VERSES BORROWED FROM A PERSIAN ODE OF HAFEZ. Ai bad nesîmi yâr dari Zan nefheï mushedâr dari, &c. O sweet gale! thou bearest the fragrant scent of my beloved: thence it is thou hast this musky odour: beware; do not steal, &c. O fragrant gale! that balmy breath O rose ! long wilt thou strive in vain, O radiant star! thy distant gleams O wisdom! if thy choice were free Be calm, my throbbing heart!-how well Thou know'st that long-loved, much-lov'd name! Which soon will crown thy faithful flame. E. R. CAPTAIN HODGSON'S JOURNAL OF A SURVEY TO THE HEAD OF THE (From the Asiatic Researches, Vol. XIV.*) Prefacing, that having pursued the course of the Ganges, a considerable way beyond Gangotri, "and to the place where its head is concealed by masses of snow which never melt." Captain Hodgson (who was joined at Reital by Lieutenant Herbert of the 8th N. I., and of whose skill and zeal honorable mention is made), states, that he deems it unnecessary to say anything about his survey before reaching Reital, having nothing to add to Captain Raper's account of Captain Webb's Survey in 1808, which was discontinued at Cajani, near Reital, in consequence of serious impeding obstacles. He observes: "I shall, therefore, only give an account of the course of the river above the village of Reital, where I halted to make arrangements for my progress through the rugged regions before me, in which I found I had no chance of getting any supplies of grain for my followers. I was consequently obliged to buy grain, and to send it off before me, so as to form little magazines at the places Í intended to halt at; and as I learnt that several of the Sangas or spar-bridges over the river had been destroyed by avalanches of snow, I sent a large party of laborers to re-establish them." * As abstracted in the India Gazette. The fourteenth volume has not yet been published in this country,-Ed, Considering Reital as the point of departure, Captain Hodgson took pains. to ascertain its latitude and longitude. By a series of observations with the reflecting circle of Troughton, and also by his astronomical circular instrument, he found the former to be 30° 48′ 28′′ N. By two observations of immersions of the first satellite of Jupiter, and one of the second, he thinks the longitude of Reital may be taken at 5h. 14m. 20s. 6, or 78° 35′ 60" 7"" East of Greenwich. The telescope used in observing the satellites was a Dollands 42-inches achromatic refractor, with an aperture of two and three-quarter inches, and power of about 75 applied, having a tall stand and rackwork for slow motion. The watch was a Marine chronometer, made by Molineux, of London. A snowy peak, called Srí Cánta is visible both from Reital and Seharanpúr." "Reital contains about 35 houses, and is esteemed a considerable village; as usual in the upper mountains, where timber is plentiful, the houses are large, and two and three stories high. When a house has three stories, the lowest serves to shelter the cattle by night; the second is a sort of granary, and in the upper the family dwells; round it there is generally a strong wooden gallery or balcony, which is supported by beams that project from the walls. The roofs of the houses are made of boards or slates: they are shelving, and project much beyond the top of the walls, and cover the balcony, which is closed, in bad weather, by strong wooden shutters or pannels. These houses are very substantial, and have a handsome appearance at a distance: but they are exceedingly filthy within, and full of vermin. The walls are composed of long cedar beams and stone in alternate courses; the ends of the beams meet all the corners, where they are bolted together by wooden pins. Houses of this construction are said to last for several ages, for the Deodar or Cailon pine, which I suppose to be the cedar of Lebanon,* is the largest, most noble and durable of all trees. "The situation of the village on the east side of a mountain, the summit of which is covered with snow, and the foot washed by the Bhagirathi is very pleasant. It commands a noble view of the Sri Canta and other adjoining peaks of the Himalaya, on which the snow for ever rests. Snow also remains until the rains, on all the mountains of the second order, which are visible hence, both up and down the river. Many cascades are formed by the melting of the snows on the foot of the surrounding mountains. One, in particular, descends in repeated falls of several hundred feet each, from the summit of a mountain across the river, and joins it near Batheri. "The azimuth of the Sri Cánta peak (determined from the elongation of the pole star) is 50° 