184 8. J Miscellaneous. 231 



Chayt it continued very low, but not fordable. In Bysakh (April) the 

 same. About the middle of Jayt (May) 1st 1898, the atmosphere was 

 one day observed to be very thick, the air still. At about 2 p. m. a 

 murmuring sound was heard from the north-east amongst the moun- 

 tains, which increased until it attracted universal attention, and we 

 began to exclaim " what is this murmur 1 Is it the sound of cannon 

 in the distance. Is Gundgurh* bellowing ? Is it thunder ?" Suddenly 

 some one cried out, the " Rivers come !" And I looked and perceived 

 that all the dry channels were already filled and that the river was 

 racing down furiously in an absolute wall of mud, for it had not at 

 all the colour or appearance of water. They who saw it in time easily 

 escaped. They who did not, were inevitably lost. It was a horrible 

 mess of foul water, carcasses of soldiers, peasants, war-steeds, camels, 

 prostitutes, tents, mules, asses, trees and household furniture, in short, 

 e very item of existence jumbled together in one flood of ruin. For 

 Raja Goolab Singh's army was encamped in the bed of the Indus at 

 Koolaye, 3 koss above Torbaila, in check of Poynda Khan. Part of 

 the force was at that moment in hot pursuit, or the ruin would have 

 been wider. The rest ran, some to large trees which were all soon 

 uprooted and borne away, others to rocks which were speedily buried 

 beneath the waters. Only they escaped who took at once to the 

 mountain side. About five hundred of these troops were at once swept 

 to destruction. The mischief was immense. Hundreds of acres of 

 arable land were licked up and carried away by the waters. The whole 

 of the Seesoo trees which adorned the river's banks : the famous Burgutt 

 tree of many stems, time out of mind, the chosen bivouac of travellers, 

 were all lost in an instant. The men in the trees, the horses and mules 

 tethered to the stems, all sunk alike into the gulf and disappeared for 



* Gundguvh is a singular ridge of argillaceous schist, permeated with veins of mica, 

 and of sulphate of lime forming a wall about 1500 feet high almost parallel to the stream 

 of the Indus on the eastern bank. In its cavern Raja Russaloo (the king Arthur of 

 the Punjab) imprisoned the last of the Rakhus or giant race, having slain the others. 

 He hung up his bow at the mouth of the caveru, so that whenever the huge monster 

 attempted to escape this memento of his terrible victor sent him back roaring with 

 terror to his den. Many natives assure me that 20 years ago they have often heard 

 Gundgurh bellowing, but that the sounds have ceased since then. The mountain has 

 no volcanic rocks or lavas : yet the admission of sound by this mountain is too well 

 attested to admit of doubt. 



