THE INDUS AT ATTOCK. 525 



difficult to maintain. The normal velocity of the current 

 at Attock is from 5 to 7 miles an hour in the cold 

 season; but during floods the Indus here presents a 

 wild scene of confusion of waters, which at such times 

 rush with fearful violence through the rocky gorge 

 with a sound like that of a troubled sea, and at a speed 

 of some 13 or 14 miles an hour. 



A tremendous whirlpool is thus created, which often 

 used to sweep everything before it, frequently com- 

 pelling the removal of the floating bridge to avert 

 its destruction. Communications then had to be kept 

 up in cas'e of necessity, at great risk, by means of a 

 ferry boat, or a raft constructed of inflated skins, in 

 the manner already described. 



This has however all been changed by the opening 

 (in May 1883), of an iron girder bridge, by the North 

 Western Railway of India, which now carries both 

 the railway and the road, across the Indus, high above 

 the reach of floods: its construction was one of the 

 most costly and difficult works on the line. Very 

 striking and impressive is the panorama, as the train 

 passes over this historic gorge, which is justly ac- 

 counted one of the most picturesque spots in India. 



The waves of the great river, here confined within 

 a very narrow channel, foam and boil at an immense 

 depth beneath : to the right is seen the ancient fortress, 

 of Attock constructed by the Emperor Akbar about 

 1583. It is situated on a commanding height, and 

 presents a most imposing appearance ; while the distant 

 country opens up a prospect of wild and rocky sterility, 

 the very type of stern and rugged grandeur. The height 

 of the river is here 2078 feet above sea-level, it having 

 descended from the immense elevation of about 17,000 



