Black Bears 233 



by gutters and dung-heaps, with the produce of their 

 fields often stacked up on the tops of the flat roofs. 



From Gurais we marched down the valley of the 

 Kishenganga River, and I think our marches were 

 almost the most beautiful of any in Kashmir. The 

 autumn colouring every day grew more magnificent 

 such crimsons and yellows in the forests ; while we 

 followed the course of the river, itself the deepest 

 green-blue. Picture, if you can, the boulders and the 

 white foam, the clear, deep pools ; on either side trees 

 turning golden and red ; above, the rocky cliffs of 

 the gorge ; then the deodar forests and jungles, which 

 at last leave the bare mountain-sides, whose lonely 

 heights culminate in waste after waste of snow. 



Finally we encamped in Chota Gaggai Nullah. We 

 were on the banks of a stream, in the wildest scenery. 

 Any chance of bar a singh lay in getting up to about 

 sixteen thousand feet, where it would be utterly impos- 

 sible for ponies or, indeed, laden coolies to get along 

 at all, the path, or what was called " path," being 

 difficult enough for a man to climb without a load. 



I was therefore left below for two nights in our 

 camp, while S. took up a tent just long enough and 

 broad enough to lie down in, and which exactly covered 

 the valise bed on which he slept upon the ground. 

 Sala Bux went up with him too, as well as Lalla and 

 the chota shikari ; they took provisions with them. 



The " beastie "(bhisti), as the water-carrier is called, 

 was told off to wait upon me ; but conversation on 

 these days was very limited. I was called " Huzoor " 



