1 68 A Sportswoman in India 



and forwards to the nearest village for supplies. Of 

 course we had our own commissariat too tinned meats, 

 tea, coffee, chocolate, raisins, soup tablets, condensed 

 jelly, and so on. We all wore "puttoo" thick 

 woollen Kashmir homespun : a long coat and knickers 

 are the only suitable and safe garments for women 

 to climb in, whether shooting ibex or anything else 

 on the mountains. It was bitterly cold, and water 

 froze inside our tents. 



"We had a great fright one night after a fall of 

 snow. About midnight we were suddenly awakened: 

 there came from far aloft a tremendous explosion, 

 followed by a second or two of dead quiet. A 

 great mass of rock must have split off and was 

 thundering down towards us. Some one started up, 

 wringing his hands and crying c O my God ! we 

 are lost ! ' We heard it coming, mass after mass 

 pouring over the precipices, bounding and re- 

 bounding from cliff to cliff, great rocks in advance 

 smiting one another. It seemed close ; it was probably 

 some distance off. 



" Early one morning, before the sun had risen, we 

 started on an expedition, fortified with some hot coffee 

 under the cold stars, which we drank standing round 

 the camp-table. Its legs were frozen to the grass 

 outside my tent, our usual rendezvous ; feeling at that 

 early hour rather cross and very much ' martyrs/ we 

 set forth. 



" To-day was reserved for the ascent of the Silver 

 Throne ' a peak christened by G., a poetical lady ; it 



