1862.] An account of Upper and Lower Suwat. 231 



valley of Baz-darah, which is so called on account of the number of 

 falcons taken there, for which it is celebrated ; and it is also famous as 

 having been the residence of Durkhana'i the Peerless, whose love and 

 misfortunes, and that of her lover, Adam Khan, have been celebrated, 

 in prose and verse, and is sung or repeated throughout all Afghanis- 

 tan. We had now to dismount and ascend the pass on foot, as it is 

 full two miles in ascent ; and no loaded camel could possibly get up 

 it, unless, indeed, it were one of the Bakhtrian breed ; but then at 

 considerable risk, even if without a load. The Pass is, however, 

 practicable for ponies, horses, mules, and bullocks. We observed 

 immense quantities of the grass called sdbah, with small leaves, and 

 growing very long ; and also that description called sar-garri in 

 Pushto, which is the same as that given, dried, in bundles to horses 

 in the Bombay Presidency. The sdbah I never saw before. The 

 ground is a steep ascent ; and like most paths of the kind, in this 

 part of the world, it is full of boulders, in all directions. The path 

 does not lead along between two cliffs, as it were ; but is trench-like, 

 and as if deepened by heavy floods. It is very winding ; and appeared 

 to consist of a soft description of stone, like sandstone. As we went 

 along, the Khan Sahib remarked, that if any one wanted to make 

 a good road into Suwat, this was the best for the purpose on account 

 of the softness of the stone, whilst in the other kotals, or Passes 

 into the valley, there was only hard rock. This I found quite correct 

 when I returned by the Malakand Pass. The breadth, as we as- 

 cended, was in some places so broad as to allow of the Khan Sahib 

 and myself walking abreast ; but, generally, it was so narrow that 

 we had to proceed in single file. There are no pine trees in the path 

 itself; but the sides of the mountains, to the very summits, were 

 clothed with patches of them. It is from the cones of this descrip- 

 tion of pine that the nut-like kernel, similar to the pistachio, is 

 produced ; but they were not, then, sufficiently ripe. This Pass also 

 contains, and in fact all these mountains contain, immense quantities 

 of a sort of gravel, both coarse and fine, which is like small shot, and 

 very heavy. It is called charataH by the Afghans, who use it to 

 shoot partridges, pigeons, quail, and the like. I saw it, generally, 

 in all the different Passes ; and in Upper Suwat, I also saw it on the 

 roads and paths, but did not notice any in the ravines or beds of 

 rivers. Its colour is that of earth, turbid, or nearly black, and very 



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