Southern Tibet : vol.3 / 252 ページ（カラー画像）

0252	Southern Tibet : vol.3
南チベット : vol.3

Nain Sing's journey of 1873—74 gave Saunders a clearer understanding of
a part of the Transhimalaya, of which he says: »The Southern Chain of this part
of the system is called the Gangri, or Gang-dis-ri, so far as it separates the Sanpu
and Indus basins from the elevated lake basin of the Tibetan Plateau.» The Kara-
korum Range he regards as a continuation of the Gangri Mountains, and he criti-
cises Shaw who denies that Kara-korum is a range, on account of its summit being
flat. But Saunders has three arguments to prove that it is a range: its height, its
being an important water-parting and, finally, because »its length exceeds 300 miles».
In reality it certainly exceeds 1 500 miles, but this could not be known in 1877.

Speaking of Shaw Saunders says: »The same author has also comitted himself
to the opinion that the Pamir is, instead of a meridional range, a series of lati-
tudinal ribs or ridges running east and west.» When so little was known of countries
which had been visited by several Europeans, what could be expected to be known
of countries where none had ever been!

Then Saunders more intimately approaches our system: »The Gangri Range
is only known at its extremities. It has been crossed in several places between
the Ling-tzi Plain and the Manasarowar Lake. But from thence to its eastern ter-
mination, where it meets the mountains that divide the elevated lake basin from the
basins which succeed that of the Sanpu, it has been crossed in two places only, by
the scientific observers, employed in Himalayan exploration. The missionaries Huc
and Gabet also crossed the range and describe its difficulties. They name it the
Tant-la. Of the passes crossed by the explorers, one is the Khalamba Pass, men-
tioned by the Calcutta Reviewer, in a part of the range which bears the local name
of Nyen-chen-tang-la. The other is the Dam Lhargan Pass, and the two lie between
the Tengri Lake and the Sanpu. Several altitudes of the Gangri have been ob-
served above 20 000 feet; as the Aling Gangri 23 000 feet, the Nyen-chen-tang-la,
23,600.»

Thus in 1877 the Transhimalaya was only known at its extremities. In the
middle of September 1908 the Times' correspondent in Simla telegraphed, after my
return to this place and according to the information I gave him: »The eastern
and western parts (of the Transhimalaya) were known before, but the central and
highest part is in Bongba, which was previously unexplored.»¹ These versions are
very like each other. The Tibet Frontier Commission was the only expedition which,
in 1904, had added new knowledge about the Transhimalaya, improving enormously
Nain Sing's survey. But it had not entered the unknown country and Saunders'
words were as correct in 1908 as thirty years earlier. For Saunders was a suffi-
ciently accomplished geographer to understand that the system had to be crossed
before it could be known. And he did not know of any such crossing between the
region N.E. of Manasarovar and the Khalamba Pass. Between these two limits the
system remained uncrossed for another thirty years.

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