The Style Of Head-Dress Generally Worn Among The Natives Facilitated
His Efforts Immensely In These Matters; For, Throwing Aloft
His
sword, and relinquishing his umbrella, he used to seize suddenly
upon a pig-tail, and, handling it after the
Fashion of a bell-rope,
proceed to insist upon the production of impossible mutton and other
delicacies in a way that was almost always successful, even under
circumstances apparently the most hopeless.
He had a sharp, detonating way, too, of delivering a volley of
Thibetian, at the same time curling up his fierce-looking moustaches
and whiskers, and gesticulating with both arms, which always had
a great effect, the more so that the expletives were generally in
Hindostanee, and not being understood, were all the more terrible to
the unfortunate pig-tails on that account.
AUGUST 22. - Left for Egnemo, over our old ground, which, wanting
the attraction of novelty, appeared to us rather longer than on
first acquaintance. The sun, too, was more powerful than ever and
the deep soft sand more trying, so that we were glad enough to get
under shelter at our journey's end. Here we found the apricot trees,
which were teeming with fruit when we passed, completely stripped
and bare, and it was with difficulty we got a few from the houses
for preserving purposes.
AUGUST 23. - Made an early start, and arrived at Suspul after a
pleasant march, a cool breeze from the mountains fanning our faces
the entire way. Here we pitched upon a cool and shady camping-ground,
close to a rushing torrent, where we were soon immersed in ice-cold
water. While making a short cut back to breakfast up a precipitous
face of concrete stone, I very nearly finished my wanderings in Thibet
with an unpleasantly abrupt full stop. I had nearly reached the top,
which was higher than I had imagined, when the treacherous lumps
of stone to which I was clinging, came away in my hands, and, with
a tremendous crash, down I came in a perfect storm of dirt, dust,
and stones, very much to the fright and astonishment of F. and the
mate, who were quietly finishing their toilet below. A broken bone
in such a place as Egnemo would have been a serious misfortune, and
it was therefore a matter of considerable satisfaction to find that,
although half-stunned and doing but little credit in appearance to
my recent washing, I had escaped with no worse injuries than torn
hands and what the doctors would call abrasions of the side and elbow.
AUGUST 24. - Marched as usual, and reached Nurila about noon. From
the hilliness of the road and the laziness of the coolies combined,
they did not arrive until two P.M., so that we breakfasted at three
o'clock. To occupy the time, however, we took advantage of the
products of the country, and set to work upon a quantity of apples,
and having both thirst and hunger to assuage, I think we got through
about sixteen each before the kitchen appeared.
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