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2 APPENDIX D.
3 REPORT ON THE BRAHMINI RIVER.
4 No. 194, dated Bhaugulpore, the 27th September 1871.
5 From—Cart. C. W. Losack, Asstt Conservator of Forests, Bhaugulpore Division.
6 To—The Conservator of Forests, Bengal.
7 In compliance with instructions contained in your No. 219, dated 26th July 1871,
8 I have the honor to forward for your information a detuiled report of my voyage down the
9 Brahmini river from Garjan in the Gangpur tributary mehal to Jinapore in Cuttack district,
10 from whence to Cuttack a canal is being constructed, and will, I believe, be entirely opened
11 between these places in the course of a very few months.
12 2. The Brahmini river is 50 named after the waters of the Koel and Sunk rivers unite
13 about four miles north of Garjan in the Gangpur tributary mehal; but as I had already,
14 during the last cold season, travelled over this portion of the river, viz. that betweon its head
15 waters and Garjan, I did not consider 1t necessary to do so aguin. I therofore made aITralge-
16 meuts to follow the dowuward course of the Brahmini to Cuttack.
17 3. In paragraphs 7 and 8 of my annual report of Sarunda will be found an account of
18 “ my journey from Udsu on the borders of Sarunda to Garjan
19 pei h seale by the Koel and Drahmini rivers, an extract of which is
20 appended for easy reference; this shows the practicability of the rivers Koel and Brahmini
21 from Udsu to Garjan.
22 4. From Garjan to the boundaries of Bonai tributary mehal there are no difficulties of
23 any kind whatever; it is plain sailing.
24 5. My halting place at the end of my first day’s journey was Pitagaon, a few miles
25 within the DBonai tributary mehals. In the Gangpur tribu-
26 panels tury mehal I had been informed that tho journey by water
27 from Pitagaon to Darjang was impassable, but here 1 found one of the Rajah of Bonai’s
28 men who had been sent to meet me, and on talking to him he said he had come up the river
29 from Darjang,—that I could go, but not my baggage ; it was sent overland, while I went in
30 about two hours by water.
31 6. A little over four miles from Pitagaon I came on the first rapid; up to this point it
32 had been plain sailing. But even here there were no real obstacles, and thero was a passage
33 through the rapids, the men getting out of the boat and guiding her over, while I with seven
34 or eight people remained seated in the boat. This rapid is named Kooradie; about a mile
35 further on there was another rapid, named Goorguri, but this was shot without trouble. Then
36 again about a mile further on we came on 4 third rapid, called Jumroodie; here also the men
37 got out of the boat and pulled the boat over. I did not leave the boat (a canoe or dug-
38 out)—there were two lashed together and never untied—during this portion of my voyage.
39 7. I will now endeavour to give you a general description of these rapids; they are
40 formed by large stones or rocks in ie bed of the river, over and round whieh the water rushes
41 with eis violence (the velocity of the stream may be judged from the fact that
42 I made about four miles an hour without much manual labor on the part of my crew in the
43 upper portions of the river); and although these stones were sometimes so closo together as
44 to admit of little more than tho two dingies passing between them, the passage was made
45 without danger or extraordinary labor ; and had the river been 18 inches or 2 feet higher, the
46 difficulties would have been lessened. In some of these rapids there was also o kind of fall,
47 but its slope was not great, and the dingies passed over without injury, even without taking
48 in water.
49 8. The following morning I left Darjang and reached the village of Bonai in about
50 five hours, passing over one rapid half a mile bolow Darjang, but this wus easily shot ; the rest
51 of the river was a8 good as could be wished.
52 9. The Rajah of Bonai treated me with the greatest possible civility, and made arrange-
53 ments to forward me in his own boats and with his own servant. The boats were two large
54 canoes lashed together, carrying most of my baggage, and resting on the top of the boats was a
55 heavy palhee; two other canoes lashed together, in which I travelled with a small portion of