The Tsangpo 



35 



ceive the necessary training for the work. 

 At the head-quarters of the Survey he was 

 taught the use of the sextant, compass, 

 etc., to recognize all the larger stars, to 

 walk with paces of uniform length, and 

 to make a simple route-survey. When 

 these things had been sufficiently ac- 

 quired, he was sent to explore the Tsang- 

 po from its source to India, if possible. 

 It was 1865 before he succeeded in estab- 

 lishing himself in Tibet as a trader desir- 

 ing to buy horses and at the same time, 

 as a pious Buddhist, to do homage to the 

 Lhasa Lama. His " instrumental equip- 

 ment consisted of a large sextant, two box 

 sextants, prismatic and pocket compass, 

 thermometers for observing temperature 

 of air and of boiUng water, pocket chro- 

 nometer and common watch, with appa- 

 ratus, the latter reduced as much as pos- 

 sible." After numerous adventures he 

 finally reached Lhasa, where he had an 

 interview with the Grand Lama, whom he 

 described as a fair and handsome boy of 

 about thirteen years of age, seated on a 

 throne six feet high, attended by two of 

 the highest priests, each holding a bundle 

 of peacock feathers. In this journey he 

 ■ was able to follow the course of the river 

 only to the neighborhood of Lhasa, sorne 

 six hundred miles. Nor did he succeed in 

 tracing it farther in a second journey 

 made seven years later — a journey mem- 

 orable, however, from the fact that he 



made a route survey of 1,319 miles, 1,200 

 of which were through country never pre- 

 viously explored, and took four hundred 

 and ninety-seven observations. During all 

 this time he was known to the scientific 

 world only as the " pundit," but the suf- 

 ferings of this last journey having so af- 

 fected his health as to compel him to give 

 up his connection with the Survey, his 

 name was disclosed. He has been fol- 

 lowed by others, among whom those 

 known as A — k, D — m — g, and K. P. have 

 accomplished the most in trans-Hima- 

 layan exploration, all men of like courage, 

 endurance, and animated by a single- 

 minded devotion to their duty. But none 

 have succeeded, as yet, in tracing the 

 Tsangpo's course through the mountains 

 to Assam. 



But there are indications of a change 

 of feeling of the rulers of Tibet toward 

 the Indian Government which promises 

 free intercourse between the two countries 

 in the not distant future. As the deadly 

 hostility of the Mishmis to strangers pene- 

 trating their mountain fastnesses has been 

 largely due to Tibetan influence, we may 

 look in time to a similar change among 

 them to friendliness. If this should be the 

 case, we trust that the man who lifts the 

 veil which shrouds this wondrous passage 

 of the river through the Himalayas may 

 be one of that noble band, a native Indian 

 surveyor. 



