place where the soil was previously low and level.

It extended east and west for a considerable distance, and passed

immediately across the channel of the Indus, separating as it were for

ever the Phurraun river from the sea. The natives called this mound

by the name of “Ullah bund,” or the mound of God, in allusion to its

not being, like the other dams of the Indus, a work of man, but a dam

thrown up by nature.

These wonderful events passed unheeded by the inhabitants; for the deep

injury which had been inflicted on Cutch in 1762 had so thoroughly

ruined that part of the country, that it was a matter of indifference

whether it continued a desert, or became an inland lake. A feeble and

unsuccessful attempt was made by Cutch to establish a Custom-house

on the newly raised dam of “Ullah bund,” but to this the Ameers of

Sinde objected, and Sindree being no longer tenable, the officers were

withdrawn to the mainland of Cutch.

~An overflow of the Indus destroys it in 1826.~

~Actual state of the river.~

Matters continued in this state till the month of November, 1826, when

information was received that the Indus had burst its banks in Upper

Sinde, and that an immense volume of water had spread over the desert

which bounds that country to the eastward, had likewise burst every

artificial dam in the river, as well as the “Ullah bund,” and forced

for itself a passage to the Run of Cutch. In March, 1827, I proceeded

to investigate the truth of what I have stated, to examine the natural

mound, and to endeavour to account for these constant alterations in

physical geography. I journeyed from Bhooj, the capital of Cutch, to

Lucput, a town on the north-western extremity of the province, situated

on the Koree, or eastern branch of the Indus. Here I embarked in a

small flat-bottomed boat, and sailed up the river. At Lucput, and for

twelve miles up, it was about 300 yards wide, and from two to three

fathoms deep, retaining all the appearance of a river. At Sundo, a sand

bank so called, which is about four leagues distant from that town,

the channel shallowed to four or five feet, for two miles; but then

regaining its depth, I entered on a vast inland lake that bounded the

horizon on all sides, amid which the remaining tower of Sindree stood,

like a rock in the ocean. At Sundo the water was brackish, at Sindree

it was quite fresh. Hence I proceeded to “Ullah bund,” which I found to

be composed of soft clay and shells, elevated about ten feet from the

surface of the water, and cut through like a canal, with perpendicular

banks on either side. The channel was about _thirty-five yards_ broad,

and _three fathoms_ deep; and a body of fresh water, a portion of the

real Indus, rolled down it into the lake which I had traversed, below

“Ullah bund.” Here the stream took on once more the appearance of a

river, and I found several boats laden with “ghee” (clarified butter),

which had descended it from Wunga, and thus corroborated all which I

had heard, that the bunds of the Indus had been burst, and that the

communication between the great river and its eastern and long-forsaken

branch was once more restored. I learned likewise that the far-famed

fortress of Omercote had been partially overwhelmed in this inundation;

for instead of _being an öasis in the desert_, as had long been

supposed, this birthplace of the great Acbar is a small brick fort only

three or four miles distant from the Indus, and between which and

Lucput, so late as May, 1829, there was a communication by water.

~Ullah bund described.~

The “Ullah bund,” which I now examined with attention, was, however,

the most singular consequence of this great earthquake. To the eye

it did not appear more elevated in one place than another, and could

be traced both east and west as far as it could reach; the natives

assigned to it a total length of fifty miles. It must not, however, be

supposed to be a narrow stripe like an artificial dam, as it extends

inland to Raomaka-bazar, perhaps to a breadth of sixteen miles, and

appeared to be a great upheaving of nature. Its surface was covered

with saline soil, and I have already stated that it consisted of clay,

shells, and sand. The people universally attributed this bund to the

influence of the earthquake, and also assigned the shallowness of the

river at Sundo to the same cause.

