KASHMIR AND LADAK 
Many books have been written on Kashmir. Probably the best general 
description of the country and its inhabitants is that of Sir Francis Young - 
husband, and the beautiful illustrations of Major Molyneux that accompany 
it give one an excellent idea of what the scenery is like. For an account of 
the shooting capabilities of the country, “Sport in the Highlands of 
Kashmir,” by N. Z. Darrah, should be consulted; in it the author describes 
how in one season he secured specimens of nearly every sort of game 
obtainable. The distances he covered between the habitat of one species 
and another involved a terrible amount of marching, and nowadays it 
would be almost impossible to get all these varieties in one year owing to 
the game law restrictions. 
The long marches to reach some of the distant shooting grounds are 
very wearisome, and the local pony that can sometimes be procured is 
usually so poor a beast that the sportsman will do better to trust to his 
own legs. 
Early in the season a good deal of trouble may be met with on the Zogila 
Pass, which is on the road to Baltistan and Ladak; this pass, though under 
12,000 feet, is much feared by the natives owing to the quantity of snow and 
frequent avalanches which occur in the spring. When a snow pass has to 
be traversed the time of march should be so arranged that the deepest 
snow may be crossed before the sun rises, otherwise the sinking in at every 
step makes the passage most laborious. It must be remembered that 
56 lb. is the maximum weight for a coolie to carry, and if the going is very 
heavy , the less weight the better the progress that will be made ; sometimes 
two men can carry one load suspended on a stick between them, but on 
bad ground this is not a good plan. 
In order to prevent any injustice to the coolies, I generally take a spring 
balance which weighs up to 56 lb. and can be easily carried in the pocket. 
The Himalayan porter carries his load on his back, with the assistance 
of ropes or straps, sometimes passed over the forehead, unlike the African, 
who prefers to carry his on the top of the head. 
The Burzil Pass into Astor is sometimes very dangerous. A few years 
ago two sportsmen lost their coolies and baggage there in an avalanche, 
escaping themselves by a miracle. The dak runners who carry the Gilgit 
mail have a very bad time here in the winter, if caught in a blizzard between 
the refuge huts. 
Considering the number of inexperienced men who go shooting in 
Kashmir every year, it is astonishing how few fatal accidents there have 
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