TEMPLES ON THE MOUNTAIN 21»- 



the frightful precipice into the clouds upon wliicli it 

 appears, their bodies as a rule falling- upon an inaccessible 

 spur covered with forest, perhaps a mile or more below. 

 There were a good number of pilgrims on the moun- 

 tain at the time of my visit, but the principal time for 

 pilgrimages is in the autumn, after all the harvest work 

 is completed, which is al)out the end of September. 

 All the temples are built of wood with tiled roofs, and 

 many have a barnlike appearance, but most of them 

 are fairly rich in idols and incense jars. They have, as 

 a rule, bells, some of great size, and many of them have 

 been damaged by fires, which appear to be ver}- fre- 

 quent. I saw the ruins of several temples that had been 

 recently destroyed. When a bell has been rendered 

 useless it is thrown outside, and no further care appears 

 to be taken of it There must be many hundreds of 

 tons of bronze and bell metal laying about uncared for 

 and unsheltered, going to ruin on the mountain. The 

 ruin of the bronze temple at the summit has been men- 

 tioned before. No one seems to take the trouble to 

 gather the valuable metal together for recasting or any 

 other purpose. When a temple has been burned, it is 

 nearly always rebuilt, the trees on the mountain being- 

 allowed to be used for this purpose and also for the 

 priest's firewood, but for no other purpose ; the place, 

 therefore, is not likelv to be ever denuded of its timber. 



