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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 

 
 

 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR, 
 
 LADAK, ISKARDO, 
 
 THE COUNTRIES ADJOINING THE 
 
 MOUNTAIN-COURSE OF THE INDUS, 
 
 THE HIMALAYA, NORTH OF THE PANJAB. 
 
 WJTH MAP 
 
 ENGRAVED BY DIRECTION OF THE HON. EAST INDIA COMPANY, 
 AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 By G. T. VIGNE, Esq. F.G.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OF A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF A VISIT TO GHUZNI, KABUL, AND 
 AFGHANISTAN. 
 
 " I look out with great anxiety for your map and book relating to Cashmere and 
 Gilghit, &c, by far the most interesting portion of your wanderings, and which will 
 fill up a great blank." — Extract of a Letter from Sir A. Burnes to the Author, dated 
 Cabul, Sept. 16, 1841. 
 
 " Cashmere still maintains its celebrity as the most delicious spot in Asia, or iu 
 the world." — Elphinstone's India, vol. ii. p. 286. 
 
 " Eoam tentare fidem, populosque bibentes 
 Euphratem ; * * * * 
 
 Medorum penetrare domos, * * 
 
 Arva super Cyri, Chaldreique ultima regni, 
 Qua rapidus Ganges et qua Nyssaeus Hydaspes 
 Accedunt pelago." — Lucan, Civ. Bell. Lib. viii. 1. 213, &c. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 1842.
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED l;Y MOYE8 AND BARCLAY, CASTLE STREET, 
 
 LEICESTER SQUARE.
 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Indian Ceres— Ancient Excavations — Singular Cave — Hindu 
 Ruins — The Bear's Spring 1 — Copper-Mine — Hindu Shrine — 
 Legend of the Shrine — Singular Rock — A candid Pundit — 
 Shepherd's Village — Cave of Umur Nath — Religious Cere- 
 monies — Native Account of the Cave of Umur Nath — The 
 Angel of Death and Siva — The Blue Water — Attempt to 
 reach Umur Nath — The Golden Lake — Encamping-place of 
 the Pilgrims — Auguries from the Flight of Birds — Supersti- 
 tion and Priestcraft — Marriage Customs — A Hindu Widow — 
 The Emblem of the Dove — Its sacred Character in various 
 Countries — Origin of the Emblem — Game in Kashmir — The 
 Stag of Kashmir — Numerous Bears — Wild Animals — The 
 Otter — No Hares in Kashmir — The Royal Partridge — Water- 
 fowl — Bitterns — Eagles — Falcons — Boa Constrictor — Poi- 
 sonous Snake — The River Lidur — Bij Beara — Bridges of 
 Kashmir — Great Temple — Ancient Capital of Kashmir — 
 Wentipur — Forster — Changes in the Valley ... 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Trahul — Residence of the Sikhs — Southern Slopes of the Hima- 
 laya — Effects of Aspect on Vegetation — Pampur — Hindu 
 
 VOL. II. b 

 
 iv CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Temple — Plains and Saffron -grounds of Pampur — Cultivation 
 of Saffron— Alexander in Kashmir — Warm Spring in the 
 Mountains — Iron-Mine — Hindu Ruins — Enormous Pillar — 
 Singular Relics — Mystery of their Origin — Remarkable Build- 
 in<r — Tricks upon Travellers — General Features of the Valley 
 — Remarkable Hill — Islamabad — Exquisite Temple — Ruined 
 Serai — The Ramu River — The Chanz River — Survey of the 
 Valley — Throne of Solomon — Indian Notions of Solomon- 
 Origin of the Name of Kashmir — Fire Worship — Divisions of 
 the Valley — The Emperor Baber — Tamerlane in Kashmir — 
 Timur — Various Invaders of the Valley — Religion of Kash- 
 mir — Traditions — Early Fame of Kashmir — Different Sects 
 — Characters of the Hindu and the Kashmirian . . .29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Tukt-i-Suliman — Singular Building on its Summit — Pano- 
 ramic View of the Valley — Fort of Kashmir — Exquisite Sce- 
 nery — Aspect of the City— Moore's Description of the Valley 
 — Beautiful Lake — The far-famed Shalimar — Floating Gar- 
 dens — Scenery of the Valley — Course of the Jylum — The 
 Great Lake — Kashmir not India — Tiger-hunting and Muli- 
 gatani — The British Flag in Kashmir — Its consequences — The 
 Apple-tree Canal — Ruined Floodgate — The Amir's Bridge — 
 Fort and octagonal Tower — Visiting Etiquette — Importance 
 of Display — Runjit Singh — A jolly Rajah — Horrible Cruelty 
 — A Wife baked alive by her Husband — A Rajah murdered — 
 Iluri Singh — Kupar Ram — Treachery of Runjit — A deposed 
 Rajah — The Great Earthquake — The King of the Panjab — 
 Hindu Ruins — Destruction of Public Buildings by Fanaticism 
 — Tomb of Budshah — Lallah Rookh — Jehan Gir — First 
 Mosque erected in Kashmir — The Great Mosque — Kashmirian 
 Legend — Beautiful Tomb — Singular Sacrifice of a Boy — 
 The Iluri Purbut— The City of the Lake— The Fruits of 
 Kashmir — Climate of Kashmir — Curious Canal — Public Build- 
 ings — Floating Gardens — The Prophet's Hair — The sacred 
 Mule — The five immortal Animals — The Feast of Roses — 
 Other Feasts of the Hindus in Kashmir — Noble Grove — 
 Growth of the Chunar — Enormous one in Persia . . 59
 
 CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. V 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The City Lake— The River of Oil— Glacier— The Shalimar— 
 Splendid Ruins — The Sikh Governor — Oriental Ideas of 
 Drinking' — A Visit — Trial of Skill — The Isle of Chunars — 
 A pleasant Encounter — Baron Hugel — Dr. Henderson — His 
 Dangers and Adventures — Runjit Singh — M. Avetabile — The 
 Agra Bank — Commemorative Inscription — First Travellers 
 in Kashmir — Kashmirian Boatmen — Village of Bryn — Hos- 
 pitality — Tea in Kashmir — Panorama — The Shah Sahib — 
 Jealousy of Runjit — The Golden Island — The Lotus — The 
 Water-nut — Atmospheric Phenomenon — Fly-fishing in Kash- 
 mir — Fish of the Country — Extraordinary Fish — Revenue 
 and Commerce of Kashmir — Manufactures — Medicine — Ma- 
 nufacture of Shawls — The Wool — Proofs of Shawl-making — 
 Dyeing — Peculiarity of the Water of Kashmir — Shawl 
 Brokers and Shawl Merchants . . . . .99 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 City of the Sun — Peasants of Kashmir — Epistolary etiquette — 
 Tribes and Clans — Musalmans and Hindus — Akber in Kash- 
 mir — Women of the Valley — Their Beauty — Gipsies — Danc- 
 ing Girls — Tour of the Valley — The Place of Marriage — 
 Confluence of the Jylum with the Sind — The Duras Pass — 
 Simbul — Beautiful Lake — An awkward Encounter with Bears 
 — Ruins of Hindu Temple — The Sacred Lake — Shepherd's 
 Tent and Family — Curious Dog brought to England by the 
 Author — The Holy Lake — No Satis in Kashmir — Funeral 
 Ceremonies — The Great Lake — Island in it — Origin of the 
 Lake — Waterfowl and Plants — Fish of the Lake — Course of 
 the Jylum — Sikh Fort — Panoramic View — The Sacred Peaks 
 — Ancient Kings of Kashmir — Vast Ruins — Man hanging — 
 Bears — Curious Fact — Beauty of the Scenery — The Burying- 
 ground — Baramula — Idol-house — Votive Offering — Course of 
 the Jylum — The Rishis — The Mountain of Flowers — Hindu 
 Remains — Waters of Immortality' — The Deodar — Noxious 
 Exhalations — Wild Animals — Primeval Scenery — Sacred 
 Fountain — Ancient Tomb— Tour of the Valley concluded . 137
 
 vi CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Return to Baramula — Course of the Jylum — Gradual Draining 
 of the Lakes in Kashmir — Forest of Deodars — Loghouses and 
 Hindu Ruin — Massive flight of Steps — Enormous Stones — 
 Sarcophagus — Singular Building — Ruins of a Serai — Moun- 
 tain Scenery — Wild Olives — Path of the Emperor Akber — 
 Serpent-eater — Kathai — The Baramula Pass — History of its 
 first Capture by the Sikhs — Mazufurabad — Sources of the 
 Kishengunga River — Dherabund — Village and Sikh Fort — 
 Musalman Monument — Baron Hugel — An angry Sikh — Com- 
 plaints to Head-quarters — Nushera — The Dor River — Fal- 
 cons — The Sugar-cane and Plantain — Messenger from Runjit 
 Singh — Torbela on the Indus — The Tribe of Joseph — The 
 celebrated Wah Gardens — Jehan Gir — Summer-house and 
 Bath— The Plain of Attok— Vegetation of the Plain— Mr. 
 Elphinstone and Lieutenant Burnes — Aspect of the Country — 
 The Salt Range — Rare Bird — Navigation of the Jylum — The 
 Ghuka Chief— His Capital 175 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Captain Wade — Iskardo, the Capital of Little Tibet — The Au- 
 thor the first European who visits it — Attempt at Intimida- 
 tion — Jews of Ladak, Eaters of Human Flesh — Ahmed Shah 
 — Departure for Little Tibet — Bundurpur — Feeders of the 
 Great Lake — Messenger from Ahmed Shah — Doubts and 
 Feai*s — Traveller's Tales of Wonder — A travelling Merchant 
 — Mountain Pass — Table-land of Deotsuh — The Peak of Diar- 
 mul — Splendid Mountain View — The Sacred Waters — The 
 River of Krishna — The Valley of Gurys — Governors of the 
 Valley — Entry into Little Tibet — Valley of Tylil — Bears — 
 Courage of an English Terrier — Halting-place — The River 
 of Krishna — Poisonous Fish — Poisonous Snake — Wild Region 
 — .Mountain Defiles — Kababs — Classical Meal — Geology and 
 Vegetation — Villages of Little Tibet — Slier Singh — Diplo- 
 macy — Cunning of Ahmed Shah — The Son of Ahmed Shah 
 — Malioimt ;i ii I'n indices — Wild Gooseberry — First Introduc- 
 tion t., Ahmed Shah — Tihctian .Military Music — Singular 
 Scene — Cortege of the shah — Tibetian Costume — A Band of
 
 CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. Vll 
 
 PAGE 
 Robbers — Attack and Destruction of tbem — Departure for 
 Iskardo — Origin of the Guelphs — Ahmed Shah's Respect for 
 England — Tibetian Sandals — Rock and Stronghold . .195 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Descent from the Mountain — Singular Defile and Pass — The 
 Rajah of Rondu — A Traitor — Intercession and Mercy — A 
 Scramble — The Indus — The Gylfo's Castle — Splendid View 
 — Ascent of the Killah — Origin of Tibet — Isolated Peaks — 
 Division of the Country — Residence of the Grand Lama — 
 Descendant of Alexander the Great — Iskardo — Origin of 
 Buddhism — The Royal Race of Gylfos — Their History — Inau- 
 guration of the Sovereign — A Runaway Heir-apparent — 
 Gidab Singh — Mahomed Ali Khan — Achmet AH Khan — Dr. 
 Falconer — Singular Treatment of the Smallpox — The Army 
 of Little Tibet — Provision for the Soldiers killed in Action — 
 Caste in Little Tibet — Ceremony of Marriage — Valley of the 
 Indus — Soil of the Valley — Effects of Irrigation — Singular 
 Block of Granite — Lakes in Iskardo — Magnificent Spring — 
 Cultivation of the Land — Landholders — Sepahis — Crops and 
 Fruits of the Valley — Raisins — Singular Preparation of Wheat 
 Tea in Tibet — Climate and Language of the Valley — The 
 Valley of Shighur — The Rajah's House and Fort — Ahmed 
 Shah — March through the Valley — Wild and magnificent 
 Scenery — Irrigation — Inhabitants of Little Tibet — Reception 
 of the Rajah on his Progress — Fruits and Grain of the Valley 
 — Singular Raft — Passage of the Indus — An odd Scene — Hot 
 Spring 243 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Yak, or Grunting Ox of Tibet — The Kuch-Kar — Known to 
 Alexander the Great — Mr. Blythe — The Ibex — The Mar- 
 Khur, or Serpent-eater — Gigantic Goat — The Sha, or Goat- 
 Deer — The Musk-Deer — Leopards, Bears, and Wolves of Tibet 
 — The Fox and Hare — The royal Partridge, and other Game 
 — Oriole — Fishing in the Indus — Himalaya Trout — Snake — 
 Freedom of the Valley from Reptiles — A Traveller's Stories — 
 Former Road to Yarkund — Singular Rock — Hot Spring —
 
 Viii CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Magnificent Glacier — Gold-dust Stream — Washing for Gold- 
 dust — Marmots — Account of Herodotus — Ants as big as 
 F oxes — Defile and Glacier— Projected Journey over the Muz- 
 tak — Nagyr— Gold-washing— Gilghit — Banks of the Indus 
 towards Ladakh — Shighur — Singular Equestrian Game — 
 Hocky on Horseback — Horses of Little Tibet — Rocky Defile 
 — Mountain Pass and Glacier — Achmet Ah Khan — The Dead 
 alive — A Dose of Calomel — Mountain Ascent — Five Glaciers 
 Glorious View — A Philosophic Tailor — Village, with an Iron- 
 Mine — Husara — The Rajah — Hospitable Reception — Con- 
 clave at the Rajah's — Tbe Dangri Language — Singular Ideas 
 of the Natives regarding Englishmen — The Sunis — Course of 
 the Husara River — Vegetation of the Banks — Wild Animals — 
 Two Hot Springs — Portal of the Indus — Its Course through 
 the Panjab — The Valley of Gilghit — Religious Ceremonies — 
 The Rajah of Gilghit — His Refusal to let the Author enter his 
 Country — Return to Kashmir — Gilghit — Wine-making — 
 Habits of the People — Lieutenant Wood — Antiquities in 
 Yessen — Relics of Alexander the Great — Rajah of Astor — 
 The Chitral Valley — Kafiristan — Death of Dr. Henderson . 277 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Ascent of the Indus — Confluence of its two great Branches — 
 Male and Female River — The Nubra branch of the Indus — 
 Stupendous Mountains — Mountain Villages — Singular Path — 
 Scenery of the Alpine Indus — The Place of the Rock — Native 
 Physician — A native Medical Treatise — Diseases of Tibet — 
 Asthma — Game — Castle of Chorbut — Native Sword-dance — 
 Defile of Hanu — The Sikhs surprised — Ascent of the Hanu 
 Pass — Magnificent View — Descent of the Mountain — The 
 Bhuts Villages — Costume of the Bhuts — Incense-dishes — 
 Mode of Salaaming — The Hanu Stream — A Consultation — 
 A Salvator Rosa Scene — The Rajah of Parkuta — Swing 
 Bridges — Passing the River — The Rajah's Cook drowned — 
 Performance of a Conjurer — Fortress of Ahmed Shah — Nar- 
 cotic Plant — Chinese Territory in Little Tibet — Singular 
 Buddhist Buildings — First Village of Great Tibet — The 
 Lamas, or Priests of Great Tibet— A Visit from them— Bed of
 
 CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME IX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 the Indus at Kulutzi — Dr. Henderson — Hatred of the Tibetians 
 for the Sikhs — Bridge burned to impede the Author's Progress — 
 Swearing on the Koran — Gulab Singh and Runjit — Gidab 
 Singh and the English — The Author's Progress stopped by 
 Gulab Singh — The Sikhs and the Ladakhis — Village of Kemis 
 — Solitary Dwelling of a Lama — Character of the Ladakh 
 Country — Pituk — Costume of the Lamas and Gelums — Enor- 
 mous Mountains — Banks of the Indus — Leh — Residence of 
 the Rajah — Buddhist Monuments — Residence of Mr. Moor- 
 croft — Babylonian Building — Mountain Plains — Commerce 
 of Ladakh — Exports from Kashmir to the Panjab . .315 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Arrival at Ladakh — Obstacles and Difficulties — Ill-treatment of 
 the Author — Seeking Redress — The Lamaic Religion — Dr. 
 Wiseman on Buddhism — Rajahs and ex-Rajah of Ladakh — 
 Jealousy of the Sikhs — The Grand Lama — An Adventure 
 with the ex-Rajah — How to Astonish the Natives — Juan 
 Singh — Presents and Civilities — Visit to Nubra — Mountain 
 Pass — The Muztak — Descent of the Mountain — Shy-Yok — 
 Road to Yarkund — Castle and Village — Game — Character of 
 the Valley of the Nubra — Kurukurum Mountains — Etymology 
 — The Nubra Tsuh — Fall of a Glacier — Fearful Inundation — 
 Meeting of Five Streams — Fatal Snow-falls — Yarkund City — 
 Timur's Capital — Habits and Manners of the Yarkundis — A 
 Wife for a Season — The Yarkundi's love of Tea — The Plains 
 of Yarkund — Road to Pekin — Celebrated Tulip-ground — 
 Singular Idol — Return to Little Tibet — Reception by Ahmed 
 Shah — A handsome Offer of Gulab Singh — Interview with 
 Runjit Singh — Complaints against Gulab Singh — Intrigues 
 and Jealousies — The double Deceit — Runjit and Gulab Singh 
 — Capture of Iskardo by Gulab Singh — Influence of British 
 Travellers — Captain Wade, Political Agent at Lodiana . 349 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Intended Visit to Kokan — Delays and Difficulties — The Rajah 
 of Hunzeh — Dr. Falconer — Astonishing the Natives — A Rus- 
 sian Spy — More Difficulties thrown in the Author's Way —
 
 X CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A fresh Start — Mountain Pass — Singularly wild Spot — Poi- 
 sonous Plant— A Night Storm on the Mountain — Ascent of 
 a Glacier — -Shooting the Ibex — A Night on the Glacier — 
 Converting a Hindu — A Snow-fall on the Glacier — Disap- 
 pointment — A Lucky Escape — A marvellous Rock — Hot 
 Spring — Letter to Runjit Singh— Dr. Falconer — The Duras 
 Pass — Ahmed Shah— A grand Hunt — Leave-taking — Ascent 
 of the Ladakh River — A Comet — The Wolf's Leap — Return 
 to the Sikh Territory — Designs of Gulab Smgh — Sikh Castle 
 — Singular Pillars — Duras — Crossing Glaciers — The Hill of 
 Siva — The Jesuit Missionary Desideri — The Sind River — The 
 Golden Hill — Sikh Custom-house — Gund-i-Sur-Singh — Im- 
 proved Scenery — The Valley of the Sind — Splendid View — 
 A Kashmirian Tailor ....... 379 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Arrival at Lodiana — Sir Henry Fane — Navigating the Sutlij — 
 Scenery — Alligators — The Persian Water-wheel — The late 
 Sir William M'Naghten and Shah Shuja — The Indus — The 
 Author's Pilgrimages on the Indus — Its sacred Character — 
 Palm-groves — The Bolan Pass — Lieutenant Wood — Arabic 
 Inscription — Sir Willoughby Cotton — Sir Alexander Burnes 
 — The Tamarind-fish — Hydrabad — Facilities for Navigating 
 the Indus — The Lohanis — Native Preserves — The Amirs of 
 Sind — The Sind Hound — Singular Death of three British 
 Officers — A burning Jungul — British Detachment — An agree- 
 able Evening — Vegetation of the Country — "Lions" and 
 Alligators — Karachi — Bad Accommodation — Arrival at Bom- 
 bay — Promontory of Aden — The Isthmus of Suez — Cairo — 
 Visit to the Pyramids — A Magician — Tricks upon Travellers 
 — Interview with the Pacha — Mehemet Ah and Runjit — 
 Their Characters and Actions compared and contrasted — The 
 Battle of Nezib — Return to Europe — Greece — The Piraeus — 
 Trieste Steam-boat — The Greek Islands — Venice — Munich — 
 Lord Erskine — Lake of Staremberg — Celebrity of Strauss — 
 Rotterdam — London — Conclusion ..... 403 
 Appendix No. I. — Kashmirian Measures .... 429 
 
 Appendix No. II. — Vocabulary 430 
 
 Observations ........ 440 
 
 Appendix No. Ill 463
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Indian Ceres — Ancient Excavations — Singular Cave — Hindu 
 Ruins — The Bear's Spring — Copper-Mine — Hindu Shrine — Le- 
 gend of the Shrine — Singular Rock — A candid Pundit — Shep- 
 herd's Village — Cave of Umur Nath — Religious Ceremonies — 
 Native Account of the Cave of Umur Nath — The Angel of 
 Death and Siva — The Blue Waters — Attempt to reach Umur 
 Nath — The Golden Lake — Encamping-place of the Pilgrims — 
 Auguries from the Flight of Birds — Superstition and Priestcraft 
 — Marriage Customs — A Hindu Widow — The Emblem of the 
 Dove — Its sacred Character in various Countries — Origin of the 
 Emblem — Game in Kashmir — The Stag of Kashmir — Numerous 
 Bears — Wdd Animals — The Otter — No Hares in Kashmir — The 
 Royal Partridge — Waterfowl — Bitterns — Eagles — Falcons — 
 Boa Constrictor — Poisonous Snake — The River Lidur — Bij Beara 
 — Bridges of Kashmir — Great Temple — Ancient Capital of 
 Kashmir — Wentipur — Forster — Changes in the Valley. 
 
 VOL. 11.
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR, 
 LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 SfC. SfC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 At the village of Sum, not far from Bowun, is a 
 well-sculptured figure of Sri, the Indian Ceres, or 
 Lucksmi, as the goddess of plenty, in black marble, 
 and about two feet in length, being the best spe- 
 cimen of the kind that I know of in Kashmir. 
 
 Proceeding along the northern side of the Karywah 
 of Islamabad, we arrive at the place where the higher 
 ranges begin to descend upon it; and at this spot alone, 
 near the highest end of the valley, the most ungeologi- 
 cal would be convinced of its having once contained a 
 lake, as the remains of beaches formed of shingly 
 conglomerate, are to be seen there deposited in 
 horizontal layers, and resting upon distorted lime- 
 stone strata. But I have before noticed this place, in 
 my general remarks made upon entering the valley. 
 
 Close at hand are some small ancient excavations 
 in the limestone-rock, even with the ground, but not 
 displaying any ornamental sculpture. They appear 
 to be made for shelter rather than for any other 
 
 b2
 
 4 UNFATHOMABLE CAVE. 
 
 purpose; at least I was not able to discover one. 
 Above them is a porch, elevated on the perpen- 
 dicular face of the rock in which it is cut. The 
 old pathway has been much injured, and I clam- 
 bered up with some difficulty. Within is a small 
 antechamber, from which a few steps lead into 
 another excavation behind it ; but I was deterred 
 from going beyond the entrance, by the stench arising 
 from the innumerable bats that I disturbed, which was 
 rendered absolutely insupportable by the great heat 
 of the weather. The Musalman, I may here remark, 
 says that the bat was originally formed from a piece 
 of clay, which Jesus Christ was accidentally mould- 
 ing with his fingers, and that God gave it life after- 
 wards, for the sake of its divine maker. 
 
 The excavation, is a dark and dismal-looking 
 place, well suited to the purposes and trickery of 
 priestcraft, which I have little doubt from its appear- 
 ance were in full play within and near it. Perhaps 
 this is the unfathomable cave which Abu Fuzl says is 
 on one side of the springs of Bawun. On the ground, 
 are the ruins of two Hindu temples, of the same 
 shape as the interior building of Martund. 
 
 The fine strath which I was ascending was the 
 Pergunah of Kahawa, or Kaurah Parah. Kahawa sig- 
 nifies the left, and Parah is a corruption of Pergunah. 
 Duchin signifies the right, and Duchin Parah, is on the 
 right side of the river Lidur, which flows downwards 
 through the strath, to bear to a junction with the Jylum, 
 about three miles above Bij Beara. It is a very 
 lar^e river, inferior only to the Veshau, and when 
 swollen with rain or melted snows its flood rushes 
 down towards the plain with great impetuosity. 
 
 Harput Nag, or the Bears Spring, may be visited
 
 COPPER-MINE. 
 
 either from or on the way to Eysh Makam. It lies 
 at the extremity of a strath that well deserves its 
 name, being covered with the wildest jutigul. I saw 
 a wild cat, and my dogs unharboured a young bear, 
 at which I got a snap shot ; but he escaped to the 
 mountains, by shuffling away at a pace I could not 
 have given him credit for. The place is remarkable 
 for its copper-mine, which formerly gave employment 
 to numbers of workmen ; but such is the arbitrary and 
 oppressive nature of the Sikh rule that it is not now 
 worked at all. Sher Singh, when governor of the 
 valley, tried all he could to induce the people to 
 resume their labours, but without effect. When 
 compelled to work they will bring the demanded 
 quantity of ore, but take particular care that it 
 should produce little or no metal, and their masters 
 know nothing about the matter. It is useless to 
 attempt to punish them : the unfortunate Kashmirian 
 is quite aware that his wages would probably not be 
 paid, that the produce of his labour will nevertheless 
 be taken, and that the display of a little will be the 
 sure incentive to a demand for more ; and these are 
 reasons far more cogent than those that cause a 
 strike amongst European operatives. 
 
 I entered what 1 was informed was the principal 
 mine. It extended into the quartzose rock, in a 
 slanting direction, for not more than twenty-five yards. 
 The interior was much coloured by a nitrate of copper. 
 I procured what purported to be specimens of the ore, 
 but suspect that they were not of the best. 
 
 The long building at the village of Eysh Makam,* 
 which encloses the shrine of a saint, is conspicuously 
 
 * The delightful halting-place or residence.
 
 6 SINGULAR ROCK. 
 
 situated, on the lofty left bank over the Lidur, and is 
 seen from a great distance. Zyn-u-Din,* for such was 
 his name, was one of the four principal disciples of 
 Shah Nur-u-Din/r of whom more anon, and for about 
 twelve years before his death he lived in a cave, 
 which I have seen, at a village near Litur in Duchin 
 Parah. He then, in imitation of the prophet Ali, told 
 his disciples not to follow him, said that his end was 
 approaching, and enjoined them to place a tomb to 
 his memory where his staff should be found. It was 
 discovered in a low and narrow cave at Eysh Makam, 
 and the tomb lies in a nook at the extremity, distant 
 only a few paces from the mouth. His body, they 
 would have the world believe, was never found 
 at all. 
 
 After a wild and beautiful ride through the woods 
 and along the banks of the Lidur, I reached the once 
 large and flourishing village of Butakot; and thence 
 proceeded, in the same day, to Gunysh Bui, or the 
 place of Gunysh or Ganesa, the only son of Siva and 
 Parbuti, and whose name is said to be the same as 
 that of Janus. It owes its celebrity to a large frag- 
 ment of a rock, that lies in the torrent of the Lidur, 
 and has been worn by it into what none but a Hindu 
 would discover to bear the faintest resemblance to the 
 head of an elephant, with which Gunysh is always re- 
 presented : a trunk and a pair of ears and eyes had 
 been added by the painter's hand. The Pundit, who 
 resides in a house on the spot, admitted that he had 
 long sought the favour of the god, but that he had 
 rarely given a favourable answer to his prayers. 
 
 Just before reaching Gunysh Bui, the strath 
 
 ' The ornament of tlic faith. f The light of the faith.
 
 SHEPHERD S VILLAGE. 7 
 
 narrows to a defile ; but it there again opens upon a 
 triangular plain, about a mile in length, and bounded 
 on all sides by beautiful slopes, covered with forests 
 or carpeted with verdure, and rendered grander 
 in appearance by the aspect of the snowy peaks seen 
 at the upper end of it. On the left of the way to 
 Palgam is an old Hindu ruin, of the usual shape, 
 commanding a prospect of the greatest beauty and 
 snugness ; and behind it is a bed of gray marble, in 
 which I found some copper ore. 
 
 Palgam, or the shepherds' village, is composed of 
 log houses, romantically situated at the head of the 
 valley, where two defiles meet. That on the left 
 leads to the Duras pass, joining and following, I be- 
 lieve, the course of the Sind river. It was always a 
 favourite haunt of the Gulubans, or robbers, as already 
 mentioned, who made use of this wild mountain-defile 
 to escape from the pursuit of justice. A stream 
 descends from it to Palgam, and there joins the Lidur, 
 which comes rattling down the larger valley on the 
 right, at the end of which are seen the snowy moun- 
 tains on the way to Umur Nath. I remember trying 
 hard to get near enough to three fine eagles that 
 were sitting on the green slope above Palgam ; but 
 they rose, and circled away amongst the mountains, 
 utterly regardless of the small shot from my double 
 barrel. 
 
 The ceremony at the cave of Umur Nath* takes 
 
 * Umur signifies the immortal, and Nath is a Sanscrit word 
 applied to the principal Hindu divinities, as lords and masters, 
 chiefly to Vishnu or Krishna, and occasionally to Siva, and also to 
 the place where they are worshipped and supposed more particularly 
 to reside. The name prefixed is sometimes that of the place, some- 
 times that of the builder of the shrine. There are innumerable Naths 
 in India, and those that are known in one place are not known in an-
 
 8 NATIVE LEGEND. 
 
 place on the 15th of the Hindu month Sawun (28th 
 of July). Previously to that day not only the Hindus 
 of Kashmir, but those from Hindustan, of every rank 
 and caste, may be seen collecting together, and 
 travelling- up the valley of the Lidur towards this cele- 
 brated cave, — which, from his description, must have 
 been the place that Bernier intended to visit, but was 
 prevented. 
 
 The account of Umur Nath, as written for me by 
 a learned native of Kashmir, is as follows : 
 
 The Angel of Death appeared to the divinities, 
 and told them that he would destroy them. They 
 were much troubled at this threat, and proceeded to 
 the place of abode of Soami Shurji — that is, of the Lord 
 Siva — and entreated his protection. Siva appeared to 
 them with a bright and pleasant countenance, and 
 showing them great favour, and inquired into their 
 state and circumstances with much anxiety. The 
 divinities represented that the angel of death was at 
 enmity with them, and that they dreaded his power. 
 Upon which Siva, of his great mercy and kindness, 
 bestowed upon them the water of immortality, by 
 which they were freed from the persecution of the 
 angel of death. Siva afterwards again went to his 
 devotional abstractions at his abode, and was again 
 sought for by the divinities, but they could not see 
 him. They were therefore in great distress, and 
 lifted up their hands in prayer, and entreated him to 
 show himself to them; whence the pilgrimage and 
 the prayer at Umur Nath. The former, it is added, is 
 called Linga-Kar. 
 
 other : Kashi Nath is the old name of Benares ; Jaganath is Krishna, 
 as the lord of the universe ; and Somnath is, I suppose, that of Soma, 
 the moon— a male Deity in the Hindu catalogue.
 
 THE BLUE WATER. 9 
 
 After performing their ablutions and prostrations 
 at Gunysh Bui, the pilgrims proceed to Palgam, and 
 thence follow up the defile on the right ; the snowy 
 peaks on the further side of the lake of the Shisha 
 Nag # appearing in the distance. The only dwelling 
 to be found on the way beyond Palgam is about 
 three miles thence, up the defile. I slept here. 
 Afterwards the path, though worn by the pilgrimages 
 of ages, is rocky and fatiguing. The people first 
 stop and perform their ablutions at a part of the 
 stream about a mile above Palgam. 
 
 At Nil Gunga, or the blue water, they again halt to 
 wash and make their vows and their offerings to the 
 stream, and again in the Umur Veyut,t about sixty 
 yards, as I was informed, below the cave itself. A 
 second and steep ascent begins from Chuudan 
 Wareh ;$ after which the pilgrims find themselves 
 in a long open valley formed between the moun- 
 tain peaks, rising to "a thousand feet above it 
 on each side ; the valley itself being elevated above 
 the limit of forest, and divided lengthwise by the 
 deep and rocky cliff through which flows that branch 
 of the river that runs from the Shisha Nag. It was 
 late in the season, after my return from Tibet, that I 
 made a desperate attempt to reach Umur Nath, and 
 my Kashmirian Kulis suffered so severely from a 
 night bivouac on the summit of the pass I have just 
 mentioned, in consequence of there being an in- 
 
 * The glassy or leaden lake ; otherwise, the name of the serpent so 
 called, in attendance on Vishnu. 
 
 f The immortal stream. 
 
 | The place of sandal-trees, of which, however, I believe there are 
 none in Kashmir.
 
 10 THE GOLDEN LAKE. 
 
 sufficiency of firewood, that I was forced, however 
 reluctantly, to abandon the attempt. Before, how- 
 ever, I again descended the hill, I pushed up the 
 stream to the Shisha Nag, about two miles in ad- 
 vance of the spot where we had passed a most 
 miserable night. J found it to be a small lake, about 
 one-third of a mile in diameter, lying chiefly in 
 a punchbowl formed by the nearly perpendicular 
 precipices of a limestone ridge, whose strata up to the 
 summits were as much twisted and distorted as those 
 of the hills about Shahbad, rising from the plain of 
 Kashmir, and with which they were most probably 
 once upon a level, having been formed, to all appear- 
 ance, during the same periods of time. 
 
 The Sona Nag, or the Golden Lake, is a small 
 one, lying but a short distance over the hills, on the 
 side of the stream opposite to that where we bivou- 
 acked. The incipient Lidur Hows from the Shisha 
 Nag ; and, although I was prevented from seeing 
 Umur Nath, I felt that my fatigue was in some measure 
 repaid by having thus reached that source of the 
 Jylum, which must be considered as inferior only in 
 size and volume to that in the Kosah Nag-, on the 
 opposite Panjal. 
 
 The last encamping-place of the pilgrims is an 
 elevated plain, distant one day's march from the 
 Shisha Nag ; after which they cross another ridge, 
 and descend to Umur Nath. A vast multitude of men, 
 women, and children advance towards the cave, at an 
 hour appointed by the attendant, the Brahmins first 
 divesting themselves of all clothing, excepting some 
 pieces of birch-bark which do duty for fig-leaves. The 
 cave is of gypsum (I am in possession of specimens
 
 EMBLEM OF THE DOVE. 11 
 
 brought thence), and shaped like a divided cone, facing" 
 to the south, and being (so I was informed) about 
 30 yards in height, and 15 or 20 in depth. I rather 
 believe that there are stalactites in it, and that large 
 icicles are formed from them, so as to connect the 
 bottom of the cave with the roof. When the pilgrims 
 arrive there they commence shouting, clapping their 
 hands, and calling upon the Deity (Siva). Asra dur- 
 shun payareh — " Show yourself to us," is the universal 
 and simultaneous exclamation and prayer of prostrate 
 thousands. The cave is much frequented by rock 
 pigeons, 
 
 " Spelunca subito commota columba." 
 
 JEneid, lib. v., 213. 
 
 who are affrighted by the noise, rush out tumultuously, 
 and are the answer to the prayer. In the body of one 
 or other of these, resides the person of their divinity, 
 and Shur or Siva, the destroyer, and the all-powerful, 
 is considered to be present and incarnate as the 
 harmless dove. If there happens to be no pigeon 
 in the cave at the time, the pilgrims are much disap- 
 pointed, though I could not learn that they augured 
 any thing particularly bad from its non-appearance. 
 The Fakirs and Bramins, at all events, make a good 
 thing of it; their maintenance is an inculcated duty, 
 and they grow comparatively rich by the presents 
 they receive during the expedition. 
 
 It is well known that if a Hindu die, and the widow 
 is not burned she cannot marry again. A kami 
 dand* is a Hindu woman, who, having lost her hus- 
 band, and being unable to marry again, is devoted by 
 her friends to the service of the god. For this pur- 
 
 * Kant, alms — dand, given.
 
 12 SUPERSTITION AND PRIESTCRAFT. 
 
 pose, on her way with the pilgrims to Umur Nath, she 
 gives away alms to the fakirs, and before she re- 
 turns she stands a chance of becoming the mother of 
 a son named Pann. Satis, I have elsewhere remarked, 
 are rare in Kashmir, there having been two only in 
 the time of Sher Singh, and one in that of Kupar Ram. 
 The dove, I need scarcely remark, has often 
 figured as a metaphor, and as a tenement and recep- 
 tacle for divinity, both in sacred and profane history. 
 JEneas invokes the assistance of his mother, immedi- 
 ately before his descent into the infernal regions, and 
 is answered by the appearance of her doves. 
 
 " Vix ea fatus erat, geminse quum forte columbae, 
 Ipsa sub ora viri cselo venere volantes, 
 Et viridi sedere solo. Turn maximus heros 
 Maternas agnoscit aves, lsetusque precatur :" — 
 &c. &c. jEneid, vi. 190. 
 
 Semiramis was said to be changed into a dove,* 
 and she was afterwards worshipped in Assyria, under 
 the shape of a dove. Mr. Maurice thinks,-)- " thatNinus 
 and Semiramis are Vishnu and Siva, under the forms 
 of doves, and that Siva assumed the form of a dove 
 to regain the affections of Parbuti, who had left him 
 in a fit of jealousy. 
 
 The dove has also been called on by the Musal- 
 mans to dispense with its natural timidity, in aid of 
 their prophet, and to build its nest in the cave where 
 Mahomet took refuge upon his flight from Mecca. 
 
 Solomon, in his song, addresses the dove in the 
 clefts of the rocks, chap, ii., v. 14 ; and Jeremiah, chap, 
 xlviii., v. 28, advises the Moabites, because of their 
 pride, to " leave their cities, dwell in the rock, and 
 
 * Ovidii Metamorpli., " Semiramis in Columbam." 
 t Vide " Ancient History of Hindustan."
 
 THE SACRED DOVE. 13 
 
 be like the dove that maketh her nest in the side of 
 the holes mouth." 
 
 The analogy may, perhaps, have been accidental. 
 Although the account of the pilgrimage, as detailed 
 above, be redolent with ignorance, superstition, and 
 priestcraft, yet, at the same time, I could not help 
 thinking of the dove of the ark, and of the wilderness, 
 of our own sacred writings ; and of the 
 
 " Spirit, that from the first 
 
 Was present, and with mighty wings outspread, 
 Dove-like sat brooding on the vast abyss." 
 
 Par. Lost, book i., v. 19. 
 The dove has always been the emblem of peace ; the 
 sublime and the preternatural have always been the 
 concomitants of the wilderness ; solitude, accompanied 
 by any extraordinary degree of remoteness, has often 
 been a cause of sanctification, and the more wild and 
 gloomy the locality, the better has it been thought 
 qualified to become the peculiar residence of a God. 
 But surely such a custom as is here detailed, and 
 which, in all probability, must have existed for ages 
 before the coming of Christ, is not to be looked 
 upon in the light of a mere augury from the flight 
 of birds, or an attempt to find out whether Siva be or 
 be not propitious, by his deigning to be present 
 or absent, as a dove in its natural habitation. A 
 thinking and unprejudiced mind would rather be in- 
 duced to consider whether it were not, partly at 
 least, founded on some original revelation made to 
 the inhabitants of this earth by their Creator, 
 
 " Informing them by types 
 And shadows, of that destined seed to bruise 
 The serpent, by what means he shall achieve 
 Mankind's deliverance ;" — {Par. Lost, book xii., v 232.) 
 
 and to recognise in the whole account no power-
 
 14 VARIETY OF GAME. 
 
 less addition to the numerous presages of incar- 
 nation and redemption, corroborative of the Mosaic 
 records, which have been noticed by all writers on 
 the religion of the Hindus, as dimly distinct amongst 
 the dark confusion and anachronisms of its history, 
 and which have disappeared before the exertions of 
 science, or are still awaiting their absorption in the 
 sure but slowly advancing light of Christianity.* 
 
 The Pergunah of Duchin Parah is usually consi- 
 dered to contain a greater variety of game than any 
 other part of Kashmir. The ibex or kyl may some- 
 times be seen in abundance amongst its crags. A 
 species of musk-deer, found also in little Tibet, where 
 it is called the Hla, is not uncommon. I never saw 
 one alive, but the hair of a skin in my possession was 
 of a dark-reddish mouse-colour, exceedingly thick, 
 and an inch and a half in length, and much resembling 
 in texture that of the American elk. The finest musk 
 comes from Khoten between Yarkund and the frontier 
 of China Proper. 
 
 TheTyhr of the Chur mountain near Simla, here 
 called the Tsaghul, is very common in Muru-Wurd- 
 wem and Kishtawar, where it is called the Kras. I 
 believe also that the Serau, or Buz-i-kohi (mountain 
 goat) is also found there, the Gural, or Himalaya cha- 
 mois, and the Kakur, or barking deer, is seen between 
 Kashmir and the plains. The Hanglu, or stag of 
 
 * Ce que je me propose dans cette lettre, monseigneur, est seule- 
 ment de vous mettre devant les yeux, et de rapprocher les vues des 
 autres quelques conjectures, qui sont ce me semble capable de vous 
 interesser. Elles vont toutes a prouver que les Indiens ont tire leur 
 religion des livres de Moyse et des prophetes, que toutes les fables dont 
 leurs livres sont remplis n'y obscurcissent pas tellement la verite" 
 quelle soit meconnaissable. — Lettres Edifiantes, de quelques missio?i- 
 aires </<■ la Compagnie de Jems , Recueil 9, Paris edit. a.i>. 1713.
 
 STAG OF KASHMIR. 15 
 
 Kashmir is nowhere more plentiful than in Duchin 
 Parah, to which country, it is, I believe, confined; and, 
 although I have been told that it is seen in Kishtawar, 
 I have some doubts as to its being- found on the 
 east bank of the Chunab. Dr. Falconer informed me 
 that he considered it as a new species, and as the 
 nearest link that had yet been found between the 
 rusas and the red deer of Europe. The general colour 
 of a lame and tame stag that I saw at Islamabad was 
 that of light ginger. It stood thirteen hands in height, 
 its horns have one or two brow antlers, and are di- 
 vided into two, three, or four points on the top ; but on 
 all that I have seen, there has been (and which seems 
 to be a peculiarity) but one other antler, and that is 
 one which rises from the centre of the beam. To 
 judge from those I have seen, I should not think the 
 horns, although larger than those of a red deer, to be 
 so large in proportion to its size as those of the latter 
 species, which, in general appearance, it more resem- 
 bles than any other I am acquainted with. It has an 
 egg-shaped excrescence in the skull, on the fore- 
 head, which is common to many of the deer kind. Its 
 calf is beautifully spotted. Its horns are used in 
 making ornamental rims to saddles ; slips of it are 
 softened by soaking in running water for a few days, 
 and are then nailed on. This fine stag is a noble 
 ornament to the elevated parks and pine-forests of 
 Kashmir, but I believe that the extent within which 
 he is found is very limited, and that his " habitat" is 
 bounded by the mountain ranges around the south- 
 east side of the valley. In the winter time it often 
 makes its appearance in the plains of the valley, the 
 skirts of which are generally pretty full of game that 
 has been driven downwards bv the snow.
 
 1G WILD ANIMALS 
 
 The bear (excepting- the Polar bear in its own 
 peculiar regions) is, I should think, nowhere more 
 common than on the mountains around Kashmir ; and, 
 one, at least, may usually be seen in the course of an 
 evening's ride, near the wooded slopes that de- 
 scend from the mountains. There are two species, 
 the brown and the black. The brown bear is the 
 female, and its male (I have seen them in pairs) is of 
 light dirty yellow colour, dashed with red about the 
 neck and shoulders. The latter is frequently brought 
 down into the plains of the Panjab and Hindustan, by 
 those who gain a living by exhibiting them. A large 
 male yellow bear, when standing upright, is between 
 six and seven feet in height. He will usually move 
 from the sight of a man unless attacked, when he will 
 turn upon his enemy with great ferocity. 
 
 The black bear is much smaller, and less common, 
 his hair is much shorter, and he has a white collar 
 round the neck. He is much more to be dreaded 
 than the other species, being very likely to attack ; 
 and he takes no denial when once enraged. It is said 
 that at particular seasons the brown bears descend 
 in parties, and rob the fruit-trees. They are nume- 
 rous enough, and the story seemed not to be without 
 foundation. 
 
 The wolf is not very common ; the hyena is still 
 less so, and I much doubt whether there are any in the 
 valley. The leopard and wild cat are common, the 
 former chiefly in the mountains. It is probable that 
 the tiger-cat is also found there, being known in 
 the Himalaya generally. Jackals are common, and 
 when travelling in the valley, I have seldom passed a 
 day without seeing a fox ; not the little gray leading 
 article of Hindustan, but the large full-brushed Mel-
 
 OF KASHMIR. 17 
 
 Ionian. My English terrier frequently unkennelled 
 one in the deep ravines on the Karywahs, and he 
 usually ascended its banks, and broke away over the 
 open country, at a pace that few native greyhounds 
 could long afford. 
 
 The otter is very common in the ruins of 
 Kashmir, occasionally inhabiting even the old wooden 
 piles which support the bridges close to a town. 
 Its name throughout the mountains is Udur, and in 
 Persian it is called the Sug-i-ab, or the water-dog. 
 It is killed for its skin. The flying squirrel is also 
 common in Duchin Parah. 
 
 One of the most singular facts connected with 
 the natural history of the valley, is that of there being 
 no hares there. As a sportsman I could not have 
 believed it to be the case, as I have nowhere seen 
 more likely ground. I am assured that they do not 
 exist there, and I have never seen one myself, al- 
 though I have traversed every quarter of the valley. 
 It is probably too cold for the Indian hare ; and that 
 of the little Tibetian valleys is an Alpine hare that has 
 its dwelling amongst rocks, sand, and Tartarian furze. 
 I should think that the European hare would thrive 
 very well there. 
 
 I have seen the common stoat or ermine, and 
 from description I imagine that the martin-cat is 
 also found there. I have seen the porcupine at 
 Dodah, near Kishtawar, so that it is most likely a 
 Kashmirian animal ; also the gravedigger of India, 
 or an animal that much resembles one that is known 
 in the valley. The Monal or Impeyan pheasant is, I 
 believe found in Kashmir; there is also another 
 kind called the Jungul fowl, but I do not know 
 
 VOL. II. c
 
 18 THE ROYAL PARTRIDGE. 
 
 whether their jungul fowl be not the kalij pheasant 
 of the Simla mountains. I never saw a monkey 
 in Kashmir, although I have seen them on the 
 Banihal road, two or three days from the valley. 
 
 The large bird called Kubuk Deri, or the royal 
 partridge, in Persian, and Bura, or the great bird, in 
 the Himalaya behind Simla, inhabits the snowy 
 Panjals on both sides of the valley, but is more com- 
 mon in the Tibets. This magnificent partridge is 
 about five times the size of the common English 
 bird, and is generally of a gray colour, the feathers 
 being edged with light reddish-brown. I had several 
 of them alive, and am confident that they might 
 be brought down the Indus to England, as they 
 thrived well so long as I looked after them myself. I 
 brought three black partridges, or francolins, with me 
 from the Indus ; two died entirely from accidental 
 causes ; the third, a cock bird, is alive and well, in 
 the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park. I attribute 
 their living to having been kept in a roomy circular 
 basket, open only at top, so that they could see nothing 
 around them. I fed them only with wheat, and gave 
 them plenty of water. The late Mr. Bullock, of the 
 Egyptian LJall, once told me, as a general rule, that 
 a bird cannot be stifled. I believe that in this way the 
 black partridge could easily be brought (o England, 
 and I recommend any traveller in Syria, where 
 it is also found, to procure some, and bring them 
 with him. They would breed well, and be a most 
 important acquisition to a preserve, as they do not 
 lie in coveys, but generally rise singly. The dry 
 sedgy ground and fern of the New Forest would 
 suit them admirably.
 
 GAME AND WATERFOWL. 19 
 
 The only other species of partridge found within 
 the boundary of the valley is the common chickor, or 
 Himalaya red-leg. It is very strange that neither the 
 black nor the gray partridge of Hindustan have found 
 their way into the valley through the Baramula pass ; 
 in which, at three days' march from the entrance of 
 the valley, I have seen both hare and black partridge. 
 I can attribute this circumstance only to the dif- 
 ference of climate ; and yet the black partridge is 
 common enough in Kishtawar and the neighbouring 
 countries, where it remains when the snow is on the 
 ground. 
 
 I have shot the common quail in Little Tibet, but 
 have never seen one in Kashmir. There is, therefore, 
 a great scarcity of game in the plains of Kashmir; 
 and the sportsman must go into the mountains in 
 search of it. 
 
 Waterfowl, however, of every species, are very 
 numerous in the winter months. They come from 
 Yarkund and Mogulistan, in order to avoid the cold 
 of the more northern regions, and depart as soon as 
 the spring recommences. Bald coots and moorhens 
 or dabchicks breed on the sedgy margins of the lakes, 
 and some few ducks remain for the same purpose. 
 The sarus, or gigantic crane, is often to be seen in 
 the marshes near Hakrit-Sar, and the heron is very 
 common. 
 
 I have never seen a bittern there, but have seen 
 woodcocks upon two or three occasions. I believe that 
 they breed there, near the snow, having once flushed 
 a young one in the forests on the Western Panjal. 
 Snipes and jacksnipes are plentiful in the cold 
 weather. A small species of pelican, closely re- 
 
 c 2
 
 20 BIRDS OF KASHMIR. 
 
 sembling the cormorant in appearance, is common on 
 the river. I had taken no particular notice of it, but 
 a skin of one was procured by Dr. Henderson, whom 
 I have elsewhere mentioned, and after whom it was 
 deservedly named. 
 
 The common eagle, and a smaller species, are 
 found in the valley. I have shot two of the latter kind ; 
 it is known in Europe as the aquila Bonelli, and is a 
 very bold and fierce bird. There is a living specimen 
 in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park. 
 
 The byri, or peregrine, and the churk falcon, or 
 lanner, are also to be seen in Kashmir. The cuckoo 
 (called the gowk in the North of England) is called 
 the byal-kuk in Kashmir : byal signifies seed, and 
 the farmers say that its note tells them to cast seed 
 into the ground. 
 
 The magpie is common in Little Tibet, but I 
 never saw one in Kashmir. Ahmed Shah of Iskardo 
 told me that it was thought lucky if one lived near a 
 man's house. 
 
 The hoopoe, the mina, and the blue blackbird of 
 the Himalaya, whose short but flute-like notes are 
 amongst the sweetest that are produced by the 
 feathered tribe, are common enough. 
 
 The nightingale is not found, I think, even in 
 Afghanistan ; but they swarm in Persia. The bulbul 
 of Kashmir* is a sorry substitute for the European 
 songster; his note resembles that of the English 
 blackbird, but is by no means so full and musical. 
 He is about seven inches and a half in length — bill, 
 head, and legs black — general colour of plumage, 
 
 * IxOB Leueogenys.
 
 BOA CONSTRICTOR. 21 
 
 olive-greenish brown, with a white spot behind the 
 eye, and white tips to the tail feathers ; on the head 
 is a black pointed crest, beautifully curved forward, 
 like the plume of a helmet ; his manners are those of a 
 tomtit, quarrelsome and noisy, but amusing and very 
 bold, as they will sometimes come into a room where 
 a person is sitting. He differs from the bulbul of 
 the plains in having a yellow patch under the tail, 
 whereas that of the latter is red; and in the hills 
 between Kashmir and the plains the spot is of a 
 transition colour, between red and yellow. The 
 species of wagtail called the Enicurus maculatus, 
 black and white, with a forked tail, is found in 
 Kashmir, but is more common between the valley 
 and the plains ; and the creeper, called Tichodroma 
 Phceni copter a, is found throughout the whole of the 
 Alpine Panjab, and displaying the delicate scarlet 
 patch upon its gray wings, as it flits over the perpen- 
 dicular banks, with the movements of a butterfly 
 rather than a bird. It is found, I am informed, in 
 Spain. 
 
 The boa constrictor is known in Kashmir, where 
 it is called the Ajda — Mar is a generic name for 
 a snake, but applies particularly to a species about five 
 feet long, much resembling in general appearance the 
 common snake of England, and like it, I believe, 
 harmless ; I have seen it in the meadows, and also 
 swimming in the river. The gunus or aphia (o$is?) 
 is said to be very poisonous ; it is about a yard in 
 length, and very thick, and its appearance altogether, 
 I was informed, was very repulsive. It is found 
 in rocky places on the eastern side of the valley. 
 I was told of a small poisonous snake found in 
 Duchin Parah only. This, or another kind, is some-
 
 22 THE RIVER LIDUR. 
 
 times termed the "gulawut," or collarer, because 
 it is said to throw itself at a man's throat. 
 
 I returned from Duchin Parah by the large vil- 
 lage of Kunzelwun. 
 
 Not far from Eysh Makam the Lidur is divided 
 by a large rock or hill of limestone, that rises in its 
 bed, and along the low limestone bank on the northern 
 side of the Pergunah. I could not but notice, and it 
 is the only place where I have noticed it, that it had 
 somewhat of the worn appearance of a beach whose 
 shelves had been lowered by sudden subsidences, but 
 not, however, so strongly as to weigh against the very 
 numerous and certain marks of a gradual desiccation. 
 
 The rapidity of the Lidur ceases with the rocki- 
 ness of its bed, which now lies in the soil of the 
 valley, and at the place of junction, its dull and 
 muddy stream is scarcely less than that of the Jylum 
 itself, which from Islamabad to Baramula, meanders 
 through the meadows on the lowest part of the 
 valley, with a very slow stream, very smooth, not 
 clear, and rather shallow, excepting when swollen 
 by the melting of the snows in July and August. 
 It then rises fourteen or fifteen feet above its 
 usual level, overleaps its banks, and floods the 
 whole country, often doing great damage, in con- 
 sequence of the dams and sluices being out of 
 repair.* The first thing that ought to be done with 
 a view of bettering the agricultural condition of 
 the valley, would be to restore them to the state in 
 which they existed in the time of its prosperity. A 
 piece of wood thrown into the stream at Kanibul, 
 will float down to the city in about twenty-four 
 
 * A great flood happened in the time of Avante Verma. Vide 
 Wilson's Essay. Asiat. Researches, vol. xv., p. 63.
 
 BRIDGES OF KASHMIR. 23 
 
 hours. The distance being about sixty-four miles, 
 it will give a rate of two miles and two-thirds 
 in the hour; a calculation which is also justified by 
 the appearance of the current. From Vetur Wulur 
 to Islamabad^ the river is called the Sanduren ; thence 
 to Baramula it is called the Jylum; in the pass it 
 is simply called the Deriah, or the river, still retain- 
 ing with the pundits its old name of the Veyut or 
 Veyutusta (Hydaspes). 
 
 Bij Beara is built on the left bank of the Jylum, 
 and now contains only about four hundred gable- 
 ended houses, all bearing the aspect of decay, but 
 still displaying a profusion of beautiful trellis-work, 
 for which the place is famous above all others in 
 Kashmir. Blankets of a superior description are 
 also made there. The place itself is not very 
 picturesque, but the view from it is quite the reverse, 
 particularly in the direction of Islamabad. The 
 Jylum here is about one hundred yards wide, and 
 deeper than usual — perhaps ten or twelve feet in 
 some places. 
 
 A description of the bridge will be that of all 
 the bridges in the valley. Trunks of deodar, or 
 Himalaya cedar (a wood said to be far more 
 imperishable than the common L cedar), are driven 
 into the bed of the river, and quantities of broken 
 rock and stone are dropped around them. On these 
 are raised the foundations of the bridge, composed of 
 alternate layers of broken stone and deodar trunks, 
 the longest of which are uppermost ; and on these 
 are laid the upper timbers of the bridge, which alone 
 form the road, no soil or pavement being placed 
 over them.
 
 24 SINGULAR CUSTOM. 
 
 The country around Bij Beara is somewhat bare 
 of trees, but on the southern side of the river, which 
 is opposite to the town, there is a fine grove of 
 chunars that once overshadowed a garden. The 
 remains of two or three Hindu ghats, or flights of 
 stone steps, and of a Hindu worshipping-place on 
 the north bank, attest the former prosperity of the 
 place. 
 
 The lower classes of Kashmirians call the place 
 by the name of Vej Vaara, — the B and the V being 
 used indiscriminately, as by the Gascons, Spaniards, 
 and Negroes. The best native authorities say that its 
 name is strictly Vijaya Shur, or the City of the 
 Victory of Siva ; but the original name is more 
 likely to have been Vijaya Para, the City of Victory. 
 Beyond or upon the river, a king called Vijaya 
 Bijiri existed b.c. C7. 
 
 I have already noticed the great temple which 
 was said to have been built near Bij Beara, on the 
 top of Samur or Sumer* Thung, the same hill, I be- 
 lieve, on which Kashuf or Kasyapa is said to have 
 passed some time in religious abstraction, previously 
 to the desiccation of the valley.-(- 
 
 A custom exists at Bij Beara, of the origin of 
 which I could never procure a satisfactory explana- 
 tion. About the 18th of June the Zemindars or 
 farmers repair to Bij Beara early in the morning ; an 
 old man, in whose family is what is termed the 
 name or office of Myla Maharajah (applied in bur- 
 lesque), which signifies the great rajah or king of the 
 festival, walks to the tomb of Baba Nasim, a Musal- 
 
 * Or perhaps, Soma, a name for the moon. f Vide supra.
 
 ANCIENT CAPITAL OF KASHMIR. 25 
 
 man saint, and says a few sentences from the Koran ; 
 — and afterwards, the crowd of Mulahs and others 
 who are with him, touch his garment, to which he is 
 constantly responding "Khyr! Khyr!" (Be happy!) 
 He then goes away without further notice. The 
 assembled multitude then visit Islamabad and Sabi- 
 babad, and afterwards disperse. 
 
 The Veshau which is here a tranquil river, has been 
 long since navigable for rice-barges, and flows north- 
 ward until it joins the Jylum about five miles below 
 Bij Beara. 
 
 Thence there is little worthy of further remark until 
 we arrive at Wentipur, — so called from kingAvante- 
 Verma, and laid down in the maps as Bhyteepur, a 
 name which I never remember to have heard, though 
 it may exist. It is the old capital of Kashmir, now 
 a wretched village, with the remains of an entrance- 
 gate, composed of large rectangular masses of lime- 
 stone. The ground-plan of the temple is still traceable 
 by the stone-work that formed the base of the colon- 
 nade, resembling that at Martund. A {^\y hundred 
 yards distant are two other buildings in no respects 
 dissimilar, which no doubt, if we are to judge by 
 the heaps of fallen materials, were surrounded in the 
 same manner. 
 
 Behind Wentipur, about 2500 feet above it, rises 
 the peak of Dudina; and the mud and stone walls of 
 the old town, long since forsaken in favour of Sirina- 
 gur, the present capital, cover the slope of the moun- 
 tain for a considerable distance. The want of re- 
 gular irrigation must always have been troublesome, 
 but I should think that the town began to be deserted
 
 26 CHANGE IN THE VALLEY. 
 
 when the temples were destroyed by Butshekan, or 
 when the ground on which Sirinagur stands was first 
 made habitable by draining. 
 
 Times are much altered since Forster in 1783 
 visited Wentipur, which he calls, I do not know why, 
 Bhyteepur ; and he writes that "the variegated view of 
 populous villages, interspersed through a plain which 
 was waving with a rich harvest, and enlivened by the 
 notes of a thousand birds, filled the mind with har- 
 mony and delight/' I was informed, that amongst 
 the ruins at Wentipur was discovered a room or 
 bath, in which was one of the everburning lamps 
 of the ancients ; but the story is, I should think, at 
 least a doubtful one.
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Trahul — Residence of the Sikhs — Southern Slopes of the Himalaya 
 — Effects of Aspect on Vegetation — Pampur — Hindu Temple — 
 Plains and Saffron-grounds of Pampur — Cultivation of Saffron — 
 Alexander in Kashmir — Warm Spring in the Mountains — Iron- 
 Mine — Hindu Ruins — Enormous Pillar — Singular Relics — Mystery 
 of their Origin — Remarkable Building — Tricks upon Travellers 
 — General Features of the Valley — Remarkable Hill — Islamabad — 
 Exquisite Temple — Ruined Serai — The Ramu River — The 
 Chanz River — Survey of the Valley — Throne of Solomon — Indian 
 Notions of Solomon — Origin of the Name of Kashmir — Fire Wor- 
 ship — Divisions of the Valley — The Emperor Baber — Tamerlane 
 in Kashmir — Timur — Various Invaders of the Valley — Religion of 
 Kashmir — Traditions — Early Fame of Kashmir — Different Sects 
 — Characters of the Hindu and the Kashmirian.
 
 RESIDENCE OF THE SIKHS. 
 
 29 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Pergunah of Trahul may be visited, and a 
 return to Wentipur may be effected, in the same day. 
 I consider it, however, to be as little worth seeing 
 as any part of Kashmir, it being a comparatively 
 barren and stony tract. It contains some rice-fields 
 and two or three villages ; and as it is a large 
 nook in the mountains behind Wentipur, it would 
 be very picturesque if there were more trees. Its 
 length is about six or seven miles, with a less but 
 varying width. There is a shrine of some import- 
 ance at the principal village, and the streams that 
 flow downwards from Trahul join the Jylurn a little 
 above Wentipur. 
 
 Trahul is the principal residence of the Kashmirian 
 Sikhs ; that is, Sikhs whose ancestors first came to 
 Kashmir in the service of Rajah Suk Juwan, a Hindu 
 of Shikapur, and who was sent to the valley as go- 
 vernor by Timur Shah of Kabul, about 6.5 years a^o. 
 In about a year he endeavoured to make himself in- 
 dependent, and engaged some Sikhs who were co- 
 religionists to assist him ; but Timur Shah defeated 
 him, took him prisoner, and blinded him. Some 
 of these Sikhs also reside in the Pergunah of Nagam ; 
 but they are not I believe very numerous. I omitted 
 to notice the impressions made, as the natives sav, by
 
 30 EFFECTS OF ASPECT. 
 
 the hoofs of Zyu-ul-ab-u-Din's horse, who was urged 
 by his master to gallop up the perpendicular face of 
 the rock, and thereby saved him from his enemies. 
 Some marks are to be seen at a place a little above 
 Wentipur, according to Mr. Moorcroft. 
 
 As we are now passing under the banks of 
 the Jylum, and under the mountains on the eastern 
 side of the valley, we may here notice that the 
 general character of the southern side of the 
 first slopes of the Himalaya is, that they are com- 
 paratively bare of trees, although covered with 
 long grass ; and that the northern side of Kashmir, 
 although so far from the plains, and divided from them 
 by four or five intervening ranges, is, in accordance 
 with this rule, nearly free from jungul, although 
 covered with long grass and verdure ; whilst the 
 southern side, on the contrary, is nearly one mass of 
 forest. The reasons for this, given to me by the 
 Kashmirians, were, in the first place, that no trees 
 would grow where the bank was open to the hot 
 winds from India, and further, that no jungul will 
 grow where the ground is not exposed to the rays of 
 the morning sun. It is certainly true that the fruits of 
 the southern side of the valley are always the best, 
 and it is also said that snakes, which are abundant in 
 particular spots on the northern aspect, are rarely or 
 never seen in the southern. This is because they 
 like to bask upon the bold bare rocks, that every 
 where protrude through the surface of the ground 
 upon the northern side, whereas on the southern the 
 soil is every where much thicker. The reasons 
 thus given are more plausible than satisfactory; but 
 the fact of there thus being in many places so little
 
 PAMPUR. 31 
 
 forest on the southern abutments of the lower Hima- 
 laya, and still less on those of Kashmir, is simply 
 owing to their receiving the rays of the sun less 
 vertically than the long slopes on the opposite side of 
 the valley. The same reason applies to the produc- 
 tion of better fruit on the southern side than on the 
 northern. 
 
 Pampur is the next place to be visited. The 
 name is a corruption of Padma-pur,* the city of 
 Vishnu, or of Padmun-pur, or " the place of beauty," 
 from the beauty of its inhabitants in former days, 
 though I am not aware that it enjoys any pre-eminence 
 of the kind at present. There are numerous grades 
 of female beauty recognised by the Hindus, and of 
 these the Padmini, or such as are graceful as the 
 lotus, are considered to hold the first rank. She is 
 thus defined by AbuFuzl : " Padmini, an incomparable 
 beauty, with a good disposition ; she is tall, and well 
 proportioned, has a melodious tone of voice, talks 
 little, her breath resembles a rose, she is chaste and 
 obedient to her husband," &c. But the Orientals say 
 that a genuine Padmini is rarely to be met with now.t 
 Pampur, or Padma-pur, was the scene of a great 
 battle in the reign of Chacra Verma, a.d. 956.J 
 
 At Kakurpur,§ a village under the Karywah, or 
 elevated plain of Pampur, is an old ruined Hindu 
 temple, but scarcely worth visiting after Martund. 
 The geologist, however, would be better repaid than 
 
 * Padma signifies a lohis, the emblem of Vishnu. 
 
 | Vide Tod's Rajasthan for an account of the self-devotion of a 
 Padmini, a Rajput princess of Chitor, when besieged by Alla-u-Din, 
 vol. ii., p. 266. 
 
 % Vide Wilson's Kashmir. 
 
 § Perhaps named after one of an Afghan tribe, so called.
 
 32 PLAIN OF PAMPUR. 
 
 the antiquarian, by observing the long ridges of lime- 
 stone strata on which the Karywah is supported, 
 jutting out perpendicularly to a height of thirty or 
 forty feet in some places, close to the river, and on 
 the north side, and which is consequently nearly the 
 lowest limestone in the valley. I know of no other 
 place where it appears in the open plain, and have 
 noticed it in my remarks on the geology of the 
 valley. 
 
 Following up the river towards Pampur, we arrive 
 at an orchard and a garden planted in the olden 
 time, and which is now a picturesque place, car- 
 peted with greensward, and shaded by the fine chu- 
 nars that overhang the river. 
 
 The bridge of Pampur is built precisely like that 
 at Bij Beam, but has a few more arches, if arches 
 they may be called. The river, which has been 
 flowing towards the north, takes a larger sweep to 
 the eastward, and Pampur stands upon the northern 
 bank. It is a town containing few gardens, and about 
 three hundred houses, and is nowise remarkable, 
 excepting for the beauty of the wood-work in the 
 mosques. 
 
 The plain of Pampur is an open down without 
 trees, and commands a beautiful and extensive view 
 of the valley. The scenery in front of it is such, that, 
 when the mountains are enveloped in mist, I might 
 have fancied myself in English fields surrounded by 
 hedge-rows. But whilst the beauty of the mountain 
 scenery can hardly be exceeded, the general appear- 
 ance of the flat open plains of Kashmir would some- 
 times rather remind me of parts of France or Holland, 
 as rows of poplars often do duty for hedges. There
 
 SAFFRON-GROUNDS. 
 
 33 
 
 are three or four small shallow and sedgy lakes in the 
 neighbourhood of the town. 
 
 The saffron-grounds of Pampur occupy a space of 
 ten or twelve miles in circumference, and are said to 
 be composed of the richest soil in the valley ; though 
 I do not know any reason why any other of the 
 Karywahs, when irrigated as formerly, should not be 
 just as good. 
 
 The ground is ploughed up four or five times, 
 then raised in parterres of two or three yards square, 
 and in every parterre about the 20th of June is 
 planted six seer (nearly twenty-four pounds) of roots, at 
 two fingers' breadth apart. The soil varies in quality, 
 but one of the best parterres, which is called a.wantu y 
 produces about a pound of flowers in October, when 
 they are plucked, and two ounces of saffron are 
 collected from two pounds of them. 
 
 Part of the wages of the saffron cultivator are 
 paid in rice, and part in money, and the picker who 
 separates the red from the yellow stamina of the 
 flower, receives a certain proportion of it to pick and 
 sell for himself. A ser, or 21b., of the best saffron sells 
 for twenty-four small rupees.* The yellow pistils are 
 given to cattle, the red and white only are eaten. It 
 is much esteemed as an ingredient in oriental cookery, 
 and a great portion is used in dying, and in imparting 
 the colour to the paste with which the Hindus paint 
 the mark, or Kashkah, on the forehead. It is said 
 that Akber sent for a criminal from Hindustan and 
 made him eat a tolat of saffron, too much of which is 
 poisonous ; the man lived, was pardoned, and pre- 
 
 * About 40s. English. f Vide Appendix of Weights. 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 34 ALEXANDER IN KASHMIR. 
 
 sented with a jaghir. But the great proportion of it 
 is carried to Yarkund. 
 
 The Kashmirians, upon the authority of the wild 
 vagaries contained in the Sekundur Nameh, or 
 Mahometan account of Alexander or Dhulkarnein,* 
 believe that he invaded Kashmir from the north, after 
 his expedition to China, and the iron post which he 
 found in the centre of the eastern ocean ; but I could 
 more easily credit that part of their account which says 
 that his soldiers cheered with admiration when they 
 beheld the beauty and extent of the delicately tinted 
 purple saffron-beds at Pampur. 
 
 From a village in the mountain, behind the town, 
 is a path over them to Bryn, the Shah Sahib's village 
 on the city lake. It is used chiefly by foot passen- 
 gers, whom it occupies but one day. At the same 
 place is a stone with an inscription, which was raised 
 from the ground by Dr. Falconer, who took off the 
 inscription and forwarded it, I believe to the late Mr. 
 Prinsep in Calcutta. 
 
 A day may be well employed in visiting the moun- 
 tains behind Pampur. At their foot, distant five 
 miles, is a slightly warm spring, whose waters tasted 
 exactly like those of the Spas near Weymouth, 
 which contain a proportion of sulphuretted hydrogen 
 gas ; and the rock from which it issues is formed of 
 contorted limestone strata. Excepting that of the 
 Jylum, which is muddy, the water in the city is not 
 very good for drinking. 
 
 * The two-horned : so called from the representation of him with 
 horns, as the son of Jupiter Ammon, or in allusion to the prophetic 
 description of him given hy Daniel in the vision of the ram and the 
 he-goat.
 
 IRON-MINE. 35 
 
 From the spring I ascended a nook, which runs 
 for about a mile further into the mountains, and 
 then clambering up a very steep ascent covered 
 with long grass, I found that I had been conducted 
 to an iron-mine, called Sher Ahun,* which had been 
 excavated for a short distance into the side of the 
 mountain. There might have been others, but I saw 
 nothing to repay me for the trouble of the ascent, as 
 the mine was not, I believe, worked at all, in conse- 
 quence of the oppression of the Sikhs. A solitary wild 
 peach-tree was growing at the entrance. 
 
 At Lidur, or Lidapur, are two old Hindu ruins : one 
 resembles the centre building at Martund, but is 
 much smaller ; the other I was informed was very old 
 indeed, and I have no doubt of the fact, it being 
 built in the centre of a small pond, now, however, 
 overgrown with reeds and rushes. It may have been 
 built by Ledder Khan, one of the earliest princes of 
 the Pandu line.t 
 
 With a good crew to paddle her along, a boat 
 will descend from Islamabad to the city in about 
 twelve hours ; but nothing is visible from it, except- 
 ing the mud-banks of ten or twenty feet in height, 
 which effectually shut out any prospect, excepting 
 that of the mountain-tops. 
 
 Pampur is but five miles from the city, and the 
 road thither is one continued flat, usually upon 
 turf, and beautiful galloping-ground, which I often 
 availed myself of. 
 
 At Pantur or Pandu Chakk, the ends of an old 
 stone bridge are visible, built perhaps by one of the 
 
 * Ahun signifies iron. f Vide Prinsep's Tables. 
 
 D 2
 
 36 ENORMOUS PILLAR. 
 
 old kings of that name, to whom the epithet of a Pandu, 
 or giant, may have been given. 
 
 At the commencement of the fourth mile from 
 Pampur, a low spur of steep rock descends from 
 the mountains, and rests upon the flat upon the bank 
 of the river. Near its extremity, where it may be 
 about one hundred feet high, is the capital, and five 
 feet of the shaft, of an enormous limestone-pillar. 
 The capital is about five feet in diameter, and poly- 
 gonal. The plinth is much damaged, but enough 
 is left to show that it was composed (at least I 
 thought so) of four gigantic female busts, most likely 
 those of Luksmi, if the pillar supported the Garuda 
 or bird of Vishnu, as mentioned below. It is ly- 
 ing on its side, and was probably overthrown by 
 the zeal of "the idol-breaker." A flat surface, suffi- 
 ciently large to answer the purpose of abase, has been 
 cut on the rock; but I could not discover a vestige 
 of any other ruin near it. About half a mile nearer the 
 city is another large block, on which are rudely sculp- 
 tured the knees and legs of a gigantic sitting figure, 
 not crossed like those of a Hindu figure in general, 
 but apparently bent like those of an Egyptian statue ; 
 all the remainder seemed to have been broken off; but 
 although the uncultivated slope around it is strewed 
 with large masses of stone, I saw nothing that must 
 be necessarily supposed to have formed part of the 
 image. Near them again are some enormous lingams, 
 or pieces of sculpture, that are, as is well known, 
 venerated by the Hindus as the emblems of Siva. 
 
 I could not contemplate these massive relics 
 without imagining for a moment that they may have 
 originally been parts of a city and vast Hindu temple,
 
 VAST TEMPLE. 37 
 
 which, being near the modern city, and consequently 
 of so much the greater sanctity and importance, must 
 have called for the especial notice of Butshikan. No 
 earthquake could, I think, have had the power to over- 
 turn the ponderous capital I have mentioned, without 
 hurling it from its situation altogether ; nor could any 
 earthquake have so far separated the gigantic image, 
 and any part of the temple that contained it. There 
 is, moreover, no reason to suppose that an earthquake 
 could have caused all the remaining parts of the 
 temple to disappear; or, on the other hand, that the 
 bigoted rage of Sikundur would have caused them to 
 be carried away from the spot; and, therefore, as there 
 are no other relics visible, I am induced to believe 
 that the capital alone, whether brought from the ruins 
 of Paharispur, or not, was originally placed where it is; 
 that it never formed part of a temple, or had a shaft 
 attached, to it on the spot which it at present occupies ; 
 that it perhaps supported the gigantic image I have 
 mentioned, which Sikundur ordered to be overthrown, 
 and afterwards dragged down from the hill : though 
 this latter opinion is mere conjecture, on the suppo- 
 sition that the capital must have supported something, 
 and moreover that I found nothing which it could have 
 been made to support, excepting the image in question. 
 I think it very probable that it is the capital of the great 
 pillar of the Garuda (Vishnu's kite), at Parihasapur, as 
 we read that Sankara Verma constructed a city from 
 its ruins, distinguished by a temple dedicated to Siva. 
 Still nearer to the city is the very remarkable 
 building of Pandrenton.* When I approached it for 
 
 * So pronounced ; but the name is, I conclude, a compound of 
 Pandu and Duryndun, the father of the Pandus.
 
 38 TRICKS UPON TRAVELLERS. 
 
 the first time, I was accompanied by the Kazi, or 
 chief judge of Kashmir, Mohamed Afzul, a good 
 and very friendly man, who had been deputed by 
 Colonel Mihan Singh, the governor, to wait upon 
 me at Pampur, and conduct me to the city. Samud 
 Shah was also of the party, and as we rode along 
 the Kazi, sported his jokes, and showed his learning 
 by quoting, I believe, Hafiz and Sadi. The others 
 were all attention and applause ; and, in fact, so 
 anxious was he to make it appear to the people 
 that the newly-arrived Sahib was coming to the city 
 expressly for the sole purpose of visiting his friend and 
 patron, the Colonel, that he allowed me to pass Pan- 
 drenton, although a few yards only out of the road, 
 without seeing it at that time, and not one of the others 
 in my train dared to tell me of it against his wishes. 
 A traveller in the East cannot be too much on his 
 guard against tricks of this kind, as, generally speak- 
 ing, there is no suppression, concealment, or invention 
 to which an oriental will not have recourse, provided 
 either his interest or his importance are temporary 
 gainers by the use of them. 
 
 The building at Pandrenton stands in the centre 
 of a small pond, three sides of which are encircled by 
 a grove of willows, and overshadowed on the other by 
 some fine chunars. It is a small, square-sided, hollow 
 edifice, of limestone, with an opening on each side, 
 shaped like the arches at Martund. The water is about 
 four-and-a-half feet in depth, above the waist of a man 
 whom I sent into the interior to see if there was any 
 inscription. On its pyramidical shape I have already 
 remarked, and it would appear that the erection of 
 these buildings in water is meant as a special compli-
 
 FEATURES OF THE VALLEY. 39 
 
 ment to the Deity, by which he is more honoured, and 
 better pleased ; whilst the edifice itself is rendered still 
 more holy, by its resting, as it were, upon the bosom 
 of the blessed element, and being- thus brought as 
 nearly as possible into contact with the God to whose 
 name it was raised and consecrated. 
 
 Before entering the city it will perhaps be the 
 best plan to notice the centre of the valley. Its 
 general features are rice-fields irrigated in plateaux, 
 open meadows, cornfields, and villages imbosomed 
 in trees ; elevated Karywahs, or alluvial plains, that, 
 either from position, or from being protected by a 
 rocky base, have escaped being washed away by the 
 large and numerous streams that descend from the 
 slopes of the Pir Panjal to a junction with the Jylum, 
 and have furrowed and divided them, more or less, 
 throughout the whole length of the course of the 
 river. The height of the cliff, or precipitous bank, 
 around them, varies from about sixty to a hundred and 
 twenty feet. Here and there a remarkable hill, such 
 as that of Shupeyon, or Baba Hanuf-u-Din, and others, 
 rise from the plain, crowned with a shrine or a Musjid, 
 and a tuft of fir-trees, to give a pleasing variety to 
 the landscape, the whole, comparatively speaking, 
 being bare of forest. 
 
 There are six principal Karywahs — of which that 
 of Islamabad is the largest. On the opposite side of 
 the river is Zynapur, which I have already noticed. 
 The Shupeyon river descends between this Karywah 
 and that of No Nagur,* a verdant lawn, intersected 
 
 * No Nagur signifies a place or city where there are nine laks of 
 inhabitants. A name by which the former large population of Kary- 
 wah is expressed, but, of course, exaggerated.
 
 40 
 
 ANTIQUE BUILDING. 
 
 by two or three ravines, five or six miles long, by 
 three or four broad, without habitations, or scarcely 
 even a tree to vary its monotonous aspect. At its 
 foot, on the northern side of it, is the exquisite little 
 building at Pay Yech (the Yech's foot), a name cor- 
 rupted from Pandu Yer, or the place of the Pandus. 
 It may be visited either from the Shah's village of 
 Safur Nagur, from Shupeyon, or from Pampur; but, 
 although it lies out of the way, it should be seen, 
 being the most beautifully proportioned of the old 
 buildings in Kashmir. The annexed drawing is a 
 
 good representation of it. It will be observed, that 
 the roof has been partly displaced, which is said to 
 have been the result of an attempt made by the 
 Patans to take it down, and remove it to the city. 
 The interior and exterior ornaments are particularly
 
 RUINED SERAI. 41 
 
 elegant. The building is dedicated, I believe, to 
 Vishnu, as Surya, or the sun god ; small sitting figures 
 of whom are inserted in niches on the cornice outside. 
 The Garuda, or bird of Vishnu, or the Hansa, or 
 goose of Bramah, which it rather resembles, is ob- 
 servable on the reliefs. The ceiling of the interior 
 is radiated so as to represent the sun ; and at each 
 corner of the square, the space intervening between 
 the angle and the line of the circle is filled up with a 
 gin or attendant, who seems to be sporting at the 
 edge of his rays. 
 
 The Ramu river descends between the plains of 
 No Nagur and the Karywah of Khampur or Kanukpur, 
 named after a city founded by Kanishka four or five 
 centuries before Christ ; of which, however, I heard 
 nothing. 
 
 The Karywah of Khampur is smaller than that of 
 No Nagur. On it is a ruined serai, built by Akber, 
 which, with that at Shahju-Murg is in a direct line 
 between Shupeyon and the city. Near it is a small 
 village in the ravine, and still further off is a tunnel, 
 cut originally in the hard soil of the Karywah, for the 
 purposes of irrigation. 
 
 The Sung-i-Sufyd (white stone) or Chanz river 
 passes the village of Chodra (said in Kashmir to be 
 the birthplace of Nur J eh an Begum), and descends 
 to the city, between the lastmentioned Karywah and 
 that of Damudur-Udur, so called from a king of that 
 name, transformed into a snake by some Brahmins 
 who cursed him, because he would not give them 
 food until he had gone to bathe in the river, although 
 they offered to bring the river to him. He was said 
 to haunt a lake near the plain ; of which, however,
 
 42 SURVEY OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 some marshy ground is, at present, the only repre- 
 sentation ; but the tradition about the snake is still 
 alive.* This plain presents an unbroken surface of 
 more than three miles, by about half a mile in width. 
 
 Lieut, (now Capt.) Mackeson, the assistant of 
 Capt. Wade, the Sikh political agent at Lodiana, 
 pushed through the Baramula pass, which he care- 
 fully surveyed, into Kashmir, and, with the help of 
 Dr. Falconer, measured very correctly a base line of 
 three miles in length, on the Karywah of Damudnr ; 
 but he was shortly afterwards recalled to his poli- 
 tical duties at Peshawur. I had previously measured 
 smaller bases in different parts of the valley, but 
 the bearings which I was kindly permitted to take 
 from Damudur were the foundation of the survey, 
 which I afterwards completed, of the whole valley. 
 To the north of Damudur there is no regular Kary- 
 wah; but rice-fields, morass, and picturesque broken 
 ground, w r ooded and open, intervene between it and 
 Baramula. 
 
 As I approached the city from Pampur, after pass- 
 ing the trap rocks on the rugged base of the Pandu 
 Chakk mountain, I observed the Tukt-i-Suliman, an 
 isolated hill, about three-quarters of a mile in length, 
 and about four hundred and fifty feet in height, of the 
 same geological formation, and bare of trees, but 
 covered with long grass where the rock permitted it to 
 grow. It was divided from the lastmentioned moun- 
 tain by a wide gully, from which opens a view of 
 the city lake, and through which is constantly blow- 
 ing a breeze that must tend to prevent stagnation 
 of its waters. 
 
 • Vide Wilson's History of Kashmir. Asiat. Res. vol. xv.
 
 THE THRONE OF SOLOMON. 43 
 
 My attention was more particularly attracted by 
 the old Hindu temple on the summit of the Tukt, 
 or throne of Solomon, the magnificent, the prophet, 
 the mighty magician, whom all pious Musalmans be- 
 lieve to have been carried through the air on a throne 
 supported by Deyus, Dives, or Afrites, whom the 
 Almighty had made subservient to his will. 
 
 There are two eminences in this part of Asia 
 that bear the name of the Tukt-i-Suliman, in conse- 
 quence of the belief that his throne was set down 
 there for a time. I know of no miracles attributed 
 to him in the vicinity of the towering monarch of 
 the Sulimani range, through which I passed with 
 the Lohanis: many may exist, but I never heard 
 of them. In Kashmir, on the contrary, Solomon is 
 supposed by the Musalmans to have done wonders, 
 and to have drained the valley, through the instru- 
 mentality of one of his servants, a deo or gin, named 
 Kashuf, who is the Kusyapa of the Hindu history. 
 
 It will be sufficient for me to remark here that 
 the Rajah Taringini, or Raj Tarung, as it is termed 
 in the valley, is the principal history of its earlier 
 dynasties, being a series of compositions written by 
 different authors, and at different periods. It is the 
 only Indian history of any antiquity, and the only 
 Sanscrit composition yet discovered, to which such a 
 title can with any propriety be applied. It was first 
 introduced to the knowledge of the Mohamedans 
 by Abu Fuzl (the oriental Sully), and the talented 
 minister of that really great Monarch Akber, whose 
 stirrup, to use his own expression, he had three 
 times followed to the valley. The other principal 
 authority, amongst a few more, is the Wakiat-i-Kash-
 
 44 ETYMOLOGY OF KASHMIR. 
 
 mir, a history written by Mahomed Azirn in the year 
 1140. 
 
 But a general reader will not thank me for more 
 details on this subject, and the orientalist, who will 
 not be satisfied without them, must be referred 
 to Professor H. H. Wilson's well-known learned 
 History of Kashmir, where the different authorities 
 are most ably epitomized, so that the subject is 
 treated in full ; and also to Prinsep's useful Tables,* 
 where he will find the name of the king's of the 
 different dynasties and their dates also arranged in 
 the simplest manner, but such as to secure to the 
 reader the full benefit of that writer's scientific 
 perseverance. 
 
 A word or two on the name of the noble province 
 I looked down upon from the Tukt-i-Suliman will 
 not be misplaced here. It must have been remarked 
 by many of my readers that the word Kush is of very 
 common occurrence in the east ; we have Kush in 
 Mesopotamia and Arabia ; Ethiopia was also called 
 Kush ; and we have Kashmir pronounced rather 
 as Kashmir by the natives. 
 
 Kashghar is a city in Mogulistan. Chitral is called 
 Little Kashghar by the Afghans, and the country on 
 the south of the Panjal between, on the north side of the 
 Banibal pass, is also called Kush. The word Kush 
 again differs, it may be remarked, from Kosh, from 
 which the word Kaucasus (hodie Hindu Kosh) was 
 originally formed, and which is applied occasionally 
 as a prefix, as Kosh-Gau, the Yak or ox of the moun- 
 tains or Kaucasus Kashi or Kushi is also the old 
 name of Benares ; Lieut. Wood has noticed a place 
 called Ish-Kashm, at the entrance of the valley 
 
 * No library table can be considered complete without them.
 
 FIRE-WORSHIP. 
 
 45 
 
 of Wakan ;* and I passed a place called Kashek in 
 Hasara. And I have no doubt that the same name 
 may be found, probably as a compound, in many 
 other places. 
 
 Again ; the word Ceis, as there is no K in the 
 old Irish, which is probably of Phoenician origin, is 
 commonly pronounced Keish, and signifies rent or tri- 
 bute, and, when corrupted into Cash, is prefixed to the 
 names of several places in Ireland ; as Cashel, from 
 Ceis, " tribute," and ceil, " a stone ;" the rock of 
 Cashel having in former times been the place where 
 tribute was paid. Cushendal, again, signifies the 
 plain of tribute, Dal being a plain or level country. 
 
 In Ireland, by-the-by, as we are on Western as 
 well as Eastern subjects, a remnant of the fire-worship 
 exists, I am informed, at the present day, on the 
 Baal tide, or Midsummer fires, when both childrent 
 (as in Scripture) and cattle are passed between the 
 fires, to do away with the influence of evil spirits. 
 
