1839.] Lieut Kitloe's Journey through the Forests of Orissa. 477 



Keunjurgurh must have the road through them likewise, for it to be 

 at all a straight line ; there was more in this sapient remark than meets 

 the eye ; part of the meaning is this, — that if he were to have the nuisance 

 imposed on him, he thought that the Lehra and Keunjur Rajas should 

 share it likewise. I was subsequently informed that he had paid a good 

 deal of money to some of Mr. Babington's people and to my own, 

 to ensure their good services in dissuading me from adopting this line. 

 The Raja when about to leave, let me know through the medium of 

 his " Spreach sprucher' that he had a very urgent request to make. I 

 requested him to speak out, when he told me a long story about some 

 Mussulman Saudagurs from Cuttack who were sitting Dhurna* at his 

 gate, wishing to insist on his paying them some debts of old standing, with 

 compound interest thereon, and that he wished me to interfere in his be- 

 half, as he was about to proceed himself Cuttack to wed a daughter of the 

 old ex- Rani of Sumbulpur ; having no power to interfere I declined do- 

 ing so, further than recommending the merchants to have patience ; 

 I accordingly directed their attendance in the evening, took leave of the 

 Raja, and proceeded immediately to see the falls, where I was told that 

 there were many " Assura ha hdr" or giant's bones, a denomination 

 generally applied to fossils ; so that I proceeded with all haste, expecting 

 a fine harvest. It was becoming dark just as I reached the lowermost 

 basin of the falls, in a beautiful woody recess, the rocks towering several 

 hundred feet above. I never saw a more enchanting spot, the mango 

 and other trees growing to an incredible height. There are five falls and 

 as many basins formed by them ; the height of each may be about 

 seventy or eighty feet ; the volume of water is considerable. I climbed 

 to the second basin, and there waited till torches were procured to en- 

 able me to see the "giant's bones," but, lo! what was my disappointment 

 when I found that these said bones were nothing more than large 

 masses of stalactite in which were fantastic caves. The inhabitants 

 make lime with it, as an ingredient for their paun and betel nut, 

 and their method of burning it is rather singular ; some hold a slab 

 of stone with a heap of lighted charcoal against the roofs of the caves ; 

 the parts affected by the heat drop off into the fire, which is then ex- 

 tinguished, and the particles of lime separated from the coal. Another 



* Sitting Dhurna is a common practice with natives who wish to attain any particular 

 object ; the custom is, to sit at the door or gate of a person without taking food or drink 

 until the party entreated yields, and should the petitioner die, the curse of his blood is 

 supposed to rest on the latter. 



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