 |
CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTORY REMARKS
In September 1869, I addressed Mr. Thornton, Secretary to Punjab
Government, as to the advisability of my
furnishing a Report on Kooloo, and in reply
I was informed, that a " full report on
Kooloo would be thankfully received, and
probably printed at Government expense; "
and Colonel Coxe, the Commissioner of the
Division, in his letter of 8th October 1869,
to address of the Deputy Commissioner of'
Kangra suggested that I should throw, what
he was good enough to consider, the "interesting matter " contained in my diaries as Assistant-Commissioner of Kooloo, into the
form of a report, that " might be submitted
officially to Government."
I have, therefore,
during the last year of my term of office in
Kooloo, been diligently engaged in collecting
facts of more general interest regarding the
people and country, which have been so
immediately under my care for now nearly
two years. It mas at first my intention to
merely collate such information as I could
acquire into the form of a report, but I
found the work grew in my hands, and I
became convinced that no mere report could
do justice to the subject matter, which daily
increased in volume. It may be, and probably will be, urged that there surely cannot
be much to tell of a country like Kooloo,
known to few, and occupying such a very
insignificant place in the geography or history of India; but it is to be recollected, that
within the subdivision is comprised an area
of over 6,000 square miles; that the district
now known as Kooloo mas once the territory of an independent line of sovereigns, some eighty of whom sat on the throne,
many of them holding sway over every ruler
in their vicinity; that three distinct races,
at least, reside in its present limits ; that the
climate, scenery, the country, and the people
are unlike what are to be found anywhere
else in India; and, finally, that this large
extent of British dominion has not to this
day, I believe, been ever reported on in its
entirety by any one of the officers who have
had charge of the subdivision.
I am fully
aware that, while I may consider Kooloo a
very interesting land, and that no pains can
be too great in eliciting everything concerning it, there may be not a few who will fail
to see the necessity of entering so fully into
what they may deem to be, comparatively
speaking, petty details; but whether or not
my time has been wasted in compiling these
papers, I must leave to my readers to decide.
I have endeavoured to make this account
of Kooloo as succinct as possible ; and I
have purposely desisted from writing more
amply on the history of the country, and various other points that might, perhaps,
have been legitimately dilated upon, but it
was necessary to draw the line somewhere,
and I have been obliged to content myself
with what, after all, is but a bare outline of
the more important, or more interesting, matters that have come under my observation.
It was, at one time, my desire to have
first written the history of Kooloo, the rough
notes of which I hare for a long time had
by me; but there were difficulties regarding
dates, which I have not yet been able to
clear up, and as I had not timed this year * to
do both the History and the General Account
of the subdivision, I have elected to postpone
the former till a more fitting opportunity
may occur.
Much might have been added to the
chapters on religions, languages, &c., and an account of the legendary tales and peculiar
customs existing in parts of the district
would alone almost make up a respectable volume; but often, when on the point of
entering more fully on these particulars, I
have held my hand, fearing that my readers'
patience might, perhaps, have been already
too unduly taxed. Doubtless it will be
remarked that there is hardly any notice
taken in these pages of the Central Asian
trade, but this omission has been intentional.
I could have told but little that the public
are not aware of already, and, although the
commerce that finds a passage between the
Punjab and East Turkestan certainly takes
the route vid Kooloo, yet the subject can
hardly be deemed a local one and its due
consideration will always remain more fittingly with the officer deputed as British
agent to Ladakh. But my main reason for
keeping silence on the trade question is that
this subject is not one that can be dismissed
in a few paragraphs, nor can it be deemed
altogether germane to a report, intended
more particularly to set forth the social
customs and manners of the people in this
subdivision.
I have, in fact, had to make a selection as
to the points on which I could write with
the clearest knowledge; and, in choosing
those that I believed to be of greater general
interest, I have necessarily had to leave out
much that might, with propriety, have been
treated upon.
It is with extreme regret that I shall
resign, on my approaching departure for
England, the charge of Kooloo, a tract of
country which, taking it all in all, is not, I
believe, equalled out of Europe ; but I shall
not have been there nor shall I have written
in vain, if these papers may haply serve to
draw fuller attention to its matchless scenery
and fine climate, which have not, as yet,
been nearly so fully appreciated as they
deserve to be. My acknowledgments to the
various gentlemen to whom I am indebted
for information have been recorded, I believe,
in each instance, and I can only again repeat
here my thanks for the assistance I have
derived from their works.
CHAPTER II. The situation of Kooloo, its subdivisions, Area of Kooloo and of each of its subdivisions, with cultivated area, revenue, and population
The outlying district of Kooloo, comprising the minor subdivisions of
Kooloo proper, or the Upper Bess valley,
Wuzeeri-Rupi, Seoraj (Seraj), Lahoul, and Spiti,
forms a portion of the Deputy-Commissionership of Kangra, than which, however,
it is nearly three times as large, and from
which it is distant some eighty miles. Considering this tract of country as one compact
whole, it may be said to lie between 31" 20'
and 32" 55' lat. and 76" 60' and 78" 35' longitude. being bounded on the north by Ladakh, on
the east by Chinese Tartary, on the south by
Bussahir and the small states of Kotghur(Kotgarh),
Komharsen(Kumarsain), and Shangri, the river Sutlej being the dividing line; Suket, Mundee (Mandi ),
Bara Bunghal (an almost inaccessible offshoot of the Kangra district), and Chumba
following each other in succession up its
western side.
The total area of Kooloo is 6,025 square
miles, and the tables annexed will serve to
show how this area is distributed, with the
revenue derivable from the subdivision, and
such other statistics as may properly be here
recorded ; * the whole country being divided
off into what in local parlance are termed
" kothees," which vary in size and in the
amount of revenue they respectively pay in
to the State.
In the Upper Beas valley there are seventeen " kothees," in Wuzeeri-Rupi six, in
Seoraj twenty-five, in Lahoul fourteen, and
in Spiti five; each of which has its own
headman with assistants, whose separate
powers and functions will be treated on
hereafter.
A glance at the map will at once portray
how completely on the north, north-west,
east, and south-east, the entire district here
referred to is enclosed by mountains.
Commencing with Lahoul, we find that to
the west a lofty range separates that country
from Chumba, there being but one break,
through which flows the Chundra Bagha;
the mountains sweeping round to the southeast constituting the boundary-line between
Kooloo and Lahoul, and in an irregular line
trending down still to the south-east, where
they flank the southern shore of the river
Chundra.
Reverting again to the northern
frontier, we find the Bara Lacha range, which
to the north stretches in gentle slopes to
the rivers Ling-ti and Tserap, and then in a
series of loft; peaks, falls away to the south,
skirting the left bank of the river Chundra,
and sending its spurs to meet those that
splay off from the direction of the Rohtung Pass.
The line of mountains that hem in Spiti
to the north, and separate it from Ladakh,is a continuation of the Bara Lacha range,
that in rude angles pierces' upwards to the
north, and then falls again to the south-east,
and, under the name of the Parung range,
leads towards the Sutledj.
This river, however, never impinges on Spiti, the southern
boundary of which is the huge Manirung
chain, that divides it from Bussahir. Between these two ranges flows the Spiti river.
Running up between Spiti on one side, and
Seoraj, Wuzeeri-Rupi, and Kooloo on the
other, rises a line of heights, which, commencing at the south-westernmost point in
Spiti, bears to the north-west till the Rohtung
range is touched, just above the village of
Juggutsookh, in the Upper Beas valley.
