Sildang river -- Fine grove of Deodars -- Nachar -- Fruit-trees
-- Vine seen for first time -- Boundaries of Kulu and Kunawar
-- Cross Sutlej at Wangtu bridge -- Vegetation of bare rocky
valley -- Waterfall -- Chegaon -- _Pinus Gerardiana_ -- Miru --
Absence of rain -- Alteration of vegetation -- _Quercus Ilex_
-- Rogi -- Willow and Poplar -- Chini -- Cultivated Plain --
Kashbir -- Pangi -- Camp at upper level of trees -- Junipers --
Werang Pass -- Alpine Vegetation -- Birch and _Rhododendron_ --
Granite Boulders -- Lipa -- Alluvial Deposits -- Encamp at
12,500 feet -- Runang Pass -- Vegetation very scanty -- Stunted
Forest -- Sungnam.
[Sidenote: SILDANG VALLEY.
_August, 1847._]
The night we spent at Tranda was stormy, with thunder and heavy
showers of rain, but the morning of the 13th was bright and beautiful,
enabling us to see from our elevated position on the ridge, a single
snow-peak, far to the eastward, in Kunawar. At the commencement of the
day's march, the road receded from the Sutlej into a deep mountain
bay, densely wooded with deodar and pine (_Pinus excelsa_). A few
trees only of spruce and horse-chesnut occurred. After a mile, passing
round a projecting spur, a fine view was obtained of the river Sutlej
at the bottom of a deep ravine, and of the mountain range north of the
river, now in several places covered with heavy snow. A little farther
on, the road descended very abruptly along the face of rugged and
precipitous rocks, to the valley of the Sildang river, a large stream
which was crossed in two branches by two very indifferent wooden
bridges. The Sildang valley, at the point where the road crosses it,
has been stated by Gerard to be elevated 5800 feet above the level of
the sea. It is a larger stream than any of those yet crossed since
leaving Rampur, and its ravine is beautifully wooded. The ascent to
the east was gentle, through woods of oak and pine, and after rising a
few hundred feet, the road continued nearly level for some miles, with
the Sutlej in sight below. A large village was passed on the latter
part of the march, with many temples evidently of old date, and
situated in a grove of very large deodar-trees, several of which were
upwards of twenty feet in circumference. One large tree with a
flattened trunk, as if formed by the union of two, measured, at five
feet from the base, thirty-five and a-half feet round. This grove was
evidently of great age, and probably consisted of old trees, at the
time the village was founded, and the temples were built under its
sacred shade.
Nachar, at which we took up our quarters for the night, is a very
large village, by far the most considerable yet passed, with many good
houses, much cultivated land, and great numbers of fine fruit-trees.
Walnuts, peaches, apricots, and mulberries, were all common; and I saw
one grape-vine, which bore a good many bunches of fruit. The crops
cultivated were chiefly millet and buckwheat, with a good many fields
of _Amaranthus_ and _Chenopodium_. The fruit-trees were evidently,
from their numbers and luxuriance, a very valuable part of the
possessions of the inhabitants; and it was very interesting to meet
with the vine, though only in small quantity, and evidently not yet in
a thoroughly suitable climate. The elevation of the village, which
occupied a great extent of the hill-side sloping down towards the
Sutlej, now close at hand, was nearly 7000 feet.
[Sidenote: EASTERN BOUNDARY OF KULU.
_August, 1847._]
Nearly opposite Nachar, the district of Kunawar, which had hitherto
been confined to the south bank of the Sutlej, extends to both sides
of the river; the province of Kulu, which had hitherto occupied the
northern bank, being bounded on the east by the mountain-chain which
separates the waters of the Beas river from those of the Piti, a
tributary of the Sutlej. By this very lofty chain, the villages on the
north side of the Sutlej, to the east of the point now reached, are
entirely cut off from the valley of the Beas, and naturally become
connected with the district immediately opposite to them, with which
alone they have an easy communication. Kulu, till the campaign of
1846, had belonged to the Punjab; but one of the results of the Sikh
war, in that year, was the transfer of that district to British rule,
so that the Sutlej, in its lower course, no longer served as a
boundary between hostile states. In Kunawar, the north side of the
river is the most important, because it is more populous and fertile
than the south, not only from its more favourable exposure, but
because the chain to the south of the Sutlej continues to increase in
elevation as it proceeds eastward, while that on the north becomes
gradually lower as it advances towards the confluence of the Sutlej
and Piti rivers.
[Sidenote: DESCENT TOWARDS THE SUTLEJ.
_August, 1847._]
For this reason the main road or highway through Kunawar crosses to
the right bank of the Sutlej, a short way above Nachar. At starting,
therefore, on the morning of the 14th of August, we began to descend
towards the river. For about a mile and a half the descent was very
gentle, through a good deal of cultivation. There were many
fruit-trees, but very little natural wood; a few horse-chesnut trees
were observed, and occasionally a scattered deodar, spruce, or pine.
On the earlier part of the road the pines were _P. excelsa_, but lower
down that tree gave place to _P. longifolia_. After a mile and a half,
the descent became more rapid, over a rocky and bad road, which
continued to the bridge, distant three miles from Nachar. On the bare,
arid, and rocky hills between Nachar and the river, several very
striking novelties were observed in the vegetation; but as the road
had for several days been at a higher level, and generally among dense
forest, it is not improbable that many of these new plants may occur
on the lower parts of the hills, in the immediate vicinity of the
river, further to the westward. The new species were in all about six
in number, of which three--two species of _Daphne_ and an olive--were
very abundant, and therefore prominent features in the appearance of
the country.
[Sidenote: WANGTU BRIDGE.
