304 WANDERINGS OF A 



shells. They descend tail foremost, and if suddenly startled, 

 will drop to the ground from a considerable height, or, as 

 sailors say, " let go by the run," 



Never did the splendid valley of the Duchinpara look to 

 greater advantage. The rainy months had now passed, and 

 everywhere nature seemed to wear its choicest garb. Every 

 animal looked happy except man. It was painful to observe 

 the misery and wretchedness of the poorer classes, with teem- 

 ing plenty around. Painful scenes were constantly intrud- 

 ing themselves on us, either in the shape of a revenue officer 

 beating a farmer for being short of the rent, or numbers of 

 poor, miserable, half-starved men and women searching for 

 mushrooms and wild plants by the road-sides. Even the fruit 

 of the walnut and other trees in the jungles was not exempt 

 from the avaricious grasp of the ruler. In vain we turned 

 away from these scenes, but to no purpose ; if we managed to 

 evade one, something more startling took its place. Here, as 

 elsewhere noticed, ophthalmia was rife, and particularly 

 among the women and children, whose wan and pale faces 

 but lU assorted with the profusion and healthy aspect of 

 nature's productions around them. Now that the sporting 

 portion of our excursion was at an end, my companion, who 

 had noted carefully every item of our six month's work, pro- 

 duced the following game-list, which, considering that we were 

 more intent on sight-seeing than the chase, is perhaps by no 

 means contemptible : — To Young's rifle fell 29 bears, 2 deer, 

 2 ibex ; to mine, 7 bears, 5 deer, and 1 musk-deer ; Halkett 

 bagged 8 bears, 1 deer, 2 musk-deer ; — grand total, 57 head. 

 During my subsequent excursion to Cashmere in 1854 I was 

 more successful, having killed 17 bears, 2 ibex, 2 markhore, 1 

 tare, and 6 musk-deer. These were great days for the hunter. 

 I fear, however, that from the annual migration of English 



