CHAP. I.] CAMP ON SIND RIVER 7
which I shall ever associate the happiest recollections of my Kashmir researches. But still more cheering, perhaps, was the thought of the new field of exploration that awaited me northward, far beyond the ranges I had viewed from my ` Marg.' Undisturbed by intrusion of any kind, these three short weeks afforded leisure for concentrated work which, after the preceding " rush," seemed almost as enjoyable as if it had been a period of rest.
On the 23rd of May I completed the last of the tasks for the sake of which I had retired to my peaceful camping-ground. The date fixed for my start was drawing near, and with it came the necessity for returning to bustling Srinagar for the last preparations. Thanks to the convenient water-way provided by the Anchar Lake, and the ancient Mar Canal, a single night passed in boats sufficed to bring me into the Kashmir capital. I found the grounds usually occupied by European visitors more crowded than I had ever seen them. Lines of house-boats along the river-banks and endless rows of tents in all the ` Baghs ' seemed to leave no room for a new arrival. Fortunately, in years gone by I had had ample occasion to study the topography of Srinagar, in its modern as well as its ancient aspects, and thus I discovered at last a spot for my camp, on the narrow strip of ground which lines the west foot of the Takht-i-Sulaiman hill towards the Dal Lake. Hidden behind willow plantations and " floating gardens " peculiar to the lake, the little Bagh of Buchvor offered the needed quiet to complete my arrangements.
Busy indeed were the days I passed there. All details of the camp outfit had to be revised ; the freshly arrived stores to be sorted and packed into loads for pony transport ; surveying and other instruments to be tested and protected against damage ; and amid these preparations there were accounts to be settled and farewell visits to be received. Numerous were the questions of my Pandit friends which I had to answer as to the place and object of my journey. More conversant
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