KASHMIR VALLEYS 191 



future movements while my little white houses gradually 

 rose among the sheltering pines, and in spite of the 

 shock of discovering that all chairs save one had been 

 forgotten, and that water was to be found everywhere 

 a little below the surface of the soil, began to unpack. 

 By the time tea was ready I felt myself an old estab- 

 lished resident, and ready to exchange compliments with 

 other travellers that might pass my way. Except a few 

 " gujas " (herds people) who were moving their encamp- 

 ment, and quite unapproachable from the conversa- 

 tional point of view, owing to the strange language they 

 talked, these were mostly of the four-footed order ; two 

 ponies strayed through our lines, and getting frightened, 

 nearly broke their legs over the tent ropes, and then a 

 Sahib's dog, who was hugely delighted at finding a 

 friend of his own order in this distant merg. 



A brisk walk, with the post office again as goal, 

 was pleasantly warming, the damp and the evening 

 chilliness in this high region being trying, for 

 we were close on 9000 feet up. The post office could 

 produce no dak for me, but the master gave me a vast 

 amount of gossip as to visitors, the date of their likely 

 arrival, information of the weather, mostly of an ex- 

 tremely gloomy description, and hints as to the procur- 

 ing of food-stuffs, a rather difficult question till the 

 regular purveyors had arrived from the valley below. 

 Finally, a fowl of delicate proportions and very attenu- 

 ated limbs was promised for the morrow, a little milk was 

 available at once, and a few eggs were to be brought 

 during the following days. Of vegetables there was not 

 the meagrest representative, and " attar " (flour, the 

 almost exclusive food of the servants) was immensely 

 dear. 



