of revenge for
past injuries did occur, but I am sure that an impartial soldier would
rather admire the forbearance of men who for days had been marching
over the mangled remains of the C[=a]bul army.

But to return to the Kohist[=a]n. On the 4th of October we took a
transverse direction westward, crossing the plain of Buggr[=a]m,
supposed to be the site of the "Alexandria ad Calcem Caucasi" of the
ancients; numerous coins, gems, and relics of antiquity are found
hereabouts, particularly subsequently to the melting of the snows.
Formerly they were considered useless, but when our enterprising
countrymen and the army of the Indus found their way to C[=a]bul,
these memorials of the Greek had ready purchasers amongst the
numismatologists of the British force. At the same time the
C[=a]bulese considered it great folly our exchanging the current coin
for what were in their estimation useless pieces of old silver and
copper.

Throughout the marches and countermarches which it was necessary for
us to make in the northern districts of the Kohist[=a]n, in order to
prevent the enemy from gathering together, we were much interested by
the varied beauty of the scenery; and it must candidly be admitted
that our ignorance as to the nature or amount of force we might any
day find opposed to us by no means diminished our excitement. Rather
an extraordinary phenomenon occurs in a small range of hills detached
from the parent mountains, a little to the northward of the fort of
Julghur. From top to bottom of the precipitous side of one of these
spurs extends a light golden streak, rather thicker and less highly
coloured at the bottom than at the top. I was unable to approach it
nearer than about four miles, but I was credibly informed that the
streak was in reality what its appearance first suggested to my mind,
a body of fine sand continually flowing over the side of the hill, and
depositing its volumes in a heap at the base of the mountain. I might
perhaps in a windy day have ascertained the correctness of the report,
as then the sandy cascade would appear as a cloud of dust, but the
weather was calm during the whole time we were in its vicinity. It
is called by the natives the Regrow[=a]n or flowing sand. Being no
geologist, I refrain from offering any suggestions as to its cause,
but merely state what I saw and heard.

After marching about the country for some days like the Paladins of
old in search of adventure, we turned our fac