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A Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Source of the River Oxus
A Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Source of the River Oxus Author:John Wood Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II. I (alia—Manufacture of earthenware—Chunniah—Ruins of Kho- (liU)i'nl—Altars of Alexander—Otters—Black partridge—Castle at Sihwan—River and crops—Ab... more »sence of trees—Pulla-fish— Fisheries—Dur-myani—Wulli Mohamed Laghari—Arrival of L)r. Lord—Arore—Mulala—Importunity of Fakirs—Anecdote —B'hkur, Rori, Sukur—Sand storm—Battle of Sukur—A Mohamedan's beard. Separated from head-quarters, and by the nature of my employment restricted to the river, our intercourse with the Sindis was now mostly confined to river-lying tribes. The country indeed holds out no temptation to stray inland, and but few of its towns repay the visitant for the trouble he is at in getting to them. Halla and Khodabad we had been informed were exceptions; and on the 21st of February, being abreast of these places, I paid them a visit. Halla is divided into the old and new town. The last division is much the larger of the two, and is the most considerable place between Ha'iderabad and Sihwan. Like the last-mentioned town, it derives no small degree of importance from the shrine of a Mohamedan saint, that of Pir Mukdum Nu. The land around is highly impregnated with salt, and what little cultivation I noticed is confined to an old bed of the Indus, close to the smaller Halla. The bazar is partially roofed, but howevereffectual the covering may be as a defence against the sun, it does not keep out rain, for when we were here the ground beneath it was a perfect puddle. The bustle of its bazar showed that the place was thriving; and if agriculture does not flourish, the mechanical arts apparently do. Halla has been long noted for its excellent earthenware and Sindian caps. The latter, being national, are worn by all classes, rich and poor, privileged and oppressed. The prosperity of the cap-maker is evinced...« less