tiplied the places of worship of Mahadeo, of Befchan, and of Brama. All Cashmere is holy land; and miraculous fountains abound. One dreadful evil they are conftantly fubject to, namely, earthquakes; and to guard against their most terrible effects, all the houses are built of wood; of which there is no want.

Among other curious manufactures, with which Cafhmere abounds, is that of the fhawls; which are diftributed over all the western and fouthern Afia. We learn from M. Volney, that they even make a part of the drefs of the Egyptian Mamlouks and at prefent (as if to exhibit the most striking contraft in the claffes of wearers) they are worn by the English ladies. There remains no doubt, but that the delicate wool of which they are made, is the produce of a species of goat, either of that country, or of the adjoining one of Thibet. Notwithstanding the present extenfive demand for fhawls, the manufacture is declined to one fourth of the former quantity; which may be eafily referred to the decline of the Perfian and Hindooftanic empires. Here are bred a fpecies of theep, called Hundoo, which like thofe of Peru, are employed in carrying burthens. The annual publick revenue of Cashmere, in the time of Aurengzebe, appears to have been only about 35,000l. From what has been faid above, it was, no doubt, a favoured province.

The Cashmirians have a language of their own, said to be anterior to the Sanfcrit. And it would appear that they had also a religion of their own, different from that of the Hindoos. Abul Fazil fays, "the moft refpectable people of this country, are the Reyshees, "who although they do not fuffer themselves to be fettered by tradi"tions, are doubtless true worshippers of God." Nothing can exceed the liberality of mind both of Abul Fazil, and of his master, the great Acbar: but the former appears to have caught fome of the enthusiasm of the valley, by his descriptions of some of the holy places in it. To fum up the account of Cashmere, in the words of the fame author, "It is a garden in perpetual fpring."

So

So far am I from doubting the tradition refpecting the existence of the lake that covered Cashmere; that appearances alone would serve to convince me, without either the tradition, or the hiftory. It it a mere natural effect; and fuch I apprehend must be the economy of nature, in every cafe where the waters of a river are inclofed in any part of their courfe, by elevated lands. The first confequence of this ftoppage, is, of courfe, the converfion of the inclosed lands, into a lake: and if this happens near the fountains of the river, and the ground is folid, it is likely to remain a lake for ever; the river not having force enough in its infant state to work itself a paffage through the mountains. Hence it is that more lakes are found near the fources of rivers, than in the lower parts of their course. If the river be inclofed after it has gained a great acceffion of water, and of course, firength, it will indeed at first form a lake as before; but in time, the place at which it runs over, will be gradually fretted away, as in the cafe of the Chelum abovementioned. The Euphrates, in like manner, opens itself a paffage through Mount Taurus; and the Ganges through Mount Imaus: and even though the base of the mountain be of the firmest texture, it will give way to the inceffant friction, through a course of ages for we know not but that it may have been an operation of fome thousand years. In the cafe of the Ganges, which paffes THROUGH Mount Imaus, it may be fuppofed that the lower ftrata were fofter than the upper; for the upper ftill remain, to a vaft height. In that of the Chelum, the lake appears to have exifted long enough to depofit a vaft depth of foil, before it difperfed. The Cafhmirian hiftory names the lake SUTTY-SIRR and adds, that Kufhup led a colony of Bramins to inhabit the valley, after the waters had fubfided. Cafhmere is the frontier province of Hindooflan, towards Tartary and Thibet: it having little Thibet on the north, and great Thibet on the caft; and Cafhgur on the N W. From Cashmere, Mr. Forfter went by a very circuitous route, to Cabul; the barbarous ftate of the people who inhabit the shores

of the Indus towards its fource, making this precaution neceffary. The countries in question are thofe of Pehkely or Puckely, Sowhad, and Bijore, the fcene of Alexander's warfare on the weft of the Indus; all of which were fubjected to regular authority during the long and vigorous reign of Acbar. We are told by the Ayin Acbaree, that feveral of the ftreams that form the head of the Indus, yeild gold duft: and this accounts for the circumftance of the Indian tribute being paid in gold to Darius Hyftafpes; according to HERODOTUS (Book III.). The fum indeed feerns too great, in proportion to what other provinces paid: but as the gold of the river Pactolus has been exhausted; fo may that of the Kishengonga, in Puckley, be diminished. Pehkely, I take to be the Pactya of Herodotus, Book IV. (as well as the Peucelaotis of Arrian) from whence Scylax fet out to explore the courfe of the Indus, under the orders of the fame Darius: for it lies towards the upper part of the navigable course of that river.

