néÉMIb
Mineral Water*.
Natural Cu-
- riofities.
The rnioft peculiar product öf Tibet Is tincal, or crude boras • concerning
'which Mrr.Sa;un.dprs, who accompanied Mr.. Turner,, gives the
following'dntéreftiög' information.' “ . The lake, from whence tincal
and rock fait are coile&ed, is about fifteen days journey from Tëlhoo- •
lumboo, and to the northward obit. It isieneompafTed■ o.n all hides by
rocky hills, without any brooks or rivulets near at hand ; but its waters
are fupplied by fpringsf which being, faltifh to the tafté are.not ufed by
the natives.. The tincal is depofited or formed in the bed of. the lake :
and thofe who. go to collefl; it dig it up in large. maffes, which they
afterwards break into fmall pieces, for the convenience of carriage, ex-
pofing it to - the air to dry.p Although tincal has been, cdlleéted from
this 'lake for a great length of timëy the .quantity is not perceptibly di-
minifhed ; and as the cavities made by digging it foon wear out Or fill
tip, it is an opinion with the people that the formation of frefli tincal is
going on. They have never yet met it in dry ground, or high {dilations,
but it is, . found in the flialloweft depths, and the borders of the
lake; which deepening gradually from the edges towards the .centre
contains fob much water to admit of their fearching. fortherincai-eon-
veniently ;.but from the deepeft parts they bring rock fait, which is not
to be found in {hallows, or near the bank. The waters of the lake rile
and fall very little, being fupplied by a confiant and unvarying fource
neither augmented by the influx of any current, nor diminifhed by any
ftream running from it. The lake, I was allured, is at Ieaft 20 miles in
circumference ; and, handing in a very bleak lituation, is frozen for a
great part of the year. The people employed in collefting thefe faits
are obliged'to defift from their labour fo early as October, on account
of the ice. Tincal is ufed in Tibet for foldering, and to promote the
fufion of gold and filver. Rock fait is univerfally ufed for all domeftic
purpofes in Tibet, Bootan, and Nipal.”T
There are many mineral waters in various- parts o f this extenfive
country ; nor is their falutary ufe unknown to the natives.
The natural curiofities o f this alpine region muft of courfe be numerous,
but they have been little explored. Towards the north of Taffi-
** Turner, 406*
. fudon
'ftiden Mr. Saunders ohferved a fingular rock, forming, in front fix or natural.
feven angular femi-pillars of great circumference, and fotne hundred feet CuTPLEs^
in h e i g h t ,T h i s natural . curipfity was in part detached from the
mountain, and projeded over a.confiderable fall of water, which added
much to the grand pi£buiefque( appearance of the whole. He adds that -
the rock is laminated, and might be formed into flate ; and iron hones
being found in the vicinity, fit is probable that thefe pilaftres may, like
tp0fe of bafalt, arife from the influence .of that metal.
Before clofing this account, it muftbe ohferved that there is a diftrift
<to'thafiSh W. of Cdhtnfirpcalled Little^i’het, 'and which is fuppofld to
: contain the chief fo u S of the\Iqdti||f But o f this country, which is
alfa repreffented: a^W portion; btth^Chinefe em^reylitde @r nothingfis-
'known ; -and even fituation femh’dombtful, for D’Anyifie»
JM map of Afia, has'placed it tto>the-N<If of Gafhmir, t^^.reprefent-
jng ft^aa'the W. extremity of Tibet Proper. , But'Little,Tfbet is
probably °h the'N^and ^fCaflimir, Being divided from Great
'■ “¥ihef by a high mouk'lihous ridge?; >nd bj a. yet-higher "ciSain', that of
' Belur, from great Buchan^Wis^Td^fo Be a Very mountainous and
’ foporSphiiby, -pervaded by'' the' Indhs,v and fin thejhorth -full of forefts»
The -capital >is AfcarduS; - and further, toIhe north isScbbkar,. 3®. already
mdntroped iny&e-'obfervatioos. on the boundaries- of Great Tihdt. Te-
- mir-kandy or the fortrefs of iron, feems. to command the .pafs. between
. Great and Little Tibet: and the two Gangas of the Chinefe maps (fup-
poled fources of the Ganges) are probably rivers which join the Indus
■ from the eaft. 8 -; " f-'- 'V ; - ' ‘ " _ • •
Turnpjj,