INDUS, also called the Nilab and the Sinde. This great river has its rise in the mountains of Tartary, lying between the 38 and 39 degrees of N. Lat., and is formed by two great branches, which join at the town of Dras, about 100 miles N.E. from Cashmeer. The left of these branches is seventy yards broad a little above the junction, and excessively rapid; it comes from the north of east, and runs west after being joined by the branch which passes the city of Lechdack in Thibet. According to information given to Mr Elphinstone by a Cashmerian, these head branches of the Indus joined about twenty-four miles above Dras, and at or below that town, the river divided into two branches, the lesser one running south to Cashmeer, but the greater one he knew little about, excepting that it was called the great Sinde. After passing the city of Lechdack in Thibet, it takes a south-westerly course, and forcing its way through the mountains called the Hindoo Coosh, it enters Hindostan about Lat. 33° 15' N. Here, about sixty miles from its source, it is joined by the Cabul or Attock from the west; and it increases both in breadth and in depth, being about three-quarters of a mile in breadth in the month of July, and no longer fordable. Forty miles above [7:12:270]the fort of Attock east-north-east, it is confined between high mountains as far as Torbela, where it enters the valley of Clinch, spreading and forming innumerable islands till it reaches the fort of Attock, where it again enters between the hills. At the fort it is only 260 yards broad, and both deep and rapid. It enters a plain five miles south of Attack, and is again confined between hills at Nilah, ten miles south of Attack, and continues to wind amongst deep groups of mountains on to Harrabah, latitude 33° 7', where it enters the rich valley of the Esa Khels in four great branches, and is not again interrupted in its course by hills. From this point to where it is joined by the fine rivers of the Punjab, and flows in one stream, its course is south-east; and it enters the province of Sinde between the 25th and 26th degrees of N. Lat. Mr Elphinstone crossed the Indus in lat. 31° 28' in January 1809, when the stream was at the lowest, and found its breadth to be 1905 yards. The depth of the channel at its deepest part was not above twelve feet; and an elephant ten and a half feet in height, had not a hundred yards to swim; the main channel being here reduced by several large branches which separate from it, and run in a parallel course, one 200 yards, another 500 yards, and a third 50 yards broad. Major Rennell estimates the delta of the Indus to be about 150 miles in length along the sea-coast; and about 115 in depth, from the place of separation of the superior branches of the river, to the most prominent point of the sea-coast. There is here water for vessels of nearly 200 tons burden, from the Gulf of Cutch to Lahore, a distance of 7β0 geographical miles. About 170 miles from the sea, by the course of the river, the Indus divides into two branches, of which the westernmost is by much the larger; and, after a course of about fifty miles to the south-west, as it approaches the sea, it is again subdivided into several other branches and creeks. The lower part of the delta is intersected by rivers and creeks in almost every direction, like the delta of the Ganges; but it so far differs from the latter, that it has no trees on its surface, the dry parts being covered with brushwood, and the remainder, by much the largest part, being noisome swamps or muddy lakes. It is remarkable that the influence of the tides is not felt at a greater distance than sixty or sixty-five miles from the sea. At the mouths of the different branches, the rush or influx of the tide is high and dangerous, running, as has been estimated, at the rate of four miles an hour, though varying greatly at different places. From the sea up to Hyderabad, the Indus is in general about a mile in breadth, varying in depth from two to five fathoms. The river begins to swell in the middle of July, from the melting of the snows, and continues to increase until the end of August. The length of the Indus is estimated by Mr Elphinstone, on the best data that he could collect, to be from Lechdack to Rodack, a place where wool is brought, or sheep·, through a hilly country, to Cashmeer, to be manufactured into shawls, 250 miles; thence to the fort of Attack, 4-00 miles; and 700 to the sea; in all 1350 miles.^[1. Elphinstone’s Account of the Kingdom of Cabul. Appendix, p. 653. ] The Indus admits of an uninterrupted navigation from Tatta, the capital of Sinde, to Moul tan and Lahore, for vessels of 200 tons, and a very extensive trade was carried on between these places in the time of Aurungzebe; and it is mentioned by Mr Bumes, in his visit to the Court of Sinde in 1828, that above Bunosa, which is thirty miles below Hyderabad, the river is nearly a mile broad, studded with boats, filling its channel from bank to bank, and moving majestically forward, at the rate of about three miles an hour.^[2. Rennell, Memoir of a Map of Hindustan, p. 181. ] But the trade has been frequently interrupted by the disorderly state of the country, owing to the bad government of Sinde, and the predatory incursions of the Sikhs and petty chiefs, who possess the countries of Moultan and Lahore, or the banditti who live under their precarious authority. The upper part of the delta is well cultivated, yielding abundance of rice,^[3. Burnes, Narrative of a Visit to the Court of Sindo, p. 40. ] and Mr Burnes, in his journey across it from Cutch, describes the extensive cultivation and richness of the soil from Burce to Toorta, as every where remarkable. He had every where to cross a number of canals dug for the purposes of agriculture, from the branches of the Indus, and over many of which small brick bridges were thrown, on which draw-wells were constantly at work irrigating the fields; and he observed a strong contrast between the parched deserts of Cutch and the exuberance of vegetable life exhibited in the delta of the Indus. This great river is named the Sindhis or Sindhus in Sanscrit, and Aub Sinde, or the water of Sinde, by the Persians. It is called by the natives Attack, from that place downwards to Moultan, and farther down to Soor or Shoor, until it separates in the Delta. The Asiatics generally distinguish it by the name of Sinde. It forms a strong barrier on the west of Hindostan for nearly 900 miles, and, if the country were resolutely defended, it would be a formidable obstacle to an invading army. The bed of the Indus is sand, with a small quantity of mud, and the water is wholesome, and quite fresh. Mr Burnes estimates that the Indus pours into the sea about four times as much water as the Ganges.