In _The Indian Borderland_ we are told that “the Kunar River rises in a blue lake called Gaz Kul, or Karumbar, under the southern slopes of the Hindu Kush. This, at least, is one of its sources. Many a mighty glacier standing about the head of the Yarkhun River offers its contributions. The Yarkhun flows past the foot of the Baroghil Pass, over pebble and boulder-covered flats, and through terrific gorges, with here and there the snout of a glacier protruding (or even temporarily blocking the valley) till it reaches Mastuj. From this point you may call it the Chitral River, or Kashkar, for it now flows past Chitral, and through the district known to hill people as Kashkar. It does not become the Kunar till it reaches the neighbourhood of the ancient kingdom of Kunar, which occupies the last fifty miles of its course before it joins the Kabul River.... The Kunar Valley and the Valley of the Bashgul, or Arnawai, together lead up to the Mandal and Dorah passes, either one of which is the gateway to the rich valleys of eastern Badakshan, and opens up a direct line to Jalalabad from the Oxus, which does not touch Kabul at all. These passes are high (14,000 feet to 15,000 feet), difficult, and very much more buried under snow than those further west; but a well-constructed road across them would still be a passable trade route for many months in the year; and would offer a far more direct connection between the Oxus regions and India than any which now exist.” [Sidenote: Asmar] “Asmar is the most unattractive corner of the Kunar district. A narrow, three-cornered patch of dusty valley, over which the wind comes dancing and sweeping from all sides at once, with the river running deep in a rocky gorge below; steep pine-clad hills to the west, and more reasonable slopes to the east, amongst which there winds up one of the chief routes into Bajaur ... such is the general view of Asmar.”