of the Valley of the Setlej River. 285 



ing very laborious. As they advanced, -vegetation became more 

 scarce, till at length it wholly disappeared ; and the last mile 

 presented a scene of solitude and desolation. 



The elevation was found by barometric measurement to be 

 18,313 feet above the sea. The pass is reckoned the boundary 

 between Kunawar and that part of Chinese Tartary which is 

 under the authority of the Grand Lama of Lahasa. 



There was very little snow in sheltered situations contiguous 

 to it, but none in the pass itself. Several birds were heard, 

 and especially the call of a species of pheasant, which lives near 

 the snow. 



The mountains inclosing the dell of the Tagla river, which 

 lead to the pass, are between 19,000 and 20,000 feet above 

 the level of the sea, just tipped with snow ; else they were co- 

 vered with tdmd, a prickly bush, to which the travellers in a 

 former journey gave the name of whins, and which 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 44°, 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 Shelli, 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 mountains ; yet there is 

 nothing to remind one of the Himalaya. Gently sloping 

 lulls 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. Ge- 

 rard 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 (lie goes on to observe) that the limit of 

 Vegetation should rise higher the further we proceed, but so 



