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+Project Gutenberg's Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon, by Samuel White Baker
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon
+
+Author: Samuel White Baker
+
+Posting Date: November 19, 2008 [EBook #2036]
+Release Date: January, 2000
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EIGHT YEARS' WANDERING IN CEYLON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Garry Gill.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
+
+
+by
+
+Samuel White Baker
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Colombo--Dullness of the Town--Cinnamon Garden--A Cingalese
+Appo--Ceylon Sport--Jungle Fever--Newera Ellia--Energy of Sir E.
+Barnes--Influence of the Governor--Projected Improvements.
+
+
+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".
+
+
+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.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Poverty of Soil--Ceylon Sugar--Fatality of Climate--Supposed Fertility
+of Soil--Native Cultivation--Neglect of Rice Cultivation--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 Cultivation of Rice--Division of Labor--Native Agriculture.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Real Cost of Land--Want of Communication--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.
+
+
+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--Experiments--The Double-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.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Curious Phenomenon--Panorama of Ouva--South-west Monsoon--Hunting
+Followers--Fort M'Donald--River--Jungle Paths--Dangerous
+Locality--Great Waterfall--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.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Observations on Nature in the Tropics--The Dung Beetle--The
+Mason-fly--Spiders--Luminous Insects--Efforts of a Naturalist--Dogs
+Worried by Leeches--Tropical Diseases--Malaria--Causes of
+Infection--Disappearance of the "Mina"--Poisonous Water--Well-digging
+Elephants.
+
+
+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 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.
+
+
+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--Varicty of Bees--Waste of
+Beeswax--Edible Fungi--Narcotic Puff-ball--Intoxicating Drugs--Poisoned
+Cakes--The "Sack Tree"--No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Indigenous Productions--Botanical Gardens--Suggested Experiments--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--Neglected Education of the People--Responsibilities of
+Conquest--Progress of Christianity.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The Pearl Fishery--Desolation of the Coast--Harbor of
+Trincomalee--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 Elephants' Duel--A Hunting Hermitage--Bluebeard's
+last Hunt--The Leopard--Bluebeard's Death--Leopard Shot.
+
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Colombo--Dullness of the Town--Cinnamon Garden--A Cingalese
+Appo--Ceylon Sport--Jungle Fever--Newera Ellia--Energy of Sir E.
+Barnes--Influence of the Governor--Projected Improvements.
+
+
+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 hairbreadth 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 anticipation 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 expectation than on my
+first view of Colombo.  I had 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 something 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 very 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
+introduced 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 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 melancholy 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 Colpettytopes 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 anticipated! 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 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 perpetrate 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'hôte" 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 despairingly. "Absurd!
+every book on Ceylon mentions the amount of game as immense; and as to
+elephants--"
+
+Here I was interrupted by the same gentleman.  "All gross
+exaggerations," said he--"gross exaggerations; 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 from his expression, "You
+never see them."  Of course I concluded that he had never looked for
+them; and I began to recover front the first shock which his
+exclamation, "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 Galle 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 moment my
+preparations for the jungle commenced.
+
+I rented a good airy house in Colombo as headquarters, and the verandas
+were soon strewed with jungle-baskets, boxes, tent, gun-cases, and all
+the paraphernalia 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 convalescence was accompanied by a
+peremptory order from my medical attendant to start for the highlands,
+to the mountainous region of Newera Ellia, the sanitarium 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 specimen 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 describe the wonderful effects of such a pure and
+unpolluted air? Simply, that at the expiration of a fortnight, in spite
+of the tough beef, and the black bread and potatoes, I was as well and
+as strong as I ever bad 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 conceivable.  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 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 becoming 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
+predecessor; and from that period, each successive governor being
+influenced by an increasing spirit of parsimony, 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)
+cannot 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 capabilities 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 time at work among all classes in
+Ceylon, and Lord Torrington was recalled.
+
+From the causes of neglect described, Newera Ellia was in the deserted
+and wretched state in which I saw it; but so infatuated was I in the
+belief that its importance must be appreciated when the knowledge of
+its climate was more widely extended that I looked forward 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 unquestionable; the climate could not be surpassed for
+salubrity.  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 terminated the
+road to Newera Ellia.
+
+The station then consisted of about twenty private residences, the
+barracks and officers' quarters, the resthouse and the bazaar; the
+latter containing about two hundred native inhabitants.
+
+Bounded upon all sides but the east by high mountains, 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 summit 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 Newera Ellia
+plain with slight variations, comprising 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 untenanted 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
+with a thriving peasantry.
+
+Why should not the highlands Of Ceylon, with an Italian climate, be
+rescued from their state of barrenness? Why should not the plains be
+drained, the forests 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 Newera Ellia, before I had
+much experience in either people or things connected with the island.
+My twelve months' tour in Ceylon being completed, 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--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".
+
+
+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 noiseless 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 bad happened within the past year, I conjured up
+localities to my memory which seemed too attractive to have existed in
+reality.  I wandered 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 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 wandering 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 suggested; 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 approaching to a country life in
+England, with the advantage 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 establishing a little English village around my own
+residence.
+
+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 blacksmith, were to sail for my intended settlement in
+Ceylon.
+
+I purchased farming implements of the most improved descriptions, seeds
+of all kinds, saw-mills, etc., etc., and the following stock: A
+half-bred bull (Durham 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, stock,
+machinery, hounds, and our respective 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 experienced 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 comparatively 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 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 descended 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 beyond 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 felling of trees, the noise of saws and hammers and the perpetual
+chattering o the 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 "Earl 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. 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 "shorthorn," 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.  Accordingly a van
+was arranged for her, which the maker assured 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 between 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 machinery, 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 maidservants.
+
+There had been a vast amount of trouble in making all the necessary
+arrangements, but the start was completed, 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.
+
+Having reached Ramboddé, 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 ascend the pass.  I therefore left it at the
+rest-house while we rode up the fifteen miles to Newera Ellia,
+intending 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 Ramboddé.
+
+Now this groom, "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:
+
+"Honord 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 heighy 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.  Mr. ---- 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 Servt,
+  "H. PERKES."
+
+This was pleasant, certainly--a new carriage and a pair of fine
+Australian horses smashed before they reached Newera Ellia!
+
+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 informing me that the
+short-horn cow had halted at Amberpussé, 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 regretted 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 accompany the party.  I also sent the elephant to assist in
+battling the body of the carriage up the precipice.
+
+Perkes, having been much more accustomed to riding than walking during
+his career as groom, was determined to ride the elephant down the pass;
+and he accordingly mounted, insisting at the same time that the mahout
+should put the animal into a trot.  In vain the man remonstrated, and
+explained that such a pace would injure the elephant on a journey;
+threats prevailed, 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 imaginary race.
+
+On the following day the elephant-driver appeared at the front door,
+but without the elephant.  I immediately foreboded some disaster, which
+was soon explained.  Mr. Perkes had kept up the pace for fifteen miles,
+to Ramboddé, when, finding 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
+standstill."
+
+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.  Notwithstanding this disadvantage in appearance, he was
+perpetually making successful love to the maidservants, 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.
+
+I shortly experienced great trouble with the emigrants; 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 produced
+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
+shilling 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," comprising 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 experiment.  A tolerably
+level field of twenty acres was fenced in, and the work begun by firing
+the patina and burning off all the grass.  Then came three teams, as
+follows:
+
+Lord Ducie's patent cultivator, drawn by an elephant; 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 subsequently 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, especially 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 her farming work being
+completed, she was employed in 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 arranged, 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 greatest with the care in their
+exact positions, unassisted by any one.[1] 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 stone bridges, when
+the stones required for the abutments 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 bad
+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 is possible.
+
+Having made up my mind to all manner of disappointments, these
+casualties did not make much impression on me, and the loss of a few
+crops at the outset was to be expected; but at length a deplorable and
+unexpected 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 bad gained her many friends; the daughter was a
+very pretty girl of nineteen.
+
+For some time Mrs. Fowler had been suffering from 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 everything. 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 disappointment, as much difficulty lay in procuring the necessary
+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 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 returned 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 manner 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 believe, prospering as a groom in Madras.
+
+
+[1] Directed of course by her driver.
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+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 discovered that excellent beer might be made at this elevation
+(six thousand two hundred feet), and I accordingly established a small
+brewery.
+
+The solitary Leicester ram had propagated a numerous 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 stood in the 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 contemplated 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, private enterprise had lain dormant. As usual, from January to
+May, Newera Ellia was overcrowded with months of 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 vegetation requires, and not one-fourth the quantity fills
+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 constant 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 interminable depths
+of countless ravines and valleys at its base.
+
+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, recalling 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,
+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! Comparatively but a few years ago, Newera Ellia was
+undiscovered--a secluded plain among the mountaintops, 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 countrymen 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 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 rubbed 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 improvement in Newera Ellia.
+
+Although Newera Ellia was in the wild state described when first
+discovered by Europeans, it is not to be supposed that its existence
+was unknown to the Cingalese.  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 mountain 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 more than deer-runs, have existed for
+many centuries, and are used by the natives even to this day. The great
+range 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 arduous 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 treestems
+have proved its artificial character, and by following 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 intimately, 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.
+
+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 commences 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 formerly 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 cultivation 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
+irrigation.  Accordingly, the mountains being the reservoirs from which
+the rivers spring, become of vital importance to the country.
+
+The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedrotallagalla, eight thousand
+two hundred and eighty feet; Kirigallapotta, seven thousand nine
+hundred; Totapella, eight thousand feet; and Adam's Peak, seven
+thousand seven hundred; but although their altitude is 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 immense 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
+comparatively 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 elevations, 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 proportion of plain.
+
+At about the same elevation, nine miles on the 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 extends as far as the horizon,
+of undulating open grassland, 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 distributed 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, much like the Sussex Downs as any
+place to which it can be compared.
+
+This district comprises about six hundred square miles, and forms the
+fourth and last ledge of the high lands of Ceylon.  Passes from the
+mountains which 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 tilt Newera Ellia range of mountains,
+are, with the exception 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 occupied 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 intelligence.
+
+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 population, 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 populated, and every
+hollow is taken advantage of for the cultivation of paddy, still the
+demand for water in proportion to the supply is comparatively small.
+
+The system of irrigation has necessarily involved immense labor. For
+many miles the water is conducted 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 displayed 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 mountains, while the
+paddy-fields are seen miles away in the valleys of Ouva stretched far
+beneath.
+
+At least eight out of ten of these watercourses 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 obstructed by a dam, poured its
+accumulated waters into canals which branched to various localities.
+Not a 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 valley 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 population 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 foreign invasion.  I have seen in an
+impregnable position the traces of an ancient fort, evidently erected
+to defend 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." In 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 population.  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 is little doubt that the existence of precious 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 Fahrenheit would have regarded the climate of a mean
+temperature of 60 Fahrenheit 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 governors
+of past years visited Arippo during the pearlfishing.
+
+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
+Kondapallé Plain, the Elk Plains, the Totapella Plains, the Horton
+Plains, the Bopatalava Plains, the Augara Plains (translated "the
+Diggings"), and many others extending 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
+employment.  The natives would still continue the search, were they
+permitted, upon the "Vale of Rubies;"  but I warned them off on
+purchasing the land; and I have several good specimens of gems which I
+have discovered 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,
+"moonstone," 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.
+
+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 unqualified 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, happened 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 appearance 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 for 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!
+
+The quantity was small, but the men were very sanguine of success, and
+were making their preparations for working on a more extensive scale,
+when they were all prostrated by jungle fever--a guardian-spirit of the
+gold at Amberpussé, which will ever effectually protect it from
+Europeans.
+
+They all returned to Colombo, and, when convalescent, they proceeded to
+Newera Ellia, naturally concluding that the gold which existed in dust
+in the rivers below must be washed down from the richer stores of the
+mountains.
+
+Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on the 14th 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 abundance.  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 covering the surface in the drains by the road
+side, after a recent 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 decomposition, has the
+appearance and consistency of yellow brick, speckled with plumbago.  It
+exists in this state in immense masses, and forms a valuable
+buildingstone, 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 withstanding 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 mountains 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 accustomed 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 smelting.  The operations are as follows:
+
+Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is 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 charcoal 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, being assisted in
+this treadmill kind of labor by the elasticity 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 required.
+
+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 corresponding 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 calculation 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--Neglect of Rice Cultivation--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 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 Fahrenheit, 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 healthiness of its
+climate, its natural resources are confined to its timber and mineral
+productions, as the soil is decidedly 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
+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 generality of the
+forest-land at Newera Ellia and the vicinity is superior to that in
+other parts of Ceylon.
+
+There are necessarily rich lots every now end 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 valley'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 possibly 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 Peredinia 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 practical 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 degree 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 "Wallawé," the "Yallé 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 during the dry
+season.  This district is particularly subject 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 managers be found to brave the danger, one
+season of sickness 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 inferior quality, and
+an experiment made in its cultivation 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 Capabilities," 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 productions," etc., etc.  Again:
+"Ceylon, though comparatively but little known, is pre-eminent in
+natural resources." All this serves to mislead the public opinion.
+Agricultural experiments in a tropical country in a little 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 portion 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 "Chénars" 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 principal articles of native cultivation are rice, 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 resources 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 production of which the resources of
+Ceylon are both naturally and artificially immense.
+
+This neglect is the more extraordinary as the increase of coffee
+cultivation involves a proportionate increase in the consumption of
+rice, by the additional influx of coolie labor from the coast of India;
+therefore 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 native 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 entirely 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
+solitude 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 produced sufficient food to support
+millions; while for the present comparatively small population Ceylon
+is dependent 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 required 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 numerous throughout
+Ceylon.  The largest are those of Minneria, Kandellai, Padavellkiellom,
+and the Giant 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 overflow 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
+heightened by cultivation; the forest-capped mountains rose from a
+waving sea of green; the valleys teemed with wealth; no thorny jungles
+gave a barren terminable prospect, but the golden tints of ripening
+crops spread to the horizon. Temples stood upon the 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
+inhabitants derived their food, their wealth and their very life.
+
+The remains of these cities sufficiently attest the former amount of
+population and the comparative civilization which existed at that
+remote era among the progenitors of the present degraded race of
+barbarians. The ruins of "Anaradupoora," which cover two hundred 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, "Toparé," anciently called "Pollanarua," 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 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
+its 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, tamed to
+complete obedience. Then on the right, below the massive granite steps
+which form the causeway, 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 light from the rays of a midday sun. Such let us
+suppose 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 spacious circle,
+rises the great Dagoba, forming a grand coup d'oeil from the entrance
+gate.  Two hundred and sixty feet from the base the Dagoba rears its
+lofty summit. 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 hundred 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 promenade around the
+Dagoba; the whole having the appearance 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 exteriors.  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.  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 palaces 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 is not a bone
+left for him to gnaw of the multitudes which have passed away.  There
+is their handwriting 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
+multitudes 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 setting 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 mouldering brickwork, still
+retaining its form, but shorn of all its beauty.  The stucco covering
+has almost all disappeared, leaving a patch here and there upon the
+most sheltered portions of the building. Scrubby brushwood 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 composed, 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
+columns, with carved capitals, still remaining 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 arrangement of a first-class
+establishment.  There are innumerable 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 manner 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
+completely covered with an inscription in the old Pali language, 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 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 recumbent 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 massive 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 upward 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 annihilation 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 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 circumference, 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 falling 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 putridity 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 time when
+required for durability: thus it is no mystery, 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 cultivation.  Is it, therefore, a mystery
+that Ceylon is covered with such vast tracts of thorny jungle, now that
+her inhabitants are gone?
+
+Throughout the world there is a perpetual war between 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 covered 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 (ficus
+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 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 resources of Ceylon
+have been suffered to lie dormant since the disappearance of her
+ancient population; and to these neglected capabilities the attention
+of government 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 highroad 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 Ceylon 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 hid 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 0 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 cars become a considerable
+source of revenue, in addition to the increased 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 consumption.  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 proportion 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 cultivation would render
+necessary, would tend, in a great measure, to dispel the fevers and
+malaria always produced by a want of free circulation of air.  In a
+jungle-covered country like Ceylon, diseases of the most malignant
+character are harbored in these dense and undisturbed tracts, which
+year after year reap a pestilential 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 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 uninhabited 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 village.  Thus the
+circulation of air is impeded and disease again halves the population.
+In each successive year the wretched inhabitants are thinned out, and
+disease becomes the more certain as the jungle continues to advance.
+At length the miserable few are no longer sufficient to cultivate the
+rice-lands; their numbers 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 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, browsing upon the succulent tops, and destroying every
+trace of a former habitation.
+
+There is no doubt that when sickness is annually reducing 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 principal tanks would draw
+together in thousands the survivors 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 watercourses 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 accordingly produced at a cheaper rate.
+
+Few people understand the difficulties with which a small village has
+to contend in the cultivation of rice. 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 becomes ripe; a scarcity of water at the
+exact moment 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-house, while the shouts of the
+watchers scare the wild beasts from the crops. Hundreds 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 multitude 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 laborious. The first
+consideration being a supply of water, the second is a perfect level,
+or series of levels, to be irrigated.  Thus a hill-side must be
+terraced out into a succession of platforms or steps; and a plain,
+however apparently flat, must, by the requisite embankments, be reduced
+to the most perfect surface.
+
+This being completed, the water is laid on for a certain time, until
+the soil has become excessively soft and muddy.  It is then run off,
+and the land is ploughed by a simple implement, which, being drawn by
+two buffaloes, 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 immense,
+is 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-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.
+
+
+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
+separately, and with grave attention by the intending settler or
+capitalist.
+
+The upset price of government land is twenty shillings 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 government for one thousand acres of
+land, at the upset price of twenty shillings per acre.  What has the
+purchaser 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 cleaning will
+be about eight pounds per acre; this, in addition 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 lowest 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
+persons lose sight of this necessary outlay when first purchasing 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 government 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.
+
+Considering the risks that are always attendant upon agricultural
+pursuits, and especially upon coffee-planting, 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 encourage 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 fide
+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 neighborhood, 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 government.  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 valueless 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 district was little
+known, and sanguine imaginations painted the hidden prospect in their
+ideal colors, expecting that a trace once opened to the interior would
+be the road to fortune.
+
+How these golden expectations have been disappointed 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 sudden 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
+extensive 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 vegetation, so are the usual sequels to a
+panic in the commercial world.  Things are brought down to their real
+value and level; men of straw are swept away, and affairs are commenced
+anew upon a sound and steady basis.  Capital is invested with caution,
+and improvements 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 proprietor, provided that he has his own capital
+to work his estate, that he gives his own personal superintendence 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 constitutes 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 industry and toil, chequered
+by many disappointments, may eventually reward the proprietor; but it
+will be at 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 reception?--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
+transportation: 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 return, 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 farewell to the shores of "La belle France," and, with the
+natural light-heartedness of the nation, he settles cheerfully 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 is a tropical beauty in the cultivated trees and flowers
+which is seldom seen in our possessions.  The fruits are brought to
+perfection, as 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; everything 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 remunerative 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 hundred to
+four thousand feet.  At one time it was considered 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, 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 continually robbed by the heavy
+rains.  Thus it is next to impossible to keep an estate in a high state
+of cultivation, without an enormous expense in the constant application
+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 extent; 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
+between 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 subsoil 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 consideration when choosing a locality for a coffee
+estate. This is an extent of grazing land sufficient for the support 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 succeeded by the
+desolate appearance of blackened stumps and smouldering trunks of
+trees: the whole of the branches and tinderwood 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 season, 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 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 feet 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 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
+compost. The surplus moisture, upon reaching the bottom of the heap,
+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 particles, which, by washing in a cistern of
+running water, are detached from the berry. It is then rendered
+perfectly dry in the sun or by means of artificially heated air; and,
+being packed in bags, it is forwarded to Colombo.  Here, it is unpacked
+and sent to the mill, which, by means of heavy rollers, detaches the
+parchment 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 agricultural
+pursuits: the inclemency of seasons and the attacks of vermin are
+constantly marring the planter's expectations.  Among the latter
+plagues the "bug" stands foremost.  This is a minute and gregarious
+insect, 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 Arabicum) 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
+adheres to a rock.  This is the nest or house, which, although no
+larger than a split hempseed contains some hundreds of the "bug." As
+some thousands of these 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 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 oil cake ("poonac"), are found to
+succeed, although the manure is somewhat costly.
+
+English or Australian sheep have hitherto been untried--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 succeed 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
+destructive that the shepherd could never lose sight of his flock
+without great risk; but the latter, although troublesome, are not to be
+so much dreaded as people suppose.  They are very small, and the
+quantity of blood 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 common 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 inconsiderable causes
+of loss.  At Newera Ellia hardly a week passes without some casualty
+among the stock of different proprietors.  Here the leopards are
+particularly 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 blacksmith.  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, where the hungry leopard prowled stealthily
+round the cowhouse, 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, having 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 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 distinction.
+
+The "chetah" is much smaller than the leopard, seldom exceeding seven
+feet from the nose to the end of tile 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 "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 concentrated
+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 constantly 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 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, the 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 cars 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 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 building, 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 materially 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 common jackal-trap would hold a leopard, provided the
+chain was fastened to an elastic bough, so that it would 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 arid 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 peculiarity is the musk-bag or
+gland situated nearly under the tail; this is a projecting and valued
+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 extracted and dried, it has
+nothing more than the well-known scent of that used by perfumers. The
+latter is more frequently the production of the musk-deer, although the
+scent is possessed 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 perfumes everything
+that he passes over, rendering fruit, cake, bread, etc., perfectly
+uneatable, and even flavoring 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.
+
+The fact is, he taints the cork, and the flavor of musk is communicated
+to the wine during the process of uncorking 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 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 attractions, from the
+smallest to the largest of the enemies to the human race--ticks, bugs,
+fleas, tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, leeches, snakes, lizards,
+crocodiles, etc., of which more hereafter.
+
+
+
+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--Experiments--The Double-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 beasts, 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 existence.
+
+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 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
+observing 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 difficult
+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 surrounding 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 sportsmen, 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 become
+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 immediately observed, but anything out of the common among
+surrounding objects instantly strikes the attention; the waving of one
+bough in particular when all are moving in the breeze; the switching 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 continual exercise.
+
+There is a peculiar delight, which passes all description, 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
+"anything," 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 unheeded 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. 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 his 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 condemn
+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 mischievous, and they are pursued and killed in
+the most speedy, and therefore in the most merciful, manner.
+
+The government reward for the destruction of elephants 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 immense 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 hundred 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 themselves to the
+shots and endeavour 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 increases 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 increasing.
+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 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 intention in taking so many bullocks
+is to bring borne 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 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 veneration.  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 smoothbore.  This is
+not the fault of the weapon; it is the 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 smoothbore. How can he possibly get a
+correct aim with "ball" out of a smoothbore, without squinting along
+the barrel and taking the muzzle-sight accurately? The fact is, that
+many persons 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 endeavouring 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 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 requisites 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 American 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 frequently 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, 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 he 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
+smoothbore.
+
+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 a large bore is to possess an extra powerful weapon,
+therefore the charge of powder must be increased 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 ramrod, 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 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, unless it is of some bright metal, such as silver or platinum;
+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 rise 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 animal when 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 down 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 elephant-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.
+
+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 bill, 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. 16 smoothbore, 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
+indentation.
+
+if a person wishes to harden a bill 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 seconds 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 temperature 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.  Altogether, 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 fourteen elm planks, each one inch thick,
+with a four-ounce 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 winding along a pass,
+with their white trousers, red coats, white cross-belts and brass
+plates, at about four hundred yards, and thought what a raking that
+rifle would give a body, of troops in such colors for 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 sportsmen  regarding the
+grooves of a rifle; some prefer the two-groove and belted ball; others
+give preference to the eight or twelve-groove and smoothbore.  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 keeping clean, while the many-groove claims the advantage of quick
+loading.
+
+The latter is by far the more important recommendation, especially as
+the many-groove can be loaded without 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 particularly 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 struggling 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. 10'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.
+
+For heavy game-shooting, I do not think there can be a much fairer
+standard for the charge of powder 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 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 endeavouring to track up a single bull
+elephant.  I forget 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 Yallé river, upon the banks of which our tent
+was pitched in fine open forest. For about an hour the roaring was
+continued, apparently on both sides the river, and we immediately
+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 10'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 Yallé forest. The
+river flows sluggishly through its centre in a breadth of perhaps
+ninety yards, and the immense 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 torrents 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 spring 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 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 yesterday's trek, 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 his 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
+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 complete 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 case 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 where I carefully examined the transverse sections of an
+elephant's skull, until perfectly acquainted with its details.  From
+the museum I cut straight to the elephant-stables and thoroughly
+examined the head of the living animal, comparing it in my own mind
+with the skull, until I was thoroughly certain of the position of the
+brain and the possibility of reaching it from any position.
+
+An African sportsmen would be a long time in killing 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-covered country as Ceylon, where, in most cases, everything
+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, elephants are fired at thirty, forty, and even at sixty
+yards.  It is no wonder, therefore, that African sportsmen 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 sportsmen 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 animals, from the smallest to the largest, sink
+into instant death when shot through the brain; and that a wound
+through the lungs or heart is equally fatal, though not so
+instantaneous. These are accordingly the points for aim, the brain,
+from its small size, being the most difficult to hit.  Nevertheless, in
+a jungle country, elephants must be shot through the brain, otherwise
+they would 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 brainshot 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 naturally 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 tuskers!  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 magnificent.
+
+Nothing produces either ivory or horn in fine specimens throughout
+Ceylon.  Although some of the buffaloes have tolerably fine heads, they
+will not bear a comparison with those of other countries.  The horns of
+the native cattle are not above four inches in length.  The elk and the
+spotted deer's antlers are small compared 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 mainland, from which it is now
+only separated by a shallow and rocky 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 understands the preparation of the skins; thus all
+the elk and deer hides are simply dried in the sun, and the hair soon
+rots and fills 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
+entirety neglected by the miserable and indolent population, whose
+whole thoughts are concentrated upon their 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 to penetrate them, and too much care cannot be bestowed upon the
+manufacture of a knife for this style of hunting, as the boar is one of
+the fiercest and dangerous of animals.
+
+Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at night in search of
+roots, fruits, large earthworms, or anything else that he can find,
+being, like his domesticated 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
+neighbourhood of Newera Ellia.  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 bounds
+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 peculiar shape
+added to the weight of the blade gives an 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
+produce 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 marvellous to my mind,
+until I one day unintentionally performed 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 summit.
+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 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 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 punishing 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 constant exclamations of a crowd
+of excited spectators when a powerful buck was brought to bay.  He was
+a wonderful 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.[1] His sister "Hecate," was more careful, and she is
+alive at this moment, and a capital seizer of great strength combined
+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
+grayhound 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 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 mountain-side.
+
+There was no avoiding the find; and away went "Bluebeard," "Ploughboy,"
+"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
+impatiently for the first sounds of the bay.  Round they turned again,
+up the steep hillside, and the music slackened a little, as the bounds
+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!
+
+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 off 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 immediately 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
+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 surprising, and these
+are most useful in cleaning up the carcases of dead animals and
+destroying vermin.  I seldom or never fire at 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.
+
+
+[1] Speared through the body by the horns of a buck elk and killed shortly
+after this was written.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Curious Phenomenon--Panorama of Ouva--South-west Monsoon--Hunting
+Followers--Fort M'Donald--River--Jungle Paths--Dangerous
+Locality--Great Waterfall--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 valley like the steam
+from a huge cauldron, and invade the Newera Ellia plain through the
+gaps in the mountains 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 Newera 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 command 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 groaning, 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 rugged 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.
+
+It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary appearance of this
+scene by description.  The panoramic view in itself is celebrated; but
+as the point in the road is reached where the termination of the
+monsoon dissolves the cloud and rain into a thin veil of mist, the
+panorama seen through the gauze-like atmosphere 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 gradually
+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 mountain, 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 always 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 mountain gives rise to a
+violent wind in the sunny valleys and 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 hilltops 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 condition, 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 animal that weighs between
+four hundred and four hundred 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 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 immediately 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 extraordinary 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 pedestrian." This is owing to the
+natural advantages of naked feet and no inexpressibles.
+
+Whenever an elk has given a long run in the direction of this country,
+and after a persevering and arduous 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 and a string of fellows of lesser wind come in, in
+sections, 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 potatoes, 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.  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 Peréwellé (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 torrent, 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 impenetrable 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.
+
+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 lip 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
+patinas 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
+Badulla 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 expectation, connecting the
+two sides of the Hog's Back by an excellent path of about two miles,
+and débouching on the opposite side on a high patina peak which
+commanded the whole country.  Thus was the whole country opened up by
+this single path, and should an elk play his old trick and be off
+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 bounds
+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 Newera 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 31st May, 1852,
+I started, having two companions--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 distant view of the low country,
+stretching into an undefined 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
+Peréwellé 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 impassable
+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 cataracts 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.  Mountainous 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 extensive 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 grasslands, so steep as to be ascended with the
+greatest difficulty, 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 cataracts, all of which, however grand individually, are
+completely eclipsed by its last great plunge of three hundred feet
+perpendicular depth into a dark and narrow chasm of wall-bound cliffs.
+
+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 the bed and throwing
+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, could ever escape
+without assistance.  Thus in years post, 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 bound who entered the trap found sure destruction.
+
+The hard work and the danger to both man and bound 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 bottom 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 requires 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 preparations 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 30th May, 1853, a lovely hunting morning and a fine dew on
+the patinas; rather too windy, but that could not be helped.
+
+Quiet now!--down, Bluebeard!--back, will you, Lucifer! Here's a smash!
+there goes the jungle kennel! 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 forest 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 cars
+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
+coming 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 hundred
+yards of me, and the elk had already turned to 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 momentum of a rapid descent by clinging to the tough saplings.
+Sometimes one would give way and a considerable 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, instead 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 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 of 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"[1] 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 whenever 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 mountain, 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 carefully, 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 waterfall of three hundred feet.
+
+It was extremely grand; the roar of the falls so entirely 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 torrent; 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, suddenly 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 stemming 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 whirlpools 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 oil the very ver-e
+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 struggling up the steep bank, through the
+same lemon grass, 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 waters 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 ascent, which, though very precipitous was so covered
+with long lemon grass that it was easy enough to 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
+being broken into a regular lane which skirted the precipice of the
+great waterfall in the direction of the villages.
+
+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 below.  The lemon grass was so high in tufts along 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.  Clutching 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 irregular surfaces, but
+still stirring the dark gorge down which the river fell.
+
+At length, having left the fall some considerable distance 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 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 interstices 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 entice 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 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 was in very fine condition; 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 Peréwellé, and then to reascend 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 encampment 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, which 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.
+
+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
+fit, 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 enables them to sustain the severe shocks in
+descending rough mountains at full speed. It is perfectly wonderful 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 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 beard her cry out, and as she was closely followed I thought she
+was seized.  However, the whole pack shortly returned, 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 "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 "Madcap" 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.
+
+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.
+Presently 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 excursion, and we soon helped her safe ashore.
+Fortunately 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 determined to move from
+this locality as too dangerous for hunting.  I therefore ordered the
+village people to assemble on the following morning to carry the loads
+and tent.  In the mean time I sent for the dead elk.
+
+There could riot 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 marrowbones 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 rise
+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
+contained three sleepy mortals.  The hounds snored and growled, and
+then snored again.  The servants jabbered, 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
+other 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 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
+principal 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 extensive 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 obstruction 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 accordingly 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 generally 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 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 Bluebeard'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 prospect 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 mountains 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
+two small wooded ravines, with a strip of patina between them. I at
+once surmised that this was the hunted elk, although, as yet, no hounds
+were visible.
+
+On arrival at the first ravine we immediately descended, 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, snuff the warning
+breeze and, drawing up to his full height, 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 him from his course.  Up to the present time and turn they
+had not observed him.
+
+Still the buck stood in an attitude of acute suspense.  He winded an
+enemy before him and he heard another behind, which was rapidly closing
+up, and, as though doubting his own power of scent, he gave preference
+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, "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 greyhounds 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 brick
+all alone, but going like a rocket.
+
+Now she has turned him! that pace could not last up hill, and round the
+elk doubled and 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 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.  Fortunately 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 destruction.
+
+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 multiplying 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
+compassion 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 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 one 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 followers 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 Matturatta
+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 returned 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 disproportionate 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
+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 length, 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
+doubling about over fifty acres of ground like a hare, until he is at
+last run into and killed.  They exist in extraordinary 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, covered 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 resemble, 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 examination of
+the paunch.  Some people consider the flesh very good, but my ideas
+perhaps give it a "ratty" flavor that makes it unpalatable.
+
+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 stranger 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 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 experiment by weighing a dead elk.  I had
+always considered 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, flipping 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, bucks, does and fawns, in
+beautiful herds; when undisturbed, 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 inhibits 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 clawing might alter the most handsome expression
+of countenance.
+
+Bears have frequently been known to tear off a man's face like a mask,
+leaving nothing but the face of a skull.
+
+Thus the quadrupeds of Newera Ellia and the adjacent 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 rat.
+
+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
+possibly 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 limit and what to avoid.
+
+It is curious to witness the sagacity of the old hounds in joining or
+despising the opening note of a newcomer.
+
+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 fears 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" voice, and see the dash with which they rush through
+the jungle to join him.  They know the old fellows note is true to an
+elk or hog, and, with implicit confidence 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 born, or not, as
+he thinks proper.  It is impossible to correct him, as he is out of
+sight.
+
+Now, the very fact of having one or two first-rate finders in a pack,
+will very likely be the cause of spoiling 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 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 cheering 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 "Ploughboy" 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 puppyhood.  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.
+
+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
+particular 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 part will ensure a
+corresponding amount in the hounds; they will become so accustomed to
+the certain appearance 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 afternoon 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
+direction but the right one, my ears have at length been gladdened by
+the distant sound of the bay.  The particular moment when hope and
+certainty combined reward 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-looking 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 unrequited
+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 dauntlessly 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 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; impossible!  He has been up one mountain, and 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 comparative 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
+"carrawellé," 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 venomous except the snake alluded to, and a small species of
+centipede. Fleas there are certainly--indeed, a fair sprinkling of
+fleas; but they are not troublesome, except 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 neighborhood, will literally swarm with them if
+deserted for a couple of months.  Fleas have a great fancy for settling
+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 distinguished; 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 ludicrous 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 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 inexpressibles we found the
+centipede about four inches long which had bitten him.  A little brandy
+rubbed on the part soon relieved the pain.
+
+
+[1] An exceedingly active Moorman, who was my great ally in hunting.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Observations on Nature in the Tropics--The Dung Beetle--The
+Mason-fly--Spiders--Luminous Insects--Efforts 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 temperate 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 vegetation.  "Life" appears to
+emanate from "death"--the destruction of one material seems to multify
+the existence 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, bow 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.
+
+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 preserving the world from plagues
+and diseases, which the decaying and unconsumed bodies of animals and
+vegetables would otherwise engender.
+
+How beautiful are all the laws of Nature! how perfect 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 become 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 ordinary observation cannot help acquiring a
+tolerable knowledge of the habits of some of the most interesting
+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 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 mail from one of the lowest classes of
+living things!
+
+Here we see no rash matrimonial engagements; no penniless lovers
+selfishly and indissolubly linked together to propagate large families
+Of starving children.  Ail the arrangements of the insect tribe, though
+prompted by sheer instinct are conducted with a degree of rationality
+that in some cases raises the mere instinct of the creeping thing above
+the assumed "reason" 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 feeling existing in its brain--the Billingsgate fish-woman of
+its tribe in coarseness and rudeness of exterior (Scarabaeus
+carnifex)--see with what quickness she is running backward, raised
+almost upon her head, while with her bind 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 to rest.
+No great amount of rest; she plunges her head into the ground, and with
+that shovel-like projection 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 altogether.
+
+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 receptacle for her eggs, which she deposits in the
+ball of dung, the warmth of which assists in bringing the larvae 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
+transported at once.
+
+The mason-fly is also a ball-maker, but she carries her load and builds
+an elaborate nest. This insect belongs to the order "Hymenoptera," and
+is of the Ichneumon tribe, being a variety of upward of four hundred
+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 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
+shape 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 surface 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 distances.  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 tip in stores within the cells as food for the
+young larvae, when hatched.
+
+Now the transition from the larva to the fly takes 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 advanced stage as to require
+food.
+
+In a tropical country every one knows that a very few hours occasion
+the putrefaction of all dead animal substances; 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 (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 make its nest in the tube of a key,
+which it also fills with minute spiders.
+
+In attacking the spider, the mason-fly his a choice of his antagonist,
+and he takes good care to have a preponderance of weight on his own
+side.  His reason for choosing this in preference to other insects for
+a preserved 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 species 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 texture 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 considered 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 generally the character of cotton
+than of silk.
+
+Should this ever be experimented on, a question might arise of much
+interest to entomologists, whether a difference 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, waving 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 rushing 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 assisting in their destruction.
+
+There are many varieties of luminous insects in Ceylon.  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 smallest print so legible that a page may be read with
+case.  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 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 common
+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 no larger than pin's 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 reflected forms
+for other flies performing the part of a "vis-à-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 frantically tears his trowsers
+from his limbs; he has him! no he hasn't!--yes he has!--no--no,
+positively he cannot 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 collecting, and a pretty
+collection he has got--a perfect fortune upon his legs alone.  There
+are about a hundred 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 before; a fine black ant has also escaped during the recent
+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 surprising 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 annoying, 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 continues 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 lie 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 accomplish, were I to enter into the
+details of the entomology 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 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; whooping-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
+pestilence 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 question is, therefore, reduced to the prime cause of
+the disease 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 predominate in
+localities which are hot, damp, swampy, abounding 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 discover 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 impure 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 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 suffers 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 against infection are such as are
+peculiarly inimical to every kind of insect; camphor, chloride of lime,
+tobacco-smoke, and powerful scents and smokes of any kind. The first
+impulse 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
+immediately; 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 he 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 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 destructive 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 propensities exist, of which we have at present no conception.
+Thus, different infectious disorders might proceed from peculiar
+species of animalcules, which, at given periods, are wafted into
+certain countries, carrying 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
+property the "mina." This bird is about the size of the starling, whose
+habits its possesses in a great degree.  It exists in immense numbers,
+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
+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 atmosphere
+until their numbers caused disease?  All suppositions on such a subject
+must, however, remain in obscurity, as no proof can be adduced of their
+correctness.  The time may arrive when science may successfully 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 following 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
+undermine 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 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 pitiless 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 pea soup, a green scum floats through the thickened mass,
+and the temperature is upward of 130 Fahrenheit.  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 on 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 neighborhood 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.  II know the shrub and the berry well, but it has no
+English denomination.  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 latter, 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 cannot 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 considerable magnitude
+are completely exhausted, and nothing remains but a dry bed of said
+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 instinct and strongly,
+savors of reason, the two powers 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.
+
+
+
+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 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 possesses 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 endowed 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 attributes
+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 surmounts the narrow bounds of simple instinct.
+
+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 snowball; a certain
+amount forms a base for extra improvement, 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
+intelligence; 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 consideration, 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 instinct 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
+needle and thread come from?  The first is the delicate 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 manner 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
+construction of their nests is to avoid the attacks of snakes and
+lizards.  These nests are about two feet long, composed of beautifully
+woven grass, shaped like an elongated 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 the interior
+of the beam, the centre of which he entirely demolishes, leaving a thin
+shell in the form of the original log encrusted over the exterior with
+numerous 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 appearance 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 decidedly 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, especially as it is not an every-day
+occurrence, even in fine weather.
