MAHENDRA. 237 



me that in the centre of G-anjam there 

 stood a mountain of ancient fame, the 

 highest in that part of India, which 

 had only once been ascended by an 

 EngHsh officer (Major Strange, of the 

 trigonometrical survey), I had made 

 up my mind to visit Mahendra and see 

 its ancient temples. 



The Raja of Mundasa, one of the 

 Ooriyah zemindars, whose estates in- 

 cluded a portion of Mahendra, entered 

 into these plans with enthusiasm, as- 

 sisted materially in ' getting a tent and 

 supplies carried up, and declared his 

 intention of making his first ascent on 

 the same occasion. It was not hard to 

 assemble a few congenial spirits for 

 such an expedition, and after many 

 hours of toil, during which we scattered 



