S. E. Peal — Visit to the Nagd Hills. 
13 
1872.] 
was almost destitute of trees and stumps. The labour they are put to 
for a scanty crop is almost incredible. They seldom cultivate the same piece 
of land for more than two years in succession, as grass comes up rapidly the 
second year, and they have no way of eradicating it, the only implement 
used in cultivation being the dhdo. After the second year, they let the land 
go into jungle and make fresh clearances for their dlian. The hills are thus 
in all stages of jungle and forest, now all grass, as Borata, Ulu, and Ilamoru ; 
or ground deserted for three years, all in small tree jungle (for the trees kill the 
grass in that time) ; on other patches again larger trees may be seen, five and 
six years old, or eight and ten, and no grass at all. In about ten years all the 
available rice-growing land has had a turn, and they can clear the young forest 
again. They thus require far more land than the ryots in the plains, especially 
if the smallness of the crop yielded is taken into account. 
We soon reached Longhong passing through fine groves of Lottu and 
Wattu bamboo, and came upon the fortifications of which I had heard so 
often. The first attempt almost made us laugh. There were a few sticks 
of ekra and bamboo stuck in like a common fence, on the off-side of a 
ditch about 0 feet wide by 6 feet deep, over which there was a small bridge. 
A little further on we passed some small raised ehangs, on which we saw 
bodies tied up in Tocoopalm leaves, and roofed in. We heard it was the way 
in which they disposed of their dead. All customs relating to this subject 
are worth noting, so we examined them with some interest. 
We next came to a kind of palisade, with a long narrow passage 
between bamboo walls, three feet apart, not very strong, but enough to check 
a rush. It was the most formidable point of defence, as it was commanded 
by a large rock in front, on which a house had been built to give extra cover, 
and had a precipice on the left, the right also being steep. There 
seemed to be no one on duty, which was contrary to what I had heard 
and expected. On entering the chang, we could see very few houses at a time, 
the ground being very uneven, and the paths steep and tortuous, eminently 
calculated for defence, and such as give the spear its fullest advantage, 
when opposed to firearms. 
The houses were all thatched with Tocoopalm leaves and not grass, 
as in the plains, the centre posts also all projected through the roof line for 
some 5 or 6 feet, and were bound with leaves, presenting a very singular 
appearance. They were built without any arrangement, no doubt many times 
over on the same sites, the level being eked out by a platform raised on posts, 
which people use to sit on, or dance, or hold open ah- meetings. 
But by far the most striking feature was the number and size of the 
Jack trees, many of them evidently very old. We were told that the fruit, 
of which there seemed a large crop, was religiously respected. Each house 
.has certain trees. The timber used in building was also usually Jack, and as 