+
+In Mauritius, the negroes have a custom of turning 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 habits of the black
+ant, who is a sworn enemy to the white.
+
+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 evidently 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 mandibles.  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 development 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 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 trick, 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 project.  This species exists in most parts of
+Ceylon, but I have seen it of a larger size at Newera Ellia thin 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, which was an exhibition of reason hardly to be expected
+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 expressed 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 mimosa, 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 along 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 roamed 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 bearing 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 elephants still plough their irresistible
+course.  In descending or ascending these places, the elephant a 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 case.  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 combination of the sense
+of scent and touch.  In dense jungles, 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 lowered upon the around keeps him
+advised of every inch of his path.
+
+Nothing is more difficult than to induce a tame elephant 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 beyond my comprehension. Although I have
+seen elephants in nearly every position, I have never seen one
+inextricably fixed in a swamp.  This is the more extraordinary 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 appears 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 seldom 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
+feeling well; we had been for some weeks in the most unhealthy 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 "Gollagangwelléwevé" (pronunciation requires
+practice), and a very long name it was for so small a place; but the
+natives insisted 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
+possessed by the village with which to scare them. This looked all
+right; so we loaded the guns and started 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 forgotten 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 tip to some dense, thorny jungle, and
+told that the elephants were somewhere in that direction.  Not being
+very sanguine, I had accordingly taken no trouble about my gun-bearers,
+and I saw several of my rifles in the bands 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 bad filled the tank, which had
+overflowed 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 proportionate amount of sticky mud beneath, and
+through this we splashed until the dam appeared about fifty yards on
+our right. It was a simple earthen 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
+opposite side, but we continued our course parallel with the dam until
+we bad 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 scant, 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 impossible to make an attack; and
+even were the elephants within the forest, there appeared to be no
+possibility of following them up through such deep water and heavy
+ground with any chance of success. however, 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 embankment
+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 thoroughfare to and
+from the lake, and the dam was trodden down in all directions.
+
+We found that the margin of the forest was everywhere 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 disturbed 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 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.  Palliser and I had
+taken splendid positions, so as to command either side of the herd on
+their arrival, with our gun-bearers squatted around us 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 satisfaction 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 he able to get good and
+rapid shooting.
+
+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
+rascally villagers, who had already taken to the trees, scrambled still
+higher in their fright at the close approach of the elephants, and by
+this movement they gave immediate alarm to the elders 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 exception 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
+an 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 having made a circuit in the tank.  I
+accordingly waded back at my best speed to terra firma, 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 that I deplored the absence of my
+regular gun-bearers; 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 succeeded in
+getting them well together just is 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 precaution, and
+the leading elephants both saw and winded us when at a hundred paces
+distant.  This time, however, 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 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 straining every
+nerve to reached 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 behind me, as though
+another section was coming in from the tank; this I hoped to meet.  I
+therefore reloaded 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 disappointment, on arrival, to find, in
+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 gunbearers, 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 elephant 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
+assistance and likewise held on by his tail; but away we went like the
+tender to a steam-engine; wherever the elephant went there we were
+dragged in company.  Another man now came to the rescue; but his
+assistance was not of the slightest rise, 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 laughable 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 returned to have a little conversation with the
+rascals 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 tame 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 off
+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 combination
+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, and he arrived thoroughly
+blown, and with a natural desire to kick the recreant villager who bad
+caused the yells.
+
+If the ground had been ever 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 departure 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 unsparing 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 observe 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. 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 eagerness 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 excitement; 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 judgement displayed by these dogs in driving a large flock of
+sheep?  Then turn to 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 particular 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 reasoning 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 foxhunter 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 belonged 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 convinced that he knew the date of a track from its
+appearance, as I have constantly seen him strove 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 feeding
+in the night, are sure to repair at about four in the morning for their
+last drink, and I usually try along the 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 bind 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 Bluebeard 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 Augora 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 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 off in full cry; but the whereabout 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 extensive 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 swimming down the river.
+
+The elk seemed determined to give a beautiful course 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 be 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 returned 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 bound was now swimming steadily down the stream, crossing and
+recrossing from 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 Bluebeard!" 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"--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--Varicty 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 sometimes dignified by the name of fruit.
+
+The guava and the katumbillé 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 refreshing when plucked from the tree; but it does not
+aspire to the honor of a place at a table, where it can only appear 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 facsimile
+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 productions 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 Ceylon 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 welcomes the most miserable fare.
+
+At Newera Ellia the jungles would always produce a supply for a soupe
+maigré.  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 brittle 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
+zintgiber."  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 surrounding 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
+elephants 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 delicate 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 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 species 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 English collections.  It blossoms in
+April; the flowers are a bright lilac, and I could lay my band 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 whenever 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 common throughout the
+forests.  This fruit is a perfect anomaly.  The tree is entirely
+different to that of the cultivated species.  The latter is small,
+seldom exceeding 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 nutmeg.  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 disagreeable oil.  The
+latter is so plentiful that I am astonished 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 produce of a small grain, grown exclusively by the natives.
+
+But, in addition to these, there are various other oils manufactured by
+the Cingalese.  These are the cinnamon 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 properly a kind of
+vegetable wax, being of the consistence of stearine.  This is prepared
+from the berries of the cinnamon shrubs which are boiled in water until
+the catty substance or so-called oil, floats upon the surface; this is
+then skimmed off and, when a sufficient quantity is collected, it is
+boiled down until all watery particles 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 keeping.  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 properties.
+
+Mee oil is obtained from the fruit of the mee tree.  This fruit is
+about the size of an apricot, and is extremely 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 equally coarse,
+and are quite unfit for any but native purposes.
+
+Lemon-grass oil, which is known in commerce as citronella oil, is a
+delightful extract from the rank 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 prevent the attacks of insects while its
+perfume remains; but the oil is so volatile that the scent quickly
+evaporates and the spell is broken.
+
+Clove oil is extracted from the leaves of the cinnamon 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 induces 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 finger.  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 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 becoming 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 magnificent 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 instance 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 supposed that
+these mighty specimens of vegetation are supported by the poor sandy
+soil upon the surface; their 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 English 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 proportions 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, perfectly 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 constitutes 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 remain in their undisturbed solitudes,
+gradually increasing in their apparently endless growth, and towering
+above the dark vistas of everlasting silence.  No on can imagine 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 cars 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, 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 serpent-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 stern to stem
+like the cables of a line-of-battle-ship, and extending from tree to
+tree for many hundred yards; now felling 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 Ceylon.  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 trunk.  The bark is crisp, jet black, and has the appearance
+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 produced in Ceylon, which
+are made use of for various purposes; but of these many are very
+inferior.  Those most appreciated are--
+
+Calamander, Ebony, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work.
+Satin-wood, Suria (the tulip tree). Tamarind. Jackwood. Halmileel.
+Cocoa-nut. Palmyra.
+
+The suria is an elegant tree, bearing a beautiful yellow 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
+exceedingly tough, and it is chiefly used for making the spokes of
+wheels.
+
+The tamarind is a fine, dark red wood, mottled with 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 entirely 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 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 Mahawelli river upon a
+raft which my coolies had hastily constructed, and reaching a miserable
+village near Monampitya, 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 it the time
+with the magnificent timber in the forests on its banks, and no less
+surprised that with the natural facilities of transport 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
+country.  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 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 potatoes.  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 examination, 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, to the cocoa-nut
+tree yields a pure draught from a dry 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 deliciously cool, in comparison to the
+heat of the atmosphere.
+
+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 delicious 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 richness and fine
+flavor.
+
+The toddy is the sap which would nourish and fructify 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 gallon.  This remains undisturbed for twenty-four hours,
+from sunrise to sunrise on the following morning; the toddy-drawer then
+reascends the tree, and lowers he 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 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 charts takes place, and the rapidity of the
+transition from the vinous to the acetous fermentation is so great that
+by midday it resembles a poor and rather acid cider.  It now possesses
+intoxicating properties, 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 hundred gallons, while
+in the year 1853 they had increased to one million thirty-three
+thousand nine hundred 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
+"copperah." 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 Fahrenheit. 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 sandwiches 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.
+
+The preparation of coir is a dirty and offensive occupation.  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 produces fruit in proportion. Eighty nuts per annum
+are about the average income from a healthy tree in full 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 cocoanut." 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 common 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 durable; 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 jaggery.  This cannot be easily distinguished from
+crumbled sugar-candy which it exactly resembles in flavor, 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 linen of
+whalebone running close together from the top to the 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
+about eight feet in length, and are used by the Cingalese for 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 account, or with fifty if hired for a journey.  A
+Cingalese 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 compactly 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 touch 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.
+
+There is a great peculiarity in the talipot palm.  Is blossoms only
+once in a long period of years, and after this it dies.  No flower can
+equal the elegance and extraordinary dimensions of this blossom; its
+size is proportionate 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
+bard can no longer sustain the pressure of the expanding flower.  It
+suddenly bursts with a loud report, and the beautiful plume, freed from
+its imprisonment, 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 overturned 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 clusters beneath the crest of the palm, in
+a similar manner to the cocoa-nut; but the tree is more prolific, as it
+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 individual) full of chunam paste--viz., a fine lime produced 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 himself in which ingredient the narcotic
+principle is displayed.
+
+Take a betel leaf, and upon this spread a piece of chunam as large as a
+pea; then with the pruning 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 produced 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 45,000 l.  The greater portion of these is
+consumed 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 prepared from it.
+
+The height of this palm does not exceed fifteen or twenty feet, and
+even this is above the general average.  It grows in the greatest
+profusion in the Veddah country.  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
+fermentation which has already taken place in the nut has impregnated
+the flower with a leaven; this, without any 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 natives are very expert in finding out the nests, by
+watching 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 uncertain 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 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 month is armed
+with a very powerful pair of mandibles, 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 lines 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 arrangement 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 Ellia, where the nillho blossom induces such a general rush of
+this particular bee to the district that the jungles are swarming with
+them in every direction, although 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 stern 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 diminutive 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
+molasses.  The natives, having naturally coarse tastes and strong
+stomachs, admire this honey beyond any other. Many persons are
+surprised at the trifling exports of 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
+districts) crams his mouth with a large section, and giving it one or
+two bites, he bolts the luscious morsel and begins 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 quantity,
+to exchange with the travelling Moormen for cotton cloths, etc., and in
+this manner the trifling amount exported is collected.
+
+During the honey year at Newera Ellia I gave a native permission to
+hunt bees in my forests, on condition 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 refraining 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 similar in appearance and flavor to the well-known, "Agaricus
+campestris;" but, notwithstanding this actual proof, the natives would
+not be convinced, and, although 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
+appearance; 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 gelatinous 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 disgusting 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 fungus, 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 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 specimen.  It was
+growing in an open forest, free from any underwood, land it seemed like
+a fairy bivouac beneath the mighty trees which overshadowed it.  Hardly
+believing my own eyes at so strange and exquisite a structure, 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 properties of
+the plant, and proved the impossibility of removing 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 properties are so mild
+that they are edible in small quantities.  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 bad
+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 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 temporary lethargy.
+
+In appearance it very nearly resembles the common hemp, but it differs
+in the seed.  The leaves and blossoms 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 substance 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, that the Indian hemp
+is the foundation of the Egyptian "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 repeated intoxication, no matter how it is
+produced, must be ultimately hurtful to the system.  The brain,
+accustomed 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 manner 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 description, 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
+waterlily, 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
+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.
+
+Stramonium (Datura stramonium), which is a powerful narcotic, is a
+perfect weed throughout the island, but it is not used by the natives
+otherwise than medicinally, and the mass of the people are ignorant of
+its qualities, which are only known to the Cingalese doctors.  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 accompaniment 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 appeared at the door devour one of his own cakes
+before I became a purchaser. These men, however, were bona fide
+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 roadside, are the nux vomica, ipecacuanha, gamboge, 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 individual
+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 contains 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 incisions 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 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 productions 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 infinite
+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 balk 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 lip, 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 durability 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 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 valuable to the tanners;
+several are highly esteemed by the 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
+experiments with indigenous produce.  Although the jungles of Ceylon
+produce a long list of articles of much interest, 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
+actually 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 comparatively valueless commodity.  No
+other tree but the doom tree produces any gum worth collecting; this
+species of rosin exudes in large quantities from an incision in the
+bark, but the amount of exports shows its insignificance.  It is a fair
+sample of Ceylon productions; nothing that is uncultivated is of much
+pecuniary value.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Indigenous Productions--Botanical Gardens--Suggested Experiments--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--Neglected Education of the People--Responsibilities of
+Conquest--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 insignificant parent stock
+we propagate our finest varieties of both animals and vegetables.
+Witness the wild kale, parsnip, carrot, crab-apple, sloe, etc., all
+utterly worthless, but nevertheless the first parents of their now
+choice descendants.
+
+It is therefore impossible to say what might not he 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 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 public, in reply, to
+their own establishment--to the botanical 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 extracted? have
+medicinal drugs been produced? have dyes been extracted? have
+improvements been suggested in the cultivation of any of the staple
+articles of Ceylon export? In fact, has ANYTHING ever been 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
+enterprise may speculate, and by such success the government 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 "waste" be unknown upon the property.
+
+Under the present system of management this is impossible; the sum
+allowed per annum is but just sufficient 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 journeys should form a part of his duties; his botanical
+specimens should be his game, and they should be pursued with the ardor
+of the chase itself, and subsequently transferred to the gardens and
+their real merits discovered 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 beneath our feet; but the governor does not consider it a
+part of his duty to prosecute the search, or even to render facilities
+to those of a more industrious temperament. 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 adduced of its presence; but the governor positively refused
+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
+established its presence in remunerating quantities.  The swampy nature
+of the soil rendered the digging impossible 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 assistance received
+from private parties they must have starved.  The rainy season was at
+its height, and torrents 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 petitioned the Government
+to give them the means of subsistence 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, believing 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.
+
+It must be remembered that the main features of the country at Newera
+Ellia and the vicinity are broad flats or swampy plains, surrounded by
+hills and mountains: the former covered with rank grass and intersected
+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; worthless 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 producing, when washed,
+one or more specks of the precious 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 another 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 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 sapphire, 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 obtained 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 enterprise, but the
+enterprising public have no faith in the government.
+
+Without being over-sanguine, or, on the other side, closing our cars
+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, 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 manner 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 refused 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 in 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 Ceylon as to effect such changes.  We have it present
+these simple data--that in a soft, swampy soil gold has been found
+close to the surface in small specks, gradually 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.
+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 frequently 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 quantities 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 uncertain 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 '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 fide salaries; 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
+petitions 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 complain
+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 that if steps were purposely taken to
+ensure the destruction 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, pigheaded, 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 perplexity 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![1]
+
+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 practical 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 that each had some personal motive in offering advice, and
+one tongue would thus nullify the other until he should at length come
+to the conclusion of David in his haste, "that all men are liars," and
+turn a deaf ear to all.  This would enable him to pass the rest of his
+term without any active blunders, and he might vary the passive
+monotony of his existence by a system of contradiction 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
+expenditure, 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 advice
+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 conversant with the colony in all its bearings.  He has
+comprehended the vast natural capabilities, he has formed his plans
+methodically for the improvement of 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
+Chinese 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 visionary; 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 contrary 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 consideration; 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 opposite, for no
+sooner does the governor become competent 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 improvement, 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 education 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 conquerors of
+territory are responsible for the moral welfare of the inhabitants;
+therefore our responsibility 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 between 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 present.  What will the
+future be in these days of advancement? It were vain to hazard a
+conjecture; but we can look back upon the past, and build upon this
+foundation 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, peopled by a fierce race of savages clad
+in skins, bowing before druidical idolatry, paddling along 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 and 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 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 fertility.  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
+telegraph 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 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 standard floated on the strongholds of the universe, and far
+and wide stretched the vast boundaries of her conquests.
+
+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 England 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 descendants to embrace our faith?--that is,
+I are we the divine instrument for accomplishing the vast change that
+we expect by the universal acknowledgement 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.
+
+To a fatalist it can matter but little whether a nation fulfills its
+duty, or whether, by neglecting it, punishment 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, legislate 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 bishops 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 considered of so little moment that it is tantamount to neglected.
+
+There are various opinions as to the amount of learning 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 proper
+sphere.  This is what the government calls education; and the same time
+and expense thus employed 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 thorough knowledge of
+the English tongue, which naturally 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 enables them
+to benefit by books, which are otherwise useless. 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 up
+on, 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 barren 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
+extent they are at present, and always have been, abandoned.  Where the
+children who can be educated with success are neglected at the present
+day, it may be imagined that the parents have been but little cared
+for; thus, in advocating their abandonment, it is simply proposing 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 condition 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 stipend
+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 Ellia.
+
+Now, leaving out the question of policy in endeavoring to make the
+language of our own country the common 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
+example of good common-sense education has recently been given by the
+Rev. Mr. Thurston (who is indefatigable in his profession) in the
+formulation of an industrial school at Colombo.
+
+This is precisely the kind of education which is required; 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 himself, but shall likewise tend to the
+support of the establishment.  The children are accordingly instructed
+in such pursuits as shall be the means of earning a livelihood in
+future years: some are taught a trade, others are employed in the
+cultivation of gardens, and subsequently 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 industrious 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 agriculture.  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
+improved 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 government, 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 without a worshiper, while a new generation flocked
+to the Christian altar.
+
+This is no visionary prospect.  It has been satisfactorily proved that
+the road to conversion to Christianity is through knowledge, and this
+once attained, heathenism 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 attention to this
+object, and cease to war against the impossibility 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 missionaries 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 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 missionary 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
+perfectly useless for the purpose of "propagating the gospel 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 wildernesses 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 appear to follow.
+
+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 humble 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 remote for their good offices.
+Probably they are not so comfortable in their quarters in the towns as
+the Protestant 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 naturally 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 dislocated state, progression
+cannot be expected by simple attempts at conversion; even were the
+natives willing to embrace the true faith, they would have great
+difficulty 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 education of the
+people.
+
+
+[1] [since reduced to five thousand pounds].
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The Pearl Fishery--Desolation of the Coast--Harbor of
+Trincomalee--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 Elephants' Duel--A Hunting Hermitage--Bluebeard's
+last Hunt--The Leopard--Bluebeard's Death--Leopard Shot.
+
+
+While fresh from the subject of government mismanagement, let us turn
+our eyes in the direction 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
+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,
+diversified 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 occasionally 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 inhabitants.  This has
+always been the case, even in the prosperous days of the pearl fishery.
+So utterly worthless 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 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 everything in the
+neighborhood.  Even in the good old times this coast was simply visited
+during the period for fishing.  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
+recent population were the government stores and house at Arripo, like
+the bones of the carcase after the vultures 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 misery 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 improvements might discover
+treasures in the neighborhood 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 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 common in every child's
+book that I do not attempt to describe 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 disgusting 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 facilities 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 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 overhang 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 desirable residence for those who
+delight in a temperature of from 90 degrees to 140 degrees 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
+distinguished 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 regiment then in garrison went down one sultry afternoon 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, nevertheless their spirits were as high as
+those of Englishmen usually are, no matter where or under what
+circumstances.  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 sat in the burning sun, watching
+in heart-broken eagerness, 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 inhabit
+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 southeast 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 counterbalances 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 shore ready to scuttle in on the
+shortest notice.  They are then particularly on the alert, and it is a
+most difficult 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 exquisitely 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 penetrate 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 beard of an accident in these
+places, although hundreds of persons are employed annually in
+collecting salt from the bottom.
+
+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 supply in August, during the height of the dry
+season.
+
+Salt in Ceylon is a government monopoly; 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 crystalizes at the bottom in various degrees of thickness,
+according to the strength of the brine.
+
+Thus, as the water recedes from the banks by evaporation 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 generally 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 natives 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
+subsequently thatched over with cajans (the plaited leaf of the
+cocoanut).  In this state it remains until an opportunity 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 large lump of several pounds'
+weight.  This is of a better quality than that which is gathered from
+the bottom, being free from sand or other impurities.  Innumerable
+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 produce 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 immense 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 necessity 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' employment, 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 between 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.
+
+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 commonly 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 reservoirs 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, is its rise is restricted to
+absolute necessaries.  On the other hand, were the supply increased at
+one half the present rate, the consumption would augment 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, manures, etc., etc.  In addition to this, it would
+vastly affect the price of salt fish (the staple article of native
+consumption), and by the reduction in 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 impossible. 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 portion, 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.
+
+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 wild beast; but now within one hundred and
+fifty miles of Galle every buffalo horn is collected and even the
+elephant's 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 passengers 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 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 grey mullet, and the chef de cuisine is short of
+the wherewithal for dinner.
+
+This is not infrequently the case during a jungle 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
+rippling 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 compelled 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 provided, 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 commenced.
+
+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 substitute.  Soles and whiting remind us of Old
+England, but a host of bright red, blue, green, yellow, and
+extraordinary-looking creatures in the same net dispel all ideas of
+English fishing.
+
+Oysters there are likewise in Ceylon; but here, alas I 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 miserable exterior.
+
+There are few positions more tantalizing to a hungry man than that of
+being surrounded b 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 as
+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 had been formed by the oysters clustering and
+adhering together.  It so happened that our party were unanimous 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 dismay that nothing but one penknife was possessed among us.
+This we knew was a useless weapon against such armor; however, in our
+endeavors to perform impossibilities, we tickled the oyster and broke
+the knife.  After gazing for seine 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 gathered the wood, which was bleached and dry, an 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 would be in superlative misery while another would
+enjoy the responsibility, and delight in the fertility of his own
+invention in accommodating himself to circumstances.  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 decidedly, and your toothbrush in the morning;
+but if, on the other hand, you are of the right stamp, it is
+astonishing 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 locality.  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 leeward of which you will lie when your mansion 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 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 cheerful, 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.
+
+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 manufactured 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 beneath 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
+catching 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 common tent; but in thoroughly wet weather
+any woven roof is more or less uncomfortable.
+
+I recollect a certain bivouac in the Angora 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.  Accordingly, 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 cone over the yams
+when boiled! they turned a beautiful 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., Palliser, my huntsman Benton and myself.  No
+one wishing 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 punished 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 beginning to feel
+uncomfortable, when up jumped Benton, 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 his turn.  "I am choking
+likewise." "So am I." There we were all three, with our throats in an
+extraordinary 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 proportion 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 unfitness for food.
+
+In these Augora patinas a curious duel was lately fought by a pair of
+wild bull elephants, both of whom were the raree aves 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 proving 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 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, especially 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 unknown 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 fortnight, for chance 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 constantly 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 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 rarer 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
+had 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 habitation, 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 bedstead, to keep me from the damp
+ground, by means of forked upright sticks, two horizontal bars and
+numerous cross-pieces.  This was covered with six inches' thickness of
+grass, strapped down with the bark of a fibrous shrub.  My table and
+bench were formed in the same manner, being of course fixtures, but
+most substantial.  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
+Matchless, 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 elephant, 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 elephant 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
+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 delighted, on arriving on the hill above, to hear the
+bay, of the bounds 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 hindquarters. 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, followed by three other bounds.
+
+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 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 rapidly became more difficult.  I lost no time in fomenting
+and poulticing the part, but the swelling had commenced 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 tent 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 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 Bluebeard 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.  I 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 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 report, and his white belly lay stretched upon the
+ground.
+
+They were both clean shots: Palliser had aimed at 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 supply 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 winner.  This is the only instance that I know of a
+leopard being run into and killed with hounds and a knife.
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+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
+productions of the water.  Birds of infinite variety and countless
+numbers--fish in myriads--reptiles and crocodiles--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
+neighborhood 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 lie cool breeze has stolen across the
+water, refreshing all 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 majestic 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 answering 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
+clotted 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 evening air as they strut over the
+green plain; the giant crane stands statue-like among the shallows; the
+pelican 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.
+
+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
+distant 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 is thrown back; but this time it is
+the work of a moment, 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 nuisances
+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 fattest and most
+delicious birds that I have ever tasted. Cooked in Soyer's magic stove,
+with a little butter, cayenne 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.  Nevertheless, they are
+tolerably wary, which, of course, increases 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 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 bona fide 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 acquaintance 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 wandered 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
+spreading 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 wilderness.  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 giving 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
+presciently 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 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 roars 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 answered; not by so fine a tone, but by
+discordant screams and roars from the opposite side, and the louder
+splashing 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 impatience.
+
+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 disturbed 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. 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 superstition.
+
+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 quaintness.  The jungle partridge now wakes up, and
+with his loud cry subdues all other sounds, until the numerous
+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 habit 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 conceal 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 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, and sometimes grow to the immense length of twenty two
+feet.
+
+It has frequently surprised me that they do not upset the small canoes
+in which the natives paddle about the lakes and rivers. These are
+formed in the simplest manner, 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 similar 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 preserved 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 immediately, 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 bottom log of the canoe in miniature.  This, floating on the water,
+balances the canoe in an upright position; it 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 rims 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 stern 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
+perfectly water-tight.  The native dhonies, which are vessels 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 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 unhealthy 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 customs 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 living freight, all happy as children in the thoughts
+of home.  The sun shone brightly and gave a warm welcome on our
+arrival; and as the steamer moored alongside the quay, an hour sufficed
+to scatter the host of passengers who had so closely dwelt together, as
+completely 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 recall
+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 waterfalls, 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 associations of old times.  Those who have shared in common many of
+these scenes I trust to meet again, and 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 incubus of mismanagement, may, under the
+rule of a vigorous and enterprising governor, arrive at that prosperity
+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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon, by 
+Samuel White Baker
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+Project Gutenberg's Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon, by Samuel White Baker
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+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
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+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
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+Title: Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon
+
+Author: Samuel White Baker
+
+Posting Date: November 19, 2008 [EBook #2036]
+Release Date: January, 2000
+
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+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EIGHT YEARS' WANDERING IN CEYLON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Garry Gill.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
+</H1>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+by
+</H3>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+Samuel White Baker
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H2 ALIGN="center">
+CONTENTS.
+</H2>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap01">CHAPTER I.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Colombo&mdash;Dullness of the Town&mdash;Cinnamon Garden&mdash;A Cingalese
+Appo&mdash;Ceylon Sport&mdash;Jungle Fever&mdash;Newera Ellia&mdash;Energy of Sir E.
+Barnes&mdash;Influence of the Governor&mdash;Projected Improvements.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap02">CHAPTER II.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Past Scenes&mdash;Attractions of Ceylon&mdash;Emigration&mdash;Difficulties in
+Settling&mdash;Accidents and Casualties&mdash;An Eccentric
+Groom&mdash;Insubordination&mdash;Commencement of Cultivation&mdash;Sagacity of the
+Elephant&mdash;Disappointments&mdash;"Death" in the Settlement&mdash;Shocking
+Pasturage&mdash;Success of Emigrants&mdash;"A Good Knock-about kind of a Wife".
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap03">CHAPTER III.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Task Completed&mdash;The Mountain-top&mdash;Change in the Face of
+Nature&mdash;Original Importance of Newera Ellia&mdash;"The Path of a Thousand
+Princes"&mdash;Vestiges of Former Population&mdash;Mountains&mdash;The Highlands of
+Ouva&mdash;Ancient Methods of Irrigation&mdash;Remains of Aqueducts&mdash;The Vale of
+Rubies&mdash;Ancient Ophir&mdash;Discovery of Gold-Mineral Resources&mdash;Native
+Blacksmiths.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap04">CHAPTER IV.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Poverty of Soil&mdash;Ceylon Sugar&mdash;Fatality of Climate&mdash;Supposed Fertility
+of Soil&mdash;Native Cultivation&mdash;Neglect of Rice Cultivation&mdash;Abandoned
+Reservoirs&mdash;Former Prosperity&mdash;Ruins of Cities&mdash;Pollanarua&mdash;The Great
+Dagoba&mdash;Architectural Relics&mdash;The Rock Temple&mdash;Destruction of
+Population&mdash;Neglected Capabilities&mdash;Suggestions for Increasing
+Population&mdash;Progress of Pestilence&mdash;Deserted Villages&mdash;Difficulties in
+the Cultivation of Rice&mdash;Division of Labor&mdash;Native Agriculture.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap05">CHAPTER V.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Real Cost of Land&mdash;Want of Communication&mdash;Coffee-planting&mdash;Comparison
+between French and English
+Settlers&mdash;Landslips&mdash;Forest-clearing&mdash;Manuring&mdash;The Coffee
+Bug&mdash;Rats&mdash;Fatted Stock&mdash;Suggestions for Sheep-farming&mdash;Attack of a
+Leopard&mdash;Leopards and Chetahs&mdash;Boy Devoured&mdash;Traps&mdash;Musk Cats and the
+Mongoose&mdash;Vermin of Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap06">CHAPTER VI.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+"Game Eyes" for Wild Sports&mdash;Enjoyments of Wild Life&mdash;Cruelty of
+Sports&mdash;Native Hunters&mdash;Moormen Traders&mdash;Their wretched Guns&mdash;Rifles
+and Smooth-bores&mdash;Heavy Balls and Heavy Metal&mdash;Beattie's Rifles&mdash;Balls
+and Patches&mdash;Experiments&mdash;The Double-groove&mdash;Power of Heavy
+Metal&mdash;Curious Shot at a Bull Elephant&mdash;African and Ceylon
+Elephants&mdash;Structure of Skull&mdash;Lack of Trophies&mdash;Boar-spears and
+Hunting-knives&mdash;"Bertram"&mdash;A Boar Hunt&mdash;Fatal Cut.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap07">CHAPTER VII.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Curious Phenomenon&mdash;Panorama of Ouva&mdash;South-west Monsoon&mdash;Hunting
+Followers&mdash;Fort M'Donald&mdash;River&mdash;Jungle Paths&mdash;Dangerous
+Locality&mdash;Great Waterfall&mdash;Start for Hunting&mdash;The Find&mdash;A Gallant
+Stag&mdash;"Bran" and "Lucifer"&mdash;"Phrenzy's" Death&mdash;Buck at Bay&mdash;The Cave
+Hunting-box&mdash;"Madcap's" Dive&mdash;Elk Soup&mdash;Former Inundation&mdash;"Bluebeard"
+leads off&mdash;"Hecate's" Course&mdash;The Elk's Leap&mdash;Variety of Deer&mdash;The
+Axis&mdash;Ceylon Bears&mdash;Variety of Vermin&mdash;Trials for Hounds&mdash;Hounds and
+their Masters&mdash;A Sportsman "shut up"&mdash;A Corporal and Centipede.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Observations on Nature in the Tropics&mdash;The Dung Beetle&mdash;The
+Mason-fly&mdash;Spiders&mdash;Luminous Insects&mdash;Efforts of a Naturalist&mdash;Dogs
+Worried by Leeches&mdash;Tropical Diseases&mdash;Malaria&mdash;Causes of
+Infection&mdash;Disappearance of the "Mina"&mdash;Poisonous Water&mdash;Well-digging
+Elephants.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap09">CHAPTER IX.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Instinct and Reason&mdash;Tailor Birds and Grosbeaks&mdash;The White Ant&mdash;Black
+Ants at War&mdash;Wanderoo Monkeys&mdash;Habits of Elephants&mdash;Elephants in the
+Lake&mdash;Herd of Elephants Bathing&mdash;Elephant-shooting&mdash;The Rencontre&mdash;The
+Charge&mdash;Caught by the Tail&mdash;Horse Gored by a Buffalo&mdash;Sagacity of
+Dogs&mdash;"Bluebeard"&mdash;His Hunt&mdash;A True Hound.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap10">CHAPTER X.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Wild Fruits&mdash;Ingredients for a "Soupe Maigre"&mdash;Orchidaceous
+Plants&mdash;Wild Nutmegs&mdash;Native Oils&mdash;Cinnamon&mdash;Primeval Forests&mdash;Valuable
+Woods&mdash;The Mahawelli River&mdash;Variety of Palms&mdash;Cocoa-nut
+Toddy&mdash;Arrack&mdash;Cocoa-nut Oil&mdash;Cocoa-nut-planting&mdash;The Talipot Palm&mdash;The
+Areca Palm&mdash;Betel Chewing&mdash;Sago Nuts&mdash;Varicty of Bees&mdash;Waste of
+Beeswax&mdash;Edible Fungi&mdash;Narcotic Puff-ball&mdash;Intoxicating Drugs&mdash;Poisoned
+Cakes&mdash;The "Sack Tree"&mdash;No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap11">CHAPTER XI.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Indigenous Productions&mdash;Botanical Gardens&mdash;Suggested Experiments&mdash;Lack
+of Encouragement to Gold-diggers&mdash;Prospects of Gold-digging&mdash;We want
+"Nuggets"&mdash;Who is to Blame?&mdash;Governor's Salary&mdash;Fallacies of a Five
+Years' Reign&mdash;Neglected Education of the People&mdash;Responsibilities of
+Conquest&mdash;Progress of Christianity.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap12">CHAPTER XII.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+The Pearl Fishery&mdash;Desolation of the Coast&mdash;Harbor of
+Trincomalee&mdash;Fatal Attack by a Shark&mdash;Ferocious Crocodiles&mdash;Salt
+Monopoly&mdash;Salt Lakes&mdash;Method of Collection&mdash;Neglect of Ceylon
+Hides&mdash;Fish and Fishing&mdash;Primitive Tackle&mdash;Oysters and Penknives&mdash;A
+Night Bivouac for a Novice&mdash;No Dinner, but a Good Fire&mdash;Wild Yams and
+Consequences&mdash;The Elephants' Duel&mdash;A Hunting Hermitage&mdash;Bluebeard's
+last Hunt&mdash;The Leopard&mdash;Bluebeard's Death&mdash;Leopard Shot.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+<A HREF="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII.</A>
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Wild Denizens of Forest and Lake&mdash;Destroyers of Reptiles&mdash;The Tree
+Duck&mdash;The Mysteries of Night in the Forest&mdash;The Devil-Bird&mdash;The
+Iguanodon in Miniature&mdash;Outrigger Canoes&mdash;The Last Glimpse of Ceylon&mdash;A
+Glance at Old Times.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<H1 ALIGN="center">
+EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS
+</H1>
+
+<BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap01"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER I.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Colombo&mdash;Dullness of the Town&mdash;Cinnamon Garden&mdash;A Cingalese
+Appo&mdash;Ceylon Sport&mdash;Jungle Fever&mdash;Newera Ellia&mdash;Energy of Sir E.
+Barnes&mdash;Influence of the Governor&mdash;Projected Improvements.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The descriptions of its sports, and the tales of hairbreadth 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is said that the delights of pleasures in anticipation 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I never experienced greater disappointment in an expectation than on my
+first view of Colombo.  I had 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;a sort of something 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 very 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+introduced 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 throughout most private dwellings in Colombo, which banished
+all idea of comfort.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In this vehicle, whose gaunt steed was led at a melancholy 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 Colpettytopes 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&mdash;a few minutes of
+expectation&mdash;and behold the Cinnamon Gardens!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+What fairy-like pleasure-grounds have we fondly anticipated! what
+perfumes of spices, and all that our childish imaginations had pictured
+as the ornamental portions of a cinnamon garden!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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&mdash;you look back&mdash;wonderful! she has a
+beard! Deluded stranger, this is only another disappointment; it is a
+Cingalese Appo&mdash;a man&mdash;no, not a man&mdash;a something male in petticoats; a
+petty thief, a treacherous, cowardly villain, who would perpetrate 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the morning following my arrival in Ceylon, I was delighted to see
+several persons seated at the "table-d'hôte" 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"Sport!" exclaimed two gentlemen simultaneously&mdash;"sport! there is no
+sport to be had in Ceylon!"&mdash;"at least the race-week is the only sport
+that I know of," said the taller gentleman.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"No sport!" said I, half energetically and half despairingly. "Absurd!
+every book on Ceylon mentions the amount of game as immense; and as to
+elephants&mdash;"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here I was interrupted by the same gentleman.  "All gross
+exaggerations," said he&mdash;"gross exaggerations; 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I began to discover the stamp of my companion from his expression, "You
+never see them."  Of course I concluded that he had never looked for
+them; and I began to recover front the first shock which his
+exclamation, "There is no sport in Ceylon!" had given me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I subsequently discovered that my new and non-sporting acquaintances
+were coffee-planters of a class then known as the Galle 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 moment my
+preparations for the jungle commenced.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I rented a good airy house in Colombo as headquarters, and the verandas
+were soon strewed with jungle-baskets, boxes, tent, gun-cases, and all
+the paraphernalia of a shooting-trip.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 convalescence was accompanied by a
+peremptory order from my medical attendant to start for the highlands,
+to the mountainous region of Newera Ellia, the sanitarium of the island.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 specimen 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 describe the wonderful effects of such a pure and
+unpolluted air? Simply, that at the expiration of a fortnight, in spite
+of the tough beef, and the black bread and potatoes, I was as well and
+as strong as I ever bad been; and in proof of this I started instanter
+for another shooting excursion in the interior.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At that time it was the most miserable place conceivable.  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&mdash;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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Under his government Newera Ellia was rapidly becoming 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
+predecessor; and from that period, each successive governor being
+influenced by an increasing spirit of parsimony, Newera Ellia has
+remained "in statu quo," not even having been visited by the present
+governor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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)
+cannot 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 capabilities 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 time at work among all classes in
+Ceylon, and Lord Torrington was recalled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From the causes of neglect described, Newera Ellia was in the deserted
+and wretched state in which I saw it; but so infatuated was I in the
+belief that its importance must be appreciated when the knowledge of
+its climate was more widely extended that I looked forward 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 unquestionable; the climate could not be surpassed for
+salubrity.  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 terminated the
+road to Newera Ellia.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The station then consisted of about twenty private residences, the
+barracks and officers' quarters, the resthouse and the bazaar; the
+latter containing about two hundred native inhabitants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bounded upon all sides but the east by high mountains, 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 summit with dense forests, containing excellent timber for building
+purposes.  Good building-stone was procurable everywhere; limestone at
+a distance of five miles.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The whole of the adjacent country was a repetition Of the Newera Ellia
+plain with slight variations, comprising a vast extent of alternate
+swampy plains and dense forests.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Why should this place lie idle?  Why should this great tract of country
+in such a lovely climate be untenanted 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
+with a thriving peasantry.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Why should not the highlands Of Ceylon, with an Italian climate, be
+rescued from their state of barrenness? Why should not the plains be
+drained, the forests 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?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These were my ideas when I first visited Newera Ellia, before I had
+much experience in either people or things connected with the island.
+My twelve months' tour in Ceylon being completed, 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.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap02"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER II.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Past Scenes&mdash;Attractions of Ceylon&mdash;Emigration&mdash;Difficulties in
+Settling&mdash;Accidents and Casualties&mdash;An Eccentric
+Groom&mdash;Insubordination&mdash;Commencement of Cultivation&mdash;Sagacity of the
+Elephant&mdash;Disappointments&mdash;"Death" in the Settlement&mdash;Shocking
+Pasturage&mdash;Success of Emigrants&mdash;"A Good Knock-about kind of a Wife".
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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 noiseless 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 bad happened within the past year, I conjured up
+localities to my memory which seemed too attractive to have existed in
+reality.  I wandered 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 wandering and complete independence, thus dragged me
+away from home and from a much-loved circle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 suggested; 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 approaching to a country life in
+England, with the advantage of the whole of Ceylon for my manor, and no
+expense of gamekeepers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 establishing a little English village around my own
+residence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 blacksmith, were to sail for my intended settlement in
+Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I purchased farming implements of the most improved descriptions, seeds
+of all kinds, saw-mills, etc., etc., and the following stock: A
+half-bred bull (Durham 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").
