Himalayan Journals, vol 2 by J. D. Hooker (great reads TXT) 📖

the furthest I was told by different authorities are in the salt districts north of Jigatzi.

To the north-east was the lofty region traversed by Turner on his

route by the Ramchoo lakes to Teshoo Loombo; its elevation may be

17,000 feet* [It is somewhat remarkable that Turner nowhere alludes to difficulty of breathing, and in one place only to head-ache

(p. 209) when at these great elevations. This is in a great measure accounted for by his having been constantly mounted. I never suffered either in my breathing, head, or stomach when riding, even when at

18,300 feet.] above the sea. Beyond it a gorge led through rugged

mountains, by which I was told the Painom river flows north-west to the Yaru; and at an immense distance to the north-east were the

Khamba mountains, a long blue range, which it is said divides the

Lhassan or "U" from the "Tsang" (or Jigatzi) province of Tibet; it

appeared fully 100 miles off, and was probably much more; it bore

from N. 57 degrees E. to N. 70 degrees E., and though so lofty as to be heavily snowed throughout, was much below the horizon-line of

Bhomtso; it is crossed on the route from Jigatzi, and from Sikkim to Lhassa,* [Lhassa, which lies north-east, may be reached in ten days from this, with relays of ponies; many mountains are crossed, where the breath is affected, and few villages are passed after leaving

Giantchi, the "Jhansi jeung" of Turner's narrative. See Campbell's

"Routes from Dorjiling to Lhassa." ("Bengal As. Soc. Journal.")] and is considered very lofty, from affecting the breathing. About twenty miles to the north-east are some curious red conical mountains, said to be on the west side of the Ramchoo lakes; they were unsnowed, and bore N. 45 degrees 30 minutes E. and N. 60 degrees 30 minutes E.

A sparingly-snowed group bore N. 26 degrees 30 minutes E., and

another N. 79 degrees E., the latter being probably that mentioned by Turner as seen by him from near Giantchi.

But the mountains which appeared both the highest and the most

distant on the northern landscape, were those I described when at

Donkia, as being north of Nepal and beyond the Arun river, and the

culminant peak of which bore N. 55 degrees. Both Dr. Campbell and I made repeated estimates of its height and distance by the eye;

comparing its size and snow-level with those of the mountains near

us; and assuming 4000 to 5000 feet as the minimum height of its snowy cap; this would give it an elevation of 23,000 to 25,000 feet.

An excellent telescope brought out no features on its flanks not

visible to the naked eye, and by the most careful levellings with the theodolite, it was depressed more than 0 degrees 7 minutes below the horizon of Bhomtso, whence the distance must be above 100 miles.

The transparency of the pale-blue atmosphere of these lofty regions can hardly be described, nor the clearness and precision with which the most distant objects are projected against the sky. From having afterwards measured peaks 200 and 210 miles distant from the Khasia mountains, I feel sure that I underrated the estimates made at

Bhomtso, and I have no hesitation in saying, that the mean elevation of the sparingly-snowed* [Were the snow-level in Dingcham, as low as it is in Sikkim, the whole of Tibet from Donkia almost to the

Yaru-Tsampu river would be everywhere intersected by glaciers and

other impassable barriers of snow and ice, for a breadth of fifty

miles, and the country would have no parallel for amount of snow

beyond the Polar circles. It is impossible to conjecture what would have been the effects on the climate of northern India and central

Asia under these conditions. When, however, we reflect upon the

evidences of glacial phenomena that abound in all the Himalayan

valleys at and above 9000 feet elevation, it is difficult to avoid

the conclusion that such a state of things once existed, and that at a comparatively very recent period.] watershed between the Yaru and the Arun will be found to be greater than that of the snowy Himalaya south of it, and to follow the chain running from Donkia, north of

the Arun, along the Kiang-lah mountains, towards the Nepal frontier, at Tingri Maidan. No part of that watershed perhaps rises so high as 24,000 feet, but its lowest elevation is probably nowhere under

18,000 feet.

This broad belt of lofty country, north of the snowy Himalaya, is the Dingcham province of Tibet, and runs along the frontier of Sikkim,

Bhotan, and Nepal. It gives rise to all the Himalayan rivers, and its mean elevation is probably 15,000 to 15,500 feet: its general

appearance, as seen from greater heights, is that of a much less

mountainous country than the snowy and wet Himalayan regions; this is because its mean elevation is so enormous, that ranges of 20,000 to 22,000 feet appear low and insignificant upon it. The absence of

forest and other obstructions to the view, the breadth and flatness of the valleys, and the undulating character of the lower ranges that traverse its surface, give it a comparatively level appearance, and suggest the term "maidan" or "plains" to the Tibetan, when comparing his country with the complicated ridges of the deep Sikkim valleys.

Here one may travel for many miles without rising or falling 3000

feet, yet never descending below 14,000 feet, partly because the flat winding valleys are followed in preference to exhausting ascents, and partly because the passes are seldom more than that elevation above the valleys; whereas, in Sikkim, rises and descents of 6000, and even 9000 feet, are common in passing from valley to valley, sometimes in one day's march.

