The above rivers are not only navigable to a very considerable extent, but have so many creeks, and receive such a number of smaller navigable rivers, as to render the communication to all parts of the country inconceivably easy. The Potomac is navigable for nearly two hundred miles, being nine miles in breadth, at its mouth, and not less than seven for a very considerable distance. other three rivers are navigable upwards of eighty miles; and in their windings approach so near to each other, that the distance between them in some parts is not more than five miles, and in others does not exceed ten.

The

The CONNECTICUT rises in the state of New Hampshire, in forty-five degrees of latitude, and pursues a remarkably straight course to the south, discharging its waters into the sound opposite Long Island. About one hundred and forty miles from its source, are the rapids, or falls, occasioned by the water being enclosed by two rocks within a space of about thirty feet, and falling into a broad bason beneath. Over these rocks a bridge has been thrown with such an elevation as to be inaccessible to the highest floods.

HUDSON'S, or the NORTH RIVER, rises within about twenty miles of LAKE GEORGE, and, running to the south, discharges itself at Sandy Hook, the entrance of the river of New York. It is navigable for vessels of a moderate burden as high as Albany, a distance of one hundred and Afty miles.

ASIATIC RIVERS..

THE GANGES.

Bora in magnitude and extent the Ganges is a most noble and majestic river. It rises in the kingdom of Thibet ; entering Hindostan about the thirtieth degree of latitude, and runs first south-eastward by the cities of Bekaner, Minapor, Halabes, Benares, and Patna, to Rajah Mahl, where it divides into two branches. The eastern having passed by Dakka, the capital of Bengal, enters the gulf of that name about Chatigan. The western, descending by Kossum-bazar and Hughly, falls into the gulf below Chandernagor towards Pipeli. Many of the Jews, and

ancient Christians believed this river to be the Pison, one of the four mentioned in Scripture as the boundaries of the terrestrial paradise.

The length of the Ganges exceeds fourteen hundred miles. The Burrampooter, its proudest auxiliary, is nearly of the same length; and the opinion generally entertained, is, that the sources of these mighty rivers are not far distant from each other. Each of them runs, however, nearly a thousand miles, before they unite and constitute one common stream, falling into the bay of Bengal by several mouths. Ganga is, in the Hindostan language, a general term for a river; but it is particularly applied to this one on account of its unrivalled magnificence. The Hindoos have a superstitious veneration for all the great rivers which fertilize their country; but the waters of the Ganges are to them peculiarly sacred. In its impetuous course it opens a passage through Mount Himmeleh, and again appears, amidst impending rocks, which resembling, on an immense scale, the head of a cow, an animal equally esteemed by the Hindoos, as was the apis, or sacred ox, among the Egyptians, their religious awe for the Ganges is, on that account, enhanced. Not any river in the world imparts greater benefits to the countries through which it passes; for, by annually overflowing its banks like the Nile, it waters and manures the country to an extent of an hundred miles in breadth. The Hindoos having deified this river, make it an act of their religion to perform a pilgrimage to it, supposing its waters to purify from defilement such as bathe in them. On its slimy shore they bury their dead, and also remove those who are at the point of death to its banks, or to those of some one of the creeks which run into it.

On certain festivals, a concourse of upwards of a hundred thousand persons assemble to bathe in the Ganges, on the banks of which are a great number of superb and immensely rich pagodas. But what principally distin guishes this river, besides its greatness and rapidity, is the gold it brings down in its sands, and throws on its banks; and the precious stones and pearls it produces, not only in itself, but in the Gulf of Bengal, into which it discharges its waters, and which abounds with them. The Chun, or Jemma, the Guderasu, the Persilis, Lakia, and

several other rivers, discharge themselves into it during its

course.

THE INDUS.

This river is by the natives called Sinde or Sindet, and in the Sancrit language Seendho. It is likewise denominated Nilab, or the blue river. Its source has not been accurately traced; but it is generally supposed to originate in the mountains of Mus Tag, running from east to west, and forming a chain to the south of little Bucharia. Having flowed for an extent of upwards of a thousand miles, it forms a Delta in the province of Sinde, and enters the Indian Sea by numerous mouths.

The tributary streams of the Indus chiefly join it in the northern part of its course, where they form the Panja, or county of five rivers. From the west, the Kamet, with its auxiliary streams, and the Comul, flow into it; from the east, the Bahut, or Hydaspes; the Chunab, or Acesinas; the Kauvee, or Hydraotes; and the Setleg, or Hesudrus. The whole of this part of Hindostan is at present but little known: much is, however, expected from the indefatigable researches of the members of the Asiatic Society. It is even uncertain whether the Caggan, a considerable and distant river to the east, joins the Indus, or falls into the gulf of Cuteh.