_August, 1847._]
At the point where the bridge has been thrown across, the river Sutlej
has an elevation, by the determination of Captain Gerard, of 5200 feet
above the level of the sea. Its bed and the banks on both sides are
very rocky and bare, and the width of the stream not more than seventy
feet. The bridge is of that kind called by the mountaineers _sanga_,
which means a wooden bridge or bridge of planks, contrasted with
_jhula_, a rope-bridge. On the left bank the pier of the bridge is
formed by an isolated rock, separated from the rocky banks by an
ancient bed of the river, now quite dry, but worn smooth by the action
of the current. This former channel is stated by Gerard to have been
blocked up by a fall of rocks from above; previous to which
occurrence, the isolated rock must have stood as an island in the
centre of the stream. The construction of the bridge is singular, but
simple, and only adapted for very little traffic. Six stout trunks of
trees are laid alongside of one another on the pier, so that the end
towards the river is a little higher than the other; above these are
placed in succession two similar layers of trunks, each projecting
several feet beyond the one below it, and the whole of these are kept
in position by a substantial stone building, through which the roadway
runs. A similar structure on the opposite bank narrows the distance to
be spanned, at the same time that it affords support to the central
portion of the bridge, which consists of two strong pine-trees fifty
feet in length, placed about two feet apart, and supporting stout
cross planking. The whole forms a bridge quite strong enough to
support foot-passengers or lightly laden horses, the only purpose for
which it is required.
[Sidenote: WATERFALL.
_August, 1847._]
In spite of the considerable elevation which the Sutlej valley had now
acquired, a number of plants of tropical character occurred in the
neighbourhood of the Wangtu bridge. These were mostly common grasses
and _Cyperaceæ_, _Polycarpæa corymbosa_, _Achyranthes aspera_, and a
few other species, all common mountain-plants at low elevations, which
here, from the great heat caused by the lessened rain and the
concentration of the sun's rays, at the bottom of a deep bare valley,
surmounted on both sides by mountains 10,000 feet above its level,
enjoy a congenial climate. They are, however, confined to the most
exposed places, and to the lower levels only. A few rugged pine-trees
are scattered on the steep rocks, both _Pinus excelsa_, which does not
descend quite to the base of the hills, and _Pinus longifolia_, which
has here reached nearly its eastern limits, the elevation of the
river-bed soon becoming greater than that at which it will grow. Close
to the Wangtu bridge, on the right bank, a considerable stream joins
the Sutlej from the north, and is crossed by the road not far from its
junction with the great river. The lower part of this tributary
exhibits a succession of fine rapids and a waterfall, now much swollen
by the melting of the snow; and which, notwithstanding the want of
trees and consequent bareness of the accessories, formed a picture
such as often greets the eye of the traveller in the alpine districts
of Himalaya, but which no amount of repetition renders less grand and
magnificent. Captain Gerard has, in his little 'Tour in Kunawar,'
described this torrent in strong language, which showed that he felt
the beauty of the scene. For this he has been condemned by Jacquemont,
who sneeringly says that he describes it "comme si c'était le
Niagara," an expression which induced me to turn on the spot to
Gerard's book, so that I can testify to the accuracy and absence of
exaggeration of his description.
After crossing this stream, the road ascends the spur which runs
parallel to it, to an elevation of about 1000 feet above the Sutlej,
but only to descend again to its banks, the ascent being caused by
the impracticable nature of the rocky banks of the river. The spur was
bare of trees, but with scattered brushwood, in which the olive and
white _Daphne_, observed on the descent from Nachar, still abounded,
with several other novelties, among which a _Clematis_, _Silene_,
_Stellaria_, and _Selaginella_, all previously-described Kunawar
species, were the most remarkable. Several of the grasses of the
plains of India, such as a _Panicum_ (perhaps _P. paludosum_),
_Eleusine Indica_, and _Heteropogon contortus_, occurred on the hot
dry pastures among the rocks, up to above 6000 feet. The rock was
everywhere gneiss, but varied much in appearance and texture, and
contained many granite veins.
[Sidenote: CHEGAON.
_August, 1847._]
After regaining the river, the road ran along its bank, or on low
spurs not more than a few hundred feet above it, through a dry
treeless tract, till about two miles from the end of the day's
journey, when a long steep ascent led to Chegaon, a large village
situated on a stream with steep rocky banks, the houses as usual being
surrounded with fruit-trees. Here we encamped after a march of at
least fourteen miles, at an elevation of 7000 feet above the level of
the sea, or nearly 1800 feet above the valley of the Sutlej.
[Sidenote: GERARD'S PINE.
_August, 1847._]
Next day our journey was a short one, not more than five and a half
miles, to the village of Miru. It began by a rapid ascent for two
miles to the crest of the ridge, advancing all the time towards the
Sutlej, which wound round the base of the steep spur 2000 feet below.
The ascent was bare (as the slopes facing the west generally are), and
the hill-side almost precipitous; but as soon as the crest of the
ridge, at an elevation of about 8000 feet, had been gained, scattered
trees appeared of a species not previously seen. This was _P.
Gerardiana_, the pine of Kunawar and the other dry regions of the
Western Himalaya, from the back parts of Garhwal (where it has been
seen by Dr. Jameson) to the valleys of the Upper Chenab. The first
trees met with were small, and in appearance quite distinct from _P.
longifolia_ and _excelsa_, being more compact, with much shorter
leaves and a very peculiar bark, falling off in large patches, so as
to leave the trunk nearly smooth.
[Sidenote: MIRU.
_August, 1847._]
Beyond the crest of the ridge, from which the view into the Sutlej
valley, and towards the mountains across the river, was superb, the
road on the east slope again receded from the river, entering an
oak-wood, through which it continued nearly level for more than a
mile, but soon began to descend slightly towards the stream, which ran
at the bottom of a deep ravine, down to which the road plunged
abruptly, to ascend again as steeply on the other side; after which a
steep ascent of upwards of a mile led to Miru, a large village in
which we encamped, at an elevation of 8500 feet.
At this delightful elevation, in a climate where the periodical rains
of the Himalaya are scarcely felt, embosomed in extensive orchards of
luxuriant fruit-trees, and facing the south, so that it has the full
benefit of the sun's rays to mature its grain-crops, Miru is one of
the most delightful villages of Kunawar, being rivalled only by Rogi
and Chini, beyond which the climate becomes too arid for beauty. The
crops at Miru, both of grain and fruit, were most luxuriant, and the
vine thrives to perfection. The principal vineyards, however, are
lower down, at elevations of between 6000 and 7000 feet, at which
level the sun has more power in autumn to ripen the grape.
