New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-04-09
THE VALE OF KASHMIR.
A PLACE WHERE. AS USUAL n The ORIENT.
ONLY MAN Is VILE.
Srinagar. January 20.

gions to believe that Thomas Moore never visited
the vale of Cashmere" II Is only reasonable
to suppose that in addition to q vivid imagine
ton the author had some facts TO sustain him
when he wrote The Light OF the fIarem," Tor In
matters Of detail lie certainly keeps very near the
truth.
The name. il must be observed. il no longer
spelled Cashmere Even the English inhabt-
tants have become TOO Oriental TO adopt sys-
TEN Of spelling transteratlon. which is not at
oil consistent with the Persian derivation. The
valley OF Kashmir lies snugly among the Hims-
layas at an altitude Of 5000 feet above the sec.
IL is rather less than one hundred miles long, and
varies in breadth from twenty TO thirty miles.
Much OF this land is very fertile Through the
whole length Of it flows Of the five. rivers
which give the Punjab its name. and which join
ing the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea. The
natives call the river the BETH" contraction
of the old Sanskrt name. H. is believed that In
prehistoric times tho valley large lake. and
there still remain indications showing conglome-
rate formations. which must have formed part OF
the beach. and these taken in connection with the
present level of the valley. give some clew TO the
probable depth Of the water in olden times The
mountains from almost every point Of view form
an unbroken chain around the valley. and it 10
difficult 60 make ont 'wicre the watefs Of the
.Ihelum find a pass ~ squeeze through. In. many
respects the vale Of kashmir reminds one of Lake
Tahoe in California. One tourist remarked that
this western spot might be fashioned into minia-
ture Kashmir, il the water were drained off and
the fertile plain covered with trees. dotted with
villages and watercd by one large river with sew
| cral tributaries. Besides tho main valley there
are several smaller valleys. running far up into
the mountains. formed by the streams coming
tho I1plu NJ
decidedly picturesque. They become gradually
narrower as they ascend. being closely walled on
both sides by towering crass rich green below
aud often snow-cappcd or covered with glaciers
above The fertile spots In the lower parts Of
the canons, known in India "nulahs.' are
| eagerly seized for cultivation by the peasants.
| owing TO the facilities they offer for drainage,
| which makes them particularly suited for grow
| ing rice. This cereal has been grown In this re-
gion at surprising elevations, over six thousand
| feet above the sea. II is only for rice. how
over, that irrigation ia needed in Kashmir as there
is plenty of rain throughout the summer for other
crops. The Indian monsoon in its full force does
not interfere with tho successful cultivation of
crops at this elevation.
The price received for rice is very low. although
1t Is higher than in former times OF the un-
husked grain lil pounds may DO bought for
rupee or about 40 cents. and this amount, after
having been freed from the husks by an arduous
process, represents about eighty-tive pounds OF
edible rice In discussing these matters with my
Moonshi, who is a native of Kashmir, asked how
many English pounds were contained in heavy
weight commonly used in this country, called d
kirwahn He replied that there were either
ls2 or 1872 pounds. lie further explained in the
most matter-of-fact way that when tho Govern
mont was buyinc rice, OF rather valuing 1t TO
take il from the growers IN default Of taxes. they
reckon 1872 pounds in the kirwah, but when the
Government subsequently dsposes Of 1t to tho
townspe0Elc this measure contains lS2 POUNDS
The explanation is characteristic OF other Govern
ment manoeuvres. When the railway Is COM
plcted. there will he good market for rice. ana
il i, 10 be hoped that by that time British IN
duence will have effected q common stanoard q
weights and measures
About the middle Of the last century hasunAS
rossed from the hands Of the degenerate rulers
of the house of Delhi to the Afshans, ana 'hs
nrosreritv of the people was again establishes.
| Both these lynasties were Mahometans' like
the pcople OF Kashmir Later the valley was con-
ouercd by Runiit Singh, the well-known Sikh ruler
| of the Puuiab The result has been constant H.
treatment of the inhabitants OF kashmir, extending
| ND TO the present time. 1t is one OF the plots
| upon the record Of midas dealings with native
| States of India that when slIe took the Pun]ao
from tho infant son Of Runjit Singh. forty'sx
wears ago. she did not At the same time take
| into her own hands or turn over to wise ana
sympathetic ruler tho beautiful outlying province
of the Sikh Empire Instead, she sold 1t to
former Governor Of the Province OF Jamu. VINO
had long been striving to secure possession OF
this part of Runjits domlnicns. lie gave Eng
land scvcnty-iivc lais OF rupees, equivalent TO
about SO, 80, 00O for the valley OF Kashmir, tho
undisputcd possession Of ,lamu and for several
other provinces between this region and Little
| Thibet which he had already conquered
| Ey this bargain England, while adding TO her
stronghold on the frontier. simply pcrpetuated tho
snflcrinss Of the Mussulman population. BESIDES
the rupees Which England obtained treaty was
| entered into by which the new province must
acknowledge its allegiance to England. In token
| Of British supremacy tho MaharaIahs have ever
.inc, annually paid 10 the foreign Government
| nominal tribute consisting OF ono horse. twenty-
| uy, bounds of fine wool and five shaws. In
| ulilmcut Of the promise to assist with troops
detachment Of soldiers was sent TO cooperate with
| tl,, British beneath the wall, Of Delhi In tho
J mutiny Of 1861. No doubt many Of the Cash.
| mere shawls which the Queen gives as wedding
! present. to her subjects received from this
| tribute
The Suffering of Tie peasants under the reign
| of the SOL Of Goab was acute. Tie taxes were 30
heavy that everything hut the harcst subsistence
| of rice was taken from the cultlvatoIs, and II
years Of famine when there was not enough rico
| crown To supply both the peasantry and the popu-
| p,SlII oVM sIuu>rd on sEM !! 'sJno au@ 20 uopel
| tho crop who were obliged to starve. Ii is 70
| ported that 1t this time boatloa,ls OF starving
| people taken out into the middle OF the lako
| and drowned. On consulting my Moonshi as to
tho truth Of this story he said that these people
| were drowned because they had committed tho
| offence Of killing cattle for food The COW among
the lindoos is Il sacred animal, and the killing
| of beef has always been Il capital offence until
| within few years The criminal is now SUBJ
| jcctcd to long term Of imprisonment. Under
| the oppression which lasted many years the
| population steadily dwindled. until now ii is not
| more ihln Eali what II was in 1919 ms 10
| anything bat nat:ering testimony 70 the Govern
| mcut. for the valley is certainly fertile enough
NOT only to sustain It's former population. but Ia
| net q laL.e incrclse SltMatcd as kashmlr %,