On Saturday last the Gohna lake reached the point of
over- flow, and, carrying away the top of the dam, sent a flood-wave down the valley of the Upper Ganges, which in some places showed a wall of water 6 ft. high. Thanks, however, to the great ability with which the officials managed the flood, there was no loss of life. England has, by means of the telegraph, watched the lake form and overflow, as if it were a unique manifestation of the forces of Nature ; but in reality such events are not uncommon in the mountain barrier of India. A fine story connected with such an event is still told in the Punjab. When Runjeet Singh was ruler of the Punjab, the bed of the Indus, at a point near the mountains, became half-dry owing to the stopping of the water supply above, A tribe of Pathan freebooters on the frontier seized the opportunity to cross the river and harry the plains beyond. Runjeet Singh sent troops under one of his European officers to disperse the marauders. They found the Peahens on the left bank of the river and were about to attack them, when a white flag was displayed. A conference took place, and the robber-chief asked to be allowed to go back. Under other circumstances, he -would have been glad enough to fight, but, said he, " A mightier Power than either of us forbids." News which had travelled in the subtle and mysterious way of the East, had come to the Chief that a lake had broken in a valley above, and that soon the river would be a raging flood. As the Sikhs and Pathans fought, they would be swept away. " Let us, then, save ourselves while we can. We will cross the river, and do you go to the high ground above the plain." The European officer, perhaps half-doubting, agreed ; but almost before the combatants had separated and reached safe ground, down came the water, bearing everything before it, covering the field of battle, and sweeping away a battery of guns which the Sikhs had not time to drag to a place of safety.
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