"We are marching all day over the most impossible ground. Our food comes up at about 10 o'clock at night. Last night, owing to the badness of the track, it never came in at all, and this morning I hear it is still four miles off, the other side of the pass: this means another eight hours! Talk about roads, you never saw such a country! You approach a range of hills 10,000 ft. high, you have to cut a road for the animals before you attempt to bring them up, and this means time. Every now and then they have to stop and clear away these creatures who stalk us and shoot from behind rocks. We have {138} been very fortunate in losing no men, though we have knocked over a good many of them." * * * * * "Yesterday we were soaked with rain twice, had difficulty about wood for cooking, all green and soaked with wet; but everybody got in by 10 p.m. except about fifty mules and a company of Goorkhas who were stopped by the road falling away and some mules falling through about 300 yards down the khud. This of course stopped the remainder there for the night, but we got them some food, and they had to bivouac the night there without fire or blankets. We got them on this morning. "Is it not marvellous? Out of my whole force of four regiments, a battery, and a company of Sappers, I have no sick men; they march all day, making roads, constantly get wet through, often have to sleep at great elevations. We were 8,700 ft. the night before last, without blankets, and yet they are all quite fit: no sick officer or man. Of course we take all the care we can of them. "Yesterday after passing over the pass we found on the hills along which the road ran all English flowers--narcissus, iris, lilies (they plant them on their graves), may, hawthorn, hyacinths, tulips, in great profusion. The country is magnificent, soil very rich, would grow anything; we must take the country and improve it. It is another Kashmir." * * * * * "We had a thunderstorm with lightning last night, a grand sight. I was coming back from Ashreth after nightfall, and stopped several times to watch the lightning light the snow peaks--quite beautiful! [Illustration: On the road to Chitral.] "I had a hard day the day before yesterday. {139} My orderly officer and I had to go from Dir to Janbatai and back, about fifty-six miles over a difficult road; we started at 5 a.m. and did not get back till 1 a.m. yesterday. For we were delayed on the road so long inspecting that night overtook us, and we had to walk along a most impossible track leading our ponies; we literally had to feel our way with our feet. We all got falls over rocks and stones, but beyond breaking our skin and clothes we were none the worse. The river was running under us nearly all the way about 300 ft. straight down, so you may imagine we had to be careful. I lost my helmet, but fortunately it rolled down the track instead of over the khudside."