1922 Kashmir in Sunlight and Shade by Tyndale Biscoe S

KASHMIR
SUNLIGHT & SHADE

A DESCRIPTION O F T H E BEAUTIES OF T H E
COUNTRY, T H E LIFE, HABITS AND HUMOUR
OF ITS INHABITANTS, AND AN ACCOUNT
OF T H E GRADUAL BUT STEADY
REBUILDING O F A ONCE DOWN-
TRODDEN PEOPLE
C. E. TYNDALE BISCOE, M.A.(CANTAB.)

AUTHOR OF " M E N I N THE MAKING," Wc,
W l T H AN INTRODUCTION BY
L. C. DUNSTERVILLE, C.B., C.S.I.

MAJOR-GEN.
AUTHOR OF " T H E A D V E N T U R E S OF T H E DUNSTER FORCE"
WlTH 28 ILLUSTRATIONS & A M A P
LONDON
SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LIMITED
38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
1922
[ G . W . Millais.
INTRODUCTION
N intimate friendship of many years may perhaps
A give me authority to express my admiration for
the author of the present volume as a ?man and
as a worker. His reluctance to undertake the task, the
outcome of natural modesty, was with difficulty overcome,
and I gladly seized the opportunity which was offered
to me, of prefacing his lively account of Kashmir and
its people with a few words which may perhaps be
inadequate, but at any rate are actuated by sincere
feelings of the deepest regard and highest admiration.
My natural tendency is to employ the space at my
disposal in a eulogy of the author and his methods, but
I know him well enough to feel that he would wish to be
spared my superlatives, and I will leave it to the readers
to express their own feelings. Having, however, known
him, and the land in which he works, for so many
years, and having had many first-hand opportunities of
admiring his system, I must allow myself just a few
words to introduce this apostle of cheerful and happy
Christianity to those of the public ~ 1 1 0may not know
him.
"In all things be men " sums up the fundamental idea
in his teaching of Christianity, for true maoliuess entails
virtue and rejects vice.
A born optimist, who regards dangers and difficulties
as SO many hurdles to give the racer the pleasure of
leaping, a strong, forceful character with unshakable
ideals and an unswerving determination to move without
7
Introduction
hesitation towards those ideals, a striver with a strong
sense of humour and good sportmanship, and an indomit-
able courage, both moral and physical ; such are briefly
the traits that have enabled this indefatigable missionary
to realise the remarkable success that has attended his
lifelong efforts.
Although it is not the case that a large proportion of
his pupils have definitely decided to accept Christ, it is
nevertheless beyond doubt that the majority of his staff
and boys leave the school having learnt to lead lives more
nearly following the teaching of Christ than those of
many professing Christians.
As an instance of this I give the following example
which I have not hitherto told to M r Tyndale Biscoe.
I was walking with a rather corpulent companion in
Kashmir some years ago when we came to a small stream
about ten yards across and about two feet deep. I had
on rough shooting boots and putties, and I do not mind
getting my feet wet, so I crossed without further ado.
My friend, however, disliked wet boots and looked about
for some way out of the dilemma. A rather frail-looking
Kashmiri arrived at this juncture, and my heavy friend
suggested in rather rough language that h e should act
as a beast of burden and convey his bulky form over
the water. Without hesitation the Kashmiri obeyed
the request, crouching before the heavy gentleman to
enable the latter to place himself comfortably on his
shoulders. W i t h legs rather bending beneath his burden
the docile carrier crossed the stream and placed my
companion dry-shod on the opposite bank.
Translating his gratitude into pecuniary form the
Englishman offered a silver coin to the late beast of
burden and was surprised to receive the following answer
in very good English :-'' No, thank you, sir. I am one
8
Introduction
of Mr Tyndale Biscoe's masters and I am glad to have
helped YOU."
I have never seen anyone so dumbfounded as my
friend, and as we continued our walk he appeared to
me to be thinking rather deeply.
Readers of this book will notice that it is one of
Mr Tyndale Biscoe's characteristics to reach his objective
by the most direct means possible, ignoring or brushing
aside all obstacles as of small moment so long as he
does attain his goal.
L. C. DUNSTERVILLE,
MGor- General.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
I MUST express my thanks to my headmaster, Mr

Shanker Pandit, B.A., who has allowed me to draw
upon his ltnowledge of the ancient history of
Kashmir, and of the various rites and ceremonies, both
of Hindus and Mohammedans, with respect to birth,
death, marriage, etc. What my friend Shanker does
not know concerning his country is not worth knowing.
Mr R. E. Shorter, photographer in Sialkote and
Kashmir, has most generously placed the whole of his
huge collection of photos at my disposal, and a beautiful
collection it is, the work of many years.
Mr Geoffrey Millais, the son of the late Sir John
Millais, R.A., who inherits the talents of his father for
making pictures, also Vishn Nath Pandit, the first Kashmiri
to start a photographic business, and my brother, George
Tyndale Biscoe, have given me their permission to make
use of any of their photographs, and I thank them
most sincerely for their kindness.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER I 1
BEAUTIFUL
SECLUDED
VALLEYS .
CHAPTER I11
THE TOWNSIN THE VALLEY
CHAPTER IV
THE KASHMIRIS
CHAPTER V
KASHMIR,
ANCIENT
AND MODERN.
CHAPTER VI
CHARACTER
OF THE KASHMIRIS .
CHAPTER VII
MOHAMMEDANS
AND HINDUS
CHAPTER VIII
TEMPLES
MOSQUES, AND SHOPS .
CHAPTER IX
STREETS
AND BAZAARS
CHAPTER X
TRADES,
LEPERSAND BEGGARS .
CHAPTER X I
I N DRESS.
FASHIONS
CHAPTER XI1
Contents
CHAPTER XI11
HINDUCUSTOMS .
' CHAPTER XIV
BOAT-BUILDING
CHAPTER XV
EXPEDITIONS
CHAPTER XVI
A TRIPTO LADAKH
CHAPTER XVIR
A TRIPTO (continued) .
LADAKH
CHAPTER XVIII
A TRIPTO (continued) .
LADAKH
CHAPTER XIX
KASHMIR
MEDICALMISSION
CHAPTER XX
EDUCATION.
CHAPTER XXI
A KASHMIR
MISSION
SCHOOL
CHAPTER XXII
A K A ~ H MMISSION
IR (continued)
SCHOOL .
CHAPTER XXIII
A KASHMIR
M~SSION (continued)
SCHOOL ,
CHAPTER XXIV
A K A S H ~ IMISSION
IR (continued)
SCHOOL .
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Mulbk Monastery . . Iironlispiece
PAGE
Nanga Parbat 56
A Village Industry . . 62
Pilgrims Returning from the Mountains . 63
A Canal in the Dal . . 84
The Common Task of Women 96
Women Water-Carriers 96
Leaving School 97
Enemiea of the Gods 97
Fateh Kadal . . 114
H.R.H. the Maharajah's Soldiers of the Old Army . . I L ~
Fishing on the Jhelum . "5
Saffa Kadal . . 120

List of Illustrations
PAGE
Milkmen bound for the City . i34
A Brahman Woman .
A Brahman Marriage
Women at the Mill and Spinning-Wheel .

One of the Three Glaciers at Sona Marg .
Four Ladies of Ladakh
A Buddhist Abbot and his Chelas or Pupils
Lamayuru Monastery
Floating Gardens on the Dal
High Street at Leh .

A Winter Scene
Lama Actors in their Religious Plays
The Frances Aberigh Mackay Memorial School for Girls
Men in the Making .
A Ghat at the C.M.S.Girls' School
A School Regatta . . 163

I6
KASHMIR
I N SUNLIGHT SHADE
CHAPTER I
MY FIRST JOURNEY INTO KASHMIR I N 1890
w E have for the last thirty hours been well

shaken in the mail train from Karachi, our
port of disembarkation, and are now amidst
the salt range nearing Rawal Pindi; the engine is ~ u f f i n g
and snorting, sending out volumes of smoke and sparks
in its endeavour to drag its heavy load up the zigzags,
through these bare, rugged red hills mounting u p ever
higher and higher. T h e country has been cut up into
most curious castle-like shapes and in the dusk you fancy
yourself passing through an uninhabited and bombarded
city. These steep nullahs and gullies have been carved
and scoured out by the heavy rain of the monsoons. At
last as we round a sharp corner our attention is attracted
to a most wonderful silver line touched here and there
with various colours, such colours as we have never before
seen, and as we try to unravel the mystery we suddenly
become aware that we are looking a t the sunrise upon the
everlasting snows of the Himalayas ; we just drink in to the
full that which we cannot describe in words, a sight never
to be forgotten, and every time we see this heavenly vision
of purity the same indescribable thrill goes throllgh one.
Ilayligllt comes on apace, md we soon notice our
travelling companio~lsfastening up their bedding (for in
India we always carry about our bedding with us) and
My First Journey into Kashmir
putting their traps in order, which warns us that we are
nearing Rawal Pindi. And now comes the town in sight,
with its streets of white, flat-roofed houses and towers,
Mohammedan white-domed mosques and minarets and
shining Hindu temples. O n the opposite side of the train
we see white tents and barracks, which show us that we
are at one of the great military stations of North India.
T h e name tells us that it is a village of satyrs, pen=
village, Rawal= semi-demi-god.
A s the train draws up a t the long platform with its
usual jerks and squeaks, half-naked men are to be seen
rushing about, wildly gesticulating, hither and thither, for
are they not passengers who have been sitting about the
station-yard since last night in hopes of finding room in
the cattle pens, or third-class carriages, for the compart-
ments are divided by iron bars and there is no glass in the
windows? Most of them seem to have with them all their
earthly possessions, piles on their heads and under their
arms, with a child or two thrown in; they no sooner shove
their way half through the carriage door than they are
pushed out again by those inside, a most entertaining
sight. Policemen clothed in blue tunics and yellow pants
add to the row and amusement by pulling or shoving
those would-be travellers in or out of the carriages as it
seemeth good in their own eyes. Some of them make
quite a good thing out of these pushings and shovings.
One night at Amritsar station I was waiting for a train,
so could give my undivided attention to those yellow-
breeched gentlemen. One man in particular had attracted.
my attention by his energy in the push-and-shove game,
and as Easterns do not usually do things for nothing, 1
watched him quietly. Me was apparently now resting
from his labours and was leaning with his back against a
sardine-packed cat tle-pen carriage. One hand was twiddling
I8
his moustache, that was certain, but it was the other hand
that I could not see which was of interest to me.
I strolled quietly up and down the ~ l a t f o r r nnear this
carriage and soon discovered his little game, for those
passengers, who happened to be Jhats (Sikh farmers), were
all engaged in untying the corners of their puggarees and
taking therefrom silver coins and placing them in that
greedy, grasping, open hand; then if the stream of coins
ceased a quiet turn of the head of this arm-of-the-law
and a hungry, hurry-up-quick eye, or the word c c Jaldi ! "
('c Quick ! ") hissed between his teeth, set the silver stream
flowing again.
I thought that this fine person might like to see that
two could play the same game, so I quietly came up beside
him and leant against the carriage a t the open window
and, like him, with a careless, bored expression on my face,
twiddled my moustache with my left and thrust my right
hand with open palm inside, and, like him, shot in a hungry,
fierce glance upon those patient and frightened Zemindars.
T h e officer of law and order was amazed a t my action, and
looked at me from my sola topi (sun-hat) to my boots,
and then quietly walked away, very uileasily twiddling his
Inoustache with both hands, and when h e had got amongst
the crowd he turned round to see this extraordinary sight,
a sahib looting the poor.
I took 110 notice of him, but continued to act the Indian
constable. Tlren I quietly withdrew my llaild froin the
willdow and put the money that I had taken into my
pocket as he had done, and walked away in the oppositc
direction. I then turned round and came back to the
carriage and returncd the inoncy and thanked the ]hats
for their ltindncss. They first of all were astounded and
looked at one anotller for an explanation of this entra-
ordinary proceeding. T h e n as I salaamed to them and
I9
laughed, they saw it was a joke, and they all laughed
timidly at first, and then as the crowd which had assembled
in front of the carriage saw the joke also, they all roared
with laughter, and scores of eyes were upon the red, blue
and yellow constable, who was glad to escape. I could
tell you scores of similar yarns, but I just tell this one to
show how the natives oppress one another when they get
a chance, and to show what enormous difficulties confront
the English police officers in their Herculean efforts to
administer justice in India. There is a certain class of
politician who is continually trying to belittle the work of
the British officer and bringing scorn, as they think, upon
our administration in India by showing u p the evil practices
of the Indian police, but those who know India a t all know
that these revelations only go to show still more the need
of more Englishmen to prevent the Indian bullying his
brother. Englishmen have their faults, and plenty of
them, but it is not in their line to oppress and bully the
poor and defenceless, thank God !
Well, here we are drawn up at Pindi station and
passengers are calling for coolies to carry their luggage;
there they are, a host of them ready to carry a minimum
of luggage for a maximum of bakshish, each man choosing
the lightest load, which he puts on to his head, or gets
his pal to help him up with. T o the new-comer all this
is most entertaining and amusing, and he forgets about
his own baggage as he watches the comic operas around
him.
In my compartment is a political officer who understands
his Eastern brother well, and in consequence has coolies
in plenty to pick up his loads when other passengers are
s h o l l t i ~ ~"gcoolie " in vain. The trick is quite simple. lu-
stead of calling " Coolie ider ao ! " in an angry tone, you say
"Ider ao tum badmash ! " (((Come here, you blackguard ! ")
20
in a firm voice, with a spice of jocularity thrown in and a
twinkle in your eye, a i d give the men a good smack on
their backs as they bend to lift your loads, then you will
have as many coolies as you desire. I have always been
most grateful to this officer for teaching me this trick,
which has stood me in good stead all through my pilgrimage
in this wonderful and amusing country.
Our Eastern brother is a naturally good-tempered and
easy-going gentleman, who responds to pleasant and cheery
treatment. If, on the other hand, yo11 lose your temper
with him you will never get willing service and often
have unnecessary trouble. Treat the Indian well and you
will never find better servants or more trusty friends.
Whilst I am drinking in these new experiences and
enjoying this lively scene of hurtlings and jabberings, a
cleanly dressed man with a bright red waistband forces
his way through the crowd and puts a letter in my hand;
it comes from the army chaplain of Rawal Pindi, inviting
me to put up with him according to the usual custom of
Anglo-Indian hospitality, to make his home my home for
as long as I like, and to trust myself and belongings to his
servant's guiding.
Coolies soon have all my packages poised on their heads
and we all march in stately fashion out of the station,
where we see hackney carriages of all sorts, from the first-
class pair-horsed landau called '' feton ghari" a t one
rupee per hour to the two-wheeled bamboo cart a t three
annas per hour. I select a second-class four-wheeler
called a " tikka ghari," which is somewhat similar to a
London growler in shape, but it is drawn by a pair of lean
ponies. A London four-wheeler is not in it for shaking
and rattling. T h e Indian sun has cracked and warped the
wood so that nothing fits, hence it is impossible for two
persons to carry on a conversation inside it.
T h e luggage is sootl hoisted on the top, and now comes
the paying. Like all new-comers, I pay the coolies too
much, and then trouble or amusement begins. T h e
coolies look at the coins and say, like the London cabby,
6 c W h a t is this ? " and crowd round me demanding more pay.
T h e chaplain's servant comes to my rescue and drives them

off, and they depart grinning and jabbering in their delight
at having looted a foreigner. O u r Jehu starts off a t the
gallop and keeps his pair at that pace for most of the way
by free use of the whip and tongue, as h e squats cross-
legged on the box. A t the bungalow of the Padre Sahib
I, a perfect stranger, am greeted as if I were an old friend,
with every possible kindness. T h e first thing suggested is
the bath, for every bedroom has a bathroom attached, and
soon I hear the swish of water as it comes pouring out of
the goatskin or " mushak" carried by the indispensable
water-carrier, bhishti," or heavenly man, which h e verily
is in this sun-baked land. As soon as I am clean and
refreshed my host comes in to say that h e trusts I have
come for a long stay, at any rate I must not think of mov-
ing on at present, as the road to Kashmir is broken by
avalanches, etc., etc., and that it would b e wicked to go on
without seeing the Station, etc. So I settle myself down for
a day or two, and that afternoon we have an unexpected en-
tertainment, for a host of locusts makes its appearance and
puts an end to our game of lawn tennis ; however, we get
exercise and more than we bargained for, in our efforts
to stop the inrush of the advance guard with our rackets.
They come so thick and fast on the wind that they blind
us and we are obliged to beat a hasty retreat indoors.
Next day we see all the country pink, fields, hedges,
trees; everything green has been devoured and locusts
have taken full possession. T h e crows, which have done
their level best to lessen the host, sit on the roofs,
22
surrounded by these pink and yellow insects, with beaks
wide open, trying to breathe, as they are utterly and
wholly stodged; they now and again just pick up a nice
young one which crawls temptingly at their feet, but they
are obliged to leave it, alas ! as there is no room inside.
One felt quite sorry for them. W e soon hear the news that
the trains have been stopped by them, as their squashed
bodies on the rails act like grease, and the zigzags u p
the salt range of yesterday become unzigzagable.
This invasion becomes so serious that the troops are
ordered out to fight these hosts and if possible to stop
their onward march and save the crops. T h e soldiers dig
trenches some miles in length across the locusts' line of
march or flight, and in front of each trench a corresponding
line of fires are kept burning so that as the locusts pass
their wings become singed and they fall into the pits and
receive decent burial at the hands of the troops; but, as
a matter of fact, they came in such myriads that the fires
were extinguished, and hence the country was eaten u p
by them. T h e y finally went north and perished on the
everlasting snows.
Well, all good things have to end some time, and so did
my visit to the kindest of hosts, Padre Griffith and his wife.
T h e tonga is at the door and all is ready for the zoo-mile
journey through the mountains to Srinagar, the capital of
Kashmir.
While the servants are loading the tonga and the babu
is taking my rupees and writing me out a receipt (and I
may say that this came in very handy, for some months after
the journey 1was requested to pay twice for this particular
ride), let us overhaul our chariot. It is a two-wheeled
cart built very low and very strong and possesses good
springs, fortunately. It holds four persons counting the
driver and five if you count the sais, who usually stands or
3
squats on the step or splash-board with his dirty shirt (for
our Easter11 brother wears his shirt outside his trousers)
flapping in your face, so that yoo get full benefit of his
smell. Above your head is a strong canvas hood, around
which is piled the luggage from the splash-board upwards
till it meets on the top and is securely fastened by
ropes. Travellers should see that the luggage is securely
fastened, for it has happened several times t o my know-
ledge that such interesting luggage as dispatch-boxes and
dressing-bags have been dropped off a t convenient places
on the road, never to return.
A t the time of which I am writing it was the custom to
put one pony in the shafts and fasten on a second outside
of the off shaft, and this particular harnessing was one of
the great causes of galling, from which the ponies suffered
to a terrible extent. This harnessing, I am glad to say,
has been done away with and the curricle has been fitted
on instead. This consists of a short pole and cross-bar,
the pole between the ponies and the cross-bar fastened to
the top of the ponies' backs.
T h e tonga is as useful and comfortable a cart as could
be well desired for a mountain road.
T h e last good-byes have been said, and we start off at
full speed and rush straight into the Padre's gate-post and
pull up dead with a mighty jerk. N o harm is done, how-
ever, to the cart, but the gate-post looks a bit drunk, and we
speed on, kicking up clouds of dust as we go full speed
ahead, the Afghan driver cursing and whipping the ponies,
howling and yelling with all his might at all carts and
passengers ahead of us.
After a mile or two a t this pace the ponies are lathered
into a foam and we slacken down ; then out comes the
cracked bugle, which brays on all possible occasions, in
season and out of season, and you wish the driver his
24
horn at Jericho. But all the same this bugle is a necessity,
for the bullock-cart drivers, and camel and donkey drivers
seem to have buffalo-hide ear-drums. T h e y always keep
the middle of the road, the only part that is metalled, and
will not hear till the ponies' heads are almost into their
carts ; and then they get terribly excited, and twist the tails
of their oxen round and round frantically in their efforts
to escape the whip of the angry driver, who slashes
vigorously and viciously a t them as h e anathematises
them and all their female relations. If you see a bullock
without a tail you now know the reason. O f course
these continual blockings and the necessary sharp pull-ups,
and the lashings and swearings and clouds of dust, are
wearying, and you are relieved when the five-mile stage
arrives and you have a minute or two of quiet whilst the
ponies are changed. You are then able to get out and
stretch your legs, whilst the driver saunters up to the
stables and squats down to have his whiff from the public
hookah and discuss the news, such as who the passenger
is and how many rupees he hopes to get out of him,
etc., etc.
While our Jehu inhales his smoke a t the first stage we
will have a look at the well where a valuable horse met
its death.
Leading into the well is a narrow staircase for travellers
to descend and slake their thirst. This particular horse,
being allowed to roam, found this stairway and, being very
thirsty, managed to squeeze itself down to have a drink,
and had such a long drink that when it wished to returll it
fo~inditself fixed, as it was no longer the same shape as
when it entered, and there it ended its days.
A blast from the horn tells me that the tonga is ready
to start, so I take my seat and off we dash at full speed
with a pair of half-broken-in ponies. Dust envelops us.
2 5
More blasts of the cracked horn, more swearing and more
bullocks have their tails screwed, and so on till the next
stage; and so we g o on all day. W e climb up to Murree,
8000 feet, and down to Kohala, 2000 feet, when the
shades of night are upon us; and glad I am to find myself
in peace a t the dak bungalow post-house, 62 miles from
Pindi.
Kohala is the last rest-house on the British road.
Facing us on the other side of the Jhelum, which roars
beneath us, is Kashmir. T h e river is spanned by a fine
suspension bridge.
A s we look on those grand mountains let us look back
to the time when it came into possession of the present
rulers.
Kashmir, being one of the most lovely countries of the
world, very naturally became the desire of all who visited
it, and the poor Kashmiri has been the servant and slave
of various dynasties.
In 1750 it came under the most cruel and worst of all,
the rule of the Afghans. Those who would not give up
their Hinduism for Mohammed were done to death, and
thousands were tied up in sacks and drowned in the rivers
and lakes.
In 1 8 1 9 the Kashmiris called in the aid of the Sikhs,
who drove out the Afghans and ruled with almost as cruel
a hand as did the Afghans.
Again in I 846 the country came under the rule of the
Rajputs, for when the British arms conquered the Sikhs
we made over this lovely country to Maharajah Gulah
Sin&, who owned the neighbouring country of Jummu,
for the paltry sum of three-quarters of a million pounds,
to be his and his heirs, as an independent possession. In
consideration for this transfer, Gulab Singh was to hand
over annually to the British Government one horse, twelve
26
perfect shawl goats and three pairs of shawls, and further
was to bring all his troops to join ours wllen necessary for
maintaining order in the territories adjoining his border.
When the Maharajah Gulab ~ i n ~ h ' d i ehisd son, Ranbir
Singh, became Maharajah, and on his decease his eldest
son, Pratab Singh, now Sir Pratab Singh, G.C.S.I., took his
seat on the gaddi (throne) in the year 1885. H e governs
his country with the help of a state council composed of
native officials, not from Kashmir but from India. Most
of them are men lent by t h e Indian Government and hold
various appointments, such as Public Works, Revenue, etc.
A British Political Officer is always in residence a t
Srinagar in the summer, and Jummu, the second capital, in
the winter, who acts the part of adviser t o his Highness.
A t the time of this narrative, Colonel Parry Nisbet, who
had rendered most excellent service to the country, was
retiring, and Colonel Prideux came into Residence in his
place.
In the East everyone rises early and obeys the cheering
notes of the cock, as church or town hall clock d o not
exist in this country. In the midst of one's dreams one
hears the soft tones of the bearer saying, cc Sahib, Sahib,
Chhoti hazari taiyar hai ! " ( c c Small breakfast is ready ! " )
-and a few minutes later one hears that cracked bugle.
Jehu is anxious to be off, for he has heard that the road is
broken in several places by landslips, which will delay our
journey later on. So we are soon off again and rattling
over the suspension bridge, but not before paying the toll
to the gate-keeper.
Some years later when cycling over this bridge I was
stopped by the tollman, who demanded the toll. I asked
why. H e answered : " Pay the hire for your gari."
I said : It is not a gari." H e ran his fingers up the list
and then said : " It is a horse." I said he was wrong again.
27
H e looked puzzled. T h e n a gleam came upon his face, and
lle pointed to the word " perambulator." I protested again.
Lastly he tried "pedestrian." But I assured him that my
feet never touched the ground. So I passed free.
But alas ! when I returned some months after and was
cycling past him cheerfully h e cried " Stop ! " and produced
his list and pointed directly to the word "bicycle-
2 annas." So he had me a t last.
All went well till about the third stage, when in harness-
ing in the fresh pony, which objected mightily, I noticed
that its chest was absolutely raw, the breast-band having
literally taken off all the skin, so I naturally told the sais
to take it away and fetch another; but the man laughed
at me and proceeded to harness it in, and not until I
became militant did he desist and take the pony away.
T h e driver would not assist me, but instead sided with all
the stable hands, who evidently made jokes at my expense
by their excessive laughing and pointed gestures. They
then one and all sat down and smoked their hookahs,
evidently intending me to understand that the tonga
would remain there; so I adopted their attitude and sat
down also and lit my pipe and determined to sit them out.
I suppose they saw that I was determined, and no doubt
the Afghan driver had learnt partially the lesson I had
taught him the previous day over the excessive whipping
of the ponies, so they finally bestirred themselves, and a
pony less galled than the one I had refused was put in.
Some of these poor ponies are so galled and raw that
they will not start until a fire of straw has been lit under
them. I only saw them try that trick once.
This galling sometimes sends them mad, and the poor
beasts in order to save their raw chests come broadside
on, going long distances like crabs, and dash themselves
into the rocks.
28
A friend of mine was driving down the Murree hill and
one of the ponies became utterly unmanageable, no doubt
from this cause, and kept jumping on the low parapet wall,
and finally made a wild plunge over the wall, pulling with
him the other pony and tonga. T h e three Europeans
managed to jump out in the nick of time most marvellously,
and they stood on the road aghast, watching the ponies,
tonga-driver and sais going straight to death-the driver,
a brave fellow, as most of them are, sticking to his duty,
the sais dumbfounded, standing 011 the splash-board, until
with a terrific smash they went straight into a huge rock.
And that was the end of all except the sais, who was
pitched clear of the rock and was picked up senseless, and
after three days brought back, as it were, to life, and lived
to tell the tale.
One could fill a book of thrilling stories of this road,
terrible deaths and marvellolis escapes; and so these
excitements must continue until the animals are properly
looked after and the hill-sides cease slipping down, or until
motor vehicles supersede the tongs and the cart, and so
relieve the poor ani~nalsof their burdens, which I am glad
to say is now taking place.
Well, the fresh ponies are harnessed in, and off we g o
full speed as usual until we finally reach Domel, where the
clear blue waters of the Krishen Ganga join the muddy
brow11 stream of the Jhelum; and while we sit in the
verandah of the pretty dak bungalow waiting for tiffin
let me pass on to yoo a yarn or two of this wonderful
mountain road.
About the year 1888 Colonel Parry Nisbet, an officer of
the right type, was sent by the Viceroy to Kashmir as
British Resident t o help the M;lllaraj;th to carry out the
Inany needed reforms in his country, and amongst them
to push on this cart road from India to Srinagar, the
29
capital of Kashmir, which from Rawal Pindi would be
about 200 miles.
A t that time Russia was menacing our frontier in the
Hindu Kush, and it was necessary that we should have a
road for our troops in order to resist if necessary any
attack from that quarter.
This matter was urgent, so Colonel Parry Nisbet called
to him the Kashmir state engineers, who were then
finishing the first section of the road, from Kohala to
Domel, a distance of 2 1 miles. H e asked them to let him
know how long they would take to finish the road to
Baramulla, a distance of 78 miles, at the entrance of the
valley, from which place the river is navigable. They
answered that as the first section had taken them five years
to make, this section would take them twelve years.
T h e Colonel answered that that would not do a t all, the
road must be finished in two years. T h e Kashmir engineers
said that this was an impossibility, to which h e replied that
he would in two years' time drive into Baramulla.
As the Kashmir state was unable to push on this work,
Colonel Nisbet called in the aid of M r Spedding, a con-
tractor, and he brought in with him a band of capable
engineers and several hundreds of Pathans and other coolies
and took the work in hand at once ; and although the difi-
culties to be overcome were enormous, this party of English-
rneil with thcir stalwart coolies accomplished their task, so
that Colonel Nisbet did what he said he would do, for bc:
drove in a carriage and pair all the way to Baramulla within
the two years. This army of Afghan coolies was by 110
means an easy lot to manage, for amongst them were
many deserters from British regiments, and several were
murderers hiding from the law, and most of them no
doubt had done their various murders for the honour of
their respective fatnilies.
It would have been difficult to collect a finer lot of
scoundrels than this army which had been brought to-
gether for driving this road through the mountains.
T h e English engineers had some amusing times with
them.
A young man straight from Cambridge was in charge
of a few score of these half savages, and a t the commence-
ment of his command the head of a certain gang flatly
refused to obey his officer, and to show his determination
picked up an iron bar, threatening to brain him, but before
the iron bar reached its mark our hefty savage had an
English fist so smartly planted in his face that h e
measured his length on the road.
These Pathans have some good qualities, amongst
them good temper and admiration for courage, so the
result of that little contretemps was most satisfactory, for
Appleford was honoured and obeyed by his good-natured
scoundrels till the road was finished.
I will relate one other incident which led still further
to the respect of the Pathan coolies for their officers.
On pay-day a t the end of each week the head gangers
were given the pay to distribute to their men, but when
it was discovered that these men did not pass on the
wages in full to them, the engineers arranged for the
payments to be made in poblic, so that the coolies could
see that the sahibs did not hold back their payments, and
the piles of rupees were placed on the table for the gangers
to take off. T h e ganger would come to the table and take
off the rupees to distribute to his men, but in so doing he
would hold one hand just under the table, so that as he slid
the pile of rupees to the edge of the table to pick them
up be would let one or two rupees drop into his hand
below the table and would pocket them. In this way he
hoped that the men woultl see that it was ilot he, but the
sahibs, who had given short money. But again the young
sahibs were level with them, for one of them would sit
near the table whilst the money was being handed out in
piles, and would keep his eyes on a line with the top of
the table and so catch out these dishonest gangers, and make
them give up to their coolies the money they had secreted.
T h u s day by day these rough hill-men learnt to honour
and trust their English officers, and in consequence put
their backs into their work, and so the road was finished
in a marvellously short time.
W e must get on ; it is past midday and there are many
miles before us, and possibly the road broken. The
cracked bugle brays louder and louder, which shows that
our Afghan Jehu is anxious to be off. T h e ponies plunge
and kick a good deal, which means, probably, that the poor
animals are badly galled. Crack goes the whip, the ponies
plunge forward and the tonga is brought up sharp on a
rock. T h e driver loses his temper and hits and swears at
the ponies, cursing all the ponies' female relatives that he
can think of. T h e sais is now at their heads trying to
quiet the ponies, but they will not pull. H e coaxes and
then hits and then coaxes again, but all of no avail. He
then brings a rope and ties it to the ear of one of the
ponies and tries to pull it along. I make him take this
off, and instead we all get hold of the tonga and shove
at the wheels. T h e ponies, finding the load easier, bound
forward and we are off, and the poilies keep it up till the
driver with much difficulty pulls them up, as we come
charging round a sharp corner into a long string of laden
camels. T h e camel drivers, wakened up from their sleepy
walk by the lash of Jehu's whip, bustle the camels to the
roadside, and we are off full tilt again ; hut shortly we
pull up with a jerk as one of the wheels strikes a boulder-
the road is blocked with a small landslip. W e three set
to work and make a path for the tonga, and are off again,
till we are pulled up again for a similar reason, but are
fortunate to find coolies close at hand who at the promise
of h k s h i s h help us to clear the obstruction.
These particular coolies were carrying down apples to
Rawal Pindi. I t is simply woilderful what heavy loads
these men pick up when carrying for themselves, for each
lnan had on his back from two to three maunds (a maund
is 80 lb.). Each man carries a stick in shape of a cross
without the head-piece. They d o not walk, but trot for
about fifty yards, and then place their stick under their
load at the back and spread their legs apart so that the
weight of the load is on the stick ; they rest for about one
minute and then trot the next fifty yards, and so in this
way they get the two to three maunds of apples two
hundred miles in about twelve days.
Very differently does the coolie work for someone
else. This you can see for yourself as you drive along
the road. If ally man is doing a bit of road-mending
there will be sure to be a t least four or five men
watching him, and when he is obliged to d o any
shovelling there has to be a second man in front with
a rope attached to the shovel to pull as the man behind
shoves, just as you have in England two men to a heavy
lawn-mower.
All along the road one is entertailled with most amusing
sights, from the sleeping forins of the bullock-cart drivers
(who are supposed to be guiding their animals), wakened
up by the lashes of my driver's whip as he curses them
for blocking up the road, to the Kashmiri bania (shop-
keeper), riding on his caparisoued pony, with his bags full
of all sorts of eatables tied rounrl his saddle. W h e n
the dashing tonga appears round a corner his steed takes
fright and dashes off, having just deposited his fat lnaster
C
33
My First .Tourney into Kashmir
like a bundle of rags on the road, and scattering rice and
raisins, etc., all along the King's highway.
W e ourselves are now brought to a standstill, and no
mighty blowing of the bugle will remove the obstacle in
front of us, for there before us is a road which is no road,
for it is covered with the debris of an avalanche.
1 want the driver and sais to start cutting a road for the
tonga with our feet and hands shoving the boulders over
the precipice, but they say it is useless, that it is the will
of Allah that they should wait. However, force of
example conquers and they are soon pitching boulders
down the kud. W e have only been a t it for half-an-hour
or so when to our joy we see some English travellers
with thirty coolies. T h e Englishmen a t once order the
coolies to help us; the ponies are led over the slip, the
luggage is unshipped and coolies hoist the tonga on their
shoulders and carry it bodily across to the road on the
other side.
I am so pleased to have surmounted the difficulty that
I pay the coolies handsomely, with the result that these
men, who before had been quite mild and submissive,
crowd round me and demand more pay, and become a
nuisance, when down comes my driver with his whip and
curses, and they all fly like chaff before him. Again we
start, and are once more hurtling down the road, making
men and animals fly to the sides as we dash past; and SO
we speed on till we find ourselves at Hatti Bungalow, long
since burned down.
Here I welcomed the companionship of a dog ; a1though
he was a Kashmiri dog, he understood English, which those
around me did not ; at least he understood my language
whilst he shared my dinner.
Next ~norningwhen it is pitch dark I am roused from
my slumbers by the soft voice of the bearer saying
34
ccSahib, Sahib ! " through the keyhole of my door, which I
know means my tea and toast are ready, and a few minutes
later I hear the cracked bugle again, and before long am
again sitting beside my Afghan Jehu and trying to explain
to him that I want to reach Baramulla, the last stage,
before night. O n this stage of the road we see several
rope bridges crossing the River Jhelum, which roars un-
ceasingly all day and night, and you wish for a little
quiet.
These bridges consist of three ropes made of hazel
twigs, slung from stout poles from one side of the river
to the other. One rope is for the traveller's feet and the
one on each side, four feet above the foot-rope, for his
hands ; all three ropes are joined together about every six
feet by V-shaped branches. These bridges are wonder-
fully strong though they look so frail, and when there is
a wind on you imagine what a spider must feel like on its
web in a gale. Women generally cross on the backs of
men and are blindfolded.
You also see the one-strand bridge made of leather.
On this rope is poised a V-shaped stick upside down, with
a loop of rope a t each extremity of the V, through which
you put your legs and hang on with one hand to this stick,
and with the other you pull a lanyard which runs through
a pulley oil the opposite side.
T h e impetus with which you descend to the sag
of the rope takes you some of the way up, and the rest
of the journey is accomplished by the aid of this lanyard.
The villagers take sheep, goats and sometimes ponies
across on this rope. They tie their four legs together
and they hang from this V-shaped runner and are hauled
across. There have, of course, been many deaths in these
crossings, as the villagers go on using them till they break,
and sometimes there are five or sin persons on the ropes
when they break, and they drop into the raging torrent
and are dashed to pieces on the rocks.
W e go cantering on very steadily till twelve o'clock,
when Jehu, ulio is a strict Mohammedan, must say his
prayers; and a line figure he is as he stands, bends, kileels
and finally touches the ground with his forehead, going
through the prescribed attitudes of prayer.
I wish he was as kind as he is religious, for if so the
poor ponies that he drives would have an easier time, and
there would be fewer broken bones of sheep and goats,
etc., from the wheels of his chariot as it hustles along.
T h e sun has sunk behind the great mountains some time
ago and darkness is creeping down into the valley, and
still we are many miles from Baramulla. Jehu tells me
that we cannot reach Baramulla to-night. I insist on his
going on. H e goes one more stage and when the ponies
are taken out refuses to have others put in. I show him
that I am determined to get to Baramulla and commence
walking off in that direction ; soon I hear the tonga wheels
behind me and once more take my seat, Jehu pretending
to be very angry. T h e road lias been cut up a great deal
by bullock carts, and deep ruts and boulders scattered
on the road give us terrific joltings, and a t last the tonga
goes down one side with a great bang and we are fixed;
the ponies do their best but cannot move the vehicle.
W e all get out in the pitchy darkness and grope for the
wheels, and try turning them, to no avail. Matters look
gloomy, as we are all fairly well played out, when two
men turn up, so with their help we free the tonga wheels
and are off once more; and before long we see lights, and
then more, and then a crowd of men with torches, and we
find ourselves driving into the last stage. Baramulla ! "
says Jehu, and he throws the reins on the smoking ponies'
backs and we crawl out. I find myself surrounded by
36
My First -Journey into Kashmir
jabbering, noisy people such as one sees a t t h e railway
stations in the Punjab, only more so. I t seemed to b e
pitch dark but for the flaring torches, which made the
darkness more intense.
These men threw themselves on to my luggage and
began running off with it. I, thinking that I had fallen
among robbers, let out left and right until I got back all
-
my belongings. Jehu took this opportunity of using his

whip and voice again, and landed out right and left also,
for he despises the Kashmiris. Amidst this babel, I see
a man dressed in a sort of dirty night-gown garment
holding out to me a letter, and just as I ain going to take
it from him, Jehu snatches it from the mail and knocks
him straight o n h i s back with his fist. It is now my turn
to go for Jehu, and make him give up the letter, which I
find is addressed to me froln one of my fellow-missionaries,
saying that they have sent this man nlitll a boat to bring
me up to Srinagar, a distance of sixty miles by river. Jehu
had knocked down this mall because he had quickly
arranged with some other mail to take me in his boat,
money having no doubt passed between them.
Having secured all my belongings, with the aid of the
torches, I march off to the engineer's bungalow, kindly put
at my disposal as there was no dak bungalow, and here
I part with my Afghan driver, who had caused me much
alnusemen t and much annoyance, but nhicll was the
greater I cannot say. My Jehu was certainly a good-
tempered, amusing, hard- and light-hearted scoundrel. I
have heen driven by many Jehus since that day, hut never
a one like that first Jehu. I have never seen him again,
and 1 think it is q ~ l i t epossible that he is nnmbered among
those brave Inen who have driven to death on that road
with their chariots, as he was a strong believer in
'' Kismet."
I spent a quiet and very cold Sunday in Baramulla. It
was the beginning of December. O n Monday morning I
boarded my doonga, which the crew, consisting of two
men and a woman, towed up-stream. W e reached Sopor,
on the Wular Lake, fifteen miles, by three o'clock.
A t this place the crew tied up, and refused to cross the
lake, saying that they were afraid of the storms. I, think-
ing this was merely an excuse, urged them to proceed.
A t this juncture a Kashmiri Brahman headmaster of the
State School came to my assistance. He had been a
student in the Mission School a t Srinagar. He told me
that Srinagar by road was only thirteen miles distance, so
I determined t o leave the boat and ride to the city, and
the man procured a pony for me.
W h e n the boatmen discovered that I had determined
to leave them they relented, and promised to brave the
storm, but should they be drowned their blood would be
on my head. I told them that I was ready to accept the
responsibility, and to proceed. So we started onwards.
It was just as well that I did not accept the pony and try
the road, for the distance to the city was really twenty-six
miles, as the headmaster meant kos " when he said
miles, for a kos is two miles; also the road was only a
path and I certainly should not have reached Srinagar
that night.
W e crossed the lake safely before dark and tied up.
T h e rest of the journey up the river took two days.
Although it was snowing and bitterly cold I could not
keep in the boat, on account of the smoke from the
kitchen quarters and the fleas. So, great was the relief
when Srinagar hove in sight, and later on warm was the
welcome that I received from my fellow-missionaries, and
the Srinagar community in general.
CHAPTER It
BEAUTIFUL SECLUDED VALLEYS
u P to the present we have been looking a t the large

central valley of Kashmir, with its river meander-
ing down the centre, to which is attached the
three beautiful lakes. As you travel up the river you see
side valleys opening into the main valley in all directions,
down which rushing snow-fed rivers inalte their way to
the main stream, Father Jhelum. It is up these beautiful
secluded valleys the visitors wander every summer like
nomads in their tents and select their own camping grounds,
under the shade of great walnut-trees, or higher up under
the pines, for these valleys are clothed with pine-trees
from 7000 feet to 10,ooo or I 1,000 feet; after that grow
the birch-trees up to i 2 , 0 0 0 feet ; then juniper, and after
that grass and bare rock to the snows, at 1 5 , o ~ ofeet and
upwards.
In the pine-forest belt you come upoil large grassy
downs, called margs," on which the hill-folk feed their
flocks and herds.
One special inarg has been selected for the hill station,
called Gulmarg, on which wooden bungalows have been
built by the State and by private individuals. Gul~narg
is 8000 feet above sea-level and is tw-enty-eight miles
distant from Srinagar, the capital, to which it is connected
by a good cart road, with the exception of the last three
miles of steep ascent through the pine forest, which must
be tlegotiated h y pony, dandy or on foot.
Gulmarg has grown illto the usual hill station, with its
Beautiful Secluded Valleys
club and gymkhana, which includes tennis courts, cricket
ground, polo ground and two golf courses, one for men and
one for women, which are probably the best in India.
I can remember the time when the European residences
were only a few rough huts.
I shall never forget the chaplain's hut in heavy rain:
there was no dry spot under the roof. T h e chaplain's
wife had to sleep with mackintoshes over her bed and all
the umbrellas that she could muster. She put the children
to sleep under her bed, for that was the only spot where
they could sleep in the dry.
T h e church in the winter was used by the cowherds
for their cattle, as it was the only hut besides the Residency
and another which withstood the weight of the snow on
the roof, as it was built in more solid fashion. It was a
long barn-like building, with a row of stout pine pillars
down the centre supporting directly the ridge-pole of the
roof, so every summer there had to be a good deal of
spring cleaning.
Gulmarg has moved on considerably since those days,
for quite a pretty stone building has taken the place of
the cowshed. It has had to be repaired several times on
account of the damage done to the walls by earthquake
shocks. I t is about to have its first stained-glass window,
presented by the churchwarden, M r Willie Mitchell, the
oldest living European inhabitant of Kashmir.
Pretty wooden chalets have taken the place of the log
huts, and Messrs Nedou & Sons have a large hotel in
which they can accommodate one hundred visitors, with
the addition of pitched tents around. There are beautiful
walks round about Gulmarg among the pine forests,
through which you get most glorious views of the valley,
3000 feet below, with its river and lakes catching
the sunlight, and then the everlasting hills stretching
40
away in the distance, range beyond range; and there
stands that great giant Nanga Parbat, meaning '' the naked
mountain," 26,700 feet, towering above its lesser brethren,
also clad with the everlasting snow.
Gulmarg means a meadow of flowers, and so it used to
be, but they have more or less disappeared, on account
of the work done on the golf links, and other works of
civilisation, but there are scores of other margs untouched
by the hand of man, clothed with carpets of flowers of
all colours and hues, true paradises to all lovers of flowers.
On these margs roam droves of ponies, herds of cows and
buffaloes, and flocks of sheep and goats without number.
The Mohammedans explain the extraordinary ugliness of
the buffalo by the old legend that Adam was watching
Allah make the animals, and became so interested in the
proceeding that he asked Allah to allow him to try his
hand at it : he was given permission, and the buffalo was
the result.
One has to be careful when one is passing a cow buffalo
with calf, for they are apt to charge pedestrians, and
sometimes kill them. A friend and I were attacked once
on a hill-side suddenly. W e were coming to camp after a
heavy day's climbing, and our feet were heavy and slow,
when we, to our surprise, saw a cow buffalo making for
us at full speed. We stood still, hoping that our firm
attitude and the human eye would make the beast change
her mind, but in our case both failed, and we had to take
to our heels, one to the right and the other to the left. T o
my disgust she preferred to lluilt me, and my friend must
have elljoyed the play. I soon saw that she could run me
down, so I tool, shelter behind a large bush of wild indigo,
hoping to get a chance of dodging and so regain my breath.
AS the brute was not ont for play of that kind, she charged
straigllt at me t h n ~ u g htllis hush, \vllich was fortunately
41
down-hill, and that charge, on account of her great weight,
took her down the slope before she could pull up, and so
gave me time to dash for another bush and hide. I hoped
that I had eluded her, but no, she saw me, and was after
me again. I was heartily wishing that she would now
prefer paying attention to my friend, and so give me a
breathing space, when unexpected deliverance was at
hand. T h e cowherd had heard her bellowings and
snortings and came running up full tilt with a big stick,
with which he gave her some mighty whacks, which had
the desired effect, so my friend and I were able to continue
our march to camp and to our much-needed refreshment.
T h e cowherds, or gujars, as they are called, live a
very simple life in log huts away from the haunts of men.
Some of their huts are made only of large slices of bark
stripped off the pine-trees. T h e y stick these strips up on
end, so that their homes resemble Red Indian wigwams.
One often visits these g~ljars' huts in the hope of
procuring milk, but they nearly always say they have not
any, which strikes one as very churlish behaviour consid-
ering the great herds of cattle that are feeding on the
margs around them ; but they have their reasons, for they
have in the past suffered so much from having had their
milk and butter taken from them without payment by the
native officials, and also sometimes by the servants of
travellers, who d o not look after them properly. Also they
keep their milk for butter, which they turn into '' ghi "
-i.e. clarified butter-a most beloved food of the Indians.
Every autumn travelling merchants visit these gujar en-
campments and take away their stock of ghi, which is put
into goatskins and carried on pack-ponies to the Punjab.
T h e gujars always keep with them large fierce dogs, a
very different beast to the pariah dog of tlie villages.
They are used by them for protecting their Rocks and
herds from the bears and panthers which are ever on the
watch for them.
These gujars show much pluck when defending their
property, and are thus unlike Kashmiris of the valley. In
order to keep themselves fit for the day of battle they
practise lifting heavy weights. You will often see out-
side their huts huge dumb-bells; they are sections of pine-
logs weighing from 50 lb. to I oo 1b.-in order to get a grip
they scoop out a handle which they can grip with one or
two hands-and these great logs they brandish about in
order to make muscle.
When a bear or panther attacks their flocks or cattle
they first turn their dogs on to them, and while the beasts
are busily engaged in fighting with the dogs the gujars
join in with axes, and ropes with which to lasso them.
There are two kinds of bear in Kashmir-the brown,
generally known as the red bear, and the black. T h e red
bear is of rather larger build, and lives on the higher margs,
and is not so fierce as the black bear, which roams about
in the forests and lives nearer the dwellings of men, sub-
sisting chiefly on fruit, and on the crops of maize, to which
he does much damage.
The red bear when caught young makes an interesting
pet. A friend of mine had one for several years who
used to follow him like a dog all over the country, and
often caused coilsternation to travellers who met him in
these runs when he became separated from his master.
I shall not forget my first introduction to him. I was
paying a morning call upon a friend. I had only just
arrived in the garden when a full-grown bear appeared
from behind a hush, and immediately mounted on his hind
legs and c:une towards me. 1 remembered that I had
h e n told tliat the human eye i s a match for any wild
h a s t (tllough my little aRiir with the buffalo had
weakened my faith a degree or two), so I drew myself
together and fixed him with my eye, but alas ! he would
not look at me properly, and came steadily on, and I feared
h e intended to be affectionate, and what could I d o ? T o
turn my back and run would not be British or dignified,
but I had to d o something and that quickly, for he was
upon me and I could almost feel his breath. Fortunately I
remembered that animals like having their heads scratched,
so I said C c Good bear," and scratched the nearest part of
his body to me, which was his nose, but kept my eyes on
those terrible claws and muscular arms which might
encircle me at any moment.
I tried hard not to let him know that I was not exactly
delighted at meeting with him alone. W h a t was I to
do n e x t ? I could not imagine, for I could not eternally
scratch his nose. Fortunately all things have an end in
this life, and so did the nose-scratching, for deliverance
was at hand in the shape of his master, who hoped that I
admired his bear, as I evidently showed that I did by the
attentions I was paying him. H e little knew what my
real thoughts had been a few seconds before.
On another occasion this bear was chained up to a tree
outside his master's tent when his master was aroused by
terrible shrieks. O n coming outside to see what was up
he saw a Kashmiri lying on the ground shrieking with
terror and calling out that he was dead, which is the
common expression when they are frightened. He, poor
man, when passing the tent had all of a sudden seen the
bear and, not realising that he was chained up, lost his head,
thinking his last hour had come. Bruin no doubt had got
on his hind legs to welcome him. This poor fellow knew
nothing of the trick of fixing the wild beast with the
human eye. Black bear can be very unpleasant strangers
to meet, for specimens of their handicraft can often be
seen in the hospital wards. They seem to take a special
delight in changing the sliape of the face of the men or
women that they happen to meet.
One hears some very interesting stories from time to
time from those who have escaped with their lives. T h e
bear generally goes straight for the face, and with one blow
smashes it in, and sometimes takes out an eye with the blow.
He then comes up to the fallen victim to see if he is really
dead. If the man does not move, the bear, thinking he must
be dead, gives him a bite somewhere on the body and then
goes off t i dig a hole in the ground, as a dog does for a
bone that he does not then need, and men say that on
account of this would-be burial they owe their escape.
I have not myself witnessed the scene so cannot vouch-
safe for the truth of this statement.
Bears at times are very human in their habits, for when
they have been shot in the body in a place which they
can reach with their fore-paws they will scrape up grass
and earth with which to stop up the wound, very much in
the same way that I have seen Kashmir coolies do when
they want to stop the bleeding of a wound.
Black bear are flesh-eating animals in Kashmir. Soine
years ago my little boys were out for a wa1.k with their
governess close to our hut in the forest, when they came
upon a black bear who had just felled an ox and was on
its back and had commenced eating its hump, while the
ox was still alive. Some villagers came to the rescue and
tried to drive the brute off, but so pleased was he with
his meal that be faced the men and charged them when
they came near him.
1 kept a youtlg blaclc bear for some time and also
a Himalayan monkey. It was very amusing to watch the
two playing together. Sometimes the monkey would
ride on the bear's back; at other times the bear would
walk about with the monkey in his arms, he licking the
monkey's face, while the monkey returned the compliment
by relieving the bear of unwelcome visitors on his head.
T h e bear, however, developed an unpleasant temper and
was a source of danger t o the children, so we thought it
better to turn him into a rug. I was sorry, for 1 had
hoped he might have become a companion like my friend
the red bear, but I did not then know that their insides
differed as did their skins, one being brown and the
other black. One black bear I know of who liked man's
society.
Some years ago the village carpenter was making for
me a dug-out canoe out of a large pine-tree in the forest
and for several afternoons a black bear used to come and
lie down near the old man as h e worked, for company, I
suppose. T h e carpenter himself was not a t all unlike a
grizzly bear, for he was covered with black hair, such as I
have never seen before or since, though I have seen some
very hairy Kashmiris; also his movements were very slow
and quiet, which was in keeping with the forest beasts
around him. Most of the Kashmiris are very much afraid
of bears, but this man had, I suppose, lived so much in
their company that he was used to them, so they lived on
friendly terms, as was the custom in the days when they
were not hunted as they are now.
A n old Padre told me that when he was in Kashmir as
a young man and was travelling up the Sindh Valley
he counted no less than eighteen black bears, which he
passed in his march up; they were up on the fruit
trees enjoying themselves, and did not attempt to move
from the branches they were on. Even now they are
plentiful in certain parts, especially in Poonch State in the
autumn, when they come after the acorns. When
the Raja has a big drive and several guns taking part,
46
Beautiful Secluded Valleys d
the party have on more than one occasioil slain thirty bears
in one day.
Panthers are uncanny sort of beasts and d o unceasing
damage to the flocks and herds. W e had a lady panther
for a nrighbour near o m hut in the forest for several
years. This hut had been lent to us as a continual loan
by our friend, M r C. M. Hadow. Many of our friends came
up at different times to hunt her, but always without
success. She would never allow herself to be caught by
the common trick of a tied-up dog or goat as a decoy.
One year she cleared off all the dogs from the neigh-
bouring villages, which was a great blessing for us, as
these dogs are persistent and clever thieves, and keep one
awalte at night by their continual barking as they prowl
about for food. Panthers prefer dogs to any other animal ;
they will come right up to one's verandah or tent to pick u p
a dog, as has happened to several of my friends, but my
dogs have so far escaped capture.
One night when the servants were as usual having
their dinner in their quarters just outside our hut the last
remaining dog but two of the neighbourhood was lying
outside the door waiting for scraps ; the servants heard a
squeal and saw the panther picking np the dog, which was
the size of a collie. H e just chucked it across his back
and jumped over the fence with it and was off.
The following night the last dog but one was lying
beside the dhobi as he, with a hurricane lantern by
his side, was eating his dinner under a tree close t o the
kitchen, when the panther made her appearance and
repeated her trick of the night before to her entire
satisfaction.
The next night we were prepared for her visit with our
fire-arms, and as no dog visited our quarters that evening
we put a kid in a basket and hung it from the branch of
a tree out of the reach of the panther. W e were aware
of the presence of Spots by the occasional slight crackling
of leaves, but she never showed herself.
T h e n we did some thinking, and c a u e to the conclusion
that the panther might know all about humans' tricks on
land, but might be ignorant of water and boats. So as
our hut was on the banks of a small lake, one of our
party took ship with a shikari and hid among the reeds,
-
some fifteen yards or so from the shore, where a kid had

been tied. T h e moon arose and sailed up the sky, but
there was no sign of the panther. A t last the shikari's
patience gave out, and he advised the removal of tlie goat
to another place, so they went ashore ; and as the shikari
was in the act of placing the kid on his shoulders the
panther's patience also gave out, for she made a spring for
the kid but missed her prey as the shikari sprang aside.
T h e man with the gun was at that moment stepping over
a fallen tree and was not ready, for all happened so
suddenly, so again our friend Spots escaped. Then a
renowned sportsman said that he would surely be successful
if he came to this place in the winter, as he would be able
to follow her tracks in the snow.
H e came, therefore, in the winter, found the pug marks
in the snow and followed them patiently day after day for
over a week. O n his last day he was hard on the trail
when he discovered that he was walking in a circle, and
i t dawned upon hiin that the panther was playing the old
Red Indian trick, that she had come behind him and was
tracking him, so he hid and waited. H e had not long to
wait, for he spotted two eyes looking at him over a rock
at some little distance, but before h e could get a shot
Spots had disappeared, so again she came out top.
We began to think we were honoured with no common
panther, but one with super intelligence, with a touch of
48
the hulnan mind, which the following event will bear
out.
It was a Sunday evening in August, when one is glad to
see the sun sink behind the mountains and be refreshed
by the cool breeze as the wind from the mountain snows
makes its way through the upper valley to the plain below.
I was returning home froin a walk with two children and
two dogs. My boy Eric had run ahead with the dogs,
though I had just warned him to keep near me with them,
on account of the panther's love for dogs, so the little
girl and 1 were running to catch him up. W e had just
come to a small clearance in the forest when the little girl
grasped me tight by the leg and exclaimed : O h ! daddy,
look!'' pointing to the left, and then I saw the panther
in full cry, with her long tail sticking up and her nose on
the ground, coming straight for the path we were on. It
was all a matter of seconds. W e stood absolutely still.
She did not spot us till about six yards distant. She then
drew herself up and stood stock still, glaring at us with
glassy eyes, the hair on her back and her tail standing
erect. Then cominellced a staring match. W h o could
hold out the longest ? T h e time seemed to be interminable,
but I felt sure that if my eyelids would not play me false
I should win. I know that I did not breathe and I d o
not think the panther did either. W e all three behaved
like stuffed animals, for little Pamela played her part
splendidly, not inoving a muscle. 1 knew she was trusting
me, and 1 realised how impotent I was to protect her if
the enemy attacked us. A t last the spell was broken by
the panther, whose eyes gave out first. I knew then that
I had won the first round, hut what was to follow? My
adversary put her chin upon her fore-paws, bending low,
as if she were salaaming, and then turned her face round
Llpon us and treated us to a broad Cheshire cat grin,
D
40
Beautiful Secluded Val I e s,
which seemed to say : " W h a t sport this is ! W h a t shall we
d o next?" She then leapt up a great height and came
down such a bang that she shook the ground. She then
turned a somersault, and again, sprang up, and yet again,
and repeated the performance over and over again, as
if for our entertainment. T h e n once more she drew
herself up to her full height, looking straight a t us as
she had done a t first, and then once more dropped her
chin on to her fore-paws, salaaming, as it were, again,
turned her face to us with a parting grin, and was off
bounding into the forest to the same spot where we had
seen her emerge, and lo! our visitor was gone.
You can imagine our feelings while this beast enter-
tained us, and our relief when the show was over. W e
would not have missed the experience for anything, and
were most grateful to our friend Spots for having decided
on acting a comedy instead of a tragedy on that Sunday
evenlng.
I should fancy she must have l x e n in ; ~ I I especially
happy frame of mind, having possibly already dined
satisfactorily, or possibly haying come across the track of
some friend of hers whom she particularly wished to
meet. Anyway she was happy. It was providential that
she just missed Eric with the dogs, who was ahead of as,
for then the panther cotlld hardly have helped selecting
a tragedy for the evening performance, for a meal of
English dogs would have been irresistible.
I came across the lady again on two occasions, one of
them at even closer quarters, which is, I think, worth
telling.
My wife was ill one night, and I started at midtlight to
get medical aid. As I kncw the path tllrough that bit of
forest so well I never carried a lantern, but my wife was
very anxious that I should do so, so I gave in, and took a
50
hurricane lantern. It was a dark night. I was passing
the stables, which is a two-storey building, with an out-
side stairway leading to the saddle-room, when I ilnagined
I saw a man sitting on the stairs, swaying slowly from side
to side. I naturally jumped to the conclusion that it
must be the sais, who was ill, and was swaying from side
to side in pain, most probably in his lower chest, so I
went up and asked what was the reason. I had not
finished tny sentence wheil I felt a wind on my cheek and
then a shaking of the gro~lilda t my feet. My sais had
disappeared suddenly froin view, stomach-ache and all. I
then realised that I had been talking to my old friend of
the jungle, only a hungry friend this time, for she had
climbed the stairs and was swaying slowly from side to
side as she sniffed our dogs onder the saddle-room door,
for we put them there at night to be out of harm's way.
T h e moral of this story is, husbands, obey your wives,
for I hardly think I should have returned with my face
intact if I had not beell carrying the lanteril, for it is
considered the height of folly to startle a panther at any
time, or to corner hiin in the dark, and more especially
when he is huilgry and on the point of commencing his
late dinner.
I fear we shall never know for certain the end of our
jungle friend, who ate up our thieves and stopped them
keeping us awake at night, but as the dogs in the neigh-
bouring villages once tnore increased to most amazing
numbers, we conclude that she is either hunting in other
Kashmir jungles, or, what is more probable, has joined her
ancestors in happy hunting grounds elsearllere.
There are many other animals in these forests which one
occasionally comes across in the early dawn or late evening.
There are wild pig, for instance, which one is apt to
mistake for bear in the dark, as they crush their way
5'
through bushes and undergrowth. Jackals are always
plentiful.
T h e lynx is said to hunt with the panther, no doubt in
order to get same pickings from the kill. Pine-martens
very seldom show themselves, hut one continually sees
where they have been feeding by the debris under the
fir-trees.
T h e brown short-tailed Himalayan monkey may be
seen all over the forests, as they live in such large com-
munities ; they are most entertaining to watch, swinging
themselves from tree to tree with such a babel of voices,
and especially noisy are they when they have their young.
If they scent danger you see them calling to their
youngsters to hurry up while they make for the pine-
trees ; the tiny ones mount their parents' backs and
are sooil out of reach up the trees. T h e y make very
interesting pets.
They can be caught by a very silllple trap. An
earthenware jar full of rice is put in their path, the jar
must have a narrow neck, so that the monkey's hand can
slip in easily when empty, but when the hand is full of
rice it is unable to withdraw it. T h e monkey, finding
this ready meal, eats greedily, hut on the approach of a
human being he takes a large handful, intending to make
the most of his last chance, and he is unable to withdraw
his hand; he has nut enough sense to let go his last
handful, and so is caught.
T h e first monkey I had was quite a companion. She
rode on horseback with me, but whenwe galloped she
became alarmed, and would climl) on to my shoulder or
m y head, and hang on t o any handy projection to steady
herself, such as my nose and my ears, which was not
pleasant. She would go boating and swimming with me,
and was wonderfully obedient. I let her loose in the
5
garden, and she would come down from the trees when
I called her. But I failed to teach her honesty: she
preferred stolen food to that given her freely. A s an
example. W e were living in a house-boat on the lake and
were expecting friends to tea, so that cakes were plentiful.
Sundri, for that was her name-the Kashmiri for a
beautiful woman-came out of the house-boat front door
with a sponge cake in each hand and one in her mouth,
a madeira cake under one arm and a plum cake under the
other. As soon as she saw that I had seen her she made
straight for the roof, and commenced climbing the ladder
to the upper deck. She could only use her legs and
elbows, as both hands and armpits were fully occupied
with the cakes. She however reached the top safely
with her burden, trying hard the while to cram the cakes
into her mouth, grieving sadly that her mouth would not
stretch any more. She was caught before the madeira
and plum cakes had reached her mouth, and then punish-
ment followed-viz. a ducking in the lake-which she
took in good part, knowing that she deserved it, and also
that she had swallowed three extra nice sponge caltes, so
bore no ill will.
Sundri would sit for any length of time in the per- '
ambulator with our little boy, the two embracing one

another, she makin? a cooing sound all the nhile, as
C
she no doubt imagined him to be her own son. She

hated the child's bearer, for he was the wicked man who
interrupted their llappiness by taking his charge away for
meals or t o bed. I generally had to come to the rescue,
to put a stop to the awfnl sweariilgs and the possible
hitings urhich might follow as the tug-of-war was in
progress between Sundri and the bearer. She, like most
monkeys, hated being laughed at, and remembered those
for evil who bad opened their mouths at her, hut
53
responded to all who treated her with respect and took
her seriously.
T h e Kashmir forests are just full of interest, for one
never knows what interesting animal, bird or insect one
111ay meet with in one's walks, and especially if one has
leisure to sit down under the shadow of a tree, bush or
rock, and in perfect stillness remain with eyes and ears
open.
There is one drawback to the forest as far as I am
concerned, and that is the presence of the ankhor (Rbus
acuminita) tree. It has very graceful and vivid green foliage,
but its juice is poisonous. It affects some people far more
than others. I have on three occasions been ill for three
weeks from having touched it by accident. After touching
that tree, every part of my body which my hand touched
came out in huge blisters, and the irritation was intense and
caused fever. No medicine seemed to be of any use, so it
had to run its course. Some Kashmiris suffer badly from
it. I am told that they make use of it when they wish to
punish an enemy. In climbing up a hill through brush-
wood one is apt to put one's hand on the trunk to help
oneself up, or vice versa in descent to use it as a break
-
on one's too rapid progress. I wage war with my enemy,

and cut them down whenever possible.
CHAPTER I11
THE TOWNS IN THE VALLEY
TANDING on these glorious pine-clad mountains,
S and seeing through a clearing in the forest the whole

