IS06.] Journal of a Voyage to the East Indies^ U,c. 



347 



and cxen tlie prudence of my conduft, 

 may be reduced to a very plniii queilion ; 

 whether, on every inbicfinent puhliciition 

 of mine, I ouglit to futl'er an anonymous 

 reviewer to call me a liar, or, with the 

 proofs which I pofl'efled againft iiini, to ex- 

 empt myfc'f and others from a rcjietition 

 of any fmiilar infults and abufe. With 

 the means of deiC(''lion To completely in 

 my hands, I ihouk! liuve coniidcred my- 

 fclf as delicient in what \vas due both to 

 myfclf and to my friends, had I fuffered 

 fucli an author as Gloiii; to efcape with 

 impimity, from any timidity or lielitation 

 to unmalk a reviewer. 



And now having done with him and 

 the fubject for ever, I am, your's, &c. 



Malcolm Lainc. 



For the Moiiilih/ Magazine. 

 JOIEXAL of u \oy kQv, performed in the 



INDIAN SEAS, to MADRAS, BENGAL, 



CHINA, fyc, SfC, in his majesty's 



Sllll't AROI.INE, in M« YEAKS 1803-4-5, 

 interfperfed xci'h Jhort descriptive 



SKETCHES of the PRESENT STATE of the 



principal settlements of the india 



COMPANY. 



Communicated to the monthly magazine 

 by an officer of that ship. 



ON'tiie 2111 of September 1803, we 

 anived in ths river Ganaes, got 

 into muddy water, and Inuck foundiuL's 

 on the Sand Heads^ Ion;; dant'erous 

 llioals lying olf the mouths of the (Jarii;es, 

 formed by the fautl canied down with 

 the rapid lli'eam of that great river. 



On tlie 24th we anchored abreaft of 

 Kedgeree, a fmall village on the weilern 

 bank of the Iloogly. 



The river Ganges, like tlie Nile, long 

 lieforc it approaclies the fea, fc])arates 

 into two gj'eat branches, which are after- 

 wards fubdivided, and cnclofe a large 

 delta, or triangular fpace, called the Sun- 

 derbunds. The wefteni Iranch then 

 takes the name of the Iloogly, on wjiofo 

 banks is featcd (\tlcutta, tlie capital of 

 Bengal, and reiideiice of the goveinor-ge- 

 neriii ; diftantfrom the fea,about 90 or 100 

 miles. Men-of-war generally lie at Ked- 

 geree, or Diamond harbour ; at this latter 

 place, v\hich is from'40 or 50 miles below 

 Calcutta, the regular Indiamen always 

 nioor, refit, and take in, or dil'charge their 

 cargoes. Ships, however, of aay fize, 

 may lie clofe to the walls of Calcutta, 

 nay, go pcihaps an hundred miles above 

 it: but they arc firit obliged to lighten, 

 in order to pafs a bar that lies a little 

 above Diamond harbour. 



The tides in this river, particularly at 



full and change, are rapid beyond belief^ 

 fonning what are called "iViars," ui* 

 " Boies," wlicn the tirean* feems as if 

 tumbling down a ftecp dcfceni, doiag 

 great uiifchief among the boats, by upfet- 

 ting and running them ovcv each otiier! 

 Ships themfelves are frequently ct^aggecl 

 from tlicir anchors, and dallied turioully 

 agaiiill each other, at thcfc periods. 



At Kedgeree only one European rcTides, 

 who has the care of the pofi-otlice,aaK! who 

 fuppiics fliips with vegetables, water, aud 

 other necciiarics. At this placc,therefore, 

 we had an ample allowance .of all kinds 

 of refrefhincnts for the lick, fuch as fruits, 

 roots, &c. at the expeiice of government; 

 6d. per man per diem being allowed for 

 the number reprefentcd by the fui-geon, 

 as ill need of fuch vegetables, and that to 

 continue for a fortnight or longer, ac- 

 cording to circumftances. 



We here got pine-apples, plantains, 

 bananas, yams, oranges, cocoa-nuts, 

 limes, lliaddocks or poinmiloes, guavas, 

 &c. &c. &c. all extremely cheap ; three 

 or four pine apples, for inltaiice, colt, 

 only an ana, or 2d. Englith; aud the 

 others proportional. Fowls and ducks 

 two rupees, or 5s. per dozen ; geefe, three 

 rupees, or 7s. 6d. ; and all otlier fpecies 

 of ftock equally reafonablc. 



There is a wonderful variety of fmall 

 craft conftantly paliing and rCijailing on 

 this river; from the elegant budgerow 

 that can accommodate the whole tamily 

 of an Europeais gentleman, down to tiie ■ 

 little boat, tiiat ferves to land a fingie 

 perfon on the banks. 



It is allouiihiiig what a length of time 

 the boatmen will row v»ithout beiag fa- 

 tigued ; I have known tiien piiii a boat 

 from Saugur to Calcutta, a diftaiice of . 

 nearly one hundred miles, with only a 

 i'ew hours intermiffion, antl yet exerting 

 themfelves to the utmoft every ftroke. 



1 his river is very much infeited with 

 alligators, cfpecially on the Kedgeree 

 lide, where a month feldom pafl'es v\itb- 

 out fome of the natives being devoured 

 by thele dreadful creatures- A cit-ek 

 about a mile to the northward of the vil- 

 lage, has been the haunt of one for iviajiy 

 years, and wiio has long retuleved hiiufelf 

 ibrmidable to the neighbourhood, by his 

 depredations and enormous fize, being, it 

 is laid, 28 or SO feet iu lengtk ! 



Some little time afcorthis, .IpurcJwfesla 

 young one, about four leet in length, fiom 

 a uiherinan who had caui;ht it in his net. 

 Its figure cxeetdingiy rcfeuibies fhe gu- 

 ana ; and it likewife hears a coniidc'iable 

 iluitlitude to tiic li'/.^ii'd: it could ruu hut 

 X 2 i\owiy 



