914 REPORT— 1898. 



TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. 

 The following Papers were read : — 



1. Tirah. By Colonel Sir Thomas Holdich, R.E.^ 



How the kiny-dom of Afirhanistan came into existence. Its unstable nature 

 and want of national vitality. The mixed elements of which it is composed. Its 

 position as a buffer State, and the new creation of a buffer province between 

 Afghanistan and India. 



The demarcation of the boundaries of this province and the results. The 

 reason for the late risings on the frontier as given by the people themselves. 

 Geographical results. Up till the year 1897 we had a better knowledge of 

 Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Persia than we had of our own border. 



The province of Roh and the Rohillas. Its position as a natural barrier to 

 Isorth-western India. The gateways through it, by which invasions have been 

 conducted and the conquest of India from time to time effected. Position of Tirali 

 in this new province of Roh. Geographical description. Nature of the roads 

 leading into Tirah and reason for adopting the shortest line. Difficulty of passes. 

 Description of Chagru Pass and Khanki Valley ; of Sanpagha Pass and Mashura 

 Valley ; of Arhanga Pass and Maidan. The richness of its soil and formation of 

 the cultivated slopes. Terraces and houses. Population and probable fighting 

 strength of the tribe. Conclusion — future possibilities. 



2. Christmas Island. By C. W. Andrews. 



The author gave a short account of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, where he 

 stayed the greater part of a year. It is a raised coral atoll, which during its 

 elevation has been surrounded by a series of reefs, so that now it presents the 

 appeai'ance of a flat-topped island, the coast of which is formed by a succession of 

 step-like cliffs. The whole is covered by dense forest and jungle, which renders 

 exploration difficult. The fauna and flora are specially interesting, on accoimt of 

 the isolation of the place. The most conspicuous animals are rats, land crabs, and 

 frigate birds, the two latter forming tlie chief articles of food. There is also a wild 

 eago palm, which is valuable for the same purpose. 



3. Notes on a Visit to North- Eastern Kamchatka. 

 By Captain G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton, j 



The north-east of Kamchatka is as yet only imperfectly surveyed, much of the 

 coast-line beina: still represented by a dotted line on the Admiralty charts. It is 

 very rarely visited ; hence the observations made and the photographs taken during 

 the cruise of H. M.S. iin?iei off the coast, in August, 1897, possess some interest. 

 They chiefly concern the island of Karaginski, situated in 59° N. and 164* E., about 

 twenty miles off shore, and the neighbouring village of Karaga on the mainland. 

 The mountains of this region do not probably exceed 4,000 feet in height, and in 

 August still showed patches of snow. The village of Karaga contains seventeen 

 balagans, or wooden huts, raised on piles to a height of about 10 feet from the 

 ground, and six yurts, or wooden huts covered over with turf. The population of 

 the village probably does not exceed thirty. The people were found to be very 

 friendly, remarkably polite, and able to converse in Russian. Mosquitoes were a 

 plague, and the natives wear skin gloves as a protection. Dug-out canoes are in 

 use on the mainland, but only skin boats on the island. The islanders appeared 

 to be very few in number, and exceedingly primitive and quaint in their ways. 

 They dressed almost exclusively in home-made skin clothing; the nether garments, 



' The Taper will appear in the Scottish Geographical Magazine. 



