1848.] Narrative of a Journeij to Cho Lay an, fyc. 147 



that the horseman we saw was a Government chaprassy (or whatever 

 may be the Hunia equivalent to that functionary) come to collect men 

 from the Tols for the conveyance of provisions, &c. from Pruang to 

 Barka, for the use of a Garpun then encamped at the latter place ; who 

 this Garpun was and what he was doing at Barka did not appear ; the 

 regular Garpun being usually fixtures at Gortokh, or in the winter at 

 Gargunsa, which is one or two days further down the river northward. 



Fuel being scarce and Bhotias dilatory, I was unable to boil the 

 thermometer here ; but the elevations of the bottom of Chujia-Tol 

 may be estimated, I think, at 15,250 feet, 750 below our last camp at 

 Bhawiti, and 1000 feet of descent from Lama-Choktan, Our camp here 

 was on low hills not more than 150 feet above the bottom, being only 

 a mile or so from their termination, where the Tol enters the main 

 valley. 



Thermometer at 9 p. m. 25°. 



3rd October. — Thermometer at 3 a. m. 24°. We started early 

 at 4 a. m. with moonlight just sufficient for our purpose; descended 

 the hilly bank, crossed Chujia-Tol, in which I could see nothing, but 

 the flat bottom of the valley appeared to be a furlong or two in width, 

 and the stream of water very small ; we then ascended again a very 

 considerable hill, part of which was very steep and stony, and the 

 rarefaction of air so sensible as to give some trouble to myself and my 

 pony. We reached the summit a little before sunrise ; the elevation 

 of it must be about 1,750 feet above Chujia-Tol, i. e. 17,000 feet, yet 

 there was very little snow on the top, only a few patches lying in 

 hollow and sheltered parts of the north side. The most remarkable 

 part of the prospect from this eminence was the Indian Himalaya, 

 the view of which extended from Momonangli on the extreme east, 

 as far westwards perhaps as Laptel, including all the outer part at 

 least of the snowy range of Byans, Darma and Jwar, and from our 

 elevated station we seemed almost to be looking down upon the 

 top of the snowy range, which had now lost much of its apparent 

 height, but with an increase of visible breadth in the same proportions, 

 so that the range assumed something of the appearance of a wide 

 field or sea of snow tossed into a thousand heaps in the most gigan- 

 tic confusion. It was only at the base of the Byans mountains close 

 opposite that I could distinguish any think like a regular arrangement 



