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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
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The heart of a continent : vol.1 |
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not resist the temptation of what I thought would be a dry
passage. But halfway over Shukar Ali slipped ; in struggling
to save himself he kept pushing me under water, till I was
nearly drowned, and when I reached the opposite side of the
stream I was numbed through with cold. We halted for an
hour while I got into my sleeping-bag, and my clothes were
spread out in the sun to dry, and then we pushed on again
down a narrow rock-bound valley. At night we slept in a
cave, and next day made our last march into Askoli. Never
did I think we were going to reach that spot. By midday we
saw its green trees and fields in the distance ; but I could only
get along slowly, as the way was very rough and stony. At
last, however, at four o'clock, we did reach it. We sent for the
headman, and told him to bring us some food. A bed was
brought me to lie on, and then, with a stewed fowl and some
rice to eat, fresh life and energy came into me.
But that was a dirty little village! The trees and the
fields looked fresh and green, but the houses and the in-
habitants were repulsively dirty ; and the latter by no means
well-disposed. These mountain people are dreadfully nervous
about strangers. They had thought the way into their country
from the north was entirely closed, and they did not at all
welcome this proof that it was not. Wali, the guide, was him-
self a native of this village, which he had left some thirty years
before. Another of my men also belonged to it. But they
said they feared these people would do some injury to them for
having shown me the way, and they kept by me constantly,
and left the village with me, subsequently returning to Yarkand
by Leh and the Karakoram Pass, instead of directly by the
Mustagh Pass, as they might have done.
Immediately after we had had something to eat, we set
about preparing to send back supplies to the men and ponies
on the pass. With great difficulty we induced the people to
do this ; and on the following day a party was started off back
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