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My brother had determined to accompany me; and with emigrants, stock,
+machinery, hounds, and our respective 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I had as much difficulty in making up my mind to the proper spot for
+the settlement as Noah's dove experienced 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 comparatively level
+and not shut in by mountains.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was in the dreary month of October, when the south-west monsoon
+howls in all its fury across the 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 descended 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 beyond description.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I had about eighty men at work; and the constant click-clack of axes,
+the felling of trees, the noise of saws and hammers and the perpetual
+chattering o the coolies gave a new character to the wild spot upon
+which I had fixed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The "Earl 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. 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 "shorthorn," 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.  Accordingly a van
+was arranged for her, which the maker assured 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 between morning and evening, should be the maximum march during
+the journey.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Four government elephant-carts started with machinery, 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 maidservants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There had been a vast amount of trouble in making all the necessary
+arrangements, but the start was completed, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having reached Ramboddé, 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 ascend the pass.  I therefore left it at the
+rest-house while we rode up the fifteen miles to Newera Ellia,
+intending to send for the empty vehicle in a few days.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 Ramboddé.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now this groom, "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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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:
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="letter">
+"Honord Zur
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="letter">
+"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 heighy feet or
+therabouts&mdash;the hosses is got up but is very bad&mdash;the carrige lies on
+its back and we can't stir it nohow.  Mr. &mdash;&mdash; 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.
+</P>
+
+<P CLASS="letter">
+"Your Humbel Servt,<BR>
+  "H. PERKES."<BR>
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This was pleasant, certainly&mdash;a new carriage and a pair of fine
+Australian horses smashed before they reached Newera Ellia!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On my return to Newera Ellia, I found a letter informing me that the
+short-horn cow had halted at Amberpussé, 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 regretted her far more than both
+carriage and horses together, as my ideas for breeding some
+thorough-bred stock were for the present extinguished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 accompany the party.  I also sent the elephant to assist in
+battling the body of the carriage up the precipice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Perkes, having been much more accustomed to riding than walking during
+his career as groom, was determined to ride the elephant down the pass;
+and he accordingly mounted, insisting at the same time that the mahout
+should put the animal into a trot.  In vain the man remonstrated, and
+explained that such a pace would injure the elephant on a journey;
+threats prevailed, 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 imaginary race.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the following day the elephant-driver appeared at the front door,
+but without the elephant.  I immediately foreboded some disaster, which
+was soon explained.  Mr. Perkes had kept up the pace for fifteen miles,
+to Ramboddé, when, finding 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
+standstill."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He literally forced the poor beast up the steep pass for seven miles,
+till it fell down and shortly after died.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.  Notwithstanding this disadvantage in appearance, he was
+perpetually making successful love to the maidservants, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I shortly experienced great trouble with the emigrants; 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 produced
+the desired effect, and we shortly got regularly to work.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+shilling 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A tract of land known as the "Moon Plains," comprising 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 experiment.  A tolerably
+level field of twenty acres was fenced in, and the work begun by firing
+the patina and burning off all the grass.  Then came three teams, as
+follows:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Lord Ducie's patent cultivator, drawn by an elephant; a skim, drawn by
+another elephant, and a long wood plough, drawn by eight bullocks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 subsequently 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was an interesting sight to see the rough plain yielding to the
+power of agricultural implements, especially as some of these
+implements were drawn by animals not generally seen in plough harness
+at home.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This elephant was particularly sagacious; and her farming work being
+completed, she was employed in 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 arranged, under the
+direction of her driver, with the reason apparently of a human being.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 greatest with the care in their
+exact positions, unassisted by any one.[1] 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tame elephants are constantly employed in building stone bridges, when
+the stones required for the abutments are too heavy to be managed by
+crowbars.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 bad
+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 is possible.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having made up my mind to all manner of disappointments, these
+casualties did not make much impression on me, and the loss of a few
+crops at the outset was to be expected; but at length a deplorable and
+unexpected event occurred.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 bad gained her many friends; the daughter was a
+very pretty girl of nineteen.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For some time Mrs. Fowler had been suffering from 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 everything. 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 disappointment, as much difficulty lay in procuring the necessary
+item.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are many small farmers, or rather gardeners, at Newera Ellia who
+have succeeded uncommonly well.  One of the emigrants who left my
+service returned 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 manner 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 believe, prospering as a groom in Madras.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+[1] Directed of course by her driver.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap03"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER III.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Task Completed&mdash;The Mountain-top&mdash;Change in the Face of
+Nature&mdash;Original Importance of Newera Ellia&mdash;"The Path of a Thousand
+Princes"&mdash;Vestiges of Former Population&mdash;Mountains&mdash;The Highlands of
+Ouva&mdash;Ancient Methods of Irrigation&mdash;Remains of Aqueducts&mdash;The Vale of
+Rubies&mdash;Ancient Ophir&mdash;Discovery of Gold-Mineral Resources&mdash;Native
+Blacksmiths.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 discovered that excellent beer might be made at this elevation
+(six thousand two hundred feet), and I accordingly established a small
+brewery.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The solitary Leicester ram had propagated a numerous 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 stood in the 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 contemplated years before.  The task was
+finished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, private enterprise had lain dormant. As usual, from January to
+May, Newera Ellia was overcrowded with months of visitors, and nearly
+empty during the other months of the year.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All Ceylon people dread the wet season at Newera Ellia, which continues
+from June to December.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 vegetation requires, and not one-fourth the quantity fills
+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 constant glare of the summer months, and the rays of the sun are
+not so powerful.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 interminable depths
+of countless ravines and valleys at its base.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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,&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, recalling the words of
+Omnipotence: "Let there be light!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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,
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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! Comparatively but a few years ago, Newera Ellia was
+undiscovered&mdash;a secluded plain among the mountaintops, 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 countrymen 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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 rubbed 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The completion of the church is the grand improvement in Newera Ellia.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although Newera Ellia was in the wild state described when first
+discovered by Europeans, it is not to be supposed that its existence
+was unknown to the Cingalese.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+However wild the country may be, and in many portions unvisited by
+Europeans, still every high mountain 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are native paths from village to village across the mountains,
+which, although in appearance no more than deer-runs, have existed for
+many centuries, and are used by the natives even to this day. The great
+range 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 arduous 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 treestems
+have proved its artificial character, and by following its course I
+have learnt the country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is not a path, stream, hill, or plain, within many miles of
+Newera Ellia, that I do not know intimately, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 commences 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 formerly 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In all tropical countries the first principle of cultivation 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
+irrigation.  Accordingly, the mountains being the reservoirs from which
+the rivers spring, become of vital importance to the country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedrotallagalla, eight thousand
+two hundred and eighty feet; Kirigallapotta, seven thousand nine
+hundred; Totapella, eight thousand feet; and Adam's Peak, seven
+thousand seven hundred; but although their altitude is 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 immense 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
+comparatively 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The whole of the highland district is thus composed of a succession of
+ledges of great extent at various elevations, commencing with the
+highest, the Horton Plains, seven thousand feet above the sea.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 proportion of plain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At about the same elevation, nine miles on the 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The features of this country are totally distinct from any other
+portion of Ceylon.  A magnificent view extends as far as the horizon,
+of undulating open grassland, 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 distributed 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Descending until we reach Wilson's Plain, nine miles from Newera Ellia,
+we arrive in the district of Ouva, much like the Sussex Downs as any
+place to which it can be compared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This district comprises about six hundred square miles, and forms the
+fourth and last ledge of the high lands of Ceylon.  Passes from the
+mountains which form the wall-like boundaries of this table-land
+descend to the low country in various directions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The whole of the Ouva district upon the one side, and of the Kotmalee
+district on the other side, of tilt Newera Ellia range of mountains,
+are, with the exception of the immediate neighborhood of Kandy and
+Colombo, the most populous districts of Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 occupied 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&mdash;not of savages, but of a race
+long since passed away, full of industry and intelligence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Among the existing traces of former population few are more interesting
+than those in the vicinity of Newera Ellia.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Judging from the present supply of water required for the cultivation
+of a district containing a certain population, we can arrive at a
+tolerably correct idea of the former population by comparing the
+present supply of water with that formerly required.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the district of Ouva is at present well populated, and every
+hollow is taken advantage of for the cultivation of paddy, still the
+demand for water in proportion to the supply is comparatively small.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The system of irrigation has necessarily involved immense labor. For
+many miles the water is conducted 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There has been a degree of engineering skill displayed 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 mountains, while the
+paddy-fields are seen miles away in the valleys of Ouva stretched far
+beneath.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At least eight out of ten of these watercourses 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 obstructed by a dam, poured its
+accumulated waters into canals which branched to various localities.
+Not a 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 valley now in cultivation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The nation has vanished, and with it the industry and perseverance of
+the era.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We now arrive at the cause of the former importance of Newera Ellia, or
+the "Royal Plains."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It has been shown that the very existence of the population 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus, during rebellion, he could starve his people into submission, or
+lay waste the land in time of foreign invasion.  I have seen in an
+impregnable position the traces of an ancient fort, evidently erected
+to defend the pass to the main water-course from the low country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This gives us a faint clue to the probable cause of the disappearance
+of the nation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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." In 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 population.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now there is little doubt that the existence of precious 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 Fahrenheit would have regarded the climate of a mean
+temperature of 60 Fahrenheit as we should that of Nova Zembla.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 governors
+of past years visited Arippo during the pearlfishing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+Kondapallé Plain, the Elk Plains, the Totapella Plains, the Horton
+Plains, the Bopatalava Plains, the Augara Plains (translated "the
+Diggings"), and many others extending 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+employment.  The natives would still continue the search, were they
+permitted, upon the "Vale of Rubies;"  but I warned them off on
+purchasing the land; and I have several good specimens of gems which I
+have discovered by digging two feet beneath the surface.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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,
+"moonstone," 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 unqualified 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is amusing to see the positive assertions of a clever man upset by a
+few uneducated sailors.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few men of the latter class, who had been at the gold diggings both
+in California and Australia, happened 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 appearance 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 for 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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The quantity was small, but the men were very sanguine of success, and
+were making their preparations for working on a more extensive scale,
+when they were all prostrated by jungle fever&mdash;a guardian-spirit of the
+gold at Amberpussé, which will ever effectually protect it from
+Europeans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They all returned to Colombo, and, when convalescent, they proceeded to
+Newera Ellia, naturally concluding that the gold which existed in dust
+in the rivers below must be washed down from the richer stores of the
+mountains.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on the 14th June,
+1854, on the second day of their search in that locality. The first
+gold was found in the "Vale of Rubies."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 abundance.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Plumbago is disseminated throughout the whole of both soil and rocks in
+Ceylon, and may be seen covering the surface in the drains by the road
+side, after a recent shower.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It exists in such quantities, in the gneiss rocks that upon their
+decomposition it is seen in bright specks like silver throughout.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This gneiss rock, when in a peculiar stage of decomposition, has the
+appearance and consistency of yellow brick, speckled with plumbago.  It
+exists in this state in immense masses, and forms a valuable
+buildingstone, 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 withstanding the greatest heat; and for
+furnace building it is superior to the best Stourbridge fire-bricks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The finest quality of iron is found upon the mountains in various
+forms, from the small iron-stone gravel to large masses of many tons in
+weight protruding from the earth's surface.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So fine is that considered at Newera Ellia and the vicinity that the
+native blacksmiths have been accustomed 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 smelting.  The operations are as follows:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is rendered as small as
+possible by pounding with a hammer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A platform is then built of clay, about six feet in length by three
+feet in height and width.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A small well is formed in the centre of the platform, about eighteen
+inches in depth and diameter, egg-shaped.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A few inches from the bottom of this well is an air-passage, connected
+with a pipe and bellows.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The well is then filled with alternate layers of charcoal and
+pulverized iron ore; the fire is lighted, and the process of smelting
+commences.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, being assisted in
+this treadmill kind of labor by the elasticity 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 required.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 corresponding amount of charcoal, every now and then
+throwing in a handful of fine sand as a flux.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 calculation 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap04"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IV.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Poverty of Soil&mdash;Ceylon Sugar&mdash;Fatality of Climate&mdash;Supposed Fertility
+of Soil&mdash;Native Cultivation&mdash;Neglect of Rice Cultivation&mdash;Abandoned
+Reservoirs&mdash;Former Prosperity&mdash;Ruins of Cities&mdash;Pollanarua&mdash;The Great
+Dagoba&mdash;Architectural Relics&mdash;The Rock Temple&mdash;Destruction of
+Population&mdash;Neglected Capabilities&mdash;Suggestions for Increasing
+Population&mdash;Progress of Pestilence&mdash;Deserted Villages&mdash;Difficulties in
+the Cultivation of Rice&mdash;Division of Labor&mdash;Native Agriculture.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+From the foregoing description, the reader will have inferred that
+Newera Ellia is a delightful place of residence, with a mean
+temperature of 60 Fahrenheit, 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 healthiness of its
+climate, its natural resources are confined to its timber and mineral
+productions, as the soil is decidedly poor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+anything."  The real fact is, that it is far inferior to the
+forest-land, and will not pay for the working.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nevertheless, it is my decided opinion that the generality of the
+forest-land at Newera Ellia and the vicinity is superior to that in
+other parts of Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are necessarily rich lots every now end 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 valley's
+bottom must be tolerably good even in the poorest country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cinnamon thrives; but why?  It delights in a soil of quartz sand, in
+which nothing else would grow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Cocoa-nut trees flourish for the same reason; sea air, a sandy soil and
+a dry subsoil are all that the cocoa-nut requires.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On the other hand, those tropical productions which require a strong
+soil invariably prove failures, and sugar, cotton, indigo, hemp and
+tobacco cannot possibly be cultivated with success.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 Peredinia 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Any person who thoroughly understands the practical 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 degree 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 "Wallawé," the "Yallé 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These diseases generally prevail to the greatest extent during the dry
+season.  This district is particularly subject 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This deadly climate would be an insurmountable obstacle to the success
+of estates.  Even could managers be found to brave the danger, one
+season of sickness and death among the coolies would give the estate a
+name which would deprive it of all future supplies of labor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Indigo is indigenous to Ceylon, but it is of an inferior quality, and
+an experiment made in its cultivation was a total failure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nevertheless, Ceylon has had a character for fertility. Bennett, in his
+work entitled "Ceylon and its Capabilities," 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 productions," etc., etc.  Again:
+"Ceylon, though comparatively but little known, is pre-eminent in
+natural resources." All this serves to mislead the public opinion.
+Agricultural experiments in a tropical country in a little 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 portion of
+Ceylon is covered by dense thorny jungles? It is simply this&mdash;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 "Chénars" of Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The principal articles of native cultivation are rice, korrakan, Indian
+corn, betel, areca-nuts, pumpkins, onions, garlic, gingelly-oil seed,
+tobacco, millet, red peppers, curry seed and sweet potatoes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The staple articles of Ceylon production are coffee cinnamon and
+cocoa-nut oil, which are for the most part cultivated and manufactured
+by Europeans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 resources 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 production of which the resources of
+Ceylon are both naturally and artificially immense.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This neglect is the more extraordinary as the increase of coffee
+cultivation involves a proportionate increase in the consumption of
+rice, by the additional influx of coolie labor from the coast of India;
+therefore 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 native consumes a bushel of rice per month, when
+he can obtain it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nevertheless, the great capabilities of Ceylon for the cultivation of
+this all-important "staff of life" are entirely 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
+solitude 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All are passed away; and in the wreck of past ages we trace the great
+resources of the country, which produced sufficient food to support
+millions; while for the present comparatively small population Ceylon
+is dependent upon imports.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 required 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These tanks are of various extent, and extremely numerous throughout
+Ceylon.  The largest are those of Minneria, Kandellai, Padavellkiellom,
+and the Giant 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 overflow of one tank was thus
+conducted in succession from lake to lake, until they all attained the
+desired level.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+heightened by cultivation; the forest-capped mountains rose from a
+waving sea of green; the valleys teemed with wealth; no thorny jungles
+gave a barren terminable prospect, but the golden tints of ripening
+crops spread to the horizon. Temples stood upon the 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
+inhabitants derived their food, their wealth and their very life.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The remains of these cities sufficiently attest the former amount of
+population and the comparative civilization which existed at that
+remote era among the progenitors of the present degraded race of
+barbarians. The ruins of "Anaradupoora," which cover two hundred 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Among these, "Toparé," anciently called "Pollanarua," stands foremost.
+This city appears to have been laid out with a degree of taste which
+would have done credit to our modern towns.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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
+its 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, tamed to
+complete obedience. Then on the right, below the massive granite steps
+which form the causeway, 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 light from the rays of a midday sun. Such let us
+suppose the exterior of Pollanarua.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 spacious circle,
+rises the great Dagoba, forming a grand coup d'oeil from the entrance
+gate.  Two hundred and sixty feet from the base the Dagoba rears its
+lofty summit. 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 hundred 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 promenade around the
+Dagoba; the whole having the appearance 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Around the base of the Dagoba on the upper terrace are eight small
+entrances with highly-ornamented exteriors.  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.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 palaces 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 is not a bone
+left for him to gnaw of the multitudes which have passed away.  There
+is their handwriting 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
+multitudes 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 setting 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The great Dagoba now remains a heap of mouldering brickwork, still
+retaining its form, but shorn of all its beauty.  The stucco covering
+has almost all disappeared, leaving a patch here and there upon the
+most sheltered portions of the building. Scrubby brushwood 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 composed, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In one portion of the ruins there are a number of beautiful fluted
+columns, with carved capitals, still remaining 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 arrangement of a first-class
+establishment.  There are innumerable 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 manner with tangled vegetation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;the
+sitting, the reclining and the standing postures.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+completely covered with an inscription in the old Pali language, 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 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 recumbent posture, which is about fifty-six feet in
+length, or, as I measured it, not quite nineteen paces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 massive pillow of gneiss rock actually appears yielding to the
+weight of the head.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 upward 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 annihilation 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 circumference, evaporate to the small dimensions of four miles
+circuit during a dry season.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 falling 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 putridity 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 time when
+required for durability: thus it is no mystery, that either a house or
+a city should shortly fall to decay when the occupant is gone.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 cultivation.  Is it, therefore, a mystery
+that Ceylon is covered with such vast tracts of thorny jungle, now that
+her inhabitants are gone?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Throughout the world there is a perpetual war between 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 covered the
+once broad tracts of prosperous cultivation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 (ficus
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is placed beyond a doubt that the rice-growing resources of Ceylon
+have been suffered to lie dormant since the disappearance of her
+ancient population; and to these neglected capabilities the attention
+of government should be directed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+An experiment might be commenced on a small scale by the repair of one
+tank&mdash;say Kandellai, which is only twenty-six miles from Trincomalee on
+the highroad 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The grand desideratum in the improvement of Ceylon is the increase of
+the population; all of whom should, in some measure, be made to
+increase the revenue.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 hid 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 0 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 cars become a considerable
+source of revenue, in addition to the increased value of the land, now
+worthless, by a system of cultivation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 consumption.  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 proportion to the influx of
+population, and the duties upon enlarged imports would again tend to
+swell the revenue of the country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The felling and clearing of the jungle, which cultivation would render
+necessary, would tend, in a great measure, to dispel the fevers and
+malaria always produced by a want of free circulation of air.  In a
+jungle-covered country like Ceylon, diseases of the most malignant
+character are harbored in these dense and undisturbed tracts, which
+year after year reap a pestilential 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 masters.  All dead; not one left to tell the
+miserable tale.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The decay of the population is still progressing, and the next fifty
+years will see whole districts left uninhabited 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+One season of pestilence, even in a large village, paves the road for a
+similar visitation in the succeeding year, for this reason:
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 village.  Thus the
+circulation of air is impeded and disease again halves the population.
+In each successive year the wretched inhabitants are thinned out, and
+disease becomes the more certain as the jungle continues to advance.
+At length the miserable few are no longer sufficient to cultivate the
+rice-lands; their numbers 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The number of villages which have thus died out is almost incredible.
+In a day's ride of twenty miles, I have passed the remains of as many
+as three or four, how many more may have vanished in the depths of the
+jungle!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, browsing upon the succulent tops, and destroying every
+trace of a former habitation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is no doubt that when sickness is annually reducing 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 principal tanks would draw
+together in thousands the survivors of many half-perished villages, who
+would otherwise fall victims to succeeding years of sickness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The labor of constructing dams and forming watercourses 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 accordingly produced at a cheaper rate.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Few people understand the difficulties with which a small village has
+to contend in the cultivation of rice. 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 becomes ripe; a scarcity of water at the
+exact moment it is required; and other numerous difficulties which are
+scarcely felt by a large population.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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-house, while the shouts of the
+watchers scare the wild beasts from the crops. Hundreds 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 multitude the individual work proceeds without fatigue.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The system of rice cultivation is exceedingly laborious. The first
+consideration being a supply of water, the second is a perfect level,
+or series of levels, to be irrigated.  Thus a hill-side must be
+terraced out into a succession of platforms or steps; and a plain,
+however apparently flat, must, by the requisite embankments, be reduced
+to the most perfect surface.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This being completed, the water is laid on for a certain time, until
+the soil has become excessively soft and muddy.  It is then run off,
+and the land is ploughed by a simple implement, which, being drawn by
+two buffaloes, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 immense,
+is 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.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap05"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER V.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Real Cost of Land&mdash;Want of Communication&mdash;Coffee-planting&mdash;Comparison
+between French and English
+Settlers&mdash;Landslips&mdash;Forest-clearing&mdash;Manuring&mdash;The Coffee
+Bug&mdash;Rats&mdash;Fatted Stock&mdash;Suggestions for Sheep-farming&mdash;Attack of a
+Leopard&mdash;Leopards and Chetahs&mdash;Boy Devoured&mdash;Traps&mdash;Musk Cats and the
+Mongoose&mdash;Vermin of Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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
+separately, and with grave attention by the intending settler or
+capitalist.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The upset price of government land is twenty shillings 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The staple commodity of Ceylon being coffee, I will assume that a
+purchase is concluded with the government for one thousand acres of
+land, at the upset price of twenty shillings per acre.  What has the
+purchaser 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 cleaning will
+be about eight pounds per acre; this, in addition 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 lowest 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
+persons lose sight of this necessary outlay when first purchasing their
+land, and subsequently discover to their cost that their capital is
+insufficient to bring the estate into cultivation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Then comes the question of a road.  The government 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Considering the risks that are always attendant upon agricultural
+pursuits, and especially upon coffee-planting, 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 encourage 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This evil might easily be avoided by retaining the present bona fide
+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 neighborhood, 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 government.  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 valueless from their isolated position.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Coffee-planting in Ceylon has passed through the various stages
+inseparable from every "mania."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the early days of our possession, the Kandian district was little
+known, and sanguine imaginations painted the hidden prospect in their
+ideal colors, expecting that a trace once opened to the interior would
+be the road to fortune.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How these golden expectations have been disappointed the broken
+fortunes of many enterprising planters can explain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This sudden reduction created an equally sudden 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
+extensive 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the after effects of a "hurricane" are a more healthy atmosphere and
+an increased vigor in all vegetation, so are the usual sequels to a
+panic in the commercial world.  Things are brought down to their real
+value and level; men of straw are swept away, and affairs are commenced
+anew upon a sound and steady basis.  Capital is invested with caution,
+and improvements are entered upon step by step, until success is
+assured.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 proprietor, provided that he has his own capital
+to work his estate, that he gives his own personal superintendence 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is a difficult thing to define the amount which constitutes 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 industry and toil, chequered
+by many disappointments, may eventually reward the proprietor; but it
+will be at 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 reception?&mdash;no thermometer can mark the degree. No fortune,
+however large, can compensate for the loss of home, and friends, and
+early associations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+transportation: 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 return, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 farewell to the shores of "La belle France," and, with the
+natural light-heartedness of the nation, he settles cheerfully 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 is a tropical beauty in the cultivated trees and flowers
+which is seldom seen in our possessions.  The fruits are brought to
+perfection, as there is the same care taken in pruning and grafting the
+finest kinds as in our gardens in England.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A Frenchman is necessarily a better settler; everything 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The latter is now acknowledged as the most remunerative 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 hundred to
+four thousand feet.  At one time it was considered 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, 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 continually robbed by the heavy
+rains.  Thus it is next to impossible to keep an estate in a high state
+of cultivation, without an enormous expense in the constant application
+of manure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 extent; great rocks are detached from the
+summits of the hills, and sweep off whole lines of trees in their
+descent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+between 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 subsoil 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 consideration when choosing a locality for a coffee
+estate. This is an extent of grazing land sufficient for the support of
+the cattle required for producing manure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The magnificent sight of so extensive a fire is succeeded by the
+desolate appearance of blackened stumps and smouldering trunks of
+trees: the whole of the branches and tinderwood having been swept away
+by the mighty blaze, the land is comparatively clear.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 season, 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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).
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A water-tight platform is formed of stucco&mdash;say forty feet
+square&mdash;surrounded by a wall two feet high, so as to form a tank.
+Below this is a sunken cistern&mdash;say eight feet square&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A layer of weeds and rubbish is now laid upon the 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+compost. The surplus moisture, upon reaching the bottom of the heap,
+drains from the slightly inclined platform into the receiving cistern,
+and is again pumped over the mass.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 particles, which, by washing in a cistern of
+running water, are detached from the berry. It is then rendered
+perfectly dry in the sun or by means of artificially heated air; and,
+being packed in bags, it is forwarded to Colombo.  Here, it is unpacked
+and sent to the mill, which, by means of heavy rollers, detaches the
+parchment 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 agricultural
+pursuits: the inclemency of seasons and the attacks of vermin are
+constantly marring the planter's expectations.  Among the latter
+plagues the "bug" stands foremost.  This is a minute and gregarious
+insect, 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 Arabicum) are
+more especially subject to its ravages.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+adheres to a rock.  This is the nest or house, which, although no
+larger than a split hempseed contains some hundreds of the "bug." As
+some thousands of these scaly nests exist upon one tree, myriads of
+insects must be feeding upon its juices.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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,&mdash;and they appear
+in their natural color. Coffee plants of young growth are liable to
+complete destruction if severely attacked by "bug."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;"buy poor cattle at a low price, fatten
+them for the butcher, and they give both profit and manure."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 oil cake ("poonac"), are found to
+succeed, although the manure is somewhat costly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+English or Australian sheep have hitherto been untried&mdash;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 succeed 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&mdash;viz., "leopards" and "leeches." The former are so
+destructive that the shepherd could never lose sight of his flock
+without great risk; but the latter, although troublesome, are not to be
+so much dreaded as people suppose.  They are very small, and the
+quantity of blood 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 common 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The depredations of leopards among cattle are no inconsiderable causes
+of loss.  At Newera Ellia hardly a week passes without some casualty
+among the stock of different proprietors.  Here the leopards are
+particularly 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 blacksmith.  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, where the hungry leopard prowled stealthily
+round the cowhouse, 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, having mounted on the roof, commenced scratching his way
+through the thatch.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Down he sprang!&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The leopard no longer growled; but the cow was mad with fury. She
+alternately threw a large dark 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are two distinct species of the leopard in Ceylon&mdash;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 distinction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The "chetah" is much smaller than the leopard, seldom exceeding seven
+feet from the nose to the end of tile tail.  He is covered with round
+black "spots" of the size of a shilling, and his weight rarely exceeds
+ninety pounds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;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 "chetahs" which
+proceeds from the general ignorance of the presence of the two species.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 concentrated
+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&mdash;by a sudden twist, and not by a blow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 constantly tearing, and
+which is apt to cause gangrene by inoculation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I was returning from a morning's hunting; it was a bitter day; the rain
+was pouring in torrents, the 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 cars 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Accordingly, I started off a couple of men with orders to carry him up
+if he were sick.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They returned in little more than an hour, but the poor boy was
+dead!&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 building, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 materially decreased in a
+few years.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 common jackal-trap would hold a leopard, provided the
+chain was fastened to an elastic bough, so that it would 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 arid 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 peculiarity is the musk-bag or
+gland situated nearly under the tail; this is a projecting and valued
+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 extracted and dried, it has
+nothing more than the well-known scent of that used by perfumers. The
+latter is more frequently the production of the musk-deer, although the
+scent is possessed 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Of these, the musk-rat is a terrible plague, as he perfumes everything
+that he passes over, rendering fruit, cake, bread, etc., perfectly
+uneatable, and even flavoring 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The fact is, he taints the cork, and the flavor of musk is communicated
+to the wine during the process of uncorking the bottle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Ceylon can produce an enticing catalogue of attractions, from the
+smallest to the largest of the enemies to the human race&mdash;ticks, bugs,
+fleas, tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, leeches, snakes, lizards,
+crocodiles, etc., of which more hereafter.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap06"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VI.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+"Game Eyes" for Wild Sports&mdash;Enjoyments of Wild Life&mdash;Cruelty of
+Sports&mdash;Native Hunters&mdash;Moormen Traders&mdash;Their wretched Guns&mdash;Rifles
+and Smooth-bores&mdash;Heavy Balls and Heavy Metal&mdash;Beattie's Rifles&mdash;Balls
+and Patches&mdash;Experiments&mdash;The Double-groove&mdash;Power of Heavy
+Metal&mdash;Curious Shot at a Bull Elephant&mdash;African and Ceylon
+Elephants&mdash;Structure of Skull&mdash;Lack of Trophies&mdash;Boar-spears and
+Hunting-knives&mdash;"Bertram"&mdash;A Boar Hunt&mdash;Fatal Cut.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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 beasts, 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 existence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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
+observing them, or they see him and retreat from view before he remarks
+them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 difficult
+to be distinguished.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It may appear ridiculous to say that an elephant is very difficult to
+be seen!&mdash;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 surrounding 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Quickness of eye is an indispensable quality in sportsmen, 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 become
+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 immediately observed, but anything out of the common among
+surrounding objects instantly strikes the attention; the waving of one
+bough in particular when all are moving in the breeze; the switching 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 continual exercise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is a peculiar delight, which passes all description, 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
+"anything," 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 unheeded by an experienced hunter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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. 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 his 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 condemn
+all.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 mischievous, and they are pursued and killed in
+the most speedy, and therefore in the most merciful, manner.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The government reward for the destruction of elephants 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the number of these animals is still so immense 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 hundred 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 themselves to the
+shots and endeavour 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 increases 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 increasing.
+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 from the country, and must eventually almost annihilate them.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 intention in taking so many bullocks
+is to bring borne the spoils of their hunting trip&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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 veneration.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 smoothbore.  This is
+not the fault of the weapon; it is the 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Whoever makes use of this argument must certainly be in the habit of
+very random shooting with a smoothbore. How can he possibly get a
+correct aim with "ball" out of a smoothbore, without squinting along
+the barrel and taking the muzzle-sight accurately? The fact is, that
+many persons 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 endeavouring 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have never seen any rifles which combine the requisites 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;again, remark the American 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 frequently 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, proceeding either from the want of metal in
+the rifle or from improper workmanship in the fittings.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is another reason for the necessity of heavy barrels, especially
+for two-grooved rifles.  Unless the grooves he 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
+smoothbore.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 a large bore is to possess an extra powerful weapon,
+therefore the charge of powder must be increased 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&mdash;the
+powder has more than its fair amount of work.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 ramrod, 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, unless it is of some bright metal, such as silver or platinum;
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The charge of powder must necessarily depend upon its strength. For
+elephant-shooting, I always rise 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 animal when 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 down by the sharp grooves of the rifle. It is also thinner than
+linen or calico, and the ball is therefore more easily rammed down.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 elephant-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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I once tried a very conclusive experiment on the power of balls of
+various metals propelled by an equal charge of powder.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I then tried a ball of one-third zinc and two-thirds lead, but there
+was no perceptible difference in the effect.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I subsequently tried a tin bill, and again a zinc ball, but neither of
+them produced any other effect than slightly to indent the iron.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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. 16 smoothbore, 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
+indentation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+if a person wishes to harden a bill 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 seconds 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 temperature 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.  Altogether, the hardening of a ball has been shown to be
+perfectly unnecessary, and the latter receipt would be found very
+expensive.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+If a wonderful effect is required, the steel-tipped conical ball should
+be used.  I once shot through fourteen elm planks, each one inch thick,
+with a four-ounce 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have frequently watched a party of soldiers winding along a pass,
+with their white trousers, red coats, white cross-belts and brass
+plates, at about four hundred yards, and thought what a raking that
+rifle would give a body, of troops in such colors for 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is a great difference of opinion among sportsmen  regarding the
+grooves of a rifle; some prefer the two-groove and belted ball; others
+give preference to the eight or twelve-groove and smoothbore.  There
+are good arguments on both sides.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 keeping clean, while the many-groove claims the advantage of quick
+loading.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The latter is by far the more important recommendation, especially as
+the many-groove can be loaded without 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 particularly 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 struggling 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. 10'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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For heavy game-shooting, I do not think there can be a much fairer
+standard for the charge of powder 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have frequently killed elephants by curious shots with the 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My friend Palliser and I were out shooting on the day previous, and we
+had spent some hours in vainly endeavouring to track up a single bull
+elephant.  I forget 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 Yallé river, upon the banks of which our tent
+was pitched in fine open forest. For about an hour the roaring was
+continued, apparently on both sides the river, and we immediately
+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 10's, while we each carried a single barrel for
+deer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A noble piece of Nature's handiwork is that same Yallé forest. The
+river flows sluggishly through its centre in a breadth of perhaps
+ninety yards, and the immense 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 torrents 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 spring 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 and we hoped to meet some of the
+satiated elephants on their way to their dense habitations.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We almost made sure of finding our friend of yesterday's trek, and we
+accordingly kept close to the edge of the river, keeping a sharp eye
+for tracks upon the sandy bed below.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It happened that the jungle was a little thicker in his 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is the power which every elephant-gun should possess: it should
+have an elephant's head under complete command in every attitude.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I am very confident that the African elephant would be killed by the
+brain-shot by Ceylon sportsmen with as much case 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When I arrived in Ceylon one of my first visits was to the museum at
+Colombo where I carefully examined the transverse sections of an
+elephant's skull, until perfectly acquainted with its details.  From
+the museum I cut straight to the elephant-stables and thoroughly
+examined the head of the living animal, comparing it in my own mind
+with the skull, until I was thoroughly certain of the position of the
+brain and the possibility of reaching it from any position.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+An African sportsmen would be a long time in killing 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-covered country as Ceylon, where, in most cases, everything
+depends upon the success of the first barrel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, elephants are fired at thirty, forty, and even at sixty
+yards.  It is no wonder, therefore, that African sportsmen 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first thing that a good sportsmen 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 animals, from the smallest to the largest, sink
+into instant death when shot through the brain; and that a wound
+through the lungs or heart is equally fatal, though not so
+instantaneous. These are accordingly the points for aim, the brain,
+from its small size, being the most difficult to hit.  Nevertheless, in
+a jungle country, elephants must be shot through the brain, otherwise
+they would 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 brainshot 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A Ceylon sportsman arriving in Africa would naturally 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+What a sight for a Ceylon elephant-hunter would be the first view of a
+herd of African elephants&mdash;all tuskers!  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&mdash;he is followed till he gives up his tusks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 magnificent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nothing produces either ivory or horn in fine specimens throughout
+Ceylon.  Although some of the buffaloes have tolerably fine heads, they
+will not bear a comparison with those of other countries.  The horns of
+the native cattle are not above four inches in length.  The elk and the
+spotted deer's antlers are small compared 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 mainland, from which it is now
+only separated by a shallow and rocky 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 understands the preparation of the skins; thus all
+the elk and deer hides are simply dried in the sun, and the hair soon
+rots and fills 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
+entirety neglected by the miserable and indolent population, whose
+whole thoughts are concentrated upon their bread, or rather their curry
+and rice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 to penetrate them, and too much care cannot be bestowed upon the
+manufacture of a knife for this style of hunting, as the boar is one of
+the fiercest and dangerous of animals.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at night in search of
+roots, fruits, large earthworms, or anything else that he can find,
+being, like his domesticated 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
+neighbourhood of Newera Ellia.  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 bounds
+and a long knife deserves to escape.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 peculiar shape
+added to the weight of the blade gives an 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+produce a tension on the muscles, without which the blow, however
+great, would have a comparatively small effect.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The accounts of this feat always appeared very marvellous to my mind,
+until I one day unintentionally performed something similar on a small
+scale with the hunting-knife.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 summit.
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I had nine couple of hounds out, among which were some splendid
+seizers, "Bertram," "Killbuck," "Hecate," "Bran," "Lucifer," and
+"Lena," the first three being 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 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 punishing 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 constant exclamations of a crowd
+of excited spectators when a powerful buck was brought to bay.  He was
+a wonderful 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.[1] His sister "Hecate," was more careful, and she is
+alive at this moment, and a capital seizer of great strength combined
+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
+grayhound and deerhound, and as good as gold.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is a good path along the narrow ridge on the 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 mountain-side.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was no avoiding the find; and away went "Bluebeard," "Ploughboy,"
+"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
+impatiently for the first sounds of the bay.  Round they turned again,
+up the steep hillside, and the music slackened a little, as the bounds
+had enough to do in bursting through the tangled bamboo up the hill.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 off 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bertram has him for a guinea!  Hold him, good lad! and away dashed
+"Lucifer" from my side at the halloo.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In another moment I was close up, and with my knife ready I broke
+through the dense jungle and was immediately 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+only was the spine severed, but the blade had cut deep into his vitals
+and produced instant death.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The numbers of wild hogs in the low country is surprising, and these
+are most useful in cleaning up the carcases of dead animals and
+destroying vermin.  I seldom or never fire at 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.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+[1] Speared through the body by the horns of a buck elk and killed shortly
+after this was written.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap07"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VII.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Curious Phenomenon&mdash;Panorama of Ouva&mdash;South-west Monsoon&mdash;Hunting
+Followers&mdash;Fort M'Donald&mdash;River&mdash;Jungle Paths&mdash;Dangerous
+Locality&mdash;Great Waterfall&mdash;Start for Hunting&mdash;The Find&mdash;A Gallant
+Stag&mdash;"Bran" and "Lucifer"&mdash;"Phrenzy's" Death&mdash;Buck at Bay&mdash;The Cave
+Hunting-box&mdash;"Madcap's" Dive&mdash;Elk Soup&mdash;Former Inundation&mdash;"Bluebeard"
+leads off&mdash;"Hecate's" Course&mdash;The Elk's Leap&mdash;Variety of Deer&mdash;The
+Axis&mdash;Ceylon Bears&mdash;Variety of Vermin&mdash;Trials for Hounds&mdash;Hounds and
+their Masters&mdash;A Sportsman "shut up"&mdash;A Corporal and Centipede.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+From June to November the south-west monsoon brings wind and mist
+across the Newera Ellia mountains.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Clouds of white fog boil up from the Dimboola valley like the steam
+from a huge cauldron, and invade the Newera Ellia plain through the
+gaps in the mountains to the westward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is a curious phenomenon, however, in this locality.  When the
+weather described prevails at Newera 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 command 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 groaning, the rain is pelting upon
+the hills.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The change appears impossible; but there it is, ever the same; season
+after season, year after year, the rugged 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary appearance of this
+scene by description.  The panoramic view in itself is celebrated; but
+as the point in the road is reached where the termination of the
+monsoon dissolves the cloud and rain into a thin veil of mist, the
+panorama seen through the gauze-like atmosphere 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 gradually
+fades away, and the distant prospect lies before the eye with a glassy
+clearness made doubly striking by the sudden contrast.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The road winds along about midway up the mountain, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 always an escape open from the wet season at Newera Ellia by a
+short walk of three or four miles.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This sudden termination of the cloud-capped mountain gives rise to a
+violent wind in the sunny valleys and 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 hilltops with great
+force, giving the sturdy rhododendrons an inclination to the north-east
+which clearly marks the steadiness of the monsoon.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;some days fine, others wet, and
+every now and then a week of rain at one bout.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 condition, were it not for
+the fine weather in the vicinity which then invites a trip.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 animal that weighs between
+four hundred and four hundred 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 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 immediately 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 extraordinary 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 pedestrian." This is owing to the
+natural advantages of naked feet and no inexpressibles.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Whenever an elk has given a long run in the direction of this country,
+and after a persevering and arduous 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 and a string of fellows of lesser wind come in, in
+sections, all thoroughly blown.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 potatoes, they have no opportunities of tasting meat
+unless upon these occasions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The direct route to this country was unknown to Europeans at Newera
+Ellia until I discovered it one day, accidentally, in following the
+hounds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 Peréwellé (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 torrent, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 impenetrable jungle without knowing either the distance or
+direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 lip 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
+patinas 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
+Badulla 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This road, on completion, answered every expectation, connecting the
+two sides of the Hog's Back by an excellent path of about two miles,
+and débouching on the opposite side on a high patina peak which
+commanded the whole country.  Thus was the whole country opened up by
+this single path, and should an elk play his old trick and be off
+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 bounds
+throughout the run.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 Newera Ellia, while in this spot it was beautifully fine,
+although very windy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I therefore sent on the tent, kennel-troughs and pots, and all the
+paraphernalia indispensable for the jungle, and on the 31st May, 1852,
+I started, having two companions&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There never could have been a more romantic or beautiful spot for a
+bivouac. To the right lay the distant view of the low country,
+stretching into an undefined 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
+Peréwellé 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 impassable
+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 cataracts echoed
+upon all sides.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.  Mountainous 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 extensive 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 grasslands, so steep as to be ascended with the
+greatest difficulty, and the elk lie in the forests on the summits and
+also in the narrow belts which cover the ravines.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 cataracts, all of which, however grand individually, are
+completely eclipsed by its last great plunge of three hundred feet
+perpendicular depth into a dark and narrow chasm of wall-bound cliffs.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 the bed and throwing
+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!&mdash;we cannot see more&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+No animal or man, once in those mysterious pools, could ever escape
+without assistance.  Thus in years post, 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 bound who entered the trap found sure destruction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The hard work and the danger to both man and bound 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 bottom 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 requires great
+caution.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Altogether, this forms the wildest and most arduous country that can be
+imagined for hunting, but it abounds with elk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The morning was barely gray when I woke up the servants and ordered
+coffee, and made the usual preparations 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was the 30th May, 1853, a lovely hunting morning and a fine dew on
+the patinas; rather too windy, but that could not be helped.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Quiet now!&mdash;down, Bluebeard!&mdash;back, will you, Lucifer! Here's a smash!
