154 REPORT — 1855. 



On the 18th we pushed on our camp to a small rocky crest, which rises in 

 the midst of snow and ice masses of the glacier ; it is called Rata Dak or Red 

 Mountain. It offered us an excellent view of the mountains surrounding the upper 

 part of the Milum glacier. The height of the mountain is about 16,500 English feet ; 

 we were much above the limit of all shrub vegetation, and only light loads could 

 be carried up through the narrow and steep rocky ascent, over which passed the only 

 possible way. We had the first day a want of fuel. Our sixteen Bhotias declared 

 it was impossible to go on any further. They walk well on rocks, but they are much 

 afraid of snow and ice, and especiallj' of the glacier crevices. Nevertheless, we left 

 our camp early in the morning on the 19th, fastened to each other by strong ropes, 

 which materially increased the courage of the Bhotias. We went fin over the glacier. 

 After some hours we reached the most difficult place, a very steep descent of the 

 glacier, about 1000 feet high. One of us went on before fastened to the rope for 

 examining the road, and for ascertaining whether the fresh snow on the sides of the 

 crevices was solid enough for supporting us. Our people followed with quiet resig- 

 nation ; they had a long time beibre given up every pretension to a judgment of 

 their own of the way we had to take. 



After several attempts we succeeded in reaching the upper part of the descent, and 

 we found ourselves on comparatively level snow fields. We thoight ourselves to be 

 pretty near to the end of our wandei'ing, — a black rocky crest on the termination of 

 the Milum neve ; but as is often the case, Ihe snow masses seemed to become 

 larger and longer the more we ascended. The influence of the height made itself 

 now remarkable in a very different wa)- with the different people. We ourselves felt 

 not the least headache, we had been acclimatized by degrees, and we found our 

 thick Indian pith hats an excellent protection against the sun, which is felt in India 

 much more than in the Alps ; some of our people who tried to stimulate themselves 

 by brandy complained of severe headache, but we all were tired and exhausted in a 

 remarkable way, which may have been owing partly to the fatigues of the ascent, and 

 partly to the rarefied air. At last, at 1 o'clock, we reached the highest part of the 

 snow on the foot of the little rocky crest ; the barometer indicated just half the 

 pressure of the atmosphere ; it stood at 380 millimetres; compared with Milum, the 

 height must be about 19,100 English feet, or a little more*. We went up to the 

 rocks behind, from vchence we had a fine view over a part of Tibetan mountain ranges 

 which lay just below us. We wei-e separated from it by very steep impassable 

 rocky precipices from the south ; as is generally the case here in the afternoon, 

 heavy clouds came up, but over Tibet was a clear dark blue sky. Our people urged 

 us to return ; at half-past four we started, and went on as quick as we could over the 

 places where we had to fear avalanches, the snow being much softened by the sun ; 

 and at half-past five we reached the foot of the difficult steep ascent of the glacier, 

 where we were quite out of danger. 



The mountains in the neighbourhood of the Milum glacier offer a great interest 

 for geological researches. The crystalline schists of the central parts of the 

 Himalayas are here overlaid by fossiliferous sedimentary strata of the Silurian forma- 

 tion. We were fortunate enough to gather a pretty large collection of well-preserved 

 Silurian fossils, both near our camp on Rata Dak and on the highest points above 

 19,000 feet, which we reached, since the mountains are quite void of vegetation. We 

 had a verj^ good occasion for examining the transition from the crystalline schists 

 into the sedimentary strata. We convinced ourselves, that what ajjpears stratification 

 in the crystalline schists is here at least no stratification, but merely foliation or 

 cleavage. The cleavage is easily traceable into the sedimentary strata, where we see 

 therefore (1 ) cleavage, (2) the true stratification, both often very confused, and difficult 

 in the beginning to be distinguished from each other. We are nuich pleased with 

 the beauty of the Himalayas in the central parts, and with the glaciers ; the forms of 

 the mountains are exactly like the Alps, but the dimensions are much grander. The 

 upper Pindaree valley, the beautiful gorge above Munshari, and the mountains 

 between Pindaree and Milum can only be compared for beauty and grandeur with 

 the finest parts of the Bernese and Savoy Alps. The large Milum valley is like all 

 high similar valleys, rather a little more monotonous ; it lies above the limits of all 



* 4600 feet higher (the exact elevation above the barometer has been determined tri- 

 gouometrically). 



