Part 5 (2/2)
From Chegaon to Pangi we had pa.s.sed through the finest and most fertile part of Kunawar, which is, however, by no means confined to the north bank of the Sutlej; many large villages having been seen on the opposite side of the valley, with almost as much cultivation as those through which we had pa.s.sed. The communication across the Sutlej is kept up by paths which lead through the lower cultivation and vineyards to the bank of the river, which is spanned in several places by rope-bridges, one of which only, we saw at a distance. During these three days' journey, the weather was most beautiful, and we could never sufficiently admire the ever-changing beauties of the scenery, which, probably, for variety and magnificence, is nowhere surpa.s.sed.
The great peak of Raldang, a culminating point of the south Sutlej Himalaya, lies nearly opposite to Chini, and, from a great part of the Kunawar valley, is a prominent feature from almost every point of view. It forms a rugged rocky ma.s.s, and the ravines on its slopes are filled with large ma.s.ses of snow, the lowest beds at this season of a dirty grey colour, and evidently still rapidly receding under the influence of the powerful autumn sun. No glaciers were anywhere in sight.
We were now about to enter upon a very troublesome part of our journey, the crossing of the various ridges which are given off by the mountain range north of the Sutlej, at the great bend of that river where it is joined by the almost equally large Piti river, from the north. These long ranges, given off by an axis 18,000 feet in height, slope at first gently towards these rivers, but at last dip extremely abruptly into the enormous ravine, at the bottom of which the Piti and Sutlej rivers run. Occasionally a rugged and difficult footpath may be found to lead among these precipices, by frequent steep ascents and descents, at no great distance above the river. These paths are always most laborious, and often very dangerous, and the usual road into the valley of the Piti river leads across the higher part of all these ridges, where they are no longer precipitous, but slope at a gentle inclination.
[Sidenote: ROCKS OF KUNAWAR.
_August, 1847._]
During the journey from Simla, I had been able to acquire very little information regarding the geology of the valley of the Sutlej; the quant.i.ty of forest, and the rapidity with which we travelled, being unfavourable to the determination of the nature of the rocks. In the earlier part of our journey argillaceous schist, often highly micaceous, predominated. In Kunawar, from w.a.n.gtu eastward, gneiss and mica-schist were almost the only rocks which I observed. These appeared to alternate again and again as we advanced, but I obtained no certainty regarding their relative position. Veins of granite occurred occasionally in the gneiss, especially at w.a.n.gtu, and probably, from the number of boulders, the axis of the range north of the Sutlej is composed of granite.
Behind Pangi is the Werang ridge, crossed by the pa.s.s of that name at a point where its height is 13,200 feet above the sea. This ridge, as will be seen by the map, separates the valley east of Pangi from that of Lipa, the next in succession to the eastward, through which a large tributary flows to join the Sutlej. From Pangi to Lipa, the distance, though considerable, is not too much for an active man to accomplish in one day. It would, however, have been a very long march, allowing of no delay on the way, or on the top of the pa.s.s. We therefore divided the distance into two days' journey, ascending on the 18th of August to the upper limit of tree vegetation on the west side of the ridge, and leaving the remainder of the ascent and the whole descent for the next day.
[Sidenote: ASCENT TOWARDS THE WERANG Pa.s.s.
_August, 1847._]
At daybreak we were on foot, preparing for the ascent. The morning was, as usual for some days past, thickly foggy, and a heavy dew had fallen during the night. At starting we ascended gently through a dry pine-wood, towards the face of the mountain ridge of which Pangi occupies the western slope. This ridge, like that above Rogi, on the previous day's journey, is very precipitous towards the Sutlej; and the road leads among rocks, and sometimes over planks of wood, ascending gradually as we advanced. After about a mile and a half, rounding the most projecting part of the ridge, we began to recede from the Sutlej on the eastern slope of the range, along the western side of a beautifully wooded open valley, at the bottom of which ran a large rapid stream, evidently descending from snow. Without descending at all, we continued to advance for a mile and a half through fine forest, till we nearly met the stream, which we crossed after a slight abrupt descent. Immediately after crossing, a steep fatiguing ascent of not less than three miles commenced, continuing, with scarcely any intermission, till we reached the spot selected for our encampment, inclining all the way in the direction of the course of the stream, and therefore towards the Sutlej; so that when we stopped, we almost overlooked that river, and had a fine view of the peak of Raldang, covered with a dazzling coat of fresh snow.