~Opinions regarding the effects of the earthquake.~

The inland lake which had been thus formed, extended for about 2000

square miles, and its limits were well defined, since the roads from

Cutch to Sinde passed on either side of it. The one led from Nurra to

Loonee and Raomaka-bazar, and the other from Lucput to Kotree Garee

and the Jattee. I am disposed to believe that this sheet of water has

collected from a depression of the country round Sindree; for the

earthquake had an immediate influence on the channel of the river below

“Ullah bund,” which became deep enough to be navigable for boats of 100

tons from the sea to Lucput, which had never been the case since 1762.

While the basin of Sindree, as I may call it, was depressed, it is

evident that the mound of “Ullah bund” was raised at the same time, as

the description already given will have satisfactorily shown.

~Subsequent alterations in the Indus.~

In the month of August, in the year 1827, I proceeded a second time

to the eastern branch of the Indus, to make further investigations

regarding a subject on which many individuals, as well as myself, had

taken an interest. Great alterations had taken place in this changeable

country; the river and lake were deeper in all places by two feet, the

channel through “Ullah bund” was much widened, and the sheet of water

was now entirely and every where salt. The stream which passed “Ullah

bund” was fresh, but greatly diminished in size: in the time that had

intervened between my visits, the south-westerly winds had prevailed,

and blown the sea water in upon the fresh, which, appeared to account

for the change that had taken place.

Besides the facts which have been recorded, it appears clear that a

portion of the waters of the Indus have a tendency to escape by Lucput

and Cutch. We find an inundation of the river seeking an old channel

which had been deserted by them for sixty-five years.[34]

THE RUN.

~Run of Cutch.~

In the course of my observations on the Indus, I found myself drawn

into many inquiries regarding the Run of Cutch, to which that river

adjoins; for if the alterations in the river afforded room for remark,

there was also much to be said on the Run, which is a tract, I believe,

without a counterpart in the globe. In length, the Run extends from

the Indus to the western confines of Guzerat, a distance of about 200

British miles. In breadth, it is about thirty-five miles; but there

are, besides, various belts and ramifications, which give it an extent

of about 7000 square miles. It is accurately delineated in the map.

The whole tract may truly be said to be a “terra hospitibus ferox;”

fresh water is never to be had any where but on islands, and there it

is scarce; it has no herbage, and vegetable life is only discernible

in the shape of a stunted tamarisk bush, which thrives by its suction

of the rain water that falls near it. It differs as widely from what

is termed the sandy desert, as it differs from the cultivated plain;

neither does it resemble the Steppes of Russia; but may be justly

considered of a nature peculiar to itself. It has been denominated

a marsh by geographers, which has given rise to many erroneous

impressions regarding it. It has none of the characteristics of one: it

is not covered or saturated with water, but at certain periods; it has

neither weeds nor grass in its bed, which, instead of being slimy, is

hard, dry, and sandy, of such a consistency as never to become clayey,

unless from a long continuance of water on an individual spot; nor is

it otherwise fenny or swampy. It is a vast expanse of flat, hardened,

sand, encrusted with salt sometimes an inch deep (the water having

been evaporated by the sun), and at others, beautifully crystallized

in large lumps. So much is the whole surrounding country corrupted

by this exuberance of salt, that all the wells dug on a level with

the Run become salt. The depression of the Run below the level of the

surrounding country at once suggests the probability of its being a

dried up lake or sea.

~Mirage of the Run.~

Nowhere is that singular phenomenon, the _mirage or surab_ of the

desert, seen with greater advantage than in the Run. The natives

aptly term it smoke[35]; the smallest shrubs at a distance assume

the appearance of forests; and on a nearer approach, sometimes that

of ships in full sail, at others that of breakers on a rock. In one

instance I observed a cluster of bushes, which looked like a pier,

with tall-masted vessels lying close to it; and on approaching, not

a bank was near the shrubs to account for the deception. From the

Run, the hills of Cutch appear more lofty, and to have merged into

the clouds, their bases being obscured by vapour. The wild ass[36]

is the only inhabitant of this desolate region; they roam about in

flocks, “scorning the multitude of the city, and make the wilderness

and barren lands their dwelling.” Their size does not much exceed that

of the common ass, but, at a short distance, they sometimes appear as

large as elephants. While the sun shines, the whole surrounding space

of Run resembles a vast expanse of water--the appearance it commonly

assumes--and which is only to be distinguished from real water by those

who are long habituated to such visionary illusions. When the sun is

not shining, the Run appears higher at a distance; but this has been

remarked of the sea, and other extensive sheets of water, and is also

to be accounted for in the deception of vision.

