1S60.] Memorandum on the great flood of the river Indus. 129 



Indus and on its tributaries)* to enquire whether any extraordinary 

 flood had been noticed. The answers were all in the negative except 

 that from Boonjee, (the Maharajah's most northerly fort and canton- 

 ment on the Gilgit frontier) the report was as follows, viz. :— 



" That a great flood (bura sailab) was noticed by the sepoys at 

 Boonjee on the 27th day of " Sawan Mahina," " derh pahar din gaiya" 

 when it first arrived. Shortly afterwards the sepoys saw a mass of 

 timbers floating down the stream, which they recognised as belonging 

 to the gateway of the Numbul fort." 



The Nfimbul fort is said to have been on the Gilgit river 

 below the point where the Naggar river joins the Gilgit river. 



I understand "the 27th day of Sawan Mahina, derh pahar din 

 gaiya" to mean the 11th day of August about 9 or 10 in the morn- 

 ing. Although this is the day after the flood was noticed at Attok, 

 it is in my opinion sufficiently near the date to make it highly pro- 

 bable that it was the same flood that was noticed at Attok. 



At a frontier outpost of the Maharajah's (where no one goes 

 that has sense enough to make interest to keep away), a mistake of 

 two or three days in the date would be no wonderful thing consider- 

 ing the general indifference of natives on the subject of dates and 

 the numerous doubts as to when their months begin. 



I am therefore of opinion that the flood (sailab) noticed at Boonjee 

 was the same that passed Attok on the 10th of August, and for 

 reasons given hereafter 1 am of opinion that the sepoys' date at 

 Boonjee should have been the 25th of Sawan or the 9th of August 

 about 9 or 10 a. jvt. 



The Trigonometrical height of Skardo the capital of Little 

 Thibet situated on the river Indus has been ascertained to be about 

 7700f feet above the sea and that of the G. T. Station eighteen 

 miles above Attok has been found to be about 1050J feet above the 

 sea, thus shewing a difference of height between the two places of 

 about 6650 feet. The distance between Skardo and the above G. T. 

 Station by the course of the river Indus is approximately about three 

 hundred and ten miles, and consequently there is an average fall in 



* Specially mentioning the Shayok river. 



t G. T. S. point near Skardo fort 7701 very little above river. 



% Gr. T. S. Station on river eighteen miles above Attok and 1049 feet above sea, 



