1859.] The Flooding of the Indus. 211 



During the night, however, the river fell a little over 20 feet and 

 during the 12th it had, in actual height, returned verj much to the 

 position it occupied before the flood came down. But the stream 

 was very violent and disturbed, for there had taken place on a 

 grand scale the action which on a small one is annually repeated in 

 August and September, viz. the filling up of the bed above strangu- 

 lations, and at other points where a check is imposed on the velocity, 

 with detritus of a solid character brought down from above. This 

 induced much swell and great rapidity over these banks, and the pro- 

 cess of their being cut away from down stream upwards made itself 

 apparent. For several days the ferry at Attok was nearly closed 

 on this account, and the boatmen pointed out with some apprehen- 

 sion very rough water in places where it had never been observed 

 before. Gradually the shingle banks were removed from under the 

 main stream, but it appears that there is still an unusual amount of 

 detritus in the bed at Attok, and that the surface of the stream is 

 sensibly raised thereby. 



With regard to the " effects of the flood" I have little informa- 

 tion about the tracts much above Attok; but I should have known 

 if there had been extensive loss of life or property. That these es- 

 caped so far I attribute to the warning received about one month 

 before the occurrence, and which, though under-valued by most of 

 the officers to whom it was made known, was less easily disposed of 

 by people living on the very bank of the river and bearing in mind 

 what had happened only seventeen years before. 



"Without precautions taken, and I know that they were very ge- 

 neral as far up as my information reached, such immunity as re- 

 sulted could hardly have taken place; for the flood must have passed 

 during the night from near Chelass to a little above Attok, and 

 though the upper part of this tract, say as far as Torbela, appears 

 more scantily peopled than either above it or below it, some of the 

 villages near the river are situated within the rocky channel and 

 placed upon the deltas of detritus brought down by small tributaries. 



In such situations they are of course greatly exposed to the dan- 

 ger we speak of; and had no warning been received more injury than 

 appears to have taken place must have ensued. 



Where the flood came down during the day, us it did probably 



2 G 2 



