1831.] 
Excursion to the Chirra Piinjt Hills. 
173 
we had one transient glimpse. They are very distant, and must be from 9 to 10000 
feet in altitude; to the south there are fine downs, and the Musmai valley, into 
which the rocky nala discharges its waters over precipices. The climate 
of Chirra-Punji appears to be delightful ; while we were there, the thermometer, 
in the house, ranged from 58° to 72° Far.; and, excepting some transient fogs, or 
rather clouds flitting past us, the weather was very pleasant. 
I was so little fatigued with ascending the hills, that I took two long walks 
the same evening, which I attribute entirely to the climate ; for in the plains, a 
walk upstairs was fatiguing to me. The next day, we visited the Punji, or village 
of Chirra, which is evidently thriving ; all the people seem employed and cheer- 
ful, and new houses are springing up in various places. A striking feature in 
these hills is found in the cemeteries, where stones are erected in memory of 
every person, (male, I believe,) who may die : for the more powerful and wealthy, 
three, and sometimes five stone obelisks, rudely hewn, are set up ; (fig. 5. pi. 13,) 
some as high as 16 feet, with a sort of table monument in front of the middle obelisk, 
said to contain the head of the deceased. These memorials of the dead are everywhere 
in such complete preservation, untouched but by the hand of time, that there can be 
no doubt of their being held in great veneration ; and I learned, that the chief 
religious ceremony of the people consisted in offering at these places to the 
manes of their ancestors, in which point they seem to assimilate with the Chinese. 
From Chirra we passed on to the village of Mamlu, a short distance from which 
there is a valley, far more beautiful than that at Musmai ; more extensive, more 
varied, and with a less scanty sprinkling of villages and cultivation ; but no de- 
scription could do justice to its beauty without the aid of the pencil. The access 
to the village of Mamlu is through a passage, partly natural, and partly artificial ; 
about 9 feet high, and 6 feet broad, through the rock, which when closed, forms 
a barrier of no small difficulty. After passing through this, the road continues 
the same breadth, but aujour over head, and winding for 60 or 70 yards ; it brought 
us to the village, from the south side of which was an extensive view over the 
plain, in which we could trace the course of the Surmah and other rivers, through 
the plains, for at least 60 miles. The windings of the Surmah are very remarkable ; 
and we had a complete view of the track of the steam boat, from Chunaganj 
to Chdtak. This situation is delightful, and we were told that a cool breeze almost 
invariably blew upwards from the valley below. The vista of mountains on each 
side extended, at least, 7 miles ; and several small hills spring up in the valley, each 
of which would be called a mountain in England. The inhabitants flocked round 
us with fresh Seville oranges, and a few dried sweet oranges ; and seemed all 
happy, contented, and well pleased, at the notice we took of them. Our pleasure, 
in beholding such smiling faces, was vastly diminished by the offence offered to 
our olfactory nerves ; the scent emitted by the persons and dress, more closely 
resembling that of a dirty dog kennel, full of dried fish, than any thing else I 
can imagine ; the houses proved not less dirty than the inhabitants, who shared 
them with their pigs and dogs. After leaving Mamlu we went to a cave in a 
limestone rock, into which a stream of water continually runs. The rock has 
veins of rhomboidal spar in it ; and no doubt, various forms of crystals might be 
found on search ; but for this I had not time, neither could I penetrate into the 
cave, having no means of passing the water : I brought away a few specimens. In 
passing from this cave, homeward, I met with a great quantity of stalactitic iron- 
stone ; it is difficult to imagine how it became strewed over the plain. 
The next day we visited the Musmai cavern, to the extremity of which 
we penetrated : this, also, is in a limestone rock, but entirely covered with 
