DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15172#0090
VIZIER OF SINDE.
CHAP. III.
water of the Indus is considered superior, for every
purpose of life, to that drawn from the wells of
Sinde. When taken from the river it is very foul;
but the rich keep it till the mud with which it is
loaded subsides. There are few ferry-boats on the
Indus ; and it is a curious sight to see the people
crossing it on skins and bundles of reeds. A native
will often float down to a distance of fifteen or twenty
miles, accompanied by a whole herd of buffaloes,
preferring this mode of travelling to a journey on
the banks. From Sehwun upwards they kill the
"pulla"fish by nets suspended from the bow of
small boats, which are, at the same time, the habit-
ations of the fisherman and his family. The wife,
who is generally a sturdy dame, pulls the stern oar
to keep the vessel in the middle of the stream, often
with a baby in her arms, while the husband kills the
fish. One would not have expected to find por-
poises so far from the sea ; but they are to be ob-
served sporting in the river as high as Bukkur ; they
are more grey than those in the salt water.
I should have mentioned, that, before reaching
Bukkur, we were visited by the Nawab Wulee
Mahomed Khan Lugharee, one of the viziers
of Sinde, who had travelled from Shikarpoor
to meet us. We found an old man of seventy-
two, on the verge of the grave. He treated us
with particular kindness, and quite won our hearts
by his attentions. He gave me a horse and a rich
loongee. He said in the plainest terms that the
Ameer had had evil counsel to detain us so long in
Sinde, and that he had written urgently to his High-
/
CHAP. III.
water of the Indus is considered superior, for every
purpose of life, to that drawn from the wells of
Sinde. When taken from the river it is very foul;
but the rich keep it till the mud with which it is
loaded subsides. There are few ferry-boats on the
Indus ; and it is a curious sight to see the people
crossing it on skins and bundles of reeds. A native
will often float down to a distance of fifteen or twenty
miles, accompanied by a whole herd of buffaloes,
preferring this mode of travelling to a journey on
the banks. From Sehwun upwards they kill the
"pulla"fish by nets suspended from the bow of
small boats, which are, at the same time, the habit-
ations of the fisherman and his family. The wife,
who is generally a sturdy dame, pulls the stern oar
to keep the vessel in the middle of the stream, often
with a baby in her arms, while the husband kills the
fish. One would not have expected to find por-
poises so far from the sea ; but they are to be ob-
served sporting in the river as high as Bukkur ; they
are more grey than those in the salt water.
I should have mentioned, that, before reaching
Bukkur, we were visited by the Nawab Wulee
Mahomed Khan Lugharee, one of the viziers
of Sinde, who had travelled from Shikarpoor
to meet us. We found an old man of seventy-
two, on the verge of the grave. He treated us
with particular kindness, and quite won our hearts
by his attentions. He gave me a horse and a rich
loongee. He said in the plainest terms that the
Ameer had had evil counsel to detain us so long in
Sinde, and that he had written urgently to his High-
/