SUGHEIT. 229 



sustenance in and about the watercourses, where alone a 

 vegetation, coarse and scanty, may be found. The horse 

 that knocked up yesterday was led in at night, and 

 having fed we hope to save him. 



From these gloomy forebodings I turned me to the 

 more cheerful subject of to-day's festivity, and descended 

 to carry out with Abdoolah the designs already chalked 

 out. I desired that all the mussulmans should eat together, 

 merchants, shikarries, domestics, and Bhooties the Hin- 

 doos separately and the Buddhist Bhooties. About 

 12 P.M., Abdoolah reported that the banquet was spread, 

 and going out I found the party busily employed on an 

 ample provision of well-cooked pillau, helped into its 

 resting-place by tea and coffee. All seemed much pleased 

 and thankful. 



In the evening a large caravan of some eighty horses 

 came in. The principal man was a Cashmiri of Kishtewar, 

 and being slightly acquainted with one of his country- 

 men, the shikarries, he was most accessible to all our 

 queries, and most voluble in his replies. He had not 

 come by the Sugheit road ; had seen numbers of antelope 

 to-day. He entered into a long history of the murder of 

 the brother Schlagentweit, which agrees in the main with 

 that already known, but with the important difference 

 that the bulk of the victim's property, including his 

 papers, was with him when Walli Khan so brutally mur- 

 dered him, and is still in that ruffian's possession. A few 

 things were previously ' looted ' on the road, which were 

 following in the rear of the ill-fated traveller. I enquired 

 as to the probability of obtaining the effects, at least the 

 papers of the unfortunate naturalist, and was told that 

 certainly, if I wrote authoritatively to the khaltai newab, 

 or hakim, who rules Yarkand, he would cause their restora- 

 tion ; though it must be a work of time, as all sorts of 



