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206   ANTIQUITIES OF WESTERN TIBET   [VoL. II

The work of providing beasts of burden was entrusted to me, and before the date of

starting I had the required number of horses and mules ready. We went through

the Råmpur State (Bashahr) to Tibet. In Tibet we visited places of mercantile

interest. The journey lasted from the 18th of June till the 3rd of October. We

returned viâ Spiti. During the journey we suffered much through the scarcity of

grass and other things ; and the bad roads were also a source of trouble to us. We

first visited Gartog, where the Assistant Commissioner met with the Garpon

(Spar-dpon). He conversed with him on matters of trade facilities. From Gartog

we went to Chocho, and from that place to Bongba, and thence to Thog-jalung, Dolang,

etc. There are gold-mines in these places, and I guided the Assistant Commissioner.

I also took him to Shumorti (Chumurti) and Chhagrachan. These two places are famous

for their horses. These places have not as yet been visited by any English traveller,

the reason being that the Tibetan authorities do not permit the English to visit them.

Even if permission to visit them has been secured, it is very difficult to surmount the

many obstacles which arise on the way. For many marches it is difficult to find

water, grass, or wood. Even coolies are not supplied for these places in Tibet, so

that vast arrangements have to be made before starting. I myself made the arrange-

ments for everything that was needed on such a terrible journey. It was also I who

kept the Garpon from refusing us permission.

NOTES.

With regard to the first part of the chronicle, which contains the history of the chiefs from Nil Chand to Karam Chand, I wish to state that it is not supported by other historical documents or inscriptions. Not a single name of a chief ending in Chand has as yet been discovered in Lahul, apart from the chronicles of the Ko-lon chiefs given above. On the contrary, from an old inscription and a document of the sixteenth century we learn that the chiefs of Ko-lon had Tibetan names prior to Nono Chogan (Chu-nun) and Sen-ge, who lived in the seventeenth century. On an old stone inscription discovered by Mr. Howell the name of an ancient Ko-lon chief is given as Boldor (probably Hbol-rdor) ; and in a document referring to the erection of a mchod-rten (Inscription No. 128) the name of a chief of Ko-lon, who was a contemporary of Parbat-Singh of Kula (1584-1618), is given as Tshe-dban-rnam-rgyal. It is quite possible that the names ending in Chand were invented by the chronicler with a view to making the chiefs of Ko-lon appear as descendants from Rājpūt ancestors. This, they thought, would raise them in the eyes of the Kula kings. It is also very strange that the Rājpūt origin of the chiefs of Ti-nan is asserted in the Ko-lon chronicles. According to the Ko-lon chronicles the chiefs of Ti-nan emigrated from Gondha in Bangāl ; but according to the Ti-nan chronicles they came from Lcags-mkhar in Gu-ge. I should think that the latter statement has a greater claim to our acceptance. The country of Bangāl mentioned in the chronicles is the province of Bard Bangāl, which nowadays forms part of Kula. The many Tibetan names which are found in the second part of the pedigree cannot be recognized in their Urdū dress. They have to be compared with the names contained in the Tibetan document from Ko-lon (q.v.). Instead of Kolang the Tibetans say Ko-lon ; and instead of Gumring, Gun-ran. For Thog-jalung see above, p. 94 (sub fin.).

As regards the claim of the Ko-lon chiefs to have been in charge of the management of Lahul during the times of Tibetan rule before 1605 A.D., I must say that it is not confirmed by popular tradition. The latter is in favour of the view that the chiefs of Bar-hbog were Governors of Lahul during that time.

The conquest of Lahul by the Sikhs must have taken place before 1843 ; for, when Cunningham visited Lahul in 1839, he found the country already in the hands of the Sikhs (JASB., 1841, pp. 105 sqq.).

Adolf von Schlagintweit was murdered on his expedition to Turkestan on the 26th August, 1857, near'Kashgar. The date of Tārā Chand's death is not clearly given. Firs we read that Tārā Chand died in 1874 ; then we read that he was still alive in 1876 ; and according to Col. Mel he died in 1877.

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