garded as demonstrating the existence of a range to the north and Montgomerie does not even discuss its probability, a fact that should be compared with the beautiful results of the Tibet Frontier Commission in 1904, which, following the same route as the Pundit, could not prove much more than he regarding the interior of the system.
As Nain Sing had only touched the southern edge of the system, Montgomerie desired to penetrate, through his emissaries, the interior of these mysterious mountains and sent the explorer of 1871-72 to Tengri-nor. He understood that only transverse complete crossings had any value and that latitudinal itineraries south or north of the system were hardly worth speaking of. Therefore Nain Sing's journey in 1873-74, during which he saw a snowy range to the south, was, in relation to the Transhimalaya, not less peripheric than the journey of 1865-66. But if he had crossed the system in any other pass than Dam-largen-la, which was already known, he would have rendered a very important service.'
In spite of their splendid work during ten years the Pundits have only accomplished four crossings, namely over Jukti-la, Sarlung-la, Khalamba-la and Damlargen-la. Of these I know only the first from personal experience and shall later on describe it. The second is obviously situated in the principal, water-parting range of the Transhimalaya, although I have not been able to find any detailed description of that itinerary, which brought one of Montgomerie's explorers from Tok-jalung down to Manasarovar. From this journey date such names as Shiakma Khabjior and Ruldap-tso which I could not identify at the source of the Indus, nor at Nganglaring-tso. But the last section of the route, as it is given on the Gazetteer map of Kumaun and Hundes (Vol. II, Pl. XV), goes over the Sar-lung Pass and down in a valley called Bhachong Chin leading to the north-eastern corner of Manasarovar. This valley is identical with my Pachung which goes close east of Mount Pundi. I went up a short distance in this valley and got convinced of the existence of a road, which was however, used only by horse-thieves and robbers. This road runs close west to and nearly parallel to the road I followed from Surnge-la to Tokchen. The distance between Surnge-la and Tokchen is, as the crow flies, 21 miles, and between Sarlung and the shore of Manasarovar exactly the same. Thus Sarlung and Surnge-la must be situated in the same range. I am not, however, sure whether the two passes are not after all one and the same. If not, the distance between them must be only one or two miles. As the range is very low in this region there may be several passes easy to cross. But as all the rest of the native explorer's route
I My old teacher and friend Baron VON RICHTHOFEN in Berlin used to say that journeys along the latitudinal valleys of Tibet were of comparatively little interest and value as they kept to lines which did not change their topographical features for hundreds of miles, and because very little could be known of the geological structure. Everybody who wished to explore Tibet seriously had to lay his journey in the meridian or diagonally through the country so that he got an opportunity to cross as many ranges as possible. Only on such meridional lines could the topography and geology become known.
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