National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE TRAVELLER.   19

drafts, though nominally equivalent to the amount specified therein, will not be so in reality, the Maharaja's rupi being somewhat inferior to the Indian government rupi.

Pa ry d na s. They should be procured from the civil or military authorities for the mountainous provinces subject to British rule. A small party will, perhaps, rarely be in urgent want of such documents; but for a larger party they are almost absolutely necessary. The authorities at the hill-stations and in the Pänjâb are well known for the obliging kindness with which they provide travellers with these documents, as soon as an application is made.

As yet it is not in the power of even the viceroy and governor-general of India to supply pärvanas, or letters of introduction, for the chiefs and rulers of those countries which I have marked as being penetrable only in disguise.'

Servants.' Three personal servants for each gentleman, including the sais (groom for the horse) and a bhisti (water-carrier) common for the whole party, should it be composed of several members, will be found sufficient for ordinary purposes. At any of the larger towns, during a stay of some duration, the servants always know how to procure an assistant, in case such additional help should be found necessary. Indian servants are entitled to higher wages in the mountains, as well as to warm clothing, and solid shoes.

If the traveller be a sportsman; he will perhaps require, besides his personal servants, the services of a shikâri (shooter), and for the superintendence of his kalis, those of a tindal or pätvâri (headman or overseer of the kûlis).3

Horses and D d n d i s. Horses, or properly speaking hill-ponies, may be easily had for the traveller's own use at any of the hill stations; and a very good animal may

' See p. 4. When travelling in Turkistan we also had our continental passports from Bavaria and Prussia with us, although, under existing circumstances, they were of no use. On one occasion Mohammad Amin, our chief guide, spoke of the possibility of our wanting Russian pärvanas (passports). In order to allay his fears upon this subject, we showed him our passports, and were not a little astonished to find that he knew how to distinguish the respective emblems of different European countries; for, on returning our passports—after having duly kissed them

—he declared that we had not the proper papers, "our bird having only one head."   . . .

2 We do not here enter into any details respecting our own establishment, as, on account of our instruments and collections, we were frequently obliged to have an unusually large one.

3 With reference to these people, see p. 26.

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