A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



terrors of the voyage, but was now looking as if he 

 heartily wished that he had never started on an 

 expedition of travel and adventure. No coolies 

 had arrived from Kiris, the neighbouring village, 

 though they had been repeatedly sent for, and Babu 

 Lai had gone off to impress them. Armed with 

 my " perwanas," I set off at once along the some- 

 what hot and toilsome path that leads to the hamlet, 

 and in due time interviewed the "Thanadar" (head 

 man), and brandishing my letters in his face 

 threatened him with all sorts of penalties for dis- 

 regarding the orders of the Commissioner Sahib, 

 advising him to procure and send coolies forthwith. 

 He procured them. He now asked me to honour 

 the garden of his house by pitching my camp there, 

 which, after some dignified deliberation, I graciously 

 consented to do. Shortly afterwards some of his 

 retainers came to my tent, and, presenting a bouquet 

 of roses, begged me not to be angry with the 

 " Thanadar." I eventually promised (with some 

 reserve, as my baggage had not yet arrived) to 

 overlook his misdemeanours for this once, but I 

 cautioned him that he had better afford every 

 assistance to any servant of mine who might subse- 

 quently pass through the village on his way to 

 Skardo, whither I knew that I should be sending 

 for letters, &c., later on. Kiris is a large and 

 fertile village, and here I observed more flowers 

 and birds than I had seen for a long time, the 

 latter including, besides the ubiquitous magpie, 



45 