Commencing from the snowy peak M
(20,356 feet), which may be considered
nearly the most northern point of this portion of the subdivision, the Rohtung chain
penetrates upwards for two miles, and then
to the south-west for four more; and as it
passes onward to the north-east, to form the
boundary-line between Bara Bunghal and Lahoul, it throws off a line of mountains
that, with many lofty peaks, run south by
east, dividing Bara Bunghal, Chota Bunghal,
and Mundee from Kooloo proper ; becoming
much reduced in size, is regards their altitude, as they press further south, till, at
peak Madanpur (9,149 feet), they wind off
altogether into the Mundee state. From
Madanpur, the boundary of Mundee runs
due east by Bajoura, on the bank of the
Beas, that river forming the territorial limit
of Kooloo (Wuzeeri-Rupi), down to Larjee,
where it is joined by the Tirthan from the
south-east ; and along this, and its tributary
the Bah, the frontier line running due south,
continues till it is cut across by the Jalouri
range, twenty-five miles as the crow flies,
from the point of contact with the Beas at
Bajoura. Mundee, still conterminous with
Kooloo, remains so for six miles more to the
south, following the course of a branch of
the Bisna, which at Baito village flows into
Sookhaet territory, and shortly after joins
the Sutledj bdween Fareenoo and Bang.
The boundary-line now runs up the right
bank of the Sutledj, that comes down from
the north-east, until, after thirty miles, the
Kunrad joins the latter from the north,
forming the frontier between Kooloo and
Bussahir. To the north of this, Spiti
runs side by side with Seoraj, the mountains attaining a more imposing height
rather to the south-east of the Rohtung
range.
Kooloo proper consists of the whole of the
north-west part of the country, the limits of
which have just been given; the Malauna (Malana) and Parbuttee (Parvati) streams separating the Upper
Beas valley from Wuzeeri-Rupi, that includes
the upper portion of the Parbuttee valley,
and all to the south of the Parbuttee river
and east of the Beas, up to the Larjee torrent, which falls into the Beas at Larjee Seoraj forming the southern extremity of
the subdivision, a species of rough triangle
closed in on its southern face by the
Sutledj.
The whole of Lahoul may not inaptly be termed a network of mountains, which
intersect it in every direction; and the
numerous glaciers, no less than twenty-three
in number, form a fair index as to the heights
of the ranges that encircle them.
On the western side, however, the mountains attain
to no great altitude, there being but one peak
(Ghasa black cone) over 19,000 feet above
the sea-level. In the Bara Lacha range there
are many lofty peaks over 18,000 feet in
height, and two that are upwards of 20,000
feet. The Rohtang range will be considered
as part, of Kooloo proper, and I may therefore pass on to notice the mass of mountains
that fill up the space between the Bhaga and
Chandra rivers.
This area is one great icebed, broken here and there by lofty heights
of impassable rock and snow, that tower to
a greater altitude than is elsewhere to be
found in Lahoul. At the western shore of
the Chandra rises one peak 21,415 feet above
the sea-level, to the south of which stretches
avast glacier, twelve miles in length, that
is met by another of even greater dimensions more to the south, the Shigri heights
ascend, in several instances, to over 20,000
feet; and following the right bank of the
Chandra, we find that river flanked on its
northern side by a tier of peaks, the loftiest
of which, " Snowy-cone Gaphan," stands
19,212 feet above sea-level.
In Spiti, the mountains attain a higher
elevation than they do in the sister valley,
the Parung range containing one peak, the
loftiest in the entire subdivision, marked in
the map at 23,064 feet in height, and many
in its vicinity are upwards of 20,000 feet
above sea-level. It would but weary the
reader to refer to every cluster of such peaks;
they are to be found interspersed through
Spiti; two on its western side are over
21,000 feet in altitude, and the range that
bounds it to the south forms but another the gigantic barrier that culminates at Manirung
snowy peak, 21,646 feet in height.
And yet,
extraordinary to say, although Spiti is so
crowded with a chain on a chain of tremendous
mountains, there is in the whole country but one glacier, and that a small one, lying to the
north of the Manirung Pass.
Kooloo is nearly as much shut in by hills
as are Lahoul and Spiti. The Rohtang range
to the north has one peak (M) 20,356 feet in
height; Deotiba, to the east, is 20,417 feet ;
and the line of the watershed between Kooloo
and Spiti, to the east, has some very noticeable altitudes, which were referred to more '
particularly when Spiti was under discussion.
On the west, the mountains, after leaving the
Rohtang range, gradually diminish in height,
leaving the south-west portion of the district
comparatively open.
In the interior, the spurs of the encircling
mountains splay out into the lower parts of
the valley, subsiding into lengthened sweeps
of arable land as they approach the Beas ;
but the eastern portion of Wuzeeri-Rupi is
almost to the full as rugged as is Spiti, or
Lahoul; and in Seoraj the offshoots of the
snowy range stretch, in two distinct though
somewhat broken chains, to the western limits
of that tract.
The river Chandra rises in the Bara Lacha
Pass, in Lahoul, at 16,221 feet above sea level, and, after a south-easterly course of
over, thirty miles, turns towards the northwest, being joined by the Bagha at Tandi,
eighty miles from its source, the fall up to
this point being sixty-five feet per mile. From
Tandi, under the name of the Chandra
Bagha, it flows on for twelve miles more
through Lahoul, passing into Chumba at
Jolang, through a break in the range between Chumba and Lahoul, joining the Indus
at Mithancote; its "length from source to
junction," says Cunningham, " being 950
miles." From a huge bed of snow on the
south-eastern slopes of the Bara Lacha Pass,
springs the Chundra, which from its commencement is a stream of some size, and
quite unfordable a mile from its source.
Flowing in a south-easterly direction, it
passes through a wild and barren land, where
there are no signs of life, the solemn mountains, capped with eternal snow, lying on
either side; and thus ushered into existence under such awe-inspiring auspices, it dashes
its foaming waters by glacial banks of snow,
vast reaches of gravel and decomposed rock,
and here stretching into a mighty flood,
again subsides into a more stealthy strength,
as its icy tide flows onward through a country famed but for sterility and that
colossal grandeur that can only be imparted
by vast mountains.
No villages adorn its banks, no attempt
at cultivation is to be seen, and nothing
meets the eye but the never-ending and
monotonous cliffs that sweep down in contorted masses to the seething stream, which
laps in fierce anger against the banks, and
tears them in its wrath as it rushes on.
Fram either side come to it tributaries of a character like its own, and, after a course of
thirty miles, it suddenly turns sharply to the
west, here being overhung by the glittering
Shigri peaks; and now its bed attains its
greatest width, and the valley through which
the river rolls are on its southern shore moderately level; but still, on the right hand and on the left, rise up the everlasting snows,
cresting a disintegrated rock lying below,
that ever and anon crumbles from the mass,
and crushes with a dull roar into the desert
underneath, but to add to the debris that is
ever crowding over to the river's edge.
