Lights & shades of hill life in the Afghan and Hindu highlands of the Punjab, a contrast online

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LIGHTS AND SHADES



INDIAN HILL LIFE



4 4 73 9^



LIGHTS & SHADES OF HILL LIFE



IN THE



AFGHAN AND HINDU
HIGHLANDS OF THE PUNJAB



A CONTRAST



By F. STJ. gore

B. A., MAGUALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD



VV/TN MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR



•\''



LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET

1895



85995



3)S
485



TO
HELEN COUNTESS HARRACH

TO WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT
THIS VOLUME IS MAINLY DUE



PREFACE

The increasing interest that is continually being taken in that

great dependency of ours which we call India, leads me to hope

that the following pages may bring a little fresh light to those who

are, unfortunately, unable to visit it for themselves ; for even in

these days of so-called enlightenment one still at times hears in

England the cry of " India for the Indians " — that theory so plausible

to the Western, but so meaningless to the Eastern mind.

An endeavour has been made, in taking these two valleys of

one province alone of the vast continent, to recall how utterly

different in race and nationality, religion and character, the

CO inhabitants we know as " Indians " are.

CQ

G) What we call India has absolutely no meaning to any of the

native dwellers within the area. It is a vast conglomeration of

^ distinct peoples and nationalities, conquered by British blood freely

02

-r< shed, and welded together solely by the physical and moral strength
of a superior race — a conglomeration which consists of some fourteen
distinct races, speaking some seventy-eight different languages, and
living in every possible degree of civilisation.

Politically, the native states alone, which cover only about one-
third of the area of the whole, are governed by over two hundred
princes totally independent of each other ; while in British territory,
where the Viceroy is supreme, such elements as Pathans and Bengalis,



viii LIGHTS AND SHADES OF HILL LIFE

Sikhs and Tamils, Punjabis and Mahrattas, are controlled, each'
and any of whom has as much affinity for the other as oil has
for water.

The races that pose most frequently in England as the " Indian "
are the Bengali and the Parsi. The former, as is well known, be-
longs to a subtle, versatile, and effeminate nation, densely populating
a comparatively small part of the great continent, known as Lower
Bengal. Possessing though they do the qualities of mind that
enable them to pass the tests of English examinations, they are
held in profound contempt by all the other peoples of India for
their utter want of moral and physical backbone.

As we know him, this hot-house plant, the educated Bengali,
owes his existence solely to the presence of the British bayonets,
and to the desire that English faddists have of trying Western
experiments upon an Eastern people.

It is this Bengali who is always clamouring for a greater share
in the government that he has done nothing to support ; it
is he who is always ready to fill his newspapers with the
iniquities of an "alien rule," and to shout the catch-words he
has picked up of the "liberty of the subject" and the "free-
dom of the press " ; while all the time he himself understands,
far more clearly indeed than do his English teachers, that should
ever the " alien rule " be withdrawn, his race will be the first to
become again the hewers of wood and drawers of water to the
hardy northern Mohammedans — a fine, bold, and manly people, who
believe more in the virtues of a strong right arm and a fixity of
purpose than in the criticism of the comparative values of Shake-
speare and Milton.

The Parsi, on the other hand, of whom Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji,
the ex-member for Finsbury, and Mr. Bhownagri, the new member
for Bethnal Green, N.E., are such excellent examples, have



PREFACE ix

scarcely as good a claim to represent India as the English them-
selves have ; for, like ourselves, they are aliens in race and religion,
having come from Persia in small numbers only a century or two
previous to our arrival upon the scene. Contemporaneously with
the cession of the island by the Portuguese to the English the
Parsis settled in Bombay, where they have established themselves
solely as a trading community after the manner of the Jews.
Under British protection they have made their mark as successful
merchants and excellent citizens, but their insignificant numbers
(not more than 89,000 in all India), as well as their eminently un-
warlike character, prove that they cannot be considered as in any
way representative of the continent at large.

It is between such varied elements as these that the English
handful in India holds the scales. The magnificent Pax Britannica
that enables the solitary traveller to walk unarmed through 2000
miles of country and 250 millions of people, has been bought by
the blood of our forefathers, shed in a way that is plainly in-
telligible to all the dwellers in the land, and is sustained solely by
the conviction they have that, if need arises, we are ready to pour
it out as freely again.

The future of India must always be an uncertain quantity.
With a population increasing by some twenty-five millions in every
ten years, it is evident enough that, if the present state of peace
and progress is to be maintained, a continually heavier burden will
fall upon the 70,000 British bayonets who, alone among the
now 300 million natives, represent the dominant power of the
superior race.

