Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-11
TWO POINTS OF VIEW
Picturesque and the Other
Claim Attention.
LIFE ON a. DUNG A
NOISES THAT MAKE THE NIGHTS
IRRITATING.
An Opera Bouffe Scene With the
Magistrate Over a Ten
Rupee Loss.
LIFE ON a. DUNG A
Written for The Evening Star.

WHICH Aor Auc hVeulu8 Stafs
Kashmir, like everything else. has two
sides. and the one known to those who
have never been here, wherein 1t is de-
picted as the paradise Of the newly mar
ried, and in which it Is a lovely dream
OF days spent floating up and down peace
full rivers whose banks are a mass OF
flowers, through blue lakes encircled by
snow mountains. with balmy, care-free
days and lovely moonlit evenings. is very
different from that side of which one hears
when the vale OF Kashmir has materialized
at last. In that second picture wherein
one has. after much advice. come to the
valley by the LIST of April, tho whole Of that
month and part of May pass by in a mist
Of rain; or blow by in tempests, or shiver
by In chilling cold. No warmth to speak
of can be got from the fire baskets Of char
coal; the decks leak, and gallons are baled
out each day; the food Is brought on cold
and 1t is impossible to get any exercise.
as the mud is SO deep and SO slippery.
Part Of May and part Of June seem to be
the season OF comfort. one month only, we
mosquitoes, and flies without number al
most impossible to guard against. They,
the three last, it is said, until September,
when 1t begins to get cold again and
rainy. Added to all this. If one has
cook boat in which the wives and babies
of the boatmen form feature, the noises
all through the night become appalling The
rivers of Kashmir are haunted by noises
Of every kind and description. and their
name means far more than 'legion" In
the first place, the boatmen always talk
all night long. and frequently quarrel and
beat each other-or their families-then the
wives indescribably shrill voices berate
their husbands or sing to their babies, who
evidently do not appreciate the music any
more than we do, as they cry and whine
continually. Then when the men get tired
of talking to each other they enliven the
midnight hours by yelling across the river
to friends In other dungas and, as the
river is reasonably wide all the way up,
the noise is almost unbearable. If a blessed
lull should by chance succeed the myriad
fendish noises, another dunga is sure to
come up as close as possible on its way
up the river and its approach be heralded
by the shouts Of its boatmen to our fiends
then Its tow-rope is trailed over the roof,
making terrific noise in its passage and
probably the rest Of the night is made
hfdeous by the converse between your cook
boat, the new arrival and the other boat
across the river. Yells and answering
bowls are mingled with the noise of fowls,
goats or occasionally the deep growl of
the weird-voiced bullock, for the natives
live In reality on their dungas and have
all their household possessions in the clos
est proximity. The other smaller attrac-
lions OF the night are the river fish which
pump In an unmannerly way up against
the bottom of the boat or leap out Of the
water with tremendous splash; the spirit
ed small birds which twitter all night and
theoretically continue their building oper-
atoms quite under ones nose, and some
times In ones eyes; and last of all the
stray dog who scratches his steaIthy
though noisy. way into the boat to seek
provender. Added to all the attributes OF
the seamy side is a scarcity Of good food
during the spring, for all that time and I'M
til June 1t is next to impossible to buy
fhn aid Co.
things are occupied in rearing their young
and the young are not old enough to be
eaten; the mutton is unbearably tough, and
there are no vegetablesl The summer
months. we are told, are lavish of fruit
and vegetables and the poultry at that
time Ia to be had in plenty
Boatmen Bad Lot.
Last and perhaps most annoying is the
trouble with boatmen If one has dunga
or coolies If one has a houseboat The
boatman is an utterly irresponsible being.
He knows no law unless fear be called a
law. He is good lazy, easily anus
ed Is ruined by word of gratitude or
praise, and never by any chance does his
duty. though he is told it every day, I'M
less his masters eye is on him. The min
ute you leave your boat the seven boatmen
are off, too, leaving your things to the
tender mercies of the inquisitive natives
about. who are all notorious thieves 1t is
one continuous course Of scolding from the
minute gets aboard until the minute
one leaves, and nothing done satisfactorily
except during the hour, perhaps, after a
terrific beating. If you give your men the
slightest leeway, you are neglected and all
their duties are neglected until you are
nearly mad with vexation.
Our experience of KaShmir has been a
taste of both sides; we have had the rain,
having had only two fair days in five
weeks; all these noises, with the exception
nf he ha hy1f n n w oh hoy
succeeded in quelling, by force of repeated
beratings and threats, and all the trouble
imaginable with our boatmen; but we have
not suffered from cold. and we have had
the delight of the flowers, which is great
for the whole valley has been a haze of
pink and white bloom from the pear.
plum and apple trees. and sheet Of pur-
pie and white from the great beds of iris
which literally cover the ground for miles,
tint the mountain sides and make one feel
that there is much in the life here in spite
of it's many drawbacks. Fortunately for us
our boatmen have not quite the strident
tone in their voices that the generality of
them possess. and when we hear one Of
the four brothers calling, "Ahhadu! All
hadui Ahhadi! Ahhada." in a minor tone
We rather like it than otherwise. We can
not discover why they change the last
syllable of the name in calling. but we
have noticed that 1t Is never twice the
same. Sidik when at distance becomes
"Sida! Sidi! Sidee! louder and louder each
is being called. and slowly and with many
halts approaches. In spite Of their many
annoying qualities they are most at
tractive set. our boatmen. and have their
jokes which they enjoy with merry eyes
and solemn lips. Fora example, the Bhees-
tee, or water carrier, who is one of the
lowest castles of all. they call with great
seriousness "calipha. The sweeper, low
er still in caste. is addressed as '.maharaj,"
and so on. They are Immensely clever in
gaining a point and thee very best sales
men in the world re go
The House Would Follow.
We went with Col. b. to one of the fas-
cinating shops JUST before leaving Sri
muggur and. among other things, found a
most beautiful carpet, for which we long
ed. but saw no reason for buying. The
merchant in white draperies and turban
smiled serenely and said II was worth three
times the price asked and would fit into
any room, whereupon COL B. said that he
had no house to put it in, only boat. The
merchant suggested using it in the boat
until he got house. but Col B. thought
it far too good for that. at which the mer-
chant after thinking n moment sold with