Under The Circumstances, Exhausted Nature Gave In; Though
Saved From Scylla, Our Destiny Was Charybdis, And We Accordingly
Surrendered Ourselves To A Wash, Breakfast, And The Brahminee
Bull.
During the day, we had a visit from a friend and ex-brother
officer, whom we had promised to stay with, at "Kussowlie," on our
road up.
Kalka was not HOT, but GRILLING, so that a speedy ascent to
the station was soon agreed upon. Not caring to risk a sun-stroke,
I resigned myself to the traditional conveyance of the country, a
"jhampan," while the other two rode up; but here, for the second
time, it was "out of the fryingpan into the fire." Such an infernal
machine as my new conveyance turned out never could have existed in
the palmiest days of the Inquisition. It was a sort of child's cradle,
long enough for a creature of some five or six summers, made like a
tray, and hung after the fashion of a miniature four-post bedstead,
with goat's-hair curtains. The structure is suspended, something in the
fashion of a sedan-chair which has been stunted in its growth, between
two poles; between the projections of these again, before and behind,
connected by a stout strap, are two shorter bars, each supported, when
in travelling order, on the shoulders of two bearers. When the machine
is in motion, therefore, there are four men in line between the shafts.
The pace is always rather fast, and down a declivity the torturers
go at a run; the result is, that prominent parts of one's body are
continually in collision with the seat or sides of the machine,
coming down from various altitudes, according to the nature of the
ground and the humour of the inquisitors. After getting over about
six miles in this graceful and pleasing manner, we reached the first
of the fir-trees, and as we rose still higher a delicious breeze came
over the hills, as precious to the parched and travel-stained pilgrim
from the plains as a drop of water to the thirstiest wanderer in the
desert. Kussowlie appeared a picturesque little station, perched at
the summit of one of the first of the hilly ranges, and here I found
my two companions, burnt and red in the face as if they, too, had had
their sufferings on the road, occupied in looking over the goods of a
strolling Cashmere merchant; luckily for themselves, however, it was
under the protecting superintendence of our hostess. Our friends were
living on a miniature estate commanding a magnificent view of the
mountain ranges on one side, and, on the, other, the plains of the
Punjab, the scorching country from which we had just made our escape
lying stretched out before us like an enormous map in relief. Towards
the mountains were the military stations of "Dugshai" and "Subathoo,"
and the boys' asylum of "Senore," the latter rather marring the face
of nature by the workhouse order of its architecture. "Simla" we could
just distinguish, nestled among the blue mountains in the far distance.
Here we spent a couple of days very pleasantly with our hospitable
entertainers, and satisfactorily pulled up all arrears of sleep -
a luxury none can really appreciate who have not travelled for six
days and nights in the different local conveniences I have mentioned.
Before leaving we had an opportunity of seeing how England in the
Himalayas makes its morning calls. Walking, which amounts almost to an
impossibility in "the plains," seems to be voted INFRA DIG. in "the
hills," and Mrs. Kussowlie according made her appearance seated in
state in a jhampan, and borne on the shoulders of four of her slaves.
These were active, wiry-looking natives, dressed in long green coats,
bound with broad, red, tight-fitting pantaloons, and with small turbans
of red and green on their heads. Altogether, a more startling-looking
apparition to the uninitiated than this Himalayan morning visitor
could hardly be imagined, even in a tour through the remotest regions
of the earth.
MAY 29. - About six o'clock in the evening we remounted our
instruments of torture and took the road to Simla. For about seven
miles the path was down hill, and the bearers being fresh, they
huddled us along at a pace calculated to outrage our feelings most
considerably, and, at the same time, with no more consideration
for our welfare than if we were so many sacks of coal. In spite of
the sufferings of the principal performers, the procession was most
amusing; and as we jolted, bumped, and bundled along, it was impossible
to keep from laughing, although crying, perhaps, would, under the
circumstances, have been more appropriate. My machine led the way,
four of the inquisition being in the shafts, and four in waiting,
running along at the side with pipes, bundles, sticks, &c. Then came
F. similarly attended, and finally the Q.M.G., hubble bubble in hand,
and attired in a gold embroidered cap, surrounded by a lilac turban:
seated in a sort of tray, and reclining at his case in full enjoyment
of his high position, he looked the priest of the procession, and
managed to retain his dignity in spite of the rapid and unceremonious
way in which he was being whirled along. As the moon went down we had
the additional effect of torchlight to the scene, three bearers having
the special duty of running along to show the pathway to the rest. This
seemed a service of some danger, and our torch-bearers at times verged
upon places where a stumble would have apparently extinguished both
themselves and their torches for ever. About half way we stopped for
about an hour for the bearers to partake of a light entertainment of
"ghee and chupatties" - otherwise, rancid butter and cakes of flour
and water. This was their only rest and only meal, from the time they
left Kussowlie at six P.M. until they reached Simla at eight A.M. The
same set of bearers took us the entire distance, about thirty-five
miles; and the four men who were not actually in the shafts used to
rest themselves by running, ahead and up precipitous short cuts, so as
to insure a few minutes' pull at the pipe of consolation before their
turn arrived again.
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