CHAP. V.
ON THE DELTA OF THE INDUS.
Herodotus said of Egypt, that it was the “gift of the Nile;” the same may be said of the country at the mouths of the Indus. A section of the banks of the river shows a continued succession of earth, clay and sand in layers, parallel to one another; and deposited, without doubt, at different periods. It would be perhaps hazarding too much to state, that the whole of the Delta has been gradually acquired from the sea; but it is clear that the land must have greatly encroached on the ocean. Nothing is more corroborative of this fact than the shallowness of the sea out from the mouths of the Indus, and the clayey bottom and tinge of the water.
The country from Tatta, which stands at the head of the Delta, to the sea downwards, is in most parts influenced by the periodical swell of the Indus: the great branches of this river are of themselves so numerous, and throw off such an incredible number of arms, that the inundation is general; and in those places which are denied this advantage by fortuitous circumstances, artificial drains, about four feet wide and three deep, conduct the waters through the fields. The swell commences in the latter end of April, and continues to increase till July, disappearing altogether in September: a northerly wind is supposed to accelerate it. It begins with the melting of the snow in the Himalaya mountains, before the rainy season. At other times the land is irrigated with the Persian wheel, which is turned by a camel or bullock, and in general use every where. One eighth of the Delta may be occupied by beds of rivers and inferior streams. Ten miles from the sea, the country is so thickly covered with furze and bushes, that it is incapable of being brought under tillage. Close upon the sea coast, however, there is abundance of green forage, which furnishes pasture to large herds of buffaloes. These animals reward the herdsmen with an abundant supply of ghee; but his labour is incessant, for he must bring fresh water from the interior for himself and his herd.
In a tract peopled by a pastoral race, there are few permanent towns or villages. When we except Darajee, Vikkur, Shahbunder, Mughribee, and one or two others, the inhabitants reside in temporary villages called “raj,” which they remove at pleasure; their huts are constructed of reeds and mats made from rice straw; each house is surrounded by a grass “tatty” or fence, to exclude the cold wind and humid vapours which prevail in this low country, and are considered noxious. These are the houses of which Nearchus speaks, and are, I believe, peculiar to the river Indus. They very much resemble the huts of tumblers in India.
It becomes a difficult matter to form any correct opinion as to the number of inhabitants in such a country, where the body of the people are wanderers, and not confined to narrow limits: huts are, however, to be seen every where, and, excluding the city of Tatta, the population of the Delta cannot be rated at less than 30,000 souls; of this estimate, one third may be composed of those who reside in the fixed towns. This census gives seven and a half to the square mile.
The erratic tribe, in the Delta of the Indus, is called Jut; these people are the aborigines of the country; they are a superstitious race of Mahommedans, and exceedingly ignorant. The different banks of the rivers are peopled by watermen of the tribe of Mooana; they are emigrants from the Punjab, and are employed in navigating the boats, or fishing in the sea or river. There is also another tribe from the same country, called Seik Lobana, whose occupation it is to make reeds and mats. They also kill wild animals and game, but are held in no estimation by the rest of the people. Jookeas or Jukreeas, an aboriginal race from the mountains over Curachee, are to be found, but they are not numerous. Some of their chiefs have land assigned to them. There are also a few Beloochees. On the fixed population there is little to remark; it is chiefly composed of Hindoos, of the mercantile caste, who carry on the foreign and internal commerce of Sinde. They do not differ from their brethren in India.
The only tribe which calls for further comment, is that of Jokeea. These people are the descendants of the Suma Rajpoots, who governed Sinde in former years. They became converts to the Mahommedan faith when the Hindoo dynasty was subverted, and still retain the Hindoo name of their tribe, and claim consanguinity with the Jhareja Rajpoots of Cutch. They are mountaineers from the west bank of the Indus, not very numerous, and little favoured by the government. They can bring 2000 men into the field.
The fisheries in the river, and out from its different mouths, are extensive. They are chiefly carried on by hooks, and some of the fish caught are of enormous dimensions. One species called “Kujjooree” is killed for its sound, which, with the fins of small sharks that abound near the Indus, form an article of export to China. The river fish are likewise abundant; of these, the most remarkable is the “Pulla,” a kind of carp, delicious in flavour, and only found in the four months that precede the swell of the river. Another species, called the “Singalee,” and about the size of a small haddock, likewise abounds. On the approach of the tide, they make a noise under the ship, louder than a bull frog. They have a large head, and are very bony. They exist in all the rivers of Western India, and are not peculiar to the Indus.
I am not aware that there are any animals peculiar to the Delta of the Indus. Otters abound; camels are numerous, and superior; buffaloes are reared in great numbers; horned cattle and sheep are plentiful. The dog, too, is here elevated to his proper situation, and is an attendant on man. They watch the flocks, and are of a ferocious description, and will not allow a stranger to approach a “raj” or village; they swim the rivers with great dexterity.
The staple production of the Delta of the Indus is rice: it is to be had of many different kinds, but its value seems to depend chiefly on its preparation for the market. Bajree and all other Indian grains are raised. From extensive plantations of cane, “goor,” a coarse kind of sugar, is produced; which, with wheat, barley, and moong, are reared by irrigating the fields from cuts to the river, some months before the periodical swell, and form what may be called a second crop. Saltpetre is found in the Delta, but it is not exported, though formerly an object of commerce to the East India Company.
The climate of Lower Sinde is sultry and disagreeable. The thermometer ranges as high as 90° in March, and though the soil is a rich alluvium, the dust blows incessantly. The dews are very heavy and dangerous. It is in every respect a trying country to the human constitution, and this was observable in the premature old age of the inhabitants. I could not hear of their being subject to any marsh fever, or other evil effect from the inundation; they confined their complaints to the inconvenience and annoyance which they suffered from insects and musquitoes generated in the mud.