1883.] S. E. Peal — Notes of a trip up the Billing. 39 



ahead, and expected to look over, and see the Dapha, but were all surprised 

 to find we had been on the second terrace all the time, and now overlooked 

 the lowest one bordering the valley ; at the edge we found traces of a village 

 in more burial mounds with a ditch around. Descending the slope which 

 was at about an angle of 45° we could easily see the rounded boulders in 

 situ in the sandy loam or clay (none angular). At foot of the slope, which 

 might be 100 feet high, we came out on a sort of flat swamp or where peat 

 and mud rested on sand and stones. Passing on we were probably an hour 

 ere we again saw daylight ahead, and knew we were approaching the cliff, 

 ere reaching which, we heard the rapids below. 



We had come obliquely and now made straight for the edge, the men 

 getting fits all the way from the Hingory-seed spines. Coming out at last 

 and looking over, we were all astonished at the height, instead of about 

 200 feet it looked more like 400, and cautiously locking down while hold- 

 ing a sapling I involuntarily drew back, as I could not see the cliff face at 

 all, and seemed to be standing out on a ledge. The old Kamti kept back 

 some distance, and " felt as if something was pulling him over," I got to 

 another place and lay down and thus looking over, could see the face of 

 the cliff, pretty clean for some 80 or 100 feet down, after which ferns and 

 such grew, then creepers and grasses, shrubs and saplings. Tree tops often 

 touched the cliff face below. To get down was now the difficulty, " Nong" 

 who alone knew the place, I had to send back, ere this, to the Dapha mukh, 

 where we waded, as my belt and keys were dropped there, and now we had 

 to trust to our wits. There was but one passage down we all knew, so we 

 worked south along the edge. Animals go up and down this path, so we 

 kept a sharp look out for tracks. While going thus, we were suddenly 

 started by a loud deep growl or rumble, and saw the jungle moving, at 

 once all called out " magui," (elephant) and Lutak saw it, so we moved on 

 as quietly and rapidly as we could, and were glad to get past such a very 

 awkward enemy in such an awkward situation. I was hardly prepared to 

 find it literally true that there was no chance of getting down except at 

 this one rift, but so it turned out, and we went on and on, till at last 

 tracks were found to form a path or puti^ and then out we came to where 

 many of these converged at the mouth of a very small gully, wide enough 

 for one at a time to enter. Here we rested and ate our lunch, and I had 

 time to ask as to the singular feature we saw here and there, where huge 

 Hingori trees had fallen over eastwards, at the verge of the precipice, in 

 all cases the roots being at the very edge, and the stem lying in at right 

 angles, (and none oblique), for some time it was not obvious, but at last we 

 saw it was caused by the loss of root-anchorage on the precipice edge, and 

 that the " Nor- westers" could thus overturn the larger trees pretty easily 

 in consequence — the regularity of the phenomena was remarkable. The 