Mr. Elphinstone, in his account of the kingdom of Caubul, introduces the following interesting account of the Indus:

"We were anxious and happy as we approached the river, and were not a little gratified when at last we found ourselves upon its banks. The Indus, besides its great name, and the interest it excites as the boundary of India, is rendered a noble object by its own extent, and by the lofty hills which form the back-ground of the view.We were, however, a little disappointed in its appearance, owing to an island, which divided it, and impaired the effect of its stream. There were other islands and sandbanks in the river; but near the side where we stood, it came up to the edge, and seemed deep and rapid. While on the banks of the river, we met a native, to whose conversation, and that of the guide, we listened with great

interest and curiosity. The plains on the opposite shore we found were inhabited by Beloches, and the mountains by the Sheeraunees, a fierce and turbulent tribe. On the other side of the range were tribes and places, of which we had never heard the names; while those we had learned from our maps, were equally new to our informants.

All

we could learn was, that beyond the hills was something wild, strange, and new, which we might hope one day to explore.

"From Oodoo da Kote, near which we first saw the Indus, to the ferry of Kaheree, where we crossed it, is about seventy-five miles. It is a narrow tract, contested between the river and the desert. If, in hunting, we were led many miles to the west of the road, we got into branches of the river, and troublesome quicksands, among thickets of tamarisk or of reeds; and, if we went as far to the right, the appearance of sand, and even in some places of sand hills, admonished us of the neighbourhood of the desert. Many parts, however, were cultivated with great pains and method, and produced good crops of wheat, barley, turnips, and cotton. The fields were always enclosed, either with hedges of dry thorn, with hurdles of willow, or with fences, made of stiff mats of reeds supported by stakes. Some of the houses near the river attracted our attention, being raised on platforms, supported by strong posts, twelve or fifteen feet high. We were told they were meant to take refuge in during the inundation, when the country for ten or twelve coss (twenty or twentyfour miles,) from the banks was under water."

Besides the above majestic rivers, those principally deserving of notice in the Asiatic territory are the following.

The EUPHRATES, which has two sources: one of these is about seventy miles from the shores of the Euxine or Black Sea, and, taking a circuitous course of five hundred leagues, first to the south-west, and then to the southeast, discharges itself into the Persian gulf. About a hundred miles to the north-west of Bassora it is joined by the TIGRIS, which, rising in its vicinity, proceeds in a nearly straight course through Armenia Major, or Turcomania, until it forms its junction. On this river the ancient city of Ninevah is supposed to have stood. The KISTNA, a stream peculiarly sacred, rises at Balisur,

not far to the south of Poonah, and is equally celebrated for the fertility it diffuses, and for the rich diamond mines near which it flows, particularly those of Visiapour and Golconda. The CAVERY passes by Seringapatam, the capital of Mysore, forming an immensely wide Delta, or triangle, and entering the sea after a course of about three hundred miles.

In the enormous extent of the Chinese Empire there are two rivers which are rendered particularly interesting by their great length and majestic breadth. These are the Hoang-ho, or Yellow River, and the Kian-ku.

THE HOANG HỌ.

THE sources of this river are two lakes, situated in the chain of the Tartarian mountains, known by the name of Kohonor. They lie in about the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude, and in the nineteenth of longitude, to the westward of Pekin, and in ninety-seven degrees east of Greenwich. This prodigious river is extremely winding, and deviates in its course, pursuing a north-east direction to about the forty-second degree of north latitude; when, after running due east, it suddenly bends south to a latitude nearly parallel to its source, and pursues an easterly direction till it is lost in the Yellow Sea. Its course may be estimated at about one thousand eight hundred British miles, or, according to the embassy of Lord Macartney, two thousand one hundred and fifty. At the distance of about seventy miles from the sea, where it is crossed by the Imperial canal, its breadth is little more than a mile, with the depth of a few feet only; but its velocity is equal to seven or eight miles an hour.

THE KIAN-KU.

THIS river rises in the vicinity of the sources of the Hoang-ho, but about two hundred miles further to the west, and winds nearly as far to the south as the latter does to the north. After washing the walls of Nankin, it enters the sea about a hundred miles to the south of the Hoang-ho. Through its long progress, the Kian-ku is known by various names. Its course is nearly equal to that of the other river, these two being considered as nearly if not altogether, the longest on the face of the globe. They