In
several channels the waters flow on till they
reach what has been termed the Shigri glacier, though Shigri is the local term for any
glacier; and here it is said that, in 1 836, the
vast accretions of ice bursting forth from the
mountains on the left bank of the stream,
flung themselves across the river, damming
it up for months. The barrier was, however,
eventually, burst, and the accumulated waters
poured onwards, carrying destruction in
their rush. Cunningham does not, in his
" Ladakh," altitude to the cataclysm of 'the
Chandra and I have not been able to obtain
any certain information on this interesting
event. There can be little doubt, judging
from the quantity of ice collected on the
flanks of the mountains that bound the river,
that at any day such a disaster may spin occur, but no power on earth could avert the
catastrophe.
The Shigri glacier is, to outward appearance, a mere mass of earth anil
rock; but, on the side towards the river, it
presents a wall of solid ice, and, as its surface is traversed, glittering depths of green
ice are occasionally to be met with. In the
early morning, when the sun has had little
power to melt the ice, the passage of the glacier is comparatively easy, though I doubt
whether it would be ever possible to ride
over it, for every step has to be conned over,
and, as I counted 3,648 of these when I
walked over it in August 1860, it might be
safe to put the width of the Shigri at nearly
two miles. The glacier is steadily subsiding,
and every year is getting lower and lower.
Further down, and on the same bank of the
stream, are the remains of another glacier,
which, from the accounts of the Spiti people,
broke across the Chundra some eighty years
ago; and it is an asserted fact that the road
into Kooloo by the left bank of the Chandra
has more than once had to be given up in consequence of the track being completely
obliterated by glaciers.
Now turning to the north-west, the
Chandra, shortly after leaving Shigri, passes
Koksur, an offshoot of the larger village
twelve miles below, two wretched huts,
inhabited in the summer only, being the first
signs of human life to be met with a small extent of birch forest growing halfway up
the mountain-side to the south. Three miles
above the real village of Koksur is a resthouse and out-offices, and now the river
enters on a less uninviting country, for in its
passage onward the valley widens considerably in several places, and there is a good
deal of cultivated ground on the right bank,
while on the left, there are a few scattered
trees, and near the junction with the Bagha,
opposite Tandee, these clumps collect together near the village of Muling into a
tolerably extensive forest. The greater portion of the entire valley of the Chandra is a
desert, in which nothing but grass can grow,
and in some of the upper reaches, numerous flocks of sheep and goats are annually fed.
Some twenty-five miles from its source, the river passes a lake on its left bank, called
Chandra-dul, a refreshing sheet of placid
green water, about a mile long and as much
broad, to the north of which is a plain of
fairly good grass.
This little oasis, sheltered
from the bitter winds and rejoicing, from its
position, in an almost tolerable climate, is a
favorite halting-place for shepherds, who
bring up large herds from Kangra and
Kooloo.
* As Gondola is approached, the country
opens; and hereabouts is a good deal of
' cultivation, while the hamlets are larger, and
the houses, too, are better built, and are,
besides, hemmed in by trees, the people and
the willow both growing to some size.
On the north side of the valley, the mountains take a gentler slope than they do
towards Koksur; but on the left bank of
the river they rise in almost perpendicular
blocks, their peaks, unless where the snow
still clings, showing gaunt and specter-like. The scenery now becomes very striking, the
heights opposite to Gondla ascending to over
20,000 feet in altitude; and between the tremendous hollows in the chasms are masses
of snow, which lies piled up heap on heap,
from out of which tear cascades that are lost
in the gorges underneath.
Almost exactly
in front of the encamping-ground is one lofty
peak, its summit crested with eternal snow,
which, in the deeper recesses, has clotted
together into an ice-field which impends over
the vale, threatening at any moment to sweep
over the beetling crags on to the grassy
slopes below. Lower down than this, as
Cunningham happily puts it, "the bed of
the Chandra becomes exceedingly narrow,
and the mountains are bare, bleak, and wild,
and blasted as if freshly risen from the innermost and fiery depths of the earth," the
limestone strata on the left bank being
colored and contorted in the most extraordinary manner.
The Bagha rises on the north-west side of
the Bara Lacha Pass, and flowing in a north-westerly direction, join the Chundra near
Tandee, after a course of forty-five miles,
with a fall of about 125 feet per mile. A mile from its source, it enters the Suraj-dul, a
lake about a mile and a half in circumference,
16,000 feet above sea-level, and escaping
through this, flows, for ten or eleven miles,
to rather below Zingzingbar, a barren encamping-ground on the road to Leh from
Lahoul, and then turning round to the southwest passes Darcha, the last inhabited spot
in Lahoul, where it is joined by the Zanskar
river (the Kado Tokpo of the map) from
the west; and here the Bagha increases in
size and its bed is of great breadth, but it
again narrows near Keylong, below which the
stream takes a westerly course prior to its
junction with the Chandra at Tandee.
The lower part of the Bagha valley, towards the
villages of Rielung, Kardung, and Baelung,
is rich in cultivation, large tracts of level
arable land lying between the mountains, and
reaching to the river, which, in the latter, a portion of its course, is confined between steep banks of siliceous rock, through which
it pours with great velocity. At Darcha, the
most northerly village in the entire subdivision, cultivation becomes more scanty, and
beyond this point dies away altogether, while
the growth of pencil-cedar, willow, people,
and kyle,* to be met with below, now ceases
entirely, and, to quote from Cunningham, the
mountains on the left bank of the Bagha
" look barren and hideous and scathed as with
fire, with bare and frightful precipices, so
steep that even the snow cannot rest upon
them;" but above rising snowy peaks of great
beauty, which relieves the landscape, if not
from its sterility, at any rate from its drear
monotony.
The Lingti river, considered by Cashmere
as the boundary between Lahoul and Ladakh,
rises considerably to the north-west of the
Bara Lacha Pass, and has a south-eastern
course till joined by the Yunam, when it
turns to the north; the Sarchu, which, as does the Yunam, springs from the northern
slopes of this pass, meeting it a little further
on, the combined waters passing the encampment of Lingti (14,213 feet), and falling into
the Tserap a few miles to the north. The
Tserap rises to the north-west of the Taklingla (pass), in Spiti, and is not, strictly speaking, in our territory; but it receives, on its
north-westerly course, several large tributaries; and after its junction with the Lingti,
turns to the north, and passes away into
Ladakh.
The country watered by these latter rivers
is utterly waste, and contains no inhabitants.
The Zanskar rises in the extreme north
of Lahoul, a little to the north-west of the
Singo-la (pass), and with a south-easterly flow
of over twenty miles, falls into the Bagha at
Darcha.
There are no signs of human habitation throughout its entire course.
There are other minor streams in Lahoul,
which need no special notice, such as the
Milang, that joins the Bagha below Darcha
from the south-east., and the Baelung, with a great flow of water in the rainy season, that
enters the same river at Baelung, a few miles
above the junction of the Bagha and the
Chandra.
The Sutlej can hardly be called one of
the rivers of Kooloo, for it merely runs
along the southern boundary of the subdivision for a distance of some thirty miles.
It rises in Lake Manasorawa, about lat.
30" 35' and long. 81" 35'. Up to its confluence with the Spiti river, Cunningham
gives its length at 280 miles, with a fall of
33.8 feet per mile. Passing into the native state of Belaspore(Bilaspur), it reaches Ropar, 560
miles from its source, when, taking an
easterly direction for 120 miles, it flows a
broad and mighty river by Loodiana(Ludhiana) and
Philor, being joined by the Beas at Hari-ka-Patan, beyond which, says Cunningham, its the course is to the south-west for 400 miles to
its junction with the Chenab opposite. The whole length of the Sutlej is 1,080 miles, or
130 miles more than that of the Chenab.
c6 On the 10th of November, 1762, the shoulder of a vast mountain near Seoni fell
into the river," to quote again from Cunningham, " and for forty days the stream was
dammed-up completely. People were stationed on the banks to give notice of the
breaking of the barrier, which took place on
the 19th of December of the same year.
