THE EARTH. 181 



which is seen floating in the seas near the Arctic 

 circle. The Oby, of five hundred leagues, run- 

 ning from the lake of Kila into the Northern Sea. 

 The Amour, in Eastern Tartary, whose course is 

 about five hundred and seventy-five leagues, from 

 its source to its entrance into the sea of Kamt- 

 schatka. The Kiam, in China, five hundred and 

 fifty leagues in length. The Ganges, one of the 

 most noted rivers in the world, and about as long 

 as the former. It rises in the mountains which 

 separate India from Tartary, and running through 

 the dominions of the Great Mogul, discharges it- 

 self by several mouths into the Bay of Bengal. 

 It is not only esteemed by the Indians for the 

 depth and pureness of its stream, but for a sup- 

 posed sanctity which they believe to be in its 

 waters. It is visited annually by several hundred 

 thousand pilgrims, who pay their devotions to the 

 river as to a god ; for savage simplicity is always 

 known to mistake the blessings of the Deity for 

 the Deity himself. They carry their dying 

 friends from distant countries, to expire on its 

 banks, and to be buried in its stream. The 

 water is lowest in April or May ; but the rains 

 beginning to fall soon after, the flat country is 

 overflowed for several miles, till about the end of 

 September ; the waters then begin to retire, leav- 

 ing a prolific sediment behind, that enriches the 

 soil, and, in a few days time, gives a luxuriance 

 to vegetation beyond what can be conceived by 

 an European. Next to this may be reckoned the 

 still more celebrated river Euphrates. This rises 



