CHAPTEK I 



JOUENEY TO THE SHOOTING GROUND 



Sopar to Bandpura — Present condition of the village — A globe-trotter and 

 his bag — The start — Lagging coolies — A Panjabi fakir on the tramii — 

 My first brown bear — A tramp in the dark — Bagtor village — The Krisli- 

 ganga valley — A good find for stags — Elastic bridge — Sharafa's predica- 

 ment — The Gagai ndla — Crossing the pass — A British colonel — A snow- 

 storm — Marmai and its inhabitants — Procuring transport — Description 

 of the place— Village of Diril — Village of Chhagam — Nanga Parbat — 

 Colony of Kashmiri horse-thieves — Gurikot — Wazir Rozi Khan's family 

 — Evening tea — A British sportsman on his return — Astor — Wazir Rozi 

 Khan — His wife subsidised by the Maharajah. 



From Sopar, on the Wular, my boats took me across the 

 lake to the village of Bandpura, at the northern extremity 

 of this beautiful sheet of water. It was the most con- 

 venient point from which to make a start for the district 

 of Astor, my future shooting ground. In after years, when 

 the Gilgit Agency was established, this small village became 

 the base for all military operations in that direction, and 

 it was transformed into a centre of activity which changed 

 the face of the country for miles round. Sikhs, Giirkhas, 

 Panjabis, congregate here now in numbers ; camels, mules, 

 and military impedimenta are found in every direction ; 

 and what was once one of the best shooting countries 

 in Kashmir is closed to the sportman. 



There was the usual delay before I could make a start 

 on the long and somewhat tedious journey to my shooting 



