1897.] 
R. Burn —The Balchtiarl Hills. 
175 
We got a room with great difficulty, and even then the bites of the 
fleas with which it swarmed, the stamping of the mules, and the jingling 
of their bells, and the talking of men outside kept us awake. 
November 7th. Fording the river we w.ere involved in a thicket 
of scrub oak, but finally found the track and ascended about 1,500'. 
The road was easy and the scenery grand, in places almost park-like ; 
in one place we saw the heap of stones and sticks with rags tied on 
them marking the Qadamgah of some Imam. The country undulates, 
but there is gradual descent with a slight rise at the west, on topping 
which we saw the valley of the Bazuft. The descent was extremely 
Steep and bad, and in places we had eveti. to lead the baggage mules 
with great care. When we reached the bottom we found that the huts 
were all deserted, and not a man was to be seen. The place is called 
Pul-i-Tmarat, but we saw neither bridge nor building besides the usual 
stone hovels. Our experiences at Sarkhun, however, had left us not dis¬ 
inclined for solitude, and we had the somewhat rare luxury in these 
hills of a comfortable wash in the clear cool river. It was one of the 
most beautiful valleys we had seen, the hills rising to the height of 
about 1,000' almost from the water’s edge, while the river was about a 
hundred yards wide, with a greenish tinge in the deeper parts. It 
felt much warmer here. 
November 8th. Ascending the valley for a short distance, we found 
a ford by which we crossed, and soon after we struck west up a 
defile, the road being extremely rugged. Before our halt for breakfast 
we were pleased to come across an Iliat family on the march, whp 
supplied us with bread. They were marching with their flocks and 
herds, with their black tents packed on ponies and cattle. The ascent 
was long, and the last mile or so was over almost bare, slippery rock, 
but we again reached a stretch of the park-like country we had seen 
before. From the edge of this we saw at our feet a large valley stretch¬ 
ing away to the west and north-west, with two or three villages in sight. 
The descent to Dih-i-Diz, a large village, made us very hot. We were 
hospitably received here, and spent the evening talking to the Khan’s 
brother. On our asking for coins they told us they had some curios 
(antiqi) and produced three bronzes, an Apollo and a Hercules about 
18 in. each and a greyhound about 6 ins. long. I cannot say whether they 
were genuine or not, but the price asked, 200 tomans or Rs. 700 was 
beyond us. There can be no doubt that Alexander and his army passed 
through these hills, but the spurious ducats had made us careful, and the 
bronzes may have been fragments of modern candelabra. This village 
is the Garmsir, and the whole valley is very fertile, producing most 
crops but cotton. They grow figs, grapes, pomegranates, cherries and 
