_Sunday, May_ 21.--All yesterday we towed up the river against a current
which ran swift and strong.
The passage of the bridge at Surahal gave us some trouble, as the flooded
river brought our upper works within a narrow distance of the highest
point of the span, but we finally scraped through with the loss of a
portion of the railing which decorated our upper deck.
The strain of towing was severe, so, when a brisk squall and threatening
thunder-shower overtook us at the mouth of the Sind River, we decided to
tie up there for the night.
This morning we started at four o'clock, but only reached our berth at
Srinagar at two, having spent no less than six hours in forcing the boats
by pole and rope for the last three miles through the town! An incredible
amount of panting, pushing, yelling, and hauling, with frantic invocations
to "Jampaws" and other saints, was required to enable us to crawl inch by
inch against the racing water which met us in the narrow canal below the
Palace.
All's well that ends well, and here we are once more in Srinagar, after a
trip which has been really delightful, albeit the weather latterly has not
been by any means all that could have been desired, and we have slain no
bears![2]
[1] Commonly called the "Jungly-sahib."
[2] Can it be that Bernier was right? "Il ne s'y trouve ni serpens, ni
tigres, ni ours, ni lions, si ce n'est tres rarement."--_Voyage de
Kachemire_.
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