The question is frequently asked, Are the natives more reconciled
to our rule ? is there any fear of another mutiny ? The only answer
that one can give, I think, is, that all really intelligent natives
must be aware, quite as well as we are, that they have more to lose



X LIGHTS AND SHADES OF HILL LIFE

than to gain by turning us out. Often as they must feel the burden
of the ruling power — and what child does not at times resent the
parent's authority ? — our worst enemies cannot but admit that the
work done in India by the British is at least as honest as human
nature can make it. The results of that work speak for themselves.

The real danger to India lies in the vast body of unintelligent
natives who are flattered into impossible dreams by well-meaning
but ignorant reformers from home. Each section of these natives
has its own axe to grind, and they hope, in the upsetting of the
present equilibrium, to possibly gain their selfish ends at their
neighbours' expense. As long as we respect ourselves, the natives
will respect us. The respect for the authority of a superior race is
a sentiment that they have ever understood, and we shall have no
one but ourselves to thank if, by overriding the well-matured
opinions of its servants on the spot, the Home Government does
anything to weaken the authority of the handful of white faces
who in India are devoting their lives to the education and civilisa-
tion of so vast a mass of hvunanity.

No one can travel about India without a feeling of pride in
what has been and is being done, as well as of gratitude for the
kind and hospitable welcome that is offered him wherever he goes.
To thank all would be impossible.

To my brother, Lt. Colonel St. George Gore, E.E., in charge of the
Himalayan survey party, I owe previous visits to India in which
we wandered off the beaten track, and lately three happy months
under canvas amidst the magnificent scenery that Kulu affords.
To Mr. W. Merk, C.S.L, who, as political officer, was charged with
the taking over of the turbulent Kuram valley, I owe the Govern-
ment's permission to cross the frontier with him, as well as the
interest with which the society of so successful a frontier officer
was able to invest my visit to that region ; and it is but an



PREFACE xi

inadequate return for all their hospitality and kindness to mention
the names of Messrs. Philip and Vincent Mackinnon of Dehra,
General Sir Henry Collett at Peshawur, the Shahzada Sultan Jan,
C.I.E., and the many officers of the Kuram force.

I am deeply indebted also to Signor Vittorio Sella, the well-
known Alpine photographer, for the liberality with which he placed
his great experience in working with the camera at high altitudes
at my disposal. Any success I met with was, I feel sure, greatly
due to my care in following his advice.

I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to avoid ground that has
been gone over before, though I am fully conscious that there is
nothing wholly new in the following pages. I can only trust that
those who are much better acquainted with these valleys than I am,
will pardon my attempts to bring these scenes again before the eyes
of those who cannot visit them ; for in these days, when incidents
and information are poured so lavishly upon people's minds, it is
only by constant reiteration, by dressing up an old subject ever
again in new clothes, that any permanent impression can be made.

London, October 1895.



CONTENTS



PAET I.— KULU
CHAPTER I

THE START — HIMALAYAN HEIGHTS — THE EETINUE — SIMLA KHUDS — VIEW FROM
FAGU — VILLAGE GOD -HOUSES — NATIVE INTELLIGENCE — BEGAR — HIMALAYAN
PACK ANIMALS — THE ALPS AND HIMALAYAS CONTRASTED — HILL ROADS — ENGLISH
ENGINEERING — CAMP LIFE — CROSSING THE SUTLEJ — THE ROAD BUNGALOW —
AN ALPINE VILLAGE — THE JALAORI PASS — MONAL PHEASANTS — A POETICAL

CALL ........ Pages 1-28



CHAPTER n

SITUATION OF KULU — ROADS TO KULU — WAZfRI RUPI — EARLY HISTORY — THE
GOVERNORS OF KULU — CONTRAST OF KULU AND KURAM — NEED OF GAME LAWS
— HER majesty's MAILS — NAINU AS A PHOTOGRAPHER — JIBBI — FOOTGEAR — A
-STORM UNDER THE JALAORI — SMALL BIRDS — NATIVE EVIDENCE — AN ECLIPSE —
KULU ADMINISTRATION — BEGAr REGULATIONS — WE START AGAIN — KULU WOMEN
— KULU~^CHASTITY— A NATIVE BRIDGE — THE BAJAORA LEOPARD . 29-57