No
lives were lost on this occasion, but a great
deal of property was destroyed."
The one principal stream in Spiti is the
river of the same name, which rises in the the northern extremity of the district, at the foot
of a snowy peak (K III.), 20,073 feet in
height, and after a south-easterly course of
ten miles is joined from the south-west by
the Lichu, that drains the mountains on
either side of the Kunzum Pass.
The Spiti then turns to the east, and, in a
very broad bed, the stream flowing in many
channels continue in the same direction for
thirteen miles, receiving some considerable
additions en route, when at this point it is
joined by the Lagudarsi from the north, and
turning to the south-east, with but one slight deflection to the west, approaches Mani, the distance of eighty-eight miles more when it
loses its broad bed and with several twists,
winds to the north-east, then again to the
south-east, and close to Lari, the last village in Spiti takes an easterly course into
Bussahir, turning finally to the south,
about five miles after quitting Spiti, and
entering the Sutlej opposite the village of
Khab; its complete length from source to the mouth being estimated, in round numbers,
at upwards of 120 miles, with a fall of over
sixty feet per mile.
The length of the Spiti valley, from Losur
village, where it first affords habitation for
man, to Mani village, at the foot of the
Manirung Pass is about fifty miles, and there
are other valleys, such as the Peen, the
Parung, and the Lingti, which, with the continuation of the Spiti valley to the east, are
all inhabited, though only in the parbs which
approach the main river. Besides these, there
are several other valleys, which, From their
elevation and the rigorous climate therein prevailing could never be made available for
human residence. Spiti, except at its most
southern extremity is entirely destitute of
timber, though near Losur there is a photo
stunted and a scattered tree or so in
a few of the villages; but the country is much
wider and more open than in Lahoul; and
the mountains ascend from the plain in gentle
slopes.
The landscape is, in truth, exceedingly striking, and the scenery in parts is very
grand. From Kaxeh to Dhunkur, for instance,
the road, turning to the left, runs under
some enormous clay pillars, the river sweeping onward in many a curve till lost to view
behind projecting promontories; hills rise
gradually to the left, and in hard and rugged
outline to the right of the stream, and in the
background lies a range of splendid snow-clad
peaks, through which runs the Manirung
Pass leading into Bussahir. Further down,
a soil of clay and bold rock has to be traversed,
from out of which uprise rough monumental like masses that are not a little peculiar in
appearance, for they are crenelated and honeycombed all over with deep holes and apertures,
as if scooped out by art, supporting on their
summits great boulders of stone, which, in
all probability, have kept the masses underneath from wearing altogether away. " Along
the course of the Spiti river " (to quote from
a journal by Mr. Theobald, junior, published
in the " Asiatic Society's Journal " for 1862)
" are seen old river-terraces or deposits of
shingle and sand, coarse and feebly stratified,
and reaching a height of some 400 feet
above the present river level. Behind these
regular deposits, and both from beneath and
also encroaching over them, rise almost
mountainous accumulations of debris, precipitated by the frost from the abruptly scarped
limestone cliffs bounding the valley.
The
height of this gravelly mass mainly depends
on that of the cliff at whose base it has
accumulated, but not uncommonly reaches to
1,500 or 2,000 feet above the river." The
most curious feature regarding the Spiti river
is the extreme width of its bed, which, in
places is nearly one mile in breadth, the stream itself, for the most part of its course,
being both narrow and very shallow, and
perfectly destitute of the boulders which, in
the other rivers of the subdivision, are so
numerous. "The bed of the Spiti river,"
says Captain Hay, " is so deep as to prevent
its waters being any assistance to the people
in cultivating; they depend entirely upon the
small streams from the mountains feeding
their ' kools.' " * He also makes allusion to
"the immense beds of debris forming plateaus
of sometimes two miles in length, and from
half to one mile in breadth, on which a quantity of calcareous deposit has been formed."
The tributaries of the Spiti are numerous,
and of some size; but they flow, for the
most part, through desolate tracts of country.
From the north, the Kibjuna, the Tanmu,
the Lagudarsi (the last rising in the Takling-la Pass), the Parung (from the Parung-la
Pass), the Shilla, and the Lingti (over thirty
miles in length, with a bed eighty yards in width), fall into the Spiti on its left shore ;
while from the south come the Gyundi (over
twenty miles in length), that rises at the foot
of a snowy peak 21,772 feet in height; the
Rohtang, longer than the last, and one or two
smaller streams, which all join the parent
river in the upper portion of its course, and
which perhaps might more appropriately be
termed torrents. " Some of their beds are
very remarkable, from 300 to 500 yards wide,
quite straight and parallel, like the banks of
a canal, and the debris, in some instances,
from 200 to 300 feet above the water level."
--(Hay.)
The most important tributary of the Spiti
is the Peen river, that rises in the most
south-western point of Spiti, at the foot of
what is marked on the map as "Snowy Peak
No. 1," flowing in a north-easterly direction
for nearly twenty miles, when it turns to the
north, receiving many smaller rivulets on
either side. For twenty-five miles more its the course is north by east, receiving near Sungnum, ten miles from its mouth, the Parakio, or Parakees, which has had a line nearly
parallel to its own, and which conveys about
an equal volume of water. The width of the
Peen, near its mouth, varies from 300 to 800
yards, and its length, from source to the junction
with the Spiti, above Dhunkur, is over forty-five miles. Nearly the whole course of the
Peen and its tributaries are through a vast
waste, where human foot has never trod.
The Beas rises at the crest of the Rohtang,
13,325 feet above the sea, and in its descent
dom tho Kooloo side of the pass it is joined
by other streams, and, with a course nearly
due south, flows to Larjee, a distance in all
of sixty-three miles, its fall up to this being
125.3 feet per mile. At Larjee it leaves
Kooloo, and, turning to the south-west,
enters Mundee, eventually joining the Sutlej at Hari-ka-Patan, near Ferozepur.
Just
below Bajoura, the Beas forms the boundary-line, for thirteen miles from this point to
Larjee, between Mundee and Wuzeeri-rupi.
The entire length of the Beas is 350 miles.
This noble river springs into existence from out a block of mica-slate on the summit of
the Rohtang Pass, and from its very source
forms a notable contrast to the Chandra, for
almost from its infancy, its course is marked
by beauties of no mean order. Winding in
a narrow rivulet over the pass which gives it
birth, it is first brought prominently to notice
as it plashes its puny stream over the rocky wall that runs athwart the line of the ascent
of the Rohtang, and collecting more strength
as it advances, it bears towards the foot of
the pass, leaping over the boulders in it,s
path, and is for a time lost to sight as it
penetrates a line of cliffs that, thickly adorned
with birch, hide it from view, till, in a thundering cascade above Ralla, it hurls itself,
with a fall of over forty feet, into the narrow
channel beneath. Forest's of pine now engirt
its banks, and, with many a turn and bend,
it flows to the south towards a point between
Ralla and Pulchan, where a sufficiently curious the spectacle presents itself; for here the river
plunges into a vast chasm, enclosed on either
side by a precipitous barrier of rock not twenty feet apart, and often almost touching.
