172 
Excursion to the Chirra Punji Rills. 
[June, 
For the mariner’s purpose, the latitude may be taken as the altitude of the star. 
The pole-star being visible till sun-rise with the telescope of a common theodo- 
lite, affords a good opportunity of observing the bearings at the peaks, up the 
Himalaya, which are oftenest seen at that time. 
It may be remarked, that the most favorable time for making these observations, 
will be, when the star is about its greatest elongation, or 6 hours from the meri- 
dian. 
V . — Excursion to the Chirra Punji Hills. 
We arrived at Chatak at about 5 p. m. of the third day, after leaving Dacca, 
and might have done it in 3 or 4 hours less, had our navigator known the route 
as well as he does now : there we slept, and next morning started in a Bkaulia 
for Company- Ganj, whence, with the assistance of ponies and elephants, we reached 
Pandua, about noon. At this place there is a mountain torrent, which is accessible 
to very small boats at most seasons, by being dragged up rapids in several 
places. 
Our servants, with our baggage and provisions, came on from Company-Ganj to 
Bourdeaux, which is nearer Pahdua than Company-Ganj. At Pandua, the party 
halted till evening, when it began to rain ; but being all in high spirits, this 
little inconvenience was disregarded by many of the party, who moved on 
to Teriah-Ghat, the very foot of the mountain, and got wet through, arriving 
about dark : the rest slept in a guard house, and started at four the next morning ; 
thus avoiding the rain. A great part of this road is on the border of the n&la 
which runs past Pandua, the bed of which is covered with pebbles of all 
sizes and sorts, granites of various colours, amygdaloidal sandstone, and 
limestone. At Teriah Point a bund is being constructed, I believe with a view 
of obtaining a great depth of water, and enabling boats to approach within the 
range of hills ; but as far as I could learn, success was very problematical, and I 
think the labor would be better bestowed in improving the ascent of the pass. I 
saw nothing but sandstone and nodules of iron ore, containing loose quartz sand 
all the way up. The groves of oranges, betel nut, and the wild pine apples, give a 
very different character to the ascent, from that at Masuri ; as well as the absence 
of the fir, oak, and rhododendron. Near the summit, at the village of Musmai, we 
came suddenly on a platform of rock, with a tremendous perpendicular precipice, 
whence we enjoyed the glorious view of a lovely valley, about two miles broad, 
and perhaps 1500 feet deep; into this, various waterfalls and cascades tumble, and 
in every direction add to the splendour and richness of the scene; little villages 
and patches of cultivation, with orange groves, appear at the bottom. I think 
it probable, that a road may be brought into this valley below, and that the 
ascent to Chirra may be made here, by a much shorter route than the present; 
after passing Musmai there is a descent ; then a small plain, the rise after which 
brought us in full view of the Chirrah station, at a distance of two miles. The 
Chirrah Sanatariura is bounded on the west by a rocky i i&la, which rises in some 
small hills ; one pai t of it runs north, and soon falls into a deep valley, over 
a precipice : this valley forms the northern or eastern boundary of the station. 
It is much larger than the Musmai valley, but neither so deep, nor so picturesque, 
and has several cascades of various dimensions, some at least 300 feet in fall; 
and the view across extends to the Jentia and Manepfir mountains, of which 
