106 THE SEHWAN DISTRICT. 



picturesque aspect, and the old fort is in itself 

 an object of interest to the traveller. Alexander 

 the Great built a tower on this spot, which 

 commands the river, but these ruins are pro- 

 bably of much more recent date. The Hala 

 mountains are, I am told, covered with petri- 

 factions, which on being cut through are found 

 to contain marine insects, although upwards of 

 200 miles from the sea. 



The Sehwan district is one of the richest in all 

 Sindh, and contains the finest wheat land in the 

 province, vast crops of which grain are pro- 

 duced in the tracts adjacent to the Munchur 

 lake. The town of Sehwan has a well-supplied 

 bazaar, and the demand is considerable in 

 consequence of the number of pilgrims and 

 Faquirs, who resort to the tomb of the cele- 

 brated Lai Shah Baz, a saint who seems to be 

 held as a favourite equally with Hindoos and 

 Mahomedans. The town is consequently in- 

 fested with religious mendicants, and is pre- 

 eminently distinguished for heat, filth, and 

 immorality. About a mile above Sehwan is a 

 ferry across the Indus, and, when the river is 

 low, good roads exist on both banks. 



Northern Sindh, which extends from Sehwan 