Vale of Kashmir stretched before one's feet, one
thinks of Moses on Mount Pisgah viewing the Promised
Land. For truly Kashmir is a land of inilk and honey.
Margs on your right and left provide grass in abundance
for the cattle, and flowers galore for the bees. In front
of you, in the plain below, you see cluinps of trees, under
which the villages nestle, surrounded by the rice-fields, now
shining in the sunlight like a great sea, the villages being
the islands; and beyond, you see the city of Srinagar,
with its Hindu temple domes catching the sun's rays, and
the Dal Lake green with its floating and other gardens
and the great hills beyond, and above them ranges of snow
mountains; and above all, the range near Gilgit, where
Nanga Parbat stands out head and shoulders above other
rocky giants.
In the valley there are oilly four places worthy of the
name of towns : Srinagar, Baramulla, Sopor and Islamabad.
Srinagar, the capital, lies in the centre of the valley, with a
population of I 30,000. Baramulla lies in the south-west,
where the River Jhelum leaves the valley through a deep
gorge, and thence becomes a foaming torrent as it drops
3000 feet to the plains of India.
Baramulla has a population of six or seven thousand,
and is the town of export, as it is here that the river-borne
traffic from this spot leaves the valley--by road chiefly, on
55
The Towns in the Valley
bullock carts down the Jhelum Valley road, usually a
journey of ten days, to Rawal Pindi in the Punjab.
T h e chief exports are fruits, such as apples, pears and
walnuts; hides and grain of various sorts (but rice is not
allowed to be exported) ; woollen homespun, skein-silk
from the huge State silk factory, carpets and Yarkandi
felts.
Timber, chiefly railway sleepers of deodar, floats past
Baramulla on the river to Jhelum, and a rough passage
it is, for the river falls 4000 feet in its journey of two
hundred odd miles.
T h e ancient name of the town Baramulla, which is
called Varamul by the natives of the country, was Varahmul.
This locality has enjoyed great sanctity since early times
as the dwelling-place of Vishnu in his incarnation of
Adivaraha, or primeval boar. T h e legend connected with
the sacred site is related in the Nilantata. An abstract of
this legend may be given here. Shankasura (a conchifer-
ous demon) had carried away the terrestrial globe, with
all the sacred Vedas. T h e Devas (gods) were in great
distress for the loss of Prithvi (goddess of the earth)
and the eternal Vedas. T h e y implored Vishnu to
save the earth and their inspired books. Vishnu, in the
form of a great boar, dived after the monster and
killed him. H e brought up the earth, with all the
Vedas. T h e place where he rested after the great
exploit became known as Varahmula (the abode of the
boar). This legend preserves an indirect reference to
the Great Flood, the submersioil of the earth and its
final reappearance after the waters of the globe had
subsided.
T h e ancient temple of Varaha, which stood near the
site of the present Kotitirtha, at the western extremity of
the town and close to the river-bank, seems to have been
56
one of the famous shrines of Kashmir. The ancient
lingas and sculptures found at the Kotitirtha may have
originally belonged to this temple. This shrine and its
sacred image of the Varaha were destroyed by Sikandar
Butshikan. About ten miles up-stream to the east is
Sopor, with its population of 9000, which has not changed
from the day that I first saw it in 1890.
Very picturesque it is, as it is situated on both sides of
the river, which is here two hundred or inore feet in width,
and spanned by a drunken-looking cantilever bridge made
of deodar (the tree of God) logs. T h e Mohammedail
mosques, with their grass-covered roofs and wooden
minarets, and the tin-covered doines of Hindu temples add
moth to its interest. T h e streets are very narrow, filthy
and evil-smelling in the extreme.
It is the chief port of the Wular Lake, so possesses a
good market for the products of the lake : fish, singara
nuts and waterfowl. In the autumn sportsinen come
here to spin for the masheer, a fish which runs to a great
-
size, the record fish being 54 1b.

-
The drawback to this place is the mosquitoes, the air

being thick with them, so much so that it is difficult to
eat one's food without swallowing them. T h e fishermen
are, as a rule, too keen on their sport to worry about
them, and sometimes they are rewarded b y really good
sport; or the unexpected may happen.
An officer was fishing a t this when some boatinell
came in from the lake saying that they had seen a bear
swimming in the lake, and asking hiin to come and shoot
it. He at first refi~scdto believe their story, but finally
agreed to go with them with his rifle, when after some
time the boatmen spotted their quarry, for true enough
it was a hear which was swimming across the lake, a
distance of at least four or five miles at this point. But
h e was not allowed to finish his swim, which I think was
not quite playing the game.
This reminds me of a somewhat similar event which
happened in the Dal Lake, near t h e city, some time ago.
I fear I have already written a t too great a length about
our wild animals, but as this is rather an extraordinary
event I may be excused.
T w o British officers were encamped a t Naseem Bagh,
which is one of the camping grounds on that beautiful
lake, when some boatmen came to them in great excite-
ment, saying that they had seen a panther on one of the
small garden islands and asking them to come and shoot
it. T h e officers naturally thought this panther was in
the boatmen's imagination only, for no one had heard of
a panther coming down so near the city in summer-time,
as they have plenty of food on the hills. However, the
boatmen promised to show them the panther, so these
officers went with them. W h e n the party arrived near
this small island garden, not far from the mainland, one
of the boatmen took the two officers in a small boat.
A s the boat glided under the willow-trees they saw the
panther, who was cornered, waiting for them. One
officer was standing up in the prow of the boat with his
rifle, the other was in the centre, and the boatman steering
with his paddle in the stern.
T h e y had come upon the panther before they were
aware, and the boatman was unable to stop the way of
the boat. T h e panther sprang a t the boat and hit it so
hard that the officer in the bow and the boatman in the
stem were pitched into the water, while the officer in the
centre with difficulty kept his balance, as the panther
was struggling, being half in the boat and half in the
lake. T h e other officer and the boatman, who had dis-
appeared under the water, happened to come to the
58
surface at the same moment, when, in their excitement,
they each mistook the other for the panther, and both
dived to escape from a mauling. In the meantime the
officer in the boat managed to put a bullet through the
head of the poor beast, who was making a gallant fight
for his life.
Islamabad, a town of ro,ooo inhabitants, is a t the
east end of the valley. It is 48 miles up-stream from
Srinagar, but only 33 by road, and is noted for its
hot sulphur springs a i d tanks of sacred carp belonging
to the Hindu temples situated on the banks. These
springs are most useful for those suffering from that
unpleasant skin disease vulgarly called the "itch." AS
this particular disease affects nearly every Kashmiri, these
springs are much in favour. This town is also known by
its Hindu name of Ananth Nag, which means the place
of many springs." It used to be one of the chief cities
of the shawl trade, but now its chief industries are em-
broidery work and making floorcloths and curtains out of
the disused woollen blankets, and very effective they are.
The carpenters also turn out a good deal of highly colbured
wooden articles which look like lacquer work, but is really
wood coloured and then highly polished by the use of the
lathe. They make very elegant spinning wheels, candle-
sticks, howls and cups, etc.
C H A P T E R IV
THE KASHMIRIS
B EFORE our visit to the capital, Srinagar, it would

be as well to know something of the character
and general look of the inhabitants of that very
picturesque and dirty city.
T h e Kashmiris are of the Aryan stock, and are as
a rule quite good-looking. T h e women are coilsidered
to be beautiful. I must say that I have not myself seen
many beauties, but possibly if they were clean and wore
becoming garments I might have reason to change my
opinion. Also most of the upper-class women are never
seen in the streets, and I am told by the ladies who visit
the zenanas that some of the women are really beautiful.
Many people think that the Kashmiris belong to the lost
tribes of Israel, as many of them have such Jewish noses,
also their love of money and of getting the better of
their neighbours is very strong.
Their complexion is fair as compared with their Indian
neighbours; those living in towns are fairer than the
country folk. Some of them might easily pass for
Europeans. T h e Hindu women and boys have generally
refined features, quite of Greek type. Many have rosy
cheeks and pink complexions, and a few have blue eyes
and auburn hair; but auburn hair is not a popular colour,
and they dislike any remark on the fact. One especially
notices their fair complexion when they are with Indians
or Eurasians-i.e. those of mixed birth, now known as
Anglo-Indians.
6o
The Kashmiris
A certain scene impressed itself on my mind in this
respect. It was that of an Anglo-Indian and his servant.
This ~nglo-Indian, who happened to b e exceptionally
dark, was walking to his office on a hot day. His servant,
a Kashmiri, who was scarcely distinguishable from a fair
European, for he had blue eyes and pink cheeks, and a
bright, happy face withal, was walking behind holding up
an umbrella to shade the dusky gentleman's face from
the sun, and carrying his books. Many of the dwellers
in this land are very keen to keep up their position and
consider it infra dig. to be seen carrying anything, and
also like to be followed about by a servant, according
to Eastern custom.
What ainusement the Pandit officials used to afford
one every morning in days gone by, when the head of
a department was making his triumphal march from his
house to his office, at the gentlemanly pace of the ox, two
miles an hour, followed by his subordinate clerlts and
servants. I have counted as many as thirty marching a t
this funereal pace in order to sliow that they were gentle-
men, and that time was no object. T h e y all walked in
single file, as one clerk was greater in position than the
other and therefore could not walk abreast. T h e head
official would be walking in front, with his lower chest
well to the fore, and as he swaggered aloilg he would
chuck his words behind him to those following. Some-
times he would condescend to call one up to him, and
he would come before the great inan with his hands ill
the attitude of prayer, and head at the correct angle of
obeisance. Most of this small army of followers, I was
told, were dependents of the household, and were poor
relatives living 011 the rich man's bounty, who paid for
their kc by swelling his retinue and thus bringing
honour dnd conferring dignity upon the great man and
6I
The Kashmiris
his house. T h e days of slow progression are fast
departing, as it is being discovered that time is
valuable.
I was on one occasion on a journey with my Brahman
munshi ; we were riding ponies. It was a lovely day, and
my pony seemed to b e aware of this fact, and we were
just going sixteen to the dozen, when I became aware
that the munshi was not enjoying this headlong pace as
much as I was, for he was crying out for me to stop. So
I reined up, and then up came the Brahman.munshi, red
in the face and breathing hard. "Oh, Sahib," he said,
cc why d o you ride like this, for kings always ride slow ? "
"Yes," I said, " they may d o so, but I am not a king.
SOcome on."
However, the inunshi was almost in tears, so I had
mercy on him, and we rode a t a more gentlemanly pace,
but not quite that of the kings' pace of which he was
thinking.
In physique the dwellers in towns naturally d i r e r much
from those in the country and in the mountains. In the
towns the people are weak and undersized, partly from
their indoor occupations, such as weaving and embroidery
work, where they sit all day in stuffy, small rooms, or
are clerks bending over their desks, who never think of
taking exercise after office hours by joining in games.
T h e y have no hobbies with which to fill their spare
time.
But especially are they a weak lot on account of the
filthiness of the towns and fetid air, which make them
sickly and anzmic. T h e n their morals are not high, to
say the least of i t ; the most of them suffer from bone
or skin diseases. Epidemics of various kinds play havoc
among them. Everyone has small-pox, with the exception
of the few that have heen vaccinated ; every fifth persoil
62
PAolo by] [V(tkw Ilfd
RSTURRZWO
PILORIMS FROM THE MOUNTAINS.
of Him?&pblgrimtl tvbo Btrd met in ~M,FI%B* frotit
Crotlldhg tbe valkp map be aeaa rl ptkYt%S@tan
dl pasts of appm It&a and who naw a e m n p l t l d the jomep ta the, d cam bf
&mmmtb are retulliog tO theft &mnt hums. araslt hmMtp3 ccta dkm% by FSI older Lbtnb
4dm QB B g l i rmm111n pi b t ib &mjj&gtemn~t;." -
T h e Kashmiris
is pitted with small-pox on some part of his body, and
many are blinded from it.
Every four or five years cholera in epidemic form
sweeps them off in hundreds, and sometimes in thousands,
during the summer months. Typhoid is rampant in the
city, and now consumption is increasing and taking toll of
the population.
With the advance o t education the people are gradually
learning that sickness is caused by germs and not by the
will of Allah, or in the case of Hindus by the caprice of
their various gods and goddesses. For example, when
small-pox attacks a family, they seem rather pleased than
otherwise, as they say the goddess has deigned to visit
their humble dwelling. This is one of the reasons why
the I-Iiodus object to vaccination. It will be a slow busi-
ness to alter the conditions of the towils in the matter of
sanitation, as the people themselves are against improve-
ment. Their answer to any change is always the same
--namcly, '' O u r fathers and fore fat hers were always very
happy and con tell ted under the existing order of things,
so why should not we be satisfied ? " A certaiil Health
Officer, who had been to England for his medical training,
and nas out to do his duty, being Iceen on his work, came
to me one morning very ~ n u c hupset, for there was an
especially filthy alley leading fi-om the main street to the
river which was much frequented. He wished to t re
it paved with bricks so that it could be flushed with
water and kept clean.
The Brahman priests of the neighbourhood had come
to him and ordered him to desist, using the usual fore-
father argument. So as the Health Oflicer stood firm to
his resolve they threatened that, if Ile attei~iptedto pave
the alley, they themselves urould lie down flat on the road
and he would have to lay the bricks over them. The
63
The Kashmiris
doctor was certainly in a fix. My advice to him was to
carry on, for the priests would sooil have had enough of
bricks. But he shook his head, saying that he dared not
do that. So the Brahman priests won the day, and that
alley remains what it always has been, a latrine for the
priests and their families, a pestilential spot. It is not
easy to hurry the East.
In the villages the habits of the people are the same
as those of the towns, only as more fresh air is obtainable
the health and physique of the people is better. One's
nose always tells one from afar that one is nearing a
village, and the people love to have it so.
T h e outdoor life of the villagers is, of course, a healthy
one, and their bodies become strong from constant labour,
but in the winter they also suffer much from disease, as
they shut themselves up in their houses and froust. They
keep their cows in the lower rooms, and block up every
hole and cranny with mud and straw to keep out ally
fresh air, consequently the room becomes so hot that the
moisture literally drips from the ceiling. T h e family sit
in the room above; thus the heat of the cows, coming up
from below, keeps them happy and comfortable all the
winter, and with no extra expense. Truly, those in the
West, with coal at such a fabulous price, have something
to learn from the East. Yet, notwithstanding the un-
healthy conditions of the villagers in the winter, the
peasants are physically strong.
In the autumn-time, on the Jhelum Valley road, before
bullock carts came into use, you would see hundreds of
coolies carrying the great weight of from two to three
~naunds each (a maund = 80 ib.) of apples on their
backs, a journey of 2 0 0 miles. Each man carries a
stout stick about two and a half feet ill length with a
cross-bar. So when he wishes to rest he places this stick
64
The Kashmiris
behind him under his load. By this method he can rest
his load without trouble. Their custom is to trot with
their load about fifty yards a t a time and then rest: in
this manner their load of apples would reach Rawal Pindi
in twelve days. T h e women make muscle through their
daily occupations, b y grinding a t the mill and husking
their rice with pestle and mortar. T h e mortar is a
hollowed trunk of a tree about two feet high and a foot
and a half wide a t the top. T h e pestle is a beam of wood
about five feet long cut thin in the middle, so that it can
comfortably be held with one hand. It is heavy work,
and it takes from an hour to an hour and a half to husk
the rice for one meal. T h e n besides their housework
they have work in the fields as well. It is a hard, healthy
life and they thrive on it.
The coolies and other hard workers employ an ingeilious
method for refreshing themselves when they are fagged
out. T h e tired man will lie prone on the ground on his
stomach, and call his pal to inassage him. This is done
by his pal walking up and down on the top of him very
slowly. H e begins at his heels and wallts up his legs and
back, to his neck, digging his toes into the muscles of his
legs, his back and neck, as h e slowly inoves up and down
him. T h e mail who is prone keeps grunting as the toes
of his pal do their work. After a few minutes of this
operation he gets up and shakes himself, and then does
the same ki~ldness for his pal. After this they both
shoulder their loads and go off in good spirits. I have
never tried this particular form of massage, but I have
had experience of other forms of their massage which
they so willinsly 011 one, mnd I have found it
most refreshing.
Those who live in the mountains, especially those on
the frontier states, such as Gilgi t, Huilzar and Nagar, are
E 65
The Kashmiris
a fine type of men, hardy mountaineers, and of quite a
different stamp to the Kashmiri of the valley. They are
born sportsmen, hunting the ibex among their native
rocky haunts, and have become like the ibex in agility
and hardiness.
CHAPTER V
KASHMIR, ANCIENT AND MODERN
S we have now seen something of the beautiful

country, and have a nodding acquaintance with
the people of the valley and the hills, it may be
well to look backwards into their past history, so that we
inay understand something of their character. Kashmir
fortunately possesses an ancient history, and a civilisation
more ancient than our own. There are many legends of
prehistoric times when the Vale of Kashmir was a vast
lake and was inhabited by a great snake.
Here is one of their legends.
According to the earliest traditional account this lake
occupied the place of Kashmir Valley. A demon called
Jallodbhava (water-born) resided in this lake. This demon
caused great distress to all the neighbonring countries
by his devastations. A t last Kashyapa Muni implored
Shiva to help him to kill the demon. His prayer was
granted, and he succeeded in getting the demon killed,
with the help of the gods, near Kaonsar-nag. Shiva made
an exit near Baramulla with his trident, the water rushed
out and the land thus produced became inhabitable.
At first inen dwelt in it for six months only in the year
and left Kashmir for the six inonths of winter, when it
was occupied by peshachas (demons).
Ultimate1 y the people, through Nilanaga's favour, got
rid of thesc demons, on condition that the people per-
formed certain rites and ceremonies for the good of these
demons, during winter months, and thus the country
67
Kashmir, Ancient & Modern
became inhabitable throughout the year. These rites
are still performed by the Hindus of Kashmir. They
are :
I . Kecbi Muva.s.-It occurs in the month of January.
A sort of pudding, or polao, is cooked, and in an earthen
tray is placed in the middle of the compound for the
demons. A line is drawn round the whole house with
lime. It is believed that these demons have no power to
step over this magical line.
2. Gndn Bata.-The Hindus cook rice and fish in the
dark fortnight of January. A big bowl full of rice and
fish, both cooked and uncooked, is placed in the uppermost
storey of the house. A lamp is kept burning and no one
is allowed to sleep in that place. T h e cats generally
enjoy a good feast. In the morning the members of the
family go u p to inspect the place, and they are satisfied to
see the bowl empty, thinking it has been eaten by the
demons.
3. Kawa Punin2.-This ceremony is generally performed
in the month of February. Rice is cooked and formed
into balls. These balls of rice are placed in a kind of
big spoon made of twigs and grass, and are put in a
prominent place in the house for the goblins in the shape
of crows. T h e children recite this lullaby: Come ! 0
you crows which are very fond of podding; bathe in
the waters of Gangabal ; put on a teka of brown clay,
bring your she-crows with you, perch yourselves on the
eaves of our houses and enjoy a good feast."
Geological observations prove the former existence of
a great lake. T h e lacustrine deposits are undoubtedly
found in the karewa plateaux everywhere. Ancient
Kashmir has long been untler the sway of variolls bot~u
fidc rajas. T h e first raja that appears on the pages of
documentary tradition is Mgonand, who asceilded the
68
throne in 4249 B.c., at a time when Egypt was ruled by
demigods. H e was succeeded by his son Danudar, who
was killed by the Yadhus, the tribe to which Krishna
belonged.
B~lddhism was introduced illto Kashmir by Asoka in
308 B.C. T h e founder of this religion was Sakhi Muni
Gaotam, later on called Buddha. H e was a prince of
a secluded kingdom near Nepal, and lived about the time
of the c6 Captivity of the Jews." Raja Jaluki, the grand-
son of Asoka and the conqueror of Bactria, spread this
faith all over the country. Buddhist missionaries were
sent to India to teach them " T h e Way."
The Tartars invaded the valley about the commence-
ment of our era. Three of their kings are supposed to
have ruled simultaneously. T h e y are : Hushka, who
founded Aushkar near Badgam ; Zashka, who founded
Zukar near the Nasiin Bagh, and Kanishka, who founded
Kanspur. These kings were very popular in Kashmir.
Kashmir was under the role of white Huns during
the first half of the sixth century, about the time of
the conquest of England by the Saxons. Their king,
Mehrakola, was ilotorious for his crnelty and violence.
Buddhism declined during the time of Shankracharya in
the eighth century.
T h e Mohammedan adventurers begail to invade the
country in the beginning of the eleventh century. Mahinud
of Ghuzni invaded Kashmir in 1015, via Tosa Maidan,
hut was repulsed by the Kashmir troops. T h e famous
historian Albroni was present with Mahmud. T h e first
Mol~a~nmedan king of Kashmir was Reochan Shah, who
asceilded the throne in I 341. H e was a Tibetan, and
had come to Kashmir in childhood. H e wanted to
become a Hindu, hut the Rrahnians would not admit him
to their religion, so he was forced to receive the tenets
69
of Islam from a Mohammedan fakir named Bulbul Shah,
whose ziarat is still in existence, and a part of tlre city,
Bulbul Lanker, is still called after lris name. Renchan
Shall afterwards forced the lraughty Br,1' 1lmans to become
Mohammedans. This Renchan Shah was a contemporary
of Edward 111. of England.
From the time of Renchan Shah up to the time of
Sultan Tutub-ud-Din Kashmir enjoyed considerable
peace. During the 'reign of this sultan, in A.D. I 395,
Syid Ali Hamdani, commonly called Shah Hamdan, arrived
in Kashmir. This man had fled from Hamdan, a town
in Persia, to save himself from the hands of the Mogul
Emperor Tumerlane. T h e story of this event is thus
briefly told :
Tumerlane, like many Oriental monarchs, was in the
habit of going round his capital cities a t night, in dis-
guise, in order to find out for himself the condition of
his subjects and their opinion about him.
One night he stood outside the house of a very poor
man. His children were weeping for want of food and
his wife was in a very miserable condition. In her plight
she implored her husband to go out and beg food for
the children, but the man, being a respectable person,
was unwilling to beg. Tumerlane, overhearing their con-
versation, was sorry for them, and q~lietlythrew a few
gold mohurs into the house.
In the morning the woman of the house was overjoyed
to find the pieces of gold lying on the floor. Her husband
bought some food and fed his children, his wife and
himself.
His neiglrbol~rs,seeing them eating good food, guessed
that they might have stolen the money. They brought a
charge of theft against this poor man, ant! being Syids-
i.e. descendants of Ali, the son-in-law of tlre Prophet - -they
70
would have very easily succeeded in getting him punished
and tortured. But happily the King came to know about
this so-called theft; so h e summoned both the parties
before him. T h e accused told him the whole truth,
which of course the King knew himself. T h e Syids con-
tradicted his statement, and declared on oath that they
had really been robbed of the money. T h e King was
furious, and he ordered a horse of seven metals to b e
made. H e made it red-hot and ordered all the Syids to
ride it in order to prove that they were truly Syids,
because according to Mohammedan tradition fire cannot
harm the Syids. In this way those Syids who obeyed
the order of the King were burnt to death, and those
who disobeyed him were killed by his soldiers. But Syid
Ali Haindani managed to escape this ordeal, and h e fled
to Kashmir. It was through his and his son7&instigation
that the Hind us of Kashmir were ruthlessly persecuted
by Qutub-ud-Din and his successor, Sikandar the Idol
Breaker. Hundreds were converted to Islam by force,
hundreds of those who refused were put to the sword.
Sikandar destroyed all their sacred places and monuments
of historical importance. W i t h the material h e built
mosques and ziarats ill various places. Shah Hamdan is
believed to be a great saint by the Sunni Mohammedans
of Kashmir, and his ziarat, which was originally built by
Qutub-ud-Din, is still seen below the Third Bridge, in the
city.
Sikandar's son, Ali Shah, who ascended the throne in
1435, and who was the contemporary of Henry VI. of
England, completed the work of destruction which his
father had undertaken. During his reign hundreds of
Hindus committed suicide. Scores set fire to their own
houses and burnt themselves and their families alive,
and many drowned themselves in different wells to save
7 '
their dharama (religion). Some tried to escape with
their children to foreign countries, but their movements
were watched and the passes were guarded, so they
killed themselves by throwing themselves over precipices.
Those who were left to their fate and were still alive
enjoyed some respite during the reign of Ali Shah's
son, Zain-ul-Abidin. H e was a good and humane ruler.
It was he who induced the Hindus to study Persian
and accept Government posts. So during his time the
Hindu community was split into two sections-those who
accepted Government posts and those who still clung to
their own shastras. T h e former, from that time, were
called Karkuns (Government servantsj and the latter
Peruhets (priests). It was Zain-ul-Abidin who introduced
the art of weaving Kashmir shawls and making paper.
U p to his time the Hindu scribes used to write their
scriptures on birch-bark.
From his time to the time of Akbar the Great, Kasllinir
was ruled by different Mohammedan kings, both native
and foreign. During their rule the poor Hindus, the
victims of their wrath, were more or less harassed and
embarrassed. T h e y pillaged their houses, oppressed them
without scruple and insulted them without compunction.
Akbar was the contemporary of 6 c Qeen Bess" of
England. H e conquered Kashmir in 1587. H e built
the wall round Hari Parbat I-Iill in the city. Throughout
the Mogul period the Hindus enjoyed some security of
person and property. They were entrusted with high
Government posts. It was Akbar who was pleased with
their erudition and intelligence and gave them the surname
of Pandits (learned men).
During the reign of his son Jahangir, who laid out
many lovely gardens and villas in Kashmir, the Sul~adar
of this place was enamoured by the l~eautyo f a I I i ~ i d u
72
girl. When he coold not obtain her consent without
lnaking trouble hc had resource to a clever trick, as h e
thought. H e persuaded an old Mohaininedao wolnail to
appear veiled before his court and she, persoilating the
aforesaid Hindu girl, professed her love for the Subadar
and was ready to marry him, but was prevented by her
father under the influeilce of his co-religionists. T h e
Subadar obtained a rewayet (order) from the mullahs
permitting him to marry the girl without her father's
consent. H e then sent troops to the house of the
innocent girl to seize her by force and bring her to his
harem. His orders were promptly executed. T h e father
of the girl was a discreet person. H e made no fuss but,
through his daughter, requested the Subadar to wait six
months, which he readily agreed to, from the fear of the
King. Meanwhile her father quietly set out for Agra, to
Jahangir. W h e n he reached the palace he rang the bell
which Jahangir had attached to his private chambers and
told the Emperor the whole story of this villainy. Jahangir,
ease-loving as he was, at once mounted his famous drome-
dary and, attended by a few of his bodyguard, jourileyed
to Kashlnir in disguise. W h e n he reached Srinagar he
went straight to the house of the Mollammedan woman
who had personated the Hindu girl, and pretending to be
a foreigner, and giving her some pieces of gold to prepare
some food for him, lie inade her relate the whole story.
The Emperor spent tlie night in her house. In the morn-
illg he put on his Court dress and went to the imperial
palace. It was at once ruinoured that the Einperor was
there. T h e Subadar and other high officials, in consterna-
tioo, presented theinselves and paid their homage to their
liege lord.
The Emperor as lislial asked them if all was well, and
while this co~iversatio~l was proceeding, the Hindu, as
73
prearranged, submitted his complaint against the Subadar.
A s a matter of course the Subadar tried to convince the
King that the kafir (infidel) had told abominable lies and
put before the King the futwa (decree) of the mullahs.
T h e King a t once summoned the woman in whose house
he had passed the night. T h e woman at once recognised
her guest and she, without any hesitation, divulged the
whole secret before all the courtiers. T h e Subadar was
dumbfounded. T h e Emperor summoned all t h e mullahs.
T h e y too could do naught but confess their crime. Then
and there Jahangir struck 'off the head of the sinful
Subadar with his own hand. H e arrested all the mullahs
and had them led in chains to a place outside Akbar's
wall, round Hari Parbat, and there had them blown to
pieces from a big gun. T h e y were buried, without any
funeral rites, in the same place. From that time the place
received the name of Mullah Khah. Jahangir's son, Shah
Jahan, built many palaces and laid out many gardens in
the Happy Valley. His son, Aurangzeb, who ascended
the throne in 1658, and who was the contemporary of
Charles IL, James 11. and William 111. of England, again
began to persecute the Hindus in Kashmir and elsewhere.
Kashmir remained ,under the tyranny of the Mogul
Subadars up to the year 1751, when it was conquered by
Ahmad Shan Durani, who assassinated his own master,
Nadir Shah, soon after I 738. W i t h this murderer and
his Afghan successors returned the evil days of the
Hindus.
It remained for these Afghans to continue the work of
spoliation and slaughter already begun. They collected
all the religious scriptures of the Hindus. With these
they constructed a bund, called Mussuth, which is still
extant. W h e n they were tired of killing so many people
with the sword, they put them into bags and drowned
74
them in the Dal Lake. T h e place where these atrocities
were coinmitted is still called Batta Mazir (the graveyard
of the Hindus).
Their houses were ransacked, they were freely tortured
to accept Islam, and their women were taken away from
them and used as concubines. Numbers of the poor
Hindus died of ill-usage or slew themselves to avoid it.
They were not allowed to put 011 their turbans. If they
appeared in a public street any Mohammedan could ride
on their backs and force them to carry him a certain
distance. This was called Khos.
This reign of terror lasted till I 820, when Ranjit Singh,
the Raja of the Punjab, coilquered Kashmir, and rescued
the remaining handful of the Hindus froin the claws of
their oppressors. T o take revenge the Sikhs in their
turn persecuted the Mohammedans. During this time
the Mohammedans could not freely offer prayers.
After the first Sikh war Kashmir was ceded to the
British, who sold it to Maharajah Gulab Singh in I 846.
Tlie grandson of this Raja is the present Maharajah of
Kashmir.
His Highness the Maharajah General Sir Pratab Singh,
who ascended the Gadhi in the year I 886, is ruler over
a large tract of country the size of England and Scotland,
which includes, besides the Vale of Kashmir, Jummu,
Poonch, Ladakh, Baltistan and all the states included
in the Gilgit Agency, with a population of over three
millions. His Highness is aided in the government of
his state by three ministers-the Chief, Revenue and
Home Minister, men who have been selected by the
Indian Government and approved of by his Highness.
Then there is the British Resident, who is the King's
representative and has the assistance of other British
officers. Olle is his personal assistant. There are also
75
Kashmir, Ancient Modern
the Resident of Poonch State, the Resident of Ladakh and
Baltistan and the Agent of Gilgit, which includes all the
mouiltai~lstates, Chilas, Huilzar Nagar, e tc. Since the
year 1890 there have been thirteen Residents. On my
arrival here Colonel Parry Nisbet was the Resident, and
a great personality h e was, for it was through his tact
and energy that the Jhelum Valley cart-road was cut
along the mountain-sides from Dome1 to Baramulla, a
magnificent piece of engineering, the work of the State
Engineer, M r Alkinson, and carried through by Spedding
& Co., contractors.
T h e Resident's position is not altogether an easy one,
for it is one requiring much tact, patience and courage.
It would be invidious to single out those who have
done especially good work. Some of course have
possessed stronger characters than others, and have con-
sequently left their mark for good on the country, and
their memory in the hearts of the people.
There are also British advisers ill the various depart-
ments of the State, such as the Army, P.W.D.
Accountants, Land Settlement, etc.
T h e heir to the Gadhi is General Prince Sir Hari
Singh, K.C.S.I., son of the late Sir Raja Amar Singh, who
was a man of power. T h e young Prince is a sportsman,
and possesses a keen sense of justice and plenty of
common sense.
CHAPTER VI
C H A R A C T E R OF 'THE K A S H M I R I S
T
0 write about the character of the Kashmiris is
not easy, as the country of Kashmir, including
the province of Jummu, is large and contains many
races of people. Then, again, these various countries
included under the name of Kashmir are separated the
one from the other by high mountain passes, so that the
people of these various states differ considerably the one
from the other in features, manners, customs, language,
character and religion.
The people of Juininu province are Dogras, cousins
of the Rajputs, and talk Punjabi. A s their country is on
the lower slopes of the mountains, and not in the plains,
the people are a sturdy race and good fighters. T h e
Maharajah's army is chiefly composed of these men, and
our Indian army contains many Dogra regiments. T h e
Kashmiri Dogra regiments behaved splendidly in the
East African campaign, and won a great name for thein-
selves. Jummu is the winter capital of his Highness Sir
Pratab Singh, K.C.S.I., etc., Maharajah of Jummu and
Kashmir, and not to be confused with Sir Pratab Singh,
Maharajah of Idar, whose name and picture figured so
often in the papers during the war. This town is situated
on the top of a high cliff overlooking the River Ravi, a
]nost imposing-looking to~r-nfro111 a distance oil account
of its many temple domes sparltling in lllc 1,rigllt s~inlight.
1111nmuis strongly 1 l i ~ l d ~ iT
. h e late M;illarajall wished to
make his capital a second Benares, which is the Mecca of
77
Character of the Kashmiris
the Hindus. T h e Dogras are Kishatrias, or the soldier
caste, next below the Brahmans in caste. T h e people of
Poonch state are very similar in build and physique to
the Dogras ; they are sturdy mountaineers. Poonch state
gave more recruits for the Indian army than any other
part of the Indian Empire. T h e y are Mohammedans.
T h e people in the country of Ladakh, or Lesser Tibet,
are Mongolians, and Buddhists by religion, sturdy, hard-
working and cheery people.
I have already mentioned the inhabitants of the mountains
on the frontier, so now, having cleared the ground some-
what, we can discuss the character of the inhabitants of
the valley. It is with these people that the Europeans
who visit this country are chiefly concerned : servants,
coolies, boatmen, shopkeepers, clerks, merchants, etc.
So when people speak of the Kashmiri they have these
particular classes of people in their minds. T o call a man
a Kashmiri " is a term of abuse, for it stands for a coward
and a rogue, and much else of an unpleasant nature. For
instance, when giving a servant a character, a man whom
you are dismissing and could not possibly recommend, you
write: "This man is a good specimen of a Kashmiri."
Everyone understands that such a man is not fit for
employment.
I had written a character for an unsatisfactory scholar
who bothered me for a "chit." I wrote in it that this
young man was an excellent specimeil of a Kashmiri
Pandit. A few days later his elder brother called upon
ine and begged me to write another chit for his brother
as he could not obtain employment with that chit. On
asking him his reason for thinking so, he said : You have
written that ' he is an excellent specimen o f a Kashmiri
Pandit.' Everyone knows the meaning o f this and will
not employ him." So I answered his request, and in place I
78
wrote, cc This young man has a slice of the reynard ' in
him." So the brother left comforted.
I hate having to write thus of the Kashmiri, as I am
really very fond of him. I can name scores as my friends.
Many have stood by me in dangers and difficulties, and
a few have suffered for me, and I know many who have
risked their lives in saving life, from drowning and other
causes, so that I look upon them as heroes and true
gentlemen, and all the more so on account of their
adverse surroundings and environments. Yet, to be
truthful, and I do not believe in writing lies, I must say
that the ordinary Kashmiri such as I have known for
thirty years is a coward, a man with no self-respect and
deceitful to a degree, and I perhaps may write with a
clear conscience, for I have told this to all classes of
them to their faces times without number, and, to give
them all credit, they never resent it, because they know
it is true. Instances of cowardice, deceit and villainy I
could give ad nauseam, and so can everyone who knows
Kashmir.
But why are they so different from the people living
around them ? Because they happen to live in one of
the most beautiful countries on earth, and therefore other
people have coveted it. Kashmir has been conquered
and reconquered by invaders, who have murdered,
oppressed and enslav,ed their ancestors, and so ground
the life and heart out of them that their better selves
have been crushed. It is quite possible that if we
Britishers had had to undergo what the Kashmiris have
suffered in the past we might have lost our manhood. I
recall instances in my own school life when boys have
been severely bullied and so lost their manhood, for
their better self had been crushed out of them. But,
thank God, it has been otherwise with us and other
Western nations, for to us instead has been given the
opportunity of helping some of the weaker peoples of the
world, and the Kashmiri among them. May we ever be
true to our trust.
Gradually are the Kashmiris rising from slavery to
manhood, though the growth is naturally very slow at
present, but they are on the upward road ; I shall later
on prove to you that ere long they will find themselves,
and I trust become once more a brave people, as they
were in the days of old when their own kings led them
forth to battle.
1 am writing of things as they are, and hence I shall
have to speak unpleasant truths maybe, for I am no
believer in veiling the truth or playing to the gallery.
T h e Kashmiris have a virtue, a very important one-
viz. the saving grace of humour. Sir Walter Lawrence,
who was such a blessing to the tillers of the soil
when h e was the Land Commissioner thirty years ago,
was on tour in the district, and on entering a village he
saw a man standing on his head. O n asking him the
reason for taking that uncomfortable position, the man
said that his family matters were in such an utter muddle
that he did not know whether he was standing on his
head or on his feet. I did not hear the end of the
story, but I feel certain that the Commissioner Sahib
put him right side up and helped him to find himself,
for he had great sympathy with these downtrodden
cultivators of the soil. They are all Mohammedans, and
all the officials in those days were Hindus.
My wife and I were travelling one summer in the
valley and having arrived at a village toward evening we
pitched our tents. Then we sent for the " Cllowkidar "
of the village to ask him to supply us with the usual
necessaries, the most important being milk for our baby
8o
boy, who was making his wants known in the manner
usual to babies. T h e Chowkidar appeared carrying his
spear with a flag upon it, this being his wand of office.
I told him of our needs, and asked him t o let us have
some milk for the child as soon as possible. H e answered,
saying that he was very sorry but there was not a drop
of milk in the village. So I asked him what the babies
of his village drank, and h e said: "They always drink
water." So I told him not to be a fool, but to bring
the milk. H e answered : Cc How can I, for there are no
cows in the village ?" A t that moment I happened to
catch sight of one of the cow tribe feeding on the village
green. I said to him : W h a t animal is that ? " pointing
to it. cg Can it be a bear ? " No, Sahib," said he, " it
is not a bear, it is a cow ; but all our cows are out of milk."
I then said to him : cc Well, what about eggs ? " T o this
he replied : There are no hens in the village." A t that
molneilt a cock crew, so I asked him: " W h a t noise is
that ? Is that the voice of an eagle ? " No," said he.
"True, 0 Sahib, it is a cock's voice." "Well, then, be
off quick and bring us eggs." c L I am very sorry," said
he, " I cannot do that either, for all the fowl in this
village happen to be cocks." And he added : cc W e have
nothing in this village."
By this time I was getting impatient, as our baby boy
was crying and lny wife anxious to give lrim his tea, so
I said to the Chowkidar : Look, what bird is that ? "
pointing up to a kite soaring overhead. A s his eyes
went aloft I seized the spear out of his hand and turned
it 011 that part of his person which he uses when he
lrappens to sit do~~i.n, saying at the same time: Milk !
Eggs ! " The scene changed immediately, for the
Clrowkidar was o f a t f1111 speed to tlrc village, sllouting
" blue tnur~ler," and 1 hard at his heels until- we entered
F 8I
the village gate, where I posted myself with the spear
and told him to look sharp. I had not long to wait, for
within ten minutes h e was back, loaded with milk, eggs
and chickens, and grinning from ear to ear as he motioned
me t o return to the camp, whilst h e came on behind
carrying the provender, so immediately all was peace
and happiness. T h e baby enjoyed his tea, my wife's
anxiety was dissipated, the Chowkidar and I laughed
together over our little contretemps, and all went like
a marriage bell whilst we remained under the trees of
that village, for the Chowkidar and I understood one
another.
O n a country road leading up a short, steep hill I over-
took a party of fourteen coolies carrying sacks of grain
on their backs. T h e y were evidently very tired, for they
were groaning as they trudged along; it was towards
evening and they had been a t this hard labour all day.
So I went up to one of them who was an undersized man
who seemed to be more fagged than the rest, and asked
him if he was tired. H e said: ccYes, very tired and
ready to die, if not already dead." S o I told him to get
on my back, as I would carry him on my back up the hill.
H e stared at me, opening his mouth and eyes very wide,
and shook his head. However, I insisted, and made him
get on my back with his load, for I was then young and
fit. I carried him to the top of the hill and then de-
posited him and his load, whereupon the whole gang,
who had trudged up the hill with me, put their loads on
their cross-bar sticks behind, placed their legs apart and
roared and roared with laughter, and when they had
recovered their winds started off again, laughing loudly,
and continued to d o so till out of hearing, their tiredness
forgotten. Kashmiris can laugh, and it does one good
to hear them.
82
When a Kashmiri slips up and falls in the street he
will as often as not join in the laughter of those around.
I think it is a fact that we always feel inclined to laugh
when we see a human fall, but never when an animal
does so, and not so often when we ourselves come down
a cropper.
Now that we have seen a little into the insides of the
Kashmiris, we will visit their great town, and see them
at their daily occupations, and their ordinary everyday life
on the river and in the streets.
Srinagar, or Sirinagar, which means "the City of
Wealth," is a most picturesque town, stretching for three
miles on both sides of the River Jhelum, the divided town
being united by seven bridges.
T h e usual remark of visitors when they approach the
city by river is that it loolts like a town that has been
bombarded, or has suffered from earthquake, as so many
of the buildings are off the straight, and many more are
in sad need of repair.
I always believe, when visiting a new place, in ascend-
ing a height near by in order to secure a bird's-eye view
of the place and to pick up 011e's bearings. Such a place
is at hand, a rocky hill I ooo feet high, distant from the
city about one and a half miles, called Takht-i-Suliinan,
or, in plain English, the throne of Solomon, known to the
Hindus as Shankara Charaya, or the holy inountain. On
the top of this hill is a very ancient I-Iindu temple; it was
built by Raja Sandiman, who ruled Kashmir during the
period 2629-2564 B.C. It was repaired by Gopaditya
(426-365 m.) and Lali taditya (A.D. 697-734) and other
later kings. Sikaildar did not destroy it because Sultan
Mahmud of Gllazni had offered his prayers in it.
From this perch of I ooo feet you obtain a splendid
view of tile valley, stretclring in its breadth twenty miles
83
to the south, right up to the P i r Punjal Mountains, that
great wall of rock running u p to peaks of 1500 and
I 600 feet, the dividing wall between Kashinir and the
Punj ab.
In length you see about fifty miles up east and fifty
miles down the river west. T h e winding Jhelum river
catches your eye glittering in the bright sunlight, with
its loops and turns, which is said to have given the idea
of the Kashmir pattern on the famous shawls. Just below
your feet, on the south, lies the European quarter, called
the Munshi Bagh, where are the official houses and the
church. Following the river downwards you see the
Europeail Club, then the Residency in its beautifully
wooded grounds. Farther on you see the Post Office,
Cox & Co.'s Bank, the Alliance Bank of Simla, and
European agencies, and shops, till you come to the
Sheikh Bagh, where are houses of the missionaries, the
European cemetery and the former Residency where
dwelt Sir John Lawrence and General John Nicholson
when they were British Agents in Kashmir. T h e n the
river takes its last bend before entering the city.
Now starting again looking west, at the foot of the hill
is the famous Mission Hospital, then open ground which
includes the golf course, polo and cricket grounds and
the well-managed hotel of Nedou X. Sons, the Roman
Catholic chapel where the much - respected Father
Boland resides, and farther on the State College in its
-
extensive grounds. T h e various roads are well inarked

by their avenues of tall poplar-trees interspersed here and
there with chinars, and then the city in the distallce
stretching right and left along the river, ;ittractive on
account of its mosque minarets and 1Iindu ~ c ~ n p l ewit11s
their roofs, which are a cross 1,etweeil a spire a i ~ al dome,
sparkling like silver ill the sunlight, though the would-be
84
When anruffied thfs mtsrrway mimora perfectly the green and gal%of the plans tree,
the wesm btorcrms anti ptnh gt the hmua6, the purple, yeIPnf9 and &my-ljabusd ~ 1 0 t hd~
%@WURSsh aQd & ~ ~ r ewnb May m d #u6$@t r iB ~ bank8 md stem.
silver is generally kerosene oil tins, or Huntley & Palmer's
biscuit tins, flattened out.
On the north side, at your feet, lies the city lake called
the Dal, ever beautiful a t whatever time of the year you
view it. Perhaps the springtime is the most beautiful,
when you see the yellow mustard-fields interspersed with
the pink blossom of the peach and apricot trees, and
surrounded by the vivid greens of the reeds and rushes,
willow and poplar trees, backed up by the blue mountains
crested with snow, all these colours reflected in the clear
waters of the lake. One always finds it most difficult to
tear oneself away from that glorious view.
Looking across the lake, and rising as it were out of it,
on the east side, is a rocky hill about 700 feet in height,
called Hari Parbat. O n the top stands a large Sikh fort,
which frowns over the city, and is used for State prisoners
like the Tower of London. From this fort we look daily
for the correct time, as a gull fires at midday, at ten
o'clock at night and 4 A.M. in the morning.
T h e ten o'clock gun is the curfew, and all good
citizens are supposed to be in bed, and no one is allowed
to cross the bridges in the city after gunfire. T h e
morning gun awakens all good Mohammedans for theil
morning prayers.
T h e Hindus of Kashmir call Hari Parbat Sharika, and
the Mohaminedans Koh-i-maran. T h e following is the
legend concerning this hill :-
In ancient times the people of Kashmir were very much
troubled by the Daityas, or monsters who came up from
the nether regions through a hole at this spot. So they
prayed to their gods to save them froin this nuisance, and
in answer to their prayers the wife of Shiva, named
Durga, came to their assistance. She transformed her-
-
self into a sharika-i.e. a maina-a very common bird in

