276 



Snow on the Himalayas. 



entirely to rely upon my individual observations, I have since applied 

 for information to my friend, Capt. J. D. Cunningham, who being 

 lately deputed on a Political Mission to Thibet, passed a vi^inter 

 in Hungrung, and who fully corroborates my views. I have like- 

 wise had access to the late Dr. Lord's notes on the Hindoo Koosh, 

 and find the phenomena observable on that part of the range, to 

 be precisely similar to what I had myself witnessed in Kunawur. 

 Dr. Lord, however, fully relying upon the accuracy of the published 

 information, endeavours to give reasons why the facts of the case 

 should on the Hindoo Koosh, be the reverse of those on the more 

 Eastern Himalaya ; but these facts having been misrepresented stand 

 in no need of such explanation, and consequently Dr. Lord's surmise 

 on the subject must fall to the ground. The chief portion of the 

 following notes was contained in my Journal of a trip through 

 Kunawur, &c., furnished to the Asiatic Society, but was for some 

 reason unknown to me, suppressed by the then Secretary, Mr. H. 

 Torrens. As I am inchned to think that the clearing up of the 

 question may be considered of some importance in a scientific point 

 of view, I now send my observations for publication in your Journal. 

 I wish more particularly to call attention to this subject, because it 

 has hitherto gone abroad to the public, that the snow on the Hima- 

 laya lies longer and lower down on the southern face, than on 

 the northern ; and as both my experience in this matter, and Dr. 

 Lord's remarks on the Hindoo Koosh are directly at variance with this 

 reputed fact, I have ventured to quote the above-named gentleman's 

 words, and shall endeavour to remove what I have found to be an 

 erroneous impression. 



At the time of our visit," says Dr. Lord, *" the snow which 

 on the southern face extended, in any quantity, to a distance of not 

 more than four or five miles, on the northern, reached eighteen 

 or twenty, and at a subsequent period, November 9th, when I made 

 an attempt to go into Turkistan by the Pass of Sir Ulung, and 

 met with no snow until within ten miles of the summit, it actually on 

 the northern face extended sixty miles, or nearly four days' journey. 

 This is a fact which forcibly arrested my attention, as the reverse is 

 well known to be the case in the Himalayan chain, where snow lies 

 lower down on the southern face than on the northern, to an extent 



