THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ' 

 
 EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS 
 
 IN 
 
 CEYLON.
 
 THE LAST PIA'NGE.
 
 UUIXS AT POLLANABUA. 
 
 Page 70. 
 
 r H I L A 1) E I, P II I A : 
 .1. B. LTPPTNCOTT & CO.
 
 EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS 
 
 IN 
 
 CEYLON. 
 
 BY SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE RIFLE AND THE HOUND IN CBYLON," "CAST UP BY 
 THE SEA," "THE ALBERT N'YANZA," ETC. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 
 
 1874.
 
 LIPPINCOTT'S PRESS, PHILADELPHIA.
 
 e. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 EIGHT years' wanderings in Ceylon have created a love 
 for this beautiful island which can only be equaled by 
 my affection for Old England, from which the independence of 
 a wild life, combined with an infatuation for rambling into 
 every unvisited nook and corner, sentenced me to a term of 
 voluntary exile. 
 
 During this period my delight has been in tracing the great 
 natural resources of the country, in observing the immense 
 relics of its former prosperity, and contrasting the past gran- 
 deur and energy of an extinct race with the apathetic and 
 selfish policy of our present system. 
 
 It is the false economy of our present government to leave 
 untested the actual capabilities of its possessions. Thus, while 
 Ceylon remains with ruined tanks, deserted cities and vast tracts 
 of uncultivated rice-lands, India, governed by the Company, is 
 advancing in cultivation.* New tanks are formed, new canals 
 for irrigation penetrate through hitherto barren jungles, and 
 arouse the soil to fertility. In fact, the vigilant eye of the 
 Company is directed to the true resources of the country, and 
 every acre of available land must yield its proportion to the 
 revenue. 
 
 Without the statistical details which would render a de- 
 scription laborious to the general reader, I shall endeavor 
 
 * Since the above was written, the government of India has been transferred from 
 the East India Company to the Crown. 
 
 1* 5 
 
 Si;
 
 6 Preface. 
 
 to give an impartial picture of Ceylon as it is, touching 
 lightly upon the past, in order to prove the possibility of im- 
 provement for the future. Having given an account of the 
 sports of the country in the Rifle and Hound," I shall not 
 dwell at too great length upon this topic, how tempting soever 
 it may be. 
 
 In these days, when the enterprise of Englishmen is ex- 
 hibited on so large a scale by the stream of emigration to 
 foreign shores, a few hints may not be uninteresting to the 
 intending settler. We are all more or less sanguine, and, if 
 unguided by the experience of age, we are apt to paint the 
 future too brightly. This is an error which entails disappoint- 
 ment and regret upon the hasty emigrant, who may discover, 
 when far from his deserted home, that the paradise which he 
 had pictured to himself is but earthly, after all, and is accom- 
 panied by drawbacks and hardships which he had not an- 
 ticipated. 
 
 It is not every temperament that is fitted for the anxieties 
 of a wild life in a strange land. This many persons who have 
 left England confident in their own strength have discovered, 
 unfortunately, when too late. 
 
 Englishmen, however, are naturally endowed with a spirit 
 of adventure. There is in the heart of all of us a germ of 
 freedom which longs to break through the barriers that confine 
 us to our own shores ; and as the newborn wildfowl takes to 
 water from its deserted egg-shell, so we wander over the world 
 when launched on our own resources. 
 
 This innate spirit of action is the mainspring of the power 
 of England. Go where you will, from north to south and 
 from east to west, you meet an Englishman. Sail round the 
 globe, and upon every point of strength the Union Jack glad- 
 dens your eye, and you think with wonder of the vast pos- 
 sessions which have been conquered, and the immense tracts
 
 Preface. 7 
 
 of country which have been peopled, by the overflow of our 
 little island. 
 
 Among the list of possessions, Ceylon is but a speck ; 
 nevertheless the act of settling in one colony is a fair sample 
 of the general hardships of emigration. I shall therefore in- 
 troduce a slight sketch of a settlement in Ceylon, which may 
 give some insight into the little disappointments inseparable 
 from a new enterprise. The reader will, I trust, wander with 
 me in my rambles through this lovely country, and endeavor to 
 pass an idle hour among the scenes portrayed.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAQI 
 
 Colombo Dullness of the Town Cinnamon Gardens A_Cin- 
 galese Appo Ceylon Sport Jungle Fever Newera Ellia 
 Energy of Sir E. Barnes Influence of the Governor Pro- 
 jected Improvements 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Past Scenes Attractions of Ceylon Emigration Difficulties 
 in Settling Accidents and Casualties An Eccentric Groom 
 Insubordination Commencement of Cultivation Sagacity of 
 the Elephant Disappointments " Death" in the Settlement 
 Shocking Pasturage Success of Emigrants "A Good Knock- 
 about kind of a Wife" 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Task Completed The Mountain-top Change in the Face of 
 Nature Original Importance of Newera Ellia "The Path 
 of a Thousand Princes" Vestiges of Former Population 
 Mountains The Highlands of Ouva Ancient Methods of 
 Irrigation Remains of Aqueducts The Vale of Rubies 
 Ancient Ophir Discovery of Gold Mineral Resources 
 
 Native Blacksmiths 39 
 
 9
 
 io Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Poverty of Soil Ceylon Sugar Fatality of Climate Supposed 
 Fertility of Soil Native Cultivation Neglect of Rice Culti- 
 vation Abandoned Reservoirs Former Prosperity Ruins of 
 Cities Pollanarua The Great Dagoba Architectural Relics 
 The Rock Temple Destruction of Population Neglected 
 Capabilities Suggestions for Increasing Population Progress 
 of Pestilence Deserted Villages Difficulties in the Cultiva- 
 tion of Rice Division of Labor Native Agriculture 58 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Real Cost of Land Want of Cpmmunication Coffee-planting 
 Comparison between French and English Settlers Landslips 
 Forest-clearing Manuring The Coffee Bug Rats Fatted 
 Stock Suggestions for Sheep-farming Attack of a Leopard 
 Leopards and Chetahs Boy Devoured Traps Musk Cats 
 and the Mongoose Vermin of Ceylon 8l 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "Game Eyes" for Wild Sports Enjoyments of Wild Life 
 Cruelty of Sports Native Hunters Moormen Traders 
 Their wretched Guns Rifles and Smooth-bores Heavy Balls 
 and Heavy Metal Beattie's Rifles Balls and Patches Ex- 
 periments The Double-groove Power of Heavy Metal 
 Curious Shot at a Bull Elephant African and Ceylon Ele- 
 phants Structure of Skull Lack of Trophies Boar-spears 
 and Hunting-knives "Bertram" A Boar Hunt Fatal Cut. 104 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Curious Phenomenon Panorama of Ouva South-west Mon- 
 soon Hunting Followers Fort M'Donald River Jungle 
 Paths Dangerous Locality Great Waterfall Start for Hunt-
 
 Contents. 1 1 
 
 PAGE 
 
 , ing The Find A Gallant Stag "Bran" and "Lucifer" 
 " Phrenzy's" Death Buck at Bay The Cave Hunting-box 
 "Madcap's" Dive Elk Soup Former Inundation "Blue- 
 beard" leads off" Hecate's" Course The Elk's Leap Vari- 
 ety of Deer The Axis Ceylon Bears Variety of Vermin 
 Trials for Hounds Hounds and their Masters A Sportsman 
 " shut up" A Corporal and Centipede 132 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 Observations on Nature in the Tropics The Dung Beetle The 
 Mason-fly "Spiders Luminous Insects Efforts of a Natural- 
 ist Dogs Worried by Leeches Tropical Diseases Malaria- 
 Causes of Infection Disappearance of the " Mina" Poison- 
 ous Water Well-digging Elephants 175, 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Instinct and Reason Tailor Birds and Grosbeaks The White 
 Ant Black Ants at War Wanderoo Monkeys Habits of 
 Elephants Elephants in the Lake Herd of Elephants Bath- 
 ing Elephant-shooting The Rencontre The Charge 
 Caught by the Tail Horse Gored by a Buffalo Sagacity of 
 Dogs " Bluebeard" His Hunt A True Hound 194 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Wild Fruits Ingredients for a " Soupe Maigre" Orchidaceous 
 Plants Wild Nutmegs Native Oils Cinnamon Primeval 
 Forests Valuable Woods The Mahawelli River Variety of 
 Palms Cocoa-nut Toddy Arrack Cocoa-nut Oil Cocoa- 
 nut-planting The Talipot Palm The Areca Palm Betel 
 Chewing Sago Nuts Variety of Bees Waste of Beeswax- 
 Edible Fungi Narcotic Puff-ball Intoxicating Drugs Pois- 
 oned Cakes The " Sack Tree" No Gum Trees of Value in 
 Ceylon 219
 
 12 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PAOI 
 
 Indigenous Productions Botanical Gardens Suggested Experi- 
 ments Lack of Encouragement to Gold-diggers Prospects 
 of Gold-digging We want " Nuggets." Who is to Blame ? 
 Governor's Salary Fallacies of a Five Years' Reign Ne- 
 glected Education of the People Responsibilities of Conquest 
 Progress of Christianity 256 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Pearl Fishery Desolation of the Coast Harbor of Trin- 
 comalee Fatal Attack by a Shark Ferocious Crocodiles Salt 
 Monopoly Salt Lakes Method of Collection Neglect of 
 Ceylon Hides Fish and Fishing Primitive Tackle Oysters 
 and Penknives A Night Bivouac for a Novice No Dinner, 
 but a Good Fire Wild Yams and Consequences The Ele- 
 phants' Duel A Hunting Hermitage Bluebeard's last Hunt 
 The Leopard Bluebeard's Death Leopard Shot 281 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Wild Denizens of Forest and Lake Destroyers of Reptiles 
 The Tree Duck The Mysteries of Night in the Forest The 
 Devil-Bird The Iguanodon in Miniature Outrigger Canoes 
 The Last Glimpse of Ceylon A Glance at Old Times. ... 310
 
 EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 COLOMBO DULLNESS OF THE TOWN CINNAMON GARDENS 
 A CINGALESE APPO CEYLON SPORT JUNGLE FEVER 
 NEWERA ELLIA ENERGY OF SIR E." BARNES INFLUENCE 
 OF THE GOVERNOR PROJECTED IMPROVEMENTS. 
 I 
 
 IT was in the year 1845 that the spirit of wandering 
 allured me toward Ceylon : little did I imagine at 
 that time that I should eventually become a settler. 
 
 The descriptions of its sports, and the tales of hair- 
 breadth escapes from elephants, which I had read in 
 various publications, were sources of attraction against 
 which I strove in vain ; and I at length determined 
 upon the very wild idea of spending twelve months in 
 Ceylon jungles. 
 
 It is said that the delights of pleasures in anticipa- 
 tion exceed the pleasures themselves : in this case 
 doubtless some months of great enjoyment passed in 
 making plans of every description, until I at length 
 arrived in Colombo, Ceylon's seaport capital. 
 
 I never experienced greater disappointment in an ex- 
 pectation than on my first view of Colombo. I had 
 
 15
 
 1 6 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 spent some time at Mauritius and Bourbon previous to 
 my arrival, and I soon perceived that the far-famed 
 Ceylon was nearly a century behind either of those 
 small islands. 
 
 Instead of the bustling activity of the Port Louis 
 harbor in Mauritius, there were a few vessels rolling 
 about in the roadstead, and some forty or fifty fishing 
 canoes hauled up on the sandy beach. There was a 
 peculiar dullness throughout the town a sort of some- 
 thing which seemed to say, " Coffee does not pay." 
 There was a want of spirit in everything. The ill- 
 conditioned guns upon the fort looked as though not 
 intended to defend it ; the sentinels looked parboiled ; 
 the very natives sauntered rather than walked ; the 
 bullocks crawled along in the midday sun, listlessly 
 dragging the native carts. Everything and everybody 
 seemed enervated, except those frightfully active people 
 in all countries and climates, "the custom-house 
 officers :" these necessary plagues to society gave their 
 usual amount of annoyance. 
 
 What struck me the most forcibly in Colombo was 
 the want of shops. In Port Louis the wide and well- 
 paved streets were lined with excellent " magasins" of 
 every description ; here, on the contrary, it was difficult 
 to find anything in the shape of a shop until I was in- 
 troduced to a soi-disant store, where everything was to 
 be purchased from a needle to a crowbar, and from 
 satin to sail-cloth ; the useful predominating over the 
 ornamental in all cases. It was all on a poor scale ; 
 and after several inquiries respecting the best hotel, I 
 located myself at that termed the Royal or Seager's 
 Hotel. This was airy, white and clean throughout ; 
 but there was a barn-like appearance, as there is
 
 Cinnamon Gardens. iy 
 
 throughout most private dwellings in Colombo, which 
 banished all idea of comfort. 
 
 A good tiffin concluded, which produced a happier 
 state of mind, I ordered a carriage for a drive to the 
 Cinnamon Gardens. The general style of Ceylon 
 carriages appeared in the shape of a caricature of a 
 hearse : this goes by the name of a palanquin carriage. 
 Those usually hired are drawn by a single horse, whose 
 natural vicious propensities are restrained by a low 
 system of diet 
 
 In this vehicle, whose gaunt steed was led at a mel- 
 ancholy trot by an equally small-fed horsekeeper, I 
 traversed the environs of Colombo. Through the 
 winding fort gateway, across the flat Galle Face (the 
 race-course), freshened by the sea-breeze as the waves 
 break upon its western side ; through the Colpetty 
 topes of cocoanut trees shading the road, and the 
 houses of the better class of European residents to the 
 right and left ; then turning to the left a few minutes 
 of expectation and behold the Cinnamon Gardens ! 
 
 What fairy-like pleasure-grounds have we fondly an- 
 ticipated ! what perfumes of spices, and all that our 
 childish imaginations had pictured as the ornamental 
 portions of a cinnamon garden ! 
 
 A vast area of scrubby, low jungle, composed of 
 cinnamon bushes, is seen to the right and" left, before 
 and behind. Above, is a cloudless sky and a broiling 
 sun ; below, is snow-white sand of quartz, curious only 
 in the possibility of its supporting vegetation. Such 
 is the soil in which the cinnamon delights ; such are 
 the Cinnamon Gardens, in which I delight not. They 
 are an imposition, and they only serve as an addition 
 to the disappointments of a visitor to Colombo. In 
 2* B
 
 1 8 Eight Tears' Wandering? in Ceylon. 
 
 fact, the whole place is a series of disappointments. 
 You see a native woman clad in snow-white petticoats, 
 a beautiful tortoiseshell comb fastened in her raven 
 hair ; you pass her you look back wonderful ! she 
 has a beard ! Deluded stranger, this is only another 
 disappointment ; it is a Cingalese Appo a man no, 
 not a man a something male in petticoats ; a petty 
 thief, a treacherous, cowardly villain, who would per- 
 petrate the greatest rascality had he only the pluck to 
 dare it. In fact, in this petticoated wretch you see a 
 type of the nation of Cingalese. 
 
 On the morning following my arrival in Ceylon, I 
 was delighted to see several persons seated at the 
 " table-d'hote" when I entered the room, as I was most 
 anxious to gain some positive information respecting 
 the game of the*island, the best localities, etc., etc. I 
 was soon engaged in conversation, and one of my first 
 questions naturally turned upon sport. 
 
 "Sport!" exclaimed two gentlemen simultaneously 
 ''sport! there is no sport to be had in Ceylon !" "at 
 least the race-week is the only sport that I know of," 
 said the taller gentleman. 
 
 "No sport!" said I, half energetically and half des- 
 pairingly. "Absurd! every book on Ceylon mentions 
 the amount of game as immense ; and as to ele- 
 phants " 
 
 Here I was interrupted by the same gentleman. 
 "All gross exaggerations," said he "gross exaggera- 
 tions ; in fact, inventions to give interest to a book. I 
 have an estate in the interior, and I have never seen a 
 wild elephant. There may be a few in the jungles of 
 Ceylon, but very few, and you never see them." 
 
 I began to discover the stamp of my companion
 
 Jungle Fever. 19 
 
 from his expression, "You never see them." Of course 
 I concluded that he had never looked for them ; and I 
 began to recover from the first shock which his ex- 
 clamation, " There is no sport in Ceylon !" had given 
 me. 
 
 I subsequently discovered that my new and non- 
 sporting acquaintances were coffee-planters of a class 
 then known as the Galje Face planters, who passed 
 their time in cantering about the Colombo race-course 
 and idling in the town, while their estates lay a hundred 
 miles distant, uncared for and naturally ruining their 
 proprietors. 
 
 That same afternoon, to my delight and surprise, I 
 met an old Gloucestershire friend in an officer of the 
 Fifteenth Regiment, then stationed in Ceylon. From 
 him I soon learnt that the character of Ceylon for 
 game had never been exaggerated ; and from that mo- 
 ment my preparations for the jungle commenced. 
 
 I rented a good airy house in Colombo as head- 
 quarters, and the verandas were soon strewed with 
 jungle-baskets, boxes, tent, gun-cases, and all the para- 
 phernalia of a shooting trip. 
 
 ****** 
 
 What unforeseen and apparently trivial incidents 
 may upset all our plans for the future and turn our 
 whole course of life ! 
 
 At the expiration of twelve months my shooting 
 trips and adventures were succeeded by so severe an 
 attack of jungle fever that from a naturally robust 
 frame I dwindled to a mere nothing, and very little of 
 my former self remained. The first symptom of con- 
 valescence was accompanied by a peremptory order 
 from my medical attendant to start for the highlands,
 
 2O Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 to the mountainous region of Newera Ellia, the sanita- 
 rium of the island. 
 
 A poor, miserable wretch I was upon my arrival at 
 this elevated station, suffering not only from the fever 
 itself, but from the feeling of an exquisite debility that 
 creates an utter hopelessness of the renewal of strength. 
 
 I was only a fortnight at Newera Ellia. The rest- 
 house or inn was the perfection of everything that was 
 dirty and uncomfortable. The toughest possible speci- 
 men of a beef-steak, black bread and potatoes were 
 the choicest and only viands obtainable for an invalid. 
 There was literally nothing else ; it was a land of 
 starvation. But the climate! what can I say to de- 
 scribe the wonderful effects of such a pure and unpol- 
 luted air? Simply, that .at the expiration of a fort- 
 night, in spite of the tough beef, and the black bread 
 and potatoes, I was as well and as strong as I ever had 
 been ; and in proof of this I started instanter for 
 another shooting excursion in the interior. 
 
 It was impossible to have visited Newera Ellia, and 
 to have benefited in such a wonderful manner by the 
 climate, without contemplating with astonishment its 
 poverty-stricken and neglected state. 
 
 At that time it was the most miserable place con- 
 ceivable. There was a total absence of all ideas of 
 comfort or arrangement. The houses were for the 
 most part built of such unsubstantial materials as stick 
 and mud plastered over with mortar pretty enough in 
 exterior, but rotten in ten or twelve years. The only 
 really good residence was a fine stone building erected 
 by Sir Edward Barnes when governor of Ceylon. To 
 him alone indeed are we indebted for the existence of 
 a sanitarium. It was he who opened the road, not
 
 Newera Ellia. 21 
 
 only to Newera Ellia, but for thirty-six miles farther 
 on the same line to Badulla. At his own expense he 
 built a substantial mansion at a cost, as it is said, of 
 eight thousand pounds, and with provident care for 
 the health of the European troops, he erected barracks 
 and officers' quarters for the invalids. 
 
 Under his government Newera Ellia was rapidly be- 
 coming a place of importance, but unfortunately at the 
 expiration of his term the place became neglected. 
 His successor took no interest in the plans of his pre- 
 decessor ; and from that period, each successive gover- 
 nor being influenced by an increasing spirit of parsi- 
 mony, Newera Ellia has remained " in statu quo," not 
 even having been visited by the present governor. 
 
 In a small colony like Ceylon it is astonishing how 
 the movements and opinions of the governor influence 
 the public mind. In' the present instance, however, 
 the movements of the governor (Sir G. Anderson) can- 
 not carry much weight, as he does not move at all, 
 with the exception of an occasional drive from Colombo 
 to Kandy. His knowledge of the colony and of its 
 wants or resources must therefore, from his personal 
 experience, be limited to the Kandy road. This 
 apathy, when exhibited by her Majesty's representative, 
 is highly contagious among the public of all classes 
 and colors, and cannot have other than a bad moral 
 tendency. 
 
 Upon my first visit to Newera Ellia, in 1847, Lord 
 Torrington was the governor of Ceylon, a man of 
 active mind, with an ardent desire to test its real capa- 
 bilities and to work great improvements in the colony. 
 Unfortunately, his term as governor was shorter than 
 was expected. The elements of discord were at that
 
 22 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 time at work among all classes in Ceylon, and Lord 
 Torrington was recalled. 
 
 From the causes of neglect described, Newera Eliia 
 was in the deserted and wretched state in which I saw 
 it ; but so infatuated was I in the belief that its import- 
 ance must be appreciated when the knowledge of its 
 climate was more widely extended that I looked for- 
 ward to its becoming at some future time a rival to the 
 Neilgherries station in India. My ideas were based 
 upon the natural features of the place, combined with 
 its requirements. 
 
 It apparently produced nothing except potatoes. The 
 soil was supposed to be as good as it appeared to be. 
 The quality of the water and the supply were unques- 
 tionable ; the climate could not be surpassed for salu- 
 brity. There was a carriage road from Colombo, one 
 hundred and fifteen miles, and from Kandy, forty-seven 
 miles ; the last thirteen being the Rambodde Pass, 
 arriving at an elevation of six thousand six hundred 
 feet, from which point a descent of two miles termi- 
 nated the road to Newera Ellia. 
 
 The station then consisted of about twenty private 
 residences, the barracks and officers' quarters, the rest- 
 house and the bazaar ; the latter containing about two 
 hundred native inhabitants. 
 
 Bounded upon all sides but the east by high moun- 
 tains, the plain of Newera Ellia lay like a level valley 
 of about two miles in length by half a mile in width, 
 bordered by undulating grassy knolls at the foot of the 
 mountains. Upon these spots of elevated ground most 
 of the dwellings were situated, commanding a view of 
 the plain, with the river winding through its centre. 
 The mountains were 'clothed from the base to the sum-
 
 Projected Improvements. 23 
 
 mit with dense forests, containing excellent timber for 
 building purposes. Good building-stone was procurable 
 everywhere ; limestone at a distance of five miles. 
 
 The whole of the adjacent country was a repetition 
 of the Nevvera Ellia plain with slight variations, com- 
 prising a vast extent of alternate swampy plains and 
 dense forests. 
 
 Why should this place lie idle? Why should this 
 great tract of country in such a lovely climate be un- 
 tenanted and uncultivated? How often I have stood 
 upon the hills and asked myself this question when 
 gazing over the wide extent of undulating forest and 
 plain ! How often I have thought of the thousands of 
 starving wretches at home, who here might earn a 
 comfortable livelihood ! and I have scanned the vast 
 tract of country, and in my imagination I have cleared 
 the dark forests and substituted waving crops of corn, 
 and peopled a hundred ideal cottages A'ith a thriving 
 peasantry. 
 
 Why should not the highlands of Ceylon, with an 
 Italian climate, be rescued from their state of barren- 
 ness ? Why should not the plains be drained, the for- 
 ests felled, and cultivation take the place of the rank 
 pasturage, and supplies be produced to make Ceylon 
 independent of other countries ? Why should not schools 
 be established, a comfortable hotel be erected, a church 
 be built? In fact, why should Newera Ellia, with its 
 wonderful climate, so easily attainable, be neglected in 
 a country like Ceylon, proverbial for its unhealthiness? 
 
 These were my ideas when I first visited Neweni 
 Ellia, before I had much experience in either people or 
 things connected with the island. 
 
 My twelve months' tour in Ceylon being completed,
 
 24 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 I returned to England delighted with what I had seen 
 of Ceylon in general, but, above all, with my short 
 visit to Newera Ellia, malgre its barrenness and want 
 of comfort, caused rather by the neglect of man than 
 by the lack of resources in the locality.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 PAST SCENES ATTRACTIONS OF CEYLON EMIGRATION DIFFI- 
 CULTIES IN SETTLING ACCIDENTS AND CASUALTIES AN 
 ECCENTRIC GROOM INSUBORDINATION COMMENCEMENT 
 OF CULTIVATION SAGACITY OF THE ELEPHANT DISAP- 
 POINTMENTS " DEATH " IN THE SETTLEMENT SHOCKING 
 PASTURAGE SUCCESS OF EMIGRANTS "A GOOD KNOCK- 
 ABOUT KIND OF A WIFE." 
 
 I HAD not been long in England before I discovered 
 that my trip to Ceylon had only served to upset all 
 ideas of settling down quietly at home. Scenes of 
 former sports and places were continually intruding 
 themselves upon my thoughts, and I longed to be once 
 more roaming at large with the rifle through the noise- 
 less wildernesses in Ceylon. So delightful were the 
 recollections of past incidents that I could scarcely 
 believe that it lay within my power to renew them. 
 Ruminating over all that had happened within the past 
 year, I conjured up localities to my memory which 
 seemed too attractive to have existed in reality. I wan- 
 dered along London streets, comparing the noise and 
 bustle with the deep solitudes of Ceylon, and I felt like 
 the sickly plants in a London parterre. I wanted the 
 change to my former life. I constantly found myself 
 gazing into gunmakers' shops, and these I sometimes 
 entered abstractedly to examine some rifle exposed in 
 3 25
 
 26 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 the window. Often have I passed an hour in boring 
 the unfortunate gunmakers to death by my suggestions 
 for various improvements in rifles and guns, which, as 
 I was not a purchaser, must have been extremely 
 edifying. 
 
 Time passed, and the moment at length arrived when 
 I decided once more to see Ceylon. I determined to 
 become a settler at Newera Ellia, where I could reside 
 in a perfect climate, and nevertheless enjoy the sports 
 of the low country at my own will. 
 
 Thus, the recovery from a fever in Ceylon was the 
 hidden cause of my settlement at Newera Ellia. The 
 infatuation for sport, added to a gypsy-like love of wan- 
 dering and complete independence, thus dragged me 
 away from home and from a much-loved circle. 
 
 In my determination to reside at Newera Ellia, I 
 hoped to be able to carry out some of those visionary 
 plans for its improvement which I have before sug- 
 gested ; and I trusted to be enabled to effect such a 
 change in the rough face of Nature in that locality as 
 to render a residence at Newera Ellia something ap- 
 proaching to a country life in England, with the advan- 
 tage of the whole of Ceylon for my manor, and no 
 expense of gamekeepers. 
 
 To carry out these ideas it was necessary to set to 
 work ; and I determined to make a regular settlement 
 at Newera Ellia, sanguinely looking forward to estab- 
 lishing a little English village around my own resi- 
 dence. 
 
 Accordingly, I purchased an extensive tract of land 
 from the government, at twenty shillings per acre. I 
 engaged an excellent bailiff, who, with his wife and 
 daughter, with nine other emigrants, including a black-
 
 Emigration. 27 
 
 smith, were to sail for my intended settlement in 
 Ceylon. 
 
 I purchased farming implements of the most im- 
 proved descriptions, seeds of all kinds, saw-mills, etc., 
 etc., and the following stock: A half-bred bull (Dur- 
 ham and Hereford), a well-bred Durham cow, three 
 rams (a Southdown, Leicester and Cotswold), and a 
 thorough-bred entire horse by Charles XII. ; also a 
 small pack of foxhounds and a favorite greyhound 
 ("Bran"). 
 
 My brother had determined to accompany me ; and 
 with emigrants, s.tock, machinery, hounds, and our re- 
 spective families, the good ship "Earl of Hardwick," 
 belonging to Messrs. Green & Co., sailed from London 
 in September, 1848. I had previously left England by 
 the overland mail of August to make arrangements at 
 Newera Ellia for the reception of the whole party. 
 
 I had as much difficulty in making up my mind to 
 the proper spot for the settlement as Noah's dove ex- 
 perienced in its flight from the ark. However, I 
 wandered over the neighboring plains and jungles of 
 Newera Ellia, and at length I stuck my walking-stick 
 into the ground where the gentle undulations of the 
 country would allow the use of the plough. Here, 
 then, was to be the settlement. 
 
 I had chosen the spot at the eastern extremity of the 
 Newera Ellia plain, on the verge of the sudden descent 
 toward Badulla. This position was two miles and a 
 half from Newera Ellia, and was far more agreeable 
 and better adapted for a settlement, the land being com- 
 paratively level and not shut in by mountains. 
 
 It was in the dreary month of October, when the 
 south-west monsoon howls in all its fury across the
 
 28 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 mountains ; the mist boiled up from the valleys and 
 swept along the surface of the plains, obscuring the 
 view of everything, except the pattering rain, which de- 
 scended without ceasing day or night. Every sound 
 was hushed, save that of the elements and the distant 
 murmuring roar of countless waterfalls ; not a bird 
 chirped, the dank white lichens hung from the branches 
 of the trees, and the wretchedness of the place was be- 
 yond description. 
 
 I found it almost impossible to persuade the natives 
 to work in such weather; and it being absolutely 
 necessary that cottages should be built with the greatest 
 expedition, I was obliged to offer an exorbitant rate 
 of wages. 
 
 In about fortnight, however, the wind and rain 
 showed flags of truce in the shape of white clouds set 
 in a blue sky. The gale ceased, and the skylarks 
 warbled high in air, giving life and encouragement to 
 the whole scene. It was like a beautiful cool mid- 
 summer in England. 
 
 I had about eighty men at work ; and the constant 
 click-clack of axes, the falling of trees, the noise of 
 saws and hammers and the perpetual chattering of 
 coolies gave a new character to the wild spot upon 
 which I had fixed. 
 
 The work proceeded rapidly ; neat white cottages 
 soon appeared in the forest ; and I expected to have 
 everything in readiness for the emigrants on their 
 arrival. I rented a tolerably good house in Newera 
 Ellia, and so far everything had progressed well. 
 
 The " Eai'l of Hardwick" arrived after a prosperous 
 voyage, with passengers and stock all in sound health ; 
 the only casualty on board had been to one of the hounds.
 
 Accidents and Casualties. 29 
 
 In a few days all started from Colombo for Newera 
 Ellia. The only trouble was, How to get the cow up? 
 She was a beautiful beast, a thorough-bred "short 
 horn," and she weighed about thirteen hundredweight. 
 She was so fat that a march of one hundred and fifteen 
 miles in a tropical climate was impossible. Accord- 
 ingly a van was arranged for her, which the maker as- 
 sured me would carry an elephant. But no sooner had 
 the cow entered it than the whole thing came down 
 with a crash, and the cow made her exit through the 
 bottom. She was therefore obliged to start on foot in 
 company with the bull, sheep, horse and hounds, 
 orders being given that ten miles a day, divided be- 
 tween morning and evening, should be the maximum 
 march during the journey. 
 
 The emigrants started per coach, while our party 
 drove up in a new clarence which I had brought from 
 England. I mention this, as its untimely end will be 
 shortly seen. 
 
 Four government elephant-carts started with ma- 
 chinery, farming implements, etc., etc,, while a troop 
 of bullock-bandies carried the lighter goods. I had a 
 tame elephant waiting at the foot of the Newera Ellia 
 Pass to assist in carrying up the baggage and maid- 
 servants. 
 
 There had been a vast amount of trouble in making 
 all the necessary arrangements, but the start was com- 
 pleted, and at length we were all fairly off. 
 
 In an enterprise of this kind many disappointments 
 were necessarily to be expected, and I had prepared 
 myself with the patience of Job for anything that 
 might happen. It was well that I had done so, for it 
 was soon put to the test. 
 3*
 
 30 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Having reached Rambodde', at the foot of the 
 Newera Ellia Pass, in safety, I found that the carriage 
 was so heavy that the horses were totally unable to as- 
 cend the pass. I therefore left it at the rest-house 
 while we rode up the fifteen miles to Newera Ellia, in- 
 tending to send for the empty vehicle in a few days. 
 
 The whole party of emigrants and ourselves reached 
 Newera Ellia in safety. On the following day I sent 
 down the groom with a pair of horses to bring up the 
 carriage ; at the same time I sent down the elephant to 
 bring some luggage from Rambodde. 
 
 Now this groom, u Henry Perkes," was one of the 
 emigrants, and he was not exactly the steadiest of the 
 party ; I therefore cautioned him to be very careful in 
 driving up the pass, especially in crossing the narrow 
 bridges and turning the corners. He started on his 
 mission. 
 
 The next day a dirty-looking letter was put in my 
 hand by a native, which, being addressed to me, ran 
 something in this style : 
 
 " Honor* Zur 
 
 " I'm sorry to hinform you that the carrige and osses has met with 
 a haccidint and is tumbled down a preccippice and its a mussy as I 
 didn't go too. The preccippice isn't very deep bein not above heighty 
 feet or therabouts the hosses is got up but is very bad the carrige 
 
 lies on its back and we can't stir it nohow. M*. is very kind, 
 
 and has lent above a hunderd niggers, but they aint no more use than 
 cats at liftin. Plese Zur come and see whats to be done. 
 
 " Your Humbel Serv', 
 
 " H. PERKES." 
 
 This was pleasant, certainly^-a new carriage and a 
 pair of fine Australian horses smashed before they 
 reached Newera Ellia !
 
 String of Accidents. 31 
 
 This was, however, the commencement of a chapter 
 of accidents. I went down the pass, and there, sure 
 enough, I had a fine bird's-eye view of the carriage 
 down a precipice on the road side. One horse was so 
 injured that it was necessary to destroy him ; the other 
 died a few days after. Perkes had been intoxicated ; 
 and, while driving at a full gallop round a corner, over 
 went the carriages and horses. 
 
 On my return to Newera Ellia, I found a letter in- 
 forming me that the short-horn cow had halted at Am- 
 berpusse, thirty-seven miles from Colombo, dangerously 
 ill. The next morning another letter informed me that 
 she was dead. This was a sad loss after the trouble of 
 bringing so fine an animal from England ; and I re- 
 gretted her far more than both carriage and horses 
 together, as my ideas for breeding some thorough-bred 
 stock were for the present extinguished. 
 
 There is nothing like one misfortune for breeding 
 another ; and what with the loss of carriage, horses 
 and cow, the string of accidents had fairly commenced. 
 The carriage still lay inverted ; and although a tolerable 
 specimen of a smash, I determined to pay a certain 
 honor to its remains by not allowing it to lie and rot 
 upon the ground. Accordingly, I sent the blacksmith 
 with a gang of men, and Perkes was ordered to accom- 
 pany the party. I also sent the elephant to assist in 
 hauling the body of the carriage up the precipice. 
 
 Perkes, having been much more accustomed to riding 
 than walking during his career as groom, was deter- 
 mined to ride the elephant down the pass ; and he 
 accordingly mounted, insisting at the same time that 
 the mohout should put the animal into a trot. In vain 
 the man remonstrated, and explained that such a pace
 
 32 Eight Years' Wanderings In Ceylon. 
 
 would injure the elephant on a journey ; threats pre- 
 vailed, and the beast was soon swinging along at full 
 trot, forced on by the sharp driving-hook, with the 
 delighted Perkes striding across its neck, riding an im- 
 aginary race. 
 
 On the following day the elephant-driver appeared at 
 the front door, but 'without the elephant. I irtimediately 
 foreboded some disaster, which was soon explained. 
 Mr. Perkes had kept up the pace for fifteen miles, to 
 Rambodde, when, rinding that the elephant was not 
 required, he took a little refreshment in the shape of 
 brandy and water, and then, to use his own expression, 
 " tooled the old elephant along till he came to a stand- 
 still." 
 
 He literally forced the poor beast up the steep pass 
 for seven miles, till it fell down and shortly after died. 
 
 Mr. Perkes was becoming an expensive man : a most 
 sagacious and tractable elephant was now added to his 
 list of victims.; and he had the satisfaction of knowing 
 that he was one of the few men in the world who had 
 ridden an elephant to death. 
 
 That afternoon, Mr. Perkes was being wheeled about 
 the bazaar in a wheelbarrow, insensibly drunk, by a 
 brother emigrant, who was also considerably elevated. 
 Perkes had at some former time lost an eye by the kick 
 of a horse, and to conceal the disfigurement he wore a 
 black patch, which gave him very much the expression 
 of a bull terrier with a similar mark. Notwithstand- 
 ing this disadvantage in appearance, he was perpetu- 
 ally making successful love to the maid-servants, and 
 he was altogether the most incorrigible scamp that I 
 ever met with, although I must do him the justice to 
 say he was thoroughly honest and industrious.
 
 Commencement of Cultivation. 33 
 
 I shortly experienced great trouble with the emi- 
 grants ; they could not agree with the bailiff, and openly 
 defied his authority. I was obliged to send two of 
 them to jail as an example to the others. This pro- 
 duced the desired effect, and we shortly got regularly 
 to work. 
 
 There were now about a hundred and fifty natives 
 employed in the tedious process of exterminating jungle 
 and forest, not felling, but regularly digging out every 
 tree and root, then piling and burning the mass, and 
 leveling the cleared land in a state to receive the 
 plough. This was very expensive work, amounting to 
 about thirty pounds per acre. The root of a large tree 
 would frequently occupy three men a couple of days in 
 its extraction, which, at the rate of wages, at one shil- 
 ling per diem, was very costly. The land thus cleared 
 was a light sandy loam, about eighteen inches in depth, 
 with a gravel subsoil, and was considered to be far 
 superior to the patina (or natural grass-land) soil, which 
 was, in appearance, black loam on the higher ground, 
 and of a peaty nature in the swamps. 
 
 The bailiff (Mr. Fowler) was of' opinion that the 
 patina soil was the best ; therefore, while the large 
 native force was engaged in sweeping the forest from 
 the'surface, operations were commenced according to 
 agricultural rules upon the patinas. 
 
 A tract of land known as the " Moon Plains," com- 
 prising about two hundred acres, was immediately 
 commenced upon. As some persons considered the 
 settlement at Newera Ellia the idea of a lunatic, the 
 " Moon Plain" was an appropriate spot for the experi- 
 ment. A tolerably level field of twenty acres was 
 fenced in, and the work begun by firing the patina and 
 
 C
 
 34 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 burning off all the grass. Then came three teams, as 
 follows : 
 
 Lord Ducie's patent cultivator, drawn by an ele- 
 phant ; a skim, drawn by another elephant, and a long 
 wood plough, drawn by eight bullocks. 
 
 The field being divided into three sections, was thus 
 quickly pared of the turf, the patent cultivator working 
 admirably, and easily drawn by the elephant. 
 
 The weather being very dry and favorable for the 
 work, the turf was soon ready for burning ; and being 
 piled in long rows, much trouble was saved in subse- 
 quently spreading the ashes. This being completed, 
 we had six teams at work, two horse, two bullock, and 
 two elephant; and the ploughing was soon finished. 
 The whole piece was then sown with oats. 
 
 It was an interesting sight to see the rough plain 
 yielding to the power of agricultural implements, es- 
 pecially as some of these implements were drawn by 
 animals not generally seen in plough harness at home. 
 
 The " cultivator," which was sufficiently large to 
 anchor any twenty of the small native bullocks, looked 
 a mere nothing behind the splendid elephant who 
 worked it, and it cut through the wiry roots of the rank 
 turf as a knife peels an apple. It was amusing to see 
 this same elephant doing the work of three separate 
 teams when the seed was in the ground. She first 
 drew a pair of heavy harrows ; attached to these and 
 following behind were a pair of light harrows, and 
 behind these came a roller. Thus the land had its 
 first and second harrowing at the same time with the 
 rolling. 
 
 This elephant was particularly sagacious ; and het 
 farming work being completed, she was employed in
 
 Sagacity of the Elephant. 35 
 
 making a dam across a stream. She was a very large 
 animal, and it was beautiful to witness her wonderful 
 sagacity in carrying and arranging the heavy timber 
 required. The rough trunks of trees from the lately 
 felled forest were lying within fifty yards of the spot, 
 and the trunks required for the dam were about fifteen 
 feet long and fourteen to eighteen inches in diameter. 
 These she carried in her mouth, shifting her hold 
 along the log before she raised it until she had obtained 
 the exact balance ; then, steadying it with her trunk, 
 she carried every log to the spot, and laid them across 
 the stream in parallel rows. These she herself ar- 
 ranged, under the direction of her driver, with the 
 reason apparently of a human being. 
 
 The most extraordinary part of her performance was 
 the arranging of two immense logs of red keenar (one 
 of the heaviest woods). These were about eighteen 
 feet long and two feet in diameter, and they were in- 
 tended to lie on either bank of the stream, parallel to 
 the brook and close to the edge. These she placed 
 with the greatest care in their exact positions, unassisted 
 by any one.* She rolled them gently over with her 
 head, then with one foot, and keeping her trunk on the 
 opposite side of the log, she checked its way whenever 
 its own momentum would have carried it into the 
 stream. Although I thought the work admirably done, 
 she did not seem quite satisfied, and she presently got 
 into the stream, and gave one end of the log an extra 
 push with her head, which completed her task, the two 
 trees lying exactly parallel to each other, close to the 
 edge of either bank. 
 
 Tame elephants are constantly employed in building 
 * Directed of course by her driver.
 
 36 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 stone bridges, when the stones required for the abut- 
 ments are too heavy to be managed by crowbars. 
 
 Many were the difficulties to contend against when 
 the first attempts were made in agriculture at Newera 
 Ellia. No sooner were the oats a few inches above 
 ground than they were subjected to the nocturnal visits 
 of elk and hogs in such numbers that they were almost 
 wholly destroyed. 
 
 A crop of potatoes of about three acres on the newly- 
 cleared forest land was totally devoured by grubs. The 
 bull and stock were nearly starved on the miserable 
 pasturage of the country, and no sooner had the clover 
 sprung up in the new clearings than the Southdown 
 ram got hoven upon it and died. The two remaining 
 rams, not having been accustomed to much high living 
 since their arrival at Newera Ellia, got pugnacious 
 upon the clover, and in a pitched battle the Leicester 
 ram killed the Cotswold, and remained solus. An 
 epidemic appeared among the cattle, and twenty-six 
 fine bullocks died within a few days ; five Australian 
 horses died during the first year, and everything seemed 
 to be going into the next world as fast as possible. 
 
 Having made up my mind to all manner of disap- 
 pointments, these casualties did not make much impres- 
 sion on me, and the loss of a few crops at the outset 
 was to be expected ; but at length a deplorable and un- 
 expected event occurred. 
 
 The bailiff's family consisted of a wife and daughter ; 
 the former was the perfection of a respectable farmer's 
 wife, whose gentle manners and amiable disposition 
 had gained her many friends ; the daughter was a very 
 pretty girl of nineteen. 
 
 For some time Mrs. Fowler had been suffering from
 
 Natural Pasturage. 37 
 
 an illness of long standing, and I was suddenly called 
 to join in the mournful procession to her grave. This 
 was indeed a loss which I deeply deplored. 
 
 At length death left the little settlement, and a ray 
 of sunshine shone through the gloom which would 
 have made many despond. Fortune smiled upon every- 
 thing. Many acres of forest were cleared, and the 
 crops succeeded each other in rapid succession. I had, 
 however, made the discovery that without manure 
 nothing would thrive. This had been a great disap- 
 pointment, as much difficulty lay in procuring the ne- 
 cessary item. 
 
 Had the natural pasturage been good, it would soon 
 have been an easy matter to procure any amount of 
 manure by a corresponding number of cattle ; but, as it 
 happened, the natural pasturage was so bad that no 
 beast could thrive upon it. Thus everything, even 
 grass-land, had to be manured ; and, fortunately, a 
 cargo of guano having arrived in the island, we were 
 enabled to lay down some good clover and seeds. 
 
 The original idea of cultivation, driving the forests 
 from the neighborhood of Newera Ellia, was therefore 
 dispelled. Every acre of land must be manured, and 
 upon a large scale at Newera Ellia that is impossible. 
 With manure everything will thrive to perfection with 
 the exception of wheat. There is neither lime nor 
 magnesia in the soil. An abundance of silica throws 
 a good crop of straw, but the grain is wanting : Indian 
 corn will not form grain from the same cause. On the 
 other hand, peas, beans, turnips, carrots, cabbages, etc., 
 produce crops as heavy as those of England. Potatoes, 
 being the staple article of production, are principally 
 cultivated, as the price of twenty pounds per ton yields 
 4
 
 38 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 a large profit. These, however, do not produce larger 
 crops than from four to six tons per acre when heavily 
 manured ; but as the crop is fit to dig in three months 
 from the day of planting, money is quickly made. 
 
 There are many small farmers, or rather gardeners, 
 at Newera Ellia who have succeeded uncommonly 
 well. One of the emigrants who left my service re- 
 turned to England in three years with three hundred 
 pounds ; and all the industrious people succeed. I am 
 now without one man whom I brought out. The 
 bailiff farms a little land of his own, and his pretty 
 daughter is married ; the others are scattered here and 
 there, but I believe all are doing well, especially the 
 blacksmith, upon whose anvil Fortune has smiled most 
 kindly. 
 
 By the bye, that same blacksmith has the right stamp 
 of a "better half" for an emigrant's wife. According 
 to his own description she is a "good knock-about 
 kind of a wife." I recollect seeing her, during a press 
 of work, rendering assistance to her Vulcan in a man- 
 ner worthy of a Cyclop's spouse. She was wielding- 
 an eighteen-pound sledgehammer, sending the sparks 
 flying at every blow upon the hot iron, and making the 
 anvil ring again, while her husband turned the metal 
 at every stroke, as if attending on Nasmyth's patent 
 steam hammer. 
 
 It has been a great satisfaction to me that all the 
 people whom I brought out are doing well ; even 
 Henry Perkes, of elephant-jockeying notoriety, is, I be- 
 lieve, prospering as a groom in Madras.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 TASK COMPLETED THE MOUNTAIN-TOP CHANGE IN THE PACK 
 
 OF NATURE ORIGINAL IMPORTANCE OF NEWERA ELLIA 
 
 "THE PATH OF A THOUSAND PRINCES" VESTIGES OF 
 FORMER POPULATION MOUNTAINS THE HIGHLANDS OF 
 OUVA ANCIENT METHODS OF IRRIGATION REMAfNS OF 
 AQJJEDUCTS THE VALE OF RUBIES ANCIENT OPHIR 
 DISCOVERY OF GOLD MINERAL RESOURCES NATIVE 
 BLACKSMITHS. 
 
 IN a climate like that of Newera Ellia, even twelve 
 months make a great change in the appearance of 
 a new settlement ; plants and shrubs spring up with 
 wonderful rapidity, and a garden of one year's growth, 
 without attendance, would be a wilderness. 
 
 A few years necessarily made a vast change in 
 everything. All kinds of experiments had been made, 
 and those which succeeded were persevered in. I dis- 
 covered that excellent beer might be made at this 
 elevation (six thousand two hundred feet), and I ac- 
 cordingly established a small brewery. 
 
 The solitary Leicester ram had propagated a numer- 
 ous family, and a flock of fat ewes, with their lambs, 
 throve to perfection. Many handsome young heifers 
 looked very like the emigrant bull in the face, and 
 claimed their parentage. The fields were green ; the 
 axe no longer sounded in the forests ; a good house 
 
 39
 
 40 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 stood in tne centre of cultivation ; a road of two miles 
 in length cut through the estate, and the whole place 
 looked like an adopted "home." All the trials and 
 disappointments of the beginning were passed away, 
 and the real was a picture which I had ideally con- 
 templated years before. The task was finished. 
 
 In the interim, public improvements had not been 
 neglected ; an extremely pretty church had been erected, 
 and a public reading-room established ; but, with the 
 exception of one good house which had been built, pri- 
 vate enterprise had lain dormant. As usual, from Jan- 
 uary to May, Newera Ellia was overcrowded with 
 visitors, and nearly empty during the other months of 
 the year. 
 
 All Ceylon people dread the wet season at Newera 
 Ellia, which continues from June to December. 
 
 I myself prefer it to what is termed the dry season, 
 at which time the country is burnt up by drought. 
 There is never more rain at Newera Ellia than vegeta- 
 tion requires, and not one-fourth the quantity falls at 
 this elevation, compared to that of the low country. It 
 may be more continuous, but it is of a lighter character, 
 and more akin to " Scotch mist." The clear days 
 during the wet season are far more lovely than the con- 
 stant glare of the summer months, and the rays of the 
 sun are not so powerful. 
 
 There cannot be a more beautiful sight than the 
 view of sunrise from the summit of Pedrotallagalla, the 
 highest mountain in Ceylon, which, rising to the height 
 of 8300 feet, looks down upon Newera Ellia, some two 
 thousand feet below upon one side, and upon the inter- 
 , minable depths of countless ravines and valleys at its 
 base.
 
 The Mountain-Top. 41 
 
 There is a feeling approaching the sublime when a 
 solitary man thus stands upon the highest point of earth, 
 before the dawn of day, and waits the first rising of the 
 sun. Nothing above him but the dusky arch of heaven. 
 Nothing on his level but empty space, all beneath, 
 deep beneath his feet. From childhood he has looked 
 to heaven as the dwelling of the Almighty, and he now 
 stands upon that lofty summit in the silence of utter 
 solitude ; his hand, as he raises it above his head, the 
 highest mark upon the sea-girt land ; his form above 
 all mortals upon this land, the nearest to his God. 
 Words, till now unthought of, tingle in his ears : "He 
 went up into a mountain apart to pray." He feels the 
 spirit which prompted the choice of such a lonely spot, 
 and he stands instinctively uncovered, as the first ray 
 of light spreads like a thread of fire across the sky. 
 
 And now the distant hill-tops, far below, struggle 
 through the snowy sheet of mist, like islands in a fairy 
 sea ; and far, how far his eye can scan, where the faint 
 line upon the horizon marks the ocean ! Mountain 
 and valley, hill and plain, with boundless forest, stretch 
 beneath his feet, far as his sight can gaze, and the scene, 
 so solemnly beautiful, gradually wakens to his senses ; 
 the birds begin to chirp ; the dew-drops fall heavily 
 from the trees, as the light breeze stirs from an apparent 
 sleep : a golden tint spreads over the sea of mist below ; 
 the rays dart lightning-like upon the eastern sky ; the 
 mighty orb rises in all the fullness of his majesty, recall- 
 ing the words of Omnipotence : " Let there be light !" 
 
 The sun is risen ! the misty sea below mounts like a 
 
 snowy wreath around the hill-tops, and then, like a 
 
 passing thought, it vanishes. A glassy clearness of the 
 
 atmosphere reveals the magnificent view of Nature, 
 
 4*
 
 42 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 fresh from her sleep ; every dewy leaf gilded by the 
 morning sun, every rock glistening with moisture in his 
 bright rays, mountain and valley, wood and plain, alike 
 rejoicing in his beams. 
 
 And now, the sun being risen, we gaze from our 
 lofty post upon Newera Ellia, lying at our feet. We 
 trace the river winding its silvery course through the 
 plain, and for many miles the alternate plains and 
 forests joining in succession. 
 
 How changed are some features of the landscape 
 within the few past years, and how wonderful the 
 alteration made by man on the face of Nature ! Com- 
 paratively but a few years ago, Newera Ellia was un- 
 discovered a secluded plain among the mountain- 
 tops, tenanted by the elk and boar. The wind swept 
 over it, and the mists hung around the mountains, and 
 the bright summer with its spotless sky succeeded, but 
 still it was unknown and unseen except by the native 
 bee-hunter in his rambles for wild honey. How 
 changed ! The road encircles the plain, and carts are 
 busy in removing the produce of the land. Here, 
 where wild forests stood, are gardens teeming with 
 English flowers ; rosy-faced children and ruddy coun- 
 trymen are about the cottage doors ; equestrians of both 
 sexes are galloping round the plain, and the cry of the 
 hounds is ringing on the mountain-side. 
 
 How changed ! There is an old tree standing upon 
 a hill, whose gnarled trunk has been twisted by the 
 winter's wind for many an age, and so screwed is its 
 old stem that the axe has spared it, out of pity, when 
 its companions were all swept away and the forest 
 felled. And many a tale that old tree could tell of 
 winter's blasts and broken boughs, and storms which
 
 Change in the Face of Nature. 43 
 
 howled above its head, when all was wilderness around. 
 The eagle has roosted in its top, the monkeys have 
 gamboled in its branches, and the elephants have rub- 
 bed their tough flanks against its stem in times gone 
 by ; but it now throws a shadow upon a Christian's 
 grave, and the churchyard lies beneath its shade. 
 The church-bell sounds where the elephant trumpeted 
 of yore. The sunbeam has penetrated where the forest 
 threw its dreary shade, and a ray of light has shone 
 through the moral darkness of the spot. 
 
 The completion of the church is the grand improve- 
 ment in Newera Ellia. 
 
 Although Newera Ellia was in the wild state de- 
 scribed when first discovered by Europeans, it is not to 
 be supposed that its existence was unknown to the Cin- 
 galese. The name itself proves its former importance 
 to the kings of Kandy, as Newera Ellia signifies " Royal 
 Plains." Kandy is termed by the Cingalese " Newera," 
 as it was the capital of Ceylon and the residence of 
 the king. 
 
 However wild the country may be, and in many 
 portions unvisited by Europeans, still every high moun- 
 tain and every little plain in this wilderness of forest is 
 not only known to the natives of the adjacent low country, 
 but has its separate designation. There is no feature 
 of the country without its name, although the immense 
 tracts of mountain are totally uninhabited, and the 
 nearest villages are some ten or twelve miles distant, 
 between two and three thousand feet below. 
 
 There are native paths from village to village across 
 the mountains, which, although in appearance no nure 
 than deer-runs, have existed for many centuries, and are 
 used by the natives even to this day. The great
 
 44 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 of forest-covered Newera Ellia mountains divides the 
 two districts of Ouva and Kotmalie, and these native 
 paths have been formed to connect the two by an ardu- 
 ous accent upon either side, and a comparatively level 
 cut across the shoulders of the mountains, through 
 alternate plain and forest, for some twenty-five miles. 
 These paths would never be known to Europeans were 
 it not for the distant runs of the hounds, in following 
 which, after some hours of fatiguing jungle-work, I 
 have come upon a path. The notches on the tree- 
 stems have proved its artificial character, and by fol- 
 lowing its course I have learnt the country. 
 
 There is not a path, stream, hill, or plain, within 
 many miles of Newera Ellia, that I do not know inti- 
 mately, although, when the character of the country is 
 scanned by a stranger from some mountain-top, the 
 very act of traversing it appears impossible. This 
 knowledge has been gained by years of unceasing 
 hunting, and by perseveringly following up the hounds 
 wherever they have gone. From sunrise till nightfall I 
 have often ploughed along through alternate jungles 
 and plains, listening eagerly for the cry of the hounds, 
 and at length discovering portions of the country which 
 I had never known to exist. 
 
 There is a great pleasure in thus working out the 
 features of a wild country, especially in an island like 
 Ceylon, which, in every portion, exhibits traces of 
 former prosperity and immense population. Even these 
 uninhabited and chilly regions, up_ to an elevation of 
 seven thousand feet, are not blank pages in the book of 
 Nature, but the hand of man is so distinctly traced 
 that the keen observer can read with tolerable certainty 
 the existence of a nation long since passed away.
 
 Original Importance of Netvera Ellia. 45 
 
 As I before mentioned, I pitched my settlement on 
 the verge of the highland, at the eastern extremity of 
 the Newera Ellia plain, where the high road com- 
 mences a sudden descent toward Badulla, thirty-three 
 miles distant. This spot, forming a shallow gap, was 
 the ancient native entrance to Newera Ellia from that 
 side, and the Cingalese designation for the locality is 
 interpreted " the Path of a Thousand Princes." This 
 name assists in the proof that Newera Ellia was for- 
 merly of some' great importance. A far more enticing 
 name gives an interest to the first swampy portion of 
 the plain, some three hundred paces beyond, viz., " the 
 Valley of Rubies." 
 
 Now, having plainly discovered that Newera Ellia 
 was of some great importance to the natives, let us 
 consider in what that value consisted. There are no 
 buildings remaining, no ruins, as in other parts of 
 Ceylon, but a liquid mine of wealth poured from these 
 lofty regions. The importance of Newera Ellia lay 
 first in its supply of water, and, secondly, in its gems. 
 
 In all tropical countries the first principle of cultiva- 
 tion is the supply of water, without which the land 
 would remain barren. In a rice-growing country like 
 Ceylon, the periodical rains are insufficient, and the 
 whole system of native agriculture depends upon irri- 
 gation. Accordingly, the mountains being the reser- 
 voirs from which the rivers spring, become of vital im- 
 portance to the country. 
 
 The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedrotalla- 
 galla, eight thousand two hundred and eighty feet ; 
 Kirigallapotta, seven thousand nine hundred ; Tota- 
 pella, eight thousand feet; and Adam's Peak, seven 
 thousand seven hundred ; but although their altitude is
 
 46 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 so considerable, they do not give the idea of grandeur 
 which such an altitude would convey. They do not 
 rise abruptly from a level base, but they are merely the 
 loftiest of a thousand peaks towering from the highlands 
 of Ceylon. 
 
 The greater portion of the highland district may 
 therefore be compared to one vast mountain ; hill piled 
 upon hill, and peak rising over peak ; ravines of im- 
 mense depth, forming innumerable conduits for the 
 mountain torrents. Then, at the elevation of Newera 
 Ellia the heavings of the land appear to have rested, 
 and gentle undulations, diversified by plains and forests, 
 extend for some thirty miles. From these compara- 
 tively level tracts and swampy plains the rivers of 
 Ceylon derive their source and the three loftiest peaks 
 take their base ; Pedrotallagalla rising from the Newera 
 Ellia Plain, " Totapella" and Kirigallapotta from the 
 Horton Plains. 
 
 The whole of the highland district is thus composed 
 of a succession of ledges of great extent at various ele- 
 vations, commencing with the highest, the Horton 
 Plains, seven thousand feet above the sea. 
 
 Seven hundred feet below the Horton Plain, the 
 Totapella Plains and undulating forests continue at 
 this elevation as far as Newera Ellia for about twenty 
 miles, thus forming the second ledge. 
 
 Six miles to the west of Newera Ellia, at a lower 
 elevation of about nine hundred feet, the district of 
 Dimboola commences, and extends at this elevation 
 over a vast tract of forest-covered country, stretching 
 still farther to the west, and containing a small pro- 
 portion of plain. 
 
 At about the same elevation, nine miles on the
 
 The Highlands of Ouva. 47 
 
 north of Newera Ellia, we descend to the Elephant 
 Plains ; a beautiful tract of fine grass country, but of 
 small extent. This tract and that of Dimboola form 
 the third ledge. 
 
 Nine miles to the east of Newera Ellia, at a lower 
 elevation of one thousand five hundred feet, stretches 
 the Ouva country, forming the fourth ledge. 
 
 The features of this country are totally distinct from 
 any other portion of Ceylon. A magnificent view ex- 
 tends as far as the horizon, of undulating open grass- 
 land, diversified by the rich crops of paddy which are 
 grown in each of the innumerable small valleys formed 
 by the undulations of the ground. Not a tree is to be 
 seen except the low brushwood which is scantily dis- 
 tributed upon its surface. We emerge suddenly from 
 the forest-covered mountains of Newera Ellia, and, 
 from a lofty point on the high road to Badulla, we look 
 down upon the splendid panorama stretched like a 
 waving sea beneath our feet The road upon which 
 we stand is scarped out of the mountain's side. The 
 forest has ceased, dying off gradually into isolated 
 patches and long ribbon-like strips on the sides of the 
 mountain, upon which rich grass is growing, in vivid 
 contrast to the rank and coarse herbage of Newera 
 Ellia, distant only five miles from the point upon which 
 we stand. 
 
 Descending until we reach Wilson's Plain, nine 
 miles from Newera Ellia, we arrive in the district of 
 Ouva, as much like the Sussex Downs as any place to 
 which it can be compared. 
 
 This district comprises about six hundred square 
 miles, ami forms the fourth and last ledge of the high- 
 lands of Ceylon. Passes from the mountains which
 
 48 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 form the wall-like boundaries of this table-land descend 
 to the low. country in various directions. 
 
 The whole of the Ouva district upon the one side, 
 and of the Kotmalee district on the other side, of the 
 Newera Ellia range of mountains, are, with the excep- 
 tion of the immediate neighborhood of Kandy and 
 Colombo, the most populous districts of Ceylon. 
 
 This is entirely owing to the never-failing supply of 
 water obtained from the mountains ; and upon this 
 supply the wealth and prosperity of the country depend. 
 
 The ancient history of Ceylon is involved in much 
 obscurity, but nevertheless we have sufficient data in 
 the existing traces of its former population to form our 
 opinions of the position and power which Ceylon oc- 
 cupied in the Eastern Hemisphere when England was 
 in a state of barbarism. The wonderful remains of 
 ancient cities, tanks and water-courses throughout the 
 island all prove that the now desolate regions were 
 tenanted by a multitude not of savages, but of a race 
 long since passed away, full of industry and intelli- 
 gence. 
 
