1851.] Notes upon a tour through the Rdjmahal Hills. 567 



20th January, 1851. — Direction north-west fourteen miles to Kend- 

 weh, on the western side of the hills, and at the entrance of the Pach- 

 wara Pass or Valley. The country passed over to-day undulates con- 

 siderably, and is much broken by ravines, a good road has been cut 

 by Mr. Pontet mostly through a stiff brick red soil ; crossed several 

 streams all with rocky bottoms, each affording good sections of the 

 country which is composed of gneiss of great beauty especially that 

 in the Gumra Naddi. Passed to the west of the Dhannia hill at 

 the foot of which, near a village named Undhasol, is a collection of 

 carved stones similar to those at Katicund and evidently from the 

 same ruined temple. Two miles north-east of the Dhannia hill in the 

 Gumra Naddi are beds of coal discovered by Mr. Pontet in 1846 ; 

 two miles north of the same hill and near the Nargunje Bungalow and 

 in the same nallah are other beds of coal also discovered by Mr. 

 Pontet in 1840. 



The view of the Mahuagarhi range of sandstone hills to the right 

 of the road is particularly fine, the height above the sea of the trigo- 

 nometrical point on the summit of the western peak is about 1,500 

 feet. 



From Gowrapuhar village at the foot of Mahuagarhi and whence 

 there is an extensive view of the plains of Bhaugalpur of the Mundar 

 and Noony hills, the descent to Kendweh is very sudden. 



Three miles in an easterly direction from the Kendweh Bungalow, 

 at the village of Burgo on the banks of the Banshie Naddi there is 

 a bed of coal lying upon gneiss. 



2 1st January, 1851. — Direction north twelve miles to Burwa. The 

 road is over very broken and raviney ground ; numerous running 

 streams flowing from the hills and a good deal of jungle, the principal 

 trees of which were asun, agye, dhamin and dhow ; crossed the Ban- 

 hie river which flows westward through the Pachwara pass. The road 

 travelled over today was cut by Mr. Pontet and passes through nume- 

 rous Sonthal villages, around which were fine sheets of cultivation, 

 comprising mustard, gram, cotton and junera, the latter cut and 

 stacked. The views along this march are particularly pleasing, espe- 

 cially near the Bokraban Bungalow which stands on the banks of a 

 small hill stream and buried in a dense jungle in which I observed 

 some very fine sal and semul trees. The numerous pure and gushing 



