'Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde; accompanied by a geographical and historical account of those countries, with a map.' [‎385] (427/476)

HISTORY OF SINDE.
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not the dyke at Allee Eunder been erected, as I have mentioned in
the preceding chapter, they would have both been so at this hour.
When every necessary preparation had been made for the march
of the troops through the provinces of Lus and Mukran, the fleet
was placed in charge of Nearchus, with orders to put to sea, and
eventually join the land forces at Babylon. To lollow the vessels in
their progress down the river and along the coast of Sinde, till they
arrived at the promontory Eirus, now Cape Monze, the western
extremity of that province, would be quite irrelative to my purpose;
and 1 shall dismiss this subject by adducing two more undeniable
proofs of the veracity of the Greek historians. One, the alarming-
turbulence ol the sea at the conflux of the fresh and salt water, of
which I have taken notice in an early part of this volume * ; and the
other, the absolute identity of the port of Kurachee with that which
Arrian denominates Krokala. The present name of the district, in
which Kurachee is situated, I learn from a native manuscript, written
in 1809, to be Kukrala ; and I have reason to imagine that the very
modern appellation bestowed on this harbour of Khoor Allee, is a
bigoted corruption of that word, f
It would merely be corroborating the remark I have made on the
history of Beloochistan, subsequent to the Macedonian, and prior
to the Arab, invasion, were I to attempt to give any thing in the
shape of a detailed account of the events that occurred in Sinde
* See Narrative of the 16th January, Part I.
f Khoor Allee, I have before stated, signifies the harbour of Allee, and is therefore a
religious title. I take this 1 opportunity of avowing, that in proportion to the extent and
number of the comparisons I have been able to make, between the Greek and modern ac
counts of Sinde, I have found the former increase in minute correctness. The expanded
breadth of the river near the sea, the creeks being choked by marshy bushes, so as to
render them unnavigable, the Delta not being intersected by rivers, and the brackishness
of the water that they were forced to dig for, and take up immediately, are a few of the
many instances that have occurred to me. I may add, that in general the conclusions
drawn by the reverend author of the Voyage of Nearchus are correct. Had he been
implicitly guided by Arrian, I venture to say they would have been still more so.
3 D