﻿18 ON THE COURSE OF THE GANGES 



having joined itfelf to the main land, had afterwards 

 been detached from it. I am the more inclined to this 

 belief, as its appearance was fimilar to other iflands of 

 the Ganges, there being no trees of any growth upon 

 it, excepting the mi7noJa nilotica^ or baubul, of which 

 there were feveral clumps about the villages. The 

 breadth of the new channel varied from one to two 

 furlongs, with a confiderable depth of water through- 

 out ; and the banks, in fome parts, appeared to have 

 fuflfered great violence. In one place, particularly, 

 I was ftruck with their uncommon appearance ; a (lip 

 of land, 5 furlongs in length, having detached itfelf 

 from the main bank, and fubfided into the channel. 

 A fimilar efFe8;, although in a lefs degree, was vifible 

 on the oppofite fiiore ; and in many other parts, huge 

 portions of the foil had funk, and formed a double 

 bank, the lower ledge of which was in fome places very 

 Jittle above the level of the ftream. The continuation 

 of this branch led near Duny ramp our, and terminated 

 a little beyond Sahebnagur, where I entered the great 

 river again, which here runs with confiderable velo- 

 city in a Southerly direQion. 



Passing Jalaharya^ my boatmen pointed out to 

 me, what they called the mouth of the Jdlinghy river, 

 which was fiiut up with a folid bank acrofs the whole 

 Ivreadth of it ; but this, in faft, mud have been the 

 main channel of the Ganges itfelf, which formerly ran 

 in that dircQion, as the real head of the Jeilinghy is 

 feveral miles further to the fouthward. By a furvey 

 of part of the Ganges, taken by Major Rennell in the 

 vear 1764, it appears that the main llream ran clofe 

 by the town o^ Jeilinghy -, and in his " Account of the 

 Ganges and Burrampooter Rivers^'' he has particularly 

 mentioned the extraordinary encroachment of the 



river, 



* This village is probably the. Djrav:pour o£ ihe old maps. 



