38 SPORT IN THE HIGHLANDS OF KASHMIR chap. 



of the one at Baltal, but two of them were deep in mud 

 with the dripping snow. One, however, was luckily dry, 

 and in this we three arranged our beds and tables. The 

 thermometer stood at 34° F. outside in the warmest part 

 of the afternoon. 



In order to take advantage of the cold, and travel 

 while the snow surface was frozen and hard, I was up at 

 2 A.M. on the morning of the 31st, and off an hour after- 

 wards. I left my companions asleep, and did not come 

 across them again. About daylight we reached the 

 village of Mataiyun, which is some 16 miles from 

 Baltal, and where there are a few miserable flat-roofed 

 sheds, in one of which the Rentons had sought shelter 

 the previous evening. It snowed most of the way, but 

 as the surface on which we moved was hard, there was 

 no great difficulty to speak of. In places where ava- 

 lanches had crossed the path the going was, however, bad, 

 as tons of snow had been deposited in huge blocks, and 

 climbing over and round these was exactly like travel- 

 ling in a rocky ravine filled with blocks of stone. 



At Mataiyun the houses were buried in snow to the 

 roofs, and it was only the sight of a little smoke slowly 

 issuing, apparently from the ground, here and there, that 

 suggested the possibility of human habitations in that 

 dreary expanse. On arrival, the shikari went about 

 amongst the hovels, to call up my coolies who had gone 

 on the night before, while I sat down on the edge of a 

 roof, with my feet dangling over the hole made in the 

 snow to give access to the doorway, and with an umbrella 

 lent me by Ramzana over my head, waited while he got 

 me a cup of tea. It was a curious situation. Not a 



