Shirawati River in CuHara. 187 



English park," and noticed by ray intelligent companion as not 

 unlike some parts of the summits of the Nilgiris. We arrived 

 at the bungalow of the Jog, the native name of the Falls, at 

 nine o'clock ; and, under the impression that they were not far 

 distant, we repaired to them before we took breakfast, ha- 

 ving a walk of three miles. Before describing our impressions 

 connected with them, I shall quote in full the only printed ac- 

 count of them which I have read, and of the existence of which 

 we were not aware till our return to Bombay. It will be ob- 

 served that, though it is generally correct, we were enabled to 

 extend our observation somewhat beyond that of the able wri- 

 ter. 



'' Upon approaching the Falls,'' says Dr Christie, " you emerge from a 

 thick wood, and come suddenly upon the river, gliding gently among con- 

 fused masses of rock. A few steps more, over huge blocks of granite, bring 

 you to the brink of a fearful chasm, rocky, bare, and black ; down into which 

 you look to the depth of a thousand feet ! Over its sides rush the different 

 branches of the river, the largest stretching in one huge curling pillar of 

 white foam, without interruptina to the bottom. The waters are at the bot- 

 tom, by the force of their fall, projected far out in straight lines ; and, at some 

 distance below the falls, form a thin cloud of white vapour, which rises high 

 above the surrounding forest. The sides of the chasm are formed by slant- 

 ing strata of rock, the regularity of which forms a striking contrast to the 

 disorder of the tumultuous waters, the broken detached masses of stone, and 

 the soft tint of the crowning woods. 



" The eflect 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 experiences upon their sudden contemplation, amounts al- 

 most 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 narrowest and deepest 

 part is the principal fall ; 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 at- 

 tempted to reach the bottom by having themselves lowered by ropes ; but nc^ 

 one, to my knowledge, has hitherto succeeded. A view of the falls from be- 

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

 world. The spectator can, very easily, and with great safety, look down into 

 the chasm to its very bottom. Some large plates of gneiss project, in an in- 



