Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries Part 56

Whirlwinds are common about Cabul, commencing as soon as the sun has attained a certain degree of power.

In all cases they a.s.sume the shape of a cone, the point of which being a tangent on the earth's surface: the cone varies in shape, is generally of a good diameter, occasionally much pulled out, some being 2,300 feet in height, the currents are most violent at the apex.

They come and go in all directions, even after starting, not always preserving the original direction. They are less common on days in which winds prevail from any given direction, and vary much in intensity from a mere breeze, lightly laden with dust and with no tortuosity, to a violent cone of wind, capable of throwing down a _soldari_.

Northerly winds are prevalent here from 1 or 2 P.M. until 8 or 9 P.M., occasionally they only commence in the evening, when they are obviously due to the rarefaction of the air of the valleys by the great heat of the sun, amounting now to 100 degrees at 3 P.M., and the vacuum being supplied by gusts from the high mountains to the north and north-east.

CHAPTER XVIII.

_From Peshawur to Pushut_.

_January 8th_.--At Ichardeh. Between Busoollah and Lalpoor are three curious low ridges, none above sixty feet high, and all of small extent; they are covered with fractured ma.s.ses of rock of the same size as those strewn so liberally about the s.h.i.+ngly slopes; but they are much cleaner or fresher looking, and appear to me less worn. Whence do they derive their singular situation? They occur in such numbers, that one would at first think they originated from a ma.s.s of ruins, but the ridges present scarcely any surface for buildings to stand upon, certainly not to such extent as would account for the abundance of these fragments.

About Huzarnow and on both sides, low ridges of sand occur. In this sand graves are usually dug, and in some places to an extent indicating dreadful devastations from disease, each grave is headed by a stone, and about every ramification of the irregular size of the burial ground, there is a building of the usual mud structure, designed for a mosque, but not domed as is customary in Mussulman cemeteries, but ornamented with flagstaffs bearing white bits of cloth. These low sand ridges are often very much undulated; they consist of a very fine powder, and at Huzarnow are evidently of the same nature as the cultivated soil: they are neither in attachment as it were to the neighbouring hills, nor distinct from them, but always have some communication with the s.h.i.+ngly slopes, to which they are evidently inferior.

So that the base of Khora.s.san may be taken to be the tillable portions, over which occur, to a vast extent, the s.h.i.+ngly very barren slopes, which every section shows to be nothing but a ma.s.s of debris, resting on the mountain rocks.

_9th_.--Ali-Baghan. To this the road is good, along the right bank of the river, wherever it does not wind along over the spurs forming a considerable part of the march. To the first point where this occurs, it extends over the same sort of plain as that about Ichardeh; keeping rather close to the bank of the river, it is good, also through the valley of Gundikuss, and from near the _Choky_, to Ali-Baghan.

The first rocky ridge is about three-quarters of a mile in length, and is not very difficult; at the end near Gundikuss, is a curious ruin built into the stream, where the latter runs with violence on the rocky bank: it consists of a broadish pathway, with a wall on the river side, breast high; the masonry is good and solid, of the usual Bactrian materials, but well cemented; it has mostly been ruined by the river, only one end being perfect. Although the materials are _Bactrian_, the contour is Mussulman, and I was told by some people that it was a Mussulman erection: originally it perhaps extended all along this part, as slight traces here and there are discernible; for what use the original structure was intended I know not, as there are no remains visible of a fort.

The inlet of Gundikuss is well cultivated, the village itself a large straggling one, built close under a ridge.

From this to the _Choky_ the path is rocky, and in many places very bad, consisting of a series of ascents and descents, and winding round spurs; in the worst place, the path almost overhangs the river 200 feet above its bed, and it is very hard and very rocky. The distance between ten or eleven miles, the road is impracticable for guns, etc. nor could our camels with loads well get over it.

_10th_.--To Camp at the Bussout river, nothing remarkable occurred; immense quant.i.ties of Serratuloides on the sandy raviny parts of the road. Crossed the river on the usual _mussuck_ rafts, the animals forded it, at the quiet head of a rapid, water breast deep: this river is smaller than that from Kooner.

_11th_.--To Bussout, five miles. A village pa.s.sed about one and quarter mile up Kooner ghat, here a mile broad. No change in the features of the country, which throughout is well cultivated; here and there abundance of sedges, in the low ground; plenty of watercuts, but none of any great size: road worse at the entrance of the ghat rounding the east boundary, but guns might avoid this ground by keeping towards centre of the ghat.

