Leave Simla -- Mahasu Ridge -- Pine Forest -- Summit of Mahasu
-- Vegetation of Northern Slope -- Fagu -- Theog -- Mattiana --
Cultivated Valley -- Nagkanda -- Ascent of Hattu -- Forest of
Pine and Oak -- Vegetation of Summit -- View from top of
Mountain -- Plainward slopes bare of forest, while those facing
the interior are well wooded -- Cultivation at 9500 feet --
Descent from Nagkanda towards Sutlej -- Damp shady Ravine
densely wooded -- Kotgarh -- Cultivation -- Rapid Descent --
Change of Climate -- Tropical Vegetation -- Rampur --
Swing-bridge -- Diurnal fluctuations in level of River -- Gaora
-- Serahan -- Tranda -- Western boundary of Kunawar.
On the 2nd of August, 1847, every necessary preparation having been
completed, and the officers of the mission having received the
instructions of the Governor-General to proceed to Ladakh, and thence
to take severally such direction as they should consider most
conducive to the increase of our knowledge of these countries, Major
Cunningham, Captain Strachey, and myself left Simla.
[Sidenote: DEPARTURE FROM SIMLA.
_August, 1847._]
The route selected as most eligible, in order to reach Hangarang and
Piti, to which we had been instructed in the first place to proceed,
lay up the course of the Sutlej river, through Kunawar. The advanced
period of the season, at which almost constant rain might be
expected, rendered the river route, on which at most stages tolerable
shelter is obtainable, preferable to that by the Pabar valley, and the
Bruang (or Borendo) pass, which otherwise we should have preferred,
from its passing through a more elevated tract of country.
From Simla the first day's journey towards the interior of the
mountains is usually to Fagu, a distance of fourteen miles. Here, and
for several stages farther, as far as the road lies through British
territory, there are houses (bungalows, as they are termed in India)
provided by Government for the accommodation of travellers, upon the
payment of a small fixed sum per diem. Though often in bad repair, and
therefore very uncomfortable in rainy weather, these houses (which
occur also between Simla and the plains) are a very great convenience,
as they enable tourists to dispense with the carriage of tents.
The difficulty of making a start, from the small number of porters
procurable for our baggage, was so great that it was some time after
dark before I reached the Fagu bungalow, in the midst of an extremely
heavy fall of rain, which had commenced about sunset, after a fair
though lowering day. The road from Simla to Fagu follows throughout
the course of the main range, not always on the very crest of the
ridge, but seldom at any great distance from it. After passing round
the peak of Jako, it turns northward, and descends abruptly about 500
feet, to a low part of the ridge, elevated about 6800 feet, and quite
bare of trees, the micaceous slaty rock being in many places exposed.
The ridge continues in a direction for nearly four miles, varying
very little in level, only one short and rather steep ascent
occurring to a peak where a spur branches off to the south, beyond
which the road again slightly descends. About half-a-mile to the north
of this little ridge, on the slope of the hill below the road, there
is a small cluster of trees of _Cupressus torulosa_, a species of
cypress, one of the rarer conifers of the Himalaya; the most favourite
situation of which seems to be on very steep mountains in the
interior, at elevations of from seven to nine thousand feet. It was
found abundantly by Major Madden[3] on Shali, a peak twenty miles east
of Simla, and it appears to extend thence west as far as Simla, where
it occurs in several places on hot, dry, and very bare rocky hills, as
low as six thousand feet.
About four miles from Simla, a sudden increase in the elevation of the
range takes place, and at the same time it turns abruptly towards the
south-east. The road ascends the steep face of the ridge, in a series
of zigzags, rather steeply, with a deep ravine on either hand, that to
the right bare, while on the left there is first a thicket of rose and
willow bushes, and further on an oak-wood, of a species (_Quercus
floribunda_ of Wallich) different from that common at Simla, and
indicative of greater elevation, though here growing with
_Rhododendron_ and _Andromeda_, common Simla trees. When near the top
of the ascent, the road bends rapidly to the right, keeping on the
south face of the ridge, and passing under but close to a small house,
built on the very crest of the ridge, at an elevation of about 8000
feet. Close to this bungalow, which occupies a most excellent site,
forest commences, and the road runs for a mile through fine trees of
deodar and spruce (_Abies Smithiana_), generally on the very crest of
the ridge, looking down towards the east into a deep and broad valley.
Right across this valley, north-east, rises the remarkable peak of
Shali, a bold rocky mass sloping gently to the south, while to the
north, which seems to overhang the Sutlej valley, it is cut off very
abruptly. This highly beautiful mountain, the termination of a
northerly spur, given off close to Mattiana, is hardly visible from
Simla, its top only being seen from some of the more northerly houses.
[Sidenote: MAHASU RIDGE.
_August, 1847._]
From an elevation of about 8000 feet at its north-west end, the Mahasu
ridge rises, at first gradually, to at least 9000 feet, and as it is
throughout well wooded, the road along it is extremely beautiful. On
the earlier part of the ridge, the forest consists chiefly of pine,
_P. excelsa_ and _Abies Smithiana_ being abundant, and more especially
the deodar, which, on the slope facing the west, may be seen in the
greatest profusion, thousands of young trees springing up in dense
masses, on the slopes which have been bared by the axe, or still more
destructively by the fires of the hill-men.
After about five miles of what, in the Himalaya, may be called
tolerably level road, another sudden ascent follows, the road
inclining rather to the northern slope of the mountain, and entering a
dense forest of large massive pines, intermixed with two species of
sycamore, and a fine cherry, which relieve the otherwise too gloomy
foliage of the coniferous trees. A magnificent climbing vine, which
attaches itself to the tallest trees, rising in light green coils
round their trunks, and falling in graceful festoons from the
branches high over head, adds much to the elegance of the scene, and
renders it, in the expressive words of Griffith, who was familiar with
the rich vegetation of the humid forests of the Eastern Himalaya, the
only true Himalayan forest of the western mountains.
[Sidenote: SUMMIT OF MAHASU.
