152 Account of a Journey from Kurrachee to Hinglaj. [No. 98. 



Assar Poora, 7 miles, narrow valley, and after winding among the 

 hills for about two miles, reaches a running stream, almost 

 hid by low tamarisk bushes, on the banks of which is the 

 usual halting place. Half a mile from the valley, in a narrow 

 Hingiaj, § mile, gorge, the mountains on each side of which rise 

 perpendicularly to nearly a thousand feet, is situated the tem- 

 ple of Hinglaj. It is a low mud edifice, built at one end 

 of a natural cave of small dimensions, and only contains a tomb- 

 shaped stone, which is called the goddess Mata, or Mahamayee. 

 At the head of the gorge, a steep and difficult ascent up the 

 course of a water-fall leads to the top of the mountains, and after 

 winding over their summits for some five or six miles, the 

 pathway descends by another water course to the valley, where 

 we encamped. An account of the different holy places visited, 

 and the ceremonies performed on the journey, are fully detailed 

 in my description of the pilgrimage to Hinglaj. 



Soon after reaching our encampment, another party of 

 armed Beerooees arrived on their way to Beila, to learn the 

 state of affairs. They requested me to give them tobacco and me- 

 dicine, said they lived from hand to mouth, and now that their 

 chief was killed (he had fallen at Kelat) were worse off than before. 

 Kelat, the capital, had been always looked on in this part of 

 the world as a maiden city, until the descendant of a line of 

 kings fell, as became him, on his throne, before the all-con- 

 quering arm of the British soldiery. 



This party was under Chota Beerooee, and was, I ima- 

 gine, only on the look out for plunder, as a day or two after 

 our return to the banks of the Aghor river they again passed 

 us on their way back, without stopping as usual for food; 

 and that same evening one of our camels was missing, stolen 

 no doubt by them. This was the limit of my excursion. The 

 time fixed for rejoining my regiment having nearly expired, 

 I was not able to extend my journey, as I now felt anxious 

 to do, by proceeding along the coast as far as Gwaddel, and 

 then turning north through Kedge Pungoor and Noskky, visiting 

 Kelat, and returning to Kurrachee via Khozdar and Beila. 



On our way back, nine days after first seeing them, I 

 again visited the Chunder Koops. The appearance of the 



