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having been the subjects of history, or as being connected with the politics of present times.

The Jidger, or river of Mewat, * and which has no existence. in any map that I have seen, appears, by Ferifhta's account, to rife in the western parts of the foubah of Delhi, and to run eaftward. This is strongly implied in Dowe's tranflation (Vol. I. page 327). He fays that "Sultan Firofe made a canal of 100 miles, from the Suttuluz (or Setlege) to the Jidger." This was doubtless with a view to join the inland navigations of the Ganges and Indus; and was a noble, as well as an useful, design +. The river that runs by Fattipour, and falls into the Jumna below Agra, is named Jago in feveral maps, both printed and MS. but is defcribed as coming from Agimere. I fuppofe this to be Jidger, and have accordingly described it as fuch. Cottilah, the capital of Mewat, is not far from its banks.

Tiberhind, a fortrefs and province often mentioned by Ferifhta, is placed according to the implied fituation affigned it by that author. The fame may be faid of Nagore in Agimere; Haffi, Koram, Surfutti and Cottilah,

The next place, in point of confèquence to the construction of this part of the map, is Attock, a city and fortrefs on the east fide of the Indus or Sinde. The fituation of this place is fixed by its bearings and distances from Lahore, as given in a MS. map of Panjab, (of which I shall speak more fully hereafter) and the diftance agrees also with Tavernier's account, which reckons 119 cofses between them. It is remarkable that M. D'Anville's pofition

* Mewat is the hilly tract on the weft of the Jumnah, between Delhi and Agra; poffeffed by the Jats.

By a flight infpection of the map, it will appear that this project, would, if the ground permitted of its being fuccefsfully put into execution, be one of the greatest undertakings of the kind that ever was projected; that of cutting thro' the ifthmus of Suez, only excepted. We should then have feen two capital rivers, which traverse a large part of the continent of Afia; which enter the fea at 1500 B. miles afunder; and which ftretch out their arms as it were, to meet each other; united by art, fo as to form an uninterrupted inland navigation from Cabul [to Affam! I take it for granted that this canal was never completed, otherwise we should have heard more of it, as we have of the canals leading from the Jumna.

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of this place, does not differ 10 miles from the pofition I have affigned it; although we differ confiderably in the detail of the route between it and Delhi.

Moultan*, the capital of the foubah of the fame name, has its latitude given at 29° 52′ in the Ayeneh Acbaree, and in other tables; 29° 32', by the Latin itinerary abovementioned, and 29° 40', according to Thevenot. I have taken the medium, and placed it in 29° 41'. With respect to its longitude, I have no tolerable data for it. The Ayeneh Acbaree makes it 7° 3' west from Delhi; but we have already had occafion to remark, how little dependence is to be placed on the Indian tables of longitude. The MS. map of Panjab specifies in a written note, that the whole diftance between Lahore and Moultan is 90 coffes; but does not give the diftance between the ftages, as in other parts of the map. On the other hand, Mr. John Steel, in his Itinerary, reckons the distance 144 coffes, and gives the distances between the stages; but the road is evidently a different one from that described in the MS. map. Here is a difference in the two accounts, of more than one third part, fuppofing Mr. Steel to have gone the direct road; and there is nothing appears to the contrary. It is a misfortune that we have no account of the distance on the great road from Delhi to Moultan, by way of Debalpour; which, together with the help of the latitude, would have given the longitude in a fatisfactory

manner.

and

There is no poffibility of reconciling the two accounts of 90 144 coffes; and therefore I have rejected them both, and have had recourse to the bearings and proportional distances between Lahore, Attock, and Moultan, in the MS. map of Panjab †. Moultan, there, bears a little to the eastward of fouth, from Attock; and about 60 degrees to the weftward of fouth, from Lahore. And

Supposed to be the Malli of Alexander.

+ Thevenot reckons it" threescore and odd leagues," or about 120 coffes; but his account is vague.

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the distance between Attock and Moultan, is exactly equal to that between Moultan and Lahore; which, according to the above bearings, and the latitude of Moultan, is about 110 coffes. This, then, is the pofition of Moultan in the map; the longitude of which is 71°10', or 6° 35′ west of Delhi; that is, 28 minutes lefs than what is specified in the Ayeneh Acbaree. M. D'Anville places Moultan and Attock, in respect to each other, so exactly as I have done, that I have been able to preserve all his geography of Cabul and Candahar, together with the course of the Indus above Moultan, without any alteration of scale or bearing. The truth is, that I have no materials, of a quality proper to correct radically the Geography of thofe countries; for the latitudes and longitudes in the Persian tables will by no means effect it. But though I do not think myself authorised to correct it, yet by what has appeared to me, during the investigation of the fubject, I believe that both Cabul and Candahar are farther to the west, by at least a degree, than M. D'Anville has placed them, though probably not fo far as is given in the Ayeneh Acbaree.

