John Sullivan first discovered it for the outside world. In May 1819, Sullivan visited the eastern plateau for three weeks with a noted French naturalist, who was named somewhat pompously, Jean-Baptiste Louis Claude Theodore Leschenault de la Tour. Despite that name, he was no stranger to the ills that befell white men in the plains of India. But on reaching the hire altitudes near Coonoor, he recovered and got his strength back. Sullivan built the first stone house in Ooty. Between 1820 and 1827, he pleaded with the directors of the East India Company to develop that area in the Nilgiris as a sanatorium for sick European troops in India. When they finally capitulated, they began developing the area and also laid down the first railway lines -- which still exist as The Blue Mountain Railway thus making it easier for the ailing. But long before heat-and-dust-ravaged white men began making the pilgrimage to the hills and health, the Danayakas held the country adjoining the Coimbatore region, which included the talukas of Kotagiri and Coonoor. The Toda tribe has lived in these parts since time immemorial. Some of their ancient tribal homes can still be found on the outskirts of the region.