14 
MAY 1764 
At Paunchiferra 8 miles ESE from Jelenghee a Creek falls into the Ganges; this 
Creek as I am informed runs out of the same River near Surda. 1 2 This Evening the 
Weather threatning, we sheltered the Boats in a Creek of Beresgunge Sand. 
The 24th. fair Weather all day. Employed surveying as yesterday. Passed 
the Villages of Horisongkor' 2, & Callygunge. Here the River is divided into 2 Cham 
nels by a Sand Bank of 5 miles long : its Course is now NE and breadth in some 
places near z\ miles in y e wet Season. The Country here is very pleasant, being 
chiefly Meadows, well stocked with Cattle The Banks are now near 30 foot high, 
11 & are continually falling in, so that Boats should be careful to avoid coming too 
near them. 3 4 * The Wind this day has been from the Southward, in light Breezes. 
The 25th. the Forenoon excessive hot, the Afternoon stormy, and much Rain. 
This Evening came to ChoccukC a Village situated on y e Point of the North Reach. 
From hence the River takes an ESE Course for 5 or 6 miles, & is all the w 7 ay 
divided into 2 Channels by a large Sand Bank. The North Channell is the deepest 
& best. 
The 26th. fair Weather. Surveying the ESE Reach. 
The 27th. fair Weather. Finished y e ESE Reach, & entered another whose 
Course is South for near 5^ miles, 6 the breadth not more than a mile & half in y e wet 
vSeason, & now in some Places not more than a quarter of a mile. The Countrey 
People deserting the Villages on our Approach, occasions some Delay in getting the 
Names of the Places. This Evening betwixt the Villages of Malacola & Selah 8 (the 
space of 2 \ miles) I counted 110 less than 400 fishing Boats. Variation of the Mag- 
netic Needle by the Evening Amplitude o°-36' Easterly. 
The 28th. the Forenoon fair, the Evening wet & stormy. The Wind has been 
at South these 3 days past. Finished the Survey of the South Reach & came to 
Damadure, a Village situated at the bottom of it. From hence the River turns 
12 quick round to the NE & continues that Course 9 miles. Rain all this Night. 
1 This creek is not shown on Rennell’s Map. Surda is on the left bank of the Ganges, about 12 miles above 
Jalangi, near the mouth of the Baral river. 
2 Harisankra, shown in the Atlas of India about two miles south of the present bank of the Ganges, on the south 
side of the Sonakliundi lake, which is evidently an old bed of the Ganges. 
3 To this cause, the falling in of high banks along the rivers of the delta, has been attributed by some the pheno- 
menon known as the ‘ Barisal guns ’ (Proc. As. Soc. Beng. , 1888, p. 99). 
4 Chocula on the map. Close to the present village of Raita. 
6 This is the reach crossed by the E-B.S. Railway ferry between Damukdia and Sara, where it is now proposed to 
bridge the river. The N-S reach is much longer now, extending to at least 11 miles. The changes in the course of the 
river in this neighbourhood are of interest, in view of the importance of obtaining a suitable site for the railway bridge. 
If the river in Renuell’s time ran through what is now the 1 Sonakliundi Rake,’ as seems probable from his speaking 
of passing the village of Horisongkor (Harisankra) two days before, it must have come very near cutting a channel 
through the base of the Damukdia peninsula. This, however, it failed to do, and it has since moved northwards, pro- 
bably as a result of the easing-off of the bend higher up, opposite the mouths of the Jalangi and Matabhanga rivers. 
The base of the Damukdia peninsula is therefore probably safe for many years : but as shown in the Atlas of India, 
published in 1863, the position of the head of the peninsula at Raita was then much the same as it was in Rennell’s time, 
whereas more recent surveys show that within the last 40 years considerable erosion of the point has taken place. This 
seems to indicate that there are (or were) hard beds in the alluvium at Raita point which checked the erosion, but 
that these are gradually being removed. If this erosion is allowed to proceed much further, it would seem that there 
is little hope of saving the remainder of the peninsula. 
8 Selah is probably a corruption of Sara. The village of Damadure is in the position now occupied by Damukdia. 
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