Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 210 (Color Image)

0210	Among the Celestials : vol.1

172 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. VII«

country except that in which they are at the

time living. And this habit of rubbing up

against men of so many different countries gives

them a quiet, even temperament and breadth of

idea which makes them charming company.

I engaged one of these men, a native of the

Pathan state of Bajaur on our Indian frontier,

and which I eight years later visited during the

Chitral expedition. His name was Rahmat-

ula-Khan, and he agreed to accompany me to

Kashgar, by Ush Turfan, while my cart went

by Maral-bashi. He was a good specimen of

his class, and full of adventurous projects, his

great ambition being to visit England.

Under the guidance of this man, I left Aksu

on August io, riding one pony myself, while

another was ridden by the Turki servant, and

a third, carrying all the baggage we took with

us, was led. In this way we could travel fast,

and make long marches. Several of the

cheery sociable merchants from India accom-

panied us for the first half of the march, and

provided a lunch in a garden under the cool

shade of fruit trees. The country, for several

miles beyond Aksu, was well cultivated, and

the road good. We crossed the Aksu river,

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