BRIDGE OVER THE SURV RIVER AT KARGIL, ON THE ROAD TO LEH. BRIDGE ON CANTILEVER PATTERN.
In Leh three distinct kinds of mules are obtainable, namely, Yarkandis, Ladakhis, and Lhassa or Chang Tanis; of these the former are by far the most taking in appearance, and are mostly very big, standing 14·2 to 15 hands. They are, however, unfitted for a long journey when grass is likely to be scarce, and only a limited quantity of grain can be carried. The majority of these mules are black in colour. The Ladakhi mules are mostly brown; they are generally extremely hardy, able to stand great cold, and to do a lot of work on inferior food. Unfortunately they are hard to obtain, as only a very small number are bred, and some are too small to be much good. The best of all are the Chang Tanis, bought in Leh; the very fact of their being there shows that they have been able to perform a long march with loads on their backs; they require little or no grain, and are very hardy. Yarkandi merchants, as a rule, give their mules loads of 200 lbs. to 240 lbs. and about 4 lbs. of grain daily; the Lhassa merchants put about 160 lbs. on their backs, and, when grass is plentiful, give no grain. Altogether we mustered twenty-two mules, costing on an average 129 rupees each, and seventeen ponies at about sixty-one rupees each. All of them we branded on the hind quarters to guard against any attempt at fraud after the purchase. In collecting these animals and our men we were assisted by Lala Bishan Dass, Wazir of Leh. He also helped us in many other ways, and as he spoke excellent English, matters were somewhat simplified. Besides the two men already mentioned, namely, Shukr Ali and Tokhta, we impressed into our service six other muleteers, four of them being Argoons, who are really half-castes, arising from the merchants of Turkestan making short marriages with the Ladakhi women; also two Ladakhis and one Yarkandi. Besides these eight men and our sub-surveyor, Shahzad Mir, we also took as servant a Ladakhi named Esa Tsareng, whom we simplified into Esau, and refer to him afterwards by that name. This man had for some little time listened to the doctrines of the good missionaries of Leh, but eventually had reverted again to the Buddhist religion. For all that he proved himself throughout to be a most faithful servant and a useful and clever man, for he could read and write the Tibetan characters. We had one other follower, an Argoon named Lassoo. He was a very neatly made little man, cheery at all times. Besides being an excellent cook, he was also a first-rate muleteer, tailor, barber, carpenter; in fact, there was hardly any capacity in which he did not shine.
SHAHZAD MIR AND OUR TEN MEN.
The muleteers soon gave evidence of what sort of men we had to deal with. They were an avaricious lot of fellows, and in a body refused to come with us under twenty rupees a month each, and this amount in actual wages we were unwilling to give, for we learnt that former travellers had paid men of this description fifteen rupees, and we were anxious not to be accused by those who might come after us of "raising the price." Promises of high backshish to all good workers carried no weight with such men, till at last we dismissed the whole crowd of them. At this stage of our preparations the chances of our ever starting at all looked decidedly black—we had no men and we had no passport—still more so when we were informed that there were no other men in Leh who would go with us. Being thus cornered and time most precious, we were in the end most reluctantly obliged to take them at their own price, and having discovered in other ways the class of men we had to deal with, we inwardly reflected that the only way to meet with success would be to humour them in all they wanted, and we foresaw that if we acted otherwise no headway would be made. We also agreed to give them per diem two pounds of flour, rice, or parched ground barley, one chitak (equal to two ounces) of butter carried in skins, one-fifth of a chitak (equal to one tola) of tea, besides the curry powder, spices, salt, and pepper already mentioned, and meat when procurable. We also gave them warm clothes and boots, money to buy more, and cooking utensils. We took in all for our ten men and Shahzad Mir nine maunds of flour, four of barley, four of rice, one of dal, sufficient, providing there was no robbery, to last them nearly four and a half months. Having so far bought our animals and enlisted our men, we at once set to work to fit out all these animals, so as to be able to carry the supplies. The twelve smallest mules were provided with wooden saddles, while the remainder wore the palans; to each mule were three ropes, two for tying on the load and one spare. Each mule, too, was provided with headstall, nosebag, and picketing rope. To equip each animal in this way cost us about ten rupees a-piece. As regards food for our animals, we made sufficient bags to carry eighteen maunds of grain and twenty-eight maunds of bhoussa, or chopped straw, both of which we should be able to buy some marches out of Leh, and also at Shushal on the Pangong Lake, which we were told would be the last point where we could obtain supplies. We reckoned that on an average each animal would carry 200 pounds. Of course, some of the mules were equal to nearly 300 pounds, whilst it would have been unwise to put more than 150 pounds on some of the ponies. Thus engaged, we continued to buy our goods and superintend the work and preparations, still anxious in regard to our passport, which had not yet arrived. Amongst other things, we had to see to the cold shoeing of our ponies and mules. On the 27th April everything was in readiness to start, and we decided to send forward our caravan on the morrow slowly with easy stages under the command of Shahzad Mir as far as Shushal, twelve days' march from Leh, whilst we ourselves would wait a few more days for the passport, and follow afterwards on hired transport, making two or three marches a day. On the evening before their departure, it was arranged that a nautch should be given in the rest bungalow compound, to which entertainment we were not only invited to come, but were also requested to subscribe and provide refreshment for the performers in the shape of spirits; it ended in our giving the show and their coming to it. In front of the bungalow was a small green, and in the centre of this a pile of bricks was erected to hold a number of burning logs; on one side and a few yards from this, seats were placed for ourselves, with men standing with lighted torches on either hand of us; opposite us were the local musicians—would that they had been placed at a greater distance off! On the two flanks, the inhabitants of Leh arranged themselves in several rows with the front ones sitting. Directly on our left was the well-nourished Munshi Palgez, master of the ceremonies, who, squatting on the ground with a low bench in front of him to hold the refreshments, superintended the distribution of the chang, the meat, and the chupatties.
The show commenced with half a dozen women, dressed in gay finery and bangles, moving in slow time around the fire, keeping pace together in the varied waving of their arms and swaying of their bodies. After this, each man in turn came forward and displayed his own special dance; some were of gentle mood, whilst others were frantic in their actions, and apparently dangerous with a flashing sword. The real fun was only reached when one of our own retainers, named Usman, doubtless bent upon celebrating his last evening at Leh, began his wild and lively dance. In the midst of his performance, suddenly stooping down, he seized the large pot of chang from under the very nose of the stout and all-important Palgez, who, having enjoyed every luxury of life without interruption for many years, was very nearly ending his days on the spot from mere fright at this piece of uproarious conduct. Yet Usman, not satisfied with this mirthful deed, began to dance more wildly than ever, swinging the well-filled pot at arm's length around his head, besprinkling all the onlookers with the intoxicating liquid, till finally, being tackled by some stout men from the crowd, he was thrown heavily to the ground, and disarmed of his dangerous weapons. After this unexpected burst we retired, leaving the entertainment to wear itself out.
CHINESE PASSPORT, ONE AND A HALF FEET SQUARE.