Our second march was to a village called Suigal in the Punyal district,
governed by Raja Akbar Khan, a jolly old chap who came out to meet us on
the road; he lives in a castle on the left bank of the river, which is
here crossed by one of the highest and longest rope bridges in the
country. In spite of his size, he is a very good polo player, as are all
his family, some of whom were shut up in the Chitral Fort with Dr.
Robertson. He now offered his services and those of his people to
Government, which Colonel Kelly accepted, and the old man retired very
pleased, to rejoin us later on. At Suigal we managed to get all the
troops under shelter, as it was still raining, and it was now the second
day that they had been wet through.

The next day the rain had luckily stopped, and towards noon the sun came
out, and everybody's dampened spirits cheered up. We marched that day to
Hoopar Pari, making a double march instead of halting at Gurkuch. Pari
means a cliff--and the camping ground is a horrid little place shut in
by high cliffs close to the bed of the river. There is no village near.
It is a desolate place at the best of times, and when there is any wind
blowing, it is like camping in a draught-pipe.

From Hoopar Pari we marched to Gupis. Gupis is a fort built by the
Kashmir troops last year, on the most scientific principle, the only
drawback being that it is commanded on all sides, and would be perfectly
untenable if attacked by three men and a boy armed with accurate
long-range rifles. Here we picked up Stewart, who was turning catherine
wheels at the thought of taking his beloved guns into action. He
expressed a desire to try a few shells on the neighbouring villages, to
practise his men in ranging; but as there were objections to this plan,
the idea was allowed to drop. At Gupis we made a raid on the stores in
the officers' quarters and pretty well cleared them out. De Vismes, who