BY W. KING, ESQ. 



10S 



plateau. There is not much forest to speak of over the Irla 

 Con da group of hills. * 



Next day, we got down into the bed of the Kistnah, about 

 east-north-east of the peak, intending to work up the river 

 to Veerabudr Droog : a journey which we managed to do in 

 two days' hard walking, as no horse could be ridden over such 

 rocky ground. The area on the left or north bank of the 

 Kistnah, marked in the map as " Impenetrable tract, 

 unsurveyed," does not answer exactly to this description. 

 It is not at all impenetrable, being much like the rest of the 

 Nullamullays, with thinner jungle ; but it would be a diffi- 

 cult country to get at for surveying, and in which to procure 

 supplies, hence, perhaps, the reason for its having been 

 left unsurveyed. There is also, however, the other story; 

 that, by some remarkable coincidence, the field books of the 

 surveyors were lost. 



The Kistnah. 



The Kistnah, about here, does not flow in a narrow gorge* 

 as is often supposed, but merely in a deep and wide moun- 

 tain valley ; and there is, as a consequence, no cliff scenery 

 of any note. At the time of our visit, the water was probably 

 near its lowest ; but, when the freshes are down, it must be 

 from SO to 40 feet higher, as is clearly shown by the water- 

 mark along the banks. Then, indeed, the river must be a 

 grand sight, with its swollen and turbid waters sweeping 

 quietly along ; for the surface would be then far above its 

 rocky bed, while its width must be great at some points. 



There cannot, at such a time, be a very swift current— or 

 the water must be very heavily loaded — for the deposits of 

 rich silt all along the steepest banks are frequent and exten- 

 sive. At flood time also, the great mass of water must form 

 quite a wall or barrier, against which the side streams, as they 

 come down from the hills, are backed into quiet water in. 



