Southern Tibet : vol.2 / 272 ページ（カラー画像）

0272	Southern Tibet : vol.2
南チベット : vol.2

left bank.¹ The historical evidences supplied by writers of the last century and
sifted by Longstaff are: ELPHINSTONE, VIGNE, CUNNINGHAM, THOMSON, HENRY
STRACHEY, SHAW, DREW, GORDON and BELLEW. Strachey heard of a big flood in
about 1780, caused by the breaking of the glacier snout by the pressure of the
glacier lake above. ²In 1812, and probably earlier, the Kumdan route was open
and remained so till about 1824, some time after which date it was closed by glac-
ier advance.³ In 1835, 1839 and 1842 floods again occurred. ³The region appears
to have been surveyed by E. C. RYALL in 1862; the Aktash glacier is marked one
mile, and the Kichik Kumdan half a mile, back from the river.³ Longstaff thinks
that the evidence we possess points to advance of the two larger Kumdan glaciers
being by no means synchronous with that of the two smaller Aktash glaciers, and
hence we can form but a rough idea of their periodicity of advance and retreat.
Flood-periods occurred in 1780, 1833—1842, and 1903 — that is, at intervals of
between fifty and sixty years. The Kumdan route was probably also open before 1800.
It was closed from about 1825 until about 1860. It was again usually open be-
tween 1865 and 1902.² He finds the ›open‹ periods to last for about 35 years, and
the only complete ›closed‹ period that we know of also lasted about 35 years, but he
thinks that this agreement with BRÜCKNER's periods is largely a matter of accident.
Captain OLIVER told him that CHURCH AND PHELPS, about 1894, were prob-
ably the last European caravan to traverse this route.¹ In about 1899 the building
of a road up the valley was arrested by the advance of the Kichik Kumdan. ³Until
the winter of 1902—3 traders continued to make use of the Kumdan route during
the cold weather, passing round the snouts of the two Kumdan glaciers by wading
or fording when necessary. In the winter of 1902—3 the Kichik Kumdan advanced
rapidly, and completely blocked the route.³
We shall return to the latest years presently. First I will mention those tra-
vellers who have passed this way up, adding a few names to the list quoted above.
In 1533 the Kumdan road seems to have been closed, for SA'ID KHAN GHAZI
died on the Murgo road during his journey that year.
In 1812 MIR IZZET ULLAH had his camp on the right side of the Shayok,
where the glaciers are situated, and could pass without touching them at all. They
seem to have been unusually far back that year. When Mir Izzet Ullah made his
second journey, in 1821, the road was probably also open.
From POTANIN's communication about The Frontier Trade in 1824—28
VENIUKOFF mentions a road via Yapchan, Kumdan and Sasser. Thus, if the very
years 1824—28 are meant in the report, the statement should prove that the road
was open, and the glaciers not blocking it up.²

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