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Nauthpore in Purneah ; it then flow* nearly dua south, and 

 joins the Ganges at the south-western rorner of Purneah, 

 where it forms the boundary between Bengal and Bahnr. 

 The Conki U a considerable mountain-stream, whu-h has its 

 source in Tibet. It enters Bengal in Purneah distnc-i. i 

 the north of Allygunge, eastward of the Cosi, and between 

 it and tbaTeesta; it then Hows with a windins course to- 

 wards the south, and after being joined by the Mahananda, 

 which receives its name, it joins the Ganges at Nabobgunue 

 about seventeen miles above Bauleah. The Dummoodah 

 rises among the hills in the district of Ramghur in Bahar. 

 This river receives many tributaries in its eastward course 

 through Riimnhur : it enters Bengal at the western ex- 

 tremity of Burdwan. passes the town of Burdwan, and 

 then, turning abruptly to the south, joins the Hoogly a few 

 miles below Futtah, and not far from the estuary of the 

 Hoogly. Above the influence of the tides, the Dummoodah 

 is shallow, and except in the rainy season not navigable. 

 Where the river passes through the hilly country two or 

 three hours' rain fills it, but it runs dry again in a short 

 time, so that it is only when the rains are regular that boats 

 can pass. When the river is falling the boats are hauled 

 up to wait the next rise, which often comes so suddenly as 

 to overwhelm everything in its way. The influence of the 

 tide reaches only to Omptha, about twenty- five miles in a 

 direct line from the junction of the Dumtnoodah with the 

 Hoogly. Above Burdwan there is more water, and the 

 river is used for the conveyance of goods. The Jhinayi river 

 is a branch of the Brahmapootra, which it quits at Shazad- 

 pore, about ten miles below Dewangunge. The Jhinayi 

 flows first to the south and then to the west, and discharges 

 itself into the lakes or jeels of Nattore. The Kn 

 which rises in Tibet, enters the province of Bengal at its 

 northern boundary, dividing from each other the districts 

 of Rungpore and Dinajcpore; after a' short course to the 

 south-west it falls into the Teesta. In the rainy season the 

 Korotoya is navigable for boats of small burthen, but the 

 principal commercial use that is made of this river is to 

 float considerable quantities of timber down its current. 

 The Manas is a small river, which forms the boundary of 

 the British dominions at the north-eastern extremity of 

 Bengal, which province it separates from Bijneo, a princi- 

 pality paying tribute to the ruler of Bootan. The Manas 

 (lows to the south-west, and after thus forming a territorial 

 boundary for about seventeen miles, fulls into the Brahma- 

 putra at Jughigopa in 26 12' N. lat., and 90 35' E. long. 

 The Teesta is said to rise in Thibet, and to form there, 

 through part of its course, the boundary of the Chinese 

 empire. Finding a passage through the Himalaya range 

 it falls precipitately down the face of a mountain, about liiiy 

 miles north of Jelpigory, a small town in Rungpore district, 

 sixty-five miles north-north-west from the town of Rungpore. 

 The Teesta separates the British territory from Bootan as 

 far south as Gopauluunge, a village on the east bank of 

 the river in 26 38' N. lat., and 88 49' E. long. South 

 of this village the territory on both sides of the Teesta 

 belongs to the British, and the stream thence continues 

 within the province of Bengal until it joins the great eastern 

 trunk of the Ganges near Nabobgunge in 24 35' N. lat., 

 and 88 27' E. long. The Teesta is navigable at all seasons 

 fur boats of small burthen to within ten miles of the northern 

 frontier of the British dominions. It is much swollen in the 

 rainy season, and advantage is taken of this circumstance 

 to transmit goods by it in vessels of considerable size. 



lie-ides the rivers here mentioned Bengal contains many 

 water-courses communicating with navigable rivers. During 

 the mini these tributaries also are navigable by boats, 

 which convey the produce of the soil from the doors of the 

 ryot* for shipment in larger vessels on the more considerable 

 ttreams. It is said that there is hardly any spot in the 

 province which is more than twenty miles from a river na- 

 vigable in the driest seasons. 