 "I suspect," says Sir William Jones, "the whole 
 fable of Kasyapa and his progeny to be astronomical, 
 and cannot but imagine that the Greek name Cassio- 
 peia has a relation to \t."X Mr. Maurice, in his 
 " Indian Antiquities/' would identify Kasyapa with the 
 Seth of Moses, and thinks that he was doubtless a 
 Brahmin who flourished in the earliest aires, of the 
 world, invented the Indian system of astronomy, and 
 formed its zodiac, himself being immortalized, though 
 in a female form, and in a different mythology, in the 
 Cassiopeia of our present sphere, one of the oldest of 
 the constellations. He also thinks him to have been 
 
 * Vide Journey to the Oxus, p. 322. 
 
 | Deut. xviii. 10. 
 
 $ Asiat. Res. vol. i., p. 268 ; Moor's Pantheon, p. 280.
 
 46 THE EMPEROR BABER. 
 
 one of the divine sages who, according to the Hindu 
 fable, went with Menu (Noah) into the ark fabricated 
 by the command of Vishnu ; and adds, moreover, his 
 opinion, that whether antediluvian or postdiluvian, he 
 was also probably the genuine Atlas of antiquity. 
 Referring, however, my readers for the reasons of 
 these surmises to the work itself I would venture to 
 give another and not improbable origin of the name, 
 if it came from the West at all. Kush was the son of 
 Ham, and grandson of Noah : Gen. x. 8, " Cush begat 
 Nimrod,he began to be mighty upon the earth.'* Nim- 
 rod is supposed to be identical with Belus, the begin- 
 ning of whose kingdom was Babel, i. e. Babylon,whence 
 his name and power, and probably his descendants, 
 must have spread over different countries to the east- 
 ward. 
 
 Kashmir is called Kha-che-Yul by the Bultis, or 
 Little Tibetians, and the natives are designated by 
 them as Kha-chhe-pa. 
 
 By the Gilghites the word Kashir is used both 
 for the people and the country. 
 
 The Emperor Baber, in his Memoirs says, that 
 the hill-country along the upper course of the Sind or 
 Indus was formerly inhabited by a race of men called 
 Kas ; and he conjectures that, from a corruption of the 
 name, the country of Kashmir was so called as being 
 the country of the Kas. His English translator, Ley- 
 den, remarks in the introduction, that the city of 
 Kashghar may have derived its name from the same 
 origin, and that the country of the Kas was the Casia 
 Regio and Kasii Montes (he speaks from a Latin 
 translation only) of Ptolemy. The name appears to 
 be so general that I cannot help thinking it probable 
 that it had one and the same origin, although it may
 
 DIVISIONS OF THE VALLEY. 47 
 
 be now spelt differently in different countries. The 
 word Kashmir is Kashuf-mir, the country of Kashuf, 
 as Kasyapa is called by the Mahomedans: so, at 
 least, the Shah Sahib and other authorities in the 
 valley used to inform me, and such is, no doubt, the 
 immediate derivation of the name, and it is also so 
 given by professor Wilson. The other derivation 
 is from the Hindu name Kasyapa-pur (the Kaananvpos of 
 Herodotus), and as the p and m are commutable (the 
 latter being the nasal of the class of labials p, b, 
 &c), the name Kasyapa-pur, or as it is commonly 
 pronounced Kashup-pur, was easily changed, as the 
 Rev. Mr. Renouard* has observed to me, into Kash- 
 amur and Kashmir. 
 
 The two great divisions of the valley are called 
 Miraj (lying to the southward of aline drawn through 
 the Wulur lake, from Bundurpur and along the river 
 to Baramula) and Kamraj (to the north of the same 
 line) the latter being by far the smaller division. 
 
 These names do not appear, I believe, in any of the 
 old histories of Kashmir, and they must, therefore, be 
 of more modern origin, perhaps derived from the 
 names of some chief who ruled in either. But I am 
 more inclined to think that Kamraj is Kama Raj, the 
 territory of Kama, the god of love, and Miraj is Maya 
 Raj, or that of his mother Maya or Luksmi, the con- 
 sort of Vishnu. 
 
 It will be seen, by a reference to the books I have 
 mentioned, that India is supposed to have been in- 
 vaded successively by Osiris (Hercules Belus of 
 Cicerot), by Semiramis, Sesostris, and Ogyges — 
 probably a name of Oghuz Khan, the Scythian, whose 
 
 * Sec. to the Royal Geo. Soc. 
 f De Natura Deorum, lib. iii.
 
 48 TAMERLANE IN KASHMIR. 
 
 historian, Abalghazi, a Tartar, relates that after 
 establishing the religion of Japhet in his own domi- 
 nions, and in those of Tibet, Tanjat, Kitay, and other 
 states immediately adjoining, he conquered Irak, 
 Babylon, Azerbijan, and Armenia ; and, at last, in- 
 vaded India, and endeavoured to enter Kashmir, but 
 was prevented at first by the determined resistance of 
 a prince Jagma — (probably of Jamu); but that he took 
 the valley after a year's resistance, and massacred the 
 inhabitants, and afterwards returned to his own domi- 
 nions, via Badakshan. Kashmir was ruled by three 
 Tartar princes about 150— 100 years b. c* 
 
 Mahmud of Ghuzni, a. d. 997, it is said, was at first 
 foiled in his attempts to conquer Kashmir, but made 
 himself master of it, and the hilly provinces in the 
 vicinity, in 1014-15.t We have the authority of Abu 
 Fuzl for remarking that Kashmir was invaded from 
 Tibet in the reign of Sinha Deva, a. d. 1275. 
 
 It might have been supposed that Kashmir must 
 have been subjugated by Tamerlane, 1393, when he 
 invaded India ; but I have met with no notice of its 
 conquest by him. And Abu Fuzl mentions that Timur 
 sent Sultan Sikundur ten elephants, and that the 
 latter wished to have an interview with Timur, and 
 started for that purpose ; but hearing that it had been 
 reported to Timur, that he was bringing with him 
 30,000 horses as a present, he made an excuse and 
 went back again. 
 
 Abu Fuzl also mentions that the generals of the 
 Emperor Baber (a. d. 1494) invaded the valley ; that 
 they were at first victorious, but that the insurrections 
 of the natives would not allow them to establish them- 
 
 * Vide Prinsep's Tables, p. 101. 
 I Vide Sir J. Malcolm's Persia.
 
 INVADERS OF THE VALLEY. 49 
 
 selves there ; they, therefore, accepted a contribution 
 in money, and left the country. His son, Humayun, 
 took it ; but the people turned against his troops, and 
 they were obliged to leave it. 
 
 The invasion of Mirza Hyder, via Tibet and Lar, 
 in company with Sikundur Khan, of Kashghar, and 
 recorded by Mr. Moorcroft on the stone slab at Bud- 
 shah's tomb, took place a.d. 1523. He afterwards 
 took service under Humayun, and by his means, the 
 Emperor regained possession of the valley a.d. 1543. 
 His son Akber (the Great) annexed it to the Mogul 
 empire a.d. 1588. 
 
 The possession of the valley passed from the 
 house of Delhi, after the invasion of Nadir Shah, a. d. 
 1739, to that of the Amirs of Kabul ; it was first taken 
 by Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1752 without opposition; 
 and in 1763 he again sent a force to the valley, re- 
 took it from the governor Suk-Juwan, who had paid 
 him no tribute for nine years, and whom he punished 
 with the loss of his eyes.* 
 
 In the reign of Timour Shah, Abdullah Khan was 
 sent from Kabul, as governor of the valley. His 
 master died after he had been there a year, and after 
 four years, he was summoned to Kabul on a charge of 
 extortion. The Rajah of Kathai in the Baramula 
 pass was his friend, and, as I have heard the story, he 
 seduced Mulah Ahmed, in whose charge Abdullah 
 Khan was travelling to Kabul, to his house, under 
 pretence of giving hiin his daughter in marriage, and 
 so made him prisoner, giving Abdullah Khan an op- 
 portunity of escaping back to the valley ; which he 
 did, and made himself independent for seven years, 
 
 * Vide Prinsep's Runjit Singh, p. 26. 
 VOL. II. E
 
 50 RELIGION OF KASHMIR. 
 
 maintaining an army of 12,000 foot, and 7000 horse ; 
 
 and was able (for he was popular in the country) to 
 
 muster a much larger force of irregulars. He died, 
 
 I believe, as sovereign of the valley. 
 
 The manner in which Runjit Singh took the 
 
 valley in 1819, has been already noticed. The Gurus, 
 
 or priests of the sikhs, now read the Gurunth, or sikh 
 
 bible, in different places within it. 
 
 The religion of Kashmir has been frequently 
 
 changed. Buddhism was introduced by Asoka in 
 250 b. c. Castes were adopted by Jaloka, his suc- 
 cessor; the Naga or Snake worship was followed by 
 the re-establishment of Buddhism, under the Tartar 
 princes ; and the Brahminical or Hindu religion was 
 introduced by Abhimanyu, b. c. 73, and snake- wor- 
 ship was subseqently resumed under Gonerda III.* 
 It is now, by the Hindus, considered to be much cor- 
 rupted with regard to religion, on account of its long 
 intercourse with Mohammedans. 
 
 Shah Mir, the minister of the Hindu king, Sena 
 Deva, became first Musalman king of Kashmir, a. d. 
 1315, under the name of Shums-u-Din — the sun of 
 the faith. 
 
 The Kashmirians say that the country was con- 
 verted to the doctrines of Mahomet 700 years ago, by 
 a fakir named Bulbul Shah, of whom, however, I 
 know of no traces in any book. They say that he 
 lived 700 years ago (which would bring us to a period 
 long antecedent to that of Shums-u-Din), and came 
 via Tibet to Kashmir — that at the time, a great 
 Hindu entitled Uaki was king of the valley, and his 
 son Uyntun Shah, was converted to the faith of 
 * Vide Prinsep's Tables.
 
 RELIGION OF KASHMIR. 51 
 
 Islam by the fakir, and then killed all the Hindus, 
 excepting- eleven families. Another version of the 
 story, conducting- to the same result, is, that a Hindu 
 woman went to the river to draw water, and when she 
 had placed the vessel on her head, the son of Budshah 
 (the king) let fly an arrow at it, and the water was 
 instantly changed to ice, although the vessel was 
 broken. She told her father of this ; the holy man 
 prayed, and Budshah's son was taken ill, and he was 
 given to understand that the arrow was the cause of 
 his malady. He ordered the Hindus to eat cold food, 
 eat pickles, and learn Persian — until then, not spoken 
 in the valley. All but eleven families, so it is related, 
 refused to obey, and were killed or forced to fly. A 
 fakir ihen told Budshah that as he had put so many 
 Hindus to death he would be ill ; which prediction 
 came to pass. The fakir was sent for as a physician, 
 but Budshah died. 
 
 There is much confusion in these accounts. 
 Ryntun Shah may have been Runjun, son of the king 
 of Tibet, who invaded Kashmir in the reign of Sena 
 Deva, made himself king, and turned Musalman, as 
 above mentioned, under the name of Shums-u-Din. 
 
 In the second story (Zyn-ul Ab-ud-Din) who was 
 called Budshah, or the king, par excellence, may have 
 been mistaken for his father, Sikundur But-Shekun, 
 of whom it is related that he did put to death all the 
 Hindus who refused to become converts to Islam. 
 We know, however, that such a person as Balbul 
 Shah did exist, because his tomb is to be seen near 
 the Eyla Kudal, a bridge in the city, and is known by 
 the name of Bulbul Sankur. We know, also, that the 
 two great divisions of Hindus in Kashmir, up to this 
 time, are those of the Malamasis, and the Baruhmasis. 
 
 e2
 
 52 RELIGION OF KASHMIR. 
 
 In consequence of the persecutions just mentioned,* 
 it became necessary to send for a fresh colony of 
 Hindus from the Panjab, to cultivate the ground. 
 According- to the story, Budshah suddenly revived, 
 and the fakir as suddenly died ; his spirit having 
 passed into the body of Budshah, who gave orders to 
 bring some more Hindus from the plains. 
 
 The words Malamasis and Baruhmasis have refer- 
 ence to the different measurements of time, as used 
 in the plains of India or the Panjab, and the valley of 
 Kashmir. Lunar computation of thirteen months 
 was used by the Hindus in the valley ; and the inter- 
 calary month, which it became necessary to interpose 
 at the end of every three years, was called the Mala- 
 Masa, the foul or unhallowed month, — resembling the 
 Dies Nefasti of the Romans, there being no religious 
 rites to be performed in it. 
 
 Baruh, signifying twelve, had reference to the 
 twelve calendar months, as used by the new comers. 
 The Malamasis, or those of the old stock, are the 
 strictest Hindus, and are followers of Siva and Vishnu, 
 confining themselves to the practice of their religion. 
 The tradesmen and munshis, &c, are generally Ba- 
 ruhmasis. With regard to the Musalmans, Mahomet, 
 in the Koran, says, the complete number of months 
 with God is twelve months, which were ordained in 
 the book of God on the day wherein he created the 
 
 * It would not be unreasonable to surmise that the origin of the 
 modern gipsies might be traced to the Kashmirian Hindus who 
 quitted the valley after these persecutions, which took place in 
 1396 — 1400. The Zingarri or gipsies, it is related by Arabschah, 
 in his life of Tamerlane, existed at Samarkand in 1422. Vide 
 Borrow's Gipsies, vol. i., p. 33 ; or they may have been the descend- 
 ants of the Buddhists, who quitted the valley when persecuted by 
 Nara, or Kinnara, b. c. 29B. Vide Prinsep's Tables, p. 102.
 
 WINE AND WOMEN OF KASHMIR. 53 
 
 heavens and the earth.* Possibly the Hindus of 
 India had followed the example of their Maho- 
 medan conquerors, and thus brought with them to 
 Kashmir a year divided into twelve months. About 
 four hundred years had elapsed since the invasions of 
 Hindustan by Mahmud, and the probable time of 
 their arrival in the valley. 
 
 The great epic poems of the Maha Barat and the 
 Bhagavata, or life of Krishna, and other Sanscrit 
 works, make mention of Kashmir as a country of 
 eminent Katri Rajahs t and learned men. But inde- 
 pendently of its own recorded claims to the greatest 
 antiquity, the situation of Kashmir is sufficient, I 
 think, to convince any one that it must have been a 
 place of the utmost notoriety from the very earliest 
 ages. The fame of its wine, its women, and its 
 verdant plains, must soon have extended to the 
 deserts of Central Asia, and other regions on the 
 north of the Hindu Kosh, and the inhabitants of the 
 parched plains of Hindustan, who considered the 
 animals around them as the victims of a justly gra- 
 duated scale of retributive punishment, must soon 
 
 * Taylor's History of Mohammedisni, p. 1 22 ; also Prinsep's Tables, 
 part 2, p. 13. 
 
 + The Katri or Rajputs are the second in rank of the four principal 
 classes of the Hindus. First, are the Brahmins or priests, who alone 
 may read the Vedas. Secondly, Khutri, or kings and warriors, who 
 are allowed to hear them read. Thirdly, Bhysas or Baniahs, who 
 are engaged in commercial pursuits, and the Sudras who comprehend 
 the labourers and artisans. These two last can only read the Shasters 
 or commentaries on the Vedas. The Chandalas, or those who have 
 lost caste, or, like the Watul or Gipsies of Kashmir, have no caste, 
 are not allowed to enter a temple, or be present at any religious 
 ceremony.
 
 54 CHARACTER OF THE HINDU. 
 
 have learned to regard it as a terrestrial paradise, and 
 a Khetr,* in the vicinity of Kylas.t 
 
 The habits, the prejudices, and the apathy of the 
 Hindus are partly the results of climate, and are partly 
 attributable to the force of their superstitions. Tra- 
 dition and priestcraft unite to enjoin the observance 
 of the most awful and imposing 1 ceremonies, by 
 the strength of which their souls are knitted to the 
 faith of their fathers, and of the truth of which, 
 but for the interference of foreign invasion, none 
 would ever have entertained a doubt. The reasoning 
 powers in the mind of a Hindu, could seldom, 
 excepting in the larger towns, be fairly exercised. 
 A pilgrimage to the Ganges, or other holy place, is 
 their only inducement to travel, and whatever the 
 distance maybe, it is performed in their own country; 
 and those who wish them good speed, are their 
 co-religionists and their brethren in every particular 
 connected with their theology. 
 
 The Hindu is born to the profession of a belief 
 that presents some extraordinary anomalies. Unlike 
 other sects, it is only with the greatest difficulty, if at 
 all, that a proselyte can be admitted. A Brahmin 
 must be the child of a Brahmin, &c, and whilst his 
 religion professes to persecute no other, and to 
 believe that all persuasions must be more or less 
 good, because none could have existed had not it 
 pleased the Almighty that they should exist, it con- 
 fines its votaries to the soil and the air of Hindustan, 
 
 * A Khetr is a term used in Bengal for the precincts or neighbour- 
 hood of a holy place. 
 
 f Kylas is the heaven of Siva, placed by the Hindus upon the 
 eternal snows of the Himalaya.
 
 CHARACTER OF THE KASHMIRIAN. 55 
 
 by imposing a penalty of the utter loss of caste upon 
 those who cross to the westward of its boundary 
 stream. 
 
 If it be not, therefore, a matter of wonder, that, 
 in a land so redolent of exclusive superstitions, every 
 place in any way remarkable should be considered 
 as sacred to some one or other of them, and we cannot 
 be surprised to find that the Panjals of Kashmir 
 surround a province where the partial and untravelled 
 inhabitants imagine that their Abanar and Pharpar 
 are better than all the waters of Israel, and have 
 fondly placed there the localities of several traditions, 
 which, if they could boast of any foundation at all, 
 may with greater reason be claimed by those of 
 different and distant countries. 
 
 The Kashmirian is somewhat of the spirit of the 
 people of ancient Rome. 
 
 " Sic fautor veterum ut tabulas peccare vetantes, 
 Pontificum libros annosa volumina vatum, 
 Dictitet Albano Musas in monte locutas," 
 
 (Hor. Ep. lib. ii., Ep. 1, v. 23.) 
 
 has created the source of an imaginary Ganges in the 
 Gunga Bui. The scene of the abduction of Sita by 
 Ravana, is laid in the forests beneath the peaks of 
 Sita Sar, and the bursting forth of the fountains of 
 Venemal and Kamul* at Martund, are attributed to 
 the finding and breaking of a miniature mundane egg 
 upon the plains of the valley after its desiccation. 
 Gray's often quoted Alcaics, 
 
 " Presentiorum et conspicimus Deum," &c. 
 
 * Venemal is a name of Visbnu or Narayun, i. e., moving on the 
 waters ; and Kamul or Kawul is the lotus.
 
 56 CHARACTER OF THE KASHMIRIAN. 
 
 were never better exemplified. The Hindu, who 
 like the Indian of America, " Sees God in clouds, 
 and hears him in the wind," has justly deemed Kash- 
 mir a fitting residence for his numerous divinities. 
 He recognises the presence of the Destroyer, in the 
 earthquake, the lightning, the snow-storm, and the 
 flood ; he hails the Preserver, in the return of the 
 seasons and the sunbeam ; he cradles the mighty 
 Vishnu upon the leaf, and the emblems of the Crea- 
 tion within the cup, of every lotus-flower that rests 
 upon his crystal lakes ; and acknowledges the 
 power of the Creator in all that is animate or inani- 
 mate around him. His appetite for the marvellous, 
 the' love of his much-admired fatherland, from which 
 he has never been desirous of wandering, have 
 united to make him believe that it contains a Samos 
 or a Delphi for every god and goddess of his pan- 
 theon ; and it is but in accordance with this faith, that 
 his imagination has fondly assigned to many of them, 
 as the Dii topici of the country, a local habitation, 
 and a permanent home in each spot and district of 
 his native valley.
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Throne of Solomon — Singular Building 1 on its Summit — Panoramic 
 View of the Valley — Fort of Kashmir — Exquisite Scenery — 
 Aspect of the City — Moore's Description of the Valley — Beau- 
 tiful Lake — The far-famed Shalimar — Floating Gardens — 
 Scenery of the Valley — Course of the Jylum — The Great Lake 
 — Kashmir not India — Tiger-hunting and Muligatani — The 
 British Flag in Kashmir — Its consequences — The Apple-tree 
 Canal — Ruined Floodgate — The Amir's Bridge — Fort and oc- 
 tagonal Tower — Visiting Etiquette — Importance of Display — 
 Runjit Singh — A jolly Rajah — Horrible Cruelty — A Wife baked 
 alive by her Husband — A Rajah murdered — Huri Singh — Kupar 
 Ram — Treachery of Runjit — A deposed Rajah — The Great 
 Earthquake — The King of the Panjab — Hindu Ruins — Destruc- 
 tion of Public Buildings by Fanaticism — Tomb of Budshale — 
 Lallah Rookh — Jehan Gir — First Mosque erected in Kashmir — 
 The Great Mosque — Kashmirian Legend — Beautiful Tomb — 
 Singular Sacrifice of a Boy — The Huri Purbut — The City of the 
 Lake — The Fruits of Kashmir — Climate of Kashmir — Curious 
 Canal — Public Buildings — Floating Gardens — The Prophet's 
 Hair — The sacred Mule — The five immortal Animals — The 
 Feast of Roses — Other Feasts of the Hindus in Kashmir — Noble 
 Grove — Growth of the Chunar — Enormous one in Persia.
 
 THE THRONE OF SOLOMON. 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Tukt-i-Suliman, so called by the Musalmans, is 
 called Sir-i-Shur, or Siva's head, by the Hindus, in 
 contradistinction to Huri-purbut, the hill of Huri, or 
 Vishnu on the opposite of the city. It is also known 
 by the name of Sankara Char, a pious Hindu, who 
 was supposed to be an incarnation of Siva ; or it might 
 be so named from Sankara and Chacra, two kings 
 who reigned in Kashmir, a.d. 954-6. 
 
 The founder of the old building upon this hill is 
 already mentioned. Its summit has been damaged, 
 but its general figure has been that of a cone with 
 four sides, formed by the rectangular adjustment of 
 eight gable-shaped slabs of masonry, the surface of 
 the outer slab being much less than that of the inner 
 one. The cone, which is about twenty-five ^eet in 
 height, with a proportionate base, rests upon an octa- 
 gonal raised platform, whose wall is about ten or 
 twelve feet above the rock on which it is built, and 
 whose circumference may be about one hundred feet ; 
 a handsome flight of steps, formed, as the whole build- 
 ing is, of limestone, leads from the ground to the door 
 of the temple. At a little distance below the latter 
 building, which rises on the very summit of the Tukt, 
 are some ruins that indicate the existence of another 
 edifice of the same materials.
 
 60 THE THRONE OF SOLOMON. 
 
 The interior has been plastered over and white- 
 washed by the Sikhs, and it is said that beneath it 
 there is an older inscription ; but there is one in Per- 
 sian which informs us that a fakir resided there, 
 who called himself the water-carrier to king Solomon, 
 and was in the habit of descending every day to the 
 lake, for the purpose of drawing water, A foot- 
 path leads up the ascent from the city side ; and 
 from the other, a good hill-pony can carry its rider 
 to the summit. I knew the footpath well, as, for al- 
 most every day during a month, I used to ride out 
 from the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan,* in order to com- 
 plete the panoramic drawing of the valley from the 
 shoulder of the Tukt, where I frequently disturbed 
 the red-legged partridges on the ascent ; and once, 
 upon turning a corner, I was nearly struck by a 
 covey that were flying round it at their greatest 
 speed, in order to escape from the pursuit of an 
 eagle. 
 
 The formation of the hill is of trap, and a beau- 
 tiful amygdaloid is found on its summit, which juts 
 out in every direction through the grass and wild 
 rose-bushes. The Kashmirians say, that roses and 
 almonds thrive there. 
 
 Softness, mantling over the sublime — snugness, 
 generally elsewhere incompatible with extent — are 
 the prevailing characteristics of the scenery of Kash- 
 mir ; and verdure and the forest appear to have de- 
 serted the countries on the northward, in order to 
 embellish the slopes from its snowy mountains, give 
 additional richness to its plains, and combine with its 
 
 * A garden laid out originally by a Patan of that name, and usually 
 assigned as quarters to any European visiter of the valley.
 
 PANORAMIC VIEW. 61 
 
 delightful climate to render it not unworthy of the 
 rhyming epithets applied to it in the east, of — 
 
 " Kashmir, — bi-nuzir, — without an equal, 
 Kashmir, — junat puzir, — equal to Paradise." 
 
 Beautiful indeed is the panoramic view that 
 meets the eye of the spectator from the summit of 
 that Tukt-i-Suliman, and which taken far and near 
 is one 
 
 " Sweet interchange 
 Of hill and valley, rivers, woods and plains, 
 Now land, now lake, and shores with forest crowned, 
 Rocks, dens, and caves." — Par. Lost, book ix., v. 115. 
 
 The city, which lies to the north-west, may be said 
 to commence at the foot of this hill ; and on the other 
 side of it, two miles to the northward, is the fort of 
 Kashmir, built upon Huri Purbut, whose top is about 
 two hundred and fifty feet above the level of the 
 lake, which occupies the space that intervenes be- 
 tween these two "portals of light," and the mountains 
 surrounding the valley. 
 
 The aspect of the city itself is curious, but not 
 particularly striking. It presents an innumerable 
 assemblage of gable-ended houses, interspersed with 
 the pointed and metallic tops of musjis or mosques, 
 melon-grounds, sedgy inlets from the lake, and nar- 
 row canals, fringed with rows of willows and poplars. 
 The surface of the lake itself is perfectly tranquil, 
 and the very vivid reflections which cover its surface, 
 are only disturbed by the dabbling of wild fowl, or 
 the rippling that follows the track of the distant boat. 
 At one glance we have before us the whole of the 
 local ties described in Lallah Rookh. I use the word
 
 62 LALLAH ROOKH. 
 
 described, for there is great justness in the ideas of 
 scenery to be collected from the poem; and after mak- 
 ing proper allowances for the former prosperity of the 
 valley, I thought that the departure from truth on the 
 score of ornament, was far less wide than might have 
 been expected, from a perusal of Mr. Moore's poem. 
 
 The margin of the lake, which from its north- 
 ern and southern extremities is nearly five miles in 
 length, by about two-and-a-half in width, is flat, 
 verdant, and open, usually edged with willows, pop- 
 lars, and other trees, that are numerous only here and 
 there ; so that the eye is immediately attracted by the 
 thicker masses of foliage that form the gardens of 
 Nasim and Nishat, and the far-famed Shalimar. 
 Amongst them sparkles the white pavilion on the 
 isle of Chunars ; otherwise, the Rupa Lank or Silver 
 Island ; and on another green spot is the Sona Lank 
 or Golden Island. The large platform of the ruined 
 building called Kutlina or the Peri Mahal is situated 
 on the southern shore, and on the northern, be- 
 tween the Nasim and the Shalimar, are seen the 
 terraces of two other gardens, now neglected and 
 in ruins. Numerous villages on the edge of the 
 water, surrounded with walnuts and chunars, are 
 taken into the coup-d'ceil ; a green causeway which is 
 extended across it is an object of attraction ; but we 
 look upon the famed floating gardens of Kashmir, 
 without being able to distinguish them from the green 
 and richly-cultivated grounds upon that edge of the 
 water which borders upon the city. 
 
 A precipitous but verdant range of about 2000 
 feet in height, is continued from the Panel u Chakk 
 mountain, and circles round the lake to the north-
 
 SCENERY OF THE VALLEY. 63 
 
 ward, commencing its rise at about a mile from its 
 shores, until it has surrounded that portion of its 
 circumference which is extended between the Tukt, 
 and the Shalimar. There it ceases, and a far higher 
 range, part of the Panjal, a mile or two further from 
 the lake, is continued from the sides of the inter- 
 vening valleys, and is, in fact, part of the greater 
 range that surrounds Kashmir, being overtopped by 
 two or three snowy peaks, whose presence contributes 
 not a little to the peculiar beauty of the scene. 
 
 It must be recollected that we are upon an ele- 
 vation in the centre of one of the sides of the valley ; 
 that it is ninety miles in length, with a varying 
 breadth ; and that it is surrounded on every side by 
 a towering wall of mountains, the summits of a great 
 proportion of which are usually covered with snow. 
 Karywahs, cornfields, rice-grounds, meadows, and 
 morasses, occupy the centre of the valley ; they are 
 all brightly tinted in the foreground, but, in the dis- 
 tance, recede into one uniform blue. Innumerable 
 villages, and several isolated hills, are scattered over 
 the landscape. Those of Shupeyon and Islamabad 
 are prominent objects on the south, more than twenty 
 miles distant; and northward, the rounded summit 
 of Aha-Thung conceals its own beautiful lake, and 
 half the line of the Wulur. The line of beauty was 
 never more faithfully depicted in landscape than by 
 the course of the broad and beautiful Jylum ; the 
 " fabulosus Hydaspes," of the Augustan age. So re- 
 gular, without being too much so, are its windings 
 as it approaches the city from the southward ; so just 
 are the length and curvature of its sweeps, and so 
 well proportioned are its width, and the space it oc-
 
 64 SCENERY OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 cupies to the extent of the rich Savannah through 
 which it flows ; so tranquil and lake-like is the sur- 
 face of the water; that at first sight, we cannot divest 
 ourselves of the idea that nature has called in the 
 assistance of art, and has ornamented the scenery 
 beneath us with reference to the most approved 
 principles of landscape gardening. 
 
 The river passes within half a mile of the foot 
 of the Tukt, and is nearly two hundred and fifty 
 yards in width, before it enters the city. Its banks 
 are fringed with willows, and among them is a 
 summer-house, with a white cupola, built by the Sikh 
 governor, Huri Singh. An avenue of poplars of 
 nearly a mile in length, runs through the cornfields 
 parallel to it, from the foot of the Tukt, to the Amir's 
 bridge; close to which is the Shyr Gurh (the city 
 fort), or residence of the governor, at the entrance of 
 the city, where the stream narrows to about eighty 
 yards ; and beyond it to the N. W., we trace it by 
 occasional glimpses, nearly as far as the great lake, 
 through which it passes on its way to Baramula, and 
 its exit. The Wulur or Great Lake is twenty miles 
 distant, and we perceive it only as a narrow r streak 
 of water, projecting from the north side of the valley, 
 which is too much abreast of us to allow a o-ood view 
 of the higher mountains behind it ; but the gigantic 
 Haramuk rises to the northward with great majesty, 
 on the other side of the pass, through which the 
 Sind river descends to the valley, and upon whose 
 banks the Duras pass commences. The hoary range 
 of the Pir Panjal, in front, is joined with the moun- 
 tains of Kishtawar on the south, and on the north- 
 west is continued into the still more snowy peaks of
 
 KASHMIR NOT INDIA. 65 
 
 Durawur, and the Dartlu country, between the Kis- 
 henganga and the left bank of Indus, so as to form 
 but one vast mural Cordillera, and a fitting boundary 
 for the noblest valley in the world. 
 
 The long slopes to the base of the Panjal are 
 covered, as I have before remarked, with dense 
 forests of pine and deodar, from four to eight miles 
 in width, amongst which the hand of man has been 
 sparingly exercised. Below these is a rugged country 
 intersected by ravines, and furrowed by mountain 
 torrents in their passage downwards to the Jylum. 
 Nearer, and more in the centre of the valley, are the 
 open raised downs or Karywahs, already noticed ; 
 and at the foot of these, again are extended the rich, 
 open, arable, and meadow land, whose surface has no 
 doubt been gradually lowered by the flowing of the 
 Jylum, from that of the raised alluvium. 
 
 Kashmir is not India. That gorgeous land whose 
 statistics were once watched with all the vigilance and 
 jealousy of party spirit, whose interests were treated 
 with a thrilling eloquence, and having once excited 
 the warm and universal sympathies of the inhabitants 
 of Britain, has long ceased, while in peace and at 
 rest, to revive, in the mind of the many, any idea be- 
 yond that of tiger-hunting and Mulligatani. It is 
 still the hotbed of chivalry, though no longer the 
 region of romance ; and though presenting to the 
 world an example of organized dominion, entirely 
 without parallel in the annals of history, it is only able 
 to command a general attention to its welfare, through 
 the medium of a sudden blast of triumph from the 
 trumpets of war. 
 
 But the interests of such a place as Kashmir are 
 
 VOL. II. f
 
 66 THE ENGLISH IN KASHMIR. 
 
 of a different nature. I have endeavoured to point 
 out its attractions for the antiquarian, the historian, 
 the architect, and the geologist. Its traditions are 
 coeval with the Flood ; its history is probably as 
 ancient as any other, excepting that of Moses ; its 
 monarchs have led their conquering armies to the 
 subjugation of India, Ceylon, and Tibet, and even to 
 parts of China ; its ruined masonry has been described 
 as a novelty ; and, considered as a basaltic basin, the 
 magnificence of its mere outline has enough in it to 
 rivet the attention of the geologist. But there is an 
 interest of increased importance in store for it, and I 
 think it not difficult to descry upon the horizon, the 
 dawn of a political consequence far greater than any 
 to which it has ever been destined by the warmest of 
 its oriental admirers. 
 
 One of the first results of the planting of the 
 British flag on the ramparts of the Huri Purbut would 
 probably be a rush of people, particularly Kash- 
 mirians, to the valley, in numbers sufficient for a time 
 toaffect the price of provisions. The next would be 
 the desertion of Simla, as a Sanitarium, in favour of 
 Kashmir. The news of its occupation by the Queen's 
 troops in India would spread through the East with a 
 rapidity unequalled, excepting in the regions of the 
 telegraph and the steam-engine : it would be looked 
 upon as the accomplishment of the one thing needful 
 for the consolidation of the British power in Northern 
 India; and the respect for the name, and a wish for 
 the friendship and alliance, of England, would increase 
 in proportion to the belief in the fruitlessness of any 
 subsequent attempt at dispossession. 
 
 It was, I believe, soon after the occupation of
 
 ADVANTAGES OF KASHMIR. 67 
 
 Delhi by the British troops, (I do not know the date 
 of the year,) that a mission from Kashmir, with a re- 
 quest that the Company's government would take the 
 country under its protection, arrived in that city ; 
 but its object was unsuccessful, as the government of 
 the time, did not think it expedient to lend a favourable 
 ear to their proposals. To say that, had they done 
 so, the East India Company might have long since 
 been in possession of the Panjab, and friendly rela- 
 tions have been established with the court of Kabul, 
 is an assertion based perhaps upon no unreasonable 
 conjecture. 
 
 Kashmir enjoys the singular advantage of being at 
 the same time both a fortress * and a magazine ; and 
 although the battle for the valley would be fought on 
 the outside of it, yet the progress of an invading 
 power might be opposed step by step, as it often has 
 been, from the mountain summits around each of its 
 passes. 
 
 When a road is made through the pass from 
 Baramula to Dhurumtawur, an army of any strength, 
 and most perfectly appointed, may be marched, in 
 from four to six days, from the healthy atmosphere 
 of Kashmir, to defend the passages of Attok or Tor- 
 bela ; and with such protection on the north, Bombay 
 as the capital of India on the south, and the Indus 
 between them, the British possessions in Hindustan 
 ought to be as safe from foreign invasion from the 
 westward, as such an extended line of frontier can 
 possibly be made to render them. 
 
 But Kashmir not only deserves attention as a 
 
 * Invading- artillery could not enter it in the present state of the 
 roads. 
 
 f2
 
 68 PROSPECTS FOR KASHMIR. 
 
 stronghold in time of war ; it is to the arts of peace that 
 this fine province will be indebted, for a more solid and 
 lasting, though less gorgeous celebrity, than it enjoyed 
 under the emperors of Delhi. The finest breeds of 
 horses and cattle of every description, may be reared 
 upon its extensive mountain-pastures, where every 
 variety of temperature may be procured for them ; its 
 vegetable and artificial productions may be treated 
 with British skill and capital, in such a manner as to 
 ensure an excellence equal to those of Europe, and 
 superior to that of the neighbouring countries; and 
 the tools of a Cornish miner may bring to light the 
 hidden treasures of its iron, lead, copper, and silver 
 ores. 
 
 Kashmir will become the focus of Asiatic civiliza- 
 tion : a miniature England in the heart of Asia. The 
 climate will permit the introduction of the sports 
 and games of England; and, presenting so many 
 attractions, it will become the sine qud non of the 
 oriental traveller, whether he be disposed to consider 
 it as the Ultima Tlcule of his voyage, or a resting- 
 place whence he may start again for still more distant 
 
 ions. 
 
 The introduction of Christianity, the Mahomedans 
 will not fail to attribute to the finger of God, and 
 consider it as a step towards the fulfilment of their 
 belief, that the whole world will become subject 
 to the power of the Christians. * The missionary 
 may here pursue his labours with some visible 
 
 * It is the belief of Islam, that Christ is to reappear and conquer 
 Dajal or Antichrist, the latter having' first existed as the enemy of 
 the Christian powers to whose sway the world is to be previously 
 subjected.
 
 THE APPLE-TREE CANAL. 69 
 
 hope of success, when the prevalence of English 
 associations shall have weakened the effects of 
 caste, and the prejudices of Islam ; and this mag- 
 nificent valley, hitherto the theatre of a hundred 
 faiths, will become the Alma Mater of our Eastern 
 conquests, and the great and central temple of a 
 religion as pure as the eternal snows around it. 
 
 Descending from the Tukt-i-Suliman, we imme- 
 diately pass over the bridge of the Drogjun, under 
 which runs the canal that connects the city lake with 
 the river. In one place it is known by the name of 
 the Sunut-Kol, or the apple-tree canal. When the 
 surface of the lake, as is usually the case, is higher 
 than that of the river, the floodgates remain open, and 
 when the river becomes full they close of themselves, 
 so as to prevent the lake from being overflowed, 
 and its waters from spreading themselves over the 
 adjoining country. A short distance from the Drog- 
 jun is a pillar in the canal, by which the height 
 of the water is ascertained. The embankment, which 
 is continued from the Drogjun towards the city, was 
 built, as was also Siri Nagur itself, by Pravarasena, 
 who invaded Gujerat, a. d. 59.* 
 
 The ruins of the old floodgate are still to be 
 seen. The present one was constructed by the 
 Patans, and obviously in a better situation, as one 
 side of it is formed of solid trap-rock. The apple- 
 tree canal is exceedingly pretty ; the water is very 
 clear, and numerous fish play amongst the long 
 reeds that wave upon its edges. One of the 
 Patan governors had it in contemplation to unite the 
 trees on either bank, by a kind of suspended trellis- 
 
 * Vide Prinsep's Tables.
 
 70 FOIIT AND TOWER. 
 
 work, and then to have planted vines, whose fruit 
 and branches would have been thus supported over 
 the midst of the stream ; but his recall prevented him 
 from carrying his intentions into effect. The canal 
 enters the river opposite to the Shyr Ghur. 
 
 The Amir-i-Kudul, the Amir's bridge, is the first 
 and the largest bridge in the city. It was con- 
 structed by Amir Khan, governor of Kashmir in the 
 time of Timur Shah of Kabul, but was lately rebuilt 
 by the governor Mihan Singh, after having been 
 carried away by a flood. 
 
 There are seven bridges in the city, and all are 
 fashioned in the same manner as that I have already 
 noticed at Bij Beara. The Zyna Kudul was built by 
 Budshah, otherwise Zyn-ul-ab-u-Din,* and upon that 
 and two or three of the others, the houses aud shops 
 of the bazaar are continued on the top, as on old 
 London bridge. 
 
 The Shyr Gurh could be converted into a re- 
 spectable fortress, if the Huri Purbut were likewise 
 occupied. It is surrounded by a stone wall about 
 twenty-two feet in height, and defended by towers at 
 intervals, and a ditch about thirty feet in width and of 
 proportionate depth. The shape of the fort is rectan- 
 gular, four hundred yards by two hundred, and lying 
 N. and S. ; the eastern side is washed by the river ; 
 there is also an inner wall with a way between that 
 and the outer one. The interior is occupied by 
 dwelling-houses and shops, and resembles the other 
 parts of the city in its general appearance of wretch- 
 edness of aspect, with the exception of the governor's 
 own residence, which is a rectangular building, 
 * Ornament of the father of religion.
 
 ETIQUETTE IN KASHMIR. 71 
 
 whose walls overtop that of the fort. At the N. E. 
 angle is a large octagonal tower or bnrj, the sides of 
 whose upper story are open to the winds ; and above 
 it rises a smaller building with a Chinese roof, being 
 convex and drooping at the angles. 
 
 Opposite to the burj, and facing to the river, is a 
 square pavilion, in which the governor usually holds his 
 Durbar. Not being attached to the Company's service, 
 I was supposed to be far beneath the other Sahibs in 
 rank, and being only a private traveller I paid him, 
 as a matter of course, the compliment of the first visit, 
 and should do so again were I similarly circumstan- 
 ced ; although, having thus once gained the vantage 
 ground in matters of etiquette, he became very tena- 
 cious of it; he did not return my visit until a long 
 time had elapsed, and never came to see me at the 
 Baghi-Delavvur Khan, until just before I was leaving 
 the valley ; I in the mean time having, at his request, 
 written a good character of him as governor of 
 Kashmir, which was shown to the Maharajah, and 
 having moreover called at the ShyrGhur upon several 
 other different occasions. Once when shooting on the 
 lake, I observed his boats at the isle of Chunars, and 
 ordered mine to proceed thither ; but when I arrived 
 I was told that he could not see me. I thought this 
 extraordinary at least, but was soon afterwards in- 
 formed that he was lying there nearly senseless, in 
 consequence of a drinking bout on the preceding 
 evening, at the Shalimar. 
 
 All this, saving the fact just stated, was done 
 upon the principle of the schoolmaster who kept his 
 hat on before his scholars in the presence of the king. 
 He increased his own dignity in the eyes of the Kash-
 
 72 HORRIBLE CRUELTY. 
 
 mirians, and did not displease Runjit, who would 
 never object to hear that a Feringhi was lowered in 
 the estimation of his subjects. It is incredible how, 
 in the east, a man's importance depends upon the 
 display of wealth, servants, and equipage which he is 
 enabled to make. Next to Kupar Ram, however, 
 he was the best of the Sikh governors ; though that 
 is not saying much for him. He was the fattest man 
 I saw in the east, with a goodhumoured aspect, and 
 the air of a bon vivant. How he contrived to exist 
 in good health I know not. At breakfast he ate largely 
 of almonds stewed in butter ; and never went to bed 
 sober by any chance. He was an old friend and 
 fellow-soldier of Runjit, and was proud of showing 
 the scars of an old wound he had received across the 
 back of both hands, when using a double-handed 
 sword. He stood greatly in awe of Runjit, who was 
 apt to recall a governor of a province at a moment's 
 notice ; and he kept in favour with him by well-timed 
 presents, and by always attending to the advice 
 of his old friend and schoolfellow, Mohamed Afzul, 
 the Kazi, or chief judge of Kashmir, who, taken alto- 
 gether, was by far the best of the Panjabis residing 
 in the valley. 
 
 Whilst I was at Kabul, Mihan Singh was guilty 
 of an act of atrocity which may be considered as a 
 specimen of the summary and vindictive justice ad- 
 ministered to the unfortunate inmates of an eastern 
 harem. He baked alive his favourite wife, the mother 
 of his only son. She happened to be in the Panjab, 
 where some of her enemies accused her of an in- 
 trigue, and Runjit sent her to her husband in Kash- 
 mir. Her son, who feared the worst from the hands
 
 * 

 
 A RAJAH MURDERED. 73 
 
 of his father, dashed his turban on the ground before 
 him (the most imploring act of supplication that an 
 oriental can make use of) and knelt bareheaded at his 
 feet. Mihan Singh promised to forgive her. Soon 
 afterwards the poor lad was sent to the Panjab, in order 
 to be there when Sir Henry Fane, the commander-in- 
 chief, was on his visit to Lahore. His unfortunate 
 mother was then seized and forced into a bath, the 
 temperature of which was then increased for the pur- 
 pose of destroying her by suffocation. This did not 
 succeed as soon as was expected; her screams were 
 so horrible that several people left the Shyr Gurh, 
 that they might not be obliged to listen to them ; and 
 in the end, her husband sent her a bowl of poison, 
 which she swallowed. 
 
 Letters which I received by the July mail, 1841, 
 informed me that Mihan Singh had been murdered 
 in his durbar by the mutinous Sikh Sepahis, who de- 
 manded an increase of pay, which he would not grant 
 without a reference to Lahore. 
 
 After the conquest of the valley by Runjit, Moti 
 Ram* was appointed viceroy for five years. He was 
 a bigoted Sikh, who put several men to death for 
 killing cows, and occasionally threw milk into the 
 Jylum. His steward was made by Runjit to refund 
 thirty laks that he had amassed, and on his return was 
 illtreated by the new governor, Huri Singh, a Sikh 
 chief, who had raised himself in Runjit's esteem from 
 the lowest rank. He was remarkable for his bravery, 
 having, as already noticed, been separated from his 
 companions in the jungul, where he was found by them 
 just as he had destroyed a tiger with his sword. He 
 
 * The pearl of Rama.
 
 74 KUPAR RAM. 
 
 was killed in the Khyber pass, in an action with the 
 Afghans. 
 
 I do not know exactly how long- Huri Singh was 
 governor of Kashmir ; but he coined the rupi that has 
 since borne his name, (of two-thirds the value of the 
 common sicca rupi,) and made a garden on the Jylum. 
 Chuni Lai, whose name is not often mentioned, 
 managed the government of Kashmir until the coming, 
 two years afterwards, of Kupar Ram, who was four 
 years governor of the valley, and the kindest and the 
 best of all. He attended to the wishes and rapacity of 
 Runjit, and was luxurious without being tyrannical. 
 The dancing girls were his constant companions, and 
 his state barge was always paddled by women, who 
 were not, it may be supposed, selected for their 
 want of beauty. His whole conduct, indeed, showed 
 that as a voluptuary he perfectly understood the at- 
 tractions of the valley, and that as a governor he 
 was well acquainted with its capability as a kingdom 
 and a fortress. He had, most unfortunately for him- 
 self, excited the enmity of the minister Dhihan Singh 
 by giving refuge to Fyza Tulab, son of the rightful 
 rajah of Bhimbur, who had been dispossessed by 
 Runjit in favour of Dhihan Singh. The latter watched 
 the opportunity of crushing him, and had not long to 
 wait. Kupar Ram had ordered a great festival to be 
 given on the lake; I was told, that literally every 
 boat in the valley, of every description, was moored 
 around the isle of Chunars, and that every boat was 
 illuminated. Night was commencing after a fine 
 summer's evening had departed ; Kupar Ram, sur- 
 rounded by his viceroyal court, sat in the open, mar- 
 ble-pillared Bara Deri, drinking, and listening to the 
 singing of the dancing girls, while the incessant blaze
 
 A DEPOSED RAJAH. 75 
 
 of fireworks threw a brilliant glare over the scene, 
 musketry and matchlocks were discharged, and the 
 thunder of artillery from the fort was reverberated 
 in the grandest echoes, — and they are nowhere louder 
 than from the neighbouring mountains. When the 
 entertainment was at its height — and the spectacle 
 was one that might have recalled the memory of 
 the days of Jehan Gir, when the valley was 
 
 " All love and light, 
 Visions by day and feasts by night" — 
 
 a chobdar or silver stick of the Mabarajah Runjit 
 Singh suddenly made his appearance in the presence of 
 the astonished governor, with orders for his immediate 
 presence at Lahor. He only requested permission to 
 wait until the morning, but the message was peremp- 
 tory, and poor Kupar Kam, much to the regret of the 
 Kashmirians, was hurried from the festivity, travelled 
 all night on horseback, and by nine o'clock the next 
 morning, had advanced as far as Shupeyon on his way 
 to Lahor. He was disgraced by Runjit, and afterwards 
 left the Panjab and repaired to Benares, where he 
 was when I last heard of him, living as a fakir. 
 
 The great earthquake took place in the second 
 year of Kupar Rani's administration ; and before 
 three months had elapsed it was succeeded by the 
 cholera, which broke out with great fury at Islamabad, 
 and subsequently made its appearance in the city. 
 A census of the dead was taken at first, but ceased 
 when they found that the people were dying at the 
 rate of many hundreds a day. It remained two months 
 in Kashmir. I do not think that it found its way over 
 the mountains to Little Tibet. During its presence
 
 76 THE SUCCESSOR OF RUNJIT. 
 
 in the city, Kupar Ram took up his residence at the 
 Nishat Bagh on the lake ; and, having asked the 
 Pundits why the country was thus visited, and not 
 getting a satisfactory answer, he applied to the 
 Musalmans, who took advantage of the occasion, and 
 said that it was because he would not let them, the 
 Musalmans, eat beef, and call to prayers from the 
 mosques. Cows were killed accordingly, and the 
 JVlulahs uttered their call to prayers as they did in the 
 time of the Afghans. When the danger had ceased, 
 an order was issued that no more cows were to be 
 killed, and the Mulahs were no longer to cry from 
 the mosques. 
 
 The houses in the city are built of a framework 
 of wood, for safety during an earthquake. When I 
 was in the valley there was one in particular in the 
 city, that still remained upright and isolated amongst 
 the devastation around it, although from its appearance 
 it would not be supposed capable of standing against 
 a breath of wind. Kupar Ram during the earth- 
 quake used to go in a boat very often, in hopes of 
 seeing it fall ; but to no purpose. 
 
 Maha Singh, the servant of Kupar Ram, held 
 the government for a month after his departure, 
 until the arrival of Bama Singh, who held it also 
 for a year. To him succeeded Sher Singh the 
 eldest adopted son of Runjit, and now king-elect 
 of the Panjab. He was a needy spendthrift, a fa- 
 vourite with the army, brave, not illiberal, but cruel 
 and rapacious. It is a singular fact, that during the 
 latter times of his rule, he and his followers had 
 caused so many fowls to be destroyed that there was 
 not one to be found in the vallev.
 
 HINDU RUINS. 77 
 
 Kupar Ram sent forty-two laks annually to the 
 Maharayah, but Slier Singh collected only thirty 
 or thirty-five. Sher Singh was governor for three 
 years. He paid great court to Gulab Singh, of.Jamu, 
 and was constantly sending him presents in order to 
 preserve his own influence with his brother, the minister 
 Dhihan Singh, and he was so anxious for his good of- 
 fices, that in the space of a month he gave up Peristan, 
 Banihal, and Mum Wurdwun, to Gulab Singh. The 
 Banihalis alone went to Runjit, who ordered Gulab 
 Singh to give up the Pergunah, after having held it 
 for two months. In the last six months, the jemadar or 
 chief captain, Kosheal Singh, was sent to take the ma- 
 nagement of the valley, but it is said that his short 
 administration was as bad as Sher Singh's. To him 
 succeeded Mihan Singh, who was the governor when 
 I was there. 
 
 Opposite to the Shyr Ghur is a handsome ghat or 
 flight of steps, and a paved court, where the present 
 governor, who built it, sometimes resorts for the pur- 
 pose of drinking ; and near it is the Rama Bagh, con- 
 taining a Baraderi or summer-house, laid out in the 
 usual manner by Kupar Ram. He attempted to culti- 
 vate some sugar-canes there ; they grew, but produced 
 little sugar, the climate being too cold for them, as 
 already remarked. 
 
 The Hindu ruins in the city are composed chiefly, 
 if not entirely, of large rectangular blocks of limestone, 
 similar to those 1 have before noticed at Mar-Tund 
 and other places. The largest I know of is at Shur- 
 ji-bul,* consisting of two platforms raised one above 
 another, one of twenty yards square lying on another 
 * Pronounced Zojibul.
 
 78 DESTRUCTIVE FANATICISM. 
 
 of forty-four yards by sixty-eight. The height of this 
 enormous mass of stone-work, which no doubt once 
 supported a temple of proportionate size, is now 
 about twenty-four feet. 
 
 There is a single pillar near the great mosque, 
 which differs but little in appearance from others I 
 have noticed ; it is called the pillar of Budshah's son. 
 The Hindu temples must have been exceedingly 
 numerous ; the foundation of the houses in the city 
 closing the side of the river, are very commonly 
 formed of large blocks that have been drawn from 
 them ; a capital turned upside down, a broken shaft, 
 or an injured pedestal, may frequently be observed 
 imbedded in the wall, performing the office of ordi- 
 nary building-stone. The massive edifices which 
 they once composed could never have fallen to the 
 ground, unless they had been forcibly displaced. 
 We must suppose them to have been overthrown 
 by the bigoted zeal of Sikundur Butshekun (a. d. 
 1396), and consequently infer that their remains 
 were employed for the construction of the walls 
 and ghats on either side of the river, by some Musal- 
 mau king who reigned subsequently to the lastmen- 
 tioned date ; or perhaps the walls form the Maha- 
 padma Saras, built by Sujya to confine the Vetusta or 
 Jylum. # Sujya also constructed the dykes and canals 
 in the valley. The river in passing through the 
 city has been thus narrowed to a width of about 
 eighty yards ; an immovable barrier is opposed to 
 expansion, audits stream is consequently more rapid 
 and deeper than in any other part of the valley. 
 Eight or tenfeet may be its average depth in ordinary 
 
 * Virfe Wilson's Kashmir.
 
 TOMB OF BUDSHAH. 79 
 
 seasons, but in the city it is increased in some places 
 to fourteen or fifteen, and it rushes under the bridges 
 with considerable force. 
 
 The next building to be noticed in point of anti- 
 quity is the tomb of Budshah, or Zyn-ul-ab-u-Din. 
 We lived in 1422, and was the eighth and most re- 
 nowned of the Musalman monarchs of Kashmir. Be- 
 fore the invasion of Timur Lung, the son of Budshah 
 was sent as envoy to Samarkand, to present his salaam, 
 and Timur sent back with him to Kashmir some paper, 
 glass, or carpet makers. Shawls, it is said, were first 
 made in Budshah's reign. He built the old palace at 
 Lank in the Wulur lake, and the Karywahs of Zyna- 
 pur and the Pergunah of Zyn-a-Ghyr are named after 
 him. 
 
 The tomb is of brick ; in figure, octagonal ; orna- 
 mented with Saracenic arches, and surmounted by a 
 single dome, surrounded by four smaller ones. It 
 appears to be the earliest specimen of the style that 
 had escaped from its place of refuge at Byzantium 
 during the dark ages. The dome reminded me of that 
 on Justinian's church of St. Sophia at Trebizond. 
 
 In the burying-ground is an inscription to the 
 memory of Mirza Hyder of Auritapa (Oratippa), who 
 invaded Kashmir with 4000 cavalry in the reign of 
 Emperor Humaiuu, and, after several adventures, 
 made himself master of the valley, and reigned there 
 ten years. It is recorded on the same stone that 
 Mr. Moorcroft caused the inscription to be cut, in 
 order, I should imagine, to inform the world that 
 Kashmir had been and could again be invaded by 
 cavalry from Yarkund, vid Ladak. 
 
 A reference to Wilson's notice of Kashmir, or
 
 80 LALLAH ROOKH. 
 
 Prinseps Tables, will inform us what power and 
 importance Kashmir must have attained when it was 
 under the dominion of its Hindu monarchs ; but it 
 was reserved to the Zagatai, or Mogul Emperors, 
 to raise it to that eminence of station, the account of 
 which has been transmitted to the present age. 
 
 Nur Jehan Begum (the light of the world), the 
 Nur Muhul (the light of the palace) of Lallah Rookh, 
 is the most renowned name in the valley, that of her 
 august consort, Jehan Gir, not excepted. In spite 
 of the more authentic story of her birth which is to be 
 found in Ferishta, the Kashmirians would have us be- 
 lieve that she was a native of the valley : a daughter of 
 the Malek of Chodra, a large ruined village in the 
 centre of the southern side of the valley, and situated 
 on the Dud Gunga (milk river). The only fact that 
 I heard of, that could by any possibility be brought 
 forward in support of this assertion, is, that near 
 Chodra there are some ruins, said to be those of a 
 house that once belonged to her ; but in which there 
 is nothing in any way remarkable. I have already 
 noticed the palaces at Vernag and Shahbad, which 
 were built by her or her husband. The Musjid, or 
 new mosque, in the city, was built by her, and is, in 
 fact, the only edifice of the kind that can vie in 
 general aspect and finish with the splendour of the 
 Moti Musjid, or the pearl mosque, at Agra. A hand- 
 some flight of stone steps leads from the river to the 
 door of the courtyard, which surrounds it. The in- 
 terior of the building is about sixty-four yards in 
 length, and of a proportionate width, the roof being 
 supported by two rows of massive square piers, run- 
 ning through the entire length of the building, the
 
 GREAT MOSQUE. 81 
 
 circular compartments between thern being hand- 
 somely ribbed and vaulted. When I was in Kashmir 
 it was used as a granary or storehouse for rice. 
 
 A small and decayed wooden building- was pointed 
 out to me as the first mosque that was erected in 
 Kashmir ; it was of the same form as those al- 
 ready described, but so old and crazy, that I con- 
 tented myself with a glance at it from the river. I 
 think it is called the Bulbul Lankur, after the fakir 
 who first introduced the doctrines of Islam into Kash- 
 mir, vid Tibet, according to the Kashmirian tra- 
 dition. 
 
 The great mosque is a very large, square, and 
 Saracenic building, with an open square, or Pateo, 
 in the centre, and a wooden steeple at each angle. 
 The foundations are of stone, but the roof of the sur- 
 rounding cloister, or interior, is supported by two 
 rows of pillars, three hundred and ninety-two in all, on 
 plain stone bases, each pillar being formed of a 
 single deodar-tree, about thirty feet in height ; and 
 the bases, it is said, were once part of a flight of 
 steps leading to the top of the Tukt-i-Suliman ; 
 though this may be doubted, on account of their shape. 
 A large Gothic arch opens from the Pateo to the prin- 
 cipal altar, over which the roof is much higher than 
 elsewhere. The length of a side of the square in the 
 interior is a hundred and twenty-six yards, the width 
 twenty-one yards. The gloomy silence and general 
 aspect of the place are cathedral-like and imposing. 
 Opposite to the principal entrance the roof had fallen 
 in, and the light streamed into the darkness, with an 
 etfect that would have delighted Kembrandt himself. 
 Over the gate is an inscription in Persian, from which 
 
 VOL. II. o
 
 82 KASHMIRIAN LEGEND. 
 
 we learn that the mosque was built by the emperor 
 Shah Jehan. 
 
 The tombs of some of the Chakk tribe are to be 
 seen near the Musjid, in, I believe, the old and curious 
 burying-ground which I saw between it and the foot 
 of the Huri Purbut, and which is full of many large 
 massive horizontal tombstones. 
 
 The Musjid of Shah Hamadan, of the usual Kash- 
 mirian fashion, occupies a conspicuous situation on the 
 bank of the river, in the midst of the city. His story, 
 as believed by the Musahnans, is as follows : — Timur 
 Lung- was one night wandering- in disguise about 
 the streets of his capital (Samarkand), and over- 
 heard an old man and his wife talking over their pro- 
 spects of starvation ; upon which he took off an armlet, 
 threw it to them, and departed unseen. A pretended 
 Syud, or descendant of the prophet, asked them how 
 they came by the armlet, and accused them of having 
 stolen it. The matter was made known to Timur, 
 who very sagaciously decreed that the owner must be 
 the person who could produce the fellow armlet. He 
 then displayed it in his own possession, and ordered 
 the accuser to undergo the ordeal of hot iron, which 
 he refused, and was put to death in consequence. 
 Timur, moreover, put to death all the other pretended 
 Syuds in the country. One named Syud Ali, or Shah 
 Hamadan, who really was a descendant of the pro- 
 phet, accused Timur of impiety, and told him that he 
 would not remain in his country, and by virtue of his 
 sanctity was able to transport himself through the air 
 to Kashmir. He descended where the Musjid now 
 stands, and told the Hindu fakir to depart. He re- 
 fused, upon which Shah Hamadan said, that if he would
 
 BEAUTIFUL TOMB. 83 
 
 bring him news from heaven, he would then believe 
 that he was a great man. The fakir, who had the 
 care of numerous idols, immediately despatched one 
 of them towards heaven, upon which Shah Harnadan 
 kicked his slipper after it with such force that the 
 image fell to the ground. He then asked the fakir 
 how he became so great a man ; he replied, by doing 
 charitable actions ; upon which Shah Harnadan thought 
 him worthy of being made a convert to Islam ; and, 
 in a few days, so many more followed his example, 
 that two-and-a-half kirwahs of Juneos, or sacred 
 strings, worn by the Brahmins, were delivered up by 
 the Hindoo proselytes. The converted fakir himself 
 was called Shyk Baba Wuli, and a penance of forty 
 days performed at his shrine, is considered the ne 
 plus ultra of the meritorious. 
 
 Near Chatturbul, at the lower extremity of the 
 city, on the left bank of the river, is the tomb of 
 Thug-i-Baba, and is worth a visit on account of its 
 being composed of white marble, beautifully inlaid 
 with black. The very elegant fretwork in the window 
 is made of composition that might be taken for stone. 
 
 The Idgar* is a lively, green, open flat, near the 
 bank of the Mar (snake) canal, and a public-house 
 and a cricket-match, would give it much the appear- 
 ance of an English common On the east side of it 
 is a large building, which is in fact a mosque, but 
 more resembles a cavalry riding-house, and is over- 
 shadowed by some lofty chunar-trees. No JVIusal- 
 mans observe the Ramasan wilh greater strictness 
 than the Kashmirians. 
 
 On the hills of Huri Purbut, otherwise the Koh-i- 
 
 * The place of the Id or Eed. 
 
 g2
 
 84 SINGULAR SACRIFICE. 
 
 Maran, is a worshipping-place, a large stone painted 
 red, and in honour of Vishnu. 
 
 The Musalmans assemble to pray at the shrine of 
 Shah Hamzeh, or Mukudam Sahib (the chief or leader, 
 from his superior piety), a large wooden-roofed build- 
 ing, and close to it is an elegant marble mosque, built 
 by Akhun-Mulah Shah (the tutor of Jehan Gir), who 
 founded several other edifices in Kashmir. 
 
 In the times of the Patans, the Shiah Musalmans 
 in Kashmir were not allowed to enact the feast of the 
 Moharem. In the time of Abdullah Khan, who made 
 himself independent of his master, at Kabul, they de- 
 termined to celebrate the feast in good earnest ; and 
 accordingly, as I was informed, they compelled a boy 
 of the Suni persuasion to eat salt; then tantalized him 
 with water; and when he was about to drink, they 
 shot him to death with arrows, so that he might die 
 like Husyn, in the desert of thirst. When Abdullah 
 Khan heard of this, he ordered an attack to be made 
 upon the Shiahs ; their property was plundered, and 
 their houses burnt; and, collecting about one hun- 
 dred and fifty (for there are very few in the city), he 
 ordered their noses to be pierced, passed one string 
 through them all, and thus linked together, he made 
 them perambulate the bazaars. 
 
 In the time of the governor Bama Singh, the 
 Shiahs again attempted to celebrate the Moharem. 
 Mukudum Sahib, a Suni, who lived four hundred 
 years ago, was always followed by a great number 
 of disciples. Amongst them was a Persian Shiah, 
 Syud Shums-ud-Dyn (the sun of the faithj, who dis- 
 guised his real faith, and whilst he always paid 
 marked respect to his master, he employed his time
 
 THE HURI PIRBUT. 85 
 
 and abilities in making- secret converts to the Sbiah 
 tenets. In consequence of this, his name is much 
 venerated by the Shiahs, who, in celebrating- the 
 Moharem, purposely spat in the direction of Mil- 
 kudum Shah's tomb. The enraged Sunis fell upon 
 them and killed fifteen of them, and plundered their 
 property ; and the Persian merchants, of whom there 
 were two or three hundred, retreated from Kashmir, 
 and have never since resided there. 
 
 Huri Purbut or Purwut, is about two hundred and 
 fifty feet above the lake, and of a trap formation. 
 On the summit is the fort, consisting of long walls, 
 extended from one eminence to another, and strength- 
 ened with towers at intervals. I never ascended to the 
 top, as objections might have been made, and it would 
 have excited suspicion in the mind of the governor. 
 Akber made it his residence, and built a strong wall 
 round the foot of the hill, whose circumference is 
 about four thousand paces. This wall is perforated 
 by five gates. Over one of them is an inscription in 
 Persian — " Sir-i-shah-an-i-alum-Shah Akber-Talu 
 Shah-nuh-hu" — " The chief of the kings of the world, 
 Shah Akber, may his dominion extend." On that 
 called the Kutu, is another inscription in Persian, 
 which says that this killah of Nag-i-Nagur, is built 
 by order of the great king, Akber, at the expense of 
 one crore and ten laks of rupees from Hindustan, 
 (£1,100,000,) that two hundred master builders were 
 employed, and that no injustice was done to any one 
 who assisted them, but that all were paid — that there 
 never was a king like this king of kings, nor ever 
 will be — that it was built in the year of the Hejira, 
 1006 (a. d. 1597), and that the superintendent's
 
 86 THE CITY OF THE LAKE. 
 
 name was Khoja Mohamed Husyn, a slave of Ak- 
 ber's. 
 
 Naga Nagur would seem to mean the place or city 
 of the lake, but its real signification is, No-lak-Nagur 
 — the city of nine laks of inhabitants (900,000). 
 European visiters to Kashmir are usually domiciled in 
 a garden on the lake called the Bagh-i-Delawur* Khan, 
 it having been made by a Patan of that name. Its 
 walls are projected into the water, its length is about 
 100 yards, and it is laid out in the usual eastern man- 
 ner, with trellis-work covering the walks along the 
 wall, on which are produced the best grapes in the 
 city, excepting the Muscats in the gardens of the Shah 
 Sahib, which were originally brought from Yarkund, 
 and are amongst the finest I have ever eaten. 
 
 At either corner of the Bagh-i-Delawar Khan is a 
 small summer-house, ornamented with open lattice 
 work. A balcony running round the upper room, 
 overhangs the waters of the lake, which are nearly 
 covered with lotus-plants, between which, an open 
 space has been worn by the boats passing to and fro ; 
 and, opposite to the south-western corner is a small 
 but very pretty island, on which are the remains of 
 the tomb of a fakir whose name I forget, and shaded 
 by the foliage of the mulberry and willow trees that 
 cover the whole surface of the dry ground. The 
 north gate of the garden opens into a street that leads 
 to the principal bazaar in the city, being extended 
 thence till it reaches the bridge opposite theShyrGhur. 
 
 The peaches and apricots of Kashmir are inferior, 
 I believe, to those of little Tibet. The melons are 
 still more so. The mulberries are of good flavour. 
 
 * Delawur signifies high-spirited, or noble-minded.
 
 THE FRUITS OF KASHMIR. 87 
 
 The pomegranates are of very inferior flavour, and 
 are not at all comparable to the delicious fruit of 
 Kandahar ; though it is only for want of care. The 
 climate is too cold for oranges and mangoes, though I 
 should imagine that both might be grown there with 
 the assistance of a little artificial heat. The " Palms 
 of Baramoule" exist only in the imagination of the 
 poet, there being none in the valley. The common 
 garden fruits of England would thrive there in per- 
 fection. Hazelnuts grow wild ; and of walnuts there 
 are three or four varieties. Apples and quinces are, 
 at present, the staple fruit of the valley : the pears 
 are indifferent. The quinces are very fine, and a very 
 cooling beverage is prepared from the simple infu- 
 sion of the seed, which is carried into the plains and 
 sold ; s febrifuge. As already remarked, the apples 
 are large and very plentiful, but of one kind, of a 
 bright yellow colour when quite ripe, and of good 
 flavour, though somewhat coarse. In Kashmir they 
 make a sweetmeat of every thing, not only of every 
 kind of fruit, but of the buj or sweet reed* which 
 grows abundantly in its ditches ; it is used as a pre- 
 serve, and also as a tonic medicine. 
 
 Kashmir is a little out of the tropics, but is visited 
 by periodical rains, which, however, are finished be- 
 fore the middle of July, usually a month after the 
 period when the rain begins in the north of India. A 
 great quantity of rain, the result of evaporation, after 
 the first melting of the snow on its surface, is poured 
 upon the valley in May and the beginning of June ; 
 and throughout the spring months the mountains are 
 rarely free from clouds, and showers are very fre- 
 
 * Acorus calamus.
 
 88 CLIMATE OF KASHMIR. 
 
 quent. The ground is covered with snow to an 
 average depth of about two feet. The first new snow 
 falis between the 10th and 20th of December, and 
 the ground is free from it about the 1st of May, when 
 the flowers begin to show themselves, as if by magic. 
 The hottest time is from the middle of July to the 
 middle of August, during which time the mercury 
 ranges from 80° to 85° Fahr., in shade at noon, in the 
 city, though at Islamabad, a cooler place, I have seen 
 it at 71° in the shade at noon, on the 29th of July. 
 Much, of course, depends upon situation, On the 18th 
 of August, at 10 o'clock, the thermometer stood at 72° 
 on the top of the Tukt-i-Suliman. On the 6th of the same 
 month, in the shade of the gardens of the Shalimar, 
 it stood at 81°, and at half-past seven in the evening 
 of the same day it stood at 69° in the Bagh-i-Delawur 
 Khan. In the beginning of June the average height 
 of the thermometer, at eight o'clock in the morning, 
 is G4° Fahr. and, at noon, the mercury rises to 74° in 
 the shade. On the 30th of November, at Suhoyum, 
 or the burning ground, the thermometer stood at 
 6G° in the open air at noon, and the cold increases 
 every day till the first snow falls. I have been twice 
 caught by it. The average cold of the depth of 
 winter is a few degrees only below the freezing point, 
 as the lake is covered with ice, whilst the river, a 
 sluggish stream, is not frozen over. Occasionally, 
 however, as I have remarked elsewhere, Kashmir is 
 visited by a season of far greater severity. 
 
 Although nothing can be more deliciously soft than 
 the air of the valley, yet, in many places, it is affected 
 by a miasma from stagnant water ; and that of the 
 city is sometimes oppressive and sultry, from want
 
 CURIOUS CANAL. 89 
 
 of free circulation ; but any temperature can, of 
 course, be procured by ascending- the mountains. 
 
 Not far from the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan is the 
 Musjid, called, I think, the Mongri Musjid, built in 
 the usual fashion; but it is in better preservation and 
 more worthy of notice than any other of the kind in 
 Kashmir. The first in rank among the Musalmans 
 of Kashmir resides near it. 
 
 The Mar canal is, perhaps, the most curious place 
 in the city ; it leaves the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan lake 
 at the north-east corner, and boats pass along as at 
 Venice. Its narrowness, for it does not exceed thirty 
 feet in width, its walls of massive stone, its heavy 
 single-arch bridges and landing-places of the same 
 material, the gloomy passages leading down upon it, 
 betoken the greatest antiquity ; whilst the lofty and 
 many-storied houses that rise directly from the water, 
 supported only by thin trunks of deodar, seem ready 
 to fall down upon the boats with every gust of wind. 
 It could not but remind me of one of the old canals in 
 Venice, and although far inferior in architectural 
 beauty is, perhaps, not without pretensions to equal 
 singularity. 
 
 We passed from the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan to the 
 city lake by water. The canal is sometimes shaded 
 by a stately chunar, sometimes bounded by a wall, 
 sometimes by a meadow sloping imperceptibly to the 
 water's edge, and the boats make their way, with dif- 
 ficulty, through the closely-growing lotus-leaves — the 
 stalks of which, by the by, are sold in the bazaar, and 
 form a respectable vegetable when boiled and eaten 
 with butter, salt, pepper, &c. By one way we pass by 
 the place where the shawls are washed and beaten out
 
 90 PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 
 
 on the large limestone blocks, which once were part of 
 a building close by. The canal is here twelve feet in 
 depth, and it is said that the peculiar softness by which 
 the genuine shawl of Kashmir is distinguished from 
 those made in the Panjab, or elsewhere, is attributable 
 to the great softness of water in this place. I for- 
 warded a specimen of the soil of this and some other 
 places in Kashmir to Mr. Prinsep, of Calcutta, but am 
 not aware whether it has been analyzed or not. 
 
 Between this place and the lake is a spot remark- 
 able for the ruins on the water's edge, and for its 
 being the principal place of residence of the Hindus 
 inhabiting the city. Further on is the elegant stone 
 bridge of Nawidyar, of three Saracenic arches, built 
 by one of the Moguls ; and beyond this, in the 
 meadow on the left, is a ruined Musjid built by Nur 
 Jehan Begum, now destroyed by the tasteless Sikhs, 
 for the sake of the material. From this bridge also 
 commences the causeway of Sud-i-Chodri, which is 
 carried entirely through the lake, and enables a 
 person to walk to the village of Isha Bryri, four miles 
 distant on the opposite side, without going round 
 its margin. It rather resembles a line of rushes than 
 a made pathway. 
 
 We now enter the division of the lake called 
 Kutawal ; it is chiefly around this that the far-famed 
 floating gardens of Kashmir are anchored, or rather 
 pinned to the ground by means of a stake. These, 
 however, are very un-Lallah-Rookhish in their 
 appearance, not being distinguishable from beds of 
 reeds and rushes. Their construction is extremely 
 simple, and they are made long and narrow, that they 
 may be the more easily taken in tow. A floating
 
 FLOATING GARDENS. 91 
 
 garden ten yards long' by two or three in width, may 
 be purchased for a rupee. 
 
 Mr. Moorcroft has well described the manner in 
 which these gardens are made. The weeds at the 
 bottom, cut by means of a scythe, rise and float on 
 the surface ; these are matted together, secured, and 
 strewed with soil and manure ; a protecting fence of 
 rushes is allowed to spring up around them ; — and upon 
 this platform a number of conical mounds or heaps of 
 weeds are constructed, about two feet in height. 
 On the tops of these is placed some soil from the 
 bottom of the lake ; the melon and cucumber plants 
 are laid upon it ; and no further care is necessary. 
 
 On the right hand is the village of Mullahpur (the 
 place of the boatmen), and another village, whence 
 the city is chiefly supplied with vegetables. The gar- 
 dens and melon-grounds are often divided from each 
 other by ditches and canals, lined with sedges and 
 bulrushes, and so narrow as scarcely to afford room 
 for a boat, of which, however, a considerable number 
 may be seen paddling towards the city in the morning, 
 deeply laden with melons, carrots, cucumbers, turnips, 
 parsnips, cabbages, &c. 
 
 On the left we pass under a bridge, to that part 
 of the lake called Sudra Kuwun, which is surrounded 
 by meadows excepting where it approaches to the foot 
 of the fort, and is chiefly remarkable for the extraor- 
 dinary clearness and brilliancy with which it reflects 
 the image of the neighbouring mountains. At the 
 upper end of it is a ruined summer-house in a garden ; 
 and on the right, at a short distance, is a consider- 
 able village. 
 
 The place where the canal enters the principal part
 
 92 the prophet's hair. 
 
 of the lake, which is called the But-Dul (the lake of 
 idols) or Sir-i-Shau (the lake of Seva), is known by the 
 name of the Batta-Mazar (signifying, I believe, the 
 place — literally, the shrine — where rice is eaten). The 
 boatmen going to and coming from the lake often stop 
 there and cook their dinners. It is remarkable in the 
 distance from its single chunar-tree, and commands 
 a good general view of the lake and the mountains 
 around it. On the left is the village of Hazrit Bal, or 
 the Prophet's hair, so called because a single hair of 
 Mahomet's beard is preserved there in a bottle, and 
 exhibited on every fete-day to the people. Numerous 
 boats of various sizes are at that time ranged along 
 the stone quay on the border of the open space inter- 
 vening between the lake and the sacred edifice in 
 which the relic is preserved. Sikhs,Hindus_, andKash- 
 mirians of both sexes, and of all ranks and ages, are 
 there for the purpose of seeing and being seen ; 
 the Musalmans crowd around the door from which 
 the sacred phial is exhibited ; and I have seen and 
 heard them breathing forth their aspirations, whilst 
 they have touched the glass, and pressed their lips 
 and forehead against it, with looks of the most 
 extreme awe and veneration. There is also a tree 
 near the Hazrit Bal, I forget of what kind, but I 
 think an acacia, which is said to have been brought 
 as a cutting from Mecca. Five or six fairs are 
 held at the Hazrit Bal in the course of the year : 
 the principal one is on the Mai raj, or the day on which 
 Mahomet rode to heaven upon the mule Al Borak (the 
 thunderer), who, by the by, is one of the five animals 
 that the Mahometans believe to be destined to immor- 
 tality. The other four are the ram which Abraham
 
 THE FEAST OF ROSES. 93 
 
 sacrificed instead of Isaac ; Baalam's ass ; the one on 
 which Christ rode into Jerusalem ; and the dog that 
 guarded the seven sleepers of Ephesus. 
 
 Another great fair held about the 1st of August, 
 is called the Watul Myla, or fair of the Watul, be- 
 cause that tribe intermarry on that day. Every one 
 that has time comes to the lake, the poorer classes on 
 foot, and a succession of feasting, singing, and naching 
 is kept up for forty-eight hours, and the entertainments 
 are enlivened by the performances of itinerant bards. 
 In the morning the crowd is to be seen at the Nishat 
 Bagh ; in the heat of the day the boats take refuge in 
 the cool mountain-stream and shady banks of the Tyl 
 Bui ; and the evening and night is passed in the 
 Nasim. 
 
 What has been poetically termed the feast of roses 
 has of late years been rather the feast of singaras, or 
 water-nuts. It is held, I believe, about the 1st of May, 
 when plum-trees and roses are in full bloom, and is 
 called the Shakufeh, from the Persian " shakufan," to 
 blow or blossom. The richer classes come in boats to 
 the foot of the Tukt, ascend it, and have a feast upon 
 the summit, eating more particularly of singaras. 
 
 The feast of the No-Wareh (new place) takes 
 place at the Vernal equinox, at which period the 
 valley is said to have been drained. It is held 
 chiefly at the But or idol-stone on Hari Purbut. 
 The Sawunt or Busunth (the spring) takes place 
 twenty days before the equinox, on which day 
 the seed is prepared for the ground. The Hyrat, or 
 day on which Siva was born is also a great day with 
 his followers. It is the 16th of the month, Magha, 
 which corresponds (by Prinsep's Tables) with the 21st
 
 94 NOBLE GROVE OF CHUNARS. 
 
 of January, on the Veyutur trysh (Jylum water), the 
 day on which the Jylum is said to have found its course 
 from Islamabad to Baramula : * the Hindus throw wal- 
 nuts into the rivers, and carry water to their different 
 gods. 
 
 The festivals of the Dusera and the Hulim are also 
 observed in Kashmir. The first held is on the day on 
 which the castle or island of Lonka (Ceylon) was said 
 to have been stormed by Ram and Huniman. The 
 hulim is eaten both by Musalmans and Hindus at 
 the commencement of the winter ; the meaning- of the 
 word has reference to the fatness of the meat. The 
 Hindus place cooked victuals on the house-tops for 
 the Gins during the Hulim. There are some other 
 feasts of minor importance. 
 
 On the northern side of the lake is a noble grove 
 of chunars planted by Akber, and called the Nasim 
 Bagh, or garden of delicious breezes. There were 
 originally 1200 of them, but that number is con- 
 siderably reduced. Those that remain, however, 
 are in the finest condition, and throw a most grateful 
 shade over a tine space of greensward, extending 
 for 800 yards by 400, on the banks of the water. 
 The remains of surrounding walls, and a platform 
 which appears to have been made on purpose for the 
 reception of the trees, are every where to be seen. 
 
 * This has probably a reference to the great flood which took 
 place in the time of Avante Verma, a. d. 875, which was caused by 
 the bad state of the banks, dams, &c. Sujya, a holy man, ordered 
 the people to dam up the whole river, then made them repair the 
 dams throughout the country, and then allowed the pent-up water to 
 flow in its old and proper channel to Baramula. Vide Wilson's 
 Essay, p. 62.
 
 GROWTH OF THE CHUNAR. 95 
 
 I considered this as a good opportunity of as- 
 certaining" the growth of the chiinar (platanus ori- 
 entalis) in given period. Akber took Kashmir in 
 a. d. 1588. I was told by the best authority that they 
 were planted by himself. A chunar will grow from 
 seed, but it will not thrive unless it be transplanted. 
 I suppose them to have been transplanted into the 
 Nazim Bagh when they were only five inches in dia- 
 meter, and that this was done in the year 1590. Two 
 hundred and forty-eight years have elapsed up to the 
 year 1838, and I found the average to be about four 
 yards and a foot ; that is, for those growing in a rich 
 dry soil, on a bank raised several feet above the lake. 
 But very much depends upon situation : two or three 
 of the trees that may be fairly supposed to have been 
 planted at the same time, but at the edge of the water, 
 have attained an average growth of six )ards two 
 feet two inches in circumference ; and again, of two 
 chunars at the village of Bryn, 170 years old, one 
 was five yards one foot ten inches, and the other 
 six yards two feet ten inches in circumference. 
 
 But a great number of these fine trees have been 
 destroyed by the Sikhs. The governor, Mihan Singh, 
 cut down some in the Shalimar, and sold them, but 
 Ruujit ordered him to repair the damage as well as 
 he could. In the times of the Patans no man could 
 cut down a chunar under a penalty of five hun- 
 dred rupees, even on his own ground. Some of 
 the largest I have ever seen are in the valley oppo- 
 site to Therapia on the Bosphorus ; but the very 
 largest 1 know of is at a village in Avin, under the 
 Elboruz mountains, near Tehran, which I have already 
 noticed : it measured sixty-six feet in girth ! A stream
 
 96 TRADITION. 
 
 of water flows from beneath it. And yet it would appear 
 that a chunar may have too watery a bed : near the 
 village of Shadipur, near to the junction of the Sind 
 with the Jylum, is a little chunar on a small mound in 
 the bed of the Jylum, which has not only never grown 
 within the memory of man, but is the subject of a 
 tradition to that effect. Before I left the valley this 
 tree had been newly surrounded by a brick wall, 
 which might give it a chance of growing, by securing 
 the soil around it.
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The City Lake— The River of Oil— Glacier— The Shalimar— Splen- 
 did Ruins — The Sikh Governor — Oriental Ideas of Drinking — A 
 Visit — Trial of Skill — The Isle of Chunars — A pleasant Encoun- 
 ter — Baron Hugel— Dr. Henderson — His Dangers and Adven- 
 tures — Runjit Singh — M. Avetabile — The Agra Bank — Comme- 
 morative Inscription — First Travellers in Kashmir — Kashmirian 
 Boatmen — Village of Bryn— Hospitality — Tea in Kashmir — ■ 
 Panorama — The Shah Sahib — Jealousy of Runjit — The Golden 
 Island — The Lotus — The Water-nut — Atmospheric Phenomenon 
 — Fly-fishing in Kashmir — Fish of the Country — Extraordinary 
 Fish — Revenue and Commerce of Kashmir — Manufactures — Me- 
 dicine — Manufacture of Shawls — The Wool — Proofs of Shawl- 
 making — Dyeing — Peculiarity of the Water of Kashmir — Shawl 
 Brokers and Shawl Merchants. 
 
 VOL. II. H
 
 RIVER OF OIL. 9f) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The average depth of the city lake is not more 
 than seven to ten feet, and the water being very clear, 
 the bottom, covered with weeds, is almost constantly 
 visible ; but 1 have often enjoyed a swim in the darker 
 water opposite the Nasim Bagh, where the lake is 
 considerably deeper. 
 
 On the left of the Nasim, at the northern corner 
 of the lake, are the ruins of a once-splendid pleasure- 
 ground, whose walled terraces, rising one above the 
 other, might easily be converted into a botanical 
 garden, for which its extent and aspect seems admi- 
 rably calculated. The narrow but dark and deep 
 stream of the Tyl-Bul, or " river of oil," divides the 
 ruins from some others of the same appearance. This 
 stream, which is the largest feeder of the lake, may be 
 ascended for about two miles, to the foot of the slope 
 from the mountains. It is formed from two streams : 
 one flows from an opening on the right, by which the 
 plain of Pampur can be reached on the other side of 
 the mountain ; the other, which is the principal stream, 
 flows from a glacier in a ravine behind the Shalimar, 
 whence ice is brought to the city. I ascended to it, 
 and found it to be about 9000 feet above the sea, and 
 sheltered from the sun by the surrounding peaks. 
 The walk was exceedingly fatiguing, and there was 
 
 h2
 
 100 THE SHALIMAK. 
 
 nothing- to repay one for the trouble. I observed 
 the wild geranium on Ihe path-side, and the plant 
 called the Kashmirian rhubarb was growing- plenti- 
 fully around ; the gentian-plant, or nilkanut, is also 
 common on the hills. The hanglu, or Kashmirian 
 stag, is as plentiful here as in any other quarter of the 
 valley. 
 
 Part of the stream is turned off, as a feeder to the 
 fountain and reservoirs of the Shalimar, whose garden 
 it traverses in its way to the lake. A sloping plain, of 
 varying width, descends from the foot of the mountains 
 to the eastern margin of the lake, where the Shalimar 
 is built, and contains several villages imbosomed in 
 fruit and chunars. 
 
 The Shalimar * itself is a building placed at the up- 
 per end of a walled garden seven or eight hundred 
 yards in length by two hundred and eighty yards in 
 width. It is of polished black marble, and consisting 
 of two rooms on either side of a passage, which runs 
 through the centre of the building. On the east and 
 west side of it there is a corridor, six-and-a-half yards 
 wide, formed by a range of six polygonal pillars, about 
 thirteen feet in height, and of the same material. 
 They are said to have been taken from the ruins of a 
 Hindu temple ; but the capitals and bases appear to 
 have been the work of a Mahomedan architect : the 
 latter, in particular, are most beautifully scalloped and 
 polished The building itself is twenty-four yards 
 square, the north and south sides being ornamented 
 with Saracenic reliefs. It stands in the centre of a 
 square reservoir, which is also lined with black 
 marble; whose sides about fifty-four yards long, and 
 
 * Shah-il-imarat. royal gardens.
 
 THE SHALIMAR. 101 
 
 in its whole circumference contains one hundred and 
 forty-seven fountains, which are made to play upon 
 holidays, the reservoir being- filled by the stream 
 which enters it in the shape of a cascade. The height 
 from the stone floor to the roof is about twenty feet. 
 The latter may originally have been pointed, like the 
 Tuscan roof; but as it is now covered with thatch, 
 its original shape cannot be determined. The stream 
 thence descends from the reservoir, by a shallow canal 
 cut through the centre of the gardens, and lined 
 with marble ; and it falls over an artificial cascade, at 
 each of the three lodges through which it passes in its 
 way to the lake. A broad causeway or walk runs on 
 each side of it, overshadowed by large ehunar-trees, 
 and here and there a few turfed walks branch off at 
 right angles into the shrubberies, in which are little 
 else than wild plum-trees, planted for the sake of 
 their white blossom. At the end of one of these is a 
 decayed bath, built of brick, and the walls around are 
 covered with ivy. 
 
