Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-08-08
REGIONS OF BEAUTY
Polling Up the River Among
the Dungas.
TERRORS OF THE GATE
A BAD HALF HOUR PASSED BY
ALL HANDS.
A Tea Party After Landing at Dial
Lake to Celebrate
Arrival.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
At the end Of our weeks visit at Srinug-
CUR we found that the house boats Of the
three officers and of the colonel had al
ready started Off for the Dial, as their 0c-
cupants had grown very tired Of being
moered to the post Office stairs, and we
received letter imploring US to forsake
the frivolities of life and come to those
regions of wild beauty, there to pick water
lilies and float about among the rushes; SO
we picked UP our frivolous" gowns and.
bidding farewell to Colonel and Mrs. r.
E.. we boarded the new dunga and set
SAIL" Budrash. the mongoose. was very
glad to get back on the boat, as he had
had to live comparatively secluded ex-
istence during our visit on account of the
hunting propensities of the r. Els dog,
who, having discovered Budsy's where
abouts. spent the greater part of his time
shifting and whining at our bed room door.
The mongoose was apparently as eager
to get at him as he was to enter, and we
we're almost tempted to risk the meeting,
for the only time they did come face to
face the tiny mite. seated aloft on his
owners shoulder, spat violently at the
terrier who for a moment, was cowed.
However, he returned instantly to the at
tack. so whenever we had to leave the
small creature alone we shut him up In
drawer in the bureau with crack left for
air and his own cushion and blanket for
comfort. AS We were poled slowly up the
river past the long line of house boats and
their satellite cook boats, all closely moor
ed to the bank of the fashionable bund,
and packed in like sardines, we wondered
what the pleasure of "house boating" In
Kashmir could be under those cfrcum-
stances. Fifteen minutes of polling
brought us to the canal entrance. where
we Rugged the shore. waiting until long
line of freight dungas loaded with rice,
hay or rushes made their difficult exit.
The Dial Darwaza or gate, the entrance to
the lake, has pair of enormously thick.
strong doors, which. when the rush of
water down from the mountains and
through the lake is very huge, are thrust
open by it, and the great mass pours
through in torrents. but when the river ts
very high. the water rushes violently up
the canal and the force of it closes the
gates and keeps them shut sometimes for
days. no boat, of course. being able during
all that time to get either In or out or the
lake. 1t happened that we started In at
the time of a sort of"freshet from the Dial
and the rush of water made 1t both diff
cult and dangerous to get IN and out OF
the canal entrance and the Dial gate. we
were greatly interested in watching the
huge, heavily laden dungas come swirling
down the canal, the guiding poles often
snapped off in the current; amidst shouts
and yells from the crews and from the
crowd Of natives on the banks, Whirled
through the opening and far out into the
river, before they could be guided at all.
Polling Up River.
Our entrance was very difficult and very
hard work for our boatmen. who poled or
chung on to the rope hung along the wall
for that purpose with loud cries and
Allah Illahis'' they at last got through
into the canal and began laboriously polling
up to the Dial Darwaza. There we found
scene Of confusion. three or four hundred
people were assembled to watch the passage
of the dungas and Households, some on the
bridge over the gate, shouting and gestic'
ulating with might and main; others
crowded around the inside of the entrance.
and the greatest number perched on the
rocks beyond the Darwaza. The water
poured out through the gate in great
smooth waterfall several feet higher at the
top and meeting the up current of the canal
made a seething whirlpool quite terrible
to behold. We could avoid that terrifying
spot by creeping along the shore and MAX
ing an abrupt turn at the gate winch we
determined to do. and while we were en-
gagged in doing it, we were wondering now
1t was possible for frail dunga to mount
that smooth sheet of water pouring down
anc out with a steady. relentless rush
We thanked fate as well as our friends,
when we heard ourselves hailed from the
shore and beheld the old colonel and ms
young son, and the three tall officers. who
jumped aboard at once and welcomed US
warmly, saying that they had MADE all
preparations and that the entrance was
quite safe but slow. 1t seems that fourteen
coolies had been engaged and one end
of our long mooring rope was to be given TO
them, they standing on the rocks in the
little harbor just inside the gate and pulling
with all their strength. Then our seven
boa tmen were to guide the dunga and keep
1t from coming violently in contact with the
walls of the gate, while the boatmen OF
our four friends hung from the sides Of the
wall to push the roof away when 1t threat
ened to come in collision with the rocks
Added to this the five gentlemen worked
with might and main, pulling the dunSa
along or keeping 1t from sliding back, by
the thick wire rope stretched along the IN
side will Of the gate We had moved every
thing away from that side of the boat and
we ourselves knelt on the deck holding on
to various articles which might be thrown
over and the mongoose watched with great
interest from the shoulder of his lady. 1t
was the most exciting half hour it has ever
been our fortune to pass through. If the
rope broke-well we hoped it would not.
II the wire rope snapped-we tried not to
think of 1t. We heard one guiding pole
snap. and there was rush for another
while the dunga. which had been stationary
for several minutes in that terrific down.
pour of water went back a bit. The OFF,
GERS pulled for dear life. and we slowly, al
most impercepttbly crawled up that smooth
wall Of water and were dragged with a
rush and amidst screams. bowls and yells
from the hundreds of natives. into the little
harbor. by jingor quoth the colonel.
"Nhen that pole went rather feared the
rope would snap too"
Had His Hands Skinned.
One of the three officers at that moment
was seen looking furtively at his hands
and was instantly pounced upon by one
of us, examined and found to be minus
the skin of one PALM so he was swathed
and anointed or, more properly anointed
and swathed, and then we all climbed out
and sat on the rocks to watch the pre-
carious entrance of very large house
boat, at least all except Budmash, who
fed to the cool recesses of a snake hole,
and even when urged refused to come
forth. When at last he did consent to put
in an appearance, his nose covered with
dust, and when the screaming and yelling
over the successful arrival Of the house,
boat began to subside we all got into the
dunga, had our old Kashmiri samovar
started and made tea or pegs for the
party. The Dial lake Is called the most
beautiful spot in the world and while
we do not entirely agree we are quite
willing to admit that 1t Is very lovely It
is a large, shallow body of water entirely
surrounded by mountains though not
near by, most of the peaks covered with
snow, and 1t Is full of little islands made
by putting on top of the thick mass of
water weeds countless little slabs of mud