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INDIA

single span of 840 feet completes the railway connection
with the left bank, which is thereafter followed to Multan.
About 5 miles east of Rohri, and off the line of railway,
are the remains of the ancient city of Alor, the capital of
the Hindu Rajahs of Sind ere the Muhammadan conquest
ander Muhammad Kasim in A.D. 711. At that period the
Indus washed the walls of the city, and it was not till
about the year A.D. 962 that an earthquake split the
limestone ridge at Rohri, and diverted the main stream
into the new channel. The old bed of the Indus is
crossed by a bridge about 600 feet long, the ruins of Alor
standing on the left bank.
Between Rohri and Multan the railway passes from
Sind to the Punjab, but the change of province does not
involve much change in the dreary monotony of one of
the most tiresome journeys in India. The western
Baluch hills have faded from sight, and the flat expanse
of tamarisk jungle, or broken scrub-covered plain, is
unbroken. Here and there a few patches of cultivation
are springing into existence, giving promise of a brighter
future for all these regions ; and whenever the banks of
‘he river are approached, these trees and jungle enjoy
a luxuriant existence. Whilst crossing the Sutlej near
Bhawalpur, the traveller (hot, dusty, and thirsty) gets a
slimpse of the fresh green luxuriance which encompasses
the capital of the Bhawalpur native state ; but it soon
disappears, and, with the exception of the Multan sursoundings,
 there is nothing again to refresh the weary eye
antil he reaches Lahore.
Multan, the city of the Chenab, is one of the most
ancient, as well as one of the most interesting, cities
(historically) of India. The red sandstone walls of the
city stand as they stood when we captured it in 1849,
after the murder of our two emissaries under the dome of
the Idgah. The fort is picturesque. Here was once the
ancient temple of the sun, and here now is a red brick
octagon, covered with the blue and white tiles—the shrine
of Rakhnu-din. Next to Jacobabad, Multan is perhaps
the hottest station in India. We are still in districts that