The scenery around Miru is indescribably beautiful, as it almost
overhangs the Sutlej 3000 feet below, while beyond the river the
mountain-slopes are densely wooded, yet often rocky and with every
variation of form. A single peak, still streaked with snow, but too
steep for much to lie, rises almost due opposite; behind which the
summits of the chain south of the Sutlej rise to an elevation of
upwards of 18,000 feet.
At Miru we found that we had completely left the rainy region of the
mountains, and henceforward the weather continued beautiful. The
change had been very gradual. At Serahan we had heavy rain; a rainy
night at Tranda was succeeded by a brilliant day, till the afternoon,
when it rained smartly for an hour. The next day was again fine, and
at Miru, though the afternoon was cloudy, and a heavy storm was
visible among the mountains across the Sutlej, only a few drops of
rain fell. The transition from a rainy to a dry climate had thus been
apparently very sudden, four days having brought us from Serahan,
where the periodical rains were falling heavily, to a place at which
there were only light showers. This was in part, of course, accident.
Fine weather may, perhaps, have set-in in the interval in all parts of
the mountains. In very rainy seasons, when the rain-fall in the outer
Himalaya is considerably above the mean, heavy showers extend into
Kunawar, at least as far as Chini; and careful meteorological
observations would probably show that the transition of climate is a
very gradual one, the snowy mountains and the great spurs which run
towards the Sutlej collecting and condensing, as they increase in
elevation, more and more of the moisture which is brought by the
south-east winds from the Bay of Bengal.
[Sidenote: VEGETATION OF KUNAWAR.
_August, 1847._]
Jacquemont, in the valuable journal of his tour in India, which has
been published by the French Government, has observed that the passage
of the ridge between Chegaon and Miru may be considered as producing a
marked change in the vegetation. This change, as we have seen during
our journey up the Sutlej, had long been going on, though very
gradually and almost insensibly. Several circumstances combine to make
the transition appear at this point more sudden than a careful
calculation of the number of new species will prove to be the case. It
is the first wooded ridge on the north side of the Sutlej over which
the road passes, and it rises higher than any other part of the route
east of Nagkanda. A considerable effect is also produced by several
new arboreous or shrubby species making their appearance, as well as
by the fact that the new forms, which day by day have insensibly been
increasing in number, have at last begun to form a prominent feature
in the country.
I find among my notes a list of all the species of plants which came
under my observation during the walk from Chegaon to Miru. Their
number is rather above 150 species, of which number about 120 are
common Simla plants. Of the remaining thirty, eleven were quite new to
me, ten had occurred only the day before, and nine had been common
for some days past. These numbers convey a very different idea of the
amount of change from that produced at the time, but the latter must
be admitted to be very fallacious, the eye of the botanist being so
naturally attracted by novelty, to the utter disregard of what is
common, that it is difficult to preserve the degree of attention
requisite to observe properly.
[Sidenote: QUERCUS ILEX.
_August, 1847._]
_Pinus Gerardiana_ produces a very large cone, containing, like the
stone-pine of Europe, eatable nuts, of an elongated oblong form,
which, when roasted like chesnuts, are agreeable to the taste, though
with a little flavour of turpentine. This tree has been repeatedly
tried in the rainy districts of the Himalaya, but will not succeed, a
dry climate being essential to it. Besides Gerard's pine, a new
species of oak was the most conspicuous tree, forming a thick dry wood
on western exposures. This oak, the only species of the genus which
grows in the interior of Kunawar, is the _Quercus Ilex_. The specimens
which I collected quite agree with the European plant, and belong to
that form of the evergreen oak, which has been called _Q. Ballota_.
The same tree is common in some parts of Affghanistan, where it is
called _Balút_. A small graceful ash was also common, and species of
_Stellaria_, _Lychnis_, _Dianthus_, _Herniaria_, _Cruciferæ_,
_Senecio_, and _Valeriana_, which, with several _Chenopodiaceæ_ and
_Artemisiæ_, were the new species observed.
[Sidenote: VIEW OF THE SUTLEJ.
_August, 1847._]
On the morning of the 16th of August, we proceeded to Rogi, eight and
a half miles. On leaving Miru the road at first ascended gradually
through a pretty wood of deodar and Gerard's pine. The common
pear-tree of the Himalaya, and many of the more ordinary Simla
shrubs, species of _Desmodium_, _Indigofera_, _Spiræa_, _Buddleia_,
and _Plectranthus_, were common under the shade of the pine-forest. As
the elevation increased, the trees gradually diminished in number, and
the road continued to rise along the side of a rocky hill, with only a
few scattered deodars. A very pretty reach of the Sutlej now came into
sight. The river was broader than usual, and seemed to flow with a
gentle stream along an even bed, without interruption from rocks.
Opposite the junction of the Miru tributary, which was in sight at the
end of the reach, the Sutlej was particularly wide, and its channel
was divided into several branches, which enclosed a number of gravelly
islands, immediately beyond which the stream again contracted in
width, and resumed its usual rocky character.
From the top of the steep ascent, which must have exceeded 9000 feet
in elevation, the road continued along the side of the hill, without
much change of level. The slopes were nearly bare, a few trees of the
deodar and Gerard's pine only occurring occasionally. The latter tree
was more common, and larger than the day before. It is a compact small
tree, with much-twisted ascending branches, and a mottled grey bark,
quite smooth from the decortication of the outer layers. It bore
abundance of large pendulous cones, the size of a small pine-apple,
still quite green.
[Sidenote: BURANG PASS.
