24 START FOR CHINESE TURKISTAN. 



required, that we should start from Leh as soon 

 as the road was open, proceed via Raskum along 

 the foot of the Mustagh range on to the Sarikol 

 Pamir, there to hunt as long as I wished, and 

 then, if I pleased, to go to the Little and Great 

 Pamir, and on to Yarkand, the trip to occupy 

 any length of time up to four months, for 

 which I agreed to pay him 100 rupees for each 

 baggage - pony, he to find drivers and spare 

 ponies to carry grain, and feed them all. This 

 was all put upon stamped paper in due form, 

 with 300 rupees in advance to enable him to 

 make his arrangements. 



There was nothing further to do but lay in 

 stores and toshkarna i.e., pieces of cloth, 

 lungis, king-kob, a few watches, and odds and 

 ends, for presents to the inhabitants of the 

 country we were to visit. This system of 

 exchanging presents in the East is a great 

 nuisance, and costs a good deal of money. 



Everything was now in order. My battery 

 consisted of a double express of Dougal's which 

 had done me very good service for fifteen years, 

 a smooth-bore gun, and last, and least in size but 

 not in importance, a Martini-Henry carbine. I 

 got this from the arsenal at Ferozepore, and 



