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the Ganges, which became fo famous, a century afterwards. Indeed, he tells us very plainly, that this fandy defert, was the extreme point of his knowledge eastward.

With respect to Scylax's discoveries, this is Herodotus's account. "Darius being defirous to know in what part, the Indus (which is the fecond river that produces crocodiles) runs into the fea, fent Scylax of Caryandra, with others of approved fidelity, to make the discovery. They departed in divers fhips from Cafpatyrus, and the territories of Pactya*; failed down the river, eastward to the fea; and then, altering their courfe to the weft, arrived in the 30th month, at that place, where the King of Egypt (Nechao) had caused the Phenicians I mentioned before, to embark in order to furround the coast of Lybia (Africa). After this voyage, Darius fubdued the Indians, and became mafter of that fea." Herod. Book IV. In another place, in the fame book, he takes notice of fome Indian nations, fituated to the fouthward, very remote from the Perfian conquests; and whose complexions were as black as Ethiopians: these ought to be the people of the peninfula. He had alfo learned that they killed no animals, but contented themfelves with the produce of the earth: that they exposed those whom they deemed too ill to recover; lived chiefly upon rice; had horfes of a smaller breed than their weftern neighbours; and that they manufactured their fine cotton wool in cloathing.

Now, after the above account of Scylax's expedition, can we give credit to the ftory of Alexander's fuppofing that he had discovered the head of the Nile, when he was at the Indus? Are we to suppose that Ariftotle concealed the books of Herodotus from his pupil? Or, on the contrary, ought we not rather to believe, that the matter of them was on his mind: and that the discoveries of Scylax, made within 180 years of his own time, and of a kind

I conclude that Pactya, is the modern Pehkely. See pages 108. and 116 of the Memoir. Some have fuppofed Cafpatyrus to mean Camere: but this is improbable, from its fituation, which is remote from the Indus.

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that particularly interefted him; were detailed to him; when we find them given incidentally in Herodotus?

The story of Alexander's surprise at seeing the tides in the Indus, appears to me equally improbable; feeing that the fame Herodotus (Book II.) fpeaks very particularly of the tides in the Red fea; and defcribes them as being not only ftrong, but ebbing and flowing every day. (That most intelligent and ingenious traveller, M. Volney, informs us, that the tide ebbs and flows three feet and a half at Suez). Arrian takes no notice of the tides until Alexander's fleet had arrived near the mouth of the river. It is true, that the tide in the Indus does not go up fo high, as in other rivers of equal bulk, and that run on so small a defcent; but nevertheless, as the tide is perceptible at 50 or 60 miles above the river's mouth *, we may conclude that it could hardly escape the notice of Alexander and his people, in their voyage from Pattala to the sea: fuppofing they had not been apprized of the circumstance. Befides, Arrian's account of the coming in of the tide, which did fo much mischief to the fleet, is descriptive of the BORE, or fudden influx of the tide, in a body of water, elevated above the common furface of the sea; such as occurs in the Ganges, &c. He fays, thofe ships that lay upon the fand, were swept away by the fury of the tide; while those that stuck in the mud, were set afloat again without damage. To the generality of readers, no reason will appear, why the circumAtances of the fhips fhould be different, in the mud, and on the fand: the fact is, that the bottoms of channels, in great rivers, are muddy; while their fhallows are formed of fand: and it is the nature of the bore, to take the shortest cut up a river; instead of following the windings of the channel: confequently, it mustcross the fand banks it meets in its way; and will also prove more deftructive to whatever it meets with aground, than what is afloat..

The tide in the Indus is perceptible at about 65 miles above its mouth; according to the information of Mr. Callander, who refided a confiderable time at Tatta, near the head of the delta of the Indus. In the Ganges the tides are perceptible at 240 miles up: and in the river Amazons, at 600.

It appears alfo from Herodotus (Book III.) that the parts of India bordering on the Indus, were subjected to regular tribute, if not totally reduced, under the Perfian Government: for in enumerating the 20 Satrapies of Perfia (under Darius Hyftafpes) India is reckoned as one of them, and is rated the highest: it being affeffed in the proportion of 4680 Eubean talents of filver, out of 14,560, the whole annual revenue. To explain this, the author informs us, that the Indians were very numerous; and that the tribute charged upon them, was proportionably great. It is worthy of remark, that this tribute was paid in gold, whereas that of the other Satrapies was paid in filver. Much light is thrown on this circumftance, by the intelligence furnished by the AYIN ACBAREE; namely, that the eastern branches of the Indus, as well as fome other ftreams, that defcend from the northern mountains, yield gold duft. (See page 108 of the Memoir.) We are told on the fame occafion, by Herodotus, that gold was estimated about that time, at the value of 13 times its weight in silver.