_August, 1847._]
On this ascent the road rises to about 9000 feet, the crest of the
Mahasu ridge being, according to Captain Herbert, 9200 feet. The large
size and dense shade of the trees, and the abundance of _Abies
Smithiana_, of the sycamore, and of the gigantic vine, give the forest
a totally different appearance from that of Simla, and the undergrowth
presents also a considerable amount of novelty; a species of currant,
a fine _Spiræa_, _Indigofera atropurpurea_, and fine species of _Rosa_
and _Rubus_, forming thickets under the tall trees. This forest,
indeed, from its dense shade, and great humidity, exhibits a much
greater contrast to the ordinary temperate vegetation of the Himalaya,
than is usually observed below 9000 feet, at which elevation the upper
temperate, or subalpine vegetation, begins fairly to predominate over
that which is prevalent from 5000 to 9000 feet.
On reaching the summit of the steep ascent, the road again gains the
crest of the ridge, which consists of a succession of rounded knolls,
covered with grass, and quite bare of trees, the forest rising almost,
but not quite, to the top. On the very summit of one of the first of
these knolls, is a small wooden shrine or temple, of a form common in
the hills; the top of a mountain, or the summit of any very steep
ascent, being usually selected as a proper spot for the erection of a
sacred building by Indian mountaineers, in whose superstition every
hill and grove is tenanted by supernatural beings.
[Sidenote: POTATO CULTIVATION.
_August, 1847._]
The steep ascent on the northern shoulder of Mahasu, from 8000 feet,
and even lower, to above 9000 feet, is the great seat of the potato
cultivation in the neighbourhood of Simla. The steepest slopes seem to
be preferred for this purpose, if they have only a sufficiency of
soil, which is very light, loose, and stony. The undergrowth of shrubs
is cleared away entirely on the spot where potatoes are planted, but
the pine forest is only partially thinned, the tall straight trunks
allowing of a free circulation of air below, while the thick branches
above afford the amount of shade requisite for the crop. The potatoes
are planted in rows in May; and, early in June, when the plants have
attained a height of a few inches, the soil is earthed up round their
stems in low ridges. The rains commence in the latter part of June,
and during their continuance nothing is done to the crop, beyond
keeping it clear of weeds. The steepness of the slope seems to afford
a sufficient drainage to prevent any injury from the great rain-fall
and constant humidity. The growth of the plants is exceedingly
luxuriant, the foliage being tall and bushy. By the middle of October,
or after the close of the rains, the potatoes are dug and ready for
market, supplying not only the station of Simla, but being despatched
in great quantities to the plains of India, where the potato is only
cultivated as a winter crop, and where, therefore, during the cold
months, none are otherwise procurable.
On the very summit of the Mahasu ridge, there are a few trees of
_Quercus semicarpifolia_, the alpine oak of the western Himalaya, an
European-looking and partially deciduous species, and of _Picea
Webbiana_, or _Pindrow_, the silver fir of the Indian mountains, a
dark sombre-looking pine, abundant in the forests of the interior.
These trees may be adopted as the characteristics of the subalpine
zone, in every part of which, from 9000 to about 12,000 feet, which is
the highest limit of tree vegetation in the Western Himalaya, they
abound. On Mahasu they are entirely confined to the crest of the
ridge, and form no part of the forest below.
[Sidenote: FAGU.
_August, 1847._]
The descent from the top of Mahasu to the Fagu bungalow, is at first
abrupt, the road leaving the ridge to enter the forest on the northern
face, and winding down, after a few hundred yards of bare stony slope,
among dense forest, among which it continues for a couple of miles,
rising at last rather steeply to the crest of the ridge at the point
where it resumes a northerly direction. Here the bungalow of Fagu has
been built, at an elevation of 8200 feet, at the very base of the
steep mountain ridge behind, which rises abruptly, to a height of six
or seven hundred feet. The bungalow faces the north-east, and commands
a most superb view of the snowy range beyond the Sutlej, with
occasional glimpses of the Jumno-Gangetic snows on the right hand.
On my arrival at Fagu, in the midst of a pelting fall of rain, I found
the bungalow already occupied by my fellow-travellers, and before a
bright and comfortable fire I soon forgot the discomfort of my wet
ride, which indeed was not to be complained of, as it was only what
might fairly have been expected in the middle of the rainy season.
The confusion among our baggage, however, was so great, from its
arriving irregularly and being set down hurriedly by the drenched
porters, anxious to escape as soon as possible to shelter, that it was
not without difficulty I procured the necessary change of clothing.
The morning of the 3rd of August was densely foggy, but without rain,
and it was unanimously decided that it would be advisable to push on
to the next stage, Mattiana, a distance of fifteen miles. Our
anticipations of fair weather were unfortunately disappointed, for it
began to rain heavily before ten o'clock, and continued to do so with
little intermission till nearly two, when it cleared, and the
remainder of the day was fine.
[Sidenote: GIRI VALLEY.
_August, 1847._]
The whole day's journey lay along the ridge, which scarcely fell below
7500 feet, and nowhere rose above 9000 feet. Fagu is situated
immediately above the valley of the river Giri, a large mountain
stream, the most western tributary of the Jumna. A road across the
Jumnetic valleys to Massuri descends abruptly towards that river,
descending more than 5000 feet in little more than five miles, and
crossing the river by a bridge at an elevation of 3000 feet. The
mountains to the right, which dip into the valley of the Giri, are
bare of forest, with a good deal of cultivation in small terraced
fields on the steep sunny slopes, while scattered houses, scarcely
collected into villages, are seen here and there among the fields. On
the left hand, again, the deep valley which runs towards the Sutlej is
full of forest, not rising however to the ridge, which is bare, or
lined only with scattered jungle of _Indigofera_, _Desmodium_,
_Spiræa_, roses, and brambles. It seems to be a constant rule that
the depressions of the ridges are bare and open, while the more
elevated portions are covered with forest. Probably the cause of this
is the greater humidity of the higher slopes, which attract the
rain-clouds, while the lower ranges are dry. The currents of air which
sweep up the valleys may also in part be the cause of the bareness of
the ridges opposite their summits.
[Sidenote: THEOG.
_August, 1847._]
At Theog, nearly eight miles from Fagu, there is a fort belonging to a
Rana, or hill chieftain, and a small village, with a good many fields.