_August, 1847._]
A little more than two miles from Miru, the road descended to pass a
stream, which was crossed in two branches. Immediately afterwards
another long ascent commenced, at first steep and bare, with a western
exposure, then more gradual through an open wood of deodar and _Pinus
excelsa_. The highest elevation attained was almost 11,000 feet, and
close to the summit a most superb view was seen to the south. The
valley of the Sutlej was not in sight, but the whole course of the
Baspa, except its junction with the Sutlej, and a great extent of fine
snowy range beyond, were beautifully seen. The Burang or Borendo pass,
elevated 16,000 feet, which leads from the Baspa valley to the upper
part of the Pabar or Tons river, a branch of the Jumna, was very
conspicuous, with many large patches of grey dirty-looking snow on the
hills near it, but its summit seemingly bare. At the highest elevation
attained the face of the hill was a mass of precipitous rocks. A fine
peak, which had long been visible across the Sutlej, was now almost
opposite. This mountain, the termination of the range to the east of
the Baspa river, when viewed from the west and north-west, has the
appearance of a vast precipice, rocky and bare of trees, commencing
within little more than a thousand feet of the Sutlej. The north-east
face, which comes into view for the first time from the heights above
Miru, is covered throughout with magnificent forest, rising to an
elevation considerably higher than that at which I stood.
[Sidenote: VEGETATION.
_August, 1847._]
The elevation we had now attained was higher than any previous part of
our journey, being 200 feet above the peak of Hattu. A cold westerly
wind was blowing up the valley of the Sutlej, evidently bringing a
good deal of moisture along with it, for thin wreaths of mist were
occasionally condensed, for a few minutes obscuring the distant view,
and then melting again into transparent vapour. The vegetation was
less different from that below, than I had expected, and much more
luxuriant than I could have supposed, with nothing of an alpine
character. Many of the species were identical with those of Nagkanda
and the crest of Hattu; but there was no bamboo, nor any of the
_Acanthaceæ_, so common in the more shady and humid forest further
east. Balsams, however, were abundant and large, _Potentillæ_, _Salvia
nubicola_, and _Nepetæ_, _Polygona_, _Achilleæ_, _Gnaphalia_, and
several species of _Pedicularis_ and _Ophelia_, formed a thick and
rank growth. The most remarkable forms observed were Astragaline, of
which several species, one a spinous _Caragana_, were abundant. A
pretty little _Veronica_ and _Bupleurum_, and several new
_Cichoraceæ_, were also collected, as well as an _Orobanche_,
parasitical upon the roots of the common thyme (_Thymus Serpyllum_).
[Sidenote: ROGI.
_August, 1847._]
From the crest, the remainder of the road consists of a succession of
short ascents and descents, along the face of a very rocky hill, till
within a mile of Rogi, when it descends very abruptly down the side of
a rugged ravine to that village, which, though elevated 9000 feet,
lies low down on the mountain-side, and has the appearance of being in
a hollow. At Rogi we found the grapes quite ripe, and extremely
abundant, but all from vineyards at lower levels. The commonest grape
is globular, and of a deep, nearly black colour; but many varieties
are cultivated. The apricots were also ripe, and had been gathered
from the trees. The flat tops of the houses were now covered with
them, drying in the sun. They are split up the middle and dried, the
stones being taken out. In this state they keep well, and form a
considerable article of export to India. Peach and walnut trees are
also common at Rogi, and I saw a few apple-trees. A species of willow,
which, in shape of leaf and general appearance, closely resembles a
common English willow (_Salix alba_), is commonly planted along with a
glabrous poplar, a small, rather spreading tree, which is frequent
throughout Tibet, and seems to be the balsam poplar of Siberia and
North America. The English henbane (_Hyoscyamus niger_) abounds in
waste places. This also is a common Tibetan plant, and extends into
the drier valleys of the Himalaya, such as Kunawar and Kashmir, but
not into the outer mountains, where the periodical rains are heavy.
On the 17th of August we proceeded to Pangi, nine miles farther,
passing on the road the village of Chini, the largest inhabited place
and most fertile tract of Kunawar, of which it may therefore be
considered the capital. From Rogi we had to make a considerable ascent
to regain the road, that village lying lower than the direct route
from Miru. The ascent lay first through the cultivated lands of the
village, and afterwards through open wood. After regaining the road,
the ascent continued through a gloomy forest of large deodar-trees for
about a mile, terminating at about 10,000 feet of elevation, at which
height, turning round a corner on the crest of the ridge, we found
ourselves on the upper part of a precipitous cliff, which descends
sheer down to the Sutlej. Unfortunately the morning was very misty, a
dense fog, condensed from the steadily blowing west wind, enveloping
everything, till after ten o'clock, by which time we had long passed
the precipitous part of the road. We were told, however, that the
cliff was absolutely impracticable below, and, indeed, even where we
passed, no little engineering skill was displayed, as the road led
along the face of an absolute precipice, on ledges scarcely three feet
broad, or just as often over wooden planking, supported at intervals
by large upright pieces of timber, whose resting-places were invisible
in the dense mist by which we were surrounded.
[Sidenote: CHINI.
_August, 1847._]
As soon as this rocky projection was passed, the road descended
rapidly, but over good level ground for half a mile, through a forest
of deodar, in which some of the trees were of large size, one of them
measuring nineteen feet eight inches in circumference. At the bottom
of this descent, after passing a projecting rocky ridge, the village
of Chini came in sight, straggling along the side of a sloping hill.
Chini occupies the most level, and therefore the most fertile, valley
in Kunawar. The village is prettily situated among deodar-trees, while
below, and on either side of it, the slopes are disposed in a
succession of terraces, some of them of considerable extent, richly
cultivated with wheat, barley, and buckwheat. Through this fertile
tract, the road was quite level, winding among the stone enclosures of
the fields, and often bordered on both sides by grassy pastures, or
patches of beautiful green turf, where the little rills, which served
to irrigate the fields, had overflowed their banks, and converted the
flat land into swampy meadows. Near Chini, we passed a single vineyard
of small extent, at an elevation of 7000 feet, the fruit still quite
unripe, though for several days we had been plentifully supplied with
ripe grapes from the lower vineyards. The vines are supported by
erect poles, about four feet high, placed about three feet apart, and
connected by horizontal ones laid across them, on which the vines
twine.