 Among the existing traces of former population few 
 are more interesting than those in the vicinity of 
 Newera Ellia. 
 
 Judging from the present supply of water required 
 for the cultivation of a district containing a certain pop- 
 ulation, we can arrive at a tolerably correct idea of the 
 former population by comparing the present supply of 
 water with that formerly required. 
 
 Although the district of Ouva is at present well pop- 
 ulated, and every hollow is taken advantage of for the 
 cultivation of paddy, still the demand for water in pro- 
 portion to the supply is comparatively small.
 
 Ancient Methods of Irrigation. 49 
 
 The system of irrigation has necessarily involved 
 immense labor. For many miles the water is con- 
 ducted from the mountains through dense forests, across 
 ravines, round the steep sides of opposing hills, now 
 leaping into a lower valley into a reservoir, from which 
 it is again led through this arduous country until it at 
 length reaches the land which it is destined to render 
 fertile. 
 
 There has been a degree of engineering skill dis- 
 played in forming aqueducts through such formidable 
 obstacles ; the hills are lined out in every direction with 
 these proofs of industry, and their winding course can 
 be traced round the grassy sides of the steep moun- 
 tains, while the paddy-fields are seen miles away in the 
 valleys of Ouva stretched far beneath. 
 
 At least eight out of ten of these water-courses are 
 dry, and the masonry required in the sudden angles 
 of ravines, has, in most cases, fallen to decay. Even 
 those water-courses still in existence are of the second 
 class ; small streams have been conducted from their 
 original course, and these serve for the supply of the 
 present population. 
 
 From the remains of deserted water-courses of the 
 first class, it is evident that more than fifty times the 
 volume of water was then required that is in use at 
 present, and in the same ratio must have been the 
 amount of population. 
 
 In those days rivers were diverted from their natural 
 channels ; opposing hills were cut through, and the 
 waters thus were led into another valley to join a stream 
 flowing in its natural bed, whose course, eventually ob- 
 structed by a dam, poured its accumulated waters into 
 canals which branched to various localities. Not a 
 6 D
 
 50 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 river in those times flowed in vain. The hill-sides 
 were terraced out in beautiful cultivation, which are 
 now waving with wild vegetation and rank lemon 
 grass. The remaining traces of stone walls point out 
 the ancient boundaries far above the secluded valleys 
 now in cultivation. 
 
 The nation has vanished, and with it the industry 
 and perseverance of the era. 
 
 We now arrive at the cause of the former importance 
 of Newera Ellia, or the " Royal Plains." 
 
 It has been shown that the very existence of the pop- 
 ulation depended upon the supply of water, and that 
 supply was obtained from the neighborhood of Newera 
 Ellia. Therefore, a king in possession of Newera Ellia 
 had the most complete command over his subjects ; he 
 could either give or withhold the supply of water at 
 his pleasure, by allowing its free exit or by altering its 
 course. 
 
 Thus, during rebellion, he could starve his people 
 into submission, or lay waste the land in time of for- 
 eign invasion. I have seen in an impregnable position 
 the traces of an ancient fort, evidently erected to de- 
 fend the pass to the main water-course from the low 
 country. 
 
 This gives us a faint clue to the probable cause of 
 the disappearance of the nation. 
 
 In time of war or intestine commotion, the water 
 may have been cut off from the low country, and the 
 exterminating effects of famine may have laid the 
 whole land desolate. 
 
 It is, therefore, no longer a matter of astonishment 
 that the present plain of Newera Ellia should have 
 received its appellation of the "Royal Plain." IP
 
 The Vale of Rubies. 51 
 
 those days there was no very secure tenure to the 
 throne, and by force alone could a king retain it. The 
 more bloodthirsty and barbarous the tyrant, the more 
 was he dreaded by the awe-stricken and trembling pop- 
 ulation. The power of such a weapon of annihilation 
 as the command of the waters may be easily conceived, 
 as it invested a king with almost divine authority in 
 the eyes of his subjects. 
 
 Now there js little doubt that the existence of pre- 
 cious gems at Newera Ellia may have been accidentally 
 discovered in digging the numerous water-courses in 
 the vicinity ; there is, however, no doubt that at some 
 former period the east end of the plain, called the 
 " Vale of Rubies," constituted the royal " diggings." 
 That the king of Kandy did not reside at Newera Ellia 
 there is little wonder, as a monarch delighting in a 
 temperature of 85 Fahr. would have regarded the 
 climate of a mean temperature of 60 Fahr. as we 
 should that of Nova Zembla. 
 
 We may take it for granted, therefore, that when the 
 king came to Newera Ellia his visit had some object, 
 and we presume that he came to look at the condition 
 of his water-courses and to superintend the digging for 
 precious stones ; in the same manner that Ceylon gov- 
 ernors of past years visited Arippo during the pearl- 
 fishing. 
 
 The "diggings" of the kings of Kandy must have 
 been conducted on a most extensive scale. Not only 
 has the Vale of Rubies been regularly turned up for 
 many acres, but all the numerous plains in the vicinity 
 are full of pits, some of very large size and of a depth 
 varying from three to seventeen feet. The Newera 
 Ellia Plain, the Moonstone Plain, the Kondapalle"
 
 52 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 Plain, the Elk Plains, the Totapella Plains, the Hor- 
 ton Plains, the Bopatalava Plains, the Augara Plains 
 (translated the " Diggings"), and many others extend- 
 ing over a surface of thirty miles, are all more or less 
 studded by deep pits formed by the ancient searchers 
 for gems, which in those days were a royal monopoly. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the search for gems 
 would have been thus persevered in unless it was found 
 to be remunerative ; but it is a curious fact that no 
 Englishmen are ever to be seen at work at this em- 
 ployment. The natives would still continue the search, 
 were they permitted, upon the "Vale of Rubies;" but 
 I warned them oft' on purchasing the land ; and I have 
 several good specimens of gems which I have dis- 
 covered by digging two feet beneath the surface. 
 
 The surface soil being of a light, peaty quality, the 
 stones, from their greater gravity, lie beneath, mixed 
 with a rounded quartz gravel, which in ages past must 
 have been subjected to the action of running water. 
 This quartz gravel, with its mixture of gems, rests upon 
 a stiff white pipe-clay. 
 
 In this stratum of gravel an infinite number of small, 
 and for the most part worthless, specimens of gems are 
 found, consisting of sapphire, ruby, emerald, jacinth, 
 tourmaline, chrysoberyl, zircon, cat's-eye, " moon- 
 stone," and " star-stone." Occasionally a stone of 
 value rewards the patient digger ; but, unless he 
 thoroughly understands it, he is apt to pass over the 
 gems of most value as pieces of ironstone. 
 
 The mineralogy of Ceylon has hitherto been little 
 understood. It has often been suggested as the 
 " Ophir" of the time of Solomon, and doubtless, from 
 its production of gems, it might deserve the name.
 
 Mineralogy of Ceylon. 53 
 
 It has hitherto been the opinion of most writers on 
 Ceylon that the precious metals do not exist in the 
 island ; and Dr. Davy in his work makes an unquali- 
 fied assertion to that effect. But from the discoveries 
 recently made, I am of opinion that it exists in -very 
 large quantities in the mountainous districts of the 
 island. 
 
 It is amusing to see the positive assertions of a clever 
 man upset by a few uneducated sailors. 
 
 A few men of the latter class, who had been at the 
 gold-diggings both in California and Australia, hap- 
 pened to engage in a ship bound for Colombo. Upon 
 arrival they obtained leave from the captain for a stroll 
 on shore, and they took the road toward Kandy, and 
 when about half-way it struck them, from the appear- 
 ance of the rocks in the uneven bed of a river, called 
 the Maha Oya, "that gold must exist in its sands." 
 They had no geological reason tor this opinion ; but 
 the river happened to be very like those in California 
 in which they had been accustomed to find gold. They 
 accordingly set to work with a tin pan to wash the 
 sand, and to the astonishment of every one in Ceylon, 
 and to the utter confusion of Dr. Davy's opinions, they 
 actually discovered gold I 
 
 The quantity was small, but the men were very 
 sanguine of success, and were making their prepara- 
 tions for working on a more extensive scale, when they 
 were all prostrated by jungle fever a guardian-spirit 
 of the gold at Ambepusse 1 , which will ever effectually 
 protect it from Europeans. 
 
 They all returned to Colombo, and, when .conva- 
 lescent, they proceeded to Newera Ellia, naturally con- 
 cluding that the gold which existed in dust in the rivers 
 5*
 
 54 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 below must be washed down from the richer stores of 
 the mountains. 
 
 Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on 
 the I4th June, 1854, on the second day of their search 
 in that locality. The first gold was found in the "Vale 
 of Rubies." 
 
 I had advised them to make their first search in that 
 spot for this reason : that, as the precious stones had 
 there settled in the largest numbers, from their superior 
 gravity, it was natural to conclude that, if gold should 
 exist, it would, from its gravity, be somewhere below 
 the precious stones or in their vicinity. 
 
 From the facility with which it has been discovered, 
 it is impossible to form an opinion as to the quantity or 
 the extent to which it will eventually be developed. 
 It is equally impossible to predict the future discoveries 
 which may be made of other minerals. It is well 
 known that quicksilver was found at Cotta, six miles 
 from Colombo, in the year 1797. It was in small 
 quantities, and was neglected by the government, and 
 no extended search was prosecuted. The present search 
 for gold may bring to light mineral resources of Ceylon 
 which have hitherto lain hidden. 
 
 The minerals proved to exist up to the present time 
 are gold, quicksilver, plumbago and iron. The two 
 latter are of the finest quality and in immense abun- 
 dance. The rocks of Ceylon are primitive, consisting 
 of granite, gneiss and quartz. Of these the two latter 
 predominate. Dolomite also exists in large quantities 
 up to an elevation of five thousand feet, but not beyond 
 this height. 
 
 Plumbago is disseminated throughout the whole of 
 both soil and rocks in Ceylon, and may be seen cover-
 
 Mineral Resources. 55 
 
 ing the surface in the drains by the road side, after a re- 
 cent shower. 
 
 It is principally found at Ratnapoora and at Belligam, 
 in large, detached kidney-shaped masses, from four to 
 twenty feet below the surface. The cost of digging 
 and the transport are the only expenses attending it, as 
 the supply is inexhaustible. Its component parts are 
 nineteen of carbon and one of iron. 
 
 It exists in such quantities in the gneiss rocks that 
 upon their decomposition it is seen in bright specks 
 like silver throughout. 
 
 This gneiss rock, when in a peculiar stage of decom- 
 position, has the appearance and consistency of yellow 
 brick, speckled with plumbago. It exists in this state 
 in immense masses, and forms a valuable building- 
 stone, as it can be cut with ease to any shape required, 
 and, though soft when dug, it hardens by exposure to 
 the air. It has also the valuable property of with- 
 standing the greatest heat ; and for furnace building it 
 is superior to the best Stourbridge fire-bricks. 
 
 The finest quality of iron is found upon the moun- 
 tains in various forms, from the small iron-stone gravel 
 to large masses of many tons in weight protruding 
 from the earth's surface. 
 
 So fine is that considered at Newera Ellia and the 
 vicinity that the native blacksmiths have been accus- 
 tomed from time immemorial to make periodical visits 
 for the purpose of smelting the ore. The average 
 specimens of this produce -about eighty per cent, of 
 pure metal, even by the coarse native process of smelt- 
 ing. The operations are as follows : 
 
 Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is
 
 56 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 rendered as small as possible by pounding with a 
 hammer. 
 
 A platform is then built of clay, about six feet in 
 length by three feet in height and width. 
 
 A small well is formed in the centre of the platform, 
 about eighteen inches in depth and diameter, egg- 
 shaped. 
 
 A few inches from the bottom of this well is an air- 
 passage, connected with a pipe and bellows. 
 
 The well is then filled with alternate layers of char- 
 coal and pulverized iron ore ; the fire is lighted, and 
 the process of smelting commences. 
 
 The bellows are formed of two inflated skins, like a 
 double "bagpipe." Each foot of the " bellows-blower" 
 is strapped to one skin, the pipes of the bellows being 
 fixed in the air-hole of the blast. He then works the 
 skins alternately by moving his feet up and down, be- 
 ing assisted in this treadmill kind of labor by the elas- 
 ticity of two bamboos, of eight or ten feet in length, 
 the butts of which, being firmly fixed in the ground, 
 enable him to retain his balance by grasping one with 
 either hand. From the yielding top of each bamboo, 
 a string descends attached to either big toe ; thus the 
 downward pressure of each foot upon the bellows 
 strains upon the bamboo top as a fish bears upon a 
 fishing-rod, and the spring of the bamboo assists him in 
 lifting up his leg. Without this assistance, it would 
 be impossible to continue the exertion for the time re- 
 quired. 
 
 While the "bellows-blower" is thus getting up a 
 blaze, another man attends upon the well, which he 
 continues to feed alternately with fresh ore and a cor-
 
 Native Blacksmiths. 57 
 
 responding amount of charcoal, every now and then 
 throwing in a handful of fine sand as a flux. 
 
 The return for a whole day's puffing and blowing 
 will be about twenty pounds weight of badly-smelted 
 iron. This is subsequently remelted, and is eventually 
 worked up into hatchets, hoes, betel-crackers, etc., etc., 
 being of a superior quality to the best Swedish iron. 
 
 If the native blacksmith were to value his time at 
 only sixpence per diem from the day on which he first 
 started for the mountains till the day that he returned 
 from his iron-smelting expedition, he would find that 
 his iron would have cost him rather a high price per 
 hundredweight ; and if he were to make the same cal- 
 culation of the value of time, he would discover that 
 by the time he had completed one axe he could have 
 purchased ready made, for one-third the money, an 
 English tool of superior manufacture. This, however, 
 is not their style of calculation. Time has no value, 
 according to their crude ideas; therefore, if they want 
 an article, and can produce it without the actual outlay 
 of cash, no matter how much time is expended, they 
 will prefer that method of obtaining it. 
 
 Unfortunately, the expense of transit is so heavy from 
 Newera Ellia to Colombo, that this valuable metal, like 
 the fine timber of the forests, must remain useless.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 POVERTY OF SOIL CEYLON SUGAR FATALITY OF CLIMATE 
 SUPPOSED FERTILITY OF SOIL NATIVE CULTIVATION NE- 
 GLECT OF RICE CULTIVATION ABANDONED RESERVOIRS 
 FORMER PROSPERITY RUINS OF CITIES POLLANARU A 
 THE GREAT DAGOBAr-ARCHITECTURAL RELICS THE ROCK 
 TEMPLE DESTRUCTION OF POPULATION NEGLECTED CA- 
 PABILITIES SUGGESTIONS FOR INCREASING POPULATION 
 PROGRESS OF PESTILENCE DESERTED VILLAGES DIFFI- 
 CULTIES IN THE CULTIVATION OF RICE DIVISION OF LABOR 
 NATIVE AGRICULTURE. 
 
 FROM the foregoing description, the reader will 
 have inferred that Newera Ellia is a delightful 
 place of residence, with a mean temperature of 60 
 Fahr., abounding with beautiful views of mountain and 
 plain and of boundless panoramas in the vicinity. He 
 will also have discovered that, in addition to the health- 
 iness of its climate, its natural resources are confined 
 to its timber and mineral productions, as the soil is de- 
 cidedly poor. 
 
 The appearance of the latter has deceived every one, 
 especially the black soil of the patina, which my bailiff, 
 on his first arrival, declared to be excellent. Lord 
 Torrington, who is well known as an agriculturist, was 
 equally deceived. He was very confident in the opinion 
 that " it only required draining to enable it to produce 
 58
 
 Poverty of Soil. 59 
 
 anything." The real fact is, that it is far inferior to the 
 forest-land, and will not pay for the working. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is my decided opinion that the gen- 
 erality of the forest-land at Newera Ellia and the vicin- 
 ity is superior to that in other parts of Ceylon. 
 
 There are necessarily rich lots every now and then 
 in such a large extent as the surface of the low country ; 
 but these lots usually lie on the banks of rivers which 
 have been subjected to inundations, and they are not 
 fair samples of Ceylon soil. A river's bank or a val- 
 ley's bottom must be tolerably good even in the poorest 
 country. 
 
 The great proof of the general poverty of Ceylon is 
 shown in the failure of every agricultural experiment 
 in which a rich soil is required. 
 
 Cinnamon thrives ; but why? It delights in a soil of 
 quartz sand, in which nothing else would grow. 
 
 Cocoa-nut trees flourish for the same reason ; sea air, 
 a sandy soil and a dry subsoil are all that the cocoa-nut 
 requires. 
 
 On the other hand, those tropical productions which 
 require a strong soil invariably prove failures, and 
 sugar, cotton, indigo, hemp and tobacco cannot possi- 
 bly be cultivated with success. 
 
 Even on the alluvial soil upon the banks of rivers 
 sugar does not pay the proprietor. The only sugar 
 estate in the island that can keep its head above water 
 is the Peredenia estate, within four miles of Kandy. 
 This, again, lies upon the bank of the Mahawelli river, 
 and it has also the advantage of a home market for its 
 produce, as it supplies the interior of Ceylon at the rate 
 of twenty-three shillings per cwt. upon the spot. 
 
 Any person who thoroughly understands the practi-
 
 60 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 cal cultivation of the sugar-cane can tell the quality of 
 sugar that will be produced by an examination of the 
 soil. I am thoroughly convinced that no soil in Ceylon 
 will produce a sample of fine, straw-colored, dry, 
 bright, large-crystaled sugar. The finest sample ever 
 produced of Ceylon sugar is a dull gray, and always 
 moist, requiring a very large proportion of lime in the 
 manufacture, without which it could neither be cleansed 
 nor crystalized. 
 
 The sugar cane, to produce fine sugar, requires a 
 rich, stifF, and very dry soil. In Ceylon, there is no 
 such thing as a stiff soil existing. The alluvial soil 
 upon the banks of rivers is adapted for the growth of 
 cotton and tobacco, but not for the sugar-cane. In such 
 light and moist alluvial soil the latter will grow to a 
 great size, and will yield a large quantity of juice in 
 which the saccharometer may stand well ; but the de- 
 gree of strength indicated will proceed from an immense 
 proportion of mucilage, which will give much trouble 
 in the cleansing during boiling ; and the sugar produced 
 must be wanting in dryness and fine color. 
 
 There are several rivers in Ceylon whose banks would 
 produce good cotton and tobacco, especially those in the 
 districts of Hambantotte and Batticaloa ; such as the 
 " Wallawe," the " Yalle river," the " Koombookanaar," 
 etc. ; but even here the good soil is very limited, lying 
 on either bank for only a quarter of a mile in width. 
 In addition to this, the unhealthiness of the climate is 
 so great that I am convinced no European constitution 
 could withstand it. Even the natives are decimated 
 at certain seasons by the most virulent fevers and 
 dysentery. 
 
 These diseases generally prevail to the greatest extent
 
 Supposed Fertility of Soil, 61 
 
 during the dry season. This district is particularly sub- 
 ject to severe droughts ; months pass away without a 
 drop of rain or a cloud upon the sky. Every pool and 
 tank is dried up ; the rivers forsake their banks, and a 
 trifling stream trickles over the sandy bed. Thus all 
 the rotten wood, dead leaves and putrid vegetation 
 brought down by the torrent during the wet season are 
 left upon the dried bed to infect the air with miasma. 
 
 This deadly climate would be an insurmountable 
 obstacle to the success of estates. Even could mana- 
 gers be found to brave the danger, one season of sick- 
 ness and death among the coolies would give the estate 
 a name which would deprive it of all future supplies 
 of labor. 
 
 Indigo is indigenous to Ceylon, but it is of an in- 
 ferior quality, and an experiment made in its cultiva- 
 tion was a total failure. 
 
 In fact, nothing will permanently succeed in Ceylon 
 soil without abundance of manure, with the exception 
 of cinnamon and cocoa-nuts. Even the native gardens 
 will not produce a tolerable sample of the common 
 sweet potato without manure, a positive proof of the 
 general poverty of the soil. 
 
 Nevertheless, Ceylon has had a character for fertility. 
 Bennett, in his work entitled " Ceylon and its Capa- 
 bilities," describes the island in the most florid terms, 
 as " the most important and valuable of all the insular 
 possessions of the imperial crown." Again he speaks 
 of " its fertile soil, and indigenous vegetable produc- 
 tions," etc., etc. Again : " Ceylon, though compara- 
 tively but little known, is pre-eminent in natural re- 
 sources." All this serves to mislead the public opinion. 
 Agricultural experiments in a tropical country in a little 
 6
 
 62 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 garden highly manured may be very satisfactory and 
 very amusing. Everything must necessarily come to 
 perfection with great rapidity ; but these experiments 
 are no proof of what Ceylon will produce, and the 
 popular idea of its fertility has been at length proved a 
 delusion. 
 
 It is a dangerous thing for any man to sit down to 
 "make" a book. If he has had personal experience, 
 let him write a description of those subjects which he 
 understands ; but if he attempts to " make" a book, he 
 must necessarily collect information from hearsay, 
 when he will most probably gather some "chaff" with 
 his grain. 
 
 Can any man, when describing the "fertility" of 
 Ceylon, be aware that newly-cleared forest-land will 
 only produce one crop of the miserable grain called 
 korrakan ? Can he understand why the greater por- 
 tion of Ceylon is covered by dense thorny jungles? It 
 is simply this that the land is so desperately poor that 
 it will only produce one crop, and thus an immense 
 acreage is required for the support of a few inhabitants ; 
 thus, from ages past up to the present time, the natives 
 have been continually felling fresh forest and deserting 
 the last clearing, which has accordingly grown into a 
 dense, thorny jungle, forming what are termed the 
 " Chenars" of Ceylon. 
 
 So fully aware are the natives of the impossibility of 
 getting more than one crop out of the land that they 
 plant all that they require at the same time. Thus 
 may be seen in a field of korrakan (a small grain), 
 Indian corn, millet and pumpkins, all growing together, 
 and harvested as they respectively become ripe. 
 
 The pi'incipal articles of native cultivation are rice,
 
 Neglect of Rice Cultivation. 63 
 
 korrakan, Indian corn, betel, areca-nuts, pumpkins, 
 onions, garlic, gingelly-oil seed, tobacco, millet, red 
 peppers, curry seed and sweet potatoes. 
 
 The staple articles of Ceylon production are coffee, 
 cinnamon and cocoa-nut oil, which are for the most 
 part cultivated and manufactured by Europeans. 
 
 The chief article of native consumption, "rice," 
 should be an export from Ceylon ; but there has been 
 an unaccountable neglect on the part of government 
 regarding the production of this important grain, for 
 the supply of which Ceylon is mainly dependent upon 
 importation. In the hitherto overrated general re- 
 sources of Ceylon, the cultivation of rice has scarcely 
 been deemed worthy of notice ; the all-absorbing subject 
 of coffee cultivation has withdrawn the attention of the 
 government from that particular article, for the pro- 
 duction of which the resources of Ceylon are both 
 naturally and artificially immense. 
 
 This neglect is the more extraordinary as the in- 
 crease of coffee cultivation involves a proportionate 
 increase in the consumption of rice, by the additional 
 influx of coolie labor from the coast of India ; there- 
 fore the price and supply of rice in Ceylon become 
 questions of similar importance to the price of corn in 
 England. This dependence upon a foreign soil for the 
 supply involves the necessary fluctuations in price 
 caused by uncertain arrivals and precarious harvests ; 
 and the importance of an unlimited supply at an even 
 rate may be imagined when it is known that every na- 
 tive consumes a bushel of rice per month, when he can 
 obtain it. 
 
 Nevertheless, the great capabilities of Ceylon for the 
 cultivation of this all-important " staff of life" are en-
 
 64 Eight Tears 1 Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 tirely neglected by the government. The tanks which 
 afforded a supply of water for millions in former ages 
 now lie idle and out of repair ; the pelican sails in soli- 
 tude upon their waters, and the crocodile basks upon 
 their shores ; the thousands of acres which formerly 
 produced rice for a dense population are now matted 
 over by a thorny and impenetrable jungle. The wild 
 buffalo, descendant from the ancient stock which tilled 
 the ground of a great nation, now roams through a barren 
 forest, which in olden times was a soil glistening with 
 fertility. The ruins of the mighty cities tower high 
 above the trees, sad monuments of desolation, where 
 all was once flourishing, and where thousands dwelt 
 within their walls. 
 
 All are passed away ; and in the wreck of past ages 
 we trace the great resources of the country, which pro- 
 duced sufficient food to support millions ; while for the 
 present comparatively small population Ceylon is de- 
 pendent upon imports. 
 
 These lakes, or tanks, were works of much art and 
 of immense labor for the purpose of reservoirs, from 
 the supply of which the requisite amount of land could 
 be irrigated for rice cultivation. A valley of the re- 
 quired extent being selected, the courses of neighboring 
 or distant rivers were conducted into it, and the exit of 
 the waters was prevented by great causeways, or dams, 
 of solid masonry, which extended for some miles across 
 the lower side of the valley thus converted into a lake. 
 The exit of the water was then regulated by means of 
 sluices, from which it was conducted by channels to the 
 rice-lands. 
 
 < These tanks are of various extent, and extremely nu- 
 merous throughout Ceylon. The largest are those of
 
 Former Prosperity. 65 
 
 Minneria, Kandellai, Padavellkiellom, and the Giant's 
 Tank. These are from fifteen to twenty-five miles in 
 circumference ; but in former times, when the sluices 
 were in repair and the volume of water at its full height, 
 they must have been much larger. 
 
 In those days the existence of a reservoir of water 
 was a certain indication of a populous and flourishing 
 neighborhood ; and the chief cities of the country were 
 accordingly situated in those places which were always 
 certain of a supply. So careful were the inhabitants 
 in husbanding those liquid resources upon which their 
 very existence depended that even the surplus waters 
 of one lake were not allowed to escape unheeded. 
 Channels were cut, connecting a chain of tanks of 
 slightly varying elevations, over an extent of sixty or 
 seventy miles of apparently flat country, and the over- 
 flow of one tank was thus conducted in succession 
 from lake to lake, until they all attained the desired 
 level. 
 
 In this manner was the greater portion of Ceylon 
 kept in the highest state of cultivation. From the 
 north to the south the island was thickly peopled, and 
 the only portions which then remained in the hands of 
 nature were those which are now seen in the state of 
 primeval forest. 
 
 Well may Ceylon in those times have deserved the 
 name of the " Paradise of the East." The beauties 
 which nature has showered upon the land were height- 
 ened by cultivation ; the forest-capped mountains rose 
 from a waving sea of green ; the valleys teemed with 
 wealth ; no thorny jungles gave a barren cast to the 
 interminable prospect, but the golden tints of ripening 
 crops spread to the horizon. Temples stood upon the 
 6 * E
 
 66 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 hill-tops ; cities were studded over the land, their lofty 
 dagobas and palaces reflected on the glassy surface 
 of the lakes, from which their millions of inhabit- 
 ants derived their food, their wealth and their very 
 life. 
 
 The remains of these cities sufficiently attest the 
 former amount of population and the comparative civ- 
 ilization which existed at that remote era among the 
 progenitors of the present degraded race of barbarians. 
 The ruins of "Anaradupoora," which cover two hun- 
 dred and fifty-six square miles of ground, are all that 
 remain of the noble city which stood within its walls 
 in a square of sixteen miles. Some idea of the amount 
 of population may be arrived at, when we consider the 
 present density of inhabitants in all Indian houses and 
 towns. Millions must, therefore, have streamed from 
 the gates of a city to which our modern London was 
 comparatively a village. 
 
 There is a degree of sameness in the ruins of all the 
 ancient cities of Ceylon which renders a description 
 tedious. Those of "Anaradupoora" are the largest in 
 extent, and the buildings appear to have been more 
 lofty, the great dagoba having exceeded four hundred 
 feet in height ; but the ruins do not exhibit the same 
 "finish" in the style of architecture which is seen in 
 the remains of other towns. 
 
 Among these, "Topare," anciently called "Polla- 
 narua," stands foremost. This city appears to have 
 been laid out with a degree of taste which would have 
 done credit to our modern towns. 
 
 Before its principal gate stretched a beautiful lake of 
 about fifteen miles' circumference (now only nine). 
 The approach to this gate was by a broad road, upon
 
 Pottanarua. 67 
 
 the top of a stone causeway, of between two and three 
 miles in length, which formed a massive dam to the 
 waters of the lake which washed its base. To the 
 right of this dam stretched many miles of cultivation ; 
 to the left, on the farther shores of the lake, lay park- 
 like grass-lands, studded with forest trees, some of 
 whose mighty descendants still exist in the noble 
 "tamarind," rising above all others. Let us return in 
 imagination to Pollanarua as it once stood. Having 
 arrived upon the causeway in the approach to the city, 
 the scene must have been beautiful in the extreme : the 
 silvery lake, like a broad mirror, in the midst of a 
 tropical park ; the flowering trees shadowing it's 
 waters ; the groves of tamarinds sheltering its many 
 nooks and bays ; the gorgeous blossoms of the pink 
 lotus resting on its glassy surface ; and the carpet-like 
 glades of verdant pasturage, stretching far away upon 
 the opposite shores, covered with countless elephants, 
 tanned to complete obedience. Then on the right, 
 below the massive granite steps which form the cause- 
 way, the water rushing from the sluice carries fertility 
 among a thousand fields, and countless laborers and 
 cattle till the ground : the sturdy buffaloes straining at 
 the plough, the women, laden with golden sheaves of 
 corn and baskets of fruit, crowding along the palm- 
 shaded road winding toward the city, from whose gate 
 a countless throng are passing and returning. Behold 
 the mighty city ! rising like a snow-white cloud from 
 the broad margin of the waters. The groves of cocoa- 
 nuts and palms of every kind, grouped in the inner 
 gardens, throwing a cool shade upon the polished 
 walls ; the lofty palaces towering among the stately 
 areca trees, and the gilded domes reflecting a blaze of
 
 68 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 light from the rays of a midday sun. Such let us sup- 
 pose the exterior of Pollanarua. 
 
 The gates are entered, and a broad street, straight as 
 an arrow, lies before us, shaded on either side by rows 
 of palms. Here stand, on either hand, the dwellings 
 of the principal inhabitants, bordering the wide space, 
 which continues its straight and shady course for about 
 four miles in length. In the centre, standing in a spa- 
 cious circle, rises the great Dagoba, forming a grand 
 coup (Fceil, from the entrance gate. Two hundred and 
 sixty feet from the base the Dagoba rears its lofty sum- 
 mit. Two circular terraces, each of some twenty feet 
 in height, rising one upon the other, with a width of 
 fifty feet, and a diameter at the base of about two hun- 
 dred and fifty, from the step-like platform upon which 
 the Dagoba stands. These are ascended by broad 
 flights of steps, each terrace forming a circular prome- 
 nade around the Dagoba ; the whole having the ap- 
 pearance of white marble, being covered with polished 
 stucco ornamented with figures in bas-relief. The 
 Dagoba is a solid mass of brickwork in the shape of a 
 dome, which rises from the upper terrace. The whole 
 is covered with polished stucco, and surmounted by a 
 gilded spire standing upon a square pedestal of stucco, 
 highly ornamented with large figures, also in bas-relief; 
 this pedestal is a cube of about thirty feet, supporting 
 the tall gilded spire, which is surmounted by a golden 
 umbrella. 
 
 Around the base of the Dagoba on the upper terrace 
 are eight small entrances with highly-ornamented ex- 
 teriors. These are the doors to eight similar chambers 
 of about twelve feet square, in each of which is a small 
 altar and carved golden idol.
 
 The Great Dagoba. 69 
 
 This Dagoba forms the main centre of the city, from 
 which streets branch off in all directions, radiating 
 from the circular space in which it stands. 
 
 The main street from the entrance-gate continues to 
 the further extremity of the city, being crossed at right 
 angles in the centre by a similar street, thus forming 
 two great main streets through the city, terminating in 
 four great gates or entrances to the town north, south, 
 east and west. 
 
 Continuing along the main street from the great 
 Dagoba for about a mile, we face another Dagoba of 
 similar appearance, but of smaller dimensions, also 
 standing in a spacious circle. Near this rises the king's 
 palace, a noble building of great height, edged at the 
 corner by narrow octagon towers. 
 
 At the further extremity of this main street, close to 
 the opposite entrance-gate, is the rock temple, with the 
 massive idols of Buddha flanking the entrance. 
 
 This, from the form and position of the existing 
 ruins, we may conceive to have been the appearance 
 of Pollanarua in its days of prosperity. But what 
 remains of its grandeur? It has vanished like " a tale 
 that is told ;" it is passed away like a dream ; the pal- 
 aces are dust ; the grassy sod has grown in mounds over 
 the ruins of streets and fallen houses ; nature has turfed 
 them in one common grave with their inhabitants. 
 The lofty palms have faded away and given place to 
 forest trees, whose roots spring from the crumbled 
 ruins ; the bear and the leopard crouch in the porches 
 of the temples ; the owl roosts in the casements of the 
 palaces ; the jackal roams among the ruins in vain ; 
 there i& not a bone left for him to gnaw of the multi- 
 tudes which have passed away. There is their hand-
 
 70 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 writing upon the temple wall, upon the granite slab 
 which has mocked at Time ; but there is no man to 
 decipher it. There are the gigantic idols before whom 
 millions have bowed ; there is the same vacant stare 
 upon their features of rock which gazed upon the mul- 
 titudes of yore ; but they no longer stare upon the 
 pomp of the glorious city, but upon ruin, and rank 
 weeds, and utter desolation. How many suns have 
 risen and how many nights have darkened the earth 
 since silence has reigned amidst the city, no man can 
 tell. No mortal can say what fate befell those hosts of 
 heathens, nor when they vanished from the earth. Day 
 and night succeed each other, and the shade of the set- 
 ting sun still falls from the great Dagoba ; but it is the 
 "valley of the shadow of death" upon which that 
 shadow falls like a pall over the corpse of a nation.. 
 
 The great Dagoba now remains a heap of moulder- 
 ing brickwork, still retaining its form, but shorn of all 
 its beauty. The stucco covering has almost all disap- 
 peared, leaving a patch here and there upon the most 
 sheltered portions of the building. Scrubby brush- 
 wood and rank grass and lichens have for the most 
 part covered its surface, giving it the appearance rather 
 of a huge mound of earth than of an ancient building. 
 A portion of the palace is also standing, and, although 
 for the most part blocked up with ruins, there is still 
 sufficient to denote its former importance. The bricks, 
 or rather the tiles, of which all the buildings are com- 
 posed, are of such an imperishable nature that they 
 still adhere to each other in large masses in spots where 
 portions of the buildings have fallen. 
 
 In one portion of the ruins there are a number of 
 beautiful fluted colums, with carved capitals, still re-
 
 Architectural Ruins. *j\ 
 
 maining in a perfect state. Among these are the ruins 
 of a large flight of steps ; near them, again, a stone- 
 lined tank, which was evidently intended as a bath ; 
 and everything denotes the former comfort and arrange- 
 ment of a first-class establishment. There are innu- 
 merable relics, all interesting and worthy of individual 
 attention, throughout the ruins over a surface of many 
 miles, but they are mostly overgrown with jungle or 
 covered with rank grass. The apparent undulations 
 of the ground in all directions are simply the remains 
 of fallen streets and buildings overgrown in like man- 
 ner with tangled vegetation. 
 
 The most interesting, as being the most perfect, 
 specimen, is the small rock temple, which, being hewn 
 out of the solid stone, is still in complete preservation. 
 This is a small chamber in the face of an abrupt rock, 
 which, doubtless, being partly a natural cavern, has 
 been enlarged to the present size by the chisel ; and the 
 entrance, which may have been originally a small hole, 
 has been shaped into an arched doorway. The interior 
 is not more than perhaps twenty-five feet by eighteen, 
 and is simply fitted up with an altar and the three 
 figures of Buddha, in the positions in which he is 
 usually represented the sitting, the reclining and the 
 standing postures. 
 
 The exterior of the temple is far more interesting. 
 The narrow archway is flanked on either side by two 
 inclined planes, hewn from the face of the rock, about 
 eighteen feet high by twelve in width. These are com- 
 pletely covered with an inscription in the old Pali lan- 
 guage, which has never been translated. Upon the left 
 of one plain is a kind of sunken area hewn out of the 
 rock, in which sits a colossal figure of Buddha, about
 
 72 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 twenty feet in height. On the right of the other plane 
 is a figure in the standing posture about the same 
 height; and still farther to the right, likewise hewn 
 from the solid rock, is an immense figure in the recum- 
 bent posture, which is about fifty-six feet in length, or, 
 as I measured it, not quite nineteen paces. 
 
 These figures are of a far superior class of sculpture 
 to the idols usually seen in Ceylon, especially that in 
 the reclining posture, in which the impression of the 
 head upon the pillow is so well executed that the mas- 
 sive pillow of gneiss rock actually appears yielding to 
 the weight of the head. 
 
 This temple is supposed to be coeval with the city, 
 which was founded about three hundred years before 
 Christ, and is supposed to have been in ruins for up- 
 ward of six hundred years. The comparatively recent 
 date of its destruction renders its obscurity the more 
 mysterious, as there is no mention made of its annihila- 
 tion in any of the Cingalese records, although the city 
 is constantly mentioned during the time of its prosperity 
 in the native history of Ceylon. It is my opinion that 
 its destruction was caused by famine. 
 
 In those days the kings of Ceylon were perpetually 
 at war with each other. The Queen of the South, 
 from the great city of Mahagam in the Hambantotte 
 district, made constant war with the kings of Pollanarua. 
 They again made war with the Arabs and Malabars, 
 who had invaded the northern districts of Ceylon ; and 
 as in modern warfare the great art consists in cutting 
 off the enemy's supplies, so in those days the first and 
 most decisive blow to be inflicted was the cutting off 
 the " water." Thus, by simply turning the course of a 
 river which supplied a principal tank, not only would
 
 Destruction of Population. 73 
 
 that tank lose its supply, but the whole of the connected 
 chain of lakes dependent upon the principal would in 
 like manner be deprived of water. 
 
 This being the case, the first summer or dry season 
 would lay waste the country. I have myself seen the 
 lake of Minneria, which is twenty-two miles in cir- 
 cumference, evaporate to the small dimensions of four 
 miles circuit during a dry season. 
 
 A population of some millions wholly dependent 
 upon the supply of rice for their existence would be 
 thrown into sudden starvation by the withdrawal of the 
 water. Thus have the nations died out like a fire for 
 lack of fuel. 
 
 This cause will account for the decay of the great 
 cities of Ceylon. The population gone, the wind and 
 the rain would howl through the deserted dwellings, 
 the white ants would devour the supporting beams, the 
 elephants would rub their colossal forms against the 
 already tottering houses, and decay would proceed with 
 a rapidity unknown in a cooler clime. As the seed 
 germinates in a few hours in a tropical country, so 
 with equal haste the body of both vegetable and animal 
 decays when life is extinct. A perpetual and hurrying 
 change is visible in all things. A few showers, and 
 the surface of the earth is teeming with verdure ; a few 
 days of drought, and the seeds already formed are fall- 
 ing to the earth, springing in their turn to life at the 
 approach of moisture. The same rapidity of change is 
 exhibited in their decay. The heaps of vegetable pu- 
 tridity upon the banks of rivers, when a swollen torrent 
 has torn the luxuriant plants from the loosened soil, are 
 but the effects of a few hours' change. The tree that 
 arrives at maturity in a few years rots in as short a 
 7
 
 74 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 time when required for durability : thus it is no mys- 
 tery, that either a house or a city should shortly fall to 
 decay when the occupant is gone. 
 
 In like manner, and with still greater rapidity, is a 
 change effected in the face of nature. As the flowers 
 usurp the place of weeds under the care of man, so, 
 when his hand is wanting, a few short weeks bury 
 them beneath an overwhelming mass of thorns. In 
 one year a jungle will conceal all signs of recent culti- 
 vation. Is it, therefore, a mystery that Ceylon is cov- 
 ered with such vast tracts of thorny jungle, now that 
 her inhabitants are gone ? 
 
 Throughout the world there is a perpetual war be- 
 tween man and nature, but in no country has the 
 original curse of the earth been carried out to a fuller 
 extent than in Ceylon : " thorns also and thistles shall 
 it bring forth to thee." This is indeed exemplified 
 when a few months' neglect of once-cultivated land 
 renders it almost impassable, and where man has 
 vanished from the earth and thorny jungles have cov- 
 ered the once broad tracts of prosperous cultivation. 
 
 A few years will thus produce an almost total ruin 
 throughout a deserted city. The air of desolation 
 created by a solitude of six centuries can therefore be 
 easily imagined. There exists, however, among the 
 ruins of Pollanarua a curious instance of the power of 
 the smallest apparent magnitude to destroy the works 
 of man. At some remote period a bird has dropped 
 the seed of the banian tree (Jicus Indicus) upon the 
 decaying summit of a dagoba. This, germinating, 
 has struck its root downward through the brickwork, 
 and, by the gradual and insinuating progress of its 
 growth, it has split the immense mass of building into
 
 Suggestions for Increasing Population. 75 
 
 two sections ; the twisted roots now appearing through 
 the clefts, while the victorious tree waves in exultation 
 above the ruin : an emblem of the silent growth of 
 " civilization" which will overturn the immense fabric 
 of heathen superstition. 
 
 It is placed beyond a doubt that the rice-growing re- 
 sources of Ceylon have been suffered to lie dormant 
 since the disappearance of her ancient population ; and 
 to these neglected capabilities the attention of govern- 
 ment should be directed. 
 
 An experiment might be commenced on a small 
 scale by the repair of one tank say Kandellai, which 
 is only twenty-six miles from Trincomalee on the high- 
 road to Kandy. This tank, when the dam and sluices 
 were repaired, would rise to about nine feet above 
 its present level, and would irrigate many thousand 
 acres. 
 
 The grand desideratum in the improvement of Cey- 
 lon is the increase of the population ; all of whom 
 should, in some measure, be made to increase the 
 revenue. 
 
 The government should therefore hazard this one 
 experiment to induce the emigration of the industrious 
 class of Chinese to the shores of Ceylon. Show them 
 a never-failing supply of water and land of unlimited 
 extent to be had on easy terms, and the country would 
 soon resume its original prosperity. A tax of five per 
 cent, upon the produce of the land, to commence in the 
 ratio of .o per cent, for the first year, three per cent, for 
 the second and third, and the full amount of five for the 
 fourth, would be a fair and easy rent to the settler, and 
 would not only repay the government for the cost of 
 repairing the tank, but would in a few years become a
 
 76 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 considerable source of revenue, in addition to the in- 
 creased value of the land, now worthless, by a system 
 of cultivation. 
 
 Should the first experiment succeed, the plan might 
 be continued throughout Ceylon, and the soil of her 
 own shores would produce a supply for the island con- 
 sumption. The revenue would be derived direct from 
 the land which now produces nothing but thorny jungle. 
 The import trade of Ceylon would be increased in pro- 
 portion to the influx of population, and the duties upon 
 enlarged imports would again tend to swell the revenue 
 of the country. 
 
 The felling and clearing of the jungle, which culti- 
 vation would render necessary, would tend, in a great 
 measure, to dispel the fevers and malaria always pro- 
 duced by a want of free circulation of air. In a jungle- 
 covered country like Ceylon, diseases of the most ma- 
 lignant character are harbored in thes.e dense and un- 
 disturbed tracts, which year after year reap a pesti- 
 lential harvest from the thinly-scattered population. 
 Cholera, dysentery, fever and small-pox all appear in 
 their turn and annually sweep whole villages away. I 
 have frequently hailed with pleasure the distant tope 
 of waving cocoa-nut trees after a long day's journey in 
 a broiling sun, when I have cantered toward these 
 shady warders of cultivation in hopes of a night's halt 
 at a village. But the palms have sighed in the wind 
 over tenantless abodes, and the mouldering dead have 
 lain beneath their shade. Not a living soul remaining ; 
 all swept away by pestilence ; huts recently fallen to 
 decay, fruits ripening on the trees, and no hand left to 
 gather them ; the shaddock and the lime falling to the 
 earth to be preyed upon by the worm, like their former
 
 Deserted Villages. 77 
 
 masters. All dead ; not one left to tell the miserable 
 tale. 
 
 The decay of the population is still progressing, and 
 the next fifty years will see whole districts left unin- 
 habited unless something can be done to prevent it. 
 There is little doubt that if land and water could be 
 obtained from government in a comparatively healthy 
 and populous neighborhood, many would migrate to 
 that point from the half-deserted districts, who might 
 assist in the cultivation of the country instead of rotting 
 in a closing jungle. 
 
 One season of pestilence, even in a large village, 
 paves the road for a similar visitation in the succeeding 
 year, for this reason : 
 
 Say that a village comprising two hundred men is 
 reduced by sickness to a population of one hundred. 
 The remaining one hundred cannot keep in cultivation 
 the land formerly open ; therefore, the jungle closes 
 over the surface and rapidly encroaches upon the vil- 
 lage. Thus the circulation of air is impeded and 
 disease again halves the population. In each succes- 
 sive year the wretched inhabitants are thinned out, and 
 disease becomes the more certain as the jungle con- 
 tinues to advance. At length the miserable few are no 
 longer sufficient to cultivate the rice-lands ; their num- 
 bers will not even suffice for driving their buffaloes. 
 The jungle closes round the village ; cholera finishes 
 the scene by sweeping off the remnant ; and groves of 
 cocoa-nut trees, towering over the thorny jungle, become 
 monuments sacred to the memory of an exterminated 
 village. 
 
 The number of villages which have thus died out is 
 almost incredible. In a day's ride of twenty miles, I 
 7*
 
 78 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 have passed the remains of as many as three or four ; 
 how many more may have vanished in the depths of 
 the jungle ! 
 
 Wherever the cocoa-nut trees are still existing, the 
 ruin of the village must have been comparatively recent, 
 as the wild elephants generally overturn them in a few 
 years after the disappearance of the inhabitants, brow- 
 sing upon the succulent tops, and destroying every 
 trace of a former habitation. 
 
 There is no doubt that when sickness is annually re- 
 ducing the population of a district, the inhabitants, and 
 accordingly the produce of the land, must shortly come 
 to an end. In all times of pestilence the first impulse 
 among the natives is to fly from the neighborhood, but 
 at present there is no place of refuge. It is, therefore, 
 a matter of certainty that the repair of one of the prin- 
 cipal tanks would draw together in thousands the sur- 
 vivors of many half-perished villages, who would 
 otherwise fall victims to succeeding years of sickness. 
 
 The successful cultivation of rice at all times requires 
 an extensive population, and large grazing-grounds for 
 the support of the buffaloes necessary for the tillage of 
 the land. 
 
 The labor of constructing dams and forming water- 
 courses is performed by a general gathering, similar to 
 the American principle of a "bee;" and, as "many 
 hands make light work," the cultivation proceeds with 
 great rapidity. Thus a large population can bring into 
 tillage a greater individual proportion of ground than a 
 smaller number of laborers, and the rice is iccordingly 
 produced at a cheaper rate. 
 
 Few people understand the difficulties with which a 
 small village has to contend in the cultivation of rice.
 
 Difficulties in the Cultivation of Rice. 79 
 
 The continual repairs of temporary dams, which are 
 nightly trodden down and destroyed by elephants ; the 
 filling up of the water-courses from the same cause ; 
 the nocturnal attacks upon the crops by elephants and 
 hogs ; the devastating attacks of birds as the grain be- 
 comes ripe ; a scarcity of water at the exact moment 
 that it is required ; and other numerous difficulties 
 which are scarcely felt by a large population. 
 
 By the latter the advantage is enjoyed of the division 
 of labor. The dams are built of permanent material ; 
 every work is rapidly completed ; the night-fires blaze 
 in the lofty watch-houses, while the shouts of the 
 watchers scare the wild beasts from the crops. Hun- 
 dreds of children are daily screaming from their high 
 perches to scare away the birds. Rattles worked by 
 long lines extend in every direction, unceasingly pulled 
 by the people in the watch-houses ; wind-clackers 
 (similar to our cherry-clackers) are whirling in all 
 places ; and by the division of the toil among a multi- 
 tude the individual work proceeds without fatigue. 
 
 Every native is perfectly aware of this advantage in 
 rice cultivation ; and were the supply of water ensured 
 to them by the repair of a principal tank, they would 
 gather around its margin. The thorny jungles would 
 soon disappear from the surface of the ground, and a 
 densely-populated and prosperous district would again 
 exist where all has been a wilderness for a thousand 
 years. 
 
 The system of rice cultivation is exceedingly labori- 
 ous. The first consideration being a supply of water, 
 the second is a perfect level, or series of levels, to be ir- 
 rigated. Thus a hill-side must be terraced out into a 
 succession of platforms or steps ; and a plain, however
 
 So Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 apparently flat, must, by the requisite embankments, be 
 reduced to the most perfect surface. 
 
 This being completed, the water is laid on for a cer- 
 tain time, until the soil has become excessively soft and 
 muddy. It is then run oft', and the land is ploughed by 
 a simple implement, which, being drawn by two buffa- 
 loes, stirs up the soil to a depth of eighteen inches. 
 This finished, the water is again laid on until the mud 
 becomes so soft that a man will sink knee-deep. In 
 this state it is then trodden over by buffaloes, driven 
 backward and forward in large gangs, until the mud is 
 so thoroughly mixed that upon the withdrawal of the 
 water it sinks to a perfect level. 
 
 Upon this surface the paddy, having been previously 
 soaked in water, is now sown ; and, in the course of a 
 fortnight, it attains a height of about four inches. The 
 water is now again laid on, and continued at intervals 
 until within a fortnight of the grain becoming ripe. It 
 is then run off; the ground hardens, the ripe crop is 
 harvested by the sickle, and the grain is trodden out by 
 buffaloes. The rice is then separated from the paddy 
 or husk by being pounded in a wooden mortar. 
 
 This is a style of cultivation in which the Cingalese 
 particularly excel ; nothing can be more beautifully 
 regular than their flights of green terraces from the 
 bottoms of the valleys to the very summits of the hills ; 
 and the labor required in their formation must be im- 
 mense, as they are frequently six feet one above the 
 other. The Cingalese are peculiarly a rice-growing 
 nation ; give them an abundant supply of water and 
 land on easy terms, and they will not remain idle.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 REAL COST OF LAND WANT OF COMMUNICATION COFFEE- 
 PLANTINGCOMPARISON BETWEEN FRENCH AND ENGLISH 
 SETTLERS LANDSLIPS FOREST-CLEARING MANURING 
 THE COFFEE BUG RATS FATTED STOCK SUGGESTIONS 
 FOR SHEEP-FARMING ATTACK OF A LEOPARD LEOPARDS 
 AND CHETAHS BOY DEVOURED TRAPS MUSK CATS AND 
 THE MONGOOSE VERMIN OF CEYLON. 
 
 WHAT is the government price of land in Ceylon ? 
 and what is the real cost of the land ? These 
 are two questions which should be considered sepa- 
 rately, and with grave attention, by the intending settler 
 or capitalist. 
 
 The upset price of government land is twenty shil- 
 lings per acre ; thus, the inexperienced purchaser is 
 very apt to be led away by the apparently low sum per 
 acre into a purchase of great extent. The question of 
 the real cost will then be solved at his expense. There 
 are few colonies belonging to Great Britain where the 
 government price of land is so high, compared to the 
 value of the natural productions of the soil. 
 
 The staple commodity of Ceylon being coffee, I will 
 assume that a purchase is concluded with the govern- 
 ment for one thousand acres of land, at the upset price 
 of twenty shillings per acre. What has the purchaser 
 
 F 81
 
 8s Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 obtained for this sum? One thousand acres of dense 
 forest, to which there is no road. The one thousand 
 pounds passes into the government chest, and the 
 purchaser is no longer thought of; he is left to 
 shift for himself and to make the most of his bad 
 bargain. 
 
 He is, therefore, in this position : He has parted 
 with one thousand pounds for a similar number of 
 acres of land, which will not yield him one penny in 
 any shape until he has cleared it from forest. This he 
 immediately commences by giving out contracts, and 
 the forest is cleared, lopped and burnt. The ground is 
 then planted with coffee, and the planter has to wait 
 three years for a return. By the time of full bearing 
 the whole cost of felling, burning, planting and clean- 
 ing will be about eight pounds per acre ; this, in addi- 
 tion to the prime cost of the land, and about two 
 thousand pounds expended in buildings, machinery, 
 etc., etc., will bring the price of the land, when in a 
 yielding condition, to eleven pounds an acre at the low- 
 est calculation. Thus before his land yields him one 
 fraction, he will have invested eleven thousand pounds, 
 if he clears the whole of his purchase. Many per- 
 sons lose sight of this necessary outlay when first pur- 
 chasing their land, and subsequently discover to their 
 cost that their capital is insufficient to bring the estate 
 into cultivation. 
 
 Then comes the question of a road. The govern- 
 ment will give him no assistance ; accordingly, the 
 whole of his crop must be conveyed on coolies' heads 
 along an arduous path to the nearest highway, perhaps 
 fifteen miles distant. Even this rough path of fifteen 
 miles the planter must form at his own expense.
 
 Want of Communication. 83 
 
 Considering the risks that are always attendant upon 
 agricultural pursuits, and especially upon coffee-plant- 
 ing, the price of rough land must be acknowledged as 
 absurdly high under the present conditions of sales. 
 There is a great medium to be observed, however, in 
 the sales of crown land ; too low a price is even a 
 greater evil than too high a rate, as it is apt to encour- 
 age speculators in land, who do much injury to a colony 
 by locking up large tracts in an uncultivated state, to 
 take the chance of a future rise in the price. 
 
 This evil might easily be avoided by retaining the 
 present bona Jide price of the land per acre, qualified 
 by an arrangement that one-half of the purchase money 
 should be expended in the formation of roads from the 
 land in question. This would be of immense assistance 
 to the planters, especially in a populous planting neigh- 
 borhood, where the purchases of land were large and 
 numerous, in which case the aggregate sum would be 
 sufficient to form a carriage road to the main highway, 
 which might be kept in repair by a slight toll. An 
 arrangement of this kind is not only fair to the planters, 
 but would be ultimately equally beneficial to the gov- 
 ernment. Every fresh sale of land would ensure either 
 a new road or the improvement of an old one ; and the 
 country would be opened up through the most remote 
 districts. This very fact of good communication would 
 expedite the sales of crown lands, which are now value- 
 less from their isolated position. 
 
 Coffee-planting in Ceylon has passed through the 
 various stages inseparable from every " mania." 
 
 In the early days of our possession, the Kandian dis- 
 trict was little known, and sanguine imaginations 
 painted the hidden prospect in their ideal colors, ex-
 
 84 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 pecting that a trace once opened to the interior would 
 be the road to fortune. 
 
 How these golden expectations have been disap- 
 pointed the broken fortunes of many enterprising 
 planters can explain. 
 
 The protective duty being withdrawn, a competition 
 with foreign coffee at once reduced the splendid prices 
 of olden times to a more moderate standard, and took 
 forty per cent, out of the pockets of the planters. 
 Coffee, which in those days brought from one hundred 
 shillings to one hundred and forty shillings per hundred- 
 weight, is now reduced to from sixty shillings to eighty 
 shillings. 
 
 This sudden reduction created an equally suddeii 
 panic among the planters, many of whom were men 
 of straw, who had rushed to Ceylon at the first cry of 
 coffee "fortunes," and who had embarked on an exten- 
 sive scale with borrowed capital. These were the first 
 to smash. In those days the expenses of bringing land 
 into cultivation were more than double the present 
 rate, and, the cultivation of coffee not being so well 
 understood, the produce per acre was comparatively 
 small. This combination of untoward circumstances 
 was sufficient cause for the alarm which ensued, and 
 estates were thrust into the market and knocked down 
 for whatever could be realized. Mercantile houses 
 were dragged down into the general ruin, and a dark 
 cloud settled over the Cinnamon Isle. 
 
 As the after effects of a "hurricane" are a more 
 healthy atmosphere and an increased vigor in all vege- 
 tation, so are the usual sequels to a panic in the com- 
 mercial world. Things are brought down to their real 
 value and level ; men of straw are swept away, and
 
 Coffee- Planting. 85 
 
 affairs are commenced anew upon a sound and steady 
 basis. Capital is invested with caution, and improve- 
 ments are entered upon step by step, until success is 
 assured. 
 
 The reduction in the price of coffee was accordingly 
 met by a corresponding system of expenditure and by 
 an improved state of cultivation ; and at the present 
 time the agricultural prospects of the colony are in a 
 more healthy state than they have ever been since the 
 commencement of coffee cultivation. 
 
 There is no longer any doubt that a coffee estate in a 
 good situation in Ceylon will pay a large interest for 
 the capital invested, and will ultimately enrich the pro- 
 prietor, provided that he has his oivn. capital to work 
 his estate, that he gives his own personal superintend- 
 ence and that he understands the management. These 
 are the usual conditions of success in most affairs ; but 
 a coffee estate is not unfrequently abused for not paying 
 when it is worked with borrowed capital at a high 
 rate of interest under questionable superintendence. 
 
 It is a difficult thing to define the amount which con- 
 stitutes a "fortune :" that which is enough for one man 
 is a pittance for another ; but one thing is certain, that, 
 no matter how small his first capital, the coffee-planter 
 hopes to make his "fortune." 
 
 Now, even allowing a net profit of twenty per cent, 
 per annum on the capital invested, it must take at least 
 ten years to add double the amount to the first capital, 
 allowing no increase to the spare capital required for 
 working the estate. A rapid fortune can never be 
 made by working a coffee estate. Years of patient in- 
 dustry and toil, chequered by many disappointments, 
 may eventually reward the proprietor ; but it will be at 
 
 8
 
 36 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 a time of life when a long residence in the tropics will 
 have given him a distaste for the chilly atmosphere of 
 old England ; his early friends will have been scattered 
 abroad, and he will meet few faces to welcome him on 
 his native shores. What cold is so severe as a cold re- 
 ception ? no thermometer can mark the degree. No 
 fortune, however large, can compensate for the loss of 
 home, and friends, and early associations. 
 
 This feeling is peculiarly strong throughout the 
 British nation. You cannot convince an English 
 settler that he will be abroad for an indefinite number 
 of years ; the idea would be equivalent to transporta- 
 tion : he consoles himself with the hope that something 
 will turn up to alter the apparent certainty of his exile ; 
 and in this hope, with his mind ever fixed upon his re- 
 turn, he does nothing for posterity in the colony. He 
 rarely even plants a fruit tree, hoping that his stay will 
 not allow him to gather from it. This accounts for the 
 poverty of the gardens and enclosures around the 
 houses of the English inhabitants, and the general 
 dearth of any fruits worth eating. 
 
 How different is the appearance of French colonies, 
 and how different are the feelings of the settler ! The 
 word "adieu" once spoken, he sighs an eternal fare- 
 well to the shores of " La belle France," and, with the 
 natural light-hearted ness of the nation, he settles cheer- 
 fully in a colony as his adopted country. He lays out 
 his grounds with taste, and plants groves of exquisite 
 fruit trees, whose produce will, he hopes, be tasted by 
 his children and grandchildren. Accordingly, in a 
 French colony there ia a tropical beauty in the culti- 
 vated trees and flowers which is seldom seen in our 
 possessions. The fruits are brought to perfection, as
 
 Coffee- Planting. 87 
 
 there is the same care taken in pruning and grafting the 
 finest kinds as in our gardens in England. 
 
 A Frenchman is necessarily a better settler ; every- 
 thing is arranged for permanency, from the building 
 of a house to the cultivation of an estate. He does not 
 distress his land for immediate profit, but from the 
 very commencement he adopts a system of the highest 
 cultivation. 
 
 The latter is now acknowledged as the most remune- 
 rative course in all countries ; and its good effects are 
 already seen in Ceylon, where, for some years past, 
 much attention has been devoted to manuring on coffee 
 estates. 
 
 No crop has served to develop the natural poverty of 
 the soil so much as coffee ; and there is no doubt that, 
 were it possible to procure manure in sufficient quantity, 
 the holes should be well filled at the time of planting. 
 This would give an increased vigor to the young plant 
 that would bring the tree into bearing at an earlier date, 
 as it would the sooner arrive at perfection. 
 
 The present system of coffee-planting on a good 
 estate is particularly interesting. It has now been 
 proved that the best elevation in Ceylon to combine 
 fine quality with large crops is from twenty-five hun- 
 dred to four thousand feet. At one time it was con- 
 sidered that the finest quality was produced at the 
 highest range ; but the estates at an elevation of five 
 thousand feet are so long at arriving at perfection, and 
 the crop produced is so small, that the lower elevation 
 is preferred. 
 