~Traditions regarding the Run.~

The natives of Cutch, Mahommedans as well as Hindoos, believe that

the Run was formerly a sea; and a tradition is in the mouth of every

one, that a Hindoo saint, by name Dhoorumnath, a Jogee[37], underwent

penance by standing on his head for twelve years on the summit of

Denodur, one of the highest hills in Cutch, which overlooks the Run.

When his penance terminated, God became visible to him, the hill on

which he stood split in two, and the adjacent sea (the present Run)

dried up; the ships and boats which then navigated it were overturned,

its harbours destroyed, and many wonderful events happened. There is

no race of people who have recourse to supernatural agency in their

chronicles, more than the natives of India; and, to those accustomed

to enquire into them, the circumstances just recorded will appear as

the graft of one of their tales on some real event which has actually

occurred, and is thus transmitted to posterity. Considering the

frequent occurrence of earthquakes in Cutch, the volcanic appearance

of’ its hills, and the lava which covers the face of the country,

it is to a convulsion of nature, in all probability, that we are to

attribute the foundation of such a tradition.

~Concurring traditions.~

The natives, however, carry their traditions beyond the vague legends

of a saint, and point out at this day different positions, said to have

been harbours, in the Run of Cutch. At Nerona, which is a village about

twenty miles NNW. of Bhooj the capital, and close to the Run, there is

said to have been a sea-port, which is thus described in the poesy of

the country:--

“Nerona nuggartur

Judhee Goontree Chitrano.”

In other words, that Nerona was a sea-port (tur), when Goontree (an

ancient city in Cutch) flourished in the neighbouring district of

Chitrano. At Charee, a village westward of Nerona, and on the Run,

there is also a like tradition. The people of the Puchum, the largest

island on the Run, have similar traditions, and speak of boats

having been wrecked on the hills of the island; also that there were

considerable harbours near them, called Dorut, Doh or Dohee, and

Phangwuro, which are yet pointed out to the westward of Puchum. Bitaro,

a small place on the high road to Sinde, between Cutch and “Ullah

Bund,” is also said to have been a sea-port, and I could point out

several others. Nor are the traditions less concurrent on the Sinde,

or northern side of the Run: Veego-gud, near “Ullah Bund,” is said to

have been the principal sea-port, and its brick ruins are yet visible.

Vingur and Ballyaree, which lie eastward, claim likewise the same

privileges. This sea had the name of “Kiln;” nor do I believe that

the testimony of so many people, regarding it, can be discredited,

informed as I was of these traditions by different persons, who had no

communication with one another.

~Effects of a late earthquake on the Run.~

The effects of the earthquake of 1819 have been already mentioned, in

so far as relates to the country adjoining the Indus; but occurrences

of an equally singular nature happened farther eastward. It made

numerous cracks or fissures in the Run; and I state, on the authority

of eye-witnesses, that immense quantities of black, muddy water were

ejected from these openings for a period of three days, and that the

water bubbled out of the wells of the tract bordering on the Run,

called Bunnee, till it overwhelmed the country in some place with

six, and even ten feet of water. The shepherds with difficulty saved

themselves and their flocks. During this time numerous pieces of

iron and ship-nails were thrown up at Phangwuro, the sea-port before

mentioned; and similar things have been since found in the same

neighbourhood while digging tanks. I give this fact on the authority of

respectable men at Nurra, who also assured me that nothing of the kind

had ever been discovered before the earthquake of 1819.