+there goes the jungle kennel! the pack squeezing out of it in every
+direction as they hear the preparations for departure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 forest 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 cars
+cocked and glistening eyes, intently listening for the expected sound.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+coming down at full speed from the very summit of the mountain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 hundred
+yards of me, and the elk had already turned to fight.  I knew that he
+was an immense fellow from his track, and I at once saw that he would
+show fine sport.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 momentum of a rapid descent by clinging to the tough saplings.
+Sometimes one would give way and a considerable 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, instead 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Running toward the spot, I found the buck's track leading in that
+direction, and I gave two or three view 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 of the track to let them pass as they swept by, and
+"For-r-r-a-r-d to him! For-r&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The "Tamby"[1] 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 whenever 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 mountain, followed by the
+greyhounds "Bran" and "Lucifer."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 carefully, 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 waterfall of three hundred feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was extremely grand; the roar of the falls so entirely 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The elk stood upon the brink of the swollen torrent; 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The hounds knew the danger of the place; but the buck, accustomed to
+these haunts from his birth, suddenly 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 stemming 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They were not fifteen feet from the edge of the fall, and I saw them
+spun round and round in the whirlpools 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 oil the very ver-e
+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 struggling up the steep bank, through the
+same lemon grass, which had for a moment obscured their fate.  They
+were thoroughly exhausted and half drowned.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 waters 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&mdash;her struggles were
+unavailing&mdash;over she went, and was of course never heard of afterward.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 ascent, which, though very precipitous was so covered
+with long lemon grass that it was easy enough to climb.  I looked
+behind me, and there was the Tamby, all right, within a few paces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+being broken into a regular lane which skirted the precipice of the
+great waterfall in the direction of the villages.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 below.  The lemon grass was so high in tufts along 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.  Clutching 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 irregular surfaces, but
+still stirring the dark gorge down which the river fell.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At length, having left the fall some considerable distance 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 interstices 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 entice the elk to make a move to some better ground.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 was in very fine condition; 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To regain the tent, I had a pull for it, having to descend into the
+village of Peréwellé, and then to reascend 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Tugging up such a mountain was no fun after a hard morning's work, and
+I resolved to move the encampment 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, which 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For my own part, I do not think much of elk venison, unless it be very
+fit, 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 enables them to sustain the severe shocks in
+descending rough mountains at full speed. It is perfectly wonderful 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 M'Donald river, an example of which we had on the following
+morning.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 beard her cry out, and as she was closely followed I thought she
+was seized.  However, the whole pack shortly returned, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here we had a fine exemplification of the danger of the mysterious
+pools.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+While I was opening the elk, with the pack all round me licking their
+lips in expectation, old "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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 "Madcap" being swept up against this high wall of rock, where she
+remained paddling with all her might in an upright position.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+Presently she gave a convulsive struggle, which freed her head from the
+loop, and in an instant she disappeared.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 excursion, and we soon helped her safe ashore.
+Fortunately 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There was so much water in the river that I determined to move from
+this locality as too dangerous for hunting.  I therefore ordered the
+village people to assemble on the following morning to carry the loads
+and tent.  In the mean time I sent for the dead elk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There could riot 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!&mdash;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 marrowbones 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&mdash;in fact, there is no rise
+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
+contained three sleepy mortals.  The hounds snored and growled, and
+then snored again.  The servants jabbered, chewed betel, spit, then
+jabbered a little more, and at last everything and everybody was fast
+asleep within the cave.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+other side  the ridge lie Bertram's patinas.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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
+principal fissure carries away the united streams to the paddy-fields
+below.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The cause of this inundation is plain enough.  The basin has been the
+receptacle for the drainage of an extensive 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 obstruction 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 accordingly 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 generally in view.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From every point of this beautiful locality there is a boundless and
+unbroken panorama of the low country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"There's scent to a certainty!&mdash;look at old Bluebeard's nose upon the
+ground and the excited wagging of his stern.  Ploughboy notices it&mdash;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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For a couple of hours we had sat behind a rock, sheltered from the
+wind, watching the immense prospect 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That elk must have gone up to the top of the mountains 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+two small wooded ravines, with a strip of patina between them. I at
+once surmised that this was the hunted elk, although, as yet, no hounds
+were visible.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On arrival at the first ravine we immediately descended, 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, snuff the warning
+breeze and, drawing up to his full height, and wind the enemy before
+him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 him from his course.  Up to the present time and turn they
+had not observed him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Still the buck stood in an attitude of acute suspense.  He winded an
+enemy before him and he heard another behind, which was rapidly closing
+up, and, as though doubting his own power of scent, he gave preference
+to that of hearing, and gallantly continued his course and entered the
+second ravine just beneath our feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, "Lucifer," "Bran" and "Hecate," who
+remained with me.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 greyhounds will
+stretch his legs for him.  Yo-i-ck to him, Lucifer! For-r-r-ard to him,
+Hecate!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 brick
+all alone, but going like a rocket.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now she has turned him! that pace could not last up hill, and round the
+elk doubled and came flying down the mountain side.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 about two hundred and fifty feet was
+lying exactly in his path; this sunk sheer down to a lower series of
+grass-lands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Down they flew with unabated speed; they neared the precipice, and a
+few more seconds would bring them to the verge.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+He was close to the danger and it was still unseen: a moment more and
+"Hecate" sprang at his ear.  Fortunately 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 destruction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 multiplying velocity
+and&mdash;crash!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It was all over.  The bitch had pulled up on the very brink of the
+precipice, but it was a narrow escape.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+compassion 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 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 one such an accident
+more than once before.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 followers heavily laden, we reached the tent.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;to the Matturatta
+Plains, within three miles of my present hunting ground.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+After hunting four days at the Matturatta Plains, I moved on to the
+Elephant Plains, and from thence returned home after twelve days'
+absence, having killed twelve elk and two red deer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 disproportionate 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
+incline in the contrary direction, viz., downward, and they are used as
+weapons of defence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The horns of the red deer seldom exceed eight inches in length, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+doubling about over fifty acres of ground like a hare, until he is at
+last run into and killed.  They exist in extraordinary numbers
+throughout every portion of Ceylon, but are never seen in herds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, covered with
+dark spots.  The upper jaw is furnished with sharp tusks similar to the
+red deer, but the head is free from horns.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The skull is perfectly unlike the head of a deer, and is closely allied
+to the rat, which it would exactly resemble, 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 examination of
+the paunch.  Some people consider the flesh very good, but my ideas
+perhaps give it a "ratty" flavor that makes it unpalatable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A stranger 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 full black eye.  His hide is as sleek as
+satin&mdash;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).
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 experiment by weighing a dead elk.  I had
+always considered 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, flipping 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, bucks, does and fawns, in
+beautiful herds; when undisturbed, as many as a hundred together.  This
+is the only species of deer in Ceylon that is gregarious.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 inhibits the mountains, should in Ceylon adhere
+exclusively to the low country.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 clawing might alter the most handsome expression
+of countenance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bears have frequently been known to tear off a man's face like a mask,
+leaving nothing but the face of a skull.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus the quadrupeds of Newera Ellia and the adjacent 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 rat.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+possibly 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 limit and what to avoid.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is curious to witness the sagacity of the old hounds in joining or
+despising the opening note of a newcomer.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 fears 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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" voice, and see the dash with which they rush through
+the jungle to join him.  They know the old fellows note is true to an
+elk or hog, and, with implicit confidence in his "find," they never
+hesitate to join.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 born, or not, as
+he thinks proper.  It is impossible to correct him, as he is out of
+sight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now, the very fact of having one or two first-rate finders in a pack,
+will very likely be the cause of spoiling 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 thus throw off his pursuers.  Here is a
+trial for the hounds!&mdash;the elk has waded or swum down the stream, and
+the baffled pack arrive upon the bank; their cheering 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;they
+are thrown out altogether.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mark the staunch old hounds!&mdash;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 "Ploughboy" has just started along the near bank so that both
+sides of the river are being hunted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The only way to train hounds in this style of country is to accustom
+them to complete obedience from puppyhood.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+"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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+particular 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 part will ensure a
+corresponding amount in the hounds; they will become so accustomed to
+the certain appearance 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 afternoon 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
+direction but the right one, my ears have at length been gladdened by
+the distant sound of the bay.  The particular moment when hope and
+certainty combined reward 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-looking mass&mdash;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 unrequited
+labor and&mdash;hark! The bay! no doubt of it&mdash;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&mdash;happier, a great deal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 dauntlessly 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Distraction!  Ceylon is nearly all jungle, two hundred and eighty miles
+long and he is in this&mdash;somewhere He tries to recollect by what route
+he has come; impossible!  He has been up one mountain, and 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+One great peculiarity in Newera Ellia is the comparative 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
+"carrawellé," 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 venomous except the snake alluded to, and a small species of
+centipede. Fleas there are certainly&mdash;indeed, a fair sprinkling of
+fleas; but they are not troublesome, except in houses which are
+unoccupied during a portion of the year.  This is a great peculiarity
+of a Ceylon flea&mdash;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 neighborhood, will literally swarm with them if
+deserted for a couple of months.  Fleas have a great fancy for settling
+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 distinguished; 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 ludicrous enough.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 return; this he was
+sure to relate in a rich brogue with great facetiousness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Phinn was frantic, and upon lowering his inexpressibles we found the
+centipede about four inches long which had bitten him.  A little brandy
+rubbed on the part soon relieved the pain.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+[1] An exceedingly active Moorman, who was my great ally in hunting.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap08"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER VIII.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Observations on Nature in the Tropics&mdash;The Dung Beetle&mdash;The
+Mason-fly&mdash;Spiders&mdash;Luminous Insects&mdash;Efforts of a Naturalist&mdash;Dogs
+Worried by Leeches&mdash;Tropical Diseases&mdash;Malaria&mdash;Causes of
+Infection&mdash;Disappearance of the "Mina"&mdash;Poisonous Water&mdash;Well-digging
+Elephants.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+How little can the inhabitant of a cold or temperate 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 vegetation.  "Life" appears to
+emanate from "death"&mdash;the destruction of one material seems to multify
+the existence of another&mdash;the whole surface of the earth seems busied
+in one vast system of giving birth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+An animal dies&mdash;a solitary beast&mdash;and before his unit life has vanished
+for one week, bow many millions of living creatures owe their birth to
+his death? What countless swarms of insects have risen from that one
+carcase!&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Rottenness of all kinds is soon carried from the face of the land by
+the wise arrangements of Nature for preserving the world from plagues
+and diseases, which the decaying and unconsumed bodies of animals and
+vegetables would otherwise engender.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How beautiful are all the laws of Nature! how perfect 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 become 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 ordinary observation cannot help acquiring a
+tolerable knowledge of the habits of some of the most interesting
+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 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 mail from one of the lowest classes of
+living things!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here we see no rash matrimonial engagements; no penniless lovers
+selfishly and indissolubly linked together to propagate large families
+Of starving children.  Ail the arrangements of the insect tribe, though
+prompted by sheer instinct are conducted with a degree of rationality
+that in some cases raises the mere instinct of the creeping thing above
+the assumed "reason" of man.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 feeling existing in its brain&mdash;the Billingsgate fish-woman of
+its tribe in coarseness and rudeness of exterior (Scarabaeus
+carnifex)&mdash;see with what quickness she is running backward, raised
+almost upon her head, while with her bind 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 to rest.
+No great amount of rest; she plunges her head into the ground, and with
+that shovel-like projection of stout horn she mines her way below: she
+has disappeared even in these few seconds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 altogether.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 receptacle for her eggs, which she deposits in the
+ball of dung, the warmth of which assists in bringing the larvae into
+life, which then feed upon the manure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+transported at once.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The mason-fly is also a ball-maker, but she carries her load and builds
+an elaborate nest. This insect belongs to the order "Hymenoptera," and
+is of the Ichneumon tribe, being a variety of upward of four hundred
+species of that interesting fly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 every one of these different species wages
+perpetual war against the arch enemy of flies.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+shape of the nest may vary. Everything is to be hermetically sealed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 surface 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 distances.  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 tip in stores within the cells as food for the
+young larvae, when hatched.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now the transition from the larva to the fly takes 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 advanced stage as to require
+food.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In a tropical country every one knows that a very few hours occasion
+the putrefaction of all dead animal substances; nevertheless these
+spiders are to be kept fresh and good, like our tins of preserved
+meats, to be eaten when required.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Every variety of Ichneumon, however (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 make its nest in the tube of a key,
+which it also fills with minute spiders.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In attacking the spider, the mason-fly his a choice of his antagonist,
+and he takes good care to have a preponderance of weight on his own
+side.  His reason for choosing this in preference to other insects for
+a preserved store may be that the spider is naturally juicy, plump and
+compact, combining advantages both for keeping and packing closely.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 species 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 texture 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 considered as too
+fragile.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 generally the character of cotton
+than of silk.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Should this ever be experimented on, a question might arise of much
+interest to entomologists, whether a difference 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, waving 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 rushing 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 assisting in their destruction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are many varieties of luminous insects in Ceylon.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 smallest print so legible that a page may be read with
+case.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+All phosphorescent substances require friction to produce their full
+volume of light; this is exemplified 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 common
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 no larger than pin's 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 reflected forms
+for other flies performing the part of a "vis-à-vis" in their
+unwearying quadrille.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 frantically tears his trowsers
+from his limbs; he has him! no he hasn't!&mdash;yes he has!&mdash;no&mdash;no,
+positively he cannot 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The naturalist has been out the whole morning collecting, and a pretty
+collection he has got&mdash;a perfect fortune upon his legs alone.  There
+are about a hundred 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 before; a fine black ant has also escaped during the recent
+confusion, fortunately without using his sting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 surprising 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although the leeches in Ceylon are excessively annoying, 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 continues 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 lie 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I should be trespassing too much upon the province of the naturalist,
+and attempting more than I could accomplish, were I to enter into the
+details of the entomology 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It may no doubt appear very enticing to the lovers of 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Ceylon does not descend to second-class diseases: there is no such
+thing as influenza; whooping-cough, measles, scarlatina, etc., are
+rarely, if ever, heard of; we ring the changes upon four first-class
+ailments&mdash;four scourges, which alternately ascend to the throne of
+pestilence and annually reduce the circle of our friends&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 question is, therefore, reduced to the prime cause of
+the disease itself.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the first place, nearly all infectious diseases predominate in
+localities which are hot, damp, swampy, abounding 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When we examine a drop of impure water, and discover 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 impure air may be equally tenanted with
+its myriads of invisible inhabitants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Observe the particular quarters of a city which suffers 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now, the common preventives against infection are such as are
+peculiarly inimical to every kind of insect; camphor, chloride of lime,
+tobacco-smoke, and powerful scents and smokes of any kind. The first
+impulse 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
+immediately; 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 he 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Every person is aware that unwholesome air is quite 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 destructive to insect
+life, it is not irrational to conclude that the poisonous qualities of
+bad water and bad air arise from the same cause.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 propensities exist, of which we have at present no conception.
+Thus, different infectious disorders might proceed from peculiar
+species of animalcules, which, at given periods, are wafted into
+certain countries, carrying pestilence and death in their invisible
+course.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A curious phenomenon has recently occurred at Mauritus, where that
+terrible scourge, the cholera, has been raging with desolating effect.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is a bird in that island called the "martin," but it is more
+property the "mina." This bird is about the size of the starling, whose
+habits its possesses in a great degree.  It exists in immense numbers,
+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
+actively employed in searching out and destroying every insect.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 atmosphere
+until their numbers caused disease?  All suppositions on such a subject
+must, however, remain in obscurity, as no proof can be adduced of their
+correctness.  The time may arrive when science may successfully grapple
+with all human ailments, but hitherto that king of pestilence, the
+"cholera," has reduced the highest medical skill to miserable
+uncertainty.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Upon reconsidering the dangers of fevers, dysentery, etc., in the
+swampy and confined districts described, the naturalist may become
+somewhat less ardent in following 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
+undermine the power of the strongest man.  Both sportsman and
+naturalist in this must share alike.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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 pitiless drought of several months.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 pea soup, a green scum floats through the thickened mass,
+and the temperature is upward of 130 Fahrenheit.  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 on 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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In some parts of Ceylon, especially in the neighborhood 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The natives then make use of a berry for cleansing it and precipitating
+the impurities.  II know the shrub and the berry well, but it has no
+English denomination.  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 latter, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I have constantly used this berry, but I certainly cannot 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the prolonged droughts, many rivers of considerable magnitude
+are completely exhausted, and nothing remains but a dry bed of said
+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 instinct and strongly,
+savors of reason, the two powers 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.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap09"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER IX.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Instinct and Reason&mdash;Tailor Birds and Grosbeaks&mdash;The White Ant&mdash;Black
+Ants at War&mdash;Wanderoo Monkeys&mdash;Habits of Elephants&mdash;Elephants in the
+Lake&mdash;Herd of Elephants Bathing&mdash;Elephant-shooting&mdash;The Rencontre&mdash;The
+Charge&mdash;Caught by the Tail&mdash;Horse Gored by a Buffalo&mdash;Sagacity of
+Dogs&mdash;"Bluebeard"&mdash;His Hunt&mdash;A True Hound.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+There can be no doubt that man is not the only animal endowed with
+reasoning powers: he possesses 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Although instinct and reason appear to be closely allied, they are
+easily separated and defined.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Instinct is the faculty with which Nature has endowed 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 attributes
+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 surmounts the narrow bounds of simple instinct.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In general, knowledge increases like a rolling snowball; a certain
+amount forms a base for extra improvement, 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&mdash;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
+intelligence; this amount is supplied by Nature for the performance of
+the duties required; this is instinct.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 consideration, while
+instinct is simply a direct emanation from the brain, confined to an
+impulse.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In our observations of Nature, especially in tropical countries, we see
+numberless exemplifications of these powers, in some of which the
+efforts of common instinct halt upon the extreme boundary and have
+almost a tinge of reason.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+What can be more curious than the nest of the tailor-bird&mdash;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
+needle and thread come from?  The first is the delicate 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 manner that slates are laid upon a roof.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+construction of their nests is to avoid the attacks of snakes and
+lizards.  These nests are about two feet long, composed of beautifully
+woven grass, shaped like an elongated 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The white ant&mdash;that grand destroyer of all timber&mdash;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 the interior
+of the beam, the centre of which he entirely demolishes, leaving a thin
+shell in the form of the original log encrusted over the exterior with
+numerous galleries.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 appearance of the
+display of reasoning powers than in most animals of a superior class.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 decidedly 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, especially as it is not an every-day
+occurrence, even in fine weather.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In Mauritius, the negroes have a custom of turning the reasoning powers
+of the large black ant to advantage.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The negroes avoid this by their knowledge of the habits of the black
+ant, who is a sworn enemy to the white.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 evidently 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 mandibles.  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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 development 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 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 trick, which man may teach the animal to perform,
+the very fact of their performance substantiates an amount of reason in
+the animal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 project.  This species exists in most parts of
+Ceylon, but I have seen it of a larger size at Newera Ellia thin in any
+of the low-country districts.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, which was an exhibition of reason hardly to be expected
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is the popular opinion, and I have seen it expressed 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 mimosa, 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 along 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 roamed 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 bearing 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 elephants still plough their irresistible
+course.  In descending or ascending these places, the elephant a 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 case.  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 combination of the sense
+of scent and touch.  In dense jungles, 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 lowered upon the around keeps him
+advised of every inch of his path.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nothing is more difficult than to induce a tame elephant 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Their power of determining whether bogs or the mud at the bottom of
+tanks are deep or shallow is beyond my comprehension. Although I have
+seen elephants in nearly every position, I have never seen one
+inextricably fixed in a swamp.  This is the more extraordinary 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 appears 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is a grand sight to see a large herd of elephants feeding in a fine
+lake in broad daylight.  This is seldom 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+feeling well; we had been for some weeks in the most unhealthy 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 "Gollagangwelléwevé" (pronunciation requires
+practice), and a very long name it was for so small a place; but the
+natives insisted that a great number of elephants were in the
+neighborhood.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+possessed by the village with which to scare them. This looked all
+right; so we loaded the guns and started 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 forgotten to describe who "we"
+are&mdash;F.  H. Palliser, Esq., and myself.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 tip to some dense, thorny jungle, and
+told that the elephants were somewhere in that direction.  Not being
+very sanguine, I had accordingly taken no trouble about my gun-bearers,
+and I saw several of my rifles in the bands 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 bad filled the tank, which had
+overflowed 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 proportionate amount of sticky mud beneath, and
+through this we splashed until the dam appeared about fifty yards on
+our right. It was a simple earthen 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
+opposite side, but we continued our course parallel with the dam until
+we bad ridden about a mile from the village, the natives, for a wonder,
+having truly described the distance.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 scant, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We determined to take a stroll along the base of the dam to reconnoitre
+the ground, as at present it seemed impossible to make an attack; and
+even were the elephants within the forest, there appeared to be no
+possibility of following them up through such deep water and heavy
+ground with any chance of success. however, they were not in the
+forest, being safe, belly and shoulder deep, in the tank.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 embankment
+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 thoroughfare to and
+from the lake, and the dam was trodden down in all directions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We found that the margin of the forest was everywhere flooded to a
+width of about two hundred yards, after which it was tolerably dry; we
+therefore returned to our former post.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 disturbed 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Some time passed in expectation, when a sudden 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the mean time, the roar of water caused by the rapid passage of so
+many large animals approached nearer and nearer.  Palliser and I had
+taken splendid positions, so as to command either side of the herd on
+their arrival, with our gun-bearers squatted around us 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 satisfaction 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 he able to get good and
+rapid shooting.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+rascally villagers, who had already taken to the trees, scrambled still
+higher in their fright at the close approach of the elephants, and by
+this movement they gave immediate alarm to the elders of the herd.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 exception 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
+an end to all pursuit in that direction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It immediately struck me that the elephants would again retreat to some
+other part of the forest after having made a circuit in the tank.  I
+accordingly waded back at my best speed to terra firma, 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 that I deplored the absence of my
+regular gun-bearers; 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 succeeded in
+getting them well together just is 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 precaution, and
+the leading elephants both saw and winded us when at a hundred paces
+distant.  This time, however, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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 straining every
+nerve to reached a piece of thick jungle within a couple of hundred
+paces.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I now heard a tremendous roaring, of elephants behind me, as though
+another section was coming in from the tank; this I hoped to meet.  I
+therefore reloaded 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 disappointment, on arrival, to find, in
+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 gunbearers, 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 elephant 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
+assistance and likewise held on by his tail; but away we went like the
+tender to a steam-engine; wherever the elephant went there we were
+dragged in company.  Another man now came to the rescue; but his
+assistance was not of the slightest rise, 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 laughable 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 returned to have a little conversation with the
+rascals 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 tame 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 off
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 combination
+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, and he arrived thoroughly
+blown, and with a natural desire to kick the recreant villager who bad
+caused the yells.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+If the ground had been ever 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This has been a sad digression from our argument upon instinct and
+reason, a most unreasonable departure 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 unsparing thong.  I am humiliated, but still willful; I know my
+fault, but still continue it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 observe 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. There is neither hope nor
+despair exhibited in his countenance&mdash;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&mdash;a piece that
+he knows you will not eat&mdash;and watch, the change and eagerness of his
+expression; he knows as well as you do that this is intended for
+him&mdash;he has reasoned upon it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is the simple and every-day performance of a common house-dog.
+Observe the pointers in a field of close-cut stubble&mdash;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 excitement; the guns advance
+to a line with his shoulder; up they rise, whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z!&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Again, look at the sheep-dog.  What can be more beautiful than to watch
+the judgement displayed by these dogs in driving a large flock of
+sheep?  Then turn to the Mont St. Bernard dog and the Newfoundland, and
+countless instances could be produced as proofs of their wonderful
+share of reasoning power.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 particular 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 reasoning power.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Poor old "Bluebeard!"&mdash;he had an almost human share of understanding,
+but being simply a hound, this was confined to elk hunting; he was like
+the foxhunter of the last century, whose ideas did not extend beyond
+his sport; but in this he was perfect.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Bluebeard was a foxhound, bred at Newera Ellia, in 1847, by F. J.
+Templer, Esq.  He subsequently belonged to F. H. Palliser, Esq., who
+kindly added him to my kennel.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 convinced that he knew the date of a track from its
+appearance, as I have constantly seen him strove his nose into the deep
+impression, to try for a scent when the track was some eight or ten
+hours old.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 feeding
+in the night, are sure to repair at about four in the morning for their
+last drink, and I usually try along the banks a little after daylight
+for a find, where the scent is fresh and the tracks are distinctly
+visible.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Some years ago he met with an accident which partly deprived him of the
+use of one of his bind 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 Bluebeard 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I once saw an interesting proof of his reasoning powers during a long
+and difficult hunt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I was hunting for a few days at the Augora 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We had found upon the patina at break of day, and the whole pack had
+gone off in full cry; but the whereabout 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The hill upon which I stood commanded an extensive 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 swimming down the river.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The elk seemed determined to give a beautiful course 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+On his entrance to the patina by the river's bank he immediately took
+to water and swam across the stream; here be 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 returned 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 bound was now swimming steadily down the stream, crossing and
+recrossing from 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 Bluebeard!" In a few minutes he was by the side of the
+dead elk&mdash;a specimen of a true hound, who certainly had exhibited a
+large share of "reason."
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap10"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER X.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Wild Fruits&mdash;Ingredients for a "Soupe Maigre"&mdash;Orchidaceous
+Plants&mdash;Wild Nutmegs&mdash;Native Oils&mdash;Cinnamon&mdash;Primeval Forests&mdash;Valuable
+Woods&mdash;The Mahawelli River&mdash;Variety of Palms&mdash;Cocoa-nut
+Toddy&mdash;Arrack&mdash;Cocoa-nut Oil&mdash;Cocoa-nut-planting&mdash;The Talipot Palm&mdash;The
+Areca Palm&mdash;Betel Chewing&mdash;Sago Nuts&mdash;Varicty of Bees&mdash;Waste of
+Beeswax&mdash;Edible Fungi&mdash;Narcotic Puff-ball&mdash;Intoxicating Drugs&mdash;Poisoned
+Cakes&mdash;The "Sack Tree"&mdash;No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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 sometimes dignified by the name of fruit.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The guava and the katumbillé 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 refreshing when plucked from the tree; but it does not
+aspire to the honor of a place at a table, where it can only appear in
+the form of red currant jelly, for which it is an undeniable substitute.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The jambo apple is a beautiful fruit in appearance being the facsimile
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I will not attempt to describe these paltry productions 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is nevertheless most useful to a sportsman in Ceylon 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&mdash;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 welcomes the most miserable fare.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At Newera Ellia the jungles would always produce a supply for a soupe
+maigré.  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 brittle 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
+zintgiber."  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 surrounding 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
+elephants 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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!&mdash;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 delicate 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 plants combine beauty of appearance, scent and utility, but this is
+the perfection of each quality&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are several beautiful varieties of orchidaceous plants upon the
+mountains; among others, several species 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is one variety of this tribe in the neighborhood of Newera Ellia,
+which is certainly unknown in English collections.  It blossoms in
+April; the flowers are a bright lilac, and I could lay my band 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 whenever I have met with it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At a similar altitude, the wild nutmeg is very common throughout the
+forests.  This fruit is a perfect anomaly.  The tree is entirely
+different to that of the cultivated species.  The latter is small,
+seldom exceeding 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 nutmeg.  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&mdash;it has no flavor or aroma whatever.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 disagreeable oil.  The
+latter is so plentiful that I am astonished it has not been
+experimented upon, especially by the natives, who are great adepts in
+expressing oils from many substances.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 produce of a small grain, grown exclusively by the natives.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But, in addition to these, there are various other oils manufactured by
+the Cingalese.  These are the cinnamon oil, castor oil, margosse oil,
+mee oil, kenar oil, meeheeria oil; and both clove and lemon-grass oil
+are prepared by Europeans.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first, which is the cinnamon oil, is more properly a kind of
+vegetable wax, being of the consistence of stearine.  This is prepared
+from the berries of the cinnamon shrubs which are boiled in water until
+the catty substance or so-called oil, floats upon the surface; this is
+then skimmed off and, when a sufficient quantity is collected, it is
+boiled down until all watery particles 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Castor oil is also obtained by the natives by boiling, and it is
+accordingly excessively rank after long keeping.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 properties.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Mee oil is obtained from the fruit of the mee tree.  This fruit is
+about the size of an apricot, and is extremely 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 equally coarse,
+and are quite unfit for any but native purposes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Lemon-grass oil, which is known in commerce as citronella oil, is a
+delightful extract from the rank 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 prevent the attacks of insects while its
+perfume remains; but the oil is so volatile that the scent quickly
+evaporates and the spell is broken.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Clove oil is extracted from the leaves of the cinnamon tree, and not
+from cloves, as its name would imply.  The process is very similar to
+that employed in the manufacture of citronella oil.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 induces the growth of a large number of shoots, in the same
+manner that withes are produced in England.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Every twelve months these shoots attain the length of six or seven
+feet, and the thickness of a man's finger.  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 of the year in idleness, their earnings during
+one crop being sufficient to supply their trifling wants until the
+ensuing harvest.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 becoming dry, contract, and form a series of
+enclosed pipes. It is subsequently packed in bales, and carefully sewed
+up in double sacks for exportation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The appearance of the surface soil is frequently very deceitful. It is
+not uncommon to see a forest of magnificent 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 instance 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 supposed that
+these mighty specimens of vegetation are supported by the poor sandy
+soil upon the surface; their tap-roots strike down into some richer
+stratum, from which their nourishment is derived.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These forests are not common in Ceylon; their rarity accordingly
+enhances their beauty.  The largest English 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 proportions 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, perfectly 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 constitutes 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 remain in their undisturbed solitudes,
+gradually increasing in their apparently endless growth, and towering
+above the dark vistas of everlasting silence.  No on can imagine 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 cars 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, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 serpent-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 stern to stem
+like the cables of a line-of-battle-ship, and extending from tree to
+tree for many hundred yards; now felling 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&mdash;the bean-pod four feet or more in length, by
+three inches in breadth; the beans two inches in diameter.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here may be seen the most valuable woods of Ceylon.  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 trunk.  The bark is crisp, jet black, and has the appearance
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are upward of eighty different woods produced in Ceylon, which
+are made use of for various purposes; but of these many are very
+inferior.  Those most appreciated are&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Calamander, Ebony, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work.
+Satin-wood, Suria (the tulip tree). Tamarind. Jackwood. Halmileel.
+Cocoa-nut. Palmyra.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The suria is an elegant tree, bearing a beautiful yellow 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
+exceedingly tough, and it is chiefly used for making the spokes of
+wheels.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The tamarind is a fine, dark red wood, mottled with 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 entirely furnished with it
+for a hundred and fifty pounds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I recollect some eight years ago crossing the Mahawelli river upon a
+raft which my coolies had hastily constructed, and reaching a miserable
+village near Monampitya, 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 it the time
+with the magnificent timber in the forests on its banks, and no less
+surprised that with the natural facilities of transport 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
+country.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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 potatoes.  The bark of this tree
+produces a strong fibre, and a kind of very adhesive pitch is also
+produced by decoction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Ceylon is rich in palms, including the following varieties: The
+Cocoa-nut. The Palmyra. The Kittool. The Areca The Date. The Sago. The
+Talipot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The wonderful productions of this tribe can only be appreciated by
+those who thoroughly understand the habits and necessities of the
+natives; and, upon examination, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+As the stream issued from the rock in the wilderness, to the cocoa-nut
+tree yields a pure draught from a dry 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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A green or unripe cocoa-nut contains about a pint of a sweetish water.
+In the hottest weather this is deliciously cool, in comparison to the
+heat of the atmosphere.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 delicious 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 richness and fine
+flavor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The toddy is the sap which would nourish and fructify 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 gallon.  This remains undisturbed for twenty-four hours,
+from sunrise to sunrise on the following morning; the toddy-drawer then
+reascends the tree, and lowers he 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When first drawn the toddy has the appearance of 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 charts takes place, and the rapidity of the
+transition from the vinous to the acetous fermentation is so great that
+by midday it resembles a poor and rather acid cider.  It now possesses
+intoxicating properties, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From this fermented toddy the arrack is procured by simple distillation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 hundred gallons, while
+in the year 1853 they had increased to one million thirty-three
+thousand nine hundred gallons; the trade being more than quadrupled in
+three years.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+"copperah." This is then pressed in a mill, and the oil flows into a
+reservoir.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This oil, although clear and limpid in the tropics, hardens to the
+consistence of lard at any temperature below 72 Fahrenheit. 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 sandwiches 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The preparation of coir is a dirty and offensive occupation.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 produces fruit in proportion. Eighty nuts per annum
+are about the average income from a healthy tree in full 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 cocoanut." I have seen this on the Maldive Islands in great
+perfection.  There it is the prevailing description.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At the Seychelles, there is a variety peculiar to those islands,
+differing entirely in appearance from the common 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The wood of the cocoa-nut tree is strong and durable; it is a dark
+brown, traversed by longitudinal black lines.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 jaggery.  This cannot be easily distinguished from
+crumbled sugar-candy which it exactly resembles in flavor, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 linen of
+whalebone running close together from the top to the 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
+about eight feet in length, and are used by the Cingalese for 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 account, or with fifty if hired for a journey.  A
+Cingalese 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 compactly built and well-limbed race, while
+the Malabar is a man averaging full a stone lighter weight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 touch 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is a great peculiarity in the talipot palm.  Is blossoms only
+once in a long period of years, and after this it dies.  No flower can
+equal the elegance and extraordinary dimensions of this blossom; its
+size is proportionate 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+bard can no longer sustain the pressure of the expanding flower.  It
+suddenly bursts with a loud report, and the beautiful plume, freed from
+its imprisonment, ascends at this signal and rapidly unfolds its
+feathers, towering above the drooping leaves which are hastening to
+decay.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 overturned by a storm; they bow
+gracefully to the wind, and the extreme elasticity of the wood secures
+them from destruction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This tree produces the commonly-called "betel-nut," but more properly
+the areca-nut.  They grow in clusters beneath the crest of the palm, in
+a similar manner to the cocoa-nut; but the tree is more prolific, as it
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 individual) full of chunam paste&mdash;viz., a fine lime produced 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We will make up a native "chew" after the most approved fashion, and
+the reader shall judge for himself in which ingredient the narcotic
+principle is displayed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Take a betel leaf, and upon this spread a piece of chunam as large as a
+pea; then with the pruning 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 produced by the caustic lime which is so continually in
+the mouth.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 45,000 l.  The greater portion of these is
+consumed in India.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Two varieties of palms remain to be described&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The latter is indigenous throughout the jungles in Ceylon, but it is
+neither cultivated, nor is the sago prepared from it.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The height of this palm does not exceed fifteen or twenty feet, and
+even this is above the general average.  It grows in the greatest
+profusion in the Veddah country.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+fermentation which has already taken place in the nut has impregnated
+the flower with a leaven; this, without any further addition, expands
+the dough when in the oven, and the cake produced is very similar to a
+crumpet, both in appearance and flavor.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 natives are very expert in finding out the nests, by
+watching 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 uncertain 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are five varieties of bees in Ceylon; these are all honey-makers,
+except the carpenter bee.  This 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 month is armed
+with a very powerful pair of mandibles, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 lines 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is a very wonderful and inexplicable arrangement 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 Ellia, where the nillho blossom induces such a general rush of
+this particular bee to the district that the jungles are swarming with
+them in every direction, although during the six preceding years hardly
+a bee of the kind is to be met with.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are many varieties of the nillho.  These vary from a tender dwarf
+plant to the tall and heavy stern of the common nillho, which is nearly
+as thick as a man's arm and about twenty feet high.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 diminutive 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+molasses.  The natives, having naturally coarse tastes and strong
+stomachs, admire this honey beyond any other. Many persons are
+surprised at the trifling exports of wax from Ceylon.  In 1853 these
+amounted to no more than one ton.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+districts) crams his mouth with a large section, and giving it one or
+two bites, he bolts the luscious morsel and begins 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 quantity,
+to exchange with the travelling Moormen for cotton cloths, etc., and in
+this manner the trifling amount exported is collected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+During the honey year at Newera Ellia I gave a native permission to
+hunt bees in my forests, on condition 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It would be a vain attempt to restrain these people from their fixed
+habit; they would as soon think of refraining 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 similar in appearance and flavor to the well-known, "Agaricus
+campestris;" but, notwithstanding this actual proof, the natives would
+not be convinced, and, although 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+appearance; 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 gelatinous fluid, which smells like an
+egg in the last stage of rottenness.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This fungus looks like an unhealthy excrescence on the face of Nature,
+who, as though ashamed of the disgusting blemish, has thrown a veil
+over the defect.  The most exquisite fabric that can be imagined&mdash;a
+scarlet veil, like a silken net&mdash;falls over this ugly fungus, and,
+spreading like a tent at its base, it is there attached to the ground.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I shall never forget my first introduction to this specimen.  It was
+growing in an open forest, free from any underwood, land it seemed like
+a fairy bivouac beneath the mighty trees which overshadowed it.  Hardly
+believing my own eyes at so strange and exquisite a structure, 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 properties of
+the plant, and proved the impossibility of removing it entire.  The
+elegance of its exterior only served to conceal its character-like
+Madame Mantilini, who, when undressed, "tumbled into ruins."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are two varieties of narcotic fungi whose properties are so mild
+that they are edible in small quantities.  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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 bad
+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 questioning the natives, it
+appeared that it was this principle that they admired, as it produced a
+species of mild intoxication.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 temporary lethargy.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In appearance it very nearly resembles the common hemp, but it differs
+in the seed.  The leaves and blossoms are dried, and are either smoked
+like tobacco, or formed into a paste with various substances and chewed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+When the plant approaches maturity, a gummy substance 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is supposed, and confidently asserted by some, that the Indian hemp
+is the foundation of the Egyptian "hashisch," the effects of which are
+precisely similar.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+However harmless the apparent effect of a narcotic drug, common sense
+must at once perceive that a repeated intoxication, no matter how it is
+produced, must be ultimately hurtful to the system.  The brain,
+accustomed 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 manner 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The seed of the lotus is a narcotic of a mild description, and it is
+carefully gathered when ripe and eaten by the natives.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The lotus is seen in two varieties in Ceylon&mdash;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
+waterlily, 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
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Stramonium (Datura stramonium), which is a powerful narcotic, is a
+perfect weed throughout the island, but it is not used by the natives
+otherwise than medicinally, and the mass of the people are ignorant of
+its qualities, which are only known to the Cingalese doctors.  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 accompaniment to a French planter's breakfast at Mauritius,
+and through the medium of these the Chinese robbed several houses.
