THE BARA SING. 319 



hound I But these Cashmere hunters are wretched 

 creatures on a trail. 



I went down the slopes to listen. The stag before- 

 noticed and others were again bellowing. I sat reading 

 till Subhan called me, the coolies and whole party being 

 on the way to the other place, and passing by me. I 

 called attention to the fact of the certainty of game here, 

 but Subhan said the place we were going to harboured 

 more deer, and presented greater facilities for stalking, 

 being more open and level, and the jungles so thin that 

 if we heard a stag bellow we should certainly be able to 

 approach and shoot him and so forth. "With great 

 reluctance and serious misgivings I turned to leave this 

 favourite haunt of the bara sing, where there could be 

 no doubt of several harbouring, to proceed to one knew 

 not what sort of place, notwithstanding the anticipations 

 of the sanguine Subhan. 



We had a tremendous pull up the mountain, from the 

 summit of which was presented a magnificent panoramic 

 view of the valley of Cashmere, of which the eye could 

 embrace the greater extent. Down immediately below 

 the spurs of this vast mountain lay smooth and glittering 

 the Dal lake, not a ripple disturbing its mirror-like surface, 

 the reflections of the small islands with their noble chunar 

 trees only distinguishable from the realities by the inverted 

 position. Across the lake was the city a confusion of 

 trees, water, and dimly seen buildings, shrouded in smoke 

 and haze. It being mid-day, a glare and a haze obscured 

 the distant features; through it, however, the opposite 

 range of hills enclosing the valley, with its countless 

 sunny peaks, was plainly defined. It was a glorious 

 landscape. Nothing earthly, I should imagine, could 

 surpass it. 



Having gaze&my fill, I thought of the shooting qualities 



