566 



REPORT OF EXPEDITION 



currence of that oificer. The Governor of Cashmeer received 

 the intimation with courteous professions of satisfaction, and 

 there was no reason to believe that it would meet with any 

 marks of disapprobation from the Maharajah, after the ready 

 compliance with which His Highness had been pleased to 

 accede to our journey. 



13. My proceedings during the next eight months which 

 I passed in Cashmeer ' must be embraced here in a very 

 brief summary. On the departure of Lieutenant Mackeson 

 I was occupied in that portion of the valley which lies in the 

 vicinity of the city, in company with Mr. G. T. Vigne, well 

 known in India as an enterprising traveller. This gentleman 

 had returned from an attempt to penetrate to the sources of 

 the ISToorba river, one of the two great branches of the Indus, 

 in which object he had been defeated by the ill-disguised 

 opposition of Rajah Goolab Sing of Jummoo. Before the 

 winter set in with severity I made an excursion to the Mut- 



' Tlie following account of Cashmeer, 

 taken from a letter address^ed to Captain 

 Cautley by Dr. F., in January 1838, will 

 bo read with interest : 



' A glance at any map will show you 

 the figui'e of Cashmeer — a deep valley 

 surrounded on all sides by lofty snowy 

 mountains. The valley consists of two 

 levels, one along the basin of the river 

 Jhelum, and another called Kreiva, or 

 dry land, like the high land at Klieeri. 

 The river traverses the whole length of 

 Cashmeer, and its course is so very slow 

 that it looks more like a huge canal than 

 anything else, with countless serpentine 

 bends. All round the valley tributary 

 streams fall into the river, and here and 

 there are lakes, one of large size. At 

 intervals all along the foot of the sur- 

 rounding mountains there are low hills 

 of traps, which break out from the level 

 of the valley. The city is situated be- 

 tween two such hills, and it is so com- 

 pletely surrounded by lakes that it 

 appears to rise out of the water. These 

 trap hills add vastly to the beauty of 

 Cashmeer. Conceive this romantic situ- 

 ation — the lakes covered with water- 

 lilies, cotton (a poor sort, certainly) 

 growing on the banks, deodars and pines 

 sheeting the sides of the hills, noble 

 plane trees loaded with verdure, apple- 

 trees covered with red-cheeked English- 

 looking apples and as good as they look, 

 pear trees witli pears, the most delicious 

 grapes, air the picture of transjjarency, 

 a heavenly temperature, and everything 

 looking divine. In my idea, all the 



praises bestowed on Cashmeer are amply 

 merited.' 



* » # * 



' The oppression of the Sikhs is be- 

 yond bounds. Nothing from the unborn 

 babe upwards escapes it. They accuse 

 the Cashmeerees of being a false and 

 treacherous race, and as deserving no- 

 thing better than Zulm ; but if they are 

 so, it is oppression that has made tliem 

 what they are. Excepting the Governor, 

 and two religious families, there is not 

 a native in the valley to whom you 

 would give a chair, so completely have 

 the respectable ranks disappeared. The 

 only Hindoos in tlie valley are the famous 

 Pundits of Cashmeer. They amount to 

 many thousand families, and they are 

 the scorpions of the valley. They en- 

 gage in no occupation save the collection 

 of the revenue. They are quartered to 

 an oppressive extent on every village, 

 and are the only servants of the Govern- 

 ment, to the almost iitter exclusion of 

 the Mussulmans. They are a fine race 

 of men — sleek and well to do with the 

 world in appearance, even the meanest 

 of them. Their women are exceedingly 

 fair — almost European — and certainly 

 the beauties of the valley, with red clieeks 

 and white complexions. The Mussul- 

 man women have a coppery-yellow tinge 

 — they say from the excessive use of 

 tea, which is made in the Moghul fashion, 

 boiled up with salt, soda, and butter — 

 an abominable mess. The butter floats 

 in a thick cake when the tea cools. Tea 

 is universal with all ranks, and at all 

 hoiu-s of the day.' — [Ed.] 



