e landing-place, clustered
at the foot of a steep little hill--a spur from the higher ranges--lies
the village of Bandipur, dirty and picturesque, with, its rickety-looking
wooden houses, and its crowded little bazaar. It is a place of some
importance in Kashmir, being the starting-point for the Astor country and
Gilgit--and here the sahib on shikar bent, obtains coolies and ponies to
take him over the Tragbal Pass into Gurais. A post and telegraph office
stands proudly in the middle of the little village, and behind it lies a
range of "godowns" filled with stores for the use of a flying column
should the British Raj require to send troops quickly along the Gilgit
road.

Passing through into the open country, we found ourselves on a good
road--good, that is to say, for riding or marching, as no roads in Kashmir
are adapted for wheeled traffic excepting the main artery from Baramula to
Srinagar, and the greater portion of the route from Srinagar to Gulmarg.
This road we followed up a gradually narrowing valley, and over a brawling
little river, until at Kralpura the Gilgit road begins the steep ascent to
the Tragbal by a series of wide zigzags up the face of a mountain. The
pass which we should have had to tackle, had we carried out our original
intention of going into Astor for markhor and ibex, is nearly 12,000 feet
above sea level, and is still securely and implacably closed to all but
the hardiest sportsmen. A short cut, which we took up the hill face, led
us through a rough scrub of berberis and wild daphne (the former just
showing green and the latter in flower) until, somewhat scant of breath,
we regained the road, and followed it to the left up a gorge. As the
mountains closed in on either side, we began to look out for the camp,
which we knew was not far up the nullah. Presently, turning off the Gilgit
road, along a track to the left, we came upon Walter--bearded like the
pard--a pard which had left off shaving for about a week. He was pensively
sitting on a big sun-warmed boulder, beguiling the time while awaiting us
by contemplating the antics of a large family of monkeys, which he pointed
out to Jane, to her great joy.

Tender inquiries as to camp and consequent lunch revealed the sad fact
that some miles of exceedingly rough path yet lay betwixt us and the haven
where we would be.

So we pricked forward, along a sort of cattle track, across dirty
snow-filled little gullies, and over rock-strewn slopes, unt