~Flooding of the Run.~

The grand Run of Cutch is that part which lies between Sinde and the

islands of Puchum and Khureer, the other parts being but ramifications

of it. It has a communication with the sea both on the east and west,

by means of the Gulf of Cutch and a branch of the Indus, and it is

flooded from both these openings as soon as the south-westerly winds

set in, about April each year. When local rain falls and moistens the

Run, the sea enters with great rapidity, and insulates the province of

Cutch for some months; but even without rain the greater portion of the

Run is annually flooded. The level of the Run is obviously higher than

the sea, since it requires strong winds to blow the waters of the ocean

over it.

~Configuration of the Run borders.~

We must now attend to the configuration of the Run. In the

north-eastern extremity of Cutch, it will be observed that a chain of

hills overhangs the Run at Bheyla: they are about 300 feet high, and

terminate abruptly. The islands of Khureer and Puchum lie due west of

this range, and are not only composed of the same sort of ironstone

as the Bheyla hills, but have similar ranges running through their

northern extremities, which terminate, particularly at Khureer, in a

bluff and abrupt outline towards the Run. Khureer is six miles westward

of Cutch, and Puchum is about sixteen from Khureer; westward of Puchum

there are a few low and sandy islets on the Run, and south of it lies

the Bunnee, an extensive tract of grassland, of greater elevation than

the Run, but not sufficiently so to yield grain. It has many wells,

and is inhabited by a pastoral race. South of Khureer there are also

many islands, the largest of which is Gangta, and covered with rocky

hills. Between Guzerat and Cutch the Run is narrow; at Addysir it

is but a mile and a half wide to the island of Chorar. Here there

is a deposit of shells and marine matter, a carbonate of lime mixed

with other substances; it has a red and yellow petrified appearance,

takes on a tolerably good polish, and from which some members of the

faithful pretend to read Arabic words, or letters of the Koran. It was

used in the mosaic works of all the Moghul emperors, and is commonly

called Dookur-warra marble by Europeans. North of the Bheyla hills lies

Parkur, a district peninsulated by the Run, having the lofty hills of

Kalinjur, of a formation differing from Cutch, where they are almost

all sandstone. They are primitive rocks, rising in small cones one

upon another, as if they had dropped from the clouds; the summit is

composed of trap, which extends for about a third of the way down,

and the base is red granite, which rings when struck. These hills are

separated from Cutch by a low tract of the Run, upwards of thirty miles

broad, without an intervening bush. The whole northern face of Cutch,

from Bheyla on the east to Lucput on the west, presents, with a few

exceptions, either a rocky or an elevated bank. From Nurra to Lucput

the rocks terminate abruptly, and form what would be called capes,

cliffs, and promontories, if the water washed under them. When the

immediate vicinity of the Run is not of this description, it stretches

inland, exactly as water would do when not resisted.

~Run supposed to have been an inland sea.~

The sea is receding from the southern shores of Cutch; and I believe it

is a generally received conclusion, that there is a depression of its

level throughout the globe, though in some places it has risen. We may,

therefore, suppose the ocean to have receded from the Run of Cutch,

and that that tract was at one time a navigable sea. That the natives

should attribute so great a change in a part of their country to the

influence of a Jogee, is not wonderful. A body of these persons has

been long settled in Cutch. They are a philanthropic and hospitable

body of men, who permit no one of any persuasion to leave their door

hungry, and they are blessed with plenty. Like the monks in Europe in

former days, these Jogees are the repository of history and traditions,

and it may be their careful preservation of them, which has given rise

to the belief that the alterations in the Run were accomplished in the

time of Dhoorumnath, the founder of their order. In proof of this, they

have a tradition that the ancestors of the present rulers of Cutch

were once a class of poor shepherds from Samee (Tatta), in Sinde, and

fed their flocks, till patronised by the Denodur Jogees, who raised

them to be Rajahs of the country. So far is this true, the Rajpoots

of Cutch did come from Tatta, and did tend herds of cattle in Cutch;

but they were certainly not raised to their present elevation by the

intercession of some Hindoo monks; yet such is the alteration which a

story undergoes, in the course of four hundred years.[38]

NOTE ON SINDREE.