The swarthy races of Dingcham have been elsewhere described; they are an honest, hospitable, and very hardy people, differing from the

northern Tibetans chiefly in colour, and in invariably wearing the

pigtail, which MM. Huc and Gabet assure us is not usual in Lhassa.*

[Amongst Lhassan customs alluded to by these travellers, is that of the women smearing their faces with a black pigment, the object of

which they affirm to be that they may render themselves odious to the male sex, and thus avoid temptation. The custom is common enough, but the real object is to preserve the skin, which the dry cold wind

peels from the face. The pigment is mutton-fat, blackened, according to Tchebu Lama, with catechu and other ingredients; but I believe

more frequently by the dirt of the face itself. I fear I do not

slander the Tibetan damsels in saying that personal cleanliness and chastity are both lightly esteemed amongst them; and as the Lama

naively remarked, when questioned on the subject, "the Tibetan women are not so different from those of other countries as to wish to

conceal what charms they possess."] They are a pastoral race, and

Campbell saw a flock of 400 hornless sheep, grazing on short sedges (Carex) and fescue-grass, in the middle of October, at 18,000 feet above the sea. An enormous ram attended the flock, whose long hair

hung down to the ground; its back was painted red.

There is neither tree nor shrub in this country; and a very little

wheat (which seldom ripens), barley, turnips, and radishes are, I

believe, the only crops, except occasionally peas. Other legumes,

cabbages, etc., are cultivated in the sheltered valleys of the Yaru feeders, where great heat is reflected from the rocks; and there also stunted trees grow, as willows, walnuts, poplars, and perhaps ashes; all of which, however, are said to be planted and scarce. Even at

Teshoo Loombo and Jigatzi* [Digarchi, Jigatzi, or Shigatzi jong (the fort of Shigatzi) is the capital of the "Tsang" province, and Teshoo Loombo is the neighbouring city of temples and monasteries, the

ecclesiastical capital of Tibet, and the abode of the grand (Teshoo) Lama, or ever-living Boodh. Whether we estimate this man by the

number of his devotees, or the perfect sincerity of their worship, he is without exception one of the most honoured beings living in the

world. I have assumed the elevation of Jigatzi to be 13-14,000 feet, using as data Turner's October mean temperature of Teshoo Loombo, and the decrement for elevation of 400 feet to 1 degree Fahr.; which my own observations indicate as an approximation to the truth. Humboldt ("Asie Centrale," iii., p. 223) uses a much smaller multiplier, and infers the elevation of Teshoo Loombo to be between 9,500 and 10,000

feet. Our data are far too imperfect to warrant any satisfactory

conclusions on this interesting subject; but the accounts I have

received of the vegetation of the Yaru valley at Jigatzi seem to

indicate an elevation of at least 13,000 feet for the bed of that

river. Of the elevation of Lhassa itself we have no idea: if MM. Huc and Gabet's statement of the rivers not being frozen there in March be correct, the climate must be very different from what we suppose.]

buckwheat is a rare crop, and only a prostrate very hardy kind is

grown. Clay teapots and pipkins are the most valuable exports to

Sikkim from the latter city, after salt and soda. Jewels and woollen cloaks are also exported, the latter especially from Giantchi, which is famous for its woollen fabrics and mart of ponies.

Of the Yaru river at Jigatzi, which all affirm becomes the

Burrampooter in Assam, I have little information to add to Turner's description: it is sixty miles north of Bhomtso, and I assume its

elevation to be 13-14,000 feet;* [The Yaru, which approaches the

Nepal frontier west of Tingri, and beyond the great mountain

described at vol. i. chapter xi, makes a sweep to the northward, and turns south to Jigatzi, whence it makes another and greater bend to the north, and again turning south flows west of Lhassa, receiving

the Kechoo river from that holy city. From Jigatzi it is said to be navigable to near Lhassa by skin and plank-built boats. Thence it

flows south-east to the Assam frontier, and while still in Tibet, is said to enter a warm climate, where tea, silk, cotton, and rice, are grown. Of its course after entering the Assam Himalaya little is

known, and in answer to my enquiries why it had not been followed, I was always told that the country through which it flowed was

inhabited by tribes of savages, who live on snakes and vermin, and

are fierce and warlike. These are no doubt the Singpho, Bor and

Bor-abor tribes who inhabit the mountains of upper Assam.

A travelling mendicant was once sent to follow up the Dihong to the Burrampooter, under the joint auspices of Mr. Hodgson and Major

Jenkins, the Commissioner of Assam; but the poor fellow was speared on the frontier by these savages. The concurrent testimony of the

Assamese, that the Dihong is the Yaru, on its southern course to

become the Burrampooter, renders this point as conclusively settled as any, resting on mere oral evidence, is likely to be.] it takes an immense bend to the northward after passing Jigatzi, and again turns south, flowing to the west of Lhassa, and at some distance from that capital. Lhassa, as all agree, is at a much lower elevation than

Jigatzi; and apricots (whose ripe stones Dr. Campbell procured for

me) and walnuts are said to ripen there, and the Dama or Himalayan

furze (Caragana), is said to grow there. The Bactrian camel also

thrives and breeds at Lhassa, together with a small variety of cow

(not the yak), both signs of a much more temperate climate than

Jigatzi enjoys. It is, however, a remarkable fact that there are two tame elephants near the latter city, kept by the Teshoo Lama.

They were taken to Jigatzi, through Bhotan, by Phari; and I have been informed that they have become clothed with long hair,