THE BHAGERUTTEE RIVER. 127 



and rhododendron, interspersed with grassy slopes, 

 verdant knolls, and rocky ravines, whilst the lower 

 slopes are richly cultivated in terraces. The stream 

 itself is about fifty yards wide, and generally ford- 

 able, except in the bends, where there are dark 

 pools of great depth. The current is at all times 

 very strong and rapid, and the water exceedingly 

 cold. At this season of the year the Bhageruttee 

 is almost at its lowest, and the water clear and 

 pellucid, but in March it begins to rise from the 

 melting of the snow in the higher regions ; and in 

 the latter end of June, or beginning of July (the 

 close of the summer and the commencement of the 

 heavy rains), it becomes full, and assumes the pro- 

 portions of a mighty river, which gradually de- 

 creases as the cooler weather comes on. When 

 full, the waters are thick and muddy, from the 

 washings of the mountains and high lands. As a 

 general rule, we found all snow streams lowest in 

 the morning and highest in the evening, which fact 

 is easily accounted for, as it is the intense heat of 

 the sun's rays in the daytime that makes the 

 greatest impression upon the snow, and necessarily 