I annex the following extract, describing a journey from Lucput in

Cutch, to Hydrabad in Sinde, by way of Sindree, from the MS. of Captain

R. M. Grindlay, written in the year 1808, when with a mission to the

Ameers of Sinde, and which has been kindly furnished to me. It will be

seen that the neighbourhood of Sindree, which I have described to be

under water, was then dry, and that the fort of Sindree existed at that

time, as an outpost of the Cutch Government.

“We embarked on the creek at Lucput Bender, which is about three

quarters of a mile broad, and runs between east and north, for six or

eight miles, when it begins to narrow very much: the shore on each

side is a wet marsh, covered with short bushes.

“In the evening we anchored at the turn of the tide, and at twelve

o’clock next day we passed Sindree, which is about thirty miles from

Lucput, and dependent on it, with a small garrison of sepoys: it is

a small fort, with a few huts outside, and one well: the creek here

is about a mile and a quarter broad, and has a ferry across. The

travellers who take this route to Sinde are not numerous, and leave no

vestige of a road in the light sand, of which the dry part of the Run

is composed. The heat of the meridian sun is said to be so intense,

that they generally travel in the night. From Sindree, by land, the

next stage is about twenty-four miles to Baura, after which the Run

ends, and water becomes tolerably plentiful.

“We passed Sindree, and observed several inferior branches leading

through the Run, among which we saw a few straggling men and women;

about twenty miles beyond Sindree, we reached Aly Bunder, at eight

o’clock at night, and came to anchor close to the mound which

confines the fresh water: when the day appeared, we observed it

to be a poor mud village, of about fifty huts, and a tower of the

same unsubstantial materials. Here we encamped for the purpose of

collecting the boats from the freshwater side of the mound, and not

finding a sufficient number, several of those we brought with us were

dragged over: this, however, was a work of three days; and, during

that time, from the nature of the soil, we were annoyed by the dust

in such a manner as would scarcely be believed by those who had not

been in a similar situation: the sun was completely obscured by

it, an object at the distance of 100 yards was invisible; and the

natives moving about were so disguised, that their colour was not

distinguishable. The soil of the Run is a mixture of fine sand and the

salt deposited by the inundation. This, dried by several months’ sun,

becomes a most impalpable powder. The Run, which ceases about a line

with Aly Bunder, from north-east and north, is covered with aquatic

bushes and a few shells: the sand entangled amongst these bushes forms

hillocks of various heights, from five to fifteen feet, according to

the size of the bush. It does not appear that any of the side channels

lead beyond the Run, or that any of them are navigated by boats,

except those which again join the main stream: that by which we came

is certainly by far the most considerable.

“On the 10th we embarked again on the freshwater river, which is there

about 400 yards broad, and soon after widens very much, with high

sand-hills on the banks, and a few huts with a little cultivation. The

river here takes the name of Goonee.

“At the distance of about twelve miles from Aly Bunder, the river

divides, and soon after becomes so narrow, that our boats, though

not large, had difficulty in passing through the large bushes which

overhang the bank, and has great appearance of a cut canal, or at

least of a channel cleared out and deepened; the banks are irregular

in their height, and the land immediately beyond them low, and in

several places swampy. We passed the mouth of a creek on the west,

said to lead to Tatta, besides several other inferior streams which

run through the country, and are cut into a variety of channels, for

the purposes of cultivation.

