However, We Looked At Their Arms And Accoutrements; Ammunition
They Had None; And Saw Them Perform The "Manual And Platoon." Their
Arms Had Been Matchlocks, But Had Been Converted, These Stirring
Times, Into Flintlocks!
In addition to these, which were about
as long as a respectable spear, they had each a sword and shield,
together with a belt and powder-horn, all clumsy in the extreme.
In
loading, we found an improvement on the English fashion, for, after
putting the imaginary charge in with the hand, they BLEW playfully
down the muzzle to obviate the difficulty of the powder sticking to
the sides. After presenting the troops with "bukhshish," we strolled
through the village and met the "thanadar," or head man, coming out
to meet us, arrayed in glorious apparel and very tight inexpressibles,
and mounted on a caparisoned steed. Dismounting, he advanced towards us
salaaming, and holding out a piece of money in the palm of his hand;
and not exactly knowing the etiquette of the proceeding, we touched
it and left it where we found it, which appeared to be a relief to
his mind, for he immediately put it in his pocket again.
His chief conversation was on the subject of the Maharajah and the
delights of Cashmere, and anxiety as to our having got all supplies,
&c. which we required, as he had been appointed expressly for the
purpose of looking after the comfort of the English visitors. What
with our friend and his train, and the detachment of "THE ARMY" which
had accompanied us, our retinue began to assume the appearance of
a procession; and it was with great difficulty that we induced them
all to leave us, which they did at last after we had expressed our
full satisfaction at the courtesy displayed by the Maharajah's very
intelligent selection of a "thanadar."
JUNE 14. - Broke up our camp about three A.M. and started our
possessions at four o'clock, after some difficulty in prevailing upon
the coolies to walk off with their loads. On mustering our forces, we
found that they numbered thirty-seven, including ourselves. Of these
twenty-four were coolies, carrying our possessions - beer, brandy,
potatoes, &c.; our servants were six more; then there were four ponies,
entailing a native each to look after them; and, last of all, one of
the redoubtable "army" as a guard, who paraded in the light marching
order of a sword, shield, bag of melons, and an umbrella. F. and I
travelled on "yaboos," or native ponies - unlikely to look at, but
wonderful to go. Mine was more like a hatchet than anything else,
and yet the places he went over and the rate he travelled up smooth
faces of rock was marvellous to behold.
About eight o'clock we found ourselves once more among the pine-trees;
and, although the sun was very powerful, we had enough of the freshness
of the mountain air to take away the remembrance of the dusty plains
from our minds.
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