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

THE PERIODICAL FUNCTION OF THE CHANNEL.   I S I

The last statement was again confirmed in 1812 by Moorcroft himself, who, although he specially searched for it, could not find any channel at all, not even a dry bed. This proves that the Ladaki Traveller must have been right in saying that the bed was filled, and thus hidden by sand.

During his journey in 1814 HAMILTON met a certain Hariballabh who had been at the lakes in 1796. He said that the Rakas-tal received the water going out from the Manasarovar, and asserted that each lake had an issuing river. As this man is obviously the same as Moorcroft's Harballabh, we do not need to consider him further. In the table lower down I have put a note of interrogation regarding the effluence from the Rakas-tal, which indeed is more than doubtful.

In 1816, Captain WEBB was told by the Deba of Taklakot that the Manasarovar had only one effluent to the Rakas-tal, a channel, which, however, was often dry. As it is specially pointed out that the channel was ',often dry, it may be regarded as pretty certain that it really was dry in 1816.

In 1817-1818 Alexander Gerard inquired of more than one hundred people who had been up the Satlej. »All the accounts agree that the largest stream issues from the western corner of Rawun Rudd or Langa, and, even close to that lake, it is stated to be 3o feet broad and I I/4 deep in the dry season, and very rapid.» Gerard also states that in the hot weather this river is very considerable.

The following statement of HERBERT, in 1819, seems to corroborate the above. He heard from - the Lama of Dabling» that in the rainy season the two lakes cornmunicate. The Lama also asserted that the Satlej originates from the Manasarovar and goes through the Rakas-tal. If this statement were to be relied upon, it would prove that there may be effluence from the Rakas-tal, even when the channel from the Manasarovar carries water only in the rainy season.

Lieut. J. D. CUNNINGHAM, who wrote in 1843, could not satisfy himself that the two lakes communicated, although according to tradition this had been the case. He received information that the Rakas-tal gave rise to no river. He calculates the rise and fall of the Manasarovar at 6 or 7 feet, and under such conditions there cannot be any egress of water from the lake. It is not said in which year he got his information, which only a few years later was proved to be quite wrong.

From October 5th, 1846, we have one of the best statements existing. That day HENRY STRACHEY found an effluent, 10o feet broad and 3 feet deep, from the Manasarovar to the Rakers-tal. On the other hand he found no visible or superficial outflow from the Rakas-tal, and the only effluence was by filtration through the porous soil ; but he thinks that at times of extreme flood there may be an overflow. This is an interesting case, showing that in spite of so much water streaming to the Rakas-tal even at a rather late season, no water left this lake.

In 1848, RICHARD STRACHEY visited the channel and found a stream running from the Manasarovar to the Rakas-tal.