138 YARKAND. 



above the heel ties them on. They are worn 

 over a high stocking made of felt, and are very 

 warm and comfortable ; but if your feet are not 

 pretty hard in the soles, you feel the stones very 

 much, as there is only a single bit of leather, and 

 that not of the thickest, between you and the 

 ground. The great drawback to them is, that 

 the leather is badly tanned and very rotten, 

 and therefore lasts no time. 



Bower continued his endeavour to get a pass- 

 port from the Amban, but without success ; so I 

 agreed to let him have mine, on condition that he 

 should either send or bring it himself to Maral- 

 bashi. 



After going over the pros and cons between 

 buying or hiring a team of ponies, I decided 

 on the latter, and got them from Mahomed 

 Unis a decision I never had cause to regret. 

 My team consisted of eight ponies for my own 

 use, and three spare ones for the service of the 

 caravan. 



A man called Mahomed Atta, a Badakshi, who 

 proved an excellent servant, and who spoke a 

 little Hindustani, was in charge, with a couple of 

 drivers under him. I also took on one of the 

 men that had come with us from Kashmir in 



