Columbia Library columns (v.9(1959Nov-1960May))

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  v.9,no.1(1959:Nov): Page 4  



4                               Richard H. Logsdon.

My mission in Kabul was worked out by the United States
Information Service with the President of Kabul University and
officials of the Royal Afghanistan Government. Under the Spe¬
cialist Program of the State Department, I was to review proposed
plans for a new university library building; to work out a plan of
organization of staff' and ser\'ices; to determine the number and
qualifications of staff members; to make recommendations as to
the training of staff; and, finally, to give such assistance to govern¬
ment libraries as time permitted.

Not all of the time in Afghanistan was spent in libraries. We
worked a five-day week, but in two sections: Monday through
Thursday; and Saturday. This left Friday, the Moslem holiday,
and Sunday free for sightseeing. Special religious and national holi¬
days sometimes combined to give four-day weekends. Our first
out-of-town venture was east and south down the Kabul River
Gorge to Jalalabad and over the storied Khybcr Pass to Peshawar,
Pakistan. To some, the "gorge" road provides one of the most
breath-taking experiences possible in Afghanistan, At times you
are at the river's edge, literally in the sound and spray of rapids.
The roar of water, reverberating between narrow canyon walls,
drowns out engine noise and conversation. A few miles later you
will be working your way along a narroAv shelf of rock hundreds
of feet above the canyon floor. Passing becomes a problem, espe¬
cially when you meet a truck and are on the outside. Tioga Pass
at the eastern entrance to Yosemite is mild by comparison.

We went through the gorge in the rainy season, and huge bould¬
ers, some half the size of our jeep, were common in the road«'ay.
A few hours after passing one of the critical points, the whole
canyon wall gave way, pushing a hundred yards of the road into
the river. We half expected to be "marooned" at Peshawar for
several weeks, but our experienced Pakistan driver knew how to
find the "old road," now little more than a trail. This return trip
was along the way used by Alexander's army in 327 b.c. At times
I am sure we moved much slower than our esteemed predecessor,
  v.9,no.1(1959:Nov): Page 4