THE MAHADEO HILLS. 89 



the stream were covered with ferns and mosses, and the 

 clear sparkle of the little brooks appeared singularly 

 refreshing after our long walk up-hill in the heat of a 

 sultry and lowering day. The baggage-pony found 

 considerable difficulty in scrambling over the boulders 

 that now began to block the road ; and we relieved him 

 by putting about half of his load on the two guides. 

 After scrambling thus along the sides and bottoms of 

 ravines for some miles, steadily rising at the same time, 

 we suddenly emerged through a narrow pass, and from 

 under the spreading aisle of a large banyan tree (from 

 which this pass gets its name of the Bur-ghat), on to an 

 open glade, covered with short green grass, and studded 

 with magnificent trees, which I found was the com- 

 mencement of the plateau of Puchmurree. 



Heavy masses of cloud had now gathered overhead, 

 and large drops of rain began to fall, betokening, as it 

 proved, the coming of one of the short but severe storms 

 to which these hills are liable at this season. The 

 village of Puchmurree was still some miles distant, and 

 we hurried along over the now almost level plateau to 

 get shelter as soon as possible, as we had already walked 

 about seventeen miles, and the sun was almost set. 

 The road now lay over a hard and gently undulating 

 sandy soil, crossed by many small streams running 

 swiftly in their rocky beds. Immense trees of the dark 

 green Harra [Terminalia Chehida), the arboreous Jaman 

 [Eugenia Jamholana), and the common Mango dotted 

 the plain in fine clumps ; and altogether the aspect of 

 the plateau was much more that of a fine English park 

 than of any scene I had before come across in India. 

 By-and-by, through the vistas of the trees, three great 

 isolated peaks began to appear, glowing red and fiery in 



