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『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

BRAHMAPUTRA SUPPOSED TO TAKE ITS ORIGIN FROM THE LAKE.   239

VISSCHER's map of about 168o, Pl. XXXII, is of great interest, for here the

fresh observations brought back by Grueber, had to be reconciled with the old

hydrography, stereotyped ever since Barros' days. Visscher has not dared to change

the Chiamay Lacus, nor Amuy and Tolema. The four outgoing rivers are: Caor,

Cosmin, Ava, and Menan. The whole situation is deformed as it had been ever

since Mercator deteriorated Gastaldi's much better map. The lake has become a

very near neighbour to Tibet, Lassa, and Necbal, and Grueber's stations Cuthi and

Cadmenda are placed almost on the very bank of the Caor river or Brahmaputra.'

The lake is fairly stationary; but in relation to the surrounding regions it has begun

to wander. It should be specially noted that Lassa is situated on the S.W. shore

of the Chiamay.

In his compilation on Persia and India, 1673, OGILBY again tells the old story,

the sacred words of Barros : The Lake of Chiamay, lying in the North towards

Tartary, is the Head of six great Rivers, of which three uniting one with the other,

make a large Stream, which cuts through the middle of the Kingdom of Siam, as

the other three fall into the Bay of Bengala.» 2

Proceeding a step further we come to TAVERNIER. whose work was published

in 1681. In Chapter XVII he deals with the Kingdom of Asem, and again I prefer

to quote his own words: »A cinq lieuës de Daca une des rivieres qui vient du lac

de Chiamay, & qui de mesme que les autres rivieres des Indes prend divers noms

selon les lieux où elle passe, entre dans un bras du Gange.» 3 On this river the

great Captain Mirgimola, went with his army to the 29th or 3oth degree N. lat., i. e.

to the frontier of Asem. The residency of the King of Asem was at Kemmerouf.4

Tavernier's Mirgimola is Mir Jumla who had helped Aurangzeb to the throne,

and then, in 1661, was suspected by the Emperor and therefore sent on a hopeless

expedition against Assam, with orders to conquer the whole country as far as the

Chinese frontier.5 As Mir Jumla during this expedition started from Dacca, on the

left bank of the Brahmaputra, and conquered Kuch Behar, on the right bank of the

Brahmaputra, the river which Tavernier mentions and along which Mir Jumla went

cannot be anything but the Brahmaputra; and as Tavernier says this river comes

I In his critical discussion of Visscher's map Sylvain Lévi says: »De plus, obligé d'encadrer les connaissances nouvelles dans les données traditionnelles de la cartographie antérieure, Visscher a logé le Necbal entre le Gange à l'O., et à l'E. un des 5 fleuves par où le lac Chiamay épanche ses eaux dans l'India extra Gangern. Le pays de Bengala le limite au Sud, le pays d'Udessa (Orissa) au Nord-Ouest! Cirote, situé juste au Sud de Cadmenda, entre le Necbal et le pays de Verma (Birmanie) est le pays des Kirâtas, qui occupent les vallées à l'E. de Katmandu. Caor, placé entre Lassa et Cutlu, vient également des géographes antérieurs.» Op. cit. Vol. I, p. 91.

2 Ogilby, op. cit., p. i o5.

3 Les six voyages ... p. 390.

4 This place as well as Azoo, are both entered on Cantelli's map. Kemmerouf is called Karkdlu by Mufazzal Khan. Elliot's History of India VII, P. 144•

5 Wheeler's History of India, Vol. IV, p. 335. In Elliot's History of India just the passage we should need out of Khafi Khan's Muntakhabu-1 lubab, has been omitted. >[Long details of the campaign.]» is all we are told about the operations in this country which was unknown to Europe. — Elliot: Vol. VII, p. 265.