Ruins of desert Cathay : personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China . he two officers of the detachment garrisoning thefort, closed a day full of novel and fascinating was well that a multitude of tasks obliged me to chooseChitral for a three-days halt; for I could thus in goodconscience take the first real rest since I had set out frommy gloomy Dir prison. With its amiable host, its spaciousease, and all the facilities resulting from the beneficentpresence of a * Mulki Sahib (political officer), the ChitralAgency struck me from the first as an unex
Ruins of desert Cathay : personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China . he two officers of the detachment garrisoning thefort, closed a day full of novel and fascinating was well that a multitude of tasks obliged me to chooseChitral for a three-days halt; for I could thus in goodconscience take the first real rest since I had set out frommy gloomy Dir prison. With its amiable host, its spaciousease, and all the facilities resulting from the beneficentpresence of a * Mulki Sahib (political officer), the ChitralAgency struck me from the first as an unexpected antici-pation, in a beautiful mountain setting, of Chini-bagh, mycherished Turkestan base. I could not have wished formore prompt or thorough arrangements to enable me tocollect the information and materials I needed. Already on the morning after my arrival picturesquecrowds of Chitralis gathered on the lawns of the gardento supply me with anthropometrical data. They had beensent by the Mehtar to be measured, etc., and strange asmy proceedings must have appeared to these honest folk 1 c^. AT A GAME OF POLO 35 from outlying mountain hamlets, there were plenty ofwilling dignitaries at hand, from a former State Councillordownwards, to enforce discipline and impress all thevictims with the importance of the occasion. By hours ofdemonstration on living specimens Surveyor Ram Singhwas drilled into the mysteries of taking heads foranthropological purposes. When I could let him continuethe practice on specially selected men, under the safe-guard of occasional checks, the development of photo-graphs in the dark room improvised by Naik Ram Singhabsorbed much of my time and attention. What with these labours, the record of local traditions,adjustment of accounts, repairs, etc., my three days were,indeed, kept full to overflowing. Only to a few episodescan I briefly refer here. On the afternoon following myarrival I first met the Chief of Chitral as his guest at a gameof polo
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1912
