bottom of which a pelting torrent forced its way. The variegated
strata on the mountain side, forming distinct lines of red, yellow,
blue, and brown, were very remarkable, and I much regret that I had
not time to devote to them most strict examination in a geological
point of view.

On the 25th we started for Bamee[=a]n, passing by another Topechee a
few miles further on, which is famous for its trout stream. Very few
of these fish are found in the country, and only in the streams within
a few miles of this spot. They are red-spotted and well-flavoured,
and, as the natives do not indulge in the angler's art, they will rise
at any kind of fly and gorge any bait offered. While halting a few
minutes at lower Topechee we fell in with an Uzbeg warrior, a most
formidable looking personage, armed, in addition to the usual weapons
of his country, with a huge bell-mouthed blunderbuss at least three
inches in diameter; the individual himself was peaceably enough
disposed, and, contrary to the usual habit of Asiatics, made no
objections to our examining the small cannon he carried. On inspecting
the deadly instrument we discovered it to be loaded to the very
muzzle, a mixture of pebbles, slugs, and bits of iron being crammed
into the barrel over a charge of a couple of ounces of powder. On our
inquiring why it was so heavily charged, the man told us with much
naiveté, that it was to kill _nine_ men, illustrating the method by
which this wholesale destruction was to be accomplished, by planting
the butt on his hip and whirling the muzzle from right to left in a
horizontal direction across us all, and telling us very pleasantly
that if he were to fire we should all fall from the scattering of the
different ingredients contained in the blunderbuss; had we not an
instant before drawn the charge from which the fellow anticipated such
dire effects, we might have felt rather uncomfortable at our relative