Across the Roof of the World. 



When on the march time passes rapidly enough, but the 

 hours in camp and after return from the day's sport are apt to 

 hang rather heavily, so a supply of readable books that will 

 bear perusal several times over should be taken. My library 

 consisted of about a dozen volumes of sporting, military and 

 general interest. 



With regard to the matter of expense, this is a subject on 

 which I refrain from advising, since so much depends on one's 

 personal tastes and inclinations, and the manner in which a 

 hold is maintained on the purse strings, as also the successful 

 frustration of the wiles and stratagems of the wicked to snare 

 the unwary traveller. 



A vexed question is that of servants, a really good one 

 being difficult to obtain, the majority of those in Srinagar being 

 more than average scoundrels against whom a stranger needs 

 to exercise considerable caution. In addition to my Garhwali 

 orderly, I engaged a man to act as cook and go right through. 

 He was a native of Baltistan and had served some time with a 

 brother officer who was good enough to arrange for him to ac- 

 company me. Unfortunately he did not prove a success, and 

 I had to dispense with his services in Gilgit, where, however, 

 I had the luck to engage an excellent man, in the person of 

 Piroz Zaman, a Kanjuti, who served me well and faithfully 

 during my march through Hunza, and across the Pamirs to 

 Yarkand and Kashgar. 



My permanent staff, therefore, consisted of the orderly and 

 cook, with a third man to act as helper and make himself 

 generally useful, whilst others were engaged from time to time 

 to accompany the expedition for certain stages, an arrangement 

 which I found to work very well. The composition of the cara- 

 van of necessity changes according as means of transport vary 

 in different parts of the country traversed. 



In an expedition to Central Asia the problem of securing a 

 suitable interpreter is a difficult one. There are a good many 

 men in Kashgar and Yarkand who can speak both Hindustani 



