162 COMMERCE OF SHIKARPOOR. 



Shikarpoor is generally preferred, on account of 

 the former being extremely dull. Shikarpoor is 

 situated on the high road to Candahar by the 

 Bolan Pass, and this must always give it an im- 

 portant influence on the trade of the Indus and 

 the countries beyond. No city beyond the 

 Indus at all comes up to it in commercial im- 

 portancCj from the extensive nature of its bank- 

 ing transactions with China, India, Persia, 

 Khorassan, Bokhara, Turkey, and Astracan, 

 its principal merchants having correspondents 

 and money transactions in all those countries. 

 Shikarpoor shares with Mooltan the title of one 

 of the gates of Khorassan, the natives of Sindh 

 so styling Afghanistan. 



The city, which is about three miles in 

 circumference, is surrounded by a very dilapi- 

 dated wall, having eight huge gates, beyond 

 which are luxuriant gardens. It was built 

 about the year 1617, and contains 22,000 in* 

 habitants, according to the census of Captain 

 Postans, but since increased fully one-third. 

 The bazaar is an extremely fine one, about 600 

 yards in length, and entirely covered in, which, 

 however agreeable, as affording shelter from a 

 burning sun, renders the place unbearable wl\cn 



