HOOGHLY RIVER, properly the Bhagiratty, a river of Bengal, formed by the junction of the two westernmost branches of the Ganges, the Cossimbazar, and the Jellinghy. This is the port of Calcutta, being the only branch of the Ganges that is navigated by large vessels; yet the entrance to the river is rendered extremely dangerous and difficult, by reason of numerous sandbanks in it, which are frequently shifting. There is indeed a rumour afloat that the river is gradually silting up, and must eventually cease to be navigable. This would prove a fearful blow to the trade of Calcutta, and the proposed remedy is to connect the River Mutwal with the capital by railway or ship canal. During the prevalence of the S.W. monsoon, when a strong current sets in from the Bay of Bengal, the extraordinary phenomenon, termed by Europeans the "Bore," occasionally presents itself. It rises in waves 12 or 15 feet high, and rushes on at the rate of 20 miles an hour. It commences at Hooghly Point, where the river first contracts itself, and is perceptible above Hooghly town; and though the distance is above 70 miles, it traverses this space in about four hours, running along the opposite bank to the Calcutta side, whence it crosses at Chitpoor, about 4 miles above Fort William, and rushes with great violence past Barnagore, Duckingsore, &c., frequently oversetting boats and driving ships from their anchorage. At Calcutta it sometimes occasions an instantaneous rise of 5 feet. The tide does not rise more than 30 miles above Calcutta; and during the rainy season its influence is checked by the large body of water that comes down the river. The Hooghly contains several kinds of good fish, particularly Ciprinus Anjana, the mango fish, or Polynemus paradoxus, and prawns; and it abounds also in crocodiles and sharks. It is about three-quarters of a mile broad at Calcutta, and 8 or 10 miles wide at the mouth. It is only navi-
gable for ships as high as the tide reaches, and the upper part of it is nearly dry during the hot season; yet there are few rivers that can boast of a more extensive commerce, its banks being studded with numerous towns and villages. It is esteemed by the Hindus to be the most sacred branch of the Ganges, and it is on this account that those who cannot afford to bury their dead throw them into the Hooghly.