Burnes, Alexander: Travels into Bokhara: containing the narrative of a voyage on the Indus from the sea to Lahore, ... and an account of a journey from India to Cabool, Tartary and Persia ; performed by order of the supreme government of India, in the years 1831, 32, and 33 (Band 3) (London, 1835)

CHAP. II.

CRAFT ON THE OXUS.

169

dangered by the masses of ice which float down
from the upper part of its course. These have been
known to sink a boat, and require attention on the
part of the ferrymen.

The boats used on the Oxus are of a superior
description, though they have neither masts nor
sails. They are built in the shape of a ship, with a

BOATS OF THE OXUS.

prow at both ends, and are generally about fifty feet
long and eighteen broad. They would carry about
twenty tons English; they are flat-bottomed, and
about four feet deep: when afloat, the gunwale is
about two and a half or three feet above the stream ;
for they do not draw much more than a foot of
water when laden. They are constructed of squared