also for most part of the distance between Patna and Bânkipur, is remarkably high, as proved by the railway embankments, and not a single bridge of large size occurs in the entire distance between Dinapur and Patna.
Another very strong proof is, that the outfall of the Eastern Son Canal, now in course of excavation, passes between Bânkipur and Dinapur. As this canal is meant for purposes of irrigation, it necessarily goes along the highest ground, thus clearly demonstrating that no large river like the Son could within historical times have flowed between Patna and Dinapur.
The facts on which Mr. Ravenshaw’s theory have been built are very slender; one of his bases is Rennell’s statement that
"the ancient bed of the Son is yet traceable on the south of Patna, and seems to have led into the Ganges near Fatuha."
This statement of Rennell’s is perfectly correct, but Fatuha is nearly 15 miles from Bânkipur lower down the Ganges, and the old bed of the Son which Rennell alludes to is evidently the Punpun river, 7 miles south of Bânkipur. Mr. Ravenshaw further states that Lieutenant Maxwell of the Artillery
"was successful in clearly tracing the old bed from a point on the Son near Saidâbâd (about 18 miles above Maner, the present junction of the Son and the Ganges) viá Bikram, Naubatpur, Phulwari, and Mithapur to Bânkipur, where it appears to have joined the Ganges about 200 yards west from the Golah."
The Golah referred to is one of the highest spots in Bânkipur, and an examination of the stratification of the river banks, which here frequently stand in high cliffs, shows clearly that no large river joined the Ganges near this point. The evidence of the well in the Bânkipur Jail shows that it could not have been at that spot, so that if ever the Son joined the Ganges at Bânkipur, it must have done so between the Golah and the Jail. It is needless to add that the mighty Son could never have been confined between these limits, especially at its delta.
Having thus disposed of Mr. Ravenshaw’s identification, hitherto generally accepted to such an extent that even General Cunningham considers the Son to represent the Greek Erranoboas, it will not be uninteresting if I make some suggestions as to the old course of the Son, so far as I can from my own personal observations, assisted by information and opinions derived from other professional engineers.
