CHAPTER XII.
Marked change in the Vegetation—Bridge over Chenab Pargwal
Description of Chenab valley—Asdhari—Chatargarh Road turns
up valley of Butna—Vegetation of Chenab valley—Chishot Snovv-
beds—Camp at 10,500 feet—Ancient moraines—Glacier—Camp at
11,500 feet—Rapid ascent along glacier—Camp on moraine, at
14,600 feet—Change of weather—Ascent towards pass over glacier
—Cross Umasi La—Descent—Immense glacier—Encamp in Tibet,
at 13,800 feet—Open valley of Zanskar—Padum—Great change of
climate—and in vegetation.
As a great part of my baggage and some of my
servants did not reach camp till after dark, in the
evening of the 12th of May, I halted on the 13th.
I was encamped in a very narrow valley, on both sides
of which lofty mountains rose very abruptly. The
spurs which projected into this ravine were all of very
peculiar configuration, their northern face being uniformly
quite precipitous, while to the south, though
still steep, they were green and sloping. I ascended
on the southern slope of the spur, nearest to my tent,
to a height of perhaps 1500 feet, without obtaining
any extensive view of the valley of the Chenab,
though I afterwards found that I was not more than
two miles in a direct line from that river, but that the
rocky mountains right and left, retaining their elevation
till they were close to it, completely interrupted the view
in every direction, except directly down the ravine, where
a small portion of the snow-topped mountains beyond
the river was visible.
From the great elevation of the mountains which I
had just crossed, I was prepared to find a marked
change in the aspect of the vegetation, and I was not
disappointed. The steep slopes were covered with a
most luxuriant herbage, above two feet in height. A
tall panicled Pheutn was very common, and numerous
Embelliferce, Silene inflata, Geranium, and Pteris aqui-
lina were abundant. The most remarkable plant, however,
from the extreme quantity in which it occurred,
was an Asphodelaceous plant (Eremurus, Bieb.), the long
scapes of which, from four to five feet in height, covered
the hill-sides in countless myriads. These scapes were
clothed, for nearly half their length, with a profusion
of elegant white flowers, very slightly tinged with a
pale yellowish green. I met, during the day, with most
of the characteristic plants of the Kunawar flora; as
instances, I may mention Ephedra, Eictanvfius, Posa
WebUana, Diantlms, and Scutellaria orientalis. The
arboreous vegetation was much the same as on the
other side of the pass. The right side of the ravine
was well clothed with pines, of all the four ordinary
species; the left side was usually bare, the northern
faces of the spurs, which are generally wooded, being too
precipitous, but in the hollows there were a few small
clumps of trees, principally pine, walnut, and sycamore.
On the 14th of June I resumed my journey. The