The rivers of Bengal are constantly changing their 

 course*, an effect which is attributed by Major Rennell to 

 the loose innd-mls of which the soil is composed, and which 

 easily yields lo the friction of the stream. The manner in 

 which this effect is produced is thus described by the Major: 

 I ' in easily suppose, that if the Ganges was turned into a 

 inal, cut through tho ground it now traverses in 

 the moil Minding: parts of its course, its straighlncss would 

 be of short duration. Some \ieidiii'j part of the bank, or 

 that which happer.c-d to bc-thr most strongly acted on, would 

 first be corroded or dissolved : thus a bay or cavity would be 



formed in the side of the hank. Thi begets an inflection of 

 the current, which falling obliquely on the side of the bay, 

 corrodes it incessantly. When the current has passed the 

 innermost part of the bay. i; Dun, and 



is thrown obliquely towards ihc opposite M,!,. ol the canal, 

 depositing in its way the matter excavated hay, 



and which begins to form a shallow or ban:. 

 the border of the canal. Here then i ,uch 



windings as owe their existence to the n;r 

 The bay, so corroded, in time becomes large enough u> 

 a new direction to the body of the canal, and the matd 

 cavatcd from tho bay is so disposed as to assist in throw mi; 

 tho current against the opposite bank, where a process -11111- 

 lar to that I have been describing will be begun.' 



There are many instances of a total ch:i - m 



some of the Bengal rivers. It is stated by Major Rennell 

 that ' tho Cosi river (equal to the Rhine) once ran by Pur- 

 neah (town), and joined the (iaiifies opposite Rajimai. 

 junction is now forty-five miles higher up. Gour, the antient 

 capital of Bengal, stood on the old bank of the Ganges, al- 

 though its ruins are four or five miles from tl 

 bank. During eleven years of my residence in Bengal, the 

 outlet or head of the Gellinghy river was nr.idualiy re; 

 three quarters of a mile lower down ; and by two surveys of 

 a part of the adjacent bank of the Ganges, taken about the 

 distance of nine years from each other, it appeared that the 

 breadth of an English mile and a half had been taken away. 

 This is, however, the most rapid change that I have im 

 a mile in ten or twelve years being the usual rate of en- 

 croachment in places where the current strikes with the 

 greatest force namely, where two adjoining reaches ap- 

 proach nearest to a right angle. In such filiations it not 

 ^infrequently excavates gulfs of considerable length within 

 the bank. These gulfs are in the direction of the .-troime-t 

 parts of the stream, and are in fact the young thoot 

 may so express myself) which in time strike out and become 

 branches of the river, for we generally find them at those 

 turnings thnt have the smallest angles.' 



iMkfs. There are a great number of extensive jeels 

 (shallow lakes) in Bengal. The greater part of tho< 

 tain little or no water during the dry season, but are so 

 swollen by the rains as to offer facilities for the conveyance 

 of produce in boats of large dimensions. Some of these 

 jeeU are navigable throughout the year. It is supposed that 

 these stagnant sheets of water were originally parts of the 

 channels of great rivers, the courses of which have been 

 changed by the means just described. 



The instability of the soil which admits of these changes, 

 is one reason why the buildings throughout the province 

 arc usually of a frail description. The habitations of the 

 poorer classes are made of such slight materials, that lew 

 of them will last beyond the second or third year, while the 

 dwellings of the wealthy are of a very homely description. 

 Few persons care to expend much money in the erection 

 of a building, which by an ordinary casualty may be da- 

 maged or destroyed in a few seasons. 



Climate. There is considerable regularity in the changes 

 of the seasons in Bengal. The four months pi 

 ing the setting in of the periodical rains, which gene- 

 rally commence early in June, are dry, and the heat 

 during this time progressively increases, until it becomes 

 scarcely supportable even by the natives. During April, 

 the heat is occasionally tempered by thunder-storms, M. 

 companied by rain and wind from the north-west. In 

 June and July the rain is violent, and with little or no 

 intermission, so that it is rare to experience an interval of 

 fair weather which lasts for more than one or two days 

 together. The quantity of rain that falls at this s. 

 has sometimes been equal to four or five inches of water 

 in twenty -four hours : this however is far beyond the 

 average, since the annual fall of rain varies from seventy to 

 eighty inches, but VC:T rai - the larger quantity. 



From July to the beginning of September the weather is 

 less decidedly rainy, the dry da\s recur more frequently 

 and occupy longer intervals, the rain too, when it falls, is 

 less violent. In September the dry season again prevails, 

 and the heat is nuen-e. This is considered the most un- 

 healthy part of the jear. especially to Europeans, an eft'rct 

 which may in part l>c attributed to the profuse exhalations 

 caused by the rays of the sun acting upon the land when sa- 

 luratcrl \\iih mmsturr. 



In the dry and colder part of the year the dews arc so 

 heavy, as probably to compensate for the daily exhausting 



