FIVE DAYS' HARD WORK 245 



pass : the way was rocky, but not steep. On the other 

 side was a steep descent of a mile or so to the Lang-nai 

 — a long and narrow valley. There was very little snow 

 on this side. We camped at the huts of some Gujars. 

 The weather was bad again that night, and in the 

 morning the snow fell very heavily : it was thick on the 

 pines and birches in the hanging forest across the gorge — 

 a beautiful winter scene, seen dimly through the falling 

 flakes. All day it snowed, and all day I snuggled under 

 the blankets: the coolies, too, in the huts were fairly 

 comfortable. Next morning it had cleared up, so we made 

 a start ; but the little tent had to be left behind, as it was 

 frozen and too stiff to pack. By two o'clock I reached 

 Lidu, where I found Yakub and the large tent, from 

 Srinagar. I found that the sporting colonel, who was 

 before me in Chang-chen-mo, had forestalled me here also ; 

 he left the village five days before my arrival. He got a 

 stag here, but, I was told, his shikaris shot the animal ! 



I stayed at home for two days, had a good rest, and 

 then went up again into a valley next the Lang-nai, by 

 which I had come down, to make a final try for bear and 

 stag. After five days' hard work I got one of each, and 

 was quite satisfied. 



I arrived at Srinagar on the 20 th of October, and remained 

 there a week, collecting and packing up my trophies, then 

 made a start for the plains by tonga dak — Yakub following 

 with Chamurti and the traps. The pony had fared well 

 during this long and rough journey, though he was on 

 short commons so often, and had had many adventures in 

 his own line : the most serious was his fall from an unsafe 

 bridge on the way from Ladakh. The man who was 

 leading him knew the frail nature of the bridge, but he 

 also knew that the water was very cold, so he chanced 

 the bridge, and Chamiirti fell over, but the man got across 



