RIVERS AND LAKES 301 



THE CONFLICTS AND ADVENTURES OF RIVERS 



Our ancestors looked upon rivers as being in 

 some sense alive, and in fact in their " struggle 

 for existence" they not only labour to adapt 

 their channel to their own requirements, but 

 in many cases enter into conflict with one 

 another. 



In the plain of Bengal, for instance, there 

 are three great rivers, the Brahmapootra 

 corning from the north, the Ganges from the 

 west, and the Megna from the east, each of 

 them with a number of tributary streams. 

 Mr. Fergusson 1 has given us a most interest- 

 ing and entertaining account of the struggles 

 between these great rivers to occupy the 

 fertile plain of Bengal. 



The Megna, though much inferior in size to 

 the Brahmapootra, has one great advantage. 

 It depends mainly on the monsoon rains for 

 its supply, while the Brahmapootra not only 

 has a longer course to run, but relies for its 

 floods, to a great extent, on the melting of the 



l Geol. Jour., 1863. 