8s
Kashmir about the size of a blackbird. It has an unpleasant
note not ~ ~ n l i kthe
e squeaking of a wheelbarrow, though
it can b e taught to whistle and talk.
She then descended to the nether regions and broke
off a piece of Meru, the sacred mountain in that country,
and carried it in her beak and dropped it on to the top
of this vent-hole of Hades and so bottled up all the
Daityas, and thus saved the people of Kashmir from
further trouble.
This hill, therefore, is the Olympus of the Hindus of
Kashmir and has been worshipped from time immemorial.
Its eastern slopes are now occupied by the ziarats of
Makhdum Sahib and Akhun Mala Shah. It is probable
that Mohammedan shrines have here taken the place of
Hindu religious buildings, just as on so many other old
sacred sites in Kashmir.
Close to the foot of the southern extremity of the hill
is a rock which from ancient times has been worshipped
as an embodiment of Maha Ganisha (the elephant god).
It is said that when Pravarasena laid the foundation of his
new capital (Srinagar) the god, from regard for the pious
king, turned his face from west to east so as to behold
and bless the new city. T h e rock is now covered with so
thick a layer of red paint that it is not possible to trace
any resemblance to the head or face of the elephant god,
still less to see whether it is turned west or east. T h e
later Hindu chroniclers relate that the god, from disgust
a t the iconoclasm of Sikandar Butshikao, has finally
turned his back on the city, and hence his face cannot
h e seen.
There is nothiog in the traditional writings of the
locality that would lead us to assume that the hill of
Sharika was ever fortified in Hindu times. T h e present
fort that crowns the summit of the hill was built by Ata
86
Mohammed Khan in 1810. From time to time there
have been skirmishes between the rival princes round this
fort. But battles were fought a t the commencement of
the Dogra regime during the time of Maharajah Ghulah
Singh, and before that a t the time when Ranjit Singh's
generals finally routed the army of Jabar Khan and drove
him out of the country.
T h e great stone wall which encloses the hill and the
ground around its foot was built by Akbar in 1590, as
an inscription still extant over the main gate proclaims.
T h e city from this point is a most quaint sight, especi-
ally in the springtime, for it gives one the impression of
a vast green field cut up in small patches divided b y dark
irregular lines. T h e roofs are covered with green grass,
and certain of them are scarlet with poppies or tulips, the
streets and alleys making the crooked dividing lines.
Sometimes the delusion is increased when one sees
sheep and goats feeding on these airy pastures ; I have
even seen cows on their exalted pasturage. Then one
notices that none of the houses have chimneys, the roofs
have not such a steep slope as tiled or slated houses have,
hence the delusion of their being fields is all the greater.
Formerly the roofs were mostly thatched with rice stalks
or reeds from the lake, but this fashion was the cause of
such disastrous fires that the authorities will not permit
any new house to have a thatched roof, so, as most of
the thatched houses have been burnt out, all the roofs
you now see are of mud for their top surface, and hence
the grass and flowers.
T h e roofs are made thus: over the roof rafters are
placed planks, and upon the planks are spread sheets of
birch bark, which is most durable, and above the birch
bark is spread wet earth three to six inches thick to keep
the bark in its place. This birch bark is like paper ; it
87
comes off the trees in closely compressed layers much
after the consistency of cardboard.
This birch bark has been used for ages in lieu of
paper; the books of old were made of this, and even now
many shopmen keep their accounts upon it, and always
use it for wrapping u p their wares which they sell to
their customers.
T h e drawback to these mud roofs is that they are very
heavy, and especially so when there is a heavy fall of
snow followed by rain in the night. T h e sodden snow
becomes so weighted that the roof falls in, with fatal
results to the house and sleeping inhabitants ; therefore
every house possesses a trapdoor on the roof, so that
those in the house may be able to shovel the snow off
into the streets, and as often as not on to the heads
of those who walk in them. T h e house roofs are used
for several purposes, amongst them as a drying-place for
rice and fruits, and when in the autumn red chillies are
in full view there is a fine show of colour. T h e n the
Mohammedans use their roofs for prayer, as it is their
custom to choose vantage points where they can be seen
at prayer.
I was present at a big fire in the city when a mosque
was in danger. T h e mullah, an old man with a long
grey beard, climbed on to the roof of the mosque with
his Koran, from which he commenced to read aloud, and
earnestly hoped thereby to save his mosque. But it was
of no avail, for he was obliged to take refuge on another
roof, and then on to another, as the heat, smoke and fire
drove him from one vantage point to another. It was
a noble effort nevertheless, and grand to see the old
man's pluck and faith in the midst of disaster. T h e heat
of the fire seemed to create a great wind, so that his long
grey beard was blown about like a flag, and his earnest
88
old face lit up by the flames, and one could at times hear
his voice above the roar of the flames rolling out in
Arabic verse after verse from his sacred book. Arabic
being the sacred language of the Mohammedans, the
Koran must be read only in that language.
Having seen the city from above, we will now come
right into it and view it from the river. W e will take
a boat and follow the river under the seven bridges.
Our boat is one of the many small boats called
shikaras" which ply for hire. It is about thirty feet
long, something like a long narrow punt with long
pointed ends, the bows sharper than the stern, both ends
rising gradually out of the water. T h e y are most
extraordinarily easy boats to steer, as they draw very
little water bow and stern, their deepest draught being
near the centre of the boat, hence they can be made to
spin round and round 011 their centre with ease. This
easy handling of the craft is most useful in a crowded
river. These boats are usually propelled by three or
four men with paddles, the blade being the shape of
a lotus leaf or a heart. T h e crew sit in the stern of the
boat facing the way they are travelling; the passengers
recline in the centre of the boat, with an awning of
matting over their heads to protect them from the sun
or rain.
T h e first bridge under which we pass is a modern
structure of five arches, the piers built of solid masonry.
This bridge some twenty-five years ago displaced one
of the old cantilever bridges made of deodar or cedar
logs, which was at one time covered with houses and
shops, not unlike Old London Bridge. These bridges
were i~ltroduced into Kashmir by Alexander the Great's
officers, and most excellent bridges for wear they have
proved themselves to be.
89
Just below this bridge on the left bank is the palace
of his I-Iighness the Maharajah-a great pile of build-
ings interesting in their way, but not exactly beautiful.
Under the palace and on the opposite side of the river
are his Highness' barges, chiefly built for the ladies
of his zenana when they travel the river part of the
journey from Jummu to Srinagar, and vice versa. T h e
state barge is a handsome craft with much scarlet and
gold paint, with seats for sixty paddlers. T h e r e are
also smaller state boats called '' parindas," or birds, with
seats for thirty paddlers, which are used for short trips,
and very smart they look with the scarlet top awning and
the thirty paddlers in scarlet uniforms paddling as they do
in perfect time to the cry of their captain. H e stands up
on the foot-board in glorious apparel of scarlet and gold,
giving his orders to the crew as to time and stroke, for
the strokes are many and varied, and some with great
flourish of paddles raised on high, accompanied with much
water display. Moored to the bank opposite the palace
is an elegant steam launch presented to his Highness
by Queen Victoria, also a modern fast motor launch from
Thornycroft's. Below where these boats are mooredi s
a handsome flight of stone steps leading to a memorial
stone raised to the late Maharajah; below this again is
the State Telegraph Office, which can be amusing as well
as annoying at times.
O n one occasion I went to the office to lodge a com-
plaint on account of a telegram that I had sent to a
friend which did not reach him for a day after he had
received a letter that I had sent him at the same time.
T h e official tried to comfort me by saying that if I found
that the post travelled quicker than telegraph he would
advise my making use of the post instead of the telegraph
wires. I can remember the time when we could not even
feel quite happy when making use of the post office
when the Kashmiri stamps were in use. A friend of
mine wishing me to send him used Kashmiri stamps, I
directed and posted to myself thirty Kashmir post cards,
out of which lot only three reached me to send to my
friend, as other people besides my friend evidently
wanted Kashmiri stamped post cards.
In those days if you wished your letters to reach your
friends who lived in Kashmir it was wiser not to put
stamps on them, for the postman in his efforts to annex
the stamp sometimes made a mess of the envelope and
therefore thought it wiser not to deliver it, but if it was
not stamped the receiver had to pay double postage, which
was profitable to the postal authorities. In those days I
bought several sets of old issue stamps, thinking they
would be valuable later on, but when I wished to give
or sell them to collectors I was informed that they were
reprints. So certain people connected with the Post
Office must have amassed some wealth in printing off old
issues from the ancient dies.
I fear Kashmiri stamps must have caused stamp
collectors a good deal of heart-searchings from the
method adopted in making those stamps. T h e stamp-
maker would have sheets of paper, pots of paint and a
brush with which to colour the paper. A s the pot of
paint became e~r~ptied he would fill up the pot with water,
so that, supposing he was making red stamps, the first
sheets would be a brilliant red, which would gradualljr
become very faint until more paint was put into the pot
to thicken it up. Thus it came to pass that stamp
collectors are very chary about accepting Kashmir stamps.
A friend of mine had collected a great many Kashmir
stamps, and took them home to a stamp dealer, expecting
to make a small fortune. T h e dealer looked a t them
carefully and then asked him to come to his inner room,
the walls of which were papered wit11 stamps which
were forgeries. Poiilting to the wall, he said : "If I
take your Kashmir stamps, that is the oilly use I can make
of them."
In those past years the business of making forged or
reprint stamps was so great that a law was made to the
effect that any Kashmiri found selling Kashmir stamps
would be punished by imprisonment, and certain gentle-
men who persisted in this fraud were put under lock and
key, and so given time to think whether it was worth
while carrying on this particular business. I think they
must have come to the conclusion that it was not, for
now it is not easy to find Kashmir stamp vendors.
Outside that State Telegraph Office and all down the
river on both banks are lines of boats of all sizes moored,
from the small shikaras propelled by one paddler, who may
be a little boy or girl (for they commence their art at an
early age), to the large barges in which are cargoes of
rice and timber.
Families live in all the larger craft, and there is much
to interest the traveller, whether he be a new-comer or
a resident. It is always entertaining, for the boats are
crowded with life of all sorts, from the lord and master
of the family and captain of the boat to that irritating
creature called a flea.
W h e n the boats are moored you generally see the men
of the boat sitting in the stern and smoking their hookahs,
or playing with the small children, whilst their women-
folk are at work, the old grandmother at her spinning-
wheel, and the younger women preparing the food. This
to the passer-by seems always to be in the preparing
-i.c. pounding the rice on the bank with the heavy
pestle. Others scare off the fowls and sparrows which are
watching their opportunity to feed off the rice that is
spread out on rush mats to dry in the sun. Others, again,
are with their long-handled wooden spoolls ladling the
water out of the germ-infected river into the rice-pot that
is on the clay stove in the boat. These women on the
bank are now shouting loudly and gesticulating with their
arms and cloths to frighten away a kite which has taken
a fancy to some young chickens, and a t that ~nomellthas
made a swoop for them, whilst their mother is calling aloud
to her offspring to take shelter under her wings. T h e
kite, having been balked this time, flies back to its high
branch of a tree near by to await a more favonrable
opportunity, and the women resume their preparations
for the meal. They have not been long a t peace when
they are all called to action again, for a hungry pariah
dog which has been sniffing with his nose in the air
behind a stack of wood, and has discovered that there is
something interesting in the boat, has stalked cleverly to
the boat and is about to seize a piece of goat hanging on
a wooden hook from the roof of the boat. All is uproar
and rush again, but the meat has been saved, and the dog
slinks off with his tail between his legs, disappointed, but
not disheartened, for he has more patience and persistence
than those who walk on two feet; he goes off and lies
down in a secluded spot and pretends to be asleep, but
he is not.
All is peace and quiet again, so much so that a little
Rash of beauty settles on one of the poles sticlting out
from the hoat; it is a king of poachers, the blue and
green kingfislier. IIis powerfill little cye has seen the
ilasl~of silver in tlle shallow water close to tlie bank.
I n a11 instan! llr has clisappeared head-first illto the water
and colncs up conqueror to the pole with a wriggling little
fisll, which lie gradually works round, end on, head-first
93
into his beak, then a big swallow or two and the fish has
gone to help his enemy to be strong to catch more of her
family. I have always noticed that kingfishers are far
more successful in securing their dinners than kites, and
are certainly in better condition than the poor pariah
dogs.
W e must now switch our eyes off animal life and come
back to our boatman's family. T h e lord and master of
the family and captain of the boat, who has been quietly
smoking and thinking thoughts, whilst the women are
preparing his meal amid the usual daily excitement, is
now aroused to anger as an old enemy of his in a passing
boat reminds him of some unpleasant conversation they
had had when last they met ; past insults are raked up
and curses on female relatives exchanged. Now a noisy
battle of words has commenced, which soon resolves it-
self into a babel of voices, for the women of both boats
have joined in with a will, and their shrill voices are heard
well above those of the menfolk.
T h e preparations for the meal are forgotten as the
crews of both boats are standing up and gesticulating
with their arms and clenched fists. T o the new-coiner
all this sou~ldsterrible and looks as if a battle royal was
imminent, with much shedding of blood; but there is no
fear of this, for of all the many boatman fights that I have
witnessed I have never seen one boatman hit another; it
is merely a battle of words.
C H A P T E R VII
MOHAMMEDANS AND HINDUS
w HILE the two boats are far apart the men

are very bold, and say what they will d o to
one another if they could but come to grips.
Then when one of the boats drifts on to the other, so
close that they are touching one another, the warriors
turn their backs upon each other and with much con-
tempt say that they would not defile themselves by
touching one another even with the end of their barge-
pole; or when someone taunts them with cowardice, one
will grip the other and cry out to his wife, saying : cc Hold
me! hold me! or I shall commit murder." T h e n the
wives, screaming all the while, fall upon their respective
husbands, who allow themselves to be torn apart. T h e
boats now swing apart again, and both sides take a
breather, only to start afresh.
Often this noisy battle lasts until both sides are
utterly exhausted and their voices are but harsh whispers.
When this is the case each party takes its basket hen-
coops, which every boat possesses, and turn them upside
down, which is a sign that there will be p a s for the
present, and this peace may last several hours, even to the
next day. Then when one of the parties feels refreshed,
supposing the enemy boat has not moved away, he will
reverse the hen-coop and the fight will be renewed.
These hangi fights used to be far more frequent than
they are now, so that on a trip through the city you
were entertained by several, coming in for the different
95
Mohammedans & Hindus
phases of the play as you travelled along. N o material
damage is ever done in their fights except, if possible, to
the character of the women, for there is no limit to the
foul abuse and insinuations. I say if possible," for the
boat people as a class have no morals. T h e y have got
a bad name and they live up to it. T h e name cc hangi"
is itself a term of abuse-i.e. if you wish to describe
a man as thoroughly bad you say he is only a hangi.
I will take this opportunity of warning my fellow-
countrymen who are new to this country to be on
their guard when hiring living-boats for trips, such as
cc doongas " and house-boats, for very many have proved
to be veritable death-traps to the morals of young

Englishmen, and in certain cases I have known them to
end in speedy death. Never shall I forget the death-
bed of one bright, cheery boy who implored me to tell
anyone likely to be entrapped as he had been, so that
through his suffering and death they might be saved
from this terrible disease and death. He, like so many,
was caught by one of the many scoundrels who are out
to grab the money of young Englishmen, using women
as their bait.
There is one special native firm which has made itself
rich in this traffic. Against them I *have warned many,
and continue to do so, and have told the head of the firm
that I will ever do so.
New-comers who havc 1)een harassed by this class of
biped sometimes come to me for help and advice. I
generally give them two instances of fact to guide their
actions. I will pass them on to you now.
A colonel came t o me in great distress, askiiig for
advice. He had just come up I he river from B a r a ~ n ~ ~ l l a
to Srinagar, a journey of three days. Ile was paying off
his boat w l ~ e ~
the
l boatinan demanded Ks.500, the proper
96
Photia by] (I) THE COMMONTASK OF WOMEN. [n,s,S ~ O V ~ W .
[a) WOMEN
WATERCARRIERS.
Pounding Rke. The mortars are bloch of wood hollowed out : the peatles are hmvy
piem of ttmhr whfch makes tbI8 daily tound in wornen'a mrk very arduous.
It I8 trhr tROrncmlr duty to aamg water hf domrartia w. The m a t n n t practioa of
bplnnofw $lm pDgr wa l m #harm an m~w d mnedul paise,
hdagr gm
F h g b by] [R. E. S k o r t ~ .
LEAVING
SCHOOL.
Schoolboys going home by way of the river.
Eramtmr~sOF THE GOD$.

tramp st the t
Dsewa~radby l a Wghrrt~o's e -f ~ d R~a n Leala.
fare being then Rs.3.8. O n his asking the reason for
the extortion, the boatinan calmly told him that h e had
a dancing girl on board and that if h e did not pay up
the Rs.500 he would let it be known far and wide that
the Colonel Sahib had been living with this woman for
three days in his boat during the journey up the river.
T h e other case was that of a subaltern who found
himself in a somewhat similar predicament, and he settled
the matter without asking anyone's advice, for with one
well-direc ted blow this loathsome biped disappeared out
of the boat into the river, and the matter was settled
without further ado. This particular biped happened to
be the agent for the firm I have just meutiolled. There
are certain times in one's life when fists are both useful
and necessary, and this is certainly the sort of occasion
when we can with a clear conscience elljoy again those
times we had in our schooldays when we punched a
bully's head. It is of interest to note that that great
soldier General John Nicholson of Delhi, in the early
days, when he was British Agent in Kashmir, tried to
put a stop to this filthy traffic.
I cannot leave tlre boatmen in such depths of infamy,
for in every man, and in every class of men, there is some
gold somewhere.
I respect the boatmen in tlieir work as boatmen, for
they have delighted ine over and over again in their
knowledge of i~oatcraft, for they are kings at it. I
delight to see them in their boats forging up the river
against a strong stream with pole or paddle, taking
advantage of every swirl and eddy behind a projecting
wall or pier of a bridge. They seem to know every
crack and hole in the stone walls in which to insert their
pole, and then put all their weight on to it just at the
very inoment when they can make full use of the shove,
G 97
Then, again, they can work really hard. T h e y will
tow your boat up-stream all day, and if really necessary
will continue all night.
I was blessed with the possession of a man who was
king of boatmen, Ismalia by name, bless him! T h a t man
would do anything for me. N o man on the river or
lake understood boatcraft better than he. In storm on
the lake he never lost his head: whilst those around him
would be screaming and jumping about in delirium,
women tearing their hair and garments, Ismalia would be
sticking to his job. H e would jump into river or lake no
matter what the temperature of the water might be, if he
thought it necessary, or if ordered to do so. In times of
danger he was a t his best. In the big floods, a t city
fires, in epidemics, he was always on the spot.
In floods when practically all his brethren were making
use of their golden opportunities for loot h e was out
saving life and property freely. I could write a book on
Ismalia.
There was one thing that Ismalia feared, and that was
the tongue of his spouse, and I do not blame him, for he
had to live in the very small space of a boat with her
always. I grieved over this many a time and oft, and
tried myself to tame that tongue, hut I regret to say
I failed in the matter of bringing relief to my king of
boatmen.
H e might have relieved himself of that tongue if he
had followed the example of another sorely tried " bhai"
who possessed a spouse very similar, for she always did
exactly the opposite to that which she was asked or
advised to do. While crossing a rough bit of water the
husband asked his wife not to sit on the edge of the
boat, but to sit on the seat in the centre, otherwise she
might be jerked overboard. Slie therefore, of course, sat
98
Mohammedans @ Hindus
on the edge of the boat, and before long she disappeared
out of the boat and out of sight. W h e n the boat
reached the land the husband imnlediately walked along
the bank to see if he could see any trace of his wife.
T h e boatmen were astonished to see him walking up-
stream instead of down. '' A h ! " said he, '' you don't
know my wife ; she always goes the opposite way."
Ismalia might have been rid of that tongue likewise,
but he endured with patience and in silence, for that
tongue also fought Ismalia's enemies many times and oft,
to which fact I can bear witness. I said previously that
the boatmen as a class are an utterly immoral lot, or words
to that effect. Ismalia was an exception, for he was as
white as they were black.
W e always trusted our children with him, for we knew
they would be absolutely safe under his care; no one
could harm them if Ismalia were a t hand. Let us hope
that there are many other boatmen something like Ismalia
whom I do not happen to have come across. Is~naliahad
a paralytic stroke and passed away from us into the fuller
life, and I look forward to meeting again that king of
boatmen. If the River Styx is still flowing and old
Charon wants relief it would be the sort of job that
Ismalia would love, and mighty cheering it would he to
see his smiling face and red beard once Inore as he
greeted one, paddle in hand.
I said above that the boatmen do not indulge in wordy
fights so often as in the past, and that reminds me of
quite the opposite practice of saying their prayers,"
which also has become less frequent, for at midday one
would see conspicl~ousplaces ~l~onopolised by men in the
attitude of prayer, stantling on the top of a wall, or on
the roof of their boat, going through the genuflections
according t o Mohammedan ritual, which has to be
99
performed three times a day, a t sunrise, a t midday and at
sunset. T h e women, of course, do not pray in public, nor
d o they enter the mosques. In some of the richer houses
the mullah will read Arabic prayers with them, which they
selclo~llunderstand.
T h e f a i t h f ~ ~have
l to offer their nemaz (prayer) five
times a day. Every Mussulman commences his " nemaz "
by standing up with his face towards the Kaaba. H e
places his thumbs underneath his ears with fingers
stretched out. This position is called '' takbir." Then
he lowers his hands and places his right hand upon the
left on his stomach or chest, forming the word '' Allah"
with the fingers of his right hand. This position is
'' tahrim." T h e n he bends his body in the shape of a
crescent, placing his hands on his knees. This is called
"raku." Subsequently he touches the ground with his
forehead. This is called '' sajda." This process is
repeated twice, and lastly he sits on his left leg. This is
called cc qada." After the completion of the nemaz he
turns his head first towards the right and then towards
the left, saluting the two guardian angels cc Keraman"
and Katebin," the recorders of his deeds.
I imagine the reason of there being less praying among
the boatmen is that as they are becoming richer they
feel more independent, and have not so much to fear from
the mullahs or from the religious opinion of their fellow-
Mohammedans, for praying in public raises them in the
esteem of their co-religionist s. It requires courage for
Mohammedans not to pray in public, just as it requires
courage on the part of Christians to be seen praying in
the street or public place.
This praying in public is no criterioil of a religious life,
for I have noticed that those who parade their praying
most are the men least to be trusted.
Mohammedans W Hindus
Of course we find this the same with Christians; we
naturally fight shy of the religious talking lot. In
Kashmir anyway religion and life have nothing to do with
one another; the better-living men do not parade their
religion, and vice versa.
As one floats down the river one sees many bathing
from the river steps. They are Brahmans; and there
they stand knee-deep perfor~ningtheir ceremonial ablu-
tions.
The Hindus generally rise very early. Before leaving
their beds they lie on their stomachs and offer a short
prayer. Those who are of a religious turn of mind sit
square over a clean piece of cloth or a carpet of kusha
grass or the skin of an antelope and tell their beads,
reciting a sacred Vedic mantra like the Buddhist; or they
practise concentration of mind or regulation of breath for
some time. This is done in absolute privacy. T h e n they
leave the bedroom and go to the river-side, and some of
them perforin necessary ablutions, while others sit for
some time 011 the bank and perform daily worship
(sendhia).
Having stripped himself, thc Hindu sits on the steps
of the bank. First he washes his left foot and then the
right. This is because the body is believed by the
Ilindus to be androgynous, and the left sidc is considered
to have feminine characteristics. A s woman (shakti)
h believed to be superior to man, thc lcft foot is washed
first. And every woinan always sits on the left of her
husbaild whenever they have to perform a religious
ccrcmony. N o cci-emony is complete lll~lcssthc wornall
takcs part in it. Most ilindus worship God in the form
of woman. Would that these Hindu inen would p ~ l t
into practice some at least of their doctrilles with regard
to wolnen, for then ~nucllof tllcir unnecessary suffering
I01
would be lessened. Having washed his foot, he holds a
handful of water and invokes through Vedic incan tations
all the spirits of the sacred rivers, such as Ganges, Jamna,
Gaya, etc. W i t h this water he washes his face, and then
his Brahmanical thread and the tuft of hair on the top of
his head with a separate mantra. After this h e raises his
hands with open palms towards the sun, invoking Varuna,
the god of the air, to make him clean. Then he sprinkles
water three times towards his left.
After this he places a piece of clay on the bank,
divides it into three parts, sprinkles water over these
portions with separate mantras, invoking the sun god to
cleanse him. H e picks up the first part and throws it
towards all the four points of the compass; with the
second part he besmears his body, and the third part he
throws into the water. Then holding a handful of water
he steps into the river and begins to bathe. When
standing in the river he sprinkles water three times, in
the name of the ancestors, ill the name of ancient sages
of India, and last of all in the name of the gods. Then
he comes out of the water and puts on clothes, and again
sits on the bank to regulate his breath and perform the
remaining part of the ceremony. First he inhales a long
breath through the left nostril, retains it for a few
seconds and then exhales it very, very slowly through the
right nostril. It is said that mental calm follows this
breathing practice which lasts for some time. This is
done three or four times. T h e ceremonv is concluded
with special movements of the hands, telling of beads and
sprinkling of water in a peculiar way too tedious to
be described here. That part of the worship whicll
particularly attracts one's attention is the squirting of the
water from their mouths, reminding one of a well-worked
fire-pump.
I02
All the way down the river you see washings of all
sorts. Hindu women are continually washing their brass
pots.
Hindus may not cook their food in anything else but
brass utensils; they eat off brass dishes and drink out of
brass cups. It is amusing to see Hindus trying to drink
hot tea out of their brass cups, for the metal is always
much hotter to the lips than the tea. T h e y try to get a t
their hot drink without burning their lips. If they used
earthenware or china, they could oilly use them once, and
then they would throw thein away as defiled and not able
to be cleaned. They consider brass can be cleaned as
other material cannot be cleaned. Hence one sees the
Hindu womeil scrubbing away at their brass pots with
sand and mud, but chiefly one notices at the outside, I
suppose because it shows most and is easier to clean than
the inside, especially if the neck is small. By the side of
the brass scrubber you will sce the priest with his brass
and stone gods, wliich he-has brought down to wash, or
to perform some religious ceremony.
The priest first iilvokes the particular god through his
mantras. Having done that, he begins to bathe the god
which he believes to be in that idol. H e mixes a little
milk with water and begins to pour it oil the top of it ;
meanwhile he recites a certain portioil of Vedas called
" Rudra mantra.'' This takes him about twenty minutes
or more, according to the leisure of the priest. Then he
wipes the idol with a towel and covers it with flowers and
rice. He does not necessarily use a clean towel.
Hcre, again, squats a Hiildu woman cleaning a fish
with a knife, scraping off its scales and its inside (a
Mohammedan, of course, having been the sinner who
caught and killed the fish), and just below her will be
a man cleanii~ghis teeth with a piece of willow twig (the
favouri te tooth-brush), scooping up the water with his
hand, with which he gargles. One often wonders how
much of the inside of the fish or scales gets mixed up
wit11 the gargle. H e also sniffs water up his nose, and
altogether has quite a good wash-up.
Below the mouth-washer the dhobi is washing the
clothes, which is an amusing sight if the clothes do not
happen to be one's own, as he takes up the garments one
after another and dashes them with all his might on to
the stone steps, or on to a smooth rock which he has
placed in position, on which to smash buttons or any-
thing else breakable ; then he squeezes out the garments
by placing his feet on one end and twisting them round
with both hands. H e now spreads out the garments on
the muddy bank of the river to be bleached by the sun.
Whilst he is smashing more clothes on the rock he is
obliged to keep his weather eye open in order to be in
time to scare off pariah dogs and chickens, which seem to
take a special delight in walking over anything which
they should not; or sometimes it is a strolling cow or
Brahmani bull which takes a fancy for a towel tlpoil which
to try her or his teeth; or it may bc a crow has seen
a pocket-handkerchief or a coloured sock which he thinks
would not look amiss in his nest. Hence a dllobi's worlc
is not altogether easy when he cllooscs the river bank
for his washing ground.
English mem-sahibs often think ill of their dhobis ;
and sometimes they may have cause, for I have known
a dhobi when he has lost a handlcercllief cut a large one
in two and so make LIPthe numhcr that was sc.nt t o the
wash. I have often known a dllol,i fail t o I-etul-n a
pretty garment and give quite a picturesqoe excuse, when,
if the truth were known, a t that particular ~noment
some gallant bridegroom would be wearing that very
article as he parades round the town on his white and
beau ti fully caparisoned horse, his handsome features
being partly hidden by a silver and gold veil, and all set
off by the final flourish of the peacock's feather on the
top of his head. As a matter of fact, the dhobis are on
the whole a great comfort, for they can turn out excellent
work, and then when you come to the rice as compared
with English laundries it is marvellously cheap. U p to
a year ago I paid three rupees only for one hundred
garments washed-i.e. from a pocket-l~andkerchief to
a bed sheet-which works out to rather more than one
halfpenny per article ; now it is more than a penny an
article.
When one is in England paying the washing bill one
just longs for one's fat dliobi. As a matter of fact, they
are generally rather thin, but I have had the pleasure of
having my clothes washed by two fat dhobis. O n e of
them was a wise inan in another matter than in clothes.
My wife had taken him with the household to our hut in
the forest, and he washed contentedly, ule thought, in
the lake. But he asked leave one day to return to the
city to visit his family, promising to be back in three days'
time; but lie came not back, and in his stead he sent his
lea11 old father, with a message to say that the neighbour-
hood of the hut in the forest was not healthy on account
of thc bears and panthers, especially the latter, and so he
sent his old father to do the washing.
At every ghat or yaribal, which means a meeting-place
of friends, and coilsists of a flight of stone steps, generally
filthy and most ;~l)olniii;ll>lyodorifem~is,will he f o ~ ~ i lad
large stoile witll a slnooth 1-ol~ildhole in the ceotre. This
is the public naslling-tub in which amateur dhobis wash
their clothes b y trampling on and squeezing then1 with
their feet as gr;lpes arc cr~isllcdin tllc wine vats. It is
' ~ 5
a pleasure to see people thus at work, for one can be
certain that they will have clean feet, which is a rare
sight in this land.
Among the many entertainments on the river banks is
the sight of three or four women or girls sitting in a ring
presenting their backs to each other. Each one seems to
be scratching the head of the one in front, but, as a matter
of fact, they have reverted to type, to their ailcestors of
the forests, and are relieving one another of irritating
lodgers-in fact, according to Scout law, each doing a
good turn.
It is extraordinary how dirty the Kashmiris are, con-
sidering the amount of water that is around them every-
where, and though washing opportunities are a t hand
they prefer to wear dirty garments. T h e y have told me,
when I have suggested washing, that it wears out clothes
to wash them. Self-respecting women are obliged to
wear dirty garments, for if they wore clean ones they
might be taken for women of loose life.
I remember my pleasure, when I visited Burma, to be
surrounded by clean people ill bright colours, and to see
women mixing freely with the men, and all happy and
jolly together, without anyone thinking it evil or immodest.
Kashmir was once like Burma, a Buddhist country. I
wonder if the people were then clean and jolly like the
Burmans.
I have spoken of the unpleasailt smells on the river,
but now and again one is cheered when one passes a
party of sawyers at work on deodar logs, which is at once
delightful and refreshing. Again, when one passes boats
loaded with spices, or when ineals are being prepared in
the evening, one has quite a succession of interesting
and pleasing whiffs. But nevertheless it is as well for a
man to be armed with a pipe or a cigar, and a lady with
I c6
smelling-bottle, when a trip is made on the river or in the
streets of Srinagar.
Practically at every ghat you see water-carriers at
work. Sometimes they are men called bhishties," or
heavenly men, and truly they are such in the hot weather.
They carry a goat-skin and a wooden ladle, but generally
this work is done by women, which is always pleasing
to the eye, as the women carry themselves so elegantly
when they carry the terra-cotta-coloured earthen jar on
their shoulder or head. Water-carrying is supposed to
be women's work, but real heavy work it is for women.
T o lift up a large earthenware jar full of water from the
ground and hoist it up to the shoulder or to the top of
the head is no light task. Times out of number have I
seen men standing or sitting close by, but they never will
give a helping hand, the reasoil being that it is not the
custom, and that's the end of it.
W e have beell so taken up with the life and inanner of
the people on the river banks that we have not noticed
the houscs that overhang the river, which, though untidy-
looking, are often most picturesque. Most of the houses
are built with woodell franlcs filled in with brick. Built
in this manner, they arc the better able to withstand
earthquake shocks than those built of solid masonry.
If yo11 look at a house just coil~pletedby a Hindu you
will noticc an old and broken earthenware pot slung from
one of the projecting beams. This is considered to be
]nost important, as it keeps off the evil eye, for when the
devil notices a nice new-built house he inay take a fancy
to it; but on closer inspection he sees the old broken pot
attached to it, so realises that he has made a mistake in
thinking it to be a new l,uilding, and hence will not covet
it. This belief in the evil eye pervades all .things, whether
it be new-born babies or carpets. Mothers purposely
=0 7
Mohammedans tY Hindus
keep the faces of their children unwashed, to ward off
the evil eye. W h e n they show you a baby you must
always make some disparaging remark. T h e mother
would be terribly upset if you said the child was beautiful
or fat. A s it is such a delicate matter, it is best not to
commit oneself, but simply say : c c W h a t a child ! "
If it is a carpet you will, if you look carefully, always
find some flaw in it as to colour or pattern purposely
made.
T h e houses as a rule need no flaws purposely made in
their construction, as they are so often off the straight,
and some have large props placed against the outside
walls to prevent their toppling over, presenting often a
very drunken appearance. W h e n I first started building
I noticed that the wall under constructioil was off the
straight, so asked the inasoil to place a plumb-line against
it ; but he informed me that Kashmiris did not use them,
as they could build without troubling about such instru-
ments. Europeans might need them, but Kashmiris' eye-
sight was good, and that was sufficient. I finally demon-
strated to him that his eyes had failed him io this
particular instance, and impressed this fact on his mind's
eye by making him pull the whole of tlie wall down and
rebuild it. I believe that I really did convert him to
believe in plumb-lines, although it did not then happen
to be one of the customs of the Kashmir masons. There
are only a few buildings which attract your attenti011
after leaving the Maharajah's palace and the large modern
villa close by belonging to Raja Sir Hari Singh, the heir-
apparent and nephew to 11.1-1. the Maharajah.
One house, a strongly hliilt, pretentious-looki~~g edifice
of stone and brick, is that of a late Governor of thirty
years ago, in those days notable, as it was the only
house it1 the city that possessed glass windows. I can
108
never pass it without thinking of my first call on the
great personage who then owned it. H e kept me wait-
ing for half-an-hour, no doubt to impress upon me his
importance and my nothingness. However, that half-
hour was not lost time, for his servant entertained me by
showing to me the wonders of the state-room. H e drew
-
my attention to a glass chandelier which hung from the

ceiling in the centre of the room, and tried to make me
understand the brilliant effect when the candles were
lighted. Then he drew my attention to a valuable
painting which the Governor had procured. It was no
less than a German oleograph of the Thames a t
Pangbourne. T h e servant aHked me to come to a certain
spot in the room from where I could get the best view of
this wonderful painting, h e putting his hand to his fore-
head to shield the light from his eyes. I, of course, did
the same, and was duly impressed. From there I was
taken to the south wall, where hung a picture of Queen
Victoria, Empress of India; this I was asked to look at
from another spot, and then, lo and behold ! instead of
the Empress of India, stood a black and white English
terrier. T h e servant looked at me to enjoy my wonder
and surprise at such a marvel. W e had hardly finished
all the wonders of the room when the great man himself
entered.
Lower down the river on the opposite side is the
Maharajah's temple, where the Dharam Sabha, or religious
council, meet to discuss religious subjects, and to excom-
municate those of their co-religionists who have broken
their caste by eating food with someone not of their
caste, or some heinous sin of that description. T h e
temple itself is the ordinary square stone building with
a dome-like spire covered with sheets of tin ; the inside is
l o x 1 0 feet, with a pedestal of stone in the centre on
which stands the stone lingam known as the god Shivam
T h e worshippers bring their offerings of milk, sugar, rice
and flowers, the priest being in attendance to take their
money. This temple stands in a courtyard with a hand-
some stone stairway to the river, and above the stairway
is a hall overlooking the river, where the Dharam Sabha
hold their august meetings.
A little lower down the river on the same side and just
above the third bridge, called Fateh Kadal, is the Church
Mission School for girls, and a few yards lower down is
the C.M.S. High School for boys. They are merchants'
houses adapted to suit school needs. T h e y overhang
the river, and with their balconies and lattice windows
are decidedly picturesque. Sometimes will be seen boys
jumping out of the school windows and off the roof into
the river, distances varying from twenty to fifty feet in
height. It is the only building in the city besides the
palace which possesses a flag. It has to do duty for
a school bell. T h e flag is a red one emblazoned with
the school crest and motto. T h e crest is crossed paddles
and the motto is "In all things be men," which is ever
a call to the citizens as well as to the boys to wake up
and 'L play the game," of which more anon.
O n the opposite side of the river is a large handsome
building, formerly the house of a previous Governor,
which remained uninhabited many years on account of its
being haunted.
Some eighteen years ago Mrs Annie Besant, of
Theosophist fame, took pity on the said building when
she came to Kashmir on her crusade against the Mission
School, and filled it with three hundred boys whom slie
spirited away from the Mission School with the help, not
of Mahatmas, but with the aid of more corporeal beings in
the shape of those 111di;ulaud Kashmiri officials who had
110
Mohammedans Hindus
become her followers for the time being, like the good
old Vicar of Bray, until times did alter. Many interesting
thillgs happened in those days of war, and still more
amusing articles appeared in the native Press in India,
inspired by the good lady, about the Kashmir Mission
School in general and M r Biscoe in particular. O n e
spicy bit of news which I am told appeared in forty
native papers in India is, I think, n o r t h printing for the
forty-first time.
It ran thus:
"Mr Biscoe, a missionary in Kashmir, makes his
Brahman boys drag dead dogs through the city."
Now this picturesque proceeding took our fancy, and
we thought it ought to be immortalised, to show that
one lie at least was really true. It so happened that I
possessed an English spaniel, Taffy by name, though he
did not happen to be a Welshman and very seldom a
thief. H e was withal a very loyal dog, for he was ready
to die for the Queen. T h e rest was quite easy. I took
Taffy to the stables, which are somewhat dilapidated,
and therefore would look like a house in the city,
and would make an excellent background. T h e boys
were ready with the rope. Taffy went dead for Mrs
Besant this time instead of the Queen; the rope was
tied to Taffy's hind leg, which the boys grasped, and
a photographer very kindly did the rest. So there were
immortalised the words of Mrs Besant copied by forty
papers in India, and who can say in what other countries
this astounding news was not spread : a M r Biscoe,
a missionary in Ki~sllmir, makes his Brahman boys drag
dead dogs through the city." One of the many untruths
spread about the country of the mission schools was
absolutely true, for who could deny it ! T h e deed had
been photographe~l, and that, too, before the days of
111
Mohammedans @ Hindus
faked cinema films were thought of. I should like to
say that I think Mrs Besant fully believed what was told
her by her Kash~nirand Indian friends, and had not then
discovered their capacity for manufacturiilg lies. This
fact, I think, is interesting as showing how some minds,
and those clever ones, pick up untruths in their search
for truth.
CHAPTER VIlI
MOSQUES, T E M P L E S A N D SHOPS
E are now at the third bridge, called Fateh

Kadal, after Fate11 Khan. O n this bridge
some sixty years ago was a pole and hook,
on which used to swing the bodies of those who had
been convicted of killing cows, as a warning to the
citizens. This bridge, which is of four spans, used to
be covered with shops, which have since been cleared
away.
Just below the bridge, on the right bank of the river,
stands a very picturesque mosque, that of Shah Hamdan,
a large square building of deodar, with an elegant spire
rising from the centre of the terraced roof. In the
springtime this roof is red with tulips. There is
a handsome carved verandah on the east side, where
is the main entrance, and over it is an inscription
written in Arabic : L L This is the tomb of Shah Hamdan,
who was a great- saint of God; whosoever does not
believe this, may his eyes be blinded, and may he go to
hell."
This statement acts as a sort of pick-me-up as one
enters the sacred b~lildiog. T h e lnosque ranks next to
the Hazrat Bla mosque on the Dal in sacredness. It was
put up to the memory of Mir Sayid Ali of Hamdan,
who in the fourteenth century had great influence, and
to him is ascribed the honour of being one of the chief
oppressors of the Hindus.
This mosque stands on the site of a Hindu temple
H
"3
Mosques, Temples & Shops b
which was demolished by the Mohammedans to make

way for their mosque. T h e r e issues from the foundation
of the former building a stream of water, which is
a sacred place to the Hindus; they paint the stones
around this spring vermilion, their sacred colour, and
rarely can you pass that spot without seeing worshippers
offering food, and praying towards that shrine.
O n certain days of the year the sacred days of the
Mohammedans and Hindus coincide, when one sees
a great concourse of worshippers of both religions
gathered together, the Mohammedans to worship Shah
Hamdan, for the Kashmiri Mohammedans are great saint
worshippers, and the Hindus to worship Kali, the goddess
of murder, for that is her shrine, and it is called by them
Kali Ghat. A little episode that happened there always
comes to my mind when I pass the spot.
A t one of these gatherings a few years ago three
Mission School boys happened to arrive a t the ghat in
time to see three sepoys annoying a Hindu woman.
T h e y immediately interfered on the woman's behalf, to
which action the sepoys objected, and ordered the boys
off, but they stood their ground and awaited the attack.
Fortunately for the woman all three boys were athletes
and knew something of the noble art of self-defence,
with the result that the three sepoys were obliged to
retire bloody and discomfited.
On hearing a t school next day of this scrap, I asked
the boys if they could tell me which side the goddess
Kali backed, as the fray took place at her shrine. Some
boys said that she must have taken the part of the sepoys
because she, being the goddess of murder, would refer
those who attacked, whilst other boys took the opposite
view. T h e n a Solomon arose saying as Kali must be
worshipped with blood she must have taken the side of
1 I4
Mosques, Temples & Shops
the boys, for they shed most blood, and t o this theory
all agreed with much satisfaction.
There is another inosque of interest a little lower down
the river called Pather Masjid, which was built by the
beautiful Queen of Jahangir, N u r Jahan," but it is
never used for worship as it was built by a woman, so is
used as a store-house for grain.
It is said that the stones which formed a causeway
from the river at Shurahyar opposite H.H. the Maharajah's
palace to the Takht-i-Suliinan, a distance of two miles,
were used in the building of this mosque.
W e have now reached the fourth bridge, called Zana
Radal, named after Zain-ul-Abidin.
Below the fourth bridge, on the right bank of the river,
is a five-domed temple called Maha Shri, built by King
Praversena, the second founder of Srinagar. It has been
converted into a graveyard. T h e wife of Sikandar was
buried inside this temple, while Zain-ul-Abidin lies buried
outside it. Hence the whole locality is called Bud Shah,
which was the title of Zain-ul-Abidin.
A t this place we are a t the centre of the city, where
you find the rich merchants' houses, and where you call
very quickly part with your rupees in exchange for
shawls, carpets, furniture made of walnut wood rich1y
carved, silver and copper ware, papier inichk, and articles
of various designs. Shawls used to be the great industry,
but those who made them were practically slaves ; they
were never allowed to leave Kashnlir and were treated
shamefully. It is said that every shawl cost the eyesight
of one or more Inen, as the work was so fine, so it was
really a great mercy wllen the sliawl trade was practically
brought to an end hy the Franco-German W a r of I 570.
Most of the shawls were exported to France, so that
when the (:ermans (iemanded so great a war indemnity
the French had no spare cash with which to purchase
Kashmir shawls.
T h e stream carries our boat swiftly under the fifth
bridge, called Ali Kadal. A s the channel of the river is
compressed, so the stream flows strong, and as the boat
is swept under the bridge it is tossed about on the waves
caused by swirls and eddies. It is here that the boat-
man's skill is watched with interest, especially when
coming up-stream against the strong current. T h e
boatmen have to creep up under the cover of the side
walls, or under the shelter of the piers of the bridge, -
and then make a dash for the arch, hugging the pier
so close that they can make use of the piles of the
bridge to lever themselves upwards against the current.
Ali Kadal is named after Ali Khan, son of Zain-ul-Abidin.
About a quarter of a mile down-stream is the sixth
bridge, Nawa Kadal, named after Nur Din Khan in A.D.
1666.
Before we reach the seventh bridge, Salfa Kadal, on
the right bank is the elegant temple of Hanuman, the
monkey god. This temple belongs to the Dhar family, and
stands out well against the blue moililtains in the distance,
as its white walls and silver-like spire reflect the sunlight.
A t the back the mansioils and gardens of the Dhar family
cover many acres of ground. In the time of Ranjit
Singh's conquest of Kashmir this family became chief
advisers to the Sikhs.
T h e SafTid Kadal bridge is named after Saifiilla Khan.
T h e name of the builder and date of the building of the
bridge is inscribed on the gateway of a mosque close by.
This is an important bridge, as there is not another for
twenty miles down-stream. It is across this bridge that
the travellers from Srinagar to Central Asia start on their
long journey.
116
Close to this bridge is a big square building called the
Yarkandi Serai, the rest-house for Central Asian travellers,
Yarkandis in their long, quilted, many-coloured garments,
Tibetans, and Inen from Turkestatl. These travellers arrive
their loads on ponies and yaks, with carpets, skins
and china cups. How the china cups survive this long
journey is always a marvel.
011 the opposite side of the river to the Yarkandi
Serai is a very beautiful maidao, called Id Gah, where the
Central Asian travellers graze their yaks and ponies. O n
the farther end from the river is a very large handsome
mosque, which holds 2000 worshippers. It is supposed
to be haunted by ghosts and goblins, so that no one will
enter it after dark.
A few years ago a Mohammedan from Ladakh who
refused to believe in the story of this mosque being
haunted was offered a reward of a hundred pieces of
silver provided he fixed a peg inside the mosque a t
midnight. T o this challenge he willingly agreed, and
at midnight entered the mosque with a tent-peg and
stone. H e groped his way in the darkness among the
great cedar-wood columtls which support the huge roof
and, having selected n spot, drove the peg firmly into the
ground with the aid of liis stone hammer. Having
accomplisl~edhis task successfully, he turned towards the
exit, when he found himself held firmly to the spot which
he had pegged. D o what he inight, he could not leave
it. He struggled in terror, crying out for help; but who
could hear ? for the mosque stands in a large maidan far
from any habitation. In the morning an early worshipper
saw a heap of something on the floor, and on near approach
discovered tlie lifeless Ladakhi. Me was horrified, a ~ l d
went off iu search of help. l-lc soon returlled with solne
friends, and they tried to raise the body from the ground,
"7
but they found it held fast to the spot by a peg. On
closer inspection they discovered that the peg had been
driven through the strong cloth of the Ladakhi voluminous
garment, so the brave Ladakhi who disbelieved in goblins
after all died in fear of them, and the one hundred pieces
of silver did not change hands.
Some of the entertaining and amusing sights of the
river are the boatmen's wedding parties, which are very
frequent a t certain times of the year. T h e party
borrow a big doonga and pack it with their wedding
guests. T h e y will have twenty paddlers or so, who sit
a t the bow and stern, and as they paddle they raise them-
selves up and down in such good time as to make the ends
of the boat swing u p and down, giving an exhibition the
-
while of fancy strokes, sending the water in spray behind

them. It makes a most ludicrous effect, and is intended
to be so. There will probably be a nautch girl or two,
or men dressed u p as nnutcl, girls, dancing in the fore
-part of the boat, and musicians.
There will be a punting-
pole
- stuck up, with a piece of coloured cloth on the top
for a flag, and if they wish to attract an extra amount of
notice a man with a shot-gun will straddle the pent roof
and let off his gun when the spirit moves him. A small
boat precedes the marriage party, about thirty yards or
so ahead, with one or two drummers who seem to put
their whole soul into the drums. This business is to
attract attention. T h e y certainly succeed in doing so.
T h e bridegroom sits in the centre of the boat on cushions,
his face covered with a veil of tinsel and peacocks'
feathers hanging from the top of his head. This boat
with its show is propelled up and down the river through
the city with much shouting and ('tamasha."
T h e bride is not invited to this show.
CHAPTER IX
STREETS AND BAZAARS
E will leave our boat a t the bottom of the

city and return on foot through the streets
in order to see the life of the people in the
bazaars. All the streets, with the exception of the main
street, are very narrow, and generally very filthy. T h e r e
are no sidewalks, so that pedestrians, equestrians, laden
animals, laden men, cattle, fowls and pariah dogs are all
jumbled up together. Consequently our progress will be
much impeded. However, it will give us more time to
take in and digest what we see. In the winter-time it is
of course more difficult going in the streets on account
of the pools of liquid filth. T h e n one has to be careful
not to bump into pedestrians, for. most of them are
carrying cc kangris " under their garments ; also everyone
carries a blanket over his shoulder, which is everlastingly
slipping off, and as often has to be thrown on again;
hence one is always liable to have a dirty blanket flapped
in one's face.
One is continually entertained with amusing or annoy-
ing episodes, according as they happen to oneself or to
someone else. Fur instance, citizens of this town are in
the habit of throwing their slops out of the upper windows
into the streets, and it is here that the amusement or
annoyance arises, according as the slops fall on. oneself
or on so~nebodyelse.
T h e Municipality have lately passed a law against this
custom of ages, but Easter11 customs die hard. O n the
I I9
Streets & Bazaars
last occasion when the episode happened to be more
annoying than amusing, I sought to uphold the Municipal
law by calling at the offending house in order to obtain
information regarding the perpetrators of the crime. But
every obstacle was put in my way. T h e neighbours did
their best to shield the breaker of the Municipal law.
T h e y first said that they did not know the name of the
owner of the house, then that he had died some weeks
ago. Others said that he was out ; others, again, said that
only women lived there, etc., etc. However, a friend of
mine, an official, happened to be passing, so with his help
the owner was found to be alive ; also he was a man and
not a woman, and he was not out, but very much at home,
for h e was made to appear. H e happened to be a big man
with a red beard. Mohammedans often dye their beards
red to be like their prophet Mohammed. H e came to
me carrying a child of one and a half years old in his
arms, saying : T h e Sahib must not be angry, for was not
the one who threw a little water out of the window but
a very little child." I answered that a miracle must have
happened, for the little child that I saw throwing the
water out of the window possessed a red beard, and
the colour of the beard was uncommonly like the beard
of the man who was carrying the child. A t this remark
the crowd of citizens laughed loudly, whereupoil my little
child with the red beard, seeing that the game was up, put
his ha~ldstogether in the attitude of prayer and asked
me to have mercy upon him, and not report him to the
Municipal officers, promising to give up the custom of his
forefathers in this respect.
T h e reason why so much slop-water comes from the
upper storeys of the houses is that the top room is
generally used as the kitcl~en,and does not possess sinks
or drains.
120
Streets & Bazaars
When one bicycles through the city one has to be very
much awake, as the citizens lose their heads so easily.
They often dance in front of one's cycle for quite
a considerable time before they decide on which side
they will go. After a time one learns how to behave
under certain circumstances and with various types of
individuals. I have so far learnt the following:-
When a child is on the road I look quickly to see if it
has a guardian. If a little sister is with the child I do
not put on the brake, for the little girl will most certainly
protect the child, either by taking him with her to one
side, or by standing quite still wherever she happens to
be and clasping the child tightly in her arms to protect
it. If a boy is the protector I have to prepare my
brake for emergencies, for I cannot be certain if he will
or will not think of the child's safety before his own,
but probably he will do the former. If the mother or
some woman is with the child I put on the brake, for
invariably the womail will run to the side of the street
herself and then call to the child to come to her, or tell
the child to go to the opposite side. So, as one cannot
possibly tell what the order will be, one has to slow down
in order to be ready for any emergency. If the child
happens to have a man for its protector, I put on the
brake hard, and possibly dismount, for the man will not
merely rush for safety, but most probably will lose his
head, and d o a certain amount of dancing in front of
the cycle, and in order to save himself will give the
child a shove to get a take-off on his mad rush to save
himself. But if two men are walking together, at the
sound of the bell they will both clasp, or shove against,
each other, and finally the inan on the right will rush t o
the left and the man on the left will rush to the right,
thereby providing quite ; I I ~ amusing entertainment.
Streets & Bazaars
W h e n all is over and they find themselves safe, they
will join in the laughter with the on-lookers. This is
my experience after many years of cycling through the
city, and I have found this knowledge useful in saving
my own skin as well as that of the citizens of Srinagar.
O f course one is bound a t times to come to grief one-
self. O n a very greasy day in a narrow street by the river,
where an old fishwife sits daily before her baskets of fish,
my cycle side-slipped, and before I could wink I found
myself stuck fast in one of the half-empty, slimy baskets
on the top of the fish. T h e basket fitted my sitting posture
like a glove, so there I had to remain with legs in the air
until rescued by kindly hands. I fancy that the old fish-
lady was too convulsed with laughter to be able to come
to the rescue, and ever since that day the old lady, who
always sits at the same spot on the top of that odoriferous
stairway, always meets me with a grin as I pass. She
and I always have the same thoughts when our eyes
meet. W e both grin a t each other as we pass the time
of day.
Animals and birds play quite an ainusing part in the
streets. I see a baker walking along with stately gait
carrying a basket of fresh-baked cakes on his head (li la
Pharaoh's baker); all of a sudden the basket is on the
ground and the round cakes rolling in all directions in
the muddy street, whilst the baker is looking about in the
street angrily for the culprit, who happens this time to
be a kite which is just soaring above him sampling one
of his fresh-baked cakes. I was riding just behind the
baker when the kite played so successfully its practical joke.
I suffered in the same way on another occasion. I was
tand ding up eating my lunch on a mountain road, and was
holding a sandwich in my hand and was in the act of
putting it into my mouth when I felt a sharp smack on my
It2
Streets & Bazaars
rlght cheek, and my sandwich was gone. I looked round
sharply to see who had hit me and pinched my sandwich,
but could see no one, when a few seconds later I saw
gliding down the valley a kite devouring my sandwich.
T h e kites have often astonished me by their smartness
and audacity.
One familiar sight in the bazaars is the Brahmani
sacred bull, swaggering down town with his rakish black
india-rubber sort of hump swaying from side to side as he
walks. H e seems to have the run of all the greengrocer
shops by the way; he shoves his nose on the couilters
and marches off munching the vegetables h e has pinched
in passing. Everybody inakes way for him. T h a t h e
expects respect froin all can be seen by the look in his
insolent eye. T h e cow tribe in Kashmir is sacred, and
formerly anyone who killed a cow suffered capital punish-
ment. Often they were boiled in oil and then hung
from a hook which was fixed on to a pole in a public
place. An old colonel told me that when he was in
Kashmir as a subaltern h e remembered seeing the pole
fixed on the Fateh Kadal bridge, on which a boiled corpse
hung as food for the hirds of prey. T h a t man had been
convicted of killing a cow and thus suffered for his
heinous crime. Until seven years ago the penalty for
cow-killiog was a life sentence, which now has come
down to seven years only.
If one keeps one's eyes open as one walks through
the bazaars one will see the great respect shown by the
Hindus to the cow tribe, for as one passes, and generally
tlley arc plastered in mud, one will see a Hindu touch
the holy ani~nalwith thc shawl that he carries over his
shoulder and then kiss the shawl at the spot where it
touched the cow, so that in some way the holiness of the
cow may enter him. Yet, notwithstanding this reverence
'23
Streets & Bazaars
for the cow, you will in the winter season see the cows
starving to death-that is, those which are not giving milk,
or are ill. T h e y are turned out into the snow-covered
streets to fight with the pariah dogs for the filth under
the snow. T h e n when they fall exhausted they are
attacked by the birds of prey, which gouge out their
eyes, and when they are dead the pariah dogs share the
carcase. This may happen a t the very door of a Hindu,
but I have never known them interfere to save them.
This attitude of mind is most difficult for a Westerner
to understand. I gave it up years ago, and started at
a practical solution with my school staff and boys, who
were chiefly Hindus, with what result you will see
later on.
Among the chief inhabitants of Srinagar are the dogs,
which in their time have accomplished much useful work,
and are of use still, and will be so as long as the insanitary
conditions of the city and habits of the people continue.
W h e n one remembers that very few houses, possibly one
per cent., possess any sanitary conveniences, as the inhabit-
ants prefer to make use of the streets as their forefathers
have done before them, there will be little hope of im-
provement, and the pariah dogs will be needed. T h e
Municipality have a t last made a law, which met with
strong opposition from certain city fathers, that no new
house may be built unless provision be made for a closet.
W h e n one has spoken to the people about their insani-
tary habits and the danger to public health, the one and
same answer is given-viz. that their forefathers have
always managed to live and enjoy their city, so why
should they seek to change the ancient customs and
conditions of life. Pariah dogs have always done their
duty well, so why deprive them of their livelihood.
These poor dogs have a wretched existence, as they
1 24
Streets @ Bazaars
belong to no one, and are continually stoned and kicked,
and sometimes have scalding water thrown over them
when they come too near to the shops and houses on
their hunt for food. They are more often than not
diseased and covered with mange and in the winter
especially are a most pitiable sight to behold. T h e y
would be really strong, fine dogs if properly fed and cared
for, but, as I said before, they belong to no one, they
are pariahs. In the summer they often go mad. In the
winter when they are starving they become savage, then
they attack woinen and children. A s one cycles through
the city one is often attacked by them, but they have not
much pluck unless they are in a large pack. T h e y have
their own particular quarters, in fact they divide them-
selves into parishes, and woe betide that dog who finds
himself alone in someone else's parish.
I have often made use of this parish system when
attacked by them and anxious to rid myself of their
attentions. I encourage them to follow me out of their
own parish into the adjacent one, when immediately they
are set upon by those of the parish I have entered ; not
only am I i~n~nediately delivered from my persecutors, but
am also saved from the dogs of the parish I have entered,
as they are all busily engaged punishing the intruders and
forget me and my cycle.
One has to be very careful of one's own dogs, for a
fox terrier does not stand a chance when attacked by two
or more pariahs. Many English dogs have been torn to
pieces by them; they are dealt with as the hounds dispose
of a fox.
One hopes that before many years have passed the
citizens of Srinagar will have learnt self-respect, so that
they will not need thousands of pariah dogs to keep their
(:it y clean.
CHAPTER X
TRADES, LEPERS A N D BEGGARS
T
HE shops in Srinagar, as in all Eastern towns,
protrude themselves on to the streets, so that
when one is walking after dark one has to be
careful not to trip up over the short ladder leading from
the street up to the shop platform or seat.
When cycling or riding on horseback in a crowded
thoroughfare one is apt to knock baskets of wares off the
shop fronts into the streets.
On one occasion on a frosty morning whilst trotting
down a narrow street my pony side-slipped-I was shot
into a shop by the side of the shopman on the platform
above, whilst the pony fell on his side under the platform,
to the astonishment of the shopman and amusement of
the neighbours. I was able to join in the laughter, as
neither the pony nor myself suffered any damage.
When one stops in the street before a shop to make
a purchase, for most of the business is done from the
street, and not inside the shop, an interested crowd always
collects, eager to take part in the bargaining. Qite often
a man will join io apparently as one's friend and adviser,
telling the shopman in a loud voice to play the game and
not to cheat one, while at the same time he is talking
secretly with his eyes or fingers to the shopman to
acquaint him how far it is safe to try on his game.
Talking with the eyes was not new to me, for I had
seen something of the eye language practised by thieves
when I worked in w hitechpel-in East London, and often
I 26
Trades, Lepers W Beggars
came in coiltact with this class of sharpers. S o when I
found these kind helpers around me I felt as if I was
again amongst old pals.
A great number of the shops are kept by Hindus, such
as grocers', drapers', tailors', and snuff and drug shops also,
where manufactured brass cups, bowls and Hindu gods
are sold, but all the shops where articles of brass, copper,
iron or wood are being made, and butchers' shops, are
kept by Mohammedans.
There are very few eating shops and liquor shops, but
the latter, I am sorry to say, are increasing, for those
who go to drink do so in order to get drunk. If when
passing these pubs. after dark you lift up the dirty curtain
behind the counter you will generally see one or more
prostrate forms on the benches or floor.
I can remember the time when no one dared to be seen
carrying a liquor bottle in the street, as public opinion was
against it, and the smartness with which they would hide
it under their blankets when they caught sight of any-
one used to remind me of a drunken coster-womatl, one
of my parishioners in East London, who had just come
out of a pub. with a black bottle, and on seeing me
covered it with her shawl. On my asking her what she
had just tucked up under her arm, cc Just bought a little
of peppermint, for I do suffer that bad from stomick-
ache,'' said she. Stomach-aches of the coster lady's kind
seem to be on the increase in Srinagar, though one rarely
sees a drunken man in the streets, as public opinion is still
against the. use of alcohol and a drunkard is generally
despised.
A year or two ago an Indian gentleman generally
known as a babu asked tne to help him to start a
temperance society, and did me the honour of asking
m e to become president of the same. I told him that
Trades, Lepers @ Beggars
I did not think that there was any need for a temperance
society a t present, as there was so little iilte~npera~lce
in
the country, thanks to the prophet Mohammed, who had
forbidden the use of alcohol to his followers, and also on
account of his Highness the Maharajah's disapproval of
pubs. and drinking generally.
I also considered it to be unwise to call people's
attention to the subject, as it might lead them from
thinking to action in the wrong direction. My babu
friend did not agree with my philosophy, for a fdw days
afterwards he came to tell me that he had started a
temperance society, and asked me to help him with a sub-
scription, and soon I heard that weekly meetings were in
full swing, for babus as a rule love much talking.
After a month or six weeks from the commencement
of the society my babu friend came to me in great grief
to seek my help, for, sad to say, the treasurer of the
society had not only disappeared with all the money, but
had taken off all the furniture which had been bought to
furnish their meeting-place. Would I use my influence
t o secure the capture of the runaway and also the stolen
property? This was not all the bad news, for at the
meeting before the last one of the speakers had impressed
upon the audience that it was folly to talk against
drunkenness until they knew and understood it by
practical experience, for one must always study a subject
thoroughly before attempting to teach it, and, further,
one can always help one's brother more efficiently if one
has been through the same experience.
"So I propose," said he, a that at the next meeting
every member shall bring a bottle of brandy-for is not
that German brandy only one rupee per bottle ?-and then,
brothers, we will get drunk royally, so that we may iinder-
stand thoroughly the sad experiences of 0111- drunken
I 28
Trades, Lepers Beggars
brothers, but we must not drink too much that we all
kick the bucket."
Well, this epoch-making speech carried the meeting,
and at the next meeting the members came not empty-
handed, so with the help of brandy from Germally they
passed through all the stages of their poor drunken
brothers. So satisfactory the experiment proved to be
that they came to the coilclusioil that intemperance was
more elltertainiilg than temperance, and thus it came to
pass the first Srinagar temperance society ceased to exist.
T h e fact that there are so few pubs. in the city keeps
it quiet, a i d one seldom sees a brawl in the bazaars from
this cause. T h e Kashmiris can give the Westerner points
in this respect.
T h e vagaries of the poor lunatics wandering about the
streets generally attract a crowd. T h e men often walk
about naked. Sometimes a kind-hearted person will give
them a garment to cover their nakedness, which they will
as often as not dispose of at once, by tearing it into
shreds, or setting fire to it and sitting down in front of it
to warm their hands; this I have seen done on a very
cold day in winter. It is especially sad to see the wornell
lunatics wandering about, often with a baby, which they
do not know how to take care o f ; and some men are so
debased and vile as to take advantage of their madness
by making them mothers, but in 110 way helping to keep
them off the streets. I hope some day the authorities
will understand that they have a duty towards these poor,
helpless creatures.
Fortunately there is an #asylum for lepers built by tlle
State and handed over to the care of the (=.M.S. Medical
Mission, so that these afllicted peoplc are well for.
When one is accosted 11y lepers in the hazaars-tlley will
often push up their fillgerless hands in your face to draw
I
= 29
forth your pity and alms-one can always direct them
to the asylum all ready for them.
Srinagar, like all Eastern cities, swarms with beggars;
most of them are professional beggars; some actually ride
on horseback, which reminds me of the old English song:
Hark ! hark! how the dogs do bark,

