h
Shroof; which latter place is an insignificant fort, situated in the
centre of one of the little green spots so pleasingly varying this
part of the country.

At Koteah Shroof we gained the banks of the Cabul river, a placid
flowing stream, and as the neighbourhood of our camp did not offer any
features of peculiar interest, I determined to try my luck in fishing;
but first I had to tax my ingenuity for implements, as I had neither
rod, line, nor net. A willow stick and a bit of string was all I could
command; and yet my primitive apparatus was very successful, for the
fish also were primitive, affording me ample sport and taking the bait
with extraordinary eagerness. My occupation attracted the attention of
a few peasants who gathered round me, and stood wondering what potent
charm attached to the string could entice the fish from their native
element. I endeavoured to explain the marvel, but was utterly
unsuccessful; indeed, the peasants did not accept my explanation,
which they evidently considered as a fabrication invented to deceive
them and conceal my supernatural powers. The inhabitants of these
valleys seemed a simple and inoffensive race, and, as in Europe, their
respectful demeanour became more conspicuous as we increased our
distance from the capital.

With regard to the state of cultivation of this valley--in which it
resembles others generally throughout Affghanistan--wherever there is
soil enough to hold the seed, the Affgh[=a]n husbandman appears to
make the most of it. We found here and there in profusion the pear,
apple, cherry, mulberry, and luxuriant vine, and in some situations
wheat, with an under-crop of clover.

On the 17th we proceeded to Julrez, a collection of wretched hovels
of no interest, and on the 18th, after a march of ten miles through
a succession of valleys and defiles, we reached the Kuzzilbash fort,
Suffaed Kulla. About two miles before we arrived at our encamping
ground we passed near the Sir-e-chusm or "fountain head," one of
the sources of the Cabul river; it is a large pool stocked with a
multitude of enormous fish that are held sacred by the few inhabitants
of the adjoining hamlets, and which are daily fed by an aged fanatic,
who for many years has devoted himself to their protection. As it
would be deemed in the highest degree sacrilegious to eat any of these
monsters, they are never molested, and are so tame as to come readily
to the hand when offered food. Of course, my