WALAN KUND.

Walan Kund, famous for its-sacred fish, is a pool in the Kal river, in a gorge below the village of Dapoli, about twelve miles north-east of Mahad The pool, which is about 100 yards long by thirty feet broad, is believed to be unfathomable. According to the local story the tape that formed the bottom of seven cots, that is a length of about 1000 feet, has failed to reach the bottom. The pool is sacred to the god Wardhani, who is held in special veneration by a group of seven villages, Paneh, Dapoli, Pandheri, Walan kund, Mangaon, Devgad, and Vagholi. The pool is full of fish, chiefly kadas, kola, and shindas. Some of the shindas are of great size, five or six feet long, but they seldom show themselves. The other fish are tame and are regularly fed. A handful of rice brings them to the surface in thousands, some of them as much as four or five pounds in weight The people believe that the fish cannot be destroyed. They tell a story that sixty or seventy years ago a European gentleman tried to hook, shoot, or net the fish. He stayed for two or three days but caught nothing and then went to Tale fort where he was overtaken with sickness and died. It is worthy of note that there are no Mhars in the seven villages who worship this fish-god. The story is that all the Mhars were driven away because one of them stole a brass pot belonging to the god. [Mr. H. Kennedy.]