1852.] On the Sites of Nikaia and Boukephalon. 219 



the present town of Jelum, the longer to the modern village of Julal- 

 poor. Upon one of these places he must have debouched from the 

 table-land of Potawar. Each had its ferry. But between the ferries 

 there is no comparison ; that of Jelum being infinitely more convenient 

 and only one-third the width of the Julalpoor ferry. 



Let us, however, suppose that he carried his pontoon train twenty 

 needless miles by Julalpoor, and chose to encounter rather than shun the 

 quicksands of the torrent Hurrund, which at that season (the monsoon) 

 are a serious impediment to beasts of burthen and wheel carriages. 

 On arriving he would have found Porus encamped upon the eastern 

 bank of the Hydaspes ; near the present village Duttoo Choor. It 

 was the height of the monsoon, and Alexander there found the 

 Hydaspes four stadia or 833 yards, i. e. half a mile in breadth, accord- 

 ing to Curtius.* But I measured it even in February, after a fall of 

 rain, immediately above that point, one half mile in breadth, and 

 during the monsoon it is considerably more. Curtiusf also says, it 

 was thickly studded with islands, to which the youth of either army 

 swam to skirmish. But at present, during the monsoon, there is not 

 an island there. At Julalpoor the salt range comes down almost to 

 the water's brink, and this is the case to the distance of eight miles 

 higher up, affording Alexander such a bird's eye view of the whole 

 river, as- had made it impossible for him to mistake an island for the 

 main land. Neither Arrian nor Curtius indicates the flank to which 

 Alexander's movement was made. But although several travellers 

 have supposed that it was to his left flank, none has hitherto imagined 

 it might have been to his right flank. Let us therefore examine the 

 ground to his left flank : that is, further up the stream. So far as I 

 can judge, it seems probable that the river there approached to contact 

 with the mountain spur at Murriali and at Julalpoor. It will be seen 

 by the sketch map accompanying (which is not constructed from a 

 regular survey) that it has receded to the East, and left a slip of 

 Kanda land varying from 400 yards to a mile. Now if we measure 

 eleven miles from Julalpoor in this direction, i. e. up the stream, it 



* Quatuor in latitudinem stadia diffusum profundo alveo et nusquam vada 

 aperiente, speciem vasti maris fecerat. — Qu. Cur. lib. viii. cap. 13. 



t Erant in medio amiie insulse crebrse, in quas Indi et Macedones nantes, 

 levatis super capita armis, transibsmt. ib. 



2 F 



