text:  The proximate cause of the rupture was the refusal of the Ameers to permit the clearing away of their _shikargahs_ or hunting-grounds which were guarded with a rigid jealousy paralleled only by the forest laws of William the Conqueror and extended for many miles along the banks of the Indus in a broad belt of impenetrable jungle at once impeding the navigation by preventing the tracking of boats and presenting dangerous facilities for ambush