+Their plan was simple enough.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 appeared at the door devour one of his own cakes
+before I became a purchaser. These men, however, were bona fide
+cake-merchants, and I did not meet with an exception.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 roadside, are the nux vomica, ipecacuanha, gamboge, sarsaparilla,
+cassia fistula, cardamoms, etc.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The ipecacuanha is a pretty, delicate plant, which bears a bright
+orange-colored cluster of flowers.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 individual
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 contains the property alluded to.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 incisions 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Many are the varieties and uses of vegetable productions 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 infinite
+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 balk 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 lip, completes a perfect sack of a thick fibrous
+texture, somewhat similar to felt.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+These sacks are in general use among the natives, and are preferred by
+them to any other, as their durability 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are many fibrous barks in Ceylon, some 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 valuable to the tanners;
+several are highly esteemed by the 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
+experiments with indigenous produce.  Although the jungles of Ceylon
+produce a long list of articles of much interest, 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
+actually 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The export of dammer is a mere trifle&mdash;four tons in 1852, twelve tons
+in 1853.  This is a coarse and comparatively valueless commodity.  No
+other tree but the doom tree produces any gum worth collecting; this
+species of rosin exudes in large quantities from an incision in the
+bark, but the amount of exports shows its insignificance.  It is a fair
+sample of Ceylon productions; nothing that is uncultivated is of much
+pecuniary value.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap11"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XI.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Indigenous Productions&mdash;Botanical Gardens&mdash;Suggested Experiments&mdash;Lack
+of Encouragement to Gold-diggers&mdash;Prospects of Gold-digging&mdash;We want
+"Nuggets"&mdash;Who is to Blame?&mdash;Governor's Salary&mdash;Fallacies of a Five
+Years' Reign&mdash;Neglected Education of the People&mdash;Responsibilities of
+Conquest&mdash;Progress of Christianity.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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 insignificant parent stock
+we propagate our finest varieties of both animals and vegetables.
+Witness the wild kale, parsnip, carrot, crab-apple, sloe, etc., all
+utterly worthless, but nevertheless the first parents of their now
+choice descendants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is therefore impossible to say what might not he 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The government may direct the attention of the public, in reply, to
+their own establishment&mdash;to the botanical 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 extracted? have
+medicinal drugs been produced? have dyes been extracted? have
+improvements been suggested in the cultivation of any of the staple
+articles of Ceylon export? In fact, has ANYTHING ever been done by
+government for the interest of the private settler?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+enterprise may speculate, and by such success the government should
+ultimately benefit.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 "waste" be unknown upon the property.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Under the present system of management this is impossible; the sum
+allowed per annum is but just sufficient 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 journeys should form a part of his duties; his botanical
+specimens should be his game, and they should be pursued with the ardor
+of the chase itself, and subsequently transferred to the gardens and
+their real merits discovered by experiments.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 beneath our feet; but the governor does not consider it a
+part of his duty to prosecute the search, or even to render facilities
+to those of a more industrious temperament. What can better exemplify
+the case than the recent discovery of gold at Newera Ellia?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;that at a depth of two or three feet from the surface this
+proof was adduced of its presence; but the governor positively refused
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+established its presence in remunerating quantities.  The swampy nature
+of the soil rendered the digging impossible 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The diggers were absolutely penniless, and but for assistance received
+from private parties they must have starved.  The rainy season was at
+its height, and torrents 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 petitioned the Government
+to give them the means of subsistence for a few months&mdash;"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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, believing as I
+do that it does exist in large quantities, I must claim the reader's
+patience in going into this subject rather fully.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Let us take the matter as it stands.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;that they subsequently came to Newera
+Ellia, and there discovered gold likewise.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It must be remembered that the main features of the country at Newera
+Ellia and the vicinity are broad flats or swampy plains, surrounded by
+hills and mountains: the former covered with rank grass and intersected
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The surface soil is of a peaty nature, perfectly black, soapy when wet,
+and as light as soot when dry; worthless 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This contains gold, every shovelful of earth producing, when washed,
+one or more specks of the precious metal.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 another stratum of quartz gravel is met with, perfectly
+water-worn and rounded to the size of a twelve-pound shot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 Of writing than to this stratum, viz., eighteen
+feet from the surface.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+From the commencement of the first stratum of quartz throughout to the
+greatest depth attained gold was present.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Upon washing away the clay and gravel, a great number of gems of small
+value remained (chiefly sapphire, 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&mdash;some in grains, some in mere
+specks, and some like fine, golden flour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+At this interesting stage the search has been given up: although the
+cheering sight of gold can be obtained 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 enterprise, but the
+enterprising public have no faith in the government.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Without being over-sanguine, or, on the other side, closing our cars
+with asinine stubbornness, let us take an impartial view of the facts
+determined, and draw rational conclusions.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It also appears that this is not only the case in one particular spot,
+but all over this part of the country, 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 manner is all public spirit
+damped, all private enterprise checked, and all men who have anything
+to venture disgusted.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The liberality of a government must be boundless where the actual
+subsistence for a few months is refused to the discoverers of gold in a
+country where, hitherto, its presence had been denied.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It would be speculative to anticipate the vast changes that in 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 Ceylon as to effect such changes.  We have it present
+these simple data&mdash;that in a soft, swampy soil gold has been found
+close to the surface in small specks, gradually increasing in size and
+quantity as a greater depth has been attained.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+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&mdash;it is only dust: we want "nuggets."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The latter is positively the expression that I myself frequently heard
+in Ceylon&mdash;"We want nuggets."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 quantities 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 uncertain 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is the anomalous position of the gold in Ceylon under the
+governorship of Sir G. Anderson.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 '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 fide salaries; and if these men hold the appointments, no
+matter under what system, they become the deserved objects of either
+praise or censure.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus it may appear too much to say that Sir G. Anderson is liable for
+the mismanagement of the colony in toto&mdash;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
+petitions 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 complain
+that the public expect too much; the public may complain that the
+governor does too little.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now the question is, how long this age of misrule will last.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 that if steps were purposely taken to
+ensure the destruction of the colonies, they could not have been more
+certain.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, pigheaded, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+We will suppose that the crotchety old gentleman arrives first. The
+public will be in a delightful perplexity as to what the new governor
+will do&mdash;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![1]
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 practical 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 that each had some personal motive in offering advice, and
+one tongue would thus nullify the other until he should at length come
+to the conclusion of David in his haste, "that all men are liars," and
+turn a deaf ear to all.  This would enable him to pass the rest of his
+term without any active blunders, and he might vary the passive
+monotony of his existence by a system of contradiction 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
+expenditure, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This incubus at length removed from the colony, may be succeeded by a
+governor of the first class.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 advice
+from capable persons, forms his own opinion, and acts accordingly.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 conversant with the colony in all its bearings.  He has
+comprehended the vast natural capabilities, he has formed his plans
+methodically for the improvement of the country; not by any rash and
+speculative outlay, but, step by step, he hopes to secure the
+advancement of his schemes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+Chinese 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 visionary; at all events they will
+require an outlay.  A correspondence ensues&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+So much for a five years' term of governorship, the absurdity of which
+is superlative.  It is so entirely contrary 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 consideration; and if this be
+proved, the value of the man is enhanced accordingly; no employer would
+lose him.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+But in colonial governments the system is directly opposite, for no
+sooner does the governor become competent 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 improvement, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 education among the people.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In commencing this subject, I must assume that the conquerors of
+territory are responsible for the moral welfare of the inhabitants;
+therefore our responsibility 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."
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This thought leads us to a comparison of power between 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 present.  What will the
+future be in these days of advancement? It were vain to hazard a
+conjecture; but we can look back upon the past, and build upon this
+foundation our future hopes.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, peopled by a fierce race of savages clad
+in skins, bowing before druidical idolatry, paddling along our shores
+in frames of wickerwork and hide.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 and 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Is it "chance" that has worked this change? Where is the forest-covered
+country and its savage race, its skin-clad warriors and their frail
+coracles?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There, where the forest stood, from north to south and from east to
+west, spreads a wide field of rich fertility.  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
+telegraph 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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 standard floated on the strongholds of the universe, and far
+and wide stretched the vast boundaries of her conquests.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 England from her lowly state, and has exalted her to be
+the apostle of Christianity throughout the world?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How many millions of human beings of all creeds and colors does she
+control? Are they or their descendants to embrace our faith?&mdash;that is,
+I are we the divine instrument for accomplishing the vast change that
+we expect by the universal acknowledgement of Christianity? or are
+we&mdash;I pause before the suggestion&mdash;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!"
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+To a fatalist it can matter but little whether a nation fulfills its
+duty, or whether, by neglecting it, punishment 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, legislate for temporal advantages
+only.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 bishops to our colonies at the same time we neglect the
+education of the inhabitants.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 considered of so little moment that it is tantamount to neglected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are various opinions as to the amount of learning 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 proper
+sphere.  This is what the government calls education; and the same time
+and expense thus employed 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The great desideratum in native education is a thorough knowledge of
+the English tongue, which naturally 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 enables them
+to benefit by books, which are otherwise useless. 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 up
+on, instead of being a barren rock as hitherto, firm in his own
+ignorance and prejudices.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 barren fig-tree,
+and the more attention bestowed upon the young shoots.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+extent they are at present, and always have been, abandoned.  Where the
+children who can be educated with success are neglected at the present
+day, it may be imagined that the parents have been but little cared
+for; thus, in advocating their abandonment, it is simply proposing an
+extra amount of attention to be bestowed upon the next generation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 condition 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 stipend
+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 Ellia.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Now, leaving out the question of policy in endeavoring to make the
+language of our own country the common 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+example of good common-sense education has recently been given by the
+Rev. Mr. Thurston (who is indefatigable in his profession) in the
+formulation of an industrial school at Colombo.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is precisely the kind of education which is required; and it has
+already been attended with results most beneficial on its limited scale.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This school is conducted on the principle that the time of every boy
+shall not only be of service to himself, but shall likewise tend to the
+support of the establishment.  The children are accordingly instructed
+in such pursuits as shall be the means of earning a livelihood in
+future years: some are taught a trade, others are employed in the
+cultivation of gardens, and subsequently 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 industrious in
+their station.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 agriculture.  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
+improved 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 government, 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 without a worshiper, while a new generation flocked
+to the Christian altar.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is no visionary prospect.  It has been satisfactorily proved that
+the road to conversion to Christianity is through knowledge, and this
+once attained, heathenism shrinks into the background. This knowledge
+can only be gained by the young when such schools are established as I
+have described.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Our missionaries should therefore devote their attention to this
+object, and cease to war against the impossibility 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 missionaries 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+What is the reader's conceived opinion of the duties and labors of a
+missionary in a heathen land? Does 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?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It is a considerable drawback to this belief in missionary 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
+perfectly useless for the purpose of "propagating the gospel among the
+heathen." Their mission should be that of instructing the young, and
+for this purpose they should first be instructed themselves.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 wildernesses 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 appear to follow.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 humble 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 remote for their good offices.
+Probably they are not so comfortable in their quarters in the towns as
+the Protestant missionaries, and thus they have less hesitation in
+leaving home.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 naturally bewildered.  What with High Church, Low Church,
+Baptists, Wesleyans, Presbyterians, etc., etc., etc., the ignorant
+native is perfectly aghast at the variety of choice.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+With the members of our Church in such a dislocated state, progression
+cannot be expected by simple attempts at conversion; even were the
+natives willing to embrace the true faith, they would have great
+difficulty 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 education of the
+people.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P CLASS="footnote">
+[1] [since reduced to five thousand pounds].
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap12"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XII.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+The Pearl Fishery&mdash;Desolation of the Coast&mdash;Harbor of
+Trincomalee&mdash;Fatal Attack by a Shark&mdash;Ferocious Crocodiles&mdash;Salt
+Monopoly&mdash;Salt Lakes&mdash;Method of Collection&mdash;Neglect of Ceylon
+Hides&mdash;Fish and Fishing&mdash;Primitive Tackle&mdash;Oysters and Penknives&mdash;A
+Night Bivouac for a Novice&mdash;No Dinner, but a Good Fire&mdash;Wild Yams and
+Consequences&mdash;The Elephants' Duel&mdash;A Hunting Hermitage&mdash;Bluebeard's
+last Hunt&mdash;The Leopard&mdash;Bluebeard's Death&mdash;Leopard Shot.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+While fresh from the subject of government mismanagement, let us turn
+our eyes in the direction of one of those natural resources of wealth
+for which Ceylon has ever been renowned&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Here was another fatal instance of the effects of a five years' term of
+governorship.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+in consequence; and from that day to the present time it has been
+unproductive.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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,
+diversified 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 occasionally those of a naked foot, but seldom does a
+shoe imprint its civilized mark upon these lonely shores.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The whole of this district is one of the best in Ceylon for
+deer-shooting, which is a proof of its want of inhabitants.  This has
+always been the case, even in the prosperous days of the pearl fishery.
+So utterly worthless 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is an appearance of ruin connected with everything in the
+neighborhood.  Even in the good old times this coast was simply visited
+during the period for fishing.  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
+recent population were the government stores and house at Arripo, like
+the bones of the carcase after the vultures had feasted and departed.
+All relapsed at once into its usual state of desolation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 misery about the place is
+indescribable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 improvements might discover
+treasures in the neighborhood 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The accounts of Ceylon pearl fisheries are so common in every child's
+book that I do not attempt to describe the system in detail.  Like all
+lotteries, there are few prizes to the proportion of blanks.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The whole of this coast is rich in the biche de mer more commonly
+called the sea-slug.  This is a disgusting 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 facilities 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 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 overhang it, which enables stores and cargo to be shipped
+with great facility.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 desirable residence for those who
+delight in a temperature of from 90 degrees to 140 degrees 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
+distinguished 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 regiment then in garrison went down one sultry afternoon 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, nevertheless their spirits were as high as
+those of Englishmen usually are, no matter where or under what
+circumstances.  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&mdash;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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For several days the soldiers were busily employed in fishing for this
+monster, while the distracted mother sat in the burning sun, watching
+in heart-broken eagerness, in the hope of recovering some trace of her
+lost son.  This, however, was not to be; the shark was never seen again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 inhabit
+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 southeast 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Few reptiles are more disgusting in appearance than these brutes; but,
+nevertheless, their utility counterbalances 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 shore ready to scuttle in on the
+shortest notice.  They are then particularly on the alert, and it is a
+most difficult 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;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).
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The scales of a crocodile are formed of bone exquisitely 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 penetrate any crocodile that was ever hatched.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Among the most harmless kinds are those which inhabit the salt lakes in
+the south of Ceylon.  I have never beard of an accident in these
+places, although hundreds of persons are employed annually in
+collecting salt from the bottom.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 supply in August, during the height of the dry
+season.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Salt in Ceylon is a government monopoly; 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Let us consider the capabilities of the locality from which it is
+collected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 crystalizes at the bottom in various degrees of thickness,
+according to the strength of the brine.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Thus, as the water recedes from the banks by evaporation 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 generally most favorable for the collection, at which time the
+assistant agent for the district usually gives a few days'
+superintendence.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The salt upon the shore being first collected, the natives 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
+subsequently thatched over with cajans (the plaited leaf of the
+cocoanut).  In this state it remains until an opportunity offers for
+carting it to the government salt stores.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+If a stick is inserted in the mud, so that one end stands above water,
+the salt crystallizes upon it in a large lump of several pounds'
+weight.  This is of a better quality than that which is gathered from
+the bottom, being free from sand or other impurities.  Innumerable
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Were the government anxious to increase the produce 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This would not only increase the produce to an immense 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 necessity 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' employment, and the natives have accordingly a great
+aversion to the occupation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Nothing could be easier than gathering the crop by the method proposed.
+Boats would paddle along between 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 commonly 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 reservoirs for evaporation.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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, is its rise is restricted to
+absolute necessaries.  On the other hand, were the supply increased at
+one half the present rate, the consumption would augment 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, manures, etc., etc.  In addition to this, it would
+vastly affect the price of salt fish (the staple article of native
+consumption), and by the reduction in cost of this commodity there
+would be a corresponding extension in the trade.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 impossible. 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 portion, is neglected.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Some years ago, elephants, buffaloes, etc., when shot by sportsmen,
+remained untouched except by wild beast; but now within one hundred and
+fifty miles of Galle every buffalo horn is collected and even the
+elephant's grinders are extracted from the skulls, and brought into
+market.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 passengers 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 which a
+cheap supply of salt and fish would be a great desideratum.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 grey mullet, and the chef de cuisine is short of
+the wherewithal for dinner.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This is not infrequently the case during a jungle 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+rippling 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 compelled to imprison
+themselves in the depths of these holes.  Here the crocodiles have fine
+feeding, as they live in the same place.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 provided, and, while staring at the coveted fish
+from the bank, I have had no means of catching them, except by the most
+primitive methods.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 commenced.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 substitute.  Soles and whiting remind us of Old
+England, but a host of bright red, blue, green, yellow, and
+extraordinary-looking creatures in the same net dispel all ideas of
+English fishing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Oysters there are likewise in Ceylon; but here, alas I 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 miserable exterior.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There are few positions more tantalizing to a hungry man than that of
+being surrounded b 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 as
+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?
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 had been formed by the oysters clustering and
+adhering together.  It so happened that our party were unanimous 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 dismay that nothing but one penknife was possessed among us.
+This we knew was a useless weapon against such armor; however, in our
+endeavors to perform impossibilities, we tickled the oyster and broke
+the knife.  After gazing for seine 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 gathered the wood, which was bleached and dry, an 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 would be in superlative misery while another would
+enjoy the responsibility, and delight in the fertility of his own
+invention in accommodating himself to circumstances.  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 decidedly, and your toothbrush in the morning;
+but if, on the other hand, you are of the right stamp, it is
+astonishing how lightly these little troubles will sit on you, and how
+comfortable you will make yourself under the circumstances.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The first thing you will consider is the house.  The architectural
+style will of course depend upon the locality.  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 leeward of which you will lie when your mansion 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 form a capital pillow.  If grass and sticks are at
+hand, this will be completed thus far in an hour.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 cheerful, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is some comfort in that; and having manufactured 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 beneath a
+capital tent formed of the other with two forked sticks and a
+horizontal pole&mdash;the ends of the blanket being secured by heavy stones,
+thus&mdash;
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+catching 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 common tent; but in thoroughly wet weather
+any woven roof is more or less uncomfortable.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I recollect a certain bivouac in the Angora 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&mdash;not bad things for dinner.  Accordingly, 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 cone over the yams
+when boiled! they turned a beautiful slate color, and looked like
+imitations of their former selves in lead.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Their appearance was uncommonly bad, certainly.  There were three of us
+to feed upon them, viz., Palliser, my huntsman Benton and myself.  No
+one wishing 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 punished 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Palliser and I having eaten carefully, were just beginning to feel
+uncomfortable, when up jumped Benton, 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 his turn.  "I am choking
+likewise." "So am I." There we were all three, with our throats in an
+extraordinary 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There must have been highly poisonous qualities in this root, as the
+quantity eaten was nothing in proportion 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 unfitness for food.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In these Augora patinas a curious duel was lately fought by a pair of
+wild bull elephants, both of whom were the raree aves 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 proving the
+obstinacy of the fight.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The last time that I was in this locality poor old Bluebeard was alive,
+and had been performing feats in 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Good and bad luck generally come in turn; but when the latter does pay
+a visit, it falls rather heavily, especially 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 unknown 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Shortly after the appearance of the epidemic alluded to, I took the
+hounds to the Totapella Plains for a fortnight, for chance of air,
+while their kennel was purified and re-whitewashed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 constantly 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+My encampment was well chosen in this romantic 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 rarer 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
+had 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 habitation, at the
+extremity of which the river flowed, backed on the opposite side by an
+abrupt hill covered with forest and jungle.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+This being a chilly part of Ceylon, I had thatched the walls of my
+tent, and made a good gridiron bedstead, to keep me from the damp
+ground, by means of forked upright sticks, two horizontal bars and
+numerous cross-pieces.  This was covered with six inches' thickness of
+grass, strapped down with the bark of a fibrous shrub.  My table and
+bench were formed in the same manner, being of course fixtures, but
+most substantial.  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
+Matchless, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 elephant, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I fully expected that the hounds would bring the elephant 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
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 delighted, on arriving on the hill above, to hear the
+bay, of the bounds in the river far below.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 hindquarters. Only two couple of the hounds followed on the
+elk's track; the rest were nowhere.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The elk had doubled back, and I saw old Bluebeard leading upon the
+scent up the bank of the river, followed by three other bounds.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 rapidly became more difficult.  I lost no time in fomenting
+and poulticing the part, but the swelling had commenced to such an
+extent that there was little hope of recovery.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 tent 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 dog turned upon the leopard in spite of his wounds, when the
+cowardly brute, seeing the man, turned and fled.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+That night Leopold died.  The next morning Bluebeard 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.  I 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A very few weeks after Bluebeard's death, however, I got a taste of
+revenge out of one of the race.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 report, and his white belly lay stretched upon the
+ground.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+They were both clean shots: Palliser had aimed at 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+However, it so happened that there was a good supply 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 winner.  This is the only instance that I know of a
+leopard being run into and killed with hounds and a knife.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR>
+
+<A NAME="chap13"></A>
+<H3 ALIGN="center">
+CHAPTER XIII.
+</H3>
+
+<P CLASS="intro">
+Wild Denizens of Forest and Lake&mdash;Destroyers of Reptiles&mdash;The Tree
+Duck&mdash;The Mysteries of Night in the Forest&mdash;The Devil-Bird&mdash;The
+Iguanodon in Miniature&mdash;Outrigger Canoes&mdash;The Last Glimpse of Ceylon&mdash;A
+Glance at Old Times.
+</P>
+
+<BR>
+
+<P>
+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
+productions of the water.  Birds of infinite variety and countless
+numbers&mdash;fish in myriads&mdash;reptiles and crocodiles&mdash;animals that feed
+upon the luxuriant vegetation of the shores&mdash;insects which sparkle in
+the sunshine in every gaudy hue; all these congregate in the
+neighborhood of these remote solitudes, and people the lakes with an
+incalculable host of living beings.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Often have I passed a quiet hour on a calm evening when the sun has
+sunk low on the horizon, and lie cool breeze has stolen across the
+water, refreshing all 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 majestic 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 answering 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+clotted 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 evening air as they strut over the
+green plain; the giant crane stands statue-like among the shallows; the
+pelican 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+distant 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;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&mdash;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 is thrown back; but this time it is
+the work of a moment, as it is only an iguana, which not being above
+eighteen inches long, is easy swallowing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 nuisances
+most abound there is a corresponding provision for their destruction.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 fattest and most
+delicious birds that I have ever tasted. Cooked in Soyer's magic stove,
+with a little butter, cayenne 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.  Nevertheless, they are
+tolerably wary, which, of course, increases 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+There is one kind of duck that would undoubtedly have astonished him,
+and which would have slightly 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 bona fide ducks with the common flat web
+foot.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I know nothing more interesting than the acquaintance 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 wandered from the tent to listen
+in the solemn quiet of night.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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
+spreading 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 wilderness.  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 giving a pale and
+indistinct glare which just makes night visible.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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&mdash;"Did he do it?"&mdash;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
+presciently it is again hushed.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 peacock waking on his roost gives one loud scream
+and sleeps again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The heavy and regular splashing of water now marks the measured tread
+of a single elephant as he roars 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!&mdash;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 answered; not by so fine a tone, but by
+discordant screams and roars from the opposite side, and the louder
+splashing 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 impatience.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 disturbed while bathing.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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. 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 superstition.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 quaintness.  The jungle partridge now wakes up, and
+with his loud cry subdues all other sounds, until the numerous
+peacocks, perched on the high trees around the lake, commence their
+discordant yells, which master everything.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 habit 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+In the same manner the larger kinds of serpents conceal 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+One curious species of lizard exists in Ceylon; it is 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&mdash;an awkward creature to meet in a narrow
+road.  However, the crocodiles of modern times are awkward enough for
+the present day, and sometimes grow to the immense length of twenty two
+feet.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+It has frequently surprised me that they do not upset the small canoes
+in which the natives paddle about the lakes and rivers. These are
+formed in the simplest manner, 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+Even the large sea-canoes are constructed on a similar principle; but
+they are really very wonderful boats for both speed and safety.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 preserved 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+A vessel of this kind would of course capsize immediately, 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 bottom log of the canoe in miniature.  This, floating on the water,
+balances the canoe in an upright position; it 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 rims 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 stern 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
+perfectly water-tight.  The native dhonies, which are vessels 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 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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+How little did I imagine, when these pages were commenced in Ceylon,
+that their conclusion would be written in England!
+</P>
+
+<P>
+An unfortunate shooting trip to one of the most unhealthy 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!&mdash;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 customs of conventional life.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 living freight, all happy as children in the thoughts
+of home.  The sun shone brightly and gave a warm welcome on our
+arrival; and as the steamer moored alongside the quay, an hour sufficed
+to scatter the host of passengers who had so closely dwelt together, as
+completely as the audience of a theatre when the curtain falls.  That
+act of life is past&mdash;"exeunt omnes," and a new scene commences.  We are
+in England.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 recall
+those days again.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+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 waterfalls, 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 associations of old times.  Those who have shared in common many of
+these scenes I trust to meet again, and look back upon the events of
+former days as landscapes on the road of life that we have viewed
+together.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+For me Ceylon has always had a charm, and I shall ever retain a vivid
+interest in the colony.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+I trust that a new and more prosperous era has now commenced, and that
+Ceylon, having shaken off the incubus of mismanagement, may, under the
+rule of a vigorous and enterprising governor, arrive at that prosperity
+to which she is entitled by her capabilities.
+</P>
+
+<P>
+The governor recently appointed (Sir H. Ward,) has a task before him
+which his well-known energy will doubtless enable him to perform.
+</P>
+
+<BR><BR><BR><BR>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon, by 
+Samuel White Baker
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+Project Gutenberg's Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon, by Samuel White Baker
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon
+
+Author: Samuel White Baker
+
+Posting Date: November 19, 2008 [EBook #2036]
+Release Date: January, 2000
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EIGHT YEARS' WANDERING IN CEYLON ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Garry Gill.  HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
+
+
+by
+
+Samuel White Baker
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Colombo--Dullness of the Town--Cinnamon Garden--A Cingalese
+Appo--Ceylon Sport--Jungle Fever--Newera Ellia--Energy of Sir E.
+Barnes--Influence of the Governor--Projected Improvements.
+
+
+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".
+
+
+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.
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+Poverty of Soil--Ceylon Sugar--Fatality of Climate--Supposed Fertility
+of Soil--Native Cultivation--Neglect of Rice Cultivation--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 Cultivation of Rice--Division of Labor--Native Agriculture.
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+Real Cost of Land--Want of Communication--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.
+
+
+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--Experiments--The Double-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.
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Curious Phenomenon--Panorama of Ouva--South-west Monsoon--Hunting
+Followers--Fort M'Donald--River--Jungle Paths--Dangerous
+Locality--Great Waterfall--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.
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Observations on Nature in the Tropics--The Dung Beetle--The
+Mason-fly--Spiders--Luminous Insects--Efforts of a Naturalist--Dogs
+Worried by Leeches--Tropical Diseases--Malaria--Causes of
+Infection--Disappearance of the "Mina"--Poisonous Water--Well-digging
+Elephants.
+
+
+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 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.
+
+
+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--Varicty of Bees--Waste of
+Beeswax--Edible Fungi--Narcotic Puff-ball--Intoxicating Drugs--Poisoned
+Cakes--The "Sack Tree"--No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon.
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Indigenous Productions--Botanical Gardens--Suggested Experiments--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--Neglected Education of the People--Responsibilities of
+Conquest--Progress of Christianity.
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The Pearl Fishery--Desolation of the Coast--Harbor of
+Trincomalee--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 Elephants' Duel--A Hunting Hermitage--Bluebeard's
+last Hunt--The Leopard--Bluebeard's Death--Leopard Shot.
+
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Colombo--Dullness of the Town--Cinnamon Garden--A Cingalese
+Appo--Ceylon Sport--Jungle Fever--Newera Ellia--Energy of Sir E.
+Barnes--Influence of the Governor--Projected Improvements.
+
+
+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 hairbreadth 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 anticipation 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 expectation than on my
+first view of Colombo.  I had 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 something 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 very 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
+introduced 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 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 melancholy 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 Colpettytopes 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 anticipated! 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 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 perpetrate 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 despairingly. "Absurd!
+every book on Ceylon mentions the amount of game as immense; and as to
+elephants--"
+
+Here I was interrupted by the same gentleman.  "All gross
+exaggerations," said he--"gross exaggerations; 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 from his expression, "You
+never see them."  Of course I concluded that he had never looked for
+them; and I began to recover front the first shock which his
+exclamation, "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 Galle 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 moment my
+preparations for the jungle commenced.
+
+I rented a good airy house in Colombo as headquarters, and the verandas
+were soon strewed with jungle-baskets, boxes, tent, gun-cases, and all
+the paraphernalia 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 convalescence was accompanied by a
+peremptory order from my medical attendant to start for the highlands,
+to the mountainous region of Newera Ellia, the sanitarium 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 specimen 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 describe the wonderful effects of such a pure and
+unpolluted air? Simply, that at the expiration of a fortnight, in spite
+of the tough beef, and the black bread and potatoes, I was as well and
+as strong as I ever bad 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 conceivable.  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 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 becoming 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
+predecessor; and from that period, each successive governor being
+influenced by an increasing spirit of parsimony, 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)
+cannot 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 capabilities 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 time at work among all classes in
+Ceylon, and Lord Torrington was recalled.
+
+From the causes of neglect described, Newera Ellia was in the deserted
+and wretched state in which I saw it; but so infatuated was I in the
+belief that its importance must be appreciated when the knowledge of
+its climate was more widely extended that I looked forward 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 unquestionable; the climate could not be surpassed for
+salubrity.  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 terminated the
+road to Newera Ellia.
+
+The station then consisted of about twenty private residences, the
+barracks and officers' quarters, the resthouse and the bazaar; the
+latter containing about two hundred native inhabitants.
+
+Bounded upon all sides but the east by high mountains, 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 summit 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 Newera Ellia
+plain with slight variations, comprising 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 untenanted 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
+with a thriving peasantry.
+
+Why should not the highlands Of Ceylon, with an Italian climate, be
+rescued from their state of barrenness? Why should not the plains be
+drained, the forests 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 Newera Ellia, before I had
+much experience in either people or things connected with the island.
+My twelve months' tour in Ceylon being completed, 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--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".
+
+
+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 noiseless 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 bad happened within the past year, I conjured up
+localities to my memory which seemed too attractive to have existed in
+reality.  I wandered 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 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 wandering 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 suggested; 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 approaching to a country life in
+England, with the advantage 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 establishing a little English village around my own
+residence.
+
+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 blacksmith, were to sail for my intended settlement in
+Ceylon.
+
+I purchased farming implements of the most improved descriptions, seeds
+of all kinds, saw-mills, etc., etc., and the following stock: A
+half-bred bull (Durham 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, stock,
+machinery, hounds, and our respective 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 experienced 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 comparatively 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 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 descended 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 beyond 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 felling of trees, the noise of saws and hammers and the perpetual
+chattering o the 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 "Earl 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. 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 "shorthorn," 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.  Accordingly a van
+was arranged for her, which the maker assured 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 between 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 machinery, 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 maidservants.
+
+There had been a vast amount of trouble in making all the necessary
+arrangements, but the start was completed, 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.
+
+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 ascend the pass.  I therefore left it at the
+rest-house while we rode up the fifteen miles to Newera Ellia,
+intending 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, "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:
+
+"Honord 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 heighy 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.  Mr. ---- 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 Servt,
+  "H. PERKES."
+
+This was pleasant, certainly--a new carriage and a pair of fine
+Australian horses smashed before they reached Newera Ellia!
+
+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 informing me that the
+short-horn cow had halted at Amberpusse, 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 regretted 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 accompany the party.  I also sent the elephant to assist in
+battling the body of the carriage up the precipice.
+
+Perkes, having been much more accustomed to riding than walking during
+his career as groom, was determined to ride the elephant down the pass;
+and he accordingly mounted, insisting at the same time that the mahout
+should put the animal into a trot.  In vain the man remonstrated, and
+explained that such a pace would injure the elephant on a journey;
+threats prevailed, 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 imaginary race.
+
+On the following day the elephant-driver appeared at the front door,
+but without the elephant.  I immediately foreboded some disaster, which
+was soon explained.  Mr. Perkes had kept up the pace for fifteen miles,
+to Rambodde, when, finding 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
+standstill."
+
+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.  Notwithstanding this disadvantage in appearance, he was
+perpetually making successful love to the maidservants, 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.
+
+I shortly experienced great trouble with the emigrants; 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 produced
+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
+shilling 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," comprising 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 experiment.  A tolerably
+level field of twenty acres was fenced in, and the work begun by firing
+the patina and burning off all the grass.  Then came three teams, as
+follows:
+
+Lord Ducie's patent cultivator, drawn by an elephant; 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 subsequently 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, especially 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 her farming work being
+completed, she was employed in 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 arranged, 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 greatest with the care in their
+exact positions, unassisted by any one.[1] 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 stone bridges, when
+the stones required for the abutments 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 bad
+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 is possible.
+
+Having made up my mind to all manner of disappointments, these
+casualties did not make much impression on me, and the loss of a few
+crops at the outset was to be expected; but at length a deplorable and
+unexpected 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 bad gained her many friends; the daughter was a
+very pretty girl of nineteen.
+
+For some time Mrs. Fowler had been suffering from 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 everything. 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 disappointment, as much difficulty lay in procuring the necessary
+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 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 returned 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 manner 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 believe, prospering as a groom in Madras.
+
+
+[1] Directed of course by her driver.
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+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 discovered that excellent beer might be made at this elevation
+(six thousand two hundred feet), and I accordingly established a small
+brewery.
+
+The solitary Leicester ram had propagated a numerous 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 stood in the 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 contemplated 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, private enterprise had lain dormant. As usual, from January to
+May, Newera Ellia was overcrowded with months of 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 vegetation requires, and not one-fourth the quantity fills
+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 constant 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 interminable depths
+of countless ravines and valleys at its base.
+
+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, recalling 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,
+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! Comparatively but a few years ago, Newera Ellia was
+undiscovered--a secluded plain among the mountaintops, 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 countrymen 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 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 rubbed 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 improvement in Newera Ellia.
+
+Although Newera Ellia was in the wild state described when first
+discovered by Europeans, it is not to be supposed that its existence
+was unknown to the Cingalese.  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 mountain 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 more than deer-runs, have existed for
+many centuries, and are used by the natives even to this day. The great
+range 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 arduous 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 treestems
+have proved its artificial character, and by following 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 intimately, 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.
+
+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 commences 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 formerly 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 cultivation 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
+irrigation.  Accordingly, the mountains being the reservoirs from which
+the rivers spring, become of vital importance to the country.
+
+The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedrotallagalla, eight thousand
+two hundred and eighty feet; Kirigallapotta, seven thousand nine
+hundred; Totapella, eight thousand feet; and Adam's Peak, seven
+thousand seven hundred; but although their altitude is 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 immense 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
+comparatively 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 elevations, 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 proportion of plain.
+
+At about the same elevation, nine miles on the 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 extends as far as the horizon,
+of undulating open grassland, 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 distributed 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, much like the Sussex Downs as any
+place to which it can be compared.
+
+This district comprises about six hundred square miles, and forms the
+fourth and last ledge of the high lands of Ceylon.  Passes from the
+mountains which 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 tilt Newera Ellia range of mountains,
+are, with the exception 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 occupied 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 intelligence.
+
+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 population, 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 populated, and every
+hollow is taken advantage of for the cultivation of paddy, still the
+demand for water in proportion to the supply is comparatively small.
+
+The system of irrigation has necessarily involved immense labor. For
+many miles the water is conducted 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 displayed 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 mountains, while the
+paddy-fields are seen miles away in the valleys of Ouva stretched far
+beneath.
+
+At least eight out of ten of these watercourses 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 obstructed by a dam, poured its
+accumulated waters into canals which branched to various localities.
+Not a 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 valley 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 population 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 foreign invasion.  I have seen in an
+impregnable position the traces of an ancient fort, evidently erected
+to defend 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." In 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 population.  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 is little doubt that the existence of precious 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 Fahrenheit would have regarded the climate of a mean
+temperature of 60 Fahrenheit 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 governors
+of past years visited Arippo during the pearlfishing.
+
+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 Plain, the Elk Plains, the Totapella Plains, the Horton
+Plains, the Bopatalava Plains, the Augara Plains (translated "the
+Diggings"), and many others extending 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
+employment.  The natives would still continue the search, were they
+permitted, upon the "Vale of Rubies;"  but I warned them off on
+purchasing the land; and I have several good specimens of gems which I
+have discovered 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,
+"moonstone," 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.
+
+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 unqualified 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, happened 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 appearance 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 for 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!
+
+The quantity was small, but the men were very sanguine of success, and
+were making their preparations for working on a more extensive scale,
+when they were all prostrated by jungle fever--a guardian-spirit of the
+gold at Amberpusse, which will ever effectually protect it from
+Europeans.
+
+They all returned to Colombo, and, when convalescent, they proceeded to
+Newera Ellia, naturally concluding that the gold which existed in dust
+in the rivers below must be washed down from the richer stores of the
+mountains.