 In the coffee districts of Ceylon there is little or no 
 level ground to be obtained, and the steep sides of the 
 hills offer many objections to cultivation. The soil,
 
 88 Eight Tears' Wandering's $n Ceylon. 
 
 naturally light and poor, is washed by every shower, 
 and the more soluble portions, together with the salts 
 of the manure applied to the trees, are being continu- 
 ally robbed by the heavy rains. Thus it is next to im- 
 possible to keep an estate in a high state of cultivation, 
 without an enormous expense in the constant applica- 
 tion of manure. 
 
 Many estates are peculiarly subject to landslips, which 
 are likewise produced by the violence of the rains. In 
 these cases the destruction is frequently to a large ex- 
 tent ; great rocks are detached from the summits of the 
 hills, and sweep off whole lines of trees in their 
 descent. 
 
 Wherever landslips are frequent, they may be taken 
 as an evidence of a poor, clay subsoil. The rain soaks 
 through the surface ; and not being able to percolate 
 through the clay with sufficient rapidity, it lodges be- 
 tween the two strata, loosening the upper surface, which 
 slides from the greasy clay ; launched, as it were, by its 
 own gravity into the valley below. 
 
 This is the worst kind of soil for the coffee tree, 
 whose long tap-root Is ever seeking nourishment from 
 beneath. On this soil it is very common to see a 
 young plantation giving great promise ; but as the trees 
 increase in growth the tap-root reaches the clay sub- 
 soil and the plantation immediately falls off. The 
 subsoil is of far more importance to the coffee-tree than 
 the upper surface ; the latter may be improved by 
 manure, but if the former is bad there is no remedy. 
 
 The first thing to be considered being the soil, and 
 the planter being satisfied with its quality, there is 
 another item of equal importance to be taken into con- 
 sideration when choosing a locality for a coffee estate.
 
 Forest - Clearing. 89 
 
 This is an extent of grazing land sufficient for the sup- 
 port of the cattle required for producing manure. 
 
 In a country with so large a proportion of forest as 
 Ceylon, this is not always practicable ; in which case 
 land should be cleared and grass planted, as it is now 
 proved that without manure an estate will never pay 
 the proprietor. 
 
 The locality being fixed upon, the clearing of the 
 forest is commenced. The felling is begun from the 
 base of the hills, and the trees being cut about half 
 through, are started in sections of about an acre at one 
 fall. This is easily effected by felling some large tree 
 from the top, which, falling upon its half-divided 
 neighbor, carries everything before it like a pack of 
 cards. 
 
 The number of acres required having been felled, the 
 boughs and small branches are all lopped, and, together 
 with the cleared underwood, they form a mass over the 
 surface of the ground impervious to man or beast. 
 This mass, exposed to a powerful sun, soon becomes 
 sufficiently dry for burning, and, the time of a brisk 
 breeze being selected, the torch is applied. 
 
 The magnificent sight of so extensive a fire is suc- 
 ceeded by the desolate appearance of blackened stumps 
 and smouldering trunks of trees : the whole of the 
 branches and underwood having been swept away by 
 the mighty blaze, the land is comparatively clear. 
 
 Holes two feet square are now dug in parallel lines 
 at a distance of from six to eight feet apart throughout 
 the estate, and advantage being taken of the wet sea- 
 son, they are planted with young coffee trees of about 
 twelve inches high. Nothing is now required but to 
 keep the land clean until the trees attain the height of 
 
 8*
 
 9C Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 about four feet and come into bearing. This, at an 
 elevation of three thousand feet, they generally do in two 
 years and a half. The stem is then topped, to prevent 
 its higher growth and to produce a large supply of 
 lateral shoots. 
 
 The system of pruning is the same as with all fruit 
 trees ; the old wood being kept down to induce fruit- 
 bearing shoots, whose number must be proportioned to 
 the strength of the tree. 
 
 The whole success of the estate now depends upon 
 constant cleaning, plentiful manuring and careful 
 pruning, with a due regard to a frugal expenditure and 
 care in the up-keep of buildings, etc., etc. Much 
 attention is also required in the management of the 
 cattle on the estate, for without a proper system the 
 amount of manure produced will be proportionately 
 small. They should be bedded up every night hock 
 deep with fresh litter, and the manure thus formed 
 should be allowed to remain in the shed until it is 
 between two and three feet deep. It should then be 
 treated on a " Geoffrey" pit (named after its inventor). 
 
 This is the simplest and most perfect method for 
 working up the weeds from an estate, and effectually 
 destroying their seeds at the same time that they are 
 converted into manure. 
 
 A water-tight platform is formed of stucco say forty 
 feet square surrounded by a wall two feel high, so as 
 to form a tank. Below this is a sunken cistern say 
 eight feet square into which the drainage would be 
 conducted from the upper platform. In this cistern a 
 force-pump is fitted, and the cistern is half filled with 
 a solution of saltpetre and sal-ammoniac. 
 
 A layer of weeds and rubbish is now laid upon the
 
 Manuring. 91 
 
 platform for a depth of three feet, surmounted by a 
 layer of good dung from the cattle sheds of one foot 
 thick. These layers are continued alternately in the 
 proportion of three to one of weeds, until the mass is 
 piled to a height of twenty feet, the last layer being 
 good dung. Upon this mass the contents of the cistern 
 are pumped and evenly distributed by means of a 
 spreader. 
 
 This mixture promotes the most rapid decomposition 
 of vegetable matter, and, combining with the juices of 
 the weeds and the salts of the dung, it drains evenly 
 through the whole mass, forming a most perfect com- 
 post. The surplus moisture, upon reaching the bottom 
 of the he#p, drains from the slightly inclined platform 
 into the receiving cistern, and is again pumped over 
 the mass. 
 
 This is the cheapest and best way of making manure 
 upon an estate, the cattle sheds and pits being arranged 
 in the different localities most suitable for reducing the 
 labor of transport. 
 
 The coffee berry, when ripe, is about the size of a 
 cherry, and is shaped like a laurel berry. The flesh 
 has a sweet but vapid taste, and encloses two seeds of 
 coffee. These are carefully packed by nature in a 
 double skin. 
 
 The cherry coffee is gathered by coolies at the rate 
 of two bushels each per diem, and is cleared from the 
 flesh by passing through a pulper, a machine consisting 
 of cylindrical copper graters, which tear the flesh from 
 the berry and leave the coffee in its second covering of 
 parchment. The coffee is then exposed to a partial 
 fermentation by being piled for some hours in a large 
 heap. This has the effect of loosening the fleshy par-
 
 92 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 tides, which, by washing in a cistern of running water, 
 are detached from the berry. It is then rendered per- 
 fectly dry in the sun or by means of artificially heated 
 air ; and, being packed in bags, it is forwarded to Co- 
 lombo. Here it is unpacked and sent to the mill, 
 which, by means of heavy rollers, detaches the parch- 
 ment and under silver skin, and leaves the grayish-blue 
 berry in a state for market. The injured grains are 
 sorted out by women, and the coffee is packed for the 
 last time and shipped to England. 
 
 A good and well-managed estate should produce an 
 average crop of ten hundredweight per acre, leaving a 
 net profit of fifteen shillings per hundredweight under 
 favorable circumstances. Unfortunately, it is next to 
 impossible to make definite calculations in all agricul- 
 tural pursuits : the inclemency of seasons and the at- 
 tacks of vermin are constantly marring the planter's 
 expectations. Among the latter plagues the "bug" 
 stands foremost. This is a minute and gregarious in- 
 sect, which lives upon the juices of the coffee tree, and 
 accordingly is most destructive to an estate. It attacks 
 a variety of plants, but more particularly the tribe of 
 jessamine ; thus the common jessamine, the " Gardenia" 
 (Cape jessamine) and the coffee {Jasminum Ara- 
 bicum) are more especially subject to its ravages. 
 
 The dwelling of this insect is frequently confounded 
 with the living creature itself. This dwelling is in 
 shape and appearance like the back shell of a tortoise, 
 or, still more, like a " limpet," being attached to the 
 stem of the tree in the same manner that the latter ad- 
 heres to a rock. This is the nest or house, which, al- 
 though no larger than a split hempseed, contains some 
 hundreds of the "bug." As some thousands of these
 
 The Coffee Bug Rats. 93 
 
 scaly nests exist upon one tree, myriads of insects 
 must be feeding upon its juices. 
 
 The effect produced upon the tree is a blackened and 
 sooty appearance, like a London shrub ; the branches 
 look withered, and the berries do not plump out to 
 their full size, but, for the most part, fall unripened 
 from the tree. This attack is usually of about two 
 years' duration ; after which time the tree loses its 
 blackened appearance, which peels off the surface of 
 the leaves like gold-beaters' skin, and they appear in 
 their natural color. Coffee plants of young growth are 
 liable to complete destruction if severely attacked by 
 "bug." 
 
 Rats are also very destructive to an estate ; they are 
 great adepts at pruning, and completely strip the trees 
 of their young shoots, thus utterly destroying a crop. 
 These vermin are more easily guarded against than the 
 insect tribe, and should be destroyed by poison. Hog's 
 lard, ground cocoa-nut and phosphorus form the most 
 certain bait and poison combined. 
 
 These are some of the drawbacks to coffee-planting, 
 to say nothing of bad seasons and fluctuating prices, 
 which, if properly calculated, considerably lessen the 
 average profits of an estate, as it must be remembered 
 that while a crop is reduced in quantity, the expenses 
 continue at the usual rate, and are severely felt when 
 consecutive years bring no produce to meet them. 
 
 Were it not for the poverty of the soil, the stock of 
 cattle required on a coffee estate for the purpose of 
 manure might be made extremely profitable, and the 
 gain upon fatted stock would pay for the expense 
 of manuring the estate. This would be the first and 
 most reasonable idea to occur to an agriculturist " buy
 
 94 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 poor cattle at a low price, fatten them for the butcher, 
 and they give both profit and manure." 
 
 Unfortunately, the natural pasturage is not sufficiently 
 good to fatten beasts indiscriminately. There are some 
 few out of a herd of a hundred who will grow fat upon 
 anything, but the generality will not improve to any 
 great degree. This accounts for the scarcity of fine 
 meat throughout Ceylon. Were the soil only tolerably 
 good, so that oats, vetches, turnips and mangel wurtzel 
 could be grown on virgin land without manure, beasts 
 might be stall-fed, the manure doubled by that method, 
 and a profit made on the animals. Pigs are now kept 
 extensively on coffee estates for the sake of their manure, 
 and being fed on Mauritius grass (a coarse description 
 of gigantic " couch") and a liberal allowance of cocoa- 
 nut oilcake ("poonac"), are found to succeed, although 
 the manure is somewhat costly. 
 
 English or Australian sheep have hitherto been un- 
 tried for what reason I cannot imagine, unless from 
 the expense of their prime cost, which is about two 
 pounds per head. These thrive to such perfection at 
 Newera Ellia, and also in Kandy, that they should suc- 
 ceed in a high degree in the medium altitudes of the 
 coffee estates. There are immense tracts of country 
 peculiarly adapted for sheep-farming throughout the 
 highlands of Ceylon, especially in the neighborhood of 
 the coffee estates. There are two enemies, however, 
 against which they would have to contend viz., 
 "leopards" and "leeches." The former are so destruc- 
 tive that the shepherd could never lose sight of his 
 flock without great risk ; but the latter, although tron 
 blesome, are not to be so much dreaded as people sup- 
 pose. They are very small, and the quantity of blood
 
 Attack of a Leopard. 95 
 
 drawn by their bite is so trifling that no injury could 
 possibly follow, unless from the flies, which would be 
 apt to attack the sheep on the smell of blood. These 
 are drawbacks which might be easily avoided by com- 
 mon precaution, and I feel thoroughly convinced that 
 sheep-farming upon the highland pasturage would be a 
 valuable adjunct to a coffee estate, both as productive 
 of manure and profit. I have heard the same opinion 
 expressed by an experienced Australian sheep-farmer. 
 
 This might be experimented upon in the "down" 
 country of Ouva with great hopes of success, and by a 
 commencement upon a small scale the risk would be 
 trifling. Here there is an immense tract of country 
 with a peculiar short grass in every way adapted for 
 sheep-pasturage, and with the additional advantage of 
 being nearly free from leopards. Should sheep succeed 
 on an extensive scale the advantage to the farmer and 
 to the colony would be mutual. 
 
 The depredations of leopards among cattle are no in- 
 considerable causes of loss. At Newera Ellia hardly a 
 week passes without some casualty among the stock of 
 different proprietors. Here the leopards are particu- 
 larly daring, and cases have frequently occurred where 
 they have effected their entrance to a cattle-shed by 
 scratching a hole through the thatched roof. They 
 then commit a wholesale slaughter among sheep and 
 cattle. Sometimes, however, they catch a " Tartar." 
 The native cattle are small, but very active, and the 
 cows are particularly savage when the calf is with 
 them. 
 
 About three years ago a leopard took it into, his head 
 to try the beefsteaks of a very savage and sharp-horned 
 cow, who with her calf was the property of the black-
 
 96 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 smith. It was a dark, rainy night, the blacksmith and 
 his wife were in bed, and the cow and her calf were 
 nestled in the warm straw in the cattle-shed. The 
 door was locked, and all was apparently secure, when 
 the hungry leopard prowled stealthily round the cow- 
 house, sniffing the prey within. The scent of the 
 leopard at once aroused the keen senses of the cow, 
 made doubly acute by her anxiety for her little charge, 
 and she stood ready for the danger as the leopard, hav- 
 ing mounted on the roof, commenced scratching his 
 way through the thatch. 
 
 Down he sprang ! but at the same instant, with a 
 splendid charge, the cow pinned him against the wall, 
 and a battle ensued which can easily be imagined. A 
 coolie slept in the corner of the cattle-shed, whose 
 wandering senses were completely scattered when he 
 found himself the unwilling umpire of the fight. 
 
 He rushed out and shut the door. In a few minutes 
 he succeeded in awakening the blacksmith, who struck 
 a light and proceeded to load a pistol, the only weapon 
 that he possessed. During the whole of this time the 
 bellowing of the cow, the roars of the leopard and the 
 thumping, trampling and shuffling which proceeded 
 from the cattle-shed, explained the savage nature of the 
 fight. 
 
 The blacksmith, who was no sportsman, shortly 
 found himself with a lanthorn in one hand, a pistol in 
 the other, and no idea of what he meant to do. He 
 waited, therefore, at the cattle-shed door, and holding 
 the light so as to shine through the numerous small 
 apertures in the shed, he looked in. 
 
 The leopard no longer growled ; but the cow was 
 mad with fury. She alternately threw a large dark
 
 Leopards and Chetahs. 97 
 
 mass above her head, then quickly pinned it to the 
 ground on its descent, then bored it against the wall, as 
 it crawled helplessly toward a corner of the shed. This 
 was the " beef-eater" in reduced circumstances ! The 
 gallant little cow had nearly killed him, and was giving 
 him the finishing strokes. The blacksmith perceived 
 the leopard's helpless state, and, boldly opening the 
 door, he discharged his pistol, and the next moment 
 was bolting as hard as he could run, with the warlike 
 cow after him. She was regularly " up," and was 
 ready for anything or anybody. However, she was at 
 length pacified, and the dying leopard was put out of 
 his misery. 
 
 There are two distinct species of the leopard in 
 Ceylon viz., the " chetah," and the "leopard" or 
 " panther." There have been many opinions on the 
 subject, but I have taken particular notice of the two 
 animals, and nothing can be more clear than the dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 The " chetah" is much smaller than the leopard, 
 seldom exceeding seven feet from the nose to the end 
 of the tail. He is covered with round black ''spots" 
 of the size of a shilling, and his weight rarely exceeds 
 ninety pounds. , 
 
 The leopard varies from eight to nine feet in length, 
 and has been known to reach even ten feet. His body 
 is covered with black " rings" with a rich brown 
 centre his muzzle and legs are speckled with black 
 ''spots" and his weight is from one hundred and ten 
 to one hundred and seventy pounds. There is little or 
 no distinction between the leopard and the panther ; 
 they are synonymous terms for a variety of species in 
 different countries. In Ceylon all leopards are termed 
 9 G
 
 98 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 "chetahs ;" which proceeds from the general ignorance 
 of the presence of the two species. 
 
 The power of a leopard is wonderful in proportion 
 to his weight. I have seen a full-grown bullock with 
 its neck broken by the leopard that attacked it. It is 
 the popular belief that the effect is produced by a blow 
 of the paw ; this is not the case ; it is not simply the 
 blow, but it is the combination of the weight, the 
 power and the momentum of the spring which renders 
 the effects of a leopard's attack so surprising. 
 
 Few leopards rush boldly to the attack like a dog ; 
 they stalk their game and advance crouchingly, making 
 use of every object that will afford them cover until 
 they are within a few bounds of their prey. Then the 
 immense power of muscle is displayed in the concen- 
 trated energy of the spring ; he flies through the air and 
 settles on the throat, usually throwing his own body 
 over the animal, while his teeth and claws are fixed on 
 the neck ; this is the manner in which the spine of an 
 animal is broken by a sudden twist, and not by a 
 blow. 
 
 The blow from the paw is nevertheless immensely 
 powerful, and at one stroke will rip open a bullock like 
 a knife ; but the after effects of the wound are still more 
 to be dreaded than the force of the blow. There is a 
 peculiar poison in the claw which is highly dangerous. 
 This is caused by the putrid flesh which they are con- 
 stantly tearing, and which is apt to cause gangrene by 
 inoculation. 
 
 It is a prevalent idea that a leopard will not eat 
 putrid meat, but that he forsakes a rotten carcase and 
 seeks fresh prey. There is no doubt that a natural 
 love of slaughter induces him to a constant search for
 
 Boy Devoured. 99 
 
 prey, but it has nothing to do with the daintiness of 
 his appetite. A leopard will eat any stinking offal 
 that offers, and I once had a melancholy proof of this. 
 
 I was returning from a morning's hunting ; it was a 
 bitter day ; the rain was pouring in torrents, th*e wind 
 was blowing a gale and sweeping the water in sheets 
 along the earth. The hounds were following at my 
 horse's heels, with their ears and sterns down, looking 
 very miserable, and altogether it was a day when man 
 and beast should have been at home. Presently, upon 
 turning a corner of the road, I saw a Malabar boy of 
 about sixteen years of age, squatted shivering by the 
 roadside. His only covering being a scanty cloth round 
 his loins, I told him to get up and go on or he would 
 be starved with cold. He said something in reply, 
 which I could not understand, and, repeating my first 
 warning, I rode on. It was only two miles to my 
 house, but upon arrival I could not help thinking that 
 the boy must be ill, and having watched the gate for 
 some time to see if he passed by, I determined to send 
 for him. 
 
 Accordingly, I started off a couple of men with orders 
 to carry him up if he were sick. 
 
 They returned in little more than an hour, but the 
 poor boy was dead ! sitting crouched in the same 
 position in which I had seen him. He must have died 
 of cold and starvation ; he was a mere skeleton, 
 
 I sent men to the spot, and had him buried by the 
 roadside, and a few days after I rode down to see where 
 they had laid him. 
 
 A quantity of fresh-turned earth lay scattered about, 
 mingled with fragments of rags. Bones much gnawed 
 lay here and there on the road, and a putrid skull h<i
 
 ioo Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 rolled from a shapeless hole among a confused and 
 horrible heap. The leopards had scratched him up 
 and devoured him ; their footprints were still fresh 
 upon the damp ground. 
 
 Both leopards and chetahs are frequently caught at 
 Newera Ellia. The common trap is nothing more or 
 less than an old-fashioned mouse-trap, with a falling 
 door on a large scale ; this is baited with a live kid or 
 sheep ; but the leopard is naturally so wary that he 
 frequently refuses to enter the ominous-looking build- 
 ing, although he would not hesitate to break into an 
 ordinary shed. The best kind of trap is a gun set with 
 a line, and the bait placed so that the line must be 
 touched as the animal advances toward it. This is 
 certain destruction to the leopard, but it is extremely 
 dangerous, in case any stranger should happen to be in 
 the neighborhood who might inadvertently touch the 
 cord. 
 
 Leopards are particularly fond of stealing dogs, and 
 have frequently taken them from the very verandas of 
 the houses at Newera Ellia in the dusk of the evening. 
 Two or three cases have occurred within the last two 
 years where they have actually sprung out upon dogs 
 who have been accompanying their owners upon the 
 high road in broad daylight. Their destruction should 
 be encouraged by a government reward of one pound 
 per head, in which case their number would be ma- 
 terially decreased in a few years. 
 
 The best traps for chetahs would be very powerful 
 vermin-gins, made expressly of great size and strength, 
 so as to lie one foot square when open. Even a com- 
 mon jackal-trap would hold a leopard, provided the 
 chain was fastened to an elastic bough, so that it would
 
 Traps. 101 
 
 yield slightly to his spring ; but if it were secured to a 
 post, or to anything that would enable him to get a 
 dead pull against it, something would most likely give 
 way. I have constantly set these traps for them, but 
 always without success, as some other kind of vermin 
 is nearly certain to spring the trap before the chetah's 
 arrival. Among the variety of small animals thus 
 caught I have frequently taken the civet cat. This is a 
 very pretty and curious creature, about forty inches 
 long from nose to tip of tail. The fur is ash-gray, 
 mottled with black spots, and the tail is divided by 
 numerous black rings. It is of the genius Viverra, 
 and is exceedingly fierce when attacked. It preys 
 chiefly upon fowls, hares, rats, etc. Its great peculi- 
 arity is the musk-bag or gland situated nearly under 
 the tail ; this is a projecting and valved gland, which 
 secretes the musk, and is used medicinally by the 
 Cingalese, on which account it is valued at about six 
 shillings a pod. The smell is very powerful, and in 
 my opinion very offensive, when the animal is alive ; 
 but when a pod of musk is exti'acted and dried, it has 
 nothing more than the well-known scent of that used 
 by perfumers. The latter is more frequently the pro- 
 duction of the musk-deer, although the scent is pos- 
 sessed by many animals, and also insects, as the musk- 
 ox, the musk-deer, the civet or musk-cat, the musk-rat, 
 the musk-beetle, etc. 
 
 Of these, the musk-rat is a terrible plague, as he per- 
 fumes everything that he passes over, rendering fruit, 
 cake, bread, etc., perfectly uneatable, and even flavor- 
 ing bottled wine by running over the bottles. This, 
 however, requires a little explanation, although it is the 
 popular belief that he taints the wine through the glass. 
 9*
 
 102 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 The fact is, he taints the cork, and the flavor of musk 
 is communicated to the wine during the process of un- 
 corking the bottle. 
 
 There is a great variety of rats in Ceylon, from the 
 tiny shrew to the large " bandicoot." This is a most 
 destructive creature in all gardens, particularly among 
 potato crops, whole rows of which he digs out and 
 devours. He is a perfect rat in appearance, but he 
 would rather astonish one of our English tom-cats if 
 encountered during his rambles in search of rats, as the 
 " bandicoot" is about the same size as the cat. 
 
 There is an immense variety of vermin throughout 
 Ceylon, including many of that useful species the 
 ichneumon, who in courage and strength stands first 
 of his tribe. The destruction of snakes by this animal 
 renders him particularly respected, and no person ever 
 thinks of destroying him. No matter how venomous 
 the snake, the ichneumon, or mongoose, goes straight 
 at him, and never gives up the contest until the snake 
 is vanquished. 
 
 It is the popular belief that the mongoose eats some 
 herb which has the property of counteracting the effects 
 of a venomous bite ; but this has been proved to be a 
 fallacy, as pitched battles have been witnessed between 
 a mongoose and the most poisonous snakes in a closed 
 room, where there was no possibility of his procuring 
 the antidote. His power consists in his vigilance and 
 activity ; he avoids the dart of the snake, and adroitly 
 pins him by the back of the neck. Here he maintains 
 his hold, in spite of the contortions and convulsive 
 writhing of the snake, until he succeeds in breaking 
 the spine. A mongoose is about three feet long from 
 the nose to the tip of the tail, and is of the same genus
 
 Vermin of Ceylon. 103 
 
 as the civet cat. Unfortunately, he does not confine his 
 destruction to vermin, but now and then pays a visit to 
 a hen-roost, and sometimes, poor fellow ! he puts his 
 foot in the traps. 
 
 Ceylon can produce an enticing catalogue of attrac- 
 tions, from the smallest to the largest of the enemies to 
 the human race ticks, bugs, fleas, tarantulas, centi- 
 pedes, scorpions, leeches, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, 
 etc., of which, more hereafter.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " GAME EYES" FOR WILD SPORTS ENJOYMENTS OF WILD LIFB 
 
 CRUELTY OF SPORTS NATIVE HUNTF.RS MOORMEN 
 
 TRADERS THEIR WRETCHED GUNS RIFLES AND SMOOTH- 
 BORES HEAVY BALLS AND HEAVY METAL BEATTIE'S 
 RIFLES BALLS AND PATCHES EXPERIMENTS THE DOU- 
 BLE-GROOVE POWER OF HEAVY METAL CURIOUS SHOT 
 AT A BULL ELEPHANT AFRICAN AND CEYLON ELEPHANTS 
 STRUCTURE OF SKULL LACK OF TROPHIES BOAR- 
 SPEARS AND HUNTING-KNIVES BERTRAM A BOAR HUNT 
 FATAL CUT. , 
 
 IN traveling through Ceylon, the remark is often 
 made by the tourist that "he sees so little game." 
 From the accounts generally written of its birds and 
 oeasts, a stranger would naturally expect to come upon 
 them at every turn, instead of which it is a well-known 
 fact that one hundred miles of the wildest country may 
 be traversed without seeing a single head of game, and 
 the uninitiated might become skeptical as to its exist- 
 ence. 
 
 This is accounted for by the immense proportion of 
 forest and jungle, compared to the open country. The 
 nature of wild animals is to seek cover at sunrise, and 
 to come forth at sunset ; therefore it is not surprising 
 that so few are casually seen by the passing traveler. 
 There is another reason, which would frequently apply 
 104
 
 " Game Eyes" for Wild Sports. 105 
 
 even in an open country. Unless the traveler is well 
 accustomed to wild sports, he has not his "game eye" 
 open in fact ; he either passes animals without observ- 
 ing them, or they see him and retreat from view before 
 he remarks them. 
 
 It is well known that the color of most animals is 
 adapted by Nature to the general tint of the country 
 which they inhabit. Thus, having no contrast, the 
 animal matches with surrounding objects, and is diffi- 
 cult to be distinguished. 
 
 It may appear ridiculous to say that an elephant is 
 very difficult to be seen ! he would be plain enough 
 certainly on the snow, or on a bright green meadow in 
 England, where the contrasted colors would make him 
 at once a striking object ; but in a dense jungle his 
 skin matches so completely with the dead sticks and 
 dry leaves, and his legs compare so well with the sur- 
 rounding tree-stems, that he is generally unperceived 
 by a stranger, even when pointed out to him. I have 
 actually been taking aim at an elephant within seven 
 or eight paces, when he has been perfectly unseen by a 
 friend at my elbow, who was peering through the 
 bushes in quest of him. 
 
 Quickness of eye is an indispensable quality in 
 sp6rtsmen, the possession of which constitutes one of 
 their little vanities. Nothing is so conducive to the 
 perfection of all the senses as the constant practice in 
 wild and dangerous sports. The eye and the ear be- 
 come habituated to watchfulness, and their powers are 
 increased in the same proportion as the muscles of the 
 body are by exercise. Not only is an animal imme- 
 diately observed, but anything out of the common 
 among surrounding objects instantly strikes the atten-
 
 106 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 tion ; the waving of one bough in particular when all 
 are moving in the breeze ; the twitching of a deer's ear 
 above the long grass ; the slight rustling of an animal 
 moving in the jungle. The senses are regularly tuned 
 up, and the limbs are in the same condition from con- 
 tinual exercise. 
 
 There is a peculiar delight, which passes all descrip- 
 tion, in feeling thoroughly well-strung, mentally and 
 physically, with a good rifle in your hand and a trusty 
 gun-bearer behind you with another, thus stalking 
 quietly through a fine country, on the look-out for "any- 
 thing" no matter what. There is a delightful feeling 
 of calm excitement, if I might so express it, which 
 nothing but wild sports will give. There is no time 
 when a man knows himself so thoroughly as when he 
 depends upon himself, and this forms his excitement. 
 With a thorough confidence in the rifle and a bright 
 lookout, he stalks noiselessly along the open glades, 
 picking out the softest places, avoiding the loose stones 
 or anything that would betray his steps ; now piercing 
 the deep shadows of the jungles, now scanning the 
 distant plains, nor leaving a nook or hollow unsearched 
 by his vigilant gaze. The fresh breakage of a branch, 
 the barking of a tree-stem, the lately nibbled grass, 
 with the sap still oozing from the delicate blade, the 
 disturbed surface of a pool ; everything is noted, even 
 to the alarmed chatter of a bird : nothing is passed un- 
 heeded by an experienced hunter. 
 
 To quiet, steady-going people in England there is an 
 idea of cruelty inseparable from the pursuit of large 
 game; people talk of "unoffending elephants," "poor 
 buffaloes," "pretty deer," and a variety of nonsense 
 about things which they cannot possibly understand.
 
 Cruelty of Sports. 107 
 
 Besides, the very person who abuses wild sports on the 
 plea of cruelty indulges personally in conventional 
 cruelties which are positive tortures. His appetite is 
 not destroyed by the knowledge that his cook has 
 skinned the eels alive, or that the lobsters were plunged 
 into boiling water to be cooked. He should remember 
 that a small animal has the same feeling as the largest, 
 and if he condemns any sport as cruel, he must con- 
 demn all. 
 
 There is no doubt whatever that a certain amount of 
 cruelty pervades all sports. But in " wild sports" the 
 animals are for the most part large, dangerous and mis- 
 chievous, and they are pursued and killed in the most 
 speedy, and therefore in the most merciful, manner. 
 
 The government reward for the destruction of ele- 
 phants in Ceylon was formerly ten shillings per tail ; it 
 is now reduced to seven shillings in some districts, and 
 is altogether abolished in others, as the number killed 
 was so great that the government imagined they could 
 not afford the annual outlay. 
 
 Although the number of these animals is still so im- 
 mense in Ceylon, they must nevertheless have been 
 much reduced within the last twenty years. In those 
 days the country was overrun with them, and some 
 idea of their numbers may be gathered from the fact 
 that three first-rate shots in three days bagged one hun- 
 dred and four elephants. This was told to me by one 
 of the parties concerned, and it throws our modern 
 shooting into the shade. In those days, however, the 
 elephants were comparatively undisturbed, and they 
 were accordingly more easy to approach. One of the 
 oldest native hunters has assured me that he has seen 
 the elephants, when attacked, recklessly expose them-
 
 io8 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 selves to the shots and endeavor to raise their dead 
 comrades. This was at a time when guns were first 
 heard in the interior of Ceylon, and the animals had 
 never been shot at. Since that time the decrease in the 
 game of Ceylon has been immense. Every year in- 
 creases the number of guns in the possession of the 
 natives, and accordingly diminishes the number of 
 animals. From the change which has come over 
 many parts of the country within my experience of the 
 last eight years, I am of opinion that the next ten years 
 will see the deer-shooting in Ceylon completely spoiled, 
 and the elephants very much reduced. There are now 
 very few herds of elephants in Ceylon that have not 
 been shot at by either Europeans or natives, and it is a 
 common occurrence to kill elephants with numerous 
 marks of old bullet wounds. Thus the animals are 
 constantly on the " qui vive" and at the report of a 
 gun every herd within hearing starts off for the densest 
 jungles. 
 
 A native can now obtain a gun for thirty shillings ; 
 and with two shillings' worth of ammunition, he starts 
 on a hunting trip. Five elephants, at a reward of seven 
 shillings per tail, more than pay the prime cost of his 
 gun, to say nothing of the deer and other game that he 
 has bagged in the interim. 
 
 Some, although very few, of the natives are good 
 sportsmen in a potting" way. They get close to their 
 game, and usually bag it. This is a terrible system for 
 destroying, and the more so as it is unceasing. There 
 is no rest for the animals ; in the day-time they are 
 tracked up, and on moonlight nights the drinking- 
 places are watched, and an unremitting warfare is 
 carried on. This is sweeping both deer and buffalo
 
 Native Hunters. 109 
 
 from the country, and must eventually almost annihilate 
 them. 
 
 The Moormen are the best hunters, and they combine 
 sport with trade in such a manner that " all is fish that 
 comes to their net." Five or six good hunters start 
 with twenty or thirty bullocks and packs. Some of 
 these are loaded with common cloths, etc., to exchange 
 with the village people for dried venison ; but the inten- 
 tion in taking so many bullocks is to bring home the 
 spoils of their hunting trip in fact, to "carry the bag." 
 They take about a dozen leaves of the talipot palm to 
 form a tent, and at night-time, the packs, being taken 
 off the bullocks, are piled like a pillar in the centre, 
 and the talipot leaves are formed in a circular roof 
 above them. The bullocks are then secured round the 
 tent to long poles, which are thrown upon the ground 
 and pinned down by crooked pegs. 
 
 These people have an intimate knowledge of the 
 country, and are thoroughly acquainted with the habits 
 of the animals and the most likely spots for game. 
 Buffaloes, pigs and deer are indiscriminately shot, and 
 the flesh being cut in strips from the bones is smoked 
 over a green-wood fire, then thoroughly dried in the 
 sun and packed up for sale. The deer skins are also 
 carefully dried and rolled up, and the buffaloes' and 
 deer horns are slung to the packs. 
 
 Many castes of natives will not eat buffalo meat, 
 others will not eat pork, but all are particularly fond 
 of venison. This the Moorman fully understands, and 
 overcomes all scruples by a general mixture of the 
 different meats, all of which he sells as venison. Thus 
 no animal is spared whose flesh can be passed off for 
 deer. Fortunately, their guns are so common that 
 10
 
 no Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 they will not shoot with accuracy beyond ten or fifteen 
 paces, or there would be no game left within a few 
 years. How these common guns stand the heavy 
 charges of powder is a puzzle. A native thinks 
 nothing of putting four drachms down a gun that I 
 should be sorry to fire off at any rate. It is this heavy 
 charge which enables such tools to kill elephants 
 which would otherwise be impossible. These natives 
 look upon a first-class English rifle with a sort of vene- 
 ration. Such a weapon would be a perfect fortune to 
 one of these people, and I have often been astonished 
 that robberies of such things are not more frequent. 
 
 There is much difference of opinion among Ceylon 
 sportsmen as to the style of gun for elephant-shooting. 
 But there is one point upon which all are agreed, that 
 no matter what the size of the bore may be, all the 
 guns should be alike, and the battery for one man 
 should consist of four double-barrels. The confusion 
 in hurried loading where guns are of different calibres 
 is beyond conception. 
 
 The size and the weight of guns must depend as 
 much on the strength and build of a man as a ship's 
 armament does upon her tonnage ; but let no man 
 speak against heavy metal for heavy game, and let no 
 man decry rifles and uphold smooth-bores (which is 
 very general), but rather let him say, "I cannot carry 
 a heavy gun" and "I cannot shoot with a rifle" 
 
 There is a vast difference between shooting at a 
 target and shooting at live game. Many men who are . 
 capital shots at target-practice cannot touch a deer, and 
 cannot even use the rifle as a rifle at live game, but 
 actually knock the sights out and use it as a smooth- 
 bore. This is not the fault of the weapon ; it is the
 
 Rifles and Smooth-Sores. in 
 
 fault of the man. It is a common saying in Ceylon, 
 and also in India, that you cannot shoot quick enough 
 with the rifle, because you cannot get the proper sight 
 in an instant. 
 
 Whoever makes use of this argument must certainly 
 be in the habit of very random shooting with a smooth- 
 bore. How can he possibly get a correct aim with 
 " ball," even out of a smooth-bore, without squinting 
 along the barrel and taking the muzzle-sight accurately? 
 The fact is, that many pei-sons fire so hastily at game 
 that they take no sight at all, as though they were 
 snipe-shooting with many hundred grains of shot in the 
 charge. This will never do for ball-practice, and when 
 the rifle is placed in such hands, the breech-sights 
 naturally bother the eye which is not accustomed to 
 recognize any sight ; and while the person is vainly en- 
 deavoring to get the sight correctly on a moving object, 
 the animal is increasing his distance. By way of 
 cutting the Gordian knot, he therefore knocks his sight 
 out, and accordingly spoils the shooting of the rifle 
 altogether. 
 
 Put a rifle in the hands of a man who knows how to 
 handle it, and let him shoot against the mutilated 
 weapon deprived of its sight, and laugh at the trial. 
 Why, a man might as well take the rudder off a ship 
 because he could not steer, and then abuse the vessel 
 for not keeping her course ! 
 
 My idea of guns and rifles is this, that the former 
 should be used for what their makers intended them, 
 viz., shot-shooting, and that no ball should be fired from 
 any but the rifle. Of course it is just as easy and as 
 certain to kill an elephant with a smooth-bore as with 
 a rifle, as he is seldom fired at until within ten or
 
 112 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 twelve paces ; but a man, when armed for wild sport, 
 should be provided with a weapon which is fit for any 
 kind of ball-shooting at any reasonable range, and his 
 battery should be perfect for the distance at which he is 
 supposed to aim. 
 
 I have never seen any rifles which combine the requi- 
 sites for Ceylon shooting to such a degree as my four 
 double-barreled No. 10, which I had made to order. 
 Then some persons exclaim against their weight, which 
 is fifteen pounds per gun. But a word upon that 
 subject. 
 
 No person who understands anything about a rifle 
 would select a light gun with a large bore, any more 
 than he would have a heavy carriage for a small horse. 
 If the man objects to the weight of the rifle, let him 
 content himself with a smaller bore, but do not rob the 
 barrels of their good metal for the sake of a heavy ball. 
 The more metal that the barrel possesses in proportion 
 to the diameter of the bore, the better will the rifle 
 carry, nine times out of ten. Observe the Swiss rifles 
 for accurate target-practice again, remark the Ameri- 
 can pea rifle ; in both the thickness of metal is immense 
 in proportion to the size of the ball, which, in great 
 measure, accounts for the precision with which they 
 carry. 
 
 In a light barrel, there is a vibration or jar at the 
 time of explosion, which takes a certain effect upon the 
 direction of the ball. This is necessarily increased by 
 the use of a heavy charge of powder ; and it is fre- 
 quently seen that a rifle which carries accurately enough 
 with a very small charge, shoots wide of the mark 
 when the charge is increased. This arises from several 
 causes, generally from the jar of the barrel in the stock,
 
 Heavy Balls and Heavy Metal. 113 
 
 proceeding either from the want of metal in the rifle 
 or from improper workmanship in the fittings. 
 
 To avoid this, a rifle should be made with double 
 bolts, and a silver plate should always be let into the 
 stock under the breech ; without which the woodwork 
 will imperceptibly wear, and the barrel will become 
 loose in the stock and jar when fired. 
 
 There is another reason for the necessity of heavy 
 barrels, especially for two-grooved rifles. Unless the 
 grooves be tolerably deep, they will not hold the ball 
 when a heavy charge is behind it ; it quits the grooves, 
 strips its belt, and flies out as though fired from a 
 smooth-bore. 
 
 A 'large-bore rifle is a useless incumbrance, unless 
 it is so constructed that it will bear a proportionate 
 charge of powder, and shoot as accurately with its 
 proof charge as with a single drachm. The object in 
 having a large bore is to possess an extra powerful 
 weapon, therefore the charge of powder must be in- 
 creased in proportion to the weight of the ball, or the 
 extra power is not obtained. Nevertheless, most of 
 the heavy rifles that I have met with will not carry an 
 adequate charge of powder, and they are accordingly 
 no more powerful than guns of lighter bore which 
 carry their proportionate charge the powder has more 
 than its fair amount of work. 
 
 Great care should be therefore taken in making rifles 
 for heavy game. There cannot be a better calibre than 
 No. 10 ; it is large enough for any animal in the world, 
 and a double-barreled rifle of this bore, without a ram- 
 rod, is not the least cumbersome, even at the weight of 
 fifteen pounds. A ramrod is not required to be in the 
 gun for Ceylon shooting, as there is always a man 
 10* H
 
 H4 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 behind with a spare rifle, who carries a loading rod ; 
 and were a ramrod fitted to a rifle of this size, it would 
 render it very unhandy, and would also weaken the 
 stock. 
 
 The sights should be of platinum at the muzzle, and 
 blue steel, with a platinum strip with a broad and deep 
 letter V cut in the breech-sights. In a gloomy forest 
 it is frequently difficult to catch the muzzle sight, un- 
 less it is of some bright metal, such as silver or plati- 
 num ; and a broad cut in the breech-sights, if shaped as 
 described, allows a rapid aim, and may be taken fine 
 or coarse at option. 
 
 The charge of powder must necessarily depend upon 
 its strength. For elephant-shooting, I always use six 
 drachms of the best powder for the No. 10 rifles, and 
 four drachms as the minimum charge for deer and 
 general shooting ; the larger charge is then unnecessary ; 
 it both wastes ammunition and alarms the country by 
 the loudness of the report. 
 
 There are several minutiae to be attended to in the 
 sports of Ceylon. The caps should always be carried 
 in a shot-charger (one of the common spring-lid 
 chargers) and never be kept loose in the pocket. The 
 heat is so intense that the perspiration soaks through 
 everything, and so injures the caps that the very best 
 will frequently miss fire. 
 
 The powder should be dried for a few minutes in the 
 sun before it is put into the flask, and it should be well 
 shaken and stirred to break any lumps that may be in 
 it. One of these, by obstructing the passage in the 
 flask, may cause much trouble in loading quickly, 
 especially when a wounded elephant is regaining his 
 feet. In such a case you must keep your eyes on the
 
 Necessary Precautions. 115 
 
 animal while loading, and should the passage of the 
 powder-flask be stopped by a lump, you may fancy the 
 gun is loaded when in fact not a grain of powder has 
 entered it. 
 
 The patches should be of silk, soaked in a mixture 
 of one part of beeswax and two of fresh hog's lard, 
 free from salt. If they are spread with pure grease, it 
 melts out of them in a hot country, and they become 
 dry. Silk is better than linen as it is not so liable to 
 be cut by the sharp grooves of the rifle. It is also 
 thinner than linen or calico, and the ball is therefore 
 more easily rammed down. 
 
 All balls should be made of pure lead, without any 
 hardening mixture. It was formerly the fashion to use 
 zinc balls, and lead with a mixture of tin, etc., in ele- 
 phant-shooting. This was not only unnecessary, but 
 the balls, from a loss of weight by admixture with 
 lighter metals, lost force in a proportionate degree. 
 Lead may be a soft metal, but it is much harder than 
 any animal's skull, and if a tallow candle can be shot 
 through a deal board, surely a leaden bullet is hard 
 enough for an elephant's head. 
 
 I once tried a very conclusive experiment on the 
 power of balls of various metals propelled by an equal 
 charge of powder. 
 
 I had a piece of wrought iron five-eights of an inch 
 thick, and six feet high by two in breadth. I fired at 
 this at one hundred and seventy yards with my two- 
 grooved four-ounce rifle, with a reduced charge of six 
 drachms of powder and a ball of pure lead. It bulged 
 the iron like a piece of putty, and split the centre of 
 the bulged spot into a star, through the crevice of which 
 I could pass a pen-blade.
 
 Il6 Eight Tears' Wanderings tn Ceylon. 
 
 A ball composed of half zinc and half lead, fired 
 from the same distance, hardly produced a perceptible 
 effect upon the iron target. It just slightly indented it. 
 
 I then tried a ball of one-third zinc and two-thirds 
 lead, but there was no perceptible difference in the 
 effect. 
 
 I subsequently tried a tin ball, and again a zinc ball, 
 but neither of them produced any other effect than 
 slightly to indent the iron. 
 
 I tried all these experiments again at fifty yards' 
 range, with the same advantage in favor of the pure 
 lead ; and at this reduced distance a double-barreled 
 No. 1 6 smooth-bore, with a large charge of four 
 drachms of powder and a lead ball, also bulged and 
 split the iron into a star. This gun, with a hard tin 
 ball and the same charge of powder, did not produce 
 any other effect than an almost imperceptible indenta- 
 tion. 
 
 If a person wishes to harden a ball for any purpose, 
 it should be done by an admixture of quicksilver to the 
 lead while the latter is in a state of fusion, a few sec- 
 onds before the ball is cast. The mixture must be then 
 quickly stirred with an iron rod, and formed into the 
 moulds without loss of time, as at this high tempera- 
 ture the quicksilver will evaporate. Quicksilver is 
 heavier than lead, and makes a ball excessively hard ; 
 so much so that it would very soon spoil a rifle. Al- 
 together, the hardening of a ball has been shown to be 
 perfectly unnecessary, and the latter receipt would be 
 found very expensive. 
 
 If a wonderful effect is required, the steel-tipped 
 conical ball should be used. I once shot through four- 
 teen elm planks, each one inch thick, with a four-ounce
 
 The Double -Groove. 117 
 
 steel-tipped cone, with the small charge (for that rifle) 
 of four drachms of powder. The proper charge for 
 that gun is one-fourth the weight of the ball, or one 
 ounce of powder, with which it carries with great 
 nicety and terrific effect, owing to its great weight of 
 metal (twenty-one pounds) ; but it is a small piece of 
 artillery, which tries the shoulder very severely in the 
 recoil. 
 
 I have frequently watched a party of soldiers wind- 
 ing along a pass, with their white trousers, red coats, 
 white cross-belts and brass plates, at about four hun- 
 dred yards, and thought what a raking that rifle would 
 give a body of troops in such colors Tor a mark. A 
 ball of that weight, with an ounce of powder, would 
 knock down six or eight men in a row. A dozen of 
 such weapons well handled on board a ship would 
 create an astonishing effect ; but for most purposes the 
 weight of the ammunition is a serious objection. 
 
 There is a great difference of opinion among sports- 
 men regarding the grooves of a rifle ; some prefer the 
 two-groove and belted ball ; others give preference to 
 the eight or twelve-groove and smooth-bore. There 
 are good arguments on both sides. 
 
 There is no doubt that the two-groove is the hardest 
 hitter and the longest ranger ; it also has the advantage 
 of not fouling so quickly as the many-grooved. On 
 the other hand, the many-grooved is much easier to 
 load ; it hits quite hard enough ; and it ranges truly 
 much farther than any person would think of firing at 
 an animal. Therefore, for sporting purposes, the only 
 advantage which the two-groove possesses is the keep- 
 ing clean, while the many-groove claims the advantage 
 of quick loading.
 
 n8 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 The latter is by far the more important recommenda- 
 tion, especially as the many-groove can be loaded with- 
 out the assistance of the eye, as the ball, being smooth 
 and round, can only follow the right road down the 
 barrel. The two-grooved rifle, when new, is particu- 
 larly difficult to load, as the ball must be tight to avoid 
 windage, and it requires some nicety in fitting and 
 pressing the belt of the ball into the groove, in such a 
 manner that it shall start straight upon the pressure of 
 the loading-rod. If it gives a slight heel to one side at 
 the commencement, it is certain to stick in its course, 
 and it then occupies much time and trouble in being 
 rammed home. Neither will it shoot with accuracy, 
 as, from the amount of ramming to get the ball to its 
 place, it has become so misshapen that it is a mere 
 lump of lead, and no longer a rifle-ball. 
 
 My double-barreled No. 10 rifles are two-grooved, 
 and an infinity of trouble they gave me for the first two 
 years. Many a time I have been giving my whole 
 weight to the loading rod, with a ball stuck half-way 
 down the barrel, while wounded elephants lay strug- 
 gling upon the ground, expected every moment to rise. 
 From constant use and repeated cleaning they have now 
 become so perfect that they load with the greatest ease ; 
 but guns of their age are not fair samples of their class, 
 and for rifles in general for sporting purposes I should 
 give a decided preference to the many-groove. I have 
 had a long two-ounce rifle of the latter class, which I 
 have shot with for many years, and it certainly is not 
 so hard a hitter as the two-grooved No. ID'S ; but it hits 
 uncommonly hard, too ; and if I do not bag with it, it 
 is always my fault, and no blame can be attached to 
 the rifle.
 
 Power of Heavy Metal. 119 
 
 For heavy game-shooting, I do not think there can 
 be a much fairer standard for the charge of powdei 
 than one-fifth the weight of the ball for all bores. 
 Some persons do not use so much as this ; but I am 
 always an advocate for strong guns and plenty of 
 powder. 
 
 A heavy charge will reach the brain of an elephant, 
 no matter in what position he may stand, provided a 
 proper angle is taken for attaining it. A trifling 
 amount of powder is sufficient, if the elephant offers a 
 front shot, or the temple at right angles, or the ear 
 shot ; but if a man pretend to a knowledge of elephant- 
 shooting, he should think of nothing but the brain, and- 
 his knowledge of the anatomy of the elephant's head 
 should be such that he can direct a straight line to this 
 mark from any position. He then requires a rifle of 
 such power that the ball will crash through every 
 obstacle along the course directed. To effect this he 
 must not be stingy of the powder. 
 
 I have frequently killed elephants by curious shots 
 with the heavy rifles in this manner ; but I once killed 
 a bull elephant by one shot in the upper jaw, which 
 will at once exemplify the advantage of a powerful rifle 
 in taking the angle for the brain. 
 
 My friend Palliser and I were out shooting on the 
 day previous, and we had spent some hours in vainly 
 endeavoring to track up a single bull elephant. I for- 
 get what we bagged, but I recollect well that we were 
 unlucky in finding our legitimate game. That night at 
 dinner we heard elephants roaring in the Yalle river, 
 upon the banks of which our tent was pitched in fine 
 open forest. For about an hour the roaring was con- 
 tinued, apparently on both sides the river, and we im-
 
 I2O Eight Dears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 mediately surmised that our gentleman friend on our 
 side of the stream was answering the call of the ladies 
 of some herd on the opposite bank. We went to sleep 
 with the intention of waking at dawn of day, and then 
 strolling quietly along with .only two gun-bearers each, 
 who were to carry my four double No ID'S, while we 
 each carried a single barrel for deer. 
 
 The earliest gray tint of morning saw us dressed and 
 ready, the rifles loaded, a preliminary cup of hot 
 chocolate swallowed, and we were off while the forest 
 was still gloomy ; the night seemed to hang about it, 
 although the sky was rapidly clearing above. 
 
 A noble piece of Nature's handiwork is that same 
 Yalle 1 forest. The river flows sluggishly through its 
 centre in a breadth of perhaps ninety yards, and the im- 
 mense forest trees extend their giant arms from the high 
 banks above the stream, throwing dark shadows upon 
 its surface, enlivened by the silvery glitter of the fish as 
 they dart against the current. Little glades of rank 
 grass occasionally break the monotony of the dark 
 forest ; sandy gullies in deep beds formed by the tor- 
 rents of the rainy season cut through the crumbling 
 soil and drain toward the river. Thick brushwood 
 now and then forms an opposing barrier, but generally 
 the forest is beautifully open, consisting of towering 
 trees, the leviathans of their race, sheltering the scanty 
 saplings which have sprung from their fallen seeds. 
 For a few hundred yards on either side of the river the 
 forest extends in a ribbon-like strip of lofty vegetation 
 in the surrounding sea of low scrubby jungle. The 
 animals leave the low jungle at night, passing through 
 the forest on their way to the river to bathe and drink ; 
 they return to the low and thick jungle at break of day,
 
 Curious Shot at a Bull Elephant. 121 
 
 and we hoped to meet some of the satiated elephants on 
 their way to their dense habitations. 
 
 We almost made sure of finding our friend of yester- 
 day's track, and we accordingly kept close to the edge 
 of the river, keeping a sharp eye for tracks upon the 
 sandy bed below. 
 
 We had strolled for about a mile along the high bank 
 of the river without seeing a sign of an elephant, when 
 I presently heard a rustle in the branches before me, 
 and upon looking up I saw a lot of monkeys gamboling 
 in the trees. I was carrying my long two-ounce rifle, 
 and I was passing beneath the monkey-covered boughs, 
 when I suddenly observed a young tree of the thickness 
 of a man's thigh shaking violently just before me. 
 
 It happened that the jungle was a little thicker in 
 this spot, and at the same moment that I observed the 
 tree shaking almost over me, I passed the immense 
 stem of one of those smooth-barked trees which grow 
 to such an enormous size on the banks of rivers. At 
 the same moment that I passed it I was almost under 
 the trunk of a single bull elephant, who was barking 
 the stem with his tusk as high as he could reach, with 
 his head thrown back. I saw in an instant that the 
 only road to his brain lay through his upper jaw, in the 
 position in which he was standing ; and knowing that 
 he would discover me in another moment, I took the 
 eccentric line for his brain, and fired upward through 
 his jaw. He fell stone dead, with the silk patch of the 
 rifle smoking in the wound. 
 
 Now in this position no light gun could have killed 
 
 that elephant ; the ball had to pass through the roots 
 
 of the upper grinders, and keep its course through hard 
 
 bones and tough membranes for about two feet before 
 
 11
 
 122 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 it could reach the brain ; but the line was all right, and 
 the heavy metal and charge of powder kept the ball to 
 its work. 
 
 This is the power which every elephant-gun should 
 possess : it should have an elephant's head under com- 
 plete command in every attitude. 
 
 There is another advantage in heavy metal ; a heavy 
 ball will frequently stun a vicious elephant when in full 
 charge, when a light ball would not check him ; his 
 quietus is then soon arranged by another barrel. Some 
 persons, however, place too much confidence in the 
 weight of the metal, and forget that it is necessary to 
 hold a powerful rifle as straight as the smallest gun. 
 It is then very common during a chase of a herd to see 
 the elephants falling tolerably well to the shots, but 
 on a return for their tails, it is found that the stunned 
 brutes have recovered and decamped. 
 
 Conical balls should never be used for elephants ; 
 they are more apt to glance, and the concussion is not 
 so great as that produced by a round ball. In fact there 
 is nothing more perfect for sporting purposes than a 
 good rifle from a first-rate maker, with a plain ball of 
 from No. 12 to No. 10. There can be no improvement 
 upon such a weapon for the range generally required 
 by a good shot. 
 
 I am very confident that the African elephant would 
 be killed by the brain-shot by Ceylon sportsmen with as 
 much ease as the Indian- species. The shape of the 
 head has nothing whatever to do with the shooting, 
 provided the guns are powerful and the hunter knows 
 where the brain lies. 
 
 When I arrived in Ceylon one of my first visits was 
 to the museum at Colombo. Here I carefully examined
 
 Structure of Skull. 12^ 
 
 the transverse sections of an elephant's skull, until per- 
 fectly acquainted with its details. From the museum I 
 went straight to the elephant-stables and thoroughly 
 examined the head of the living animal, comparing it 
 in my own mind w^th the skull, until I was thoroughly 
 certain of the position of the brain and the possibility 
 of reaching it from any position. 
 
 An African sportsman would be a long time in kill- 
 ing a Ceylon elephant, if he fired at the long range 
 described by most writers ; in fact, he would not kill 
 one out of twenty that he fired at in such a jungle-cov- 
 ered country as Ceylon, where, in most cases, every- 
 thing depends upon the success of the first barrel. 
 
 It is the fashion in Ceylon to get as close as possible 
 to an elephant before firing ; this is usually at about ten 
 yards' distance, at which range nearly every shot must 
 be fatal. In Africa, according to all accounts, ele- 
 phants are fired at at thirty, forty, and even at sixty 
 yards. It is no wonder, therefore, that African sports- 
 men take the shoulder shot, as the hitting of the brain 
 would be a most difficult feat at such a distance, seeing 
 that the even and dusky color of an elephant's head 
 offers no peculiar mark for a delicate aim. 
 
 The first thing that a good sportsman considers with 
 every animal is the point at which to aim so to bag him 
 as speedily as possible. It is well known that all ani- 
 mals, from the smallest to the largest, sink into instant 
 death when shot through the brain ; and that a wound 
 through the lungs or heai't is equally fatal, though not 
 so instantaneous. These are accordingly the points for 
 aim, the brain, from its small size, being the most diffi- 
 cult to hit. Nevertheless, in a jungle country, elephants 
 must be shot through the brain, otherwise they would
 
 124 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceyton. 
 
 not be bagged, as they would retreat with a mortal 
 wound into such dense jungle that no man could follow. 
 Seeing how easily they are dropped by the brain-shot 
 if approached sufficiently near to ensure the correctness 
 of the aim, no one would ever think of firing at the 
 shoulder who had been accustomed to aim at the head. 
 
 A Ceylon sportsman arriving in Africa would natu- 
 rally examine the skull of the African elephant, and 
 when once certain of the position of the brain he 
 would require no further information. Leave him 
 alone for hitting it if he knew where it was. 
 
 What a sight for a Ceylon elephant-hunter would be 
 the first view of a herd of African elephants all tusk- 
 ers ! In Ceylon, a " tusker" is a kind of spectre, to be 
 talked of by a few who have had the good luck to see 
 one. And when he is seen by a good sportsman, it is 
 an evil hour for him he is followed till he gives up his 
 tusks. 
 
 It is a singular thing that Ceylon is the only part of 
 the world where the male elephant has no tusks ; they 
 have miserable little grubbers projecting two or three 
 inches from the upper jaw and inclining downward. 
 Thus a man may kill some hundred elephants without 
 having a pair of tusks in his possession. The largest 
 that I have seen in Ceylon were about six feet long, 
 and five inches in diameter in the thickest part. 
 These would be considered rather below the average 
 in Africa, although in Ceylon they were thought mag- 
 nificent. 
 
 Nothing produces either ivory or horn in fine speci- 
 mens throughout Ceylon. Although some of the buffa- 
 loes have tolerably fine heads, they will not bear a 
 comparison with those of other countries. The horns
 
 Lack of Trophies. 125 
 
 of the native cattle are not above four inches in length. 
 The elk and the spotted deer's antlers are small com- 
 pared with deer of their size on the continent of India. 
 This is the more singular, as it is evident from the 
 geological' formation that at some remote period Ceylon 
 was not an island, but formed a portion of the main 
 land, from which it is now only separated by a shallow 
 and rocky channel of some few miles. In India the 
 bull elephants have tusks, and the cattle and buffaloes 
 have very large horns. My opinion is that there are 
 elements wanting in the Ceylon pasturage (which is 
 generally poor) for the formation of both horn and 
 ivory. Thus many years of hunting and shooting are 
 rewarded by few trophies of the chase. So great is 
 the natural inactivity of the natives that no one under- 
 stands the preparation of the skins ; thus all the elk 
 and deer hides are simply dried in the sun, and the 
 hair soon rots and" falls off. In India, the skin of the 
 Samber deer (the Ceylon elk) is prized above all 
 others, and is manufactured into gaiters, belts, pouches, 
 coats, breeches, etc. ; but in Ceylon, these things are 
 entirely neglected by the miserable and indolent popu- 
 lation, whose whole thoughts are concentrated upon 
 their daily bread, or rather their curry and rice. 
 
 At Newera Ellia, the immense number of elk that I 
 have killed would have formed a valuable collection of 
 skins had they been properly prepared, instead of 
 which the hair has been singed from them, and they 
 have been boiled up for dogs' meat. 
 
 Boars' hides have shared the same fate. These are 
 
 far thicker than those of the tame species, and should 
 
 make excellent saddles. So tough are they upon the 
 
 live animal that it requires a very sharp-pointed knife 
 
 11*
 
 ia6 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 to penetrate them, and too much care cannot be be- 
 stowed upon the manufacture of a knife for this style 
 of hunting, as the boar is one of the fiercest and most 
 dangerous of animals. * -. 
 
 Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at 
 night in search of roots, fruits, large earth-worms, 01 
 anything else that he can find, being, like his domesti- 
 cated brethren, omnivorous. He is a terrible enemy to 
 the pack, and has cost me several good dogs within the 
 last few years. Without first-rate seizers it would be 
 impossible to kill him with the knife without being 
 ripped, as he invariably turns to bay after a short run 
 in the thickest jungle he can find. There is no doubt 
 that a good stout boar-spear, with a broad blade and 
 strong handle, is the proper weapon for the attack ; but 
 a spear is very unhandy and even dangerous to carry 
 in such a hilly country as the neighborhood of Newera 
 Ellin. The forests are full of steep ravines and such 
 tangled underwood that following the hounds is always 
 an arduous task, but with a spear in the hand it is still 
 more difficult, and the point is almost certain to get 
 injured by striking against the numerous rocks, in 
 which case it is perfectly useless when perhaps most 
 required. I never carry a spear for these reasons, but 
 am content with the knife, as in my opinion any animal 
 that can beat off good hounds and a long knife deserves 
 to escape. 
 
 My knife was made to my own pattern by Paget of 
 Piccadilly. The blade is one foot in length, and two 
 inches broad in the widest part, and slightly concave in 
 the middle. The steel is of the most exquisite quality, 
 and the entire knife weighs three pounds. The pecu- 
 liar shape added to the weight of the blade gives an
 
 Bertram. 127 
 
 extraordinary force to a blow, and the blade being 
 double-edged for three inches from the point, inflicts a 
 fearful wound : altogether it is a very desperate weapon, 
 and admirably adapted for this kind of sport. 
 
