BLACK BEAR HONKING 195 



ever, must have heard our approach, for he was not 

 with the body of the bullock, nor did he venture 

 back to reward our long night's silent vigil. 



Unfortunately there were no nullahs in this region 

 large enough to beat ; and since Kadera assured me 

 that at the head of the Kashmir Valley we should 

 find several bears for every one we gave up here, I 

 agreed on the following morning to start along. 



Kashmir was no longer the green and fertile val- 

 ley I had left in May. News had come to me while 

 in Baltistan of a terrible flood which had completely 

 inundated the country, wrecking houses, destroying 

 farms, and resulting even in much loss of human life. 

 Now below us extended a vast lake as far as one 

 could see, with only an occasional tree or housetop 

 to mark where cultivated farms and dwellings for- 

 merly had stood. Doongas conveyed the tents and 

 provisions across the flooded valley, where pack- 

 ponies were secured for the remaining distance to 

 the base of the hills. Here, on the second day from 

 Bandipur, camp was made in a grove of chenars, a 

 river within stone's throw on one side, and thick 

 woods rising close on the other. 



The country through which we passed on this 

 ride showed Kashmir at her loveliest and best. One 

 felt as if one were continuously crossing the well- 

 kept grounds of a huge private estate, and at any 



