Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1852-06-26
THE u,MALAYA MOUNTAINS.


The mean heigh, Of The Himalaya is stu
pendous, certainly not less than from l6, ,0o0
to 10000 feet. though the peaks exceeding
that elevation are no, TO be numbered, espe-
cially at he sources Of the Sut'ej; ind, ell
from thai river to the Kalee the chain exhib
its an endless succession of the lofiiesi noun.
,ains on earth. Forty of them surpass the
height Chilhborazo, The hiahes: but one OF
$4,000 ieet at least. So ragged is this part
OF the magnificent chain that the military IA.
rlde at Sibathoo, half mils long, and a
quarter Of a mile broad, is said 10 be the on
ly level ground between it and the Tartar
frontier on the north, or the valley OF Nepaul
to tho east. Towards the fruitful valley Of
Nepau and Bu,han The Himaaya is equally
lofty, some OF the mountains being from 25,-
600 10 $4,000 feet high, but i, is narrower,
and the descen, 10 The plains excessively
rapid, especially in the territory of Bhoan,
and where the dip from the table.lands is
more than 10 900 feet in ten miles. The
valleys are crevices so deep and narrow, and
the mountains that hang over them in menac.
ing cliffs are so lofty that these abyses are
shrouded in perpetual gloom, except when
the 'ays of IA vertical sun penetrate their
depths. From the sleepuess Of the descent
the rivers shoot down with the swiftness OF
an arrow, filling the caverns with foam aud
ba ,,i,h mi. Al hp hoe, pf
wild region lies the elevated and peaceful
valley o. Bho'an, vividly green and shaded
by magnificent forests. Another rapid de-
scent 10 the plain of the Ganges.
Most of the passes over the Himalaya are but
little lower than the top of Mont Blanc
Many are higher, especially near the Su,lej,
where they are from $4,000 TO $4,000 feet
high, and that northeast of Khoonawur is 90,
600 leei above The level Of the sea, the high.
col iha, has been attempted All are terrific
and the fatigue and suffering from the rarity
of the air in the las, five hundred feet is moi,
TO be described. Animals are as much dis
tressed as human beings and many die
Thousands of birds perish hom the violence
of the wind; the drifting snow is often fatal
TO travellers, and violent thunders'or orms add
10 the horror of the journey. The Mil pass,
by which Mr. Moorc,oft ascended TO the sa-
cred lake of Manassa in Thbit, is tremen-
dous. He aud his guide had nol only to walk
barefoo,ed from the risk of slipping, but they
were Obliged 10 creep along The most fright
ful chasms, holding by ,wigs and tufts of
grass, aud sometimes they crossed deep and
awful crevices on the branch of tree, or
loose :, n S thrown across. Yet these are
the ,horouahfares for commerce ia the Him
alaya never repaired nor susceptible of i'm.
provemeni from the freque II landslips and
torrents. The lollie,t peaks being bare OF
the snow, gives great variety of color and
beauty 10 the scenery which in the passes is
at all lines maanili ceit. During the day
the s,upendous size of the mountains, their
inierminable extent, the variety and sharp
ness of their forms, and above all the tender
cearness OF their distant outline melting into
the pale blue sky, contras,ed with the deep
azure above is described as a scene of wild
and wonderful beauty. At midnight, when
myiiads of stars sparkle in The black sky and
the pure blue of The mountains looks deeper
still below the pale white CLEAN of the earth
AID snowlight, The effect is Of unparalleled
solemniiy, and no language can describe the
splendor of the sunbeams at daybreak, strea-
ming between the high peaks. and throwing
their gigantic shadows on the mountains be.
low. There, FAR above the habiiation o
man, no living Thing exists; no sound i:
heard The very echo of The travellers foot
step slariles him in the awful solitude and
silence tla, reigns in these august dwelling:
Of everlasting snow
a. rII