Pcshawur and the Khybcr Pass 63 



of a subject which never has been and never will 

 be satisfactorily proved. 



These Afghans with the khaileefa as a company 

 of camels and merchandise is called were armed 

 some of them with Persian hiked swords and with 

 matchlocks called jesails, the stocks of which are 

 strange-looking hooks, shaped like a sickle, and 

 intended to fit under the arms. Low sheepskin 

 caps they all wore, and rather gay-coloured clothes, 

 contrasting with the dark, keen, ruffian-like faces. 



Now horses hate camels ; as we drove up and 

 met the long train, with the great, slow, swinging 

 bodies of the camels and their broad, cumbersome 

 loads reaching half-way across the road, their long, 

 inquisitive necks stretching over the remaining half, 

 the ponies hesitated, and required much coaxing and 

 gentle persuasion to be made to go at all. I ought 

 by rights to have pulled up and made the khaileefa 

 take the outside of the road, instead of taking it 

 ourselves ; for there was no protection whatever at 

 the edge, which dropped straight down, a steep 

 bank ending in a precipice. The camels, one after 

 another, hugged the high cliff on the opposite side ; 

 we got on very well till we were somewhere in the 

 middle of the never-ending stream, and then one camel, 

 particularly " nasty " and supercilious-looking, taller 

 than the rest, and taking up still more room as 

 regarded his load, suddenly swung right across the 

 road in a menacing manner. Before I could do any- 

 thing the ponies dashed to the opposite side, wild with 



