1 a
2 THE JHELUM. is)
3 this river, the one to the east and the other to the west. ‘The width of the
4 river ranges from 480 to 1,600 yards, and during inundations in some parts
5 exceeds a mile, while the depth varies from 4 to 24 feet.
6 Notwithstanding all its drawbacks, the Indus is a magnificent stream,
7 2 very * prince of rivers,’ as Boileau calls it. Indeed, when the length of
8 its course, the vastness of its volume and many of its special characteristics
9 are considered, it may be reckoned among the greatest rivers of the world.
10 In the time of Aurangzeb it carried a large trade, and Hamilton, who
11 visited Sindh at the close of the 17th century, found the traffic upon
12 its stream considerable. The trade was subsequently destroyed by the
13 eppression and rapacity of the numerous petty chiefs who claimed supreme
14 power over tracts adjoining its course, but the success of the British arms
15 has led to its restoration on a far more extensive scale. The first steamer
16 was launched on the river in 1835, but navigation, whether by steamers or
17 native boats, has considerably decreased since the opening of the Indus
18 Valley State Railway in 1878. A flotilla is now maintained in connection
19 with the Railway Department.
20 The boats used on the Indus are zaurwks, or flat-bottomed boats,
21 dundhis, or cargo-boats, kaunthdhs, or ferry-boats, and ddéndas, or fishing-
22 boats. The ghamptis, or state barges, of the Mirs, are constructed of teak and
23 are of considerable dimensions. The duggah, strongly built, with projecting
24 stern and bow, is used in the boisterous parts of the current above Kalabagh.
25 The river abounds in fish and in alligators of the long-snouted species.
26 The Culpea neowhit is largely consumed along the coast, the population of
27 which is almost amphibious. The pala is caught in large quantities for
28 local consumption and is also dried for export. Crocodiles, otters and
29 turtles are numerous. The boatmen of lower Sindh, like the Chinese,
30 live in their boats. In lower Sindh a pulla-jar often conveys passengers
31 am the river, while in Sukkur the maskh, or inflated skin, is largely
32 used,
33 THE JHELUM.
34 The Jhelum,” which is indentified with the Hydaspes of the ancients,
35 is the second in size, and the most westerly, of the five great streams which
36 intersect the Panjab east of the Indus.
37 It rises in the mountains which form the north-eastern boundary of the
38 valley of Kashmir, its fountain head being the Lidur in the remotest hill
39 The Indus a most
40 magnificent river
41 The boats on the
42 Indus.
43 Its fishes.
44 The source of the
45 Jhelum.
46 range, lat. 34°8’, long. 75°48’. Flowing then in a south-westerly direction, -
47 if receives in its course the Brang from the south-east, and the Sandren,
48 the Vishan, and several other tributary streams which have their origin
49 *Tts Sanskrit name is Vidasta; in the dialects itis known as Vayat and Bebut; near
50 Jalalpur, ithe supposed scene of the battle between Alexander and Porus, it is called Betusta
51 of the Aytnt Akbart. Itisthe Hydaspes of Arrian and the Bidaspes of Ptolemy. Sharf-ud-din,
52 the historian of Taimur, has called it both Dendan and Gamad.
53 + “The source of the river Bebat,” writes the Emperor Jahangir in his memoirs, “is a
54 fountain in Kashmir called Virndg. The name signifies, in the Hindi language, a snake, and
55 it appears that, at one time, a very large snake haunted the spet. I visited this source twice
56 during the lifetime of my father. It is about 20 kos from the city of Kdshmir. The spring
57 rises in a basin, of an octangular form about twenty yards in length by twenty in breadth. The
58 vestiges of the abodes of the @evotees, numerous chambers made of stone and canes, are in the
59 neighbourhood, The water is so clear that, although its depth is said to be beyond estimation,
60 yet if a poppy seed be thrown in, it will be visible till it reaches the bottom. There are very
61 fine fish in it. As I was told that the fountain was unfathomably deep, I ordered a stone to be
62 tied to the end of a rope and thrown into it, aud thus it was found that its depth did not exceed
63 the height of a man and a half. After my accession I ordered its sides fo be paved with
64 stones, a garden to be made round it, and the stream which flowed from it to be similarly
65 decorated on both sides. Such elegant chambers and edifices were raised on each side of the
66 basin that there is scarcely anything to equal it throughout the inhabited world. The river
67 ae much when it reaches near the village Pampur which is ten kos from the city.”—
68 L120.
69 Its course.
70 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh J i eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com