The river Sanpoo *, or, according to Giorgi, Tzangciu, or Tzanga, is 7 miles from the foot of Mount Kambala; and is crof fed in the way to Laffa, about 12 miles farther on, either over a bridge, or in a boat. The bridge, as well as most others in this country, is compofed of iron chains ftretched from fide to fide, with planks or logs laid across them. Giorgi fays that the chains are compofed of 500 links, each a foot long. We may conclude that the bridge is laid over the narrowest part they could find, which, by this account, is 160 English yards in breadth; otherwise we might expect a larger body of water in a river that had ran at least 7 or 800 miles. and had received into its bed, fo great a number of ftreams. I compute that at this croffing place, the Sanpoo (which is afterwards called the Burrampooter) has as far to run to meet the sea, as the Ganges has at its first entry on the plains of Hindoostan; that is, about 1350 B. miles. The city of Laffa is, by the road, about 24 miles to the northeastward of the croffing place of the Sanpoo; and is fituated in a spacious plain. It is not confidered as a large city; but the houses are of ftone, and are fpacious and lofty. The mountain of Putala, which contains on its fummit the palace of the grand Lama, the High Prieft and Sovereign of Thibet, is about 7 miles on the eaft of the city. Much confufion arifes from the application of fo many different names to this capital of Thibet. Giorgi tells us, that the proper name of it, in the language of Thibet is Baronthala; but that the Tartars call it Laffa, or Lahaffa. Other accounts call it Tonker; and apply the names Laffa and Baronthala to the district which contains Tonker and Putala. And again others give the name of Putala inflead of Laffa, to the capital of Thibet. But we ought to apply the name Laffa, or Lahaffa, to the capital; and to confider Sanpoo, in the language of Thibet, means The River. Putala Putala as the castle and palace of the Lama, and his ordinary place of refidence. By Thibet, or more properly Great Thibet, we are to underftand all that vaft country extending from the fources of the Indus to the borders of China; and from Hindooftan, to the great defert of Cobi, northward; though we have but a faint idea of its extent towards that quarter. quarter. Its length from east to west cannot be less than 1600 British miles: its breadth is very unequal. We are informed generally that it is divided into three parts; that is, Upper, Middle, and Lower Thibet. The upper divifion seems to respect the countries towards the fources of the Ganges and Sanpoo rivers: the middle, that in which Laffa is fituated, and of which it forms the centre: and the Lower Thibet, that which borders on China. But the fubject is obfcure, and likely to remain fo. I am not informed, whether or not the country called Little Thibet is fubject to Laffa: this is fituated betweeen Upper Thibet and Cafhgur. Confidering the exceeding rough and fterile ftate of the country of Thibet, and the feverity of its climate, from its wonderful elevation, we are astonished to find its inhabitants in a high state of civilization; their houfes lofty and built of ftone; and the useful manufactures in fome degree of improvement. All these advantages they probably owe to their vicinity to the Chinese; to whom, indeed, the Lama is tributary. For an account of Thibet, fee Aftley's Collection, Vol. IV.; Phil. Tranf. Vol. LXVIII.; and the Alphabetum Thibetanum. With refpect to the heads of the Ganges and Sanpoo rivers, although they were vifited by the Lamas or priests, fent by the Emperor CAMHI, whofe laudable curiofity led him to add these particulars to the geography of Thibet; yet we are far from being well informed, concerning the true pofitions of these celebrated. fountains. A late publication by M. Bernoulli (who has done me too much honour in the courfe of it) contains among a variety of other matter, a map of the courses of the Ganges and Gogra rivers; drawn G g 2 drawn by M. Anquetil du Perron, from the materials of the late P. Tiefentaller. This map is highly interefting, on the score of its containing the course of the Ganges, as high up as the Gangotri, or cavern, ftyled by the Hindoos, the cow's mouth; and which is near 300 miles above the place where the Ganges enters Hindooftan: as well as the courfe of the Gogra river, to its fource, in the western part of Thibet. Unfortunately, no obfervations appear to have been made for the purpose of determining the latitudes of either of these places: which, on a courfe approaching to meridional, would have furnished a rule for correcting the distances: thofe remaining quite problematical, from the circumftance of the route's being very crooked, and paffing through a very mountainous country; to which the fcale of computed coffes cannot be applied, with any degree of certainty. What is yet more against the latter part of the performance (the Gogra river) is, that P. Tiefentaller did not vifit the fource of it, himself, as he did the Gangotri; but ftopt fhort at a place not far within the Kemaoon mountains, and took the account of the upper part of its course, from a