ds to Lhasa northwards. At Chushul there is an
iron chain-and-rope suspension bridge over the deepest part of the
river, but it does not completely span the river, and it is too insecure
for use. The remains of a similar bridge exist at Janglache; but there
are no wooden or twig suspension bridges over the Tsanpo. At Tadum the
river is about one half as wide again as the Ganges at Hardwar in
December, i.e. about 250 to 300 yds. At Shigatse it flows in a wide
extended bed with many channels, but contracts again at Chushul, where
it is no wider than it is at Janglache, i.e. from 600 to 700 yds. At
Chushul (below the Kyi-chu) the discharge of the river is computed to be
about 35,000 cub. ft. per second, or seven times that of the Ganges at
Hardwar.

For about 250 m. below Kyi-chu to a point about 20 m. below the great
southerly bend (in 94 deg. E. long.) the course of the Brahmaputra has
been traced by native surveyors. Then it is lost amidst the
jungle-covered hills of the wild Mishmi and Abor tribes to the east of
Bhutan for another 100 m., until it is again found as the Dihong
emerging into the plains of Assam. About the intervening reaches of the
river very little is known except that it drops through 7000 ft. of
altitude, and that in one place, at least, there exist some very
remarkable falls. These are placed in 29 deg. 40' N. lat., between
Kongbu and Pema-Koi. Here the river runs in a narrow precipitous defile
along which no path is practicable. The falls can only be approached
from below, where a monastery has been erected, the resort of countless
pilgrims. Their height is estimated at 70 ft., and by Tibetan report the
hills around are enveloped in perpetual mist, and the Sangdong (the
"lion's face"), over which the waters rush, is demon-haunted and full of
mystic import. Up to comparatively recent years it was matter for
controversy whether the Tsanpo formed the upper reaches of the Dihong or
of the Irrawaddy. From the north-eastern extremity of Assam where, near
Sadya, the Lohit, the Dibong and the Dihong unite to form the wide
placid Brahmaputra of the plains--one of the grandest rivers of the
world--its south-westerly course to the Bay of Bengal is sufficiently
well known. It still retains the proud distinction of being unbridged,
and still the River Flotilla Company appoints its steamers at regular
intervals to visit all the chief ports on its banks as far as Dibrugarh.
Here, however, a new feature has been in