49′ 29′′ N. E., and its altitude 9° 14' 3" 5". It is needless here to insert the observations of azimuth and altitudes of the other peaks seen hence, and at other places on the route. In the following account of my progress up the river, I have put down such remarks as occurred at the time, and they were written on the spot, and are here inserted with very little alteration. Though I am aware that such minute descriptions of localities must appear tedious, and that many repetitions occur, I hope they will be excused by those who, feeling interested in the subject, may have the patience to read the detail. To give general descriptions of such rude regions is difficult, if not impossible; and I trust that particular ones, though often tedious, will be found more faithful, and to give more precise ideas of those remote recesses of the Himalaya, which I visited. For this end, and that those who are so inclined may be able to know the position of the places of my journey, I have put down the bearings and distances in paces of each portion of the route, with the remarks noted at the time, and also the latitudes of the halting places: and these simple data will enable any one to trace the distance and direction from Reital to the end of my journey. I have only put down the bearings in single degrees; they are reckoned from north, which I call 360: thus 180° is South, 270° West, and so on except in very steep ascents and descents, the paces may be taken at 30 inches. It is the Pinus Deodára of Roxburgh; the Dévadáru of Sanscrit writers.-H. H. W. "On the 19th May, I was joined at Reital by Lieutenant Herbert of the 8th Regt. N. I., who had been appointed my Assistant; and from his skill and zeal the Survey has received much benefit. Mr. Herbert came direct from Calcutta, and brought for me a pair of mountain barometers, but the tubes filled in England had been broken ere they arrived in Calcutta. There were some spare empty tubes which we filled and used as hereafter mentioned; but we could not succeed in boiling the mercury in the tubes, to free it entirely of air. The height of Reital above the sea, as indicated by our barometers, is 7,108 feet. "Having received reports that the Sangas were repaired, and that the grain I sent forward was lodged in the places I directed, I left every article of baggage I could possibly do without; and having given very light loads to the coolies, that they might proceed with less difficulty, we marched from Reital on the 21st May, as follows:" May 21st. The travellers proceeded from Reital to Tuwarra, crossed the Soar river on a Sanga five paces in length, observed some micaceous iron ore on the Salang Mountain. From Soar river to above Tuwarra the path is exceedingly rugged. The mountains are of granite, with various proportions of quartz and feldspar. Water boiled at 198°. May 22nd.-Marched in five hours and 48 minutes from Tuwarra to Dangal, a very laborious journey. The thermometer at sunrise was at 48°. Crossed the Elgie Gárh torrent by a Sanga 15 feet long. On the opposite side of the Ganges observed hot springs, for the first time. Crossed the Ganges to Dangal by a Sanga, made of two stout pine spars, laid from rock to rock. Water boils at 202°; mean latitude of Dangal 30° 54' 30" 8"". May 23rd.-Reached Súci after a very long and laborious march, in seven hours. Crossed the river by three Sangas. Scenery in general grand, and particularly sublime at the falls of Lohari Naig, where there is a frightful granite cliff of solid rock above 800 feet high. Observed in their route pines of various kinds, and the true deal fir; and near Lohari Naig a calcareous rill, which encrusts everything it touches with pure lime: this is singular in a region of granite. Súci, a small decaying village, surrounded on all sides by the Himalaya rocky precipices, covered with snow. May 24th.-Marched to Deráli by a generally excellent mountain path. Thermometer O. R. 45°. Crossed the Ganges on a good Sanga: crossed, also, the Til Ghár, a large torrent, with a beautiful cascade of 80 or 100 feet over a rock. Crossed also the Kheir Gádh, a large rivulet, by a Sanga, at Deráli, a small deserted village. The north bases of the mountains on the route were clothed with noble cedars and various sorts of large pines, generally denominated Cshir and Rhai or Rher. Captain Hodgson was much delighted with this day's march, the climate being pleasant, the weather bright, and the scenery interesting. Mean latitude of Deráli, 31° 2′ 16′′ 5′′". May 25th.