MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. '' 1003 



book " The Valloy of Kaslirnir." Lawrence remarks that the bite of the Pohur 

 like that of the Giinas is said to be usually fatal. Colonel Unwin, whom Law- 

 rence also quotes, believes ihePohur to be deadly but is doubtful about the Gunas. 

 Lawrence, on the other hand, states, that he lost one of his surveyors, who 

 was bitten by a Gunas at SonAmarg. The descriptions given by both these 

 writers, are somewhat vague and meagre and Colonel Unwin has. I think, got 

 rather mixed up in applying the local names to his snakes. What he refers to 

 as the Pohur is, I am confident, the larger of the two poisonous snakes, which is 

 locally called the Giinus. Lawrence does not make the same mistake, but passes 

 over Colonel Unwin's without comment. Major Wall remarks in his book 

 with regard to Pohur, that he knows of only one authentic record of a 

 bite inflicted by this species. My own experience of it is as follows :— I found 

 it at higher altitude than the Gunax and far commoner. It simply swarmed in 

 some localities ; for instance at Bakhtaor beyond Kauzilwdn on the Gilgit road ; 

 an open and rather swampy plain just above the village was an especially favourite 

 locality for them ; also at Thaoba, the next village on the Kishengunga river; 

 again at Buj Marg in the Siddar Valley above Pahlg;im, hardly a day passed 

 without one or more being killed near my camp. I found them also in the Erin 

 nala : in fact, I imagine they are to be found on the slopes in almost every 

 part of the valley, only some localities are favoured by them more than others. 

 The first case I came across of a man being bitten by a Pohur was in the Erin 

 nala. It was late in the evenmg when a man arrived at my camp for medicine. 

 The man who was bitten, he stated, was unable to walk. Having no perman- 

 ganate of potash with me. I sent him some concentrated vinegar to rub into the 

 wound. When I saw him the next morning I found he had been bitten in the 

 foot ; his leg was much swollen with a ligature tied tight round it below the 

 knees. The man was evidently in great pain, but said he was feeling better 

 than he did when he sent to me on the previous night. He had not made use 

 of the vinegar, but on the advice of a Goojar. he had applied a number of 

 leeches all round the seat of the wound which had considerably relieved him. 

 In a few days he had quite recovered. My next case was that of a Goojar, who 

 managed to limp up to my camp, in the Siddar Valley. There were the usual 

 symptoms, but there was less swelling than in the first case. The wound was 

 in the foot, the man having been bitten m the foot while cutting grass. J 

 treated him with permanganate of potash and he was all ri^ht again in a day 

 or two. My w orse case was that of a young fellow, who resided at Mundlan 

 in the Siddar Valley. He was bitten in the ankle, and sent for me as soon as 

 he reached home. I was with him in half an hour. His leg was much swollen 

 he had tied a ligature above the wound, and his mother was bathing his foot, 

 with a native concoction of mud and some kind of herb. After washing the 

 wound, Ilanced it until the blood flowed freely and then applied the permanga- 

 nate of potash. On the following morning, he was better and the next day 

 about again. A few days after this, while out shikaring a Goojar was brought 

 to me. He had been bitten some days before, on the point of the thumb- 



