226 SPORT IN THE HIGHLANDS OF KASHMIR chap. 



we had breakfast and a couple of hours' rest, and then 

 rode on with fresh animals to Leh, which we reached at 

 2 P.M., having covered 29 miles from Saspul. I found 

 my wife encamped in the compound of an empty house 

 belonging to the Roman Catholic Mission, a capital place 

 with shady trees. 



The European community at Leh was quite a large 

 one when I arrived there. Besides the permanent 

 residents, consisting of several Moravian missionaries, 

 there was Captain Chenevix-Trench, the British Joint 

 Commissioner, who spent four or five months every year 

 in Ladak. The visitors were unusually numerous, and 

 consisted of Mr. Church and his two friends, the Phelps 

 brothers, all three buying ponies and making other 

 arrangements for starting for Yarkand. Church wanted 

 to go north-east from there, to get specimens of the 

 stag found in those regions, and his friends proposed 

 making for the Pamirs and getting Ovis poll. These 

 eventually carried out their intention ; ^ but Church, 

 learning that a rebellion against China was going on in 

 the tract he had intended to visit, changed his mind and 

 resolved to go into Tibet via Changchenmo to get wild 

 yak. My old companions in tribulation, Mr. and Mrs. 

 Renton, were also there. They had had fair ibex shoot- 

 ing in the Shigar direction, north-east of Skardo, and 

 had been out after uryal in Ladak. Colonel Turnbull, 

 who had been, like myself, shooting in Baltistan, was 

 there arranging to go on to Hanle for Ovis ainmon and 

 Tibet gazelle. Lastly, there was Colonel Cherry, who 



1 They got seventeen rams, averaging 52 inches ; one was 56" and one was 55". 

 They were actually shooting for only 1 1 days. 



