of the Valley of the Setlej River. 283 



the Him&laya being sufficient to exclude the rains, which de- 

 luge Hindusthan for three months. 



Having collected from the surrounding villages, supplies 

 for ten days, Messrs Gerard proceeded to examine the valley 

 of the Tagla river, which has its source in Chinese Tartary. 

 They travelled to Nisang (on the Tagla,) a Tartar village, 

 already visited both in 1818 and 1820 ; crossing the Tungrang 

 pass, which was again measured, and the previous measure- 

 ment (13,739 feet) confirmed. 



The pass leads over a spur, which runs down to the Setlej 

 river, from a cluster of snowy mountains, upwards of 20,000 

 feet high. The rocks are slate : it easily splits into large even 

 slabs, which are well adapted for carving the sacred Tartar 

 sentences upon them. Across the Setlej the mountains are of 

 white granite, breaking into gravel, and more abrupt than on 

 the hither side. 



They proceeded along the banks of the Tagla to U'rchd, 

 and thence to Rakor, through the Ruthing'i pass, and near the 

 source of a rivulet of that name, after passing the Khdt'i, which 

 descends very steeply from the Himalaya on the south, in 

 which direction a peak of vast altitude is visible. The eleva- 

 tion of the pass is 14,638 feet ; that of the resting-place at 

 Rakor, 14,100 feet. A few birches are growing 200 or 300 

 feet lower. 



Upon the left bank of the Tagla, the height of the moun- 

 tains is upwards of 16,000 feet, and no snow appears. The 

 rocks arc brown clay slate, and mica slate. Upon the right bank 

 of the river, the mountains appear to be all clay slate, crumb- 

 ling into soil, and forming a natural declivity. The summits 

 seem to be 18,000 feet high at least ; and there is very little 

 snow in streaks. Farther to the east is a large mountain, white 

 with snow, and near it a naked ridge of rocks, ending in a num- 

 ber of sharp points, apparently formed of slate. In the vicinity 

 of the source of the Ruthing'i, several conical points are seen 

 covered with snow. 



The travellers continued along the banks of the Tagla to 

 Zoagchen, passing several streams which fall into it, and a 

 larger one named Keg6che, which comes from the south (S. 



