482 Notes of a trip from Simla to the Spiti Valley. [No. 5 
agricultural pursuits, halt* of the present rate would he an adequate 
and acceptable remuneration to the men, whilst at the same time a 
great pecuniary relief to the traveller. Parties who argue thus, 
would probably esteem it a more thorough sort of relief, to at once 
resort to the old “ begaree” system of gratuitous or forced labour, 
once recognised and prevalent in the hills when European travellers 
were rarer than at present; and as no one class of the population 
could gain a living by this inoppressive system (to the pockets of 
the traveller), the entire population, who in turns would have to 
surrender their services, would be led to entertain an appropriate 
sense of respect for their vagabond lords and of the manifold bene¬ 
fits conferred by their presence. The time has, however, arrived for 
native customs of this description to give place, and for us to regu¬ 
late our conduct towards natives of this country by rules consonant 
with European rather than Asiatic ideas. Endeavouring* therefore, 
to estimate the amount of what may he considered a fair day’s pay for 
a fair day’s work, I confess that four annas does not appear to me an 
extravagant charge; that is, for an average march of fourteen miles, 
often along extremely bad and difficult roads, over which the cooly 
has generally to return empty-handed. 
A far juster ground of complaint than the rate of cooly hire 
or wages, is the capricious rate at which flour is sold to the traveller, 
and as a matter of justice, I was forced to make up the difference to 
my servants, when the price rose above nine seers for the rupee, a 3 
otherwise their wages would have barelj’ sufficed, in some places, to 
provide them with flour alone, since in some villages of Kunawar 
I got no more than five seers for the rupee. This I believe to have 
been an imposition, though it must be remembered, that wheaten 
flour is not the staple of the district in these places, but is imported 
for the use of travellers. At Korzo, at the western extremity of 
lake Chomoriri, I got four and a half seers, and was told that it was 
no more than twelve seers per rupee at Le or Ladak. One circumstance 
which proves that this was not an altogether fictitious price, put on 
for the purpose of profit, was that, though paying this high price, I was 
unable to get as much as I required, and was forced to take rice and 
sheep to feed my people, as well as flour. 
By order of the Maharajah, I believe all officers attached to the 
Grand Trigonometrical Survey, in his territory, are supplied at the rate 
