The grand spectacle which made me stop again and again, heedless of the cold and wind, also impressed my companions, though from another point of view. Here was a vast region full of rich grazing grounds, greater than the dwellers of the narrow valleys of Hunza could ever imagine. It was not difficult to guess what were the prominent thoughts that passed through my Kanjutis' minds, and a few sympathetic hints soon brought them to their tongues. What a vast field for raids and conquest lay there before the hardy, brave hill-men of Hunza ! The old freebooting spirit broke forth again in their talk, together with their contempt for the meek Kirghiz, those willing servants of whoever lets them graze in peace. Wali Muhammad revelled in recollections handed down by his father how the men of Hunza had raided the rich flocks of Tagharma, to the very foot of the great mountain on which we stood. But now the ` Sirkar ' has made its will felt, and no Kanjuti dare disturb the peaceful dwellers in these valleys. I could, not cheer my plucky guides with promises of a return to those happy days, but I must own to sympathy with their views in my innermost heart. Were it not for the great powers that keep watch from south to north, _there is no doubt that little Hunza would with ease sweep across all the valleys from the Oxus to the Kashgar border.
When by 6 p.m. we had descended to that portion of the ridge where the snow had left some patches of bare rock, I was cheered to find the tents pitched on the steep declivities towards the glacier. The place was the best that could be had for the purpose, but the angle of the slope was anything but adapted for a tent. When I retired to its shelter, I felt as if it were a cabin on board a ship rolling badly. With some trouble the nearest approach to a horizontal position was secured for the camp-bed, and as it was the only thing on which it was possible to sit or lie in comfort, I soon succumbed to its attraction. Before, however, I finally got to rest the patients had to be attended to. Ram Singh and Ajab Khan,
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