When we came to Jonkia we agreed that we had never seen anything to compare with the scenery there; but as we came into Soonercollee we quite forgot Jonkia in the new splendours that met our eyes. Yet these were again eclipsed in the beauties of Chelka Lake, to which we took one evening's ride from Soonercollee. It is utterly impossible to convey any idea of the scenery either by the pen or the pencil; yet I will try what I can do.
In approaching the small village of Soonercollee you ascend a hill some 200 or 300 feet high by a steep winding road or rather path. At the top of the eminence it is cut through the solid rock, which rises about thirty feet on each side. Suddenly, at a turn in the road, the whole country in the front becomes visible, and I doubt whether any one could repress a cry of admiration at the sight. The spectator is (as I said before) at the summit of a lofty hill; beneath him is a plain of some ten or twelve miles across, bounded on every side by a lofty range and masses of rock. Peering up behind are to be seen a succession of noble mountains. The sides of the hills, where they do not consist of rocky precipices, are covered with a dense jungle: the plain below is cultivated, except where, in three places, abrupt rocky masses, interspersed with jungle, rise to a height of 300 or 400 feet. It looks as if some mighty convulsion had taken place, and the earth had thrown up large bubbles of rock from the surface of the plain.
CHELKA LAKE—WATER-FOWL.
The scenery on the Chelka Lake, a piece of water some forty miles long by from ten to twenty in breadth, is very similar to the above, if you substitute water for the level plain of the rice-fields. Here the hills rise abruptly from the lake, and many of them are quite inaccessible. The islands are inhabited by animals, but not by man; and it is rather curious that each islet appears to have its own peculiar race. Thus, one is inhabited by the beautiful spotted deer, another by the enormous Indian elk, another by goats and fowls (this one is sacred to the goddess Khalee), another by wild pigs, and another by pigeons. With some difficulty I landed on one of the pigeon islands: its greatest height did not exceed thirty feet, and in circumference it may have been near a quarter of a mile; but its structure was most extraordinary. It was composed entirely of enormous masses of rock piled together without the appearance of order or arrangement: it appeared as if some earthquake had destroyed some giant dwelling-place, and left the ruins in one vast heap. Some of the stones, larger than a man's body, had fallen upon one end; they gave way beneath my foot, but returned to their position as soon as relieved of the extra weight which had destroyed the balance. The blue pigeons rose in clouds from every crevice, and fluttered about until I left the neighbourhood of their nests.
The lake lay all around—so calm, so beautiful, with the green mountains rising here and there from its surface, dotted all over with myriads of ducks, geese, teal, and many other aquatic birds: and this reminded me of one thing which I should have related before. As we approached the shores of the lake we were surprised to see a long line of tall white and red creatures standing just within the water. We looked at them through Mr. G.'s glass, and found that they were birds; we got out of our tonjons, crept towards them with loaded guns, fired, and missed them, when they all rose and flew away.
The next morning Mr. G. and I returned to the spot: we each took a separate boat, as Mrs. Acland was not with us; mine, like the others, was about thirty feet long, and formed of a single piece of wood, a tree scooped out. Mr. G. was very anxious to obtain some game, and in the course of about two hours shot a couple of large bare-headed geese and nineteen ducks of various sorts; indeed, they sat in such masses on the water as to resemble rather a low wall than a number of birds. At one shot he killed five ducks, and I three: I did not care much about them, but I was anxious to see again some of my friends of the previous evening.
At last I came in sight of a flock of them near the shore. I sat down in the bottom of the boat, whilst the men pushed it gently along. I was nearly within shot, when Mr. G. fired his gun at the distance of about a mile from my boat: up and away flew all the birds. I was very much annoyed: however, after some time, I saw about half a dozen nearly two miles from me. On we went again, but they had become shy: they raised their heads and looked about them as we approached, and presently they rose. I did not think I was sufficiently near, but I might not have another chance, so I fired, and down fell one of the birds. I pushed one of the boatmen over to fetch it, though he hardly needed pushing, for they appeared quite as anxious as I was.
I will try to describe my prize: I believe the bird to have been a flamingo; and yet, if so, the usual descriptions are very erroneous. The beak is pink, and furnished with a double row of teeth on each side of the lower mandible—one row on the beak, and dark coloured; the other very white and sharp, close to the tongue, which is large. The eyes are pale, and surrounded by a thick yellow ring; the wings are of a beautiful rose-colour, edged with black; the legs pink; the rest of the body is white. When standing upright it is about five feet high: the body is extremely small, neck and legs very long; it has three toes in front and is web-footed, also a claw behind; the beak very large.