Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 55, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 March 1920 — Himalayan Holidays [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Himalayan Holidays

z /mm HERE are times in every ■ man’s life,” says Sir Robert I Baden-Powell in his charming book, “Indian Memories,” “when'his whole being cries out for a steady spell of doing nothing in particular, at least, nothing that matters. Nowhere is this so acutely felt as In India.” And at no time, one might add, as toward the middle of an Indian hot weather, says A. L. Wright in Country Life. But though India in the plains may, at times, become well-nigh intolerable, India in the hills provides a solace such as may be enjoyed in few other countries in the world. There is something particularly fascinating about the Himalayas. Maybe it is their immensity or their vast silences; but probably it is their infinite variety that makes the greatest appeal. For there is always some new aspect io be discovered, some new interest; and no man can hope to live long enough to be able to say he knows them thoroughly, nor is it possible to see so much of them that they begin to grow stale. No wonder that men who have first visited them as subalterns go back year after year, revisiting old haunts or discovering new, and that some haye_ff>qnd them so attractive that even on retirement they have settled down in some peaceful valley to spend their declining years.

In times of peace the army officer in India is usually fortunate enough to be able to get away from his regiment and the plains for at least a part of the hot weather, and with a month or more at his disposal, the hills provide him with an endless choice as to how he should spend his leave. Anything You May Wish Is There. Of few places in the world can it be so truly said as of the Himalayas that they cater for every taste. Do you want a month’s sheer Idleness? Under what more attractive circumstances can it be obtained than on the Jhelum river, floating leisurely along in a Kashmiri doonga. ot houseboat? A perfect climate, gorgeous scenery and every thing complete for thorough laziness ; what could be more ideal ? And should mere loafing become monotonous, it can always be varied with a little gentle fish-spearing, or short trips may be made ..into the mountains, which come down on either side, offering tempting fields for exploration. But the average healthy young man will probably require something more strenuous. Mountaineering? One has only to read of the exploits of the Bul-lock-Workmans to realize that the Himalayas provide sufficient tests of skill even for the most experienced climber. Big game shooting? Given sufficient time, there are places beyond Kashmir, such as Chilas, Astore, Balistan and Ladakh, which are veritable sportsmen’s paradises. With luck the bag may include both black and brown bear, thar, ibex, burhel, gural, the ordinary leopard; maybe . the snow leopard, and possibly the wild sheep, the Ovis ammon. A shooting trip of this nature is, however, rather a long and serious undertaking, but even with two months’ leave or less there are many places where excellent sport can be obtained. There is, of course, the country in the Immediate vicinity of Kashmir, but, as may be imagined, this has been much harried and shot over, and other places equally accessible, though less frequented, are preferable where sport Is the main object. For instance, quite good shooting country can be reached both in Chamba state and in Kulu within a month’s leave, while little more time is required to get to the upper reaches of the Sutlej, where the Bashahr state borders on Tibet Small game shooting, being closed till the middle of September, is rarely enjoyed by the visitor to the hills unless he specially takes his leave right at the en<| of the hot weather.. The Himalayas, however, abound in small g»irrw»_ ‘ Probably nowhere in the world are pheasants found In greater variety, but though in abundance, their shooting is often apt to prove disappointing, usually owing to the vastness < the forests they inhabit

The same cannot be said of the chlkore, which can give as fine a day’s sport and exercise as the keenest shikari can hope for. The fisherman will also find himself catered for, as both in Kashmir and Kulu trout have been put out in the streams and now give excellent sport. Wonders of the Forests. Shikar, though by no means the least is however, but one of the many attractions of the hills. The botanist paturalist or entomologist will all find plenty to occupy their time, while in few places is there greater scope for the artist and photographer. The forests, too, are full of interest. Get the local forest officer to show you round his jungles —he is a lonely man and usually only too pleased to see a visitor —and you may then begin to realize what is Involved in the making of a railway sleeper. You may even get some idea of what is meant by forestry. You will see trees such as are rarely to be found at home, magnificent old groves of deodar, maybe from 800 to 1,000 years old, which have been spared from the ax on account of their sanctify—for the deodar is indeed the tree of the gods and no hill temple is complete without its grove. Felling on precipitous hillsides and floating down roaring hill torrents provide Ample excitement for those who want it, but, perhaps, most wonderful to the ordinary visitor are the primitive methods of conversion. Sawing is still carried out entirely by hand, and carriage from the forest to the floating stream is nearly all done by human transport. Although wire ropeways are now beginning to be used in places, it is still by no means uncommon to come across a sturdy hill-woman almost running down a steep mountain path with two broad-gauge sleepers on her back and a baby suspended in a blanket in front

To tne student of folklore and anthropology the Himalayas offer a wide field of research, particularly the Hindu-inhabited tract in the eastern Punjab. It is, however, by no means an easy matter to get the people to talk of their religion and customs. The hillman is a simple-minded soul, a splendid fellow when you get to know him, but he takes a lot of knowing. His. inherent shyness and what is almost a timid distrust of strangers make it next to impossible for anyone who has not lived in the hills or visited the same tract year after year, to get him to speak of his religious beliefs. But if ever you are fortunate enough to get him talking, you are taken back at once to the days of the Old Testament and find yourself living amid gods who speak and dispense justice to their devotees, rewarding or punishing as may be necessary. You will find an explanation of every phenomenon of nature. The hailstorm, for instance, which destroyed one man’s crop while sparing his neighbor’s, is directly attributed to Kali, who, living on the hilltops, uses Ice as a missile to punish anyone who offends her. You will hear of witches with tongues six feet long; of evil spirits who enter into. the bodies of men and cattle and have to be exorcised ; of scapegoats; and even of human sacrifices, who before the days of British administrations were slain at the great festivals for the atonement of the sins of the community. But the ordinary visitor hears little of this, though, with luck, he may come upon one of the many fairs which are held throughout the hills, generally during the rains, when the people have leisure from work in their fields. The hillman is passionately attached to his native highlands, and nothing will induce him to forsake them for the plains, which he regards almost as a foreign country. And having learned to love the hilrs oneself, one can well understand his attachment, for the call of the Himalayas is well-nigh irresistible.

Cargo Boats on the Jhelum River.