-Marched to Bhairog'háti. Thermometer at sunrise, 54°. Road generally level on the banks of the river; perpendicular rocky precipices rise immediately from the river bed, to the height of 1,500 or 2,000 feet. After crossing Licunga, a small river, on a Sanga, came to an exceedingly steep ascent; no vegetation. In front Decani, a snowy peak, rising immediately from the bed of the Ganges: scenery very grand; very large cedars. A sweep from S. to E. brought them to that most terrific and awful place called Bhairog'háti. The Sanga there was the most formidable they had yet met with. Turned to the left, and pitched their tent at Bhairog'háti. Latitude 30° 10′ 38" 7". Water boiled at 198°. "Which is in a very strange place for a tent to be in, and one of the most curious sights among many here is to see a little tent pitched under vast overhanging masses of rock, at the confluence of these two rivers, the Bhagirathi and its foaming rival the Jáhni Gangá, or as more properly called, the Jáhneví: the strange and terrific appearance of this place (Bhairog'háti) exceeds the idea I had formed of it; no where in my travels, in these rude mountains, have I seen anything to be compared with this, in horror and extravagance. Precipices composed of the most solid granite, confine both rivers in narrow chan nels, and these seem, to have been scooped out by the force of the waters. Near the Sanga, the Bhagirathi has in some places scolloped out the rock which overhangs it. The base of these peaks is of the most compact sort of granite: it is of a light hue, with some small pieces of black sparry substance intermixed. From the smoothness of the rocks which confine the stream, and which appear to have been worn so by water, I think the stream must have formerly flowed on a higher level, and that it is gradually scooping its channel deeper for it does not appear that the walls which confine the rivers are masses fallen from above, but that they are the bases of the peaks themselves. Enormous blocks have indeed fallen, and hang over our heads in threatening confusion; some appear 200 feet in diameter: and here are we sitting among these ruins, by the fireside at noon thermometer 52°. What are these pinnacles of rock, 2 or 3,000 feet high, which are above us like! I know not. To compare small with great, I think the aptest idea I can form of anything that might be like them, would be the appearance that the ruins of a Gothic Cathedral might have to a spectator within them, supposing that thunderbolts, or earthquakes had rifted its lofty and massy towers, spires and buttresses; the parts left standing might then, in miniature, give an idea of the rocks of Bhairog'háti. "The great cedar pines, those gigantic sons of the snow, fringe these bare rocks, and fix their roots where there appears to be very little soil; a few also of the larger deal pine are seen, but inferior trees do not aspire to grow here. The day is dull and rainy, and I cast my eyes up at the precipice overhead, not without awe; a single fragment might dash us to pieces. Avalanches of snow and rock, such as we have passed to-day, and indeed for these three last days, show by their effects their vast powers of destruction, for they bring down forests in their overwhelming course, and dash the cedars into splinters. These avalanches have all fallen this season; they have in places filled up the dells and water-courses to a great depth with snow, and extend from the peaks to the margin of the river. "A painter wishing to represent a scene of the harshest features of nature, should take his station under the Sanga of Bhairog'háti, or at the confluence of the Bhagirat'hi and Jáhnevi: here it is proper to take some notice of this latter river, hitherto little known. Though the Bhagirathi is esteemed the holy and celebrated Ganges, yet the Jáhnevi is accounted to be, and I think is, the larger stream. From a Brahmin who officiates at Gantotrí, and who has been up it, I collected some particulars, which, though perhaps, far from correct, may serve to give an idea of it. By the course of the river is a pass to Bhoat or Thibet, by which the people from Reital and the upper villages of Rowaien go to get salt, blanket, cloth and wool, in exchange for grain. The trade is trifling, and not more than a hundred people go yearly; in the latter end of the rains, the road is open. They carry their goods on sheep and goats. The Brahmin has been at the frontier village called Neilang: it is four long, and very difficult days' journey. The first three days are up the course of the river, high above its bed, for the most part, but occasionally descending to it. It is exceedingly steep and difficult." May 26th.