 The marble pillars and basins at the lodges are the 
 only parts of them which remain, as originally con- 
 structed by the emperor Jehan Gir. The two princi- 
 pal lodges are built against the garden-wall at right 
 angles with the Shalimar, and about 100 paces, dis- 
 tant. They are plain but elegantly-fronted Saracenic 
 houses, and are evidently intended for the accommo- 
 dation of the officers and servants of the emperor. 
 Numerous chunar-trees are planted around, and with 
 their shade, combined with the freshness produced by 
 the fountains, the air is as coo! as could be wished, 
 even in the hottest day. 
 
 I never saw it to such perfection as upon my first
 
 102 ORIENTAL IDEAS ON DRINKING. 
 
 visit, when Mihan Singh, the Sikh governor, or the 
 Colonel Sahib, as he was termed by the Sikhs and na- 
 tives, invited me to join his party there. I found him sur- 
 rounded by several of his officers wearing the gorgeous 
 costume of the Sikhs, a single-threaded shawl turban, 
 and a Kashmirian heron's plume, sitting in state in 
 the corridor at the north side of the building, and lis- 
 tening to the Nach-girls who were playing and dancing 
 before him, accompanied by their musicians, who sang 
 and played their violins at the same time. The colo- 
 nel occasionally took a little of the strong spirit of the 
 country, which is distilled from crushed grapes left to 
 ferment, and is much preferred to the finest wine that 
 Ewope could produce, which would not be considered 
 strong enough. 
 
 The orientals have no idea of drinking unless they 
 can drink a little too much. They believe, to the 
 letter, that " man, being reasonable, must get drunk f 
 and, generally speaking, are astonished at Europeans, 
 who, being permitted by our religion even to drink 
 wine, do not always swallow more than is good for 
 us, and can afford to leave off before it has caused us 
 to be excited and uproarious. 
 
 The fountains were in full play, and imparted a de- 
 licious coolness to the air around us, whilst that of 
 the unshaded and open country towards the city was 
 oppressively hot. Our conversation was chiefly made 
 up of unmeaning questions, which he put to me re- 
 garding England and the East India Company, and 
 such as I put to him in return, concerning the history 
 of the valley (of which he knew little or nothing) and 
 such of the statistics as I thought would not excite 
 suspicion or give offence. When he was nearly tipsy
 
 THE SIKH GOVERNOR. 103 
 
 he retired into the building to take his siesta : the 
 Nach-girls ceased their warbling at the same time. I 
 remained in the corridor, in order to make a sketch of 
 the scene ; and then wandered into the garden, on an 
 exploring expedition. After a while, the colonel re- 
 sumed his seat, and the singing, dancing, and drink- 
 ing recommenced, and continued till I was heartily 
 tired, and felt greatly relieved by his calling for his 
 matchlock, and proposing to shoot at a mark. His 
 unwieldy size would have been alone sufficient to 
 prevent him remaining steadily on his legs ; but in 
 addition to this, his hand was rendered so much the 
 more unsteady by the quantity of spirit he had 
 drunk, that his matchlock could not compete with my 
 double barrel, and I obtained an easy victory. I then 
 took leave of him in order to return to my quarters, 
 and as my boat passed along the canal to the outer 
 and ruined gates of this once royal garden, I could 
 not but reflect upon the glorious days of the Moguls, 
 and, in imagination, I peopled " its gay shining walks" 
 and the scene around me with the cortege of " the 
 magnificent son of Akber," and the equally celebrated 
 Nur Mahul. 
 
 The isle of Chunars may be said to stand nearly 
 at right angles with the Nasim Bagh, and the gates 
 of the Shalimar, from which it is about three-quar- 
 ters of a mile distant. In Kashmiri it is called the 
 Rupa Lank, or Silver Island. The Sona Lank, or 
 Golden Island, is on the other side of the lake. Both 
 are said to have been artificially formed by the Mogul 
 emperors, in imitation, I believe, of the island or 
 lank, which was formed in the Wulur lake by Zyn- 
 ul-ab-u-Din, and named Lank i. e. Lonka or Ceylon,
 
 104 THE ISLE OF CHUNARS. 
 
 in ridicule of the Hindus. The Rupa Lank is called 
 in Persian the Chahar Chunar, or Four Plane-trees. 
 The square surface occupies somewhat less than an 
 acre of ground, and there was originally a tree in each 
 corner, of which only two now remain upon it. In the 
 centre is a small square temple with marble pillars ; 
 whose roof was originally covered with silver, but that 
 has been long replaced by one of wood and plaster. 
 The little garden round it is filled with roses, stocks, 
 marigolds, and vines ; and, in fact, it might be 
 made exceedingly pretty. It is somewhat too far from 
 the Shalimar for the nightingales to be heard there ; 
 but from its central situation it would be an excellent 
 place for the bust of Tom Moore, which I prophesy 
 will, sooner or later, be placed there. 
 
 One evening, on my return from shooting wild ducks 
 on the lake, I found that Baron Hugel, the well-known 
 Austrian traveller whom I had expected for several 
 days, had arrived at the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan. Upon 
 entering his room in the pavilion opposite to that 
 which I occupied, I was surprised to find there a per- 
 son who had also that moment arrived, clad in the 
 costume of Little Tibet, and whose whole appearance 
 betokened exposure to the fatigues incidental to 
 mountain travel. I immediately recognised in him 
 the enterprising and enthusiastic Dr. Henderson, who 
 had crossed the Sutlij at Belaspur, in the disguise of 
 a Syud, for the purpose of exploring the countries on 
 the banks of the Indus. He quitted Lodiana a short 
 time before I did, in 1835, and at Khundalu made his 
 debut as a holy man, by professing to work a miracle. 
 The peasants complained to him that all the fish in 
 the lake had died from drought ; upon which he told
 
 o 
 
 I 
 
 -'■-■'
 
 DR. HENDERSON AND BARON HUGEL. 105 
 
 them that he was not the least surprised, but on the 
 contrary was quite prepared for that intelligence, as 
 Mahomet had appeared to him in a dream at Ajmir, 
 and informed him that he would find it to be the case. 
 He said, he knew that a copper-mine had burst under 
 the water, and the fish had been consequently poison- 
 ed, but that he had no doubt that he could intercede 
 with the prophet in their behalf. He then left them 
 in the full reliance on his power and promises. He 
 thence visited Mundi, and passed by way of Zanskar or 
 Lahoul to Ladak. He then set out for Iskardo, but 
 was arrested at Kulutzi, and brought back by order of 
 the Rajah of Ladak, as a suspicious character, and was 
 released by Zurawur Singh, who had marched thither 
 after having beat the Ladaki forces at Zanskar. He 
 afterwards made his way to Iskardo, where he was 
 most kindly received by Ahmed Shah, who, although 
 the new snow had fallen, sent with him a sufficient 
 number of men to escort him safely over the then 
 dangerous pass of Alunipilah, whence he descended 
 by Burzil or Astor to Gurys and Kashmir, where he 
 joined us. It may easily be conceived that we were 
 not a little delighted to meet each other on such an 
 occasion, and in such far and inaccessible regions, and 
 that we had each of us a vast deal to communicate. 
 Poor Henderson left us again in the course of a day 
 or two, in order to prosecute his journey into Bajawur, 
 where his disguise as a Syud was not sufficient to 
 prevent his being recognised as a Feringhi and 
 plundered. 
 
 He went by the Baramula pass to Mazufurabad; 
 thence to the plain of Attok, where he passed the 
 river at Hund ; thence to Akora, Hashtnagur, Mala-
 
 106 RUNJIT AND DR. HENDERSON. 
 
 kon, Suhat, and Panj-Kora; thence to the Durora 
 village, within a short distance of Dir. Here he was 
 discovered writing, and was kept for three days in 
 confinement, his jailers telling him that they would 
 let him go if he would show them some Kimia (che- 
 mistry) i. e. the secret of making gold, &c. 
 
 When he arrived at the town of Bajawur, which, 
 up to his time, he was, I believe, the only European that 
 had ever visited, he told the Rajah, Mir-Ulim-Khan, 
 that he was a Feringhi, and the latter offered him a 
 guard, provided he would give him a " chit," or note 
 of exoneration of himself, in case of accidents. I do 
 not know what arrangement was made, but conclude 
 that he proceeded as a Syud, as he was again sus- 
 pected, in consequence of his servant having inadver- 
 tently exposed his watch before the people, who 
 subsequently robbed him of all he had with him, in- 
 cluding I believe, many valuable notes of his travels. 
 He presented himself in most pitiable plight to M. 
 Avetabile, at Peshawur, by whom he was most kindly 
 received, and furnished with all that was necessary to 
 carry him to Labor, where he again joined us, under 
 the hospitable roof of Gen Ventura. Runjit was 
 much pleased with his conversation, and questioned 
 him much on the subject of his wanderings. He 
 arrived at Lodiana in a feverish state of excitement; 
 and the privations and hardships he had undergone, in 
 consequence of being obliged to travel as a Syud 
 (who could not taste either wine or spirits) — whilst I 
 had been generally received every where, compara- 
 tively speaking, " en Prince," — quickly began to under- 
 mine his constitution, and he died in my presence at 
 Lodiana, exhausted by fever, in February, 1836, to the
 
 COMMEMORATIVE INSCRIPTION. 107 
 
 great regret of his friends, and most unfortunately for 
 the cause of geography and science. He was the first 
 projector of the Agra Bank, a most beneficial and 
 thriving establishment. No name in India stood more 
 prominent for enterprising speculation, and he died 
 at the moment which raised him to the highest rank 
 in the opinions of all admirers of adventurous travel. 
 I enjoyed the agreeable and scientific society of 
 Baron Hugel, from Kashmir, through the Baramula 
 pass, to Lahor, and Lodiana. Before the doctor 
 quitted us, however, we deemed it expedient (taking 
 into consideration the advantages that future ages 
 were likely to derive from the knowledge that three 
 such distinguished characters as ourselves had then 
 and there met under such circumstances !) that our 
 reunion should not pass unrecorded. Accordingly, 
 we drew up an inscription, which we determined to 
 have engraved, and placed in the island of Chunars. 
 In order to effect this desirable object, the first thing 
 necessary was a slab of black marble. This, after some 
 difficulty, we procured from the ruined mosque on 
 Huri Purbut. On this I caused the inscription to be 
 engraved, and when we were at Lahor, preferred a 
 request to Runjit, for permission to place it where 
 we wished ; which was immediately granted. Upon 
 my passing again through Kashmir, in 1837, in order 
 to visit Ladak, and the source of the great north- 
 western branch of the Indus, I found that the stone, 
 although engraved, had not been put up. This had, 
 no doubt, been owing to the interference of the 
 Rajahs, Dhihan and Gulab Singh, who were exceed- 
 ingly jealous of the substantial presence of European 
 names, in a country which they had always intended
 
 108 INSCRIPTION. 
 
 to make themselves masters of upon Runjit's decease. 
 I obtained, however, a fresh order, and the tablet 
 was placed in the wall, where I afterwards saw it. 
 The inscription was as follows : 
 
 Three Travellers, 
 
 Baron Carl Von Hugel, from Jamu, 
 
 John Henderson, from Ladak, 
 
 Godfrey Thomas Vigne, from Iskardo, 
 
 Who met in Sirinagur on the 18th November, 
 
 1835, 
 
 Have caused the names of those European Travellers who had 
 
 previously visited the Vale of Kashmir, to be hereunder engraved — 
 
 Bemier, 1663, 
 
 Forster, 1786, 
 
 Moorcroft, Trebeck and Guthrie, 1823, 
 
 Jaquemont, 1831, 
 
 Wolff, 1832. 
 
 Of these, three only lived to return to their native country. 
 
 When I was printing in the letters for the en- 
 graver, I complained to my companions that the 
 paper was not large enough, and that either our own 
 names or those of the " previous travellers/' must 
 be made smaller : one of the party made us laugh by 
 giving utterance to a sentiment which we could nei- 
 ther of us deny to' be our own, " Oh, damn the 
 ' previous travellers :' get in our own names as large 
 as you can." 
 
 It was still there when I finally left the valley in 
 Dec. 1839 ; but the troubles consequent on the death 
 of Runjit, render it extremely probable that the first 
 of my countrymen who looks for it, will find that it is 
 gone. Should such be the case, I cannot lose this 
 opportunity of requesting him to replace it ; and if he
 
 KASHMIRIAN BOATMEN. 109 
 
 have the esprit de corps of a traveller, there is no 
 occasion to give him any reasons. 
 
 As we passed the isle of Chunars, the commander 
 of the boatmen stood erect at the head of the boat, 
 and firmly grasping his paddle with one hand, he 
 brandished it aloft and around his head with the 
 form, grace, and dexterity of a drum major; at 
 the same time, repeating the word " wy-woo," as an 
 English helmsman would encourage the rowers to 
 " give way ;" and the boatmen, of which there were 
 a dozen or fourteen, after each rapid stroke of the 
 paddle, struck their hands simultaneously upon its 
 blade : or each of them, as he withdrew his paddle 
 from the water, half turned, and presented it to the 
 man behind him ; by which means the two handles 
 were crossed, and struck together in regular time, 
 and with a pleasing effect. 
 
 We pass under one of the bridges in the causeway, 
 already noticed, in order to arrive at the Nishat 
 Bagh.* The Nasim Baghf should be visited (so 
 say the natives) in the morning, and the Nishat, in 
 the evening. In general appearance the latter 
 much resembles the Shalimar, but the stream which 
 supplies it is not quite so full and regular. The 
 lodge, at the landing-place, is open to the water, 
 and at the upper, is another open building in the 
 same style, through which, from behind, the stream 
 is visible down to the lake. The chunars are very 
 numerous and very fine, and the garden produces 
 a great quantity of the finest quinces, the seeds of 
 
 * Garden for the indulgence in the pleasure of drinking to in- 
 toxication. 
 
 t Garden of pleasant breezes.
 
 110 HOSPITALITY. 
 
 which are exceedingly mucilaginous and cooling, 
 and the water in which they are beaten up is taken 
 as a febrifuge. 
 
 We next come to the pretty village of Bryn, in 
 the possession of Khoja Mohamed Shah Nukshbundi. 
 The name Shah appears to have been given him 
 merely from the respect in which he was held by his 
 followers. The latter epithet signifies that he was of 
 the family of the great saint at Bokhara, and has 
 reference to the belief that by religious abstraction 
 a holy man is enabled to receive the nukshu (likeness 
 or picture of God), which is enclosed or bound up 
 in his heart. 
 
 The kind attentions of this hospitable individual 
 have been already mentioned by Mr. Moorcroft, 
 M. Jaquemont, Mr. Wolff, and Baron Hugel, and 
 have been extended to every European who has 
 visited Kashmir. I have often dined at his house, 
 where I found him surrounded by his family and 
 retainers, and I generally picked up a great deal of 
 information from the people I met there. No females 
 of course were allowed to be present. 
 
 The Hajis from Kokan aud the countries north of 
 the Himalaya had heard that the Indus was opened, and 
 that the shortest way to Mecca was by descending the 
 river to Bombay. They arrived at Ladak and Kashmir 
 by the Duras pass, and invariably proceeded to the 
 house of the Shah Sahib, by whom they were hos- 
 pitably entertained, and whom they recompensed by 
 a present of tea, a piece of siling or cloth manufactured 
 in Yarkund, from the shawl wool of Tibet ; or a china 
 cup, or a trinket made of the yu-stone or chalcedony 
 of that country. I collected in this manner specimens
 
 PANORAMA OF KASHMIR. Ill 
 
 of twenty or thirty different kinds of tea, and I never 
 tasted finer than that which I have drunk at the 
 Shah's house. Scarcely a morning passed that the 
 fat, portly, Falstaff-like figure of Samud Shah did not 
 make his appearance in the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan 
 and address me, saying that the Shah Sahib had sent 
 his compliments, wished to know how I was, and had 
 ordered him to bring me some fruit. " Shah Sahib 
 salaam goft" (the Shah told me to give his salaam), 
 was the usual commencement ; and being given " ore 
 rotunda" and a deep, manly, and somewhat pom- 
 pous expression of voice, was afterwards a subject for 
 mimicry and mirth, in which he always heartily joined. 
 For every day during the whole month that I was 
 occupied in a panoramic drawing from the top of the 
 Tukt-i-Suliman, Samud Shah, sent by his master, 
 used to force his Yarkundi pony up its north-eastern 
 slope, in order to pay me a visit of compliment, and 
 was always followed by two or three attendants, 
 carrying something more substantial, in the shape of 
 a ready-dressed curry and a cup of tea, which was re- 
 heated and prepared by a fire they kindled on the 
 spot. 
 
 Now I do not mean to say that a quid pro quo was 
 not expected from my friend the Shah Sahib, or that 
 he would have refused a present, in return for all his 
 attentions. But there was no getting on, to use a 
 familiar phrase, without him ; he had clearly an eye 
 to futurity, and the possession of the valley by my 
 countrymen ; and, as far as the present was con- 
 cerned, his chief aim was to obtain from myself and 
 others, a good word with Runjit, in order that his 
 jaghirs in Kashmir might be increased. In the hope
 
 112 JEALOUSY OF RUNJIT. 
 
 of bettering his condition, he accompanied Baron 
 Hugel and myself to Lahor and Lodiana. Runjit 
 listened to his petition, but told him simply that what 
 property he already possessed was secured to him. 
 At Lodiana, of course, he could only be received with 
 cordial civility, and his story listened to by the 
 political agent ; but, as he was a subject of Runjit, 
 any thing like interference in his behalf was out of 
 the question. Such was Runjit's jealousy, that it was 
 only with much difficulty, and after a great deal of 
 delay, that he was allowed to go to Lodiana at all. 
 
 It is with great regret I have lately heard that 
 the poor Shah Sahib had been sent for from Kashmir 
 to Lahor, under pretence of making him answer some 
 political accusation, and being obliged to travel in 
 the hottest weather, had died there, a victim to fever, 
 and the machinations of his Sikh enemies. 
 
 At Bryn I asked the Shah Sahib's shepherd 
 whether he would not cure the rot in sheep by feeding 
 them with prangus-plant: he replied yes, and went 
 out and procured some to show me. I believe it to 
 be good food for cattle, and it may fatten them very 
 soon ; but I never heard of any very extraordinary 
 account of its powers in that particular. 
 
 Southward of Bryn is a spring upon the mountain- 
 side, encased by masonry ; and southward of that 
 again is the Kutlina or Peri Muhal, already mentioned, 
 being a collection of ruined terraces, that were 
 originally constructed by order of Akhun Mullah 
 Shah. It must have been a very large building. On 
 the facades of the terraces are niches and rooms, 
 applied to the purposes of a collegiate institution, for 
 which the whole edifice was originally intended. From
 
 THE GOLDEN ISLAND. 113 
 
 its elevation on the mountain-bank it commands a 
 fine view of the lake and surrounding- scenery. 
 
 Below it is a modern garden, and a large village 
 plentifully shaded by walnuts and poplars, connected 
 by festoons of vines. Opposite to this is the Sona 
 Lank or Golden Island, formed artificially, like the 
 Rupa Lank, and somewhat larger, being at present 
 merely a small green platform. In the time of the 
 Moguls there was a building upon it, from which it 
 took its name. The walls of the edifice were still 
 standing in the time of the Patans, and it was used by 
 them as a place for solitary imprisonment, in which 
 their victims were shut up and starved to death. 
 
 A breeze which, as I have already remarked, 
 is constantly blowing through the gully between the 
 Tukt and the mountain of Pandu Chakk, is said to 
 prevent stagnation in the water of the lake. 
 
 During the autumn and winter, the lake is covered 
 with innumerable wild fowl ; but the grebes, moor- 
 hens, and bald-coots, are constantly to be found 
 there ; numerous herons may be distinguished at 
 their favourite fishing-stations, and the common king- 
 fisher is seen at every corner of the lake breasting 
 the sun for an instant, and then dropping into the 
 water like a falling emerald. The natives were for- 
 bidden to kill the wild fowl, which I thought a very 
 sage and proper regulation, as it provided me with 
 many a good day's sport. Many of the ducks are 
 destroyed by eagles, who take up their residence in 
 the neighbouring mountains for the purpose of preying 
 upon them. 
 
 One day, seeing a very large flock of ducks 
 before me, I was ordering the boatman to near them 
 
 VOL. II. i
 
 114 THE LOTUS. 
 
 cautiously, but was surprised to see them all rise 
 before I could possibly have alarmed them. Upon 
 looking upward I saw a ring-tailed eagle of the 
 largest size descending from the mountains to the 
 lake, and sweeping downward to the surface of the 
 water, without moving his wings. One little duck, for 
 some reason, had remained there. Had it dived for 
 an instant it would have saved itself; but the terrified 
 bird rose into the air as the eagle approached it, 
 and was instantly seized and carried off to a distant 
 tree. 
 
 The Lotus * with its noble pink and white flower, 
 is very common, and in fact, the leaves are so nume- 
 rous that in some places they form a verdant carpet, 
 over which the water-hens, and others of the same 
 genus, securely run, without risk of being immersed. 
 In the hot weather, the children in the boats pick a 
 large leaf and place it on their heads, as a shelter from 
 the rays of the sun, or by breaking off the stalk close 
 to the leaf, obtain a tube through which they drink of 
 the water poured in from above. The stalks are very 
 commonly eaten by the poorer classes. The seeds 
 when dry are strung together like beads. 
 
 That extraordinary plant, the " Annesleya Hor- 
 rida" — there called the Juwur — is also common in 
 some parts of the lake. Its broad round leaf lies on 
 the water like that of the lotus, its upper surface 
 being in no way remarkable, whilst below it is covered 
 with numerous hard, sharp, and hooked spicula, the 
 use of which, no doubt, will some day be ascertained. 
 
 The other plants on the lake are a white lily, ano- 
 ther called til, and the singara (from sing a horn), or 
 
 * Nilumbium speciosum.
 
 ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON. 115 
 
 horned water-nut ; and a numerous variety of reeds 
 and rushes: of one kind is constructed the frame-sieve 
 used by the paper-makers ; with another the roofs of 
 the boats are matted ; and the flower of another, which 
 resembles cotton in texture, is mixed up with the 
 mortar that is plastered on the sides of a bath, in 
 order to prevent its being too much softened by the 
 steam. The Satyrium Nepalensis is also common in 
 Kashmir. A very considerable revenue is derived 
 from the sale of the singara, which is collected in 
 abundance on the great lake. 
 
 My attention was attracted by a phenomenon 
 which was observable about sunset, more especially 
 in the summer months. Whilst the rest of the horizon 
 was growing golden over the mountain-tops, a broad, 
 well-defined, ray-shaped streak of indigo was still 
 shooting upwards to the zenith, from the Panjal of 
 Baramula; it remained nearly stationary for about an 
 hour, and was then blended into the sky around it, 
 and disappeared with the day. It was, no doubt, 
 owing to the presence of some particular mountain, 
 far distant from the Panjal, which intercepted the red 
 rays, and appeared to throw a blue shadow, by causing 
 so much of the sky above Kashmir to remain un- 
 affected by them. 
 
 I am aware of only six different kinds of fish in 
 Kashmir, of which by far the most common is the 
 Himalaya trout, and it varies so much in colour 
 and appearance, according to its age, and season, 
 and feedinff-ffround, that the natives would seem 
 justified in trying to make me believe that there 
 were several species, instead of one. Unlike the 
 true trout, it rises rarely and very sluggishly at 
 
 i 2
 
 116 
 
 FLY-FISHING. 
 
 the fly. I tried fly-fishing in Kashmir, until I found 
 it an unprofitable employment. I remember that 
 at Islamabad some fish were brought to me, that 
 in colour more resembled the real trout than any 
 I had seen, but I believe they were only fish of the 
 abovementioned species. They vary also in size, 
 from one, two, and three pounds weight ; and I was 
 informed that there were a few in the lake that were 
 far larger than any that I saw. I may mention that 
 the Little Tibetians caught fish with their hands, in 
 the stream on the elevated plains of Deotsuh. They 
 were of a yellowish copper colour, blotched with dark 
 spots. I have seen them caught of the same colour 
 in the lake of Kashmir, when out o£ season, and I 
 believe these and the Deotsuh fish to be of the same 
 species. The fish from the river are much better than 
 those from the lake, but they are insipid when com- 
 pared with the real European trout ; this fish is also 
 called the Sutur Gad — Gad signifies " fish." 
 
 I have seen what I believe to be the white mullet of 
 India, such as I have shot in the Meerut stream, 
 caught in that at Safur Nagri, on the Karywah of 
 Zyn-i-gyr ; but it is most probably found also in the 
 Jylum. There is also a little white fish, bluish on 
 the back, and somewhat resembling a bleak, called 
 chatur ; its length about six inches. There is another, 
 I believe, called the TaturGad, in the lake and river, 
 about five inches long-. 
 
 There is also a fish much resembling the Ame- 
 rican cat-fish in shape, and called the Aniur ; its gene- 
 ral colour is dusky olive, inclined to reddish at the tail; 
 it has three ventral, and two dorsal, fins ; the eyes 
 are nearly on the top of the head ; a horny plate, 
 shaped like a horseshoe, is continued between the
 
 FISH OF KASHMIR. 117 
 
 gills to the mouth, and from it two feelers are pro- 
 jected at right angles, and there are also two worm- 
 like appendages under the chin. Those I saw were 
 very small, but it grows, I was informed, to three or 
 four pounds weight. 
 
 Lastly comes the Ram Gad, or fish of Ramah, 
 which I have already mentioned as being caught at 
 the Shah's village of Safur Nagri. The ground 
 colour of this, I believe, new and singular fish is a 
 reddish gold ; fins reddish ; its sides are covered 
 with broad stripes of a very dark dull bottle-green 
 colour ; two worm-like appendages are pendant from 
 the horn of the upper lip ; a small, sharp spur, which 
 it can erect and use as a weapon of offence, is situ- 
 ated close in front of the eye, and between it and 
 the mouth, its curve being backwards and down- 
 wards, so that a straight line, if continued from its 
 point, would cut the centre of the tail. It grows to 
 about three-quarters of a pound. 
 
 Fish forms a great proportion of the food of the 
 poorer classes in the valley, or at least of those 
 living near the lakes. 
 
 I scarcely know whether Samud Shah seriously 
 believed the account he used to give me of an animal 
 in the Jylnm called the Kirim, which, according to 
 him, must be a species of fresh-water polypus. He 
 gravely assured me that persons, when bathing near 
 the bridges in the city, have been dragged under 
 water by them ; and that one man had the presence 
 of mind, when seized, to cut off part of the tentacu- 
 lum by which he was seized, and carried it off as a 
 trophy. This, of course, I repeatedly requested to 
 see, but it was never forthcoming, and I am afraid the 
 account must be altogether a fable. The name of the
 
 118 RULE OF THE SIKHS. 
 
 creature had, however, crept into an old song-, of 
 which the following- is the first line : 
 
 " Kirimo nal ho wultho myh :" — 
 
 which may be translated, " You have thrown your 
 hands around my heart, like the arms of the Kirim." 
 In Little Tibet I heard a story of a similar animal, 
 there called a Chufing ; and that the grandfather of 
 Ahmed Shah, the present Rajah, caused a horse to 
 be driven into the Indus to it, as a bait, and that the 
 creature fastened on the belly of the horse, and was 
 thus dragged ashore, where they were obliged to 
 kindle a fire of apricot stones (said to burn very 
 fiercely) in order to make the Chufing quit his hold. 
 I give but little credit to either story. 
 
 The Sikhs have extended their oppressive rule 
 over this unfortunate valley for the last 22 years, 
 and for the last half of that time it has been also suc- 
 cessively a prey to the earthquake, the pestilence, 
 and the famine. The population of the city does not 
 now, I should imagine, exceed 80,000, although the 
 natives would have you believe there are many more ; 
 and perhaps the whole valley does not contain above 
 120,000 people. I speak almost entirely at a guess, 
 on account of the love of exaggeration which is so 
 prevalent in the East, and the extreme difficulty in 
 collecting accurate information. The first conse- 
 quence of the oppressive nature of Runjit Singh's 
 government is, that the inhabitants have been con- 
 stantly leaving the valley for many years back ; the 
 next has been, that their masters have found it neces- 
 sary to prevent their leaving it without assigning some 
 sufficient reason. The revenue in Akber's time 
 amounted to more than three million of kirwahs of 
 rice — and he commanded that the crops should be
 
 REVENUE OF KASHMIR. 119 
 
 equally divided between the government and the 
 husbandman. The returns amounted, so I was in- 
 formed-, to more than a crore of small rupis, or a 
 million sterling ;* and subsequently, in the time of the 
 Patans, to fifty or sixty laks of small rupis, = about 
 330,000/. 
 
 When I was at Kabul, the Nawab Jabar, brother 
 of Dost Mohamed, told me, that in the year in which 
 he was governor, the same in which the Sikhs took 
 the valley, he collected 62 laks of small rupis, equal 
 to more than 400,000/. sterling. It has now in suc- 
 cessive years gradually dwindled down to 14 or 15 
 laks, nominally ; although in fact, Runjit, who always 
 took care to ask for a much larger sum from the 
 government, was obliged to be contented, I believe, 
 with something less than 10. 
 
 Kashmir and the isolated forts in the neighbour- 
 hood, particularly those at Mazufurabad and the Bara- 
 mula pass, gave employment to three Sikh regiments 
 as a garrison, and the expenses of the whole military 
 establishment of the valley were reckoned, I believe, at 
 about two laks of small rupis — about 13,500/. a year. 
 In his late years, Runjit became shamefully irregular 
 in the payment of his troops ; one of the regiments in 
 Kashmir had not been paid for 14 years. They deter- 
 mined, at length, upon repairing to Lahor, and con- 
 ducted themselves on the way in the most peaceable 
 and orderly manner, paying for what they took from 
 a stock purse, and acting under the direction of offi- 
 cers whom they had chosen to command them, from 
 their own body. I do not know whether Runjit paid 
 
 * A crore (= ten laks or 100,000,000) of the East India Com- 
 pany's rupis is equal to one million sterling-. The small rupi — f of 
 the East India Company's, which is equal to two shillings.
 
 120 EXPENSES, &C 
 
 them all their arrears, but he put them under the 
 command of an English officer, who, he well knew, 
 would soon gain the confidence and respect of his 
 men. 
 
 Two more laks were paid away in alms and wages, 
 to Hindu feasts, processions, shrines, and fakirs, &c. 
 Another lak for expenses and repairs, and one which 
 the governor was allowed to retain as his salary. So 
 that from seven to ten laks (10 laks of small rupis, 
 about 66,600/.) was, as I have stated, the annual 
 amount received by Runjit from this rich but ex- 
 hausted province. 
 
 The revenue being farmed, the governor of course 
 takes all he can get, without diminishing the chances 
 of a sufficiency to meet the demands of next year; 
 and, amongst other modes of filling his own coffers, 
 I was informed that he probably takes many rupis 
 in bribes for decisions, and 3000 or 4000 more in 
 casual offerings and presents. There is, of course, 
 the greatest difficulty in collecting information about 
 the revenue. The shawl manufactory, so I was in- 
 formed, pays a revenue of 25 per cent. The Zemin- 
 dars, or farmers, pay 40 per cent.; but this is probably 
 much less than the reality, and, in fact, there is little 
 regularity in the system of taxation. Every trade and 
 profession is taxed, even that of the dancing girls, 
 who reside in companies, which are taxed at 4 or 10 
 rupis each in the month. 
 
 In the Panjab, the expenses of a poor man are 
 about three large rupis, or 6s. a month ; but the provi- 
 sions on which he subsists are six or eig-ht times as 
 cheap as those eaten by an English peasant. In Kash- 
 mir the expenses of a peasant do not amount to more 
 than 2 Huri Snighi or small rupis — 2s. Sd. a month.
 
 COMMERCE OF KASHMIR. 121 
 
 A first-rate shawl-weaver will occasionally earn one 
 small rupi a day ; which, in Kashmir, as far as mere 
 subsistence is concerned, is equal to 10,?. or 12s. a day 
 in England. A weaver of indifferent skill will earn half 
 a rupee a day; a beginner 2 anas, or one-eighth of a 
 rupee. There are said to be more than 30 kinds of ar- 
 tificers iu the city. A carpenter receives 4 anas, one- 
 quarter rupi {= 4s. a day) ; a cutler half a rupi ; a 
 gunsmith 1 rupi ; a bow and arrow maker 1 rupi ; 
 kulumdani, or pencase-makers, 4 anas a day ; a good 
 journeyman tailor 2 to 4 anas a day. The field la- 
 bourer is paid in rice, of which he has his dinner in the 
 middle of the day, and in the evening' 6 ser (12 lb.) of 
 unhusked rice, by selling the surplus of which, after 
 feeding a wife and small family, he finds himself a 
 gainer of 1 ana a day, or about 2 rupis a month. 
 
 Five kinds of paper, the best of which is superior 
 to that made in the plains, is manufactured in Kash- 
 mir. The dipping-frame is made of a kind of reed, 
 which is found only near the Shalimar; it grows to 
 about a yard in height, and is of the thickness of a 
 common bell-wire. Every sheet of each kind is 
 smeared with rice-paste, by the hand, encased in goats- 
 hair, and afterwards spread upon a board of wild 
 pear-tree, and polished with a piece of agate. The 
 rag is first mashed in mills near the Shalimar, and 
 then mixed up with size and colour at the manufactory. 
 The best paper, which is used for korans, is made 
 with wild hemp, beaten up with the rag in equal 
 parts. 
 
 The rose-water of Kashmir is surpassingly fine, but 
 there is nothing extraordinary in the way it is made. 
 The atar is procured from trebly-distilled rose-water, 
 which is boiled and poured into an open basin over-
 
 122 MANUFACTURES. 
 
 night ; whilst the rose-water is still hot, the basin is 
 placed two-thirds deep in a running- stream, and in 
 the morning the atar appears like an oil on the surface 
 of the water, and is carefully scraped off* with a blade 
 of grass bent in the shape of a V. It is said that a 
 small bottle of atar is the produce of seven or eight 
 hundred pounds of rose-leaves. 
 
 The Kashmirian's are very expert as manufactu- 
 rers of wooden toys, turnery, ornamental carving in 
 wood, inlaid work of different woods, ivory, and 
 mother-of-pearl ; and the painting on the pen-cases 
 and work-boxes is alike curious and elegant in pat- 
 tern. They have no oil colours, but flowers and other 
 ornaments are sometimes raised on the surface, by 
 means of a composition paste, then painted and oiled 
 two or three times, until they have the appearance 
 of being varnished, 
 
 The wood of the Rayal, a fir of the Himalaya, is 
 used for window-frames and roofs ; the chunar or 
 plane-wood is employed for gun-stocks ; clogs are 
 made from the wood of the yew ; the chob-i-pau is 
 used for wooden nails, pegs, or any other small work 
 where hardness is required ; and bridges, boats, and 
 musjids, are built with the imperishable deodar. 
 
 I will give a singular instance of the effect of 
 Sikh oppression. A model in deodar of the Kashmirian 
 mosque was being made under my own superintend- 
 ence, and which I contrived to bring safely to England. 
 It was with the greatest difficulty that I could persuade 
 the man who was making it to come to me ; and when 
 he did come, he would make the most unaccountable 
 mistakes in the simplest matters ; such, for instance, 
 as not cutting the pillars of equal length. The Sikh 
 Sepahi whom I sent to fetch him, would make him give
 
 MEDICINE IN KASHMIR. 123 
 
 him a few halfpence, for the honour of being called by 
 hira — would beat him if he did not come immediately, 
 and beat him afterwards if he complained to me ; and 
 the reasons why he would not come, were, first, be- 
 cause he knew that what I paid him, or at least a great 
 part of it, would probably be taken from him ; and 
 what was worse, that having proved himself clever 
 enough to satisfy an Englishman that he was an adept 
 in his profession, he would ever afterwards be made 
 to work by the governor for little or perhaps no pay 
 at all. 
 
 The small or Hurisinghi rupi, which is of about 
 the same value as the Kabul rupi, was coined in 
 Kashmir, as already noticed, by the Sikh governor, 
 Huri Singh, and although subsequent governors have 
 attempted to impress their name upon them, they 
 have always retained their original name. The rupis 
 are stamped by a die held iu a man's hand, and on 
 which is inflicted a single blow from an enormous ham- 
 mer uplifted by two gigantic arms. 
 
 The oriental practitioners of medicine still pursue 
 the system of Galen and Hippocrates, whom they call 
 Jalenus and Pokrat, and they still distinguish diseases 
 and remedies into hot and cold, moist and dry, &c. 
 In fevers they recommend that all around the patient 
 should be of a green, as the most cooling colour. 
 For diseases that require the aid of mercury, they 
 substitute that of corrosive sublimate, and in some 
 cases, I was told, that they obtain the benefits of an 
 alterative medicine by the persevering administration 
 of a decoction of Chob-i-Chini,*— the strength of 
 which is increased at intervals of two or three days, 
 until the cure is effected. 
 
 * Smilax China.
 
 124 MANUFACTURE OF SHAWLS. 
 
 There are now but five or six hundred shawl-frames 
 in the city. Formerly they were infinitely more nu- 
 merous. It occupies six or seven frames, of two men 
 at each for six months, to make a pair of very large 
 and handsome shawls. Runjit ordered a pair to be 
 made, with patterns representing- his victories, and paid 
 clown five thousand rupis, after deducting the duties. 
 One only of these was finished. 
 
 The Poshm-i-Shahal, otherwise Poshmina (Poshrn 
 signifies the wool of any animal), or shawl wool, is found 
 upon the goats that are pastured upon the elevated 
 regions of Ladak and Changthung. It is undoubtedly 
 a provision of nature against the effect of the intense 
 cold to which they are exposed, and is found not only 
 upon the common goat, but upon the Yak or Tibetian 
 grunting ox, and the shepherd's dog which is used in 
 the same inhospitable regions. I know not whether it 
 be found upon the other species of wild goats or Tra- 
 gelaphi of Tibet, which I have afterwards noticed, but 
 the quantity produced by one large Ibex is equal to 
 that of three goats, and the cloth woven from it in little 
 Tibet is warmer, and softer, than the common shawl. 
 Its colour is a dark, dull, brownish maroon. The 
 poshrn is a cotton-like down, which grows close to 
 the skin, under the usual coating of hair. That of 
 the goat is only of two colours ; if the animal be 
 white the poshrn is white also ; if black (I have been 
 told that it is sometimes black, but have never seen 
 it), or of any other colour, the colour of the poshrn 
 is like that of the Ibex but lighter : it is called 
 in Persian Khad-rung, *. e. of its own colour, in 
 contradistinction to what has been dyed. But 
 I do not think that all the goats in Middle Tibet 
 are provided with poshrn. I have seen some very
 
 MANUFACTURE OF SHAWLS. 125 
 
 handsome ones, with long- thin spiral horns, which had 
 no poshm, at the time, and others of the most ordinary 
 appearance upon whom it was found. The shawl-goat 
 is well figured, though a little flattered, in one of the 
 early numbers of the Penny Magazine. It has pro- 
 duced poshm in England, but I believe that the quan- 
 tity will diminish on each succeeding generation, as the 
 climate is not cold enough to demand such a defence 
 from nature. 
 
 The shawl-goats imported to France by Napoleon, 
 were not Tibetian, but were brought from the pro- 
 vince of Talish, on the western bank of the Caspian. 
 Their pasture-grounds, I am informed, are not 
 more than three or four thousand feet in height ; and 
 therefore, although in a higher latitude, they probably 
 breathe a warmer atmosphere than that of the far 
 more elevated plains of the Tibetian Himalaya. Mr. 
 Power of Weald Hall, Essex, who has a large and 
 thriving flock of these Talish or Caucasian goats, has 
 several shawls made from their wool, and informs me 
 that the quantity of wool which they yield has not 
 perceptibly decreased, even in succeeding gene- 
 rations. — But I cannot help thinking that the real 
 Tibetian goat would in time fail to yield so large 
 a quantity as at first, and that his progeny would pro- 
 duce still less. 
 
 I should imagine that the wool was not so much 
 a protection against a still and regular frost, how- 
 ever severe, as against the cold and killing blasts 
 that are so constant upon the plains and passes of 
 Tibet, and which seem to be generated in con- 
 sequence of the proximity of such snow-clad and 
 elevated regions, to the tropical and fervent heat of 
 the plains of Hindustan.
 
 126 SHAWL WOOL. 
 
 Goats producing- the shawl wool are common in 
 the countries west of the Caspian, and excellent 
 shawls are made there also. 
 
 Rudak, a village and district upon the right bank 
 of the Indus, about seven or eight days' march from 
 Lehin, (the latter being the name of the province,) 
 seems to be the first and principal rendezvous of the 
 traders in poshm, which is collected in great quan- 
 tities from the flocks that are pastured upon the 
 vast plains of Chang Thung.* Thung in Tibetian 
 signifies a plain, and is sometimes used to designate 
 a small open space upon the banks of the river, in 
 Little Tibet. 
 
 The poshm is brought to Ladak upon the backs of 
 sheep, of a breed larger than any I ever saw. I 
 bought one, a wether, in Nubia, and it travelled well 
 enough to the plains, but died there of heat and 
 fatigue. It was a long-legged animal, about three 
 feet in height, otherwise resembling the Leicester- 
 shire breed. One of these is loaded with from four to 
 six trak of poshm, and will travel about eight or nine 
 miles a day. They cost two rupis each. 
 
 The Kashmirian merchants purchase the poshm 
 at Leh, at the rate of eighty puis (small handfuls) for 
 a small rupi. It is then cleaned on the spot, and 
 one part in four only is fit for the purposes of the 
 weaver. This is then carried upon men's backs to 
 Kashmir. One man will carry ten trak. The time 
 occupied is eighteen days, and he is paid at the 
 
 * This is a Tibetian word, and signifies, I believe, the Shepherd's 
 Plains. The name of a province in China ; so spelt, and pronounced 
 as Shan Thun, signifies (so I am informed) a country to the eastward 
 of the mountains. The Chinese and Ladaki language differ very 
 materially.
 
 SHAWL WOOL. 127 
 
 rate of one small rupi a trak, for the whole 
 distance ; though 1 believe some further allowance is 
 made when the quality is very good. When it arrives 
 in Kashmir the governor takes possession of it, and 
 sells it again to the merchants, at 20 per cent, profit 
 upon their whole expenses, he keeping the difference 
 for himself. The white poshm may then be purchased 
 in the city, at about four small rupis a ser (2 lb. 
 English), and khad-rung, or dun-coloured, at two-and- 
 a-half rupis a ser. Some of this is often purchased 
 by the poorer classes who can afford it, and they 
 make a profit by selling it to the manufacturers, after 
 it is cleaned and spun into thread ; but the poor are 
 sometimes compelled to clean portions of it which are 
 distributed to them. The thread is then dyed of 
 different colours, and of these they use about forty 
 different kinds. Their blues and purples are made 
 chiefly from indigo ; their yellows from a Panjabi flower 
 called Gul-i-Kysu, and from a grass called Woftangil 
 in Kashmir ; their blacks are procured from iron- 
 filings and wild pomegranate skins, from which also a 
 light brown is obtained ; their reds from kermes and 
 logwood, and a native wood called Lin ; a drab from 
 walnut skins ; and it will scarcely be believed that the 
 finest of their greens, and a light blue also, are ex- 
 tracted from English green baize. 
 
 All the thread used in making a large pair of 
 shawls does not weigh more than fifteen or twenty 
 pounds English, and may be purchased for 120 to 150 
 small rupis. After the thread is dyed, it is dipped in 
 rice-water, a process which makes it stronger, and fits it 
 to be more safely moved by the shuttle, and the stiff- 
 ness is removed by washing. The undyed shawl 
 stuff, which sells at five rupis the yard, is called
 
 128 KASHMIRIAN LOOMS. 
 
 ubra, from ubr (a cloud), or alwan-i-sadah (without 
 colour), if white ; and if a border be worked on it, the 
 remaining- white is called " mutun." Alwan, as the 
 shawl stuff is called when free from ornament, is not 
 often, if ever, made up by the Kashmiri weavers 
 of the natural colour of the poshm, and may be, of 
 course, dyed of any colour, red, blue, green, yellow, 
 &c. 
 
 When made with coloured stripes or flowers on it, 
 the chograh of the Afghans, or al-khalek, the long 
 under-coat of the Persians, are made from it. If the 
 pattern be worked with the needle, the shawl is far 
 inferior in every respect to those in which the pattern 
 is woven in. An excellent pair of the former descrip- 
 tion may be purchased in Kashmir for 150 rupis 
 (about 10/.), whereas an equally good pair of the 
 Usui eh (the real), or the latter kind, could not be 
 procured for less than 700 or 800 rupis. 
 
 The productions of the Kashmirian looms, which 
 are of old and unimproved construction, are very 
 numerous : Du-shalah, or two shawls, they being 
 always made in pairs; Jamaweh, for bedding; 
 Rumal, or handkerchiefs ; Hasheyi, or the shawl of a 
 coloured ground with a small border ; Urmuk, re- 
 sembling very strong nankin ; and the Yek-Tar (one- 
 thread), a most light and beautiful fabric, being of one- 
 half the thickness of the common shawl, and which I 
 was told was invented for the Sikh turbans. 
 
 Besides the above, gloves and socks are 
 manufactured from the shawl wool ; but they also 
 make Gulbudun, or red silk cloth for ladies' trousers, 
 and Chikun, or flowers worked in silk upon a cotton 
 ground, similar to those procurable at Multan. Sashes 
 and trouser-strings are also made from silk ; whilst
 
 KASHMIR SHAWLS. 129 
 
 Lungehs, or pieces of blue cloth for turbans, and 
 Kumurbunds, or waist-cloths, are prepared from 
 cotton, and rugs and horsecloths, &c. from wool. A 
 cloth called "Siling" is manufactured from the 
 shawl wool in Tarkund and China ; it somewhat 
 resembles a coarse English kerseymere in texture. 
 
 As soon as a shawl is made, notice is given to the 
 inspector, and none can be cut from the loom but in 
 his presence. It is then taken to the custom-house 
 and stamped, a price is put upon it by the proper 
 officer, and 25 per cent, on the price is demanded. 
 When it is purchased, and about to leave the valley 
 with its owner, the latter has to pay another four 
 rupees for permit duty, and another seal, which 
 enables him to pass with his property ; but he is sub- 
 jected to further duties at Jamu and Umritsir. 
 
 It becomes necessary to wash the shawls, in order 
 to deprive them of the stiffness of the rice-starch re- 
 maining in the thread, and for the purpose of soften- 
 ing them generally. The best water for this use 
 is found in the canal, between the lake and the 
 floodgates at the Drogjun. Some ruins, in large 
 limestone blocks, are lying on the washing-place, and 
 in one of these is a round hole, about a foot and a 
 half in diameter, and a foot in depth ; in this the 
 shawl is placed, and water being poured over it, it is 
 stamped on by naked feet for about five minutes, and 
 then taken into the canal, by a man standing in the 
 water; one end is gathered up in his hand, and the 
 shawl swung round and beaten with great force upon 
 a flat stone, being dipped into the canal between 
 every three or four strokes. This occupies about 
 
 VOL. II. k
 
 130 PECULIARITY IN THE WATER. 
 
 five minutes. They are then dried in the shade, as 
 the hot sun spoils the colours ; and in ten days after- 
 wards the coloured shawls undergo a similar process, 
 but occupying- less time. The white ones, after being 
 submitted to the process, on the first day are spread 
 in the sun, and bleached by water sprinkled over 
 them ; they then are again treated in the same pro- 
 cess as the coloured shawls, being stamped upon 
 and beaten a second time, and then bleached again 
 till they are dry, and then for a third time beaten, 
 stamped upon, and finally dried in the sun. In the 
 second time of stamping, soap is sometimes used, but 
 is not good generally, and is never used for the co- 
 loured shawls, as the alkali might affect the colours. 
 
 There is a something in the water of the canal 
 which certainly communicates to the shawl a softness 
 which cannot be given to those manufactured at any 
 place in the plains of Hindustan. At the same time, 
 those made in Paris or at Norwich would be, I think, 
 as soft, were it not for the greater closeness of texture 
 consequent upon their being made by a machine in- 
 stead of the hand. For the same reason, it is well 
 known that the calico made in India is much softer, 
 and is much more durable, than that made in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 There are plenty of wells in the city, and in every 
 case where there is a bath on the premises, as water 
 is found by digging only to the depth of five or six 
 yards below the surface. It is not good, but often, if 
 I mistake not, brackish, and in some instances is pre- 
 ferred for the washing of red shawls. 
 
 Old shawls that require cleaning, and, in some
 
 COLOURS OF THE SHAWLS. 131 
 
 instances, new ones, are washed by means of the 
 freshly-gathered root of a parasitical plant called 
 Kritz. A pound of it is bruised and mixed with about 
 three pints of water, and to this is added, a mix- 
 ture of pigeon's dung (a piece equal in size to a tur- 
 key's egg) f mixed and beaten up with about the same 
 quantity of water, and the shawl is saturated with the 
 liquor and then stamped upon, washed with the hand, 
 and then well steeped in the canal. In the plains, 
 the berries of the raynti* fruit, stirred up with water, 
 yet not so as to form a lather, are used for washing a 
 soiled shawl. A smaller root known also by the name 
 of Kritz, is used for cotton clothes. The colours of 
 a shawl after it has been washed, are often renewed 
 so well as to deceive any but the initiated, by prick- 
 ing them in again with a wooden pin, dipped in the 
 requisite tints. 
 
 The fine pale yellow colour of a new shawl is 
 given by means of sulphur fumes. A hole is made in 
 the floor about a foot in diameter, and six inches in 
 depth. Over this is placed a small square chimney 
 of poplar-wood, open of course above. Some lighted 
 charcoal is put into the hole, and over it is sprinkled 
 a small handful of bruised sulphur. Around the 
 chimney, and about two feet distance from it, is placed 
 a horse or framework, about five feet six inches in 
 height, upon which four shawls are suspended, and 
 the external air is further excluded by another 
 drawn over the top. When the sulphur is con- 
 sumed, the shawls are withdrawn, and others are 
 subjected to the fumes of fresh sulphur. They 
 
 * Vide ante. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 SHAWL BROKERS. 
 
 are kept until the next day, then washed again in 
 water, dried and pressed, several together, between 
 two boards. 
 
 The mokyni or broker, who transacts business be- 
 tween the shawl manufacturer and the merchant, is 
 a person of great importance in the city, and the 
 manner in which their transactions are carried on 
 is rather singular. They have correspondents in 
 most of the larger cities of Hindustan, whose business 
 it is to collect and forward every species of inform- 
 ation connected with their trade. By their means 
 they seldom fail to hear of any saudagur or merchant 
 who is about to start for Kashmir, even from such a 
 distance as Calcutta, and, if he be a rich man, the 
 mokym will send as far as Delhi to meet him, and 
 invite him to become his guest, during his sojourn in 
 the valley. Perhaps, again, when the merchant, 
 half dead with fatigue and cold, stands at length on 
 the snowy summit of the Pir Panjal, or either of the 
 other mountain passes, he is suddenly amazed by 
 finding there a servant of the broker, who has 
 kindled a fire ready for his reception, hands him a hot 
 cup of tea, and a kabab, a delicious kaliaun, and a 
 note containing a fresh and still more pressing invi- 
 tation from his master. Such well-timed civilitv is 
 irresistible ; his heart and his boots thaw together, and 
 he at once accepts the hospitality of the mokym, who 
 it may be, is awaiting the traveller, with a friendly 
 hug, at the bottom of the pass, two or three days' 
 journey from the city, to which he obsequiously con- 
 ducts him. He finds himself at home, at the house 
 of his new friend, and himself and servants studiously
 
 SHAWL MERCHANTS. JL33 
 
 provided with all he can require. His host, of 
 course, takes care to repay himself in the end He 
 has an understanding- with the shawl manufacturers 
 who frequent his house, so tliat the guest is at the 
 mercy of both parties, and should he quarrel with 
 the broker, and hope to make a purchase without 
 his intervention, he would find it impossible. 
 
 No shawl-vender can by any possibility be induced 
 to display his stores until the approach of evening, 
 being well aware of the superior brilliancy imparted 
 to their tints, by the slanting rays of the setting sun; 
 and when the young saudagur has purchased initia- 
 tion by experience, he will observe that the shawl 
 is never exhibited by one person only ; that the 
 broker, perhaps, apparently inattentive, is usuallv 
 sitting by, and that under pretence of bringing the 
 different beauties of the shawl under his more 
 especial notice, a constant and freeuiasonic fire of 
 squeezes and pinches, having reference to the price 
 to be asked, and graduated from one hundred to a 
 five rupi power, is secretly kept up between the 
 venders, by means of their hands extended under the 
 shawl. When the merchant has completed his pur- 
 chases, the mokvm, who was before so eager to 
 obtain him as a guest, pays him the compliment of 
 seeing him safe to the outside of the city, where he 
 takes leave of him at Chaturbul, the very last place 
 within it ; from which custom the brokers have ob- 
 tained the cant name of Dost-i-Chaturbul, or the 
 " Chaturbul friends." 
 
 The fool's cap or cypress-shaped ornament, so 
 commonly worked on the shawls, is a representation of
 
 134 SHAWL MERCHANTS, 
 
 the jig-eh, or kashkeh, or aigrette of jewels which is 
 worn on the forehead in the East. Every great man 
 now wears one, but when the Patans were in the 
 zenith of their power under Timour Shah, it was the 
 privilege of royalty only.
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 City of the Sun — Peasants of Kashmir — Epistolary etiquette — Tribes 
 and Clans — Musalmans and Hindus — Akber in Kashmir — Women 
 of the Valley — Their Beauty — Gipsies — Dancing Girls — Tour of 
 the Valley — The Place of Marriage — Confluence of the Jylum 
 with the Sind — the Duras Pass — Simbul — Beautiful Lake — An 
 awkward Encounter with Bears — Ruins of Hindu Temple — The 
 Sacred Lake — Shepherd's Tent and Family — Curious Dog brought 
 to England by the Author — The Holy Lake — No Satis in 
 Kashmir — Funeral Ceremonies — The Great Lake — Island in it — 
 Origin of the Lake — Waterfowl and Plants — Fish of the Lake — 
 Course of the Jylum — Sikh Fort — Panoramic View — The Sacred 
 Peaks — Ancient Kings of Kashmir — Vast Ruins — Man hanging 
 — Bears — Curious Fact — Beauty of the Scenery — The Burying- 
 ground — Baramula — Idol-house — Votive Offering — Course of 
 the Jylum — The Rishis — The Mountain of Flowers — Hindu Re- 
 mains — Waters of Immortality — The Deodar — Noxious Exhala- 
 tions — Wild Animals — Primeval Scenery — Sacred Fountain — 
 Ancient Tomb — Tour of the Valley concluded
 
 CITY OF THE SUN. 137 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Siri-Nagur, or Surya Nagur (the city of the 
 sun), the capital of Kashmir, is divided, as in the 
 the time of the Patans, into 16 zilus or parishes, each 
 being- under the care and management of a kotvval or 
 mayor, and other officers. There is also a patrole at 
 night, for the prevention of disturbances. 
 
 The Kashmirian peasants differ but little from the 
 inhabitants of the city, but the latter are more civil- 
 ized, and perhaps better looking. They are Musal- 
 mans and Hindus : the former predominate in pro- 
 portion of 3 to 1 in the city and 9 to I in the villages. 
 The Musalmans are almost all Sunis, the number of 
 Shiahs being very inconsiderable. Hindus salute each 
 other with " Rama, Rama." A Kashmirian Hindu of 
 rank to a Musalman of rank says, " Sahib Salaamut." 
 A Musalman stranger salutes a visiting Hindu with 
 " Daulut zeada" (may your wealth increase) ; and the 
 answer will be, " Umur Duras" (may your age be 
 long). 
 
 The mode of addressing letters to persons of dif- 
 ferent rank may not be uninteresting. Runjit would 
 be addressed on my behalf by my munshi, literally 
 as follows :
 
 138 EPISTOLARY ETIQUETTE. 
 
 <e To Maharajah Sahib, the bountiful, the benefi- 
 cent, the helper of the needy, be peace ! Maha Rajah 
 Runjit Singh, after expressing my desire of having 
 a meeting with you, of which the advantages would be 
 beyond compare, and which (i. e. my desire), like your 
 excellent qualities, has no bounds, I proceed to dis- 
 play to your excellent understanding, the seat of all 
 that is great, as follows, &c." 
 
 To a great Sirdar he would have written as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " To the Sirdar Sahib, kindest of friends ; to the 
 Sirdar [name], be peace ! After an exposition of 
 the degrees of my desire for a meeting, the source of 
 great pleasure ; be it known to you as follows, &c." 
 
 To the Fakir, or Chief Secretary of Runjit, as 
 follows : 
 
 " To the seat of excellence and exalted worth, 
 the abode of learning and accomplishments ; Fakir 
 Uziz-v-Din, beloved by the friends of the prophet, 
 be peace ! After the expression of prayers for your 
 welfare, and the extreme desire which I have for a 
 meeting, which is the source of pleasure, be it known 
 to you, that, &c." 
 
 To the Governor of Kashmir as follows : 
 
 " The abode of bravery and enterprise, the high 
 and exalted in rank, Mihan Singh, commandant : the 
 viceroy of Kashmir, be peace ! After the expression 
 of strong regards, may it please you to learn that, 
 &c."
 
 TRIBES AND CLANS. 139 
 
 To the Shah Sahib, a syud, as follows : 
 
 " To the essence of piety and the first among the 
 holy, the abode of grandeur, and nobility, Khoja Gho- 
 lam Mohamed Shah, Nukshbundi, be peace ! After 
 the expression of my prayers for your welfare, and 
 my sincere regards, may it please you to learn, that 
 &c" 
 
 To a Mirza or person of ordinary rank as follows : 
 " To the respected Mirza, &c, may he be happy." 
 There are about 20 different tribes or clans among 
 the Musalman in Kashmir. Of these, the Chakk al- 
 ready noticed are the oldest and most distinguished. 
 Next, the Maleks, who were called Singhs, or lions ; 
 theBandeh, and others, &c; and there are others again 
 whose names are those of some animals, &c. The 
 Thanadars of Kuri, for instance, are all wandurus or 
 monkeys. Others are of the bear or jackal tribe, and 
 there is one rejoicing in the name of Shytan — (Satan). 
 
 The Hindus are divided into very numerous dif- 
 ferent tribes or families, such as Pundits, Rasdun, 
 Kol, Kabuta (a dove), &c; but these are all arranged 
 under the two great divisions of the Hindus, the 
 Malamasis and Baruhmasis. 
 
 Siva, Vishnu, Surya or the Sun ; Ganysh or Gana- 
 patya, and Bhawani (the mother of the gods), are 
 the five principal Hindu deities, and those who 
 worship all the five equally are termed Bhagavati; 
 but the votaries of the two first are the most 
 numerous ; and again, the followers of Siva, are,
 
 140 HINDUS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 I believe, more in number than those of Vishnu. 
 The former place the marks or sectarial deco- 
 rations horizontally on the forehead, the latter 
 wear them perpendicularly. Saffron is the colouring 
 ingredient in the mixture with which the mark is 
 painted. Both the Hindu who thus adorns him- 
 self, and the Musalman who wears the talism or tavis 
 (device), a sentence of the koran bound upon his arm, 
 would seem to do so in obedience to the precept of 
 Moses, in Deut. xi. 18. " Therefore shall ye lay up 
 these my words in your heart and in your soul, and 
 bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may 
 be as frontlets between your eyes." 
 
 Independently of the forehead-mark, there is a 
 difference in the style of the turban. The Hindu 
 smooths it over the right temple, the Musalman on 
 the left. There is also a distinction in wearing the 
 tunic : the Musalmans tie it on the right side, whilst 
 that of the Hindu's is folded over to the left breast. 
 
 The complexion of the Musalman Kashmirian is 
 generally not so dark, certainly not darker, than that 
 of the natives of the south of Europe, the Neapoli- 
 tans for instance, to whom they may also be compared 
 on account of the liveliness and comicalities of their 
 disposition ; but his features are large and aquiline, 
 like those of the Afghans, and I do not know that I 
 can better describe than by calling them subdued 
 Jewish ; whilst a Hindu may often be distinguished 
 by the fairness of his complexion. I was told that
 
 THE WATER OF KASHMIR. 141 
 
 this was attributable to their eating a less quantity of 
 animal food than the Musalnian. I have heard that the 
 natives ascribe their own beauty to the softness of the 
 water of the valley: I know not how justly. Nine 
 people out often eat oil with their food instead of ghi 
 or clarified butter. It is chiefly extracted from the 
 apricot and the almond, but there are other kinds also. 
 Goitre and Cretinism are of very rare occurrence in 
 the valley. 
 
 I have remarked that the water of Kashmir softens 
 a shawl better than any other ; and, there is un- 
 doubtedly also a peculiar softness in the air within the 
 valley. I have also heard a remark, which my own 
 observation has not contradicted, that the horns of 
 cattle, sheep, and goats, never attain there to any 
 extraordinary size, and, in fact, are rather small than 
 otherwise. Neither has the tobacco of Kashmir, as I 
 was informed, the pungency of that grown elsewhere. 
 
 The broad Herculean build and manly features of 
 the Kashinirian peasant, contrasted with his whining 
 complaints and timid disposition, if considered apart 
 from the effects of a long continued subjection to 
 tyranny and despotism, may, perhaps, form a subject 
 for physiological speculation. I think it would now 
 be difficult to induce the Kashmirians to rise alone, 
 and unassisted, against their oppressors. M ah mud, 
 of Ghuzni, it is said, was at first foiled in his en- 
 deavours to make himself master of Kashmir; though 
 he afterwards took it. The oreat Akber took it
 
 142 AKBER IN KASHMIR. 
 
 after, I think, two unsuccessful attempts; and, tra- 
 dition says, that in order to subdue the then warlike 
 spirit of the inhabitants, he made them doff their 
 more martial habiliments, and wear the large plain 
 cloak of the Afghans; and, also, in furtherance of the 
 same plan, that he forced them to eat their bread stale, 
 — which, in these countries, where the cakes are swal- 
 lowed hot as soon as made, caused them, it is said, 
 to have only " stomachs to eat, and not to fight." * 
 
 te Many fowls in a house will defile it, and many 
 Kashmiris in a country will spoil it." " If you meet a 
 snake do not put it to death, but do not spare a 
 Kashmiri." " Do not admit a Kashmiri to your friend- 
 ship, or you will hang a hatchet over your doorway.'' 
 
 In this spirit are the remarks of the neighbouring 
 nations, when speaking of a Kashmirian ; but the same 
 want of courage that obliges them to have recourse 
 to artifice and dishonesty, has caused their other 
 faults to be regarded in a still more unfavourable 
 light ; for as far as mere morality is concerned, I 
 should say that the Kashmirian had very much the 
 advantage of both the Sikh and the Patan, i( Give a 
 dog a bad name and hang him," is fully exemplified 
 in the manner in which they are spoken of. They are 
 certainly a lying and deceitful race of people ; but 
 when detected in a fault, their excuses are so very 
 ready and profuse, and often so abound in hu- 
 mour, that it is impossible to abstain from laughing, 
 
 * Henry V.
 
 WOMEN OF KASHMIR. 143 
 
 and to attempt an exhibition of anger becomes a 
 farce. 
 
 Many of the women are handsome enough to 
 induce a man to exclaim, as did the Assyrian 
 soldiers, when they beheld the beauty of Judith, — 
 " Who would despise this people, that have among 
 them such women ?" Their dress has already been 
 described : a red gown with large loose sleeves, red 
 fillet on the forehead, over which is thrown a white 
 mantilla. The hair is collected in separate plaits, 
 then gathered together, and a long tassel of black 
 cotton is suspended from it, almost down to the ankles. 
 The Hindu women usually wear a white rolled cloth 
 tied loosely round the waist. 
 
 In Kashmir, there is no purdah, or conceal- 
 ment of the features, excepting amongst the higher 
 classes. I do not think that the beauty of the 
 women has been overrated They have not often 
 that slim and graceful shape which is so common 
 in Hindustan, but are more usually gifted with a 
 style of figure which would entitle them to the 
 appellation of fine or handsome women in European 
 society. They have the complexion of brunettes, with 
 more pink on the cheek, and that of the Hindu women 
 has often too much of the pink and white in it ; and, 
 in this respect, they resemble the Armenians and 
 Turks of Yarkund. But, whatever the other features 
 may be, they have usually a pair of large, almond- 
 shaped, hazel eyes, and a white and regular set of
 
 144 GIPSIES OF KASHMIR. 
 
 teeth. I am not speaking- of the unbeautifying effects 
 of dirt, poverty, and misery united ; and the Kash- 
 mirian women, are, of course (the enamorata of Gil 
 Bias, at Algiers, is an exception) wholly deficient in 
 the graces and fascinations derivable from civilization 
 and accomplishment, but for mere uneducated eyes 
 I know of none that surpass those of Kashmir ; to the 
 natural brilliancy and softness to which the length 
 of a black eyelash, and a little surmu or antimony, 
 is a great addition. 
 
 The inhabitants of the boats, male and female, are 
 perhaps the handsomest people in the valley, and this 
 is in accordance with the general opinion. I have been 
 also much struck with the beauty of the Watul tribe. 
 They are, I believe, gipsies, and have all the manners 
 and appearance of gipsies. They live in tents, or 
 rather small huts of thatch, which are easily rebuilt 
 when occasion requires it, and by reason of their indis- 
 criminate use of any food they have no caste, and are 
 looked upon both by Musalman and Hindu, with the 
 greatest contempt. I heard nothing worth recording of 
 their history.* Many of their beautiful children are 
 sold and sent as slaves to the Panjal, and, I believe, 
 that many of the prettiest of the nach or dancing girls 
 are born of Watul parents. These last of course 
 
 * Vide note supra ; and on the probability that the gipsies (whose 
 creed resembles that of the Buddhists, and whose language is that of 
 India, with, I believe, many Sanscrit words intermixed) may be the 
 descendants of Kashmirians, who were driven from the valley by the 
 persecutions attendant upon a change of dynasty.
 
 DANCING GIRLS. 145 
 
 *' Bred only and completed to the taste 
 Of lustful appetence ; to sing", to dance, 
 To dress, and troll the tongue, and roll the eye" — 
 
 {Par. Lost, book xi., v. 618.) 
 
 are originally chosen for their beauty, and formerly 
 were able to amass large sums of money by their 
 professional avocations ; but a successful debutante is 
 usually sent for to Lahor ; and the decrease of general 
 prosperity in the valley has so effected their fortunes? 
 that the naching of Kashmir is not so good as may be 
 seen at Delhi or Agra. The songs of the dancing 
 girls are, of course, redolent of love and wine ; but 
 such as I have had translated to me I did not think 
 worth transcribing. I subjoin a specimen of the words 
 they use ; " What Chinese painter has come and 
 painted your eyebrows? The bloom on your cheeks 
 is that of Budukshan or Machin (China). Your eyes 
 are like Narcissuses, and when I look at them, I feel 
 as if I were under the influence of wine." 
 
 We must now quit the city, in order to prosecute 
 our tour along the northern side of the valley. It is 
 usual to descend the river, as the banks on either 
 side are comparatively flat and uninteresting. On 
 the left is the sedgy lake of Hakrit-sar (the weedy 
 morass). The word Dul is applied to a lake in the 
 plains. Sar is the term for a morass ; and Nag 
 (literally, a serpent) is used as a name for the moun- 
 tain lakes or fountains, whose depth and clearness 
 entitle them to be considered as fitting abodes of 
 
 VOL. II. l
 
 146 THE PLACE OF MARRIAGE. 
 
 some one of the innumerable divinities of the Hindu, 
 pantheon. 
 
 At eleven miles distance by water Irom the city 
 we arrive at the village near which the Sind river 
 empties itself into the Jylum ; whence, perhaps, its 
 name — Shadipur, or the place of marriage. Close to 
 it is the little island with the never growing chunar, 
 already noticed. The northern side of the angle, 
 formed by the Sind and the Jylum, is occupied by a 
 neat modern garden, called the Dub-bagh. In the 
 middle of it is a comfortable dwelling-house, and a 
 bath, where I have more than once halted for the 
 night. The Duras pass, through which the Sind 
 river flows into the valley, forms a fine opening in 
 the mountains on the right, but I have reserved a 
 description of it until I mention it on my return from 
 little Tibet. It is, however, as well to notice here, 
 that at Akhun Mulah Shah there is a house and shrine 
 at the foot of the mountains of the left bank of the 
 Sind, which should on no account be passed without 
 being seen, as the remains of what was once a beach 
 are to be seen there, in the shape of enormous masses 
 of shingle. I have already noticed them in my re- 
 marks upon the geology of the valley. 
 
 We next descend the river to Simbul, distinguish- 
 able at a great distance by its lofty clump of trees. 
 Near it commences a canal, by which boats are ena- 
 bled to proceed to Sopur, thus avoiding the passage 
 through the Wulur lake, in flood time, and tem-
 
 BEAUTIFUL LAKE. 147 
 
 pestuous weather. The river here, which is about a 
 hundred yards wide, and not more than six or eight 
 feet deep, is crossed by a large bridge of deodar, 
 Close to it are two little lakes, Opun and Wusikura ; 
 and, opposite to it, rises the hill of Aha-Thung. 
 
 Between the northern side of this hill, and the foot 
 of the higher mountains, lies Manasa Bui, the most 
 beautiful lake in Kashmir. Its length is about one mile 
 and a half, its width three-quarters of a mile, and its 
 depth, in proportion to its size, is far greater than any 
 other. On the northern side of it are the terraced 
 remains of the palace and garden, built by 3Nur Jehan- 
 Begum. At its upper extremity is a lime-kiln and a 
 neat little Hindu stone building, shaped like that of 
 Payech, but smaller, and solid, standing in the water. 
 A bank of fossil limestone commences near it, and is 
 continued along- the foot of the mountains towards 
 the Wulur lake, and above it the limestone strata, 
 which rest against the boundary mountain, are raised 
 and twisted into every variety of curve. The hill of 
 Aha-Thung — so named, I believe, after a fakir — is 
 about three hundred feet above the bed of the river. 
 The lake appears to occupy the hollow produced by 
 the up-rising of the hill itself, whose wounded sum- 
 mit and rugged sides, are covered with lowjungul, 
 amongst which, I saw the prangus-plant and the 
 dwarf juniper. Neither, I believe, are found at a 
 lower elevation, about 6000 feet. 
 
 Having, on one occasion, followed some par- 
 l 2
 
 I'i8 HINDU RUINS. 
 
 tridges into the jungul on the side of the hill, I was 
 making my way up to them, and heard a rush close 
 in advance of me ; in another instant, I saw two half- 
 grown young bears, scampering off with all possible 
 speed. 
 
 The whole space which intervenes between the 
 Manasa Bui, and the Wulur lake, is nearly covered 
 with the wild indigo-plant, and, in the marshy ground 
 on the left of the Jylum, are the ruins of Paharis-pur* 
 or Parihas-pur, built originally by Lalala-ditya, a.d. 
 714 ; where, according to the Ayin Akberi, there was 
 a large Hindu temple destroyed by Sikundur, as al- 
 ready mentioned. The Kashmirians pronounce the 
 name as if it were u Poms," and it is not improbable 
 that the mere name may have originally been one and 
 the same. 
 
 The river next enters the Wulur hike, which it 
 again leaves at Sopur, on its way to its exit at Bara- 
 ntula. But we must first visit the sacred lake of the 
 Gunga Bui, on the mountain of Haramuk, which oc- 
 cupies so considerable a place on our right, and its 
 enormous spurs, and precipitous ridges, may be said 
 to form one mass of mountain between the Sind 
 river and the Wulur lake. 
 
 In leaving the city to visit the Gunga Bui, we 
 pass through the picturesque village of Nunur, leav- 
 ing that of Lar, which is equally so, on the left ; cross 
 the Sind river, at the opening of the Duras pass, 
 
 * Vide Prinsep'a Tables, Wilson's Kashmir, and ante.
 
 shepherd's dog. 149 
 
 and ascend the mountain from near Ramrad, situated 
 in one of the recesses at its foot ; the ascent itself 
 being" very long, steep, and fatiguing. It suddenly 
 emerges on an open plain, on the shoulder of the 
 mountain ; previously to which, a ledge of trap rock 
 by which the path is traversed, is gradually extended 
 into a fearful precipice on the left. There is a great 
 deal of verdure on the plain, and on which, during the 
 warm months, a great many sheep and goats are pas- 
 tured, under the care of the Chaupans already men- 
 tioned. 
 
 On the summit was a small tattered tent, 
 from which issued a shepherd and his wife, for the 
 purpose of staring at me, and two or three magnifi- 
 cent sheep-dogs, of the breed which is common 
 throughout the mountains of Tibet, and their owner 
 had some difficulty in restraining them from attacking 
 me and my English terrier. I was so struck with the 
 beauty of one of them that I purchased him. His 
 height, head, and tail, were those of a small New- 
 foundland ; his chest was wider, and his body, which 
 was covered with long straight hair of a black and 
 tawny colour intermixed, was thicker and heavier in 
 proportion. His strength was very great, and when 
 brought to the city he effected his escape by pulling 
 down the thin wooden pillar which supported the 
 balcony of my pavilion. He was retaken, but 
 brought back with him evident marks of the despe- 
 rate conflicts he had sustained with a bear, or with the
 
 150 DR. GORDON. 
 
 Pariah dogs in the city. I afterwards sent him down 
 the Tndus with Dr. Gordon, the political agent at Ba- 
 hulpur, who kindly undertook to take him to Bombay. 
 
 Runjit Singh had fitted out a flotilla of boats 
 laden with merchandise, and Dr. Gordon, who had 
 the command of it, was thus, I believe, the first Eu- 
 ropean who had taken boats down the river. 
 
 Gunga, for so I called the dog, from the name 
 of the place where I bought him, reached England, 
 but arrived only to die. He had been fed on rice 
 during the voyage, and his sight and his stomach were 
 both destroyed. This kind of dog is an excellent 
 guard, but he does not seem to have been fitted by 
 nature for any other purpose. I had another of a 
 black and tan colour, whom I called Skar-Do, as 
 Ahmed Shah of little Tibet had given him to me. 
 In common with the other animals inhabiting the more 
 elevated regions of Tibet, he was furnished by nature 
 with an under covering of poshm or wool, as a de- 
 fence against the cold of the regions he inhabits. 
 There is a dog of this species in the Zoological Gar- 
 dens, Regent's Park. 
 
 To the best of my recollection it was a good three 
 miles' walk from the edge of the plain to the Gunga 
 Bui, or place of the Ganges. I found the Holy Lake, 
 with another small one near it, lying under the wildest 
 and most lofty peaks of the mountain. Its length is 
 about 11 miles ; its width only 200 or 300 yards. 
 Its waters were not particularly clear, nor had it the
 
 THE HOLY LAKE. 151 
 
 appearance of very great depth. Its elevation, by 
 thermometer, and judging also from the limit of forest, 
 must be about 12,000 i'eet above the sea, whilst the 
 highest of the peaks around it may be about 1000 feet 
 higher. Hara Muk or Muki signifies all mouths or 
 faces, and is so called either from the square-sided, 
 rick-shaped figure of its summit, or from its being, 
 visible from all sides, by reason of its isolated situ- 
 ation and superior height. Besides the basaltic 
 amygdaloid, so common in Kashmir, I found granite 
 upon Harainuk, but not in situ. The immense acci- 
 dental blocks of granite in the Baramula pass, already 
 noticed, would seem from their relative position, and 
 the course of the river, to have passed over Haramuk, 
 and been transported to their present place by the 
 agency of the deluge. 
 
 The Hindus of Kashmir appear to have been 
 wiser than their neighbours of the plains. I was told 
 that a Sati had never taken place until the time of the 
 Sikhs ; that is, whilst it was in possession of the suc- 
 cessive Mohamedan masters, who forbid the custom. 
 Of course we may reasonably conclude that they 
 were common enough during the time of its ancient 
 Hindu dynasty. 
 
 At present there are three places on the out- 
 skirts of the city where the bodies of Hindus are 
 burnt. Two days afterwards three small bones are 
 picked from the ashes, and placed, with a small piece 
 of money, in an earthern vessel closed up with clay,
 
 152 FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 
 
 which is deposited in a niche over the door, with a 
 cherag or small oil lamp. Before sunrise the rela- 
 tions assemble, and turning- towards the earthen ves- 
 sel, all loudly ask the departed whether he be hun- 
 gry, thirsty, cold, warm, happy, unhappy, &c. ; 
 and for ten days, very early in the morning, they also 
 carry another earthen vessel to the river-side, fill it 
 with water lifted in by the hand, carry it home, 
 and tell the departed it is for him, and then throw 
 rice, fruit, bread, and flowers into the sacred river, 
 and also into the earthen vessel. The Vetusta, or 
 Jylum, is one of the sacred rivers invoked in prayer 
 by a Brahmin when performing his ablutions. On 
 the tenth day they shave their heads and perform 
 their ablutions, and the earthen vessel is covered 
 in at the water's edge ; and, as they usually be- 
 lieve that a gin has got into it, all the children, first 
 turning away their heads, swing the jar into the water, 
 and then, after a few more prayers and hasty ablu- 
 tions, they return home quickly. 
 
 On the 8th of the Hindu month of Bhadra (20th of 
 August), there is a great pilgrimage of Hindus to the 
 Gunga Bui, who remain on its banks for a day or two, 
 praying and performing their ablutions, and the three 
 small bones are thrown into its sacred waters with 
 money and sweetmeats. In the native tradition of the 
 valley it is affirmed that Siva, for the benefit of his fol- 
 lowers in Kashmir, went to Haramuk and pulled his 
 own hair, and that the water of the Gunga Bui imme-
 
 THE GREAT LAKE. 153 
 
 diately began to flow. I saw a bottle filled with 
 the holy water of the lake by a Sikh officer in attend- 
 ance, and I then carried it with me to Lahor, where 
 T presented some of it to Runjit, in a silver cup orna- 
 mented with cows' heads, which was made for me in 
 Kashmir. The old man seemed much pleased with 
 this attention, and No Nehal Singh eagerly dipped 
 his fingers into the water, and reverently moistened 
 his forehead with it. 
 
 The shores of the Wulur or great lake are verdant, 
 but comparatively bare of trees. They slope gently 
 down to the water's edge, from the lofty range of moun- 
 tains which surround it on the north-east, but they are 
 flat and marshy towards the plain. Its greatest length 
 from Nungil to Bundurpur is not more than twelve 
 miles, its width from Surapara to Baba Shukur-u-Din 
 (thanks or gratitude of the faith) is not more than 
 eight and a half. There are numerous villages on its 
 banks, the largest of which is Bundurpur, at the 
 mouth of a fine valley, down which flows the prin- 
 cipal feeder of the lake ; it is at the same time the 
 commencement of the pass to Gurys and little Tibet. 
 
 Three miles before the boat arrives at Bundurpur 
 we reach Lank, or "the island," the only one in the 
 Lake. It was raised and shaped by Zyn-ul-ab-u-Din, 
 who affirmed that he saw " the round towers of other 
 days" beneath the water, — the ruins of a city that is 
 said to have existed where the lake is now ; and with 
 these he made the island. The enormous mass of
 
 154 ISLAND IN THE LAKE. 
 
 ruins that form the substratum of the island would 
 almost tempt me to believe in the story ; but it is 
 more probable that he caused the blocks to be brought 
 from other ruins. Its surface occupies three or four 
 acres, which are covered with large trees, and the 
 remains of a fine old Hindu building, evidently a 
 palace and not a temple, a considerable part of 
 which is still remaining ; the arches and columns 
 being" of the same form as those at JVJartund : 
 the only difference is in the arrangement, there being 
 two tiers of small arches, one above another, in the 
 front wall of the building. 
 
 The view of the island at a little distance on the 
 Lake, with the amphitheatre and mountains in the 
 background, is exceedingly picturesque The pro- 
 montory on which the shrine of Bala-Shukur-u-Din is 
 situated, projects boldly into the lake, and is the most 
 conspicuous of the inferior eminences by which this 
 noble sheet of water is surrounded. Its height is 
 about three hundred feet above the lake ; its forma- 
 tion a beautifully spotted amygdaloid; and on its 
 conical summit is the shrine of the saint I have 
 already named, containing nothing remarkable in 
 itself, but it should be visited on account of the 
 splendid prospect it commands. The Wulur, like 
 the city lake, is a lake simply because its bottom is 
 lower than the bed of the Jylum; it will disappear 
 by degrees as the bed of the pass at Baramula 
 becomes more worn away by the river; its extent
 
 WATERFOWL ON THE LAKE. 155 
 
 also is perceptibly becoming more circumscribed 
 by the deposition of soil and detritus on its mar- 
 gin, in the vicinity of Bundurpur, where the water is 
 shallow. Land springs, however, are occasionally 
 seen bubbling up to the surface, and it is nowhere 
 deep, except in the vicinity of Baba Shukr-u-Din. 
 
 The lotus, and other water-plants, which I have 
 already noticed when speaking of the city lake, are 
 found here in great abundance, and in the autumn 
 the waterfowl appear to be innumerable ; swans, 
 geese, and a species of sea-gull are very common ; the 
 latter breeds there ; I have seen its egg deposited on 
 the thickly-matted leaves of the aquatic plants, with 
 nothing that can be called a nest around it. I am 
 unable to say whether it is a new species, not having 
 one of them amongst my specimens. 
 
 Upon the breaking up of the frost, the wild fowl 
 take their departure to the northward, topping in 
 their flight the most elevated ridges of the Himalaya, 
 and descend on the plains of Yarkund and JMogulis- 
 tan, whence they came on the approach of winter. 
 The Kashmirians would have me believe, that being" 
 somewhat out of condition for a long voyage, they 
 rest for the first evening on the summits of the moun- 
 tains around the lake, and that being instinctively 
 aware of the difficulty they would have in finding a 
 supply of food in the sedgeless streams of Tibet, 
 they carry with them in their bills from the lake a 
 supply of singaras, and their resting-places for the
 
 156 FISH OF THE LAKE. 
 
 night are denoted by the ground being covered with 
 the shells. I do not vouch for the truth of this story. 
 I have also heard — what is by no means unlikely to be 
 true — that the wild fowl, in their first rising, skim the 
 summits of the mountains so closely, that in one gully 
 in particular, the natives conceal themselves, and 
 knock them down by throwing sticks at them as they 
 pass. 
 
 Fishing is carried on to a great extent by the in- 
 habitants of the neighbouring villages, who preserve 
 a great deal of the produce of their nets for sale, by 
 simply cutting the fish open and drying it in the sun 
 — using very little or no salt. 
 
 The singara or water-nut is produced in such 
 abundance on the lake, as to form a very consider- 
 able article of revenue. In the month of December 
 I have seen many dozens of boats, and several men 
 in each, collecting the singara. The roots are 
 loosened by means of ropes fastened between two 
 boats, and iron prongs are used in collecting them. 
 
 The surface of the Wulur, like every other lake 
 surrounded by mountains, is liable to the action of 
 sudden and furious hurricanes, that sweep over it 
 with such extraordinary violence, that no boatman 
 can be induced to face it. I was once nearly over- 
 taken by one myself. The boatmen were aware of 
 its approach, and paddled towards Bundurpur with 
 all the strength, skill and perseverance, they were 
 capable of. We were of course quickly overtaken
 
 SQUALL ON THE LAKE. 157 
 
 by the tempest itself, which blew across us with 
 a fury which, had it continued, must have torn the 
 thatched awning from the boat, and most likely would 
 have caused her to founder, had it been in the mid- 
 dle of the lake ; but we fortunately reached the shallow 
 water in good time ; when, upon looking back, I saw 
 the centre of the lake in one sheet of foam, a miniature 
 representation of the sea under the influence of a white 
 squall. 
 
 The Jylum leaves the Wulur, and approaches the 
 bridge at Sopur,* in a fine open stream of two hun- 
 dred yards in width. There is a castle there, built 
 originally, I believe, by the Patans, but otherwise 
 there is nothing remarkable in the place itself. 
 
 I have already remarked, that a part of the plains 
 of Kashmir, which lies southward of the Wulur lake 
 and the Jylum in its course thence to Baramula, is 
 called Miraj ; it being the larger division ; and that to 
 the north of the same line of boundary is known by the 
 name of Kamraj. It contains five pergunahs. In 
 order to visit either from Baramula, it is advisable to 
 make the first march to the village of Chaughul, very 
 prettily situated under a lower range of hills, extend- 
 ing- from the surrounding" mountains. Here the Sikhs 
 have a small fort and custom-house, and the Pahru 
 river, which is a collection of nearly all the streams 
 of Kamraj, winds by it in its course, to a junction with 
 
 * Sopur, for Sonapur (the golden city).
 
 158 PANORAMIC VIEW. 
 
 the Jylum, at a place called Doab-i-Gau — Doab sig- 
 nifies two waters, and Gau is a cow. 
 
 A panoramic view, replete with most of the beau- 
 ties of sylvan scenery, is obtainable from the hill close 
 to Chaughul, composed of ridges and hollows, plains 
 and cultivated spots, partly rescued by the hand of 
 man from the profusion of pine forest by which they 
 are so extensively covered. The Pahru river is seen 
 approaching from Lolab ; the Marawa sweeps be- 
 neath the well-wooded heights of Hundimar; another 
 river is seen descending from the dark forests of Ve- 
 hamu and Gurigam, lying on either side of the pass 
 to Kurnawur. On the eastward the eye is attracted 
 by the small surface of Rutan Sar (the jewel lake), and 
 the village on its banks ; and around all this is ex- 
 tended the noble and unbroken amphitheatre of moun- 
 tain, by which this end of Kashmir is bounded. 
 
 The sacred peaks of Seta Sar are perhaps 
 the most remarkable objects in the range. At their 
 feet is situated the village of Huryh ; above which, 
 on the jungul of the mountain-side, is a very ancient 
 Hindu ruin, to which I ascended, and found it to be 
 merely a spring hemmed in by ledges of stone-work. 
 In consequence of the locality which has been thus 
 assigned by native ignorance to the well-known tra- 
 dition of the abduction of Sita by Rawan, king of 
 Ceylon, the forest above Buryh has received the 
 name of the Dunduk Wun, signifying, I believe, the 
 wood of the abduction. My Kashmirian guide wished
 
 ANCIENT KINGS OF KASHMIR. 159 
 
 to inspire me with a feeling of the awe and supersti- 
 tion which he felt himself, and assured me that in the 
 last winter he had crossed a track in the snow, made 
 by human feet, each impression being of one yard in 
 length, and four yards from one another. 
 
