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Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 13, p. 124.

124 THEP HIMALA YA.S collected by British officials resident at Katmandu, notably B. H.. Hodgson, and the accounts of native explorers. The eastern border of Nepal is formed by the State of Sikkim and the Bengal District of Darjeeling, which have been graphically described by Sir Joseph Hooker and more recently by Mr. Douglas Freshfield. A small wedge of Tibetan territory, known as the Chumbi Valley, separates Sikkim from Bhutan, which latter has seldonn been visited by Euro peans. East of Bhutan the Himalayas are inhabited by savage tribes, with whom no intercourse is possible except in the shape of punitive expeditions following raids on the plains. Thus a stretch of nearly 400 miles in the eastern portion of the range is imperfectly known. In the western part of the Himalayas, which, as has been shown, has been more completely examined than elsewhere, the system may be divided into three portions. The central or main axis is the highest, which, starting at Nanga Parbat on the north-west, follows the general direction of the range. Though it contains numerous lofty peaks, including Nanda Devi, the highest mountain in British India, it is not a true watershed. North of it lies another range, here forming the boundary between India and Tibet, which shuts off the valley of the Indus, and thus may be described as a real water-parting. From the central axis, and usually from the peaks in it, spurs diverge, with a general south-easterly or south-westerly direction, but actually winding to a considerable extent. These spurs, which may be called the Outer Himalayas, cease with some abruptness at their southern extremities, so that the general elevation is 8,ooo or 9;ooo feet a few miles from the plains. Separated from the Outer Himalayas by elevated valleys or duns is a lower range known as the SIWALIKS, which is well marked between the Beds and the Ganges, reappears to the south of central Kumaun, and is believed to exist in Nepal. Although the general character of the Himalayas in Nepal is less accurately known, there is reason to suppose that it approximates to that of the western ranges. Within the limits of this great mountain chain all varieties of scenery can be obtained, except the placid charm of level country. Luxuriant vegetation clothes the outer slopes, gradually giving place to more sombre forests. As higher elevations are reached, the very desolation of the landscape affects the imagination even more than the beautiful scenery left behind. It is not surprising that these massive peaks are venerated by the Hindus, and are intimately connected with their religion, as giving rise to some of the most sacred rivers, as well as on account of legendary associations. A recent writer has vividly described the impressions of a traveller through the foreground of a journey to the snows in Sikkim' :- 1 D. W. Freshfield in The Geographical,Journal, vol. xix, p. 453.