T h e beggars are coming to town,
Some in rags and some on nags
And some in velvet gown.
They exist in their scores, because the people win give

to them, thinking that they gain merit by doing so.
Many of the beggars are frauds. There is one man who
has for years pretended to be a cripple ; he crawls about
naked except for a loin-cloth, and especially on rainy or
snowy days he creeps along with body bent and crying
and shivering as he moves with difficulty; he by this
trick collects a goodly supply of coin. I met this poor
cripple one morning on coming quickly round a corner in
the street; he was running a t top speed and roaring with
laughter as he ran. H e was not at that moment ready
to help his fellow-countrymen to heap up merit. It does
not seem to matter whether a man is known to be a fraud
or not, he receives alms all the same.
One can apparently gain merit from bestowing coin on
a fraud as easily as one can from giving to a case really
needing one's help. Let us forget tlie beggars and look
again at the shops.
There is one particular shop which at tracts one's
attention, and at first sight often gives one a start.
You see sitting in a shop a Mohammedan with a sharp
knife cutting a bald head from which blood is often
flowing. Is this a puhlic murder or what ! On closer
inspection you see that it is only the barber at work.
I 30
~t is the custom among the Mohammedans to have
their heads shaved as bald as the coot ; or if it is a Hindu's
head, he prefers to have a clean pathway about four
inches wide cut down the centre of his scalp from fore-
head to neck, except the place where his top-knot sprouts;
that is left long enough for him to tie in a knot or two.
Now many, if not most, Kashlniris suffer from diseased
scalps. A sort of white fungus spreads over the scalp (it
is called scalled head "), so when the razorman sets to
work he, like Shylock of old, is unable to do his job witli-
put shedding blood. It is not the custom of Kashlniri
barbers to sterilise their razors, so the infected blade
passes on the disease of the last Inail to the next client,
and so on.
T h e barber is also the dentist. H e keeps ail iron
hook, which he shoves between the tooth and the
gum, and then hauls. I believe the hook always
brings up something if it does not break; let us hope
that it is the aching tooth. They are also very clever
at fixing a broken tooth to the stump or to the next
tooth by wiring them together; in the same way
they mend broken crockery. An old inan on my school
staff had his two front teeth wired to their stumps. I
found it often difficult to concentrate my attention on his
words, so interesting was the oscillatiilg of his front
teeth.
Still further, the barber is the match-maker. He
arranges the marriages between families. Tlic family
wllich employs him allows him to see the girl that is to
be wedded; he then visits the parents of the hoped-for
bridegroom, and sings to them thc lady's charins, which
are always many. If he has been suficiently paid by the
family who sent him, he call allow his imagination and
falselloods to run riot, for the lady whose beauty and
'3'
virtues he extols will not be seen by the bridegroom until
after the marriage, when the bridegroom takes his bride
to his private apartment and lifts the veil to see the lady
with whom he is to spend his life. Many bridegrooms
have to suffer as Jacob did of old when he discovered
that the one under the veil was not his beloved Rachel.
I have often been told of the disappoi~ltine~lt suffered by
bridegrooms to find their wife has only one eye, or the
face disfigured with small-pox, for small-pox plays havoc
with faces and eyes. Practically everyone in Srinagar
has small-pox some time during his life, and generally when
they are children. I believe it is a fact that half the
children born in Srinagar die of this fell disease.
Well, back to the shops. T h e ones which generally catch
one's eye are those where men are working at embroidery
work; it may be silk, cotton or wool, the colouring and
patterns often displaying great taste. Then there are the
saddlers', where you see gay-coloured saddle-pads of reds,
yellows and blues; the embroidery there is often bold
and startling. T h e saddles are generally of cloth, for
the Kashmiri prefers a soft seat to a pigskin one. A
Mohammedan would not ride on pigskin, and to a Hindu
all leather is anathema.
W h e n one's eyes become tired of the streets and shops
one can look up and notice the lattice windows, called
((pinjra," of various designs.
In many of the bazaars the houses project so far over
the streets that they almost touch at the roof. This is
convenient for those who wish to escape from fire, or the
thief who is hotly pursued and finds the streets unsafe.
Occasionally when the houses take on such a list that
they look like kissing one another beams are placed
between the two to prevent the one from toppling over
on to the other and embracing it.
If you raise your eyes a little higher you will probably
see the everlasting snows.
How often has this sight of the mountains cheered
one up! W h e n on a sloshy day one is passing mud-
bespattered pedestrians who seem to be suffering from
the dirt and gloom round them, then one raises one's
eyes to the everlasting snows and one goes on one's way
rejoicing.
Srinagar, like most cities, has its quarters for certain
classes and trades. T h e coppersmiths are as easily known
by the continual din as the Brahmans' quarters by their
conservatism to the custom of their forefathers in the
matter of filth and superabuilda~ltstench. In the copper
bazaar one call sometimes pick up some really elegant and
quaintly shaped jugs and basins of ancient make, as well
as excelleilt imitations of the same, which are sold to the
unwary as the real article. T h e merchants continually do
themselves well when passing off their dragon-shaped jugs
of curious design as from Lassa.
There is a special jug which takes the fancy of most
visitors, and that is a jug of copper, shaped like a duck,
called "batish," or female duck, which is used for blo~ving
up the fire, as it does in a most workmanlike manner. It
is filled with water and placed on the fire, and when the
water boils the steam issues from its long beak, which
being directed towards the spot that needs its attention,
the pressure of steam sooil does its work, uilless, as some-
times happens, it works too vigorously, when it blows the
hot charcoal ashes clean out of the grate. W h e n the
duck has hlowil itself dry there is 110 other way for
the water to find its way to the duck's interior again
except through its beak, wllich aperture is too small to
allow of water being poured in, so the dock has to he
1leatt.d and then its 1,e:lk held in a glass of water, which
it will itself drink up until its body and the air within it
cools.
Near the coppersmiths' quarters is a very large mosque
called the Jumma Musjid, which is well worth a visit.
This famous mosque, the greatest in Srinagar, was
originally built by Sikandar the Iconoclast in 1404with
the materials of a large stone temple erected by King
Tarapeeda. It was destroyed by fire three times. T h e
present structure was raised by Aurangzeb in 1674.
This site is considered sacred by the Buddhists also, and
even now the Buddhists from Ladakh and other places
come to visit this place.
It is on this side of the city that you see many travellers
coming in, for the main road from Central Asia enters
here. Some of the travellers have never seen this great
city before, and they look somewhat frightened and awe-
inspired, for they have heard many tales of their friends
falling among thieves, and finding themselves in the police
lock-up instead of those who have robbed them, and,
moreover, having lost all the money that they had brought
with which to make their necessary purchases.
A villager is known at once by his dress and speech.
They generally carry their shoes on their heads until
they reach the bazaars, as they have learnt from
experience that it wears out shoes to walk in them.
T h e women often carry much else on their heads,
such as their cooking vessels and many household gods,
as they walk behind their lords and masters; this hahit
teaches them to carry themselves gracefully as they
walk.
It is a sight to see the milkmen coming to the city
in the early mornings. They come in from their villages
many miles distant at a jog-trot, carrying three earthen-
ware pots fill1 of milk, one on the top of the other, poised
Trades, Lepers &f Beggars
on their shoulders. Even the thought of this great
weight makes one's own back ache to look a t them.
One might imagine that after a journey of four or five
miles of trotting the milk would be turned to butter
when delivered to the purchaser, but it is not so, as these
men run bare-footed, and run without jerking, so easy
is their movement. I expect the great weight on their
shoulders makes them run easy-like. I have seen these
milkmen after their long run when just outside the city
stopped by the police and sepoys and forced to give up
their milk on pretence that they have been sent by some
big official, so unless there happens to be some God-fearing
man near to defend them it is of no use their refusing.
T h e ordinary man in the street is generally too frightened
to interfere, so those uiliformed robbers play their own
game with impunity. I have had the good luck to come
upon them at the right momeilt more than once.
O n one occasion I saw four sepoys set upon a milkman,
and they were foolish enough to tell me that they were
doing so under orders from the British Resident. Their
stakes were a bit too high, and they lived to repent
talting the Resident's name in vain.
One is bound to get mixed up in comic operas in this
land. Sometimes they are almost serious, bordering on
the tragic, but most of them are of a humorous nature, or
can be turned into sucll. Here is an instance :
Two villagers had just arrived in the great city and were
properly awe-inspired. I happened to light upon them just
as a gentleman in blue had discovered that these innocents
might be useful to him, and was ordering them in a loud
voice, with gestures to match, to remove a heavy chest
from a shop. T h e two visitors to Srinagar were telling
him that they had come to town on business and
wished to get on with it, but the mail in blue thought
' 35
Trades, Lepers & Beggars
his business more important. These villagers naturally
feared that this was a trick to get them in the lock-up,
for they did not know what valuables might not be in
that chest. So I asked them if they wished to work for
this blue gentleman. T h e y did not answer at once ; they
looked at me hard, and then at the gentleman in blue in
a scared way. I suppose they were trying to ascertain
who was likely to come out top, but as I was mounted and
had a hunting-crop in my hand, they gave me the casting
vote, and answered that they did not wish to carry the
chest. So I ordered them not to carry it, but to go on
with their own business and I would settle this little busi-
ness for them; so they went on their way rejoicing. But
not so the man in blue, for I ordered him to do his own
job, by carrying the chest himself, and I saw him do it.
I t was a decidedly heavy chest, I admit, and as he bent
under it it reminded me of the Turkish coolies I had
seen in Constantinople staggering under their huge loads.
I used to feel sorry for them, but I cannot say that I had
any feelings of sorrow in my heart for this gentleman in
blue.
Srinagar is a most interesting town from a human point
of view, for one never knows what will turn up next,
especially if one comes round a corner sharp. I hardly
ever pass through the city without one or more humorous
or interesting event happening.
CHAPTER XI
FASHIONS IN DRESS
I F one walks through the streets one has naturally

more opportunities for picking up knolvledge coo-
cerning the people than when one is riding. T h e
people of the East as a rule walk slower than Westerners,
so olle catches up the people in front. It is interesting
to learn the class of person one is overtaking. One can
obtain the information to a great extent from the way
in which the turban is tied, for the various trades have
different ways of binding on their turbans, as well as
those of different religions and castes. T h e Brahman,
for instance, ties his tight like a head bandage ; the
butcher also binds his turban tight, but the cloth is
a much broader strip, and more of it, therefore it is a
much bigger pagri than that of the Brahman. Then
many tie their pagris loosely, such as the carpenter or
boatman, hut there, again, they are not of the same shape.
There are some who put the ends of their pagris sticking
upwards at the back of their heads like a cockade, whilst
others like to have a long tail down their backs. T h e
turban or pagri, whichever you like to call it, is a very
sensible head-gear. It keeps the head cool in the suillmer
as well as warin in the winter; it acts as a helmet and
a protection to the head from blows of any kind. It also
sets off the face and is most becoming. Even an ugly
face looks quite presentable when the head is adorned
with a pagri. Its uses are unending. I mention a few,
as I have seen them. A pony kicks off his rider and
Fashions in Dress
bolts at once ; the would-be rider, when h e has picked
himself up, makes a rope and lasso of the pagri and
catches the runaway, for a pagri may be sixteen yards
long. A man wishes to climb a tree, the bole of which
may be too smooth and of too wide girth to swarm.
T h e pagri becomes a rope and is thrown, with the help
of a stone, over a branch, and a t once there is a way up
the tree. It may be the rope at the well is broken; no
matter, one or more pagris are at hand. A thief has to
be kept secure until the police arrive ; well, there is the
pagri. It is used as a purse, a letter rack, a towel,
a pocket-handkerchief. Your cook will probably strain
your coffee with the tail of his pagri, and make use of it
in any of his culinary arts. I have seen an official with
several servants in at tendance-this great man wished
to blow his nose, and although he was himself wearing
a pagri with a long tail behind, he notwithstanding called
up one of his servants and blew his nose in the tail of his
servant's pagri, a rather smart way, I thought, of making
use of other people's property to save one's own.
O f late I have seen my pupils use their pagris in all
sorts of ways in social service for the sick and distressed,
tearing them up for bandages for wounds, for tying one
unable to walk to the back of one strong boy who can,
for towing boats to help boatmen, for catching runaway
animals, and so forth. 1 guess the pagri is '' some hat,"
as the Americans would say.
It is not the pagri only which enables one to distin-
guish classes and castes, etc., for the dresses also differ.
Mohammedan men and women dress quite differently
from Hindu men and women. It is true that they have
a national dress called the a pheron," but its clit varies.
T h e pheron is an ugly garment at its hest. It is said
that when the Afghans conquered Rasllmir they forced
'38
Fashions in Dress
the men to wear the same dress as the women, to be in
keeping with their character. T h e Brahmans' pheron
differs from that of the Brahman women and from that
of the Mohammedan inen and womeil in that it has
long sleeves, which are almost twice as long as a man's
arm. I have not yet discovered the reason for this
length, but they do make use of it when drinking hot
tea out of their brass cups, or when taking pots off a
fire, as we use a kettle-holder, or when they are obliged
to hold anything unclean, such as leather-for instance,
the reins of a pony. Also they use it as a weapon.
W h e n they are angry they flourish this long sleeve about
and beat their adversary with it, and a very amusing
performance it always is.
This voluminous garment is most suitable for users of
the kangri, because when they squat down and place the
fire pot between their legs it forms a most excellent tent,
in fact a primitive Turkish bath. I have seen it used on
more than one occasion as a hiding-place. W h e n a
cheeky boy is r ~ ~ n n i iaway
~ g from his wrathful pursuer,
and happens to be lucky in reaching his mother, he is
safe out of sight by the time his pursuer arrives a t the
house. T h e mother, who is squatting 011 the floor, of
course, swears sole~nnlythat she has not seen the boy,
and suggests his seeking him elsewhere; but I have
known one occasion when the mother was given away on
account of a foot not being properly covered, one's reason
suggesting that even Kasll~niriwomen have not three feet.
I myself have discovered a much-wanted man by this
process of reasoning when he, though full-grown, had
taken cover under a lady's pheron.
T h e Kashmiri Brabinan in his own home, and often in
the street, does not wear any unmentionables or socks,
but ends up at the bottom with a pair of wooden clogs
'39
Fashions in Dress
which are kept 011 to the feet either by a straw strap
which goes over his toes, or by the aid of a wooden knob
a t the toe of the clog, which he grasps between his big
toe and the toe next it. Leather is abhorrent to Brahmans ;
they prefer wooden clogs, unless their business may
require their moving a t a greater pace than one and a
half miles per hour, and so compel them to use the leather
shoe. N o Brahman's toilet is complete unless he has his
caste marks, which consist of a dab of red or yellow
paint, or both, and often a third colour, grey, dabbed on
from the middle of his forehead and down the bridge of
his nose, also on the lobe of each ear, and on his throat
near the apple. These three colours remind him of the
trinity of gods, Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu. Then a
medal hangs from his neck by a string made of gold,
silver, or copper, on which is inscribed his fate, and is
supposed to preserve him from ( I ) the evil influences
of the planets, (2) evil spirits, (3) the evil eye. The
engraving on the medal may represent the image of one
of the gods or goddesses, one of the planets, or some
magical figure.
Every Brahman wears a thread, which is thrown over
the left shoulder and under the right armpit ; it is made
of three strands of cotton thread, until the marriage day,
when three more cotton strands are added. This thread
is never removed from the body, except three times a
year: on the Brahman's birthday, oil the Shiv Ratri and
on the Hindu New Year, when the priest puts on a new
one. It must be washed every day, and during the
process a '' mantra'' must be recited in praise of the
goddess Goitree. Should the thread break, it cannot be
tied or knotted, for the previous knot is holy and must
be burnt, but the thread may be thrown away. A new
thread must be obtained from a priest. T h e thread must
Fashions in Dress
be in length twenty-six times the breadth of the hand
for an unmarried man, and double the length for a
married man.
There is one particular fashion in dress which often
catches one's eye, and that is when the coat or trousers are
made out of a than of white cotton cloth. O n every than
the trade mark is printed in blue. Sometimes it is the
face of a man or animal and the number of yards in the
than. Now the Kashmiri takes a fancy for this trade
mark, so the tailor arranges that it shall appear oil some
part of the white suit. Sometimes you will see a dog's
head on the seat of the trousers, or the maker's name in
blue capitals on the tail of his coat, or as it can be seen
to-day on the person of a certain very fat Goverilineilt
servant 36 YARDS" standing out in bold relief on
that part of the garment which protects his bulky form,
which makes one inquisitive to ascertain the exact
girth of this individual. Anyway, it adds much to his
importance.
The ladies, and especially of the Hindu persuasion,
prefer their garments to be of very bright colours, bright
oranges and pinks being their special colours ; and they
certainly brighten up their surroundings.
CHAPTER XI1
BRAHMANS AND SADHUS
w HEN a Brahman takes up work as a clerk in

the State service, which is the ambition of
most of them, he dresses very much like the
babu of India-he dons tight-fitting trousers. If he is
able to dress in the height of fashion the legs of his
trousers will be a foot or more longer than his legs, and
have to dispose of themselves in many folds and creases
at his ankles. Moreover the trousers must fit round the
legs like a glove; so tight must they be that the only way
to get them to pass the heel is by means of a highly
glazed piece of paper, a shoe-horn being too thick and
clumsy for the operation. Instead of a pheron he wears
a coat and waistcoat, which are generally of black alpaca ;
below the waistcoat he puts on a cotton shirt, which is
worn outside and not inside the trousers, as is the fashion
in the West. This custom is important, for by wearing
the shirt outside he always has a towel and pocket-
handkerchief at hand. Athough he adopts a Western
shirt, he very seldom runs to a collar and tie ; if he has
taken to a collar he generally forgets to send it to the
wash. H e usually wears the Eastern shoe with socks,
hut nowadays patent-leather shoes have come into
fashion, hut he usually forgets to lace them. Although
this kit strikes one as a great mix-up of the East and
142
Brahmans & Sadhus
West, yet it is infinitely preferable to the unsightly
and unmanly garb of the pheron. W h e r e the Eastern
has the better of the Western in dress is his head-
gear, which, as I said before, is as becoming as it is
serviceable.
When the Brahman clerk goes to his house in the
evening he casts off his day dress and goes back to the
dress of his forefathers, for in that kit alone can he really
feel at home.
T h e manner of the Brahman putting on and taking off
his garments is a true picture of his inside. W h e n he is
in his home he is an out-and-out Easterner in manner,
customs and beliefs, but when he is in his office you
might think by his talk that he had taken on Western
ideas and beliefs, but it is not so, they ineail nothing
inore to hiin than does his babu dress.
I have often marvelled at their powers of acting, for
they are great, and in their power to keep it up.
Many a time and oft have I seen my fellow-countrymen
taken in by their consuinmate acting and patience in
order to gain their ends, and have likewise been duped
myself. They are great readers of character, and find
out your strong or weak points very quickly. They are
past inasters in the art of flattery. 1 have seen many
Europeans fall before it, and through flattering become
the personal coilfidants of their masters, to the detriment
of ally hotlest men in their department. In all my time
in Kashmir nothing has distressed me inore than to
see tny fellow-countrymen done down by these clever
flatterers, for over and over again have I seen in conse-
quence of it the honest men go under and the scou~~drels
flourishing. 1 can say further that I have seen honest
men utterly hcggared, and I know of several scoundrels
now rejoicing in their riches who ought to be in gaol.
= 43
Brahmans W Sadhus
Many years ago a t a ruridecanal meeting in London
we were discussing how best to deal with that class of
sharper who trades on religion in order to procure charity
out of the tender-hearted, and giving our experiences
how we ourselves had been taken in by them. Whell
a certain padre stood up and told the house that as for
himself he had always proved to be a match for them and
had never been taken in, this statement was received with
a roar of laughter, as this particular mail was known to be
an easy prey to the cadger, simply because he thought
himself infallible. I fear we only hurt the feelings of
this padre and were unable to shake the faith that was
in him. It is a misfortune for anyone in England to
believe himself to be a cadger-proof, but it is absolutely
disastrous for those in authority in India to consider
themselves proof against flatterers and intriguers, for it
leads to so much unnecessary suffering and injustice.
I will give an instance of a simple case when I was not
taken in.
A Brahman holy man, generally known as a Sadhu,
visited me one morning, saying that he was interested in
Christianity, and that he had heard what a wonderfully
godly man I was, etc., etc., and would I give him a Holy
Bible so that he might study it himself, and also asked
me to appoint a time when he might come and study it
with me. H e was a curious object to look a t : he was
tall and thin, with long, tapering fingers, and long nails ;
the hair on his face, which was red, stuck out a t a right
angle, which gave the impression that one was looking at
the sun in a11 its glory with red rays shooting forth, or it
might be a halo around this saint's head. 1 did not rise
to the Sadhu's pious request, as 1 felt that he had some-
thing much nearer his heart than the Bible. I l e seeing
that I was not in a suitable religious mood asked leave to
I44
Photo by] [Vkhu Natk.
WOMAN.
A BRAHMAN
Haahmir women do not have a working dres~. This one has been squatting on a filthy
bank cleanlnp her greasy pots with mud whilst wearing all hn. gold and silver and
p r e ~ fStones.
~l She has no rrlnket box at home nor any pkae to store anything, $0 besidas,
Watlng all her clothas R ~ valualslra
Q she has both packets full, and twublrd into her sush a
h-adhtchlFf, knife, comb and mwR-boa, and in the fold of her dm0 snuff and eufp in
amm8 Of uaper, a ne&Ie and aarton sn$, varlws other thln~q.
Brahmans & Sadhus
go. H e came again some days after, and finding me in
a mood that he thought more in tune with the thoughts
in his own heart, after a short preface of flattery he
came wonderfully quickly to the point, which was this:
Would I grant his son a scholarship if h e sent him to
the Mission School ? I asked him why he thought that I
should give his son a scholarship.
ec Because," said he, I am a holy man, and worship
God all day long under a chenar-tree, and therefore
cannot support my family."
ec But," I said, surely if you are a holy man and
worship God your first duty would be to take care of
your wife and family."
c L No," said he ; for I have renounced them all, and
spend my days sitting under a chenar-tree thinking of
God."
I answered that I could be no party to such a life, for
a husband's and father's first duty must be to his wife
and family. But he failed to see my point of view and
pressed for the scholarship. So, to cut the story short,
we came to a practical agreement. I promised to give his
son a scholarship if he 011 his part would give up wasting
his whole day sitting under a tree and would instead get
to work and earn a livelihood for himself and family.
H e would not close with this offer, so we parted.
About a year after this interview a tall, thin gentleman
with a clean-shaven face, dressed in the ordinary babu's
dress, with his shirt outside his trousers, and I think he
had patent-leather shoes with laces untied, came up to
me with a broad grin and held out his hand for me
to shake. I racked lny brain to think who my visitor
could possibly be ; that he knew me was evident from his
broad grin ; but it was not until I had grasped that taper-
ing, muscleless hand that I tumbled to it. It was my
K '45
Brahmans @ Sadhus
scholarship-wanting friend, the holy Sadhu, but the red
halo had departed. H e was but a common or garden
clerk in State service who stood before me. H e had
fulfilled his part of the bargain: he had given up a
Sadhu's life for pen-driving and was receiving a monthly
salary whereby he could support his family. So the
bargain was clenched. His son came to school as a
scholar and proved himself to be an exceptioilally intelli-
gent youth ; from school he passed on to the college,
and now is in the police and supports his mother, as my
friend the Sadhu has passed to the greater life, into the
Beyond.
Talking of Sadhus, every summer about the month of
July the Sadhus swarm in from India, and pass through
Srinagar on their way to the sacred cave of A ~ n a rNath,
the Lord of Life, which is situated in a mountain about
six marches from Srinagar at a height of 13,ooo feet.
They arrive in their hundreds, a noisy lot of yellow-and-
orange-robed or naked fellows, smeared with ashes. In
the city one sees them marching in parties of ten or
more, blowing their conch shells and waving bright red
iron tridents, and holding out their brass bowls for alms.
Crowding into the country as they do, they sometimes
bring cholera with them and start an epidemic causing
thousands of deaths. O n one occasion when they had
brought in cholera D r Neve spoke to one on this subject,
and he answered: " All Inen have to die some time or
other. I die, you die, we all die, so what does it
matter?" I have watched them often in cholera
epidemics, when everyone is scared, and is in need of
cheering and comforting. These naked, holy fellows
march in parties of a dozen or so, in single file, shouting,
stamping their feet in time as they go from hoose to
house, collecting alms, telling the women that they will
1 46
Brahmans &? Sadhus
die if they do not pay up properly. Their appearance is
enough to frighten the women, for they have long matted
hair, and their faces and bodies are smeared with ashes,
alld very often they are drunk with bang or opium. T h e
Hindus give them great reverence, for they are afraid of
their curses. It is not only the ignorant people, but the
educated Hindus also, who give the Sadhus great rever-
ence. Much money is spent by rajas and others on them.
An Indian gentleman speaking a t a meeting for the C.O.S.
said that E I 3,000,000 is spent on them annually.
I was returning one night froin a Hindu reform club
meeting with an educated Hindu who had been delivering
himself of his ideas on temperance, and he asked me if
I knew a certain holy mail named Rain Chand. H e was
somewhat shocked at my ignorailce when I said that I
had never heard of his holiness, For," said he, '' this
man is a very holy man, and I alwavs go to him for
advice." I asked hi111 in what ways Ram Chand showed
his holiness; did he help the poor or relieve widows in
their distress ? '' O h no," he said, '' he does not do any-
thing, for he is a very holy man." Again I asked : "How
do you know that he is such a holy man?" Why,"
said he, "he call hold his breath for three minutes."
My coinpailion then looked at me hard to see how I took
this astou~ldingnews, this inarvellous proof of holiness.
I fear I am very mundane, so I could not work up any
enthusiasni over it. Now it might have been different if
he had told ine that his holy man could swiin under water
for three ini~ultesand inake some use of his power of
not l>reathing h y saving the life of drowning persons,
but I stipposc if he did that no o ~ l cwould go to him
for advice, a ~ l ( lno rupcbcasw o ~ i l c lroliic 11;s aTay.
I fear the Sadhlis that I have seen have not impressed
li~cwit11 thc idcd o Ildillcss ; I , i t e v e w e 1 l ~ i l \ . ~
'47
Brahmans 83 Sadhus
seen them lying on their beds of spikes, or those who
have kept their fists closed and allowed their finger-nails
to grow through their hands, or any of their many self-
inflicted tortures.' There is no doubt that there are some
really holy men amongst them, but they are crowded out
by the baser sort. I should like to mention one who
showed himself to be an honest man and a sportsman.
A certain yellow-robed and much-travelled Sadhu
visited Kashmir with his cheelas. H e had travelled in
Europe and America, and was highly educated. A t the
time of his visit a certain section of the Brahman
community were very anxious to obtain his aid in
establishing a Brahman school, so they asked him to
attend a public meeting a t their big temple so that he
might add his weight to the scheme. During the pro-
ceedings the President made some false statements
concerning the Mission School, which the Sadhu accepted
as true, and therefore spoke against the Mission School.
O u r headmaster having heard this went to see him,
and invited him to the Mission School in order that he
might see for himself. H e accepted the invitation and
brought with him one of his cheelas who had been a
student in the Mission School. H e became greatly
interested in all he saw and heard, with the result that
he called a meeting of the Brahmans in the temple and
delivered a lecture on the methods of the teaching given
in the Mission School, backing it up by giving his cxperi-
ences of the schools in the West. H e then advised all
parents to send their boys to the Mission School instead
of establishing a Brahman school, and finally called upon
the President to withdraw his words uttered at the last
public meeting and to apologist.
I give the case of a Sadhu acting in a gallant manner.
It was told to me first-hand by an old lady. It happelled
148
Brahmans @ Sadhus
at the commencement of the Indian Mutiny in May 1857.
She was then a girl of seventeen, and was with a party
of eight others who had managed to escape out of Delhi
and were trying to reach Meerut. T h e y had been in
hiding all day and were commeilcing their march about
sundown, and in keeping away from the main roads they
came upon a Sadhu in the jungle. This man, seeing their
distress, for they had been on the tramp for seven days,
took pity on them and refreshed them with what food he
had. They had not been with him long when a party
of the mutineers' cavalry discovered them, rode up and
commanded the Sadhu to give up his visitors, which he
refused to do, so the mutineers said that they would take
them without his leave. T h e Sadhu had put his visitors
in his hut and sanctuary, and dared the soldiers to enter
under the penalty of dire punishment which would follow
his curses. T h e mutineers feared to disobey the Sadhu,
so the party of British fugitives were saved. T h e old
lady told me that in gratitude to that gallant Sadllu she
always had a warm corner in her heart for this class of
holy men, and never refused alms to those who asked
help from her.
Most of the Sadhus that we see in Kashlnir are those
who come from India in the summer-time, whereas the
Kashmiri Sadhus generally sit under a tree, or some spot
considered to be holy, and are visited by their devotees,
to whom they give ghostly advice. Schoolboys visit
them before going in for public examinations to seek
their aid in passing. T o some they promise success for
so much money paid in advance ; to others they promise
success if they will walk round some sacred spot a certain
number of times or visit the goddess of learning at her
shrine, which is some ten miles from Srinagar. YOU can
see quite a number of students turning their feet that
'49
Brahmans & Sadhus
way. As a matter of fact, it is really good advice, as
the examinees read their books continually all day and
through a great part of the night. In order to keep
themselves awake they tie their top-knots to a nail in the
wall, so that their nodding heads may be kept in order.
So the advice to go on a twenty-mile walk is really
excellent, though the Sadhus are not aware of their
wisdom in that respect.
One boy was absolutely worn out before the examina-
tion, as the Sadhu had ordered hiin to walk round the
Hari Parbat hill three times during the night. The
journey in the day-time would not be of any benefit to
him; it must be every night for seven nights in succession.
H e was in consequence ploughed and very miserable, for,
as he said, he had paid the Sadhu many rupees, which
the Sadhu would not return.
T h e faith that these people have in their holy men
is astonishing, considering the number of tiines they are
fooled and swindled by them. W e will now leave the
holy men sitting under trees and thinking of God and
return for a last look at the people in the bazaars.
Hitherto I have spoken chiefly of the men, because it is
chiefly men that you meet in the bazaars. T h e upper-
class women never leave their houses except after dark,
with the exception of the few who for certain urgent
reasons are obliged to leave their houses, when they will
wear a burka." It is a white cotton cape which reaches
from the top of the head to the feet. There is a sort of
trellis window, about four inches square, made of colaured
cord, through which they see the world. Women
whose business in the street prevents their coveritlg
themselves up in this way will, when you pass, cover
their faces with the shawl that every woman has on her
head, and will generally turn their faces to the wall.
' 50
Brahmans & Sadhus
They have been taught always to get out of the way to
make room for men. It is of continual interest to me
to read the character of the men in this matter. Few
men will make way for a womao, but will always make
room for the swaggering Brahmani bull and the cow,
and more often than not for the pariah dog, for the
former have horns and the latter sharp teeth. T h e man
with the proud look and high stomach carries all before
him, until he meets a man who has a higher stomach
than his own or the Brahmani bull.
A friend of mine, a subaltern of sinall stature, was
crossing one of the bridges, keeping the centre of the
road. An Afghan who was of great stature was
also crossing the bridge in the opposite direction; he
also had chosen the centre of the road. Neither of
them would give way to the other, so their bodies met.
Before the subaltern could wink he found himself
under the great arm of the Afghan, who continued
his triumphant inarch down the centre of the bridge,
carrying the subaltern's legs to the fore and head to
the stern, until he reached the end of the bridge, and
then deposited him right side up in the street. W h a t
did the subaltern do next ? is the natural question.
Well, he did the only thing to be done under the
circumstance, considering their relative sizes and strength :
he took it in good part, as if he had quite enjoyed his
ride.
Srinagar is an interesting city from a human point of
view. I enjoy the people and their liuinour, as I hate
the filth and stench of their streets.
There is hope for improvement, as of late there have
come into the municipality some keen and intelligent
citizens who want to get a move 011, and are backing up
the President in his arduous duties in fighting prejudice,
'5'
Brahmans & Sadhus
custom and dishonesty ; but a t present it is like driving
a coach and four with brakes on all four wheels and
only one of the four horses wishing to pull. This is
better than it used to be, for then the driver himself did
not wish the coach to move. So we live in hope.
CHAPTER XI11
HINDU CUSTOMS
FEW weeks before delivery the woman with

child is sent to the husband's house with a few
pots full of curd, which is distributed among
the husband's relatives. T h e woman is given new
clothes by her father on this occasion.
On the sixth day after delivery the patient has a warm
bath, the water being mixed with certain drugs having
medicinal quality, and her mother's relatives pay her
visits.
During the first eleven days the visitors are not allowed
to eat or drink in the house, with the exceptioil of the
very near relatives, as the house is considered infectious
and unclean. O n the eleventh day the patient puts on
new clothes, made for her by her husband. T h e new-
born babe is given its name and a ceremony is performed.
The priest brings his horoscope and receives a good tip
if it is a inale child. T h e horoscope is a scroll of paper
showing the planets that are favourable or unfavourable
to the baby.
T h e oldest wornail of the household procures a few
pieces of birch bark. She rolls them up and then
assembles the family members together. T h e pieces are
then burnt, and the burning pieces are revolved several
times round the head of each member in turn, while the
old lady keeps on reciting the verse: ccThis is a good
omen, may it recur."
For the shaving of the head of the child no definite
' 53
Hindu Customs
time is fixed. T h e relatives are invited to a feast. The
family priest also receives his dues. New clothes are
made for the mother, the child and the nearest relatives.
Even the barber receives his share.
The Thread Ceremony.-Some days, not exceeding two
weeks, before the day fixed for the ceremony the whole
house is cleaned and white-washed. It is called Gher-
Navii. After this ceremony the women go round to
invite their relatives and receive money as a good omen.
They hold regular nightly concerts, sometimes lasting for
the whole night.
Henna Ceremony.--This takes place two days before the
thread ceremony. O n this day the hands of the boy and
his women relatives are dyed red. T h e aunt receives a
tip for performing the office.
One day before the chief ceremony of the Holy
Thread the male relatives, neighbours and friends are
invited; each man pays the host an eight-anna piece or
a rupee as a good omen. On this occasion, generally, a
lamb is sacrificed to the gods.
On this day women sing day and night without
stopping. Generally they divide themselves into parties
and sing by turns. They are given sumptuous feasts.
T h e whole arrangement is in the hands of women. T h e
aunt plays the most important part during the day. An
altar is erected-the priests chant vedas, and incense is
burnt regularly. At nightfall the boy is taken to the
river bank to perform certain ceremonies. While he is
away, his mother, aunt and other female relatives dance
in a circle in the compound, for each revolution the
female spectators have to pay one pice or more according
to their financial condition. In this way the twice-born
receives his second birth. This ceremony is usually
performed before the eleventh year of the boy's age.
Hindu Customs
Marriages are arranged by middlemen, who are first-
class liars. T h e house is white-washed, as in the case of
the thread ceremony. This also is divided into three
chief days -henna ceremony and devagun and the
wedding ceremony. Women do the work, as in the former
ceremony. T h e chief day is called lugan (marriage).
T h e wedding procession goes to the bride's house.
Again an altar is erected, and incense is kept burning.
T h e priests chant vedas. T h e husband and the wife are
made to swear to hold each other as one body and one
soul. Through mantras their bodies and souls are united.
They are never to separate, neither in this world nor in
the next. T h e woman is called urdangi (half body-left
side of the man). After the marriage is over the wedding-
party is given a feast, vegetable food only being served ;
then they leave the house with the bride. W h e n they
reach the bridegroom's house the doors are closed against
them by the bridegroom's sister, and are not opened until
she is promised some present in cash or kind. In the
evening both the bride and the bridegroom are summoned
by the bride's father. T h e bridegroom is given some
rupees, and then the married couple are sent back on the
same night. T h e bride spends a few days, not exceeding
a week, in her husband's house, and then returns to her
father and spends some time there also. Every time the
father wishes to see his daughter he has to pay some cash.
If both the bride and the bridegroom are of adult age
they live as husband and wife, if not, the bride wears a
gold-embroidered cap and sleeps in a separate room till
they attain majority. On that occasion another ceremony
is performed, without the priest. This is called zuge," or
marriage proper. On this occasion also the bride's father
has to invite his son-in-law to his house and spend a good
deal of money on feasts.
= 55
Hindu Customs
Till the death of the husband's parents the couple are
not allowed to speak in public with each other, or at least
till they have children.
T h e wife has to obey implicitly the behests of her
mother-in-law or her sister-in-law, if the latter happens
t o be older than her husband. She has to rise early,
and in case of poverty clean the house, fetch water,
cook food and do sundry other things. Wives are,
generally speaking, affectionate and devoted to their
hnsbands.
Children are generally subservient to the will of their
elders. But Western education has not left the child-
world without the touch of its magic wand. They too
want to be freer; and as most of their parents are
ignorant it has been rendered difficult for them to coiltrol
their children.
T h e ceremonies performed at the time of death of a
Hindu are as follows :-The body is washed with warm
water and wrapped in a piece of new cloth. A little
ceremony is performed outside the house. T h e soil or
the brother or the nearest relative has to attend this
ceremony. When it is over the body is placed on a
plank and carried to the cremating gro~uld. T h e men that
accompany it continue chanting : G c Sheo, Sheo Shamboo,"
etc. ( " 0 God of Peace, forgive our sins"). After the
body is removed the priest covers a small piece of grouild
inside the house with flour and places a basket over it with
a lamp kept burning inside. He pretends to discover what
body the soul has been changed into hy reading the
impression made on the flour. T h e hody is then burnt io
a peculiar way. T h e men come back, wash themselves
in the river, burn a little fire on the river bank, turn round
it seven times and then go to their houses. On the
third day the son of the deceased visits the ashes of his
I 56
Hindu Customs
father and brings a few bones, called 66flowers," which
are kept in the house till they are thrown into the
Ganges, or a lake at Gailgabal which is supposed t o
possess the same merit as the Ganges (Ganga = Ganges).
When the body of a deceased Hindu is carried to the
cremating ground it is laid down in a corner, while certain
elaborate ceremonies are performed, which may be very
briefly stated here.
First three separate sites are selected, on which lamps
called kulushas are placed. A t this place eight Barous
are invoked and propitiated through different mantras.
These Barous are the attendants of the god Rudra, the
inaster of death. Chit Shakti, the all-permeating vital
force of the universe, forms the ninth Barou. Apart from
this, two fires are burnt; the one is called cc Vedic" and
the other 66 Shavic Agni Sadhan." In these fires libations
are offered to all gods and the Nirvana (absolute calm) of
the deceased worlted out.
Then a separate site is chosen at some distance from
these fires. It is white-washed, and on it the plan of
an altar is drawn. This place is enclosed with coloured
threads fastened to pegs fixed in the four corners of the
place. Within this enclosed area lamps are kept burning,
and through the efficiency of tlie mantras the departcd
souls of the ancestors are invoked. Then a funeral pyre
is constructed ; the body is placed on it with its head
towards the south, bccausc it is believed that Pctra-Loka,
the abode of ancestors, lies in that direction.
The eldest soil or the nearest relative sets fire to the
pile of wood. It is believed that till then the ghost of
the deceased hovers round his mortal re~nainsand mourns
for those whom lle has left behind. To rouse dispassion
in bim, the son to whom he was greatly attached in this
world is asked to set fire to his deceased father's body.
'5 7
Hindu Customs
When the body is reduced to ashes the mourners leave
the place and return home.
If the deceased be an old person, professional mourners,
like those in Persia, are employed. T h e mourilers are
generally women. Early in the mor~ling,while the male
relatives (especially the eldest son) are engaged in per-
forming religious ceremonies, all the female relatives
assemble in a room and, headed by the professional
mourner, sing funereal songs. This is continued for the
first ten days, and is called Van.''
For the next ten days, if the deceased be an old
person, ceremonies are performed on the river bank,
water is sprinkled and balls of rice offered. Ill the
evening the priest reads a portion of a book containing
a description of purgatory, heaven and hell and the state
of the departed souls in the next world before their
reincarnation. On the tenth day the sons have to shave
their beards.
On the eleventh day, through the efficacy of the
mantras, the soul of the deceased is translated to the
world of ancestors-until then it is supposed to wander
about.
On the twelvth day a special ceremony is performed
to satisfy the cravings of the spirit thus departed for
its earthly attachments.
On tlle thirteenth day mourners shave themselves and
put on new, or at least clean, clothes. During the mourn-
ing days---i.c. tlie first twelve days-ilo one wllo is not
a near relative can eat or drink in tlie house of the
mourner, for it is thought to he infectious (honch).
After this, fortnightly, tlleo inonthly, and, after the
first year, yearly ceremonies ;irc perforlnccl. ()n t llese
occasions the presence of t h e soo, the performer of the
sharada, is essclltii~l,water is spriilklecl in a prculiar way
I 5s
Hindu Customs
in the name of the deceased, and balls of rice offered, and
a sinall fire is kindled in the middle of the house.
There are two distinct theories held about trans-
migration :
I. It is believed that the soul is given another body,
human, animal or vegetable, the moment it leaves the
previous body. This is controlled by the hw of Karma-
i.e. according as the actions of the deceased during life
have been good or evil.
2. T h e soul is translated to the world of spirits for
purification. There it is given an astral body and allowed
to stay for some time, and then it is allowed to soar to
higher and finer spheres, accordiilg to its moral worth.
Peculirrr C U S ~ O N ~ Janyone
. - ~ ~ leaves his housc first
thing in the moriling and an old, ngly womao, or a one-
eyed person, or a dog or donkey happen to come froin
the opposite direction, the unfortunate person will have
either to retrace his steps or pass the time in great
anxiety, fearing some misfortune. Educated men pay no
attention to this nonsense, or pretend that they do not.
Pund or Sneeze. - Superstitious persons will never
begin to do anythiilg if soineone sneezes. Rogues some-
times sneeze on purposc, in order to annoy others.
They quietly put a straw into their noses and sneeze.
Crows, owls and kites are ominous birds, while bull)uls,
swallows and hoopoes are considered fortunate. T h e
bulhul is considered to be the messenger bird ; its chirp
is supposed to Soretell some guest.
Wllcll a person falls seriously ill tlie patient's relatives
take a vow to offer a sacrifice, and a fat lamb is brought
before the priest, who lays the sins of the patient on it.
It is then either killed or set free in some forest. Tlle
lattcr is very rare, tllougl~preferrcd to t l ~ cformer. This
sacrifi(:e i s riillccl c b Raja Kate"
Hindu Customs
Small-pox is believed to be inflicted by a goddess called
Shetala. W h e n it occurs in its horrible form the mother
takes a vow to present a she-goat or a she-ass to pro-
pitiate the goddess, but this belief is dying out among
the educated classes, who now accept vaccination. The
poor goddess is thus defeated and cast off.
T h e Hindus keep fast on the day that an eclipse is
to take place. Dnring the time of an eclipse they per-
form sharadas, and give away rice and money in charity.
T h e women with child are not allowed to go out or do
any work. It is supposed that if they do any work
during that time the child in the womb will bear those
marks on its body. T h e men generally spend that time
in worship if they are free. N o food that is cooked
before the eclipse is used afterwards, because it is be-
lieved that unwholesome atoms emanate from the discs
of the sun and the moon at the time of an eclipse.
T w o different theories are held regarding the eclipse :
I . That Rahu, or Kitu, two celestial giants (stars),
endeavour to eat up the sun or the moon that is
eclipsed.
2. It is a mere shadow (Chahya mater).
T h e second belief is held by the Sanskrit-lcnowing
persons; the first by those who believe in tradition or
folklore only.
In the centre of the Tehsil of Nagam (old Nagra~na)
there lies an alluvial plateau known as Damudhar IJdar,
where an ancient popular tradition surviving to the
present day has preserved the legend of King Damudhar.
T h e King built a town on the Udar. In order to bring
water to it he had a great dam, called Guddasten, con-
structed by superi~atural agency. One day when the
King was going to bathe he was met by some hungry
Brahmans who asked him for food. T h e King refused
I 60
Photo by] [Vishu Nath.
The Itrlda$rmm, aged 14, ~tandsin the centre, priests are sitting in front. Pictures
of vapiwa god61 and gnddasees lie! on the ground.
~ O U B AT
I ~ THE WH~IEL,
MILL AND SPIMNINQ
Hindu Customs
to with their request until he had taken his bath.
The Brahmans, therefore, cursed him so that he became
a Ever since the unfortunate King is seen by the
people in the forin of a snake rushing about in search of
water far and wide. H e is not to be delivered from the
curse until he hears the whole Ramayana recited to him
in a single day. As this cannot be done, it renders his
release hopeless. It is said that several Brahmans have
attempted to help the King in this way, but their exertions
have always failed. T h e main features of this legend are
well known throughout Kashmir. T h e inhabitants of the
neighbouring villages point to a spot on the Udar, known
as Satras Teng, as the site of Damudhar's palace.
Moha~rmledanCustonrs.-Marriages are generally arranged
by a middleman, who appoints a day for ilishani (engage-
ment). On this day henna and some gold and silver orna-
ments are sent to the bride through the middleman. T h e
bride's father gives a feast to the bridegroom's father and
his party. On this day nikah, or the marriage contract, is
drawn up and the mahra is fixed. T h e deed cannot be
drawn up without the consent of both the bride and the
bridegroom. They are therefore generally represented by
some of their near relatives. T h e bridegroom's father has
to pay the %zi (ecclesiastical scribe), the mosque, the police,
and various other people. On the following day the bride's
father sends loaves and dressed meat to the bridegroom's
father as a recompense for the trouble in paying him a visit.
Some time after this engagement the marriage takes place.
It lasts for three days in case of the soil, and for two days
in case of the daughter. Henna baildi is the first day.
Feasts are given by both the parties to their friends and
relatives. Henna and orilaments are sent to the bride.
On that occasion all the wornell that have been called to
the feast stain their hands and feet with henna, Merry
L 161
Hindu Customs
concerts are held by women day and night. Next comes
the wedding (enivoal). A feast is given to the bride-
groom and his party by the bride's father. T h e marriage
procession starts in the evening towards the bride's
house ; the procession is accompanied by torch-bearers,
the torches being of several kinds. T h e low-class people
and the boatmen inarch in a procession through almost
all the streets and the chief markets of the city during
the day. They are accompanied by a Kashmiri band,
the loud noise of which seems to proclaim that the son of
a grandee is to be married.
In the house of the bride a special hall is put in order.
It is tastefully carpeted and dotted about with cushions.
For the bridegroom a masnand, or elevated seat, is
arranged. T h e priest who is to tie the nuptial knot
takes his seat in front of the bridegroom. T h e Qazi
indites the marriage contract and settles the mahra
(jointure) upon the girl. After this a sort of nuptial
prayer is offered. This prayer contains praises of Allah
and Mohammed. T h e Qazi subsequently addresses
himself to the representatives of the bride and the
bridegroom, and asks them whether they have accepted
each other as husband and wife. On this occasion the
bridegroom is presented with a gift of clothes by the
bride's father. Then handfuls of sugar are either distri-
buted or thrown on the floor, to be picked up by tile men
present.
On this point the Mohammedan commilnity in Kashmir
are divided. Some say that this sugar ought to be
divided, while others hold that it ought to be scattered.
This divergence of opinion has lately caused a great
schism among the Kashmiri Mohammedans.
T h e bride stays in the house of the' bridegroom for
seven days. During this time the bride's father has to
162
Hindu Customs
send various dishes and suits of clothes to the bride-
gn,om7s father. O n the third day of the marriage dry
tea, sugar and cakes are sent to the bridegroom. These
are distributed amongst the bridegroom's friends and
relatives. Dressed ineat and cakes are again sent to
him on the fifth day. These are also similarly dealt
with. On the seventh day a large quantity of dressed
meat and specially prepared sweet cakes are sent to the
bridegroom's father. Various garments are sent to him
for the use of the bride. Besides this a number of fowls
proportionate to the number of the sisters of the bride-
groom is sent to his house. This is very important, and
upon this depends chiefly the future happiness of the girl.
In default of the performance of this function, the poor
girl is given a bad time, and is looked down upon as a
shrew and called by various ugly names. T h e bride-
groom also receives a bakshish, generally in the shape
of a fine shawl.
When a person is near the point of death his relatives
and all those who are present begin to recite the Kalima,
and if possible the dying man too is made to recite the
same. Immediately after the person's death his eyes and
mouth are closed. His relatives fetch a big plank from
the nearest mosque and place the body on it, with the
face turned to~vardsthe sky. T h e body is then washed
with warm water. A hole is dug inside the house, so
that the water with which the body is washed may not
run in all directions, but collect in the same hole. T h e
body is washed by a professio?ml washer called Ghusal.
Meanwhile the shroo(l is made ready. It consists of
three things-the Lafafa, the Azar and the Karuiz.
The first two are merely t ~ v osheets of cloth, while the
third is a long shirt with a rent in the middle. T h e body
is wrapped in these tllings. Then scents are sprillkled
163
Hindu Customs
over the body, and it is placed in a coffin brought from
the mosque. Another piece of cloth is spread over the
coffin, and it is surmounted with a curtain taken from
some ziarat. T h e bier is then carried on the shoulders,
and those who accompany it keep on reciting the Kalima.
T h e bier is then laid in front of some ziarat, with the
head of the deceased turned towards the north, and the
people perform ablutions and offer a prayer which consists
of four parts. T h e first part coiltaills a reference to the
holiness of (:ocl; the Glorificatio~l and praise of His
attributes; the second part contains the benediction on
the Prophet ; the third part is an appeal for the for-
giveness of the sins of the deceased; and the fourth is
a salutation to all present. This prayer is concluded
by the Tabkir (Alluha-Akbar). T h e corpse is then
taken to the graveyard and placed close to the grave.
T h e topmost sheet is then removed, which is given to
the sexton. T h e corpse is lowered into the grave with
its head turned towards the Kaaba. T h e grave is then
filled up and the coffi~lreturned to the mosque.
U p to the first Friday after the burial the relatives
and friends of the deceased go to the graveyard early
in the morning every day and recite a few verses of the
Qran. They then wend their way to the house of the
departed person and are served with light refreshmcnts, in
the shape of tea and cakes. T h e priest plays no important
part in this business, and receives a lia~ldsorneremunera-
tion. T h e sexton gets a meal a day, and gets some oil
o n the following Friday. All the relatives and friends
again visit the tomb of the deceased, while to the son or
the daughter are presented gifts of muslin and cash by
their relatives.
T h e Mohammedans believe that after the dead body
has been deposited in the grave two angels, called Nakir
164
Hindu Customs
and Munkar, come to hiin and aslc him thc following
questioils :-
I. W h o is your God ?
2. W h o is your Prophet?
3. W h a t is your Creed?
If he replies to these questions satisfactorily, and says-
I. Allah is my God.
2. Mohamined is my Prophet.
3. Islain is my Creed.
-he is shown divine inercy and is trailslated to heaven ;
but if his answers arc tunsatisfactory the wrath of God
descends upoil lliin ;ui~dhe espcricnces thc torture of hell
and eternal perdition.
T h e Mohammedans also I~elicve that therc is on tllc
top of hell a path called Surat. It is narrower than thc
breadth of a hair ;lad sharpcr tllail the edgc of a sword.
Everyone will have to cross it. T h c virtuous will cross
it with great case, but tllc siiiilers will bc hurlcd into thc
fires of hell.
When a Illan wishes to get rid of his eilenly hc goes to
certain Brallman priests, practitioners of the " black art,"
who expect to hc paid llcavily for their work.
Tllcy make a figure of clay or wax which rcpreseilts t l ~ c
victim. This figurr tllcy picrcc with a sword or nails iu
that part of tllc bo~lywlicrc tllc clicnt wishes his eneniy
to rcceivc thc inortal wound. This art is dooc it] private
with incantations, a i d afterwards the figure is bunled.
T h e Rev. T. R. W:tde in his diary speaks of this
ceremony having hccn pcrfor~ned hy rcrtain people in
Kasllmir wllo wisllcd to rid tllrtnselvcs of hinisclf, the
Rev. Robert Clarlc ;u~ido f tlle Hri tisll Reside11t. Three
fires were made for the Resident, two for Mr Clark and
o ~ l cfor himself. Notwitllstanding, a11 tllrcc survivcd for
lnany years, a i ~ dboth Mr Wade and Mr Clark lived to
I 65
Hindu Customs
a good old age. Evidently something went wrong with
the incantations.
O n the other hand, I happen to know of a rich and
powerful man in the country who wished to bring about
the death of a more powerful and richer man by this
means, and certainly this more powerful man did die
with a pain in his stomach not long after, so I expect
the Brahman priests congratulated themselves on their
success, or, at any rate, in having raked in a good haul
of rupees.
I also happen to know of a sotnewhat similar instaoce.
A certain great man wished that his soil might possess
a certain great inheritance, but someoile else's son stood
in his way, so he approached certain priests for help.
They told him that he must bring a certain goddess to
his country and place her in his temple, whom he must
worship assiduously, large gifts of money, of course,
forming the bulk of the worship; hut this worship would
not be of any avail unless he procured the shirt, clippiilgs
of hair and of toe and finger nails of the young tnan who
stood in the way and placed them on the goddess.
If he fulfilled all those conditioils this young man
would most certainly die in the month of November,
three months hence.
This great man fulfilled all tlle conditions. Tile
goddess was l~rought to his temple and worshipped
correctly. She wore the shirt, hair, and finger and toe
nails' clippings, and much money no doubt changed
hands.
T h e fatal month arrived, and the allgel of death also
arrived, but he carried off the worshipper and not the
would-be victim, who still lives, 1 am glad to say. I
wonder how the priests explained the mistake made by
the Angel of Death on this occasion.
I 66
Hindu Customs
T h e people of Kashmir are very superstitious, and give
themselves much searching of heart and' trouble in
consequence.
A t this moment as I write the citizens of Srinagar
are in terrible distress owing, as they say, to the visit
of a frightful creature which no one has seen. It is
supposed to have been seen by many people, though no
one will own to having actually seen it, but everyone tells
everybody else that it has attacked womeil and children,
tearing their faces and their breasts. It visits the houses
at night. Some say it comes out of the river, and others
that it is like a great cat. Consequeiltly everyone shuts
tight their shutters on these hot, oppressive nights, and
beats tins and tom-toms to frighten the terrible monster
away. Hence there is not much chance of sleep for
those who believe in the monster or who make the noise,
nor for those who do not, and have to endure the
continual din.
Soine years ago a terrible beast was supposed to
inhabit the river onc summer. T h e schools were closed
for the suinlner vacation, and when we returned to
Srinagar we follild that no one had bathed in the river
for a month froin fear of this beast, so I asked the boys
if they would like to kill it. They answered i11 the
afirinativc, so 1 called upon them to meet me at the
Ainira Kadal bridge (the first bridge) at three o'clock to
swim right through the city, a distance of three miles, to
the seventh bridge, Saffa Kadal, so that this terrible beast
might burst itself with swallowit~g so inany boys, and
thus they would save their city.
At three P.M. ~ ~ i i l c t ~ 130
a l l ~boys leaped into the
river. T h e bridges and hanks and roofs of the houses
were crowded with pcoplc to sce what would happen.
Of coursc nothing did happen, and next clay the
167
Hindu Customs
city was washing itself once more, for the bogey was
slain. Some of the people say that this one is the son
of the last one, and look to the schoolboys to settle
this one when the holidays are over and they return
to Srinagar.
C H A P T E R XIV
BOAT-BU ILDING
HE Kashmiris have their own special way of

