Give an account of the author's experiences of the floods on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra during the monsoon.
The author narrated two instances of experiencing flood on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra during the monsoon. Once he forded one of the flooded rivers on horseback. He persuaded his mount to plunge into water with great difficulty. However he slipped over his croup the next moment and hung on to the horse's tail. Later he discovered that the tail can be used as a rudder. Both he and his horse came out of the deadly situation without any injuries and made it to the other side of the Brahmaputra.
In another instance, he was travelling with his family on the North Bank. Before they could safely return the monsoon broke out. Driving through the roads became extremely dangerous and most of the roads were built upon embankments in order to raise above normal flood level. Further, these roads were narrow and single-track affairs. Rowntree and his family had to experience a bumpy ride before they could find their way back onto the road. The road they were on was motorable but slippery so one skid led to another and eventually they slithered over the edge into a paddy field some six feet below the road.