1851.] Notes upon a Tour through the Rdjmahal Rills. 597 



at my feet was most complete, I could see into every valley, count 

 every village and trace the outlines of the hills and valleys. 



Descended the Sendgursa hill and ascended the Sootlee hill to 

 Busko, a small hill village, from whence I was enabled to examine a 

 deep valley to the north-east. The summit of the Sootlee hill is com- 

 posed of laterite, highly sonorous when struck ; the noise of the foot- 

 falls of my party walking along sounded, like a body of men pas- 

 ing over a drawbridge, and I noticed that the naked foot produced a 

 much louder sound than was produced by those wearing shoes. I 

 attribute this sound to the cellular nature of the rock and to the thin 

 stratum of earth covering it ; this sonorous rock lasted for a mile, the 

 notes ascending and descending a whole octave according to the nature 

 of the rock below. 



Slept in a hut at the village of Balkumi to the north of the Send- 

 gursa hill. 



As sunset drew near the air was filled by a vast flight of the winged 

 white ants (termes) which took their flight from numerous orifices in 

 the ground, close to the hut in which I had taken up my quarters. 



These flights generally take place during the rainy season or in 

 August and September; they are the females who having arrived at 

 perfection, leave home to seek a nest of their own, where they become 

 the queen ant. 



Out of the myriads that go forth to seek their fortune, a very small 

 proportion can ever reach their destination, as every bird and beast in 

 the creation appears to devour them with avidity. At my feet a hill- 

 dog was eating the insects by hundreds as they crawled from the 

 earth ; the bats had left the shelter of the palm trees and were attack- 

 ing them ; as also were a numerous flock of Minas, who although 

 they had betaken themselves to roost nevertheless left their trees and 

 made a feast off these delicious insects. Cattle, horses, kites, crows, 

 deer, sheep and goats, and indeed, almost every animal, devour this 

 all-destroying insect, who in return, as every one in India well knows 

 to his cost, spares nothing inanimate during its wingless state. 



9th February, 1851. — Direction south. Descended by the same 

 steep ascent of yesterday to Dangapara, in a deeply wooded valley in 

 which the pea-fowl were very numerous and noisy. 



Travelled twelve miles in a southerly direction through a deep val- 