 Tn my way thence to visit the province of Lolab, 
 I passed through the once large village of Taragam,* 
 mentioned by Abu Fuzl as having been the residence 
 of the Chakk family, or ancient kings of Kashmir 
 already noticed. There are still ruins to be seen 
 there, and the remains of ancient masonry around a 
 fine spring near the village ; some of the blocks of 
 which it is composed are little inferior in size to those 
 of Martund, but they have the appearance of very 
 great antiquity. 
 
 The next object that attracted my attention was 
 the body of a man hanging from a bridge by which 
 we crossed in our way. He was said to be a noto- 
 rious thief, and, having been caught at last, was 
 strung up in a place where every one could see him. 
 The Kashmirians with me said that it was only done 
 through spite. 
 
 Bears are said to be very numerous in this part of 
 the valley ; and, from the frequency and wildness of 
 its deep and thickly-wooded recesses, I can easily 
 believe the account. 
 
 The extremity of the long narrow valley of 
 Lolab, in which pergunah there are the remains of 
 
 * For Sataragani, the village or town of the stars.
 
 lt>0 CURIOUS FACT. 
 
 more than twenty villages, runs up to Kuligam, 
 under the green mountains, over which lies the way 
 from Bundurpur to Gurys ; but before arriving 
 thither, a path diverges to the right, and brings us 
 to the entrance of a large, flat, and circular space — 
 a valley within the valley, and the snuggest and most 
 retired looking region imaginable. This part of Lolab 
 is about five-and-a-half miles in diameter, and a 
 morass, that appears to have been formerly a lake, 
 occupies the centre ; the sides are verdant, and more 
 or less covered with jungul. Deodars are very 
 numerous on the left bank near the entrance. I 
 halted at the villages of Lolur and Takipur, and 
 afterwards crossed the hills, and descended in Kam- 
 raj, upon a village on the south of Choughul, after a 
 very picturesque walk that occupied the whole day. 
 In my way by the path-side, half a mile from Takipur, 
 I passed a warm chalybeate spring. At the latter 
 village the thermometer (Dec. 5th) stood at 26° at 
 sunrise. 
 
 I noticed a curious fact connected with the na- 
 tural history of this part of Kashmir, and which would, 
 I suppose, go far to prove that this singular punch- 
 bowl, being so much protected, is the warmest dis- 
 trict in Kashmir. As evening drew nigh, I was lite- 
 rally astonished to observe the number of birds of the 
 Corvus genus, who came to pass the night on its plain — 
 ravens, crows, and jackdaws, were seen in almost 
 every direction, excepting the north, whither they do 
 not repair, the country being comparatively barren.
 
 BEAUTY OF THE SCENERY. 161 
 
 They appeared in the air above the mountain-tops, 
 all moving' towards Lolab as a centre, and then sud- 
 denly, as they came in sight of their resting-place, 
 darted downwards with surprising velocity, crossing 
 each other in their zigzag, irregular flight, as if they 
 had been influenced by terror, or the fury of a driving 
 hurricane. As they neared the ground they gradu- 
 ally slackened their speed, circled over its surface for 
 a moment, and then alighted in such countless num- 
 bers, that the ground, in some places, was literally 
 blackened with them. 
 
 Returning, however, from Lolab towards the 
 Pergunah of Muchipura (the place of fish), we 
 pass over a bridge, where there is a Sikh custom- 
 house, and proceed on the way to Suhoyum, or 
 the burning ground. I have already noticed the 
 passes of Vehamu, Kurnawur, and Huryh, in my 
 general notices of the passes of Kashmir. 
 
 I repeat that I am fearful of wearying my readers 
 by so constantly referring to the beauty of the scenery; 
 but it is impossible to travel amongst the glades and 
 streams of Kamraj without being delighted with its 
 sylvan aspect. In the plains the apple-orchards are 
 numerous, and, in fact, the best fruit that the valley 
 produces is found in Kamraj, which would prove a ca- 
 pital cider country. The houses of the zemindars or 
 farmers seemed as if they could be made the ne plus 
 ultra of the snug and the comfortable. I observed 
 
 VOL. II. >1
 
 1(>2 
 
 BARAMULA. 
 
 that a fence closely resembling the Sussex hurdle 
 was much in use. 
 
 The village of Ahagam is one day's march from 
 Chaughul, and I thence went to see a worshipping- 
 place at Bhadra-Kal,* which I found to be merely a 
 collection of four or five large stones — a Stonehenge 
 in miniature — near a spring in the midle of the forest, 
 where, however, the Pundits of the place, and the 
 Sikh orderly in attendance, immediately knelt and 
 paid adoration. Near Ahagam is the village of Tu- 
 rukhur, once the residence of the Rajahs of the 
 Pergunah of Muchipora. I have already noticed 
 Suhoyum or the burning ground. Nichihama is the 
 name of the village which is close to it. 
 
 Rice and Indian corn are cultivated on the plains 
 of K am raj. 
 
 We now arrive at Baramulat (perhaps from 
 Baruh-12) or Varamula. The village of Sihamu, 
 about halfway between that place and Sopur, is fa- 
 mous for its tobacco, which I have already noticed as 
 being the best in Kashmir. At Baramula there is a 
 bridge on eight piers, and a Sikh fort, built, I believe, 
 by the Patans. The town contains about 300 houses. 
 
 * From Bhadra, an avatar of Siva, and Kali or Parbuti his wife. 
 
 f I have spelt this name in the usual manner. I was told that it 
 signified twelve springs, but do not know why it should be so called. 
 Vara, I am informed by Professor H. H. Wilson, means a boon, or 
 blessing ; or, it means best, or most excellent. Mula is a root, and 
 may apply, as the main, body of the river leaves its innumerable 
 feeders in the valley as the trunk of a tree ascends from its roots.
 
 THE JYLUM. 163 
 
 I saw a Butkhaneh, or idol-house, on the hill above 
 the town, which contained several curious bronze 
 idols, but has since been destroyed by fire. There are 
 some very elegantly-carved pillars of deodar in the 
 Jamu Musjid, and on the left bank is a shrine (I for- 
 get the name of the saint), where it is usual, in per- 
 formance of a vow, to cause a quantity of rice to be 
 boiled and distributed to the poor. 
 
 The bed of the Jylum at Baramula runs due west, 
 containing the aggregate waters of ten thousand 
 streams, and the classic river enters the gorge at the 
 commencement of the most beautiful pass in the world, 
 in a stream whose tranquil gliding gives no earnest of 
 the extraordinary fury of the rapids by which it is 
 subsequently agitated, on account, as the natives 
 affirm, of its angry feelings at being obliged to quit 
 the peaceful plains of Kashmir. I have before no- 
 ticed the Pass with reference to the geology of the 
 valley, but in other respects it remains to be de- 
 scribed. 
 
 Before, however, following up the course of the 
 Jylum after its exit, it will be better, in order to finish 
 off the description of the valley, to conduct my 
 readers along that part of each western side 
 which lies between Baramula and Shupeyon. The 
 long sloping ridges of alluvium which I have already 
 described, are usually covered with a thin jungul and 
 intersected by streams from the Panjal. 
 
 The first place of peculiar interest is the Mahometan 
 
 m2
 
 164 SECT OF THE RISHIS. 
 
 convent of Baba Pam-Rishi (Father Smoothbeard).* 
 The name of Rishi does not, considered as a Musal- 
 man title, appear to be connected with the seven 
 Rishis or Hindu sages, who spring direct from 
 Brahma. The Hishis of Kashmir do not marry, and 
 in that particular resemble European monks more 
 than any other of the Mahometan ascetics, excepting 
 perhaps the Mevlevis, whose founder died atConyah, 
 a. d. 1273. The Rishis seem to be peculiar to Kash- 
 mir, as the Dervysh to Roum, the Kulundur (signify- 
 ing pure gold) to Iran, the Son to Bagdad, and the 
 Khak-nishiu (sitters in dust), or Fakirs, to Hindustan. 
 The Kashmirians affirm, that the founder of the 
 sect of Rishis was a fakir named Khoja-Awys, who 
 lived at Kurun, a village of Yemen in Arabia, in the 
 time of the Prophet ; and they add, that Mohamed 
 would never march there, saying, that the odour of 
 God came up from Yemen, because the holy Khaja 
 Awys lived there with his mother whom he took care 
 of. The Rishis do not eat meat, and originally 
 were wanderers in the jungul, living upon wild herbs, 
 particularly one called Wopulhak. The lands and 
 convent which belong to them, were given to them 
 originally by the Mogul emperors, since which time 
 it is said that no real Rishi has existed in Kashmir. 
 Akber, when attempting to take Kashmir, was three 
 times defeated, it is said, by the Chakk kings, in con- 
 
 * I do not find them in D 'Ohsson's list of the thirty -two principal 
 Monastic orders of Islam, unless the Rusheni, whose founder, Ibrahim, 
 died at Cairo, a. d. 1529, may have reference to it.
 
 THE MOUNTAIN OF FLOWERS. 165 
 
 sequence of the prayers of the Rishis. The tomb 
 or shrine of Rishi Malu is at Islamabad, and has 
 already been noticed. 
 
 Abu. Fuzl, says, that in the time of Akber, "the 
 most respectable people of this country are the 
 Rishis, who though they do not suffer themselves 
 to be fettered with traditions, are doubtless true 
 worshippers of God. They revile not any other 
 sect, and ask nothing of any one. They plant the 
 roads with fruit trees, to furnish the traveller with 
 refreshment. They abstain from flesh and have no 
 intercourse with the other sex." He adds that there 
 are nearly two thousand of this sect in Kashmir. 
 
 On the mountain above the convent is the cele- 
 brated Gul Murg, or mountain of flowers ; a lovely 
 spot on the downs of the Panjal, flat, green, open, and 
 perfumed with wild flowers ; the snowy peaks sloping 
 gently upwards from its extremities, and the valley 
 itself extended beneath it ; whilst the scenic disposi- 
 tion of its woods and glades, watered by a stream 
 that winds through its whole length, from north-west 
 to south-east, is so highly picturesque, that little is 
 wanting but a mansion, and a herd of deer, to complete 
 its resemblance to an English park. Its length may 
 be about one mile and a half, and its width, which is 
 varied, for its shape is triangular, about one-third of 
 a mile at the widest part. At the end is a bank over 
 the stream, on which it is said the emperor Jehan 
 Gir, and his celebrated Nur Jehan, pitched their 
 tents when indulging in a picnic, and at the furthest
 
 1G6 HINDU REMAINS. 
 
 extremity is a steep descent through the jungul, by a 
 path which joins the pass, named after the village of 
 Firozpur,* which lies at its foot. The vast moun- 
 tain of Nunga Purbut is seen to great effect from the 
 ascent to the Gul Murg. 
 
 From the opening above the descent is also ob- 
 tained a beautiful peep at the wood-crowned heights 
 of Poshkhurt Bal, the highest of all the isolated hills 
 within the valley, and between it and the Panjal (so I 
 was informed, but I have not been on the spot) is a 
 village of the same name, and a small lake. 
 
 A few miles distant, and nearer the centre of the 
 valley is another hill, bare of trees, excepting one or 
 two on its summit, where there is a musjid or shrine 
 to the memory of Baba Hanuf-i-Din. The country 
 immediately around is uninteresting, and there is little 
 to repay an ascent to its summit, excepting the ad- 
 vantages it offers with reference to a survey. 
 
 Before arriving at Putun (the city, or ferry) which 
 was once a place of sufficient importance to have 
 been a Kusabah, there is a very fine deodar-tree 
 on a hill, near the left bank of the path ; and by the 
 path itself is a small old Hindu stone or pillar, with 
 an old inscription ; a few letters only remained upon 
 it, which I copied and sent to Calcutta, but they 
 were found to be illegible, although bearing some 
 resemblance to Sanscrit. 
 
 * The Cerulean City. 
 
 ' There is a lake called Poshkhur (the lotus, or flower-crowned) 
 of the greatest sanctity in Malwa.
 
 SPLENDID RUINS. 167 
 
 After Martund, the old ruin at Putim is perhaps 
 the best specimen of the square ruined Hindu temple 
 to be found in the valley. The walls and colonnade 
 of the peristyle are no longer in existence, and the 
 interior of the remaining building, with its well 
 carved and graceful figures of Vishnu and Luchmi, 
 are well worth the inspection of the traveller, being 
 scarcely inferior to those at Martund. At a little 
 distance from it are the ruined walls of a smaller and 
 separate building, and both and all are built of the 
 mountain-limestone, occurring near Putun. There 
 is also a heronry, and a morass, whose edges make 
 a near approach to the path. It teems occasionally 
 with wild fowl, and I have seen the Kulum or crane 
 there, and the Sarus or gigantic crane of the plains of 
 Hindustan. 
 
 Kahag is the next station from Putun; probably 
 the ancient Khagi, mentioned in the annals of Kash- 
 mir ; but all that now remains to give us some idea of its 
 antiquity, is a spring from which I was informed that 
 the old Hindu kings of Kashmir used sometimes to 
 send for the water they drank. There is, I afterwards 
 understood, a warm spring in the neighbourhood. 
 
 From Kahag, the next march is to the pretty 
 village of Khan Baba Sahib, and it lies near the edge 
 of the dark and extensive masses of pine forest 
 which are seen upon the left as we enter the valley at 
 Slmpeyon. I believe that all the different species of 
 firs which are known to exist in the Himalaya, north 
 of India, are there to be found, together with the
 
 168 THE WATERS OF IMMORTALITY. 
 
 Jelgoza or edible pine, which I have also seen in 
 Astor. The Deodar exists under the same name. 
 The Yari is called the chyl ; the yew is called Postil ; 
 the horse-chestnut is called the Hanu Dun. Of wal- 
 nuts there are five kinds, of which the Burzul is the 
 best, and the Bulbul Dun is so soft that the bulbuls 
 are said to peck a hole in the shell. The longest 
 species of fir, called the Rayal, is here I believe 
 called the Budil. 
 
 The Kashmirians say, that a crow having drunk of 
 the Ab-i-hyat, or waters of health or immortality, 
 alighted afterwards on this tree, and some drops from 
 his beak having fallen upon it, it became an evergreen 
 thenceforth. The misletoe is very common on walnut 
 and other trees in Kashmir, more particularly I be- 
 lieve on the east side of the valley. 
 
 A deodar so large as to require fifteen men to 
 carry it on their shoulders, is worth about fifteen 
 rupis on its arrival at the city ; and a circular block 
 of the same wood, a yard in height and thickness, is 
 worth about a shilling. No wood but the deodar is 
 used, I was told, in heating a bath, on account of its 
 superior perfume. 
 
 It is said, that in consequence of the profuse- 
 ness of the vegetation, and the numerous poisonous 
 plants which exist, the exhalations in hot wea- 
 ther are sometimes so powerful and noxious, as to 
 cause swellings and inflammation in the hands, feet, 
 and head; of those who breath them; against the
 
 WILD ANIMALS. 169 
 
 effects of which, however, the wearing of a necklace 
 of small onions is considered a specific. 
 
 Bears and leopards, particularly the former, are 
 very common; but the Musk-deer is the only animal of 
 the genus which is found on this side of the valley. I 
 have already mentioned the opinion which prevails in 
 Kashmir, that no snakes are to be found in any place 
 from which the snowy peak of Nunga Purbut is 
 visible; and, from all I could learn, it is certain that 
 few, if any, of the serpent tribe are to be found on 
 the western side, from which alone it can be seen. 
 
 T believe that the principal, or, in fact, the only 
 inhabitants of those gloomy recesses are the Gujurah 
 or keepers of buffaloes, already noticed ; who, in win- 
 ter-time, are content to reside with their charge, 
 and their wives and families, in huts and loghouses, 
 of the simplest construction, and, in summer-time, 
 find the advantage of living in the vicinity of the 
 extensive pastures, upon the elevated downs which 
 intervene between the snowy ridge and the upper 
 limits of the forest. 
 
 The primeval scenery through which I was march- 
 ing, is watered by numerous streams which descend 
 from the Panjal, and plough their way downward to 
 the Jylum ; and, in their path from Kahag to Khan 
 Baba Sahib, we pass the clear and impetuous waters 
 of the Soka # Nag, which, like all the others in the 
 
 * Soka may signify " clear," or it may be named after king Asoka, 
 B.C. 250.
 
 170 SACRED FOUNTAIN. 
 
 valley that are considered pre-eminently good on 
 account of their freshness and power of creating an 
 appetite, claim the honour of having filled the drink- 
 ing-cups of the old kings of Kashmir. The stream 
 was large enough to warrant a belief that it arose 
 from a lake, but I did not hear of one. 
 
 I left the path to visit the Nila Nag, or blue 
 fountain. It is nothing more than a large long pond 
 in the middle of the forest. Abu Fuzl, says, it was 
 " held sacred, and many fanatics consume themselves 
 with fire on its border. They likewise try their for- 
 tunes by it in the following manner : — A walnut di- 
 vided into four parts, is thrown into the spring ; if an 
 odd number floats, it is accounted a good omen, and 
 an even number is deemed unlucky. They also 
 throw milk into it, which sinking, indicates good luck, 
 but, if it floats, the omen is bad. In ancient times 
 there was in this spring, a book entitled " Nilmut," 
 containing a particular description of Kashmir, with a 
 history of this place of worship. It is asserted that, 
 at the bottom of the spring, there is a large inhabited 
 city, and that a Brahmin went and remained there 
 two or three days, and on his return, gave a wonder- 
 ful description of it." I heard nothing of all this on 
 the spot. 
 
 Cherar, containing the shrine of Shah-Nur-u- 
 Diu (or the light of the faith) is, by reason of its 
 sanctity, the largest village in the centre of the 
 western side of the valley, between Baramula and
 
 ANCIENT TOMB. 171 
 
 Shupeyon. The Musjid built over the tomb is of 
 the usual Kashmirian form, but is, perhaps, better 
 proportioned, and contains more elaborate carving, 
 than any other. Shah Nur-u-Din himself lived a 
 long time ago, and the Shah Sahib told me that his 
 great celebrity was chiefly owing to his having been 
 a Kashmirian by birth. The fakir of Eysh Mekam, 
 already noticed, was one of his disciples. His tomb 
 is now what the Kashmirians, in Persian, would call 
 a " bisear gurm zearut;" literally, a "very warm 
 shrine, " and is the most sacred in the valley. Vows 
 to it, and pilgrimages in performance of vows, are 
 constant ; each votary brings an offering of something, 
 either to the shrine or in charity to the fakirs, who are 
 of course numerous in proportion to the advantages 
 and support they derive from such a lucrative system. 
 Cherar is a Kusabah, and contains a bazaar. 
 
 The Chanz, or the Sung-i-Sufyd (river of the white 
 stone) flows down the deep ravine on the south side 
 of Cherar ; it comes as usual from the Panjal, passes 
 the village of Chodra, already mentioned, and joins 
 the Jylum, in the city. 
 
 The once populous village of Drabogam, the 
 capital of the Pergunah of Shukru, now contains little 
 more than one large house, built by some rich man in 
 more prosperous days. On account of its size and 
 elevated situation on the bank of a stream, it is 
 visible from a great distance. Close to it is a place 
 where two or three large stones, a few feet high, are
 
 172 the king's htll. 
 
 standing like those of Stonehenge; and at no great 
 distance is the old Serai of Shahji Murg (the 
 king's hill), being the first of the two that intervene 
 in a direct line between Shupeyon and the city, the 
 next being that on the Karywah of Khampur, already 
 mentioned. They were built probably by Akber, 
 rather than Jehan Gir, on the spots where he halted 
 for the night, on his way to the city from Shupeyon, — 
 whence 1 first beg-an to travel round the vallev with 
 my readers, and whither I have now again recon- 
 ducted them.
 
 TRAVELS IN KASHMIR. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Return to Baramula — Course of the Jylum — Gradual Draining of 
 the Lakes in Kashmir — Forest of Deodars — Loghouses and 
 Hindu Ruin — Massive flight of Steps — Enormous Stones — 
 Sarcophagus — Singular Building — Ruins of a Serai — Mountain 
 Scenery — Wild Olives — Path of the Emperor Akber — Serpent- 
 eater — Kathai — The Baramula Pass — History of its first Capture 
 by the Sikhs — Mazufurabad — Sources of the Kishengunga 
 River — Dherabund— Village and Sikh Fort — Musalman Monu- 
 ment — Baron Hugel — An angry Sikh — Complaints to Head- 
 quarters — Nushera — The Dor River — Falcons — The Sugar-cane 
 and Plantain — Messenger from Runjit Shigh — Torbela on the 
 Indus — The Tribe of Joseph — The celebrated Wah Gardens — 
 Jehan Gir — Summer-house and Bath — The Plain of Attok — 
 Vegetation of the Plain — Mr. Elphinstone and Lieutenant 
 Burnes — Aspect of the Country— The Salt Range — Rare Bird 
 — Navigation of the Jylum — The Ghuka Chief — His Capital.
 
 RETURN TO BARAMULA. 175 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 We must now return to Baramula, in order 
 to leave the valley, by the Baramula pass. If a 
 person wishes to go by the Punch path, it is ne- 
 cessary to cross the river opposite to the Serai in 
 the town ; by which means he will reach Uri on the 
 second day, making the first halt at Gurial. An 
 ascent over the hill begins from the river's bank, from 
 the top of which the whole course of the Jylum, as it 
 winds through the valley from the Wulur lake to 
 Baramula, is distinctly seen. The extent of the lake 
 itself is visible in the distance, and beyond it rise the 
 elevated ridges that separate the valley of Gurys 
 from that of Kashmir, and above which the snowy 
 and ponderous masses of Haramuk are seen towering 
 in all their glory. A traveller approaching Kashmir 
 by this road is astonished when he arrives at the 
 summit of the hill, by the sudden development of so 
 beautiful and extensive a prospect; and he who leaves 
 it descends on the open space of Nushera, on the 
 southern side of the Panjal. 
 
 As the path thence proceeds along the left side of
 
 176 FOREST OF DEODARS. 
 
 the river, a gentle rippling in the stream is the com- 
 mencement of that violence and impetuosity with 
 which, greater or less, the river flows throughout its 
 whole course, until it approaches the plains. As I 
 have before observed, the draining of the lakes and 
 morasses in Kashmir, whose bed is lower than that 
 of the river, will depend on the gradual wearing 
 away of the rocky bottom of the river, at the place 
 where the first rapids commence, within a short 
 distance from Baramula. 
 
 As we proceed, the mountains, on our left in par- 
 ticular, are covered with a thick forest of deodars, 
 whose brilliancy of foliage, and cedar-like and majestic 
 appearance, render it easily distinguishable from 
 every other species of pine of which the forests of 
 the Himalaya are composed. At a short day's march 
 from Baramula, we pass a second village of Nushera, 
 and the Sikh forts on either side of the Jylum, guard- 
 ing a place which is, I believe, fordable. 
 
 At Gurial, or Bonihar, there are a few loghouses, 
 and a stream descends from a pass on the left, with 
 an old Hindu ruin close to it by the path-side. 
 Proceeding thence towards Uri, we pass two more 
 ancient Hindu temples, of the same style of architec- 
 ture as those of the valley. The colonnade which sur- 
 rounds one of them is in a good state of preservation ; 
 it is also evident that the top of the building in the 
 centre of the peristyle, and now about ten yards 
 high, was once pyramidical. The remains of a mas-
 
 SARCOPHAGUS. 177 
 
 sive flight of steps are still in position before the 
 entrance. 
 
 In the interior I observed a large rectangular 
 block of stone, which appears to have fallen down 
 from some part of the building. A Kashmirian pea- 
 sant who happened to be on the spot, remarked to 
 me, that it was a sarkof (sarcophagus) ; but to me it 
 appeared a solid mass. All the remaining ruins 
 I have seen are of limestone ; but this, which is called 
 Bryn Kutri, differs from them in being built entirely 
 of granite. I know of none in situ, in Kashmir, or in 
 the pass, but the blocks were cut from a number of 
 huge erratic fragments of that stone, which are lying 
 on the bank of the river, and within a short distance 
 of the building, and they have all the appearance of 
 having been left on the spot after having been borne 
 along upon the scum of a deluge. It would almost 
 appear that the natives had originally noticed and 
 honoured them as strangers in the land, as their sur- 
 face is much covered with Hindu figures in rude 
 relief. I found similar blocks of granite on Hara- 
 muk. As I have already remarked, the component 
 parts of the pillars in the ruins in the pass are 
 much better proportioned than in those I saw else- 
 where, and by the path-side, at one of them called, I 
 think, Tula Mula, is a fallen capital, about twenty- 
 seven inches in height, and displaying considerable 
 taste, both in ornament and proportion, though it is of 
 course much damaged. 
 
 vol. n. N
 
 178 SINGULAR BUILDING. 
 
 Thence we soon after arrive at Uri, but it is also 
 necessary to return to Baramula, and descend on the 
 right bank of the stream. A small mean-looking 
 gateway, which is I believe closed at night, in order 
 to prevent the natives from leaving the valley, is the 
 representative of what once was, and still might be 
 made, a barrier of the greatest strength. 
 
 The first object worthy of notice on the way, is 
 the little pyramidical building in the water, called 
 But Dul,* on which T have already remarked. Fur- 
 ther on, upon the banks of the river, and close toge- 
 ther, are the remains of three other buildings ; the 
 first of which originally appears to have been a tomb, 
 the second a temple, and the third, a fort. I could 
 not by any means ascertain their age, nor does 
 it much signify, as they are built of mud and loose 
 stones ; those in the door of the temple being large 
 and massive. 
 
 On the second day from Baramula, by the path- 
 side, are the remains of some old arches, of the usual 
 shape. Immediately before arriving at Uri, we passed 
 a ruined Serai, and in the jungul on the path-side, I 
 picked and ate of a very palatable fruit, but of which 
 I have unfortunately lost the seeds. It was about the 
 size of an olive, of a dark purple colour, and its 
 flavour somewhat resembled that of a dried plum. 
 Hitherto the Daphne had been the only greeu plant 
 we could notice by the way-side ; but on the third day, 
 
 * The Lake of the Idol.
 
 MOUNTAIN SCENERY. 
 
 179 
 
 Dec. 14, 1835, Baron Hugel, a scientific botanist, 
 directed my attention to the first tropical plant, but 
 whose name I have forgotten. 
 
 The deodar now ceases to be an ornament to the 
 forest, the descent of the river having brought us to a 
 much lower elevation. The disposition of the moun- 
 tain scenery is as grand as ever, although the jungul 
 is almost entirely composed of wild olive-trees, I 
 suspect it to be different from the European species, 
 although it much resembled them, and in many places, 
 the crows, with more instinctive discernment than the 
 natives themselves, had been eating plentifully of the 
 over-ripe fruit, and the path way was strewed and stained 
 with the half-devoured relics. The fruit is not, I 
 believe, made use of for any purpose, but the wood is 
 esteemed for its toughness; and walkingsticks and 
 pike-handles are made of it. 
 
 On this day's march also (Dec. 14), we noticed 
 ridges of rock plunging down to the river, and 
 ascending the opposite bank in the same form, 
 having been forcibly separated at first; and lofty 
 and isolated pillars, standing erect in the stream, 
 were evidently the remains of the mass, which 
 had once opposed its weight, strength and solidity 
 to the fury of the torrent, which before it came 
 in contact with the rock itself, had evidently worn its 
 way through the immense accumulation of alluvium, 
 whose surface yet remained at a varying height of 
 several hundred feet above the present level of the 
 
 n2
 
 180 SERPENT EATER. 
 
 river, down to which, however, I contrived to find my 
 way, for the purpose of making- a sketch. 
 
 At the place just mentioned, there is a small table 
 or mark on the scarped surface of the rock, by which 
 it is known that the great Akber caused the path in 
 that place to be repaired, and built upon the edge 
 of the precipice. 
 
 I have already mentioned that the hare and the 
 partridge are not to be met with in Kashmir. I 
 found them for the first time on the third and fourth 
 day, in the pass. I saw but one hare, that of the 
 plains of India, which I killed ; but the black par- 
 tridge was calling in every direction in the after- 
 noon. 
 
 The eye was frequently attracted by patches of 
 cultivation, surrounding villages on the mountain- 
 side, situated as if the inhabitants had thought of 
 nothing but their own safety, and the inaccessibility 
 of their dwellings. 
 
 At Buliasi I saw a fakir in possession of a small 
 horn of the Markhur,* which animal, I heard, for the 
 first time, from him, was occasionally found in the 
 mountains to the westward ; but I have some doubts 
 of this fact. 
 
 Near a place named Kathai, where there is a Sikh 
 castle, the richly-perfumed yellow jonquil was in full 
 flower. The jungul on the mountains was composed 
 
 * Serpent-eater or gigantic goat. — Vide the Author's "Afghanis- 
 tan."
 
 THE BARAMULA PASS. 181 
 
 of olives, figs, mimosas, barberries, and wild pome- 
 granates ; the brilliant scarlet blossom of the latter 
 was rapidly changing into fruit. The right side of the 
 river is called Ghuka by the natives ; the left, Bamba — 
 (Bam signifies the left) ; and the inhabitants them- 
 selves are distinguished by the name Ghuka-Bam- 
 bas, as before mentioned. 
 
 The Jylum itself is here called simply Duriya, or 
 the river, by the Mahometans, but the Hindus, 1 have 
 already remarked, usually give it its ancient name of 
 the Vetusta or Betusta (Hydaspes). 
 
 The Baramula pass was first taken by the Sikhs 
 under the governor Kupar Ram. * Five Rajahs 
 went to meet him with their united forces, but re- 
 treated as he advanced into the pass. The Rajah 
 of Kathai, Mazufur Khan, and Zuluf Khan, his son, 
 fled before him, and perished in the snow, on the 
 mountains near Kathai. Kupar Ram had also, in 
 the previous year, made another of his sons, who had 
 come to meet him, a prisoner at Baramula, and whom 
 he now took with him to Kathai, where he gave 
 him his liberty, and reinstated him in the government 
 of his Raj. 
 
 The Sikh general then advanced up the pass, 
 carrying with him one six-pounder, slung on poles, 
 
 * These were Sultan Zuburdust Khan (strong hand) of Mazufura- 
 bad, Sultan Nuzub, the Rajah of Kahawur two days' march up 
 the Kishengunga from Mazufurabad. Rajah Ah Khan of Doputa 
 on the river, Munsur Khan of Kurnawur, together with Rahim Ullah 
 Khan, the Rajah of Rajawur.
 
 182 THE BARAMULA PASS. 
 
 and borne by thirty-two men at a time,— two hun- 
 dred men in all being employed on this service. 
 Guns on carriages could not pass in the present state 
 of the paths. He advanced from Baramula to Ka- 
 thai in six days, with probably four or five thousand 
 men. My informant, who was a servant of Kupar 
 Ram, and went with him, mentioned a much larger 
 number. He built the square Killah or castle at 
 Kathai, remaining there a month. He occupied six 
 more days in making his way good to Doputa, where 
 he remained another month and built another castle. 
 He thence reached Mazufurabad in three days, which 
 the Rajahs deserted at his approach ; but, I believe, 
 the Rajahs of Kahawur and Doputa came in and 
 submitted to him. Old Zuburdust Khan of Mazu- 
 furabad remained in the mountains until the return 
 of Kupar Ram to Baramula, which took place shortly 
 afterwards. The opposition which Mr. Moorcroft 
 met with in the Baramula pass, was owing, it is said, 
 to the machinations of Moti Ram, the then Sikh go- 
 vernor of Kashmir: but I have noticed this before. 
 
 Mazufurabad,* is so named after Mazufur Khan, 
 who built it. He was the Rajah of Chikri, which is 
 the old name of the place ; and five or six Rajahs had 
 intervened between him and the present Mazufur 
 Khan, who came to pay a visit of ceremony to Baron 
 Hugel and myself. He was a venerable-looking old 
 man, with a white beard, a fine and benevolent ex- 
 
 * Meaning the place of victory.
 
 MAZUFURABAD. 183 
 
 pression of countenance, and nearly blind, so that he 
 could not walk alone. He presented us with some 
 pieces of cloth stuff, of little value ; and, in return, 
 solicited from us a chit or written paper, expressive 
 of our satisfaction with the reception he had given 
 us ; a request with which, of course, we most gladly 
 complied, well knowing that the importance attached 
 to these written characters is far greater than will 
 be believed, and in the hope that he might receive 
 the full benefit of them, when the day of reckoning 
 with his Sikh oppressors should arrive. 
 
 At Mazufurabad, which is built on an angle 
 formed by the Kishengunga and the Jylum, the latter 
 river turns nearly southward, and at right angles 
 with its former course, and is soon hidden by the 
 mountains, in its way towards the plains of the 
 Panjab. 
 
 The town contains perhaps one hundred and 
 fifty flat- roofed houses (the gable-ends of Kashmir 
 having long disappeared), and is surrounded by an 
 open and cultivated district. The place is in no 
 way remarkable, excepting on account of its situation, 
 it being surrounded by an ampitheatre of long and 
 very elevated slopes. 
 
 In order to leave Mazufurabad, it is necessary to 
 pass a ferry over the Kishengunga, close below the 
 town or by another that is a mile or two to the north- 
 westward of it. Near the former, on the western bank, 
 is a large Serai, built by one of the Mogul emperors.
 
 184 SOURCES OF THE KISHENGUNGA. 
 
 Near the other ferry there is a mountain of limestone, 
 whose fine bluish colour renders it very conspi- 
 cuous, and the path towards the plains turns west- 
 ward, and almost immediately commences to wind up 
 a long and troublesome ascent, over a hill of gypsum, 
 covered with the pinus longifolia, and commanding a 
 noble view of the Baramula pass, and of the undula- 
 tions and receding distances that form the sides of the 
 valley of the Jylum. 
 
 The sources of the Kishengunga * are on the 
 edges of the plains of Deotsuh, and a stream of equal 
 size which flows from the valley of Tilyl joins it upon 
 its entrance into the valley of Gurys, whence it flows 
 through the mountains that separate the Indus from 
 Kashmir, skirting the north-west extremity of the 
 valley, and passing through the country of Derawur 
 and Kurnawur. But I again notice the river when on 
 my way to Little Tibet. 
 
 Dherabund, on the Indus, may be reached in 
 two or three days from Mazufurabad. It was 
 in its neighbourhood that Sher Singh defeated the 
 pretended Sigud Ahmed, (1827,) who had raised and 
 headed a religious war against the Sikhs. I have 
 seen it only in the distance from Torbela, about eigh- 
 teen miles lower down. Dr. Henderson went from 
 Mazufurabad towards Dherabund; he had gone in ad- 
 vance of Baron Hugel and myself from Kashmir, and 
 
 * The Ganges or river of Krishna, the Apollo of the Hindu 
 mythology, hut usually pronounced Kishengunga.
 
 FORT AND MONUMENT. 185 
 
 sent us a note to inform us of two ancient buildings 
 he had seen on the way. The messenger was to be 
 recompensed by some medicine for a sick child that 
 he carried in his arms, for which there were also in- 
 structions in the note. 
 
 On the western side of the pass, beyond Mazufura- 
 bad, we descended upon another considerable stream 
 at the village of Ghuri, flowing from north to south, 
 and joining the Jylum a few miles below Mazu- 
 furabad. We passed it by a bridge at Futigurh,* 
 and soon after were met by two messengers, who 
 had been sent by the Surdar, Huri Singh, to show 
 us the way, present his master's salaam, and inform 
 us that he had been waiting twenty days for us at 
 Mansa, our next station, whither we had arrived late 
 in the evening. We found a village and a Sikh fort, 
 picturesquely situated on the edge of one of those 
 numerous ravines by which the face of the country is 
 so much intersected, and started thence the next 
 morning, attended by the Thanadar or commandant 
 of the fort, and a mounted escort. At a few miles 
 distant, we halted to inspect the curious old Musal- 
 man monument in the jungul by the path-side ; an 
 octagonal tower about fifteen feet in height, of brick, 
 but cased with stone or composition, rounded at the 
 top and resting upon a square platform, of rough 
 stone-work, about six feet high. On the sides of the 
 
 * The Fortress of Victory.
 
 186 AN ANGRY PATAN. 
 
 tower are little pointed Saracenic niches, and the build- 
 ing is certainly Mahometan, but as old as any thing 
 of the kind in the country. 1 could get no account of 
 it on the spot. It might have been a tomb of some 
 person of rank, who had followed the cortege of the 
 emperors, to or from Kashmir. 
 
 Whilst the Baron was inspecting one side of the 
 building, I was making a hasty sketch from the other. 
 The Sikh commandant approached to look over my 
 shoulder, without my perceiving him. As he ought not 
 to have done so without my permission, a Patan ser- 
 vant of Capt. Wade's, who had accompanied me to 
 Iskardo, and was with me at the time, told him, with 
 some warmth, to keep a more respectful distance. 
 The Sikh replied, by turning to him and calling him 
 " Suur" (a hog), with a most contemptuous sneer; 
 upon which the incensed Mahometan half-unsheathed 
 his sword, and would probably have ridden at him 
 and returned the insult with a cut, had I not inter- 
 fered, by ordering the Patan to be quiet ; and I 
 then silenced the Sikh, by taking his name, and say- 
 ing that I should certainly complain of him at head- 
 quarters ; at which he was evidently much alarmed, 
 and shortly afterwards galloped back to Manasa with 
 his followers. 
 
 After a troublesome march through the inequali- 
 ties of ravines and banks formed of alluvium, we en- 
 camped at the village of Nushera, near which is a fort, 
 to which there is a way by another pass from Ghuri.
 
 PLANTAIN AND SUGAR-CANE. 187 
 
 We had now crossed the continuous mass of moun- 
 tains, and the surface of the country was occupied by 
 parched and uncultivated plains, intersected at dif- 
 ferent distances by long, barren, and rocky ridges, of 
 lower elevation. 
 
 From Nushera we rode through and along the 
 incipient waters of the Dor river, to Salat, and 
 thence again emerged upon the open vale through 
 which it flows, and which is overspread with some ex- 
 cellent shooting-ground, containing an abundance of 
 wild ducks and black partridges. We also observed 
 that the Churk falcon, or lanner, was commonly to be 
 seen, perching upon the single mimosas with which 
 the country abounded. The plantain-tree and the 
 sugar-cane began to make their appearance, and my 
 companion, a scientific botanist, pointed out to me the 
 cotton-tree,* the justitia, and the wild ginger-plant. 
 
 The Serai of Sali or Sala is a mile and a half 
 from Huri Singh's castle of Krishna Gurh, at a village 
 named, I know not why, Sikundurpur, or the city 
 of Alexander. The Krishna Gurh is the finest speci- 
 men of a square, regular, mud fort, that I had seen in 
 the Panjab ; but Huri Singh, who commanded in this 
 province, had departed before we arrived, and we did 
 not meet him until our arrival at Gujuruwallah in the 
 Panjab. The village of Kot is only five or six miles 
 distant, and thither we arrived on Christmas-day, 
 
 *Bombax Ileptafila.
 
 188 EUZOFZYES- 
 
 1835, having been met by a servant of Runjit, with 
 letters of welcome from his master. 
 
 Torbela, on the Indus, is about fifteen miles dis- 
 tant, and attainable by following 1 up the course of the 
 Dor river to its junction. I visited it upon a sub- 
 sequent occasion, and found a Sikh fort built on 
 the plain, at some little distance from the river, to 
 whose brink I rode. It was a smooth but rather 
 rapid stream, 200 yards in width, and Runjit is said 
 to have forded it here on an elephant. On the op- 
 posite bank is the town of Kabela, in the mountain 
 country of the Euzofzyes, or tribe of Joseph. An 
 open flat of about a mile in width, was extended on 
 either side of the bed of the river, up to the moun- 
 tains, throughout the whole distance from Torbela 
 to Dherabund, where it ceased, and the ascending 
 channel seemed to be more hemmed in between its 
 banks — as the name Dherabund would imply — a place 
 where there was a dam or strait. 
 
 A small conical hill, several miles above Torbela, 
 and situated on the opposite side of the river, was 
 pointed out to me as being close to the town of 
 Umb (Embolina), from which place the valley of 
 Suhat is attainable in four marches. 
 
 From Kot we proceeded to the town of Husyn 
 Abdul, which can scarcely be called a valley, although 
 there are wells in the neighbourhood. Here we saw 
 the celebrated Wah ! garden; so called because the 
 emperor Jehangir, who ordered it to be laid out, is
 
 SUMMER-HOUSE AND BATH. 189 
 
 said to have exclaimed " Wah !" the usual Indian in- 
 terjection of admiration, when he saw it completed. 
 It is now only a collection of ruined walls and sum- 
 mer-houses, basins, and aqueducts, the latter of which, 
 however, are still filled with the clear streams by 
 which the garden was so long preserved in its origi- 
 nal beauty. 
 
 Near the town are the remains of a summer- 
 house and bath, built, I was informed, by Akber, and 
 a cemetery, surrounded by a square wall, with neat 
 little towers at the angles, and containing in its 
 centre a tomb, said to be that of the celebrated Nur 
 Jehan Byhum. There is also the shrine of a cele- 
 brated Fakir, at Husyn Abdal, with a miracle at- 
 tached, but I forget the story. 
 
 The plain of Attok may be almost said to com- 
 mence at Krishen Ghur. I crossed it from Attok 
 to Kote, but have already noticed it in my visit to 
 Afghanistan. Its extent from Attok to the west is 
 about twenty miles, and north and south is about fif- 
 teen miles. The plain between Attok and Peshawur, 
 is about thirty miles east and west by twenty-five from 
 north to south. The plain of Attok to the east of 
 the river is very open, covered with long grass 
 and a low jungul, in which the sysyphus or byr 
 apple (jujube) and tamarisk trees are very common, 
 more particularly near Husyn Abdul. Numerous 
 villages of low, mud, flat-roofed huts, are seen in 
 different directions, and near these are flocks of
 
 190 VAST FORTRESS. 
 
 goats, black, smooth-haired, short-horned, which, as 
 tame animals, are by far the largest of their species 
 I have ever seen in any country. Some florican rose 
 before me on the plain, and in different places I found 
 the long species of odoriferous grass, a spikenard,* 
 from which the very powerful stimulating fluid, known 
 as the "grass oils," are extracted. I have suddenly 
 cured a very bad stiff neck by rubbing in a little for 
 two or three minutes. It may, I believe, be procured 
 at Apothecaries' Hall. 
 
 Attok I have before mentioned in my Visit to 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 The way from Husyn Abdal to Labor has 
 already been so well described by Mr. Elphinstone 
 and Lieut. Burnes, that I do not deem it necessary 
 to take a lengthened notice of it. The most remark- 
 able objects on the road are the topes of Muni-Kyalat 
 and Bulur, and the vast, old, and imposing fortress of 
 Rotas ; and the paving in the defile of Margula is so 
 short, and could have been so easily dispensed with, 
 that it seems to have been laid down in conse- 
 quence of an order given when the Mogul was out of 
 humour with the road. 
 
 The general aspect of the country is much the 
 same as that I have already noticed, when conducting 
 my readers from Lahor to Bhimbur, but there is more 
 jungul, and consequently less cultivation, on this side 
 
 * Calamus aromaticus. f The City of Rubies.
 
 RARE BIRDS. 
 
 191 
 
 of the Panjab. The salt range, extending on the 
 south of the road, from the Indus to the Jylum ; the 
 extraordinary mass of alluvium, so much intersected 
 by defiles and ravines, by which the face of the country 
 between Rotas and Muni Kyala is covered ; the sharp 
 serrated ridges of sandstone to be seen at the old 
 Serai, five miles to the westward of the lastmentioned 
 tope, extended like a wall from the north to the south, 
 and appearing to be in junction with the mountains, 
 which are many miles distant; form, to the best of my 
 recollection, the chief attractions for the geologist, in 
 a country which, excepting where the Himalaya rise 
 on the north, is but one plain, from the Indus to the 
 Sutlij. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Rawul Pindi I shot 
 a specimen of a rare and very beautiful little fal- 
 con, about the size of a merlin. The top of the 
 head was a rufous orange, the back, wings and 
 tail bluish gray, the breast white, and beautifully 
 pencilled with gray and transverse bars. I have seen 
 a specimen in the Museum of the Zoological Society, 
 but do not know its name ; it is not the blue and 
 orange-coloured hawk of Edwards. 
 
 I am indebted to Mr. Moorcroft's travels for the 
 information, that the Jylum is navigable upwards from 
 the ferry as far as Oin, on the left bank, forty-three kos 
 from the town of Jylum ; and that Dam Gali, or Galu, 
 twenty-four kos from the town, on the right bank, was 
 the capital of the Ghuka chief, who protected
 
 192 THE GHUKA CHIEF. 
 
 Humaiuan Shah, in his flight to Persia, from the pur- 
 suit of his victorious rival Sher Shah ; and that the 
 present residence of the chief of the Ghukas is at 
 Khampur, about thirty kos south-west from Mazufu- 
 rabad.* As to the origin of the disputed name of the 
 Ghikars, or Ghukas, or Khukas, I believe it to signify 
 merely, the inhabitants of the right bank of the Jy- 
 lum. Ghuka, or Khuka, as it is pronounced, signi- 
 fies, I was informed, "the right;" whilst those on 
 the left bank as already mentioned, are called Bam- 
 bas, from the word Bam, which signifies in Sanscrit 
 "the left." The inhabitants of the Baramula pass 
 are designated the Ghuka or Khuka-Bambas, which I 
 have also already remarked. 
 
 * Moorcroft's Travels. Prof. Wilson, vol. ii., p. 306.
 
 I 
 
 r JrA-J^T-aiMr
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 fyc. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Captain Wade — Iskardo, the Capital of Little Tibet — The Author the 
 first European who visits it — Attempt at Intimidation — Jews of 
 Ladak, Eaters of Human Flesh — Ahmed Shah — Departure for 
 Little Tibet — Bundurpur — Feeders of the Great Lake — Mes- 
 senger from Ahmed Shah — Doubts and Fears — Traveller's Tales 
 of Wonder — A travelling Merchant — Mountain Pass — Table-land 
 of Deotsuh — The Peak of Diarmul — Splendid Mountain View 
 The Sacred Waters — The River of Krishna — The Valley of 
 Gurys — Governors of the Valley — Entry into Little Tibet — 
 Valley of Tilyl — Bears — Courage of an English Terrier — Halt- 
 ing-place — The River of Krishna — Poisonous Fish — Poisonous 
 Snake — Wild Region — Mountain Defiles — Kababs — Classical 
 Meal — Geology and Vegetation — Villages of Little Tibet — Sher 
 Singh — Diplomacy — Cunning of Ahmed Shah — The Son of 
 Ahmed Shah — Mahometan Prejudices — Wild Gooseberry — First 
 Introduction to Ahmed Shah — Tibetian Military Music — Singular 
 Scene — Cortege of the Shah — Tibetian Costume — A Band of 
 Robbers — Attack and Destruction of them — Departure for Iskardo 
 — Origin of the Guelphs — Ahmed Shah's Respect for England — 
 Tibetian Sandals — Rock and Stronghold. 
 
 vol. ir.
 
 ISKARDO. 195 
 
 MIDDLE AND LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 It was previously to my first departure for Kash- 
 mir that I received from Capt. Wade, at Lodiana, a 
 hint or two which encouraged me to make the attempt, 
 of my own accord, to continue my journey through 
 the valley to Iskardo, the capital of Little Tibet, 
 which had never as yet been visited by any European. 
 He read me part of a letter he had received from Ahmed 
 Shah, the Rajah, or Gylfo, of that country, in which 
 he expressed his anxiety that some English Sahib 
 should visit him; and my mind was of course made 
 up in a moment. 
 
 After having resided but a few weeks in Kash- 
 mir, I found it would be necessary to carry my inten- 
 tions into effect whilst the warm weather lasted, and 
 to defer more sight-seeing in the valley until my re- 
 turn. I intimated my intentions to Mihan Singh, the 
 
 o2
 
 196 EATERS OF HUMAN FLESH. 
 
 governor, who said,, but with all proper civility, that 
 he could not allow me to pass the Sikh frontier with- 
 out permission from Lahor. Accordingly I wrote 
 forthwith to the Maharajah and to Capt. Wade, who 
 kindly made the proper representations regarding my 
 objects in travelling, and Runjit returned a favourable 
 answer to my request. 
 
 In the mean time the Sikhs in Kashmir, who well 
 knew, that, although I might obtain the permission I 
 sought for, my crossing the mountains to Little Tibet 
 would not be pleasing to the Maharajah, inasmuch as 
 it would tend to diminish his influence in that quarter, 
 — and urged, no doubt, by the additional annoyance 
 which it would cause to Rajah Gulab Singh of Jamu, 
 who had long intended to make himself master of the 
 valley of the Indus, — endeavoured to throw obstacles 
 in my way, by enlarging upon the difficulties and dan- 
 gers of the journey. The Kazi of Kashmir confessed 
 afterwards, that they had tried to bribe and intimidate 
 rny servants ; and I myself was present when the 
 Jemadar or Sikh captain commanding my guard, was 
 terrifying them by solemnly assuring them, that there 
 were Jews at Ladak, whose favourite food, amongst 
 other horrors, was human flesh. 
 
 I was not aware, at the time, that this accusation 
 of cannibalism was not without foundation, though I 
 have great doubts whether the Jemadar's story was 
 not entirely of his own invention. In the xvth vol. of 
 the Asiatic Researches, in a paper on Bhutan, trans-
 
 AHMED SHAH. 197 
 
 lated by D. Scott, Esq., we find that " when the 
 Bhuteas of Upper Tibet fight with a Deb Rajah or 
 governor, or with Pilos, amongst themselves, they 
 stand at a distance, and shoot arrows at each other, 
 and if one of them is killed, both parties rush for- 
 ward and struggle for the dead body. Whichever of 
 them may succeed in getting it, they take out the 
 liver, and eat it with butter and sugar ; they also mix 
 the fat and blood with turpentine, and making candles 
 thereof, burn them before the shrine of the deity. 
 The bones of persons killed in war are also used for 
 making musical pipes, and of the skulls they make 
 beads, and also keep them set in silver, for sipping 
 water at the time of the performance of religious 
 ceremonies." 
 
 But all the offers and assertions of the Sikhs were 
 of no avail against the counter-statement of the faithful 
 emissaries of Ahmed Shah, who I have no doubt 
 promised them both protection and emolument ; and 
 when I told them the contents of Runjit's letter, 
 they only stipulated for double wages during the 
 time they were absent from the valley, — which of 
 course I instantly agreed to give them. All neces- 
 sary preparations were made without loss of time, 
 and on the next day I was rapidly floating down the 
 broad and burnished expanse of the Jyluin, and fol- 
 lowing the windings of its tranquil stream in my way 
 to Bundurpur on the Wulur lake, whence commences 
 the Gurys path over the mountains to Little Tibet.
 
 198 THE GREAT LAKE. 
 
 Bundurpur was once a large and flourishing village, 
 and should be visited by a traveller, in order that 
 he may see how the waters of the lake have been 
 diminished, and how its margin, which was once close 
 to the village, is now nearly a mile distant from it. 
 This diminution as I have already remarked, is no 
 doubt owing to the wearing away of the rocky bot- 
 tom of the bed of the river in the Baramula pass, and 
 in after ages the lake will, in the common course of 
 events, be drained altogether, as the lakes on the plain 
 of the valley remain as they are, as already remarked, 
 merely because the bed of the river is not yet worn 
 away to a level with theirs. 
 
 The two principal feeders of the great lake de- 
 scend to it near Bundurpur. One flows, I believe, 
 from the mountain of Haramuki, and the other, which 
 is the largest, comes down the valley of Bonakot, 
 a village about four miles and a half distant from 
 Bundurpur, and whither I marched through a jungul 
 of fruit trees and wild indigo, in order to pass the 
 night, and be ready to ascend the mountain-pass to 
 Gurys the next morning. 
 
 Bonakot was the residence of a Malek some of 
 whose family are still in existence, though now en- 
 joying little or none of their former power. Dilawur 
 Malek, the present representative of the race, is the 
 owner of a small but very comfortable brick house, 
 with gable-ends and trellissed windows, and I have 
 two or three times taken up my quarters there for the
 
 MESSENGER FROM AHMED SHAH. 199 
 
 night. I shall notice his history again when speaking 
 of Hasara, or Astor. 
 
 When all was ready for a start on the morning, 
 I was informed, that a messenger from Ahmed Shah, 
 of Iskardo, had arrived, and wished to speak to me. 
 He proved to be Nasim Khan, who is mentioned in 
 M. Jacquemont's letters. A singular-looking person, 
 thin, and pale-faced, dressed in a black velvet frock, 
 with silver buttons, and wearing a black leathern 
 belt, profusely ornamented with little nobs of the 
 same metal. He approached me, bareheaded, with 
 the look and manner of a captive brigand, his small, 
 keen, and dark eye glancing suspiciously on my 
 Sikh guards ; and, after making a most respectful 
 salaam, informed me, that his master had sent him 
 to welcome and attend upon me ; that he also, 
 by his orders, brought with him a good pony or 
 tatu, who would carry me in safety to Iskardo ; and 
 after handing me a letter of invitation from Ahmed 
 Shah, he drew back and remained stationary, with 
 an aspect and in an attitude that betokened the most 
 profound submission. I scarcely, however, remained 
 to hear the letter read, but commenced the ascent, 
 and closely followed by Nasim Khan, who told me 
 that he had been waiting on the mountain for two or 
 three days before my arrival ; not daring, for fear 
 of the Sikhs, to descend into the valley, until he 
 was quite sure that I was at Bonakot. 
 
 When all his fears and suspicions were over, his
 
 200 
 
 tongue was rarely at rest, and I listened with avidity 
 and delight to the recital of his own adventures, (for 
 he was, I think, a native of the Khyber pass, who had 
 taken service with Ahmed Shah) ; his personal recol- 
 lection of M. Jacquemont, and what he had heard of 
 Mr. Moorcroft ; his stories of little and great Tibet, 
 and the countries on the north of us, including Yar- 
 kund and its Chinese masters ; how they were ever 
 at war with the Kokanis ; how they had laboured for 
 months to cut through a glacier, in order to form a 
 passage for their army ; how the general of the 
 Kokanis, had loaded several waggons with the pig- 
 tails of the Chinese soldiers, slain in action ; and 
 how, in return, his celestial majesty had sent back 
 the same number of waggons laden with millet-seed, 
 by way of intimating the countless number of his 
 troops ; — how a Chinese general, to prove his 
 powers of ubiquity, would start off his whole 
 army in carriages overnight, to a distant post ; 
 how these vehicles were sometimes drawn across the 
 country by paper kites ;* how the walls of one of 
 their strongholds were of loadstone ; and how the 
 advancing force were aghast, when (fit subject for a 
 pantomime) their side-arms flew from their scab- 
 boards, and their matchlocks struggled fiercely for 
 
 * The barren plains 
 Of Sericana, where the Chinese drive 
 With sails and wind their cany waggons light. 
 
 Par. Lost, book iii., p. 437.
 
 traveller's tales. 201 
 
 the encounter ; how beautiful were the Turki wo- 
 men, and how, when a merchant came to reside in 
 any of the cities of Yarkund, it was customary for 
 him to contract a marriage, to be dissolved upon his 
 departure ; how the Chinese, if a row took place in 
 the streets, came down upon the mob with whips, but 
 were, nevertheless, very just in their decisions, and 
 enforced the law of retribution ; how the great and 
 wonderful painter, Main", came in disguise to China ;* 
 how a celebrated Chinese painter had painted a bath 
 so naturally, that it was mistaken for real water, and 
 some people plunged into it ; and how Mani, hear- 
 ing of this, became acquainted with the painter, who 
 sent him, as he had sent others, to look at the bath, 
 and bathe if he pleased ; and how he returned, say- 
 ing, that he dare not bathe because there was a dog 
 looking at him from the bottom of the water ; and 
 how the painter, and others with him, who went to 
 see the dog, were all afraid of it, and when they had 
 found it to be a painting, turned to the stranger and 
 said, that he could be no other than Mani, the Per- 
 sian painter, of whom they had heard such wonders ; — 
 and, finally, how the Chinese soldiers would not run, 
 if beaten in action, but commenced killing each other 
 and themselves afterwards ; and how, nevertheless, 
 
 * The preacher of the Manichasan heresy, was, no doubt, the person 
 to whom he alluded ; for he travelled, says Mirkhoud, through the 
 province of Kashmir into India, and thence proceeded to Turkistan 
 and Kathai, or China.
 
 202 A NATIVE TRAVELLER. 
 
 two British regiments would be sufficient to conquer 
 the whole country ; &c. I remember hearing in these 
 countries, as something very new and amusing, the 
 old schoolboy's story, of the man who undertook 
 to plunge a knife into a certain grave, and was found 
 senseless from fear, in consequence of his having 
 pinned himself to the ground, by passing the knife 
 through his own robe. 
 
 In fact, my friend Nasim was a most amusing 
 companion, and during the whole time he was with 
 me, I ever found him an intelligent, faithful, and 
 respectful servant ; and, upon my return from Little 
 Tibet, I took him with me to Lodiana, where he 
 could pick up intelligence for his master, and render 
 assistance to him, by merely remaining in a British can- 
 tonment, as the Sikhs would be sure to think him an 
 ambassador, and would not dare to invade a country 
 whose king they imagined to be in treaty with the 
 English, in spite of all my assertions to the con- 
 trary. 
 
 Upon my second visit to Little Tibet, Nasim was 
 joined by Ali Mohamed, a Bulti, or Little Tibetian by 
 birth, who, from a love of travel, had quitted his coun- 
 try at an early age, in company with an itinerant Sau- 
 dagur or merchant. He had seen a great part of 
 India, and, in addition to the knowledge of his native 
 tongue, was familiar with the Persian, Hindustani, 
 Punjabi, and Arabic languages, and wrote an ex- 
 cellent Persian letter, and he joyfully accepted ser-
 
 MOUNTAIN-PASS. 203 
 
 vice with me because he knew that then Ahmed Shah 
 could not detain him at Iskardo, whither he was going 
 to see his parents, after an absence of many years ; 
 and I am happy to be able thus publicly to say, that I 
 found him singularly honest, faithful, intelligent, and 
 possessed of great coolness and intrepidity, when 
 any emergency required these. 
 
 A steep ascent commences almost immediately 
 from Bonakot, and in many places I found it necessary 
 to dismount. The side of the mountain was covered 
 with a jungul of fir-trees, walnuts, yew, and hazel, 
 and it occupied half a day to arrive at the halting- 
 station, a small open lawn, surrounded by the pine 
 forest, and having a pond in the centre whence we 
 drew our water. 
 
 Here, so late as the 20th of June, (for the pass is 
 not practicable for horses until about that time,) we 
 slept on the ground, without pitching either my own 
 or my servant's tent, in order to be ready to ascend 
 to the summit, and cross the snow before sunrise, 
 whilst it was yet hard with the night's frost. Rime 
 was perceivable in places where the snow did not lie. 
 Horses could not have gone at any other time, but 
 the footing was then firm enough for an elephant. 
 
 The table-land in summer-time is covered with a 
 fine greensward, and at the distance of a mile and a 
 half rises a small eminence on the left, towards which, 
 on our approach, Nasim Khan suddenly started off in a 
 gallop, calling on me to follow, and loudly exclaiming
 
 204 PEAK OF DIARMUL. 
 
 " Sahib ! Sahib ! Yek tamasha, Yek Idk" — literally, 
 one lark (fun), one lak ! — his laconic way of express- 
 ing that he would show me a view worth a lak of rupis. 
 
 I quickly followed him, and the stupendous 
 peak of Diarmul, or Nunga Purbut, more than forty 
 miles distant, in a straight line, but appearing to be 
 much nearer, burst upon my sight, rising far above 
 every other around it, and entirely cased in snow, 
 excepting where its scarps were too precipitous for it 
 to remain upon them. It was partially encircled by 
 a broad belt of cloud, and its finely-pointed summit 
 glistening in the full blaze of the morning sun, re- 
 lieved by the clear blue sky beyond it, presented, on 
 account of its isolated situation, an appearance of 
 extreme altitude, equalled by few of the Himalaya 
 range, though their actual height be greater. 
 
 This peak is called Diarmul by the Tibetis, and 
 Nunga Purbut, or the naked mountain, by the Kash- 
 mirians. I should estimate its elevation at 18,000 or 
 19,000 feet above the level of the sea, and the ridge 
 from which the highest point rears itself is seven miles 
 long, by a rough survey which I was afterwards enabled 
 to make. It stands on the western bank of the Astor 
 river, in the angle formed by its junction with the 
 Indus, and has no mountain of equal height between 
 it and the plains. 
 
 The rock, at Sona Warun (the place of gold), 
 where we stood, is of the usual basaltic formation, 
 and its height by thermometer is about 12,000 (eet
 
 SPLENDID MOUNTAIN VIEW. 205 
 
 above the sea. On the south, we saw two-thirds of 
 the vale of Kashmir ; beyond it, the snowy range of 
 the Pir Panjal ; and at our feet lay the fine expanse 
 of the Wulur lake, with its single island of Lank. 
 
 On the south-east and on the farther side of the 
 Bonakot valley, rose the massive and rick-shaped 
 tops of Haramuki, with the sacred waters of the 
 Gunga-Bul at their feet. On the north-west were the 
 snowy ridges of Chulas (a name perhaps identical 
 with the Kylas (heaven) of the Simla range) and the 
 Dardu country, and of other districts on the banks of 
 the Indus. Beyond them, again rose those of Suhat 
 and Bonyr, and on the left were those of Duravvur, 
 the peaks of Sita Sar, the mountains around Lolab, 
 and the valley of the Kishengunga river; whilst an 
 endless succession of summits occupied the horizon in 
 the direction of Iskardo. 
 
 From Sona Warun there are two ways to Gurys. 
 The one which lies on the top of the mountain dips 
 for a while in front of a precipice, and then regains a 
 long open plain, covered with large blocks of granite 
 containing white stars, whose radii were little rectan- 
 gular surfaces of quartz, half an inch long. Perhaps 
 the formation is common, but I had never seen it so 
 regularly marked. 
 
 There is a way from Bonakot, on the left bank of 
 the stream, by which this plain is attainable without 
 passing Sona Warun, and the united path then con- 
 tinues on in a straight line, until it arrives upon the
 
 206 RIVER OF KRISHNA, 
 
 brink of a steep descent, and the valley of Gurys is 
 suddenly exposed to view, at a depth of about 3000 
 feet below the path. 
 
 The other path from Sona Warun plunges at once 
 into a valley on the left, which conducts to the bridge 
 over the Kishengunga at Kunzelwun in or near the dis- 
 trict of the Pactawur river. In the spring the ava- 
 lanches of the preceding winter lay unrnelted in the 
 ravines, and the path was sometimes completely over- 
 whelmed by them ; and here and there, large rocks that 
 had been carried down by them, were curiously perched 
 upon a neck of snow, which was hardened beneath 
 their weight, and had not melted like the rest around 
 it. The Kishengunga, or river of Krishna, is a very 
 considerable stream, and in the spring season, when 
 the snows are melting, is a powerful torrent which 
 would instantly carry away the pine trunks of which the 
 bridge is made, could it rise high enough to touch 
 them. It flows from it in a north-north-west di- 
 rection, and, in order to reach Mazufurabad, it skirts 
 the outside of the north-western extremity of Kashmir, 
 and is soon lost in the mountain wilds of Pactawur 
 (most probably the Pactyaca of Herodotus). 
 
 The path to Gurys lies upon its right bank ; that 
 for horses rises high over the stream, and I once 
 crossed its summit (on which I found granite in situ) 
 in order to avoid a second transit over the face of a 
 precipice, which, for a few yards, affords but a very 
 precarious footing over its front.
 
 VALLEY OF GURYS. 207 
 
 The entrance to the valley of Gurys is exceedingly 
 picturesque, as the river comes dashing along through 
 a rich meadow, partly covered with lindens, walnut, 
 and willow trees, whilst the mountains on either side 
 present nothing but a succession of most abrupt pre- 
 cipices, and Alpine ledges covered with fir-trees. 
 
 Gurys is nowhere above a mile in width. It is 
 about five miles in length, by actual survey, and is 
 surrounded on every side by lofty peaks, chiefly of 
 mountain limestone, rising far above the limit of forest 
 which covers their lower slopes. It contains five or 
 six villages of loghouses, two Zearuts or Musalmau 
 shrines, and a small fort of wood and stone, built by 
 the Maleks of Bonakot, and another lately erected by 
 the Sikhs. The elevation of the bottom of the valley 
 is higher than that of either Kashmir, or of the Indus 
 at Iskardo, it being by thermometer about 7200 
 feet above the level of the sea. The inhabitants culti- 
 vate barley, mullet, ganhar (cock's comb), and tromb 
 or buckwheat, of the seeds of which they make bread; 
 but no wheat, rice, or Indian corn is grown there, the 
 climate not being warm enough. 
 
 The father of the present Delawur Malek of 
 Bonakot was ordered by the Patans, then in 
 possession of Kashmir, to send a force against Shah 
 Ali Khan of Little Tibet, who contrived, however, 
 to bribe him to forego hostilities, by offering him the 
 possession of Gurys; but Shah Sultan of Astor, al- 
 though a vassal of Little Tibet, made a foray upon
 
 208 POLITICS OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 Gurys, killed the Malek, and made slaves of thewo- 
 men and children. The present Malek, upon the death 
 of his father, claimed and received the protection of 
 Ahmed, Shah of Little Tibet; but when the Sikhs, 
 under Sher Singh, as governor of Kashmir, were 
 about to attempt the invasion of Little Tibet, the 
 latter sent for Delawur Malek, presented him with a 
 pair of gold bangles and a kilaat in the name of the 
 Maharajah, and, in fact, bribed him to act as their 
 guide in an expedition that ended in the discomfiture 
 of the Sikhs at Godyh, where I afterwards arrived. 
 Gurys is, most probably, the Urasa of the Rajah 
 Taringini. 
 
 In Professor Wilson's history of Kashmir, we find 
 the following : — " Sancara Verma possibly thought 
 he should divert the attention of his subjects to less 
 unpopular occurrences, by engaging them in military 
 expeditions, for he is said now to have led an army 
 to the north, where he subdued the people along the 
 Indus, and entered the Urasa country, where he was 
 shot in the neck with an arrow by a mountaineer. 
 He was immediately put into a litter, and his death, 
 which took place shortly afterwards, concealed from 
 his troops, who were immediately marched back to 
 Kashmir with all possible expedition. They reached 
 Ilolyasaca, a place on the frontier, (I do not know 
 it), in six days, where, being now out of danger, they 
 halted to perform the funeral obsequies of the mo- 
 narch. He was consumed on a stately pile, three
 
 LITTLE TIBET. 209 
 
 of his queens, a pundit named Jaya Sinha, and two of 
 his servants, burning themselves with the body." 
 
 At half-past seven on the morning of the 31st of 
 August, 1835, in the shade and the open air, the ther- 
 mometer stood at 54° Fahrenheit, in Gurys. 
 
 I was now about to enter the territories of Little 
 Tibet, and for some days to bid adieu to human habi- 
 tations, saving the little village of Zean, seven miles 
 distant, and was provided accordingly with an extra 
 number of kulis, so that my party now consisted of 
 about forty-five people. The Killahdar, or officer in 
 charge of the fort in Gurys, was also in attendance 
 upon me, and attracted my attention by being the only 
 person whom I met throughout the east, who tacked 
 on the word " Khurban," at the end of any answer 
 he made to me. His meaning was simply one of 
 submission, '- I am your victim or sacrifice.' 1 ' I need 
 scarcely remark that the same word is used in scrip- 
 ture,* although the application be different. 
 
 The upper end of the Gurys is occupied by a 
 superb peak of mountain limestone, nearly three thou- 
 sand feet in height above the valley, and dividing the 
 valley of the river of Tilyl from that of the Kishen- 
 gunga, on the banks of which lay the path to Zean ; 
 and I noticed an immense mass of alluvium, which 
 must have once choked up the entrance to the valley, 
 and through which the latter river appeared to have 
 worn its way, A little further on are some breast- 
 
 * Mark vii. 11. 
 VOL. II. P
 
 210 VALLEY OF TILYL. 
 
 works thrown up, where the path is so narrow and the 
 bank so steep, that the pass is commanded by them. 
 
 Tilyl is another valley, somewhat resembling 
 Gurys, and lying to the north-east of it, and parallel 
 to the Kishengunga river, there is a path from Kash- 
 mir to Tibet, which runs through it, quitting, I be- 
 lieve, the valley by the same ascent that leads to 
 the Gunga Bui, by following up its stream from the 
 place of its junction with the Sind river. The path 
 to Little Tibet afterwards ascends the plains of 
 Deotsuh, and that to Great Tibet opens upon the Sikh 
 castle at Duras. 
 
 The inhabitants of Tilyl are few in number, and 
 till lately were subjects of Ahmed Shah, who, in- 
 stead of taking a tribute in money, contented himself 
 with receiving annually a present of a sheep, and a 
 coil of rope from each house. 
 
 From Gurys, it is necessary to make three marches 
 to Burzil (the birch-trees) at the foot of the elevated 
 plains of Deotsuh. The first halting-place is at Zean; 
 the next at a place called Makpan, a name which I 
 always understood to mean the army, but which 
 Mr. Moorcroft says, he heard was the name of the 
 patriarch angel of Bultistan.* It is merely a halting- 
 place near the river-side, without any habitation. 
 Bears are very numerous, and in the evening and 
 the morning, there were one or two always in 
 sight, feeding upon roots that grew upon the open 
 
 * Moorcroft's Travels, vol. ii.. p. ^67.
 
 BEARS. 211 
 
 side of the mountain. I once saw five from the same 
 spot at the same time. They were usually in pairs. 
 The brown bear, as I have before remarked, is the 
 female, and the larger yellowish white bear, with a 
 dash of flame-colour on the shoulder, is the male 
 animal. The black bear is more usually found in the 
 thick jungul. On the third morning I contrived to 
 get very near to a large brown bear at feed upon the 
 plain, and believe that I put a ball into her side ; but 
 instead of turning upon me, as they usually do when 
 wounded, she was, I suppose, frightened by my 
 English terrier, who, not knowing her danger, sprang 
 forward at her, as she would have done at a cat, 
 and chased her over the rocky ground to the edge of 
 the Kishengunga, and some of my servants assured 
 me, whether truly or no I cannot say, that they saw 
 her drop on the opposite bank. 
 
 I well remember, that at one place, where it was 
 necessary to throw a trunk of a tree, as a bridge over 
 a torrent, the Kashmirian Kulis set down their bur- 
 dens, and were dragging one towards the bank, and 
 my terrier, who had a soupgon of the bull-breed in 
 her, became so excited by the noise and vociferations, 
 that she dashed into the crowd, and seized one of them 
 by the calf of the leg, — to the great amusement of all 
 the party, excepting the bitten individual, who was 
 however quickly restored to the best possible humour 
 by a present of a little money, and would no doubt 
 have been glad to have been bitten again on the same 
 
 i>2
 
 212 POISONOUS FISH 
 
 terms ; and upon two or three occasions, when I have 
 had the misfortune to pepper a peasant's legs with 
 small shot (which by the by, with all caution, it is 
 sometimes reallv difficult to avoid, on account of their 
 extreme carelessness), I have made them perfectly 
 happy with a few rupis. 
 
 The Kishengunga contains a great many fish, 
 and some of my kulis, as we approached a particular 
 spot where there was a little smooth water, and quiet 
 lying for them in a nook, apart from the violence of 
 the torrent, took off their kumurbunds, fastened them 
 together^ and then let them drop like a net into the 
 water ; whilst another so placed himself as to drive 
 the fish gently towards and over them ; they then lifted 
 the cloth, and caught at one haul at least one hundred 
 fish, of about half or quarter of a pound each. Some 
 of them were cooked for dinner, but I abstained from 
 eating the roe, as I was cautioned not to do so, it 
 being considered poisonous. One of my servants, a 
 Hindu, who had disregarded the warning that had 
 been given him, became so alarmingly ill that I 
 thought he would have died, and 1 had him carried to 
 the station at Burzil, where he arrived, after enduring 
 great torment, from which he did not entirely recover 
 until the following morning. 
 
 There is a place called Bungala Bui on the way, 
 within a short distance of Zean, from which ascends 
 the path to the valley of Astor, afterwards noticed, 
 and nearly opposite to it, the Kishengunga had appa-
 
 SNAKE KILLED. 213 
 
 rently worn away the limestone rock to a depth of 
 one hundred and fifty feet. I killed a small snake not 
 far from Gurys* which the natives said was the only 
 species to be found in this part of the country. 
 
 The caraway-plant, and wild leeks, and prangus 
 were growing- in abundance amongst the rank and 
 profuse herbage on the open mountain-banks. These 
 regions were not always, I was informed, so desolate 
 and houseless as they are at present. But in conse- 
 quence of the encroachments of the Sikhs, Ali Slier 
 Khan, the father of Ahmed Shah of Iskardo, acted 
 but prudently, by destroying every cottage in the 
 district ; so that an invading force can now receive no 
 encouragement in the way of provisions or shelter. 
 
 Halfway between Makpan and Burzil the ascent 
 turns abruptly to the left. The straight path is con- 
 tinued across the mountains, by which the castle of 
 Katakchund, on the Indus, may be reached on foot in 
 ten days. A horse can go only half that distance. 
 
 On approaching Stakpilah, otherwise called Burzil, 
 or the Birches, the limestone suddenly ceases, and is 
 succeeded by a formation of granite, — through which, 
 
 * It was possessed of fangs, but was not considered to be very dan- 
 gerous. Its length was about fifteen inches ; its head flat and rather 
 pointed ; a succession of irregularly-formed rings, composed of two 
 lines or rather blotches of a darker and lighter brown, are blended 
 into a black fine running along tbe wbole extent of, and on both 
 sides of, the belly, which is black and shining ; the black line above 
 and below being edged with small white oval shaped spots ; those 
 below lying on the edge of the scales upon the belly.
 
 214 WILD REGION. 
 
 the path gradually rises for five or six miles, to the 
 extreme limit of forest. These regions present as 
 wild and gray a scene as any painter could wish for, 
 made up of a confusion of snowy summits, and hoary 
 precipices, broadly relieved in one place by the deep 
 rust colour of the ironstone rock ; the chaotic masses 
 with which the whole valley was thickly covered ; the 
 streams of the incipient Kishengunga dashing over 
 and amongst them, with the milk-white and delicate 
 stems of the birch-tree in full leaf, trembling amidst 
 their descending violence. 
 
 The height of our encamping-ground at the 
 Birches, was about twelve thousand feet. Dwarf 
 junipers grew around us, and my Tibetian guides 
 pointed out to me the red fruit of a creeping-plant,* 
 which, by their recommendation, I ate as a desert. 
 I, at first, thought it was the Cranberry, but found 
 it sweeter than that fruit. 
 
 Two defiles are continued from the birch-trees. 
 That on the right, leads to the table-land of Deotsuh. 
 The other, which is more in a line with the ascent, 
 commences with a most fatiguing walk, over a pla- 
 teau of snow, several miles in length, and then 
 descends to a halting-place in the jungul, called Suti 
 Syu, where I have twice bivouacked, by the light 
 and grateful warmth of a blazing log-fire, and eaten 
 kababs roasted on a ramrod. By the by, Homer 
 
 * Duchesnia Fragaroides.
 
 A CLASSICAL MEAL. 215 
 
 tells us, that Eumaeus entertained Ulysses with ka- 
 babs : the oldest notice of them, I suppose, extant. 
 
 " Of two, his cutlass launched the spouting blood, 
 These quartered, singed, and fixed on forks of wood, 
 All hasty, on the hissing coals he threw, 
 And smoking, back the tasteful viands drew, 
 Broachers and all." — Odyssey, xiv. 87. 
 
 And again, line 475, 
 
 " Then the singed members they with skill divide, 
 On these, in rolls of fat involved with art, 
 The choicest morsels lay from every part, 
 Some in the flames, bestrewed with flour they threw, 
 Some cut in fragments, from the forks they drew." 
 
 These contain exactly the description of a kabab, 
 only not being Musalmans, they made them of pork 
 instead of mutton or goat's meat. Our kababs, how- 
 ever, were usually spitted on an iron ramrod. 
 
 Gneiss is the principal formation on the descent, 
 and, after marching from Suti Syu, I observed that 
 the country was scantily covered by the pinus lon- 
 gifolia, junipers, willows, aspens, rose-trees, and 
 black-currant-trees, whilst the air is perfumed with 
 artemisia, wild thyme, and peppermint plants ; and 
 I remember seeing a fine fox run across my path 
 in the jungul. 
 
 On the fifth day's inarch from Zean, we arrived 
 at the two first villages of Little Tibet, called Das 
 and Thung-Kurym. Each is a miserable collection 
 of flat-roofed and mud and stone built huts, and a 
 long descent is thence continued to Godyh, where
 
 216 SHEIl SINGH. 
 
 a rapid torrent joins the Thung Kurym stream at 
 right angles, and forms with it and the surrounding 
 mountain, a barrier, impassable by any native in- 
 vader ; and, as an additional defence, a small fort is 
 built upon a huge fragment of rock, that has rolled 
 to the water's edge, and effectually commands the 
 wooden bridge which is thrown across the narrowest 
 part of the channel. 
 
 When Sher Singh, the present Maharajah of the 
 Panjab, was governor of Kashmir, he and his invad- 
 ing Sikhs advanced thus far in the month of August, 
 expec ing to reach Iskardo without much opposi- 
 tion, but they found a furious river in their front, 
 and a matchlock behind every rock on the opposite 
 bank. They attempted to gain their end by diplo- 
 macy, but Ahmed Shah was too cunning for them, 
 and managed to keep them in play for a long time, 
 well knowing what would be the consequences of 
 their delay. The cold weather suddenly commenced, 
 the Sikhs, chilled to their very hearts, commenced a 
 precipitate retreat, but a snow-storm overtook them, 
 and hundreds of them were lost upon the plateau, 
 above Burzil. 
 
 The united streams flow from Godyh, through the 
 mountains to the valley of Astor, which is also attain- 
 able in a day or two by a path from the latter place. 
 But the way to Iskardo turns up the stream to the 
 right, and previously to ascending the second snowy 
 ridge, we encamped for the night in a jungul of
 
 VALLEY OF THE INDUS. 217 
 
 willows, juniper, and fir trees. Thence again we 
 marched to bivouac at the edge of the snow, and com- 
 menced the ascent before sunrise the next morning, 
 in order to cross the rocky wall of Alumpi-La. The 
 Nunga Purbut was rising majestically in the rear, 
 and by far overtopping every other mountain in 
 sight. 
 
 I have twice entered Little Tibet by this route, 
 and, upon one occasion, with but little fatigue ; but, 
 on my second visit, in consequence of the softer 
 state of the snow, I have seldom had a more trying 
 walk, the respiration being also rendered more labo- 
 rious by the lightness of the air. The crest of the 
 pass is a rocky and mural ridge, a low precipice, in 
 which, by constant use, the Tibetians have worn a 
 succession of stepping-places. Horses of course 
 cannot enter the valley of the Indus by this road ; 
 they must either wait for the melting of the snow on 
 Deotsuh, or on Rbenuk, the pass to which joins the 
 descent from Alumpi-La, near Shikar Thung. The 
 path from the latter village to Tsok, at the entrance 
 of the valley of Iskardo, is every where accompanied 
 by a scenery that is strikingly savage, even in these 
 countries. 
 
 On my second visit to Little Tibet, Achmet Ali 
 Khan, a son of the Ahmed Shah, had been sent for- 
 ward as far as Shakearthung, with a party to wel- 
 come me ; the Gylfo himself was waiting for that 
 purpose lower down the pass ; and we all walked
 
 218 MAHOMETAN PREJUDICES. 
 
 forward by the side of a stream whose banks seemed 
 to be covered with fragments of a shivered moun- 
 tain of gneiss, and whose full and infuriate waters 
 were only enabled to descend by plunging headlong 
 over and amongst them, and forming a constant ca- 
 taract,, every hundred yards of which would have 
 been sufficient to dignify a district in England. 
 
 In one place, I was cautioned to walk quickly, and 
 to be on the look out, for fear of falling stones ; and 
 I could not help smiling to see my royal host gather- 
 ing up his garments, and making his legs and ket as 
 small as possible, in order to avoid being touched 
 by my terrier, who, in spite of all my exertions would 
 occasionally brush by me, in the narrow path, to the 
 front, and astonish his Mahometan prejudices by 
 coming in contact with him. Once he turned round 
 to me, but with great goodhumour, and said, that 
 I had behaved very well the first time I came, but 
 that now he should not like me so well, in conse- 
 quence of my having brought a dog with me. 
 
 At Tsok I made a discovery, by finding several 
 very large wild gooseberry-bushes, producing how- 
 ever a very small fruit, by the path-side. They had 
 been previously discovered in the Himalaya ranges 
 behind Simla, or Munsiri. No notice had ever been 
 taken of them in Little Tibet. Junipers, rose-trees, 
 barberries, and black currants were also growing in 
 considerable quantities among the rocks through and 
 over which we picked our way.
 
 INTRODUCTION TO AHMED SHAH. 219 
 
 I must now return to Burzil, and speak of my 
 first introduction to Ahmed Shah. The defile on the 
 right leads to the table-land of Deotsuh, which remains 
 free from snow during only two months and a half 
 preceding the 1st of October, after which the snow 
 and the cold prevent any living being from travelling 
 across it. From about the No Roz, or vernal equinox, 
 the cold is a little less piercing, but the snow, which 
 is five or six yards deep, has become a little softened, 
 and remains impassable for forty days more. If 
 the surface be then hardened again by frost, it is 
 passable for travellers on foot, till about the 15th of 
 June, when the sun becomes powerful, and the whole 
 plain is so flooded, that no one can attempt to cross 
 it for twenty-five or thirty days more, — whence 
 perhaps its name, as the lake of the Deo, or spirit. 
 It cannot be said to be quite clear of snow until 
 the 15th or 20th of July. 
 
 As we were approaching Burzil, we met a Little 
 Tibetian, who had been sent on some errand by 
 Ahmed Shah, and from whom my servants collected, 
 that there were some robbers in the vicinity, and that 
 Ahmed Shah himself was near at hand, with a large 
 force, for the purpose of destroying them on the 
 following day. 
 
 Towards nightfall, whilst sitting by a fire near my 
 tent-door, another Bulti, or Little Tibetian Sepahi, 
 showed himself for an instant, on the crest of the rocky 
 eminence below which we were encamped, and then
 
 220 MILITARY CORTEGE. 
 
 hastened away with the intelligence of my arrival. In 
 about an hour afterwards, the loud, distant, and dis- 
 cordant blasts of the Tibetian music were heard 
 echoing along the glen : the sound grew louder and 
 louder, and we were all on the tiptoe of expectation. 
 At length the band, which was the foremost of the 
 procession, made their appearance above us, consist- 
 ing of fifes, clarionets, and five or six huge brazen 
 trumpets, about six feet in length, shaped like the 
 classic instruments that Fame has been painted with 
 of yore, which Rubens has applied to the lips of his 
 angels, and the French reinvented for the obsequies 
 of Napoleon. After these came a group of thirty or 
 forty Sepahis, the wildest-looking figures imaginable, 
 wearing large loosely-tied turbans, and armed with 
 matchlocks, swords, shields, &c. After them came 
 one of Ahmed Shah's sons, preceded by a few small 
 red horses, and surrounded by more Sepahis. Achmet 
 Ali Khan, for so the young prince was named, had 
 been sent by his father to welcome me, and give me 
 honourable escort. He was a young man, of short 
 and slender make, walking with a lame and somewhat 
 awkward gait, in consequence of his having broken 
 both his legs by a fall, when he was a child, which 
 were cured, by the by, by his swallowing pills of rock 
 asphaltum, or Mumiai,* and living upon milk at the 
 
 * For a notice of the Mumiai, vide tlie authors " Personal Nar- 
 rative" — Afghanistan, p. 62.
 
 '•■ *rJ 
 
 
 ■.. 
 
 

 
 TIBETIAN COSTUME. 221 
 
 same time. His handsome features, and fine ex- 
 panse of forehead, derived a somewhat effeminate 
 expression from his back hair (the front of the head 
 was shaved) being gathered into two large massive 
 curls, hanging down one behind each ear. All the 
 young men of Little Tibet follow this fashion, and 
 leave the mustaches, but shave the beard until it 
 begins to grow strongly. The long curls are then 
 doffed, or neglected, and the beard is allowed to 
 luxuriate. 
 
 The Khan's costume resembled that of the other 
 Sepahis : he wore a large, loose, drab-coloured tur- 
 ban of Tibetian shawl, with the nether end spreading 
 widely and gracefully over the left shoulder, — in which 
 respect their headdress differs from that of any other 
 Musalmans that I have seen. A collarless frock of 
 warm, undyed, native cloth, was so adjusted, as to 
 display in front the upper part of a red vest, or tunic ; 
 beneath it, reaching to the knees, and on the outside, 
 around the waist, was tied the kumurbund, or rolled 
 shawl, and the broad leathern belt, to which were 
 fastened the powder-horn, the steel and tinder-box, 
 a bag containing bullets, and other paraphernalia. 
 Another leathern belt, across the shoulder, supported 
 his sword, and his large loose trousers (very often of 
 a dark-red colour) were confined below the knee 
 a la Pe? , se, by a cloth bandage wrapped in folds 
 downwards to the feet, which were enveloped in 
 sandals made of the skin of the Ibex.
 
 222 A BAND OF ROBBERS. 
 
 The young- Khan, after a little pressing, consented 
 to sit where he had never sat before, — on a chair, — 
 and then gave me a very friendly welcome in the name 
 of his father the Rajah, or the Gylfo ; or, as he gene- 
 rally termed him, his Kiblah-Ghah,* which is, I sup- 
 pose, equivalent to calling him not only his father, but 
 his " Father in God." Kerbela is, I need scarcely 
 add, the desert where Husyn the Shiah prophet was 
 killed. After making the usual inquiries after my 
 health, and answering several questions on different 
 subjects, which I put to him by means of my interpre- 
 ter, he assured me that the story about the robbers 
 was perfectly true — that seventy or eighty of them 
 had come through the mountains from the district of 
 Kholi-Palus on the Indus, about eight or ten days' 
 march below Iskardo — had been pillaging a village in 
 his father's territories near Sufydar (the poplars), on 
 the Duras pass, and were driving away with them 
 the inhabitants and their cattle also ; and that his 
 father had come in person, with a strong force, for 
 the purpose of cutting them off at the head of 
 a defile, through which they were expected to 
 debouch. 
 
 Acordingly, at an early hour the next morning, we 
 all moved forward towards the place of the ambuscade. 
 The whole country was, on account of its elevation, 
 quite free from trees, but the ground was blind, rocky, 
 
 * Kiblah-Ghah signifies any place towards which one looks 
 during- prayer.
 
