THE HIMALAYAN LETTERS I \\ OF GYPSY DAVY AND LADY BA Written on pilgrimage to the high quiet places among the simple people of an old folk tale INTRODUCTORY LETTER Dear WINIFRED, Gypsies don't write books. But a promise is a promise, even after many years. One of those journeys has been recorded at last,-a safar in the Himalaya, a pilgrimage, revisiting, in some state this time, the high quiet places, letting my lady live in the old folk-tale that life still is among those mountain people. Here's your book. We found it quite as impossible to write the tale for strangers who might not care to hear it, as to tell it properly anywhere but at a fireside with the family sitting round us on the floor. So we have written letters to particular firesides where the families listen that way. We have signed them, as the matter or the correspondent moved us, now with one and now with another of the names we have at various times been dubbed. But the names we like the best are those we had of Dorothy, Cynthia and Rosalind, in that rapturous week of gypsying among Cornish hills, singing the old ballads with the country people, dancing the old dances on village greens. Didn't this "Lady Ba" "put off her silk- finished gown and put on hose of leather 0" and "go with the Gypsy Davy"? Haven't we gone on from year to year, kidnapping likely boys? Haven't we told fortunes truly? Aren't we always trading horses or asses? It's mountain gypsies we are, though, never quite at home save among mountains, with a caravan of ponies or a string of asses at our backs. We are camped, or rather bivouacked, in this high place, because the making of this book seems worth while here. 'We have gone over copies of our letters to grown-ups and boys (and girls, kept by the Lady Ba in lieu of diary, and some of the letters which the boys we kidnapped for one or another year of the safar wrote home and wrote us. We have kept the best, written new ones here and there, and borrowed from the boys. The little russet-backed hawk polices the air while we work. The raven crosses at his peril; a harried flight, full of side slips and quick dodges and nose-dives. Morico stands near vi Introductory Letter the fire, pointing his long ears at us. Juan has just unloaded the water barrels, a loaf of bread, a jug of goat's milk. Juan and his ass have climbed a long way up from Vilaflor, through cloud, among dripping pines, to these dry lava crags, broom- spotted. There's tumbled cloud below us, on the one side, to the round horizon, hiding the sea and the villages. On the other, El Teide blots out much sky, beyond a loud abyss,-austere pile of cinders and writhing lava flows. The winds rush down El Teide's slopes, and roar up the pinnacled precipice at our feet,-a dozen steps from our fireside to the brink. The swallows toss like blown leaves there. Juan has paved a little open space among the rocks with broken bits of lava, for our living-room, and one, adjoining, for our kitchen. and he has roofed a narrow cleft in the lava for our larder, with pine boughs and dead pine needles brought up by Morico from the forest far below, and he has piled more needles deep for our beds. We burn the broom. The sky's our roof. GYPSYDAW Roqux DEL ALMLNDRO, TBNOIIFE, LASISLAS AFORTUNADAS. Iunr, 1926. P.S.-A proper cartographer has put together a good flat map for us, from the latest sources, which you will find in a pocket in the back of the book. He has also made several smaller maps which you will find scattered through. Among other thin s he has marked to the nearest thousand the heights of most oB the mountains that they know the heights of, over the proper places of their tips on the map. He has also marked all the heights he could find on the rivers. Between these two sets of figures, you can get some idea of the relief, though heights unfortunately are scarcest where you most need them. But we are ultimately depending on legends for our topography as symbols have the effect on us of exhibiting a country through the wrong end of a telescope, which we particularly don't want to do, in this case. We have other legends to enlighten you on other matters of moment. You will have little difficulty in finding your way about, if you follow our trail, noting camp numbers as you travel. I have erased a lot of the cartographer's little streams and things, that crowded the map confusingly, and don't matter to this book of yours. A ballad-singer has done further mischief Introductory Letter vii letting loose dragons where his glaciers were. The glaciers of the Kara-koram do somewhat resemble English dragons, though in no such balance in the matter of claw and wing, and not so ponderously, considering the scale of the map, as she would have you believe. I must admit, though, that no amount of exaggeration could begin to give you any idea of the real magnitude of these monsters. You will have to bear in mind that much of the blank paper between