The divifions of Cabul, &c. that appear in my map, are chiefly from the Ayeneh Acbaree. The routes from Candahar to Cabul and Attock, are from Tavernier; and that from Candahar to Moultan, from Mr. Steel. Befides thefe, I have introduced a few places, and corrected the names of others. But for the whole ground work of the countries weft of the Indus, as well as the river itself, I am indebted to M. D'Anville.

The river called by Europeans Indus *, and by the natives generally Sinde (or Sindeh) is formed of about 10 principal streams which defcend from the Perfian and Tartarian mountains, on the north east, and north weft. The Ayeneh Acbaree describes its fource as being in Cashgur and Cashmere; by which it appears

Nilab is a name fometimes applied to the Indus by Ferishta, and other Indian historians: however, I apprehend that the Nilab is one of the western branches of the Indus, and runs under Irjab and Nagaz.

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that the people of Hindooftan confider the north east branch as the true Sinde. From the city of Attock, in about latitude 32° 20', downwards to Moultan, it is commonly named the river of Attock, which in the Hindooftan language, imports for bidden; probably from the circumstance of its being the original boundary of Hindooftan on the north west; and which it was unlawful for the subjects of Hindooftan to pass over, without special permiffion. Below the city of Moultan, it is often named Soor, or Shoor, until it divides itself into a number of channels near Tatta; where the principal branch takes the name of Mehran. The river, however, when spoken of generally, is called Sinde, altho' particular parts of it are known by different names. The course of the Indus below Moultan, has its particulars from M. D'Anville; but the general direction of its courfe, is confiderably more to the weft, than he describes it. This is occafioned by my placing its embouchure so much farther west than usual, in respect of Bombay (see page 28) whilst the pofition of Moultan remains nearly as it formerly was. I obferve that most of the old maps of India give the Indus much the fame courfe as I have done.

The Latin Itinerary beforementioned, gives the names of many places, and fome latitudes, on the Indus. It places the fortress and city of Bhakor, which the Ayeneh Acbaree says, is the ancient Manfurah (though D'Anville fays the contrary) in latitude 27° 12'; Tatta in 24°20′; and Bunder Lawry *, in 24° 10. All these, I take to be from 20 to 30 minutes too far fouth.

Moultan is about the fame diftance from the fea, as Allahabad; that is, about 800 B. miles by the course of the river; and our author was 21 days in dropping down with the stream, in the months of October and November; when the ftrength of the land floods were abated.

The boundaries of the provinces of Moultan and Sindy on the west, extend a confiderable way beyond the bank of the river; that

Called alfo Bunder Laheri.

is

is to fay, from 50 to 100 miles. The country is in general flat and open from Moultan to the fea; and the province of Tatta itfelf (the Patale or Patala of Alexander) is faid to refemble Bengal, not only in the flatness of its surface, richness of foil, and periodical inundations; but alfo in the food of its inhabitants, which is

chiefly rice and fish. The fite of the ancient capital, Homnabad,

is near Tatta; and, in the time of Acbar, fome confiderable ruins of it were remaining: particularly the fort, which is faid to have had an astonishing number of Turrets to it. Tatta is made fynonymous to Daibul, in the Perfian tables (which were obligingly lent me by Mr. Jones, and are those mentioned in his preface to Nadir Shaw) where it is placed in 24° 10. The Latin Itinerary fays 24° 20′, and D'Anville 24° 40'.—I have placed it, according to its reputed distance from the mouth of the Sinde, which brings it to 24° 45' *.

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I return now to the country of Panjab, or that watered by the fine eastern branches of the Indus. Here fome new matter offers ; having before me, a map of this country drawn by a native, and preferved in the archives of government in Hindoostan. The names were obligingly translated by Mr. Davy, at the request of Sir Robert Barker. The tract, of which this map ferves as a ground work, is a fquare of about 250 B. miles; and includes the whole foubah of Lahore, and a great part of Moultan proper. The points of Lahore, Attock, and Sirhind (the fixing which, I have before given an account of) determine the scale of the map; the intermediate distances from place to place in it being given in writing, and not by a scale.

I confider this MS. as a valuable acquifition; for it not only conveys a distinct idea of the courses and names of the five rivers, which we never had before: but fets us right as to the identity of

Pliny reckons the length of the Patale, or Delta of the Indus, at 220 Roman miles; in which he was very near the truth, it being about 210.

the

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