the Goat, and which would appear to be a species of antelope. Its horns, smooth, short, and black, are directed backwards, with a slight curvature. It is about the size of a sheep, and, in the winter, has a coat of long curled hair, said to be of a silky fineness and lustre. It springs with great agility from precipice to precipice, and possessing, like the sheep, a very quick eye, its capture is attended with much difficulty. I have heard that the skins of these animals have been sent to Europe; but neither of them have hitherto been taken alive.* A very large kind of rein-deer is also found on those

mountains.

The natives make knives of a white translucent stone, which they detach in large sharp-edged flakes, by greasing a portion of the rock, and kindling a fire upon it.

They also dig up an edible unctuous earth, similar, probably, to that which is found at the mouth of the Orinooko; and use as a pigment a mineral substance, which they find at the bottom of a small subterraneous stream. It is in the form of round, flattish, ponderous grains, of a shining black colour, wtth a greasy feel, and adheres to the skin only when mixed with grease. A large specimen of native silver was also found in that neighbourhood in 1796.

Near the Great Bear Lake River, there are some coal-mines on fire. And there are several fountains of mineral-pitch, one in particular, which rises in the channel of the river, at a spot, which, from that circumstance, is named the Flaming Point.

ART. XVIII.-Account of part of a Journey through the Himalaya Mountains. By Messrs A. and P. GERARDt. Communicated by Colonel GERARD. [Edin. Philos. Jour.]

FROM Soobathoo, in Latitude 30° 58', and Longitude 77° 2′, situated about twenty miles from the plains, and 4200 feet above the level of the sea, I marched to Numbeg, nine miles. Three and a half miles from Soobathoo I crossed the Gumbur,

*The animal described in the text appears to be the Rocky-mountain Sheep of the Americans, noticed by Professor JAMESON in the first volume of this Journal, page 340.

+ This curious and interesting article, was read at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, on the 17th February, 1824. Dr Brewster remarks, that the Barometrical and Trigonometrical Observations which it contains may be considered a's removing all doubt respecting the heights of the Himalaya Mountains.

an inconsiderable stream, but it had swollen so much from late rains, that its passage was cffected with great difficulty. The road was a descent to the Gumbur, from which it slightly

ascended.

22d September.-Marched to Semta, thirteen miles. The road for the first eight and a half miles was almost plain, then there was a steep ascent of one and a half miles, and the last three were excellent, winding near the top of a range 7000 feet high, and lying through a noble wood of many varieties of oak and pine.

23d September.-Marched to Bunce, eleven miles. The road was plain, leading amongst deep forests of pine, at the height of 8000 and 9000 feet above the sea. Thus far the path, which is practicable upon horseback, has been made by a company of pioneers, for the facility of communication with the cantonment of Katgoor, thirty-four miles farther to the northeast.

24th September.-Marched to Pulana, ten miles. Left the made road six miles from last camp, and descended by an indifferent footpath to the village which belongs to the Řana of Theog.

25th September.-Marched to Kotkhace, eleven miles. The road lay along the banks of the Giree, one of the branches of the Jumna, and was often rocky and dangerous, the footpath being frequently overgrown with grass, and seldom half a foot in breadth.

Kotkhaee is the residence of the Kotgoon Rana, a hill chief, under the protection of the British government. It is situated on a most romantic spot, on a point below which two streams unite to form the Giree: on one side, the rock is 182 feet perpendicular, and on the other there is a long flight of stone steps; neither of the streams, which are only 20 feet broad, are fordable, so that, by destroying the bridges, the place might be well defended against musketry. The Rana's residence is three stories high, and has a most imposing appearance; each story projects beyond the one beneath it, and the top is crowned by a couple of handsome Chinese turrets, beautifully adorned with finely carved wooden work.

26th September.-Marched to Gujyndee, eight miles. The road at first lay up the rocky bed of one of the branches of the Giree, and then came a very steep and tiresome ascent to Dervisee Pass, from whence there was a descent to camp. Gujyndee is in Nawar, a small district of Buschur, famed for its numerous iron mines; there are few spots here fit for cultivating, and the inhabitants, who are all miners, live by their

trade in iron. They work the mines only about three months in the year; and commence digging them in March, after the snow has sufficiently melted; at other times they say the earth falls in, and it is unsafe to work.

27th September.-Proceeded to Rooroo, a fatiguing march of thirteen miles, crossing a high range of mountains. Here we first came upon the Pubur, one of the feeders of the Icus, which falls into the Jumna, and a stream of considerable size. Barometrical observations gave the extreme height of its bed 5100 feet.

Rooroo is situated in Choara, one of the large divisions of Buschur, and the most populous and best cultivated spot I have seen in the hills; the dell is broad, and the ground is well adapted for rice fields, being watered by many cuts from the river, which winds through it. Two marches more, or twenty-six miles, brought me to Jangleeg, the last and highest village in the valley of the Pubur, elevated 9200 feet above the sea. The road latterly was extremely rugged and dangerous; at one time many hundred feet above the river, with a horrid precipice on the right, and, at another, dipping down to the stream, which rushes with violence over the rocks interspersed in its channel. As you advance, the dell in which the Pubur flows becomes gradually more contracted, the mountains assume a more naked and abrupt appearance, and the rapidity and turbulence of the river increase.