12th.--To Sha-i-wa, distance 8 miles. The road after turning the angle of Bussout ghat, pa.s.sed entirely through cultivation, villages, trees and inhabitants more numerous than in any other place, cuts numerous, but the road altogether from this cause and the cultivated fields very bad. Rubus found along cuts at Chunar-Bukkeen. _Toot_, _Phaenix_. Vines numerous, of large size, running up mulberry trees; forests seen on Kooner mountain? _Umlook_ and _Julghogal_, very common grain, very dear. The women are generally clothed in dark blue _Noorgul_. The road now extends up a gorge to our front, named Durrah.

Gooraiek fort on the opposite side.

_13th_.--Halted. River much clearer than that of Jallalabad; its bed affords abundance of large gra.s.s.

_14th_.--Rejoined camp, keeping on the north bank of river. The road pa.s.sed over tillable recesses among the hills forming the north boundary of Kooner valley, and over the spurs dividing these, of which the first is short but bad, the last is a mile long, road infamous, narrow, rocky, and in some places overhanging the river. I was attacked about a mile and a half from camp, my servant Abdool Boyak, the bravest and most trustworthy Asiatic I ever saw, wounded, losing the two first fingers of his right hand; this was opposite the old Fort, Noorgul, which is a dilapidated _kafir_ ruin on a low island in the centre of the valley and river, a strong position. {435} Other ruins occur on the road, one near Sek-Syud, the spur being covered with its remains.

After leaving Deh-Syud, the valley becomes contracted; the river occupying almost all its level portion, being much spread out, and with numerous gra.s.sy islands; the cultivation occurring in the recesses between the banks of the rivers and the glacis slopes.

_15th_.--To Kooner, the road pa.s.ses to Noorgul, an old _kafir_ fort, done up and occupied by Kooneriles, to its south-west, three-quarters of a mile a hostile fort is situated. The ferry is about two miles from Noorgul, and is with difficulty fordable: the streams, three in number, the last almost brim full, and very rapid; thence to Kooner is over a cultivated country.

Noorgul is on a commanding position, the ground rising gradually on all sides to it; the valley here is very narrow. Observed Cnicus, Fumaria, Lotus, Anagallis caerulea, and Veronica agrestis, springing up: trees continue the same to about Kooner: some fine plane trees observed.

All the mountains are wooded at a certain height, and in greater quant.i.ties, very different however from Himalayan forests, being dotted in parts, rather than uniformly clothed with forest, Andropogon one of the ordinary spring forms: the _churs_ or islands in the river are also covered with Andropogoneous vegetation.

_16th_.--To Pushut, or rather to within one mile of it, rain throughout the day accompanied by an unpleasant wind down the valley. Road except for the first mile, during which it pa.s.sed through cultivation, troublesome, otherwise with the exception of two ravines, at one of which the horses were taken out of the guns, very good: valley narrow, say three miles, the boundary ridges to the north presenting as it were, truncate faces to the valley, all the mountains at certain heights are well wooded.

_17th_.--Rain continued since, almost without intermission, very dirty weather, but no wind.

Snow on the hills around, almost within 1,500 to 2,000 feet of this, the mountains to the south are well wooded, the woods occurring here and there in forests; snow is said to fall here occasionally.

_18th_.--The attack took place this morning, and failed on account of the weather, which was sufficient to damp any thing, and which prevented the powder bags from exploding, as well as a second cask of cartridges. The men were withdrawn about twelve, rain pouring down, ammunition of the guns being expended, and that for musquetry quite useless; a few more rounds would have demolished the entrance gateway and brought it down bodily; loss severe, twenty five men killed, thirty-two wounded, several dangerously. The fort was well defended, and evidently by a mere handful of people.

_19th_.--Last night the fort was evacuated as well as that on the opposite side, and the Syud has made off into the hills. It cleared up in the morning but is now as threatening as ever, the ditch of the fort is twelve or fifteen feet deep, but like all Affghan ditches it is narrow. The parapets were very slight, so that a more powerful battery would have kept down their fire completely; no injury had occurred to the inner gate except its being off one of its hinges, or rather out of one of its sockets. The entrance _was thus round the gate_, not through the gateway: it was protected by a thick screen of brushwood and mud, all of the shots from the second position had lodged in the wall close to the side of the gate; every thing was carried off, except a little grain, and some gunpowder.

_20th_.--Continued rain.

_21st_.--Snow within 500 feet.

_22nd_.--Moved camp.

_23rd_.--Continued rain and sleet, almost pa.s.sing into snow.

