road soon after leaving Shillong. The highest
point of the range is over 6,000 ft. The third tale contains the
well-known story of Ka Pah Syntiew, the fabled ancestress of the
Khyrim and Mylliem Siem families. The cave where Ka Pah Syntiew is
said to have made her abode is still to be seen in the neighbourhood
of Nongkrem. The story of the origin of the Siems of Suhtnga, who
afterwards became the Rajas of Jaintiapur, is a well-known tale in the
Jaintia Hills. A description of the wonderful mass of granite known
by the name of the Kyllang Rock will be found in the section of the
monograph which deals with geographical distribution. I have also
added a photograph of the rock. The Syntengs have a story that when
the strong west wind blows in the spring this is due to the advent
of _U Kyllang_, who comes to visit his wife, the river _Umngot_,
at that season: amongst the Khasis hills are all of them masculine,
but to rivers is usually attributed the feminine gender. U Symper is
another isolated rocky eminence rising from the Maharam plain close to
the village of K'mawan. The best view of the hill is obtainable from
Laitmawsiang on the path to Mawsynram. The village of Mawsmai every
traveller from Therria to Cherrapunji knows. It is chiefly remarkable
for a fairly large limestone cave, and its fine memorial stones. The
Khasi theory to explain how the moon got its spots is, I believe,
original, but is no more extraordinary than our own nursery tale about
the "man in the moon." The _Sohpet Byneng_ hill is the first hill of
any size that the traveller sees on the Gauhati road when journeying
to Shillong. It is close to Umsning Dak Bungalow. There are caves
in the hill which are tenanted by bears. Strange to say, according
to Khasi ideas, this is one of the highest points in the hills; in
reality _Sophet Byneng_ is some 2,000 ft. lower than the Shillong
Peak. As mentioned elsewhere, the Khasis are very fond of dogs; so
I have given their version of how the dog came to live with man. The
well-known _thlen_ superstition will be found fully described under
the heading of "Human sacrifices." I have, however, thought the tale of
sufficient interest to reproduce at length here. The story of the river
Rupatylli is a pretty tale, and is just such a one as would appeal to
the imagination of mountaineers like the Khasis. The Kopili story is
important, in that it indicates the origin of human sacrifices in the
Jaintia Hills; it also throws,