_10th_.--To Camp at the Bussout river, nothing remarkable occurred;
immense quantities 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 passed 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, passed 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 grass.

_14th_.--Rejoined camp, keeping on the north bank of river. The road
passed 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 grassy islands; the cultivation occu