144 THE JOURNEY TO LADAKH 



inhabitants of Lalioul, he says, are Kanaits — the same 

 people who are found in the Knlii valley : there are no 

 true Tibetans here. These Kanaits are Buddhists now, 

 and their priests, even, belong to the same caste as the 

 people. Many centuries ago the Eajah of Guge in Tibet 

 conquered Lahoul, and converted the people to Buddhism. 

 The Tibetan Lamas remained in the country some time, 

 but gradually died out, and now not one real Tibetan 

 Buddhist priest is to be found in the country. Guru 

 Gantal, at the confluence (" Preag " in Hindi, " Sumdo " in 

 Tibetan) of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers, some distance 

 below Kailang, is the largest monastery in Lahoul. On 

 Hari Chand's recommendation I engaged a man named 

 Sarap, belonging to a village across the Bhaga, as inter- 

 preter, guide, and general help. He was well acquainted 

 with the country and routes in Ladakh, and had 

 accompanied Sir Douglas Forsyth and Mr. Ptussell during 

 their journey to Yarkand ; he had also frequently 

 accompanied sportsmen through various parts of the 

 country. I did not discover what a thorough-paced rascal 

 this man was till I was well beyond the passes that divide 

 Lahoul from Ladakh, but his character was revealed to 

 me as I got on. 



A few hints, now, regarding the shooting in Lahoul. 

 This district may be described as a triangular piece of 

 country, with two sides, fifty miles in length each, and the 

 third about thirty. At the three angles are situated, 

 (1) the Baralcicha Pass ; (2) Shigri " camp " on the Chandra, 

 where this river takes a sharp bend ; (3) the large village 

 of Tanda at the junction of the two rivers. Within these 

 boundaries rises a tremendous knot of snowy mountains, 

 round the bases of which the sportsman can spend a couple 

 of pleasant months, though he must not be too sure of 

 making a satisfactory bag. The best plan would be to 



