Feb. 1848. HILL FIRES AND DUST STORMS. 51 



limestone, which is nearly horizontal ; and this again, 

 unconformably on the quartz and hornstone rocks, which 

 are confused, and tilted up at all angles. 



A spur of the Kymore, like that of Rotas, here projects 

 to the bed of the river, and was blazing at night with the 

 beacon-like fires of the natives, lighted to scare the tigers 

 and bears from the spots where they cut wood and bamboo; 

 they afforded a splendid spectacle, the flames in some places 

 leaping zig-zag from hill to hill in front of us, and looking 

 as if a gigantic letter W were written in fire. 



The night was bright and clear, with much lightning, 

 the latter attracted to the spur, and darting down as it 

 were to mingle its fire with that of the forest ; so many 

 flashes appeared to strike on the flames, that it is probable 

 the heated air in their neighbourhood attracted them. 

 We were awakened between 3 and 4 a.m., by a violent 

 dust-storm, which threatened to carry away the tents. 

 Our position at the mouth of the gulley formed by the 

 opposite hills, no doubt accounted for it. The gusts were 

 so furious that it was impossible to observe the barometer, 

 which I returned to its case on ascertaining that any 

 indications of a rise or fall in the column must have been 

 quite trifling. The night had been oppressively hot, with 

 many insects flying about ; amongst which I noticed 

 earwigs, a genus erroneously supposed rarely to take to the 

 wing in Britain. 



At 8^ a.m. it suddenly fell calm, and we proceeded 

 to Chanchee (alt. 500 feet), the native carts breaking- 

 down in their passage over the projecting beds of flinty 

 rocks, or as they hurried down the inclined planes we cut 

 through tne precipitous clay banks of the streams. Near 

 Chanchee we passed an alligator, just killed by two men, a 

 foul beast, about nine feet long, of the mugger kind. More 



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