building boats, and very clever they are at their
art. I have always been interested in boats and
boat-building, but I had never coine across boats built as
in Kashmir. I have been told that the Kashmiri boatmen
date their knowledge from the days of Noah, and when
one looks at their big rice boats, which are uncommooly
like the Noah's Ark of one's childhood, one always
expects to see Noah coming out of the door of the cabin
in the stern, especially when it happens to be at the
time of the floods, when all the Kashmir valley is under
water.
Whcn I first cainc to Kashmir tlle saw was practically
~tiknown,so all tlic worlc had to be done with axes and
adzcs. T h e boatmen would go ofl' to tllc deodar forcsts
and select a large tree, say loo feet high and from 3 to 4
feet in diameter.
When fellctl they w o ~ ~ lsplit
d it in half lengthways,
and out of thesc two llalves would make two planks only,
hy axing OR' all thc wootl 011 the outside until these
planks were of the requisite thickness, say three or four
inches thick, according to thc style and size of the boat
that they wcrc iuteoding to build. This nicked waste
I 69
of valuable cedar wood was most lamentable, but having
no saws, this was their only way of securing their
planks.
They would then bore a hole at each end of their
planks, into which they would insert short ropes, made of
hazel-nut branches, for hauling purposes. These planks
might have to be hauled for several miles to the river.
T h e planks used to be left in the river or lake for two
or three years to season. These two long planks were
to form the sides of the boat, and as they would be
about seventy feet long, they would be almost sufficient
for the purpose. Another three or four trees might be
needed for flooring and finishing off the boat.
It was, of course, a great score for the owners of the
boat to possess hewn planks rather than sawn timber, for
they would last nearly twice as long. In fact, the hulls
of boats built of hewn timber are said to he good for
forty years, and they are never painted or tarred.
In these days, with wood at the price it is, boats are
being made of sawn timber, and therefore will last only
half the time of the old boats made of hewn planks.
T h e builder, having hauled his planks up the river,
selects a flat piece of ground on which to build, and from
which he can launch his boat without danger of strain to
the hull. These bo;lts are made without kcel, without
bow or stern post, without ribs. In Fdct they arc built
like a box or coffin; some stays which do service for ribs
are put in as a sort of afterthought.
Barges called hahhachas and kutchus are built on a
different plan from doongas, the ordinary dwelling-boats,
and shikaras,which are small pleasure boats,or fishing boats*
T h e floor of the barges is made in three pieces, while
the flooring of doongas and sllikaras is in onc piece only.
Let us take the barge (hahaz). A flat piece of ground
Boat-Building
having been selected, four or five logs are placed in a row
to form a foundation for the planks which are to be
joined together. T h e planks are now laid on to these
beams, one plank being joined to the other by iron
staples and nails.
T h e staples are from three to four inches wide, to
allow of a good grip. These are hainmered in almost
red-hot, and immediately water is poured on them to
prevent them burning the wood; when they cool and
contract they possess a great clinching power. These
staples are placed twelve inches or so apart along the
seam. Then in the space between the staples holes are
bored to receive a strong curved iron nail. This is
inserted about one inch and a half froin the side of one
plank, and when driven home slantiilg into the plank
protrudes about the same distance into the other plank.
This nail is also driven home red-hot and cold water
immediately poured on to it. This nail, being curved,
has, like the staple, a powerful grip.
Wliile the centre flooring is being put together other
me11 are working at the two smaller pieces of flooring
which are to be fixed on at both ends of the centre piece
to make the bow and stern. When all the flooring is
ready, then tlic great planks for the sides, called kinaras,
arc brought. They have already been cut to shapc-i.6.
from tllrcc to four feet wide-until they approach tlie
bow and stern, when they are cut from the under side
until they are one foot in width i11 the stern and half-
a-foot in the bows.
Thesc kinel-.IS ;Ire lloar placed in position at each side
of the platfor~i~, and clamped to the flooring in the same
way as the planks have bee11 joined together, with staple
and lrcnt nail. T h c tlouring oT the bow and the stern
has t o be raised to meet the kinaras, thus making a gradual
171
Boat-Building
sheer from the deepest part of the hull to the shallowest
in the bow and stern.
Now in order to make this great box (for that is
what it really is) rigid four or more stays are placed in
position, two in the centre of the boat about three feet
apart, and one at the place where the bow and stern
pieces join the centre flooring. These stays consist of
two strong beams, one placed along the flooring of the
boat from side to side, the other parallel with it, attached
to the top edge of the sides; then these two stays are
joined up to each other by three uprights, two being at
the sides of the boat and the third in the centre.
Now caulkers are put on to work, and they caulk all
the seams with tow, and very clever they are at their job.
T h e boat is now ready for launching. Beams are put in
position froin the logs on which the boat was built, to
the water, and then the boat is hauled down sideways
into the river.
When she is afloat the cabin is built on to the stern
part, and a thatched roof is added to about three-quarters
of the length of the boat, the forepart being left open
to permit of the punters doing their worl~. And there
is a craft which has a life of forty years.
When it becomes rotten, and too bad for patching,
it is pulled to pieces and a smaller boat made of the
good planks, and when that boat in its turn becomes
unseaworthy it also is pulled to pieces, and a still
smaller boat made of the remains, until finally it be-
comes firewood, and probably helps to heat the nails
for the making of a brand-new craft.
I have during my time in Kashmir superintended the
building of some fifty boats of different sorts, from a
shikara to a house-boat, and from a coracle to a twelve-
oared man-of-war cutter.
172
Boat-Building
On arrival in Kashmir in I 891 I found that the
European community had a boat club. Colonel
Sartorius, V.C., who was secretary, was leaving Kashmir,
so I was asked to take his place and build some more
rowing-boats. Although I knew very little about building
boats, I thought I might at any rate learn, so with the
help of some friends n7ho did know how to build boats I
superintended the work of carpenters who built them.
I remember that I turned out a pair-oared skiff at the
great price of five pounds, and that the paint for it cost
more than the cedar wood of which it was made.
I also remember that I had some rather peculiar diffi-
culties in getting the work done. O n a certain day no
carpenters turned up to work, nor for the next few days
either. Later on I ascertained that the police were out
seizing carpenters to go to the Gilgit road to work on
a bridge under construction. N o carpenter would go
willingly, as the Gilgit road had its terrors, for so many
Kashmiris who went never returned to their homes
again. T h e police came to the house of my head man
to seize him, but he managed to escape, and hid in one
of the boats in the Dal Lake. Then the police seized
his wife as a hostage, so he, being a gallant husband,
went to the rescue of his wife, when he was caught;
but after a few days he returned to my work with the
help of the usual palm oil. Also he was a very old man,
and could hardly have made the journey. However, I lost
my second carpenter, for he was caught and driven off to
the Gilgit road.
Notwithstanding this and various interruptions we got
through with our work, and launched three pair-oared
skiffs and a comfortable family boat generally known as
a randan.
Z was not satisfied with these boats, so when I went to
'73
Boat-Building
England on furlough I had a Thames pair-oared skiff
built a t Oxford, with a rather higher bow and stern than
the Thames boats, as I did not want it to ship seas when
on the Kashmir lakes.
I brought this boat out with me in the hope that many
Europeans would have boats built like it, and we should
have a fleet of smart English boats on our Kashmir
waters; but I was to suffer disappointment, for instead
of anyone asking for my boat as a model from which
their carpenters could build, they said: c G W h a t a delight-
ful boat you have got, do lend it to me." In that skiff
I brought a section of an eight-oared boat, as it was one
of my dreams to see eight-oared racing boats swinging
along 011 the beautiful Kashmir waters.
During my holidays in the pine forests I searched for
a tree with a stem clear of branches for thirty feet from
the ground, for a racing eight is sixty feet long, and I
wanted to get planks clear of knots, so if I could obtain
clean planks thirty feet long I should do very well. It
was a very long search, but at last I found such a tree,
and a giant of the forest it was. I obtained permission
from the forest officer to buy it. Trees season better
standing than when felled and left lying on the ground,
so 1 ringed it, and left it standing for two years, and then
during my next holiday in the forest I collected wood-
cutters and sent them with the woodn~an who had
sought with me for this tree of thirty feet of clean
wood, with orders to cut off the thirty-foot log, and of
the rest to cut it up in lengths of twelve feet for
making into oars. I meant to have followed up the
woodcutters, but was detained for some time.
Imagine my feelings when I arrived at the fallen tree
to find that they had cnt up the whole tree in lengths
of twelve feet. T h e woodman must have had a lapse of
' 74
Boat-Building
memory, or something of the kind, for we had tramped
through the forest on so many occasions together in
search of this particular tree; then h e had ringed this
tree, and watched it drying for more than a year, and
now when the time had come to secure our thirty-foot
planks for our sixty-foot racing craft he cuts it up in
lengths of twelve feet for oars, which could be obtained
almost from any tree. T h e woodman was fortunately a
man of few words and did not wish to argue when I
explained to him that he must atone for his grievous sin
by finding me a suitable tree as soon as possible. He
stared at me in a sort of dazed manner, then lifted his
pagri and scratched his head, and said : Follow me,
Sahib." I followed him down the valley, and there he
pointed out a tree that had been blown down, and lo! to
my astonishment I found a tree, truly about half the girth
of the other, but on one side of which for thirty feet
there were no branches, therefore clear of knots, which
would answer my purpose. So this was cut and made
ready for sawyers. These inen had to be brought from
Srinagar, twenty miles away. A t last the planks were
sawn and stowed away under our hut to season for two
years.
My summer holiday of five weeks arrived again, and I
intended to cotn~ne~lce right away with the building of
the eight in the forest, but a friend of mine was building
a large motor-boat on the river and had borrowed my
head carpenter, and when the time came for him to join
me in the forest lny friend begged me to let hirn keep
him for another wcclc, as he could not finish his boat
without his help, and then when that week was up he
implored me to spare him for yet another week. 1 was
weak ellough to grant his request, so that left me only
three weeks in which to build the boat,
'7 5
Boat-Building
W e had had fine weather up till then. T h e weather
then changed, and it rained for the next three weeks, and as
the boat had to be built in the open, the work was carried
out under the greatest difficulties. However, the boat
was built, and with the help of sixteen inen it was carried
through the forest with difficulty and down to the river
at Srinagar, twenty miles distant. Before long my dream
was realised of seeing a racing eight swinging along on
Kashmir waters.
Every boat has a character of its own, which has to be
appreciated and honoured if you want to get the best out
of it.
This particular boat had a greater desire than all the
racing eights I had ever been in, and that was not a few,
of turning the whole crew overboard. This special trait
in its character was sometimes annoying, though at the
same time decidedly humorous.
We were out practising on the lake and had taken
aboard a passenger lady doctor. She sat in the cox-
swain's seat and I stood up behind to coach the crew. I
was teaching them how to stop the boat suddenly in case
of a collision. To accomplish this without upsetting the
boat with a rough crew is not easy. I was aware of this,
so I commenced gently, first by holding up the boat
when there was a little way on and then increasiilg the
speed until we could hold her up hard when going at
top speed. W e had accomplished holding her up
satisfactorily at all the preliminary stages, and now had
come the time for the final test. I warned the crew that
they must be smart, and at the signal bury their oars in
the water absolutely together, otherwise we should upset.
They answered to my challenge that they uilderstood
and were ready. So at the words of command, " Get
ready ! Are your ready ! Row ! Row hard ! " we were
176
Boat-Building
off, swishing through the water. I then called out:
6c Easy all ! " followed at once by Hold her up ! " when
all the oars are turned a little Inore than the feather so
that the blades go under the water. T h e n followed:
e c Hold her up hard! " when all the eight oars should
turn square at once and the boat be brought to a stand-
still. But all the blades did not grip the water together;
stroke side did do so, but bow side failed, with the
natural result, over went the eight. T h e expressio~lon
the faces of the men was so amusing that I could not
help roaring with laughter, and with iny mouth wide open
I disappeared into the lake with the rest. This was most
unfortunate, as water went down my wind-pipe, so that I
was of little use when I came up to the surface of the
water ill trying to support the lady doctor, and also in
giving the necessary orders. Three of the crew had lost
their heads and were trying to keep themselves afloat by
hanging on to the riggers, with the natural result that
the eight kept on turning round and round. Whenever
we managed to get our lady passenger on to the up-
turned boat it would immediately be turned round.
However, after a short time we managed to keep the
boat steady, so that our passenger could sit comfortably
on the keel until a rescue boat put off from the shore and
took her away to drier quarters.
W e then turned our boat right side up, baled the water
out with our llands as we swam alongside, and finally
one by one crawled into our places, and I was able to
give the orders, Get ready ! Are you ready ? Paddle ! "
and so we 1,rought ourselves and ship safe to land.
Later on we went at our practice for holding up our eight,
and I think succeeded in obtaining the result we desired ;
but we refrained from taking passengers aboard when a t
that particular practice in the art of 6 L Holding up hard."
M 177
Boat-Building
W h e n building Kashmiri boats for the schools I built
boats to hold a crew of fifteen, but like the ordinary
shikaras and with Kashmiri-shaped paddles. But I had to
change both the shape of the boats and also the paddles,
as the boatmen would steal not only paddles but also the
school boats, and it was allnost impossible to recover
them. W e lost more than fifty paddles in the year, so
we now build boats 011 our own pattern. It is a mongrel,
between a Canadian canoe, Venetian gondola and
Burmese canoe. Our paddles are something of the style
of Canadian paddles, but shorter and of thicker build.
It is no use for the boatmen to take them, for they could
not use them without being caught. So for the present
our property is safe.
One of the chief features of the river is the increasing
number of house-boats, inhabited chiefly by Europeans.
As no European is allowed to possess land or build
houses in Kashmir, with the exception of a certain number
of huts at Gulmarg, and in Srinagar houses for officials, a
certain number on rent, house-boats become the houses
of those who wish to stay in the country. These boats
are of all shapes and sizes, from the doonga house-boat to
the large barges such as one sees on the Thames, some of
them being really beautifully furnished floating houses.
Mr Kennard was the first Englishman to 1)uild a house-
boat, and although he built it more than thirty years ago
it is still going strong. H e was fortunate in securing the
best hewn planks from well-chosen deodar-trees. Many
of the house-boats which are not nearly so old as Mr
Kennard's have broken backs, from the fact that they
were built by amateurs, who did not understand that it
was necessary for their hulls to be built with a good
sheer or curve.
It is far more difficult to build adroitly a good house-
I 78
Boat-Building
boat hull that will last than it is to build the hull of
a Kashmiri rice barge, although it may be larger, for the
simple reasoil that whereas the Kasllmir barges possess
their cross-beams or struts to keep the hulls rigid, the
house-boats have to dispense with them, as they would
get in the way of their owners passing from one room to
another.
Also people will have their upper structures built riglit
on to the ends of their hulls both fore and aft, even
where the ends rise out of the water, and this extra
weight, with no upward pressure of water to meet it,
naturally makes the ends sag.
This sagging gives to the boats a broken back and
drunken appearance, which is unpleasaiit to look at,
besides causing the boat to be unseaworthy.
My wife and I lived in a house-boat as our first home,
and very pleasant it was. W e anchored in mid-stream
in order to get all the fresh air we could, and also to be
free from annoyance, as I was pestered by cadgers of
various sorts.
I found great peace from the fact of having thirty or
forty yards of deep water between me and the mainland.
I arranged to have an English rowing-boat moored to the
bank so that anyone who wanted to see me could propel
himself to my boat. 1 also knew that most of the
cadgers could not row, or would not like to be seen
rowing, which was in those days considered to be a most
low-caste proceeding. To explain how efficacidus was
my plan, the following instance will suffice. I was told
by Iny servant that a certain Brahman wanted to see me,
so I told him to tell him that the boat was at the bank
and lle was permitted to make use of it. H e was not
pleased with this answer, and asked my boat~nento come
over and fetch him, but they were deaf to his entreaties.
' 79
Boat-Building
So my would-be visitor was obliged to do what the
common boatmen do and propel himself. H e unmoored
the boat and shoved off, and then sat on the seat and
tried to manipulate the sculls, but not being a waterman
he did not get on very fast, and also, not realising that
the current of the river is usually stronger in the centre
than it is under the hank, he, instead of making use of
the slacker water, pulled out to the centre, and never
reached my house-boat, for the stream swept him past.
H e made a great effort to get near, but the stream was
too much for him and he was carried down the river. I
heard him calling, but his voice gradually became fainter
and fainter, till he and the boat became a mere speck in
the distance, and my troublesome visitor was gone. Later
on my boatmen went down the river and brought the
boat back and moored it to the bank, ready for the next
would-be visitor.
I may say that the visitor who failed to .reach me on
that occasion later on learnt to row and to make boats, and
for many years I have always 1,een glad to see him at my
home when he feels inclined to call, but he is a very busy
man, and one for whom I have great respect, for he is an
honest, hard worker.
There is one great advantage a house-boat possesses
over a house on land, and that is, you can move its
situation whenever you please. There arc few more
pleasant esperiences than being towed up the river in
your house-boat. T h e motion is most restful, as there is
no jarring or shaking. You just hear the sound of the
water as it laps against the bows of your boat as you forge
upstream. When travelling from one place to another
there is no packing up to be done. You simply give the
word, and your house moves to the spot your heart
desireth. In the winter it is warmer than a house, for
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Boat-Building
the rooms are smaller and therefore can be more easily
and cheaply kept warm. In the summer a house-boat
can be uncomfortably hot, bot you can generally find
a tree under which to moor i i But there is a danger to
be guarded against, for the river is apt to rise unex-
pectedly by the sudden melting of snow, and when the
river happens to rise at night, and everyone is asleep,
your boat may be pressed up against a brailch and be
upset or sunk. So one must always look out for the
danger when choosing a shady tree.
On one occasion during a flood my house-boat was
on the point of capsizing, owing to its having become
jammed under a stout mulberry-tree branch, and a
catastrophe was only just averted by the promptness of
Ismalia, my boatman, who dashed up on to the roof with
a saw and severed the branch. Had it happened in the
night it would have certainly meant a cold bath, and
probably an end to one's earthly existence.
CHAPTER XV
EXPEDITIONS
1% not so easy for a Westerner really to understand

Eastern unless they can live together for a while,
for as a rule their acquaintance is very superficial.
Most of us know them as servants, a few more as clerks
who are seen only during office hours. Again, still fewer
are met through social intercourse, at public entertain-
ments or calls a t one's house, but very few Europeans
have the cntrt?~into the houses of the people of India.
To know people properly one ought to know them in
their houses, where one can see them as they really are.
A s it was i~npossiblefor me in the early days to get
into the houses of my staff and pupils, except as a visitor
for a short time to drink a cup of tea or to visit them
when ill, I proposed to them an expedition together to
a hut in the forest twenty miles distant. We were to
go a party of twenty, and I had nearly completed all
arrangements when I was told it was impossible, that their
parents objected, or rather the Brahman priests did,
saying that it was not safe from a religious point of view,
for they might go to the forest as Brahmans but they
would re turn Christians. I suppose the priests thought
that I should persuade them to eat my food and so break
their caste. T h e Brahman's ideas of Christianity and
mine were on a rather different plane.
So the first expedition was a 'L wash-out." This set-
back naturally made me all the more keen to get the
better of the Brahman priests in this matter, for I knew
182
that it would be so good for the health of the masters
and boys, morally as well as physically, to get away from
their filthy city to the lakes and mountains, and breathe
fresh air into their lungs and wholesome thoughts into
their souls.
I thought for some time, and at last I dreamed of a
man-0'-war's cutter with twelve oars and sails. If only
I could build and float such a boat we would get the
better of the priests.
In due time the various materials were collected for
making our boat. W e found the deodar log out of
which to cut our planks about forty miles below Srinagar
and had it brought to the school. W e sent to Calcutta
for the copper roves and rivets. W e had to obtain leave
from the State officials to cut the mulberry wood for the
ribs, for no one is allowed to cut a mulberry-tree. Then
when all was collected carpenters were called and the
boat was built in the school compound.
T h e staff and the boys had for weeks been watching
this boat in building and had became almost as keen as I
myself to see it afloat, and to become inembers of the
crew. W e had arranged to row down to Manisbal Lake
and encamp there during the ten days' holiday at Easter.
The day came, but the boat was not quite finished;
notwithstanding, we launched her that day at eight o'clock
i11 the evening in the dark, so anxious had everyone
become to start in our new boat. If I remember rightly,
there were twenty in all in the boat, but we soon had to
shift all passengers on land, for tlie boat ilaturally leaked
like a sieve, as the planks had not had time to swell.
However, we were out to enjoy ourselves, and a festive
time we had of it. W e had a jouriley of sixteeil miles
before us before we could reacb our dinner and beds.
So the twelve oarsmen pulled away and the balers worked
'83
Expeditions
away hard to keep the water down. A t midnight we
reached our camp on the river bank, and right glad we
were of our food.
Next day we dropped down the river another four
miles and then into the beautiful lake of Manisbal. We
were fortunate to come in for a breeze, so up went the
sail. It was amusing to see the faces of the crew and
passengers as the boat heeled over and cut through the
waves, their first experience of sailing, a mixture of
pleasure, excitement and fear combined. Preseiltly the
breeze freshened up and we were soon in a sharp squall.
Now all sign of pleasure disappeared from the faces, and
when we shipped water they began to cry out to their
gods, " Rama," " Shiva," etc., and some threw out rice
into the lake to appease the angry gods. Some began to
weep, as they thought their last hour had come. So as
we were nearing the shore I called out, "All who are
cowards and wish to go ashore, hold up hands," hoping
by the word "coward" that they would not like to hold
up their hands, but I was mistaken. T h e angle of the
boat and the spray coming on board'were too much for
their nerves. So I ran ashore and deposited all but three
brave fellows, who continued to face the elements with
me, and when the squall had blown itself out we landed,
and the brave trio stepped ashore as heroes.
T h e boat had behaved well, and, moreover, by the
evening had stopped leaking, so that several of the crew
were able to sleep with me on the bottom of the boat.
W e anchored the boat out in the lake and were lulled to
sleep by the lapping of the waves on our prow. This
was the first time that they had slept on the deep, and in
this way step by step they began to get over their fear
of the winds and the waves, and all the hosts of demons
and gods which inhabit them.
1 84
Expeditions
Next day we had planned to climb the mountain which
rises straight out of the lake. There was much heart-
searching over this, as they told me how the gods in-
habited the mountains, and they loolted upon it as almost
irreverent to try to enter their abode. I do not know
what they dreamt of that night, for they were evidently
nervous about the morrow. W e were up before light,
had taken our food and started off at four-thirty A.M. A
coolie came with us to carry our food. W e arrived at
the top at eight-thirty. As we were nearing the summit
I noticed that they were not anxious to go on, as they
felt so sure they were nearing the abode of the gods.
A t the top was a rocky peak. W h e n we reached this
I announced that we had come to the top and were
therefore in the land of the gods and suggested our
catching them, for if the gods lived on the tops of the
mountains, and as we had reached the top, therefore the
gods must be there. So I divided the party into two
companies, one would go to the right and the other to
the left, and in that way we should be sure to catch the
gods.
Both parties started off in great excitement, and with
a certain amount of fear, but what they expected to find
I did not know.
As my party were approaching the back of the rock
they heard footsteps, which set their hearts beating with
fear and excitement, and as they came round the corner
on tiptoe they fell into the arms of the other party, who
were doing likewise. Great was the relief when they
discovered that the sounds they heard were not made by
the gods hut by ordinary humans, and they exclaimed that
after all the tops of the i~lountaioswere just like the
bottoins of tllc same, aiid that tlieir fears were unfounded.
They all shook hands and seemed to be very delighted
185
Expeditions
with the discovery. But sad to say it was not the same
with our food coolie; his heart had failed him before he
reached the top, and we did not see him again till our
arrival in camp in the evening, on the lake-side. I fear
we did not think of our coolie for good during that
hungry day. This first trip to the mountain-top gave our
party such an appetite for more mountain and other trips
that the Brahman priests never got the better of us again
in this line.
On another occasion we set off to see two lakes, Tarsa
and Marsa, at the watershed of the Laddah and Hariwan
rivers, and a delightful climb it was. On our third day
it poured in torrents, so much so that we could not strike
camp till midday. W e then sent our camp on down to
the foot of the mountain, which we intended to reach in
the evening, whilst we made tracks for the lakes. These
we did not reach until about five P.M., SO that by the
time we had retraced our steps along the heights towards
our road to camp, and were still on the top of the hills,
darkness came on, and we lost our way; also a terrific
thunderstorm burst upon LIS ; in fact we seemed to be in
the centre of the storm. We were, of course, drenched to
the skin. It was pitch dark, and the path terribly slippery
from the torrents of rain, so our progress was perforce
very slow as we groped our way downwards. Every
ten minutes I called a halt to call over the names to
see that we were all safe, and so we spent the night
groping and slipping down the mountain paths.
111 the early morning we reached a village, and woke
up some of the inhabitants to get their help to find our
camp. They were able to direct us, and at six-thirty to
our relief we found it, aod glad we were for some food and
rest. But we could not rest long, as school commenced
next day : therefore we wanted to reach Sriilagar that
186
Expeditions
night. W e had before us sixteen iniles of road, and
twenty-five miles to row, as we had had our boats sent up
to meet us. In order to speed up our march we decided
to race to the river, which we reached about four P.M.
The boat in which I was rowing reached Srinagar a t
midnight, but the twelve-oared cutter stuck on sand-banks
and did not arrive until iline A.M. next inor~ling. Not-
withstanding that the inasters had been on the inarch
for two days and two nights without a proper rest, they
were at their places in school at ten-thirty A.M. I was so
pleased with their pluck and hard work that I had mercy
on them, and gave the school a whole holiday, and, to tell
the truth, was not at all averse to a holiday myself, as I
just wanted to sleep.
There is a river which joins the Jhelum at Srinagar,
called the Dudh Ganga, which means the milk Ganges,
but is called nearer its source Sangi Safed, meaning the
white stone ; it rises in the Pir Punjal. T h e Brahmans
told me that it springs out of a white stone and there-
fore is of a miraculous origin. I proposed therefore that
we should follow it to its source, to see if it really came
out of a white stone, and not out of a glacier, which I
considered more likely. So we made up a party to follow
up the Sangi Safed. W e were glad to leave the heat of
the valley in the month of July and refresh ourselves in
the land of snow and ice.
These trips give one great opportunities of getting to
know the inside t h o l ~ g l ~ tof
s those amongst urhom one's
daily work is cast in Srinagar. For rol~ildthc camp fire
at night, and in the tents after dark, the Inell open out
and are their true selves, and we then really get to know
one another. T l ~ e nin orlr climbs, we have to face diffi-
culties and solnetimes dangers, and, in the common sharing
of these, lasting friendships are formed.
187
Expeditions
One thing especially cheered me in these trips, and
that was the way in which the teachers and boys put
up with discomforts, such as hunger, cold and fatiguing
marching. These discomforts and others they invariably
bore bravely, and generally saw the humour in it all, and
laughed heartily over their troubles.
T h e first night we were encainped in the forest, and
the second on a marg near the snows, and on the third
day we had found the source of the Sangi Safed. It
issued forth froin a small glacier which was more brown
than white, from the debris which it brought down with
it from the heights above.
T h e party were very pleased to have found for them-
selves the source of their white stone and milk Ganges
river, but expressed the belief that their priests would
not believe them, if they did tell them that they had seen
the river issue forth from a glacier, and that there was
nothing miraculous in it.
W e were now near a notable peak, about I 6,000 feet
high, called Tati Kuti, which we decided to try to climb;
from where we were it looked quite possible. After
some climbing we found ourselves on the knife edge of
a great spur. It absolutely was a knife edge, which fact
we who straddled it will not forget, for we could not
walk on it. O u r legs each side hung down a ~recipice.
W e divided ourselves into two parties of seven each, and
roped. For quite a distance our only mode of ~rogression
was to straddle the knife edge, and lift ourselves along
with our hands, as the knife edge was decidedly painful.
Progression was very slow, for when we could use our
feet we had to use our hands also, as it was not a walk-
ing road by any means. It was about three o'clock that
we found ourselves facing a precipice of several hundred
feet. There was a great fault on this spur, and even if
188
Expeditions
we had had time to continue our climb we should have
found it impossible to go farther by that road; so we
were obliged to return defeated, and suffer discomfort
again on the knife edge.
Since that climb of ours this peak has been explored and
climbed, but not by the way we attempted to climb it.
On our return to Srinagar the Brahmao members of our
party told their priests that the Sangi Safed issued forth
from a glacier and not from a white stone, as they had
traced the river to its source : but their answer was that
they evidently had not traced it to its source, for if they
had they would have found the white stone from which
it issued. So there the argument rested, both sides being
satisfied that they were right.
These school trips are profitable in many ways, for
besides the main objects, which are for health and re-
freshment to body and soul, and the opportunities we
have for understanding and appreciating one another
better, there is always milch to learn. It is seldom that
you find a Kashmiri who appreciates the glorious beauties
of his country. H e likes the flowers, for crowds of people
walk in the orchards around the city in the springtime so
that they may enjoy the blossoms, but the mountains, with
their foliage, their margs, their ever-changi~lgcolours and
the lights and shades, they never seein to notice. I was
standing one beautiful spring inol-ning on the river bank,
driillting in the glorious view before me of the green
valley, tile pine forests creeping up the hill-sides, and
then the snow-covered tops of the ~nountainsjust glisten-
ing with dazzling whiteness, when a Kashmiri who was
passing, seeing that I seemed to be staring at some object
said : " What is the Sahib looking a t ? " I said: "These
glorious mountains." He answered : But, Sahib, haven't
((
they always been there ? "

1 89
Expeditions
NO, that is not good enough ! W e want to open their
eyes to see the glorious couiltry they live in, to be proud
of it, try to live up t o it, and lielp others to do the same.
Then again there is the animal world which, except to
the few shikaris and villagers in the molultains, is a closed
book. I have never known a Kashiniri boy collect birds'
eggs. T h e y do not know or care anything about them.
I held up a jackdaw's egg one day in school before more
than one hundred and fifty boys and aslted them to tell
me what it was. T h e y exclaimed that it was an egg,
and I elicited the fact that it was not a common barn-door
foal's egg, but none of them could get any further than
that, with the exception of a Mohammedan boy, who said
that he knew that it was a jackdaw's egg, for he had
found eggs like them in a jackdaw's nest. All the boys
turned round and stared at the prodigy of learning. So
on our trip we try to learn all we can of animals and
birds.
Eagles are always entertaining, and one is never tired
of watching their graceful movements. One may be on
a height, and, looking down several thousand feet, see an
eagle gradually ascending. H e never seems to move his
wings, except just to set them like a sail to the breezes
that meet him as he tops a spur or swings round an angle
of a mountain. Every circle brings him higher and
higher until, in an incredibly short time, he is circlillg
above one as many hundreds or thousands of feet as he
was, a few minutes before, below one. T h e use that
an eagle makes of the wind in order to rise, withollt
apparently any effort on his part, always brings to InY
mind how the Spirit of the Living God can be the power
to raise us from things of the earth to things spiritual.
We, like the eagle, have to possess the wish to rise, and
set our wills at that angle which will enable God's spirit
I 90
Expeditions
to lift us. T h e power is there always. T h e eagles seem
to spend the whole day in sailing about, for rarely does
one see an eagle make a nose dive after its prey as one
sees the hawks do continually. But I did see a great
dive on one occasion. I was out with a friend on the Pir
Ponjal range ; my friend uras just nearing the top, which
is over 15,000 feet, and v7as walking on an edge, a
precipice on his left and a steep snow slope on his right,
and I was about five hundred feet below him, and was
watching him plodding slowly along, and an eagle circling
several hundred feet above him, when suddenly I saw
the eagle close his wings and come down like an arrow
from the blue, straight for my friend. I shouted my
loudest, but I was too far OK. My friend, in ignorance,
climbed on, in fact I think the eagle would have reached
him before my voice. But just as I expected to see
my friend bowled over the eagle opened his wings and
sailed off majestically : he had evidently mistaken his white
sun hat moving over the snow for some animal. It was
well for my friend that the eagle discovered his mistake
before striking.
In our expeditions it was always our object to turn our
days to full use, making forced marches and breaking
former records, with the idea of hardening ourselves and
creating fresli records for the rising generations of school-
boys to break. You see, the boys' fathers had never set
examples for their sons in this line, so we thought it
about time that they should have some ideals to live up to,
and surpass, and create new ones.
On one occasion a party of fourteen made ail expedi-
tion to the beautiful lake of Ko~lsar Nag, which lies
at the foot of a glacier, ~ o , o o o feet below the twin
Brahman peaks on the Pir Punjal. T h e lake is two miles
by three-quarters of a mile broad ; it is a lovely emerald-
101
Expeditions
green, and very deep, and generally has icebergs floating
on it in the summer. It was a beautiful trip, through
forests and over grassy inargs, where we found not 0111~
the usual carpet of flowers, but inushrooms galore, far
more than the whole party of fourteen could carry away.
O n that one day we walked forty-five miles, and no one
was the worse for the forced march.
On another occasion the whole school fleet tool; part
in a thirty-mile race, from Sriilagar to Pampor and back.
T h e crews towed their boats most of the u7ay up, and
paddled and rowed back, a hundred or so boys taking
part in it. T h a t record was beaten by a race of three
rowing boats for two days and one night from Srinagar
to Islamabad and back, a distance both ways of ninety-six
miles. Whether the super-energy did us any good or
not 1 do not know; anyway, we have created records for
future generations to beat.
I will now close this chapter on expeditions with one
of our annual Wular trips.
A t Easter we had our usual ten days' holidays, and
according to custom called for volunteers to join the
Wular Lake camp, which meant a healthy life under
canvas a t this beautiful and much-dreaded lake, which
is a b o ~ l tfourteen miles long by seven broad. W e mwed
the thirty miles down from Srinagar in our twelve-oared
cutter, six-oared galley, and Thames skiff, a party of
twenty-eight. W e hoped that E o l u s would he kind to
US, as he had been on other occasions, and squeeze his
wind-bags so that we might have full use for our sails,
and try the nerves of our new hands. Well, E o l u s did
us very well on the whole, but I will recount only one
of our trips. Some huge dredgers were being built at
Baramulla, some eighteen miles down the river, and that
gave us an object for a long day's trip. W e were off
,
Expeditions
shortly after sunrise, rowing seven miles across the lalie,
then down the Jhelum, about ten miles, and reached
Baramulla at midday. T h e engineers on the dredging
works were most kiild in helping us to see everything of
interest. T h e Roman Catholic padre at Baramulla most
kindly entertained the crews to a meal, and at three
o'clock, when we cast off, was present on the bank with
all his schoolboys to give us three cheers; we returned
the complimeilt by giving them a salute of oars.
Towing and rowing up-stream was a very different
matter from our row down in the morning, for thousands
of sleepers had been released up-stream on their long
journey to the railways in the Punjab, and we had a
great time trying to dodge them, which required most
careful steering, and we were delayed a great deal in
consequence. Then, to make matters worse, a heavy
thunderstorm blew up against us. These untoward
circumstances delayed us so much that it was quite dark
when we reached the lake, and the seven miles of the
dreaded Wular lay between us and our camp.
Some of the crew were for putting off the crossing
until the morning, as they had never heard of ally boat
crossing the lake at night, and especially during a
thunderstorm, and certainly no boat had ever sailed
across ~lnderthese circumstances. (Kashmiris do not use
sails and hate the wind.)
However, at the order "Sails up! " every lnan fell to
work, and in a few minutes the cutter was heeling over
to a stiff breeze which came in gusts, and heading for
what we believed was our camp in the thick darkness
ahead.
W e were congratulatiilg ourselves at starting that
there were a few stars to be seen, and an occasio~lalout-
line of a mountain, but before long all our steering points
N '93
Expeditions
were gone, and the only time we saw the mountains was
when the lightning took pity on us. T o make matters
worse the wind kept shifting-in fact, before we
reached home the wind had blown from every quarter.
Consequently we had to be continually shifting the crew
from one gunwale to the other. W e had fortunately
fixed cross-trees on to the foremast close to the deck, on
which we could place one, two or three men according
to the strength of the wind; but this caused us a little
anxiety, for had the stay broken the men would have
dropped overboard, and to pick them up in the darkness
would have been somewhat difficult. So one's eyes
were continually upon those forms, which could just be
discerned, squatting like monkeys on the spar.
Fortunately we could see occasionally fires on the
shore, more or less in the direction we believed our camp
to be, and with the help of these fires and continual
soundings we managed a fairly straight course.
All the crews were thoroughly enjoying the excitement
of this night voyage, with the exception of the Sanskrit
teacher, a Brahman who had not been on the lake before.
H e was praying out aloud the whole journey, and making
various vows to certain of his special gods and goddesses,
and calling upon them at intervals, especially when the
boat pitched more than usual, or a big wave hit US.
Froin his many prayers I gathered this much : he ~romised
to the deities four special treats: ( I ) H e would devote
one whole day's fast to a certain goddess (I forget the
lady's name, I regret to say). C2) Another goddess (I
grieve to say that her name too has slipped my memory)
was to have flat unleavened bread (chupattis). (3) He
promised to Ganesh, the elephant god, some special
sweet cakes. (4) H e would present Hanuman, the
monkey god, with rice balls mixed with sugar. (Our
= 94
Expeditions
Brahman friend evidently knew how to get round M r
Hanuman.)
T h e rest of the crew, although they also were Brahmatls,
were much amused, and were inclined to fool him; but
I told them to let him pray to his heart's content, so long
as he prayed in the spot where his ballast was needed,
and he was disturbed only when his body was needed on
the opposite thwart.
T h e religious man was evidently a man of perception,
for he had purchased in the town some sugar-candy " ;
as he knew that the gods would never refuse candy, he
had brought this as a last resource, so that when his
prayers and vows should fail the candy would be the
pibce de rhsistance.
W e had begun to pitch and to heel over a little more
than usual, and evidently he thought that his end was
nigh, so out came -the candy, and the gods were smacking
their lips, when their treat was snatched away from them
by one of the crew who also liked candy.
T o me all this was very interesting, as I looked back
to the days when we made our first trip across this lake
in the same boat fifteen years ago, but in daylight. Then
all the crew held the same views as this frightened
Sanskrit teacher; they were crying at intervals the whole
jouriley to their gods, Shiva and Rama, and heaving out
sugar and rice illto the lake. Some called aloud Shivs,
Shiva! " whilst others went on muttering under their
breath these sacred names, and a few bent their lleads
whilst the tears trickled down their cheeks as they wept
silently and thought of their dear ones at home ! ...
Oh, my poor mother ! '' Well, we reached our camp a t
last, to the astonishmri~tof those in cainp and the villagers,
as they did not cspect us t o attempt the night sail ill a
thunderstorin. Our Sanskrit teacller was Inore delighted
I us
Expeditions
than any, and was ready to fulfil his vows; but thinking
it a pity that his vows should be wasted, we suggested to
him that he might do some good with them, and instead
of throwing all these promised delicacies into the water,
froin which element the inonkey god and others were
expected to take them, it would be more to the point if
he gave them to some poor women in his district; and,
somewhat to our surprise and pleasure, he fell in with
this suggestion : so someone profited by that night's sail
across the dreaded Wular Lake.
CHAPTER XVI
A T R I P T O LADAKH
I
T was in the summer of the year I 896 that I had the
opportunity of acco~npanyingD r Ernest Neve on a
trip to Ladakh, or Lesser Tibet. From Srinagar to
Leh, the capital of that country, is a distance of 224 miles,
and takes usually twelve days to march-i.e. about seven-
teen miles a day, which is as much as loaded coolies
or ponies call be expected to acco~nplish,as some of the
marches are over high passes. I was, however, not able
to get away with D r Neve, as my school duties kept me,
but the Commissioner of Ladakh, Captain Cheveneux
Trench, kindly asked me to join his party. He, however,
was starting four days before I could get away, so I had
to make forced marches to catch up his partv. I did the
first four and a half marches in about thirty hours, h p
leaving Srinagar at midnight by shikara. Is~naliaand his
crew paddled all night across the Unchar Lake, and up
the Sindh river to Gunderbal, which was tlre first stage.
When I opened my eyes at sis-thirty A.M. nest morning
I saw my first rnollllt looking at me, and telling me,
as it seemed, to hurry up. After breaking my fast I
inonnted and was of): T h e Inare was a beautiful beast
lent to ine by Miss Newmam, one of our missionary staff.
It was a gloriol~sday, and the pony seemed to be aware
of the fact also, for she l~oundedforward like a deer,
according to her ~isualcustom.
Our path led us up thr Sindh Valley with the rushing,
roaring river oo olir right. It was early summer, so the
'97
A Trip to Ladakh
wild roses were in full bloom, and flowers in all directions,
such as anemones, balsams, columbines, larkspur and
ragwort, were one burst of green.
W e were going so fast that we came upon snakes in
the path before they had time to get into hiding. At
about midday I came upon my own pony and the deer's
sais waiting for me under the shade of a great walnut-
tree. I soon changed mounts, the sais took back his
own prpperty, and I sped away up the path, which had
now become rocky, as the valley gradually narrowed in.
A t about five o'clock I found my own sais and a third
pony waiting for me, which took me up to Sona Marg,
about eight miles distant, and to my camp, which some
days before had been sent on ahead. Sona- Marg is
a lovely stretch of grass and flowers, at a height of
~ o , o o o feet, surrounded by peaks of 18,ooo feet, and
three glaciers at the head of their respective valleys can
be seen looking down upon one from the east. Sona
Marg means 6 c the meadow of gold," and at one time was
the hill station of Srinagar. T h e natives tell you that
there are many snakes there. They hold the belief that
those valleys into which the mountain Hari Mouk cannot
look have an abundance of snakes.
Next day being Sunday I rested, intending to start
after midnight, so my tent was packed up ready for the
start. I tried to sleep in the verandah of the post office,
hut the fleas thought otherwise and drove lne out. The
fleas on this Central Asian road seemed to be champion
hoppers, for it was not only in the Sona Marg P.O. that
we met. At twelve o'clock in bright moonlight we
started. My servant was a fine lusty Mohammedan (who
hefore my eyes on one occasion rescued two men at the
same time from drowning) ; he tried to beguile the time
by telling me stories o f the ancient kings of Kashmir as
'98
A Trip to Ladakh
we trudged on the nine miles, and by dawn found our-
selves at Baltal, situated at the foot of the pass called
Zogi La. It is not a high pass, being only I 1,500 feet,
but a steep road, and dangerous for ponies on account of
the hard snow and ice slopes. T h e caravans lose many
ponies on this pass. One of my ponies slipped down into
the torrent, but was rescued, with its load-fortunately
with little damage, thanks to the promptness and strength
of my lusty servant.
A t the top of the pass on the watershed there was
deep snow for some miles. It was not unlike a frozen-
rough sea, the snow having drifted into small hillocks like
waves and breakers, and therefore not easy going. If
there was so much snow in the summer, one can imagine
somewhat of the dangers to the dak runners, or anyone
else whose duty takes them along that road in the
winter.
T h e following story was told me by one of the
Moraviail missionaries. H e was on his way from Leh,
which is the capital of Ladakh, to India on important
business-viz. to meet his bride at Bombay-and was
obliged to travel in the early spring, which is a most
dangerous time for crossing the passes. H e was nearing
the Zogi La Pass when he was overtaken hy a blilaard,
and soon he found that he had lost his way as the fresh
snow had covered the tracks of the mail runners. It was,
of course, bitterly cold, and he could see no distance
ahead on account of the blinding snow, driven against
him by the strong cutting wind. After a vain hunt to
find tracks, he was forced to give up the search, and as
night was fast approaching he saw 110 possibility of
surviving the night except through Divine help, so he
prayed earnestly that his life might be spared.
He had only just finished praying wliell he saw
'99
A Trip to Ladakh
a figure which he thought must be a belated mail runner,
so with thankfulness and joy he followed this figure, when
suddenly it disappeared. H e went to the place where
h e last saw the figure, and there he found a hole in the
snow, into which he descended, and found himself in one
of the stone shelters built for the safety of the mail
runners. But what was his astonishment to find the
shelter empty. N o one was there ! H e then realised
that his prayer had been answered in a most unexpected
manner, and that his life had been spared for future
service.
Even t l l o ~ ~ gIh was crossing the pass in June I had
miles of snow to traverse, and was glad when at last rocks
and grass began to appear. I kept on the trudge till
about three-thirty P.M. I was feeling very tired and
sleepy, as I had been on the march since twelve o'clock
the night before, so as I was well ahead of my luggage
ponies I lay down by the side of the road for a rest, and
knew no more until I found my servant looking at me,
some hours later, and saw that the sun had set behind
the mountains, and it was time to move on with the ponies
and luggage, which had also arrived. T h e small stone
huts which make up the village of Matayan were not
far off, and I was glad to think of some food and sleep.
It had been raining hard a few hours previously, for
when we entered the rest-house we fouild it deep in
water, as the floor was below the level of the road.
However, the legs of my camp bed were higher than the
depth of water, so I kept d r y ; and in consequence of
the water 1 was mercifillly saved from an attack by the
champion fleas of the Central Asian route. It would be
great if all the rest-houses along the road could be turned
into shallow tanks, then one might he able to use them
with some comfort. Perhaps I a m maligning them, for
200
A Trip to Ladakh
1 hear that there are now well-built rest-houses all along
this road, so that my of tanks may be out of date.
From Matayan down the rocky valley to Dras was a very
hot march. T h e only trees that I remember were the
tiny pencil cedars. T h e road below Matayan sweeps
round the base of a magnificent mass of limestone, with
splendid cliffs below, and giant steps above, culiniilating
in picturesque castellated forms. T h e rushing, sparkling
river was very inviting, and, as I was some miles ahead of
my followers, I had plenty of time for a bathe. It was
not all joy, on accouilt of the rocky floor. I do not think
I ever remember bathing off such a spiky beach.
I had not finished my ablutions when I discovered two
pairs of dark eyes looking a t me over a wall close by.
Men they were, with long black hair. They looked so
unprepossessing that I immediately came out of the water
to get near my clothes and alpenstock, for I thought
they were intending to annex them. W h a t a plight I
should have been in if they had been successful: miles
from anywhere or any friend, in a scorching valley, with
the fierce rays of the sun beating on my bare body, and
no fig-trees at hand from which to make myself an apron.
So I commenced putting on my clothes as quickly as my
wet body would allow me, keeping my eyes on these
black eyes and my right hand near my alpenstock. I
sincerely hoped that I should not be obliged to fight until
I bad put on my boots, as the rocks were most painful.
I might no doubt have saved myself from vain imagina-
tions. These two fierce, wild men may have been
watching me in order to take care of me, in that swift
icy-cold river, with no ideas of robbery, for when in
Ladakh I heard that the people are most honest, and
one can always leave onc's property ahout without fear of
having it stolen.
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A Trip to Ladakh
Having bathed, the next thing I needed was food, for
it was many hours since breakfast. I soon met two more
long black-haired inen who were carrying large round
cakes of Indian corn. I bought one of them. I do not
know how many days ago it had been baked, but it was
extremely hard, stale and sour. However, I soaked it in
a stream, and was then able to get it down, or at least
some of it.
Later on I made friends with some villagers, and they,
to show that they meant well, brought me as much milk
as I could drink. I was then so thirsty that I did justice
to their supply. I sat with these kindly folk until I saw
my caravan approaching. W h e n it arrived we continued
our journey, and in course of time we arrived on a great
open wind-swept plain, and sooil saw a group of stone and
mud houses, which calls itself Dras, the capital of the
country of Dras.
Here I found a British officer encamped on his way
back to India after ibex hunting. My camp was pitched
upon the plain, and I had just finished my tea, for which
I was most grateful, after that grilliilg march down that
treeless valley, and was putting things straight when
down came a great gale of wind. I had to hang on with
all my might to one of my tent-poles to prevent the tent
coming down, while my servant hammered hard at the
tent-pegs. While this was going on I heard shouts, and
saw the major's property fast disappearing out of his
tent, sailing down the plain before the blast. So I ran
to the rescue, and was just in time to save his tent from
collapsing entirely, for one of his tent-poles had already
fallen. T h e gale soon blew itself out, and all was peace
and quiet once more, except for the visits of the prowling
pariah dogs from the city of Dras.
Next day we were up betimes, and I marched on ahead
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A Trip to Ladakh
and arrived at the Commissioner's camp at Kargil in time
for a late breakfast. His party consisted of Mr and Mrs
Beech (Beech stood six feet six inches, a giant of a man) ;
Mrs Darrah, whose husband, a great sportsman, was
awaiting her in Leh; Jack Phelps and P. H. Church, who
were on a loilg expedition to the district of the Pang
Gong Lake, a salt lake loo miles in length, and the
Chang Chenmo, after ovis ammon " and ovis poli."
I received a hearty welcotne and a real good breakfast,
which I much enjoyed after my forced march to catch up
this party.
Kargil is the capital of a district called Purik, and is
inhabited by Mohammedails of the Shiah sect. Colonel
Ward mentions a curious custom in colli~ectioilwith the
burial of their dead. An aperture is left in the earth over
the grave, and a rectangular box of masoilry is built over
this, with a small door and window. Flour is dropped
down on the body; this is done at intervals for a period
of three moons. Afterwards the hole above the body is
closed, as also the door and window.
That morning the Governor of the Proviilce called on
us. H e was a Kashmiri Brahman, a little man, but from
the size of his lower chest he evidently had done himself
well. Captain Trench asked him to show him his state-
ment of grain accounts, as there was a threatened shortage
of food that autumn. H e had received orders to keep
large stores of grain in case of emergencies, the old
fort on the hill having been requisitioned for such
a purpose. T h e books were brought, and from them
Captain Trench saw that his orders had been faithfully
oheyed, and the fort was j list bulgiilg with grain, like the
Governor's lower chest. Captain Trench was so pleased
to hear of the great supplies that he told the Governor
be wollld like to see how he had managed to store so
A Trip to Ladakh
much, and would visit the fort that very afternoon at
three P.M.
A t two-thirty the Goverilor with his suite arrived at
our camp again, to invite the Con~missionerSahib and all
his party to take tea with him a t his house, but as it was
such a hot day surely it would be more comfortable for
the ladies if they and all the party came up later, say
four-thirty P.M. Captain Trench accepted for the whole
party, but said that he a t any rate would visit the fort
first and afterwards come on to tea. So we all climbed
the hill towards the fort, and as we neared it the Governor
again pressed Captain Trench to come straight to his
house for tea and afterwards visit the fort, for was it not
very hot ?-and the evening-time would be cooler, etc.
Captain Trench would not give in, and made straight for
the fort, we all following him.
When we all entered through the large gateway into
the quadrangle Captain Trench asked the Goverilor where
the store-rooms were. T h e Governor pointed towards
a certain door. Captain Trench asked the Governor to
have the door opened, whereupon he called to a chaprasi
to go and bring the keys. T h e chaprasi remained absent
a long time, ,so the Governor again asked Captain Trench
to come to his house for tea while the keys were being
fetched. Bot no, Captain Trench was firm on the point,
he would see the store first, and asked the Governor to
hurry up his chaprasi. So another man was sent after
the first. A t last the servant arrived, breathless, with 1
huge bunch of large keys, and commenced trying to-or,
to he truthful, pretending to-open the great lock. He
went through the whole lot, but no key would fit it. So
the Governor again broached the subject of tea, alld
apolo~ised for the foolishness of his servant, explailling
that the man with the right set of keys had left the
204
A Trip to Ladakh
office with the keys. So Captain Trencli asked the
Governor to send a Inan after him and fetch the keys.
H e said that he would, but this servant with the keys
lived a long way off, and it would all take time, a i d
again mentioned tea first.
Captain Trench's patience was begiililing to give out,
and he said : " D o not bother about the keys : we will soon
burst that door open with that big beam," pointing to one
leaning against the wall.
T h e Governor begged him -not to do that, for lie
would send a man running to fetch the right keys. In
an extraordinarily short time, considering the great dis-
tance this man was supposed to have covered, the man
arrived, puffing and blowing, playing his part well, with
another (?)great bunch of keys, though uncommonly like
the first bunch which had proved useless.
T h e keys were applied, but the lock refused to bc
opened. Again the Governor expressed his sorrow for
the delay, and was about to suggest tea once more, wheil
the battering-ram again was mentioned, and Captain
Trench made a move towards it. Then the Governor,
seeing his game was up, gave a sign, and the key turned
the lock and the door swlung open. Captain Trench
went in; the great store-room was entirely empty : not
one single sack of grain was there.
Captain Trench came out and said to thc Govcrnor :
" W h y did you bring me to this einpty store-room? I
want to see your stores of grain, and not empty rooms.
T h e Governor apologised to Captain T., and swore at his
servailts for having made fools of them all, and ordered
them at once to open those store-rooms where the grain
was. T h e servants' faces were a study, and their hands
and knees literally shook, as they did iiot k~lour which
orders they were to obey-thc ones given by the Governor
205
A Trip to Ladakh
before the arrival of Captain Trench or the ones now
given. However, the Governor pointed to another door,
and ordered it to be opened. Again there was going to
be the same waste of time over the keys, when Captain
T. cut it short by stepping towards the battering-ram and
asking me to help him.
T h e n the door was opened, and we found this store-
room also absolutely empty. At last the play was over
-the chief actor, forgetting all his greatness, fell on his
knees before Captain T., and with hands in the attitude
of prayer pleaded for mercy. Captain Trench told him
to go home, and he would see him at the Public Durbar
next day. So our tea with the Governor was off, and
we went back to camp with much to think about.
Captain Trench had caught out this scoundrel properly,
but how about providing grain for the people under his
care with an empty store-house? Next day was a very
great day. Officials of all sorts came pouring in from
all sides on their ponies-some from villages loo iniles
or more distant. There were Chaukidars, Chakdars,
Lambardars, Zaildars, Tehsildars, Thanidars, and I do
not know how many other dars and small rajas aid
wazirs, with their retainers, all in their best clothes. It
was a great sight. All were on the tiptoe of excite-
ment, for they had heard how the Sahib had caught out
the Brahman Governor. A few were anxious and sad,
for had they not worked with him and shared in some of
the loot; but the great majority had known of this whole-
sale robbery, but had not dared to mention it, for was
not the Governor a great man, of a noble family, and ill
high favour at Court.
Captain Trench soon made it plain what he thought of
this great scoundrel. I t was a treat watching the faces
of the multitude as this villain received his deserts. I
206
A Trip to Ladakh
would not have missed that Court of Justice for anything.
There we all were, in a circle, sitting in an orchard near
the rushing river, and surrounded by the great mountains
as silent witnesses at the great Court of Justice.
Captain Trench must have been very tired after it all,
but he possessed a great heart, and was always brim-
ming over with spirits and humour, so I don't think he
had a sleepless night. H e had done an unpleasant duty
uncommonly well, and he had reason to be proud of it.
That night must have been a very unpleasant one for
the Governor, but it was also an exciting one for our
camp near the river, for we were wakened by a tremen-
dous gale of wind. W e were all soon out of bed trying
to hold our tents up, and hang on to our property. I
was myself soon sprawling on my bed with my tent on
the top of me, and there remained until the wind had
blown itself out. It was somewhat ailnoying to find
myself defeated in this manner, but it had its amusing
side also.
T h e following day we co~nmenced our march towards
Leh. Two of the marches were overlong and very hot,
as there was no shade, and the reflection of light and
refraction of heat from the wall of the rocks we passed
made it rattler trying. One was very thankful to have
dark glasses. W e started at four-thirty punctually every
morning, and marched till tell A.M. to some shade, where
we stayed till the evening, and then finished the march
in the coql.
It was an interesting sight to watch the caravans from
Central Asia and China passing, with the loads carried
often on yaks, and some even on sheep's backs, the sort
of sheep which grows a broad fat tail, which swings
about most rlncomfortably as the animal walks. T h e
idea of loadi~lgsheep is a very practical one, for when
207
A Trip to Ladakh
the food which is carried by the sheep is eaten up, then
there is 110 need of the carrier, so it is then eaten, the
fat tail being considered a great delicacy. Some of these
caravans are three years on the road before they reach
their homes. Quite a number of these mercha~lt~ have
been to Mecca, and were returning, wearing the green
turban which is the mark of a Mecca cc pilgrim who
has accomplished the haj " .'
T h e first monastery we cbme to is Mulbe. It is in a
most commanding position, for it stands on the top of
a rock about five hundred feet high.
A short distance before reaching this monastery is
a large Buddha, carved on a rock, about thirty feet in
height. On our return journey D r Neve and I came
in time to see a very pretty ceremony being performed
before it.
There was a sort of maypole erected in front of tlle
figure, decked with coloured paper or rags. Then a troop
of thirty children appeared, dressed in bright garments,
wearing crowns of flowers, and they were dancing round
the pole and singing, reminding one of the maypole dance.
Then came a monk, dressed in a white garment like a
surplice, with a red fool's-cap on his head. In one hand
he carried a Kashmiri fire-pot full of live charcoal and
some narcotic mixture of hemp or opium. These fumes
he kept inhaling, which made him become very excited*
In his right hand he carried a curved sword, which he
flourished about ill a most dangerous manner. He corn-
menced to dance round the pole, followed by the children*
H e shouted louder and louder, and twirled about his body
faster and faster, while his sword was flashing and slashillg
about in all directions.
A man standing by ine, whom I knew, who called him-
self a nobleman, told me in awed tones that this holy lnan
208
A Trip to Ladakh
was uttering the words of God. As a matter of fact, he
was drunk with his opium fumes and could hardly keep
on his feet, and I expect he soon flopped down on the
ground, but we were unable to stay to see the show
through to the end.
CHAPTER XVII
A TRIP TO LADAKH (continued)
S
OME little time before we reached Mulbe we had
heard noises like the bellowings of the bulls of
Bashan, for they seemed to be more than ordinary
bellowings. A s we turned the corner we heard other
sounds, such as the beating of drums and cymbals
and squealing flageolets, and then came into view the
monastery band. T h e monks were dressed up in their
best red garments, with most curious and awe-inspiring
headgear, consisting of huge red-cloth helmet-looking
erections which gave the band a very smart and martial
appearance. T h e trumpets which bellowed and brayed
SO loudly were of copper, about seven or eight feet in
length, truly colossal.
T h e n came the abbot of the monastery with his
following of monks, together with the great people of
Mulbe, to welcome the Commissioner Sahib. They
brought presents of food and large jggs of home-made
cider, called chang."
A t Mulbe there is an inscription of King Ides abolish-
ing living sacrifices. This was not, however, obeyed, and
the people continued to sacrifice goats before the pre-
Buddhist altars, tearing out the heart of the living animal*
(See D r E. F. Neve's book, Beyond the Pir Punjal.)
In the afternoon we were entertained by a game of
polo, for every big village has its polo ground, which is
generally kept in good order, the grass being kept green
by irrigation.
2I 0
A Trip to Ladakh
T h e chief features in which the game differs from
Western polo are the following :-
Firstly, there are two long stone walls, about three feet
high, built along both sides of the ground, against which
the ball is made to rebound; they are also used, by
the way, for squeezing your adversary's pony, and if
possible the leg of the rider, against the jagged stones, to
his great discomfort. Secondly, all the players start at
a gallop from one end. T h e leader then throws the ball
into the air and strikes it with the full swing of his stick
before it touches the ground, frequently driving it the
whole length of the ground and through the goal-posts,
which arc inarked by white stones. But the goal is not
counted unless one of the attacking side dismounts and
picks up the ball before any of the defenders can knock
it out again. When the goal is won the band strikes up
a joyful noise, accompailied by plenty of drums. T h e
riders play in a most reckless manner. I have seen both
ponies and players receiving terrific whacks, and blood
flowing profusely ; and sometimes the oillookers receive
wounds from standing too near the wall. It is a very
ancient and honoured game in these regions.
It is difficult to describe one's feelings as one enters
this wonderful country of inonasteries and lamas, for one
sceins to have arrived in quite another world, uniinagined
and undreamt of; one feels inclined to pinch oneself to
scc if one is really awakc and not dreaming.
On the road onc passes walls froin loo to 300 yards
long, ahout eight feet high and eight feet broad, with a
pent roof of Rat stoiles of all sizes, on which are carved
thc same words, '' Oin ~ n a i ~padlilc
e llun," whicli means,
" 0 (:od of the Jewel on tllc Lotus," or, as it has been
interpreted to ~ n :r " May iny soul, 0 God, be like the
jewel of water which lies on tlie lips of tlic lotus leaf just
211
A Trip to Ladakh
as it is going to fall into the lake and be lost in the ocean
-
of water [i.e. be lost in Nirvana]."

