Mr. H. T. Colebrooke's Remarks on the Setlej River. 35"/ 



pass, are between 19,000 and 20,000 feet above the level of the sea, just 

 tipped with snow ; else they were covered with tdmu, a prickly bush, to 

 which the travellers in a former journey gave the name of whins, and 

 whicli they now called Tartaric furze. It is the ordinary fuel of the 

 Tartars ; and appears to thrive best among arid gravel, and in the bleakest 

 places. Its upper limit near K'eubrang was observed at something above 

 17,000 feet. 



After halting some time, it began to snow ; and though the thermometer 

 was not below 4.1°, the violence of the wind, added to the difficulty of 

 respiration, rendered the situation unpleasant ; and the travellers hastened 

 down to a milder climate. 



Zamsiri, a mere halting place for travellers, on the banks of the Sheltt, 

 to which they proceeded from Keubrang, is 15,600 feet above the sea, a 

 height equal to that of the passes through the outer range of snowy moun- 

 tains ; yet there i.s nothing to remind one of the Himalaya. Gently 

 sloping hills and tranquil rivulets, with banks of turf and pebbly beds, 

 flocks of pigeons, and herds of deer, would give one the idea of a much 

 lower situation. But nature (Capt. Gerard remarks) has adapted the 

 vegetation to that extraordinary country ; for, did it extend no higher than 

 on the southern face of the Himalaya, Tartary would be uninhabitable by 

 either man or beast. 



It seems surprising (he goes on to observe) that the limit of vegetation 

 should rise higher the further we proceed, but so it is : — on ascending the 

 southern slope of the snowy range, the extreme height of cultivation is 

 10,000 feet; and even there the crops are frequently cut green. The 

 highest habitation is 9,500 feet; 11,800 feet may be reckoned the upper 

 limit of forest, and 12,000 that of bushes: although in a few sheltered 

 situations, such as ravines, dwarf birches and small bushes are found almost 

 at 13,000 feet. 



In the valley of the Baspd river, the highest village is at 11 ,400 feet ; 

 the cultivation reaches to the same elevation ; and the forest extends to 

 13,000 feet at the least. 



Advancing further, you find villages at 13,000 feet, cultivation at 13,600 

 feet, fine birch trees at 14,000 feet, and tdmd bushes, which furnish ex- 

 cellent fire-wood, at 17,000 feet. 



To the eastward, towards Mdnassaruvar, by the accounts of the Tartars, 

 it would appear that crops and bushes thrive at a still greater height. 



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