. Karakoram and western Himalaya 1909, an account of the expedition of H. R. H. Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy, duke of the Abruzzi. the vast Shigar valley opened before us, stretching north-eastas far as the eye could see. On both sides of the saddle boulders havebeen observed which, if taken together with the polished round-backedrocks {ruches moiitonnees), prove that the great Shigar glacier must haveflowed over this spur. We now cut diagonally down the north slopeof the ridge, and soon reach the bottom and green cultivated land. From Skartlu to Askolev. 135 The map of this district sh
. Karakoram and western Himalaya 1909, an account of the expedition of H. R. H. Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy, duke of the Abruzzi. the vast Shigar valley opened before us, stretching north-eastas far as the eye could see. On both sides of the saddle boulders havebeen observed which, if taken together with the polished round-backedrocks {ruches moiitonnees), prove that the great Shigar glacier must haveflowed over this spur. We now cut diagonally down the north slopeof the ridge, and soon reach the bottom and green cultivated land. From Skartlu to Askolev. 135 The map of this district shows all along the left bank of the rivera series of villages below and above Shigar. In reahty there is onesingle belt of cultivation several miles long, dotted with houses whichare here and there grouped around a mosque. The only group of anysize is the village of Shigar. The path is all shaded with trees, and runsbetween rice plantations and fields of various crops. Between theseand along the way run ditches and irrigation canals full of yellow water,so loaded with deposit that, in order to make it drinkable, it must first. SAND-DUNES OF THE SniGAR-ISDFS DELTA. be gathered into cisterns to deposit its sediment. The Workmansattributed to this wealth of sediment the extreme fertility of the soil,which permits the Baltis to gather abundant harvests on the same landyear in and year out without rotation of crops. As a matter of fact,however, they manure their fields abundantly (Moorcroft, GodwinAusten). About two miles below Shigar the Duke was met by the llajah with theusual cortege and an orchestra, neither less important nor less noisy thanthat of Skardu. They all escorted us to the polo ground, said to bethe largest in Baltistan, around which grow trees of exceptional walnut, a poplar (whose ancient trunk is hollowed into a hugecavity) and an immense plane remind us of the giants we had admiredin Kashmir, having, like them, all the grace of trees w^hich have beenleft to
Size: 1826px × 1369px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorsavoialu, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1912
