From The Summit Of This Pass We Descended About Three
Kos To Lamieroo, Without Passing A Single Hut Or Village On The Entire
Road.
The only natives we encountered were a party of three from Ladak,
on their way to Cashmere, with a couple of fine native dogs, as a
present from the Thanadar to some of his visitors.
The pedestrians one
generally meets now are old ladies, carrying conical baskets filled
with sulphur or saltpetre, in the direction of Cashmere, and so shy
are they, that on beholding "the white face" they drop their loads as
if shot, and scuttle away among the mountains, so that, if inclined,
we could seize upon the Maharajah's munitions of war and carry them
off without difficulty. On reaching the vicinity of Lamieroo, the
inscribed stones became more frequent than ever. They were placed
generally upon long broad walls, the tops of which sloped slightly
outwards, like the roof of a house. Supplies of uncut stones were also
in many instances collected together in their vicinity, as if for the
benefit of any pedestrian who might feel inclined to carve out his
future happiness by adding to the collection. Lamieroo, as its name
would seem to imply, appears to have been a headquarters of the Lamas
and their religion. It contains a curious monastery, or Lamaserai,
built upon the extreme top ledge of a precipice of concrete stone,
and at its base (some hundred feet below) the habitations which
constitute the village are also perched on pinnacles of rock, and
scattered about, often in the most unlikely spots imaginable.
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