 ATTACK ON BANDITTI. 223 
 
 and covered with coarse herbage, nearly up to the 
 summits of the mountains, amongst which our path lay. 
 After a few miles we came in sight of the Rajah's tent, 
 on the opposite side of the mouth of the defile through 
 w r hich the marauders were expected to arrive, and 
 near it were several hundred men, visible to us, but 
 concealed from their approaching victims by a small 
 eminence. The young Khan ordered a halt within 
 one mile and a half of his father's tent, and we sat 
 down for half an hour, quietly awaiting the precon- 
 certed signal. He said that he had particular orders 
 from his father to give me escort and protection ; and 
 when I expressed a wish to proceed to the side of a 
 hill opposite to the end of the defile, where I could 
 without any danger to myself have seen the whole 
 cortege of the robbers, moving unconsciously along 
 into the very jaws of the ambuscade, he said that 
 I must not go, as they would probably see me, and 
 all his father's plans would be spoiled. 
 
 From the spot where we remained I could dis- 
 tinguish several parties lying in ambush in different 
 parts of the mountains, but all was as silent as the 
 place was desolate, although so many human beings 
 were in sight. 
 
 Suddenly, and I shall never forget the excitement 
 of a scene so new and so savage, the band advanced 
 rapidly into the open part of the defile, striking up 
 one of its wildest and loudest strains, and the moun- 
 tains echoed again with the clangour of their huge
 
 224 EXTRAORDINARY SCENE. 
 
 trumpets, and the laugh-like cheers of the Bultis, as 
 every man left his place of concealment, and sprang 
 forward upon the astonished marauders. Our party 
 were instantly mounted, and we pushed forward to the 
 top of the hill in advance of us ; but the work had 
 been shortly finished, and was nearly over when we 
 arrived. The bodies of five or six men who had at- 
 tempted to escape towards us were lying on our right. 
 They had been intercepted, and killed, and stripped 
 in an instant. At a short distance lay a wounded 
 wretch, who had raised himself on his hand, and by 
 his side was an old Tiboti Sepahi, coolly loading his 
 matchlock, from which he gave him the coup-de- 
 grace. Around another was a circle of the victors, 
 from which one more ferocious than the rest would 
 now and then step forward, to inflict a fresh wound 
 with his sword. Others were busied in stripping the 
 slain, and securing part of the spoil to themselves. 
 Amongst the latter were my brave Kashmirian kulis, 
 who, watching their opportunity, abandoned their 
 loads in the melee, and contrived to seize upon se- 
 veral sheep, which they killed and buried, on the 
 same principle that a dog buries a bone, to be dug 
 up on their return. 
 
 Whilst 1 was surveying the extraordinary scene 
 around me, my attention was attracted by a large 
 crowd, and I was told that the Gylfo was approaching. 
 He and all around him dismounted as he drew near 
 to me, and I, of course, followed his example. Of
 
 MEETING WITH AHMED SHAH. 225 
 
 two who were taller than the rest, I did not immedi- 
 ately know which was Ahmed Shah, but I afterwards 
 found that the second was his brother Gholam Shah, 
 the Rajah of Parkuta. Ahmed Shah approached me 
 bareheaded, and when near he frequently stopped and 
 salaamed by bowing low, and touching 1 the ground with 
 the back of his hand, and then carrying it to his fore- 
 head.* I advanced quickly, took his hand, and shook 
 it a V Anglais, bidding my interpreter to inform him 
 that it was the English custom to do so, with which 
 piece of information he seemed much pleased. We 
 then all sat down on some tent rugs that had been 
 brought up for the occasion, and, after mutual inquiries 
 after each other's health, I congratulated him upon the 
 success of his expedition. He replied that these very 
 marauders had pillaged part of his country two or 
 three times before, and that he had determined to 
 come in person and destroy them ; that he had all his 
 life prayed that he might set eyes upon a Feringhi 
 before he died, and that his wish was now granted. 
 
 I must have appeared an odd figure to him, being 
 dressed in a broad-brimmed white cotton hat, and a 
 white duck shooting-jacket. I had come, he remarked, 
 from a long distance to visit him, and had arrived 
 at a very fortunate hour : he said that he would do all 
 he could to make me welcome ; and added, that what 
 
 * " Magnis componere parva," Montezuma returned the saluta- 
 tion of Cortes by touching the earth with his hand and then kissing 
 it. — Robertsoti's History of America, book v. 
 
 VOL. II. Q
 
 228 DESTRUCTION OF THE BANDITTI. 
 
 with my arrival, and his having killed the thieves, he 
 was, in short, so happy that he did not know what 
 to do. 
 
 Afterwards he made me laugh, by observing that 
 he could now say he had seen somebody from every 
 nation, excepting a Hubshi (Abyssinian or negro). So 
 far so good, — thought I to myself. 
 
 During this conversation, the Sepahis came in 
 from different quarters, showing their wounds, some 
 of them being very severe ones, and displaying the 
 " spolia opima," consisting of swords which the rob- 
 bers had scarcely had time to draw, and old match- 
 locks for which they had not been allowed the oppor- 
 tunity of striking a light. 
 
 My friend, Nasim Khan, who had joined the am- 
 buscades, came up without his cap, which he said he 
 had lost in the conflict. Out of the whole number of 
 the marauders, three or four only had contrived to 
 make their escape; the rest were killed, or so severely 
 wounded as to be supposed dead. About one hun- 
 dred men, women, and children, and a very large 
 flock of sheep, were rescued from their hands, and 
 some of them came up to thank the Rajah for what he 
 had done for them. Meanwhile an unfortunate 
 wretch who had been shamming dead, or had re- 
 covered a little from the faintness caused by his 
 wound, was suddenly discovered in the distance, 
 sitting upright on the mountain-side. Some of the 
 bystanders instantly volunteered to go and despatch
 
 PRESENT FROM THE RAJAH. 227 
 
 him. I looked at the Rajah, and I suppose he un- 
 derstood as I wished, that I meant to ask for mercy, 
 for he ordered them to fetch him, but to spare his 
 life. He was brought in afterwards, a stout-looking 
 fellow with a dark swarthy skin (for he was nearly 
 stripped) and a shaven head. He had a severe gash 
 on the neck, and another on his arm. I suppose they 
 had told him that 1 had interceded for him, as he 
 caught my eye instantly, and his wound did not pre- 
 vent him from raising his hands to his mouth, and 
 making a sign for water, — which was also given him 
 immediately at my request, and he was afterwards 
 dismissed with his liberty, but died, so I was informed, 
 whilst on his way to report the fate of his comrades. 
 
 Ahmed Shah presented me on the spot with a fine 
 white Budukshani horse, a noble-tempered animal, 
 which he had brought on purpose for me, and who car- 
 ried me in safety during the remainder of my travels, 
 and died, just as I had finished them, at Ramnagur, 
 already noticed. 
 
 Seeing that the Rajah was in such excellent 
 humour, I requested permission to commence a like- 
 ness of him ; which he graciously allowed me to 
 perpetrate on the champ de bataille ; his head still 
 remaining unturbaned, out of respect to the name of 
 an Englishman. 
 
 Ahmed Shah said that he wished to remain en- 
 camped where he was, for that night; but added, that 
 he would move elsewhere if I disliked (he smell of 
 
 Q2
 
 228 SHAMMING ILL. 
 
 the wild leeks (onions he called them) which were 
 very numerous. I made no objections, and my tent 
 was pitched at a little distance from his own, and I 
 retired to rest, feeling 1 thankful for the protection I 
 had received from a danger, which according to all 
 calculation of time and circumstances, must, had I 
 been alone with my party, have crossed my path, 
 whether I had gone by this way or that of Alum- 
 pila. 
 
 The next morning I observed the Rajah and 
 several others standing round what, upon approaching, 
 I found to be a heap of human heads, that had been 
 collected and brought to him for inspection, and after 
 breakfast, whilst my tent was being struck, I repaired 
 to his, where I found him shamming ill, in order 
 to see whether T was a doctor or not. This was 
 nothing more than 1 expected, as Europeans are 
 always supposed to possess, like Medea, the power 
 of making gray hairs young again. One of the first 
 inquiries made by a native of the East has generally 
 a reference to this supposed knowledge ; and the 
 second will usually be connected with the secrets of 
 khimia (chemistry), or the philosopher's stone. 
 
 I easily saw that there was nothing the matter with 
 him ; but as he seemed determined then and there to 
 have some medicine, I accommodated him with some 
 Morrison's pills. As he was soon very inquisitive on 
 the subject of English brandy, for which, although a 
 Musalman, he had a great penchant, I gave him
 
 DEPARTURE FOR ISKARDO. 229 
 
 a bottle, which he told me was sent oft' under a 
 guard to Iskardo ; and he afterwards, in great glee, 
 told me how he had humbugged his brother-in-law, a 
 rigid Mahometan, who upon inspecting a knife (con- 
 taining instruments) which I had given him, was most 
 innocently anxious to know the use of the cork- 
 screw. 
 
 We soon afterwards started for Iskardo, and 
 immediately commenced the ascent of Sursingeri, to 
 the plains of Deotsuh, — still about three hundred feet 
 above us. On the top were two small lakes or tarns, 
 right and left of the path, but neither of them had the 
 appearance of being particularly deep or clear. 
 Couriers had been despatched to Iskardo, with the 
 news of the destruction of the thieves, and by this 
 time the party, by constant accessions, had been in- 
 creased to seven or eight hundred persons. 
 
 The elevated table-land of Deotsuh is extended 
 on the north of Kashmir, and between it and Iskardo. 
 Its length is about thirty miles, and its width equal 
 to about half that distance, but its shape is irregular. 
 The average elevation by thermometer, and judging 
 from the limit of forest, as ascertained by the birch- 
 trees at Burzil, must be 12,000 feet. A more dreary 
 and desolate-looking tract the sun cannot shine upon. 
 Its formation is usually of granite and gneiss, of which 
 lofty barren hills and peaks are seen rising in dif- 
 ferent parts of the plain; and an horizon of mountain 
 summits, amongst which that of Diarmul is sometimes
 
 230 HIMALAYA TIIOUT. 
 
 conspicuous in the distance, appear to hem it on 
 every side. 
 
 I collected a few plants whose names are 
 given in the appendix, and amidst the general des- 
 titution of verdure, there was still a great deal of mo- 
 rass on the banks of the streams which send their 
 tributary waters either to the Indus, on the north, or 
 to the Jylum, on the south. In one part, I was 
 amused by watching a party of Tibetians, who were 
 catching fish with their hands, some of which were 
 nearly half a pound in weight, and were, I believe, 
 the Himalaya trout, already mentioned, but very 
 much out of condition, being copper-coloured, and 
 covered with large dark blotches; and it was a 
 matter of surprise to me how they existed at all in 
 such a place : but I have seen a few specimens having 
 precisely the same appearance, taken from the lake 
 of Kashmir. 
 
 My attention was attracted by the loud, shrill, 
 and repeated whistle of the Drun or Pua, a species 
 of marmot, as large as a small fox, the whole 
 body being of the same colour, excepting that the 
 back is marked by a broader and much darker stripe, 
 distinguishable at a considerable distance. I had a 
 skeleton of one of them prepared, but did not manage 
 to bring it to England. It is, I believe, a new species 
 altogether, although its habits appear to be much the 
 same as those of the common marmot. M. Jacque- 
 mont has been the first to mention that he received
 
 ENCAMPING-GROUND. 231 
 
 a skin of a new marmot from Little Tibet. # Bears 
 are very numerous upon Deotsuh ; and I was told 
 that the marmot is frequently a prey to the eagle. 
 
 We wound in long array across the elevated 
 plain. I was eager to arrive at Iskardo, and was 
 always for moving forward, but the Rajah, whose 
 yesterday's victory was a great feat, seemed deter- 
 mined to take it more coolly, and 
 
 " Nil actum credens, dum quid superesset agendum :" 
 
 " Fit for nothing till he had had his cigar," was 
 perpetually calling for a fresh Kalian, and stop- 
 ping to enjoy it, — I, of course, being obliged, out 
 of respect, to dismount also, and sit down with him. 
 At length, after a sixteen or seventeen miles' march, 
 we arrived at our encamping-ground, by a large but 
 fordable stream, running downwards towards the 
 Duras river ; which, probably, on account of its 
 being the largest upon the plain, is called, in Persian, 
 Ab Kalan, or the great water. 
 
 As night drew near, the air became extremely 
 cold, and my Hindustani servants were in a state of 
 despair. A quantity of dead dwarf juniper-roots was 
 collected by the Tibetis, and a large and cheering 
 fire was soon kindled, which added much to their 
 comfort. I contented myself with partaking of their 
 supper, and, whilst my bed was preparing, was keep- 
 ing myself warm by walking to and fro with my 
 
 * Vide note supra, as to their being the gigantic ants of Herodotus.
 
 232 ANGLOMANIA. 
 
 hands in ray pockets, having previously, as I thought, 
 taken leave of the Rajah for the night, when — " Voici 
 une Anglomanie tres forte," thought I to myself, as 
 he suddenly joined me and exclaimed, " I'll walk 
 too." Then sticking his hands into his kumurbund, 
 he forthwith began stalking up and down by my side, 
 at a pace that his dignity had not often permitted 
 before, and seemed to enjoy the idea of imitating an 
 Englishman. 
 
 The word R Gylfo is derived from two Bulti 
 words, B Gyl, signifying powerful, and Fo, a male, 
 in contradistinction to his queen, who is called 
 the R Gyl-mo, or the female. The heir apparent is 
 called the B Gylchun ; and the princess royal, the 
 Bylchu. The above are titles. The Bulti name 
 for the Rajah is Cho ; his queen, is the Cho-ruh ; 
 the prince is the Chopruh. 
 
 Antiquity may be inferred from the universality 
 of a term such as Pal, a shepherd, already noticed ; 
 or, such a word as Sack, which, designating a recep- 
 tacle for fruit, corn, or water, that must obviously 
 have been in use as long as mankind has existed, is 
 still, I need scarcely remark, either in itself or as a 
 compound, the same word in most of the principal 
 languages of the old world. So the greater or less 
 simplicity of any compounded appellation, may be 
 received as evidence, to a certain extent, of its pro- 
 portionate antiquity. The word R Gyl-fo signifies a 
 chief in the simplest meaning of the word, and is just
 
 ORIGIN OF THE GUELPHS. 233 
 
 the appellation that a savage horde would give to any 
 one whom they saluted as their chief — the strongest 
 or bravest man of the tribe. 
 
 Now as the origin of the name of our own royal 
 family is much disputed, I venture to throw out a 
 suggestion, as to the probability of its having been 
 originally derived from the same words ; and we 
 know, as a preliminary remark, that the people, the 
 languages, and the customs of the East, found their 
 way to the western extremities of Europe. 
 
 Various accounts are given of the origin of the 
 factions of the Guelphs and Gibelins, but the best 
 is that of Maimbourg, who says that it arose from a 
 quarrel between two rival houses, on the confines of 
 Germany, that of the Henries of Gibeling, and 
 that of the Guelphs at Adorf, a town seventy or 
 eighty miles south-west of Dresden. The name of 
 the family of Henry the Haughty, Duke of Bavaria, 
 who disputed the throne with the Emperor Conrad, 
 a.d. 1139, was Guelph.* 
 
 But this is not the origin of the name, and 
 as the old kings of Denmark are known as the Gylfe 
 Konger at this day, I repeat that it is by no means 
 improbable that the word may be the same, and 
 perhaps Guelph ought to be written Gylf, although, 
 as Swift remarks of one of his derivations in the an- 
 tiquities of the English tongue, " it has suffered 
 much less by transcribers than many others!'* It 
 
 * Russell's Modern Europe, vol. i., p. 275.
 
 231 PERSON OF AHMED SHAH. 
 
 will be admitted, at all events that the attempted 
 deduction gives the name a more courteous origin 
 than the words whelp or wolf, from which it is 
 usually derived. 
 
 Ahmed Shah's usual dress, excepting that he 
 wore a long row of massive silver sleeve-buttons, 
 differed but little from that of his subjects, being 
 of drab-coloured native cloth, with a turban of the 
 same hue, and made of shawl, manufactured in Little 
 Tibet. I one day dressed him up in my own frock-coat 
 and a travelliug-cap, and he laughed heartily at his 
 own appearance. 
 
 The Little Tibetians, as well as the greater pro- 
 portion of the population of most eastern nations, 
 are certainly short in stature. Ahmed Shah, though 
 not standing' more than five feet eleven inches, was 
 one of the tallest men in the country. His personal 
 strength is said to have been very great, and many 
 of his feats are recorded ; one, I remember was, that 
 he had broken a gun-barrel in half with his hands. 
 He must now be a man between sixty-five and se- 
 venty years of age. 
 
 I showed him some engravings of Chalon's beau- 
 ties, which he admired for some time in silence, and 
 then returned to me, saying, " Take them out of my 
 sight ! What's the use of my looking at them, when 
 I am no longer so young as I was ? " 
 
 I also exhibited in full durbar a print of His 
 Majesty William IV. and his royal consort ; and when
 
 RESPECT FOR ENGLAND. 235 
 
 it had been duly admired by all present, the Gylfo 
 asked me to lend him a pencil, and commenced 
 writing in Persian on the margin ; and upon my 
 wishing to know what he was about, he said that he 
 was sending his respectful salaam to the King of 
 England, that he was his slave, and wished for his 
 protection, &c. — so fully persuaded was he that I 
 was an employe on the part of the East India Com- 
 pany. 
 
 As the Governor of Kashmir (his enemy) had 
 previously begged this print of me, and I had 
 given it to him on condition of being allowed to 
 carry it with me to Little Tibet, I was obliged in 
 common honesty to inform Ahmed Shall of this fact, 
 upon which he seemed much annoyed, hastily re- 
 turned the picture, and requested me to rub out 
 what he had written. 
 
 He was in possession of a sort of show-box, in 
 which were magnified some old prints of London, 
 Paris, and other European cities. He had bought 
 it, I believe, of a pedler : and he also had a very 
 excellent telescope, which had found its way to 
 Ladak, and was purchased there for him. 
 
 The Little Tibetians are by no means equal in 
 beauty to the Kashmirians. The eyes of the latter 
 are usually large, those of the Little Tibetians are 
 smaller and more elongated, and their high cheek- 
 bone would seem to be that of a race of Tartar 
 origin. Female beauty is common in Kashmir, but
 
 230 HOSPITALITY OF THE RAJAH. 
 
 comparatively rare in Little Tibet, and still more so, 
 I should say, at Ladak. The pink and white com- 
 plexion of the Kashmirians is very uncommon in 
 Little Tibet, where the inhabitants are perhaps as 
 fair, but more sallow. The Gylfo's eyes were not 
 large, but dark and penetrating, his eyebrows large 
 and black, his nose and mouth well formed, his beard a 
 little silvered, and his expression highly indicative of 
 shrewdness and intelligence; of which, considering the 
 nature of his count ry, and that he had never quitted 
 it so as to be able to gain one single correct idea of any 
 other, he was certainly possessed of to a surprising 
 extent. 
 
 The exceedingly kind, flattering, and hospitable 
 reception which he gave me, was chiefly owing to the 
 belief that I was, by connivance at least, an officer of 
 the East India Company, and had visited his country 
 for the purpose of investigating his pretensions to that 
 friendship and protection, from the invasion of the 
 Sikhs, which he had so long and so often solicited. 
 I told him from the first that I was independent of 
 the Company, and wholly unable to enter into any 
 arrangements, either with or for him ; but that he 
 might always depend upon my good report of him 
 wherever I went. The orientals, however, cannot 
 understand a man's coming so far for his amusement; 
 and I am not sure that, to the last, he was quite con- 
 vinced of my not being a political envoy. 1 have known 
 him remark, that such and such news had arrived
 
 TIBETIAN SANDALS. 237 
 
 from this or that quarter, — with a view of hearing 
 what I had to say ; and the accounts of what I knew 
 to be true or untrue were always warped and con- 
 flicting', so that he might easily be excused from 
 believing them. But I never detected him in a 
 falsehood; and from the first day of my arrival, until 
 that of my departure, his behaviour was always kind 
 and respectful, and he invariably rose from his seat 
 to receive me whenever I entered his presence, 
 whether he was alone or in full durbar. 
 
 But I must not forget that I am still on the plains 
 of Deotsuh, or that the thermometer in my tent stood 
 at 43° Fahrenheit, and the ground, at 7 o'clock in the 
 morning, was covered with a hoar-frost. This was on 
 the 5th of September. Next morning the Rajah 
 presented me with a pair of warm Tibetian stockings, 
 and some sandals, or rather moccasins, made of ibex- 
 skin. It is surprising how long a pair of them will 
 wear, provided they do not get wet ; and on account 
 of their roughness and pliability they are admirably 
 adapted for walking over a steep or dangerous path. 
 
 One of his people, by his direction, had shot a 
 marmot for me, which was also forthwith skinned at 
 my request. We then proceeded on our march over 
 the plain, and about midday Mohamed Ali Khan, a 
 boy about twelve years old, the heir presumptive to 
 the throne of Little Tibet, arrived from Iskardo. He 
 had brought with him some small but very delicious 
 melons, a most acceptable present, and which, like
 
 238 the rajah's cortege. 
 
 all other orientals, they ate to the very rind, being 
 surprised that I did not do the same 
 
 As we proceeded the Rajah pointed to some 
 mountains on the horizon, and said he hoped to pass 
 over them before nightfall, because then we should 
 be enabled to arrive at Iskardo on the morrow. 
 Towards sunset we were at the foot of a steep ridge, 
 and prepared for a further ascent of about four hun- 
 dred feet. A little lake lay near a precipice on our 
 right, and I collected several plants which had escaped 
 my observation on the other part of the plain. 
 
 The cortege commenced at the ascent of the 
 zigzag; the Kulis toiled up the path, and were 
 obliged to halt and take breath at every twenty 
 paces; they then advanced again, encouraging each 
 other by loudly cheering, in a tone that might 
 have been taken for the wild and discordant laugh- 
 ter of a maniac. I myself pressed forward with eager- 
 ness in advance of Ahmed Shah, riding as far as I 
 could ; but finding I should attain the summit faster 
 on foot, I left my horse with a groom, and soon stood 
 at the upper edge of a glacis of snow, and thence — 
 through a long sloping vista formed of barren peaks, 
 of savage shapes and various colours, in which the 
 milky whiteness of the gypsum rock was contrasted 
 with the deeply red tint of those that contained iron — 
 I, the first European who had ever beheld them, (so 
 I believe,) gazed downwards from a height of six 
 or seven thousand feet, upon the sandy plains and
 
 ROCK AND STRONGHOLD. 239 
 
 green orchards of the valley of the Indus at Iskardo, 
 with a sensation of mingled pride and pleasure, of 
 which no one but a traveller can form a just con- 
 ception. 
 
 The Rock, of the same name itself, with the Ra- 
 jah's stronghold on the east end of it, was a very 
 conspicuous object. The stream from the valley of 
 Shighur, which joins the Indus as it washes its foot, 
 was visible from the spot where I stood ; but the 
 latter river was hidden by the height of its left bank ; 
 whilst on the north, and wherever the eye could 
 rove, arose, with surpassing grandeur, a vast assem- 
 blage of the enormous summits that compose the 
 Tibetian Himalaya.
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 $0. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Descent from the Mountain — Singular Defile and Pass — The Rajah 
 of Rondu — A Traitor — Intercession and Mercy — A Scramble — 
 The Indus — The Gylfo's Castle — Splendid View — Ascent of the 
 Killah — Origin of Tibet — Isolated Peaks — Division of the Country 
 — Residence of the Grand Lama — Descendant of Alexander the 
 Great — Iskardo — Origin of Budhism — The Royal Race of Gylfos 
 — Their History — Inauguration of the Sovereign — A Runaway 
 Heir-apparent — Gulab Singh — Mahomed Ali Khan — Achmet Ali 
 Khan — Dr. Falconer — Singular Treatment of the Smallpox — 
 The Army of Little Tibet — Provision for the Soldiers killed in 
 Action — Caste in Little Tibet — Ceremony of Marriage — Valley 
 of the Indus — Soil of the Valley — Effects of Irrigation — Singular 
 Block of Granite — Lakes in Iskardo — Magnificent Spring — Cul- 
 tivation of the Land — Landholders — Sepahis — Crops and Fruits 
 of the Valley — Raisins — Singular Preparation of Wheat — Tea in 
 Tibet — Climate and Language of the Valley — The Valley of 
 Shighur — The Rajah's House and Fort — Ahmed Shah — March 
 through the Valley — Wild and magnificent Scenery — Irrigation 
 — -Inhabitants of Little Tibet — Reception of the Rajah on his 
 Progress — Fruits and Grain of the Valley — Singular Raft — Passage 
 of the Indus — An odd Scene — Hot Spring. 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 SINGULAR PASS. 243 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The cold, and lateness of the hour, made it 
 necessary to descend from the ridge, and we con- 
 tinued to move down a rugged and winding path till 
 after nightfall, and then encamped under some juniper 
 trees, about halfway down the defile. The next 
 morning we passed through the gate or Durwasu of 
 Burgeh, constructed by Ahmed Shah, and completely 
 commanding the entrance to the vale. 
 
 The defile is here narrowed to a breadth of only 
 twenty-five feet. Precipitous rocks of gneiss and 
 slate rise from each side of it, and between them is a 
 strong wall of wood and stone, which is loopholed 
 for musketry, and a hole, about three feet high, suffi- 
 cient for the passage of the stream. Through this 
 hole crept the Rajah, myself, his two sons, and three 
 or four others, and he seemed delighted when I re- 
 marked that a few men could defend it against an 
 army. 
 
 At this, and every other probable point of as- 
 sault, the Little Tibetians, with very little trouble, 
 can roll down stones of great size, and in any quan- 
 tity, which either descend unbroken, with a stunning 
 crash, or, being shivered and multiplied by their leaps 
 from rock to rock, come clown with the certainty of 
 
 r2
 
 '2 11 I m: RAJAH OF RONDU. 
 
 doing mischief. There are three other of these gate- 
 ways in different parts of this extraordinary place: 
 one towards the south i- called the Peshawtir («ate; 
 
 another at Torgo, near the east end, built b) Rajah 
 ZufurKhan; another at Satpuri,* a pass from Deotsuh; 
 running parallel to thai ofBurgeh. 
 
 It was late in the evening of the 6th of September 
 
 before we were fairly at our encamping-ground ill the 
 valley, and the Rajah of Rondu, a district town down 
 the Indus, came to pa\ his respects to and congratu- 
 late Ahmed Shah, upon the success of his expedition. 
 
 Afterwards I was informed that the Gylfo wished 
 to speak to me. I repaired to his tent, and found no 
 one but himself, and a man who, he said, had showed 
 the thieves the way through the mountain- to the 
 village they had plundered ; and he asked me what 
 punishmentjin my estimation, this man deserved — add- 
 ing that he had entertained serious ideas of putting him 
 to death. It was quite clear that lie wanted to find out 
 how the traitor would have been punished in England, 
 and also to pay me a compliment by pretending to 
 consult me on the subject. I, of course, recommended 
 mercy, but such as would put it out of the man's 
 power to repeat his crime ; — upon which the Gylfo 
 replied, that he thought the best course he could 
 adopt would be to order him to cut wood on the 
 mountains, as long as he thought fit so to employ him ; 
 and this sentence was, I believe, afterwards carried 
 
 * I suspect, but am by no means sure, that the descent to Iskardo 
 from the plains of Deotsuh by this pass is much more easy than by 
 that of Bur^eh.
 
 A SCRAMBLE. 245 
 
 into e fit- et — and was a very proper one, in a country 
 where fuel was so scarce, and so much required, as at 
 Iskardo. 
 
 We did not reach the rock until the afternoon of 
 the next day, and upon ray arrival I found that a good 
 house at its foot, in which some of the Rajah's family 
 usually resided, had been emptied for my reception. 
 I followed the Rajah up the stairs, or rather steps, 
 to the upper room, where one of his attendants imme- 
 diately presented me with a plate of small, thin, fanci- 
 fully stamped pieces of gold, made from the gold-dust 
 collected on the banks of the Indus, and other rivers in 
 the country, and another plateful of similar silver 
 pieces, which I showered down from the balcony upon 
 the crowd below. After that was exhausted, we 
 threw down several bits of cloth for turbans, &c., and 
 we all laughed heartily at the furious vociferations 
 and scrambling that took place, even before they had 
 descended. 
 
 The Indus was visible from mv window, and I then 
 turned to enjoy the view of it for the first time. It ap- 
 proached through a sandy plain, from the eastern end 
 of the valley, and here, nine miles from the entrance, it 
 washed the end of the rock within musket-shot of me, in 
 a noble stream of more than one hundred and fifty yards 
 in width. The rock, or killah, as it is called, is about 
 two miles in length, and the peak over the east end 
 rises about eight hundred feet above the river. The 
 whole of this superb natural fortress, situated in the 
 middle of the valley of Iskardo, which is nineteen
 
 246 
 
 THE GYLFO S CASTLE. 
 
 miles long and seven in width, rises with, in most 
 places, mural sides, from a buttress of sand, loose 
 stones, and broken rocks, excepting- at the western 
 end, where it slopes, but steeply, on to the plain ; 
 and on the east and north, it is washed by the deep 
 and rapid torrent of the mighty Indus. 
 
 Rock of Iskardo. — Eastern end. 
 
 The Gylfo's castle is built upon a small flat, about 
 three hundred feet above the river. A wooden 
 mosque and state prison form part of the building. 
 The castle itself is of stone, with wooden framework, 
 and is strongly fortified against musketry. The zig- 
 zag by which it is approached, is also divided by 
 gateways and wooden towers. Defences of the same 
 kind are built on different parts of the rock. There 
 is a look-out house on a peak a little above the castle, 
 and another on the summit above that. In my hum- 
 ble judgment it could be made as strong a place as 
 Gibraltar, which, in general configuration, it would
 
 FORTIFICATIONS. 247 
 
 much resemble, were the east and west end of the 
 killah to change places. 
 
 I once visited the Gylfo* in his stronghold, where 
 every thing seemed to be constructed for defence 
 rather than comfort, being a confusion of break-neck 
 stairs, low doors, and dark passages. There is a 
 splendid view of the valley and the river from the 
 trellissed windows of the reception-room, and a delici- 
 ous breeze compensated for a hot and troublesome 
 ascent. I was there again presented with some more 
 gold, and several jars of sweetmeats. Upon my 
 expressing a wish to visit the top of the killah, 
 Ahmed Shah looked significantly up the very preci- 
 pitous and rocky path, and told me that I might go 
 that way if I pleased ; but, on the next day, I ascended 
 from the western end, where I found a strong fortifi- 
 cation of walls and square towers drawn across the 
 slope, above two hundred feet above the plain. The 
 flat on the summit may be called triangular, but is 
 bare, and covered with a gritty sand, in which I picked 
 up garnets and small crystals. Towards the peak over 
 the castle it becomes a ridge, and on each side of it 
 are piled huge stones, which the smallest force would 
 seem sufficient to send thundering down upon the 
 plain below. 
 
 The whole of the rock, and in fact by far the greater 
 proportion of the mountains on the banks of the Indus, 
 in great and little Tibet, are of gneiss. There is no 
 water on the top of the rock, but close to the river 
 
 * I call Ahmed Shah the Rajah or Gylfo indiscriminately.
 
 248 ISOLATED PEAKS. 
 
 under the castle is a fine spring, and from it, along" 
 the eastern end, is a plantation of apricots, peaches, 
 and mulberry-trees, which extends all the way to 
 Nynsuk, on the margin of the river, where I found 
 another spring, half-a-dozen houses, and plenty of 
 shade, though there is no natural jungul. 
 
 The word Tibet (there is no h), or Tibut, as it is 
 pronounced in Bultistan and Kashmir, is called sim- 
 ply Bod, in the language of Ladak. A Tibetian is 
 called Bod-pa at Ladak, whence also comes the name 
 of Butan, as Tibet is sometimes called in the plains. 
 Little Tibet is called in Kashmir, Suri-Butan, or the 
 Apricot Tibet, from the quantity of that fruit it pro- 
 duces. Tibet is called Se-Tsang by the Chinese. I 
 believe the word Tibet to be a compound of Tiba and 
 Bod (Tepe in Turki), signifying in the mountain 
 dialects, " a peak;" — so that Tibet is simply " the 
 mountains of the people professing the Buddhist 
 religion." 
 
 Isolated peaks of immense and superior altitude 
 are visible from every elevated pass ; in which re- 
 spect the aspect of the Tibets somewhat differs from 
 the other and more easterly part of the Himalaya, — 
 where the country is covered by long connected 
 ridges, and where, moreover, with the exception cf 
 Nipal, there is no table-land, I believe, to be found 
 on their southern face. 
 
 Tibet is divided into Upper, Middle, and Little 
 Tibet; and is extended east and west from Lassa to 
 Gilghit, for a distance of about twelve hundred Eng-
 
 RESIDENCE OF THE GRAND LAMA. 249 
 
 lish miles. Little Tibet contains about twelve thou- 
 sand square miles; it is about one hundred and 
 seventy miles in length, between the parallels 74° and 
 76° 35' east long., being that of Skerwuchun, the most 
 westerly of the Ladaki villages. Its general outline 
 is that of a parallelogram, lying W.N.W. and E.S.E., 
 whose upper angle at the head of the valley of Hara- 
 mosh is in lat. 35° 48', and the most southerly is 34° 25'. 
 Lassa, or Yul-suog, the residence of the Grand 
 Lama, is the capital of Butan, or Upper Tibet ; Leh, 
 or Ladak, of that part of Butan called Middle Tibet; 
 and Iskardo, which can hardly be called a town, 
 being a straggling collection of houses, is the principal 
 place in Little Tibet. It has been usually supposed 
 that Ahmed Shah, and the other potentates of these 
 countries, lay claim to a descent from Alexander the 
 Great. Ahmed Shall was aware of the tradition, but said 
 that there was no reason for it within his knowledge. 
 Iskardo, Skardo, or Kardo, as it is sometimes called, is 
 obviously only an abbreviation of Sagara-Do, the two 
 floods or rivers. The Bhuts of Ladak call it the Sagar- 
 Khoad, the valley of Sagar. Khoad is the same as 
 Khud, the common name for a valley at Simla and Mis- 
 suri ; and whether Alexander was ever at Iskardo or 
 not, (and I cannot believe he was ever near it,) I do 
 not now think there is the slightest foundation for 
 the name of Iskunderia, or Iskunderabad, which I 
 once myself thought there might be. Sagara is an 
 old Sanscrit word for the ocean, and in this case 
 Sagar-Khoad may signify the valley of the great flood
 
 250 ORIGIN OK BUDDHISTS. 
 
 or river. Do, signifying two in Persian and its cog- 
 nates, is added to the name Sagar, because the opefl 
 space is formed by the junction of two streams — the 
 Indus and the Shighur river: or it may refer to the 
 great junction of the Sliyyok with the Sin-Kha-Bab 
 (the river from the lion's mouth), or Ladaki branch of 
 the Indus, which takes place a few miles only above 
 Iskardo. 
 
 The Bultis, or natives of Little Tibet say, that 
 the country is divided into several Tibets, and that 
 Ladak, Iskardo, Khopalu, Purik, Nagyr, Gilghit and 
 Astor, &c, arc distinct Tibets. 
 
 The inhabitants of Ladak are Bhuts, or Buddhists. 
 Those of Little Tibet, as I have already remarked, are 
 Shiah Mohamedans, but have no knowledge of the time 
 of their conversion; and the ancestors of Ahmed Shah 
 have reigned there, i( from time whereof the memory 
 of man runneth not to the contrary." I should think it 
 most probable that they were first converted by the 
 Persians of Mahmud's court and army ; they being a 
 people, as Mr. Elphinstone remarks in his " India" 
 (vol. i., p. 575), very likely to influence all who came 
 in contact with them; or their conversion may be 
 traced to the Persians of Balk, or the faith of All 
 may have found its way up the channel of the river 
 by Gilghit, or across the mountains from Kashmir; — 
 though this will not agree with the story told by the 
 Kashmirians themselves, who say that Bulbul Shah, 
 the Fakir who converted them, came originally from 
 Tibet. If there be foundation, as there most likely is,
 
 ROYAL RACE OF GYLFOS. 251 
 
 for the following legend, the Fakir may very possibly 
 have been a Persian devotee. 
 
 At one period, as they now relate, the royal race 
 was nearly extinct, the last Gylfo having left an 
 only daughter, whose hand was sought in marriage 
 by twelve vuzirs, or great men of the country ; and 
 ere a choice was made, a Fakir holding a rod of gold 
 in one hand, and a purse containing the same metal 
 in the other, was observed sitting on a large stone 
 in the village of Shikari. He was always to be 
 found there, and appeared to have made it at once 
 his resting-place and his home ; and he soon acquired 
 a reputation for extraordinary sanctity, — and the more 
 so, as no one could tell whence he came. The 
 young Begum was given to him by the consent of all 
 parties, and to this union the Rajahs not only of Is- 
 kardo, but of Katakchund, Parkuta, Tolti, Rondo, and 
 Astor, trace the origin of their rami lies. To this 
 day, when the heir-apparent arrives at years of dis- 
 cretion, he is seated on the same stone, which is 
 called the Burdo-Nest (of which name I could not 
 ascertain the meaning), in great state, amidst the 
 shouts of the assembled multitude. The reigning 
 Gylfo first makes him a salaam, and afterwards the 
 inhabitants of Shikari present their homage. Then 
 the principal commanders of the army, of which there 
 are more than one hundred, come forward with their 
 congratulations and their presents. Then follows the 
 game of the Chaughan (afterwards noticed), shooting 
 at a mark with matchlocks or arrows, at full gallop,
 
 252 HISTORY OF THE GYLI'OS. 
 
 and the musicians and dancing girls display their at- 
 tractions to the surrounding crowd, and the young 
 Gylfo proceeds thence to the Harem, where he re- 
 ceives the compliments of his lady relatives. 
 
 But the more authentic knowledge of their his- 
 tory, as detailed to me by Ahmed Shah, commences 
 with Ali Sher Khan, who built the great stone aque- 
 duct by which water is brought across the valley 
 from the Satpur stream, and by which, also, a quan- 
 tity of useful soil that would otherwise be washed 
 away is banked up and preserved. He built, also, 
 the fort on the rock, and raised an elevated plat- 
 form, planted with chunars, close under the Killah, 
 and containing the tombs of the Gylfos. When 
 he and his son, and successor, Ahmed Khan, were 
 dead, Abdul and Adam Khan, his other sons, quar- 
 relled, and Abdul Khan, who built some of the 
 Durwasus or gates, already noticed, so oppressed 
 the neighbouring Rajahs, that they sought assistance 
 from the Mogul Emperor of Delhi, Aurangzyb, 
 who sent an army from Kashmir. Upon which, 
 Abdul Khan made his submission, and the brothers 
 then went in person before the Mogul, who told 
 them to divide the succession; but they died on their 
 return in Kashmir. 
 
 Shamrad or Shah Murad, son of Ahmed Khan, 
 was presented with a jaghir in Kashmir, by the Mo- 
 gul, and Ahmed Shah used to complain to me that 
 he did not now enjoy the revenue from it. He also 
 told me that the Killah was in vain besieged by the
 
 HISTORY OF THE GYLFOS. 253 
 
 troops of Aurangzyb ; that they brought elephants 
 with them (which I can scarcely believe to have been 
 the fact), and that he had now in the castle some old 
 guns, drums, armour, &c, and implements of war, 
 which they had left behind them, and which, by some 
 mistake, I neglected to see. 
 
 Shamrad, or Shah Murad Khan, was succeeded by 
 Rafir Khan, who was followed by Sultan Murad, who 
 re-took Ladak (it having been previously taken by 
 Ali Sher Khan, and lost by his son), and made him- 
 self master of Gilghit, Nagyr, Hunzeh, and Chitral. 
 He is said to have built the bridge near the Killah 
 of Chitral. The name of the first Ali Sher Khan, 
 or Shah Murad, is still to be seen upon a mosque at 
 Ladak. 
 
 In the time of Zufur Khan, the castle of Iskardo 
 was destroyed by fire, and much that was valuable 
 was burnt with it. One of my first inquiries, and 
 one that I more than once repeated of Ahmed 
 Shah, was, for a sight of the rare book or manu- 
 script which he was reported to be possessed of. 
 He assured me that he had always understood that 
 there was one, but that it was destroyed in the said 
 fire. He one day produced a book which he had 
 bought of a travelling pedler, and asked me what it 
 was. It was a testament, highly ornamented with 
 paintings, and the text was, I have not a doubt, 
 Armenian, though I do not understand any thing of 
 the language. 
 
 Zufur Khan took the castle of Iskardo from the
 
 254 HISTORY OF THE GYLFOfl. 
 
 Keluncheh, a sect or family who came from Purik. He 
 was young when the Kcluncheli usurped the throne 
 of Iskardo, and afterwards, by turning theiu out, 
 acquired the name of Ghazi.* 
 
 The Keluncheh were not Shiahs, as are the little 
 Tibetians,but were heretics from either the Sum or the 
 Shiah persuasion — following the doctrines of a Syud, 
 who came from Kashmir in the time of Rafir khan, 
 and wrote a book containing his own idea of the faith. 
 In common with the Shiahs he does not respect the 
 three first Caliphs, but venerates the memory of 
 Ayesha (or Eve) the daughter of Abubekr ; and Hafza, 
 daughter of Osman, who were both wives of the 
 prophet, who, as such, he affirms are worthy of honour 
 also. In these, and some other respects, he differs 
 from the Shiahs, but the Rajah and inhabitants of 
 Khopalu, Shighur, and Purik adopt his doctrines. 
 
 Ali Slier Khan (the lion of Ali) father of Ahmed 
 Shah, the present Gylfo, signalized himself by 
 taking the castle of Shighur, and making prisoners of 
 an invading army from Ladak. He left two sons, 
 Ahmed Shah of Iskardo, and Glohini Shah, the 
 Rajah of Parkuta on the Indus : who both reigned 
 at the last-mentioned places, in consequence of the 
 will of their father. 
 
 When I was at Iskardo, Ladak was in possess- 
 sion of the Sikhs, under the Jamu Rajah's Vuzir.f 
 
 * A Musalman who fights for the faith is so called, 
 j" Zurawur Singh, who lately invaded the Chinese territories by 
 order of his master, Gulab Singh, of Jamu, and was killed by them.
 
 HISTORY OF THE GYLFOS. 255 
 
 The territories of Ahmed Shah are extended from 
 Chorbut to Husara inclusive. Chitral, the country of 
 Shah Kator, has long been independent of Little 
 Tibet, and the Rajahs of Gilghit, Nagyr, and Hunzeh by 
 no means owned him as their superior. But besides 
 those already mentioned, Ahmed Shah was monarch 
 of Khopalu, Shighur, Keris, Katakchund, Tolti, Par- 
 kuta, and Royal or Rondu. On his seal, as that of a 
 Shiab prince, are inscribed the following words : 
 
 " Ali Sher an dawur dadgur Kez-o-yaft 
 Ahmed Shah bur ada zufur." 
 
 Ali, the lion of that just God, through whom 
 Ahmed Shah obtained victory over his enemies. 
 
 He had five or six sons ; the eldest, whose name 
 was, I think, Shah Murad, died just before I visited 
 Iskardo for the first time. He was a young man of 
 great promise, and universally regretted. He died, 
 it appeared, of fever, and amongst other remedies 
 employed to cure him, I remember that one was 
 having no furniture in his room but what was of a blue 
 or green colour. Had I come a month earlier, I 
 might have probably saved him, by a little European 
 medicine, and prevented a great political disturbance 
 in the country, consequent upon his death. His own 
 brother, Mohamed Shah, was by no means his equal 
 tn abilities, and having been intrusted with the 
 government of Husara, by way of trial, abused his 
 authority in such a manner, and showed himself so 
 incompetent as a ruler, that his father determined to
 
 2")(> IMAUGUH \ 1 Jos' BTO 
 
 disinherit him, in favour ofMohamed Ali Khan, a son 
 by another wife, daughter of the Shighur Rajah, 
 whereas the mother of the deceased prince and 
 Mohamed Shall was a daughter ofthe rajah of katak- 
 chund, from which family it was usual for the Gylfos 
 of Iskardo to select a wife as the mother of the heir- 
 apparent. In consequence of this determination, 
 Mahomed Shah quarrelled with his father, and ran off, 
 
 accompanied by two or three adherents, and put him- 
 self under the protection of Gulab Singh's Sikh lieu- 
 tenant, at the castle in Purik, near the frontier. Thifl 
 happened after my first visit to Iskardo, in 1835, and 
 from that time he became a puppet in tin: hands of 
 Gulab Singh, who amused him, and worried Ahmed 
 Shah, by promising to make him governor of Iskardo, 
 if ever he took the country. 
 
 Young Mohamed Ali Khan had been placed on 
 the inauguration stone, and received the homage of 
 his future subjects. He was about thirteen years of 
 age, short, and very stout, with a mild and intelligent 
 expression of countenance, and very fond of field 
 sports, and consequently, although a Musalman, he 
 was surrounded by several half-bred greyhounds and 
 lurchers, which he would have caressed more, had he 
 been allowed by his religion to do so. A Musalman 
 may only pat a greyhound, or dog used in hunting, 
 on the head, after a chase, by way of approval and 
 encouragement, and may touch no other without 
 bemg defiled. 
 
 Mirza Ilyder is a little boy. a younger brother of
 
 ACHMET ALI KHAN. 257 
 
 Moliamed Alt Khan. Achmet Ali Khan, already 
 mentioned, is a natural son of Ahmed Shah, by a 
 woman of lower extraction ; he has bv far the finest 
 features, and most intellectual head, of any of the 
 family, was the best shot, the best rider, and the best 
 swordsman. He was usual]} in command of my guard, 
 and I consequently saw a great deal of him. He 
 was always good-humoured, gentle manly, and defer- 
 ential, listening with the greatest avidity to any stories 
 about England, or even of Hindustan, and expressing 
 the greatest anxiety to go there. This desire was 
 not diminished from knowing In' would most probably 
 never see either — first, because his lather was too 
 jealous of him to let him go, and secondly, because, 
 had he not been so, he would nol let him go, for fear 
 of the smallpox, of which he, in common with the 
 rest of his subjects, had the greatest horror. 
 
 Dr. Falconer, who afterwards joined me in Little 
 Tibet, and whose medical skill and kindness he had 
 daily opportunities of observing, tried very hard, as 
 well as myself, to persuade him to be vaccinated, or 
 to allow cither his sons or his subjects to be vac- 
 cinated; but nothing would persuade him to give his 
 consent, because he could not divest himself of the 
 idea that it would tend to produce the disease itself. 
 
 On the river-side, within two or three days' march 
 from iskardo, towards Ladak or Nubra, 1 forget 
 which, I saw a small excavation in the side of the 
 mountain, which is used as a pest-house for any one 
 
 VOL. ii. s
 
 258 I m ARMY Of I Hi II. I 11:1.1 . 
 
 who nia\ bare the smallpox, and whom do person is 
 allowed to visit, and who consequently must perish, 
 
 unless he be strong ei irh to crawl down to take 
 
 ilif water and sustenance which is placed for bun 
 at the bottom of the ascent, on the top of which the 
 cave is situated. 
 
 The armj is usually commanded by one of the 
 Rajah's sons. Under him are two vuzirs ; under the 
 vuzirs is an officer called a Trangpah, who has also 
 several inferior revenue officers under bun, for every 
 hundred yvX — a word which is applie 1 to land return- 
 ing a revenue, in contradistinction to ghund, which 
 
 seems ;i name lor land granted away without any 
 reservation of revenue. Such, tor instance, is Ghund- 
 i-sur Sing - , a village in the Duras pass from Kashmir. 
 
 A yvi is a piece of land that is cultivated, or that 
 pays annually to the Rajah two kirwahs of wheat 
 and barley, a quantity of roghun, or prepared grease, 
 used as butter, and one goat. 
 
 A suitable provision is made by the Rajah for the 
 families of Sepahis who are killed in action ; the 
 widow, under certain restrictions, being allowed to 
 reside on the estate of her husband, for the benefit 
 of his children, although the Sepahi held it for gene- 
 ral services. 
 
 The existence of caste in Little Tibet may per- 
 haps be considered as a proof of the Hindu origin 
 of the natives. That of the Rajah is the Makpon, 
 signifying, I believe, captain or commander, and is
 
 MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 259 
 
 also the name of the tutelary saint, according to Mr. 
 Moorcroft. The next is Yulstrung, or that of the 
 civil governors of a district There is also a caste 
 called Singh, or Sur Singh, perhaps a lion, the name 
 assumed as a nation by the Sikhs. There is also a 
 family or caste of Futha (madmen), because they in- 
 habit a village known by that name on the moun- 
 tains 
 
 The marriage ceremony, &c. 3 of Little Tibet differs 
 from that <>f other Musulman countries, in that the 
 husband, instead of Bending a friend or relation to 
 see the lady, goes in person for that purpose, and 
 may refuse if he pleases ; and the other is, that on 
 the day of marriage the wife comes to his house 
 instead of him going to \i-ii her. 
 
 Idle ceremony of a Hindu or Sikh marriage is 
 performed as follows : \\ hen the parents have ar- 
 ranged the match, the barber brings some trinkets 
 from the bride and her parents, to the bridegroom's 
 father, who accepts them as a matter of course; and 
 this custom is continued from time to time until the 
 da) of marriage. On that da) the Brahmin attends ; 
 the hems of each of the parties' garments are tied 
 together; the Brahmin forms a circle with (lour round 
 a small fire, and calls upon the name of his favourite 
 divinity; another says a prayer; at the same time 
 throwing Mowers into the fire, and then the parties 
 walk seven times round the floor, and until the sixth 
 round is completed she is not his wife. She then 
 
 s2
 
 -<>() I AI.l.KY OF THE INDUS, 
 
 retires with two or three other women, and when sh< 
 is unveiled, they commence teasing and abusing her, 
 alter which the husband takes her home. With the 
 Kashmiri an Hindus the ceremony diners a little : 
 heaps of money are used to form the circle, instead of 
 flour, and the parties are linked by their little fing< 
 instead of their garments. 
 
 The valley of the Indus, at lskardo, by ther- 
 mometer, is about 6300 feel above the level of the 
 sea; that is, about 000 feet below that of Guns, 
 and 1000 feet higher than the plains of Kashmir. 
 Its greatest length, as already mentioned, is ninete< a 
 miles; its greatest width is seven. Enormous moun- 
 tains, rising from six thousand to eight thousand feet or 
 more above it, surround it on every side, rising direct I v 
 from the plains, bare, rugged, and apparently inac- 
 cessible, and between these, at intervals, are long 
 sloping defiles that ascend gradually, like that of 
 Burgeh, to the encircling ridge, which is still much 
 higher. The Indus runs through it with no very 
 placid stream, deep in many places, varying from one 
 hundred to two hundred yards in breadth, and washes 
 the east and north sides of the rock of lskardo, which 
 rises in the centre of the valley, and which was once 
 no doubt an island in the river. 
 
 The surface of the valley, but for the verdure sup- 
 plied by partial irrigation, would be almost a sandy 
 plain — beneath which, I was informed, water could be 
 found at the depth often yards; and in many places,
 
 VALLEY OF THE INDUS. 261 
 
 where the ground rises a little, the hillock is covered 
 with broken masses of gneiss. The western end of 
 the valley is completely covered with them, and gneiss, 
 in fact, as I have already remarked, is the predomi- 
 nant formation every where. It is quite clear, from the 
 remains of alluvial deposit on the southern and more 
 mural side of the rock itself,also in different parts of the 
 valley, particularly from the appearance of the chaotic 
 masses, protected from the ravages of a descending 
 flood, by the projecting rock, between Ouardo and 
 Komora, and from the aspect of the other elevated 
 villages on the opposite side of the valley, that the 
 river has worn its way through the solid shingle, with 
 which it was once nearly filled ; whilst the masses 
 of gneiss at the western end appear to have rested 
 there, and to have escaped, in consequence of their 
 own weight, the influence of the stream, that has 
 in the process of time carried all the lighter alluvium 
 along with it. In the valley of Iskardo the river is 
 comparatively tranquil, but a furious rapid com- 
 mences as it again approaches the gorge by which it 
 escapes. 
 
 On the way to the Satpur gate is a large piece 
 of granite, about fourteen feet high ; on it is a sitting 
 figure in relief of Siva or Mahadeo, and an in- 
 scription in the character known as the " old Buddhu 
 stone " already noticed, calling upon passers by to 
 pay their adoration, and to keep the little lamps 
 alight in the niches cut in the stone, &c.
 
 262 LAKES IN I8KARD0. 
 
 Above it, in the beginning of the Satpur pass to 
 Deotsuh, is the lake called the Satpur-Tsuh, which 
 occupies the entire width of the pass, being one mile 
 and three quarters in length, and nearly a mile in width. 
 A little island covered with willows, rises from the 
 water, near the embouchure of the stream that flows 
 from it, by the damming up of which, in fact, the 
 lake appears to have been formed. An invader must 
 pass by a very narrow path under the eastern bank, 
 where he is exposed to an overwhelming shower of 
 rocks and stones. It contains the Himalaya trout, 
 and I think that Ahmed Shall told me of another 
 large dark-coloured fish called Raj, but I never saw 
 one. 
 
 I know of four other lakes in Iskardo, the Juba 
 Tsuh on the road to Shighur, a lake, or rather morass 
 at Rangha by the river-side, and two small tarns 
 near Kutsura, at the eastern end of the valley. 
 
 Near the village of Shikari is the magnificent 
 spring of Koshau,* well worth a small detour, as it 
 is, I should think, the finest in the valley. Wherever 
 a stream descends, the Tibetians have taken advan- 
 tage of it ; the soil is raised and economized with the 
 greatest care, in plateaux, averaging forty yards in 
 length, and twenty in width, supported by walls of 
 loose stone, each of w hich is irrigated in turn, and the 
 stream is sometimes absorbed in them. Peach, apri- 
 cot, mulberry, apple, and pear trees are sprinkled 
 
 * The water from the Kosh (Kaucasus) or mountain, I believe.
 
 AGRICULTURE OF THE VALLEY. 263 
 
 amongst them in great abundance. Amongst these 
 are scattered the cottages of the Bultis or Little Ti- 
 betian peasants. They are usually built of stones and 
 mud, divided and supported by a framework of wood. 
 Several small buildings are often united to form one 
 dwelling. A fence, as in Kamraj in Kashmir, exactly 
 resembling the Sussex hurdle, is much in use. Out- 
 houses are often made with it, when the roof is not 
 strong enough to bear a second story. 
 
 I have designated the inhabitants as peasants, but 
 almost all the owners of these lands and tenements are 
 Sepahis, who are bound by their tenure to perform all 
 the duties of knight service, frank tenement and copy- 
 hold united, and cannot in fact refuse to assist in any 
 public work they may be called upon to perform. If 
 a Tibeti Sepahi dies, his widow takes half his pro- 
 perty, and the rest reverts to the Rajah; if one or 
 more children she retains all, and perhaps some is 
 added by the Rajah. 
 
 The crops are of wheat, barley, turnips, a little 
 rice, millet, buckwheat, cockscomb, red and yellow. 
 But little is saved after the requisite deposit for seed 
 has been made. The first crop upon newly-prepared 
 ground is of millet, and the next of turnips. 
 
 The melons of Iskardo are plentiful ; they are 
 usually green, small, but of a delicious flavour. The 
 grapes are pretty good, apples excellent, pears indif- 
 ferent ; peaches and apricots are generally small, 
 and one kind, of a bright deep yellow colour, is
 
 2641 SINGULAR PREPARATION OF WHEAT. 
 
 exceedingly sweet, and when dried and pressed, as 
 they are commonly prepared at Kabul and Iskardo, 
 are excellent if fresh. Good raisins are made in the 
 valley ; and at Kasha, a small district on the river, just 
 beyond the west end, distinct from the valley of 
 the same name afterwards mentioned, is produced a 
 small grape that is dried and prepare I bo as to have 
 exactly the taste and appearance <>f the Zante enr- 
 rant, and in which state thej are called Zurisk. 
 
 I tasted a curious preparation called Sgurma, and, 
 where there was so little variety for the palate, I did 
 not despise it as a sweetmeat. It is made by putting 
 two pounds of ripe wheat into a hair bag, which is 
 then to be laid in a running stream for five or 
 six days, or until the sprout is about an inch in 
 length. Care is to be taken that the grains do not 
 adhere, and for that purpose, it should be gently 
 stirred once a day. The grains are then dried and 
 broken, by pounding (not finely ground), and then are 
 added four pints of water to one of the mashed grain. 
 It should remain all day in the water, which is to 
 be strained off in the evening. The liquor is then 
 boiled in a stone saucepan, which is first greased with 
 butter inside ; and when boiling, a cupful of almond 
 or apricot oil to about three quarts of the liquor, is 
 to be poured in (I do not know the exact proportions) 
 and the whole stirred until it assume the consistency 
 of paste. I was surprised at the taste imparted by 
 the sweet-wort, and could hardly believe there was 
 no sugar in the composition.
 
 TIBETI TEA. 265 
 
 Tea, made or rather boiled with water, as in 
 Europe, is called Moguli Cha, or the tea of the 
 Moguls, as they call the Persians. But Tibeti cha, 
 or tea as made in Tibet, is a very different composi- 
 tion, tor which the following is the recipe for a party 
 of five or six people: A teacupful of the finest green 
 tea is put into three pints of water, and upon this is 
 strewed a large spoonful of soda, and all three are 
 boiled together. About a pound of fresh butter or 
 ghi, and a pinch of salt, are then placed at the bottom 
 of the milling churn, and part of the boiling con- 
 tents are poured out and milled like chocolate ; a 
 little cream or milk is then added to what has re- 
 mained in the saucepan, and on this the milled tea is 
 poured and boiled again, and part of it again trans- 
 ferred to the churn, and so on till it is all properly 
 milled. All that then remains to be done is to strain 
 it through a clean cloth. Much depends upon the 
 quality of the tea, ami the manner of making it. I 
 have nowhere drank it so good as with Ahmed Shah. 
 It was always made before or after a march, and on 
 a cold morning, I found it, after a little time, quite as 
 palatable as tea made in the ordinary way, and far 
 more nourishing. When well made, it resembles 
 chocolate in appearance, in consequence of the red- 
 dish tinge imparted to the tea by the presence of the 
 soda, which prevents it also from cloying. Sutu, or 
 the flour of roasted barley, is frequently eaten 
 with it.
 
 266 CLIMATE 01 i hi: \ai.li;v. 
 
 Ahmed Shah's cuisine was very plain ; roast and 
 boiled mutton usually, hut well dressed, the latter in 
 particular, especially when eaten with turnips : and 
 upon one or two occasions I have been honoured by 
 a dinner sent, and probably dressed, by the ladies in 
 the castle. Ahmed Shah had never seen either 
 coffee, a negro, or an orange. 
 
 The climate of the valley of the Indus in Little 
 Tibet is somewhat hotter in summer, and perhaps 
 colder in winter, than that of Kashmir. Rain only 
 falls at intervals, and the Rajah's expression to me — 
 meaning it, of com-.', generally — was, that it never 
 rained there. I have seen a few showers, but not 
 often. Cultivation is carri< d on entirely by irriga- 
 tion from the mountain-streams. The hottest wea- 
 ther occurs between the 1st of July and 5th of 
 September. At Iskardo on the 30th of August I have 
 seen my thermometer rise at noon to ICO in the sun. 
 On the 16th of July, at Chorbut, at neon, it stood at 
 79° in the shade ; at Khopalu, early in September it 
 stood at 55° at sunrise, 85° at noon, and 69 at sunset. 
 On the 22d, at the same place, it rose to 74° at midday. 
 On the 1st of October, at Surmur in Khopalu, it 
 stood at sunrise at 41° in the open air, at 71° at noon, 
 and 57° at sunset; and on the 26th of the same 
 month, at Hurdus, on the Duras stream, it stood at 
 44° in the sun at noon. 
 
 Little Tibet, like Kashmir, is occasionally visited 
 by wiuters of uncommon severity, but in ordinary
 
 LANGUAGE OF LITTLE TIBET 267 
 
 seasons the snow, so I was informed, does not 
 lie in the valley for any great distance below 
 the rock of Iskardo. I found the radiated heat 
 from the sand and the bare rock far more oppres- 
 sive than any that I had experienced in Kash- 
 mir; and the greater height of the thermometer is 
 principally attributable to these causes, and the con- 
 fined nature of the country. The cold on the moun- 
 tain-tops must be greater than that on the ranges of 
 equal height nearer the plains of the Punjab. That 
 of Deotsuh, for instance, in the winter, is described as 
 too piercing for the existence of animal life. The 
 water of the Indus is always cold in the hottest day; 
 and that at the junction of the two rivers near Keris 
 is considered to be as fine as any in this country. 
 
 The Language of little Tibet differs (so 1 was told) 
 considerably from that of Ladak. Arabic letters are 
 often used in their names, and more Arabic words 
 than Persian ; but not much of either, and still less of 
 Turki : and I was told that a Ladaki and a Bulti, 
 meeting from the distant verge of their respective 
 countries, would have some little difficulty in under- 
 standing each other. In the language of Tibet gene- 
 ral I y, there are thirty simple letters, out of which 
 fifteen different sets are formed, which may be used 
 with a prefix of some other letter, as the aspirate, for 
 instance, is a prefix to any vowel. The word 
 R Gylfo, already mentioned, lias a prefix of the letter 
 R, which is rapidly sounded as if it were part of the
 
 268 VALLEY OF SHIGHUR. 
 
 G. In this manner are formed two hundred and nine 
 combinations of letters.* 
 
 The Rajah told me that the valley of Shighur 
 was well worth my visiting, and volunteered to ac- 
 company me, which proposal of course I did not 
 refuse. We were ferried over the Indus, which in 
 Little Tibet is called the Gemtsuh (the collected, 
 united, or great flood), about a mile above the fort, 
 and afterwards marched over the sandy plain, paral- 
 lel to the river, whence the path turned to the left, 
 and wound amongst the bare and rocky hills that 
 separate the valley of Shighur from that of Iskardo. 
 There are, however, two ways, and I prefer the 
 lower road, because it passes a small lake of Jubar- 
 tsuh, already mentioned, and hares were usually found 
 in great abundance upon the open rocky country 
 around it. 
 
 The hare of Little Tibet seems to be a new 
 species, and peculiar to the country. It inhabits the 
 stony banks and sandy bottoms of valleys, sometimes 
 making its form in the Tartarian furze, and if there 
 be no verdure it lies in the sand, and sometimes in the 
 crevices of the rocks, or in holes it has scratched for 
 itself underneath them. It is a lank and long-legged 
 animal, not bigger than a large rabbit, of a gray 
 colour, more resembling the Alpine hare than any 
 other, but differing considerably by the much greater 
 length and width of its ears. 
 
 * Vide " Tibetian Grammar," by M. Csoma de Koros.
 
 the rajah's stronghold. 269 
 
 The Rajah has a good house at Shighur, close 
 under the fort. The Durbar is held in an upper 
 room, from which, on one side, there is an extensive 
 prospect in the direction of Iskardo, and on the 
 other of the whole length of the Shighur valley. The 
 fort, like all the forts in the country, is built upon a 
 steep, narrow, and precipitous rock, about two hun- 
 dred and eighty feet in height, to the top of which I 
 scrambled, up a succession of steps and staircases, 
 chiselled or let into its surface, and to which there is 
 no natural ascent excepting from the north side, 
 where it is joined by a low ridge to the higher moun- 
 tains. A considerable stream washes the side of it, 
 which passes the walls by which its base is sur- 
 rounded, irrigates the gardens and fields of the 
 village, and joins the main stream of the valley, after 
 passing through a thick jungul of Tartarian furze.* 
 
 When Ahmed Shah first succeeded to the do- 
 minions of his father, Ali Shah Khan, he was very 
 young: the petty potentates around him, despising 
 his youth and inexperience, gave him a great deal of 
 trouble, and the early years of his reign were passed 
 in their re-subjection. I was told that the fort of 
 Shighur held out against him for eleven years, but 
 was at last starved and tired into submission. 
 
 The valley lies nearly at right angles with that 
 of Iskardo : its length, by actual survey, is twenty- 
 four miles ; its greatest width between four and five. 
 
 * Cytisus Gerardiana, or Versicolor.
 
 270 MODE OP CULTIVATION. 
 
 The Rajah, attended by myself, occupied three days 
 in marching toTsutron,* at the end of it. Enormous 
 mountains of gneiss rose on cither side of it ; those 
 over the farthest end of it were very elevated, and 
 covered with eternal snow; and altogether its gene- 
 ral appearance was singularly wild and magnificent. 
 
 In Tibet, Persia, Afghanistan, and no doubt in 
 parts of China, as there is rarely a village without a 
 stream, so there is not oftm a stream without a 
 village on some part of it. Wells in such places are 
 comparatively little known, because the surface is 
 often of hard rock. The spring finds its way into a 
 ravine ; a narrow slip of cultivation commences in its 
 deepest recesses, increasing gradually in width as it 
 descends : the waters are soon multiplied for the 
 purposes of irrigation, and the verdure follows them 
 down into the open valley, in one broad delta, or fan- 
 shaped mass of cultivation. 
 
 All the villages in the valley of Shighur would be 
 included in this description, and between them lay 
 miles of desert land, covered with fragments of 
 gneiss rock, which often contained garnets. 1 re- 
 member to have shot a common quail there, the only 
 one I saw in Tibet, and I once saw a large centi- 
 pede there also. We marched but slowly, as the 
 Rajah was constantly stopping to smoke, and his 
 band would then suddenly make its appearance by 
 
 * The hot water, or spring.
 
 INHABITANTS OF LITTLE TIBET. 271 
 
 the roadside, and commence a most discordant din 
 until we had passed. 
 
 The complexions of the Little Tibetians, as al- 
 ready remarked, are usually sallow, and their physi- 
 ognomy partakes of an admixture of the Mongolian, 
 or Tartar, and the more noble features of the Indian 
 or Persian races, which have originally met from the 
 north and the south upon the banks of the Indus. 
 But I noticed that their aspect was usually thin and 
 care-worn, the result, no doubt, of the hard life and 
 scanty fare of a mountaineer, which consists chiefly 
 of bread made from some of the grains afterwards 
 mentioned, and apricots dried in the sun, of which, 
 in the autumn, bushels ma\ be seen upon every other 
 roof. I do not think them long-lived; and Ahmed 
 Shah seemed to think that eighty was an extra- 
 ordinary age. They are certainly an interesting 
 people. They appear to be contented, and fond of 
 their native valleys ; fearing nothing but the Sikhs 
 and the smallpox, and are infinitely superior in a 
 moral point of view, to the more sophisticated inha- 
 bitants of the Panjab and Afghanistan. 
 
 At every village that we passed I had a good 
 opportunity of seeing that Ahmed Shah was liked by 
 his subjects ; though it is very possible that mucli 
 of the attention he received was studied, on pur- 
 pose for my observation and good report. Persons 
 bearing small wooden dishes, some filled with dried 
 raisins, mulberries, and apricots, and others with the
 
 272 RECEPTION OF THE RAJAH. 
 
 fruits that were then in season, melons, grapes, &.c, 
 were standing at every corner of the road. These 
 were presented with a respectful salaam, the villagers 
 at the same time crowding round the good Rajah's 
 horse, touching his feet with their hands, and then 
 carrvin"" thcin to their foreheads. All seemed cheer- 
 ful and contented. The fruit trees were in full shade 
 and bearing, and their little plateaux were covered 
 with the ripening harvest. The cockscomb, both red 
 and yellow, was contrasted in colour with the more 
 delicate tint of the blossom of the buckwheat; and 
 amongst other corns, the Kunguni millet,* the most 
 beautiful of all, was very abundant, and its large 
 massive ears bent downwards, as if they had been 
 pendants of frosted gold. 
 
 The prettiest villages are, I think, on the western 
 side of the valley ; and at Glioma Ghondu in particu- 
 lar, the walnut-trees are very large, and so numerous 
 as to form an extensive grove, under the shade of 
 which Dr. Falconer and myself once breakfasted, pre- 
 viously to shooting two or three brace of hares in the 
 Tartarian furze on the banks of the stream. 
 
 The river which joins the Indus near Nynsuk, at 
 the foot of the rock of Iskardo, was nearly one hun- 
 dred yards in width at the top of the Shighur valley, 
 when the Rajah and myself arrived from the castle on 
 the third day. The crossing of the Rajah's retinue oc- 
 cupied many hours, and was effected upon rafts about 
 
 * Panicum Italicum.
 
 PASSING A RIVER. 273 
 
 seven feet square, of a light wooden framework, 
 under which were fastened inflated sheepskins. The 
 rafts were then propelled and steered by a man sitting- 
 at each corner, and using- as an oar a stick having no 
 blade to it — all attempts at feathering being ineffectual 
 and dangerous. The baggage and passengers were 
 closely crowded in the centre, and the raft of course, 
 when loose, was whirled along with such rapidity by 
 the violence of the stream, that at first I trembled 
 for its safety. But " Ya Ali !" " Ya Ali !"* was the 
 loud and incessant cry of the Shiah steersmen, as they 
 endeavoured to guide the boat with their sticks, and 
 we were all landed in safety on the opposite bank. 
 The raft had then to be carried on men's shoulders to 
 three or four hundred yards further up the stream, 
 in order to descend with it to the same starting-place 
 again on the hither side. I was sent with a very 
 light cargo, and the Rajah also consulted his personal 
 safety by coming alone, with his skirts tucked up, 
 and a large inflated sheepskin fastened behind him; 
 so that his appearance was so ludicrous that I could 
 not help laughing, and he even laughed at it himself. 
 On the same evening, after passing a lofty hill of 
 gypsum, we arrived at Tsuh-Tron. A wooden build- 
 ing, which did duty for a bath, had been erected for 
 the Rajah, and it was cleaned out for my use. A co- 
 pious spring of hot water, rising from the limestone 
 
 * "Ya! Ali! mudut!" (Ali, help us!) is the charging cry of the 
 Shiah Mohamedans. 
 
 VOL. II. T
 
 274 HOT SPRING. 
 
 rock not fifty yards from the bed of the river, rushed 
 in at one corner, but I could not discover, either by 
 taste or smell, that it contained either iron or sulphur, 
 or that it differed in composition from any other 
 spring. A small circular bath has been dug in the 
 open air, for the use of the Tibetians, and in this 
 my Hindustani servants bathed, and were exceed- 
 ingly astonished at the warmth of the water. I was 
 nearly scalded at first, as the mercury stood at 109° 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 In the afternoon, I wandered into a defile on the 
 left, at a short distance further up the valley, attended 
 by Nasim Khan and a Tibetian. The rock rose per- 
 pendicularly on each side of us, and they told me not 
 to remain still an instant, as, if there were any wild 
 goats above, they would disturb the loose stones, 
 which might strike me as they fell. I was on the look 
 out for new birds, and loaded with shot, but the defile 
 suddenly became a little wider, and as we emerged 
 on a most desolate and savage mountain-scene, a fe- 
 male ibex and her two kids passed across the slope 
 above us. I hastily drew the charge, and dropped in 
 a ball in time to get a snapshot, but it struck the 
 rock within a few inches of her back, and all three 
 galloped across the mountain-side with surprising 
 speed, sending down a running fire of loose stones, 
 which they displaced at every step.
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Yak, or Grunting Ox of Tibet — The Kuch-Kar — Known to Alex- 
 ander the Great —Mr. Blythe— The Ibex — The Mar-Khur, or 
 Serpent-eater — Gigantic Goat — The Sha, or Goat-Deer — The 
 Musk-Deer — Leopards, Bears, and Wolves of Tibet — The Fox 
 and Hare — The royal Partridge, and other Game — Oriole — Fish- 
 ing in the Indus — Himalaya Trout — Snake — Freedom of the 
 Valley from Reptiles — A Traveller's Stories — Former Road to 
 Yarkund — Singular Rock — Hot Spring — Magnificent Glacier — 
 Gold-dust Stream — Washing for Gold-dust — Marmots — Ac- 
 count of Herodotus — Ants as big as Foxes — Defile and Gla- 
 cier — Projected Journey over the Muztak — Nagyr — Gold-wash- 
 ing — Gilghit — Banks of the Indus towards Ladak — Shighur — 
 Singular Equestrian Game — Hocky on Horseback — Horses of 
 Little Tibet — Rocky Defile — Mountain Pass and Glacier — 
 Achniet Ali Khan — The Dead alive — A Dose of Calomel — 
 Mountain Ascent — Five Glaciers — Glorious View — A Philosophic 
 Tailor — Village, with an L-on-Mine — Flusara — The Rajah — 
 Hospitable Reception — Conclave at the Rajahs — The Dangri 
 Language — Singular Ideas of the Natives regarding Englishmen 
 — The Sunis — Course of the Husara River — Vegetation of the 
 Banks — Wild Animals — Two Hot Springs — Portal of the Indus 
 — Its Course through the Panjab — The Valley of Gilghit — 
 Religious Ceremonies — The Rajah of Gilghit — His Refusal to let 
 the Author enter his Country — Return to Kashmir — Gilghit — 
 Wine-making — Habits of the People — Lieutenant Wood — An- 
 tiquities in Yessen — Relics of Alexander the Great — Rajah of 
 Astor — The Chitral Valley — Kafiristan — Death of Dr. Hen- 
 derson. 
 
 2
 
 THE YAK. 277 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Yak, or grunting- ox of Tibet (the cow is 
 called yak-mo), is found wild, so I was informed, 
 upon the northern slopes of the Himalaya that descend 
 upon the plains of Yarkund. 
 
 The climate of the valleys of Little Tibet is too 
 hot for them in winter, and in fact the real Yak is not 
 common there, excepting in its more northerly dis- 
 tricts, but those of the half-breed are plentiful. 
 Ahmed Shah, however, procured me three or four of 
 them, but they died off as they approached the plains. 
 One of them arrived at Labor, and the concourse of 
 natives (Sikhs and Hindus) to see a new animal of the 
 Bos genus was immense. They had heard of the Yak, 
 but had never seen any part of one, excepting the tail, 
 or chauri, which is commonly used in India as a fly-flap- 
 per. The half-breed with the common cow is called 
 Bzoh. The largest Yak that I saw at Ladak, were of 
 the size of large English bulls, long-bodied, and with 
 a great depression of the head, corresponding to the 
 bisontine rise in the shoulder. The horns rarely, I
 
 278 THE KUCH-KAU. 
 
 think, bent backward, but rose in a line with the 
 profile. A belt, or lengthened tuft of long pendant 
 hair, was extended along the side, full on the 
 fore-arm, or dewlap, but less so on the flank. The 
 grunt is something like that of a hog, but more ap- 
 proaching to a bellowing noise. The milk is richer 
 than that of the common cow of the country, which is 
 small, without any display of breeding, and has not 
 the hump on the shoulder, or very little of it. I saw 
 Yak of all colours. 
 
 The Kuch-Kar, or Kuch, as the ex-rajah of Chitral 
 called it, is a gigantic moufflon, probably the same 
 as the Ovis Ammon of Pallas. This name must 
 not be confounded with that of the Kosh-Gau, the 
 cow of the Kosh, or Kaucasus, as the Yak is there 
 termed. The word Kuch, or Koch, seems to be a 
 generic name for wild sheep ; that of the Sulimani 
 range is there called Kuch, being the same, or a near 
 approach to the Sha of Little Tibet. 
 
 Alexander the Great must have seen the horns 
 of the Kuch-Kar in Budukshan, and naturalists 
 are indebted to Lieutenant Wood for distinguish- 
 ing it from the Ras of Pamir. According to 
 Ahmed Shah, it sometimes, but rarely, makes its 
 appearance in Little Tibet, upon the mountains 
 above Katakchund. Mr. Blythe, in a paper read 
 before the Zoological Society, July 28, 1840, has 
 proposed that it be called the Ovis Polii, after 
 Marco Polo, who first described it ; but Lieute-
 
 THE SERPENT-EATER. 279 
 
 nant Wood's name ought also to be connected with it. 
 Not less than fifteen species of wild sheep are noticed 
 by Mr. Blythe, in the same paper; none of them, 
 however, appear to have the wool of the domestic 
 breed, although he remarks that such an animal is 
 known to exist in Persia. 
 
 The Ibex, called Skin in Little Tibet, and Kyi in 
 Kashmir, is very common, and between one and two 
 hundred of them are killed in winter, when they are 
 forced to descend into the valleys. It is, I should 
 think, larger than the European Ibex ; the horns, too, 
 are longer, more curved, and more tapering. I am 
 in possession of the largest pair that is to be found in 
 Little Tibet ; they were procured for me by Ahmed 
 Shah, they measure not less than four feet and a 
 quarter from the base to the tip. 
 
 The gigantic goat, called in Afghanistan the 
 Mar-Khur, or serpent-eater, is called the Rawacheh 
 in Little Tibet. The word is an abbreviation from 
 Rawa, a horn, and Chogho, signifying great (as 
 a king). It is also sometimes called Tsuh Ra, or 
 the water-goat, from its being seen upon low, but 
 unapproachable rocks, near the water. The Mark- 
 hur is found (so I was informed by my Chitrali 
 friend) upon the hills of Budukshan, and it is most 
 probably the Ras, first noticed by Lieut. Burnes, and 
 lately by Lieut. Wood. It is called Rush in Pureh, 
 or the language of Chitral. Mr. Blythe is of opinion, 
 that as the horns of this enormous goat differ in shape
 
 280 THE GOAT-DEER. 
 
 in different specimens, it is the descendant of a 
 tame stock become wild. The colour, however, is, 
 I believe, uniform, which militates against this theory. 
 I have seen goats near Athens, whose horns, though 
 smaller, were very large for those of a tame goat, and 
 were exactly like those of the Markhur. 
 
 The Sha is a tragelnphus, or goat-deer. "This 
 fine species/' says Mr. Blvthe, to whom I had given 
 all the information I possessed on this subject, fl is 
 closely allied to the Corsican moufflon, but is much 
 larger, with proportionally longer limbs, and a con- 
 spicuous fringe of lengthened blackish hair, down the 
 front of the neck, and not lying close, as in the 
 moufflon." Its size is that of a large fallow-deer; and, 
 from their general appearance, their length of leg, 
 and swiftness on the mountains, they reminded me of 
 deer, rather than sheep. Its general colour is a 
 rufous brown, face livid, belly white, separated by a 
 black lateral band; limbs brown, not mottled, as in 
 the moufflon; a whitish ring immediately above each 
 hoof, then a dark ring, then a little white, posteriorly, 
 as in the Nyl Ghau. Tail about six inches long. 
 
 The Sna (not Sha) is the Nahur of Nipal. 
 The horns of this animal are curved, smooth, and 
 four-sided. Its size is that of an ordinary sheep ; 
 general colour, dull brownish-gray. 
 
 The H'la is a musk-deer, and, according to Dr. 
 Falconer, is a new species. It is found in Duchin 
 Para, in Kashmir. The hair, on a skin that I pos-
 
 WILD ANIMALS OF TIBET. 281 
 
 sessed, was of a rufous brown colour, and resembled 
 that of the Wapiti, or American elk, in its thickness 
 and strength. 
 
 The Gylfo gave me a leopard-skin, of which the 
 ground was almost white. The tail was of the usual 
 length. It has been suggested that it might be the 
 true ounce of Burfon. I should be inclined, however, 
 to attribute its colour to age. 
 
 The bears I have already described. 
 
 The wolf differs in nothing, that I am aware of, 
 from the common animal of that name. 
 
 The fox is the large animal of the Himalaya, in 
 no respect, I believe, differing from that of Europe. 
 
 The hare and the marmot (Pua or Drun) are 
 already described. 
 
 The eagle is more frequently seen on these barren 
 mountains than the vulture; but all the birds of prey 
 common to the Himalaya, are known in Tibet. The 
 eagle is simply called the Bya Nuk, or the blackbird, 
 and the vulture, Bya Kur, or the white. 
 
 The Kubk-Deri, royal partridge, or gigantic 
 chikor, I have already noticed ; and also the red- 
 leg, or chikor, the only partridge, excepting the 
 Kubk-Deri, known in Tibet. 
 
 Ahmed Shah and the Little Tibetian sportsmen 
 used to talk about a bird called a Sulalu, which is 
 found on the tops of the mountains. It is not, I think, 
 gregarious, and of a size between the Kubk-Deri and 
 the chikor, and is also generally of the same gray
 
 282 GAME OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 colour ; but I do not insert this as a description. 
 They said that it was to be distinguished by its call, 
 which was something like the neighing of a horse. 
 All endeavours to procure one for me were unsuc- 
 cessful, although the Gylfo often sent sportsmen in 
 different directions. 
 
 A beautiful species of oriole, as large as a turtle- 
 dove, was not uncommon in the valley ; but I never 
 managed to kill one. Its general colour was jet 
 black and bright yellow, and the few notes it uttered 
 were loud and melodious. 
 
 Soon after my arrival, the young Rajah brought 
 me the produce of an afternoon's fishing in the Indus. 
 They were all of one species, the Himalaya trout, the 
 largest weighing two or three pounds, and from all I 
 heard, there are few, if any, of another species, so 
 high up in the mountains. 
 
 A small harmless snake, the only one I have seen, 
 is not uncommon, in rocky and ,sandy banks by the 
 river-side. Ahmed Shah told me that he had once 
 seen another, gliding away amongst the rocky ground 
 at the western end of the valley ; by his account 
 it must have been much larger than the lastmen- 
 tioned species. 
 
 I have seen few other reptiles, from which the 
 valley seems comparatively free. I only once saw a 
 centipede ; and the scorpion, which is not common 
 in Kashmir, is, I believe, still less so in Little Tibet. 
 The Tarantula, which is so common in Persia, is
 
 THE ROAD TO YARKUND. 283 
 
 found at Mushid : I do not know if it be found at 
 Herat, but I never saw one at Kabul. 
 
 Two long valleys join the waters of their respec- 
 tive streams at the head of the valley of Shighur, of 
 which that on the left, as we ascend, is merely a con- 
 tinuation, and is called Basha. That on the right is 
 Brahaldo, and is continued to the foot of the Muztak, 
 which is reached on foot in about eight or ten days. 
 I marched in it for a short distance, and then re- 
 turned, intending to visit it on my return, after hav- 
 ing seen Basha, but eventually did not do so. 
 
 Dr. Falconer informed me that he ascended it for 
 several days, in the hope of reaching the foot of 
 the Muztak, but finding the distance and difficulty far 
 greater than he had expected, he returned, across a 
 steep mountain-pass, to the castle of Shighur. 
 
 The path down the Muztak is one of the best 
 ways to Yarkund, and was formerly much used by 
 saudagurs, or merchants, in their journeys to and from 
 Kashmir. There were several stories afloat of the 
 reason why it is never, I believe, used by merchants at 
 present. One of the most current is that they were 
 plundered by the little Tibetians in times past ; and 
 another says, that they took flight in consequence of a 
 Yarkundi merchant finding, upon his arrival in that 
 city, that the gold in his box must have been taken 
 out and replaced by silver during his stay at Shighur. 
 One old man who, on account of his age, was allowed 
 to say any thing, made the whole durbar and myself
 
 281 CURIOUS ROCK. 
 
 laugh, by telling- me, with a portentous and would-be - 
 prophetic shake of the head, that he remembered the 
 time when, had I attempted to set foot in his country, 
 I should have been killed at once. Ahmed Shah, 
 however, quieted his scruples, and the next day we 
 exchanged some trifling presents and became excel- 
 lent friends. 
 
 I have it on the authority of Sir John M'Neill, 
 that Russian saudagurs, used formerly to arrive at 
 Kashmir, after passing up the Valley of Oxus, 
 whence they must either have crossed the Plain of 
 Pamir and joined the regular road* via Yarkund and 
 Ladak, or that by the Muztak and Iskardo, or have 
 crossed the Mustoj pass, from Tssar, and arrived at 
 Kashmir via Chitral, Gilghit, Husara, and Gurys ; 
 which latter is by far the most probable, as it is the 
 nearest road for them. 
 
 Near the entrance of the valley of Brahaldo, and 
 over the right bank, is a curiously-shaped rock, which 
 rises from the summit of the mountain like a tower. 
 It is called after the name of a fakir, Shah Nasir 
 Khosru, who is said to have lived or worshipped 
 beneath it, and is buried near Jerm,* in Budukshan. 
 It is held in such veneration that I have seen a man 
 saying his prayers and making his prostrations before 
 it, and as we were going to Tsuhtron, and it came in 
 view through the debouchure of the Brahaldo valley, 
 
 * Vide Lieut. Wood's map of Budaksha. 
 | Died Hej. 394, according to Lieut. Wood.
 
 HOT SPRING AND GLACIER. 285 
 
 the Rajah and all his suite made their salaams, dis- 
 mounted, and walked by it with bared feet. I 
 dismounted also, but dispensed with the latter part of 
 the ceremony. 
 
 It occupies two or three days' march from Tsuh- 
 tron, to reach the upper end of the Basha valley, 
 where, at the village of Behitsil, there is a hot spring, 
 depositing a great quantity of sulphur, forming a crust 
 through which it bubbles to the surface. I have lost 
 the note of its temperature, but from recollection 
 should think it to have been about 160°. The 
 quantity of water is very considerable, and the na- 
 tives, being aware of its purifying qualities, have 
 erected a bath-house near it. 
 
 But the glory of the valley is the magnificent 
 glacier at the end of it. Its lower extremity is a 
 short distance from the village of Arindo, and the 
 natives say that it is slowly but perceptibly advancing. 
 It occupies the entire valley as far as the eye can 
 reach, and a place that looks more like the extremity 
 of the world does not exist in nature. Vast mountains, 
 alike bare, precipitous, and rugged, appear to form a 
 channel for it, and in the extreme distance their sides 
 are coloured with the red and white tints of iron and 
 gypsum. The width of the lofty wall of ice, in which 
 it terminates towards Arindo, is about a quarter of a 
 mile ; its height is nearly one hundred feet The only 
 way in which I can account for the quantity of soil 
 and rock on its upper surface (on which I gathered
 
 '286 MAGNIFICENT SIGHT. 
 
 several plants) is, that it musl have been collected 
 partly by the effect of winds, and partly by the av.i- 
 lanches of ages past, which fell upon it and deposited 
 a detritus, when as yet, from the narrowness of it^ 
 bed, it was more within range of their descending 
 forces. 
 
 I have never seen an) -pectacle of the same 
 nature so truly grand as the debouchure of the 
 waters from beneath this glacier. The ice is clear 
 and green as an emerald, the archway lofty, gloomy, 
 ami Aveiiuis-like. The stream thai emerges from 
 beneath it is no incipient brook, but a large and 
 ready-formed river, whose colour is that of the soil 
 which it has collected in its course, whose violence 
 and velocity betoken a very long descent, and 
 whose force is best explained by saying that it 
 rolls along with it enormous masses of ice, that 
 are whirled against the rocks in its bed, with a 
 concussion producing a sound resembling that of a 
 distant cannon, and if not permanently intercepted by 
 them, maybe seen floating on the Indus, even below 
 the valley of Iskardo. 
 
