There can be little doubt, that the city of Gour stood on a spot which, in very ancient times, was washed by the sea; and we may, without being accused of credulity in the extreme, admit the great probability of the Ganges having then debouched into the sinus, or bay, at that same spot.

Nor should we doubt, that those sands, which are, at this day, so dangerous to navigation, from Balasore to Chittagong, will, at some remote period, be encreased and raised, so as to become, in the first instance, islands; and, ultimately, parts of the continent; the present channels serving for the courses of future rivers, which, in so loose a soil, may, like the Ganges in our times, be subject to changes of locality, whenever the floods may prove so impetuous as to open new beds, and cause the streams to be diverted into them.

The Sunderbunds, whatever may be their date or origin, present, at this day, a most inhospitable aspect, and give, exteriorly, a feature to the country which by no means corresponds with the interior: they are, in truth, a hideous belt of the most unpromising description, such as could not fail to cause any stranger who might be wrecked on that coast, and who should not proceed beyond the reach of the tide, to pronounce it ‘a country fit for the residence of neither man nor beast.’

When Major Rennell remarked, ‘that they furnish an inexhaustible supply of wood for boat building;’ he might have added, ‘of timber for ship building.’ Many very large vessels have been launched from this quarter, but, no pains having been taken to season the timber, it was not to be expected they should prove so durable as they might have been rendered by due precautions in that particular. Nor is the wood itself of the best quality for naval architecture; for, though it is very strong, and to be bent with facility to any necessary form, it, being extremely subject to be worm-eaten, proves a great draw-back on its being brought into more general use, unless for such vessels as are intended to be coppered: for such, the jarrool may answer, as may also the soondry; both which abound in every part of the Sunderbunds.

The whole coast, from Balasore to Chittagong, has at times been occupied by a class of natives called Molungies, who manufacture salt from the sea-water. The produce of the several chokies, or manufactories, is immensely valuable, as has already been shewn, and suffices for the consumption of the whole population of all the Company’s dominions, besides what is exported into those of the Nabob Vizier, &c. About thirty-five years ago, salt used to be sold at a rupee, or a rupee and a half, per factory maund of 72lb.; which might average about one half-penny per lb.; but, since the Company monopolized the manufacture, and imposed a heavy duty, the price of salt has gradually risen to about four rupees per maund.

The importation of salt, by sea, is prohibited, except under partial or temporary licences; but it is brought from the mines to the northward of Delhi in large quantities, though not of so good a quality, it being generally very bitter, especially the Salumbah, or more opaque rock-salt, which is far less serviceable for curing meat than the Samber; both these kinds are brought in small prismatic masses, and, though in common use among the natives of the upper provinces, are never, except from necessity, allowed to appear at the tables of Europeans, though employed in their culinary preparations.

Salt is also obtained, but not of a prime quality, by piling up large quantities of the sand forming the beds of rivers, after the waters have subsided into very narrow channels. On these heaps water is poured in abundance, and, being afterwards drained into reservoirs, the salt either chrystalizes by solar heat, or by being boiled in large iron pans, similar to those used for chrystalizing sugar from the expressed juice of the cane.

In travelling by water, many points, totally unheeded by European tourists, are necessarily to be attended to previous to departure. I have already warned my readers, that no furnished house, no lodgings, no public vehicles, no inns, and, in short, no preparation for the lodgment or convenience of temporary sojourners, are to be expected in any part of India; with the exception of the taverns and punch-houses already described. Therefore, when an excursion is to be made by water, a budjrow must be hired, which may commonly be effected either by what is called ‘teekah,’ or so much for the trip, according to the distance, with some allowance for demurrage; or the vessel may be hired at a certain monthly sum; generally taken at ten rupees per oar. Sometimes return-budjrows are to be had at a cheaper rate: whichever way the bargain may be made, the person hiring has nothing to do with the pay, or provision, of the several men employed in navigating the vessel.

The following Table of Allowances granted by the Company to officers, and others, proceeding, according to orders, from one station to another, will be both useful to those who may be proceeding to the East, and serve to give a general idea of the periods required, in ordinary seasons, taking the year round, for a boat’s reaching her destination, and returning to the place she quitted. The allowance likewise includes whatever may be intended for not only the budjrow, but for an attendant baggage-boat, and a cook-boat.

TABLE OF ALLOWANCE