BOLAN PASS EXPEDITION. 
517 
mount them off the mules (also the wheels) and carry them on the 
gunners' shoulders. As it was clear that in the existing state of the 
road the camels with their loads could not come up, on reaching the 
top a strong working party was set to work under the European 
officers to prepare a road, by aid of which we passed up all the camels. 
We found the descent into the valley worse than the ascent had been, 
so another road had to be made. However, we got all down into the 
valley by 11 a.m., officers and men having been steadily at work for > 
6 hours. After a short halt, we marched on, over a dusty plain, to 
Mustoong (distant 30 miles from Hoozan), arriving at 2 p.m., the men 
being very fatigued. 
Now, as we formed a standing camp at Mustoong, I shall drop the 
journal form, and attempt to give a general description of the place, 
and a short account of what the escort did there. 
Mustoong gives the name to a large valley. It is 5700 ft. above the 
sea level and some 60 miles from either Khelat or Quetta (also called 
Shawl). The valley is richly cultivated with fields of Lucern grass, 
wheat, barley, &c. There are also numerous orchards full of fruit trees 
“Such as fig, plum, apple, peach, apricot, and mulberry. The vines 
also are very fine, and of a great age. The ground is undulating and 
hilly, intersected with ravines. The water is running and good, but 
frequently disappears under ground for considerable distances. Wild 
flowers grow profusely—such as. crocuses, hawthorn, dog-roses, &c. 
There is no regular town, but the villages are scattered amongst the 
orchards, surrounded by high mud walls. There is a small mud 
fortress (vide March Report) in which the chief merchants live and 
transact business. The natives of Beluchistan are fine-looking men—■ 
tall, with long, black curly hair and beards. They are all armed with 
shield and matchlock, and capable of much endurance. The battery 
is surrounded by hills : one high one is called Chiltun, and is said to 
be 10,000 ft. above the sea level. The fort is, like most native works, 
built of mud, with walls loopholed for musketry, and weak in defence. 
Height of the walls about 16 ft., and breadth 4 ft. The entrance 
consists of a high archway, with a strong door of wood (there is no 
ditch), and is defended by a guard of the Khan of Khelat. The interior 
consists of a few narrow streets and a citadel, from the top of which a 
fine view is to be obtained. The Khan, when visiting the place, lives 
in the citadel. He also keeps his stud of horses and ponies in the fort. 
They average about 2 yrs. old, the prevailing colour being piebald. 
The horses in these parts, owing to the rich grass, attain a great 
heights A colt aged If yrs. stood 15 hands high. Magpies and 
ravens take the place of the perpetual Indian crow; conies are also 
numerous. On the 31st May, 1876, the Khan of Khelat arrived, to 
confer with Major Sandeman on political matters. He received a 
salute of 19 guns from my two howitzers. The following afternoon 
Major Sandeman received the Khan in grand durbar, when all our 
officers, European and native, were present. (I carefully abstain from 
all political affairs, as this is merely intended for a brief account of the 
movements of the escort.) The climate of Mustoong k pleasant and 
