Page:Viscount Hardinge and the Advance of the British Dominions into the Punjab.djvu/144

140 that it became necessary for us to crawl on our hands and feet whenever we reached an awkward spot in the narrow road. In one of these we came to a pool of water with a torrent running over the road. There was nothing for it but to drive the pony through the pool, hoping that he would reach the ground beyond in safety. To our horror, he too slipped; heavy thuds at intervals told us he had gone over. We waded through this pool, torches were sent out for us, and at last we reached the village. To our surprise the next morning we found the poor animal alive, with his fore and hind feet across a large fir-tree, and a water-fall pouring over him. He was rescued, but, strange to relate, was killed on our return journey by a similar accident.

The Governor of Kashmír at this time was the Shaikh Imám-ud-din,who, in October of this very year, refused to recognise Ghuláb Singh's title under the Treaty of Lahore and brought upon himself a British expedition. Though we were received by the Shaikh with every mark of respect and honour, one circumstance caused us to suspect that appearances were deceptive. On our expressing a wish to visit the fort, in order to get a view of the far-famed lake, it was intimated to us that troops of the Sikh Darbár still held it, but that if we were inclined to go without any armed attendants we were at liberty to do so. To this we assented. We found none of Ghuláb Singh's troops in the fort, though they arrived shortly afterwards. Apart from this, we had nothing to complain