1844.] Notes on the Kasia Hills, and People. 631 



pices which spring right from the water, to a height of many hundred 

 feet, is a curiously arched cavity strongly resembling an upturned boat, 

 and which the people name Basbanya's ship. Who Basbanya might 

 have been, I could not learn, except that he was one of the " Deota 

 Log." Resting under this vault, we witnessed the mode of fishing in 

 the river. About thirty skiffs forming a circle dropped their large net, 

 and each holding a cord from it, diverged in all directions. When 

 they had reached the end of their tether, they again began to converge, 

 smiting the water with their oars, beating with sticks on the gunnels, 

 and howling like a hundred jackalls. Gradually they came on, making 

 the hills ring, and hauling on their lines till they were formed round 

 the net again. Then the result began to appear ; as the net gradually 

 contracted, the whole circle became alive with fish, and at least one 

 boat was heavily laden with the spoil. The river must be inexhausti- 

 ble in its supplies, for this operation is repeated many times a day by 

 several similar companies, besides smaller parties. Passing on, we 

 reached about 6 or 7 miles above the plains, the largest boulder I have 

 ever seen, standing into, and overhanging the water. It bears the 

 name of Raoul, and at a height of ten or twelve feet above the water 

 level is an old and worn Persian inscription in large letters. I was then 

 unacquainted with the Persian character, and the copy taken was rough 

 and probably incorrect, for none of my acquaintance could decypher 

 more than a word or two. It was lent to one of them for the purpose, 

 and has never been returned. Perchance it was the record of some 

 Mussulman adventurer, during the early days of their Indian history, 

 seeking an El Dorado in these wildernesses. 



On a little sandy beach where a tributary joined the main stream, 

 were a few huts, the scene of a bustling bazar of exchange between the 

 Bengallees and the Hill people. In the river's course above this all was 

 impenetrable and uninhabited thicket. Far beyond, said the Kasias, 

 dwell a strange race, who eat men and snakes : — an obscure rumour, 

 probably of the Garrows, whose territory could not be far distant. 



KURNAUL, 



September 4th, 1844. 



