of a great part of it to over 6000 feet above mean sea-level thereby rendering it likely to become impassable from snow in winter.

Comparison with the Bola'n Pass Route.-But, taking the Bola'n Pass route as at present used,* that known as the TalCho'tia'li seems to be the better in every respect. To reach the Bola'n, a long strip, over 100 miles, of detestable desert has to be passed, practically impassable for troops or bodies of men in the hot season, or in ordinary wet weather, and troublesome as regards water at any time; while to reach the Sulima'n Mountains there are barely 40 miles of the low land to be crossed. Again, as to food, there are no supplies to be procured in the Bola'n Pass a march of at least six days-without previous storage, and there is also always a difficulty there as to fuel and fodder; while the road, as at present used, simply follows the bed of the Bola'n River, and is impassable accordingly for days together in wet weather. And lastly, as regards climate, the Bola'n Route has the advantage of being only at an elevation of some 6000 feet at its highest point Darwa'zu, but the terrors of the Dasht-i-Be'daulat at its summit during bad weather in winter are too well known to need more than mere mention here.

Considered as an Alternative Route to the Bola'n. As an alternative route to the Bola'n, both for military and commercial purposes, the Tal-Cho'tia'li would seem to be invaluable, especially as we intend to hold the Pishin, for then Quetta and the Pishin would no longer be dependent on the Bola'n Pass for communication with the outer world. The comparative distances to the Indus are: from Quetta via the Bola'n Pass to Sukkur about 250 miles, and to Mithanko't about 270 miles; from Quetta viâ Tal-Cho'tia'li to Mithanko't about 310 miles, and to De'ra Gha'zi Kha'n about 290 miles. So that for commercial reasons there is not much to choose as to distance between the routes; but the proximity of De'ra Gha'zi Kha'n to Mu'lta'n, now about to become an important military centre, gives additional value to the Tal-Cho'tia'li as an auxiliary

route.

The Zhob Valley Route.-According to all native authorities the easiest and best route to India is through the Zhob Valley to De'ra Isma'il Kha'n, but the isolated position of De'ra Ismail Khan, and its distance from all existing main lines of communication, makes this an almost useless line to us. Moreover,

*It is said, however, that General Phayre, of the Bombay Army, in charge of the communications along the Bola'n Pass, has discovered a line by which all the worst features of the present route can be avoided.

before it could be practically used, the Mahsu'd Wazi'ris would have to be crushed or civilized.

*

Best Trade Routes viâ Tal and Cho'tia'li.-Supposing the British Government to decide to make the Tal-Cho'tia'li a practicable route for trade, it would appear that the best line to take would be from Mithanko't and Rajanpu'r, or from De'ra Gha'zi Kha'n and Vaddo'r, to Ba'rkho'm, and thence via the Han Pass to Cho'tia'li and Tal; or, if the Ma'r Pass turn out not to be so impracticable as reported, then via the Ma'r Pass to Cho'tia'li and Tal; thence through the Lu'ni Valley, thence via the Hanumba'r Pass through the Bo'rai Valley, thence through the Zho'b Valley, and finally via the skirts of Mt. Kand through the Dof and Gwa'l Valleys to Quetta; or via the skirts of Mt. Kand and Barsho'r to the Pishin Valley. A glance at the map will show that villages will lie thick along such a route, and that consequently better roads would be met with, and greater returns anticipated by the trader.

IX. MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

Geographical Notes.-Certain changes in our ideas as to the geography of this district will result from the march of the TalChotiali Field Force.

Firstly. The long range of mountains to the north of Quetta, the Bola'n and the Marri Hills, supposed to run east and west from the Sulima'n Range, does not exist. The direction of the mountains is generally north and south, in lines more or less parallel to the Sulima'n Range.

Secondly. The To'ba, Jo'ba or Yo'ba Peak, to be found on so many maps at the head of the Zho'b Valley, is most likely a myth or misnomer. Nothing approaching to such a name could be ascertained locally.

Thirdly. Mt. Kand is not nearly so far north as previously placed; while there are some doubts as to the existence of Mt. Chappar, at any rate, it is not a prominent mountain, as before supposed. It has been placed on the accompanying map, because a round-headed snow-capped mountain was repeatedly pointed out from the Pishin as Mt. Chappar. When, however, it came to be identified from a hill above I'saf Kach, which should have been in its neighbourhood, an apparently low hill

* The road once made, perhaps the most civilising agent we could employ in Afghanistan would be the use of carts and wheeled carriages. The manufacture of farthing dips was introduced with signal success into Candaha'r during the former war why should not carts succeed as well?

in the right position was by some of the guides pointed out as Mt. Chappar, while others seemed doubtful of its existence.

