These rivers, which a late ingenious gentleman aptly termed fifters and rivals (he might have said twin fifters, from the contiguity of their fprings) exactly resemble each other in length of courfe; in bulk, until they approach the fea; in the fmoothness and colour of their waters; in the appearance of their borders and. iflands; and, finally, in the height to which their floods rife with. the periodical rains. Of the two, the Burrampooter is the largest; but the difference is not obvious to the eye. They are now well known to derive their fources from the vaft mountains of THIBET * from whence they proceed in oppofite directions; the Ganges feeking the plains of HINDOOSTAN (or INDOSTAN) by the weft; and the Burrampooter by the east; both pursuing the early part of their courfe through rugged vallies and defiles, and seldom visiting the habitations of men. The Ganges, after wandering about 800 miles through these mountainous regions, iffues forth a deity to the fuperftitious, yet gladened, inhabitant of Hindooftant. From Hurdwar (or Hurdoar) in latitude 30°, where it gushes through an opening in the mountains, it flows with a smooth navigable stream through delightful plains, during the remainder of its course to the sea (which is about 1350 miles) diffufing plenty immediately by means of its living productions; and fecondarily by enriching the

Thefe are among the highest of the mountains of the old hemifphere. I was not able to determine their height; but it may in fome measure be gueffed, by the circumftance of their rifing confiderably above the horizon, when viewed from the plains of Bengal, at the diftance of 150 miles.

The fabulous aceount of the origin of the Ganges (as communicated by my learned and ingenious friend C. W. BOUGHTON ROUSE, Efq.) is, that it flows out of the foot of BESCHAN (the fame with Viftnou, the PRESERVING DEITY) from whence, fay the Bramins, it has its name Padda; that word fignifying foot in the Shanferit language: and that in in its courfe to the plains of Hindooftan, it paffes through an immenfe rock fhaped like a Cow's

head.

The allegory is highly expreffive of the veneration which the Hindoos have for this famous ftream; and no lefs to of their gratitude to the Author of Nature for bestowing it for it defcribes the bleffing as flowing purely from his bounty and goodness.

The rock before mentioned has, I believe, never been vifited by any European; and is even allowed by most of the natives to bear no resemblance to the object from whence it is denominated. However, as the effects of fuperftition do often long furvive the illusions that gave it birth, the rock or cavern ftill preferves its original name. (This note was written before it was known that M. Tieffentaller had visited it).

adjacent lands, and affording an eafy means of tranfport for the productions of its borders. In a military view, it opens a communication between the different pofts, and ferves in the capacity of a military way through the country; renders unneceffary the forming of magazines; and infinitely surpasses the celebrated inland navigation of North America, where the carrying places not only obstruct the progrefs of an army, but enable the adverfary to determine his place and mode of attack with certainty.

In its course through the plains, it receives eleven rivers, fome of which are equal to the Rhine, and none fmaller than the Thames, besides as many others of leffer note. It is owing to this vast influx of streams, that the Ganges exceeds the Nile fo greatly in point of magnitude, while the, latter exceeds it in length of course by one-third. Indeed, the Ganges is inferior in this last respect, to many of the northern rivers of Afia; though I am inclined to think that it discharges as much or more water than any of them,.. because those rivers do not lie within the limits of: the periodical rains *..

The proportional lengths of courfe of fome of the most noted rivers in the world are hewn nearly by the following numbers;

The bed of the Ganges, is, as may be fuppofed, very unequal in -point of width. From its first arrival in the plains at Hurdwar, to the conflux of the Jumna (the first river of note that joins it) its bed is generally from a mile to a mile and a quarter wide; and, compared with the latter part of its courfe, tolerably ftraight. From hence, downward, its courfe becomes more winding, and its bed confequently wider*, till, having fucceffively received the waters of the Gogra, Soane, and Gunduck, befides many finaller ftreams, its bed has attained its full width; although, during the remaining 600 miles of its courfe, it receives many other principal ftreams. Within this fpace it is, in the narroweft parts of its bed, half a mile wide, and in the wideft, three miles; and that, in places where no iflands intervene. The ftream within this bed is always either increafing or decreafing, according to the feafon. When at its loweft (which happens in April) the principal channel varies from 400 yards to a mile and a quarter; but is commonly about three quarters of a mile, in width.

