1842.] to Shipke, in Chinese Tartary. 387 



Rampoor is situate in latitude 31* 27' and longitude 77° 42', on 

 the left bank of the Sutroodra or Sutlej ; although the capital of Busa- 

 hir it is not near so populous as might be expected. There are several 

 fairs here during the year, to which the Koonawurees bring blankets of 

 various sorts, coarse shawls, wool, raisins, salt, borax and chowrees, and 

 exchange them for wheat, tobacco, sugar, swords, &c. The houses 

 may be about a hundred in number, they are large, well built, and cover- 

 ed with thick slates of a brownish colour, which form very heavy roofs ; 

 upon a few of the houses the slates are cut into oblongs, and laid regu- 

 larly, which give them a neat appearance, but by far the greater number 

 are of all shapes and sizes, and put on without any regard to order. 

 Under the rajah's palace, a handsome edifice at the northern angle of the 

 town, there is a rope bridge similar to the one at Wangtoo across the 

 Sutlej leading to Kooloo, the breadth of the river is here 211 feet, and 

 the jhoola is elevated thirty feet above the stream, which in the rainy 

 season is said to come within four feet of it. In December and January 

 when the river is at its lowest, people sometimes cross upon inflated 

 skins. We found the bed of the Sutlej by barometrical observations 

 3,260 feet above the level of the sea. 



The site of Rampoor is low and much confined, and one of the 

 worst that could have been fixed upon, and from its being encircled 

 by high mountains subtending an angle of between twenty and 

 thirty degrees, a breath of wind can scarcely ever reach it; there is 

 little soil and no wood upon the surrounding hills, and large por- 

 tions of naked rock appear on every side of the town, which being 

 once heated, retain their warmth for a long time, so that in summer 

 the nights are not much cooler than the days, and from there being 

 no circulation of air, the place for several months in the year is like an 

 oven. 



7th November. — Marched to Nirt upon the left bank of the river. 

 The distance is twelve and a half miles, and the road for the first four 

 and a half consisted of short rocky ascents and descents to the Nou- 

 guree, a large stream coming from the eastward ; we crossed it by an 

 excellent high sango with a railing, and the rest of the way was quite 

 plain, lying near the Sutlej. 



The extreme height of the bed of the river opposite to the village is 

 2,912 feet, and as this is the last place where we had an opportunity of 



3 F 



