Southern Tibet : vol.7 / 315 ページ（カラー画像）

0315	Southern Tibet : vol.7
南チベット : vol.7

0315

Southern Tibet : vol.7

南チベット : vol.7

The next two days he marched between limestone rocks. The »plain», or, as on
the map, Table Land, he describes, is Dapsang. He heard of an unfrequented road
which was said to go directly to Khotan.

Again he reached what he calls the Shayok, found it to be 30 feet wide and
ankle-deep and running from east to west. In reality this is only the eastern tributary
of Shayok. On the authority of Yarkand merchants he says, »that formerly travellers
used to ascend the Shayok from Sassar, in order to reach the Karakoram pass, in-
stead of pursuing the circuitous route by which I travelled; but that about ten or
twelve years ago the glaciers above Sassar descended so low as entirely to prevent
any one passing in that direction, for which reason it became necessary to adopt
a new road». Thomson makes a reference to MIR IZZET ULLAH'S journey which
proved that then the road up the Shayok was open.

August 19th he reached the Kara-korum Pass and found its height, by boiling
point thermometer, to be 18,200 feet. »On the crest of the pass the rock in situ
was limestone.»

In Thomson's observations at the very place, the view of Humboldt: that the
Kara-korum Pass was situated in the Kwen-lun, got a strong support. He describes
the open plain to the south of the pass as occupying »a deep concavity in the
great chain of the Kouenlun».¹ He could distinctly see to the east the main range,
a series of snowless, very lofty, black peaks beyond the sources of the most eastern
branch of the Shayok; »while the heavily-snowed mountains, the summits of which
were seen further east, were probably also a part of the axis of the chain, which
apparently bends round the sources of the river of Khotan, or of some stream draining
the northern flanks of the Kouenlun».

He observed the gradual rise of the snow-line to the N. E. and the occurence
of the highest peaks and greatest mass of snow — not on the main axis of the chain,
but on its branches, as was also the case in the Himalayas, and this distribution of
the snow he attributes to the Indian ocean in the S. W. Even up to 20,000 feet
he did not find any continuous snow.

On his way back he visited the Kumdan Glaciers. The first was »most superb»
and »entered the bed of the Shayuk at the bottom of a deep bend, and fairly crossed
the river, which flowed out below the ice». The ice did not extend to the foot
of the opposite rocks, but only a few feet up the left bank. A second glacier a
mile higher up could not be crossed, nor could he ford the deep river in which the
glaciers descended. Thomson went up a height »in order to see whether or not
there was any lake in sight corresponding to that laid down, from information by
Mr. Vigne, as Nubra or Khundan Chu. He could not, however, ascend sufficiently

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