Chap. XXYI. HOONSOR— THE TANNERY. 437 



particular point, who dashed across the Cauvery and up the 

 breach. Tippoo was jammed by the flying crowd in a small 

 doorway, which Ave saw, where he Avas killed, and from that 

 day the pestiferous Seringapatam ceased to be the capital 

 of Mysore. The palace, now in ruins, is very like that of 

 the Nawab of the Camatic at Trichinopoly, a plain rambling 

 building Avith rows of large AvindoAAS, and there are extensive 

 gardens round it, full of tamarind-trees, cocoanuts, plantains, 

 and vines. 



The old tovm of Seringapatam is exceedingly interesting, 

 but it now wears an appearance of silent decay and deso- 

 lation. It is notoriously unhealthy, and the inevitable 

 penalty of a night passed in the town is a severe attack of 

 fever. 



From Mysore we took our way, by Hoonsoor, to the lull 

 district of Coorg. The road to Hoonsoor passes over twenty- 

 eight miles of a country very little cultivated, with extensive 

 tracts of waste land, and a few fields of dry grain near the 

 villages. Hoonsoor has for many years been a GoA'ernment 

 grazing-farm and manufactory. In 1860 the bullocks were 

 all sold off, but there are still thiiiy-eight fine elephants, and 

 upAvards of a hundred camels. We saw the elephants having 

 their breakfasts in a solemn motionless roAv, large heaps of 

 rice Avi'apped in bundles of reed being put into their mouths 

 by the mahouts. Besides an establishment of blacksmiths, 

 carpenters, brass-Avorkers, and of women employed in making 

 blankets, there is an extensive Government tannery at Hoon- 

 soor. There are many trees in India weU adapted for 

 tanning purposes, but the American sumach {Ccesalpinia 

 coriaria) introduced by Dr. Wallich in 1842, and called by 

 the natives divi-divi, appears to be considered the best at 

 Hoonsoor. The ^-mo-tree {Pterocarpus marsupium) is another, 

 and there are two kinds of catechu used for tanning, one from 



