1822.] 
LITERARY SOCIETY OF BOMBAY. 
DESCRIPTION of the TREE of KEBYR- 
“BOR, in the Island of that name, 
situated twelve miles NE. of Ba- 
reatch, in the vicinity of the Corna- 
line Mines. (Read to the Literary 
ae of Bombay, by J. COPLAND, 
M.D. 
THE moon was shining bright, and 
we could distinguish objects so as to 
form a correct notion of the tree. The 
obscurity diffused beneath the foliage 
added to the grandeur and solemnity 
of the scene. Its leafy colonnades, its 
verdant areades, ifs immense festoons, 
the spacious area that this giant of the 
forests covers with its shade, its enor- 
mous trunks, all concur to attest its 
antiquity, and I experienced emotions 
similar to what are felt in the vast 
basilicos of the gothic order, while the 
freshness which emanated from the 
thick foliage seemed to give me new 
life. 
The ground which this tree covers 
with its branches, as far as I could 
judge, is about three or four acres. 
They ascend to such a height as to be 
visible in a radius of maty miles; at 
certain distances the tree appears like a 
hill, forming one extremity of the is- 
land. On the east the river washes its 
foot; to the south and west are sand 
banks, which are covered at high tides. 
The northern part of the island isa 
tongue stretching about three miles. 
The soil, light and sandy, has some 
fertility. 
When the river overflows, towards 
the end of the rainy season, the island 
becomes inundated. This forces the 
few islanders that inhabit it, with the 
apes, their neighbours, to seek refuge 
in the higher parts of the tree, where 
they remain perched several days, till 
the waters retire; such being their ra- 
pidity, that no boat can manceuvre in 
them. 
__A singular traditiov exists among the 
Hindoos respecting this tree. They re- 
late that a man of the name of Kebyr, 
renowned for sanctity, after cleansing 
his teeth in the Indian manner, with a 
piece of wood, threw it into the river, 
where it took root so as to form, in 
time, this prodigious tree. After his 
death, the saint had the honours of 
canonization, and we saw his statue ina 
temple near one of the most ancient 
trunks, supposed to be the piece of 
wood that served him for a tooth pick. 
- Yo this temple repair all the neigh- 
bouring villagers, and a multitude of 
Interary Society of Bombay. 
147 
strangers arrive to pay their devotions. 
The duty of celebrating the ceremonies 
is confided to the mendicants named 
Biragys, superintended by a chief who 
resides in theisland. With an excep- 
tion of the students that dwell on the 
neighbouring continent, the rest are 
wanderers that come from all parts of 
India. Our intention was to pass the 
night under the protection of the saint, 
but not having our hammocks we were 
obliged to take to our boat, and pass 
the night in it, instead of a temple. 
LETTER from DR. EVERSMANN, daled 
from the Banks of the Rivers szir, 
(the ancient TAXARTES,) and the 
KUWAN. 
Our caravan, which consisted, as at 
our first departure from Orenburg, 
of five hundred camels and as many 
men for escort, half foot soldiers 
and half Cossacks, pursues its journey 
with great order and uniformity. We 
set out generally at eight in the morn- 
ing, and moveon till four or five; then 
we raise our tents, and prepare our vic- 
tuals, mutton, tea, and biscuit. The 
next day we continue our route, halting 
every four or five hours. | 
After traversing in this manner, # 
space of about 150 werstes, or thirty- 
three leagues, we arrived at the tents of 
the Sultan Arungusi, who proceeded 
with usto the banks of the Szir, intend- 
ing to accompany us to those of the 
Kuwan. We have crossed a number of 
steppes, or sandy desarts, such as the 
Great and the Little Bursuck, the Black 
Sands, the Kuel, &c. In the latter is 
the lake Arah, from the banks of which 
we may overlook a vast extent of coun- 
try, formed. of recent alluvions, the 
stony matter-in which is composed of 
shells, and a small species of curdes 
that we found alive in the Aral. Se- 
veral sorts of murex, though in minor 
quantities, attracted notice. 
Since Nov. 10th, we have been con- 
stantly. on or along the Szir, which 
empties itself into the lake Aral. The 
mean width of this river is much about 
that of the Elbe, or of the Karna, a river 
of Russia. The banks, smooth or rug- 
ged, are destitute of trees, and sandy, 
like the desart throughout; they pre- 
sent, however, in a tract of many miles, 
reeds, very thickly set, and three times 
the height ofa man. The bed of this 
river is deep; we found it frozen where 
we had to cross it, and the passage was 
not without danger. Lakes, great and 
small, enviren it. We marched along 
the 
