Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 254 (Color Image)

0254	Southern Tibet : vol.4

brown, reddish, pink and yellow colours. To the north the hills are more compact,
and even the opening of the valley we came down through can hardly be recognized.
To the east the country is fairly open, to the south and west the mountains are
more interrupted. It is difficult to make out any prevalent orographical order,
though it seems as if the general stretching were from west to east. The grass of
the steppe is not very good. At Camp LXXV there were fresh springs. Near a
black promontory to the S. W. four Tibetan tents were visible and two others to
the south. The shepherds we had met above Bogar-yung had given us the name
of Dirung-ungota for the large plain; from the same informants we had obtained
the names Yumrang-lopchangs, Mukpo-malung, Lomo-yäsung and Bogar-yung.

Pan. 83a and 83b, Tab. 13, is taken from Camp LXXV. The impression of
a plain is given principally by the comparatively great distance to the mountains
all around. The latter, therefore, seem somewhat lower than they are in reality. The
panorama also shows very clearly that these mountains are distributed into different
groups and masses, the plastic forms of which betray a very advanced state of denu-
dation. Both to the east and to the W. S. W. the country is open, and the plain may,
therefore, be regarded as a part of a latitudinal valley of no small dimensions. The
east-west stretching of the mountain ranges and great latitudinal valleys now begins
to be more and more pronounced. For several days' marches the tectonic lines had
been running north-south. But in the extensive and broad belt of interior Tibet which
is situated north of the great lakes and parallel to Transhimalaya, the east-west lines
are predominating. This fact is clearly illustrated by the stretching of the valley of
the Bogtsang-tsangpo. The routes of Nain Sing, Littledale and myself, which we
would cross within a few days, also indicate the most comfortable direction of pro-
gress in this part of Tibet.

According to the general map in 1 : 1,000,000, constructed by Colonel H. Byström,
my two meridional marches from Camp LXXIII to the neighbourhood of Camp
LXXV coincide with the route of Captain Bower in 1891—1892.

The nomads of the district around Camp LXXV were not of the hospitable
and friendly disposition as the nomads from Gertse. They only sold us some sheep,
butter and milk, but would not assist us with yaks nor tell us the names of places
around the camp. They only told us we had four days more to Bogtsang-tsangpo, and
in two days we should meet other nomads. They were subject to Deva-shung in Lhasa,
and would not have any intercourse with a caravan in which there was a European.

A wanderer from Nakchu made his appearance at our tents and gave us some
interesting information that has to be recorded. He belonged to a company of eight
wandering tents from Nakchu which had made a pilgrimage to the sacred lake of
Manasarovar and now were on their way home, camping at about half a day's march
from us. They reckoned 35 persons including women and children, and had 600 sheep

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Citation Information

OCR Text

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books