CHAP. VI.
THE INDUS FROM TATTA TO HYDRABAD.
From the city of Tatta, which stands at a distance of three miles from the river, we cease to have the Indus separated into many channels. On the right bank it is confined by low rocky hillocks of limestone formation; and on the left there is but one narrow branch, the Pinyaree, which is accessible to boats from the town of Mughribee, when the superfluous water of the floods follows its course to the sea. Yet the general width of the channel is less than half a mile; at Hydrabad it is but 830 yards, at Tatta less than 700, and below the village Hilaya, fifteen miles from that town, it does not indeed exceed 600. The greatest depth of water lies opposite the capital, and is five fathoms; the least at Tatta, where it is but fifteen feet; generally, there is a depth of twenty feet.
The Delta of the Indus is free from sand-banks; from Tatta to Hydrabad, they occur every where, and, as the sides of the river are here more frequently shelving than steep, it is difficult to discover the deep channel, which perplexes the navigator. Many of these sand-banks are but knee deep in the water, and are constantly shifting their position; the current being less rapid than near the sea, they are not easily swept away. In several places they have become islands, and divide the stream into two channels, one of which will always be found navigable. This subdivision of the river has occasioned many of these branches being given as separate rivers in our maps, but, as I have before stated, none such exist, excepting the Pinyaree. In the floods there is a narrow channel above Triccul, communicating with the Fulailee branch, which insulates Hydrabad at that season.
The distance by land from Tatta to Hydrabad is less than fifty miles, nor do the windings of the stream increase it, even by water, to sixty-five. Its course is south-west by south, and rather direct, with one decided turn, below Jurruk, where it throws off the river leading to Mughribee. We made the voyage against the stream in two days.
There are not a dozen places between Tatta and the capital; the only one of note is Jurruk, situated near some low rocky hillocks, nor does it boast a population of 1500 souls: none of them are fortified.
This country, which might be one of the richest and most productive in the world, is devoted to sterility. Hunting preserves, or, as they are called, “shikargahs,” follow one another in such succession, as to leave no land for tillage; and the fences which confine the game approach within a few yards of the Indus. The interior of these preserves forms a dense thicket, composed of tamarisk, saline shrubs, and other underwood, with stunted trees of bramble, which are not allowed to be pruned or cut; so that the banks of the Indus, if in the hands of a formidable enemy, afford cover from which an expedition conducted by water might be constantly and grievously harassed. The roads through this tract are equally close and strong.
Neglected as is this portion of Sinde, it is not destitute of supply; grain is cheap and plentiful everywhere. Tatta and Hydrabad are the ancient and modern capitals of the country.
The productions of the soil in the gardens of Tatta exhibit the fertility of this land: the vine is successfully reared, as also the fig and the pomegranate. There are apple-trees in abundance, and though the fruit is small, it increases in size about Hydrabad. In the few patches of cultivation may be seen indigo, tobacco, sugar-cane, with wheat, barley, and all the other Indian grains; but it is the policy of the rulers of Sinde to keep every thing in a state of nature, that their territories may not excite the cupidity of surrounding states. Agriculture and commerce are alike depressed.
With regard to the trade of this country, it may be said there is little or none anywhere but at Curachee. The Indus is as if it existed not; and, though grain is sent by it to the delta, no advantage is taken of the river to convey goods to Hydrabad. The imports are landed at Curachee, and the most valuable export, which is Malwa opium, is shipped from the same port. The merchants, in prosecuting their journey to Candahar, and the upper provinces of the Indus, quit the Sindian territories with all dispatch. The only encouragement which the chiefs give to trade is in opium, yet they levy the exorbitant duty of 250 rupees for a camel-load. The revenue from this article alone amounted last year it is said to seven lacs of rupees; a sum equal to the land revenue of the Hydrabad Ameer.
Nor do there exist any hopes of improving or increasing commercial intercourse by this river, till the rulers of it have more just notions of policy, and some one of them, more enlightened than the rest, discovers that the true riches of a country are to be found by encouraging the people in industry and art. At present there is no wealth in Sinde but what is possessed by its rulers; and had the people the inclination, they have not the means of purchasing the manufactures of Europe. The case was otherwise in the beginning of this century, when the East India Company traded at Tatta by a factory, and the rulers, intimidated by their lord paramount in Cabool, did not object to the transit of goods to that and other countries. Sinde must follow the fate of that portion of Asia; and, if any of the Dooranee tribes be yet able to seize the crown of Cabool, we may expect a change for the better in the dependent provinces at the mouths of the Indus.
At present there are not vessels sufficient for any considerable trade: between the capital and Tatta they do not exceed fifty, many of them small and used for fishing, others old and worn out, that cross the stream in certain places as ferry-boats. Encouragement would soon remedy what may be considered a defect in a military, as well as a commercial point of view. Sinde has no wood for ship building, that which is used being imported from Malabar.