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

care for the more reliable information Strachey had obtained much further east, and
which was published six years before Cunningham's book.

Sir RICHARD STRACHEY's contribution to the problem runs as follows: »Re-
garding the source of the Brāhmaputra we have no real information. It appears,
however, most probable that a strip of Tibet, 20 or 30 miles broad, along the
northern face of the watershed, drains through the Himalaya into the Ganges, as far
eastward, at least, as the meridian of Calcutta, and possibly farther; and that the
Sānpur Tachok-Tsangpu (Tibetan), which must surely be the Brāhmaputra, rises to
the N. of this belt in a manner similar to the Indus. We cannot, therefore, say
with any great degree of probability that the source of the Brāhmaputra is to be
found in the immediate vicinity of the lake Mānasarowar, but indeed rather the re-
verse; though it is not unlikely that the drainage of the N.E. face of the E. portion
of the Kailas range may fall into the Sānpu.»¹

He openly says that nothing is really known. He correctly finds it most probable
that the source is rather far from the lake, and is wrong in suggesting that the river
should get some water from the N.E. side of the Kailas. The comparison with the
Indus is not quite clear. If he alludes to the Sanskar branch and means that the
Tsangpo gets most of its water from ranges farther south, he is correct, for indeed
the precipitation of the S.W. monsoon is diminishing towards the N.E.

Another version is given by Dr. GUTZLAFF: »The Yarou-Dsangbo (the clear
river of the West) is one of the largest in Asia, traversing Tibet, and running through
14° of longitude. Its source is near the Mapama lake, where other great rivers of
Asia take their rise, in about 30° N. lat. and the 77° E. long., on the frontiers of
Ari, at the Tsamtserg mountain. This is not far from a lofty peak, named by the
Hindoos, Oneuta, and considered by them to be the highest in the world. It stands
in connection with four other mountains, which take the names of Horse, Elephant,
Lion, and Peacock, and extend 48 geographical miles to the high chain of Ari . . .
The Dsangbo here receives many tributaries from the N. (such as the Esunshia, Somia,
Archoo, and the Navuk-Dsangbo). Several others join it from the S., running down
from the Himalaya mountains, and swelling its course through a fertile broad valley.»²

It is easy in this description to recognise d'Anville's map. The source of
the Yarou-Dsangbo is placed at a mountain called Tsamtserg, — Tamchok and
amongst the northern tributaries we recognise the Archoo and Navuk-Dsangbo, im-
proved from Artchou and Naoue Tsanpou. The Esunshia and Somia are obviously
d'Anville's Kianskia Somia R.

On a beautiful map of India, from 1827,³ where the lakes and their surround-
ings are still taken from Moorcroft, we also find a representation of the »Supposed