It is with no small sensations of dread that
one stands on the tottering rafters which
connect the two shores; below roars the
chafing stream, at a depth of upwards of
100 feet; the further one peers down, the
more intense being the darkness, till faintly
the surging foam of the fretting waters is to
be perceived, as they dash with fury against
the walls of the confining rock, and hasten
away, in clashing tumult, to be lost as it
wherein the very bowels of the earth. For
some 300 yards the Beas races through this
almost subterranean passage, when it again
bounds into the sunlight, its exit on the further side being most strikingly beautiful,
seen as it is through a dense growth of
woodland, that clings to either lofty cliff, and
hangs over the river in a connecting arch.
The Beas has now entered into the Kooloo,
or Upper Beas valley, to which the noble the stream has fittingly given its name. Descending lower, the Beas, confined in a compact bed is encompassed on either side by scarped rocks, that appear as if they had been riven
apart by some vast force of nature, at a period when the now petty rivulet was the mighty river, bearing everything before it.
In every nook where there is space, stand
tier on tier of pines of every description
common to these hills; while rising behind
the opposite bank to the south is a line of
cedars, which break the lower depths of the
wooded mountains to the rear.
Two miles below, another river, larger than
the Beas join it with an impetuous roar.
This is the Serahi of the maps and the Beas Khund of the natives; for the Serahi is, in
fact, but a small tributary of the latter.
From this point of junction to close on
Sooltanpore, a distance of about twenty-three
miles, the Beas-its volume added to on
either side by several feeders--presents the spectacle of beauty which can hardly be
excelled; the river and the valley are in
perfect harmony.
Sweeping down, in grand lines, comes the
mountains, covered almost to their summits with dense forests of deodar, tosh, mc, kyle,*
walnut, and plane, their sides are broken by
beetling cliff and rushing waterfall while
interspersed here and there are to be seen
the homesteads of the peasantry, embowered
in groves of mighty pine-trees, the Swiss-like
architectural details of the houses bringing
to one's mind scenes very far remote from
the East.
Most of the available ground for
cultivation is laid out in fields, which rise in
terraces, one over the other; but the monotony of these is relieved by the luxuriant
vegetation, that breaks the hard lines of
uniformity, and renders the waving crops
but an additional feature in the landscape.
Towering far over the hills which guard the
valley, rise the mountains of the Snowy
Range. To the north, over the Rohtang
Pass can be seen the jagged twin peaks of
Gaphan, in Lahoul; to the north-east, across
the Humta Pass, leading into Spiti, is the Humta spurs; and to the west lie the Bara
Banghal heights, some of which are never throughout the year entirely divested of
snow. Below, through the center of the
valley, sweeps the Beas, with a never-ceasing
roar. Bounding over rock and boulder, and
separating here to tear round some pretty the sylvan island, it joins its waters again on
the further side, and rolling, tumbling, and
.frothing, with many an eddy, whirlpool, and
rapid, it fights its way past Sooltanpore,
where for the first time it begins to moderate
its force.
Journeying up the river, the road
is hemmed in nearly the whole way by large
trees that grow in great luxuriance, now and
again occurring open, lawn-like plots, carpeted
with the richest green grass.
Looking down the valley from Menalee, the rich prospect of hill and dale stretches out ;
and turn where one may, a series of most
enchanting views are to be met with. Mountains rise over mountains, the great army of
cedars becoming more and more scattered as
the higher altitudes are approached, till there they disappear, and snowy ridges break the
sky-line; nearer are thick forests of pine and
cedar, which holds their own with a tenacious
grasp on every knoll and coign of vantage,
descending in serried phalanxes into the vales
below, broken, or rather relieved, by masses
of rock or more pleasantly by picturesque villages, hiding, like coy beauties, in the woodland that veils and yet enhances their charms.
Range succeeds range, all alike lavishly endowed by the unsparing hand of nature, that
has, in truth, appeared to have swept all the
most winning aspects from the surrounding districts, .but to lavish them with an
abundant care upon the Upper Beas valley,
where forest, waterfall, and river are all
blended together by the soft, purply haze
which hangs lightly over the lower reaches.
At Sooltanpore the Beas is a noble stream,
and it gradually increases in width till it
nears Bajoura, when it again narrows, and
threads the vale that winds between Wuzeeri-Rupi on its left, and Mundee on its
right bank.
The aspect of the scenery now changes; the mountains crowd up in ascend-'
ing precipices, that run down to the river's
edge, many hundred feet below the road ;
and while, on the Mundee side, there are
villages and a sprinkling of the forest, on the other shores there is naught for the eye to
rest on but steep grassy ascents, almost inaccessible to man or beast, and between Bajoura
and Larjee, Dulashnee is the only village.
The Parbuttee, the largest affluent of the
Beas, rises at the foot of Snowy Peak N
(20,515 feet), and in the first part of its, the course runs in a north-westerly direction till
joined by a stream of nearly equal dimensions from the north-east, when it sweeps
round to the west, and, passing Manikurn, is
joined, just below this, by the Malauna torrent, also from the north-east; and now
turning to the south-west, it enters the Beas
near Tia, halfway between Sooltanpore and
Bajoura.
The Parbuttee, in its earlier stages, winds
through a country which is the counterpart
of that traversed by the Peen in Spiti, there being no signs of cultivation anywhere; but
as Manikurn, fifty miles from its source, is
approached, scattered villages appear, and
the mountains become well wooded; and
from this to its mouth, a distance of forty
miles more, every available plot of ground is
brought under the plough, while the forests
become very extensive.
The scenery is wilder and in some places
more striking, than that in the Upper Beas
valley, the snowy ranges to the east and
south forming magnificent backgrounds to
the beautiful glens that stretch upwards from
the river-side; but although there are
numerous forests, and the valley maybe
considered well timbered, yet there occur
occasionally very large spaces that are
either destitute of trees or cultivation, or
are terraced with fields right down to the
river, which again is mt girt in so heavily
with the alder and the deodar as is the
Beas in Kooloo proper.
The crops in this valley are particularly
fine, and it is, for its area, well-populated. The Saraburi rises below " Snowy Peak
15,108," and flows in a south-easterly
direction for thirty miles, past Kuronw resthouse, to Sooltanpore, entering the Beas
immediately to the south of that town. It is
so far a noticeable stream, as it runs along
the Main Trade Line down the Bubboo (Bhubu)Pass. ' The Surburi valley is very much shut-in, the enclosing mountains rising to a considerable altitude on either side, the range
on the left bank being sparsely clothed with
timber, which, however, is sufficiently plentiful on the opposite shore.
There are not
many villages in the valley, which in several
places present some fine points of scenery.
The Hotel rises in the lower spurs of the range that divides Spiti from Wuzeeri-Rupi,
and with a south-westerly course of thirty-five miles, enters the Beas just opposite
Bajoran. The features of the valley through
which this stream flows are much the same
as those of the Parbuttee valley.
The river Larjee descends from the
western flank of Snowy Peak No. I., from which the Peen, in Spiti, takes its rise on
the other side.
This is a considerable stream, nearly as
large as the Parbuttee, and has a course in
an easterly direction of nearly seventy-five
miles, joining the Beas at Larjee, twenty-three miles to the south of Sooltanpore. The .
