A PILGRIMAGE TO AMERNATH 



Photograph from William Jessop 



THE PILGRIM CAMP AT PUNJITARNI 



Situated at the edge of a wide plain, the pilgrims' camp below the sacred cave is, 

 throughout the brief summer, a scene of bustle and life. Wood for fuel, from the 

 Maharajah's supply, is bought by the pound. 



those used by the Western cowboy. The 

 feeling is of being on a rocking-horse, 

 and later in the journey, in making a 

 sharp descent, I held on for my life, in 

 deadly fear of pitching over the horse's 

 head. 



A PIGEON SHOT FOR THE CAMP LARDER 



The path from the top of Pisu (the 

 hill we had just climbed) wound round 

 a steep, grassy slope and overlooked a 

 canyon more than a thousand feet deep, 

 at the bottom of which we could see the 

 river, like a tiny thread, dividing the hills. 

 Along the way grew wild strawberry 

 vines, buttercups, snapdragons, and pur- 

 ple thistle with big fluffy tops. Every 

 now and then several snowy peaks ap- 

 peared over the hills across the river. 



Now, in our party was a Nimrod, en- 

 thusiastic if not mighty, and the coolies 

 took a great interest in his gun. They 

 came to him in great excitement this day 

 over some game they thought they saw. 

 Our sportsman was lured to the edge of 

 the cliff to shoot a poor, lone pigeon, 

 which the coolies clambered down to get. 

 We divided it among the four of us next 

 day for tiffin — a choice morsel if not very 

 satisfying. It was the hunter's only bag, 

 except a chicken which strayed from us 

 at Pahlgam and which was hit right in 

 the neck. How many other parts were 

 hit first was always a tender subject, for 

 every piece of that unlucky fowl seemed 

 to be peppered with shot. 



Zojpal, our next camping place, 11,300 

 feet up, is a grassy meadow by the side 



