Such was its good but innocent effect, that early the next morning
Hassan came into my tent with two eyes, and convulsed with laughter.
'The pony men' and Mando, he said, were crying, and the coolie from
Leh, who before the storm had wanted to go the whole way to Simla,
after refusing his supper had sobbed all night under the 'flys' of my
tent, while I was sleeping soundly. Afterwards I harangued them, and
told them I would let them go, and help them back; I could not take
such poor-spirited miserable creatures with me, and I would keep the
Tartars who had accompanied me from Tsala. On this they protested,
and said, with a significant gesture, I might cut their throats if
they cried any more, and begged me to try them again; and as we had
no more bad weather, there was no more trouble.
The marches which followed were along valleys, plains, and mountain-
sides of gravel, destitute of herbage, except a shrivelled artemisia,
and on one occasion the baggage animals were forty hours without
food. Fresh water was usually very scarce, and on the Lingti plains
was only obtainable by scooping it up from the holes left by the feet
of animals.
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