thank him, as he left Chitral hurriedly just before our arrival. The
house is the best I have seen in Chitral, a fine stone-paved courtyard,
surrounded on three sides with rooms and a verandah, a fine old chinar
tree near the gateway on the fourth side. The principal rooms are high
and larger than usual, but of the usual pattern. I think we got two
companies of the Pioneers and ourselves into this house alone.

By three o'clock we had settled down, and were getting dry. The Levies
were sent out foraging, and brought in several ponies. As our stores
decreased, and more ponies were brought in, we had spare ponies for
riding, and we were nearly all mounted by the time we reached Chitral.
However, we had not been there ten days before the owners began turning
up, and we were ordered to give them back, much to our disgust. It was
quite a treat to be in camp and settled before dark, and I've no doubt
the coolies were as thankful as we were. The only drawback to our food
was the flour of which the chupatties were made; it was coarse to a
degree, and seemed to consist chiefly of minute speckly pieces of husk,
which used to tickle our throats up in the most unpleasant manner, and
had a nasty habit of choking the swallower, in addition to being highly
indigestible. We used at last to sift the flour through linen, and the
residuum was a surprise and revelation.

We had intended to march the next morning by 7 A.M., with the intention
of getting to a village called Parpish, but as it was still pelting with
rain, the march was deferred, to give the weather a chance of clearing
up, which it very kindly did about 10 A.M., when we started. The Kashmir
Company was on advance guard that day, so I went with them, two levies
leading, as usual, about a quarter of a mile ahead. We struck up country
for about two miles, till we got to a kotal, or saddle, from whence we
had a splendid view of the surrounding country. During a halt, Colonel