国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

42

hak, by its capital Leh ...» He finds it almost beyond question that the Singkechoo forms a portion of the Indus. Concerning the north-eastern branch, the real Singi-kamba, he did not get any information at all.

Regarding the lake itself he has the following interesting passage:'

The lake of Mansrowar, or Mantullaee, we are informed, is of considerable extent. A journey round it, which is reckoned a very necessary religious exercise, occupies from six to

eight days on horseback. This is probably a great exaggeration, and certainly, according to Mr Moorcroft's opinion is so. He estimates the lake at sixteen miles long, by eleven broad; but irregularities on the bank, causing the road to retreat from it, may lengthen the journey considerably. Our informant describes the hills around it, however, as consisting more of soil than rock, with little wood, but chiefly covered with grass, and a sort of furze called damak. He also declared that one branch of the Sutlej comes out of the lake; but Mr Moorcroft seems to have ascertained this to be a mistake, and refers the source of this river to Rawenhrudd, a lake in the vicinity. It seems, however, scarcely possible that a lake, which receives from the Himäld so many streams and collects so large a body of water, should have no outlet; and if this is not apparent, we must suppose that there is some subterraneous communication, possibly with Rawenhrudd itself, by which the superfluous waters are carried off.»

Thus Fraser's native informant knew that one branch of the Satlej took its origin from the Manasarovar, though he points out that Moorcroft had found the source of the same river to be in the Rakas-tai. Fraser tries in a most clever way to make these two versions agree with each other in letting the superfluous water of the Manasarovar go down to Rakas-tai, — under ground. For he finds it almost impossible that the Manasarovar should have no outlet.

His informant's Mansur and Dumcho, Fraser identifies with Moorcroft's Misar and Darchan, the latter situated near the »lofty range of hills» called Kailas Purbut, the streams from which were called Gangree, »forming the chief supply of the lake Rawenhrudd».

He seems not to have had sufficient confidence in Moorcroft's observations for he has not made use of them on his own map. Instead of Moorcroft's route he has laid in a native itinerary, which has no value whatever. The Manasarovar he calls )Lake of Mantullaee,, in which we recognise d'Anville's Mapama Talai or Lake Mapam. But no river takes its rise from the lake ; the Rakas-tai is not entered on the map at all and the whole upper course of the Satlej is left as a blank.

The fable, entertained even in rather recent times, that a plain extended north of the Himalaya, might have found some support in communications such as this: »To Garah (Gartok) from Chaprung is also a month's journey to the northward, through a perfect plain, without wood, covered with small grass.» Regarding the Lang-gin-T'hang or Langchen-kamba, Fraser found that the natives were )quite aware that it is the same river that flows through Bischur under the name of Sutudra or Sutlej ... They could not say distinctly where its source wasp.'

FRASER'S JOURNEY.

I Ibidem p. 29o. ' Ibidem p. 481.