'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎132] (241/496)

In reporting, in November 1840, the total failure of the attempt, Capfc. Biwir
writes as follows : “ From Hosungabad to a distance of 20 or 25 miles below
Hindea, the river is open daring the rains ; but there, from the description of the
person sent with the boat, a fall of a considerable height is met with, sufficient to
stop the progress of any boat. Every inducement was held out to the boatmen to
proceed further, but they flatly refused, and would not even permit their empty
boat to advance without being insured the value of it.”
“ From enquiries made of the boatmen at IXindca, it seems that no boat has
ever been known to pass this place, and it is considered by them an impossibility.”
Captain J. Abbott, late Assistant in Nimar, whilst in charge of that district
i “ lost no opportunity of collecting, and noting down, all the
3rd. Capt. Abbott. i n f orma tion procurable from persons who had visited the prim
cipal obstacles.” His own actual knowledge was limited to the boundaries of his
district. From what this officer states in his observations upon the obstacles im
peding the navigation of the river, submitted in March of the present year, it ap
pears that from enquiries he had made, the river is navigable (except in the driest
season, when it is spread over too wide a surface) from Hosungabad to within 20
miles of the Dhadree falls. That at Dhadree it is precipitated over a ledge of
rocks forty feet in height, and for about 20 above this, navigation is impeded by
rocks and rapids. The rest of this portion, i. c, from Dhadree to Mundleysir, is
navigable the greater part of tbo year to vessels of light burden ; but during the
very dry months, from the middle of March to the middle of June, the water at the
rapids is too shallow to float the larger river craft.
Regarding the second portion, viz., from Mundleysir to Tulluckwara, wc have
Hd Portion. fuller and more satisfactory information.
As early as 1820, Major-General Sir J. Malcolm had contemplated opening a
1 st Lieut. Mathias’ r ^ er commmi ^ ca ^ on w ^b Barochc, and with this object several
journey in 1820. officers were deputed by him to survey the course of the
stream. The following extract from a Journal of a Voyage
made down from Mundleysir by Lieutenant V. Mathias, of the Gth Regiment N.I.,
gives us our first information respecting this portion of the river : —
“ Left Mundleysir on the morning of the 2Gth March 1820, in an open boat
called a punt, made out of a single tree, about 12 feet in length, 20 inches ia
breadth, and drawing 18 inches water, with myself, two boatmen, and a small
quantity of baggage.
b iom Muudleysir to the Ilirun Pliall, a distance of eighty (80) miles, there is
an uninterrupted navigation for small boats from the commencement of the Mon
soon till the end of April, and it is then only interrupted in one place, * three miles
e ow . u leysir, where part of the river falls down a small precipice, and a hue
stream is there made use of for the boats. But during the last six weeks of the
not weather, from the shallowness of the water, and the boatmen neglecting to
reepen the back stream as the water decreases, it of course becomes dry ; but
ion <1 c\ ei c required to be made use of during those six weeks, 1 have no d°u ,
the year round™ 100 ° f thC rivCri tLafc a lit,tl0 labor would make it navigable all
From the nature of the rocky bed of the Ncrhudda at the Ilirun Phall. I
conceive it impossible that the obstacles to navigate it could ever bo surmounted,
from the circumstance of small ridges of rocks running parallel to each other m the
?i ( ?, y i from 12 t0 20 it causes such a rush of water through
them that the boatmen are afraid to pass it, being unable to guide the boat far
n . il ' ';! ; a " d 0 " e wIlIcl1 1 Prevailed upon the men with some difficulty t0
Bnintim T? 1 ’ y asn l >set > and the men much bruised against the rocks,
water ,r Sre . at0r 0b f ac, . e cxists about a milc below that, where nearly the w ^
ter of tlie nver rushes into a channel not more than forty yards broad, attend
* Lulicsviclara,