Rivers; Gances and JumMNaA. j2l 
So anxious were we to: get forwards but onward; their sides. were, so 
steep, and they appeared: of such great depth, that. I do not. think it 
would be possible to pass. them, (this year at least), even if the snow 
was nol, as at this hour,’ soft, and the bottoms of the chasms filling with 
water. Be that as, it:may, they are now utterly impassable... At. this 
season snow must fall here, whenever it abe Below. so that it does not 
acquire such hardness on the top, asit does on the avalanches. we have 
hitherte passed, where ne new snow at present falls.—- We now set out 
en our return, and not too-soon, as we found, for the snow was so soft, 
andthe increase of the water: so great, that though we went with the 
most possible expedition, it was only by 27 hours hard labour of wading, 
and fleundering in the snow, and scrambling among rocks, where they 
would giye a footing,..that we reached the turf, tired and bruised with 
fails, and the skin taken off from our faces and hands by the sun and 
“rying wind of these elevated regions. 
Ir now remains to give some account of this bed or valley of snow, 
which gives rise to the Ganges. It appears that we passed up it, some 
what more than a mile anda half—From our last station, we could see on» 
wards, as we estimated, about 5 miles, te where there seemed to be a crest 
er ridge of considerable elevation, though low when compared with the 
great peak which flanked its the general slope of the surface of the snow 
valley was 7 which was the angle of elevation of the crest, while that of 
the peak St. George, one of those which flanked it to the left, was 17 
49.—In the space we had passed over the snow bed, the Ganges was not 
to be seens it'was concealed, prebably, many hundred feet below the sure 
Hh 
