392 Journal of a trip through the [April, 



ever, it widens and the slopes of the hills on the left bank become much 

 more gradual and are laid out in fields and villages. Brahma-kotee is a 

 large and thriving village. At certain seasons of the year woodcocks 

 and pheasants are plentiful in the neighbourhood. 



43. To Main-karu is another ten miles, the path ascending and 

 descending as often as in the march before. For a good part of the 

 way we went through a forest of pines and cedar trees, which latterly 

 reached the edge of the water. We also passed through several popu- 

 lous villages, and saw extensive plots of cultivation. Within a mile of 

 our destination we crossed the river by an excellent sauga, under which 

 the water roared and fretted in its contracted bed. During the winter 

 months the frost is seldom if ever disturbed by the rays of the sun, 

 which then penetrate but for a few hours daily the gloomy depths of 

 the ravine. When I arrived a hoar frost covered the ground, whilst a 

 little higher upon each side the slopes of the mountains presented one 

 vast unbroken sheet of snow, the dazzling whiteness of the latter being 

 relieved by the dark green pines, which appeared darker by the con- 

 trast. To the eastward also it appeared as if the ravine were abruptly 

 terminated by a colossal mountain of snow from which chilling blasts 

 of wind every now and then swept through the glen. Then again the 

 mysterious jets of steam, which slowly curling upwards and uniting 

 formed one vast column of vapour until lost in air, contributed not a 

 little to enhance the solemn majesty of the scene. A remarkable in- 

 crease in the temperature is perceptible within a hundred yards of the 

 boiling springs, and the surrounding atmosphere is so charged with the 

 steam that it saturates every thing within its influence. In a few 

 seconds I found every thing about my person quite wet, and when I 

 ascended to some bare cliffs, on which the snow was not lying, to 

 examine the rocks, my clothes were immediately frozen as stiff as 

 pasteboard, and greatly impeded my walking. In fact it is a difficult 

 matter to find a spot for one's tent free from this inconvenience, for 

 should the wind veer, which it does frequently, the whole body of 

 steam blows over your tent and baggage, wetting them through in a 

 minute, which as soon as the blast is over or driven in another direction, 

 are taken possession of by the frost, only to be relinquished again how- 

 ever at the next visitation. As I was not suffering from any malady, 

 but on the contrary never felt better in my life, I felt no relish for 



