AFGHANISTAN. 



AFGHANISTAN. 



surrounded by orchards, and between the villages a considerable 

 portion of the surface is under cultivation. The soil of the middle 

 tract is very stony or sandy. Towards the eastern extremity is a tract 

 covered with an efflorescence of soda. As the level of this plain varies 

 in elevation above the sea between 1400 and 3000 feet, the climate is 

 much warmer than in the basin of CabuL Towards the eastern 

 extremity is a barren stony desert surrounded with low hills, where, 

 in the months of April and May, a pestilential wind or simoom 

 prevails, which sometimes proves fatal to the traveller. 



The mountain-region of Kyber sends its offsets to the banks of the 

 Cabul River, east of the basin of Jellalabad. It occupies 20 miles 

 along the river, which is about 20 miles distant from the main range. 

 This tract also is covered with numerous ridges, which grow lower as 

 they approach the river. Narrow passes, with numerous ascents and 

 descent*, lead over them ; one of them is the famous Kyber Pass, 

 whose summit is 3373 feet above the sea, nearly 1400 feet above 

 Jellalabad, and 2300 feet above Peshawur. It is from 18 to 20 miles 

 long in a straight line, and about 30 miles by the road. The hills 

 along this road, and between it and the river, are precipitous, and 

 only covered with bushes; but towards the main ridge there are 

 several smaller table-lands which are tolerably level, and, being partly 

 irrigated, yield tolerably good crops of grain. There are also exten- 

 sive orchard*, and groves of poplar and willows. 



Tli: plain of Peshawur extends from west to east about 60 miles, 

 with a width varying from 30 to 40 miles. The surface is not level, 

 but presents only long and gentle slopes, in some places broken by 

 ravines. The greater part of it has a clayey or loamy soil, which in 

 some places is of great depth. It requires much watering and much 

 stirring, but when pro|>erly treated it bears very heavy crops. The 

 i those tracts which lie in the immediate vicinity of the river, 

 and that of the island of the Daoodzyes, contains a considerable 

 ity of alluvial earth mixed up with clay, but it is inferior in 

 fertility to most other parts of the plain. Towards the mountains 

 which screen it on the south, the country is stony, and in gome parts 

 also sandy and of indifferent fertility. The orchards that are scat- 

 tered over the plain contain abundance of plum, peach, pear, quince, 

 and pomegranate trees, and the greater part of the plain is in the 

 highest state of cultivation, being irrigated by many watercourses and 

 artificial canals. Thirty-two villages have been counted within a circuit 

 of four miles. The principal cultivated grains are rice, maize, wheat, 

 and barley. During summer the heat is very great, and at the solstice 

 almost insupportable. It moderates however in July, when either 

 showers of rain fall or the air is cooled by winds from the east, in which 

 quarter the rains have by that time commenced. Sometimes a fall 

 of snow occurs, but it melts instantly. Frost however is very fre- 

 1 y experienced in every season. The rains which are carried to 

 Hindustan by the south-west monsoon reach Peshawur, but they do 

 not last more than about four weeks in July, nor are they abundant : 

 in some seasons they fail entirely. But the winter rains are plentiful, 

 and more so iu the second than in the first half of winter. The rains 

 in spring are much more abundant, and they are heavier at that time 

 than in any part of Hindustan, Cashmere excepted. This large plain 

 is more than 5000 feet lower than that of Cabul, the town of Peshawur 

 being only 1068 feet above the sea. 



The plain of Peshawur does not extend to the Indus. From both 

 the southern and northern mountains a ridge runs out which skirts 

 the river at the distance of a few miles ; between them the Cabul 

 River flows in a narrow gorge, which is not traversed by any road. 

 But at no great distance from its banks on the south is a depression 

 in the ridge, which forms a defile, called Geedur Gulla (or the Jackal's 

 Pass), which is about two miles long, and leads to the bridge over the 

 Indus, opposite to Attock. The plain of Peshawur, together with the 

 territory of Daman, extending between the Suliman Mountains and 

 the right bank of the Indus from the plain of Bunnoo to Mittun-Kote, 

 no longer form part of Afghanistan. These territories were wrested 

 from the Afghans by the Sikhs, and have been annexed to British 

 India along with the Panjab, since 1849. 



III. The Suliman Range and Eatttrn Dedirity of the TaUt-Lrmd. 

 The Suliman Mountains are nothing but the elevated crest of the 

 eastern declivity of the table-land itself. The level of the Indus is 

 seldom more than 500 feet above the sea-level, but the level of the 

 crest of the table-land varies from 5000 to 7000 feet. When seen from 

 the hanks of the Indus it appears like a very elevated mountain-range, 

 though it rises only a few hundred feet above the level of the table- 

 land contiguous to it on the west. 



The Suliman Mountains are closely connected with the snow-capped 

 mass of the Sufaid-Koh. They extend thence southward, keeping 

 always in the vicinity of 70 E. long, until they reach 29 N. lat., 

 where they may be said to terminate, nearly due west of the conflu- 

 ence of the Indus with the Garra. A little north of 29 N. lat. the 

 crest of tlj ! turns suddenly to the west, and continues in 



that direction between 70 and 66" E. long., when it meets the Hala 

 tain* of Bnloochistan, near the source of the Narree, and about 

 .I.* N.K. .if t.h BobtoPkw. That portion of the crest which lies 

 from east to west is called the Muree and Boogtee Mountains. There 

 are very few summits which rise above the general level of the Suli- 

 man Mountains, and none of them attain the snow-line. The most 

 elevated ha* given its name to the whole range. It is the Takt-i 



Suliman, which lies near 31 30' N. lat., and rises to nearly 11,000 

 feet above the sea. That portion of the range which lies north of the 

 Takt-i-Suliman constitutes a continuous chain, with the exception of 

 one break not far north of the Takt-i-Suliman ; through this the river 

 Gomul, which rises far in the interior of the table-land, descends to 

 the Indus. The space that lies between the Sulimau Mountains and 

 the river Indus is occupied by the declivity of the table-land. The 

 river however does not run parallel with the range ; at the northern 

 extremity the distance between them exceeds 100 miles, but it is less 

 farther south. South of 32 N. lat. it falls short of 50 miles. 