The forest at the base of this ascent was princ.i.p.ally composed of deodar and Gerard's pine. The former continued abundant till within a quarter of a mile of the top, when it suddenly disappeared. _Pinus Gerardiana_ gradually diminished in number during the ascent, and at last disappeared about the same time as the deodar. _Pinus excelsa_ was not seen at the bottom, and was scarce on the earlier part of the ascent, but became more abundant as we increased our elevation, and was the only tree seen round our encampment. At this point the trees were straggling and distant, but very tall and luxuriant, being well sheltered by rocks. Above our encampment, which was, according to Captain Strachey's barometer, 11,800 feet, there were only a very few stunted trees on a rocky ridge behind. Excepting in the occurrence of a few new species of _Astragalus_ and _Artemisia_, now quite typical forms, the vegetation during the greater part of the ascent was the same as on the higher levels east of Miru, and it was only above 11,000 feet that any considerable change was observed. Here three species of juniper made their appearance, all stunted bushes, though one of them was _J. excelsa_, which, in more favourable circ.u.mstances, grows to a small tree. The second species was _J. squamosa_, a depressed shrub, with rigid twisted branches, and the third was undistinguishable from the common juniper of Europe. A th.o.r.n.y species of _Ribes_, very like the common gooseberry, a strongly scented l.a.b.i.ate, _Dictamnus Himalaya.n.u.s_, several _Compositae_, one of which was a large-flowered thistle, and European-looking _Junci_ and gra.s.ses, were all observed above 11,000 feet. A beautiful Rose (_R.
Webbiana_) was common all the way from the stream.
During the ascent, after crossing the ravine, the rock was throughout gneiss, pa.s.sing sometimes into a curious dark slaty rock. It was often very fine-grained; and in one place a granite vein was observed, entirely without stratification, and about a foot thick. Throughout the ascent the surface was strewed with erratic blocks of granite, evidently transported from a distance.
The slope below our camp, for several hundred feet, was cultivated with barley, but the crops were indifferent. Lower down, the mountain-side was too steep to admit of tillage. There were no houses, the fields being the property of the inhabitants of a village a long way below, to the east of Pangi.
The morning of the 19th, before sunrise, was a good deal clearer than the two last had been, but mist began to collect soon after sunrise, and did not entirely disappear for about two hours. Immediately after starting, the last trees of _Pinus excelsa_ were left behind, and the ascent to the crest of the pa.s.s was gentle, over rough stony ground, covered with tufts of juniper, a shrubby _Artemisia_, and _Pteris aquilina_. The pa.s.s, which has an elevation of 13,200 feet, occupies a low part of the ridge, the slope to the left descending gently, but rising again into a sharp rocky peak, five or six hundred feet higher.
The crest of the pa.s.s is a vast ma.s.s of loose rocks, and the slopes of the hill on the right are likewise covered with a ma.s.s of fragments.
These angular boulders are all granite, none of which occurs _in situ_; the rocks throughout the ascent, so far as I could observe, being gneiss and mica-slate, the latter in one place containing large crystals of cyanite in great abundance.
In the crevices of the loose stones which covered the pa.s.s, a very luxuriant vegetation was found; the same plants grew on the hill to the right, and were especially abundant among its rocky recesses. The forms were, for the first time on our journey, quite alpine, very few of the plants being even shrubby, while the great majority were small herbs. A willow, a very small _Rhododendron_, and _Andromeda fastigiata_, were almost the only shrubby plants, and the majority of forms were those common on the Alps of Europe, and comprised species of _Astragalus_, _Stellaria_, _Anemone_, _Ranunculus_, _Meconopsis_, _Saxifraga_, _Sedum_, several _Umbelliferae_, _Pedicularis_, _Gentiana_, _Gnaphalium_, _Dolomiaea_, _Saussurea_, _Artemisia_, _Ligularia_, _Morina_, _Galium_, _Valeriana_, and many others. I added to my collection in all about thirty new species in a very short time.
I had, however, never before been at so great an elevation in the Himalaya, so that almost every plant I met was new to me.
The view from the top of the pa.s.s was only remarkable for its barrenness. In the direction we had ascended, the prospect was not striking; and to the north-east, the valley in advance and hills beyond were almost bare, scattered bushes and very little forest being visible. The wind blew over the pa.s.s from the Indian side, and continued throughout the day to blow on our backs strongly as we descended.
[Sidenote: DESCENT FROM THE WERANG Pa.s.s.
