KATARA. 267 



he told them that this time he was only a pass- 

 ing traveller. In the walls of the cottages at 

 Tremeelj we saw several marble fragments, and 

 in the burying-ground we copied an inscription 

 on a small style or altar-like monument. There 

 is no evidence of this place having been an 

 ancient site of any importance. Katara, the 

 site of Balbura, being only two hours distant, 

 we hurried on in spite of a pitiless storm, which 

 lasted for the remainder of the day. During 

 this part of our journey we crossed a high ridge 

 of serpentine, dividing the valleys watered by the 

 tributaries of the Indus, from those through 

 which the upper branches of the Xanthus flow. 

 Arriving at Katara, we put up in a miserable 

 shed, called by courtesy a khan, the only shelter 

 there. The broken roof afforded little protection 

 from the rain ; selecting the driest corner, we 

 portioned it off for our own residence, and allotted 

 the remainder to our horses, — intending to spend 

 two days here exploring the ruins. 



May Will. — Balbura appears to have been a 

 town of some importance ; the ruins are ex- 

 tensive, and occupy a considerable space on both 

 banks of a stream, the most northern branch 

 of the Xanthus, which issues out of a deep gorge 



