316 



DESCENT OF THE SUTLEDGE. 



1 Uh. — Continued passing down ; breakfasting at Attaree : few signs 

 of villages, but a good deal of cultivation. Persian wheels not unfre- 

 quently employed in raising water from the river : a short channel 

 having first been cut in the bank, and the banks, when loose, propped 

 up. Wheat, radishes, etc. Grasses appear to be much less common, 

 while the Jhow is increasing much. The river is much subdivided, and 

 the actual banks are scarcely discernible owing to the want of trees. 

 The soil and current remain the same : no impediments have been 

 met with by our boats, nor have I yet observed any to tracking, the 

 grass jungle being easily overcome, and very unlike that of the 

 Brahmapootra, and the Jhow not reaching that height necessary to 

 make it troublesome. The Nawab of Mamdot visited the Envoy 

 to-day, accompanied by a small party of horsemen. Only two alli- 

 gators have been seen thus far : no game even to be heard, and but 

 few living creatures visible. 



12th. — The river becomes even less interesting than before; the 

 channel is occasionally much narrowed by sands, over one of which 

 we found yesterday evening some difficulty in passing; it is much 

 more spread out and subdivided, and from this circumstance, will 

 occasion difficulty in tracking up. The banks are low and generally 

 within reach of inundation : scarcely a village is to be seen ; and Jhow 

 is the most uniform feature. Yesterday evening saltpetre was visible 

 in abundance on some of the higher banks, and on these Phulahi, 

 Jhow, a Composita, and Salsola ? or Chenopodiutn were observed. 

 Since the 10th, the few boats seen are of different structure from 

 those to which we had been accustomed ; they are flat, less wide, and 

 much better fastened together, elevated at both ends ; they are pro- 

 pelled as well as guided by the rudder, which is curved, so as to bring 

 it within reach of the helmsman, who is on a level with the bottom of 

 the boat. Very little cultivation : Tassin's Map of but little use, as 

 few of the names are recognised by the boatmen or villagers. 



Paukputtea was passed to-day ; it is the shrine of a fakeer, and one 

 in great repute, as passing through a particular gate is supposed to 

 authorize one to claim admittance into Paradise. The Moulavee 

 consequently has proceeded there in full faith and extravagant joy : 

 with natives of the east such absurdities are to the full as much 

 believed by the educated as by the uneducated ; indeed the former 

 are much the more bigotted of the two. The fakeer alluded to, not 

 only lived for years on a block of wood carved into the likeness of a 

 loaf, but subsequently suspended himself for several years in a well, 



