| He says: He (the author) then kept south of the river, touching our route at Laktsang, and marching up the main branch of the Brahmaputra to its source, which he located accurately and surveyed. In the R. G. S. Journal, Vol. 38, p. 146, Nain Sing mentions being in sight of the gigantic glaciers which give rise to the Brahmaputra. On our journey we surveyed, though only roughly, the main branch» ; and then, referring to my expedition he says that, as it was the first to actually follow the main branch to its source, we obtain a more detailed survey than Ryder's own, )which was only a distant sketch». In the same article Ryder returns to my survey of »the true source of the Brahmaputra. This, however, had been approximately located, I think, by Nain Sing, and fairly well surveyed by Rawling and myself», and he adds that as I visited the real source my map would be more accurate. To this I will only add that my map of the source would be of very little value if I had not had at my disposal the admirable and conscientious map of Southern Tibet, drawn by Ryder and his comrades. But Nain Sing's approximation referred to quite another source, as Montgomerie proves: »The river Brahmaputra was ascertained to rise in about N. latitude 30 I/2, and E. longitude 82°.» I have shown in the preceding chapters how very slowly the European geographers and travellers have approached the source of the Brahmaputra. In some cases, native information seems to have given some assistance. But the very heart had not yet been reached. As I have proved above, two or three travellers cannot at all be taken into serious consideration. Kawaguchi is to be accepted only with the greatest criticism. In reality there remain only two expeditions which have furnished us with reliable results, and of them only Ryder's and Rawling's are first class work (Pl. XVIII). But they never proceeded to the source. They travelled in the winter and could not make any measurements. It is extremely difficult to judge the dimensions of a river during the winter, specially if it is frozen and if the ice and the banks at the sides are covered with snow. This explains the fact that on Ryder's map it is almost impossible to tell which of the southern source-branches is meant to be the Kubi-tsangpo and which the Chema-yundung. On Ryder's map the main river seems to rise just south of Gunchu-tso. From there it flows S.E., and turns, south of a high peak, almost at a right angle, to the N.E. Finally it receives the Maryum-Chu, makes the sharp bend to the S.E. and receives a small tributary just north of Chiru. This last-mentioned river corresponds, so far as the place of confluence is concerned, fairly well with the Kubi-tsangpo. For otherwise there is no room for a Kubi-tsangpo. The river, which in reality receives the Maryum-chu is the Chema-yundung, and so, the river which, on Ryder's map, begins just south of Gunchu-tso cannot possibly be anything else than the Chema-yundung. But where is then the main river the Tamchok-kamba or Kubi-tsangpo ? In reality the | | |
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