The
opportunity of making fresh maps and of adding to and correcting the
detail of existing maps only occurs when troops are passing through the
country, and must not be neglected. The route lay up the main valley
which leads to Nawagei. We started early, but the way was long and the
sun high before we reached the entrance of the pass. The landscape was
one of the strangest I shall ever see. On the opposite bank of the river
were the dwellings of the Utman Khels, and in an area seven miles by
three, I counted forty-six separate castles, complete with moats, towers
and turrets. The impression produced was extraordinary. It suggested
Grimm's fairy tales. It almost seemed as if we had left the natural
earth and strayed into some strange domain of fancy, the resort of
giants or ogres.
To reach the pass, we were compelled to traverse a large village, and as
the situation in the narrow, winding streets was about as awkward for
cavalry as could be imagined, every possible precaution was taken to
guard against attack.
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