+
+Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on the 14th 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 abundance.  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 covering the surface in the drains by the road
+side, after a recent 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 decomposition, has the
+appearance and consistency of yellow brick, speckled with plumbago.  It
+exists in this state in immense masses, and forms a valuable
+buildingstone, 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 withstanding 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 mountains 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 accustomed 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 smelting.  The operations are as follows:
+
+Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is 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 charcoal 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, being assisted in
+this treadmill kind of labor by the elasticity 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 required.
+
+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 corresponding 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 calculation 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--Neglect of Rice Cultivation--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 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 Fahrenheit, 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 healthiness of its
+climate, its natural resources are confined to its timber and mineral
+productions, as the soil is decidedly 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
+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 generality of the
+forest-land at Newera Ellia and the vicinity is superior to that in
+other parts of Ceylon.
+
+There are necessarily rich lots every now end 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 valley'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 possibly 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 Peredinia 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 practical 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 degree 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 during the dry
+season.  This district is particularly subject 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 managers be found to brave the danger, one
+season of sickness 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 inferior quality, and
+an experiment made in its cultivation 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 Capabilities," 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 productions," etc., etc.  Again:
+"Ceylon, though comparatively but little known, is pre-eminent in
+natural resources." All this serves to mislead the public opinion.
+Agricultural experiments in a tropical country in a little 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 portion 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 principal articles of native cultivation are rice, 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 resources 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 production of which the resources of
+Ceylon are both naturally and artificially immense.
+
+This neglect is the more extraordinary as the increase of coffee
+cultivation involves a proportionate increase in the consumption of
+rice, by the additional influx of coolie labor from the coast of India;
+therefore 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 native 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 entirely 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
+solitude 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 produced sufficient food to support
+millions; while for the present comparatively small population Ceylon
+is dependent 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 required 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 numerous throughout
+Ceylon.  The largest are those of Minneria, Kandellai, Padavellkiellom,
+and the Giant 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 overflow 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
+heightened by cultivation; the forest-capped mountains rose from a
+waving sea of green; the valleys teemed with wealth; no thorny jungles
+gave a barren terminable prospect, but the golden tints of ripening
+crops spread to the horizon. Temples stood upon the 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
+inhabitants derived their food, their wealth and their very life.
+
+The remains of these cities sufficiently attest the former amount of
+population and the comparative civilization which existed at that
+remote era among the progenitors of the present degraded race of
+barbarians. The ruins of "Anaradupoora," which cover two hundred 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 "Pollanarua," 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 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
+its 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, tamed to
+complete obedience. Then on the right, below the massive granite steps
+which form the causeway, 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 light from the rays of a midday sun. Such let us
+suppose 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 spacious circle,
+rises the great Dagoba, forming a grand coup d'oeil from the entrance
+gate.  Two hundred and sixty feet from the base the Dagoba rears its
+lofty summit. 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 hundred 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 promenade around the
+Dagoba; the whole having the appearance 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 exteriors.  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.  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 palaces 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 is not a bone
+left for him to gnaw of the multitudes which have passed away.  There
+is their handwriting 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
+multitudes 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 setting 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 mouldering brickwork, still
+retaining its form, but shorn of all its beauty.  The stucco covering
+has almost all disappeared, leaving a patch here and there upon the
+most sheltered portions of the building. Scrubby brushwood 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 composed, 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
+columns, with carved capitals, still remaining 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 arrangement of a first-class
+establishment.  There are innumerable 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 manner 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
+completely covered with an inscription in the old Pali language, 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 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 recumbent 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 massive 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 upward 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 annihilation 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 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 circumference, 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 falling 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 putridity 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 time when
+required for durability: thus it is no mystery, 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 cultivation.  Is it, therefore, a mystery
+that Ceylon is covered with such vast tracts of thorny jungle, now that
+her inhabitants are gone?
+
+Throughout the world there is a perpetual war between 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 covered 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 (ficus
+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 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 resources of Ceylon
+have been suffered to lie dormant since the disappearance of her
+ancient population; and to these neglected capabilities the attention
+of government 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 highroad 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 Ceylon 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 hid 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 0 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 cars become a considerable
+source of revenue, in addition to the increased 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 consumption.  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 proportion 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 cultivation would render
+necessary, would tend, in a great measure, to dispel the fevers and
+malaria always produced by a want of free circulation of air.  In a
+jungle-covered country like Ceylon, diseases of the most malignant
+character are harbored in these dense and undisturbed tracts, which
+year after year reap a pestilential 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 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 uninhabited 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 village.  Thus the
+circulation of air is impeded and disease again halves the population.
+In each successive year the wretched inhabitants are thinned out, and
+disease becomes the more certain as the jungle continues to advance.
+At length the miserable few are no longer sufficient to cultivate the
+rice-lands; their numbers 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 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, browsing upon the succulent tops, and destroying every
+trace of a former habitation.
+
+There is no doubt that when sickness is annually reducing 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 principal tanks would draw
+together in thousands the survivors 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 watercourses 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 accordingly produced at a cheaper rate.
+
+Few people understand the difficulties with which a small village has
+to contend in the cultivation of rice. 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 becomes ripe; a scarcity of water at the
+exact moment 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-house, while the shouts of the
+watchers scare the wild beasts from the crops. Hundreds 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 multitude 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 laborious. The first
+consideration being a supply of water, the second is a perfect level,
+or series of levels, to be irrigated.  Thus a hill-side must be
+terraced out into a succession of platforms or steps; and a plain,
+however apparently flat, must, by the requisite embankments, be reduced
+to the most perfect surface.
+
+This being completed, the water is laid on for a certain time, until
+the soil has become excessively soft and muddy.  It is then run off,
+and the land is ploughed by a simple implement, which, being drawn by
+two buffaloes, 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 immense,
+is 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-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.
+
+
+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
+separately, and with grave attention by the intending settler or
+capitalist.
+
+The upset price of government land is twenty shillings 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 government for one thousand acres of
+land, at the upset price of twenty shillings per acre.  What has the
+purchaser 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 cleaning will
+be about eight pounds per acre; this, in addition 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 lowest 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
+persons lose sight of this necessary outlay when first purchasing 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 government 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.
+
+Considering the risks that are always attendant upon agricultural
+pursuits, and especially upon coffee-planting, 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 encourage 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 fide
+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 neighborhood, 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 government.  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 valueless 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 district was little
+known, and sanguine imaginations painted the hidden prospect in their
+ideal colors, expecting that a trace once opened to the interior would
+be the road to fortune.
+
+How these golden expectations have been disappointed 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 sudden 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
+extensive 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 vegetation, so are the usual sequels to a
+panic in the commercial world.  Things are brought down to their real
+value and level; men of straw are swept away, and affairs are commenced
+anew upon a sound and steady basis.  Capital is invested with caution,
+and improvements 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 proprietor, provided that he has his own capital
+to work his estate, that he gives his own personal superintendence 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 constitutes 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 industry and toil, chequered
+by many disappointments, may eventually reward the proprietor; but it
+will be at 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 reception?--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
+transportation: 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 return, 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 farewell to the shores of "La belle France," and, with the
+natural light-heartedness of the nation, he settles cheerfully 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 is a tropical beauty in the cultivated trees and flowers
+which is seldom seen in our possessions.  The fruits are brought to
+perfection, as 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; everything 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 remunerative 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 hundred to
+four thousand feet.  At one time it was considered 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, 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 continually robbed by the heavy
+rains.  Thus it is next to impossible to keep an estate in a high state
+of cultivation, without an enormous expense in the constant application
+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 extent; 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
+between 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 subsoil 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 consideration when choosing a locality for a coffee
+estate. This is an extent of grazing land sufficient for the support 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 succeeded by the
+desolate appearance of blackened stumps and smouldering trunks of
+trees: the whole of the branches and tinderwood 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 season, 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 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 feet 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 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
+compost. The surplus moisture, upon reaching the bottom of the heap,
+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 particles, which, by washing in a cistern of
+running water, are detached from the berry. It is then rendered
+perfectly dry in the sun or by means of artificially heated air; and,
+being packed in bags, it is forwarded to Colombo.  Here, it is unpacked
+and sent to the mill, which, by means of heavy rollers, detaches the
+parchment 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 agricultural
+pursuits: the inclemency of seasons and the attacks of vermin are
+constantly marring the planter's expectations.  Among the latter
+plagues the "bug" stands foremost.  This is a minute and gregarious
+insect, 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 Arabicum) 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
+adheres to a rock.  This is the nest or house, which, although no
+larger than a split hempseed contains some hundreds of the "bug." As
+some thousands of these 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 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 oil cake ("poonac"), are found to
+succeed, although the manure is somewhat costly.
+
+English or Australian sheep have hitherto been untried--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 succeed 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
+destructive that the shepherd could never lose sight of his flock
+without great risk; but the latter, although troublesome, are not to be
+so much dreaded as people suppose.  They are very small, and the
+quantity of blood 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 common 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 inconsiderable causes
+of loss.  At Newera Ellia hardly a week passes without some casualty
+among the stock of different proprietors.  Here the leopards are
+particularly 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 blacksmith.  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, where the hungry leopard prowled stealthily
+round the cowhouse, 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, having 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 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 distinction.
+
+The "chetah" is much smaller than the leopard, seldom exceeding seven
+feet from the nose to the end of tile 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 "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 concentrated
+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 constantly 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 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, the 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 cars 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 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 building, 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 materially 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 common jackal-trap would hold a leopard, provided the
+chain was fastened to an elastic bough, so that it would 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 arid 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 peculiarity is the musk-bag or
+gland situated nearly under the tail; this is a projecting and valued
+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 extracted and dried, it has
+nothing more than the well-known scent of that used by perfumers. The
+latter is more frequently the production of the musk-deer, although the
+scent is possessed 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 perfumes everything
+that he passes over, rendering fruit, cake, bread, etc., perfectly
+uneatable, and even flavoring 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.
+
+The fact is, he taints the cork, and the flavor of musk is communicated
+to the wine during the process of uncorking 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 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 attractions, from the
+smallest to the largest of the enemies to the human race--ticks, bugs,
+fleas, tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, leeches, snakes, lizards,
+crocodiles, etc., of which more hereafter.
+
+
+
+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--Experiments--The Double-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 beasts, 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 existence.
+
+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 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
+observing 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 difficult
+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 surrounding 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 sportsmen, 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 become
+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 immediately observed, but anything out of the common among
+surrounding objects instantly strikes the attention; the waving of one
+bough in particular when all are moving in the breeze; the switching 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 continual exercise.
+
+There is a peculiar delight, which passes all description, 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
+"anything," 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 unheeded 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. 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 his 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 condemn
+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 mischievous, and they are pursued and killed in
+the most speedy, and therefore in the most merciful, manner.
+
+The government reward for the destruction of elephants 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 immense 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 hundred 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 themselves to the
+shots and endeavour 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 increases 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 increasing.
+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 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 intention in taking so many bullocks
+is to bring borne 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 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 veneration.  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 smoothbore.  This is
+not the fault of the weapon; it is the 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 smoothbore. How can he possibly get a
+correct aim with "ball" out of a smoothbore, without squinting along
+the barrel and taking the muzzle-sight accurately? The fact is, that
+many persons 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 endeavouring 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 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 requisites 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 American 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 frequently 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, 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 he 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
+smoothbore.
+
+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 a large bore is to possess an extra powerful weapon,
+therefore the charge of powder must be increased 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 ramrod, 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 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, unless it is of some bright metal, such as silver or platinum;
+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 rise 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 animal when 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 down 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 elephant-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.
+
+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 bill, 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. 16 smoothbore, 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
+indentation.
+
+if a person wishes to harden a bill 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 seconds 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 temperature 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.  Altogether, 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 fourteen elm planks, each one inch thick,
+with a four-ounce 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 winding along a pass,
+with their white trousers, red coats, white cross-belts and brass
+plates, at about four hundred yards, and thought what a raking that
+rifle would give a body, of troops in such colors for 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 sportsmen  regarding the
+grooves of a rifle; some prefer the two-groove and belted ball; others
+give preference to the eight or twelve-groove and smoothbore.  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 keeping clean, while the many-groove claims the advantage of quick
+loading.
+
+The latter is by far the more important recommendation, especially as
+the many-groove can be loaded without 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 particularly 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 struggling 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. 10'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.
+
+For heavy game-shooting, I do not think there can be a much fairer
+standard for the charge of powder 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 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 endeavouring to track up a single bull
+elephant.  I forget 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
+continued, apparently on both sides the river, and we immediately
+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 10'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 forest. The
+river flows sluggishly through its centre in a breadth of perhaps
+ninety yards, and the immense 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 torrents 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 spring 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 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 yesterday's trek, 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 his 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
+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 complete 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 case 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 where I carefully examined the transverse sections of an
+elephant's skull, until perfectly acquainted with its details.  From
+the museum I cut straight to the elephant-stables and thoroughly
+examined the head of the living animal, comparing it in my own mind
+with the skull, until I was thoroughly certain of the position of the
+brain and the possibility of reaching it from any position.
+
+An African sportsmen would be a long time in killing 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-covered country as Ceylon, where, in most cases, everything
+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, elephants are fired at thirty, forty, and even at sixty
+yards.  It is no wonder, therefore, that African sportsmen 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 sportsmen 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 animals, from the smallest to the largest, sink
+into instant death when shot through the brain; and that a wound
+through the lungs or heart is equally fatal, though not so
+instantaneous. These are accordingly the points for aim, the brain,
+from its small size, being the most difficult to hit.  Nevertheless, in
+a jungle country, elephants must be shot through the brain, otherwise
+they would 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 brainshot 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 naturally 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 tuskers!  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 magnificent.
+
+Nothing produces either ivory or horn in fine specimens throughout
+Ceylon.  Although some of the buffaloes have tolerably fine heads, they
+will not bear a comparison with those of other countries.  The horns of
+the native cattle are not above four inches in length.  The elk and the
+spotted deer's antlers are small compared 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 mainland, from which it is now
+only separated by a shallow and rocky 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 understands the preparation of the skins; thus all
+the elk and deer hides are simply dried in the sun, and the hair soon
+rots and fills 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
+entirety neglected by the miserable and indolent population, whose
+whole thoughts are concentrated upon their 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 to penetrate them, and too much care cannot be bestowed upon the
+manufacture of a knife for this style of hunting, as the boar is one of
+the fiercest and dangerous of animals.
+
+Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at night in search of
+roots, fruits, large earthworms, or anything else that he can find,
+being, like his domesticated 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
+neighbourhood of Newera Ellia.  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 bounds
+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 peculiar shape
+added to the weight of the blade gives an 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
+produce 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 marvellous to my mind,
+until I one day unintentionally performed 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 summit.
+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 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 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 punishing 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 constant exclamations of a crowd
+of excited spectators when a powerful buck was brought to bay.  He was
+a wonderful 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.[1] His sister "Hecate," was more careful, and she is
+alive at this moment, and a capital seizer of great strength combined
+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
+grayhound 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 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 mountain-side.
+
+There was no avoiding the find; and away went "Bluebeard," "Ploughboy,"
+"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
+impatiently for the first sounds of the bay.  Round they turned again,
+up the steep hillside, and the music slackened a little, as the bounds
+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!
+
+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 off 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 immediately 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
+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 surprising, and these
+are most useful in cleaning up the carcases of dead animals and
+destroying vermin.  I seldom or never fire at 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.
+
+
+[1] Speared through the body by the horns of a buck elk and killed shortly
+after this was written.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+Curious Phenomenon--Panorama of Ouva--South-west Monsoon--Hunting
+Followers--Fort M'Donald--River--Jungle Paths--Dangerous
+Locality--Great Waterfall--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 valley like the steam
+from a huge cauldron, and invade the Newera Ellia plain through the
+gaps in the mountains 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 Newera 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 command 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 groaning, 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 rugged 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.
+
+It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary appearance of this
+scene by description.  The panoramic view in itself is celebrated; but
+as the point in the road is reached where the termination of the
+monsoon dissolves the cloud and rain into a thin veil of mist, the
+panorama seen through the gauze-like atmosphere 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 gradually
+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 mountain, 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 always 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 mountain gives rise to a
+violent wind in the sunny valleys and 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 hilltops 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 condition, 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 animal that weighs between
+four hundred and four hundred 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 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 immediately 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 extraordinary 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 pedestrian." This is owing to the
+natural advantages of naked feet and no inexpressibles.
+
+Whenever an elk has given a long run in the direction of this country,
+and after a persevering and arduous 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 and a string of fellows of lesser wind come in, in
+sections, 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 potatoes, 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.  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 Perewelle (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 torrent, 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 impenetrable 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.
+
+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 lip 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
+patinas 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
+Badulla 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 expectation, connecting the
+two sides of the Hog's Back by an excellent path of about two miles,
+and debouching on the opposite side on a high patina peak which
+commanded the whole country.  Thus was the whole country opened up by
+this single path, and should an elk play his old trick and be off
+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 bounds
+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 Newera 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 31st May, 1852,
+I started, having two companions--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 distant view of the low country,
+stretching into an undefined 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
+Perewelle 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 impassable
+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 cataracts 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.  Mountainous 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 extensive 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 grasslands, so steep as to be ascended with the
+greatest difficulty, 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 cataracts, all of which, however grand individually, are
+completely eclipsed by its last great plunge of three hundred feet
+perpendicular depth into a dark and narrow chasm of wall-bound cliffs.
+
+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 the bed and throwing
+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, could ever escape
+without assistance.  Thus in years post, 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 bound who entered the trap found sure destruction.
+
+The hard work and the danger to both man and bound 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 bottom 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 requires 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 preparations 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 30th May, 1853, a lovely hunting morning and a fine dew on
+the patinas; rather too windy, but that could not be helped.
+
+Quiet now!--down, Bluebeard!--back, will you, Lucifer! Here's a smash!
+there goes the jungle kennel! 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 forest 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 cars
+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
+coming 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 hundred
+yards of me, and the elk had already turned to 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 momentum of a rapid descent by clinging to the tough saplings.
+Sometimes one would give way and a considerable 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, instead 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 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 of 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"[1] 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 whenever 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 mountain, 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 carefully, 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 waterfall of three hundred feet.
+
+It was extremely grand; the roar of the falls so entirely 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 torrent; 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, suddenly 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 stemming 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 whirlpools 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 oil the very ver-e
+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 struggling up the steep bank, through the
+same lemon grass, 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 waters 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 ascent, which, though very precipitous was so covered
+with long lemon grass that it was easy enough to 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
+being broken into a regular lane which skirted the precipice of the
+great waterfall in the direction of the villages.
+
+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 below.  The lemon grass was so high in tufts along 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.  Clutching 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 irregular surfaces, but
+still stirring the dark gorge down which the river fell.
+
+At length, having left the fall some considerable distance 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 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 interstices 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 entice 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 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 was in very fine condition; 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 reascend 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 encampment 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, which 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.
+
+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
+fit, 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 enables them to sustain the severe shocks in
+descending rough mountains at full speed. It is perfectly wonderful 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 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 beard her cry out, and as she was closely followed I thought she
+was seized.  However, the whole pack shortly returned, 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 "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 "Madcap" 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.
+
+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.
+Presently 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 excursion, and we soon helped her safe ashore.
+Fortunately 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 determined to move from
+this locality as too dangerous for hunting.  I therefore ordered the
+village people to assemble on the following morning to carry the loads
+and tent.  In the mean time I sent for the dead elk.
+
+There could riot 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 marrowbones 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 rise
+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
+contained three sleepy mortals.  The hounds snored and growled, and
+then snored again.  The servants jabbered, 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
+other 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 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
+principal 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 extensive 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 obstruction 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 accordingly 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 generally 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 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 Bluebeard'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 prospect 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 mountains 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
+two small wooded ravines, with a strip of patina between them. I at
+once surmised that this was the hunted elk, although, as yet, no hounds
+were visible.
+
+On arrival at the first ravine we immediately descended, 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, snuff the warning
+breeze and, drawing up to his full height, 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 him from his course.  Up to the present time and turn they
+had not observed him.
+
+Still the buck stood in an attitude of acute suspense.  He winded an
+enemy before him and he heard another behind, which was rapidly closing
+up, and, as though doubting his own power of scent, he gave preference
+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, "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 greyhounds 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 brick
+all alone, but going like a rocket.
+
+Now she has turned him! that pace could not last up hill, and round the
+elk doubled and 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 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.  Fortunately 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 destruction.
+
+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 multiplying 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
+compassion 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 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 one 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 followers 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 Matturatta
+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 returned 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 disproportionate 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
+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 length, 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
+doubling about over fifty acres of ground like a hare, until he is at
+last run into and killed.  They exist in extraordinary 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, covered 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 resemble, 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 examination of
+the paunch.  Some people consider the flesh very good, but my ideas
+perhaps give it a "ratty" flavor that makes it unpalatable.
+
+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 stranger 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 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 experiment by weighing a dead elk.  I had
+always considered 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, flipping 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, bucks, does and fawns, in
+beautiful herds; when undisturbed, 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 inhibits 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 clawing might alter the most handsome expression
+of countenance.
+
+Bears have frequently been known to tear off a man's face like a mask,
+leaving nothing but the face of a skull.
+
+Thus the quadrupeds of Newera Ellia and the adjacent 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 rat.
+
+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
+possibly 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 limit and what to avoid.
+
+It is curious to witness the sagacity of the old hounds in joining or
+despising the opening note of a newcomer.
+
+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 fears 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" voice, and see the dash with which they rush through
+the jungle to join him.  They know the old fellows note is true to an
+elk or hog, and, with implicit confidence 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 born, or not, as
+he thinks proper.  It is impossible to correct him, as he is out of
+sight.
+
+Now, the very fact of having one or two first-rate finders in a pack,
+will very likely be the cause of spoiling 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 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 cheering 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 "Ploughboy" 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 puppyhood.  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.
+
+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
+particular 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 part will ensure a
+corresponding amount in the hounds; they will become so accustomed to
+the certain appearance 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 afternoon 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
+direction but the right one, my ears have at length been gladdened by
+the distant sound of the bay.  The particular moment when hope and
+certainty combined reward 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-looking 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 unrequited
+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 dauntlessly 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 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; impossible!  He has been up one mountain, and 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 comparative 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 venomous except the snake alluded to, and a small species of
+centipede. Fleas there are certainly--indeed, a fair sprinkling of
+fleas; but they are not troublesome, except 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 neighborhood, will literally swarm with them if
+deserted for a couple of months.  Fleas have a great fancy for settling
+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 distinguished; 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 ludicrous 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 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 inexpressibles we found the
+centipede about four inches long which had bitten him.  A little brandy
+rubbed on the part soon relieved the pain.
+
+
+[1] An exceedingly active Moorman, who was my great ally in hunting.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+Observations on Nature in the Tropics--The Dung Beetle--The
+Mason-fly--Spiders--Luminous Insects--Efforts 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 temperate 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 vegetation.  "Life" appears to
+emanate from "death"--the destruction of one material seems to multify
+the existence 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, bow 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.
+
+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 preserving the world from plagues
+and diseases, which the decaying and unconsumed bodies of animals and
+vegetables would otherwise engender.
+
+How beautiful are all the laws of Nature! how perfect 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 become 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 ordinary observation cannot help acquiring a
+tolerable knowledge of the habits of some of the most interesting
+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 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 mail from one of the lowest classes of
+living things!
+
+Here we see no rash matrimonial engagements; no penniless lovers
+selfishly and indissolubly linked together to propagate large families
+Of starving children.  Ail the arrangements of the insect tribe, though
+prompted by sheer instinct are conducted with a degree of rationality
+that in some cases raises the mere instinct of the creeping thing above
+the assumed "reason" 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 feeling existing in its brain--the Billingsgate fish-woman of
+its tribe in coarseness and rudeness of exterior (Scarabaeus
+carnifex)--see with what quickness she is running backward, raised
+almost upon her head, while with her bind 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 to rest.
+No great amount of rest; she plunges her head into the ground, and with
+that shovel-like projection 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 altogether.
+
+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 receptacle for her eggs, which she deposits in the
+ball of dung, the warmth of which assists in bringing the larvae 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
+transported at once.
+
+The mason-fly is also a ball-maker, but she carries her load and builds
+an elaborate nest. This insect belongs to the order "Hymenoptera," and
+is of the Ichneumon tribe, being a variety of upward of four hundred
+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 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
+shape 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 surface 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 distances.  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 tip in stores within the cells as food for the
+young larvae, when hatched.
+
+Now the transition from the larva to the fly takes 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 advanced stage as to require
+food.
+
+In a tropical country every one knows that a very few hours occasion
+the putrefaction of all dead animal substances; 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 (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 make its nest in the tube of a key,
+which it also fills with minute spiders.
+
+In attacking the spider, the mason-fly his a choice of his antagonist,
+and he takes good care to have a preponderance of weight on his own
+side.  His reason for choosing this in preference to other insects for
+a preserved 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 species 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 texture 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 considered 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 generally the character of cotton
+than of silk.
+
+Should this ever be experimented on, a question might arise of much
+interest to entomologists, whether a difference 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, waving 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 rushing 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 assisting in their destruction.
+
+There are many varieties of luminous insects in Ceylon.  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 smallest print so legible that a page may be read with
+case.  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 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 common
+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 no larger than pin's 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 reflected 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 frantically tears his trowsers
+from his limbs; he has him! no he hasn't!--yes he has!--no--no,
+positively he cannot 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 collecting, and a pretty
+collection he has got--a perfect fortune upon his legs alone.  There
+are about a hundred 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 before; a fine black ant has also escaped during the recent
+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 surprising 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 annoying, 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 continues 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 lie 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 accomplish, were I to enter into the
+details of the entomology 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 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; whooping-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
+pestilence 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 question is, therefore, reduced to the prime cause of
+the disease 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 predominate in
+localities which are hot, damp, swampy, abounding 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 discover 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 impure 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 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 suffers 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 against infection are such as are
+peculiarly inimical to every kind of insect; camphor, chloride of lime,
+tobacco-smoke, and powerful scents and smokes of any kind. The first
+impulse 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
+immediately; 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 he 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 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 destructive 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 propensities exist, of which we have at present no conception.
+Thus, different infectious disorders might proceed from peculiar
+species of animalcules, which, at given periods, are wafted into
+certain countries, carrying 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
+property the "mina." This bird is about the size of the starling, whose
+habits its possesses in a great degree.  It exists in immense numbers,
+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
+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 atmosphere
+until their numbers caused disease?  All suppositions on such a subject
+must, however, remain in obscurity, as no proof can be adduced of their
+correctness.  The time may arrive when science may successfully 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 following 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
+undermine 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 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 pitiless 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 pea soup, a green scum floats through the thickened mass,
+and the temperature is upward of 130 Fahrenheit.  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 on 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 neighborhood 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.  II know the shrub and the berry well, but it has no
+English denomination.  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 latter, 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 cannot 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 considerable magnitude
+are completely exhausted, and nothing remains but a dry bed of said
+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 instinct and strongly,
+savors of reason, the two powers 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.
+
+
+
+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 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 possesses 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 endowed 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 attributes
+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 surmounts the narrow bounds of simple instinct.
+
+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 snowball; a certain
+amount forms a base for extra improvement, 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
+intelligence; 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 consideration, 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 instinct 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
+needle and thread come from?  The first is the delicate 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 manner 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
+construction of their nests is to avoid the attacks of snakes and
+lizards.  These nests are about two feet long, composed of beautifully
+woven grass, shaped like an elongated 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 the interior
+of the beam, the centre of which he entirely demolishes, leaving a thin
+shell in the form of the original log encrusted over the exterior with
+numerous 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 appearance 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 decidedly 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, especially as it is not an every-day
+occurrence, even in fine weather.
+
+In Mauritius, the negroes have a custom of turning 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 habits of the black
+ant, who is a sworn enemy to the white.
+
+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 evidently 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 mandibles.  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 development 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 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 trick, 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 project.  This species exists in most parts of
+Ceylon, but I have seen it of a larger size at Newera Ellia thin 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, which was an exhibition of reason hardly to be expected
+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 expressed 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 mimosa, 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 along 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 roamed 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 bearing 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 elephants still plough their irresistible
+course.  In descending or ascending these places, the elephant a 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 case.  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 combination of the sense
+of scent and touch.  In dense jungles, 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 lowered upon the around keeps him
+advised of every inch of his path.
+
+Nothing is more difficult than to induce a tame elephant 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 beyond my comprehension. Although I have
+seen elephants in nearly every position, I have never seen one
+inextricably fixed in a swamp.  This is the more extraordinary 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 appears 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 seldom 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
+feeling well; we had been for some weeks in the most unhealthy 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 "Gollagangwelleweve" (pronunciation requires
+practice), and a very long name it was for so small a place; but the
+natives insisted 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
+possessed by the village with which to scare them. This looked all
+right; so we loaded the guns and started 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 forgotten 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 tip to some dense, thorny jungle, and
+told that the elephants were somewhere in that direction.  Not being
+very sanguine, I had accordingly taken no trouble about my gun-bearers,
+and I saw several of my rifles in the bands 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 bad filled the tank, which had
+overflowed 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 proportionate amount of sticky mud beneath, and
+through this we splashed until the dam appeared about fifty yards on
+our right. It was a simple earthen 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
+opposite side, but we continued our course parallel with the dam until
+we bad 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 scant, 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 impossible to make an attack; and
+even were the elephants within the forest, there appeared to be no
+possibility of following them up through such deep water and heavy
+ground with any chance of success. however, 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 embankment
+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 thoroughfare to and
+from the lake, and the dam was trodden down in all directions.
+
+We found that the margin of the forest was everywhere 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 disturbed 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 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.  Palliser and I had
+taken splendid positions, so as to command either side of the herd on
+their arrival, with our gun-bearers squatted around us 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 satisfaction 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 he able to get good and
+rapid shooting.
+
+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
+rascally villagers, who had already taken to the trees, scrambled still
+higher in their fright at the close approach of the elephants, and by
+this movement they gave immediate alarm to the elders 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 exception 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
+an 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 having made a circuit in the tank.  I
+accordingly waded back at my best speed to terra firma, 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 that I deplored the absence of my
+regular gun-bearers; 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 succeeded in
+getting them well together just is 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 precaution, and
+the leading elephants both saw and winded us when at a hundred paces
+distant.  This time, however, 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 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 straining every
+nerve to reached 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 behind me, as though
+another section was coming in from the tank; this I hoped to meet.  I
+therefore reloaded 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 disappointment, on arrival, to find, in
+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 gunbearers, 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 elephant 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
+assistance and likewise held on by his tail; but away we went like the
+tender to a steam-engine; wherever the elephant went there we were
+dragged in company.  Another man now came to the rescue; but his
+assistance was not of the slightest rise, 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 laughable 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 returned to have a little conversation with the
+rascals 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 tame 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 off
+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 combination
+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, and he arrived thoroughly
+blown, and with a natural desire to kick the recreant villager who bad
+caused the yells.
+
+If the ground had been ever 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 departure 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 unsparing 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 observe 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. 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 eagerness 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 excitement; 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 judgement displayed by these dogs in driving a large flock of
+sheep?  Then turn to 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 particular 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 reasoning 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 foxhunter 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 belonged 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 convinced that he knew the date of a track from its
+appearance, as I have constantly seen him strove 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 feeding
+in the night, are sure to repair at about four in the morning for their
+last drink, and I usually try along the 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 bind 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 Bluebeard 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 Augora 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 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 off in full cry; but the whereabout 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 extensive 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 swimming down the river.
+
+The elk seemed determined to give a beautiful course 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 be 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 returned 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 bound was now swimming steadily down the stream, crossing and
+recrossing from 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 Bluebeard!" 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"--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--Varicty 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 sometimes 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 refreshing when plucked from the tree; but it does not
+aspire to the honor of a place at a table, where it can only appear 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 facsimile
+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 productions 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 Ceylon 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 welcomes 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 brittle 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
+zintgiber."  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 surrounding 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
+elephants 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 delicate 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 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 species 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 English collections.  It blossoms in
+April; the flowers are a bright lilac, and I could lay my band 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 whenever 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 common throughout the
+forests.  This fruit is a perfect anomaly.  The tree is entirely
+different to that of the cultivated species.  The latter is small,
+seldom exceeding 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 nutmeg.  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 disagreeable oil.  The
+latter is so plentiful that I am astonished 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 produce of a small grain, grown exclusively by the natives.
+
+But, in addition to these, there are various other oils manufactured by
+the Cingalese.  These are the cinnamon 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 properly a kind of
+vegetable wax, being of the consistence of stearine.  This is prepared
+from the berries of the cinnamon shrubs which are boiled in water until
+the catty substance or so-called oil, floats upon the surface; this is
+then skimmed off and, when a sufficient quantity is collected, it is
+boiled down until all watery particles 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 keeping.  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 properties.
+
+Mee oil is obtained from the fruit of the mee tree.  This fruit is
+about the size of an apricot, and is extremely 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 equally coarse,
+and are quite unfit for any but native purposes.
+
+Lemon-grass oil, which is known in commerce as citronella oil, is a
+delightful extract from the rank 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 prevent the attacks of insects while its
+perfume remains; but the oil is so volatile that the scent quickly
+evaporates and the spell is broken.
+
+Clove oil is extracted from the leaves of the cinnamon 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 induces 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 finger.  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 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 becoming 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 magnificent 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 instance 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 supposed that
+these mighty specimens of vegetation are supported by the poor sandy
+soil upon the surface; their 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 English 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 proportions 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, perfectly 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 constitutes 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 remain in their undisturbed solitudes,
+gradually increasing in their apparently endless growth, and towering
+above the dark vistas of everlasting silence.  No on can imagine 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 cars 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, 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 serpent-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 stern to stem
+like the cables of a line-of-battle-ship, and extending from tree to
+tree for many hundred yards; now felling 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 Ceylon.  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 trunk.  The bark is crisp, jet black, and has the appearance
+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 produced in Ceylon, which
+are made use of for various purposes; but of these many are very
+inferior.  Those most appreciated are--
+
+Calamander, Ebony, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work.
+Satin-wood, Suria (the tulip tree). Tamarind. Jackwood. Halmileel.
+Cocoa-nut. Palmyra.
+
+The suria is an elegant tree, bearing a beautiful yellow 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
+exceedingly tough, and it is chiefly used for making the spokes of
+wheels.
+
+The tamarind is a fine, dark red wood, mottled with 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 entirely 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 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 Mahawelli river upon a
+raft which my coolies had hastily constructed, and reaching a miserable
+village near Monampitya, 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 it the time
+with the magnificent timber in the forests on its banks, and no less
+surprised that with the natural facilities of transport 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
+country.  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 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 potatoes.  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 examination, 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, to the cocoa-nut
+tree yields a pure draught from a dry 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 deliciously cool, in comparison to the
+heat of the atmosphere.
+
+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 delicious 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 richness and fine
+flavor.
+
+The toddy is the sap which would nourish and fructify 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 gallon.  This remains undisturbed for twenty-four hours,
+from sunrise to sunrise on the following morning; the toddy-drawer then
+reascends the tree, and lowers he 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 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 charts takes place, and the rapidity of the
+transition from the vinous to the acetous fermentation is so great that
+by midday it resembles a poor and rather acid cider.  It now possesses
+intoxicating properties, 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 hundred gallons, while
+in the year 1853 they had increased to one million thirty-three
+thousand nine hundred 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
+"copperah." 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 Fahrenheit. 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 sandwiches 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.
+
+The preparation of coir is a dirty and offensive occupation.  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 produces fruit in proportion. Eighty nuts per annum
+are about the average income from a healthy tree in full 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 cocoanut." 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 common 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 durable; 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 jaggery.  This cannot be easily distinguished from
+crumbled sugar-candy which it exactly resembles in flavor, 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 linen of
+whalebone running close together from the top to the 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
+about eight feet in length, and are used by the Cingalese for 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 account, or with fifty if hired for a journey.  A
+Cingalese 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 compactly 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 touch 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.
+
+There is a great peculiarity in the talipot palm.  Is blossoms only
+once in a long period of years, and after this it dies.  No flower can
+equal the elegance and extraordinary dimensions of this blossom; its
+size is proportionate 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
+bard can no longer sustain the pressure of the expanding flower.  It
+suddenly bursts with a loud report, and the beautiful plume, freed from
+its imprisonment, 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 overturned 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 clusters beneath the crest of the palm, in
+a similar manner to the cocoa-nut; but the tree is more prolific, as it
+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 individual) full of chunam paste--viz., a fine lime produced 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 himself in which ingredient the narcotic
+principle is displayed.
+
+Take a betel leaf, and upon this spread a piece of chunam as large as a
+pea; then with the pruning 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 produced 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 45,000 l.  The greater portion of these is
+consumed 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 prepared from it.
+
+The height of this palm does not exceed fifteen or twenty feet, and
+even this is above the general average.  It grows in the greatest
+profusion in the Veddah country.  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
+fermentation which has already taken place in the nut has impregnated
+the flower with a leaven; this, without any 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 natives are very expert in finding out the nests, by
+watching 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 uncertain 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 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 month is armed
+with a very powerful pair of mandibles, 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 lines 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 arrangement 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 Ellia, where the nillho blossom induces such a general rush of
+this particular bee to the district that the jungles are swarming with
+them in every direction, although 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 stern 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 diminutive 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
+molasses.  The natives, having naturally coarse tastes and strong
+stomachs, admire this honey beyond any other. Many persons are
+surprised at the trifling exports of 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
+districts) crams his mouth with a large section, and giving it one or
+two bites, he bolts the luscious morsel and begins 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 quantity,
+to exchange with the travelling Moormen for cotton cloths, etc., and in
+this manner the trifling amount exported is collected.
+
+During the honey year at Newera Ellia I gave a native permission to
+hunt bees in my forests, on condition 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 refraining 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 similar in appearance and flavor to the well-known, "Agaricus
+campestris;" but, notwithstanding this actual proof, the natives would
+not be convinced, and, although 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
+appearance; 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 gelatinous 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 disgusting 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 fungus, 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 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 specimen.  It was
+growing in an open forest, free from any underwood, land it seemed like
+a fairy bivouac beneath the mighty trees which overshadowed it.  Hardly
+believing my own eyes at so strange and exquisite a structure, 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 properties of
+the plant, and proved the impossibility of removing 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 properties are so mild
+that they are edible in small quantities.  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 bad
+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 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 temporary lethargy.
+
+In appearance it very nearly resembles the common hemp, but it differs
+in the seed.  The leaves and blossoms 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 substance 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, that the Indian hemp
+is the foundation of the Egyptian "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 repeated intoxication, no matter how it is
+produced, must be ultimately hurtful to the system.  The brain,
+accustomed 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 manner 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 description, 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
+waterlily, 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
+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.
+
+Stramonium (Datura stramonium), which is a powerful narcotic, is a
+perfect weed throughout the island, but it is not used by the natives
+otherwise than medicinally, and the mass of the people are ignorant of
+its qualities, which are only known to the Cingalese doctors.  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 accompaniment 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 appeared at the door devour one of his own cakes
+before I became a purchaser. These men, however, were bona fide
+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 roadside, are the nux vomica, ipecacuanha, gamboge, 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 individual
+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 contains 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 incisions 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 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 productions 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 infinite
+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 balk 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 lip, 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 durability 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 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 valuable to the tanners;
+several are highly esteemed by the 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
+experiments with indigenous produce.  Although the jungles of Ceylon
+produce a long list of articles of much interest, 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
+actually 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 comparatively valueless commodity.  No
+other tree but the doom tree produces any gum worth collecting; this
+species of rosin exudes in large quantities from an incision in the
+bark, but the amount of exports shows its insignificance.  It is a fair
+sample of Ceylon productions; nothing that is uncultivated is of much
+pecuniary value.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+Indigenous Productions--Botanical Gardens--Suggested Experiments--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--Neglected Education of the People--Responsibilities of
+Conquest--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 insignificant parent stock
+we propagate our finest varieties of both animals and vegetables.
