Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 2.djvu/57

 were brought to him for settlement, he found the following item, "For roasting sirdar-bearer, five rupees!"

Some Hindoos do not burn their dead; I saw a body brought down to the river-side this evening, by some respectable-looking people; they pushed the corpse into the stream, and splashed handfuls of water after it, uttering some prayer.

6th.—After fighting with the stream all day, and tiring the crew to death on sandbanks, and pulling against a terribly powerful current, we were forced back to within two miles of our last night's anchorage; we have happily found a safe place to remain in during the night; these high banks, which are continually falling in, are very dangerous. Fortunately in the evening, assisted by a breeze, we arrived at the canal; and having passed through it quitted the Kalī Nadī, and anchored in the deep old bed of the Ganges.

7th.—With great difficulty we succeeded in bringing the pinnace to within three miles of Fathīghar, where I found a palanquin in waiting for me; the river being very shallow, I quitted the vessel, and, on my arrival at my friend's house, sent down a number of men to assist in bringing her up in safety.