 A feat is frequently performed by the Nepaulese by 
 cutting off a buffalo's head at one blow of a sabre or 
 tulwal. The blade of this weapon is peculiar, being 
 concave, and the extremity is far heavier than the hilt; 
 the animal's neck is tied down to a post, so as to pro- 
 duce a tension on the muscles, without which the 
 blow, however great, would have a comparatively 
 small effect. 
 
 The accounts of this feat always appeared very mar- 
 velous to my mind, until I one day unintentionally per- 
 formed something similar on a small scale with the 
 hunting-knife. 
 
 I was out hunting in the Elk Plains, and having 
 drawn several jungles blank, I ascended the mountains 
 which wall in the western side of the patinas (grass- 
 plains), making sure of finding an elk near the sum- 
 mit. It was a lovely day, perfectly calm and cloudless ; 
 in which weather the elk, especially the large bucks, 
 are in the habit of lying high up the mountains. 
 
 I had nine couple of hounds out, among which 
 were some splendid seizers, "Bertram," "Killbuck," 
 "Hecate," "Bran," "Lucifer" and "Lena," the first 
 three being the progeny of the departed hero, old 
 " Smut," who had been killed by a boar a short time 
 before. They were then just twelve months old, and 
 " Bertram" stood twenty-eight and a half inches high 
 at the shoulder. To him his sire's valor had descended 
 untarnished, and for a dog of his young age he was the 
 most courageous that I have ever seen. In appearance
 
 128 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 he was a tall Manilla bloodhound, with the strength of 
 a young lion ; very affectionate in disposition, and a 
 general favorite, having won golden opinions in every 
 contest. Whenever a big buck was at bay, and punish- 
 ing the leading hounds, he was ever the first to get his 
 hold ; no matter how great the danger, he never waited 
 but recklessly dashed in. " There goes Bertram ! 
 Look at Bertram ! Well done, Bertram !" were the con- 
 stant exclamations of a crowd of excited spectators when 
 a powerful buck was brought to bay. He was a wonder- 
 ful dog, but I prophesied an early grave for him, as no 
 dog in the world could long escape death who rushed 
 so recklessly upon his dangerous game.* His sister, 
 " Hecate," was more careful, and she is alive at this 
 moment, and a capital seizer of great strength com- 
 bined with speed, having derived the latter from her 
 dam, " Lena," an Australian greyhound, than whom a 
 better or truer bitch never lived. " Old Bran," and his 
 beautiful son " Lucifer," were fine specimens of gray- 
 hound and deerhound, and as good as gold. 
 
 There was not a single elk track the whole of the 
 way up the mountain, and upon arriving at the top, I 
 gave up all hope of finding for that day, and I enjoyed 
 the beautiful view over the vast valley of forest which 
 lay below, spangled with green plains, and bounded by 
 the towering summit of Adam's Peak, at about twenty- 
 five miles' distance. The coffee estates of Dimboola lay 
 far beneath upon the right, and the high mountains of 
 Kirigallapotta and Totapella bounded the view upon 
 the left. 
 
 There is a good path along the narrow ridge on the 
 
 * Speared through the body by the horns of a buck elk acd killed, 
 shortly after this was written.
 
 A Boar Hunt. 129 
 
 summit of the Elk Plain hills, which has been made 
 by elephants. This runs along the very top of the 
 knife-like ridge, commanding a view of the whole 
 country to the right and left. The range is terminated 
 abruptly by a high peak, which descends in a sheer 
 precipice at the extremity. 
 
 I strolled along the elephant-path, intending to gain 
 the extreme end of the range for the sake of the view, 
 when I suddenly came upon the track of a "boar," in 
 the middle of the path. It was perfectly fresh, as were 
 also the ploughings in the ground close by, and the 
 water of a small pool was still curling with clouds of 
 mud, showing most plainly that he had been disturbed 
 from his wallowing by my noise in ascending the moun- 
 tain-side. 
 
 There was no avoiding the find ; and away went 
 "Bluebeard," " Plough boy," "Gaylass," and all the 
 leading hounds, followed by the whole pack, in full 
 chorus, straight along the path at top speed. Presently 
 they turned sharp to the left into the thick jungle, 
 dashing down the hillside as though off to the Elk 
 Plains below. At this pace I knew the hunt would not 
 last long, and from my elevated stand I waited impa- 
 tiently for the first sounds of the bay. Round they 
 turned again, up the steep hillside, and the music 
 slackened a little, as the hounds had enough to do in 
 bursting through the tangled bamboo up the hill. 
 
 Presently I heard the rush of the boar in the jungle, 
 coming straight up the hill toward the spot where I 
 was standing ; and, fearing that he might top the ridge 
 and make down the other side toward Dimboola, I 
 gave him a halloo to head him back. Hark, for-r-rard 
 to him ! yo-o-ick ! to him ! 
 
 I
 
 130 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Such a yell, right in his road, astonished him, and, 
 as I expected, he headed sharp back. Up came the 
 pack, going like race-horses, and wheeling ofT where the 
 game had turned, a few seconds running along the side 
 of the mountain, and then such a burst of music ! such 
 a bay ! The boar had turned sharp round, and had 
 met the hounds on a level platform on the top of a 
 ridge. 
 
 " Lucifer" never leaves my side until we are close up 
 to the bay ; and plunging and tearing through the 
 bamboo grass and tangled nillho for a few hundred 
 yards, I at length approached the spot, and I heard 
 Lord Bacon grunting and roaring loud above the din 
 of the hounds. 
 
 Bertram has him for a guinea ! Hold him, good 
 lad! and away dashed "Lucifer" from my side at the 
 halloo. 
 
 In another moment I was close up, and with my knife 
 ready I broke through the dense jungle and was im- 
 mediately in the open space cleared by the struggles of 
 the boar and pack. Unluckily, I had appeared full in 
 the boar's front, and though five or six of the large 
 seizers had got their holds, he made a sudden charge 
 at me that shook them all off, except " Bertram" and 
 " Lena." 
 
 It was the work of an instant, as I jumped quickly 
 on one side, and instinctively made a downward cut at 
 him in passing. He fell all of a heap, to the complete 
 astonishment of myself and the furious pack. 
 
 He was dead ! killed by one blow with the hunting- 
 knife. I had struck him across the back just behind 
 the shoulders, and the wound was so immense that he 
 had the appearance of being nearly half divided. Not
 
 Herds of Wild Boars* _ 131 
 
 only was the spine severed, but the blade had cut deep 
 into his vitals and produced instant death. 
 
 One of the dogs was hanging on his hind quarters 
 when he charged, and as the boar was rushing forward, 
 the muscles of the back were accordingly stretched 
 tight, and thus the effect of the cut was increased to 
 this extraordinary degree. He was a middling-sized 
 boar, as near as I could guess, about two and a half 
 hundredweight. 
 
 Fortunately none of the pack were seriously hurt, 
 although his tusks were as sharp as a knife. This 
 was owing to the short duration of the fight, and also 
 to the presence of so many seizers, who backed each 
 other up without delay. 
 
 There is no saying to what size a wild boar grows. 
 I have never killed them with the hounds above four 
 hundredweight ; but I have seen solitary boars in the 
 low country that must have weighed nearly double. 
 
 I believe the flesh is very good ; by the natives it is 
 highly prized ; but I have so strong a prejudice against 
 it from the sights I have seen of their feasting upon 
 putrid elephants that I never touch it. 
 
 The numbers of wild hogs in the low country is sur- 
 prising, and they are most useful in cleaning up the 
 carcases of dead animals and destroying vermin. I 
 seldom or never fire at a hog in those districts, as their 
 number is so great that there is no sport in shooting 
 them. They travel about in herds of one and two 
 hundred, and even more. These are composed of 
 sows and young boars, as the latter leave the herd when 
 arrived at maturity.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CURIOUS PHENOMENON PANORAMA OF OUVA SOUTH-WEST 
 MONSOON HUNTING FOLLOWERS FORT M'DONALD RIVER 
 JUNGLE PATHS DANGEROUS LOCALITY GREAT WATER- 
 FALL START FOR HUNTING THE FIND A GALLANT STAG 
 "BRAN" AND "LUCIFER" "PHRENZY'S" DEATH BUCK 
 AT BAY THE CAVE HUNTING-BOX "MADCAP'S" DIVE ELK 
 SOUP FORMER INUNDATION " BLUEBEARD" LEADS OFF 
 " HECATE'S " COURSE THE ELK'S LEAP VARIETY OF DEER 
 THE AXIS CEYLON BEARS VARIETY OF VERMIN TRIALS 
 FOR HOUNDS HOUNDS AND THEIR MASTERS A SPORTSMAN 
 " SHUT UP" A CORPORAL AND CENTIPEDE. 
 
 FROM June to November the south-west monsoon 
 brings wind and mist across the Newera Ellia 
 mountains. 
 
 Clouds of white fog boil up from the Dimboola val- 
 ley like the steam from a huge cauldron, and invade 
 the Newera Ellia plain through the gaps in the moun- 
 tains to the westward. 
 
 The wind howls over the high ridges, cutting the 
 jungle with its keen edge, so that it remains as stunted 
 brushwood, and the opaque screen of driving fog and 
 drizzling rain is so dense that one feels convinced there 
 is no sun visible within at least a hundred miles. 
 
 There is a curious phenomenon, however, in this 
 locality. When the weather described prevails at New- 
 132
 
 Panorama of Ouva. 133 
 
 era Ellia, there is actually not one drop of rain within 
 four miles of my house in the direction of Badulla. 
 Dusty roads, a cloudless sky and dazzling sunshine 
 astonish the thoroughly-soaked traveler, who rides out 
 of the rain. and mist into a genial climate, as though he 
 passed through a curtain. The wet weather terminates 
 at a mountain called Hackgalla (or more properly 
 Yakkadagalla, or iron rock). This bold rock, whose 
 summit is about six thousand five hundred feet above 
 the sea, breasts the driving wind and seems to com- 
 mand the storm. The rushing clouds halt in their mad 
 course upon its crest and curl in sudden impotence 
 around the craggy summits. The deep ravine formed 
 by an opposite mountain is filled with the vanquished 
 mist, which sinks powerless in its dark gorge ; and the 
 bright sun, shining from the east, spreads a perpetual 
 rainbow upon the gauze-like cloud of fog which settles 
 in the deep hollow. 
 
 This is exceedingly beautiful. The perfect circle of 
 the rainbow stands like a fairy spell in the giddy depth 
 of the hollow, and seems to forbid the advance of the 
 monsoon. All before is bright and cloudless ; the lovely 
 panorama of the Ouva country spreads before the eye 
 for many miles beneath the feet. All behind is dark 
 and stormy ; the wind is howling, the forests are groan- 
 ing, the rain is pelting upon the hills. 
 
 The change appears impossible ; but there it is, ever 
 the same ; season after season, year after year, the rug- 
 ged top of Hackgalla struggles with the storms, and 
 ever victorious the cliffs smile in the sunshine on the 
 eastern side ; the rainbow reappears with the monsoon, 
 and its vivid circle remains like the guardian spirit of 
 the valley. 
 12
 
 134 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary 
 appearance of this scene by description. The pano- 
 ramic view in itself is celebrated ; but as the point in 
 the road is reached where the termination of the mon- 
 soon dissolves the cloud and rain into a thin veil of 
 mist, the panorama seen through the gauze-like atmos- 
 phere has the exact appearance of a dissolving view ; 
 the depth, the height and distance of every object, all 
 great in reality, are magnified by the dim and unnatural 
 appearance ; and by a few steps onward the veil gradu- 
 ally fades away, and the distant prospect lies before the 
 eye with a glassy clearness made doubly striking by the 
 sudden contrast. 
 
 The road winds along about midway up the moun- 
 tain, bounded on the right by the towering cliffs and 
 sloping forest of Hackgalla, and on the left by the 
 almost precipitous descent of nearly one thousand feet, 
 the sides of which are clothed by alternate forest and 
 waving grass. At the bottom flows a torrent, whose 
 roar, ascending from the hidden depth, increases the 
 gloomy mystery of the scene. 
 
 On the north, east and south-east of Newera Ellia 
 the sunshine is perpetual during the reign of the misty 
 atmosphere, which the south-west monsoon drives upon 
 the western side of the mountains. Thus, there is al- 
 ways an escape open from the wet season at Newera 
 Ellia by a short walk of three or four miles. 
 
 A long line of dark cloud is then seen, terminated 
 by a bright blue sky. So abrupt is the line and the 
 cessation of the rain that it is difficult to imagine how 
 the moisture is absorbed. 
 
 This sudden termination of the cloud-capped moun- 
 tain gives rise to a violent wind in the sunny valleys and
 
 South-west Monsoon. 135 
 
 bare hills beneath. The chilled air of Newera Ellia 
 pours down into the sun-warmed atmosphere below, 
 and creates a gale that sweeps across the grassy hill- 
 tops with great force, giving the sturdy rhododendrons 
 an inclination to the north-east, which clearly marks the 
 steadiness of the monsoon. 
 
 It is not to be supposed, however, that Newera Ellia 
 lies in unbroken gloom for months together. One 
 month generally brings a share of uninterrupted bad 
 weather ; this is from the middle of June to the middle 
 of July. This is the commencement of the south-west 
 monsoon, which usually sets in with great violence. 
 The remaining portion of what is called the wet season, 
 till the end of November, is about as uncertain as the 
 climate of England some days fine, others wet, and 
 every now and then a week of rain at one bout. 
 
 A thoroughly saturated soil, with a cold wind, and 
 driving rain, and forests as full of water as sponges, 
 are certain destroyers of scent; hence, hunting at 
 Newera Ellia is out of the question during such 
 weather. The hounds would get sadly out of condi- 
 tion, were it not for the fine weather in the vicinity 
 which then invites a trip. 
 
 I have frequently walked ten miles to my hunting- 
 grounds, starting before daybreak, and then, after a 
 good day's sport up and down the steep mountains, I 
 have returned home in the evening. But this is twelve 
 hours' work, and it is game thrown away, as there is 
 no possibility of getting the dead elk home. An ani- 
 mal that weighs between four hundred and four hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds without his insides, is not a very 
 easy creature to move at any time, especially in such a 
 steep mountainous country as the neighborhood of
 
 136 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Newera Ellia. As previously described, at the base 
 of the mountains are cultivated rice-lands, generally 
 known as paddy-fields, where numerous villages have 
 sprung up from the facility with which a supply of 
 water is obtained from the wild mountains above them. 
 I have so frequently given the people elk and hogs 
 which I have killed on the heights above their paddy- 
 fields that they are always on the alert at the sound of 
 the bugle, and a few blasts from the mountain-top im- 
 mediately creates a race up from the villages, some two 
 or three thousand feet below. Like vultures scenting 
 carrion, they know that an elk is killed, and they start 
 off to the well-known sound like a pack of trained 
 hounds. 
 
 Being thorough mountaineers, they are extraordin'aiy 
 fellows for climbing the steep grassy sides. With a 
 light stick about six feet long in one hand, they will 
 start from the base of the mountains and clamber up 
 the hillsides in a surprisingly short space of time, such 
 as would soon take the conceit out of a " would-be pe- 
 destrian." This is owing to the natural advantages of 
 naked feet and no inexpressibles. 
 
 Whenever an elk has given a long run in the direc- 
 tion of this country, and after a persevering and ardu- 
 ous chase of many hours, I have at length killed him 
 on the grassy heights above the villages, I always take 
 a delight in watching the tiny specks issuing from the 
 green strips of paddy as the natives start off at the 
 sound of the horn. 
 
 At this altitude, it requires a sharp eye to discern a 
 man, but at length they are seen scrambling up the 
 ravines and gullies and breasting the sharp pitches, 
 until at last the first man arrives thoroughly " used up ;"
 
 Hunting Followers. 137 
 
 and a string of fellows of lesser wind come in, in sec- 
 tions, all thoroughly blown. 
 
 However, the first man in never gets the lion's share, 
 as the poor old men, with willing spirits and weak 
 flesh, always bring up the rear, and I insist upon a fair 
 division between the old and young, always giving an 
 extra piece to a man who happens to know a little 
 English. This is a sort of reward for acquirements, 
 equivalent to a university degree, and he is considered 
 a literary character by his fellows. 
 
 There is nothing that these people appreciate so much 
 as elk and hog's flesh. Living generally upon boiled 
 rice and curry composed of pumpkins and sweet pota- 
 toes, they have no opportunities of tasting meat unless 
 upon these occasions. 
 
 During the very wet weather at Newera Ellia I 
 sometimes take the pack and bivouac for a fortnight in 
 the fine-weather country. About a week previous I 
 send down word to the village people of my intention, 
 but upon these occasions I never give them the elk. I 
 always insist upon their bringing rice, etc., for the dogs 
 and myself in exchange for venison, otherwise I should 
 have some hundreds of noisy, idle vagabonds flocking 
 up to me like carrion-crows. 
 
 Of course I give them splendid bargains, as I barter 
 simply on the principle that no man shall come for 
 nothing. Thus, if a man assist in building the kennel, 
 or carrying a load, or cutting bed-grass, or searching 
 for lost hounds, he gets a share of meat. The others 
 bring rice, coffee, fowls, eggs, plantains, vegetables, 
 etc., which I take at ridiculous rates a bushel of rice 
 for a full-grown elk, etc., the latter being worth a 
 couple of pounds and the rice about seven shillings. 
 12*
 
 138 Eight Tears* Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 Thus the hounds keep themselves in rice and supply 
 me with everything that I require during the trip, at 
 the same time gratifying the natives. 
 
 The direct route to this country was unknown to 
 Europeans at Newera Ellia until I discovered it one 
 day, accidentally, in following the hounds. 
 
 A large tract of jungle-covered hill stretches away 
 from the Moon Plains at Newera Ellia toward the east, 
 forming a hog's back of about three and a half miles 
 in length. Upon the north side this shelves into a deep 
 gorge, at the bottom of which flows, or rather tumbles, 
 Fort M'Donald river on its way to the low country, 
 through forest-covered hills and perpendicular cliffs, 
 until it reaches the precipitous patina mountains, when, 
 in a succession of large cataracts, it reaches the paddy- 
 fields in the first village of Pere'welle (guava paddy- 
 field). Thus the river in the gorge below runs parallel 
 to the long hog's back of mountain. This is bordered 
 on the other side by another ravine and smaller tor- 
 rent, to which the Badulla road runs parallel until it 
 reaches the mountain of Hackgalla, at which place the 
 ravine deepens into the misty gorge already described. 
 
 At one time, if an elk crossed the Badulla road and 
 gained the Hog's Back jungle, both he and the hounds 
 were lost, as no one could follow through such impene- 
 trable jungle without knowing either the distance or 
 direction. 
 
 "They are gone to Fort M'Donald river!" This 
 was the despairing exclamation at all times when the 
 pack crossed the road, and we seldom saw the hounds 
 again until late that night or on the following day. 
 Many never returned, and Fort M'Donald river became 
 a by-word as a locality to be always dreaded.
 
 Fort M'Donald River. ^39 
 
 After a long run one day, the pack having gone off 
 in this fatal direction, I was determined, at any price, 
 to hunt them up, and accordingly I went some miles 
 down the Badulla road to the limestone quarries, which 
 are five miles from the Newera Ellia plain. From this 
 point I left the road and struck down into the deep, 
 grassy valley, crossing the river (the same which runs 
 by the road higher up) and continuing along the side 
 of the valley until I ascended the opposite range of 
 hills. Descending the precipitous side, I at length 
 reached the paddy-fields in the low country, which 
 were watered by Fort M'Donald river, and I looked up 
 to the lofty range formed by the Hog's Back hill, now 
 about three thousand feet above me. Thus I had 
 gained the opposite side of the Hog's Back, and, after a 
 stiff pull up the mountain, I returned home by a good 
 path, which I had formerly discovered along the course 
 of the river through the forest to Newera Ellia, via 
 Rest-and-be-Thankful Valley and the Barrack Plains, 
 having made a circuit of about twenty-five miles and 
 become thoroughly conversant with all the localities. 
 I immediately determined to have a path cut from the 
 Badulla road across the Hog's Back jungle to the pati- 
 nas, which looked down upon Fort M'Donald on the 
 other side, and up which I had. ascended on my return. 
 I judged the distance would not exceed two miles 
 across, and I chose the point of junction with the Ba- 
 dulla road two miles and a half from my house. My 
 reason for this was, that the elk invariably took to the 
 jungle at this place, which proved it to be the easiest 
 route. 
 
 This road, on completion, answered every expecta- 
 tion, connecting the two sides of the Hog's Back by an
 
 140 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 excellent path of about two miles, and debouching on 
 the opposite side on a high patina peak which com- 
 manded the whole country. Thus was the whole 
 country opened up by this single path, and should an 
 elk play his old trick and be ofT across the Hog's Back 
 to Fort M'Donald river, I could be there nearly as soon 
 as he could, and also keep within hearing of the hounds 
 throughout the run. 
 
 I was determined to take the tent and regularly hunt 
 up the whole country on the other side of the Hog's 
 Back, as the weather was very bad at Newcra Ellia, 
 while in this spot it was beautifully fine, although very 
 windy. 
 
 I therefore sent on the tent, kennel-troughs and pots, 
 and all the paraphernalia indispensable for the jungle, 
 and on the 3ist May, 1852, I started, having two com- 
 panions Capt. Pelly, Thirty-seventh Regiment, who 
 was then commandant of Newera Ellia, and his brother 
 on a visit. It was not more than an hour and a half's 
 good walking from my house to the high patina peak 
 upon which I pitched the tent, but the country and 
 climate are so totally distinct from anything at Newera 
 Ellia that it gives every one the idea of being fifty 
 miles away. 
 
 We hewed out a spacious arbor at the edge of the 
 jungle, and in this I had the tent pitched to protect it 
 from the wind, which it did effectually, as well as the 
 kennel, which was near the same spot. The servants 
 made a good kitchen, and the encampment was soon 
 complete. 
 
 There never could have been a more romantic or 
 beautiful spot for a bivouac. To the right lay the dis- 
 tant view of the low country, stretching into an unde-
 
 Great Waterfall. 141 
 
 fined distance, until the land and sky appeared to melt 
 together. Below, at a depth of about three thousand 
 feet, the river boiled through the rocky gorge until it 
 reached the village of Pere*welle at the base of the line 
 of mountains, whose cultivated paddy-fields looked no 
 larger than the squares upon a chess-board. On the 
 opposite side of the river rose a precipitous and im- 
 passable mountain, even to a greater altitude than the 
 facing ridge upon which I stood, forming as grand a 
 foreground as the eye could desire. Above, below, 
 around, there was the bellowing sound of heavy cata- 
 racts echoed upon all sides. 
 
 Certainly this country is very magnificent, but it is 
 an awful locality for hunting, as the elk has too great 
 an advantage over both hounds and hunters. Moun- 
 tainous patinas of the steepest inclination, broken here 
 and there by abrupt precipices, and with occasional 
 level platforms of waving grass, descend to the river's 
 bed. These patina mountains are crowned by exten- 
 sive forests, and narrow belts of jungle descend from 
 the summit to the base, clothing the numerous ravines 
 which furrow the mountain's side. Thus the entire 
 surface of the mountains forms a series of rugged grass- 
 lands, so steep as to be ascended with the greatest diffi- 
 culty, and the elk lie in the forests on the summits and 
 also in the narrow belts which cover the ravines. 
 
 The whole country forms a gorge, like a gigantic 
 letter V. At the bottom roars the dreaded torrent, 
 Fort M'Donald river, in a succession of foaming cata- 
 racts, all of which, however grand individually, are 
 completely eclipsed by its last great plunge of three 
 hundred feet perpendicular depth into a dark and nar- 
 row chasm of wall-bound cliffs.
 
 142 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 The bed of the river is the most frightful place that 
 can be conceived, being choked by enormous fragments 
 of rock, amidst which the irresistible torrent howls with 
 a fury that it is impossible to describe. 
 
 The river is confined on either side by rugged cliffs 
 of gneiss rock, from which these fragments have from 
 time to time become detached, and have accordingly 
 fallen into the torrent, choking up the bed and throw- 
 ing the obstructed waters into frightful commotion. 
 Here they lie piled one upon the other, like so many 
 inverted cottages ; here and there forming dripping 
 caverns ; now forming walls of slippery rock, over 
 which the water falls in thundering volumes into pools 
 black from their mysterious depth, and from which 
 there is no visible means of exit. These dark and 
 dangerous pools are walled in by hoary-looking rocks, 
 beneath which the pent-up water dives and boils in 
 subterranean caverns, until it at length escapes through 
 secret channels, and reappears on the opposite side of 
 its prison-walls ; lashing itself into foam in its mad 
 frenzy, it forms rapids of giddy velocity through the 
 rocky bounds ; now flying through a narrowed gorge, 
 and leaping, striving and wrestling with unnumbered 
 obstructions, it at length meets with the mighty fall, like 
 death in a madman's course. One plunge ! without a 
 single shelf to break the fall, and down, down it sheets ; 
 at first like glass, then like the broken avalanche of 
 snow, and lastly ! we cannot see more the mist boils 
 from the ruin of shattered waters and conceals the 
 bottom of the fall. The roar vibrates like thunder in 
 the rocky mountain, and forces the grandeur of the 
 scene through every nerve. 
 
 No animal or man, once in those mysterious pools,
 
 Start for Hunting. 143 
 
 could ever escape without assistance. Thus in years 
 past, when elk were not followed up in this locality, 
 the poor beast, being hard pressed by the hounds, might 
 have come to bay in one of these fatal basins, in which 
 case, both he and every hound who entered the trap 
 found sure destruction. 
 
 The hard work and the danger to both man and 
 hound in this country may be easily imagined when it 
 is explained that the nature of the elk prompts him to 
 seek for water as his place of refuge when hunted ; 
 thus he makes off down the mountain for the river, in 
 which he stands at bay. Now the mountain itself is 
 steep enough, but within a short distance of the bot- 
 tom the river is in many places guarded by precipices 
 of several hundred feet in depth. A few difficult passes 
 alone give access to the torrent, but the descent re- 
 quires great caution. 
 
 Altogether, this forms the wildest and most arduous 
 country that can be imagined for hunting, but it 
 abounds with elk. 
 
 The morning was barely gray when I woke up the 
 servants and ordered coffee, and made the usual prepa- 
 rations for a start. At last, thank goodness ! the boots 
 are laced ! This is the troublesome part of dressing 
 before- broad daylight, and nevertheless laced ankle- 
 boots must be worn as a protection against sprains and 
 bruises in such a country. Never mind the trouble of 
 lacing them ; they are on now, and there is a good day's 
 work in store for them. 
 
 It was the 3oth May, 1853, a lovely hunting morn- 
 ing and a fine dew on the patinas ; rather too windy, 
 but that could not be helped. 
 
 Quiet now ! down, Bluebeard ! back, will you,
 
 144 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylom 
 
 Lucifer ! Here's a smash ! there goes the jungle ken- 
 nel ! the pack squeezing out of it in every direction as 
 they hear the preparations for departure. 
 
 Now we are all right ; ten couple out, and all good 
 ones. Come along, yo-o-i, along here ! and a note on 
 the horn brings the pack close together as we enter the 
 fo -st on the very summit of the ridge. Thus the 
 start was completed just as the first tinge of gold 
 spread along the eastern horizon, about ten minutes 
 before sunrise. 
 
 The jungles were tolerably good, but there were not 
 as many elk tracks as I had expected ; probably the 
 high wind on the ridge had driven them lower down 
 for shelter ; accordingly I struck an oblique direction 
 downward, and I was not long before I discovered a 
 fresh track ; fresh enough, certainly, as the thick moss 
 which covered the ground showed a distinct path where 
 the animal had been recently feeding. 
 
 Every hound had stolen away ; even the greyhounds 
 buried their noses in the broad track of the buck, so 
 fresh was the scent ; and I waited quietly for " the 
 find." The greyhounds stood round me with their 
 ears cocked and glistening eyes, intently listening for 
 the expected sound. 
 
 There they are ! all together, such a burst ! They 
 must have stolen away mute and have found on the 
 other side the ridge, for they were now corning down 
 at full speed from the very summit of the mountain. 
 
 From the amount of music I knew they had a good 
 start, but I had no idea that .the buck would stand to 
 such a pack at the very commencement of the hunt. 
 Nevertheless there was a sudden bay within a few hun- 
 dred vards of me, and the elk had already turned to
 
 The Find. 145 
 
 fight. I knew that he was an immense fellow from 
 his track, and I at once saw that he would show fine 
 
 * 
 
 sport. 
 
 Just as I was running through the jungle toward 
 the spot, the bay broke and the buck had evidently 
 gone off straight away, as I heard the pack in full cry 
 rapidly increasing their distance and going off down 
 the mountain. 
 
 Sharp following was now the order of the day, and 
 away we went. The mountain was so steep that it 
 was necessary every now and then to check the mo- 
 mentum of a rapid descent by clinging to the tough 
 saplings. Sometimes one would give way and a con- 
 siderable spill would be the consequence. However, I 
 soon got out on the patina about one-third of the way 
 down the mountain, and here I met one of the natives, 
 who was well posted. Not a sound of the pack was 
 now to be heard ; but this man declared most positively 
 that the elk had suddenly changed his course, and, in- 
 stead of keeping down the hill, had struck off to his 
 left along the side of the mountain. Accordingly, off I 
 started as hard as I could go with several natives, who 
 all agreed as to the direction. 
 
 After running for about a mile along the patinas in 
 the line which I judged the pack had taken, I heard one 
 hound at bay in a narrow jungle high up on my left. 
 It was only the halt of an instant, for the next moment 
 I heard the same hound's voice evidently running on 
 the other side of the strip of jungle, and taking off 
 down the mountain straight for the dreaded river. 
 Here was a day's work cut out as neatly as could be. 
 
 Running toward the spot, I found the buck's track 
 leading in that direction, and I gave two or three view 
 13 K
 
 146 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 halloos at the top of my voice to bring the rest of the 
 pack down upon it. They were close at hand, but the 
 high wind had prevented me from hearing them, and 
 away they came from the jungle, rushing down upon 
 the scent like a flock of birds. I stepped off the track 
 to let them pass as they swept by, and " For-r-r-a-r-d 
 to him ! For-r-r-ard !" was the word the moment they 
 had passed, as I gave them a halloo down the hill. 
 It was a bad look-out for the elk now; every hound 
 knew that his master was close up, and they went like 
 demons. 
 
 The " Tamby" * was the only man up, and he and I 
 immediately followed in chase down the precipitous 
 patinas ; running when we could, scrambling, and 
 sliding on our hams when it was too steep to stand, ' 
 and keeping good hold of the long tufts of grass, lest 
 we should gain too great an impetus and slide to' the 
 bottom. 
 
 After about half a mile passed in this manner, I 
 heard the bay, and I saw the buck far beneath, standing 
 upon a level, grassy platform, within three hundred 
 yards of the river. The whole pack was around him 
 except the greyhounds, who were with me ; but not a 
 hound had a chance with him, and he repeatedly 
 charged in among them, and regularly drove them 
 before him, sending any single hound spinning when- 
 ever he came within his range. But the pack quickly 
 reunited, and always returned with fresh vigor to the 
 attack. There was a narrow, wooded ravine between 
 me and them, and, with caution and speed combined, 
 I made toward the spot down the precipitous moun- 
 
 * An exceedingly active Moorman, who was my great ally in 
 hunting.
 
 A Gallant Stag. 147 
 
 tain, followed by the greyhounds " Bran " and 
 " Lucifer." 
 
 I soon arrived on a level with the bay, and, plunging 
 into the ravine, I swung myself down from tree to tree, 
 and then climbed up the opposite side. I broke cover 
 within a few yards of him. What a splendid fellow 
 he looked ! He was about thirteen hands high, and 
 carried the most beautiful head of horns that I had 
 ever seen upon an elk. His mane was bristled up, his 
 nostril was distended, and, turning from the pack, he 
 surveyed me, as though taking the measure of his new 
 antagonist. Not seeming satisfied, he deliberately 
 turned, and, descending from the level space, he care- 
 fully picked his way. Down narrow elk-runs along 
 the steep precipices, and, at a slow walk, with the 
 whole pack in single file at his heels, he clambered 
 down toward the river. I followed on his track over 
 places which I would not pass in cold blood ; and I 
 shortly halted above a cataract of some eighty feet in 
 depth, about a hundred paces from the great water- 
 fall of three hundred feet. 
 
 It was extremely grand ; the roar of the falls so en- 
 tirely hushed all other sounds that the voices of the 
 hounds were perfectly inaudible, although within a few 
 yards of me, as I looked down upon them from a rock 
 that overhung the river. 
 
 The elk stood upon the brink of the swollen tor- 
 rent ; he could not retreat, as the wall of rock was 
 behind him, with the small step-like path by which he 
 had descended ; this was now occupied by the yelling 
 pack. 
 
 The hounds knew the danger of the place ; but the 
 buck, accustomed to these haunts from his birth, sud-
 
 148 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 denly leapt across the boiling rapids, and springing 
 from rock to rock along the verge of the cataract, he 
 gained the opposite side. Here he had mistaken his 
 landing-place, as a shelving rock, upon which he 
 had alighted, was so steep that he could not retain 
 his footing, and he gradually slid down toward the 
 river. 
 
 At this moment, to my horror, both " Bran" and 
 " Lucifer" dashed across the torrent, and bounding from 
 rock to rock, they sprung at the already tottering elk, 
 and in another moment both he and they rolled over in 
 a confused mass into the boiling torrent. One more 
 instant and they reappeared, the buck gallantly stem- 
 ming the current, which his great length of limb and 
 weight enabled him to do ; the dogs, overwhelmed in 
 the foam of the rapids, were swept down toward the 
 fall, in spite of their frantic exertions to gain the bank. 
 They were not fifteen feet from the edge of the fall, 
 and I saw them spun round and round in the whirl- 
 pools, being hurried toward certain destruction. The 
 poor dogs seemed aware of the danger, and made the 
 most extraordinary efforts to avoid their fate. They 
 were my two favorites of the pack, and I screamed out 
 words of encouragement to them, although the voice 
 of a cannon could not have been heard among the roar 
 of waters. They had nearly gained the bank on the 
 very verge of the fall, when a few tufts of lemon grass 
 concealed them from my view. I thought they were 
 over, and I could not restrain a cry of despair at their 
 horrible fate. I felt sick with the idea. But the next 
 moment I was shouting hurrah ! they are all right ; 
 thank goodness, they were saved. I saw them strug- 
 gling up the steep bank, through the same lemon grass,
 
 "Frenzy's" Death. 149 
 
 which had for a moment obscured their fate. They 
 were thoroughly exhausted and half drowned. 
 
 In the mean time, the elk had manfully breasted the 
 rapids, carefully choosing the shallow places ; and the 
 whole pack, being mad with excitement, had plunged 
 into the water, regardless of the danger. I thought 
 every hound would have been lost. For an instant 
 they looked like a flock of ducks, but a few moments 
 afterward they were scattered in the boiling eddies, 
 hurrying with fatal speed toward the dreadful cataract. 
 Poor " Phrenzy !" round she spun in the giddy vortex ; 
 nearer and nearer she approached the verge her 
 struggles were unavailing over she went, and was of 
 course never heard of afterward. 
 
 This was a terrible style of hunting ; rather too much 
 so to be pleasant. 
 
 I clambered down to the edge of the river just in 
 time to see the elk climbing as nimbly as a cat up the 
 precipitous bank on the opposite side, threading his 
 way at a slow walk under the overhanging rocks, and 
 scrambling up the steep mountain with a long string 
 of hounds at his heels in single file. "Valiant," 
 "Tiptoe" and "Ploughboy" were close to him, and I 
 counted the other hounds in the line, fully expecting to 
 miss half of them. To my surprise and delight, only 
 one was absent ; this was poor " Phrenzy." The 
 others had all managed to save themselves. I now 
 crossed the river by leaping from rock to rock with 
 some difficulty, and with hands and knees I climbed 
 the opposite bank. This was about sixty feet high, 
 from the top of which the mountain commenced its as- 
 cent, which, though very precipitous, was so covered 
 with long lemon grass that it was easy enough to 
 13*
 
 150 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 climb. I looked behind me, and there was the Tamby, 
 all right, within a few paces. 
 
 The elk was no longer in sight, and the roar of the 
 water was so great that it was impossible to hear the 
 hounds. However, I determined to crawl along his 
 track, which was plainly discernible, the high grass be- 
 ing broken into a regular lane which skirted the preci- 
 pice of the great waterfall in the direction of the vil- 
 lages. 
 
 We were now about a hundred feet above, and on 
 one side of the great fall, looking into the deep chasm 
 into which the river leapt, forming a cloud of mist be- 
 low. The lemon grass was so high in tufts among the 
 rocks that we could not see a foot before us, and we 
 knew not whether the next step would land us on firm 
 footing, or deposit us some hundred feet below. Clutch- 
 ing fast to the long grass, therefore, we crept carefully 
 on for about a quarter of a mile, now climbing the face 
 of the rocks, now descending by means of their irregu- 
 lar surfaces, but still skirting the dark gorge down 
 which the river fell. 
 
 At length, having left the fall some considerable dis- 
 tance behind us, the ear was somewhat relieved from 
 the bewildering noise of water, and I distinctly heard 
 the pack at bay not very far in advance. In another 
 moment I saw the elk standing on a platform of rock 
 about a hundred yards ahead, on a lower shelf of the 
 mountain, and the whole pack at bay. This platform 
 was the top of a cliff which overhung the deep gorge ; 
 the river flowing in the bottom after its great fall, and 
 both the elk and hounds appeared to be in "a fix." 
 The descent had been made to this point by leaping 
 down places which he could not possibly reascend, and
 
 Buck at Bay. 151 
 
 there was only one narrow outlet, which was covered 
 by the hounds. Should he charge through the hounds 
 to force this passage, half a dozen of them must be 
 knocked over the precipice. 
 
 However, I carefully descended, and soon reached 
 the platform. This was not more than twenty feet 
 square, and it looked down in the gorge of about three 
 hundred feet. The first seventy of this depth were 
 perpendicular, as the top of the rock overhung, after 
 which the side of the cliff was marked by great fissures 
 and natural steps formed by the detachment from time 
 to time of masses of rock which had fallen into the 
 river below. Bushes and rank grass filled the inter- 
 stices of the rocks, and an old deserted water-course lay 
 exactly beneath the platform, being cut and built out 
 of the side of the cliff. 
 
 It was a magnificent sight in such grand scenery to 
 see the buck at bay when we arrived upon the platform. 
 He was a dare-devil fellow, and feared neither hounds 
 nor man, every now and then charging through the 
 pack, and coming almost within reach of the Tamby's 
 spear. It was a difficult thing to know how to kill 
 him. I was afraid to go in at him, lest in his struggles 
 he should drag the hounds over the precipice, and I 
 would not cheer the seizers on for the same reason. 
 Indeed, they seemed well aware of the danger, and 
 every now and then retreated to me, as though to in- 
 duce the elk to make a move to some better ground. 
 
 However, the buck very soon decided the question. 
 I made up my mind to halloo the hounds on, and to 
 hamstring the elk, to prevent him from nearing the 
 precipice : and, giving a shout, the pack rushed at him. 
 Not a dog could touch him ; he was too quick with
 
 152 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 his horns and fore feet. He made a dash into the pack, 
 and then regained his position close to the verge of the 
 precipice. He then turned his back to the hounds, 
 looked down over the edge, and, to the astonishment 
 of all, plunged into the abyss below ! A dull crash 
 sounded from beneath, and then nothing was heard but 
 the roaring of the waters as before. The hounds 
 looked over the edge and yelled with a mixture of fear 
 and despair. Their game was gone ! 
 
 By making a circuit of about half a mile among these 
 frightful precipices and gorges, we at length arrived at 
 the foot of the cliff down which the buck had leapt. 
 Here we of course found him lying dead, as he had 
 broken most of his bones. He w^s in very fine condi- 
 tion ; but it was impossible to move him from such a 
 spot. I therefore cut off his head, as his antlers were 
 the finest that I have ever killed before or since. 
 
 To regain the tent, I had a pull for it, having to 
 descend into the village of Perewelle, and then to re- 
 ascend the opposite mountain of three thousand feet ; 
 but even this I thought preferable to returning in cold 
 blood by the dangerous route I had come. 
 
 Tugging up such a mountain was no fun after a hard 
 morning's work, and I resolved to move the encamp- 
 ment to a large cave, some eight hundred feet lower 
 down the mountain. Accordingly, I struck the tent, 
 and after breakfast we took up our quarters in a cavern 
 worthy of Robin Hood. This had been formed by a 
 couple of large rocks the size of a moderate house, 
 whrch had been detached from the overhanging cliff 
 above, and had fallen together. There was a smaller 
 cavern within, which made a capital kennel ; rather 
 more substantial than the rickety building of yesterday.
 
 Elk Venison. 153 
 
 Some of the village people, hearing that the buck 
 was killed and lying in the old water-course, went in a 
 gang to cut him up. What was their surprise on 
 reaching the spot to find the carcase removed ! It had 
 evidently been dragged along the water-course, as the 
 trail was distinct in the high grass, and upon following 
 it up, away went two fine leopards, bounding along the 
 rocks to their adjacent cave. They had consumed a 
 large portion of the flesh, but the villagers did not leave 
 them much for another meal. Skin, hoofs, and in fact 
 every vestige of an elk, is consumed by these people. 
 
 For my own part, I do not think much of elk venison, 
 unless it be very fat, which is rarely the case. It is at 
 all times more like beef than any other meat, for which 
 it is a very good substitute. The marrow-bones are the 
 ''bonne bouche" being peculiarly rich and delicate. 
 Few animals can have a larger proportion of marrow 
 than the elk, as the bones are more hollow than those 
 of most quadrupeds. This cylindrical formation en- 
 ables them to sustain the severe shocks in descending 
 rough mountains at full speed. It is perfectly wonder- 
 ful to see an animal of near six hundred pounds' weight 
 bounding down a hillside, over rocks and ruts and 
 every conceivable difficulty of ground, at a pace which 
 will completely distance the best hound ; and even at 
 this desperate speed, the elk will never make a false 
 step ; sure-footed as a goat, he will still fly on through 
 bogs, ravines, tangled jungles and rocky rivers, ever 
 certain of his footing. 
 
 The foregoing description of an elk-hunt will give 
 the reader a good idea of the power of this animal in 
 stemming rapids and climbing dangerous precipices ; 
 but even an elk is not proof against the dangers of Fort
 
 154 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 M'Donald river, an example of which we had on the 
 following morning. 
 
 The hounds found a doe who broke cover close to 
 me in a small patina and made straight running for the 
 river. She had no sooner reached it than I heard 
 her cry out, and as she was closely followed I thought 
 she was seized. However, the whole pack shortly re- 
 turned, evidently thrown out, and I began to abuse 
 them pretty roundly, thinking that they had lost their 
 game in the river. So they had, but in an excusable 
 manner ; the poor doe had been washed down a rapid, 
 and had broken her thigh. We found her dead under 
 a hollow rock in the middle of the river. 
 
 Here we had a fine exemplification of the danger of 
 the mysterious pools. 
 
 While I was opening the elk, with the pack all round 
 me licking their lips in expectation, old u Madcap" was 
 jostled by one of the greyhounds, and slipped into a 
 basin among the rocks, which formed an edge of about 
 two feet above the surface. 
 
 The opposite side of the pool was hemmed in by 
 rocks about six feet high, and the direction of the 
 under-current was at once shown by poor old " Mad- 
 cap" being swept up against this high wall of rock, 
 where she remained paddling with all her might in an 
 upright position. 
 
 I saw the poor beast would be sucked under, and yet 
 I could not save her. However, I did my best at the 
 risk of falling in myself. 
 
 I took off my handkerchief and made a slip-knot, 
 and, begging Pelly to lie down on the top of the rock, 
 I took his hand while I clung to the face of the wall as 
 I best could by a little ledge of about two inches' width.
 
 "Madcap's" Dive. 155 
 
 With great difficulty I succeeded in hooking the bitch's 
 head in the slip-knot, but in my awkward position I 
 could not use sufficient strength to draw her out. I 
 could only support her head above the water, which I 
 could distinctly feel was drawing her from me. Pre- 
 sently she gave a convulsive struggle, which freed her 
 head from the loop, and in an instant she disappeared. 
 
 I could not help going round the rock to see if her 
 body should be washed out when the torrent reappeared, 
 when, to my astonishment, up she popped all right, not 
 being more than half drowned by her subterranean ex- 
 cursion, and we soon helped her safe ashore. Fortu- 
 nately for her, the passage had been sufficiently large to 
 pass her, although I have no doubt a man would have 
 been held fast and drowned. 
 
 There was so much water in the river that I deter- 
 mined to move from this locality as too dangerous for 
 hunting. I therefore ordered the village people to as- 
 semble on the following morning to carry the loads and 
 tent. In the mean time I sent for the dead elk. 
 
 There could not be a better place for a hunting-box 
 than that cave. We soon had a glorious fire roaring 
 round the kennel-pot, which, having been well scoured 
 with sand and water, was to make the soup. Such 
 soup ! shades of gourmands, if ye only smelt that 
 cookery ! The pot held six gallons, and the whole elk, 
 except a few steaks, was cut up and alternately boiled 
 down in sections. The flesh was then cut up small for 
 the pack, the marrow-bones reserved for " master," 
 and the soup was then boiled until it had evaporated 
 to the quantity required. A few green chilies, onions 
 in slices fried, and a little lime-juice, salt, black pepper 
 and mushroom ketchup, and in fact, there is no use
 
 156 Eight Tears Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 thinking of it, as the soup is not to be had again. The 
 fire crackled and blazed as the logs were heaped upon 
 it as night grew near, and lit up all the nooks and 
 corners of the old cave. Three beds in a row con- 
 tained three sleepy mortals. The hounds snored and 
 growled, and then snored again. The servants jab- 
 bered, chewed betel, spit, then jabbered a little more, 
 and at last everything and everybody was fast asleep 
 within the cave. 
 
 The next morning we had an early breakfast and 
 started, the village people marching off in good spirits 
 with the loads. I was now en route for Bertram's 
 patinas, which lay exactly over the mountain on the 
 opposite side of the river. This being perpendicular, I 
 was obliged to make a great circuit by keeping the old 
 Newera Ellia path along the river for two or three 
 miles, and then, turning off at right angles, I knew an 
 old native trace over the ridge. Altogether, it was a 
 round of about six miles, although the patinas were not 
 a mile from the cave in a straight line. 
 
 The path in fact terminates upon the high peak, 
 exactly opposite the cave, looking down upon my 
 hunting-ground of the day before, and on the othei 
 side the ridge lie Bertram's patinas. 
 
 The extreme point of the ridge which I had now 
 gained forms one end of a horse-shoe or amphitheatre ; 
 the other extremity is formed by a high mountain 
 exactly opposite, at about two miles' distance. The 
 bend of the horse-shoe forms a circuit of about six 
 miles, the rim of which is a wall of precipices and 
 steep patina mountains, which are about six or seven 
 hundred feet above the basin or the bottom of the 
 amphitheatre. The tops of the mountains are covered
 
 Former Inundation. 157 
 
 with good open forest, and ribbon-like strips descend to 
 the base. Now the base forms an uneven shelf of great 
 extent, about two thousand feet above the villages. 
 This shelf or valley appears to have suffered at some 
 remote period from a terrible inundation. Landslips 
 of great size and innumerable deep gorges and ravines 
 furrow the bottom of the basin, until at length a princi- 
 pal fissure carries away the united streams to the 
 paddy-fields below. 
 
 The cause of this inundation is plain enough. The 
 basin has been the receptacle for the drainage of an ex- 
 tensive surface of mountain. This drainage has been 
 effected by innumerable small torrents, which have 
 united in one general channel through the valley. The 
 exit of this stream is through a narrow gorge, by which 
 it descends to the low country. During the period of 
 heavy rains a landslip has evidently choked up this 
 passage, and the exit of the water being thus obstructed, 
 the whole area of the valley has become a lake. The 
 accumulated water has suddenly burst through the ob- 
 struction and swept everything before it. The elk are 
 very fond of lying under the precipices in the strips of 
 jungle already mentioned. When found, they are ac- 
 cordingly forced to take to the open country and come 
 down to the basin below, as they cannot possibly ascend 
 the mountain except by one or two remote deer-runs. 
 Thus the whole hunt from the find to the death is gene- 
 rally in view. 
 
 From every point of this beautiful locality there is a 
 boundless and unbroken panorama of the low country. 
 
 Unfortunately, although the weather was perfectly 
 fine, it was the windy season, and a gale swept across 
 the mountains that rendered ears of little use, as a 
 14
 
 158 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 hound's voice was annihilated in such a hurricane. 
 This was sadly against sport, as the main body of the 
 pack would have no chance of joining the finding 
 hound. 
 
 However, the hounds were unkenneled at break of 
 day, and, the tent being pitched at the bottom of the 
 basin, we commenced a pull up the steep patinas, 
 hoping to find somewhere on the edge of the jungles. 
 
 " There's scent to a certainty ! look at old Blue- 
 beard's nose upon the ground and the excited wagging 
 of his stern. Ploughboy notices it now Gaylass 
 they'll hit it off presently to a certainty, though it's as 
 cold as charity. That elk was feeding here early in 
 the night ; the scent is four hours old if a minute. 
 There they go into the jungle, and we shall lose the 
 elk, ten to one, as not another hound in the pack will 
 work it up. It can't be helped ; if any three hounds 
 will rouse him out, those are the three." 
 
 For a couple of hours we had sat behind a rock,_ 
 sheltered from the wind, watching the immense pros- 
 pect before us. The whole pack Were lying around us 
 except the three missing hounds, of whom we had seen 
 nothing since they stole away upon the cold scent. 
 
 That elk must have gone up to the top of the moun- 
 tains after feeding, and a pretty run he must be having, 
 very likely off to Matturatta plains ; if so, good-bye to 
 all sport for to-day, and the best hounds will be dead 
 tired for to-morrow. 
 
 I was just beginning to despair when I observed a 
 fine large buck at about half a mile distance, cantering 
 easily toward us across an extensive flat of table-land. 
 This surface was a fine sward, on the same level with 
 the point upon which we sat, but separated from us by
 
 A Buck in Doubt. 159 
 
 two small wooded ravines, with a strip of patina be- 
 tween them. I at once surmised that this was the 
 hunted elk, although, as yet, no hounds were visible. 
 
 On arrival at the first ravine he immediately de- 
 scended, and shortly after he reappeared on the small 
 patina between the two ravines, within three hundred 
 yards of us. Here the strong gale gave him our scent. 
 It was a beautiful sight to see him halt in an instant, 
 and, drawing up to his full height, snuff the warning 
 breeze and wind the enemy before him. 
 
 Just at this moment I heard old " Bluebeard's" deep 
 note swelling in the distance, and I saw him leading 
 across the table-land as true as gold upon the track ; 
 " Ploughboy" and " Gaylass" were both with him, but 
 they were running mute. 
 
 The buck heard the hounds as well as we did, and I 
 was afraid that the whole pack would also catch the 
 sound, and, by hurrying toward it, would head the elk 
 and turn him from his coui'se. Up to the present time 
 they had not observed him. 
 
 Still the buck stood in an attitude of acute suspense. 
 He winded an enemy before him, and he heard an- 
 other behind, which was rapidly closing up, and, as 
 though doubting his own power of scent, he gave pref- 
 erence to that of hearing, and gallantly continued his 
 course and entered the second ravine just beneath our 
 feet. 
 
 I immediately jumped up, and, exciting the hounds 
 in a subdued voice, I waved my cap at the spot, and 
 directed a native to run at full speed to the jungle to 
 endeavor to meet the elk, as I knew the hounds would 
 then follow him. This they did ; and they all entered 
 the jungle with the man except the three greyhounds,
 
 160 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 " Lucifer," " Bran" and " Hecate," who remained with 
 me. 
 
 A short time passed in breathless suspense, during 
 which the voices of the three following hounds rapidly 
 approached as they steadily persevered in the long 
 chase ; when suddenly, as I had expected, the main 
 body of the pack met the elk in the strip of jungle. 
 
 Joyful must have been the burst of music to the ears 
 of old " Bluebeard" after his long run. Out crashed 
 the buck upon the patinas near the spot where the pack 
 had entered, and away he went over the grassy hills at 
 a pace which soon left the hounds behind. The grey- 
 hounds will stretch his legs for him. Yo-i-ck to him, 
 Lucifer ! For-r-r-ard to him, Hecate ! 
 
 Off dashed the three greyhounds from my side at a 
 railway pace, but, as the buck was above them and had 
 a start of about two hundred yards, in such an uphill 
 race both Bran and Lucifer managed to lose sight of 
 him in the undulations. 
 
 Now was the time for Hecate's enormous power of 
 loin and thigh to tell, and, never losing a moment's 
 view of her game, she sped up the steep mountain side 
 and was soon after seen within fifty yards of the buck 
 all alone, but going like a rocket. 
 
 Now she has turned him ! that pace could not last 
 up hill, and round the elk doubled arid came flying 
 down the mountain side. 
 
 From the point of the hill upon which we stood we 
 had a splendid view of the course ; the bitch gained 
 upon him at every bound, and there was a pitiless dash 
 in her style of going that boded little mercy to her 
 game. What alarmed me, however, was the direction 
 that the buck was taking. An abrupt precipice of
 
 Danger Ahead. 161 
 
 about two hundred and fifty feet was lying exactly in 
 his path ; this sunk sheer down to a lower series of 
 grass-lands. 
 
 At the tremendous pace at which they were going 
 I feared lest their own impetus should carry both elk 
 and dog to destruction before they could see the danger. 
 
 Down they flew with unabated speed ; they neared 
 the precipice, and a few more seconds would bring them 
 to the verge. 
 
 The stride of the buck was no match for the bound 
 of the greyhound : the bitch was at his flanks, and he 
 pressed along at flying speed. 
 
 He was close to the danger and it was still unseen : 
 a moment more and " Hecate" sprang at his ear. For- 
 tunately she lost her hold as the ear split. This check 
 saved her. I shouted, " He'll be over !" and the next 
 instant he was flying through the air to headlong de- 
 struction. 
 
 Bounding from a projecting rock upon which he 
 struck, he flew outward, and with frightfully increasing 
 momentum he spun round and round in his descent, 
 until the centrifugal motion drew out his legs and neck 
 as straight as a line. A few seconds of this multiply- 
 ing velocity and crash ! 
 
 It was all over. The bitch had pulled up on the 
 very brink of the precipice, but it was a narrow escape. 
 
 Sportsmen are contradictory creatures. If that buck 
 had come to bay, I should have known no better sport 
 than going in at him with the knife to the assistance 
 of the pack ; but I now felt a great amount of compas- 
 sion for the poor brute who had met so terrible a fate. 
 It did not seem fair ; and yet I would not have missed 
 such a sight for anything. Nothing can be conceived 
 14 L
 
 1 62 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 more terribly grand than the rush of so large an animal 
 through the air ; and it was a curious circumstance 
 that within a few days no less than two bucks had gone 
 over precipices, although I had never witnessed such 
 an accident more than once before. 
 
 Upon reaching the fatal spot, I, of course, found him 
 lying stone dead. He had fallen at least two hundred 
 and fifty feet to the base of the precipice ; and the 
 ground being covered with detached fragments of rock, 
 he had broken most of his bones, beside bursting his 
 paunch and smashing in the face. However, we cut 
 him up and cleaned him, and, with the native follow- 
 ers heavily laden, we reached the tent. 
 
 The following morning I killed another fine buck 
 after a good run on the patinas, where he was coursed 
 and pulled down by the greyhounds ; but the wind was 
 so very high that it destroyed the pleasure of hunting. 
 I therefore determined on another move to the Mattu- 
 ratta Plains, within three miles of my present hunting- 
 ground. 
 
 After hunting four days at the Matturatta Plains, I 
 moved on to the Elephant Plains, and from thence re- 
 turned home after twelve days' absence, having killed 
 twelve elk and two red deer. 
 
 The animal known as the " red deer" in Ceylon is a 
 very different creature to his splendid namesake in 
 Scotland ; he is particularly unlike a deer in the dispro- 
 portionate size of his carcase to his length of leg. He 
 stands about twenty-six inches high at the shoulder and 
 weighs (live weight) from forty-five to fifty pounds. 
 He has two sharp tusks in the upper jaw, projecting 
 about an inch and a half from the gum. These are 
 exactly like the lower-jaw tusks of a boar, but they
 
 The "Mouse Deer." 163 
 
 incline in the contrary direction, viz., downward, and 
 they are used as weapons of defence. 
 
 The horns of the red deer seldom exceed eight 
 inches in Vength, and have no .more than two points 
 upon each antler, formed by a fork-like termination. 
 This kind of deer has no brow antler. They are very 
 fast, and excel especially in going up hill, in which 
 ground they frequently escape from the best grey- 
 hounds. 
 
 There is no doubt that the red-deer venison is the 
 best in Ceylon, but the animal itself is not generally 
 sought after for sport. He gives a most uninteresting 
 run ; never going straight away like a deer, but doub- 
 ling about over fifty acres of ground like a hare, until 
 he is at last run into and killed. They exist in extraor- 
 dinary numbers throughout every portion of Ceylon, 
 but are never seen in herds. 
 
 Next to the red deer is the still more tiny species, 
 the " mouse deer." This animal seldom exceeds twelve 
 inches in height, and has the same characteristic as the 
 red deer in the heavy proportion of body to its small 
 length of limb. The skin is a mottled ash-gray, cov- 
 ered with dark spots. The upper jaw is furnished with 
 sharp tusks similar to the red deer, but the head is free 
 from horns. 
 
 The skull is perfectly unlike the head of a deer, and 
 is closely allied to the rat, which it would exactly re- 
 semble, were it not for the difference in the teeth. The 
 mouse deer lives principally upon berries and fruits ; 
 but I have seldom found much herbage upon examina- 
 tion of the' paunch. Some people consider the flesh 
 very good, but my ideas perhaps give it a "ratty" 
 flavor that makes it unpalatable.
 
 164 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 These little deer make for some well-known retreat 
 the moment that they are disturbed by dogs, and they 
 are usually found after a short run safely ensconced in 
 a hollow tree. 
 
 It is a very singular thing that none of the deer tribe 
 in Ceylon have more than six points on their horns, 
 viz., three upon each. These are, the brow-antler 
 point, and the two points which form the extremity of 
 each horn. I have seen them occasionally with more, 
 but these were deformities in the antlers. 
 
 A strapger is always disappointed in a Ceylon elk's 
 antlers ; and very naturally, for they are quite out of 
 proportion to the great size of the animal. A very 
 large Scotch red deer in not more than two-thirds the 
 size of a moderately fine elk, and yet he carries a head 
 of horns that are infinitely larger. 
 
 In fact, so rare are fine antlers in Ceylon that I could 
 not pick out more than a dozen of really handsome elk 
 horns out of the great numbers that I have killed. 
 
 A handsome pair of antlers is a grand addition to 
 the beauty of a fine buck, and gives a majesty to his 
 bearing which is greatly missed when a fine animal 
 breaks cover with only a puny pair of horns. There 
 is as great a difference in his appearance as there would 
 be in a life-guardsman in full uniform or in his shirt. 
 
 The antlers of the axis, or spotted deer, are generally 
 longer than those of the elk ; they are also more slender 
 and graceful. Altogether, the spotted deer is about the 
 handsomest of that beautiful tribe. A fine spotted stag 
 is the perfection of elegance, color, strength, courage 
 and speed. He has a proud and thorough-bred way of 
 carrying his head, which is set upon his neck with a 
 peculiar grace. Nothing can surpass the beauty of his
 
 Average Weight of Ceylon Deer. 165 
 
 full black eye. His hide is as sleek as satin a rich 
 brown, slightly tinged with red, and spotted as though 
 mottled with flakes of snow. His weight is about two 
 hundred and fifty pounds (alive). 
 
 It is a difficult thing to judge of a deer's weight with 
 any great accuracy ; but I do not think I am far out in 
 my estimation of the average, as I once tried the ex- 
 periment by weighing a dead elk. I had always con- 
 sidered that a mountain elk, which is smaller than those 
 of the low country, weighed about four hundred pounds 
 when cleaned, or five hundred and fifty pounds live 
 weight. I happened one day to kill an average-sized 
 buck, though with very small horns, close to the road ; 
 so, having cleaned him, I sent a cart for his carcase on 
 my return home. This elk I weighed whole, minus 
 his inside, and he was four hundred and eleven pounds. 
 Many hours had elapsed since his death, so that the 
 carcase must have lost much weight by drying ; this, 
 with the loss of blood and offal, must have been at least 
 one hundred and fifty pounds, which would have made 
 his live weight five hundred and sixty-one pounds. 
 
