504 JOURNEY ACROSS THE 



the crest of the mountain is beautiful, and very extensive — but the view 

 from the table rock overhanging the glen, and the village of Supar-Punji, is 

 magnificent. The mountain forms a horse-shoe, the top perfectly flat, and 

 the sides quite perpendicular, like a wall, so that I actually sat with my 

 legs hanging over it, and admired the water tumbling over the rock in 

 the centre of the horse-shoe. Had I fallen, I must have gone through a 

 space of at least one thousand feet, before a friendly tree would have 

 stopped my progress. The uprights and stone doors are monuments to 

 the memory of departed Rajas and Chiefs, some of them are wonderful 

 works, resembling those of " Stone henge" in construction, and vying 

 with them in magnitude. The gate mentioned above is about twelve feet 

 high, and is formed of very large single slabs of stone — one slab that I 

 afterwards saw, a circular stone, measured twelve feet in diameter by 

 about two feet thick, and was raised four feet from the ground, some of 

 them must weigh thirty tons at least, and are often brought from a 

 distance. These monuments are found near all the villages on the hills. 

 I observed some upright slabs of granite that stood at least twenty feet 

 high from the ground. They are detached from the rock by means of 

 fire ; and four or five hundred men combine to convey and set them up 

 on the death of any famous Chief. They mark and immortalize the family 

 as well as the individual, and are held in great reverence by all the people. 

 When a descendant dies, a feast is made of two, three, or four bullocks, ac- 

 cording to the man's means, and the bullocks' heads are tied to the top of 

 the stone, as a memento of the importance of the individual. I observed 

 several tied up in this way. From Masmae to Cherra-Punji, the road is 

 pretty level, till the latter village is approached, when a considerable hill 

 must be ascended. Found a tent and two good huts at Cherra. It is 

 proposed to establish a Sanitarium at this place, for English soldiers and 

 sick people, from Calcutta, &c. The elevation is about five thousand feet 

 above the level of the sea. The air is cool, light, and refreshing; and 

 although the sun is hot, it is innoxious. The hill is free from jungle, 