CHAPTER HI

WAZIKI RUPI AND THE PARBATI VALLEY — AN ENGLISH BRIDGE — NATIA^E VILLAGE
NAMES — INCONSEQUENT MONKEYS — FOREST FIRES— HIMALAYAN MAP-MAKING —
MANIKARN — THE HOT SPRINGS — EFFECT UPON THE SERVANTS — THE JEMADAR
SHAVES — THE UPPER PARBATI VALLEY — PULGA — SUNSET ON THE GLACIERS —



7 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF HILL LIFE

A NATIVE HUNTER— MEAT FOR NATIVES— A HIGH CAMP— A GLORIOUS VIEW—
MADHO'S SHIRT-TAILS — A NIGHT ON THE HIGH GROUND — RHODODENDRONS—
WE TURN BACK— PULGA VILLAGERS— TUTRI ALAS— ST. G. AND I PART— CRICKET
AT MANIKARN— A GYMKHANA — START FOR THE MALAUNA PASS— PLENTIFUL
GAME — RASH6l VILLAGE— the RASHOL PASS — MALAUNA VILLAGES — THE VILLAGE
TEMPLES— THE MALAUNA PASS— VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT — A BAD DESCENT-
END OF A LONG MARCH ..... Pages 58-92



CHAPTER IV

THE UPPER BEAS VALLEY — KULU ZAMINDAR's HOUSE — AN OIL -MILL — NAGAR
PEASANTS — THE NAGAR FAIR — ASSEMBLY OF WOMEN — EVILS OF THE MELA —
MARRIAGE CUSTOMS — DISREGARD OF THE MARRIAGE TIE — NAGAR CASTLE —
LADAKHIS—NAINU'S FANCY — TURQUOISES— SULTANPUR — BRAHMIN INTOLERANCE
— THE RAl's MARRIAGE CEREMONIES — THE PALACE^ — THE HOUSEHOLD — LADIES-
IN-WAITING — SILVER JEWELRY — THE HARVEST IN KULU — PRODUCE OF THE
LAND — RICE-PLANTING — WE LEAVE KULU — THE DOLCHI PASS — VIEW OVER
MANDI — A VILLAGE DEITY — MONKEYS AGAIN — CONTRASTS IN MANDI CITY —
THE "VICTORIA JUBILEE" BRIDGE — SUGAR-MILLS IN SUKET — THE SACRED
LAKES AT RIWALSIR — FLOATING ISLANDS — INTERVIEW WITH THE KOTWAl —
FROM BHOJPUR TO DIHR — THE FERRYMAN AT THE SUTLEJ — A PEA.SANT's
PHILOSOPHY — SENAIS— AN ANCIENT PROCESS — BILASPUR — WE TAKE A DRIVE —
A BOLD THIEF — UPHILL AGAIN — NAMOL — ERKI — NATIVE GRATITUDE — CIVILISA-
TION AGAIN . . . . . . . • 9-3-125



INTERMEZZO

THE SUB-HIMALAYAS — A NATIVE'S DISCRIMINATION — START FROM DAGSHAI — A
MONOTONOUS MENU — BAD ROAD— THE MULES SUFFER — RAIN AT MYPUR — A
DELIGHTFUL CAMP — SATIBAGH — A BACHELOR'S DIFFICULTIES— SPORT AT SATIBAGH
— THE SACRED LAKES AT RANKA — A VISIT TO NAHAN— THE RAJA'S GUEST-
WESTERN CIVILISATION ON EASTERN SUBJECTS — FACTORIES AT NAHAN — FOOT-
BALL—THE KYArDA dun — mAJRA — mule-drivers' PROCRASTINATIONS— CROSS

THE JUMNA — A HOME-COMING DEHRA DUN JUNGLES — THE SHIP OF THE

JUNGLE — LONG DAYS ON THE ELEPHANTS — A FASCINATING BEAST — DOCILITY
OF THE ELEPHANT — A SHOOTING CAMP — TIGERS AT KANS RAO . 129-149



CONTENTS



PAET IL— KUEAM



CHAPTER I

INDIA" LEFT BEHIND — ATTOCK — THE PESHAWUR VALLEY — A PESHAWUR RAIL-
WAY STATION — PESHAWUR CITY — DREWARAH YAU DI — THE KHYBER — KHYBER
ARRANGEMENTS — ZAKHA KHEL AFRfDIS — AN AFRIDl's EDUCATION — A HOME-
MADE ZIARAT — ALI MASjfD — THE ROMANCE OF THE KHYBER — A KHATTAK
DANCE AT PESHAWUR — THROUOH THE KOHAT PASS — AN ARITHMETICAL PROBLEM
—ANIMAL CHABUTRA — THE JOWAKIS AND ADAM KHELS — THE ROAD A SANCTUARY
— STORY OF THE AFGHAN-JEWISH CONNECTION — KOHAT AT LAST — THE EKHAS
ARRIVE — THE ORIENTAL EKHA — HANGU INDIAN CIVIL SERVANTS — THE SUP-
PORTERS OF THE EMPIRE — A LONELY LIFE — THULL — LEAVE BRITISH TERRITORY
— BILANDKHEL CAMP Pages 153-176



