To complete our sketch, we must give an account of Mr. Fraser's expedition to the Himalayas, and Hodgson's exploration to the source of the Ganges, in 1817.
Captain Webb, as we have seen, had traced the course of that river past the valley of Dhoun, to Cadjani, near Reital. Leaving this spot upon the 28th of May, 1817, Captain Hodgson reached the source of the Ganges in three days, and proceeded to Gangautri. He found that the river issues from a low arch in the midst of an enormous mass of frozen snow, more than 300 feet high. The stream was already of considerable size, being no less than twenty-seven feet wide and eighteen inches deep. In all probability the Ganges first emerged into the light at this spot.
Captain Hodgson wished to solve various questions; for example:--What was the
