Hindu Kush and source of the Oxus In November 1869 Hayward started his next journey north through the Himalaya. With almost no provisions or gear he travelled in the dead of winter almost 300 miles to Gilgit. The winter crossing took over two months instead of the ten to twenty days it took when the passes were clear. While traveling in this region he had to cross a war zone between Hindu Kashmiris and Muslim Dardistan. In search of a new approach to the Pamirs he visited the Yasin Valley and became friends with Mir Wali who convinced him it was impossible to proceed through the Hindu Kush until the summer thaw. Hayward returned to India, again crossing the Himalaya with no supplies in the dead of winter. Upon returning he wrote a letter to a Calcutta newspaper describing the atrocities that the Kashmiris had committed against people in Yasin. The publication of the letter caused a minor political storm, as the Maharaja of Kashmir, Ranbir Singh, was a close British ally and vassal. Because of the negative attention he received from this letter Hayward severed his connection with the Royal Geographical Society. In June 1870 Hayward again headed north now that the mountain passes were clear. He travelled through Kashmiri territory and reached Gilgit with no difficulty. In mid July he reached Yasin once more and proceeded to the Darkot Pass at the head of the valley. He was on the verge of reaching the Oxus river and the Pamirs. On the morning of 18 July 1870 Hayward stayed up all night after receiving word he might be attacked. Towards dawn he fell asleep and he was attacked. His hands were tied behind his back and he was dragged into the woods where he was murdered. Death Controversy and mystery surrounded Hayward's death. One version states that his friend Mir Wali arranged his death on the orders of Aman ul-Mulk. An alternate version - that which was least convenient for the British - had it that the Maharaja of Kashmir had arranged Hayward's death as revenge for the letter about the Kashmiri atrocities in Dardistan. The theory says the Maharaja exacted revenge against Hayward and also benefited by framing the ruler's enemy, Mir Wali. Hayward's body was later recovered by a Kashmiri soldier. It was found under a small pile of stones, taken back to Gilgit, and buried in