Monks roam over the country doing this pious carving
work for those who will pay them. Merit not only comes
to the men who place these stones on the wall, but to all
those travellers who pass on the left side of the wall, and
curses on those who pass on the wrong side. Hence there
is no need of a policeman to tell all traffic to keep to the
left; all travellers do it as if mechanically, and heap up to
themselves merit.
Then on the road one continually passes "chortans,"
stone pagodas generally white-washed, and not only on
the road, but dotted about in the fields and up the
mountain-sides. They are of all sizes from three to
forty feet high. T h e y are hollow, and in them one will
often find clay medallions vulgarly called potted lamas,
for they are composed of the ashes of the monks, which
have been stamped with the monastery stamps, not unlike
prettily stamped pats of butter. Some of the stamps are
very decorative, generally with the figure of Buddha in
the centre of a circle, with writing around.
O n the tops of the houses and on trees one sees
bunches of flags made of coloured rags on which is
inscribed this same prayer. W h e n the flags flutter in the
breeze this prayer ascends for the good of the individual
who placed these rags to be moved by the wind.
As we pass through a village we see little paper wind-
mills on the roofs which work a prayer wheel inside the
house. This is a metal cylinder crammed full of paper
on which is written hundreds of times this one prayer:
" Om mane padme hun."
Along the walls of certain houses and always at

monasteries are foll~idthese cylinders of wood let into
the wall at a convenient lieight from tlie to allow
2 12
A Trip to Ladakh
passers-by to pat them and make them revolve. In
some villages they have huge prayer wheels worked by
water, which pray automatically night and day, year in
and year out for all the village. Lastly, yon meet both
men and women walking on the road carrying these
wheels of metal, which they keep on the spin by the
twist of the wrist, for a lead ball is attached to this
cylinder by a metal chain, which adds considerable
momentum. Some of these hand prayer wheels are
beautifully ornamented with silverwork.
T h e people one meets are most picturesquely dressed.
T h e men and the women wear a long woollen garment
generally of red, but often of green or some other
colour. T h e men have a leather girdle into which
they stick a regular ironmonger's shop of goods, such
as one or two knives, a brass opium pipe, a tinder-box,
a metal purse, a long metal pen-box with metal inkpot
attached, a whip of three thongs, the handle of which is
always highly decorated with metal and paint, a cup
for their tea and their porridge, and a bag of flour for
their food on their journeys. T h e food is always most
simple. They fill their cup with cold water, and then
pour the flour into it and stir it with their first finger,
and when it becomes a sort of watery paste they drink it.
A most unappetising food it is, and gives them indiges-
tion continually. Most of them also add an ikon to their
belt collection. It is an image of Buddha of silver or
gold in a casket of some metal, and a pocket Commu~lion
set of copper or silver with much ornamentation.
T h e Tibetan Buddhists have a religious service in
which they use bread and cider. It is said that this
religious s e r ~ i c ecame from Cllina through the Nestorian
Christians, for there is a tradition that St Thomas
introduced Christianity into China.
2 '3
A Trip to Ladakh
This pocket set is a most neat and clever arrangement,
for the paten and stand are so made that they fit beauti-
fully into the metal pot which is the chalice. Every
Buddhist can be his own priest and give the Elements
to himself.
Many wear a chatelaine attached to their leather belt,
on which hang most of the things mentioned, and thus
their belt is left free for other goods and chattels. Their
shoes are generally felt top-boots, often of gaudy colours.
T h e head-dress is a cloth cap, not infrequently of the
same colour as their dress, but I am not able to describe
it as I have never seen anything like it ; it is perhaps a
little like a Balaclava cap or a helmet with flaps. It is
most picturesque and odd-loolting. T h e whole costume
seems to suit the Mongol features excellently, especially
with the long pigtail hanging down the back, which
always covers the back of the cloak with black grease.
T h e women dress much like the men, only their head-dress
is different. T h e y wear a a pirak "-that is, a piece of red
cloth about six or eight inches wide, which starts from
the forehead and continues down the back nearly to the
waist. It is covered with rows of precious stones, chiefly
rough pieces of turquoise, and silver ornaments. This
system of carrying their wealth on their heads shows
how honest these people are. Then on each side of
the face, and sewn on to this strip of cloth, are two
pieces of astrakhan, which are made to stick out at right
angles to the face some six inches, like black wings.
Altogether it is most becoming.
T h e women in this country are not purdah," and are
treated on equal terms with the men. It is most refresh-
ing. They are not the least shy or bold. They are
just their smiling jolly selves, like their menfolk.
I have mentioned a few pages previously that on enter-
214
A Trip to Ladakh
ing Ladakh one seemed to be in a dream, for the country
and people were so utterly unlike anything I had imagined
or dreamt o f ; and it was not only the people and the
buildings near at hand, but the hills all round seemed
to be quite in keeping. It is the lamas' custom to build
their monasteries on the top of the rocks, so that it is
often hard to distinguish monastery from rock or rock
from monastery. Then again, the air being rarer than
one is accustomed to, every object seems to be nearer
than it really is. T h e hills and precipices, which are
absolutely bare of trees or grass, take on most beautiful
colours, and the lights and shadows are far more marked
than one has been accustomed to see.
C H A P T E R XVIII
A T R I P T O LADAKH (continued)
L ET us now visit a monastery. A s usual, as we

approached Lamauru, we were met by much
noise and dust. T h e monastery band evidently
was on the war-path, from the terrific braying and tom-
tomming that greeted us, and the crowd of monastery
dignitaries and village magnates kicked up much dust as
they approached. W e were taken round the monastery
by the head ecclesiastic. W e climbed the stone stairway
to the monastery, which, as usual, was situated on the
top of a cliff, built on to and into it in such a way that
it was not easy to see where rock ended and the building
commenced. Along the side of the stairway were rows
of prayer wheels let into the wall, which we set spinning
in the orthodox manner. A t least I hope we did spin
them the right and not the wrong way. I think we
must have spun them round the right way, for our
journey was prosperous. T h e chapel was full of inter-
esting objects, and one did not know quite what to look
at, for there seemed to be, and there was, such a crowd
of interesting objects which I had never seen before.
T h e building was like a hall, the roof supported by
wooden pillars, with a gallery all round, from which
hung a profusion of silk banners of Chinese design,
chiefly dragons. O n one side of the hall was a row of
coloured figures, life-size, of Buddha and sainted lamas,
which were arrayed in rich silks. Before each figure
was a table or altar of very curious design, coloured with
216
A Trip to Ladakh
bright red, green, yellow and gold, carved with drago~ls
and sacred symbols.
O n the tables were metal cops and goblets, and on
each table was a basin of holy water, an oil lamp burning,
the chalice for the chang " (cider) and paten for the
bread, a cc dorj e " (a prettily carved brass or silver dumb-
bell-looking article used by the priest during part of the
service), also a little drum often made of a human skull
sawn off at the top to allow for the skin to be stretched.
There were also some goblets made of human skulls, and
a human thigh-bone used as a trumpet.
Down the middle of the chapel are low benches in lines,
end on to the row of figures, on which the monks kneel
facing the altars as they read their sacred books. O n
the left side of the chapel are rows of copper beakers
full of chang, from which the monks refresh themselves
when they become sleepy over their much reading. Then
on the left wall are shelves in which their books are
kept. These are long strips of paper or parchment
manuscripts.
There are five chapels kept each day. When any
great person dies the monks are paid to read through
a certain number of their holy hooks. They each take
so many pages, and read through them aloud, all together,
each one reading something different, so there must be
a fair volume of sound. I do not know if volume of
sound has ally value and so adds to the merit of reading
so many thousands of words.
These people have evidently thought out a truly
tnechanical way to salvation. When electric power
reaches Ladakh and prayer wheels are worked by motors,
merit will speed up a great deal and Nirvana will be
within reach of all. T h e chapel needed much cleaning.
There was an overwhelming smell of lamp oil, or burning
2'7
A Trip to Ladakh
fat ; grease pervaded the atmosphere, in fact every thing
the monks touched, for they were filthily dirty, their
red garments being more or less black with grease.
Fortunately their heads were shorn. They seemed to be
a happy lot of brothers, always ready to laugh and joke,
in fact, just like the pictures of the monks of the West
in days gone by.
There are nuns who live in separate buildings. Many
of them are so like the monks that it is difficult to tell
one from the other, a t least to an unpractised eye, as the
following incident will show.
A few days later I was in Leh with D r Neve. He
was in the hospital helping people to get well quickly.
I stayed outside to try and cheer up the patients who
were waiting their turn outside, as many of them seemed
to be rather nervous and frightened. I noticed one
person who seemed to look very depressed, who 1 thought
was a monk and not living up to his usual jovial self, so
I poked him io the ribs and told him to cheer up, when
a voice called out to me from behind, but too late: "Take
care what you are doing, for that lady is a nun." It was
a Moravian missionary who spoke too late. Well, I did
all that an English gentleman could do. I a~ologised
most humbly, but the nun would not have any, and 1
failed to cheer her up.
Well, our triumphal march to the capital, Leh (a t ~ w n
with a population of 3000 in the winter, which grows to
6000 in the summer, when all the traders from east and
west come in), was as entertaining as it was interesting
Monastery bands, town bands, feasts and ~ o l omatches
succeeded one another, but the reception given to the
Commissioner Sahib at Leh was the culmination of great
doings. Seven miles from Leh, in the valley of the Indus,
a large sandy plain, there met us a great cavalcade of
2I8
A Trip to Ladakh
grand folk dressed in most weird costumes, uncommonly
like a well-got-up pantomime.
There were men dressed in Chinese silks, with their
smart blue and gold caps with tassels, Ladakhi officials
of various grades, from the Joint-Commissioner, a fine-
looking Mohammedan, to his fat babu who sat on his
pony like a monkey, his stirrups being so short that his
knees and fat stomach met. But the figure which took
my fancy was the church dignitary; he resembled for all
the world Cardinal Wolsey risen from the dead. He
wore a scarlet cloak which fell over the pony's back and
almost touched the ground, and he sported ye old
cardinal's hat. I never saw him smile, which was in
contrast to all the others, who seemed to be out for a
holiday. Whether he was upset about not having his
proper positioil in the cavalcade, or whether he had the
stomach-ache is uncertain, or maybe his cardinal's hat
was uncomfortable. It certainly was hardly the sort of
hat I should have chosen to ride in. Perhaps his dignity
did not allow him to show his feelings. Anyway, every-
body except the cardinal seemed to be in good fettle
after their morning's ride. W e all fell into some sort of
order and rode for the capital.
You can see Leh from some miles distant as it is
built up the side of the rocks, with the palace and
monastery towering above. Leh is I 1,700 feet above
sea-level, so one needs a little time in which to get
acclimatised.
When we arrived through the fine gateway into the
main street we found both sides lined with H.H. the
Maharajah's troops and the crowds of citizens behind them.
T h e monastery band was in full view on the roof of one
of the buildings and made the usual joyful sound. This
main street of shops has a fine avenlie of poplar-trees,
219
A Trip to Ladakh
which gives most grateful shade in the hot summer
weather.
A s it is very broad, it is the polo ground. It seemed
most strange to see the players dashing up and down
the main street, often hitting the ball into the shops.
Fortunately the shops in Leh do not possess glass
u~indows, otherwise polo in that street would be an
expensive amusement.
Captain Trench was finally escorted to the Residency,
which was a two-storeyed stone building in quite a nice
garden. There is not a great selection of trees in Leh,
poplars and willows being all that I remember seeing
in this part of Ladakh, but in lower Ladakh there are
apricot, apple and pear trees.
T h e Commissioner's chief duty is to look after the
traders' interests on this main caravan road from India to
Central Asia, Yarkand, Turkestan and to China.
I went to the Moravian missionaries, who had kindly
invited D r E. F. Neve and myself to stay with them.
They have been doing a great and useful work here for
many years, by means of hospital, schools, and visiting
the people in their homes. They had then a congregation
of about thirty Christians.
T h e history of one of them with whom I was connected
for some years is interesting. A certain monk in a
monastery in Nubra was dying, and he sent for one of
the missionaries whom he knew to visit him. Nubra
Valley is some fifty miles from Leh over the other side of
the Kardang Pass, 17,400feet high.
T h e missionary went at once, and was in time to see
him before he died. T h e monk told him that he heard
the Gospel through the preaching of the missionaries, and
believed in Christ as his Saviour, but had not been bold
enough to confess openly on acco~lntof the perseclltion
220
A Trip to Ladakh
which would follow, but as he had failed to do the first
thing he would do the second, and that was to give his
son to the missionaries to be brought up a Christian. T h e
monk passed away like the dew drop off the lotus leaf,
let us hope, and his son was take11 to the inissioil at Leh,
and remained with them until the age of fourteen, when
he was sent to the Missioil School at Srinagar. T h e
missionaries took the opportunity of some friendly
Tibetans going down to Srinagar on business and de-
livered Joseph, for that was his Christian name, to their
safe keeping. I remember the interest and pleasure it
was to welcome this quiet and stolid Ladakhi to the
school. H e arrived in his Tibetan costume, looking most
quaint, for I had seen few Tibetans up to that time. I
am glad to say he was proud of his national dress and
wore it all the time he was at school.
Joseph had a hard time of it among the Brahman boys,
who laughed at his dress, which, as a matter of fact, was
far more becoming than theirs, and also tormented him on
the quiet because he was a Christian.
Joseph never allowed himself to be drawn by his tor-
mentors, he never retaliated, nor did he show the least
fear of them, but I did not see why his persecutors
should have it all their own way. I believe in a boy
mailaging his owl1 alfairs among the boys without help
froin outside if possible, so I set to work to teach him
to box. H e became an apt pupil, as he started fair, with-
out any lee-way to make up in the matter of cowardice
or weakness of any kind, so in a short time he beca~ne
thoroughly respected, notwithstanding the difference in
religion or dress, and before he left school was the most
respected and, 1 iniglit say, popular boy in tlre school.
As hc was preparing to return to llis own country, I
asked him what profession he would choose. Would he
22 1
A Trip to Ladakh
care to join the State service, as very few Ladakhis were
educated and all posts were filled by Kashmiri Brahmans
and Indians? It would be good for the country if some
of these officials were natives of Ladakh. I pointed out
that if he took that line he would have power and in-
fluence later on, which he could put to good use. His
answer was : "I do not want power or riches. All I want
is that I may have opportunities of preaching Christ to
my people. I would prefer to be a missionary."
He returned to Leh, and in course of time became
headmaster of the Mission School, which post he has held
for many years, where he is training his own country-
men, and preaching Christ to them by life as well as by
words. I am glad to say that his education has not given
him any ideas of being a babu, and therefore too much
of a gentleman to do manual labour, for in the vacations
he is to be seen driving his yoke of oxen and carrying
manure on his back in a basket very similar to those used
in Switzerland for the same purpose. His education has
not unmanned him, as it has done so many in Kashmir and
India.
So the dying monk in the monastery at Nubra did well
for his country, though it seems odd to those who do
not know the way of monks that they should have ~011s
to bequeath.
T h e mission at 1,cli has beell blessed with some very
fine missionaries. T h e y have to he a very whole-hearted
lot, for their pay is a Inere pitt;uncc, and until lately they
did not return home on furlough, but died a t their yost
like D r Marks and D r Kedslop, but I atn glad to say that
in these days there is a wiser and inore humane policy,
for surely it is wiser that a missionary's life should be
lengthened by periods of rest than that he sho~lldlive a
short time and have to be replaced by a novice. It is
222
Photo by] Ilfishrr N n l h .
A Trip to Ladakh
more humane in that parents may be permitted to see
their children now and again, whom they have sent to
school in the Homeland. T h e missions in Srinagar and
Leh are able to help one another in various ways.
During the war D r and Mrs Heber were able to come
to the help of the Srinagar Mission Hospital a t a time
of need, and much were their services and presence
appreciated.
Outside the town in the waste of sand is a little oasis;
it is the Christian cemetery, in which lies, ainong other
honoured remains, the body of Miss Irene Petrie, a most
gifted missionary, who compressed into the short space
of three years a most marvellous amount of living work
among the women and children of Srinagar. She came
up to Ladakh on her much-needed holiday, and passed
away shortly after her arrival at Leh from typhoid fever,
which she had contracted in Srinagar. Her sister, Mrs
Ashley Caros-Wilson, has written her life, which is well
worth reading, as it tells of a beautiful life spent in the
highest service.
I had heard a good deal about the Kardang Pass of
17,400 feet, some miles from Leh, the one on which
there is so much loss of life of luggage animals. T h e
air is so rare that the pony and donkey men often slit
up the noses of their animals to allow of easier breathing.
T h e traders use yaks to a great extent on this pass,
which they ride to save themselves froin inoul~taiil
sickness.
As the sun was so liot I chosc the night for my trip,
and started at eight P.M. 011 my pony, as a yak would
be too slow, with a inounted Ladakhi guide. A t twelve
o'clock my guide disappeared ; I did not sec which way he
went, and it was too dark to find any path, so 1 dis~nounted
so that my eyes might be nearer the ground. T h e pony
223
A Trip to Ladakh
did not feel inclined to move, so I tied him to a rock and
went off in search of some landmark, for I seemed to
have reached the top of the ridge. However, I soon
found I could not walk more than twenty paces at a time,
and a most splitting headache came on. It felt as if
my head blood vessels would burst, and I had ma1 de
montngne properly. After wandering about aimlessly I
became aware I was up against a precipice. When the
moon rose it was now one A.M., and then I saw I was
under the foot of a glacier, a great cliff of ice over
seventy feet high, which seemed to bulge out at the
top like the curve of a huge breaker. It was very
impressive, and for the moment I forgot my headache.
I had meant to stay on the pass to see the sunrise, but
my powers of endurance gave out. My one desire was to
get down the mountain, where I could breathe in comfort,
so I descended to the rock where I had left my pony, and
I soon began to recover my equilibrium as I descended.
W h e n I returned to Leh I made inquiries after my guide,
but I never discovered what happened to him and there-
fore never knew why he gave me the slip.
About twenty miles from Leh is a very large and
important monastery called Hemis, and once in every
twenty years they have an especially important religious
play, so D r Neve and I hired ponies and joined tlie happy
throng of pilgrims.
It was an interesting and amusing sight to see people
of all classes making their way on foot a i d horsel~ackto
this far-famed monastery. On several ponies were two
riders, the man in front and his lady behind. AS polyandry
is the custom in L;ldakh, the wife is therefore the lord
a ~ l dmaster, so one expected t o see the Iildy riding ill front
and one or more husbands riding pillion, for we often saw
three passel~grl-sriding ollr horsc. We ~ a s s e dtwo ladifs
Photo by Commandev] [ E . C. Tyndal6-B&coc, R-N.
(1) THEFRANCES ABERIGHMACKAY MEMORIAL SCHOOLFOR

(2) M E N IN THE MAKING.
This illustrates the great change which hag coma over the youth of Kashmir who
been taught that strenuous action was " bad torm."
A Trip to Ladakh
riding on the same pony, an old lady and a pretty, rosy-
cheeked damsel, and they smiled and nodded to us as we
passed them. W e thought they must be very up-to-date
women, when all of a sudden we remembered that they
had been our hostesses some days previously, for a certain
Tibetan nobleman and his wife and daughter had enter-
tained us at tea. But there was good reason for our not
recognising them, for it is the custom for all respectable
ladies to cover their faces with mud, so that these noble
ladies with whoin we drank tea were brown with mud,
whilst these smiling ladies on horseback had. beautiful
rosy cheeks. Apparently when on a pilgrimage they need
not wear this unbecoming veil of mud.
It took us two days to reach Hemis. T h e moilastery
is situated in a very narrow valley on the side of a
mountain and not on the top as is usually the case, and
to this fact, I ain told, the monastery owes its escape
from plunder when the country was invaded by Sikhs.
This monastery is a very rich one and possesses stores
of rich Chinese silks and jewels. T h e abbot showed us
a great many of his treasures.
T h e play took place in a very fine courtyard, the
monastery towering above one like a huge castle, a very
impressive building. It contains three hundred monks,
who wear yellow robes and are superior to the red-robed
ones. T h e play lasts for the whole of one day and till
iloon on the second day, with no interlude, and is weary-
ing to a degree. T h e idea of the play is to teach the
people the power of the ~nonksin future life. They act
all the known, or rather unlcnown, horrors of hell and the
only way of salvation through the holiness of the monks.
Not :l word is spokcbn ; it is taught entirely hy sight.
T h e acting is guided by tllc mo1l;lstery band as to time,
fervour, quietness, tempest, hell fire or death. T h e band
P 225
A Trip to Ladakh
is directed by the precentor, and he by a big book in
front of him. T h e r e is a fire burning in the centre of
the court. T h e n there enter monks, dressed up in
hideous masks with faces of various animals, such as dogs,
tigers, dragons, e tc.; they carry large three-pronged forks,
and throw a clay figure of a man into the flames. The
devils commence dancing round, pretending to stick their
forks into the figure, and seem to be enjoying the sport
of tormenting their victims. This scene continues for
what seems to be an interminable time, when in come
a party of monks from the great door of the monastery,
dressed in coloured silk garments, wearing huge masks,
and commence to march round and round hell fire, making
various passes with their arms towards the flames. They
begin with painfully slow steps, which are so monotonous
that they get on one's nerves, the band playing softly
but in terribly slow time.
Then the music quickens slightly, and then a little
quicker, then quicker, until these holy monks fairly spin
like dancing dervishes. T h e band works itself crazy with
the screeching of its pipes, crashing cymbals, bellowing
giant trumpets and resounding drum. Then all of
a sudden there is dead silence, and we are all thankful
for the respite. T h e n the whole dance commences over
again from the very beginning, with one step every three
seconds, and again working up to the whizz-bang. BY
this time this lot of holy men are tired out with their
exertions and they disappear through the same great door
from which they came. Immediately come in a second
lot with a different set of great masks, some of them
wearing most benign faces. They with the help of the
band try their charms in marching and dances, and SO one
party succeeds another all through that day and part of
the next without any success, for the flames of hell still
226
A Trip to Ladakh
burn on and the devils have it all their own way until
a party of super-holy monks arrive, who come with holy
water, with which they conquer the flames, and then the
devils one and all rush out of the arena amid a tempest of
crashing and shrieking; but above it all is the sound of
a mighty wind caused by all the monks whistling their
loudest, and the whole band of devils, pitchforks and all,
disappear into the monastery. I thought it would have
been more impressive if they had all disappeared over the
precipice or, if they could not manage that, down the
rocks out of sight.
Well, we were mighty glad to see the last of these
devils, and the blessed monks also, for our nerves were
anyhow after all we had heard and seen, but all was not
over, for the people were to see the priest perform a sort
of high mass. In an open space rigged up as a chapel
facing the courtyard which all could see was an altar
with its usual complemeilt of ornaments, lamps, holy
water, chalice and paten.
T h e priest entered wearing a garment just like a
surplice. H e turned his back to the coilgregation and
commenced his service at the altar.
Presently in came stealthily a clowil with a coloured
bladder in his hand with which he hit the priest over the
head with a inighty whack and then darted behind a
pillar and hid. Then again he crept up behind, stalking
the priest, and dealt him another blow ; but still the priest
took no notice, so al~sorbed was he in his devotions.
After another blow or two the priest looked rollnd to
see whence the blows had come, but of course he looked
in the wrong direction, and the clowil coclzed a s~lookat
him, a real gutter-soipc snook, from behind the pillar. It
was all so like a Western pantomime that we collld
hardly believe we were watching a real Buddhist religious
227
A Trip to Ladakh
ceremony in a real monastery. T h e people all round
were thoroughly e~ljoying the play and were laughing
heartily.
I could not find out the reason for this last act, but I
suppose it was to show that the monks when engaged in
their religious duties were too deeply engrossed to be
disturbed by assaults of the devils. Well, it was a great
show, and one wondered how much of it was believed
by the people who had come from such long distances to
see their religion acted.
It seemed t o me that they were too jolly and cheery a
lot t o believe much in devils; they evidently saw the
humour of it all. T h e abbot of the monastery told us
that the monks had been practising for a whole year at
the play, and showed us the rod of correction which he
used on those monks who failed in their parts. It was a
thick black stick weighted with brass. I felt sorry for
those monks who did not live up to the form of Friar
Tuck, and had not a good cushion of fat to protect their
bones when the brass stick descended. But perhaps they
knew the schoolboy's copy-book trick.
T h e great monastery mastiffs interested us, but we
were thankful that they were chained. W e were told
that the dogs used to be kept in lieu of graves for the
monks, or, in other words, to eat up the dead members
of the brotherhood.
Some of them are very savage brutes. A friend of
mine who was attacked by one had a bad time, although
he himself was an athlete; he was obliged to go to bed
for a day or two after the attack. I myself had a narrow
shave one day. I went into a tnoilastery uninvited to
have a look round. W h e n coming through a very narrow
passage I saw one of these dogs fast asleep, as 1 imagined,
and foolishly thought I could pass him if I walked
A Trip to I,adakh
delicately. But no such thing. T h e sleepillg dog was
very much awake, and unfortunately was not chained and
came for mc at once. 1 fortunately had an alpenstock
in my hand, which I iinnlediately presented to his ope11
mooth; but the passage we were in being narrow, I had
no spare room for wielding my weapon. I of course
stood perfectly still, and then commenced to back slowly.
T h e beast followed me inch by inch as I retreated inch
by inch, with the point of my stick ready to jab in his
mouth. That inastiff saw me off those premises all right,
and I was glad to have got clear without damage. It
taught me to be careful when visiting my clerical brethren
in their religious houses.
W e had now to turn our faces towards Leh and then
to Srinagar. A t Hemis we bade Fdrewell to Phelps and
Church, who started off on their long trail for the Tibetan
plateau in search of their big game, ovis ammon and ovis
poli.
W e reached Leh on the second day, where we bade
our kind friends the Co~nmissionerand missionaries good-
bye and started on our way west.
A t the stages we always preferred to pitch our tents
and sleep in them rather than face the champion hoppers
in the dak bungalows. At one of the stages a young
officer aslted us to dine with him, and Neve noticed that
he had some plate belonging to himself. This curious
phenome~lon was not difficult to explain, as this officer
had been a guest in D r Neve's house and so h;ld his
servant, and the servant in the interests of his master
had annexed the said articles, thinking it would be more
worthy of his master tila11 that which his master
possessed. This is not an uncomlnon custom of servants
who visit houses with masters who do not know of this
custom, and do not ovcrhai~ltheir property heforc leaving
229
A Trip to Ladakh
a friend's house. Personally I possess a bearer who
knows this trick, and he always asks me to ask my friends
to allow their servants to count over the spoons and
forks, etc., before leaving the house, to see, of course, that
they have not left anything of their master's property
behind.
Another custom I discovered of quite a different kind,
which interested me.
I saw a coolie sprawling on the road with his mouth on
the ground and apparently blowing smoke. On asking
what it meant I was told that the man not having brought
his hookah was not going to be done out of his smoke.
H e had made a small tunnel. A t one end he had placed
his tobacco and lighted it, and was sucking the smoke
through the tunnel into his mouth. How one lives and
learns !
After leaving Mulbe we turned off the caravan road in
order to return via Suru under Nun Kun and down the
Wardwan nullah.
W e passed the monastery of Shergol. It is built into
the rock. T h e windows seem to be in the face of a
precipice. T h e entrance and exit is peculiar, for a basket
is let down by a rope, in which the visitor sits and is
pulled up-a most excellent arrangement for keeping
out undesirables. Our first view of the Suru river was
superb, and reminded me of pictures of heaven which I
had seen in children's picture books. W e were up on a
ridge and looked down upon the river where it widelled
out and was full of islands covered with willow-trees, and
giant peaks rising behind and above the nearer hills
forming the valley.
When we reached the bridge we found that it was far
too frail for our ponies. T h e river itself could not be
forded, and was too swift and dangerous to ~ e r m i of
t the
230
A Trip to Ladakh
ponies swimming. W h a t was to be done? T h e question
was soon answered by the pony-men taking the loads off
the ponies and carrying them across, then tying a rope
round a pony's neck, the pony being forced into the river
whilst the rope was held by the man who walked across
the bridge, thus keeping the pony's head up-stream, so
that the strain was lessened. In this way all our ponies
came across safely, but the man on the bridge had some
difficulty in keeping his feet as the strain on the rope was
fairly severe, especially in mid-stream.
T h e village of Suru lies under Null Kun, a fine pile of
rock, the summit being 23,500 feet above sea-level. It
is one of the peaks that we can see from near Srinagar,
and looks like a white pyramid. From where we stood,
looking up from the Suru river, it was just magnificent,
its great glaciers shining in the sunlight.
Just outside the village is a lonely grave, that of
Captain Christian, who died of typhoid whilst on a
shooting expedition. W e spoke to the head of the
village about safeguarding the grave.
On our march from Suru we came across a great
number of marmots, living in communities like rabbits.
They are of a reddish brown colour and of the size of
a small fox. They place sentinels around their village,
who sit on the top of a rock to enable them to get a
good view of their enemies, and whistle louder and
louder as they see one approaching and then dart into
their burrows. They are most fascinating animals.
They seem to like the wild garlic that grows profusely
in these regions.
W e entered the Wardwan Valley by the D o Nullah
Pass, and had to walk for seven miles on a glacier; it was
exciting work jumping the crevasses. W e were careful
to take off some inches on this side and land with plenty
23 I
A Trip to Ladakh
of ice t o spare on the other side, in case of the ice being
rotten. One of our coolies did fall into a crevasse, but he
was saved by the load on his back getting hitched on to
the ice. W e were glad when all our party reached camp
safely. W e were careful to select a safe place for our
tents, for we passed the spot where Lieutenant Genge,
I.M.S., encamped, and during the night he with all his
servants was swept away by an avalanche. T h e Wardwan
is an exceptionally narrow valley, and hence the mountain-
sides are very steep and precipitous, so that snow-slides
and avalanches are very common, and one has to keep
one's weather-eye open for them.
During our march D r Neve managed to fit in a good
deal of medical work. H e would see the patients after
our tea, and also, if necessary, in the morning before
starting. Some patients followed us from camp to camp,
when it was necessary for them to have continual treat-
ment. D r Neve during this tour performed forty-two
operations for cataract. It was great to see the delight
of the people who received sight. After the operation,
which was accomplished in a marvellously short time, Dr
Neve would hold up his fingers and ask the patient to count
them. W h e n the patient found that he was correct in
his counting, and could really see, a smile began to pervade
the face, which grew wider and wider as he realised that
it was no dream or sorcery, but naked fact, that his sight
was restored. O f course the eye was bandaged up
directly, and the patient was given strict orders not to
undo the bandage for two weeks. T h e removal of the
cataract is a wonderfully neat and quick operation, and
one envies those who have the power to give such joy in
SO few seconds ; it is very little short of the miraculous*
And then there is the greater joy of the missionary doctor
who bestows the great gift freely and without payment,
232
A Trip to Ladakh
like the Good Physiciail who went about Galilee healing
all manner of diseases. Froin the Wardwan we climbed
the pass, and dropped down through pine forests into
the Kashmir Valley, crossing beautiful grassy margs and
sparkling streams, until we finally reached the river at
Islamabad, and found our boat waiting for us. Oh, the
joy of being able to travel without moving our legs! I
do not know when I so much enjoyed a boat journey, the
tramping over, and now gliding gently down-stream for
forty-eight miles to Srinagar and home at the end of it.
C H A P T E R XIX
ICASHMIR MEDICAL MISSION
I N the European cemetery a t the Sheikh Bagh, which

is situated near the first of the city bridges, is a
grave which I never pass without taking my hat off,
for in it lies the mortal remains of Lieut. Robert Thorp,
who gave his life for the Kashmiris in the year 1867.
T h e grave lies under the shadow of one of those beau-
tiful chenar-trees, which are a continual colnfort to those
seeking shelter from the summer sun, and a joy to behold
when the leaves take on their glorious autumn tints of
pink-scarlet.
Robert Thorp came to Kashmir, like many other British
officers, to shoot big game on the mountains; but his
mind was soon directed to a more important matter-
namely, the sorrows of the Kashmiris under maladminis-
tration. He found the peasants, who were Mohammedans,
suffering terribly under the rule of Hindu officials, who
socked the very life-blood out of them. They paid their
taxes in kind, the State claiming half the crops, and the
State officials who collected the grain taking a quarter or
more.
There was such an army of Hindu officials whose duty
it was to collect the grain that, when all had bee11
supplied, both lawfully and unlawfully, there was very
little left for the zarnindar and his family who had farmed
the land.
Often it happened that the farmer and his family had
to live on roots, or anything they could find on which to
234
Kashmir Medical Mission
exist. Apopros of this system of collectillg the grain
the Kashmiris tell the followillg story :-
Once upon a time there was a very great nobleman,
who was a Pathan, who lived in the mountains to the
north-west of Cashmere: his name was Mos Deen Khan.
One day he went upon a journey to Srinagar, in Cashmere,
in order to pay his respects to the king of that country,
and it happened that on that occasion he rode a horse
for which he had a very great regard. H e was indeed
so fond of this horse that he used to call himself ' the
father of the animal ! '
" When Mos Deen Khan reached Sat-o-kuddel, which is
the seventh bridge over the jhelnm at Srinagar, he alighted

froin his steed that he might proceed to the royal palace
on foot ; and having given many instructioils to the groom
with regard to the well treatment of the horse, as well
as special orders on no account to ride him, he sent him
back to his abode in the mountains.
'<But when Mos Deen Khan got half-way to the
palace of the King he bethought himself that perhaps
his servant might ill-treat his horse; he therefore sent
another of his attendants with orders to overtake them,
and ascertain whether the beloved animal was well cared
for. T h e menial departed, and found the first servant
riding the horse. H e thought, ' It is better for me to ride
at my ease than to quarrel with this servant, who may
perhaps afterwards falsely accuse me to my master' ; so
he too mounted.
"Now when Mos Deen Khan got very near the palace
of the King lle again bcthonght himself that perhaps it
would be better to send a still more trustworthy servant
to be a check upoil the coilduct of the others with regard
to his horse. But when the third servant overtook the
party, and found his two predecessors riding, lle also
23 5
n*,unted ; and the horse, which could have carried one,
became SO exhausted under the weight of three, that, on
reaching his stable, he died."
T h e application of the story is obvious enough, alld is
a good illustration of the natural wit of the Kashmiris.
There was another matter which troubled them much,
and that was the forced labour on the Gilgit road.
Gilgit, an outpost to the north of Kashmir, 200 miles
from Srinagar, was garrisoned by Kashmir troops. It is
situated in a foodless region, so the troops had to be fed
from the Kashmir Valley. N o road had been made there,
so all the supplies had to be carried by coolies. These
men were collected from the villages with the aid of
press-gangs. T h e sepoys always brought in more than
were required so that those who had money could buy
themselves off their hands.
A t Bandipore they were collected and loaded up. The
only rations allowed them was a seer of rice per day; this
they had to carry, plus the straw for making their straw
shoes, plus their load of food for the garrison. No
provision was made for them as they crossed the snow
passes, so that many died on the road, and often it
happened that when they did reach Gilgit they were sold
as slaves to the wild inhabitants of that inhospitable
region. T h e grandfather of one of my servants, who
was sent there, was exchanged for a Chinese dog, but
later on he escaped.
D r Arthur Neve, in his book, Thirty rears in Ka~bfuir,
writes :
"To the Englishman the word Gilgit s h o ~ l drecall
the many gallant deeds of the nineties-the capture of
Hunza, the relief of Chitral, and the Pamir omm mission*
During the last half-century Kashmir is the only Indian
native state that has increased in area. And the increase
236
was not desired, but was forced upon the Imperial Govern-
ment by the advancing power of the Russian Empire and
the intrigues of its frontier officers."
T h e triangle of mountainous country which lies between
Kashmir on the sooth, Russian Central Asia on the north,
and Afghanistan on the west is one of the wildest in the
world, and one of the least accessible. Great empires
have existed on both sides of the mountains ; armies have
froin time immemorial inarched along the southern skirts
to conquer India, and along the northern to subdue the
fertile countries of Central Asia ; at times there have been
great migrations of tribes from the vast plains of Mongolia
to invade the West ; but the Hindu Kush valleys have
stood out above the flood of migration or conquest, and
their primitive tribes offer most interesting probleins to
students of language and race.
For many years after I came to the country the mere
name of Gilgit struck terror into the Kashmiri. For him
it had the most alarming meaning. It spoke of forced
labour, frost-bite on the lofty passes, and valleys of death,
where the camps were haunted by cholera and starvation.
Early in April one year came word that the frontier tribes
were on the warpath, and orders were issued for a levy
of 5000 porters to accoinpany the two regiments sent to
reinforce the garrisons.
I was at Islamabad, endeavouring to fight an epidemic
of cholera by sanitation, and noticed coolies collectiilg
from all the surrounding region, each with a blanket,
spare grass-shoes, his carrying crutch and light frame of
sticks and rope in which to carry the load upon his back.
And I was present at tllc great concourse ill a green
meadow in front of the mosque when a sort of farewell
service was held for those starting 011 this perilous
journey. Loud was the sobbing of many, and fervid the
23 7
demeanour of all, as, led by the mullah, they intolled
their prayers and chanted some of their special Ramzan
penitential psalms. Even braver men than the Kashmiris
might well have been agitated at such a time, when taking
farewell of their loved ones. W h o would till their fields?
W h a t would happen during their long absence to their
wives and children? T o what perils would they them-
selves be exposed in the crowded bivouacs and snowy
passes of that deadly Gilgit district ?
Hence one can understand what a pitiable sight it must
have been to see the families bidding farewell to their
men-folk when they were needed for the fields, and whom
more than likely they would never see again.
T o Lord Roberts was left the honour of putting a stop
to this unnecessary suffering. H e was sent to Kashmir
by the Indian Government, a t the request of the present
Maharajah, to reorganise the Kashmir army, and the
Gilgit transport was one of the first matters he tackled.
Now the name Gilgit has lost its terrors, for there is
a fine road for pack-animals, and men go there without
fear, for on the passes huts are placed on piles from six
feet to twenty feet high, so that there is always a refuge
for travellers when crossing those high passes when deep
in snow and blizzards are sweeping across them.
Then again the condition of the shawl weavers was
pitiable, for they were practically slaves, and never allowed
to leave the country, as I have mentioned elsewhere. No
Kashmiri women were allowed to jeave the country, for
it was hoped that by this restriction it would prevent
their husbands from trying to escape to India.
To give a concrete instance of this, the late Rev* W* 1.
Stores told me that when he was chaplain in Kashmir he
was leaving the country 1,y the Pir Pllnjal route, when
at the pass his progress was blocked by a guard of sePoYc,
238
who told him to hand over his coolies, as they were not
allowed to leave Kashmir, being shawl weavers who had
offered themselves as coolies, hoping that under the
shadow of a Britisher they might escape to India, and
further ordered the cook's wife, who was with the party,
to return. She had dressed herself in Punjabi women's
clothes in the hope of escape.
Lieutenant Thorp during his stay in the country made
it his business to collect information regarding the perse-
cutioil of the Kashmiris, of which these stated were by no
means the worst of their troubles. H e brought the evil
condition of the people to the notice of the Indian
Government, and also wrote to the papers in England,
to try to raise up interest on their behalf and so bring
deliverance. However, trouble came upon him, and he
was ordered out of the country, and because he refused
to go he was bound to his bed and carried towards the
pass by sepoys. He, however, managed to escape, and
returned to Srinagar; but it was of no avail, for next
morning he died of poison after his breakfast.
N o doubt this gallant young officer thought, when he
realised that his end was near, that all his efforts to help
the slaves had been of no use; but if he thought so he
was mistaken, and he probably knows now that his life
was not laid down in vain.
Other British officers had seen the S.O.S. and answered
the call-such as Sir Robert Montgomery, Lieutenant-
Governor of the Punjab, Sir Herbert Edwards, Colonel
Martin and Colonel Urmston (with whom rests the ho~lour
of having put a stop to the burning of Hindu widows in
Kashmir). These men met together to consider how best
they colild help Kashmir, and they agreed that the
Kashmiri needed spiritual as well as bodily help. So
they subscribed Ks. I 4,000, sent it to the C.M.S., alld
239
asked them t o send to Kashmir a medical missionary,
for h e would gain the confidence of the people, and
they trnsted that the Maharajah and his officials would
welcome a doctor to their country.
T h e Society selected D r Elmslie, a Scot, who came to
India as the first medical missionary. D r Elmslie arrived
a t Srinagar in the spring of 1864. His life was hard
and difficult, for he had no hospital, his operations being
performed under the trees ; also orders were issued that
the people were not to visit the doctor, and sepoys were
stationed around to keep them away, as the sick persisted
in coming for relief. Several patients suffered imprison-
ment for disobeying the order of the authorities.
N o Europeans it1 those days were permitted to stay in
Kashmir in the winter, and no exception was made in the
doc tor's case.
Dr Elmslie worked for eight years, and died in 1872,
on his way out of Kashmir. T h e Rev. T. R. Wade
worked with him, and did excellent work in the early days
of the Medical Mission. T h e Society then sent out
D r Theodore Maxwell, to whom, because he happened
to be the nephew of General John Nicholson, the hero
of Delhi, the Maharajah granted a site for the Mission
Hospital, on a hill called Rustum Gari, which lies below
and is a continuation of the Takht-i-Suliaman. It is
a splendid position overlooking the Dal or City Lake.
D r Maxwell remained until I 876, when ill health corn-
pelled him to retire, owing to continual worries. Mean-
while there was a youtlg artillery officer, named Edmund
Downes, who had resigned his commission in India in
order that he might become a medical missionary, pre-
paring for the work in Kashrnir, so once again a soldier
came to the relief of the down-trodden people of
Kashmir.
240
During his time a terrible famine came up011 the land,
from two causes-viz. an exceptionally early winter, and
grasping officials. T h e farmers were not allowed to
garner their crops until the officials had measured them,
and the officials would not measure them until they had
been paid (unlawfully) by the farmers for allowing them
to garner their crops. T h e farmers were holding out
against this imposition as it was excessive, and the officials
on their side would not modify their demands. T h e n
came a heavy fall of snow which made harvesting
impossible, and so thousands of Mohammedan families
perished; but the Hindus were less hardly hit, as they
were fed out of the Government storehouses.
It was at this time that the missionaries came to the
fore-viz. D r Downes and the Rev. T. R. Wade, who
had been sent up to help. They wrote home for help,
and with the money had food brought up from India on
ponies. They started relief works. They dug a canal
from the river to the Dal, so that boats could pass from
one to the other. This canal has since been widened and
now forms one of the principal waterways. They also
started an orphanage for the orphan children and an
asylum for destitute women, and in various ways did their
best to alleviate the sufferings of the stricken. They
had much to contend with, as certain officials objected to
this work of lnercy being done by Britishers. Fortuilately
the British Resident, who was a strong, humane man,
backed them up, and saw them through many difficulties.
But the famine lost us D r Dowoes, for his wife's
health gave way, as she herself told me, on account of
the terrible sufferings of the people day by day of which
she was an unwilling beholder, since so little could be
done ill comparison with the hugeness of the task.
In tllose days D r Arthur Neve arrived. H e had hoped
'2 24 1
to be sent to Equatorial Africa to help in the pioneer
work around Lake Nyanza with his friend Bishop
Hannington, but a doctor was badly needed in Kashmir,
so Dr Neve went East, and was soon giving of his best
to Kashmir.
W h e n he arrived he found a line of mud huts on the
side of the hill which answered the purpose of a hospital.
Arthur Neve was a man not only to see visions but to
see that they were fulfilled. His vision was a fine up-to-
date hospital with every necessary scientific appliance.
This he lived to see an accomplished fact. For he and his
brother, Dr Ernest F. Neve, who joined him four years
later, gathered gradually from their fees and donations
such sums yearly as not only were ample for the running
of a big hospital, but for adding to their buildings, until
it reached its present splendid dimensions. It is also
interesting to note that whereas in the early days of
I 860 the then Maharajah would not grant the doctor an
inch of ground at first on which to put up even a hut in
which to care for his sick subjects, the present Maharajah
gives yearly a donation t o the hospital, and free electric
light, and has on several occasions visited the hospital when
new buildings were being opened. In the early days
the officials tried to obstruct tlie doctor and patients in
every way ; now they and their families gladly accept the
medical help and skill which this hospital offers.
T h e hospital contains 150 beds.
In-patients per annum . . 1,719
Out-patients ,, . 16,158
Operations ,, . 4,143
Total attendances . 38,954
T h e European hospital staff now consists of three
doctors-E. F. Neve, Cecil Vosper, M. R. Roche-two
242
English nurses-Miss Nora Neve, the niece of Doctor
Neve, who came out first in 1 8 9 1 , and Miss Lucy
McCormick-and quite recently Miss H. Smith has joined
the staff. These ladies have no easy task, for Eastern
assistants have not the same sense of duty as Westerners,
and hence it means an immense amount of supervisioo, as
mistakes and carelessness may spell death.
Then in this hospital, like many others in India, members
of the family of the sick person come into the wards to
help nurse their relations ; this may lighten work in one
way,. but makes it heavier in others.
During the summer months the work increases much,
so that it has been the custom for the Society to send
help. T h e followit~gnames will bring happy memories
to the minds of those who have visited Kashmir in
different years, and those of the country who have
received so many kindnesses from them.
Thinking of them according to time: R. Venables
Green, Esq.; D r W. F. Adams, who has now a practice
in Essex; D r Sydney Gaster, now at Quetta Ilospital;
D r Somterton Clark, in England from ill health ; D r H. T.
Holland, who was in Kashmir and who was a tower of
strength in the dark days of September last when D r A.
Neve passed from us ; D r A. J. Turner, in practice at
home; D r H. E. Rawlins, who was obliged to retire
through ill health, now in practice in England; D r H. V.
Starr, who was cruelly murdered at the Missioil Hospital,
Peshawar, in April I g I 8 ; D r Reeve Heber, who came at
a time of heavy strain at the llospital, and who is now
back at liis hospital in Leli.
It is indeed a worthy list, ;und Kasliinir is to be con-
gratulated on having the help of s11rl1men.
1t i s i~npossihlcfor ine to convey to my readers the
great~icssandi i n p o r t a ~ wof tlie worL t l ~ a t Ilns beeo, and
Kashmi r Medical Mission
is being, carried on in this splendid institution, so I will
pass on the account written by D r Arthur Neve himself
of a day's work in the hospital :
cc For the last two days the roads leading into the city
have been thronged with villagers, tramping in and sing-
ing as they tramp, drawn by the great shrine at Hazrat
Bal, where the hair of Mohammed is displayed on certain
festivals. These are the great days to which the people,
especially perhaps the women and children, look keenly
forward, for not only is there the display at the shrine,
but the opportunity of showing off their best clothes and
jewellery, and of seeing the shops of the city and making
their frugal purchases. A bundle on the man's back
contains a few days' rice and condiments, and the wife
carries a fat cock as a present to the mullahs.
c c B ~there
t is a second pilgrimage centre with a special
attraction for the many who have sore eyes or various
surgical complaints-namely, the Mission Hospital-and
the waves of the rising tide begin to lap in at the gates.
It is scarcely the busiest season, but already 135 beds are
occupied, and all these in-patien ts have been personally
seen before ten A.M. T h e hospital seems full of interest-
ing cases, and we find that 107 different towns and
villages are represented in the wards. Then comes the
first preaching at eleven A.M. to a dense mass of people,
and soon we and the nnrses and some thirty helpers are
dealing as rapidly and effectively as ~ossiblewit11 the
string of patients passing into the consulting-room0
Some merely need a little medicine, others go i n t ( ~the
minor operating-room and are for operations ;
the women pass to the fem;~Ie dressing-room, while some
are sent straight to the wards. By noon a hundred have
been seen ; hut many very serious cases remain to he
dealt with-a child who has fallen from an upper storey
and broken his skull, a wornail who has fallen and sus-
tained several internal injuries as well as external wounds
(she died, the child recovered), and a Illan with a fractured
leg, as well as many requiring serious operations. But at
noon we adjourn to the chapel for our usual prayer and
service with the assistants, and then we separate to various
wards to give some Bible teaching.
"By twelve-forty-five P.M. everything is once more in
full swing; and in one room some private paying patients,
including a high State official, are being attended to,
while operations are being performed simultaneously in
two other rooms. By two-thirty P.M. most of the out-
patients have been treated and two more out-patient
addresses given, and the European members of the staff
take a hurried lunch, while the patients who have been
dealt with are gradually dismissed. Then again we
plunge into the operating; so far six major and forty
minor operations have been done. A bad smash is
brought in after ten days' journey, from a town where
there is a doctor. ' W h y did you come ? ' ' Oh, Sahib,
the doctor wanted to cut off my boy's leg, and we heard
that you save legs.' An antiseptic leg-bath was ordered,
splints were applied after removing some bone, and the leg
was kept on. (He was able to walk in two months.)
And so the hours passed. By four P.M. over 350 patients
had been seen ; but i t was getting on for seven o'clock
before our last operations were finished, and even then
I was called along to the wards to check some bleeding
in a case which had been operated upon earlier in the
day. Well, it had been a good day's work; we three
doctors and two senior assistants had between us per-
formed twenty or twenty-one major operations and fifty
minor. Our work was done, but the nurses' work went
on till nearly midnight."
T h e busiest season is in April, May and August. In
e first month on one day there were 438 out-patients.
T h e teaching is an integral and essential part of the
work in order that our motives may not be misunderstood,
and that the full message of Christianity may appear-a
message for the hearts of the sorrowful and oppressed, as
well as for the bodies of the suffering. D r Wilfrid
Grenfell, C.M.G., the distinguished medical missionary of
Labrador, says :
" I always kept pasted up in my surgery, where some-
times the continuous stream of patients calls for more