Alexander's expedition furnished the Greeks with a more extenfive knowledge of India: although he traverfed only the countries mentioned by Herodotus: that is, the tract watered by the Indus, and its various branches, and adjunct rivers. But the spirit of enquiry was now gone forth and the long refidence of Megasthenes, the ambaffador of Seleucus, at Palibothra, the capital of the PRASII, furnished the Grecians with the principal part of the accounts of India, that are to be found in Strabo, Pliny, and Arrian for Megafthenes kept a journal, and alfo wrote a very particular account of what he had feen and heard, refpecting India in general, during feveral years refidence: which account existed in Arrian's time. His embafly was about 300 years before our æra.

The communication by land, between the Syrian empire and India, was dropt very early: for Bactria foon became independant: and by that means, the link of the chain that connected India with Syria, was broken. The Indian trade was about the fame time

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transferred from Tyre to Alexandria in Egypt, where it flourished under the auspices of the Ptolemies, until Egypt became a Roman province; and was continued on a more extensive scale under the Romans themfelves: nor did it forfake Alexandria, until the redifcovery of the paffage by the Cape of Good Hope. I shall take occafion to speak more fully concerning the particulars of the navigation from the Red fea to India, hereafter.

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This traffick opened to the Egyptians and Romans a knowledge of the coafts and products of India; as we find by various notices, in the abovementioned authors; and in Ptolemy in particular. But confidering how much the detail of the coafts was known to him, as is evident by his map (Tab. X. Afiæ) it is very extraordinary that the general form of it, fhould be fo far from the truth: for. he makes the coafts between the Indus and Ganges, to project only in a flight curve; whereas, they are known to form the fides. of a triangle, whofe perpendicular almoft equals its bafe: Cape Comorin, being the apex of it.. Whoever compares the proportional dimensions of India, found in Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, and Arrian, will find them tolerably juft: and will be inclined to think. that the worst fet of ancient maps of India, has travelled down to us and that Ptolemy, in conftructing his map of that part, did. not express the ideas of well informed people of his own time, on that fubject. Pliny was about 60 years before Ptolemy; and Ar-. rian about 20 years after Ptolemy: their accounts of the dimenfions: of India, were taken from Eratosthenes and Megasthenes..

Diodorus fays that India is 32,000 ftadia from north to fouth, and 28,000 from east to weft: that is, the breadth is feven-eighths of the length.

Arrian gives the measures collected by Eratofthenes and Megafthenes and fays that India is bounded on the weft' by the Indus; on the north, by a continuation of Mount Taurus, called in different parts, Paro-pamifus, Emodus, and Himaus; and on the fouth,

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fouth, by the ocean, which also shuts up the eastern parts of it *. Few authors (fays he) have given us any account of the people, that inhabit towards the mouths of the Ganges, where PALIBOTHRA is fituated."

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From the mountains at the head of the Indus, to its mouth, according to Eratofthenes, is 13,000 ftadia; and from the said mountains, to the eastern fea, the extent is fomewhat lefs: but as a huge tract of land runs out 4,000 ftadia into the fea (meaning the peninsula) it may be reckoned 16,000 ftadia. From Palibothra to the western extreme of India, measured along the great road, is 10,000 ftadia: and the whole length (that is, from east to west) is 20,000 ftadia. Arrian likewife gives the meafures according to Megafthenes, who reckoned. India 22,300 ftadia from north to fouth; and 16,000 broad, from eaft to weft; making that the breadth, which Eratofthenes reckons the length. may observe, that Megasthenes's proportion, is, on the whole, the truest: for India is about 28 degrees of a great circle, in length, from north to fouth; or from the Indian Caucafus, to Cape Comorin: and about 20 in breadth, from the Indus to the mouth of the Ganges and if we reckon from the moft diftant mouth of each river, it will be 22 degrees. in breadth. This fhews that Arrian had as just an idea of the proportional dimenfions of India, as we had, 40 years ago: for we then reckoned it narrower than the truth, by at least two degrees. It is impoffible to tell what length Megasthenes meant to exprefs by a ftade, as there appears to be fo confiderable a variation in the length of this itinerary measure, at different times: but by proportioning the number of ftades, to the number of degrees, included in the above measures of India, by Megafthenes;

Here it would appear, that Arrian followed the geography of Alexander; who fuppofed India to be the most eaftern part of Afia; and that the fhore of the ocean, from the mouth of the Ganges, took a quick turn to the north and northweft: for he fuppofed the Cafpian laks · to be a gulf of it. (Vide his fpeech on the banks of the Hyphafis.) But Ptolemy, as we are given to understand, had, before the time of Arrian, defcribed SERICA, and the borders of SINE: that is, the countries bordering on the west and N W of CHINA; the country of the ELUTHS; and part of Tartary, to the latitude of 50 degrees north.

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