NO CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO LAKES. 33
the water of the lake from that which accumulated by the slope of the surrounding upland, directing the melted snow into it. At the end of this natural barrier I saw a point of rock running into the lake, from the top of which I flattered myself I should have a prospect that would command the whole of the shore to the southwest corner, and put an end to a task which I now found somewhat too much for the little strength I possessed. But I was severely disappointed : for on mounting a steep hill, of which the point in question formed the front to the lake, another large mountain intervened to prevent my view, with a deep valley between it and that which I had too hastily concluded would finish my labour. When I had reached the summit of this, another equally high presented itself.»
At 4 o'clock he reached a height, from where he could see the whole of the rest of the shore except a little bit hidden by a high promontory. To that place he sent one of his men to look out for an outlet. In the meantime the weather cleared up and he got a better view of the shore, except the hidden part. Numerous traces of water-courses were leading into that place, the most important of them being the Krishna, sweeping down a ravine between two high mountains of the Himalaya range, and expanding like a sheet as it approached the verge of the lake; but not a break, nor any other appearance indicated the escape of any river or even of any small stream from it. — Although this was clear enough to the naked eye, he employed a telescope; and this as well as the evidence of two servants who gave him an account of what they saw, showed that the Manasarovar sends out no rivers to the south, north or west.
When returning he descended to the shore. There was a yak track, as is usual nowadays. If the lake had been much higher than in 1907 this track would have been rather difficult to use. »By a hard wind the surf was thrown so high on the shore as to efface all traces of the path, and leave scarcely room enough to pass between the face of the rock and the water.» There are some places of that kind even now, both near Gossul and Chiu. During one of his many halts, Moorcroft was overtaken by the reconnoitring man, who reported that he had gone almost to the foot of the Himalaya mountains, and had not seen the slightest trace of any river issuing from the lake.
It is hardly possible to give a better general description of the north-western shore line of the lake than Moorcroft has done, and, in spite of his illness, he here accomplished a very good piece of work. There are some points which must be discussed in order to understand him better.
He says positively that, leaving the gomfta, he went to the south. Thus he must have crossed the channel south of the b om$a, and not at the very shore of the lake. But as soon as he reached the foot of the rocks, just south of the gomfta, he followed it, and thus necessarily came down to the edge of the lake. He kept on marching what must have been 4 miles till he came to the high, level and firm bank, which was afterwards described by Strachey. There is no other
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