Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries Part 68

_Rohoo_.--A sombre black-brown fish, intestines several times the length of the body, said to be the young of the above. Both these are different from the Roh or Ruee of the Ganges.

_Coorsah_.--Labeo Cursis, a definite scaled sombre fish, it is good food, and attains the size of two to three seers; intestines twice the length of the body, very narrow.

_Kkul Bhans_.--Cirrhinus Calbasu, a sombre looking breamoid-shaped fish, attains the same size as the above, and is reputed to be excellent food.

_Mhirgh_.--Gobio Mrigala, a handsome fish, particularly when young; form very elegant, intestines fourteen times the length of the body; excellent food.

_Bura Raiwah_.--Gobio Rewah, a very handsome, eight-cornered, scaled fish, with orange fins and golden sides: takes no bait?

_Chota Raiwah_.--Gobio occurs in shoals--either occupied in busily turning up its silvery sides against the bottom, or at the surface, above which it may be seen protruding its head.

_Bhangun_.--Gobio, a handsome fish, not esteemed.

_Potea_.--Systomus, takes bait--worms; affords good sport and reaches to one seer, but is not esteemed; colours ordinary.

_Systomus_, a beautiful fish, back s.h.i.+ning green, sides yellow, scales beautifully striate, with a spot near the tail; mostly found in still water.

_Gonorrhynchus_.--Snout rough, colours sombre, belly somewhat protuberant; found with Systomus. The intestines are of the usual form of the genus.

Gonorrhynchus, a sombre smaller fish, found in still water.

_Bura Chalwa_.--Much esteemed as food in the districts of the Sutledge.

_Perilampus_.--Intestines shorter than the body, having at the lower end a short curve; above green, from lateral line downwards silvery.

_Moh_.--A _Siluroid_ fish, does not attain the size of the real Moh, which is a higher or deeper formed fish.

_Tengrei_.--Silurus platycephalus. Attains a very large size.

_Gudha_.--A Percoid. Colour irregular brown, mouth very protractile.

_Gughal_.--Ophiocephalus, a handsome fish, back rich greenish, mottled brown, with 3 or 4 black spots on the sides, which are yellow, pa.s.sing off into white, and a peac.o.c.k spot on the tail. Fins spotted with white: it reaches a large size.

_Bham_.--Macrognathus, body eel-shaped, with a row of movable spines along the back.

About Loodianah, the Naiad of Affghanistan, Monandra, stigmatibus reniformibus, is common in the Nullah, so also is Butomus begonifolius, but this may be a leafless form of Sagittaria.

Towards Roopur, Siss...o...b..comes more and more common. Roopur is a largish town, with a Seikh pucka fort on a mound. The fort is surrounded by a dry ditch. The town is situated on a low, rather rugged ground, forming the first elevations of the surface towards the Himalayas; beyond it to the north-east is a low spur, also to the west a similar spur, very barren, rugged, clayey rock forming the immediate bank of the river.

Every thing a.s.similates to the Bukriala and Jhilun ranges. Saccharum, _Moong_, as before, _Bheir_ likewise occurs.

Phoenix, Dalbergia sissoo, Ficus, Adhatoda, Boerhaavia scandens, Hyperanthera, Morus, Apluda, Tamarisk, Riccia, Ammannia, Euphorbia antiquorum, Cactus, and Dodonaea, form the chief vegetation.

Some rapids occur near the Bungalow: the strongest is under a cliff on the opposite side; no fish rose to red or black hackle or orange flies, all which were tried in vain in the deep still water close under Bungalow. The plants of this place are Guilandina, Grewia arbuscula in fruit, Justicia, _Bheir_, _Neem_, Mango, Parkinsonia, the latter rare.

Fish caught in net are Mullet, this fish is very active, and escapes by jumping over. Silurus, Mahaseer, several of the latter taken at a haul, the largest 10 lbs., it is a beautiful fish with golden sides, scales black, with the anterior half bluish-black, posterior half tawny-yellow, fins orange, lips very thick and leathery; it lives half or three-quarters of an hour after it is taken out of its element.