And lastly, several prominent peaks have been for the first time named and placed.

As regards nomenclature the name Khojeh (or Kho'ja) Amra'n Range, is a misnomer. Ranges or lines of hills, as a rule, have no generic names in Afghanistan, the Afghan system of nomenclature not having yet reached that stage. But nearly every prominent or remarkable peak has a name of its own. In this case, Khwa'ja Amra'n is really the name of a point above the Gwaja Pass, and not that of the whole range. If any name belongs to the entire line of mountains it is Rogha'ni. However, as the name Kho'ja Amra'n has become popularised in geography, it would be a pity perhaps, as well as almost useless, to try and alter it.

The town Peshin also, mentioned by so many travellers, does not exist. They probably meant by the term the cluster of Sayad and Tari'n villages about Sayad Paind and A'li'zai in the Pishin Valley.

Scenery and Landmarks.-Looking eastwards from the Pishin, there is a grand and striking view of the series of mountainranges commencing from Mt. Chiltan on the south, and thence running past Mts. Takatu', Zarghu'n, Pi'l, and Chappar, to Mt. Kand on the north. Mt. Takatu' is a fine mountain from any point of view, as also is Mt. Ma'zhwö, of which a grand view is obtained from Shudand in the River Ro'd Gorge. Mt. Surghwand is likewise a fine and striking mountain from the north. There is also a very fine view from the Nangalu'na Pass over the Sho'r Valley and Ghobargai country, the Chimja'n Ghar Peak and Mt. Sya'jgai presenting a remarkable appearance, and there is a pretty view towards the She'rkai Peak and Koha'r Hills from Baia'nai. But with these exceptions the country is too bare and broken up into small points to be striking or pretty. Mt. Sya'jgai, an isolated square-topped peak, in the middle of the Sho'r Valley near Chimja'n, is here a remarkable object from all points; but it would not be so in India generally, where there are many like it in all parts of the country from Ra'jputa'na to Mysore.

Heights of Mountains.-Many of the mountains rise to a considerable elevation, but the heights stated in the accompanying list (page 230) were guessed at on the spot from such data as could be obtained.

Geological Formations.* - The geological formation of the

* A Paper by the author, on the geological formation of the country passed through by the Second Column Tal-Cho'tia'li Field Force, will be found in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal' for 1879.

greater part of the country passed through should apparently be referred to the Tertiary period. Messrs. Medlicott and Feistmantel, of the Geological Survey of India, who kindly examined the geological specimens the writer collected, reported after a first cursory examination as follows:

"The fossils are exclusively tertiary, none are post-tertiary. They are mostly nummulitic: possibly all of that age. The supposed lizard is a detached segment of an echinoderm. A very large proportion of the rocks are of such limestone, sandstone, and shale, as are usual in tertiary formations. There is no fragment of granitic or metamorphic rock, except one which is crystalline limestone, but this may be a contact rock. The same may be said of a few specimens of indurated silicious rock, which are of the type common at the contact of eruptive rock. Some of them are jaspidious. Of trappean rocks there are not a few; some are syenitic and dionitic (non-quartziferous), and some are earthy amygdaloids. The crystalline minerals are the commonest forms of quartz, calcspar and gypsum; one is clear, white, cubical rock-salt. There is no metalliferous rock or mineral in the whole collection" (600 specimens). When, however, the specimens shall have been referred to their proper geographical position a better idea of the geology of the country will be obtained.

The Glacis. But the most remarkable point as to conformation to be noticed is the peculiar glacis, or slope up to the hills from the valleys. And at the risk of recapitulating what has been published by the writer elsewhere, a short description of this glacis will be here given. It is to be seen everywhere in Afghanistan proper, though not noticeable in Beluchistan or south of the Bola'n or Han Passes, and is said to be a common

feature throughout Persia and Central Asia. It is to be seen at the foot of every range of hills, varying in length and height according to the elevation of the neighbouring mountains above the valley-level. In the Kadanei Valley, where the Kho'ja Amra'n Range rises 3000 feet and more above the mean valleylevel, it is 15 miles long, and nearly 1500 feet in height; while in the narrower valleys, such as the Gwa'l, the slopes on either side almost meet in the centre, leaving hardly any flat spaces at all. One result of this glacis is that the valley-level seems to be reached long before it really is so. Its surface is generally much water-scoured, and is covered over with stony detritus from the mountains, and over it also wander the stony beds of numerous torrents. The origin of the phenomenon apparently lies in excessive denudation of the mountains, caused by the absence of forests on their slopes, and the soft, shaly nature of many of the summits, which last, again, probably arises from the combined action of frost, snow, and rain.