According To The "Invincible" Authority, This
Territory Belonged, Some Sixty Years Ago, To An Independent Rajah,
And, On His Death Without Heirs Or Successors, It Fell Into The
Clutches Of Gulab Singh.[31]
The entire revenue, he stated, was 3,000 rupees.
From the heights
along our path, we could see the great glaciers of Dutchen, with its
mountain peak of 25,000 feet, which we had been bound for when the
misadventure of our cook interfered with our plans, and left us not
sufficient time to carry out our explorations.
The summit of the pass we found evidently not long freed from the old
snow, while the new supply lay about in masses all over the mountain.
Passing over a wild and marshy plain at the summit, we began to
descend a lovely pine-clad valley once more into veritable Cashmere,
and, about four P.M. encamped in a forest-clearing, which, in a very
short space of time, was illuminated by no less than seven roaring
campfires. Our own formed the centre, and was formed of a couple of
entire pine-trunks, while the others were ranged about wherever a dry
and prostrate tree presented a favourable basis for a conflagration. In
the evening we enjoyed the warmth of our fires considerably, and
discussed hot brandy and water seated on the very trees which formed
our fuel. We were all the more inclined to appreciate our position,
as we felt that we were nearly out of our cold latitudes, and rapidly
descending to the land of dog days once again.
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