 Of the five different species of deer in Ceylon, the 
 spotted deer is alone seen upon the plains. No climate 
 can be too hot for his exotic constitution, and he is 
 never found at a higher elevation than three thousand 
 feet. In the low country, when the midday sun has 
 driven every other beast to the shelter of the densest 
 jungles, the sultan of the herd and his lovely mates are 
 sometimes contented with the shade of an isolated tree 
 or the simple border of the jungle, where they drowsily 
 pass the day, flapping their long ears in listless idleness 
 until the hotter hours have passed away. At about 
 four in the afternoon they stroll upon the open plains,
 
 1 66 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 bucks, does and fawns, in beautiful herds ; when un- 
 disturbed, as many as a hundred together. This is the 
 only species of deer in Ceylon that is gregarious. 
 
 Neither the spotted deer, nor the bear or buffalo, is 
 to be found at Newera Ellia. The axis and the buffalo, 
 being the usual denizens of the hottest countries, are 
 not to be expected to exist in their natural state in so 
 low a temperature ; but it is extraordinary that the 
 bear, who in most countries inhabits the mountains, 
 should in Ceylon adhere exclusively to the low country. 
 
 The Ceylon bear is of that species which is to be 
 seen in the Zoological Gardens as the " sloth bear ;" an 
 ill-bred-looking fellow with a long-haired black coat 
 and a gray face. 
 
 A Ceylon bear's skin is not worth preserving ; there 
 is no fur upon it, but it simply consists of rather a 
 stingy allowance of black hairs. This is the natural 
 effect of his perpetual residence in a hot country, where 
 his coat adapts itself to the climate. He is desperately 
 savage, and is more feared by the natives than any 
 other animal, as he is in the constant habit of attacking 
 people without the slightest provocation. His mode of 
 attack increases the danger, as there is a great want of 
 fair play in his method of fighting. Lying in wait, 
 either behind a rock or in a thick bush, he makes a 
 sudden spring upon the unwary wanderer, and in a 
 moment he attacks his face with teeth and claws. The 
 latter are about two inches long, and the former are 
 much larger than a leopard's ; hence it may easily be 
 imagined how even a few seconds of biting and claw- 
 ing might alter the most handsome expression of coun- 
 tenance. 
 
 Bears have frequently been known to tear off' a
 
 Variety of Vermin Trials for Hounds. 167 
 
 mr.n's face like a mask, leaving nothing but the face of 
 a skull. 
 
 Thus the quadrupeds of Newera Ellia and the adja- 
 cent highlands are confined to the following classes : 
 the elephant, the hog, the leopard, the chetah, the elk, 
 the red deer, the mouse deer, the hare, the otter, the 
 jackal, the civet cat, the mongoose and two others 
 (varieties of the species), the black squirrel, the gray 
 squirrel, the wanderoo monkey (the largest species in 
 Ceylon), the porcupine, and a great variety of the sat. 
 
 Imagine the difficulty of breaking in a young hound 
 for elk-hunting when the jungles are swarming with 
 such a list of vermin ! The better the pup the more he 
 will persevere in hunting everything that he can possi- 
 bly find ; and with such a variety of animals, some of 
 which have the most enticing scent, it is a source of 
 endless trouble in teaching a young hound what to 
 hunt and what to avoid. 
 
 It is curious to witness the sagacity of the old 
 hounds in joining or despising the opening note of a 
 new-comer. 
 
 The jungles are fearfully thick, and it requires great 
 exertion on the part of the dog to force his way through 
 at a pace that will enable him to join the finding hound ; 
 thus he feels considerable disappointment if upon his 
 arrival he finds the scent of a monkey or a cat instead 
 of his legitimate game. An old hound soon marks the 
 inexperienced voice of the babbler, and after the cry of 
 " wolf" has been again repeated, nothing will induce 
 him to join the false finder. 
 
 Again, it is exceedingly interesting to observe the 
 quickness of all hounds in acknowledging their leader. 
 Only let them catch the sound of old " Bluebeard's"
 
 168 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 voice, and see the dash with which they rush through 
 the jungle to join him. They know the old fellow's 
 note is true to an elk or hog, and, with implicit confi- 
 dence in his " find," they never hesitate to join. 
 
 There are numerous obstacles to the breaking and 
 training of dogs of all kinds in such a country. A 
 hound when once in the jungle is his own master. He 
 obeys the sound of the halloo or the horn, or not, as he 
 thinks proper. It is impossible to correct him, as he is 
 outt)f sight. 
 
 Now, the very fact of having one or two first-ratt 
 finders in a pack will very likely be the cause of spoil- 
 ing the other hounds. After repeated experience their 
 instinct soon shows them that, no matter how the whole 
 pack may individually hunt, the "find" will be achieved 
 by one of the first-rate hounds, and gradually they give 
 up hunting and take to listening for the opening note 
 of the favorite. Of course in an open country they 
 would be kept to their work by the whip, but at 
 Newera Ellia this is impossible. This accounts for 
 the extreme paucity of first-rate "finders." 
 
 Hunting in a wild country is a far more difficult 
 task for hounds than the ordinary chase at home. 
 Wherever a country is cultivated it must be enclosed. 
 Thus, should a flock of sheep have thrown the hounds 
 out by crossing the scent, a cast round the fences must 
 soon hit it off again if the fox has left the field. But in 
 elk-hunting it is scarcely possible to assist the hounds ; 
 a dozen different animals, or even a disturbed elk, may 
 cross the scent in parts of the jungle where the cry of 
 the hounds is even out of hearing. Again, an elk has 
 a constant habit of running or swimming down a river, 
 his instinct prompting him to drown his own scent, and
 
 Training Hounds. 169 
 
 thus throw off his pursuers. Here is a trial for the 
 hounds ! the elk has waded or swum down the stream, 
 and the baffled pack arrive upon the bank ; their cheer- 
 ing music has ceased ; the elk has kept the water for 
 perhaps a quarter of a mile, or he may have landed 
 several times during that distance and again have taken 
 to water. 
 
 Now the young hounds dash thoughtlessly across the 
 river, thinking of nothing but a straight course, and 
 they are thrown out on the barren bank on the other 
 side. Back they come again, wind about the last track 
 for a few minutes, and then they are forced to give it 
 up they are thrown out altogether. 
 
 Mark the staunch old hounds ! one has crossed the 
 river ; there is no scent, but he strikes down the bank 
 with his nose close to the ground, and away he goes 
 along the edge of the river casting for a scent. Now 
 mark old " Bluebeard," swimming steadily down the 
 stream ; he knows the habits of his game as well as I 
 do, and two to one that he will find, although "Plough- 
 boy" has just started along the near bank ; so that both 
 sides of the river are being hunted. 
 
 Now this is what I call difficult hunting ; bad enough 
 if the huntsman be up to assist his hounds, but nine 
 times out of ten this happens in the middle of a run, 
 without a soul within a mile. 
 
 The only way to train hounds in this style of country 
 is to accustom them to complete obedience from puppy- 
 hood. , This is easily effected by taking them out for 
 exercise upon a road coupled to old hounds. A good 
 walk every morning, accompanied by the horn and the 
 whip, and they soon fall into such a habit of obedience 
 that they may be taken out without the couples. 
 15
 
 170 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 The great desideratum, then, is to gain their affection 
 and confidence, otherwise they will obey upon the road 
 and laugh at you when in the jungle. Now " affection" 
 is a difficult feeling to instill into a foxhound, and can 
 only be partially attained by the exercise of cupboard 
 love ; thus a few pieces of dry liver or bread, kept in 
 the pocket to be given to a young hound who has 
 sharply answered to his call, will do more good than a 
 month of scolding and rating. 
 
 " Confidence," or the want of it, in a hound depends 
 entirely upon the character of his master. There is an 
 old adage of "like master, like man;" and this is 
 strongly displayed in the hound. The very best seizer 
 would be spoiled if his master were a leetle slow in 
 going in with the knife ; and, on the other hand, dogs 
 naturally shy of danger turn into good seizers where 
 their master invariably leads them in. 
 
 Not only is their confidence required and gained at 
 these times, but they learn to place implicit reliance 
 upon their master's knowledge of hunting, in the same 
 manner that they acknowledge the superiority of a par- 
 ticular hound. This induces them to obey beyond any 
 method of training, as they feel a certain dependence 
 upon the man, and they answer his halloo or the horn 
 without a moment's hesitation. 
 
 Nothing is so likely to destroy the character of a pack 
 as a certain amount of laziness or incapacity upon the 
 master's part in following them up. This is natural 
 enough, as the best hounds, if repeatedly left unassisted 
 for hours when at bay with their game until they are 
 regularly beaten off, will lose their relish for the sport. 
 On the other hand, perseverance on the huntsman'b 
 part will ensure a corresponding amount in the hounds ;
 
 A Sportsman "Shut Up." 171 
 
 they will become so accustomed to the certain appear- 
 ance of their master at the bay at some time or other 
 that they will stick to their game till night. I have 
 frequently killed elk at two or three o'clock in the af- 
 ternoon that have been found at six in the morning. 
 Sometimes I have killed them even later than this when, 
 after wandering fruitlessly the whole day in every di- 
 rection but the right one, my ears have at length been 
 gladdened by the distant sound of the bay. The par- 
 ticular moment when hope and certainty combined re- 
 ward the day's toil is the very quintessence of joy and 
 delight. Nothing in the shape of enjoyment can come 
 near it. What a strange power has that helpless-look- 
 ing mass the brain ! One moment, and the limbs are 
 fagged, the shins are tender with breaking all day 
 through the densest jungles, the feet are worn with un- 
 requited labor, and hark ! The bay ! no doubt of it 
 the bay ! There is the magic spell which, acting on 
 the brain, flies through every nerve. New legs, new 
 feet, new everything, in a moment ! fresh as though 
 just out of bed ; here we go tearing through the jungle 
 like a buffalo, and as happy as though we had just 
 come in for a fortune happier, a great deal. 
 
 Nevertheless, elk-hunting is not a general taste, as 
 people have not opportunities of enjoying it constantly. 
 Accordingly, they are out of condition, and soon be- 
 come distressed and of necessity " shut up" (a vulgar 
 but expressive term). This must be fine fun for a total 
 stranger rather inclined to corpulency, who has daunt- 
 lessly persevered in keeping up with the huntsman, 
 although at some personal inconvenience. There is a 
 limit to all endurance, and he is obliged to stop, quite 
 blown, completely done. He loses all sounds of hounds
 
 172 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 and huntsman, and everything connected with the hunt. 
 Where is he? How horrible the idea that flashes 
 across his mind ! he has no idea where he is, except 
 that he is quite certain that he is in some jungle in 
 Ceylon. 
 
 Distraction ! Ceylon is nearly all jungle, two hundred 
 and eighty miles long, and he is in this somewhere. 
 He tries to recollect by what route he has come ; im- 
 possible ! He has been up one mountain, <md then he 
 turned to the right, and got into a ravine ; he recollects 
 the ravine, for he fell on his head with the end of a 
 dead stick in his stomach just as he got to the bottom ; 
 he forgets every other part of his route, simply having 
 an idea that he went down a great many ravines and 
 up a number of hills, and turned to the right and left 
 several times. He gives it up ; he finds himself " lost," 
 and, if he is sensible, he will sit down and wait till 
 some one comes to look for him, when he will start 
 with joy at the glad sound of the horn. But should he 
 attempt to find his way alone through those pathless 
 jungles, he will only increase his distance from the 
 right course. 
 
 One great peculiarity in Newera Ellia is the com- 
 parative freedom from poisonous vermin. There are 
 three varieties of snakes, only one of which is hurtful, 
 and all are very minute. The venomous species is the 
 " carrawelle," whose bite is ~ generally fatal ; but this 
 snake is not often met with. There are no ticks, nor 
 bugs, nor leeches, nor scorpions, nor white ants, nor 
 wasps, nor mosquitoes ; in fact, there is nothing venom- 
 ous except the snake alluded to, and a small species of 
 centipede. Fleas there are certainly indeed, a fair
 
 Vermin in Ceylon. 173 
 
 sprinkling of fleas ; but they are not troublesome, ex- 
 cept in houses which are unoccupied during a portion 
 of the year. This is a great peculiarity of a Ceylon 
 flea he is a great colonist ; and should a house be 
 untenanted for a few months, so sure will it swarm with 
 these " settlers." Even a grass hut built for a night's 
 bivouac in the jungle, without a flea in the neighbor- 
 hood, will literally swarm with them if deserted for a 
 couple of months. Fleas have a great fancy for set- 
 tling upon anything white ; thus a person with white 
 trowsers will be blackened with them, while a man in 
 darker colors will be comparatively free. I at first 
 supposed that they appeared in larger numbers on the 
 white ground because they were more easily distin- 
 guished ; but I tried the experiment of putting a sheet 
 of writing-paper and a piece of brown talipot leaf in 
 the midst of fleas ; the paper was covered with them, 
 while only two or three were on the talipot. 
 
 The bite of the small species of centipede alluded to 
 is not very severe, being about equivalent to a wasp's 
 sting. I have been bitten myself, and I have seen 
 another person suffering from the bite, which was ludi- 
 crous enough. 
 
 The sufferer was Corporal Phinn, of H.M. Fifteenth 
 Regiment. At that time he was one of Lieutenant de 
 Montenach's servants, and accompanied his master on 
 a hunting-trip to the Horton Plains. 
 
 Now Phinn was of course an Irishman ; an excellent 
 fellow, a dead hand at tramping a bog and killing a 
 snipe, but (without the slightest intention of impugning 
 his veracity) Phinn's ideality was largely developed. 
 He was never by himself for five minutes in the jungle 
 without having seen something wonderful before his 
 15*
 
 1 74 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 return ; this he was sure to relate in a rich brogue with 
 great facetiousness. 
 
 However, we had just finished dinner one night, and 
 Phinn had then taken his master's vacant place (there 
 being only one room) to commence his own meal, 
 when up he jumped like a madman, spluttering the 
 food out of his mouth, and shouting and skipping 
 about the room with both hands clutched tightly to the 
 hinder part of his inexpressibles. "Oh, by Jasus ! 
 help, sir, help ! I've a reptile or some divil up my 
 breeches ! Oh ! bad luck to him, he's biting me ! Oh ! 
 oh ! it's sure a sarpint that's stinging me ! quick, sir, or 
 he'll be the death o' me !" 
 
 Phinn was frantic, and upon lowering his inexpress- 
 ibles we found the centipede about four inches long 
 which had bitten him. A little brandy rubbed on the 
 part soon relieved the pain.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 OBSERVATIONS ON NATURE IN THE TROPICS THE DUNG BEETLE 
 
 THE MASON FLY SPIDERS LUMINOUS INSECTS EF- 
 FORTS OF A NATURALIST DOGS WORRIED BY LEECHES 
 
 TROPICAL DISEASES MALARIA CAUSES OF INFECTION 
 
 DISAPPEARANCE OF THE " MINA" POISONOUS WATER 
 
 WELL-DIGGING ELEPHANTS. 
 
 HOW little can the inhabitant of a cold or temper- 
 ate climate appreciate the vast amount of "life" 
 in a tropical country ! The combined action of light, 
 heat and moisture calls into existence myriads of 
 creeping things, the offspring of the decay of vegeta- 
 tion. " Life" appears to emanate from " death" the 
 destruction of one material seems to multify the exist- 
 ence of another the whole surface of the earth seems 
 busied in one vast system of giving birth. 
 
 An animal dies a solitary beast and before his unit 
 life has vanished for one week, how many millions of 
 living creatures owe their birth to his death? What 
 countless swarms of insects have risen from that one 
 carcase ! creatures which never could have been 
 brought into existence were it not for the presence of 
 one dead body which has received and hatched the 
 deposited eggs of millions that otherwise would have 
 remained unvivified. 
 
 175
 
 176 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Not a tree falls, not a withered flower droops to the 
 ground, not a fruit drops from the exhausted bough, but 
 it is instantly attacked by the class of insect prepared 
 by Nature for its destruction. The white ant scans a 
 lofty tree whose iron-like timber and giant stem would 
 seem to mock at his puny efforts ; but it is rotten at 
 the core and not a leaf adorns its branches, and in less 
 than a year it will have fallen to the earth a mere shell ; 
 the whole of the wood will have been devoured. 
 
 Rottenness of all kinds is soon carried from the face 
 of the land by the wise arrangements of Nature for pre- 
 serving the world from plagues and diseases, which the 
 decaying and unconsumed bodies of animals and vege- 
 tables would otherwise engender. 
 
 How beautiful are all the laws of Nature ! how per- 
 fect in their details ! Allow that the great duty of the 
 insect tribe is to cleanse the earth and atmosphere from 
 countless impurities noxious to the human race, how 
 great a plague would our benefactors themselves be- 
 come were it not for the various classes of carnivorous 
 insects who prey upon them, and are in their turn the 
 prey of others ! It is a grand principle of continual 
 strife, which keeps all and each down, to their required 
 level. 
 
 What a feast for an observant mind is thus afforded 
 in a tropical country ! The variety and the multitude 
 of living things are so great that a person of only ordi- 
 nary observation cannot help acquiring a tolerable 
 knowledge of the habits of some of the most interest 
 ing classes. In the common routine of daily life they 
 are continually in his view, and even should he have 
 no taste for the study of Nature and her productions, 
 still one prevailing characteristic of the insect tribe
 
 Dry Beetles. 177 
 
 must impress itself upon his mind. It is the natural 
 instinct not simply of procreating their species, but of 
 laying by a provision for their expected offspring. 
 What a lesson to mankind ! what an example to the 
 nurtured mind of man from one of the lowest classes 
 of living things ! 
 
 Here we see no rash matrimonial engagements ; no 
 penniless lovers selfishly and indissolubly linked to- 
 gether to propagate large families of starving children. 
 All the arrangements of the insect tribe, though 
 prompted by sheer instinct, are conducted with a de- 
 gree of rationality that in some cases raises the mere 
 instinct of the creeping thing above the assumed "rea- 
 son" of man. 
 
 The bird builds her nest and carefully provides for 
 the comfort of her young long ere she lays her fragile 
 egg. Even look at that vulgar-looking beetle, whose 
 coarse form would banish the idea of any rational feel- 
 ing existing in its brain the Billingsgate fish-woman 
 of its tribe in coarseness and rudeness of exterior 
 {Scarabceus carnifex) see with what quickness she is 
 running backward, raised almost upon her head, while 
 with her hind legs she trundles a large ball ; herself no 
 bigger than a nutmeg, the ball is four times the size. 
 There she goes along the smooth road. The ball she 
 has just manufactured from some fresh-dropped horse- 
 dung ; it is as round as though turned by a lathe, and, 
 although the dung has not lain an hour upon the 
 ground, she and her confederates have portioned out 
 the spoil, and each has started off with her separate 
 ball. Not a particle of horsedung remains upon the 
 road. Now she has rolled the ball away from the hard 
 road, and upon the soft, sandy border she has stopped 
 
 M
 
 178 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 to rest. No great amount of rest ; she plunges her 
 head into the ground, and with that shovel-like projec- 
 tion of stout horn she mines her way below : she has 
 disappeared even in these few seconds. 
 
 Presently the apparently deserted ball begins to 
 move, as though acted on by some subterranean force ; 
 gradually it sinks to the earth, and it vanishes alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Some persons might imagine that she feeds upon the 
 ordure, and that she has buried her store as a dog hides 
 a bone ; but this is not the case ; she has formed a re- 
 ceptacle for her eggs, which she deposits in the ball of 
 dung, the warmth of which assists in bringing the lar- 
 vae into life, which then feed upon the manure. 
 
 It is wonderful to observe with what rapidity all 
 kinds of dung are removed by these beetles. This is 
 effected by the active process of rolling the loads instead 
 of carrying, by which method a large mass is trans- 
 ported at once. 
 
 The mason-fly is also a ball-maker, but she carries 
 her load and builds an elaborate nest. This insect be- 
 longs to the order " Hymenoptera," and is of the Ich- 
 neumon tribe, being a variety of upward of four hun- 
 dred species of that interesting fly. 
 
 The whole tribe of Ichneumon are celebrated for 
 their courage ; a small fly will not hesitate to attack 
 the largest cockroach, who evinces the greatest terror 
 at sight of his well-known enemy ; but the greatest 
 proof of valor in a fly is displayed in the war of the 
 ichneumon against the spider. 
 
 There is a great variety of this insect in Ceylon, from 
 the large black species, the size of the hornet, down to 
 the minute tinsel-green fly, no bigger than a gnat ; but
 
 Mason Flies. 179 
 
 every one of these different species wages perpetual war 
 against the arch enemy of flies. 
 
 In very dry weather in some districts, when most 
 pools and water-holes are dried up, a pail of water 
 thrown upon the ground will as assuredly attract a 
 host of mason-flies as carrion will bring together 
 "blow-flies." They will be then seen in excessive 
 activity upon the wet earth, forming balls of mud, by 
 rolling the earth between their fore feet until they have 
 manufactured each a pill. With this they fly away to 
 build their nest, and immediately return for a further 
 supply. 
 
 The arrangement of the nest is a matter of much 
 consideration, as the shape depends entirely upon the 
 locality in which it is built: it may be in the corner of 
 a room, or in a hole in a wall, or in the hollow of a 
 bamboo ; but wherever it is, the principle is the same, 
 although the sTiape of the nest may vary. Everything 
 is to be hermetically sealed. 
 
 The mason-fly commences by flattening the first pill 
 of clay upon the intended site (say the corner of a 
 room) ; she then spreads it in a thin layer over a sur- 
 face of about two inches, and retires for another ball of 
 clay. This she dabs upon the plastic foundation, and 
 continues the apparently rude operation until some 
 twenty or thirty pills of clay are adhering at equal dis- 
 tances. She then forms these into a number of neat 
 oval-shaped cells, about the size of a wren's egg, and 
 in each cell she deposits one egg. She then flies off in 
 search of spiders, which are to be laid up in stores 
 within the cells as food for the young larvse when 
 hatched. 
 
 Now the transition from the larva to the fly takes
 
 180 Eight Fears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 place in the cell, and occupies about six weeks from 
 the time the egg is first laid ; thus, as the egg itself is 
 not vivified for some weeks after it is deposited, the 
 spiders have to be preserved in a sound and fresh state 
 during that interval until the larva is in such an ad- 
 vanced stage as to require food. 
 
 In a tropical country every one knows that a very few 
 hours occasion the putrefaction of all dead animal sub- 
 stances ; nevertheless these spiders are to be kept fresh 
 and good, like our tins of preserved meats, to be eaten 
 when required. 
 
 One, two, or even three spiders, according to their 
 size, the mason-fly deposits in each cell, and then closes 
 it hermetically with clay. The spiders she has pounced 
 upon while sunning themselves in the centre of their 
 delicate nets, and they are hurried off in a panic to be 
 converted into preserved provisions. Each cell being 
 closed, the whole nest is cemented over with a thick 
 covering of clay. In due time the young family hatch, 
 eat their allowance of spiders, undergo their torpid 
 change, and emerge from their clay mansion complete 
 mason-flies. 
 
 Every variety of Ichneumon, however minute (in 
 Ceylon), chooses the spider as the food for its young. 
 It is not at all uncommon to find a gun well loaded 
 with spiders, clay and grubs, some mason-fly having 
 chosen the barrel for his location. A bunch of keys 
 will invite a settlement of one of the smaller species, 
 who will make its nest in the tube of a key, which it 
 also fills with minute spiders. 
 
 In attacking the spider, the mason-fly has a choice 
 of his antagonist, and he takes good care to have a pre- 
 ponderance of weight on his own side. His reason for
 
 Spiders. 181 
 
 choosing this in preference to other insects for a pre- 
 served store may be that the spider is naturally juicy, 
 plump and compact, combining advantages both for 
 keeping and packing closely. 
 
 There are great varieties of spiders in Ceylon, one 
 of which is of such enormous size as to resemble the 
 Aranea avicularia of America. This species stands 
 on an area of about three inches, and never spins a 
 web, but wanders about and lives in holes ; his length 
 of limb, breadth of thorax and powerful jaws give him 
 a most formidable appearance. There is another spe- 
 cies of a large-sized spider who spins a web of about 
 two and a half feet in diameter. This is composed of 
 a strong, yellow, silky fibre, and so powerful is the tex- 
 ture that a moderate-sized walking-cane thrown into the 
 web will be retained by it. This spider is about two 
 inches long, the color black, with a large yellow spot 
 upon the back, and the body nearly free from hair. 
 
 Some years ago an experiment was made in France 
 of substituting the thread of the spider for the silk of 
 the silkworm : several pairs of stockings and various 
 articles were manufactured with tolerable success in 
 this new material, but the fibre was generally con- 
 sidered as too fragile. 
 
 A sample of such thread as is spun by the spider 
 described could not have failed to produce the desired - 
 result, as its strength is so great that it can be wound 
 upon a card without the slightest care required in the 
 operation. The texture is far more silky than the fibre 
 commonly produced by spiders, which has more gene- 
 rally the character of cotton than of silk. 
 
 Should this ever be experimented on, a question might 
 arise of much interest to entomologists, whether a dif- 
 16
 
 1 82 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 ference in the food of the spider would affect the quality 
 of the thread, as is well known to be the case with the 
 common silkworm. 
 
 A Ceylon night after a heavy shower of rain is a 
 brilliant sight, when the whole atmosphere is teeming 
 with moving lights bright as the stars themselves, wav- 
 ing around the tree-tops in fiery circles, now threading 
 like distant lamps through the intricate branches and 
 lighting up the dark recesses of the foliage, then rush- 
 ing like a shower of sparks around the glittering 
 boughs. Myriads of bright fire-flies in these wild 
 dances meet their destiny, being entangled in opposing 
 spiders' webs, where they hang like fairy lamps, their 
 own light directing the path of the destroyer and assist- 
 ing in their destruction. 
 
 There are many varieties of luminous insects in Cey- 
 lon. That which affords the greatest volume of light 
 is a large white grub about two inches in length. 
 This is a fat, sluggish animal, whose light is far more 
 brilliant than could be supposed to emanate from such 
 a form. 
 
 The light of a common fire-fly will enable a person 
 to distinguish the hour on a dial in a dark night, but 
 the glow from the grub described will render the small- 
 est print so legible that a page may be read with ease. 
 I once tried the experiment of killing the grub, but the 
 light was not extinguished with life, and by opening 
 the tail, I squeezed out a quantity of glutinous fluid, 
 which was so highly phosphorescent that it brilliantly 
 illumined the page of a book which I had been reading 
 by its light for a trial. 
 
 All phosphorescent substances require friction to 
 produce their full volume of light ; this is exemplified
 
 Luminous Insects. 183 
 
 at sea during, a calm tropical night, when the ocean 
 sleeps in utter darkness and quietude and not a ripple 
 disturbs the broad surface of the water. Then the 
 prow of the advancing steamer cuts through the dreary 
 waste of darkness and awakens into fiery life the spray 
 which dashes from her sides. A broad stream of light 
 illumines the sea in her wake, and she appears to 
 plough up fire in her rush through the darkened water. 
 
 The simple friction of the moving mass agitates the 
 millions of luminous animalcules contained in the 
 water ; in the same manner a fish darting through the 
 sea is distinctly seen by the fiery course which is created 
 by his own velocity. 
 
 All luminous insects are provided with a certain 
 amount of phosphorescent fluid, which can be set in 
 action at pleasure by the agitation of a number of 
 nerves and muscles situated in the region of the fluid 
 and especially adapted to that purpose. It is a com- 
 mon belief that the light of the glow-worm is used as 
 a lamp of love to assist in nocturnal meetings, but 
 there can be little doubt that the insect makes use of 
 its natural brilliancy without any specific intention. It 
 is as natural for the fire-fly to glitter by night as for the 
 colored butterfly to be gaudy by day. 
 
 The variety of beautiful and interesting insects is so 
 great in Ceylon that an entomologist would consider it 
 a temporary elysium ; neither would he have much 
 trouble in collecting a host of different species who will 
 exhibit themselves without the necessity of a laborious 
 search. Thus, while he may be engaged in pinning 
 out some rare specimen, a thousand minute "eye-flies" 
 will be dancing so close to his eyeballs that seeing is 
 out of the question. These little creatures, which are
 
 184 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 no larger than pins' heads, are among the greatest 
 plagues in some parts of the jungle ; and what increases 
 the annoyance is the knowledge of the fact that they 
 dance almost into your eyes out of sheer vanity. They 
 are simply admiring their own reflection in the mirror 
 of the eye ; or, may be, some mistake their own re- 
 flected forms for other flies performing the part of a 
 "vis-a-vis" in their unwearying quadrille. 
 
 A cigar is a specific against these small plagues, and 
 we will allow that the patient entomologist has just 
 succeeded in putting them to flight and has resumed 
 the occupation of setting out his specimen. Ha ! see 
 him spring out of his chair as though electrified. 
 Watch how, regardless of the laws of buttons, he fran- 
 tically tears his trowsers from his limbs ; he has him ! 
 no he hasn't ! yes he has ! no no, positively he can- 
 not get him off. It is a tick no bigger than a grain of 
 sand, but his bite is like a red-hot needle boring into 
 the skin. If all the royal family had been present, he 
 could not have refrained from tearing off his trowsers. 
 
 The naturalist has been out the whole morning col- 
 lecting, and a pretty collection he has got a perfect 
 fortune upon his legs alone. There are about a hun- 
 dred ticks who have not yet commenced to feed upon 
 him ; there are also several fine specimens of the large 
 flat buffalo tick ; three or four leeches are enjoying 
 themselves on the juices of the naturalist ; these he had 
 not felt, although they had bitten him half an hour be- 
 fore ; a fine black ant has also escaped during the re- 
 cent confusion, fortunately without using his sting. 
 
 Oil is the only means of loosening the hold of a tick ; 
 this suffocates him and he dies ; but he leaves an amount 
 of inflammation in the wound which is perfectly stir-
 
 Treasures for the Entomologist. 185 
 
 prising in so minute an insect. The bite of the smallest 
 species is far more severe than that of the large buffalo 
 or the deer tick, both of which are varieties. 
 
 Although the leeches in Ceylon are excessively an- 
 noying, and numerous among the dead leaves of the 
 jungle and the high grass, they are easily guarded 
 against by means of leech-gaiters : these are wide 
 stockings, made of drill or some other light and close 
 material, which are drawn over the foot and trowsers 
 up to the knee, under which they are securely tied. 
 There are three varieties of the leech : the small jungle 
 leech, the common leech and the stone leech. The 
 latter will frequently creep up the nostrils of a dog 
 while he is drinking in a stream, and, unlike the other 
 species, it does not drop off when satiated, but con- 
 tinues to live in the dog's nostril. I have known a 
 leech of this kind to have lived more than two months 
 in the nose of one of my hounds ; he was so high up 
 that I could only see his tail occasionally when he 
 relaxed to his full length, and injections of salt and 
 water had no effect on him. Thus I could not relieve 
 the dog till one day when the leech descended, and I 
 observed the tail working in and out of the nostril ; I 
 then extracted him in the usual way with the finger and 
 thumb and the tail of the coat. 
 
 I should be trespassing too much upon the province 
 of the naturalist, and attempting more than I could ac- 
 complish, were I to enter into the details of the ento- 
 mology of Ceylon ; I have simply mentioned a few of 
 those insects most common to the every-day observer, 
 and I leave the description of the endless varieties of 
 classes to those who make entomology a study. 
 
 It may no doubt appear very enticing to the lovers of 
 16*
 
 1 86 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 such things, to hear of the gorgeous colors and prodigious 
 size of butterflies, moths and beetles ; the varieties of 
 reptiles, the flying foxes, the gigantic crocodiles ; the 
 countless species of waterfowl, et hoc genus omne ; but 
 one very serious fact is apt to escape the observation of 
 the general reader, that wherever insect and reptile life 
 is most abundant, so sure is that locality full of malaria 
 and disease. 
 
 Ceylon does not descend to second-class diseases : 
 there is no such thing as influenza ; hooping-cough, 
 measles, scarlatina, etc., are rarely, if ever, heard of; 
 we ring the changes upon four first-class ailments four 
 scourges, which alternately ascend to the throne of pes- 
 tilence and annually reduce the circle of our friends 
 cholera, dysentery, small-pox and fever. This year 
 (1854) there has been some dispute as to the routine 
 of succession ; they have accordingly all raged at one 
 time. 
 
 The cause of infection in disease has long been a 
 subject of controversy among medical men, but there 
 can be little doubt that, whatever is the origin of the 
 disease, the same is the element of infection. The ques- 
 tion is, therefore, reduced to the prime cause of the dis- 
 ease itself. 
 
 A theory that animalcules are the cause of the various 
 contagious and infectious disorders has created much 
 discussion ; and although this opinion is not generally 
 entertained by the faculty, the idea is so feasible, and 
 so many rational arguments can be brought forward in 
 its support, that I cannot help touching upon a topic so 
 generally interesting. 
 
 In the first place, nearly all infectious diseases pre- 
 dominate in localities which are hot, damp, swampy,
 
 Malaria, 187 
 
 abo'unding in stagnant pools and excluded from a free 
 circulation of air. In a tropical country, a residence in 
 such a situation would be certain death to a human 
 being, but the same locality will be found to swarm 
 with insects and reptiles of all classes. 
 
 Thus, what is inimical to human life is propitious to 
 the insect tribe. This is the first step in favor of the 
 argument. Therefore, whatever shall tend to increase 
 the insect life must in an inverse ratio war with human 
 existence. 
 
 When we examine a drop of impure water, and dis- 
 cover by the microscope the thousands of living beings 
 which not only are invisible to the naked eye, but some 
 of whom are barely discoverable even by the strongest 
 magnifying power, it certainly leads to the inference, 
 that if one drop of impure fluid contains countless 
 atoms endowed with vitality, the same amount of im- 
 pure air may be equally tenanted with its myriads of 
 invisible inhabitants. 
 
 It is well known that different mixtures, which are 
 at first pure and apparently free from all insect life, 
 will, in the course of their fermentation and subsequent 
 impurity, generate peculiar species of animalcules. 
 Thus all water and vegetable or animal matter, in a 
 state of stagnation and decay, gives birth to insect life ; 
 likewise all substances of every denomination which 
 are subjected to putrid fermentation. Unclean sewers, 
 filthy hovels, unswept streets, unwashed clothes, are 
 therefore breeders of animalcules, many of which are 
 perfectly visible without microscopic aid. 
 
 Now, if some are discernible by the naked eye, and 
 others are detected in such varying sizes that some can 
 only just be distinguished by the most powerful lens, is
 
 1 38 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon., 
 
 it not rational to conclude that the smallest discernible 
 to human intelligence is but the medium of a countless 
 race ? that millions of others still exist, which are too 
 minute for any observation ? 
 
 Observe the particular quarters of a city which sufler 
 most severely during the prevalence of an epidemic. 
 In all dirty, narrow streets, where the inhabitants are 
 naturally of a low and uncleanly class, the cases will be 
 tenfold. Thus, filth is admitted to have at least the 
 power of attracting disease, and we know that it not 
 only attracts, but generates animalcules ; therefore filth, 
 insects and disease are ever to be seen closely linked 
 together. 
 
 Now, the common preventives againt infection are 
 such as are peculiarly inimical to every kind of insect ; 
 camphor, chloride of lime, tobacco-smoke, 'and power- 
 ful scents and smokes of any kind. The first im- 
 pulse on the appearance of an infectious disease is to 
 purify everything as much as possible, and by extra 
 cleanliness and fumigations to endeavor to arrest its 
 progress. The great purifier of Nature is a violent 
 wind, which usually terminates an epidemic immedi- 
 ately ; this would naturally carry before it all insect life 
 with which the atmosphere might be impregnated, and 
 the disease disappears at the same moment. It will be 
 well remembered that the plague of locusts inflicted 
 upon Pharaoh was relieved in the same manner : 
 
 "And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, 
 which took away the locusts and cast them into the Red 
 Sea ; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of 
 Egypt." 
 
 Every person is aware that unwholesome air is quite
 
 Disappearance of the "Afzna." 189 
 
 as poisonous to the human system as impure water ; 
 and seeing that the noxious qualities of the latter are 
 caused by animalcules, and that the method used for 
 purifying infected air are those most generally destruct- 
 ive to insect life, it is not irrational to conclude that 
 the poisonous qualities of bad water and bad air arise 
 from the same cause. 
 
 Man is being constantly preyed upon by insects ; and 
 were it not for ordinary cleanliness, he would become 
 a mass of vermin ; even this does not protect him from 
 the rapacity of ticks, mosquitoes, fleas and many 
 others. Intestinal worms feed on him within, and, 
 unseen, use their slow efforts for his destruction. 
 
 The knowledge of so many classes which actually 
 prey upon the human system naturally leads to the 
 belief that many others endowed with the same pro- 
 pensities exist, of which we have at present no concep- 
 tion. Thus, different infectious disorders might pro- 
 ceed from peculiar species of animalcules, which, at 
 given periods, are wafted into certain countries, carry- 
 ing pestilence and death in their invisible course. 
 
 A curious phenomenon has recently occurred at 
 Mauritus, where that terrible scourge, the cholera, has 
 been raging with desolating effect. 
 
 There is a bird in that island called the " martin," 
 but it is more properly the " mina." This bird is 
 about the size of the starling, whose habits its possesses 
 in a great degree. It exists in immense numbei's, and 
 is a grand destroyer of all insects. On this account it 
 is seldom or never shot at, especially as it is a great 
 comforter to all cattle, whose hides it entirely cleans 
 from ticks and other vermin, remaining for many hours 
 perched upon the back of one animal, while its bill is
 
 190 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 actively employed in searching out and destroying every 
 insect. 
 
 During the prevalence of the cholera at Mauritius 
 these birds disappeared. Such a circumstance had 
 never before occurred, and the real cause of their 
 departure is still a mystery. 
 
 May it not . have been, that some species of insect 
 upon which they fed had likewise migrated, and that 
 certain noxious animalcules, which had been kept down 
 by this class, had thus multiplied within the atmos- 
 phere until their numbers caused disease? All suppo- 
 sitions on such a subject must, however, remain in 
 obscurity, as no proof can be adduced of their correct- 
 ness. The time may arrive when science may success- 
 fully grapple with all human ailments, but hitherto 
 that king of pestilence, the " cholera," has reduced the 
 highest medical skill to miserable uncertainty. 
 
 Upon reconsidering the dangers of fevers, dysentery, 
 etc., in the swampy and confined districts described, 
 the naturalist may become somewhat less ardent in fol- 
 lowing his favorite pursuit. Of one fact I can assure 
 him that no matter how great the natural strength of 
 his constitution, the repeated exposure to the intense 
 heat of the sun, the unhealthy districts that he will visit, 
 the nights redolent of malaria, and the horrible water 
 that he must occasionally drink, will gradually under- 
 mine the power of the strongest man. Both sportsman 
 and naturalist in this must share alike. 
 
 No one who has not actually suffered from the effect 
 can appreciate the misery of bad water in a tropical 
 country, or the blessings of a cool, pure draught. I 
 have been in districts of Ceylon where for sixteen or 
 twenty miles not a drop of water is to be obtained fit
 
 Poisonous Water. 191 
 
 for an animal to drink ; not a tree to throw a few yards 
 of shade upon the parching ground ; nothing but 
 stunted, thorny jungles and sandy, barren plains as far 
 as the eye can reach ; the yellow leaves crisp upon the 
 withered branches, the wild fruits hardened for want 
 of sap, all moisture robbed from vegetation by the piti- 
 less drought of several months. 
 
 A day's work in such a country is hard indeed 
 carrying a heavy rifle for some five-and-twenty miles, 
 sometimes in deep sand, sometimes on good ground, 
 but always exposed to the intensity of that blaze, added 
 to the reflection from the sandy soil, and the total want 
 of fresh air and water. All Nature seems stagnated ; 
 a distant pool is seen, and a general rush takes place 
 toward the. cheering sight. The water is thicker than 
 pease soup, a green scum floats through the thickened 
 mass, and the temperature is upward of 130 Fahr. 
 All kinds of insects are swarming in the putrid fluid, 
 and a saltish bitter adds to its nauseating flavor. I 
 have seen the exhausted coolies spread their dirty cloths 
 upon the surface, and form them into filters by sucking 
 the water through them. Oh for a glass of Newera 
 Ellia water, the purest and best that ever flows, as it 
 sparkles out of the rocks on the mountain-tops ! what 
 pleasure so perfect as a long, deep and undisturbed 
 draught of such cold, clear nectar when the throat is 
 parched with unquenchable thirst! 
 
 In some parts of Ceylon, especially in the neighbor- 
 hood of the coast, where the land is flat and sandy, the 
 water is always brackish, even during the rainy season, 
 and in the dry months it is undrinkable. 
 
 The natives then make use of a berry for cleansing 
 it and precipitating the impurities. I know the shrub
 
 192 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 and the berry well, but it has no English denomina- 
 tion. The berries are about the size of a very large 
 pea, and grow in clusters of from ten to fifteen together, 
 and one berry is said to be sufficient to cleanse a gallon 
 of water. The method of using them is curious, 
 although simple. The vessel which is intended to 
 contain the water, which is generally an earthen chatty, 
 is well rubbed in the inside with a berry until the lat- 
 ter, which is of a horny consistency, like vegetable 
 ivory, is completely worn away. The chatty is then 
 filled with the muddy water, and allowed to stand for 
 about an hour or more, until all the impurities have 
 precipitated to the bottom and. the water remains 
 clear. 
 
 I have constantly used this berry, but I certainly can- 
 not say that the water has ever been rendered perfectly 
 clear; it has been vastly improved, and what was 
 totally undrinkable before has been rendered fit for 
 use ; but it has at the best been only comparatively 
 good ; and although the berry has produced a decided 
 effect, the native accounts of its properties are greatly 
 exaggerated. 
 
 During the prolonged droughts, many rivers of con- 
 siderable magnitude are completely exhausted, and 
 nothing remains but a dry bed of sand between lofty 
 banks. At these seasons the elephants, being hard 
 pressed for water, make use of their wonderful instinct 
 by digging holes in the dry sand of the river's bed ; 
 this they perform with the horny toes of their fore feet, 
 and frequently work to a depth of three feet before they 
 discover the liquid treasure beneath. This process of 
 well-digging almost oversteps the boundaries of in- 
 stinct and strongly savors of reason, the two powers
 
 Well-Digging Elephants. 
 
 193 
 
 being so nearly connected that it is difficult in some 
 cases to define the distinction. There are so many 
 interesting cases of the wonderful display of both these 
 attributes in animals, that I shall notice some features 
 of this subject in a separate chapter. 
 
 ir H
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 INSTINCT AND REASON TAILOR-BIRDS AND GROSBEAKS THB 
 
 WHITE ANT BLACK ANTS AT WAR WANDEROO MONKEYS 
 
 HABITS OF ELEPHANTS ELEPHANTS IN THE LAKE 
 HERD OF ELEPHANTS BATHING ELEPHANT-SHOOTING ' 
 
 THE RENCONTRE THE CHARGE CAUGHT BY THE TAIL 
 
 HORSE GORED BY A BUFFALO SAGACITY OF DOGS 
 
 "BLUEBEARD" HIS HUNT A TRUE HOUND. 
 
 THERE can be no doubt that man is not the only 
 animal endowed with reasoning powers : he pos- 
 sesses that faculty to an immense extent, but although 
 the amount of the same power possessed by animals 
 may be infinitely small, nevertheless it is their share 
 of reason, which they occasionally use apart from mere 
 instinct. 
 
 Although instinct and reason appear to be closely 
 allied, they are easily separated and defined. 
 
 Instinct is the faculty with which Nature has en- 
 dowed all animals for the preservation and continuation 
 of their own species. This is accordingly exhibited in 
 various features, as circumstances may call forth the 
 operation of the power ; but so wonderful are the attri- 
 butes of Nature that the details of her arrangements 
 throughout the animal and insect creation give to every 
 class an amount of sense which in many instances sur- 
 mounts the narrow bounds of simple instinct. 
 194
 
 Instinct and Reason. 195 
 
 The great characteristic of sheer instinct is its want 
 of progression ; it never increases, never improves. 
 It is possessed now in the nineteenth century by every 
 race of living creatures in no larger proportion than 
 was bestowed upon them at the creation. 
 
 In general, knowledge increases like a rolling snow- 
 ball ; a certain amount forms a base for extra improve- 
 ment, and upon successive foundations of increasing 
 altitude the eminence has been attained of the present 
 era. This is the effect of "reason;" but "instinct," 
 although beautiful in its original construction, remains, 
 like the blossom of a tree, ever the same a limited 
 effect produced by a given cause ; an unchangeable 
 law of Nature that certain living beings shall perform 
 certain functions which require a certain amount of in- 
 telligence ; this amount is supplied by Nature for the 
 performance of the duties required ; this is instinct. 
 
 Thus, according to the requirements necessitated by 
 the habits of certain living creatures to an equivalent 
 amount is their share of instinct. 
 
 Reason differs from instinct as combining the effects 
 of thought and reflection ; this being a proof of con- 
 sideration, while instinct is simply a direct emanation 
 from the brain, confined to an impulse. 
 
 In our observations of Nature, especially in tropical 
 countries, we see numberless exemplifications of these 
 powers, in some of which the efforts of common in- 
 stinct halt upon the extreme boundary and have almost 
 a tinge of reason. 
 
 What can be more curious than the nest of the 
 " tailor-bird?" a selection of tough leaves neatly sewn 
 one over the other to form a waterproof exterior to the 
 comfortable little dwelling within? Where does the
 
 196 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 needle and thread come from ? The first is the deli- 
 cate bill of the bird itself, and the latter is the strong 
 fibre of the bark of a tree, with which the bird sews 
 every leaf, lapping one over the other in the same man- 
 ner that slates are laid upon a roof. 
 
 Nevertheless this is simple instinct ; the tailor-bird in 
 the days of Adam constructed her nest in a similar 
 manner, which will be continued without improvement 
 till the end of time. 
 
 The grosbeak almost rivals the tailor-bird in the 
 beautiful formation of its nest. These birds build in 
 company, twenty or thirty nests being common upon 
 one tree. Their apparent intention in the peculiar con- 
 struction of their nests is to avoid the attacks of snakes 
 and lizards. These nests are about two feet long, com- 
 posed of beautifully woven grass, shaped like an elon- 
 gated pear. They are attached like fruit to the extreme 
 end of a stalk or branch, from which they wave to and 
 fro in the wind, as though hung out to dry. The bird 
 enters at a funnel-like aperture in the bottom, and by 
 this arrangement the young are effectually protected 
 from reptiles. 
 
 All nests, whether of birds or insects, are particularly 
 interesting, as they explain the domestic habits of the 
 occupants ; but, however wonderful the arrangement 
 and the beauty of the work as exhibited among birds, 
 bees, wasps, etc., still it is the simple effect of instinct 
 on the principle that they never vary. 
 
 The white ant that grand destroyer of all timber 
 always works under cover ; he builds as he progresses 
 in his work of destruction, and runs a long gallery of 
 fine clay in the direction of his operations; beneath 
 this his devastation proceeds until he has penetrated to
 
 Instinct and Reason. 197 
 
 the interior of the beam, the centre of which he en- 
 tirely demolishes, leaving a thin shell in the form of 
 the "original log, encrusted over the exterior with nu- 
 merous galleries. 
 
 There is less interest in the habits of these destructive 
 wretches .than in all other of the ant tribe ; they build 
 stupendous nests, it is true, but their interior economy 
 is less active and thrifty than that of many other 
 species of ants, among which there is a greater appear- 
 ance of the display of reasoning powers than in most 
 animals of a superior class. 
 
 On a fine sunny morning it is not uncommon to see 
 ants busily engaged in bringing out all the eggs from 
 the nest and laying them in the sun until they become 
 thoroughly warmed, after which they carry them all 
 back again and lay them in their respective places. 
 This looks very like a power of reasoning, as it is deci- 
 dedly beyond instinct. If they were to carry out the 
 eggs every morning, wet or dry, it would be an effort 
 of instinct to the detriment of the eggs ; but as the 
 weather is uncertain, it is an effort of reason on the 
 part of the ants to bring out the eggs to the sun, espe- 
 cially as it is not an every-day occurrence, even in fine 
 weather. 
 
 In Mauritius, the negroes have a custom of turn- 
 ing the reasoning powers of the large black ant to 
 advantage. 
 
 White ants are frequently seen passing in and out of 
 a small hole from underneath a building, in which case 
 their ravages could only be prevented by taking up the 
 flooring and destroying the nest. 
 
 The negroes avoid this by their knowledge of the hab- 
 its of the black ant, who is a sworn enemy to the white. 
 17*
 
 198 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 They accordingly pour a little treacle on the ground 
 within a yard of the hole occupied by the white ants. 
 The smell of the treacle shortly attracts some of the 
 black species, who, on their arrival are not long in 
 observing their old enemies passing in and out of the 
 hole. Some of them leave the treacle ; these are evi- 
 dently messengers, as in the course of the day a whole 
 army of black ants will be seen advancing in a narrow 
 line of many yards in length, to storm the stronghold 
 of the white ants. They enter the hole, and they destroy 
 every white ant in the building. Resistance there can 
 be none, as the plethoric, slow-going white ant is as a 
 mouse to a cat in the encounter with his active enemy, 
 added to which the black ant is furnished with a most 
 venomous sting, in addition to a powerful pair of man- 
 dibles. I have seen the black ants returning from their 
 work of destruction, each carrying a slaughtered white 
 ant in his mouth, which he devours at leisure. This is 
 again a decided effort of reason, as the black ant arrives 
 at the treacle without a thought of the white ant in his 
 mind, but, upon seeing his antagonist, he despatches 
 messengers for reinforcements, who eventually bring up 
 the army to the " rendezvous." 
 
 Numerous instances might be cited of the presence 
 of reasoning powers among the insect classes, but this 
 faculty becomes of increased interest when seen in the 
 larger animals. 
 
 Education is both a proof and a promoter of reason 
 in all animals. This removes them from their natural 
 or instinctive position, and brings forth the full develop- 
 ment of the mental powers. This is exhibited in the 
 performance of well-trained dogs, especially among 
 pointers and setters. Again, in the feats performed by
 
 Reason of Dogs and Eltphants. 199 
 
 educated animals in the circus, where the elephant has 
 lately endeavored to prove a want of common sense by 
 standing on his head. Nevertheless, however absurd 
 the tricks which man may teach the animal to perform, 
 the very fact of their performance substantiates an 
 amount of reason in the animal. 
 
 Monkeys, elephants and dogs are naturally endowed 
 with a larger share of the reasoning power than other 
 animals, which is frequently increased to a wonderful 
 extent by education. The former, even in their wild 
 state, are so little inferior to some natives, either in 
 their habits or appearance, that I should feel some 
 reluctance in denying them an almost equal share of 
 reason ; the want of speech certainly places them below 
 the Veddahs, but the monkeys, on the other hand, 
 might assert a superiority by a show of tails. 
 
 Monkeys vary in intelligence according to their 
 species, and may be taught to do almost anything. 
 There are several varieties in Ceylon, among which the 
 great black wanderoo, with white whiskers, is the 
 nearest in appearance to the human race. This monkey 
 stands upward of three feet high, and weighs about 
 eighty pounds. He has immense muscular power, and 
 he has also a great peculiarity in the formation of the 
 skull, which is closely allied to that of a human being, 
 the lower jaw and the upper being in a straight line 
 with the forehead. In monkeys the jaws usually pro- 
 ject. This species exists in most parts of Ceylon, but 
 I have seen it of a larger size at Newera Ellia than in 
 any of the low-country districts. 
 
 Elephants are proverbially sagacious, both in their 
 wild state and when domesticated. I have previously 
 described the building of a dam by a tame elephant,
 
 2OO Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 which was an exhibition of reason hardly to be ex- 
 pected in any animal. They are likewise wonderfully 
 sagacious in a wild state in preserving themselves from 
 accidents, to which, from their bulk and immense 
 weight, they would be particularly liable, such as the 
 crumbling of the verge of a precipice, the insecurity of 
 a bridge or the suffocating depth of mud in a lake. 
 
 It is the popular opinion, and I have seen it ex- 
 pressed in many works, that the elephant shuns rough 
 and rocky ground, over which he moves with difficulty, 
 and that he delights in level plains, etc., etc. This may 
 be the case in Africa, where his favorite food, the mi- 
 mosa, grows upon the plain, but in Ceylon it is directly 
 the contrary. In this country the elephant delights in 
 the most rugged localities ; he rambles about rocky 
 hills and mountains with a nimbleness that no one can 
 understand without personal experience. So partial 
 are elephants to rocky and uneven ground that should 
 the ruins of a mountain exist in rugged fragments 
 among a plain of low, thorny jungle, five chances to 
 one would be in favor of tracking the herd to this very 
 spot, where they would most likely be found, standing 
 among the alleys formed by the fragments heaped 
 around them. It is surprising to witness the dexterity 
 of elephants in traversing ground over which a man 
 can pass with difficulty. I have seen places on the 
 mountains in the neighborhood of Newera Ellia bear- 
 ing the unmistakable marks of elephants where I 
 could not have conceived it possible for such an animal 
 to stand. On the precipitous sides of jungle-covered 
 mountains, where the ground is so steep that a man is 
 forced to cling to the underwood for support, the ele- 
 phants still plough their irresistible course. In descend-
 
 Habits of Elephants. 201 
 
 ing or ascending these places, the elephant always 
 describes a zigzag, and thus lessens the abruptness of 
 the inclination. Their immense weight acting on their 
 broad feet, bordered by sharp horny toes, cuts away the 
 side of the hill at every stride and forms a level step ; 
 thus they are enabled to skirt the sides of precipitous 
 hills and banks with comparative ease. The trunk is 
 the wonderful monitor of all danger to an elephant, 
 from whatever cause it may proceed. This may arise 
 from the approach of man or from the character of the 
 country ; in either case the trunk exerts its power ; in one 
 by the acute sense of smell, in the other by the combi- 
 nation of the sense of scent and touch. In dense jun- 
 gles, where the elephant cannot see a yard before him, 
 the sensitive trunk feels the hidden way, and when the 
 roaring of waterfalls admonishes him of the presence 
 of ravines and precipices, the never-failing trunk low- 
 ered upon the ground keeps him advised of every inch 
 of his path. 
 
 Nothing is more difficult than to induce a tame ele- 
 phant to cross a bridge which his sagacity assures him 
 is insecure ; he will sound it with his trunk and press 
 upon it with one foot, but he will not trust his weight 
 if he can perceive the slightest vibration. 
 
 Their power of determining whether bogs or the 
 mud at the bottom of tanks are deep or shallow is be- 
 yond my comprehension. Although I have seen ele- 
 phants in nearly every position, I have never seen one 
 inextricably fixed in a swamp. This is the more extra- 
 ordinary as their habits induce them to frequent the 
 most extensive morasses, deep lakes, muddy tanks and 
 estuaries, and yet I have never seen even a young one 
 get into a scrape by being overwhelmed. There ap-
 
 2O2 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 pears to be a natural instinct which warns them in their 
 choice of ground, the same as that which influences the 
 buffalo, and in like manner guides him through his 
 swampy haunts. 
 
 It is a grand sight to see a large herd of elephants 
 feeding in a fine lake in broad daylight. This is sel- 
 dom witnessed in these days, as the number of guns 
 have so disturbed the elephants in Ceylon that they 
 rarely come out to drink until late in the evening or 
 during the night ; but some time ago I had a fine view 
 of a grand herd in a lake in the middle of the day. 
 
 I was out shooting with a great friend of mine, who 
 is a brother-in-arms against the game of Ceylon, and 
 than whom a better sportsman does not breathe, and 
 we had arrived at a wild and miserable place while en 
 route home after a jungle trip. Neither of us was feel- 
 ing well ; we had been for some weeks in the most un- 
 healthy part of the country, and I was just recovering 
 from a touch of dysentery : altogether, we were looking 
 forward with pleasure to our return to comfortable 
 quarters, and for the time we were tired of jungle life. 
 However, we arrived at a little village about sixty miles 
 south of Batticaloa, called " Gollagangwelle'weve' " 
 (pronunciation requires practice), and a very long 
 name it was for so small a place ; but the natives in- 
 sisted that a great number of elephants were in the 
 neighborhood. 
 
 They also declared that the elephants infested the 
 neighboring tank even during the forenoon, and that 
 they nightly destroyed their embankment, and would 
 not be driven away, as there was not a single gun pos- 
 sessed by the village with which to scare them. This 
 looked all right ; so we loaded the guns and started
 
 Elephants in the Lake. 203 
 
 without loss of time, as it was then one P. M., and the 
 natives described the tank as a mile distant. Being 
 perfectly conversant with the vague idea of space 
 described by a Cingalese mile, we mounted our horses, 
 and, accompanied by about five-and-twenty villagers, 
 twenty of whom I wished at Jericho, we started. By 
 the by, I have quite forgotton to describe who " we" 
 are F. H. Palliser, Esq., and myself. 
 
 Whether or not it was because I did not feel in brisk 
 health, I do not know, but somehow or other I had a 
 presentiment that the natives had misled us, and that 
 we should not find the elephants in the tank, but that, 
 as usual, we should be led up to some dense, thorny 
 jungle, and told that the elephants were somewhere in 
 that direction. Not being very sanguine, I had accord- 
 ingly taken no trouble about my gun-bearers, and I saw 
 several of my rifles in the hands of the villagers, and 
 only one of my regular gun-bearers had followed me ; 
 the rest, having already had a morning's march, were 
 "glad of an excuse to remain behind. 
 
 Our rate lay for about a quarter of a mile through 
 deserted paddy-land and low jungle, after which we 
 entered fine open jungle and forest. Unfortunately, the 
 recent heavy rains had filled the tank, which had over- 
 flowed the broken dam and partially flooded the forest. 
 This was in all parts within two hundred yards from 
 the dam a couple of feet deep in water, with a propor- 
 tionate amount of sticky mud beneath, and through 
 this we splashed until the dam appeared about fifty 
 yards on our right. It was a simple earthern mound, 
 which rose about ten feet from the level of the forest, 
 and was studded with immense trees, apparently the 
 growth of ages. We knew that the tank lay on the
 
 304 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 opposite side, but we continued our course parallel with 
 the dam until we had ridden about a mile from the 
 village, the natives, for a wonder, having truly described 
 the distance. 
 
 Here our guide, having motioned us to 'stop, ran 
 quickly up the dam to take a look out on the opposite 
 side. He almost immediately beckoned us to come up. 
 This we did without loss of time, and knowing that the 
 game was in view, I ordered the horses to retire for 
 about a quarter of a mile. 
 
 On our arrival on the dam there was a fine sight. 
 The lake was about five miles round, and was quite 
 full of water, the surface of which was covered with a 
 scanty, but tall, rushy grass. In the lake, browsing 
 upon the grass, we counted twenty-three elephants, and 
 there were many little ones, no doubt, that we could 
 not distinguish in such rank vegetation. Five large 
 elephants were not more than a hundred and twenty 
 paces distant ; the remaining eighteen were in a long 
 line about a quarter of a mile from the shore, feeding 
 in deep water. 
 
 We were well concealed by the various trees which 
 grew upon the dam, and we passed half an hour in 
 watching the manoeuvres of the great beasts as they 
 bathed and sported in the cool water. ~ However, this 
 was not elephant-shooting, and the question was, How 
 to get at them ? The natives had no idea of the sport, 
 as they seemed to think it very odd that we did not fire 
 at those within a hundred paces' distance. I now 
 regretted my absent gun-bearers, as I plainly saw that 
 these village people would be worse than useless. 
 
 We determined to take a stroll along the base of the 
 dam to reconnoitre the ground, as at present it seemed
 
 Elephant -Shooting. 205 
 
 impossible to make an attack ; and even were the ele- 
 phants within the forest, there appeared to be no possi- 
 bility of following them up through such deep water 
 and heavy ground with any chance of success. How- 
 ever, they were not in the forest, being safe, belly and 
 shoulder deep, in the tank. 
 
 We strolled through mud and water thigh-deep for a 
 few hundred paces, when we suddenly came upon the 
 spot where in ages past the old dam had been carried 
 away. Here the natives had formed a mud embank- 
 ment strengthened by sticks and wattles. Poor fellows ! 
 we were not surprised at their wishing the elephants 
 destroyed ; the repair of their fragile dam was now a 
 daily occupation, for the elephants, as though out of 
 pure mischief, had chosen this spot as their thorough- 
 fare to and from the lake, and the dam was trodden 
 down in all directions. 
 
 We found that the margin of the forest was every- 
 where flooded to a width of about two hundred yards, 
 after which it was tolerably dry ; we therefore returned 
 to our former post. 
 
 It struck me that the only way to secure a shot at the 
 herd would be to employ a ruse, which I had once 
 practiced successfully some years ago. Accordingly 
 we sent the greater part of the villagers for about a 
 half a mile along the edge of the lake, with orders to 
 shout and make a grand hullaballoo on arriving at their 
 station. It seemed most probable that on being dis- 
 turbed the elephants would retreat to the forest by their 
 usual thoroughfare ; we accordingly stood on the alert, 
 ready for a rush to any given point which the herd 
 should attempt in their retreat. 
 
