1854.] Gracilis ad Aornon. 359 



difficult to resist, and differ essentially from the poetic descriptions 

 of Curtius. Proud as Arrian was of the exploits of a Grecian hero, 

 there is no attempt to exhibit supernatural difficulties. Alexander 

 attacks and carries a strong mountain as a master of the art of war 

 should carry it. He loses men, but they are not hurled from the 

 mountain summit into the swollen torrent of the Indus. The 

 mountain is large and steep, but, so far from being shaped like a 

 cone, 220 horse are led up it and all his war-engines. 



The description of Curtius is exactly such, as a man might sit 

 down and imagine to himself as worthy of a rock which had resisted 

 Hercules. And probably in addition to the history of Ptolemy, 

 there may have existed in the time of Curtius many half fabulous 

 narrations of the exploits of the Macedonian hero, which so great a 

 lover of the marvellous as Curtius would prefer to the matter-of- 

 fact statements of Ptolemy, supposing that he could read the Greek 

 of that author. 



All the sites described as being near Pehoor, viz. Baja (quasi 

 Bazira), Owra (quasi Oora), Kal-qlurra (quasi Acadera), are applica- 

 ble to the site of Mahabunn which is the natural refuge of the. 

 people of those old towns. 



It has been observed that a camp established at Umb, could have 

 been designed for the attack of no other than Mount Mahabunn or 

 Mt. Behoh. A brief description of the latter may therefore be 

 acceptable. 



Mt. Behoh is a peak elevated about 10,000 feet above the sea, 

 occupying the right border of the Indus about twenty miles above 

 Mt. Mahabunn. It forms the Eastern wall of the valley of Boonair, 

 the waters of which, united with those of the Chumla valley under 

 the name of Burrindoo, find passage into the Indus through a cleft 

 of the mountain, south of Mt. Behoh and north of the Mahabunn. 

 I am not aware that the peak of this mountain holds the site of any 

 old castle. But the long high ridge which juts from it to the S. 

 west and which walls the Indus to the height of about 7000 ft. 

 above the sea, is crowned by a remarkable castle of the Hussunzyes 

 called also Behoh. The Hindi name of the Burrindoo river is 

 Wahadri or Earn Tukht ke Nuddie, the latter because it rises in 

 Mt. Elum called also Earn Tukht. The castle of Behoh is certainly 



3 u 2 



