The Maium Pass--Into the Yutzang province--Its capital--The
Doktol province--Orders disregarded--The sources of the
Brahmaputra--Change in the climate--The valley of the
Brahmaputra--Running risks.
THE Maium Pass (17,500 feet), to which from where I started no Englishman
had ever penetrated, is a great landmark in Tibet, for not only does one
of the sources of the great Tsangpu, or Brahmaputra River, rise on its
S.E. slopes, but it also separates the immense provinces of Nari-Khorsum
(extending West of the Maium Pass and comprising the mountainous and
lacustrine region as far as Ladak) from the Yutzang, the central province
of Tibet, stretching East of the pass along the valley of the Brahmaputra
and having Lhassa for its capital. The word _Yu_ in Tibetan means
"middle," and it is applied to this province, as it occupies the centre
of Tibet. To the North of the Maium lies the Doktol province.
I had taken a reconnoitring trip to another pass to the N.E. of us, and
had just returned to my men on the Maium Pass, when several of the
Tibetan soldiers we had left behind rode up towards us. We waited for
them, and their leader, pointing at the valley beyond the pass, cried:
"That yonder is the Lhassa territory and we forbid you to enter it."
I took no notice of his protest, and driving before me the two yaks I
stepped into the most sacred of all the sacred provinces, "the ground of
God."
We descended quickly on the Eastern side of the pass, while the soldiers,
aghast, remained watching us from above, themselves a most picturesque
sight as they stood among the Obos against the sky-line, with the
sunlight shining on their jewelled swords and the gay red flags of their
matchlocks, while over their heads strings of flying prayers waved in
the wind. Having watched us for a little while, they disappeared.
[Illustration: SOURCE OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA]
A little rivulet, hardly six inches wide, descended among stones in the
centre of the valley we were following, and was soon swollen by other
rivulets from melting snows on the mountains to either side. This was one
source[24] of the great Brahmaputra, one of the largest rivers of the
world. I must confess that I felt somewhat proud to be the first European
who had ever reached these sources, and there was a certain childish
delight in standing over this sacred stream which, of such immense width
lower down, could here be spanned by a man standing with legs slightly
apart. We drank of its waters at the spot where it had its birth, and
then, following a marked track to 125° (b.m.), we continued our descent
on a gentle incline along a grassy valley. The change in the climate
between the West and South-east sides of the Maium Pass was
extraordinary. On the Western side we had nothing but violent storms of
hail, rain and snow, the dampness in the air rendering the atmosphere
cold even during the day. The soil was unusually marshy, and very little
fuel or grass could be found. The moment the pass was crossed we were in
a mild, pleasant climate, with a lovely deep blue sky over us and plenty
of grass for the yaks, as well as low shrubs for our fires; so that,
after all our sufferings and privations, we felt that we had indeed
entered the land of God. Notwithstanding that I expected great trouble
sooner or later, I was not at all sorry I had disobeyed the soldiers'
orders and had marched straight into the forbidden territory--it was a
kind of wild satisfaction at doing that which is forbidden.
The Brahmaputra received three small snow-fed tributaries descending
rapidly from the steep mountains on either side of us; and where the main
stream turned sharply to 170°, a fourth and important tributary, carrying
a very large volume of water, came down to it through a gorge from 20°
(b.m.).
We encamped near the junction of these rivers, on the right bank of the
main stream, at an altitude of 16,620 feet. From the Maium Pass a
continuation of the Gangri chain of mountains runs first in a
South-easterly direction, then due East, taking a line almost parallel to
the higher Southern range of the Himahlyas, and forming a vast plain
intersected by the Brahmaputra. On the Southern side of the river can be
seen minor hill ranges between the river course and the big range with
its majestic snowy peaks and beautiful glaciers. This Northern range
keeps an almost parallel line to the greater range southward; and, though
no peaks of very considerable elevation are to be found along it, yet it
is of geographical importance, as its Southern slopes form the Northern
watershed of the holy river as far as Lhassa.
The valley enclosed between these two parallel ranges is the most thickly
populated valley in Tibet. Grass is abundant, and fuel easily obtainable,
and therefore thousands of yaks, sheep, and goats can be seen grazing
near the many Tibetan camps along the Brahmaputra and its principal
tributaries. The trade route taken by the caravans from Ladak to Lhassa
follows this valley; and, as I came to Tibet to see and study the
Tibetans, I thought that, although I might run greater risks, I could in
no part of the country accomplish my object better than by going along
this thickly populated track.
[24] I passed the other source on the return journey.