The cultivation at this great elevation, for the fields reach to at
least 8000 feet, is principally of barley, which is sown in early
spring, and reaped in the beginning or middle of June, according to
the season. Beyond Theog the road rises a little, and is covered with
brushwood on the left hand, but bare on the right. The highest part of
the road is about two miles beyond Theog, and has an elevation of
about 9000 feet. The northern face of this hill is prettily wooded
with the holly-leaved oak, and covered with numerous large angular
boulders, whose origin is rather difficult to explain. After passing
this little hill the ridge sweeps round to the left in a semicircle,
ascending very gradually and gently to a low ridge, from the crest of
which the bungalow of Mattiana comes into sight, at a distance of
nearly two miles, the whole of which is a gentle descent. The latter
part of the road has a direction nearly due north, and the bungalow is
situated in a very commanding position on the top of a little
eminence, a quarter of a mile from the village, which occupies the
slope of the hill facing the south-east, at a considerably lower
level. The hills on both sides of the bungalow, which has an
elevation of 8200 feet, are extremely steep, and descend at least 2000
feet. The valley on the left, tributary to the Sutlej, is well wooded,
but that on the right is rather bare, with only a little wood here and
there in the ravines, and on the more shady exposures.
[Sidenote: MATTIANA.
_August, 1847._]
The slopes below Mattiana are covered with numerous scattered houses
and a good deal of cultivation. A little rice is grown during the
rains, but the principal crops are barley and some wheat, sown in
spring and reaped before the commencement of the rains. The opium
poppy, also a spring crop, is cultivated to some extent in the lower
part of the valley. It is sown in early spring, and the opium is
gathered in June.
On the morning of the 4th of August we resumed our journey, proceeding
as far as Nagkanda, about thirteen miles. Nagkanda, like Mattiana and
Fagu, lies exactly on the crest of the main range, south of the
Sutlej, and it is possible to proceed to it by a footpath along the
ridge. The ascent, however, immediately north of Mattiana, where the
ridge rises suddenly to nearly 10,000 feet, is so steep, rocky, and
difficult, that it is quite impassable for horses, and so nearly for
loaded men, that a more easy, though somewhat longer road is always
preferred. I have more than once walked from Nagkanda to Mattiana by
the upper road, and found it quite easy on foot, and so very beautiful
as to be well worth a visit. The ascent from Mattiana is exceedingly
steep, and facing nearly due south, very bare, stony, and barren; but
when the higher portion of the ridge has been gained, the remainder of
the road lies through beautiful forest, with much fine scenery--the
earlier part steep and rocky, the remainder nearly level, till the
last descent, and generally on the north face of the range.
[Sidenote: VALLEY BEFORE MATTIANA.
_August, 1847._]
On our present journey, however, we took the usual road, which
descends from Mattiana to the valley immediately on the east, crosses
it, and passes over a long spur on its eastern side, into another
valley, the head of which is immediately below Nagkanda, to which
place the road ascends, at last very steeply. The ravine immediately
below Mattiana is crossed at an elevation probably a little above 6000
feet, as the trees of the temperate region, such as the holly-leaved
and woolly oak, _Andromeda_, and _Rhododendron_, continue to the very
bottom of the descent; and _Pinus excelsa_ is common on the eastern
slope, a little way above the stream, which descends very abruptly,
like all the hill torrents near their sources, along a rocky channel,
filled with large boulders. On the banks of the little stream there
were a few trees of an _Acacia_, common in the lower forests, which
Mr. Bentham considers a hairy variety of the _Albizzia Julibrissin_ of
western Asia. I observed also a Laurel, an Olive, _Rhus_, and the
common Toon (_Cedrela Toona_), all indicative of the commencement of a
subtropical vegetation, which no doubt must be abundant on its banks a
very few miles further down. Few of the plants observed in the valley
were different from those common around Simla; a species of
_Caragana_, a Leguminous genus abundant in Siberia, and in the
interior and more dry parts of the Himalaya, was perhaps the most
interesting.
The ascent from the ravine was well wooded in its lower part with oak
and pine. A few trees of a very handsome poplar (_P. ciliata_), a tall
widely-branching large-leaved tree, occurred in its lower part, as did
also _Benthamia fragifera_, and a yew, apparently undistinguishable
from the common European species. The upper part of the ascent was
bare and grassy. The spur is a steep one, descending rapidly from the
main range, and the road winding round its shoulder does not ascend
beyond 7000 feet, but as soon as it has gained the eastern face
continues nearly level, gradually approaching the centre of the
valley, and winding along the hill-sides among numerous villages. The
slopes are generally bare; here and there in the hollows or recesses
along the lateral streamlets there is some very fine forest.
[Sidenote: CULTIVATED VALLEY.
_August, 1847._]
The appearance of this valley is considerably different from that of
any of those nearer to the plains. The population is considerable, and
collected into villages, some of which occupy the lower part of the
valley, and are surrounded by a good deal of cultivation and numerous
walnut and apricot trees, the latter of which are said, in autumn,
frequently to tempt the bears from the forest, to indulge in what to
them is a grateful feast. The ripening of the apricot in a valley,
among forest, at an elevation of 7000 feet, indicates an undoubted
diminution of the rain-fall. Very little change, however, is
observable in the wild vegetation till the upper part of the last
steep ascent, when a number of species make their appearance which are
strangers to the more external ranges. A species of hazel, as a tree,
and _Lappa_, _Achillea_, _Leonurus_, _Cheiranthus_, and _Rumex
acetosa_, as herbaceous plants, may be mentioned as instances, as
also a lax-paniculate _Polygonum_, with elegant panicles of white
honey-scented flowers.
[Sidenote: NAGKANDA.
_August, 1847._]
Nagkanda bungalow, elevated 9300 feet above the level of the sea, is
situated on a depression of the main range, where it has a direction
from west to east. The ridge to the west, towards Mattiana, is
elevated little more than 10,000 feet, while to the east rises the
peak of Hattu to a height of 10,674 feet, by the determination of the
trigonometrical survey. Here the range has approached nearer to the
Sutlej, now distant only about twelve miles, than at any point since
leaving Simla. The valley of the Sutlej being only 3000 feet above the
level of the sea, while the mountains directly opposite rise to 12,000
feet, the scenery is of the grandest description. The river itself is
nowhere visible, the descent being so abrupt at the bottom that the
intervening spurs entirely conceal it.
