Across the Roof of the World. 



imparted a cheerful aspect to the gloomy surroundings. The 

 coolies dropped in one after the other up till nine o'clock, 

 but the one carrying my Wolseley valise with the bedding 

 failed to appear, nor did he show himself during the night, 

 causing me a certain amount of disquietude lest he might have 

 been caught in an avalanche and buried alive. At daybreak 

 a post runner passed the hut and informed me he had met 

 the coolie on the far side of the pass the previous night. 

 The latter had explained matters by stating he had reached 

 the summit of the pass alone, the other coolies being ahead, 

 and as there was then a strong wind still blowing had 

 turned back, retracing his steps to Burzil Chauki. His dull 

 mind was apparently unable to appreciate the fact that it was 

 just as easy to go on to Sirdar Kothi as to retire the way he had 

 come, since both spots are equidistant from the summit, besides 

 which he would have saved himself the labour of another cross- 

 ing. However, the Oriental is a strange creature, and it is at 

 times difficult to fathom his ideas and appreciate his weird 

 idiosyncrasies. I was therefore deprived for two nights of the 

 wherewithal to obtain much needed rest, though my cheery little 

 orderly insisted on my sharing his blankets, and would indeed 

 have preferred had I taken them all. 



I left Chillum at six in the morning, and pustied on to Kharam, 

 where I was fortunate enough to engage ponies for the march on 

 to Astor. It is all down hill to Gudai, a i6-mile march, 

 through alternate forests and rocky cliffs looming dark and 

 sombre, their upper reaches clothed sparsely with fir and pine. 

 Beyond Gudai, where I stayed for tiffin, we emerged from 

 snow into a warmer clime as welcome as it was cheer}'. Being 

 desirous of reaching Gurikot, some little distance this side of 

 Astor, that night, I decided to push ahead, so continued march- 

 ing till 9 p.m., putting up in the Engineer's bungalow. The 

 following morning I moved on to Astor, a well-known sporting 

 centre of the Gilgit Agency, and the scene of former fighting in 

 the days before our suzerainty was asserted. 



32 



