along the southern slopes of that range, past the viceregal
capitals of Western Tibet, viz., Gartok and Gar-
gunsa, the other, and northerly, branch starts north of
the range, and passes through miles and miles of rich
gold-fields, of which, perhaps, Thok Jalung is the best
Alexis and Henri
P IN E -T R E E S .
known, until it finally unites with the sister stream and
flows past Leh and close to Gilghit.
Although the garden of Eden was never in this part
of the world, yet it is impossible not to note the wonderful
analogy of the two descriptions :
“ And a river went out of Eden to water the garden
and from thence it was parted, and became into four
heads. The name of the first is Pison : that is it which
compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is
gold; And the gold of that land is good : there is bdellium
and the onyx stone. And the name of the second
river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the
whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river
is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of
Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates ” (Genesis
ii. 10-14).
I t was in the holy mountains of this part of the Himalaya,
that the great god Shiva is described as having
dallied with the wives of the seven Rishis, or Sages,
who are the stars of the constellation Ursa Major, and
for this he was cursed with the curse that his Ling
should fill the whole earth. He accordingly flung down
his Ling on these very mountains, and hence the origin
of phallic worship, for now in every temple and shrine,
throughout the length and breadth of India, the Ling
of the god is worshipped. Subsequently, Shiva Mahadeo
(i.e., mighty deity) married the daughter of Himachal,
and his nuptial attire is truly awesome in its details.
“ Then Mahadeo smeared his body with ashes, and
threw over his shoulders the skin of a deer, and adorned
himself with snakes instead of jewels, and took the
Trisul, or trident, in his hand, and wearing a necklace
of dead men’s skulls, and seated on a bull, came to the
marriage.” And so the legends and tales go on, quaint
in themselves, yet of absorbing interest, when we
realise that these form the mantle of mystery which
for ever hangs round these sublime mountains, in the
minds of the millions of worshippers who live in every
part of India. Selecting some of these that are the
more fascinating, we read that Himachal is the giver of
the four great gifts of virtue, wealth, desire, and absorption,
or death, and is the home of mines of gold and
other metals, tigers, deer, all kinds of birds, wild men,
and herbs good for medicine. In Mansarowar Lake,
we are told, is a golden Ling, and the great grey royal