The Rashīdī History 227.6

227.6

who had been scattered about, and were now re-united, came to Mir Daim Ali, and with one mind and one accord said, amid much noise and commotion: "Tell a certain person" (by which they meant me) "that we are Moghuls, and we have been continually occupied with the affairs of Moghulistan. The natural solace and joy of the Moghul Ulus is the desert, in which there is no cultivation [abadani]. The screeching of the owl in the wilderness is sweeter, to our ear, than the song of the nightingale in the grove. We have never made a cultivated land our home. Our companions have been the ravenous beasts of the mountains, and our associates the wild boars of the desert. Our favourite haunts and our most agreeable dwellings have been the caves in the mountain tops; our clothing the skins of dogs and wild animals, our food the flesh of birds and wild beasts. How can men of our race associate with this besotted band of infidels of Kashmir, which is the garden of Aram — nay more, a specimen of Paradise? It has been said: The idolaters shall not enter Paradise. Moreover, from Kashmir to Kashghar is a long journey, and not only is the distance great, but the difficulties of the road are well nigh insurmountable. There are [to be considered] our families, our baggage, and our flocks and herds. "Without flocks we must despair of our lives: separated from our herds we shall have to give up existence, and resign ourselves to death.