A THUNDERSTORM. 231 



sands of rivulets were pouring down over the 

 rocks. The storm, fortunately for us, did not last 

 throughout the night, and the morning broke clear 

 and fine. The mountains looked very lovely, all 

 freshly powdered with snow ; and the gorge, as 

 we advanced, became grand, the cliffs rising 

 one above another right up to the snow : the air, 

 too, had become crisp and cold. The road now 

 began to be rough and stony, and the ups and 

 downs over spurs which ran down to the river, 

 where they ended in sharp cliffs, were fre- 

 quent. 



One of the ponies, out of pure devilment, took 

 it into his head to try and ford the river when we 

 were rounding one of these spurs, at whose base 

 the road had been built up into a sort of cause- 

 way. The wretch, when about half-way round, 

 quietly slipped off into the river, where the cur- 

 rent immediately swept him off his legs and car- 

 ried him down. Fortunately a turn below brought 

 him back to our bank, and my men cleverly hauled 

 him out. His load, luckily, was a light one, 

 and well fastened to the pad : of course it was 

 soaked through, but nothing was lost. This was 

 fortunate, as it contained my toshakarna i.e., 

 cotton prints, &c., to give away in exchange with 



