6 
NARBATIVE, 
crossed over from Yarkand bj this route in the depths 
of winter ; they described the road as almost free from 
snow, and practicable for laden horses the whole way, 
at all seasons ; in this, it contrasts strongly wiLh the 
old Karakoram route, which is quite impassable for 
half the year. 
In October, 1869, the Panjdb Grovernment were 
directed to enter into negotiations with the Maha- 
rajah, and to obtain permission from His Highness for 
British officers to survey and mark out the various 
trade routes leading from the British frontier ; to 
induce the Kashmir Darbar to abandon their duties on 
the through traffic ; to assist the means of transport on 
the route which should be selected as the most suit- 
able ; and to appoint a special officer, who, in conjunc- 
tion with a Commissioner to be appointed by the 
British Government, should superintend the route, 
and see that all regulations for the safety and deve- 
lopment of trade were fully enforced. 
These negotiations resulted in a treaty between the 
British Government and the Maharajah of Kashmir, 
which was ratified by Lord Mayo, at Syalkot, on the 
2nd May, 1870. 
As already mentioned, Messrs. Shaw and Hay ward 
went over to Yarkand in 1868 — the former to trade, 
and the latter, under the auspices of the E-oyal 
Geographical Society, to explore the Pamir Steppes. 
It was, doubtless, owing to the good impression 
made by these gentlemen, that the Atalik Ghazi, soon 
after their departure from Yarkand, in 1869, sent an 
envoy to the Viceroy of India in the person of Mirza 
Shddi, who had just returned from St. Petersburg 
very shortly before he was ordered to start for India. 
