﻿FROM CHUNARGHUR TO VERTN' AGOODUM. <)3 



We had hardly reached the top of the fivfl; afcent, 

 H'hen a violent fquall of wind" and rain, accompanied 

 by thunder and lightning, broke under us. We were 

 fortunate inefcaping it j for had it fallen in our track, 

 it would have rendered the road fo flippery as greatly 

 to increafe the difficulty of the afcent. We arrived 

 at Mahtin about an hour before noon, and encamped 

 on the ealt bank of the river Taty. Near this place 

 (bearing north about one mile diltant) is a very pic- 

 turefque mountain, called, by the Cowhiers, Mahtin 

 Dey. With my telefcope I difcovered a little flag on 

 the fummit of it; and on inquiring the reafon, 1 was 

 informed that it was to denote the refidence of the 

 Hindoo Goddefs Bhavani. This day being the Hooly* 

 the mountaineers were celebrating the feftival, by 

 fmging, and dancing, in a very rude manner, to the 

 found they produced by beating a kind of drum, made 

 with a fkin ftretched over an earthern pot. They 

 feemed to be totally uninformed as to the origin or 

 meaning of the feftival; nor was there a BrahvuTi 

 among them, to afford them any information on that 

 fubject. I am inclined to think that they are a tnbe 

 of low Hindoos ; but being fo very illiterate, and 

 fpeaking a dialeft peculiar to themfelves, anv inqui- 

 ries into their hilfory, manners, and religion, would 

 have been little fatisfaclory. 



This evening we had a good deal of thunder, and 

 the fky was overcaft and clear, at intervals, until near 

 midnight; when a violent florm of wind and rain came 

 on from the N. W. accompanied with very large hail- 

 ftones. The thunder was very loud and ihrill, and, 

 being re-echoed by the mountains, the noife was tre- 

 mendous. The ftorm continued about two hours, 

 when the wind abated; but the clouds cam.e down 

 upon the hills on all fides, and the rain continued 

 more or lefs violent all the next day. 



March 



* An Hindoo fcflival at the fpiing. 



