1862.] An account of Upper and Lower Suwat. 23L 
valley of Baz-darah, which is so called oil account of the number of 
falcons taken there, for which it is celebrated ; and it is also famous as 
having been the residence ofDurkhana’i the Peerless, whose love and 
misfortunes, and that of her lover, Adam Khan, have been celebrated, 
in prose and verse, and is sung or repeated throughout all Afghanis¬ 
tan. We had now to dismount and ascend the pass on foot, as it is 
full two miles in ascent; and no loaded camel could possibly get up 
it, unless, indeed, it were one of the Bakhtrian breed ; but then at 
considerable risk, even if without a load. The Pass is, however, 
practicable for ponies, horses, mules, and bullocks. We observed 
immense quantities of the grass called scibah , with small leaves, and 
growing very long ; and also that description called sar-garri in 
Pushto, which is the same as that given, dried, in bundles to horses 
in the Bombay Presidency. The sabah I never saw before. The 
ground is a steep ascent; and like most paths of the kind, in this 
part of the world, it is full of boulders, in all directions. The path 
does not lead along between two cliffs, as it were ; but is trench-like, 
and as if deepened by heavy floods. It is very winding; and appeared 
to consist of a soft description of stone, like sandstone. As we went 
along, the Khan Sahib remarked, that if any one wanted to make 
a good road into Suwat, this was the best for the purpose on account 
of the softness of the stone, whilst in the other kotals , or Passes 
into the valley, there was only hard rock. This I found quite correct 
when I returned by the Malakand Pass. The breadth, as we as¬ 
cended, was in some places so broad as to allow of the Khan Sahib 
and myself walking abreast; but, generally, it was so narrow that 
we had to proceed in single file. There are no pine trees in the path 
itself; but the sides of the mountains, to the very summits, were 
clothed with patches of them. It is from the cones of this descrip¬ 
tion of pine that the nut-like kernel, similar to the pistachio, is 
produced; but they were not, then, sufficiently ripe. This Pass also 
contains, and in fact all these mountains contain, immense quantities 
of a sort of gravel, both coarse and fine, which is like small shot, and 
very heavy. It is called charata'i by the Afghans, who use it to 
shoot partridges, pigeons, quail, and the like. I saw it, generally, 
in all the different Passes ; and in Upper Suwat, I also saw it on the 
roads and paths, but did not notice any in the ravines or beds of 
rivers. Its colour is that of earth, turbid, or nearly black, and very 
2 H 