[Section of Kooner valley: m436.jpg]

_Desideratum_.--Required to ascertain positively whether the s.h.i.+ngle and boulders are in all cases not derived from the boundary mountains: that they are not in many cases is clear, witness the declivities of slate rocks, totally incapable of a.s.suming the form of boulders. The proportions of the cultivated to the uncultivatable land is previously given rather in favour of the tillable portion, this is always a light, almost impalpable powder, consistent when wetted: generally the soil owes any fertile qualities it has here, to the presence of water; thus the Dusht-i-Bedowlut produces nothing beyond its indigenous plants from having no water.

The transition from the extremely bare mountains of the Hindoo-koosh as seen on the road to Bamean, to the well wooded ones of the Himalaya, takes place at Jugdulluck, the hills, round which, produce plenty of Baloot: in this direction, the forests become much thicker as we proceed to the eastward. There is a mountain near Jallalabad, which at once arrests the attention from its being wooded. Nothing like it occurring between this and Cabul, on any part of the chain of mountains distinctly referrable to the Himalayas. Wooded as this is, it is nothing to the woods on the mountains about Pushut, the size of these has been well demonstrated by the late snows: some bare places occur, which appearances, Abdool says are from cultivation of Kohistanes. Baloot abounds, Dodonea also is now coming into flower! a curious fact pointing out its northern qualifications, although in form it is very like a Mergui Dodonea.

_24th_.--A clear day after a night of heavy rain, still no appearance of settled weather; walked in the afternoon towards the Dhurrah at the south side of the valley. The bouldery slope presented an abrupt bank of a considerable angle, and its limits were most marked from that of the tillable soil; as we approached the foot of the ghat, the fragments became larger, they are angular, and have been little if at all worn; thence I walked eastwards to a small isolated ridge of limestone, perhaps a mile from the foot of the boundary chain, and returned to camp. In this direction, which is that of the torrents, occasionally rus.h.i.+ng out of the Dhurrah, the transition between the mountain slope, and the tillable soil, was gradual, the action of water carrying farther down small fragments, and turning some of the fields into a sandy s.h.i.+ngly soil: the depth of the beds of these torrents here, is perhaps four feet, the section being a ma.s.s of very unequal fragments.

I am not certain whether these fragments are derived from the mountains or not, they seem to be too varied, and too widely spread for that, although the course of the occasional torrents must vary very much.

Another puzzling thing is, that in the section afforded by the ditch of the fort, and which is seventeen feet deep, the s.h.i.+ngle underlies the tillable soil.

The vegetation of the slopes here partakes of the nature of the Khyber pa.s.s, the prevailing feature consists in coa.r.s.e tufts of Andropogonous gra.s.ses, Lycioides occurs, also Periplocea, also Cryptandoid, Euonymus, these are on the cliffy ridge of limestone alluded to, 2 sp. of Astragalus, Solanum jacquini? Schaenanthus, Sedoides pictum very common, a small fern, apparently a Cryptogramma, Grimonia, Tortula, a Bryum, three or four lichens, one Marchantiacea found under boulders or in crevices of rocks, one Salsola, f.a.gonia, Dianthoid, Statice common, Onosma, Artemisia one or two, a large Cnicoid.

The only new feature is a shrubby dwarf fragrant Composita, foliis albis subobovatis, dentatis grossiusculi margine revolutis.

_24th_.--A break after a very wet night, cloudy throughout the day.

_25th_.--A fine day, particularly towards evening, beautifully clear.

_26th_.--No rain, but very cloudy, cold north-east wind.

_27th_.--Rain very threatening, a disgusting country in which it is impossible to take exercise without a strong guard: no means of access to the beautiful forests visible in several directions, and the natives are so intractable that it is impossible to induce them to bring in specimens of their various trees, the only things about which I am anxious.

In the meantime I have begun to use the theodolite, and getting approximations to the height of those peaks remarkable for their features of vegetation.

It is curious that no pines are visible on any range south of the Kooner river, until we reach those heights on the opposite side of a very conspicuous ravine, up which the Bajore road runs. To the north, on all the ranges of sufficient height, fine forests are visible, especially of firs, other large-crowned trees exist, forming the bulk of the forests, below the limit of the pines, but never grouped as those are, but occurring isolatedly, these I call generally, _Baloot_ woods, i.e.

Quercus _Baloot_.

The only means I have of gaining any idea of the composition of these forests, are derived from the twigs and branches, which are used by the natives as pads for the loads of _wood_ which they bring into for sale, and which almost consequently are from the lowermost limits of woody vegetation. To go among the woods unguarded, is impossible, and secondly, the weather is very bad.

_Memoranda_.--That it cannot always be deficiency of soil which causes the extreme barrenness of the usual Khora.s.san mountains, because on the Kalo Pa.s.s to Bamean, nearly 13,000 feet high, the soil is abundant; but in this case, height may interfere.