64 Descriptive notice of the District of Jhilum. [Jan. 



salt stream to supply the lake ; the only rivulet which runs into it 

 worth mentioning being a small stream, which comes from about three 

 miles distance and is fresh at its source ; and the salt quality of the 

 lake, therefore, must be supplied from beneath. The salt mines of 

 Choya and Varcha, are situated on the southern side of the range of 

 hills, which border on the Sone district. 



The salt lake extends in length from W. by S. to E. by N. On the 

 N. side it touches the hills, which on the S. are 2| kos off, and on the 

 W. about 1 kos. On the brink of the lake are the villages of Chitta 

 and Ugali. To the west of the lake commences the ascent of the 

 Sikesar hill, a peak rising up out of the other hills to a great height. 

 The path to the summit is very rough, steep and difficult, but on 

 account of the respect in which the hill is held, from the belief that the 

 Pandavas resided there in their time of trouble, it is looked upon as a 

 place of pilgrimage. The higher parts are not unfrequently covered 

 with snow in the cold weather, and the level places near the top in 

 which water collects during the rains, abound in shrubs and flowers not 

 found beneath, and which would probably well repay botanical research. 



An immense stone fabled to have been placed there by the Pandavas, 

 is the point at which the April festival is held. The extreme summit 

 is crowned by a small house now in ruins, built by a bairagi. This 

 point is called the Singhasan or royal seat. 



From Sikesar, the Attock and Jhilum rivers are easily discerned, 

 and it is said that the Chenab is also visible in a clear day. The sur- 

 rounding country lies stretched out like a map beneath. The direc- 

 tions of the chief places seen are as follows : Namal N. W. ^ N. Nau- 

 sherah, E. |- N. Khubakki, E. N. E. Chukrdla, N. N. W. | N. 

 The salt lake or Samudra as it is called by the natives, E. by W. 

 "Wah-i-kaila south of the salt range, S., &c. 



From Sikesar the hills of the Putial range extend in a series of 

 ridges to a distance of 9 or 10 miles in an unbroken line, without a 

 single village intervening. It is in this hitherto unknown region that 

 copper is supposed to exist, and it is much to be desired, that these 

 hills should be examined by a scientific observer, and their geological 

 and botanical capabilities be made known. 



Wherever the kos is mentioned in the above statement, it is assumed 

 to be a mile and a half, which experience has shown to be about the 

 average of the Panjabi kos on the further side of the Chenab. 



