Arrives in the Isakhail country.

zâr and Tâk.1 Of the Afghan tribes, the Kerâni, the Kivi, the Sûr, the Isa-Khail, and Niâzi, cultivate the ground in this country. On ascending into the Bânu territory, I received information that the tribes inhabiting the plain had erected a sanger in the hills to the north. I therefore dispatched against them a body of troops under Jehangir Mirza. The sanger against which he went was that of the Kivi tribe. It was taken in an instant, a general massacre ensued, and a number of heads were cut off and brought back to the camp. A great quantity of cloth was taken on this occasion by the army. Of the heads a pile of skulls was formed in the Bânu country. After the taking of this sanger, one of the chiefs of the Kivis, named Shâdi Khan, came to me with grass in his mouth, and made his submission. I spared and gave up to him all the prisoners who had been taken alive.

After the sack of Kohat, it had been resolved that, after plundering the Afghans about Bangash and Bânu, we should return back to Kâbul by way of Naghz or Fermul. After ravaging Bânu, however, persons perfectly acquainted with the whole routes represented to me that Desht was near at hand; that the inhabitants were wealthy and the roads good; and it was finally determined that, instead of returning by Fermul, we should plunder the Desht, and return back by that road.2

On the morrow, we marched thence, and halted on the banks of the same river, at a village of the Isakhail. The Isakhail having had notice of our approach, had betaken themselves to the Choupâreh mountains. I next marched from the village of the Isakhail, and encamped on the skirts of the Choupâreh mountains, while the skirmishers, ascending the mountain, stormed a sanger of the Isakhail, and brought back sheep, cattle, and cloths, in great quantity. The same night, the Isakhail Afghans attempted a surprize; but as I had been particularly cautious, they did not succeed. The whole army had been drawn up in battle-array, with right and left wing, centre and van, at their stations, armed and ready to maintain their posts; and there were foot-soldiers on the watch all round the camp, at the distance of rather more than a bowshot from the tents. In this manner the army passed the night. Every night I drew out the army in the same manner; and every night three or four of my most trusty chiefs in turn went the rounds about the camp with torches. I myself also took one round. Such persons as had not repaired to their posts had their noses slit, and were led about the camp in that state. On the right wing was Jehangir Mirza, with Bâki Cheghâniâni, Shirim Tâghâi, Syed Hussain Akber, and several other Begs; on the left wing were Mirza Khan, Abdal Rizâk Mirza, Kâsim Beg, and some other Begs; in the centre there were none of the superior Begs, all of them were Begs of my own household; in the van were Syed Kâsim, the chamberlain, Baba Ughul Alaberdi, and

1 All through his operations in Bânu, Baber uses west for south, and the other points of the compass accordingly. Hence we have on the east Choupâreh and the Sind, on the north Dinkôt, on the south Desht or Damân. Tâk seems to be the Tuk of Mr Elphinstone's map; and Bâzâr is there laid down west of it. Tâk is said long to have been the capital of Damân.

2 This road was more to the south, and more circuitous than the other.

3 The Isakhail are one of the principal tribes of Afghans.

• The Choupâreh mountains seem to be the ridge between Largi and the Sind.

5 Irâwel.

several other Begs. The whole army was divided into six bodies, each of which, in its turn, was appointed to keep watch for one whole day and night.

Leaving the skirt of this mountain I marched towards the west,' and halted between Mode of finding waDesht and Bânu,2 in a tank in which there was no water. The soldiers here digging ter in the dry bed of a river, procured water for themselves, their flocks, mares, and cattle. By digging a gez or a gez and half into the dry channel, water was found; and it is not in this river alone that this occurs, but in all the beds of rivers in Hindustân, water is with certainty found by digging down a gez or a gez and a half. It is a wonderful provision of providence, that though in Hindustân there is no permanently running water except in the large rivers, yet that water should be found so near the surface in all the dry channels of the rivulets.

Desht.

Marching from this dry river in the morning, the light cavalry moving forward Reaches the without anything to encumber them, about afternoon prayers reached the villages of Desht. The skirmishers immediately proceeded to ravage several of the villages, and brought off much spoil in raiment, flocks of sheep, and horses bred for sale. All this night till morning, and all next day till night, the beasts of burden, flocks of sheep, camels, and foot-soldiers of the army, which had been left behind on the road, continued to drop in. During the day that we remained here, the pillaging parties went out, and brought in numbers of sheep and oxen from the villages of Desht. Having also fallen in with some Afghan merchants, they took a great quantity of white cloth, aromatic drugs, sugar, both candied and in powder, the stout species of horses called Tipchak, and other horses which they had for sale. Midi Moghul dismounted Khwâjeh Khezer Lohâni, who was one of the most noted and eminent of the Afghan merchants, cut off his head, and brought it to the camp. Shîrîm Tâghâi had gone out in the rear of the pillagers. He met an Afghân on foot, who struck him a blow with his sword that cut off his fore-finger.

Gomal.

