Hard Goinsf. 



The chief feature of interest there is the markhor shooting 

 obtainable in the nullahs. The variety found is the Astor mark- 

 hor {Capra falconeri lypica), whose horns assume the open spiral 

 shape, and are much sought after by sportsmen. A certain 

 number of permits are granted annually, the shooting season 

 being divided into two periods, and a limit fixed as to the number 

 of heads to be shot. 



One of the most difficult stretches of the Gilgit road is met 

 with after leaving Astor ; it conducts up to and over the famous 

 Hattu Pir. The actual distance from Astor to Gilgit is five 

 marches, and very stiff marches they are. There are now rest- 

 houses all the way, so that one need not camp as was formerly 

 the case. I had engaged fresh ponies in Astor and sent forward 

 the baggage the same day, intending to overtake it in the 

 afternoon, after lunching with the telegraph officials there, whose 

 cordial invitation I had gladly accepted. 



Once beyond Astor the scenery underwent a marked 

 change. I had crossed the dividing line between the pine-clad 

 slopes and snowy solitudes of the Himalayas, and was con- 

 fronted with the mighty Hindu Kush, a land bare and arid, 

 but withal a gladsome change from the wintry wastes traversed 

 for the last week. 



From Astor to Dashkin the road leads through gorges, and 

 then by a zigzag path up over gravel-strewn hills, the Astor 

 River flowing many hundreds of feet below. The scenery 

 is strikingly impressive, and one feels that admiration which 

 asserts itself when confronted with some of Nature's grandest 

 works. 



After Dashkin a weary march ensued to Doyen, partly 

 through forest, where the snow% hidden from the sun's rays, 

 lies thick, not melting until late in the year. The ponies sank 

 into it at every step, plunging wildly about on the narrow path, 

 unable to And a soHd footing in the treacherous ground. . 



I know no more laborious task than that of forcing a way 

 thrjugh deep, soft snow, which, yielding to the pressure of the 



33 1^ 



