BACK VIEW OF THE HIMALAYAS 309 



the sunless ravine. My breath froze on my moustache, 

 and my fingers ached even in warm gloves. 



I resumed my march at 6.30 next morning, and went 

 on up stream near its source. A gradual ascent brought 

 me to a level piece of ground, whence I obtained a splendid 

 view of the back of the snowy range — stretching from 

 north-west to south-east. From this point the Himalayas 

 do not look very imposing. There was a level plain below, 

 encircled by rounded hill-tops, and vegetation was very 

 scanty. The hillsides are covered with small broken rocks, 

 which, at a little distance, give a round and smooth appear- 

 ance to the landscape. It is the action of the weather, 

 I think, which wears everything smooth. The wind, 

 especially, has enormous force in these elevated regions, 

 and tears along crags, precipices, and rough points with a 

 noise like a mighty river over a rocky bed ; indeed, the 

 sound is so similar that I often mistook the rushing of 

 the wind above for the echo of the stream below. In the 

 course of ages the mountains have been rounded ofi", and 

 undulations and curves have become the characteristics of 

 the country ; the ceaseless action of the elements has this 

 effect upon the naked rocks. The force of the wind is 

 terrible in these high regions ; on an exposed ridge or 

 hill-top a man cannot resist the pressure for more than a 

 few minutes at a time. My theory may have no founda- 

 tion in fact, but it is at least plausible. A^egetation is 

 altogether wanting. The traveller in the midst of such 

 desolation cannot but speculate on the causes which have 

 produced it : there is nothing else to think of. 



I came down to the stream at the level of the plain at 

 noon. The sparkling rivulet that was murmuring past 

 my tent door is one of those which are the true head 

 waters of the sacred Ganges. They are the sources of the 

 Bhiigirati river, that rushes past the village of Mlang, and 