The _Nepura_ of the natives, Gobio malacostoma, or Rock Carp of Gray, Hardwicke's Ill.u.s.trations, is the _puhar-ka muchee_ of these parts: it has the base and edges of the scales dull greenish-blue, fins dusky, a transverse pink line across the scales; the length of the intestines is twenty-two and a half times that of the body, filled with mud and coloured pulp, stomach continuous with the intestine, and more fleshy, filled with green and whitish pulp, and disposed in longitudinal folds.

The _Bangun_, Roh, (Gobio) is a splendid fish, base and edges of the scales dusky brown, otherwise refulgent gilded, belly white, fins dusky, head greenish-brown, less gilding about the dorsal scales. This fish I have not seen elsewhere. Length of intestines disposed in longitudinal folds, the posterior of which are nearly as long as abdominal cavity, the whole twenty-seven and a half times the length of the body. Organization and contents as in _Nepura_. The breadth or depth of this fish immediately behind the opercule three inches, across the body, opposite the first ray of dorsal fin, five inches, first ray of a.n.a.l three inches, length twenty-two inches.

Query--In which part of a fish intestines like that of the Mahaseer, is the chief digestion carried on?

_27th_.--To Nalighur Bungalow, the distance rather less than sixteen, but over fourteen miles through a similar country to that round Roopur. The road pa.s.ses a large village called Canowli; at rather less than about half-way it extended across a sandy dry river bed of some extent, on the right bank of which, at the highest part, is a Seikh brick fort. The road subsequently pa.s.ses the Sursa, a small shallow rapid stream. The dry bed of which turns up on the south side of the low range to the south of Nalighur valley. No change in vegetation takes place, except the occurrence of a Croton, much like that of the PaG.o.da near Canowli.

Trees observed--Eugenia Jambolana, Mangifera indica, Ficus, _Bheir_, _Neem_ or Melia Azadarach, Parkinsonia about the bungalow. Toon, Cordia, Bauhinia, Bambusa, Emblica, Morus, Plumeria, Mudar, Saccharum, _Moong_, Bheir fruticos and Kikkur are the most common indigenous forms. Dhak in patches here and there: Ca.s.sia also occurs.

Nalighur consists of a village and fort, the latter situated to the north- east half-way up a range of hills, the country about very barren. Indeed the aspect of the country is much like that between Hussun Abdul and the Jhilun, except in the rarity of _Phulahi_.

A great affinity exists in foliation between Terebinthace and Sapindaceae.

Also both in foliation, flowers, and habit, between Myrtaceae and Guttiferae, the only material differences being in aroma, and adherent ovary.

The plants observed about Nalighur Bungalow, exclusive of species collected, were Ca.s.sia lanceolatoid, this is the common Indian _Tora_, Acacia, _Rairoo_, Achyranthes aspera, Digera arvensis, Polanisia viscosa, Carissa, Carandas, Bheir frutex, Coccinea communis, Cucurbita, Sida multilocularis, Amaranthus? spicatus, Ca.s.sia fistula.

Eleusine _echinata_; Poa very common, as well as _Dhoob_.

In gardens--Tabernamontana coronaria, _Bhee_, Chrysanthemum double and ligulate. Of Birds, _Pica vagans_.

_28th_.--From Nalighur to Ramgurh, a good ten miles. The road first ascends through and above the town, then follows a short twisting descent, and soon after a very long but not very steep ascent, until it comes over the ravine of the Ramgurh river, and the descent to that torrent; thence an uninterrupted steep ascent about as much as the descent to Ramgurh. There is no bungalow at this stage, merely a few shops and sheds. The fort is situated to the left of and 600 feet above the town.

From Ramgurh to Sahee Bungalow, the distance is eight miles, there is a steep descent to Sursa torrent, which contains very little water, then a rather long and gradual ascent, then descend to the Gumbur river. The road then extends up this ascent for one and a half mile, and continues ascending on the right bank until within half a mile of the bungalow, to which there is a slight descent. There is no made road along the Gumbur, and I missed or did not observe the Soorog river. The Gumbur is a clear, good-sized stream, fordable about the rapids, bed narrow confined.

