230 Miscellaneous. [March, 



pletely closed by the 5tli of October. The remainder of the journey 

 has already been described. 



It may be observed that the whole of the country from Darcha in 

 Lahul to the Chumureri lake, is a vast uninhabited desert, without a 

 single tree, or even a bush knee high, and but scantily supplied with 

 water. 



In conclusion I will only notice the strange belief of the Gerards 

 that the snowy peaks to the north eastward of Piti and Lahul exceeded 

 in height all that they had seen of the Himalayas. The Baron Hum- 

 boldt (Kosmos, p. 45 n.) calls it an unfounded surmise, in which 

 opinion I cordially agree : and I believe that I am fully borne out by 

 the observations of Moorcroft and Trebeck when crossing the Kandu 

 La (Pass) 16,600 feet in height to the south-westward of La. Moorcroft 

 remarked that " the mountains near at hand were not much more 

 elevated than the ghat, except one at some distance to the west, 

 the peak of which was lost in clouds." Again, when crossing the 

 Changla Pass, 17,800 feet high to the south-eastward of La, he re- 

 marked that " as far as could be estimated by the eye the line of 

 elevation of the loftiest ridges rarely exceeded this, with the exception 

 of the mountain descried from the Pass of Kandu La." It is needless 

 to multiply passages to the same effect. It is sufficient that neither 

 to the south-westward, nor to the south-eastward of La, did Moorcroft, 

 observe any peaks higher than 18,000 feet, excepting one far to the 

 westward, which, on referring to Vigne's map, would appear to be the 

 double-peaked mountain called Paja Huy and Dum Huy, situated in 

 the great snowy range which divides the valley of the Chandrabhaga 

 from that of the Indus. 



Miscellaneous. 



1. — Inundation of the Indus, taken from the lips of an-eye witness,, 



A. D. 1842. 



{Communicated by Capt. J. Abbott.) 



UshruffKhan, Zemindar of Torbaila, states : — " In the month of Poos 

 (Dec.) the Indus was very low. In Maag and Phagoon (Jan. and Feb.) 

 it was so low as to be fordable (an unprecedented phenomenon). In 