 Ahmed Shah informed me, that he had once sent 
 some people to follow up the glacier, and that they 
 had returned, after a few days' absence, saying that 
 it appeared interminable. I should be tempted to 
 infer, from the quantity of water which it sends forth, 
 that a lake or reservoir must exist at its upper ex- 
 tremity.
 
 GOLD-DUST STREAM. 287 
 
 On the banks of the Basha stream is produced 
 more gold-dust than in any other part of Little Tibet, 
 and it is the only place which the Rajah reserves to 
 himself for that purpose. Any other person may wash 
 the sand for gold elsewhere, but the value of the 
 quantity collected, and of the time expended, is so 
 nearly balanced, that I have never seen any gold- 
 washers but once, and that was near the village of 
 Kerris. 
 
 Four or five men were employed, and I purchased 
 the result of their labours for four rupis. They 
 must have washed and sifted a great many bushels of 
 earth, but the quantity of gold-dust obtained was not 
 more than would cover the surface of a shilling. 
 
 I cannot help entertaining an idea that the 
 Druns, or marmots of Little Tibet, are the " ants as 
 big as foxes," mentioned by Herodotus, who, he says, 
 make themselves habitations under ground, throwing 
 up sand like the ants of Greece, which they nearly 
 resemble in appearance, and which sand consists of 
 gold-dust. He says, " there are other Indians living 
 near the city Caspatyrus, and the country ofPactyaca," 
 i. e. Kashmir, and Paktawur, on its north, of the 
 present day. Pactyaca might easily have extended 
 towards the desert banks of the Indus, where the 
 levels between the mountains are of nothing but sand s 
 and most of the streams are washed more or less for 
 gold. The story of the camels is all a fable, and any 
 one who believed it would easily have confused the
 
 288 DEFILE AND GLACIER. 
 
 gold-dust of the streams, the countries in which they 
 flow, and the marmots, which are much more common, 
 I believe, on the mountains of Little Tibet, than in 
 the neighbouring- countries. 
 
 Not far from the foot of the glacier is the open- 
 ing of a defile, and a guard and watchtower ; and on 
 the summit of the defile is another glacier, over 
 which, with two or three days' scrambling, and being 
 fastened together by ropes, there is a way to the 
 valley of Nagyr, once tributary to Ahmed Shah, but 
 now independent, and containing upwards of twenty 
 castles. It is divided from the district of Hunzeh by a 
 small but deep stream — not, however, sufficiently so 
 to prevent a constant feud between the two provinces. 
 
 I was meditating an excursion over the Muztak to 
 the latter place, in order to pass thence to Pamir, and 
 perhaps to Kokan ; but Ahmed Shah told me it was 
 impossible, as he could not depend upon the 
 friendship of the people of Hunzeh ; and in the midst 
 of my uncertainty, an envoy from the latter place 
 most unexpectedly made his appearance, with over- 
 tures (so I was informed) connected with the mutual 
 gift of protection to travellers entering either Hunzeh 
 or Little Tibet, from Budukshan, Yarkund, or Kokan. 
 Want of time prevented me from making use of the 
 friendly protection which he offered me. 
 
 Nagyr is celebrated for its gold-washing, and its 
 Rajah is said to be in possession of a very large piece 
 of native gold, found near the edge of the boundary
 
 
 
 $ 
 
 
 wn 

 
 GILGHIT AND SHIGHUR. 289 
 
 glacier, already alluded to. The women are famous 
 for their beauty, and Nasim Khan used to assure me, 
 that their complexions were so fair, delicate, and 
 transparent, that when they drank, the water was 
 perceivable in their throats. 
 
 Gilghit, on the south, is two or three days' 
 distant ; and on the north it occupies eight days, 
 with Kulis, to reach the plains of Pamir, — from which, 
 I believe, either Budukshan or Yarkund are attain- 
 able, the former in about ten days, and the latter, vid 
 Sir-i-Kol (head of the hill), in less time. But I must 
 not trespass upon the province of so scientific and 
 enterprising a traveller as Lieutenant Wood.* 
 
 I must now return towards Iskardo, in order 
 to follow up the banks of the Indus towards Ladakh. 
 
 At Shighur I first saw the game of the Chaughan, 
 which was played the day after our arrival on the 
 Mydan, or plain, laid out expressly for the purpose, 
 being about three hundred and fifty yards, or there 
 abouts, in length, by about sixty in breadth, covered 
 with a fine turf, and surrounded by a low stone-wall, and 
 rows of poplars or linden-trees. Two pillars of stone 
 are let into the ground, at a short distance from either 
 end, and the space between them, about ten yards, is 
 the goal, or home, of the players. It is, in fact, 
 hocky on horseback. The ball, which is larger than a 
 cricket-ball, is only a globe made of a knot of willow- 
 wood, and is called in Tibeti, " Pulu." The stick or 
 
 * Vide Wood's "Journey to the Oxus, &c." 
 VOL. II. U
 
 k 290 HOCKY ON HORSEBACK. 
 
 Byntu is of the strong and straight bough of the 
 almond-tree, about four feet in length, and let in at the 
 top, and passed quite through to the end, of a curved 
 piece of solid birch-wood, about the size and shape 
 of a drenching-horn. The course is attended by 
 numerous spectators, who remain upon the wall, 
 and watch the game with the greatest interest. A 
 carpet was spread for the Rajah, and he invited me to 
 sit beside him. Meanwhile a boy was blindfolded, 
 and the sticks of all the players, whose number is 
 unlimited, but, of course, equal on both sides, were 
 put into his hands, and from these he forms the 
 sides, by placing one alternately on the right and 
 left of him. The Gylfo's band is in attendance, and 
 plays whilst the game is going on. It commences 
 by one of the chief players, perhaps a relation of 
 the Gylfo, taking the ball in the left hand, and then, 
 allowing' the reins to lie upon the back of the horse, 
 he starts off at speed, tosses the ball into the air, 
 and does not often fail to strike it, sending it far 
 and high towards the opposite side. Immediately 
 it falls, a desperate melee takes place, in order to 
 hit it ; and the players, perhaps sixteen in number, 
 are rarely at rest until the game is finished. The 
 exact rules I did not learn. 
 
 The horses of Little Tibet are small and active, 
 and their long uncombed manes and tails, together 
 with the streaming black hair of their riders, and the 
 loose pendent ends of the Tibetian turban, give to 
 both horses and riders a most wild and picturesque
 
 HOCKY ON HORSEBACK. 291 
 
 appearance. I can conceive that the Chaughan re- 
 quires only to be seen to be played. It is the fit 
 sport of an equestrian nation, and would be, I should 
 think, an excellent exercise for cavalry. The horses 
 are galloped, suddenly halted, and thrown on their 
 haunches, and turned with all possible rapidity ; and 
 the riders, anxious for a hit at the ball, are constantly 
 obliged to strike at it, and deliver the cuts one, two, 
 three, and four, at a racing pace, stooping low from 
 their saddles to reach it, and keeping an eye to their 
 personal safety at the same time : — for, although the 
 greatest goodhumour appears to prevail, an acci- 
 dental blow is sometimes received, to the great de- 
 triment of one or more of the features. 
 
 I have never seen a game more manly, or more ex- 
 citing ; and the musicians appeared to partake of the 
 enthusiasm, playing their loudest when the rush was 
 most rapid. I much regret that I cannot recall the 
 notes in which they gave an excellent imitation of the 
 tumultuous hurry-scurry and clangour of a charge. 
 When the ball has been driven between the pillars 
 sufficiently often, and the game is won, the victors ride 
 up to the music, and remain there to receive the con- 
 gratulations of their friends, the band playing them 
 what is meant to be a welcome in the mean time. 
 
 The Chaughan comes, I believe, originally from 
 Persia. The emperor Baber frequently mentions the 
 game, as being common in his time. In the Arabian 
 tales (twelfth night), we have the story of the Grecian 
 
 u2
 
 292 ROCKY DEFILE. 
 
 king, and the physician Douban, who cured his un- 
 grateful master of the leprosy, by inserting his me- 
 dicines in the handle of the mallet with which he 
 went to play at the mall. 
 
 The game is played at almost every valley in 
 Little Tibet, and the adjoining counties — Ladakh, 
 Yessen, Chitral, Sec: and I should strongly recom- 
 mend it to be tried on the Hippodrome at Bays water. 
 
 A rocky defile conducts the traveller, in four days, 
 to and from the castle of Shighur to the valley of 
 the Indus at Khopalu. The torrent which runs 
 through it has been sufficiently strong to clear away 
 the alluvium with which it was once evidently filled, 
 and of which vast walls and masses are still remain- 
 ing. I soon noticed a greater extent of pasturage 
 on the right hand, than I had seen elsewhere in 
 Tibet; but, being at the flattened summits of the 
 mountains, it is chiefly occupied by Shas or wild 
 sheep. The juniper, the wild rose, and another 
 tree I did not know, and also the Pua or marmot, are 
 very common, and I found there many of the same 
 plants I had collected upon Deotsuh. 
 
 Six miles from the castle is another defile on the 
 left, from which steatite is procured in great abund- 
 ance, and by which Ahmed Shah, about ten years 
 ago, sent round a force which made a successful 
 attack upon Khopalu, then in a state of rebellion. 
 The steatite is turned into cups and plates by the 
 Little Tibetians.
 
 MOUNTAIN-PASS AND GLACIER. 293 
 
 We slept at a small village containing only some 
 goatherds huts, and on the next morning ascended 
 the lofty pass of Tuleh Loh. A ridge covered with 
 snow and glacier, rose upon the right-hand. The 
 height of the pass itself, which was covered with 
 loose slates, is about thirteen thousand five hundred 
 feet, and the mountains on either side are of granite, 
 and red with the iron they contain. 
 
 It was late before we reached the village of Ka- 
 surmik, and, about five miles above it, a sudden turn of 
 a mountain brought a most enormous glacier into view. 
 The descent to Kerming occupied half a day ; the 
 alluvium again appeared in immense quantities by 
 the side of the descending stream, adhering to the 
 mountain-sides at a height of many hundred feet, and 
 in one place was highly coloured with sulphur, and 
 the soil and gravel by the path-side was blackened, 
 calcined, and contained numerous small crystals. 
 
 Four Shas scampered off, and ran up the mountain- 
 side with speed of the roebuck, unscathed by the bullet 
 that I fired at them from the opposite bank ; and 
 still lower down the pass, four or five trees were 
 pointed out to me as being known nowhere else 
 in Tibet. They were, I believe, the wych-elm,* 
 which is, however, not uncommon, I was told, in 
 Kashmir, though I do not remember to have seen 
 it there. 
 
 On the evening of the fourth day, I pitched 
 
 * Ulmus Montana.
 
 294 ACHMET ALI KHAN. 
 
 my tent at a village district, in Khopalu, to which 
 I shall afterwards bring- my readers, along the Indus 
 from Iskardo. I must apologize to them for thus 
 dragging them across the mountains, from one part 
 of Tibet to another; but before I commence the 
 ascent of the Indus, towards either Nubra or Ladakh, 
 it will be better to lead them to the countries below 
 Iskardo, Astor, Gilghit, &c. 
 
 The unsettled state of the countries bordering 
 upon Hus&ra, or Astor, to the southward, induced 
 my kind friend to provide me with a large guard, 
 under the command of his son, Achmet Ali Khan, 
 and all being ready, we left the valley by the same 
 way that leads to Alumpilah, already described. 
 
 After a few hours march beyond Shikar Thung, 
 we turned up a defile to the right, and after a gradual 
 ascent of six miles, encamped under some enormous 
 granite rocks at the foot of the pass. The next 
 morning the porters and horses were sent forward at 
 an early hour. I and two or three others stayed be- 
 hind, to take care of a man who was supposed to be 
 dying. He had been very unwell, with inflammatory 
 fever, overnight, and was now so ill that they turned 
 his face towards the west, and he could do nothing 
 but constantly ejaculate " Ya Ali ! Ya Ali !" They 
 were in a great hurry to get over the pass, for fear 
 of being caught by a snow-storm ; but as I saw no 
 appearance of one, and thought the man might be 
 saved, I gave him plenty of calomel, and as there was
 
 THE DEAD ALIVE. 295 
 
 no other chance, I nearly scalded him, by pouring very 
 hot water over his feet and stomach. Finding- that 
 his pulse gained strength, I left two men in charge of 
 him, with orders to take him to the nearest village 
 as soon as he could be moved. I was then 
 obliged to leave him to his fate, but was gratified by 
 seeing him alive and well when, after a lapse of 
 many months, T again visited Iskardo. 
 
 The fatiguing ascent commences almos t imme- 
 diately ; and near its summit the path crosses a 
 shallow glacier, where the rock is visible between 
 the clefts of the ice. It is considered necessary to 
 fasten horses together with ropes, a practice which 
 proved of use in the present instance, as I found that 
 two of them had fallen into a crevice, and were not 
 extricated without great difficulty. Five glaciers 
 were visible at the same time, between the different 
 peaks around the flat space on the summit, — which, 
 by thermometer, I found to be the most elevated I 
 had crossed in Little Tibet, being about fifteen thou- 
 sand five hundred feet. After a very long descent, 
 we reached the head of a green valley, leading to 
 that of Husara. We slept in the jungul, and at 
 night I was awakened by a very painful inflammation 
 in the eyes, brought on by exposure to the sun and 
 snow ; and I found that Achmet Ali and almost all 
 the others were affected in the same manner. They 
 cured themselves by masticating a dried apricot, and 
 then laying it on the eye
 
 296 GLORIOUS VIEW. 
 
 The scenery of the next day was very picturesque, 
 and unusually verdant. The glen was watered by a 
 small stream, tranquilly meandering over a beautiful 
 meadow, which it quitted to rush through pine woods, 
 and leap over its broken banks with the greatest im- 
 petuosity. 
 
 I shall never forget the glorious view of Diarmul 
 that suddenly presented itself from the top of an 
 ascent in the path. From no side had it appeared to 
 such advantage. I gazed with awe and astonishment 
 upon a scene that excited the attention even of my 
 apathetic servants ; and my Kashmirian tailor, as he 
 walked past me, exclaimed, " What sort of a mountain 
 is that, Sahib !" and then withdrew his gaze, and pro- 
 ceeded, perhaps not giving it another thought for the 
 rest of the way. Its summit is a ridge, as I afterwards 
 found, of six or seven miles in length, but I now saw it 
 endwise as I descended to Husara. Mountain seemed 
 piled upon mountain, to sustain a most stupendous con- 
 fusion of mist and glacier, glistening with the dazzling 
 and reciprocated brightness of snow and sunbeam, and 
 whose outlines, pre-eminently bold, precipitous, and 
 majestic, were rendered still more so by being only 
 discernible for an instant, then hidden by the rapidly 
 driving clouds, and again suddenly disclosed, by their 
 parting at some still more unlooked for and inacces- 
 sible elevation. It seemed to me to realize some of 
 the great and unapproachable conceptions of Martin ; 
 and I feel sure that, had Mont Blanc, in its wildest
 
 IRON-MINE. 297 
 
 phase, been placed beside it, it would have been 
 disregarded for a time, on account of its comparative 
 insignificance, and greater tameness of configuration. 
 On the same day we passed a village with an iron- 
 mine, on the right. In the evening we were met 
 by Jubar khan, the Rajah of Husara, and the next 
 morning arrived at the castle, situated on the angle 
 between the river of Husara and a tributary stream, 
 and constructed as usual of stones and wood, with 
 some square towers, strong enough to keep off any 
 native attack with small-arms. The Rajah gave us a 
 very friendly welcome, and answered all my questions 
 witli the greatest readiness. He seemed to be about 
 thirty-six years of age, with a good countenance, fair 
 complexion, and rather aquiline features, but was in no 
 way remarkable for his appearance. His father, Shah 
 Sultan, who married Ahmed Shah's sister, had three 
 sons, and killed, in a foray, the fathers of DilawurKhan 
 Malek of Bonakot, and of the Malek of Gund-i-Sur- 
 Singh, afterwards visited. Ahmed Shah, I was informed, 
 became jealous of him, and summoned him to Iskardo ; 
 but he excused himself, saying that he must remain 
 to defend Astor, which was surrounded with enemies ; — 
 upon which Ahmed Shah went in person, and brought 
 him to Iskardo, when he died at the village of 
 Kuardo. Ahmed Shah did not like Sultan Khan's 
 alliance with the Gilghitis, who were hostile to Iskar- 
 do, and said that he required him either to be with him 
 or against him ; upon which a party of Gilghitis were
 
 298 THE DANGRI LANGUAGE. 
 
 invited to the castle of Husara, and a quarrel ensu- 
 ing-, they were all put to death. Such was the story 
 as I heard it in the country. 
 
 In the evening I joined the conclave in Jubar 
 Khan's apartment, and found there some Durds, or 
 natives of Chulas, arrived, upon what errand I am 
 ignorant, but it was probably to see why Ahmed 
 Shah had sent his son, and a large force, to escort a 
 Feringhi through the country. They were savage- 
 looking fellows, wearing the blue striped turban of 
 the Afghans. I questioned them for some time, by 
 means of an interpreter, (for they spoke the Dangri 
 language,) and they told me, that, through fear and 
 distrust, I should not be allowed to visit their country; 
 and they gave me most exaggerated accounts of the 
 distances and dangers of the paths along the banks 
 of the Indus. In particular, they described one as 
 being about twenty miles in length, and requiring 
 the continued use of hands and feet. The Bultis, 
 however, gave me a good word with them, and 
 their distrust seemed gradually to disappear. 
 
 I have added a small vocabulary of the Dangri 
 language, which is, I believe, a dialect of the Poshtun, 
 or language of Afghanistan, and is spoken in or 
 near to the river at Husara, Gilghit, Ghor, Chulas 
 Hurai, Duryl, Thungeh, Kholi-Palus, Juri, Buringi, 
 Myhi, Taki, Gyni, &c. Of the last five districts I do 
 not know the situation, excepting that I believe them 
 to be near the river. Dangri is a Persian name. The
 
 AN ENGLISH PROMETHEUS. 299 
 
 natives call it Shina, and those who speak it a 
 Shinaghi. 
 
 The ideas of the ignorant mountaineers from 
 Chulas were still teeming with superstition, and I 
 found that they had extraordinary notions of our 
 powers of enchantment — that because I was an 
 Englishman, I must needs be a sorcerer — that I could 
 enact Prometheus, and make warriors of paper, who 
 would afterwards live, and conquer any country for 
 me ; and that I had always large serpents at com- 
 mand, who would enable me to pass a river, by inter- 
 twining, and then stretching themselves together 
 across it, so as to form a bridge. 
 
 The inhabitants of petty and lawless states between 
 Husara and the banks of the Indus, are of the Suni 
 Musahnan persuasion ; they acknowledge no rule 
 but that of their mulahs, and no law, but that of their 
 own wills. In their broils they grasp their iron 
 wrist-rings in their clenched fingers, and use them like 
 a cestus ; which they may have learned originally 
 from the Greeks. 
 
 Their countries have been brought into existence 
 by the streams that tumble from the mountains, as, in 
 the East, a petty colonization will be consequent upon 
 any material increase of soil. But from one state 
 to another, their roads are exceedingly bad and 
 rocky ; horses cannot go alongside the river, between 
 Iskardo and Gilghit, and, from all I could learn, it 
 would be difficult to take them along either bank
 
 300 THE DARDU COUNTRY. 
 
 of the river, from Husara or Gilghit downwards, 
 although I am not sure that it is actually impossible. 
 
 Travelling pedlers visit these regions, by ascending 
 the course of the river from Peshawur, and supply 
 them with coarse cotton-cloths, and raw iron, which 
 none but the inhabitants of Kholi, so I was informed, 
 are able to manufacture. Chulas and Kholi-Palus 
 seem to be the most powerful states on the eastern 
 bank ; and on the western, Duryl is the most important 
 community. Husara is, strictly speaking, in the Dardu 
 country, but as it has usually belonged to Ahmed 
 Shah, it is always specified by its name. Dardu, 
 when spoken of, consists of five or six of the numer- 
 ous wild states that border on the Indus, from Husara 
 downwards, Chulas, Tor, Jelkot, Palus, and Kholi. 
 The major axis of the valley of Kashmir would, if 
 continued to the north-west, cut directly through the 
 midst of it. 
 
 Dardu is called Yaghistan, or a country of rebels 
 or natives, without rule, by the Gilghitis ; and the 
 people of Dardu, when speaking of the inhabitants of 
 Bultistan, or Little Tibet, call them Pulal. Kashmir 
 they call Kashir, and the people Kashiru. 
 
 I have already mentioned my reasons for believing 
 that the modern word Husara is a derivation from 
 Abhisares.* The valley is " a way up into the inte- 
 rior," from the great valley of the Indus. 
 
 I followed the course of the large and turbulent 
 
 * Vide supra.
 
 COURSE OF THE HUSARA. 
 
 301 
 
 river of Husara, attended by Achmet Ali, and a 
 numerous guard, which I believe to have been neces- 
 sary, as the plunderers from Chulas often make their 
 appearance in large numbers, and sweep the whole 
 valley, compelling the villagers to take refuge in the 
 Rajah's castle. The inhabitants adopt a very ingeni- 
 ous plan of detecting the silent approach of marauders 
 at night. The path lies amongst rocks, through which 
 it is very often necessary to pass, and a trap is set, by 
 balancing a stepping-stone so nicely, that it falls 
 beneath the weight of a man, and thus makes a noise, 
 to attract the notice of the watchmen. 
 
 On the banks of the river were firs, jelgozu,* 
 pines, junipers, walnut-trees, wild peaches, apricots, 
 almonds, mulberries, barberries, gooseberry, currant, 
 and rose bushes ; and I ate some excellent black 
 grapes, brought to me from a place in the neighbour- 
 hood, where there had once been a village. I col- 
 lected several specimens of plants, Vide Appen- 
 dix. 
 
 The formation seemed to be entirely of gneiss. 
 The Sha,the Markhur, and the Kyi, or Ibex, are found 
 upon the neighbouring mountains, and in winter-time, 
 I was informed, the Sha descend in great numbers 
 upon the plain of Bonj. 
 
 Near the village of Duchin, and level with the 
 river's brink, are two hot springs, sulphurous and 
 slightly chalybeate. Sulphur was deposited on the 
 
 * A pine, whose seeds are edible.
 
 302 MAGNIFICENT VIEW. 
 
 rocks around the one which I visited ; and its tem- 
 perature, which never varies, was 154° Fahrenheit. 
 
 Close to it is a wide cleft in the rock, from which 
 issues a warm air, and a strong- smell of sulphur. 
 Many years back, the waters of the river must have 
 overflowed into the cleft, and I felt inclined to specu- 
 late upon the little internal convulsions that might 
 have been caused by their contact with the heat. 
 
 Sentries were posted on the principal mountain- 
 tops during the night around our encamping-ground, 
 beneath the point of Acho, to which we ascended on 
 the next morning. 
 
 Of all the thousand and one prospects which every 
 turn or rise in. the paths of Tibet presented to my 
 sight, few could boast of more interest and magni- 
 ficence than that from Acho. It was magnificent from 
 its extent and sublimity, and most interesting because 
 no European probably had ever seen it before. 
 
 The mountain on which we rested, Has the last 
 peak of the ridge that rose on the left bank of the 
 Husara stream, and immediately above its junction 
 with the Indus. Its elevation by thermometer was 
 about nine thousand feet. A few steps brought me 
 within view of the bed of the latter river, from a height 
 of more than two thousand feet above it. On the 
 right, about eighteen miles distant, was Makpon-i-Sha- 
 gran.* 
 
 * Signifying the gates of Makpon, or having some meaning con- 
 nected with the name of Makpon, the patriarch saint of Bultistan, 
 according to Mr. Moorcroft.
 
 COURSE OF THE INDUS. 303 
 
 This point forms the great portal by which the 
 noblest river of Hindustan emerges from th e thral- 
 dom that governs its course through the Cordilleras 
 of the Himalaya. The mountains forming the defile 
 through which it flows seemed to abut suddenly,, and 
 at right angles to it, upon the plain of Bonj ; and, from 
 the place of its debouchure on the north, I fancied that 
 I could follow with my eye the direction of its course 
 southward, to the place of its final exit, and the com- 
 mencement of its wanderings over the plains of the 
 Panjab. 
 
 Bonj is a flat and open space on the left bank 
 of the Indus,* extending from the opposite side of the 
 Husara river to the Makpon-i-Shagaron gates, and 
 partially cultivated, but more usually sandy and 
 barren, and it occupies the corner between the 
 latter place and the junction of the ilusara river. 
 Achmet Ali informed me that he had offered to come 
 and colonize it from Little Tibet, but that his father 
 did not seem to relish the proposal, probably from 
 fear of his making himself independent. 
 
 On the opposite bank I saw the opening of the 
 valley of Gilghit, whose river empties itself into the 
 Indus. I took bearings of many of the countries 
 beyond it, from the information of the experienced 
 mountaineers around me; and in this way I obtained 
 a good idea of the relative positions of Yessen 
 and Chitral, whose mountains were pointed out to 
 me. 
 
 * Vide Map.
 
 304 COURSE OF THE INDUS. 
 
 The Indus, a large and raging torrent, was at my 
 feet, and the roar of its waters was distinctly audible 
 amidst the silence that pervaded all within our ken. 
 They pursued a straight direction, and were visible 
 for at least forty miles ; the enormous slopes that 
 bounded their course preserving a respectful distance, 
 and receding from them so as to form a vast, open, and 
 regular valley, of not less than six or seven miles in 
 general width. Two others met at the end of that 
 distance, that on the left bank was pointed out to me 
 as Bonyr* (of which point, however, I am not sure); 
 whilst the river appeared to turn a little more west- 
 erly, by following that on the right; but its course, as 
 I have remarked, was still traceable by means of the 
 mountain-tops. 
 
 Between the south-western end of the valley of 
 Iskardo and the plain of 13onj, there are four petty 
 states, which either are or have been subject to Ahmed 
 Shah. 
 
 I had despatched my faithful munshi, Ali Mo- 
 hamed, and a Hindustani servant, who had been a 
 sepahi in the Company's service, to Gilghit, to inti- 
 mate to the Rajah my wish to visit his country, and 
 request his permission to do so. They followed down 
 the course of the Indus from Iskardo, and described the 
 paths as very difficult and dangerous in many places. 
 
 * There is a district called Bonyr on the right bank of the Indus. 
 I have heard that there were two places of that name, but do not 
 affirm that such is the case.
 
 RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. 305 
 
 The first place they came to was Rondu or Royul ; 
 a small state, with a fort, and a Rajah who is a con- 
 nexion of, and tributary to, Ahmed Shah. Its moun- 
 tains produce a great quantity of crystal, and mumiai, 
 or rock asphaltum. There is no horse-path to it 
 from Tskardo, excepting by way of Husara, Stak, and 
 Sterikoh ; places that intervene between Rondu and 
 Haramosh. The latter is a large valley lying at 
 right angles with the Indus, and winding round the 
 eastern side of a vast mountain of the same name 
 and covered with snow, apparently not inferior to 
 Diarmul in size, and forming a most conspicuous ob- 
 ject in the view from Acho. The name, I believe; 
 has much the same meaning as that of Haramuk 
 (a mountain that may be seen from all sides) in 
 Kashmir. 
 
 In the valley of Duru, between Rondu and Ha- 
 ramosh, is a building containing a wooden altar, four 
 feet high, with a tabular surface of two feet in di- 
 ameter, called Micho. From the No-Roz, or vernal 
 equinox, to a particular day, the natives do not touch 
 milk, affirming that the Deyu would destroy their 
 flocks; and, as I was informed, they never drink of 
 cows' milk, for fear of him. On a particular day 
 they burn goats' fat and juniper-branches upon the 
 altar, and dance, sing, and drink wine, and eat the 
 meat of the wild goat. In Muru Wurdwun, also, I 
 was told that after a death none of the relations will 
 touch milk until a particular day arrives. 
 
 VOL. II. x
 
 300 THE RAJAH OF GILGHJT. 
 
 Nagyr and Hunzeh, I have already noticed. The 
 river which separates them, joins that of Gilghit, 
 near the castle of Dyur, at the entrance to the latter 
 place. The Rajah of Gilghit received my servants, 
 and the presents I sent by them, with great civility, 
 but said that his country was a poor one, and could 
 not be worth seeing, and was apparently much di- 
 vided between his suspicions of Ahmed Shah, his 
 wish to see an Englishman, and his fear of my coming 
 as a spy. But, from all that I could collect, I believe 
 he would have allowed me to cross the river into 
 his territories had I been attended only by my ser- 
 vants ; but he heard that I was descending the 
 Husara valley with a large guard, and, conse- 
 quently, became alarmed, and suddenly gave or- 
 ders for burning the bridge over the Indus, that 
 led directly from the plains of Bonj, to the frontier 
 village of Gilghit. This, of course, stopped me at 
 once ; and, as the snowy season was approaching, it 
 would have been of no use to attempt explanation, 
 which could only have been carried on by shooting 
 arrow's with notes fastened to them, across the Indus. 
 I therefore proceeded on my return to Kashmir, by 
 ascending, for several days, the narrow, picturesque, 
 and fertile valley of Husara, of which the southern end, 
 in consequence of the marauders from Dardu, and 
 the vicinity of the more formidable Sikhs, has been 
 allowed to remain uncultivated. Part of Diarmul 
 onlv comes in view near an open space called
 
 GILGHIT. 307 
 
 Choyul. A pass about 9500 feet high separates the 
 end of the valley of Husara, from that of Zean, and I 
 descended upon Bungala Bal, about nine miles above 
 Gurys, on the Kishengunga river. From the summit 
 of the pass, there is a full view of the ridge of Diar- 
 mul, and I measured a small base, in order to ascer- 
 tain its length — about seven miles between the 
 extreme points of its shoulders, whence the principal 
 peak rises. 
 
 Gilghit is so called only by the Kashmirians ; its 
 real name is said to be Gilid. I saw it, as already 
 remarked, from Acho, and it was described to me as 
 in no respect differing from any part of Little Tibet, — 
 the mountains being barren, the plains sandy, and irri- 
 gated in different places. From the castle or resi- 
 dence of the Rajah, the valley seemed to be but three 
 or four miles in length, and then afterwards turned to 
 the right or northward ; a description which agrees 
 with directions pointed out to me from Acho. The 
 river, after being joined by the Nagyr river, runs 
 down the valley to its confluence with the Indus. 
 
 The Rajah, Tyhir Shah, came originally from 
 Nagyr, besieged and took prisoner the former ruler, 
 and put him to death, as I was told, by the consent 
 of his own subjects ; and Ahmed Shah informed me 
 that seven successive Rajahs had been deposed in a 
 similar manner. 
 
 The Gilghitis, as also the Siah Posh Kaffirs, are 
 great wine-bibbers. They make their own wine, 
 
 x 2
 
 30$ GILGHIT AND YESSEN. 
 
 and place it in large earthen jars, which are then 
 buried for a time ; but they do not understand the 
 clarifying process. Some that I tasted was very- 
 palatable, but looked more like mutton broth than 
 wine. When a man dies, his friends eat raisins over 
 his grave, but abstain from drinking wine upon 
 such an occasion. My munshi told me that some 
 people from Rholi-Palus, whom he met in Gilghit, 
 reproached him, for my having been, as they said, the 
 cause of so many of their countrymen being killed 
 inthe affair at Deotsuh. 
 
 The Rajah's authority is acknowledged for two 
 days' march northward from Gilghit, as far as the 
 little state of Poniah or Punir. Beyond that again is 
 Yessen, and it is said that the power of Yessen, or of 
 Gilghit, preponderates, according to the friendship of 
 the inhabitants of Poniah. The Gilg-hitis know the 
 country of Yessen by the name of Uzir, reminding me 
 of the Buzir of Arrian. The rule of the Yessen Rajah 
 is extended to the banks of the Indus. I have already 
 remarked that the word is also the fairest approach, 
 that I know of, to the name Assacenes, of Alexander's 
 historians ; but vide supra. 
 
 Two streams that meet in Yesen, one from the 
 mountains of Pamir, and the other from the Mustuch, 
 or Shundan Kotal, unite, according to the information 
 I received, and form the Gilghit river, which flows 
 through Poniah. But I must leave all notice of 
 Wakan to Marco Polo, and to Lieutenant Wood, who
 
 ANTIQUTIES IN YESSEN. 309 
 
 lias seen it so lately. Jubar Khan, Rajah of Astor, 
 solemnly assured me that he had seen some anti- 
 quities existing in Yessen ; but I should fear that the 
 account is too curious to be true. After informing 
 me of the existence of a large circle of stones, he 
 added that he saw a rectangular mass of rock, about 
 eighteen feet by twelve in thickness, and hollowed 
 out on the top. Near it, he said, was a large stone 
 ball, five or six feet in diameter, and not far off were 
 two stone pillars, about five feet high, standing a few 
 yards apart. The surface of the ground near them 
 was quite fiat, and containing no vestige of a ruin. 
 The natives, he said, believed the first to have been 
 a manger for Alexander's horses ; the pillars were 
 the picketing-posts, and with the ball he played 
 the Chaughan. There is a pass called Mustodj or 
 Mustuch, which joins the valley of Wakan,* I suppose 
 that the name may be extended to the mountains 
 bounding Chitral on the eastward, as I was told 
 that after crossing the Mustuch pass, the traveller 
 descends with a stream for several days until he 
 reaches Chitral, the country of Shah Kutor, called 
 also, Tchitchal, by the Gilghitis ; Little Kashghar, 
 by the Patans; and Belut by the Chinese; whence 
 also the mountains on the eastward, just alluded to, 
 are called Belut Tag or Tak.t Shah Kutor was a 
 soldier of fortune, who made himself master of the 
 
 * Vide Lieutenant Wood's map of Badakshan. 
 
 t Tak is a mountain : Muz Tak signifies the mountain of ice or snow.
 
 310 THE VALLEY OF CHITRAL. 
 
 country, having deposed his master, the rightful Rajah, 
 whose grandson had taken refuge with Ahmed Shah, 
 and lived at Shighur. I found him a very intelligent 
 man, and well acquainted with the geography and ani- 
 mals of the country. I collected from him a small 
 vocabulary of Chitrali language, which is called Pureh, 
 and those who speak it are called Puriali.* The 
 latter call the Bultis, Bulon Zik. He was parti- 
 cularly expert at training hawks, and he and his son 
 pursued the sport with great avidity. 
 
 Chitral is a long valley lying nearly north and 
 south. The Rajah's residence is at the upper end of 
 it. The bridge opposite to it was built by one of the 
 Rajahs of Little Tibet. There is a village in Chitral, 
 called Calcutta, a name probably brought there by 
 some Hindu. 
 
 Iskardo, Kashmir, and Chitral, are each attainable 
 in ten or twelve days by porters, on foot, by Gil- 
 ghit. The river of Chitral is the river of Kunur, that 
 joins the Kabul river near Jellalabad. A path from 
 Chitral crosses the Lauri pass, at the south-eastern 
 extremity of the valley, and descends upon that of 
 Dhir. 
 
 Part of the eastern frontier of Kafiristan bounds 
 the western side of the Chitral valley. Jehan Dad 
 Shah told me that the Kafirs fight with bows and 
 arrows, the latter having no feather, — the bows being 
 made of almond-wood ; but that matchlocks are be- 
 
 * Vide Appendix .
 
 DR. HENDERSON. 311 
 
 coming more common ; and that at a certain time in 
 the summer they suspend their chupaos, or forays, 
 and descend into the valley, and contend in different 
 games with the Chitralis. 
 
 M. Court has given a good map, and much of 
 very good and interesting information about them, 
 in the Calcutta Asiatic Society's Journal for April 
 1839. 
 
 The much to be regretted death of Dr. Henderson 
 has deprived us of authentic geographical knowledge 
 respecting the valleys of Suhat, Bonyr, the valley of 
 the Dhir river, and the country of Bajawur. A Patan 
 servant, who travelled with him, informed me that 
 it occupied four days to march from Dherabund 
 on the Indus to Suhat, and that after crossing the 
 summit of the pass in the way, and equidistant 
 between them, there is another Dura, or valley, that 
 leads to Dhir, situated on the right side of it, and 
 one day's march from the upper end of it.
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Ascent of the Indus — Confluence of its two great Branches — Male 
 and Female River — The Nubra branch of the Indus — Stupen- 
 dous Mountains — Mountain Villages — Singular Path — Scenery 
 of the Alpine Indus — The Place of the Rock — Native Physi- 
 cian — A native Medical Treatise — Diseases of Tibet — Asthma — 
 Game — Castle of Chorbut — Native Sword-dance — Defile of 
 Hanu — The Sikhs surprised — Ascent of the Hanu Pass — Mag- 
 nificent View — Descent of the Mountain — The Bhuts Villages — 
 Costume of the Bhuts — Incense-dishes — Mode of Salaam-ing— 
 The Hanu Stream — A Consultation — A Salvator Rosa Scene — 
 The Rajah of Parkuta — Swing Bridges — Passing the River — 
 The Rajah's Cook drowned — Performance of a Conjurer — For- 
 tress of Ahmed Shah — Narcotic Plant — Chinese Territory in 
 Little Tibet — Singular Buddhist Buildings — First Village of Great 
 Tibet — The Lamas, or Priests of Great Tibet — A Visit from them 
 — Scenery of Kiduti — Dr. Henderson — Hatred of the Tibetians 
 for the Sikhs — Bridge burned to impede the Author's Progress — 
 Swearing on the Koran — Gulab Singh and Runjit — Gulab Singh 
 and the English — The Author's Progress stopped by Gulab Singh 
 — The Sikhs and the Ladakhis — Village of Kemis — Solitary 
 Dwelling of a Lama — Character of the Ladakh Country — Pituk — 
 Costume of the Lamas andGelums — Enormous Mountains — Banks 
 of the Indus — Leh — Residence of the Rajah — Buddhist Monu- 
 ments — Residence of Mr. Moorcroft — Babylonian Building — 
 Mountain Plains — Commerce of Ladakh — Exports from Kashmir 
 to the Panjab.
 
 ASCENT OF THE INDUS. 315 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 We must now return northward, and ascend 
 the Indus from Iskardo, in order to reach either 
 Ladakh or Kashmir by the Duras pass. The first 
 day's march was to the village of Khepjun, and 
 thence, after passing under the Durwasu or gate 
 placed between the river and the mountain-side, we 
 quitted the valley of Iskardo by a precipitous path at 
 the eastern end. The next morning we arrived at 
 the place where the two branches of the Indus, one 
 from Ladakh, and the other, the Shy-Yok, from Nubra 
 and Kurukurum, unite to form the main stream. The 
 place of junction is distant fifteen miles from the 
 Gylfo's castle. The Nubra or western branch ap- 
 proaches over an open space, washing a fort at the 
 village of Keris. Its surface is extended over a 
 width of one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards. 
 The Ladakh branch is narrower, flowing through a 
 rocky defile, with a stream not exceeding eighty 
 yards in width ; but it is deeper, darker coloured, 
 and is certainly the larger stream of the two. The 
 Bultis call it the Tsuh-Fo, or the male river; whilst the
 
 316 ASPECT OF THE RIVER. 
 
 other from Kurukurum is called the Tsuh-Mo, or the 
 female. In the month of July (9th) Ahmed Shah 
 told me that at that time the water of the Ladakh 
 stream, after having" been rapidly increased by the 
 melting of the snows on Deotsuh, had already sub- 
 sided from its greatest height ; but that the swelling 
 of the Tsuh-Mo being dependent upon the melting of 
 the ice in the Nubra mountains, would not be enlarged 
 for twenty days after. 
 
 I must first ascend the Nubra river or Tsuh-Mo, 
 towards Khopalu ; first mentioning, that it is gene- 
 rally more open than the Ladakh branch, but that as 
 the bed of the river opposite to Nubra is more than 
 one thousand feet higher than that at Ladakh, and 
 both places are nearly equidistant from the junction, 
 it follows that the stream of the Nubra river runs 
 with greater velocity than that of the other; which in 
 fact it appears to do, as there is smooth, deep water 
 in several places in the Ladakh river, and the other is 
 almost one continued rapid. 
 
 Barren and stupendous mountains of gneiss, fre- 
 quently barred with broad streaks of quartz, and so 
 regularly and profusely, that it is difficult to say which 
 is the containing substance, sometimes plunge down 
 from a vast height into the still pool, or the deep and 
 roaring torrent, and sometimes recede from it, leav- 
 ing a margin of sand of one hundred to three hundred 
 yards in width, which at intervals of one or two days' 
 march, spreads out into an open sandy flat of much
 
 PERILOUS PATHS. 317 
 
 greater extent. A village, formed in plateaux over 
 the delta of soil, at the confluence of one of the 
 innumerable streams that pour their drop of water 
 into the Indus, is generally in sight. The path is 
 sometimes on a level with the river, sometimes rising 
 above it, and carried across the side of a precipice, 
 by means of roughly-split spars, supported on wedges 
 of wood, driven tightly into the solid rock, and now 
 and then continuing for miles, at an elevation that 
 places the traveller within sight of snowy peaks, and 
 almost in contact with the glacier. 
 
 Tt is also evident, that in many places, the river 
 has deepened and widened its passage through the 
 split-rock, and that its channel has been filled up with 
 shingle beaches, ledges of that formation being firmly 
 attached to the mountain-side, at an elevation of 
 more than four hundred feet above it. Such is the 
 scenery on both branches of the Alpine Indus. 
 
 Khopalu (the place of the rock) is reached on the 
 third day. The open district so named is a long 
 sloping bank, on the left bank of the river, of two or 
 three miles in extent, and exhibiting a green and 
 shady confusion of stone walls, cottages, and fruit- 
 trees. The most conspicuous object is the castle, 
 built on the summit of a nearly isolated rock, that 
 rises more than a thousand feet above the Indus. 
 The view from its windows is very grand, and they 
 overhang a height which it made me almost giddy to 
 look down upon. Ahmed Shah took it from a refrac-
 
 318 A NATIVE PHYSICIAN. 
 
 tory Rajah, by cutting- off the supply of water. 
 Behind it are two ravines, by one of which there is a 
 footway to Pari, on the Ladakh river, in three days. 
 
 Some very elevated needle-shaped peaks appear 
 on the north, and at their feet is the village of Ser- 
 ling, on one side of a flat and extended sandy plain. 
 But I shall have occasion to notice this place af- 
 terwards. 
 
 At Khopalu I was visited by a native physician, 
 who brought with him a book called the " Manchuk," 
 composed of loose oblong leaves tied up between 
 two boards, and written in Tibetian characters. He 
 said he did not know its age, but informed me that 
 it was written by Chandandas and Bunduria of Yul- 
 sung (Lassa), and that it was the best book on medicine 
 to be found between Lassa and Ladakh: which was not, 
 however, saying much for it. It was divided into four 
 parts: 1. a treatise on the pulse and veins; 2. on 
 plants; 3. and 4. on judging of disease by the 
 inspection of the tongue, eyes, &c, of the patient. 
 He appeared unwilling to part with it, saying that it 
 was his bread, and I did not press him to do so. For 
 fever he gave camphor, white sandal-wood, elephant's 
 liver, saffron, &c. ; for ague, cinnamon, pepper, pome- 
 granate and quince seeds. 
 
 Asthma is one of the commonest diseases in Tibet. 
 I do not think its inhabitants are a long-lived people; 
 but if not, as the air is very fine, it is owing to the 
 poorness of their diet, joined to the wear and tear 
 of a mountaineer's life.
 
 AHMED SHAH AND HTS SON. 319 
 
 Ahmed Shah had made me a promise that he would 
 enable me to drink the waters of the Nubra Tsuh, the 
 lake under the Kurukurum mountains, whence the Shy- 
 Yok or Nubra river takes its rise. In all my excur- 
 sions in his country I have been usually attended either 
 by himself or his son Achmet Ali Khan, and sometimes 
 by Nasim Khan or a vuzir named Ghuldi, and nick- 
 named Suru (pigs eyes), or his brother, who gravely 
 and complacently called himself Chota Suru, "the 
 little,'* or younger " pig's eyes ;" and upon this occa- 
 sion, when I left Iskardo in order to visit the Nubra 
 Tsuh, I was attended by Achmet Ali Khan, a nu- 
 merous guard, and an additional number of porters, 
 who carried dried biscuits, ghee, and coarse flour 
 enough, with the occasional assistance procurable on 
 the way, to supply the party, nearly one hundred in 
 number, with subsistence for a month. 
 
 Proceeding from Khopalu I found foxes, hares, the 
 red-legged chough, the wild duck, and black curlieu 
 and chikor in the sandy, rocky, sedgy ground on 
 the river-side ; and Tartarian furze covered a great 
 part of it. Small birds are comparatively scarce, 
 but I found the rock thrush,* and a species of mo- 
 tacilla in abundance. 
 
 We passed the castle of Chorbut, situated so as 
 to command the entrance of the defile and pass of 
 Hanu. Beyond the turn of the river, above the vil- 
 lage of Pranuk, the path in its bed was not travers- 
 
 * Petrocincla Pandoo.
 
 320 NATIVE SWORD-DANCE. 
 
 able, in consequence of there being too much water; 
 and the footing on the granite rocks that rose from 
 its brink became so alarmingly narrow and precari- 
 ous, and hearing that it became more and more so 
 as I proceeded, I thought it best to alter my route, 
 and visit Nubra and Kurukurum from Ladakli. I ac- 
 cordingly returned, and ascended the pass of II aim 
 from Chorbut, having first crossed the river at 
 Pranuk. 
 
 At Siksu we were entertained with a sword- 
 dance. The performers, ten in number, moved 
 round in a circle and back again, closing to a centre, 
 and then retiring with a slow step, during which they 
 merely held their naked swords perpendicularly in the 
 right hand ; but as their music grew louder, their 
 gestures became more animated ; they stamped 
 and shouted again and again, writhing and twisting 
 their bodies, and brandished their swords most furi- 
 ously, the musicians exerting themselves to the 
 utmost, and the bystanders cheering them from time 
 to time, until they were obliged to cease from ex- 
 haustion. In Chulas, and other countries below 
 Iskardo, the dance is not commonly performed until 
 the parties have drunk deeply of wine, and they are 
 then excited to such a pitch of frenzy, that the effect 
 is almost that of real madness, and it is a service of 
 some danger to approach them. 
 
 At Siksu a man brought me a number of small 
 limestone nodules, of every variety of shape, some
 
 THE SIKHS SURPRISED. 321 
 
 resembling birds and other animals, &c. He told 
 me that he collected them on the top of a mountain. 
 I broke several of them, but they contained no fossil 
 remains. I also saw excellent crops of wheat, 
 barley, beans, and peas (July 18) upon the little 
 village plateaux. 
 
 By the defile of Hanu, the Ladak branch of the 
 river may be reached in two days, by foot-passengers 
 with baggage. In 1835 a few hundred Sikhs from 
 the garrison at Ladakh, which had lately been taken 
 by Zurawur Singh, the general of Rajah Gulab 
 Singh of Jamu, united with some Bhuts, or inhabit- 
 ants of Ladakh, pushed over this pass, and surprised 
 the garrison in the castle of Chorbut. The Bultis 
 threw up a breastwork of loose stones at a very 
 strong position above the castle, the deep Indus ran 
 at their feet, and on the opposite side the mountains 
 descended perpendicularly. The Sikhs became 
 alarmed, and retreated by the way they came. The 
 Bhuts, deserted by their new masters and allies, were 
 all taken prisoners and carried to Iskardo, but were 
 afterwards liberated. 
 
 The ascent to the summit of the Hanu pass was 
 as desolate and dreary as possible, but not so difficult 
 as many others. The drun, or marmot, and the 
 wild ring-tailed pigeon of the Himalaya, were every 
 where common. 
 
 We crossed the snowy ridge at a very early hour 
 the next morning, by which arrangement we obtained 
 
 VOL. II. y
 
 322 COgTUME OF THE BH1 T8. 
 
 a secure footing for our horses. My thermometer 
 gave me an elevation of about fifteen thousand five 
 hundred feel ; and 1 looked from it with amazement on 
 a vast ocean of mountain summits, extending in every 
 direction as far as the eye cau reach. The descent 
 was more troublesome, as the snow was a little more 
 Softened, and we were constantly sinking up to the 
 middle. 
 
 We soon found ourselves amongst the villa 
 of the Bhuts. 1 1 1 -t < ;t< 1 of the shorn bead, the 
 large loosely-tied Shiah turban, and drab-coloured 
 costumes, of the Mahometans of Little Tibet, 1 now 
 saw, for the first time, the Mack felt cap, with a 
 rounded top that flapped down to the wearer's cheek ; 
 the hair gathered and twisted into a regular pigtail ; 
 and a long\ dark, monk-like robe, reaching- nearly to 
 the heels. They smoked a tobacco-pipe of iron, pre- 
 cisely resembling 1 in general shape the common clay 
 pipe of England. The women, hideously dirty, and 
 not handsome, wear their hair also in a tail, but over 
 it is fastened a leathern strap, two inches and a half 
 in width, which descends from the top of the head to 
 the heels, and on this are fastened large lumps of 
 malachite, brought, I believe, from the Chinese 
 frontier. 
 
 We were presented with incense-dishes, in which 
 were small branches of dwarf juniper, frying in goats' 
 grease. This species of juniper has been called juniper 
 religiosa by Dr. Royle, it being thus held in reverence
 
 A CONSULTATION. 323 
 
 by the natives of the Himalaya generally, because it 
 grows at an extreme height, where their ideas have 
 also given a local habitation to demons and spirits. 
 
 Others made their salaam, by raising- the back of 
 both hands to a height even with the forehead, and 
 then repeatedly describing a circle in the air with 
 them, by dropping the fingers downwards and turning 
 the palms inwards ; by winch it is meant to express a 
 wish that all misfortunes ma) be averted from the 
 person whom they are saluting, and be drawn upon 
 themseb es. 
 
 The Hanii stream, along which we descended, is 
 an impetuous torrent, that in some places rolls along 
 the large stones in its bed with a noise resembling 
 the report of a distant cannon, and afterwards leaps 
 into the deep and more tranquil stream of the Indus, 
 in a cascade of some magnitude and beauty. 
 
 The whole part) now sat down to rest themselves 
 and hold a consultation, as we were now approaching 
 the frontiers of Ladakh, in possession, as I have already 
 noticed, of the Sikhs. A few were gathered round 
 the young Khan ; the others sought repose and shade 
 in different parts of the rock, and their wild and 
 brigand-like figures, dispersed in groups, and re- 
 clining in various attitudes upon the gray stone, 
 were quite in accordance with the savage and chaotic 
 scenery around us, and fitting subjects for the pencil 
 of a Salvator Rosa. 
 
 But I must now return to the junction at Keris, 
 
 y 2
 
 l]-2 1 THE RAJAH OF PARKUTA. 
 
 and thence bring my readers along the Ladakh stream 
 to this same spot, whence they will then go on with 
 me to Ladakh. 
 
 The path over the rocks through the defile, by 
 which the Ladakh river approaches to the junction, is 
 carried over the precipice by a wooden stair. The 
 first place of note is Parkuta, a large village with a 
 castle, forming the residence of Rajah Gholam Shah, 
 Ahmed Shah's brother, a tall and venerable-looking 
 person, latterly a great devotee. His family was the 
 handsomest I saw in Little Tibet, and his eldest son 
 looked exactly like a European, with red hair and 
 gray eyes : the others were dark. 
 
 There is a way near Parkuta which leads up to 
 the plains of Deotsuh. The place is celebrated (in 
 Little Tibet) for its manufactory of saddles, which are 
 very neatly tipped and finished off with the horn of the 
 hanglu, or kashmirian stag. I once placed some per- 
 fectly rigid slips of this in a running stream, and found, 
 as they told me, that after three or four days they 
 became pliable, and capable of being hammered 
 into a curved form. Excellent bows are also manu- 
 factured in Little Tibet from flat slips of the ibex 
 horn; and it is most likely that the bows of the 
 ancients, said to be made of horn, were manufactured 
 from a similiar material, and not from stags' horns.
 
 SINGULAR BRIDGES. 
 
 325 
 
 
 
 At Tolti, which is also a large village, with an 
 eagleVnest castle, there is a swing- bridge of birch- 
 bark, such as I have described, over the deep and 
 rapid Indus. Until I had got accustomed to these 
 bridges, I used to watch my porters as they crossed 
 them, with the greatest anxiety ; but I grew more 
 callous after crossing two or three without having 
 ever seen an accident. 
 
 The Rajah, however, upon this occasion, had pro- 
 vided rafts for himself and his guest, opposite to the 
 castle of Katakchund ; but one of his cooks, who 
 crossed in the same manner, contrived to fall into 
 the water, and was drowned. 
 
 The castle of Katakchund, like every other in 
 Tibet, is on an isolated rock ; and the town and 
 the Rajah's residence lie between it and the river.
 
 326 KAJAII OF KATAKCHUND. 
 
 Beside the wall is an open space on the bank, whereon 
 are two large chunar-trees, with seats round them, 
 for the gossips of the place. 
 
 Ali Sher Khan, the Rajah of Katakchund, is a 
 young- man, good looking- and very stout, a son-in-law 
 and nephew of Ahmed Shah. He has two or three 
 times received me, and always with the greatest cour- 
 tesy and attention. We sat down to eat grapes and 
 apricots under the trees of his garden, planted round 
 a platform overhanging- the Indus, and I was after- 
 wards told that the ladies of the Zunana were look- 
 ing- at me, the Feringhi (or as they call Europeans in 
 Tibet, the Feling-pa), from behind the curtains of their 
 dwelling. I have already remarked that the Gyl-fos 
 of Iskardo usually choose their queens or Gyl-mos 
 from the Katakchund family. 
 
 I witnessed here the performances of a professed 
 enchanter, who had been sent for on purpose, from a 
 remote village in the mountains. He was accom- 
 panied by two other persons dressed like himself in 
 the Ladakhi costume. He first knelt and inhaled the 
 smoke of juniper fried in goats' grease (that of no 
 other animal will suffice), and then rolled about the 
 ground as if intoxicated ; afterwards, he rose and 
 jumped about in a circle like a madman, then stopped, 
 and pretended to address the fairy whom he saw on 
 the top of the mountains. He said that she had a 
 dog with her (I was the fairy at the moment, and the
 
 PERFORMANCE OF A CONJURER. 327 
 
 dog- was my terrier), and repeated her answers, or 
 rather remarks, for he asked no questions. He 
 said she spake of good news for Ali Slier Khan, 
 whose subject he was. Then he suddenly jumped 
 about again, and said there was good news for 
 Ahmed Shah, and his runaway and rebellious son, 
 Mohamed Shah, would not be able to injure him : — 
 all of which had a political reference to my presence. 
 He then threw himself into the arms of his attendants, 
 being, or pretending- to be, quite exhausted. Strong- 
 as is the hereditary prejudice in favour of enchant- 
 ment, I much doubt whether he had any faith in what 
 he was doing, though there can be no doubt that most 
 or all of the bystanders had confidence in his creed 
 or performances. 
 
 In Gilghit and the neighbouring countries, there 
 is another kind of enchanter, who drinks the warm 
 blood from the wound in the neck of the goat whom 
 he sacrifices; and there is not a single mountaineer 
 who does not believe in their power of raising a 
 storm by enchantment. 
 
 The natives of Katakchund are stanch Shiahs, 
 and I well remember being twice awakened in my tent 
 by some melancholy notes chanted in an adjoining 
 mosque, as a lament, or address, to Hasan and Husyn. 
 They have been thus harmonized — the second part, 
 however, is not original :
 
 328 
 
 NATIVE MELODY. 
 
 *# 
 
 Grave. 
 
 ftESEfe: 
 
 rf5 
 
 
 c7 o- I p-&- I * -t3^ -5- 
 
 - Q L J JV , 1 1 
 
 1 a 
 
 Sgt=t==i=r 
 
 JFW. 
 
 '0!~~ 
 
 i=t 
 
 fc* 
 
 l— q=tr.hz=:tin= 
 
 — ft- =g£=s |i> 1 * *i— h — j+o E 
 
 Unff 
 
 O 
 
 =L 
 
 
 r figr.l^r < 
 
 -» — t tf— P — 
 
 =f*^ 
 
 5=* 
 
 O Q 
 
 
 >y- 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 Katakchund is the last strong fortress on the Ladakh 
 river, belonging to Ahmed Shah, in the direction of 
 the Ladakh frontier. On my first visit to Little 
 Tibet, he kindly accompanied me thus far towards
 
 DANGEROUS PATH. 329 
 
 Duras and took leave of me after presenting 
 me with the Kilaat, or dress of honour. I 
 crossed the river on a raft ; he watched me 
 from the opposite bank, and in return for his final 
 salaam, I lifted my hat in token of respect. Now it 
 is thought to show as great a want of courtesy to 
 appear before a great man bareheaded, as it would 
 be in Europe to keep the hat on the head ; and, ac- 
 cordingly, I afterwards heard, that he fancied I was 
 offended with him ; but he was pleased when I sub- 
 sequently told him, that I had only done what I should 
 have done to my own sovereign. 
 
 Opposite to the village of Murul, the Purik and 
 Duras rivers, united, form a junction with the Indus, 
 and the path ascends by its side towards Duras. 
 The Bultis here showed me a narcotic plant, called 
 Lung-Dun-Seh, used in adulterating the tobacco 
 which they send for sale to Ladakh. 
 
 But I will first continue my journey along the 
 Indus towards Leh. 
 
 AtErganuk Chuk, the name by which Chinese ter- 
 ritory is known in the Tibets, is a small stream, said 
 to be the ancient and proper boundary between Mid- 
 dle and Little Tibet, and, near it, a dangerous path 
 runs up a narrow ledge on the side of the precipice. 
 In many places the footing appears so unsafe, that I 
 have preferred going a long way round, and even 
 crossed a mountain-side, rather than run unnecessary 
 risk, in a surgeonless country. There is a small fort at 
 the village of Dah, and the ravine beneath it marked,
 
 330 SINGULAR BUDDHIST BUILDINGS. 
 
 when I was there, the termination of Rajah Gulab 
 Singh's conquests.* 
 
 From Sanjak there is a defile leading to the 
 Purik country, Tiktun, the residence of the Rajah, 
 being but one day's march distant. Afterwards I 
 passed the place where the Hanu stream, already no- 
 ticed, forms a junction with the Indus : and here I 
 gladly rejoin my little Tibetian escort, and proceed 
 with them towards Ladakh. Achmet Ali Khan gave 
 me sundry hints, founded upon intelligence he had 
 received from some spies at Leh, namely, that he and 
 his people would not be allowed to accompany me thi- 
 ther ; that all pains had been taken to make the place 
 appear as poor and impoverished as possible in my 
 eyes, and that I was to be supplied with the flour of 
 barley, in order to make me believe there was no 
 wheat in the place, &c. To this, however, I paid 
 but little attention, caring little how I reached the 
 source of the Nubra river, provided I got there at all. 
 
 Near Skerwuchun, I beheld with pleasure the 
 first of those singular Buddhist buildings, called 
 Munis. They are of various shapes, but those in par- 
 ticular which I now saw, had at first the appearance 
 of a long low shed, or outhouse, about twenty yards 
 in length, five feet high, and its width may have been 
 
 * He has since taken Little Tibet. His general, Zurawur Singh, 
 has also followed up the Indus into the Chinese territory. A battle 
 ensued, and Zurawur Singh was killed. The Chinese threaten to 
 pursue their success to Ladakh, whither Gulab Singh himself would 
 instantly repair, were he not detained with the troops now collecting 
 at Peshawur.
 
 VILLAGE OF GREAT TIBET. 331 
 
 about twelve or fourteen. Upon closer inspection, 
 it seemed to be a solid mass of earth, and large 
 pebbles ; the roof, a little raised in the centre, was 
 entirely covered, and as it were tiled, with flat stones 
 of different dimensions, more or less than a foot in 
 length, on every one of which was engraved the 
 Buddhist invocation — " Om, Mani padma, Om."* 
 
 Middle Tibet, or Ladakh, which I was now ap- 
 proaching, as well as Upper Tibet, of which Lassa is 
 the capital, is known amongst the Musalmans in Kash- 
 mir, and the plains of Hindustan, by the name of 
 Butan, or Bhutan, or the country of people professing 
 the Buddhist religion, who are also called Bhuts. 
 Little Tibet, or Bultistan (the country of the Bultis), 
 is also called, as 1 have before remarked, Suri-Butan, 
 
 * The lotus is the emblem of creation. " Om est, chez les Hin- 
 dous," says M. Klaproth, " le nom mistique de la divinite par lequel 
 toutes les prieres commencent. On le dit compose de A, le nom de 
 Vichnu, ou celui de Siva, et M, celui de Brahma. Mais cette par- 
 ticule mystique equivaut aussi a l'interjection oh! prononcee avec 
 emphase, et avec une entiere conviction religieuse. Mani, signifie 
 precieux — chose precieuse. Padma, le lotus. Enfin, Houm est une 
 particule qui equivaut a notre Amen. Le sens de la phrase est tres 
 clair: — Om, Mani padma, houm — signifie Oh precieux lotus, amen." 
 — Vide Nouveau Journeau Asiatique, Janvier, 1831. 
 
 But the Buddhist triad, or mystic syllable Om, or Aum, is thus 
 interpreted in Prinsep's Tables, p. 87 : A, the generative power ; u, 
 the type of productive power ; m, the union of the essences of both. 
 Buddha signifies intelligence. Mani padma, is one of the forms of 
 Buddha, and signifies the Mani, or holy person, who has the padma, 
 or lotus, for his jewel. And the best interpretation of the word Om, 
 according to Professor H. H. Wilson, is " Let us meditate on the 
 supreme splendour of that divine sun who may illuminate our under- 
 standing." — Hindu Theatre, vol. i., p. 184.
 
 332 THE LAMAS, OR PRIESTS. 
 
 or the Apricot-Butan, a name which it had before the 
 invasion of Islam,* or conversion to his tenets. 
 
 At Skerwuchun, I was gratified with the first spe- 
 cimen of a large village, built after the fashion of 
 Great Tibet. On the top of the hill where it first 
 came in sight were some more Munis, of a different 
 shape. The appearance of the village was alike sin- 
 gular and pretty, and reminded me of those formed 
 with a child's toy. Instead of the mud and stone 
 cottages of Little Tibet, I found small square and 
 white buildings, neatly finished off with projecting eves 
 of wood. They contained apparently but one room, 
 and one window, each, whose framework was painted 
 red. Each of these, looking as if it formed part of one 
 large house, was raised one above the other on the side 
 of the amphitheatre, with apricots, mulberries, and 
 other fruit trees, scattered amongst them. The Lamas 
 and Gelums, or priests and priestesses, of Great 
 Tibet, were seated at the windows, and on the flat 
 roofs, which they left in order to have a nearer gaze 
 at us, their dark red robes, and monastic appearance, 
 adding considerably to the effect of the scene. They 
 held in one hand the skuru, or praying cylinder, 
 which they were incessantly twirling. The skuru is 
 of wood, four or five inches long, and shaped like a 
 drum ; a spindle of iron is passed through it, on 
 
 * Islam signifies "resignation," obedience to the divine will, but 
 the term is used figuratively as a term for the Mahometan religion 
 and the countries professing it. — Vide Taylor s History of Moham- 
 medanism, chap. ix.
 
 VISIT FROM THE LAMAS. 333 
 
 which, in the interior of the cylinder, are wound 
 written prayers and interjections. The lower end of 
 the spindle forms a handle, by which it is twirled, and 
 on the upper point is fastened a bit of string-, with a 
 ball at the end of it. This flies round with great 
 rapidity, and assists in making the whirring noise 
 which proceeds from the cylinder when it is turned, 
 and which would appear to be considered as an in- 
 cessant utterance of the prayers contained within it. 
 The skuru is of the same nature as the praying drums 
 in the Buddhist temples, in China, which are so con- 
 structed as to revolve, and are turned, I believe, by 
 every one as he enters the building. 
 
 Upon our approach, the principal Lamas of the 
 place came to visit us. They saluted Achmet Ali 
 Khan, as if he were come to deliver the country from 
 the yoke of the Sikhs, and the chief of them pre- 
 sented me with a small piece of white cloth, made of 
 a kind of grass. As we proceeded, the little Ti- 
 betians made me remark a particular tree, which 
 had grown from a stick which Ali Sher Khan, 1 
 think, the father of Ahmed Shah, had stuck into the 
 ground, upon his return from a victory at Ladakh. 
 
 The natural scenery was much the same as we 
 had passed, and the villages were all built in the 
 Ladakhi style. About two miles before arriving at 
 Kulutzi, we saw the debouchure of the road from 
 Kashmir to Ladakh, via Duras. It occupies eigh- 
 teen days, with porters, from Kashmir to Ladakh. 
 From Duras, six davs, to Zanskar, and thence to
 
 334 BRIDGE BURNED. 
 
 Ladakh, five days more, by way of Tsok, and per- 
 haps, one day more by way of Snimo. At Kululzi 
 I was visited by two Lamas, a man and his sister, 
 who took pride and pleasure in relating to me the 
 assistance which they, like good Samaritans, had 
 rendered to poor Dr. Henderson, who, when on his 
 way from Ladakh to Iskardo, had been followed and, 
 re-arrested, by order of the Ladakh Rajah ; for which 
 however, the latter was not so blameable, as Dr. 
 Henderson was in disguise. I thanked them cor- 
 dially in the name of my countrymen, and left them 
 in the hope that they would think well of me also. 
 
 On my return from Ladakh, in company with the 
 detested Sikhs, not a soul dare to come near me, and 
 the large village that had sent forth scores of people 
 to greet Achmet Ali and myself, appeared to be 
 completely deserted. Three-quarters of a mile 
 before our arrival at the village, we found a wooden 
 bridge thrown over the Indus, where it rushes through 
 a rocky channel, only twenty-five yards in width. I 
 found flint, which I had remarked nowhere else on the 
 mountain near it, or rather I should say, that my at- 
 tention w r as first called to it by the Bultis themselves, 
 w r ho knew of it as a place where gun- flints could be 
 obtained. 
 
 In the morning I was surprised by the intelli- 
 gence, that the bridge had been burnt in the night, 
 and my friends, the Bultis, laid it to the charge of 
 some miscreants in the village, and said that it was 
 done to give them and me a bad name. We were on
 
 BRIDGE BURNED. 335 
 
 the Sikh territory, and they knew, as they had told 
 me, but I had not paid particular attention to it, 
 that they would have to return by that route, without 
 the presence of an Englishman to protect them ; and 
 the Sikhs might easily have pushed a force across 
 the river, from Purik, and perhaps have cut off their 
 retreat : — all which is made intelligible by a glance 
 at the map. So that, in spite of their assertions, 
 I had serious misgivings and suspicions that the 
 bridge had been burnt bv the Bultis themselves, or, at 
 all events, by their connivance, in order that they might 
 be unmolested in their return. They, however, con- 
 stantly persisted to the last in denying all knowledge 
 of the transaction ; and, upon my return to Iskardo, 
 in order to satisfy myself, and give them the oppor- 
 tunity of completely clearing themselves, I asked 
 Achmet Ali if he, and the vuzirs who were with us, 
 would object to swearing on the Koran that they 
 knew nothing whatever about the transaction; and 
 they one and all, in the presence of Ahmed Shah 
 and myself, swore readily and solemnly, with their 
 hands on the Koran, that they did not. 
 
 After all this, although appearances were not 
 altered, I had no further right to suspect them, and I 
 gave due weight to the arguments for supposing it to 
 have been the work of the Sikhs themselves. In the 
 first place it gave me a bad name, and, as a private 
 traveller, might have involved me in difficulties, which 
 the Indian government would have been obliged to
 
 336 CONDUCT OF GULAB SINGH. 
 
 notice, perhaps even to a request that Runjit would 
 no 'longer allow me to travel in his dominions; — 
 which Gulab Singh, of Jamu, his vassal, who had, 
 as before remarked, only lately made himself master 
 of Ladakh, would have been but too happy to have 
 heard of. In the next place, as the presence of an 
 Englishman in Little Tibet had been very instru- 
 mental in preventing Gulab Singh from invading it, so 
 it was only in accordance with this fact, that they 
 should be unwilling to engage in a quarrel with the 
 Little Tibetians, whilst I was with them. But, as on 
 the other hand, it would have appeared in the eyes 
 of the Tibetians, an act of timidity on their part, not 
 to march from Purik, to attack them, so I think it 
 highly probable that they ordered the bridge to be 
 destroyed, that they might have a legitimate excuse 
 for not marching at all, and then gave out that it was 
 done by me and my Bulti escort. I might have been 
 wounded in the skirmish, had one ensued, and this 
 they fancied also would have involved them at once 
 with the East India Company, because they were 
 not sure that I was not an employe, or some great 
 man in disguise. Lastly, I think it was their own 
 act, because they did not pretend seriously, to me at 
 least, to accuse the Bultis of it. 
 
 This digression on the subject of the bridge may 
 be pardoned, as it is connected with the insulting 
 treatment I generally received from Gulab Singh, 
 and more particularly upon my arrival at Ladakh.
 
 RUNJIT SINGH. 337 
 
 The difference of time occasioned to a merchant 
 travelling between Kashmir and Ladakh, by the burn- 
 ing 1 of the bridge, was not much more than a day, 
 as the Indus is crossed by another bridge, at some 
 little distance below the town of Leh. 
 
 Gulab Singh, who, from the first commencement 
 of my travels in the Alpine Panjab, had looked upon 
 me with a suspicious eye, was exceedingly unwilling 
 that I should visit the latter place, because, for one 
 reason, he knew that Runjit would be sure to ask 
 me all about it, and the demand upon him for re- 
 venue might be thereby increased. He altogether 
 concealed all intelligence of his conquest from Runjit 
 in the first instance, and he was only informed of it 
 by Dr. Henderson's writing, to complain of his de- 
 tention there. This alone, had Runjit, at the supposed 
 instigation of the East India Company, refused to 
 take notice of it, would have enabled the Company 
 to treat him, if necessary, as a separate power, and one 
 that was not included, at least as far as the newly- 
 acquired territory was concerned, in the spirit of the 
 treaty of Rupur, by which Runjit, but no other poten- 
 tate, was allowed to do all he pleased, on the west 
 bank of the Sutlij. 
 
 It became necessary also, that Gulab Singh's re- 
 ception of me at Ladakh should be such as would con- 
 vince his newly-conquered subjects that, whatever his 
 master might have, he, at least, had little respect for the 
 name of an Englishman, or expectation of any inter- 
 
 VOL. II. z
 
 338 GULAB SINGH AND THE AUTHOR. 
 
 ference on my behalf. Accord ingly, as my Bulti 
 escort and myself were proceeding quietly on our 
 march, a Sikh, accompanied by five men, with lighted 
 matchlocks, suddenly presented himself, told me that 
 I could go no farther, and coolly laid his hand on my 
 bridle, withdrawing it, however, quickly, at my bid- 
 ding. The Bultis gathered round me, and would 
 have overpowered the Sikhs in a moment, had I in- 
 timated a wish that they should do so ; but it was not 
 difficult to see that I had no right to persist in bring- 
 ing a body of armed men, even in the guise of an 
 escort, upon Gulab Singh's territories, without his 
 permission ; and, galling and annoying as it was after 
 having come thus far, I was obliged to take Achmet Ali 
 aside, and represent to him the impossibility of his 
 proceeding, against the positive refusal of the Sikhs, 
 and that if I allowed them to force their way, it 
 would afford Gulab Singh a just pretext for a counter 
 invasion of Iskardo. In the mean time, the Sikhs 
 promised to take care of me, and the affair ended by 
 our all sitting down upon the ground and talking, until 
 my tent was pitched and my dinner was prepared. 
 I took leave of Achmet Ali and my Bulti friends 
 the next morning ; they returning with a Sikh who 
 had orders to conduct them safely to their frontier; 
 and I proceeded towards Ladakh in company with my 
 new acquaintances. 
 
 Now, as I had heard Runjit, in full durbar, give 
 orders to the minister, Dhihan Singh (and an order to
 
 AN ASCETIC LAMA. 339 
 
 him was an order to Gulab Singh his brother) to give 
 me a guard of twenty-four men to go to Ladakh, I 
 was somewhat surprised to find the Sikhs driving the 
 Ladakhis before them like so many sheep, and 
 otherwise treating them with insolence that was ex- 
 tended even to myself; for if I wished to stop and 
 ask the name of a village, or any other question con- 
 nected with the geography of the country, they were 
 peremptorily ordered to proceed without giving an 
 answer. 
 
 The village of Kemis, through which we had pre- 
 viously passed, is situated on an elevated plain ; and 
 I noticed several little water-wheels, so constructed 
 as to turn a fly-wheel, shaped like a windmill, and 
 made, apparently, as they might be in China, for the 
 mere purpose of amusement. 
 
 On the mountain-side that faces the village on the 
 Ladakh side, stands a solitary dwelling, discernible 
 only as a small speck amongst the rocks. It is the 
 residence of an ascetic Lama, who never leaves the 
 spot, being supplied with provisions by the peasants 
 from the neighbouring villages, who receive in return 
 
 © © O ' 
 
 his blessings, and the benefit of his prayers. Near 
 Buzgo is a quantity of marl by the wayside. 
 
 Before arriving at Ladakh the country becomes 
 more open, and the path descends to the green mar- 
 gin of the river, on which goats, sheep, and cattle 
 were feeding. The water of the river itself was 
 
 o 
 
 clear, and the stream about forty yards in width. 
 
 z2
 
 Mi) ENORMOUS MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Pituk is a large and very picturesque village, 
 built Oil the side of a small, but steep hill ; its 
 numerous rows of Munis, and the red Lamas and 
 Gelums moving amongst them, gave it a most singular 
 and lively appearance. It stands at the corner of a 
 large sandy plain, and immediately alter passing it, I 
 found myself within Bight of the town of Leh (Ladakh 
 is proper!} the name of the country), and at the same 
 time, could discern for a great distance the course of 
 the Indus, as it meandered towards me, through is vi 
 grand and open valle) from the north-east by east, and 
 the enormous mountains in the direction of the Spiti 
 valley, some of which (but these were not in sight) 
 are supposed, by those who have seen them from the 
 passes behind Simla, to attain an elevation of upwards 
 of thirty thousand feet, or nearly double the height of 
 Mont Blanc. Several villages were scattered along 
 the banks of the river, and the whole scene was ex- 
 ceedingly enlivening. 
 
 Leh stands on the north bank, on the eastern side 
 of the upper extremity of a plain, three miles in 
 length, and covered with sand and loose stones, and 
 sloping gently clown to the bank of the Indus. A 
 small stream that fertilized a nook in the mountains 
 behind the town, finds its way through the plain, 
 where it is so full as to be neither expended in irri- 
 gation nor lost in the sand. On the opposite side of 
 the river is a very long sloping plain, of still larger 
 dimensions, generally barren ; but the upper part of
 
 THE TOWN OF LEH. 341 
 
 it, called Tok, was green, and well sprinkled with 
 villages and white Munis. Behind it, arose a chain of 
 very high mountains, and at the foot of the highest 
 peak, and on the further side of it, as I was in- 
 formed, is the Castle of Zanskar, from which roads 
 diverge to Ladakh, byTsok and Snimo; to Kashmir, by 
 Duras ; to Jumu, by Sum, and Muru-Wurdwun ; and 
 to Nurpur, by Paldhar and Chumba. But I have al- 
 ready noticed the passes through these countries to 
 Ladakh. I was told that it occupies about twenty 
 days to go, with porterage, from Ladakh rid Spiti to 
 Rampur on the Sutlij near Simla. 
 
 Another chain of mountains, more than 1G,000 
 feet in height, rise behind Leh, and divide the valley 
 of the Shy-Yok, or Nubra river, from that of Ladakh, 
 the nearest distance between them, from Ladakh, 
 being about twenty miles, in a direct line. 
 
 The town of Leh itself, by thermometer, is about 
 10,000 feet above the sea ; it is situated at the foot of 
 a spur from the lofty ridge just mentioned, and con- 
 tains four or five hundred houses, with flat roofs, and 
 neatly-finished windows. On the south side of it is a 
 small verdant space, partly edged with poplars, such 
 as in England would be called " the green." The 
 best houses and caravansaries are built around it. 
 The interior of the town seemed to be only a confusion 
 of dark alleys, sometimes covered over, or rather 
 running under the houses themselves. The Rajah's 
 residence, behind it, commands a view of the whole
 
 342 BUDDHIST MONUMENTS. 
 
 town, and of the plains, the river, &c. It is a singular, 
 but not inelegant structure, painted white, and its 
 numerous stories and windows reminded me of an old 
 continental chateau. The walls slope inwards, so 
 that the base occupies a larger space than is covered 
 by the roof. On the summit of the rocky hill, at the 
 foot of which it is built, is the residence of a Lama. 
 There is also a double wall, which could be converted 
 into a covered way, connecting this building with the 
 Rajah's house, and converting the hill into a fortress. 
 
 On the eminences immediately around the town, 
 are innumerable Munis and Buddhist monuments. One 
 of the former, about a mile froniLadakh in the direction 
 of the river, is not less than four hundred yards in length, 
 by ten in width, resembling a long, low , and solid barn, 
 covered every where with the flat stones I have already 
 described. At a rough calculation, there could not be 
 less than sixty thousand, and on every one of them 
 were engraved the words already noticed. A square 
 fort, upon the plain, not far from Leh, contains a 
 small Sikh garrison, as a check upon the town. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Leh, the mountains are 
 every where as barren as possible ; but where there 
 is a stream, willows, poplars, and aspens, and here 
 and there a bunch of fir-trees, do their utmost, and 
 not unsuccessfully, to make the scenery green and 
 pleasant to the eye. It is generally said that a flock 
 of sheep and a garden, owned and occupied by Mr. 
 Moorcroft, were kept up in his name, at Ladakh ; but
 
 BABYLONIAN BUILDINGS. 343 
 
 I did not inquire about them, having then heard no- 
 thing- of the story. 
 
 There is a course for the game of the Chaughan 
 at Ladakh. I saw the Rajah play, but I would back 
 the Bultis against the Ladakhis. 
 
 The Rajah has another house, in a garden near 
 the town, at the termination of the celebrated nook I 
 have before mentioned, which follows up the banks of 
 the little stream that supplies Ladakh, for a distance 
 of two miles. One of the buildings near it, whether 
 a tomb, or a muni, I know not, is exactly of the con- 
 figuration of the Birs Nimrood, at Babylon, according 
 to the description of Strabo and Herodotus — excepting 
 that it is composed of only seven square platforms, 
 gradually diminishing in size, instead of eight, as 
 recorded by them.* 
 
 Leh is well known to be the principal place of 
 rendezvous for merchants travelling to and from 
 Yarkund. The roads from Nurpur, Jumu, and 
 Kashmir, lead directly from it. There is a nearer 
 way, I believe, by the plains of Chang Thung, to the 
 north of Ladakh, but the jealousy of the Chinese is 
 such, that they have closed it. Chang, or Changpah, 
 in the language of Tibet, signifies, I was informed, 
 a tribe of shepherds, or cattle-owners ; and Thung, in 
 Tibetian, signifies an open hill, or small elevated plain. 
 
 * Vide Keith on the Prophecies, p. 290. Part of the temple of 
 of Gunga Blieou in Mewar is built in nearly the same fashion. Vide 
 Tod's Rajasthan, vol. ii , p. 7 in, nlso at Mynal, p. 746.
 
 344 COMMERCE OF LADAKH. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the name he Chinese, it signifies 
 a country to the eastward of the mountains ; — winch 
 would also agree with its locality. 
 
 The commencement of these plains is hut a 
 few days' march from Leh. The only inhabitants 
 are wandering- shepherds, who range with their flocks 
 and their families over an almost boundless extent. 
 Their elevation must be very great, probably be- 
 tween thirteen and fourteen thousand feet. Those 
 of Pamir, or Pam-i-Dunia (the roof of the world), 
 to the westward of them are sixteen thousand 
 feet high, by the barometric observations of Lieut. 
 Wood. The peaks that rise upon them are generally 
 covered with snow, and the cold is so intense that 
 not only the goats but other animals, such as the 
 Yak, the Ibex, aud the dog, as I have already re- 
 marked, are provided by nature with a covering of 
 poshm, or shawl wool, next the skin. 
 
 I have also already noticed Rudakh, at the foot of 
 the plains, whither the wool is principally collected, 
 previously to its being brought to Ladakh upon 
 sheep's backs. 
 
 The merchandise that passes from Yarkund, vid 
 Ladakh to Hindustan, consists of gold, in ducats from 
 Russia, in old coins from Bokhara, and a small quantity 
 also finds its way from Bultistan ; Syci silver, Silks, and 
 porcelain from China ; musks, furs, sables (samur), 
 ermine, and the skins of the pads of foxes ; black 
 lamb-skins ; tea, of three kinds principally, two black,
 
 EXPORTS FROM KASHMIR. 345 
 
 Zungcha and Chinchum, and a third, green, called 
 Copinz, worth four rupis a seer, — 4s. a pound 
 English. Tea comes from a place called Chuba, 
 and the tea-dealers are called Chuba-ke-Admi. 
 China, in great and Little Tibet, is called Erganuk. 
 To these articles are added Tonzu and Tedock, two 
 medicines ; cherns, a narcotic preparation from bang, 
 which is also a preparation from hemp ; and dried 
 cinnamon-flowers. From Hindustan to Yarkund are 
 carried madder, pearls, English calicoes, Dacca mus- 
 lins, chintzes, kimkab or golden cloth of Benares, 
 shields, indigo, senna, spices, sugar, tabashir, and a 
 silica found in the Bambu, resembling the opal in 
 appearance, and supposed (but without reason) by 
 the Asiatics to possess great medicinal properties; 
 also lemon-juice, opium, &c. 
 
 I will here notice also, the exports from Kashmir to 
 the Panjab. They consist of shawls, blankets, apples, 
 dried fish, grapes, quince and caraway seeds, tobacco, 
 saffron, the satyrium Nepalensis, and the costus 
 verus, or Chob-i-kost,* which has been named costus 
 verus Aucklandii by Dr. Falconer. It is found only, 
 I believe, on the hills around Kashmir, and when 
 travelling amongst them I have met strings of Kulis 
 carrying sacks full of kost, which imparted an aro- 
 matic perfume to the air as they passed me. It is 
 burnt, I believe, as incense, in the temples of 
 India. 
 
 * Vide Productive Resources of India, p. 223 ; also Illustrations of 
 Botany of Himalaya, p. 360, by Dr. Royle, F.R.S., &c.
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Arrival at Ladakh — Obstacles and Difficulties — Ill-treatment of the 
 Author — Seeking Redress — The Lamaic Religion — Dr. Wise- 
 man on Buddhism — Rajahs and ex-Rajah of Ladakh — Jealousy 
 of the Sikhs — The Grand Lama — An Adventure with the ex- 
 Rajah — How to Astonish the Natives — Juan Singh — Presents 
 and Civilities — Visit to Nubra — Mountain Pass — The Muztak — 
 Descent of the Mountain — Shy-Yok — Road to Yarkund — Castle 
 and Village — Game — Character of the Valley of the Nubra — 
 Kurukurum Mountains — Etymology — The Nubra Tsuh — Fall of 
 a Glacier — Fearful Liundation — Meeting of five Streams — 
 Fatal Snow-falls — Yarkund City — Timur's Capital — Habits and 
 Manners of the Yarkundis — A Wife for a Season — The Yar- 
 kundi's love of Tea — The Plains of Yarkund — Road to Pekin — 
 Celebrated Tulip-ground — Singular Idol — Return to Little 
 Tibet — Reception by Ahmed Shah — A handsome Offer of Gulab 
 Singh — Interview with Runjit Singh — Complaints against Gulab 
 Singh — Intrigues and Jealousies — The double Deceit — Runjit 
 and Gulab Singh — Capture of Iskardo by Gulab Singh — In- 
 fluence of British Travellers — Captain Wade, Political Agent at 
 Lodiana.
 
 ARRIVAL AT LADAKH. 349 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 I had started for the Nubra Tsuh, from Iskardo, 
 with all that eagerness and confidence which is so 
 often the prelude to success ; and though I was very- 
 sorry to part with my Bulti friends, yet I went for- 
 ward to Ladakh under the protection of Gulab Singh's 
 people, with the belief that my chances were by no 
 means diminished. When I arrived there, I pitched 
 my tent near the poplars by the green, and I soon 
 found that it was not their intention to allow me 
 to proceed ; nobody but my own servants being al- 
 lowed to approach me. 
 
 An old Patan who had been well known to the 
 political agent at Lodiana, came of course to pay his 
 respects to an Englishman at Leh. He was ordered 
 to quit my tent, and was, I believe, actually beaten for 
 what he had done : and what was worse, two Lamas, 
 who came directly to call upon me, and to whom I be- 
 gan to put questions concerning their religion, were 
 peremptorily ordered to leave my tent. I was in this 
 manner also prevented from purchasing provisions, or 
 making preparations, necessary for the prosecution of 
 my journey. A guard of mountain Sepahis was re-
 
 350 tLL-TREATMENT OF THE AUTHOR. 
 
 gularly stationed at the door of my servants' tent, 
 which was elose to mine. If I even walked into the 
 town, the bazaars were cleared, and the people hid 
 themselves, terrified at the approach of the ruffians 
 who, by thus following me, were virtually interfering 
 with my projects, and rendering me powerless, — not 
 by personal insult, for thej always attempted to pre- 
 serve sonic semblance of civility towards me, bul by 
 restrictions upon others, so effectually imposed, that 
 even the large sums of money I offered for the 
 
 assistance I wanted were of no avail. 
 
 I wrote to Gulab Singh, and his master Runjit, 
 explaining that my wish to proceed to the Nubra 
 
 Tsuh, was not in any way founded upon political 
 
 motives ; and I also sent letters to the Company > 
 agent on the frontier. Bat in the mean while, all at- 
 tempts on my part to obtain redress by force would 
 have been attended with an increase of the chances 
 against me ; for although, I believe, there was not a 
 native in Ladakh who would not gladly have assisted 
 me, yet there was not one who dared to do so. 
 
 Gulab Singh was annoyed with me for having 
 penetrated to Little Tibet. But otherwise I had 
 given him no provocation whatever, and it was more- 
 over the first time that I had been at Ladakh. But 
 he was afraid of my exploring the road to Yarkund. 
 
