lberry and walnuts, nestled among the
lower spurs of the mountains, while farther down the hills on either
side of it closed in and became more rugged and bare, and the river
wound its circuitous path through defile and gorge, till it debouched
on the plains of India. Immediately before me was the pine-covered
Pass of Peiwar, which will always be memorable as the scene of the
great battle fought between the forces of the Amir, Sher Ali, and
the advancing column of Sir Frederick Roberts. There were the pines
covering the crest where the Afghan batteries were ensconced, and one
could trace without difficulty the circuitous path up the stony bed
of the mountain torrent, through a deep ravine, and then winding up
among the pine-woods, by which the gallant regiments of the advancing
army stormed and finally captured the Afghan position. Westward of the
pass was a fertile valley, dotted over with villages here and there,
forming part of the territory of the Amir of Afghanistan. A few miles
below the top of the pass could be seen the fort where the soldiers
of the Amir guarded his frontier. Turning eastward, some dozen miles
off, could be seen the cantonments of Parachinar, the westernmost
cantonments of British occupation, and the seat of administration of
this trans-border valley. There was a fort garrisoned by the local
levies of the Kurram Militia--Afghans from the villages round, who,
under the training and influence of three or four British officers,
have become part of the "far-flung battle line" of the defences of
the Empire.

I had been spending some weeks among the people of this district,
and the time had come for reluctantly leaving the shady groves and
cool breezes of the Upper Kurram for the sweltering plains of Bannu,
which even now I could see in the eastern distance covered by heat
haze, recalling the punkahs and restless nights which were soon to
be my lot instead of the bracing air of the Sufed Koh. Our tents and
baggage had been loaded up on some mules, which we could see winding
along the white road below us, while we were lingering behind to take
a last leave of the hearty Afghans, who had been both our hosts and
our patients. Three times had we to pitch our nightly camp before we
crossed the border of British India and entered the border town of
Thal, which is the first town in British India which a traveller from
Afghanistan enters. From the time of crossing the Afghan frontier till
now, he has been go