NOVEMBER 1765. 
53 
The Courses of the River are various, being from SW to East ; however the 
whole distance is chiefly meridional, & therefore easy to be corrected by the 
Latitudes. By this Base I was enabled to fix the Situations of several of the Sosong 
Mountains 1 2 which in clear Weather will serve as Marks 8o miles off. 
I mentioned in the former Journal that the Hilly Countrey began on the East 
side a few miles below Chilmary : the Hills continue afterwards in scattering Ranges 
along the Eastern Bank of the River. The Sosong & Rungjulee 4 Mountains lie near 6 
30 miles within & bound the Garrow Provinces. 
The Baramputrey within the above mentioned Space is from f of a mile to 7 
miles over within its bed; but during the Months of July & August it overflows all 
the Low Lands, few spots of Ground having less than a Cubit or a Cubit & half 
water on them. 
The Countrey on both sides of the River, between Baganbary & Mobagunge, is 
mostly Padda Fields, interspersed with Groves of Betel & other Trees; between 
Mobagunge & the Dherla River the Countrey is mostly jungly near the River; & the 
opposite side is one entire Jungle. There are no Timber Trees to be found near the 
River. 
I reckoned upwards of 80 Villages between Baganbarry & the Mouth of the 
Dherla River, but there are no Bazars save at Buzerapour, Dewangunge & Chilmary , 
& these are very paltry ones. The Countrey abounds with Cattle, Rice, & Poultry, 
& there are prodigious numbers of Tygers & wild Buffalos in the Jungles, particularly 
in the neighbourhood of Baggooa. 3 >j 
I had several Observations of the Variation of the Magnetic Needle, the quantity 
from o°- 46' to o°-58 / Westerly; & some Observations of Latitude, by which I place 
Chilmary in 25°-24' N. That Place is now ij mile distant from the Western Bank 
of the River. The Teesta Creek 4 from Boutan falls into the River 11 miles above 
Chilmary, & 5 miles below the Mouth of the Dherla River. 
Being entirely ignorant of the Situation of Rungpour, 5 6 & the adjacent Countries; 
the knowledge of which would enable me to regulate my Route after the Survey of the 
1 The Tura range of the Garo Hills. 
2 ^ le northern portion of the Garo Hills (see map No. V in Renuell’s Atlas). Buchanan Hamilton remarks 
concerning this name, “ In the nomenclature of these hills there is great confusion. The names given to the same 
hill by the different tribes who inhabit near are not only different, but it is usual for the Bengalese to call whatever 
hill you point out to them by the village that lies nearest it in the direction from whence you are then looking; so that 
for every hill you may find as many names as it has villages near, and not one of these may be its proper name. It 
seems to have been owing to this custom not having been understood, that Major Rennell has given the name of 
Ruugjula to the Garo mountains. As he was endeavouring from the riverside to find out the name of this elevated 
region, he probably pointed out to the natives the highest peak, Gorokhyonath ; and Ronggojuli village being iu the 
direction, the natives called it the Ronggojuli hill ” (Martin, History, Vol. Ill, p. 475). The northern range of the 
Garo Hills is now commonly known as the Arbela range, after one of the villages situated upon it. 
8 Bagwa, at the mouth of the Dharla. 
4 1 was n °t the main channel of the Teesta, which iu those days flowed due south. It now joins the Brahmaputra 
below Chilmari The change in its course took place iu 17S7 (Hunter, Stat. Acc. Beng., Vol. VII, p. 165, p. 296). 
6 Rangpur, the head-quarters of a District, on the Ghaghat River. It had only just been taken over from the 
Muhammadans, and was in a very unsettled state. Buchanan Hamilton spells the name Rouggopoor (Martin, History, 
Vol. Ill, p. 351). Regarding the changes in the courses of the rivers of this district he writes, about 1809 : — “Since 
the survey was made by Major Rennell, the rivers of this district have undergone such changes, that I find the utmost 
difficulty in tracing them. The sol is so light, and the rivers iu descending the mountains have acquired such force, that 
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