OF THE RIVER SETLE/. .311 



"Lieutenant Patrick Gerard, of the 8th Regiment, then doing duty with the 

 Nassiri Battalion of Gorkhas. We chose a circuitous route for the purpose 

 of laying open a part of the survey not then visited. As little of interest 

 however occurs in this early part of our journey, in which we passed through 

 the lower mountains, I shall be rather brief in my notice of it. Our route 

 lay in the first instance to the southward, crossing the Nagkunda pass, ele- 

 vated 9800 feet. This ridge seems to be composed of clay slate passing 

 into mica slate and quartz. It divides the supplies of the Setlej from those 

 of the Giri river, which falls into the Jumna. A few miles to the east of 

 the pass, is the fort of Whartu, if two guard houses built of unhewn stones 

 deserve the title of fort. It is elevated 10,000 feet above the sea, and is 

 therefore considerably colder than Kotgerh. The filbert and the sycamore 

 (the former producing excellent nuts) were found here. The ascent was 

 very steep, but there has been lately constructed an excellent road fo-r 

 horses, and a bungalow erected by Government, on the summit of the ridge, 

 for the convenience of travellers. 



After crossing the pass, we proceeded down the Salar stream, a feeder of 

 the Giri, and crossed the latter, which is amongst the largest of the moun* 

 tain rivers that have not their origin immediately from the snowy chain. 

 We were now on the right bank of this river, and in the hill state of Kyun- 

 thal. Hence our course lay S. S. E. to Chepal Fort in Jiibal, crossing 

 two of the principal feeders of the Giri and their separating ridges, and 

 latterly the great back, of which the ChYir is the principal peak, and which 

 separates the river vallies of the Giri and Tonse. This ridge is a ramifica- 

 tion from the snowy chain. It is of great height and steepness, and may be 

 considered the principal ridge belonging to the valley of the Jumna. The 

 Chur, the loftiest of its peaks, is elevated 12,149 feet above the level of the 

 sea. Many of the other peaks are not much less, and few of the passes north 

 of the Chur are under 9000 feet. It is well wooded ; though some of its 

 peaks rise above the limit of forest. The juniper, a species of red current, 

 the yew, with all the varieties of pine except that peculiar to the Himalaya 