+Witness the wild kale, parsnip, carrot, crab-apple, sloe, etc., all
+utterly worthless, but nevertheless the first parents of their now
+choice descendants.
+
+It is therefore impossible to say what might not he 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 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 public, in reply, to
+their own establishment--to the botanical 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 extracted? have
+medicinal drugs been produced? have dyes been extracted? have
+improvements been suggested in the cultivation of any of the staple
+articles of Ceylon export? In fact, has ANYTHING ever been 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
+enterprise may speculate, and by such success the government 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 "waste" be unknown upon the property.
+
+Under the present system of management this is impossible; the sum
+allowed per annum is but just sufficient 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 journeys should form a part of his duties; his botanical
+specimens should be his game, and they should be pursued with the ardor
+of the chase itself, and subsequently transferred to the gardens and
+their real merits discovered 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 beneath our feet; but the governor does not consider it a
+part of his duty to prosecute the search, or even to render facilities
+to those of a more industrious temperament. 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 adduced of its presence; but the governor positively refused
+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
+established its presence in remunerating quantities.  The swampy nature
+of the soil rendered the digging impossible 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 assistance received
+from private parties they must have starved.  The rainy season was at
+its height, and torrents 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 petitioned the Government
+to give them the means of subsistence 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, believing 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.
+
+It must be remembered that the main features of the country at Newera
+Ellia and the vicinity are broad flats or swampy plains, surrounded by
+hills and mountains: the former covered with rank grass and intersected
+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; worthless 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 producing, when washed,
+one or more specks of the precious 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 another 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 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 sapphire, 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 obtained 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 enterprise, but the
+enterprising public have no faith in the government.
+
+Without being over-sanguine, or, on the other side, closing our cars
+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, 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 manner 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 refused 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 in 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 Ceylon as to effect such changes.  We have it present
+these simple data--that in a soft, swampy soil gold has been found
+close to the surface in small specks, gradually 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.
+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 frequently 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 quantities 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 uncertain 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 '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 fide salaries; 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
+petitions 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 complain
+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 that if steps were purposely taken to
+ensure the destruction 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, pigheaded, 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 perplexity 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![1]
+
+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 practical 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 that each had some personal motive in offering advice, and
+one tongue would thus nullify the other until he should at length come
+to the conclusion of David in his haste, "that all men are liars," and
+turn a deaf ear to all.  This would enable him to pass the rest of his
+term without any active blunders, and he might vary the passive
+monotony of his existence by a system of contradiction 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
+expenditure, 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 advice
+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 conversant with the colony in all its bearings.  He has
+comprehended the vast natural capabilities, he has formed his plans
+methodically for the improvement of 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
+Chinese 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 visionary; 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 contrary 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 consideration; 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 opposite, for no
+sooner does the governor become competent 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 improvement, 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 education 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 conquerors of
+territory are responsible for the moral welfare of the inhabitants;
+therefore our responsibility 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 between 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 present.  What will the
+future be in these days of advancement? It were vain to hazard a
+conjecture; but we can look back upon the past, and build upon this
+foundation 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, peopled by a fierce race of savages clad
+in skins, bowing before druidical idolatry, paddling along 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 and 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 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 fertility.  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
+telegraph 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 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 standard floated on the strongholds of the universe, and far
+and wide stretched the vast boundaries of her conquests.
+
+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 England 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 descendants to embrace our faith?--that is,
+I are we the divine instrument for accomplishing the vast change that
+we expect by the universal acknowledgement 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.
+
+To a fatalist it can matter but little whether a nation fulfills its
+duty, or whether, by neglecting it, punishment 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, legislate 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 bishops 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 considered of so little moment that it is tantamount to neglected.
+
+There are various opinions as to the amount of learning 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 proper
+sphere.  This is what the government calls education; and the same time
+and expense thus employed 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 thorough knowledge of
+the English tongue, which naturally 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 enables them
+to benefit by books, which are otherwise useless. 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 up
+on, 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 barren 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
+extent they are at present, and always have been, abandoned.  Where the
+children who can be educated with success are neglected at the present
+day, it may be imagined that the parents have been but little cared
+for; thus, in advocating their abandonment, it is simply proposing 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 condition 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 stipend
+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 Ellia.
+
+Now, leaving out the question of policy in endeavoring to make the
+language of our own country the common 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
+example of good common-sense education has recently been given by the
+Rev. Mr. Thurston (who is indefatigable in his profession) in the
+formulation of an industrial school at Colombo.
+
+This is precisely the kind of education which is required; 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 himself, but shall likewise tend to the
+support of the establishment.  The children are accordingly instructed
+in such pursuits as shall be the means of earning a livelihood in
+future years: some are taught a trade, others are employed in the
+cultivation of gardens, and subsequently 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 industrious 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 agriculture.  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
+improved 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 government, 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 without a worshiper, while a new generation flocked
+to the Christian altar.
+
+This is no visionary prospect.  It has been satisfactorily proved that
+the road to conversion to Christianity is through knowledge, and this
+once attained, heathenism 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 attention to this
+object, and cease to war against the impossibility 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 missionaries 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 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 missionary 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
+perfectly useless for the purpose of "propagating the gospel 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 wildernesses 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 appear to follow.
+
+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 humble 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 remote for their good offices.
+Probably they are not so comfortable in their quarters in the towns as
+the Protestant 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 naturally 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 dislocated state, progression
+cannot be expected by simple attempts at conversion; even were the
+natives willing to embrace the true faith, they would have great
+difficulty 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 education of the
+people.
+
+
+[1] [since reduced to five thousand pounds].
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+The Pearl Fishery--Desolation of the Coast--Harbor of
+Trincomalee--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 Elephants' Duel--A Hunting Hermitage--Bluebeard's
+last Hunt--The Leopard--Bluebeard's Death--Leopard Shot.
+
+
+While fresh from the subject of government mismanagement, let us turn
+our eyes in the direction 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
+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,
+diversified 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 occasionally 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 inhabitants.  This has
+always been the case, even in the prosperous days of the pearl fishery.
+So utterly worthless 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 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 everything in the
+neighborhood.  Even in the good old times this coast was simply visited
+during the period for fishing.  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
+recent population were the government stores and house at Arripo, like
+the bones of the carcase after the vultures 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 misery 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 improvements might discover
+treasures in the neighborhood 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 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 common in every child's
+book that I do not attempt to describe 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 disgusting 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 facilities 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 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 overhang 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 desirable residence for those who
+delight in a temperature of from 90 degrees to 140 degrees 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
+distinguished 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 regiment then in garrison went down one sultry afternoon 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, nevertheless their spirits were as high as
+those of Englishmen usually are, no matter where or under what
+circumstances.  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 sat in the burning sun, watching
+in heart-broken eagerness, 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 inhabit
+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 southeast 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 counterbalances 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 shore ready to scuttle in on the
+shortest notice.  They are then particularly on the alert, and it is a
+most difficult 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 exquisitely 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 penetrate 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 beard of an accident in these
+places, although hundreds of persons are employed annually in
+collecting salt from the bottom.
+
+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 supply in August, during the height of the dry
+season.
+
+Salt in Ceylon is a government monopoly; 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 crystalizes at the bottom in various degrees of thickness,
+according to the strength of the brine.
+
+Thus, as the water recedes from the banks by evaporation 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 generally 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 natives 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
+subsequently thatched over with cajans (the plaited leaf of the
+cocoanut).  In this state it remains until an opportunity 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 large lump of several pounds'
+weight.  This is of a better quality than that which is gathered from
+the bottom, being free from sand or other impurities.  Innumerable
+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 produce 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 immense 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 necessity 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' employment, 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 between 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.
+
+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 commonly 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 reservoirs 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, is its rise is restricted to
+absolute necessaries.  On the other hand, were the supply increased at
+one half the present rate, the consumption would augment 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, manures, etc., etc.  In addition to this, it would
+vastly affect the price of salt fish (the staple article of native
+consumption), and by the reduction in 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 impossible. 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 portion, 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.
+
+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 wild beast; but now within one hundred and
+fifty miles of Galle every buffalo horn is collected and even the
+elephant's 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 passengers 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 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 grey mullet, and the chef de cuisine is short of
+the wherewithal for dinner.
+
+This is not infrequently the case during a jungle 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
+rippling 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 compelled 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 provided, 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 commenced.
+
+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 substitute.  Soles and whiting remind us of Old
+England, but a host of bright red, blue, green, yellow, and
+extraordinary-looking creatures in the same net dispel all ideas of
+English fishing.
+
+Oysters there are likewise in Ceylon; but here, alas I 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 miserable exterior.
+
+There are few positions more tantalizing to a hungry man than that of
+being surrounded b 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 as
+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 had been formed by the oysters clustering and
+adhering together.  It so happened that our party were unanimous 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 dismay that nothing but one penknife was possessed among us.
+This we knew was a useless weapon against such armor; however, in our
+endeavors to perform impossibilities, we tickled the oyster and broke
+the knife.  After gazing for seine 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 gathered the wood, which was bleached and dry, an 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 would be in superlative misery while another would
+enjoy the responsibility, and delight in the fertility of his own
+invention in accommodating himself to circumstances.  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 decidedly, and your toothbrush in the morning;
+but if, on the other hand, you are of the right stamp, it is
+astonishing 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 locality.  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 leeward of which you will lie when your mansion 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 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 cheerful, 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.
+
+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 manufactured 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 beneath 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
+catching 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 common tent; but in thoroughly wet weather
+any woven roof is more or less uncomfortable.
+
+I recollect a certain bivouac in the Angora 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.  Accordingly, 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 cone over the yams
+when boiled! they turned a beautiful 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., Palliser, my huntsman Benton and myself.  No
+one wishing 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 punished 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 beginning to feel
+uncomfortable, when up jumped Benton, 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 his turn.  "I am choking
+likewise." "So am I." There we were all three, with our throats in an
+extraordinary 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 proportion 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 unfitness for food.
+
+In these Augora patinas a curious duel was lately fought by a pair of
+wild bull elephants, both of whom were the raree aves 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 proving 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 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, especially 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 unknown 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 fortnight, for chance 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 constantly 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 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 rarer 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
+had 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 habitation, 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 bedstead, to keep me from the damp
+ground, by means of forked upright sticks, two horizontal bars and
+numerous cross-pieces.  This was covered with six inches' thickness of
+grass, strapped down with the bark of a fibrous shrub.  My table and
+bench were formed in the same manner, being of course fixtures, but
+most substantial.  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
+Matchless, 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 elephant, 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 elephant 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
+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 delighted, on arriving on the hill above, to hear the
+bay, of the bounds 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 hindquarters. 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, followed by three other bounds.
+
+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 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 rapidly became more difficult.  I lost no time in fomenting
+and poulticing the part, but the swelling had commenced 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 tent 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 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 Bluebeard 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.  I 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 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 report, and his white belly lay stretched upon the
+ground.
+
+They were both clean shots: Palliser had aimed at 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 supply 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 winner.  This is the only instance that I know of a
+leopard being run into and killed with hounds and a knife.
+
+
+
+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.
+
+
+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
+productions of the water.  Birds of infinite variety and countless
+numbers--fish in myriads--reptiles and crocodiles--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
+neighborhood 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 lie cool breeze has stolen across the
+water, refreshing all 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 majestic 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 answering 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
+clotted 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 evening air as they strut over the
+green plain; the giant crane stands statue-like among the shallows; the
+pelican 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.
+
+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
+distant 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 is thrown back; but this time it is
+the work of a moment, 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 nuisances
+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 fattest and most
+delicious birds that I have ever tasted. Cooked in Soyer's magic stove,
+with a little butter, cayenne 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.  Nevertheless, they are
+tolerably wary, which, of course, increases 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 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 bona fide 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 acquaintance 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 wandered 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
+spreading 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 wilderness.  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 giving 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
+presciently 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 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 roars 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 answered; not by so fine a tone, but by
+discordant screams and roars from the opposite side, and the louder
+splashing 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 impatience.
+
+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 disturbed 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. 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 superstition.
+
+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 quaintness.  The jungle partridge now wakes up, and
+with his loud cry subdues all other sounds, until the numerous
+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 habit 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 conceal 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 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, and sometimes grow to the immense length of twenty two
+feet.
+
+It has frequently surprised me that they do not upset the small canoes
+in which the natives paddle about the lakes and rivers. These are
+formed in the simplest manner, 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 similar 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 preserved 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 immediately, 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 bottom log of the canoe in miniature.  This, floating on the water,
+balances the canoe in an upright position; it 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 rims 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 stern 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
+perfectly water-tight.  The native dhonies, which are vessels 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 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 unhealthy 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 customs 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 living freight, all happy as children in the thoughts
+of home.  The sun shone brightly and gave a warm welcome on our
+arrival; and as the steamer moored alongside the quay, an hour sufficed
+to scatter the host of passengers who had so closely dwelt together, as
+completely 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 recall
+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 waterfalls, 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 associations of old times.  Those who have shared in common many of
+these scenes I trust to meet again, and 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 incubus of mismanagement, may, under the
+rule of a vigorous and enterprising governor, arrive at that prosperity
+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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Eight Years' Wandering in Ceylon, by
+Samuel White Baker
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+The Project Gutenberg Etext of Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
+by Samuel White Baker
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+Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
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+Etext prepared by Garry Gill (garrygill@hotmail.com)
+
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+
+
+Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
+
+by Samuel White Baker
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+CHAPTER I. Colombo - Dullness of the Town - Cinnamon Garden - A
+Cingalese Appo - Ceylon Sport - Jungle Fever - Newera Ellia -
+Energy of Sir E. Barnes - Influence of the Governor - Projected
+Improvements.
+
+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".
+
+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.
+
+CHAPTER IV. Poverty of Soil - Ceylon Sugar - Fatality of Climate
+- Supposed Fertility of Soil - Native Cultivation - Neglect of
+Rice Cultivation - 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
+Cultivation of Rice - Division of Labor - Native Agriculture.
+
+CHAPTER V. Real Cost of Land - Want of Communication -
+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.
+
+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 - Experiments - The
+Double-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.
+
+CHAPTER VII. Curious Phenomenon - Panorama of Ouva - South-west
+Monsoon - Hunting Followers - Fort M'Donald - River - Jungle
+Paths - Dangerous Locality - Great Waterfall - 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.
+
+CHAPTER VIII. Observations on Nature in the Tropics - The Dung
+Beetle - The Mason-fly - Spiders - Luminous Insects - Efforts of
+a Naturalist - Dogs Worried by Leeches - Tropical Diseases -
+Malaria - Causes of Infection - Disappearance of the "Mina" -
+Poisonous Water - Well-digging Elephants.
+
+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 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.
+
+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 - Varicty of Bees - Waste of Beeswax - Edible
+Fungi - Narcotic Puff-ball - Intoxicating Drugs - Poisoned Cakes
+- The "Sack Tree" - No Gum Trees of Value in Ceylon.
+
+CHAPTER XI. Indigenous Productions - Botanical Gardens -
+Suggested Experiments - 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 -
+Neglected Education of the People - Responsibilities of Conquest
+- Progress of Christianity.
+
+CHAPTER XII. The Pearl Fishery - Desolation of the Coast - Harbor
+of Trincomalee - 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 Elephants' Duel - A
+Hunting Hermitage - Bluebeard's last Hunt - The Leopard -
+Bluebeard's Death - Leopard Shot.
+
+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.
+
+
+
+
+EIGHT YEARS' WANDERINGS
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+Colombo - Dullness of the Town - Cinnamon Garden - A Cingalese
+Appo - Ceylon Sport - Jungle Fever - Newera Ellia - Energy of Sir
+E. Barnes - Influence of the Governor - Projected Improvements.
+
+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 hairbreadth
+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 anticipation 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 expectation than
+on my first view of Colombo.  I had 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 something 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 very 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 introduced 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 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 melancholy 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 Colpettytopes 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 anticipated! 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 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 perpetrate 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'hôte" 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 despairingly. 
+"Absurd! every book on Ceylon mentions the amount of game as
+immense; and as to elephants -"
+
+Here I was interrupted by the same gentleman.  "All gross
+exaggerations," said he -"gross exaggerations; 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 from his
+expression, "You never see them."  Of course I concluded that he
+had never looked for them; and I began to recover front the first
+shock which his exclamation, "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
+Galle 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 moment my preparations for the jungle commenced.
+
+I rented a good airy house in Colombo as headquarters, and the
+verandas were soon strewed with jungle-baskets, boxes, tent,
+gun-cases, and all the paraphernalia 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
+convalescence was accompanied by a peremptory order from my
+medical attendant to start for the highlands, 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 specimen 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
+describe the wonderful effects of such a pure and unpolluted air? 
+Simply, that at the expiration of a fortnight, in spite of the
+tough beef, and the black bread and potatoes, I was as well and
+as strong as I ever bad 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 conceivable.  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 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 becoming 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 predecessor; and from that period, each successive
+governor being influenced by an increasing spirit of parsimony,
+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) cannot 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 capabilities 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 time at work among all classes in Ceylon, and Lord
+Torrington was recalled.
+
+>From the causes of neglect described, Newera Ellia was in the
+deserted and wretched state in which I saw it; but so infatuated
+was I in the belief that its importance must be appreciated when
+the knowledge of its climate was more widely extended that I
+looked forward 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 unquestionable; the climate could not
+be surpassed for salubrity.  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 terminated the road to Newera
+Ellia.
+
+The station then consisted of about twenty private residences,
+the barracks and officers' quarters, the resthouse and the
+bazaar; the latter containing about two hundred native
+inhabitants.
+
+Bounded upon all sides but the east by high mountains, 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 summit 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 Newera
+Ellia plain with slight variations, comprising 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 untenanted 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 with a
+thriving peasantry.
+
+Why should not the highlands Of Ceylon, with an Italian climate,
+be rescued from their state of barrenness? Why should not the
+plains be drained, the forests 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 Newera Ellia, before I
+had much experience in either people or things connected with the
+island. My twelve months' tour in Ceylon being completed, 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 -
+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".
+
+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
+noiseless 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 bad happened within the past year, I conjured up localities
+to my memory which seemed too attractive to have existed in
+reality.  I wandered 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 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 wandering 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 suggested; 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 approaching to
+a country life in England, with the advantage 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 establishing a little English
+village around my own residence.
+
+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 blacksmith, were to sail for my intended
+settlement in Ceylon.
+
+I purchased farming implements of the most improved
+descriptions, seeds of all kinds, saw-mills, etc., etc., and the
+following stock: A half-bred bull (Durham 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,
+stock, machinery, hounds, and our respective 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 experienced 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 comparatively 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 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 descended 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 beyond 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 felling of trees, the noise of saws and hammers and the
+perpetual chattering o the 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 "Earl 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. 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
+"shorthorn," 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.  Accordingly a van was arranged
+for her, which the maker assured 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 between 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 machinery, 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
+maidservants.
+
+There had been a vast amount of trouble in making all the
+necessary arrangements, but the start was completed, 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.
+
+Having reached Ramboddé, 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 ascend the pass.  I therefore left it at
+the rest-house while we rode up the fifteen miles to Newera
+Ellia, intending 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 Ramboddé.
+
+Now this groom, "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:
+
+"Honord 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 heighy 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.  Mr. _____ 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 Servt, "H. PERKES."
+
+This was pleasant, certainly - a new carriage and a pair of fine
+Australian horses smashed before they reached Newera Ellia!
+
+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 informing me that
+the short-horn cow had halted at Amberpussé, 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
+regretted 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
+accompany the party.  I also sent the elephant to assist in
+battling the body of the carriage up the precipice.
+
+Perkes, having been much more accustomed to riding than walking
+during his career as groom, was determined to ride the elephant
+down the pass; and he accordingly mounted, insisting at the same
+time that the mahout should put the animal into a trot.  In vain
+the man remonstrated, and explained that such a pace would
+injure the elephant on a journey; threats prevailed, 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 imaginary race.
+
+On the following day the elephant-driver appeared at the front
+door, but without the elephant.  I immediately foreboded some
+disaster, which was soon explained.  Mr. Perkes had kept up the
+pace for fifteen miles, to Ramboddé, when, finding 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 standstill."
+
+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.  Notwithstanding this
+disadvantage in appearance, he was perpetually making successful
+love to the maidservants, 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.
+
+I shortly experienced great trouble with the emigrants; 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 produced 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 shilling 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," comprising 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 experiment.  A
+tolerably level field of twenty acres was fenced in, and the work
+begun by firing the patina and burning off all the grass.  Then
+came three teams, as follows:
+
+Lord Ducie's patent cultivator, drawn by an elephant; 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 subsequently 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, especially 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 her farming work
+being completed, she was employed in 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 arranged,
+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 greatest
+with the 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.
+
+*Directed of course by her driver.
+
+Tame elephants are constantly employed in building stone
+bridges, when the stones required for the abutments 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 bad 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 is possible.
+
+Having made up my mind to all manner of disappointments, these
+casualties did not make much impression on me, and the loss of a
+few crops at the outset was to be expected; but at length a
+deplorable and unexpected 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 bad gained her many friends; the
+daughter was a very pretty girl of nineteen.
+
+For some time Mrs. Fowler had been suffering from 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 everything. 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 disappointment, as much
+difficulty lay in procuring the necessary 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 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 returned 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 manner 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 believe, prospering as a
+groom in Madras.
+
+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.
+
+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 discovered that excellent beer might be
+made at this elevation (six thousand two hundred feet), and I
+accordingly established a small brewery.
+
+The solitary Leicester ram had propagated a numerous 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 stood in
+the 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
+contemplated 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, private enterprise had lain dormant. 
+As usual, from January to May, Newera Ellia was overcrowded with
+months of 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 vegetation requires, and not one-fourth
+the quantity fills 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 constant 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 interminable depths of countless ravines and valleys at
+its base.
+
+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, recalling 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, 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! Comparatively but a few years ago, Newera Ellia
+was undiscovered - a secluded plain among the mountaintops,
+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 countrymen 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 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 rubbed 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 improvement in Newera
+Ellia.
+
+Although Newera Ellia was in the wild state described when first
+discovered by Europeans, it is not to be supposed that its
+existence was unknown to the Cingalese.  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 mountain 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 more than deer-runs,
+have existed for many centuries, and are used by the natives even
+to this day. The great range 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
+arduous 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
+treestems have proved its artificial character, and by following
+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 intimately, 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.
+
+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 commences 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 formerly 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 cultivation 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 irrigation.  Accordingly, the mountains being the reservoirs
+from which the rivers spring, become of vital importance to the
+country.
+
+The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedrotallagalla, eight
+thousand two hundred and eighty feet; Kirigallapotta, seven
+thousand nine hundred; Totapella, eight thousand feet; and Adam's
+Peak, seven thousand seven hundred; but although their altitude
+is 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 immense 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 comparatively 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 elevations,
+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 proportion of plain.
+
+At about the same elevation, nine miles on the 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 extends as far as the
+horizon, of undulating open grassland, 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
+distributed 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, much like the Sussex
+Downs as any place to which it can be compared.
+
+This district comprises about six hundred square miles, and forms
+the fourth and last ledge of the high lands of Ceylon.  Passes
+from the mountains which 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 tilt Newera Ellia range
+of mountains, are, with the exception 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 occupied 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 intelligence.
+
+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 population, 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 populated, and
+every hollow is taken advantage of for the cultivation of paddy,
+still the demand for water in proportion to the supply is
+comparatively small.
+
+The system of irrigation has necessarily involved immense labor. 
+For many miles the water is conducted 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 displayed 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
+mountains, while the paddy-fields are seen miles away in the
+valleys of Ouva stretched far beneath.
+
+At least eight out of ten of these watercourses 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 obstructed by a dam, poured its accumulated waters
+into canals which branched to various localities.  Not a 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 valley 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 population
+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 foreign invasion.  I
+have seen in an impregnable position the traces of an ancient
+fort, evidently erected to defend 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." In 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 population.  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 is little doubt that the existence of precious 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
+Fahrenheit would have regarded the climate of a mean temperature
+of 60 Fahrenheit 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 governors of past years visited Arippo during the
+pearlfishing.
+
+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 Kondapallé Plain, the Elk Plains,
+the Totapella Plains, the Horton Plains, the Bopatalava Plains,
+the Augara Plains (translated "the Diggings"), and many others
+extending 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 employment.  The natives would still continue the search,
+were they permitted, upon the "Vale of Rubies;"  but I warned
+them off on purchasing the land; and I have several good
+specimens of gems which I have discovered 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, "moonstone," 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.
+
+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 unqualified 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, happened 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
+appearance 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 for 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!
+
+The quantity was small, but the men were very sanguine of
+success, and were making their preparations for working on a more
+extensive scale, when they were all prostrated by jungle fever -
+a guardian-spirit of the gold at Amberpussé, which will ever
+effectually protect it from Europeans.
+
+They all returned to Colombo, and, when convalescent, they
+proceeded to Newera Ellia, naturally concluding that the gold
+which existed in dust in the rivers below must be washed down
+from the richer stores of the mountains.
+
+Their first discovery of gold at Newera Ellia was on the 14th
+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 abundance.  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 covering the surface in the
+drains by the road side, after a recent 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 decomposition, has
+the appearance and consistency of yellow brick, speckled with
+plumbago.  It exists in this state in immense masses, and forms a
+valuable buildingstone, 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 withstanding 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 mountains 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 accustomed 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 smelting.  The
+operations are as follows:
+
+Having procured the desired amount of ore, it is 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 charcoal 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, being assisted in this treadmill kind of labor by the
+elasticity 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 required.
+
+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 corresponding 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
+calculation 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 - Neglect of
+Rice Cultivation - 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
+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 Fahrenheit, 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 healthiness
+of its climate, its natural resources are confined to its timber
+and mineral productions, as the soil is decidedly 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 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 generality of the
+forest-land at Newera Ellia and the vicinity is superior to that
+in other parts of Ceylon.
+
+There are necessarily rich lots every now end 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 valley'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 possibly 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 Peredinia 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 practical 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 degree
+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 "Wallawé," the "Yallé
+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 during
+the dry season.  This district is particularly subject 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 managers be found to brave the
+danger, one season of sickness 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 inferior quality,
+and an experiment made in its cultivation 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 Capabilities,"
+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 productions," etc., etc.  Again: "Ceylon,
+though comparatively but little known, is pre-eminent in natural
+resources." All this serves to mislead the public opinion. 
+Agricultural experiments in a tropical country in a little 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 portion 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 Chénars" 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 principal articles of native cultivation are rice, 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
+resources 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 production of which the
+resources of Ceylon are both naturally and artificially immense.
+
+This neglect is the more extraordinary as the increase of coffee
+cultivation involves a proportionate increase in the consumption
+of rice, by the additional influx of coolie labor from the coast
+of India; therefore 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 native
+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 entirely
+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 solitude 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 produced sufficient food to
+support millions; while for the present comparatively small
+population Ceylon is dependent 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 required 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 numerous
+throughout Ceylon.  The largest are those of Minneria, Kandellai,
+Padavellkiellom, and the Giant 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 overflow 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 heightened by cultivation; the forest-capped
+mountains rose from a waving sea of green; the valleys teemed
+with wealth; no thorny jungles gave a barren terminable prospect,
+but the golden tints of ripening crops spread to the horizon. 
+Temples stood upon the 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 inhabitants
+derived their food, their wealth and their very life.
+
+The remains of these cities sufficiently attest the former amount
+of population and the comparative civilization which existed at
+that remote era among the progenitors of the present degraded
+race of barbarians. The ruins of "Anaradupoora," which cover two
+hundred 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, "Toparé," anciently called "Pollanarua," 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 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 its 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, tamed to complete obedience. 
+Then on the right, below the massive granite steps which form the
+causeway, 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
+light from the rays of a midday sun. Such let us suppose 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 spacious circle, rises the great Dagoba,
+forming a grand coup d'oeil from the entrance gate.  Two hundred
+and sixty feet from the base the Dagoba rears its lofty summit. 
+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 hundred 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
+promenade around the Dagoba; the whole having the appearance 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 exteriors.  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.  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
+palaces 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 is not a bone left
+for him to gnaw of the multitudes which have passed away.  There
+is their handwriting 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 multitudes 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 setting 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 mouldering brickwork,
+still retaining its form, but shorn of all its beauty.  The
+stucco covering has almost all disappeared, leaving a patch here
+and there upon the most sheltered portions of the building. 
+Scrubby brushwood 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 composed, 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 columns, with carved capitals, still remaining 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
+arrangement of a first-class establishment.  There are
+innumerable 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 manner 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 completely covered with an inscription in the
+old Pali language, 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 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 recumbent 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 massive 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 upward 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
+annihilation 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 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 circumference, 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 falling 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 putridity 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 time when required for
+durability: thus it is no mystery, 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
+cultivation.  Is it, therefore, a mystery that Ceylon is covered
+with such vast tracts of thorny jungle, now that her inhabitants
+are gone?
+
+Throughout the world there is a perpetual war between 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 covered 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 (ficus 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 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 resources of
+Ceylon have been suffered to lie dormant since the disappearance
+of her ancient population; and to these neglected capabilities
+the attention of government 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 highroad 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 Ceylon 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 hid 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 0
+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
+cars become a considerable source of revenue, in addition to the
+increased 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 consumption.  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
+proportion 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 cultivation would
+render necessary, would tend, in a great measure, to dispel the
+fevers and malaria always produced by a want of free circulation
+of air.  In a jungle-covered country like Ceylon, diseases of the
+most malignant character are harbored in these dense and
+undisturbed tracts, which year after year reap a pestilential
+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
+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 uninhabited 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 village.  Thus the circulation of air is
+impeded and disease again halves the population.  In each
+successive year the wretched inhabitants are thinned out, and
+disease becomes the more certain as the jungle continues to
+advance.  At length the miserable few are no longer sufficient to
+cultivate the rice-lands; their numbers 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 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, browsing upon the succulent
+tops, and destroying every trace of a former habitation.
+
+There is no doubt that when sickness is annually reducing 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 principal tanks would draw together in thousands the
+survivors 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 watercourses 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
+accordingly produced at a cheaper rate.
+
+Few people understand the difficulties with which a small village
+has to contend in the cultivation of rice. 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 becomes ripe;
+a scarcity of water at the exact moment 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-house,, while
+the shouts of the watchers scare the wild beasts from the crops. 
+Hundreds 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
+multitude 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 laborious. The
+first consideration being a supply of water, the second is a
+perfect level, or series of levels, to be irrigated.  Thus a
+hill-side must be terraced out into a succession of platforms or
+steps; and a plain, however apparently flat, must, by the
+requisite embankments, be reduced to the most perfect surface.
+
+This being completed, the water is laid on for a certain time,
+until the soil has become excessively soft and muddy.  It is then
+run off, and the land is ploughed by a simple implement, which,
+being drawn by two buffaloes, 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 immense, is 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-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.
+
+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 separately, and with grave attention by the intending
+settler or capitalist.
+
+The upset price of government land is twenty shillings 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 government for one thousand acres
+of land, at the upset price of twenty shillings per acre.  What
+has the purchaser 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 cleaning will be about eight pounds per
+acre; this, in addition 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 lowest 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
+persons lose sight of this necessary outlay when first purchasing
+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 government 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.
+
+Considering the risks that are always attendant upon agricultural
+pursuits, and especially upon coffee-planting, 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 encourage
+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
+fide 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 neighborhood, 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 government.  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 valueless 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 district was
+little known, and sanguine imaginations painted the hidden
+prospect in their ideal colors, expecting that a trace once
+opened to the interior would be the road to fortune.
+
+How these golden expectations have been disappointed 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 sudden 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 extensive 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 vegetation, so are the
+usual sequels to a panic in the commercial world.  Things are
+brought down to their real value and level; men of straw are
+swept away, and affairs are commenced anew upon a sound and
+steady basis.  Capital is invested with caution, and improvements
+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 proprietor, provided
+that he has his own capital to work his estate, that he gives his
+own personal superintendence 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 constitutes 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 industry and toil, chequered by many disappointments, may
+eventually reward the proprietor; but it will be at 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 reception? - 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
+transportation: 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 return, 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 farewell to the shores of "La belle
+France," and, with the natural light-heartedness of the nation,
+he settles cheerfully 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 is a tropical beauty in the cultivated trees and flowers
+which is seldom seen in our possessions.  The fruits are brought
+to perfection, as 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; everything 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 remunerative 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 hundred to four thousand feet.  At one time it
+was considered 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, 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 continually robbed by the heavy rains.  Thus it is next to
+impossible to keep an estate in a high state of cultivation,
+without an enormous expense in the constant application 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 extent; 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 between 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
+subsoil 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 consideration when choosing a
+locality for a coffee estate. This is an extent of grazing land
+sufficient for the support 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 succeeded by the
+desolate appearance of blackened stumps and smouldering trunks of
+trees: the whole of the branches and tinderwood 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 season, 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 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 feet 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 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 compost. The surplus moisture, upon reaching the
+bottom of the heap, 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
+particles, which, by washing in a cistern of running water, are
+detached from the berry. It is then rendered perfectly dry in the
+sun or by means of artificially heated air; and, being packed in
+bags, it is forwarded to Colombo.  Here, it is unpacked and sent
+to the mill, which, by means of heavy rollers, detaches the
+parchment 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 agricultural pursuits: the inclemency of
+seasons and the attacks of vermin are constantly marring the
+planter's expectations.  Among the latter plagues the "bug"
+stands foremost.  This is a minute and gregarious insect, 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 Arabicum) 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 adheres to a rock.  This is the nest
+or house, which, although no larger than a split hempseed
+contains some hundreds of the "bug." As some thousands of these
+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 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 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 oil cake ("poonac"), are found to
+succeed, although the manure is somewhat costly.
+
+English or Australian sheep have hitherto been untried - 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
+succeed 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 destructive
+that the shepherd could never lose sight of his flock without
+great risk; but the latter, although troublesome, are not to be
+so much dreaded as people suppose.  They are very small, and the
+quantity of blood 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 common 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 inconsiderable
+causes of loss.  At Newera Ellia hardly a week passes without
+some casualty among the stock of different proprietors.  Here the
+leopards are particularly 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 blacksmith.  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, where the hungry
+leopard prowled stealthily round the cowhouse, 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, having
+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 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
+distinction.
+
+The "chetah" is much smaller than the leopard, seldom exceeding
+seven feet from the nose to the end of tile 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 "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
+concentrated 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 constantly 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 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, the 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 cars 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 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 building,
+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 materially 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 common jackal-trap would hold a
+leopard, provided the chain was fastened to an elastic bough, so
+that it would 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 arid 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 peculiarity is the musk-bag or gland situated nearly under
+the tail; this is a projecting and valued 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 extracted and dried, it has
+nothing more than the well-known scent of that used by perfumers. 
+The latter is more frequently the production of the musk-deer,
+although the scent is possessed 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 perfumes
+everything that he passes over, rendering fruit, cake, bread,
+etc., perfectly uneatable, and even flavoring 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.
+
+The fact is, he taints the cork, and the flavor of musk is
+communicated to the wine during the process of uncorking 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 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 attractions, from the
+smallest to the largest of the enemies to the human race - ticks,
+bugs, fleas, tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, leeches, snakes,
+lizards, crocodiles, etc., of which more hereafter.
+
+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 - Experiments
+- The Double-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 beasts, 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
+existence.
+
+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 even in an open country.  Unless the traveler is
+well accustomed to wild sports, he his not his "game eye" open in
+fact; he either passes animals without observing 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 difficult 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
+surrounding 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 sportsmen, 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 become 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 immediately observed, but
+anything out of the common among surrounding objects instantly
+strikes the attention; the waving of one bough in particular when
+all are moving in the breeze; the switching 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 continual exercise.
+
+There is a peculiar delight, which passes all description, 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 "anything," 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 unheeded 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. 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 his 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 condemn 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 mischievous, and they are
+pursued and killed in the most speedy, and therefore in the most
+merciful, manner.
+
+The government reward for the destruction of elephants 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 immense 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 hundred
+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 themselves to the
+shots and endeavour 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 increases 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 increasing.  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 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 intention in taking so many bullocks is to bring borne 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 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 veneration.  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 smoothbore.  This is not the fault of the weapon;
+it is the 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 smoothbore. How can he possibly
+get a correct aim with "ball" out of a smoothbore, without
+squinting along the barrel and taking the muzzle-sight
+accurately? The fact is, that many persons 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 endeavouring 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 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 requisites 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 American 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 frequently 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,
+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 he
+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 smoothbore.
+
+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 a large bore is to possess an extra
+powerful weapon, therefore the charge of powder must be increased
+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 ramrod, 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 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, unless it is of some bright metal, such
+as silver or platinum; 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 rise 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 animal
+when 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 down 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 elephant-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.
+
+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 bill, 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. 16 smoothbore, 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 indentation.
+
+if a person wishes to harden a bill 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 seconds 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
+temperature 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.  Altogether, 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 fourteen elm planks, each
+one inch thick, with a four-ounce 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 winding along a
+pass, with their white trousers, red coats, white cross-belts and
+brass plates, at about four hundred yards, and thought what a
+raking that rifle would give a body, of troops in such colors for
+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 sportsmen  regarding
+the grooves of a rifle; some prefer the two-groove and belted
+ball; others give preference to the eight or twelve-groove and
+smoothbore.  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 keeping clean,
+while the many-groove claims the advantage of quick loading.
+
+The latter is by far the more important recommendation,
+especially as the many-groove can be loaded without 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 particularly 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
+struggling 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. 10'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.
+
+For heavy game-shooting, I do not think there can be a much
+fairer standard for the charge of powder 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
+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 endeavouring to track up a
+single bull elephant.  I forget 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 Yallé river,
+upon the banks of which our tent was pitched in fine open forest. 
+For about an hour the roaring was continued, apparently on both
+sides the river, and we immediately 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 10'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 Yallé forest. 
+The river flows sluggishly through its centre in a breadth of
+perhaps ninety yards, and the immense 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 torrents 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 spring 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 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 yesterday's trek,
+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 his 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 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 complete 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 case 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 where I carefully examined the transverse
+sections of an elephant's skull, until perfectly acquainted with
+its details.  From the museum I cut straight to the
+elephant-stables and thoroughly examined the head of the living
+animal, comparing it in my own mind with the skull, until I was
+thoroughly certain of the position of the brain and the
+possibility of reaching it from any position.
+
+An African sportsmen would be a long time in killing 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-covered country as Ceylon, where, in
+most cases, everything 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, elephants are fired at thirty,
+forty, and even at sixty yards.  It is no wonder, therefore, that
+African sportsmen 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 sportsmen 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 animals, from the smallest to
+the largest, sink into instant death when shot through the brain;
+and that a wound through the lungs or heart is equally fatal,
+though not so instantaneous. These are accordingly the points for
+aim, the brain, from its small size, being the most difficult to
+hit.  Nevertheless, in a jungle country, elephants must be shot
+through the brain, otherwise they would 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
+brainshot 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 naturally 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 tuskers!  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 magnificent.
+
+Nothing produces either ivory or horn in fine specimens
+throughout Ceylon.  Although some of the buffaloes have tolerably
+fine heads, they will not bear a comparison with those of other
+countries.  The horns of the native cattle are not above four
+inches in length.  The elk and the spotted deer's antlers are
+small compared 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 mainland, from which it is now only
+separated by a shallow and rocky 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 understands the
+preparation of the skins; thus all the elk and deer hides are
+simply dried in the sun, and the hair soon rots and fills 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
+entirety neglected by the miserable and indolent population,
+whose whole thoughts are concentrated upon their 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 to penetrate them, and too much care
+cannot be bestowed upon the manufacture of a knife for this style
+of hunting, as the boar is one of the fiercest and dangerous of
+animals.
