Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 15: THE EIGHTH LETTER · TO THE SAME · Written at Bember, the entrance to the Mountains of Kachemire, after having encamped near that place for two days.
Travels in the Mogul Empire (Constable) 15
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- English
THE EIGHTH LETTER · TO THE SAME · Written at Bember, the entrance to the Mountains of Kachemire, after having encamped near that place for two days.
15.1
A description of Bember, we change our carriage therefor that adapted to Hill travelling, incredible number of Men-Porters, and the order of March that has to be observed for five days when going through the Mountain Passes. MONSIEUR, At length we have reached Bember, situated at the foot of a steep, black, and scorched mountain. We are encamped in the dry bed of a considerable torrent, upon pebbles and burning sands, — a very furnace; and if a heavy shower had not fallen opportunely this morning, and I had not received from the mountains a seasonable supply of curdled milk, limes, and a fowl, I know not what would have become of your poor correspondent. But God be praised! the atmosphere is evidently cooler, my appetite is restored, my strength improved; and the first use I make of returning health is to resume my pen. You must now be made acquainted with new marches and fresh troubles.
15.2
Yesterday, at night, the King left these suffocating quarters. He was accompanied by Rauchenara-Begum and the other women of the Seraglio, the Raja Ragnat who acts as Visier, and Fazel-kan, the High Steward: and last night the grand master of the hunt also left the camp, with some principal officers of the royal household, and several ladies of distinction. To-night it will be our turn to depart: besides my Navaab Danechmend-kan's family, the party will consist of Mahmet-Emir-kan, son of the celebrated Emir Jemla, of whom I have already spoken so much; of my excellent friend Dianet-kan and his two sons, and of several other Omrahs, Rajas, and Mansebdars. The other Nobles who are to visit Kachemire will depart each in his turn, to lessen the inconvenience and confusion that must attend the five days' journey between this place and Kachemire, through difficult and mountainous paths. The remainder of the court, such as Feday-kan, the Grand Master of the Artillery, three or four principal Rajas, and a large number of Omrahs, will continue stationed as guards, in this town and neighbourhood, during three or four months, until the great heat be over, when the King will return. Some will pitch their tents on the banks of the Tchenau, others will repair to the adjacent towns and villages, and the rest will be under the necessity of encamping in this burning Bember.
15.3
That a scarcity of provisions may not be produced in the small kingdom of Kachemire, the King will be followed by a very limited number of individuals. Of females he takes only ladies of the first rank, the intimate friends of Rauchenara-Begum, and those women whose services cannot easily be dispensed with. The Omrahs and military will also be as few as possible; and those Lords who have permission to attend the Monarch will be accompanied by no more than twenty-five troopers out of every hundred; not, however, to the exclusion of the immediate officers of their household. These regulations cannot be evaded, an Omrah being stationed at the pass of the mountains, who reckons every person one by one, and effectually prevents the ingress of that multitude of Mansebdars and other cavaliers who are eager to inhale the pure and refreshing air of Kachemire, as well as of all those petty tradesmen and inmates of the bazars, whose only object is to gain a livelihood.
15.4
The King has a few of the choicest elephants for his baggage and the women of the Seraglio. Though heavy and unwieldy, these animals are yet very sure-footed, feeling their way when the road is difficult and dangerous, and assuring themselves of the firm hold of one foot before they move another. The King has also a few mules; but his camels, which would be more useful, are all left behind, the mountains being too steep and craggy for their long stiff legs. Porters supply the place of camels; and you may judge of the immense number that will be employed if what they tell me be true, that the King alone has no fewer than six thousand. I must myself have three, although I left my large tent and a considerable quantity of luggage at Lahor: every person did the same, not excepting the Omrahs and the King himself; and yet it is calculated that there are at least fifteen thousand porters already collected in Bember; some sent by the Governor of Kachemire and by the neighbouring Rajas, and others who are come voluntarily in the expectation of earning a little money. A royal ordinance fixes their pay at ten crowns for every hundred pounds weight. It is computed that thirty thousand will be employed; an enormous number, when it is considered that the King and Omrahs have been sending forward baggage, and the tradespeople articles of every sort, for the last month.