1879.] during the Oampaign of 1878-79. 161 
mountainous land ; and here the Ahmed Kheyls have a fort and stop and 
rob travellers to Ghazni or those going by the Spiga Kotal to Kabul, and 
on this account (so he was informed) this road, though the best and shortest 
to Ghazni, is generally avoided. The Umar and other hill streams here 
join and all flow together through a very mountainous rugged country. 
This part of the Kuram then turns sharply eastwards and flows on to- 
wards Kuram itself. In this portion of its course myriads of mountain 
streams and torrents feed it and thus it increases in size rapidly. From the 
joining of the Ali Kheyl and Umar until it comes into the Kuram Valley 
its course is through a very mountainous country inhabited by various 
robber tribes, Mangal, Ahmed Kheyl and Lajji. 
On the 20th June Capt. Woodthorpe and Lieut. Martin, accompanied 
by other officers of the force and a party of signallers, ascended the Sikaram 
Peak (15,600 feet) on the Safed Koh, which had been already ascended 
by Mr. G. B. Scott, of the Survey, attached to the Peshawar Column. Un- 
fortunately the day was hazy and they were unable to see or do so much as 
they had expected. 
The area surveyed by this party may be roughly estimated at 4,500 
square miles and has been mapped and published on the scale of 4 miles to 
an inch. 
III. PesnHAwar Corumny. 
The Survey operations with the Peshawar Column, though not exten- 
ding over such a length of country as those with the Quetta Column, have, 
perhaps, been more productive in new work, owing to circumstances having 
permitted a more complete survey of the country on either side of the 
route traversed by the Force than could be accomplished with the Quetta 
Column. 
Five officers of the Survey Department—Major H. C. B. Tanner, 
B. 8. C., Capt. E. W. Samuells, B. s. c., Capt. E. P. Leach, pr. E., Capt. 
C. Strahan, zr. ©. and Mr. G. B. Scott, were employed from time to time 
during the occupation of the country by the British troops. 
Of the operations connected with the earlier part of the campaign, 
the information furnished by the Survey Officers is unfortunately scanty. 
The results, however, speak for themselves. 
Major Tanner completed a Military reconnaissance of the country 
between Jamrid and Jelalabad on the scale of 1 mile to the inch. Nearly 
the whole of the portion between Jamrid and Dakka, including the 
routes taken by the three brigades, was surveyed on the 2-inch scale by Mr. 
Scott, and afterwards reduced to the l-inch scale in Major Tanner’s office. 
