The dress assimilates to the Chinese—pig-tails and little skull-caps being the order of the day. We obtained here good supplies of cow’s milk, [[152]]butter, &c., and among other things, some peas. These enabled us to celebrate our Sunday’s dinner by a “duck and green peas,” and never since the first invention of ducks could a similar luxury have been so thoroughly appreciated.
August 6.—Started early again, and marched five kos, through the little half-deserted settlement of Lotzûm to the village of Shergol, where we halted for breakfast. Here we found ourselves fairly among the Buddhists, and saw an entirely new description of monuments connected with religion, from anything we had yet encountered. [[153]]The most striking objects were a series of tomb-like buildings, without entrances, and adorned on all sides by the most hideous effigies, rudely executed in coloured mud.[1]
Some of these were men, depicted in bright red on a yellow ground, with horrible staring countenances; others women, adorned with numberless necklaces and other ornaments; besides these, there were peacocks, griffins with human arms, deer, &c., and all in the most flaring colours and the very rudest designs.
In the perpendicular face of a rock beyond was a very curious monastery, or abode of the Lamas. It was built completely in the rock, and was reached by a natural cavity on the face of the stone.
Jutting out from the upper part, balconies had been erected overhanging the precipice, and these were decorated with red copings, spotted [[154]]with white. From the fact of only one of our party knowing the language, it was difficult to ascertain from the natives the history of this curious abode, but they gave us to understand that it was the home of their Lamas, or spiritual preceptors. Here we met another of the race of wandering Englishmen, who was wending his way back to the valley. He was returning from a shooting tour, was all alone, and appeared to have had very hard work indeed of it, if his face and hands and generally dilapidated appearance might taken as a criterion. Not being quite in such light marching order ourselves, we were able to ask him to breakfast, and from his ready acceptance and the entire justice he did to our offer, I don’t think he could have had anything to eat for a week.
He appeared to be a thorough sportsman, and had bagged several head of large game, which he showed us. They were principally a kind of wild sheep with enormous heads and horns, each of his trophies being almost a coolie load in itself. Leaving Shergol, we entered a curious valley with rocks of concrete standing out like towers and fortifications, and on the summits of these again, airy-looking habitations with red streaks adorning them, and entered, as that at Shergol, by holes in the face of the rock. These were, or had [[155]]been, the abodes of the Lamas; numbers of them now however, as well as the mud settlements at their feet, appeared in ruins, and gave no sign of habitation, beyond having about them a number of little flags stuck on long poles, which fluttered about in the breeze. According to the account of our interpreter, which had to pass from Thibetian into Hindostanee before it could clothe itself in English, the cause of this dilapidation was the state of wealth and ambition at which the Lamas had arrived, and the consequent interposition of Gûlab Singh to take down their pride and ease them of a little of their wealth, both of which [[156]]he accomplished in the style to which he was so partial, by slaughtering some hundreds of them and reducing their airy habitations to ruins.
At a place called Moulwee we came to a curious block of massive rock standing close beside the path, with one of the red-topped houses built into its side. Above this was a colossal figure with four arms, rudely cut on the face of the rock, and above all was perched an implement, something after the fashion of a Mrs. Gamp’s umbrella of large proportions, together with sundry sticks and rags, which seem to be [[157]]the common style of religious decoration in these parts.