 I ask pardon of my readers for the above digres- 
 sion, upon grievances that may happen to any travel- 
 ler ; but, in my own defence, 1 deem it not wholly 
 unnecessarv, in order to show that my excuse for
 
 DR. WISEMAN ON BUDDHISM. 351 
 
 not having said more on the subject of the Buddhist 
 
 religion, of Ladakh, of the path to Yarkund, and the 
 
 plains of Chang Thung, must be looked for in the 
 
 wanton defeat of all my schemes for roving over the 
 
 country with gun, pencil, note-book, £cc* 
 
 * As all opportunities for inquiry were thus forcibly put out of 
 my power, I avow myself unable, from my own personal investigations, 
 to add any thing' to the subject of the Lamaic religion, and gladly 
 refer nay readers to the late works upon China, which treat so ably 
 upon Buddhism. 1 also take the liberty of presenting the following 
 masterly precis, which I have extracted from the writings of Dr. 
 Wiseman, proffering at the same time a caution to the reader, to keep 
 in view a distinction between (he forms <>('<> religion and the religion 
 itself. Buddhism, as already mentioned, i> supposed by the best 
 orientalists to have sprung up in Behar above Bengal, b. c. 543, 
 and the deciphering of the inscriptions on the pillar- at Allahabad by 
 Mr. James Prinsep, has clearly shown us thai Asoka, the vjvat 
 patron (if Buddhism, lived b. c. 250, and it- doctrines are supposed 
 to have reached China in about 7^ b.c. So that we cannot hut infer 
 
 that they are more ancient than those of Christianity, and that they 
 existed in some of the countries now under notice, for a long time hefore 
 it- introduction there. The claim- of the religion to antiquity cannot, 
 therefore, be said to be forfeited J of ever, and it would therefore 
 Barely be better to say that it was the forms of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, rather than the doctrines' oi the Christian religion, which 
 were copied hv the Buddhists I'p'in the early Christians with whom 
 they were in contact, and that the forms of the religion rather than 
 the religion of Tibet, are but <ni attempted imitation of ' ours. 
 Some of the form- themselves would seem to l>e distinct in exist- 
 ence, ami origin. Praying cylinder-, lor instance, could not have 
 
 i introduced by the Roman Catholic church, and the incessant 
 repetition of the same prayers, which is forbidden to the Christian, 
 i- of very prominent merit amongst the Buddhists. 
 
 A- tar as I can judge of the matter, the chances of coincidence 
 
 nol been allowed their due weight, and there is certainly in some 
 
 of tin- Buddhist tenets an approach, however distant, to the divine 
 
 and uncompromising purity of the gospel precepts. But I proceed to 
 
 give the quotation : —
 
 .352 BUDDHISM. 
 
 The Rajah of Leh was called Marut Tunzin. 
 Mr. Moore roft says his name — i. e. that of the then 
 Khalun or Vuzir — was Tsiva Tandu. Perhaps the 
 
 " Another instance of the advantage which the progress of oriental 
 historical research may bring to matters of religious interest, ifl afforded 
 us by the light lately thrown on the religious worship of Tibet. 
 When Europe first became acquainted with this worship, it was im- 
 possible not to be struck with the analogies it presented to the reli- 
 gious rites of Christians. The hierarchy of the Lamas, their mon- 
 archic institutes, their churches, and ceremonies, resembled ours 
 with such minuteness, that some connexion between the two seemed 
 necessarily to have existed. ' The early missionaries were satisfied 
 with considering Lamaism as a sort of degenerate Christianity, and 
 as a remnant of those Syrian sects which once had penetrated into 
 those remote parts of Asia.'* 
 
 " But there have been others who have turned this resemblance 
 to very different purposes. ' Frequent mysterious assertions and 
 subdued hints, in the works of learned men,' says a lamented orient- 
 alist, to whose memoir on this subject I shall have to refer just now, 
 ' led many to doubt whether the Lamaic theocracy was a remnant 
 of a Christian sect, or, on the contrary, the ancient and primitive 
 model, on which were traced similar establishments in other parts of 
 the world. Such were the views taken in the notes to Father 
 D'Andrada's Journey, to the French translations of Thunberg, and of 
 the Asiatic Researches, and in many other modern works, where 
 irreligion has sought to conceal itself under a superficial and lying 
 erudition.' f 'These resemblances,' says Malte-Brun, ' were turned 
 into arguments against the divine origin of Christianity. '\ In fact, 
 we find these analogies affording matter for peculiar merriment to 
 Volney.§ 
 
 * Abel-Remusat, " Appercu d'un Memoire intitule ' Recherches 
 Chronologiques surl'Origine dela Hierarchie Lama'ique,' reprinted in 
 the Melanges Asiatiques." Paris, 1825. Vol. i., p. 129. 
 
 f lb., note 2, " Melanges," p. 132. 
 
 \ "Precis de la Geographie Universelle." Paris, 1812, vol. iii., 
 p. 581. 
 
 § "Ruines," Paris, 1820, p. 428.
 
 BUDDHISM. 353 
 
 mistake is mine. He was a minion of Gulab Singh's, 
 whose troops under Zurawur Singh, since killed by 
 the Chinese, had gained a victory over the rightful 
 Rajah in the spring of 1835, at Syru near Zanskar. 
 
 " At first, these objections were only met by negative answers. 
 It was well argued by Fischer, that no writer, anterior to the thir- 
 teenth century, gives a hint <>!' the existence of this system, nor could 
 any proof be brought of it- antiquity. But it had been the fashion to 
 attribute an extravagant date t<> all the institutions of Central Asia, 
 upon the strength of plausible conjecture. The venerable age given 
 to this religious establishment, was in perfect accordance with Bailly's 
 scientific hypotheses regarding the same country, and formed a natural 
 counterpart to the romantic system, which made the mountains of 
 Siberia, or the steppes of Tartary, the cradle of philosophy. Since 
 that period, the languages and literature of Asia have made a wide 
 step; and the consequence has been, the thorough confutation of 
 these extravagant bj potheses, from tin- works of native writers. 
 
 " Abel-Remusat is once more the author to whom we are indebted 
 for this valuable exposition. In an interesting memoir, he has made 
 us acquainted with a valuable fragment, preserved in the Japanese 
 Encyclopedia, and containing the true history of the Lamaic hier- 
 archy. Without this, we should perhaps have been lor ever left to 
 vague conjecture; with its assistance, we are able to confute the un- 
 founded, though specious, dreams of our assailants. The god 
 Buddha was originally supposed to be perpetuated upon earth, in 
 the person of bis Indian patriarchs. His soul was transferred, 
 in succession, into a new representative, chosen from any caste, 
 and so confident was the trustee of his divinity that he possessed an 
 amulet against destruction, that he usually evaded the sufferings of 
 age by ascending a funeral pile, whence, like the phoenix, he hoped 
 to rise into a new life. In this state, the god remained till the fifth 
 century of our era, when he judged it prudent to emigrate from 
 southern India, and fix his residence in China. His representative 
 received the title of Preceptor of the Kingdom,) but only added, like 
 the later Kalifs, at Bagdad, a religious splendour" to the court of the 
 celestial empire. 
 
 '•In this precarious condition, the succession of sacred chiefs was 
 
 VOL. n. 2 A
 
 354 BUDDHISM. 
 
 Tlie ex-Rajah, whose name I forget, was living 
 at Tok, over the river, opposite to Leh. The 
 Vuzir or Khalim Mas wounded and taken prisoner, 
 
 contiimod for eiglit more centuries, till, in the thirteenth, the house 
 of Tching-Kis-Khan delivered them from their dependance, and 
 invested them with dominion. Voltaire has said, that Tching-Kis- 
 Khan was too g-ood a politician to disturb the spiritual kingdom of 
 the Grand Lama in Tibet ;• and yet, neither did a kingdom then 
 exist in Tihet, nor did the high priest of Shamanism yet reside there, 
 nor was the name of Lama yet an appellation. For it was the grand- 
 son of the conqueror, thirty-three years after him, who first bestowed 
 sovereignty on the head of bis religion; and as the living Buddha 
 happened to be a native of Tibet, that country was given him for his 
 government. Thus was the mountain of Pootala or Botala,f made 
 the capital of this religious kingdom, and the term Lama, which sig- 
 nifies a priest, first applied as a distinctive title to its ruler. 
 
 " This account of the origin of the Lamaic dynasty accords perfectly 
 with another interesting document lately brought before the public. 
 This is a description of Tibet, translated from the Chinese into Rus- 
 sian by the Archi-mandrite, F. Hyacinth Pitchourinsky4 and from 
 the Russian into French, with corrections upon the original by Julius 
 KIaproth.§ From this document we learn that Tching-Kis-Khan 
 overran that country, and established a government which comprised 
 Tibet and its dependancies. The emperor Khoubilai, seeing the 
 difficulty of governing this distant countrv, devised a method for 
 rendering it submissive, which was conformable to the usages of the 
 people. He divided the country of the Thou-pho into provinces 
 and districts ; appointed officers of different degrees, and subjected 
 them to the authority of the Ti-szu (preceptor of the emperor). At 
 that time, Bachbah a Pagba, a native of Sarghia, in Tibet, held this 
 office. At the age of seven years he had read all the sacred books, 
 
 * " Philosophie de l'Histoire ; Essai sur les mceurs." Abel-Remu- 
 sat, p. 137. 
 
 | Seethe " Nouveau Journal Asiatique," October, 1829, p. 273. 
 
 t St. Petersburg, 1828. 
 
 § In the " Nouveau Journal Asiatique," August and October, 
 1829.
 
 BUDDHISM. 355 
 
 and induced by treachery on his own part, and per- 
 suasion on the part of Gulab Singh, to take his seat 
 on the Musnud. I saw him several times, but the 
 
 and comprehended their most sublime ideas, for which reason he was 
 called the spiritual child. In 1260 he received the title of king of 
 the great and precious law, and a seal of oriental jasper. Besides 
 these, he was invested with the dignity of chief of the yellow religion. 
 His brothers, his children, and descendants, have enjoyed eminent 
 posts at court, and have received seals of gold and oriental jasper. The 
 court received Bachbah with distinction, entertained towards him a 
 superstitious faith, and neglected nothing which could contribute to 
 make him respected.* At the time when the Buddhist patriarchs 
 first established themselves in Tibet, that country was in immediate 
 contact with Christianity. Not only had the Nestorians ecclesiasti- 
 cal settlements in Tartary, but Italian and French religious nun 
 visited the court of the Khans, charged with important missions from 
 the Pope and St. Louis of France. They carried with them church 
 ornaments and altars, to make, if possible, a favourable impression 
 on the minds of the natives. For this end they celebrated their wor- 
 ship in presence of the Tartar princes, by whom they were permitted 
 to erect chapels within the precincts of the royal palaces. An Italian 
 archbishop, sent by Clement V., established bis See in the capital, 
 and erected a church, to which the faithful were summoned by the 
 sound of three bells, and where they beheld many sacred pictures 
 painted on the walls. f 
 
 " Nothing was easier than to induce many of the various sects which 
 crowded the Mongol court to admire and adopt the rites of this 
 religion. Some members of the imperial house secretly embraced 
 Christianity, many mingled its practices with the profession of their 
 own creed, and Europe was alternately delighted and disappointed 
 by reports of imperial conversions, and by discoveries of their false- 
 hood.J 
 
 * lb., August, p. 119. 
 
 f Abel-Bemusat, p. 138, compares Assemani-inf. cit. 
 
 \ « Assemani Biblioth. Orient." torn, in, par. 11, p. cccclxxx, 
 says, " Di Marco Polo, e degli altri viaggiatori Veneziani piu illustri. 
 Dissertazione del P. Ab. (afterwards Cardinal) Zurla." — Yen. 1818, 
 vol. i., p. 287. 
 
 2a2
 
 356 THE GRAND LAMA. 
 
 Siklis would never allow him to stop and speak to 
 me. I one day met him suddenly on horseback, and 
 was struck with the appearance of the principal 
 Lama of Ladakh, who was in the cavalcade. His 
 red dress, and broad-brimmed hat, made me fancy 
 for an instant that I beheld a cardinal. I turned my 
 horse to ride with the Rajah, but the Sikh officer, 
 Juan Singh, instantly came up, and motioned him to 
 proceed. 
 
 I at last determined to see him, and one morning 
 I suddenly ordered my horse, and galloped off to the 
 Rajah's residence, attended by my munshi, and a 
 
 " It was such a rumour as this, in reference to Manghu, that caused 
 the missious of Rubriquis ami Ascellino. Surrounded by the cele- 
 bration of such ceremonies, hearing- from the ambassadors and mission- 
 aries of the West, accounts of the worship and hierarchy of their 
 countries, it is no wonder that the religion of the Lamas, just be- 
 ginning to assume splendour and pomp, should have adopted institu- 
 tions and practices already familiar to them, and already admired by 
 those whom they wished to gain. The coincidence of time and 
 place, the previous nonexistence of that sacred monarchy, amply 
 demonstrate that the religion of Tibet is but an attempted imitation 
 of ours. 
 
 " It is not my province to follow the learned academician in the 
 later history of this religious dynasty. It has continued in depend- 
 ance on the Chinese sovereigns till our days, at one and the same 
 time, revered and persecuted, adored and oppressed. But its claims 
 to antiquity are forfeited for ever, and its pretensions as a rival, still 
 more as the parent of Christianity, have been fully examined and 
 rejected." — Twelve Lectures on the Connexion between Science and 
 Revealed Religion, delivered in Rome by Nicholas Wiseman, D.D., 
 Principal of the English College, and Professor in the University 
 of Rome. In 2 vols., London, Joseph Booker, New Bond-street, 
 1836.— Vol. ii„ Lecture the Eleventh, p. 270 to 277.
 
 THE EX-RAJAH. 357 
 
 groom, whom I despatched thither before me, so as 
 to be ready to hold my horse. The attendants en- 
 deavoured to prevent my going up stairs, but used 
 no force. I ascended towards the Rajah's audience- 
 room, having first frightened two Sikhs down stairs, by 
 half-drawing my sword upon them. I then, attended 
 by my faithful Tibetian munshi, Ali Mohamcri, who 
 never flinched from saying any thing I told him to say, 
 walked without ceremony into the Rajah's apartment. 
 He was seated on a carpet by himself, at the fur- 
 ther end of it, near the window. His dress differed 
 but little, excepting that it was more ornamented, 
 from the usual dress of the Bhuts, and a canopy of 
 rich Chinese figured silk was suspended over his 
 head. His attendants and others in the apartment 
 stood around at a respectful distance, and wished me 
 to do the same, but it was no time to be ceremonious. 
 I walked up to the Rajah, made my salaam, and then 
 sat myself down close by him, and warmly demanded 
 assistance, in the name of the Maharajah, Runjit Singh, 
 whose guest, and under whose protection, I con- 
 sidered myself. 
 
 Juan Singh hearing that I had gone to see the Ra- 
 jah, soon afterwards made his appearance, breathless 
 with haste ; and the Rajah, who was decidedly alarmed, 
 told me at last that he was willing to give me the as- 
 sistance I wanted, but that he was prevented by the 
 fear of Rajah Gulab Singh. And having got this 
 answer, I quitted the room.
 
 358 VISIT TO NUBRA. 
 
 The next morning the Rajah sent me a kilaat, or 
 dress of honour, but of no value, merely as a matter 
 of form, but which I accepted, sending back my 
 salaam by the bearer, and adding, that I well knew 
 his master was not allowed to have his own way, and, 
 therefore, that I did not attach any blame to him. 
 
 I afterwards found that there did not seem to be 
 any longer an objection to my visiting Nubra, pro- 
 vided I did not go further, and I availed myself of the 
 opportunity of employing the remainder of my time 
 so profitably. Two principal roads, or rather paths, 
 lie over the lofty ridge that rises behind Leh, and se- 
 parates, as I have already remarked, the valleys of 
 the two rivers. A horse alternately led and ridden 
 can pass by either. 
 
 The way by which I travelled, first took an easterly 
 direction, over the sands, to the village of Ayu, and 
 then turned to the north, ascending by a long, rocky 
 and very fatiguing zigzag to the summit of the pass. 
 The thermometer grave me an elevation of nearlv 
 16,000 feet, the formation being, I think, of a dark- 
 coloured trap. I thence, of course, suddenly came in 
 view of the mountain masses that arose on the other 
 side of the Shy-Yok, as the river from the Nubra 
 Tsuh is usually termed, and the whole horizon was, 
 as usual, serrated by mountain-tops in every direction. 
 Amongst those on the north, the snowy Sierra of the 
 Muztak, extending from Hunzeh to Nubra, arose 
 with conspicuous and most majestic grandeur.
 
 ROAD TO YARKINO. 
 
 359 
 
 A long- and cheerless descent brought us to the 
 village of Jugur, our resting-place for the night 
 The next morning we descended upon Urkum, on 
 the banks of the river. The stream was low, and its 
 average breadth was about forty yards, when it was 
 confined in its proper channel, but at other times 
 it was expanded to a much greater breadth. The 
 stream was Rhone-coloured, smooth, and rapid, 
 indicating a considerable inclination in its Hat and 
 sandy valley, about half a mile in width, and 
 bounded by steep and barren mountains. I estimate 
 (by thermometer) the elevation of the river at Nubra 
 at about 1000 feet higher than that at Ladakh. Above 
 the village of Urkum it assumes the appearance of a 
 defile, and two days' march up its side, conducts the 
 traveller to the village of Shy-Yok, from which the 
 river takes its name, but of which I do not know the 
 meaning. Yek or Yok, however signifies ice. Be- 
 yond this, there is not, I believe, any fixed human 
 habitation for the remainder of the way to Yarkund ; 
 the whole distance to which from Ladakh, occupies a 
 little more than a month. 
 
 The road to Yarkund ascends the bed of the river, 
 which is constantly crossed and recrossed by wading ; 
 and the mountains or pass of Kurukurum are in this 
 manner reached about the 9th or 10th day from 
 Ladakh. 
 
 At one long day's march downwards from Urkum, 
 the vallev of the river becomes wider, and that of
 
 360 VALLEY OF THE NUBRA. 
 
 N ubra appears as a fine broad opening- on the right, 
 its direction being N. N. W. by S. S. E. Its greatest 
 width may be about two miles and a half, its length 
 about seventeen. A large stream runs nearly its 
 whole length, and joins the Indus as it passes its 
 embouchure. The bed of the valley is flat, and 
 covered with a grayish sand, as if of decomposed 
 granite, whilst that on the Indus is of a redder colour, 
 and has all the appearance of sea sand. 
 
 A castle stands upon a rocky eminence of about 
 one hundred and fifty feet high, with a village at its 
 foot. The villages are numerous, and picturesquely 
 built, after the Ladakhi fashion, and there is no 
 lack of apricot or mulberry trees around them. A 
 long belt of jungul, chiefly of the Tartarian furze, 
 occupies the banks of the river, and I killed several 
 chikor, or red-leg partridges, who in the middle of the 
 day descended in great numbers, for shade and water, 
 to the lower ground. 
 
 The aspect of the valley of Nubra is altogether 
 very pretty, and enlivening, and I was surprised at the 
 number and appearance of the houses scattered on 
 different parts of it, but not now occupied, as for- 
 merly by persons of some property. Though its 
 inhabitants are Bhuts, it once belonged to the Gylfos 
 of Iskardo, but fell with Ladakh into the hands of 
 the Gulab Singh. 
 
 When the Shy-Yok is too full for wading, the 
 merchants travelling from Ladakh to Yarkund, enter
 
 THE KURUKURUM MOUNTAINS. 361 
 
 the valley of Nubra, and then turn up a path to the 
 right, and arrive at Km ukurum, after crossing three 
 passes, two of which are called Broknanpah and 
 Sisur, and near the latter there is pasturage, occu- 
 pied by a few goatherds and their flocks. 
 
 The Kurukurum mountains I believe to be a branch 
 or spur from the Muztak, and the principal crest 
 to be passed in the way from the Shy-Yok to Yarkund. 
 There is a doubt as to the meaning of the word Kuru- 
 kurum. In Turki it would signify " the black rocks," 
 but upon questioning the Ladakhi envoy at Lodiana 
 on the subject, he appeared quite indignant at the 
 idea of its being a Turki word. " Who are the 
 Turks (Toorks) that they should give a name to a 
 place in Butan?"' was his reply; and he added, that 
 the pass was jestingly and antithetically called Ku- 
 rukurum, a word which signifies a " sweetmeat," or 
 " sugarplum," — in consequence of the length of the 
 ascent, and the additional fatigue to be undergone 
 on account of the shortness of breath, brought on by 
 the exertion of walking. I am inclined to think the 
 latter to be the true meaning. The appellation ap- 
 pears to be applied to a crest at the summit, five 
 hundred feet high, which can however be avoided by 
 a circuit of a few miles. Its passage occupies but a 
 few hours, and I was told that the crows (choughs) 
 are in the habit of following a traveller from one side 
 to the other : and that, once in a hundred years, 
 one with white feathers makes its appearance.
 
 362 I W.L OF A GLAI IER. 
 
 Both the roads I have mentioned, meet before 
 the last ascent commences, and from the place "I 
 junction, the glacier of the Nubra Tsuh, is visible on 
 the left, and the incipient Shy-Yok flows from it. 
 The Nubra Tsuh is, as well as I could collect, a 
 head water, formed by a vast barrier of ice, that has 
 dammed up a valley formed between two spurs of 
 the Kurukurum. Various and most conflicting: were 
 the accounts given of its extent, but all agreed 
 that it was verj large; and, as 1 have always found 
 that the natives were disposed to exaggerate, I 
 should imagine that the Nubra Tsuh was three or 
 four miles in length, and less than a mile in width. 
 But I repeat, that I by no means hold myself an- 
 swerable for any account of its size, excepting that 
 it is a very large body of water. 
 
 Not many years ago, the protecting glacier gave 
 way, and the mighty flood, no longer confined, 
 rushed down the valley of the Shv-Yok, destroying- 
 every village that came within its reach ; and descend- 
 ing in one day, from Nubra to Iskardo, a distance, 
 with all its windings, of not less than 125 miles, 
 where the proofs of its fury and its volume are still 
 to be seen. Ahmed Shah told me that his boat, at the 
 ferry above the rock, was carried away by its violence, 
 and floated down as far as the Dardu country, where 
 it was secured and destroyed for the sake of its 
 iron fastenings ; and also, that it was believed by 
 the natives, that the same terrific visitation might
 
 TERRIFIC INUNDATION. 363 
 
 be again expected to occur, at no very distant 
 period. Excepting - , however, in a flood of this kind, 
 no boat could, I believe, live in the mountain rapids, 
 after passing the valley of Iskardo.* I have no 
 means of knowing, with any exactness, the height 
 of the Kurukurum mountains above the sea. On 
 its right, say my informants, the country is more 
 open, and slopes away to the plains of Chang 
 Thung, or others ; whilst very lofty and snowy 
 mountains, spurs from the Muztak, if not the end 
 of the Muztak itself, are visible on the left hand. 
 The summit, from all I could collect, is covered 
 with slates ; as are, indeed, all the loftiest passes 
 in Tibet, when the absence of snow or glacier per- 
 mitted me to see the ground I walked upon. The 
 river near Nubra runs with a velocity which, in- 
 cluding that of its small but occasional rapids, may, 
 perhaps, be nearly five miles an hour ; but this is no 
 
 * Since writing the above, I observe that a letter from Dr. Fal- 
 coner, dated 18th August, 1841, has boon read at the Calcutta 
 A-iatic Society, containing a notice of some devastating inundations 
 that have taken place on the Indus, below its debouchure ; and it is 
 highlv probable that the glacier of the Nubra Tsub may have again 
 been broken up. A woman, it is said, was taken up in the neighbour- 
 hood of Peshawur, on a raft, clothed in sheep-skins, and none of the 
 natives of that part of the country could understand her language, 
 nor tell where she came from. Vide Asiatic Journal, Nov. 1841. 
 If this be true, I should say, judging from her costume, that she was 
 an inhabitant of some of the countries on the river, below the valley of 
 [gkardo, and from the openness of the bed of the river, as seen from 
 A. ho, I should also infer that the obstruction must have happened 
 the place marked uu the map, " 3Jakpon-i-Shagharon."
 
 364 MEETING 0] i i\ i i i.i. II 
 
 guide, as I do nol know the exact distance to the 
 Nubra Tsuh, and the rate of motion must be modi- 
 fied by the greater or [ess pressure of the back 
 water. 
 
 The snow, bo say the Yarkundi merchants, d 
 not remain upon Kurukurum, for the greater part 
 of the year, and thej attribute this ti» tlie tre- 
 mendous power of the winds that sweep over it, 
 rather than to the he.it of the sun. But, although 
 this be a vague and unsatisfactory reason, yet the 
 fact might tend to >h<>\\ that its elevation was not 
 so great as that of many others of tie- passes in 
 
 Tibet. Putting together all I heard upon the sub- 
 ject, I should say that it will be found to be some- 
 what under 15,000 feet 
 
 From the northern side of Kurukurum, the 
 river flows downwards towards Yarkund. On the 
 sixth or seventh day, a river is seen coming from 
 the east, supplied from Chang Thung. Five 
 streams meet at a well-known place on the route, 
 called Cheruk-sa, or Salik: and so named, as 1 was 
 informed by the merchants, from Cheruk or Churk, 
 i. e. the wheels or whirlpools at their confluence. 
 Wild Yak and the Kiang, or wild horse, are occa- 
 sionally to be met with, besides the different varieties 
 of animals already noticed as existing upon the 
 mountains of Tibet. 
 
 One of the abovementioned streams descends 
 from the Victoria lake, at Sir-i-Kol, lately visited,
 
 FATAL SNOW-FALLS. 365 
 
 laid down and described, by Lieutenant Wood, and 
 the Kirghiz descend with it to the plunder of the 
 Ladakhi caravans. Sir-i-Kol, close to the lake, is 
 said to be about five days distant from Cheruk-sa, at 
 which place, the waj from Brahaldoh,at the head of the 
 Shighur valley, meets that ofKurukurum, after having 
 first formed a junction with the path from Sir-i-Kol, at 
 the foot dl" a pass which it firsl crosses, called I'zir, 
 and distant six marches from the foot of the Muztak. 
 .No habitation, and no means of procuring sub- 
 sistence, are to be found on these drear) and 
 desolate wilds; and, in Little Tibet I heard a 
 fearful tale of some Bultis, who were returning 
 from Yarkund, and thought themselves so sure 
 of reaching the Muztak before the imw snow 
 would fall, that the) brought with them only suffi- 
 cient provisions for that purpose, and, finding upon 
 their arrival thai the) could not pass over it, were 
 obliged t<> retrace their Bteps, and the) nearly all 
 died, one b) one, according to their strength, of 
 Btan ation. 
 
 Yarkund city, so I was informed, is not above 
 twenty days' march from the foot of the Muztak. 
 Thence to [skardo, about twelve days, and from 
 [gkardo to Kashmir, about eleven days more. The 
 journey, with baggage, from Kashmir, rid Duras, 
 to Lehj is eighteen days ; thence to Yarkund, it 
 ave about thirty-five days ; so that the Muztak 
 
 way, vid [skardo, is ten days shorter than the other ;
 
 3G6 THE CITY OF YAIIKUND. 
 
 but it is now, as I liave already noticed, disused by 
 the merchants, and it has the disadvantage of being 
 open only from the middle of May to the beginning 
 of September, whilst that of Ladakh is open for the 
 greater part of the year. 
 
 " Samarkand, by Oxus, Temir'a throne,"* 
 
 was the capital of Timur ; but Kashghar is considered 
 to have been the real capital of Mogulistan or 
 Yarkund, and was the residence of the Amir, previous 
 to the invasion of the Chinese, who are vaguely said 
 to have been in possession of the country for about 
 one hundred years. But this remark, as well as those 
 that follow, on the subject of Central Asia, must be 
 read with all the indulgence necessary to the result 
 of merely native information. 
 
 Yarkund is now the largest of the Mogulistani 
 cities ; then Khoten, Kashgar, Ayla, and Ak-Tsuh ; one 
 of the two last being on each side of the river, oppo- 
 site each other. The Russian cafilas or caravans come 
 to Ak-Tsuh,-)- which is twenty days' march, eastward 
 of Yarkund, bringing with them boxes, arms, cloths, 
 and for which they receive back tea, silks, and other 
 productions of China. But they are not allowed, 
 I was informed, to cross the river and proceed east- 
 ward. 
 
 The city of Yarkund has five gates, one of which 
 is said to be always closed, because a refractory 
 
 * Par. Lost, xi. 389. f The white river.
 
 THE CITY OF YARKUND. 3G7 
 
 governor once made his escape by it. There is a 
 square fort outside the city, containing- a numerous 
 garrison, to overawe the Yarkundis. Cannon are 
 placed at each gate, and the Umban is saluted with 
 fifty guns, when he leaves the city. The Umban is 
 an officer in command of the army, and there are 
 several, one at each of the different towns of Yar- 
 kuiid. The collection of the revenue is intrusted 
 to a Hakim Beg, who is the superior officer, or vice- 
 roy. When he eats his dinner, at noon, a drum 
 or gong is beaten, from the only miliar in the city. 
 
 The houses are laid out at right angles, with a 
 passage, into which the rooms open. The 
 streets are narrow, and two carriages can hardly 
 pass. The upper classes ride in carriages drawn 
 by three or five horses, driven with a whip, but no 
 reins, the vehicle being stopped by a clog. 
 
 It is customary with the Yarkundis to inarch at 
 night. The Chinese are often at war witli the Ko- 
 kanis. Mosques, but not miliars, are numerous in the 
 city, and gardeus around it. Water, I was informed, 
 was procurable at the depth of a few yards. The 
 women are said to be very handsome, with bright 
 hazel eyes and black hair. There is no Purdah, or 
 concealment, as amongst married women in the south; 
 and this account agrees with what is said of the 
 Tartars, under Tirnur Lung, who, upon their arrival in 
 India, learnt the custom from the Hindustanis. A 
 merchant going to Yarkund for the season makes a 
 purchase of a wife for the period of his stay, and
 
 368 THE YARKUNDIS. 
 
 he can retain or dismiss her, so I was informed, with 
 her progeny, when he takes his departure. 
 
 Most of the European fruits, &c, are common 
 in Yarkund. The snow attains a depth of two or 
 three feet in the plain, and docs not remain long. 
 
 The Yarkundis drink wine in abundance, but 
 more particularly in secret. A spirit is distilled from 
 the fruit of the Sunjit. The guests sit round the wall, 
 and the spirit is handed round in little cups. Tea 
 also is drunk in great quantities throughout Turkistan 
 and Mogulistan, and there is a story of an Amir of 
 Bokhara, who, when some person was talking to him 
 of the fondness of the Chinese for the herb, exclaimed, 
 as a testimony of his love for it, — "Tell me that they 
 will give their all, even this (taking off his turban), 
 sooner than be without it, and I will then allow them 
 to be fond of tea." 
 
 The plains of Yarkund appear to be irrigated, 
 and, as usual, are a desert or nearly so, where water 
 is not artificially supplied. 
 
 Yarkund is separated from Andijan, or Kokan, 
 or Ferghana, (the country of the emperor Baber, who 
 was afterwards the first of the Mogul emperors of 
 Hindustan), by two ranges of mountains, spurs from 
 the great central range. That of Tyrak Dewan is con- 
 nected, I was informed, with Pamir. These are seve- 
 ral days' march from Kokan, and the Sir or Jaxartes 
 has its source in them, whence it flows westerly, 
 over the plain. After crossing them, two ridges 
 above, with a small valley between them, the tra-
 
 TULIP-GltOUND. 
 
 369 
 
 veller proceeding easterly, arrives in a day and a 
 half, at the range of Eki Kasak, running north and 
 south, and sloping off far to the northward, on to the 
 Dusht-i-Kupchak, or great plain of Central Asia. 
 
 The Tumon, or river of Kashghar, rises on the east 
 side of Tyrak Dewan, and flowing to the northward 
 of Eki Kasak, is joined, after passing Kashghar, by 
 the river of Yarkund, whence it still flows easterly, 
 and joins, as well as I could collect, the great 
 Chinese river of Hoang-Ho, which is crossed in the 
 way to Pekin. But information from natives is not 
 much to be depended upon. My informer assured 
 me that for several weeks before arriving at Pekin, 
 the way was like one continued street. 
 
 Tashkhend used to be the richest and most luxuri- 
 ous city in Turkistan. Its once celebrated Lallazar, 
 or tulip-ground, was said to be of immense extent, and 
 there are still some remains of it, and numerous 
 mosques. It is eight or ten days' march to the north 
 of Kokan, and subject to it. At Yarkund the sun 
 rises from the plain, and sets behind the high land 
 of Pamir, six or seven days distant. 
 
 I returned from Nubra to Leh by another pass, 
 to the south of that by which I went thither. It 
 was of about the same height, but more covered with 
 snow. 
 
 Upon my arrival at Leh, I found it as desolate 
 as I had left it ; but those of my servants who had 
 remained there told me, that in my absence the 
 vol. n. 2 u
 
 370 
 
 -INOUI.AK [DO] 
 
 town bad presented quite a different appearance ; 
 
 lliat the bazaars were well filled, and uo one bad 
 been afraid of showing- himself; travellers and 
 merchants bad come in from the northward, and a 
 flock of the large sheep, already mentioned, had ar- 
 rived with their burdens of poshmina, from Kudak. 
 
 On my way back, I noticed by the path-side a 
 small building of loose stones, covered with the horns 
 of the ibex, and different species of wild goats, and 
 the centre was a horrible but grotesque countenance, 
 carved in wood, intended to represent a Gin. The 
 pile, in fact, was erected for the purpose of propiti- 
 ating these imaginary deities. 
 
 I soon afterwards set out on my return to Little 
 Tibet, where old Ahmed Shah received me with the 
 same kind hospitality that he had ever shown, but 
 could not repress a smile, in which I joined him, at 
 my having run up and down so many miles of the 
 Indus, to so little purpose.
 
 INTERVIEW WITH RON JIT. 371 
 
 In in \ way back to the Panjab, Gulab Singh 
 took occasion to send and inform me that, if I wished, 
 he would order Juan Singh's nose to be cut off, and 
 forwarded to me, bj way of punishing him for his inso- 
 lence. He afterwards sent one of his principal munshis 
 with a large bag- of rupis, and a valuable Kilaat, as 
 an earnest of his wish that I would come to be his 
 guest at Jainu, or would give him an interview on 
 the road by which, <>n the morrow, I was about 
 t<» pass within eight or ten miles <»!' his capital, on 
 m\ way to Labor. I refused, however; and, when 
 I got t<> Lah<»r, 1 made a regular complaint to 
 Kunjit, at an interview which he gave me in his 
 private audience-room, no one being present with 
 him excepting his grandson, N<> Nehal Singh (who 
 was no friend to the Jamu Rajah), and the Fakir 
 A/i/.-u-Diii. 
 
 Colonel Van ( '< »i I land, an officer in the service of 
 Kunjit, by his permission, ami at my request inter- 
 preted English into Panjabi, for tin- Fakir, who re- 
 peated what I said to the Maharajah. My Tibelian 
 mutishij Ali Mohamed, was A \^ n there, with a copy of 
 the letter I had written to Kunjit from Leb, every word 
 of which, as I had some reason to suppose he had not 
 received it, or to think that he had not taken proper 
 notice of it, was now read, at my request. He heard 
 all I had to say with much courtesy and dignity of 
 manner, but with few remarks; the most important 
 of which was that he intended (which, however, was 
 
 2 b 2
 
 372 INTRIGUES AND JEALOUSIES. 
 
 not the case) to send his grandson, No Nehal Singh, 
 as governor of Kashmir : by which he meant to infer 
 that he would be able to keep Gulab Singh in check 
 for the future. We then parted, after he had 
 offered me his hand to shake ; to which offer, how- 
 ever, as I was in no humour for being humbugged, 
 I only replied by a respectful bow. 
 
 In a day or two afterwards it was reported to me, 
 that Juan Singh had been well flogged: which, as a 
 matter of course, was untrue. lie was afterwards 
 sent to me to be forgiven ; but as I did not under- 
 stand enough of Panjabi, and could not, I felt certain, 
 have restrained myself from laughing, I sent him with 
 a note to the then political agent at Lahor, from whose 
 presence he departed, to use an eastern expression, 
 with a whitened faee. Runjit, however, well knew 
 that I had been unjustly and wantonly treated with in- 
 sult, and that the system of espionage to which every 
 traveller in the east is more or less subject, had failed 
 to prove that I had ever, during the period of four 
 years that I was within his country, or under his sur- 
 veillance, been detected in making political promises 
 to any one ; to which I had several times been pur- 
 posely tempted by false representations and offers 
 of submission. I had, for instance, been but a 
 few days in Kashmir, when I was one night informed, 
 that some people from a neighbouring state wished to 
 speak to me in private. I went out and found some 
 persons, probably Sikhs, muffled up to the eyes, and
 
 THE DOUBLE DECEIT. 373 
 
 wearing a travelling-dress, who talked in an under 
 voice, and told me that they looked upon the arrival 
 of an Englishman as an earnest of delivery from the 
 yoke of the Sikhs, and wished me to give them a 
 promise of assistance, &c. 
 
 Runjit thought it, therefore, necessary to take 
 some notice of my complaint, and show that he 
 was not (which he certainly was) afraid of his own 
 vassal, Gulab Singh, and accordingly intimated to him 
 his intention of paying him a formal visit at Jamu, 
 where he had never been before. As he was ap- 
 proaching the place, Gulab Singh sent to him to say, 
 that his poor home was not good enough for the 
 Maharajah, and he hoped that he would, at all events, 
 defer such an overwhelming honour for the present. 
 But Runjit proceeded without stopping, and was re- 
 ceived in due form ; and on the next day (sol was in- 
 formed by an eye witness) a singular scene took place, 
 in full durbar. Gulab Singh had managed matters so 
 well, and seemed to be so full of loyalty and humility, 
 that Runjit thought it necessary to appear much pleased, 
 as well as agreeably surprised, and, turning to the 
 Fakir Aziz-u-Din, remarked, " Why, what was it that 
 the English Sahib" (pretending to forget my name, 
 which the Fakir, who knew his master's mind as well 
 as one man ever knew that of another, immediately 
 supplied him with) " was telling me about the dis- 
 loyal proceedings of my Rajahs ?" thus giving Gulab 
 Singh the opportunity of explaining. The latter imme-
 
 374 DESIGNS OF GULAB SINGH. 
 
 diately came forward, and knelt at his master's feet, 
 and said that he was once only a poor soldier, and 
 was ready at the Maharajah's bidding to become so 
 again — that all he possessed was owing to the bounty 
 and kindness of his master, who had raised him from 
 the low station he once held, and that lie would gladly 
 give up all again for bis sake if it were necessary. 
 
 It is probable that much of this was said with real 
 earnestness of feeling, and the Maharajah was much 
 affected, even to tears, by this unlooked-for and well- 
 timed exposition of attachment, on the part of his old 
 adherent; and after raising him from the ground, he 
 bade him be of good cheer, as he was sure of his fide- 
 lity, &c. He left Jamu soon afterwards, not, however, 
 without taking with him something more substantial 
 than mere assertion, as the presents of money and 
 horses, shawls, and kilaats, or dresses of honour, 
 amounted, I have reason to believe, to considerably 
 more than the value of a lak of rupis. 
 
 I afterwards heard, from fair authority, that at a 
 private interview with the Maharajah, GulabSinghsaid 
 that there was but one great wish of his life unsatis- 
 fied, and that was the possession of Iskardo ; and that 
 Runjit then, as there was no Englishman in the coun- 
 try at the time, granted hirn permission to make the 
 attempt ; in which, I have learned with the greatest re- 
 gret, he has at length succeeded, and a guard of Sikhs, 
 Ahmed Shah's detested enemies, now watch over the 
 tranquillity of the valley of Iskardo. My own presence
 
 CAPTAIN WADE. 375 
 
 in Little Tibet, as I have already stated, aided by that 
 of Dr. Henderson (1835) and Dr. Falconer (1838), 
 had been mainly instrumental in deterring- Gulab Singh 
 from invasions ; as he feared to give offence by making 
 war upon a state whose chief was affording a right 
 hospitable reception to a British traveller. 
 
 There would have been no occasion for any quixotic 
 demonstration in behalf of Ahmed Shah ; Gulab Singrh 
 wasnearlyindependentof Runjit; he might with justice 
 have been treated as a separate power, as far as his 
 Alpine conquests were concerned ; for he tried to 
 conceal them from Runjit. The hints and intercessions 
 of Capt. Wade in favour of Ahmed Shah, were always 
 attended with beneficial effect. It is much to that 
 officer's credit, that without the smallest exertion 
 of actual interference on his part, the territories of 
 this very friendly potentate escaped invasion so long 
 as he was the political agent at Lodiana, and it is 
 much to be regretted, at least I think so, that fair 
 intercession of a similar kind was not made use of 
 in favour of Dost Mohamed, whose wish for our 
 friendship was equally strong and of far greater im- 
 portance : Peshawur might have remained in his 
 hands or that of his brother Sultan Mohamed Khan, 
 and the Ghuzni expedition would not have been 
 thought of.
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Intended Visit to Kokan — Delays and Difficulties — The Rajah of 
 Hunzeh — Dr. Falconer — Astonishing 1 the Natives — A Russian 
 Spy — More Difficulties thrown in the Author's Way — A fresh 
 Start — Mountain Pass — Singularly wild Spot — Corrodent 
 Plant — A Night Storm on the Mountain — Ascent of a Glacier — 
 Shooting the Ibex — A Night on the Glacier — Converting a 
 Hindu — A Snow-fall on the Glacier — Disappointment — A Lucky 
 Escape — A marvellous Rock — Hot Spring — Letter to Runjit 
 Singh — Dr. Falconer — The Duras Pass — Ahmed Shah — A 
 grand Hunt — Leave-taking — Ascent of the Ladakh River — 
 A Comet — The Wolfs Leap — Return to the Sikh Territory — 
 Designs of Gulab Singh — Sikh Castle — Singular Pillars — Duras 
 — Crossing Glaciers — The Hill of Siva — The Jesuit Missionary 
 Desideri— The Sind River— The Golden Hill— Sikh Custom- 
 house — Gund-i-Sur- Singh — Improved Scenery — The Valley of 
 Sind — Splendid View — A Kashmirian Tailor.
 
 DELAYS AND DIFFICULTIES. 379 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The next year again found me in Little Tibet with 
 the intention of proceeding to Kokan ; and I was much 
 disappointed when Ahmed Shah told me that although 
 there were two ways, he feared they were imprac- 
 ticable upon so short a notice. One was to cross a 
 shoulder of the Muztak, from the valley of Brahaldoh to 
 Hunzeh, and thence to Pamir, and descend upon Kokan 
 from Sir-i-Kol ; but he was not on sufficiently good 
 terms with the Hunzeh Rajah to ensure me protection 
 from him, and much less the means of proceeding: 
 although he said that, had I given him more time, by 
 informing him of my intention before I quitted Iskardo 
 in the preceding autumn, he thought it might have 
 been arranged. Had I gone by this route, the 
 Hunzeh Rajah would have committed me to the care 
 of some Kirghiz chieftain, with whom I might have 
 reached Kokan, of which the inhabitants of Pamir 
 consider themselves, at least nominally, the subjects ; 
 and I should by this means have probably avoided all 
 contact with the Chinese in Yarkund. 
 
 In the mean time, an envoy arrived most oppor-
 
 380 ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 
 
 tunely from Hunzeb upon some other business, and 
 Ahmed Shah, with his usual kindness, sent off some 
 people with a present of a sword for the Rajah to 
 Hiiuzeh, who returned after a very severe march over 
 the Brahaldoh pass, and just in time to escape being- 
 lost in the snow. 
 
 Whilst I was waiting- for them, I took up my quar- 
 ters at Shighur, where I enjoyed, for a few days, the 
 agreeable and scientific society of Dr. Falconer, super- 
 intendent of the East India Company's garden at Sa- 
 harunpur, who had recently arrived from Kashmir. 
 
 I amused myself by showing them the sword exer- 
 cises, in which, having" no idea of using* their weapon 
 in the capacity of a shield, they took considerable in- 
 terest, and, when I was otherwise employed, would fre- 
 quently interrupt me, by asking me to come and give 
 them a lesson. They had never seen a crossbow, and 
 one was made under my directions. They w r ere exceed- 
 ingly pleased when they found with how true an aim 
 they could now direct an arrow, and I have little doubt 
 that there are now plenty of crossbows in the valley. 
 
 But I astonished them most, by galvanizing the 
 hind quarters of a frog, for which purpose I had pro- 
 vided myself with a piece of zinc in the Panjab. 
 Achmet Ali Khan, and those with him, looked at each 
 other in silent astonishment ; and one of them ran and 
 called the Gylfo, who was taking his siesta, and in- 
 stantly came, not quite awake, to the spot. He gave 
 me a look by which he seemed to ask, Why the deuce
 
 A RUSSIAN SPY. 381 
 
 did you not show me that before ? But although I 
 made him comprehend that sensation remained in the 
 nerves after the animal was cut in half, and prepared for 
 the operation, yet there was something so very unusual 
 in seeing the decidedly dead half of a decidedly dead 
 frog jump up when touched by a rupi, that I verily 
 believe he thought I was a Jadu-Gur, or necromancer, 
 in spite of what I had always told him, of the non- 
 existence of the power that such persons pretend 
 to. Being evidently unwilling to hazard a single 
 remark, he again returned, in a state of the greatest 
 surprise, to his siesta. 
 
 It was about this time that a Russian spy was 
 introduced into the Durbar at Shighur. He said he 
 was a Persian Syud, but he looked much more like 
 an Armenian. Armenians are generally employed as 
 spies by the Russians in Eastern countries. Ahmed 
 Shah told me that he was a Shiah, and a Syud, which 
 was enough to secure him a kind reception, but 
 perhaps knew all the time what he was and whence 
 he came. I saw him only at that time, and made no 
 remarks, contenting myself with forwarding the infor- 
 mation to Lord Auckland on my arrival at Lodiana. 
 T have since heard, upon the best authority, that he 
 was probably a person to whom Sir John M'Neill, in 
 Persia, had granted passports to India, to proceed 
 thither by a totally different route. 
 
 Meanwhile the promise of protection and assist- 
 ance arrived from Hunzeh, but it was too late for 
 me to avail myself of it, as the passes of the
 
 382 MORE DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 Muztak were closed by new snow, and the envoy 
 himself would be obliged to remain at Iskardo until 
 the next summer. 
 
 I then inquired about the other way, which I un- 
 derstood to descend, after crossing a glacier, upon the 
 northern end of the valley of Nubra ; and one morn- 
 ing, some men whom Ahmed Shah had sent to explore, 
 returned with most weatherbeaten faces, and said, 
 that the snow and ice on the pass, which had been 
 shut for many years, had now increased to such an ex- 
 tent as to render its practicability rather doubtful. 
 
 By this way, if I could not reach kokan, I could at 
 all events arrive at the Nubra Tsuh ; and as I began 
 to be exceedingly impatient, I requested him to allow 
 me to attempt its passage with his assistance ; — to 
 which he agreed with his usual kindness ; but I soon 
 found, that though there was no disposition to a verbal 
 refusal, the preparations did not proceed with that 
 alacrity which 1 had hitherto observed on similar oc- 
 casions ; and I pressed them forward with all the re- 
 monstrances I thought myself justified in using, in 
 order to show that 1 was in earnest. But the delay 
 of a few days was of the utmost consequence, as the 
 Bultis well knew that a fall of snow was not far off, 
 and that the pass would be shut forthwith for the sea- 
 son ; they, therefore, did not pronounce that all was 
 ready until the last moment. 
 
 I then commenced my second journey to the source 
 of the Shy-Yok, by ascending the low ridge behind the
 
 MOUNTAIN PASS. 383 
 
 village of Ghortsuh, on the north of the open sandy 
 space, by the side of the Nubra river at Khopalu, and 
 from the summit beheld the valley of Saltoru, contain- 
 ing several villages, and a considerable river, which 
 was winding its way to the Indus. The evening of 
 the third day brought us to the last village in the pass, 
 around which were growing small but excellent crops 
 of wheat, barley, and peas. The former were only 
 just ripening. 
 
 On the 5th of September, the thermometer stood 
 at 70° in the sun at 3 p. m. The chough, the hoopoe, 
 the water-wagtail, the linnet, and redstart, and the 
 wall-creeper,* were seen by me on the way. 
 
 Within sight of the village, the mountains are 
 split by a deep and narrow defile, opening towards the 
 north. The appearance of this pass, which, as I was 
 informed by a native who had seen both, much re- 
 sembled that of Brahaldoh, as it approaches the Muz- 
 tak, was different from any that I had yet visited, as 
 its sides were formed of perpendicular pinnacles of 
 gneiss, some of them being cleanly scarped from a 
 height of two thousand feet directly downward to the 
 bed of the valley ; and to complete the pre-eminently 
 wild and Ultima T/nile-\\ke appearance of the place, 
 there was scarcely an interval between the precipices 
 that was not occupied by a magnificent glacier. 
 
 The scanty jungul in which we halted, was about 
 three miles distant from the village. It contained wil- 
 
 * Tichodroma Fhcenicoptera.
 
 384 A NIGHT STORM. 
 
 lows, roses, junipers, and artemisia or wormwood. I 
 also found here, growing wild, the vetch (the chick- 
 weed,! believe), known in India by the nameof Chenna, 
 the down on the husk of the pod of which contains 
 an aqueous solution of oxalic acid ; and my munshi 
 told me, that persons walking through a field of it 
 were liable to a soreness in their feet. The powder 
 of this vetch, and that of the Singhara or water-nut, 
 forms, if I mistake not, the composition which is 
 thrown about at the Hindustani festival of the Huli. 
 
 I was awakened at midnight by the turmoil of a 
 storm that was raging above and around us. The wind 
 blew its worst, the rain poured down in torrents, and 
 the rapid play of the electric fluid upon the rock, 
 was attended at intervals by a crash, more majestic 
 than that of a cannonade, prolonged by reverberated 
 echoes, and varied by the less loud, but equally 
 awful, booming of the descending avalanche. The 
 incessant glare of the lightning, in contact with the 
 forming snow, threw a tint of fire over its whiteness, 
 and displayed all the horrors of the precipices walling 
 the defile in their boldest, and most appalling aspect. 
 
 The next morning we commenced the ascent of the 
 glacier, over which the pass lay, being about half a 
 mile in width, but afterwards spreading to a much 
 greater extent, and then swelling upwards until it 
 met the horizon, and thereby gradually diminished 
 the elevation of the mountain-tops by which it was 
 bounded.
 
 SHOOTING THE IBEX. 385 
 
 Soon after starting, I heard those in advance 
 holloing to me to come up, as several Skyn or Ibex 
 had been seen, and had scrambled up the precipices, 
 to a place whence they could not escape. My porters 
 wished much that I would allow them to clamber after 
 them, for the purpose of driving them do\vn,adding, that 
 I should get a shot at each of them; but I was too anxi- 
 ous to proceed, and felt inclined to doubt the tale, as 
 I did not myself obtain a view of a single ibex. The 
 place, however, was well known to the Saltoru sports- 
 men, as the animals are in the habit of crossing the 
 glacier, in order to feed on a little verdure beside it. 
 If then surprised, they betake themselves to the most 
 inaccessible places within reach, and always out of 
 shot. It then becomes necessary to allure them down 
 again : accordingly, most of the sportsmen leave the 
 spot, taking care to attract the attention of the quarry 
 above them, who then descend, believing the coast to 
 be clear, and are shot by one or two of the party 
 who remain behind, 
 
 The white fleecy clouds, that had been driving about 
 for some time past, descended lower and lower, until 
 they assumed the form of mist, and deliberately took 
 up a position on the mountain on each side of the de- 
 file. A cold wind soon began to relieve them of their 
 contents, and we had not proceeded above two miles 
 over the ice before we encountered a shower of sleet, 
 whilst the snow was effecting a lodgment upon the 
 mountains around us. We proceeded for about three 
 
 VOL. ii. 2 c
 
 386 A NIGHT ON THE GLACIER. 
 
 miles further, and tlien arrived at the halting-piace 
 for the night, in the midst of the glacier, where 
 nothing but a few small plants were procurable for 
 making a lire, just large enough to boil some water 
 for our tea and thermometer, — which latter gave me 
 an elevation of about thirteen thousand i'nct. The 
 Bultis partook of some satu, or the crisp flour of 
 burnt barley, of which they are very fond. 
 
 A wall of loose stones had been built around the 
 overhanging side of a Large fragment of rock, and as 
 many of the party as it would hold took up their 
 quarters inside ; whilst I, who was better provided 
 with coverings, slept outside, and a most comfortless 
 night I passed, as the sleet and snow drove almost 
 incessantly on my bedding, and remained there, to be 
 removed en masse in the morning. 
 
 In spite of all this discomfort, I could not help 
 laughing to myself, at hearing the Bnlti's inside at- 
 tempting to make a iMusalman of one of my Hindu 
 servants. They had, I conceive, begun to have some 
 idea that we might all be overwhelmed in the snow, 
 in consequence of having an infidel amongst them, and 
 about midnight thought it wise to propitiate the pro- 
 phet, by making him repeat the Kuluma, or confession 
 of the Mahomedan faith, which he resolutely refused 
 to do, taunting them with not knowing that there 
 were four Kulumas,* and vehemently asserting that he 
 
 * The four Kulumas or confessions of faith of the Mahometans 
 are —
 
 A SNOW-FALL. 387 
 
 was Fuzl-i-Khoda, or God's protected, as well as the 
 best of them. 
 
 In the morning it was evident that we could not 
 advance ; the snow had fallen thickly enough to blind 
 the crevices in the ice, and the Kulis, who had suffered 
 severely from cold during the night, showed the most 
 decided indisposition to proceed, and threats, bribes, 
 and expostulations, were all alike uselessly ap- 
 plied. The next two or three nights were to be 
 passed in a similar manner on the ice, and two lofty 
 and difficult ridges were to be crossed upon the way. 
 I looked wistfully at the glacier ; it still rose gradually 
 and majestically in advance of us, into the now clear 
 bine sky, seeming to vie in height with the giant 
 peaks on either side of it, and completely hiding all 
 that was beyond it. I then returned with the party to 
 another night's bivouac in the jungul, so much grieved 
 and annoyed at this second failure, that the vuzir 
 who was with me could not but observe it, and frankly 
 told me that it was unbecoming a man to give way so 
 much to disappointment. I confess, moreover, that I was 
 most ungratefully angry with Ahmed Shah, for not 
 assisting me more eagerly in the prosecution of an 
 object which, he well knew, would probably, on ac- 
 
 La Allah ilia Allah (There is no God but God). 
 
 Adam, rufeek Allah (Adam, the friend of God). 
 
 Musa, kuleem Allah (Moses, the speaker of God). 
 
 Eesa, Ruh Allah (Jesus, the Spirit of God). 
 
 Mohamed, Rasool Allah (Mohamed, the prophet of God). 
 
 2c2
 
 388 A MIRACULOUS UOCK. 
 
 count of the lateness of the season, have been at» 
 tended with mosl disastrous consequences to myself 
 
 and all who were with inc. 
 
 In my return I ascended a defile leading from the 
 Saltoru valley to the village of Kor Chondus, occupy- 
 ing- two days to go and return. Close to it is a per- 
 pendicular precipice, part (»!' which appears to be 
 coloured by an oxide of iron, and the natives say that 
 blood issues from a crevice in the rock, and that the 
 sound of musical instruments are heard, when the 
 Rajah til' Khopalu is moribund. 
 
 On the opposite side is a hot spring, which at an 
 elevation of about nine thousand feet above the sea, had 
 temperature of 185° Fahrenheit. That of the hot 
 springs at Jumnutri, at a much greater elevation, is 194°. 
 Ittasted but slightly of sulphur, but its mouth was much 
 incrusted with a deposit of sulphur and gypsum. I 
 ordered this to be cleared away, and the water, which 
 had scarcely risen above the surface, now spouted up 
 in a thin jet, to a height of more than five feet. The 
 rock, which was, 1 think, of gneiss, felt cpiite warm 
 under the hand, for several yards around it. A strong 
 mountain-stream flows so near to it, that it sweeps 
 away the dam of loose stones and earth which the 
 natives had placed around it, for the purpose of 
 making a bath ; and its situation, at the summit of a 
 waterfall, renders it useless to attempt the formation 
 of one lower down. 
 
 There was now but one resource left, and that
 
 A GRAND HUNT. 389 
 
 was to write to Runjit, for permission to pass through 
 Gulab Singh's territory, to Nubia and Kurukuruin, by 
 making a second attempt to ascend the Shy-Yok river; 
 and accordingly, immediately upon my retreat from 
 the glacier, I sent a letter to the Panjab, containing 
 a request to Runjit that I might be allowed to do so, 
 and took up my quarters at the village of Surmu, 
 near Khopalu ; but, after waiting there a month in 
 expectation of an answer, I received a note from Dr. 
 Falconer, to say, that he had found my letter was still 
 at Gurys, as the messenger was afraid of proceeding 
 into the Sikh territory himself; and there was not at 
 the time in Kashmir any correspondent of the poli- 
 tical agent at Lodiana, to and by whom it could be 
 forwarded. 
 
 I now immediately moved towards the Duras pass, 
 and Ahmed Shah, by way of consoling me for my 
 disappointments, came in person to meet me, and 
 accompany me to the junction, where he intended, 
 before our final parting, to give me a grand hunt, by 
 driving to one point the slias and skyns that inhabited 
 the ridge between the two rivers. Accordingly, a 
 divided party of man] hundred men, under the com- 
 mand of Aelnnet Ali Khan, and Sher Ali Khan,* son 
 of the Rajah of Parkuta, descended from the inner 
 bank of both, and formed an extended line across the 
 mountain. 
 
 They drove the game before them for two days ; 
 and we, who were waiting below, could plainly distin- 
 
 The Lion of Ali.
 
 390 A GRAND II I NT. 
 
 guish tlie terrified shis galloping from one pari of the 
 mountain to another, pausing to listen, and then 
 starting off again, with the speed of deer, in search of 
 a resting-place. At sunset the cordon had arrived on 
 the last crest of the ridge, about two thousand feet 
 above us, which was illumined with their fires, and 
 resounded with the wild cheers by which they pre- 
 vented the escape of the quarry, now completely 
 hemmed in beneath them. 1 wished the Rajah a 
 good night, and retired to my tent, in the confident 
 expectation of a regular battu in the morning. But 
 about midnight, the ridge became obscured by mist, 
 and so thickly, that all the efforts of the Bultis to 
 prevent the escape of our intended victims proved 
 unavailing. In the morning a very few were killed 
 by the shikaris, or hunters, on the mountain ; and 
 I was much mortified when Ahmed Shall informed 
 me that all our expectations of sport were necessarily 
 at an end. 
 
 1 then thanked him most sincerely for the kind 
 hospitality I had received in his country, and took a 
 final leave of him. He parted from me as he had 
 met me, on the best possible terms : he returned to- 
 wards Iskardo, and I ascended the Ladakh river, by 
 Parkuta, Tolti, and Katakchund, to the place oppo- 
 site the village of Murul, where the Indus is joined 
 by a large stream, composed of the united waters of 
 the Duras and Purik rivers ; and made the first halt 
 on its banks, at the village of Vul-ding-Thung, two 
 days' short march from the place of their junction.
 
 A COMET. 391 
 
 On the night of the 8th of October, 1835, I saw a 
 comet on the N.N.W.; its tail was dipping to the hori- 
 zon at an angle of about 38°. On the 10th it appeared 
 more to the west, and about 27° above the horizon. 
 On the 11th it bore more to the W.N.W., and at an 
 angle of about 45° above the horizon. My watch was 
 broken, and I have merely inserted what I find in 
 my note-book. It appeared each night, for a short 
 time, about nine o'clock, above the mountain-tops. 
 I remember that I pointed out the "dumbi satara," 
 or star with a tail, to my servants, who gazed at it 
 with a superstitious silence for a few moments, and 
 then one of them, a Patan, started up, and loudly 
 informed the others of his conviction that now Runjit 
 Singh would cither take Kabul, or Dost Mahomed 
 would take Labor! The comet, however, brought 
 ill-luck to me ; for about the time we were looking* at 
 it, the finest of my Kubk-deri or royal partridges con- 
 trived to escape from his cage, and I was notable to 
 replace the loss; and all the others died on the way 
 through the negligence of my servants. 
 
 A little distance beyond Yulding-Thung is a rock, 
 called the Wolfs Leap. The path is so narrow that 
 one person only can pass ; and it is said that a man 
 and a wolf met there, and that the latter was forced 
 to precipitate himself into the torrent beneath. 
 
 The banks of the Purik river, at the place of 
 junction, prevented my seeing its valley for any dis- 
 tance ; but it rises, I believe, in the district of the 
 same name, and not far from the two elevated peaks
 
 392 DESIGNS OF GULAfi SINGH. 
 
 of Nanu-Kami, which I noticed from the top of the 
 Muru Wurdwun pass. From about the 14th of 
 October it is low and tranquil, and for nearly two 
 months can be descended on a raft ; and by landing 
 occasionally, a man may thus float as far as katak- 
 chund. An old ruined castle is seen in the angle in 
 the junction. Hoth streams appeared to be about 
 fifty or sixty yards in width, and not very deep. 
 
 We crossed the Duras river on a raft, and then 
 found ourselves on the Sikh territory, and on an ex- 
 cellent riding-path, which had been made by Gulab 
 Singh, with the double intention of affording facilities 
 for the passage of goods from Kashmir to Ladakh, and 
 the furtherance of his own designs upon these countries. 
 
 We were now skirting the east of the plains of 
 Deotsuh, and encamped at a place called " Suf'ydar," 
 the white trees, or "the willows." Provisions were 
 wanted, and there were no signs of habitation. One 
 of my Bulti servants (I had two or three with me, 
 whose employment was to drive my yak to Lodiana) 
 stripped, and plunged fearlessly into the cold torrent, 
 ascended the opposite hill, over the crest of which he 
 disappeared, and soon returned, bringing with him 
 some men carrying flour and hay from a village which 
 we could not see ; the same, I believe, which was 
 plundered by the thieves from Kholi-Palus. 
 
 Near a bridge which we crossed the next day, I 
 found a great quantity of steatite ; and further on, 
 near the next village, is a long, sloping, mountain- 
 side, covered with enormous blocks of nearly pure
 
 SINGULAR PILLARS. 393 
 
 hornblende. The road was now comparatively easy ; 
 and, after a very long day's march, we arrived at 
 Duras, an open space in the mountains, containing 
 two or three very small villages, and a Sikh killah, 
 or castle, white and quadrangular, built in the angle, 
 at the junction of a small stream with the Duras 
 river, and garrisoned by a few Sikh soldiers. I 
 amused myself here by shooting wild ducks on the 
 marsh. 
 
 Shortly before arriving at the castle, I noticed 
 two old pillars standing by the path-side, called by 
 the natives the Chomo ; each is about five feet in 
 height, one a little less than the other ; and on both 
 are carved some images and inscriptions, so nearly, 
 however, obliterated by time, that I was only enabled 
 to copy a few of the letters. The pillars most likely 
 are meant to sustain two figures of Siva and Parbuti ; 
 but the natives at Duras have a tradition of a giant 
 and his wife, who were suddenly changed to stone. 
 
 The Tibetian name for Duras, is Hem-Bafs : as 
 Ahmed Shah pronounced it to me. The real word, 
 I believe, is Hem-Bab ; the latter is an Arabic word, 
 signifying, as is well known, a gate or a strait. Hem- 
 Bafs thus signifies the snow-gate or pass. 
 
 From Duras, which, by thermometer, is about 
 9000 feet above the level of the sea, it is but two 
 days' long march to Paien-i-Kotal (beneath the 
 hill) at the head of the Gund-i-Sur-Singh valley, by 
 which the Sind river enters Kashmir. 
 
 Hay and wood are to be seen in different places,
 
 394 CROSSING GLACIERS. 
 
 collected by the few inhabitants of the country, and 
 travellers in such cold and desolate regions are too 
 happy to give them a trifle for their doing so. My 
 servants found it so cold at Mutyn, that, when I came 
 up, I found that they had done nothing hut sit round 
 the fire. 
 
 On the next day, the ascent still continues up 
 the Duras stream. The edge of a glacier is passed 
 on the left, and near it is a stream by ascending the 
 bank of which, so T was informed, the cave of Umur 
 Nath can be reached without much difficulty. 
 
 The barrenness for which the mountains in Tibet 
 are generally remarkable, is now succeeded by a 
 little verdure in the shape of a long coarse grass. 
 We passed a small lake or tarn, and a marshy 
 spot, on the highest part of the path, where the 
 Duras river finds its way towards the Indus, on one 
 side ; and, on the other, a small stream makes a start 
 for the Sind and Kashmir, perhaps again to mingle 
 their waters, after flowing, side by side, in the Indus. 
 Another small glacier, or rather a piece of hardened 
 snow, is to be crossed, a short steep bank to be 
 ascended, and then, after proceeding about some 
 two or three hundred yards, the eye suddenly rests 
 upon the traveller's loghouse, at a great depth in 
 the verdant and pine-clad strath below, to which we 
 all gladly descended, and found ourselves nearly on 
 a level with the plains of Kashmir, still distant two 
 days and a half's march down the banks of the inci- 
 pient Sind.
 
 THE HILL OF SIVA. 395 
 
 The elevation of the pass of Paien-i-Kotal or 
 Bal-Tal (above-below), otherwise Shur-ji-La,* the 
 hill of Siva, is, by thermometer, about 10,500 feet. 
 The pass I have just descended, is that which is 
 marked as mount Kantal in the old maps. Kantal 
 means a lofty hill or pass, and as it happens to be 
 that by which the low land of Kashmir is quitted 
 on the highway to Duras, it was, of course, noticed 
 by the Jesuit missionary Desideri, already quoted,t 
 in his way to Great Tibet, andButau; and he adds, 
 " Le 10 de Mars, nous arrivames a Kashchemire. La 
 prodigieuse quantite de neige qui tombe pendant 
 lhiver, et qui ferme absolument les paysages, nous 
 obligea d'y demeurcr six mois. (This, my expe- 
 rience tells me, is very unlikely to be the fact, as 
 the Duras is rarely shut, if at all, for more than 
 a few weeks in winter.) Une maladie causee ap- 
 paremment par les premieres fatigues que j'avais 
 essayees me reduisit a, l'extreinite. Je ne Jaissais 
 pas de continuer l'etude de la langue Persanne, 
 et de faire des recherches sur le Tibet; mais 
 quelque soin que je peut prendre, je n'eus alors 
 connaissance que de deux Tibets l'un s'etend du sep- 
 tentrion vers le couchant, et s'appelle petit Tibet 
 ou Bulti.<tan, et est a peu de journees de Kaschemire. 
 Ses habitans, et les princes qui le gouvernent, sont 
 Mahometans et tributaires au Mogul. Quelque 
 
 * Pronounced Zoj-i-La. 
 
 t Vide Les Lettres Ediflantes de quelques Missionaires de la Com- 
 pagnie de Jesus.
 
 396 THL SIM) RIVER, 
 
 fertile que soit d'ailleurs ce pays, il ne peut etre 
 que fits Bterile poor les predieatcurs tic l'K\ an^ile. 
 
 Udc longue experience nc nous a que trop coDvaincai 
 du pen de fruit qu'il-y-a a faire duns Les contrees on 
 lasecte impie de Mahomet domine." He adds, more- 
 over, that it occupied them forty days to go oo foot 
 to Ladakh, which ifl DOW done in eighteen days, with 
 bagrsrasre carriers. 
 
 oo o 
 
 The Siud river arrives at the head of the valley 
 or Shath of Gtind-i-Sur-Singb (into which we had 
 descended from the Shur-ji-La , from a deep defile 
 
 to the eastward, and it Hows bj with great rapidity, 
 and the volume of a large English trout-stream. 
 Abu Fu/.l says, that the natives strike the fish with 
 
 iron spears. Its source, I suppose, is about twenty 
 miles distant, and is to be found in the mountains 
 about the cave of Umur i\ath, where I have ac- 
 cordingly marked it in the map. 
 
 The defile by which it joins the strath, from which 
 there is a communication over a pass to that descend- 
 ing from the Shesha Nag, upon Palgam, on the way to 
 Umur Nath, from Islamabad, was much used, as I 
 have already mentioned, by the Gulabans or banditti, 
 who thus secured to themselves a speedy retreat 
 from one part of Kashmir to the other, without 
 passing through the valley itself. 
 
 Sona-Murg, or the golden hill, is so called, I 
 believe, from the number of yellow flowers that are 
 found there in the spring. It is a very pretty spot,
 
 GUND-I-SUR-SINGH. 397 
 
 containing two or three cottages, a bridge, a mill, 
 and near it is a gray and magnificent peak of 
 limestone, rising far above the other mountains in its 
 vicinity. 
 
 It occupies but a few hours to march thence to the 
 village of Gund-i-Sur-Singh, the path and the river 
 fir>t passing through a narrow defile, in which I found 
 a Sikh custom-house. 1 have already remarked that 
 Gund is a Tibetiao word used to distinguish new land 
 held rent free, in distinction from Yul, or cultivated 
 land returning a rent. 
 
 Gund-i-Sur-Singh is the residence of one of 
 Akber's malt-ks, and the office was thru filled by 
 Rasul* Malek, a very fine-looking old man, whose 
 power was now, of course, amen' cipher s and whose 
 son was detained in prison by Gulab Singh, — osten- 
 sibly, for having fought against him with the Rajah of 
 Ladakh, at Zanskar, but, in reality, to keep a check 
 upon his father, who was known to be no friend of 
 the Sikhs. 
 
 The village stands very prettily, upon a rocky 
 eminence in the midst of the valley, and its three- 
 storied houses, ornamented with fancy woodwork, 
 after the fashion of Kashmir, reminded me of a Swiss 
 village, the want of chimneys only excepted. It is 
 surrounded by mountain-sides, pine forests, and 
 orchards ; and amongst these were patches of 
 cockscomb, buckwheat, and two kinds of millet. 
 ' Rasul signifies an apostle.
 
 398 IMPROVED SCENERY. 
 
 As we advanced, the scenery became very beau- 
 tiful : the river becomes larger ; the verdant and 
 forest-clad mountains are indented by straths and 
 defiles ; smaller valleys send down their tributary 
 streamlets to the waters of the Sind ; here and there 
 were seen the cottages and walnut-trees of a re- 
 tired village, or the thatched roofs of an English- 
 looking farmhouse would peep out, where the 
 forest was the least dense ; and I travelled forward, 
 threading my way through a natural plantation of wal- 
 nut, peach, apricot, mulberry, plum, apple, pear, and 
 other trees, that rose upon the mountain-side, with sur- 
 passing beauty and extent ; and I once amused myself 
 with watching, from the opposite side of the river, 
 the gambols of a black she-bear and her cubs. 
 
 The path was occasionally overshadowed by 
 chunars, and a cluster of five Bryn-trees threw their 
 enormous arms over a spot that was either an 
 altar or a tomb, when they were first planted, but of 
 which no vestige is now remaining. 
 
 With the exception of the Baramula pass, the 
 valley of the Sind is, I think the most beautiful of all 
 the straths that debouch upon Kashmir; it increases 
 in width and magnificence as the path descends to the 
 level of the Jylum : and the plateaux and precipices 
 of the mighty Hara-muk, project a mural aspect 
 on the right, long after the plain is so fairly reached 
 as to allow a view of the whole line of the Pir Panjal, 
 relieved against a tropical sky, and extended in all
 
 A KASHMIRIAN TAILOR. 399 
 
 its grandeur along the entire length of the unrivalled 
 province which it bounds. 
 
 My Kashmirian tailor, an excellent specimen of 
 his countrymen, and a great wag in his way, had 
 asked my permission to go on in advance, in order 
 to visit his family ; and when I returned to my old 
 quarters in the Bagh-i-Delawur Khan, he came 
 hastily to meet me, and exclaimed, without a word of 
 preface, "Sahib! Humara Zund mout !" (my wife's 
 dead) and then burst into a most uproarious fit of 
 laughter.
 
 TRAVELS IN LITTLE TIBET. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Arrival at Lodiana — Sir Henry Fane — Navigating the Sutlij — Sce- 
 nery — Alligators — The Persian Water-wheel — The late Sir Wil- 
 liam M'Naghten and Shah Shuja— The Indus — Streams that com- 
 bine in the Indus — Its Sacred Character — Palm Groves — The 
 Bolan Pass — Lieutenant Wood — Arabic Inscription — Sir Wil- 
 loughby Cotton — Sir Alexander Burnes — The Tamarind-fish — 
 Hydrabad — Facilities for Navigating the Indus — The Lohanis — 
 Native Preserves — The Amirs of Sind — The Sind Hound — Singu- 
 lar Death of three British Officers — A burning Jungul — British 
 Detachment — An agreeable Evening — Vegetation of the Coun- 
 try — " Lions" and Alligators — Karachi — Bad Accommodation — 
 Arrival at Bombay — Promontory of Aden — The Isthmus of Suez — 
 Cairo — Visit to the Pyramids — The Magician — Tricks upon Tra- 
 vellers — Interview with the Pacha — Mehemet Ah and Runjit — 
 Their Characters and Actions compared and contrasted — The 
 Battle of Nezib — Return to Europe — Greece — The Piraeus — Trieste 
 Steam -boat — The Greek Islands — Venice — Munich — Lord 
 Erskiue — Lake of Starenaberg — Celebrity of Strauss — Rotterdam 
 — London — Conclusion. 
 
 VOL. II. 2 D
 
 SIR HENRY FANE. 403 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 On my arrival at Lodiana, I gladly availed my- 
 self of the kindness of General Churchill, Quartermas- 
 ter-general of Her Majesty's Artillery in India, who 
 was about to descend the Indus for the purpose of 
 joining the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Henry Fane, 
 then at Bombay. He offered me the use of his boats, 
 and the advantage of an escort, by which he was ac- 
 companied. I hurried forward my preparations, and 
 in the course of a week we started together from 
 Firozpur, then just made famous by the meeting be- 
 tween the Governor-general, Lord Auckland, and 
 the Maharajah, Runjit Singh. 
 
 Being nearer to Lahor than other places in the 
 Company's territories, it has justly been considered 
 to be of great importance, as the cavalry and horse 
 artillery could reach the Sikh capital in six: or eight 
 hours; and accordingly, orders had been issued for the 
 formation of a cantonment, and preparations were in 
 progress for a new fort, when we entered our boats on 
 the 30th of March, 1839, and began floating down 
 the Sutlij. 
 
 2d 2
 
 104 ALLIGATOR. 
 
 The boats used on the river are merely triangular 
 lozenge-shaped rafts, with a rai ed gunwale turned up 
 at the head, and upon this are constructed neatly- 
 thatched reed cottages. The stream runs about two- 
 and-a-half miles an hour; but the crew increase the 
 speed of the boat by employing their united efforts 
 upon a large oar from each side. 
 
 The scenery is sameness itself. The banks are 
 usually little pigmy alluvial cliffs of six or eight feet 
 in height, and fringed with a thick jungul of long 
 grass and tamarisk-trees ; now and then appears a 
 cornfield near a solitary village; but all within land 
 is generally hidden. The alligator, basking on the 
 mud-banks, glided gently into the water unharmed by 
 our too distant rifle shots, and the wild fowl, few as 
 they were, never waited for our approach. The 
 silence was frequently disturbed by the calling of the 
 black and gray partridge, the monotonous creaking 
 of the Persian wheel used in raising water from the 
 river, the heavy rolling plunge of the porpoise, 
 (which I have seen in the Sutlij as high as Felawur,) 
 opposite to Lodiana, or the frequent falling of a 
 large undermined portion of the bank, that ingulfed 
 itself in the deep stream beneath it, with a noise 
 resembling the booming- thunder of a cataract. 
 
 In the evening the fleet was moored against the 
 bank ; we landed, looked about us with our guns, 
 killed some partridges and quails, dined, went to 
 bed, and were all afloat again with the dawn, so 
 that the time passed pleasantly enough.
 
 SIR WILLIAM M'NAGHTEN. 405 
 
 We reached Bhawulpur, or rather the bank oppo- 
 site to it, for the town is three or four miles distant, 
 in nine days. Bhawul Khan its fine-looking- chief, 
 was absent, so that we only saw the town, which, 
 being- environed with palm-trees, reminded me of 
 Multan, but had nothing remarkable about it. Our 
 bag-gage-boats were here exchanged for longer and 
 stronger flat-bottomed vessels, raised fore and aft ; 
 but for our own use, we were fortunate enough to 
 find there a covered boat, in which the late Sir 
 William M'Naghten had accompanied Shah Shuja 
 on his way to Shikarpur. In this, after a most 
 annoying delay of three days, under a broiling sun, 
 caused by a mistake on the part of the political 
 agent at t T ch (said to be the ancient capital of 
 the Oxidaca?), where the Sutlij is joined by the 
 Chunab we descended the river as far as Mithunkot, 
 where we moored a great number of boats belong- 
 ing to the Commissariat. 
 
 Here we found ourselves upon the Indus, 
 
 " Ferens rapidum diviso gurgite fontem, 
 Vastis Indus aquis mistum non sentit Hydaspen."* 
 
 with a stream of a mile in breadth, and often still wider, 
 at a distance of three hundred and fifty miles from the 
 ocean. The scenery on its banks remained of the 
 same character — that is, of no character at all; but 
 the river itself was magnificent, although so unadorned. 
 
 * M. Annaei Lucani Civilia Belli, lib. iii., line 235.
 
 406 COURSE OF THE INDUS. 
 
 The greatest spirit of antiquity descended this 
 river, and made it known to us ; but it has flowed on 
 almost unnoticed, since that event : its grandeur has 
 been unknown, and its importance unawakened, al- 
 though for thousands of years it has formed alike the 
 boundary of a mighty continent, and the barrier of its 
 very ancient faith. I felt a peculiar satisfaction in 
 knowing that I had probably seen more of it than any 
 other person ever did ; I had drunk of many of its 
 springs, and at the sources of many of its minor 
 branches ; and I alone had visited many of its moun- 
 tains, lakes, and glaciers, which discharged their tri- 
 butary streams in the shape of ready formed and 
 furious torrents. I remembered with pleasure, that I 
 had crossed all the rivers of the Panjab high up in their 
 mountain channels ; that I had forded the Shy-Yok at 
 Nubra ; that I was the first European who had been fer- 
 ried across the Indus at Iskardo ; that I had crossed 
 the Chunab in Kishtawar, and the Ravi at Chumba ; 
 that no living traveller but myself had drunk of the 
 sacred element in the Gunga-Bul, the most holy lake 
 that Kashmir can boast of; that, in the same regions 
 I had ascended to the Kosanag, the birthplace of the 
 far-famed Hydaspes ; that the waters in contact with 
 our boat, might have once sparkled in the Gomul, up 
 which 1 had marched with the Lohanis to Ghuzni, or 
 have descended to Attok in the river of Kabul, and 
 have joined it after trickling from the melting snows of 
 the Hindu-Kosh, to meander in a swollen flood along 
 the verdant borders of its beautiful Kohistan.
 
 THE INDUS AND THE GANGES. 407 
 
 One glance of the Indus, and, without seeing them, 
 we must believe in the immensity of the Panjabi Hima- 
 laya ; one glance at the Himalaya, and we cease to be 
 surprised at the volume of the Indus ; and it is impos- 
 sible not to venerate a river, to form which ten thousand 
 streams have leaped their waters downwards from some 
 of the most elevated and most interesting regions on 
 the face of the earth — a river that, looking to the north- 
 ward and southward, owns no horizon but that of a 
 sea, and yet moves forward in a course so well de- 
 fined, that the Ganges, when compared with it, can 
 only be regarded as a channelless deluge. 
 
 The deserts of Jysulmir have proved an effectual 
 barrier to a frequency of access from Hindustan, and 
 to their existence and situation may propably be at- 
 tributed the fact of the Indus being less known 
 than the Ganges. But the Hindus, nevertheless, con- 
 sider the Indus as a sacred stream, and ablution with 
 its waters is deemed meritorious. The poems of the 
 Maha-Barat and the Purana Bhagavat, or Life of 
 Krishna, treat of the Indus, or Sindu Nudi (the river 
 of Sind), as a holy river, and one of the largest in 
 Hindustan. I asked an old Hindu, who was praying 
 on its banks, whether he believed in the existence 
 of gods and demigods beneath its waves. His an- 
 swer was replete with the same spirit of idolatry in 
 which the Gueber worshipped the sun. " I don't 
 know, I have never seen them, but I can see the 
 Nudi, or river, and therefore I worship it."
 
 408 LIEUTENANT WOOD. 
 
 Thick groves of date-palms rise on the banks of 
 the Indus at Sukur and Uori, and its scenery for a 
 moment wears a sylvan aspect, which it enjoys no- 
 where else in the plains. But the place was now 
 alive with the " pride and circumstance of war," and 
 the tents of the detachment in charge of the depot were 
 pitched beneath a grateful shade. Shah Shuja and 
 the main body of Sir John Keane's army were as yet 
 at Shikarpur,* and accounts had just arrived of the ad- 
 vanced guard having met with a determined resistance 
 at the entrance of the Bolan pass. 
 
 Sukur is supposed to be the capital of the Sogdi, 
 and as the thermometer rose there to 105° in the shade, 
 I had no intention of disputing that point. The river 
 here narrows considerably ; on its right bank are the 
 ruins of the town, and on the left, which is more ele- 
 vated, stands that of Rori ; between them are four 
 islands, two of minor importance, and two others, of 
 which Bukur is the principal one, and is strongly for- 
 tified. Lieutenant Wood, the Budukshau traveller, 
 whom we here found in command of the transports, 
 pointed out to us an inscription, in Arabic, which, 
 if my memory serves me, informs those who could 
 read it, that the place had been for nine hundred 
 years in possession of the Musalmans. On one 
 of the islands is a building known by the name of the 
 Sisters, ornamented with small pointed minars, and 
 which tradition says was the residence of a Fakir. 
 
 * The city or place of game, or hunting-.
 
 THE TAMARIND-FISH. 409 
 
 It was too hot for moving about, excepting for the 
 purpose of seeing the fort on the island, which com- 
 pletely commands the passage, and which had lately 
 been taken possession of by a British detachment, 
 under Sir Willoughby Cotton, after some preliminary 
 negotiations conducted by Sir Alexander Burnes. 
 
 The formation of the rock is of a limestone, whose 
 appearance and thin strata reminded me of that of 
 Kashmir ; but in many places it is much less compact, 
 and the shells of which it is formed are much more 
 numerous. After making a curve inland, the ridge 
 again meets the river a little beyond Sehwan, and is 
 washed by its stream for a distance of three or four 
 miles. Lieutenant Wood informed me that it attained 
 a height of two thousand feet. I noticed a sulphur- 
 ous spring at its base near the brink of the river. 
 
 We ate the tamarind-fish, called the Pulla, at 
 Sehwan, in great perfection : and fishing-boats, and 
 single adventurers upon an inflated skin, were em- 
 ployed in their capture in all directions. The boats 
 were of the same shape as the common boats that we 
 noticed on the Indus; each contained a man and his 
 family ; on one of them we saw an otter that was in 
 training, and on another were a plumed heron and an 
 eaglet, to be trained as fishing-birds. 
 
 We had hitherto seen but four or five different 
 kinds of fish ; — the white mullet ; a fish with a very 
 broad head like that of a cat-fish, and an enormous 
 spike forming the upper rim of the dorsal fin; a smaller
 
 410 HYDRABAD. 
 
 white fish without scales, known at Calcutta, so I was 
 informed, as the Bagawar, and as the Tunglu in Central 
 India; another which grew to a yard or more in length, 
 flat-sided and so mew hat resembling a hump-backed eel, 
 with one small dorsal and one ventral fin continued 
 from the gills to the tail, but of which I need not 
 insert a more particular description, hearing that this, 
 as well as those above mentioned, are well known 
 on the Ganges, where the latter is called the Guali. 
 
 Hydrabad, the capital of Sinde, we did not see, 
 excepting in the distance. As my companion and 
 myself were anxious to proceed without any delay, 
 so we did not seek an interview with the Amirs. We 
 were at Hydrabad on the 23d of April, 1839. The 
 south-west monsoon had already set in, and was blow- 
 ing- hard against us. We therefore contented ourselves 
 with a sight of the gardens on the river-side, and the 
 still more refreshing sight of some British officers 
 who were en route up to Shikarpur. We also saw 
 a handsome pinnace on her way up to Lahor, as a 
 present to llunjit Singh. 
 
 To all appearance no river can be better adapted 
 for an inland navigation than the Indus. No rocks 
 or sandbanks are visible in its bed, and at Hydrabad 
 where it is about three-quarters of a mile in width, 
 it seemed deep enough for a fleet of men-of-war. 
 But appearances are of little value in comparison with 
 proofs collected by actual experiment. We are in- 
 debted for its soundings to Lieut. Wood, and the re-
 
 THE SIND HOUND. 411 
 
 suit of his labours is a conviction that the regularity of 
 its course is so impeded by shoals and shifting- banks, 
 that although its depth may be uniform and sufficient 
 between this and that place, yet no boat drawing 
 more than thirty inches of water can depend upon an 
 unobstructed passage for any considerable propor- 
 tion of its whole length. In consequence of this, 
 fears have been entertained that the navigation of the 
 great African rivers may not be unattended with 
 similar difficulty. 
 
 When the dangers and obstacles to the mere 
 navigation are diminished, a consulate or agency, 
 with permission to trade, should be established at 
 Mithunkot, and the indefatigable Lohanis will do 
 the rest; and they, who now descend even to Calcutta, 
 will be too glad to make their purchases so near the 
 entrance of the Gonial pass, and proceed with them 
 at once to Afghanistan. Not far from Hydrabad, on 
 the western bank of the river, are some preserves be- 
 longing to the Amirs of Sind. They seemed to be 
 entirely composed of tamarisk-trees, and extend for 
 several miles along the water-side. 
 
 The Sind hound, as it is usually termed, is a 
 species of dog peculiar to the country, and consider- 
 able care, I believe, is bestowed upon the breed. It is 
 a large and fierce animal, smooth haired, and usually 
 white, and with sharp ears : a cross between a 
 thorough-bred mastiff and a greyhound, would much 
 resemble it. In general figure, but with a more
 
 112 SINGULAR DEATH. 
 
 savage expression, it is not unlike a large English 
 coach-dog : an animal which, some how or other, in the 
 older books of natural history, has obtained the name 
 of the harrier of Bengal. Although not probable, 
 yet it is not actually impossible, that the original 
 breed may have been brought home by the early Eu- 
 ropean traders to the mouth of the Indus, and that 
 the name may thus have originated in a not unlikely 
 confusion of localities. 
 