One of the most remarkable features of the northern portion of 

 the declivity is the Salt Range, which is broken by the Indus near 

 33 N. lat., and extends from its western bank W.N.W. to the Suliman 

 Mountains, which it reaches a few miles south of the Sufald-Koh. It 

 is composed of sandstone, containing very thick and extensive layers 

 of rock-salt, which are largely worked near the town of Kalabagh, just 

 on the banks of the Indus, whence it is exported to different parts of 

 Hindustan and other countries. The Salt Range does not appear to 

 rise more than 2000 feet above the banks of the Indus, but it is pro- 

 bably higher farther to the west. The rivulets and springs are brackish, 

 and the land very poor. A few flocks of sheep and goats are kept. 

 The cultivated land is scattered here and there in small patches. It 

 requires patient labour and a continuance of favourable weather to 

 raise the coarsest kind of grain. 



Between the Salt Range and Kyber Mountains lies a table-land 

 called Bungash, which is from 500 to 700 feet above the level of the 

 Indus ; for this is the elevation of the precipitous rocks which here 

 form its western banks. The surface of this table-land is traversed 

 by several ridges, rising from 500 to 1000 feet above their base ; they 

 are covered with soil, but of indifferent fertility. The depressions 

 however between them, especially those near the river Toe, have great 

 productive powers, as the soil rests on limestone. These are almost 

 entirely covered with well-cultivated fields, carefully inclosed and 

 abundantly irrigated by the waters of the Toe or other perennial 

 streams, which receive their supply from the Sufaid-Koh, or its 

 neighbourhood. 



The country south of the Salt Range is drained by the river Kooram, 

 which also rises in some of the southern offsets of the Sufaid-Koh. 

 The country along its banks appears to descend gradually to the Indus, 

 until it terminates in a plain of considerable extent called Bunnoo. 

 The higher part of the valley bears the name of Bungash-i-Bala, or 

 Upper Bungash. The soil of this region consists of clay mixed with 

 sand, and possesses a considerable degree of fertility, especially where 

 the crops do not depend on the rain, but on irrigation from the river 

 or its affluents. The whole, but especially Bunnoo, is well cultivated 

 and populous. The principal crops are barley, rice, maize, and wheat. 

 The sugar-cane is also grown to a great extent. Rice and sugar are 

 exported. Turmeric is cultivated in Bunnoo : it is of the best quality, 

 and its exportation is considerable. The villages are numerous, but 

 small : except along the mountains which inclose this region, no 

 domestic animals are kept but those which are used in cultivation 

 cattle and buffaloes. 



That part of the declivity of the Suliman Mountains which lies south 

 of the river Kooram goes by the name of Daman. Here the nature of 

 the country is changed. It does not descend by an inclined plain, but 

 by terraces, each of which i inclosed by two ridges running south 

 and north. In some places there are three, in others four such ter- 

 races. Some of the ridges are overgrown with forest-trees ; in general 

 they are only covered with shrubs and bushes, but contain pasture- 

 ground. Some of the valleys between the ridges are sandy, and am 

 only be used as pasture for camels, goats, and sheep : but the larger 

 number of them have a good clayey soil, intermixed with sand, e.*pe- 

 cially in the neighbourhood of the Indus ; their fertility is considerable. 

 Wheat, barley, and several of the grains of Hindustan, as jowary, 

 bajra, Ac., are cultivated to a great extent. Considerable quantities 

 of cotton are raised and exported. There is little fruit except dates. 

 Cattle are the chief stock, but sheep are also numerous, both of the 

 heavy -tailed and light-tailed species. Each of the valleys is inhabited 

 by a different tribe ; sometimes two tribes live in one valley. Their 

 villages are numerous and frequently large ; the head towns of the 

 tribes contain from 2000 to 4000 houses, with bazaars and numerous 

 shops, in which most of the Indian goods are sold by the Hindoo 

 families settled in these places. 



Our knowledge respecting that portion of the declivity which lies 

 south of the river Gomul is incomplete. The declivity, which also 

 seems to consist of terraces, does not reach the Indus, but is separated 

 from it by a rather level tract from 15 to 20 miles wide. The soil 

 consists of a stiff and hard clay of an ashy colour, which is very diffi- 

 cult to be cultivated. Towards the river, however, it is mixed with 

 a portion of sand, which has been introduced by the waters, and has 

 improved its quality. Near the base of the mountains the soil is 

 partly covered with stones or sand, or both, which have been washed 

 down by the rains. At the southern extremity of this region, north 

 of Mittun-Kote, is a sandy desert of some extent, called Dajel. The 

 hardness of the clay prevents the greater part of this tract from being 

 cultivated. It is chiefly covered with jungle, but there are other tracts 

 which are without jungle or nearly so, and also without grass. In the 

 depressions moderate crops of jowary, bajra, &c., are raised, if the 



