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0042	Southern Tibet : vol.2
南チベット : vol.2

0042

Southern Tibet : vol.2

南チベット : vol.2

CHAPTER V.

ELPHINSTONE AND MACARTNEY ON THE SOURCE OF
THE INDUS.

In 1808 the British Government in India sent an embassy to Kabul. Besides
its political character the expedition also contributed in a considerable degree to
our knowledge of the countries situated to the north of its route. Their attempts
to locate the source of the Indus are of interest to us. ¹

Lieutenant J. MACARTNEY, who was a member of the embassy, was, however,
not satisfied with the information obtained regarding the source of the Indus, though
some great branches were traced for a very considerable distance, ›but not to their
source.‹ He heard that two great branches should join at the town of Dras. The
one to the south should be the main branch of the Indus, and so it is also repre-
sented on Macartney's beautiful map, although it is difficult to see how he could
accept such erroneous information which was indeed very inferior to that brought
back by MIR IZZET ULLAH, whose results are discussed in ELPHINSTONE's work.

Not far below the imaginary point he makes the joint river pierce the Hindu
Kush or Indian Caucasus, which, on the map, is the direct western continuation of
the Hemalleh or Himalaya mountains. On the other hand he is right in saying
that the Ladak branch of the Indus had been traced to a great distance to the S. E.,
for the map was published in 1815, after Moorcroft's reconnoitring in Western
Tibet. He has heard that the Ladak branch is also joined by another from the
N. W. along which the road to Yarkand was said to lead for 15 days' journey.

Concerning this river, the Shayok, Macartney heard from caravans, ›they
crossed the Pamer ridge to the right, and they left this stream (Shayok), which I
have heard came from a lake in Pamer, and from its direction being S. E. by E. I
imagine it comes from the lake of Surik Kol, as the direction of its course and
accounts agree to this lake. This, however, is only a supposition of mine.‹

Comparing the Shayok with the Ladak branch he finds that the latter, which
›has been traced much further‹, is the larger of the two, but smaller than the

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