 Some time passed in expectation, when a sudden 
 
 18
 
 2o6 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 yell broke from the far point, as though twenty demons 
 had cramp in the stomach. Gallant fellows are the 
 Cingalese at making a noise, and a grand effect this had 
 upon the elephants ; up went tails and trunks, the whole 
 herd closed together and made a simultaneous rush for 
 their old thoroughfare. Away we skipped through the 
 water, straight in shore through the forest, until we 
 reached the dry ground, when, turning sharp to our 
 right, we soon halted exactly opposite the point at 
 which we knew the elephants would enter the forest. 
 This was grand excitement ; we had a great start of 
 the herd, so that we had plenty of time to arrange gun- 
 bearers and take our position for the rencontre. 
 
 In the mean time, the roar of water caused by the 
 rapid passage of so many large animals approached 
 nearer and nearer. Pallser and I had taken splendid 
 positions, so as to command either side of the herd on 
 their arrival, with our gun-bearers squatted around 113 
 behind our respective trees, while the non-sporting 
 village followers, who now began to think the matter 
 rather serious and totally devoid of fun, scrambled up 
 various large trees with ape-like activity. 
 
 A few minutes of glorious suspense, and the grand 
 crash and roar of broken water approached close at 
 hand, and we distinguished the mighty phalanx, headed 
 by the largest elephants, bearing down exactly upon us, 
 and not a hundred yards distant. Here was luck! 
 There was a grim and very murderous smile of satis- 
 faction on either countenance as we quietly cocked the 
 rifles and awaited the onset : it was our intention to let 
 half the herd pass us before we opened upon them, as 
 we should then be in the very centre of the mass, and 
 be able to get good and rapid shooting.
 
 The Rencontre. 207 
 
 On came the herd in gallant style, throwing the spray 
 from the muddy water, and keeping a direct line for 
 our concealed position. They were within twenty 
 yards, and we were still undiscovered, when those ras- 
 cally villagers, who had already taken to the trees, 
 sci ambled still higher in their fright at the close ap- 
 proach of the elephants, and by this movement they 
 gave immediate alarm to the leaders of the herd. 
 
 Round went the colossal heads ; right about was 
 the word, and away dashed the whole herd back toward 
 the tank. In the same instant we made a rush in 
 among them, and I floored one of the big leaders by a 
 shot behind the ear, and immediately after, as bad luck 
 would have it, Palliser and I both took the same bird, 
 and down went another to the joint shots. Palliser 
 then got another shot and bagged one more, when the 
 herd pushed straight out to the deep lake, with the ex- 
 ception of a few elephants, who turned to the right ; 
 after which Palliser hurried through the mud and water, 
 while I put on all steam in chase of the main body of 
 the herd. It is astonishing to what an amount a man 
 can get up this said steam in such a pitch of excitement. 
 However, it was of no use in this case, as I was soon 
 hip-deep in water, and there was aq end to all pursuit 
 in that direction. 
 
 It immediately struck me that the elephants would 
 again retreat to some other part of the forest after hav- 
 ing made a circuit in the tank. I accordingly waded 
 back at my best speed to terra Jirma, and then striking 
 off to my right, I ran along parallel to the water for 
 about half a mile, fully expecting to meet the herd 
 once more on their entrance to the jungle. It was now 
 tnat I deplored the absence of my regular gun-bearers ;
 
 208 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 the village people had no taste for this gigantic scale of 
 amusement, and the men who carried my guns would 
 not keep up ; fortunately, Carrasi, the best gun-bearer, 
 was there, and he had taken another loaded rifle, after 
 handing me that which he had carried at the onset. I 
 waited a few moments for the lagging men, and suc- 
 ceeded in getting them well together just as I heard 
 the rush of water, as the elephants were again entering 
 the jungle, not far in advance of the spot upon which I 
 stood. 
 
 This time they were sharp on the qui vive, and the 
 bulls, being well to the front, were keeping a bright 
 look-out. It was in vain that I endeavored to conceal 
 myself until the herd had got well into the forest ; the 
 gun-bearers behind me did not take the same precau- 
 tion, and the leading elephants both saw and winded 
 us when at a hundred paces distant. This time, how- 
 ever, they were determined to push on for a piece of 
 thicker jungle, which they knew lay in this direction, 
 and upon seeing me running toward them, they did not 
 turn back to the lake, but slightly altered their course 
 in an oblique direction, still continuing to push on 
 through the forest, while I was approaching at right 
 angles with the herd. 
 
 Hallooing and screaming at them with all my might 
 to tease some of the old bulls into a charge, I ran at 
 top speed through the fine open forest, and soon got 
 among a whole crowd of half-grown elephants, at 
 which I would not fire ; there were a lot of fine beasts 
 pushing along in the front, and toward these I ran as 
 hard as I could go. Unfortunately, the herd seeing me 
 so near and gaining upon them, took to the ruse of a 
 beaten fleet and scattered in all directions ; but I kept
 
 The Charge. 209 
 
 a few big fellows in view, who were still pretty well 
 together, and managed to overtake the rearmost and 
 knock him over. Up went the tail and trunk of one 
 of the leading bulls at the report of the shot, and 
 trumpeting shrilly, he ran first to one side, then to the 
 other, with his ears cocked and sharply turning his 
 head to either side. I knew this fellow had his monkey 
 up, and that a little teasing would bring him round for 
 a charge. I therefore redoubled my shouts and yells 
 and kept on in full chase, as the elephants were strain- 
 ing every nerve to reach a piece of thick jungle within 
 a couple of hundred paces. 
 
 I could not go any faster, and I saw that the herd, 
 which was thirty or forty yards ahead of me, would 
 gain the jungle before I could overtake them, as they 
 were going at a slapping pace and I was tolerably 
 blown with a long run at full speed, part of which had 
 been through deep mud and water. But I still teased 
 the bull, who was now in such an excited state that I 
 felt convinced he would turn to charge. 
 
 The leading elephants rushed into the thick jungle, 
 closely followed by the others, and, to my astonishment, 
 my excited friend, who had lagged to the rear, followed 
 their example. But it was only for a few seconds, for, 
 on entering the thick bushes, he wheeled sharp round 
 and came rushing out in full charge. This was very 
 plucky, but very foolish, as his retreat was secured when 
 in the thick jungle, and yet he courted further battle. 
 This he soon had enough of, as I bagged him in his 
 onset with my remaining barrel by the forehead shot. 
 
 I now heard a tremendous roaring of elephants be- 
 hind me, as though another section was coming in 
 from the tank ; this I hoped to meet. I therefore re- 
 18*
 
 2IO Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 loaded the empty rifles as quickly as possible and ran 
 toward the spot. The roaring still continued and was 
 apparently almost stationary ; and what was my disap- 
 pointment, on arrival, to find, m place of the expected 
 herd, a young elephant of about four feet high, who 
 had missed the main body in the retreat and was now 
 roaring for his departed friends ! These young things 
 are excessively foolhardy and willful, and he charged 
 me the moment I arrived. As I laid the rifle upon the 
 ground instead of firing at him, the rascally gun- 
 bearers, with the exception of Carrasi, threw down the 
 rifles and ran up the trees like so many monkeys, just 
 as I had jumped on one side and caught the young ele- 
 phant by the tail. He was far too strong for me to 
 hold, and, although I dug my heels into the ground 
 and held on with all my might, he fairly ran away with 
 me through the forest. Carrasi now came to my as- 
 sistance and likewise held on by his tail ; but away we 
 went like the tender to a ?'eam-engine ; wherever the 
 elephant went there we were dragged in company. 
 Another man now came to the rescue ; but his assist- 
 ance was not of the slightest use, as the animal was so 
 powerful and of such weight that he could have run 
 away with half a dozen of us unless his legs were tied. 
 Unfortunately we had no rope, or I could have secured 
 him immediately, and seeing that we had no power 
 over him whatever, I was obliged to run back for one 
 of the guns to shoot him. On my return it was laugh- 
 able to see the pace at which he was running away 
 with the two men, who were holding on to his tail like 
 grim death, the elephant not having ceased roaring 
 during the run. I accordingly settled him, and re- 
 turned to have a little conversation with the rascals
 
 Punishing a Cingalese. 211 
 
 who were still perched in the trees. I was extremely 
 annoyed, as these people, if they had possessed a grain 
 of sense, might have tied their long comboys (cotton 
 cloths about eight feet long) together, and we might 
 have thus secured the elephant without difficulty by 
 tying his hind legs. It was a great loss, as he was so 
 large that he might have been domesticated and driven 
 to Newera Ellia without the slightest trouble. All this 
 was occasioned by the cowardice of these villainous 
 Cingalese, and upon my lecturing one fellow on his 
 conduct he began to laugh. This was too much for 
 any person's patience, and I began to look for a stick, 
 which the fellow perceiving he immediately started oft' 
 through the forest like a deer. He could run faster 
 than I could, being naked and having the advantage of 
 bare feet ; but I knew I could run him down in the 
 course of time, especially as, being in a fright, he 
 would soon get blown. We had a most animated hunt 
 through water, mud, roots of trees, open forest and all 
 kinds of ground, but I ran into him at last in heavy 
 ground, and I dare say he recollects the day of the 
 month. 
 
 In the mean time, Palliser had heard the roaring of 
 the elephant, followed by the screaming and yelling of 
 the coolies, and succeeded by a shot. Shortly after he 
 heard the prolonged yells of the hunted villager while 
 he was hastening toward my direction. This combina- 
 tion of sounds naturally led him to expect that some 
 accident had occurred, especially as some of the yells 
 indicated -that somebody had come to grief. This 
 caused him a very laborious run, arid he arrived 
 thoroughly blown, and with a natural desire to kick the 
 recreant villager who had caused the yells.
 
 212 Eight Fears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 If the ground had been even tolerably dry, we should 
 have killed a large number of elephants out of this 
 herd ; but, as it happened, in such deep mud and water 
 the elephants had it all their own way, and our joint 
 bag could not produce more than seven tails ; however, 
 this was far more than I had expected when I first saw 
 the herd in such a secure position. 
 
 On our return to the village we found Palliser's horse 
 terribly gored by a buffalo, and we were obliged to 
 leave him behind for some weeks ; fortunately, there 
 was an extra pony, which served him as a mount 
 home, a distance of a hundred and fifty miles. 
 
 ***** 
 
 This has been a sad digression from our argument 
 upon instinct and reason, a most unreasonable depart- 
 ure from the subject ; but this is my great misfortune ; 
 so sure as I bring forward the name of an elephant, 
 the pen lays hold of some old story and runs madly 
 away in a day's shooting. I now have to speak of the 
 reasoning powers of the canine race, and I confess my 
 weakness. I feel perfectly certain that the pen will 
 serve me the same trick, and that it will be plunging 
 through a day's hunting to prove the existence of reason 
 in a hound and the want of it in the writer. Thrash 
 me, good critics ; I deserve it ; lay it on with an un- 
 sparing thong. I am humiliated, but still willful ; I 
 know my fault, but still continue it. 
 
 Let us think; what was the subject? Reason in 
 dogs, to be sure. Well, every one who has a dog must 
 admit that he has a strong share of reason ; only ob- 
 serve him as he sits by your side and wistfully watches 
 the endless transit of piece after piece, bit after bit, as 
 the fork is conveying delicate morsels to your mouth.
 
 Sagacity of Dogs. 213 
 
 There is neither hope nor despair exhibited in his 
 countenance he knows those pieces are not for him. 
 There is an expression of impatience about the eye as 
 he scans your features, which seems to say, " Greedy 
 fellow ! what, not one bit for me ?" Only cut a slice 
 from the exterior of the joint a piece that he knows 
 you will not eat and watch the change and eager- 
 ness of his expression ; he knows as well as you do 
 that this is intended for him he has reasoned upon 
 it. 
 
 This is the simple and every-day performance of a 
 common house-dog. Observe the pointers in a field of 
 close-cut stubble two well-broken, reasonable old 
 dogs. The birds are wild, and have been flushed 
 several times during the day, and the old dog has 
 winded them now in this close-cut stubble, from which 
 he knows the covey will rise at a long range. Watch 
 his expression of intense and yet careful excitement, 
 as he draws upon his game, step by step, crouching 
 close to the ground, and occasionally moving his head 
 slowly round to see if his master is close up. Look at 
 the bitch at the other end of the field, backing him like 
 a statue, while the old dog still creeps on. Not a step 
 farther will he move ; his lower jaw trembles with ex- 
 citement ; the guns advance to a line with his shoulder ; 
 up they rise, whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z ! bang ! bang ! See how 
 the excitement of the dog is calmed as he falls to the 
 down charge, and afterward with what pleasure he 
 follows up and stands to the dead birds. If this is not 
 reason, there is no such thing in existence. 
 
 Again, look at the sheep-dog. What can be more 
 beautiful than to watch the judgment displayed by these 
 dogs in driving a large flock of sheep? Then turn to
 
 214 Eight Years' Wandering's in Ceylon, 
 
 the Mont St. Bernard dog and the Newfoundland, and 
 countless instances could be produced as proofs of their 
 wonderful share of reasoning power. 
 
 The different classes of hounds, being kept in kennels, 
 do not exhibit this power to the same amount as many 
 others, as they are not sufficiently domesticated, and 
 their intercourse with man is confined to the one par- 
 ticular branch of hunting ; but in this pursuit they will 
 afford many striking proofs that they, in like manner 
 with their other brethren, are not devoid of the reason- 
 ing power. 
 
 Poor old " Bluebeard !" he had an almost human 
 share of understanding, but being simply a hound, 
 this was confined to elk-hunting ; he was like the fox- 
 hunter of the last century, whose ideas did not extend 
 beyond his sport ; but in this he was perfect. 
 
 Bluebeard was a foxhound, bred at Newera Ellia, in 
 1847, by F. J. Templer, Esq. He subsequently be- 
 longed to F. H. Palliser, Esq., who kindly added him 
 to my kennel. 
 
 He was a wonderful hound on a cold scent, and so 
 thoroughly was he versed in all the habits of an elk 
 that he knew exactly where to look for one. I am con- 
 vinced that he knew the date of a track from its appear- 
 ance, as I have constantly seen him shove his nose 
 into the deep impression, to try for a scent when the 
 track was some eight or ten hours' old. 
 
 It was a curious thing to watch his cleverness at 
 finding on a patina. In most of the plains in the 
 neighborhood of Newera Ellia a small stream flows 
 through the centre. To this the elk, who are out feed- 
 ing in the night, are sure to repair at about four in the 
 morning for their last drink, and I usually try along the
 
 Bluebeard. 215 
 
 banks a little after daylight for a find, where the scent 
 is fresh and the tracks are distinctly visible. 
 
 While every hound has been eagerly winding the 
 scent upon the circuitous route which the elk has made 
 in grazing, Bluebeard would never waste his time in 
 attempting to follow the innumerable windings, but, 
 taking a fresh cast, he would invariably strike off to 
 the jungle and try along the edge, until he reached the 
 spot at which the elk had entered. At these times he 
 committed the only fault which he possessed (for an 
 elk-hound) ; he would immediately open upon the 
 scent, and, by alarming the elk at too great a distance, 
 would give him too long a start. Nevertheless, he 
 made up for this by his wonderful correctness and 
 knowledge of his game, and if the run was increased 
 in length by his early note, we nevertheless ran into 
 our game at last. 
 
 Some years ago he met with an accident which 
 partly deprived him of the use of one of his hind legs ; 
 this made the poor old fellow very slow, but it did not 
 interfere with his finding and hunting, although the 
 rest of the pack would shoot ahead, and the elk was 
 frequently brought to bay and killed before old Blue- 
 beard had finished his hunt ; but he was never thrown 
 out, and was sure to come up at last ; and if the pack 
 were at fault during the run, he was the hound to show 
 them the right road on his arrival. 
 
 I once saw an interesting proof of his reasoning 
 powers during a long and difficult hunt. 
 
 I was hunting for a few days at the Angora patinas,- 
 accompanied by Palliser. These are about five hundred 
 feet lower than Newera Ellia, and are situated in the 
 district of Dimboola. They are composed of undulating
 
 2i 6 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 knolls of fine grass, with a large and deep river flowing 
 through the centre. These patinas are surrounded by 
 wooded hills of good open jungle. 
 
 We had found upon the patina at break of day, and 
 the whole pack had gone ofFin full cry ; but the where- 
 about was very uncertain, and having long lost all 
 sound of the hounds we wandered here and there to no 
 purpose. At length we separated, and took up our 
 stations upon different knolls to watch the patina and 
 to listen. 
 
 The hill upon which I stood commanded an exten- 
 sive view of the patina, while the broad river flowed at 
 the base, after its exit from the jungle. I had been only 
 a few minutes at my post when I observed, at about 
 six hundred yards distant, a strong ripple in the river 
 like the letter V, and it immediately struck me that an 
 elk had come down the river from the jungle and was 
 swimming down the stream. This was soon proved to 
 be the case, as I saw the head of a doe elk in the acute 
 angle of the ripple. 
 
 I had the greyhounds with me, " Lucifer," " Lena," 
 " Hecate" and " Bran," and I ran down the hill with 
 these dogs, hoping to get them a view of her as she 
 landed on the patina. I had several bogs and hollows 
 to cross, and I accordingly lost sight of the elk ; but 
 upon arriving at the spot where I imagined the elk 
 would land, I saw her going off across the patina, a 
 quarter of a mile away. The greyhounds saw her, and 
 away they flew over the short grass, while the pack 
 began to appear from the jungle, having come down to 
 the halloo that I had given on first seeing the elk swim- 
 ming down the river. 
 
 The elk seemed determined to give a beautiful course,
 
 A True Hound. 217 
 
 for, instead of pushing straight for the jungle, she made 
 a great circuit on the patina, as though in the endeavor 
 to make once more for the river. The long-legged ones 
 were going at a tremendous pace, and, being fresh, they 
 rapidly overhauled her ; gradually the distance between 
 them diminished, and at length they had a fair course 
 down a gentle inclination which led toward the river. 
 Here the greyhounds soon made an end of the hunt ; 
 their game was within a hundred yards, going at top 
 speed : but it was all up with the elk ; the pace was 
 too good, and they ran into her and pulled her down 
 just as the other hounds had come down upon my 
 scent. 
 
 We were cutting up the elk, when we presently 
 heard old Bluebeard's voice far away in the jungle, and, 
 thinking that he might perhaps be running another elk, 
 we ran to a hill which overlooked the river and kept 
 a bright look-out. We soon discovered that he was 
 true upon the same game, and we watched his plan of 
 hunting, being anxious to see whether he could hunt 
 up an elk that had kept to water for so long a time. 
 
 On his entrance to the patina by the river's bank he 
 immediately took to water and swam across the stream ; 
 here he carefully hunted the edge for several hundred 
 yards down the river, but, finding nothing, he returned 
 to the jungle at the point from which the river flowed. 
 Here he again took to water, and, swimming back to 
 the bank from which he had at first started, he landed 
 and made a vain cast down the hollow. Back he re- 
 turned after his fruitless search, and once more he took 
 to water. I began to despair of the possibility of his 
 finding ; but the true old hound was now swimming 
 steadily down the stream, crossing and recrossing from 
 19
 
 218 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 either bank, and still pursuing his course down the 
 river. At length he neared the spot where I knew that 
 the elk had landed, and we eagerly watched to see if he 
 would pass the scent, as he was now several yards from 
 the bank. He was nearly abreast of the spot, when he 
 turned sharp in and landed in the exact place ; his deep 
 and joyous note rung across the patinas, and away went 
 the gallant old hound in full cry upon the scent, while 
 I could not help shouting, " Hurrah for old Blue- 
 beard !" In a few minutes he was by the side of the 
 dead elk a specimen of a true hound, who certainly 
 had exhibited a large share of "reason."
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 WILD FRUITS INGREDIENTS FOR A " SOUPE MAIGRE " OR- 
 CHIDACEOUS PLANTS WILD NUTMEGS NATIVE OILS 
 
 CINNAMON PRIMEVAL FOREST VALUABLE WOODS 
 
 THE MAHAWELLI RIVER VARIETY OF PALMS COCOA- 
 NUT TODDY ARRACK COCOA-NUT OIL COCOA-NUT 
 PLANTING THE TALIPOT PALM THE ARECA PALM 
 
 BETEL-CHEWING SAGO NUTS VARIETY OF BEES 
 
 WASTE OF BEESWAX EDIBLE FUNGI NARCOTIC PUFF- 
 BALL INTOXICATING DRUGS POISONED CAKES THE 
 "SACK TREE" NO GUM TREES OF VALUE IN CEYLON. 
 
 AMONG the inexperienced there is a prevalent idea 
 connected with tropical forests and jungles that 
 they teem with wild fruits, which Nature is supposed 
 to produce spontaneously. Nothing can be more 
 erroneous than such an opinion ; even edible berries are 
 scantily supplied by the wild shrubs and trees, and 
 these, in lieu of others of superior quality, are some- 
 times dignified by the name of fruit. 
 
 The guava and the katumbille are certainly very 
 numerous throughout the Ouva district ; the latter being 
 a dark red, rough-skinned kind of plum, the size of a 
 greengage, but free from stone. It grows upon a 
 thorny bush about fifteen feet high ; but the fruit is too 
 acid to please most palates ; the extreme thirst produced 
 by a day's shooting in a burning sun makes it refresh- 
 
 219
 
 220 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 ing when plucked from the tree ; but it does not aspire 
 to the honor of a place at a table, where it can only ap- 
 pear in the form of red currant jelly, for which it is an 
 undeniable substitute. 
 
 Excellent blackberries and a very large and full- 
 flavored black raspberry grow at Newera Ellia ; likewise 
 the Cape gooseberry, which is of the genus " solanum." 
 The latter is a round yellow berry, the size of a cherry ; 
 this is enclosed in a loose bladder, which forms an 
 outer covering. The flavor is highly aromatic, but, 
 like most Ceylon wild fruits, it is too acid. 
 
 The sweetest and the best of the jungle productions 
 is the " morra." This is a berry about the size of a 
 small nutmeg, which grows in clusters upon a large 
 tree of rich dark foliage. The exterior of the berry is 
 brown and slightly rough ; the skin, or rather the case, 
 is brittle and of the consistence of an egg-shell ; this, 
 when broken and peeled off, exposes a semi-transparent 
 pulp, like a skinned grape in appearance and in flavor. 
 It is extremely juicy ; but, unfortunately, a large black 
 stone occupies the centre and at least one-half of the 
 bulk of the entire fruit. 
 
 The jambo apple is a beautiful fruit in appearance, 
 being the fac-simile of a snow-white pear formed of 
 wax, with a pink blush upon one side. Its exterior 
 beauty is all that it can boast of, as the fruit itself is 
 vapid and tasteless. In fact, all wild fruits are, for the 
 most part, great exaggerations. I have seen in a work 
 on Ceylon the miserable little acid berry of the rattan, 
 which is no larger than a currant, described as a fruit ; 
 hawthorn berries might, with equal justice, be classed 
 among the fruits of Great Britain. 
 
 I will not attempt to describe these paltry produc-
 
 Ingredients for a "Soupe Mat'gre" 221 
 
 tions in detail ; there is necessarily a great variety 
 throughout the island, but their insignificance does not 
 entitle them to a description which would raise them 
 far above their real merit. 
 
 It is nevertheless most useful to a sportsman in Cey- 
 lon to possess a sufficient stock of botanical information 
 for his personal convenience. A man may be lost in 
 the jungles or hard up for provisions in some out-of- 
 the-way place, where, if he has only a saucepan, he can 
 generally procure something eatable in the way of 
 herbs. It is not to be supposed, however, that he 
 would succeed in making a good dinner ; the reader 
 may at any time procure something similar in England 
 by restricting himself to nettle-tops an economical but 
 not a fattening vegetable. Anything, however simple, 
 is better than an empty stomach, and when the latter is 
 positively empty it is wonderful how the appetite wel- 
 comes the most miserable fare. 
 
 At Newera Ellia the jungles would always produce 
 a supply for a soupe maigre. There is an esculent 
 nillho which grows in the forest in the bottoms of the 
 swampy ravines. This is a most succulent plant, which 
 grows to the height or length of about seven feet, as its 
 great weight keeps it close to the ground. It is so brit- 
 tle that it snaps like a cucumber when struck by a 
 stick, and it bears a delicate, dark-blue blossom. When 
 stewed, it is as tender as the vegetable marrow, but its 
 flavor approaches more closely to that of the cucumber. 
 Wild ginger also abounds in the forests. This is a 
 coarse variety of the " amomum zingiber." The leaves, 
 which spring from the ground, attain a height of seven 
 or eight feet ; a large, crimson, fleshy blossom also 
 springs from the ground in the centre of the surround* 
 19*
 
 232 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 ing leaf-stems. The root is coarse, large, but wanting 
 in fine flavor, although the young tubers are exceedingly 
 tender and delicate. This is the favorite food of ele- 
 phants on the Ceylon mountains ; but it is a curious 
 fact that they invariably reject the leaves, which any one 
 would suppose would be their choicest morsel, as they 
 are both succulent and plentiful. The elephants simply 
 use them as a handle for tearing up the roots, which 
 they bite off and devour, throwing the leaves on one 
 side. 
 
 The wild parsnip is also indigenous to the plains on 
 the mountains. As usual with most wild plants of this 
 class, it has little or no root, but runs to leaf. The 
 seeds are very highly flavored, and are gathered by the 
 natives for their curries. 
 
 There is, likewise, a beautiful orchidaceous plant, 
 which is very common throughout the patinas on the 
 mountains, and which produces the very finest quality 
 of arrowroot. So much is this valued in the Nepaul 
 country in India, that I have been assured by a person 
 well acquainted with that locality, that this quality of 
 arrowroot is usually sold for its weight in rupees. In 
 vain have I explained this to the Cingalese ; they will 
 not attempt its preparation because their fathers did not 
 eat it ; and yet these same men will walk forty miles to 
 cut a bundle of sticks of the galla gaha tree for driving 
 buffaloes ! their fathers did this, and therefore they do 
 it. Thus this beautiful plant is only appreciated by 
 those whose instinct leads them to its discovery. The 
 wild hogs plough up the patinas and revel in this deli- 
 cate food. The plant itself is almost lost in the rank 
 herbage of the patinas, but its beautiful pink, hyacinth- 
 shaped blossom attracts immediate attention. Few
 
 Orchidaceous Plants. 223 
 
 plants combine beauty of appearance, scent and utility, 
 but this is the perfection of each quality nothing can 
 surpass the delicacy and richness of its perfume. It 
 has two small bulbs about an inch below the surface of 
 the earth, and these, when broken, exhibit a highly 
 granulated texture, semi-transparent like half-boiled 
 sago. From these bulbs the arrowroot is produced by 
 pounding them in water and drying the precipitated 
 farina in the sun. 
 
 There are several beautiful varieties of orchidaceous 
 plants upon the mountains ; among others, several spe- 
 cies of the dendrobium. Its rich yellow flowers hang 
 in clusters from a withered tree, the only sign of life 
 upon a giant trunk decayed, like a wreath upon a 
 grave. The scent of this flower is well known as most 
 delicious ; one plant will perfume a large room. 
 
 There is one variety of this tribe in the neighborhood 
 of Newera Ellia, which is certainly unknown in Eng- 
 lish collections. It blossoms in April ; the flowers are 
 a bright lilac, and I could lay my hand upon it at any 
 time, as I have never seen it but in one spot, where it 
 flourishes in profusion. This is about fourteen miles 
 from Newera Ellia, and I have never yet collected a 
 specimen, as I have invariably been out hunting when- 
 ever I have met with it.- 
 
 The black pepper is also indigenous throughout 
 Ceylon. At Newera Ellia the leaves of this vine are 
 highly pungent, although at this elevation it does not 
 produce fruit. A very short distance toward a lower 
 elevation effects a marked change, as within seven 
 miles it fruits in great perfection. 
 
 At a similar altitude, the wild nutmeg is very com- 
 mon throughout the forests. This fruit is a perfect
 
 224 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 anomaly. The tree is entirely different to that of the 
 cultivated species. The latter is small, seldom exceed- 
 ing the size of an apple-tree, and bearing a light green 
 myrtle-shaped leaf, which is not larger than that of a 
 peach. The wild species, on the contrary, is a large 
 forest tree, with leaves equal in size to those of the 
 horse chestnut ; nevertheless, it produces a perfect nut- 
 meg. There is the outer rind of fleshy texture, like an 
 unripe peach ; enclosed within is the nutlike shell, 
 enveloped in the crimson network of mace, and within 
 the shell is the nutmeg itself. All this is perfect 
 enough, but, alas, the grand desideratum is wanting 
 it has no flavor or aroma whatever. 
 
 It is a gross imposition on the part of Nature ; a 
 most stingy trick upon the public, and a regular do. 
 The mace has no taste whatever, and the nutmeg has 
 simply a highly acrid and pungent taste, without any 
 spicy flavor, but merely abounding in a rank and dis- 
 agreeable oil. The latter is so plentiful that I am as- 
 tonished it has not been experimented upon, especially 
 by the natives, who are great adepts in expressing oils 
 from many substances. 
 
 Those most common in Ceylon are the cocoa-nut 
 and gingerly oils. The former is one of the grand 
 staple commodities of the island ; the latter is the pro- 
 duce of a small grain, grown exclusively by the na- 
 tives. 
 
 But, in addition to these, there are various other oils 
 manufactured by the Cingalese. These are the cinna- 
 mon oil, castor oil, margosse oil, mee oil, kenar oil, 
 meeheeria oil ; and both clove and lemon-grass oil are 
 prepared by Europeans. 
 
 The first, which is the cinnamon oil, is more pro-
 
 Native Oils. 225 
 
 perly a kind of vegetable wax, being of the consistence 
 of stearine. This is prepared from the berries of the 
 cinnamon shrub, which are boiled in water until the 
 fatty substance, or so-called oil, floats upon the surface ; 
 this is then skimmed off, and, when a sufficient quan- 
 tity is collected, it is boiled down until all watery parti- 
 cles are evaporated, and the melted fat is turned out 
 into a shallow vessel to cool. It has a pleasant, though, 
 perhaps, a rather faint aromatic smell, and is very 
 delicious as an adjunct in the culinary art. In addition 
 to this it possesses gentle aperient properties, which 
 render it particularly wholesome. 
 
 Castor oil is also obtained by the natives by boiling, 
 and it is accordingly excessively rank after long keep- 
 ing. The castor-oil plant is a perfect weed throughout 
 Ceylon, being one of the few useful shrubs that will 
 flourish in such poor soil without cultivation. 
 
 Margosse oil is extracted from the fruit of a tree of 
 that name. It has an extremely fetid and disagreeable 
 smell, which will effectually prevent the contact of flies 
 or any other insect. On this account it is a valuable 
 preventive to the attacks of flies upon open wounds, in 
 addition to which it possesses powerful healing pro- 
 perties. 
 
 Mee oil is obtained from the fruit of the mee tree. 
 This fruit is about the size of an apricot, and is ex- 
 tremely rich in its produce ; but the oil is of a coarse 
 description, and is simply used by the natives for their 
 rude lamps. Kenar oil and meeheeria oil are equal- 
 ly coarse, and are quite unfit for any but native pur- 
 poses. 
 
 Lemon-grass oil, which is known in commerce as 
 citronella oil, is a delightful extract from the rank 
 
 P
 
 226 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 lemon grass, which covers most of the hillsides in the 
 more open districts, of Ceylon. An infusion of the 
 grass is subsequently distilled ; the oil is then discovered 
 on the surface. This is remarkably pure, with a most 
 pungent aroma. If rubbed upon the skin, it will pre- 
 vent the attacks of insects while its perfume remains ; 
 but the oil is so volatile that the scent quickly evapo- 
 rates and the spell is broken. 
 
 Clove oil is extracted from the leaves of the cinna- 
 mon tree, and not from cloves, as its name would imply. 
 The process is very similar to that employed in the 
 manufacture of citronella oil. 
 
 Cinnamon is indigenous throughout the jungles of 
 Ceylon. Even at the high elevation of Newera Ellia, 
 it is one of the most common woods, and it grows to 
 the dimensions of a forest tree, the trunk being usually 
 about three feet in circumference. At Newera Ellia it 
 loses much of its fine flavor, although it is still highly 
 aromatic. 
 
 This tree flourishes in a white quartz sandy soil, and 
 in its cultivated state is never allowed to exceed the 
 dimensions of a bush, being pruned down close to the 
 ground every year. This system of close cutting in- 
 duces the growth of a large number of shoots, in the 
 same manner that withes are produced in England. 
 
 Every twelve months these shoots attain the length 
 of six or seven feet, and the thickness of a man's ringer. 
 In the interim, the only cultivation required is repeated 
 cleaning. The whole plantation is cut down at the 
 proper period, and the sticks are then stripped of their 
 bark by the peelers. These men are called " chalias,'* 
 and their labor is confined to this particular branch. 
 The season being over, they pass the remaining portion
 
 The Cinnamon Tree. 227 
 
 of the year in idleness, their earnings during one crop 
 being sufficient to supply their trifling wants until the 
 ensuing harvest. 
 
 Their practice in this employment naturally renders 
 them particularly expert, and in far less time than is 
 occupied in the description they run a sharp knife 
 longitudinally along a stick, and at once divest it of the 
 bark. On the following day the strips of bark are 
 scraped so as entirely to remove the outer cuticle. One 
 strip is then laid within the other, which, upon becom- 
 ing dry, contract, and form a series of enclosed pipes. 
 It is subsequently packed in bales, and carefully sewed 
 up in double sacks for exportation. 
 
 The essential oil of cinnamon is usually made from 
 the refuse of the crop ; but the quantity produced, in 
 proportion to the weight of cinnamon, is exceedingly 
 small, being about five ounces of oil to half a hundred- 
 weight of the spice. 
 
 Although the cinnamon appears to require no more 
 than a common quartz sand for its production, it is 
 always cultivated with the greatest success where the 
 subsoil is light, dry and of a loamy quality. 
 
 The appearance of the surface soil is frequently very 
 deceitful. It is not uncommon to see a forest of mag- 
 nificent trees growing in soil of apparently pure sand, 
 which will not even produce the underwood with which 
 Ceylon forests are generally choked. In such an in- 
 stance the appearance of the trees is unusually grand, 
 as their whole length and dimensions are exposed to 
 view, and their uniting crowns throw a sombre shade 
 over the barren ground beneath. It is not to be sup- 
 posed that these mighty specimens of vegetation are 
 supported by the poor sandy soil upon the surface ; their
 
 228 Eight Year? Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 tap-roots strike down into some richer stratum, from 
 which their nourishment is derived. 
 
 These forests are not common in Ceylon ; their rarity 
 accordingly enhances their beauty. The largest Eng- 
 lish oak would be a mere pigmy among the giants of 
 these wilds, whose stature is so wonderful that the eye 
 never becomes tired of admiration. Often have I halted 
 on my journey to ride around and admire the prodigious 
 height and girth of these trees. Their beautiful pro- 
 portions render them the more striking ; there are no 
 gnarled and knotty stems, such as we are accustomed 
 to admire in the ancient oaks and beeches of England, 
 but every trunk rises like a mast from the earth, per- 
 fectly free from branches for ninety or a hundred feet, 
 straight as an arrow, each tree forming a dark pillar to 
 support its share of the rich canopy above, which con- 
 stitutes a roof perfectly impervious to the sun. It is 
 difficult to guess the actual height of these forest trees ; 
 but I have frequently noticed that it is impossible to 
 shoot a bird on the higher branches with No. 5 shot. 
 
 It is much to be regretted that the want of the means 
 of transport renders the timber of these forests perfectly 
 valueless. From age to age these magnificent trees re- 
 main in their undisturbed solitudes, gradually increasing 
 in their apparently endless growth, and towering above 
 the dark vistas of everlasting silence. No on can im- 
 agine the utter stillness which pervades these gloomy 
 shades. There is a mysterious effect produced by the 
 total absence of animal life. In the depths of these 
 forests I have stood and listened for some sound until 
 my ears tingled with overstrained attention ; not a chirp 
 of a bird, not the hum of an insect, but the mouth of 
 Nature is sealed. Not a breath of air has rustled a leaf,
 
 Primeval Forests. 229 
 
 not even a falling fruit has broken the spell of silence ; 
 the undying verdure, the freshness of each tree, even in 
 its mysterious age, create an idea of eternal vegetation, 
 and the silvery yet dim light adds to the charm of 
 the fairylike solitude which gradually steals over the 
 senses. 
 
 I have ridden for fifteen or twenty miles through one 
 of these forests without hearing a sound, except that of 
 my horse's hoof occasionally striking against a root. 
 Neither beast nor bird is to be seen except upon the 
 verge. The former has no food upon such barren 
 ground ; and the latter can find no berries, as the earth 
 is sunless and free from vegetation. Not even monkeys 
 are to be seen, although the trees must produce fruit 
 and seed. Everything appears to have deserted the 
 country, and to have yielded it as the sole territory of 
 Nature on a stupendous scale. The creepers lie ser- 
 pent-like along the ground to the thickness of a man's 
 waist, and, rearing their twisted forms on high, they 
 climb the loftiest trees, hanging in festoons from stem 
 to stem like the cables of a line-of-battle-ship, and ex- 
 tending from tree to tree for many hundred yards ; now 
 falling to the earth and striking a fresh root ; then, with 
 increased energy, remounting the largest trunks, and 
 forming a labyrinth of twisted ropes along the ceiling 
 of the forest. From these creepers hang the sabre- 
 beans. Everything seems on a supernatural scale the 
 bean-pod four feet or more in length, by three inches 
 in breadth ; the beans two inches in diameter. 
 
 Here may be seen the most valuable woods of Cey- 
 lon. The ebony grows in great perfection and large 
 quantity. This tree is at once distinguished from the 
 surrounding stems by its smaller diameter and its sooty 
 20
 
 230 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon, 
 
 trunk. The bark is crisp, jet black, and has the ap- 
 pearance of being charred. Beneath the bark the wood 
 is perfectly white until the heart is reached, which is 
 the fine black ebony of commerce. Here also, equally 
 immovable, the calamander is growing, neglected and 
 unknown. This is the most esteemed of all Ceylon 
 woods, and it is so rare that it realizes a fancy price. 
 It is something similar to the finest walnut, the color 
 being a rich hazel brown, mottled and striped with 
 irregular black marks. It is superior to walnut in the 
 extreme closeness of the grain and the richness of its 
 color. 
 
 There are upward of eighty different woods pro- 
 duced in Ceylon, which are made use of for various 
 purposes ; but of these many are very inferior. Those 
 most appreciated are 
 
 Calamander, j chiefl used for furniture and ca bi_ 
 
 Ebony, > / , 
 
 * ' ( net work. 
 
 Satin-wood, ' 
 
 Suria (the tulip tree). 
 
 Tamarind. 
 
 Jackwood. 
 
 Halmileel. 
 
 Cocoa-nut. 
 
 Palmyra. 
 
 The suria is an elegant tree, bearing a beautiful yel- 
 low blossom something similar to a tulip, from which 
 it derives its name. The wood is of an extremely close 
 texture and of a reddish-brown color. It is exceed- 
 ingly tough, and it is chiefly used for making the 
 spokes of wheels. 
 
 The tamarind is a fine, dark red wood, mottled with
 
 Wild fruits. 231 
 
 black marks ; but it is not in general use, as the tree is 
 too valuable to be felled for the sake of its timber. 
 This is one of the handsomest trees of the tropics, 
 growing to a very large size, the branches widely 
 spreading, something like the cedars of Lebanon. 
 
 Jackwood is a coarse imitation of mahogany, and 
 is used for a variety of purposes, especially for making 
 cheap furniture. The latter is not only economical,' 
 but exceedingly durable, and is manufactured at so 
 low a rate that a moderate-sized house might be en- 
 tirely furnished with it for a hundred and fifty pounds. 
 
 The fruit of the jack grows from the trunk, and 
 branches of the tree, and when ripe it weighs about 
 twenty pounds. The rind is rough, and when cut it 
 exposes a yellow, pulpy mass. This is formed of an 
 infinite number of separate divisions of fleshy matter, 
 which severally enclose an oval nut. The latter are 
 very good when roasted, having a close resemblance to 
 a chestnut. The pulp, which is the real fruit, is not 
 usually eaten by Europeans on account of its peculiar 
 odor. This perfume is rather difficult to describe, but 
 when a rainy day in London crams an omnibus with 
 well-soaked and steaming multitudes, the atmosphere 
 in the vehicle somewhat approaches to the smell of the 
 jack-fruit. 
 
 The halmileel is one of the most durable and useful 
 woods in Ceylon, and is almost the only kind that is 
 thoroughly adapted for making staves for casks. Of 
 late years the great increase of the oil-trade has brought 
 this wood into general request, consequent upon the 
 increased demand for casks. So extensive and general 
 is the present demand for this wood that the natives 
 are continually occupied in conveying it from certain
 
 232 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 districts which a few years ago were utterly neglected. 
 Unfortunately, the want of roads and the means of 
 transport confine their operations to the banks of 
 rivers, down which the logs are floated at the proper 
 season. 
 
 I recollect some eight years ago crossing the Maha- 
 welli river upon a raft which my coolies had hastily 
 constructed, and reaching a miserable village near Mo- 
 nampitya, in the extreme north of the Veddah country. 
 The river is here about four hundred paces wide, and 
 in the rainy season a fine volume of water rolls along 
 in a rapid stream toward Trincomalee, at which place 
 it meets the sea. I was struck at the time with the 
 magnificent timber in the forests on its banks, and no 
 less surprised that with the natural facilities of trans- 
 port it should be neglected. Two years ago I crossed 
 at this same spot, and I remarked the wonderful change 
 which a steady demand had effected in this wild coun- 
 try. Extensive piles of halmileel logs were collected 
 along the banks of the river, while the forests were 
 strewed with felled trees in preparation for floating 
 down the stream. A regular demand usually ensures a 
 regular supply, which could not be better exemplified 
 than in this case. 
 
 Among fancy woods the bread-fruit tree should not 
 be omitted. This is something similar to the jack, but, 
 like the tamarind, the value of the produce saves the 
 tree from destruction. 
 
 This tree does not attain a very large size, but its 
 growth is exceedingly regular and the foliage peculiarly 
 rich and plentiful. The fruit is something similar in 
 appearance to a small, unripe jack-fruit, with an equally 
 rough exterior. In the opinion of most who have
 
 Variety of Palms. 233 
 
 tasted it, its virtues have been grossly exaggerated. To 
 my taste it is perfectly uneatable, unless fried in thin slices 
 with butter ; it is even then a bad imitation of fried po- 
 tatoes. The bark of this tree produces a strong fibre, 
 and a kind of very adhesive pitch is also produced by 
 decoction. 
 
 The cocoa-nut and palmyra woods at once introduce 
 us to the palms of Ceylon, the most useful and the most 
 elegant class in vegetation. For upward of a hundred 
 and twenty miles along the western and southern coasts 
 of Ceylon, one continuous line of cocoa-nut groves 
 wave their green leaves to the sea-breeze, without a 
 single break, except where some broad clear river 
 cleaves the line of verdure as it meets the sea. 
 
 Ceylon is rich in palms, including the following 
 varieties : 
 
 The Cocoa-nut. 
 
 The Palmyra. 
 
 The Kittool. 
 
 The Areca 
 
 The Date. 
 
 The Sago. 
 
 The Talipot. 
 
 The wonderful productions of this tribe can only be 
 appreciated by those who thoroughly understand the 
 habits and necessities of the natives ; and, upon exami- 
 nation, it will be seen that Nature has opened wide her 
 bountiful hand, and in the midst of a barren soil she 
 has still remembered and supplied the wants of the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 As the stream issued from the rock in the wilderness, 
 so the cocoa-nut tree yields a pure draught from a dry 
 20*
 
 234 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 and barren land ; a cup of water to the temperate and 
 thirsty traveler ; a cup of cream from the pressed 
 kernel ; a cup of refreshing and sparkling toddy to the 
 early riser ; a cup of arrack to the hardened spirit- 
 drinker, and a cup of oil, by the light of which I now 
 extol its merits five separate and distinct liquids from 
 the same tree ! 
 
 A green or unripe cocoa-nut contains about a pint of 
 a sweetish water. In the hottest weather this is deli- 
 ciously cool, in comparison to the heat of the atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 The ripe nut, when scraped into a pulp by a little 
 serrated, semi-circular iron instrument, is squeezed in a 
 cloth by the hand, and about a quarter of a pint of de- 
 licious thick cream, highly flavored by cocoa-nut, is 
 then expressed. This forms the chief ingredient in a 
 Cingalese curry, from which it entirely derives its rich- 
 ness and fine flavor. 
 
 The toddy is the sap which would nourish and fruc- 
 tify the blossom and young nuts, were it allowed to 
 accomplish its duties. The toddy-drawer binds into one 
 rod the numerous shoots, which are garnished with 
 embryo nuts, and he then cuts off the ends, leaving an 
 abrupt and brush-like termination. Beneath this he 
 secures an earthen chatty, which will hold about a gal- 
 lon. This remains undisturbed for twenty-four hours, 
 from sunrise to sunrise on the following morning ; the 
 toddy-drawer then reascends the tree, and lowers the 
 chatty by a line to an assistant below, who empties the 
 contents into a larger vessel, and the chatty is replaced 
 under the productive branch, which continues to yield 
 for about a month. 
 
 When first drawn the toddy has the appearance of
 
 Cocoa-nut Toddy. 235 
 
 thin milk and water, with a combined flavor of milk 
 and soda-water, with a tinge of cocoa-nut. It is then 
 very pleasant and refreshing, but in a few hours after 
 sunrise a great change takes place, and the rapidity of 
 the transition from the vinous to the acetous fermenta- 
 tion is so great that by midday it resembles a poor and 
 rather acid cider. It now possesses intoxicating prop- 
 erties, and the natives accordingly indulge in it to some 
 extent ; but from its flavor and decided acidity I should 
 have thought the stomach would be affected some time 
 before the head. 
 
 From this fermented toddy the arrack is procured by 
 simple distillation. 
 
 This spirit, to my taste, is more palatable than most 
 distilled liquors, having a very decided and peculiar 
 flavor. It is a little fiery when new, but as water soon 
 quenches fire, it is not spared by the native retailers, 
 whose arrack would be of a most innocent character 
 were it not for their infamous addition of stupefying 
 drugs and hot peppers. 
 
 The toddy contains a large proportion of saccharine, 
 without which the vinous fermentation could not take 
 place. This is procured by evaporation in boiling, on 
 the same principle that sugar is produced from cane- 
 juice. The syrup is then poured into small saucers to 
 cool, and it shortly assumes the consistence of hardened 
 sugar. This is known in Ceylon as "jaggery," and is 
 manufactured exclusively by the natives. 
 
 Cocoa-nut oil is now one of the greatest exports of 
 Ceylon, and within the last few years the trade has 
 increased to an unprecedented extent. In the two 
 years of 1849 and 1850, the exports of cocoa-nut oil did 
 not exceed four hundred and forty-three thousand six
 
 236 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 hundred gallons, while in the year 1853 they had in- 
 creased to one million thirtv-tnree thousand nine hun- 
 dred gallons ; the trade being more than quadrupled in 
 three years. 
 
 The manufacture of the oil is most simple. The 
 kernel is taken from the nut, and being divided, it is 
 exposed to the sun until all the watery particles are 
 evaporated. The kernel thus dried is known as " cop- 
 perah." This is then pressed in a mill, and the oil 
 flows into a reservoir. 
 
 This oil, although clear and limpid in the tropics, 
 hardens to the consistence of lard at any temperature 
 below 72 Fahr. Thus it requires a second preparation 
 on its arrival in England. There it is spread upon 
 mats (formed of coir) to the thickness of an inch, and 
 then covered by a similar protection. These fat sand- 
 wiches are two feet square, and being piled one upon 
 the other to a height of about six feet in an hydraulic 
 press, are subjected to a pressure of some hundred tons. 
 This disengages the pure oleaginous parts from the 
 more insoluble portions, and the fat residue, being 
 increased in hardness by its extra density, is mixed with 
 stearine, and by a variety of preparations is converted 
 into candles. The pure oil thus expressed is that known 
 in the shops as cocoa-nut oil. 
 
 The cultivation of the cocoa-nut tree is now carried 
 to a great extent, both by natives and Europeans ; by 
 the former it is grown for a variety of purposes, but by 
 the latter its profits are confined to oil, coir and poonac. 
 The latter is the refuse of the nut after the oil has been 
 expressed, and corresponds in its uses to the linseed-oil 
 cake of England, being chiefly employed for fattening 
 cattle, pigs and poultry.
 
 Cocoa-nut Planting. 237 
 
 The preparation of coir is a dirty and offensive occu- 
 pation. The husk of the cocoa-nut is thrown into 
 tanks of water, until the woody or pithy matter is 
 loosened by fermentation from the coir fibre. The 
 stench of putrid vegetable matter arising from these 
 heaps must be highly deleterious. Subsequently the 
 husks are beaten and the fibre is separated and dried. 
 Coir rope is useful on account of its durability and 
 power of resisting decay during long immersion. In 
 the year 1853, twenty-three hundred and eighty tons of 
 coir were exported from Ceylon. 
 
 The great drawback to the commencement of a 
 cocoa-nut plantation is the total .uncertainty of the 
 probable alteration in the price of oil during the interval 
 of eleven years which must elapse before the estate 
 comes into bearing. In this era of invention, when 
 improvements in every branch of science follow each 
 other with such rapid strides, it is always a dangerous 
 speculation to make any outlay that will remain so long 
 invested without producing a return. Who can be so 
 presumptuous as to predict the changes of future years? 
 Oil may have ceased to be the common medium of 
 light our rooms may be illumined by electricity, or 
 from fifty other sources which now are never dreamed 
 of. In the mean time, the annual outlay during eleven 
 years is an additional incubus upon the prime cost of 
 the plantation, which, at the expiration of this term, 
 may be reduced to one-tenth of its present value. 
 
 The cocoa-nut tree requires a sandy and well-drained 
 soil ; and although it flourishes where no other tree will 
 grow, it welcomes a soil of a richer quality and pro- 
 duces fruit in proportion. Eighty nuts per annum are 
 ?bout the average income from a healthy tree in full
 
 238 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 bearing, but this, of course, depends much upon the 
 locality. This palm delights in the sea-breeze, and 
 never attains the same perfection inland that it does in 
 the vicinity of the coast. There are several varieties, 
 and that which is considered superior is the yellow 
 species, called the " king cocoa-nut." I have seen this 
 on the Maldive Islands in great perfection. There it is 
 the prevailing description. 
 
 At the Seychelles, there is a variety peculiar to those 
 islands, differing entirely in appearance from the com- 
 mon cocoa-nut. It is fully twice the size, and is shaped 
 like a kidney that is laid open. This is called by the 
 French the "coco de mer" from the large numbers 
 that are found floating in the sea in the neighborhood 
 of the islands. 
 
 The wood of the cocoa-nut tree is strong and dura- 
 ble ; it is a dark brown, traversed by longitudinal black 
 lines. 
 
 There are three varieties of toddy-producing palms 
 in Ceylon ; these are the cocoa-nut, the kittool and the 
 palmyra. The latter produces the finest quality of jag- 
 gery. This cannot be easily distinguished from crum- 
 bled sugar-candy, which it exactly resembles in flavdr. 
 The wood of the palmyra is something similar to the 
 cocoa-nut, but it is of a superior quality, and is much 
 used for rafters, being durable and of immense 
 strength. 
 
 The kittool is a very sombre and peculiar palm. Its 
 crest very much resembles the drooping plume upon a 
 hearse, and the foliage is a dark green with a tinge of 
 gray. The wood of this palm is almost black, being 
 apparently a mass of longitudinal strips, or coarse lines 
 of whalebone running close together from the top to
 
 The Talipot Palm. 239 
 
 Ihrt root of the tree. This is the toughest and most 
 pliable of all the palm-woods, and is principally used 
 by the natives in making " pingos." These are flat 
 bows s.boi't eight feet in length, and are used by the 
 Cingalese fcr carrying loads upon the shoulder. The 
 weight is slung at either end of the pingo, and the 
 elasticity of the wood accommodates itself to the spring 
 of each step, thereby reducing the dead weight of the 
 load. In this manner a stout Cingalese will carry and 
 travel with eighty pounds if working on his own ac- 
 count, or with fifty if hired for a journey. A Cinga- 
 lese will carry a much heavier weight than an ordinary 
 Malabar, as he is a totally different man in form and 
 strength. In fact, the Cingalese are generally a com- 
 pactly built and well-limbed race, while the Malabar is 
 a man averaging full a stone lighter weight. 
 
 The most extraordinary in the list of palms is the 
 talipot. The crest of this beautiful tree is adorned by 
 a crown of nearly circular, fan-shaped leaves of so 
 tough and durable a texture that they are sewn together 
 by the natives for erecting portable tents or huts. The 
 circumference of each leaf at the extreme edge is from 
 twenty to thirty feet, and even this latter size is said to 
 be frequently exceeded. 
 
 Every Cingalese throughout the Kandian district is 
 provided with a section of one of these leaves, which 
 forms a kind of fan about six feet in length. This is 
 carried in the hand, and is only spread in case of rain, 
 when it forms an impervious roofing of about three 
 feet in width at the broad extremity. Four or five 
 of these sections will form a circular roof for a small 
 hut, which resembles a large umbrella or brobdignag 
 mushroom.
 
 240 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 There is a great peculiarity in the talipot palm. It 
 blossoms only once in a long period of years, and after 
 this it dies. No flower can equal the elegance and ex- 
 traordinary dimensions of this blossom ; its size is pro- 
 portionate to its leaves, and it usurps the place of the 
 faded crest of green,. forming a magnificent crown or 
 plume of snow-white ostrich feathers, which stand 
 upon the summit of the tall stem as though they were 
 the natural head of the palm. 
 
 There is an interesting phenomenon at the period of 
 flowering. The great plume already described, prior 
 to its appearing in bloom, is packed in a large case or 
 bud, about four feet long. In this case the blossom 
 comes to maturity, at which time the tightened cuticle 
 of the bud can no longer sustain the pressure of the 
 expanding flower. It suddenly bursts with a loud re- 
 port, and the beautiful plume, freed from its imprison- 
 ment, ascends at this signal and rapidly unfolds its 
 feathers, towering above the drooping leaves which are 
 hastening to decay. 
 
 The areca is a palm of great elegance ; it rises to a 
 height of about eighty feet, and a rich feathery crest 
 adorns the summit. This is the most delicate stem of 
 all the palm tribe ; that of a tree of eighty feet in 
 length would not exceed five inches in diameter. 
 Nevertheless, I have never seen an areca palm over- 
 turned by a storm ; they bow gracefully to the wind, 
 and the extreme elasticity of the wood secures them 
 from destruction. 
 
 This tree produces the commonly-called "betel-nut," 
 but more properly the areca-nut. They grow in clus- 
 ters beneath the crest of the palm, in a similar manner 
 to the cocoa-nut; but the tree is more prolific, as it
 
 Betel- Chewing* 24 1 
 
 produces about two hundred nuts per annum. The 
 latter are very similar to large nutmegs both in size and 
 appearance, and, like the cocoa-nut, they are enclosed 
 in an outer husk of a fibrous texture. 
 
 The consumption of these nuts may be imagined 
 when it is explained that every native is perpetually 
 chewing a mixture of this nut and betel leaf. Every 
 man carries a betel bag, which contains the following 
 list of treasures : a quantity of areca-nuts, a parcel of 
 betel leaves, a roll of tobacco, a few pieces of ginger, 
 an instrument similar to pruning scissors and a brass 
 or silver case (according to the wealth of the indi- 
 vidual) full of chunam paste viz., a fine lime pro- 
 duced from burnt coral, slacked. This case very much 
 resembles an old-fashioned warming-pan breed of watch 
 and chateleine, as numerous little spoons for scooping 
 out the chunam are attached to it by chains. 
 
 The betel is a species of pepper, the leaf of which 
 very much resembles that of the black pepper, but is 
 highly aromatic and pungent. It is cultivated to a very 
 large extent by the natives, and may be seen climbing 
 round poles and trees in every garden. 
 
 It has been said by some authors that the betel has 
 powerful narcotic properties, but, on the contrary, its 
 stimulating qualities have a directly opposite effect. 
 Those who have attributed this supposed property to 
 the betel leaf must have indulged in a regular native 
 "chew" as an experiment, and have nevertheless been 
 ignorant of the mixture. 
 
 We will make up a native "chew" after the most 
 approved fashion, and the reader shall judge for him- 
 self in which ingredient the narcotic principle is dis- 
 played. 
 
 21 Q
 
 243 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Take a betel leaf, and upon this spread a piece of 
 chunam as large as a pea ; then with the priming- 
 scissors cut three very thin slices of areca-nut, and lay 
 them in the leaf; next, add a small piece of ginger ; 
 and, lastly, a good-sized piece of tobacco. Fold up this 
 mixture in another betel leaf in a compact little parcel, 
 and it is fit for promoting several hours' enjoyment in 
 chewing, and spitting a disgusting blood-red dye in 
 every direction. The latter is produced by the areca- 
 nut. It is the tobacco which possesses the narcotic 
 principle ; if this is omitted, the remaining ingredients 
 are simple stimulants. 
 
 The teeth of all natives are highly discolored by the 
 perpetual indulgence in this disgusting habit ; nor is 
 this the only effect produced ; cancer in the cheek is a 
 common complaint among them, supposed to be pro- 
 duced by the caustic lime which is so continually in the 
 mouth. 
 
 The exports of areca-nuts from Ceylon will give some 
 idea of the supply of palms. In 1853 no less than three 
 thousand tons were shipped from this colony, valued at 
 about 45,ooo/. The greater portion of these is con- 
 sumed in India. 
 
 Two varieties of palms remain to be described the 
 date and the sago. 
 
 The former is a miserable species, which does not 
 exceed the height of three to five feet, and the fruit is 
 perfectly worthless. 
 
 The latter is indigenous throughout the jungles in 
 Ceylon, but it is neither cultivated, nor is the sago pre- 
 pared from it. 
 
 The height of this palm does not exceed fifteen or 
 twenty feet, and even this is above the general average.
 
 Sago-nuts. 243 
 
 It grows in the greatest profusion in the Veddah coun- 
 try. The stem is rough, and a continuation of rings 
 divides it into irregular sections. The leaves are a rich 
 dark green, and very light and feathery, beneath which 
 the nuts grow in clusters similar to those of the areca 
 palm. 
 
 The only use that the natives make of the produce of 
 this tree is in the preparation of flour from the nuts. 
 Even this is not very general, which is much to be 
 wondered at, as the farina is far superior in flavor to 
 that produced from most grains. 
 
 The natives ascribe intoxicating properties to the 
 cakes made from this flour; but I have certainly eaten 
 a fair allowance at one time, and I cannot say that I 
 had the least sensation of elevation. 
 
 The nut, which is something similar to the areca in 
 size, is nearly white when divested of its outer husk, 
 and this is soaked for about twenty-four hours in water. 
 During this time a slight fermentation takes place, 
 and the gas generated splits the nut open at a closed 
 joint like an acorn. This fermentation may, perhaps, 
 take some exhilarating effect upon the natives' weak 
 heads. 
 
 The nuts being partially softened by this immersion, 
 are dried in the sun, and subsequently pounded into 
 flour in a wooden mortar. This flour is sifted, and the 
 coarser parts being separated, are again pounded, until 
 a beautiful snow-white farina is produced. This is 
 made into a dough by a proper admixture with water, 
 and being formed into small cakes, they are baked for 
 about a quarter of an hour in a chatty. The fermenta- 
 tion which has already taken place in the nut has im- 
 pregnated the flower with a leaven ; this, without any
 
 244 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 further addition, expands the dough when in the oven, 
 and the cake produced is very similar to a crumpet, 
 both in appearance and flavor. 
 
 The village in which I first tasted this preparation of 
 the sago-nut was a tolerable sample of such places, on 
 the borders of the Veddah country. The population 
 consisted of one old man and a corresponding old 
 woman, and one fine stout young man and five young 
 women. A host of little children, who were so similar 
 in height that they must have been one litter, and three 
 or four most miserable dogs and cats, were additional 
 tenants of the soi-disant village. 
 
 These people lived upon sago cakes, pumpkins, wild 
 fruits and berries, river fish and wild honey. The 
 latter is very plentiful throughout Ceylon, and the na- 
 tives are very expert in finding out the nests, by watch- 
 ing the bees in their flight and following them up. A 
 bee-hunter must be a most keen-sighted fellow, although 
 there is not so much difficulty in the pursuit as may at 
 first appear. No one can mistake the flight of a bee 
 en route home, if he has once observed him. He is 
 no longer wandering from flower to flower in an un- 
 certain course, but he rushes through the air in a 
 straight line for the nest. If the bee-hunter sees one 
 bee thus speeding homeward, he watches the vacant 
 spot in the air, until assured of the direction by the 
 successive appearance of these insects, one following 
 the other nearly every second in their hurried race to 
 the comb. Keeping his eye upon the passing bees, he 
 follows them until he reaches the tree in which the 
 nest is found. 
 
