Narrative describing Kori creek to Lakhpat (362-366) with SE quadrant of the Carless' map:

Carless, T. G.,(1838) Memoir to Accompany the Survey of the Delta of the Indus, in 1837, J. Roy. Geog. Soc London, 8, 328-366.

The Kori, or eastern branch of the Indus, was surveyed and as it exhibits some physical peculiarities not observable in any of the other rivers, I shall conclude this paper with a short description of it. The Kori, which separates Sind from Kachchh, once formed the lower part of the Feleili, and it also received the waters of a large branch thrown off by the main river during the inundation near B'hkur: the beds of both these branches are now partially filled up throughout the whole line of their course, and the portion of water they receive during the swell is prevented from passing into the Kori by bands [bunds or dams] that have been thrown across them by the Sindians. The alterations caused in this branch by the earthquake of 1819 increased its magnitude so much, that it became a small gulf or arm of the sea, and it now gives a better idea of a great river than any other branch of the Indus. At its mouth it is 6 miles wide, and the Sind coast, being very low, is not visible from the Kachchh side: it begins to contract at Kotasir and continues to do so up to Lakhpat, a fortified town situated 39 miles from the sea, where it diminishes to a narrow stream, 200 yards wide, and is so shallow that, if the bottom were firm, it might be forded at low water in several places without difficulty.

The broad bank fronting the coast of the Delta extends right across the entrance, and terminates a short distance below it on the shores of Kachchh: in many places the sand-banks are dry at low tide, and the sea outside them is very shallow, there not being a greater depth than 5 fathoms 8 miles from the land. Two channels, the Adhiyaru and Sur [Sir],lead out of the river across this mass of shoals; they are broad and deep, having a depth of 20 feet in the shallowest part, which is on the bar at their mouths. Above the part where these two channels separate, the river for some miles has a depth of 7 and 8 and in some places 14 fathoms, and there are no sand-banks until you arrive at Kotasir: near this town the bed of the stream is extremely foul, and vessels of any size are prevented from ascending higher by several shallow bars or ridges, that reach across it in a lateral direction from side to side. A short distance above these, extensive flats of soft mud occupy half the breadth of the river, and the channels being narrow and intricate, the difficulty of the navigation increases every mile as you advance towards Lakhpat

During the neaps the tides are very irregular; they run at a rate of from 2 to 3 miles, vary in duration from 4 to 8 hours, and rise sometimes 9 feet, but at others only 6. On the springs they are alternately weak and strong, and in the latter case, when they have a velocity of 6 miles, they continue to flow for a period of 8 hours: this is caused by the sudden influx of water from the ocean during the night, when they attain their greatest height. At Kotasir there is a rise and fall of 10 feet, and at the mouth of the river it increases to 13, but at Lakhpat it does not exceed 4. The Kori is navigable for vessels drawing 16 feet to within a short distance of Kotasir, but they could not proceed any higher on account of the bars stretching across the stream from side to side: even the country boats that frequent it, which seldom draw more than 6 or 7 feet, are obliged to remain at that town and send up their cargoes to Lakhpat in dundis.

About the mouth of this branch the land is low and swampy: on the Sind side it is overrun with a dense mass of stunted mangrove bushes and overflowed by every tide: the Kachchh shore for some miles is a mere ridge of loose sand thrown up between the river and a broad tract of marsh land intersected with small creeks, that extends from Kotasir to Jakau. None of these creeks have any communication with the Kori; but the largest, which reaches the sea a few miles below the mouth of that river, affords a passage for the boats of the country to Jakau, a seaport town of some importance in the N.W. extremity of Kachchh. Along that part of the sandy ridge exposed to the action of the sea, the beach is literally covered with heaps of clay balls that have apparently been formed by the waves rolling the small pieces of clay, detached from the banks and thrown up here, on the smooth firm sand.

About the mouth of the river the country on the Sind side, up to Lakhpat, is low and flat, and thinly covered with saline shrubs or the decayed trunks of bushes that have been destroyed by the salt water: this part of the Delta is evidently depressed below the level of the rest, which is to be attributed to the effects of the earthquake of 1819, and being from this cause partially flooded at times to a great extent, even in the dry season, is uninhabited. On the Kachchh side, the country above Kotasir presents to the view a confused mass of rugged broken hills, evidently of volcanic formation, which at a distance assume the appearance of moderately elevated table-land: here and there the small spurs sent off from them project in low promontories into the river, and the rocks extend under water half way across its bed: the only mountains seen are the J'harah hills, situated 8 miles to the S. E. of Lakhpat, which are about 1000 feet high