native (of Hindooftan we may prefume). The names of places, and remarks, are written in the Perfic character, and translated (it appears) by M. Anquetil du Perron. But notwithstanding any imperfections that may be imputed to the materials, or want of judgment in determining the scale, this map conveys much intelligence refpecting the heads of the Ganges and Burrampooter rivers, as well as that of the Gogra; if we employ the lights furnished by Du Halde, in his map of the heads of the Ganges and Sanpoo, to illuftrate the subject before us. Let us proceed to the examination of it, without any regard to nicety of scale. The Gogra or Soorjew river, then, is traced into a lake named Lanke-Dhe; which has immediately on the east of it, but without communicating with it, a much larger lake, named Manfaroar; out of which proceed two rivers, the one to the weft, or N W, the the other to the east, or SE. Both of these lakes are faid to be fituated within Thibet; as indeed fome of the villages on the bank of the Gogra, much farther to the fouthward, are. By the construction of M. Anquetil's map, the fite of these lakes is carried as high up as the latitude of 36°: however, by an analyfis of the scale, they can hardly be higher than 33°; as will be prefently shewn. Now, in the Lamas' map of Thibet, the heads of the Ganges and Sanpoo rivers (which laft, is called the Burrampooter, in the lower part of its course) are separated only by a ridge of mountains, named Kentaiffe. The head of the Ganges is compofed of two ftreams, which run weftward; and the fouthmost of these branches runs through two lakes, of which the first is named Mapana, and the fecond Lanken. These lakes are placed in respect of each other, as Tiefentaller's are; and the names of the corresponding ones, are Lanke in one, and Lanken in the other account: and Manfaroar, and Mapana. The names of the latter have certainly no affinity with each other; but the fimilitude in point of fituation, remains. The river that runs from the Lanken lake in Du Halde, is named Lank-tshou: and that from the Lanke lake of Tiefentaller, is the Gogra. With regard to the two rivers that iffue from the Manfaroar lake of Tiefentaller, that which runs to the weft is faid to be the Satloudj (Setlege) a river that has been noticed in page 83, as the easternmost of the five Panjab rivers. This particular, however, the author himself difcredits, and very justly: and the reader by turning to the map of the heads of the Indus, &c. at page 102, may fatisfy himself as to the probability of it. In my opinion, this is the fouthernmost of the two heads of the Ganges, above noticed; and which is known to run by Dfaprong, or (Chaparang) a confiderable city not a very great way to the weftward of these lakes (vide Lama's map in Du Halde, or D'Anville's map of Afia). If it be objected that the Ganges is too famous a river to escape the notice of the people who knew the Burrampooter, at its fource; I anfwer, that I do by no means believe that the people in Thibet know the Burrampooter, by any other name than that of Sanpoo; and that the word Burrampooter is an interpolation. Indeed the writing in the map, imports only, "it is said that the Burrampooter, &c." and the tranflation of the Perfic writing, at the efflux of this eaftern river, gives a very different idea; being "Grand Riviere qui va du côte de Neipal" (or Napaul). It is clear, however, that the people have an idea, that the western river has a very long courfe. I fcruple not to believe, that the Lanke lake of Tiefentaller, is the Lanken of Du Halde; and that the Manfaroar of one, is also the Mapana of the other: and that the circumstances relating to the effluxes of the rivers, which appear to contradict each other, have not been carefully examined into, either by one, or the other party. As the Manfaroar lake is faid to be 60 milles Indiens (which ought to mean coffes) in circumference, that is, 115 B. miles; we can hardly fuppofe that the native who furnished the account, made the tour of it, either to measure its extent, or to explore the heads of the rivers: and on the other hand, the Lamas fent by CAMнI, might take a great deal of their account on trust. Therefore without contending about the exact circumftances of the cafe, I have described the Ganges (that is, the fouthern branch of it) as iffuing out of the lake Manfaroar: but have not regarded the eastern river as the Burrampooter, or Sanpoo; because it would be doing too much violence to the account given by the Lamas; which defcribes the Sanpoo as iffuing from the eastern fide of Mount Kentaiffe, and at least 40 miles from thefe lakes. fides, the Lamas give an account of a third lake named Conghé, which intervenes between the Manfaroar lake, and the head of the Sanpoo. If I am miftaken in my conjectures, I cannot mislead others, while the map is accompanied with this difcuffion. The Lamas' map which appears in Du Halde, places the head of the Ganges in latitude 2910; and M. D'Anville found it neceflary to remove it almost as high as 32°. In the prefent map, it ftands in 334°: all which may ferve to fhew how vague a performance the Lamas' 6 Be |
