the presence of fire, and ordered my men to
gather two or three handfuls of brush, which I set on fire. We then saw,
about ten steps from us, one of our carriers stretched out on the
ground, with his limbs frightfully lacerated by the claws of a huge
panther. The beast still lay upon him defiantly, holding a piece of
flesh in its mouth. At its side, gaped a box of wine broken open by its
fall when the carrier was torn down. Hardly did I make a movement to
bring the rifle to my shoulder, when the panther raised itself, and
turned toward us while dropping part of its horrible meal. One moment,
it appeared about to spring upon me, then it suddenly wheeled, and
rending the air with a howl, enough to freeze one's blood, jumped into
the midst of the thicket and disappeared.

My coolies, whom an odious fear had all the time kept prostrated on the
ground, recovered little by little from their fright. Keeping in
readiness a few packages of dry grass and matches, we hastened to reach
the village Haiena, leaving behind the remains of the unfortunate Hindu,
whose fate we feared sharing.

An hour later we had left the forest and entered the plain. I ordered my
tent erected under a very leafy plane tree, and had a great fire made
before it, with a pile of wood, which was the only protection we could
employ against the ferocious beasts whose howls continued to reach us
from all directions. In the forest my dog had pressed himself against
me, with his tail between his legs; but once under the tent, he suddenly
recovered his watchfulness, and barked incessantly the whole night,
being very careful, however, not to step outside. I spent a terrible
night, rifle in hand, listening to the concert of those diabolical
howlings, the echoes of which seemed to shake the defile. Some panthers
approached our bivouac to answer the barking of Pamir, but dared not
attack us.

I had left Srinagar at the head of eleven carriers, four of whom had to
carry so many boxes of wine, four others bore my travelling effects; one
my weapons, another various utensils, and finally a last, who went
errands or on reconnaissance. His name was "Chicari," which means "he
who accompanies the hunter and gathers the prey." I discharged him in
the morning on account of his cowardice and his profound ignorance of
the country, and only retained four carriers. It was but slowly that I
advanced toward the village of Gounde.

How beautiful is nature in the Sind pass, and ho