one than any exercise I know of. To make matters
worse, no fresh, water could be found and the supply of
rations gave out. Meat had to be obtained somehow,
but fortunately a long search was unnecessary, for late
in the afternoon, during a temporary halt, the tell-tale
horns of an antelope were seen projecting above a tuft
of grass not 200 yards away.
Shooting for sport is a very different matter from
shooting for food, when eager and hungry men are
dependent on the accuracy of the shot, and in such
circumstances the stalk becomes almost a painful affair.
Not a word was spoken ; I drew nearer and nearer, and
when about eighty yards distant the antelope slowly
got upon his legs and stretched himself, as if waiting
for the shot; with a slow and careful aim I fired, and
the beast dropped. Scarcely had the report of the
rifle died away before a second antelope rose from a
hollow just beyond, and suffered the same fate. Both
were stone dead, but the ceremony of hall-ailing (throat-
cutting) was performed nevertheless, the Mahomedans
squeezing a few drops of blood from the wound.
Near Yeshil Kul a halt was made, but the absence
of fresh water compelled us to dig in the dry ravine—
a measure which met with some success, for we came
upon a trickle of water four feet below the surface,
enough to satisfy our immediate wants.
We were unable, however, to locate the buried
treasure, although both Bam Singh and Soonam
Sirring declared it must be close at hand. The
animals were unloaded at four o’clock in the afternoon,
but Soonam Sirring volunteered to continue
the search, and started off alone, taking my glasses
with him. Night came on, and no sign of his return ;
no one turned in, for all were anxiously awaiting the
result of the search; at eleven o’clock he , suddenly
appeared in our midst, carrying on his back a bag
which contained flour unearthed from the buried store.
He had found the spot, uncovered a few things, and
brought back some of the flour to show that it was
still in good condition.
All were naturally much elated at this news ; but
Soonam, who had travelled thirty-four miles in the day
without food, completely collapsed from fatigue.
Early the next morning we quickly covered the
seven miles separating us from the dépôt, which was
situated in the centre of a small knoll, about three
feet below the surface. The whole party promptly set
to work to remove the upper layer of earth, which had
become as hard as the surrounding ground since it had
been replaced three years before ; some dug with sharp
stones, while others pulled at the loosened soil with
their hands. First we came upon a rotten, wet
tarpaulin ; underneath this three yakdans and many
bulging waterproof bags were disclosed, and below
these again other bags made of native cloth, and filled
with Indian corn. The canvas itself had rotted, but the
water, which had penetrated the sides of the knoll,
had soaked through the grain for a depth of two or
three inches, causing the corn to swell up in such a
manner as to form an impenetrable cake, all the central
portion of the grain remaining in a good state of
preservation.
Our first thought was to relieve the famished
ponies. Each was given a bowl full of grain gathered
from the cleanest and freshest-looking sacks ; but, to
our dismay, not one of the Ladaki ponies would touch
it, although they must have been suffering considerably
i’om the pangs of hunger—the Yarkandi animals, on
the other hand, devoted themselves to the repast with
evident signs of pleasure.