232 An account of Upper and Lower Suwdt. [No. 3, 



heavy, not smooth like the gravel of the sea-shore or beds of rivers, 

 but rough and many-sided, like as if stone had been broken into 

 particles and then become somewhat rounded from having been 

 rubbed together.* This gravel has no doubt given the name to 

 another Pass-, a little to the west of that of Morah which we were 

 ascending, known as the Charat Pass. I noticed the path leading 

 into that Pass ; and have been told that it is very steep and difficult, 

 and only practicable for parties on foot, and animals without loads. 

 The direction we proceeded in from Sherkhana'i first branched off 

 a little to the right ; and the path to the Charat Pass lay to our left, 

 in a direction about north-west. I had collected a small quantity of 

 charatai to send to you, but lost it, somehow or other, before I 

 reached Peshawar. In Upper Suwat they call it gitta'i, but this is 

 the Pushto term for gravel in general. I have no doubt but that it 

 is some mineral substance containing iron, and that it has become 

 rounded by the action of water ; for, in the winter, the ravines be- 

 eome the beds of torrents. 



We saw numbers of partridges of two species, the grey and the 

 black, besides a great many quail. 



By degrees we had now reached the crest of the Pass ; and on 

 descending a short distance on the other side, we came to a plane tree, 

 beneath which there is a spring of the most cool, pure, and sweet 

 water ; and round about it numerous spikenards were growing. In 

 short, it was a very delightful spot ; and we sat down and rested for 

 some time, and refreshed ourselves with draughts of the crystal ele- 

 ment. This is the only spot in the Pass where water is procurable. 

 When standing on the crest of the mountain, at the summit of the 

 Pass, I could see the Suwat valley to the north, but could not per- 

 ceive Tarrwah, for it was screened, or hidden, by the mountains. I 

 could, however, see the village of Nal-banddah ; and by going a little 

 on one side, in an easterly direction, I could discern Shirkhana'i to 



the south. 



We now commenced to descend into the Suwat valley. The 

 southern side of the mountain which we had just ascended, was ex- 

 tremely steep ; but we did not find it anything near so much so 

 descending on the northern side, the Suwat valley being much more 

 elevated than that of Baz-darah and Pala'i which we had recently 



* Emery ? 



