In The Afternoon I Ascended The Mountain Opposite To Reconnoitre And
Inspect The Curious Formation Of Strata, Which Formed The Principal
Feature Of The Place.
The ascent I found at first to be over a soft crumbling small stone,
resembling ashes, but of various colours, and in distinctly-marked
strata.
These were generally of pinkish red and grey, and from them
in large masses, rose enormous blocks of concrete, in all manner
of forms and shapes, some like towers and fortifications, and
others standing out boldly by themselves, worn by the weather into
holes and ridges. After a considerably difficult ascent, from the
crumbling nature of the stones, I reached the summit of the mountain,
and climbing a concrete monster which capped it, had a magnificent
survey of the mountain ranges and country around. In every direction
the eye rested on snowy summits, and the wind from them fell coolly
and refreshingly after the toil of ascent under a hot sun.
Returning through the village, I found the natives hard at work
collecting their crops of wheat and barley, and stowing them away,
generally upon the flat tops of their houses. They seemed altogether
a peaceful, primitive race; but, although their ground appears in
first-rate order, they themselves are uncultivated and dirty in the
extreme. The ladies, I am sorry to say, are even rather worse in this
matter than the gentlemen. The female costume consists generally of
robes of sheep and goat skins thrown across the shoulders; while
a long tail of twisted worsted plaits, looking like a collection
of old-fashioned bell-ropes, forms the chief decoration. This is
attached to the back hair, and hangs down quite to the heels, where it
terminates in a large tuft, with tassels and divers balls of worsted
attached to it. On a hill overhanging the village were the remains
of a mud fort, which had been pulled down by Gulab Singh in one of
his excursions to Thibet, with a view to bringing the inhabitants
to a proper sense of their position, and enforcing the payment of
his tribute.
The number of battered and deserted huts about the village is accounted
for by the erratic habits of the people, which induce them never to
stay long in one set of houses, but to flit from one side of the valley
and from one settlement to another as the fancy strikes them. That the
large increase of the flea population among such a race, however, may
have something to do with their restlessness, seems more than probable.
Except when impressed for government employ, they seldom leave the
vicinity of their villages, and one old gentleman told me he had
never been even as far as a place called Lotzum, which is only two kos
off! The religion seems to be a mixture of Buddhism and Mahomedanism -
the latter on the decrease as we get farther into the country.
The dress assimilates to the Chinese - pig-tails and little skull-caps
being the order of the day. We obtained here good supplies of cow's
milk, butter, &c., and among other things, some peas. These enabled
us to celebrate our Sunday's dinner by a "duck and green peas," and
never since the first invention of ducks could a similar luxury have
been so thoroughly appreciated.
AUGUST 6. - Started early again, and marched five kos, through the
little half-deserted settlement of Lotzum to the village of Shergol,
where we halted for breakfast. Here we found ourselves fairly among
the Buddhists, and saw an entirely new description of monuments
connected with religion, from anything we had yet encountered. The
most striking objects were a series of tomb-like buildings, without
entrances, and adorned on all sides by the most hideous effigies,
rudely executed in coloured mud.[17]
Some of these were men, depicted in bright red on a yellow ground, with
horrible staring countenances; others women, adorned with numberless
necklaces and other ornaments; besides these, there were peacocks,
griffins with human arms, deer, &c., and all in the most flaring
colours and the very rudest designs.
In the perpendicular face of a rock beyond was a very curious
monastery, or abode of the Lamas. It was built completely IN the rock,
and was reached by a natural cavity on the face of the stone.
Jutting out from the upper part, balconies had been erected overhanging
the precipice, and these were decorated with red copings, spotted with
white. From the fact of only one of our party knowing the language,
it was difficult to ascertain from the natives the history of this
curious abode, but they gave us to understand that it was the home
of their Lamas, or spiritual preceptors. Here we met another of
the race of wandering Englishmen, who was wending his way back to
the valley. He was returning from a shooting tour, was all alone,
and appeared to have had very hard work indeed of it, if his face
and hands and generally dilapidated appearance might taken as a
criterion. Not being quite in such light marching order ourselves,
we were able to ask him to breakfast, and from his ready acceptance
and the entire justice he did to our offer, I don't think he could
have had anything to eat for a week.
He appeared to be a thorough sportsman, and had bagged several head of
large game, which he showed us. They were principally a kind of wild
sheep with enormous heads and horns, each of his trophies being almost
a coolie load in itself. Leaving Shergol, we entered a curious valley
with rocks of concrete standing out like towers and fortifications,
and on the summits of these again, airy-looking habitations with
red streaks adorning them, and entered, as that at Shergol, by holes
in the face of the rock. These were, or had been, the abodes of the
Lamas; numbers of them now however, as well as the mud settlements
at their feet, appeared in ruins, and gave no sign of habitation,
beyond having about them a number of little flags stuck on long poles,
which fluttered about in the breeze.
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