We had determined to buy some yaks here to
carry grain for the ponies, intending to let them run
loose or return to their homes, as their loads became
used up. We found, however, that the people were
unwilling to sell, and arrangements were made to hire
the animals instead. The rate of hire was the same as
for ponies, viz., Rs. 15 a month, halting or marching,
the owners feeding and tending their beasts and taking
all risks.
We turned in early that night, with the intention
of rising betimes the following morning to superintend
the weighing and packing of the grim, a coarse kind
of barley. All our plans were frustrated, however, for
neither lumbadar, storekeeper nor workers appeared
until the sun was high in the heavens.
The grim was removed from the storehouse
through a small hole in the roof; it was then cleaned
and hand picked (to remove the stones) by two rows
of very dirty women ; after that, it was weighed. The
process of weighing was begun in the largest scale the
village could produce, a small hand-scale, with a 4 lb.
stone as weight; with this it was proposed to issue
over 14,000 lbs. of grim—an operation which would
have entailed a week’s steady work.
A search was instituted through the village, and
an 8 lb. measure discovered; this was a decided improvement
and the work now proceeded comparatively
fast; but by nightfall barely 100 maunds were ready.
We were obliged to watch the men and women while
they worked, or they would have emulated the fat
boy in PicTcwich and dropped off to sleep at once.
Throughout the day Sabhana was collecting birds
for our table; from this time, indeed, birds, game
etc., were shot for the pot, and not merely for sport.
When cartridges are scarce and there is no possibility
of replenishing the stock, it is desirable to obtain
the largest bag with the smallest expenditure of
ammunition. Acting on this principle, we always
told off Sabhana for a stalk when game-birds were
plentiful, as he usually secured a good percentage;
if he made a miss, or if his bag did not come up
to our standard in quantity, he received no share of
the spoils. He was allowed one cartridge to four
pigeons, one to two Tibetan sand-grouse, and one
to every hare. Sabhana thus became thoroughly well
versed in the efficacy of enfilade fire, and much time
was spent (more particularly with the pigeons) in
getting a nice row of the birds—one behind another.
By the evening of the third day a fair number of
yaks and a few ponies had been collected; the latter
were a ragged-looking lot, but as I had used some of
them the year before, I knew that they were in reality
much hardier than they appeared.
We left Tankse on May 31st, and travelling along
a grassy valley arrived early in the day at Muglib—
a distance of only eight miles, but the length of our
marches had to be regulated by the places where grass
and water were to be found. Moreover, the pace was
necessarily slow, as the yaks, which carried the spare
grain, are never quick movers at the best of times,
and at this period were so weak that their rate of progression
never exceeded lg miles per hour.
As soon as we arrived in camp the ponies were
turned loose, in order to allow them to stretch their
limbs by a good gallop over the grassy plain—a
proceeding which they hugely enjoyed; we had, however,
to recapture the stallions at once, as their fun
speedily degenerated into an ugly fight, in which one
received a bad wound in the side.
The stream was teeming with snow-trout, and since