f— ry level in the dry. season, 
GANGES. 
_ inundation has subsided, and the.viver found its ordina- 
ee eee aoa te eee 
in pla ' e | year, t ne 
. Tete navigable, The collection of sand becomes 
sometimes so great, as to divert the main stream into a 
107 
Finally, if we buagion 
unelouded, we shall have an idea of the state of these 
islands during at least six months of the year. 
In the higher parts of 
soil, or a hard reddish caleareous, earth prevails, the 
banks are not so liable to be undermined, and are even 
firm enough to resist the utmost efforts of the stream ; 
but in Bengal, there are few where.a town built 
on its banks can long retaim the advantage of its situa~ 
tion, being either liable to be destroyed by the river, or 
else to be deserted by it. In its course through Ben- 
gal, the Ganges may be said to have under; its, domi- 
nion a ion of the flat. country ; for net only 
the which contains the main body of its wa~ 
ters, but also the land embraced by its collateral 
branches, is subject to inundation, or destruction by 
encroachment,of the stream, and may therefore be con- 
sidered. belonging to the river. Nor can the bed of 
the Ganges through Bengal. be said to be permanent. 
However, from local causes, at some places the main 
channel, and deepest water will always be found, as at 
Monghir, Sultangunge, Sicrigully, and Rajemahl ; at 
these places rocky points project into the stream, and 
some parta of the bed are stony, ov the banks consist of 
the air cool, the sky serene and Ganges 
Hindestan, where a conker State of its 
for the villages, and dw are raised with asmuch conker. 
confidence as.on the main land; and th the foun~ — The following Table will convey an idea of the Windings 
dation be sandy, the stratum of soil. which is upper- windings of the Ganges, and its branches: of its 
course, 
other plants, becomes hardened by the sun, and at 
gth sufficiently firm to resist the attacks of the stream. 
Thus these islands are liable to destruction only. by the 
»process of undermining and» encroachment )to 
which the, banks’ of the river, are subject... When an 
Peet 
eek 
: 
4 
: 
] 
il 
EE% 
a5 
f 
» miles in length, and at the 
broad, containing about 20 
miles of land, mostly cultivated, with several villages. 
In the highest 
imagination a, wide extended 
the great distance on the mainland, we'shall then 
picture of an island of the Ganges. 
Miles. 
Within 100 miles the Ganges increases the dis- 
WHECO Bae cere gt es 125 
The Goggrah, or Dewah,to . . . . . . . 112 
The Hoogly, from Calcutta to Nuddea, increases 
fet EE ees ee ey ote Lert, te ee ee 
The Goompty from 100to . ... . 175 
The Issamutty and Jaboona from 100 to . 217 
‘About 200 miles from the sea (but 300 reckoning p.1 
the river) commences the Delta of the the fect 
the winding of 
Ganges. The two westermost branches, called the 
Cossimbazar and Jellinghy rivers, unite and form what 
is called the Hoogly river, which makes the port of 
Calcutta, and the only branch of the Ganges com- 
monly navigated by tap The city of Caleutta stands 
eee Sere ee ee 
western ‘ anges, by Europeans 
the Hoogly, and by the natives the Bhagirathi, or 
true Ganges, and considered by them peculiarly saered. 
The river is ‘here, at) high water, fully a mile broad ; 
but during the ebb, om side . ite to io on et eX 
poses a range of sand banks. On a) in 
preetares anties @ str is much ako with 
its appearance ; the elegant villas on each side of the 
river, the company’s botanic gardens, the spires of the 
churches, temples, and minarets, and the fine citadel 
of Fort-William, present a magnificent spectacle. Cal- 
cutta possesses the advantage of an excellent inland na- 
vigation, foreign imports being tran with great 
facility on the Ganges, and its subsidiary streams, to 
the northern nations of Hindostan, while the produc. 
tions’ of the interior are received by the same channels. 
Where the Hoogly is joined by the R arain; a very 
large sheet of water is formed, but it has many shoals ; 
facing directly the approach from the sea, (while the 
Hoogly turns ‘to ‘the right,) it oecasions the loss of 
many vessels,’ which are carried up the Roopnarain 
by the tide.. Here is formed a dangerous sand, named 
the James and Mary, around whieh the channel is ne- sang. 
ver the same for a week, and requires frequent sur 
