210 
[No. 3, 
An account of Upper and Lower Suwttt. 
there are a great many ruins, consisting of dwellings, and a very 
large range of buildings like a fortress, enormously lofty, which can 
be distinctly seen from a long distance. I did not go myself to 
examine these ruins, because it would have been necessary to have 
remained at the village for two or three days for the purpose; and to 
do so, in a country like Suwat, would have raised suspicion, therefore 
the Khan Sahib would not consent. I was told, however, that the 
children of the village, as mischievous in Suwat as in other countries,* 
had left nothing in the shape of carvings or images within it. There 
is also an immense cave in the side of one of the mountains, which 
cannot be entered from below ; and from above, even by the aid of 
ropes, it cannot be reached, or at least, those who have attempted it 
have not succeeded. I was told by some of the Waddi-gram people» 
that several persons did once set out to make the attempt, and lowered 
down a rope, so as to reach the mouth of the cave ; but it was not 
long enough, and they returned. No other attempt appears to have 
been made. The tale goes, that the cave belonged to the Kafirs 
of old, who had a secret path or entrance; and having deposited 
treasures within it, concealed the path and shut it up altogether. 
"Whoever finds that path, will get the treasure. 
I saw a few ancient copper coins here, but they were not worth 
purchasing; and moreover, the Suwatis, particularly the Hindus, say 
that from every copper coin of the ordinary size, two masJias of pure 
gold can be extracted, worth three rupees or six shillings, which was 
the price they asked for them. Throughout the whole of Suwat, at 
present, whenever any old coins are discovered, they are immediately 
sold to the Hindus or Paranehali traders, who transmit them to their 
agents at Peshawar; and on this account, old coins are not easily 
obtainable, unless a person remain some time. The people of the 
village also told me, that there had been idols found in the neigh¬ 
bourhood ; but they had, as a religious duty, broken them to atoms, 
and not a remnant of them now remains. Between the village of 
Man-yar and Waddi-gram, there is a rudely carved idol by the side 
of the road, cut out of the white stone of the cliff itself, and in 
the figure of an old man in a sitting posture. Every one that passes 
by throws a stone at it ; so there is an immense heap of them near. 
I examined the whole of the Pushto books of the villages between 
[* Cf. supra , p. 128. Eds.] 
