At The Other Side I Explored The Path Which I Myself Had Followed
In The First Instance.
It, however, only led to a small shelter
among the rocks and trees, where the natives had evidently been in
the habit of lighting their fires and halting for the night.
After
continuing the search to another snow-bridge above, we returned
to our camp, and made the sepoy issue a notice that twenty rupees
reward would be given for the recovery of our cook, dead or alive,
and also that a reward would be given to any person who should bring
us any reliable information about him. At the same time we sent the
notice to the villages below, and spread it as much as possible; but
though twenty rupees would be a small fortune to one of these people,
they took but little interest in the matter, and looked upon the whole
thing as "Kismut," or destiny. "If it was the will of God that the
body should be found, it would be found, if not, where was the use
of looking for it;" and so they took no steps whatever in the matter.
To add to the probabilities of the snow-bridge having been the
cause of our loss, it appeared that a short time before, a coolie
carrying Pushmeena &c. had fallen there, and had never since been
heard of; while another, who had also fallen into the torrent, was
only discovered six days afterwards miles and miles below.
Having now despatched several searching parties, and received no
tidings, we decided upon retreating to the next village down the
valley, and halting there for a few days, in order to do all we could
for our unfortunate man.
SEPTEMBER 7. - Started on our march again in heavy sleet and rain,
which, higher up the mountains, took the form of downright snow. The
valley descended by a slight incline, through fir and other forest
trees, and about four kos down, we reached another little wooden
city, where, being wet through and through, we were glad to halt,
and getting a good fire lit in one of the log-houses, we set to work
to dry our clothes. The house was reached by a most primitive ladder,
made of half the trunk of a tree, hollowed out into holes for the
feet; and, as for the shelter afforded by the tenement, it certainly
kept off the rain, but was not intended to keep out the wind, for the
trees which composed the walls were so far apart, that we could see
the face of nature between them, and, in spite of the open windows,
which the architect had thought necessary to provide the building with,
the breeze whistled through the chinks in a way that might be very
pleasant in hot weather, but was not so cheery when snow and rain was
the order of the day. The roofs were the most novel structures I had
ever seen. They consisted merely of rudely split blocks of wood, some
five or six feet long, through the upper ends of which stout pegs had
been driven, and, thus suspended, these weighty wooden tiles overlapped
each other, and formed a rude covering, which, unpromising as it was to
outward appearance, answered its purpose sufficiently well, and was at
least quite in keeping with the remainder of the wooden mansion. The
people here were something like the Cashmeerees in appearance, and
as we descend into civilization, fowls, and other hitherto foreign
animals begin to show themselves once more. The entire substitution
of wood for mud and stones effectually marks the difference between
the Cashmerian and Thibetian sides of the snowy range we had just
crossed. About eight kos from Sucknez we reached Bragnion, where we
found the camp pitched in a most promising position, having a fine
view of the valley below, and the distant ranges of mountains. The
torrent here spread itself into several channels, and the valley,
widening to allow it fuller liberty to pursue its joyful existence,
descended in a succession of wooded slopes, one beyond the other,
while the eternal snows again bounded the view in the distance.
The small portions of comparatively level ground in sight were
covered with crops of the richest colours. One in particular, which
the people called "gunhar," was of the hue of beetroot, and grew upon
its stalk in heavy, gorgeous masses, which added considerably to the
richness of the landscape. The seed of this consists of myriads of
little semi-transparent white grains, very like ant's eggs, and the
taste is something similar to that of wheat. Above our camp, in a
ravine of the hills, is the place where an officer had been killed
by the fall of an avalanche, while out on a shooting expedition. His
companion, a noted sportsman, was saved, by making a tremendous jump;
but he himself, and three shikarees, were swept away, their bodies
not being recovered for two months afterwards.
SEPTEMBER 8. - After a cold night, during which I dreamt of our lost
cook, we were awoke by a shout of "Jeeta hy!" - "He is living!" then,
"Rusta bhool gya!" - "He lost his way!" and gradually it dawned upon
us that the man we had fancied floating down the torrent a mangled
corpse was still actually in the land of the living.
It appeared that he had been discovered, sitting helplessly upon the
mountain side, by a chance and solitary traveller from Thibet. He had
lost his way at the snow-bridge, and, in trying to retrace his steps,
completely got off the only track existing, and had consequently
wandered about among the wood and cover as long as his strength
enabled him.
The accounts of his movements amid the general excitement were rather
conflicting, but this being the fourth day since his disappearance,
and the weather having been very bad all that time, he must have
had a very narrow escape of his life, from the combined effects of
cold and hunger.
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