The district of Swat proper—as distinct from the tracts of country south of the Malakand and Morah Mountains, and inhabited by the same clans—comprises the valley of the Swat River, from its junction with the Panjkora northwards to the village of Ain, above which the country is known as Swat Kohistan. From Ain to the Landakai spur, five miles above Chakdara, the valley is called Bar, or Upper Swat, while Kuz, or Lower Swat, is the name given to the portion from Landakai downwards to the village of Kalangai. The valley is about seventy miles long and some twelve miles wide from crest to crest of its watersheds. The river, fed by glaciers and snow, begins to rise in the middle of April, and rapidly becomes unfordable, falling again in the middle of September, and being passable almost anywhere by midwinter. The climate is much the same as that of Buner, and the valley is unhealthy and malarious in summer. Of the country of Swat, Oliver, in _Across the Border_, writes: “Its hill tops are clothed with rich forests, giving place to a variety of excellent fruit trees in its well-watered valleys. Its climate is temperate even in summer, and its capabilities great. Many parts of it are known to be rich in ancient remains; the frequent ruins in Swat and Bajaur indicate the former presence of Greek, Buddhist and Hindu, and innumerable inscribed tablets in Greek and Pali—probably becoming fewer and less valuable every year—only await scientific investigation to throw much light on the ancient history of this part of the world.... The river from which the district takes its name, probably the Suastos of Arrian, debouches on British territory near the fort of Abazai, whence, up to its junction with the Panjkora—the ancient Gauraios—it is a swift, deep torrent, rushing between precipitous banks; the surrounding hills impracticable for any except foot passengers, and not easy for them, being in the hands of the Utman Khels.... The whole valley is highly cultivated and densely populated, each glen or gorge has its village or hamlet, and the total population has been estimated at not far short of 100,000 souls. The fields are in terraces one above another, extensively irrigated by channels diverted from the river or the torrents flowing into it. The course of the river itself, working from side to side of the valley, is marked by more numerous villages, groves of trees, and almost unbroken cultivation. The very burying-grounds, usually especially sacred to Pathans, are regularly ploughed up, and the dead buried in the fallow lands; hardly a single yard of tillable ground is neglected. Wheat and most grains, sugar-cane, lucerne, tobacco, and vegetables are extensively grown, and Upper Swat yields excellent fruits. In the hot weather, when a great portion of the valley can be irrigated, the lands everywhere near the river are a sheet of luxuriant rice, the steamy exhalations from which no doubt contribute largely to the unhealthiness of the valley.