Nineteen

Sunday 15th Sept. No march today. By light of day we found we were close under the walls of the village which is situated on a sloping tract of cultivated land, cut up into many terraced plots, the retaining walls being 3 or 4 feet high. Some fields were mere strips a few yards wide. There must have been 20 miles or more of retaining walls within ½ a mile of the village. The slopes above the cultivated ground were thick with rose bushes and clematis.
After breakfast, Neve and Gustaveson started work. The people did not attend to the latter so well as in other places, on account, perhaps, of the old mullah, who was argumentative.
Took a walk along where we had come in the dark last night. Rain came on. had a walk with Neve after tiffin. Large flocks of pigeons. A man turned up from Rajal, sent by the Raja to assist us. After dinner, we had a short service, and turned in at 9.30
The people here particularly dirty, but the women rather better looking than elsewhere, and wore some ornaments.

Monday 16th Sept. A rainy day. Turned out at 5 and got away at 6.30. Neve, G and I went ahead fast, first along the cliff on the other side of the stream. Two miles on, came on a polo ground at the village of Baltaro, and came again to the level of walnut and fruit trees. Passed through several villages.
As the clouds lifted a little, we saw that snow had been falling low on the mountains. We were nearing the end of the valley, which now narrows to about ¼ of a mile, flanked by very precipitous rocks. At 9 miles came suddenly out into the wide sandy valley of the Shyok, and into the large village of Darwini, with fields, gold-leafed trees and rippling streams.
A few miles down stream, the Shyok enters a narrow gorge, but for about 12 miles up stream, as far as Kapalu, the valley is 2 miles wide, enclosed with precipitous mountains of granite, with isolated patches of cultivation
We had a rest here. Some fruit was bought, and a number of men sat round watching us eat a water melon. Neve saw a few sick people. Coolies had to changed here, and as the business of arranging for fresh ones seemed likely to be lengthy, we left the Rajah’s man and Gustaveson’s boy Sukah Ali to deal with it, and went on.
Stretches of sand with occasional villages with fields terraced along the foot of the mountains, the walls gay with yellow mallow flowers trailing over them. Got breakfast in a shady spot at 2.15.
The Rajah’s Chaprassi led us over stony moraine along cliffs, then over sand to a narrow branch of the river by some coolies who happened to be there. Across a stretch of sand, and we came to the main stream of the Shyok, where we found a small skin raft on which we embarked. It was rather low in the water, having only 16 skins, and we were carried a long way down stream, the long sticks with which it was propelled not being of much use. There were some Ladakhis waiting to come on another raft, besides other parties of natives. The river was about 200 yards wide. The raft men came along with us on the other side to carry us across 2 side streams, when we reached the edge of the Kapala moraine.
Kapalu is a collection of villages on a large fan moraine proceeding from a nullah coming down from fine granite mountains.

The whole moraine is terraced, the retaining walls being, in some cases, 10 or 12 feet high, and the fields often not more than 5 yards wide. There must be several hundred miles of retaining walls in the place..
We walked a mile or so along the edge of the moraine and then turned up a road, between walls built of large round stones, which zig-zagged up hill. The whole place is so thick with fruit trees that the fields have little chance.
We reached the rest house at 6 o’clock, and sat on some stones outside while a man went to clean the place up. When ready, we entered a door into a short dark passage with rooms on one side which smelt like a cow shed. Up some stone steps onto a sort of balcony - a square room open on one side. It was small and the outlook was dismal, so we decided to retire and camp. We settled on a small field, newly reaped, with an apricot tree in the back corner, a stream close by and a fine view down the Shyok Valley, the snow peaks lying between the Shyok and the Shigar valleys showing up well. About 7 o’clock the khansamah turned up with 2 loads, our tent poles, camp beds and Gustaveson’s bedding. Darkness fell, and also rain, so things were a bit dismal. Some local bigwigs and their servants came along, a fire was lighted, round which we all sat. The rest of the coolies didn’t turn up till past eight, when we got the tent up and waited for dinner, which was served at 9.30. A long day.