the Berhampooter, in' the language of Tibet styled Erèchoomböo. It
flows in a wide extended bed, and; as though the soil gavé it an unwilling
passage, it has forced*itself through many channels, and formed
â hralFittide of islands in its way. But though its béd appears sô wide
extended from hence, I was told, that its • principal diannef is tïârrôw,
deep, and never fordable. At this place, it receives the tributary* waters
of the Painomtchieu, which I traced* from;it' sbùîfce|'tewîaftéi ’tfy
entrance into Tibet, to this termination of its course. Its individuality
and its name, are here lost in association with thé sup^iétf bWdflïwkë
Variolas other streams, wBch^êdnie both B-Om the nbfth aftd
south, and contribute to the ‘magnitude of the Berhampboter;- bëföit it
passes Lassa, and penetrates the frontier mountains, that dividé’Tibet
from Assam. In this latter region, it receives a copious supply; from
the sacred fountains of Brahma-koond, before it rushes to^®ÊifiCé'mf
Europeans below Rangamatty, on the borders ofBéngal, w'herèitieéölÉ&
a mighty river, exceeded in size by few that are'yet known in thé'#Öiift;
From hence it hastens bn 'to* meet its sister stream, the CfiMgfe
These far-Aimed rivers are nearly related in their birth, as well as
united in their termination; after their junction/ünrdér the common
name of Megna, or Pudda, they run together but a short course, before
they mix their waters with the sea, which flows up through a thousand
channels to mingle with its expected guests, intersecting a large territory,
termed the Sundrabunds,now destitute of inhabitants, but famed
for the beauty of its groves. ‘
In infinite meanders, they pervade an extremely intricate labyrinth,
the borders of which are sometimes visited by inland navigators; when
the feng continuance of dry w©af her. obstructs the navigation of other
,channels of the riweii But this passages iiqwmtQj he. attempted Swithr;
.out.local,Jcnpwledge^-and a.sufficjent supply of,fre$h^provisions,<tb'o|ii
of water«;and.food, for neither jsistoibej.obtained-within these»wilds,
Infinite dangersjare also spread over this inhospitable .spacei. which, is
beset :with, the most savage andiferopigus, both of tjhe human and the
brute.creation. .
It abounds also with pirates, who lie in wait:along - itSehaopels;, in
low, long, narrow boats, with from thirty ter sixty! Oars, which,gfide
along with such velocity, that few .who. traverse these channels inf oejher
vessels, can escape from theiript|r®iit, To land here, is totally out of
the question, in any: easel jfpf^thl
sovereign of these wilds; which, though clothed widtetbe^ostexube-
rant. vegetht ion, | offen. nO, habitation suited to the {purposes
They are visited, however, by Sbmeci#laWtanM;^i the'ihiffdefSj'Whe
here follow the profitable, but^dangerousim&u^lm,n;Ofe!utljngiw0pd;i
in which if; by tSome\unlucky; Scqideiit, thfeydfatiirh tho
the savage tyrant, who has possession Of these wilds, they.pay for their
temerity, with thuforfeit of their lives*; B.ufc.;the fiequencyof sttch disasters,
deters not others from the. pursuitjof gaiite^) and,from hence,!the
populous city .of, Calcutta is constantly supplied wjth fuel, :as from an
exhaustlessmine;. no. visible impression^ being made upon its: stock;
The growth.jof one ,season, ssuch ;s the quickness, of vegetation, fully
replaces the. consumption, of the former yearj and BeiSgalUs hence
assured, of an inexhaustihie supply of this grand artielertii the economy
of human life.,*' 1
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