n.

I know my own face felt as if it had been dipped in boiling water, and
during the next few days the whole skin came off in flakes.

I may as well here describe the tribulations of the advanced party,
prefacing my remarks by saying that they are founded on reports and
hearsay, and therefore I beg any slight inaccuracy may be forgiven me.
When I turned back to return to Ghizr, the party carrying the guns were
just arriving at a stream called the Shamalkhand, which flows from a
high pass of the same name, which is often used as a summer route to
Mastuj, but at that time of year is impassable. From this stream to
Langar, the camping ground on the eastern side of the Shandur Pass, is
some four miles, the valley being open and fairly level, but covered
with thick dwarf willow on the banks of the stream flowing down the
centre which confines the road to the western side of the valley. The
main body of the party I could see about one and a half miles ahead;
they had already crossed the stream. That was about 4 P.M., and the
rearguard did not get into camp till 11 P.M., and even then the guns had
to be left about a mile from camp.

At Langar there is only one little wretched hut about six feet square,
which was used as a shelter by the officers and one or two sick men, the
remainder huddling round fires in the snow. Luckily, as I have already
said, there was a plentiful supply of wood to be had for the cutting.
Many of the men, I hear, were too tired to cook their food, but simply
lay down exhausted near the fires, the officers getting something to eat
about midnight. Very little sleep was there for either officers or men
that night, most of them passed it huddled up round the fires, or
stamping up and down to keep warm.

Early the next morning the Pioneers and Levies started to cross the
pass, while the remainder brought the guns into camp, which work, I
believe, took the best part of the day.

On leaving the camping ground, the track leads sharply to the right,
following the course of the Shandur stream, which is now merely a
rushing brook. The ascent is fairly precipitous for about a mile, and is
followed by a very gradual ascent,--so gradual, in fact, that it is
difficult to say when the top of the pass is actually reached. This
slope constitutes the pass, and is some five miles long, and twelve
thousand three hundred and twenty feet above the sea; absolutely bare of
trees, and with two fair-sized lakes upon its sur