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

280   THE PUNDITS AND TIIE TSANGPO-BRAHMAPUTRA PROBLEM.

HERMANN SCHLAGINWEI'I' regards- the Lohit as the main river, and he says of the Dibong: »er mündet nicht ganz unmittelbar in den Hauptstrom Brahmaputra, sondern er ergiesst sich in den östlichsten der Arme, in welche der nun folgende Strom hier sich theilt. Dieser ist der grosse Strom des östlichen Tibet, der Tsangbochû oder 'das reine (heilige) Wasser' der Tibeter; bei der Assamesen wird er Dihông genannt ' KIEPERT, STIELER, PETERMANN followed the same way, and for a short time TR. SAUNDERS could not resist such eminent authorities. To their speculations Richthofen remarks that this fantastic representation which had no foundation whatever had for 3o years dominated the leading and most important cartographers.

Though Saunders was, until 1874, on the wrong side, misled by mere speculation, there were geographers wise enough to consult only reliable exploration, so far as it reached. In an article: The Irawady and its sources, Dr. J. ANDERSON says: »I am no disciple of the theory that the Sangpo is the Irawady, and, in view of Turner's account of the Sangpo and the accurate observations made by Captain Montgomerie's pundits, I cannot see how it is possible, at the present day, that anyone could be found prepared to re-advocate its claims., 2

GODWIN-AUSTEN was of opinion that neither Lohit nor Dihong were the upper course of the Brahmaputra, but the Subansiri, the temperature of which, at the junction, is lower than that of any other tributary. This theory was proved to be wrong, by the expedition of Captain R. G. WOODTHORPE and Lieut. HARMAN during the winter of 1877-78. The volume of the Subansiri was found to be only I/4 of that of the Dihong, »which thus tends more than ever to identify the latter with the great river of Tibet.»3

On November 3oth, 1874 N AIN SING crossed the river at Chetang after his great journey through Tibet. He had seen the course of the river for a distance of about 3o miles below Chetang, and he had been informed that it flowed S.E. into Assam. At Chetang he describes the Tsangpo thus:

»The valley through which the river flows was here several miles across; on the left bank of the stream was a stretch of sand fully i'/2 mile in breadth, the whole of which is said to be under water in the months of May, June and July during which season the river is much flooded, both on account of the increase of water from the then rapidly melting snows, as well as from the rain which falls in considerable quantities from April to June. The river is here no longer used for irrigation, as above Shigåtzé, but all the smaller streams which issue from the mountains on the north and south are thickly bordered with cultivated land.»4

Another native explorer, L—, started, in March 1875, from Darjeeling to Shigatse. After crossing Kangra-lama-la or Lachen-la he was taken prisoner and

I Reisen in Indien und Hochasien. Bd I, p. 471.

2 Proceedings Royal Geographical Society. Vol. XIV, 1869-7o, p. 346 et seq. Proceedings Royal Geographical Society, 1879, p. 127.

4 Journal Royal Geographical Society. Vol. 47, 1877, p. 116.