Southern Tibet : vol.4 / 454 ページ（カラー画像）

0454	Southern Tibet : vol.4
南チベット : vol.4

wind much. It runs S. E., and is, therefore, like an accumulator for the snow that
is driven by the S. W. wind across the hills. Sometimes it was hard work for us
to force our way through these snow-drifts. Just below *Camp CCCXXX*, the living
rock was dark greyish green schistous quartzite. About halfway, it consisted of grey
quartz-biotite-diorite (hornblendegranite). Near *Camp CCCXXXI* it was grey, phyllitic
schist. The latter formed perpendicular walls, about 10 m. high, at the sides of the
valley, and above them were the screes from the mountains above. The bed of the
watercourse in the valley is, therefore, sharply eroded, and has a breadth of from 30
to 50 m. As the bed occupies most of the valley, this is, therefore, rather narrow.
Finally the valley opens up a little and in its background to the S. E., a more iso-
lated mountain group is seen. On both sides of it, the country appeared to be
rather open. At *Camp CCCXXXI*, there was some poor grass and the yellow moss
which could be used as fuel. A path was seen on a slope, probably worn by wild
yaks. Of human beings, we saw no signs. Looking up the valley one would think
that no nomads ever use this horrible way and this high pass. Probably there are
other, more comfortable passes in the neighbourhood leading from the east to the
drainage area of *Shemen-tso*.

On *February 17th*, our march continues for 15.9 km. to the E. S. E. and S. E.
The ground falls 147 m. or to 5,275 m. which is the height at *Camp CCCXXXII*;
the rate of slope is thus as 1 : 108. The figures show how very slowly the great
and broad protuberance on which we had travelled for such a long time slopes down
to regions of the *Chang-tang* with a more moderate height. It is, of course, very
tiring to men and animals to remain for a long lapse of time on heights which
exceed the altitude of *Mont Blanc* by several hundred meters.

The night temperature went down to −24.1°. The whole day the sky remained
perfectly clear. In the morning the wind was S. E. but soon went over to S. W.
and blew with the violence of nearly a full storm. Heaps of snow had been accu-
mulated in the lower part of the valley, and sometimes it was hard work to force
our way through the drifts. The valley was full of sharp-edged gravel and blocks.
Here and there the snow had been swept away from the ice-sheets in the bed. At
one place along the left terrace, some mounds of gravel proved that gold-diggers
had been at work. Such a place as this has, of course, a name, though as the
whole country now was uninhabited, we could not ascertain any geographical names
at all. Below this place, we went up on the top of the left terrace and the flat
slopes of the left side-hills, gradually leaving the bed at an increasing distance, and
finally seeing the last of it where it disappeared to the S. E. In its lower part, it
became broader and shallower, and its terraces, lower. It would be impossible to
tell in what direction the great open arena across which we now travelled, is sloping,
for to the naked eye it seemed to be perfectly level. Judging from the situation of

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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

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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