On the next morning we marched forward, and halted at no great distance, among the villages of Desht. Our next march was to the banks of the river Gomal. From Reaches the Desht there are two roads that lead to the west. One of them is the road of Sangsurâkh, which reaches Fermul by way of Bûrek. The other is along the banks of the Gomal, which also conducts to Fermul," but without passing Bûrek. The road along the Gomal is generally preferred. During the few days that I had been in the Desht, it had rained incessantly; and the Gomal had in consequence swelled so much, that it was with great difficulty that we found a ford by which we could pass. Persons who knew the road informed me that it would be necessary by the Gomal road to cross the river several times; which would be attended with extreme difficulty if the flood

1 That is, as explained, the south.

2 Baber has now crossed the Kurum and Gambila, and is advancing south to the Desht or Damân. Between Damân and Bânu, and also between Damân and Isakhail, which Baber considers as part of Bânu, there is a halt without water by whichever way you go.

3 Damân.

* Lohâni is the general name for most of the tribes of Damân, the greatest merchants of Afghanistân. The word is frequently written Nuhâni in all the copies.

5 The first of these roads is probably the direct one by Kanigûram to Urghûn, the residence of the Fermulis. The one by the Gomal takes the Pass of Gholeri.

1305.

ing should continue as high as it then was. Some hesitation still remained respecting the propriety of taking this route; nor were our opinions quite settled next morning when the drum beat for the march. It was my intention to have conversed over the matter as we mounted our horses, and to have followed the route that should then ap→ 7th March pear best. It was the Ide-fitr,' and I was engaged in performing the ceremonial ablutions required on account of that festival, while Jehangir Mirza and the Begs were conversing on the subject. Some of them suggested that the mountain on the west of the Desht, which they call the Mehter Sulemâni mountain, lies between Desht and Duki; that if we could turn the extremity of the mountain we should come to a road that was level, although it might make a difference of a march or two. This plan meeting with their approbation, they directed the march of the army towards the edge of the mountain. Before I had completed my ablutions, the army was in full march for the skirts of the mountains, and many had even passed the river Gomal. As none of us had ever been this road, we were perfectly ignorant of its length or shortness. It had been adopted on mere idle surmise. The stated prayers of the Id were recited on the banks of the Gomal. In this year the nouroz1 fell remarkably near the Ide-fitr, there being only a few days between them. On the subject of this approximation I composed the following ghazel:

March

(Persian.)—They are blest who see the new moon and the face of their beloved at the same time: But I, far from the countenance of my beloved and her eyebrow, experience only sorrow.

(The concluding lines only are given.)

O Baber, deem thou the face of thy love the best of new moons, and an interview the best of Ids! For a better day than that thou canst not find, were there a hundred festivals of Nouroz, and a hundred Bairams.

Leaving the banks of the Gomal, we directed our course towards the south, and southward. marched along the skirts of the mountain. We had advanced a kos or two, when a body of death-devoted Afghans presented themselves on an eminence close upon the mountain. We instantly proceeded to charge them at full gallop; the greater part of them fled away; the rest foolishly attempted to make a stand on some small hills, which were on the skirts of the heights. One Afghan took his stand on a detached hillock, apparently because all its other sides being steep and a direct precipice, he had no road by which to escape. Sultan Ali Chanâk rode up, gained the summit, engaged and took him. This feat, which he performed in my presence, was the occasion of his future favour and advancement. In another declivity of the hill, Kutluk Kadam engaged an Afghan in combat, and while they grappled, both of them fell tumbling from a height of ten or twelve gez;5 at last, however, Kutluk cut off his head, and brought it in. Kepek Beg grappled with another Afghan on a steep knoll, when both the com

1 The Ide-fitr, or Greater Bairâm, is the feast on the conclusion of the fast of the Ramzân. It commences as soon as the new moon of Shawal is seen.

2 The mountain of the Prophet Solomon, called also the Takhte Sulimán, or Solomon's Throne.
3 The army would seem to have marched by Pezú.

↑ The Nouroz is the feast of the old Persian new-year.

5 Twenty or twenty-four feet.

batants came rolling from the top midway down; but he also brought away the Afghan's head. A great many of these Afghans fell into my hands on this occasion, but I released them all.

3

Sind.

