1842.] of the Himmalay a Mountains. lxxiii 



tender. The dip of the rock at Retorah was irregular, and the gneiss 

 in the neighbourhood equally so, the strata having many undulations, 

 but the rock observed in the bottom of the valley had a dip N. W. 



152. Descending from this Pass quartz rock of an arenaceous com- 

 position is found. It contains beds of chloritic schist. Beyond this, 

 near Mala, argillaceous schist becomes established, of great variety of 

 aspect, of a purplish, greenish and light grey colour, straight, fissile, with 

 rhombhoidal cleavages, and of a soft consistence, comprising every 

 variety almost of the brightest colours. It contains beds of limestone, 

 which are often highly argillaceous. Farther down in the valley of the 

 Cossillah, micaceous schist is met with, and then an extensive patch 

 of gneiss, which stretches across the valley, and is probably connected 

 with other masses shortly to be noticed. Afterwards the micaceous schist 

 again re-establishes itself, and continues to Almorah. Here for the 

 present we shall break off this description, and return to the route from 

 Sacen, in which gneiss was traced as far as Naneik, and to the bed of 

 the Ramgunga below the village, (Art. 106.) 



153. The route proceeds by Ratik, gneiss accompanying us the whole 

 way; some fragments of a very peculiar rock were found, composed 

 wholly of a substance which might be called intermediate in character 

 between rhombohedraj and prismatic talc mica. It was of a dark brown- 

 ish green colour, and the folise of the mineral were placed in every 

 direction, having the appearance of a confused aggregation. The same 

 rock occurs rather abundantly in the ascent to the Soor Doora Pass, but 

 always in fragments, while the rock in situ continues to be gneiss as far 

 as the village of Soor. Beds of hornblende schist, and of micaceous 

 schist occur in the descent to the bed of the Sirjoo river; the gneiss 

 being, however, the containing rock, and continuing to some distance 

 beyond the village of Soope. 



154. Here the rock begins to change, the gneiss appearing to pass 

 into a fine grained mixture of talc and quartz, which may also perhaps 

 contain felspar. This is succeeded by quartz rock, which again becomes 

 talcose, and incloses small beds of talcose schist. It passes into chloritic 

 schist also, the quartz becoming at first green. The latter rock con- 

 tains veins of quartz, and on one a particular concretion of so remarkable 

 a shape and appearance, as to have the strongest resemblance to a 

 rib-bone. In endeavouring to detach it, the resemblance was des- 



