Travels In The Himalayan Provinces Of Hindustan And The Panjab; in Ladakh and Kashmir; in Peshawar, Kabul, Kunduz, and Bokhara; From 1819-1825: 2 Vols (Bound In One)

William Moorcroft was a veterinary surgeon to the Bengal army. He was particularly interested in improving the stud by importing Turcoman horses and to this end he wished to investigate the possibilities of trade across the Himalayas. In 1811 he was the first westerner to cross the Himalayas. In the subsequent expedition reported here, he ventured to Ladakh where he spent several months. Having failed to get permission to enter Chinese Tartary he travelled to Kashmir where he made a thorough investigation of the shawl industry and then subsequently Kabul and Bokhara where he "met with as much kindness from the king as could be expected from a selfish narrow minded bigot". He was accompanied by George Trebeck. Both Moorcroft and Trebeck died on the return journey from Bokhara but their papers reached India and were subsequently edited and published by Wilson in 1841.