KASHMIR. 279 



brought down to India in the year. 1872 by the 

 envoy whom the Khan of Khiva sent to Lord JvTorth- 

 brook to ask for assistance against the Eussians a 

 request which was politely but firmly declined. This 

 animal was of an iron-grey colour, with immensely 

 thick, soft, short hair, and Avas of extraordinary 

 thickness and length in the body, and so shaped 

 that a crupper was required to keep the saddle from 

 slipping on its shoulders. Nothing startled it ; it 

 was perfectly sure-footed, and could go long journeys 

 among the mountains ; but, though it had been shod, 

 its feet soon got sore when I rode it with any rapidity 

 along the plains. Its favourite pace was an artificially 

 produced one, which consisted chiefly in moving the 

 two feet on one side simultaneously, and in that Avay, 

 which was rather an easy pace, it went almost as fast 

 as it could trot or canter. 



The caves of Bhumjii, in a limestone cliff near to 

 Bawan, do not present very much of interest. One 

 of them penetrates indefinitely into the mountain, 

 and the belief is that it goes on for twenty miles at 

 least ; but it gets so narrow and low that I was fain 

 to come to a stop after going about 200 paces with 

 lighted torches. Dr Ince, in his Kashmir Handbook, 

 calls it the Long Cave, and says that it "may be 

 traversed for about 210 feet ; beyond this the passage 

 becomes too small to admit a man, even when crawl- 

 ing, so that its total length cannot be ascertained ; 

 the natives, however, believe it to be interminable. 



VOL. VI. T 