[Sidenote: KASHBIR.
_August, 1847._]
A little further we passed the small village of Kashbir, consisting of
two or three houses only; beyond which a pleasant forest of deodar and
Gerard's pine was entered, quite dry, and almost devoid of
undergrowth; a few bushes of _Daphne_, occasionally a small ash-tree,
two or three stunted oaks, and quantities of withered grass and
dried-up _Artemisia_, being the only plants observed. Everything
looked arid, notwithstanding the eastern exposure, and showed
strikingly the rapid change of climate which was taking place. Some of
the trees of _Pinus Gerardiana_, which seemed to thrive more in this
arid wood than further west, were between fifty and sixty feet in
height, and one of the largest of them which I noticed was nearly
twelve feet in circumference. Through this forest the road continued
nearly level, till it reached a ravine, on the opposite bank of which
was situated the village of Pangi. A very steep descent of half a mile
brought us to the stream; and an ascent of more than a mile, in the
course of which we rose about 1000 feet vertically, terminated the
day's journey. Pangi is a large village, 9000 feet above the level of
the sea, with much cultivation and magnificent orchards of apricots,
peaches, and walnuts.
[Sidenote: PANGI.
_August, 1847._]
From Chegaon to Pangi we had passed through the finest and most
fertile part of Kunawar, which is, however, by no means confined to
the north bank of the Sutlej; many large villages having been seen on
the opposite side of the valley, with almost as much cultivation as
those through which we had passed. The communication across the Sutlej
is kept up by paths which lead through the lower cultivation and
vineyards to the bank of the river, which is spanned in several places
by rope-bridges, one of which only, we saw at a distance. During these
three days' journey, the weather was most beautiful, and we could
never sufficiently admire the ever-changing beauties of the scenery,
which, probably, for variety and magnificence, is nowhere surpassed.
The great peak of Raldang, a culminating point of the south Sutlej
Himalaya, lies nearly opposite to Chini, and, from a great part of the
Kunawar valley, is a prominent feature from almost every point of
view. It forms a rugged rocky mass, and the ravines on its slopes are
filled with large masses of snow, the lowest beds at this season of a
dirty grey colour, and evidently still rapidly receding under the
influence of the powerful autumn sun. No glaciers were anywhere in
sight.
We were now about to enter upon a very troublesome part of our
journey, the crossing of the various ridges which are given off by the
mountain range north of the Sutlej, at the great bend of that river
where it is joined by the almost equally large Piti river, from the
north. These long ranges, given off by an axis 18,000 feet in height,
slope at first gently towards these rivers, but at last dip extremely
abruptly into the enormous ravine, at the bottom of which the Piti and
Sutlej rivers run. Occasionally a rugged and difficult footpath may be
found to lead among these precipices, by frequent steep ascents and
descents, at no great distance above the river. These paths are always
most laborious, and often very dangerous, and the usual road into the
valley of the Piti river leads across the higher part of all these
ridges, where they are no longer precipitous, but slope at a gentle
inclination.
[Sidenote: ROCKS OF KUNAWAR.
_August, 1847._]
During the journey from Simla, I had been able to acquire very little
information regarding the geology of the valley of the Sutlej; the
quantity of forest, and the rapidity with which we travelled, being
unfavourable to the determination of the nature of the rocks. In the
earlier part of our journey argillaceous schist, often highly
micaceous, predominated. In Kunawar, from Wangtu eastward, gneiss and
mica-schist were almost the only rocks which I observed. These
appeared to alternate again and again as we advanced, but I obtained
no certainty regarding their relative position. Veins of granite
occurred occasionally in the gneiss, especially at Wangtu, and
probably, from the number of boulders, the axis of the range north of
the Sutlej is composed of granite.
Behind Pangi is the Werang ridge, crossed by the pass of that name at
a point where its height is 13,200 feet above the sea. This ridge, as
will be seen by the map, separates the valley east of Pangi from that
of Lipa, the next in succession to the eastward, through which a large
tributary flows to join the Sutlej. From Pangi to Lipa, the distance,
though considerable, is not too much for an active man to accomplish
in one day. It would, however, have been a very long march, allowing
of no delay on the way, or on the top of the pass. We therefore
divided the distance into two days' journey, ascending on the 18th of
August to the upper limit of tree vegetation on the west side of the
ridge, and leaving the remainder of the ascent and the whole descent
for the next day.
[Sidenote: ASCENT TOWARDS
THE WERANG PASS.
_August, 1847._]
At daybreak we were on foot, preparing for the ascent. The morning
was, as usual for some days past, thickly foggy, and a heavy dew had
fallen during the night. At starting we ascended gently through a dry
pine-wood, towards the face of the mountain ridge of which Pangi
occupies the western slope. This ridge, like that above Rogi, on the
previous day's journey, is very precipitous towards the Sutlej; and
the road leads among rocks, and sometimes over planks of wood,
ascending gradually as we advanced. After about a mile and a half,
rounding the most projecting part of the ridge, we began to recede
from the Sutlej on the eastern slope of the range, along the western
side of a beautifully wooded open valley, at the bottom of which ran a
large rapid stream, evidently descending from snow. Without descending
at all, we continued to advance for a mile and a half through fine
forest, till we nearly met the stream, which we crossed after a slight
abrupt descent. Immediately after crossing, a steep fatiguing ascent
of not less than three miles commenced, continuing, with scarcely any
intermission, till we reached the spot selected for our encampment,
inclining all the way in the direction of the course of the stream,
and therefore towards the Sutlej; so that when we stopped, we almost
overlooked that river, and had a fine view of the peak of Raldang,
covered with a dazzling coat of fresh snow.
