34 
DECEMBER 1764. 
is near the Village of Jaggatdul. Three miles above this, is the Mouth of the 
Western Branch of the great River whose head is near Tockya. I propose leaving 
this River unfinished till I can receive further information of the Courses of the 
different Branches of it, lest I may take a wrong Rout & lose much Time by it. 
The 13th. having finished the Survey of the River from the head of Mendygunge 
Creek to the conflux, we proceeded about six miles along the Western Shoar below 
the Mouth of the Megna, in order to observe the face of the Countrey &c. It is 
27 mostl)^ covered with Jungle, & I could discover only one Village the whole Way. 
By an Observation of Latitude taken this day about four miles below the Mouth 
of the Megna, I find myself in 22°-4o' North, & being now at least 20 miles from the 
Sea, it appears that the old Maps have laid down the Latitude of the Mouth of the 
Ganges much too far Northerly ; for instance M.’d’Anville places it in 22°-36 / 1 or 
thereabouts, whereas if the least dependance can be placed on the distance of 
Backergunge from the Sea, as estimated by the Boatmen, the Latitude of the 
Ganges Mouth must be about 22°-20 / North.* 
The 14th. passed Doycalley, & the 15th. at Noon came to the Point opposite 
Luckypour from whence we crossed over in the Afternoon. The Megna seems to be 
about five Miles over. 
From the 15th. to the 23rd. inclusive, the Weather generally foggy in the Morn- 
ings & commonly continued till 10 or 11 o’ Clock, sometimes it was not clear enough 
all day to see the opposite side of the Megna from Luckypour. The Winds variable 
& in light Breezes. 
28 The 16th. began to make an exact Survey of the Nulla, Fort & Village of 
Luckypour, chiefly with a design to show the present Situation of the Factory with 
respect to the Bank of the River, which is continually wearing away by reason of 
the high Surges of the River in y e time of y e Southwardly Winds. 1 2 3 4 
The 20th. having finished the Plan, took y e Latitude of the Place by Hadley’s 
Quadrant, but the Horizon was not good enough to place any dependance on the 
Observation. The Latitude found was 22°-5 7' North. + 
From this time to y e 23rd. employed in finishing y e Original Maps, copying 
1 Evidently a slip of the pen for 23 0 36'. 
2 The conflux of the Ganges and Meghna is now in about 23°-2o' N or a degree further north than it was in 
Rennell’s time. The old channel, now known as the Arial Khan, enters the Meghna at Mirzaganj in about Eat 22 0 -4o'. 
3 In 1756 a cloth Factory was established here by the East India Co. A report to the Council, probably furnished 
by Mr. Bartholomew Plaisted ( see note p. 38), and entered in the Proceedings for Oct r 1st 1767, states: — “ No longer 
since than 1761, it ‘ (the Factory) ’ might have been said to have stood a mile up a creek, locked in and secure both 
from the strong freshes and the impulse of bores and the SW Monsoon, but within this short space the cover it had 
from the monsoon has been washed away, and it is now entirely laid open The fictory was at first built 200 yards 
from the water side, but when I arrived the SW corner was scarcely two ya r ds from the bank, and it would certainly 
have got into the ditch, if a boat of 1,000 maunds had not been sunk, that keeps by way of a break-water, and bam- 
boos, etc., been drove in by way of furthe r precaution ; this I am in hopes may secure it till the monsoon is broke 
up, but no art can secure it against another” (Rev. J. Long, Selections, No. 914, p. 481). In 1761 the district was over- 
run by thieves and Mr. Billers the Chief of the Factory wrote to Nawab Kasim Ali. asking him to give orders to the 
I’housdar (Native Governor) “ to fire off the mouth of a cannon the leader of the thieves, who was made prisoner, 
that others may be deterred ” (Ibid., No. 557, p 259). 
4 This is the exact latitude of Lakshimpur, according to the Imperial Gazetteer. 
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