114 Extracts from the “Journal of a Swvey to explore [Avc. 
the place by no means an uncomfortable abode, for the heights 
near it shelter it from the violence of the winds. The sun is 
‘pleasantly warm in the middle of the day, and the progress of 
* vegetation is rapid in proportion to the length of the winter. 
The rocky and snowy defile called Jumnotri, where the Junma 
originates, is seen in the direction of N. 42° east. Distant three 
miles. Latitude of Cursali, 30° 57’ 19”. 
During three days I attempted to get some sets of lunar 
distances, and also transits of the moon over the meridian, but 
was constantly prevented by clouds from doing any thing satis- 
factorily. 
Cursali to Jumnotri. Flat along the village fields: here 
climb a steep rocky corner above the river’s bed. Jumnotri 
nearly 41°30’. Chia mountain, over which there is a pass to 
Suc’hi on the Ganges, practicable in the rains (at present, it is 
blocked up by deep snow). 
Steep descent through snow | to 5 feet deep; then flat. 
Fields. Shght acclivity; snow patches. Abundance of 
pheasants here, chiefly of the kind called Monal. . 
Rough and rocky: descend. to the Jumna, which in several 
et flows under beds of snow 25 or 30 feet thick. An over- 
anging precipice to the right. A torrent called the Bandiali, 
half the size of the Jumha, joins it from a cleft in the rock, and 
is the first tribute it receives. The path to this station entirely 
through snow ; cross the river twice, once on the stones, and 
once onasnowarch. _ 
At Bhairo Ghati. The crest of one of the steepest ascents 
(for its length) I ever saw; it is entirely up the snow, in which 
we cut steps with p*haoras (spades) to facilitate our passage. 
There is here a place dedicated to Bhairo Lal, who is esteemed 
to be the Janitor of Jumnotri and Gangotri. It is nothing more 
than a low building (if it may be so called) of three feet high, 
containing some small iron tridents. I hung a new English 
silver coin by a copper ring on one of them. 
Exceedingly steep descent to the Jumna by steps cut in the 
snow. A cascade of the stream cuts through the snow, and 
falls from a rock of the height of about 50 feet. 
Stiff ascent up the snow bed, which conceals the river. 
Except here, where the stream is visible for a few yards through 
a hole in the snow, the snow bed is about 100 yards wide, and 
bounded by high precipices, from which masses of rock of 40 
feet in length have recently fallen. 
River as before under the snow: here it appears through a 
deep hole faliing in a cascade from the rock below the ‘snow. 
Rocks on both sides, those to the right cased with ice. 
At Jumnotri, the snow which covers and conceals the stream 
is about 60 yards wide, and is bounded to the right and left by 
mural precipices of granite ; it is 40 feet 51 inches thick, and has 
* fallen from the precipices above. In front, at the distance’ of 
