Having now conducted the river, on which I looked down, to the
termination of its course, I must not take ‘n# leave, without paying
some farther respect to this distant traveller; and marking,' atiihe same
time, the veneration attached to these celebrated sister ^streams* the
Berhampooter .and the (Jiang®, The common source of both, is the
lake Maunserore; situated, as I was informed, a month's journey
north-west from Teshoo Loomboo. Separating at their origin, they'
flow in nearly opposite directions, one towards the east, the other to
the west.
It is the fate of the Berhampooter, topenetiate, in a *orim<ffisæouæsej
a rude'climate and most stubborn soil, till at length-it quitstTartary,
and forcing a passage through the frontier mountains of Assam, enters
the eastern "boundary of Bengal.
The Ganges, by a different course, seeks the milder climate, ;and
more productive plains of Hindostan ; no sooner disengaging itself
from the embarrassment of mountains, after having passed -the. Cow ’s
Mouth, and quitted Hurdewar, than it is met by the adoration of suppliant
tribes, and receives the homage of the bordering nations; as it
flows along ; fertilizing the lands it washes, enriching their inhabitants,
and bearing the wealth of India in its arms. j
In the temperature of the seasons in Tibet, a remarkable uniformity
prevails,-as well as in their periodical duration and return. The same
division of them takes place here, as in the more southern region
of Bengal. The spring is marked from March to May, by a variable
atmosphere; heat, thunder storms, and, occasionally, with refreshing
showers. From June to September is the season of humidity, whèn
MÊmm n 301
heavy and continued fains fill, the rivers.toj(their brim, which run off
from hence with.,rapidity,;?: 6c)^^S'i|^in inundatihg^Rpngfai uF^rom October,
to March, a clear and uniform sky succeeds, seldom obscured either
by fogs or clouds. For thre^fa a 4cgSPC £>f cqld
is felt, far greater,perhaps» than is k a ^ s ^ ^ ^ ^ i i i , i ^ ] ^ ’op§.,,,Its
extreme severity, i% morg particularly t^sQurifej^hpupdary
ofjlfafat^hear thafreleyatedf rapg^ oft mountains whipfa divides, it
from Assam, Bootan, and NipfaS&v,
The/sqmmits of; these tare covered all jyitfr snow,; and their
.vicinity is remarkable, at. all Seasons, (’^(jb%dcynes^nQj| the winds.
The range is confined, between the twentyjsixth and twentyTSeventh
degre®- of northern latitude. . During« the winter, a practice is adopted
in the neighbourhood of these mountains, similar;todhat,in,use in the
coldest parts of North America,. but in lin e) respec|s‘mor^ compete.
I mean, that of preparing meat, and fish foif carriage, by* the* action ^of
.extreme cold ; j a mode more particularly adopted by the Indian^,
who convey to their markets, at many hundred mil® distaqc^tfjgir
poultry,- game, and fish* in a frozen-state;^ But in.Tiljot. the pfactibe
is confined, as far as .came to my knowledge^ to,.the^ preservation, of
mutton alone, and the process is extrqmely simple, • They kill, clean,
and strip the animal of fas skin; he fa then placed upon his legs,, in a
commodious place, and left exposed to ^ free- access of frosty air, until
all the juices in his body are completely drieffup, and the whole
becomes one uniformly stiffened substance. It is then, in a fit state, for
carriage, to any part of Tibet,vand^fbr keeping to any season; of ,the
year. No salt is used in. the preparation. I had supplfes of .fafa