The northern slope of the ridge on which Nagkanda stands, is occupied
by a very deep valley, bounded by two long spurs, which run towards
the Sutlej. The whole of this valley is occupied by dense forest, a
great part of which is pine, especially on the upper part of the deep
receding bay which runs up nearly to the top of Hattu, the sides of
which are covered with a dense sombre forest of _Picea Webbiana_
(Pindrow).
[Sidenote: ASCENT OF HATTU.
_August, 1847._]
On the 5th of August, a portion of our baggage, which had been left at
Fagu two days before, from a deficiency of porters, not having arrived
at Nagkanda, it became necessary to halt, in order to give it a chance
of reaching us. The day was fortunately fine, and we availed ourselves
of the opportunity to ascend Hattu, Captain Strachey taking with him
his barometers, to verify their accuracy by the trigonometrically
determined height of this mountain, which was one of the stations of
the Himalayan survey by Captain Herbert. As the top of the mountain is
only about 1500 feet above the Nagkanda bungalow, and the distance is
nearly five miles, the ascent is an easy one. The first mile is nearly
level, and bare of wood on the ridge, though the forest on both sides
rises within a few feet of the crest, which is bordered by brushwood.
As soon as the ascent commences, the ridge becomes covered with
forest, at first principally pine, spruce and silver fir (_Picea_)
being the principal species. Yew is also very common, forming a fine
tall tree, and the few non-coniferous trees are chiefly the alpine
oak, sycamore, and cherry. The road, which at first ascends a western
spur, by degrees winds round to the face of the mountain, and finally
ascends to the summit from the east. The wood on the upper part is
entirely oak, and more open than the pine forest lower down. The top
of the mountain is steep and bare towards the east, for about five
hundred feet, with precipitous rocks thirty or forty feet high towards
the west, below which the slope is exceedingly steep and rocky in that
direction.
The continuation of the main range towards the east is at first lower
than the peak of Hattu some 600 or 700 feet, but rises again to
another peak within a mile. A long spur or ridge to the south-west is,
however, for nearly two miles, within a few feet of the same height as
the summit of Hattu, and rises at about that distance into a point,
which probably rather exceeds it. It then sinks rapidly towards the
Giri river, the most easterly branch of which has its source in the
ravine on the eastern face.
[Sidenote: TOP OF HATTU.
_August, 1847._]
On the top of Hattu there are the remains of a square building, with
very thick walls, I believe of native origin, and intended as a sort
of fort, which, however, from the want of water, must have been quite
untenable. It is now in ruins, its interior being filled with a
wilderness of hemp, nettles, _Galium Aparine_, dock and other coarse
plants. The grassy slopes of the summit are covered with a luxuriant
herbage of _Potentillæ_, _Labiatæ_, _Gentianaceæ_, _Epilobium_,
_Polygonum_, and _Anemone_, while a few stunted bushes of _Quercus
semicarpifolia_, a simple-leaved _Pyrus_, and a willow, are the only
shrubby vegetation. The forest, however, rises close to the base of
the cliffs on the western face, and contains all the species common on
the ascent of the mountain, the vegetation of the summit being in no
respect peculiar, not even in early spring exhibiting any truly alpine
plant. The mountain bamboo, a graceful small species of _Arundinaria_,
which is extremely abundant in the woods of the upper temperate and
subalpine zones, adorns the rocky hollows close to the summit.
[Sidenote: VIEW FROM HATTU.
_August, 1847._]
In every direction except south, and along the ridge to the east, the
view from the top of Hattu is very extensive, as it overlooks all the
peaks in the immediate vicinity. To the north the mountains of Kulu,
which separate the valley of the Sutlej from that of the Beas, and
from the upper Chenab, are most beautifully seen, their peaks rising
above one another from west to east, till they enter the region of
perpetual snow. Towards the plains, in clear weather, the view must
be superb; but in that direction there is so generally a hazy state of
the atmosphere, that though I have ascended Hattu four times, I have
never been fortunate enough to obtain a favourable day.
In looking back from the summit of Hattu towards Simla and the plains,
it may be observed that the country is well wooded, though when viewed
from Simla or the heights of Mahasu the same mountains had appeared
almost bare. This diversity in the aspect of the country, according to
the direction from which it is seen, is due to the ridges being well
wooded on one face, and bare of trees on the other. The plainward face
is never, except under very exceptional circumstances, at all wooded,
while the northern and eastern slopes are generally covered with
forest. Probably the more direct influence of the sun, and the action
of the strong winds which generally blow up the valleys towards the
interior of the mountains, act in concurrence in drying the
atmosphere, and checking the growth of trees on the southern and
western faces of the ridges.
The shrubby and herbaceous vegetation of Hattu is exceedingly
luxuriant. The more open glades of the forest are filled with an
undergrowth of tall balsams, annual-stemmed _Acanthaceæ_, _Dipsacus_,
_Compositæ_ (among which the beautiful _Calimeris_ is very abundant),
while in the drier pine-forest a graceful little bamboo occurs, often
to the exclusion of every other plant. It grows in dense tufts, eight
or ten or even twelve feet high, the diameter of the stem not
exceeding a quarter of an inch. The currant of the Mahasu ridge is
also common, with many of the same shrubs which are there abundant.
The ridge close to Nagkanda is much drier, and has fewer peculiar
plants; the resemblance to the Simla flora being there very
remarkable.
[Sidenote: CULTIVATION.
_August, 1847._]
On the southern slopes of this ridge, at elevations equal to that of
Nagkanda bungalow, and even higher, in some places as high as 9500
feet, there are considerable patches of cultivation. Barley is
probably the spring crop, but during the rains a good deal of
buckwheat is cultivated. This plant will not thrive in the very humid
regions, and is therefore indicative of a drier climate than that of
Simla; indeed, even the occurrence of cultivation at such an
elevation, during the rainy season, satisfactorily proves the
existence of a more moderate rain-fall and greater warmth than on the
peaks nearer the plains, as for instance on the Mahasu ridge, on
which, except the potato, no cultivation whatever is attempted during
the rains, though there are a few fields of wheat or barley in one
spot as high as 8000 feet.
[Sidenote: DESCENT TOWARDS THE SUTLEJ.
_August, 1847._]
[Sidenote: SHADY RAVINE.
