A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



In 1894 alone the following major works were com- 

 pleted. The Sooroo bridge, of which a photograph is given. 

 The figures on the bridge will show on a rough scale the 

 size of the work which had to be completed in a limited 

 space of time. 



The new Kargil bridge, a more solid and considerably 

 larger structure than that over the Sooroo, was constructed 

 later. 



The main bridge over the Indus was designed, aligned and 

 begun in 1893, but completed by the early summer of 1894. 



The Kardang pass and road. 



The new rafts in the Shyok and the Koyak ferry. 



The Karawul Dawan approach and pass. 



The Sasser pass and road and shelters on the last two 

 passes. 



These works were in hand at these points simultaneously, 

 and had to be inspected occasionally. 



The whole was completed without the expenditure of 

 any of the Government of India money on the works. 

 The extra expenditure incurred by me in connection 

 with my camp was paid by me. The head men of the 

 country were mostly rewarded by seats in Durbar and 

 my written thanks. We might now consider what would 

 have been the result of the non-completion of any of 

 the main works, the bridge at the Sooroo, that over 

 the Indus, or the rafts of the Shyok river. Had the first 

 not been constructed, the whole of the India caravans 

 would have been blocked at Kargil. Unable to obtain 

 provisions or transport from that half of Kargil town and 

 the villages which lie on the right bank of the river, these 

 caravans must have returned to Kashmir for the winter, 

 for we knew when postal communication had been re- 

 established that the country north of Leh was impassable. 

 Had I remained at Leh instead of continuing my journey 

 towards Central Asia, the Yarkand caravans would have 

 had to return from the Shyok before winter overtook 