sympathy than I have to give, and is likely to make one
irritable and useless because unsympathetic, these old
words :
' H e did kindly things so kindly,
It seemed his heart's delight
T o make poor people happy
From morning unto night.' "
W o r k in a llospital must always be exacting and often
very wearying to the flesh, but it, like all else, is relieved
by humour a t times. T h e Rev. T. R. Wade, writing in
his diary some fifty odd years ago, speaks of the patients
as being very superstitious; for they when leaving the
hospital would go straight away to their priests to thank
them for their recovery and to pay them, believing them
to have been the cause of their recovery. Mr Wade
would say to these superstitious folk: "You give us all
the kam and takiif [i.e. the work and the trouble], whilst
to your priests you give all the dam and tnrif [i.e. the pay
and the praise]."
These same words can be said with truth to-day to
many of them, though of course much superstition and
ignorance has been cut out and cleaned away.
One day I saw a man who was just leaving the hospital
246
holding out his hand to D r Arthur Neve and making a
request. Neve turned to me laughing, saying: "This
man is asking me to go shares with him over the tumour
that I have taken out of his back," for, said the ~ a t i e n t ,
<(you surely would not have taken all this trouble over
me, and taken out the tumour, unless you were going to
make money over the sale of it."
On another occasion at the hospital a fine strapping
Mohammedan about forty years of age came up to me
and then burst out crying. His tears literally poured out
of his eyes down his cheeks, making the wooden floor
wet, as he stood before me, for the Kashmiris possess
truly colossal water-tanks.
I asked him what was up, and he sobbed out between
his gulps : cc I am an orphan ! I am an orphan ! " How
could I comfort this poor orphan? Fortunately I
remembered that I also was an orphan. So I took out
my pocket-handkerchief, which I stuffed into my eyes, as
my water-works were no match for his, and therefore I
could only sob out, " So am I ! So am I ! " Nevertheless
our sobs, if not our tears, intermingled. T h e result was
magic. T h e water-cocks were turned off and our heaviness
was turned into joy as we laughed together and forgot
all about being poor orphans. H e was, of course, only
trying it on in the hope that I had a soft heart which
melted at tears and would shell out rupees.
T h e Kashmiris are an amusing folk, and their water-
works add quite a large part to their enjoyment in life,
for they are great actors.
Beyond all this work in Srinagar there is left untold
the thousands of patients that are relieved when the
doctors go on tour, in the valley itself, and to the regions
beyond, giving relief to those who would otherwise have
to endure their pain and sufferings till death relieved them.
247
N o wonder then that when D r Arthur Neve passed
away from us to the Greater Empire, into the fuller and
real life, in September, I 9 I 9, there was such a following
t o the grave as had never been witnessed before, number-
ing two or three thousand. Not oilly did they weep, but
showed their sorrow practically by meeting together next
day to consider what suitable memorial to raise to their
friend of nearly forty years.
Besides the work in the great hospital, the State has
placed in their hands the care of their leper hospital,
which contains over loo inmates. T h e hospital stands
on a promontory in the Dal Lake, in a most beautiful
position. T h e lepers are encouraged to do a certain
amount of gardening in order to keep them occupied, and
so keep their ininds off their miserable condition.
I will quote from D r Ernest Neve's book, Beyond the
Pir Punjal :
"In Kashmir there is no compulsory segregation
of lepers. Those who come to the hospital do so
voluntarily, and stay just as long as they like. For this
reason it has been found difficult to develop industrial
work amongst them. It is important that those who
are well enough shonld have some occupation. They are
therefore expected to keep their own rooms clean; and
odd jobs--such as grass-cutting, white-washing, path-
making and so on-are encouraged. There is also a little
school for the children. Most of the lepers come from
hill districts around the valley of Kashmir. Many of
them belong to the herdsman class. Leprosy is not
hereditary ; it appears to he propagated by a limited
contagion among those who live in crowded huts and
under insanitary conditions. There are two chief types
of the disease. In one of these there are pale, leprous
patches, with loss of sensation. This form affects fingers
and toes, which drop off, and it appears to correspond
more closely with the leprosy mentioned in the Bible than
the other form, T h e second forin, the so-called tuber-
cular leprosy, is far more disfiguring. T h e body is
,-overed with lumps, and, as these are very numerous on
the face, the patient's features are distorted, and some-
times look quite leonine. In many the eyes are attacked,
and incurable blindness follows only too often.
Advanced cases are turned out of their hoines and
people refuse to eat with them, so their condition is
very sad. T h e less marked cases often continue to live
in their villages, and they are a source of danger to others.
I remember once, when travelling in a mountainous part
of Kashmir, going to a cottage and asking for some milk.
A man brought me some in his bowl. I was just about
to drink it when, glancing at the man, I saw that he was
a leper. There are undoubted risks when lepers are
inixed with the population, living, sleeping and eating
with healthy people. It will at once be perceived that
the larger the number of lepers in the hospital the
better will it fulfil its intention ; and the longer every
leper can be retained in the institution the better for
himself and the rest of the population. T h e treatment
is chiefly palliative. But many of the lepers improve very
much, and in soine the disease appears to become, after
a time, colnpletely arrested. Food, clothing, bedding, in
fact all that they need, is supplied to the lepers; and
as funds admit we are gradually furnishing the whole
hospital with first-rate iron bedsteads.
T h e spiritual work in the leper hospital has been up.
hill, and io some respects i t affords a means of estimltillg
the difficulty of the work in Kashmir, and the apparent
slowness of progress. 111 the leper hospital the patients
owe practically everything to Christiae work. In their
249
own villages most of them are outcasts, although the
people give them alms. T h e contrast in the leper
hospital must be very striking to them. Here they have
abundant food and many comforts, with cosy little rooms
and firewood in the winter. Their wo~lndsare dressed
daily, and a friendly interest is taken in them, When
we go to this hospital, after visiting all the patients, we
gather them together and read a portion of Scripture,
following it with simple explanation or a short evangelistic
address. Attendance at this service is voluntary. In the
summer nearly all come: in the winter the number drops
to thirty or forty. T h e patients listen with attention.
T h e y are not good at answering questions; many of them
seem to be afraid lest that should be taken by the others
as an indication of an intention of becoming Christians.
From time to time, however, some have professed their
faith, and have been baptized. These have all beell
subject to a measure of persecution from the other lepers,
who promptly refuse to eat with them, and object to live
in the same room, and not infrequently show much bitter-
ness. And yet the very people who act in this way often
say Amen quite fervently at the close of the prayer with
which our service is ended. T h e fact is that they are
ready to assent to a good deal of Christian teaching, but
object to baptism, because they realise that a baptized
person is no longer one of the great Mohammedan
brotherhood, and is therefore from their standpoint
a renegade.
T h e first to become a Christian in the present leper
hospital was K.K. H e is intelligent and independent, and
certainly the best of the lepers. In the first instance he
was influenced largely through reading a copy of the New
Testament which was given to him.
There is still a tendency for the leper hospital work to
250
grow and increase. Before long I have no doubt that we
shall be able to accommodate more than loo lepers in the
institution. It is interesting to know that all this work
is, owing to the eillightenment a i d liberality of the
Maharajah of Kashmir, carried on without ally charge
whatever upon the funds of the Church Missionary
Society. If there were no Christians at all, the work
would nevertheless be interesting and encouraging, for is
it not a literal carrying-out of the command to " heal the
sick ... and say unto them, T h e Kingdom of God is
come nigh unto you"? And if many of the lepers are
somewhat unresponsive, and their gratitude is not always
conspicuous, do we not know of ten lepers who were
actually completely restored to health, and yet of whom
only one stranger returned to give thanks? W h o call
say that some of these lepers, taking all their circum-
stances and the heavy handicap of disease into coosidera-
tion, may not be really nearer the Kingdom than many
Christians who, enjoying health and the innumerable
privileges of a Christian environment, with all that this
means, are nevertheless content to live lives of luxury
and ease, unmiildful of the White Man's Burden, and the
great claim of Christian opportunity, which calls us all to
work while it is yet day?
T h e people of Kashmir are fortunate in having much
medical assistance, for besides the two well-equipped State
hospitals in Srinagar, the one for the general public, and
the hospital for women, there are dispensaries in all the
important centres.
T h e present chief medical officer is Colonel Uuni Chand,
who decided on a medical career from reading the life of
D r Livingstone, so the State is to be congratulated in
having an officer who works for the love of relieving
pain and distress. Alsu the a o m r n of the city are
251
fortunate in having had lady doctors in charge of the
Zenana Hospital ~ h have o never spared tllemselvesin
their solicitude for their suffering sisters. Dr Janet
Vaughan is the present lady in charge, and fortunate are
the women of this city in having such a friend amongst
them.
A t Islamabad there is a well-run hospital, founded by
Mrs Bishop-better known as the traveller and writer,
Miss Isabella Bird-which is fortunate in having two
devoted ladies in charge, D r Minnie Gomery and Miss
Newnham.
In Srinagar the women have been blessed in having
amongst them Englishwomen who have for years given
of their best to relieve them in their times of sickness
and distress.
T o mention one, Miss Newman, who has given
nearly thirty years of devoted service, who both
night and day has been at their beck and call, tending
the sick women not only in their houses but also ready
to crawl into the little cabins of the barges to minister to
the sick and dying. Only those who know ~ a s h m i r
bazaars and Kashmir boat life call truly appreciate what
this means.
CHAPTER XX
EDUCATION
T HE indigenous schools of Kashmir have always

been in connection with the mosques, where the
boys are taught to read Arabic so that they
may be able to read the Koran, b ~ l tnot necessarily to
understand it.
Likewise the Brahmans have their schools, where
Sanskrit is taught so that the boys may be able to read
the sacred Hindu books. T o these two languages, Arabic
and Sanskrit, Persian was added, and now a certain amount
of arithmetic is taught. T h e scl~olars range from the
age of five years to sixteen or eighteen. They are all
taught together, in the same room in the winter and in
the verandahs in the summer, hut they may be divided
into groups. Often there are not enough books to go
round, so boys club together to look over one book.
T h e books are as a rule ancient volumes belonging to the
boys' parents, so as they have done service for years,
these books are generally much the worse for wear, torn,
and sineared all over with grease and black, and often
the uomistakahle signs of curry and rice are upon them.
Every scholar briilgswitll him a board,ahout twelve by seven
inches, which is his slate, a wooden 11ottle filled with chalk
and water, which is his ink and ink bottle, a pel1 made of
a stalk of Tndian corn, ;und lastly a piece of glass, generally
the hottoin part of a l~ran(lybottle, with which to polish
his wooden slate, so that it inay have a smooth sllrface on
which the pen call run easily. A great deal of tilnf is
25 3
Education
spent during the school hours in cleaning the chalk writ-
ing from the boards and then polishing them. ~t is quite
hard work, SO provides exercise for them, which is the
only exercise the boys ever get when at school, as
athletics are not for gentlemen, and scholars are gentle-
men ! Long before you arrive at one of these schools
you are aware of its existence by the shouting of many
voices, which increases as you approach-that is to say,
if you have been seen, for the master likes the world
to know that he is at work, so urges the boys to be
more vehement in their learning and acquisition of
knowledge.
W h e n you enter the room you will see thirty to fifty
scholars squatting on the floor in small groups, swinging
backwards and forwards as they commit the sentences to
memory by shouting them out. As every boy is learning
a different word or sentence you can imagine what the
babel of sounds is like. So stirring is the sight and
sound that you feel inclined to join in and sho~ttout some
nursery rhyme or something in keeping with the bedlam.
You will see by the side of the teacher, who is also
swinging and rolling out Arabic or Sanskrit, as the case
may be, a bundle of nettles: this is in lieu of a cane.
T h e legs of the boys being bare he is able to inflict
punishment with ease. Also you will see by his side a
die such as is used hy the printers for stamping coloured
patterns on cloth. This school die is for printing a
pattern on the legs of his pupils to prevent them going
into the water, for as none of them can swim they might
get drowned. T h e y go on the ~ r i n c i ~ that
l e only those
who go on the water or in it can get drowned, therefore do
not g o ncar it and you will be safe. This mark is to show
the parents that the sclloolrnastrr has taken proper care
of their sons, in Leepii~gtllrni from the river.
Education
Before entering the schoolroom your nose will have
communicated to you the fact that there are plenty of
dirty clothes near at hand, and on entering your eyes will
corroborate this fact. T h e teacher has certainly been
most successful in keeping his scholars from the water.
If it happens to be the winter time, when all the windows
are fast closed, and every boy plus the teacher has a
kangri under his pheron, you will have no desire to spend
unnecessary time over the inspectioil of the school.
If a visitors' book is presented to you to sign you will
probably write in it that the subject of hygiene should be
added to the curriculum of this particular school.
If it is the summer time when you pay the school
a visit it is not at all ~ullikelythat you will see the teacher
comfortably tucked up in the coriler of the room fast
asleep, and the boys not making so much noise as usual,
as they are hoping that his sleep may be a very long one,
with no bad dreams to disturb his rest.
It was about forty years ago that the Mission School
was started, where English was taught. Then the State
followed suit with a school, and then two schools which,
in the course of time, became Middle Schools, and later
were raised to High Schools, and affiliated to the Pulljab
University. There are now in Srinagar two State High
Schools, a Mohammedan I-ligh School and the C.M.S.
I-Iigh School.*
In these the boys read up to the matriculation exam-
ination standard for the Punjab University. After passing
this they generally enter the Sir Pertab State College, ill
Srinagar, whilst a few go to one of the colleges in Lahore
or to the Kashmil. State College at [ammu.
All education io the state is free, so that the youths of
1 At Raramull:l tl~clr is the Hornan Catholic High School and at
1slarn:tb;lcl thc C. M.S. I-ligll Scllool.
Education
Kashmir have every facility for acquiring knowledge
suitable for examinations.
Examinations, next to rupees, are the god of the so.
called educated class, for by means of passing examinam
tions the scholars hope to get State service and become
eligible for wives attached to some wealth.
T h e result of higher education being free is that the
boys from all classes crowd into the schools, and every
year over two hundred youths offer themselves for the
matriculation examination, out of which over one hundred
will pass, and out of them forty or fifty will go into
college. T h e remainder immediately join the great
crowd of unemployed who are for ever trying to get into
State service, and so in Kashmir, as in India, we have
a class of discoiltented unemployables. They have been
brought out of their station in life, where they could have
got work, but now they think themselves superior to any-
thing that is in the line of manual labour, for they have
reached the gentlemen cult and aspire to a clerkship,
which, though the pay is small, gives the chance of pick-
ings, not to mention the visions of loot later on, according
to the custom of their forefathers.
A long-felt want has of late been supplied in the shape
of a Technical School, raised to the memory of the late
Kaja Sir Amar Singh, K.C.S.I. It is a fine large building
outside the city, where there is ~ l e n t yof room for expansion.
T h e State is to be congratulated in having secured the
services of M r F. H. Andrews as Principal, for what
Mr Andrews does not know in his line of 11usiness is 'lot
worth knowing. IIe also tumbled at once to the weak
spot of the Rashlniris in general and craftsmell ill put'-
dar-viz. waot of self-respect, which shows itself In
shoddy work. For instance, you will h ~ ay most beaut'-
fully carved table of walnut wood, a joy to behold if You
256
Education
do not inspect it too carefully. If you do, and turn it up-
side down, you will see the mortises have not been cut to
fit, the vacant space having been filled with extra pieces
of wood, or putty. O r later oil you will roba ably find
the table warping, as it has been made from unseasoned
wood. I tell these carvers of my visit to the monasteries in
Burma, which are richly carved outside as well as inside,
and the figures are carved in positions where no human
eyes can see them as carefully as they are carved in front,
for if inan cannot see them the gods can.
Mr Andrews has taken on a difficult business, which
is nothing less than to teach the Kashmiris to become
honest in their work, to be satisfied with nothing but that
which is the best. I inarvel at his patience and deter-
mination in winning through. H e is, by the way, also
arranging the wonderful treasures discovered by Sir
Auriol Stein in the buried cities in the great Tibetan
plateau.
The education of girls is of course very far behind that
of the boys. It was somewhere in the nineties that one
of the Mission ladies started a girls' school in the city ; it
was of course by no means popular, as it shocked the
prejudices of all proper-thinking folk in Srinagar. T h e
girls who were brave enough to attend were very timid,
and their parents were somewhat on the shake, as public
opinioll w-as very much against them. T h e school con-
tinued until the first Prize Day. T h e lady superinte~ldent
had invited some of the European ladies of the station to
come to the function, thinking it would be an encourage-
ment to tlie girls and their parents. All the girls were
assembled in the school when, on the appearance of the
Ellglish lady visitors, someone in the street shouted out
that the Europeans had come to kidnap the girls. Others
took up the cry, and ran to the school windows and told
K
*57
Education
the girls to escape by jumping from the windows, the men
below catching them as they fell. Before the visitors
could enter the school the scholars had literally flown : the
girls of course lost their heads on account of the shoutingl
from the street. It was a terrible moment for the lady
superintendent as she saw her girls disappear out of the
windows, for she feared they would be damaged by the
fall. It is said that one of the lady visitors was wearing
a rather wonderful hat, which upset the equilibrium of
the citizens who were standing outside the school. Be
this as it may, this episode ended the existence of the
first girls' school in Srinagar for some time.
Time is a great healer, so once more girls came to
school again, and now there are, besides the three Mission
schools for girls, a State School, a Mohammedan School
and five Hindu schools for girls, three of which are now
Middle Schools, and will soon be High Schools.
A t Islamabad, Miss Coverdale, of C.M.S., has a school
of one hundred girls, who are very devoted to her, which
is no wonder considering the love and care that is shown
towards and for them. T h e education of the girls is of
the first importance, for they will be the mothers of the
future generation.
It is the women who at present more than the men
hinder progress. T h e y are very conservative, because of
their ignorance and superstition, and are far more under
the power of the ignorag priests than are the men*
Also, now that the boys are being educated and having
their minds opened, it is most necessary that they should
find wives like-minded, instead of, as at present, having
t o marry ignorant and undisciplined girls, who ever
remain a drag on them, and whom they often term "but
ani~nals.'~
It is fortunate that the C.M.S. boys' school
258
Education
attached to it a girls' school where the sisters of the boys
can receive similar education. Miss Fitze, who is the
Principal, has by her devotion, patience and tact worked
wonders amongst them, so that from a collection of dirty
and undisciplined girls has arisen a school of clean, self-
respecting little maidens, who enjoy life to the full, and
will in due time become true helpmates of their brothers'
class-mates in the boys' school. Then the boys who
have cast off superstition and ignorance, and various other
evils, will have wives after their own heart; and both
together will train up their children to become useful
members of the community.
Then, but not till then, can we expect to see a clean
city, and the old stage coach get a move on. There is
one matter which needs setting right, and it is this.
Every year the State College turns out twenty or so
graduates, and some of them continue their studies a t
Lahore, and take their LL.D., etc. Now unless these me11
are connected with the high officials in the State they
are not given that employment for which the State
has itself fitted them. All high positions in the State
are given to non-Kashmiris-i.e. men from the Punjab,
Bengal, etc. Now I do not consider this is playiilg the
game.
India is in these days calling out loudly, cc India for
the Indians," that foreigners must give place to India's
sons, etc. If this cry is right and true, why should the
same Indian call out, Kashmir for the Indians " ? W h y
should not the sons of Kashmir have a place in their own
country? They certainly have not, for foreigners take all
their high posts. Let those arho u-ish for fair play for
themselves allow the same treatment to others.
CHAPTER XXI
A K A S H M I R MISSION SCHOOL
I N writing of the Mission School I fear the pronoun

" I " will obtrude itself ad nnusennl, but I do
know how to avoid making use of it. Perhaps this

nuisance may be somewhat mitigated if my readers will
bear in mind the founder of the schools, the Rev. J. H.
Knowles, B.D., and the ten years' spade-work that he had
to undertake in digging the foundations ; then the labours
of my European fellow-workers, who have helped so much
to strengthen the structure, and lastly the great body of
Kashmiri teachers, who have worked most loyally and
cheerfully in the work of building up the schools to their
present position. In the early years my brother George
put in several years of solid work, without remuneration,
and set an example which has ever been an inspiration to
the staff, so that whenever there has been a special bit
of good work done they say, that is cc Gog Sahib."
T h e n there are the following short-service men who
have given two or more years' welcome help:-the Rev.
C. L. E. Burges, M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge,
scholar and wrangler, whose chief work was to instruct the
staff in the teaching of mathematics ; A. B. Tyndale, MA.
of Magdalen College, Oxford, who started a technical
school, and taught Brahman boys carpentry, thus breaking
the Mohammedan carpenters' ring which re vented them
teaching Brahmans their trade.
I may mention another difficulty which beset these bud-
ding Brahman carpenters. One of them, having arrived at
2 60
A Kashmir Mission School
man's estate, wished to take unto himself a wife, but no
Brahman could be induced to give his daughter to a man
who was engaged in such an ungentlemanly job as that
of a carpenter. H e put up with his lonely conditioil for
some time, but finally the desire for a spouse proved
greater than love for his adze and saw, so he gave up his
unholy profession and took up the work of a chaprasi,
which was considered to be an hoilourable profession,
whereupon the Brahmans smiled upon hiin and he became
a married man, bless h i ~ n!
Miss Helen Burges taught the scliool staff the kiodcr-
gartell system, which has proved so useful to us, but at
the commencement created difficulties, for several parents
removed their sons from the school on account of it, for,
said they, cc W e send our children to school to learn and
not to play."
T h e Rev. Cecil Barton, M.A. of Trinity Ilall, Cambridge,
was associated with the scliools for several years, and
his life and teaching have been a real help to many,
and his memory is still green. Tlleil came the Rev. F. E.
Lucey, M.A. and scholar of Worcester College, Oxford,
and stroke of his college boat, and F. C. Hall, Esq.
T h e latter was able to stay only a year, as he was called
to work elsewliere ; the former has been iny colleague for
nlally years, and no one could have a Inore loyal fellow-
worker; he supplies by his hrains aild other powers those
things in which I am deticient.
D r Kate Knowles, M.B., London, for several years
identified herself with the schools in a most thorough
manner, and did invaluable work amongst the women-folk
belonging to the s t ~ f land students, and helped them
a i d their neigll1a)ur.s to respect and care for their women-
folk.
Charles Musgravr, M.A. of Christ Church, Oxford,
26 I
0- H= Robinson, B.A. of Queens' College, Cambridge,
and TGray, BOA.of Jesus College, Cambridge, stroke
o
of his college boat, followed one another as short-service

men* Charles M u g r a v e went as chaplain to a Guards9
division, and afterwards served in a Tank division. Oliver
Robinson first joined up in the war as chaplain, but later
joined the ranks, and gave his life in the great cause.
Sydney Gray left us to do his bit, but he came through
the ordeal safely.
Rev. Marcus Wigram took my place in the school
during one of my furloughs, when the school benefited
by his experience and kindly nature.
The last to join the staff was the Rev. J. S. Dugdale,
M.A. of Rugby and Oxford, who threw himself heart and
soul into the school. W e look forward to welcoming him
back in the near future.
Whatever we Westerners may have accomplished could
not have been done without the willing co-operation of
the Kishmir staff, numbering now seventy-five, who of
course know the lives and characters of the students
of the school in a way that we cannot.
Practically all the staff are old students, so we are like
one large family bound together with inany ties. We
have been in travail together, we have fought together,
we have cotnforted one another in defeats, and rejoiced
together in our victories and in our joys. Hence we
might choose for our motto wit11 truth that of the old
P. & 0. Company, Puis Separabit ? "
As in the commencement of the hospital so was it with
the school, many obstacles and difficulties had to be over-
come. Parents were warned not to permit their sons
to attend the school, and as these warnings were not
attended to, one or more of the scholars were put into
the lock-up for persisting.
262
Timescllange. So that when the Rev. J. He Knowles
arrived, in I 88 I , he soon gathered together a goodly
number of pupils, who were eager to learn English, as
that language began to supersede Persian in certain State
offices. When I arrived, in I 89 I , to assist M r Knowles
in the school there were 2 5 0 scholars attending school.
Never shall 1 forget my feelings of surprise and amuse-
ment and, to speak the truth, disgust also : surprise, to
see these bundles of huinan beings squatting on the floor,
most of them with their mouths open, as different from
that class called boys as I had ever imagined ; amuse-
ment, on account of their ungainly costumes, for every
one seemed to be wearing a very dirty nightgown, and
their foreheads were plastered with red paint, and
numbers of them wore huge golden earrings which would
have torn the lobes of their ears off if they had not been
supported with string over the tops of their heads ; disgust
at the offensive smell that pervaded that schoolroom, for
practically every one of these bundles had a concealed
fire-pot full of hot charcoal, which was emitting fumes of
carbon mixed up with unwashen bodies and dirty clothes
in which they had been sleeping at night as well as
wearing them all day. It was wintry weather, for it was
the month of December, the city lay deep in snow, and the
streets consisted of pools of black filth ; hence their long
garments i~roughtmuch of the city mud into the school.
Then, as I inspected them inore closely, I noticed that
their finger-nails were a b ~ l o r m a l llong
~ and all in the very
deepest mourning. 0 1 1 inquiry I found the possession of
lollg nails to be one of the signs of gentility, as it was an
incontestable sign that they never disgraced themselves
with doing manual labour of any kind, and therefore
belonged to the " sufed posh"-i.c. white flower, or tip-
top class, as they were hy birth the highest caste. When
263
I had been in the school a few days, I told them I thought
that black nails were hardly in keeping with white flowers,
and insisted that clean nails should be the complement of
the white-flower class.
O n the occasioil of my first Prize Day the Resident,
Colonel David Barr, was present in the school hall to
give away the prizes. H e called me up to him, and I
thought he wished to make some pleasiilg remark, when
he whispered in my ear: W h a t a dirty lot of boys yoo
have got, Biscoe. I will give a prize for the cleanest boy
next year." T h e boys were all dressed in their best, and
had brushed theinselves up for the great occasion, so
you call imagine my chagrin. I had forgotten that
the Resident's nose had not been trained as mine had
been.
After my introductioll to the bundles on the floor
I thought I would make a good start by asking the
Principal of the school to grant the boys a half-holiday
in honour of my arrival from the West to teach them
something (which looked doubtful). Mr Knowles kindly
accorded my request, and announced the half-holiday.
I expected to see the bundles wake up into life and make
some sort of joyful sound, 1,ut instead 1 ollly heard
groans. I asked if that was the way Kashmiris cheered,
for it sounded to me uncommonly like groans. I was told
that my surmise was correct, it wits groans, for the bulldles
were much displeased at my request, for had they not
come to school to learn? W h a t good n-ere holidays?
I began to understand that I had come to Kashmir to
rather than to teach, so I set myself to study the character
of the Rashmir school~nastersand the bundles. It was
not easy, for I had so much to unlearn, and also had
to try to look at tllings from quite anotller ~oilltof
view.
264
T o start with, nearly all the 2 5 0 or so bundles were
Brahmans-i.e. the tip-top caste of the Hinduse They
were twice-born, so they told me. T h a t again means many
things-such as, the food they might eat and what they
might not eat. T o start with, they could not eat with
any person who was not twice-born; they could not even
eat with their Maharajah, should he be kind ellough to
invite them to do so, for he was of a lower caste, being of
the Kashatri or soldier caste. They only eat food cooked
by a Brahman, and the cook must not wear trousers when
he prepares their food. Then the place where the food
is cooked must first of all be spread with cow dung,
for a cow is their holy animal. (By the way, I have dis-
covered that fleas do not like cow dung, and so avoid
rooms spread with it, hence their cooking places have one
great asset, for I know by experience that fleas or other
such-like insects do not object to the bodies and clothes
of the twice-born.) Then they gave me lists of food
that they may not eat, such as tame fowls and tame ducks,
and their eggs, but they may eat wild fowl, and their
eggs. They may not eat red apples or red tomatoes, but
they may eat yellow ones.
I was surprised to find that they might eat flesh, as
they are not allowed to take life, but they said that they
~nigllt eat flesh so long as some non-Brahinatl killed it.
But thcy get terribly mixed up in their yea-yeas alld their
nay-nays. I liad two Hrah~nan munshis at different
times who were brothers. On the first occasion I was
livillg in a house-boat on the lake, and to my surprise saw
my Brahman munshi fishing, and as I came up to him
he said: " P l e a ~ e , Sahib, kill it for me," bringing to
me a fish he had caught. So I said: 66 W h y do you not
kill it yourself?" " Oh, Sahib, I callllot kill i t : prn a
Brilhman and inay nut take life." "Then how is it
265
A Kashmir Mission school
you fish ? " I said. " Oh," said he, there is no
6~ law
against catching fish, the law is against taking life." so
my munshi caught fish, I killed them for him, and he
ate them.
S ~ m emonths after this incident I was up one of the
valleys, living in a tent, and the brother of the Brahman
fisherman was my munshi. On my way to the river to
fish I called .to my munshi to bring along a rod for himself,
as we were rather short of food, and therefore a second
rod would be useful. Sahib," said he, "1 cannot do
this, for I am a Brahman." I did not say anything more
on the subject, and he came to see me fish, and sat near
me. W h e n I had hooked one I just swung it over to
him at the end of my line and said : Please knock it on
the head for me, munshi." T h e munshi without a word
took it in his hand and killed it, and continued to do this
service for me every day when I went fishing, but nothing
could induce him to catch a fish himself, f;;r was he not
a Brahman ? These two Brahman brothers, it seemed to
me, might very well enter into ~artnershipin the fisher-
man's line, and do a good business.
It is very difficult to understand the Brahman's ethics.
Often it happens in the summer-time, when one is taking
a class, a mosquito or fly settles on one's hand. By force
of habit I end its life with a slap. A t once the class of
Brahmans jump and cry out : Oh, oh ! you have taken
life ! you have taken life ! " and suck their fingers hard,
and then crack their knuckles, which is a sign of disgust
and horror. T h e y have of late given up this custom of
showing horror at the death of a fly or mosquito, for they
hate the retort, Don't you eat mutton ? " which generally
follows their cries of horror. They will not kill insects.
I have seen a boy ~ i c ka flea off himself and then quietly
put it in a place of safety, down the neck of the boy next
2 66
him, for if he had put i t on the floor it might have been
trodden upon, or perhaps have returned to his own person*
This belief of theirs in the preservation of pests is very
unfortunate, for our library books and pictures are con-
tinually destroyed by them. All houses are infested
with fish insects ; no one will kill them, they just shake
them out on the floor, and in a few minutes they are back
again at their destructive work. It is the same with rats
and mice, which abound. T h e furthest they will go in
the matter is to catch them in traps, and then carry them
to the opposite side of the river and there release them;
but as people on both sides of the river play the same
game, rats do not decrease greatly.
In the days of iny apprenticeship I learnt that I must
not touch my pupils for fear of defiling them, for in a
forgetful inoment I would pat them on the back or head
to cheer them up, at which they would squirm as if I
were a leper, or one of the untouchables. A s a matter
of fact, it was necessary to be careful where you did touch
them, as they nearly all were suffering froin some head or
skin disease. On one occasion, as I placed my hand on
a boy's head, he wearing only a skull cap, without the
usual pagri, I said, " W h a t have you under your cap?"
thinking I felt peas, at the same time picking off his
cap, when, lo and bellold ! his head was tliick with small-
pox! 1 did not pat his head a second time. Most of
these ideas of theirs as to food and holiness were of little
collsequence to school discipline until it came to the
matter of their belief in the unholiness of leather, for that
knocked out hoxiilg gloves, football, and even rowing, for
the leather on the oar they jibbed at, although I said
they were llot to touch the leather button, but simply
grasp thc oar and pull.
To 6" over these diffic~~lties took months, l l u t to sur-
267
mount them was imperative, as I could see that it was
athletics of all sorts and every kind which these bundles
needed. One great obstacle was their idea of gentility,
T h e y held firmly to the belief that a gentleman did not
work, and to hurry in any way was the mark of a low-
caste being. It was quite true that every person in
Srinagar in those days who considered himself a gentle-
man would never think of walking faster than two miles
per hour, the pace of the ox. So any kind of game
requiring energy was ruled out.
T h e reason why I made such a point of games was
not merely to wake them up, and if possible to turn the
bundles into boys and then into men, but it was to make
them fit for social service, and to teach them the joy of
service for others. T h e reasoil of this was threefold,
( I ) From what I knew of their past history. (2) From
what I saw daily in the streets of Srinagar, the treat-
ment of the weak, and of the low-caste, and the
impurity that was rampant. (3) From my desire as a
Christian to introduce them to Him who taught all men
to love one another and show it by practice and not by
talk.
Those Brahman bundles it1 the school were the sol's
or grandsons of those officials who had bullied and
squeezed the Mohammedan peasants for years past,
and their large houses in thc city, wit11 all their
wealth, were a standing witness to their looting powers,
for the salary they received from the State was quite
inslgn~hcan t.
Now their parents had sent them to school, so that
they might get State e ~ n p l o ~ r n e nand
t follow in the steps
of their forefathers, and by aid of their English educatioll
they lnight even go one b e t t e r than their progenitors*
Now how was one to combat this? By tcaching them to
hate wrong and love right, to hate oppression and love to
protect the weak, in fact to be the exact opposite to their
fathers.
Now talking would not accomplish this, nor would read-
ing books. They must be taught to love right by doing
right, and to hate evil by fighting evil, and to suffer in
doing so. Now bundles could not do this, therefore the
bundles must be turned into boys by athletic exercises,
and athletic boys turned into manly and true citizens by
continued acts of kindness.
Now in such a city as Srinagar there was no lack of
opportunities for knights-errant, for as I have already
out it is women who have to give way to men in
the streets; it is women who have to fetch and carry
water in their heavy earthen pots ; it is women who are
done down continually because they are oilly women, and
even the poor madwomen are misused by the filthy bipeds
after dark.
W h o can see the treatment that the animals receive
in the East without wrath? Overladen, starved, with
sore backs of every description and yet carrying riders
or loads on them. Cows and donkeys in the winter-
time fight with the pariah dogs for the filth in the
streets.
Then there is the immorality after dark, which 110 oile
would tackle, because one should not stir up dirt. Well,
i t is anyway the duty of a head of a school to protect his
boys.
How could any of these things he tackled with
bundles? T h e dry bones must he made to live and be
made strong. Athletics will create the ~nusclealld skill
for self-defence, and social service give the desire for the
defence of others.
Now all this was to lead to Him wllo taught us socia]
269
service, and who can give strength to carry it through,
for the fight has to be one to the finish; and the fight
while they are young and in the school is nothing com-
pared to what it will be in the bigger life outside the
school in a country like Kashmir. By nothing but by
the power of God will they be able to carry on this war-
fare against the powers of evil. I soon discovered that one
had to commence on an infinitely lower level in this school
than 1 ever imagined.
T o start with, lying was considered to be one of the
arts to be practised. A champion liar was more honoured
in this country than a champion boxer would be in an
English Public School. I can remember my surprise and
joy when a Brahman boy told me the truth, in the face
of punishment. It was the first case of its kind after 1
had been in the school for five years. During the next
year three boys spoke the truth when naturally they
should have lied, and in the seventh year five boys
rejoiced my heart by their veracity. After that year
they continued to improve, so that now I rarely have
a lie told me, in fact as rarely as I had the truth from
their lips in the early days.
Of course I am always careful not to ask a boy a direct
question when there is punishment at the back. I
generally tell him to give me his answer, say half-an-hour
hence, and this giveshim time to pull himself together.
Of course if I had given this respite in the early days i t
would have only meant a more elaborated falsehood, with
many witnesses to prove innocency.
Please do not imagine from this that the boys have
given up lying altogether, but they have ceased to glory
in it, and they have learnt that it pays better to speak
the truth at school than to lie. Yet 1 can say this
with truth, that I know of several old boys whose
word I can accept with as much confidence as that of a
Britisher.
And for the last few years in the school boys have
actually blushed when they lied, which of course shows
that they possessed a conscience. A great discovery for
a Kashmiri.
service, and who can give strength to carry it through,
for the fight has to be one to the finish ; and the fight
while they are young and in the school is nothing com-
pared to what it will be in the bigger life outside the
school in a country like Kashmir. By nothing but by
the power of God will they be able to carry on this war-
fare against the powers of evil. I soon discovered that one
had to commence on an infinitely lower level in this school
than I ever imagined.
T o start with, lying was considered to be one of the
arts to be practised. A champion liar was inore honoured
in this country than a champion boxer would be in an
English Public School. I can remember my surprise and
joy when a Brahman boy told me the truth, in the face
of punishment. It was the first case of its kind after 1
had been in the school for five years. During the next
year three boys spoke the truth when naturally they
should have lied, and in the seventh year five boys
rejoiced my heart by their veracity. After that year
they continued to improve, so that now I rarely have
a lie told me, in fact as rarely as I had the truth froin
their lips in the early days.
O f course I am always careful not to ask a boy a direct
question when there is punishment at the back. I
generally tell him to give me his answer, say half-an-hour
hence, and this gives him time to pull lli~nselftogether.
Of course if I had given this respite in the early days it
would have only meant a more elaborated falsehood, with
many witnesses to prove innocency.
Please do not imagine from this that the hoys haye
given up lying altogether, but they have ceased to glory
in it, and they have learnt that it pays better to speak
the truth at school than to lie. Yet I can say this
with truth, that I know of several old boys whose
word I can accept with as much confidence as that of a
Bri tisher.
And for the last few years in the school boys have
actually blushed when they lied, which of course shows
that they possessed a conscience. A great discovery for
a Kashmiri.
CHAPTER XXII
A KASHMIR MISSION SCHOOL (continued)
T ELLING tales of one another, generally known

as " sneaking," was as troublesome as it was
universal. It existed not only among the school-
boys but among the school staff; in the public offices ; it
was everywhere, the practice of doing your neighbour
down, if there was any chance of benefiting yourself
thereby.
A British officer who was head of a large State office
told me one day that he had no less than forty anonymous
letters in two weeks from his clerks, with evil tales of
each other, and said that he did not know how to deal
with the nuisance. This fact aroused me to action, for
I felt at all costs I must tackle the matter properly in the
school, as the only hope for the future. So I at once
made it a penal offence for anyone to come to me with a
tale against another ~ ~ n l e she
s was prepared to fight with
him in the playground with single-sticks. This order
produced the desired effect in double-quick time, as it
was found to be a somewhat experience to
sneak.
This wholesome fear of the ordeal by battle produced
some amusing scenes at times. Here is one. A strong
Brahman youth, a member of the football team, corn-
plained to me that a certain Christian, who was a pathan
by race, had attacked him and his friends with his knife
(the Pathans are handy men with their knives), and asked
my protection. So 1 first called one of the Brahman
272
teachers and asked him if he knew anything of this
matter.
H e said that he did, tliat i t was true, but there was
a reason for the Pathan's action. The Pathail being the
only Christian in a class of thirty was harassed by them,
and taunted for being a Christian, and when leaving
school this class mould add to their taunts by throwing
stones and inud at him. T h e Pathan, having so many to
deal with, drew his knife and went for them in true Pathan
fashion. I called the Pathan, and asked him if it was true
that he tried to knife his class-fellows, and he answered
straight that it was perfectly true, as it was his only way
of getting rid of so many adversaries at once. I ailswered
that fists are the schoolboy's weapons, and not a knife,
which I threw out of the window, to be out of harm's
way, into the river. I then called up the Brahman
accuser and said that as he had complained he must fight
the Pathan himself.
So single-sticks were produced, and as I handed one
to the Pathan I said : " Are yon willing to fight this
Pandit?" (Pandit, ~ ~ h i c means h a learned man, is
synonymous for Hrah~nail in Kashmir.) He grasped the
stick with zest, exclaiming: " I am! " 1 held out the
second stick to the Pandit and asked if he was equally
ready, but he would not take it, saying: "1 am not a
Christian. I do not Cnow how to fight." So, as he would
not stand up like a man, he was made to apologise in
public, by taking off his pagri and placing his bare head
at the feet of his adversary.
This ended all future trouble; in that class the Pathan
was never molested again for being a Christian or any-
thing else. T h e single-stick is a most excelle~ltiirticle
for healing (livisions and many other inoral sicknesses.
0 1 1 t >of tlie Inost tlificult I ~ a l ~ i tto
s correct was the
universal foul language, for there was no high ideal to
whicll to appeal. To make a start, I llaturally said to the
boy : " Y 011 \I o11ld not like your father to hear you use
such l a l ~ ~ l ~ !a"g e T h e boy simply smiled at my ignorance,
and answered : '( Why, my father always uses iten
"Well," I answered, " anyway, your mother would not."
Agaiil a smile of compassion pervaded the boy's face as
he answered : '' Why, it was my mother who taught me."
So then I said : '' Does your religion sai~ction this
foulness ? " H e answered : '' Our priests always use
this language." This last statement of the boy was
corroborated by a Brahman judge, who, when I brought
to him a case of gross immorality on the part of some
priests, wishing to have them punished, said : " You must
remember, M r Biscoe, that the Hindu law sanctions a
certain amount of impurity." O n my pressing the case in
point h e allowed that it exceeded the leniency of Hindu
law, so I congratulated him.
TO alter the language of the boys meant raising the
whole tone of Hindi1 morals, which was a large order.
Later on you will see how we met this evil in a grave
and more difficult form.
T h e Brahmans are a proud people, for besides being
twice born they hold that they are part of God. The
boys told me that they could not rolnlnit sin, attd when
they were caught at their various acts of transgression
which I coilsidered against the moral law they always
said they were only following the custom of their fathers
and forefathers, and therefore felt no shame.
HOWcould one shame them ? They felt no shame at
their dirt of body, clothes and language, or of their lying
or cowardice. T h e y were Brahmans, and that was
sufficient for all things.
I should say when I talk of boys that the top class consisted
274
of beings from eighteen years of age to twenty-four years ;
rnally of them grew black beards, and were married, and
therefore were fairly set in their ideas. Again, a very
irritating idea they held, and that was thcir belief in
their owl1 superior knowledge. I could not get them to
ow11 that they did not kilow those things which they did
not itnow. They always wished to argue, and would
never own up when a fact was demonstrated to them.
I had a brain-wave. I sawr boxing-gloves-and these
same boxing-gloves stopped argument, and all the rest
of it, which nothing else would have done. It all began
and ended in one morning.
A certain black-beard said that he knew everything.
Did he know how to box? Yes, of course he did. So
I asked him if he could prevent me hitting his nose if
I wished to do so; he, of course, said yes, he could. So
I said : " Prove it." T h e boxing-gloves were brought
out, and I was able in a few secoilds to demonstrate that
for once he did not know.
So clearly had he learnt that lesson that when I ex-
pressed my wish to continue the demoilstration he
pleaded most forcibly that he c o ~ l dnot defend his nose
and knew nothing whatever of this painful game.
I had won through, for whenever in future any of the
black-beards wished to argne I only had to say: Can
yo11 box?" W o ~ i l d that one coolcl have conquered all
the other difficulties with such ease !
Rome was not h i l t in a day, and these Brahmans were
not made into self-respecting gentlemen in a day. W h a t
was needed to start with was self-respect instead of this
self-conceit. Talking would never do it; it must be by
action. So action they were to have, and plenty of it.
As I said i~efore,n7e commrnred with athletics, which
were to bc the precilrsor oi' social scr, ice, n hi(.h would
27 5
teach them unselfishness-after which all the rest would
follow naturally. But how were we to begin athletic
gatnes with those who stoutly refused to play them?
" For," said they, " if we play foothall, or row, etc.,
we shall grow ~ n ~ ~ s on c l eour bodies, and then we shall
become low-caste folk like the boatmen and coolies.
Moreover, if we play games we shall have to run about
and b e energetic, and people will laugh at us, for gentle-
men must not hurry.''
T h e story of how we commenced football will have to
suffice to show how the difficulties of introducing athletics
were overcome.
It was in the autumn of I 89 I , when 1 returned from
Bombay with Mrs Tyndale-Biscoe, that amongst our
luggage we brought a football, the first that our school-
boys had seen. I reinember well the pleasure with which
I brought that first football to the school, and the visioll
that I had of the boys' eagerness to learn this new
game from the West. Well, I arrived at the school,
and a t a fitting time held up this ball to their view, but
alas! it aroused no such interest or pleasure as I had
expected.
" W h a t is this ? " said they.
" A football," said I.
'' W h a t is the use of i t ? "
" For playing with. It is an excellent game, and will
help to make you strong."
" Shall we gain any rupees b y playing it ? "
" No."
cc Then we do not wish to play the game. What is it

