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

Even with the help of Webber's rather rough map it is impossible to follow
their wanderings over ›ridge succeeding ridges in the upper reaches of the Brahma-
putra. But the geography becomes still more complicated: ›On one occasion we
crossed another very lofty divide, and found ourselves suddenly out on the northern
slopes of another watershed, none other than that of the mighty Indus. Far beneath
us, some miles away, lay the most brilliantly beautiful blue sea, the celebrated Ma-
nasarowar lake, as it proved, which we had promised not to approach.› For hundreds
of miles to the west range after range could be seen and above them all was the
snow-capped summit of the sacred Kailas.¹

This change of the scenery is really somewhat sudden. We are at the streams
going east to the Brahmaputra, and suddenly we cross the watershed of the Indus!
It is quite useless to try and explain this situation. On his map he has ›Sources of
the Indus‹ between the lakes and Gurla. Thus the watershed of the Indus should
be Gurla itself and a range going to the N.E. from Gurla, and then, for some dis-
tance following the north bank of the upper Brahmaputra, a range which, so far as
its first part is concerned, does not exist. Or, one could think that it was on a sepa-
rate excursion, perhaps on the way back, that they came to the watershed of the
Indus. But this does not help us, as it is said: ›Next day we marched a long way
eastward along the northern slopes of the Gurla range, following the valley of the
Brahmaputra.› If we call the Tamlung-la the watershed of the Indus or rather the
Satlej, and the tributary Loang-gongo the upper Brahmaputra, we can go in a few
minutes from the Indus system to the Brahmaputra system. But then we cannot see
the Manasarovar. If you climb a mountain somewhere near, you can see the lake
at 50 miles distance, but it is impossible to have the Manasarovar ›some miles away‹
beneath you the one day and the next to follow the valley of the Brahmaputra.

At the end of his Chapter XI² he sums up his results and mentions amongst
other things that he ›had ascended very high up on the shoulder of one of the
most remarkable mountains in the world, the little-known Gurla Mandhata. This
conspicuous mountain might appropriately be called the peak of Asia, as from its
glaciers the three great rivers, Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra, take their rise.›

In reality, as is well known, not one of these three rivers takes its rise from
Gurla-mandata. We may agree to call the whole range to the S.E. from Gurla by
the same name as the main peak. And we may even go so far as to reckon the
Tage-tsangpo to the Indus, although it properly belongs to the Satlej. Finally we
may call the Karnali, instead of the Alaknanda, the source branch of the Ganges.
But when we come to the Brahmaputra, we cannot make any more allowances.
Webber, however, does by no means call the whole range Gurla. For even on his
map, Pl. XVII, the three rivers rise from the very Gurla-mandata itself, and not from
its surroundings or continuations. On the S.E. slopes of Mount Gurla he has entered