Memoir of William Watts McNair, Late of "Connaught House," Mussooree, of the Indian Survey Department, the First European Explorer of Kafiristan

The memoir traces the life and career of William Watts McNair, who joined the Indian Survey Department as a young man and spent over two decades conducting topographical and geodetic work across Rajputana, Mysore, the North-West frontier, Afghanistan, Kohat and Baluchistan. It recounts his mapping of uncharted valleys and passes, his disguised 1883 expedition into Kafiristan presented to the Royal Geographical Society, his triangulation work linking the Indus to Quetta, and his reputation for observational skill and rapport with frontier peoples. The narrative concludes with official recognition of his service and his death from fever in 1889.