The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-01-27
Other HrnginGs and Sentences.
THE TALE or 4SHNIR.
Its Reality "A Compared with What the
Poets Fancy Has Made Of IL.

II sunIces 10 mention the name OF any
Of the bettor-known divisions of the
world to call up I'm the mind of an intelli-
gent and educated though untravel-
ed person by some obscure asso-
citation of ideas. fairly definite
conception of the kind Of scenery
characteristic Of the region In question;
ard this conception will be much the
same for all sorts Of men. and is a kind
Of international possession. The source
of it is not so easily indicated but it
viii, believe, In most cases lac found
TO take it's rise in some one book wherein
the spirit Of the locality has been at
some time enshrined. kashmir except
as the land Of shawis. is 10 most men
the land of "Laba Eookh' As Moore
described It. most people conceive it TO
be a country Of gardens and waterfalls
and fair women. a country OF gladcs and
lawns and pleasant places. a land OF
luxury and even wantonness, the home
Of song and dance. where the unclouded
sun is not too scorching. and fresh brcezcs
are ever waited from glittering hills. Tn
fortunately. Moore was never in Kash-
mir and the country he described WAS
realm Of his own fancy. kashmir is beau
tiful. but not with the kind Of beauty
Of "Lalla Rookh' II has no waterfalls,
10 palm trees. ana bur little aspect Of
gayety. It's charm Is OF a subtle ana
subdued character. and tho newcomer is
iiabie to be at first disappointed ana dis
illusioncl.
kashmir proper is hut a small portion
OF the Kingdom of Kashmir: it is the vale.
and no more. The Himalayas, coming
from the southeast divide into two
branches. OF which the northern con-
unUes 50 form the left bank Of the b,dus
Valley; the southern is the Pr Panl1l
range. The Vale of kashmir is an ancient
lake basin about seventy miles long by
thirty miles wide. included between the tNo
ranges. From the crest of the Pr Panjal
you can look down on the Kashmir on one
side and on 10 the plains OF the Panjab
on the other Through the now filled up
level of the vale the waters of the Jhelam
laziiy mearder in series of wide loops,
till they come 20 the gates Of the gorge
which they have cut through an intricate
rock-bound district westward. and then
southwark TO the burning plains.
The kingdom OF Kashmir stretches far
10 the north and west and it's frontiers
are not yet automatically defined. but
its natural and practically its actual bonn
dairy is the line Of the Hindu-Ktish and
Mustagh ranges beyond which lie Rus
sian Turkestan. the Pamirs. and Chinese
Fufkestan. Eastward the Maharajas do
minions include that portion OF Thibet
known as Ladak. or little Tibet: west
ward they terminate vaguely in the no.
s-land on the banks Of the Indus.
inhabited by a set OF chaotic robber tribes,
most of whose barren fastncsscs have
never been penetrated by any civilized
traveller in historic times. The whole OF
this large area beyond the Vale. Is 10
all intents and purposes desert-mere
crumpled Sahara below. on which the ice
bound region rests. This is the hunting
ground of Kashmir. Interesting TO sports
men and mountaineers, and destined some
day 10 attract the attention Of gold
miners. but otherwise dreary and DESC
late ''sunburnt and sorrowful" below.
frozen aloft. sparsely inhabited by few
forIorn tribes. who derive a scauty sub
sistence from patches OF sand artifcially
irrigated.
At Baramula the charm and life OF
Kashmir commence. Henceforward the
road and the tonga are quilted. and the
river and dunga take their p ace A dunga
Is long kind Of flat-bottomed punt, with
house Of mating built upon IL. The
walls OF the house are mating blinds.
which can be rolled up. The boat Is I'M
equally divided into two chambers. in the