Hamilton’s account of the east indies.

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and, when they think it fit for ufe, they put it into the right inteftine, immediatelyafter exoneration. This, they allege, keeps them cool, though, after it has been inufe a day and a night, it becomes hard, but every morning they have a new one readyfor ufe.

There is a report current among the Englilh in India, that the old Eaft-India Com-pany defired one Captain Goodlad, who was going in their fervice commander of aflip to Bengal , that he would bring them home fome Indian rarity that had neverbeen feen in England before. And being lodged in the factory at Ballafore, lookingout of his window one morning, he faw fome people making ufe of their fuppofi-tories, and leaving the old hard baked ones behind them. He immediately bethoughthimfelf of the commillion he had from his mailers, and j udged that they might berarities never feen in Europe before, and ordered a fmall keg to be filled with them.When he brought them to England, they proved to be fuch as they had neverfeen. Some gentlemen, more curious than the reft, fcraped fome of them to try thetafte, but they ftill continued in the dark, till the comical captain gave them an accountof their ufe and virtue.

The fides of the river are overgrown with bufhes, which give fhelter to manyfierce and troublefome tigers, who do much mifchief. 1 knew an Englilhman that wasin a Ihip’s boat laden with frefh water, lying in the river, waiting the tide to carryher over the bar, and this man had the curiofity to ftep afliore, and being a little wayfrom the boat, had a call to exonerate, and had no fooner put himfelf in a pofture nearthe bulhes, but out leaps a tiger, and caught both his buttocks in his mouth, and was forcarrying him away, but one of the feamen in the boat feeing the tragedy took up amulket, and placed a bullet in the tiger’s head, while the man was in his mouth help-lefs. The tiger immediately let him fall, and fculked in among the bulhes, and thewounded man was carried on board of his fhip, and the furgeon made a perfeft cure ofthe wounds. I faw the marks of the wounds three or four years after the accidenthappened to him.

And now having led you as far eaftward as Alexander the Great led his army, evento the famous*river Ganges , which put a ftop to his travels, I will venture farther, andvifit both the banks of that river, upwards and downwards, and then march as far eaftas our European navigation has as yet difcovered.

Chap. XXXIII. — Treats of the Towns, Cities, Country and Cajioms of Bengal ,particularly of thofc near the famous Ganges ; with fome hijlorical Accounts, ancientand modern, of Fort William .

PIPLY lies on the banks of a river, fuppofed to be a branch of the Ganges , about five-leagues from that of Ballafore ; formerly it was a place of trade, and was honouredwith Englilh and Dutch factories. The country produces the fame commodities thatBallafore does, at prefent it is reduced to beggary by the factory’s removal to Hughlyand Calcutta , the merchants being all gone. It is now inhabited by filhers, as arealfo Ingellie, and Kidgerie, two neighbouring illands on the weft fide of the mouthof Ganges . Thefe illands abound all'o in tame fwine, where they are fold very cheap,for I have bought one-and-twenty good hogs, between 50 and 80 pounds weight each,for 17 rupees, or 45 Ihillings fterling. Thofe illands fend forth dangerous fand-banks,that are both numerous and large, and make the navigation out and in to Hughlyriver, both troublefome and dangerous, and after we pal's thofe illands, in going up

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