Daily Republican., 1879-09-24
BurfeA In Snow.

A correspondent has recently referred
to the terrible famine now prevailing
In Cashmere, the immediate cause Of
which is no doubt the long continued
drought which has prevailed in the
country. The drought unfortunately
followed upon q snowfall in the winter
and spring Of lS77-S, in magnitude
and duration unprecedented in Cash
msre,o or probably in any other country.
Some interesting details of this ex-
traordinary snowfall are given in
paper in the just issued number Of the
Journal Of the Asiatic Society Of Ben
gal BY Mr.. Lydekker. Esrly in the
month Of October, 1877, snow commsn-
ced to fall in the valleys and mountains
Of Cashmere, and from that time up to
May, 1878, there seems to have been
an almost incessant snowfall in the
higher mountains aud valleys; indeed
in places it frequently showed without
intermission for upwards Of ten days at
time.
At Dras, which has an elevation Of
10000 feet Mr.. Lydskker estimated the
snowfall, from the native account, as
having been from thirty to forty feet
thick. The effects Of this enormous
snowfall were to be seen throughout
the country. At Dras the well-built
travellers bungalow, which had stood
some thirty years, was entirely crushed
down by the weight Of the snow which
fell upon IL. At every village Of the
neighboring mountains more or less Of
the log houses had fallen. while at Gul-
marg and 6ondmarg, where no attempt
was made to remove the snow, almost
all the huts Of the European visitors
were utterly broken down by it. In the
higher mountains whole hillsides have
been denudsd Of vegetation and soil by
the enormous avalanches which swept
down them, leaving vast gaps in the
primeval forests and choking the val
leys below with the ".debris" of rocks
and trees. 74s M ,. is.'s
As an instance Of the amount fsn0w
which must have fallen in the higher
levels, Mr.. Lydekker mentions the zogi
Pass, leading from Cashmere to Dras,
which has an elevation Of IL 300 feet.
He crossed this early in August last
year, and he then found that the whole
Of the ravins leading up to the pass
from the Cashmere side was still filled
with snow, which he estimated in places
to bs at least $50 feet thick. In ordin-
airy seasons this road in the Zogi Pass
/. clear from snow some time during the
month Of June. As another instance Of
! the great snow fall, Mr.. Lydekker takes
the valley leading from the town Of
Dras up to the pass separating that
place from the valley Of the Kinbengun-
q river. tt.-s
About the middle Of August almost
the whole of the aforementioned val
LEY, at an elevation Of twelve thousand
feet, was completely choked with snow,
which in places was at least two hund.
red feet thick. In the same district all
passes over thirteen thousand feet
were still deep in snow at the same
season Of the year. Mr.. Lydekkel
gives other instances of snow lying in
places in September, where no snow
had ever before been observed after
June. As to the destruction Of animal
life, in the Upper Wardwan Valley
large numbers Of ibex were seen i'm
bedded in snow; in one placelupwards
of sixty heads were counted, and in
another not less than one hundred.
The most convincing proof, however,
Of the havoc caused among the wild
animals by the great snowfall Is the
fact that scarcely any ibex were seer
during last summer in those portions
Of the Wardwan and Tilail Valleys
which are ordinarily considered as
sure finds. So also the real bear and
the marmot were far less numerous
than usual. MIR. Lydekker estimates
that the destruction of animal life
caused by the snow, has far exceeded
any slaughter which could be inflicted
by sportsmen during period OF al
least five or six wears. 4