THE RETURN. 271 



I was aroused by Subhan's signal, and saw in front, in a 

 watercourse we were about to descend, five antelope 

 apparently asleep. I dismounted, and strove to get at 

 them ; but, the ground offering no covert, no nullah, they 

 soon saw us, and away they sped into space. I now 

 walked on, and descended into the wide interminable 

 shingle plain, stretching from the base of the Karakorum. 

 On turning an angle, I saw something move. It was a 

 miserable horse left here to linger out its last moments in 

 agonies. Two days, I suppose, it must have lingered, 

 deserted by the unfeeling owner, a Bokhara man, who 

 had passed us at Sugheit. He must have suffered heavy 

 loss, as we have already passed eight or nine of his dead 

 horses. The throats of the others had been mercifully 

 cut. I put this poor animal to rest with a bullet in his 

 brain. 



Hence, on to our former bleak and dreary camp ground, 

 the wind if possible more keen as we neared its primary 

 source. I was glad to dismount, and wrap my head in a 

 blanket, turning my back to this inhospitable blast. Soon 

 up came Buddoo, the trusty, ever- cheerful, quiet Buddoo, 

 and not very long after, the invaluable, energetic Abdoolah ; 

 and all the coolies came in by dusk. I have resolved, in 

 consequence of our very limited quantity of rations, to 

 make a short march to-morrow, though Sunday, to a 

 place in the middle of the Karakorum gorge, where I 

 hope to find a little sprinkling of grass, as we saw many 

 antelope there, on coming through. This will give us an 

 easy march over the pass to a spot beyond the wretched 

 charnel-house, where we camped last time, and lost our 

 first horse offering the important advantage of a bite or 

 two of grass, and, I think, fuel. I ordered a sheep to be 

 killed, intending to regale my servants and shikarries 

 with flesh, the better to enable them to stand the cold 



