CHAPTER III. 



THE mAhADEO hills. 



In the eyes of the Hindu inhabitants of the neigh- 

 bouring plains, the whole of the range of hills which 

 culminated in the Puchmurree plateau is sacred to their 

 deity Siva, called Mahadeo, or the Great God ; and the 

 hills themselves are called by his name, the Mahadeos. 

 A conception of awe and mystery had always been 

 associated with their lofty peaks, embosomed among 

 which lies one of the most sacred shrines of the god, 

 to which at least one pilgrimage was a necessity in the 

 life of every devout Hindii. But excepting at the 

 appointed season for this pilgrimage, no dweller of the 

 plains would venture, at the time of which I am writing, 

 to set his foot on the holy soil of Mahadeo's hills ; and, 

 as we approached its neighbourhood, gloomy looks 

 began to gather on the faces of my followers, whose 

 fears had been acted on by the conversation of the 

 people they had met. The road to the top was repre- 

 sented as impassable from natural difiSculties ; and 

 guarded by wild beasts, goblins, and fell disease. 



I halted a day at Jhilpa, the last village on the 

 plains, to make arrangements for the ascent, and 

 procure guides ; and on the 22nd packed my small tent 



