Travels into Bokhara (Volume 3 of 3) / Being the Account of A Journey from India to Cabool, Tartary, and Persia; Also, Narrative of a Voyage on the Indus, From the Sea to Lahore, With Presents From the King of Great Britain; Performed Under the Orders of the Supreme Government of India, in the Years 1831, 1832, and 1833

by Sir Alexander Burnes

The waters of the Punjab, united in one stream, fall into the Indus at Mittun, in the latitude of 28° 55´ north. From this point to Bukkur, the river pursues a south-westerly course, is direct in its channel, but frequently divided by sand banks. Various narrow, crooked branches also diverge from the parent stream, retaining a depth from eight to fifteen feet of water, which are navigated by boats ascending the Indus, in preference to the great river itself. They extend throughout the whole intervening space which I have now under review.

Its breadth and depth.

The Indus is widely spread in many parts of its course above Bukkur. It often exceeds a thousand yards in breadth, and at Mittun was found to be even double that width. The depth was not proportionally diminished: in some places it exceeded sixteen fathoms, and four fathoms were to be found every where; which, it is to be recollected, was at a season when the waters are lowest. There was no greater acceleration of current than in the lower parts of the river, and the serpentine course of the narrows just mentioned proves the great flatness of this country.

Boats of the Indus.

From Bukkur the Indus is navigated by a different description of boat from the Doondee, called “zohruk,” and admirably adapted to the transport of troops, both horse and foot, from being as roomy before as astern: they are not numerous, but we met ninety-five of them in our voyage to Mittun. We made the passage in these boats from Bukkur to Mittun in nine days, a distance of 170 miles by the river.

Country on its banks.

The country which this portion of the Indus traverses is of the richest nature, particularly on the eastern bank, where it is flooded from innumerable channels, which are generally cut in those parts of the river running east and west, that the water may be thrown south into the interior. On the right bank, about twenty-six miles above Bukkur, a navigable canal called the “Sinde,” the work of the emperors, conducts a great body of water to Shikarpoor and Noushera, and joins that of Larkhanu. On that side of the river the cultivation is limited, as the districts of Boordgah, Ken, and Moozarka, which succeed each other, are peopled by wandering and unsettled Belooche tribes, who lead a pastoral and plundering life. The territory on both sides chiefly belongs to Sinde, for the boundary line stretches, on the right bank, to within fifteen miles of Mittun, and adjoining the dominions of the Seik; but it overlaps that on the left, which terminates lower down in the latitude of 28° 33´, twenty-five miles above Subzul. This stripe of land on the left bank forms a portion of the territories of the Daoodpootra chief, Bhawul Khan; and the district immediately below that chief’s territory in Sinde is named Oobaro, and inhabited by the Duhrs and Muhrs, who are the aborigines of the country, and known by the name of Sindees.

Shikarpoor, Subzul, and other places.

The town of Shikarpoor, which stands thirty-two miles from Bukkur, is by far the largest in this tract, indeed in Sinde, for in size it exceeds the capital, Hydrabad. The country around it is very productive, but in the change of masters, from the Afghans to the Sindians, its revenue has deteriorated to half a lac of rupees annually: the government is oppressive. It still carries on an extensive inland trade, for the greater portion of its merchants and people are Hindoos, and have agents in the surrounding countries. Shikarpoor is surrounded by a mud wall, and the governor of the place holds an important post, and with it the title of Nuwab. This town and district fell into the hands of the Sindians about eight years ago, and is the only unsettled portion of their country, the Afghan family to whom it belonged making frequent attempts to recover it. The frontier town of Subzul on the left bank of the Indus, and twelve miles inland, is about one fifth the size of Shikarpoor: it contains a population of 5000 souls, and like it is surrounded by a mud wall. There are no other places of note but these which I have mentioned. Mittun, or, as it is sometimes called, Mittun Kote, has not a population of 1500 people, and its fort has been demolished.

Swell of the Indus.