176 Journal of a voyage from [March, 



On the following morning, the 13th, we continued our journey, 

 having previously sent on one of the boats at an early hour to pur- 

 chase provisions. At Talwandi we came up with our advanced party ; 

 they had been able, with much difficulty, to procure a rupee's worth 

 of drad from that village. There is a ferry, but I saw only one boat- 

 After leaving Talwandi the river makes a very sudden turn to the 

 right, round a point which we had much difficulty in weathering ; and 

 when this was accomplished, our boats drifted to the opposite shore 

 and grounded on the sand-banks. A mile or more beyond this the 

 three branches unite, and from the point of their junction to the ghat 

 of Midne and Rerti the river runs in a straight uninterrupted channel, 

 confined by moderately high banks, and presenting in front, as far as 

 the eye could reach, an unbroken surface of water. It is here a fine 

 stream passing by Punidn where the river is again broken by shoals 

 and sand-banks. The next reach brought us near Fattehpur, from 

 whence, leaving Jhdnidn on the left, the deep channel crosses over to 

 the right bank, and in the next sweep to the left under Mahdrdj-wdla. 

 The banks to-day were studded with villages at a distance of a 

 kos, more or less, from the river. Those in the district of Dharam- 

 kot belong to Maha-raja Ranji't Singh, who has a small detachment 

 of cavalry there and a fort ; those in the Fattehgarh district are held 

 by Sher Singh Bandeich, a thanadar under the Maha-raja, and 

 the rest by Sirdar Fatteh Singh Alawalla. In some the authority 

 is divided, half the village belonging to the khalsa and half to the 

 jdghirddr. They are all small and thinly inhabited. 



We stopped at Mahdrdj-wdla ; estimated distance from Ram4-ke ten 

 kos by the river. 



This village is in the Fattehgarh district, now held by Sher Singh 

 Bundeich as thanadar. The lands are khdlisa (or rent-free). Fatteh- 

 garh and the neighbouring country formerly belonged to Tara Singh 

 Ghaiba of Kang on the other side. Like most of the Sikh Sirdars, 

 this person rose from an obscure origin to sudden, but, in his case, tem- 

 porary power. He was originally a common shepherd, and acquired the 

 name of" Ghaiba" (or wonderful) in his boyhood, from the circum- 

 stance of his having constructed a rude bridge of rope over the river 

 Weh, which falls into the Satlaj below Andrisa, and across which he 

 was in the habit of driving his sheep to graze on the opposite bank 

 where the pasture was of a better quality. He joined the camp of the 

 Lahdr chief, who was just then entering on his career of conquest, 

 as a needy soldier, and after serving a campaign returned laden with 

 spoil which he disposed of in collecting a few followers. With these 