_August, 1847._]
Our missing loads having arrived at Nagkanda on the evening of the 5th
of August, we resumed our journey on the morning of the 6th, marching
to Kotgarh, ten miles. At Nagkanda we finally left the main range, and
began to descend towards the valley of the Sutlej, following, at the
commencement of our journey, a spur which runs from immediately west
of the bungalow directly towards the river. After about four miles we
quitted this spur to descend into the valley on the right, after
crossing which we ascended to Kotgarh, situated on a long spur
descending from the peak of Hattu. The early part of the descent was
very abrupt, through a forest of large pines, principally _P.
excelsa_ and spruce (_Abies Smithiana_). Some trees of the latter
measured upwards of seventeen feet in circumference. Sycamore and
cherry were also common in the forest, and a good many trees of
_Corylus lacera_, the hazel of the north-west Himalaya, were observed.
The trees were festooned with the gigantic vine already noticed in the
Mahasu forest. After the first two hundred feet of descent, the forest
was less dense, and chiefly pine. _Rhododendron arboreum_ commenced
about 1000 feet below Nagkanda, and was soon followed by the
holly-leaved oak, and a little lower by _Q. incana_, the common hoary
oak of Simla; and by the time we had got down to 7000 feet, the
vegetation was quite similar to that of Simla. At a little below this
elevation, the road leaves the crest of the ridge, which may be seen
to continue in a northerly direction, partly bare and partly
pine-clad, and descends rapidly to the bottom of the deep ravine on
the right. Soon after leaving the ridge we entered thick forest, and
at the bottom of the ravine two considerable streams are crossed
within a very short distance of one another, at an elevation of about
5500 feet, the lowest level to which we descended during the day's
journey. Along the banks of these streams, which have a considerable
inclination of bed, the forest is very dense and shady. Few of the
trees are coniferous, nor do oaks in this part of the Himalaya select
such moist localities. _Lauraceæ_ of several kinds, the horse-chesnut,
alder, and hornbeam (_Carpinus viminea_), with Toon and _Celtis_, are
the prevailing trees.
The streams which the road here crosses descend from different parts
of the ridge of Nagkanda. They occupy the bottom of deep ravines, and
are in their whole course densely wooded. These ravines are, in their
upper part especially, extremely steep and rocky, often with
precipitous walls, and scarcely practicable even on foot. The
denseness of the forest is principally due to their northern exposure,
and to the consequent more equable temperature and greater humidity.
They contain many trees not previously observed on the journey from
Simla, though all of them, I believe even the horse-chesnut, occur in
the very similar steep rocky ravines below Fagu. The alder is a common
tree at 4-5000 feet in the north-western Himalaya, always in valleys
and on the banks of streams.
In this shady forest I collected a considerable number of plants which
do not occur at Simla. A scandent _Hydrangea_, the loosely-adhering
bark of which separates in long rolls like that of the birch, and is
used as a substitute for paper, was seen twining round the trunks of
trees. I observed also a fine _Calanthe_, and abundance of
_Adenocaulon_, a remarkable genus of _Compositæ_, which, till Mr.
Edgeworth discovered a species in the Himalaya, was only known as a
native of South America. In the thickest part of the forest in this
ravine, I was also fortunate enough to meet with a few specimens of
_Balanophora_, which here probably attains its western limit. All
these plants are abundant forms in the most humid parts of Nepal and
Sikkim, and their presence may, I think, be regarded as indicative of
a more equable temperature throughout the year than prevails in the
more open parts of the Sutlej Himalaya. The range of mountains on
which Nagkanda stands certainly intercepts a great deal of moisture
during the rainy season, and therefore makes the valleys on its
northern aspect less humid at that period of the year. This would
appear to be more than counterbalanced by the effect of the dense
forest in keeping up moisture and preventing radiation during winter,
for the cold and dryness of that season seem to have a much greater
effect in determining the cessation of the forms characteristic of the
eastern Himalaya, than the diminished rain-fall during the three
months of the rainy season.
[Sidenote: KOTGARH.
_August, 1847._]
After crossing the stream at the bottom of the valley, the road
advances in a northerly direction, at first gradually ascending
through fine shady woods, but afterwards, turning to the right,
mounting rapidly by very abrupt zigzags, up a bare dry hill-side, to
the Kotgarh ridge. Here we took up our quarters for the night, in a
house the property of Captain P. Gerard, a little above the village of
Kotgarh, at an elevation of about 7000 feet, in a fine grove of _Pinus
excelsa_.
Kotgarh, a large village, and the seat of an establishment of
missionaries, was at one time a military post, and is interesting to
the Himalayan traveller, from the fact of the detachment here
stationed having been long commanded by one of the brothers Gerard,
whose labours in these mountains, geographical and meteorological, are
so well known. It has, however, long been abandoned as a military
station, the peaceable state of the hill population rendering it
unnecessary to keep a garrison in these mountains.
[Sidenote: CULTIVATION.
_August, 1847._]
Captain Gerard's house, in which we spent the night, is elevated
several hundred feet above the upper part of the village of Kotgarh,
which occupies the steep face of the ridge directly overlooking the
valley of the Sutlej. One reach of the river is visible from the front
of the house, and the deep roar of the rapid stream was distinctly
audible, notwithstanding that we were still 4000 feet above it. On the
morning of the 7th of August we resumed our journey, descending
abruptly through the village of Kotgarh to the Sutlej. At first the
pine-forest which surrounded our night quarters, accompanied us down
the steep hill-side. It was intermixed with a few scattered deodars;
and the shrubby and herbaceous vegetation was in all its features
identical with that of Simla. Soon, however, the descent was on a bare
hill-side, and after reaching the village, the road, inclining to the
right or east, kept nearly level for about a mile, passing through
much cultivation, in terraced fields on the slopes. The crops were
_Kodon_ (_Eleusine Coracana_) and a cylindrical-headed _Panicum_, both
grains commonly cultivated in the plains of India. There were also
many fields of _Amaranthus_ and _Chenopodium_. The first of these is
occasionally cultivated in all parts of the hills, its bright red
inflorescence, in autumn, tinging with flame the bare mountain slopes.
The _Chenopodium_ was new to me as a cultivated grain, and is
particularly interesting from its analogy with the Quinoa of South
America. It is entirely a rain crop, and grows very luxuriantly,
rising to a height of six or eight feet, with a perfectly straight
stout very succulent green stem, and large deltoid leaves, either pale
green or of a reddish tinge, and covered with grey mealiness. The
seeds, which are extremely small, are produced in great abundance on
all the upper part of the plant, and are ripe in September.
