Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-01-05
SNOW Two Hundred Feet Deep.

The following remarkable account. from the
London Times, Of enormous snow falls siu North,
western India, shows what world of vapor is
carried inland on the monsoops from the Indian
tcear, to strike against tho loftiest mountain
chain in the world, and be prccipitated in such
SHOWS end rains as occur % the middle slopes
and foot hills of the Himslayas. Abou! the
sOurcos OF some of the great rivers OF Iudia
occur the heaviest rains ever known; aud turthr
er east, in Cashmere, it seems the SHOWS arc
sometimes terrific. The London Times says
Some Interesting details Of this extraordinary
snow iall ll Cashmere 10 lS77-'7S are given in
a paper in tho just issued number of the Jour.
nal OF the A,iatlc Society Of Bengal, by Mr..
ilydskkoI. Esy!y in tho month of O,tober,
1877, snow commenced to fall in the valley and
mountains of Cashmere, and from that time up
to May, 1878, there seemed to have been
an almost iacossent Stow fall in the high
or mouataios and valleys; indeed, in
places, it frequently showed without inter-
mission for upward Of len days at time
At 4. pras, which has an elevation Of 10 600 feet,
MT. Lydekker estimated the Snow ,from tho
native account as having been from thirty to
forty feet thick. Tbs efccts of this enormous
srowiall were to be seon throughout the count
ry. At Dras, tho woll built travellers bunga-
low. which has stood some thirty years vas
epiire!g crushed bcwa by tho weight of the
Snow which fell upcn II, In almost every vii.
lage of the Doighboring mountsins moro or less
Of tha log houses had faIlcu, while at Culinary
apc Sonomasg, where 90 attempt was mado to
remove the snow, almost sll tho huts of tho
European visitors were utterly broken dcwa by
It. lr the higher mountains whole hill sides have
heeu denudcd Of yegctsticn aud soil by the eror-
NOUS avalanches which swept down them, leav-.
Ing vast gaps in the primeval forests, and
closing the valleys below with the debris of
rocks and trees. AS an instance of tho amount
of snow wbiob must have fallen 10 the higher
!evels. Mr.. L;dekker mentions the rgi pass,
leading from Cashmere to Dras, which has an
elevation Of II 300 feet Ho crossed this early
in August, last year, aud then found that the
whole of tho ravine leading up to the pass from
the Cashmere side Was still filled With snow,
which he estimated 10 places to be at least
$50 feet thick. Ia ordinary soasous
this road in the u 81 pass is clear from Snow
some time during the month of juno. As AMI
other instance of the great snowfall MIR Lydek.
ktr takos the valley leading from the tewn of
Dras up to the pass separating that place from
the valley Of tho kishengunga river. About
fret mentioned valley, OF an elevation of $4,000
toet, WAS completely choked With snow, which
lr places was at least 200 feet deep. 10 tho
ssme distr C. oil passes over $4,000 feet We're
still doep in snow at sho ssne season of the
year. Mr.. Lydekker gives other instarc:s of
snow lying 10 places in September where no
scow had ever before been observed after June.
AS to tho destruction Of animal life 10 the Up.
per w aydWan valley largo numbers of ibcX Wcra
seen imbeddcd 10 SNOW; 10 one place upwards
CT sixty head woro counted, and in another not
less than Que hundred. The most convincing
proofs, howovor, of the havoc CAUSED among
tho Wild animals by tho great Snowfall is the
ftc; shat ecarcely any ibex were seen during
last summer in those lortions of the Wardwan
snd Tilsl valleys, which arc ordinarily copsid.
cred as sure tinds. So. eso, the red bear aud
the mafmot were fer less numerous than usual.
Mr Lydekker estimates that the destruction to
animal life ciused By snow has far exceeded any
slaughter which could be rfctcd by spcrtsmeu
during period of ct least five or six years.