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

'l'IIE SOURCE OF TIIE INDUS.   107

»The actual source of the eastern branch or main stream of the Indus was not reached, but the people between Giachuruff and Jiachan said it rose at a place called Gangri-Goorgiap, which may perhaps refer to the Gangri or Kailas Peak; but the direction of the course of the Indus, as seen from near Jiachan, pointed rather to the east of that mountain. The whole district along the upper course of the Indus is called Bongthol, which is divided into the small districts of the Singhtod and Singhmet, 'tod' signifying upper, and 'met' lower. At the highest point visited the Indus was still a considerable stream. At Giachuruff the ford was always a difficult one, and for eight days after the fall of snow the Pundit experienced, the river was not fordable in any way. — From Jiachan to Giachuruff the Indus flows through a rather broad, flat valley, and from Giachuruff to its junction with the Garjung-Chu it flows through a similar valley, the banks being lined in many places with long patches of low jungle. The Indus above the junction was from ioo to 200 paces in breadth, with a depth of 4 to 6 feet; while the Garjung-Chu was in places as much as 250 paces in width, but with a depth of only I to 2 feet. The Garjung-Chu between Gartok and the junction flows through a particularly broad and flat valley. The Indus below the junction flows through a wide valley to a considerable distance below Demchok.»

Montgomerie almost always gets the right grasp of the countries from which his Pundits have brought home reports, and he describes them as if he had seen them with his own eyes. The following passage is of particular interest, for, so far as I know, it contains the only information we possessed of the district of Selipuk, until I was fortunate enough to visit this place 4o years later :1 »When at ThokJalung the Pundit made diligent inquiry as to the adjacent countries; he was informed that a large district, called Majin, extended for nine days' journey to the east, and that a smaller district, called Shellifuk, lay to the S.E. The Majin country was said to be a difficult one to travel in, as no rivers ran through it. The Shellifuk district boasted of some streams, but they all run into a large inland lake. This lake was Nganglaring-tso.

The Pundit found that north of Thok-jalung the country was not regularly inhabited; only thieves called Champas or Khampas were said to live there, information that was somewhat exaggerated. From Thok-jalung a direct road was said to go in a S.E. direction to Tadum (Tradum) and it was said to cross some comparatively low ranges, but generally to run over plains.

The new information brought back by the Pundits from their journey of 1867 induced Major Montgomerie to send the third Pundit upon a new expedition, the preparations for which were made early in 1868, and the object of which was to explore the country beyond the eastern watershed of the upper Indus.2 The Pundits of 1867 had got some information about the country between Rudok and Thok-jalung and between the latter place and Tradum. Further they had heard of an a upper road, from Thok-jalung through various gold-fields to Tengri-nor and Lhasa. They had even met merchants who had travelled that road. It is characteristic for Mont-

z Loc. cit. p. 16r.

Narrative report of the Trans-Himalayan Explorations made during 1868 ... Journal Asiatic

Society of Bengal, Vol. XXXIX, Part II, 1870, p. 47 et seq.