[Sidenote: DESCENT TO THE SUTLEJ.
_August, 1847._]
For about a mile after leaving the village of Kotgarh, the descent was
trifling, but the remainder of the road to the Sutlej was very steep,
so that the change in the vegetation was sudden, commencing just at
the point where _Quercus incana_ disappeared; before which few plants
indicating heat occurred. The want of wood, no doubt, assisted the
rapidity of the change, for the heat soon became considerable. In the
course of the descent, I noted all the new forms as they occurred; but
the exact order in which each individual species makes its appearance,
depends so much upon accidental and unimportant circumstances, and is
so likely to be affected by errors of observation, unless many series
are obtained in different aspects of the same slope, that it would
lead to no advantage to enumerate the species as they were met with.
Nearly 1000 feet above the bed of the river, or at an elevation of
about 4000 feet, the vegetation had become quite subtropical, species
of _Mollugo_, _Polanisia_, _Corchorus_, _Leucas_, _Euphorbia_,
_Microrhynchus_, and the ordinary grasses and _Cyperaceæ_ of the
plains, being the common weeds. The descent continued very abrupt, the
heat increasing rapidly, till the road reached the bank of the Sutlej,
at the village of Kepu, which occupies a flat piece of land
overhanging the river.
[Sidenote: VALLEY OF THE SUTLEJ.
_August, 1847._]
Having commenced our day's journey before daybreak, in order to
complete the march before the extreme heat had commenced, we stopped
here to breakfast, under the shade of a fine mango-tree. The
neighbourhood of the village was well cultivated, with extensive
rice-fields and a fine grove of tropical trees--mango, _Ficus Indica_
and _religiosa_, _Melia Azedarach_ and _Azadirachta_, _Grewia_,
oranges, and plantains. Our late residence in a cool climate made us
feel the heat much, though the temperature at nine in the morning was
not much more than 80°. After breakfast, we continued our journey up
the valley, to Nirt or Nirat, a distance of six or seven miles, and
next day we reached Rampur, the capital of Basehir, twelve miles
further, and still in the Sutlej valley.
The district of Basehir is an independent hill state, governed by a
rajah, whose dominion also extends over Kunawar; it commences a very
little north of Kotgarh, and occupies the south side of the river
Sutlej and the mountain slopes above it, as far east as the confines
of Kunawar. The valley of the Sutlej, in the western part of Basehir,
from Rampur downwards, has an elevation of little more than 3000 feet,
Rampur (140 feet above the bed of the river) being 3400 feet above the
level of the sea[4]. The river, at the season of our journey, which
was the height of the rains, at which time it is at its largest, is an
impetuous torrent, of great size, but very variable in breadth,
foaming along over a stony bed, with generally very precipitous rocky
banks, and filled with large boulders. During the rainy season it is
extremely muddy, almost milky, and deposits in tranquil parts of its
course a considerable amount of white mud. The valley is generally
very narrow, with steep bare hills on either side, quite devoid of
trees and covered only with a few scattered bushes and long coarse
grass. In the bays or recesses on the mountain-sides, between the
terminations of the rocky spurs which descend to the river, the valley
is often filled with a hard conglomerate rock, the cement of which is
calcareous, evidently (geologically) of very recent origin. These
patches of conglomerate are flat-topped, and often scarped towards the
river, and are frequently 200 feet and more in thickness. They differ
in degree of consolidation only from ordinary alluvial deposit, so
that they appear to owe their preservation from the denuding effects
of river action, to the calcareous matter, which has cemented the
pebbles and sand into a solid rock.
[Sidenote: VEGETATION.
_August, 1847._]
The road follows throughout the course of the river, rising sometimes
200-300 feet, to pass over rocky spurs; at other times it lies on the
surface of the boulder conglomerate, and more rarely close to the
river. Here and there is a small village, with a few rice-fields, but
the greater part of the valley is utterly sterile. Like the valleys of
the outer Himalaya, that of the Sutlej here exhibits a curious mixture
of the ordinary vegetation of the plains, with forms which point out
the mountainous nature of the country. The whole flora is strongly
characteristic of a dry soil and an arid climate. The mountain ranges
to the west and south, no doubt, intercept a good deal of rain; and
the lofty mountains, 10-12,000 feet in height, which, on the right and
left, rise rapidly from the river, appropriate to themselves a great
part of the moisture which reaches the valley. We may, therefore, in
the absence of direct meteorological observations, infer, from the
physical structure of the valley, and from the nature of its
vegetation, that its climate is drier than that of the valleys at the
base of the Himalaya.
The Sutlej valley cannot, of course, be properly compared with the
base of the mountains farther east, where luxuriant forest covers all
the slopes; but when contrasted with the Pinjor valley, or the low
hills above Kalka, it is only on a careful comparison that a
difference is to be observed, and then, perhaps, more by the absence
of forms abundant in them than by any marked addition of new ones. The
ordinary shrubs of the Sutlej, at 3000 feet, are _Adhatoda Vasica_,
_Carissa edulis_, _Colebrookea_, _Rottlera tinctoria_, and some
species of _Boehmeria_, all characteristic of the outer hills, and
the two first common plains plants. The remarkable _Euphorbia
pentagona_ is also common. _Butea_, _Ægle_, and _Moringa_ do not
occur, nor are there any bamboos. _Flacourtia sepiaria_, _Capparis
sepiaria_, and _Calotropis_, which are three of the commonest plants
of the plains, were also not observed. A large white-flowered caper
(_Capparis obovata_, Royle) and a glabrous _Zizyphus_ were the most
remarkable new forms. The herbaceous vegetation differed scarcely at
all from that of the plains, consisting chiefly of species which,
during the rainy season, spring up in the lightest and driest soils.
Mountain plants were only occasional, and mostly such as at Simla
descend on the dry grassy slopes into the valleys: a berberry and
bramble (_Rubus flavus_), _Plectranthus rugosus_, which is a grey and
dusty-looking shrub, _Melissa umbrosa_, _Micromeria biflora_, a little
_Geranium_, _Ajuga parviflora_, a _Galium_, _Senecio_, _Aplotaxis
candicans_, and one or two _Umbelliferæ_. They did not, however,
amount to a twentieth part of the whole vegetation, and the aspect of
the flora was quite subtropical. A little _Eriophorum_, which is
everywhere common in arid places at the base of the Himalaya, from
Assam to the Indus, was frequent in the crevices of the rocks. Ferns
were very scarce, only two or three being observed.
