1838.] in the Himalayan range* 313 



talcose schist is the chief rock. At Gumsdli the granite is met with 

 in situ, pervading gneiss and mica schist, exactly in the mode shewn 

 by Lyell in his picture of Cape Wrath in Scotland. The breadth 

 of the veins is sometimes very thin, but sometimes the granite spreads 

 into great broad patches. It is a reddish variety in general, but a highly 

 quartzoze variety with large schorl (?) or tourmaline (?) crystals is very 

 common. Just above Gumsdli the river runs through tremendous gneiss 

 and granite precipices, and the road is carried along scaffoldings, now 

 quite passable for a poney, hamdre aqbdl se. After turning this corner 

 and ascending to Niti village the Himalaya peaks are all turned, not 

 one is left to the north, though some of the northwest and northeastern 

 heights are within perpetual snow limits. At Niti limestone (not crys- 

 talline) and argillaceous schist, chiefly the latter, are the rocks. Niti is 

 1 1 ,500 feet above the sea, and when I arrived no snow was to be seen 

 even in the river bed. On the 10th October, I left the Nitians cutting 

 their barley and phaphar harvest, and proceeded on to the junction of 

 the Gunes with the Dhttuli. I met with the first snow near Gildung, 

 more than 14,500 feet high, and this snow was merely a snow-cave 

 in the river, the leavings of last winter. A few masses of gneiss and gra- 

 nite were still to be seen in the bed of the Dhauli, the debris of some 

 of the southern precipices through which I could see the granite veins 

 running along; but argillaceous schist and quartz were the rocks of 

 the surrounding hills. There is one very bad gorge between Gothing 

 and Gildung pastures, where I shall have some trouble in making my 

 road, but after Gildung the hills are round and smooth up to the pass. 

 They were covered with grass and saussiire flowers, the grass of very 

 peculiar kinds and noted for its goodness. The pastures were covered 

 with yaks (chowra-gaies) and jubboos, the mule breed. These animals 

 retreat of their own accord to the villages on the setting in of the winter 

 just before the villagers depart for the southern parganas. I carried up 

 firewood and other loads on the backs of yaks, and my servants rode 

 on others. Very few are white, except at the tail. 



The rivers Gunes and Dhauli are mere streams, and were half frozen 

 above Gildung at their junction, but between Gothing, the Rylkanda 

 joins the main river with a large body of water, arising at this season 

 from a glacier, and up to this point the Dhauli may be said to be unford- 

 able, except at one or two rocky points near Niti. The Gunes may 

 be said to arise from a snow-bed, for I saw snow-caves towards its 

 source, but the Dhauli or furthest branch of the Ganges certainly rises 

 from a spring at the southern face of the pass where on the 11th Oct. 

 there was not even a speck of snow. My camp on the 10th, was at 

 2 r 2 



