348 Mr. H. T. Colebrooke's Remarks on the Setlej River. 



halted two days on the summit of the pass ; and, as is usual at so great 

 elevations, were troubled with head-aches and difficulty of respiration. 

 The nights were calm ; but the solemn stillness was now and then inter- 

 rupted by the crash of falling rocks. 



They descended into the valley of the Baspd ; sliding down the declivity 

 of a snow-bed, by seating themselves upon a blanket on the snow. This 

 mode is invariably practised by the mountaineers, where there are no rocks 

 nor precipices. They had then a dreadfully dangerous footpath, along the 

 rugged sides of the dell : it crossed many snow-beds, inclined at an angle 

 of 30° or more; which delayed them much, as they had to cut steps in 

 the snow. 



The Baspd is a noble river, running through a romantic valley, which, 

 the people have a vague tradition, was formerly a lake, and it has every 

 appearance of it. The valley is bounded, on each side, by abrupt ridges 

 of the H'nndlaya, which present a great deal of bare rock. 



The travellers advanced to the confluence of the Baspd and Bakti rivers; 

 examined the valley of the latter, and reached the confluence of the Bakti 

 and Nalgun rivers, proceeding along the ridge, which is traversed by 

 several passes before-mentioned, all of which they now visited, viz. Nibrang, 

 16,035 feet higli ; Gdnds, lG,02Gfeet; and GAms«/, 15,851 feet; as also 

 Rupin, 15,480 feet. , 



At Niiru, a halting-place, where there are good caves for shelter, at the 

 elevation of 13,150 feet, and at Duutsun, where they halted the following 

 evening, at the heiglit of 14,'iOO feet, there was, through the night, a con- 

 tinued crash of falling rocks, on the rugged side of the dell. The species 

 of rhododendron called by the natives I'dlsdr, was observed in the vicinity 

 of Dmisdn, at its level. 



The Nalgun pass, the lowest pass through the Himalaya which had been 

 yet visited, is 14,891 feet above the sea. From this pass they descended 

 to the confluence of the Nalgun and Bakti rivers, and thence proceeded 

 along the Bakti, and across the Baspd river, to Sangla, where they halted 

 several days Q23A to 29th of June}, and whence they despatched their col- 

 lection of plants and geological specimens ; but the paper envelopes of the 

 latter were rendered illegible, and the whole of the former destroyed, by 

 the heavy rain which overtook the despatch, in the following month. 



Messrs. Gerard, resuming their journey, ascended the valley of the Baspd 

 to Chetkul, the last, and highest village in it ; crossing, the first day, two 



