ii4 A Sportswoman in India 



Gradually we left the town of Chamba far behind, 

 and wound up into the mountains ; the path became 

 rougher and more stony, climb after climb loomed 

 in front of us. We were obliged to get off and drive 

 the ponies before us ; it was much too steep to 

 tempt them out of a walk. We toiled upwards ; 

 the sun grew insufferably hot, and glowed off the 

 open, rugged hillsides, and the stony path tired our 

 feet considerably. We stopped at the top of one 

 cliff, up the side of which we had zigzagged back- 

 wards and forwards, and finding a hut and a spring, 

 the breathless ponies and ourselves all had a good 

 drink. A shepherd up there was playing with a 

 marmot skin made into a bag, which he offered for 

 sale at four annas. 



The country was bleak and rocky, mountains all 

 round ; the path we followed took us continually up 

 and down, but ever higher by degrees. The stones 

 became worse than before ; and the two polo-ponies 

 grew more and more disgusted and lazy, and must 

 have wondered where on earth we were taking them. 

 This sort of work might so easily strain them that 

 finally M. and I alternately rode Sphai, whenever 

 the path allowed, and S. walked, the two little Arabs 

 climbing painfully along in front of him. We all 

 went, of course, in single file. Bhuri Singh had sent 

 a Jemadar with us to show us the way for once 

 really a " delightful " native, tall and spare, equal to 

 clambering anywhere. He was mounted on a chestnut 

 pony, and rode a little ahead of us. 



