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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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footing at all on the glacier. So we turned round and faced
for Askoli once more.
I think now of that wonderful glacier region, and the amphi-
theatre of snowy peaks at the head of the Punmah glacier,
and recall all the marvellous beauties of a scene such as can
only be witnessed in a few rarely visited spots on the face of
the earth, but at the time my thoughts were almost entirely
directed towards India. I was wearied out by my struggle
with the mountains, and longed to be free of them and at rest
once more.
On the day after our return to Askoli, the men who had
been sent by the Old Mustagh Pass to the party with the
ponies arrived back also. They had handed over the supplies
to them, and Liu-san, Drogpa, and the rest had started off
to take the ponies round by the Karakoram Pass to Leh.
Having satisfied myself about this, I set out by double marches
for Kashmir and the Punjab. Just beyond Askoli we had to
cross one of those rope bridges so common in the Himalayas.
A rope bridge is made of three thick ropes of plaited birch-
twigs. In crossing, you tread on one and support yourself
by the other two, one on each side. This particular bridge
led across a narrow rocky chasm, at the bottom of which the
river from the Baltoro rushed foaming along. It was certainly
a disagreeable place to have to cross, but I was astonished to
find that Wali, the man who had crossed the Mustagh Pass with-
out the slightest sign of nervousness, and certainly without any
hesitation, absolutely refused at first to cross this bridge. To
me it seemed such a paltry thing, after what we had so recently
gone through, and with two ropes to hang on by there seemed
no danger at all; but Wali shivered and shook, and could
only be induced to come over when he had two men to support
him. This is one of the most remarkable instances I have met
with of a man, who had no fear when faced by one form of
danger, being totally taken aback when faced by another.
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