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282   FATHER TIEFFENTHALER, FATHER GABUIL AND ANQUETIL DU PERRON.

Anquetil du Perron is the commentator, I am going to refer to the French edition

in reviewing and criticising his views.'

In Vol. II Anquetil du Perron discusses Tieffenthaler's maps and furnishes

them with his own criticisms from material already existing at that date.2 When

Tieffenthaler pretends that the real source of the Ganges is unknown and that it

will for ever remain undiscovered as the roads beyond the »mouth of the Cow»

are impracticable, Anquetil du Perron says that he is of a different opinion »as

there is nowhere in the world a road absolutely impracticable for those who have

feet», and indeed the source of the famous river had been discovered by Andrade,

and was rediscovered later on by Webb and his comrades carrying out Colebrooke's

plans for that purpose. He reminds us of the fact that in Bengal and Tibet the idea

of the impossibility of reaching the source of the Ganges had grown immovable as

the origin of the river was supposed to be in heaven. Then he quotes the views

of Linscouten, and of Abbé Tosi who says some people believe the river begins

at Mount Nagracot, whereas others think that it comes from far away, from the

Scythian mountains and passes through the gorge, at the side of which a rock is

like the head of a cow. Tieffenthaler believes the Ganges issues from a rock in

the Tibetan mountains at about 33° N. lat. and 73° E. long. from Paris and then

enters the gorge of Gangotri »seu Cataracta Gangis, quam etiam Os Vaccæ ap-

pelant».

At the end of the 16th century the great Akbar sent his expedition to the

source of the Ganges.3 Discussing the results of this expedition Anquetil du

Perron arrives at the conclusion that the »cow's head» is not the real source, but

that this must be looked for somewhere in the interior of great Tartary, an explana-

tion that can be understood only if we consider his want of confidence in the Lamas'

map, and his negligence of Andrade.

As to the river »Gagra», Anquetil du Perron says Tieffenthaler is the first who

has ever mapped it and made the whole of its course known in Europe. But he

thinks natives have furnished the information about the upper part of the river. 4

The Gagra of Tieffenthaler is obviously the Map-chu, which lower down is

called Kauriala and Gogra. He found that the upper part of his Gagra was called

Sardjou, which is the river known under the names of Kali, Sardu and Chauka.

I Description historique et géographique de l'Inde, etc. r. La Géographie de l'Indoustan, etc., par le Père Joseph Tieffenthaler, Jésuite & Missionaire apostolique dans l'Inde. 2. Des Recherches historiques & chronologiques sur l'Inde, & la Description du Cours du Gange & du Gagra, avec une très grande Carte, par M. Anquetil du Perron. 3. La Carte générale de l'Inde, etc., par M. Jaques Rennell. Le tout, augmenté de remarques & d'autres additions, rédigé & publié en François, par M. Jean Bernouilli. Berlin 1786.

2 Op. cit. Tome II, IIe Partie: Le Développement du Cours du Gange & de celui du Gagra, tiré des Cartes Manuscrites faites sur les lieux, par le P. Tieffenthaler ... 1787, p. 266 et seq.

3 Vide note p. 72.

4 This also is obvious from Tieffenthaler's own words : »Neque solum ipsus, hasce regiones perlustravi, sed hominem arte geographica instructum ... ablegavi, ut locorum intervalla, mundique Plagas rite exploraret.,