5/4 Notes upon a Tour through the Rdjmahal Hills. [No. 7. 



All the beds dip to the north-east at a considerable angle, but at 

 one of the beds I noticed the shale and sandstone so disturbed that 

 the strata formed a saddle ; the anticlinal line running east and west ; 

 the disturbing agent does not appear, but is very probably the neigh- 

 bouring basalt. 



The following section was observed at this spot on the 

 bank of the stream — Red earth, 12 feet. 



Black bituminous shale alternating with a coarse white 

 sandstone embedding masses of waterworn quartz, 12 do. 



Direction of strata east and west. 



The village of Dhamini is surrounded on three sides by flat-topped 

 hills, which are thickly covered with hill villages. To the east is the 

 commencement of the great central valley whose bounding hills to the 

 east are seen five miles distant. 



Some very fine saul trees have been preserved by Mr. Pontet near 

 the bungalow, whose grand proportions give an idea of what the 

 forest must have been before the advent of the Sonthals. 



In the forest at the foot of the Chuperbhita hill, I saw some very 

 fine and large specimens of the Mimosa siris. 



During the march, passed over several extensive kunkur (nodular 

 limestone) beds lying upon the almost naked gneiss rocks. 



24th January ', 1851. — Direction north-east to Burhyte ; at start- 

 ing entered a small patch of asun jungle, at the second mile crossed 

 a small hill torrent in the bed of which a small fragment of a basaltic 

 column was found. The road the whole march was over compact 

 basalt, occasionally decomposing into spherical masses each with a 

 hard ferruginous nucleus. The soil at the fourth mile, becomes 

 darker and at Burhyte it is the regur or cotton soil of the Dekkan. 

 Passed through several fine Sonthal villages, namely, Kusmah on the 

 banks of the Gumani which stands at the ford ; Kadmah, Gopladih, 

 Hindoadih and Sonajori. 



Burhyte the capital town of the hills, is a substantial Sonthal vil- 

 lage with a large population, and about fifty families of Bengali 

 traders ; there is a good bazar, and two markets are held during the 

 week. There is also a tank and Mr. Pontet has planted a plot of 

 ground with potatoes. 



Burhyte is situated in the centre of the great valley which extends 



