New-York tribune., 1896-12-27
n THE ORIENTAL ALPS.
SPORT AND JAPANESE
CLIMBING.
HIMALAYAN

Of Sport and Travel in the Abode Of Snow: ny
Police. Western Circle. Northwes! Provinces oo OF
%U5a' tavo pp. xvi. $50 Edward Arnold
MoTNEAlNPEaENHHsSEG THE A1SPaNHsE AfF HTs
Weston late Srsn Sn@p''l .@p illustrations Oc-
tayo DID, xvi SAC Charles Scribner's Sons
To the yicarious and sedentary traveller v hose
vision cheerfully extends from China TO fe'u'
but whose feet are disposed TO poise 'he'"-
selves in sllppered ease upon the rendsr '"'ie
has been something particularly eoiiyms anu
welcome about that enthusiasm which mas leu
more enduring sportsmon to travei INTO 'ne u''-
familiar Rmalayan regions and among '''e
peaks Of the Orient. Switzerland can never DE
overdone but we have certainly had an ast'''ish-
Ing abundance Of literature on the SUBJECT Oh
its glaciers and generally inaccessible heiGhts'
II is a fresh and lasting pleasure to accohpah!
Mr. Freshfied on his exploration OF the Cauca-
sus. or writer's like those at present under re-
view on their adventures in similarly remote
and unknown scenes. Mr.. Stone for example.
introduces us to things which have only le-
Gently been celebrated by travellers who could
discourse Of them at first hand. He writes or
the Himalayan markhor the ibex of the same
picturesque region. the Tibetan nyan and Wild
yak and If the reader fancies that these strange
uncouth sylabes stand for animals ni'Hc''o
neglected because they were inconsequeht we
can assure him that n is very much mis'aNeh'
our hunter went in search Of noble game. ana ne
found It ia these fantastically named creatures.
Mr. Stone took with him besides the tradi-
tional Er glshman's hunting instinct fund oi
good humor. a nonchaant adaptation OF MS
temper to circumstances which is not so often
encountered in the literature Of sport He mas
IN perfection the sportsman's attitude Of bland
of y ante ~,
the trail are concerned When his coolies Jagged
he birched their legs with thin and singing
~twigs from trees" The reader chuckles TO learn
further on that this seemed to endow the datory
men with perpetual notion and that they so
outstrpped their employe. on the march thai
he was put to sore inconvenience in catching up
With them ma his possessions There is a de-
llghtful passage in which Mr.. Stone describes the
misadventure Of his man Yakub. when a great
kiang had been brought down near the INDUS
and the native servant went wild with delight
over the occurrence. "Nakub had glorious
spill" says our author. "off the small very
smalD Tibetan tattoo he was riding After having
his shot. ne mounted and galloped off TO the
dead kiang TO get the skin. The carcase was
lying in a hollow. and the little pony did not see
1t till ne nearly ran over it: the consequence was
a tremendous shy, and when l came up found
and my precious gun 1t took some time to
separate the component parts and was anxious
about the gun" Apparently Mr.. Stone had
hardly more solcitude for his aids than he had
for the wild ass of the hills he had just killed.
vet he leaves the impression that except for the
extortions practised by the HimalayaH people
and the sublime lies of which Tlbetans espe-
cially are capable, he met with admirable types
of endurance. fidelity and quick wittednes'
among the hill folk upon whom he was compelled
TO rely for guidance and everyday services. In
fact the people at Marmai, on the road to
As,or in Kashmir. his base of operations on his
expedition>for markhor. are interesting enough
to claim precedence for a moment over the four
footed subjects Of his narrative.
These people live in what is we'll called "a most
extraordinary fashion" They are so high up III
the mountains that during the winter months
they nvesunder several yards of srow. How they
accomplish this Mr. Stone does not tell US. but he
describes their summer resource as consisting OF
two or three huts so rooted that the caves slope
down almost to the level of the ground. and
MANNED with a cheerful indifference to sanitary
evils Cattle and humans are sheltered under
the same roof Where these semi-savaSe beings,
panoplied in hereditary dirt. became peculiarly
interesting is In their remarkable dociiiiy The MI
people Of India are usually SPIRITED ana MI
c,or. ,rovokes wonder as TO whether in his
omcial canactv he had some special power of
coercion over the inhabitants of Marmai lie
wanted their hep carriers. When he arrived
the men were invisible and the women were
evasive as to the whereabouts Of their protectors
A certain vigorous Kashmiri dakwaa, or letter
carrier happened to be on the ground. To him
enter the village watchman. unsuspectlng as q
lamb The dakwala pounced on him at once.
,ic horE nd
alpenstock belaboured nm till he was
tired After this preliminary he spoke TO hlm.
The matter-of-fact way in which the kotwal
took this punishment was extraordinary; he was
evidently used to it, With his arms tied. he was
sent down to the river bank opposite the next
village to shout for coolies - The imperturbable
manner in which Mr.. Stone followed up this VIC
tory and at last secured men enough from the
hiding places in the huts to accompany him on
his march must be grasped from the text direct
10 be appreciated. One more anecdote and we
have done with the human side Of Mr.. stones
narrative. On his way into the haunts OF the
markhor he passed a large fiat rock which over
hangs the Giiglt River. Under this rock Bhup
Singh camped with thousand men, forgetlui
that he was lying down in a rat-trap. Three
Dard brothers blocked the men In. and when
they had released their enemies on condition that
they emerge unarmed from the shelter Of the
stone. they slew them all with the exception OF
two men from Hindustan. These leaped into the
stream with their swords and swan down to
Bunji there TO report as the sole survivors Of
Bhup Snghs regiment There Is the material
for a ballad in that tragic episode
But Mr.. Stone has time for ballads. being
hot on the trail of the markhor. He appears to
prefer the more patrician ibex 10 this splendid
creature. and doubtless he is justified by the in
trinsic beauty OF the former. as we'll as by the
greater difficulty of getting within gunshot OF
the game. The female ibex who watches for her
companions is a miracle OF keenness in sight
and smell But the markhor, nevertheless