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
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

Lebug, on the source of the Kali Ganga, and the Taklakot pass on the source of
the Gogra. But he did not reach the Taklakot pass itself, and the Deba, who re-
ceived him kindly, said, under no conditions would he be allowed to go to the
Manasarovar. The Deba, however, told him, that more than 100 rivers emptied
their water into the Manasarovar, though the lake had only one affluent to the Rawan-
hrad, a channel, which, however, was often dry.¹

This description by the Deba is of special value, as it gives the real and
correct key to the whole problem and it proves that the characteristics of the channel
were the same a hundred years ago as they are now, that is to say, that the func-
tion of the channel is simply a periodical phenomenon, and that a hundred years is
much too short a time to prove the existence of a general postglacial desiccation.

The information of the Deba as given in 1816, should also be compared with
Moorcroft's exploration in 1812, as it corroborates the latter's results and makes
it still more superfluous to later geographers to explain the causes why he did
not find any channel at all.

In his article: Memoir relative to a survey of Kemaon,² Captain Webb gives
an approximation of the co-ordinates of the Manasarovar as follows: latitude: 30° 23′7′,
longitude: 81° 9′ 10″, elevation 14,500. He finds it probable that his latitude and
longitude will fall somewhere within the limits of the lake itself, especially if it be
remembered, that the place where his information was obtained, was not so much
as twenty miles distant from the Manasarovar. It is true that his approximation is
not far from correct, but he could easily have dropped the seconds.

On the journey to the source of the Ganges, Captain F. V. Raper wrote a
long and most interesting paper,³ which gives a detailed description of their ex-
ploration up the Bhágiráthi and the Alacananda. The journey is of very great im-
portance as showing the geographical and water-parting rank of the Himalayas and
that there really was a tremendous ›Range of Mountains‹ north of India and that the
Ganges came from it. An excellent map, dated 1810, is joined to the paper. The
supreme government of Bengal had given Webb special instructions in 8 §§, of
which § 2 ran as follows: ›To ascertain whether Gangotri be the ultimate source
of the Ganges; and in case it should prove otherwise, to trace the river, by survey,
as far towards its genuine source as possible. To learn, in particular, whether, as
stated by Major Rennell, it arises from the lake Manasarovar; and, should evidence
be obtained confirming his account, to get, as nearly as practicable, the bearing and
distance of that lake.‹

Amongst other results of the expedition I will only mention that it obtained
information about the trade routes used by the Nepalese with Tibet. Raper men-