270 P, N, Bose — Ghhaltisgar : notes on its tribes, sects and castes. [No. 3, 
surrounded by a forost-clad billy country of a somewhat wider extent 
(about 12,000 squai’o miles) ; strictly speaking, the plain country alone 
slionld bo called Chhattisgar, and it is only for the sake of convenience 
that we have included the surrounding hill tract within it. The con- 
trast between the hill and the plain country is sharp and striking. 
The former is clothed with thick jungle, little cultivated, and sparsely 
populated, the population consisting chiefly of aboriginal tribes. To 
the shikari, it affords sport in abundance ; the tiger is especially abun- 
dant in the southern, and the wild buffalo in the eastern jungles, while 
in every direction, the antelope, the spotted deer, and other varieties 
of game may be found. The plain, on the other hand, is almost flat, 
perfectly denuded of jungle, well cultivated, and thickly populated. 
With the exception of a small narrow strip in the western portion, it 
is what is called lihalsa, that is, under the direct management of the 
British Government. Tlio hill tracts are partitioned amongst a num- 
ber of zamindars and feudatory chiefs, who pay an annual tribute. 
The zamindars maintain their own police. The feudatory chiefs, whose 
gross revenue in most cases does not exceed that of second-class zamiu- 
dars in Bengal, are invested with authority equal to that of a Edolkar or 
Nizam. They not only keep their own police, but also have their Jails 
and civil and criminal courts. 
Qeology and mineral resources. — The configuration of the country 
well illustrates the intimate connection between geological structure and 
physical features. The plain is formed of Vindhyan sandstones, marls 
and limestones, which have been but little disturbed from their normal 
horizontal position. The hills surrounding it are, on the other hand, 
composed of older rocks which have undergone considerable distur- 
bance and metamorphism. At the north-eastern extremity, about 
Korba there is a considerable outcrop of the coal-bearing strata (Gond- 
wana System). The results of the coal-exploration conducted by the 
Geological Survey are not very encouraging with regard to the ground 
traversed by the Bengal-Nagpur railway; but, not very far from it, 
there is one tract near Korba where workable coal of good quality has 
been found. In the hills to the north, west, and south extensive iron- 
ores of exceptionally good quality exist. Iron-smelting is still carried 
on there to some extent in the primitive fashion. But with the open- 
ing of the railway, the industry already on the wane, will probably bo 
nearly extinct. Copper and lead-ores exist ; but their extent is not yet 
known. The sandstones of the plain are largely used for building pur- 
poses ; and the limestones are quarried chiefly for road metal. In places 
the limestone is tolerably pure and would yield lime of good quality. 
Jungle produce. — Of forest produce, lao and Surra (Haritaki, 
