With Kelly to Chitral | Page 4

we generally
preferred to sleep outside, weather permitting.
Our second march was to a village called Suigal in the Punyal district,
governed by Raja Akbar Khan, a jolly old chap who came out to meet
us on the road; he lives in a castle on the left bank of the river, which is
here crossed by one of the highest and longest rope bridges in the
country. In spite of his size, he is a very good polo player, as are all his
family, some of whom were shut up in the Chitral Fort with Dr.
Robertson. He now offered his services and those of his people to
Government, which Colonel Kelly accepted, and the old man retired
very pleased, to rejoin us later on. At Suigal we managed to get all the
troops under shelter, as it was still raining, and it was now the second
day that they had been wet through.
The next day the rain had luckily stopped, and towards noon the sun
came out, and everybody's dampened spirits cheered up. We marched
that day to Hoopar Pari, making a double march instead of halting at
Gurkuch. Pari means a cliff--and the camping ground is a horrid little
place shut in by high cliffs close to the bed of the river. There is no
village near. It is a desolate place at the best of times, and when there is
any wind blowing, it is like camping in a draught-pipe.
From Hoopar Pari we marched to Gupis. Gupis is a fort built by the
Kashmir troops last year, on the most scientific principle, the only
drawback being that it is commanded on all sides, and would be
perfectly untenable if attacked by three men and a boy armed with
accurate long-range rifles. Here we picked up Stewart, who was turning
catherine wheels at the thought of taking his beloved guns into action.
He expressed a desire to try a few shells on the neighbouring villages,
to practise his men in ranging; but as there were objections to this plan,
the idea was allowed to drop. At Gupis we made a raid on the stores in

the officers' quarters and pretty well cleared them out. De Vismes, who
took command, had to get a fresh supply up from Gilgit.
[Illustration: A "Pari" on the road to Gupis.]
We had a merry dinner that night, provided, I think, by Stewart, who
used to get up at intervals and dance a jig at the idea of seeing his guns
the next morning--they were coming on with the second detachment
under Peterson. From Gupis I sent my pony back to Gilgit, as it was
useless taking it any farther, as we doubted being able to take animals
over the pass, which eventually proved to be impossible. From Gupis
onwards we had to be content with the usual hill track of these
countries, good enough for a country pony, but still nothing to be proud
of; here we discarded our Government mules, and took coolie transport
instead. The march from Gupis to Dahimal is a long, trying one, up and
down all the way. Cobbe, who was on rearguard, didn't get in till long
after dark.
The village of Dahimal lies on the opposite bank of the river, so we did
not cross, but bivouacked on the right bank, where there was some
scrub jungle that provided us with wood. The Pioneers had brought
four ducks; they were carried in a basket along with the mess-stores.
Browning-Smith, who ran the messing, got quite pally with these ducks,
and as soon as they were let out of their basket, he used to call them,
and off they would waddle after him in search of a convenient puddle. I
forget when those ducks were eaten, but I don't remember them at
Ghizr, and am sure they didn't cross the pass.
Our next march was a short one to Pingal, only about nine miles. Here
we were met by Mihrbhan Shah, the Hakim or governor of the upper
part of the valley. Mihrbhan Shah is a bit of an authority in the murder
line, having been employed by the late lamented Nizam-ul-mulk as
chief murderer. Mihrbhan Shah is particularly proud of one of his little
jobs, which he flatters himself he accomplished in a very neat and
artistic manner. I forget the details, but it resulted in the death of five
men. I asked him in to afternoon tea, Shah Mirza acting as interpreter.
We had a long chat, from which I gained some very useful details about
the state of the parties in Chitral, who was likely to help, and who

wasn't, also a description of the road to Killa Drasan, which I did not
know. This latter information seemed so important that I reported