The forest at the base of this ascent was principally composed of
deodar and Gerard's pine. The former continued abundant till within a
quarter of a mile of the top, when it suddenly disappeared. _Pinus
Gerardiana_ gradually diminished in number during the ascent, and at
last disappeared about the same time as the deodar. _Pinus excelsa_
was not seen at the bottom, and was scarce on the earlier part of the
ascent, but became more abundant as we increased our elevation, and
was the only tree seen round our encampment. At this point the trees
were straggling and distant, but very tall and luxuriant, being well
sheltered by rocks. Above our encampment, which was, according to
Captain Strachey's barometer, 11,800 feet, there were only a very few
stunted trees on a rocky ridge behind. Excepting in the occurrence of
a few new species of _Astragalus_ and _Artemisia_, now quite typical
forms, the vegetation during the greater part of the ascent was the
same as on the higher levels east of Miru, and it was only above
11,000 feet that any considerable change was observed. Here three
species of juniper made their appearance, all stunted bushes, though
one of them was _J. excelsa_, which, in more favourable circumstances,
grows to a small tree. The second species was _J. squamosa_, a
depressed shrub, with rigid twisted branches, and the third was
undistinguishable from the common juniper of Europe. A thorny species
of _Ribes_, very like the common gooseberry, a strongly scented
Labiate, _Dictamnus Himalayanus_, several _Compositæ_, one of which
was a large-flowered thistle, and European-looking _Junci_ and
grasses, were all observed above 11,000 feet. A beautiful Rose (_R.
Webbiana_) was common all the way from the stream.
During the ascent, after crossing the ravine, the rock was throughout
gneiss, passing sometimes into a curious dark slaty rock. It was
often very fine-grained; and in one place a granite vein was observed,
entirely without stratification, and about a foot thick. Throughout
the ascent the surface was strewed with erratic blocks of granite,
evidently transported from a distance.
The slope below our camp, for several hundred feet, was cultivated
with barley, but the crops were indifferent. Lower down, the
mountain-side was too steep to admit of tillage. There were no houses,
the fields being the property of the inhabitants of a village a long
way below, to the east of Pangi.
The morning of the 19th, before sunrise, was a good deal clearer than
the two last had been, but mist began to collect soon after sunrise,
and did not entirely disappear for about two hours. Immediately after
starting, the last trees of _Pinus excelsa_ were left behind, and the
ascent to the crest of the pass was gentle, over rough stony ground,
covered with tufts of juniper, a shrubby _Artemisia_, and _Pteris
aquilina_. The pass, which has an elevation of 13,200 feet, occupies a
low part of the ridge, the slope to the left descending gently, but
rising again into a sharp rocky peak, five or six hundred feet higher.
The crest of the pass is a vast mass of loose rocks, and the slopes of
the hill on the right are likewise covered with a mass of fragments.
These angular boulders are all granite, none of which occurs _in
situ_; the rocks throughout the ascent, so far as I could observe,
being gneiss and mica-slate, the latter in one place containing large
crystals of cyanite in great abundance.
In the crevices of the loose stones which covered the pass, a very
luxuriant vegetation was found; the same plants grew on the hill to
the right, and were especially abundant among its rocky recesses. The
forms were, for the first time on our journey, quite alpine, very few
of the plants being even shrubby, while the great majority were small
herbs. A willow, a very small _Rhododendron_, and _Andromeda
fastigiata_, were almost the only shrubby plants, and the majority of
forms were those common on the Alps of Europe, and comprised species
of _Astragalus_, _Stellaria_, _Anemone_, _Ranunculus_, _Meconopsis_,
_Saxifraga_, _Sedum_, several _Umbelliferæ_, _Pedicularis_,
_Gentiana_, _Gnaphalium_, _Dolomiæa_, _Saussurea_, _Artemisia_,
_Ligularia_, _Morina_, _Galium_, _Valeriana_, and many others. I added
to my collection in all about thirty new species in a very short time.
I had, however, never before been at so great an elevation in the
Himalaya, so that almost every plant I met was new to me.
The view from the top of the pass was only remarkable for its
barrenness. In the direction we had ascended, the prospect was not
striking; and to the north-east, the valley in advance and hills
beyond were almost bare, scattered bushes and very little forest being
visible. The wind blew over the pass from the Indian side, and
continued throughout the day to blow on our backs strongly as we
descended.
[Sidenote: DESCENT FROM
THE WERANG PASS.
_August, 1847._]
From the crest of the pass, the descent to Lipa was long and steep,
the distance being about five miles. At about 500 feet or rather more
(of perpendicular height) below the pass, the first tree, a large
birch, stood quite alone, with a stout erect trunk. A little further
down, a small grove of the same trees was passed, in which every
individual had its trunk bent in the direction of the slope, probably
by the weight of the winter's snow. No birches had been seen on the
south face of the pass, nor did the dwarf _Rhododendron_ and little
_Andromeda_ appear till the summit had been gained, though they were
abundant on the northern face. _Rhododendron campanulatum_ was the
next plant observed, forming bushes four or five feet in height, and
growing in large green patches, along with the willow, which I had
found on the top, and the same rose common on the southern side. About
1200 feet below the summit, that is, about 12,000 feet above the sea,
pine-trees commenced--_Pinus excelsa_ and _Picea_ making their
appearance together, the deodar not till a considerably lower level
had been reached. The trees of silver fir were small, with smaller and
shorter leaves than the common tree of the forests in the outer
Himalaya, and were therefore the true _Picea Webbiana_ of Royle, the
more common long-leaved form being the _Picea Pindrow_ of that
author[5].
At an elevation of 11,000 feet, at a rough estimate, we passed the
first deodars, and at the same height cultivation commenced. The first
fields were wheat, now nearly ripe. With the cultivation many plants
of lower elevation began to appear, which had disappeared on the upper
part of the mountain, but many were missed which had been common, and
the general aspect of the vegetation was strikingly altered, the
diminution affecting at once the number, the abundance, and the
luxuriance of the plants. Juniper was frequent till some time after
the first corn-fields were passed, and Gerard's pine was common on the
lower part of the descent. Throughout the whole distance from the
crest to the Lipa stream, the road lay along a ravine, which was very
rough and uneven, and covered with numerous and often very large
boulders of granite[6] scattered irregularly over the surface of the
valley. Towards the end of the day's march, we reached the Lipa
stream, which was of large size; and we continued along its right
bank, through a dry fir-wood, till close to the village, when we
crossed by a substantial wooden bridge to enter Lipa, which is situate
on a flattish piece of ground on the left bank of the stream, and very
little above its level. It is a small village, with some cultivation,
and a rather odd-looking little temple, close to which are two fine
trees of _Juniperus excelsa_, the sacred juniper of the Kunawarees
and Tibetans. We were accommodated with a room close to the temple,
which afforded us sufficiently comfortable quarters.
