106 KHASI HILLS. 



many miles, and add greatly to the variety and beauty of the scenery. 

 Most of these glens are very deeply excavated, the bottoms, or river 

 beds, even at the distance of several miles from the outskirts of the hills, 

 being some thousand feet below the general level of the top of the 

 plateau. In outline, all these river gorges or glens are remarkably 

 alike ; the upper portion of their sides being nearly perpendicular and 

 precipitous faces of rock, -which rest upon a rapidly inclined talus, slop- 

 ing down to the level of the water beneath. Of this general character, 

 depending, as I shall have to remark, on the geological structure of the 

 district, a good instance may be seen in the accompanying view of the 

 glen to the North and East of Surareem, as seen from the South. 

 (Fig. 1.) 

 Situated immediately to the West of one of these great glens, and 

 station of CherraPoon- almost overhanging its precipitous sides, is the .sta- 

 ^ ■ tion of Cherra Poonjee, at an elevation above the 



sea of 4,120 feet, while the bottom of the glen adjoining is nearly 3,000 

 feet below. The sanitarium occupies a small level plateau, of a rudely 

 triangular shape, bounded on the East and North-East by this deep glen ; 

 on the South by the equally grand glen of Mawsmai ; while on the West, 

 the small ridge in which the coal mines are situated rises with a sharp 

 bluff some 300 feet above the level of the plateau, and is continued ou 

 the North- West by the rounded sandstone hills, on the tops and slopes 

 of which the native village of Cherra Poonjee is placed. To the North, 

 the hills rise gradually until the average level of the central portion of 

 the range is attained ; from which the view (a) looking South ranges 

 over the flat of Cherra, to the immense expanse of the plains of Sylhet, 

 and to the distant Tipperah hills, the irregular outline of which bounds 

 the horizon. (Plate IV.) 



(a) For the originals of this sketch, and of Fig. 2, I am indchteil to Lieutenant Cave, 

 Assistant Political Agent. 



