JOURNAL 



OF THE 



BOMBAY 



Statural Sistflrn $atht& 



N0. 3- BOMBAY, JULY 1886. Vol. I. 



A SIND LAKE, 

 By Capt, E. F. Becher, R.A., f.z.s. 



Sind, as viewed on the map and as seen from the sea on approach- 

 ing Karachi, has a most unpromising appearance ; in the former case 

 the Desert of Sind is written, and in the latter an apparently desert of 

 deserts is seen, the few houses of Clifton, surrounded by sand Kills, 

 giving a greater aspect of desolation than if no signs of habitation 

 were visible ; but along the banks of the Indus which traverses the 

 whole length of Sind are numerous jhils and lakes abounding in wild 

 fowl. 



The Manchar Lake, however, though communicating with the 

 Indus, does not owe its existence entirely to that river ; it is about 

 7 miles long and 4 broad ; on one side are high barren hills of bare 

 rock, and on the other an open cultivated plain stretching to the 

 Indus, which is distant about 8 or 9 miles. 



The lake itself is for the most part shallow and covered with water 

 weed ; the water is like crystal, and, looking down on the subaqueous 

 forest through the clear shallow medium, brightened by the usual 

 unclouded sun, it has always reminded me of a most perfect 

 microscopical illumination of some opaque object, a beauty which 

 a microscopist will understand. The surface of the lake teems with 

 waterfowl. Mr. A. 0. Hume says with respect to the coots : 

 " I believe they would have to be counted not by thousands, but 

 by tens of thousands. * * * In no part of the world have I 

 ever seen such incredible multitudes of coots as are met with in 

 Sind." This was written in 1873, but since that date Sind has 

 been much opened out, and the Manchar Lake being easily accessible 

 the number of wild fowl has decreased. On three occasions I have 

 spent about ten days on the lake. Living in a boat is much preferable 

 to camping on the banks for any one to whom a bird is something 

 more than a Hawk, Duck, or Snippet. 



