BY W. KING, ESQ. 



S5 



which, for the first two miles, is a most aggravating series of 

 nearly horizontal zig-zags, and one feels naturally inclined to 

 turn up the bed of the nullah every now and then to cut 

 off a few of them. All this zig-zagging can, however, be 

 avoided, by toiling up the timber track, as it ascends toler- 

 ably directly to the longer and more gently-rising road. 

 This, from the top of the zig-zag, leads up a long valley, 

 without any watering place, to the foot of the little hill on 

 which was the bungalow ; and the whole ghaut occupies 

 in its passage about three hours. The usually adopted road 

 at present, is partly the timber track and partly the made 

 ghaut, the people having, as they generally do, adopted so 

 much of either as made the road best suited to themselves. 



This is evidently a much used timber road, the village of 

 Singwarum being a depot for the material, which is mostly 

 brought from the interior of the mountains to Mantyconda, 

 and then dragged down. The jungle is thin on the slope of 

 the ghaut, but it thickens out somewhat in the long valley 

 leading from the first and steepest part of the ghaut up to 

 bungalow. 



Mantyconda is on the western edge of the mountains, a 

 little inside ; and from it one looks out over the Khoondai 

 valley, though there is not much open view in this direction, 

 owing to the intervention of neighbouring ridges. But, to 

 the north, south, and east there is a perfect sea of green- 

 wooded jungle on roughly undulating highland. Perhaps 

 much of this greenness of the j ungle disappears in the hot 

 weather; though, from what I saw a fortnight afterwards, I 

 should think that a good part of the verdure remains all the 

 year round. The bungalow-hill is bare of trees and covered 

 with coarse grass, but all round and below is jungle with a 

 good deal of bamboo. 



The timber road of the ghaut runs round and past the 



