Putting A Couple Of Charpoys Outside, We Managed A Few Hours' Sleep
AL FRESCO, In Spite Of The Flies And Mosquitoes Innumerable, Who Lost
No Time In Taking Possession Of Their New Property.
On being able
to discern the face of the country, we found ourselves at the foot
of a range
Of hills of no great height, but still veritable hills;
and although the sun was nearly as hot as in the plains, we felt
that we were emancipated from India, and that all our real travelling
troubles were over. In the evening we inspected the Maharajah's troops,
consisting of eight curiously-dressed and mysteriously-accoutred sepoys
under a serjeant. These same troops had rather astonished us in the
morning by filing up in stage style in front of our two charpoys just
as we awoke, and delivering a "Present arms" with great unction as we
sat up in a half-sleepy and dishevelled condition, rubbing our eyes,
and not exactly in the style of costume in which such a salute is
usually received. We now found the "army" in the domestic employment
of cooking their victuals, so that we were unable to have much of a
review. 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. No rain having fallen as yet, the springs and rivers
were all nearly dry; but we saw several rocky beds, which gave good
promise of fly-fishing, should they receive a further supply of water.
About nine A.M. we reached our halting-place, "Serai Saidabad," a
ruined old place, with a mud tenement overlooking, at some elevation,
the banks of a river.
Here we were again received with a salute, by a detachment of
warriors drawn up in full dress - viz. red and yellow turbans,
and blue trousers with a red stripe.
After undergoing a refreshing bath of a skin of water, taken in our
drawing-room, we got our artist to work at breakfast, and shortly
after found, with considerable satisfaction, that we were in for the
first of the rains. This welcome fact first proclaimed itself by the
reverberation of distant thunder from among the mountains to the north;
then an ominous black cloud gradually spread itself over us, and,
with a storm of dust, down came the rain in torrents, making the air,
in a few minutes, cool and delicious as possible, and entirely altering
the sultry temperature which had previously prevailed. The thirsty
ground soaked up the moisture as if it had never tasted rain, and the
trees came out as if retouched by Nature's brush; while as, for F. and
myself, we turned the unwonted coolness to the best account we could,
by setting ourselves to work to pull up all arrears of sleep forthwith.
JUNE 15. - Started at four A.M., with our numerous train, and found
the road all the pleasanter for the rain of the previous evening,
and all things looking green and fresh after the storm. Our path led
us up a rocky valley, with its accompanying dashing stream, in the
bed of which we could see traces of what the brawler had been in his
wilder days, in huge and polished boulders and water-worn rocks, which
had been hurled about in all directions.
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