 There are five varieties of bees in Ceylon ; these are 
 all honey-makers, except the carpenter bee. This
 
 Variety of Sees. 245 
 
 species is entirely unlike a bee in all its habits. It is a 
 bright tinsel-green color, and the size of a large walnut, 
 but shaped like the humble bees of England. The 
 mouth is armed with a very powerful pair of mandi- 
 bles, and the tail with a sting even larger and more 
 venomous than that of the hornet. These carpenter 
 bees are exceedingly destructive, as they bore holes in 
 beams and posts, in which they lay their eggs, the 
 larvae of which when hatched greedily feed upon the 
 timber. 
 
 The honey bees are of four very distinct varieties, 
 each of which forms its nest on a 'different principle. 
 The largest and most extensive honey-maker is the 
 "bambera." This is nearly as large as a hornet, and 
 it forms its nest upon the bough of a tree, from which 
 it hangs like a Cheshire cheese, being about the same 
 thickness, but five or six inches greater in diameter. 
 The honey of this bee is not so much esteemed as that 
 from the smaller varieties, as the flavor partakes too 
 strongly of the particular flower which the bee has 
 frequented ; thus in different seasons the honey varies 
 in flavor, and is sometimes so highly aperient that it 
 must be used with much caution. This property is of 
 course derived from the flower which the bee prefers 
 at that particular season. The wax of the comb is the 
 purest and whitest of any kind produced in Ceylon. 
 So partial are these bees to particular flowers that they 
 migrate from place to place at different periods in quest 
 of flowers which are then in bloom. 
 
 This is a very wonderful and inexplicable arrange- 
 ment of Nature, when it is considered that some flowers 
 which particularly attract these migrations only blossom 
 once in "seven years" This is the case at Newera 
 21*
 
 246 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Ellia, where the nillho blossom induces such a general 
 rush of this particular bee to the district that the jun- 
 gles are swarming with them in every direction, al- 
 though during the six preceding years hardly a bee of 
 the kind is to be met with. 
 
 There are many varieties of the nillho. These vary 
 from a tender dwarf plant to the tall and heavy stem 
 of the common nillho, which is nearly as thick as a 
 man's arm and about twenty feet high. 
 
 The next honey-maker is very similar in size and 
 appearance to our common hive bee in England. This 
 variety forms its nest in hollow trees and in holes in 
 rocks. Another bee, similar in appearance, but not 
 more than half the size, suspends a most delicate comb 
 to the twigs of a tree. This nest is no larger than an 
 orange, but the honey of the two latter varieties is of 
 the finest quality, and quite equal in flavor to the famed 
 " miel vert" of the Isle de Burbon, although it has not 
 the delicate green tint which is so much esteemed in 
 the latter. 
 
 The last of the Ceylon bees is the most tiny, although 
 an equally industrious workman. He is a little smaller 
 than our common house-fly, and he builds his diminu- 
 tive nest in the hollow of a tree, where the entrance to 
 his mansion is a hole no larger than would be made by 
 a lady's stiletto. 
 
 It would be a natural supposition that so delicate an 
 insect would produce a honey of corresponding purity, 
 but instead of the expected treasure we find a thick, 
 black and rather pungent but highly aromatic mo- 
 lasses. The natives, having naturally coarse tastes and 
 strong stomachs, admire this honey beyond any other. 
 Many persons are surprised at the trifling exports of
 
 Waste of Beeswax. 247 
 
 wax from Ceylon. In 1853 these amounted to no more 
 than one ton. 
 
 Cingalese are curious people, and do not trouble 
 themselves about exports ; they waste or consume all 
 the beeswax. While we are contented with the honey 
 and carefully reject the comb, the native (in some dis- 
 tricts) crams his mouth with a large section, and giving 
 it one or two bites, he bolts the luscious morsel and be- 
 gins another. In this manner immense quantities of 
 this valuable article are annually wasted. Some few 
 of the natives in the poorest villages save a small quan- 
 tity, to exchange with the traveling Moormen for cotton 
 cloths, etc., and in this manner the trifling amount ex- 
 ported is collected. 
 
 During the honey year at Newera Ellia I gave a 
 native permission to hunt bees in my forests, on condi- 
 tion that he should bring me the wax. Of course he 
 stole the greater portion, but nevertheless, in a few 
 weeks he brought me seventy-two pounds' weight of 
 well-cleaned and perfectly white wax, which he had 
 made up into balls about the size of an eighteen-pound 
 shot. Thus, in a few weeks, one man had collected 
 about the thirtieth part of the annual export from 
 Ceylon ; or, allowing that he stole at least one-half, 
 this would amount to the fifteenth. 
 
 It would be a vain attempt to restrain these people 
 from their fixed habit ; they would as soon think of re- 
 fraining from betel-chewing as giving up a favorite 
 food. Neither will they be easily persuaded to indulge 
 in a food of a new description. I once showed them 
 the common British mushroom, which they declared 
 was a poisonous kind. To prove the contrary, I had 
 them several times at table, and found them precisely
 
 248 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 similar in appearance and flavor to the well-known 
 " Agaricus campestris ;" but, notwithstanding this 
 actual proof, the natives would not be convinced, and, 
 althongh accustomed to eat a variety of this tribe, they 
 positively declined this experiment. There is an edible 
 species which they prefer, which, from its appearance, 
 an Englishman would shun : this is perfectly white, 
 both above and below, and the upper cuticle cannot be 
 peeled off. I have tasted this, but it is very inferior in 
 flavor to the common mushroom. 
 
 Experiments in these varieties of fungi are highly 
 dangerous, as many of the most poisonous so closely 
 resemble the edible species that they can with difficulty 
 be distinguished. There is one kind of fungus that I 
 have met with in the forests which, from its offensive 
 odor and disgusting appearance, should be something 
 superlatively bad. It grows about four inches high ; 
 the top is round, with a fleshy and inflamed appear- 
 ance ; the stalk is out of all proportion in its thickness, 
 being about two inches in diameter and of a livid white 
 color ; this, when broken, is full of a transparent gelati- 
 nous fluid, which smells like an egg in the last stage of 
 rottenness. 
 
 This fungus looks like an unhealthy excrescence on 
 the face of Nature, who, as though ashamed of the dis- 
 gusting blemish, has thrown a veil over the defect. 
 The most exquisite fabric that can be imagined a 
 scarlet veil, like a silken net falls over this ugly fun- 
 gus, and, spreading like a tent at its base, it is there 
 attached to the ground. 
 
 The meshes of this net are about as fine as those of a 
 very delicate silk purse, and the gaudiness of the color 
 and the size of the fungus make it a very prominent
 
 Curiozis Tent-like Fungus. 249 
 
 / 
 
 object among the surrounding vegetation. In fact, it is 
 
 a diminutive, though perfect circular tent of net-work, 
 the stem of the fungus forming the pole in the centre. 
 
 I shall never forget my first introduction to this speci- 
 men. It was growing in an open forest, free from any 
 underwood, and it seemed like a fairy bivouac beneath 
 the mighty trees which overshadowed it. Hardly be- 
 lieving my own eyes at so strange and exquisite a struc- 
 ture, I jumped off my horse and hastened to secure it. 
 But the net-work once raised was like the uncovering 
 of the veiled prophet of Khorassan, and the stem, 
 crushing in my fingers, revealed all the disgusting pro- 
 perties of the plant, and proved the impossibility of re- 
 moving it entire. The elegance of its exterior only 
 served to conceal its character like Madame Mantilini, 
 who, when undressed, "' tumbled into ruins." 
 
 There are two varieties of narcotic fungi whose pro- 
 perties are so mild that they are edible in small quanti- 
 ties. One is a bright crimson on the surface ; this is 
 the most powerful, and is seldom used. The other 
 is a white solid puff-ball, with a rough outer skin or 
 rind. 
 
 I have eaten the latter on two occasions, having been 
 assured by the natives that they were harmless. The 
 flavor somewhat resembles a truffle, but I could not 
 account for the extreme drowsiness that I felt soon after 
 eating ; this wore off in the course of two or three hours. 
 On the following day I felt the same effect, but to a still 
 greater degree, as, having convinced myself that they 
 were really eatable, I had taken a larger quantity. 
 Knowing that the . narcotic principle is the common 
 property of a great variety of fungi, it immediately 
 struck me that the puff-balls were the cause. On
 
 250 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 questioning the natives, it appeared that it was this 
 principle that they admired, as it produced a species of 
 mild intoxication. 
 
 All people, of whatever class or clime, indulge in 
 some narcotic drug or drink. Those of the Cingalese 
 are arrack, tobacco, fungi and the Indian hemp. The 
 use of the latter is, however, not so general among the 
 Cingalese as the Malabars. This drug has a different 
 effect from opium, as it does not injure the constitution, 
 but simply exhilarates, and afterward causes a tempo- 
 rary lethargy. 
 
 In appearance it very nearly resembles the common 
 hemp, but it differs in the seed. The leaves and blos- 
 soms are dried, and are either smoked like tobacco, or 
 formed into a paste with various substances and 
 chewed. 
 
 When the plant approaches maturity, a gummy sub- 
 stance exudes from the leaves ; this is gathered by men 
 clothed in dry raw hides, who, by walking through the 
 plantation, become covered with this gum or glue. 
 This is scraped off and carefully preserved, being the 
 very essence of the plant, and exceedingly powerful in 
 its effects. 
 
 The sensation produced by the properties of this 
 shrub is a wild, dreamy kind of happiness ; the ideas 
 are stimulated to a high degree, and all that are most 
 pleasurable are exaggerated till the senses at length 
 sink into a vague and delightful elysium. 
 
 The reaction after this unnatural excitement is very 
 distressing, but the sufferer is set all right again by 
 some trifling stimulant, such as a glass of wine or 
 spirits. 
 
 It is supposed, and confidently asserted by some,
 
 Intoxicating Drugs. 2Ji 
 
 that the Indian hemp is the foundation of the Egyp- 
 tian " hashisch," the effects of which, are precisely 
 similar. 
 
 However harmless the apparent effect of a narcotic 
 drug, common sense must at once perceive that a re- 
 peated intoxication, no matter how it is produced, must 
 be ultimately hurtful to the system. The brain, accus- 
 tomed to constant stimulants, at length loses its natural 
 power, and requires these artificial assistants to enable 
 it to perform its ordinary functions, in the same man- 
 ner that the stomach, from similar treatment, would 
 at length cease to act. This being continued, the brain 
 becomes semi-torpid, until wakened up by a powerful 
 stimulant, and the nervous system is at length worn out 
 by a succession of exciting causes and reactions. Thus, 
 a hard drinker appears dull and heavy until under the 
 influence of his secret destroyer, when he brightens up 
 and, perhaps, shines in conversation ; but every reaction 
 requires a stronger amount of stimulant to lessen its 
 effect, until mind and body at length become involved 
 in the common ruin. 
 
 The seed of the lotus is a narcotic of a mild descrip- 
 tion, and it is carefully gathered when ripe and eaten 
 by the natives. 
 
 The lotus is seen in two varieties in Ceylon the pink 
 and the white. The former is the most beautiful, and 
 they are both very common in all tanks and sluggish 
 streams. The leaves are larger than those of the water- 
 lily, to which they bear a great resemblance, and the 
 blossoms are full double the size. When the latter 
 fade, the petals fall, and the base of the flower and 
 seed-pod remains in the shape of a circular piece of 
 honeycomb, full of cells sufficiently large to contain a
 
 252 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 hazel-nut. This is about the size of the seed, but the 
 shape is more like an acorn without its cup. The 
 flavor is pleasant, being something like a filbert, but 
 richer and more oily. 
 
 Stramoniun (Datura stramonium), which is a pow- 
 erful narcotic, is a perfect weed throughout the island, 
 but it is not used by the natives otherwise than medi- 
 cinally, and the mass of the people are ignorant of its 
 qualities, which are only known to the Cingalese doc- 
 tors. I recollect some years ago, in Mauritius, where 
 this plant is equally common, its proprieties were not 
 only fully understood, but made use of by some of the 
 Chinese emigrants. These fellows made cakes of 
 manioc and poisoned them with stramonium. Hot 
 manioc cakes are the common every-day accompani- 
 ment to a French planter's breakfast at Mauritius, and 
 through the medium of these the Chinese robbed several 
 houses. Their plan was simple enough. 
 
 A man with cakes to sell appeared at the house at an 
 early hour, and these being purchased, he retired until 
 about two hours after breakfast was concluded. By 
 this time the whole family were insensible, and the 
 thieves robbed the house at their leisure. None of 
 these cases terminated fatally ; but, from the instant 
 that I heard of it, I made every cake-seller who ap- 
 peared at the door devour one of his own cakes before 
 I became a purchaser. These men, however, were 
 bona Jide cake-merchants, and I did not meet with an 
 exception. 
 
 There are a great variety of valuable medicinal plants 
 in the jungles of Ceylon, many of which are unknown 
 to any but the native doctors. Those most commonly 
 known to us, and which may be seen growing wild by
 
 The Cassia Fistula. 253 
 
 the roadside, are the nux vomtca, ipecacuanha, gam- 
 boge, sarsaparilla, cassia fistula, cardamoms, etc. 
 
 The ipecacuanha is a pretty, delicate plant, which 
 bears a bright orange-colored cluster of flowers. 
 
 The cassia fistula is a very beautiful tree, growing to 
 the size of an ash, which it somewhat resembles in 
 foliage. The blossom is very beautiful, being a pendant 
 of golden flowers similar to the laburnum, but each 
 blossom is about two and a half feet long, and the indi- 
 vidual flowers on the bunch are large in proportion. 
 When the tree is in full flower it is very superb, and 
 equally as singular when its beauty has faded and the 
 seed-pods are formed. These grow to a length of from 
 two to three feet, and when ripe are perfectly black, 
 round, and about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. 
 The tree has the appearance of bearing a prolific crop 
 of ebony rulers, each hanging from the bough by a 
 short string. 
 
 There is another species of cassia fistula, the foliage 
 of which assimilates to the mimosa. This bears a 
 thicker, but much shorter, pod, of about a foot in 
 length. The properties of both are the same, being 
 laxative. Each seed within the pod is surrounded by 
 a sweet, black and honey-like substance, which con- 
 tains the property alluded to. 
 
 The gamboge tree is commonly known in Ceylon as 
 the " ghorka." This grows to the common size of an 
 apple tree, and bears a corrugated and intensely acid 
 fruit. This is dried by the natives and used in curries. 
 The gamboge is the juice of the tree obtained by in- 
 cisions in the bark. This tree grows in great numbers 
 in the neighborhood of Colombo, especially among the 
 cinnamon gardens. Here, also, the cashew tree grows 
 22
 
 254 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 to great perfection. The bark of the latter is very rich 
 in tannin, and is used by the natives in the preparation 
 of hides. The fruit is like an apple in appearance, and 
 small, but is highly astringent. The well-known 
 cashew-nut grows like an excrescence from the end of 
 the apple. 
 
 Many are the varieties and uses of vegetable produc- 
 tions in Ceylon, but of these none are more singular 
 and interesting than the "sack tree," the Riti Gaha 
 of the Cingalese. From the bark of this tree an in- 
 finite number of excellent sacks are procured, with 
 very little trouble or preparation. The tree being felled, 
 the branches are cut into logs of the length required, 
 and sometimes these are soaked in water ; but this is 
 not always necessary. The bark is then well beaten 
 with a wooden mallet, until it is loosened from the 
 wood ; it is then stripped off the log as a stocking is 
 drawn off the leg. It is subsequently bleached, and 
 one end being sewn up, completes a perfect sack of a 
 thick fibrous texture, somewhat similar to felt. 
 
 These sacks are in general use among the natives, 
 and are preferred by them to any other, as their dura- 
 bility is such that they sometimes descend from father 
 to son. By constant use they stretch and increase their 
 original size nearly one half. The texture necessarily 
 becomes thinner, but the strength does not appear to be 
 materially decreased. 
 
 There are many fibrous barks in Ceylon, some of 
 which are so strong that thin strips require a great 
 amount of strength to break them, but none of these 
 have yet been reduced to a marketable fibre. Several 
 barks are more or less aromatic ; others would be valu- 
 able to the tanners ; several are highly esteemed by the
 
 No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon. 255 
 
 natives as most valuable astringents, but hitherto none 
 have received much notice from Europeans. This may 
 be caused by the general want of success of all experi- 
 ments with indigenous produce. Although the jungles 
 of Ceylon produce a long list of articles of much in- 
 terest, still their value chiefly lies in their curiosity ; 
 they are useful to the native, but comparatively of little 
 worth to the European. In fact, few things will actu- 
 ally pay for the trouble and expense of collecting and 
 transporting. Throughout the vast forests and jungles 
 of Ceylon, although the varieties of trees are endless, 
 there is not one valuable gum known to exist. There 
 is a great variety of coarse, unmarketable productions, 
 about equal to the gum of the cherry tree, etc., but 
 there is no such thing as a high-priced gum in the 
 island. 
 
 The export of dammer is a mere trifle four tons in 
 1852, twelve tons in 1853. This is a coarse and com- 
 paratively valueless commodity. No other tree but the 
 doom tree produces any gum worth collecting ; this 
 species of rosin exudes in large quantities from an in- 
 cision in the bark, but the amount of exports shows its 
 insignificance. It is a fair sample of Ceylon produc- 
 tions ; nothing that is uncultivated is of much pecuniary 
 value.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 INDIGENOUS PRODUCTIONS THE BOTANICAL GARDENS SUG- 
 GESTED EXPERIMENTS LACK OF ENCOURAGEMENT TO 
 GOLD-DIGGERS THE PROSPECTS OF GOLD-DIGGING WE 
 
 WANT "NUGGETS" WHO is TO BLAME? GOVERNOR'S SAL- 
 ARY FALLACIES OF A FIVE YEARS' REIGN NEGLECTED 
 EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBILITIES OF CON- 
 qUEST PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 THE Foregoing chapter may appear to decry in toto 
 the indigenous productions of Ceylon, as it is 
 asserted that they are valueless in their natural state. 
 Nevertheless, I do not imply that they must necessarily 
 remain useless. Where Nature simply creates a genus, 
 cultivation extends the species, and from an insignifi- 
 cant parent stock we propagate our finest varieties of 
 both animals and vegetables. Witness the wild kale, 
 parsnip, carrot, crab-apple, sloe, etc., all utterly worth- 
 less, but nevertheless the first parents of their now 
 choice descendants. 
 
 It is therefore impossible to say what might not be 
 done in the improvement of indigenous productions 
 were the attention of science bestowed upon them. 
 But all this entails expense, and upon whom is this to 
 fall? Out of a hundred experiments ninety-nine might 
 fail. In Ceylon we have no wealthy experimentalists, 
 no agricultural exhibitions, no model farms, but every 
 256
 
 Botanical Gardens. 257 
 
 man who settles in a colony has left the mother country 
 to better himself; therefore, no private enterprise is 
 capable of such speculation. It clearly rests upon the 
 government to develop the resources of the country, to 
 prove the value of the soil, which is delivered to the 
 purchaser at so much per acre, good or bad. But no ; 
 it is not in the nature of our government to move from 
 an established routine. As the squirrel revolves his 
 cage, so governor after governor rolls his dull course 
 along, pockets his salary, and leaves the poor colony as 
 he found it. 
 
 The government may direct the attention of the pub- 
 lic, in reply, to their own establishment to the botan- 
 ical gardens. Have we not botanical gardens? We 
 have, indeed, and much good they should do, if 
 conducted upon the principle of developing local 
 resources ; but this would entail expense, and, like 
 everything in the hands of government, it dies in its 
 birth for want of consistent management. 
 
 With an able man as superintendent at a good 
 salary, the beautiful gardens at Peredenia are rendered 
 next to useless for want of a fund at his disposal. 
 Instead of being conducted as an experimental farm, 
 they are little more than ordinary pleasure-grounds, 
 filled with the beautiful foliage of the tropics and kept 
 in perfect order. What benefit have they been to the 
 colony ? Have the soils of various districts been tested ? 
 have new fibres been manufactured from the countless 
 indigenous fibrous plants? have new oils been ex- 
 tracted? have medicinal drugs been produced? have 
 dyes been extracted? have improvements been sug- 
 gested in the cultivation of any of the staple articles of 
 Ceylon export? In fact, has ANYTHING ever been 
 22* B
 
 258 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 done by government for the interest of the private 
 settler ? 
 
 This is not the fault of the manager of the gardens ; 
 he has the will, but no funds. My idea of the object 
 of a botanical garden is, that agricultural theories 
 should be reduced to facts, upon which private enter- 
 prise may speculate, and by such success the govern- 
 ment should ultimately benefit. 
 
 It is well known to the commonest school-boy that 
 soil which may be favorable to one plant is not adapted 
 to another ; therefore, where there is a diversity of soils 
 it stands to reason that there should be a corresponding 
 variety of crops to suit those soils, so as to make the 
 whole surface of the land yield its proportion. 
 
 In Ceylon, where the chief article of production is 
 coffee, land (upon an estate) which is not suitable to 
 this cultivation is usually considered waste. Thus the 
 government and the private proprietor are alike losers 
 in possessing an amount of unprofitable soil. 
 
 Now, surely it is the common sense object in the 
 establishment of a botanical garden to discover for each 
 description of soil a remunerating crop, so that an 
 estate should be cultivated to its uttermost, and the 
 word u waste" be unknown upon the property. 
 
 Under the present system of management this is im- 
 possible ; the sum allowed per annum is but just suffi- 
 cient to keep the gardens in proper condition, and the 
 abilities of the botanist in charge are sacrificed. Many 
 a valuable plant now lies screened in the shades of 
 remote jungles, which the enterprising botanist would 
 bring to light were he enabled by government to make 
 periodical journeys through the interior. These jour- 
 neys should form a part of his duties ; his botanical
 
 Discovery of Gold. 259 
 
 specimens should be his game, and they should be pur- 
 sued with the ardor of the chase itself, and subsequently 
 transferred to the gardens and their real merits discov- 
 ered by experiments. 
 
 But what can be expected from an apathetic system 
 of government? Dyes, fibres, gums may abound in 
 the forests, metals and even gold may be concealed be- 
 neath our feet ; but the governor does not consider it a 
 part of his duty to prosecute the search, or even to ren- 
 der facilities to those of a more industrious tempera- 
 ment. What can better exemplify the case than the 
 recent discovery of gold at Newera Ellia ? 
 
 Here was the plain fact that gold was found in small 
 specks, not in one spot, but everywhere throughout the 
 swamps for miles in the vicinity that at a depth of 
 two or three feet from the surface this proof was ad- 
 duced of its presence ; but the governor positively re- 
 fused to assist the discoverers (" diggers," who were 
 poor sailors visiting Ceylon), although they merely 
 asked for subsistence until they should be able to reach 
 a greater depth. This may appear too absurd to be 
 correct, but it is nevertheless true. 
 
 At the time that I commenced these sketches of 
 Ceylon the gold was just discovered, and I touched but 
 lightly upon it, in the expectation that a few months of 
 labor, aided by government support, would have estab- 
 lished its presence in remunerating quantities. The 
 swampy nature of the soil rendered the digging impos- 
 sible without the aid of powerful pumps to reduce the 
 water, which filled the shaft so rapidly that no greater 
 depth could be obtained than eighteen feet, and even 
 this at immense labor. 
 
 The diggers were absolutely penniless, and but for
 
 260 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 assistance received from private parties they must have 
 starved. The rainy season was at its height, and tor- 
 rents fell night and day with little intermission.' Still, 
 these poor little fellows worked early and late, wet and 
 dry, ever sanguine of success, and they at length pe- 
 titioned the government to give them the means of sub- 
 sistence for a few months " subsistence" for two men, 
 and the assistance of a few coolies. This was refused, 
 and the reply stated that the government intended to 
 leave the search for gold to " private enterprise.'* No 
 reward was offered for its discovery as in other colonies, 
 but the governor would leave it to "private enterprise." 
 A promising enterprise truly, when every landholder in 
 Ceylon, on referring to his title-deeds, observes the 
 reservation of all precious metals to the crown. This 
 is a fair sample of the narrow-minded, selfish policy of 
 a government which, in endeavoring to save a little, 
 loses all ; a miserable tampering with the public in 
 attempting to make a cat's paw of private enterprise. 
 
 How has this ended ? The diggers left the island in 
 disgust. If the gold is there in quantity, there in 
 quantity it remains to the present time, unsought for. 
 The subject of gold is so generally interesting, and in 
 this case of such importance to the colony, that, believ- 
 ing as I do that it does exist in large quantities, I must 
 claim the reader's patience in going into this subject 
 rather fully. 
 
 Let us take the matter as it stands. 
 
 The reader will remember that I mentioned at an 
 early part of these pages that gold was first discovered 
 in Ceylon by the diggers in the bed of a stream near 
 Kandy that they subsequently came to Newera Ellia, 
 and there discovered gold likewise.
 
 Prospects of Gold -Diggers. 261 
 
 It must be remembered that the main features of the 
 country at Nevvera Ellia and the vicinity are broad flats 
 or swampy plains, surrounded by hills and mountains : 
 the former covered with rank grass and \ntersected by 
 small streams, the latter covered with dense forest. 
 The soil abounds with rocks of gneiss and quartz, 
 some of the latter rose-color, some pure white. The 
 gold has hitherto been found in the plains only. These 
 plains extend over some thirty miles of country, divided 
 into numerous patches by intervening jungles. 
 
 The surface soil is of a peaty nature, perfectly black, 
 soapy when wet, and as light as soot when dry ; worth- 
 less for cultivation. This top soil is about eighteen 
 inches thick, and appears to have been the remains of 
 vegetable matter washed down from the surrounding 
 hills and forests. 
 
 This swampy black soil rests upon a thin stratum of 
 brownish clay, not more than a few inches thick, which, 
 forming a second layer, rests in its turn upon a snow- 
 white rounded quartz gravel intermixed with white 
 pipe-clay. 
 
 This contains gold, every shovelful of earth pro- 
 ducing, when washed, one or more specks of the pre- 
 cious metal. 
 
 The stratum of rounded quartz is about two feet 
 thick, and is succeeded by pipe-clay, intermixed with 
 quartz gravel, to a depth of eighteen feet. Here an- 
 other stratum of quartz gravel is met with, perfectly 
 water-worn and rounded to the size of a twelve-pound 
 shot. 
 
 In this stratum the gold was of increased size, and 
 some pieces were discovered as large as small grains 
 of rice ; but no greater depth was attained at the time
 
 262 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 of writing than to this stratum, viz., eighteen feet from 
 the surface. 
 
 No other holes were sunk to a greater depth than 
 ten feet, on account of the influx of water, but similar 
 shafts were made in various places, and all with equal 
 success. 
 
 From the commencement of the first stratum of 
 quartz throughout to the greatest depth attained gold 
 was present. 
 
 Upon washing away the clay and gravel, a great 
 number of gems of small value remained (chiefly sap- 
 phire, ruby, jacinth and green tourmaline). These 
 being picked out, there remained a jet-black fine sand, 
 resembling gunpowder. This was of great specific 
 gravity, and when carefully washed, discovered the 
 gold some in grains, some in mere specks, and some 
 like fine, golden flour. 
 
 At this interesting stage the search has been given 
 up : although the cheering sight of gold can be ob- 
 tained in nearly every pan of earth at such trifling 
 depths, and literally in every direction, the prospect is 
 abandoned. The government leaves it to private en- 
 terprise, but the enterprising public have no faith in 
 the government. 
 
 Without being over-sanguine, or, on the other side, 
 closing our ears with asinine stubbornness, let us take 
 an impartial view of the facts determined, and draw 
 rational conclusions. 
 
 It appears that from a depth of two and a half feet 
 from the surface to the greatest depth as yet attained 
 (eighteen feet), gold exists throughout. 
 
 It also appears that this is not only the case in one 
 particular spot, but all over this part of the country,
 
 The "Liberality" of Government. 263 
 
 and that this fact is undeniable ; and, nevertheless, the 
 government did not believe in the existence of gold in 
 Ceylon until these diggers discovered it; and when 
 discovered, they gave the diggers neither reward nor 
 encouragement, but they actually met the discovery by 
 a published prohibition against the search ; they then 
 latterly withdrew the prohibition and left it to private 
 enterprise, but neglected the unfortunate diggers. In 
 this manner is the colony mismanaged ; in this man- 
 ner is all public spirit damped, all private enterprise 
 checked, and all men who have anything to venture 
 disgusted. 
 
 The liberality of a government must be boundless 
 where the actual subsistence for a few months is re- 
 fused to the discoverers of gold in a country where, 
 hitherto, its presence had been denied. 
 
 It would be speculative to anticipate the vast changes 
 that an extended discovery would effect in such a colony 
 as Ceylon. We have before us the two pictures of 
 California and Australia, which have been changed as 
 though by the magician's wand within the last few 
 years. It becomes us now simply to consider the 
 probability of the gold being in such quantities in Cey- 
 lon as to effect such changes. We have at present 
 these simple data that in a soft, swampy soil gold has 
 been found close to the surface in small specks, gra- 
 dually increasing in size and quantity as a greater depth 
 has been attained. 
 
 From the fact that gold will naturally lie deep, from 
 its specific gravity, it is astonishing that any vestige of 
 such a metal should be discovered in such soil so close 
 to the surface. Still more astonishing that it should be 
 so generally disseminated throughout the locality.
 
 264 Eight Years' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 This would naturally be accepted as a proof that the 
 soil is rich in gold. But the question will then arise, 
 Where is the gold? The quantities found are a mere 
 nothing it is only dust: we want "nuggets." 
 
 The latter is positively the expression that I myself 
 fi - equently heard in Ceylon " We want nuggets." 
 
 Who does not want nuggets? But people speak of 
 " nuggets" as they would of pebbles, forgetting that the 
 very principle which keeps the light dust at the surface 
 has forced the heavier gold to a greater depth, and 
 that, far from complaining of the lack of nuggets when 
 digging has hardly commenced, they should gaze with 
 wonder at the bare existence of the gold in its present 
 form and situation. 
 
 The diggings at Ballarat are from a hundred to an 
 hundred and sixty feet deep in hard ground, and yet 
 people in Ceylon expect to find heavy gold in mere 
 mud, close to the surface. The idea is preposterous, 
 and I conceive it only reasonable to infer from the 
 present appearances that gold does exist in large quan- 
 tities in Ceylon. But as it is reasonable to suppose 
 such to be the case, so it is unreasonable to suppose 
 that private individuals will invest capital in so uncer- 
 tain a speculation as mining, without facilities from the 
 government, and in the very face of the clause in their 
 own title-deeds " that all precious metals belong to the 
 crown." 
 
 This is the anomalous position of the gold in Ceylon 
 under the governorship of Sir G. Anderson. 
 
 Nevertheless, it becomes a question whether we should 
 blame the man or the system, but the question arises in 
 this case, as with everything else in which government 
 is concerned, "Where is the fault?" "Echo answers
 
 Who is to Blame ? 265 
 
 * Where ?' " But the public are not satisfied with 
 echoes, and in this matter-of-fact age people look to 
 those who fill ostensible posts and draw bona Jide sala- 
 ries ; and if these men hold the appointments, no matter 
 under what system, they become the deserved objects 
 of either praise or censure. 
 
 Thus it may appear too much to say that Sir G. 
 Anderson is liable for the mismanagement of the colony 
 in toto for the total neglect of the public roads. It 
 may appear too much to say, When you came to the 
 colony you found the roads in good order : they are now 
 impassable ; communication is actually cut off* from 
 places of importance. This is your fault, these are 
 the fruits of your imbecility ; your answer to our peti- 
 tions for repairs was, " There is no money ;" and yet at 
 the close of the year you proclaimed and boasted of a 
 saving of twenty-seven thousand pounds in the treasury ! 
 This seems a fearful contradiction ; and the whole 
 public received it as such. The governor may com- 
 plain that the public expect too much ; the public may 
 complain that the governor does too little. 
 
 Upon these satisfactory terms, governors and their 
 dependants bow each other out, the colony being a kind 
 of opera stall, a reserved seat for the governor during 
 the performance of five acts (as we will term his five 
 years of office) ; and the fifth act, as usual in tragedies, 
 exposes the whole plot of the preceding four, and winds 
 up with the customary disasters. 
 
 Now the question is, how long this age of misrule 
 will last. 
 
 Every one complains, and still every one endures. 
 Each man has a grievance, but no man has a remedy. 
 Still, the absurdity of our colonial appointments is such 
 23
 
 266 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 that if steps were purposely taken to ensure the "destruc- 
 tion of the colonies, they could not have been more 
 certain. 
 
 We will commence with a new governor dealt out to 
 a colony. We will simply call him a governor, not 
 troubling ourselves with his qualifications, as of course 
 they have not been considered at the Colonial Office. 
 He may be an upright, clear-headed, indefatigable man, 
 in the prime of life, or he may be old, crotchety, pig- 
 headed, and mentally and physically incapable. He 
 may be either ; it does not much matter, as he can only 
 remain for five years, at which time his term expires. 
 
 We will suppose that the crotchety old gentleman 
 arrives first. The public will be in a delightful per- 
 plexity as to what the new governor will do whether 
 he will carry out the views of his predecessor, or 
 whether he will upset everything that has been done in 
 the past five years ; all is uncertainty. The only thing 
 known positively is, that, good or bad, he will pocket 
 seven thousand a year ! * 
 
 His term of government will be chequered by many 
 disappointments to the public, and, if he has any feeling 
 at all, by many heartburnings to himself. Physically 
 incapable of much exertion, he will be unable to travel 
 over so wild a country as Ceylon. A good governor 
 in a little island may be a very bad governor in a large 
 island, as a good cab-driver might make a bad four-in- 
 hand man ; thus our old governor would have no prac- 
 tical knowledge of the country, but would depend upon 
 prejudiced accounts for his information. Thus he 
 would never arrive at any correct information ; he 
 would receive all testimony with doubt, considering 
 * Since reduced to five thousand pounds.
 
 The Two Governors. 267 
 
 that each had some personal motive in offering advice, 
 and one tongue would thus nullify the other until he 
 would at length come to the conclusion of David in his 
 haste, "that all men are liars," and turn a deaf ear to 
 ail. This would enable him to pass the rest of his term 
 without any active blunders, and he might vary the pas- 
 sive monotony of his existence by a system of contra- 
 diction to all advice gratis. A little careful pruning of 
 expenses during the last two years of his term might 
 give a semblance of increase of revenue over expendi- 
 ture, to gain a smile from the Colonial Office. On his 
 return the colony would be left with neglected roads, 
 consequent upon the withdrawal of the necessary 
 funds. 
 
 This incubus at length removed from the colony, may 
 be succeeded by a governor of the first class. 
 
 He arrives ; finds everything radically wrong ; the 
 great arteries of the country (the roads) in disorder ; a 
 large outlay required to repair them. Thus his first 
 necessary act begins by an outlay at a time when all 
 outlay is considered equivalent to crime. This gains 
 him a frown from the Colonial Office. Conscious of 
 right, however, he steers his own course ; he travels 
 over the whole country, views its features personally, 
 judges of its requirements and resources, gathers ad- 
 vice from capable persons, forms his own opinion, and 
 acts accordingly. 
 
 We will allow two years of indefatigable research to 
 have passed over our model governor ; by that time, 
 and not before, he may have become thoroughly con- 
 versant with the colony in all its bearings. He has 
 comprehended the vast natural capabilities, he has 
 formed his plans methodically for the improvement of
 
 268 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 the country ; not by any rash and speculative outlay, 
 but, step by step, he hopes to secure the advancement 
 of his schemes. 
 
 This is a work of time ; he has much to do. The 
 country is in an uncivilized state ; he sees the vestiges 
 of past grandeur around him, and his views embrace a 
 wide field for the renewal of former prosperity. Tanks 
 must be repaired, canals reopened, emigration of Chi- 
 nese and Malabars encouraged, forests and jungles 
 cleared, barren land brought into fertility. The work 
 of years is before him, but the expiration of his term 
 draws near. Time is precious, but nevertheless he 
 must refer his schemes to the Colonial Office. What 
 do they know of Ceylon ? To them his plans seem vis- 
 ionary ; at all events they will require an outlay. A 
 correspondence ensues that hateful correspondence ! 
 This ensures delay. Time flies ; the expiration of his 
 term draws near. Even his sanguine temperament has 
 ceased to hope ; his plans are not even commenced, to 
 work out which would require years ; he never could 
 see them realized, and his successor might neglect 
 them and lay the onus of the failure upon him, the 
 originator, or claim the merit of their success. 
 
 So much for a five years' term of governorship, the 
 absurdity of which is superlative. It is so entirely con- 
 trary to the system of management in private affairs 
 that it is difficult to imagine the cause that could have 
 given rise to such a regulation. In matters great or 
 small, the capability of the manager is the first con- 
 sideration ; and if this be proved, the value of the man 
 is enhanced accordingly ; no employer would lose 
 him. 
 
 But in colonial governments the system is directly
 
 Neglected Education of the People. 269 
 
 opposite, for no sooner does the governor become com- 
 petent than he is withdrawn and transferred to another 
 sphere. Thus every colony is like a farm held on a 
 short lease, which effectually debars it from improve- 
 ment, as the same feeling which actuates the individual 
 in neglecting the future, because he will not personally 
 enjoy the fruits of his labor, must in some degree fetter 
 the enterprise of a five years' governor. He is little 
 better than the Lord Mayor, who flutters proudly for a 
 year, and then drops his borrowed feathers in his 
 moulting season. 
 
 Why should not governors serve an apprenticeship 
 for five years as colonial secretaries to the colonies they 
 are destined for, if five years is still to be the limited 
 term of their office? This would ensure a knowledge 
 of the colony at a secretary's salary, and render them 
 fit for both the office and salary of governor when 
 called upon ; whereas, by the present system, they at 
 once receive a governor's salary before they understand 
 their duties. 
 
 In casually regarding the present picture of Ceylon, 
 it is hard to say which point has been most neglected ; 
 but a short residence in the island will afford a fair 
 sample of government inactivity in the want of educa^ 
 tion among the people. 
 
 Upon this subject more might be said than lies in my 
 province to dwell upon ; nevertheless, after fifty years' 
 possession of the Kandian districts, this want is so 
 glaring that I cannot withhold a few remarks upon the 
 subject, as I consider the ignorant state of the native 
 population a complete check to the advancement of the 
 colony. 
 
 In commencing this subject, I must assume that the 
 
 23*
 
 270 Eight fears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 conquerors of territory are responsible for the moral 
 welfare of the inhabitants ; therefore our responsibilty 
 increases with our conquests. A mighty onus thus 
 rests upon Great Britain, which few consider when 
 they glory in the boast, " that the sun never sets upon 
 her dominions." 
 
 This thought leads us to a comparison of power be- 
 tween ourselves and other countries, and we trace the 
 small spot upon the world's map which marks our 
 little island, and in every sphere we gaze with wonder 
 at our vast possessions. This is a picture of the pres- 
 ent. What will the future be in these days of advance- 
 ment? It were vain to hazard a conjecture; but we 
 can look back upon the past, and build upon this foun- 
 dation our future hopes. 
 
 When the pomps and luxuries of Eastern cities spread 
 throughout Ceylon, and millions of inhabitants fed on 
 her fertility, when the hands of her artists chiseled the 
 figures of her gods from the rude rock, when her 
 vessels, laden with ivory and spices, traded with the 
 West, what were we ? A forest-covered country, peo- 
 pled by a fierce race of savages clad in skins, bowing 
 before druidical idolatry, paddling ajong our shores in 
 frames of wickerwork and hide. 
 
 The ancient deities of Ceylon are in the same spots, 
 unchanged ; the stones of the Druids stand unmoved ; 
 but what has become of the nations? 'Those of the 
 East have faded away ai d their strength has perished. 
 Their ships are crumbled ; the rude canoe glides over 
 their waves ; the spices grow wild in their jungles ; 
 and, unshorn and unclad, the inhabitants wander on 
 the face of the land. 
 
 Is it " chance" that has worked this change ? Where
 
 Responsibilities of Conquest. 271 
 
 is the forest-covered country and its savage race, its 
 skin-clad warriors and their frail coracles? 
 
 There, where the forest stood, from north to south 
 and from east to west, spreads a wide field of rich fer- 
 tility. There, on those rivers where the basket-boats 
 once sailed, rise the taut spars of England's navy. 
 Where the rude hamlet rested on its banks in rural 
 solitude, the never-weary din of commerce rolls through 
 the city of the world. The locomotive rushes like a 
 thunder-clap upon the rail ; the steamer ploughs against 
 the adverse wind, and, rapid as the lightning, the tele- 
 graph cripples time. The once savage land is the 
 nucleus of the arts and civilization. The nation that 
 from time to time was oppressed, invaded, conquered, 
 but never subjected, still pressed against the weight of 
 adversity, and, as age after age rolled on, and mightier 
 woes and civil strife gathered upon her, still the germ 
 of her destiny, as it expanded, threw off her load, until 
 she at length became a nation envied and feared. 
 
 It was then that the powers of the world were armed 
 against her, and all Europe joined to tear the laurels 
 from her crown, and fleets and armies thronged from 
 all points against the devoted land, and her old enemy, 
 the Gaul, hovered like his own eagle over the expected 
 prey. 
 
 The thunder of the cannon shook the world, and 
 blood tinged the waves around the land, and war and 
 tumult shrieked like a tempest over the fair face of 
 Nature ; the din of battle smothered all sounds of 
 peace, and years passed on and thicker grew the 
 gloom. It was then the innate might of the old Briton 
 roused itself to action and strained those giant nerves 
 which brought us victory. The struggle was past, and
 
 272 Eight Yearf Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 as the smoke of battle cleared from the surface of the 
 world, the flag of England waved in triumph on the 
 ocean, her fleets sat swan-like on the waves, her stand- 
 ard floated on the strongholds of the universe, and far 
 and wide stretched the vast boundaries of her con- 
 quests. 
 
 Again I ask, is this the effect of " chance?" or is it 
 the mighty will of Omnipotence, which, choosing his 
 instruments from the humbler ranks, has snatched Eng- 
 land from her lowly state, and has exalted her to be the 
 apostle of Christianity throughout the world ? 
 
 Here lies her responsibility. The conquered nations 
 are in her hands ; they have been subject to her for half 
 a century, but they know neither her language nor her 
 religion. 
 
 How many millions of human beings of all creeds 
 and colors does she control ? Are they or their descend- 
 ants to embrace our faith? that is, are we the divine 
 instrument for accomplishing the vast change that we 
 expect by the universal acknowlegment of Christianity? 
 or are we I pause before the suggestion are we but 
 another of those examples of human insignificance, / 
 that, as from dust we rose, so to dust we shall return ? 
 shall we be but another in the long list of nations 
 whose ruins rest upon the solitudes of Nature, like 
 warnings to the proud cities which triumph in their 
 strength? Shall the traveler in future ages place his 
 foot upon the barren sod and exclaim, " Here stood 
 their great city !" 
 
 The inhabitants of Nineveh would have scoffed at 
 such a supposition. And yet they fell, and yet the 
 desert sand shrouded their cities as the autumn leaves 
 fall on the faded flowers of summer.
 
 Progress of Christianity. 273 
 
 To a fatalist it can matter but little whether a nation 
 fulfills its duty, or whether, by neglecting it, punish- 
 ment should be drawn down upon its head. According 
 to his theory, neither good nor evil acts would alter a 
 predestined course of events. There are apparently 
 fatalist governments as Well as individuals, which, 
 absorbed in the fancied prosperity of the present, legis- 
 late for temporal advantages only. 
 
 Thus we see the most inconsistent and anomalous 
 conditions imposed in treaties with conquered powers ; 
 we see, for instance, in Ceylon, a protection granted to 
 the Buddhist religion, while flocks of missionaries are 
 sent out to convert the heathen. We even stretch the 
 point so far as to place a British sentinel on guard at 
 the Buddhist temple in Kandy, as though in mockery 
 of our Protestant church a hundred paces distant. 
 
 At the same time that we acknowledge and protect 
 the Buddhist religion, we pray that Christianity shall 
 spread through the whole world ; and we appoint bish- 
 ops to our colonies at the same time we neglect the 
 education of the inhabitants. 
 
 When I say we neglect the education I do not mean 
 to infer that there are no government schools, but that 
 the education of the people, instead of being one of 
 the most important objects of the government, is con- 
 sidered of so little moment that it is tantamount to 
 neglected. 
 
 There are various opinions as to the amount of learn- 
 ing which constitutes education, and at some of the 
 government schools the native children are crammed 
 with useless nonsense, which, by raising them above 
 their natural position, totally unfits them for their 
 pioper sphere. This is what the government calls 
 
 8
 
 274 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 education ; and the same time and expense thus em- 
 ployed in teaching a few would educate treble the 
 number in plain English. It is too absurd to hear the 
 arguments in favor of mathematics, geography, etc., 
 etc., for the native children, when a large proportion 
 of our own population in Great Britain can neither 
 read nor write. 
 
 The great desideratum in native education is a tho- 
 rough knowledge of the English tongue, which natu- 
 rally is the first stone for any superstructure of more 
 extended learning. This brings them within the reach 
 of the missionary, not only in conversation, but it en- 
 ables them to benefit by books, which are otherwise use- 
 less. It lessens the distance between the white man 
 and the black, and an acquaintance with the English 
 language engenders a taste for English habits. The 
 first dawn of civilization commences with a knowledge 
 of our language. The native immediately adopts some 
 English customs and ideas, and drops a corresponding 
 number of his own. In fact, he is a soil fit to work 
 upon, instead of being a barren rock as hitherto, firm 
 in his own ignorance and prejudices. 
 
 In the education of the rising native generation lies 
 the hope of ultimate conversion. You may as well try 
 to turn pitch into snow as to eradicate the dark stain 
 of heathenism from the present race. Nothing can be 
 done with them ; they must be abandoned like the bar- 
 ren fig-tree, and the more attention bestowed upon the 
 young shoots. 
 
 But, unfortunately, this is a popular error, and, like 
 all such, one full of prejudice. Abandon the present 
 race ! Methinks I hear the cry from Exeter Hall. 
 But the good people at home have no idea to what an
 
 Ignorance of Native Population. 275 
 
 extent they are at present, and always have been, aban- 
 doned. Where the children who can be educated with 
 success are neglected at the present day, it may be im- 
 agined that the parents have been but little cared for ; 
 thus, in advocating their abandonment, it is simply pro- 
 posing an extra amount of attention to be bestowed 
 upon the next generation. 
 
 There are many large districts of Ceylon where no 
 schools of any kind are established. In the Ouva 
 country, which is one of the most populous, I have had 
 applications from the natives, begging me to interest 
 myself in obtaining some arrangement of the kind. 
 Throngs of natives applied, describing the forlorn con- 
 dition of their district, all being not only anxious to 
 send their children to some place where they could 
 learn free of expense, but offering to pay a weekly sti- 
 pend in return. " They are growing up as ignorant 
 as our young buffaloes," was a remark made by one of 
 the headmen of the villages, and this within twelve 
 miles of Newera Ellin. 
 
 Now, leaving out the question of policy in endeavor- 
 ing to make the language of our own country the com- 
 mon tongue of a conquered colony, it must be admitted 
 that, simply as a question of duty, it is incumbent 
 upon the government to do all in its power for the 
 moral advancement of the native population. It is 
 known that the knowledge of our language is the first 
 step necessary to this advancement, and nevertheless 
 it is left undone ; the population is therefore neglected. 
 
 I have already adverted to the useless system in the 
 government schools of forcing a superabundant amount 
 of knowledge into the children's brains, and thereby 
 raising them above their position. A contrasting ex-
 
 276 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 ample of good common-sense education has recently 
 been given by the Rev. Mr. Thurston (who is indefati- 
 gable in his profession) in the formation of an indus- 
 trial school at Colombo. 
 
 This is precisely the kind of education which is re- 
 quired ; and it has already been attended with results 
 most beneficial on its limited scale. 
 
 This school is conducted on the principle that the 
 time of every boy shall not only be of service to him- 
 self, but shall likewise tend to the support of the estab- 
 lishment. The children are accordingly instructed in 
 such pursuits as shall be the means of earning a liveli- 
 hood in future years : some are taught a trade, others 
 are employed in the cultivation of gardens, and subse- 
 quently in the preparation of a variety of produce. 
 Among others, the preparation of tapioca from the root 
 of the manioc has recently been attended with great 
 success. In fact, they are engaged during their leisure 
 hours in a variety of experiments, all of which tend to 
 an industrial turn of mind, benefiting not only the lad 
 and the school, but also the government, by preparing 
 for the future men who will be serviceable and indus- 
 trious in their station. 
 
 Here is a lesson for the government which, if carried 
 out on an extensive scale, would work a greater change 
 in the colony within the next twenty years than all the 
 preaching of the last fifty. 
 
 Throughout Ceylon, in every district, there should be 
 established one school upon this principle for every 
 hundred boys, and a small tract of land granted to 
 each. One should be attached to the botanical gardens 
 at Peredenia, and instruction should be given to enable 
 every school to perform its own experiments in agri-
 
 Ho-w to Convert the Natives. 277 
 
 culture. By this means, in the course of a few years 
 we should secure an educated and useful population, in 
 lieu of the present indolent and degraded race : an im- 
 proved system of cultivation, new products, a variety 
 of trades, and, in fact, a test of the capabilities of the 
 country would be ensured, without risk to the govern- 
 ment, and to the ultimate prosperity of the colony. 
 Heathenism could not exist in such a state of affairs ; it 
 would die out. Minds exalted by education upon such 
 a system would look with ridicule upon the vestiges of 
 former idolatry, and the rocky idols would remain with- 
 out a worshiper, while a new generation flocked to the 
 Christian altar. 
 
 This is no visionary prospect. It has been satisfac- 
 torily proved that the road to conversion to Christianity 
 is through knowledge, and this once attained, heathen- 
 ism shrinks into the background. This knowledge can 
 only be gained by the young when such schools are 
 established as I have described. 
 
 Our missionaries should therefore devote their atten- 
 tion to this object, and cease to war against the impos- 
 sibility of adult conversion. If one-third of the 
 enormous sums hitherto expended with little or no 
 results upon missionary labor had been employed in 
 the establishments as proposed, our colonies would 
 now possess a Christian population. But are our mis- 
 sionaries capable? Here commences another question, 
 which again involves others in their turn, all of which, 
 when answered, thoroughly explain the stationary, if 
 not retrograde, position of the Protestant Church 
 among the heathen. 
 
 What is the reader's conceived opinion of the duties 
 and labors of a missionary in a heathen land ? Does 
 24
 
 278 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 he, or does he not imagine, as he pays his subscription 
 toward this object, that the devoted missionary quits 
 his native shores, like one of the apostles of old, to fight 
 the good fight? that he leaves all to follow "Him?" 
 and that he wanders forth in his zeal to propagate the 
 gospel, penetrating into remote parts, preaching to the 
 natives, attending on the sick, living a life of hardship 
 and self-denial ? 
 
 It is a considerable drawback to this belief in mis- 
 sionary labor when it is known that the missionaries 
 are not educated for the particular colonies to which 
 they are sent ; upon arrival, they are totally ignorant of 
 the language of the natives, accordingly, they are per- 
 fectly useless for the purpose of " propagating the gos- 
 pel among the heathen." Their mission should be that 
 of instructing the young, and for this purpose they 
 should first be instructed themselves. 
 
 I do not wish to throw a shade upon the efforts of 
 missionary labor ; I have no doubt that they use great 
 exertions privately, which the public on the spot do 
 not observe ; but taking this for granted as the case, the 
 total want of success in the result becomes the more 
 deplorable. 
 
 I have also no doubt that the missionaries penetrate 
 into the most remote parts of Ceylon and preach the 
 gospel. For many years I have traversed the wilder- 
 nesses of Ceylon at all hours and at all seasons. I 
 have met many strange things during my journeys, but 
 I never recollect having met a missionary. The bishop 
 of Colombo is the only man I know who travels out of 
 the high road for this purpose ; and he, both in this and 
 many other respects, offers an example which few ap- 
 pear to follow.
 
 Religious Schisms. 279 
 
 Nevertheless, although Protestant missionaries are so 
 rare in the jungles of the interior, and, if ever there, 
 no vestige ever remains of such a visit, still, in spots 
 where it might be least expected, may be seen the hum- 
 ble mud hut, surmounted by a cross, the certain trace 
 of some persevering priest of the Roman faith. These 
 men display an untiring zeal, and no point is too re- 
 mote for their good offices. Probably they are not so 
 comfortable in their quarters in the towns as the Prot- 
 estant missionaries, and thus they have less hesitation 
 in leaving home. 
 
 The few converts that have been made are chiefly 
 Roman Catholics, as among the confusion arising from 
 our multitudinous sects and schisms the native is natu- 
 rally bewildered. What with High "Church, Low 
 Church, Baptists, Wesleyans, Presbyterians, etc., etc., 
 etc., the ignorant native is perfectly aghast at the variety 
 of choice. 
 
 With the members of our Church in such a dislo- 
 cated state, progression cannot be expected by simple 
 attemps at conversion ; even were the natives willing 
 to embrace the true faith, they would have great diffi- 
 culty in finding it amidst the crowd of adverse opinions. 
 Without probing more deeply into these social wounds, 
 I must take leave of the missionary labors in Ceylon, 
 trusting that ere long the eyes of the government will 
 be fixed upon the true light to guide the prosperity of 
 the island by framing an ordinance for the liberal edu- 
 cation of the people.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE PEARL FISHERY DESOLATION OF THE COAST HARBOR 
 OF TRINCOMALEE FATAL ATTACK BY A SHARK FERO- 
 CIOUS CROCODILES SALT MONOPOLY SALT LAKES 
 
 METHOD OF COLLECTION NEGLECT OF CEYLON HIDES 
 FISH AND FISHING PRIMITIVE TACKLE OYSTER AND 
 PENKNIVES A NIGHT BIVOUAC FOR A NOVICE NO 
 DINNER, BUT A GOOD FIRE WILD YAMS AND CONSE- 
 qiJENCES THE ELEPHANTS* DUEL A HUNTING HERMI- 
 TAGE BLUEBEARD'S LAST HUNT THE LEOPARD BLUE- 
 BEARD'S DEATH LEOPARD SHOT. 
 
 WHILE fresh from the subject of government mis- 
 management, let us turn our eyes in the direc- 
 tion of one of those natural resources of wealth for 
 which Ceylon has ever been renowned the " pearl 
 fishery." This was the goose which laid the golden 
 egg, and Sir W. Horton, when governor of Ceylon, 
 was the man who killed the goose. 
 
 Here was another fatal instance of the effects of a 
 five years' term of governorship. 
 
 It was the last, year of his term, and he wished to 
 prove to the Colonial Office that "his talent" had not 
 been laid up in a napkin, but that he had left the colony 
 with an excess of income over expenditure. To obtain 
 this income he fished up all the oysters, ruined the fishery 
 280
 
 The Pearl Fishery* 281 
 
 in consequence ; and from that day to the present time 
 it has been unproductive. 
 
 This is a serious loss of income to the colony, and 
 great doubts are entertained as to the probability of the 
 oyster-banks ever recovering their fertility. 
 
 Nothing can exceed the desolation of the coast in the 
 neighborhood of the pearl-banks. For many miles the 
 shore is a barren waste of low sandy ground, covered 
 for the most part with scrubby, thorny jungle, diversi- 
 fied by glades of stunted herbage. Not a hill is to be 
 seen as far as the eye can reach. The tracks of all 
 kind of game abound on the sandy path, with occa- 
 sionally those of a naked foot, but seldom does a shoe 
 imprint its civilized mark upon these lonely shores. 
 
 The whole of this district is one of the best in Ceylon 
 for deer-shooting, which is a proof of its want of in- 
 habitants. This has always been the case, even in the 
 prosperous days of the pearl fishery. So utterly worth- 
 less is the soil, that it remains in a state of nature, and 
 its distance from Colombo (one hundred and fifty miles) 
 keeps it in entire seclusion. 
 
 It is a difficult to conceive that any source of wealth 
 should exist in such a locality. When standing on the 
 parched sand, with the burning sun shining in pitiless 
 might upon all around, the meagre grass burnt to a 
 mere straw, the tangled bushes denuded of all verdure 
 save a few shriveled leaves, the very insects seeking 
 shelter from the rays, there is not a tree to throw a 
 shadow, but a dancing haze of molten air hovers upon 
 the ground, and the sea like a mirror reflects a glare, 
 which makes the heat intolerable. And yet beneath 
 the wave on this wild and desolate spot glitter those 
 baubles that minister to man's vanity ; and, as though 
 24 *
 
 282 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 in mockery of such pursuits, I have seen the bleached 
 skulls of bygone pearl-seekers lying upon the sand, 
 where they have rotted in view of the coveted treasures. 
 
 There is an appearance of ruin connected with every- 
 thing in the neighborhood. Even in the good old times 
 this coast was simply visited during the period for fish- 
 ing. Temporary huts were erected for thousands of 
 natives, who thronged to Ceylon from all parts of the 
 East for the fascinating speculations of the pearl fishery. 
 No sooner was the season over than every individual 
 disappeared ; the wind swept away the huts of sticks 
 and leaves ; and the only vestiges remaining of the v6- 
 cent population were the government stores and house 
 at Arripo, like the bones of the carcase after the vul- 
 tures had feasted and departed. All relapsed at once 
 into its usual state of desolation. 
 
 The government house was at one time a building 
 of some little pretension, and from its style it bore the 
 name of the " Doric." It is now, like everything else, 
 in a state of lamentable decay. The honeycombed 
 eighteen-pounder, which was the signal gun of former 
 years, is choked with drifting sand, and the air of mis- 
 ery about the place is indescribable. 
 
 Now that the diving helmet has rendered subaqueous 
 discoveries so easy, I am surprised that a government 
 survey has not been made of the whole north-west coast 
 of Ceylon. It seems reasonable to suppose that the 
 pearl oyster should inhabit depths which excluded the 
 simple diver of former days, and that our modern im- 
 provements might discover treasures in the neighbor- 
 hood of the old pearl-beds of which we are now in 
 ignorance. The best divers, without doubt, could 
 never much exceed a minute in submersion. I believe
 
 Harbor of Trincomalee. 283 
 
 the accounts of their performances generally to have 
 been much exaggerated. At all events, those of the 
 present day do not profess to remain under water much 
 more than a minute. 
 
 The accounts of Ceylon pearl fisheries are so com- 
 mon in every child's book that I do not attempt to de- 
 scribe the system in detail. Like all lotteries, there are 
 few prizes to the proportion of blanks. 
 
 The whole of this coast is rich in the biche de mer, 
 more commonly called the sea-slug. This is a disgust- 
 ing species of mollusca, which grows to a large size, 
 being commonly about a foot in length and three or 
 four inches in diameter. The capture and preparation 
 of these creatures is confined exclusively to the Chinese, 
 who dry them in the sun until they shrink to the size 
 of a large sausage and harden to the consistency of 
 horn ; they are then exported to China for making 
 soups. No doubt they are more strengthening than 
 agreeable ; but I imagine that our common garden slug 
 would be an excellent substitute to any one desirous of 
 an experiment, as it exactly resembles its nautical 
 representative in color and appearance. Trincomalee 
 is the great depot for this trade, which is carried on to 
 a large extent, together with that of sharks' fins, the 
 latter being used by the Chinese for the same purpose 
 as the biche de mer. Trincomalee affords many facili- 
 ties for this trade, as the slugs are found in large 
 quantities on the spot, and the finest harbor of the East 
 is alive with sharks. Few things surpass the tropical 
 beauty of this harbor ; lying completely land-locked, it 
 seems like a glassy lake surrounded by hills covered 
 with the waving foliage of groves of cocoa-nut trees 
 and palms of great variety. The white bungalows,
 
 284 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 with their red-tiled roofs, are dotted about along the 
 shore, and two or three men-of-war are usually resting 
 at their ease in this calm retreat. So deep is the water 
 that the harbor forms a perfect dock, as the largest 
 vessel can lie so close to the shore that her yards over- 
 hang it, which enables stores' and cargo to be shipped 
 with great facility. 
 