CHAPTER n

HIGH POLITICS — THE FRONTIER GAME OF CHESS — A THIEF PUNISHED — THE KURAM
ESCORT — THE PUNJAB FRONTIER FORCE — LIFE IN CAMP — PEACE OR WAR ? — A
JIRGA — BILANDKHEL VILLAGE — FOOTBALL IN CAMP — SIKHS AND PATHANS —
BAGPIPES — THE PESHAWUR MOUNTAIN BATTERY — A FALSE ALARM — THE NATIVE
SENTRY — FIRING AT NIGHT — NAINU'S INTERESTS— WE LEAVE BILANDKHEL

177-189



CHAPTER m

THE KURAM VALLEY — QUARRELS OF THE TRIBES— TUBI FACTIONS — SHfAHS V.
SUNNIS — DR^WANDIS V. MIAN MURIDS — A HOTBED OF INTRIGUE — CHIKKAI
APPEARS — A PATHAN ROB ROY — CHIKKAI, THE KING-MAKER — DISCORD AND
RETALIATION — BRITISH ARRIVAL ON THE SCENE — END OF THE TROUBLE — A NO-
MAN's LAND — AN INFLAMMABLE CROWD — OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS — MERK
SETTLES THE QUARREL — SCOTCH HISTORY REPEATED — THE MIDDLEMAN — A NEW
TRANS-FRONTIER ADMINISTRATION — PERSONAL GOVERNMENT V. A SYSTEM — A
MURDERER PUNISHED — COMPURGATORS — ARRIVAL OF CHIKKAI IN CAMP

190-205



LIGHTS AND SHADES OF HILL LIFE



CHAPTER IV

WE CROSS THE KURAM rjVER— HARES — A TURI GAME — INSECURITY OF THE
VALLEY — ESCORTS — RUINED FORTS — PATHAN CHIVALRY — A GLORIOUS SNOWY
RANGE — THE SAF^D KOH — ARRIVAL AT SANOfNA CAMP — A POOR EXCHANGE
FOR A TENT — FOOTBALL AGAIN — AN EVENING HYMN — SADDA VILLAGE — THE
WATER-MILLS — A PHOTOGRAPHER'S TRIALS — THE SHAHZAdA SULTAN JAN — THE
BIRTH OF A REGIMENT — PATHANS AS FIGHTERS — A BLOOD FEUD — PATHAN
GENEALOGY — WOMAN'S VALUE — MARRIAGE SETTLEMENTS — MARIAGES DE CON-
V'£.V.1VC£— PATHAN ROMANCE — A TURI CAMERA-CARRIER . Pages 206-225



CHAPTER V

WE CONTINUE UP THE VALLEY — UPPER KURAM— A VISIT TO SHAKADARA — MIR
AKBAR, THE HEAD OF THE MIAN MUR^DS — SHAKADARA VILLAGE — AN ORIENTAL
DINNER — INDIGESTION A SIGN OF GRATITUDE — MIR AKBAR's OFFERINGS — A
CHAKMANNI RAID— DECOY DUCKS — OLD "BROWN BESS " LOCK IN A NEW SET-
TING — AHMEDZAI — SYUD ABBAs, THE LEADER OF THE DBfiWANDIS — THE TURI
CHARACTER — THE GHILZAIS PROBABLY OF TURKI ORIGIN — THE PEIWAR KOTAL

226-239



CHAPTER VI

SHALOZAn, THE GARDEN OF KURAM — FRUIT AND ENGLISH FLOWERS — SHALOzAn
PROSPECTS — NAINU BUYS A WEAPON — THE SEEKERS AFTER KNOWLEDGE — A
SCHOOL EXAMINATION — ORIENTAL PLANE TREES — DEATH OF BADSHAH GUL —
KURAM WIND — Z^RAN — RUINS AT KIRMAN — THE SHRINE OF FAKHR-I-AlAM — LAST
DAYS — PARACHInAr — SANGiNA AGAIN — THE SHAHzAda's KINDNESS — A ROUGH
DRIVE TO THULL — EKHA PONIES — A TONGA RECORD FROM KOHAT — KHUSHAJ.-
GARH — THE INDUS AGAIN 240-257



LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS

The full-page plates were reproduced from the author's photograplis by
Messrs. Brunner and Hauser of Zurich.