_August, 1847._]
From the crest of the pa.s.s, the descent to Lipa was long and steep, the distance being about five miles. At about 500 feet or rather more (of perpendicular height) below the pa.s.s, the first tree, a large birch, stood quite alone, with a stout erect trunk. A little further down, a small grove of the same trees was pa.s.sed, in which every individual had its trunk bent in the direction of the slope, probably by the weight of the winter's snow. No birches had been seen on the south face of the pa.s.s, nor did the dwarf _Rhododendron_ and little _Andromeda_ appear till the summit had been gained, though they were abundant on the northern face. _Rhododendron campanulatum_ was the next plant observed, forming bushes four or five feet in height, and growing in large green patches, along with the willow, which I had found on the top, and the same rose common on the southern side. About 1200 feet below the summit, that is, about 12,000 feet above the sea, pine-trees commenced--_Pinus excelsa_ and _Picea_ making their appearance together, the deodar not till a considerably lower level had been reached. The trees of silver fir were small, with smaller and shorter leaves than the common tree of the forests in the outer Himalaya, and were therefore the true _Picea Webbiana_ of Royle, the more common long-leaved form being the _Picea Pindrow_ of that author[5].
At an elevation of 11,000 feet, at a rough estimate, we pa.s.sed the first deodars, and at the same height cultivation commenced. The first fields were wheat, now nearly ripe. With the cultivation many plants of lower elevation began to appear, which had disappeared on the upper part of the mountain, but many were missed which had been common, and the general aspect of the vegetation was strikingly altered, the diminution affecting at once the number, the abundance, and the luxuriance of the plants. Juniper was frequent till some time after the first corn-fields were pa.s.sed, and Gerard's pine was common on the lower part of the descent. Throughout the whole distance from the crest to the Lipa stream, the road lay along a ravine, which was very rough and uneven, and covered with numerous and often very large boulders of granite[6] scattered irregularly over the surface of the valley. Towards the end of the day's march, we reached the Lipa stream, which was of large size; and we continued along its right bank, through a dry fir-wood, till close to the village, when we crossed by a substantial wooden bridge to enter Lipa, which is situate on a flattish piece of ground on the left bank of the stream, and very little above its level. It is a small village, with some cultivation, and a rather odd-looking little temple, close to which are two fine trees of _Juniperus excelsa_, the sacred juniper of the Kunawarees and Tibetans. We were accommodated with a room close to the temple, which afforded us sufficiently comfortable quarters.
At the back of the village a thick bank of alluvial clay was observed resting on the rocks behind, and vast ma.s.ses of the same extended up the valley for a considerable distance. This was the first occurrence of a very common feature of Tibetan valleys, so common as to be almost universal; and as I shall have many opportunities of referring to it again, and shall find it necessary to try to give some explanation, or rather to attempt some conjectures as to its cause, I shall only here pause to observe that the first time of its occurrence coincided with the first entrance into an extremely dry climate; the pa.s.sage of the Werang ridge having effected a greater change in the aspect of the country than had been seen during very many previous days--the change from luxuriant forest, not indeed to treelessness, but to thin and stunted woods.
[Sidenote: LIPA.
_August, 1847._]
In the valley of Lipa I met with a species of caper, apparently the same which I had collected at Rampur on the Sutlej, on hot rocky places close to the river, but which had not been met with in the intermediate parts of the journey. This little p.r.i.c.kly shrub I afterwards found to be a common Tibetan plant, which (like most of its tribe) prefers the hottest and driest exposures, expanding its large white blossoms on dry stony ground, or among rocks where hardly any other plant will vegetate.
Lipa is situated at no great distance from the Sutlej, at an elevation of 8000 feet above the level of the sea. The next range to the eastward is that of Runang, separating the Lipa valley from that of the Ruskalan, on which is situated the village of Sungnam. As in the former instance, we divided the pa.s.sage into two days' journey, encamping on the 20th of August at an elevation of 12,500 feet. The road began to ascend as soon as we left Lipa. At first we took the direction of the stream, gradually rising along the face of a rocky hill composed of a dark clay-slate, which had now taken the place of the gneiss of the lower part of the Sutlej; but turning to the left, to ascend the ridge, as soon as its crest had been gained. The surface was everywhere barren and dried up. A few scattered pine trees occurred at intervals, but nothing approaching to forest, and the parched stony ground was quite dest.i.tute of any covering of turf or of herbaceous vegetation in sufficient quant.i.ty to attract the notice of the general observer. The ascent on the ridge was steep and uninterrupted; but as the general direction of the day's journey was down the range, or towards the Sutlej, we had to pa.s.s from one ridge to the next in succession, across the ravine by which the two were separated. Here the road was nearly level, and took a long curve in the receding hollow of the hill, turning round a belt of green which occupied the middle of the hollow.
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