Fort of Bukkur.
The fortress of Bukkur is constructed of brick, on a low rocky island of flint, at a distance of 400 yards from the left bank of the Indus, and about fifty less from the eastern side of the river. Its walls are loop-holed, and flanked with towers, that slope to the water’s edge: they do not exceed twenty feet in height. There is a gateway on each side of the fortification facing Roree and Sukkur, and likewise two wickets. The interior of the works is crowded with houses and mosques, many of which, as well as parts of the rock itself, appear above the wall. In shape it approaches to an oval, and is about 800 yards long, and 300 in diameter. At some places the rock has been pared and scraped; but Bukkur has no strength in its works, and is formidable only from its position. The garrison consists of 100 men of the Khyrpoor Ameer: there are fifteen pieces of artillery, few of which are serviceable. The walls enclose the entire island, with the exception of a small date grove on the northern side, where a landing might be effected without difficulty, from the right bank, and the place would fall by escalade; or it might be previously breached from the bank of the river. There is a depth of four fathoms on both sides of the island; but the eastern channel becomes shallow in the dry season, and is said to have been once forded. The navigation of the Indus at Bukkur is dangerous, from eddies formed under the fortress itself; and several other rocky islets below it; but the watermen are considered the most experienced in Sinde, and, as a boat never attempts to pass up or down without a pilot, there are but few accidents.
Roree and Sukkur.
The town of Roree, which faces Bukkur, stands close on the bank of the Indus, on a flinty precipice forty feet in height, over which the houses tower. A road cut in the rock, down to the edge of the river, at a place where it does not approach the precipice, is the point of embarkation for those passing to Bukkur; but a landing would be difficult and dangerous when the river is high. The town of Roree has about 8000 inhabitants, chiefly Hindoos. To the eastward of it, several detached hillocks of flint present a most bleak and barren appearance, but add to the strength of the country; beyond their limits a grove of date trees extends for three or four miles to the southward of the town, shading numerous orchards and gardens. Sukkur, which stands opposite Roree, is about half the size of that town: both have been considerable places in former years, and the ruins of minarets and mosques remain. The bank of the river at Sukkur is not precipitous, and the town runs in from it, instead of extending, like Roree, along its banks. These two towns doubtless owe their position to Bukkur, which, as a protection in troubled times, added to the courage and hopes of the inhabitants.
Khyrpoor and Larkhana.
The only modern towns of note which require remark, are Khyrpoor and Larkhana, on the left and right banks of the river, nearly under the same parallel of latitude, both distant from it about fourteen miles, and watered by canals from the Indus. Khyrpoor is a modern town, built by the Talpoor chief, Sohrab, who seized on the northern part of Sinde, after the subversion of the Caloras. It contains a population of about 15,000 souls, but is merely a collection of mud hovels heaped together in narrow lanes. It is destitute of fort or defence, unless a mud wall about a foot thick, which surrounds the house of the Ameer and his family, can be considered in that light. The country near it is flat and bushy, and a low dyke has been drawn round the town, to keep the inundations of the river at a distance. Larkhanu, which stands on the western bank, is the capital of the Pergunna of Chandkoh: it has about 10,000 people, and is the head quarters and rallying point of the Sinde Ameers on their N. W. frontier. It has a small mud fort; and an inefficient train of artillery, about twenty in number, frightens the refractory in the neighbouring mountains, and maintains the peace of Sinde. It is governed by a Nuwab, the individual next in rank to the rulers of the land.
Productions.
The productions of Sinde are very similar in different parts of the country, and the same kinds of grain are produced here as at Sehwun. There is a shrub very like the wall-flower called “syar,” that grows in this tract, and the juice of which is considered a valuable medicine for the diseases of children. The wheat-fields are invariably surrounded by a low dyke, like rice ground: tobacco grows very luxuriantly near Roree. The greatest want in Sinde is grass, which is choked by the tamarisk; to which the people set fire, and derive, by such means, an abundant crop. There are but few trees in Sinde; the babool[23], even, does not attain any considerable size; the neem[24] and sirs, so abundant in India, are rarely seen, and the banian[25] tree is a stranger. The shrubs of the thurr, the kejra, khair, bair, akra (swallow-wort), and tamarisk, grow every where. I have already alluded to the date grove of Roree.
CHAP. IX.
THE INDUS FROM BUKKUR, TILL JOINED BY THE PUNJAB RIVERS.
The Indus.