made o f ? "
'' Leather.''
" T h e n we cannot play ; we cannot touch it. Take it
away, for it is unholy t o our touch."
276
You will see that matters had not turned out as my
optimism had led me to expect.
All right," said I. Lg Rupees or no rupees, holy or
unholy, you are going to play football this afternoon at
three-thirty, so you had better learn the rules a t once."
And immediately, with the help of the blackboard, I was
able to instruct them as to their places on the field, and
the chief points and rules of the game.
Before the end of school I perceived that there would
be trouble, so I called the teachers together and ex-
plained to them illy plans for the afternoon. T h e y were
to arm themselves with single-sticks, picket the streets
leading from the school to the playgrbund, and prevent
any of the boys escaping en route. Everything was ready,
so at three o'clock the porter had orders to open the
school gate. T h e boys poured forth, and I brought up the
rear with a hunting-crop. Then came the trouble ; for once
outside the school coinpound they thought they were going
to escape ; but they were mistaken. W e shooed thein
down the streets like sheep on their way to the butcher's.
Such a dirty, smelling, cowardly crew you never saw. All
were clothed in the long nightgown sort of garment I have
described before, each boy carrying a fire-pot under his gar-
ment and so next to his body. This heating apparatus has
from time immemorial taken the place of healthy exercise.
W e dared not drive them too fast for fear of their
tripping up (as several of them were wearing clogs) and
falling with their fire-pot s, which would have prevented
their playing football for Inany days to come.
A t length we are safely through the city with a goodly
crowd followiilg and arrive at the playground. Sides are
made up, the ground is cleared and ready, the ball is in
the centre, and a11 that remaills is for the whistle to start
the game.
T h e whistle is blown, but the ball does riot move,
Thinking that the boys had not understood my order,
I tell them again to kick off the ball immediately after
hearing the whistle. I blow again, but bvith no result,
I notice that the boys are looking at one another and at
the crowd of spectators with unmistakable signs of fear
and bewilderment on their faces.
O n my asking them the cause, they say: We cannot
kick this ball, for it is an unholy ball and we are holy
Brahmans." I answer them by taking out my watch and
giving them five minutes to think over the situation : at the
expiration of the time, I tell them, something will happen
if the ball does not move. We all wait in silence, an
ominous silence. T h e masters armed with their single-
sticks are a t their places behind the goals.
Time is just up, and I call out : Five seconds left-four
-three-two-one. Kick ! " T h e ball remains stationary!
My last card had now to be played, and I shout towards
the right and left goals : '' Sticks ! "
Sticks won the day, for as soon as the boys see the
sticks coming the ball hounds in the air, the spell is
broken, and all is confusiotl. Puggarees are seen streaming
yards behind the players, entangling their legs; their
shoes and clogs leave their feet as they vainly try t*
kick the ball, and turn round and round in the air like
catherine wheels descending on any and
head. T h e onlookers who have followed us from the city
are wildly excited, for they have never in their lives before
see11 anything like it-holy Kashmiri Bral~~nan boys (ln
dirty nightgowns) tumbling over one anotl~er,using hands
and-legs freely to get a kick at a leather ball.
Well, as I said before, all was noise and excitement,
when all of a sudden the storm is succeeded by a dead
calm : the game ceases, the Brahmans, both players and
278
onlookers, are all sucking their fingers for all they are
worth (a Kashmiri way of showing amazement), and all
eyes are turned towards one of the players who is a
picture of misery. And no wonder, for this unholy piece
of leather had bounded straight into this holy one's face,
had actually kissed his lips. H e had never before in his
life felt the smack of a football, and certainly never
dreamed of such a catastrophe. H e thought all his front
teeth were knocked out and that his nose was gone for
ever. H e would touch his mangled (?)features, but he
dared not. Once or twice he essayed to do so, but his
heart failed him. His face was defiled, so that he could
not do what he would, and would not do what he could.
He did the next best thing, which was to lift u p his voice
and weep, and this he did manfully. This moment was a
terrible one for all concerned, and especially for me, for
now all eyes were directed to the primary cause of all
this misery.
W h a t was I to d o ? I was not prepared for such a
turn of events. I could shoo " an unu~illing school to
the playground, I could make unwillii~g feet kick, but
how could I make an unholy face holy? Fortunately the
idea of water came into my distracted mind, and I said :
" Take the fool down to the canal at once and wash him."
Immediately the thoughts and the eyes of the victim's
sympathisers were diverted to the cleansing waters and
their magical effect on the outraged features of the body.
On their return I placed the ball again in the centre, blew
my whistle and the hall was kicked off. All was excite-
ment once morr, and the ghme was played with enthusiasm
until I called " Time ! "
Everyone left the field and scattered to various parts of
the city, to tell their parents and neighbours of the great
" tamasha" they had witnessed or in which they had
279
taken part. T h e remarks made about me and the school
in their homes over their curry and rice that night were,
I expect, not all favourable.
I have been told more than twice that I behaved in an
un-Christianlike manner, and that I had no business to
force football or any other game upon boys against their
will.
Well, we cannot all see alike, and it is just as well that
we cannot, otherwise Rome would never have been built
and there would not be much progress on this terrestrial
sphere. T h a t game introduced the leather hall to
Srinagar and to the holy Brahman who lives therein, and
although for the first year my presence was a necessity
a t every game, football came to stay.
Now all the various schools in the city have their
football teams, and in all parts of the city you see boys
playing this game with a make-shift for a football.
This year I watched an inter-class match, most keenly
contested, the referee being not a teacher but a school-
boy. His decision was not once disputed, nor was there
any altercation between any of the players; it was a truly
sporting game.
Now for something more important than games.
Opportunities for social service it1 a city like Kashmir
are endless, so we tackled the most obvious first-viza
the distress of the owners of houses when their property
took fire; and in the early days of which we are writing
I suppose there must have been as many fires in the
city within twelve months as there are days in the
year.
Before writing an account of our first fire I must say
that amongst other things which militated against social
service, besides it being considered coolie work and the
like, the boys objected to giving up any of their time in
2 80
school, for Eastern boys love boolts as the Western boys
love games.
Then parents were also quite against what they call
waste of time in sports. T h e boys were sent to school
to pass examinations, and that is supposed to be the aim
and end of school life. Most native schoolmasters have
the same belief, and take 110 interest whatever in games.
Games are useless to them, whereas passing examinations
means Government employment and a rich wife.
Exa~ninatioils have been the curse of education in
India, for it has turned out, and is doing so still, a class
of beings with swelled heads, who are a curse to the land,
for they can talk and make speeches without end, and
do all they call to pull down the ladder up which they
climbed. O f true education and forming of character
they know nothing and care less.
It seems strange to me that after all the educational
authorities have not found a more suitable educatioil for
Indians. It has created a class which continues to despise
manual labour, and panders to their desires for Govern-
ment employment, in which there are not enough billets
to satisfy them. Therefore the country is crowded with
discontented half-educated men who give trouble to the
Government which has given them this education at
schools and colleges practically for nothing. Well, that
same spirit which I found in the boys and parents of tlle
boys, and which I have been trying to fight ever since, still
remains, so until I can find anything better we are goitlg
in hard for "social service," to teach the youth of this
country their duty towards their country and fellow-
citizens. So I here describe our first attempt at fires.
On our looking out of the windows from our exalted
position over the river we see crowds eagerly pressing
towards the scene of fire, for on such occasions there is
281
always a fair chance of profiting by a neighbourys loss.
T h e trumpet-blower, a policeman's form, we see silhou-
etted against the sky, as he stands aloft on the roof
of a house blowing for all h e is worth. The owner of
the bur~lillghouse, and those of the houses touching it,
are yelling, screaming and dancing, as is their custom on
such occasions.
T h e scholars, having taken in the situation, are quite
blask, and squat down once more to continue their lessons,
which to then1 are far more interesting than a dozen fires,
for they have seen them often enough. But we of the
W e s t think differently from the East on such occasions.
W e understand that God has given us muscle as well as
brains, and now is the time to make use of the former,
so, choosing the biggest of the sucking scholars, we order
books down and loins girt, and, on passing out, we arm
ourselves with single-sticks, as they come in useful some-
times. W e head for the fire, a party from thirty to forty
strong. I shall never forget what I then saw; it has
been impressed deep on my brain without any sucking or
shouting. Such a woeful sight I never wish to see agaill.
There, straight in front of us, was a house in a blaze.
T h e only occupailts of it a t the time were women, for the
men were away. There stood, or rather danced, an old
woman mad with excitement, imploring the bipeds around
to help her save her property (no houses in the city are
insured, so a fire meails loss of everything). There were
crowds of turbaned beings on all sides. Most of them
had taken up positions so that they might enjoy
thoroughly the sight, and see it through. T h e particular
bipeds to whom this frantic woman was chiefly addressing
her remarks were a bunch of things squatting on the
ground with their mouths open, and with hands shadins
their eyes from the heat. .
282
T h e woman implored these squatters to come to help
her, and to show her agony she took hold of the upper
part of her garment at the neck in both hands and rent
it right down the centre, nearly dividing her garment in
halves. These deaf adders took not the least notice;
they simply looked beyond her. She then put both
hands to her .head, and with one lusty pull out came
two large tofts of hair, which she held out theatrically
towards the men, again imploriilg their help; but it was
of no use. She then said: "1 will give you money for
every pot of water you will bring." Then, and not till
then, did these bipeds show ally intelligence. "How
much will you give?" said they. She answered "So
much," at which the bipeds relaxed once more into their
vacant stare. T h e old woillan roared, danced and
screamed, doubliilg her price for a pot of water. That
evidently satisfied them, for they moved a t it. I suppose,
they went off to find pots with which to make some money.
All this was enacted in shorter time far than it takes
me to put it on paper.
T h e glare, the heat, the roar of the flames, the screams
of the women, the boo-boos of the crowd in delight as
the flames leap higher and higher, and the bonny, brave,
blast?, blue-coated constable from his exalted position
blowing, blaring and bellowing his brass braying bugle
to let all good citizens know that there was soinethi~lgin
the wind-it was a sight not easily to be forgotten. T h e
thought in my mind, oaturally, was how to procure pots
with which to contluct the water from thc river, which was
close by, to the hurili~lgbuilding. Now, as luck would
have it, we saw a barge full of pots coming slowly up-
stream, so I put some coil1 illto the hands of the boys
with which to secure the pots, but the boys returned to
me immediately, saying that the bargee would not sell
283
them any, and had steered his boat out into the stream to
show his mind on the subject, no doubt hoping thereby
to send up the price of his goods. But we were one too
lnany for hi11-1. His boat was boarded, and we took all
the pots we needed. T h e bargee relieved his feelings
by giving tongue to his choicest vocabulary, giving us
a list of all the great men in the land to whom he
would report 11s for this gross act of brigandage, We
told him that h e was quite right, but at the presellt
moment his pots were in great request, and that we had
all that we required. W e a t once formed a line from
the river to the house and passed up a grateful stream of
water.
Having started the boys, I turned my attention to the
crowd of sightseers, and asked them to lend a hand with
the boys, naturally expecting that they would follow our
lead. But no such thing-the crowd sat and stared at us,
being highly entertained, and then commenced jeering.
T h e Brahmans amongst them told our boys to desist, as
they were lowering their position as nature's gentlemen,
twice - born, and, what was more, dishonouring the
Brahman name. I recall gratefully one exception, and
that was an officer of a Gurkha regiment, a Hindu, who
called out to some sepoys who were following him, "This
is what I call Christianity," and he gave a word of cheer
to the boys.
T h e boys stood the reproaches of their elders for some
time, but a few, who valued their gentility more than
their humanity, slunk away when I was not looking alld
joined the crowd at a respectful distance, some at a very
respectful distance.
~t last my patience gave out, and I collared several of
the jeerers and put them in line with our lot, making
tllelll h;md along the earthen pots. Here our single-sticks
284
came into use, for I placed certain of the boys as officers
over the impressed men to keep theill going with their
wands of office. Fortunately I had two Bengali Cllristians,
two Parsees and the son of a major in llis Highness'
army, who were of different stuff to the Kashmiris ; they
made full use of their positions and kept the pots moving.
After a while the Goverilor of the city arrived with some
officials and a small manual fire-pump. T h e y laughed
heartily at seeing us a t work, but ilevertheless backed US
up, which made the work easier for the boys. One of
our self-imposed tasks was to protect the property that
we had saved from being annexed by a certain class of
citizens somewhat related to Sir Robert Peel, but not in
a very direct line. These worthies had arrived on the
scene with an empty barge, and were busy removing all
movables into it, in order that they might be taken to
a very safe place, out of the way of naughty men. Over
these gallant gentlemen boys were placed, and the wands
of office again proved useful.
Well, all things in this world have an ending, and this
fire was no exception, for it got tired of blazing, not
liking the water, and smoked instead. T h e woman and
bipeds had yelled and danced themselves dog-tired, and
settled down to mourn and weep as they sat and watched
the ashes of their houses and the ashes of their gods
vanish into smoke. Our boys, pretty well tired out,
soaking with water and covered with grime, gradually
found their way homewards to tell of their valour, and to
receive in return pious lectures from their parents for
the dishonour they had brought upon all self-respecting
Brahmans and their own families in particular, while some,
no doubt, came in for chastisemel~t. Nevertheless seeds
had been sown that day in their inmost souls which
would never ]lave got tIlc3re 11ad i t heen left to the class-
2x5
room and book. However persuasive the preaching, or
lloly the book, dllty to onc's neighbours and duty towards
God is most certaillly not learlit practically through mouth
and ear o~lly. '' Psi tll must be show11by works." Never
was a day's schooling better lost ; and many a school day
has been lost since then, in so far as lectures and preach-
irlgs are concerned, in our efforts to make budding bipeds
into such men as we believe Almighty God wishes them
to be.
I recount this episode at some length as it was one of
those events which has helped to make history in this
picturesque but dirty city. This first breaking up of
a school day for social service was especially pleasing to
me, for when a t school myself in the seventies I, with
a party of school-fellows, was standing in a similar line
passing buckets of water from a horse-pond to a blazing
farmyard, holding the fort till the fire-engine, from a town
ten miles away, should arrive. W e heard the school bell
ring, plaiilly enough, and those of us who preferred social
service to a master's wrath stuck to the buckets, and
when the engine arrived we returned to school to be
punished. W e were not disappointed in this matter.
From that day to this I have always considered our
punishment an error of judgment on the part of the
master, and was therefore glad to have so excellent an
opportunity of showing my belief by works.
W e who live in this country have opportunities pretty
well every day to stir the blood and awaken consciences
to the life of service for our fellow-men, to which God
calls all those who have ears t o hear and eyes to see*
Those who live in Christian countries have not the same
golden opportunities as we have who live in non-Christian
countries, for the Christianity o f centuries, far from the
ideal as it certainly has been, h;ls prodiice(l inen and *or
a 86
bipeds. For it may be within a rough or perhaps a
llaughty there is, deep doaln, but \vllich still can
be reached, that illilate kindness which is touched by weak-
lless and sends through the veins blood red-hot at the
sight of oppression and wrong, and always champions the
weaker side. Tkis spirit of chivalry comes from Christ,
and Christ alone, whatever else men may say.
I am not talking quite through my hat, for before I
came to this land I had had two strenuous years of service
ainoilgst the poor in the East End of London, under the
guidance of the best of rectors, the Rev. A. J. Robinson.
Grand times they were, and to them I always look
back with thankfulness. While there I was obliged to
know something of fillell humanity in doss-houses and
elsewhere; but among these poor fallen creatures have I
seen over and over again that spirit of chivalry which at
once showed that there was hope for all men, and though
many of them denied the existence of a God, that spirit
of chivalry showed me that they still possessed a spark of
that light which comes from the God wllom they denied.
True, there were very many opportunities of service in
that dark corner of a Christian country, but they were
nothing, no, nothing, coinpared with needs and opportuni-
ties here. For instance, in the West it is the poor
who usclally steal from the rich and strong, but in the
East it is the rich who squeeze the poor and helpless, and
yet the man in the street here does not seein to notice
that there is anything wrong or out of course.
This fact struck m e very forcihly before I became
accustonied to the manners and clisto~ns of Srinagar
citizens. For example, in the winter-time, when the
streets are covered with snow, and there is only a one-
man path, one sees the women, children and old men
all being shoved o u t i n t o the snou by the strong and
787
opulent. Again, year in and year out, one sees the
women struggling up the steep, broken and slimy river
ghats with the heavy earthenware water-pots ; and agaio,
as one watches the people going on their nulneruus
pilgrimages to holy shrines in the couotry, the women
are the beasts of burden, toiling the many weary miles
loaded with brass cooking-pots and bedding, whilst the
lord and master swaggers in front, every now aiid then
looking hehiild and beckoning to his spouse to horry up.
All these and many other evils one has witnessed daily,
but it is considered to be quite correct, for it is the
custom of the East. It was not until some years had
passed that I learnt of far greater evils, which are hidden
from sight, the early marriage system and many other
like evils that the woinen suffer uncomplainingly. These
plague spots can only be tackled by woinen ministering
to women, and such women as have come from the West,
whose love and sympathy for their Eastern sisters enable
them so to devote their lives to them that ~lothillgcan
daunt them if they can in any way alleviate suffering.
CHAPTER XXIII
A K A S H M I R M I S S ~ O N SCHOOL (continued)
HAD not been long in the country when I discovered

the perils our boys were in from bands of immoral
scoundrels. 1 had maps of the city on which I
marked, in red, places of refuge " for the hunted, with
a deliverer in the person of a man who had learnt the
noble art of self-defence, and, by the way, defence of
others, who on call would come to the rescue.
These maps were hung up in each of the schools for the
boys to study. So far so good. T h e next step was to catch
these scoundrels red-handed. W e had not to wait long.
On a certain afternoon when the boys were leaving
the football ground in the outskirts of the city a gang of
these scoundrels came down upon certain boys to carry
them off. Fortunately some of the staff were near a t
hand and ran in to the rescue. During the fight which
took place the leader of the gang was felled and secured,
and from his pocket was taken a book which proved to
be his undoing, for it was the club's information book.
In it were the names of the president, secretary, treasurer
and commit tee.
Then followed the names of 1 7 0 of the pretty boys in
the city, their abode, and other information of use to the
gang, but on this occasioil it proved most useful for our
purpose, when we were able to bring the criminals to
justice, which proved to be a much more lengthy and
difficult business than we had imagined, as we had yet
to learn that this gang had strong backers.
T 289
I myself did not hear of this little scrap until I arrived
at the school next morning, when I heard of the haul,
and better still that the president of the gang was in the
lock-up, my masters having handed the scoundrel to the
police- I a t once rode off to the thana (police station)
in order to see the prisoner's face and to know that he
was secure, but what was my disgust to be told by the
police officer that the prisoner had escaped in the night;
nor were the gentlemen in blue able to trace him. We
were determined to have this scoundrel, as it was clear
t o us that the police did not wish to help us. It was
a long hunt until about three months later, during another
assault, he was captured and handed over to the police as
it was evening-time. My men no doubt thought that the
police would not dare to let him go a second time. As
before, I was not told of the catch until my arrival at
school next morning, when I immediately rode off to the
thana, and was again told that the prisoner had escaped
in the night. This news was decidedly riling, but did
not disturb us as much as people not accustomed to the
East and its ways might suppose. It only made us more
determined to get the better of all concerned, for one is
bound to win if one sticks to it. Again we watched,
waited and also worked. After a month or two, for the
third time the scoundrel fell into the hands of my fellows.
It was, of course, after dark, so for the third time he was
handed over for safe (?)keeping to the police.
For the third time I ride down to the thana, and for
the third time hear that the guardians of the law have
again been outwitted, for the prisoner escaped in the
night.
I told the officer that I never forgive a third offence9
also that 1 knew something of the customs of ~ a s h m i rin
general and of his lot in ~articulnr. It was now ten
dclock, and I gave him two hours only in which to re-
capture the escaped prisoner, saying that I would be back
at twelve o'clock punctually, and the prisoner must be in
the thana, and if not I would ride hiin off at once to the
British Resident. This was my last card, which I was
loath to play, as one hates to bother hard-worked and
often harassed British officials. O f course the officer said
that I was demanding an impossibility, etc., etc. But I rode
off saying that at twelve o'cloclc exactly I would be back.
At twelve o'clock to the tick I was at the thana'; the
officer met me, and informed me that he had been success-
ful and that the prisoner was in the thana. I asked him
on what charge he had apprehended him, and he told me
that his men had caught hiin stealing a tablecloth, which
amused me not a little. However, the charge did not
matter so long as he was in the lock-up on a police-
recognised charge, for it would give us time to fix him up
in the crimiilal court to stand his trial.
I will not pursue the story further, though I'm much
tempted to do so because of the coinic operas that
followed one another so quickly, but conclude with the
fact that the criminal was sentetlced to two years' im-
priso~line~ltwith hard labour (the judge said that he
ought to have given lrim seven years), and his accoinplices
received lighter sentences.
When the prisoner's time had expired he came to me
to ask for forgiveness, thanking me for having put him in
prison, and asking to be my servant, for he said he had,
while in prison, learnt what a beast he had been.
To show that he meant it he has from that tilne to this
thrown in his lot with us in fighting this evil. His knowledge
and his help have been most valuable. H e has suffered
much in consequence from those who were his former
friends and backers in the evil life. From this single
291
A Kashrnir Mission School
slight peep behitla the scenes those who are interested in
true education in India may realise that something more
is needed than preparing boys for examinations, and
that the noble art of self-defence is really an art worth
teaching.
I am glad to say that matters in this respect have
improved in this city, and homes of refuge are no longer
needed as in the days of old.
T h e various stages attained by the boys in their up-
ward growth were illuminating. To start with, none of
the boys would touch the gloves ; they lay unused for
three months, because Brahmans may not touch leather.
However, one day I saw a Brahman boy wearing a black
beard carrying his books in a leather cover, so I exclaimed :
"You are carrying your books in a leather cover. I
thought you said you could not touch boxing-gloves
because they were made of leather." c c Yes, Sahib, it is
true; but, you see, this is the leather of books and that
the leather of boxing-gloves." T h a t day we commenced
with the gloves, and the black-bearded youth was the
first to lead the way.
T h e f i r stage produced much weeping, the gloves
being thrown on the ground and the boy who was getting
the worst of it running away; and when a nose was
tapped and claret appeared the boxing stopped and the
onlookers would shout, G' O h ! Oh ! " put their fingers in
their mouths and suck them hard. T h e boy who was
bleeding would cry aloud and know not what to do, as he
might not touch blood, even his own. However, the ap-
plication of some cold water soon settled the trouble. The)'
usually, if not always, lost their tempers, and cried much,
and wanted to finish off by scratching one another's faces*
Second ~tage.-They had learnt how to draw their
adversaries' blood, so made those parts their objective ;
the more they succeeded the more keen they became to
shed more. They would try to knock their adversary on
the ground, kneel oil his chest a i d punch his head, thc
crowd around backing up the wiiltler with shouts of " Give
it him hard ! " c c Do not spare hiin ! " Thumbs down ! "
Third stage, which has been reached but has taken
many years of attainment. They now play the game,
and the onlookers, unless the weaker one is unpopular,
will always back LIP the weaker and prefer to see a well-
matched pair, and if a boxer plays foul they will shout
at him to play the game. And very rarely they lose their
tempers, even when receiving punishment. I regard
boxing as one of the quickest means for attaining that
manly and sporting spirit which is needed in every country,
and more especially in this lovely country of Kashmir,
where self-respect is of so little account. I mean 'by
boxing that which leads to chivalry, and not brutality, its
use and not its misuse.
In the matter of social service in the city the qualities
that have been attained in boxing have been of great help
already to the oppressed, and especially in the case of
ill-used animals.
I was astonished one day to see a corioos beast come
in through the arched gateway of the school playground.
It certainly had a donkey's head, but I could not make
out how it could be so tall, as its ears touched the arcl~,
and as it moved into the light I saw that it was a man
carrying a donkey, the donkey's fcre-legs being over the
mao's shoulders. However, following the man-donkey
came in my headmaster, a man beloved by the whole
school from top to bottom, and respected or feared as
the case might be by the whole city. H e came in
roaring with laughter. He had found this man riding a
donkey f'ar too small and weak for his weight, so h e
thought it more fitting for the donkey to ride the man,
I would point out t o the ignorant that a donkey is
considered to be an uilclean animal by Hindus, so for
a Brahman to bother himself about the ill-treatment of
an unclean animal shows that our headmaster's education
in the Mission School has not been in vain, in that he
believes in teaching kindness to animals by action, though
the victim be the despised donkey, he himself leading the
way. T h e life of a donkey in this land is not an enviable
one. It is the usual custom to put loads on their backs
before they are full grown, with the result that nearly
every donkey in this country possesses bent hind legs, the
hocks rubbing each other. T h e n they suffer from continual
sore backs. There are sores at the various places where
the pack-ropes grip their bodies. N o one seems to care,
for are they not donkeys ?
In the winter-time, when it liappens to be a severe one,
the donkeys in the town as well as those in the villages
near the city are let loose in the streets to find their own
food with the pariah dogs. T h e owners of the village
donkeys drive their animals into the city, because there is
more filth there than in the villages. They have told me
that they d o not see why they should feed them in the
winter as they are not doing any work. So one is o n -
tinually horrified at the sight of these scores of starving
ani~nalswandering about the streets, tlosing about in the
snow for filth.
T h e boys took up the matter with zest as soon as they
were told that they could bring these animals to school*
Mohammedans and Hindus went out together to bring
them in from the streets. T h e Hind~rs,not being able by
their law to touch an unclean donkey, took off their pagris,
made them into lassos, threw them over the necks of the
s plllled, whilc thc Mohammedan l~o)",who
~ l o n k e ~and
204
might touch donkeys, pushed behind, and thus it came to
pass that the school playground became a donkey asyluni
for the winter. T h e staff and boys played up, and brought
food every day and fed the animals. One winter, which
was an especially hard one, our guests all through the
winter numbered roo. W h e n the spring came the
owners came to claim them, but we would not give
them up until the owners had paid two annas per day
for their lodging. T o this they objected, but as pos-
session is nine-tenths of 'the law we stood our ground,
and when they brought the law to bear upon us we
said that we were willing to go to prison as a protest
against this continued cruelty. Later on the State added
to their statute book a law to prevent cruelty to animals,
and appointed an inspector to see the law carried out.
So quickly did the law take effect that for the last year
or two our boys have had no donlteys or other animals
to feed in the winter, and have only had to report half-a-
dozen or so cases of cruelty to the lawful authorities-
that is, in the city, for the law a t present only applies to
the city and the Jhelum Valley road, where M r W. P.
Appleford, the State engineer, sees that animals are not
persecuted in his domain.
It is dificult to uilderstand the attitude of Eastern
people towards the suffering of animals. I saw a man
riding along the main road on a small pony with its
near fore-leg broken. It was n compound fracture : the
bone of the upper part of the leg was sticking out
through the skin, and the lower part swinging, as the
poor beast hopped along. T h e rider evidently was
happy, for he was uhistling as he rode. To me the
wonder was not that one man should act thus, but that
from among the n~lmherlesspeople he must have passed
not one o f them hacl taken compassion on tlle pony and
knocked the cruel beast off his mount. People say
when the citizens are educated they will act differently,
but I cannot say that I have fo~llld that the educated
are any Inore huinane than the uneducated. There is
something wrong somewhere, and it is the business of
those who have hearts to set wrong right.
Kashmir, being a land of rivers, lakes and canals, lends
itself to many and various opportunities of social service.
Kashmiris are not great swimmers, as one would naturally
expect, so that inany lose their lives from drowning dur-
ing the year. Hence we soon set to work to teach
swimming. -
Unforeseen difficulties met us a t once, for parents
strongly objected. T h e Brahman parents said that their
sons were gentlemen and therefore must not demean
themselves, so to meet their case 1 made a law that
every boy must pass the school swimming test by the
age of thirteen, unless one of the doctors at the Mission
Hospital should certify to physical weakness (for I knew
the parents could get round their Indian doctors), or pay
extra fees to the school according to scale, which would
start with quarter fees at fourteen years, half fees at
fifteen, double fees at sixteen, quadruple at seventeen,
and so on. This ruling had the desired effect, so that
practically every boy leaves the school a swimmer, and
generally a strong swimmer. Each year we teach on an
average two hundred boys to swim: a hundred will swim
the Dal Lake, three and a half miles ; about twenty will
cross the Wular Lake, from four to five miles ; a few will
swim seven miles.
T h e result has far exceeded our hopes in practical
usefulness, for those who have been saved from drown-
ing have amounted up to twenty in a year. Some of
these events have called forth great pluck and prompt-
296
ness. Then a further advantage has accrued to this
couiltry through the schools' activities. Other schools
-
are followiilg our example aiid turning out swimmers,

and the public geilerally have learnt that gentleinen may
swim without losing their dignity.
As an example: a Chief Minister's son, an under-
graduate of the Lahore University, came to me to study
English before going to Cambridge. Finding that he
could not swim, I told him I would not teach hiin English
unless he learnt to swim.
H e said that this could not he for he came from a
noble family.
I asked him a straight question. If he happened to h e
walking by the side of the river with his mother (it would
have to be after dark, of course) and she fell in, what
would he do, as Ile could not swim ? cc Oh, I would call
a coolie and send him in after her." I said : If there
did not happen to be a coolie near at hand ? " This closed
the argument. c G Anyway," I said, before I teach
you English you must firs~t come to the lake with me,"
and we commenced forthwith. W e were cycling to the
lake when he called out : My cycle is punctured, I cannot
therefore go on to the lake." I said : " N o matter, we will
walk." And walk fast we did, no gentlemanly pace, that
morning, for I knew he had stuck a pin into his tyre.
W e never had another puncture, a ~ ~the d Chief
Minister's son learnt not only to swim but to row, and
eventually was in one of his college eights and thankful
that he could say that he was a swimmer.
In the matter of swimming we have not won through
yet with the parents, for in all the big swims we have,
when one hundred to one hundred and fifty masters and
boys will be swimming the lake, I have known only of
two cases when parents have come to see their sons swim.
One of them was a Christian and a soldier who needed
no pressure; the other was a Brahman who lived quite
close to the water, and his son was making a very plucky
effort to swinl sevcn miles. H e managed to swirn only
six miles that day. A s a matter of fact, his parent had
to be more or less pulled down to the water and put
into a boat to accompany his son, and even then he would
look only at me, and took no interest in his son's efforts.
And when a t the end the boys were crowding round to
congratulate the swimmer the father came up to me,
having first ascertained that I was in a happy frame of
mind, and therefore it was an auspicious moment. He
then informed me that h e had an elder son who was out
of employment, therefore, as his younger son had made
me happy, would I in return help the elder son to obtain
employment in a State office. Can a leopard ever change
his spots, or an Ethiopian his skin?
This letter, written by a fond parent, may show how
some superstitiotls die hard :
MOSTRESPECTED SIR,-I most humbly and respectfully

beg to bring to your kind notice that my son, Siri Bhan,
student of the Lower School, is strictly prohibited by
astrologers, who have examined his horoscope, from
joining any playing party, etc. I would request you to
kindly keep him exempt from joining the playing teams
and boating, etc. I beg to remain, etc., etc.
CHAPTER XXIV
A KASHMIR MISSION SCHOOL (continued)
N O T H E R fact may seem inconceivable to those

who do not know the Kashmiri-viz. that out
of the many instances of our boys having saved
life, which are well over 100, I have known oiily of two
cases when the parents or relations have thanked the
boys, and only one case where a parent tried to reward
the boy for his brave deed. Anyway, it shows that the
younger generation are changing their spots, for they are
not oilly willing to risk their lives, but do it for honour
and not for reward.
Never shall I forget on that meinorable day in tlie
summer of 1891 the shock I received when, having
superintended the building of an English boat, and
rowing it down to the school with the idea of making
oarsmen of the boys, I was received with jeers as I rowed
up to the school. Now they were quite convinced, they
said, that I was a low-caste sahib, for only a low-caste
man would handle an oar. They one and all refused
absolutely to have anything to d o with an oar, even the
school stafl taking the same attitude.
Fortunately my will proved tlie stronger, and so did
other parts of my body, and I commenced teaching the
art of propelling a boat with Englisll oars that very day,
and my pupils were two of the unwilling members of the
staff. A young British officer who had been watching
my efforts some weeks later said : "You will never teach
thesc Kashmiris to roa,." (They were at that time still
209
dressed in nightgowns, and looked an amusing crew,)
" Why d o YOLI waste your time ? "
A year later I was coaching a four-oar'd crew (they

were swinging well together, but not dressed in night-
gowns now), when another young officer said: " Of
course you can teach them to row English fashion for
they like that, but you will never get them into their own
native boats nor teach them to paddle like the common
boatmen."
Some years later I was in a Kashmiri boat being
propelled by fifteen Brahman boys with paddles like the
common Kashmiri boatmen, and a British officer said :
cc Yes, it is easy enough to get them to do this for it is
after the custom of their country." I smiled inwardly,
for as a matter of fact it took six years to persuade these
Brahman schoolboys to get into a Kashmiri boat and
propel it with Kashmiri paddles, and when they made
their first trip they covered their heads with blankets
to hide their identity so that they should not bring
disgrace upon their families.
Time cures most things, and the Brahman antipathy
t o common boatman's work happened to be among the
cures that time effected, so that every week, winter-time
excepted, the school holds a regatta in which over
1 5 0 masters and boys take part, and crowds of boys wall;
or ride two or three miles to the lake-side to watch the
crews and cheer on their particular classes and schools,
while the school band plays a selectio~lof airs dllring
the intervals, and plays home the winners with plenty of
drum. T h e last event is always the same : in the midst
of the race home, at a given signal, all the boats sink*
This is accomplished by the crew leaving their seats and
running down to the bows of the boat : their weight
puts the bows under the water, the stern mounts in the
air and the boat disappears, leaving the crew on the
surface of the water. W h e n the boat reappears the boys
swim to their respective sides and bale out the water with
one hand while they swim alongside until it is fit for them
to climb in one by one. T h e rest of the water is soon
swished out with their paddles, and the boys paddle their
boat to the winning-post. A s soon as the last boat comes
home the band strikes up the two national anthems, when
all the crews stand up with paddles and oars erect and
in dead silence honour their King Emperor and their
Maharajah, and then race back to the city.
There are no prizes for winners, for all our sports and
races are played and striven for for honour. W e have
this particular sinking race to prepare boys for catas-
trophes in storins, as it is not at all uncoinmon for boats
to be swamped in squalls on the lakes, or by the current
in the rivers, when it is the general rule for boatmen and
passengers to lose their heads, which leads to the usual
loss of life.
T h e following incideilt inay show how the boys have
learnt to be cool in disaster and so save life.
An American family consisting of a husband, wife,
governess and little boy were travelling to their camp a t
night. It was about midnight when the boat capsized.
T h e American party were asleep at the time, so they were
all taken by surprise. T h e father grasped his little boy,
the governess grasped the boat and climbed on to the
upturned keel, to which also the boatmen were clinging.
T h e wife was washed down-stream and would have
certainly been drowiled had not there been with the
party one of our boys, who im~nediatelyswam after the
lady, grasped her firmly and swam to shore with her. It
all happened suddenly and in the dark, so that a cool
head was a very necessary asset. T h e boy had
301
always done well a t our weekly upsettings, hence his
smartness.
U s e is made of the boats in various ways. It has beell
t h e practice now for some years to use the school boats
for the sake of the sick in the city and hospitals, The
boys, having found health and strength by their athletic
life, wish to make use of it for the sake of those who
have not.
I wish I could have photographed a particular scene on
that beautiful afternoon in June. Allow me to try to
describe what 1 saw. A s I was passing a certain village
on the banks of the lake I heard music and went in
search of it. It led me to a boulder-strewn landing-place
where a procession was forming, the school drum and
fife band in front, with a crowd of twenty-nine bandaged
and sick folk, and almost fifty boys, forming the crews of
the fleet, who had just returned with their cargoes of
hospital patients from a pleasant afternoon paddle on the
lake, the band discoursing sweet music the while. Among
this interesting crowd was a lame man with white bandages,
supported under the arms by two boys who were helping
him to walk. T h e r e was a strong boy with another
cripple on his back. T h e r e were men with bandaged
eyes being led by others, and told where to step, guided
past holes or up steps. T h e villagers, of course, had
flocked out of their houses and with mouths and eyes
wide open were staring in wonder. Some were laughing.
W a s it from scorn or amusement ? Mostly the latter, 1
think. Some few understood the scene that was being
enacted before their eyes, and realised that this school
party, which was for the most part composed of Brahmans,
were helping Mohammedans. I feel sure some of that
crowd will never forg.:t that scene. I certainly shall not*
Now why do these boys spend many of their afternoon8
with the sick, striving to brighten up the lives of those
who need cheering? Are they paid for i t ? No.
Is it done to win my approval ! Possibly some may do
so for this reason.
Is it done because it is part of the Mission School effort ?
Yes, partly. There are no doubt many mixed motives,
but when one has allowed for all these there is yet
something more.
They have learnt to be sorry for those in trouble.
They see the difference between their school spirit and
the spirit of the city. They have realised that super-
stition, ignorance and stupid customs have drowned the
nobler spirit. They realise that their country is down
and needs lifting, and they will have their try at changing
everlasting custom and the like.
Again, there are others who go deeper, and who have
perceived that the daily teachings of the Gospel need
expression in life. T h e life of Christ is speaking to them ;
it appeals to them as it does to all men in all nations in all
times who have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Occasionally we have great floods. T h e y happen
when we have exceptionally heavy rain, which brings
down the melting snow in the summer and fills up the
river and overflows the embankments, when the couiltry
is from eight feet to ten feet under water. It all happens
very quickly, so that those who have not reached high
ground are on the roofs of houses or up trees crying for
help. It is then the boatmen's harvest, for they can
demand from the flood-stricken what they like, and the
price of boats in these times is very much up. A t such
times the school fleet is very much to the fore.
Here is a coolie up a poplar-tree, where he has been
standing all night, and a boatman is below demanding. an
exorbitant amouilt to take him home, when up comes a
303
school boat and takes the man home free. T h e boatman
curses. T h e r e is a school boat out on the search ; they
are led by the cries of women and children to a row of
sweepers' houses, crowded with sweeper families. They
have seen the houses around them disappear, and are in
terrible dread lest their row of huts will soon disappear
likewise. T h e y have cried for help to many passing boats,
but some of the boats had Brahman passengers, who do
not like sweepers as near neighbours, and other boats are
out for more moneyed folk. T h e school crew is proud
to rescue them, though all the crew are Brahmans, except
the cox, who is a Mohammedan.
One of the school staff who is walking towards a
sheet of water sees several women on an island which is
gradually growing smaller as the water rises. They are
imploring a boatman who has brought his boat close to
the island to allow them to enter; but they cannot, for
his price is too high. T h e school teacher calls to the
man to take the woinen in his boat, but he will not, SO
the master immediately dives into the water and comes
up close to the boat. In less time than it takes to write
the master was in a i d the boatman out of the boat, and
the master ferried the women to a place of safety. That
man had not learnt athletics for nothing. H e also was a
Brahman.
T h e knowledge of boat-craft has come in handy in
many varied emergencies, and often the knowledge of
united weight at the right time and lace has been
useful.
An English lady was in trouble, and she came to us for
our help in the following matter :-
T h e house-boat in which she lived had a rotten ~ l a n k
in the flooring, which could not be repaired unless tile
boat could be taken out of the water. She tried to make
304
arrangements with boatmen for hauling her big house-
boat out of the river, but they asked an exorbitant
price, so she appealed to us for aid. T h e masters and
boys were delighted to give their help.
O n a certain afternoon one hundred of our strongest
masters and boys were on the bank of the river and close
to the house-boat, ready to lend their muscles. Large
beams of wood had been placed under the boat, on which
she could slide. Tackle had been fastened from two
large poplar-trees to the house-boat. A strong hawser
had been passed between two pulleys; one end had been
fastened to the boat and the other end was lying loose on
the top of the bank waiting for power to be applied to it.
At the word of command one hundred masters and boys
seized the rope. A t the words, Are you ready ? G o ! "
they threw their weight on the rope. There followed
a loud report, as that from a cannon, and the one hundred
pullers were deposited on their backs on the ground.
T h e boatmen who had asked such extortioilate wages had
come to watch the proceedings; they jeered loudly when
they saw the one hundred pullers sprawling on the ground.
W e now tied two hawsers to the boat and put fifty men
at each rope, and again at the word ('Go! " there was
a report like two guns and the one hundred were again
sprawling on thc ground. T h e lookers-on were quite
delighted, and showed their delight by their yells and
taunts. The ropes were mended, and twenty-five men
were put on to each rope, and at the word " G o ! " there
was no report this time, but a squeaking and creaking
iloise, and we saw the house-boat sliding up the beams.
The11 came our turn to cheer, for the school had won
;111d tllc boatmen were defeated.
I ]lave spoken of Sriilagar with regard to its suffering
1,y firrs and Roods, hut there is another trouble which is
more dreaded than either-viz. cholera, which always visits
Kashmir in epidemic form every four or five years, i t
always finds the city ready to receive it, and makes full
use of its opportunities of taking toll from the inhabitants.
T h e epidemic of 1902 was my first experience of this
terrible visitation. T h e people were terribly scared ;
offices and schools were closed, and the people sat in
their houses, as they said, waiting to die. They would
only take the medicine of their a hakims "--i.e. native
doctors-or trust to the prayers and incantations of the
priests. T h e priests would write some sacred words on
pieces of paper which the patients would swallow. They
would take no precautions, for they did not believe they
were of any use. You would see a man washing in the
river the clothes of a relation who has just died of
cholera, and a few feet down-stream a mail would be
drinking the water of the river. It was useless remon-
strating, for your words had no meaning to them.
Cholera was the will of Allah, or of the gods, what had
water or anything else to d o witti it ? Ten thousand
deaths were reported in the city, but there must have
been hundreds more unreported.
I am thankful to say that superstition and ignorance 011
this matter is giving way before education, so much SO
that our masters and boys are welcomed in the houses of
the stricken, and they will take from us the medicine of
the West, so that in the last epidemic our staff and boys
saved seventy-three lives out o f the hundred and three
cases they took up. W h e n cholera appears in the city
we immediately stock bottles of medicine in the schools~
Masters and boys come on duty for regular watches llight
and day ; bicycles and lanterns are ready so that they may
start the instant the call comes, for in cholera it is all-
important to reach the case at once, for all may be over
3 06
in three hours, though the patient generally succ~lmbs
after nine or twelve hours.
W e did not win the confidence of the people at once,
you may be sure ; it has taken years to win it. Often
the parents insisted on the masters drinking the medicine
before allowing the patient to touch it. One master had
to drink so much medicine in this way that he had to go
to hospital to be cured of the cholera cure.
In the last two epidemics we have used the simple
remedy of permanganate of potash, giving the patient a
drink of this, and as much of it as he can manage to get
down, and we have fo~uld this most efficacious so long as
we secured the patient before he had reached the second
stage ; if in the third stage we called for medical aid and
used the hypodermic syringe.
This incident may show how keen our men are in their
self-imposed tasks of fighting the cholera.
One of the staff was struck down with cholera, but his
parents called in the hakim and priests to use their arts,
and it was not until he had entered the third stage that
the parents let us know. A t once our men were at the
house ; they had divided themselves into watches two and
two for the day and night.
A t ten P.M. I visited him, and found four of our party
massaging his arms and legs, for he was in great pain
from cramp. Seeing that he was in cstrctcis, I poured a
little brandy down his till-oat. T h e tllail who was holding
his head whispered to tne to leave the room. I thought
he asked tne to do this as there ulcrc inany women in
the room and they ol>jectcd to m y presence, so I left.
Next nlorning early the same man came to tell me
that our friend had passed avay. W h e n ? " I asked.
A t the moment you put the brandy into the patient's
mouth." I asked mhy he had asked me to leave the
307
room, and why he did not tell me that he had died,
Because," said he, " if the people in the room had
thought that h e had died then they would have said
that you had poisoned him; and also we did not wish
the women to know that he was dead, for women can
bear bad news better in the light than they can in the
darkness, so we continued massaging the corpse all
through the night, until the morning, and then when
the sun arose we broke the news to them, when they
would be better able to bear it."
W e can employ otlly a restricted number of masters
and boys in nursing the cholera-stricken, but we can make
use of many of them to help the city in another way.
I mentioned how frightened the people become when
cholera visits the city; this is, of course, bad, as fear
predisposes people to the epidemic. So the school tries
to counteract the blues by attracting their attention.
T h e y bring their boats from the lake to the river,
and have races up and down the river in the middle of
the city, making as much noise as they ~ossiblycan, to
show the people that they at any rate do not intend to die.
Of course some do die, but their places are filled up by
those who live, and they g o on racing, and so help the
people to transfer their thoughts from deaths and funeral
pyres to young life enjoying itself. It also keeps our
boys in good spirits, and thus enables them to cheer Lip
their own families.
I expect I have already wearied my readers with this
account of education in action, so I will spare them frml
further talk on the subject.
Finally, I end with the school motto, whicll has proved
an inspiration to many, and is the Alpha and Omega of our
teaching and aspirations while in this land of beauty and
humour.
308
THE SCHOOL MOTTO & CREST
By the term Man is meant one who combines in

his nature both strength and kindness, the idea of
which is borne out by the crest. T h e paddle
indicates hard work or strength, and the heart-
shaped blade betokens kindness. T h e crossed
paddles express self-sacrifice, and are a reminder
to all men of Him who taught that great lesson,
and all that His Cross meant to the world.
INDEX
ADCONAND,
Raja, 68 Boat, an Oxford-built, I 74
Afghan coolies, a rough lot of, 3 0 Boat-building, I 69
Afghan and the subaltern, the, r 5 I Boat club, the European, I 73
Afghans, Kashmir under the, 26 Boat people, morals of the, 96
Ahmad Shah Durani, 74 Boatmen, 94, 97
Akbar the Great, 72, 87 Boats, 89, 92
Albruni the historian, 69 Boland, Father, 84
A l i Kadal, I I 6 Brahman carpenters, 26 I
A l i Shah, 7 I Brahman clerk in his home, the, I 43
Amar Nath, 146 Brahman, dress of the, 1 42
Amritsar station, I 8 Brahman holy man or Sadhu, 144
Anglo-Indians, 60 Brahman restrictions, 265
Ankhor tree, the poisonous, 54 Brahmani sacred bull, the, 1 2 3
Appleford and the Afghan, 3 I Brahmans at prayer, I O I
Asoka, introducer of Buddhism, 69 Brahman's thread, the, I 40
Athletics, 27 5 Brahman's toilet, a, I 39
Aurangzeb, 74 Brass pots of the Hindus, I O I
Bridges, 89
BARAMULLA, 30, 36, 55, 192 British and natives, 20
Barbers, 130 British Resident, the, 75
Barges, State, 90 Bud Shad, I I 5
Bargee, the building of, I 70 Buddhism in Kashmir, 69
Barr, Col. D.,264 Buffalo, origin of the, 4 I
Bathe, an uncomfortable, 20 I Buffaloes, 41
6 c Batish," the, I 3 3 Bugle, the driver's, 24
Batta Mazir, 7 5 Bulbul, the, I 58
Bears, 43 Bulbul Shah, 70
Bedding, I 7 Burial ceremonies, I 63
Beggars, I 3 0 Burial custom, a curious, 203
Besant, Mrs Annie, I I o Burka," the, I 50
Beyond the Pit Punjal, D r E. Burma and Icashmir contrasted, r 06
Neve's, 248
Bhishties or water-carriers, 22, CARAVANS, 207
107. Caste marks, 140
Bicycling epieodes, I 2 I Cataract, operations for, 2 3 2
Birch bark for roofs, 87 Cavalcade, an imposin~,2 I 9
Birds, fortunate and unfortunate, CcntraI ;\sia, traveller; from, 134
1 58 Ceren~onialablutions, I o r
" Black art,"the, I 65 Champion liars, 270
Black bear and carpenter, the, 46 " Chang " or beer, 2 I o
Index
Chang Chenmo, 203 Egg collecting, I 90
Children, I 56 Elmslie, Dr, 240
Cholera, 63, 306 Embroidery work, I 3 2
Chowkidar and the milk, 80 Epidemics, 62
Christian, Capt., 23 I Evil eye, the, I 07
C.M.S., the, 239 Examinations, 2 56
C.M.S. High School, I 10 Expeditions, I 82
Clark, Rev. I<., and the " black
art," 165 FAMILY
life in winter, 64
Complexion of Icashmiri women, 60 Fateh Kadal, I r 3
Consumption, 63 Fires, 88
Coolies, 20, 33, 82 Fitze, Miss, 259
Copper work, I 3 3 Flattery, adepts at, 143
Coverdale, Miss, 2 58 Fleas, 198
Cow-killing, penalties for, I 2 3 Floods, 303
Cremation, I 60 Football game, the first, 277
Cruelty to animals, I 24 Foul language, 274
Fruits, 56
DAILYAS,
85
Dal Lake, 55, 8 5
Dal, an unrehearsed effect on the, GADA BATA,rite of, G8
176 Gadhi, 76
Damudhar Udar, I 59 Games, the value of, 268
Danudar, Raja, 69 Ganger, a dishonest, 3 I
Death, ceremonies at, I 56, I 63 Ganges, the, I 57
Delivery, ceremonies before and Genge, Lieut., 232
after, I 53 Gharis, 2I
Demons, exorcising, I 67 G h a t or yaribal, the, 105
Dentists, I 3 I Ghi, 42
Dhobi or washerman, the, 104 Ghost in a mosque, story of a,
Dirty habits of the Icashmiris, I 06 I 17
Display, love of, 6 I Ghusal or professional washer, I 63
Dogras, the, 77 Gilgit, 55
Domel, 30 Gilgit road, forced labour on the,
Doongas and house-boats, 96 236
Downes, D r E., 240 Girls, the education of, 257
Dras, 202 Glacier, crossing a, 23 I
Dress, bright colours in, I 41 Glacier, at the foot of a, 2 2 4
b L G o g Sahib," 260
Dress of the Brahman, 142
Dresa, men's and women's, I 38 Graduates and State appointments,
Dress, picturesque, at Ladakh, 2 13 2 59.
Dudh Ganga, the, I 87 Grasping officials, 24 I
Duni Chand, Col., 2 5 I Grenfell, Dr IV., 246
llurga, 85 Griflith, Padre, 23
Guiars or cow-herds, 42
EAGLES,
190
~ u i a hSingh, Maharajah, 26, 7 5
Eclipses, r 59 Gulmarg, 39
311
Index
HADOW,
M r C. M., 47 ICashmir-continued
Hangi fights, 9 5 Singh, 26 ; Ranbir Singh, 26 ;
Hanuman, temple of, I I 6 Pratab Singh, 26 ; views in, 5 5 ;
H a r i Parbat, 8 5 fruits and exports, 56 ; industries,
H a t t i bungalow, 3 4 59, I I 5, 132 ; epidemics, 59,
Hazrat Bal mosque, I I 3, 2 4 4 62, 248, 3 9 6 ; people, 6 0 ;
Health officer and Brahman priests, women, 60, I O I ; sanitation,
the, 63 6 0 ; Srinagar, 38, 83, 87 ;
Heber, D r and Mre, 223 villages, 64 ; history, 67 ; geo-
Hemis monastery, 2 2 4 logy, 6 8 ; Huns, 6 9 ; Tartars,
Henna ceremony, the I 5 4 6 9 ; Mohammedans, 69, 72,
Himalayas, the, I 7 100, 234 ; religion, 6 9 ; Mogul,
Hindus at prayer, 10I 72 ; cession to England, 75 ;
Horoscope, the, I 5 3 humour, 80, I 3 5 ; character, 77 ;
Hospitality, 2 I habits, I 06, I I 4 ; immorality,
House-boate, I 7 8 96 ; Rajas, 242 ; customs, I 3 I ,
Houses of Srinagar, 87, 108, I 32 161, 203 ; Brahmans, 101, 139,
Humour of the Kashmiris, 8 0 I 42, 144, 2 6 s ; education, I 5 I ,
Humour and tragedy, I 3 5 253, 256, 259, 261
H u n s in Kashmir, 6 9 '' Kashmiri." a term of abuse,. 78.
Kashmiri Gdhus, I 49
IDGAH,117 ICashmiri women, 60
Ill-treatment of animals, 294 Kashmiris, the, 6 0
Immorality of the river people, 9 6 Kawa Punim, rite of, 6 8
Insanitary conditions, I I 4 Icechi Mavas, rite of, 6 8
Islamabad, 59 Kennard, Mr, I 78
Islamabad, Mrs Bishop's hospital Khos, 7 5
at, 252 Kinaras, I 7 I
Ismalia the boatman, 98 Kindergarten system, 26 I
Itch, prevalence of, 59 Kishen Ganga, the, 29
Kites, daring, 1 23
JACKALS, 52 Knowles, Rev. J. H., 260, 263
Jahangir, 72 Kohala, 26
Jaluki, Raja, 69 Konsar Nag Lake, 1 9I
Jhats or Sikh farmers, I 9 Kotitirtha, 56
Jhelum river, 35, 8 4
Joseph, 2 2 I LACUSTRINE deposits, 68
Jumma Musjid mosque, I 3 4 Ladakh, 2 I 5
Jummu, 7 5 Lamayuru, 2 I 6
Landslips, 32
KALIGHAT,the, I I 4 Lawrence, L o r d J., 8 4
Kangri or fire-pot, the, I 3 9 Lawrence, Sir W., 80
Kardang Pass, 2 2 3 Legends and traditions, 67
Kargil, 203 Leh, 2 1 8
Karma, the law of, I 57 Leper hospital, 248
Kaahmir : and Afghans, 26 ; Lepere, I 29
Sikha, 26 ; Rajputs, 2 6 ; Gulab Leprosy, 248
Index
Liquor shops, I 27 Monasteries and lamas, 2 I I
Locusts, 22 Monastery band, a, 2 I o
Lunatics, I 29 Monastery of Lamayuru, 2 r 6
Lynx, the, 52 Monkeys, Himalayan, 52
Monks and nuns, 2 18
M'CORMICK,
Mies Lucy, 243 Mos Deen Khan, st01.y of, 235
Maha Ganisha, the elephant god, Mosque8 and temples of Srinagar,
86 84
Maha Shri, temple of, 1 1 5 Mosquitoes, 5 7
Maharajah Gulab Singh, 87 Mountain dwellers, 6 5
Maharajah of Bashmir, generosity Mountain road, story of a, 29
of the, 251 Mourners, professional, I 6 1
Maharajahs, attitude of the, 242 Mulbek monastery, 208
Maharajah's temple, the, I 09 Mullah Khan, 74
Mahmud of Ghuzni, 69 Munshi, the, 6 I
Mahseer, the, 57 Munshi Bagh, the, 84
Mail runners' shelter, 200 Murree, 26
Maina, the, 85 Mussulman at prayer, the, 100
Malodorous river, the, r 06 Mussuth band, 74
Manisbal Lake, 184
Margs, 39 NADIRSHAH, 74
Marmots, 23 I Nanga Parbat, 41
Marriage middleman, the, r 6 I Naseem Bagh, 58
Marriages, arrangement of, I 5 5, I 6 I Nawa Kadal, I I 6
Marsa Lake, I 86 Nedou & Sons, 40
Marx, D r , 222 Nestorian Christians, 2 I 3
Massage among coolies, 65 Neve, D r , 146, 197
Mastiffs, savage, 228 Neve, D r A., 241, 248
Match-maker, or marriage go- Neve, D r E. F., 242
between, I 3 r Neve, Miss Nora, 243
Maxwell, Dr T., 240 Newman, Miss, 197, 252
Maypole dance, a, 208 Nicholson, Gen. J., 84
Medal, a Brahman's fateful, I 40 Nisbet, Col. Parry,and the mountain
Medical aid in ICashmir, 2 5 I road, 27, 29
Mehrakula the H u n king, 69 Nur Jahan, I I 5
Middleman, the marriage, I 6 I
Milkmen, I 34 OFFICERS and panther, 58
Mir Sayid Ali of Hamdan, I I 3 Oppressed people, an, 79
Mission Hospital, the, 84, 244 Oppression, native, 20
Mission at Leh, the, 222 Ordeal by battle, 272
Mitchell, M r W., 40
Mogul Subadars, 74 PADDLES, stolen, I 78
Mohammedan invasions, Oy Pagodas, 2 I 2
Mohammedan kingfi, oppression of Pagri, the uses of a, 1 3 7
the, 72 Pandits, 72
Mohammedans, oypresriol~ of, by Pang Gong Lake, 203
Hindue, 239 Panthers, 47
31 3
Index
Paper making, introduction of, 72 Rites and ceremonies, 68
Pariah dogs, I 24 River scenes, 9 2
Pathans, 3 I Red beards, I 20
Patthar Masjid mosque, I r 5 Redslop, Dl., 2 22
Pestle and mortar, the family, 65 c L Refuges," 289
Petrie, Miss Irene, 223 Religious rites and ceremonies, 68
Pheron," the, I 38 Renchan Shah, 69
Physique of ZCashmiri, 6 2 Rest-houses, 200
Pigs, wild, 5 I Robinson, Rev. A. J., 287
Pine-martens, 52 Roofs, 87
Pipe, an improvised, 2 30 Rope bridges, 3 5
Pir Punjal Mts, 84 Rowing, 299
" Pirak," a, 2 1 4 Russia, menace of, 30
Play, a religious, 2 2 5
Policemen, I 8 SADDLES,
232
Political Officer, the, 27 Sadhu, a chivalrous, r 49
Polo, 2 10 Sndhu and the Mission School,
Polo at Leh, 220 148
Polyandry, 2 2 4 Sadhus, I 4 6
Ponies, cruelty to, 28 Saffa ICadal, I 16
Poonch state, the, 78 Sakhi Muni Gaotam, or Buddha,
Pratab Singh, Maharajah Sir, 27, 69
75 Sangi Safed, I 87
Pravarasena, 86 Sartorius, Colonel, I 73
Prayer flags, 2 I 2 Schools, indigenous, 2 53
Prayers, 99 Servants, the custom of, 229
Praying wheels, 2 I 2 Shah Hamdan, 70
Prideaux, Colonel, 27 Shah Hamdan, mosque of, 1 13
Public examinations, candidates for, Shah Jahan, 74
15' Sharika, the hill of, 86
Shawl industry, the, I 1 5
QAZI,161 Shawl ~ m l v e r s , pitiable condition
Qutub-ud-Din, 70 of, 238
Shawl weaving, introduction of, 72
RACING
eight, a, I 76 Sheep as carriers, 207
Railway carriages, r 8 Sheikh Bagh, the, 84
Railway passengers, native, I g Shergol monaatery, 230
Raja Kat," the, I 58 Shikara, the, 8 9
Raja Sandirnan, 83 Shops, 126
Raja Sir Amar Singh, 256 Shroud for the dead, I 63
Rajas of Kashmir, 68 Sikh fort, the, 8s
Rajpute, Kashmir under the, 26 Sikhs, the, and Kashmir, 26
Ram Chand, a holy man, 147 Sindh Valley, the, 197
Ranbir Singh, Maharajah, 27 Single-sticks far healing divisions,
Ranjit Singh, 7 5 2 73
Rawal Pindi, I 13 Small-pox, 62, 132
Rice, hueking, 6 2 Snakes, 1 9 8
3=4
Index
66Sneaking," 272 . Transmigration, theories about, I 5'
Sneezing, superstition about, I 5 8 Trees in L e h , 220
Snow-clad mountains, I 33 Trench, Cayt. C., 197, 203
Social service, 280 Trips, the value of, I 87
Sona Marg, I y 8 Turban as a sign of vocation, I 37
Sopor, 38, 57 Typhoid, 63
Spedding, Mr, contracto~.,3 0
Srinagar, 38, 83, 87 UNIFORMED
robbers, I 35
Staff, the school, 262
Stages in the boys' education, 292 VACCINATION and small-pox, I 58
Stamps, Kashmiri, 91 Valleys of Kashmir, 39
6' Van," I 6I
State schools, 25 5
Storrs, Rev. W.J., 238 Varaha, temple of, 56
Street episodes, annoying, I I 9 Varamul or Baramulla, 56
Sulphur springs, 59 Vaughan, D r Janet, 252
Sundri, our pet monkey, 53 Villages, 64
Superstitions, I 58, 167 Vishnu, 56
Suru, R., 230
Swimming, 296 WADE, Rev. T. R., and the <' black
art," 165, 240
a TAFFY,"
III Wardwan Valley, 232
Takht-i-Suliman, 8 3 Water-carriers, women as, 107
Tamerlane and the poor man, 70 Wedding parties, boatmen's, I I 8
Tarsa Lake, I 86 Weddings and wedding feasts, I 5 5
Tartars, invasion by, 69 Well and the horse, the, 25
T a t i Icuti, r 88 Wives, duties of, I 56
Tears and laughter, 247 Woodwork, 59
Technical school, 2 56 Woman's lace in Hinduism, I 01
Telegraph Office, State, 90 Women of Ladakh, status of the,
Temperance Society, a, 127 214
Textile industries, 59 Wular Lake, 38, 57, 192
Thirty rears in Knshmir, D r
Neve's, 236 Y ADHUS, the, 69
Thorp, Lieut. R., 234, 239 Yarkandi, Serai, I r 7
Thread ceremony, the, I 54
Tibetan Buddhists, 2 I 3 ZAIN-UL-ABIDIN, 72
Timber, 56 Zana Radal, I I 5
Tollman and bicycle, the, 27 Zenana Hospital, 2 5 2
Tonga, the, 23 Ziarats or shrines, 86
Trade marks on clothes, I 4 I Zoji L a , 199

1922 Kashmir in Sunlight and Shade by Tyndale Biscoe S

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KASHMIR

SUNLIGHT & SHADE

C. E. TYNDALE BISCOE, M.A.(CANTAB.)

L. C. DUNSTERVILLE, C.B., C.S.I.

WlTH 28 ILLUSTRATIONS & A M A P

I MUST express my thanks to my headmaster, Mr

Pilgrims Returning from the Mountains . 63

A Canal in the Dal . . 84

The Common Task of Women 96

Enemiea of the Gods 97

Fateh Kadal . . 114

H.R.H. the Maharajah's Soldiers of the Old Army . . I L ~

Fishing on the Jhelum . "5

Saffa Kadal . . 120

Milkmen bound for the City . i34

Women at the Mill and Spinning-Wheel .

A Buddhist Abbot and his Chelas or Pupils

Floating Gardens on the Dal

High Street at Leh .

Lama Actors in their Religious Plays

The Frances Aberigh Mackay Memorial School for Girls

Men in the Making .

A Ghat at the C.M.S.Girls' School

A School Regatta . . 163

w E have for the last thirty hours been well

T h e chaplain's servant comes to my rescue and drives them

my belongings. Jehu took this opportunity of using his

u P to the present we have been looking a t the large

some fifteen yards or so from the shore, where a kid had

ambulator with our little boy, the two embracing one

she no doubt imagined him to be her own son. She

on one's too rapid progress. I wage war with my enemy,

TANDING on these glorious pine-clad mountains,

S and seeing through a clearing in the forest the whole

size, the record fish being 54 1b.

The drawback to this place is the mosquitoes, the air

B EFORE our visit to the capital, Srinagar, it would

KASHMIR, ANCIENT AND MODERN

S we have now seen something of the beautiful

extensive grounds. T h e various roads are well inarked

self into a sharika-i.e. a maina-a very common bird in

MOHAMMEDANS AND HINDUS

w HILE the two boats are far apart the men

to be veritable death-traps to the morals of young

Eramtmr~sOF THE GOD$.

my attention to a glass chandelier which hung from the

E are now at the third bridge, called Fateh

which was demolished by the Mohammedans to make

while of fancy strokes, sending the water in spray behind

E will leave our boat a t the bottom of the

Hark ! hark! how the dogs do bark,

They exist in their scores, because the people win give

I F one walks through the streets one has naturally

w HEN a Brahman takes up work as a clerk in

FEW weeks before delivery the woman with

HE Kashmiris have their own special way of

1% not so easy for a Westerner really to understand

they always been there ? "

of water [i.e. be lost in Nirvana]."