dragons, in the track of her devastating eraser, stands not for bare mountains, but for snow and ice with only an occasional precipice or sharp arCte too steep for snow to lie on, showing through. She has set the map about with Tibetan dragons blowing wind and fire, and with other Tibetan monsters and Buddhist symbols, linked the five bats of luck in the title-frame, and set thunder- bolts in the corners. No map can show the country so vividly as sticks and books piled on the floor before the fire while the tale's in the telling, but I think this one has its good points. We are indebted to Dr. Francke, of course, as everybody who meddles with Ladakh must be, and to Dr. De Filippi, and Col. Waddell and Drew and Miss Duncan, and very deeply to our Forbes dictionary. Yours, G. D. LONDON, Octobrr, I 26 THE TABLE OF THE MAPS THE BRALDOHDRAGONS - - facing pace 2 I ROUNDABOUT TEE HERMIT'SCRAG facing page 85 TRE PANGXONGLAKE - - - facing page 197 THE MAP rn the pocket at the end of the Book THE TABLE OF THE LETTERS PART I.-SUMMER AND AUTUMN ON THE TRAIL PAGE A LETTER FROM GYPSY DAW TO MALCOLMABOUT TEE LARKSPURBY THE LAKE ------------ A LETTER IN WHICH LADYBA COPIES FOR ROSLYNSOME PAGESFROM GYPSY DAVY'SNOTE BOOKABOUT STALKINGA BEAUTIFULMOUNTAIN - A NOTE FROM GYPSYDAVY TO NED ABOUT THE GOATHERDAND THE HIGH PLAINS ------------ ANOTHER LETTERFROM LADY BA TO ROSLYNABOUT STALKINGTEE BEAUTIFULMOUNTAIN; WITH A LETTERFROM THE CHHOTASAHIB TO HISMOTHERABOUTAGREATDAY- - - - - - - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO DAVEABOUT THE ICE-DRAGONIN THE BRALDOH~ALLBY- - - - - - - - - - A LONGLETTER FROM GYPSYDAVY TO FAYABOUT THE SINISTERVALLEY OF THE BRALDOHAND FARMINGTHEREIN - - - - - - - A Nolg FROM GYPSY DAW TO HALABOUT A COMPASSMAP AND A CURSE A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO ROLANDABOUT STALKINGNANGA PARBAT A LETTERFROM GYPSYDAW TO RAYABOUT A GAME OF POLO - - - A LETTERFROM LADYBA TO HER MOTHER ABOUT TRYINGTO SPEAKURDU A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO NORMANABOUT THE CRICKENS'ENEMIES A LETTERFROM LADYBA TO RUTHABOUT A MONTHIN A WILD VALLEY, AND ABOUT RASUL'SCOMING - ------ A NOTE FROM GYPSY DAVY TO "WILKINS"ABOUT NIGHT - - - A NOTE FROM GYPSY ~AVYTO ALBERT ABOUT A MORNING - - - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO JIM ABOUT STARSAND JACKALS; WITH A POSTSCRIPTABOUT PLAYSAND PLAY-ACTING - - - - - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO ALICE ABOUT ONE HIGHCAMP - - A LETTERFROM GYPSY I)AVYTO JIMMY ABOUT THE VILLAGES - - - A LETTERPROM GYPSYDAVY TO ELMERABOUT HOW WE ARE ROYALTY- - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO ~<OLANDABOUT SEEINGR~ASHERBRUM - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO STUARTABOUT SEEINGICP - - - A LETTERFROM GYPSYDAW TO JACK ABOUT SEEINGK1 - - - - A LETTERFROM GYPSYDAVY TO HII.MAABOUT WASHINGCLOTHES - - A LETTERFROM GYPSY I)AVY TO ROGER THE YOUNGERABOUT YOUNG VALLEYSAND YOUNGMOUNTAINS - - - ---- A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO CARLOSABOUT MEM-SAHIB'S LI~ER - A LB~RFROM GYPSYDAVY TO L~FABOUT A JOYOUS MARCH - - - A NOTE FROM GYPSYDAVY TO PATABOUT A GYPSYFOOT - - - - x The Table of the Letters PAGE A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO ALICE-OF-IDYLLWILDABOUT THE WILD VILLAGEOF TURTOK- - --------68 A LETTERFROM GYPSYDAVY TO ROLANDABOUT THE TRAILIN THE SHYOK 69 A LETTERFROM LADYBA TO PRUEABOUT PREPARATIONS FOR THE WINTER 74 A LETTERFROM LADYBA TO PAULTHE POTTERABOUT POTSAND A DYE 76 A LETTERPROM LADYBA TO JACK WHICH SHE REALLY THOUGHTOUT TO HIM AT THE BALTOROABOUT YOUNGHUSBANDSAHIB - - - - 78 A LETTERFROM GYPSYDAVY TO ROLANDABOUT A TAMASHAIN OUR HONOUR 81 PART 11.-WINTER AND SPRING ON THE HERMIT'S CRAG. A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO DAVEABOUT CROSSINGA HIGHPASS - A NOTE PROM THE CHHOTASAHIB TO DAVEABOUT THE RAVENSON THE PASS A LETTERFROM LADYBA TO HARLANABOUT COMINGINTO LEH,AND ~SUL'S STORYABOUT WING FOR BUSHWOOD- - - - - - - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAW TO ODO ABOUT OUR TENT - - - - A ~OTEFROM GYPSYDAVY TO ALICE ANNETTE, THE QUEEN,ABOUT THE LADYBA - - ---------- A NOTE PROM LADYBA TO STEPHANIEABOUT LUCK,WITH A VERSE - A LETTERFROM LADYBA TO WIN ABOUT DR. FRANCICE'SHISTORY - - A NOTE FROM LADYBA TO DONALDABOUT A BRIDGEAND A CURSE - - A LE~RPROM GYPSYDAVY TO NORMANABOUT BIRDSAND AN EAGLE'S FLIGHT - - - - - - - - - - - - A NOTE FROM LADYBA TO MARY ABOUT BRACELETS - - - - A NOTEPROM GYPSYDAVY TO JACK ABOUT THE DALAILAMA RUNNING AWAY A LETTER FROM LADYBA TO IDAMARY ABOUT KEEPINGWARM AND EATING A LETTERPROM LADYBA TO STUARTABOUT LEARNING URDUON THE SHIP A LETTER PROM GYPSY DAVYTO CLIFFORDABOUT WHEELS - - - A Nont AND A VERSE FROM LADYBA TO ROSALINDABOUT A DANCE - A LE~ERFROM LADYBA TO JAMES ABOUT CALENDARSAND FIDDLES- - A LETTERFROM GYPSY DAVYTO WINABOUT LIVINGON A CRAGUNDER STARS A VERSE FROM LADYBA TO LITTLEJOHN ABOUT ROOF-TOPDAYS - - A LETTER FROM GYPSY DAVYTO ROLANDABOUT