THE FIRST CAMP 



19 



we reached the village of Mangam. Here Abdulla 

 proposed to halt for the night, though Kangan, a few 

 miles further on, was the regular stage. As the coolies 

 were some distance behind, and were likely to take a 

 good while on the muddy road, I agreed, and my lui being 

 spread under a tree, I sat down with the trunk to lean up 

 against. My brief bag was put beside me, and I was 

 soon engaged writing letters. 



About 6 P.M. the coolies filed in. There were sixteen 

 temporary and six permanent men with loads, and in a very 

 short time the packages were undone, the Cabul tent I had 

 hired put up for me, and the sowar's pals for the servants. 

 The cook had before this obtained wood from the head- 

 man of the village, and started his fire. My table was a 

 very light one, of the "paragon " pattern, with a top which 

 rolled up, and the mechanism of this I had now to explain, 

 as none of the men had ever seen one of the kind before. 

 My bed also proved a puzzle to them, being that known 

 as Major Elliot's patent. These articles were too com- 

 plicated for the Kashmiris. The table was broken a 

 few days after by sheer clumsiness, and had to be laid 

 aside, and the bed gave trouble to the end, and its putting 

 together had generally to be supervised. 



My first camp was in a small grove of apricot-trees, 

 then breaking into flower, on grassy turf, some little 

 distance from the village houses, and with a merrily 

 rippling stream, about 20 inches wide, flowing a few yards 

 from my tent. By a little after seven everything was in 

 order, and I had changed from my wet boots into dry 

 socks and a pair of warm puttoo boots coming up above 

 the knees. These boots can be recommended. They 



