IIIFカラー高解像度
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
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| IIIFカラー高解像度 |
| Southern Tibet : vol.7 | |
| 南チベット : vol.7 |
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引用情報
1
STRACHEY AND SAUNDERS. 257
now known that the loftiest ridges of the Pamir region run more nearly east and west. Such is the line of mighty peaks seen by Hayward and myself from Kâshghar, and of which the culminating point is called by the natives Taghâlma.»
Shaw seems to have suffered from a real mania for abolishing mountain ranges. The most northern flank of the Himalaya mass has been called the Kwen-lun. »At one time it was thought that this Kuen-lun constituted a separate and continuous range running in an unbroken line almost into China.» From near the Upper Indus gold-fields, on the south, up to the parallel of Charchan, on the north, considerable eastward-running streams had been reported to exist. Shaw settles the difficulty as follows: »Now, this is the very region where geographers formerly wished to place a continuous snowy Range of Kuen-lun, also running east and west. It is probable, however, that such a range would shed its waters north-wards; and I think we may gather from the facts I have stated that the country sinks towards the east, and that no continuous snowy range maintains its elevation in that direction.» From natives he had heard »that the whole country is passable in every direction, and only not frequented by travellers because no business takes them that way». Shaw, therefore, thinks it probable that the Kwen-lun farther east is replaced by »vast irregular high plateaux draining eastward, and which must also diminish in height to the northward, in order to attain the lower levels of the deserts of Takla-Makân, and Gobi».
It makes a rather surprising impression to read that General STRACHEY, after this paper could say, that recent exploration »had altogether confirmed the conclusions arrived at by him twenty years ago». He and his brother had found the same
general unity of the great mass of mountains that existed between India and Central Asia, as Mr. Shaw had found. He agreed with him that the Himalayas and the Kwen-lun were simply the southern and northern borders of the same mass of elevated land; »but there was certainly no special range, in the sense in which the word was commonly used, as implying an elevated mass with an equal ascent and descent on either side, which could probably be designated as Himalaya, Kuen Luen, Bolor &c.»
Fortunately Mr. SAUNDERS saved the situation in regretting at having to differ
from SHAW'S views when he obliterated the Kuen-lun. »Was not the Kuen Luen, then, a range of mountains as much as those seen from the valley of the Ganges ? He did not deny that they were parts of the same elevated mass, but, as that mass had a breadth of 600 miles, it was desirable to distinguish its different parts by distinct names.» He also contended for a distinct application of the name Karakorum Mountains. The rise to the Kara-korum might be very slight, but still the
I Ibidem, p. 4o7.
33. VII.
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