 The fort stands upon a projecting point of land, 
 which rises to about seventy feet above the level of the 
 galle face (the race-course) which faces it. Thus it 
 commands the land approach across this flat plain on 
 one side and the sea on the other. This same fort is 
 one of the hottest corners of Ceylon, and forms a de- 
 sirable residence for those who delight in a temperature 
 of from 90 to 104 in the shade. Bathing is the great 
 enjoyment, but the pleasure in such a country is 
 destroyed by the knowledge that sharks are looking 
 out for you in the sea, and crocodiles in the rivers and 
 tanks ; thus a man is nothing more than an exciting 
 live-bait when he once quits terra firma. Accidents 
 necessarily must happen, but they are not so frequent 
 as persons would suppose from the great number of 
 carnivorous monsters that exist. Still, I am convinced 
 that a white man would run greater risk than a black ; 
 he is a more enticing bait, being bright and easily dis- 
 tinguished in the water. Thus in places where the 
 natives are in the habit of bathing with impunity it 
 would be most dangerous for a white man to enter. 
 
 There was a lamentable instance of this some few 
 years ago at Trincomalee. In a sheltered nook among 
 the rocks below the fort, where the natives were always 
 in the habit of bathing, a party of soldiers of the regi- 
 ment then in garrison went down one sultry afternoon
 
 Fatal Attack by a Shark. 285 
 
 for a swim. It was a lovely spot for bathing ; the water 
 was blue, clear and calm, as the reef that stretched far 
 out to sea served as a breakwater to the heavy surf, and 
 preserved the inner water as smooth as a lake. Here 
 were a fine lot of English soldiers stripped to bathe ; 
 and although the ruddy hue of British health had long 
 since departed in the languid climate of the East, never- 
 theless their spirits were as high as those of English- 
 men usually are, no matter where or under what cir- 
 cumstances. However, one after the other took a run, 
 and then a " header" off the rocks into the deep blue 
 water beneath. In the long line of bathers was a fine 
 lad of fifteen, the son of one of the sergeants of the 
 regiment ; and with the emulation of his age he ranked 
 himself among the men, and on arriving at the edge he 
 plunged head-foremost into the water and disappeared. 
 A crowd of men were on the margin watching the 
 bathing ; the boy rose to the surface within a few feet 
 of them, but as he shook the water from his hair, a 
 cloudy shadow seemed to rise from the deep beneath 
 him, and in another moment the distinct outline of a 
 large shark was visible as his white belly flashed below. 
 At the same instant there was a scream of despair ; the 
 water was crimsoned, and a bloody foam rose to the 
 surface the boy was gone ! Before the first shock of 
 horror was well felt by those around, a gallant fellow 
 of the same regiment shot head first into the bloody 
 spot, and presently reappeared from his devoted 
 plunge, bearing in his arms one-half of the poor boy. 
 The body was bitten off at the waist, and the lower 
 portion was the prize of the ground shark. 
 
 For several days the soldiers were busily employed 
 in fishing for this monster, while the distracted mother
 
 286 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 sat in the burning sun, watching in heart-broken eager- 
 ness, in the hope of recovering some trace of her lost 
 son. This, however, was not to be ; the shark was 
 never seen again. 
 
 There is as much difference in the characters of 
 sharks as among other animals or men. Some are 
 timid and sluggish, moving as though too lazy to seek 
 their food ; and there is little doubt that such would 
 never attack man. Others, on the contrary, dash 
 through the water as a pike would seize its prey, and 
 refuse or fear nothing. There is likewise a striking 
 distinction in the habits of crocodiles ; those that in- 
 habit rivers being far more destructive and fearless than 
 those that infest the tanks. The natives hold the former 
 in great terror, while with the latter they run risks which 
 are sometimes fatal. I recollect a large river in the 
 south-east of Ceylon, which so abounds with ferocious 
 crocodiles that the natives would not enter the water in 
 depths above the knees, and even this they objected to, 
 unless necessity compelled them to cross the river. I was 
 encamped on the banks for some little time, and the 
 natives took the trouble to warn me especially not to 
 enter ; and, as proof of the danger, they showed me a 
 spot where three men had been devoured in the course 
 of one year, all three of whom are supposed to have 
 ministered to the appetite of the same crocodile. 
 
 Few reptiles are more disgusting in appearance than 
 these brutes ; but, nevertheless, their utility counterbal- 
 ances their bad qualities, as they cleanse the water from 
 all impurities. So numerous are they that their heads 
 may be seen in fives and tens together, floating at the 
 top of the water like rough corks ; and at about five 
 p. M. they bask on the shore close to the margin of the
 
 Crocodiles. 287 
 
 water, ready to scuttle in on the shortest notice. They 
 are then particularly on the alert, and it is a most diffi- 
 cult thing to stalk them, so as to get near enough to 
 make a certain shot. This is not bad amusement when 
 no other sport can be had. Around the margin of a 
 lake, in a large plain far in the distance, may be seen a 
 distinct line upon the short grass like the fallen trunk 
 of a tree. As there are no trees at hand, this must 
 necessarily be a crocodile. Seldom can the best hand 
 at stalking then get within eighty yards of him before 
 he lifts his scaly head, and, listening for a second, 
 plunges off the bank. 
 
 I have been contradicted in stating that a ball will 
 penetrate their scales. It is absurd, however, to hold 
 the opinion that the scales will turn a ball that is to 
 say, stop the ball (as we know that a common twig 
 will of course turn it from its direction, if struck 
 obliquely). 
 
 The scales of a crocodile are formed of bone exquis- 
 itely jointed together like the sections of a skull ; these 
 are covered externally with a horny skin, forming, no 
 doubt, an excellent defensive armor, about an inch in 
 thickness ; but the idea of their being impenetrable to 
 a ball, if struck fair, is a great fallacy. People may 
 perhaps complain because a pea rifle with a mere pinch 
 of powder may be inefficient, but a common No. 16 
 fowling-piece, with two drachms of powder, will pene- 
 trate any crocodile that was ever hatched. 
 
 Among the most harmless kinds are those which 
 inhabit the salt lakes in the south of Ceylon. I have 
 never heard of an accident in these places, although 
 hundreds of persons are employed annually in collect- 
 ing salt from the bottom.
 
 288 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 These natural reservoirs are of great extent, some of 
 them being many miles in circumference. Those most 
 productive are about four miles round, and yield a sup- 
 ply in August, during the height of the dry season. 
 
 Salt in Ceylon is a government monoply ; and it has 
 hitherto been the narrow policy of the government to 
 keep up an immense price upon this necessary of life, 
 when the resources of the country could produce any 
 amount required for the island consumption.' 
 
 These are now all but neglected, and the government 
 simply gathers the salt as the wild pig feeds upon the 
 fruit which falls from the tree in its season. 
 
 The government price of salt is now about three 
 shillings per bushel. This is very impure, being mixed 
 with much dirt and sand. The revenue obtained by 
 the salt monopoly is about forty thousand pounds per 
 annum, two-thirds of which is an unfair burden upon 
 the population, as the price, according to the supply 
 obtainable, should never exceed one shilling per bushel. 
 
 Let us consider the capabilities of the locality from 
 which it is collected. 
 
 The lakes are some five or six in number, situated 
 within half a mile of the sea, separated only by a high 
 bank of drift sand, covered for the most part with the 
 low jungle which clothes the surrounding country. 
 Flat plains of a sandy nature form the margins of the 
 lakes. The little town of Hambantotte, with a good 
 harbor for small craft, is about twenty miles distant, to 
 which there is a good cart road. 
 
 The water of these lakes is a perfect brine. In the 
 dry season the evaporation, of course, increases the 
 strength until the water can no longer retain the amount 
 of salt in solution ; it therefore precipitates and crystal-
 
 Salt Lakes. 289 
 
 lizes at the bottom in various degrees of thickness, ac- 
 cording to the strength of the brine. 
 
 Thus, as the water recedes from the banks by evapo- 
 ration and the lake decreases in size, it leaves a beach, 
 not of shingles, but of pure salt in crystallized cubes to 
 the depth of several inches, and sometimes to half a 
 foot or more. The bottom of the lake is equally coated 
 with this thick deposit. 
 
 These lakes are protected by watchers, who live 
 upon the margin throughout the year. Were it not 
 for this precaution, immense quantities of salt would be 
 stolen. In the month of August the weather is gen- 
 erally most favorable for the collection, at which time 
 the assistant agent for the district usually gives a few 
 days' superintendence. 
 
 The salt upon the shore being first collected, the na- 
 tives wade into the lake and gather the deposit from 
 the bottom, which they bring to the shore in baskets ; 
 it is then made up into vast piles, which are subse- 
 quently thatched over with cajans (the plaited leaf of 
 the cocoa-nut). In this state it remains until an op- 
 portunity offers for carting it to the government salt- 
 stores. 
 
 This must strike the reader as being a rude method 
 of collecting what Nature so liberally produces. The 
 waste is necessarily enormous, as the natives cannot 
 gather the salt at a greater depth than three feet; 
 hence the greater proportion of the annual produce of 
 the lake remains ungathered. The supply at present 
 afforded might be trebled with very little trouble or 
 expense. 
 
 If a stick is inserted in the mud, so that one end 
 stands above water, the salt crystallizes upon it in a 
 25 T
 
 290 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 large lump of several pounds' weight. This is of a 
 better quality than that which is gathered from the bot- 
 tom, being free from sand or other impurities. Innu- 
 merable samples of this may be seen upon the stakes 
 which the natives have stuck in the bottom to mark the 
 line of their day's work. These, not being removed, 
 amass a collection of salt as described. 
 
 Were the government anxious to increase the pro- 
 duce of these natural reservoirs, nothing could be more 
 simple than to plant the whole lake with rows of stakes. 
 The wood is on the spot, and the rate of labor sixpence 
 a day per man ; thus it might be accomplished for a 
 comparatively small amount. 
 
 This would not only increase the produce to an im- 
 mense degree, but it would also improve the purity of 
 the collection, and would render facilities for gathering 
 the crop by means of boats, and thus obviate the neces- 
 sity of entering the water ; at present the suffering 
 caused by the latter process is a great drawback to the 
 supply of labor. So powerful is the brine that the legs 
 and feet become excoriated after two or three days' em- 
 ployment, and the natives have accordingly a great 
 aversion to the occupation. 
 
 Nothing could be easier than gathering the crop by 
 the method proposed. Boats would paddle along be- 
 tween the rows of stakes, while each stick would be 
 pulled up and the salt disengaged by a single blow ; 
 the stick would then be replaced in its position until 
 the following season. 
 
 Nevertheless, although so many specimens exist of 
 this accumulation, the method which was adopted by 
 the savage is still followed by the soi-disant civilized 
 man.
 
 Method of Collection Demand. 291 
 
 In former days, when millions occupied Ceylon, the 
 demand for salt must doubtless have been in proportion, 
 and the lakes which are now so neglected must have 
 been taxed to their utmost resources. There can be 
 little doubt that the barbarians of those times had some 
 more civilized method of increasing the production than 
 the enlightened race of the present day. 
 
 The productive salt lakes are confined entirely to the 
 south of Ceylon. Lakes and estuaries of sea-water 
 abound all round the island, but these are only com- 
 monly salt, and do not yield. The north and the east 
 coasts are therefore supplied by artificial salt-pans. 
 These are simple enclosed levels on the beach, into 
 which the sea-water is admitted, and then allowed to 
 evaporate by the heat of the sun. The salt of course 
 remains at the bottom. More water is then admitted, 
 and again evaporated ; and this process continues until 
 the thickness of the salt at the bottom allows of its 
 being collected. 
 
 This simple plan might be adopted with great success 
 with the powerful brine of the salt lakes, which might 
 be pumped from its present lower level into dry reser- 
 voirs for evaporation. 
 
 The policy of the government, however, does not 
 tend to the increase of any production. It is preferred 
 to keep up the high rate of salt by a limited supply, 
 which meets with immediate demand, rather than to 
 increase the supply for the public benefit at a reduced 
 rate. This is a mistaken mode of reasoning. At the 
 present high price the consumption of salt is extremely 
 small, as its use is restricted to absolute necessaries. 
 On the other hand, were the supply increased at one 
 half the present rate, the consumption would augment
 
 292 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 in a far greater proportion, as salt would then be used 
 for a variety of purposes which at the present cost is 
 impossible, viz. for the purpose of cattle-feeding, man- 
 ures, etc., etc. In addition to this, it would vastly af- 
 fect the price of salt fish (the staple article of native 
 consumption), and by the reduction in the cost of this 
 commodity there would be a corresponding extension 
 in the trade. 
 
 The hundreds of thousands of hides which are now 
 thrown aside to rot uncared for would then be preserved 
 and exported, which at the present rate of salt is im- 
 possible. The skins of buffaloes, oxen, deer, swine, 
 all valuable in other parts of the world, in Ceylon are 
 valueless'. The wild buffalo is not even skinned when 
 shot ; he is simply opened for his marrow-bones, his 
 tail is cut off for soup, his brains taken out for cotelettes, 
 and his tongue salted. The beast himself, hide and all, 
 is left as food for the jackal. The wandering native 
 picks up his horns, which find their way to the English 
 market ; but the " hide," the only really valuable por- 
 tion, is neglected. 
 
 Within a short distance of the salt lakes, buffaloes, 
 boars, and in fact all kind of animals abound, and I have 
 no doubt that if it were once proved to the natives that 
 the hides could be made remunerative, they would soon 
 learn the method of preparation. 
 
 Some persons have an idea that a native will not take 
 the trouble to do anything that would turn a penny ; in 
 this I do not agree. Certainly a native has not sufficient 
 courage for a speculation which involves the risk of 
 loss ; but provided he is safe in that respect, he will 
 take unbounded trouble for his own benefit, not valuing 
 his time or labor in pursuit of his object.
 
 Commercial Value of the Elephant. 293 
 
 I have noticed a great change in the native habits 
 along the southern coast, which exemplifies this, since 
 the steamers have touched regularly at Galle. 
 
 Some years ago, elephants, buffaloes, etc., when shot 
 by sportsmen, remained untouched except by the wild 
 beast ; but now within one hundred and fifty miles of 
 Galle every buffalo horn is collected, and even the ele- 
 phants' grinders are extracted from the skulls, and 
 brought into market. 
 
 An elephant's grinder averages seven pounds in 
 weight, and is not worth more than from a penny to 
 three half-pence a pound ; nevertheless they are now 
 brought to Galle in large quantities to be made into 
 knife-handles and sundry ornaments, to tempt the pas- 
 sengers of the various steamers. If the native takes 
 this trouble for so small a recompense, there is every 
 reason to suppose that the hides now wasted would be 
 brought into market and form a valuable export, were 
 salt at such a rate as would admit of their preparation. 
 
 The whole of the southern coast, especially in the 
 neighborhood of the salt lakes, abounds with fish. 
 These are at present nearly undisturbed ; but I have 
 little doubt that a reduction in the price of salt would 
 soon call forth the energies of the Moormen, who would 
 establish fisheries in the immediate neighborhood. 
 This would be of great importance to the interior of 
 the country, as a road has been made within the last 
 few years direct from this locality to Badulla, distant 
 about eighty miles, and situated in the very heart of 
 the most populous district of Ceylon. This road, which 
 forms a direct line of communication from the port of 
 Hambantotte to Newera Ellia, is now much used for 
 the transport of coffee from the Badulla estates, to 
 25*
 
 794 Eight Tears 1 Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 which a cheap supply of salt and fish would be a great 
 desideratum. 
 
 The native is a clever fellow at fishing. Every little 
 boy of ten years old along the coast is an adept in 
 throwing the casting net ; and I have often watched 
 with amusement the scientific manner in which some 
 of these little fellows handle a fine fish on a single 
 line ; Isaak Walton would have been proud of such 
 pupils. 
 
 There is nothing like necessity for sharpening a 
 man's intellect, and the natives of the coast being a 
 class of ichthyophagi, it may be imagined that they 
 excel in all the methods of capturing their favorite 
 food. 
 
 The sea, the rivers, and in fact every pool, teem with 
 fish of excellent quality, from the smallest to the largest 
 kind, not forgetting the most delicious prawns and 
 crabs. Turtle likewise abound, and are to be caught 
 in great numbers in their season. 
 
 Notwithstanding the immense amount of fish in the 
 various rivers, there is no idea of fishing as a sport 
 among the European population of Ceylon. This I 
 cannot account for, unless from the fear of fever, which 
 might be caught with more certainty than fish by 
 standing up to the knees in water under a burning sun. 
 Nevertheless, I have indulged in this every now and 
 then, when out on a jungle trip, although I have never 
 started from home with such an intention. Seeing 
 some fine big fellows swimming about in a deep hole 
 is a great temptation, especially when you know they 
 are gray mullet, and the chef de cuisine is short of the 
 wherewithal for dinner. 
 
 This is not unfrequently the case during a jungle
 
 Primitive Tackle. 295 
 
 trip ; and the tent being pitched in the shade of a noble 
 forest on the steep banks of a broad river, thoughts of 
 fishing naturally intrude themselves. 
 
 The rivers in the dry season are so exhausted that a 
 simple bed of broad dry sand remains, while a small 
 stream winds along the bottom, merely a few inches 
 deep, now no more than a few feet in width, now rip- 
 pling over a few opposing rocks, while the natural bed 
 extends its dry sand for many yards on either side. At 
 every bend in the river there is of course a deep hole 
 close to the bank ; these holes remain full of water, as 
 the little stream continues to flow through them ; and 
 the water, in its entrance and exit being too shallow for 
 a large fish, all the finny monsters of the river are com- 
 pelled to imprison themselves in the depths of these 
 holes. Here the crocodiles have fine feeding, as they 
 live in the same place. 
 
 With a good rod and tackle there would be capital 
 sport in these places, as some of the fish run ten and 
 twelve pounds weight ; but I have never been well pro- 
 vided, and, while staring at the coveted fish from the 
 bank, I have had no means of catching them, except 
 by the most primitive methods. 
 
 Then I have cut a stick for a rod, and made a line 
 with some hairs from my horse's tail, with a pin for a 
 hook, baited with a shrimp, and the fishing has com- 
 menced. 
 
 Fish and fruit are the most enjoyable articles of food 
 in a tropical country, and in the former Ceylon is rich. 
 The seir fish is little inferior to salmon, and were the 
 flesh a similar color, it might sometimes form a substi- 
 tute. Soles and whiting remind us of Old England, 
 but a host of bright red, blue, green, yellow, and extra-
 
 296 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 ordinary-looking creatures in the same net dispel all 
 ideas of English fishing. 
 
 Oysters there are likewise in Ceylon ; but here, alas ! 
 there is a sad falling off in the comparison with our 
 well-remembered " native." Instead of the neat little 
 shell of the English oyster, the Ceylon species is a 
 shapeless, twisted, knotty, rocky-looking creature, such 
 as a legitimate oyster would be in a fit of spasms or 
 convulsions. In fact, there is no vestige of the true 
 breed about it, and the want of flavor equals its miser- 
 able exterior. 
 
 There are few positions more tantalizing to a hungry 
 man than that of being surrounded by oysters without 
 a knife. It is an obstinate and perverse wretch that 
 will not accommodate itself to man's appetite, and it 
 requires a forcible attack to vanquish it ; so that every 
 oyster eaten is an individual murder, in which the cold 
 steel has been plunged into its vitals, and the animal 
 finds itself swallowed before it has quite made up its 
 mind that it has been opened. But take away the 
 knife, and see how vain is the attempt to force the 
 stronghold. How utterly useless is the oyster ! You 
 may turn it over and over, and look for a weak place, 
 but there is no admittance ; you may knock it with a 
 stone, but the knock will be unanswered. How would 
 you open such a creature without a knife? 
 
 This was one of the many things that had never 
 occurred to me until one day when I found myself 
 with some three or four friends and a few boatmen on 
 a little island, or rather a rock, about a mile from the 
 shore. This rock was rich in the spasmodic kind of 
 oyster, large detached masses of which lay just beneath 
 the water in lumps of some hundredweight each, which
 
 Oysters and Penknives. 297 
 
 had been formed by the oysters clustering and adhering 
 together. It so happened that our party were unani- 
 mous in the love of these creatures, and we accordingly 
 exerted ourselves to roll out of the water a large mass ; 
 which having accomplished, we discovered to our dis- 
 may that nothing but one penknife was possessed 
 among us. This we knew was a useless weapon 
 against such armor ; however, in our endeavors to per- 
 form impossibilities, we tickled the oyster and broke 
 the knife. After gazing for some time in blank despair 
 at our useless prize, a bright thought struck one of the 
 party, and drawing his ramrod he began to screw it 
 into the weakest part of an oyster ; this, however, was 
 proof, and the ramrod broke. 
 
 Stupid enough it may appear, but it was full a quarter 
 of an hour before any of us thought of a successful plan 
 of attack. I noticed a lot of drift timber scattered upon 
 the island, and then the right idea was hit. We gath- 
 ered the wood, which was bleached and dry, and we 
 piled it a few feet to windward of the mass of oysters. 
 Striking a light with a cap and some powder, we lit 
 the pile. It blazed and the wind blew the heat strong 
 upon the oysters, which accordingly began to squeak 
 and hiss, until one by one they gave up the ghost, and, 
 opening their shells, exposed their delightfully roasted 
 bodies, which were eaten forthwith. 
 
 How very absurd and uninteresting this is ! but 
 nevertheless it is one of those trifling incidents which 
 sharpen the imagination when you depend upon your 
 own resources. 
 
 It is astonishing how perfectly helpless some people 
 are if taken from the artificial existence of every-day 
 life and thrown entirely upon themselves. One man
 
 298 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 would be in superlative misery while another would 
 enjoy the responsibility, and delight in the fertility of 
 his own invention in accommodating himself to circum- 
 stances. A person can scarcely credit the unfortunate 
 number of articles necessary for his daily and nightly 
 comfort, until he is deprived of them. To realize this, 
 lose yourself, good reader, wander off a great distance 
 from everywhere, and be benighted in a wild country, 
 with nothing but your rifle and hunting-knife. You 
 will then find yourself dinnerless, supperless, houseless, 
 comfortless, sleepless, cold and miserable, if you do not 
 know how to manage for yourself. You will miss 
 your dinner sadly if you are not accustomed to fast for 
 twenty-four hours. You will also miss your bed de- 
 cidedly, and your toothbrush in the morning; but if, 
 on the other hand, you are of the right stamp, it is as- 
 tonishing how lightly these little troubles will sit on 
 you, and how comfortable you will make yourself under 
 the circumstances. 
 
 The first thing you will consider is the house. The 
 architectural style will of course depend upon the local- 
 ity. If the ground is rocky and hilly, be sure to make 
 a steep pitch in the bank or the side of a rock form a 
 wall, to leewai'd of which you will lie when your man- 
 sion is completed by a few sticks simply inclined from 
 the rock and covered with grass. If the country is flat, 
 you must cut four forked sticks, and erect a villa after 
 this fashion in skeleton-work, which you then cover 
 with grass. 
 
 You will then strew the floor with grass or small 
 boughs, in lieu of a feather bed, and you will tie up a 
 bundle of the same material into a sheaf, which will
 
 A Night Bivouac for a Novice. 299 
 
 form a capital pillow. If grass and sticks are at hand, 
 this will be completed thus far in an hour. 
 
 Then comes the operation of fire-making, which is 
 by no means easy ; and as warmth comes next to food, 
 and a blaze both scares wild animals and looks cheer- 
 ful, I advise some attention to be paid to the fire. 
 There must be a good collection of old fallen logs, if 
 possible, together with some green wood to prevent 
 too rapid a consumption of fuel. But the fire is not 
 yet made. 
 
 First tear off a bit of your shirt and rub it with 
 moistened gunpowder. Wind this in a thick roll round 
 your ramrod just below the point of the screw, with the 
 rough torn edge uppermost. Into these numerous folds 
 sprinkle a pinch of gunpowder ; then put a cap on the 
 point of the screw, and a slight tap with your hunting- 
 knife explodes it and ignites the linen. 
 
 Now, fire in its birth requires nursing like a young 
 baby, or it will leave you in the lurch. A single spark 
 will perhaps burn your haystacks, but when you want 
 a fire it seldom will burn, out of sheer obstinacy ; 
 therefore, take a wisp of dry grass, into which push 
 the burning linen and give it a rapid, circular motion 
 through the air, which will generally set it in a blaze.
 
 300 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Then pile gently upon it the smallest and driest sticks, 
 increasing their size as the fire grows till it is all right ; 
 and you will sit down proudly before your own fire, 
 thoroughly confident that you are the first person that 
 ever made one properly. 
 
 There is some comfort in that ; and having manufac- 
 tured your own house and bed, you will lie down snugly 
 and think of dinner till you fall asleep, and the crowing 
 of the jungle-cocks will wake you in the morning. 
 
 The happiest hours of my life have been passed in 
 this rural solitude. I have started from home with 
 nothing but a couple of blankets and the hounds, and, 
 with one blanket wrapped round me I have slept be- 
 neath a capital tent formed of the other With two 
 forked sticks and a horizontal pole the ends of the 
 blanket being secured by heavy stones, thus 
 
 This is a more comfortable berth than it may appear 
 at first sight, especially if one end is stopped up with 
 boughs. The ridge-pole being only two feet and a half 
 high, renders it necessary to crawl in on all-fours ; but 
 this lowness of ceiling has its advantages in not catch- 
 ing the wind, and likewise in its warmth. A blanket 
 roof, well secured and tightly strained, will keep off 
 the heaviest rain for a much longer period than a com- 
 mon tent ; but in thoroughly wet weather any woven 
 roof is more or less uncomfortable.
 
 Wild Tarns and Consequences. 301 
 
 I recollect a certain bivouac in the Augora patinas 
 for a few days' hunting, when I was suddenly seized 
 with a botanical fit in a culinary point of view, and I 
 was determined to make the jungle subscribe something 
 toward the dinner. To my delight, I discovered some 
 plants which, from the appearance of their leaves, I 
 knew were a species of wild yam ; they grew in a 
 ravine on the swampy soil of a sluggish spring, and 
 the ground being loose, I soon grubbed them up and 
 found a most satisfactory quantity of yams about the 
 size of large potatoes not bad things for dinner. Ac- 
 cordingly, they were soon transferred to the pot. Elk 
 steaks and an Irish stew, the latter to be made of elk 
 chops, onions and the prized yams ; this was the bill 
 of fare expected. But, misericordia ! what a change 
 came over the yams when boiled ! they turned a beau- 
 tiful slate color, and looked like imitations of their 
 former selves in lead. 
 
 Their appearance was uncommonly bad, certainly. 
 There were three of us to feed upon them, viz., Palli- 
 ser, my huntsman Benton and myself. No one wish- 
 ing to be first, it was then, I confess, that the thought 
 just crossed my mind that Benton should make the 
 experiment, but, repenting at the same moment, I pun- 
 ished myself by eating a very little one on the spot. 
 Benton, who was blessed with a huge appetite, picked 
 out a big one. Greedy fellow, to choose the largest ? 
 but, n'importe, it brought its punishment. 
 
 Palliser and I having eaten carefully, were just be- 
 ginning to feel uncomfortable, when up jumped Ben- 
 ton, holding his throat with both hands, crying, " My 
 throat's full of pins. I'm choked." 
 
 " We are poisoned, no doubt of it," said Palliser, in 
 26
 
 302 EigJit dears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 his turn. "I am choking likewise." "So am I.' 
 There we wei - e all three, with our throats in an extraor- 
 dinary state of sudden contraction and inflammation, 
 with a burning and pricking sensation, in addition to a 
 feeling of swelling and stoppage of the windpipe. 
 Having nothing but brandy at hand, we dosed largely 
 instanter, and in the course of ten minutes we found 
 relief; but Benton, having eaten his large yam, was 
 the last to recover. 
 
 There must have been highly poisonous qualities in 
 this root, as the quantity eaten was nothing in propor- 
 tion to the effects produced. It is well known that 
 many roots are poisonous when raw (especially the 
 manioc), which become harmless when cooked, as the 
 noxious properties consist of a very volatile oil, which 
 is thrown off during the process of boiling. These 
 wild yams must necessarily be still worse in their raw 
 state ; and it struck me, after their effects became 
 known, that I had never seen them grubbed up by the 
 wild hogs ; this neglect being a sure proof of their un- 
 fitness for food. 
 
 In these Augora patinas a curious duel was lately 
 fought by a pair of wild "bull elephants, both of whom 
 were the rarce a-ves of Ceylon, " tuskers." These two 
 bulls had consorted with a herd, and had no doubt 
 quarreled about the possession of the females. They 
 accordingly fought it out to the death, as a large tusker 
 was found recently killed, with his body bored in many 
 directions by his adversary's tusks, the ground in the 
 vicinity being trodden down with elephant tracks prov- 
 ing the obstinacy of the fight. 
 
 The last time that I was in this locality poor old 
 Bluebeard was alive, and had been performing feats in
 
 Fatality The Totapella Plains. 303 
 
 elk-hunting which no dog could surpass. A few weeks 
 later and he ran his last elk, and left a sad blank in the 
 pack. 
 
 Good and bad luck generally come in turn ; but when 
 the latter does pay a visit, it falls rather heavily, especi- 
 ally among the hounds. In one year I lost nearly the 
 whole pack. Seven died in one week from an attack 
 upon the brain, appearing in a form fortunately un- 
 known in England. In the same year I lost no less 
 than four of the best hounds by leopards, in addition 
 to a fearful amount of casualties from other causes. 
 
 Shortly after the appearance of the epidemic alluded 
 to, I took the hounds to the Totapella Plains for a fort- 
 night, for change of air, while their kennel was purified 
 and re-whitewashed. 
 
 In these Totapella Plains I had a fixed encampment, 
 which, being within nine miles of my house, I could 
 visit at any time with the hounds, without the slightest 
 preparation. There was an immense number of elk 
 in this part of the country ; in fact this was a great 
 drawback to the hunting, as two or more were con- 
 stantly on foot at the same time, which divided the 
 hounds and scattered them in all directions. This made 
 hard work of the sport, as this locality is nothing but a 
 series of ups and downs. The plains, as they are 
 termed, are composed of some hundred grassy hills, of 
 about a hundred feet elevation above the river ; these 
 rise like half oranges in every direction, while a high 
 chain of precipitous mountains walls in one side of 
 the view. Forest-covered hills abound in the centre 
 and around the skirts of the plains, while a deep river 
 winds in a circuitous route between the grassy hills. 
 
 My encampment was well chosen in this romantic
 
 304 Eight Tears' Wandering's in Ceylon. 
 
 spot. It was a place where you might live all your 
 life without seeing a soul except a wandering bee-hunter, 
 or a native sportsman who had ventured up from the 
 low country to shoot an elk. 
 
 Surrounded on all sides but one with steep hills, my 
 hunting settlement lay snugly protected from the wind 
 in a little valley. A small jungle about a hundred 
 yards square grew at the base of one of these grassy 
 hills, in which, having cleared the underwood for about 
 forty yards, I left the larger trees standing, and erected 
 my huts under their shelter at the exact base of the 
 knoll. This steep rise broke off into an abrupt cliff 
 about sixty yards from my tent, against which the river 
 bad-waged constant war, and, turning in an endless 
 vortex, had worn a deep hole, before it shot off in a 
 rapid torrent from the angle, dashing angrily over the 
 rocky masses which had fallen from the overhanging 
 cliff, and coming to a sudden rest in a broad deep pool 
 within twenty yards of the tent door. 
 
 This was a delicious spot. Being snugly hidden in 
 the jungle, there was no sign of my encampment from 
 the plain, except the curling blue smoke which rose 
 from the little hollow. A plot of grass of some two 
 acres formed the bottom of the valley before my habi- 
 tation, at the extremity of which the river flowed, 
 backed on the opposite side by an abrupt hill covered 
 with forest and jungle. 
 
 This being a chilly part of Ceylon, I had thatched 
 the walls of my tent, and made a good gridiron bed- 
 stead, to keep me from the damp ground, by means of 
 forked upright sticks, two horizontal bars and numer- 
 ous cross-pieces. This was covered with six inches' 
 thickness of grass, strapped down with the bark of a
 
 Bluebeard's Last Hunt. 305 
 
 fibrous shrub. My table and bench were formed in the 
 same manner, being of course fixtures, but most sub- 
 stantial. The kitchen, huts for attendants and kennel 
 were close adjoining. I could have lived there all my 
 life in fine weather. I wish I was there now with all 
 my heart. However, I had sufficient bad luck on my 
 last visit to have disgusted most people. Poor Match- 
 less, who was as good as her name implied, died of 
 inflammation of the lungs ; and I started one morning in 
 very low spirits at her loss, hoping to cheer myself up 
 by a good hunt. 
 
 It was not long before old Bluebeard's opening note 
 was heard high upon the hill-tops ; but, at the same 
 time, a portion of the pack had found another elk, 
 which, taking an opposite direction, of course divided 
 them. Being determined to stick to Bluebeard to the 
 last, I made straight through the jungle toward the 
 point at which I had heard a portion of the pack join 
 him, intending to get upon their track and follow up. 
 This I soon did ; and after running for some time 
 through the jungle, which, being young " nillho," was 
 unmistakably crushed by the elk and hounds, I came 
 to a capital though newly-made path, as a single ele- 
 phant, having been disturbed by the cry of the hounds, 
 had started off at full speed ; and the elk and hounds, 
 naturally choosing the easiest route through the jungle, 
 had kept upon his track. This I was certain of, as the 
 elk's print sunk deep in that of the elephant, whose 
 dung, lying upon the spot, was perfectly hot. 
 
 I fully expected that the hounds would bring the ele- 
 phant to bay, which is never pleasant when you are 
 without a gun ; however, they did not, but, sticking to 
 their true game, they went straight away toward the 
 26* U
 
 306 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 chain of mountains at the end of the plain. The river, 
 in making its exit, is checked by abrupt precipices, and 
 accordingly makes an angle and then descends a ravine 
 toward the low country. 
 
 I felt sure, from the nature of the ground and the 
 direction of the run, that the elk would come to bay in 
 this ravine ; and, after half an hour's run, I was de- 
 lighted, on arriving on the hill above, to hear the bay 
 of the hounds in the river far below. 
 
 The jungle was thick and tangled, but it did not take 
 long to force my way down the steep mountain side, 
 and I neared the spot and heard the splashing in the 
 river, as the elk, followed by the hounds, dashed across 
 just before I came in view. He had broken his bay ; 
 and, presently, I again heard the chorus of voices as he 
 once more came to a stand a few hundred paces down 
 the river. 
 
 The bamboo was so thick that I could hardly break 
 my way through it ; and I was crashing along toward 
 the spot, when suddenly the bay ceased, and shortly 
 after some of the hounds came hurrying up to me 
 regularly scared. Lena, who seldom showed a symptom 
 of fear, dashed up to me in a state of great excitement, 
 with the deep scores of a leopard's claws on her hind- 
 quarters. Only two couple of the hounds followed on 
 the elk's track ; the rest were nowhere. 
 
 The elk had doubled back, and I saw old Bluebeard 
 leading upon the scent up the bank of the river, fol- 
 lowed by three other hounds. 
 
 The surest, although the hardest work, was to get on 
 the track and follow up through the jungle. This I 
 accordingly did for about a mile, at which distance I 
 arrived at a small swampy plain in the centre of the
 
 Death among the Dogs. 307 
 
 jungle. Here, to my surprise, I saw old Bluebeard 
 sitting up. and looking faint, covered with blood, with 
 no other dog within view. The truth was soon known 
 upon examination. No less than five holes were cut 
 in his throat by a leopard's claws ; and by the violent 
 manner in which the poor dog strained and choked, I 
 felt sure that the windpipe was injured. There was no 
 doubt that he had received the stroke at the same time 
 that Lena was wounded beneath the rocky mountain 
 when the elk was at bay ; and nevertheless, the staunch 
 old dog had persevered in the chase till the difficulty of 
 breathing brought him to a standstill. I bathed the 
 wounds, but I knew it was his last day, poor old 
 fellow ! 
 
 I sounded the bugle for a few minutes, and having 
 collected some of the scattered pack I returned to the 
 tent, leading the wounded dog, whose breathing Yapidly 
 became more difficult. I lost no time in fomenting 
 and poulticing the part, but the swelling had com- 
 menced to such an extent that there was little hope of 
 recovery. 
 
 This was a dark day for the pack. Benton returned 
 in the afternoon from a search for the missing hounds, 
 and, as he descended the deep hill-side on approaching 
 the tent, I saw that he and a native were carrying 
 something slung upon a pole. At first I thought it 
 was an elk's head, which the missing hounds might 
 have run to bay, but on his arrival the worst was soon 
 known. 
 
 It was poor Leopold, one of my best dogs. He was 
 all but dead, with hopeless wounds in his throat and 
 belly. He had been struck by a leopard within a few 
 yards of Benton's side, and, with his usual pluck, the
 
 308 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 dog turned upon the leopard in spite of his wounds, 
 when the cowardly brute, seeing the man, turned and 
 fled. 
 
 That night Leopold died. The next morning Blue- 
 beard was so bad that I returned home with him slung 
 in a litter between two men. Poor fellow ! he never 
 lived to reach his comfortable kennel, but died in the 
 litter within a mile of home. \ had him buried by the 
 side of old Smut, and there are no truer dogs on the 
 earth than the two that there lie together. 
 
 A very few weeks after Bluebeard's death, however, 
 I got a taste of revenge out of one of the race. 
 
 Palliser and I were out shooting, and we found a 
 single bull elephant asleep in the dry bed of a stream ; 
 we were stealing quietly up to him, when his guardian 
 spirit whispered something in his ear, and up he jumped. 
 However, we polished him off, and having reloaded, 
 we passed on. 
 
 The country consisted of low, thorny jungle and small 
 sandy plains of short turf, and we were just entering 
 one of these open spots within a quarter of a mile of 
 of the dead elephant, when we observed a splendid 
 leopard crouching at the far end of the glade. He was 
 about ninety paces from us, lying broadside on, with 
 his head turned to the opposite direction, evidently 
 looking out for game. His crest was bristled up with 
 excitement, and he formed a perfect picture of beauty 
 both in color and attitude. 
 
 Halting our gun-bearers, we stalked him within sixty 
 yards : he looked quickly round, and his large hazel 
 eyes shone full upon us, as the two rifles made one re- 
 port, and his white belly lay stretched upon the ground. 
 
 They were both clean shots : Palliser had aimed at
 
 Leopard Shot. 309 
 
 his head, and had cut off one ear and laid the skin open 
 at the back of the neck. My ball had smashed both 
 shoulders, but life was not fairly extinct. We therefore 
 strangled him with my necktie, as I did not wish to 
 spoil his hide by any further wound. This was a 
 pleasing sacrifice to the " manes" of old Bluebeard. 
 
 E. Palliser had at one time the luck to have a fair 
 turn up with a leopard with the dogs and hunting- 
 knife. At that time he kept a pack at Dimboola, about 
 nine miles from my house. Old Bluebeard belonged 
 to him, and he had a fine dog named " Pirate," who 
 was the heaviest and best of his seizers. 
 
 He was out hunting with two or three friends, when 
 suddenly a leopard sprang from the jungle at one of 
 the smaller hounds as they were passing quietly along 
 a forest path. Halloaing the pack on upon the instant, 
 every dog gave chase, and a short run brought him to 
 bay in the usual place of refuge, the boughs of a tree. 
 
 However, it so happened that there was a good sup- 
 ply of large sharp stones upon the soil, and with these 
 the whole party kept up a spirited bombardment*, until 
 at length one lucky shot hit him on the head, and at 
 the same moment he fell or jumped into the middle of 
 the pack. Here Pirate came to the front in grand 
 style and collared him, while the whole pack backed 
 him up without an exception. 
 
 There was a glorious struggle of course, which was 
 terminated by the long arm of our friend Palliser, who 
 slipped the hunting-knife into him and became a win- 
 ner. This is the only instance that I know of a leop- 
 ard being run into and killed with hounds and a knife.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 WILD DENIZENS OF FOREST AND LAKE DESTROYERS OF REP- 
 TILES THE TREE DUCK THE MYSTERIES OF NIGHT IN 
 
 THE FOREST THE DEVIL-BIRD THE IGUANODON IN MIN- 
 IATURE OUTRIGGER CANOES THE LAST GLIMPSE OF 
 CEYLON A GLANCE AT OLD TIMES. 
 
 ONE of the most interesting objects to a tourist in 
 Ceylon is a secluded lake or tank in those jungle 
 districts which are seldom disturbed by the white man. 
 There is something peculiarly striking in the wonderful 
 number of living creatures which exist upon the pro- 
 ductions of the water. Birds of infinite variety and 
 countless numbers fish in myriads reptiles and croco- 
 diles animals that feed upon the luxuriant vegetation 
 of the shores insects which sparkle in the sunshine in 
 every gaudy hue ; all these congregate in the neighbor- 
 hood of these remote solitudes, and people the lakes 
 with an incalculable host of living beings. 
 
 In such a scene there is scope for much delightful 
 study of the habits and natures of wild animals, where 
 they can be seen enjoying their freedom unrestrained 
 by the fear of man. 
 
 Often have I passed a quiet hour on a calm evening 
 when the sun has sunk low on the horizon, and the 
 cool breeze has stolen across the water, refreshing all 
 
 310
 
 Wild Denizens pf Forest and Lake, 311 
 
 animal life. Here, concealed beneath the shade of 
 some large tree., I have watched the masses of living 
 things quite unconscious of such scrutiny. In one spot 
 the tiny squirrel nibbling the buds on a giant limb of 
 the tree above me, while on the opposite shore a ma- 
 jestic bull elephant has commenced his evening bath, 
 showering the water above his head and trumpeting 
 his loud call to the distant herd. Far away in the 
 dense jungles the ringing sound is heard, as the answer- 
 ing females return the salute and slowly approach the 
 place of rendezvous. One by one their dark forms 
 emerge from the thorny coverts and loom large upon 
 the green but distant shores, and they increase their 
 pace when they view the coveted water, and belly-deep 
 enjoy their evening draught. 
 
 The graceful axis in dense herds quit the screening 
 jungle and also seek the plain. The short, shrill barks 
 of answering bucks sound clearly across the surface of 
 the lake, and indistinct specks begin to appear on the 
 edge of the more distant forests. Now black patches 
 are dotted about the plain ; now larger objects, some 
 single and some in herds, make toward the water. The 
 telescope distinguishes the vast herds of hogs busy in 
 upturning the soil in search of roots, and the ungainly 
 buffaloes, some in herds and others single bulls, all 
 gathering at the hour of sunset toward the water. 
 Peacocks spread their gaudy plumage to the cool eve- 
 ning air as they strut over the green plain ; the giant 
 crane stands statue-like among the shallows ; the peli- 
 can floats like a ball of snow upon the dark water ; 
 and ducks and waterfowl of all kinds splash, and dive, 
 and scream in a confused noise, the volume of which 
 explains their countless numbers.
 
 312 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 Foremost among the waterfowl for beauty is the 
 water-pheasant. He is generally seen standing upon 
 the broad leaf of a lotus, pecking at the ripe seeds and 
 continually uttering his plaintive cry, like the very dis- 
 tant note of a hound. This bird is most beautifully 
 formed, and his peculiarity of color is well adapted to 
 his shape. He is something like a cock pheasant in 
 build and mode of carriage, but he does not exceed the 
 size of a pigeon. His color is white, with a fine brown 
 tinsel glittering head and long tail ; the wings of the 
 cock bird are likewise ornamented with similar brown 
 tinsel feathers. These birds are delicious eating, but I 
 seldom fire at them, as they are generally among the 
 lotus plants in such deep water that I dare not venture 
 to get them on account of crocodiles. The lotus seeds, 
 which they devour greedily, are a very good substitute 
 for filberts, and are slightly narcotic. 
 
 The endless variety of the crane is very interesting upon 
 these lonely shores. From the giant crane, who stands 
 nearly six feet high, down to the smallest species of 
 paddy bird, there is a numerous gradation. Among 
 these the gaunt adjutant stands conspicuous as he stalks 
 with measured steps through the high rushes, now 
 plunging his immense bill into the tangled sedges, then 
 triumphantly throwing back his head with a large snake 
 writhing helplessly in his horny beak ; open fly the 
 shear-like hinges of his bill one or two sharp jerks 
 and down goes one half of an incredibly large snake ; 
 another jerk and a convulsive struggle of the snake ; 
 one more jerk snap, snap goes the bill and the snake 
 has disappeared, while the adjutant again stalks quietly 
 on, as though nothing had happened. Down goes his 
 bill, presently, with a sudden start, and again his head
 
 Game J3irds. 313 
 
 is thrown back ; but this time it is the work of a mo- 
 ment, as it is only an iguana, which not being above 
 eighteen inches long, is easy swallowing. 
 
 A great number of the crane species are destroyers 
 of snakes, which in a country so infested with vermin 
 as Ceylon renders them especially valuable. Peacocks 
 likewise wage perpetual war with all kinds of reptiles, 
 and Nature has wisely arranged that where these nui- 
 sances most abound there is a corresponding provision 
 for their destruction. 
 
 Snipes, of course, abound in their season around the 
 margin of the lakes ; but the most delicious birds for 
 the table are the teal and ducks, of which there are 
 four varieties. The largest duck is nearly the size of a 
 wild goose, and has a red, fatty protuberance about the 
 beak very similar to a muscovy. The teal are the fat- 
 test and most delicious birds that I have ever tasted. 
 Cooked in Soyer's magic stove, with a little butter, ca- 
 yenne pepper, a squeeze of lime juice, a pinch of salt, 
 and a spoonful of Lea and Perrins' Worcester sauce 
 (which, by the by, is the best in the world for a hot 
 climate), and there is no bird like a Ceylon teaL They 
 are very numerous, and I have seen them in flocks of 
 some thousands on the salt-water lakes on the eastern 
 coast, where they are seldom or ever disturbed. Never- 
 theless, they are tolerably wary, which, of course, in- 
 creases the sport of shooting them. I have often 
 thought what a paradise these lakes would have made 
 for the veteran Colonel Hawker with his punt gun. 
 He might have paddled about and blazed away to his 
 heart's content. 
 
 There is one kind of duck that would undoubtedly 
 have astonished him, and which would have slightly 
 27
 
 314 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 bothered the punt gun for an elevation : this is the tree 
 duck, which flies about and perches in the branches of 
 the lofty trees like any nightingale. This has an absurd 
 effect, as a duck looks entirely out of place in such a 
 situation. I have seen a whole cluster of them sitting 
 on one branch, and when I first observed them I killed 
 three at one shot to make it a matter of certainty. 
 
 It is a handsome light brown bird, about the size of 
 an English widgeon, but there is no peculiar formation 
 in the feet to enable them to cling to a bough ; they are 
 bondjide ducks with the common flat web foot. 
 
 A very beautiful species of bald-pated coot, called by 
 the natives keetoolle, is also an inhabitant of the lakes. 
 This bird is of a bright blue color with a brilliant pink 
 horny head. He is a slow flyer, being as bulky as a 
 common fowl and short in his proportion of wing. 
 
 It is impossible to convey a correct idea of the number 
 and variety of birds in these localities, and I will not 
 trouble the reader by a description which would be very 
 laborious to all parties ; but to those who delight in 
 ornithological studies there is a wild field which would 
 doubtless supply many new specimens. 
 
 I know nothing more interesting than the acquaint- 
 ance with all the wild denizens of mountain and plain, 
 lake and river. There is always something fresh to 
 learn, something new to admire, in the boundless works 
 of creation. There is a charm in every sound in Nature 
 where the voice of man is seldom heard to disturb her 
 works. Every note gladdens the ear in the stillness of 
 solitude, when night has overshadowed the earth, and 
 all sleep but the wild animals of the forest. Then I have 
 often risen from my bed, when the tortures of mosquitoes 
 have banished all ideas of rest, and have silently wan
 
 Mysteries of Night in the Forest. 315 
 
 dered from the tent to listen in the solemn quiet of 
 night. 
 
 I have seen the tired coolies stretched round the 
 smouldering fires sound asleep after their day's march, 
 wrapped in their white clothes, like so many corpses 
 laid upon the ground. The flickering logs on the great 
 pile of embers crackling and sinking as they'consume ; 
 now falling suddenly and throwing up a shower of 
 sparks, then resting again in a dull red heat, casting a 
 silvery moonlike glare upon the foliage of the spread- 
 ing trees above. A little farther on, and the horses 
 standing sleepily at their tethers, their heads drooping 
 in a doze. Beyond them, and all is darkness and wil- 
 derness. No human dwelling or being beyond the little 
 encampment I have quitted ; the dark lake reflecting 
 the stars like a mirror, and the thin crescent moon giv- 
 ing a pale and indistinct glare which just makes night 
 visible. 
 
 It is a lovely hour then to wander forth and wait for 
 wild sounds. All is still except the tiny hum of the 
 mosquitoes. Then the low chuckling note of the night 
 hawk sounds soft and melancholy in the distance ; and 
 again all is still, save the heavy and impatient stamp of 
 a horse as the mosquitoes irritate him by their bites. 
 Quiet again for a few seconds, when presently the loud 
 alarm of the plover rings over the plain "Did he do 
 it?" the bird's harsh cry speaks these words as plainly 
 as a human being. This alarm is a certain warning 
 that some beast is stalking abroad which has disturbed 
 it from its roost, but presently it is again hushed. 
 
 The loud hoarse bark of an elk now unexpectedly 
 startles the ear ; presently it is replied to by another, 
 and once more the plover shrieks " Did he do it?" and a
 
 316 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 peacock waking on his roost gives one loud scream and 
 sleeps again. 
 
 The heavy and regular splashing of water now marks 
 the measured tread of a single elephant as he roams 
 out into the cooled lake, and you can hear the more 
 gentle falling of water as he spouts a shower over his 
 body. Hark at the deep guttural sigh of pleasure 
 that travels over the lake like a moan of the wind ! 
 what giant lungs to heave such a breath ; but hark 
 again ! There was a fine trumpet ! as clear as any 
 bugle note blown by a hundred breaths it rung through 
 the still air. How beautiful ! There, the note is an- 
 swered ; not by so fine a tone, but by discordant screams 
 and roars from the opposite side, and the louder splash- 
 ing tells that the herd is closing up to the old bull. 
 Like distant thunder a deep roar growls across the lake 
 as the old monarch mutters to himself in angry impa- 
 tience. 
 
 Then the long, tremulous hoot of the owl disturbs 
 the night, mingled with the harsh cries of flights of 
 waterfowl, which doubtless the elephants have dis- 
 turbed while bathing. 
 
 Once more all sounds sink to rest for a few minutes, 
 until the low, grating roar of a leopard nearer home 
 warns the horses of their danger and wakes up the 
 sleeping horsekeeper, who piles fresh wood upon the 
 fires, and the bright blaze shoots up among the trees 
 and throws a dull, ruddy glow across the surface of 
 the water. And morning comes at length, ushered in, 
 before night has yet departed, by the strong, shrill cry 
 of the great fish-eagle, as he sits on the topmost bough 
 of some forest tree and at measured periods repeats his 
 quivering and unearthly yell like an evil spirit calling.
 
 The Demi-Bird. 317 
 
 But hark at that dull, low note of indescribable pain 
 and suffering ! long and heavy it swells and dies away. 
 It is the devil-bird ; and whoever sees that bird must 
 surely die soon after, according to Cingalese super- 
 stition. 
 
 A more cheering sound charms the ear as the gray 
 tint of morning makes the stars grow pale ; clear, rich, 
 notes, now prolonged and full, now plaintive and low, 
 set the example to other singing birds, as the bulbul, 
 first to awake, proclaims the morning. Wild, jungle- 
 like songs the birds indulge in ; not like our steady 
 thrushes of Old England, but charming in their quaint- 
 ness. The jungle partridge now wakes up, and with 
 his loud cry subdues all other sounds, until the numer- 
 ous peacocks, perched on the high trees around the 
 lake, commence their discordant yells, which master 
 everything. 
 
 The name for the devil-bird is " gualama," and so 
 impressed are the natives with the belief that a sight 
 of it is equivalent to a call to the nether world that 
 they frequently die from sheer fright and nervousness. 
 A case of this happened to a servant of a friend of 
 mine. He chanced to see the creature sitting on a 
 bough, and he was from that moment so satisfied of 
 his inevitable fate that he refused all food, and fretted 
 and died, as, of course, any one else must do, if starved, 
 whether he saw the devil-bird or not. 
 
 Although I have heard the curious, mournful cry of 
 this creature nearly every night, I have never seen one ; 
 this is easily accounted for, as, being a night-bird, it 
 remains concealed in the jungle during the day. In so 
 densely wooded a country as Ceylon it is not to be 
 wondered at that owls, and all other birds of similar 
 27*
 
 318 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 habits are so rarely met with. Even woodcocks are 
 rarely noticed ; so seldom, indeed, that I have never 
 seen more than two during my residence in the island. 
 
 From the same cause many interesting animals pass 
 unobserved, although they are very numerous. The 
 porcupine, although as common as the hedge-hog in 
 England, is very seldom seen. Likewise the manis, or 
 great scaled ant-eater, who retires to his hole before 
 break of day, is never met with by daylight. Indeed, 
 I have had some trouble in persuading many persons 
 in Ceylon that such an animal exists in the country. 
 
 In the same manner the larger kinds of serpents con- 
 ceal themselves by day and wander forth at night,, like 
 all other reptiles except the smaller species of lizard, 
 of which we have in Ceylon an immense variety, 
 from the crocodile himself down to the little house- 
 lizard. 
 
 Of this tribe the " cabra goya" and the " iguana" 
 grow to a large size ; the former I have killed as long 
 as eight or nine feet, but the latter seldom exceeds four. 
 I have often intended to eat one, as the natives consider 
 them a great delicacy, but I have never been quite 
 hungry enough to make the trial whenever one was at 
 hand. The " cabra goya" is a horrid brute, and is not 
 considered eatable even by the Cingalese. 
 
 One curious species of lizard exists in Ceylon ; it is 
 a little brown species with a peculiarly rough skin and 
 a serrated spine. A long horn projects from the snout, 
 and it is a fac-simile in miniature of the antediluvian 
 monster, the " iguanodon," who was about a hundred 
 feet long and twelve feet thick an awkward creature 
 to meet in a narrow road. However, the crocodiles of 
 modern times are awkward enough for the present day,
 
 Outrigger Canoes. 310 
 
 and sometimes grow to the immense length of twenty- 
 two feet. 
 
 It has frequently surprised me that they dp not upset 
 the small canoes in which the natives paddle about the 
 lakes and rivers. These are formed in the simplest 
 maner, of very rude materials, by hollowing out a 
 small log of wood and attaching an outrigger. Some 
 of these are so small that the gunwale is close to the 
 water's edge when containing only one person. 
 
 Even the large sea-canoes are constructed on a simi- 
 lar principle ; but they are really very wonderful boats 
 for both speed and safety. 
 
 A simple log of about thirty feet in length is hollowed 
 out. This is tapered off at either end, so as to form a 
 kind of prow. The cylindrical shape of the log is pre- 
 served as much as possible in the process of hollowing, 
 so that no more than a section of one fourth of the 
 circle is pared away upon the upper side. 
 
 Upon the edges of this aperture the top sides of the 
 canoe are formed by simple planks, which are merely 
 sewn upon the main body of the log parallel to each 
 other, and slightly inclining outward, so as to admit 
 the legs of persons sitting on the canoe. 
 
 A vessel of this kind would of course capsize im- 
 mediately, as the top weight of the upper works would 
 overturn the flute-like body upon which they rested. 
 This is prevented by an outrigger, which is formed of 
 elastic rods of tough wood, which, being firmly bound 
 together, project at right angles from the upper works. 
 At the extremity of these two rods, there is a tapering 
 log of light wood, which very much resembles the bot- 
 tom log of the canoe in miniature. This, floating on 
 the water, balances the canoe in an upright position ; it
 
 320 Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 cannot be upset until some force is exerted upon the 
 mast of the canoe which is either sufficient to lift the 
 outrigger out of the water, or on the other hand to sink 
 it altogether; either accident being prevented by the 
 great leverage required. Thus, when a heavy breeze 
 sends the little vessel flying like a swallow over the 
 waves, and the outrigger to windward shows symptoms 
 of lifting, a man runs out upon the connecting rod, and, 
 squatting upon the outrigger, adds his weight to the 
 leverage. Two long bamboos, spreading like a letter 
 V from the bottom of the canoe, form the masts, and 
 support a single square sail, which is immensely large 
 in proportion to the size and weight of the vessel. 
 
 The motion of these canoes under a stiff breeze is 
 most delightful ; there is a total absence of rolling, 
 which is prevented by the outrigger, and the steadiness 
 of their course under a press of sail is very remarkable. 
 I have been in these boats in a considerable surf, which 
 they fly through like a fish ; and if the beach is sandy 
 and the inclination favorable, their own impetus will 
 carry them high and dry. 
 
 Sewing the portions of a boat together appears ill 
 adapted to purposes of strength ; but all the Cingalese 
 vessels are constructed upon this principle : the two 
 edges of the planks being brought together, a strip of 
 the areca palm stem is laid over the joints, and holes 
 being drilled upon each plank, the sewing is drawn 
 tightly over the lath of palm, which being thickly 
 smeared with a kind of pitch, keeps the seams per- 
 fectly water-tight. The native dhonies, which are ves- 
 sels of a hundred and fifty tons, are all fastened in this 
 simple and apparently fragile manner ; nevertheless 
 they are excellent sea-boats, and ride in safety through
 
 The Last Glimpse of Ceylon. 321 
 
 many a gale of wind. The first moving .object which 
 met my view on arrival within sight of Ceylon was an 
 outrigger canoe, which shot past our vessels as if we had 
 been at anchor. 
 
 The last object that my eyes rested on, as the 
 cocoa-nut trees of Ceylon faded from sight, was again 
 the native canoe which took the last farewell lines to 
 those who were left behind. Upon this I gazed till it 
 became a gray speck upon the horizon and the green 
 shores of the Eastern paradise faded from my eyes for 
 ever. 
 ****** 
 
 How little did I imagine, when these pages were 
 commenced in Ceylon, that their conclusion would be 
 written in England ! 
 
 An unfortunate shooting trip to one of the most un- 
 healthy parts of the country killed my old horse 
 "Jack," one coolie, and very nearly extinguished me, 
 rendering it imperative that I should seek a change of 
 climate in England. And what a dream-like change 
 it is ! past events appear unreal, and the last few 
 years seem to have escaped from the connecting chain 
 of former life. Scarcely can I believe in the bygone 
 days of glorious freedom, when I wandered through 
 that beautiful country, unfettered by the laws or cus- 
 toms of conventional life. 
 
 The white cliffs of Old England rose hazily on the 
 horizon, and greeted many anxious eyes as the vessel 
 rushed proudly on with her decks thronged with a liv- 
 ing freight, all happy as children in the thoughts of 
 home. The sun shone brightly and gave a warm wel- 
 come on our arrival ; and as the steamer moored along- 
 side the quay, an hour sufficed to scatter the host of 
 
 V
 
 322 Eight Tears' Wanderings in Ceylon. 
 
 passengers who had so closely dwelt together, as com- 
 pletely as the audience of a theatre when the curtain falls. 
 That act of life is past ''exeunt omnes," and a new 
 scene commences. We are in England. 
 
 A sudden change necessarily induces a comparison, 
 and I imagine there are few who have dwelt much 
 among the Tropics who do not acquire a distaste for the 
 English climate, and look back with lingering hopes to 
 the verdant shores they have left so far behind. The 
 recollection of absent years, which seem to have been 
 the summer of life, makes the chill of the present feel 
 doubly cold, and our thoughts still cling to the past, 
 while we strive against the belief that we never can re- 
 call those days again. 
 
 How, as my thoughts wander back to former scenes, 
 every mountain and valley reappears in the magic glass 
 of memory ! Every rock and dell, every old twisted 
 stem, every dark ravine and wooded cliff, the distant 
 outlines of the well-known hills, the jungle-paths known 
 to my eye alone, and the far, still spots where I have 
 often sat in solitude and pondered over the events of 
 life, and conjured up the faces of those so far away, 
 doubtful if we should ever meet again. Thus even now 
 I picture to myself the past ; and so vivid is the scene 
 that I can almost hear the fancied roar of the old water- 
 falls, and see the shadowy tints which the evening sun 
 throws upon the tree-tops. My old home rises before 
 me like a dissolving view, and I can see the very spot 
 where it was my delight to live, where a warm welcome 
 awaited every friend. And lastly, the faces of those 
 friends seem clear before me, and bring back the asso- 
 ciations of old times. Those who have shared in com- 
 mon many of these scenes I trust to meet again, and
 
 A Glance at Old Times. 323 
 
 look back upon the events of former days as landscapes 
 on the road of life that we have viewed together. 
 
 For me Ceylon has always had a charm, and I shall 
 ever retain a vivid interest in the colony. 
 
 I trust that a new and more prosperous era has now 
 commenced, and that Ceylon, having shaken off the in- 
 cubus of mismanagement, may, under the rule of a 
 vigorous and enterprising governor, arrive at that pros- 
 perity to which she is entitled by her capabilities. 
 
 The governor recently appointed (Sir H. Ward) has 
 a task before him which his well-known energy will 
 doubtless enable him to perform. 
 
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