1890-91.] in the Central Himalayas. 397 



as it was well known that there was only one lake in the 

 whole range of the Himalayas, meaning by this Lake 

 Bhimtal. Mr Batten, the then Commissioner of Kumaon, 

 wishing to find out the truth, ordered a native to guide him 

 to the sacred lake. The native replied that no such place 

 existed. Mr Batten picked up a large stone, and, handing it 

 to the man, told him that as he had made a vow to throw 

 a stone into the lake, he (the native) would have to carry it 

 there for him. The native, caught in a tra]D, replied, " It is 

 no use carrying this big stone all the way from Almora to 

 Naini Tal, for there are far larger stones than this on the 

 edge of the lake." " Then such a place really exists ! " was 

 Mr Batten's triumphant exclamation. The Commissioner got 

 to the lake, and built a house there, in which I afterwards 

 lived. In a few years Naini Tal became one of the most 

 popular health-resorts in India. The lake is 6000 feet above 

 the sea, one mile long, a quarter of a mile broad, and eighty 

 feet deep. The water is beautifully clear, and several species 

 of carp {Barhvs) swim in the lake, and give capital sport to 

 fly-fishers. Every third or fourth year the lake is visited by 

 swarms of locusts from Bajpootana. They fall into it, and 

 the lake becomes covered with their dead bodies. On several 

 occasions I have seen the lake discoloured by Peridineum, a 

 species of infusorian ; but after a few days the water again 

 becomes clear. On the 18th September 1880 there was a 

 terrible landslip, which destroyed part of the town and killed 

 many people. It had rained continuously for forty hours, 

 and in that time twenty-five inches of rain had already fallen, 

 when, early in the forenoon of the fatal day, a portion of the 

 hill fell on the ground behind the principal hotel, burying 

 alive a native nurse and an English baby she had in her 

 arms, besides four natives who lived in cottages above the 

 hotel. The Assistant Commissioner of Kumaon was a Mr 

 Leonard Taylor, — one of the finest young fellows that ever 

 entered that noble service, the Bengal Civil Service, and one 

 of the most lovable men I have ever known. He at once 

 organised a digging-party, consisting of gentlemen volunteers, 

 private soldiers from the barracks, and a number of natives. 

 For four hours they worked on in the pitiless rain — for one inch 

 of rain continued falling every hour throughout the day. It 



