X432/4(5)

Chevalpettore.

No. V. CHEVAL-PETTORE.

In this view, taken in the district of Tinnevelly, the Fort of Cheval-Pettore is a conspicuous object; the town of that name, to which it is attached, is not introduced, being about a mile distant on the left. The hills contiguous to this fort are in a good style; they are well wooded, and produce many situations extremely beautiful and picturesque. Like most of the Carnatic mountains, they rise abruptly out of the plain beneath; a circumstance which, when they are not in extensive masses, gives them a very singular appearance, resembling rocky islands or islets rising out of the ocean. They are of all dimensions, from what is called the Sugar-loaf rock of Tritchinopoly to Severn Droog; and of these insulated eminences many examples occur in the preceding works. They are generally selected as fortresses, and are of such difficult access, that their perpendicular sides are only to be assailed with success by British intrepidity.

The ramparts of Cheval-pettore are formed of mud, a material very commonly used in India in the construction of walls for various purposes, though to an European ear it conveys no idea of stability. These earthen walls, nevertheless, baked in the fierce rays of an almost vertical sun, have been often put to a severe test by our artillery, and found equal, if not superior, even to masonry.