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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



Photograph by William Jessop 



more uke "Greenland's icy mountains" than "ixdia's coral strand" 



The last three miles to Amernath must be traveled on foot, and the succession of snow 

 banks and sharp rocks is fatal to leather shoes ; yet many pilgrims make this climb on foot. 



of the river. How gloriously the rays of 

 the setting sun lighted up the snows of 

 the encircling peaks and the few clouds 

 which floated above, changing them from 

 a brilliant gold to rose, and then to the 

 pinkish mauve which is so often seen in 

 the Kashmir sky and rock tints. 



Along our pilgrimage we passed a big 

 herd of cattle and many flocks of sheep. 

 One shepherd was holding a four-day-old 

 lamb in his arms, and immediately the 

 beautiful simile in Isaiah of God's care 

 for his people came to my mind : "He 

 shall feed his flock like a shepherd : he 

 shall gather the lambs with his arm, and 

 carry them in his bosom." 



shepherds bring their eeocks to the 

 heights in spring 



Perched high up on the slopes of the 

 hills, all over the country, one sees rude 

 huts made of boughs. They belong to 

 the Gujars who, in the spring, bring their 

 flocks through the passes from British 

 India, and hillside after hillside is cov- 

 ered with their sheep, goats, cattle, and 

 buffalo, as well as with those of the reg- 

 ular Kashmiri shepherds. 



It is the presence of these herds-people 

 that makes the water of the mountain 

 streams in Kashmir so unsafe to drink, 

 for their habits are filthy and the reek of 

 the ground may sometimes be recognized 

 at a distance of half a mile. Some flocks 

 number over a thousand. We saw only 

 a few, our visit being too late for much 

 grazing, as it was also for most of the 

 beautiful flowers for which Kashmir is 

 famous. 



Zojpal was very cold and we had a 

 roaring fire, before which our rickety 

 dinner table was set. Soon a hot meal 

 was served, and we gathered around to 

 do justice to Rahim's dinner. From 

 somewhere he always produced milk and 

 eggs and often chickens. We carried 

 with us tinned stuff — pork and beans, 

 tongue, fish, vegetables, etc. This even- 

 ing he had bought or stolen a lamb ; I 

 don't know which. His story to us 

 seemed straight, and we paid him Rs. 

 2-8-0 (80 cents) for it and enjoyed the 

 tidbits, while from the coarser parts the 

 servants had a curry feast. 



The following morning at 9 o'clock we 

 were on our way again — the final lap, as 



