OCR Text |
Show MTS of Y KASHMIR, t In the cast tho beauty and tho prosperity pros-perity of a country are gauged by tho abundanco of its wator supply, for running run-ning water means both fertility and shado, and If a land is to flow with milk and honoy to havo, that Is to say, Hocks and bonis and a wealth of flowers giving promise of plenteous fruit thero must bo living springs to clotho tho enrth with verduro and leafy shelter for ivtl living things as a defenso against tho powerful sun which Insures tho ripening of tho harvest. har-vest. Tho sound of running water, with its promise of fertility and cool shadows, cannot, therefore, but be soothing to tho oriental, and so wo And that In tho past all who could af-ford af-ford such luxury, from emperor to peasant, planted trees In gardens, In camping-ground nnd In homestead, and trnlnod tho passing streams to rlso and fall In miniature fountains or to speak In rippling channels, while eventide urged them to sook, maybe, tho breezes on lako and rlvor, or to worship by their banks. For In tho cast water Is llfo nnd plonty and Its absence misery and want; so that thero It Bcems unreasonable to deem a river sacred or to provent pollution by Inculcating tho belief that a spring Is tho haunt of powerful spirits. In theso circumstances It may readily read-ily bo understood how tho vnlo of Kashmir has been appreciated by Its nugurors and beloved ot Its inhabitants, inhabit-ants, who would uover cross Kb boundaries save when Jmpellod by poverty, tho result of oppression or of scarcity. Yot disaster would never bo present within Its borders wero It not for tho frcqhent Hoods which forest do-nudntlon do-nudntlon has encouraged or on account ot epidemics Induced by tho want of even elementary sanitation, To enjoy Kashmir one must bo oblivious ob-livious ot tho sufferings, now happily less than In tho past, of Its people and become nbsorbed In tho natural beauties beau-ties of tho surroundings and In memories mem-ories ot the courts of its Invaders; there must bo sympathy not with tho rulers, but with tho ruled. And In this mood of abstraction It will bo well to acquire a roomy houseboat and fit It out to form a homo, and select a swift "shlknra" with a willing crow, In which tho lossor waterways may be explored. ex-plored. All theso waterways diverge from or load to tho placid lakes of tho valley or to tho muddy river which drains It. Starting from Haramuln, with Its qunlnt tiers of wooden houses and Its oldtlmo bridge, bolow which tho Jhelum soon becomes a foaming torrent, tor-rent, to enter Ilrltlsh territory soma 200 mllos away, we can reach tho Junction Junc-tion of the Pohru stream, and polo our Hoot up Its clearer waters, On each sldo luxuriant crops, marked out bj rows of fruit trees, sootho tho oyo, and rise grndunlly to ho lost In tho cednr forests of the hills above. No one seems to be hurried or troubled, yet, with tho shortness of summer and the demnud for labor In public works, thero romnlns but scant tlmo to pro-paro pro-paro for the long winter. From Sopor wo enn send tho boats round to Tunis In tho Woolar lako, and ourselves pass up tho Lolab valley to rojoln them later. Wo can wander through tho forests, tho rotreut of bears, which no doubt regard with an appreciative eyo the ripening of tho crops below, wo can nota how tho yellow pollen of doodar Is blown In clouds across tho valloy, until the landscnpe Is hidden In n golden hazo, nnd then descending tc tho Woolar lako, over a steep and stony road, wolcomo tho sholtcr ot the piano trees ou Its banks, Tho vbbI sheet of wator lies placid In tho oven Ing light, and ono could hardly bollove In tho disasters which sudden stormi havo caused, nnd may again cause, on tho lake, were it not that the omlnout clouds aro already gathering on the snow peaks to tho north, nnd are mid night a mighty wind falls from tho heights, churning tho dark waters Into milky foam and threatening to dash our llcot ngnlnst tho rocky shores, It passes, and with tho dawn wo venture out to mako tho six miles' pnssago nnd arrlvo In safety on the northern bank. Then up tho qui (it cnnnl to the Jhelum river and along Its busy stream till tho turning to Manashal Is reached, whore tho clear, deep wntor lies In peaceful solitude, rutlectlng tho snow-clad snow-clad mountains which surround It Tho pcoplo coma with offerings of fruit nnd flowers, nnd tho turmoil of tho night and tho exertions ot tho early morning are forgotten oro tho voyage Is contlnuod onwards to Srlnagar, the homo of tho Hindu rulers of the country, coun-try, tho city which In tho past took tho best of tho labor nnd produce, of Knshmlr and absorbed tho vitality of tho country, but Is now lert, save for a fow months of tho year, to the busy traders ot Kashmir. Tho ancient fort of Harlparbal alone reminds us that we aro still In tho vicinity of the capital; but It Is overshadowed over-shadowed by tho storm-clouds which gather on tho snowy heights, nnd Its pretensions to dotnlnato tho land-scapo land-scapo become Insignificant. Then, wltji tho early morning, turn to tho north and sea how the rlson sun Is drawing up tho molsturo to form clouds In the hill-tops, whllo tho misty distance holds the imagination in golden hazo; or, later In tho day, go with tho pcoplo ob thoy work In their floating Islands, or collect tho produce pro-duce of tho waters, or pass from vll lago to village to seok acquaintances and gossip with friends, and you will recognize, what thoy fcpl but .cannot express, that their lives, often of hardship, hard-ship, aro bound up In their lako dwellings, dwell-ings, so that to leavo them for tho sterile plains of India produces n longing which may not bo satisfied savo by returning to their birthplace. Ilowaro of tho mun who cheats him-solf him-solf In a game of solitaire. |