The first part of Mr. Forster's route from Cashmere, was down the course of the Chelum, or Behut, which has a fouth or SSW courfe, from the capital of Cashmere, for about 14 coffes; at which point he disembarked, and struck to the weftward, towards Muzifferabad; the capital town of a chief, who ftyles himself Sultan of a district of the fame name, bordering on the fouth-west of Cashmere. This capital is reckoned 71 coffes from Cashmere city, in a W by S direction. The country being mountainous from the confines of Cashmere, together with the obliquity of the courfe of the river; not more than 73 or 74 G. miles can be allowed on this course. The frontier of Cashmere was paffed at 15 coffes from the landing place, on the bank of the Chelum.

At Bazaar, 64 coffes in a S W by S direction from Muzifferabad, | Mr. Forfter croffed the Indus. This place is about 20 miles to the N NE of Attock, and, together with Jummoo, ferves to correct. the position of Cashmere, in respect of Attock and Lahore. I have allowed the 64 coffes to produce 80 G. miles; and it accords, as

nearly

*

nearly as such a rough kind of computation, can be expected to do. The greatest part of the way from Muzifferabad, was mountainous, and the country fubject to petty Princes of the Patan race. Mr. Forster entered the country of Timur Shah Abdalla, at Hyderbungee, a town about 8 miles to the eaft of the Indus.

The Indus (or Sinde) was croffed by Mr. Forfter, the 10th of July. He remaks," that no rain had then fallen in that neighbourhood: but we know that the periodical rains must have commenced in the northern mountains, near three months before, and of course must have swelled the river very confiderably; for Mr. Forster judged the breadth of the stream to be three quarters of a mile. It was also very rapid, and turbulent, although not agitated by any wind. He obferved also, that the water was extremely cold, and that a great deal of black fand was fufpended in it. Nil-ab, or the blue river, is a name fometimes applied to the Indus: poffibly from the fancied colour of its waters, when mixed with this fand. The Ganges and Burrampooter rivers, on the contrary, when fwoln, are of a pale yellow, lightly tinged with red; being then faturated with mud. I doubt not but that the Indus affumes the same colour, after the rains have fallen into the level countries, and washed a portion of the foil into the river.

I cannot find out where the springs of this celebrated river, are. Unquestionably, they are far more remote than the fides of the mountains, which feparate Hindooftan from Tartary; and where both the ancient and modern Europeans have agreed to place them: for as these mountains are not in a higher parallel than 35°, at moft; the Indus could have no more than 150 G. miles to run (reckoning in a strait line) before it reached the place where Mr. Forfter croffed it: and we have no example of any river having acquired fuch a volume of water, in so early a part of its course, as this fuppofition would make it. All the Panjab rivers; and most of the western rivers; that is, those of Candahar and Cabul, fall in below this point. The Ayin Acbaree fays, "the Sind, accord

ing to fome, rifes between Cashmere and Cafhgur, while others "place its fource in Khatai." By Khatai, is strictly meant CHINA; but the term is likewife extended to Tartary, and other adjacent countries; of which Cafhgur may be one. This country commences on the north and north-east of Cashmere, and extends northward to the fortieth degree of latitude; and eastward to the chain of mountains, which, in the idea of the ancients, feparated the two Scythias: in effect, it was that branch of Mount Imaus that extended in a direction nearly from north to fouth, and terminated on the eaftern branch of the fame mountains, near the heads of the Ganges. The Indus may then poffibly fpring from the weft fide of this ridge of Imaus; and this would allow a length of course, equal to what the Ganges takes, before it enters Hindoostan. A great part of the space allotted by the maps to Cafhgur, is known to be a fandy defert: it is poflible that the black fand feen in the river by Mr. Forfer, is rolled down by the torrents, from that defert. I cannot help obferving that on the eaft fide of the northern Imaus, the name Chata appears as the name of a nation*; as that of Cafia does in the position affigned to the modern city of Cafhgur. Khatai, as I have faid before, is applied rather in a lax fenfe by the people of Hindooften. CHEEN, or MAHA-CHEEN, is their proper name for the empire of China; as SINA appears to have been among the Romans. Khatai anfwers better to Tartary, and its different members, fuch as Thibet, &c. Probably Khatai, and Scythia have the fame derivation; as they appear to have been applied in certain inftances, to the fame tracts of country.

Pifhour or Peifhore, is the next place of note that lay in Mr. Forfter's route. It is a confiderable city, and is fituated on the great road leading from Attock to Cabul; being 25 coffes from Attock, and 29 in a W by S direction from Bazaar; whence its latitude ftands in the map at 32° 44'; and lon. 69° 54′. From this