As We Cleared The Margin Of The Water-Plants, We
Found Ourselves On A Glassy Surface, Extending Away Towards The West
As Far As The Eye Could See, And Bordered On All Sides By Gorgeous
Mountains And Ranges Of Snow.
Around the edges of the lake a sunny
mirage was playing tricks with the cattle and the objects on
The banks,
and as we glided lazily on with the stream, and the splashing paddles,
and even the foiled mosquitoes, made music about us, we began to
enter more into the spirit of our situation, and to appreciate the
peculiar beauties of the "sunny lake of cool Cashmere," with the
DOLCE FAR NIENTE existence which of right belongs to it. About one
o'clock we reached Sompoor, at the Baramoula extremity of the lake,
and as it came on to blow a little, it was not too soon: our boats
were totally unadapted for anything rougher than a mill-pond, and in
the ripple excited by the small puffs of wind, I had the misfortune
to ship what was, under the circumstances, a heavy sea, and so
sacrificed the prospects of a dry lodging for the night. Sompoor we
found a picturesque but dirty village, with promise of good fishing,
in the river below it. We unfortunately had no tackle, but the boatmen
succeeded in catching five or six good fish with a hook baited with a
mulberry only : a very favourite article of consumption, apparently,
among the Cashmerian little fishes.
Dropping down the river, we dined on the bank among the mulberry trees,
and I afterwards essayed to take a sketch of the village; such a firm
and determined body of mosquitoes, however, immediately fell upon
me, that, after a short but unsuccessful combat, I was fairly put to
flight, and Sompoor remained undrawn. We passed the night above the
town, ready for an early start in the morning.
JULY 9. - Left our moorings before sunrise, and halted about eight
A.M. at a little island stacked with elephant-grass, where, after
as good a swim as the tangled weeds would permit, we breakfasted
pleasantly under the trees.
From this point we adopted a new mode of progression, the boatmen
towing us from the bank; and the motion was a great improvement on
the paddling system, except that it had a tendency to set one to
sleep altogether. Reached Sirinugger, and our camp again, at four P.M.
JULY 10. - Paid Saifula Baba, the shawl merchant, a visit to-day,
in order to get a bill of exchange on Umritsur cashed. Found
him just going out to Mosque, in his snow-white robe and turban,
cleanly-shaved pate, and golden slippers. Not having any money,
he promised us a hundred rupees of the Maharajah's coinage to go on
with. These nominal rupees are each value 10 annas, or 1S. 3D., the
most chipped and mutilated objects imaginable. On one face of the coin
are the letters I.H.S. stamped, a strange enough device for a heathen
or any other mint to have adopted.
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