-Marched to Gangotri; climbed rocks, and passed over chasms by means of ladders and scaffolding of decayed planks. "The path to-day was of the worst description, and is, on the whole, I think, the most rugged march we have hitherto had, though there are not any long ascents. Nothing can be more unpleasant than the passage along the rotten ladders and inclined scaffolds, by which the faces and corners of the precipices, near Bhairog' háti are made. The rest of the way lies along the side of a very steep mountain, and is strewed with rocks. The views of the snowy peaks which are on all sides, were very grand and wild. "The rocks are of granite, but of a lighter colour than usual, and specks of a bright black sparry substance are interspersed in them, at the distances of from one to three inches. "The river's-bed, from Bhairog'háti to Gauricund was between mural precipices of from 2 or 300 feet high above them was the steeply inclined : : ground along which our path lay. Though very rocky, there were many places with soil where the cedars grew, but not large. Above the path to our left were bare rocky precipices, on the summit of which the snow lies at Gauricund and Gangotri the river's-bed becomes more open. The temple of Gangotri has a mundup of stone of the smallest kind: it contains small statues of Bhagirathi, Gangá, &c., and it is built over a piece of rock called BhagirathiSila, and is about twenty feet higher than the bed of the Ganges; and immediately above its right bank there is also a rough wooden building, at a short distance, for the shelter of travellers. By the river side there is in some places soil, where small cedars grow; but in general the margin is strewed with masses of rock, which fall from the precipices above: the falls do not appear recent. Too much tired to attempt to boil mercury in the tubes to-day. At night, having prepared the instruments to take the immersion of one of Jupiter's satellites, we laid down to rest: but between 10 and 11 o'clock were awakened by the rocking of the ground, and on running out, soon saw the effects of an earthquake; and the dreadful situation on which we were pitched, in the midst of masses of rock, some of them more than 100 feet in diameter, and which had fallen from the cliffs above us, probably brought down by some former earthquake. "The scene around us, shown in all its dangers by the bright moonlight, was indeed very awful. On the second shock, rocks were hurled in every direction, from the peaks around to the bed of the river, with a hideous noise not to be described, and never to be forgotten. After the crash caused by the falls near us had ceased, we could still hear the terrible sounds of heavy falls in the more distant recesses of the mountains. "We looked up with dismay at the cliffs over head, expecting that the next shock would detach some ruins from them: had they fallen, we could not have escaped, as the fragments from the summit would have flown over our heads, we should have been buried by those from the middle. "Providentially there were no more shocks that night. This earthquake was smartly felt in all parts of the mountains, as well as in the plains of the N. W. Provinces of Hindoostan. "In the morning we removed to the left bank of the river, where there is a bed of sand of about 150 yards wide; then is a flat of soil, with trees of about 20 yards wide, and immediately above it are precipices with snow on them. Here we were much more secure; in the afternoon, indeed, the effects of the snow melting often caused pieces of rock to fall from above to near our station: but we could avoid them by running over the sand to the river side, which could not be done on the right bank; besides only comparatively small pieces fell there, and in daylight; so that this is much the best side to encamp on. We had the curiosity to measure trigonometrically the height of the cliff at the foot of which we were during the shock, and found it to be 2,745 feet. "This day, the 27th, we had a slight shock of an earthquake, as also on the 28th. Barometers. "Filled a new and full-length clean tube with pure mercury: immediately after filling (unboiled), it stood at 20 in. 890. Thermometer attached..... ..87° ...68° Having hung the barometer up in the tent, and allowed it to acquire the temperature of the air and adjusted zero, the following heights we observed: .... 77 Upper surface of the Mercury, Thermometer attached Do. detached .... 63° Second reading an hour afterwards, mercury upper convex surface Lower part of head of column inches 20,8320. ... 7335 Det. do. 67° An hour afterwards, upper convex... 20 8255 Ther. 72 Lower line......... 8080......... 61 |