1836.] and the ancient province of Ttixila. 477 



any of them be swallowed with the food, they occasion a vomiting-, 

 attended with very severe pain in the loins and in the chest. Snakes 

 and scorpions are also in great abundance, and are often venomous. 



The spring sets in early : by the end of February the peach trees 

 blossom luxuriantly ; by the end of April the weather becomes un- 

 pleasant ; and the heat is scorching during the months of June, July, 

 and August. In June the Simum prevails; it is sometimes pestilential, 

 resembling the desert blast (Samial) of Arabia. When it blows, one 

 would fancy that one stood at the entrance of a hot oven. " Heaven 

 pity then," the poor traveller, who is overtaken by this wind at mid- 

 day in the open country ! When first attacked the body becomes 

 covered with blue spots, and putrefaction is almost instantaneous. 

 This wind generally blows from W. N. W., in the direction of Jeld- 

 Idbdd, where it is frequently fatal. The hot season ends in September. 

 The rains are heavy in the winter, when the sky is frequently clouded 

 for a week together. There are intervals of rain also in April, but 

 rarely. In July and August, the rainy season in India, little falls in 

 these parts, but storms are very frequent, and very severe, and are 

 always preceded by whirlwinds of dust, obscuring the atmosphere for 

 hours together ; they are brought on by the S. W. winds, and are 

 accompanied by claps of thunder in rapid succession. The lightning 

 falls with fearful flashes. 



The environs of Peshawar exhibit little else but a vast space covered 

 with ruins and tombs. I discovered and dug out several remains of 

 Indian statues. These statues, some of which are in plaister, others 

 in bronze, appear to be of very ancient date, for they are devoid of 

 beauty and are ill executed. They principally represent Gaurakndthi 

 faqirs, or perhaps Jogis, who for a long time held the country west 

 of the Indus. The image represented (in Plate XXVI.) was dug out of 

 the village of Banamari, which lies west of Peshawar. At a greater dis- 

 tance are the ruins of Pirigel, where in the rains Indian and Bactrian 

 medals are to be found. To the west of Peshawar is a mount upon 

 which an ancient castle appears, which may be the one that HephjEs- 

 tion besieged, and which was re-established by Timour Shah, 

 and was subsequently sacked by the Sikhs. The Sikhs again re- 

 built it in 1 834, when this province fell into the hands of Ranjit 

 Singh, in consequence of a victory gained over the Afghans by the 

 division under my command. The gardens which stretch from the 

 south to the west of the town present the appearance of a forest of 

 orchards, where they cultivate the plum, the fig tree, the peach, the 

 pear, the mulberry peculiar to this country, the pomegranate, and the 

 quince : but these fruits, although beautiful to the eye, are very far 



