74 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA 



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 surrounding 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. Every- 

 where the massive groups of trees and park-Uke scenery 

 strike the eye ; and the greenery of the glades, and various 

 wild fiowers unseen at lower elevations, maintain the 

 illusion that the scene is a bit out 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 (Kanji Ghat) has never, I beheve, been 

 traversed by any baggage animal. The view from the 

 edge of the plateau, in almost any direction, is singularly 

 fine; and a still more extensive sweep is commanded 

 from the top of the higher peaks. 



To the south, as far as the eye can see, lie range upon 

 range of forest-covered hills, tumbled in wild confusion. 

 To the east a long line of rampart-like cliffs marks the 

 southern face of the Mahadeo range, the deep red of their 

 sandstone formation contrasting finely with the intense 

 green of the bamboo vegetation, out of which they rise. 

 Here and there they shoot into peaks of bare red rock, 

 many of which have a pecuHar and almost fantastic 



