IXTEODUCTORY. 3 



situated the western half of the highlands I speak of. 

 From its western extremity, in the fork of these lines, 

 the mountainous region extends eastwards for a distance 

 of about 450 miles, with an average width of about 80 

 miles. 



The general level of what may be called the plains 

 of Central India has here, by gradual, and to the traveller 

 scarcely perceptible steps, reached an altitude of about 

 1,000 feet above the level of the sea; and he will rise 

 but little higher than this at any point on the lines of 

 railway. So soon, however, as he leaves the railway, 

 and proceeds a few miles towards the interior of the 

 triangle, he will begin to come on ranges of hills, at first 

 generally low, but in places attaining at once a height 

 of about 1,000 feet from the plain; and beyond them 

 peaks and plateaux will present themselves evidently of 

 much superior elevation. Valleys will everywhere be 

 found penetrating the hills, by following which he may 

 rise gradually to these higher regions ; and soon he will 

 exchange the rich cultivation of the flat land throusfh 

 which the railway passes for unreclaimed w^aste and 

 rugged forest-covered steeps. 



He will now find himself in a region where all is 

 chaos to the unguided traveller ; where hill after hill of 

 the same wild and undefined character are piled to- 

 gether ; where the streams appear to run in all directions 

 at once ; and it will not be until he has traversed the 

 whole region, or closely studied a map, that some 

 method will begiu to evolve itself, and the geography 

 become plain. He will find that at a height of about 

 1,000 feet above the plain, that is of about 2,000 above 

 the sea, the hills have a tendency to spread out iu the 

 form of plateaux ; some comprising the top of only one 



