New-York tribune., 1903-05-10
IN PICTURESQUE NDI1.

our way was along the AlipUr Road, the big
main artery where every hour Of the day
carts and strings OF caHels jostIe ekkas hlied
20 overhowfng with fat and COmplacent natives.
who seem gifted with some special faculty for
ba "A ucing themselves on few inches Of splash
board: tOngas too. with wretched ponies which
decline to move any other pace than the gal
lCp and endless streams OF transport and sup
ply carts with mules that lean in upon each
other at such angle tfat You never cease
wondering how they TanaSe TO keep their foot
ing at all in the Cre"sy state OF the road when
the bEstimen have just waJered H. says l.
Ea-en Ein in The Pal Mall MdgaZIne-
most wonderful sight, that Ahpur Eoad-every
race in India passing along. and always in a
hurry As We drew near the Frontier and Pun
iaub CaTrps one Ier~aIl ed the difference in the
types seen on tire Id-tail. hookuosed, tsrce
l. Okng men fror- Cabrl and PeShaWar- with
MS I CGnica caps. W:th black WalS't'etL L9 or --i-
iOW fur lined 80 ile Is over tohS siliIIS anu TI
tr- Users. lOutiSh ONeTCOatrd tribes from t--st
IcO<:ug more iiE- CdUCaSiI.s than Innan-t-1tS
of India IT, their woOfIen caps and hee-iass
bsCts. -ce.IiuS t5Trify the sightseeing t,i.1S
who wandered re-zIy. hand IN hdAd. quite ss
Interested as the English globe trotter.
After breakfast With the political agent tne
faUatcal AkaH SikEs Were shown us. with tI-.r
strange blue bedddTesses, nearly three feet h-sn
ornaTented with crescent shaped knives a-tf-
ing axes. bows and arrows spears, daS5-f- ann
swords: with their chain aTnOr. breIStp tteS
and shields. they suggested ii travelling museum
rather than warriors. Here. also, were the devil
dancers from the Tibetau border wearing gro
tesque masks. whose clumsy dancing suggested
the rawlings of some yiTtSo ia an East End sum-
rather than anything didt Ole
Every camp had something peculiar TO Itself
kClah its najas almost nude SwCrdSIen. whose
bodies cOlOred yellow; Rewdr It's reSpleiI-al
holse1Ten whose steedS are covered with silver
ornaments and hung with silk draperles, and
from whose saddles hang heavy yakS t-iiS.
one OF the most pleasing camps of all-Tnore so
from the charm # its people than from t-e
decoration Cf the tents. was that Of the Sa4n
States of Upper BUrmah. They were delightful
little people; even an official photographed. Who
WAS placing tEem in the most formal OF groups.
.Tf " tf- h.ar11f fqT
regular professional phOtogra piers way, ta--ri
10 damp their CheaTfulness although they h.St-
ened to divest themselves of their stiff state
g3TTT entS the moment the operation was over
In tie afternoon in addition 10 the Usu~l polo.
this day saw the ..nal of the international Cu9-
There were 10 be sOICe exhibition games by the
Manipur teams the OTiginatOrS of the polo
game; also the GiIgit polo players were goins To
show US their variety of the sport. From the
spectacular point Of view the interest in the
Nanipur players was chiefly in the curious dp'-
pearance of their tiny ponies. almost buried
under huge saddles with curved flaps 10 guard
their feet. and wOOllen balls attached 70 every
part of their brides; on the other hand the
Gilgit teams played a game that had TO be seen
10 be believed. Starting from the end of q mar
row course boarded in at the sides, some twenty
gallOped headlonS down the neld, the Leddlll4
man holding the ball and throwing it up into the
air when half way between the goals From
that moment the whole field became pande-
monium of gallOping ponies and excited men.
who worked with arms and legs, and Who
seemed capable of anything except falling of
How any of them escaped destruction was
marvel. but their usual custom is to play iLe
game uD and down their own streets. so ponies
and men are used to charging at fun speed
against a wall with an excited crowd following
them up How the ponies stood twenty minutes
of the game was little short of miraculous. One
or two falls there We're. but neither horse nor
rider seemed at all incOnvenienced by them
Legitimate polo seemed very slow after this
but a Babu photographer in lemon yellow, VINO
planted himself in goal TO snapshot the game
was a sight for the gods.