438 FRASERPETT. Chap. XXVI. 



the betel-niit-palm, and the other from an acacia. To obtain 

 the catechu from the betel-palm the nuts are boiled, and the 

 remaining water is inspissated, and yields the best kind, 

 which is used for the golden coffee-brown colour in dyeing 

 calico, as well as for tanning. From the acacia the catechu is 

 obtained by boiling the unripe pods and old wood. It is not 

 considered so good as hino or divi-divi for tanning purposes, 

 on account of its extreme astringency. The tannery at 

 Hoonsoor is a very extensive establishment, where shoes, 

 sandals, crossbelts, and scabbards are made for the army. 



This place suffers frequently and most severely from 

 cholera; and, during these terrible Aasitations a Swami or 

 God, in the shape of a small stone image of Ganesa seated 

 under a black-wood tree, is specially invoked. 



Hoonsoor is 25 miles from Fraserpett, at the foot of the 

 Coorg mountains, and we passed tlirough extensive groves of 

 palm-trees with chatties fastened round the spadices to catch 

 the toddy. Fraserpett is within the Coorg district, and it is 

 in the pleasant little bungalows which have been built here, 

 that the English take refuge during the heavy down-pour of 

 the south-west monsoon. Through the kindness of Captain 

 Martin, a former Superintendent of Coorg, and now engaged 

 in the cultivation of coffee, we found horses waiting for us at 

 Fraserpett, and continued our journey to Mercara, the capital 

 of the district. 



After the first two miles the road enters a dense bamboo 

 jungle, extending along the base of the mountains. It was 

 the month of January and the forest was completely dried 

 up and burnt by the sun and want of rain, looking brown 

 and sombre. A splendid white Ijwmcea, with a rich lilac 

 centre, was creeping in festoons to the very top of the 

 feathery bamboos which bent gracefully over the road. At 

 a place called Soonticoopah, ten miles from Fraserpett, the 

 ascent of tlie mountains begins. The road leads up and 



