32 WILD LIFE IN NORTH CANARA. 



We used to send letters from Yella- 

 pore to the north-eastern part of 

 Soopah across this ravine when tlae 

 river was low, throwing bridges of rude 

 temporary planking from rock to rock ; 

 but this was not possible when the 

 river was full, and the usual road for 

 the greater part of the year turned the 

 head of the ravine by a detour which 

 made the distance between forty and 

 fifty miles instead of less than twenty. 



The inhabitants of this singular tract 

 were in some parts Mahrattas and in 

 others of Canarese race, but there was 

 a third and less numerous section, of 



interesting one, the steep pathway ■wound among 

 teak trees of great stature, with no underwood 

 beneath them; an absolute solitude where the 

 silence was unbroken. 