From Lal Chettah, a small mosque 10 miles above Kotasir, the low hillocks on the Kachchh side run in a direct line up to Lakhpat; but the river, receding gradually from them for some miles, and then turning suddenly towards that town, leaves an extensive tract of low land at their bases of alluvial formation: this is said to have sunk several feet in some places during the earthquake, and a small fort in the upper part erected close to the river, the ruins of which are still visible, was overthrown. During the inundation it is now covered with water to some depth, and in the dry season salt is obtained in large quantities from those parts that are below the level of the river. Near Lal Chettah, where the stream is 2.5 miles wide, a large rock covered with oysters rises in the centre of the deep channel, and on the opposite side of the river there is a ruined fort, called Bastah Bander [Baster Bunder], which formerly belonged to the Raos (princes or chieftans) of Kachchh, and was destroyed by the Sindians during their wars with those princes.

Kotasir is a small village and pagoda on the Kachchh side, situated about 16 miles from the sea, and is dependent on Naransir (Narayan-Sir) a fortified town full of pagodas, about a mile farther inland: they are both celebrated places of pilgrimage of the Hindus, and are said to be of equal antiquity with the most ancient of the Hindu temples in other parts of India. The pagoda at Kotasir is erected on a small rocky eminence close to the river, and, like all these edifices, has been constructed with more solidity and strength than elegance: a broad terrace runs round it, defended by a low massive wall with embrasures, and in these several small guns are mounted. One side of the hillock on which it stands is bounded by the swamp that now occupies the site of the old bed of the river, and before it, a mud flat extends from the banks, about a hundred yards into the stream: across this flat a handsome stone causeway has been carried out to another but smaller temple, where there is a large tank built in the river for the convenience of the pilgrims when performing their ablutions.

Abandoned cannon in a W. bastion of Lakhpat Fort.

The fortified town of Lakhpat is built upon the edge of the elevated land, about a mile from the river, and incloses a space about 800 yards square, of which not more than a third is occupied by houses. It is of an irregular shape, and the walls are defended by numerous towers and bastions, with guns mounted on them of all sorts and sizes. Most of them are so old as to be entirely useless; but one, a long brass six-pounder, with the arms of Portugal engraved on it, deserves some notice, from the peculiarity of its construction. In the upper part of the breach there is a square piece cut out, about 2 feet long, and 8 inches wide, which admits of a small gun being placed inside the large one, with the muzzle projecting about a foot beyond the open part. It is furnished with a handle, and appears to have been contrived for loading with greater celerity and safety.

Hatkeshwar mosque with distant NW wall at Lakhpat

Lakhpat was built about thirty-five years ago[c.1805], by Jemahdar Fateh Mohammed, a celebrated Kachchh general, to defend the frontiers of the kingdom against the encroachments of the Sindians. It is now garrisoned by 50 Arabs and 150 native soldiers, and contains a population of about 5000 persons, composed principally of merchants and Hindus, who have fled from Sind to escape the tyranny of the Amirs. About the town the country is barren and unproductive; and, from the quantity of shells found in the soil in most parts, has probably at a remote period been submerged. Koteri [Kotri], the landing-place on the Sind side, where there is a small custom house and guard, is 4 miles below Lakhpat, and numerous ferry boats are constantly passing between them, full of men, cattle, and merchandise, From this station the goods are conveyed on camels to the eastern parts of the Delta, and distributed throughout the inhabited districts of the Thar (=desert, from the Sanskrit St'hala).

Ruined structures within Lakhpat Fort

The effects of the earthquake that visited Kachchh in 1819, and laid most of its towns in ruins, are visible in every part of the Kori. Opposite Kotasir the banks of the river on the Sind side are perpendicular for about three miles, and close along them there is a depth of 14 fathoms, In this part the land is of alluvial formation; but all the strata exposed to view in the face of the banks, with the exception of two or three of the upper ones that have been deposited since, are broken up in confused masses, and inclined to the horizon at an angle of 80 or 40 degrees. This is also the case throughout the tract of low land lying at the base of the hillocks between Lakhpat and Lal Chettah. Previous to the earthquake, the river, instead of pursuing the course it now does, turned close round the rocky eminence on which Kotasir is built, and reached the sea between its present mouth and the Jakau creek. Along this line the country is overflowed at high tide to a depth of 2 or 3 feet; and the old banks may still be traced, The alterations that have taken place in this part of the river are very extensive, and have evidently been produced by the sinking and upheaving of the ground during this awful convulsion of nature. The fact is attested by the remains of several boats, which are still visible) half buried in the soil that fills up the bed of the old river) and it is probable that to this cause the Kori owes its present magnitude.