The view now before you represents the conical hill at Simla; it was taken by Lieutenant-Colonel Luard from his house, called The Craigs. Simla is about 7000 feet above the level of the sea; it is not many miles from Rampore, the chief town in the valley of the Sutledge, and is one of the favourite places of resort of Europeans during the hot season.
As the chosen retreat of Governors-General and Commanders-in-Chief, from the burning plains of India, the place has enjoyed for some years past many considerable advantages. A great number of residences have been built on the hills; the roads are good; there is a church, a school, an observatory, an amateur theatre, &c. You have a glimpse of the snowy ranges in the distance. The conical hill is crowned by Stirling Castle; and the house below it was then inhabited by Colonel Birch, the Judge Advocate General. The flag-staff points out the residence of his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, and the houses below, on the left, are those occupied by the Aid-de-camps. Two hill men are in the foreground, with the baskets in which they carry provisions on their backs.
SIMLA.
The view is a continuation of Simla; and one of the residences now before you is that of Mr. Gubbins, of the Bengal Civil Service.
The hills are covered with the finest vegetation, and the views are beautiful. The evergreen oak flourishes in magnificence, the deodar fir rises to enormous height, and the bright crimson-flowered rhododendron is a forest tree, not a shrub, as you have it in England. Violets are under every rock, the wild notes of the hill birds are heard in every direction, and health, strength, and spirits are imparted by the pure, delicious, and bracing mountain air.
FAGOO.
On the Hill of Fagoo, here represented, is a Traveller’s Bungalow, constructed of wood. A group of Paharīs, or hill men, are on the right, and in the distance are the snowy ranges of the Himalaya. Water is procured from the khuds, as the deep narrow valleys between the hills are called, where it is found in little rills.
THE GANGES.
This mountainous and picturesque scene represents the force with which the holy river rushes downwards from the deep recesses in the mountains, until it passes the last barrier of rocks, and emerges on the plains near Hurdwar.
The dēodar, Pinus dēodara, rises to a magnificent height in these regions, sometimes measuring 100 feet: its oil, called dēodar, is used by the natives as a powerful remedy in rheumatic attacks. Leopards and bears inhabit the forests, and the musk deer is sometimes, though but rarely found. The black and the golden eagles of the Himalaya swoop over the precipices, and a great variety of remarkably beautiful pheasants are found here. Specimens of all these birds may be seen in the Museum.