[Sidenote: RAMPUR.
_August, 1847._]
The town of Rampur is a considerable place, on a small level tract of
ground, about a hundred feet above the bed of the river Sutlej, which
it overhangs. The houses are substantially built, in the form of a
square, with an open space in the centre; they are mostly one-storied,
and have steeply-sloping slated roofs. The town has a good deal of
trade with Tibet, principally in shawl wool, and is the seat of a
small manufacture of white soft shawl-cloths. The river is here
crossed by a rope suspension-bridge, of a kind very common in the
lower valleys, which has often been described. It consists of nine
stout ropes, which are stretched from one side of the river to the
other. The width of the Sutlej at the bridge, according to Captain
Gerard, by whom it was measured, is 211 feet.
During our stay at Rampur, Major Cunningham directed my attention to
the alteration of the level of the river at different periods of the
day, from the variable amount of solar action on the snows by which it
is fed. This effect he had noticed on his former visit to the
mountains, and we had frequent opportunities of observing it during
our journey. At Rampur the diurnal variation was not less than three
or four feet, the maximum being, I believe, during the night or early
in the morning. In the immediate vicinity of snow, the streams are
highest in the afternoon, but as the distance increases the period of
greatest height becomes by degrees later and later.
Except on our two first days' journey, we had been extremely fortunate
in weather since leaving Simla. The day of the 8th was very cloudy and
oppressive, and the 9th, on which we remained stationary at Rampur to
make arrangements with the Rajah for our further progress through
Basehir and Kunawar, was rainy throughout. The rain, however, was
light, and did not prevent the Rajah from visiting us in the
afternoon, impelled, I suppose, by a desire to see our apparatus and
arrangements for travelling. We were lodged in an excellent
upper-roomed house of his, overhanging the Sutlej, and not far from
his own residence, which lies at the east end of the town, and
externally is quite without beauty, presenting to view nothing but a
mass of dead walls. The Rajah seldom remains during the hot season at
Rampur, as he has a second residence at Serahan, twenty miles up the
river, and 7000 feet above the level of the sea, in which he usually
spends the summer, though during 1847, for some reason or other, he
remained during the greater part of the year at Rampur.
[Sidenote: ANCIENT RIVER-CHANNEL.
_August, 1847._]
On the morning of the 18th of August we resumed our journey. Our
direction still lay up the valley of the Sutlej, and for the first
three miles the road kept parallel to the river, ascending
occasionally a few hundred feet to cross spurs, when the immediate
margin of the Sutlej was too rocky and precipitous to allow of a
passage. This was not unfrequently the case, and after a few miles
the river-bank became so rugged and difficult, that the road left it,
to ascend a long ridge, descending from the mountain range to the
south. The early part of the road, from the many views of the river
rushing over its rocky bed, often among immense boulders, and from the
general boldness of the mountain scenery, was, though bare of forest,
very striking. Frequently the road overhung the river, which ran
through a narrow rocky ravine many hundred feet below. At other times,
it lay over the surface of the flat platforms which occupied the
valley, and in several places curious excavations were noticed on the
rocky surface, as if the river had formerly flowed over higher levels.
One of these ancient channels was so very remarkable, that it could
not be overlooked. The rocky banks on either side were at least a
hundred feet apart, and the large water-worn boulders, with occasional
rugged pointed rocks which filled the bed, conveyed unmistakeably the
conviction that we were walking over an ancient river-bed, though the
elevation could not be less than 150 feet above the present level of
the river.
[Sidenote: ASCENT TOWARDS GAORA.
_August, 1847._]
Three miles from Rampur the road began to ascend a long spur in a
south-east direction. After we had ascended a few hundred feet, the
course of the river could be seen on the left among precipitous rocks,
quite impracticable. The ascent was through a well-cultivated tract,
the base of the hill and lower slopes being covered with fields of
rice, still only a few inches high. The road ascended rapidly, through
villages with numerous fruit-trees. At first, the vegetation continued
the same as in the valley, and the hills were bare, except close to
the village. Within a thousand feet of the base, the cultivation
ceased, and the road entered a wood of scattered firs, mixed after a
little with the common oak (_Q. incana_). At about 5000 feet the steep
lateral spur joined the ridge, and the road turned to the eastward,
and continued along the steep sides of the ridge, which overhang the
valley of the river 2000 feet below. The Sutlej was well seen, running
among bare rocky hills, the pine-wood being confined to the upper
parts of the steep slopes.
Had we continued our course along this ridge, it would in time have
conducted us to the crest of the main range south of the Sutlej, the
same which we had left at Nagkanda to descend into the Sutlej valley.
It would have been necessary for this purpose to ascend to a height of
between 12,000 and 13,000 feet, and to proceed to a considerable
distance south; our object, however, being to keep along the river as
nearly as possible, it would not have suited our purpose to ascend so
far, and the road only left the banks of the Sutlej on account of the
difficult nature of the ground in the bottom of the valley. We found,
therefore, after continuing a mile or two on the steep slope of the
ridge, that the road again began to descend, not exactly towards the
Sutlej, but to the bottom of the ravine or dell, by which the spur on
which we had ascended was separated from that next in succession to
it.
[Sidenote: GAORA.
_August, 1847._]
As far as the beginning of the descent the hill-side had been bare, or
only clothed with scattered pine-wood, but as soon as the eastern
slope was gained, and the descent commenced, the slopes became well
wooded with _Rhododendron_ and Oak. The descent was probably not more
than 1000 feet, perhaps scarcely so much, as the ravine sloped very
abruptly to the Sutlej; on the lower part of the descent, and on the
bank of the stream, the wood was principally alder, and a few
subtropical grasses and _Cyperaceæ_ marked the commencement of the
vegetation of the lower region, while a valerian, a _Hieracium_, a
species of _Datisca_, and an _Arundo_ or allied grass, were the new
species of plants observed; of these, perhaps the _Datisca_ alone
markedly indicated an approach to the interior Himalaya. After
crossing the ravine the road ascended abruptly up a well-wooded slope,
on the northern face of a steep spur, to the village of Gaora, at
which, for the first time since leaving Simla, we encamped, no house
being available for our accommodation. The morning had been fair,
though dull, but soon after our arrival at Gaora it began to rain, and
continued to do so all the afternoon.