The Ganges is fordable in fome places above the conflux of the Jumna, but the navigation is never interrupted. Below that, the channel is of confiderable depth, for the additional streams bring a greater acceffion of depth than width. At 500 miles from the fea, the channel is thirty feet deep when the river is at its lowest; and it continues at least this depth to the fea, where the fudden expanfion of the stream deprives it of the force neceffary to sweep away the bars of fand and mud thrown across it by the strong foutherly winds; so that the principal branch of the Ganges cannot be entered by large veffels.

About 220 miles from the fea (but 300 reckoning the windings of the river) commences the head of the delta of the Ganges,

* This will be explained when the windings of the river are treated of.

which

which is confiderably more than twice the area of that of the Nile. The two westernmoft branches, named the Coffimbuzar and Jellinghy rivers, unite, and form what is afterwards named the Hoogly river, which is the port of Calcutta, and the only branch of the Ganges that is commonly navigated by ships *. The Coffimbuzar river is almost dry from October to May; and the Jellinghy river (although a stream runs in it the whole year) iş in fome years unnavigable during two or three of the dryest months; fo that the only fubordinate branch of the Ganges, that is at all times navigable, is the Chundnah river, which separates at Moddapour, and terminates in the Hooringotta.

That part of the delta bordering on the fea,, is composed of a labyrinth of rivers and creeks, all of which are falt, except thofe that immediately communicate with the principal arm of the Ganges. This tract, known by the name of the Woods, or Sunderbunds, is in extent equal to the principality of WALES; and is fo completely enveloped in woods, and infested with tygers, that if any attempts have ever been made to clear it (as is reported) they have hitherto mifcarried. Its numerous canals are fo difpofed as to form a complete inland navigation throughout and across the lower part of the delta, without either the delay of going round the head of it, or the hazard of putting to fea. Here falt, in quantities equal to the whole confumption of Bengal and its dependencies, is made and tranfported with equal facility: and here alfo is found an inexhauftible store of timber for boat-building. The breadth of the lower part of this delta is upwards of 180 miles; to which, if we

The Hoogly river,, or wefternmost branch of the Ganges, has a much deeper outlet to the fea than the principal branch. Probably this may be owing to its precipitating a lefs quantity of mud than the other; the quantity of the Ganges water difcharged here being lefs than in the other in the proportion of one to fix. From the difficulties that occur in navi-gating the entrance of the Hoogly river, many are led to fuppofe, that the channels are fhallow. The difficulties, however, arife from bringing the fhips across fome of the fandbanks, which project fo far into the fea, that the channels between them cannot easily be traced from without.

add that of the two branches of the river that bound it, we shall have about 200 miles for the distance to which the Ganges expands its branches, at its junction with the sea.

It has been obferved before, that the course of this river, from Hurdwar to the fea, is through an uniform plain; or, at least, what appears fuch to the eye: for, the declivity is much too fmall to be perceptible. A fection of the ground, parallel to one of its branches, in length 60 miles, was taken by order of Mr. HASTINGS; and it was found to have about nine inches defcent in each mile, reckoning in a straight line, and allowance being made for the curvature of the earth. But the windings of the river were fo great, as to reduce the declivity on which the water ran, to lefs than four inches per mile: and by a comparison of the velocity of the stream at the place of experiment, with that in other places, I have no reason to fuppofe, that its general descent exceeds it *.

The medium rate of motion of the Ganges is less than three miles an hour in the dry months. In the wet season, and during the draining off the waters from the inundated lands, the current runs from five to fix miles an hour; but there are inftances of its running seven, and even eight miles, in particular fituations, and under certain circumstances. I have an experiment of my own on record, in which my boat was carried 56 miles in eight hours; and that against so strong a wind, that the boat had evidently no progreffive motion through the water.

When we confider, that the velocity of the stream is three miles in one season, and five or more in the other, on the fame defcent of four inches per mile; and, that the motion of the inundation is only half a mile per hour, on a much greater descent; no farther

• M. DE CONDAMINE found the defcent of the river Amazons, in a straight courfe of about 1860 miles, to be about 1020 English feet, or 6 inches in a mile. If we allow for the windings (which in the Ganges are about one mile and in 3, taking its whole course through the plains) it probably would not exceed 4 inches in a mile.