 The halt of the troops under the command of 
 Sir .J. Keanc at Jeruk, will be rem* inhered in conse- 
 quence of three ofli< $ers of" the Que< n*s M having been 
 caught by a lire whilst shooting in the jungul, and 
 consequently burnt to death. Suspicions, which 
 were at first attached to the natives, were, I under- 
 stood, satisfactorily removed upon investigation. 
 
 The bank beneath the town of Thathah is steep 
 and lofty. The stream of the river which probably once 
 flowed beneath it might have proved a little more deep 
 and violent than elsewhere, and the anchorage must 
 have been proportionablv bad. I thought the pre- 
 tensions of Jeruk to be considered as the Pattala 
 of Nearhus, were much better founded than those of 
 Thathah, as at the former town there is a place exactly 
 resembling a large, dry, shallow, and circular dock; 
 and it appeared to me, from the summit of the hill near 
 it, that, on account of the favourable nature of the 
 ground, a large harbour might be formed with very 
 little trouble, where, perhaps, in ancient times there
 
 AN AGREEABLE EVENING. 413 
 
 had already been one. Independently of the danger- 
 ous rock noticed by Burnes, there can I think be little 
 doubt that Alexander would choose that mouth of the 
 Indus which conducted him to the westward, and that 
 he therefore must have followed that which then 
 flowed beneath the modern town of Thathah, and 
 disembogued itself near Karachi. Pattala is the 
 name of a Hindu Hell, and might be so named as 
 being a spot so far removed from their kylas or 
 Heaven in the Himalaya. 
 
 At Thathah we found a detachment under the 
 command of Colonel Speller, and passed an agreeable 
 evening at tin- mess. We afterwards pushed on to 
 Ghurah, a village at the head of the creek, that runs 
 inland from Karachi, and tbirty-six miles from the 
 latter place ; where wc were kindly received as the 
 guests of Colonel \ alliant, in command of the bri- 
 gade which was encamped two or three miles from 
 the town. The face of the country in general was 
 very flat, but low, rugged, rocky hills, were scattered 
 over it. The Dok, the Cactus, Byr-apple, an occa- 
 sional Pipul, the Mimosa, and the Tamarisk formed a 
 scanty jungul on the hard and glazed soil of the plain. 
 The latter tree was most common in the neighbour- 
 hood of water ; and near a spring where we halted for 
 the night, I observed some oleanders in flower, and 
 looking as fresh and as healthy as those I had seen in 
 the valleys amongst the first ranges of the Himalaya. 
 The " I ions" of Karachi are alligators, to see
 
 414 TAME ALLIGATORS. 
 
 which, Captain Harris, the African traveller, and my- 
 self sallied forth on horseback, about gun-fire, on the 
 morning- of a "fine, bra', sunshiny day," — as the young 
 Highlander remarked of the morrow of his arrival in 
 India. We had a refreshing gallop of about six 
 miles, and arrived at the tank and the fakir's resi- 
 dence, situated in a small grove of Palms. The 
 alligators were lying in the shallow water of the tank, 
 which is about sixty or seventy yards in length, and 
 almost as thick as sheep in a pen. They exhibited 
 some symptoms of expectation as we approached them, 
 by raising- their noses a little higher above the water. 
 It is usual to give them a goat, for the fun of seeing 
 them fight and struggle for it ; but we dispensed with 
 this part of the ceremony, and remounted our horses, 
 after visiting a warm mineral spring, if I remember 
 aright, flowing from a lied of limestone that juts out 
 not far from the tank, and supplies the tank with 
 water, and its banks with shade and verdure. 
 
 Karachi itself is a neat town, built after the usual 
 Indian fashion ; and in colour its houses are scarcely 
 distinguishable from that of the alluvium on which 
 they rise. It contains twenty thousand inhabitants, 
 its situation having raised it to an importance which 
 will still be on the increase. 
 
 Finding that we were not likely to gain any thing 
 by delay, we embarked on the creek of Karachi, in 
 an open native boat, or kotiah, which might have been 
 rendered very comfortable ; but as we had no time
 
 ARRIVAL AT BOMBAY. 415 
 
 for making arrangements,, we sailed at once. Imme- 
 diately after passing the old castle at the mouth of 
 the creek, — which could be made a place of great 
 strength, but had been lately battered by Her 
 Majesty's ship, Wellesley, — we found ourselves, for 
 the space of a week, in a kind of purgatory, formed 
 by the united effects of want of accommodation, dirt, 
 vermin, a broiling sun, the stench of sharks' flesh, and 
 sea-sickness, in a prison with a chance of being 
 drowned. We arrived, however, safely at Bombay, 
 on the 7th of May, after an unhurried voyage of 
 thirty-eight days from Ferozpur, including stop- 
 pages. 
 
 I sailed thence in the Atalanta steamer, on the 
 20th of the same month, and after a severe struggle 
 against the monsoon, which had just set in, and blew 
 with such violence as to render it very doubtful 
 whether we should be able to reach Aden, we were 
 delighted to see its mountains, as the day broke on 
 the 3d of June. 
 
 This singular promontory is one mass of volcanic 
 matter, and in many places presents the appearance 
 of a broken and exhausted crater. A lofty ridge 
 circles through its entire length of a few miles ; and 
 an open frontage and an anchorage are presented 
 towards the sea on the side that faces towards Bombay. 
 
 The air is healthy, but there is no circulation, 
 and the heat at midday is that of a furnace. The 
 town is a mere collection of small, stone, flat-roofed
 
 4\(> CAIRO AND THE PYRAMIDS. 
 
 bouses, without any arrangement amongst them thai 
 can be called a Btreei , 
 
 Tart <>f the isthmus is covered by the rockj ex- 
 tremities of the ridge, and the remainder, oof exceed- 
 ing a lew hundred yards in width, bas been Btrongly 
 fortified, it being on a level with the great plains of 
 tlic interior. The island of Ormuz was taken by the 
 Portuguese in 1507. Aden was bombarded and 
 taken by their admiral Suarius in 1517, with forty- 
 three ships, having on board one thousand two hun- 
 dred Portuguese soldiers, and one thousand Indian 
 conscripts. But they did not long retain it; and 
 their expeditions on the Arabian coast were not 
 attended with any signal or permanent Buccess.* 
 
 We touched at Judda, and. on the 1 1th of June, 
 arrived at Sue/. 
 
 I crossed the desert from Sue/, and visited the 
 pyramids, and saw the other lions of Cairo, and 
 amongst them the renowned magician. He brings a 
 boy with him, or allows the spectators to bring one, 
 who must be young and innocent. lie writes on paper 
 some words (which a learned native, to whom I after- 
 wards showed them, declared to be absolute nonsense), 
 and then washes off the ink into a cup, and pours the 
 black liquor, about a spoonful, into the palm of the 
 bov's hand, who is then told to gaze closely and intently 
 upon it. The magician sits by, muttering his prayers or 
 
 * Vide Osorius de rebus Emanuelis regis Lusitauiae invictissimi 
 virtute et auspicio gestis. Lib. undecimus. 

 
 THE MEAOII 1 \\. 417 
 
 incantations, and telling- his beads at the same time; 
 asking the boy from time t<> time if he sees any thing. 
 On the occasion in question, the boy, after a short 
 time, declared that he Baw the Sultan; then a 
 slave, who came to make his obeisance, then ano- 
 ther; and then he Ban the magic number of seven 
 chain, and seven people who came and sat upon 
 them. &c. The magician then said, k< Now all is. 
 ready; call for anyone yon please." Several per- 
 moi were called for, and the boj looked intently into 
 bis hand; Borne be pretended to Bee; I >ut in every 
 case mistook either age, Bex, dress, or appear- 
 ance. When it came to mj turn, I .ailed for Runjit 
 Singh ; and the boy being asked by Ins master 
 if he saw an\ one, described the Lion <>l the Panjab 
 as a uu(m1I\ European, with a coat, waistcoat, and 
 breeches, two eyes, and a broad-brimmed bat, &c. 
 
 Mr. H. II. Lindssrj (M. P. for Sandwich) who was 
 
 with ns, offered him a large sum, if be would correctly 
 
 describe an] one be named ; and, at his own request, 
 
 .•him another trial in a private room. The 
 
 magician first ordered some common prints, with 
 
 scriptural Bttbjectfi, to be turned with their faces to 
 
 the wall, and then muttered till a profuse perspiration 
 
 bedewed hi- temples. After intently gazing for ten 
 
 minute-., the boy, with well feigned surprise, ex- 
 
 « laimcd aaddenly, " Eccolo un nomol"— but all was 
 
 a failure. The magician at last gave me such a look 
 
 ■1 Saw nc v may have put on, when he said he was 
 
 \ OL. II. 2 E
 
 -418 INTERVIEW WITH THE PACHA. 
 
 going *'bock again;" and which evidently contained 
 a request thai we would not Bpoil bis trick by be- 
 traying him. However, he was dismissed as an arrant 
 humbug, with a present for his trouble. I believe 
 thai every boy in Cairo is in his pa) ; and il you 
 were to ^<» to the end of the town, you would but 
 select one who had probabli watched n<»u from the 
 hotel-door, aud had purposely met \<>u <>n the n 
 The natives generally v ;l \- 1 h :i t the man is an impostor ; 
 but it is Btrange how the incredulity of some Euro- 
 peans lias been Btagg< red bj a good bil or two thai 
 he has made,— such as would perhaps have made Dr. 
 Johnson, at least, w i 1 1 i 1 1 i_r to believe in his preter- 
 natural powers. 
 
 At Alexandria I had the honour of being intro- 
 duced to the Pacha by Colonel Campbell, in company 
 with Captain Lowe, I. N , who had been a passenger 
 on board the Atahmta, and t<> whose judgment we 
 were, I believe, much indebted for our arrival at 
 Aden. We sipped the finest coffee in the world in 
 his presence, and be put a few questions to me con- 
 cerning my travels, and the >tate of affairs in Afgha- 
 nistan, but was occupied the greater part of the time 
 in a nautical conversation with the captain. 
 
 Having so lately seen so much of Runjit Singh, 
 and heard so much of Mehemet Ali, I took an 
 interest in drawing a comparison between these 
 two distinguished characters, making at the same 
 time all due allowance for differences of place and 
 circumstance.
 
 HEH1MET ali and ftUNJIT. 4l9 
 
 It is singular that both Egypt and the Panjab, 
 being of importance with regard to our East Indian 
 possessions, should have been for so long a period 
 ruled b) two such persons as the Pacha and Runjit, 
 alike remarkable, as the architects of their own ex- 
 traordinary fortunes, lor the love of conquest by 
 which they have I" en a< tuated, and the success with 
 which the) have encountered opposition. Mehcmet 
 Ali is a short, stout, well-made, but somewhat corpu- 
 lent man. his eye dark, -mall, and sparkling with in- 
 telligence. Runjit's person was diminutive; but his 
 forehead was broad and Napoleon-like ; and the <|uick 
 rolling of his large and onh eye, was indicative of 
 
 a mind that < mild instantl) and habitually concentrate 
 
 all n- energies upon an) given subject, 
 
 Runjit died at Bixty, of an old age brought on by 
 his excesses, having been for a long time unable to 
 mount In- horse without assistance; whilst the Pacha, 
 bow seventy-one, i> Mill in the lull vigour of his 
 intellect, and, when 1 saw him, trod the ground as if 
 it were his own. 
 
 In the comment ement of his career, Runjit's cha- 
 racter has an advantage 01 er that of Mehemet Ali. He 
 had no master to rebel against, and amidst the trou- 
 bles of the Panjab he improved his fortune with the 
 small force which his father left him : he acquired 
 possession of Labor by an agreement with the retir- 
 ing Afghans,' and as he did not commit an act of re- 
 • Vide Prinaep'a Life of Runjit Sin^li. 
 
 2 e 2
 
 420 RUN J IT A\n MEHEMET ALL 
 
 bellion, it is not fair to discuss whaJ he i i i i l_* lit or 
 might not have done under circumstances similar to 
 those l»\ which Mehemel Ali first rose towards inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 "It is to the honour of the hitter, that, oppressive 
 ;i^ a military government must be, his sceptre has 
 been but seldom dipped in blood, that he has made 
 travelling safe 111 his dominions, exhibited a show of 
 impartial justice, ami in all the tumults of a distracted 
 throne has protected unhappy Palestine."* 
 
 Kunj it has never been loud of shedding blood, but 
 he has sometimes imprisoned and connived at imprison- 
 ment, until his victims have been driven to despera- 
 tion, and destroyed themselves. In some instances 
 this has been eifected, it is said, by swallowing a 
 diamond. 
 
 Although cruelty in detail, as it were, has been 
 much avoided by both, yet where whole nations have 
 been dealt with by either, and the happiness and in- 
 terests of mankind have been at stake, compassion 
 has been utterly unknown, the voice of conscience 
 has been stifled, and justice tempered with mercy 
 has not merely been kept in the background, but 
 expelled from the councils of both by the too power- 
 ful forces of avarice and ambition. 
 
 The head and front of Runjit's offending in this 
 particular has been his depopulation of Kashmir, by 
 the treatment which the Musalman inhabitants have 
 
 * Vide Blackwood's Magazine. Jan. 1, 1841. Art. Mahomed Ali.
 
 RUN.JIT AND MEHEMET ALL 421 
 
 experienced at his hand. That splendid province has 
 been destroyed, and devastated, not by the cannon 
 and the bavonet, but by the nefarious exactions and 
 rapacity of his governors. Money, not conscripts, 
 has been his object, and so long as his tyrannical con- 
 nivance procured him the former, he cared not for 
 the consequences, either to the inhabitants, or, even- 
 tually, to his own treasury. He was just the man to 
 have opened the goose that lay the golden egg. If 
 he had not been restrained by the gigantic power of 
 the East India Company, Runjit would long ago 
 have been seated on the throne of Delhi, a Great 
 Mogul, in all but his religion : and there is little 
 doubt that his political position has saved him the 
 perpetration of many a crime, and the infliction of 
 much of that misery, which has always followed 
 upon the course of an Asiatic conqueror. 
 
 But when the sword of rebellion was unsheathed, 
 and it became necessary to dignify and support the 
 cause in which it was drawn, I believe that the reck- 
 less actions of Mehemet Ali have had no parallel in 
 the annals of the Panjab. Nothing that Runjit has done 
 could be put in comparison with his conscriptions, 
 and his conduct in Syria, or the tyranny with which 
 life and property from one end of Egypt to the other 
 have been made subservient to his will. 
 
 Though I think that Runjit was fully equal to the 
 Pacha in mere ability, and that either, mutatis mutan- 
 dis, might have acted in many respects as the other has 
 ne, yet in mere strength of mind, Runjit has shown
 
 422 KIN J IT AND M EH EM El ALL 
 
 himself to be much inferior. Shameful and influential 
 favoritism have, 1 believe, been unknown in the palaces 
 of Egypt. No one was better aware than Runjit, of 
 the advantage to be gained by cutting oil' the heads of 
 the tallest poppies; but in some instances he was too 
 easily diverted from his intentions by the arts and 
 persuasions of any one he liked Runjit could neither 
 write nor read, and the result of his idleness in private 
 life was, that all shame, all dignity, all royal state, 
 were forgotten by the Lion of the Panjab, in his de- 
 baucheries ; and the father and brothers of Hira Singh 
 took advantage of the Maharajah's friendship for him, 
 slowly but steadily to create a dynasty too powerful 
 for the master that had raised them from their original 
 obscurity : an example which the more manly and 
 vigorous mind of Mehemet Ali would never have 
 allowed him to imitate. 
 
 Neither were overburdened with real religion, 
 though both knew the advantage of making a display 
 of respect for it. Mehemet Ali has twice defeated 
 the Wahabees, and, on the first occasion, he visited 
 the tomb of the Prophet, and returned as a Haji to 
 Cairo. Runjit has never, I believe, made a pilgrim- 
 age to Hurdwar, or the Ganges, but has repaired to 
 some of the shrines in his own dominions, and always 
 evinced the greatest respect for the Gurunth.* He 
 was, at least, superstitious, and paid attention to 
 omens and predictions ; whilst Mehemet Ali, on the 
 other hand, seemed perfectly to understand u the 
 
 * The sacred book of the Sikh*.
 
 RUNJIT AND MEHEMET All. 423 
 
 fortunate hour," without a reference either to his 
 beads or his soothsayers. 
 
 Much, therefore, of the discrepancies observable 
 in the character of these two chiefs, is attributable 
 to a difference of meridian, the position of their domi- 
 nions, and the want of employment. The fine talents 
 of Runjit lay, doomed to comparative obscurity, on 
 the East India Company's north-west frontier. His 
 kingdom was not large enough, and the Punjab was 
 to him as a iMacedon to Alexander. The restless 
 desire of conquest was always sufficiently apparent; 
 he was a conqueror at heart, and to the end of his 
 life, when he spoke of war, he talked with all the fire 
 and energy of a young general. 
 
 The glaring difference that existed between 
 them on the subject of liberality of mind, may be 
 attributable to the same cause, That of the Pacha 
 is too well known to require comment ; it shows that 
 he is neither a Turk nor a Mahometan, or that, at 
 all events (like his master, Mahmoud, whom I have 
 seen going to mosque in Wellington boots and gilt 
 spurs), he is superior to the prejudices and super- 
 stitions of either ; — as the dismissal of the greater part 
 of his harem alone would prove. The public insti- 
 tutions, on the pattern of those of Europe, are the 
 admiration of every traveller; and the permitted free- 
 dom of ingress to his time-hallowed dominions, evinces 
 a more than civilized immunity from suspicion, and 
 a noble confidence in his own powerful talents. 
 
 Runjit, on the contrary, was exceedingly jealous
 
 •1'24 KLV.IIT AM) MI.HEMIT All. 
 
 of every sue around him. Magnanimity was do part 
 of his character when his suspicions \'«i' M< 
 
 aroused. He paid all old man to try all tin- re- 
 medies thai were prepared for him by Dr. Wood 
 (of Sir II. Fane's staff), and would not take them, 
 even after the medicinometer had declare ! bitnseh 
 the better for them ; and, one day. when the Koh-i- 
 inu (mountain of light) was produced, ami I ami 
 examining the blazing brilliant rather too intently 
 upon m\ open palm. I was \»-t aware of In- giving 
 a Bign to the man in charge of it. to resume hie 
 functions immediately, although a fall Durbar was sit- 
 ting at the time. 1 believe he thought 1 might be going 
 to make a copy of it, and might perhaps afterwards 
 substitute a false diamond tor the real one, a trick 
 which the Chinese air -aid to practise sometimes. 
 
 I was in the Panjab when he received the 
 diploma that had been forwarded to him by the 
 Royal Asiatic Society, b] which In- was made an 
 honorary fellow of that distinguished body. Runjit 
 was highly delighted with the compliment^ though he 
 did not clearly comprehend the meaning of it. He 
 wanted to know if there was any chance of its being 
 taken from him again ; and by way of guarding again-t 
 such a contingency, he finally told one of his Euro- 
 pean officers to make as exact a copy of it as he 
 could, and I had the honour of drawing in the lion 
 and the unicorn at the head of it, so as to render 
 the forgery complete. 
 
 His own stnij grandson, and adopted sons, were
 
 KL'NJIT AND MEHEMET ALL 425 
 
 watched with regular and unremitted vigilance ; nor 
 excepting on account of the favouritism I have 
 already alluded to, would any one have risen to 
 any great power or influence in the I'anjab. His 
 conduct, however, in this particular, was not different 
 from, Although perhaps more systematical than, that 
 of any other potentate in the East; Sultan Mah- 
 noud and Melieniet Ali excepted, who allowed his 
 sons the c omma nd of his Bennies, without fear of 
 their making any Attempt against his own power. 
 
 Runjit again was naturally in a constant state of 
 alaiin ti »r t Im* integrity of Ins dominions. He was jea- 
 lous of every European, and particularly of English- 
 men, ;umI. could he have done so, would not easily 
 have been persuaded toalhra any English traveller to 
 rmss his frontier. Hut courtesy and hospitality, which 
 he ha> bo frequently displayed, were cheap and una- 
 voidable returns for the perpetual friendship that 
 existed between him and the East India Company ; 
 an alliance to which, as it prevented their taking Dost 
 Mobamed by the hand, was, as I have elsewhere 
 remarked, one of the leading causes of the war in 
 
 Afghanistan. 
 
 I had waited a week longer than was necessary 
 in Egypt, in order to see what would be the result 
 of the dail) expected encounter, which proved to be 
 that of Nezib; but it was not worth my while to 
 
 have 'I so. A leu guns only announced the news 
 
 of the victory, to the inhabitants of Alexandria, and
 
 426 THE GREEK ISLANDS. 
 
 the Pacha, I was told, received the news ;is quite a 
 matter of course. 
 
 It was with feelings of unalloyed satisfaction that 
 I again found myself in Europe, although in the per- 
 formance of quarantine at the Piraeus. 1 escaped 
 from it, to be astonished at the commanding gran- 
 deur of the Acropolis ; to look upon the plain of 
 Marathon, from the Pentelican mountain, and the 
 island of Salamis, from the tomb of Themistocles; and 
 to witness from it the extraordinary brilliancy of a 
 Grecian BUnsel behind the former. 
 
 The Trieste Bteam-boat opened some new and 
 noble scenery at every turn, as it threaded its way 
 amongst the Grecian Islands. We passed Patras, 
 Ithaca, and Cephalonia, coasting the soft and pre-emi- 
 nently beautiful island of Corfu, with its blue dreamy 
 inlets, its sunny mountains, and its olive-covered undu- 
 lations. We anchored for a few bours before its capi- 
 tal, and then proceeded in sight of the bold coast of 
 Epirus, and the towering precipices of Acroceraunia. 
 We touched at Ancona, after passing in full view of 
 the once-famous shrine at Loretto, and soon after- 
 wards the Bora Adriatica began to blow, the sea be- 
 gan to rise, the passengers retired to their berths, and 
 the remainder of the voyage to Trieste was only 
 agreeable at intervals. 
 
 From Trieste we passed through Venice and the 
 Tyrol, where the villagers stared with most amusing 
 astonishment at a Hindustani in the service of mv tra-
 
 LOUD ERSKINE. 427 
 
 veiling- companion, Mr. Lindsay, and who occupied 
 the box-seat of the carriage. 
 
 At Munich, I was, of course, disposed to admire 
 every thing, excepting perhaps the over-gilded ceil- 
 ing- of the Glvptothek, which, as it appeared to my 
 poor judgment, is more in keeping with the pageantry 
 of a sal/r d* audience than with the venerable dust on 
 the ancient statues and marbles that are placed be- 
 neath it. 
 
 We accepted an invitation which we had the 
 honour of receiving from Lord Erskine, and passed 
 two or three most agreeable days at his very pretty, 
 but unpretending, chateau of Allmonshausen, on the 
 banks of the fine lake of Staremberg, at the foot of 
 the lower ranges of the northern face of the Tyrolian 
 Alps, and distant but about eighteen English miles 
 from Munich. 
 
 I had never met with the name of Strauss at Is- 
 kardOj and if I had heard it in Europe, it had escaped 
 mv memory; and as we were descending the Rhine in 
 a steam-boat, I happened, in a moment of unpardon- 
 able ignorance, to ask, in the company of some Ger- 
 man ladies, \\li<» lie was? when one of them, of high 
 rank, remarked with a look of pity — ■" Is it possible 
 that you don't know who Strauss is? After having 
 heard you say that, 1 can easily believe that you really 
 have travelled as long and as far as you say you 
 have !" 
 
 I (rossed from Rotterdam to the Thames, and
 
 428 RETURN TO ENGLAND. 
 
 landed at the Custom-house on 1li< i -"> 1 1 1 of September 
 1839, with mingled feelings of gratitude to the kind 
 Providence that had protected me in my wanderings, 
 and delight at the prospect of once more approaching, 
 after so long an absence in (be East, an English 
 home, 
 
 " Where Britain OOUttl tin- we-teni -pring, 
 
 Where lawn- extend that booth Arcadian pride, 
 And brighter streams than famed Bydaepea glide." 
 
 Goldsmith'^ Traveller.
 
 429 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 N >. I. 
 
 KASHMIRIAX MEASURES. 
 
 3 red beads* = 1 dang. 
 3 dang = 1 kasyreh. 
 
 ka-vreh = 1 domreh. 
 8 kasyreh = 1 [ml (a pinch). 
 
 I ml — 1 pan (a handful), or 4 chatang. 
 \ pan = I Ber or asser. 
 Tlie ser differs considerably at Lodiana and Kashmir. 
 I sei of Kashmir - 1 munaw utu. 
 
 6 ser of Kashmir, or \ munawutu, "i U -it of Lodiana = 1 turak. 
 16 turak = 1 kirwah. 
 
 1 kirwah = 96 ser Kashmir, or 72 ser Lodiana = 1441b. Eng- 
 lish. 
 
 In Kaslunir accounts are kept by hundreds of rupis; at Kabul, 
 by tomans or twenties. 
 
 There are thirteen bridges between Islamabad and Baramula. 
 
 Kanibul Simbul 
 
 Bij Bears Sopur 
 
 Pampur cit\ Baramula. 
 
 The seven following are in Sirinagur. 
 
 Amir-i-Kudal Adah Kudal 
 
 Hubah Kudal No Kudal 
 
 Futi Kudal Safur Kudal. 
 Zynafa Kudal 
 
 There arc three large bazaars, in the city of Kashmir, Sher- 
 Guhr, Zynah Kudal, and Hubah Kudal. 
 
 * The red beads or berries used as weights in the East are of the 
 Abrua Precatorhis.
 
 430 
 
 4PPENDIX 
 
 No. II. 
 
 VOCABULARY OF KASHMIRI; A PRACRIT, OR 
 DIALECT OF SANSCRIT. 
 
 Abbreviations. — Otm. fur German language.- LL fnr Uandk (or the old 
 
 Scandinavian).— /></»• for Danish.— -W- : li.^h.* 
 
 Man, munti; Germ. >/<""" ("'""- 
 RIM); LbL iiimlr (umiinr, niiiii- 
 
 ruts, manur). 
 Woman, tunana; Scmm. ; U. 
 
 /■■(•< //, hruiiiu. 
 Boy, inn/in. 
 
 Girl, fair. 
 
 Father, ///«/. 
 
 Mother, TOO/. 
 
 Brother, A'/'//. 
 
 Sister, bank. 
 
 Uncle by the father's side, peter. 
 
 Uncle by the mother's side, m&N ; 
 
 Germ, nnilunc. 
 Father's sister, /'"/'■ 
 
 Mother's sister, r»d*; Dan. moster. 
 
 Witch, dayun-dyn. 
 
 Horse, <7«r; Isl. paef, jor, pro- 
 nounced yoor. 
 
 Mule, ktijur. 
 
 Ass, Mf/r. 
 
 Bull, ddnd. 
 
 Cow, <?««; Isl. Am. 
 
 Buffalo, mi/iislt. 
 
 Sheep, In/lulu. 
 
 Goat, bukra; 1-1. ariesvel hcedus) 
 
 In l<ri. 
 Kid, iky* pitf; 1-1- /■•"/• 
 
 Doe, A////,- Fl. huiidr; Dan. Germ. 
 
 hniid; AiiLT- humid. 
 
 Bitch, AtifM. 
 
 Fox, /"/' ; Fl. t&ottli. 
 
 Jackal, chaghaL 
 
 Wolf, rama-hund; Dan. hund. 
 
 Bear, Imrjint. 
 
 Otter, /"////-,• Dan. odder; Germ. 
 
 otter; Isl. o/r, or Ofvr. 
 Stag of Kashmir, hanght. 
 Hare, khur gosh (asses' ears); Isl. 
 
 Bert Jijtr). 
 Game, shikar. 
 Pheasant, moyial (the Impeyan 
 
 pheasant). 
 Redlegged partridge, kukau. 
 Quail, batur. 
 Woodcock, jel kukur. 
 
 * For the synonymous and symphoniou9 additions in the above languages, I am 
 indebted to the kindness of Professor Hornemann, of Copenhagen. 
 
 On the burning of Indian widows, vide Observations in magna editione Eddse 
 Antiquioris, t. ll.Hafn. 1818. 4to, pages 929— 934. Hornemann. Copenhagen.
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 431 
 
 Wild duck, putckin. 
 
 Tame duck, butuk ; Turkish also. 
 
 Goose, auz (anser) ; Isl. goes, giis. 
 
 Heron, burag. 
 
 Snipe, tin kukur. 
 
 Owl, rat -i- mogul (the night mo- 
 gul or thief). 
 
 Head, kultth; 1-1. ladlr. 
 
 Eyes, uck ; I-I. mum. 
 
 Nose, nust ; I-I. not, narir. 
 
 Teeth, dund; 1-1. tonn. 
 
 Mouth, us; Lat. m .• I>1. os. 
 
 Hand-, Oltf. 
 
 Legs, kur; ULkalfas; Anglice, 
 coif 
 
 Feet, pate; h\./</tr. fatur. 
 
 Bread, truck. 
 
 Water to drink. trysh. 
 
 Meat, i/m: ; Id. matr; Dun, mad, 
 
 mat. 
 Fish, gad; Lat. gat/us. 
 Fruit, nn int. 
 Grapes, ducking ; Isl. pruga ; 
 
 Dan. (free. 
 Apples, suniit. 
 Pears, /////<■/. 
 
 Apricots, snri or ckuri huj. 
 Peaches, snnun. 
 
 Melon, khurbuza ; Germ, kiirbis. 
 Walnut-, dun. 
 Almond-, Ixidiiiil. 
 
 Pomegranate, dan. 
 
 Tree, kul. 
 
 Mountain, koh or sundi/r. 
 
 Peak, thong t Isl. fungi, promon- 
 
 torium. 
 Valley, narorduru; Isl. dahtr. 
 
 River, ?<-£* or ivyitf ; I 9 1. t . ^/. 
 Torrent, arrer/t ; Isl. d, genitive as: 
 
 — (amnis). 
 Smooth stream, kukal. 
 Lake, dul ; Isl. dccla, rivus, ri- 
 
 ruliis. 
 Mar-li, ser ; Isl. saus. 
 Spring, nag (a serpent) figuratively. 
 Dry ground, bukut. 
 House, gkur ; Isl. kits. 
 Street, dur. 
 
 Gardrn, bagk ; Angl. bog. 
 Orchard, wungeh; Isl. vangr ; 
 
 Dan. range. 
 Wood to burn, alau. 
 ( 'lunar, hui/n. 
 Elm, bri/n. 
 Poplar, frus. 
 \\ illow, ''///•. 
 Mini- nf Metal, kair. 
 Gold, son. 
 
 Silver, nip. 
 
 Copper, tnmih. 
 
 Lead, nag. 
 
 Snow, shin. 
 
 Ice, tulla kufur. 
 
 Strong, dakur. 
 
 Weak, lugur. 
 
 Cold, ter. 
 
 Hot, tut ; warm, ushan. 
 
 Heavy, gus. 
 
 Light, hit; Isl. lettr, left; Dan. 
 
 High, tuhud. 
 
 Low, s*m. 
 
 Great, &«(/. 
 
 Little, Ink; lal.lagrsldg; Ang\.!ow.
 
 432 
 
 \ OCABULARY. 
 
 Rougfa, tnlnir. 
 
 Smooth, tuni. 
 
 Life, mil. 
 
 Death, mud; EaL mord. 
 
 Black, hri/lmn. 
 
 White, chut. 
 Long, j a hut. 
 
 Short. /'///. 
 
 Blue, a hi/ a I. 
 Red, iruziil. 
 Green, svfe. 
 
 Yellow, Imfiir; \A. ijiilur. 
 
 Saddle, sua 
 
 Bridle, luhiiiii. 
 
 Boat, ruzu i nuns) ,■ 14. „,.>. 
 
 Barge, bahatz. 
 
 Punt, shikari. 
 
 Matting, dunga. 
 
 Light, '/"-/>. 
 
 Darkness, "/" gutta. 
 
 Morning, siihu or siberif irhenee 
 
 tlic name Siberia. 
 Noon, mtoftn ; [si. mitUagr; Dan 
 
 middug ; AngL mii/iln//. 
 Evening, milehwan. 
 Sun, «ri. 
 Moon, ran. 
 Stars, tar uk. 
 Cloud, ufar. 
 Thunder, gaggerai. 
 Lightning, oiizmnl. 
 Rain, rwc?, and in Persian. 
 Hail, cfo^. 
 Dry sleet, mukur. 
 To-day, uz. 
 To-morrow, puga. 
 After to-morrow, kulket. 
 
 i rday, youek. 
 
 I >;i \ before n< iterday, ant< rah. 
 
 This year, johus. 
 
 Next \ ear, broni hut, 
 
 I'a-t \. ar. /mi Ims. 
 
 Right, iliiclmi. 
 Left, Imiiiir. 
 Straight forward, ncla. 
 Bring, "/'. 
 Take away, /"/'. 
 Lift op, inl. 
 
 • >/:. 
 ('(.in.-, iruliili. 
 (i.. quick!) . tiki n </<kz. 
 <;.. dowly, htt-puk. 
 Cm away, pohhuk .' 
 
 Mount v'ur horse, t/tmr ishu.s . 
 
 Dismount, bom 
 
 Get up, tent .' 
 Alone, Kmii. 
 
 In coin j, any. situ. 
 
 All go away, kulvai muJm .' 
 
 Sit down, fo ft. 
 
 Wliat i- the price of this ? lojt < fttu 
 
 mul ! 
 Which is the way to? ifftfl fati 
 
 hi in In ! 
 [s there a horse path to ? Gur wut 
 
 <Ik i f 
 How many ? A///r / 
 How much ? Ay? eft a ■ 
 There is, chn. 
 There is not, Chu-no. 
 Give, <#/* ; Isl. tja, pronounced tia. 
 What is the name of this or that ? 
 
 gut kiyah chu 7iam hutt
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 433 
 
 KASHMIRI AN NUMERALS. 
 
 1. akh. 
 
 
 l'T. mlavmh. 
 
 
 2. zuli ; Dan. to. 
 
 
 28. (ti/tiunih. 
 
 
 3. tn h ; 1 fen. tri 
 
 
 L'!». humitriih. 
 
 
 4. char. 
 
 
 30. //"// ; Dan. fr< '/Vrr, 
 
 tn ilrc ; 
 
 ■">. panz. 
 
 
 Isl. prajatin. 
 
 
 6. sheh ; Dan. I-! 
 
 
 40. ckutajyh. 
 
 
 ■1 ; I tan. s//r. 
 
 
 50. panzah; I-l. fimtin , 
 
 Suv.l- 
 
 8. ay* ,• bL nitii. 
 
 
 fi niti. 
 
 
 9. ?/"// ; Dan. »•; I-l. ""/•. 
 
 60. shtezut ; I-l. seatfwj ,• 
 
 Swed. 
 
 10. '/"// ; Lat. (Afv/// ,- [si. 
 
 tugr. 
 
 «\r//. 
 
 
 11. kah. 
 
 
 TO. su/iil ; I-l. i sunt in; 
 
 Swed. 
 
 L2. /W/. 
 
 
 sjntti. 
 
 
 1 3. //■>'//// ; Dan. ^n ttt n. 
 
 
 80. »Ayf. 
 
 
 14. chudah. 
 
 
 90. inih mill ; I-l. nil/tin 
 
 ; Swed. 
 
 1 5. panda* ; Dan. /< raftw 
 
 : hi. 
 
 ni/ti. 
 
 
 Jim tn ii. 
 
 
 100. //m£; Isl. hundred 
 
 (ollin 
 
 16. shun ill. 
 
 
 hund). 
 
 
 1 7. sudah ,- I-l. teytjan ; 
 
 Dan. 
 
 1000. .wr. 
 
 
 Sl/tfi II. 
 
 
 10,000. ////■•. 
 
 
 1 8. (U/ttlilli ; I-l. (7/yV/// ; 
 
 Dan. 
 
 100,000. /«£. 
 
 
 r///( //. 
 
 
 100,000,000 Aror. 
 
 
 L9. hu milt null . 
 
 
 
 
 20. </•//// ; Dan. type. 
 
 
 1st. gureh nyak. 
 
 
 2 1 . uhiruli ; Dan. en-tyre. 
 
 
 2nd. (foiri/uni. 
 
 
 22. zuhfiiirnh. 
 
 
 3rd. t nun in. 
 
 
 L'.'5. tnh null. 
 
 
 4th. surum. 
 
 
 2 1. < It ii ir a h. 
 
 
 5th. panj'um. 
 
 
 l'~. panzuh. 
 
 
 6th. skeyion, §c. <S,c. 
 
 
 26. shahicuh. 
 
 
 
 
 \ OL. II. 
 
 2 »
 
 m 
 
 VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE OF 
 BULTISTAN, 
 
 8UR1 BUTAN, OR LITTLE TIBET. 
 
 Milk, ana. 
 
 Bread, khurba (ghurba in Abys- 
 sinian ). 
 
 Fire, myh. 
 Air, hiih. 
 Water, tcluuh. 
 Earth, .->"//. 
 li. ivtii, Mim, 
 Sugar, hm hit. 
 
 Meat, sluiluir. 
 Grapes, unjun. 
 
 Apricots, <•//"/> or suri. 
 
 The kernel, yakpah. 
 
 Www or lake, CncA; Dan. so; 
 
 Germ. ><< ; EsL v" I | 
 The Indus, Gym-Tnthj the col- 
 
 lected or great river. 
 Hill, broki W. fo-eAla. 
 Mountain, rA*. 
 Plain, thiuiij. 
 Sand, biangh. 
 Castle, &A«r. 
 Land paying rent, ?/?//. 
 Land paying 1 no rent, gund. 
 Good, Llukmoh (pronounced as // 
 
 in Welsh). 
 Bad, sheskik. 
 Enough, (Slid. 
 More, yug. 
 Ask, tris. 
 Give, min. 
 
 Bring mj horse, fAloA /.'<//></• 
 
 II .-. Ill II Im I. 
 
 Hi 1 1 road, rjyl how. 
 
 i , ■>/////. 
 
 . "iiij/i. 
 
 Which i- the waj ? Imm garyutt 
 Sit down, i/n/i/i. 
 
 .Mankind. ///////. 
 
 A man, 61 
 
 Woman. fafSff 
 
 I ■ /•////. 
 Giil, tumuli. 
 
 . shtnli. 
 
 . rgonmak. 
 Granting ox, hyak. 
 : same, putor. 
 Dog, / /// 1 a 1. 
 
 V A. Lllll. 
 
 ; tng or yek ; Is] 7'c/fo (j 
 Tree, starsji. 
 Shrub. Inhsuh. 
 Red, marfo. 
 Yellow, scr/b. 
 Green, kunpo, 
 Above, y< r. 
 Beneath, tertf. 
 Strong, kurker. 
 Weak, thear. 
 Old, Appo. 
 Young, jewan.
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 435 
 
 Ear, snur. 
 
 Hair allowed to grow, behind the 
 
 ear, si/arsko. 
 Fiah, mah. 
 A tent, 'rliba. 
 Tent-pole, 'rbaha. 
 Rope, 'rbathuk; [al. rejg>. 
 
 G mtre, (jr>/ltr. 
 Man*- fin iek, gonma. 
 
 Cap, a nt imi. 
 Shawl, knr. 
 Tcnpnt, hhiiruil. 
 
 To-day, dring. 
 
 To-morrow, hushi. 
 
 R jah, ih,t. 
 
 Queen of Little Tibet, clmhro. 
 
 Prince, cliapru. 
 
 Title of Rajah of Little Tibet, is 
 
 'Bgyl-fo. 
 Title of his Queen, 'figyl-mo. 
 A gin or devi, <//v/// ; Isl. drangr ; 
 
 \ irweg. drum (esse spectrum). 
 Female, dtidri/h-mo. 
 Fairies, hlti and Ida-mo ; Isl. alfas. 
 
 ■■/://• Angl.) 
 Yeeh or ,-atyr, yuiufru ; Isl. ^'o/a. 
 
 v, tna « Swed. jrd-foVt. 
 Yesterday, gundi. 
 Day after to-morrow, mum. 
 Day before yesterday, ccs. 
 Pashm or Shawlwool, ribttl. 
 Goat, ruskis and raA. 
 Ibex, >/•////. 
 
 1. ehich. 
 
 2. 7' 
 
 3. .«>////. 
 
 4. auji. 
 
 5. rah. 
 
 6. (rule. 
 
 7. </"//. 
 
 8. gyfe. 
 
 9. Oijlm. 
 
 10. <•/«//. 
 
 jl. chuscliiih. 
 
 12. ehong mu. 
 
 13. rlii' I;. mi in. 
 
 14. ckttbji. 
 
 15. chorah. 
 
 BULTI NUMERALS. 
 
 16. churuk. 
 
 17. chubdun. 
 
 18. chabget. 
 
 19. churghu. 
 
 20. nisi///. 
 30. si/ml///. 
 40. yift cAw. 
 50. kalchu. 
 60. nii'^w drum. 
 70. dunchu. 
 80. esubji. 
 90. oghubehu. 
 100. fy#a/<. 
 1000. .<?*»///. 
 
 2 i 2
 
 436 
 
 VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE OF 
 THE CHITRAL, 
 
 OTHERWISE 
 
 LITTLE KASHGHAR, OR BELUT. 
 
 Man, rug ; Sc. rekkr. 
 
 Woman, kumri; Isl. keme,krinna; 
 
 Dan. koni, kirnde. 
 Boy, duk; Isl. drengr ; Dan. 
 
 dreng. 
 Girl, kumeru ; Sc. mar ; Old 
 
 Dan. maar. 
 Eyes, weA ; Isl. augi. 
 Nose, naskar ; Isl. waiz, nasir. 
 Mouth, diran. 
 Ears, khur ; Isl. eyrw (audire 
 
 keyra). 
 Arms, barzu. 
 Hand, Aas£; Isl. Aawrf. 
 Body, budun. 
 Heart, hurdi ; Isl. hyarta. 
 Leg 1 , cfe^. 
 Foot, pong. 
 
 Blood, /ey; Sc. fepron. lay. 
 Milk, c/i«>; Isl. sfo> (lac aridum, 
 
 sive coagidatum) . 
 Wine, ren. 
 Grapes, durut ; Isl. prugus; Dan- 
 
 drues. 
 Melons, kergusah. 
 To eat, juioak. 
 To drink, aupyk. 
 To see, poshik. 
 To smell, tingayih. 
 
 To hear, khurupurai. 
 
 To speak, orestum. 
 
 To go, burai. 
 
 To come, /««'. 
 
 To ride, istorai. 
 
 House, c/wr. 
 
 Field, Awrw. 
 
 Mountain, wra. 
 
 Plain, dusht or zusht. 
 
 Defile, <7o/. 
 
 Valley, w/a£. 
 
 River, ««, 
 
 Torrent gologh ; Isl. </«7. 
 
 Tree, ^mm. 
 
 Forest, j ungul ; Isl. klungur. 
 
 Battle, jung. 
 
 Peace, jambik. 
 
 Fire, o<7 (ignis). 
 
 Water, augr. 
 
 Wind, hawa. 
 
 Sword, kongur. 
 
 Gun, top hang. 
 
 Bow, drun. 
 
 Arrow, ivyshu. 
 
 Spear, nasyt. 
 
 Shield, hurt. 
 
 Horse, astor. 
 
 Cow, leshu. 
 
 Go away, burai bogho !
 
 VOCABULARY. 
 
 Come here, ir ageh ! 
 
 Give me, mulct det ! 
 
 Take away, guneh ! 
 
 Way, rah. 
 
 Show me the way, I will give you 
 
 something, rah pushau ! jum 
 
 kia dom. 
 
 Good, jum. 
 Bad, dish. 
 High, yung. 
 Low, past. 
 Great, lut. 
 Little, tsyuk. 
 
 437 
 
 VOCABULARY OF DANGRI. 
 
 Spoken in Astor, Gilghit, and some countries or banks of the Indus, 
 between Little Tibet and the plains of the Punjab. 
 
 Country, yong. 
 
 Village, kui. 
 
 River, sin. 
 
 Mountain, tcheesh. 
 
 Tree, tome. 
 
 House, gosh. 
 
 Castle, kote ; Isl. kot. 
 
 Man, mamtju; Isl. maneskju. 
 
 Woman, tcheh ; Isl. kven. 
 
 Boy, bal. 
 
 Girl, muly. 
 
 Horse, ashup ; Sc. ess. 
 
 Ass, jakun. 
 
 Mule, kutcha. 
 
 Dog, sung. 
 
 Bull, dono. 
 
 Cow, gau ; Isl.ku. 
 
 Gin or devi, damon (J$aiiiav),d(emon. 
 
 Fairy, barai (peri). 
 
 Enchantment, yech - kuch ; Isl. 
 
 giorninga. 
 Head, sick. 
 
 Forehead, nilau. 
 
 Eyes, ashi ; Isl. augn. 
 
 Eyebrows, ashi koti. 
 
 Eyelash, ashi komi. 
 
 Nose, notn ; Isl. nos nasir. 
 
 Mouth, asi. 
 
 Cheek, muk. 
 
 Teeth, doni ; Isl. toun, tennur. 
 
 Ear, koni. 
 
 Beard, dyh. 
 
 Neck, shak. 
 
 Hands, hal ; Isl. hand. 
 
 Arms, shako. 
 
 Legs, doni. 
 
 Feet, pah. 
 
 Fire, agar. 
 
 Water, ivuhi ; Sc. vogr (mare); 
 
 Germ, tvogen (Ang. xvaves). 
 Earth, sum. 
 Gold, son. 
 Silver, rub. 
 Iron, kimyr.
 
 138 
 
 \<K A HULA It Y. 
 
 Capper, zangutt, 
 Lend, nong. 
 Swonl, hunghur. 
 Spear, nuzer. 
 Shield, paU. 
 Armour, bi/ch. 
 Army, sift . 
 Battle, birgah. 
 White, hi mi. 
 Clack, sir/;. 
 Yellow, kumiiiiu. 
 Blue and green, nda. 
 
 Ivul. lain. 
 
 High, ii la I it. 
 
 Low, latti ; Isl. lag ur. 
 
 Great, bant. 
 
 Littl<-, chunu. 
 
 Come, ih .' 
 
 Go, bull ! 
 
 What is the name of this place ? 
 
 a iii (lisltu /mm jok ? 
 Right, iln i shiliuin. 
 Left, hiliuin. 
 Straight, tuja. 
 
 Subjoined arc a few words mid sentences in common use, which 
 arc not only synonymous, but would appear to be identical With 
 those written against them. A list of such words might be in- 
 creased to any amount by inspecting the Anglo-Oriental dic- 
 tionaries. 
 
 Gred, an eagle, Kashm. ; gled, a kite in Scotland ; Dan. gleute. 
 
 Basun, any vessel for holding water, Hindust. 
 
 Kotal, Pers., a hill ; cote, French. 
 
 Brok, L. Tib., a rock. 
 
 Pice, L. Tib., penny, i. e. the copper coins of Hindustan. 
 
 Mout, Pers., death {mort). 
 
 J ins. Hindust., genus, a kind. 
 
 Afia, Kashm., a kind of snake (O0ty). 
 
 Sarp, a serpent, Panjabi. 
 
 Strup, L. Tib., a bridle. 
 
 Him, Hindust., snow; Isl. hrim ; Germ, himmel, heaven. Himalaya. 
 
 the place of snow. 
 Tarih, Hindust., dark. 
 Tavis, Pers., device. 
 
 Mus, Kashm., juice of the grape; Lat. mustum; Eng. must. 
 Uder, Kashm., otter. 
 Diwal, Pers., a wall.
 
 VOCABULARY. 439 
 
 Musak, Hindust., sheepskin for holding water ; (vclkkos) sack. 
 
 Hull, Ilindust., softly ; and in Scotland also. 
 
 Pak, Ilindust., clean ; Scot. pawky. 
 
 Mulaim, Hindust., soft {mollis). 
 
 Teter, Ilindust., black partridge, or francolin tctrao Lat. 
 
 Shurm, Hindust , shame ; Isl. skawm, skomm. 
 
 Nam, Hindust., name. 
 
 Abad, Pers., abode. 
 
 Bundalt, Arab., a slave; Isl. bundinu (vinctus, legatus); Angl. bound. 
 
 Bar/h, Pers., a garden, a bog; Isl. hagi. 
 
 Makpon, L. Tib., an army ; /io^o/im, pugno. 
 
 Kar, Hindust., care, business. 
 
 Aya, Arab., a nurse, in Hindustan, and a governess in Spain, a word 
 
 brought by the Moors. 
 Little Tibet : 
 
 Goa ? shall I proceed ? 
 
 Goida • will you go ? 
 
 Goyed, I will go now. 
 
 Chok mid )i<) goyed} all men are going. 
 The whirling toy held in the hands of the Lamas of Great Tibet is called 
 
 a ihru, screw. 
 Vuy Kunthn (the heaven of Vishnu, said to be at Magru, or the Pole) ; 
 
 Isl. ve, templum, domus. 
 Pal, in Sanscrit, a shepherd ; Isl. pales, goddess of shepherds. 
 
 Do. do., the word Tope, applied to the old towers, cenotaphs, &c, in 
 
 Afghanistan ; Isl. stupa, stavpul, stopull (turris, steeple). 
 Tiba, a mountain, Hindust., a peak ; Isl. toppo, cacumen montis, fyc. 
 Dan. top).
 
 •H<» 
 
 OBSERVATIONS 
 
 VEGETATION AND PRODUCTS OP AFGHANISTAN, 
 B ISHMIB \M» TIBET. 
 
 Bt J. FORBES ROYLE, II D .. I B B . 
 
 vi rBOBOl " ii I i - 1 r. u i.is- in nwit-iTtM BOTAWt am> U.oit v <»i < a-hmuu , 
 M BMA1 0« 1 111 NODI CT1VI UESOU] 
 
 The plants collected l>\ Mi. Vigne in Kashmir, 
 Astore, and [skardo, in Little Tibet, and placed in my 
 hands, amount to nearly ninety species. The majo- 
 rity, from imperfecl drying in the first instance, or 
 from subsequent injury, are in too imperfect a state 
 to allow of any accurate description of new, or even 
 of the identification of old species. But having many 
 of the same plants in my own herbarium, from the 
 Himalayan mountains and Kashmir and from Kuna- 
 wur, which may be considered a part of Tibet, I 
 have been able to identity several of the species, 
 and most of the genera, even when in a much decaved 
 state. In recent times, parts of the above countries 
 have been visited by different botanists, and our 
 knowledge respecting their climate and natural 
 history, at present imperfect, will become both definite
 
 INDIAN PLANTS. 44 1 
 
 and extensive, when they have published the result of 
 their labours. The plant collectors for the East India 
 Company's Botanic Garden at Saharunpore, sent 
 into Kashmir in ls^S, 1829, and 1831, brought me 
 numerous specimens of its Flora, as well as of its 
 fruit-trees ; and from Kunawur 1 obtained specimens 
 in 182.") and 1831. Since then Kashmir has been 
 visited bj Mons. Jacquemont, Baron Hugel, and Dr. 
 Falconer; Cabul and Afghanistan by Mr. Griffith. 
 
 \^ the specimens do not allow of minute botani- 
 cal examination, the most interesting and important 
 information to be derived from them is that of their 
 geographical distribution, as this enables us so fre- 
 quentlj to judge correctly respecting the climate and 
 capabilities <>(* a countrj with which we are otherwise 
 unacquainted. Another very interesting- fact which 
 ma\ be settled from even a small collection, is the 
 extent to which the plants peculiar to India extend 
 to the north and north-west, and the points where 
 they are met by the characteristic Flora of what 
 botanists call the Persian region. 
 
 1. It is doit able to ascertain how far the Flora pe- 
 culiar to the plains of India extends. The Hon. 
 Mr. Elphinstone, in travelling from Moultan to Pesh- 
 awur, mentions, that in the neighbourhood of the Indus 
 be saw " the trees like willow,' 7 which are probably 
 Salvadwa, and at Dera [shmael Khan, the jaund 
 and the kwreel, which arc no doubt Prosopis spicigera 
 and Capparis aphylla. These are likewise found
 
 I 12 ii OB I "i I HE PUNJ Mi. 
 
 in the arid country Dear Delhi, and the north-west 
 of India, in the form of large shrubs. 
 
 Dr. Falconer, in travelling from the north-weal of 
 [ndia towards the Indus at Attack, wrote to tin- 
 author that the Flora of the Punjab was exactl) that 
 of the neighbourhood of Delhi, and that he met with 
 the Dhak or Pulass [Butea frondosa of botanists) 
 so common in all the jungles of India, as far as the 
 
 western hank of the .Jhiluni. \_ tin, the lower part 
 of the plain ofPesbaWUT was -an Is, and ha I | \.n tly 
 
 the Flora of the arid tracts of the Punjab: — Salso 
 ChenopodetB) &e. Mr. Elphinstone Btati b, that 
 
 many of the Indian plants remain in leaf all the 
 \ear at lV-hawur, that the thermometer stood at 
 112° lor several da\>, and that it had risen even 
 to 120°; it sinks to 25" in winter. At the Salt-liills, 
 Dr. Falconer found the Cassia obovata, or Egyptian 
 senna, in flower. From Attack he proceeded up the 
 Indus as far as Durbund, and was much surprised 
 with the vegetation ; as he found it quite that of the 
 characteristic forms of the Deyra Doon, or valley of 
 the Himalayas in 30' of north latitude: — Ori 
 tomentosa, Rottlera tinctoria, Hastingia coccinea, 
 Acacia Catechu, Holostemma, §c. On the banks of 
 the Indus, in the valley leading up from Huzara, he 
 found Dodoncea Burmanniana, a plant confined, as far 
 as previously discovered, to the peninsula of India. 
 
 ' Vide Illustrations of Himalayan Botany, pp. 6 and xiiv.
 
 CLIMATE AND VEGETATION. 443 
 
 Mr. Vigne has also called my attention to his 
 having been struck with two Indian-looking plants in 
 his travels in these mountains. One is no doubt a 
 Bauhinia, and the other Orislea tomentosa, which he 
 Bays is there called Javee. In India it is known by 
 the name of Dhaee, and its flowers, of a bright red 
 colour, are used in thing. 
 
 Prom tln> great changes which take place in the 
 physical features of the country, this must be the 
 mosl northern limit to which the characteristic forms 
 of Indian vegetation extend, and their extension to 
 such localities is extremely interesting when viewed in 
 connexion with their climate. Mr. Elphinstone long 
 Bince remarked, thai the south-west monsoon which 
 deluges India with rain for three or four months in 
 the year, thai is from June to September, extends 
 in a north-west direction, into which it is forced by 
 the Himalayas, even until it meets with the Hindoo 
 Coosh. Then the clouds exhausted of their rain, are 
 barely able to water the mountains, without much 
 affecting the plains of Afghanistan. In the north of 
 the Punjab, near the hills, the rains exceed those at 
 Delhi. The countries under the hills of Kashmir, 
 and those under Hindoo Coosh (Pukhlee, Boonere, 
 and Swat have all their share of the rains, but these 
 diminish as we go west, and at Swat are reduced 
 to a month of clouds, with occasional showers.* 
 
 • I. Iphi I aubiJ, p. 130.
 
 1 I I DOUBLE ii \k\ ESI B. 
 
 Lieutenant Irvine, in an able memoir on the 
 climate, soil, products, and husbandry of Afghanistan 
 and the neighbouring countries, referred t«» bj Mr, 
 Elphinstone in his preface, alluding to the two b 
 vests which [ndia has in the year, 1st, the Rubbee t 
 sown in autumn and cut in the Bpring, consisting 
 chiefly of wheat, barley, peas, beans, 8u ■. \ and 2d, the 
 Khureef, consisting of rice, maize, joaree, bajra, &c. 
 sown during the rains, <>r immediately before them, 
 and reaped in autumn, — Bays, "these t\\<> harv< 
 tlms distinguished, extend as far as Jellalabad and 
 Lughman, and generally to the cold climates. But 
 these last, and also the warmer climates beyond them, 
 are commonly said to have the Rubbee only. This is 
 strictly true of the verj coldest, — Buch as the Til i 
 
 the greater part of the rluzara c itry, the upper 
 
 parts ofBudukshan, and some others. 
 
 2. If the plains of India continued to extend much 
 further to the north-west, we should no doubt havi 
 gradual change to the Flora of more northern re- 
 gions ; though the great dryness of the countries 
 beyond the influence of the periodical rains, would 
 prevent much approach to the verdure or the vege- 
 
 * This memoir was composed from information collected during 
 Mr. Elphinstone's mission, and which has remained in manuscript 
 until within the la-t few years, when it began to be published in 
 detached parts in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. It 
 is well worthy oi' publication in a separate form, especially if notes 
 were added, identifying the plants, &C, there mentioned only under 
 their native names.
 
 TEIK SOLTMAN MOUNTAIN. 445 
 
 tation of the more northern parts of Europe. But 
 instead of continued plains, we have the Hala and 
 the Soliman mountains, extending from the western 
 mouths of the Indus, and nearly parallel with its 
 banks, until the latter range joins with the Kliyber 
 mountains, and those which intervene between Cabul 
 and Jellalabad. To the westward of these moun- 
 tain-, tin- < I'mian- i- different in the southern from 
 that in the northern parts ; for, as Mr. Elphinstone has 
 stated, " the regular monsoon is felt as far west as 
 tin' utmost boundary of Mekraun." But he had re- 
 ceived no account of tin' rains beyond a line drawn 
 through the northern pad of the table-land of Kelaut, 
 and the northern part- of Shoraubult, of Pisheen and 
 of Zhobe, to the Bource of tin- Koorum. They fall, 
 however, in verj differenl quantities in the various 
 countries south-east of that line.* 
 
 The Soliman mountains, as yet unexamined by 
 an] naturalist, must necessarily present a consider- 
 able gradation of 'Innate as well as of vegetation. 
 Mr. Elphinstone mentions that two officers of his 
 parrj attempted to ascend the highest points of the 
 Tukht-i-Soliman, which is supposed to be about 
 twelve thousand feet high. When they set off from 
 the plain- covered with bushes of the jaund and 
 kureel, and entered the hills, they found the north side 
 sloping and covered with fir-trees. At night "they 
 lighted by pieces of a kind of deal, so full of 
 » Caubul, p. 131.
 
 446 VARIATIONS OF CLIMATE 
 
 turpentine, that they burned like torches." The 
 whole party had previously crossed the Indus " in 
 good flat-bottomed boats, made of fir/' probably de- 
 rived from this very locality. 
 
 The changes of climate and vegetation being 
 dependent so much upon the physical features of the 
 country, will necessarily be most striking where the 
 mountains are most lofty. They will also occur in a 
 less degree, even where the differences of the surface 
 are less marked, and will be obvious to those paying 
 attention to these subjects, if they have the requisite 
 information for observing what they see. The Em- 
 peror Baber, in his first journey to the east of 
 Caubul, says, " I had never before seen the hot 
 climates, or the Indian country. When I reached 
 the pass I saw another world : the grass, the trees, 
 the birds, the animals, and the tribes of men — all 
 was new, I was astonished !" So Burnes says, " At 
 Gundamuk, we reached the boundary of the hot and 
 cold countries. It is said to snow on one side of the 
 rivulet, and to rain on the other. Vegetable life 
 assumes a new form, the wheat which was being cut 
 at Jellalabad was only three inches above ground at 
 Gundamuk.* In the fields we discovered white daisies 
 among the clover, and the mountains which were 
 
 * In the posthumous work " Cabool," by the late Sir A. Burnes, he 
 says, " On the 26th of February the willow was in blossom ; on the 
 1 lth of March the first flower of spring, or the " sosun," a small sweet- 
 smelling iris, made its appearance ; and on the 1st of April the 
 apricots showed their blossom."
 
 INFLUENCING THE VEGETATION. 447 
 
 but ten miles distant, were covered with forests of 
 pine that commenced about one thousand feet below 
 the limit of the snow." 
 
 Mr. Elphinstone, in returning from Pesliawur to 
 India through the Punjab, says, 4 'The whole of our 
 journey across the tract between the Indus and Hy- 
 daspes (the Jhilum), was about 160 miles; for which 
 space the country is among the strongest I have ever 
 seen." p. 78. So Burnes, travelling in the opposite 
 direction, says, ' ' From Rotas we entered into a moun- 
 tainous and rugged country of great strength." Here, 
 therefore, with a change of physical features, there 
 will be necessarily a change of climate, and with it a 
 change of vegetation. Dr. Falconer writes that the 
 Flora begins to change at Rawil Pindee, (and Burnes 
 that there the Dandelion had become a common weed,) 
 which is elevated and continues so, to the plain of 
 Chuch, along the banks of the Attock. The country 
 round Rawil Pindee is open, scattered with single hills 
 and tolerably cultivated, and here Dr. Falconer first 
 met with the famous Zuetoon or wild Olive, an unde- 
 termined species of Olea. Mr. Elphinstone first saw it 
 between Carabagh and Cohaut. Further on at Hussun 
 Abdaul, Dr. Falconer found Himalayan Rubi and a 
 white-flowered Kashmir Dianthus, and there Mr. El- 
 phinstone for the last time, in a garden which resem- 
 bled and almost equalled that of Cohaut, saw the Plane- 
 tree (Platanus orientalis), which forms the favourite 
 ornament of all the gardens of the West. Burnes
 
 [ Is r ii k PL \i\ 01 COH IUT. 
 
 Bays, thai the peach and apricot glowed with blossom, 
 and ili«' vines clung to their branch* -. 
 
 To the westward of the Indus, bui encircled b) 
 prolongations of the above range of hills, we n acfa the 
 plain of Cohaut, a circle <»f about twelve miles in 
 diameter, with lulls around, varied and picturesque. 
 The plain was green and well watered, and the 
 climate delightful; the Bno* never lies long <»n the 
 Lower hills about ( lohaut, ami tin- fruits ami Bowers of 
 all climates are Baid i" !"• produced in the plain. Mr. 
 Elphinstone especially mentions that the garden, spread 
 along iln* I). ink- of a crystal stream, afforded them 
 great delight, though perhaps in charms consisted in 
 its abounding in English plants, from which they bad 
 been loner estranged in the climate of India. It i 
 enclosed by a hedge, fall <>i* wild raspberry and 
 blackberry bushes,and contained plum and peach tn 
 in full blossom (21st February ), weeping willows and 
 plane-trees in leaf, together with apple-trees. The 
 celebrated Bed-i-Mishk was also here, and Mr. Elphin- 
 stone was surprised to find it was a sort of willow, with 
 yellow sweet-scented flowers like the Palm willow in 
 Great Britain. It is probably the Salts /Egyptiaca. 
 There were also numerous vines, as thick as a man's 
 leg:, twisted round the trees as if thev were wild. 
 The walks were covered with green sod, which looked 
 the more English, because some withered grass was 
 seen among the full, soft, and fresh verdure of the new 
 year. There was also clover, chickweed, plantain,
 
 THE PLAIN OK COHAULT. 449 
 
 rib grass, dandelion, coiiiuioii dock, and many other 
 English weeds. 
 
 The plain in which the city of Peshawuris situated 
 is nearly circular, and about thirty-five miles in diame- 
 ter, and except for a small space in the East, it is 
 surrounded by mountains, and watered by several 
 streams fringed with willows and tamarisks. In March 
 the upper parts of the mountains were covered with 
 snow, while the plain was clothed with the richest 
 verdure, and the (lunate was delicious. The orchards 
 scattered over the country contained a profusion of 
 plum, peach, apple, pear, quince and pomegranate 
 trees, which displayed a greater degree of blossom 
 than Mr. Elphinstone had ever witnessed, and the new 
 
 foliage, i fresl sa and brilliancy never seen in the 
 
 perpetual summer of India. The uncultivated parts 
 of tin' land were covere I with thick elastic sod, that 
 perhaps never was equalled but in England. The 
 greater part of the plain was highly cultivated, and 
 the tries were chiefly mulberries, orotherfruit trees, 
 but oranges are rare. Except a few picturesque 
 groups of dates, the only tall trees were the Ficus 
 religioza or peepid, and the tamarisk, which last grows 
 here to the height of thirty or forty feet. The Cy- 
 press is afrequent ornament of the gardens, as well as 
 the Plane-tree or Chinar, each attaining to the height 
 of one hundred feet, "holding each other by the 
 hand and rivalling: each other in beautv." The 
 Lombardy Poplar, which is so often mistaken for 
 I ol. II. 2 G
 
 450 PERPETUAL BPRINO. 
 
 the Cypress, in drawings of these regions, is also 
 cultivated here. 
 
 Roses red, white, yellow, and China, arc men- 
 tioned, and as being profusel) abundant, with Anemo- 
 nes, Poppies, and stafc ly rows of alternate Cypresses 
 and Planes. Thyme and violets perfumed the air, 
 and the green sod and clover pat them in mind of a dis- 
 tant country. In the march from Peshawur, the plant 
 called jouz by the Afghans, and Kkauree Shooturee 
 by the Persians, (probably Alhagi Maurorurn) and a 
 plant very common about Peshawur, which much re- 
 sembles that in English gardens called Devil-in-the- 
 bush ; — no doubt a species of NigeUa } and probably 
 its seed is the siah dana used tor flavouring- dishes, 
 and which is generally considered to be the Blaek 
 Cumin of Scripture. 
 
 The difference of elevation, climate and vege- 
 tation is well expressed in Barnes's travels, when he 
 says, "Since our departure We have bee i travelling 
 in a perpetual spring. The trees were blossoming as 
 we left Lahore in February, and we found them full 
 blown in March at Peshawur. We had now the same 
 joyous state of the season in Cabool. Great was the 
 variety and number of fruit trees ; there were peaches, 
 plums, apricots, pears, apples, quinces, cherries, wal- 
 nuts, mulberries, pomegranates and vines, all growing 
 in one garden.'" Rhiucask or Rhubarb grows sponta- 
 neously under the snowy hills of Pughman. Hence 
 Cabool has a great celebrity for producing it in the
 
 VEGETATION OF AFGHANISTAN. 451 
 
 form of the blanched stalks. The banks of the river 
 are beautifully shaded by trees of mulberry, willow 
 poplar. 
 
 Though we have no precise information respecting 
 the vegetation of Afghanistan, yet there is no doubt 
 from the cold and dry nature of the climate, there 
 must be a disappearance of tropical, and an approach 
 to the vegetation of more northern latitudes, as of the 
 Persian and Mediterranean, with a few plants pro- 
 bably of the African region. The seeds of plants 
 collected by Mr. Griffith, and sent to the India House, 
 belonged entirely to such genera as Aconitum, Pa- 
 paver, Thlaspi, Cheiranthus, Cochlearia, Cardamine, 
 Sisymbrium, Silene, Arenaria, Huta, Peganum, 
 Epilobium, Campanula, Heliotropium, Onosma, Pe- 
 dicularis, Linaria, Veronica, Hyoscyamus, Verbas- 
 ciini, Plantago, Samolus, Hippophae, Rumex, Poly- 
 gonum, Euphorbia, Phyllanthus, Blitum, Iris, Tulipa, 
 Tauscheria a Siberian and Tibetian genus, with 
 a Rose and the Hawthorn, Leguminous seeds 
 allied to Astragalus and Caragana, as well as several 
 Compositai of the tribe Carduacea?, with species of 
 Onopordum, Centaurea and Cichor.um. The Praugos 
 Pabularia was also met with, but Dr. Falconer says, 
 " nowhere prized, as a valuable fodder, or regarded 
 as an agricultural object of any interest." 
 
 If we proceed still further to the North West, we 
 shall find a yet greater approach to European climate 
 and vegetation. Major Todd, in a letter to the Agri- 
 
 2c 2
 
 152 rEGBTATIO* "i HER \ I . 
 
 cultural Society of Calcutta, write- that the < TimaO 
 
 (it* 1 1. a; it is not so severe as thai of England, with but 
 moderate snow; the Bumraer months lot. with but 
 
 little 1 rain except in winter and rails Bpring. The 
 principal trees in the vallej an- tin- elm, the ash, the 
 
 fir, the plane, the poplar, the willow ami the < vpress. 
 
 Of fruit trees there are the pear, apple, 'juince, 
 peach, apricot, plum, cherrj (sour), mulberry (red 
 and white), pomegranate, walnut, filbert, barberry 
 and 6g ; the pistachio flourishes in the district imme- 
 diately north of the valley. Of melons and grapes 
 there are ever) variet) in perfection. The vegetables 
 of Herat are cucumbers, beet, onion-, lettuce, brinj- 
 all (egg-apple), carrots, turnips, spinach and beans ; 
 all except the three first named, of very indifferent 
 quality. Among the flowers, the rose, jessamine, 
 lilac, tulip, Narcissus. [ris, &c. are mentioned, with 
 many of the most common weeds of European coun- 
 tries. 
 
 Many of these statements respecting the identity 
 of species must be received with caution, as the evi- 
 dence of general observers can onlv be received 
 with respect to the general impression made on them 
 by the appearance of the vegetation. But there is 
 no reason to doubt that many European species of 
 plants do exist in these regions ; for it is thence we 
 received our fruit trees, and probably our corn grasses. 
 Mr. Ainsworth, in a late excursion in the country near 
 Mosul, which is however much further to the West-
 
 MODE OF CULTIVATION. 453 
 
 ward, collected forty species of plants in the neigh- 
 bourhood of that town, and found thirty of them to be 
 familiar as way-side British plants. Some of those 
 found so common in all European countries, have no 
 doubt travelled north with the cereal grains, as they 
 have done South into India. There the climate is not 
 suited to produce such plants except in the cold 
 weather, when also wheat and barley can be cultivated 
 Dearly in the same fields whence rice has been har- 
 \» st< d in the autumn. 
 
 In connexion with the vegetation, it is desirable 
 to notice the cultivation; a subject into which Lieu- 
 tenant Irvine enters very fully. He first informs us, 
 that lands in these countries are divided into irrigated 
 and not irrigated. The meat seed time in the valley 
 of Caubul is the Autumn, in which arc sown wheat, 
 barley, musoor (Ervum Lens) and peas; these are 
 reaped chiefly in Ihe month of June, having lain 
 under the snow during the winter, and been protected 
 b) it. 'I'o the Spring sown harvest belongs, chuna 
 (Cirrr arietinum) which is very rarely sown in Au- 
 tumn; but beans are sown about the end of May and 
 reaped in the end of September. The two grains 
 called in India cheena and kungnee, in Persian urzun 
 and gal Panicum miliaceum and Italicum) are raised 
 in Caubul sometimes for fodder, sometimes for their 
 grain. In the latter case they are sown in the be- 
 ginning of May and reaped in August. Maize and 
 Mash Phaseolus radiatus) arc sown a few days later,
 
 454 FRUITS AND VEGETABLE!. 
 
 and reaped in September: Rice, a far more import- 
 ant product than maize, is sown in .May and June, 
 and reaped the cud of August and September. It is 
 even practicable in this valley, by good management, 
 to gather two crops within the year off the same 
 ground. 
 
 The grain and garden vegetables, though scarce, 
 are in genera] the same which arc cultivated in Hug- 
 land — carrots, turnips, radishes, cabbages, cauli- 
 flowers, lettuces, onions, garlic, spinach, cress, water- 
 cress, &c. To these are added some from India, as 
 the bangun, or egg-apple, Solarium melongena. 
 Next to their fruits, the natives dwell on the c.\< ■< 1- 
 lence of their paliz, which is the name given to a 
 crop of melons or cucumbers; and which require 
 great quantities of manure and of water. The 
 melons are described as being excellent, and the 
 flavour of some as exquisite. The varieties are 
 very great ; nine kinds of seed were sent by Mr. 
 Griffith, of musk melons, the Cabulee and Candaharee, 
 and of the latter two varieties, spuenkee aicul and 
 khasimee; water-melons of Candahar, three varieties; 
 mirmalenzi, pundrasin, and kumbeenj; cold mu>k 
 melons of Caubul and Candahar, and the variety 
 called seenabaj. One variety, named the Istambol 
 melon, is a small kind which is not eaten, but held in 
 the hand to smell. Pumpkins are also common. 
 
 Lieutenant Irvine states that hay is known in most 
 of these countries, but not in all places. Some trust
 
 INDIAN CLOVER-GRASSES. 455 
 
 the subsistence of their stock during the winter to 
 the withered grass still remaining in the pastur- 
 ing ground, even though it has been buried to 
 a considerable depth under snow ; others reap the 
 natural grass of their pastures, to serve as fodder 
 during the winter. 
 
 Lieutenant Nicholson describes the pastures as 
 being rich, and that in the valleys and on the banks 
 of rivers, where the towns and villages are always 
 situated, the meadows produce the richest grass and 
 clover. The seeds of some of these pasture clovers 
 haying been sent by Mr. Griffith to the India House, 
 were ordered to be distributed by the Court of Di- 
 rectors. The clover produced some remarkably pro- 
 lific crops, and the luccrn came in as a green crop 
 in tin- spring earlier in the season than any thing 
 else.* In consequence of the favourable accounts sent 
 to India, the late Sir A. Burnes was induced to give an 
 account of their cultivation in Caubul.t He says there 
 are three kinds of grasses cultivated in Caubul; rishka 
 or lucern ; Shuftul, a kind of trefoil ; and si-barga, 
 (three leaves) or clover. The first and the last con- 
 tinue to yield crops for some years, but the trefoil is 
 an annual. The Lucern was found to be the common 
 species, Medicago sativa ; but the clover being a new 
 species, was from its great yield, named Tri folium 
 
 * Proc. Agri. Soc. Calcutta, June, 1841, and Gardener's 
 Chron. i. pp. 630, 750. 
 
 t Proc. Agri. Soc. of Calcutta, July, 1841.
 
 456 fruit or CAUBUL. 
 
 giganteum. A species of melilotus, M. leucantfui, has 
 been advertised in this country as Bokhara clover, but 
 it is a very different plant in properties, though like 
 it, is luxuriant in growth. 
 
 The natives of the country boast especially of their 
 fruits, and those of Caubul are acknowledged to be 
 good even by the Persians. The chief fruits are the 
 apple, pear, quince, plum, cherry, peach, nectarine, 
 apricot, almond, walnut, pomegranate, figs, and 
 grapes. With these may also be mentioned the 
 Pistachio nut, and the Sinjet and Sinjilhi, varieties or 
 species of Elceagnus. lint the mulberry is the most 
 important, both in a wild and a cultivated state : and 
 Lieutenant Irvine says, that there are not less than 
 twelve varieties of it, and in some places dried and 
 ground into flonr, it forms a principal article of food. 
 
 Edgeworthia buxifblia — Falc. is an edible fruit, 
 unknown in England ; it belongs to the tribe Theo- 
 phrastecr, of which the nearest allied species are found 
 in the north of Africa, and the rest in South America. 
 
 From a view of the vegetation and products, there 
 is little doubt, that with good culture, many parts of 
 Afghanistan would yield plentiful crops of most of the 
 grains known in Europe. It is well calculated for 
 the breeding of Sheep and the production of Wool ; 
 and the annual Silkworm would appear well suited 
 to the country where the Mulberry is so abundant. 
 The temperature also allows of the due control of the 
 process of fermentation, and the probable production
 
 CLIMATE AND VEGETATION OF KASHMIR. 457 
 
 of Wines of good quality, where Grapes flourish, 
 are rich in varieties and excellent in kind. 
 
 The Hop might also be grown in the country, and 
 Tobacco prepared of the best quality, as well as Hemp 
 and Flax. The Cotton of the Punjab is said to be of 
 good quality, at all events well fitted for the China 
 market. They already export dried fruits, as raisins, 
 aloo bokhara or dried plums and apricots, figs and 
 almonds, Pistachio nuts, with the Costus of the 
 ancients ; saffron, a kind of madder, with other dyes 
 and medicinal drugs. Assafcetida and ammoniacum 
 are produced in these regions only. 
 
 3. Having traced the changes which take place in 
 climate and vegetation, in proceeding from India to 
 the cold and comparatively dry climate of Afgha- 
 nistan, we may now, instead of proceeding to the 
 north-west, turn to the right, and ascend the moun- 
 tains which form the north-east boundary of the ex- 
 tensive plains of India and of the Punjab, and which 
 surround the valley of Kashmir. Mr. Vigne has 
 brought several specimens of plants from hence. The 
 Author has treated pretty fully of this subject in his 
 u Illustrations of Himalayan Botany," page 25 — 28, 
 from materials obtained by the plant collectors de- 
 spatched from the East India Company's botanic gar- 
 den at Saharunpore when under his superintendence. 
 It is there observed, that Bernier was surprised, on 
 the first night that he left Bember and entered these 
 mountains, to find himself transported as if from the
 
 458 I EGE i' a i ion OF PEBRPI WJ tL. 
 
 torrid into a temperate zone, and from the vegetation 
 would have concluded, thai instead of being in India, 
 he was in the mountains of Auvergne. He was parti- 
 cularly struck l'\ observing that on the side exposed 
 to the south, towards India, there v/as a mixture ol 
 Indian ami European plant-, bul on thai exposed to 
 the north be only saw Europ* an ones. This pr< »- 
 bably refers to the lower parts of the mountains* At 
 the highest j the European forms must prevail on 
 both sides, except during the cloudiness of the rainj 
 season, wheu tropic-like forms ma) be seen at gi 
 elevations on both faces. Of Himalayan plants 
 there are found on Peerpunjal, Aconitum heU 
 phyllum, Primula denticulate and Stuartii, Salvia 
 nubicola, Rheum emodi s with new species of Poten- 
 ti/ld, Sasi/ragOj Gentiana, and Pedicularis. Among 
 the trees and shrubs, we hi to the eastward, 
 
 three pines, two or three firs, and Deodar [Falconer); 
 of the former, Pinus Oerardiatia,* which further to 
 the eastward is only found in the dry climate of the 
 northern face of the I limala\ as. There are also species 
 of yew and juniper, as well as of oak. birch, maple, 
 ash, hazle, elder, rhododendron, and gaultheria. Dr. 
 Falconer remark^, thai few if any oaks descend on 
 the northern side of the Peerpunjal into the valley. 
 Common thyme and marjoram, with Prunella vulgaris, 
 
 * Tins pine is called Neoza in Kunawur, Chilghozeh and Julghosa 
 in Afghanistan.
 
 VEGETATION OF KASHMIR. 459 
 
 are among- the European species found here, with the 
 gooseberry. 
 
 The northern latitude, and elevation of the valley 
 of Kashmir, besides its being encircled by lofty 
 mountains, necessarily create moderation of tempe- 
 rature. A greal resemblance is observed in its vege- 
 tation to that of European countries, not only in the 
 genera — a> Viola, Hypericum, Lythrum, Rubus, Sal- 
 via, Vicidy Hepatica, Ailo.ru, Epimedium, Sec, but 
 also in many of the species as Mentha viridis, Men- 
 tha arvensis, Din nth us barbatus, Lychnis coronaria, 
 MyosotU palustris, Dactylis glomerata. In the lake 
 \ .11 see Nelumbium, Euryale ferox, and Trapa bi- 
 spinosa, growing along with Menyanthes tn'foliata. 
 FritiUaria imperialis, the Crown Imperial of English 
 
 rdenSj grows wild in the shady forests of Kashmir. 
 The saffron {Crocus sativus) is cultivated. Prangos 
 pabularia, so much vaunted by Mr. .Moorcrofr, was 
 found here by Mr. Vigne, and seen by Dr. Falconer 
 on Ahatongj a low trap bill in the valley, but the 
 Kashmirians do not value it, as they have abundant 
 other pasturag 
 
 A substance, well known to the ancients by the 
 name of ( Jostus, has been traced to this valley ; it is 
 known in India by the name of Koot or Koost, and 
 forms an article of commerce to Bombay and Cal- 
 cutta, \\ in-Net it is exported to China. Dr. Falconer 
 found the plant growing on the hills surrounding the
 
 400 VEGETATION OP KASHMIR. 
 
 valley of Kashmir,* and as he found it belonged 
 to a new genus, he named it Aucklandia, in honour 
 of Lord Auckland, as a distinction well me- 
 rited by his lordship's services in the cause of 
 Indian botany. Dr. Falconer also discovered here a 
 species of Fothergilla, (/\ involucrata, Falc.) forming 
 whole tracts of low jungle, and looking at a little 
 distance, not unlike the bazle. Mr. Vigne informs 
 me that its wood is called chob-i~pau t and with it he 
 has had a flute made since his return to EnglandLt For 
 this it is well suited, and niu-t therefore be like 
 Parrotia persica, which is distinguished "lignodiir 
 rissimo,"is found in Persia and Caucasus, and belongs 
 to the same natural family of HamamelidecB.% 
 
 * Vide Royle's Illust. p. 360, and Productive Resources of 
 India, p. 223. 
 
 f Vide vol. L, p. 211. 
 
 X In connection with the vegetable productions of these regions, 
 some interesting (acts may be mentioned respecting some attempts 
 made to increase their variety and to improve their qualify. Lieu- 
 tenant Cunningham, aide-de-camp to Lord Auckland, haying visited 
 Cashmere, was treated with a curry of potatoes, which had been first 
 planted only in the previous year by Dr. Falconer,* deputed by his 
 lordship for the investigation of the natural history of these regions. 
 Lord Auckland himself ordered a variety of ,-eeds to be sent to Cabul 
 from the public gardens of India, and requested that some should also 
 be sent direct from England to Captain Bean, at Quelta ; Major Leech, 
 at Candahar ; and to Sir W. Macnaghten, at Caubul. Last Autumn, 
 
 * Baron Huge! had first introduced them in Kashmir, and sent 
 some to Little Tibet, where I saw them growing. — Vide Narrative of 
 a Personal Visit to Ghuzni, &c. p. 174.
 
 VALLEY OF ASTORE. 461 
 
 4. Crossing- the passes from Kashmir, which lead 
 into Tibet, we come upon a country which is very 
 rugged and mountainous, extremely cold, and upon 
 the whole having a dry climate, though in winter it is 
 covered with snow. In most parts it is barren and bare 
 of vegetation, but in sheltered situations where there 
 is moisture, we have some of the same vegetation as 
 characterizes Kashmir. Thus the valley of Astore, 
 surrounded with high and barren mountains, has 
 considerable verdure neartheir bases, where the rivu- 
 lets run, and afforded Mr. Yigne several plants, among 
 which some appear to be new species, with Aconitum 
 heterophyllum, Anemone discolor, a species of Po- 
 dophyllum, a Dianthus, Geranium, some Gentians, 
 Swertias, Agathotes Chirayata, an Epilobium, Pole- 
 monium cceruleum, Dracoccphalam Royleanum, 
 
 The elevated plateau, between Kashmir and 
 Tibet, called Deosuh, raised 13,000 feet, forms 
 one of the principal features of that region. It is 
 high above the forest line, or birch region, and ten- 
 anted only by the Tibetian marmot. Its vegetation is 
 restricted to herbaceous species, and a few dwarf 
 willows, but these are so abundant as to clothe it 
 witli verdure. The Tibetian valley of the Indus is 
 bleak and barren : the only spontaneous vegetation 
 
 DO less than 360 different kinds of seeds were sent from the India 
 House hy the overland mail directed to the late Sir A. Burnes. These 
 consisted of seeds of fruit-trees, vegetables, sweet-herbs, medicinal 
 plants, coni and pasture grasses, as well as of ornamental flowers. 
 But the lamentable occurrences in that country must have prevented 
 them ever reaching their destination.
 
 462 PLANTS OF KU.NAWUK. 
 
 exists close under the snow limit. There Dr. Fal- 
 coner got a spiked Rhubarb, distinct from the author's 
 Rheum spiciforme, He also came upon two species of 
 Pyruht, the only representative of the Ericaceoua 
 tribe in Tibet. Mr. \ igne brougbl some plants from 
 Iskardo, which have the closest resemblance and 
 indeed identity with some the author obtained from 
 Kunawur, of which a detailed list has been given in 
 the Author's Illustrations, p, 34 to 10. Among the 
 plants brought by Mr. Vigne from these regions, are 
 a species of Actcea, some CrucifercB, Silene Moor- 
 crqftiana, Biebersteinea odora, species of Astragalus 
 OssytropU chiliophylla, Guldenstadtia cuneata, Acer 
 microphyllum, Potentilla leucockroa, cuneata and mi- 
 cranthes, species of Myricaria^ of Hippophae and 
 of Salsola, with the beautiful Saxifrage, Saxifraga 
 stenophyUa, (Royle's lllustr. t. 50, f. 1.) called there 
 Mahi-i-peri, or fairy's hair, from its numerous thread- 
 like stolons, in which, and its general appearance, it 
 so closely resembles a species S. flagellar is from 
 Melville island. 
 
 In conclusion may be added a passage of a letter 
 to the author from Dr. Falconer, who says, " I have 
 already seen enough to convince me, from a trip to 
 near Duras on the Tibet frontier, that the Flora there 
 will bear a close resemblance in many general re- 
 lations to that of the Altai mountains, shown by 
 Ledebour and yourself."* 
 
 * Vide Illustrations of Himalayan Botany, p. 34 to 40.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Note, vol. i. p. 86. — Kusa is Pua Cynosuriensis ; Tila is Sesa- 
 mum Indicum. 
 
 Vol. ii. p. 122, add to the note. — The language of Multan 
 resemble* that of the gipsies, so I am informed by Mr. Borrow 
 more than any other that is known. 
 
 Vol. ii. p. 170. — I am not sure that the Nil Nag I visited was 
 the Nil Nag of Abu Fuzl. Mr. Moorcroft, in his Travels, vol. ii. 
 p. 283, mentions another in the mountains west of Kamraj, whence 
 two stream- flowed ; one towards the Pahru river, in Kashmir, and 
 the other towards Kathai, in the Baramula pass. 
 
 Vol. ii. p. 192. — 1 have, perhaps, expressed myself too decidedly 
 on the identity of the Khukas, or Ghukas, and the Ghikars. The 
 Khuka Bambas are rightly placed in the Map, the Bambas being 
 on the right bank of the Jylum. The word Duchin is inserted 
 because it signifies the right. If Bambas be derived from Bam, 
 the left, they must have been so designated by persons looking up 
 the pass. Duchin Para, in Kashmir, is on the right of the Lidur 
 river at present; in the Map, it stands on the left bank. Duchin, 
 above Kishtawar, is a name applied to both banks of the Muru- 
 Wurdwun stream. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 In the heading of Chapter X. vol. i. p. 313, for "fright and 
 retreat of Azim Khan," read "fright and retreat of Shah Shuja." 
 
 Vol. ii. p. 190, for '• Margula," read " Mahagula, the great 
 defile." 
 
 Vol. ii. p. 171, for " Eysh Mekam," read " Eysh Makam." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 CHARl.EI WHITING, BEAUFORl HOUSE, STRAND,
 
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