Larjee is met by several smaller torrents, the
one that falls into it near Tagwarcha village
from the north-west, twenty miles from its
junction with the Beas, being of some size.
It forms the boundary between Wuzeeri-Rupi
and Seoraj.
The Larjee valley has many
features in common with that of the Parbuttee, but it is narrower and less thickly
populated.
The Tirthan rises to the south-west of
Snowy Peak No. 1, between Spiti and
Seoraj, and for the first thirty-two miles
flows to the south-west, when, being met by
a considerable tributary at Bundul village, it
bears away to the north-west, and, passing
Plach, after an entire course of sixty-two
mil&, enters the La jee stream at Larjee for the last eighteen miles, or from Munglor
to Larjee, forming the boundary between
Mundee a.nd Seoraj. Near Plach it is joined
by the Chata from the south-east, and at
Munglor by the Bah, which has each a the course of over twenty miles, the latter stream
being the continuation of the frontier line
between Seoraj and Mundee.
For the first twenty-five miles the Tirthan
passes through a sterile country, but then
the valley lowers, and villages become numerous, but the scenery throughout is nowhere
equal to that found in the line of the Beas or
the Parbuttee.
There are, however, some
considerable ranges of the forest, and this part
of Seoraj is densely inhabited. From Plach
to Larjee the Tirthan passes through a very
narrow vale, and, as Larjee is neared, the
villages are far between and high up above
the roadway, while the forests disappear
altogether, giving place to bare stretches of
grass.
The Arni river rises in the southern spurs
of the Jalouri range, in Seoraj, and, after a south-westerly course of nearly thirty miles,
joins the Bisna, close to Tumun village. The scenery of the country watered by the Arni
deserves no special comment. There are
many considerable forests, and villages are
numerous, but the landscape has not many
features of interest.
The Bisna, in Seoraj, rises to the south of
the Jalouri range, immediately opposite the
Bah, that runs into the Tirthan at Munglor,
and, flowing south, forms, for ten miles, the
boundary-line between Seoraj and Mundee,
and, for the remaining fourteen of its course,
between the former and Sookhet, it is joined
by the Arni, which has a larger volume than
its own, at Tumun, and enters the river
Sutlej between the villages of Fareenoo
and Banoo.
The Kurpan is a considerable stream, forty
miles in length, which, rising to the south of
the Jalouri range flows almost due south,
joining the Sutlej opposite Datnagar, in
Eussahir. The scenery of the Kurpan valley
closely resembles that of the Arni, but there are fewer forests, and perhaps less cultivation.
The Kunrad is an unimportant stream;
but, in its south-easterly course of fifteen
miles, it forms the boundary-line between
Seoraj and Bussahir, entering the Sutlej
opposite the hamlet of Sha, in Bussahir.
The Solung, or Beash Khund, rises at
the foot of the peak " M" (20,356 feet),
on the Rohtang range, and has a southeasterly course of about thirteen miles,
joining its waters with those of the Beas
at Pulchan. In the Solung valley, there is
,/ but one village, famous for its deodar-tree,
', said to be the largest in India. The scenery in this valley exceeds in grandeur
anything that can be found elsewhere in
Kooloo. The river in a swift current
courses between mountains clad in impenetrable forests, from the midst of which jut
out vast headlands of perpendicular rock;
and, about three miles above Pulchan, a
series of similar gigantic cliffs, over 600 feet
in height, rise up sheer from the river, and line its course for a considerable di~tance.
Approached through beautiful glades of ancient pines and horse-chestnuts, the valley
comes at last into view, bowered with forests
on either shore, while to the rear stand forth,
in indescribable majesty, the tremendous
heights of the Snowy Range, which here
mount to upwards of 20,000 feet above sea level.
The landscape in the Solung valley is, in
my opinion, unsurpassable, and certainly
unmatched by anything in the rest of the
subdivision.
CHAPTER III. Communications -Rivers, Passes, Roads, Bridges, Ferries, Bungalows, Rest-houses
The arrangements for the labor-supply
were as follows. Willing workmen could not be had, and, pursuing the precedent of
1863, each kothee in Kooloo had to give so
many men, amounting in all to 400, who
worked for fifteen days, and received for that
period two rupees per man. Some of the
zemindars had to come from long distances,
but it has so happened that those who lived
furthest off, and whose services have been
utilized by the State, are hardly ever called
upon to do the Begar,* which falls heavily on
the kothees in the Upper Beas valley; and
therefore the burden on all has been more
equal than might have been expected; nor is
it, in my opinion, a bad political measure
to now and then exact from the zemindars
something that will suffice to show there is
a paramount power, whose will must be obeyed.
All the works on this line cannot be completed this season. The new Rohtang Pass the road is now ready, but the new sungha,
opposite Koksur village, cannot be commenced this year, for some time must bc
allowed for the drying of the timbers, whicl~
have, in addition, to be dragged from Kooloo
over the pass to the point selected for the
bridge. This year also, certain settlement
operations have necessitated the presence of
each zemindar at his homestead until the
autumn was far advanced, and it thus became impracticable to attempt the transport
of the trees to the point selected for the
. bridge. For the transit of the logs nearly
2,000 porters will be required, and, with the
late heavy pressure there has been on the
people, I think this work must stand over
till next season. Nor do I consider that it
is absolutely necessary to have another
bridge at Koksur: the new road over the
pass is connected with the older line, ant1
though the distance from Koksur, in Lahoul,
to Ralla, in Kooloo, by the former, is greater than by the latter, yet in point of time there
mould be saving, in consequence of the
greater facilities for getting quickly over the
ground.
The Lahoul road has been pressed on,
but there are many obstacles to the speedy
advance to completion of this work. The population is scanty, and the line of the country
through which the communications pass is
very difficult, nor are the laborers that can
be procured worth much. Fair progress
has, however, been made, and all the credit
for this is entirely and solely due to Mr.
Theodore, whose unremitting attention to
his duties in a country so desolate and so
bitterly cold as is Lahoul, will not, I trust,
be forgotten. Literally, for weeks at a time,
has Mr. Theodore been living almost at the
top of the Rohtang, over 13,000 feet in
height, and, undaunted either by the desertion of his servants, the disobedience and the impertinence of the workmen, and the rigors
of the climate, he has, on a salary of 200
rupees a month, do the work that
could not have been better performed by
a Government engineer on double the
salary. The expenditure for the year,
on the roads in Lahoul and near the Rohtang, will be furnished in a separate
paper.
I now proceed to treat the principal
lines of communication in this subdivision.
The Main Trade Line, commencing at the
crest of the Bubboo passes Kuronw and
Sooltanpore, and winds by the left bank of
the Beas up to Menalee (Manali ) shortly after crossing
the Solung it ascends to Ralla, and, traversing the Rohtang, descends by the new road
to a spot opposite to Koksur village. It
then turns up the left bank of the Chandra,
and near Koksur rest-house passes to the
right shore, following the course of the river
till it is joined by the Bagha. The path now
lies over this last stream, and along its right
bank past Kielung, Kolung, and Darcha to
Putseo, where it changes to the left side of
the river; and just beyond Zingzingbar, the
last encampment at the foot of the Bara
Lacha, again leads back to the right bank,
and so ascends the pass, from thence proceeding into Ladakh by Lingtee.
