258 
S. C. Das— Travels on the Shores of Lake Yamdo-Croft. [No. 8, 
He describes the breadth of the lake as varying from two to three 
miles, and says that it is reported to be very deep. In the centre of 
the lake there is a hill at the foot of which, are situated a number of 
villages. The circumference of the lake is about 45 miles ; it is crossed 
in wicker boats covered with leather. 
The Pandit rode along the banks from Piahte-jong to the village 
of Demalung, from which point the lake stretches to the south-east 
about 20 miles, and then turns west. 
This is the Pandit’s account of the lake, extracted from his diary. 
He further reported to Colonel Montgomerie, that he was informed that 
the lake encircled a large island, which rises into low, rounded 
hills, 2,000 or 3,000 feet high, and covered with grass to the top. 
Between the hills and the margin of the lake, several villages and 
a white monastery, were visible on the island. The Pandit was 
told that the lake had no outlet, but he says, its waters were per¬ 
fectly fresh. Mr. Manning on the contrary says, in the text, that 
the water of the lake is very bad. The Pandit’s observations make 
the lake 13,500 feet above the sea ; and the island rises to 16,000 
feet above the sea. 
2. A Short Account of Tibet. 
Tibet, to speak in the language of Captain Samuel Turner, strikes 
a traveller, at first sight, as one of the least favoured countries under 
heaven, and appears to be in a great measure incapable of culture. It 
exhibits only low rocky mountains, without any visible vegetation, or 
extensive arid plains, both of the most stern and stubborn aspect. Its 
climate is cold and bleak in the extreme, from the severe effects of 
which, the inhabitants are obliged to seek refuge in the sheltered valleys, 
and hollows, or amidst the warmest aspects of the rocks. Yet perhaps 
providence, in its impartial distribution of blessings, has bestowed on 
each country a tolerably equal share. The advantages that one 
possesses in fertility, and in richness of its forests and its fruits, are 
amply counterbalanced in the other by its multitudinous flocks and 
invaluable mines. As one seems to possess the pabulum of vegetable, 
in the other we find a superabundance of animal life. The variety and 
quantity of wild-fowl, game, and beasts of prey, flocks, droves and herds, 
in Tibet are astonishing. 
The climate of the country north of the Himalayas within the 
distance of 60 miles, in a direct line from 
the Kangchanjunga, is extremely cold. The 
summits of the mountains within this zone remain covered with snow 
Climate. 