KOMARSEN



KULU

1. Our camp above Pulga (10,200 feet) .

2. View from the Fagu road near Simla .

3. JemadAr, chaprassis, and kalassis .

4. Jenog

5. The Snows from Narkanda

6. Looking down into the Sutlej valley from

7. Camp at the Luri bridge ....

8. Cultivated hillside near Chaavai .

9. An early start from K6t Bungalow

10. God-house at Kot

11. JiBBI

12. Deod.4r cedars at Jibbi ....

13. Village temple at Manglaor .

14. Peasant women at ManglAou .

15. The Sainj river at Larji ....

16. Looking up the PArbati valley at Chani

17. Sunset near Manikarn ....

18. Manikarn

19. The hot springs at Manikar.\ .

20. Pulga

21. From the ridge above our camp (11,200 feet

22. Cricket at Manikarn

23. Malauna villages from the Rashol Pass

24. Village temples at Malauna .

25. View from the Malauna Pass towards the Rashol

Pass (12,200 feet)



Frontispiece
To fane page 4
6
10
16
20
22
24
26
30
36
40
48
52
54
62
64
66



81



90



XVIU



LIGHTS AND SHADES OF HILL LIFE



26. Looking up the Kulu valley at Nagar

27. A Zamindak's house at Nagae .

28. Nagar fair

29. A Kulu lady ....

30. Street in Sultanpu^r .

31. Sultanpur from the maidan

32. Harvest in Kulu

33. A village god at Kataula

34. Mandi

35. Ferry across the Sutlej at DIhr

36. Senais on the Sutlej .

37. From Namol



To face pwje 93

94

96

98

102

106

108

110

112

118

122

124



THE SUB- HIMALAYAS



38. Drying camp at Satibagh .

39. A hill maiden . . . .

40. Dramatis persons

41. From the tiger's point of view



133
136
140

148



KUEAM



42. KissAKHANi Bazar, Peshawur ....

43. Jamrud fort at the mouth of the Khyber .

44. Ali Masji'd from the Khyber Pass .

45. At the gate of Ali MASjfD ....

46. Looking back down the Khyber from Ali Masjid

47. Camp at Bilandkhel

48. Peace or war, Jirga of the Massuzai-Orukzai

49. Picket of the Fifth Punjab Cavalry

50. Native officers of the First PunjAb Infantry

51. Peshawur Mountain Battery in action .

52. Men of the Second Punjab Infantry

53. The Political Officers in Kuram

54. Nobles and holymen in Kuram

55. Marukhel and the Safed Koh .

56. Camp at Sangina ....

57. Water-mills at Sadda

58. TuRi Militia ....

59. Tower in the village of Sadda

60. Mir Akbar of Shakadara and his sons

61. Decoy ducks in Kuram



156
158
160
164
166
178
180
182
184
186
194
200
204
208
210
214
217
220
228
233



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS



62. At the gate of Ahmeuzai

63. Ghilzais on the road to Kabul

64. Looking down the Kuram valley near Ahmedzai

65. Shalozan

66. SiKARAM FROM ShOELAN

67. The chinar trees at ShalozAn

68. At Tezana, KirmAn ....

69. Fakhr-i-Alam's ziarat, Kirman .

70. Border village of Kanda .

71. ShoblAn villages ....

72. The ShahzAda and his escort .



To face page 234
236
238
240
242
244
246
248
250
252
254



The illustrations in the text were reproduced from drawings kindly contributed by
Count Ferdinand Harrach and K. M. Bernard.