After leaving Desht, we marched for three stages in a southerly direction, keeping Reaches the close to the skirts of the mountain of Mehter Sûlemân; and at the close of the fourth halted at Belah,' a small district lying on the banks of the Sind, and which is dependant on Mûltân. The inhabitants in general took directly to their boats, and crossed the river; a few plunged into the water, and crossed it by swimming. Opposite to this village there was an island,2 on which we observed several natives who had not passed over to the mainland; many of our troops drove their horses, all armed as they were, into the river, and passed over. Several of them were carried down by the stream; of my followers one was Kûl Ahmed Aruk, another the chief of my tentpitchers and house servants; of Jehangîr Mirza's followers, one was Kaitmâs Turkmân. In this island a considerable booty in clothes, furniture, and other property, fell into the hands of our men. All the people of that neighbourhood passed the Sind in boats, and went to the other side. A party that had passed immediately opposite to the island, trusting to the breadth of the river, drew their swords, and began to flourish them in an insulting way. Among those who had passed over to the island, one was Kul Bayezîd the cupbearer, who alone, and on an unarmed horse, threw himself into the stream and pushed for them. The water on the other side of the island was twice as broad as on this side. After swimming his horse for the distance of a bowshot in the face of the enemy, who stood on the banks, it got footing and took ground, with the water reaching as high as the flap of the saddle. He stopped there as long as milk takes to boil; and having apparently made up his mind, seeing nobody following behind to support him, and having no hopes of receiving any assistance, he rushed with great speed on the enemy who occupied the bank: they discharged two or three arrows at him, but durst not stand their ground, and fled. Alone, on an unarmed horse, devoid of all support, to swim across such a river as the Sind, to put the enemy to flight and occupy their ground, was a stout and manly feat. After the enemy had taken to flight, our troops passed over, and got a considerable booty in cloth, cattle, and other plunder. Although on several former occasions I had distinguished Kul Bayezid by marks of favour, in consequence of the services which he had done, and of the bravery which he had repeatedly displayed, and had promoted him from the office of cook to be one of my tasters, yet after this last courageous achievement, I was still more resolved to show him every possible mark of favour, and accordingly I did distinguish him in the most marked manner, as will be mentioned. In truth, he was worthy of every kind of attention and honour.

5

I made other two marches down the river Sind, keeping close to its banks. The soldiers had now completely knocked up their horses, from being perpetually on plundering parties, in the course of which too they had gained no booty worth the while. It consisted chiefly of bullocks; in the Desht they had got some sheep, and in several

1 Abul-Fazl says on the outside of Terbilah. "Bekâwel-also a taster or butler.

2 Arâli.
3 Mehter Ferâsh.
"Yedak often signifies a led horse.

Bekâwel.

Marches westward from the

Sind.

Arrives at

Chotiâli.

Conspiracy

in Baber's

camp.

places clothes, and such like articles. After leaving the Desht, they got nothing but bullocks. In our marches along the Sind, however, these were found in such plenty, that the meanest retainer in the army often picked up three or four hundred bullocks and cows; but from their very numbers they were obliged to leave the greater part of them behind.

For three marches I proceeded along the Sind, and separated from it right against the tomb of Pîr Kânu,' on reaching which we halted. As some of the soldiers had wounded several of the attendants at the tomb, I ordered one of the culprits to be punished, and he was hewn to pieces as an example. This tomb is very highly respected in Hindustân. It lies on the skirts of a hill which is connected with the mountain of Mehter Sûlemân.

Taking my departure from this tomb, I reached the top of a hill-pass,2 where we halted. Marching from thence I gained Rûdi,3 a place dependent on the country of Dûki. While moving from that station, Fâzil Gokultâsh, the Darogha of Sivi, a servant of Shah Beg,5 with twenty of his people, who had come to reconnoitre us, were seized and brought in; but as at that time we were not in bad terms, I dismissed them with their arms and horses.

Leaving this station, the second march brought us to Chotiâli, one of the villages of Dûki, near which we encamped. Though the horses had undergone great fatigue in the continual plundering parties in which they had been engaged, both before reaching the Sind, and along its banks, yet they had plenty of corn, and abundance of grain cut in the ear, so that they did not flag. But when we left the banks of the Sind, and moved up by Pîr Kânu, there were no longer green cuttings, or at least in two or three marches a very inconsiderable quantity of young corn was occasionally met with. I could not even get corn for my own horse. In the course of these marches, the horses of the army began to flag. In the stage at which we halted after leaving Chotiâli, I was even forced to leave my pavilion-tent' behind for want of carriage. While there, such a rain fell during the night, that the water reached above the knee among the tents, and I was obliged to sit on carpets piled on each other; in which melancholy plight we were forced to wear away the night till morning appeared.

A march or two after, Jehangir Mirza came up to me, and whispered in my ear, "I have a word to speak with you in private." I retired with him, and he said to me, "Bâki Cheghâniâni has been with me, and said, We intend to send the King, with seven, eight, or ten persons, over the Sind, and to raise you to the throne." I asked,

1 The tomb of Pîr Kânu was probably near the Dera Ghâzi Khan, which lies nearly in lat. 29.50. The Durgah of Sakhi Sirwar is still a place of pilgrimage in that neighbourhood. The vicinity of Sivi, or Siwistan, is a proof that Baber must have gone so far down the Sind.

2 The pass of Pawat lies above Sakhi Sirwar.

3 Or it may be," a stream belonging to the country," &c. as Leyden has it.. 4 Or Siwi.

5 Shah Beg, Zûlnûn Beg's son, when expelled from Ghazni and Kâbul, had occupied the country below Sivistân. He finally conquered Sind.

6 Dûki is not now known. A place of that name appears, however, in De l'Isle's map, as well as in Rennell's, not more out of its situation than the rest of the country. But it is probable that the whole country took the name of Dûki from lying among the hills, Dûki signifying hill in the language of the country, and may thus be used as opposed to the Desht, or plain.

7 Khirgâh.