At the back of the village a thick bank of alluvial clay was observed
resting on the rocks behind, and vast masses of the same extended up
the valley for a considerable distance. This was the first occurrence
of a very common feature of Tibetan valleys, so common as to be almost
universal; and as I shall have many opportunities of referring to it
again, and shall find it necessary to try to give some explanation, or
rather to attempt some conjectures as to its cause, I shall only here
pause to observe that the first time of its occurrence coincided with
the first entrance into an extremely dry climate; the passage of the
Werang ridge having effected a greater change in the aspect of the
country than had been seen during very many previous days--the change
from luxuriant forest, not indeed to treelessness, but to thin and
stunted woods.
[Sidenote: LIPA.
_August, 1847._]
In the valley of Lipa I met with a species of caper, apparently the
same which I had collected at Rampur on the Sutlej, on hot rocky
places close to the river, but which had not been met with in the
intermediate parts of the journey. This little prickly shrub I
afterwards found to be a common Tibetan plant, which (like most of its
tribe) prefers the hottest and driest exposures, expanding its large
white blossoms on dry stony ground, or among rocks where hardly any
other plant will vegetate.
Lipa is situated at no great distance from the Sutlej, at an elevation
of 8000 feet above the level of the sea. The next range to the
eastward is that of Runang, separating the Lipa valley from that of
the Ruskalan, on which is situated the village of Sungnam. As in the
former instance, we divided the passage into two days' journey,
encamping on the 20th of August at an elevation of 12,500 feet. The
road began to ascend as soon as we left Lipa. At first we took the
direction of the stream, gradually rising along the face of a rocky
hill composed of a dark clay-slate, which had now taken the place of
the gneiss of the lower part of the Sutlej; but turning to the left,
to ascend the ridge, as soon as its crest had been gained. The surface
was everywhere barren and dried up. A few scattered pine trees
occurred at intervals, but nothing approaching to forest, and the
parched stony ground was quite destitute of any covering of turf or of
herbaceous vegetation in sufficient quantity to attract the notice of
the general observer. The ascent on the ridge was steep and
uninterrupted; but as the general direction of the day's journey was
down the range, or towards the Sutlej, we had to pass from one ridge
to the next in succession, across the ravine by which the two were
separated. Here the road was nearly level, and took a long curve in
the receding hollow of the hill, turning round a belt of green which
occupied the middle of the hollow.
On the left hand, above the road, there was not a trace of verdure in
the ravine; but just below the road a small spring burst out from the
stony ground. For three or four yards the banks of the little
streamlet were quite bare, but at about that distance from its source
they were fringed with luxuriant marsh plants, _Veronica Beccabunga_
and _Anagallis_, rushes, and several kinds of grasses, which gradually
increased in abundance. Within a hundred yards of its origin a
thicket of willows bordered the stream, and a rich vegetation grew
under their shade. From this it would appear that the barrenness of
the country cannot be ascribed to any fault of temperature or of
altitude, but solely to the deficiency of moisture.
[Sidenote: ASCENT TOWARDS
THE RUNANG PASS.
_August, 1847._]
On the next ridge beyond this little green spot, the ascent continued
steep, over loose shingly soil, among scattered trees of deodar, and
occasionally a fine tree of _Pinus Gerardiana_; a spinous
_Astragalus_, and several species of _Artemisia_, formed almost all
the scanty vegetation. Higher up there was, in one place, a good view
of the Sutlej to the south-east, with a very lofty snowy mountain
beyond. A little further on, the pines ceased to grow, and no tree but
juniper was seen, the vegetation becoming more and more wretched in
appearance, though the same _Astragalus_ and _Artemisiæ_ predominated.
Above 12,000 feet, two or three alpine species made their appearance;
these were a _Polygonum_, a _Mulgedium_, and a little shrubby
_Potentilla_. Except these, however, not one of the numerous alpine
forms observed on the Werang pass two days before were to be seen.
We encamped at an elevation of 12,500 feet on the north-east slope of
the ridge, overhanging a deep wide valley, in which there were several
patches of cultivation still green, at an elevation which I estimated
at about 1000 feet below the level of our tents. By this wide valley,
(in the lower part of which, on its east side, is the village of
Kanam,) we were still separated from the central range on which the
Runang pass is situated. The hills all round had a desolate aspect.
They were rounded in outline, and appeared quite smooth and destitute
of herbage, excepting large dark-green patches of juniper, by which
they were mottled. A single stunted tree of _Pinus excelsa_ stood
within a short distance of our encampment, and four or five hundred
feet lower was a small grove, apparently of birch. During the
afternoon a furious west wind blew without intermission. The morning
had been quite calm, but before noon the wind had begun to blow, and
gradually increased in violence till late in the afternoon; after dark
it became calm.
The next morning was clear, with scarcely any wind, but the mountains
above us were partly shrouded in mist. For the first time during our
journey we had _Zobos_ furnished for the conveyance of our tents.
These animals, which are mules between a Yak bull and Indian cow, are
intermediate between the two, having most of the peculiarities by
which the Yak is distinguished, though in a much less degree. Their
colour varies much,--black, white, and iron-grey being all common.
They have coarse long shaggy hair, much shorter than in the Yak, a
stout rounded body, and the tail has a small tuft at the end, quite
similar in miniature to that of the Yak. These mules are exceedingly
common in Upper Kunawar and Hangarang, and are much preferred as
beasts of burden to the Yak, being more docile, and less sensitive to
climatic influences.
