A FLEET OF INVALIDS. 141 



careless in regard to the transmission of letters, 

 occasionally forwarding those addressed to one 

 station in an opposite direction. This occurred 

 two or three times to myself, although I was well 

 known to the postmaster and his subordinates. 



Our solitude at Khyrpoor was rarely broken 

 by visitors, but now and then a stray travel- 

 ler popped in ; we also occasionally visited 

 Sukkur for a few days, and on one of these 

 visits saw a fleet of Punjaub boats on its way 

 down the Indus. The boats were 180 in 

 number, having on board about 1200 inva- 

 lids. One poor fellow had lost both arms, and 

 two hundred were said to have lost an arm or 

 leg. The rest were mostly broken in health, 

 from wounds and exposure. The ladies and 

 children with the party were also very nu- 

 merous. The boats extended nearly two miles 

 in length, and seemed comfortably fitted up, 

 and when in motion had a picturesque appear- 

 ance on the water. We were fortunate in 

 having a pleasant party in 'the traveller's 

 bungalow in addition to ourselves; the others 

 were a lawyer whom we had known at Bom- 

 bay, and an officer commanding one of the 

 Punjaub cavalry corps, who had served under 



