J 851.] Notes upon a tour through the Riijmahal Hills, 583 



On descending the Semi Ghaut I saw black shale in a small ravine. 



2Sth January , 1851. — Direction west five miles to Hurrah, situate 

 on a bed of coal and surrounded on three sides by hills. The road is 

 through jungle and over very raviney ground ; as far as Bumkungaon 

 two miles from the Ghaut, the formation is basalt, decaying into the 

 usual spherical masses, and large quantities of iron ore. In a small 

 nullah a little to the south of the village are basaltic columns ; at 

 Lohartumba or four miles from the Ghaut is another group of basaltic 

 columns, and immediately to the west, a coarse ferruginous sandstone 

 appears ; and at Hurra large beds of coal appear in a small nullah 

 close to the village. This coal I believe was discovered by Captain 

 Tanner in 1831 ; in 1850, a shaft was sunk through the beds but a 

 rush of water taking place, the work was abandoned. The coal is of 

 a slaty and inferior kind. 



In the evening, walked to the hill village Hurra, where I had an op- 

 portunity of inspecting three collections of skulls and bones ; two 

 heaps were on the grass roofs of huts, the third, or the mangi's group 

 was on a small wooden stand supported by wooden posts, and contain- 

 ed numerous skulls of the spotted deer, wild hog, porcupine, hare and 

 barking deer. 



On the point of one of the spotted deer horns a hen's egg was em- 

 paled. 



Some of the pigs at this village were of an enormous size, and of a 

 different breed from the ugly long legged pig of the plains. 



29th January , 1851. — Direction north two miles through ravines of 

 sandstone debris, with indications of coal ; passed through a gap in the 

 Gundesree sandstone range of hills named Bora Ghaut, where there 

 are again indications of coal, descended the Ghaut, and skirted the base 

 of the hill to the western extremity, which terminates in several peaks 

 of sandstone and iron stone curiously jumbled together; which gave 

 Dr. Buchanan the idea of the spot having been a volcano. The rocks 

 are a heavy ferruginous red sandstone. Iron is smelted at several 

 villages in the neighbourhood. Turned to the north-east and skirted 

 the base of a detached sandstone hill ; the northern face of the hill is 

 singularly barren, presenting masses of glaring white sandstone. At 

 Sohunneea, where there is a bungalow, I attended the market at which 

 were several hundred hill-men and women. It is really surprising to 



