]20 Narrative of a Journey to Cho Lagan, fyc. [July, 



there is a pass into Sela of Darma ; this route is practicable and still 

 in use ; cross Hikong, a stream coming from a glacier under the snowy 

 mountain Kariye, through a very deep channel in the low ground 

 of the valley bottom, which, the same here as lower down, consists of 

 deep accumulations of debris from the surrounding hill sides. 



The Kunti crops, Ua-jo and Phapar, are just reaped : the barley was 

 somewhat damaged by the snow which fell here for three days, the 

 18th to 20th instant, and yet they say the injury has been less than 

 what they usually experience from frost, which most years sets in, at 

 this village, before the harvest is reaped. Pass through the village of 

 Kunti, the houses ill built, in 2 or 3 wretched stories, resting against 

 the slope of the hill side, and cross the Hianre, which is a stream like 

 the Hikong, coming from the mountain Giinye through a deep ravine 

 in the lower ground ; it drives several watermills, Ghato, erected along 

 the bank, the machinery consisting of a single horizontal wheel with ob- 

 lique floats, or vanes, against which the stream is directed through a 

 small wooden trough, and this construction is probably preferable to 

 that of two movements, vertical and horizontal ; the loss of power in 

 the oblique action being no worse than the excessive friction in the 

 others, and the single wheel more economical and lasting ; the whole 

 concern is contained in a mill house (Ghato-chim) some 6 feet cube. 



The proprietors of these mills take 2 seers of flour from each 20 

 Nali (about 30 seers) of grain ground for their neighbours. 



Thermometer at 4 p. m. 57° ; boiled at 190° ; elevation 13,000 feet, 

 which probably exceeds that of any other village in the British Hima- 

 laya. 



The appearance of Kunti agrees with my estimate of its elevation ; 

 the mountain sides round about have a scanty covering of brown ill 

 looking grass with a little Juniper and Dama, the height of a thou- 

 sand feet or so, above which is bare rock and thin snow. On the other 

 side of the river the mountains throw out some inferior spurs of hill, 

 on which are scanty Birch trees, degenerating to mere shrubs, and the 

 highest of them not 500 feet above the level of the village. 



Evening cloudy, with a little rain ; Thermometer at sunset 47° ; not 

 particularly comfortable in my hut of bare mats. 



(To be continued.) 