A11 throughout Kooloo this road is in excellent order for mule traffic; the gradients are easy, and the pathway from ten to
twelve feet wide; and both over the Rohtang
and for various portions of the line through
Lahoul, it is easily traversable by baggage
animals; but, as it nears the Bara Lacha,
the path becomes lost in boulders and speedy
locomotion is impossible.
The larger and better bridges, all sunghas,
are the following:-
One at Sooltanpore, over the Surburi torrent, that descends from the Bubboo Pass.
A smaller one than the above, near Katrain village, over a hill stream that joins the
Reas lower down.
One of similar size, north of Menalee (Manali) , over
the Menalee stream. This was carried bodily
away in July, but was replaced the following
month, the new bridge being sixty-four feet
in width.
One near Pulchan, five miles from Menalee,
over the Solung river. This is a large bridge,
and spans two separate portions of the
stream.
The Kootlee bridge (between the foot of
the Rohtang Pass and Koksur rest-house)
over the Chandra is ninety-eight feet in
span: the upper scantlings have to be removed every winter.
At the villages of Koksur, Gondla, and
Tandee, in Lahoul, there are jhula or rope
bridges, which connect the mainline with
tracks on the opposite shore.
One over the Bagha, opposite Tandee, in Lahoul, at its junction with the Chandra.
One over the Bagha, at Keilung (Keylong) , connecting the latter village with Kardung, on the
left bank of the river.
The Zanskar bridge, over the Zanskar
river, that joins the Bagha just below Darcha.
This was swept away this year (1870), but
has been replaced.
The Putseo bridge of beams, with slates
for the roadway, close to Putseo encampment, on the left bank of the Bagha.
The bridge over the Tserap river, the boundary between Cashmere and British
territory.
There is a poor rest-house and a wooden
serai at Kuronw, on the Kooloo side of the
Bubboo : both these, though built but a few
months ago, are in very bad order.
At Sooltanpore there is a good rest-house,
that has been recently done up, and a serai
of some size was completed in January,
1870.
There is no rest-house at Menalee, but a
* serai of three small rooms was erected early
in the present year.
At Pulchan and Ralla there are small resthouses, but no serais, and halfway up the
Rohtang Pass, at Murree, there is a small
shieling, built by Lehna Sing, the Sikh, and
still called after him this last structure is
almost a ruin.
Koksur, on the Lahoul side of the Rohtang
pass boasted once of an excellent rest-house,
with out-offices, but, exposed as the building
is to the depredations of traders, it is now
in bad order, having been denuded of all
ironwork, and the windows of their panes
of glass.
At Darcha there is only a serai.
Serais are to be erected at the villages
of Koksur, Sissoo, Gondla, Keylong, and
Kolung, in Lahoul, and at the encampment
of Putseo and Zingzingbar; but there are
great difficulties in the way of getting these
buildings prepared, in a country where
labor is so difficult to procure and timber
so scarce, and often so very far distant from
the point where it is required.
The line next in importance is the one
which proceeds from Sooltanpore to Simla.
This passes down the right bank of the Beas
to below Bajoura, and then crosses to the
another side of the river, and enters WuzeeriRupi. At Larji the Beas turns off to the
south-west; the road then follows the Tirthan
for twelve or thirteen miles, through Mundee
and Suraj, and leaving that stream just
below Plach, ascends the Jalori Pass, and,
turning in a southerly direction, reached
Dalash, the last Kooloo village, is
seven or eight miles from the Sutlej, Simla
being five and a half marches from this point. This may be termed a capital road throughout, with the exception of a small portion
that passes through Mundee, the gradients
in which are badly laid out, and the last
final dip to the Sutlej from Dulash, where
the track is susceptible to improvement, and
is always much injured in the rains.
The Bajoura bridge is now in course of
construction, the river Beas being, at the
point of crossing, 180 feet in breadth. For
the present, a ferry connects the two shores.
The Larji bridge is of some size and
spans a formidable stream that separates
Larji, in Seraj, from Wuzeeri-Rupi.
There is another considerable bridge over
the Tirthan river, three miles beyond Larji,
which connects the Mundee and Kooloo
Seraj . The Munglor bridge, close to Munglor the village, is of some size, though only over a
hill stream; on either shore are the Mundee
and Kooloo Seoraj's.
The Sutlej bridge is between 'Dulash, in
Kooloo, and Kotghur ; it is 200 feet in span, and has only this year (1870) been
again rebuilt.
There are, throughout the entire road to
Simla, no serais, with the exception of the
one at Sooltanpore, before alluded to.
At Bajoura, ten miles to the south of
Sooltanpore, there is a comfortable resthouse.
Larjee, fourteen miles below Bajoura, is
provided with a double-roomed native building, which serves as a shelter to travelers;
it is a very poor structure, and, when funds
are available, a proper rest-house should be
erected.
At Jibhi, on the Kooloo side of the Jalouri
Pass, there is a small rest-house.
Additional rest-houses are required at Larjee, Munglor, and Dalash ; they could be run
up at an expenditure of 5!,0 rupees apiece.
Besides the mainline in the Upper Beas
valley, there is another that is equally good
along the left bank of the Beas.
This
adheres to the mainline as far as Dobee
(eleven miles from Sooltanpore), and then crosses to the other side of the river, passing
Nuggur and Jugutsookh en route, joining
the mainline again at Manali.
An excellent sungha bridge, with a span
of upwards of ninety feet, crossed the Beas
just opposite Dobee, but on the 31st July
last it was carried away in an unprecedented
rise of the river, which brought down an
accumulation of timber that completely
destroyed one of the piers, and resulted in
the destruction of the fabric. This bridge
should be rebuilt lower down the river.
For the present, the Nuggur bridge, three
miles higher up, with a span of 110 feet, is
the main means of communication between
the two shores. This bridge was also much
damaged by the flood, but it stood the shock,
and is now perfectly safe.
The Dwangan bridge is between Nuggur
and Jugutsookh, and close to the latter the village it crosses a very furious torrent.
The Manali bridge, over the Beas, is
between Jugutsookh and Menalee, and is
seventy-eight feet in span.
Between Nuggur and Manali there is
also, the Kelat bridge over the Beas, which
gives a means of passage from the "Main
Trade Line " to either Nuggur or Jugutsookh. This bridge is very old, and should
be renewed.
There are no serais or rest-houses on this
line.
From Sooltanpore there are two roads up
the Parbuttee valley. The first crosses the
Beas, ascends the Bijli-Mahdeo hill, and,
passing by Tipri village turns up the left
bank of the Parbuttee to Jhirree and
Manikurn ; the second line going south from
Sooltanpore to Shumshee village, and, the
Beas being passed, joining the other near
Jhirree.
There is a large bridge over the Beas at
Sooltanpore, between the latter place and
the village of Dart.
Tipri bridge is over the Parbuttee, between Tipri and Jhirree.
The Kushole bridge over the Parbuttee
is between Kushole and Manikurn.
There is a ferry over the Beas near
Shumshee, which leads to the village of
Buin, on the right bank of the Parbuttee,
on to the opposite shore, from whence the
road goes to Jhirree.
The main Spiti line commences at Losur,
on the right bank of the Spiti river, and,
crossing the stream at Khiotto, turns up
over a low pass, and touches at Khibur,
from which, again descending, it continues
along the same side to Dhunkur, a distance
of about forty-five miles; the entire road
being very good, except where it traverses
the bed of the Spiti river, and betweeen
Khibur and Kazeh, where it has been injured
by landslips.
