HORSEBACK-RIDE IN THE HIMALAYAS.
For the first forty miles the road was level, as it lay along the flat valley of the Ganges. They reached Kalka, which is at the base of the foot-hills, and then began to ascend toward Simla. Until a few years ago there was no carriage road beyond Kalka, and travellers were obliged to ride on ponies or be carried by men, and sometimes at present the supply of horses is exhausted, and the old method must be resorted to. When the rush begins for Simla in the early summer there are not sufficient horses for the service, and unless a visitor has made his arrangements beforehand he will be compelled to adopt human locomotion, while others, more fortunate, ride in the rapid garry.
There is a considerable variety of vehicles for man-transport, including the palanquin, sedan-chair, and dhoolie, which have been mentioned already. The conveyances which were new to the eyes of the boys were the bareilly dandy, and the jampan; and while they were looking at them the Doctor said they must get well into the mountains to see another, the ton-jon.
A BAREILLY DANDY.
The bareilly dandy is a cane chair in an oval frame that extends into a pole at each end, and for the convenience of the rider the chair is made to incline a little backward. Four bearers carry the burden, and are relieved at frequent intervals, so that eight men are required for a journey, besides the additional torch-bearers and other attachés. For mountain travel it is desirable to have each team composed of two tall and two short men; in going uphill the short ones take the front position, so that the chair may be kept nearly level, and the arrangement is reversed during a descent. The jampan is much like the dandy, with the addition of a cover like an umbrella, to keep off the heat in the sunshine and the water during a shower or storm.