Gaora is situated, according to Captain Gerard, about 3000 feet above
Rampur; but from the appearance of the vegetation, and a comparison
with known heights on both hands, we estimated the elevation of our
encampment to be not more than 5500 feet, so that probably Captain
Gerard's observations refer to some more elevated point.
[Sidenote: MANGLÂD VALLEY.
_August, 1847._]
On resuming our journey on the morning of the 11th of August, we
continued the ascent of the spur on which the village of Gaora is
situated, which is well wooded with the ordinary trees of the
temperate zone of the Himalaya. There were a few rice-fields on the
hill-side on cleared places above 6000 feet, and some orange-trees in
the villages at about the same elevation; from both of which facts,
more sun-heat and less rain during summer may be inferred, than in
similar elevations on the outer Himalaya, where neither rice nor
oranges occur so high. A little way higher up, the forest changed its
character, the holly-leaved oak, the deodar, and the spruce, being the
common trees, among which the road continued for four or five miles,
without much change of level, when the forest ceased, and the road,
after continuing for a short time at about the same level, descended
abruptly to the ravine of the Manglâd river, a considerable stream,
now swollen into a furious torrent, which rushed with impetuosity down
its steep rocky bed. A great part of the descent was bare, over
crumbling mica-slate rocks.
The vegetation in the bottom of the glen showed, as on former
occasions, indications of a low elevation, but presented no novelty,
except in the occurrence of _Melia Azedarach_, apparently wild. I have
occasionally noticed this tree in the interior of the Himalaya, always
at an elevation of between 4000 and 5000 feet, and invariably in the
drier valleys of the mountains, but it is so commonly cultivated in
India, that its occurrence can scarcely be regarded as a proof of its
being indigenous, especially if we consider that it is a rare
circumstance to find it in even an apparently wild state. I do not,
however, know that it has a greater claim to be considered a native of
any part of the world.
[Sidenote: SERAHAN.
_August, 1847._]
The ascent on the east side was long, steep, and fatiguing, up
well-wooded slopes. At about 6000 feet, a single tree of _Hippophaë
conferta_, with nearly ripe fruit, was observed near a spring, and a
few hundred feet higher the road gained the ridge, and continued for a
mile and a half of very gentle ascent, on a broad, nearly level
mountain-side, to Serahan, through beautiful forest of oak and pine.
Serahan, the summer residence of the Basehir Rajah, is pleasantly
situated at an elevation of 7000 feet above the level of the sea, on
the northern slope of the mountain range, surrounded on all sides by
pine-forest. The village is small, and occupies the lower margin of an
open glade of considerable extent, on which there is a good deal of
cultivation, of the same plants as I have noted at Kotgarh. The latter
part of our march had been through heavy rain, which continued all the
evening, and the greater part of the night, but we were fortunate
enough to find an empty house, capable of sheltering our servants and
baggage, as well as ourselves.
Besides the _Hippophaë_, which I noted on the ascent from Manglâd,
several plants appeared on this day's journey, which served to
chronicle a gradual alteration in the flora, notwithstanding that the
forest-trees and general character continued generally the same. Of
these, the most interesting, by far, was a plant discovered by Mr.
Edgeworth, in the same tract of country, and by him described as
_Oxybaphus Himalayanus_, a species of a genus otherwise entirely South
American. It is a rank-growing, coarse, herbaceous plant, with tumid
joints, and a straggling dichotomous habit, and has small pink or
rose-coloured flowers, covered with a viscid exudation. It grows in
open pastures and in waste places near villages, and is an abundant
species throughout the Kunawar valley.
[Sidenote: TRANDA.
_August, 1847._]
On the morning of the 12th of August we marched to Tranda, along the
mountain-side, winding a little with its sinuations, and occasionally
descending to cross the little streamlets which furrow its side, and
separate the lateral ridges from one another. The road lay through
beautiful forest, and as the day was fine we obtained at intervals a
succession of superb views, of the deep and well-wooded valleys below,
and the rugged mountains north of the Sutlej. The forest-trees were
still the hoary and holly-leaved oak, with deodar and spruce, though
in the more shady woods along the streams, the horse-chesnut, and a
fine glaucous-leaved laurel, were common. The shrubby and herbaceous
vegetation was in general character the same as in the denser woods of
Simla, the new species being still quite exceptional.
It soon became necessary to descend, in order to gain a place on the
next range in succession to the eastward, so as not to leave the river
at too great a distance. Forest continued to the bottom of the
descent, which showed no signs of tropical vegetation, and was
therefore not to so low a level as those of previous days. The
remainder of the day's journey consisted of a succession of ascents
and descents, mostly long and fatiguing, with occasionally half a mile
nearly level. Many of the steeper parts were very rocky and rugged, so
difficult that artificial steps were required to make them
practicable, and even with their aid a horse could scarcely pass. The
greater part of the road lay through forest, and two considerable
streams were crossed besides the one on the early part of the march.
From the last of these a long and very laborious ascent led to the
crest of the Tranda ridge, on the very top of which we halted for the
night in a log hut, built for the accommodation of travellers, in the
midst of a fine forest of deodar-trees.
The Tranda ridge has, till near its termination, an elevation of
upwards of 8000 feet, and projects boldly forward towards the Sutlej,
dipping at last extremely abruptly to the river. The Sutlej is here
thrown to the north, in a sharp bend, and runs through a deep gloomy
ravine. This ridge, therefore, more lofty and abrupt than any farther
west, is considered as the commencement of Kunawar; and the valley to
the eastward, as far as the Wangtu bridge, is generally called Lower
Kunawar, to distinguish it from the upper and drier parts of that
district. The rise of the bed of the river is so gradual, that the
transition of climate takes place at first by almost insensible
gradations; but as soon as the spurs retain a height of 8000 feet till
close to the Sutlej, they exercise a powerful influence upon the
climate, and the vegetation and physical aspect of the country change
with great rapidity.
FOOTNOTES:
[3] Journal of Agr. Hort. Soc. Calc. vol. iv.
[4] Gerard's 'Koonawur,' Appendix, Table 3.