1837.] Lodiana to Mithankot by the Satlaj river. 189 



unaffected. He was richly dressed in cloth of khimkdb, with a hand- 

 some lungi for a turban, and wore a superb shawl for a kamarband ; 

 but the whole was in bad taste, and his attendants were as wretched- 

 ly shabby and mean as he was fine. The Nawab spoke a very intel- 

 ligible Hindustani, but the language of his followers was quite foreign 

 to us. It differs from Hindustani, not so much perhaps radically as 

 in the termination of the words, and the peculiar tone and manner in 

 which it is spoken, which is drawling and nasal, much more disagree- 

 able to the ear than the Panjabi of the bawling Sikhs. We were 

 better pleased with the boatmen of the Bahdwalpur boats than with 

 any one we saw in this train of our new acquaintances. Their manners 

 contrasted favorably with the rude specimens we brought with us 

 from Lodiana. They have much the appearance of a sea-faring people 

 — much of the alacrity and briskness which we admire in our own 

 sailors. 



The Bahdwalpur boats are strongly built, but clumsy. In shape 

 they are square fore and aft ; the poop and forecastle are planked, and 

 the former raised very high, so that the person steering is able to 

 look over the chappared apartment which is in midship. The rudder 

 is of curious and unhandy build, but has great power. The largest 

 of the boats there measured eighty feet in length and about three 

 feet in depth. They are all furnished with a square sail and masts 

 which strike ; and have two oars of immense size, the largest requir- 

 ing six and seven hands to ply each of them. 



On the 19th at Bunga Jaivdn-ke, estimated distance 7f kos. On 

 starting from Assap-wala we were greeted with the novel and pleasing 

 sound of a sailor's cheer from the crews of the Bahdwalpur boats. 

 Each boat's crew, as their boat left its moorings and dipped oars into 

 the water, gave out a long pealing sound, which was responded to by 

 all the rest in succession. The cry, as near as I could distinguish 

 the words, was " Bham, Baha al Hai." (Baha al Hai is the name of 

 a patron saint of the boatmen of this country and on the Indus.) 

 The boatmen stand to their oars, and every muscle of the body is 

 brought into play in the motions which they go through. When the 

 oars are dipped deep into the water, the outside men are frequently 

 suspended from the handles which they drag down by their weight 

 till the opposite ends or shafts are disengaged from the water. I 

 should say there is more exercise with less fatigue in this than in our 

 method of rowing. The rowers keep good time. 



We had to contend against a strong wind, which prevented our 

 making much progress to-day. We passed only two or three villages 