1. The order of march .

2. Himalayan transport

3. Camp kitchen

4. Her Majesty's mail

5. Grass sandals

6. KuLU silver-enamelled necklace

7. Silver mirror-ring

8. The tail of the flock

9. Kulu chakmak

10. Nainu's fancy

11. Silver pins of the Kulu dress

12. Assyrian tracings

13. Elephants in the Jungle .

14. A frontier journey .

15. Peshawur Mountain Battery

16. Afghan silver-mounted knife

17. Our baggage

18. Jezail

19. An old "Brown Bess" lock in a new setting

20. Pistol with silver-inlaid barrel

21. Kuram silver amulet .



PAGE

1

15

19

29

39

51

57

71

92

101

106

121

146

171

186

196

210

225

234

252

257



MAPS

1. Sketch map of Kulu and part of the Himalayas

2. ,, ,, Kuram



150



PAKT I.-KULU



M,\^"%








CHAT TEE 1

" It is no good your worry-
ing, my dear fellow ; when
you have been in the Hima-
layas a little longer, you will learn that all this is a necessary part
of the start into camp. It is the overture to the opera. You
had better sit down quietly and wait. They will get under weigh
all in their own good time." Then turning to the headman,
' Jemadar Ji, what sort of jemadar are you ? For two whole
hours you have lieen arranging the loads and not one kuli has
yet started."

"Sahib, all is now ready, but the mule -man has come and
makes complaint that as he was driving the mules hither, the police
caught them and have kept them back, because it is not lawful
here in Simla for one mule-man to drive more than two mules.
Without the nudes, Protector of the Poor, we are not able to
divide the loads."

The mule chaudri (contractor) here advances to the verandah,
and salaming low with both hands to his forehead, whines, " Sahib,
the police are without doubt hard men. The mules were only
being driven here with all speed for your honour's use, when the
police seized them, saying that this was against the nnuiicipality's
orders and not until this case is settled can the mules be released."
This new difficulty is too much for the curiosity of the crowd
^'' B



2 LIGHTS AND SHADES OF HILL LIFE part i

in the courtyard. They all leave their biuidles, boxes, baskets,
and tents, which everywhere strew the ground, and which they have
been for hours trying to arrange in a portable form, and cluster
round to hear the denouement of the mule story.

For a while the babel is hushed in the new interest, till
suddenly the jemadar, remembering for what purpose they were
all got together, dashes at the kulis and with angry words and
pushes drives them back to their work, where they squat down
again upon the ground and play with the bundles, or wander to
and fro lifting up each load with exclamations of pious horror at
its weight, until a chaprassi (messenger), in a sudden access of
zeal, pounces upon them and with voice and stick persuades them
to take up their burden and walk.

Every one is talking ; the chaprassis urging, the kulis protest-
ing, the servants joining in voluble anxiety as they see the rough
handling of some of the stores belonging to their special depart-
ment. Even the chickens, resenting the new confinement in their
round flat basket, cackle to the cook, who, staff in hand ready for
the march, surveys them with a fatherly interest ; while the ducks,
sticking their long necks through the netting that covers the top,
give vent to an additional quack of disapprobation.

Through all this confusion the mules wander, until they are
seized upon by their big-turbaned Punjabi drivers to have their
burdens slung over their backs. Three men grasp each side of the
load, with a great amount of effort and mutual encouragement lift
it off the ground, and with a supreme push roll the heavy tent
over the mule's back, who, however, expresses his displeasure at
this arrangement by taking a step forward at the critical moment,
whereby the whole mass slips off over his tail, and is again
deposited on the ground. A fresh volley of uncharitable and un-
complimentary language then breaks out on the part of the kulis,
each of whom energetically explains that if it had not been for the
others, etc., until a chaprassi's appearance cuts short the discussion
and oroanises a new efibi't.



CHAP. I THE START 3

Upon this scene my brother St. George and I looked down from
a Simla verandah on the morning of our start into the " Interior,"
as the inner ranges of the Himalayas are called : I with all the
wonder of a new-comer, and he with all the knowledge, born of
experience, that this entertainment has always patiently to be gone
through on the first morning's march ; after which, the loads being
all settled and made up, there is no more difficulty, each kuli
taking up the one that is allotted to him.

It was a glorious October morning, as indeed all October
mornings are in India. The keen fresh air, at this height of 7000
feet, was gently warmed by the brilliant sun; above was the
cloudless blue sky ; while glimpses through the pine trees took one
far down below into the deep valleys with their little terraced
fields and peaceful villages, and through a gap in a line of hills
the still lower plains of India could be seen stretching away into
the morning haze. Everything seemed bright and sparkling in the
clear dry air as we rode up on our ponies through the Simla bazar
on to the mall on the crest of the ridge, and caught sight of the
long line of jagged snow-peaks towards which, some hundred miles
or so off, our jonurey was to take us.

Off at last ! The exhilarating delight of three months' camp
life in the most beautiful scenery ahead of us, and all civilisation
and care left behind ! What more could one wish for ? The very
ponies seemed to share it as, pressing them with our knees, we