+
+Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at night in search
+of roots, fruits, large earthworms, or anything else that he can
+find, being, like his domesticated 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 neighbourhood
+of Newera Ellia.  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 bounds 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 peculiar shape added to the weight of the blade gives an
+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 produce 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 marvellous to my
+mind, until I one day unintentionally performed 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 summit.  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 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 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 punishing 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 constant
+exclamations of a crowd of excited spectators when a powerful
+buck was brought to bay.  He was a wonderful 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 combined 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 grayhound and deerhound, and as good as gold.
+*Speared through the body by the horns of a buck elk and killed
+shortly after this was written.
+
+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 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 mountain-side.
+
+There was no avoiding the find; and away went "Bluebeard,"
+"Ploughboy," "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 impatiently for the first sounds
+of the bay.  Round they turned again, up the steep hillside, and
+the music slackened a little, as the bounds 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!
+
+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 off 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 immediately 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 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 surprising, and
+these are most useful in cleaning up the carcases of dead animals
+and destroying vermin.  I seldom or never fire at 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 Waterfall - 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 valley like the
+steam from a huge cauldron, and invade the Newera Ellia plain
+through the gaps in the mountains 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 Newera 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 command
+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 groaning,
+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 rugged 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,.
+
+It is impossible to do justice to the extraordinary appearance of
+this scene by description.  The panoramic view in itself is
+celebrated; but as the point in the road is reached where the
+termination of the monsoon dissolves the cloud and rain into a
+thin veil of mist, the panorama seen through the gauze-like
+atmosphere 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 gradually 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 mountain, 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 always 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 mountain gives rise
+to a violent wind in the sunny valleys and 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 hilltops 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
+condition, 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 animal that weighs between four hundred and four hundred 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 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 immediately
+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
+extraordinary 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 pedestrian." This is owing to the
+natural advantages of naked feet and no inexpressibles.
+
+Whenever an elk has given a long run in the direction of this
+country, and after a persevering and arduous 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 and a string of fellows of lesser wind come
+in, in sections, 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 potatoes, 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.  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 Peréwellé (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 torrent, 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 impenetrable 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.
+
+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 lip 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 patinas 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 Badulla 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 expectation, connecting
+the two sides of the Hog's Back by an excellent path of about two
+miles, and débouching on the opposite side on a high patina peak
+which commanded the whole country.  Thus was the whole country
+opened up by this single path, and should an elk play his old
+trick and be off 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 bounds 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 Newera 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 31st
+May, 1852, I started, having two companions - 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 distant view of the low
+country, stretching into an undefined 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 Peréwellé 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 impassable 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 cataracts
+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.  Mountainous 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 extensive
+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 grasslands, so steep as to be ascended with
+the greatest difficulty, 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 cataracts, all of which, however grand
+individually, are completely eclipsed by its last great plunge of
+three hundred feet perpendicular depth into a dark and narrow
+chasm of wall-bound cliffs.
+
+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
+the bed and throwing 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, could ever
+escape without assistance.  Thus in years post, 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 bound who entered the
+trap found sure destruction.
+
+The hard work and the danger to both man and bound 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 bottom 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 requires 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 preparations 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 30th May, 1853, a lovely hunting morning and a fine
+dew on the patinas; rather too windy, but that could not be
+helped.
+
+Quiet now! - down, Bluebeard! - back, will you, Lucifer! Here's a
+smash! there goes the jungle kennel! 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 forest 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 cars 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 coming 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 hundred yards of me, and the elk had already turned
+to 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 momentum of a rapid descent by clinging to the
+tough saplings.  Sometimes one would give way and a considerable
+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, instead 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 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 of 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. *An
+exceedingly active Moorman, who was my great ally in hunting.
+
+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 whenever 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 mountain, 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
+carefully, 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 waterfall of three
+hundred feet.
+
+It was extremely grand; the roar of the falls so entirely 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 torrent; 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, suddenly 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 stemming
+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 whirlpools 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 oil the very ver-e 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 struggling up the steep bank, through the same
+lemon grass, 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 waters 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 ascent, which, though very precipitous was
+so covered with long lemon grass that it was easy enough to
+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 being broken into a regular lane
+which skirted the precipice of the great waterfall in the
+direction of the villages.
+
+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 below.  The lemon grass was so
+high in tufts along 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.  Clutching 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 irregular surfaces, but still
+stirring the dark gorge down which the river fell.
+
+At length, having left the fall some considerable distance
+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 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 interstices 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
+entice 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 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 was in very
+fine condition; 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 Peréwellé, and then to reascend 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 encampment 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, which 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
+
+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 fit, 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 enables them to sustain
+the severe shocks in descending rough mountains at full speed. 
+It is perfectly wonderful 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 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 beard her cry out, and as she was
+closely followed I thought she was seized.  However, the whole
+pack shortly returned, 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 "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 "Madcap" 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.
+
+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.  Presently 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 excursion, and we soon helped her
+safe ashore.  Fortunately 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 determined to move
+from this locality as too dangerous for hunting.  I therefore
+ordered the village people to assemble on the following morning
+to carry the loads and tent.  In the mean time I sent for the
+dead elk.
+
+There could riot 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 marrowbones
+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 rise 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
+contained three sleepy mortals.  The hounds snored and growled,
+and then snored again.  The servants jabbered, 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 other 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 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 principal 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 extensive 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 obstruction 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 accordingly
+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 generally 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 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 Bluebeard'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 prospect 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 mountains 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 two small wooded ravines, with a strip of patina
+between them. I at once surmised that this was the hunted elk,
+although, as yet, no hounds were visible.
+
+On arrival at the first ravine we immediately descended, 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, snuff the warning breeze and, drawing up to his full
+height, 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 him from his course.  Up to the
+present time and turn they had not observed him.
+
+Still the buck stood in an attitude of acute suspense.  He winded
+an enemy before him and he heard another behind, which was
+rapidly closing up, and, as though doubting his own power of
+scent, he gave preference 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,
+"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 greyhounds 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 brick all alone, but going like a rocket.
+
+Now she has turned him ! that pace could not last up hill, and
+round the elk doubled and 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 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.  Fortunately 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 destruction.
+
+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
+multiplying 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 compassion 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 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 one 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 followers 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 Matturatta 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 returned 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 disproportionate 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 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 length,
+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 doubling about over fifty acres of ground
+like a hare, until he is at last run into and killed.  They exist
+in extraordinary 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, covered 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 resemble, 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 examination of the paunch.  Some people consider the
+flesh very good, but my ideas perhaps give it a "ratty" flavor
+that makes it unpalatable.
+
+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 stranger 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 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 experiment by weighing a dead
+elk.  I had always considered 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,
+flipping 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 ,bucks, does and fawns, in beautiful
+herds; when undisturbed, 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 inhibits 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 clawing might alter the most
+handsome expression of countenance.
+
+Bears have frequently been known to tear off a man's face like a
+mask, leaving nothing but the face of a skull.
+
+Thus the quadrupeds of Newera Ellia and the adjacent 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 rat.
+
+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 possibly 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 limit
+and what to avoid.
+
+It is curious to witness the sagacity of the old hounds in
+joining or despising the opening note of a newcomer.
+
+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 fears
+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" voice, and see the dash with which
+they rush through the jungle to join him.  They know the old
+fellows note is true to an elk or hog, and, with implicit
+confidence 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 born,
+or not, as he thinks proper.  It is impossible to correct him, as
+he is out of sight.
+
+Now, the very fact of having one or two first-rate finders in a
+pack, will very likely be the cause of spoiling 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 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 cheering 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 "Ploughboy" 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 puppyhood.  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.
+
+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 particular 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 part will ensure a corresponding amount in the hounds;
+they will become so accustomed to the certain appearance 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 afternoon 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 direction but
+the right one, my ears have at length been gladdened by the
+distant sound of the bay.  The particular moment when hope and
+certainty combined reward 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-looking 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 unrequited 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 dauntlessly 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 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; impossible!  He has been up one mountain,
+and 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 comparative 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 "carrawellé," 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 venomous except the snake
+alluded to, and a small species of centipede. Fleas there are
+certainly - indeed, a fair sprinkling of fleas; but they are not
+troublesome, except 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 neighborhood, will literally swarm with
+them if deserted for a couple of months.  Fleas have a great
+fancy for settling 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 distinguished; 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 ludicrous 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
+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 inexpressibles 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 - Efforts 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 temperate 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
+vegetation.  "Life" appears to emanate from "death" - the
+destruction of one material seems to multify the existence 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, bow 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.
+
+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 preserving the world from
+plagues and diseases, which the decaying and unconsumed bodies of
+animals and vegetables would otherwise engender.
+
+How beautiful are all the laws of Nature! how perfect 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 become 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 ordinary observation cannot help
+acquiring a tolerable knowledge of the habits of some of the most
+interesting 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 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 mail from one of the lowest classes of living
+things!
+
+Here we see no rash matrimonial engagements; no penniless lovers
+selfishly and indissolubly linked together to propagate large
+families Of starving children.  Ail the arrangements of the
+insect tribe, though prompted by sheer instinct are conducted
+with a degree of rationality that in some cases raises the mere
+instinct of the creeping thing above the assumed "reason" 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 feeling existing in its brain - the
+Billingsgate fish-woman of its tribe in coarseness and rudeness
+of exterior (Scarabaeus carnifex) - see with what quickness she
+is running backward, raised almost upon her head, while with her
+bind 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 to rest.  No great amount of rest; she plunges her head
+into the ground, and with that shovel-like projection 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 altogether.
+
+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 receptacle for her eggs, which she
+deposits in the ball of dung, the warmth of which assists in
+bringing the larvae 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 transported at once.
+
+The mason-fly is also a ball-maker, but she carries her load and
+builds an elaborate nest. This insect belongs to the order
+"Hymenoptera," and is of the Ichneumon tribe, being a variety of
+upward of four hundred 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 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 shape 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 surface 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
+distances.  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 tip in stores within the cells as
+food for the young larvae, when hatched.
+
+Now the transition from the larva to the fly takes 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 advanced stage as to require food.
+
+In a tropical country every one knows that a very few hours
+occasion the putrefaction of all dead animal substances;
+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 (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
+make its nest in the tube of a key, which it also fills with
+minute spiders.
+
+In attacking the spider, the mason-fly his a choice of his
+antagonist, and he takes good care to have a preponderance of
+weight on his own side.  His reason for choosing this in
+preference to other insects for a preserved 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 species 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 texture 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 considered 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
+generally the character of cotton than of silk.
+
+Should this ever be experimented on, a question might arise of
+much interest to entomologists, whether a difference 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, waving 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
+rushing 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 assisting in their destruction.
+
+There are many varieties of luminous insects in Ceylon.  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 smallest print so legible that
+a page may be read with case.  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 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 common 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 no larger than
+pin's 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 reflected forms for
+other flies performing the part of a "vis-à-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
+frantically tears his trowsers from his limbs; he has him! no he
+hasn't! - yes he has! - no - no, positively he cannot 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 collecting, and a
+pretty collection he has got - a perfect fortune upon his legs
+alone.  There are about a hundred 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 before; a
+fine black ant has also escaped during the recent 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 surprising 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 annoying, 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
+continues 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 lie 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 accomplish, were I
+to enter into the details of the entomology 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 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; whooping-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 pestilence 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 question is, therefore, reduced to the
+prime cause of the disease 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 predominate in
+localities which are hot, damp, swampy, abounding 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 discover 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 impure
+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 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 suffers 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 he seen closely
+linked together.
+
+Now, the common preventives against infection are such as are
+peculiarly inimical to every kind of insect; camphor, chloride of
+lime, tobacco-smoke, and powerful scents and smokes of any kind. 
+The first impulse 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 immediately; 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 he 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 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
+destructive 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 propensities exist, of which we have at
+present no conception.  Thus, different infectious disorders
+might proceed from peculiar species of animalcules, which, at
+given periods, are wafted into certain countries, carrying
+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 property the "mina." This bird is about the size of the
+starling, whose habits its possesses in a great degree.  It
+exists in immense numbers, 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
+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 atmosphere until their numbers caused disease?  All
+suppositions on such a subject must, however, remain in
+obscurity, as no proof can be adduced of their correctness.  The
+time may arrive when science may successfully 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 following 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 undermine 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 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 pitiless 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 pea soup, a green scum
+floats through the thickened mass, and the temperature is upward
+of 130 Fahrenheit.  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 on
+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 neighborhood 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.  II know the shrub and the berry
+well, but it has no English denomination.  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 latter, 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 cannot 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 considerable
+magnitude are completely exhausted, and nothing remains but a dry
+bed of said 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 instinct and strongly, savors of
+reason, the two powers 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.
+
+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 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 possesses 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 endowed 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 attributes 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 surmounts the narrow
+bounds of simple instinct.
+
+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 snowball; a
+certain amount forms a base for extra improvement, 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 intelligence; 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
+consideration, 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 instinct 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 needle and thread come from?  The first is the
+delicate 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 manner 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 construction of their nests is to avoid
+the attacks of snakes and lizards.  These nests are about two
+feet long, composed of beautifully woven grass, shaped like an
+elongated 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 the interior of the beam, the
+centre of which he entirely demolishes, leaving a thin shell in
+the form of the original log encrusted over the exterior with
+numerous 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 appearance 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
+decidedly 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, especially as it is not an every-day occurrence,
+even in fine weather.
+
+In Mauritius, the negroes have a custom of turning 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 habits of the
+black ant, who is a sworn enemy to the white.
+
+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
+evidently 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 mandibles.  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 development 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 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 trick, 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 project.  This species exists in most parts of Ceylon,
+but I have seen it of a larger size at Newera Ellia thin 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, which was an exhibition of reason
+hardly to be expected 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 expressed 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 mimosa, 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 along 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
+roamed 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 bearing 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
+elephants still plough their irresistible course.  In descending
+or ascending these places, the elephant a 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 case.  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 combination of the sense of scent and touch.  In
+dense jungles, 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 lowered upon the around keeps
+him advised of every inch of his path.
+
+Nothing is more difficult than to induce a tame elephant 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 beyond my comprehension. 
+Although I have seen elephants in nearly every position, I have
+never seen one inextricably fixed in a swamp.  This is the more
+extraordinary 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 appears 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 seldom 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 feeling well; we had been for some weeks in the
+most unhealthy 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
+"Gollagangwelléwevé" (pronunciation requires practice), and a
+very long name it was for so small a place; but the natives
+insisted 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 possessed by the village with which to scare them. 
+This looked all right; so we loaded the guns and started 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 forgotten 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 tip to some
+dense, thorny jungle, and told that the elephants were somewhere
+in that direction.  Not being very sanguine, I had accordingly
+taken no trouble about my gun-bearers, and I saw several of my
+rifles in the bands 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 bad
+filled the tank, which had overflowed 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
+proportionate amount of sticky mud beneath, and through this we
+splashed until the dam appeared about fifty yards on our right.
+It was a simple earthen 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
+opposite side, but we continued our course parallel with the dam
+until we bad 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 scant, 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 impossible to
+make an attack; and even were the elephants within the forest,
+there appeared to be no possibility of following them up through
+such deep water and heavy ground with any chance of success.
+however, 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
+embankment 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 thoroughfare to and from the lake, and the dam was
+trodden down in all directions.
+
+We found that the margin of the forest was everywhere 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 disturbed 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 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.  Palliser
+and I had taken splendid positions, so as to command either side
+of the herd on their arrival, with our gun-bearers squatted
+around us 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 satisfaction 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 he able to get good and rapid shooting.
+
+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 rascally villagers, who had already
+taken to the trees, scrambled still higher in their fright at the
+close approach of the elephants, and by this movement they gave
+immediate alarm to the elders 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 exception 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
+an 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 having made a circuit in
+the tank.  I accordingly waded back at my best speed to terra
+firma, 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 that I
+deplored the absence of my regular gun-bearers; 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 succeeded in
+getting them well together just is 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 precaution, and the leading elephants both saw and winded us
+when at a hundred paces distant.  This time, however, 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 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
+straining every nerve to reached 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 behind me, as
+though another section was coming in from the tank; this I hoped
+to meet.  I therefore reloaded 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
+disappointment, on arrival, to find, in 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
+gunbearers, 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 elephant 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 assistance and
+likewise held on by his tail; but away we went like the tender to
+a steam-engine; wherever the elephant went there we were dragged
+in company.  Another man now came to the rescue; but his
+assistance was not of the slightest rise, 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 laughable 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
+returned to have a little conversation with the rascals 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 tame 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
+off 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 combination 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, and he arrived thoroughly blown, and with a
+natural desire to kick the recreant villager who bad caused the
+yells.
+
+If the ground had been ever 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 departure 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 unsparing 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 observe 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. 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 eagerness 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 excitement; 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 judgement displayed by these dogs in driving a large
+flock of sheep?  Then turn to 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 particular 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
+reasoning 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 foxhunter 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 belonged 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 convinced that he knew the date of a track
+from its appearance, as I have constantly seen him strove 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 feeding in the night, are sure to repair at about four in
+the morning for their last drink, and I usually try along the
+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 bind 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 Bluebeard 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 Augora 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 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 off in full cry; but the whereabout 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 extensive 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
+swimming down the river.
+
+The elk seemed determined to give a beautiful course 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 be 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 returned
+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 bound was now swimming steadily down the stream, crossing and
+recrossing from 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
+Bluebeard!" 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" -
+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 - Varicty 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 sometimes dignified by
+the name of fruit.
+
+The guava and the katumbillé 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
+refreshing when plucked from the tree; but it does not aspire to
+the honor of a place at a table, where it can only appear 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
+facsimile 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 productions 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 Ceylon 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 welcomes the most miserable fare.
+
+At Newera Ellia the jungles would always produce a supply for a
+soupe maigré.  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 brittle 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 zintgiber."  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
+surrounding 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 elephants 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 delicate 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 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 species 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 English collections.  It
+blossoms in April; the flowers are a bright lilac, and I could
+lay my band 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 whenever 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 common throughout
+the forests.  This fruit is a perfect anomaly.  The tree is
+entirely different to that of the cultivated species.  The latter
+is small, seldom exceeding 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 nutmeg.  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 disagreeable oil.  The latter is so plentiful that I am
+astonished 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 produce of a small grain, grown exclusively by
+the natives.
+
+But, in addition to these, there are various other oils
+manufactured by the Cingalese.  These are the cinnamon 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 properly a kind of
+vegetable wax, being of the consistence of stearine.  This is
+prepared from the berries of the cinnamon shrubs which are boiled
+in water until the catty substance or so-called oil, floats upon
+the surface; this is then skimmed off and, when a sufficient
+quantity is collected, it is boiled down until all watery
+particles 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 keeping.  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 properties.
+
+Mee oil is obtained from the fruit of the mee tree.  This fruit
+is about the size of an apricot, and is extremely 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 equally coarse, and are quite unfit for any but
+native purposes.
+
+Lemon-grass oil, which is known in commerce as citronella oil, is
+a delightful extract from the rank 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 prevent the
+attacks of insects while its perfume remains; but the oil is so
+volatile that the scent quickly evaporates and the spell is
+broken.
+
+Clove oil is extracted from the leaves of the cinnamon 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 induces 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 finger.  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 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
+becoming 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 magnificent 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 instance 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 supposed that these mighty specimens of
+vegetation are supported by the poor sandy soil upon the surface;
+their 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 English 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
+proportions 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, perfectly 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
+constitutes 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 remain in
+their undisturbed solitudes, gradually increasing in their
+apparently endless growth, and towering above the dark vistas of
+everlasting silence.  No on can imagine 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
+cars 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, 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 serpent-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 stern to stem
+like the cables of a line-of-battle-ship, and extending from tree
+to tree for many hundred yards; now felling 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 Ceylon.  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 trunk.  The bark is crisp, jet black, and
+has the appearance 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 produced in Ceylon,
+which are made use of for various purposes; but of these many are
+very inferior.  Those most appreciated are-
+
+Calamander, Ebony, chiefly used for furniture and cabinet work.
+Satin-wood, Suria (the tulip tree). Tamarind. Jackwood.
+Halmileel. Cocoa-nut. Palmyra.
+
+The suria is an elegant tree, bearing a beautiful yellow 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 exceedingly tough, and it is chiefly used for
+making the spokes of wheels.
+
+The tamarind is a fine, dark red wood, mottled with 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 entirely 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
+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 Mahawelli river
+upon a raft which my coolies had hastily constructed, and
+reaching a miserable village near Monampitya, 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 it the time with the
+magnificent timber in the forests on its banks, and no less
+surprised that with the natural facilities of transport 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 country.  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 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 potatoes.  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 examination, 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, to the
+cocoa-nut tree yields a pure draught from a dry 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 deliciously cool, in
+comparison to the heat of the atmosphere.
+
+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 delicious 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 richness and fine flavor.
+
+The toddy is the sap which would nourish and fructify 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 gallon.  This
+remains undisturbed for twenty-four hours, from sunrise to
+sunrise on the following morning; the toddy-drawer then reascends
+the tree, and lowers he 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 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 charts takes place, and the
+rapidity of the transition from the vinous to the acetous
+fermentation is so great that by midday it resembles a poor and
+rather acid cider.  It now possesses intoxicating properties, 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 hundred gallons, while in the year 1853
+they had increased to one million thirty-three thousand nine
+hundred 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 "copperah." 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 Fahrenheit. 
+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
+sandwiches 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.
+
+The preparation of coir is a dirty and offensive occupation.  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 produces fruit in proportion. 
+Eighty nuts per annum are about the average income from a healthy
+tree in full 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 cocoanut." 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 common 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 durable; 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 jaggery.  This cannot be easily
+distinguished from crumbled sugar-candy which it exactly
+resembles in flavor, 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 linen of whalebone running close together from the top to
+the 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 about eight feet in length,
+and are used by the Cingalese for 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 account, or with fifty if hired for a
+journey.  A Cingalese 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 compactly 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 touch 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.
+
+There is a great peculiarity in the talipot palm.  Is blossoms
+only once in a long period of years, and after this it dies.  No
+flower can equal the elegance and extraordinary dimensions of
+this blossom; its size is proportionate 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 bard can no longer sustain the pressure
+of the expanding flower.  It suddenly bursts with a loud report,
+and the beautiful plume, freed from its imprisonment, 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
+overturned 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 clusters beneath the crest
+of the palm, in a similar manner to the cocoa-nut; but the tree
+is more prolific, as it 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 individual)
+full of chunam paste - viz., a fine lime produced 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 himself in which ingredient the
+narcotic principle is displayed.
+
+Take a betel leaf, and upon this spread a piece of chunam as
+large as a pea; then with the pruning 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 produced 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 45,000 l.  The greater
+portion of these is consumed 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 prepared from it.
+
+The height of this palm does not exceed fifteen or twenty feet,
+and even this is above the general average.  It grows in the
+greatest profusion in the Veddah country.  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 fermentation which has already taken
+place in the nut has impregnated the flower with a leaven; this,
+without any 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 natives are very expert in finding out
+the nests, by watching 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 uncertain 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 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 month is armed with a very powerful pair of
+mandibles, 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 lines 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 arrangement 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 Ellia, where the nillho blossom induces
+such a general rush of this particular bee to the district that
+the jungles are swarming with them in every direction, although
+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 stern 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 diminutive 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 molasses.  The natives, having naturally coarse
+tastes and strong stomachs, admire this honey beyond any other. 
+Many persons are surprised at the trifling exports of 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 districts) crams his mouth with a large section,
+and giving it one or two bites, he bolts the luscious morsel and
+begins 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 quantity, to exchange with the
+travelling Moormen for cotton cloths, etc., and in this manner
+the trifling amount exported is collected.
+
+During the honey year at Newera Ellia I gave a native permission
+to hunt bees in my forests, on condition 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 refraining 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 similar in appearance
+and flavor to the well-known, "Agaricus campestris;" but,
+notwithstanding this actual proof, the natives would not be
+convinced, and, although 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 appearance; 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 gelatinous 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 disgusting 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 fungus, 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 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 specimen.  It
+was growing in an open forest, free from any underwood, land it
+seemed like a fairy bivouac beneath the mighty trees which
+overshadowed it.  Hardly believing my own eyes at so strange and
+exquisite a structure, 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 properties of the plant, and
+proved the impossibility of removing 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 properties are so
+mild that they are edible in small quantities.  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 bad 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 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
+temporary lethargy.
+
+In appearance it very nearly resembles the common hemp, but it
+differs in the seed.  The leaves and blossoms 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 substance 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, that the Indian
+hemp is the foundation of the Egyptian "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 repeated intoxication, no
+matter how it is produced, must be ultimately hurtful to the
+system.  The brain, accustomed 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
+manner 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 description, 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 waterlily, 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 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.
+
+Stramonium (Datura stramonium), which is a powerful narcotic, is
+a perfect weed throughout the island, but it is not used by the
+natives otherwise than medicinally, and the mass of the people
+are ignorant of its qualities, which are only known to the
+Cingalese doctors.  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
+accompaniment 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 appeared at the
+door devour one of his own cakes before I became a purchaser. 
+These men, however, were bona fide 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 roadside, are the nux vomica,
+ipecacuanha, gamboge, 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 individual 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
+contains 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 incisions 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 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 productions 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 infinite 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 balk 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 lip, 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 durability 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 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
+valuable to the tanners; several are highly esteemed by the
+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 experiments with indigenous
+produce.  Although the jungles of Ceylon produce a long list of
+articles of much interest, 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 actually 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 comparatively valueless
+commodity.  No other tree but the doom tree produces any gum
+worth collecting; this species of rosin exudes in large
+quantities from an incision in the bark, but the amount of
+exports shows its insignificance.  It is a fair sample of Ceylon
+productions; nothing that is uncultivated is of much pecuniary
+value.
+
+CHAPTER XI. Indigenous Productions - Botanical Gardens -
+Suggested Experiments - 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 -
+Neglected Education of the People - Responsibilities of Conquest
+- 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 insignificant
+parent stock we propagate our finest varieties of both animals
+and vegetables.  Witness the wild kale, parsnip, carrot,
+crab-apple, sloe, etc., all utterly worthless, but nevertheless
+the first parents of their now choice descendants.
+
+It is therefore impossible to say what might not he 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 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 public, in reply,
+to their own establishment - to the botanical 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 extracted? have medicinal
+drugs been produced? have dyes been extracted? have improvements
+been suggested in the cultivation of any of the staple articles
+of Ceylon export? In fact, has ANYTHING ever been 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 enterprise may speculate, and by such success the
+government 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 "waste" be unknown upon the property.
+
+Under the present system of management this is impossible; the
+sum allowed per annum is but just sufficient 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 journeys should form a part
+of his duties; his botanical specimens should be his game, and
+they should be pursued with the ardor of the chase itself, and
+subsequently transferred to the gardens and their real merits
+discovered 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 beneath our feet; but the governor does not
+consider it a part of his duty to prosecute the search, or even
+to render facilities to those of a more industrious temperament. 
+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 adduced of its presence; but the governor
+positively refused 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 established its presence in remunerating
+quantities.  The swampy nature of the soil rendered the digging
+impossible 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 assistance
+received from private parties they must have starved.  The rainy
+season was at its height, and torrents 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 petitioned the Government to give them the means of
+subsistence 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, believing 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.
+
+It must be remembered that the main features of the country at
+Newera Ellia and the vicinity are broad flats or swampy plains,
+surrounded by hills and mountains: the former covered with rank
+grass and intersected 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; worthless 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 producing, when
+washed, one or more specks of the precious 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 another 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 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 sapphire, 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 obtained 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
+enterprise, but the enterprising public have no faith in the
+government.
+
+Without being over-sanguine, or, on the other side, closing our
+cars 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, 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 manner 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 refused 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 in
+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 Ceylon as to
+effect such changes.  We have it present these simple data - that
+in a soft, swampy soil gold has been found close to the surface
+in small specks, gradually 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. 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 frequently
+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 quantities
+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 uncertain 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 '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 fide salaries; 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 petitions 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 complain 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 that if steps were purposely taken
+to ensure the destruction 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, pigheaded, 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 perplexity 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!* *[since reduced to five thousand pounds].
+
+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 practical
+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 that each had some personal motive in offering
+advice, and one tongue would thus nullify the other until he
+should at length come to the conclusion of David in his haste,
+"that all men are liars," and turn a deaf ear to all.  This would
+enable him to pass the rest of his term without any active
+blunders, and he might vary the passive monotony of his existence
+by a system of contradiction to all advice gratis.  A little
+careful pruning of expenses during the last two years of his term
+might give a semblance of increase o£ revenue over expenditure,
+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 advice 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 conversant with the colony in all its
+bearings.  He has comprehended the vast natural capabilities, he
+has formed his plans methodically for the improvement of 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 Chinese 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 visionary; 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 contrary 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 consideration; 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 opposite, for
+no sooner does the governor become competent 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
+improvement, 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 education 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 conquerors of
+territory are responsible for the moral welfare of the
+inhabitants; therefore our responsibility 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 between 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
+present.  What will the future be in these days of advancement?
+It were vain to hazard a conjecture; but we can look back upon
+the past, and build upon this foundation 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,
+peopled by a fierce race of savages clad in skins, bowing before
+druidical idolatry, paddling along 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 and 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 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 fertility.  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 telegraph 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 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 standard
+floated on the strongholds of the universe, and far and wide
+stretched the vast boundaries of her conquests.
+
+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 England 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 descendants to embrace our faith?
+- that is, I are we the divine instrument for accomplishing the
+vast change that we expect by the universal acknowledgement 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.
+
+To a fatalist it can matter but little whether a nation fulfills
+its duty, or whether, by neglecting it, punishment 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,
+legislate 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 bishops 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 considered of so little moment that it is
+tantamount to neglected.
+
+There are various opinions as to the amount of learning 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 proper sphere.  This is what the government calls
+education; and the same time and expense thus employed 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 thorough knowledge
+of the English tongue, which naturally 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 enables them to benefit by books, which are otherwise useless. 
+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 up on, 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 barren 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 extent they are at present, and always have been,
+abandoned.  Where the children who can be educated with success
+are neglected at the present day, it may be imagined that the
+parents have been but little cared for; thus, in advocating their
+abandonment, it is simply proposing 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 condition 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 stipend 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 Ellia.
+
+Now, leaving out the question of policy in endeavoring to make
+the language of our own country the common 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 example of good common-sense education has recently
+been given by the Rev. Mr. Thurston (who is indefatigable in his
+profession) in the formulation of an industrial school at
+Colombo.
+
+This is precisely the kind of education which is required; 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 himself, but shall likewise
+tend to the support of the establishment.  The children are
+accordingly instructed in such pursuits as shall be the means of
+earning a livelihood in future years: some are taught a trade,
+others are employed in the cultivation of gardens, and
+subsequently 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
+industrious 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
+agriculture.  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 improved 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 government, 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 without a worshiper, while a new
+generation flocked to the Christian altar.
+
+This is no visionary prospect.  It has been satisfactorily proved
+that the road to conversion to Christianity is through knowledge,
+and this once attained, heathenism 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 attention to this
+object, and cease to war against the impossibility 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 missionaries 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 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 missionary 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 perfectly useless for the purpose of "propagating the
+gospel 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
+wildernesses 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
+appear to follow.
+
+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 humble 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 remote
+for their good offices.  Probably they are not so comfortable in
+their quarters in the towns as the Protestant 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 naturally 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 dislocated state,
+progression cannot be expected by simple attempts at conversion;
+even were the natives willing to embrace the true faith, they
+would have great difficulty 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 education of the people.
+
+CHAPTER XII. The Pearl Fishery - Desolation of the Coast -
+Harbor of Trincomalee - 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 Elephants' Duel
+- A Hunting Hermitage - Bluebeard's last Hunt - The Leopard -
+Bluebeard's Death - Leopard Shot.
+
+While fresh from the subject of government mismanagement, let us
+turn our eyes in the direction 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 bad left the colony with an excess of income
+over expenditure.  To obtain this income he fished up all the
+oysters, ruined the fishery 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, diversified 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 occasionally
+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 inhabitants.  This
+has always been the case, even in the prosperous days of the
+pearl fishery.  So utterly worthless 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 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 everything in the
+neighborhood.  Even in the good old times this coast was simply
+visited during the period for fishing.  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 recent population were the
+government stores and house at Arripo, like the bones of the
+carcase after the vultures 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 misery
+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 improvements might discover treasures in the neighborhood
+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 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 common in every
+child's book that I do not attempt to describe 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 disgusting 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 facilities 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 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 overhang 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 desirable residence for those who delight in a temperature of
+from 90 degrees to 140 degrees 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 distinguished 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 regiment then in garrison went down one sultry
+afternoon 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, nevertheless their spirits were as high as
+those of Englishmen usually are, no matter where or under what
+circumstances.  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 sat in the burning sun,
+watching in heart-broken eagerness, 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 inhabit 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 southeast 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 counterbalances 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 shore ready to scuttle in on the shortest notice.  They are
+then particularly on the alert, and it is a most difficult thing
+to stalk them, so as to get near enouogh 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 exquisitely 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 penetrate 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 beard of an accident
+in these places, although hundreds of persons are employed
+annually in collecting salt from the bottom.
+
+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 supply in August, during the height
+of the dry season.
+
+Salt in Ceylon is a government monopoly; 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 crystalizes at the bottom in various
+degrees of thickness, according to the strength of the brine.
+
+Thus, as the water recedes from the banks by evaporation 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 generally 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 natives 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 subsequently thatched over with cajans (the
+plaited leaf of the cocoanut).  In this state it remains until an
+opportunity 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 large lump of several
+pounds' weight.  This is of a better quality than that which is
+gathered from the bottom, being free from sand or other
+impurities.  Innumerable 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 produce 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 immense 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 necessity 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' employment, 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 between 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 n 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.
+
+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 commonly 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 reservoirs 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, is
+its rise is restricted to absolute necessaries.  On the other
+hand, were the supply increased at one half the present rate, the
+consumption would augment 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,
+manures, etc., etc.  In addition to this, it would vastly affect
+the price of salt fish (the staple article of native
+consumption), and by the reduction in 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 impossible. 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 portion, 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.
+
+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 wild beast; but now
+within one hundred and fifty miles of Galle every buffalo horn is
+collected and even the elephant's 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
+passengers 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 which a cheap supply of
+salt and fish would he 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 grey mullet, and the chef de cuisine is short of
+the wherewithal for dinner.
+
+This is not infrequently the case during a jungle 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 rippling 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 compelled 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 provided, 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 commenced.
+
+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 substitute.  Soles and whiting
+remind us of Old England, but a host of bright red, blue, green,
+yellow, and extraordinary-looking creatures in the same net
+dispel all ideas of English fishing.
+
+Oysters there are likewise in Ceylon; but here, alas I 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 miserable exterior.
+
+There are few positions more tantalizing to a hungry man than
+that of being surrounded b 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 as 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 had been
+formed by the oysters clustering and adhering together.  It so
+happened that our party were unanimous 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 dismay that nothing but one penknife was possessed among
+us.  This we knew was a useless weapon against such armor;
+however, in our endeavors to perform impossibilities, we tickled
+the oyster and broke the knife.  After gazing for seine 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 gathered the wood, which was bleached
+and dry, an 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 would be in superlative misery
+while another would enjoy the responsibility, and delight in the
+fertility of his own invention in accommodating himself to
+circumstances.  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 decidedly, and
+your toothbrush in the morning; but if, on the other hand, you
+are of the right stamp, it is astonishing 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 locality.  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 leeward of which
+you will lie when your mansion 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 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 cheerful, 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.
+
+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 manufactured 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 beneath 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 catching 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 common
+tent; but in thoroughly wet weather any woven roof is more or
+less uncomfortable.
+
+I recollect a certain bivouac in the Angora 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.  Accordingly, 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 cone over the yams
+when boiled! they turned a beautiful 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., Palliser, my huntsman Benton and
+myself.  No one wishing 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 punished 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 beginning to
+feel uncomfortable, when up jumped Benton, 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 his turn.  "I
+am choking likewise." "So am I." There we were all three, with
+our throats in an extraordinary 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 proportion 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 unfitness for food.
+
+In these Augora patinas a curious duel was lately fought by a
+pair of wild bull elephants, both of whom were the raree aves 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 proving 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 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, especially 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 unknown 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 fortnight, for chance 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 constantly 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 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 rarer 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 had 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
+habitation, 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 bedstead, to keep me from the
+damp ground, by means of forked upright sticks, two horizontal
+bars and numerous cross-pieces.  This was covered with six
+inches' thickness of grass, strapped down with the bark of a
+fibrous shrub.  My table and bench were formed in the same
+manner, being of course fixtures, but most substantial.  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 Matchless,
+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 elephant, 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 elephant 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 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 delighted, on arriving on the
+hill above, to hear the bay, of the bounds 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 hindquarters. 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, followed by three other
+bounds.
+
+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 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 rapidly became more difficult.  I lost no
+time in fomenting and poulticing the part, but the swelling had
+commenced 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 tent
+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 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 Bluebeard 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.  I 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 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 report, and his white belly lay
+stretched upon the ground.
+
+They were both clean shots: Palliser had aimed at 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 supply 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 winner.  This is the only
+instance that I know of a leopard being run into and killed with
+hounds and a knife.
+
+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.
+
+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 productions of the water.  Birds of infinite variety and
+countless numbers - fish in myriads - reptiles and crocodiles
+-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 neighborhood 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 lie cool breeze has stolen
+across the water, refreshing all 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 majestic 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 answering
+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 clotted 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 evening air as they strut over the
+green plain; the giant crane stands statue-like among the
+shallows; the pelican 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.
+
+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 distant 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 is thrown
+back; but this time it is the work of a moment, 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 nuisances 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 fattest and most delicious birds that I have ever tasted. 
+Cooked in Soyer's magic stove, with a little butter, cayenne
+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.  Nevertheless,
+they are tolerably wary, which, of course, increases 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 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 bona fide 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 acquaintance 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 wandered 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 spreading 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 wilderness.  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 giving 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 presciently 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 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 roars 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
+answered; not by so fine a tone, but by discordant screams and
+roars from the opposite side, and the louder splashing 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 impatience.
+
+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 disturbed 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. 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 superstition.
+
+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 quaintness.  The
+jungle partridge now wakes up, and with his loud cry subdues all
+other sounds, until the numerous 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 habit 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 conceal
+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 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, and
+sometimes grow to the immense length of twenty two feet.
+
+It has frequently surprised me that they do not upset the small
+canoes in which the natives paddle about the lakes and rivers. 
+These are formed in the simplest manner, 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 similar 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 preserved 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 immediately, 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 bottom log of the canoe in
+miniature.  This, floating on the water, balances the canoe in an
+upright position; it 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 rims 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 stern 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 perfectly
+water-tight.  The native dhonies, which are vessels 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 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 unhealthy 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 customs 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 living freight, all happy as children
+in the thoughts of home.  The sun shone brightly and gave a warm
+welcome on our arrival; and as the steamer moored alongside the
+quay, an hour sufficed to scatter the host of passengers who had
+so closely dwelt together, as completely 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 recall 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 waterfalls, 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 associations of old times.  Those who have shared
+in common many of these scenes I trust to meet again, and 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 incubus of mismanagement, may,
+under the rule of a vigorous and enterprising governor, arrive at
+that prosperity 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.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon
+by Samuel White Baker
+
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