At Losar, the Spiti is crossed by a jhula
bridge over fifty feet in span.
Near Khiotto there is a jhula bridge over
the Spiti. This is off the main road.
Almost opposite Rangri there is a sungha ;
this is over the Spiti, off the main road,
lying between Khibur and Kazeh.
The Dhunkur sungha is seventy feet in span, crosses the Spiti river two miles to tlie
north of Dhunkur, and leads to tlie Peen
valley and the Babeh Pass.
A small rest-house has been this year
erected at Losar, and a room in the fort at
Dhunkur is usually placed at the disposal of
travelers in the valley.
The road from Plach to Nirmand, in
Seraj, is a fairly good one but is little used
by Europeans; it leaves Plach just off the
main Simla line, near Munglor, and minds
over the Busloh Pass to Nirmand, close to
the river Sutlej. In distance, it is forty-five miles.
The Lower Beas valley road is connected
with Sooltanpore by the bridge over the
Beas, near the town, and, proceeding south;
winds below the Bijli-Mahadeo hill to Buin here it crosses the Parbuttee and continues
along the left bank of the Beas till the
Jhirree ferry, on the main Simla line, is
reached.
In length, it is about twenty-two
miles.
The Jheea sungha bridge is over the Parbuttee, and close to the junction of that
river with the Beas, between Buin and Jheea.
The Malauna Pass road leads from
Manikurn, in the Parbuttee valley, along
the right bank of the Parbuttee, and at
Chulaul village ascends the Kundee Pass,
touches at Malauna, and then crosses the
Malauna Pass, emerging at Nuggur, in the
Upper Beas valley.
There is a good sungha bridge over the
Malauna stream, just before the village of
the same name is reached.
The road from Kooloo to Spiti leaves
Jugutsookh, on the left bank of the Beas,
and; passing the village of Prini, commences
the ascent of the Humta Pass, up the Raini
torrent, and, surmounting that pass, enters
on the Chundravalley, the encamping-grounds
of Chaitroo, Futtehrooneh, and Karchee following each other in succession. From the
latter the line crosses the Kunzum Pass, and
leads to Losar, in Spiti, a distance in all of
some sixty miles.
There are no rivers along this route, but many of the hill streams are most furious
torrents, which can hardly be forded after
the sun has melted the ice-beds by which
they are supplied.
The line passes over the Shigri glacier,
between Futtehrooneh and Karchee.
The Upper Chandra valley line leaves the
Bara Lacha Pass at the point where the
Chandra first comes into notice and follows
the course of the stream along its left bank
for four marches, to a high pass, from the
crest of which commences the boundary of
Spiti. Below the pass runs the Lichee
stream, which is fordable, and from this
Lasur is six miles distant. The length of
this most execrable road is over fifty miles.
The Chandra Bagha line leaves the " Main The line" at the bridge over the Bagha, near
the junction of the latter with the Chandra,
and, keeping to the right bank of the united
streams for fifteen miles enters Chumba
territory, between the villages of Jolung and Tirot.
The Manirung Pass line leaves Dhunkur, and, descending south, crosses the Spiti
river eight miles below, and, touching Mani the village, on the right bank of the stream,
ascends to the crest of the Manirung Pass,
a distance of twenty miles more. This road
is a mere track.
At Mani village, there is usually a jhula the bridge was annually thrown over the Spiti.
The Peen valley road commences at
Dhunkur, and, crossing the Spiti river,
keeps to the left bank of the Peen, a
tributary of the latter, for about eighteen
miles, when it takes the right side of the
stream as far as Buldun encamping-ground;
it then turns due south and follows the
upward course of a hill stream to Lursa
encamping-ground, at the foot of the Babeh,
and so passes into Bussahir. The length of
this road is about sixty-five miles. The
bridge that connects the Peen valley with
Dhunkur has been alluded to before.
The Kwagnr Pass road leaves Dhunkur
by the path to the Manirung Pass, but quits
it again at the Spiti, along the left bank of which river it continues for fourteen miles,
till at Lari, the last village in Spit:: it crosses
the stream, and leads over the Kwagur Pass
into Shealkur, in Bussahir. The road is
simply a track, but it is the one most used
by travelers from Simla into Spiti.
At Lari village, there is generally to be
found a jhula over the Spiti.
The road over the Parang-la to Ladakh
leaves the main Spiti line between Ichiotto
and Khiebar, and crosses the Parang-la
almost immediately after.
The Solung valley road leaves the " Main
Trade Line " at Pulchan, in the Upper Beas
valley, and turns up the right bank of the
Solung river, until all further progress is
stopped by the mountains.
Before proceeding to give an account of'
the passes in the subdivision, it may not be
out of place to shortly describe the shungha.
and jhula bridges.
A sungha bridge is formed as follows:-
On either side the river piers of rubble
masonry, laced with cross-beams of timber,
are built up, and into these are inserted
stout pol&, one over the other in successively projecting tiers, the interstices between
the latter being filled up with cross-beams.
The projecting poles increase in size as they
approach the upper platform, and have a
slight incline upwards, their shore ends
being firmly braced into the stonework.
Between the uppermost row of timbers, two
or three long and very strong connecting
trees are placed, and scantlings are laid over
them for the pathway, in some cases a railing
being added for greater security. A jhula bridge is fashioned with ropes of
birch or willow twigs. " The supports are
two stout cables, each composed of some
twelve or fifteen small ropes stretched over
rude piers on either bank at about five feet
apart, and finally secured by being buried
deeply beneath the stones forming the piers.
Between the main cables, and about two feet below them, a third of smaller dimensions is
stretched, and supported by tight ropes
passed over the side cables."-(Theobald.)
Jhula bridges are not usually allowed to
remain all the year-round, and are mostly
only put up for the convenience of villages
separated by some river.
When new, they
are quite safe, as between the main cables
and the footway there is a rough rope
lacing, but they soon get worn, and then,
to anyone who has not much nerve, they are
exceedingly dangerous; and Cunningham
mentions that he has seen Ladakh women
sit down in the middle of one of these
structures, and actually scream with terror!
The Bara Lacha Pass, variously estimated
at from 16,221 to 16,500 feet above sea-level,
is in Lahoul, lying between Zingzingbar
and Lingti encamping-grounds, and across it
runs the "Main Trade Line " to Ladakh.
It is generally open for traffic by the beginning or middle of June and remains so
till October, although it can be, and constantly is, crossed in May, and even in
December; but from the latter month to the
end of April it is hermetically sealed. The ascent of this pass from the Lahoul side
is almost imperceptible, and where the road
good, the gradient is so easy that wheeled
conveyances might be drawn over it. The
last halting-place, Zingzingbar, is nearly
14,000 feet above sea-level, so that the rise
to the crest of the pass is by no means great.
The road goes up the course of the Bagha,
skirts the Seoraj-dul, a clear sheet of water
about three-quarters of a mile in circumference, and then winds over the summit,
descending by an easy slope to the plains on
the other side.
In July, August, and September the Bara
Lacha is almost entirely divested of snow.
From the crest, another path turns to the
south towards the head of the Chandra
valley; but this is a mere track, and one,
too, which, without a guide, it is not safe to
traverse. It winds for about three miles between lofty peaks of dazzling snow, and then
commences to dip down towards the Chundra
Comments
Post a Comment