1853.] Notes upon a Tour in the Si7c7cini Himalayah Mountains. 615 



of the great quantity of water in the lake ; this lake it is prophesied 

 will in time dry up as the others have done, and that when salt can 

 be procured from the lake, it will be carried away over the passes by 

 a white nation who will come from the south, and who will seize 

 upon the lakes as their own. 



The lake is said to have commenced drying up lately, and it is 

 expected that salt will be obtainable from it in a few years. 



One European and only one (Dr. Hooker) has visited these passes. 



One mountain in the Nepal range is a most remarkable object, 

 both for its curious shape and for its immense height, its name none 

 of my party knew, nor have I yet succeeded in obtaining the name. 

 The peak is a hollow crater-like mountain probably 27,000 feet in 

 height with a long table-mountain attached to it, both covered with 

 glaciers. To the west of this great mountain are five distinct peaks 

 separating the large mountain from a hollow shell-like and perpen- 

 dicular mountain about 26,000 feet in height. The morning sun 

 shining upon this mass of snow, gave it the appearance of a gigantic 

 pearl-shell set upon its edge, the snow on the surface being of a 

 bright pink colour. Prom the peculiar hollow curved and perpendi- 

 cular nature of this mountain, it resembles the crater of a Volcano 

 broken down on one side ; beneath this range of snowy mountains 

 there is a range of bare mountains of a deep red colour about 19,000 

 feet in height, broken into thousands of ravines, and totally destitute 

 of vegetation. 



At 9 a. m. we got a glimpse of an inhabited Grurung's hut far 

 away upon a lofty mountain in Nepal, the flocks of white sheep look- 

 ing like small patches upon the mountain side. 



At a small trickle of water where we halted to breakfast, long 

 slender and entirely white worms were abundant in the water ; they 

 resembled long pieces of white thread. The Lepchas seemed to 

 hold them in great dread, and would on no account touch them. The 

 crest of Singaleelah at this spot is a precipitous jagged and rocky 

 mountain which necessitated us to descend several hundred feet 

 into the Nepal territory. At 11 a. M. the path led us through a 

 swampy tract of country with several pools of good water, numerous 

 streams flowing to the westward over slaty gneiss. On a patch of 

 luxuriant grass near the pools of water, I turned out from under a 



