'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From January 1863 to December 1864. (Edited by the Secretary.) Volume XVII.' [‎128] (295/524)

128 RECENT TOUR ROUND THE NORTHERN
be forded, the water reaching up to a man s armpit. The force of the
current is about two miles an hour.
We found a large sharp-bottomed boat, and by 9 o’clock having got
all our things into it, we tracked up the left bank.
The river winds through a flat country much diier than that round
Dorak, well cultivated, and well peopled with plenty of sheep, horses,
and donkeys.
Boats, the size of the one we were in, that is about four or five tons,
go, it is said, to within four fursaks of Ram Hormuz, and take five
clays to do it. There are many of those boats on the river. A native
statement says 1,000.
9-25.—Reached Kotasha on the right bank. This is a village of a
few reed huts and a knot of date trees.
Families of Arabs were here seen travelling along the banks with
donkeys, bullocks, dogs, and kit, just as on the Tigris.
The river winds very much near this place. General direction ENE.
Here we saw ropes half a foot in diameter, excellently well made of
reeds, placed so as to prevent the bunds of the canals falling into the
river. Patches of date trees extend along the left bank for half a mile,
and now along both banks for a quarter of a mile to Elboneim.
Elboneim is a village also on the right bank, and about the size of
Kotasba.
10 a. m. —Three miles away from the river South of this, is seen the
village of Jungereh, situated on a canal of that name ; it consists of
about seventy reed huts and lies in a country intersected by canals.
Hate trees now extend along both banks at intervals up to a place
where the river takes a sudden bend and widens considerably. Here
we arrived at 10-22 and found our horses and mules waiting.
'■mar
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fi
12.—By this time our mules were packed, and glad to have mounted
our own riding horses, we skirted a small sheet of water, and then went
ESE. at the rate of three miles an hour.
12-54.—We passed a large Nebbuck tree, as it is called by the
Arabs, it is the Zizijphus lotus. It forms a very good landmark.
We were now in the district of Jabar, and to our left about two miles is
the village of that name. Jabar it is said can turn out six hundred
matchlockrnen, the best of the country. They belong to that division