282 TEAVEL, ADVENTUEE, AND SPOET. 



then the tribal seranai or war-song. This, as usual, 

 was kept up till the dancers worked themselves into 

 a seeming frenzy, and were exhausted. Then my 

 Punjabi attendants from the hills round Cashmere 

 took up the game, and treated the Pathans to their 

 style of sword-dance. Lastly, one individual divested 

 himself of all but a very little strip of clothing, 

 tossed his long hair round his face, and jumped and 

 danced round the fire, yelling at intervals, " Allahi ! 

 allahi ! " each time louder and faster, till he frothed 

 at the mouth, had his muscles drawn like cords, his 

 eyes wild and glaring, and was pro tern, a decided 

 maniac, and was just about to throw himself over 

 the rocks, when he was seized by half-a-dozen of the 

 others, and was held down forcibly, yelling like a 

 fiend till his strength was exhausted, his muscles 

 relaxed, and he fell into a deep sleep. This exhi- 

 bition Avas loudly applauded by the Pathans till its 

 close, and formed the main topic of conversation till 

 we were asleep. The night passed off quietly, and 

 next morning we started early for the neighbouring 

 range of snow, 15,000 feet high. In half an hour 

 we were walking over the snow-fields, and continued 

 on them all day, sketching the country round, and 

 obtaining a fine view of the eastern sources of the 

 Surkhab river, so long hidden from our side. De- 

 scending towards evening to the height of 12,000 

 feet, we determined here to take up our quarters for 

 the night, within four or five miles of the great peak 



