Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-22
STORM ON THE LAKE
Terrifying Experiences Pol
ing Down the Lake.
A MAILING BOATMAN
HELP CAME JUST AT THE RIGHT
MOMENT.
Last of the Journey Happy and SAFE
Between Lotus Flowers
and Lilies.
A MAILING B0ATMAN

SManasbal lake. in the broad valley or
Kashmir is said to be one of the prettlest
lakes in the world, next only to the Dal
In perfection and we, having heard this
repeatedly, were a bit disappointed in its
lack of variety. The water, to be sure, is a
clear gray-green but a large part OF the
lake is what In America would be called a
slarsh, very shallow and one mass of water
weeds flowers and water lily pads The
hills are there, to be sure, but they are
bare and treeless and have almost no val
leys or canyons to fill up with shadows and
make them look less desolate in the evening
light II is in fact, just broad expanse
of water. with no fascinating and mysteri-
Gus twists and Jurnings. suCh as one hnds
In the Hudson river or in Lake Lucerne.
We spent a week there, moored under a
huge mulberry tree, beside field of wheat
which grew as high our heads, into
which the mongoose plunged as soon as he
was let out of his bed and out of which
BE did not emerge until darkness and hun
ger urged him thereto. There We're fas-
cnating holes to investigate and butterflies
10 chase. and he felt in complete security
in so high and deep forest Our boatman
sent word, rather howled it, about the
Heighborhood that there was a tame mon
goose at large, the property of his sahlbs;
for, he told us, every mongoose found by a
IdIlNt was klileu II pOSSlDle, iileS HdNIilS d
belief that the little creatures are anything
but harmless, and that they put out the
eyes of any one found asleep Another
superstition they have is that If mon
goose is killed his friends and relatives
bring a certain kind of grass which they
put into his mouth and he instantly comes
to life again. like the old theory that when,
as rarely happens, a mongoose is bitten by
a cobra he runs off to the jungle and eats
certain weed which counteracts the effect
of the poison.
On one of the days of our peaceful week
at Manasbal we poled to the opposite end
of the lake, where. under some huge Chi
mars, we found thirty forty Camels rest
Ing, and later saw them reloaded and
started off on the road to Srinuggur. We
had tea beside a very vigorous waterfall,
the water of which was most peculiar
gray color and looked rather as if very
dirty clothes had been washed in it, though
that was impossible, there were no towns
higher up on the mountainsde, and
were rather curious as to the cause We
all sat on the huge roots of one of the
chnars, into which the mongoose had dis
appeared, and waited while Abdul and the
obliging Munshi made fire of twigs and
"boiled the kettle" A little beyond our
shelter was a hedge of wild white roses
very fragrant and extremely thorny, as we
found afterward. and on the other three
sides of us were fields of grain and here
and there more of the big trees.
Back to Old Mornings.
AS we had all brought horses to the lake
with us, which, each with its sails had ap-
peared the morning after our arrival we
had many delightful rides, but at the end
of the week found ourselves united in will
ingness to leave Lake Manasbal and re-
turn to our old moorings in the Dal OF
the two ways of getting back we chose
the one we had not already SEEN which was
up short canal through a very tiny lake
whose name no one seemed to know and
then down through the city and under
countless very low bridges until the oity
lake was made" and the three officers
were all in high state of indgnatio and
disappointment when they found that II
would be quite impossible for the house
boat to go under the bridges even If what
we called the balcony on top and the
Verandas' below were removed as at the
entrance to Manasbal. We were hard
hearted, however. and refused to go back
the old way, and early one morning we
were poed down the lake to the canal on
trance and up the river to Shadipur where
we waved a farewell to the houseboat and
the three tall officers, and, followed by the
uunga OF the old colonel, his son and sister
entered the second canal and were poled
slowly up a lake which, except at one nojnt
seemed more like huge marsh
mere were water lilies by the thousand
rushes higher than the TOP of the dunpa
and all kinds of water weeds and nou,arc
sheets of them. At about 3 o'clock we
reached the deep part of the lake. and in
1aklGt-i-Snliaman
Ihe httle temple on the hill top back Of
Srlnuggur We were in the midst of a les
son In Hindostanee from the little nunsIi
n boyish Hindoo of twenty-five with a Ion9
req caste mark between his eyebrows
when We heard the old boatman saw in a
Ieislfely tone: Tell mem sahib that a
wind we think comes" We both, knowing
what a wind on that lake might mean pot
up quickly and ran to tie down all the mat
ung curtains. calling to the manshi To do
the same with those on the deck but before
a hl1
the roaring as of a hurricane and the wind
was on US. The cords fastening down tine
mats were broken instantly. the dunga
went over nearly on it's side and every-
thing movable, chairs, tables bottles and
all, 1eii over with a crash, and to add to IL
all me old boatman lost his head com
pletely' dropped the pole at once and sa,
out on the extreme bow wringing his hands
and bowling and wailing al the top of his
voice. Such dreadful walls The waiIs Of
lost soul must be nothing TO those of a
cowardly boatman.
Equal to Emergency.
There was nothing to be done but hang
with all our weights to the roof poles and
pull down the mats and tie them again
We dashed open our boxes and dragged cut
the trunk ropes. and while the munshi pale
as death. cut them into pieces, we threaded
them through the Tapping mats and two
together succeeded in tying them down
AT last in the middle of the uproar of wind
waves and boatman we felt thar we We're
q bit safer. and were just beginning to
fasten down the curtains on the osGe. side
when the wind swung the boat around and
again we We're nearly over. Every thing
even our huge desk, was flung to the utner
side OF the dunga the mongoo3e emerged
from drawer in the desk every hair on
end. and sped to the shelter of low cup
board In one of the old bed rooms, and
again we all tried to drag down the mats
but this time with little hope, for 1t seemed
that every moment we must go over. The
munshi, though evidently horribly fright
ened minus his turban. which had blown
overheard, and part OF his caste mark
which had evidently blown away too
worked valiantly. and when 1t seemed that
our last moment had surely come we called
out, 'Munshi can you SWIM" He an
swered mo, huZoor." Then cling to any
thing you find, the shikara, pole or any
thing, and keep your head above water"
we said. Yes, mem sahib." he answered
A'but II will be as God Wills" good de-
Dgout little Hndoo that.
Aid Came at Last.
At the last moment. really the last we
thought three huge boatmen blew up to