From Jangleeg I proceeded ten miles to a hunting place, called Moondar, within two miles of the Brooang Pass, over the great snowy range; the road was good, and lay in a broad grassy glen, between two spurs of the Himalayas, with the Pubur running through it. The soil of this valley is composed of black vegetable mould, which produces endless varieties of alpine plants to the height of 13,000 feet. Belts of birch and pine reach almost the same elevation; beyond which scarcely any thing is seen but patches of brown grass.

The height of my camp, which was pitched beneath an immense projecting granite rock, was 12,800 feet. We left the last cluster of birch trees three miles behind us, so that we had to send back all that distance for firewood. The thermometer was 38° at night, and water froze hard.

Next day, 2d October. We pitched our tent on the crest of the pass, 15,095 feet above the level of the sea. The road was of the worst description, crossing the Pubur, which has its source near this, by an arch of snow of some extent, and then leading over huge detached masses of granite hurled from the peaks above, and piled upon one another in dread

ful confusion, with here and there some snow. The ascent was steep the whole way, and almost the only vegetation we noticed was grass in small tufts, which grew more scanty as we advanced to the pass, where it almost disappeared: it was still seen above, thinly scattered and intermixed with a few mosses. Here I met my brother, who had left Soobathoo some time before me, and travelled by a much more circui

tous route.

We sent most of our servants down about five miles to a more congenial climate, where wood could be procured. The peaks immediately on either side of us were not more than 1000 feet above us, but there are several not very far distant which we could not now see, 18,000 feet high. We were lucky in getting the altitudes and bearings of the principal mountains across the Sutluj, which rear their white heads to the height of 20,000 feet and upwards.

The thermometer in a tent got up so high during the day as 50°, but at 4 p. m. it fell to the freezing point, and at 7 was 8° below it. We sat up till past 10, for the purpose of making astronomical observations, which was cold work, and amused ourselves in smoking dried tobacco, which we found far from unpleasant. Our situation was not the most agreeable, for we had but a small supply of firewood, which was kindled in the middle of the tent, and we were involved in a cloud of smoke, and surrounded by servants, whilst every now and then we were alarmed by the crash of rocks, split by the frost.

We had all severe headaches during the night, owing probably to the rarefaction of the air, but attributed by the natives to a poisonous plant, said to grow most abundantly at the greatest elevations.

This pass separates Choara from Koonawur, another of the grand divisions of the Buschur, which lies on both banks of the Sutluj, extending from Lat. 31° 30' to 32°, and Long. 78° 10 to 78° 45'. It is a secluded, rugged and barren country, seldom exceeding eight miles in breadth. It is terminated on the north and northwest by a lofty chain of mountains, covered with perpetual snow, upwards of 20,000 feet high, which separates it from Ludak: a similar range of the Himalayas, equal in height, bounds it to the southward: on the east, a pass almost 14,000 feet high divides it from the Chinese dominions; and on the west lies another of the principal divisions of Buschur.

The villages, which are elevated from 8,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea, are very thinly scattered; not more than two or three occur in a stage, and sometimes none at all for several

days. In the summer season, from the reverberation of the solar rays, the heat in the bed of the Sutluj, and other large streams, is oppressive, and quite sufficient to bring to maturity grapes of a delicious flavour, of which raisins, and a spiritous liquor called Rakh, are made.

The

The inhabitants wear a frock of white blanket, often twofold, reaching down to the knees, and having sleeves, a pair of trowsers, and girdle of the same, a cap of black blanket like a bonnet, and shoes, of which the upper part is woollen, and the sole alone of leather. The people are very dark, and extremely dirty, but they seem to enjoy a much greater degree of comfort than any of the other mountaineers we saw. villages are generally large, and the houses spacious, and even elegant. They are built of stone and wood, and either slated or flat roofed; the last is most common. The temples of the Deotas (deities) are magnificent, and adorned with a profusion of ornaments. There are two or three in almost every village; and the various feats ascribed to their gods surpass belief: there is scarcely one of them that has not got the credit of removing some mountain or large rock to make the road passable, &c.

The level spaces of land in Koonawur are few, the crops are extremely poor, and a want of grain pervades the whole country. In time of scarcity, pears, and horse-chesnuts, after being steeped in water, to take away their bitterness, are dried, and ground into flour. There are, however, no marks of poverty, and the natives subsist by exchanging raisins and wool for grain. They have little to do, but look after their vineyards, and attend to their flocks, which in summer are sent to pasturage at some distance from the villages. Bears are very numerous, and commit great ravages. In the grape season, during the whole night several people from every village, together with their dogs, are employed in driving them off.

The dogs are of a large ferocious breed, covered with wool, and extremely averse to strangers, whom they often bite and tear in a most shocking manner. They are commonly chained during the day, otherwise it would be dangerous to approach a village.

The winter is rigorous, and for three months, there is no moving out of the villages from the quantities of snow. During this season, the inhabitants employ themselves in weaving blankets. They early begin to collect their winter-stock of fuel, and food for their cattle, which latter consists chiefly of the leaves of trees, and they pile it upon the tops of their