IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Southern Tibet : vol.7 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Citation Information
■
HOOKER, STRACHEY, MONTGOMERIE, AND OTHERS.
206
names at all on the mountain ranges. Even the name of Himalaya is missing, by which he probably wishes to point out that this name has rather a poetical and religious sense and is nearly unknown to the pofanum vulgus. There is no Kwenlun and no Kara-korum Range, only the Kara-korum Pass situated in a range which has nearly the same form as on the maps of WALKER and THOMSON. The range with the Mustagh Pass, being the High Kara-korum, and with the word Glacier entered at some places, is connected with the range where the Shayok and Nubra have their sources. The High Kara-korum continues to the N. W. straight through Pamir. The real Kwenlun is hardly indicated.
Of some interest is the Narrative of the Travels of Khwajah (Khoja) AHMED SHAH NUKSHBUNDI SYUD who started from Kashmir on the 28th of October, 1852, and went through Yarkand, Kokan, Bokhara and Kabul, in search of Mr. WYBURD.' Ahmed Shah who left Kashmir at the above date, went first to Leh, where he remained for a month and 18 days, awaiting the arrival of a caravan and making preparations for his journey to Yarkand. The report of his journey is written by himself and communicated by the Government of India.
On January 7th, 1853, he left Leh for Yarkand, »the road to which is through a rocky barren country, and through defiles». The following is what he observed: »From Ladak to Lamakut is five days' journey. Lamakut is a haltingplace with a few huts. A fordable stream coming down from the direction of Ladak flows past Lamakut. From there to Ak Musjid is 3o marches. The country is totally uninhabited. The Kurra Koorum Mountains have to be crossed on the road. There are two roads, known as the Maryhan and Ekdan; the former is the summer road. There are three passes on this line.» The tract between the Kurra Koorum Range and Lamakut, a distance of three days' journey, is called Dubsun, which, during winter, is blocked up with snow, rendering this road impassable. The Ekdan (snow) or winter way was, according to the people of those parts, blocked up for 2 2 years, and water accumulating above it caused the snow at last to give away and they say that this was the cause of the great flood of the Indus in 1840. This is the route almost always now followed by the Kufilahs, and is two marches shorter than the other.»
He found the »snow» melting at some distance from the ground, leaving masses in the shape of large trees, from which hung icicles, and between which he moved along. He believed himself wandering in the midst of a sea of crystal. On the top of the snow were large rocks and stones of a red and white colour. To cross this sort of country took him half a day. »The Kurra Koorum is a small mountain, but when a wind, which is known as the sootuk, blows, the air becomes
Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal. Vol. 11 V, 1856, p. 344 et seq.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.