The picturesque _ghāt_ of Sirsya is in the distance, in front of which
is an enormous boat, called a _Kutcher_, or _Kutchuā_; the bows and the
stern are both square. A vessel of this description has frequently two
rudders, like the one before you. It is laden with bales of cotton,
which extend, supported on bamboos, far beyond each side of the boat.
The next vessel is a large _patailī_, called a _ghor-daul_, or
_ghora-wal_, because the bows are ornamented with a horse’s head. She is
laden with salt.
In the foreground is a timber raft, one of the most picturesque objects
to be seen on the Ganges. The men who accompany the raft have a
strangely wild appearance; fresh from the _jangal_, they come down with
the floating timber for scarcely any payment, just enough to feed them.
They are small in stature, their skins are very dark, they shave the
head completely, and their bodies are all but naked. They direct the
course of the raft with long bamboos; a small thatch is erected upon
her, under which they creep, and there they sleep. A picture in itself
is the wild, strange-looking timber raft, which is generally decorated
with two or three small red flags, and is always accompanied by a very
small, narrow canoe, hollowed out of the trunk of a tree.