THE MAHADEO HILLS. 87 



eighteen or twenty, and an ardent sportsman, who was after- 

 wards my guide over the whole of this wonderful mass of 

 mountains. We were out nearly all day, the succession of 

 fine views from the different heights and bluffs luring me on 

 and on, till what was meant for a stroll ended in a pretty 

 hard day's work. 



I found that the plateau had something of a cup-like shape, 

 draining in every direction from the . edges into the centre, 

 where two considerable brooks receive its waters and carry 

 them over the edge in fine cascades. The general elevation 

 of this central valley is about 3400 feet, the ridge sur- 

 rounding it being a few hundred feet higher, and here and 

 there shooting into abrupt peaks, of which the three I 

 had seen the evening before attain a height of 4500 feet. 

 The area of the plateau is altogether about twelve square 

 miles, some six of which in the centre resemble the portion I 

 had before passed through, and consist of fine culturable, 

 though light, soils. Everywhere the massive groups of trees 

 and park-like scenery strike the eye j and the greenery of the 

 glades, and various wild flowers unseen at lower elevations, 

 maintain the illusion that the scene is a bit oat of our own 

 temperate zone rather than of the tropics. Though the ascent 

 on the side I had come up was generally gradual, I found 

 that in all other directions the drop from the plateau was 

 sudden and precipitous. There are three other pathways by 

 which a man can easily, and an unladen animal with difficulty, 

 ascend and descend. Subsequently we took lightly laden 

 elephants (which, when there is room for them, are the most 

 sure-footed of all creatures) up and down both of the passes 

 leading to the south ; but the eastern pass (Kdnji GMt) has 

 never, I believe, been traversed by any baggage animal. The 

 view from the edge of the plateau, in almost any direction, is 



