292 VALLEY OF THE DOULEE. 



receding cavity evidently hollowed out by the constant action 

 of the water behind a ledge on the cliff; thence it leaps 

 forth and continues its precipitate course in an unbroken 

 line for many hundred feet. When in flood, this waterfall, 

 which is called Bingareebeyl, has a singularly fine effect. 



Our next halt was at Seraitota, so called from some 

 " serai " (cypress) trees growing in the vicinity. We camped 

 at the foot of a wild gorge, which, on a former visit to these 

 parts, I had explored with Puddoo, who, well as he knew 

 these mountains, had never previous to that time been more 

 than a mile or two up it. As our expedition was not 

 altogether uneventful, I shall here make a digression, and 

 endeavour to briefly relate our experiences. 



At first Puddoo had tried to dissuade me from going up 

 this glen by telling me it was held in bad repute by the 

 villagers, who believed it to be the haunt of an evil spirit, 

 and that the tahr there bore charmed lives. The real truth, 

 I suspect, was, that being my first expedition with him, he 

 was doubtful as to what my capabilities might be at moun- 

 tain work, and therefore wished to avoid the responsibility 

 of having taken me to a place where the ground was reported 

 to be excessively bad, in the event of any accident occur- 

 ring. However, on returning to Seraitota, after hunting 

 with him farther up the Doulee valley, he made no more 

 objections to our visiting this " enchanted glen." 



At the hamlet of Tolma, hard by, we secured the services 

 of the " padan " (head-man), a queer old character named 

 Ganna, and also of two or three stout fellows to assist the 

 lower-range coolies I had brought with me thus far, who 

 were quite unaccustomed to carrying loads over such ground 

 as they would have to encounter up here. For some distance 

 we had no difficulty in getting along, up beside the torrent, 

 until the gorge took the form of an acute-angled V, where 

 the rocks rose so abruptly from the water that we were 

 obliged to take a higher route along the steep hill-face. 

 Each moment the ground became more frightful, until at 