[Sidenote: THE RUNANG PASS.
_August, 1847._]
The first half-mile of the ascent to the pass was very gentle, till we
passed round the hollow of the valley which lay below our encampment.
The hill-sides were covered with stones, among which grew a few tufts
of thyme, a large-leaved saxifrage, a yellow _Scorzonera_, a curious
_Polygonum_, and an _Oxyria_, the same in appearance with that of the
Alps of Europe. Two or three little rills of water trickled across the
road, but their margins had no trace of green. The remainder of the
ascent was more rapid, but nowhere fatiguing, and I reached the top
about 9 A.M. Nothing can be conceived more dreary and bare than the
aspect of the pass and the mountains all around. The hills, which at a
distance appeared smooth and rounded, were now seen to be covered with
loose stones piled upon one another, in the crevices of which a few
plants found an attachment for their roots. The elevation was about
14,500 feet, but there was no appearance of snow. To the north-east a
wide and straight valley ran from the crest, at the end of which, far
below and perhaps eight miles off, was seen the village of Sungnam,
beyond which another lofty range of equally rounded mountains,
apparently smooth, ran parallel to that on which I stood. On this
range, at a level, to the eye sensibly the same as that of the Runang
pass, an evident track indicated the pass of Hangarang, over which lay
the continuation of our journey.
[Sidenote: VEGETATION.
_August, 1847._]
I spent a considerable time on the top of the pass, and by close
searching, in the crevices of the stones, especially on the hill which
rose to the south-east, I succeeded in collecting a considerable
number of species of plants, though very much fewer than on the Werang
pass two days before. From our morning's camp to the top of the pass
the whole number of species which I met with was only forty-six, not
half of which were observed on the summit. The number gathered on the
former pass was nearly three times as great. It must not be
forgotten, however, in comparing the two ranges, that the Werang pass
is 1300 feet lower than that of Runang, and ought therefore,
independent of climate, to be more productive. The species which were
observed for the first time on the summit of the Runang pass were not
more than six, and were all forms which I have since found to be
abundant throughout the higher parts of Tibet. A little willow,
creeping among the stones, and scarcely more luxuriant than _Salix
herbacea_, was the only shrubby plant. The others were _Oxytropis
chiliophylla_, _Biebersteinia odora_, a _Draba_, _Lamium rhomboideum_
of Bentham, and a species of rhubarb, of which I found only a few
leaves and one or two panicles, from which the ripe fruit had nearly
fallen away.
The descent from the pass to Sungnam was even more barren and desolate
than the other side. The valley was open and almost straight, and the
slope gradual. Till nearly half-way not a drop of water occurred on
the road, and for miles almost the only vegetation on the hill-sides
was an erect branched _Polygonum_, never more than a foot in height.
At an elevation of about 10,000 feet, a few deodars occurred, all
miserably stunted in height, though often with trunks of considerable
diameter. Gerard's pine, and the ash of Tibet, also appeared a little
lower, but in very small numbers. During the greater part of the
descent, the white houses of Sungnam were in sight, to all appearance
at the end of the valley down which we were proceeding; but when near
the bottom, we discovered that we were still separated from them by a
wide and level plain, that of the Ruskalan river. On the opposite
side of this plain, on the side of a hill just sufficiently high to
terminate the vista down the valley by which we descended from the
pass, stands the town of Sungnam; while the cultivated lands, which
form a wide belt, scarcely higher than the level of the river, were
entirely out of sight till we arrived close to the precipitous bank
parallel to the river. Here the descent was abrupt to the bed of the
Ruskalan. The bank was alluvial, with enormous boulders, and was
covered with tufts of _Ephedra_, a remarkable leafless plant with
rod-like branches, which is abundant in every part of northern Tibet,
especially in the driest and hottest exposures. It extends also
occasionally into the partially rainy district, being found in Kunawar
nearly as far west as the bridge of Wangtu.
[Sidenote: SUNGNAM.
_August, 1847._]
Sungnam is one of the principal places of Kunawar, dividing with
Kanam, which we did not visit, the claim to be the principal seat in
the Sutlej valley of the Buddhist religion. It contains numerous
temples and monasteries, with also a considerable industrial
population. Cultivation occupies a great part of the valley, and
extends up the course of the stream to a considerable distance. The
level tract along the river has in many places a breadth of nearly a
quarter of a mile, and the town occupies a ridge on the mountain side,
to which a gently-sloping road leads from the bridge by which we
crossed the Ruskalan.
The elevation of Sungnam above the level of the sea is 9000 feet.
Still the vine thrives well, the steep slopes facing the river being
covered with vineyards: the grapes were not yet ripe. The principal
fruit-trees are apricots and apples. Willows and poplars are also
frequent in the village; a new species of the latter being for the
first time observed, with leaves white and downy underneath, which
appears in no way to differ from _Populus alba_, the common white
poplar of Europe.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] I have carefully compared, since my return to England, a great
many specimens of the Himalayan _Picea_, and am sorry to be obliged to
dissent from the opinion of their distinctness, which has been
expressed by many excellent observers. Great variations occur in
length of leaf, which is either green on both sides, or very glaucous
below. All have notched leaves, but the notch varies much in depth and
form. There are also differences in the form of the cones and the
shape of the scales. The long green-leaved state is that of the moist
Himalaya; in the driest regions the very short glaucous-leaved form
occurs. There are, however, among the specimens collected by Wallich,
Strachey, and myself, so many intermediate forms of leaf, that I feel
satisfied that all must be considered states of one species, varying,
like most _Coniferæ_, with climate and other accidental circumstances.
[6] I have now no doubt that the whole of this descent was over an
ancient glacier moraine, but I was not at the time familiar with
glaciers or their moraines by personal experience; and though on this
and other similar occasions my notes show that I was much puzzled by
the numerous transported blocks, the idea of this explanation did not
suggest itself to me till I had an opportunity of seeing the
connection of such phenomena with actual moraines.