The hills traversed were comparatively barren, and decidedly uninteresting. However much in appearance they may here and there a.s.similate to the Khora.s.san hills, no ident.i.ty in vegetation exists except perhaps in the Apocynum found at Attock.

The country is cultivated with great labour, and the villages though small are numerous, and present a look of plenty, like English white-washed cottages.

There is a difference between the vegetation of the hills near the plains and those in the interior. On the former there are scarcely any trees, and Adhatoda occurs in greater profusion than elsewhere. The Himalayan provinces here present an extreme affinity with the same range to the eastward, as Bootan and Mussoorie, but the forms are by no means so frequent--i.e. species are not so numerous. Throughout the above twenty- eight miles the vegetation is tropical: a few European forms occur as one gets into the hills, but they are of no great value. The chief arboreous vegetation consists of Rubiaceae, Mimoseae, Ca.s.siaceae (_Bauhinia_), Bignoniaceae, and Myrtaceae. These are much the most common between Ramgurh and the ridge over Naligurh. Here also Nyctanthes is very common; Zanthoxylon also occurs here and there like an Ash.

On the ridge above Ramgurh, Adhatoda is very common; Carandas likewise occurs, but is not very common; Eranthemoides is rather common, but this occurs in profusion on the descent; Ca.s.sia tora, O. lanceolata, and Peristrophe occur.

On the descent from the above ridge, Porana appears. Lemon-gra.s.s, Bambusifolia, Cryptogramae calamelanos, Adiantum flagelliformis.

On the long ascent Grislea, Acacia, Bheir, Zanthoxylon, Cordia, Nyctanthes, Myrtaceae 1-2, Wendlandia, Bignonia, Randia, and two or three other trees about houses, a species of Ficus; Euphorbia antiquorum common on the drier parts.

On the ascent from the torrent, the vegetation is thick. Bauhinia scandens, Carandas, Butea, Erythrina, neither common, others as before: Loranthus.

At Ramgurh, Peepul, Erythrina, Rhus planted; Euphorbia antiquorum very common, Ca.s.sia tora, C. lanceolata, Carandas common, Kalanchoe integrifolia, Adhatoda not rare, scarcely a single wild tree.

Scutellaria occurs on the descent. Rubus, Berberis, Gnaphalium. On the ascent from Sursa, Geranium, Clematis, Asparagus, Trichodesma of the plains, Bombax (young), Bambusa, Hiroea, Dioscorea, Fragaria, Adiantum flagelliformis, Calomelanos, Saccharum, _Moong_, Acacia, Adhatoda, Vitex, etc. as before, but trees are not common, except Ficus and _Bheir_ in profusion.

Descent to the Gumbur the same. Pyrus pomum appears, Carandas, Anatherum muricatum, Briedleioides common. Along the Gumbur river, Pyrus, Adhatoda, Mimosa, Dalbergia sissoo, Myrtaceae, Euphorbia, etc. continue as before.

Between Nalighur and the commencement of the descent to the Gumbur, and especially between the Sursa and that descent, the chief vegetation is tropical gra.s.ses, such as Andropogons. Along the Gumbur, the hills are well covered with tall bushes. Carandas common, but little if any gra.s.s.

Fossil sh.e.l.ls are found along the Gumbur. Of birds Pica vagans, Haematornis, and several Sylviae were observed.

About Sahi, young Pinus longifolia; all around, the hills are of the same aspect. No fish were seen in the Gumbur, although I crossed it several times. The view of the plains shows the commencement of the great chain stretching out in low, very much undulated hillocks, precisely as in Khora.s.san.

_29th_.--Proceeded from Syree to Konyar: this I think the longest of the marches to Loodianah, and is nothing but one series of ascents and descents chiefly along the Gumbur ravine: at the foot of ascent to the Konyar, the road crosses a considerable stream, and nearly at the summit of the ascent, branches off to Soobathoo.