“About ten miles beyond Aly Bunder, on the west bank, is Chuttee Thur

(or ferry), opposite to which is the mouth of a considerable stream,

with a dam across, which we understood to be the Phoran. This was

formerly a very large branch of the Indus, and ran past Nusserpoor,

which I learn is to the south-east. Many of the inhabitants of that

place recollect a remarkable change in the river: the inundation

swallowed up a great part of the town, and altered the course of

the river, which since then has had much less water in it. The

whole of Sinde, from the nature of its soil, is subject to these

alterations by the annual floods, many striking instances of which the

inhabitants are well acquainted with, particularly that which I have

already mentioned, and the great alterations in the branches below

Tatta.”--_See Captain Grindley’s Journal in MS._

THE END.

LONDON:

Printed by A. SPOTTISWOODE,

New-Street-Square.

FOOTNOTES:

[29] See “Principles of Geology,” by Charles Lyell, Esq., F.R.S.

London, vol. ii. 1832.

[30] This battle was fought near a small village of that name. The

inhabitants of Cutch made a brave stand for their independence against

a Sindian army led by Ghoolam Shah Kulora.

[31] Captain (now Lieut.-Col.) D. Wilson, of the Bombay army, found a

ford here in 1820, in a part of the river 500 yards wide. In 1826, I

found a depth of fifteen feet in the same place.

[32] Blackstone.

[33] Since my return to England, I have been so fortunate as to procure

a view of Sindree, as it existed in the year 1808, from a sketch by

Captain Grindlay, who visited it at that time. It has been engraved

for this work, and faces Chap. XVI. Captain Grindlay’s observations on

Sindree follow in a note.

[34] I have suppressed various opinions which I had formed on the

causes of these constant changes, deeming them of small value. The

paper has been also published at length by the Royal Asiatic Society of

London.

[35] Dhooan.

[36] Called “Khur-gudha” by the natives.

[37] This class of people are yet numerous in Cutch: it is among

them that the horrid custom called “traga” prevails. It consists in

sacrificing one of their number when any injury or oppression is

offered to their community, under a belief that the blood so shed rests

on the head of those who oppress them.

[38] I have since found, in some manuscript papers of the late lamented

Captain M‘Murdo, written as long since as 1815, that he formed similar

conclusions with myself regarding the Run of Cutch. He is treating of

that part of it near Kattywar, of which I have not spoken, and the

following extract is both curious and satisfactory:---

“The Runn has every appearance of the sea having shortly withdrawn

from it. This is supported by the semblance and production of the

neighbouring country, and large stones are found on the shore several

miles from the present Runn, of a description similar to those used as

anchors; they have holes bored through for the cable. On the shore, at

different places, are shown small ancient buildings, called Dan Derees,

or houses where the dan or customs were collected; and, in short, it

is a tradition in the country, that Khor, a village two miles east of

Teekir, was a sea-port town. About fifty years since, the wreck of a

vessel, of a size far beyond that of any of the craft now in use in the

Gulf of Cutch, was discovered at Wawania, sunk in the mud about fifteen

feet deep.”--_Captain M‘Murdo’s MS. Memoir on Kattywar, August, 1815._

Transcriber's Note

The following apparent errors have been corrected:

p. x "and, the Indus" changed to "and the Indus"

p. xv "Advance so Lahore" changed to "Advance to Lahore"

p. xix "Umritsirr" changed to "Umritsir"

p. 22 "voyage to Labore" changed to "voyage to Lahore"

p. 33 "ridge near it," changed to "ridge near it."

p. 34 "India,” that" changed to ""India,” that"

p. 83 "various Beloche" changed to "various Beloochee"

p. 113 "been throughly" changed to "been thoroughly"

p. 115 (sidenote) "of Mooltan" changed to "of Mooltan."

pp. 117-8 "was as fol" changed to "was as follows"

p. 122 "branch from it," changed to "branch from it."

p. 144 "royal foostool" changed to "royal footstool"

p. 201 "The are about 700" changed to "There are about 700"

p. 267 "Bukkur, it" changed to "Bukkur, its"

p. 308 "Umritoir is superior" changed to "Umritsir is superior"

p. 316 "at Sundree it was" changed to "at Sindree it was"

Inconsistent or archaic spelling and punctuation have otherwise been

kept as printed.