Deshi is the name given to the country to the north of Agror, and lying to the west of Nandihar. It comprises a portion of the eastern slopes of the Black Mountain—a succession of bold, wooded spurs with intervening watercourses, on the banks of which are the villages. The fighting men number just over 700, indifferently armed. They are a united tribe, equally among themselves and when external danger threatens, but are easily accessible and exposed to attack, although not immediately on our border. They gave us some trouble in 1868, but have been quiet since.
All the above-mentioned tribes are Swatis; none of them, except the men of Deshi, have a very high reputation for courage; they are all Sunni Muhammadans and very bigoted.
Tanawal, an independent State, is, roughly speaking, a square block of territory in the north-west corner of the Hazara district, south of the Black Mountain and Agror. It consists of 200 square miles of hilly country, held as a jaghir by the Nawab of Amb, a fort and village on the right bank of the Indus. Little is known of the origin of the Tanawalis.
We now come to the Yusafzai tribes inhabiting the slopes of the Black Mountain lying to the east of the Indus, and occupying the southern corner of the angle formed by that river and the British boundary. The total length of this mountain is about twenty-five to thirty miles, and its average height about 8000 feet above sea-level. It ascends from the Indus basin at its southern end near the village of Kiara, and so up to its watershed by Baradar; thence it runs north-east by north to the point on the crest known as Chitabat. From here the range runs due north, finally descending to the Indus by two large spurs, at the foot of the easternmost of which lies Thakot. The Indus, after passing Thakot, runs westward along the northern foot of the mountain till it washes the western of the two spurs above mentioned, when it takes a sharp bend to the south, and runs below and parallel to the western foot of the range.
The Mountain Itself
The Black Mountain may be described as a long, narrow ridge with higher peaks at intervals, and occasional deep passes; the general outline of the crest is more rounded than sharp. From the sides numerous large spurs project, which are often precipitous and rocky, with deep, narrow glens or gorges lying between them, in which are some of the smaller villages of the tribes, the larger ones being, as a rule, situated on the banks of the Indus. The whole of the upper portion of the mountain is thickly wooded, with pine, oak, sycamore, horse-chestnut and wild cherry. The crest of the mountain is crossed by several passes. The mountain is bounded on the south by Tanawal; on the east by Agror, Pariari, and the Swati tribes of Tikari, Nandihar and Deshi; on the northern extremity lies the Indus and Thakot; and on the west, between the crest and the River Indus, the slopes are occupied by Yusafzai Pathans. These slopes fall steeply from the crest for some 2000 feet; then follows a zone of gentle, well-cultivated slopes; and then from 4000–5000 feet altitude the hill drops precipitously to the Indus. The actual Indus Valley here varies in width from a few hundred yards to nearly two miles, being narrowest at Kotkai and at its broadest at Palosi. It is crossed at about eleven different points by ferries, the boats holding from twenty to thirty passengers, but the inhabitants pass over the river almost everywhere on inflated skins.
There are many routes by which the mountain can be ascended, and most of these have been used by our troops in different expeditions: from British territory all of them start from either Tanawal or Agror.
The western face of the Black Mountain is inhabited by three clans:
1. The Hassanzais. 2. The Akazais. 3. The Chagarzais.
On the eastern face are the Saiyids of Pariari, besides the men of Deshi who have already been described.