of the Southern Mdhratta Country, 295 



disorder of the tumultuous waters, the broken detached masses 

 of stone, and the soft tint of the crowning woods. 



The effect of all these objects rushing at once upon the sight, 

 is awfully sublime. The spectator is generally forced to retire 

 after the first view of them, in order gradually to familiarize 

 himself with their features ; for the feeling which he experi- 

 ences upon their sudden contemplation, amounts almost to pain. 

 After their first impression has somewhat subsided, and he has 

 become accustomed to their view, he can then leisurely analyze 

 their parts, and become acquainted with their details. 



The chasm is somewhat of an elliptical form. At its narrow, 

 est and deepest part is the principal fajl ; and over its sides 

 smaller branches of the river and little rills are precipitated, 

 and are almost all dissipated in spray before they reach the 

 bottom. The principal branch of the river is much contracted 

 in breadth, before it reaches the brink of the precipice, where it 

 probably does not exceed fifty or sixty feet, but it contains a 

 very large body of water. 



The Falls can only be seen from above, for the precipices, on 

 both sides of the river, afford no path to admit of a descent. 

 Some gentlemen have attempted to reach the bottom by having 

 themselves lowered by ropes ; but no one, to my knowledge, 

 has hitherto succeeded. A view of the Falls from below would, 

 I am convinced, exceed in grandeur every thing of the kind in 

 the world. The spectator can very easily, and with great safe- 

 ty, look down into the chasm to its very bottom. Some large 

 plates of gneiss project, in an inclined position, from its edge; 

 so that by laying himself flat upon one of these, he can stretch 

 his head considerably beyond the brink of the precipice. 



No accurate measurement has yet been made of the height 

 of these Fdls. Some who have seen them declare, that their 

 height reaches at least 1100 feet; others, that it does not reach 

 1000. I prepared a rope 900 feet long, attached a stone to one 

 end of it, and let it slip over the edge of a rock, which projects 

 several feet beyond the side of the precipice. When 500 feet 

 of rope had been let out, the stone was forcibly drawn towards 

 the principal cascade, which soon involved it among its waters, 

 and snapped the rope. The stone at this lime appeai'ed to be 

 about 200 feet from a small ledge of rock, which might be be- 



